Fighter: Cavalier In Xanathar’s Guide To Everything September 27, 2017Zoltar So the cavalier appears\Nin Xanathar’s guide<br /> and it is a subclass\Ninspired by a character class<br /> that goes all the way\Nback to first edition D&D.<br /> The cavalier in first edition D&D appeared<br /> in the original book “Unearthed Arcana.”<br /> So, in a way, when we were doing<br /> our “Unearthed Arcana” series\Nof subclasses we thought<br /> “Well, of course, in a series<br /> named after the book, ‘Unearthed Arcana’<br /> we should have the cavalier in it.”<br /> Although, we didn’t end\Nup including the acrobat<br /> which was another option in that book.<br /> So, the cavalier is in many ways<br /> the classic knight in shining armor<br /> with the added twist of being outstanding<br /> at horse back riding.<br /> Now, many people might think<br /> “Well, the game already has<br /> the classic knight in shining armor,<br /> and that’s the paladin.”<br /> The big difference between\Nthe cavalier and the paladin<br /> is that the paladin is a holy warrior<br /> usually dedicated, if\Nnot to a particular god,<br /> to a cause of some kind, to\Na great concept like justice.<br /> Whereas, the cavalier is\Na non-magical warrior.<br /> One who can be just as\Nhonorable as a paladin<br /> but who might be driven by allegiance<br /> to a particular monarch,\Na particular kingdom,<br /> to the cavalier’s family,\Na particular town.<br /> So, it has, in a way, more\Na grounded earthy feel<br /> than the paladin, who again<br /> is often this figure associated\Nwith these high ideals<br /> and divine magic.<br /> So, we actually showed\Noff more than one version<br /> of the cavalier in our\N”Unearthed Arcana” series.<br /> Both version actually got\Nkindof a mixed reception,<br /> to be honest, from fans good enough<br /> to make it into the book.<br /> But, each time the score,\Nthe satisfaction score<br /> was just on the line\Nenough that we kept saying,<br /> “Okay, we’ve got to do more work.”<br /> And really, the dissatisfaction\Ncame down to the fact<br /> that the cavalier relying on\Nthe use of superiority dice<br /> which is a mechanic that we borrowed<br /> from the “Battle Master” one\Nof the fighter subclasses<br /> in the player’s handbook.<br /> Now, we thought people might be interested<br /> in seeing this mechanic\Npropagated elsewhere.<br /> But, instead, often\Nthe feedback we got was<br /> “No, that’s the Battle Master’s.<br /> We don’t want to see it in\Nother fighter subclasses.<br /> We want to see them do their own thing.”<br /> Feedback on the cavalier also at times<br /> was very anxious about the\Nrole of the cavalier’s mount<br /> because, as cool as it\Nis to be on horseback,<br /> or dragonback or griffinback,<br /> or whatever it is that\Nyou are riding in D&D<br /> people know that often, if\Nyou go into a tight cave<br /> or a dungeon that mount is not\Na whole lot of good to you.<br /> And, so it then becomes\Nproblematic if too much<br /> of your class features rely\Non your mount being present<br /> because you could potentially wander<br /> into a particular environment<br /> and feel like “poof”, half\Nyour character’s abilities<br /> just got turned off.<br /> We wanted to make sure\Nthat in the final version<br /> of the cavalier, the version that appears<br /> in the “Xanathar’s Guide”\Nwe address those concerns.<br /> So, in the version that’s in the book<br /> is actually quite\Ndifferent from any version<br /> that people saw in the\N”Unearthed Arcana” series.<br /> What we ended up doing\Nis, we took the parts<br /> that people liked best about the cavalier.<br /> Then, we looked at some\Nof the other subclasses<br /> we really released on the\N”Unearthed Arcana” series<br /> for the fighter, and that was the knight.<br /> And the knight and the\Ncavalier were super close<br /> to each other in terms of story.<br /> And again, story is our\Nstarting point with design<br /> for our subclasses.<br /> And we know as we were thinking<br /> about what was going to\Nmake it into this book<br /> very unlikely that both the cavalier<br /> and the knight were going to make it in.<br /> And, in fact, their\Nscores were really close<br /> and the cavalier just\Nedged out the knight.<br /> And that’s why the cavalier\Nended up being the one<br /> that went in.<br /> I have a feeling the\Ncavalier edged out the knight<br /> partly because of the nostalgia<br /> some people have for the name.<br /> You know, it goes all the way\Nback to the first edition.<br /> It’s also a name that appears<br /> in the “Dungeon’s and Dragons” cartoon.<br /> Granted, for probably the\Nmost unlikable character<br /> in the show.<br /> (laughs)<br /> – [Todd] It was like\Neveryone’s least favorite.<br /> Or at least he should be.<br /> – The strange cavalier who does\Nnot have any kind of weapon<br /> and also does not a mount.<br /> – [Todd] Yeah.<br /> (laughs)<br /> – Poor Eric.<br /> – [Todd] It’s a rough role to play.<br /> – What we ended up doing\Nfor the final version<br /> is we went to the knight\Nand looked at the features<br /> that people like the\Nbest there, took those,<br /> took the best features of the cavalier<br /> and wove them together into essentially<br /> a brand new subclass.<br /> And really, the theme of this subclass<br /> and this is something that came up<br /> in both the cavalier and the knight<br /> in their previous designs\Nis that they are all<br /> about protecting others.<br /> Because, again, these are knights.<br /> Even if they are not, even\Nif a particular cavalier<br /> isn’t a paragon of good,<br /> the cavalier is going to be\Nabout protecting property,<br /> people, something.<br /> And so, the cavalier has class features<br /> that are about protecting\Nthose around him or her.<br /> And then we also have a few\Nfeatures related to the mount,<br /> but we made sure that the mount is always,<br /> sort of like, a little extra.<br /> For most of the features\Nthe mount is not required.<br /> But the cavalier will always be happy<br /> when the mount gets to shine.<br /> But, in a way, the mount\Nis kind of frosting.<br /> And also, it is important to us<br /> that the cavalier has\Nan identity of its own.<br /> That’s not reliant on this\Nother creature being present.<br /> Because even in history\Nwhere we had cavaliers<br /> there was so much more\Nthan horse-back riders.<br /> I mean, they were knights<br /> with many other responsibilities\Nand martial abilities.<br /> Although, we do point\Nout in the book and this<br /> was something we pointed in\N”Unearthed Arcana” as well<br /> that the cavalier is not meant<br /> to be an accurate portrayal\Nof cavaliers in history.<br /> And that’s true for anything in D&D.<br /> D&D is often filled with\Nthings that were inspired<br /> by things from real world history,<br /> myths from different human cultures,<br /> and D&D always sort of takes\Nthem and transform them,<br /> and often turns them\Ninto an archetypal form<br /> that feels natural in high fantasy.<br /> And that’s really what\Nwe’ve done with the cavalier<br /> who is now this mighty protector,<br /> awesome at holding the line\Nand locking people down<br /> who try to run away.<br /> Really great at charging into battle<br /> whether on foot or on horseback<br /> and doing mighty initial strikes.<br /> I think people are going to enjoy<br /> what emerged from the\Nkind of revision process<br /> that we went through over\Nthose multiple versions<br /> that appeared in “Unearthed Arcana”<br /> and then culminating in the version<br /> that appears in the book.<br /> – The cavalier is part of\N”Xanathar’s Guide to Everything”.<br /> You can purchase that\Nbook on dndbeyond.com<br /> in the link provided in\Nthis video description.<br /> I’m Todd Kenreck.<br /> Thanks for watching. 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