Bonus: DM & Player Tips

This section here - while also useful for players who have questions for how certain features work - is mostly meant to be read by DMs who have players that want to play this class. The following paragraphs will give a few explanations about the class' weaknesses, while also clearing up any confusion regarding certain class features and how they work. Further questions can be PM'd to me at u/VoyeurTheNinja on Reddit.

Multiclassing-Worries One worry I always had with this class was paladin or bard PCs taking a dip into the masked hero to gain that feature of being able to use your Charisma for your attack/damage rolls. Up until this final release, this class more or less had the Hex Warrior feature from the Warlock subclass, Hexblade, as a way of emulating a transforming hero's ability to fight without needing any sort of physical strength. In this final release, that feature has been moved into Masked Transformation, and not only that, but using Masked Transformation forces one's AC to be based off the following formula: AC = 13 + your Wisdom modifier. Previously, it allowed you to keep the AC you had before you transformed, but it has been removed so paladins/bards can't access that Hex Warrior-esque feature without sacrificing their Armor Class in return. In addition, the class has a 13 Wisdom requirement, a stat that a paladin/bard isn't keen on having.

Deflective Strike For the DM, a masked hero constantly using Deflective Strike may be frustrating, but it's the equivalent of a paladin's Divine Smite, where it's supposed to play a key-role in battle, but extensive use of it drains a masked hero's effectiveness fast. A good way of wearing down a masked hero PC is fielding multiple enemies with weak attacks, as a masked hero works best when there are a small amount enemies that focus on dealing high damage. Emphasize death by a thousand cuts. You can also make use of lighting to nullify this feature, as they require a line of sight for an ally that they are saving. Or you can just toss in enemy creatures with saving throw abilities instead of ones that rely on attack rolls. If you want, you can bait a masked hero to teleport next to a creature that they think they are protecting, only for a spellcaster to toss in a nasty area-of-effect spell at the two PCs that are now tightly packed together. Unlike the characters that this class is based on, explosions are not harmless to these costumed heroes.

Encounter-Balancing If you want a reference on how you should treat a masked hero in terms of balance, they are more closer to a paladin than anything else. While Masked Transformation - and later on, Deflective Strike - are based off short rests, a masked hero is a half-caster first and foremost, working best when spell slots are readily available. Without their resources, a masked hero is just a fighter with a worse hit die and without heavy armor proficiency. Once Masked Transformation wears off, their damage output also drops drastically, as they lose their ability to use their Charisma for their weapons, and their Armor Class drops unless they have medium armor and a shield on them.

Using Deflective Strike two times in-between one's turns? As Deflective Strike is based on rounds, it is possible to do this depending on the position of several enemies in the initiative ladder. This is one way for a 5th level masked hero to deflect two attacks while only taking away Extra Attack on one upcoming turn. Even if you had used it twice in-between turns, it still only takes away one attack no matter what. At the same time, several of the subclasses rely on using your reaction in order to access features tied into Deflective Strike. Thus, while a hero of Retribution is allowed to use Deflective Strike twice in-between turns, that PC is only able to use Judgement Blade once, as you can only get back your reaction on the start of your next turn. Even heroes of Preservation/Salvation are affected by this, as they can only store one resource on them before they can expend said resource for a Aegis Rune/Soul Charge on their next turn as a bonus action. Lastly, a masked hero's usage of Deflective Strike is limited, even after 5th level, so using it recklessly can prove fatal in later encounters.

Can multiple masked heroes use Deflective Strike on one creature? No. To quote a few sentences, "- you must make this special attack before the triggering attack deals any damage," as well as, "Otherwise, the triggering attack instantly deals damage to you instead of the friendly creature." The first masked hero to declare Deflective Strike gets to use it on himself - or the creature he is protecting - but the moment he or she succeeds/fails on their attack roll, the triggering attack instantly deals damage to them. This is to prevent any other masked hero from attempting to deflect that attack and create a domino effect of sorts.

Using spell slots for a subclass' features wihout a bonded device? If a masked hero doesn't have a bonded device, their spells known will be locked to them until they can get one. On the other hand, they can still very much expend their spell slots for their subclass features like Judgement Blade, as they are not tied to spellcasting, merely using similar resources. Only subclasses like the Decree of Conviction require the presence of a bonded device for some features to be used, as they specifically point out the need for one in certain features.

Do the effects of Extra Attack (3) and Limit-Break stack? No. Extra-Attack lets you attack three times as an action on your turn, while Limit-Break lets you attack three times with a heroic armament as an action on your turn. Similar to having levels in classes with Extra Attack, their effects do not let you attack additional times.