Preface

Introduction

It has been quite a while since I’ve made a homebrew, much less a homebrew that goes along with my project of transitioning Final Fantasy jobs from that universe, into the Dungeons & Dragons universe.

I have done three of them now before this one: Black Mage, Dragoon, and Gunbreaker. All of which, including this document for White Mage, can be found on my OneDrive!

There’s a handful of reasons why it’s been so long between my last one (Gunbreaker) and now releasing this one. In the prior projects, I’ve referred to the possibility of creating a Summoner class. The largest hurdle of it being that I’m insistent on it not being a spellcasting class, which allows me to fully engage in letting the class have its own expression for flavor and imagination. In turn however, this has meant a huge undertaking of developing the class. Which caused me to burn out, frankly.

But another reason had a much bigger impact. Final Fantasy XVI was on the horizon, and I was in no mindset to attempt to write or create anything, much less work on homebrews that I make purely out of passion. I had been playing the Pixel Remasters of FF1-6 (which was part of the reason I decided to tackle these projects in the first place, having garnered a deeper insight in these jobs beyond just Final Fantasy XIV). But now that the dust has settled, FFXVI has been finished (working on NG+) and I continue onward with life and work; I return to this project. Which brings me, with great delight, to discuss the current topic of this document: White Mage.

White Mage

Ever since I had started with the Black Mage (which in turn was inspired by a Red Mage class made by Aiir), I knew I would eventually want to try my hand at White Mage. Although I wouldn’t undervalue the amount of effort I’ve put into the other Job-turned-classes, White Mage was incredibly more daunting to tackle.

On the one hand I wanted to play at the inverse approach of Black Mage. That is, Black Magic is a resevoir that a player taps into as Black Mana and uses it, until it eventually gets depleted. White Magic is the inverse of that approach, where as you use spells and draw on the ambient energy of the world, you gather White Mana to be used.

Which meant offering an interesting yet dynamic resource that had to be obtainable but also limited, despite being something you can gather over time (even moreso than my Gunbreaker’s Cartridges).

To say nothing of the fact that a class in D&D 5e that is entirely focused on healing is simply not possible.

Needless to say I was very overwhelmed with the possibilities. But I did find myself an “out” of sorts. Instead of entirely focusing on the healing, it was the focal point of the White Mana and how you obtain it, while the class offers a plethora of ways to manage it, using it to turn the tide of battle in ways that are completely and entirely non-damaging.

… For the most part. The number of spells that do actually deal damage that I’ve given the White Mage, aside from the 2 cantrips I crafted (Glare and Aero), I can count on my fingers. And essentially all of them I had put in because of the secondary effects. As a result, this class is extremely utility-based, and does have a huge central focus on healing, especially if you take the Order of Serenity subclass, which is all in on supporting allies, and offers some of the best healing that can be done in D&D 5e. Going into this document, I highly recommend that you approach this class as a sort of cross between Druids and Clerics. The White Mage I present to the world is one that has its basis in the religious worship of the world, which in turn also provides the White Mage access to the spells of both classes (and in one subclass, a powerful Paladin spell). Similarly to Black Mage, however, it is entirely a hypercaster that is in no way meant to built for front line combat.

I look forward to your reaction in exploring this class, and to enjoy the ideas and possibilities! I’ll leave my ramblings for the afterword that comes at the very end of the document.

1

 

 

The White Mage

A caravan sluggishly wheels its way across a cobblestone road through a turgid swamp. The mercenaries paid to escort the caravan silently cursing themselves as they can feel the morning’s downpour squelching under their boots. Clods clinging to their soles as the sun beat down on them from above.

Inside one of the caravan’s carts is a small, lean lad in long flowing robes. Although the bottom ring of it is clearly smidgen with dirt, the rest of his robes are pristine. Otherworldly by some folks’ standards. He sits cross-legged, eyes closed as he feels the thrumming of the world around him. The energy that courses through him both powerful and yet calm. A long, ornate wooden staff rests beside him, an orb inside the top of it pulsating with a dim light as if it had a heartbeat.

Before the mercenaries even realize that they are under attack, the boy comes out, piercing blue eyes, staff in hand and granting them the divine power of the world as they fight the sudden onslaught of kobolds.

Despite the clamor of battle, and the blood that is constantly spilt on the sogged cobblestone road, the caravan is put to ease as the boy in robes not only mends the wounds of the warriors, but also empowers them to be even more ruthless.

