Libertad
Legend
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The sportspeople of Mexican wrestling have an entire mythos built around their personas, from masked identities that evoke various archetypes and gimmicks to horror films where they fight supernatural monsters. The author of this book, Josh Pacheco, sought a means to play a character in line with this but found little existing in the default 5th Edition. Enter the Luchador, a new martial class with emphasis on using a combination of unarmed combat techniques to impose various conditions and lock down enemies in combat.
They made an 11 minute YouTube video going over the class and various design decisions made. They more or less cover the bulk of the default class, only leaving the Signature Moves and subclasses relatively undetailed. I’ll still be summarizing the core class features here for ease of reference, as well as giving my own takes.
In the confines of the D&D universe, Luchadors are warriors whose masked personas embody their true selves. By relying on physical prowess and force of personality, they instill a developing mythos that can inspire or terrorize others. The significance and themes of masks vary wildly, from personifications of fearsome monsters and honored deities to folkloric ideals for others to strive up to.
The Luchador is an unarmored martial class, with a d10 Hit Die and proficiency in simple and improvised weapons as well as disguise kits for tools. They don’t have proficiency in armor or shields, and several of their class features require them to not be using such things in order to take advantage of their powers. In fact, their unarmored Armor Class adds their Strength and Charisma modifiers rather than using Dexterity, so Luchadors don’t have to worry about sacrificing said score in order to remain hard to hit. Their saves are Strength and Constitution and can choose any of the four Charisma skills plus Acrobatics, Athletics, or History as their two class skill choices. As three out of five subclasses grant proficiency in a Charisma skill, Luchadors make for good party faces. They don’t have to worry about trading off potential damage for grapples, for when they grapple a hostile creature they can make an unarmed or improvised weapon attack as a bonus action, and they use a d6 for unarmed and improvised attacks if the damage die would be lower.
The Luchador focuses heavily on melee along with shoves and grapples, and they learn Signature Moves that grant new and modified uses of related combat techniques. They have 4 Signature Moves at 1st level and learn more as they increase in level, and their subclasses can grant bonus ones of related themes. Moves require the expenditure of a resource known as Lucha Dice, d6s which are generated when the Luchador attacks or succeeds on a contested Strength (Athletics) check. A Luchador begins with one such die when initiative is rolled, and can gain more than one Lucha Dice in a single turn and there’s no maximum limit to the amount they can have. However, they lose all of their dice if they become incapacitated or if they don’t take the Attack action by the time their turn ends, so they’re encouraged to spend them if they have them.
There are 19 Signature Moves, 2 of which require being the Maskless subclass to take. 4 require 2 Lucha Dice to activate, 10 require 3, and 5 require 4. Lucha Dice are similar to a Battlemaster’s Superiority Dice in that they determine the total number of damage a Signature Move does plus the Luchador’s Strength modifier. This modifier is added once no matter how many dice are rolled. While some Moves are treated as an action all on their own, a lot of them trigger on top of an existing attack/grapple/shove with or without special contextual conditions, so a Luchador is capable of doing quite a bit of damage during their turn if they have the Lucha Dice to spare. 5 of the Moves have penalties to the Luchador if they fail, usually dealing damage and/or causing them to suffer the Condition instead.
Some of the more interesting moves include Arm Bar (4 Dice, activate when grappling a prone creature to restrain them, can continue expending Lucha Dice on subsequent turns to continue dealing damage to them while so grappled), Body Splash (2 Dice, if you jump and then attack a creature with an unarmed strike add the Dice to the damage and knock them prone if they fail a Strength save; if you miss the attack you take damage equal to the Lucha Dice instead), DDT (3 Dice, activate when shoving a standing creature prone, both of you are prone but target has disadvantage on Constitution checks until start of your next turn), Elbow Drop (2 Dice, activate when successfully attacking prone creature with unarmed strike, creature can’t speak until the start of its next turn), Full Nelson (4 Dice, activate on successful grapple, deal damage and restrain creature and caus ethem to be unable to use their hands and drop all objects while so grappled, can expend Dice on subsequent rounds to continue damaging them), Hurricanrana (3 Dice, activate during an attempt to grapple, adds Charisma instead of Strength to damage, pushes creature into adjacent square and knocks them prone, if you fail you are prone and take the damage), Leg Drop (2 Dice, like Elbow Drop but target has disadvantage on their next attack roll made until the start of your next turn), Plancha (3 Dice, activate when about to make an unarmed strike when moving at least 10 feet towards a target; on a hit damage and knock prone the target plus one adjacent creature, if you miss you fall prone and take the damage instead), and Whip (3 Dice, activate on successful shove for forced movement, move target 15 feet away, can damage another creature or object/surface if they are pushed into it, and if they pass adjacent to an ally that ally can make a melee attack against them as a reaction).
