The one I miss most is the avenger class.
WotC tried to fit it into 5th edition.
The Paladin's Oath of Vengeance was their attempt to cram the avenger into 5e. It's better than nothing, but it was still built upon the base paladin class. It's a good option to play as, but it just doesn't FEEL like 4e's avenger.
And then Xanathar's Guide to Everything came out, I read through it, and I realized that it was finally possible (with some reflavoring) to have a proper avenger in 5e.
It's... Stay with me... The Hexblade Warlock.
Don't give me that look. It takes a bit of reflavoring, as I said, but it fits better than trying to paint a paladin as one. So, here we go:
Avenger in 5e!
Step one: Warlock core class
Not everyone has played 4e, so lets start with a quick rundown on the avenger: Avengers are Divine Strikers. Divine meaning they are powered by the gods and Strikers being characters that focused on dealing damage. These descriptors came together to create what was something of a holy rogue, who would hunt and destroy their deity's enemies. Imagine a paladin, minus the armor, healing, and protection, leaving behind just the oaths and smites.
There is more to it than that, so maybe I will write another post later, to describe how avengers would fit in more with the 5e aesthetic. But for now, lets focus on the reflavoring!
- Patron - Your avenger serves a god, cause, or ideal, and receives power from that.
- Pact Magic - Oath Magic, derived from your unwavering devotion to your cause. You are able to cast your magic using an arcane focus due to it sometimes being necessary to hide who you serve.
- Warlock spells - Avenger spells (obviously)
- Eldritch Invocations - Divine Gifts, what few things the hexblade doesn't provide to make a near perfect avenger, the invocations fill in a few.
- Pact Boons - Divine Boon, gifts bestowed upon the avenger to aid them in their task: A weapon, a guide/companion, or a book of secret magics.
- Mystic Arcanum - Mystic Invocations
- Eldritch Master - Divinely Favored
Step two: Hexblade abilities
Now we get into the interesting stuff that really makes it fit with avenger, in my opinion. The hexblade's curse makes a perfect Oath of Enmity,
- Hexblade's Curse - Oath of Enmity: Instead of cursing your foe, you swear an oath to destroy them, so strong are your words that your attacks become stronger, you become more likely to deal devastating blows, and even your wounds are healed when you fulfill your oath.
- Hex Warrior - Faith Warrior: You trained at a temple devoted to your god/cause/ideal to fight. As such you became proficient at battling in stronger armor and with more weapons. You also gain the ability to use more than just your physical abilities to attack.
- Accursed Specter - Accursed Specter: As you slay your foe, you bind its soul to temporary service of your deity/cause/ideal. Maybe with a cool catch phrase, "You serve my god now." (this ability doesn't really fit with the 4e avenger, but I think it is still really cool.)
- Armor of Hexes - Armor of the Oathbound: Those you have sworn an oath to destroy have a more difficult time hitting you. (I'm sure some of you would have expected this to be "Armor of Faith", but I felt that name fit better elsewhere.)
- Master of Hexes - Oath Master: When you defeat an enemy, instead of healing your wounds, you can instead swear a new oath of enmity on another foe.
Step three: Pact Boons/Divine Boons
While it seems obvious that a warlock reflavored into an avenger would take Pact of the Blade, I think it would be silly to rule out the other options.
- Pact of the Chain - Divine Companion: Even the lone hunter can use a companion. With this Divine Boon, the avenger is gifted a magical companion to guide them along their path, assist them in battle, and give them a compatriot when nobody else understands them and their mission. While some would only want to use an imp or quasit with avengers serving evil gods, I like the idea of an avenger who used a questionable ritual to bind an enemy to their service, in this case it's already what they can do with Accursed Specter. If you don't want your avenger to have a fiendish companion, maybe they could just have an animal familiar or if they serve a dragon god, a psudodragon would be appropriate.
- Pact of the Blade - Divine Weapon: Your avenger is granted the ability to summon a divine weapon. Honestly, this is what most avengers will choose, as it fits with the avenger's hunt and destroy mentality.
- Pact of the Tome - Divine Knowledge: You are granted a book of prayers that gives you the ability to cast magic that may have been lost or is forbidden to members of the church. This option would be good for the more studious or magic focused avenger, granting them more cantrips and ritual spells.
Step four: Warlock Invocations/Divine Gifts
Some of the Warlock Invocations are actually perfect for the avenger, mimicking abilities from the 4e version and filling out some of the abilities. I don't think that all of them need new names, but these are the ones that I felt would fit avenger best.
- Armor of shadows - Armor of Faith: Here is the one that fits better with the 4e avenger's Armor of Faith ability, especially since it can be gotten at a much earlier level and protects you from every attack, not just those from your oath of enmity target. It's not as versatile as the 4e version, as it only works on those with no armor, but I think it should work fine.
- Improved Pact Weapon - Improved Divine Weapon: Woo! A blessing to your attacks! It's not really that avengery, but it's one that is likely to be picked, so I thought I'd give it a rename.
- Thirsting Blade - Thirsting Blade: I honestly couldn't think of an alternate name for this one, but I don't really think it needs one.
- Eldritch Smite - Divine Smite: I kind of felt obligated to include this one on the list, though I might just be happy with the smite spells... Might want to have a slightly different name for this one if there is a paladin in the party though, maybe "Oath smite"?
- Maddening Hex - Shared Madness: I was pleasantly surprised to find that there is not one, but two 4e avenger powers that are similar to this invocation. Shared Madness's name even fit with it, so I had to add it in there.
- One With Shadows -One With Shadows: I think everyone wants to be able to turn invisible, right?
- Relentless Hex - Censure of Pursuit: This is the ability that made things click to realize how well this would setup would work as an avenger, as it is very similar to one of the 4e avenger's core class options.
- Whispers of the Grave - Whispers of the Grave: I like the idea of the hunter that can ask questions of the dead to find his quarry. It's not for everyone, I suppose.
- Shroud of Shadow - Shroud of Shadow: See One With Shadows.
- Witch Sight - Divine Sight: Seeing true forms of creatures would definitely come in handy for someone who hunts monsters.
Step five: Spells
Warlock spells have a distinct flavor to them, which don't necessarily fit with the flavor of the avenger. If you like you can rename and/or reflavor them, and maybe I'll do another post about it later if it seems like there is interest.
Wrap-up
I am excited to try this out, whenever I get a chance to actually play. I know it isn't a perfect match, especially with a focus on charisma instead of wisdom, but overall I think it is close enough. If you want to try it out, maybe surprise some of your fellow players, talk with your DM (make sure they know what's going on), and have fun with it!