Nature’s Divinity

There are a plethora of deities that exist in the lands, in the skies, and even further into the heavens. All of these deities are undeniably real. It is no wonder then that religion and faith exists and are stalwart pillars of any community or civilization.

White Mages share an ironclad faith not in any of these deities, but instead the world itself. They draw their power from the ambient magic of the world, ancient spirits, and the ancient laws that every mortal, and even deities to an extent, must abide by. As a result, White Mages aren’t too dissimilar to those who uphold oaths or creeds to gods, whether they are clerics or paladins or others alike. However, their reverence and faith goes towards the balance that is struck between life and death, good and evil, law and chaos. Their goal being to spread goodwill and kindness wherever they go, while also seeking to restore lands and seas to their natural state should they have been corrupted.

It is common to confuse a White Mage for someone of an orthodox religion, or as part of a druidic tribe or clan. The intersection of ideals and philosophies that White Magic provides to those who seek to obtain its power is wholly unique and unlike any other magic that can be wielded by mortals.

White Magic

The world holds a very simple, plain truth for those that will listen. No one is immortal, and just so, no ardor lasts forever. The power of the universal law and the thrumming heart of the world is what White Mages draw their power from. Although it is technically not their own power, White Mages are revered, and are known to be fair, impartial judges. However it is also true that not much can be said to be public knowledge about them. There are no official establishments, and more often than not White Mages are found interspered within religious organizations, mercenary groups, and even industries. The birth of a White Mage seemingly at the whims and impulse of the very world itself.

Creating a White Mage

White Mages are paragons of balance and have a keen insight for the greater good far outweighing any one plight or trial that might come the way of any individual. While they are largely kind-hearted and compassionate, it is not to any one person, but rather to propogate the wheel of fate that they have consigned themselves to serving.

Think about what would spur you on to become a wielder of White Magic. Did you learn from a mentor? The world itself granting its divine insight? Is there a dark evil that you’ve discovered and vow to fight? What objective would you have that would prompt you to explore the world?

2

 

 

Class Features

As a White Mage, you gain the following class features:

Hit Points

Hit Dice: 1d6 per White Mage level

Hit Points at the 1st level: 6 + your Constitution modifier

Hit Points at higher levels: 1d6 (or 4) + your Constitution modifier per White Mage level after 1st level

Proficiencies

Armor: No Armor

Weapons: Simple Weapons

Tools: None

Saving Throws: Wisdom, Charisma

Skills: Choose two skills from Animal Handling, History, Insight, Medicine, Nature, Perception, Religion

Equipment

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

(a) a dagger and wooden staff

(a) a component pouch or (b) an arcane focus

(a) a scholar’s pack or (b) an explorer’s pack

Multiclassing:

Ability Score Minimum: Wisdom 15 is required to multiclass into or out of the class.

Proficiencies: Simple Weapons

3

 

 

Spellcasting

Your communion with the world that surrounds you will only gain potency over time. You will eventually unlock the full extent of your embrace with the magic that flows through you and along with it, an even greater intimate respect for life and the balance of the world that it maintains.

Cantrips

At 1st level, you know two cantrips of your choice from the white mage spell list. You learn additional white mage cantrips of your choice at higher levels, as shown in the Cantrips Known column of the White Mage table.

Preparing and Casting Spells

The White Mage table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your white mage spells of 1st level and higher. To cast one of these white mage 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 white mage spells that are available for you to cast, choosing from the white mage spell list. When you do so, choose a number of white mage spells equal to your Wisdom modifier + your white mage 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 white mage, you have four 1st-level and two 2nd-level spell slots. With a Wisdom 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 also change your list of prepared spells when you finish a long rest. Preparing a new list of white mage 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 white mage spells, since your magic draws upon your communion with nature and the world around you. You use your Wisdom whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Wisdom modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a white mage 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 a white mage spell as a ritual if it has the ritual tag and you have the spell prepared.

Spellcasting Focus

Your communion with the natural forces of the world can take on a vast number of appearances. For some it can be a remarkably important pendant from their family, or a branch that represents the first time they made the connection with the spirits of the world. Typically it is a smaller focus in comparison to others, and generally can be placed on a staff or a stick if it fancies the wielder.

You can make a new focus by picking up an object that either represents your connection with the world, or simply a mundane natural object (such as a twig, vines, or even a rock), and then spending a long rest resonating with the object to imbue within it your magical essence. You can only have one arcane focus at any given time. If you imbue your essence into a new object, the original one loses its arcane focus property immediately.