The Luchador’s higher level features further reinforce their fighting style and Charisma/social abilities. At 2nd level they learn Duro, which lets them spend a reaction and 1 Lucha Die to reduce damage from a melee attack equal to the die result plus half their class level. They also count as Large/Huge/Gargantuan size for grappling and shoving purposes at 2nd, 10th, and 17th level, have advantage on Strength checks against any creature smaller than them, and at 3rd level they can goad a foe via Smack Talk as a bonus action causing them to suffer disadvantage on attack rolls against targets besides the Luchador if they fail a Wisdom save. For more offensive features they gain Extra Attack at 5th level, and can spend their reaction for a free grapple or shove attempt when they succeed on a contested ability check or save to resist being grappled or shoved. At 6th level their unarmed and improvised weapons count as magical weapons, at 7th level they have advantage on Dexterity saves vs effects they can see and hear, add their Charisma to initiative, and start combat with 2 Lucha Dice instead of 1 (3 at 10th and 4 at 15th).
By Tier 3 we start getting some major game changers. High Flier simulates the crowd-pleasing leaps of luchadors, where if they first jump from a higher elevation and then make a successful attack/grapple/shove, then they take no damage from falling and deal +1d6 bludgeoning damage for every 5 feet they fell. And as a little treat on top of that, the Luchador only ever has to spend 5 feet of movement to stand up from prone. At 13th level they can spend all of their Lucha Dice once per short or long rest to drop to 1 hit point whenever they’d drop to 0 hit points and wouldn’t otherwise die instantly. At 14th level they become iron-willed and fearless, gaining advantage on saves to avoid and end the charmed and frightened conditions. At 18th level they can choose two of their Signature Moves to become Finishing Moves, which once per short rest they can opt to deal maximum damage instead of rolling damage when using such Moves. Their 20th level capstone has them begin with 5 Lucha Dice when rolling for initiative, and gain Lucha Dice whenever they attempt an attack, grapple, or shove, negating the need for such actions to be successful in order to gain Dice.
Thoughts: In analyzing the base Luchador class, I feel that it captures the spirit and feel of the iconic Mexican wrestler in a way that the default Monk or Tavern Brawler Barbarian/Fighter does not. I particularly like the implementation of using Strength and Charisma for the Unarmored AC, as this means that a player doesn’t have to spread their ability scores too thinly. I should also note that this means that Luchadors can end up as amazing tanks should the party get their hands on one of those various magic items of Ogre/Giant Strength. I should note that they won’t be outclassing any plate armor/shield warriors with the Defensive Fighting Style, barring a 20 Charisma and Belt of Storm Giant Strength which would net their AC at 23. So Luchadores aren’t necessarily going to see their defenses rocket off the limitations of bounded accuracy.
Additionally, increasing their effective size for grapple/shove purposes over time is another good feature. It still makes Small races and buffs such as Enlarge/Reduce viable, and makes it so that big monsters such as giants and dragons won’t end up immune to the bulk of their attacks. Using a d10 Hit Die and the Duro class feature also helps their staying power. I also like how their various Signature Moves provide a broad list of penalties above and beyond the prone/grappled/restrained conditions, which helps diversify them in tactics. For example, Elbow Drop is a good means of preventing an enemy spellcaster from using verbal components, and Full Nelson can disarm enemies. That being said, the Moves that impose damage and other negative conditions on a failed roll are ones I cannot see as being appealing choices, for I feel that most players wouldn’t see them as worth the risk-reward factor.
The 9th level High Flier feature is perhaps the one that I feel the most iffy towards: while it’s a cool ability that plays to the style of real-world luchadors, it is the kind of thing that can be exploited for an easy go-to source of damage. While it specifies that the Luchador must jump and not merely fall,* having a flying mount like a summoned giant owl or domesticated hippogriff can have the mount spend its action flying up to a vast height via Dash in order to get a very high damage value. As the extra damage doesn’t have a listed cap like falling damage does, this can add up to some crazy results.
*Which should preclude flying Luchadors from merely stopping in mid-fair to fall onto their opponents.
If there are any weak points to note, the Luchador is like the Barbarian and Fighter in that the bulk of their powers are directly useful in combat, and they aren’t so hot when it comes to other aspects of the game. While their Charisma and almost guaranteed proficiency in at least one related skill helps them in the Social pillar, they aren’t going to have as broad features as a Rogue or various hybrid caster classes like the Ranger. They also are lacking in non-melee attacks, and while one of their subclasses helps close this gap it is still relatively close-ranged.
Furthermore, the class’ reliance upon shoves and grapples but not granting Athletics automatically creates a skill tax in that it will be selected as one of the two class skills if it’s not gained from another source. Additionally, players like to maximize their chances of reliability for their core features, so barring the Skill Expert feat I can see a lot of Luchador PCs dipping into Rogue (or Bard to play off the Charisma) to gain double proficiency in it.
