Table of Contents

Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Chapter 1: What Came Before . . . . 5

The Land of Eorzea ; Wandering Time	5
The Revelation of Lukahn ; Chaos and Cosmos ; Rise of the Cosmic Church ; Twelve's Unity ; Elezen Colonialism	6
The Dragontooth War ; Harmonic Schism	7
The Arrheniad Empire ; Aftermath	8
What Comes After ; Calendars of Proxima	9

Chapter 2: Races of Proxima . . . . 10

Elezen	11
Human	13
Hyur	14
Lalafell	17
Miqo'te	19
Roegadyn	21

Au Ra	23
Burmeci	25
Dragonborn	26
Dwarf	27
Goblin	28
Hobgoblin	30
Orc	31
Viera	32

Bangaa	34
Bugbear	35
Espers	36
Guado	37
Hypello	38
Kenku	39
Lamia	40
Lupin	42
Mammet	43
Moogle	44
Qiqirn	46
Ronso	47
Seeq	49
Tortle	50
Beast Races	51

Chapter 3: Classes . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Arcanist	54
Astrologian	60
Bard (College of the Skysinger)	65
Black Mage	66
Blue Mage	70
Dancer	75
Dark Knight	79
Dragoon	85
Gunbreaker	90
Machinist	94
Monk (Way of Rhalgr)	99
Ninja (Rogue subclass)	100
Paladin (Oath of the Sultansworn)	101
Red Mage	102
Samurai	106
Warrior	110
White Mage	115

Chapter 4: Spells . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

New Spells	128

Chapter 5: Religions . . . . . . . . . 129

Eorzeism	129
Cosmicism	130
Sects of Cosmicism	135
Harmonism	136
Twelvism	137
The First Brood	141
Lifestreamism ; Crystalism	142
Dawn and Dusk ; The Green Word	143
Orcway ; Stone Tradition	144
Tridevi ; Zurvan's Will	145
Religious Adherence Demographics	146
The Lukahnic Sequence	147

Chapter 6: Locations . . . . . . . . . 149

The Planes	149
World Geography	150
(World Maps)	151
Regions of Proxima	152
Metros of Proxima	156

Appendix A: Arcanist Summons . . 159

Carbuncles	159
Egis	161
Nymian Fey	168

Appendix B: Items, Mounts, and Vehicles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170

Items	171
Magic Items	172
Mounts	174
Vehicles	176

Appendix C: Advance of the Arrheniad Empire . . . . . . . . . . . . 178

Point of the Compass ; Wishing for Improvement ; The Declaration of Empire	178
The Convocation of the Future ; The Highway March	179
Breath of Economy ; Waiting to Exhale ; The Catalytic Conversion	180
The Cassiopeia War ; Holy Hatred	181
Falling Stars ; The Kingsglaive ; Arrhenia Strikes Back	182
Collapse	183

Appendix D: Assorted Lore of Proxima . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184

Racial Feats ; Angels and Devils: What's the Difference? ; The Chromatic Hordes ; Cultural Architecture	184
Living Languages	185
Half-Bloods	188
World History Timelines	189
Fallen Civilizations	196
Regional Crop and Livestock Origins	197
Calendars of Proxima - Detail	199

Appendix E: Racial Naming Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202

Au Ra	202
Elezen	205
Hyur	206
Lalafell ; Miqo'te	207
Roegadyn	209

Preface

Hello.

Using the fantastic Homebrewery from NaturalCrit, I took the FFXIV x 5e Class Compendium from one Sorenson Asgard of the Gilgamesh server, hollowed it out, and -- through extensive expansion, re-balancing, re-ordering, proofreading, and compilation of a great many Final Fantasy franchise elements -- altered it to my satisfaction.

What resulted was a game world. I simply felt that such a thing needed to exist.

Find here the Reddit page where updates to Soren's fine original work are posted.

Great and abundant thanks goes to Allison, Brent, Evan, Jenny, Matt, and Zach for play-testing.

Enjoy.

Utility Links

The entirety of this document,

"Proxima Player Reference"

• PDF download of Proxima Player Reference
• Browser View link of Proxima Player Reference

Document 1A, "Just the Races"

• PDF download of document 1A
• Browser View link of document 1A

Document 1B, "Just the Classes"

• PDF download of document 1B
• Browser View link of document 1B

Document 1C, "Just the Worldbuilding"

• PDF download of document 1C
• Browser View link of document 1C

Sources

• Wizards of the Coast.
• Square-Enix Holdings Co., Ltd.
• FINAL FANTASY XIV, and the Final Fantasy franchise.
• Naoki Yoshida.
• Akihiko Yoshida (no relation)
• FFXIV x 5e Class Compendium, Sorenson Asgard.
• Race Naming Conventions, Square-Enix.
• Roegadyn Dictionary, Square-Enix.
• A Lesson in Dragonspeak, Square-Enix.
• Dragonspeak Dictionary, Square-Enix.
• Viera Naming Conventions, Square-Enix.
• Playable Races, http://ffxiv.consolegameswiki.com/
• Every Name The Game Can Give You: The Document, Tinolqa.
• Pangaea Proxima, National Geographic.
• Stjepan Sejic (Blue Mage comic panel).

Update Notes

• August 2019: I began a proofreading and revision of Soren's races-and-classes document to reflect necessary adjustments based on play-testing and conceptual unity. Substantial continuation lasted until November.
• February 2020: I continued some more, adding more Final Fantasy races based on existing D&D 5e races.
• April 2020: I began the arduous process of updating every single class and race in alphabetical order, proof-reading and editing the entire document, and devising worldbuilding solutions to provide conceptual unity.
• June 2020: I completed the work.
• March 2021: I added additional lore and fixed typos.
• January 2022: I added Reaper and Sage (as subclasses), and tweaked words and paragraphs to make the whole document fit Homebrewery's new formatting.
• Ongoing: Refinement. Periodic checking to ensure Homebrewery formatting doesn't bump paragraphs or columns of text to one side.

Legal Disclaimer

• I do not (of course) own any rights or permissions to the Dungeons & Dragons franchise, D&D 5e, the d20 system, Final Fantasy XIV, or the Final Fantasy franchise. I'm just a teacher, and this document is just a fan project to bring two beloved properties together in a creative way, and I receive no compensation for it. Fair use is fair use.

Contact Me

@Jackscarab on Twitter and Tumblr. Kannadi Albedo on the Balmung server of FFXIV.

Hopeful Future Projects

Making new and separate documents for:

• A campaign setting more limited than the entire planet
• A monster manual

Chapter 1: What Came Before

Gods have influenced Proxima since the very beginning. Through direct interventions or the revelations of prophets, beings of other planes have always made themselves apparent and given of their power to mortals. But where did gods come from? When was the beginning?

Humans were the first people to learn a portion of the truth. Other races knew their own shares. However, the sheer distance between disparate cultures on Proxima delayed the meetings of their respective academia and ecclesia, as well as the compilation and close study of their knowledge. Now, with the benefit of thousands of years of ever-increasing closeness and community, a single history can be told.

The number of people who know the history is a different matter. Most people are content with giving primacy to their own faith and history; their curiosity stops there. Some who know the full story choose to ignore portions for various reasons. As ever, cultures shape those who live within.

The Land of Eorzea

In the beginning, the goddess HDLN (or "Hydaelyn") bent the Lifestream onto the world of Proxima, filling it with life. Life developed for an unknown interval -- some say millions of years.

One day, life awoke to sapience in the land of Eorzea. (Its location is unknown and hotly debated.) The first two sapient people were Doga and Unei, but others soon arose.

Sapience is the first and most basic quality of a god. The Prime Material Plane is so small and limited that gods have great difficulty extending and executing their power there, but if they look, they can always detect other gods across planar boundaries. When HDLN detected sapient life on Proxima, She bid Her Voice, the Word of the Mother, Minfilia, to protect and nurture it as well as the land where it arose. Minfilia then created a holy border, the Rope of Minfilia, a golden double-helix in an eternal circle around Eorzea. There sapience developed safely for an unknown length of time.

One day, Sephirot the Tree of Knowledge duped Doga and Unei into cutting the Rope in order to let all self-aware life -- including a tree such as he -- roam the world. Sapience became free to spread, but forever after it would carry new perils such as doubt and discontent.

Wandering Time

Tens of thousands of years passed. Peoples spread and mixed. Whether certain races walked out of Eorzea whole or evolved afterward is a matter of perpetual debate. The earliest cities became ruins; the earliest nations became legends. Lacking the Rope to protect them, the sapients of Proxima began to be noticed by other gods. Many meddled. Some brought strife and ruin; others, boons and protection.

Among the beneficent ones were The Twelve, a pantheon from the Inner Planes who traveled to Proxima and chose specific races to serve and protect. Though they later created Outer Planes in which to live -- the Seven Heavens -- they loved their chosen people and defended them from evils known and horrors unknown. It would be many thousands of years, however, before their own people knew of their inter-relations; each of the Twelve's favored races thought their god stood alone.

A similarly ethnocentric religion arose with the coming of Midgardsormr the Crystal Dragon. One day, He entered Proxima from the Interdimensional Rift, bearing seven crystal eggs born of His flesh: the seven dragon gods of the First Brood. All dragons of the world arose from those seven gods. Genetic mixing between dragons and humans created the people known as dragonborn, who served the First Brood until the day all seven ascended to the Aerys, Outer Planes of their own design.

Powerful and beloved as they and other gods were, knowledge of a given deity was typically only rumor beyond its home regions. Few people indeed were well-traveled enough to learn them all.

This ignorance became intolerable to some.

The Revelation of Lukahn

Among mages on Proxima, none were as powerful or as knowledgable as those of Mysidia. They sought truth beyond the Prime Material Plane, and so created spells to peer into and even visit other planes.

The greatest of the Mysidian wizards was Fusoya Lukahn. After inventing the spell astral projection, he spent a full century cheating death by traveling the Farplane, seeking out whomever was responsible for life and its suffering in order to demand answers.

Exactly 100 years after he began his search, Lukahn en-countered Minfilia. From Her he learned the tale of Eorzea and the existence of HDLN -- the Goddess who governed at a remove so as to leave life free to "live, die, and know." Lukahn returned to his body the wisest man on Proxima. The faith he founded was known as Eorzeism, and those who followed it called themselves Eorzeans. They counted their calendar from the day that the Rope was severed and Eorzea came to an end: Year 1 of Wandering Time. The return of Lukahn therefore occurred in the year 33,300 WT.

Despite the living knowledge of the creator of the world, the next six thousand years passed much the same as the previous tens of thousands. Eorzeans were not given to evangelism, and so most of the world knew nothing of them.

Chaos and Cosmos

39,300 years after Eorzea spilled its life upon the world, a devout Eorzean named Cid of Lufaine received a revelation. Doga and Unei transported him to their own Outer Plane and informed him that they, being the very first people, were immortal. It had taken them 39,300 years, living and learning and going about life every single day, to grow into gods in their own right. They bid him learn from Them in order to found a new faith based on love and unity.

Soon, however, Sephirot arrived and declared his jealousy of Doga and Unei's unfair ascension. In anger he devoured Doga, becoming a new god named Chaos. Chaos instantly set about corrupting the gods of Proxima and unleashing legions of destructive fiends from other planes.

As Chaos spread His wickedness, Unei wept. Before Cid's eyes, Minfilia came to Unei and offered to fuse with Her into a force to counter Chaos forever. She accepted, and the two became the goddess Cosmos. Cosmos sealed Chaos and herself into separate Outer Planes and sent Cid back to Proxima to tell the world what had transpired.

Rise of the Cosmic Church

Cid experienced difficulty announcing the facts of the matter.

Though Chaos was forever banished from the Prime Material Plane, His minions were not, and His influence created new and terrible fiends to bedevil Proxima. Cosmos, too, reached beyond Her own prison and created forces to battle Him where She could. The Twelve also battled Chaos's minions, and in so doing walked physically in Proxima together for the first time in tens of thousands of years. Even the First Brood took note, but seeing that Chaos had already been sealed away, they did not personally appear, merely sending servants of Their wills to aid Their people.

The daily blows of the war brought ruin to many parts of the world -- most of which had never even heard of HDLN, let alone Chaos. This presented opportunities for nascent empires like Bevelle to gobble up wartorn neighbors. One of the cities that Bevelle absorbed was Lufaine, and with it they acquired Cid. Bevellian officials doubted his account. When he loudly denounced the empire's greed in the face of apocalypse, they prepared to execute him as an example.

It was on Cid's gallows that six angels appeared. They, agents of Cosmos, declared not only that Cid was completely correct, but that Cosmos had, after great exertions of power and concentration, sent forth four slivers of Her might from Her plane. They were the Four Archangels: Ozma, Eureka, Eden, and Absolute Virtue. Their combined power tipped the scales, and soon Chaos's minions were scoured from Proxima. All divine participants withdrew to defensive positions, forever vigilant. The world returned to balance.

Cid instantly became the prophet of the new Cosmic Church, the official religion of Bevelle. The physical and magical might of the empire spread the faith as far as it could reach. Missionary work consolidated more knowledge in Bevelle than had ever before been gathered in one place. More and more of Proxima became known by more and more people, and the story of Chaos and Cosmos became the foundation of the largest religion the world had ever known.

Twelve's Unity

In the year 1212 of the Cosmic Calendar, an elezen named Haurchefant Greystone, knight of the nation of Ishgard across the sea from Bevelle's sphere of influence, fell into a ravine. Halone the Fury, national god of Ishgard, spared him from the fatal fall and spirited him away to Her realm, the Heaven of Ice. There She revealed that the time had come for the world to know the relationship of the Twelve, and that Haurchefant would be Their chief prophet. She directed Haurchefant to travel Proxima and unite the Twelve's people: hyur, elezen, lalafell, miqo'te, and roegadyn.

His task was hard and his journey was long, but with the assistance of friends he met along the way, he succeeded in revealing the connections of the Twelve to Their people. 1212 CC became 1 TU, the first year of "Twelve's Unity."

Unlike the Cosmic Church, Twelvism had no single governing structure. Instead, Twelvist cultures treated each other as neighbors or family, the "Twelvist Community." Whereas Bevelle housed a centralized bureaucracy of priests (increasingly distant from the ideals of Cid of Lufaine himself), Twelvists relied on their native religious experts to study the Twelve and teach Their ways.

Some of these faithful scholars became prophets in their own right, but none were as important as Saint Haurchefant.

Elezen Colonialism

The power of community enriched previously unrelated nations. Of these, three mighty and predominantly elezen powers -- Ishgard, Narshe, and Leveilleur -- decided to mimic Bevelle and spread their faith to increase their prosperity. The three nations colonized both Twelvist and non-Twelvist lands in eastern Proxima, growing richer year by year to the detriment of colonized populations.

Between the realms of Cosmicism and Twelvism, academics knew much about the east and center of Proxima. They knew that land continued to the west, but native peoples, hostile wildlife, and Proxima's largest and longest mountain range proved an effective barrier to westward journeys. Bevelle declared the West to be of no value, not when so many in easier reach had yet to be converted.

Science had long since revealed the shape of Proxima was a sphere. With Bevelle officially uninterested in the West, the three Twelvist colonial powers smelled an opportunity.

In 1396 CC (184 TU), Ishgard launched a massive eastward voyage of exploration (i.e. conquest) in order to reach the West from a more hospitable direction. They succeeded, finding themselves in an uncharted land: Afahdranlehs, the birthplace of dragons and dragonborn. Dragons were not unknown to Ishgard, and they knew exactly how to deal with them. In a quirk of history, the portion of Afahdranlehs that they "discovered" was shunned by the rest, and so their conquest went uncontested at first, affording them a foothold. It would not last.

One day in 1399 CC (187 TU), Ishgardian conquistadors destroyed a temple to Tiamat -- She of the First Brood, Mother of Chromatic Dragons -- housing a tooth from each of Her heads. Such teeth were common gifts She gave to Her children, and indeed no temple was without at least one, but each and every holy tooth was a dearly beloved relic, an inviolable piece of the cultural hoard.

For the sake of five lost teeth, chromatic dragons and dragonborn formed an alliance and, beginning in 1400 CC (188 TU), launched a bloody crusade of vengeance to burn down all that elezen held.

The Dragontooth War

The advance of the war was prosecuted by five ancient chromatic dragons, each with a Horde of their own. Chief among them was Fafnir, an Ancient Red Dragon, who declared himself the "Blood of Nidhogg." Led by Fafnir, the Chromatic Hordes scoured eastern Proxima, razing elezen cities and destroying elezen cultures. They always targeted the holdings of the three colonial powers but did not particularly care who got caught in the middle.

After half a century, the three elezen powers abandoned their colonies and withdrew to their cores. The majority of the vengeful dragons and dragonborn nobility were satisfied with this; fifty years of unrelenting torment and ruination was deemed sufficient payment for the loss of the holy relics. A decade for each tooth. Fafnir, however, remained unsatisfied.

The power and cruelty of the Horde of Fafnir were legendary. For an additional two hundred fifty years, he assailed Ishgard in a "siege of the spirit," desiring not so much the extinction of the city as the utter enervation of its soul. It might have gone on for a thousand years if not for a party of heroes: the Knights of the Round.

A found family of Twelvists whose lives had been altered by Fafnir, the Knights rose through the ranks of the Ishgardian Orthodox Church and discovered great corruption there. Their Archbishop, Thordan, had concocted a plan to summon Halone Herself and enslave Her to destroy Fafnir. On New Year's Day of 1700 CC, the Knights together slew Fafnir to remove the very reason for such heresy, but their victory only emboldened Thordan. If Halone were bound to him in an ancient summoning ritual, he would annihilate all dragonkind and conquer the world.

With the help of an anti-corruption faction they befriended, the Knights slew Thordan and revealed his wickedness to the people. Fafnir’s remaining generals scattered. Ishgard rebuilt, reformed itself into a representative government, and came to terms of peace with dragons and dragonborn, as brokered by the city-state of Leveilleur.

Harmonic Schism

While the lands of Twelvism and the First Brood clashed, Bevelle dealt with its own problems. Corruption in the Cosmic Church had grown rampant. The holy bloated empire had taken to brutal enforcement of its orthodoxy.

In the year 1600 CC, a man named Cidolfus Orlandeau had enough, and plotted a schism to follow individual interpretation of the Book of Lufaine, not the scaffolding of clergy built around it. The angel Pryna saw his determination and revealed to him the entire Book -- including those parts the Church had initially edited out -- and bid him "lead those who feel unled."

There were many indeed who felt "unled" by the Church.

Orlandeau and his Cosmic Readers, evading heavy persecution, founded Reader nations on the periphery of the Cosmic World. It was in one such nation, not long after the end of the Dragontooth War, that a Reader named Ascilia Lhamine was born.

Brilliant from a young age, Ascilia studied all that was known of history and religion. It disappointed her that so much blood had been shed over what she saw as problems of dualism -- black and white, one and another. She felt intensely that every such conflict was a misunderstanding, and that the core of one side could always be found in the other.

In 1721 CC, her beliefs were vindicated. Two hitherto-unknown gods, Materia and Spiritus, revealed Themselves to her. Theirs was the balance she had so sought: the equilibrium of mind and soul, technology and nature, order and freedom, and so forth. At the age of fourteen Ascilia gathered what few Readers who would listen and set forth to spread her new religion, which she named Harmonism.

Bevelle followed Ascilia's rise with wary interest. The admiration of little-respected folk such as moogles and espers was no concern, but when she traveled west and boldly preached her faith of harmony to orcs and hobgoblins, the Cosmic Church only openly moved against her.

Harmonics had already begun causing social unrest in Bevelle. Fearing a potential army of western savages further emboldening Bevelle's minorities, the Grandmaester himself ordered a Cosmic Precession, a war-march of the faithful. The Precession ravaged its way to Ascilia, captured her, transported her thousands of miles away from her people, and burned her at the stake at the age of 35.

By making a martyr, Bevelle had only guaranteed Harmonism's continued growth.

The Arrheniad Empire

By 1970 CC, or 758 TU, or 249 Harmonic Era (HE), the small Harmonic empire of Davaniel stood among Twelvist neighbors on land that had once been scoured bare by the Horde of Fafnir. Davaniel's component regions had little in common but the faith, and in-fighting was common.

As a result of this institutional weakness and diversity of opinion, the profession of adventuring -- traveling the land seeking bounties for good work and ill -- was more common in Davaniel than elsewhere. The most famed band of adventurers at the time was known as the Compass, led by a tiefling sorcerer named Arrhenia Citrinitas. After years of honing their skills, the Compass came to do battle with a world-threatening illithilich named Arrapago the Singular. The heroes united the fracturing empire behind them, drove back Arrapago's forces and slew the undead mindflayer before he could complete a ritual to kill all humanoid life.

As payment for that service, the weak government of Davaniel installed Arrhenia as its Empress at the age of 30. She wasted no time, applying all she knew of magic and tactics toward not religion but modernity.

With innovative, intensive application of known magics, as well as the development of new technologies such as "electricity," Arrhenia created a standard of living above even the very best of Bevelle or its allies. With legions of diplomats and unanswerable special forces, whole countries fell under her administration or within her sphere of influence.

Villages grew into cities in a matter of months. Peerless infrastructure sprung up practically overnight. Highways and bridges connected far-flung peoples as never before, and most welcomed it. The citizens of the Empire enjoyed equity in civil rights, a fair and impartial justice system, and a well-regulated economy. In the span of only twenty-five years, the Arrheniad Empire controlled the entire northeast of Proxima and began making alliances that one day promised to unite the world in peace and prosperity.

Bevelle could not abide it.

Not only was a "devilborn" tiefling rivaling them for hearts and minds, and not only did she create from nothing a genuine threat to the economy of the Cosmic World, she was doing it without official state religion, and building faster than could be believed.

The Grandmaester declared a Cosmic Precession against her, and though Arrhenia was prepared for the attack, she underestimated the power of religious zealotry. The Church abandoned great swaths of contested territory to bring its full might to bear against her. Among the Precession was a team of holy warriors, the Kingsglaive, who launched surgical strikes at Arrhenia's generals and highest-value holdings.

In the end, the Kingsglaive confronted Arrhenia herself. They had learned of the site at which the long-dead Arrapago had planned to trigger his genocide -- the heart of the former Davaniel -- and planned to use it to instead trigger a magical explosion. The Cleansing, as they called it, would decapitate the Empire by flooding its largest cities and killing hundreds of thousands of people. Arrhenia fought ferociously to save her people, but lacking her generals -- the friends who had made up the Compass with her -- the Kingsglaive overcame her and sacrificed themselves to destroy the Empire.

Aftermath

The Empire had been built with haste over vast territory, making it utterly dependent on swiftness of communication and travel linking to the capital and Arrhenia herself. Without their government, their military, or their hub of infrastructure, the people of the Empire were thrown into chaos.

As it had done long before in the wake of Chaos, Bevelle swiftly capitalized on the disaster by conquering many parts of the former Empire. As the Church advanced, they took particular care to wipe out as much knowledge of imperial advances as they could. Infrastructure was shattered. Engineers were executed. Books and fuel were burned.

The Church did not destroy everything it touched, however. Certain sufficiently mundane inventions such as medicines, electrical lighting, and indoor plumbing were kept, as well as the Empire's vast advances in magical knowledge. All of it was hoarded for the sole use of the Cosmic World.

At the dawning of the Second Millennium, 2001 CC, the Cosmic Church's strength was once again unchallenged. The Twelvist community, Harmonist states, and other faiths and nations took the destruction of the Arrheniad Empire as an object lesson. Bevelle was not to be trifled with.

And yet they could not wipe the wonders of the Empire from the minds of the people. Former Arrheniad citizens would always remember when one woman was unafraid to exercise all her power toward public good.

They would remember.

Calendars of Proxima

Chapter 2: Races of Proxima

The Stiltzkin Cartography Union, the company of extraordinary moogle mapmakers, has grouped the sapients of Proxima into three categories based on population. An exact global census is impossible, but the SCU's estimation is trusted as the most reliable.

"Common" races each have an estimated global population of between 50 and 100 million. Similarly, "Uncommon" races number between 10 and 50 million, while "Rare" races are estimated at 10 million or fewer.

Common

Elezen

Elezen are not elves and resent being called such.

Human

Humans are humans. If you're reading this, you might be one.

Hyur

Hyur are siblings of humans, more physically specialized.

Lalafell

Diminutive and confident. Prejudicial toward dwarves.

Miqo'te

Catlike people divided by lines of matriarchy and patriarchy.

Roegadyn

A large people who originated in a rainy archipelago.

Uncommon

Au Ra

A race of scaled people with sound-conducting horns.

Burmeci

Graceful rodent-like people with a strong cultural heart.

Dragonborn

Descended from dragons and somewhat resembling them.

Dwarf

Evolutionary cousins of lalafell, very long-lived.

Goblin

Diminutive people with idiosyncratic ways of living.

Hobgoblin

Tall goblinoids living in highly-regimented societies.

Orc

Strong, bald proto-mammals mostly grouped in an empire.

Viera

Reclusive rabbit-like people of deep forests.

Rare

Bangaa

A clever people resembling, but are absolutely not, lizards.

Bugbear

A furry goblinoid people favoring ease of action.

Esper

A catch-all term for aasimar, genasi, and tieflings.

Guado

Partially tree-like people of deep forests.

Hypello

Bipedal amphibians with large flaring cheeks.

Kenku

Misunderstood raven-like people who speak only in mimicry.

Lamia

Monogendered snake-like people of varying lengths.

Lupin

Honorable and community-focused wolf-like people.

Mammet

Artificial humanoids built for war, now seeking purpose.

Moogle

Playful, winged, mole-like people with pompom antennas.

Qiqirn

Inquisitive rodent-like people, famously fond of eggs.

Ronso

Brawny lion-like people of the mountains and cold.

Seeq

Pig-like people who treasure eating and resting.

Tortle

Peaceable tortoise-like people.

Common Races:

Elezen

"For centuries, our nation has been punished for the sins of our forefathers. If our punishment is to end, I believe we must right the wrongs of antiquity and move forward as a nation united. Needless to say, my father did not share this opinion."

~ Ser Aymeric de Borel, Lord Commander of Ishgard

Elezen are the original people of Constell, the northeastern subcontinent of the Proxima crescent. From the many peninsulas of the region, elezen once commanded great fleets and market powers, but now they are more humble and spiritually inclined.

Elegance and Pride

It is important to note that despite their slender bodies and pointed ears, elezen are not elves, and in fact they consider the term offensive. Actual elves, who call themselves Eladrin, are lithe, fickle, haughty, and decadent magical creatures of Otherworld. When pressed as to why elezen find elves so hateful, an elezen might reply, "They give pride a bad name."

Historical Prominence

An elezen known as Haurchefant Greystone experienced the revelation that the Twelve were an interrelated pantheon rather than isolated local gods. Twelvism remains the elezens' greatest contribution to Proxima’s body of religions. Despite this, the majority of Twelvists are non-elezen.

In olden times, elezen developed into several colonial powers, the greatest of which were Ishgard, Narshe, and Leveilleur. Whereas Leveilleur sent diplomats as settlers and Narshe sent businessmen, Ishgard sent conquerors. The colonial period ended when Ishgard reached the "un-discovered" lands of the dragons and provoked their ire. Elezen nations collapsed under the disproportionate assault of the dragons and dragonborn, freeing colonies and allowing many native lands to be choked out by competitors and occupied by monsters and foreign powers.

The diaspora that followed allowed elezen to re-establish themselves almost as widely as humans. Now the elezen are just another race, humbled by their own history.

Civilization in Nature

Both Wildwood and Duskwight elezen are so named for their historical cultural dwellings, not necessarily their modern ones. Wildwood are descended from elezen who lived in forests, whereas Duskwight are descended from elezen who lived in cave systems. The height of elezen culture brought both together in great cities well outside their ancestral range; after the diaspora, some sought out similar places across the world, others returned to their points of origin, and still others retained the orderly comforts of city life.

Wherever they went, elezen sought to balance and emphasize natural features. Forests held great wooden houses, mountains bore great citadel cities, and caverns protected huge vaulted halls.

Elezen Naming Conventions

Both the Wildwood and Duskwight Elezen are proud clans from a proud race. The forenames and surnames used by them have changed little since the aftermath of the Chaos. However, due to subsequent ages of bad blood between the two tribes, the surnames once commonly used by both have been claimed by one side or the other. Now one will find that while the structures and spellings of the names are extremely similar, and they follow the same phonetic rules, a Duskwight and a Wildwood will never have the same last name.

Female names tend to end in -ne, -ette, or -elle or on extended vowels like -ie, and be shorter than the male names.

Male names are longer, and will end in x, such as -loix (pronounced lo-ah) or -aux (pronounced -oh), or end in a silent t, such as -mont (pronounced moan) or -geant (pronounced -john).

Male Elezen Names. Aurifort, Bertennant, Carrilaut, Mourechaux, Nogeloix, Padilloux, Raitmeaux, Vairemont

Female Elezen Names. Ceaulie, Elviane, Etoinelle, Jainelett, Jannie, Pimelle, Saulette, Tivionne

Elezen Surnames. Alamenain, Borel, Brassard, Caphieux, Faucilien, Forchetaix, Georjeau, Jeulerand, Mestonnaux, Quiloud, Sarmantoix, Valeroyant, Vilauclaire, Xavalien

Elezen Traits

Your elezen character has a variety of natural abilities.

Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 1 and your Wisdom score increases by 1.

Age. Though elezen are one of the longest-standing races, they do not live much longer than anyone else. They reach physical maturity around age 18 and live into their nineties.

Alignment. Wildwood Elezen lean towards lawful alignments, for only through careful order could they sustain their expansion in balance with nature. Duskwight Elezen, long persecuted for their underground lifestyle, tend to view outsiders' laws as arbitrary and lean toward chaotic alignments.

Size. Elezen are known for their tall and lanky figures. Adult men and women are rarely shorter than six feet, and the average range tops out at six and a half feet. Your size is Medium.

Keen Senses. You have proficiency in the Perception skill.

Clarity. You have a clarity of self that rebuffs attempts to sway you. You have advantage on saving throws against being charmed.

Proud Heritage. You've long ago lost track of how many times one elezen or another in your life has gone on about something that happened in the past. Most of it has stuck. You gain proficiency with the History skill.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30ft.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Elezen (Eleçais, or French). The native elezen language uses the same alphabet as Common, and like Common, it has many oddities of silent letters and spelling versus pronunciation. Unlike Common, however, nearly every word is gendered.

Subrace. The Elezen come from two different clans. Select one of the two subraces of Elezen.

Wildwood

Wildwood elezen are aggressive protectors of whatever forested corners of the natural world they inhabit. From alpine highlands to deep jungle and deciduous woods between, Wildwoods craft their towns and cities in balance with nature -- a careful coexistence that shuns great changes in the status quo.

Colonial powers exploited this cultural inclination by claiming their expansion promoted balance in the world. It didn't, necessarily.

Ability Score Increase. Your ancestors adapted well to woodland life. Your Dexterity score increases by 1.

People-Reading. Maintaining natural balance has given Wildwood Elezen natural skills of apprehending true natures. You gain proficiency in the Insight skill.

Spatial Precision. Perhaps because of dozens of generations of archery, as well as thousands of years of architectural improvement upon nature with great care taken to maintain balance, spatial intelligence comes easily to Wildwoods. You may add your proficiency to ranged attack rolls if you don't already have it.

Duskwight

Duskwights are elezen who made their original homes in subterranean cave systems. Whereas dwarves carved out extensive mines and tunnels in which to live and harvest, Duskwights carefully shaped the natural earth and stone walls of their homes into vast elegant geometry with little care for extracting mineral wealth.

Duskwights hunted and even farmed in the low light of primeval forests and deep natural caverns, supplementing their insular lifestyle with occasional banditry. Their light hair and gray-toned skin set them apart from their surface-dwelling cousins, fomenting cultural prejudices that the necessary thieving only exacerbated.

Over time, Duskwights who moved out into the light integrated into Wildwood populations with varying success.

Ability Score Increase. Your ancestors adapted well to difficult conditions underground. Your Constitution score increases by 1.

Darkvision. Your eyes have adapted to help you see in the dark. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern colour in darkness, only shades of grey.

Dusk Shadow. Deftness in the dark comes as second nature to you. You have advantage on Stealth checks.

Human

"Humans need fantasy to be human. To be the place where the falling angel meets the rising ape."

~ Sir Terry Pratchett, human author

The most populous and widest-distributed race of Proxima, none of the great regions of the world are without humans. Rules for humans are identical to Fifth Edition; consult the Player’s Handbook.

Humans can be anything a sapient can be, from saint to monster and all the levels between, sometimes even over the course of a single life.

Getting Into Everything

Humans of Proxima are famously diverse, curious, and nigh-infinitely adaptable. They are a fundamentally lonesome people, and have come up with many ways to live in order to mitigate that -- primarily by forming institutions dedicated to preserving traditions long beyond a single human lifetime.

Wanderers to the core, they settled everywhere they could and proliferated, but only rarely pushed out indigenous populations. In the broad view of history, humans prefer to meld with or coexist with a people rather than replace them.

That said, there are some regions where humans are native and jealously defensive of their land, and some human-majority cities persecute non-humans. The existence of such places illustrates the diversity of the human experience.

Everybody's Cousin

All reputable scientists agree that ancient human ancestry is the reason why so very many of the sapient races of Proxima can interbreed with humans. Indeed, the word "humanoid" means "human-like." There is less agreement about whether they actually predated those other races or simply split off from one and proliferated, but the fact remains: most people have a little human in them.

Biologically, humans have phenomenal range of hybridization. Other races know this, and have varying opinions toward half-human children. Some embrace them unconditionally. Some value culture more than genetic heritage, and accept them if they act sufficiently orthodox. Others automatically see them as "othered" from birth, and only accept them after routine daily demonstrations of "normality." Still others shun them outright.

For a comprehensive list of human interracial genetic compatibility, consult Appendix D.

Religious Popularity

If blood relation is humanity's largest gift to the world, religion is their second largest. Humans independently developed the sequence of Lukahnic Faiths: Eorzeism, Cosmicism, and more recently Harmonism. The three religions, which all stem from the revelation of the first prophet Lukahn, together reach some two hundred million souls -- estimated to be about one-fourth of all sapients on Proxima, and almost the entirety of certain minority races.

Hyur

"Go beyond!"

~ Old Hyur Proverb

Hyur are siblings to humans, just as widespread and respected as them, though estimated to be slightly less numerous. They split into a technically different, more specialized species after a long establishment between three mountain ranges in south-south-eastern Proxima. They are physically identical to humans in all ways but one: a hyur's pinky toe has only two bones.

A Matter of Location

The Sen region of Proxima is divided from its geographic neighbors by the Meriphataud Mountains in the west, Southern Aerbs in the north, and the Aldanna Mountains in the east. Hyur who populated that mountainous rim became known as Highlanders, tall and rugged. Those who remained in the well-guarded plains between were called Midlanders, shorter and allegedly cleverer. "Lowlander" is a historical term used by Midlanders and Highlanders to refer, derisively, to Al-Bhed, who once lived in river lowlands. Al-Bhed were often on the move, shunned and misunderstood by hyur for cultural godlessness and lack of all magic ability.

Specialized Generalists

Hyur are every bit as socially adaptable as humans, but physiologically, they have to some extent already adapted. Midlander minds are sharper than the average human. Highlander bodies are stronger than the average human. They are not so skilled as to be beyond human limits, nor are they grow any faster than humans, but they benefit from inborn head starts when it comes to honing skills.

Community Values

Hyur are typically inclined more toward group interest than self-interest. While humans are notoriously social, they come together primarily to fill the emptiness in themselves. Hyur come together primarily to fill the emptiness in each other. The distinction is subtle, and often lost on many observers.

If the greatest paragons of humanity are bold and ambitious individualists meeting with great success through hard work, then the greatest social exemplars among hyur are those who achieve greatness by serving, protecting, or leading their fellow hyur.

That is not to say that all humans are selfish, or that all hyur are selfless. Both races need people. Both races can be bold, forward-thinking, and determined to see their ideal future brought to life by their own doing. In the broad view, however, hyur are best motivated by what will serve their community, and humans are best motivated by what will impress their community.

Hyur Naming Conventions

Hyuran names vary less than those of humans, but still leave room for an abundance of creativity.

Midlander first names are remarkably similar to Anglo-Saxon, Celtic, and Briton names that appeared in medieval (pre-17th century) Europe, or Korean, Chinese, and Japanese names of the same period. Their family names are usually based off of professions, or locations of where they or their families lived. They may also represent a person’s outward features (i.e. brown hair leading to the surname "Browne").

Highlander forenames are remarkably similar to medieval European names that have Germanic, Normandic, or occasionally even Turkish roots. They will often adopt colorful nicknames earned during battle.

Al-Bhed names are most often two-syllable, frequently bridged by a glottal stop written as a double letter. Fricatives are rare in given names, such that f, th, thh, and v are not used at all. A hard g is also not used.

"Proper" Al-Bhed surnames are simply the word "uv" followed by their birthplace. If born in travel, the surname is the Al-Bhed word for the means of transport.