White Mana

Having tapped into the primordial essence of the world that surrounds you, you have gained access to a pool of magic that is otherwise unavailable to anyone else. This energy manifests in the form of White Mana, which manifests as a resource that you use.

This mana can be used to enhance spells that you cast, or white mana features that you learn to utilize throughout your journey. At any given time, you can only have a reserve of White Mana equal to your Proficiency Bonus. After you finish a long rest, you lose all White Mana you have currently. When White Mana is used, it manifests as a dice that you can add to rolls in addition to the beneficial enhancements, the dice size being a d6.

When a White Mana is referred to as “being added/subtracted” or “being rolled” in the context of an ability or feature, you are rolling a d6.

In order to gain White Mana, you must cast a healing spell of the 1st level or higher that heals at least one creature other than you. When you aid a creature other than you with an otherwise beneficial effect or status spell (such as Haste), this will also grant you White Mana. You gain one White Mana when you do either, even if you use a White Mana to enhance the spell being cast.

As you gain levels in White Mage, you will learn features and abilities that allow you to use White Mana. One such ability you know now: Benison.

4

 

 

Benison

When you cast a healing spell that targets only 1 creature, you can choose to spend 1 White Mana to add to the hit points granted. If the creature’s current hit points reach its maximum hit points with the healing, any leftover hit points granted becomes temporary hit points. These temporary hit points last until the start of your next turn.

White Magic Order

When you reach the 2nd level, your magic evolves and takes on more specific aspects of nature and the world. You gain new abilities that are exclusive to the Order that you walk down. You gain features at this level for your chosen Order, and again at the 6th, 10th, and 14th levels. All of these Orders are detailed further below.

Orison

Beginning at the 3rd level, you continue improving your connection with the world at large, letting it flow through you. As part of a long rest, you can perform a ritual, spending 10 minutes of that long rest in prayer and communion. After this ritual is completed, you gain a number of White Mana equal to half of your Wisdom modifier. This White Mana does not count towards the normal reserve of White Mana you accumulate, but also disappears when you take a long rest. If you deplete Orison’s White Mana, it does not get replenished until you perform the ritual again as part of another 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.

Renumeration

By the 5th level, you cherish the world for what it is, and you have a deep respect that only continues to grow for it. The balance that is acheieved with active influence and passive observation. When you spend a white mana on any feature or ability, whether on its own or to enhance a spell, you are able to cast a cantrip of your choice as a bonus action on this turn, or if you are using a reaction ability, on your next turn.

Additionally, you take the cantrip Glare which does not count towards your cantrips known. If you already know Glare, take another cantrip from the white mage spell list.

Afflatus Solace

Starting at the 7th level, when you cast a spell that can heal a creature, you can choose to spend 1 White Mana, adding it to the healing spell. You grant half of the total hit points to the target creature, and you can choose a creature within 30 feet of you that you can see to benefit from the other half. You can choose which creature gets the lower amount if the hit points are distributed unevenly.

If you cast a spell that can heal multiple creatures, you can only choose to split the healing for one of those creatures to be given to another creature that is not being healed, and the two affected creatures must be within 30 feet of each other.

Afflatus Invigoration

When you reach level 11, with the intimate connection you have developed and nurtured with the divine essence of the world, you have built a stable, durable foundation that you stand on now.

You gain advantage on Constitution Saving throws made for your concentration checks of holding spells that grant you White Mana (Healing spells and spells that aid your allies with status effects or otherwise, such as Haste).

Enhanced Orison

When you perform the ritual, you now gain a number of White Mana equal to your Wisdom modifier, instead of half.

Afflatus Liturgy

At level 17, you’ve reached rubicon in your embrace of the energy that surrounds everyone, having culminated and trascended your cultivation to a simple but effective faith in the machinations of the world.

As a bonus action you clasp your hands together, letting the divine essence of the world and nature subsume you, even if only for a moment. The next healing spell you cast before the end of your next turn ignores concentration requirements and will persist even if you become unconscious. If the spell does not

5

 

 

have a concentration requirement, you instead cast the spell without spending a spell slot, assuming it is no higher than 6th level.

You spend 5 White Mana when you use this ability, and you can only do this once per long rest. You do not regain White Mana with the spell being cast.

Devout of the White

Upon reaching level 20, when you cast a healing spell and you use a white mana feature for that spell, you add a number of White Mana to be rolled for healing equal to the spell level of the spell that’s being cast instead of just 1 White Mana dice. Additionally, when you cast a spell, you now regain White Mana equal to half of the spell level that it was cast at, rounded down, in addition to the 1 White Mana you regain. If you roll initiative and you have no White Mana, you immediately gain 1 White Mana.

