Slay the Spire Homebrew 2: The Defect

The second step in an attempt to create the setting of Slay the Spire in D&D. This introduces the Defect as a race/class option. Gaining levels in the class requires being of the Defect race.

Homebrew content by Xenexex. Inspired by the game from Mega Crit Games. Document made with The Homebrewery.

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"I... ..am ....Neow.."

"Combat automaton which became self-aware. Ancient technology allows manipulation of orbs."
-The Architect

Using Orbs

If you have more than one orb slot, your orb slots are arranged in a queue. Whenever you channel an orb, it goes into your first empty orb slot. If you have no empty orb slots, your primary orb is evoked and your other orbs are shifted up the queue, with your newly channeled orb appearing last in the line.

A channeled orb triggers its passive effect once each turn as stated on the Orbs table. Orbs are destroyed without being evoked if they have been channeled for more than one minute.

To evoke an orb, destroy it and trigger its evoke effect as stated on the Orbs table.

You use your Intelligence score when determining your orbs' saving throw DCs and attack modifiers:

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

Orb attack modifier= your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier

Art by Bruce Brenneise

Defect Traits

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

Age. As machines, Defect can live indefinitely, given parts are replaced as needed.

Alignment. The autonomous beings Defect originate from seek to achieve balance and are Lawful Neutral. However, being damaged, your Defect may differ.

Size. Defect are precisely 5'4" tall, unless altered by their damaged parts, and usually weigh 240 pounds. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Machine Nature. You are an automaton, represented by the following features.

• You are immune to poison damage and disease.
• You cannot be healed by healing magic.
• You don’t need to eat, drink, or breathe.
• You don’t need to sleep and don’t suffer the effects of exhaustion due to lack of rest, and magic can’t put you to sleep.

Orbs. Defect have the unique ability to manipulate orbs of energy. You have a single orb slot, and your orb range is 15 feet. As an action, you can a channel lightning, frost, or dark orb.

Claws. You are proficient with your unarmed strikes, which deal 1d4 slashing damage on a hit.

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

Class Features

As a defect, you gain the following class features.

Hit Points

Hit Dice: 1d8 per defect level
Hit Points at 1st Level: 8 + your constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 (or 5) + your constitution modifier per defect level after 1st

Proficiencies

Armor: none
Weapons: none
Tools: Tinker's Tools
Saving Throws: constitution, intelligence
Skills: choose two skills from Arcana, Athletics, History, Investigation, Perception, and Religion

Equipment

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

• A set of tinker's tools
• A dungeoneer's pack

Orb Slots

You have 3 orb slots. Additional orb slots may be gained by other means.

Reinforced Body

Starting at 1st level, while you aren't wearing armor or using a shield, your armor class equals 13 + your dexterity modifier.

Powers

At 2nd level, you gain one power of your choice. Your power options are detailed below. When you gain certain Defect levels, you gain additional powers of your choice, as shown in the Powers Known column of the Defect table.

Cracked Core

At 2nd level, you become able to tap your core for energy to power your abilities, represented as energy points. You have 2 energy points, and you gain more as you reach higher levels, as shown in the Energy Points column of the Defect table. You can never have more energy points than shown on the table for your level. You regain all spent energy points when you finish a short or long rest.

Rip and Tear

Whenever you use your action to make an unarmed attack, you can spend 1 energy point to instead make 2 unarmed attacks.

Chaos

As a bonus action, you can spend 1 energy point to channel a random basic (lightning, frost, or dark) orb.

Rainbow

At 3rd level, choose an orb specialization:

Zap. You can channel a lightning orb as a bonus action.

Glacier. While you aren't wearing armor or using a shield, you have +1 AC for each channeled frost orb.

Bullseye. When you evoke a dark orb, It targets a creature you can see of your choice within your orb range, rather than targeting that with the lowest hit points.

Fusion

At 5th level, you gain the ability to channel and evoke powerful plasma orbs. Chaos now has an equal chance to channel a plasma orb. As an action on your turn, you can spend 3 energy points to channel one plasma orb.

Go For the Eyes

Starting at 7th level, whenever you score a critical hit with an attack against a creature, the target is blinded until the end of its next turn.

Core Surge

Starting at 10th level, before you make an ability check or saving throw that uses strength, dexterity, constitution, or intelligence, you can choose to spend a number of energy points up to your Defect level and add twice the number of points spent to that roll.

Compile Driver

Starting at 14th level, you can combine your channeled orbs with your melee attacks for a variety of effects. Once per turn when you make an unarmed melee attack, you may choose any number of effects from the following the table to add to the attack, spending 1 energy point for each added effect. You cannot choose an effect if you do not have its corresponding orb type channeled.