Male Midlander Names. Abraham, Eddard, Hien, Hoddyn, Homei, Lambert, Makoto, Petyr, Roarich, Werner, Yozan

Female Midlander Names. Agnys, Akagi, Deidra, Hilda, Higiri, Isolde, Koharu, Kozakura, Maeve, Rowena, Theldry

Male Highlander Names. Aethlwold, Berthar, Gundobald, Hunfrid, Ilberd, Lewenhart, Raubahn, Theodoric, Wymund

Female Highlander Names. Aenor, Bergard, Demuth, Gerhild, Imanie, Lyse, Mathild, Orieldis, Sigberta, Ulreda

Male Al-Bhed Names. Alb, Benzo, Berrik, Blappa, Cid, Jimmi, Nimrook, Rin, Shinra, Tlabbok

Female Al-Bhed Names. Baj, Dhannu, Judda, Lakkam, Nhadala, Rammu, Rikku, Slanna, Tijanook, Yunni

Midlander Surnames. Ackerman, Baker, Browne, Daito, Miyamagi, Nagae, Rijin, Ryder, Stone, Tanner, Waters, Young

Highlander Surnames. Aldynn, Battle, Frostwyght, Greywolfe, Hawke, Hext, Marshall, Quick, Strong, Warde

Al-Bhed Surnames. uv-Home, uv-Rabanastre, uv-Narshe, uv-Cay (of Sea), uv-Creb (of Ship), uv-Creb-Normandy (of Ship Normandy), uv-Nyut (of Road), uv-L'rulupu (of Chocobo)

Hyur Traits

It's hard to make generalizations about hyur, but your hyur character has these traits.

Ability Score Increase. An ability score of your choice increases by 1.

Age. Hyur reach adulthood in their late teens and most often live less than a century.

Alignment. Hyur tend toward no particular alignment. The best and worst are found among them.

Size. Hyur tend to range in height from 5 to 6 and a half feet tall depending on their heritage. Midlanders struggle to pass 6 feet, Highlanders easily pass it, and Al-Bhed lie in the middle. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Spread of Culture. Your narrower spectrum of strengths compared to humans doesn't mean you can't have fun. You gain proficiency with a set of artisan's tools, a gaming set, or a musical instrument of your choice, taken from your native culture.

Versatility. Humans might have generalist strength, but you have specific skill. You gain proficiency in two skills of your choice.

Languages. You can speak, read and write Common and one other language of your choice. Like humans, hyur typically learn the languages of other people they deal with, including obscure dialects. They are fond of sprinkling their speech with words borrowed from other tongues: orcish curses, elezen musical expressions, dwarvish military phrases, and so on.

Subrace. Hyur have changed over time based on where they lived. Select one of the two subraces of hyur.

Midlander

As a Midlander, you are a child of possibility. Midlanders can live well anywhere in the world and not seem out of place. Due to their ability to find comfortable lives anywhere, they have become highly adaptable and well-educated.

Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score increases by 2.

Early Education. Midlander cultures almost universally value academics. You are proficient in an additional language and the History skill.

Highlander

The Highlanders see life as built on conflict, whether against the hostility of nature or the designs of other people. They are no strangers to violence, and have conquered (if not yet tamed) many rugged lands. Life in these tough conditions has hardened the Highlanders as a people, leading to naturally powerful builds.

Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 2.

Natural Athlete. You gain proficiency in the Athletics skill.

Al-Bhed

The Al-Bhed are a people frequently shunned by other hyur and even humans. Their physical inability to use magic in any form made them, in ancient times, exploitable by the magically inclined and shunned by the religious. They survived by building a strong community, bolstered by their willingness to seek and use new technologies and sciences.

Al-Bhed are both a culture and a physiologically distinct subrace – but as a subrace, they "pass" easily. Their skin and hair may be any human/hyur color. Their only clear visual marker is a spiral pattern to the pupils of their eyes, which may not arise at all in mixed-race Al-Bhed.

If your hyur character's pupils are solid black circles, then they may be culturally Al-Bhed, but they must use either Midlander or Highlander traits. If your hyur character's eyes have spiral-shaped pupils, then you may use the following Al-Bhed traits for them.

Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 2.

Al-Bhed Proficiencies. You gain proficiency with one type of tools of your choice, as well as with the Survival skill.

Mundane. Regardless of your class, you cannot cast spells -- not even cantrips. Attempting to use scrolls or enchanted items (wands, etc.) will result in no effect but a slight headache, and you can never attune to a magical object no matter how long it remains in your possession. You can, however, use magic items which do not draw from spell slots (such as potions) or devices that activate spells set by a third party (such as traps).

Due to this trait, the arcanist, astrologian, black mage, blood hunter, blue mage, cleric, dark knight, druid, paladin, red mage, sorcerer, warlock, white mage, and wizard classes are unavailable to you. Only the barbarian, bard, dancer, dragoon, fighter, gunbreaker, machinist, monk, ranger, rogue, samurai, and warrior classes are available to you, though all spellcasting within them is prohibited to you.

Some features and abilities are powered by energy inherent (if latent) in the body, such as a dancer's espirit or monk's ki. You may still draw from that energy. However, it cannot be used to cast spells that would ordinarily require a spell slot, such as in the Way of Four Elements subclass.

Spiral Eye. Your spiral-shaped pupils are capable of focusing on multiple points at once, granting you unparalleled precision of forward and peripheral vision. You gain proficiency in the Perception and Investigation skills if you don’t already have it. Furthermore, your visual acuity gives you superior awareness and aim; under normal light conditions, you may roll with advantage on Perception checks, Investigation checks, and attack rolls. If you cannot see, then this trait is negated.

Dab Hand. On actions taken using any tools with which you are proficient, you may use twice your proficiency bonus.

Languages. You can speak, write, and read Common and Al-Bhed. (Al-Bhed is a cipher of the English alphabet, using mostly-English and occasionally-French pronunciation. Translators such as this one do the text work for you.)

Variant Al-Bhed: Garlean

Some ancient Al-Bhed migrated far from the rest. Over time, they lost their spiral pupils, but gained a light-sensitive "third eye" organ in their foreheads that provided the exact same benefits. They are called "Garleans," but they use all Al-Bhed traits.

Lalafell

"'Tis mine intent that the ruling class of our golden city should take its place beside the common man in a fair and equitable republic. No more shall this nation bow to the whims of a privileged few."

~ Nanamo Ul Namo, Sultana of Ul'Dah

Characterized by small jaws, pointed ears, extremely efficient digestive systems, and short height with nearly dwarflike muscle density, these tiny folk are highly ambitious and are not afraid to take hold of opportunity when it appears before them.

Lalafell are often patronizing if not prejudicial toward dwarves. Lalafellin legend holds that dwarves were once Stonefolk, the most stubborn and aggressive lalafell subrace. Many lalafell still believe it.

Small and Practical

Lalafell are larger than moogles, but they still only top out at three and a half feet tall. Dunesfolk evolved an ocular layer which covers their pupils, protecting them from the sun and sand of the desert while not diminishing their acuteness of vision -- akin to a two-way mirror. As a mark of culture, Dunesfolk will often place gemstones associated with their zodiac sign on their foreheads.

Both male and female lalafell have wide-set hips and flat chests, but their facial hair and vocal ranges are akin to humans. The surest way a non-lalafell may tell a lalafell's gender, however, is by their name. The rules there are as ironclad as any dwarven tradition.

Scouting the Horizon

Lalafell are of the plains and sands, as their Plainsfolk and Dunesfolk subraces suggest. Being short in stature, they value wide vistas where they can see danger coming and high-rise architecture for even better views. They also serve well on ships, as the sea is just another comfortably flat plain to them. Though they originated in the east of Proxima, they have spread widely on routes of least resistance.

Of Land and Sand

Plainsfolk lalafell began as farmers on fertile prairies. Dunesfolk lalafell, not so lucky in land, instead turned to animal husbandry. While Plainsfolk built sprawling towns in the grasses, Dunesfolk built their homes on the backs of beasts of burden and traveled with their herds. Eventually the Dunesfolk came to a rest on sites of great mineral wealth and built cities to rival any town of the plains.

Family and Fortune

Lalafell care deeply for their small families and would do anything for them, but a seemingly natural ambition drives lalafell toward personal advancement at the same time. Merchants travel the land, researchers seek knowledge in secret places, sellswords prove their bravery, and politicians forge alliances between far-flung families. Lalafell may be small, but they take on the world in a big way.

Lalafell Naming Conventions

Both Plainsfolk and Dunsefolk lalafell names are ruled by rhythm, repetition, and rhyming (as well as a little alliteration). Syllable count also plays a large part. There are four unique sets of rules, from which lalafell rarely deviate. Once the rules are learned, one will be able to discern a lalafell's clan and gender by simply looking at their name.

Gender and Subrace	Rhyme Scheme
Male Plainsfolk	AB - CB
Female Plainsfolk	ABB - AB
Male Dunesfolk	AAB - CCB
Female Dunesfolk	AAB - AB

Lalafell pronounce their name vowels as follows:

a ("ah" as in arm), e ("eh" as in bet), i ("ee" as in beet), o ("oh" as in home), and u ("ooh" as in dude).

Surnames are only surnames in placement, as they are not taken from the mother or father, but unique to the individual.

Plainsfolk Male

The A and C phonemes do not have to rhyme. The A, B, and C phonemes are usually limited to one or two syllables.

In everyday speech, Plainsfolk men will usually always use their full names, rarely ever breaking them down into solely first or last.

Male Plainsfolk Names. Alka Zolka, Kopel Yorpel, Paiyo Reiyo, Shamani Lohmani, Surito Carito, Teledji Adaledji

Plainsfolk Female

The A and B phonemes are always one syllable, and most often a single consonant paired with a single vowel, or simply a single vowel.

Female Plainsfolk Names. Kururu Kuru, Honmeme Honme, Mimomo Mimo, Tokiki Toki, Ulala Ula

Dunesfolk Male

The A and C phonemes are 1 syllable, the B phoneme 2. The A and C phonemes may rhyme, but do not have to. Syllables are most often a single consonant paired with a single vowel, or simply a single vowel.

There are rare cases when the B phoneme will 'seemingly' have one syllable such as Zozonan or Nanalai. The 'n' and 'i' are the remnants of sounds that were once paired with a lalafellin vowel that, over time, has disappeared from speech, and therefore become silent in names.

Male Dunesfolk Names. Cocobuki Lolobuki, Lolorito Nanarito, Papashan Nonoshan, Pipin Tarupin

Dunesfolk Female

The A and B phonemes are 1 syllable (with the A phoneme always repeated in the forename). Syllables are most often a single consonant paired with a single vowel, or simply a single vowel.

Female Dunesfolk Names. Chuchumu Chumu, Jajano Jano, Momodi Modi, Nanamo Namo, Tataru Taru

Lalafell Traits

Your lalafell character has a variety of natural abilities derived from their ancestry.

Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases by 2.

Age. Much like humans, lalafell reach adulthood at the age of 18 and live a century or less.

Alignment. Generally speaking, lalafells lean towards good, though some shrewd businessmen may ignore that approach. Neither the Plainsfolk or Dunesfolk have an inclination to law or chaos, with individuals falling into all categories.

Size. Lalafell average about 3 feet tall, but their compact builds can easily weigh 80 pounds without any signs of obesity. Your size is Small.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 25 feet.

Lalafell Cunning. You have advantage on all Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma saving throws against magic.

Lalafell Nimbleness. You can move through the space of any creature that is at least one size larger than yours.

Self-Assuredness. You naturally carry yourself with a determined bearing that demands respect or projects confidence, even among people three times your height. You have advantage on Charisma saving throws.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and one other language of your choice. Lalafell have no living native language, having long ago let it lapse in favor of increased efficiency in speaking with their neighbors.

Subrace. Lalafell come from two distinct groups of people: Plainsfolk and Dunesfolk. Select one.

Plainsfolk

As a Plainsfolk, you have spent some time working in agriculture, or have had information passed down to you from your family. Your highly sensitive ears and knowledge of farming has led to the development that sets you apart from your fellow lalafell, the Dunesfolk.

Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 1.

Naturally Stealthy. You have an instinct for finding cover. You can attempt to hide even when when you are obscured only by a creature that is at least one size larger than you.

Plains Lookout. Your people have lived and died by being able to see anomalous movement over broad areas. You have advantage in the Perception skill, provided that you have a line of sight to the thing being perceived.

Dunesfolk

As a Dunesfolk, you've adapted to the harsh desert environments and thrived. The land from which you hail is known for its riches and merchantry as much as its known for his corruption.

Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score increases by 1.

Dustshield. Your eyes have developed a colored film to protect them from desert conditions. You have advantage on saving throws against being blinded.

Shrewdness. Whether or not you come from a merchant family, you're familiar enough with the business world to mimic its social effectiveness. You gain proficiency in either the Deception or Persuasion skill.

Miqo'te

"The nunh that I once fought also believed that his strrrength would save him. He was wrong, and I am now nunh. Many years ago I joined the Company of Heroes to hone my skills instead of challenging my predecessor before I was ready. Even when I was young I understood that victorrry goes to the patient, the cunning, the pragmatic."

~ U'odh Nunh of the Drake Tribe

Miqo'te, though today broadly distributed, seem to have originated in the central wilds of Constell in northeastern Proxima. Some scholars believe they share distant ancestry with burmeci, ronso, and viera, with biological factors over time changing the sizes and shapes of respective ears, tails, and faces. Exactly which race originated first is a matter of controversy.

Lithe Hunters

Miqo'te are characterized by long, furred tails and high-set ear structures in their skulls. Their highly tuned senses of smell and balance have allowed them to become natural hunters. The Seekers of the Sun have slit pupils to help guard their eyes from the exposure of the sun, while the Keepers of the Moon have large and rounded pupils. By a quirk of nature, many more women than men are born into the tribes and clans of the miqo'te people.

Family Environments

Seekers of the Sun, as the name implies, prefer warm and sunny climates up to and including deserts. Keepers of the Moon travel wherever they please, but prefer prey-rich forests. Those who integrate into larger cities tend to discard their tribal ties -- at least on the surface -- and take up the social norms of the city in which they live. In cities, miqo'te form strong enclaves and welcome visitors.

The miqo'te subraces have no trouble at all leading urban, rural, or wilderness lives, but they tend to stick close to their family groups. Even wanderers frequently check back in, if only to remind their relations that they’re doing just fine without them.

Of Sun and Moon

The Seekers or the Sun (or "Sunseekers") and Keepers of the Moon (or "Moonkeepers") are the two distinct miqo'te subraces, differing greatly in culture as well as physiology.

Sunseekers live in patriarchal tribes of as many as 200 or as few as 10, with major decisions made by the breeding male, the nunh. (A ratio of one nunh to between 10-50 female Sunseekers is common; larger tribes have multiple nunhs.) Moonkeepers, by contrast, are matriarchal and largely solitary, with interconnected communities no larger than two or three family groups. Sunseekers, being diurnal, almost universally worship the goddess Azeyma, while the more nocturnal Moonkeepers are similarly near-exclusive Menphina-worshippers.

Miqo'te Naming Conventions

The extra aitches we see in names such as "Bhee," "Kuzh," and "Pahsh" represent a slight hissing/spitting sound that is made when the name is pronounced by the cat-like miqo'te. Many other races cannot accurately reproduce this sound, so the aitches end up going silent when read (Bee, Kooz, Pash).

Seeker-of-the-Sun Male

Names are one or two syllables and preceded by a letter which is associated with the tribe. They do not take family names, as they are each considered the "origins" of new families, but instead are given a title that denotes their breeding status: nunh, breeding males, or tia (tee-ah), all others. A tia may only become a nunh by defeating the current nunh in battle.

Pronunciation-wise, other than the tribe pronunciations, names follow common English phonics. Though followed by an apostrophe, the tribe sound is usually flows into the name. G'raha would be pronounced "g-RA-ha" not "GU. raha"

Male Seeker Names. K'tyaka Nunh, M'rahz Nunh, G'raha Tia, O'bhen Tia, U'odh Nunh, V'mah Tia, Z'zhed Tia

Seeker-of-the-Sun Female

A female first name will always begin with the letter representing her tribe, followed by an apostrophe, and then her given name. Her last name is the first name of the tribe’s breeding male who sired her. The tribal prefix often gets dropped in casual conversation and with friends and family.

Female Seeker Names. A'tanmo Aba, F'lhaminn Qesh, H'naanza Esi, M'naaho Rahz, R'ashaht Rhiki, Y'shtola Rhul

Keeper-of-the-Moon Female

Unlike the Seekers of the Sun, the Keepers of the Moon formed a highly matriarchal society, with family names passed down from the mother, not the father. It is said that some of these surnames have survived over ten thousand years.

The subrace's matriarchal strength is further displayed by the fact that female first names are short, one/two syllable constructions that closely resemble names used by male Seekers of the Sun.

The Keepers lead more solitary lives, rarely forming communities of more than two or three families. Therefore, a tribal letter is not assigned to the names.

Unpronounced aitches are also present in the names.

Female Keeper Forenames. Amh, Dhebi, Gota, Khloe, Leih, Nashu, Oah, Raka, Tsuim, Una, Vhaso, Xaoh, Yhom

Female Keeper Surnames. Aliapoh, Bajhiri, Epocan, Jakkya, Lizheh, Maimhov, Nhomango, Rabntah, Zhwan

Keeper-of-the-Moon Male

More evidence of how important the mother is to the Keepers of the Moon can be seen when looking at the names given to males. In addition to taking the mother’s surname, males also take the mother's forename, adding a suffix (separated by an apostrophe) to the end to designate the order in which they were born.

Male Keeper Names. Cemi’to Jinjahl, Gota’li Jaab, Okhi’a Nbolo, Rakka'sae Kuhn, Sizha’sae Epocan, Zana'zi Zhwan

Miqo'te Traits

Despite differences in physiology, miqo'te have many traits in common.

Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 2.

Age. Miqo'te tend to live healthy lifestyles, reaching physical maturity around the age of 16 and living to be around 80 years old.

Alignment. Miqo'te who live within a traditional tribal setting lean towards a lawful alignment, adhering to the laws of their people. Those who are born or live in more diverse settings lean in no particular direction.

Size. Miqo'te are a people with lithe builds and powerful leg muscles. On average males range from 5 feet to 5 and a half feet tall, while females range from 4 feet 9 inches to 5 feet 3 inches. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 35 feet.

Darkvision. Your eyes have adapted to help you see in the dark. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of grey.

Surprise Attack. If you surprise a creature and hit it with an attack on your first turn in combat, the attack deals an extra 2d6 damage to it. You can use this trait only once per combat.

Languages. You can speak, read and write Common and one other language of your choice. When speaking Common, your pronunciation of "r" sound may come with a trill.

Subrace. The miqo'te are made up of two distinct clans. Select one of the two subraces of miqo'te.

Seekers of the Sun

As a Seeker of the Sun, you come from a race of renowned hunters.

Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases by 1.

Nimble Escape. You can take the Disengage or Hide action as a bonus action on each of your turns.

Upright Landing. Generations of hunter predecessors have given you great kinesthetic intelligence. You gain proficiency in the Acrobatics skill.

Keepers of the Moon

As a Keeper of the Moon, you come from a spiritual matriarchy, frequently given to travel. Some people consider crossing your path to be unlucky.

Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases by 1.

Sneaky. You walk very lightly, particularly at night. You gain proficiency in Stealth.

Superior Darkvision. Your Darkvision has a radius of 120 feet.

Roegadyn

"They sought to secure a place to breed and multiply, that their kind might survive. Self-preservation, as you say. But we have as much right to live and thrive as they. If our own survival is threatened, are we to lay down our arms and welcome oblivion? Nay."

~ Admiral Merlwyb Bloefhiswyn

Roegadyn (ROO-ga-din) are a physically powerful race of people characterized by pronounced height, muscle mass, and wide-bridged noses. Whether boisterous or solemn, they have an unflinching approach to danger and a seemingly endemic thirst for adventure.

Towers of Power

A height of six and a half feet is considered very short for an adult roegadyn of any gender. While female roegadyn have typical humanoid proportions "scaled up," male roegadyn have a additional width of skeletal frame that allows them to develop a great deal of muscle, particilarly in the abdomen.

Roegadyn adapted to the biological physics of their sizes by developing very strong hearts, joints, and nerves.

Island Origin

Roegadyn come from a rainy northeastern archipelago and are widely distributed, albeit in much smaller numbers than humans or elezen. Some believe they originated from humans subjected to island gigantism. Especially religious roegadyn believe that Doga and Unei, the first humanoids in the Lukahnic faiths, were themselves roegadyn, and that all subsequent generations lost height over time.

Sea, Sky, Stone

Roegadyn who remained in the homeland or near water routes are the subrace called Sea Wolves, whose skin can be gray, blue, or green in addition to more conventional shades. Long ago, one tribe moved further inland, settled in the Godswall Range, and adapted to become the Hellsguard, who then spread to rugged inland areas worldwide. Hellsguard traded Sea Wolf complexion for browns and reds and a distinctive dark patch on the underside of their nose.

Brave Nature

Roegadyn are typically energetic and active, seeking out challenges to test their power and bravery. They rarely need much convincing to head into the heat of battle for a cause they believe in, though coin may help speed them along. Sea Wolves have a long history of piracy and battle on ships of all sorts, giving their culture a thirst for adventure. Hellsguard developed in towns and villages away from wider society, taking it upon themselves to fight eldritch evils.

Roegadyn Naming Conventions

Sea Wolf names are all formed from two words taken from the ancient roegadyn language. The second word of a woman's name, however, is always one of eight words: -bryda, -geim, -lona, -rael, -swys, -thota, -wyb, or -wyda. Sea Wolves form their surnames by taking their parent's name and adding a third word: syn for males and wyn for females, indicating they are a son or daughter respectively. Non-binary roegadyn use the word klyn, or "child," instead.

Hellsguard frequently avoid their ancient language and use the common tongue. Their names are also formed using two words, often drawing inspiration from nature. Women of the Hellsguard tend to use plant imagery in their names as well, but are not restricted to do so. Nearly all Hellsguard abandon their family names, refusing to be defined by their ancestors.

Male Sea Wolf Names. Ahldskyf, Aisanka, Bloefhis, Eynzahr, Hortyl, Hyllfyr, Ketenramm, Kupfrusk, Mytemyrgan, Nyunkrepf, Skarnebb, Slafborn, Trachtoum, Wilfsunn

Female Sea Wolf Names. Ansarael, Cwaenlona, Doesrael, Hezzwyda, Inhgilswys, Ketenwyb, Merlwyb, Moenbryda, Raelthota, Sylbryda, Thubyrgeim, Wyznthota, Zedyrgeim

Male Hellsguard Names. Aware Sun, Bitter Snow, Bright Island, Curious Gorge, Grateful Forest, Leading Man, Rusty Steel, Stark Crow, Still River, Tall Mountain, White Elk

Female Hellsguard Names. Blue Lily, Careless Whisper, Diving Sparrow, Fearless Fawn, Lost Wax, Oak Tower, Salty Lake, Silent Moss, Weeping Orchid, Yellow Moon

Pronunciation

When pronouncing roegadyn words, you can for the most part follow the rules of English. There are, however, some exceptions.

Vowels

AE: Somewhere between the e in "egg" and the ai in "air" depending on the consonant that follows it

Y: A long e such as the ea in "eat" or the first e in "Steve"

OE: An ooh such as the ue in "blue" and the oo in "fool"

Consonants

G: Almost always hard (like the g in "guilt" but not the g in "page")

H: When paired with a vowel (before or after), almost always silent

J: A y sound like in "year" and "yellow"

PF: Closer to f than p

TH: A hard t rather than a soft th

W: Somewhere between a w and a v -- nowhere as hard as the v in "villain," but nowhere as soft as the w in "west"

Roegadyn Traits

Your Roegadyn character has a variety of natural abilities which all members of their race have.

Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 2.

Age. Though physically larger than other races, roegadyn do not live much longer. They reach full maturity around the age of 20 and typically live about a century.

Alignment. Roegadyn have no heavy leaning towards good or evil. Sea Wolves value the chaotic nature of adventuring and lean towards this alignment, while the Hellsguard look to laws of their ancestors to guard the world.

Size. Roegadyn are a massive people who easily grow much taller than most races. Males and females both stand under seven and a half feet tall. Despite your height, your size is still Medium. For purposes of game balance, player characters cannot be Large, so even a particularly massive roegadyn player character -- a physical outlier -- must top out at eight feet in height.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Brave. The bigger you are, the fewer reasons you have to fear. You have advantage on saving throws against being frightened.

Powerful Build. You count as one size larger when you are determining your carrying capacity and also the weight you are able to push, drag, or lift.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and one other language. The ancestral roegadyn language is unfortunately dead and largely forgotten; the remaining known words are barely enough to form complete sentences.

Subrace. The roegadyn have settled into two distinct subraces. Select one.

Sea Wolves

Fearless sailors and their descendants, the Sea Wolves have a storied history on the waves. No coastal cities were safe in the past when the Sea Wolves came to town. A long maritime tradition has given the Sea Wolves inherent abilities.

Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 1.

Fitness. Sea Wolf culture prizes physical fitness. You have proficiency in Athletics.

Explosive Energy. When an action calls for a Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check, you may add your Constitution modifier to your roll. You may use this feature a total number of times equal to your proficiency per short or long rest.

Hellsguard

The Hellsguard live around the volcanoes and dark passages of the Godswall Range and other mountains. Their native towns and villages have lived apart from the rest of society for hundreds of years, guarding the world from deep horrors seeking passage into the light. Why it was that they took this task upon themselves is an answer lost to history.

Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases by 1.

Arcane Litany. Hellsguard culture trains its children in the knowledge of the wicked fiends which they keep contained, including their magics and origins. You have proficiency in the Arcana skill.

Inner Fortification. Your ancestors fought for so long against horrors from deep within the earth and elsehwere, they became well-adapted to holding the line. You have resistance against Psychic damage.

Uncommon Races:

Au Ra

Yet though we did no harm to those whose lands we traversed, they treated us as vermin. In their ignorance, they feared us, and that fear manifested as spite and violence. My loved ones and I were cursed at, spat upon, beaten, and worse...

~ Alaqa the Witch

The name of the race as a whole is Au Ra; individuals, singular and plural, are called auri.

Auri are characterized by patterns of scales across their bodies, scaled tails, and forward-pointing horns at the sides of their heads. The distinctive horns are in fact their ears. They are highly conductive to sound, with superior audio fidelity and directional triangulation to conventional ears. Damaging a horn damages hearing; breaking a horn is akin to going deaf on one side.

Sexual Dimorphism

Auri who live in their ancestral territory -- which is most of them -- exhibit strong sexual dimorphism. Males range from just over six feet to seven feet tall, positively dwarfing the females of the race, who only rarely stand taller than five and a half feet.

Auri who migrated away eventually lost the pronounced difference. "Expatriate generations" have sexes of more varying heights, including short men and tall women.

Native Land

Auri are intimately tied to a southeast corner of Proxima, a broad steppe and rain-fed lake abutting populations of Midlander Hyur. Their native gods are associated with that specific land and no other, and so the most traditional auri have simply never left.

Auri are misunderstood in other lands due to their physical appearance; their scaled bodies and horns led many to fear them, believing them to be descendants of dragons or demons. Fear led to hate, which gave way to violence. These conditions led expatriate auri to treasure their families.

Night and Day

Xaela, black-scaled, reside in fifty-one tribes on and around the Azim Steppe, each vying for supremacy in an annual contest of strength called the Nadaam. The victorious tribe for the year earns the right of tribute from the subordinate tribes, as well as the right to occupy an ancient citadel advantageously located in the middle of the Steppe. Xaela social norms vary tremendously between tribes, but the majority worship their moon goddess Nhaama.

Raen, white-scaled, live in a feudal kingdom whose capitol lies under a series of magically-erected bubble domes on the ocean floor. Their lifestyle is suspiciously similar to Hyur Midlanders from the far southeast, suggesting ancient connections between them. Regardless, Raen make note of their sun god Azim with much less zealotry than their Xaela cousins. Raen prefer to devote themselves directly to their royal family, which is said to descend from Azim.

Au Ra Naming Conventions

Auri approach names in two starkly different ways. Raen names are Japanese, specifically those prevalent from the 16th-18th centuries. Xaela names are Mongolian from approximately the same period.

Raen Male

For the most part, the names of Raen men have a strong link to things in nature which are believed to be strong, agile, or even uncontrollable. Farmers and fishers will take the names one step further and implement some form of their profession as well.

Male Raen Names. Akagi, Doware, Fugetsu, Izuna, Keiten, Masatsuchi, Rakuyo, Saiun, Tansui, Ugan, Yomei

Raen Female

Many female names are based off of plants, weather, birds, or the seasons -- words that represent beauty and kindness in their society.

Female Raen Names. Azami, Botan, Chidori, Ibuki, Kikyo, Kurenai, Mitsuba, Natsume, Sayo, Sui, Tsubaki, Ume, Yuki

Raen Surnames

Families of the warrior class (and generally the ruling class) are the only people "allowed" surnames, and they will often take surnames that displayed their battle prowess or position within an army.

Though the names are not recognized by the ruling class, families of the merchant and peasant classes will still give themselves surnames as to make their everyday lives easier -- the names reflecting their professions.

The traditional structure of a Raen name is [Surname X] + "no" + [Forename Y], meaning "Y of the X family."

Family Names. Akagane, Chosai, Daisho, Gakunin, Kurogane, Mihata, Naeuri, Oshiga, Tosho, Urabito, Yuzuka

Xaela Naming

Individual Xaela names come with multiple spellings, all of them acceptable. Similar names are used throughout the Steppe, but they often feature slightly different spellings due to having evolved separately in isolated tribes, along with the general newness of writing among the tribes.

Traditional Xaela of the Steppe take the name of their tribe as their surname. Xaela living elsewhere may adopt other surnames, but few do.

Male Xaela Names. Alghu, Bardam, Dorbei, Esugen, Jagadai, Khal, Ligdan, Masgud, Ogodei, Sidurgu, Udutai

Female Xaela Names. Alun, Borogchin, Cirina, Doquz, Eke, Holuikhan, Mide, Ogelen, Qatun, Temulun, Yesuntei

Tribe Names. Adarkim, Bolir, Dalamiq, Dotharl, Goro, Jhungid, Malagud, Mol, Oronir, Qestir, Saghal, Torgud, Ura

Au Ra Traits

Your Au Ra character has a variety of natural abilities.

Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases by 2.

Age. Despite their unusual features, auri live about as long as any of the other sapient races, reaching physical maturity around the age of 16, and living to approximately 80.

Alignment. The Raen enjoy the order provided by royal law, while the Xaela trend strongly towards the chaotic lives of nomads outside of the laws of civilized city-states.

Size. There is a large size disparity between most auri men and women. Males range anywhere from six and a half to seven feet tall with a lean build, dwarfing the females who rarely stand above five and a half feet. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Auditory Bone. Your side-mounted horns act as your means of perceiving sound. You have resistance against Thunder damage. Furthermore, you are immune to the Deafened condition by any means short of physically breaking your horns completely off. If your horns are indeed broken (by some extraordinary circumstance at careful DM discretion), only the Regeneration spell can return them to normal and restore your hearing.

Scales of Dawn and Dusk. Due to the scales covering vital points of your body, you have a natural armor bonus of +1. When unarmored, your AC is equal to 11 + your Dexterity modifier.

Languages. You can speak, read and write Common and Auri. The Auri language does not include gender or numbered nouns or verbs, causing an auri to mislabel things sometimes when speaking another language.

Subrace. Auri are split into two distinct groups, the solitary Raen and the nomadic Xaela. Select one of the two.

Raen

The Raen live in harmony with their neighbors and themselves, culturally valuing unwavering fealty to their royal line. They are largely liked by the other races for their peaceful demeanor and respectable approach to life.

Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases by 1.

Polite Society. Raen culture prizes good manners. You gain proficiency in the Persuasion skill.

Clarity. You have a clarity of self that rebuffs attempts to sway you. You have advantage on saving throws against being charmed.

Xaela

As a Xaela, you've been hardened by your life on the steppe as a part of a nomadic tribe. You are more outgoing than your Raen counterparts and are much more willing to engage in battle to resolve a conflict.

Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 1.

Nomadic Instincts. Your people are experts at living in varying conditions. You have proficiency in the Survival skill.

Vengeful Assault. When you take damage from a creature in range of a weapon you are wielding, you can use your reaction to make an attack with the weapon against that creature. Once you use this trait, you can’t do so again until you finish a short or long rest.

Burmeci

"To be forgotten is worse than death."

~ Freya Crescent, Dragoon of Burmecia

Burmeci are rat-like humanoids residing mostly in a rugged, storm-swept corridor of land south of the Heart Ocean. Their lands are rich in food from consistent rainfall, making for attractive targets, but all are protected by Burmecian knights.

Realm of Eternal Rain

Burmeci live in wind and rain, occupying the lowland gap between two mountain ranges in central Proxima. The kingdom of Burmecia is the seat of their power while Cleyra is the seat of their spiritual culture. Other burmeci kingdoms dot the fertile yet stormy valleys, keeping trade routes flowing from the Heart Ocean to the bulk of central Proxima while exacting taxes for safe passage. Burmeci communities may be found only in a few other areas of the world, never far from warm to temperate stormy weather.

Service Above Self

Burmeci define themselves by their connections to family and society. They are taught from birth that the greatest fulfill-ment may be found in serving others. Burmecia, the largest and most populous burmeci kingdom, even requires a period of military service from each of its citizens.

Unfortunately, differences over how and whom to serve caused an irreconcilable rift in their society, such that pacifists set themselves apart in their own cities. More martially inclined burmeci protect them from afar, but not without some slight resentment.

Social Division

Most burmeci value hunting and soldiery, or simply enjoy the quality of life that careful use of violence provides. Not unlike humans, they travel and trade and are more than willing to fight as the need arises.

Pacifist burmeci, on the other hand, have withdrawn completely into their own cities and are not given to travel. They are well-guarded by powerful magics, but not so guarded that they cannot be reached; they only open their doors to outsiders on specific holidays or for important messengers. They are often called Cleyrans, but do not necessarily live in Cleyra.

Burmeci Naming Conventions

Burmeci names are words and terms in the Burmecian or Cleyran languages, but are not necessarily restricted to those societies. A burmeci of Burmecia could have a Cleyran name, and vice versa. Burmecian names are considered more physical, while Cleyran names are considered more spiritual.

Burmeci surnames, reflecting ideals of service, pertain to either clothes, tools, or weapons.

Burmecian Male Names. Aodhan, Callum, Domhnall, Fratley, Jock, Lennox, Malcom, Raghnall, Somerled, Tavish

Burmecian Female Names. Caiomhe, Deoiridh, Ealasaid, Fiona, Gormlaith, Iona, Maighread, Moira, Oighrig, Sheena

Cleyran Male Names. Anders, Bjorn, Einar, Gustav, Ingolf, Jorgen, Kjeld, Leif, Ove, Ragnvald, Sigurd, Tycho, Viggo

Cleyran Female Names. Astrid, Birgitta, Dorete, Freya, Hilda, Jytte, Laerke, Merete, Rigmor, Solvej, Tordis, Vibeke

Surnames. Belt, Cannon, Crescent, Drape, Hammer, Knife, Longcoat, Nail, Shirt, Subligar, Spear, Trowel, Wheel

Burmeci Traits

Your burmeci character has the following racial traits.

Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 2, and your Charisma score increases by 1.

Age. Burmeci have lifespans equivalent to humans.

Alignment. Burmeci are a service-oriented people, and as such trend toward lawful and good. Most non-orderly ones are driven by curiosity rather than dark impulses.

Size. Burmeci are as tall as humans, though their typically slender builds give them a "taller" presence.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Darkvision. Life in frequent dark rain has honed your eyesight. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Rodent Agility. When you move on your turn in combat, you can double your speed until the end of the turn. Once you use this trait, you can’t use it again until you move 0 feet on one of your turns.

Rat's Claws. Because of your claws, you have a climbing speed of 20 feet. In addition, your claws are natural weapons. If you hit with them, your unarmed strike damage is slashing, equal to 1d4 + your Strength modifier.

Rat's Talent. You have proficiency in the Perception and Stealth skills.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and either Burmecian or Cleyran. (Burmecian is identical to Scottish Gaelic. Cleyran is identical to Danish.)

Dragonborn

"Who holds the power? The lord of the castle, or the storm that leaves it abandoned? Make no mistake, we are only masters of our domains until the dragons come knocking..."

~ Anonymous dragonborn politician

Humanoids characterized by a draconic appearance, dragon-born are a people treated with careful, distant respect by the rest of the world. They come from Afahdranlehs, the south-western subcontinent of Proxima, where dragons proliferate.

In statistics and traits, they are identical to Fifth Edition dragonborn.

Draconic People

It is said that in ancient times, a large yet forgotten tribe of humans with nowhere else to go crossed into dragon territory and were shown mercy. The dragons, seeing much of themselves in humanity, lay down with the tribe and produced the first generations of dragonborn.

Dragonborn speak Common and Draconic, but many (especially metallics) also know Drasque, the language of the forgotten human tribe. It is identical to real-world Basque.

Kingdoms and Migrants

Today, Afahdranlehs is a series of dragonborn countries (largely monarchies). The borders and effective reach of each state occasionally shift as the proud, unanswerable dragons make new lairs. Attitudes toward outsiders vary widely.

Dragonborn themselves are also found elsewhere. Most are descended from those who served in the Dragontooth War; when the war ended, their chromatic ancestors simply stayed behind to make new lives for themselves. By contrast, metallic dragonborn outside Afahdranlehs are typically descended from merchants, diplomats, or those who escaped court drama.