Afflatus Liturgy can now be used once per short rest.

Orders of the White

The path that a White Mage takes can vary, and depends entirely on the journey that the Mage takes in which they expand their knowledge and breadth of experience. However, many of them collect into large forays in their ventures into the beyond, attempting to grasp and understand any modicum of wisdom that the world, the spirits, and the divine deign to offer them. And in turn offer to shape and modify the magic that a White Mage can wield. Such paths take shape in the form of Orders.

These are the Orders available in this document: Turmoil, Serenity, Sacrifice, and Lily.

Order of Turmoil focuses on the wrath of the heaven and earth when balance is threatened. White Mages that walk this path are exceptional in their capability to dissuade enemies from making openings in the ranks. Stoking the flames of doubt and disheveling foes is the Turmoil White Mage’s greatest weapon.

Order of Serenity is the most common and widespread. And as such, the most reputable. These White Mages offer the soothing grace of the earth, allowing any and all who seek aid to be given it, never wanting for succor on their sores. These White Mages focus on uplifting their allies.

Order of Sacrifice have an intimate understanding of the true power of the divine. And as such ever attempt to grasp at it, fully acknowledging the price that it requires. These White Mages sap the strength in themselves or others in order to unleash the full potential of their companions.

Order of the Lily are the most unique, having access to what many can only muse to be a omnipresent spirit. In reality, these White Mages have condensed their White Magic into a potent, albeit static muse with which they use to unleash heaven-defying succor and replenishment.

Order of Turmoil

White Mages that have achieved an attunement with the wrath of the world, with an aim to destabilize enemies where they were once sure-footed and instill confusion and fear where there was once an ironclad heart and will.

Turmoil Spells

White Mage Level	Spells
2nd	Bane, Cause Fear
5th	Bestow Curse, Hypnotic Pattern
9th	Elemental Bane, Polymorph
11th	Enervation, Synaptic Static

You gain access to these spells at the listed levels, and they do not count towards your number of spells you have prepared.

Afflatus Impairment

Starting at the 2nd level, when a creature within 60 feet of you is forced to make a Saving throw against a check that is being imposed on it, you can use your reaction to spend 1 White Mana. Subtract the creature’s roll with it, potentially turning a success into a failure. You must do this before the Saving throw is announced to be a success or failure.

You can only perform this reaction when it is another creature other than yourself imposing the Saving throw check.

Enervate

At the 6th level, as an action, you spend 1 White Mana to target a creature within 60 feet of you that you can see. The target creature makes a Strength Saving throw against your Spell Save DC. On a failure, the target creature gets marked by your white magic, becoming weaker and less enthused for combat, and whenever they make an attack until the start of your next turn, you subtract from the roll they make for their damage.

On a success, they instead take 1d6 radiant damage.

6

 

 

Mask of Death

Upon reaching level 10, as an action, you can spend 3 White Mana, donning an ethereal visage that exudes fearsomeness and causes even the most stalwart of souls to tremble. All creatures of your choice within 30 feet of you that can see you, must make a Wisdom Saving throw against your Spell
Save DC. On a failure, a creature is frightened of you. A creature can repeat the Saving throw at the end of their turn, and once they break free, they cannot be frightened again unless a new visage is summoned. The mask lasts for 1 minute or until it’s dispelled as a bonus action. While a creature is frightened of you in this way and another creature attacks them, the frightened creature takes 1d6 psychic damage that you add to the attack.

Spirits of the Abyss

At level 14, as an action, a cacophony of ethereal spirits are summoned and surround you, swarming in a 30-foot circle focused on you and move with you. This lasts for 1 minute or until it’s dispelled as a bonus action, and requires concentration. This can only be done once per short rest.

Any creature that is considered hostile towards you must make a Strength Saving throw against your Spell Save DC when they enter this field . On a failure, for as long as the creature stays within the field, whenever they attempt to hit a creature other than you, you subtract 1d6 from their attack roll, potentially causing a hit to miss instead.

When you move or when a creature leaves the field but enters it again, the Saving throw is repeated, regardless of if the creature failed or succeeded before.

Order of Serenity

The most common White Mage that anyone can find. Their magic is deep in the well spring of nurture and succor. There is nothing but empathy and compassion for life and the vibrance that it brings.

Serenity Spells

White Mage Level	Spells
2nd	Bless, Cure Wounds
5th	Aura of Vitality, Beacon of Hope
8th	Aura of Purity, Freedom of Movement
11th	Greater Restoration, Skill Empowerment

You gain access to these spells at the listed levels, and they do not count towards your number of spells you have prepared.