Personas
Personas are the Luchador’s subclasses, and we have 5 available to us, each based off of popular real-world wrestler motifs along with their own tactical niches. A Luchador’s subclass comes into play at 3rd level. Each of them learns a special attack that isn’t a Signature Move at 15th level, but costs 5 Lucha Dice to activate so it more or less uses the same framework.
Mask of the Glory Seeker represents your stereotypical larger-than-life wrestling superstar, typically leaning on a more heroic and inspirational concept. Their initial features grant proficiency in Persuasion and let them add Strength on top of Charisma to skills where displaying their physical prowess is relevant. They learn a bonus Signature Move of their choice, and the first Move done during their turn costs one less Lucha Dice to activate. At 6th level when using Duro they can roll their Lucha Dice twice and choose what result to use.* At 11th level they learn an additional Signature move and can gain Lucha Dice when they crit with an unarmed strike or reduce a creature to 0 hit points. Their 15th level ability teaches them a unique attack when they grapple a prone creature, dealing damage and stunning them on a failed Constitution save, and also dropping them to 0 hit points if they’re below their maximum hit points. A successful save halves the damage and avoids the stun/drop to 0 HP effect.
*Presumably they’d always use the higher results as you typically want to reduce damage as much as possible.
Mask of Tooth and Claw represents Luchadors who emulate the qualities of animals and receive blessings from the spirits of such creatures. They turn the class into a more mobile skirmisher type, granting proficiency in Perception and are able to add their Charisma modifier to such checks that involve sight or smell. Their other 3rd level feature lets them choose from one of three Signature Moves that involve mobility such as Body Splash, can choose to deal slashing instead of bludgeoning damage with unarmed strikes, and can make an unarmed strike as a bonus action whenever they knock a creature prone. At 6th level they can move half their speed after rolling initiative and can make an unarmed strike as part of using Duro. At 11th level creatures have disadvantage on saving throws vs the related mobility-based Signature moves, and at 15th level they learn a special attack performed as an unarmed strike while moving at least 10 feet towards a targeted creature, summoning a horde of animal spirits as a line-based AoE stampede that can hit and forcefully move the struck creature along with others behind them.
Mask of the Feathered Serpent honors celestial beings of their namesake, receiving powers of elemental air. They’re the only subclass that doesn’t grant a bonus skill proficiency. Instead their initial abilities include: once per turn reducing the required number of Lucha Dice to perform a move while jumping by 1 Dice per 10 feet fallen; adding their proficiency bonus to their jump distance and don’t have to move at least 10 feet before making a long or high jump; and as a bonus action pushing a single creature within 30 feet up to 10 feet in a direction of the Luchador’s choice if they fail a Strength save. At 6th level they can use their Duro to block ranged attacks, including using it to defend other creatures within 30 feet. At 11th level their total forced movement bonus action increases to 20 feet total. Their 15th level unique attack creates a whirlwind that lifts them and a target they successfully grapple 10 feet into the air, throwing them back down to the ground to an unoccupied square, causing damage to the target and adjacent creatures as well as forced movement and the prone condition to affected targets if they fail Constitution saves.
Mask of the Grave Titan represents Luchadors who find ways to extend their lives by drawing on necromantic powers. They gain proficiency in Intimidation, learn one of three bonus Signature Moves that are themed around slamming a foe into the ground, and they can turn the surface of creatures they knock prone on into desecrated ground for 1 minute in a 10 foot radius. Desecrated Ground counts as difficult terrain for hostile creatures and imposes various other benefits, penalties, and triggers for this subclass. But as their total uses are equal to their proficiency bonus per long rest, this isn’t something the Grave Titan can use willy-nilly on all of their attacks, so it’s a more reserved feature in comparison to the other subclasses here.
The Grave Titan’s initial 3rd level ability allows them to turn Smack Talk into a multi-target use, provided that said targets are on desecrated ground. At 6th level they can deal necrotic damage to a creature with Duro if the Luchador is standing on desecrated ground, and causes the affected creature’s attack damage to all be necrotic for one turn. The Luchador also gains resistance to necrotic damage and doesn’t have to eat, drink or breathe anymore, so this counterattack also effectively halves damage dealt by the target on top of it being initially reduced. At 11th level their use of desecrated ground radius increases to 20 feet, and hostile creatures must succeed on a Charisma save or be unable to move through said ground for one turn. Their 15th level special attack causes a creature struck prone to disappear into the afterlife, gone from the battle for one round before appearing back still prone and taking the Luchador’s choice of cold or necrotic damage.
Maskless is a special kind of subclass. It represents a disgraced Luchador who lost their mask, usually due to selfish or cowardly actions, but sometimes they can lose it against their will such as losing a wagered match with unmasking as the penalty. Given the special significance masks hold, they often lose trust and respect from society at large as well as their powers. As such, it is a subclass that a Luchador PC can end up becoming during the course of play, but if they regain their respectable status they can trade it in for one of the four other subclasses.
