Champion 5e fighter subclass

The fighter at its simplest: more critical hits, a second fighting style and a body that heals itself.

Jump to: Features by level · Playing the Champion · 2014 features · What changed in 2024 · 2024 features · Common questions

Champion at a glance

Class: Fighter
Subclass type: Martial Archetype, chosen at 3rd level
2024 rules: Same name, revised in the SRD 5.2
Key abilities: Strength or Dexterity, then Constitution
Source: System Reference Document 5.1 and 5.2 (Player’s Handbook 2014 and 2024)

The fighter class page has the class features this subclass builds on.

Champion features by level

The fighter subclass features you gain at each fighter level, in the 2014 rules and the 2024 rules. Each one links to its full text below.

Level	2014 rules (SRD 5.1)	2024 rules (SRD 5.2)
3	Improved Critical	Improved Critical, Remarkable Athlete
7	Remarkable Athlete	Additional Fighting Style
10	Additional Fighting Style	Heroic Warrior
15	Superior Critical	Superior Critical
18	Survivor	Survivor

Who the Champion suits

The Champion is the easiest subclass in the game to play well. It has no resources to spend and no options to choose between in combat: its features just make your attacks land harder and keep you alive. That makes it ideal for new players, for anyone who wants to focus on the story, or for a long campaign where a steady fighter is welcome.

Experienced players sometimes find it plain. If you want choices on every turn, other fighter subclasses give you more to do; if you want to roll dice and hit things, the Champion is hard to beat.

How the Champion plays

Improved Critical, at 3rd level, makes your weapon attacks score a critical hit on a 19 or 20. That doubles your chance of a crit from 5% to 10% per attack, and Superior Critical at 15th level raises it to 15% (18, 19 or 20). With the fighter’s Extra Attack, a 15th-level Champion making three attacks a turn scores at least one crit on about 39% of turns.

2014 rules. Remarkable Athlete (7th) adds half your proficiency bonus, rounded up, to Strength, Dexterity and Constitution checks you aren’t proficient in, and lengthens your running long jump. At 10th level you choose a second Fighting Style, and Survivor (18th) heals you 5 + your Constitution modifier at the start of each turn while you’re at half hit points or less (but above 0).

2024 rules. Remarkable Athlete moves to level 3 and changes: advantage on Initiative rolls and Strength (Athletics) checks, and after a critical hit you can move half your Speed without provoking opportunity attacks. The extra Fighting Style comes at level 7, and the new Heroic Warrior (level 10) gives you Heroic Inspiration at the start of each of your turns in combat if you don’t have it, a reroll you can use every turn. Survivor adds Defy Death: advantage on death saving throws, and a roll of 18 to 20 counts as a 20.

Ability scores for a Champion

Pick Strength or Dexterity for your attacks, then Constitution for hit points and for Survivor. A Strength Champion in heavy armor can leave Dexterity low; a Dexterity Champion with a bow or rapier wants Dexterity first and can ignore Strength.

With the standard array: Strength 15, Constitution 14, Dexterity 13, Wisdom 12, Charisma 10, Intelligence 8, or swap Strength and Dexterity for an archer. The point buy calculator shows other options.

Spells and feats to pair with it

The Champion casts no spells. Fighters get more feats than any other class (at 4th, 6th, 8th, 12th, 14th, 16th and 19th level), so your feats do most of the work. In 2014, Great Weapon Master or Sharpshooter adds big damage, and Polearm Master or Crossbow Expert adds an attack. A bonus attack also means another chance to crit.

In the 2024 rules, the Savage Attacker origin feat rerolls weapon damage once per turn, and your Fighting Style feats from the SRD are Archery, Defense, Great Weapon Fighting and Two-Weapon Fighting. Weapons with big damage dice, like the greatsword or greataxe, get the most out of extra critical hits because a crit doubles the dice.

Champion features (2014 rules, SRD 5.1)

The archetypal Champion focuses on the development of raw physical power honed to deadly perfection. Those who model themselves on this archetype combine rigorous training with physical excellence to deal devastating blows.

Improved Critical

3rd level

Beginning when you choose this archetype at 3rd level, your weapon attacks score a critical hit on a roll of 19 or 20.

Remarkable Athlete

7th level

Starting at 7th level, you can add half your proficiency bonus (round up) to any Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution check you make that doesn't already use your proficiency bonus. In addition, when you make a running long jump, the distance you can cover increases by a number of feet equal to your Strength modifier.

