Cavalier

The Cavalier is the archetypal mounted warrior — a figure of iron discipline and unwavering loyalty who holds the line while others break. Whether riding into battle on horseback or fighting on foot with the same commanding presence, Cavaliers specialize in protecting their allies and controlling territory through force of will and martial authority.

Many Cavaliers are knights sworn to a lord or cause, but the archetype is just as likely to appear as a plains nomad, a mercenary lancer, or a self-trained guardian who learned that protecting others is its own form of power.

Cavalier Table:

Level	Subclass Features Gained
3rd	Bonus Proficiency, Born to the Saddle, Unwavering Mark
7th	Warding Maneuver
10th	Hold the Line
15th	Ferocious Charge
18th	Vigilant Defender

Subclass Features

Bonus Proficiency

3rd-level Cavalier feature

You gain proficiency in one of the following skills of your choice: Animal Handling, History, Insight, Performance, or Persuasion.

Born to the Saddle

3rd-level Cavalier feature

Your mastery as a rider becomes instinct. You have advantage on saving throws made to avoid falling off your mount. If you fall off your mount and descend no more than 10 feet, you can land on your feet if you aren't incapacitated. Finally, mounting or dismounting a creature costs you only 5 feet of movement, rather than half your speed.

Unwavering Mark

3rd-level Cavalier feature

When you hit a creature with a melee weapon attack, you can mark that creature until the end of your next turn. While marked, the creature has disadvantage on any attack roll that doesn't target you.

If a marked creature makes an attack that doesn't include you as a target, you can make a special melee weapon attack against it as a bonus action on your next turn. You add a bonus to the damage roll of this attack equal to half your fighter level (rounded up).

Regardless of the number of creatures you mark, you can make this special attack no more than once per turn.

Warding Maneuver

7th-level Cavalier feature

When you or a creature you can see within 5 feet of you is hit by an attack, you can roll \(1d8\) as a reaction if you're wielding a melee weapon or a shield. On a roll of 4 or higher, the attack misses the target instead.

You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Constitution modifier (minimum of once), and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Hold the Line

10th-level Cavalier feature

Creatures provoke an opportunity attack from you when they move 5 feet or more while within your reach. If you hit a creature with an opportunity attack, the target's speed is reduced to 0 until the end of the current turn.

Ferocious Charge

15th-level Cavalier feature

If you move at least 10 feet in a straight line before making a melee weapon attack with advantage on the attack roll, you can forgo the advantage to knock the target prone if the attack hits and the target is Large or smaller. You can't use this feature if anything in your path impedes your movement.

Vigilant Defender

18th-level Cavalier feature

You respond to danger with extraordinary vigilance. In combat, you get a special reaction that you can take once on every creature's turn, except your turn. You can use this special reaction only to make an opportunity attack, and you can't use it on the same turn that you take your normal reaction.