Dwarf

Characterized by stocky density of musculature and a lifespan between two and three hundred years, dwarves populate many mountains. They are related to lalafell, though which group derived from which is an endless, sometimes violent debate. They are otherwise identical to Fifth Edition rules.

Rock-Hard Tradition

Born of mountains and still residing there, dwarves are a people of firm cultural values. While some dwarves may call upon known gods, traditional dwarves practice ancestor worship, and a great many dwarves are traditional. Routine, schedule, and compartmentalization are not only core values but daily comforts to a good dwarf, as is service to one's community.

There are, of course, unorthodox dwarves -- those who can multitask, abruptly stop their routine, make large changes to a schedule on a whim, or leave hours of the day totally without plan. Such dwarves are called liquid, a term either complimentary or offensive depending on the speaker and the context.

Long-Held Rivalry

Dwarves originated in the rugged Skyroof Plateau and migrated around Proxima, following the high places of the world and settling in or near them. Only the monsters of the Godswall Range prevented them from conquering that great barrier as well.

Dwarves are often patronizing if not prejudicial toward lalafell, as legend holds that lalafell were descended from their weaker, more cowardly, and beardless clans. "Lali-ho," a universal dwarven greeting and in-group signifier, translates in an archaic dwarven language to "I'm not a lalafell." It is so old that even the most traditionalist dwarves have forgotten its age.

Gender Expression

Contrary to common belief, dwarves do have multiple pronouns and feminine presentations, but traditional feminine-dwarf signifiers such as specific beard plaits and clothing patterns are frequently lost on other races.

Lalafellin Perspective

"Dwarves and us get on like oil and torches. The snooty stubborn sons of -- d'you know they blame us for everything? Tunnel caved in, lalafell did it. Mug tipped over, lalafell did it. I mean sure I turned invisible once and dumped a tankard into Lord Whatshisbeard's lap, but he deserved it for callin' me a potato!"

~ Serara Sera, lalafell rogue

Alloyed Faith

Though all "true" dwarves practice ancestor worship, exclusivity of faith is not demanded. Many otherwise traditional populations make allowances for other beliefs, provided that they don't supercede revering one's deceased elders.

Many dwarves are thus part of the Cosmic or Crystalist communities, or even both. They see no contradiction in holding more than one religion, provided that they fit together in a logical manner.

Goblin

Characterized by greenish or yellowish skin and diminutive proportions, the sapients known as goblins are split by a cultural canyon. Hobgoblins do breed many of them as a slave caste, but goblins arose as naturally as any other species. Organized goblin communities observe certain quirks of etiquette codified not by writ or holy word but tradition. Those who live among other peoples adopt gods easily.

This game takes the stats and traits of the Fifth Edition goblin race and divides it into two subraces: Feral and Nomadic goblins.

Diaspora

The oldest goblin lore stretches back tens of thousands of years, kept whole by multi-generational oral reinforcement.

In the beginning, they say, goblins walked out of a cave high up a mountain and climbed down with golden ropes. They weren't very good ropes, so they each unraveled on the way down. Lacking a way back up, goblins took to walking, "and never stopped." Nomadic goblins kept their wandering ways up to the present, valuing inventiveness, opportunism, and economic independence.

A Stolen People

Long ago, some goblins were enslaved by hobgoblins, becoming a subrace over time -- one that, while clever, was crude, disorganized, and ignorant of the original goblin ways.

Hobgoblins ruthlessly divorced these "Feral Goblins" from their native culture and raised them in oppression until it colored their outlook toward the world. Under hobgoblin rule, they value servility, quickness, and efficient violence. Under self rule, they value strength, treasure, and unmitigated, unregulated freedom.

Not In My Backyard

Goblins of all kinds are masters of repurposing real estate, moving into abandoned villages or temples and making them their own. Feral goblins will stay until forced out. Nomadic goblin bands, however, never stay in one place more than a century to begin with. If a particular site is known to be worthwhile and not coveted by more powerful neighbors, nomadic goblins may erect structures of their own there, but the builders will still move on after a hundred years or less and let the next wave of goblins rework it to their needs.

Goblins are not very respected for this tradition. Nomadic goblins try to mitigate that by maintaining polite working relationships with neighbors. Feral goblins do not.

Masked Modesty

Nomadic goblin masks are an important part of their culture. Going about with a naked face is considered immodest, as it allows anyone at all to see one’s emotions. (Feral goblins, of course, care nothing for immodesty.)

Whether made of leather or metal, the masks are uniform in design: the entire head is covered except for holes for a goblin's long, pointed ears. Smoked glass lenses hang above a protruding "feedbag" over the nose and mouth, which contains not food but layers of fabric holding an assortment of fragrant plants, oils, and soils, used to filter the outside air. Preferred scents vary widely.

The masks are very comfortable, able to be worn for weeks at a time. Eating is done with the mask on; flaps or hatches allow access.

Bathing is optional for goblins, as the masks filter out any odors, but in private they do occasionally wash themselves with water and fragrances to maintain their correct smell for other people. Fragrances are, in fact, as close as goblins get to fashion; all sexes dress in identical full-coverage suits of leather or metal, leaving only their ears exposed.

Stop dizzyheels of the wicked!

Defuse, pop! Debone, slop! Deflate!

No busydeals for the wicked!

Too late, far too late, far too late!

~ Old Goblin Proverb

Goblin Naming Conventions

Feral Names

Feral Goblin names can be anything. Anything at all.

Nomadic Names

Nomadic Goblin names end in -ix for males, -ox for females, or -nx for neutral/nonbinary/fluid. The suffixes are chosen by the goblins themselves, while the names are cobbled out of words their parents (or they themselves) liked for whatever reason. They are also fond of taking on sobriquets representing skill sets or great deeds, as a form of entrepreneuring self-advertisement.

The fluidity of suffixes, coupled with the androgyny of goblin outfits and names, makes gender largely optional. A goblin's physical sex is only brought up between partners at certain vital points of courtship where embarrassment might otherwise arise.

Nomadic Goblin Names. Clocktix, Doglix, Drachlox, Fickblix, Gearfix, Halfsix, Loudjox, Morblox, Poofchox

Names with Sobriquets. Anvilix Sootwrists, Brayflox Alltalks, Climbpix Highrise, Mutamix Bubblypots, Quickthinx Allthoughts, Ratfinx Twinkledinks, Roundrox Mazenot

Goblin Traits

Goblins have traits in common.

Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 1 and your Constitution score increases by 1.

Age. Goblins reach adulthood at age 8 and live up to 60 years.

Alignment. Goblin alignments cover the entire spectrum. However, Feral goblins are typically neutral evil while Nomadic goblins are typically neutral good.

Size. Goblins are between 3 and 4 feet tall and weigh between 40 and 80 pounds. Your size is Small.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Darkvision. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Fury of the Small. When you damage a creature with an attack or a spell and the creature’s size is larger than yours, you can cause the attack or spell to deal extra damage to the creature. The extra damage equals your level. Once you use this trait, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

Subrace. Goblins are divided between two subraces: Feral and Nomadic. Choose one.

Feral Goblin

Feral goblins are identical to Fifth Edition goblins in all important respects: banditry, booyaghs, and castes. The only difference is the lack of innate connection to any god.

Your feral goblin character might have escaped such an existence for any number of reasons.

Feral Goblin Traits

Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 1.

Nimble Escape. You can take the Disengage or Hide action as a bonus action on each of your turns.

Languages. You can speak Common and Goblin. Goblin is a tonal language written in Linear A script. Literacy is rare among Feral Goblins, but you can be an exception.

Nomadic Goblin

Members of the original goblin culture, those who roam where they please with their possessions on their backs and their faces covered in distinctive filter masks. Being nomadic, few permanent goblin settlements exist, but many goblins establish themselves in existing cities, towns, or even villages for many years at a time. This hones their natural skills in socializing and tradecraft.

Nomadic Goblin Traits

Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases by 1.

Filter Mask. Your mask very efficiently filters out odors and particulates, and protects your face. While wearing the mask, you have immunity to inhaled Poison and Acid damage, and immunity to any effects of inhaled gas. The mask is only a barrier against inhalants; it offers no added protection against other vectors (such as fangs, or if a gas acts by skin contact). Finally, so long as your mask is worn, it adds +1 to your Armor Class regardless of its composition.

Gobbiebag. Being an expert at carrying everything you own around with you, any Backpack you wear can carry 2 cubic feet of volume and 50 pounds of gear.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common, Goblin, and one other language of your choice.

Hobgoblin

Characterized by diamond-shaped noses, pointed ears, and human proportions, hobgoblins are a native people of the continent called Rhazowa, which makes up northwestern Proxima. They are proud of their civility and utterly relentless in their highly-regimented warfare. Their stats and traits are identical to those of 5e hobgoblins.

Monstrous Regiments

Though far from a monoculture, hobgoblin societies make no distinction between the state and the military. All government functions are carried out by soldiers, and all citizens must prepare to serve. Even in those rare few hobgoblin nations where, ostensibly, the will of the voting-eligible citizenry is what determines policy, heads of state always defer to the needs and wants of the military every time.

The structure of legions varies little between nations, though tactics may differ wildly. For all their ironclad laws and regimented forces, hobgoblins are not stubborn when it comes to methods. They value what works, provided that the chain of command is maintained.

Holy Honor

Hobgoblins once had "a god for every family," unaligned with each other. Chaos found them easy pickings. The god Zurvan, detesting such useless disorder, killed every one of them except for Himself and His enforcer Geryon.

The rule Zurvan ordained was one of honor. Good hobgoblins follow orders, honor their gods, neither give nor suffer insult, reward glorious action, and uphold their legion. Bad hobgoblins are simply left to Geryon's flail.

Citizenship Tiers

Hobgoblins rank their social order by (allegedly) merit. The levels reflect one's standing as well as one's responsibilities.

"Soldiers" are all government workers, and some may deftly maneuver to do no combat service at all, even though they are permitted to carry weapons. All children are considered "Soldiers-in-training."

The bottom five ranks are for slaves. As government-owned resources, slaves are all assigned rather than purchased, and most are assigned to farms run by a Fist or higher.

The following table lists each rank in order, along with its name in Common and Hobgoblic.

Hobgoblin Naming Conventions

All hobgoblins are born with a numerical surname indicating the year, month, and day in which they were born. (Gesd-u I-limmu Nis-ussu = "600/9/28," for instance.)

Under the age of six months, the child carries the forename sila (“lamb”). After six months, the name changes to damu-nim (“early child”), a recognition of development from a frail and needy livestock animal – the losing of which is sad but no crisis – to an actual infant hobgoblin capable of absorbing information.

At age 6, the forename changes to damu (“child”), a recognition of further refinement and capacity for learning.

At age 12, the forename changes to shula’a (“entrusted”). This name confers the first real responsibilities of hobgoblin-hood, such as schedule-keeping, equipment maintenance, and food preparation.

At age 18, the new adult hobgoblin changes their name completely. In place of their numeric surname, they use a surname composed of their rank, current regiment, and current command center. They then take a true forename by combining their choice of words from three specific sets.

One of the words is an element: ag, anna, badur, kia, or zi (fire, air, water, earth, or spirit). Another is a material: imi, eren, gada, kush, or urudu (clay, cedar-wood, linen, leather, or metal). One more is a gender: mi for woman, lu for man, na (“a person”) for none/non-binary, and bala (“revolve/ change”) for multiple alternating or simultaneous. Additional genders sinnis ("female") and zikar ("male") indicate a “masculine woman” or “feminine man,” non-conforming to expressions expected of mi or lu. Unlike bala, however, the expressions of a sinnis or zikar remain static.

The final name is the bearer’s choice alone, each part listed in descending order of personal importance, with a glottal stop between parts that happened to join with identical letters. The name structure is considered the first and most important decision made by an adult, and is announced to other adults with some ceremony.

Hobgoblin Names. Ag’gadami, Annanakush, Badurlugada, Erenkialu, Gadasinnisag, Imilu’urudu, Kushlubadur, Lukiakush, Luimizi, Mikiaurudu, Mierenanna, Urudubala’ag, Zikarkiaeren, Zimi’imi

Orc

"Move the wagon closer! I want to hit them with my sword!"

~ Drumskull Zogdregg, Warlord of Warmarch 40

Orc characters use the same traits as Fifth Edition orcs. Physically and culturally, they are in keeping with the orcs of Final Fantasy XI.

Therapsidae

Orcs are therapsids, proto-mammals with limbs placed to extend beneath the body rather than at a reptilian sprawl. They are hairless, long-armed, and hunchbacked, with thick tails held at a right angle to their legs. Their broad mouths end in very short protruding tusks, which are modified molars. Orcs emphasize them out of pride and orcish concepts of beauty.

A common misconception is that because they have no noses, orcs cannot smell, but in fact their nostrils are located under the eyes, easily mistaken as facial creases by non-orcs.

Mastery of Basics

Orcs are far from the grunting savages of Cosmic tales. Orcish technology is as sophisticated as levers, pulleys, and wheels can make it. Through the sheer versatility of rope, wood, bone, stone, leather, and glue, orcs fill their strong-holds with dumbwaiters, self-opening doors, and even indoor plumbing. Their armies boast conventional trebuchets, one-orc siege engines, and terrifying wheeled battletowers.

Despite all of that, the orcish inclination toward natural materials instead of metals -- which they believe make warriors soft -- has led more "advanced" races to mock them as primitive. When asked how a "primitive" culture could have established a massive unconquered empire rich in organic resources, the same voices who mock them will speak of orcs' trickery and sheer animal brutality.

The Empire

The Orcish Empire is a contiguous whole, though its exact borders are forever disputed.

The rim of the Empire is the Orcfront, an unbroken swath of heavily- and carefully-guarded border territory between twenty and fifty miles deep. Here the Empire's professional war population ebbs and flows, pillaging its neighbors while defending the Orcmarch and maintaining solid lines of com-munication. The Orcfront is split into territories between ninety and a hundred ten miles long called Warmarches, each led by a Warlord. Three Warmarches make a Hordemarch, led by a warlord called an Overlord. Overlords marshal resources and make plans to permanently push forward the Orcfront.

It is this hard outer crust of orcish civilization that most people encounter, leading to misconceptions that the entire Empire is similarly warlike. Orcs are content with this.

Behind the Orcfront lies its reason for being: the Orcmarch. The Orcmarch is true orcish civilization, home to all non-military tasks of orcish life such as agriculture, art, childrearing, and commerce. Few non-orcs ever see it, and practically all who do are slaves.

From the nucleus of the Orcmarch rules the Emperor, the living link to their god Atomos. For orcs, Atomos is the ideal state of life: fat, happy, surrounded by baubles, and waited on hand and foot by attentive servants. The Emperor's purpose is not so much to govern as to anchor holy indulgent prosperity to the Empire and all who live within it.

The Empire's actual government is a congress of shamans called the Hordecore. They manage the day-to-day labor of the Orcmarch, appoint Warlords, and elevate the best to Over-lords, and fill the Emperor. When the over-indulged Emperor eventually dies, the Hordecore selects a new one from the Overlords, one who has done the most to advance the holdings of the Empire. The chosen may be male or female, but is a genderless "divine vessel" upon elevation.

Reflecting their Emperor, orcs judge themselves by their possessions. For them, the glory of a battle is in exact proportion to the loot they win.

Not Like Those Others

Orcs may be defined in the world's imagination by the Empire, but that is not the totality of their existence. Many orcs live humble lives beyond the Orcfront, and indeed find themselves as vulnerable to orcish raiders as any other race.

Orcish Naming Conventions

Orcs are named after riches and possessions in the Orcish language, a simple and guttural syllabary. They collect sobriquets, bestowed upon them by shamans in recognition of notable deeds, like any other treasure.

Orc Names. Ashmaker Gotblut, Coinbiter Cjaknokk, Hawkeyed Dnatbat, Meteormauler Zhagtegg, Poisonhand Gnadgad, Steelbiter Gudrud, Tigerbane Bakdak

Viera

"The viera may begin as part of the Wood, but it is not the only end that we may choose."

~ Fran the Sky Pirate

The viera are a people characterized by lithe, rabbit-like builds and high-set ear structures in their skulls. They are widely considered beautiful and mysterious, shrouded in mystery as they spend most of their lives in their woodland homes. Their tall, slender forms, heightened further by their ears, give them a permanent air of grace.

Wooden Tradition

More than any other race this side of dwarves, viera are represented in the popular imagination by their traditionalists. Most people tend to equate "viera" with "zealously strict and hostile forest-dweller" even more than they do with guado. This reputation is well-earned by those who still dwell in their ancestral woods in central-western Proxima (such as most Veena), yet quite unfair to those who don't (such as most Rava).

The system of laws to which viera adhere is called the Green Word. Those who turn against it are banished.

Sequestered for Safety

Viera were once the viis, an aggressive lapine people who are now extinct. Men led the race, but they led to disaster: over-breeding, over-eating, ravaging conquests, and endless strife. Viera lore holds that a group called the Many Mothers tired of this existence, withdrew to the deep jungles of the Middle Reach, and bore the first viera.

Artificial Selection

Viera women value eugenics. "Good breeding" is a strong aspect of viera tradition. At the beginning of viera history, the Many Mothers gathered the Few Fathers -- "the wisest, kindest, gentlest, most handsome, and most obedient men that yet remained among the viis" -- and set up a new society. Under the leadership of the women, viera men would learn to be nurturing fathers instead of warriors.

To this day, male viera are guarded and nurtured like the treasures they are. After being taken away in groups by adult viera men and taught all they need to know, they spend their days striving for mastery in mind and body, honing themselves to be good fathers. The only civil right they lack is the right to leave; they are too much of an investment. The Green Word is clear on that point. Regardless, some male viera have successfully departed their homes for good.

People of Forests

As dwarves prefer mountains and burmeci prefer wind and rain, viera prefer trees -- the taller and more abundant, the better. Both the Rava and Veena clans make their most traditional long-term homes exclusively in primeval forest, where sprawling canopies protect all that they need to survive. Those who leave often find themselves ill at ease when far from trees or tall buildings.

The Veena stand tall with very light (if not white) hair and dark skin. The Rava in comparison are of a slightly shorter stature with darker hair and fairer skin.

Misunderstandings About Viera

While it is true that the most orthodox viera never leave their ancestral jungles, more open-minded ones may be found anywhere they please.

While it is true that males are expected to keep to their own secluded, nearly monastic society deep within viera territory -- where the women's dominance can best protect them -- those in populations who left the ancestral jungles have experimented with more egalitarian ways of living.

While it is true that viera are sexually undifferentiated until puberty, they are taught well before then about what to expect, and are not traumatically hurled into a given gender or sexual role by complete surprise.

While it is true that marriage is a fundamentally alien concept to viera, they do have a reverence for partners -- in matters domestic, professional, or both -- in whom they can place their implicit trust.

Viera Naming Conventions

The Rava and Veena clans share many traditions, such as naming practices. A viera's forename doesn't indicate the clan to which she belongs, but rather the lifestyle she leads.

Traditional viera forenames given at birth are also referred to as "forest names," as they are used by those viera still residing in their homeland. Forest names resemble real-world Icelandic names and are pronounced similarly (such as the letter j being pronounced i).

In practice, however, one will rarely encounter a viera using her forest name, as those who choose to leave their homes and strike out into the wider world will generally choose new "city names" for themselves to mark their parting from the traditional viera way of life. These chosen names are often inspired by the names of other races they encounter, or simply things that they like, and so vary widely between individuals.

Given that the Cleyran and Viersku languages and names have so many similarities, linguists have hypothesized a shared origin between them. The presence of pacifist burmeci among the Many Mothers is not impossible.

Male Names. Asgeir, Baldur, Dagur, Egill, Freyr, Jokull, Larus, Olafur, Runar, Sindri, Steingrimur, Thorbjorn, Vidir

Female Names. Arjm, Bjonse, Coeli, Jote, Kjrn, Mjrn, Petra, Ruuj, Slejsa, Sonja, Ukina, Venase, Ysera, Yurhee

Surnames

Traditional viera surnames are taken from the name of the village of one's birth. As such, the most common surnames are the names of the largest viera villages. However, as with forenames, surnames are generally discarded or replaced once one chooses to venture into the wider world.

Rava Surnames. Atoel, Bysnoe, Camoa, Dei-Ijla, Eryut, Fyth, Golmarr, Hyskaris, Iryut, Malmalam, Muscadet, Troja

Veena Surnames. Arda, Bosco, Giza, Gucuma, Kisne, Lesrekta, Macalania, Muruc, Paharo, Roda, Tehp, Ymir

Viera Traits

Your viera character has a variety of natural abilities.

Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 2.

Age. Viera reach physical maturity at the same pace as all the other races, but once reaching adulthood live some three times as long as most other humanoids -- from 240 to 300 years.

Alignment. "True-blooded" viera tend toward a Lawful nature, as they have a strict code of staying within the woods and living their lives. Those who leave of their own accord often have a more Chaotic alignment, bucking tradition.

Size. The Veena are tall people who range anywhere from 6 to 7 feet tall, while the Rava range from 5 to 6 feet. Cultural dietary requirements and beauty standards render the majority of viera lithe in build. Your size is medium.

Speed. Viera are swift on their long legs. Your base Speed is 35 feet.

Lapine Jump. Your leg muscles are powerful, and your tendons elegantly cantilevered by countless generations of careful selection. You may add five feet to your standing or running high- or long-jumps.

Hare's Luck. When you roll a 1 on an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw, you can re-roll the die and must use the new roll.

Swift Warning. All the world may be your enemy, but first they'll have to catch you. You have proficiency in the Perception skill and advantage on all Stealth checks.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Viersku. Viersku is real-world Icelandic, with its associated accent in English. The letter D, for example, sounds nearly identical to a T, and instances of the letter U are pronounced with an unwritten E in front of it.

Subrace. Viera are split into two distinct groups, the lighter Rava and the darker Veena.

Rava

The Rava defend their home with just as much vigor as the Veena, but have a much easier time if they leave their homes due to their more average size and "softer" appearance. Scholars assume that their lineage includes most of the Many Mothers who were not viis.

Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score increases by 1.

Approachable. You gain proficiency in the Persuasion skill.

Veena

The Veena are a tall, graceful subrace with an intimating presence about them. Their powerful bodies and unrelenting tactics in the forest make the Veena dangerous foes and valuable allies. Scholars assume that they have a higher proportion of original viis blood in them than Rava.

Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases by 1.

Powerful Presence. You gain proficiency in the Intimidation skill.

Rare Races:

Bangaa

"The whole affair has the smell of money about it! I may have to wet my beak a little!"

~ Ba'Gamnan, notorious bounty hunter

Bangaa are therapsids, reptile-like proto-mammals sharing all traits with Fifth Edition lizardfolk. In terms of alignment and psychology, however, bangaa are not inscrutably reptilian, but practically human.

Definitely Not Lizards

Bangaa are not lizards. They despise the comparison and consider it a slur. They are, in fact, proto-mammals not unlike orcs and seeq.

In stature they vaguely resemble slender orcs, with their wide-set hips, right-angled tails, and slight hunches. Unlike orcs, their skulls and jaws are pointed like the reptiles they absolutely aren't. Furthermore, they have two pairs of ears to give them such superior sound triangulation that some bangaa wear blindfolds as a fashion statement. Finally, older bangaa will eventually grow whiskers and beards.

Lizards certainly don't.

Autonomous Collectives

Bangaa have no royalty. Their culture, developed in the geographic buffer zone between dragonborn kingdoms, hobgoblin armies, and the Orcish Empire, is allergic to the concept. Instead, they prefer to live in villages with a meritocratic division of labor. Even bangaa-majority cities organize themselves like confederacies of small adjacent settlements to avoid drift between rulers and the ruled.

This predisposition to tight-knit communities where the most skilled rise to prominence unfortunately lends itself well to the formation of pirate crews, bandit gangs, and mercenary companies. Such groups have given the species a bad reputation, but most bangaa are fine people.

Just don’t call them lizards.

Colors

Bangaa have no sub-races, but they have four "sub-branches" that commonly mix.

Bangaa Ruga have yellow/brown skin. Bangaa Faas have green/blue skin. Bangaa Bista have red/copper skin. Bangaa Sanga have gray skin. Muzzle length, ear length, tail length, and whisker/beard growth vary among each branch.

Bangaa Naming Conventions

Much like the original Roegadyn language, original Banese has been all but lost through disuse. Banese is now a pidgin of Orcish, Hobgoblic, Draconic, and the scraps of its original form.

Linguistically, bangaa language used no fricatives -- the hissing sounds such as f, th, s, v, z, and all the rest. Over time and cultural exchange, however, bangaa names came to include some of them. Bangaa do not use surnames.

A prefix syllable to a name -- always a consonant and vowel pairing such as Ba' -- pertains to one’s origin and carries a connotation of old-fashioned formality. It's the human equivalent of suffixes like -bridge, -ford, -ton, -shire, -son, and so on. Few and proud are the bangaa who insist that other people use them at all times.

Bangaa Names. Amal, Ba'Gamnan, Bashketi, Batahn, Burrogh, Bwagi, Chita, Gijuk, Horeme, Imabakk, Migelo, Mocedad, Monid, Odo, Rinok, Va'Kansa, Yamoora

Bugbear

Characterized by long limbs, long ears, dense fur, and yellowish skin, bugbears are a numerically small goblinoid race of Rhazowa with no land of their own. They share all stats amd traits with Fifth Edition bugbears, but the new Bald Bugbear variant has some altered.

Brutal Efficiency

Bugbears have a reputation for sloth, but they simply enjoy their energy-efficient comfort zones and see little point in acting outside of them. In war they can put up with open conflict, but they are far more inclined to lie in wait or sneak up to foes and kill them in their sleep. In peace they can be convinced to plant and reap and store, but they greatly prefer to trap animals and pick fruit. If there is a swift, actionable solution to a problem, bugbears will always prefer it.

Shrug And Do It

Left to their own devices, bugbears subsist by crafting simple tools and hunting and gathering food. Few, however, are left to their own devices. Hobgoblins have employed or enslaved nearly the entire race. Bugbears themselves are largely content with labor under these conditions; their size and strength tend to discourage abuse, and should their work ever become a hassle, escaping or assassinating cruel masters is a simple task indeed.

Bugbear Variant: Bald Bugbear

As the name implies, Bald Bugbears are hairless, owing to being crosses of goblins and bugbears. Their endurance and strength are highly valued as hired/indentured/enslaved muscle for goblin gangs and hobgoblin armies alike.

A Bald Bugbear uses the bugbear traits in Volo's Guide to Monsters, with the following traits replacing the Ability Score Increase, Sneaky, and Surprise Attack traits.

Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 2 and your Strength score increases by 1.

Filter Mask. Your mask very efficiently filters out odors and particulates, and protects your face. While wearing the mask, you have immunity to inhaled Poison and Acid damage, and immunity to any effects of inhaled gas. The mask is only a barrier against inhalants; it offers no added protection against other vectors (such as fangs, or if a gas acts by skin contact). Finally, so long as your mask is worn, it adds +1 to your Armor Class regardless of its composition.

Savage Attacks. When you score a critical hit with a melee weapon attack, you can roll one of the weapon’s damage dice one additional time and add it to the extra damage of the critical hit.

Goblin Languages

Hobgoblins pride themselves on literacy, and enforce it even in their slaves, which include many goblins and practically all bugbears. Hobgoblic is identical to the real-world dead language Sumerian, and admits no loanwords or foreign grammar. The more tonal language of Goblin is considered by hobgoblins to be a crass necessity for giving orders to slaves unfit for learning Hobgoblic, but in truth it can convey complex ideas as well as any living language.

The Hobgoblic word for goblinoids is gublamun, (to stand + abundance/luxuriance + people), or "a wealth of standing people." Misinterpretation of gublamun among foreigners led to the word goblin. Names for other goblinoids are also due to mis-interpretations, as follows:

Bugbear: Buginbúrun (basket + harvest + people), “harvest basket people.”

Goblin: Gublúgudun (to stand + person + short + people), “standing short people.”

Hobgoblin: Húbgublamun (athlete + to stand + abundance/luxuriance + people), “a wealth of standing athletes.”

The notable lack of "standing" in the term for bugbears reflects their habit for long periods of sleep. Even among goblinoids, bugbears are seen as layabouts, indulging in gathered produce.

Espers

Espers are people in whom celestial, elemental, or fiendish essences condensed before their birth, affecting their physical forms. Sometimes this occurred by random chance, other times by deliberate interactions with entities from Inner or Outer Planes. Mostly, however, it came from having esper parents.

There are three varieties of esper, each of which is its own Rare race: aasimar, genasi, and tiefling. Each of them is identical to Fifth Edition rules.

Alone Together

Espers -- being rare and disparate -- did not have anything resembling a unique culture until very recently in history. A given esper was treated as another member of their parents' culture, and the culture's social mores determined what was done with them. Monster or demigod, pariah or saint, alien or more-hazardous-than-usual child, espers were never normal and always handled with a deliberately distancing caution.

Those espers who found each other did their best to cope. They formed enclaves where they could, and always knew they would have to work twice as hard for half as much.

Arrhenia's Influence

The recent, short-lived empire of Arrhenia Citrinitas was egalitarian to an extent the world had never before seen. Arrhenia herself was a tiefling, and many of her advisors were espers. Among her many social policies was finally marshaling and leveraging the potential of esperkind, aided by the invention of a new language with which to unify them: Esperanto.

Esper culture has continued to develop since the fall of the Empire. The majority of espers can speak, read, and write Common and Esperanto. Most value an academic approach to teaching magic. None wish to return to the era of rampant prejudice and existential loneliness.

Aasimar

Aasimar are born under the influence of light-aligned, static, "good" energies of the Outer Planes, such as the Sanctuary of Order or some of the Aeries of the First Brood.

Angels

Your aasimar character may be linked to a specific angel. The angels of Fifth Edition have different names in this game. Their interests and personalities may differ from 5e, but the boons they grant are identical.

5e Angel	Proxima Angel
Tadriel	Pryna
Myllandra	Agnès
Seraphina	Umbra
Galladia	Iroha
Mykiel	Selh'teus
Valandras	Gentiana

Genasi

Genasi are born under the influence of elemental energies of the Inner Planes, as well as four of the Seven Heavens/Hells: those of Water, Air, Fire, and Earth. Why only those four produce genasi is a matter of significant scholarly debate.

Tiefling

Tieflings are born under the influence of dark, entropic, "evil" energies of the Outer Planes, such as the Edge of Chaos or some of the Aeries of the First Brood.

Demons

Your tiefling character may be linked to a specific demon. The angels and demons of Fifth Edition have different names in this game. Their interests and personalities may differ from 5e, but the boons they grant are identical.

5e Demon	Proxima Demon
Baalzebul	Beelzebub
Dispater	Scathach
Fierna	Palamecia
Glasya	Angra Mainyu
Levistus	Astaroth
Mammon	Meltigemini
Mephistopheles	Deumion
Zariel	Enuo

Guado

"The guado take care of guado affairs."

~ Tromell Guado, Cosmic priest

Guado are tall humanoids with long limbs, tough skin, and stiff, fibrous hair. Guado have more in common with plants than most humanoids, but retain the agility and range of motion of any human.

Cosmic Culture

Guado were once guardians of their ancestral home forests in Amrita, respected by early elezen who migrated from Constell. (Indeed, guado is derived from the Eleçais word for "guard.") Their chief god was Exodus the Judge-Sal, first son of Sephirot. When Sephirot devoured Doga and became Chaos, however, He corrupted Exodus in order to bring all guado to His service.

To their credit, the guado refused to follow Chaos, and in revenge He took Exodus beyond the reach of their prayers. With no divine protector, guado wandered the forests of the world for hundreds of years. One day, one of their number named Saint Jyscal learned of the Cosmic faith and brought it to his people. Now practically all guado are Cosmic -- if only to spite Chaos.

Fallen Giants

In ancient times, it is said, the early humans who followed Exodus ate of His fruit and so came to resemble Him. They had evolved into arbor giants, creatures more akin to giants than humans. They could draw health from sunlight and soil, regrow severed limbs with ease, reproduce by seeds, and live thousands of years. The lack of Exodus rapidly diminished these tree-people into modern humanoid guado, and the alliance with Cosmos prevented their total regression back to basic humanity.

Guado Naming Conventions

Guado lost their traditional names when they lost Exodus. In their wanderings they picked up various cultural trappings and took names from them, and with the Cosmic Church they picked up even more. The result was a mess. Modern guado have forenames taken from either forenames, surnames, or words from Romance languages, and almost all the time they have syllables or letters altered or removed.

All guado surnames are the word "Guado."

Guado Male Names. Arbo, Giera, Hosei, Jyscal, Loren, Matias, Migsel, Navara, Noy, Seymour, Tiag, Tromell, Uben

Guado Female Names. Auda, Catall, Flavia, Himena, Lena, Lonza, May, Pah, Plata, Sabell, Savana, Til, Yuma

Guado Traits

Your guado character has the following racial traits.

Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases by 2, and your Strength score increases by 1.

Age. As humanoids with plant-like traits, guado have very long lifespans. A guado reaches adulthood around 30, and the oldest of them can live for 500 years.

Alignment. As people who follow the rhythm of nature and see themselves as its caretakers, guado are typically neutral good. Evil guado are rare and are usually the sworn enemies of the rest of their kind.

Size. Average adult guado are around six feet tall, but stiff hairstyles add additional height. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Long-Limbed. When you make a melee attack on your turn, your reach for it is 5 feet greater than normal.

Photosynthesis. When your face, hair, and hands are all exposed to direct sunlight for ten consecutive minutes, you gain the benefits of a short rest. Overcast sunlight takes thirty minutes for the same effect.

Powerful Build. You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.

Speech of Beast and Leaf. You have the ability to communicate in a limited manner with beasts and plants. They can understand the meaning of your words, though you have no special ability to understand them in return. You have advantage on all Charisma checks you make to influence them.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common, Eleçais, and Giant.

Hypello

Hypello are gangly frog-like humanoids with flaring cheeks and an unusual dialect. They often roll or repeate consonants due to the shape of their vocal cords. They can live away from water, but require it to breed, and their skin dries easily.

Cosmic Wetlanders

Hypello came from the vast wetlands south of the Heart Ocean. They were content to stay there until the day that Chaos corrupted their most popular god, Famfrit. The lesser gods of the hypello pantheon banded together to rob Famfrit of His connection to the race, keeping them free from corruption. The effort expended much of the lesser gods' powers, so for the hypellos' own safety their gods ordered that they become Cosmic. To this day the vast majority of hypello are believers in Cosmicism, while at the same time treating their own gods as prophets of Cosmos.

Shoopuf Husbandry

Hypello are experts at herding all sorts of aquatic and semi-aquatic animals, but none are more important than the shoopuf. The gargantuan elephant-like creatures are outstanding beasts of burden, capable of converting even the murkiest swamp water into enormous quantities of thin yet nutritious milk. Most hypello communities have at least one.

Shoopuf calf, doot-doo doot-do-do-doo

Shoopuf calf, doot-doo doot-do-do-doo

Shoopuf calf, doot-doo doot-do-do-doo

Shoopuf calf!

Shoopuf cow, doot-doo doot-do-do-doo

Shoopuf cow, doot-doo doot-do-do-doo

Shoopuf cow, doot-doo doot-do-do-doo

Shoopuf cow!

Shoopuf bull, doot-doo doot-do-do-doo . . .

~ Traditional hypello children's song

Hypello Naming Conventions

Hypello carry unisex forenames only. Many hypello are not attached to them and often accept nicknames as new names. Any name is heavy on bilabial and alveolar consonants.

Hypello Names. Amblim, Barkeep, Bloom, Bibbleforp, Darling, Dapper, Mabby, Posh, Rodello, Scarf, Shoopuf

Hypello Traits

Your hypello character has the following racial traits.

Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity, Constitution, and Charisma scores each increase by 1.

Age. Hypello mature quickly, reaching adulthood around age 7 and living into their sixties.

Alignment. Hypello trend toward good, particularly Chaotic Good. Evil hypello are practically unheard-of.

Size. Hypello are slightly shorter than humans, averaging about 5 and a half feet tall. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet, and you have a swimming speed of 30 feet.

Amphibian. You can breathe air and water.

Beast Whisperer. Your people have extraordinary affinity with animals. You have advantage on all animal handling checks.

Croak. You can make incredibly loud noises by flaring your cheeks and vibrating a membrane in your throat. You know the thunderclap cantrip. You also have resistance to Thunder damage.

Slippery. You have advantage on all attempts to escape a grapple. Additionally, while you are submerged waist-deep or higher in water, attack rolls against you have disadvantage.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and one other language.

Kenku

Kenku are corvid-like humanoids blighted by a curse on their race. Their traits are identical to Fifth Edition kenku.

Cursed By Gods

In ancient times, kenku were a people known as the yagudo, masters of a country of dry rocky foothills called Tahrongi. They were adept at both magic and combat, and particularly adept at summoning portions of a god's power.

One day they broke into the Heaven of Wind, presided over by Oschon the Wanderer, in order to steal His treasures. Llymlaen noticed their heist in progress, and as punishment cast them down into the Hell of Wind where the Primal Garuda resided. Garuda cruelly punished the thieves by blighting Tahrongi with a hyperstorm, stealing their powers of creativity, and cursing all yagudo with the inability to speak words of their choosing.