Additional Fighting Style

10th level

At 10th level, you can choose a second option from the Fighting Style class feature.

Superior Critical

15th level

Starting at 15th level, your weapon attacks score a critical hit on a roll of 18–20.

Survivor

18th level

At 18th level, you attain the pinnacle of resilience in battle. At the start of each of your turns, you regain hit points equal to 5 + your Constitution modifier if you have no more than half of your hit points left. You don't gain this benefit if you have 0 hit points.

What changed in 2024

The 2024 Player’s Handbook revised the Champion, and the System Reference Document 5.2 has the new version. The biggest differences in play:

Remarkable Athlete moves to level 3 and gives advantage on Initiative and Athletics checks, plus a free half move after a critical hit, instead of a bonus to unproficient checks.
The second Fighting Style comes at level 7, and a new level 10 feature, Heroic Warrior, hands you Heroic Inspiration on every turn of combat.
Improved and Superior Critical now work with Unarmed Strikes too, and Survivor adds advantage on death saving throws.

Feature by feature

New features: Heroic Warrior (level 10).
Moved: Remarkable Athlete, 7th level → level 3; Additional Fighting Style, 10th level → level 7.

Champion features in the 2024 rules (SRD 5.2)

Pursue Physical Excellence in Combat

A Champion focuses on the development of martial prowess in a relentless pursuit of victory. Champions combine rigorous training with physical excellence to deal devastating blows, withstand peril, and garner glory. Whether in athletic contests or bloody battle, Champions strive for the crown of the victor.

Level 3: Improved Critical

Your attack rolls with weapons and Unarmed Strikes can score a Critical Hit on a roll of 19 or 20 on the d20.

Level 3: Remarkable Athlete

Thanks to your athleticism, you have Advantage on Initiative rolls and Strength (Athletics) checks.

In addition, immediately after you score a Critical Hit, you can move up to half your Speed without provoking Opportunity Attacks.

Level 7: Additional Fighting Style

You gain another Fighting Style feat of your choice.

Level 10: Heroic Warrior

The thrill of battle drives you toward victory. During combat, you can give yourself Heroic Inspiration whenever you start your turn without it.

Level 15: Superior Critical

Your attack rolls with weapons and Unarmed Strikes can now score a Critical Hit on a roll of 18–20 on the d20.

Level 18: Survivor

You attain the pinnacle of resilience in battle, giving you these benefits.

Defy Death. You have Advantage on Death Saving Throws. Moreover, when you roll 18–20 on a Death Saving Throw, you gain the benefit of rolling a 20 on it.

Heroic Rally. At the start of each of your turns, you regain Hit Points equal to 5 plus your Constitution modifier if you are Bloodied and have at least 1 Hit Point.

Common questions

What is the chance of a critical hit for a Champion?

10% per attack roll with Improved Critical (19 or 20) and 15% with Superior Critical (18 to 20), against 5% for other characters. Advantage roughly doubles those odds again.

Does Improved Critical work with spells?

No. In the 2014 rules it applies to weapon attacks; in the 2024 rules to attack rolls with weapons and Unarmed Strikes.

What does Heroic Warrior do?

From level 10 in the 2024 rules, during combat you give yourself Heroic Inspiration whenever you start your turn without it. Heroic Inspiration lets you reroll any die once, so you get a reroll every turn.

How does Survivor work?

At the start of each of your turns you regain hit points equal to 5 + your Constitution modifier if you have no more than half your hit points left (in 2024, if you’re Bloodied) and at least 1 hit point.

When does a fighter choose the Champion?

At 3rd level in both editions. Its other features come at 7th, 10th, 15th and 18th level (2024: levels 3, 7, 10, 15 and 18).

The Champion compared with other options

Page	How it compares
Fighter class	Action Surge, Second Wind, Extra Attack and the extra feats the Champion builds on.
Path of the Berserker	The barbarian’s simple damage path: rage and extra attacks instead of critical hits.
Hunter	A ranger who adds spells and extra damage dice to a fighter-like weapon style.
Great Weapon Fighting	A 2024 fighting style feat that pairs well with the Champion’s bigger crits.

How to build a fighter with the Champion

Open the builder, choose the 2014 or 2024 rules on the first step, pick Fighter as your class, and choose the Champion as your martial archetype once your character is 3rd level. The builder works out everything the rules can: hit points, Armor Class, attack bonuses and saving throws.

Other SRD subclasses

Back to the Fighter class or all classes.