A commander needs a battle standard to help guide their allies on the field. You start play with a custom banner that you can use to signal allies when using tactics (see below) or to deploy specific abilities. Your banner can be affixed to a weapon or shield you are wielding, attached to a simple pole or handle and held in one hand, or worn affixed to a pole alongside your backpack. Your banner might be a literal flag or pennant, a decorated fan, a personalized totem, or some other highly visible and item of negligible or light Bulk. Your banner requires customization and influences your allies' morale, so you can have only one banner at a time designated as your commander's banner; designating a new banner or standard as your commander's banner takes 1 minute.

As long as your banner is visible and in your possession, it provides an aura that gives you and all allies in a 30-foot emanation a +1 status bonus to Will saves and DCs against fear effects. You can pause or resume this effect as part of any action you would typically use to stow or retrieve your banner. If your banner is destroyed or stolen, allies currently benefiting from its bonuses become Frightened 1. This effect has the aura, emotion, mental, and visual traits.

Some abilities allow you to place your banner in a specialized manner, such as the Commander's Companion and Plant Banner feats. As long as you have placed your banner in this way, any banner abilities originate from your banner's space instead of your own, and you gain the same basic benefits as when it is in your possession. An unattended banner has the base Hardness and Hit Points of a standard item of its type (usually cloth, thin leather, or thin wood) or the Hardness and Hit Points of the object it is affixed to, whichever is greater.

By studying and practicing the strategic arts of war, you can guide your allies to victory. You begin play with a folio containing five tactics. These are combat techniques and coordinated maneuvers you can instruct your allies in, enabling them to respond to your signals in combat. As you increase in level, you gain the ability to learn more potent tactics. When you gain the Expert Tactician class feature, you gain the ability to add expert tactics to your folio; when you gain the Master Tactician class feature, you can add master tactics to your folio; and when you gain the Legendary Tactician class feature, you can add legendary tactics to your folio.

Preparing and Changing Tactics

Each day during your daily preparations, you prepare three tactics from your folio and drill in them alongside your allies, enabling you to use these tactics until your next daily preparations. When you drill, you can instruct a total number of allies equal to 2 + your Intelligence modifier, enabling these allies to respond to your tactics in combat. These allies are your squadmates. A squadmate always has the option not to respond to your tactical signal if they do not wish to. You count as one of your squadmates for the purposes of participating in or benefiting from a tactic (though you do not count against your own maximum number of squadmates). The tactics trait is explained in more detail in the key terms sidebar on this page.

You can change which tactics you have prepared from those in your folio by spending 10 minutes to drill, replacing all previously prepared tactics and squadmates. This does not prevent your allies from performing their own activities during this time frame. Some tactics have a limited usage, such as the Valkyrie's Charge tactic, which can be used once per day. These tactics can never exceed their indicated use limit even if you replace them with a different tactic and then prepare them again later that same day, but you can replace a tactic whose limited use has been expended with another tactic you know any time you are able to change your prepared tactics.

Gaining New Tactics

You add additional tactics to your folio and increase the number of tactics you can prepare when you gain the expert tactician, master tactician, and legendary tactician class features. You can also add tactics to your folio with the Tactical Expansion feat, though this does not change the number you can have prepared. Because tactics folios use shorthand and signals unique to each commander, there is typically no benefit to using (or stealing) another commander's folio, though you can train with another commander to retrain one tactic in your folio to another that they know.

Your time spent training your allies allows them to respond quickly and instinctively to your commands. Once per round when you use a tactic, you can grant one ally of your choice benefiting from that tactic an extra reaction. This reaction has to be used for that tactic and is lost if not used.

You gain the Shield Block general feat, a reaction that lets you reduce damage with your shield.

Your knowledge of war and strategy grows and guides your decisions in battle. You gain expert proficiency in Warfare Lore. You can use Warfare Lore to Recall Knowledge about most creatures regardless of type, but typically only to determine whether they can be reasoned with, their most notable offensive abilities, and whether one of their saving throws is particularly weak. In addition, as long as you are observing at least one opponent when initiative is rolled, you can use Warfare Lore for your initiative roll.

You've studied in a wide variety of weapons and learned to apply their principles in combat. Your proficiency rank for martial weapons, simple weapons, and unarmed attacks increases to expert. When you critically succeed at an attack roll with a weapon you are at least an expert with, you apply the weapon's critical specialization effect.