Temperance

Upon reaching level 2, when a creature within 90 feet of you that you can see is forced to make a saving throw, you can use your reaction to spend 1 White Mana, adding to the creature’s saving throw. This can be done after the creature rolls for their saving throw but must be done before the outcome of the roll is announced.

Steady Wind

At level 6, as an action, you can spend 1 White Mana, adding the roll + your White Mage level as temporary hit points to a creature of your choice that you can see within 60 feet of you. If the temporary hit points are depleted before your next turn, the target creature can use their reaction
to disengage and move up to half of their movement speed in any direction they wish.

7

 

 

Guiding Hand

Reaching level 10, as an action, you can spend 3 White Mana and choose a number of creatures, but not yourself, within 30 feet of you equal to your Wisdom modifier. These creatures gain temporary hit points equal to the number you roll (3d6). While these temporary hit points persist, when a creature makes an attack roll, they add your proficiency bonus to the attack roll. The temporary hit points last for 1 minute.

Afflatus Blessing

At level 14, as an action, you can grant a blessing to a number of creatures, but not yourself, within 30 feet of you equal to your Wisdom Modifier. This can be done once per short rest.

This blessing lasts for 1 minute and requires concentration, or until you dispel it as a bonus action. While a creature has this blessing, they add your White Mana dice for their attack rolls and saving throws.

Order of Sacrifice

These are White Mages that have grasped a deeper understanding of the world. Embracing the truth that balance comes with a price. And the greater the stakes, the greater the cost. However, they willingly press further, knowing that the greater good far outweighs the risks that may be presented in any fight.

Sacrifice Spells

White Mage Level	Spells
2nd	Hellish Rebuke, Heroism
5th	Feign Death, Life Transference
8th	Aura of Life, Death Ward
11th	Contagion, Rary’s Telepathic Bond

You gain access to these spells at the listed levels, and they do not count towards your number of spells you have prepared.

Soul Bargain

At level 2, when you use a healing spell on a creature, you can choose to empower it with 1 White Mana. When you do so, you choose a willing creature within 60 feet of you,

or yourself, to bolster the healing power of the spell. In addition to the number that you rolled on the White Mana dice, the creature can choose to give up a number of hit points equal to their Constitution modifier + their total level to directly give to the creature being healed.

If the creature gives hit points equal to or greater than the White Mana roll, the creature giving up hit points is then able to add a d6 to an attack roll within the next minute. When you choose yourself to sacrifice hit points, you must give up hit points equal to double the White Mana dice roll (up to 12 potentially) in order to add a d6 on one of your attack rolls.

Revenant Touch

Upon reaching level 6, when you use a spell on a creature, you can choose to empower it with 1 White Mana. You subtract your White Mana dice roll from your hit points as a sacrifice. If this is a healing spell, the creature you are targeting gains temporary hit points equal to 2d6 + your Proficiency bonus in addition to the healing.

If this is a spell that deals damage, you instead add your Proficiency bonus to your attack roll, again if you already do, and to your damage if it hits.

Reaper’s Ward

At level 10, as a reaction to a creature within 90 feet of you that you can see being brought to 0 hit points, you can spend 3 White Mana, taking 3d6 unmitigated damage to yourself in order to allow the target creature to make a Constitution Saving throw, with the Save DC being 10 or half the damage taken, whichever is greater.

On a success, the creature regains hit points equal to the damage you had taken. On a failure, the creature falls unconscious as normal and are at 0 hit points.

If the damage being dealt to the creature is equal to or greater than half of the total hit points the target creature has, it automatically fails the Saving throw.

Weight of Sacrifice

At level 14, as an action, you can completely drain your lifeforce in exchange for great power. All of your hit points except 1 becomes temporary hit points, and until either 1 minute passes, or you deplete all of your temporary hit points, your maximum hit points is set to 1 and you cannot benefit from healing or gain additional temporary hit points. When a minute passes, any remaining temporary hit points that you have transforms back into your normal hit points, and you regain your normal maximum hit points. This can be done once per short rest.

While you are in this state, you can use your temporary hit points to sacrifice as hit points for the purposes of your White Mana abilities. While you sacrifice hit points as normal for the features that require you to, your healing spells and abilities are treated as guaranteed critical hits.

8

 

 

Order of the Lily

White Mages that have fully consigned themselves to the wheel of fate, they are exceptional healers and greatly empower their allies. They’ve fused their destinies with the world, and as such have been granted the ability to manifest its divine will in a way no one else can.