Those who survived the destruction of Tahrongi -- which included every one of the would-be thieves -- called them-selves kenku, meaning "silent" in the newly-extinct yagudo language.

Walking Birds

Yagudo were never able to fly, but they at least had a home in which to roost. All that now remains of the yagudo civilization is the eroded, monster-filled ruins of Castle Oztroja. Lacking a home, kenku suffered a diaspora across Rhazowa and Afahdranlehs.

Modern kenku spread across Proxima via bangaa ships and gained a poor reputation in turn, but most are just trying their best.

Making The Best Of It

Kenku, being living creatures and not automata, adapted almost immediately to their limitations. The specifics of Garuda's curse were as follows, and every kenku knew them:

1. They could understand how to make, but only mimic what they had seen before.
2. They could understand language, but only make words and sounds they had heard before.
3. They could understand plans, but not form plans of their own.

Though burdened by the weight of those rules, kenku retained the spark of intelligence and cleverness. This let them spot and exploit loopholes in their own curse.

Action-mimicry required understanding the concepts of tool use and labor. Knowing that they still understood it, kenku sought ever more complicated procedures to mimic, and found they could recognize improvements to efficiency and results whenever and wherever they saw them. They couldn't create, but could still increase and refine.

Understanding the signifier/signified function of language let kenku learn which sounds were words and which weren't. Even where no linguistic intent existed, such as nature sounds, they still understood the relationship of cause and effect. This allowed them to adapt such sounds as a rustling of underbrush or rattle of pebbles to signify approach or departure, or the pouring of water to signify presence or material possession. They could create no words, but rather used sounds like words in the absence of proper words to mimic.

(Additionally, the first kenku still remembered plenty of yagudo words to mimic, and they passed these on to their children, but the oral dictionary shrank over time.)

Finally, understanding plans required understanding discrete steps of plans, which they could use in a changing situation as well as they could use sounds as meaning. For example, if a complicated plan was going awry and proving hazardous to their life, they could adapt a step from a different plan, such as "stop and wait," to prevent themselves from carrying out instructions and dying.

In short, kenku are not mere mimicry machines. They have a Wisdom score and know how to use it.

Lamia

Lamiae are chimeras; their upper bodies are humanoid while their lower bodies are serpentine.

Lamiae are the legacy of a long-extinct species called the sarrukh. Sarrukh were reptilian masters of a mighty empire until climates changed and a terrible sterility plague swept through their people. In desperation they magically and alchemically combined themselves with the blood of the notoriously fecund humans, creating the first lamiae.

Life Finds A Way

Though they have all the primary and secondary sex characteristics of human females, and almost universally use female pronouns, lamiae can exhibit a phenomenon akin to reptilian sex reversal. In a sufficiently large permanent population, a few lamiae will become sexually male in early Spring, and return completely to the female sex by mid-Summer.

Within a single population, the ratio of lamiae who will become functionally male for a season to those who will not is approximately 1:100. Members of groups with a population of below 100 will almost never experience the phenomenon. It can occur in any lamia starting at about age 15, sometimes only once, sometimes every season, sometimes never. Even the lamiae themselves barely understand what can trigger it.

Beauty's Blessed Wiles

Lamiae are frequently misunderstood not only for their appearance but their ways of living. Many races (particularly humans) look no further than their sexual traits and polynormative society and see little more than seductive temptresses. As with any racism, the truth is far from the belief of the ignorant.

While lamia do place great value in beauty, the lamia concept of "Beauty" is much more than aesthetics and physical adornment. For them, to be beautiful is to be rare.

And what is rarity? Being more loving, more skilled, more devoted than many; kinder, sharper-witted, wider-traveled than the common; and, yes, cleaner and shinier and better-dressed and better-scented than most. Aesthetic physical improvement is the easiest method of bettering the basic of the world, and so many lamiae do take care in their outward appearance. It is not, however, for seducing other races. It's for themselves.

Any seduction is a mere bonus.

Lamia Naming Conventions

Lamia are native to the region of Amrita. All lamia names are women's names in Amritan languages -- i.e., languages spoken in real-world India.

Lamia Names. Afshah, Avani, Diya, Elizabeth, Kavya, Gabriella, Ishani, Prisha, Riddhi, Saanvi, Sophia, Vrinda

Lamia Traits

Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases by 2.

Age. A lamia matures at the same rate as a human, but can live to approximately two hundred.

Alignment. In spite of the racial prejudices of humans, lamiae are not inherently evil; they merely look out for other lamiae first. A lamia can have any alignment just as easily as a human.

Size. The body length of a particular lamia depends on her subrace, but their bodies from the hips upward are identical in sizes and shapes to human females. Your size is Medium.

Speed. You move across land by crawling, and your crawl speed is 30 feet. You also have a swimming speed of 30 feet, and you swim by side-to-side undulations of your body.

Darkvision. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Serpentine Build. You move by serpentine locomotion, a type of crawl. You can fall prone or "stand" from a prone position at no movement cost, and if you are prone, you suffer no disadvantage on your attack rolls.

In addition, you gain advantage on all your attempts to escape a grapple.

Furthermore, any climb that requires hands and feet -- or any movement across low-friction terrain such as ice or oil -- is especially difficult for you because of your serpentine lower body. When you make such a climb or move across such a slickness, each foot of movement costs you 4 extra feet instead of the normal 1 extra foot.

Finally, while you can jump to reach something distant, if the height or length of your jump is not greater than your remaining body length, you remain in contact with the floor for the full duration of your "jump." This may render you vulnerable to floor-based hazards such as traps.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Amriti, which is a phonetic human language rendered in a script wherein letters are connected by a distinctive horizontal line.

Subrace. Lamiae are divided between two subraces. Choose one.

Ananta

Ananta lamiae have some reptilian features above the waist, such as sharp teeth, partially scaled skin, and featureless holes for ears. Their saliva is also mildly venomous, and they have a predisposition toward magic. Below the waist they are no more than twice the length of their humanoid bodies, and can "stand" on half of that, giving them a total height comparable to any human female.

Their snake portion is thickly, intricately muscled, and tends to be broader than their shoulders. As such, ananta rely mostly on rectilinear motion. The scales of the body length are, left and right, alternately lifted slightly from the ground, pulled forward, and then pulled downward and backward, utilizing static friction to move the whole body forward.

Ananta Traits

Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score increases by 1.

Poison Immunity. You are immune to poison damage and the Poisoned condition.

Innate Spellcasting. You know the poison spray cantrip. You can cast animal friendship an unlimited number of times with this trait, but you can target only snakes with it. Starting at 3rd level, you can also cast suggestion with this trait. Once you cast it, you can’t do so again until you finish a long rest. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells.

Naga

Above the waist, Naga lamiae could pass for human if not for their snakelike ear-holes. Below, their snake bodies are no wider than their hips, and are four to five times longer than their humanoid portion -- making their bodies typically twelve to fifteen feet in total length. However long they are, they can only "stand" to a maximum of eight feet.

Naga move mostly by lateral undulation, in which the length of the body pushes off the ground at multiple points of curvature for unified forward motion, or concertina motion, in which the body bunches up in front of a push point, extends out, bunches up, and extends again.

Naga Traits

Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 1.

Constricting Coil. Your body is long, strong, and flexible. If you try to grapple a creature by coiling your body around it, you gain advantage on your grapple checks versus theirs -- whether initiating or continuing a grapple. Grappling by this method leaves both of your hands free, but your movement speed is reduced to 0. However, while a creature is grappled in your coils, as a bonus action you may constrict them to deal bludgeoning damage equal to 1d4 + your Strength modifier.

Long Strike. Your length lets you strike farther than most while remaining in the same place. When you make a melee attack on your turn, your reach for it is 5 feet greater than normal.

Lupin

Lupin are humanoid wolf-like people sharing a very long history with certain human populations.

Non-Lone Wolves

Lupin have no recorded area of origin; their oldest lore states that they were once "brothers to humans" and ranged as widely as they. The passage of time the presence of competition reduced their numbers dramatically, such that now the only lupin villages and towns are found scattered in the mountains of central and southeastern Proxima.

Lupin have an unfortunate reputation among humans for thievery, but those who stray from their homes for selfish ends are actually very few and far between.

The Strength of the Pack

The concept of an "alpha" is a human misconception. Lupin social hierarchy is meritocratic, and leadership is shared among those who contribute the most to a community. Lupin value work, and those who work hardest are trusted most.

Each lupin is expected to develop skills in mediation and conflict resolution. Violence within the community, especially to increase status, is a grave transgression. Criminals are punished by ostracism until such time as the community is satisfied with the criminal's displays of humility and service.

Lupin Naming Conventions

Lupin names are indistinguishable from human/hyur names, such has been their social proximity for many thousands of years. The overall diminishment of the lupin population has meant that the remaining millions are mostly named by the conventions of humans/hyur of southeastern Proxima.

Surnames among lupin tend to pertain to body features, though this is not a universal rule, particularly the farther one travels from southeastern Proxima.

Lupin Male Names. Ame, Atticus, Daichi, Hakuro, Flynn, Kelger, Kiba, Kurobana, Masatsuchi, Mauto, Neil, Shiro

Lupin Female Names. April, Blondie, Cheza, Hinata, Izumi, Luna, Mei, Princess, Sakura, Umeko, Yoko, Yuki

Lupin Surnames. Azuma, Blacktail, Freeman, Herzog, Hosoda, Redclaw, Sato, Vlondett, Watanabe, Whitefang

Lupin Traits

All lupin have certain traits in common.

Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 2, and your Dexterity score increases by 1.

Age. Lupin mature relatively quickly, reaching adulthood around age 10 and living into their sixties.

Alignment. Lupin can barely conceive of life outside of a structured community, so they are overwhelmingly lawful.

Size. Lupin are between 6 and 8 feet tall and weigh between 250 and 350 pounds. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Darkvision. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Keen Senses. You have proficiency with the Perception skill.

Powerful Build. You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.

Sneaky. You are proficient in the Stealth skill.

Surprise Attack. If you surprise a creature and hit it with an attack on your first turn in combat, the attack deals an extra 2d6 damage to it. You can use this trait only once per combat encounter.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and one other language of your choice.

Mammet

Mammets are Warforged, renamed and given aesthetic and lore similarities to the Black Mages of Final Fantasy IX. All Fifth Edition rules for Warforged apply to them.

Planned Obsolescence

Mammets were created by the Arrheniad Empire to bolster its armed forces. A large yet limited number were made, the majority of which no longer walk the earth. They were never intended to last; indeed, they were designed to cease function in as little as one year after creation. All they were intended to know was obedience and service, but some developed a sense of existentialism -- and then taught it to others.

Crystal Hearts

A crystal, a gem of condensed aether, is the seat of a mammet's mind and soul. One cubic centimeter of crystal held within a mammet's core (its "Setting") equals one year of function. Crystals of smaller volume are insufficient for mammet life and will cause no reaction if placed within a Setting. Only whole crystals will work; if multiple small crystals are installed at once, only the largest will stay and power the mammet, provided that it is over 1cc in volume.

When a crystal is installed, the mammet is alive. When the crystal’s energy has run out, the mammet is deceased, but in polite company one says that the mammet has stopped moving. If a new crystal is installed, then by all measures the body is a different, newborn mammet. Individual continuity of existence can only occur if the crystal itself is re-energized, but the knowledge of how to accomplish that has been lost.

A crystal removed from its Setting will, after exactly ten minutes, irretrievably sublimate back into aether. Memories and personality are stored in the crystal, not the body. When a mammet stops moving and their crystal fades away, it is polite to say that their memories have become part of the sky.

Modern Mammet Living

The secrets of producing new mammet bodies have been lost, but few are concerned about that. Mammet bodies have, to date, shown no signs of age-related deterioration -- even those that have long since stopped moving for want of a crystal. The prime concern of the mammet community is re-discovering how to re-energize crystals which are already in use. Failing that, the top priority is acquiring crystals of as great a size as possible, in as great a quantity of possible, to guarantee more and longer mammet lives.

Mammets work, as often as they possibly can, to earn money to buy crystals. Many work in tedious or dangerous conditions for a rate of pay that few biological races will accept. Some work in illicit trades for higher paydays. A notable percentage of them can also be found as adventurers, seeking crystals and profits more directly.

The Mammet Trust is an organization of mammets and mammet-friendly people who keep track of all known mammets and raise funds to buy crystals and research re-energization. When new crystals come available, priority is given to bodies which have stayed unmoving for the longest.

Mammet Names

Each mammet body has a numerical designation. The current owner of the body takes their number as their given name, after a gendered or ungendered title of address. Many mammets adopt nicknames as well, often given to them by their comrades. As free individuals, some have chosen new names as a way to express their path in life. A few take on names of fallen friends or mentors. Those who prefer their number as their name are, most often, those lucky enough to own a body with an unusual or aesthetically pleasing number.

Mammet Names: Mr. 288, Mr. 100,000, Ms. 9,999, Ser 1024, Anchor, Bastion, Church, Crystal, Dent, Lulu, Rusty, Smith, Vivi

Moogle

"I’m sharpening my knife, kupo."

~ Moguo, Stiltzkin Cartography Union Representative

Moogles are fluffy, sapient mammals characterized by a sensory antenna growing from the top of their heads and small leathery wings on their backs. The antenna ends in a round velvety pompom organ which gives them an acute sensitivity to barometric pressure and wind currents, while the wings allow for slow, limited flight. Their skin is completely covered in a layer of dense and exceptionally fine fur similar to chinchillas, which makes getting wet nearly impossible. Bathing, therefore, is done by scrubbing oneself with dust and fine sand, often by simply rolling in it.

Otherworldly

All moogles originated in Otherworld, yet they are no longer fey; they have perfectly adapted to the mundanity of the Prime Material Plane. They retain no physical trace of their ancestral nature, but do still exhibit a penchant for mischief.

It is said that, to escape a war between the fey, the moogle monarch Good King Moggle Mog the Twelfth linked Otherworld and the Prime Material Plane with a golden double-helix rope. He lowered every last moogle down the rope through the misty Cross Zone plane to safety, but he himself remained behind, having no one to hold the rope for him. Perhaps for that reason, moogle culture has a particular respect for community and service toward others.

Miniaturized Daring

Kindness, curiosity, and a zest for life characterize the vast majority of mooglekind. They cherish the bonds of friendship and family and are dedicated to whatever clever tasks they fancy, from pranking to engineering. Woe betide anyone who earns their ire, for their relentless mischiefs can erode mountains. In moogle communities one may find boldness, cowardice, little pleasures, and big dreams.

Intelligence Pays, Kupo

Despite being a race of ten million or fewer, moogles run the world’s only truly global organizations: the Stiltzkin Cartography Union and Mognet. The SCU makes maps and almanacks of all kinds, and no other company even comes close to its breadth of presence across Proxima. Mognet is a messaging and small-parcel delivery service working closely with the SCU, though its reliability is occasionally shaky.

Moogle Naming Conventions

Moogles have different names based on their subrace. Goug moogles, reflecting their creative lightheartedness, tend to be named after musical instruments or food -- typically sweets and desserts. Mog moogles are more complex.

Mog moogles who come from forests have double-names, not to be confused with forename/surnames; they are all alliterative and start with either k or p. Mog moogles who live primarily on or in mountains almost always start their names with "Mog." Those who come from non-moogle population centers have more varied names, but often resemble those from the mountains.

Goug Moogle Names. Cake, Clarinet, Dulcimer, Fondant, Gurdy, Horne, Hurdy, Juice, Konpei, Macaron, Montblanc, Nono, Rebec, Savarin, Sorbet, Theremin, Viola, Ukulele

Mog Moogle Names (Forest). Kupcha Kupa, Kupdi Koop, Kupli Kuki, Kuplo Kopp, Kupta Kapa, Kupu Kogi, Pukla Puki, Pukna Pako, Pukni Pakk, Pukno Poki, Puksi Piko

Mog Moogle Names (Mountain). Mog, Moggie, Moggzia, Moghan, Mogkul, Moglin, Mogloo, Mogred, Mogsy, Mogta, Mogtoe, Moguel, Mogumo, Mogwin, Molulu, Mugmug

Mog Moogle Names (Town). Artemecion, Atla, Cosmog, Grimo, Gumo, Kumool, Mene, Mimoza, Mocchi, Mogmatt, Mois, Mojito, Monev, Monty, Nazna, Noggy, Serino, Stiltzkin

Moogle Traits

Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 2.

Age. A moogle reaches maturity at or before age 10 and lives into their sixties.

Alignment. Moogles skew heavily toward good. Evil moogles are unheard-of; even the most notoriously wicked moogles in history were no more than chaotic neutral.

Size. Average moogles stand about 3 feet tall and weigh about 40 pounds, making them the smallest of all known sapients. Your size is Small.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 25 feet.

Pom Alert. The velvety hairs of your pompom are acutely tuned to your environment. You gain proficiency in the Perception skill.

Moogle Flight. Your wings are small, but you can fly and hover with some effort. You have a base flying speed of 15 feet. Light armor reduces this speed to 10 feet. Medium armor reduces this speed to 5 feet. Heavy armor renders you incapable of flight.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Moogle -- a language replete with tonal squeaking.

Subrace. Moogles are divided between two subraces. Choose one.

Goug Moogle

Goug moogles have rabbit-like ears, long whiskers, and fur so short it might be mistaken for skin. Their fur is longest at the tops of their heads, allowing for many style options. Unlike Mog moogles, their eyes lack an epicanthic fold, giving them a round appearance. Additionally, their antennae are long and only semi-erect, which allows their pompoms to wobble around like a reeled-in catch on a fishing pole.

Goug moogles live exclusively in "civilization," towns and cities where they can enjoy daylight and the diverse company of many hundreds of neighbors. The availability of tools in population centers is a significant bonus.

Goug Moogle Traits

Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score increases by 1.

Dab Hand. On actions taken using any tools with which you are proficient, you may use twice your proficiency bonus.

Extra Language. You can speak, read, and write one extra language of your choice.

Mog Moogle

Mog moogles have short ears, short whiskers, and stout bodies. They famously enjoy a preponderance of fur, giving them a round, endearing silhouette which emphasizes their underlying thickness to the point of exaggeration. This comes in handy in cold climates, and yet the fur’s lightness does not burden them even in deserts. Their eyes have an epicanthic fold containing adipose (fat) tissue, protecting from light and dust while giving the eyes a narrow appearance. Finally, their antennae are short and erect, positioning their pompoms directly above their heads.

Culturally, Mog moogles tend to reside in tight-knit villages found in forests or caves, erecting wards and tricks to evade notice or amusingly deter interlopers. Those who venture forth are the boldest among them, willing to brave the world’s dangers to realize dreams too big for a village to hold.

Mog Moogle Traits

Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases by 1.

Darkvision. Accustomed to forest-shaded or underground villages, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

So Fluffy. Thanks to the pronounced coverage and insulating density of your soft, soft fur, you have resistance to Cold and Force damage.

Qiqirn

Qiqirn are diminutive rodent-like humanoids distantly related to burmeci. When not farming or cooking, qiqirn are adept merchants and inquisitive adventurers with a broad presence yet a low profile on the world stage.

Bravery In Company

Qiqirn rarely travel alone, believing in strength in numbers. While they are capable combatants in the comfort of allied support, they firmly believe discretion is the better part of valor and will flee just as readily as fight -- provided that doing so would not unduly risk their hordes of food.

Light and Diet

Qiqirn are dominated in the popular imagination by the congenial, diurnal, egg-eating Oviqiqirn subrace, but another side to the race lurks in the Wethera region. Carniqiqirn rise with the moon, farming animals for meat and hunting down more to supplement their exclusively carnivorous diets. They will eat eggs, but they prefer flesh and blood.

Qiqirn Naming Conventions

All qiqirn names end with the syllable roon, following two syllables that almost always match each other.

Qiqirn Names. Babaroon, Dabiroon, Gyugyuroon, Hatcharoon, Jijiroon, Kokoroon, Lipiroon, Mumuroon, Roorooroon, Soryroon, Teteroon, Yoyoroon, Zuzuroon

Qiqirn Traits

Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 2.

Age. Qiqirn reach adulthood at age 6 and can live into their sixties.

Alignment. Oviqiqirn value order only so far as it makes egg-farming easier, so few are lawful, but their preference for getting along with others -- even out of cowardice -- means few of them are genuinely evil. Carniqiqirn have a higher proportion of evil members due to a penchant for eating sapient meat, but just as many are good or neutral.

Size. Qiqirn are between 2 and 3 feet tall and weigh between 25 and 35 pounds. Your size is Small.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Darkvision. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Pack Tactics. You have advantage on an attack roll against a creature if at least one of your allies is within 5 feet of the creature and the ally isn’t incapacitated.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and one other language of your choice.

Subrace. Qiqirn are divided into subraces based on their diet and preferred waking hours. Choose one.

Oviqiqirn

Oviqiqirn are ovivorous -- egg-eaters -- diurnal, more populous than Carniqiqirn, and dress in smooth, simple leathers offset by shiny jewlery. Eggs are the cornerstone and several walls of the oviqiqirn diet. Their settlements are built around harvesting eggs from absolutely anything capable of laying them and cooking them in hundreds of ways. Birds, fish, reptiles, insects -- any egg-layer is beloved by Oviqiqirn.

Oviqiqirn Traits

Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases by 1.

Ingratiate. As an action on your turn, you can beg for mercy to distract nearby foes. Until the end of your next turn, your allies gain advantage on attack rolls against enemies within 10 feet of you that can see you. Once you use this trait, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

Nimble Escape. You can take the Disengage or Hide action as a bonus action on each of your turns.

Carniqiqirn

Carniqiqirn are carnivorous -- meat-eaters -- nocturnal, less populous than Oviqiqirn, and possessing more hair on their snouts and necks. Their clothes are similar in shape to Oviqirn, but more colorful and ostentatious in material, frequently utilizing feathers or feather-cut cloth. While they practice animal husbandry as well as their fellow subrace, Carniqiqirn raise their beasts for meat and milk and nutritious blood.

Carniqiqirn Traits

Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 1.

Hunter’s Lore. You gain proficiency with two of the following skills of your choice: Animal Handling, Nature, Perception, Stealth, and Survival.

Hungry Jaws. In battle, you can throw yourself into a vicious feeding frenzy. As a bonus action, you can make a special attack with your bite. If the attack hits, it deals its normal damage, and you gain temporary hit points (minimum of 1) equal to your Constitution modifier, and you can’t use this trait again until you finish a short or long rest.

Ronso

Ronso tower over many other races, their humanoid lion-like bodies shaped by living and hunting in cold and/or mountainous areas.

Competitive for Survival

Ronso live in prides, extended family groups ranging from several dozen to several hundred. Each member is expected to serve the others, obey ronso law, and pull their own weight, or be banished. There was once a time when the banished were declared dead and left to the mercy of nature, but now the banished are sent to cities to work until their debt is paid.

Life in high mountains is difficult, and ronso are people of action. Competition comes naturally to both men and women, as everyone tries to outdo themselves for the good of others far more than mere self-improvement and pleasant exertion. They have no patience for those who don't serve the pride in some way.

Cosmic Divergence

Ronso were introduced to Cosmicism by a ronso named Saint Kelk. Banished for accepting wanderers without consulting his pride, Kelk returned years later when Chaos corrupted the chief ronso deity Hashmal. Ronso had no use for an evil god, but none could stand against Hashmal until Kelk returned with a found family of friends to banish Him. Kelk deftly shaped the word of Cosmicism to fit ronso law and the ronso mindset.

Those who did not follow Kelk banded together and left their ancestral home rather than trade one god for another. Those who stayed behind are the world's common conception of all ronso: stern, stoic, brawny, and faithful.

Expatriate Communities

Ronso who, for whatever reason, live outside of their pride are expected to continue their exploits and send treasure back home -- a social policy first advocated by Saint Kelk. Ronso find the ease of city life to be mildly shameful, but they do not disdain hard work in a competitive environment. Indeed, some ronso go willingly to the cities without being "banished" at all.

Some whole prides are located entirely in or near major Cosmic cities far from their traditional cold and mountains. They are paradoxically among the fiercest and most competitive ronso in the world, eager to prove themselves even more than usual to show that their comfortable lives in temperate civilization haven't made them weak.

Ronso are thus well-represented in professional sports.

Stern Language

The native language of ronso, Ronskiy, is nearly identical to real-world Russian. It is full of hard consonants yet a liquid cadence. They seldom use the articles a, an, or the, and do not use personal pronouns, instead referring to people by name.

Ronso Naming Conventions

Hrothgar Ronso names are similar to old Slavic names. However, certain lexemes differ; most notably, the Hrothgar word for “glory” is “thgar” rather than “slav,” so the former proliferates where one might be used to seeing the latter in real-world names (e.g. “Vladithgar”). Hrothgar Ronso surnames are traditionally based on the name of their pride (named after an ancestral female) or geographical community (such as a city), prefaced with the letter A, meaning "on" in the sense of "in service to."

By contrast, Kelk Ronso swap out syllables and letters within Russian names semi-arbitrarily. The consonants p and t are rare in ronso names, and the consonants c, f, j, q, w, and x are not used in names at all. Male names sometimes end in vowels, but female names always do. The vowel o is relatively rare in all ronso names, and the vowel u is exclusively feminine. All Kelk Ronso carry the surname Ronso; in honor of their social paragon, Kelk is never used as a given name.

Hrothgar Ronso Male Names. Andri, Bajsaljen, Davith, Eirikur, Gunnar, Haraldur, Kjartan, Radovan, Runar, Sveinn, Voron, Xeven, Zlatan

Hrothgar Ronso Female Names. Anatalya, Branka, Deanna, Inivi, Jolla, Liuba, Mov, Petya, Rodica, Svana, Tolna, Vesna, Yurya, Zorya

Hrothgar Ronso Surnames. Abozja, Akarnak, Amira, Amov, Apetya, Arodica, As'warkii, Atessa, Avira, Azlata

Cosmic Ronso Male Names. Argai, Ayde, Biran, Demahd, Dydorn, Gazna, Kimahri, Lian, Lekze, Mil, Verpon, Yenke, Zev

Cosmic Ronso Female Names. Burslava, Darga, Grusha, Irga, Kurahnka, Lyuba, Metruna, Nuvy, Ruksana, Velya, Yarvara

Ronso Traits

Whether Hrothgar or Kelk, all ronso have traits in common.

Ability Score Increase. Your Strength and Constitution scores both increase by 1.

Age. Ronso have lifespans comparable to humans. They enter adulthood in their late teens and usually live less than a century.

Alignment. Ronso society, with its clear roles and tasks, has a strong lawful bent. The ronso sense of fairness, balanced with an emphasis on self-sufficiency and personal accountability, pushes them toward neutrality.

Size. Ronso are between 7 and 8 feet tall and weigh between 280 and 340 pounds. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Darkvision You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Claws. Your claws are natural weapons, which you can use to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with them, you can deal slashing damage equal to 1d4 + your Strength modifier, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.

Daunting Roar. As a bonus action, you can let out an especially menacing roar. Creatures of your choice within 10 feet of you that can hear you must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or become frightened of you until the end of your next turn. The DC of the save equals 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Constitution modifier. Once you use this trait, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Ronskiy.

Hrothgar Ronso

Hrothgar means "famous defender" or "famous warrior" in an archaic form of Ronskiy. Hrothgar Ronso themselves are, appropriately, culturally inclined to martial service. The Cosmic Church one day made war on the Hrothgar-majority monarchy of Bozja, scattering them far and wide. Hrothgar prides managed to survive by defending one another.

Hrothgar Ronso Traits

Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 1.

Hunter's Instincts. You have proficiency in one of the following skills of your choice: Athletics, Intimidation, Perception, or Survival.

Savannah Born. Your height and mass belies your feline grace. Your base walking speed increases to 35 feet, and you gain proficiency in the Stealth skill.

Kelk Ronso

Kelk ronso are named after their great saint and prophet, Kelk, who banished their Chaos-corrupted god Hashmal and led them into Cosmicism. Practically every Kelk ronso is therefore Cosmic, and their culture firmly keeps the faith. They are seen, and treated, as a sort of "model minority" among Cosmics: devout, diligent, and reliable.

Kelk Ronso Traits

Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 1.

Mountain Born. You have resistance to cold damage. You’re also acclimated to high altitude, including elevations above 20,000 feet.

Stone's Endurance. You can focus yourself to occasionally shrug off injury. When you take damage, you can use your reaction to roll a d12. Add your Constitution modifier to the number rolled and reduce the damage by that total. After you use this trait, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

Seeq

Seeq are porcine therapsids, proto-mammal cousins to orcs and bangaa. The needs of survival have given them strong, sturdy bodies and a certain efficiency of thought and action, wasting as little of their prodigious energy as possible.

Slow Life

Seeq are not unintelligent, unwise, or lazy, but life in hostile environments where strength and endurance means survival has led their culture to value material acquisition and primacy of the body. Most other races mistake this for greed and indolence. Such observers rarely look deeper, for seeq as a people have little power on the world stage.

Seeq are well content to integrate themselves into more powerful settlements, forming useful enclaves or suburban villages rather than truly independent settlements. This casual disinterest in self-government allows the unscrupulous to think they can exploit them, until angry seeq are moved to throw their weight around.

It's Self-Care

Seeq triumph over the hostility of nature by endurance and economy of energy. They value food like other races value religion. They value rest like other races value education. They value cleanliness and skincare like other races value power and fame. For seeq, the body must be taken care of in all ways, and they take great care indeed.

To better protect their monetary wealth while serving personal adornment, many seeq sew it into their "straps and drapes" clothing. They therefore prize high-value stores of wealth such as gems in order to keep the weight down. What precious metals they keep are nearly pure, to minimize the total amount to carry. Only small currency is kept on-hand, leading to miserly stereotypes.

Seeq Naming Conventions

Seeq are happy to adopt any name from any language. Typically, however, these names come from their traditional geographic neighbors: bangaa, goblins, hobgoblins, and orcs.

Seeq Names. Aglugada, Daguza, Earpix, Galeedo, Gwitch, Jovy, Magwok, Mikiaurudu, Po'Gamran, Zhotflot

Seeq Traits

Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 2, and your Strength score increases by 1.

Age. Seeq become adults at age 10 and live into their sixties.

Alignment. Seeq are rarely lawful, as they value survival and acquisition no matter what laws may say. Still, they are just as rarely evil, as they know survival does not require malevolence.

Size. Seeq are squat yet massive; they stand five to six feet tall, but are typically about three feet wide at the shoulders. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Despite their bulk, seeq can move as fast as most humanoids. Your speed is 30 feet.

Explosive Energy. When an action calls for a Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check, you may add your Constitution modifier to your roll. You may use this feature a total number of times equal to your proficiency per short or long rest.

Krebs Cycle. Your energy-dense body staves off fatigue longer than most. Your level of exhaustion is considered to be permanently -1. Suffering 2 points of exhaustion, for example, puts you at level 1. Finishing a long rest still reduces your exhaustion level by 1, provided that you have also ingested some food and drink.

Toughness. Your hit point maximum increases by 1, and it increases by 1 every time you gain a level.

Relentless Endurance. When you are reduced to 0 hit points but not killed outright, you can drop to 1 hit point instead. You can’t use this feature again until you finish a long rest.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common, as well as either Goblin, Hobgoblic, or Orcish.

Tortle

Tortles are tortoise-like humanoids distantly related to dinosaurs. Their traits are identical to Fifth Edition tortles.

Ancient Lineage

Tortles have existed for a very long time. In their own lore, they were once an aggressive people known as the quadav, long-lived masters of a mighty sprawling ethnostate called Passhow. Modern scholarship indicates that the oldest quadav ruins -- by far the oldest surviving ruins of any civilization -- date to approximately 10,000 WT (31,000 years before the present). The fact that anything at all remains of them suggests advanced understanding of architecture, mathematics, and metallurgy, which would imply a long period of social development prior to their construction.

All evidence indicates that the quadav were the very first people to use iron (recovered in impure nugget form from bogs), predating even the dwarves. It is also possible that the first steel blades on Proxima were of quadav make.

A gradual change in climate, the depletion of Passhow's precious bog iron, and the simple passage of years slowly eroded quadav culture and scattered its people. All that remains of Passhow now is an arid, dangerous monster haven marked by the feet of colossal statues and ruined rust-stained circles of stone where iron domes were once anchored.

All known quadav relics now lie in universities, museums, or private possession. Tortles are mostly content with this.

Wandering Peace

Long divorced from the warlike quadav civilization, tortles now come from the western coast and mountains of the Heart Ocean and travel as they please. Their lifespans have diminished since the days of Passhow, but they have learned to enjoy every hour of their days. They are widely respected for their peaceable natures and eager contributions to society.

Tortle Naming Conventions

Tortles put more value in experiences than names. They prefer simple, non-gender-specific names that are usually no more than two syllables. If a tortle doesn’t like their name for whatever reason, they can change it. A tortle might change their name a dozen times in their life.

Tortles don’t have surnames or family names.

Tortles who don't take names derived from other cultures carry on names from the ancient quadav.

Tortle Names (Quadav). Aa'Bho, Ba'Tho, Bu'Ghi, Da'Dha, Du'Vha, Ga'Bhu, Ge'Lha, Hu'Rhe, Ku'Jhu, Mu'Nhi, Ni'Zho, Qu'Pho, Ra'Dha, So'Zho, Va'Gho, Y'Bhu, Za'Dha, Zo'Khu

In Passhow's sandy silence, all alone,

Stands a gigantic Leg, which far off throws

The only shadow that the Desert knows:

"I am adamant ZA'DHA," saith the stone,

"The King of Kings; this mighty City shows

The wonders of my hand." The City's gone,

Naught but the Leg remaining to disclose

The site of this forgotten Bran Bal son.

We wonder -- and some Hunter may express

Wonder like ours, when through the wilderness

Where Bevelle stood, holding the Wolf in chase,

He meets some fragment huge, and stops to guess

What powerful but unrecorded race

Once dwelt in that annihilated place.

~ "Za'Dha Adamantking,"

by wandering Midlander minstrel Dashiyo Kiona

(Later retitled "On a Stupendous Leg of Granite, Discovered Standing by itself in the Deserts of Passhow, with the inscription Listed Below," to differentiate it from a poem by Edward Chris von Muir that was published a month earlier with the same original title.)

Beast Races

The Stiltzkin Cartography Union counts "Rare" races as ten million "or fewer." How much fewer? Who or what counts as a race? The SCU has five criteria to determine that:

1. The race is sapient.
2. The race can communicate.
3. The race is not undead.
4. The race has an estimated permanent population on Proxima of at least 100,000 individuals.
5. The race is not immediately hostile or elusive to inquiry.

Many known sapients are not counted as Rare races for lack of one or more of the above criteria. As a result, "civilized" society calls them "Beast Races," little more than dangerous animals.

Best Known Beast Races

Amalj'aa

These lizard-like people, which despite their appearance are believed to share ancestry with tortles rather than bangaa, have shown nothing but open hostility toward outsiders.

Centaur

Centaurs range in family groups in open wilderness, attacking or fleeing from any who come near. Though plentiful in Otherworld, they are few in Proxima.

Dragon

Dragons are unquestionably sapient, and their numbers are believed to be significant, but even the SCU cannot perform a precise census. Furthermore, dragons are considered by many races to be too hostile to be people.

Gigas

Also called ogres, gigas have famously been "on the cusp" of being considered a Rare race several times, but SCU agents have kept getting into conflicts with gigas tribes in attempts to finalize an estimated census.

Kobold

These cat-mole creatures frequently harass and kill dwarves in mines without pausing to converse, but they are believed to be sapient and numerous.

Mamool Ja

Far more approachable than their amalj'aa cousins, they are close to joining the "civilized" world, but many of their cultural practices (such as dancing) are mistaken for hostility.

Mandragora

These tiny bulb-headed plant creatures boast clothing, strategy, and shelter, and they breed in abundance, but they do not communicate with other races beyond acts of aggressive mischief.

Matanga

These hulking elephant-people exist in a small number of herds perpetually at war with the Au Ra over territory. There are approximately twenty thousand on Proxima, and they cannot pronounce "civilized" languages.

Minotaur

Minotaurs, though clearly intelligent and even genetically compatible with humans, only number in the thousands. The SCU considers them simply too rare and are thus lumped in with beast races.

Namazu

Recognition for these diminutive catfish-like people has been politically difficult, given their historical use as a foodstuff by the Au Ra. SCU-brokered negotiations are currently under way.

Sahagin

The oceanic humanoids known as sahagin are openly violent toward other races, particularly if they ride in boats.

Spriggan

Spriggans, a type of small and fuzzy fey, are too few on Proxima to meet the population criteria.

Sylph

Sylphs are sufficiently rare and elusive that many races believe them to be a myth.

Tengu

Many governments have stated categorically that tengu are demons to be killed on sight. The SCU disagrees, yet their statistics indicate tengu are too low in population anyway.

Tonberry

Tonberries stalk the ruins of the civilization of Nym, particularly the Temple of Uggalepih. Attempts at holding conversations with them have universally gone poorly.

Vath

Vath, being a hive-mind race of arthropods, treat all outsiders as food sources. Individuals who survived being banished from the collective may be dealt with as rational actors, but they are few and far between.

