Identity
Combat Engineers are the sappers and pioneers of the spacefaring tier: the soldiers who arrive ahead of the line, weld the breach plate to the truck cab by lamplight, drop the bridge across the trench, and rig the building behind them to come down if the retreat goes badly. Iconic on Halcyion Federation forward-deployment teams, in Aurelion sun-cavalry siege detachments, and in every frontier militia that has ever had to defend a ridge with what was in the back of the truck. Their Apparatus is heavier than most Engineers'; their channel work is short, brutal, and structural.
Features
- L3 Field Fortification
You gain proficiency with martial weapons. As an action, you can spend 1 Charge to construct a 10 ft × 10 ft × 5 ft barrier of welded plate, prefab paneling, or compacted debris at a point within 30 ft. The barrier has AC 15, HP equal to 5 × your Engineer level, and provides three-quarters cover to creatures behind it. It persists for 10 minutes or until destroyed, and you can have a number of Field Fortifications deployed simultaneously equal to your INT modifier (minimum 1). Additionally, your Apparatus counts as a smith's tools and tinker's kit for the purpose of construction, repair, and demolition work.
- L7 Sentry Turret
As an action and 2 Charges, you can deploy a Sentry Turret within 15 ft of you. The Turret has AC 14, HP equal to 3 × your Engineer level, a single ranged attack action you can direct with a bonus action (using your channel attack modifier, dealing 1d10 + your INT modifier ballistic or energy damage at Near range — your choice at deployment), and an alert sensor that grants you advantage on initiative if the Turret is deployed within 60 ft when combat begins. The Turret persists for 10 minutes, until destroyed, or until you deploy another. This feature works in concert with the class-level Combat Engineering feature (14th); when both are active, you may direct each independently.
- L11 Demolitions Doctrine
You can craft Tier II–IV explosive charges during a short or long rest, using 25 cr of components per charge to a maximum number equal to your proficiency bonus. Each charge can be thrown to Close range or placed as an action; it detonates when commanded (bonus action), on a timer, or on a trigger you set. A charge fills a 15-ft-radius sphere; each creature in the area makes a Dexterity saving throw against your channel save DC, taking 4d6 explosive damage on a failure, half on a success. Structures and barriers in the area take maximum damage. You can have charges in storage indefinitely; unused charges decompose safely within 30 days.
- L15 Bunkered In
Once per long rest, as an action, you can deploy a Field Bunker centered on a point you can see within 30 ft. The Bunker is a 20 ft × 20 ft × 10 ft fortified emplacement of welded plate, sensor screens, and pre-routed power conduits. It has AC 17, HP equal to 10 × your Engineer level, three-quarters cover for creatures inside, and provides total cover from one direction of your choice. While you or an ally is inside the Bunker, the occupant has advantage on Constitution saving throws and resistance to explosive damage. The Bunker persists for 1 hour or until reduced to 0 HP.
- L18 Siege Master
Your structural channels reshape the battlefield. The deployment time for all your Combat Engineer features (Field Fortification, Sentry Turret, Field Bunker) is reduced to a bonus action. Your Sentry Turrets gain a second attack each round (still directed with a single bonus action), and the damage of your demolitions charges is doubled against fixed structures, vehicles, and constructs. Once per long rest, when you would be reduced to 0 HP, you instead drop to 1 HP and immediately deploy a Field Bunker centered on yourself at no Charge cost; the Bunker stands until you take a long rest.