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Rune Knights are one of the more convoluted fighter subclasses available inDungeons & Dragons. While competing subclasses such as the battle masters and eldritch knights can use all of their maneuvers or spell slots interchangeably a rune knight needs to keep track individually of each giant rune they learn, with both active and passive effects.
This investment in bookkeeping and character building is rewarded with both literal and figurative presence: A fighter wielding special martial or magical techniques will struggle to match the intimidation factor of an opponent that quadruples in size. The rune system also provides nifty customisation options for making your character stand out.
Best Species For A Rune Knight Fighter
There are no wrong ways to build a rune knight. Starting big and starting small in terms of your species both have advantages to offer in both mechanical and social play:
Flavour bonuses
Pack Tactics Users (kobold)
Advantage on all your attacks if fighting alongside another melee combatant
Pack tactics is an especially powerful trait that is made stronger in the hands of a rune knight, that is exclusive to the kobold.
A kobold rune knight can negate the penalties of their small sizeand make use of heavy weapons that small species are normally restricted from.
Small characters can also make more use of thelevel ten ability Great Stature, adding 3d4 inches to your characters' height.
A Goliath’s natural tallness is unlikely to be changed by an extra half foot but a kobold who shoots up by that same amount could pass for a very short dragonborn.
Species with enlarge as an ancestral spell (deep dwarf and fairy)
Casting enlarge on yourself after activating your Giant’s Might grants an additional size category
Rune Knights typically only gain a second size increase once they reach level 18.Being able to hit huge size at level three is a feat that few builds can boast of sincemost effects that imitate the enlarge spell are unable to stack the way that Giant’s Might can.
Reaching Huge Size means you’ll occupy a 3x3 space on a battle map,recontextualizing the entire battlefield around you.
You can make jokes about “fey protein powder” when using Giant’s Might to grow from small to huge.
Species With Powerful Build (Goliath and centaur)
Multiplies your carrying capacity
These species are already large-sized at the functional level but are listed as medium creatures for balance.
The powerful build feature of the Goliath and centaur increases your carrying capacity, resolving inventory issues across the party if playing in a group with strict carrying capacities.
Characters who have a naturally large stature can better make use of it for rolls such as intimidation.A large size grants advantage on all grappling-related checks allowing you to live out the pro-wrestling dreamof all Goliath players.
Best Runes For A Rune Knight Fighter
The rune system that is gained at third level offers the rune knight a great deal of customisation in and outside of combat. Theactive abilities are geared towards combat useand can be used once per rest,while the passive bonuses are always activeand remain even if you have expended the active use. Here’s a breakdown of the merits offered by each rune:
Cloud Rune
None
Advantage on sleight of hand and deception checks.These are not typical fighter skills, but the constant advantage is a powerful enough boon to reward you for investing further through skills and feats.
you may redirect one attack to another target within 30 feet,regardless of whether it makes logical sense. This effect does not provide any saving throw or other way of negating the effect, allowing it to completelyshut down powerful attack spells such as disintegrate.
Demonstrating that you have this ability can be deterrent enough to prevent smart enemies from using their strongest abilities.
Fire Rune
You haveexpertise in all checks that use a toolyou are proficient in. Expertise in tool checks is a powerful feature if your character has a trade outside adventuring. Fighters do not have another easy way of gaining that bonus.
The active ability restrains a target who fails a strength save and deals ongoing damage until they escape. While this doesn’t stun an enemy as effectively as the stone rune,it allows both you and your allies to attack the restrained enemy with advantage.
Stone Rune
Advantage on insight checks. You have darkvision to 120 feet. This range of darkvision is normally paired with sunlight sensitivity, making it stronger than average.
A target who fails a wisdom saveis charmed and becomes non-responsive for one minute.
This prevents them from acting butdoesn’t allow you to attack them without breaking the charm.This makes it slightly less effective than the fire rune for general use.
Hill Rune
Seventh level
Resistance to poison damage and advantage on saving throws against poison.
Gain resistance to all physical damage for one minute.This is one of the few effects of its type that does not discriminate between magical and non-magical physical damage.
Advantage on arcana skill checks and immunity to surprise.
For one minute you can use a reaction to give any attack roll, saving throw or ability check within 60 feet advantage or disadvantage.
The utility this provides whenpaired with a party member such as a rogue or paladinis immense,allowing them to reliably activate sneak attacks orsmites.
You start with two runes and grow this number to five as you progress in the class. A recommended order forlearning the runes is Cloud, Fire, Storm, Hill, and Stonebut this is flexible:a fairy without darkvision gains more from the stone rune and should take it earlier. Meanwhile, a deep dwarf will already have the poison resistance provided by the hill rune.
Best Feats For A Rune Knight Fighter
Fighters get more feats than any other class, but how to use these is a broadly personal decision. Investing in feats that consolidate a specific fighting style or other niche is a strong choice, but you may also use these to expand your ability scores and pick up talents that make your fighter unique.
Application
Shield Master
Allows you to negate damage from explosions instead of halving it on a successful save.
you may add your shield’s AC to your dexterity saving throws.
You can shove as a bonus action after attacking.
A staple for fighters looking towards a defensive style. A rune knight with a shield can take on a very different appearance when fitted with a heavy shield.
When buffed up to their maximum size of gargantuan, a rune knight’s shield goes from a defensive tool to an object of terrain that enemies will need to climb over (the enlarge spell normally ends on a carried object that is dropped, but this clause is not present in the Giant’s Might ability).
It is at your DM’s discretion whether your tower shield-wielding rune knightprovides full cover and blocks line of sight to people standing behind them.
Skill Expert
Grants one skill proficiency, one ability score point and one expertise.
A size difference grants advantage when attempting to grapple.Rune Knights can reliably count on being the bigger combatant, butexpertise in athletics makes this even more pronounced when it comes to pinning people under their weight.
Sentinel
Youropportunity attacks ignore disengage actions and root a targetin place when they hit.
you’re able to make opportunity attacks against a creature who attacks a target other than you while standing in reach.
Rune knights want to control a large area with their greater than-normal presence. Sentinel allows them to do this better bygiving them tools to restrict the movement of other people.An huge rune knight defends an area 15 feet wide, with sentinel allowing them tostop attempts to tumble or dive past them.
Skilled
Gain proficiency in any three skills or tools.
This normally forgettable feat can beused in combination with the Fire Rune’s ability to double your proficiency on tool checks. This can turn your fighter into a master craftsperson across several fields, providing a tremendous amount of utility.
Thieve’s tools and smith’s tools are sensible choices,but you could also make use of the Rune Knight’s impressive constitution (and resulting lung capacity) to be one of the world’s greatest glassblowers.