Your time spent leading and training others on battlefield tactics has improved your combat acumen. Your proficiency rank for your commander class DC increases to expert, and you add two new tactics to your folio; these can be any mobility or offensive tactics you don't already know, or you can choose from expert tactics you have access to. The total number of tactics you can have prepared increases to four. In addition, your proficiency rank in Warfare Lore increases to master.

You've learned how to inflict greater injuries with the weapons you know best. You deal an additional 2 damage with weapons and unarmed attacks in which you are an expert. This damage increases to 3 if you're a master, and 4 if you're legendary.

You have spent so much time in armor that you know how to make the most of its protection. Your proficiency ranks for light, medium, and heavy armor, as well as for unarmored defense, increase to expert. You gain the armor specialization effects of medium and heavy armor.

You know that if you break, so too will those who follow you, and so you have cultivated a will that bends to no outside force. Your proficiency rank for Will saves increases to master. When you roll a success on a Will save, you get a critical success instead.

Your experience across a wide array of battlefields gives you a preternatural ability to predict and avoid damaging effects. Your proficiency rank for Reflex saves increases to master. When you roll a success on a Reflex save, you get a critical success instead.

Your damage from weapon specialization increases to 4 with weapons and unarmed attacks in which you're an expert, 6 if you're a master, and 8 if you're legendary.

You are among the greatest tacticians to have ever led forces on the field of battle. Your proficiency rank for commander class DC increases to master, and you add two new tactics to your folio; these can be any mobility or offensive tactics you don't already have in your folio, or you can choose from expert tactics or master tactics you have access to. The total number of tactics you can have prepared increases to five. In addition, you gain legendary proficiency in Warfare Lore.

You are an unrivaled legend in your use of battlefield tactics. Your proficiency rank for your commander class DC increases to legendary, and you add two new tactics to your folio; these can be any mobility or offensive tactics you don't already have in your folio, or you can choose from expert tactics, master tactics, or legendary tactics you have access to. The total number of tactics you can have prepared increases to six.

You call for a careful retreat. Signal all squadmates within the aura of your banner; each can immediately Step up to three times as a free action. Each Step must take them farther away from at least one hostile creature they are observing and can only take them closer to a hostile creature if doing so is the only way for them to move toward safety (such as if they're surrounded).

You signal your team to move into position together. Signal all squadmates; each can immediately Stride as a reaction, though each must end their movement inside your banner's aura, or as close to your banner's aura as their movement Speed allows.

Squadmates can use Gather to Me! while Burrowing, Climbing, Flying, or Swimming instead of Striding if they have the corresponding movement type.

Your instructions make it easier for you and your allies to scale dangerous surfaces. Signal all squadmates; until the end of your next turn, you and each ally gain a climb Speed of 20 feet.

Effect: Mountaineering Training

Special If you have this tactic prepared, you can use Warfare Lore in place of Athletics for checks you make to Climb.

Your instructions make it easier for you and your allies to swim through dangerous waters. Signal all squadmates; until the end of your next turn, you and each ally gain a swim Speed of 20 feet.

Effect: Naval Training

Special If you have this tactic prepared, you can use Warfare Lore in place of Athletics for checks you make to Swim.

You command your allies to regroup, allowing endangered units to fall back while rested units press the advantage. Signal all squadmates within the aura of your commander's banner; each can swap positions with another willing ally adjacent to them. An ally can't swap into a space it can't fit into, and if one of the allies occupies more squares than the other, the smaller ally can move into any part of the larger ally's space as long as the two remain adjacent after the swap.

PFS Note: This tactic can be used by Prone PCs, but not PCs who are Grabbed, Immobilized, or otherwise unable to move of their own volition.

You've trained your allies in a technique designed to protect war mages. Signal one squadmate; as a reaction, that squadmate Strides directly toward any other squadmate who is within the aura of your banner. If the first squadmate ends their movement adjacent to another squadmate, the second squadmate does not trigger reactions when casting spells or making ranged attacks until the end of their next turn or until they are no longer adjacent to the first squadmate, whichever comes first. If the first squadmate ends their movement adjacent to more than one other squadmate, the first squadmate must choose which of the adjacent squadmates gains this benefit.

Your team works to slip enemies into a disadvantageous position. Signal one squadmate within the aura of your banner; that squadmate can immediately Step as a free action. If they end this movement next to an opponent, they can attempt to Reposition that target as a reaction.

Your team works together to set an enemy up for a vicious attack. Signal one squadmate who has an opponent within their reach. That ally can Shove or Reposition an opponent as a free action. If their maneuver is successful and the target ends their movement adjacent to a different squadmate, the second squadmate can attempt a melee Strike against that target as a reaction.