The Maskless subclass is very much the antihero/heel type, relying upon dirty tricks and reveling in their infamy. Their initial 3rd level feature grants them Deception and teaches them the exclusive Eye Poke (3 Lucha Dice, blind a target if you make an unarmed strike against them) and Low Blow (3 Dice, successful unarmed attack reduces target’s movement to 0 and next attack against them has advantage until start of your next turn) Signature Moves. Once per turn they can deal an additional unarmed attack (or grapple/shove at 11th level) against their target if their attack rolls would have advantage against that target, but melee attacks then gain advantage against the Maskless until the start of their next turn. They also gain Lucha Dice when hostile creatures hit them with advantage while in melee, so it’s a risky gambit but with ample rewards. Creatures they Smack Talk also have disadvantage on Insight checks on top of attacks. Their 6th level ability lets them expend an additional Lucha Dice to deal psychic damage against an attacker when using Duro, but only if said attacker has advantage on their attack roll. Finally, their 15th level ability activates when shoving a grappled creature prone, slamming their head into the ground and causing them to be incapacitated and prone on a failed Constitution save and also dropping them to 0 hit points if they’re below their maximum hit points. Like the Glory Seeker’s capstone attack, a successful save halves damage and resists the negative conditions (but is still knocked prone).
Thoughts: All of the subclasses are good at what they do. The Glory Seeker is perhaps the best one for new players in that its concept is straightforward and enhances how the class operates rather than redefining how it works on a tactical level. Their bonus Signature Move is open-ended rather than drawn from a narrow thematic list, and the one less Lucha Die requirement is useful for just about any build, albeit the tradeoff is that you’d then do a d6 less damage if my reading is correct.
Tooth and Claw turns the Luchador into a good scout/ambush spotter by adding their Charisma to some very common Perception checks, and being able to move half their speed at the start of combat helps them close the gap and get into melee quickly. Their animal spirit summoning attack is pretty cool and my favorite from a flavor standpoint.
Feathered Serpent’s Deflect Arrows-esque ability is nicely broad, for it doesn’t work against just weapon attacks and can help allies, which I can see being appreciated by the party. The forced movement is a good means of battlefield control in being activated as a bonus action and isn’t limited in use per rest. I do feel that the buffs to jumping encourage more uses of High Flier, but as a lot of gaming groups tend to not have wildly different elevations in most battles (three-dimensional battle maps tend to be hard for DMs to keep track of) this may be limited in a lot of campaigns.
The Grave Titan’s desecrated ground feature is very thematically neat and the 6th level class features plays strongly into the Luchador’s tank role, but given that their core feature is long rest-based (a peculiarity in comparison to every other ability in this book), it requires a much more conservative play-style that may rub against the fire-and-forget nature of Signature Moves and the Luchador in general.
The Maskless is very strong on account that it’s very easy for a Luchador to gain advantage on attack rolls with the variety of grapples, shoves, and Signature Moves that can impose conditions allowing for this. They’re kind of like the Barbarian in that several of their abilities rely on granting advantage on enemy attacks, so while it helps reinforce the tanking concept it’s also one that encourages a more cautious playstyle. The player must weigh how much punishment their PC can take, and if it’s worth letting an enemy get in a strong hit or two in order to perform better.
Luchadores Throughout the Multiverse wraps up our product with suggestions on how the class can be incorporated into official settings by Wizards of the Coast. The page is rather limited in that half of the settings covered are related to Magic the Gathering, with the remaining three being Forgotten Realms, Eberron, and the Radiant Citadel. However, it’s useful in that it calls upon specific deities, organizations, and regions which Luchadores and particular subclasses could originate. Such as hailing from Maztica in the Forgotten Realms, where their masks honor the various gods of that land. I was a bit surprised that the entry for Eberron didn’t incorporate the Couatl for the Feathered Serpent, given that said celestial played an instrumental role in the setting’s history. Instead it suggests that Talenta Halflings inspired by dinosaurs like pterodactyls represent this subclass, as well as Tooth and Claw for other kinds of dinosaurs.
Final Thoughts: The Luchador was a fun class to read, and it’s clear that the author put a lot of thought into the various features for game design in order to make a playable option that is both faithful to the concept while being mechanically viable. The use of Signature Moves and learning new ones upon leveling up help it feel fresh and exciting to play throughout Tiers rather than becoming monotonous affairs of “I roll to hit, I roll to grapple, end turn.” The subclasses all look to be viable choices with no clear winners standing head and shoulders above the others, which is good to see for a new class that likely isn’t going to be expanded on anytime soon. As listed above I do feel that the Luchador has some weak points, but all in all I think that the positives outweigh the negatives and would recommend it as a product.