Lily Spells

White Mage Level	Spells
2nd	Cure Wounds, Sanctuary
5th	Haste, Summon Fey
8th	Conjure Woodland Beings, Otiluke’s Resilient Sphere
11th	Circle of Power, Wrath of Nature

You gain access to these spells at the listed levels, and they do not count towards your number of spells you have prepared.

Petals of the Lily

Your White Mana is transformed into a Lily. A vibrant, ethereal lily that is of any appearance, shape, and color of your choosing. They are intangible to everyone including you and are a manifestation of your communion with the most ancient of spirits. It occupies a 5-foot space, which cannot be stood in by other creatures, but can be walked through by both hostile and ally creatures. The Lily lasts until you finish a long rest, or when you dispel it with a bonus action.

Instead of gaining White Mana, you have a Lily and along with it, petals that function the same as White Mana. As a bonus action, you can place down a Lily for free once per short rest and spend 1 petal to do so every time you summon or move the Lily after the first time. You must be within 30 feet of your Lily at all times, or else it disappears, however when you cast a spell or use a white mana feature, you can choose to have it be cast from the Lily instead of yourself. If you fall unconscious, the Lily disappears.

When you use the Lily for your white mana features, you gain further increased benefits, including with the main class features, which are listed directly below.

Enhanced White Mage Features

These main White Mage features and abilities become enhanced when you use the feature through the Lily.

Lily Benison

When a creature gains the hit points, they gain +1 to their AC until your next turn.

Afflatus Solace

You split the hit points, and then give each creature additional hit points equal to your White Mana dice roll.

Afflatus Liturgy

You spend 3 petals instead of 5.

Lily’s Embrace

Starting at 2nd level, when you use a healing spell through the Lily, you can spend 1 petal to add your Proficiency bonus in addition to the White Mana dice for healing, as well as increase the range of the spell by 30 feet (including touch spells).

If it is a damaging spell, you spend a petal to add your Proficiency bonus to the damage if the spell hits.

Shield of the Lily

Upon reaching level 6, as a reaction to a creature being attacked within 30 feet of the Lily or you, you can spend a petal to grant the attacked creature a bonus 1d6 to their AC for that attack.

If the attack fails to hit, the attacked creature can use their reaction to make an attack of opportunity as the creature gets staggered. If the attack does hit, the attacked creature can use their reaction to take the disengage action, giving them 15 feet of movement immediately.

Liturgy of the Lily

At level 10, as a bonus action, you can spend a petal to activate the Lily, making it pulsate with soothing magic. All creatures that you choose within 30 feet of it regains 1d6 hit points + your Proficiency bonus. If the creature’s current hit points reach its maximum hit points with the granted hit points, any remaining hit points being granted becomes temporary hit points.

Afflatus Misery

Starting at level 14, once you have used three petals through the Lily, the Lily now blooms.

As an action once the Lily is in bloom, you can have the Lily launch an orb of divine essence up to 60 feet away from its current position. Any creature in a 15-foot sphere of the orb on impact must then make a Dexterity Saving throw against your Spell Save DC. On a failure, a creature takes 4d8 radiant damage, or half damage on a success.

If the Lily deals at least 30 damage, you can use your reaction to use Liturgy of the Lily without cost as long as it’s through the Lily (you do not gain a petal).

After the Lily launches the orb, it loses its bloom status, and it takes another three petals to bring it back into bloom.

9

 

 

Spells introduced with this document will be listed within the list, and highlighted by being bold

10

 

 

Glare

Evocation Cantrip

Casting Time:

1 action

Range:

90 feet

Components:

V,S

Duration:

Instantaneous

You emit a bolt of holy energy that crackles through the air towards a target that you can see in range. Make a ranged spell attack. On a hit, you deal 1d8 radiant damage. If the target is undead, you deal 1d10 instead.

At Higher Levels. This spell’s damage increases by 1d8 when you reach 5th level (2d8), 11th level (3d8), and 17th level (4d8).

Aero

Conjuration Cantrip

Casting Time:

1 action

Range:

60 feet

Components:

S

Duration:

Concentration, up to 1 minute

You target a creature that you can see within range, spilling out a whorl of turbulent air towards them. Make a ranged spell attack against the creature. On a hit, they take 1d4 force damage. At the start of their turn, they must make a Dexterity Saving Throw against your Spell Save DC. They must succeed, or they take 1d4 force damage. On a success, they take no damage. The creature must continue making Dexterity Saving Throws on each of their turns for as long as you concentrate on this spell. If you missed the initial attack, the spell has no effect.