Requirements You and your allies currently outnumber enemies on the battlefield, and you or a squadmate have reduced an enemy to 0 Hit Points since the start of your last turn.

At your proclamation that victory is already at hand, your allies march forward with an authoritative stomp, scattering your enemies in terror. Signal all squadmates within the aura of your banner; you and each ally can Step as a free action directly toward a hostile creature. Any hostile creatures within 10 feet of a squadmate after this movement must attempt a Will save against your class DC; on a failure they become Fleeing for 1 round, and on a critical failure they become fleeing for 1 round and Frightened 2. This is an emotion, fear, and mental effect.

You call for an aggressive formation designed for exploiting enemies' vulnerabilities. Signal all squadmates; each can Step as a reaction. If any of your allies ends this movement adjacent to an opponent, that opponent is Off Guard to melee attacks from you and all other squadmates who responded to Pincer Attack until the start of your next turn.

Your drill instruction kicks in, and your allies rapidly reload their weapons to prepare for the next volley. Signal all squadmates; each can immediately Interact to reload as a reaction.

Special When leading a siege weapon crew, you can use this tactic to command your squadmates to Load a siege weapon instead.

You signal your allies to ready their defenses. Signal all squadmates within the aura of your commander's banner; each can immediately Raise a Shield as a reaction. Squadmates who are wielding a parry weapon can instead position that weapon defensively as a reaction.

Special If one of your squadmates knows or has prepared the Shield cantrip, they can cast it as a reaction instead of taking the actions normally granted by this tactic.

You command an ally to attack. Signal a squadmate within the aura of your commander's banner. That ally immediately attempts a Strike as a reaction.

You direct a coordinated maneuver that sends an enemy tumbling down. Signal up to two squadmates within the aura of your commander's banner. Each of those allies can Stride up to half their Speed as a reaction. If they both end this movement adjacent to an enemy, that enemy must succeed at a Reflex save against your class DC or fall Prone.

Your team excels at sharing resources and delivering them exactly where they need to be. Signal a squadmate within the aura of your banner who is holding or wearing a consumable that can be activated as a single action. That squadmate can toss their consumable to any other squadmate within the aura of your banner as a free action, and the receiving squadmate can catch and activate the consumable as a reaction. If the receiving squadmate chooses not to catch the consumable or if they don't have a free hand to catch it with, it lands on the ground in their space.

Special If the consumable is a piece of activated ammunition and the receiving squadmate is wielding a compatible weapon that takes 1 or fewer actions to reload, they can load the ammunition into their weapon as part of the reaction used to catch and activate it. The ammunition remains activated until the end of their next turn.

Your squad dashes past enemies, slicing their boot laces and breaking their belt buckles. Signal up to two squadmates within the aura of your commander's banner; these squadmates can Stride up to their Speed as a reaction. Each enemy they are adjacent to at any point during this movement must attempt a Reflex save against your class DC or become Clumsy 1 for 1 round (Clumsy 2 on a critical failure).

Your team's coordinated assault strikes fear into your enemies' hearts. Signal up to two squadmates within the aura of your commander's banner; as a free action, those squadmates can immediately Stride toward an enemy they are observing.

If they end this movement adjacent to an enemy, they can attempt to Strike that enemy as a reaction. For each of these Strikes that are successful, the target enemy must succeed at a Will save against your class DC or become Frightened 1 (Frightened 2 on a critical failure); this is an emotion, fear, and mental effect.

If both Strikes target the same enemy, that enemy attempts the save only once after the final attack and takes a –1 circumstance penalty to their Will save to resist this effect (this penalty increases to –2 if both Strikes are successful or to –3 if both Strikes are successful and either is a critical hit.)

Effect: Demoralizing Charge

Your team executes a brutal technique designed to knock down an opponent and blast them with magical devastation. Signal up to two squadmates within the aura of your commander's banner; one of these squadmates must be adjacent to an opponent and the other must be capable of casting a spell that deals damage. The first squadmate can attempt to Trip the adjacent opponent as a reaction. If this Trip is successful, the second squadmate can cast a ranged spell that deals damage and takes 2 or fewer actions to cast. This spell is cast as a reaction and must either target the tripped opponent or include the tripped opponent in the spell's area.

If the second squadmate cast a spell using slots or Focus Points as part of this tactic, they are Slowed 1 until the end of their next turn and do not gain a reaction when they regain actions at the start of their next turn.

