Banneret Fighter

 If you had asked me what my least favorite subclass in all of 5E was, I might say the Purple Dragon Knight. Fighters are a simple class at base, and my feelings toward the PDK were that it eschewed adding anything interesting to the class in favor of just spreading the meagre three unique things that the Fighter class could do.

So I'm a little shocked to see a revision/reprint of this one. But let's cast aside our previous judgments and take this subclass on its own terms. The class has been renamed the Banneret (which was always an alternate name for them) and is really built around the flavor of being a kind of battlefield inspiration - the kind of person who carries the banner of your armies into battle and rallies your troops.

Level 3:

Knightly Envoy:

You can cast Comprehend Languages as a ritual (Charisma is your spellcasting ability for it - I can never remember why that matters for spells without attack rolls or saving throws).

Also, you learn one language from the language tables in the PHB, and can replace a learned language with another one on a long rest.

You also get proficiency in your choice of Insight, Intimidation, Persuasion, or Performance.

    Clearly the idea here (right there in the name) is that you'll be a helpful envoy/ambassador. I don't think this will be quite enough to make you a party "face," but you'll certainly be able to help the party deal with people whose languages you don't speak (I think the PHB includes rarer languages, like Sylvan or Abyssal).

Group Recovery:

When you use Second Wind to regain HP, you can choose a number of allies equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum 1) in a 30 foot emanation to regain HP equal to 1d4 plus your Fighter level. You can do this once per short or long rest.

    So, while the die is much smaller than our own Second Wind, the bulk of Second Wind healing by level 6 is from your Fighter level, so you're putting out a decent amount of healing with it. The limitation to just once per short rest, to me, is kind of annoying. I mean, yes, healing needs to be carefully limited because it's the main source of tension in the game, but while the previous feature feels a bit ribbon-like, this feels thin for everything else we get at 3.

Level 7:

Team Tactics:

When you use Group Recovery, each chosen ally gets advantage on d20 tests until the start of your next turn.

    This can be a powerful effect, like we see with the Zealot Barbarian, though you'll need to time it A: when you want to do some healing to the group and B: when enough of your allies are within 30 feet, which is certainly not always going to catch the whole party.

Level 10:

Rallying Surge:

When you use Action Surge, you can choose allies within 30 feet of you up to your Charisma modifier (minimum 1). Each ally can take a reaction to either attack with a weapon or unarmed strike, or move up to half their speed without provoking opportunity attacks.

    Again, I'd really prefer this be de-coupled from using Action Surge, like Group Recovery from Second Wind. The effect is nice, though again, that 30-foot range will require some careful positioning to make the best use of it.

    Also, something that applies to Group Recovery: we'll certainly need a +2 to Charisma at least to be somewhat decent with this subclass. In a small party, that'll probably cover at least the other party members that are up on the front lines with you.

Level 15:

Shared Resilience:

When an ally within 60 feet of you fails a saving throw, you can take a reaction to expend a use of your Indomitable feature, allowing the ally to reroll the saving throw with a bonus equal to your fighter level.

    Indomitable got way, way better in 2024, and being able to spread the love with this is certainly good. The increased range is nice here. I actually think this is decent.

Level 18:

Inspiring Commander:

You gain two benefits:

Bolstered Rally: The area of your Group Recovery and Rallying Surge is now a 60-foot emanation.

Unshakable Bravery: You have immunity to the Charmed and Frightened conditions.

    It's fine.

Overall Thoughts:

I still don't like this subclass. It has a lot of the same issues I had with the old version, though I'll concede that with the buffs to the fighter overall, these features get a bit of a buff by association.

I can kind of sort of see a bit better the flavor the subclass is going for. Honestly, I think the proper use for this subclass is to be an alternative to the Champion as a "beginner-friendly" subclass. If you're worried about the complexity of an Eldritch Knight, Psi Warrior, Battle Master, or like, a Rune Knight, this is going to be more straightforward. I don't think it's very... good? But there is a clear utility to its features. I just think they played it safe with a subclass I never liked in the first place.

As you might recall, there was a totally out-there potential rework in the UA that retained the Purple Dragon Knight name and gave the subclass an actual purple dragon as a battle pet. While this flew in the face of the actual lore of this Cormyr-based knightly order that was merely inspired by an old amethyst dragon, I think that subclass would have been way cooler and more fun to play.

Luckily, our next subclass will be probably my favorite in the book.