Stone’s Endurance

1st-level Abjuration

Casting Time:

1 action

Range:

30 feet

Components:

M, S, V (A twig with green leaves)

Duration:

Concentration, up to 1 minute

Faint mirages of vines and twigs appear and surround up to 3 creatures of your choice within range excluding you, granting them a +2 bonus to AC for the duration.

11

 

 

Afterword

Thank you for reading this far! Even if you ended up just skimming through most of it, I still appreciate it nonetheless (and I am also guilty of doing that).

In this section, I’ll go into my thought process throughout the making of the class, as well as a breakdown of each subclass and how I feel about them. What potential changes I might do, or whatever ideas I came up with and eventually scrapped, to glean some information for the curious that wish to play this class off the rails potentially, or to make something of their own!

First things first as a disclaimer, I tackle these jobs with the foremost thought of building them for levels 3 - 15. I always recommend to any group that isn’t brand new to just start at level 3. And many many others before me and after me will recommend that as well. Part of the reason is because level 3 is when pretty much every class gets their subclass, and thus a character starts to feel more “complete” in that sense. For me personally, I think it makes more sense as the number scaling of the first 2 or 3 levels are wonky. But of course, that’s my personal opinion.

Conversely, most campaigns don’t ever go beyond level 15. Even if they do, it’s not for very long, or the campaign just ends up fizzling out or stagnating. As such, I typically install an iconic ability or feature at level 15 to let players enjoy as their “final” piece of the class to fall into place. Everything that falls after that is usually a proverbial carrot on a stick for players to theorycraft with, and play with in their imagination and enjoy the power fantasy. I did it differently this time for White Mage which I will elaborate further below.

General Class Insight

The trickiest part of this entire endeavor was probably not so much making sure that the class could function as probably the de facto healing class to pick up, but moreso making sure it wasn’t so ridiculously tuned out for healing that every fight becomes more about how much healing you can do to mitigate the damage enemies might do to your allies. This class was never lacking or wanting for flavor in my opinion. However, the feelings and fun of a Dungeon Master having to balance encounters around this class existing was definitely the driving force of the tuning and balancing I did for this class.

Black Mage numerically is probably vastly stronger than this class, but that’s mainly because no matter how much damage a Black Mage does, that only strictly affects hit points on enemies. Which a DM can simply increase if it really becomes overbearing. The difference this time is that White Mage can affect literally everything else.

But going into this, that was my intention from the very beginning. I knew I wanted Black Mage to essentially only do damage, but a lot of it. While White Mage is much more rounded out, and offers arguably the best support that a party could ever ask or want for, while doing next to zero damage. Granted, I enabled the White Mage to be able to effectively use Glare as a bonus action to keep up with doing at least some damage throughout combat. But I’m sure we all know that it only looks like a lot simply because it’s the only consistent damage that the White Mage can deal. And more importantly, it’s very bland damage dealing considering it’s the same spell every single time. But I digress.

As a side note, I wish to elaborate that when I make these classes, I keep a few things in mind:

• I never try to engage in an arms race, “How can I make my class better than another’s?” for example
• How can I best deliver the power fantasy that a class has?

The last one was more the focus for White Mage, as opposed to the first one being my focus on the prior projects I’ve done for Dragoon, and Gunbreaker (having no issue whatsoever in providing the power fantasy of those).

What is the power fantasy of a White Mage? Is it being able to bring a party back from the brink of death, when all hope is lost? Is it the hope and geniality that one can offer to those that they are surrounded by? Or is it simply the ability to heal allies and not be able to help themselves, as the core of the identity?

This would be the third reason in tandem with the ones I addressed in the Preface (burnout, and FFXVI) as for why this class took a while for me. Because frankly there really isn’t any unique power fantasy that comes with White Mage. Black Mage came intuitively and easily, since it had a resource that would get spent and isn’t recoverable. Not to mention everyone can relate to a hypercaster that deals humongous amounts of damage.

But how do you make a class that focuses entirely on healing and aiding allies? Most people could and would gloss over this thinking as they’d point to cleric, druids as examples of healers, and bard or paladin as off-healers. But that’s the crux of the dilemma. Those are primarily classes that have subclasses that offer defensive/healing options. White Mage is a healer first and foremost.

All of this for me to say, I think I did a decent job at granting a core class with a theme of being able to aid allies and granting the player that decides to don the robes of a White Mage access to every single healing spell in the game, at the cost of being solely a support character that needs a party to uplift and empower.

