Comments from the Designer: “Is this a Starfox reference?” I plead the fifth. And the second. I mean, it COULD be a reference to Harlock or Cowboy Bebop, if you prefer.
Star Wolf Banner
Whether they lead a company of Grax’s Guys, a band of Coalition mercenaries, or an independent crew of space pirates, captains who emblazon their ships with the icon of the Star Wolf seek fame and fortune amongst the stars. Their hallmarks are daring gunplay and swift starship maneuvers that always keep them a hair ahead of their foes.
Daring Deeds
Starting when you choose this banner at 3rd level, you master a smattering of bold gunplay. You learn the Covering Fire and Dodge Roll deeds from the gunslinger class. These deeds count as maneuvers for you and use battle dice instead of risk dice. If you already have the gunslinger’s Risk feature, you can use your battle dice instead of risk dice for any of the class’s deeds.
Sidebar: Gunslinger Deeds
The Star Wolf Banner gains the following deeds from the gunslinger class:
Covering Fire
When you hit a creature with a ranged weapon attack, you can expend one battle die as a bonus action to cow the creature. Roll the battle die and subtract it from the next attack roll the creature makes before the start of your next turn.
Dodge Roll
You can expend one battle die as a bonus action to move up to 15 feet. This movement doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks, ignores difficult terrain, and allows you to move through a hostile creature’s space, as long as you don’t end your movement there.
Squadron Leader
Starting at 7th level, when you are piloting a ship* accompanied by other friendly ships within 10,000 feet, you and the other ships can adopt a formation while flying. This confers the following benefits to all the ships flying in formation:
- Whenever you take an action to move your ship or perform evasive maneuvers, the pilots of each other ship can move in the same direction and take the same action as a reaction.
- The pilots of each ship have advantage on initiative rolls.
- Each ship in the formation has a +2 bonus to Armor Class.
Ships remain in this formation as long as they remain within 10,000 feet of you and take only the same actions to move or perform evasive maneuvers.
Tactical Reposition
At 13th level, you can use the Blitz feature to direct up to 4 friendly creatures (including your cohort) within 60 feet of you that can see or hear you to reposition. Each creature can use its reaction to move up to its speed, fall prone, or stand up from being prone. If the creatures in this group can see you, they don’t need to hear you in order to follow this command.
No One Left Behind
Starting at 17th level, you can ensure that your allies survive your worst battles. When your cohort or a friendly creature you can see within 60 feet of you drops to 0 hit points and begins making death saving throws, you can use your reaction to spend a battle die. The creature instead drops to a number of hit points equal to the roll of the battle die. Until the end of the creature’s next turn, it doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks and has advantage on saving throws.
A creature targeted by this feature can’t be affected by it again until it finishes a short or long rest.
*Rules for ship combat are available in Dark Matter, the sci-fi expansion for 5th edition.
