Class Identity

One of the core changes between standard D&D and the Ashen Lands is the way the classes relate to the world around them. Sorcerers aren't just the children of magical bloodlines, they're nobility tied to a dynasty of power. Artificers aren't just tinkers in the woodshed, they're looked to as a magical police force for Falconhurst. These identity changes go a long way to help anchor the classes within the world, itself, making sure that they feel like a core part of the world. In the next several pages, you'll be reading about what those identity changes are, and how that often impacts characters in different lands.

Your character need not represent these identity changes, for the most part. But you should be aware of how the world is likely to perceive you when they learn who you are and what you can do, but not the extent of your true character... with the exception of Sorcerers. Sorcerers can buck against their heritage, pretend to be wizards, or hide their ties to nobility as much as any runaway princess might do in a story. But the ties remain.

Artificer

The Artificer, or Alchemist as they're occasionally known, is a rare sight in most of the lands of Iobaria save Falconhurst. The Hurstfolk embrace the inventive nature and wild delight of technology, magic, and the blending of the two that Artificers are well known for. It is the only region where Artificers are a common character class.

However, that commonality brings with it assumptions. Artificers are most common in Falconhurst due to their inventive and naturally curious natures, which pairs well with detective work. Most of the Artificers of Falconhurst are members of the Alchemist's Guild, one of the most powerful and wealthy guilds in the largest and wealthiest city in Iobaria. In addition to being a resource and information pool, the Alchemist's Guild is well known for mystical policing services that it provides to Falconhurst and the surrounding regions.

Whether there's a cult seeking to raise monstrosities to destroy a village, a mad mage hell-bent on revenge against those who he perceived as having wronged him, or druids making ritual sacrifices in the wilder regions of Falconhurst, it is Artificers who are sent to right these wrongs, often with a party of hired adventurers or members of other guilds.

These Artificers use the latest in scientific gadgetry, mystical theory, and magitech designs to track down magical miscreants for containment... whether that means imprisonment, death, or something else.

As a result, even Artificers who are not a part of the Alchemist's Guild of Falconhurst are often seen as officers of law and order immediately. A reputation which has moved past the borders of Falconhurst and even to lands as distant as Mekri, Valka, and Wolde.

Bard

In the Ashen Lands, Bards are Occult Spellcasters, like Warlocks and Warsworn, rather than Arcanists. This change has no effect on their spell list, but certainly represents a departure from standard D&D fare. Similarly, Bards are mostly narratively tied to Patrons. Patrons are powerful or wealthy individuals in the city-states who provide the Bard with shelter, fine meals, muses, and other necessities to continue providing their beautiful music, poetry, and other forms of artwork to the Patron and their friends.

Such a change has minimal impact on a Bard's class functionality, allowing them to retrain 2 spells any time they gain a level instead of 1. But within the narrative of the world, it ties the Bard to a wealthy person or persons who may have goals they hope the Bard will fulfill on their behalf, and may be willing to peel back such comforts as they have offered should the Bard be reticent.

Turning against one's patron bears it's own weights, as the whims of nobles can put a Bard in a rough spot where few, if any, of a given city's nobles are willing to give the disgraced artist the time of day, much less any sort of financial support. But so long as a Bard has their patron's favor, they may enjoy free living expenses equivalent to an Aristocratic Lifestyle.

A Bard who has fallen out of their Patron's favor, but remains within their Patron's company, can see such accomodations drop to Modest, or even Poor, while still being expected to attend public events, play at private parties, and work for their Patron with no additional remuneration.

Cleric

The Gods of Iobaria are different than most worlds. With six Gods of Crisis, three Champions, and three Manifest Gods above them, Clerics worship at the Altars of a Pantheon. Oh, most certainly a Cleric might venerate one of the deities above all others, but doing so confers no particular powers upon the Cleric, nor any expectation of service above and beyond any other.

Clerics of Iobaria are also different from the clerics of standard D&D in another manner: They typically do not wear armor unless it is ceremonial in nature. A Cleric has, at level 1, Proficiency in Light Armor and Shields, but gains an unarmored defense of 10+Cha+Dex. This defensive ability is Divine in Nature, and represents the will of the Twelve Gods keeping the Cleric safe. Such defenses cannot be removed in an Anti-Magic field, but a Cleric who blasphemes or turns against the Gods will see that protection immediately withdrawn.

Further, a Cleric may change their Subclass by completing a Geas/Quest spell cast upon them by a higher level Cleric. Once a suitable quest has been completed, they are able to swap out their Domain immediately with no further cost. The Quest spell draws the attention of the Gods who accept appropriate service to change the power that they provide.