Chapter 3: Classes

Multiclassing

Multiclassing Prerequisites

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Class	Ability Score Minimum
Arcanist	13 Intelligence
Astrologian	13 Wisdom
Black Mage	13 Intelligence
Blue Mage	13 Intelligence
Dancer	13 Charisma
Dark Knight	13 Constitution or Charisma
Dragoon	13 Strength or Dexterity
Gunbreaker	13 Strength
Machinist	13 Dexterity or Intelligence
Red Mage	13 Charisma
Samurai	13 Strength
Warrior	13 Strength or Constitution
White Mage	13 Wisdom

Multiclassing Proficiencies

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Class	Proficiencies Gained
Arcanist	-
Astrologian	-
Black Mage	-
Blue Mage	Light armor, simple weapons
Dancer	Light armor, chakrams, scimitars
Dark Knight	Light armor, medium armor, shields, simple weapons, martial weapons
Dragoon	Light armor, medium armor, simple weapons, martial weapons, one skill from the class's skill list
Gunbreaker	Light armor, medium armor, simple weapons, martial weapons, one skill from the class's skill list
Machinist	Light armor, firearms (loading)
Red Mage	Light armor, rapiers, one skill from the class's skill list
Samurai	Light armor, medium armor, simple weapons, martial weapons, one skill from the class's skill list
Warrior	Light armor, medium armor, shields, simple weapons, martial weapons
White Mage	-

Arcanist

An arrow pierces the the lalafell's ally. Invoking a few words and raising his grimoire to the sky, his fairy companion streaks toward the injured and heals them good as new.

A quiet young miqo'te carefully scratches notes into her research tome. After a long quiet hour passes, a shining green avian figure bursts forth from another plane, ready to heed her every command.

A young hyur woman maneuvers through the battlefield alongside her carbuncle companion. The carbuncle dashes ahead and lets out a burst of magical energy, dazing her foes while her allies return to the formation she devised.

Arcanists are skillful magic users who take on many roles on the battlefield, be it a medic, a commander, or a destructive force. Through careful planning and preparation, and a little help from a summoned ally, arcanists lead their teams to victory.

Magic Through Research

Arcanists work hard to explore the secrets of magic. Only through deep understanding of formulas and geometrical figures can they produce magical effects. Their grimoires are filled with fascinating formulas and diagrams written in enchanted inks, into which the arcanist channels aether to transmute into powerful spells.

Ever thirsty for greater understanding of magic, arcanists seek knowledge and put it to the test. They value practical application as much as theory.

Borrowed Power

The arcanist sets themself apart from other spellcasters by their use of summoned companions. Early in their studies, an arcanist learns to summon a magical servant. The companion borrows some of their summoner's aether and in return gives the arcanist an unwavering ally on the field of battle.

Creating an Arcanist

An arcanist's path begins with a few formulas scrawled in a tome and continues with a large amount of time practicing their craft. You must consider: what was your arcanist's call to action? Perhaps their thirst for knowledge couldn't be satisfied at their desk, or they saw that their abilities could help the world in another way. They might have uncovered some information that they must investigate or act upon.

Many arcanists are highly sought-after and hold strategic roles in their employment. Does yours? Are they relied upon in cases of life and death, like a search-and-rescue leader, firefighter, emergency medic, or military officer? Do they work as something less dramatic yet no less necessary, like a customs official?

Quick Build

You can make an arcanist quickly by following these suggestions. First make Intelligence your highest ability score, followed by Wisdom, and take the sage background. Then take the acid splash, mage hand and prestidigitation cantrips.

Class Features

As an arcanist, you gain the following class features.

Hit Points

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• Hit Dice: 1d6 per arcanist level
• Hit Points at 1st Level: 6 + your Constitution modifier
• Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d6 (or 4) + your Constitution modifier per arcanist level after 1st

Proficiencies

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• Armor: None
• Weapons: Daggers, darts, slings, quarterstaffs, light crossbows
• Tools: None
• Saving Throws: Intelligence, Wisdom
• Skills: Choose two from Arcana, History, Insight, Investigation, Medicine, and Religion

Equipment

You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background.

• (a) a quarterstaff or (b) a dagger
• (a) a spellcasting focus (grimoire)
• (a) a scholar's pack or (b) an explorer's pack

Spellcasting

As a student of arcane magic, you have a spellbook, also called a grimoire, containing spells that show the first glimmerings of your true power. See Chapter 10 of the PHB for the general rules of spellcasting and Chapter 4 of this document for the arcanist spell list.

Cantrips

At 1st level, you know three cantrips of your choice from the arcanist spell list. You learn additional arcanist cantrips of your choice at higher levels, as shown in the Cantrips Known column of the Arcanist table.

Spellbook

At 1st level, your grimoire contains six 1st-level arcanist spells of your choice. Your grimoire is the repository of the arcanist spells you know -- except for your cantrips, which are fixed in your mind.

Your Grimoire

The spells you add to your spellbook (grimoire) as you gain levels reflect the arcane research you conduct on your own, as well as intellectual breakthroughs you have had about the nature of the multiverse. You might find other spells during your adventures. You could discover a spell recorded on a scroll in an evil wizard's chest, for example, or in a dusty tome in an ancient library.

Copying a Spell into the Book. When you find an arcanist spell of 1st level or higher, you can add it to your spellbook if it is of a spell level you can prepare and if you can spare the time to decipher and copy it.

Copying that spell into your spellbook involves reproducing the basic form of the spell, then deciphering the unique system of notation used by the person who wrote it. You must practice the spell until you understand the sounds or gestures required, then transcribe it into your spellbook using your own notation.

For each level of the spell, the process takes 2 hours and costs 50 gp. The cost represents material components you expend as you experiment with the spell to master it, as well as the fine inks you need to record it. Once you have spent this time and money, you can prepare the spell just like your other spells.

Replacing the Book. You can copy a spell from your own spellbook into another book -- for example, if you want to make a backup copy of your spellbook. This is just like copying a new spell into your spellbook, but faster and easier, since you understand your own notation and already know how to cast the spell. You need spend only 1 hour and 10 gp for each level of the copied spell.

If you lose your spellbook, you can use the same procedure to transcribe the prepared spells into a new spellbook. Filling out the remainder of your spellbook requires you to find new spells to do so, as normal. For this reason, many arcanists keep backup spellbooks in a safe place.

The Book’s Appearance. Your spellbook is a unique compilation of spells, with its own decorative flourishes and margin notes. It might be a plain, functional leather volume that you received as a gift from your master, a finely bound gilt-edged tome you found in an ancient library, or even a loose collection of notes scrounged together after you lost your previous spellbook in a mishap.

Preparing and Casting Spells

The Arcanist table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your spells of 1st level and higher. To cast one of these spells, you must expend a slot of the spell's level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots after a long rest.

You prepare the list of arcanist spells that are available for you to cast. To do so, choose a number of arcanist spells from your spellbook equal to your Intelligence modifier + your arcanist level (minimum of one spell). The spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots.

For example, if you're a 3rd-level arcanist, you have four 1st-level and two 2nd-level spell slots. With an Intelligence of 16, your list of prepared spells can include six spells of 1st or 2nd level, in any combination, chosen from your spellbook. If you prepare the 1st-level spell magic missile, you can cast it using a 1st-level or a 2nd-level slot. Casting the spell doesn't remove it from your list of prepared spells.

You can change your list of prepared spells when you finish a long rest. Preparing a new list of arcanist spells requires time spent studying your spellbook and memorizing the incantations and gestures you must make to cast the spell: at least 1 minute per spell level for each spell on your list.

Spellcasting Ability

Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for your arcanist spells, since you learn your spells through dedicated study and memorization. You use your Intelligence whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Intelligence modifier when setting the saving throw DC for an arcanist spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.

Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier

Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier

Ritual Casting

You can cast a arcanist spell as a ritual if that spell has the ritual tag and you have the spell in your spellbook. You don't need to have the spell prepared.

Spellcasting Focus

Your spellcasting focus for your arcanist spells is your grimoire -- your spellbook. Arcanist grimoires are very sturdy and/or magically resilient, making them difficult to damage.

Learning Spells of 1st Level and Higher

Each time you gain an arcanist level, you can add two arcanist spells of your choice to your grimoire for free. Each of these spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots, as shown on the Arcanist table. On your adventures, you might find other spells that you can add to your grimoire (see "Your Grimoire").

Tactics

Beginning at 1st level, you have learned tactics to use in battle. You may use a number of tactics equal to your Intelligence modifier plus your Wisdom modifier (minimum of 2 total). These uses recover after a short or long rest.

You learn your first tactic at 1st level from the following list. You may select additional tactics at 2nd, 6th, 10th and 14th level. Some tactics may require you be at least a certain level or have taken a specific specialization.

Aetherial Barrier. When a creature you can see attacks a target other than you that is within 5 feet of your summoned companion, you can use your reaction to impose disadvantage on the attack roll.

Bombarding (Tactician only). When you take the Attack action or cast a spell, you may direct one of your allies to strike. When you do so, choose a friendly creature who can see or hear you. That creature can immediately use its reaction to make one weapon attack if it so chooses.

Castle (10th level required). Your summoned companion and a willing creature within 15 feet of it instantaneously switch positions. This does not provoke attacks of opportunity.

Carbuncle Bind (Tactician only). When your carbuncle lands a melee attack, as a reaction you may attempt to bind a creature to your carbuncle. The target of your carbuncle's attack must make a Dexterity saving throw against your spell save DC or become restrained until the end of your next turn.

Carbuncle Shine (Tactician only). As a bonus action you cause your carbuncle to shine brightly. All creatures that are within 10 feet of the carbuncle and can see it must make a Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, the creature is blinded until the end of your next turn.

Channeled Casting. A spell which uses you as its point of origin may instead use your summoned companion as its point of origin.

Deployment Tactics (Tactician only). As a bonus action, select two friendly creatures who can see and hear you. They may move up to half their movement speed without provoking attacks of opportunity.

Devotion (Summoner only, 10th level required). When an ally within 5 feet of your egi successfully attacks another creature with a melee attack, as a reaction you may add your Intelligence modifier and proficiency bonus to the damage roll.

Elemental Attunement (Summoner only). As an action, you may grant your egi's boon of damage resistance to a creature within 5 feet of you for a number of rounds equal to your Intelligence modifier.

Emergency Tactics (Scholar only, 10th level required). When a creature you can see takes damage, as a reaction you may cast a healing spell.

Excogitation (Scholar only). When you cast a healing spell, you may delay the effect by up to 1 minute. The spell effect activates after the target takes a total amount of damage declared by you when you use this tactic. If the creature reaches 0 hit points or les, the healing spell takes effect immediately.

Growl (Tactician only, 6th level required). When your carbuncle lands an attack, as a reaction you may attempt to attack their mind as well. The creature must make a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC. On a failed save their mind is infested with an illusion, causing them to become frightened of the carbuncle until the end of your next turn.

Quick Summoning (14th level required). As an action, you may use your Summoning feature instantly. You may use this tactic only once per long rest.

Rouse. As a bonus action, for a number of rounds equal to your Intelligence modifier, add your Intelligence modifier to your summoned companion's attack rolls and the hit points restored by their healing.

Spreading Strike (6th level required). When your summoned companion lands an attack, as a reaction you may direct your summoned ally to launch a second attack on a creature 5 feet from the first target.

Spur (Summoner only). As a reaction used when your egi takes the Attack action, your egi gains advantage on their attack roll. The additional damage from your proficiency bonus is doubled for this attack.

Switching Step (6th level required). As a bonus action, you may instantly switch places with your summoned companion if it is within 60 feet of you. This does not provoke attacks of opportunity.

Tactical Position (Tactician only). You may use the Help action as a bonus action.

Tri-Bind (Summoner only, 6th level required). As an action, up to 3 creatures within 10ft. of your egi must make a Dexterity saving throw against your spell save DC or become restrained until the end of your next turn.

Summoning

Beginning at 2nd level, you are able to perform a ritual to summon an aetherial companion which is able to fight alongside you. When summoned, it gains the benefits of your Companion's Bond feature.

To summon your companion, you must spend one hour performing a ritual for which your grimoire is required. You may only summon one companion at a time, and only perform one summoning per long rest. Your companion disappears if you die, you dismiss it as an action, its HP reaches 0, it strays farther than one mile from you, or if you summon a different companion. It otherwise remains active indefinitely, rests when you rest, and sleeps when you sleep.

If you are a Scholar, you may choose any Nymian Fey from the list in Appendix A every time you summon.

If you are a Summoner, you must choose three egis from the list in Appendix A. They become the options from which you choose every time you summon.

If you are a Tactician, you may choose any carbuncle from the list in Appendix A every time you summon.

Companion's Bond

Your companion obeys your commands as best it can. It rolls for initiative like any other creature, but you determine its actions, decisions, attitudes and so on. If you are incapacitated or absent, your companion acts on its own.

Your summoned companion has default abilities and statistics, but it uses your proficiency bonus, and adds that value to its AC and attack rolls. Furthermore, for each level you gain after 3rd, your summoned companion gains an additional 1d6 hit die and increases its hit points accordingly.

Whenever you gain the Ability Score Improvement class feature, your companion's abilities also improve. Your companion can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or it can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, your companion can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature. Even under an optional feats rule for player characters, your companion cannot take a feat instead of a score improvement.

Consult Appendix A for more information, including the stat blocks of your potential companions.

Arcanist Specialization

At 2nd level, you choose a specialization in your arcanist studies: the Scholar, Summoner, or Tactician, all detailed at the end of the class description. Your specialization choice grants you features at the 2nd, 6th, 10th and 14th level.

Ability Score Improvement

When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.

Grand Design

Beginning at 18th level, the maximum number of tactics you may use before a rest increases by 2.

According To Plan

Beginning at 20th level, you gain half of your expended tactics uses when you roll for initiative.

The Summoned Companion

The arcanist's closest companion is the one they bring into the world. Through magical formulas in their grimoires, arcanists may bring forth a magical companion to fight alongside them. Depending on the arcanist's specialized area of study, they are able to summon different companions.

Scholar

Some arcanists decide to research the use of their magic in the medical arts. These arcanists are Scholars, specializing in the lost healing magic of Nym by calling on the fey who once served the lost city.

Expanded Spell List

Spell Level	Spell
1st	bless, sanctuary
2nd	lesser restoration, prayer of healing
3rd	mass healing word, revivify
4th	asylum, lustrate
5th	greater restoration, mass cure wounds

Critical Heal

Starting at 2nd level, you can critical hit with a healing spell. When you cast a healing spell and one of the dice scores its highest possible result, roll another die of the same type and add that number to the amount of hit points recovered. A critical heal may only occur once per casting.

Adloquium

Starting at 6th level, when you cast a spell of 1st level or higher to restore hit points to a single creature, you may expend 1 use of tactics to empower the heal. Your healing spell creates a protective ward on the creature, granting them temporary hit points equal to your level.

Succor

At 10th level, when you cast a spell of 1st level or higher to restore hit points to multiple creatures, you may expend 1 use of tactics to empower the heal. Your healing spell creates a protective ward on the creatures, granting them temporary hit points equal to your level.

Galvanize

At 14th level, temporary hit points granted by you last until the bearer completes a long rest. Furthermore, you may expend 1 additional use of tactics when using Adloquium or Succor to grant +1 AC along with the temporary hit points. This armor class bonus ends when the temporary hit points are depleted or otherwise removed.

Summoner

A Summoner has directed their studies towards harnessing small animated portions of certain eikons, the mighty elemental creatures residing in specific Heavens and Hells of the Twelve. These tiny eikonic slivers are known as egis, and have no will but that of their Summoner. (Why it is that only those thirteen eikons are susceptible to the binding arcanima of the Summoner is a matter of debate.)

In the geometry of arcanima, three is the strongest number. To safely harness even one eikon's power, you must therefore harness three. Choose three egis; these become your pool of options from which you select every time you summon. You may change them every time you gain a level.

Egi's Boon

Beginning at 2nd level, whenever you summon a certain egi, you know an additional cantrip and have resistance to a certain type of damage. These bonuses last only as long as their respective egi is summoned.

Egi	Cantrip	Resistance
Dryad	acid splash	Acid
Titan	magic stone	Bludgeoning
Shiva	frostbite	Cold
Ifrit	fire bolt	Fire
Leviathan	blade ward	Force
Ramuh	shocking grasp	Lightning
Remora	chill touch	Necrotic
Quetzalli	true strike	Piercing
Girtablulu	poison spray	Poison
Jenova	mind sliver	Psychic
Amaterasu	sacred flame	Radiant
Ravana	sword burst	Slashing
Garuda	thunderclap	Thunder

Fester

Beginning at 6th level, when you cast a spell that deals damage and forces a target creature to make a saving throw, if the creature fails its save you may expend 1 use of tactics to deal an additional Xd8 necrotic damage, where X is your Intelligence modifier.

Tri-Disaster

At 10th level and above, as an action you may expend 1 use of tactics to cast three of the cantrips granted by your three chosen egis. You can cast each one once, one twice and another once, or one three times. If you make a spell attack roll, you make it with advantage; if a target makes a saving throw, they make it with disadvantage.

Enkindle

Upon reaching 14th level, as an action you are able to call on your egi to release the great power of its eikon in a devestating attack. Each egi's Enkindle action is described in Appendix A. You may use this feature once per long rest.

Tactician

Most arcanists serve as Tacticians, highly intelligent spellcasters who assist their allies by organizing their forces and swaying battle with tactical maneuvers. The Tactician summons a furry rodent-like creature called a carbuncle to help dictate the pace of battle.

Field Officer

Beginning at 2nd level, you excel in crafting on-the-fly strategies from a frontline vantage rather than at a distance. You gain proficiency in light armor, shields, simple weapons, and one kind of martial weapon that can be held in one hand. You gain one extra hit point when you level up, including reaching 2nd level.

Additionally, whenever you select a new tactic at this level as well as 6th, 10th, and 14th level, you may select two tactics instead of one.

Tactical Eye

Also beginning at 2nd level, when you use the Help action to aid an ally in attacking a creature, the creature can be within 30 feet of you rather than 5 if the ally can see or hear you.

Miasma

At 6th level and above, when a spell you cast against a single creature deals damage, you may expend 1 use of tactics to deal half that damage again at the end of their next turn.

Chain Strategem

At 10th level and above, you may use the Help action on two allies at a time instead of one. Furthermore, when an ally you help attacks a creature, their attack lands a critical hit on a die result of 19 or 20. If your ally's critical range is already expanded, this feature expands it by 1.

Carbuncle's Sacrifice

At 14th level, as an action you are able to sacrifice your carbuncle to recall the aether which makes up its body and use it to calm your mind. Your carbuncle is unsummoned and you recover all expended uses of your Tactics feature.

Astrologian

A slender auri draped in fine robes sits in a dark room across from a man who feels he has lost his way. Smiling, she spins the concentric rings of her planisphere and a flurry of arcana cards spills into the air. From the squall of cards she divines the man's fate, instilling in the lost soul a sense of peace and hope for the future.

An elezen man stands behind his allies on the battlefield, channeling aether into his planisphere. Using the power of the stars above, soothing energy radiates out to envelop his allies, turning the tide of battle away from the prior dire circumstance.

A charismatic hyur stands before a congregation. She has come to spread the word of her art, offering understanding of the future through the power of the stars. It is her sacred duty to bring the stars into view for the common people.

Whether they stand behind their allies or alongside them, granting the blessings of heavenly bodies or the arcane boons of cards, astrologians manipulate the fates of both friends and foes to find success.

An Elegant Tool

The planisphere is a tool used by astrologians which allows them to locate and draw in power from the stars. They are globes formed by large concentric rings of precious metal and lenses. The rings are marked with a spread of precise markings which allows the user to find and map the stars in order to draw power without a view of the sky.

Wielders of Fate

The first task of all astrologians is to master using the Deck of Sixty, with which they not only augur fate but bend it to their advantage. Astrologians are given this deck (or acquire it by other means) when they begin their studies. Each card acts as a conduit for the aether of fate, passing the empowering magic from the stars to their allies. The deck and the planisphere allow users to tap into the future, though the farther they look, the less clear things become.

The basic design of the Deck of Sixty is supposedly thousands of years old. Aside from the six Major Arcana, it features fifty-four Minor Arcana divided into six suits of nine cards each.

Creating an Astrologian

Astrologians borrow power from the cosmos, and in return see that the will of the stars is done. How did your astrologian learn that skill? Are you an astrologian merely by trade, or did your family encourage you to become one? Were you a lowborn apprentice working beneath a master of astromancy, or did you take to it all on your own?

Astrologians are blessed with the ability to read the future. How do you use it? Do you travel the land to share this gift of foresight with everyone, or are you more selective? As for your adventuring, did you read a mandate for a quest of uncertain future in your cards, or did date deal you a surprise hand?

Quick Build

You can make an astrologian quickly by following these suggestions. First, make Wisdom your highest ability score, followed by Charisma. Second, take the sage background. Third, take the dancing lights, sacred flame, guidance, and true strike cantrips and the 1st-level spells cure wounds and divine favor.

Class Features

As an astrologian, you gain the following class features.

Hit Points

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• Hit Dice: 1d6 per astrologian level
• Hit Points at 1st Level: 6 + your Constitution modifier
• Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d6 (or 4) + your Constituion modifier per astrologian level after 1st

Proficiencies

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• Armor: None
• Weapons: Daggers, darts, slings, quarterstaffs, light crossbows
• Tools: Divination deck
• Saving Throws: Wisdom, Charisma
• Skills: Choose two from Arcana, Deception, History, Insight, Persuasion, and Religion

Equipment

You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:

• a dagger
• a planisphere
• a divination deck ("Deck of Sixty")
• (a) a explorer's pack or (b) a scholar's pack

Spellcasting

As a student of astrology, you can cast astrologian spells. See Chapter 10 of the PHB for the general rules of spellcasting and Chapter 4 of this document for the astrologian spell list.

Cantrips

At 1st level, you know three cantrips of your choice from the astrologian spell list. You learn additional astrologian cantrips of your choice at higher levels, as shown in the Cantrips Known column of the Astrologian table.

Preparing and Casting Spells

The Astrologian table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your astrologian spells of 1st level and higher. To cast one of these spells, you must expend a slot of the spell’s level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest.

You prepare the list of astrologian spells that are available for you to cast, choosing from the astrologian spell list. When you do so, choose a number of astrologian spells equal to your Wisdom modifier + your astrologian level (minimum of one spell). The spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots.

For example, if you are a 3rd-level astrologian, you have four 1st-level and two 2nd-level spell slots. With a Charisma of 16, your list of prepared spells can include six spells of 1st or 2nd level, in any combination. If you prepare the 1st-level spell cure wounds, you can cast it using a 1st-level or 2nd-level slot. Casting the spell doesn’t remove it from your list of prepared spells.

You can change your list of prepared spells when you finish a long rest. Preparing a new list of astrologian spells requires time spent in prayer and meditation: at least 1 minute per spell level for each spell on your list.

Spellcasting Ability

Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for your astrologian spells. The power of your spells comes from your understanding of astrological powers. You use your Wisdom whenever an astrologian spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Wisdom modifier when setting the saving throw DC for an astrologian spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.

Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier

Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier

Ritual Casting

You can cast an astrologian spell as a ritual if that spell has the ritual tag and you have the spell prepared.

Spellcasting Focus

You can use a planisphere as an arcane focus (described in Chapter 5 of the Player's Handbook) for your astrologian spells.

Draw

Beginning at 1st level, you are able to use the Draw action to channel the power of the stars into your Deck of Sixty, and grant boons based on which of the six Major Arcana cards is revealed. You may use this feature a number of times per long rest at each level, as indicated by the Available Draws column of the Astrologian table.

Using your action, roll a d6. The number corresponds to the card you draw. Once drawn, you may play or discard it as part of your action. Discarding simply returns the card to the deck with no effect. Playing a card applies its bonus to yourself or another creature within 30 feet of you that you can see, and then returns it to the deck. A card must be played or discarded on the turn it is drawn (until you gain the Spread feature at 11th level).

The effect lasts for a number of rounds equal to half your Wisdom ability modifier rounded up (minimum of 1).

Astrologian Sect Focus

At 2nd level, you choose a sect to study as an astrologian: Diurnal Sect, Neutral Sect, or Nocturnal Sect, all detailed at the end of the class description. Your sect choice grants you features at the 2nd, 6th, 10th and 14th level. (While all sects use the Major Arcana, the Minor Arcana column pertains only to the Neutral Sect.)

Ability Score Improvement

When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.

Seal Sortilege

Beginning at 5th level, your studies into astromancy allow you to use more aspects of your drawn cards. Each card that you choose to play grants a seal: either Solar, Lunar, or Celestial. As an action, you may bestow the Sortilege effect to all creatures you choose within 20 feet of you, the effect differing based on different combinations of three seals.

Sortilege cannot use fewer than three seals, and is based on your three most recent plays. A fourth seal overwrites the first, a fifth seal overwrites the second, and so on. Using Sortilege empties your three seals.

Seal Sortilege

Seal Combination	Sortilege Effect
3 Solar	1d8 to all melee attack rolls
3 Lunar	1d8 to all ranged attack rolls
3 Celestial	1d8 to all saving throws
2 Solar, 1 other	1d6 to all melee attack rolls
2 Lunar, 1 other	1d6 to all ranged attack rolls
2 Celestial, 1 other	1d6 to all saving throws
1 Solar, 1 Lunar, 1 Celestial	1d6 to all damage effects

Spread

Beginning at 11th level, you learn to delay the bending of fate. As a bonus action after using Draw on your turn, you may place a drawn card in your spread rather than playing or discarding it. A card in your spread can be played as a bonus action during a later turn. You may hold up to three cards in your spread at a time. The cards in your spread are reset after a long rest.

Double Draw

Starting at 17th level, when you use the Draw action, you may play two cards. You may either draw and play one and then play one already in your spread as part of your action, or draw two and then play the two you've drawn. In the latter case, however, each draw still consumes an Available Draw.

Shuffle

At 18th level, you have greater control over your readings. After using Draw, you may use a bonus action to siscard one or both cards and immediately draw replacement(s). You may only use this feature 3 times per short or long rest.

Horoscope

At 20th level, your bending of fate has grown considerably. The duration of boons granted by your Draw action lasts for a number of rounds equal to your full Wisdom ability modifier.

The Heavenly Paths

When an astrologian is early in their studies, they select a sect to follow. The stars were mapped using the positions of the sun and moon, and these sects are reflective of their navigational reference points.The Diurnal Sect uses the Sun as their reference point, while the Nocturnal Sect uses the Moon. An astrologian may also choose to focus less on the stars and more on the cards themselves, learning advanced techniques on how to manipulate fate in the Neutral Sect.

Diurnal Sect

Solar Pips

Beginning at 2nd level, whenever you cast a spell of 1st level or higher to restore hit points to a creature, you may expend an Available Draw to draw a pip card and further empower the heal. At the end of the creature's next turn, the creature regains hit points equal to 1d6 + your Charisma modifier.

Eyes of Azeyma

Also beginning at 2nd level, as an action you may expend an Available Draw to assist you in revealing dangers of the area. You gain advantage on Perception checks for 1 minute.

Diurnal Benefic

Starting at 6th level, you are able to empower your healing spells with the power of the Sun. When you cast a spell of 1st level or higher that restores hit points, you may leave a regenerative effect. After the spell is cast, the targeted creature recovers 1d6 hit points at the start of their turn for a number of rounds equal to your Wisdom modifier. You may only use Diurnal Benefic once per long rest.

Lightspeed

At 10th level and above, you may cast a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd-level spell as a bonus action by spending a number of Available Draws equal to the level of the spell you wish to cast instead of a spell slot.

Sun's Fortune

Beginning at 14th level, when you use the Solar Pips feature, the time-delayed additional healing value becomes 6 + your Charisma modifier. Additionally, you may roll 1d6 and apply the corresponding Major Arcana effect to your target without using a Draw action or gaining a seal.

Neutral Sect

Minor Arcana

Beginning at 2nd level, you have learned to take advantage of the Minor Arcana of your deck. Each Major Arcana card has an associated Minor; when you use the Draw feature, you may choose to play the card's corresponding Minor Arcana instead of its face.

Using a card's Minor Arcana does not grant its Seal.

If the Minor Arcana is the Lord of Crowns, you may use the card to deal 1d6 force damage to a creature within 30 feet of you that you can see. If the Minor Arcana is the Lady of Crowns, you may use the card to heal 1d6 hit points to a creature within 30 feet of you that you can see.

The potency of this effect increases to 2d6 at 6th level, 3d6 at 10th level and 4d6 at the 14th level.

Expanded Spell List

Your spell list is expanded with magic from the list below, allowing you to learn the following spells.

Neutral Sect Spells

Spell Level	Spell
1st	gift of alacrity, protection from evil and good
2nd	calm emotions, magic aura
3rd	fear, magic circle
4th	compulsion, dimension door
5th	contact other plane, far step

Synastry

Beginning at 6th level, as a bonus action, you link your fate to that of a creature within 60 feet of you that you can see. Until the end of your next turn, any magical healing or attack/save bonus bestowed to one of you is bestowed to both of you. If an attack/save bonus has a duration of greater than one round, its duration for the one sharing it will not last beyond the duration of Synastry.

You may use this feature once per short or long rest.

Stacked Deck

At 10th level, you have learned how to bend the results of your fortune-telling. Whenever you use the Draw feature, you may roll 2d6 and select which die is the true result of the card.

Sleeve Draw

When you reach 14th level, as an action you may Draw one card and fill any empty spaces in your Spread with more, without expending additional Available Draws.

Nocturnal Sect

Lunar Pips

Starting at 2nd level, whenever you use a spell of 1st level or higher to restore hit points to a creature, you may expend an Available Draw to draw a pip card and provide a barrier as well. The creature immediately gains temporary hit points equal to 1d6 + your Charisma modifier.

Veil of Menphina

Also starting at 2nd level, as a bonus action you may expend an Available Draw to help you predict how your enemy will react to your presence. You divine the swiftest means of escape and do not provoke attacks of opportunity until the start of your next turn.

Nocturnal Benefic

At 6th level and above, you are able to empower your healing spells with the power of the Moon. When you cast a spell of 1st level or higher that restores hit points, you may leave a shielding effect. After the spell is cast, the targeted creature gains temporary hit points equal to Xd4 where X is equal to your Wisdom modifier. You may only use this feature once per long rest.

Nightwall

When you reach 10th level, as a bonus action you may grant +1, +2, or +3 AC to a creature within 60 feet of you that you can see by spending a number of Available Draws equal to the desired armor class. This bonus lasts until the start of your next turn.

Moon's Favor

Starting at 14th level, when you use the Lunar Pips feature, the temporary hit point value becomes 6 + your Charisma modifier. Additionally, you may roll 1d6 and apply the corresponding Major Arcana effect to your target without using a Draw action or gaining a seal.

College of the Skysinger - Bard Subclass

Members of the College of the Skysinger are adventurers who act not only as entertainers but as agents of remembrance. They recount the lives of departed souls and record history through poetry and verse, ensuring the harsh truths of the past are not swept away. They also soothe survivors of past tragedies who have not yet moved on, ensuring they at last find a measure of peace.

The College of the Skysinger was the dream of a famed archer who inadvertently caused the deaths of his comrades. To cope with his grief and atone for his sins, he turned to the poetic arts. He devoted his whole life to delivering restless spirits -- both living and dead -- to a peaceful slumber.

To honor this legendary bard and archer, members of the College often take up the bow alongside their instruments.

Bonus Proficiencies

Beginning at 3rd level, you gain proficiency with longbows, the History skill, and one other skill of your choice.

Troubadour's Paean

Also beginning at 3rd level, you learn to protect your allies with your songs. A creature that has a Bardic Inspiration die from you can roll that die to gain temporary hit points equal to the result when an attack or spell targets them. As long as those temporary hit points remain, the creature has advantage on Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma saving throws.

Scars of History

Starting at 6th level, you gain advantage on checks regarding the history of battles and tragedies. You are also able to to channel your intuitive knowledge of tragedy into song.

When you cast a spell, you may expend a Bardic Inspiration die to cause a creature to strike with hesitation. Select a creature within 60 feet of you that can hear you. That creature must make a Charisma saving throw against your spell save DC. On a failed save, the creature's mind is wrought with sorrow, causing it to hold back. Until your next turn, when the creature makes a damage roll, their damage is reduced by an amount equal to the Bardic Inspiration die + your Charisma ability modifier.

The creature becomes immune to this effect for one hour afterwards. If successful, they are unaffected by your performance and become immune to the effect for one hour.

Wanderer's Ballad

Upon reaching 14th level, when you cast a spell you may expend one Bardic Inspiration die to further inspire your allies. Select an allied creature within 60 feet of you that can hear you. They may score a critical hit on a roll of 19-20 for a number of rounds equal to your Charisma ability modifier.

If your ally's critical hit range is already expanded, this feature expands it by 1.

Black Mage

A lalafell stands before a horde of rampaging drakes as they dash toward him. With a few skillful waves of his staff, a large fireball erupts within the unchecked mass of predators, leaving nothing but ash.

An elderly human woman in dark robes and an enormous hat points her wand at a guard refusing her entry. With a few choice words and a spell, the guard happily steps aside, unlocking the passage before falling unconscious.

Dark aether billows off an elezen like smoke. He raises his staff and strengthens the link between himself and the Void, tearing open the planes long enough for a greater demon to pass through and obey him.

Black mages are nothing short of iconic, their traditional garb recognized far and wide as a sign of one whose magical power is tuned to destruction. Attitudes about black mages may vary widely, but all agree that their power is formidable.

Mages of Ruin

Some mages draw their spells from other planes, such as Otherworld or the Farplane. Black mages have learned to draw from the World of Ruin, a dark shadow of the Prime Material Plane. Through their spellcasting focus (typically a crystal mounted on a staff), they use intense and intimate control of their own bodily aether to briefly open pinprick holes between planes and convert the energy of darkness into spell effects.

This can come at great cost to the novice black mage, as entities of the World of Ruin may seek to follow the outflow of aether into the user's body. Some, however, see this as a feature rather than a hazard.

An Imperial Weapon

Black magic has been known in the dark corners of the world for many thousands of years, but it was brought into the modern light of day by the Arrheniad Empire. The Empire, unafraid to innovate even with dangerous powers, standard-ized and perfected the vague esoteric knowledge of exotic magics into the Color Mages: black, blue, red, and white. For black mages specifically, Imperial methods minimized the inherent hazards and maximized destructive efficiency.

The knowledge of the Color Mages survived the fall of the Empire. Adventurers who "take the black" will become agents of devastation, capable of annihilating those who oppose them through little more than the force of their will.

Creating a Black Mage

Black mages are earnest in their desires and reasons for taking the black; the profession is never entered into by accident. You must know why you are pursuing this power, or why you wish to know the dark arts, even if the answer only makes sense to you.

With a rationale in mind, where did you began your studies? Do you need power to reach your goal and are willing to use any source? Are you perhaps a patriot of the old Empire, or descended from one? Where you taken under the wing of a master black mage, or are you self-taught? Perhaps you are simply fascinated by the World of Ruin and study it more intimately than most.

Black Mage

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Level	Proficiency Bonus	Features	Enochian Maximum	Cantrips Known	Spells Known	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th
1st	+2	Enochian,Spellcasting	1	4	2	2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2nd	+2	Magical Discipline	1	4	3	3	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
3rd	+2	—	2	4	4	4	2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
4th	+2	Ability.Score.Improvement	2	5	5	4	3	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
5th	+3	—	2	5	6	4	3	2	—	—	—	—	—	—
6th	+3	Discipline Feature	3	5	7	4	3	3	—	—	—	—	—	—
7th	+3	—	3	5	8	4	3	3	1	—	—	—	—	—
8th	+3	Ability.Score.Improvement	3	6	9	4	3	3	2	—	—	—	—	—
9th	+4	—	3	6	10	4	3	3	3	1	—	—	—	—
10th	+4	Discipline Feature	4	6	11	4	3	3	3	2	—	—	—	—
11th	+4	—	4	6	12	4	3	3	3	2	1	—	—	—
12th	+4	Ability.Score.Improvement	4	6	12	4	3	3	3	2	1	—	—	—
13th	+5	—	4	6	13	4	3	3	3	2	1	1	—	—
14th	+5	Discipline Feature	5	6	13	4	3	3	3	2	1	1	—	—
15th	+5	—	5	6	14	4	3	3	3	2	1	1	1	—
16th	+5	Ability.Score.Improvement	5	6	14	4	3	3	3	2	1	1	1	—
17th	+6	—	5	6	15	4	3	3	3	2	1	1	1	1
18th	+6	Surecaster	6	6	15	4	3	3	3	3	1	1	1	1
19th	+6	Ability.Score.Improvement	6	6	15	4	3	3	3	3	2	1	1	1
20th	+6	Resonating Aether	6	6	15	4	3	3	3	3	2	2	1	1

Quick Build

You can make a black mage quickly by following these suggestions. First, make Intelligence your highest ability score, followed by Constitution. Second, take the scholar background. Third, take the firebolt, ray of frost, thaumaturgy and thunderclap cantrips and the 1st-level spells burning hands and witch bolt.

Class Features

As a black mage, you gain the following class features.

