Surrounded on all sides by forces of Shadow, a human woman carrying the emblazoned standard of her order shouts orders to her faltering allies. Rallying to her banner, they manage to form into a shield wall just as the next wave of enemies crash into them.
Walking through a field hospital, an exhausted half-elven man kneels down at each gurney, giving comfort to the wounded who lie there. He binds their wounds as best he can, although he knows not all of them will survive the night.
The dragon roars, and most of the men take off running. Only the halfling girl stands firm against the terrifying monster looming far above her. Mustering her full strength, she lets out a battle cry which carries over the noise and clamor, inspiring those who fled to take up their arms again.
The Corpsman
The corpsman can fulfil many archetypes. Perhaps they are a battlefield musician, beating their drum to drown out the sounds of battle. Maybe they are a commander who gives orders from the front lines, or a battlefield medic who helps those wounded in battle, without regard for which side they fought on.
Any party of adventurers would be happy to have a corpsman among them.
The Corpsman is a trained battle medic. Most do not carry weapons into combat, relying on others to do the actual fighting. They are highly respected among the soldiers, as they control life and death on the battlefield. Corpsmen are fixed-points on the battlefield, sometimes in a position of command.
When the fighting is done, they care for the wounded and fallen. It is not unheard of after a large battle to have corpsmen from both sides work next to each other to save as many wounded as possible.
Level 3: Motivating Words
When a creature expends your Bardic Inspiration, they also gain temporary hit points equal to your Bard level plus the number rolled on the die.
Level 3: Combat Medicine
You gain proficiency in the Medicine skill and you can use your Charisma modifier instead of Wisdom for Medicine checks. You also gain proficiency with the herbalism kit, and you can use it or a healer's kit as a spellcasting focus for your Bard spells.
In addition, you gain proficiency with medium armor and shields.
Level 6: Heroic Presence
When you use Motivating Words, you can grant one of the following options instead of giving temporary hit points:
- End a spell effect on the target (of a level up to half the number rolled on your inspiration die, rounded up).
- Cure the target of a poison or disease that ails them.
Additionally, allies within 30 feet of you have advantage on death saving throws.
Level 14: Skirmish Cover
You have learned to weave in and out of combat under cover of your allies. If one of your allies is within melee range of a creature that attacks you or forces you to make a saving throw, you can use your reaction to give that attack disadvantage, or gain advantage on the saving throw.