Your team dashes about in a series of maneuvers that leave the enemy befuddled. Signal up to two squadmates within the aura of your commander's banner; these squadmates can Stride up to their Speed as a reaction. Each enemy they are adjacent to at any point during this movement must attempt a Will save against your class DC or become Stupefied 1 for 1 round (Stupefied 2 on a critical failure); this is a mental effect.

Your ally leaps to secure the high ground with a little help from the squad. Signal a squadmate within the aura of your commander's banner; as a free action, that squadmate can Stride directly toward any other squadmate you are both observing. If the first squadmate ends this movement adjacent to another squadmate, the first squadmate can immediately Leap up to 25 feet horizontally or 15 feet vertically as a reaction, boosted by the other squadmate. This distance increases to 40 feet horizontally or 25 feet vertically if you have legendary proficiency in Warfare Lore.

Regardless of your individual strengths, collectively your squad has the power to move mountains and topple giants. Signal a squadmate within the aura of your commander's banner. That squadmate can attempt to Reposition, Shove, or Trip a target within their reach. Each other squadmate who is adjacent to the original squadmate or the target can attempt to assist with the maneuver as a reaction

For each squadmate who assists in this way, the original squadmate increases the maximum size of creature they can target (for example, if a total of two squadmates participated in this maneuver, the initial squadmate could target a creature up to two sizes larger than them.) The original squadmate gains a circumstance bonus on their check to Reposition, Shove, or Trip equal to the number of additional squadmates who assisted in the maneuver (maximum +4).

Effect: The Bigger They Are (Commander)

Frequency once per 10 minutes

Requirements At least one of your squadmates is in bright light or has a focused light source available, such as a bull's-eye lantern.

Your squadmates have polished their shields to a reflective sheen and now position them to reflect a blinding light into your enemy's eyes. All of your squadmates can Raise a Shield or cast Shield as a reaction.

Then, signal a squadmate within the aura of your commander's banner who currently has a shield raised (including spellcasting allies with an active casting of the shield cantrip), and choose an enemy within 60 feet. The formation bounces light off the raised shield and into the enemy's eyes; the target must succeed at a Fortitude saving throw against your class DC or become Blinded for 1 round (on a critical failure, the creature remains Dazzled for 3 rounds after the blindness ends).

You can signal additional allies with raised shields to participate in this tactic; the target takes a circumstance penalty on this save equal to the number of additional participating squadmates (to a maximum –4 circumstance penalty to the target's save).

Effect: Mirrored Wall

Frequency once per 10 minutes

You know that a thousand small bites can fell a large foe just as surely a single well-placed hit. Designate a creature within the aura of your commander's banner and signal all squadmates; for 1 minute, each time they attack that creature and deal damage to it of a type the creature resists, they ignore an amount of that creature's resistance equal to your level.

Frequency once per 10 minutes

You command your squadmates to perform a devastating coordinated takedown. Signal up to three squadmates within the aura of your commander's banner who all have the same enemy within their reach; the squadmates can attempt to Strike, Trip, or Grapple the opponent as a reaction. Each squadmate can only attempt one specific action granted by this tactic, the actions can be attempted in any order and a specific action can only be attempted once as part of this tactic.

Frequency once per 10 minutes

You signal a volley of ranged attacks from your allies. Choose an enemy and signal up to three squadmates within the aura of your commander's banner; your squadmates can Interact to reload as a free action and attempt a ranged Strike against the enemy as a reaction

Special If one of your squadmates knows or has prepared a cantrip with a range of 30 feet or more that deals damage and requires 2 or fewer actions to cast, they can cast it targeting the enemy instead of taking the other actions normally granted by this tactic.

Frequency once per 10 minutes

You and your squad surge forward with a mighty roar. Signal all squadmates within the aura of your commander's banner. As a reaction, these squadmates can Stride up to twice their Speed directly toward any enemy they are observing.

Any creature within 10 feet of a squadmate once all movement from this tactic has been completed must attempt a Will save against your class DC with the following results. This is an emotion, fear, incapacitation, and mental effect.

Critical Success No effect.

Success The target is Frightened 1.

Failure The target is Frightened 2.

Critical Failure The target is Frightened 3 and Fleeing for 1 round.

Frequency once per day

Your squad performs a brutal combination attack that levels an enemy and attempts to put them down permanently. Choose and signal up to three squadmates within the aura of your commander's banner. Each squadmate can Stride up to half their Speed directly toward a single enemy you designate as a free action. Any who end their movement adjacent to the designated target can attempt to Trip or Strike it as a reaction.