Druid

In most settings Druids are nature-wardens who keep to secret circles hidden in sacred groves or among standing stones. And for a time, such was the nature of the Druids of Iobaria. Communities of those who love nature and seek it's safety. Primalists, through and through, Druids live with the world, with plants and animals, elements and spirits, and the fey creatures of the wildlands. But for most of history, their existence was not a secret while their sacred places were kept so.

Such things changed nearly one hundred years ago, when the Circle of Ravens, at Raven's Reach, was destroyed by the capital Iobar. The Circle's defiance of the Sorcerer-King's demands saw armies march upon the region, slaughtering thousands of innocents, burning forests to ash, and destroying the great Rookery of Raven's Reach.

Those few who survived went into hiding, and over time they and the Circle of Wildfire intermingled and became the Circle of Extinction. This druidic order is bent on destroying civilization, in the hopes that from the ashes of cities and villages will rise nature, anew. Green growth out of charred soil. After all, Volcanic Soil is the most fertile.

Any Druid can become a Circle of Extinction Druid through trauma, education, or lust for destruction. This is generally done through a Geas/Quest spell, much as Clerics follow. But once one has become a Circle of Extinction Druid, one cannot return to their former Circle, as they are shunned by those who once knew them.

Monk

There are no Monasteries within Iobaria. Monks, therefore, are always incredibly rare in any campaign set upon the continent. And always have an Outsider culture.

Ranger

Like Druids, Rangers are Primalist characters who call upon natural learning and magic to support their goals. Rangers typically exist in two groups. Conclave Rangers, who hold to a secretive group similar to a druid's circle, and Wide Rangers. Wide Rangers are not tied to a given narrative Conclave, but instead learn some measure of a Conclave's techniques and magics before setting out on their own. These Wide Rangers may learn those secrets from a member of a Conclave, or as a member themselves, or even from guides to the natural world. But they are viewed as separate, alien, and other to members of Conclaves.

To be a Wide Ranger is to be alone in the world, which is what many who seek the Ranger lifestyle truly want when they take it up. They are generally seen as shiftless, untrustworthy, and selfish by those who understand the difference.

Rangers are also a class which undergoes drastic changes from the PHB, including the addition of natural tricks, the loss of Subclasses, and the splitting of their core class features. More than any other class, Rangers require a strong identity that the PHB has never provided, as it combined various characters across media into one central identity.

Warlock

Occultists and Delvers into Secret Lore, Warlocks fulfill a slightly different narrative function in the lands of Iobaria than they do in standard D&D. They still bind themselves to a specific Patron, and gain their class abilities through their service to that Patron. But the Patrons of the Ashen Lands are much more personable and humanlike. Each has their own goals, desires, and personalities. These patrons are called Vestiges.

Vestiges are beings of great power from across the world who, through willful action or mystical mishap, become a part of the Wasteland, a nearby plane of existence where the Gods of the world discard their refuse. Some Vestiges represent ancient wizards or liches of great skill trapped in that realm and seeking escape. Others are occultists, themselves, who delved into the Wasteland to find answers beyond mortal ken. And other Vestiges are the remnants of powerful outsiders such as Angels, Fey, and Fiends who cling to what they have long lost.

Making a pact with these Vestiges bears grave risks for the Warlock, but the powers that they grant are often worth the price... Work with your DM to create an appropriate Vestige for your character and the adventure!

Warmage

Across Iobar there are great Houses of Magic. The House of the Bishop in Alfheim, the Knight of Falconhurst, the Rook of Wolde, and the House of the King in Valka. Each of these arcane colleges has trained Warmages for the Iobarian Military for generations. Even after Iobar's fall, Warmages are highly sought after by each of the Seven Cities for their combat prowess.

As a Warmage, you were trained in the styles of one of these Houses. Either by a Tutor who was a Warmage, himself, or in one of the Houses if you were so very lucky as to be born into privilege or gathered great wealth. Any Warmage capable of gathering the exorbitant fees required to attend a Warmage College, and set aside the time to study, can change their Subclass to the new House they have chosen.

Warsworn

Paladins, Warmages, Eldritch Knights, Rangers, and Barbarians all represent a combination of Martial Prowess with a Magical Source. Arcane for Eldritch Knights and Warmages, Divine for Paladins, and Primal for Barbarians and Rangers.

The Warsworn are Martial Occultists. Warriors who turn to tomes of ancient knowledge, secret fighting techniques, or ways to enchant their weapons and armor occasionally find their way into Occult Secrets which grant them unique abilities tied to their very Essence.

By expending this resource, a Warsworn might hone an edge so delicate, a strike so precise, that it slices through reality and freezes your foes with the ebon darkness that lies beyond this reality.