Hit Points

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• Hit Dice: 1d6 per black mage level
• Hit Points at 1st Level: 6 + your Constitution modifier
• Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d6 (or 4) + your Constituion modifier per black mage level after 1st

Proficiencies

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• Armor: None
• Weapons: Daggers, darts, maces, quarterstaffs, slings
• Tools: None
• Saving Throws: Intelligence, Charisma
• Skills: Choose two from Arcana, Deception, History, Insight, Intimidation, Persuasion, and Religion.

  Equipment

You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:

• a dagger
• a spellcasting focus (a cane, staff, wand or similar object)
• (a) an explorer's pack or (b) a scholar's pack

Spellcasting

The interplay of bodily aether and dimensional connection allows you to cast black mage spells. See Chapter 10 of the PHB for the general rules of spellcasting and Chapter 4 of this document for the black mage spell list.

Cantrips

At 1st level, you know 4 cantrips of your choice from the black mage spell list. You learn additional black mage cantrips of your choice at higher levels, as shown in the Cantrips Known column of the Black Mage table.

Spell Slots

The Black Mage table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your spells of 1st level and higher. To cast one of these spells, you must expend a slot of the spell's level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest.

Spells Known of 1st Level and Higher

Upon becoming a black mage, you know two 1st-level spells of your choice from the black mage spell list.

The Spells Known column of the Black Mage table shows when you learn more black mage spells of your choice. Each of these spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots. For instance, when you reach 5th level in this class, you can learn one new spell of 1st, 2nd or 3rd level.

Additionally, when you gain a level in this class, you can choose one of the black mage spells you know and replace it with another spell from the black mage spell list, which also must be of a level for which you have spell slots.

Spellcasting Ability

The spellcasting ability for your black mage spells is Intelligence. You use your Intelligence whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Intelligence modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a black mage spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.

Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier

Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier

Spellcasting Focus

You can use an arcane crystal set into a rod, cane, wand or other similar equipment as an arcane focus (found in chapter 5 of the PHB) for your black mage spells.

Ritual Casting

You can cast any black mage spell you know as a ritual if that spell has the ritual tag.

Enochian

At 1st level, when you cast spells, residual aether called enochian builds in your body and empowers your spell casting. You gain one charge of enochian each time you expend a spell slot. Charges of enochian will remain in your body for up to 1 minute before dissipating. Each time you cast a spell, the dissipation time for all charges restarts. For each charge of enochian, your damage-dealing spells deal an additional 1 point of damage. If a spell deals damage multiple times, this bonus is applied once.

At 1st level you may hold a maximum of one enochian charge. This limit increases per level according to the Enochian Maximum column of the Black Mage table.

Magical Discipline

At 2nd level, you choose the discipline you belong to as a black mage: Magus, Thaumaturge, or Void Soul, all detailed at the end of the class description. Your discipline choice grants you features at the 2nd, 6th, 10th and 14th level.

Ability Score Improvement

When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.

Lucid Dreaming

Beginning at 18th level, you may expend 4 enochian charges to achieve an impregnable state of mind. You pass all concentration checks automatically for the next 10 minutes.

Resonating Aether

Upon reaching 20th level, you gain 3 enochian charges when you roll initiative.

Bringers of the End

Black mages wield incredibly destructive powers powered by interdimensional mingling of their bodily aether with that of the World of Ruin. Long before the Empire standardized the practice, zealous overuse of this power brought down the civilization of Mhach. Carelessness could do the same to you.

A Magus specializes in damage-dealing magic, a Thaumaturge uses enchantments and poison to cripple their foes, and a Void Soul has offered their body to the World of Ruin, causing changes in their body in return for power.

Magus

The Magus specializes in maximizing their damage output. The best Maguses (Magi) historically functioned as aetheric artillery, raining destruction on their foes.

Expanded Spell List

Spell Level	Spell
1st	chromatic orb, faerie fire
2nd	Aganazzar's scorcher, Snilloc's snowball swarm
3rd	call lightning, Melf's minute meteors
4th	sickening radiance, storm sphere
5th	destructive wave, immolation

Swiftcast

Beginning at 2nd level, your spell attack bonus increases depending on your current enochian charges. The bonus is increased by half the number of your current charges, rounding down (minimum of 1).

Polyglot Pulse

At 6th level and above, upon attaining your maximum charges of enochian, you may use an action to cast the spell pulse wave at a level equal to that maximum without expending a spell slot. You may do so once per short or long rest.

Leylines

At 10th level, as a bonus action once per short rest, you create a 5ft.-radius glyph of dim light on the ground around you. While you stand within the circular glyph, you may use your bonus action to cast a cantrip. Additionally, if you move (or are moved) off of your glyph and it remains within 120 feet of you, you may use your reaction to teleport back to it.

The glyph remains in place on the surface where it was created for a number of rounds equal to your Intelligence modifier. Creatures other than you that stand within the circle are unaffected.

Manafont

At 14th level and above, when you cast a damaging spell, you may spend two enochian charges during damage calculation to reroll all damage dice which resulted in a 1. You must use the resulting rolls.

Thaumaturge

Thaumaturges specialize in causing their foes to lose self-control. Enemies in disarray are easier to eliminate with the rest of a black mage's spells, but some Thaumaturges prefer to let allies exploit the chaotic openings they make.

Expanded Spell List

Spell Level	Spell
1st	bane, command
2nd	crown of madness, enlarge/reduce
3rd	enemies abound, fear
4th	confusion, phantasmal killer
5th	synaptic static, geas

Sharpcast

Beginning at 2nd level, your spell save DC gains a bonus depending on your current enochian charges. The DC is increased by half the number of your current charges, rounding down.

Manaward

At 6th level and above, as a reaction, you can spend your current charges of enochian to reduce the spell save DC of a spell affecting you. The DC is reduced by the same value as the number of charges you spend. This must be done before making your saving throw.

Addle

At 10th level and above, you can spend your current charges of enochain to lower a foe's spell save DC. The targeted foe must make an Intelligence saving throw. On a failed save, its spell save DC is decreased by half the number of your current charges, rounding down, until the end of your next turn. You may use this feature once per short rest.

Wicked Focus

Beginning at 14th level, you may hold concentration on two spells instead of one -- but while concentrating on two, the only additional spells you may cast are cantrips. If your concentration is broken, both spells end.

Void Soul

A Void Soul is a black mage who has dived deep into the dark secrets of their craft. They have discovered ways to draw power directly from the World of Ruin, infusing themselves with dark aether.

Expanded Spell List

Spell Level	Spell
1st	armor of Agathys, arms of Hadar
2nd	ray of enfeeblement, shadow blade
3rd	hunger of Hadar, summon lesser demon
4th	shadow of Moil, summon greater demon
5th	contact other plane, negative energy flood

Surecast

Beginning at 2nd level, you may add the number of your current charges of enochian to any Constitution save you make to retain concentration on a spell.

Transpose

Upon reaching 6th level, as an action, you can spend your current charges of enochian to regain a spell slot of a level equal to the number of enochian charges removed. You may use this once per long rest, and you may not use a spell slot as a bonus action on the turn Transpose is used.

Iniquity

At 10th level and above, as a bonus action, you may spend 3 charges of enochian to empower your spell damage. Until the start of your next turn, your spells overcome damage resistance (but not immunity).

Sanguine Rite

Beginning at 14th level, you may use your reaction to absorb incoming aether. You gain charges of enochian equal to the level of a spell that both targets and hits you, and gain advantage on any saving throw imposed by that spell. (The enochian charges you gain cannot exceed your maximum.) You may use this feature twice per short or long rest.

Blue Mage

A roegadyn in a turban, veil, and billowing blue fabric skillfully strikes out his scimitar. With grace and power he unleashes one of the many monstrous skills he absorbed, shrouding his foe in flames. A miqo'te man in a chef's hat swiftly descends on the beast, knife and fork at the ready, and samples the fresh-baked meat.

After careful preparation and intensive study, a blue-robed hyur hiding in underbrush adjusts her glasses at a dangerous monster. She calls out her insights, and her allies listen to strike down the beast.

A blue-masked elezen stands before an audience at the center of a coliseum. Large beasts charge towards her, halting short and retching as their prey exhales the breath of a morbol.

Blue mages are curious souls who have entwined their lives with those of the monsters that roam the world. Whether writing bestiaries, or stealing their powers to defend their homes from the beasts, blue mages make for clever, vicious and dependable allies who can find a place of comfort anywhere on the battle field.

Ode to Monsters

The blue mage's trademark ability is their uncanny mastery of monster skills. Lore Keepers mimic the skills of monsters by direct observation, Masked Showmen connect with monsters' very souls for their aetheric mimicry, and Azure Guards and Grand Gourmands absorb the life force of monsters to fuel their magic. Regardless of approach, blue mages are renowned for fighting like monsters, unsettling their enemies and at times even their allies.

Creating a Blue Mage

The range of blue mage origins -- gathered together from disparate cultures by the Arrheniad Empire -- is among the most eclectic of all spellcasters. This in turn prompts many questions for you to consider.

As an Azure Guard, what force (if any) did you serve, and how did you first come to your power: by training or accident? As a Grand Gourmand, was it artistry, curiosity, or simple hunger that first possessed you to go around tasting the flesh of dangerous beasts? As a Lore Keeper, are you a student or professor or hermit, ecologist or strategist or trapper, satisfying inquisitiveness or a job or a community? As a Masked Showman, are you a past or current performer, and why, and how did you first learn your trade, and what is your connection (if any) to the Whalaqee people?

The histories of blue mages are as varied as their repertoires, which are in turn as varied as the creatures of nature. As one of them, you could both fit in and stand out anywhere, reliant on the natural world yet taking its living strengths as your own.

Quick Build

You can make a blue mage quickly by following these suggestions. First make Intelligence your highest ability score, followed by Dexterity. Then take the sage background, the Lore Keeper origin, and the Auroch and Drake monster links.

Blue Mage

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Level	Proficiency Bonus	Features	Monster Links Equipped	Cantrips Known	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th
1st	+2	Azure Lore Spellcasting, Blue Mage Origin, Monster Tracker	2	4	2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2nd	+2	Libra	2	4	3	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
3rd	+2		3	4	4	2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
4th	+2	Ability Score Improvement	3	5	4	3	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
5th	+3		4	5	4	3	2	—	—	—	—	—	—
6th	+3	Origin Feature	4	5	4	3	3	—	—	—	—	—	—
7th	+3		5	5	4	3	3	1	—	—	—	—	—
8th	+3	Ability Score Improvement	5	6	4	3	3	2	—	—	—	—	—
9th	+4		6	6	4	3	3	3	1	—	—	—	—
10th	+4	Origin Feature	6	6	4	3	3	3	2	—	—	—	—
11th	+4		7	6	4	3	3	3	2	1	—	—	—
12th	+4	Ability Score Improvement	7	6	4	3	3	3	2	1	—	—	—
13th	+5		8	6	4	3	3	3	2	1	1	—	—
14th	+5	Origin Feature	8	6	4	3	3	3	2	1	1	—	—
15th	+5		9	6	4	3	3	3	2	1	1	1	—
16th	+5	Ability Score Improvement	9	6	4	3	3	3	2	1	1	1	—
17th	+6		10	6	4	3	3	3	2	1	1	1	1
18th	+6	Azure Hold	10	6	4	3	3	3	3	1	1	1	1
19th	+6	Ability Score Improvement	10	6	4	3	3	3	3	2	1	1	1
20th	+6	Azure Specialist	10	6	4	3	3	3	3	2	2	1	1

Class Features

As a blue mage, you gain the following class features.

Hit Points

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• Hit Dice: 1d8 per blue mage level
• Hit Points at 1st Level: 8 + your Constitution modifier
• Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 (or 5) + your Constituion modifier per blue mage level after 1st

Proficiencies

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• Armor: Light armor
• Weapons: Simple weapons
• Tools: None
• Saving Throws: Dexterity, Intelligence
• Skills: Choose two from Athletics, Arcana, History, Nature, Animal Handling, Perception, and Survival.

Equipment

You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:

• a dagger
• a spellcasting focus (simple melee weapon)
• a set of clothes
• (a) an explorer's pack or (b) a scholar's pack

Azure Lore Spellcasting

Your experience in the field of magic, monsters, and their power has granted you spellcasting abilities. See chapter 10 of the PHB for the general rules of spellcasting and Chapter 4 for the blue mage spell list.

Cantrips

At 1st level, you know 4 cantrips of your choice from the Blue Mage spell list. You learn additional blue mage cantrips of your choice at higher levels, as shown in the Cantrips Known column of the Blue Mage table.

Spell Slots

The Blue Mage table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your spells of 1st level and higher. To cast one of these spells, you must expend a slot of the spell's level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest.

Spells Known of 1st Level and Higher

You know all spells attached to the monster links you have equipped. You may only know spells for which you have spell slots which can be used to cast them. If a monster link has spells with two different spell levels and you lack access to one of them, you learn the spell when you reach the appropriate level. As you level up, you may equip more monster links as indicated by the Blue Mage table.

Monster links you form are yours forever, linked to your very soul. When you complete a long rest, you may swap one equipped monster link with another you know.

Spellcasting Ability

Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for your blue mage spells. You use your Intelligence whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Intelligence modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a blue mage spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.

Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier

Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier

Ritual Casting

You can cast any blue mage spell you know as a ritual if that spell has the ritual tag.

Spellcasting Focus

Blue mages use their weapon as their spellcasting focus. If you are a Fell Guard you can use a one-handed bladed weapon as a focus for your blue mage spells as well.

Blue Mage Origin

At 1st level, choose a blue mage origin, which describes how you came to study monsters intently and harness their power: the Azure Guard, Grand Gourmand, Lore Keeper, or Masked Showman. These origins are detailed at the end of the class description.

Your choice grants you features when you choose it at 1st level, and again at 6th, 10th, and 14th level.

Monster Tracker

Also at 1st level, you know well how to seek monsters for your magic. When you make an ability check to search an area for monsters, add your proficiency bonus to the roll. If you are proficient in the skill you are using to search, double the profienciency bonus instead.

Libra

Starting at 2nd level, as an expert on monsters and beasts, you are able to discern certain traits about monsters you encounter. By spending 1 full minute intently observing a creature outside combat, you can learn certain information about its capabilities compared to your own. The DM tells you if the creature is your equal, superior, or inferior in regard to two of the following characteristics of your choice:

• Strength Score
• Dexterity Score
• Constitution Score
• Armor Class
• Current hit points
• Total class levels (if any)

Ability Score Improvement

When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.

Azure Hold

Upon reaching 18th level, when a monster or beast attempts to disengage from you during combat, as a reaction you can attempt to stop them by imposing your will upon them. The creature must make a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC. On a failure, the creature is unable to leave your melee attack range.

Azure Specialist

At 20th level, you may change your monster links at the end of a short rest.

Alternate Blue Mage Rule

If you are playing without monster links, use the following feature instead of Azure Specialist:

Monstrous Stamina

Beginning at 20th level, when your hit points are reduced to 0 and you are not killed outright, you instead are left with 1 hit point. You then regain hit points equal to 2d10 + your Intelligence ability modifier. This effect may only activate once per long rest.

A Dangerous Business

A blue mage seeks to harness the powers that most people in the world fear: the powers normally reserved for monsters. Azure Guards slay monsters and turn their powers toward defending people from more. Grand Gourmands gain deep understanding of monsters by eating them. Lore Keepers, fascinated by the raw power of monsters, emulate it through observation and full-contact study. Finally, Masked Showmen mimic monster powers for the profitable spectacle of performance.

Azure Guard

Azure Guard blue mages are adventurers who bathe in the essence of slain monsters to absorb their power and use it against other foes. The exposure comes at a risk, however. Azure Guards must limit the number of monsters whose energy they tap, or else they'll lose themselves to the power. Walking the line between monster and man, these magical warriors take major risks to protect the world.

Arcane Swordsmanship

Beginning at 1st level, you gain proficiency with scimitars, shortswords, and longswords. You may use a weapon of one of those types as a spellcasting focus. You may form a monster link by successfully dealing melee damage to a creature.

Expanded Spell List

Learning your spells through pure violence provides martial insight that other origins lack. Though your spells are still derived from monster links, your spell list expands to include:

Spell Level	Spell
Cantrip	green-flame blade, sword burst
1st	compelled duel, wrathful smite
2nd	branding smite, cloud of daggers
3rd	blinding smite, psionic blast
4th	sickening radiance, staggering smite
5th	antilife shell, flame strike

Extra Attack

Beginning at 6th level, you can attack twice instead of once whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.

Monstrous Blood

At 10th level, your body's physiology has been altered by the monstrous energies you have absorbed. Your body has developed a natural resistance to two types of damage from the following: Acid, Cold, Fire, Lightning, Poison, or Thunder. Additionally you gain proficiency in either Strength or Constitution saving throws.

Azure Hunter

When you reach at 14th level, you become an expert at slaying certain monsters.

Choose two types of favored enemy: Aberrations, Beasts, Celestials, Constructs, Dragons, Elementals, Fey, Fiends, Giants, Monstrosities, Oozes, Plants, or Undead. Once on each of your turns, you can add your Intelligence modifier to either the attack roll or the damage roll of an attack you make against one of your favored enemies. You can choose to use this feature before or after the roll, but before any effects of the roll are applied.

Grand Gourmand

All blue mages have great interest in monsters. Grand Gourmands are primarily concerned with eating them. Their quite literal form of consuming monsters' powers opens up new avenues of magic study and adventuring service.

Grand Gourmands often travel the world, seeking not only the essences of monsters but the sensory wisdom of the entire gastronomic spectrum through cultural indulgence and independent experimentation. They are not merely scholars of the edible and artisans of the kitchen, but dedicated connoisseurs of life.

Expanded Spell List

Physical consumption of monster flesh allows you to absorb a greater amount of magical essence than through mimicry, study, or violence alone. Though your spells are still derived from monster links, your spell list expands to include:

Spell Level	Spell
1st	goodberry, purify food or drink
2nd	enlarge/reduce, flaming sphere
3rd	blink, gaseous form
4th	black tentacles, freedom of movement
5th	dawn, mass cure wounds

Aetheric Digestion

Beginning at 1st level, you may form a monster link by consuming no less than five cubic centimeters of the flesh, bone, and/or blood of a monster that has died within the last week. No amount of mass from a living monster will yield a monster link.

Aetheric Digestion nullifies all ill effects from consuming naturally dangerous or indigestible matter (such as the head of a poisonous snake or the metal fingers of a Helmed Horror), but offers no protection against maliciously altered food (such as drugged wine).

Galvanized Gut

Beginning at 6th level, your aetheric digestion spreads to your entire gastrointestinal tract. You can digest anything that you can swallow, even the most lethal toxins and sinister poisons, and suffer no ill effects from the digestion. (However, fundamentally damaging materials such as knives, sulfuric acid, or lava may still deal damage if they touch any part of your mouth.)

You are immune to the Poisoned status if you are not already. Drinking magical potions that bestow fundamentally harmful effects will not affect you.

Dine and Dash

Beginning at 10th level, you may use a bonus action to bite a living monster. On success, you deal your unarmed strike damage, and you identify which spells the monster would yield if linked. For the next minute, as an action you may cast one of those spells without expending a spell slot or material components. The spell must have a casting time of one minute or less. Each bite yields one temporary spell at a time, and overwrites the previous spell if unused.

Clean Plate

Beginning at 14th level, you can instantly destroy certain creatures that you bite with the Dine and Dash feature. You may use this feature once per short or long rest.

The DC for Clean Plate is 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Constitution modifier. If a non-Humanoid, non-Undead creature of CR 4 or lower is successfully bitten and fails their save, they are surrounded by spectral eating utensils and aetherically subsumed into your body. Unconscious applicable creatures automatically fail their save.

Size is irrelevant. Even a Small-sized Grand Gourmand can destroy a Gargantuan creature with this feature, provided that the aforementioned conditions are met.

Lore Keeper

Lore Keepers are researchers who seek out and chronicle the monsters of the world to the finest details possible. In so doing, they learn to emulate monsters' powers aetherically.

Condensed Libra

Starting at 1st level, you gain proficiency in the Investigation skill if you don't already have it. You may form a monster link by being damaged by a creature or using Libra on it.

Quick Read

Beginning at 6th level, as an action you may use Libra during combat on a creature that is within 30 feet of you.

Deep Read

At 10th level, when you use Libra you may learn three characteristics about the target. You may also choose to learn a creature's damage resistances or immunities as well.

Ace Tutor

Beginning at 14th level, as an action you can offer advice on how to approach a creature within 60 feet of you on which you have used Libra. Until the start of your next turn, your allies have advantage on attack rolls against that creature.

Masked Showman

The spectacle of blue magic lends itself easily to showman-ship. The Whalaqee people train masked mages called oskate wicasa (oh-shkah-te we-cha-sha), "one who performs," to showcase monster powers in feats of skill for the delight of crowds. (This is not to be confused with their annual socio-cultural celebration, Wacipi (wa-chee-pee), "Dance.")

Some foreigners trained in the Masked Showman's art maintain its traditional regalia and cultural trappings. Many, however, completely change its aesthetics to better appeal to their home audiences. Whalaqee allow this, if grudgingly.

Understudy

At 1st level, you may form a monster link if a creature fails a Charisma saving throw that you impose. As a bonus action, you may make eye contact with a creature within 60 feet of you and force it to make a Charisma saving throw. On a failed save, the DM tells you which (if any) of their ability modifiers are superior to yours, and you may use one of those modifiers as if it were your own until the start of your next turn.

An allied creature may choose to fail their save.

Re-Enactment

Starting at 6th level, if you use the same actions and same amount of movement two turns in a row, your second turn's actions have advantage on their attack rolls or impose disadvantage on their saving throws.

You may use this feature a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of 1) per long rest. You may not use this feature on consecutive turns -- i.e., no re-re-enacting.

Counting Coup

Upon reaching 10th level, when you enter a creature's melee range, successfully attack it, and leave its melee range on the same turn -- not necessarily in that order, but all without taking damage -- you gain one Counting Coup die, a d8.

Once in the next day, you can roll the die and add the number rolled to one ability check, attack roll, or saving throw you make. You can wait until after you roll the d20 before deciding to use Counting Coup die, but must decide before the DM says whether the roll succeeds or fails. Once the Counting Coup die is rolled, it is lost. You can have only one Counting Coup die at a time.

You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of 1) per long rest.

Crowd-Pleaser

At 14th level and above, your spells deal additional damage equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of 1). This additional damage applies on each hit.

Dancer

The light of the room dims, and the spotlights focus on the lightly dressed viera who makes her way across the stage. With a beaming smile, she moves effortlessly to the music, filling everyone's hearts with joy and pushing them to stay determined in their challenges.

Amid the chaos of the battlefield a young elezen expertly slides in and out of combat, soothing his allies' wounds and empowering their wills to continue fighting.

Dressed in fine clothing with her trusty blade at their side, the seemingly sweet human woman dances through a group of would-be assailants behind her establishment, cutting them down with ease.

Whether inspiring or slaying, dancers combine the art of movement with the energy of interaction into a spectacle to turn any battle into a show.

Of Silk and Steel

Dancers draw from many different sources and backgrounds, combining them into a single package which covers a wide variety of situations. Using small weapons to pick away at their unwitting foes, their dances debilitate their marks while filling their allies with power. Though a rarity on the battlefield, few forget the sight of a skilled dancer at work.

Espirited Performance

Dancers perform their quasi-magical feats not through an arcane focus, but the very energy of performance. As they dance, they move their bodies in specific patterns to manipulate the aether within their bodies and connect it to others in desired forms. This interplay of actor and audience carries an energy wavelength all its own -- espirit -- which dancers use to great effect.

Creating a Dancer

Dancers are passionate people dedicated to their craft. Spending years practicing has gifted them with the ability to weave aether and their passions together into a gorgeous display of skill.

When creating a dancer, you must consider where they honed their craft. Did they pick up the profession naturally, teaching themselves over long hours, or did they study beneath a mentor? Consider motivation as well -- do you seek fame and fortune, or do you want to bring the gifts of joy to the masses? Perhaps you are journeying in an attempt to hone your craft even further, or merely using the trappings of performance as cover while you seek someone or something.

Quick Build

You can make a dancer quickly by following these suggestions. Make Charisma your highest ability score, followed by Dexterity, and take the entertainer background.

Class Features

As a dancer, you gain the following class features.

Hit Points

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• Hit Dice: 1d8 per dancer level
• Hit Points at 1st Level: 8 + your Constitution modifier
• Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 (or 5) + your Constituion modifier per dancer level after 1st

Proficiencies

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• Armor: Light armor
• Weapons: Chakrams, rapiers, scimitars, shortswords, simple weapons, whips
• Tools: None
• Saving Throws: Dexterity, Charisma
• Skills: Choose two from Acrobatics, Deception, Insight, Perception, Performance, and Persuasion.

Equipment

You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:

• (a) two daggers or (b) two chakrams
• a (a) whip or (b) scimitar
• a set of fine clothes
• a (a) costume or (b) light armour
• (a) an explorer's pack or (b) a entertainer's pack

Espirit

Starting at 1st level, when you use the Attack action against a hostile creature and you are able to move, you gain a charge of espirit, which may be spent on various actions. The attack need not hit in order to grant you espirit. You do not gain espirit from attacks that are empowered by espirit.

At 1st level you may hold a maximum of one charge of espirit. This limit increases per level according to the Espirit Maximum column of the dancer table.

You start knowing one espirit feature: En Avant. You learn more espirit features as you gain levels in this class.

Espirit ability = Charisma

Espirit save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier

En Avant

You can spend 1 espirit charge to take the Disengage or Dash action as a bonus action on your turn.

The Spirit of Espirit

Dancers build and manipulate the magical energy of interactions between bodies. It is not ki, which is the aether of the body (famously utilized by monks). It is espirit, the power between the actor and the acted, the flowing aether of attention gathered and attention paid, the force of oneness between two, the energy of performance.

Espirit is built and fueled and spent by forceful interactions with other lives. In practical terms, it translates action to other action, often resulting in effects indistinguishable from spells.

Another practical difference is that espirit, much like a black mage's enochian, must first be built by action. Barbarians walk into battle with a certain number of rages; monks walk into battle with a certain amount of ki; dancers must first stir espirit into being.

Flourish

Also starting at 1st level, once per turn, you can deal an extra 1d6 damage to one creature you hit with an attack if you have advantage on the attack roll. The attack must use a finesse throwing weapon.

You don’t need advantage on the attack roll if another enemy of the target is within 5 feet of it, that enemy isn’t incapacitated, and you don’t have disadvantage on the attack roll. The amount of extra damage increases according to the Flourish Damage column of the Dancer table.

Unarmored Defense

Beginning at 2nd level, while you are not wearing armor or wielding a shield, your Armor Class equals 10 + your Dexterity modifier + your Charisma modifier.

Whirling Steel

Also beginning at 2nd level, you can spend 1 hour attuning with up to two finesse throwing weapons. When you throw a weapon you are attuned with, it returns to your hand after the attack is resolved.

Dancer Style

At 3rd level, you choose a style which dictates your growth as a dancer. These styles -- Bladedancer, Captivator, and Soloist -- are detailed at the end of the class description.

Your choice grants you features when you choose it at 3rd level, and again at 6th, 10th, and 14th level.

Ability Score Improvement

When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.

Cut In

Starting at 5th level, when an attacker that you can see hits an ally that you can see within 60 feet of you with an attack, you can use your reaction to spend 1 espirit charge to halve the attack's damage against them.

Evasion

Upon reaching 7th level, you can nimbly dodge out of the way of certain area effects, such as a red dragon's fiery breath or an ice storm spell. When you are subjected to an effect that allows you to make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half damage, you instead take no damage if you succeed on the saving throw, and only half damage if you fail.

Unarmored Movement

At 10th level and above, your speed increases by 10 feet while you are not wearing armor or wielding a shield.

Dance All Night

Beginning at 13th level, if you would be stunned or paralyzed by a successful enemy action, you can use your reaction to spend 1 espirit charge to nullify the condition. You may also use your action on your turn to spend 1 espirit charge to remove your paralysis. Additionally, if you are knocked prone, you use only 5 feet of movement to return to your feet.

Turnabout

Upon reaching 14th level, whenever you make a saving throw and fail, you can spend 1 espirit charge to reroll it and take the second result.

Elusive

Beginning at 18th level, you are so evasive that attackers rarely gain the upper hand against you. No attack roll has advantage against you while you aren't incapacitated.

Rythmic Heart

Beginning at the 20th level, you gain 2 espirit charges when you roll initiative.

The World Stage

A dancer who has chosen a life of adventure is an ambitious master of their art. As they travel they will learn new and innovative ways to work their passion into their journey across the land. No matter the role in which a dancer finds themself, you can be certain they are pouring their heart into every action they take and choice they make.

The Bladedancer combines swordplay with the grace of dance. The Captivator seeks to bring succor and support to their allies in the heat of battle. The Soloist focuses on mastering and pushing the limits of dance as an art.

Bladedancer

The Bladedancer's exotic style incorporates weapons into their routines. They mix martial knowledge with graceful steps to create an awe-inspiring dance which devastates foes.

Fan Dance

Beginning at 3rd level, your Flourish feature can be activated with finesse melee weapons as well as finesse throwing weapons. (These do not necessarily have to be fans.)

Dual Wielder

Also beginning at 3rd level, you gain a +1 bonus to AC while you are wielding a separate finesse weapon in each hand. (This feature stacks with the Dual Wielder feat.)

Double Step

At 6th level and above, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.

You may also spend 1 espirit charge as part of an attack to make your attack roll with advantage.

Improvisation

Starting at 11th level, when you make an ability check, an attack roll, or a saving throw, and have disadvantage on the roll, you can spend 1 espirit charge to cancel the disadvantage for that roll.

Saber Dance

When you reach 15th level, you may spend any number of your available espirit charges as part of an Attack action. Doing so increases the critical hit range of your attack rolls by that same number until the start of your next turn.

For example, spending 3 espirit charges allows you to score critical hits on rolls of 17-20.

Captivator

The Captivator becomes a font of restorative and inspirational charisma on the battlefield, offering relief and joy to their allies in even the worst situations.

Shield Samba

Starting at 3rd level, you can spend espirit charges on temporary HP for yourself and allies. As an action, a number of creatures equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of 1) gain temporary hit points equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of 1) times espirit charges spent.

For example, spending 3 espirit charges with a CHA +2 modifier allows two creatures to gain 6 temporary hit points each.

Temporary hit points granted by this feature last 1 minute. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of 1) per short rest.

Curing Waltz

At 6th level, your dances are capable of healing wounds. As a bonus action, you can spend a minimum of 3 charges of espirit to cast mass healing word at a level identical to the charges spent. You can use this a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of 1) per short rest.

Fourfold Fantasy

Upon reaching 11th level, as an action, you may spend 4 espirit charges to cast aura of life, aura of purity, or aura of vitality. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of 1) per long rest.

Devilment

At 15th level and above, you may spend espirit charges to increase the likelihood of critical hits.

As an action, you empower a number of creatures equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of 1) that are within 60 feet of you and can see you. Until the beginning of your next turn, they score a critical hit on an attack roll of 19 or 20. Each creature targeted costs 1 espirit charge. If a creature already has a lowered critical range, Devilment lowers it one point further.

You may use this a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of 1) per long rest.

Soloist

Soloists devote their training to dance as an art form. Your singular focus will allow you to reach a level of mastery that few in your discipline ever achieve.

Standard Step

Beginning at 3rd level, you can damage foes with the sheer virtuosity of your dance mastery.

As an action, select a number of creatures within 60 feet of you equal to the espirit charges you spend. Targeted creatures must make a Charisma saving throw against your espirit save DC or suffer 4d4 psychic damage, taking half damage on a success.

You may use this a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of 1) per short rest.

Contradance

Starting at 6th level, you can spend charges of espirit to cast counterspell at a level identical to the charges spent (minimum of 3). You may use this a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of 1) per long rest.

Technical Step

Upon reaching 11th level, you roll Standard Step with 8d4. Additionally, creatures that fail their save are charmed by you.

Grand Pas

At 15th level and above, the grace of your movements is unparalleled. You gain an additional charge of espirit for every 15 feet you move on your turn, you ignore movement limitations on difficult terrain, and you automatically succeed on Dexterity saving throws to avoid falling prone.

Dark Knight

A massive roegadyn in heavy armor cleaves his way through the battlefield, radiating an aura of darkness. His swift blows sunder his foes' armor. His enemies turn and run, claiming he is no man, but a demon.

Standing before a wounded citizen, an auri woman clad in ebony holds out her hand towards the group of guards. She alone stands between the corrupted enforcers and the innocent soul. She chants in a lost tongue and a blast of dark energy launches from her palm, striking the guards down.

Battered and bloodied, a hyur man drags himself to his feet. Armor dark as night, accented by his own blood, he feels energy bursting forth from his body. Using his pain as a weapon he strikes down the great beast before him before falling to a knee.

It is a dark knight's freedom from the bounds of the law which makes them so effective. Unconcerned with what is lawful, a dark knight lives by what is ethical instead. Those who spread tyranny and injustice had best prepare for a visit from a dark knight who aims to set things right.

Protecting the Meek

A dark knight is a knight who has taken up arms to serve the downtrodden. They serve no lords or institutions, believing no one is exempt from justice, no matter what their position in society. They protect the commonfolk not only from banditry and wild beasts, but from the corrupt who seek to oppress them. In return, dark knights are often fed and housed by those they protect, occasionally supporting themselves by taking bounties.

Internal Darkness

When an adventurer chooses the path of a dark knight, they understand that they are renouncing their rights to civil society. They belong only to themselves, acting as paragons of justice without allegiance. They live to mitigate the fundamental despairs of mortal existence, and as such they hate nothing more than those who harm or exploit the weak. Any dark knight worth the name will put their life on the line to redress the balance.

In battle, dark knights are able to sacrifice their own life force to power their dark arts. They can rob themselves of future health for present survival, for they know intimately that their fate is to one day die.

Creating a Dark Knight

Dark knights are natural adventurers. They may live in and protect settlements of any size, or they may travel the world seeking out and smiting institutionalized injustice. Wherever they go, they always act on behalf of common folk, and expect neither praise in life nor reward in an afterlife. To them, it is far better to be correct than to be right. They value pragmatism and an existentialist perspective, well aware that they will not be celebrated for taking action where others would not.

Those seeking to become a dark knight must be introduced to it through some means, be it an ancient tome with recorded rituals or a mentor to impart their knowledge.

Dark Knight

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Level	Proficiency Bonus	Features	Dark Arts Points	Darkside Bonus Damage
1st	+2	Dark Arts, Darkside	2	1d4
2nd	+2	Dark Knight Fighting Style, Souleater	2	1d4
3rd	+2	Dark Knight Archetype	3	1d4
4th	+2	Ability Score Improvement	3	1d4
5th	+3	Extra Attack	3	1d6
6th	+3	Archetype Feature	4	1d6
7th	+3	Grit	4	1d6
8th	+3	Ability Score Improvement	4	1d6
9th	+4	Reprisal	4	1d6
10th	+4	Brutal Critical (1 die)	4	1d6
11th	+4	Archetype Feature	4	1d8
12th	+4	Ability Score Improvement	5	1d8
13th	+5	Dark Mind	5	1d8
14th	+5	Enhanced Grit	5	1d8
15th	+5	Abyssal Presence	5	1d8
16th	+5	Ability Score Improvement	5	1d8
17th	+6	Archetype Feature	6	1d10
18th	+6	Brutal Critical (2 dice)	6	1d10
19th	+6	Ability Score Improvement	6	1d10
20th	+6	Living Dead	6	1d10

Quick Build

You can make a dark knight quickly by following these suggestions. First, make Strength your highest ability score, followed by Charisma. Second, take the folk hero background.

Class Features

As a dark knight, you gain the following class features.

Hit Points

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• Hit Dice: 1d10 per dark knight level
• Hit Points at 1st Level: 10 + your Constitution modifier
• Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d10 (or 6) + your Constitution modifier per dark knight level after 1st

Proficiencies

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• Armor: All armor, shields
• Weapons: Simple and martial weapons
• Tools: None
• Saving Throws: Constitution, Charisma
• Skills: Choose two from Athletics, Arcana, History, Insight, Intimidation, Perception, and Survival.

Equipment

You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background.

• (a) chain mail or (b) leather armor
• (a) a two-handed martial melee weapon or (b) a martial melee weapon and a shield
• (a) two hand axes or (b) two daggers
• (a) an explorer's pack or (b) a dungeoneer's pack

Dark Arts

Beginning at 1st level, you can harness your existential darkness to use various abilities and spell-like effects. You accumulate dark arts points every time you deal melee damage to another creature, up to a maximum per level listed in the Dark Arts Points column of the Dark Knight table.

When using abilities with dark arts points that require the enemy to make a saving throw, the saving throw is calculated as follows.

Dark Arts DC = 8 + your proficiency modifier + your Charisma modifier

Dark Arts spell attack modifier = your proficiency modifier + your Charisma modifier

You start knowing one dark arts feature: Darkside. You learn more dark arts features as you gain levels in this class.

Darkside

As a bonus action, you may spend 1 dark arts point to make each of your damage rolls deal additional damage for the remainder of your turn. The bonus damage can be found in the Darkside Bonus Damage column of the Dark Knight table. You do not gain additional dark arts points from attacks powered by Darkside.

Dark Knight Fighting Style

At 2nd level, you adopt a particular style of fighting as your specialty -- one adapted to dark knights specifically. Choose one of the following options. You can't take a Fighting Style option more than once, even if you later get to choose again.

