Level 20 Veteran

Beyond any strength you may have in muscle or willpower, your survival through life could still be counted as luck. Your instincts have proven to be your greatest ally. You never ignore the lessons learned when events in your life turn desperate. You have seen or read enough to gauge where to be and when, what to say and how to say it. It isn't as much about avoiding injury as it is preventing the escalation of a disagreement. You can see the symptoms of conflict before most others. You impart advice when needed; act first when events are unavoidable. You may not be the leader, but you’re certainly the one everyone turns to for advice. You may not know all the answers, but most everyone trusts your gut over what a computer might say. When situations are at their worst, you're at your best, staying cool and calm while others flee. You don't have to be grizzled and old to be wise. The world has a tendency to not care how old you are when it puts you through hell. In your spare time, you reminisce.

• Key Abilities. Charisma, Wisdom

Calm Reflexes

Beginning when you choose this ladder at 1st level, you can use Wisdom for all attack and damage rolls with ranged attacks, unarmed attacks, attacks with melee weapons without the heavy property and when setting save DCs. Select one Charisma-based skill to be proficient in. You can also use Wisdom or Charisma for spells. Select either Wisdom or Charisma as your primary veteran ability.

Good Guess

At 4th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 1. You can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature except for your primary veteran ability, which has a maximum value of 22. Additionally, you gain a pool of rerolls for any roll you might make equal to your primary veteran ability modifier. This occurs as part of the same action (or reaction this does not count as having advantage. If you suffer from advantage or disadvantage, you gain the re-roll after taking the final result—you can then select whichever roll you want. Once you use good guess, you cannot use it again until the beginning of your next turn. You regain all your good guess re-roll dice when you finish a long rest.

Expecting Trouble

At 8th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 1. You can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature except for your primary veteran ability, which has a maximum value of 22. Additionally, the number of uses you gain for good guess increases by 2. You also regain a good guess die roll if that roll results in a 1 or a 2. You also can make an Intelligence (History) check as a Wisdom (History) check—effectively a gut instinct of what is probably true—or as a Charisma (History) check—where you are making something up that might be true.

Stone Faced

At 12th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. You can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature except for your primary veteran ability, which has a maximum value of 22. You are also immune to the frightened and charmed conditions.

Instinct with Time

At 16th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. You can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature except for your primary veteran ability which has a maximum value of 22. Additionally, as a reaction to making a saving throw (but before making the roll), you can move 5 feet. If this movement would take you out of the area of the effect that requires a save, you don't have to make one.

At Any Cost

At 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 1. You can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature except for your primary veteran ability which has a maximum value of 22. Additionally, the number of uses you gain for good guesses increases by 2. You are also able to more easily overcome foes if you have dealt with them (or something similar) previously. If you fight a similar opponent in the future, you have advantage on attack rolls until the first time you hit, and your first hit is also a critical hit. 'Similar' is defined as having the same basic creature stat block (with allowances for minor customizations the GM may have made to a particular creature). for instance, if you previously defeated a space gnome security guard, you would have a bonus against other space gnome security guards, but not against space gnome mercenaries or space elf security guards.

Ladder Gains

The veteran gains the following additional benefits at 5th, 11th, and 17th level.

• 5th Level. You gain a +1 bonus to AC
• 11th Level. You gain a +1 bonus to attack and damage
• 17th Level. Your bonus to AC increases to +2.