The first time a Prone enemy is successfully dealt damage by a Strike from this tactic, they must immediately attempt a Fortitude save against your class DC or die; this is a death and incapacitation effect. All enemies who witness a creature slain by Bloody Guillotine must succeed at a Will save against your class DC or become Sickened 1 for 1 round (Sickened 2 for 1 round on a critical failure); this is an emotion and mental effect.

Frequency once per day

Your squad rallies with a resounding clangor that drowns out all other sounds of war. Choose an enemy you are observing and signal all squadmates within the aura of your commander's banner. All squadmates can Stride up to twice their Speed directly toward the target as a reaction, yelling and trampling. When any squadmate enters a square adjacent to any enemy, that enemy must attempt a Basic Fortitude save against your class DC or take 2d6 bludgeoning damage and 2d6 sonic damage damage, plus an additional 2d6 bludgeoning and 2d6 sonic damage for every squadmate participating in Cry Havoc! (enemies who critically fail are Deafened for 1 round). Regardless of the outcome, the enemy is then temporarily immune to any further damage from Cry Havoc! for 24 hours.

Squadmates can use Cry Havoc! while Burrowing, Climbing, Flying, or Swimming instead of Striding if they have the corresponding movement type.

Frequency once per day

You command your squadmates to act as a lethal firing squad. You and each squadmate within the aura of your commander's banner can attempt a ranged Strike as a reaction against a single target you choose; combine the damage from all attacks for the purpose of resistances and weaknesses. If the designated target is a living creature, these attacks gain the death trait. If the designated target dies as a result of this tactic, all other enemies within the affected area of your commander's banner must succeed at a Will save against your class DC or be Frightened 2; this is an emotion, fear, and mental effect.

Special If one of your squadmates knows or has prepared a cantrip with a range of 30 feet or more that deals damage and requires 2 or fewer actions to cast, they can cast it targeting the designated enemy instead of taking the other actions normally granted by this tactic, gaining all other listed benefits.

Frequency once per day

Your squad quickly assembles a special impromptu ballista and fires it to lethal effect. Signal all squadmates you previously chose to participate in this tactic (see Special); these squadmates must be within the aura of your commander's banner. They can all Stride as a free action to assemble into a close formation; as long as all the chosen squadmates end their movement no more than 10 feet away from any of the other chosen squadmates. They quickly assemble an impromptu ballista and fire it at an enemy of your choice within 200 feet.

This is a ranged Strike using your proficiency bonus with martial weapons and gets an item bonus to the attack roll you make with it equal to the number of assisting squadmates (maximum +4). It deals 10d12 piercing damage. Once the attack is completed, the pieces of the impromptu ballista fall apart.

Special You must choose all squadmates who will participate in this tactic at the time you prepare it. Those squadmates must carry the pieces of your impromptu ballista, which can be made out of easily scavenged materials; these pieces are 8 Bulk in total and can be divided in 1 Bulk increments among any number of the chosen squadmates.

Frequency once per day

Your squad is rejuvenated by the arterial spray of your enemies. Choose a creature within the aura of your commander's banner and signal all squadmates within the aura who are wielding a piercing or slashing melee weapon, or who have a piercing or slashing melee unarmed attack. Those allies can Stride up to half their Speed as a free action. If they end this movement within reach of the designated target, they can Strike the target with the required weapon or unarmed attack as a reaction.

Once all Strikes are completed, if the target took damage and is not immune to bleed damage, it must succeed at a Fortitude saving throw against your class DC or take 10 points of persistent bleed damage. The target takes a circumstance penalty on their save equal to the number of successful Strikes made as part of this tactic (up to a maximum –4 circumstance penalty).

Effect: Sanguine Revitalization

Your squadmates are energized by the display of your enemy's imminent defeat; each squadmate in a 20-foot emanation is healed for 10d6 Hit Points.

Frequency once per day

You and your allies defy death and defeat to make a glorious final charge. You restore 80 Hit Points to each squadmate within the aura of your commander's banner; this effect has the healing trait. If an affected ally was Unconscious due to their Hit Points being reduced to 0, they can immediately Stand and pick up any dropped weapons as a free action. Then, each affected squadmate can, as a free action, Stride up to twice their Speed directly toward an enemy they are observing; if they end this movement with an enemy within their reach, they can attempt to Strike that enemy as a reaction.

Squadmates can use Valkyrie's Charge while Burrowing, Climbing, Flying, or Swimming instead of Striding if they have the corresponding movement type.