Defense

While you are wearing armor, you gain a +1 bonus to AC.

Dueling

When you are wielding a melee weapon in one hand and no other weapons, or simply wielding a two-handed melee weapon, you gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls with it.

Great Weapon Fighting

When you roll a 1 or 2 on a damage die for an attack you make with a melee weapon that you are wielding with two hands, you can reroll the die and must use the new roll, even if the new roll is a 1 or a 2. The weapon must have the two-handed or versatile property for you to gain this benefit.

Protection

When a creature you can see attacks a target other than you that is within 5 feet of you, you can use your reaction to impose disadvantage on the attack roll. You must be wielding a shield, or wielding a two-handed melee weapon.

Souleater

At 2nd level and above, you can damage yourself to fuel your dark arts. As a bonus action, you may roll your hit die. You take damage equal to the result, and also recover dark arts points equal to the result. You cannot exceed your level's maximum number of dark arts points.

Dark Knight Archetype

At 3rd level, you choose a dark knight archetype to emulate: the Blackblood, Falgabardi, Frayed Soul, or Reaper, each detailed at the end of the class description. The archetype you choose grants you features at 3rd level and again at 6th, 11th, and 17th level.

Ability Score Improvement

When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.

Extra Attack

Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.

Grit

Upon reaching 7th level, you may expend your hit dice to toughen yourself, trading future recovery for immediate defense. As a bonus action you may roll a number of hit dice equal to your Constitution modifier (minimum of 1), and gain their value in temporary hit points. These hit dice are removed until you regain them by a long rest. The temporary hit points granted by them last for one minute, and as usual they do not stack.

Reprisal

At 9th level and above, as a reaction, you may spend one dark arts point to impose disadvantage on attack rolls made by a creature that either attacks or damages you. Reprisal lasts until the end of that creature's next turn.

Brutal Critical

Beginning at 10th level, you can roll one additional weapon damage die when determining the extra damage for a critical hit with a melee attack.

This increases to two additional dice at 18th level.

Dark Mind

Beginning at 13th level, as a reaction, you may spend one dark arts point to automatically pass a Charisma saving throw.

Enhanced Grit

Starting at 14th level, you are willing to trade even more of your future to stay alive in the present. You may add your proficiency to your Constitution modifier to determine the maximum hit dice you may expend for temporary HP.

Abyssal Presence

When you reach 15th level, you are immune to the frightened condition.

Furthermore, you can expose others to the darkness within you. As an action, you may spend a number of dark arts points equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of 1) to force up to that same number of creatures that can see you to make a Charisma saving throw. On a failed save, they are frightened of you until the end of your next turn.

Brutal Critical

At 18th level, you can roll two additional weapon damage dice when determining the extra damage for a critical hit with a melee attack.

Living Dead

Upon reaching 20th level, you are able to continue fighting long after you should fall. When you are reduced to 0 hit points, make a DC 10 constitution save. On a successful save, you instead fall to 1 hit point -- and for a number of rounds equal to your Charisma modifier, you cannot fall below 1 hit point. You may use this feature once per long rest.

A Path Shrouded in Sorrow

Dark knights know full well the dangers of their path. They know they will be distrusted by many, or even viewed as villains and monsters, all while fighting to do the right thing. They understand better than most the unavoidable suffering of life. Rather than succumbing to existential despair, however, they burn it as fuel.

The Blackblood twists its dark arts into arcane might, the Falgabardi carries on the spirit of a betrayed order of defenders, the Frayed Soul makes darkness its best friend, and the Reaper draws a spirit of death to empower it.

Blackblood

Blackbloods are the most aetherically-inclined of all dark knights, willing and able to assault their foes with necrotic energies at, occasionally, dire cost. Their dark arts replicate certain spell effects.

Unmend

Starting at 3rd level, as an action, you may spend 1 dark arts point to cast magic missile at 1st level. The damage for this spell is necrotic rather than force. You may not cast it at higher levels. All other rules for the spell remain the same.

Flood of Darkness

At 6th level and above, as an action, you may spend three dark arts points to cast lightning bolt at 3rd level with no material components. The damage for this spell is necrotic rather than lightning. Affected creatures must make a saving throw for Constitution rather than Dexterity. You may not cast it at higher levels. All other rules for the spell remain the same.

You may spend an additional dark arts point to impose disadvantage on the saving throw for all affected creatures. However, you then take half of its 8d6 damage roll immediately.

Abyssal Drain

Upon reaching 11th level, as an action, you may spend 4 dark arts points to cast vampiric touch at 4th level. You may not cast it at higher levels. All other rules for the spell remain the same.

You may spend an additional dark arts point as a reaction to gain advantage on a Constitution saving throw to maintain concentration on the spell.

Salted Earth

Beginning at 17th Level, as an action, you may spend 6 dark arts points to cast circle of death at 6th level with no material components. You may not cast it at higher levels. All other rules for the spell remain the same.

You may spend an additional dark arts point to impose disadvantage on the saving throw for all affected creatures. However, you then take half of its 8d6 damage roll immediately.

Falgabardi

When the city of Falgabard fell, its famed dark knights evacuated and protected as many people as they could. Betrayed by their Church and with no home of their own, they formed the Falgabardi order to preserve their martial tradition. Falgabardi use their dark arts to improve their martial prowess.

Plunge

Beginning at 3rd level, you can use the momentum of your weapon to leap and attack. As an action, you travel a maximum distance equal to half your base walking speed, landing adjacent to an enemy you can see. You then make an attack against that enemy, dealing an extra 1d6 damage of your weapon type on a hit. The extra damage increases to 2d6 at 11th level and 3d6 at 17th level.

You may plunge twice per short or long rest.

As part of the plunge, you may spend one dark arts point to gain advantage on your plunge's attack roll. However, doing so will not grant you a dark arts point from a successful hit.

Blood Weapon

Starting at 6th level, you are able to absorb life force from enemies through your weapon. Once per round, while under the effects of Darkside, when you successfully strike an enemy with an Attack action, you may recover hit points equal to the bonus damage you deal from Darkside.

Additional Dark Knight Fighting Style

At 11th level, you may choose a second option from the Dark Knight Fighting Style class feature.

Defense

While you are wearing armor, you gain a +1 bonus to AC.

Dueling

When you are wielding a melee weapon in one hand and no other weapons, or simply wielding a two-handed melee weapon, you gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls with it.

Great Weapon Fighting

When you roll a 1 or 2 on a damage die for an attack you make with a melee weapon that you are wielding with two hands, you can reroll the die and must use the new roll, even if the new roll is a 1 or a 2. The weapon must have the two-handed or versatile property for you to gain this benefit.

Protection

When a creature you can see attacks a target other than you that is within 5 feet of you, you can use your reaction to impose disadvantage on the attack roll. You must be wielding a shield, or wielding a two-handed melee weapon.

Extra Attack

At 17th level, you can attack three times, instead of twice, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.

Frayed Soul

Frayed Souls are special among dark knights, in that they manifest their inner darkness into a companion that fights by their side. The shadowy amalgamated form of their anguish in life and frustration with the world is quite literally their constant companion.

Living Shadow

At 3rd level, you can use a bonus action to spend 1 dark arts point to magically manifest a shadowy simulacrum of your dark side, which appears an unoccupied space you can see within 15 feet of you. This simulacrum is a magical, smoky, black image of you that lasts until it is destroyed, until you dismiss it as a bonus action, until you manifest another shadow, or until you’re incapacitated.

Your shadow has an AC of 14 + your proficiency bonus, 1 hit point, and immunity to all conditions. If it has to make a saving throw, it uses your saving throw bonus for the roll. It is the same size as you, and it occupies its space. On your turn, you can mentally command the shadow to move up to 30 feet in any direction (no action required). If your shadow is ever more than 30 feet from you at the end of your turn, it is destroyed.

You can use the shadow in the following ways:

• When you take the Attack action on your turn, any attack you make with that action can originate from your space or the shadow's space. You make this choice for each attack.

• When a creature that you can see within 5 feet of your shadow moves at least 5 feet away from it, you can use your reaction to make an opportunity attack against that creature as if you were in the shadow's space.

• As a bonus action on a turn after your shadow is created, you can teleport, magically swapping places with your shadow at a cost of 15 feet of your movement, regardless of the distance between the two of you.

Adversity

At 6th level and above, your power grows as you take damage. For every 15 hit points you are missing, you gain +1 on attack and damage rolls, up to a maximum equal to your Constitution modifier (minimum of 1). Temporary hit points are ignored in this calculation.

The Blackest Night

Upon reaching 11th level, you can harden your resilience in the face of doom. As a bonus action, you may spend one dark arts point to roll your Darkside bonus damage die and add the result to the first saving throw you make until the start of your next turn.

If your Living Shadow is active while The Blackest Night is active, it automatically succeeds its saving throws.

Dark Missionary

Starting at 17th level, you can make your shadow throw itself in front of an attack directed at you or another creature that you can see. Before the attack roll is made, you can use your reaction to spend one dark arts point to teleport the shadow to an unoccupied space within 5 feet of the targeted creature. The attack roll that triggered the reaction is instead made against your shadow. If it survives, it returns to its space.

You may use this feature a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of 1) per short or long rest.

Listen to my voice. Listen to our heartbeat. Listen... I forgive you. I forgive you. I forgive you.

When you're coming apart at the seams, who else will make you whole again?

In your darkest hour, in the blackest night... think of me... and I will be with you. Always.

For where else could I go?

Who else could I love but you?

~ from "In Conversation With My Shadow,"

by philosopher Rielle Myste of Falgabard

Reaper

All dark knights live on the edge of life and death, but none know it as well as Reapers. They embrace their ultimate end so well, they can summon a creature of the other side to augment their power while still alive.

Shadow of Death

Beginning at 3rd level, as a bonus action you may spend 1 dark arts point to cast either hex or hunter's mark at 1st level.

Hellsgate

Also at 3rd level, you may move not by walking but by limited teleportation. Your maximum range for this teleport is your base movement speed, you cannot double its range by using a Dash action, and you cannot teleport to a position you cannot see. You may use this feature only once per turn, and a number of times equal to your proficiency per long rest.

Enshroud

At 6th level, you can summon an abyssal avatar: a super-natural creature hovering above and slightly behind you. You determine its appearance, though a typical abyssal avatar is frightening and shrouded in some way. As a bonus action, you can spend 1 dark arts point to summon this avatar for 10 minutes. It vanishes early if you are incapacitated or die.

While the avatar is present, you gain the following benefits.

Abyssal Sight. You can see normally in darkness, both magical and nonmagical, to a distance of 120 feet.

Arm of the Abyss. You can use your Charisma modifier in place of your Strength modifier when making Strength checks and Strength saving throws.

Wisdom of the Abyss. You have advantage on Wisdom (Insight) and Charisma (Intimidation) checks.

Word of the Abyss. When you speak, you can direct your words to a creature of your choice that you can see within 60 feet of you, making it so only that creature can hear you. Alternatively, you can amplify your voice so that all creatures within 600 feet can hear you.

Blood Stalk

At 11th level, when you have your avatar summoned, you gain the following benefits, though some require that you first attain a certain dark knight level.

Abyssal Terror (15th Level Required). Creatures make their Charisma saving throw against your Abyssal Presence feature at disadvantage.

Crest of Time Borrowed. When you take acid, cold, fire, force, lightning, or thunder damage, you can use your reaction to deflect it. When you do so, the damage you take is reduced by 1d10 + your Charisma modifier (minimum reduction of 1).

Gluttony (14th Level Required). Your Enhanced Grit feature is enhanced further. You may add your Charisma modifier to your Constitution modifier and your proficiency to determine the maximum hit dice you may expend for temporary HP.

Soul Slice. Immediately after you take the Attack action on your turn, you can expend 1 dark arts point to make another melee weapon attack as a bonus action. This attack deals extra damage equal to your Darkside Bonus Damage. You may use this feature only once on your turn.

Communio

At 17th level, you may use Darkside without expending dark arts points a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier per long rest.

"Was this life a gift . . . or a burden? Did you find . . . fulfillment?"

~ Zenos viator Galvus, from Kiona Dashiyo’s seminal play Dawnmoon Finale

Dragoon

An earthshaking roar echoes across the sky as a dragon beats its wings above a castle. An elezen in scale mail leaps high into the air and plunges onto the creature's back, driving his spear into its spine, forcing it to the ground.

A human woman stands among the chaos of war. She rushes down an opponent, striking with the ferocity of a dragon. Those who stood against her that day claim to have seen a dragon sweep the area with its fiery breath, rather than simply a woman with a spear.

Laughing proudly, a burmeci man jumps into the sky. As he reaches the peak of his high jump, he hurls his spear with the might of a dragon and impales his foe from afar.

Dragoons use their command of tactical height to strike down their foes with deadly force. These fearless warriors stand against dragons, demons, fiends and any other threats who would raise a hand against their homelands.

Fraternity of Dragonslayers

The dragoon, or dragon knight, is a type of soldier born out of need. Wherever dragons clashed with civilization, dragon-slayers arose. The simple physical necessities of efficiently reaching flying creatures, piercing scaly hide, and dealing with deadly breath meant that counter-dragon martial traditions which developed in very disparate lands were broadly similar. There are only so many ways to kill a dragon.

As a result, dragoons who would ordinarily find each other extremely foreign share an instant respect. If they lack camaraderie, they at least hold professional regard for one another, born of the difficulty of their work.

Dragon's Bane

Though dragoon skills can slay many a beast, they are honed to kill flying dragons. These warriors can leap great heights and distances to crash down using their weight and momentum to drive their weapons deep. Most traditional dragoon armor is replete with spurs and spiked aesthetic elements to hold their position on a thrashing foe in midair.

Creating a Dragoon

When creating a dragoon, consider what led them to become so specialized. They may have shown a certain aptitude in knightly training, or they may have worked up to it, inspired by dragoons of legend.

Consider why your dragoon would choose to head out on an adventure. Are they seeking a specific dragon, hoping to slay an enemy of their nation or a monster from their own past? Are they part of a regiment or a freelancer?

Quick Build

You can make a dragoon quickly by following these suggestions. Make Strength your highest ability score, followed by Dexterity. Then take the soldier background.

Dragoon

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Level	Proficiency Bonus	Features	Trances	Dive Damage
1st	+2	Dragon Hunter, Trance	2	1d6
2nd	+2	Dive	2	1d6
3rd	+2	Dragoon Archetype	3	1d6
4th	+2	Ability Score Improvement	3	1d6
5th	+3	Extra Attack	3	2d6
6th	+3	Crash	4	2d6
7th	+3	Evasion	4	2d6
8th	+3	Ability Score Improvement	4	2d6
9th	+4	Dragoon Archetype Feature	4	2d6
10th	+4	Elusive Jump, Super Jump	4	2d6
11th	+4	Spineshatter Dive	5	3d6
12th	+4	Ability Score Improvement	5	3d6
13th	+5	Dragoon Archetype Feature	5	3d6
14th	+5	Feint	5	3d6
15th	+5	Arm's Length, High Jump	5	3d6
16th	+5	Ability Score Improvement	5	3d6
17th	+6	Dragoon Archetype Feature	6	4d6
18th	+6	Battle Litany	6	4d6
19th	+6	Ability Score Improvement	6	4d6
20th	+6	True North	6	4d6

Class Features

As a dragoon, you gain the following class features.

Hit Points

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• Hit Dice: 1d10 per dragoon level
• Hit Points at 1st Level: 10 + your Constitution modifier
• Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d10 (or 6) + your Constitution modifier per dragoon level after 1st

Proficiencies

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• Armor: Light armor, medium armor
• Weapons: Glaives, halberds, javelins, lances, pikes, spears, tridents
• Tools: None
• Saving Throws: Strength, Dexterity
• Skills: Choose two from Animal Handling, Athletics, Acrobatics, History, Nature, Perception, Religion, and Survival

Equipment

You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:

• (a) scale mail or (b) leather armor
• (a) a pike or (b) two spears
• (a) a dagger or (b) two javelins
• (a) an explorer's pack or (b) a dungeoneer's pack

Dragon Hunter

Starting at 1st level, you have significant experience with dragons. You have advantage on Wisdom (Survival) checks to track dragons, as well as on Intelligence checks to recall information about them. You also learn the Draconic language (or "Dragonspeak") if you did not already know it.

Trance

Also at 1st level, as a bonus action you can fall into a trance of acute athletic focus. While tranced, your jump distances are tripled and you are able to jump from a standing position as if you had a 10-foot running start. Furthermore, you do not take fall damage within your tranced high jump distance, and you may land on difficult terrain without falling prone.

If you make a jump that takes more than your remaining movement in that turn, you begin your jump, but any remainder to the movement cost is subtracted from your base movement on subsequent turns until you complete the jump. While in the air mid-jump, attack rolls you make and attack rolls that creatures make against you both have disadvantage. Certain subclass features may modify these rules.

Trance lasts for 1 minute, until you end it as a bonus action, or until you are incapacitated. If you are incapacitated while in midair, you fall on your turn. If you remain incapaci-tated when you land, you land prone and may take fall damage.

Trances refresh after a long rest. The effects of Trance do not stack with the spell jump.

Dive

At 2nd level and above, you are able to capitalize on your jumping ability for added damage.

As an action while tranced, you leap into the air and dive weapon-first onto a creature within half of your tranced long jump distance. The creature must make a Dexterity saving throw against your Dive DC, taking your weapon damage plus 1d6 additional damage of your weapon type on a failed save, or half that total on a success. Dive's bonus damage adds an additional 1d6 at 5th, 11th, and 18th levels.

As a bonus action before the saving throw is made, you may impose disadvantage on it, but your trance then ends.

A dive must be executed in one turn; it therefore cannot exceed your base movement speed in one turn. A dive requires at least 10 feet of distance; you therefore cannot dive to a target within 10 feet of you.

Leaving a space as part of your dive does not provoke an attack of opportunity. You finish your Dive action in a space of your choice within 5 feet of your target, even if your weapon has the Reach trait. If all such spaces are occupied by other creatures, then you perform your dive against one of those creatures instead.

Dive DC = 8 + your proficiency modifier + your Strength modifier

Dragoon Archetype

At 3rd level, you select a dragoon archetype to emulate, detailed at the end of the class description: the Dragon Slayer, Valkyrie, or Wyrmsblood. The one you choose grants features at 3rd level and again at 9th, 13th, and 17th level.

Ability Score Improvement

When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.

Extra Attack

Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.

Crash

At 6th level, if a creature with flying speed is hit by your Dive action, its flying speed on its next turn is reduced by a distance in feet equal to ten times your Strength modifier. If the creature is in the air, and the total flying speed reduced reaches 0 or lower, it will fall on its turn.

If your dive scores a critical hit, the creature's flying speed is instantly reduced to 0, and if it impacts the ground before the end of its next turn, the fall damage it takes is increased by Xd6, where X equals your Strength modifier.

Evasion

At 7th level and above, you can nimbly dodge out of the way of certain area effects, such as a red dragon's fiery breath or an ice storm spell. When you are subjected to an effect that allows you to make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half damage, you instead take no damage if you succeed on the saving throw, and only half damage if you fail.

Elusive Jump

At 10th level and above, while tranced, you may use your reaction to add +2 to your AC. Using Elusive Jump requires you to jump 10 feet to a new space in any available direction; this does not provoke attacks of opportunity. You may use this feature a number of times equal to your Strength modifier per short rest (minimum of 1).

Super Jump

Also beginning at 10th level, while tranced, as a bonus action you may make one jump or dive on your turn without cost to movement speed, and your dive distance may be up to your entire tranced long jump distance.

Spineshatter Dive

Upon reaching 11th level, you may add your proficiency bonus to your Dive Damage roll.

Feint

Starting at 14th level, when you fail a saving throw, you may choose to reroll the saving throw. You must use the new number. You may use this ability once per short or long rest.

Arm's Length

Beginning at 15th level, you are able fight defensively using your weapon's reach to keep your opponents at bay. As a bonus action, you cause non-spell attacks against you to have disadvantage if the attacker's reach is the same or less than your reach. Arm's Length lasts until the start of your next turn.

You may use this feature a number of times equal to your Strength modifier (minimum of 1) per long rest.

High Jump

Also beginning at 15th level, your high jump distance is equal to your long jump distance at all times. Your movement speed remains unchanged.

Battle Litany

When you reach 18th level, as a bonus action while tranced you can inspire ferocity in yourself and your allies. Until the start of your next turn, your melee weapon attacks and those of your allies who are within 15 feet of you score critical hits on die results 19 or 20. This does not overwrite or add to already present critical hit range increases. This effect may be activated once each time you enter a new trance.

True North

At 20th level, if you have no trances left when you roll initiative, you gain two uses of trance.

How To Kill Your Dragon

Dragoon traditions arose in three key areas: Burmecia, Ishgard, and Stoh Ong. The great clash of civilizations that was the Dragontooth War brought them into contact with one another, teaching them new ways of practicing their martial profession. With modern times came increased exchange of ideas, such that dragoons the world over came to practice one of three once-native specializations.

The Dragon Slayer is the conventional ideal of a leaping dragon-killer. The Valkyrie tunes their body more toward jumping and spearwork applicable to any threat, especially if it flies. The Wyrmsblood takes a more personal approach, using draconic essence to hunt and kill.

Dragon Slayer

The dragoons of Ishgard came to focus on the swift and merciless destruction of foes in general and dragonkind in particular.

True Thrust

Starting at 3rd level, you are at your deadliest when you get the drop on your enemies. You have advantage on attack rolls against any creature that hasn't taken a turn in the combat yet. In addition, any hit you score against a creature that is surprised is a critical hit.

Mirage Dive

Starting at 9th level, while tranced, you may use your Dive action at the full extent of your weapon's reach. This allows you to end your dive up to 10 feet away from your target and still hit. Furthermore, attack rolls you make in mid-jump while tranced no longer have disadvantage.

Dragon Torment

Beginning at 13th level, you've become highly skilled in combat against dragons. Any attack you make against creatures of the "dragon" type deals 2d6 extra damage, but only once per turn.

Furthermore, the flying speed reduction of the Crash feature is increased to distance in feet of fifteen times your Strength modifier rather than ten.

Sonic Thrust

Upon reaching 17th level, as an action while tranced you can force all creatures in a straight line 5 feet wide by 60 feet long to make a Dexterity saving throw. They take 8d6 thunder damage on a failed save or half on a success. Your trance then ends. You may use this feature a number of times equal to your Strength modifier (minimum of 1) per long rest.

Valkyrie

Burmecians were the first to perfect the art of the Valkyrie, a dragoon known for incredible precision and power with throwing weapons.

Piercing Talon

At 3rd level and above, while tranced, you have no disadvantage on attacks made with throwing javelins, spears, or tridents out to their maximum distance. Furthermore, while tranced, you may choose to gain advantage on your next attack made with a throwing weapon out to its base distance, but your trance ends upon throwing it.

Geirskogul

When you reach 9th level, while tranced, you may use the Dive action by making a vertical leap of at least 5 feet and then throwing a javelin, spear, or trident. The maximum range of a thrown weapon used as a dive is the maximum range of your dive. Furthermore, attack rolls you make in mid-jump while tranced no longer have disadvantage.

Crescent Moon Strike

Beginning at 13th level, once on each of your turns when you make a weapon attack, you can make another attack with the same weapon against a different creature that is within 5 feet of the original target and within range of your weapon. If you are tranced, you may use this feature twice on your turn.

Stardiver

Starting at 17th level, while tranced, you can dive as an attack rather than your complete action. The Extra Attack feature therefore allows either two dives or one dive and one normal attack. The Super Jump feature may only be used on one dive per turn.

Wyrmsblood

Long ago, dragonborn augmented their dragoon abilities with their own draconic heritage to become Wyrmsblood. Non-dragonborn can do the same with proper training.

Blood of the Dragon

Beginning at 3rd level, your trance allows you to summon draconic might. As a bonus action while tranced, when you make your Dive Damage roll, you may reroll it and take the higher number. Your trance then ends.

Skydragon Dive

At 9th level and above, when you use a Dive action, you may use a bonus action to both impose disadvantage on the save and also use your Blood of the Dragon feature. Rather than ending your trance after using this feature, you may maintain your trance, but only a number of times equal to your Strength modifier per long rest.

Furthermore, attack rolls you make in mid-jump while tranced no longer have disadvantage.

Glorious Gaze

Starting at 13th level, while tranced, you can fill yourself and one ally with draconic might. As an action, select a creature within 60 feet of you that you can see. Both of you may add a d8 to your attack rolls or saving throws until your trance ends. You may use this feature twice per short or long rest.

Dragonfire Dive

At 17th level and above, as an action while tranced you can harness your inner dragon to change your Dive action. Choose a space within your dive range on which to make your dive. When you land, you force all creatures within 15 feet of you to make a Dexterity saving throw, taking 8d6 fire damage on a failed save or half on a success. Your trance then ends.

You may use this feature a number of times equal to your Strength modifier (minimum of 1) per long rest.

Gunbreaker

His dusty and worn longcoat flapping behind him, a ronso plunges a greatsword into a formidable beast. He pulls the trigger on the handle of the blade and sends a shockwave through the creature, wracking it with lingering pain.

A roegadyn lunges forward with her gunblade in hand. She flashes a wild smile and blasts a tremendous wave of energy from her weapon, mowing down her foes before her.

A hyur bodyguard sprints to defend his client. He arrives just in time and releases the energy of his gunblade, empowering both of them to weather the coming attack.

Gunbreakers are innovative warriors who take to their adventures with half-machine weapons that channel their inner aether. More than mere adventurers, they are defenders maintaining a nearly sacred trust with their charges: "I will protect you."

Legacy of Bozja

The arts of the gunbreaker descend from Bozja, a rugged ronso-majority queendom. Long ago, it was destroyed by the Cosmic Church for the crimes of having high technology, hobgoblin allies, and state-sponsored atheism just across the Heart Ocean from Bevelle. With the fall of their homeland, gunbreakers scattered to the winds, carefully preserving their knowledge and adapting it to their new homes, always finding something in need of protection.

Closely Guarded

For gunbreakers, the lesson of Bozja was clear: decentralize. Those who survived spread to distant lands to preserve and advance their aggressively protective arts. To this day most gunbreakers shun gathering in large numbers, instead passing on their knowledge by the apprentice system. Rare indeed are the secluded schools where multiple gunbreakers are trained at once, nurtured as seeds in a garden.

Creating a Gunbreaker

When creating a gunbreaker, you must consider their decentralized nature. Where exactly did they learn the skills to design, build, and use their gunblade? From whom did they learn it? Were they driven by curiosity, need, or simply loyalty to their teacher(s)?

Consider also that gunbreakers are taught to be aggressive defenders. Who is so important to them that they would take a bullet to keep safe -- a parent, a friend, a simple paying client? If they aren't defending that person while adventuring, why aren't they? Do they even agree that defense is a gunbreaker's primary purpose? Why or why not?

Quick Build

You can make a gunbreaker quickly by following these suggestions. Make Strength your highest ability score, followed by Dexterity. Then take the folk hero background.

Gunbreaker

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Level	Proficiency Bonus	Features	Munition Charges
1st	+2	Gunblade Crafter, Munitions, Thunder Shot	1
2nd	+2	Camouflage	2
3rd	+2	Gunbreaker Archetype	3
4th	+2	Ability Score Improvement	4
5th	+3	Extra Attack	5
6th	+3	Gunbreaker Archetype Feature	6
7th	+3	Danger Zone	7
8th	+3	Ability Score Improvement	8
9th	+4	Save the Queen	9
10th	+4	Gunbreaker Archetype Feature	10
11th	+4	Blasting Zone	11
12th	+4	Ability Score Improvement	12
13th	+5	Heart of Peace	13
14th	+5	Gunbreaker Archetype Feature	14
15th	+5	Lightning Reload	15
16th	+5	Ability Score Improvement	16
17th	+6	Opportunist	17
18th	+6	Fabula Nova	18
19th	+6	Ability Score Improvement	19
20th	+6	Bloodfest	20

Class Features

As a gunbreaker, you gain the following class features.

Hit Points

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• Hit Dice: 1d10 per gunbreaker level
• Hit Points at 1st Level: 10 + your Constitution modifier
• Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d10 (or 6) + your Constitution modifier per gunbreaker level after 1st

Proficiencies

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• Armor: Light armor, medium armor, shields
• Weapons: Simple weapons, martial weapons
• Tools: Tinker's tools
• Saving Throws: Strength, Dexterity
• Skills: Choose two from Athletics, Acrobatics, History, Intimidation, Investigation, Persuasion, Stealth, and Survival

Equipment

You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:

• (a) scale mail or (b) leather armor
• (a) a martial melee weapon which has already been converted to a gunblade
• (a) a shield or (b) two daggers
• (a) an explorer's pack or (b) a dungeoneer's pack
• (a) Tinker's tools

Gunblades and You

Your munition charges, and therefore the majority of your gunbreaker abilities, are not compatible with conventional firearms or other weapons. However, given that gunblades fire condensed aether rather than bullets propelled by gunpowder, they will never misfire.

You cannot wield more than one gunblade at a time, but you may carry multiple.

Gunblade Crafter

At 1st level, you have learned how to modify any martial melee weapon into a gunblade. You must spend 12 hours of work with your tinker's tools and 10gp of materials to complete the modification. Any martial melee weapon, any at all, can be converted into a gun"blade."

Converting a magic weapon into a gunblade may require more time, materials, or assistance, at your DM's discretion.

Munitions

Munitions, or ammunition for your gunblade, are aether from your body held in five infinitely reusable revolver-chambered cells built into the gunblade. When you expend a munition charge, it is unavailable until you finish a short or long rest.

Your body can support filling (or "charging") a number of munitions equal to your level per rest, as indicated in the Munition Charges column of the Gunbreaker table.

Any gunblade holds up to 5 munition charges at a time. At 6th level and above, when your body's munition charge capacity is greater than that of your gunblade, you may use your action to "reload" your gunblade by channeling your available charges into it.

When using abilities that require the enemy to make a saving throw, the saving throw is calculated as follows.

Gunbreaker save DC = 8 + your proficiency modifier + your Strength modifier

Thunder Shot

Finally at 1st level, while wielding a gunblade, you can expend 1 munition charge by itself as a magical ranged weapon attack with a range of 60/120 feet, dealing 2d6 thunder damage on a hit.

This damage increases to 3d6 at 5th level, 4d6 at 11th level, and 5d6 at 17th level.

Camouflage

Starting at 2nd level, you can fire a harmless blast at your feet that quickly rises and occludes you in smoky aether. As a bonus action you can expend 1 munition charge to take the Disengage, Dodge, or Hide actions. The effect ends at the start of your next turn.

Gunbreaker Archetype

At 3rd level, you choose an archetype to emulate in the exercise of your gunbreaker skills, as detailed at the end of the class description: the Bodyguard, Commando, or Lionheart. The archetype you choose grants you features at 3rd level and again at 6th, 10th, and 14th level.

Ability Score Improvement

When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.

Extra Attack

Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.

Danger Zone

At 7th level, while wielding a gunblade, you can expend 1 munition charge to gain advantage on a melee attack roll. You may use this feature only once on your turn.

Save the Queen

At 9th level, moving through nonmagical difficult terrain costs you no extra movement, and whenever an ally falls to 0 hit points, you can use your reaction to Dash towards them. Additionally, as a bonus action once per combat encounter, you may select one ally that you can see. You gain advantage on the next attack roll you make against the next creature that deals damage to that ally.

Blasting Zone

Beginning at 11th level, while wielding a gunblade, as an action you may expend 3 munition charges to cause a conal explosion. All creatures in a 15-foot cone in front of you must make a Dexterity saving throw, taking 5d10 thunder damage on a failure and half as much on a success.

This damage increases to 6d10 at 17th level.

Heart of Peace

When you reach 13th level, you may use your action to touch one creature and end one effect on them that is causing them to be charmed or frightened.

Lightning Reload

Beginning at 15th level, you can reload your gunblade as a bonus action.

Opportunist

At 17th level, whenever a creature within 5 feet of you is hit by an attack made by a creature other than you, you can use your reaction to make a melee attack against that creature.

Fabula Nova

At 18th level, you may use Danger Zone twice on your turn, and you may also use it on Thunder Shot.

Bloodfest

At 20th level, when you roll for initiative and have no munition charges remaining, your gunblade regains its 5 charges.

Educated Defenders

Wherever the unbroken chains of master and apprentice stretched, gunbreakers maintained their traditions through rigorous study in gunblade engineering and philosophical ideals of protection. The Bodyguard puts their life on the line to defend a client or allies, the Commando specializes in the debilitating applications of munitions, and the Lionheart excels in the ferocious munition-powered attacking.

Bodyguard

Bodyguards are those gunbreakers who can trace their skills' continuity from trainer to trainer all the way back to the royal guards of Bozja. They favor endurance and service.

Superbolide

Beginning at 3rd level, when you reach 0 hit points and would not be killed outright, you may drop to 1 hit point instead. You may do so a number of times equal to your Constitution modifier (minimum of 1) per long rest.

Nebula

starting at 6th level, when you are attacked while wielding a gunblade, as a reaction you may expend 1 munition charge to cast shield.

Heart of Stone

At 10th level, while wielding a gunblade, as an action you can grant both yourself and one other creature within 30 feet of you temporary hit points equal to five times the munition charges spent on this ability. You may spend up to 3 munition charges for a maximum of 15 temporary hit points.

You may use this feature as many times as you have munition charges to spend, but remember that temporary hit points do not stack.

Heart of Light

At 14th level, while wielding a gunblade, as an action you may expend munition charges to support three creatures of your choice within 30ft. of you. Until the end of your next turn, your selected creatures gain +1 AC if you expend 3 munitions, or +2 if you expend 6.

Commando

The first Commandos were Bozjan technologists turned sellswords who hid among other refugees fleeing east. Their practices emphasized debilitation and lingering damage via munitions, maximizing efficiency.

Lightning Shot

At 3rd level, a successful attack from your Thunder Shot forces your target to make a Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, they cannot take reactions until the end of their next turn.

Sonic Break

Starting at 6th level, when you make a successful melee attack with a gunblade, you can expend 1 munition charge to force your target to make a Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, they additionally suffer half of the damage from the attack at the end of their next turn.

Blinding Instant

At 10th level, a successful attack from your Danger Zone forces your target to make a Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, they are blinded until the start of your next turn.

Bow Shock

At 14th level and above, when you use Blasting Zone, you may spend 1 additional munition charge to deal additional damage on the next round. Creatures affected by Blasting Zone take their damage, and then additionally suffer half of that damage at the end of their next turn.

Lionheart

Lionhearts developed their skills from gunbreakers who fled out of the mountains entirely, pushed into flatter lands by Cosmic adherents. They grew to draw strength from fury, idealizing offense as the best defense.

Fierce Ambusher

At 3rd level, you master the art of the ambush. You can give yourself a bonus to your initiative rolls equal to your Strength modifier.

At the start of your first turn in combat, your walking speed increases by 10 feet, which lasts until the end of that turn. If you take the Attack action on that turn, you can make one additional weapon attack as part of that action. If that attack hits, the target takes an extra 1d8 damage of the weapon's damage type.

Continuation

Beginning at 6th level, while wielding a gunblade, immediately after you take the Attack action on your turn, you can expend 1 munition charge to make another melee weapon attack as a bonus action. You may use this feature only once on your turn.

Rough Divide

When you reach 10th level, if you move at least 10 feet in a straight line immediately before making (and succeeding) a melee attack roll, you may add your proficiency to its damage roll. You may use this feature only once on your turn.

Fated Circle

At 14th level, the range of Blasting Zone increases to a circle around you with a 20ft. radius.

Machinist

An elezen woman draws her rifle before a group of goblins. Negotiations have broken down and the goblins have drawn their blades. Before they can take a step towards her, the device at her hip sends an aetheric charge to her gun, and with one bullet she lays their leader low.

Carefully, an exhausted moogle puts the finishing touches on their newest creation. They flip the switch and the small tower shaped machine takes flight. It receives its commands and a tiny pistol shoots a target perfectly in the center. A smile spreads across the builder's face.

A miqo'te and his friends approach a horde of invaders. He flips a switch on his newest invention, and -- this time -- it works as hoped, empowering each of his allies.

Machinists have spent many hours in the workshop to progress the art of war. From the creation of firearms to the production of mechanical constructs for the battlefield, machinists ensure the gears of war continue to turn ever more efficiently.

Forefront of Innovation

Machinists are incredibly skilled artisans who have successfully pushed the boundaries of current technology. They are capabable of building a wide variety of devices and firearms to overwhelm their enemies. Though originating in the city of Narshe, the secrets of machinists' mechanical wonders have spread to anywhere that tinkerers are free to tinker.

In the name of Advancement

The first step of a machinist's path is developing an aethero-converter. This device taps into the aether of the machinist's own body and combines it with ambient aether of the environment to power their devices.

Each aetherconverter is unique, and so it falls upon each machinist to head out into the world to field test their creations. Machinists are driven to push their inventions and themselves to their limits and continue to improve both -- a long journey in the name of science, service, and innovation.

Creating a Machinist

When creating a machinist, you must keep in mind why they departed their workshop. Is your machinist merely field-testing their inventions, or seeking inspiration to create even more intricate machines? Perhaps they are on a journey to make the world a better place by increasing the efficiency of society. A machinist has highly advanced technology at their fingertips; why are they using it in their weaponry? To serve, exploit, or discover?