Compile Driver Effects

Orb	Effect
Lightning	On a hit, deal an extra 2d10 lightning damage.
Frost	On a hit, the target has Disadvantage on their next attack roll until the start of your next turn.
Dark	Whether or not you hit, deal 10 necrotic damage to the target.
Plasma	Add +2 to your attack roll.

Meteor Strike

At 17th level, you gain the ability to bombard the battlefield with powerful meteors. You can spend 12 energy points to cast meteor swarm. Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.

All For One

Starting at 18th level, you can unleash your core's energy all at once is a whirlwind of vicious claw attacks. As an action, spend ALL your energy points. Make that many unarmed melee attacks against a creature within range. Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.

Reboot

At 20th level, you may use an action to temporarily shut yourself down and recharge. While shutdown, you are incapacitated, but still upright, and have resistance to all damage. At the end of your next turn, you finish rebooting, are no longer incapacitated, and gain the effects of a short rest. Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.

Powers

If a power has prerequisites, you must meet them to learn it. You can learn the power at the same time you meet its prerequisites. A level prerequisite refers to your level in this class. A spell you cast using a power does not require material components.

Amplify

Your orb range is doubled.

Barrage

prerequisite: 10th level
You can use your channeled orbs as makeshift projectiles. As an action, you can spend a number of energy points equal to your number of currently channeled orbs. For each orb, make a ranged spell attack against a creature within your orb range. On a hit, each orb deals 2d12 damage, of a type determined by the orb. (ightning orb: lightning, dark orb: necrotic, frost orb: bludgeoning, plasma orb: force)

Capacitors

Increase your number of orb slots by 1.

Chill

prerequisite: ability to channel frost orbs
Your frost orbs begin to protect you from heat. While you have any frost orbs channeled, you have resistance to fire damage.

Darkness

Whenever you channel a dark orb, trigger the passive ability of all your dark orbs.

Doom and Gloom

prerequisite: 8th level
You can spend 4 energy points to cast hunger of hadar.

Dualcast

As an action, you can spend 1 energy point to evoke your primary channeled orb, triggering its evoke effect an addition time as you do so.

Echo Form

prerequisite: 8th level
As a bonus action, you can spend 5 energy points to create a holographic duplicate of yourself in a space within 5 feet of you. The duplicate lasts up to one minute and requires concentration to maintain. This duplicate copies your actions (not bonus actions or reactions) and movement, and has three empty orb slots. When, as part of your action, you target something in a specific space, the duplicate attempts to target something in the same space relative to its position, wasting its action if there is no valid target (For example, if the duplicate is 5 feet North of you and you target a creature 5 feet East of you, the duplicate will attempt to target something 5 feet North and 5 feet East of you). As a bonus action, you may command it to move to another space within 5 feet of you. Once you use this feature, you can't do so again until you finish a long rest.

Electrodynamics

prerequisite: 11th level Whenever you evoke a lightning orb, you may choose for it to use the following evoke effect instead: Every creature of your choice within range must succeed on a dexterity saving throw or take 3d10 lightning damage, taking half as much damage on a successful save.

FTL

Your movement speed increases by 10 feet.

Hologram

prerequisite: 6th level
You can spend 3 energy points to cast mirror image.

Leap

You can spend 1 energy point to cast jump, targeting yourself.

Loop

Once per turn, you can choose one of your orbs to trigger its passive effect an additional time.

Hello World

You have figured out how to more easily communicate with and understand living creatures. Gain proficiency in Insight and Persuasion.

Melter

You can spend 3 energy points to cast heat metal as a 2nd-level spell. Alternatively, you can use more energy points, increasing the spell's level by 1 for every 2 extra energy points you spend.

Recursion

As an action, you can spend 1 energy point to evoke your primary channeled orb, then channel it. Dark orbs evoked in this way keep their charge.

Recycle

You become less wasteful when reclaiming plasma orbs. Whenever you evoke a plasma orb, you regain 1 extra energy point.

Self Repair

You can repair your body even in the heat of combat. On your turn you can use a bonus action to regain hit points equal to 1d8 + your Defect level. Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

Stack

Whenever you channel a frost orb, you may choose a creature in your orb range to benefit from the orb instead. If that creature leaves your orb range, the frost orb returns to you.

Sunder

prerequisite: 8th level
As an action, you can attempt to cleave an enemy in two with a powerful blow. Make a melee spell attack against a creature you can reach. On a hit, the target takes 4d12 force damage. On a miss, you can't use this feature again until you finish a short or long rest.

Tempest

As an action, you can spend a number of energy points up to half your level (rounded down) and channel that many lightning orbs. Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

Turbo

prerequisite: 8th level
You can spend 4 energy points to cast haste, targeting yourself.

Credit: Westly LaFleur [westlylafleur.deviantart.com]