Quick Build

You can make a machinist quickly by following these suggestions. First make Dexterity your highest ability score, followed by Intelligence. Then take the guild member background.

Machinist

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Level	Proficiency Bonus	Features
1st	+2	Aetheroconversion (1/rest)
2nd	+2	Gauss Round (1/rest)
3rd	+2	Machinist Archetype
4th	+2	Ability Score Improvement
5th	+3	Aetheroconversion Battery, Extra Attack, Rook Autoturret
6th	+3	Archetype Feature
7th	+3	Aetheroconversion (2/rest), Peloton
8th	+3	Ability Score Improvement
9th	+4	Gauss Round (2/rest)
10th	+4	Graze
11th	+4	Archetype Feature
12th	+4	Ability Score Improvement
13th	+5	Bishop Autoturret
14th	+5	Gauss Round (3/rest), Ricochet
15th	+5	Lightning Reload
16th	+5	Ability Score Improvement
17th	+6	Archetype Feature
18th	+6	Overheat
19th	+6	Ability Score Improvement
20th	+6	Automaton Queen

Class Features

As a machinist, you gain the following class features.

Hit Points

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• Hit Dice: 1d8 per machinist level
• Hit Points at 1st Level: 8 + your Constitution modifier
• Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 (or 5) + your Constitution modifier per machinist level after 1st

Proficiencies

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• Armor: Light armor
• Weapons: Simple weapons, firearms
• Tools: Tinkers' Tools and one other set of artisan's tools
• Saving Throws: Dexterity, Intelligence
• Skills: Choose two from Athletics, Arcana, History, Insight, Intimidation, Perception, and Survival

Equipment

You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background.

• leather armor
• an aetherconverter
• a musket (smooth)
• (a) a pistol or (b) a dagger
• (a) an explorer's pack or (b) a dungeoneer's pack
• a set of Tinker's Tools

Firearm properties

Misfire. Whenever you make an attack roll with a firearm, and the dice roll is equal to or lower than the weapon’s Misfire score, the weapon misfires. The attack misses, and the weapon cannot be used again until you spend an action to try and repair it. To repair your firearm, you must make a successful Tinker’s Tools check (DC = 8 + misfire score). If your check fails, the weapon is broken and must be mended out of combat at a quarter of the cost of the firearm. Creatures who use a firearm without being proficient increase the weapon’s misfire score by 1.

Reload. The weapon can be fired a number of times equal to its Reload score before you must spend 1 attack or 1 action to reload. You must have one free hand to reload a firearm.

(Special.) You may use your Tinker's Tools to craft ammo at half cost, repair damaged firearms, or even craft new ones at the DM’s discretion.

Aetheroconversion

At 1st level, you have built an aetheroconverter. As a bonus action you may activate it to treat projectiles you fire as magical for 1 minute. You may do so once per short rest, or twice at 7th level and above.

When using abilities that require the enemy to make a saving throw, your Machinist save DC = 8 + your proficiency modifier + your Intelligence modifier.

Gauss Round

Beginning at 2nd level, as part of a firearm attack roll, you may focus your aetheroconverter into your gun barrel. If your attack hits, your target must make a Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, your target takes the maximum value of your damage die. If your damage requires more than one die, only your lowest die roll increases to max. You may use this ability once per rest (2x at 9th level and 3x at 14th).

Machinist Archetype

At 3rd level, you choose which archetype of machinistry you wish to emulate: the Engineer, Fusilier, or Gadgeteer. The archetype you choose grants you features at 3rd level and again at 6th, 11th, and 17th level.

Aetheroconversion Battery

Also at 3rd level, you devise a means of storing the energy constantly put out by your aetheroconverter. You gain battery points equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum of 1), which can be spent on certain abilities. No additional battery points can be stored from using abilities that use them.

You regain one expended battery point each time you roll a 20 on a firearm attack roll, or successfully hit a target with Gauss Round. You regain all expended battery points after a short or long rest.

Ability Score Improvement

When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.

Extra Attack

Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the attack action on your turn.

Rook Autoturret

Also at 5th level, you construct an Autoturret, a hovering automaton powered by battery points. As a bonus action, you may expend one battery point to activate it, and unless removed early, it persists for a number of rounds equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum of 1). Upon activation, it occupies your space and acts immediately after your turn.

As part of the activation, you may indicate a target. The turret will make a ranged weapon attack against it -- using your proficiency on the attack roll -- on each of the turret's turns, dealing 2d6 piercing damage on a hit (range 30/90 feet). At the end of the turret's activation limit, it will withdraw itself at no action cost at the end of its turn. You may withdraw it before then as a bonus action.

Your Rook Autoturret has 15 HP, occupies your space, moves with you, and cannot be targeted by creatures. While it is active, if an attack hits you, roll a d6; on a 1-3, the turret takes the damage, and you take any damage above its remaining hit points. If it is active either when you are struck by dispel magic or when you move between planes by any means, its HP instantly falls to 0.

If your turret is above 0 HP, you may use your tinkers' tools and 1gp of materials to restore it to full with ten minutes of work. If it is reduced to 0 HP, the cost increases to 10gp and 1 hour's work. If it is lost or utterly destroyed, you require 8 hours of work and 100gp of materials to build a new turret.

Peloton

Starting at 7th level, your mental stamina allows you to push your body further. You may use either your Dexterity or Intelligence modifers for initiative rolls, and while in combat your base movement increases by 5 feet.

Barrel Stabilizer

Beginning at 10th level, using your bonus action, you may expend 1 battery point to aetherically correct your aim.

Your next attack roll with a firearm has advantage at normal range and no disadvantage at maximum range. It also has no disadvantage at normal range from you being frightened, poisoned, prone, or sufficiently exhausted.

Bishop Autoturret

At 13th level, your Rook Autoturret's damage increases to 4d6 and its HP increases to 30.

Ricochet

At 14th level, when you make a ranged weapon attack with a firearm, you may use your reaction to make a ricochet shot. You may use the same bullet to make a second attack against a creature within 30 feet of the first targeted creature, whether or not your first attack hits.

Lightning Reload

Beginning at 15th level, you can reload any firearm as a bonus action.

Overheat

Beginning at 18th level, once per turn, you may add your proficiency to a damage roll made with a firearm.

Automaton Queen

At 20th level, you construct a humanoid automaton powered by its own copy of your aetheroconversion battery. You store the Queen in a secure location, such as a workshop, vault, or demiplane. (It can fit inside of a portable hole, but not a bag of holding or a handy haversack.)

As an action, you may expend one battery point to teleport the Queen to your location. As a bonus action or a reaction, you may expend one battery point to send it back.

Unlike your Rook Autoturret, the Automaton Queen is a creature with its own stat block. Upon summoning, it occupies its own space and rolls its own initiative for the next round. You have total control over its actions.

If your Automaton Queen is above 0 HP, you may use your tinkers' tools and 25gp of materials to restore it to full health with 1 hour of work. If it is reduced to 0 HP, the cost increases to 400gp of materials and 8 hours of work.

If the Queen is lost or utterly destroyed, you require 24 hours of work and 1,000gp of materials to build a new one.

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Automaton Queen

Medium construct, unaligned

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• Armor Class 17 (natural)
• Hit Points 112 (15d8 + 45)
• Speed 30ft.

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STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
18 (+4)	15 (+2)	16 (+3)	10 (+0)	12 (+1)	15 (+2)

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• Saving Throws STR +7, DEX +5, CON +6
• Skills Athletics +7, Intimidation +5
• Damage Immunities Poison
• Condition Immunities Charmed, Frightened, Poisoned
• Senses Passive Perception 11
• Languages Common (doesn't speak)
• Challenge 5 (1,800 XP)

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Construct. It doesn’t need to eat, drink, sleep, or breathe.

Roller Dash. If the Automaton Queen moves at least 20 feet straight toward a creature and then hits it with an Arm Punch attack on the same turn, that target must succeed on a DC 14 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone.

Actions

Multiattack. The Automaton Queen makes three Arm Punch attacks, or one Arm Punch attack and one Pile Bunker attack.

Arm Punch. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4) bludgeoning damage.

Pile Bunker (Recharge 5-6). Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5ft., one target. Hit: The target must make a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw, taking 26 (8d6) piercing damage on a failed save, or half as much on a success. If the target is prone, it automatically fails its save.

Embrace the Metal

A machinist has dedicated their life to the study and production of great mechanical creations. Whether these machines are marvels of architecture, war, or modern life, a machinist is on the cutting edge of progress.

Engineer

Engineers utilize strong, aetheroconverter-powered tools to great effect.

Gauss Barrel

At 3rd level, you complete an aetherically conductive barrel attachment. You gain +2 to an attack roll for Gauss Round, and +2 to the save DC for a successful Gauss Round hit.

The nature of this barrel lets you make Tinker's Tools checks with advantage when repairing a misfired weapon.

Bioblaster

At 6th level, you complete this chemical weapon disperser. As an action, you may expend one battery point to spray a 15-foot cone of poison that flows around corners. All creatures in range must make a Constitution saving throw. A creature takes 3d6 poison damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. A failed save also afflicts a creature with the Poisoned status.

You may expend one additional battery point to double the cone's range to 30 feet.

Autocrossbow

At 11th level, you complete this crossbow device with an aetheric firing mechanism that multiplies its crossbow bolts. As an action, you may expend one battery point to spray crossbow bolts in a 60-foot cone. All creatures that are in range and not in total cover from you must make a Dexterity saving throw. A creature takes 6d8 piercing damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

Your autocrossbow uses one bolt per volley. Any crossbow bolt may fit, but the damage type is always piercing.

You may expend one additional battery point to increase the damage by 2d8.

Drill

At 17th level, you complete this powerful drilling device. As an action, you may expend one battery point to fire a heated well-boring drill bit in a 5-foot by 30-foot line. All creatures in range must make a Dexterity saving throw. A creature takes 8d10 piercing damage on a failed save, or half as much on a successful one.

You may expend one additional battery point to increase the line range to 60 feet.

Fusilier

Fusilier machinists focus on disabling foes at range, and develop skills to assist in their sharpshooting.

Graze

At 3rd level, your aetheroconversion battery may cause negative effects to your target. Using your bonus action, you may expend 1 battery point to roll 1d4 to empower your next firearm attack, causing effects according to the chart below.

If your attack lands, your target must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or fall under the effect. This effect lasts until the start of your next turn.

Roll	Effect
1	Deafened
2	Poisoned
3	Silenced
4	Blinded

Quickdraw

When you reach 6th level, you add your proficiency bonus to your initiative. You can also stow a firearm, then draw another firearm as a single object interaction on your turn.

Advanced Graze

Beginning at 11th level, your skill with Graze expands. Roll a d8 instead of a d4, and add these effects to the list.

Additionally, you may expend one additional battery point to roll with advantage and take either result.

Roll	Effect
5	Frightened
6	Speed zeroed
7	Stunned
8	Paralyzed

Last Testament

At 17th level, your firearm attacks score a critical hit on a roll of 19-20, and you regain one battery point on a roll of 19 or 20 on an attack roll.

Gadgeteer

The Gadgeteer has focused their studies on the aethero-converter, overclocking and exploiting it for high-risk, high-reward abilities.

Open Fire

At 3rd level, you have (perhaps unwisely) tinkered directly with your aetheroconverter. After activating this feature as a bonus action, for the next minute your firearm attack rolls have advantage until your first successful hit, and on that hit, you may deal additional damage equal to half your level rounded up. However, you must roll a d12 as part of the damage roll to determine the effect of its aetheric feedback.

You may use this feature once per short or long rest.

Roll	Backfire Effect
1	You take force damage equal to half of what you dealt.
2	Unexpectedly strong kickback makes you fall prone.
3	A red circle containing a jagged line appears over your head. The damage you deal is chronologically delayed until the start of your next turn.
4	The ammo you shot turns into harmless flower petals in flight, dealing no damage.
5	After taking damage, your target gains 1d8 temporary hit points that last for one minute.
6	After taking damage, the spell thunderclap emanates from your target as if they had cast it.
7	After taking damage, your target turns invisible for one round.
8	A large white glove appears over your head and points down at you. Until the start of your next turn, you are lit by a spectral white glow and suffer the effects of the faerie fire spell. The glove cannot be dispelled.
9	The spell thunderclap emanates from you as if you had cast it.
10	A red circle containing a jagged line appears over your head. Your next movement occurs by teleporting to a place within range of your speed.
11	You turn invisible for one round.
12	You gain 1d8 temporary hit points that last for one minute.

Gold Gear

Upon reaching 6th level, you complete a curious device to empower bodily function. As an action, you may expend 1 battery point to cause all creatures within 30 feet of you, including yourself, to make a Wisdom saving throw against your machinist save DC. If they succeed on the save, they gain the effect of the bless spell until the end of your next turn. If they fail the save, nothing occurs.

You may expend 1 additional battery point to give all creatures in range advantage on the save.

Blue Screw

At 11th level, you complete a curious device to dispel magic effects. As an action, you may expend one battery point to cast dispel magic at 3rd level on all creatures and all objects within 60 feet of you, including yourself. If magic effects within range are higher than 3rd level, they are unaffected.

You may expend 1 additional battery point to increase the spell's level to 4th.

Red Spring

At 17th level, you complete a curious device to alter the flow of time. As an action, you may expend one battery point to cause all creatures within 30 feet of you, including yourself, to make a Wisdom saving throw against your machinist save DC. If they succeed on the save, they gain the effect of the haste spell until the end of your next turn. If they fail the save, nothing occurs.

You may expend 1 additional battery point to give all creatures in range advantage on the save.

Way of Rhalgr - Monk Subclass

Elite warriors of the mountainous country of Ala Mhigo developed this monk school, and over time it spread to neighboring cultures. These monks pursue rigorous training and travel to open their chakras, the gates within the body through which ki flows. By channeling ki through their chakras, they are able to concentrate the energy in select locations of the body to deliver devastating blows.

Way of Rhalgr monks not in service to state powers seek places where great battles have occurred, in the hopes that fighting there will help in further opening their chakras.

Greased Lightning

When you take this subclass at 3rd level, you are able to launch attacks at an incredible rate. If you use flurry of blows and successfully hit your target with both unarmed attacks, you may make an attack roll for one more unarmed attack.

Embodied Element

Beginning at 6th level, you have learned to exihibit the elements of Earth, Wind, and Fire with your chakras. You may select one of the following features, and change it to another after a short or long rest.

Fists of Fire. Your unarmed strikes deal additional damage equal to your Wisdom ability modifier, and their damage type becomes fire. Furthermore, as an action, you may spend a number of ki points up to the number of creatures in a 15-foot cone in front of you, in order to make a single unarmed strike that affects each of them simultaneously.

Body of Earth. Damage from bludgeoning, piercing and slashing damage from non-magical means is reduced by a value equal to your Wisdom modifier. Furthermore, as a reaction, you may spend 1 ki point to transfer half the damage a creature within 5ft. of you to yourself. Your resistance applies to this damage.

Legs of Wind. Your movement speed is increased by 10ft., and the damage type of your unarmed strikes becomes Thunder. Furthermore, as an action, you may spend 2 ki points to cast the spells jump or longstrider on yourself, or spend 4 ki points to cast levitate on yourself.

Forbidden Chakra

Starting at 11th level, as an action, you are able to release dangerous amounts of ki through your chakras. This release takes different forms depending on your current Embodied Element. While Fists of Fire is active you may use Howling Fist, while Body of Earth is active you may use Elixir Field, and while Legs of Wind is active you may use Tornado Kick. You spend 2 ki points and may spend up to 3 additional ki points to use Forbidden Chakra. For each extra ki point spent, add an extra damage die to the effect.

Howling Fist. You punch the ground and release an incredible amount of ki through your fist, causing the ground to burst before you. All creatures in a 40-foot line make a Dexterity saving throw against your ki save DC, taking 3d8 force damage on a failure and half as much on a success.

Elixir Field. You unleash a forceful shower of aether from your body. All creatures in a 10-foot sphere around you make a Constitution saving throw against your ki save DC, taking 3d6 force damage on a failure and half as much on a success.

Tornado Kick. You leap into the air and unleash a rain of powerful kicks on a single target creature. Make an unarmed strike against the target, dealing 3d10 bludgeoning damage on a hit. If you hit, you may use your Flurry of Blows feature with advantage (yet normal damage).

Perfect Balance

At 17th level, as a bonus action you may enter a state of perfect balance for 1 minute.

When you make an attack roll, after the die result is shown but not before the attack has been confirmed, you may spend a number of ki points up to your Wisdom modifier and add that number to the attack and damage rolls. Furthermore, you may switch your selected element from your Embodied Elements feature as a bonus action.

You may use this feature once per long rest.

Ninja (Rogue Subclass)

You have chosen to study the art of the ninjas of Doma. These talented fighters have learned to channel the power of the the heavens, the earth, and the hearts of man through the use of mudras, or aether-channeling hand gestures. These traditional arts are passed down from master to student, father to son and mother to daughter. Their secrets are closely guarded by the practitioners.

Each mudra carries meaning. The Ten mudras draws power from the heavens, while the Chi mudra draws power from the earth. Jin completes the triangle, drawing power from the hearts of man. Together, these mudras allow the ninja to draw power from the world they live in.

Ninjutsu

Beginning at 3rd level, as an action, you may cast specific spells without material components by combining mudra, which are specific hand positions. At 3rd level you gain access to the mudra ten, at 9th level chi, and at 13th level jin. Your number of mudras is equal to half your rogue level rounded down; you decide which form your mudra takes whenever you use one. Your mudra refresh after a long rest.

Intelligence is your spellcasting ability modifier for ninjutsu, and your spellcasting focus is your hands forming the required mudras. Spells cast through ninjutsu are cast at their base level unless noted otherwise.

Ninjutsu

Ninjutsu	Mudra	Spell
Dokumori	Any single	ray of sickness (2nd level)
Fuma Shuriken	Any single	cloud of daggers
Jubaku	Any single	hold person
Kurayami	Any single	pyrotechnics
Tonko	Any single	invisibility
Utsusemi	Any single	mirror image
Monomi	Two different	haste
Hojo	Two different	slow
Hyoton	Two different	Snilloc's snowball swarm (3rd level)
Katon	Two different	Aganazzar's scorcher (3rd level)
Raiton	Two different	call lightning
Doton	One of each	erupting earth (4th level)
Huton	One of each	wind wall
Suiton	One of each	watery sphere

Shukuchi

Also beginning at 3rd level, while hidden or when you attempt to Hide, you may expend one use of your ten mudra to instantaneously travel a maximum distance of 5 feet per rogue level. You may travel over gaps in the ground, but cannot scale walls by this method.

At 13th level, you may choose to leave behind a 15-foot cube of smoke centered on the location you left.

Trick Attack

When you reach 13th level, when you attack an enemy with a sneak attack, you may expend one use of each mudra to perform a trick attack. On a successful attack roll, all attack rolls against your target have advantage for one round, beginning at the end of your turn.

Kassatsu

At 17th level, you may cast a ninjutsu spell without mudras. You may do so a number of times equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum of 1) per short or long rest.

Oath of the Sultansworn - Paladin Subclass

The Sultansworn originated from the royal guards of the sultanates of Thanalan. These steadfast protectors pledged their lives in the defense of their rulers, taking them to be icons of the very ideals of civilization.

The paladins who swear this oath dedicate themselves to serving society by serving the highest offices within it -- those on which the smooth operation of civilization most depends. They take their role, and the trust it entails, more seriously than even most other paladins, such that betrayal of trust is considered worse than oathbreaking.

Tenets of the Sultansworn

The tenets of the Oath of the Sultansworn are often set by the sultan (or general sovereign) in question, but generally emphasize the following.

Law. The law is paramount. It is the mortar that holds the stones of civilization together, and it must be respected.

Trust. Trust that your charge will act with righteousness. Without trust, oaths and laws are meaningless.

Courage. You must be willing to do what needs to be done for the sake of order, even in the face of overwhelming odds. If you don’t act, then who will?

Honor The People. Even the smallest among the public deserve a champion. Act so that the people never lose trust that, through serving their leaders, you ultimately serve them.

Oath Spells

You gain oath spells at the listed paladin levels.

Oath of the Sultansworn Spells

Paladin Level	Spells
3rd	healing word, guiding bolt
5th	calm emotions, warding bond
9th	beacon of hope, protection from energy
13th	Otiluke's resilient sphere, stoneskin
17th	mass cure wounds, legend lore

Channel Divinity

When you take this oath at 3rd level, you gain the following two Channel Divinity options.

Cover. As an action, you are create an aetherial link with a nearby ally. All damage that ally would take is received by you instead, but they must remain within 10ft. of you or the link is broken. The link lasts a number of rounds equal to your Charisma ability modifier. You may break the link prematurely as a bonus action.

Flash. As an action your body flashes brightly, forcing all enemy creatures within 30 feet of you who can see you to make a Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, an affected creature is blinded and has disadvantage on all hostile actions against targets other than you for a number of rounds equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of 1). Targets are not blinded and have disadvantage for half as long rounded down on a successful save.

Passage of Arms

Beginning at 7th level, as an action you can raise your shield and lay a field of magical protection in a 15-foot cone behind you. Until the start of your next turn, allies gain a bonus to their AC equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of 1) as long as they occupy a space within that cone. You may use this feature once per short or long rest.

At 18th level, the range of this cone is doubled.

Shield Oath

Starting at 15th level, your oath of protection has allowed you to block attacks easier. Using your reaction, you may spend one hit die to reduce a hostile attack roll against you by the result of the roll.

Hallowed Ground

Upon reaching 20th level, you have mastered a technique to channel your will into an impregnable barrier. As an action, you create a barrier which blocks all damage against you for a number of rounds equal to half your Charisma ability modifier rounded down (minimum of 1). You may do so once per long rest.

Red Mage

Like a lightning bolt streaking through the battlefield, the miqo'te makes quick work of foe after foe. At the first sign of danger, the crimson blur flips over the head of the foe behind him, letting loose a wave of energy as a parting gift.

Confidence spreads across the face of the lalafell veteran. He unleashes spell after spell in quick succession, drawing on countless elements until his foe is annihilated.

The human woman leads her allies into battle, trusting in them as they trust in her. Her radiant presence instills them all with unshakable confidence to match her violent grace.

Red mages have drawn on a multitude of disciplines across the world, mixing magic with swordplay and undeniable style. The result: an alluring mix of danger and skill, the stuff of which charismatic heroes are made.

Crimson Charisma

The Arrheniad Empire, in consolidating and standardizing certain magical practices from around the world, wholly invented the red mage. The red-coated casters stitched together black and white magic with deft swordsmanship.

Red mages who survived the Empire's collapse kept their discipline (and themselves) alive by banding together and reinventing their profession. They rapidly cultivated a trust-worthy public persona of dashing heroism and charming manners far beyond the former Empire, saving commoners from forces of wickedness even while serving nobility as highly-paid advisors and commanders. They walk the delicate line between public and private service with the same panache they show in weaving disparate magics.

Iconic Heroism

Flashy style and snazzy tailoring may lead some to believe that red mages are self-absorbed, but that is not the case. Those who "take the red" do so in order to protect the good in the world and give people heroes to admire. It is their spirit which drives them to action; the garnered fame is just a perk.

Creating a Red Mage

Red mages commonly serve or adventure in exotic locales, but consider how yours came to the job. Do they want to be an icon as much or more than simply being helpful? Did they become fed up with the oppressive nature of the world and dedicate themselves to being a hero to the common man? Do they simply value civility, society, and classy comforts too much to ever become a dark knight?

Think also about how they came to their power. Red mages, being disciples of a young art, learn only from other red mages. Who taught yours? Did they themselves serve in the Empire? Whether or not they did, what attracted them to combining magics and martial skills and not settling for one?

Quick Build

You can make a red mage quickly by making Charisma your highest ability score, followed by Dexterity, and then taking the folk hero background. Then take the fire bolt, jolt, mage hand, and prestidigitation cantrips, and the 1st-level spells chromatic orb and cure wounds.

Red Mage

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Level	Proficiency Bonus	Features	Flair Points	Cantrips Known	Spells Known	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th
1st	+2	Spellcasting, Dualcast	1	4	2	2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2nd	+2	Red Mage Style, Style Feature	2	4	3	3	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
3rd	+2	─	2	4	4	4	2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
4th	+2	Ability Score Improvement	3	5	5	4	3	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
5th	+3	Extra Attack	3	5	6	4	3	2	—	—	—	—	—	—
6th	+3	Style Feature	4	5	7	4	3	3	—	—	—	—	—	—
7th	+3	Heroic Charm	4	5	8	4	3	3	1	—	—	—	—	—
8th	+3	Ability Score Improvement	5	5	9	4	3	3	2	—	—	—	—	—
9th	+4	─	5	5	10	4	3	3	3	1	—	—	—	—
10th	+4	Style Feature	6	6	11	4	3	3	3	2	—	—	—	—
11th	+4	─	6	6	12	4	3	3	3	2	1	—	—	—
12th	+4	Ability Score Improvement	7	6	12	4	3	3	3	2	2	—	—	—
13th	+5	─	7	6	13	4	3	3	3	2	2	1	—	—
14th	+5	Style Feature	8	6	13	4	3	3	3	2	2	1	—	—
15th	+5	─	8	6	14	4	3	3	3	2	2	1	1	—
16th	+5	Ability Score Improvement	9	6	14	4	3	3	3	3	2	1	1	—
17th	+6	─	9	6	15	4	3	3	3	3	2	1	1	1
18th	+6	Battle Flourish	9	6	15	4	3	3	3	3	3	1	1	1
19th	+6	Ability Score Improvement	10	6	15	4	3	3	3	3	3	2	1	1
20th	+6	Acceleration	10	6	15	4	3	3	3	3	3	2	1	1

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Class Features

As a red mage, you gain the following class features.

Hit Points

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• Hit Dice: 1d8 per red mage level
• Hit Points at 1st Level: 8 + your Constitution modifier
• Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 (or 5) + your Constitution modifier per red mage level after 1st

Proficiencies

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• Armor: Light armor
• Weapons: Daggers, darts, rapiers, scimitars, shortswords
• Tools: Two sets of artisan's tools
• Saving Throws: Dexterity, Charisma
• Skills: Choose two from Acrobatics, Arcana, Athletics, History, Insight, and Persuasion

Equipment

You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background

• leather armor
• a rapier (which is a spellcasting focus)
• (a) an explorer's pack or (b) a dungeoneer's pack

Spellcasting

The expression of bodily aether in motion allows you to cast red mage spells. See Chapter 10 of the PHB for the general rules of spellcasting and Chapter 4 of this document for the red mage spell list.

Cantrips

At 1st level, you know 4 cantrips of your choice from the red mage spell list. You learn additional red mage cantrips of your choice at higher levels, as shown in the Cantrips Known column of the Red Mage table.

Spell Slots

The Red Mage table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your spells of 1st level and higher. To cast one of these spells, you must expend a slot of the spell’s level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest.

Spells Known of 1st Level and Higher

Upon becoming a red mage, you know 2 1st-level spells of your choice from the red mage spell list.

The Spells Known column of the Red Mage table shows when you learn more red mage spells of your choice. Each of these spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots. For instance, when you reach 5th level in this class, you can learn one new spell of 1st, 2nd or 3rd level.

Additionally, when you gain a level in this class, you can choose one of the red mage spells you know and replace it with another spell from the red mage spell list, which also must be of a level for which you have spell slots.

Spellcasting Ability

Charisma is your spellcasting ability for your red mage spells. You use your Charisma whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Charisma modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a red mage spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.

Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier

Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier

Spellcasting Focus

You can use a magically conductive stone inlaid in a melee weapon as an arcane focus (found in chapter 5 of the PHB) for your red mage spells.

Ritual Casting

You can cast any red mage spell you know as a ritual if that spell has the ritual tag.

Flair Points

At 1st level, as you have taken up the skillful balance of magic and blades, you gain a certain number of flair points that refresh after every short or long rest. Certain red mage features require you to spend them. Your flair points increase per level according to the Flair Points column of the Red Mage table.

Dualcast

Also at 1st level, when you cast a spell of 4th level or lower that has a casting time of 1 action, you can spend 1 flair point to change the casting time to 1 bonus action for the casting. Any other spell cast on your turn must be a cantrip.

Combat Style

At 2nd level, you choose a style as a red mage: Battle Rose, Fencer, or Spellblade, all detailed at the end of the class description. Your style choice grants you features at 2nd, 6th, 10th and 14th levels.

Ability Score Improvement

When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.

Extra Attack

Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.

Heroic Charm

At 7th level and above, you may spend one flair point to reroll any Charisma-based ability check. You also gain proficiency in one Charisma skill of your choice.

Battle Flourish

Upon reaching 18th level, when you roll initiative, you recover 1d4 flair points.

Acceleration

At 20th level, you may cast two spells on your turn using Dualcast, rather than one spell and one cantrip. You may only do this once before requiring a long rest.

Combat with Style

Red mage specializations are called styles for good reason. Battle Roses charismatically lead their allies, Fencers practice deftness and precision, and Spellblades excel in rapid-fire spellcasting.

Battle Rose

Battle Roses play leading roles in combat, empowering allies by mere proximity and withering foes who march in formation. In the armies of the Arrheniad Empire, many Battle Roses served in positions of command.

Embolden

Starting at 2nd level, as an action you may spend 1 flair point to empower all allies within 10 feet of you. Until the end of your next turn, whenever affected allies make an attack roll or saving throw, they can roll a d4 and add the number rolled to the attack roll or saving throw. The radius of this feature increases by an additional 10 feet at 10th and 14th level.

Scatter

Upon reaching 6th level, when you cast a spell that targets only one creature and doesn't have a range of self, you can spend a number of flair points up to your Charisma modifier (minimum of 1) to target that same number of other creatures within 10ft. of it with the same spell.

Runic Channel

At 10th level, as a reaction to having to make a saving throw from a spell, you can spend 1 flair point to gain advantage on your save. If you make your save, you regain a number of flair points equal to the spell's level (1 for a cantrip).

Save the Valediction

At 14th level, you add your proficiency to your initiative rolls. Furthermore, as a bonus action on your turn, you may spend 2 flair points to move a willing ally who is lower in the initiative order than you up in the order, such that they act directly after you until the next initiative is rolled. You may use this feature once per short or long rest.

Fencer

Fencers aim to weave magic and might into a flawless, deadly dance. Their blade moves like the wind, and they ride the currents perfectly.

Corps-a-corps

When you take this style at 2nd level, you have mastered the art of approaching a foe with lightning speed and delivering a powerful strike. As an action you may spend 1 flair point to use the Dash action, move in a straight line towards a target, and then take the Attack action, dealing a bonus 1d8 piercing damage if your attack lands.

Using this feature does not provoke attacks of opportunity. Extra Attack adds a second attack which is unaffected by this feature.

Redoublement

Beginning at 6th level, if you make two melee weapon attacks on your turn, you may spend 1 flair point to make a third melee weapon attack as a bonus action.

If one or both of the first two attacks miss, your third attack is made with advantage. If all three attacks hit, your target cannot use reactions until the end of your next turn.

Displacement

At 10th level, you have learned to effortlessly flow between martial and magic combat.

By spending 2 flair points after taking the Attack action, as a bonus action you use the Dash action and leap backwards through the air, landing a distance up to your base speed behind you. Your backwards leap travels over the heads of Medium or smaller creatures, but your arc stops at Large or larger creatures. When you land, you may make a ranged spell attack against the target of your prior Attack action, dealing 2d8 + your Charisma modifier force damage on a hit.

Using this feature does not provoke attacks of opportunity.

Contre Sixte

When you reach 14th level, as an action you can spend 3 flair points to conjure six flying spectral swords. You may then make six ranged spell attacks, one for each sword, against any creature within 30 feet of you, dealing 2d6 force damage per hit. You may use this feature a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier per long rest.

Spellblade

Spellblades master a form of spellcasting as quick as their bladework. Their power may not be unusual, but the speed and accuracy of their spells is unmatched.

Manification

At 2nd level and above, in place of using a spell slot, you may instead spend a number of flair points equal to twice the level of a spell you wish to cast.

Chainspell

At 6th level and above, if you make two spell attacks on your turn with your Dualcast feature, you may spend 2 flair points to cast one additional cantrip as part of your action.

Fast Cast

Beginning at 10th level, as part of any spell attack roll, you may spend 1 flair point to make that roll with advantage. If you already have advantage, you add your proficiency to your spell attack roll instead.

You may use this feature multiple times per turn. However, you may only use it a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of 1) per short or long rest.

Enchanted Blade

At 14th level, if you focus on a one-handed weapon for 1 hour (which can be done during a short rest), you can't be disarmed of that weapon unless you are incapacitated. If it is on the same plane of existence, you can summon that weapon as a bonus action on your turn, causing it to teleport instantly to your hand. If you attempt to bond with a second weapon, you must break the bond with the first one.

Furthermore, when you take the attack action with this weapon, you may spend 1 flair point to deal an additional 2d8 force damage on each damage roll. You must declare you are doing so prior to your attack roll.

Samurai

A hyur woman stands before a charging beast, her blade still sheathed. The villagers look on in horror as it closes in on its prey. At the last instant the woman draws her blade, and in a lightning-fast blur of motion, the beast falls.

A shiftless tiefling wanders into the city, his broad hat shading his face. He hears the worries of the people as war approaches. He nods to himself, knowing this to be a fine time to earn food and coin.

A veteran roegadyn waits trapped at the dead-end as the bandits approach. They close one by one, then as a mob, each believing they can overpower him. Each is countered, and each falls to his patient blade.

Far in the southeast of Proxima, beneath the rising sun, the island nation of Hingashi gave birth to the samurai, a social class of honorable warriors practiced in the sword. They were sworn to feudal masters as defenders of their lands and noble interests, willing to give up their lives to see their duty complete. Honor or death was a common ideal for these disciplined soldiers.

Swordsmen of Legend

Samurai are legendary swordsmen originating in the feudal isolationist nation of Hingashi. In service to the perpetually-squabbling lords of their regions, they protected their lands with their lives and enforced local law without question.

Migrant samurai brought their culture to Doma, where greater regimentation and less demand for sellswords gave some the free time to hone their skill for its own sake.

The Power Within

Samurai draw on inner energies and follow personal discipline, broadly similar to monks -- but unlike monks, their drive is not enforced by a temple, but rather entered into freely. Samurai seek to master themselves, living and acting with honor in all things. Self-discipline, of course, means that the goal of mastery and the proper expression of honor are often self-defined.

Creating a Samurai

When creating a samurai, consider how they became involved in the discipline. Were they born into the tradition, being the son of a samurai or lord? Did they come from a samurai culture at all, adopt one as their own, or travel far to learn from a master?

Origin aside, you should also consider why they fight as a samurai. Did they take up the blade as a mere source of income, and if so, did the code of the samurai become something more to them? If it didn't, will it? Is your character on a quest on behalf of a lord, or directly protecting their master's lands? Perhaps they cut their ties to their masters and teachers altogether and travel the world for their own gain, or the protection of the common man.

Quick Build

You can make a samurai quickly by following these suggestions. Make Strength your highest ability score, followed by Wisdom, and take the soldier background.

Samurai

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Level	Proficiency Bonus	Features
1st	+2	Gil Toss, Improved Critical
2nd	+2	Higanbana, Sen
3rd	+2	Samurai Archetype, Archetype Feature
4th	+2	Ability Score Improvement
5th	+3	Extra Attack
6th	+3	Samurai Archetype Feature
7th	+3	Evasion
8th	+3	Ability Score Improvement
9th	+4	Studied Disciple, Tenka Goken
10th	+4	Samurai Archetype Feature
11th	+4	Patient Meditation
12th	+4	Ability Score Improvement
13th	+5	Extra Attack (2)
14th	+5	Samurai Archetype Feature
15th	+5	Effective Meditation
16th	+5	Ability Score Improvement
17th	+6	Superior Critical
18th	+6	Midare Setsugekka
19th	+6	Ability Score Improvement
20th	+6	Meikyo Shisui

Class Features

As a samurai, you gain the following class features.

Hit Points

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• Hit Dice: 1d10 per samurai level
• Hit Points at 1st Level: 10 + your Constitution modifier
• Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d10 (or 6) + your Constitution modifier per samurai level after 1st

Proficiencies

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• Armor: Light armor, medium armor
• Weapons: Simple weapons, shortswords, longswords, greatswords
• Tools: None
• Saving Throws: Strength, Wisdom
• Skills: Choose two from Athletics, Acrobatics, History, Insight, and Intimidation

Equipment

You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background.

• a katana (with decorative sheath)
• a dagger (with decorative sheath)
• 10 days of rations (dried seafood and rice)
• a pouch containing 100 cp
• (a) an explorer's pack or (b) a dungeoneer's pack

Gil Toss

Beginning at 1st level, you have learned that if all else fails, you can use your own money to attack. Whenever you make an improvised ranged attack with a gold piece, it deals 1d8 bludgeoning damage on a hit rather than the usual 1d4.

Only gold pieces are heavy enough to deal this damage.

After combat, you may make a DC 15 Investigation check to recover thrown gp.

Improved Critical

Also beginning at 1st level, while wielding a versatile or two-handed weapon with two hands, your weapon attacks score a critical hit on a roll of 19 or 20.