The power fantasy, I believe, is the ability to do just that. Which is admittedly a very niche power fantasy, but one I know without a doubt in my mind that there are indeed people left wanting for in 5e.

12

 

 

Onto the subclasses now.

Turmoil & Serenity Insight

These two are both extremely straightforward. They grant you 4 different abilities that you can tap into, and offer spells that all but strongly suggest the path you should take when using their respective subclass. So it only made sense to put them into a bundle for insight.

Turmoil is the de facto offensive utility subclass, while Serenity is the defensive utility subclass. For a time, I was debating on what exactly I would do for Turmoil, and at one point even had what was effectively the same ability at level 10 and 14 (the one that is now currently at level 14). But eventually I settled on the thematic of a mage that can use the very aspect of wrath to instill fear.

It was with these two subclasses that I had ultimately decided on doing spell lists for the subclasses, since it reinforced them while simultaneously adding more flavor and identity to the other two.

I wondered if I should have gone all in on Serenity in terms of granting a plethora of healing options, but I went against it in favor of allowing Serenity to essentially have a free “Super-Bless” that is a d6 in addition to being far more creatures being affected.

Sometimes straightforward is powerful on its own. As I’ve noticed is a trend among my crafting these homebrew classes, I like to offer a few simple subclasses before I delve into the extremely complex ones.

13

Order of Sacrifice Insight

The entire subclass speaks for itself. How far are you willing to push it for the sake of protecting those you love and treasure? The identity of a White Mage that goes down this path is one that is hellbent on ensuring that the world bends to their will, not in an arrogant way, but in an incredibly desperate plea for fate to change.

The perfect showcase of this would be the last two abilities you get, Reaper’s Ward and Weight of Sacrifice. Reaper’s Ward especially is a “Oh f@!$” ability to use as a last ditch attempt to keep someone from going down even when all else fails. And then an extension of the philosophy of the subclass is completely illustrated in Weight of Sacrifice. You completely drop yourself to 1 hit point (with a large temporary hit point padding to be fair), and in exchange your healing is unmatched.

I thoroughly enjoyed playing with this thematic, though I do think I could have maybe done more with it. However, I wanted this project to get wrapped up as I have spent a far lot longer on it than I really should have.

Order of the Lily Insight

No doubt when people pick up this homebrew and they play FFXIV, they will immediately search for this subclass. The Lily is such an integral part of the White Mage, and this was the subclass that left me stunlocked for the longest in development. I suffered greatly in the back and forth debate I let myself be steeped in for several months on whether or not the Lily should be part of the core class or not. I really struggled with this, and I cannot emphasize it enough. As we all know now, I finally eventually got myself to place it as a subclass, making a small compromise on making my

“Liturgy of the Bell” (a spell in FFXIV)

into the eventually manifested Afflatus

Liturgy.

Again, to be completely blunt,

this was the part of the project

that stumped me the most.

Preventing me from even

developing the subclasses as I

always do the core class first

and get myself satisfied with

those features before I start

implementing the ideas I have

for the subclasses as I engage in

alternate identities and

alternate subset fantasies of

classes.

 

 

14

However, I’d have to admit to myself that as a result, a large majority of my creative ideation went into both this subclass and into the Sacrifice subclass. I am personally slightly disappointed in how simple and straightforward Turmoil/Serenity is, even if that was the intent from the start. I did come across the possibility as I was writing everything out and finalizing all of this document on Homebrewery that perhaps I could expand on the Lily enhancements and do that for the other subclasses as well. But as it stands, the Lily subclass is the most set apart because of the Lily. Those enhancements only happen because you cast your spells and abilities through it, which in of itself is already an unwieldy, static token on the map that won’t move until you burn another “Petal” (white mana) to do so. If you cast your spells normally, you don’t benefit from those enhancements. But I digress, in the future, if there’s pressure to improve those specific subclasses, that will be the path I will undertake: adding slight modifications to the core class abilities and making them further aligned with each subclass.

Future Content

Since this is a fully online, fully completed homebrew document, this won’t really get many “updates”. But I will have this and future stuff on my OneDrive if you wanna see progression and updates should they happen! My Black Mage, Dragoon, and Gunbreaker documents are also on there as well as Homebrewery as linked in the Preface.

As mentioned beforehand I am attempting my hand at Summoner in the flavor of Final Fantasy (since there’s Dragonshard’s Summoner that’s absolutely insane, I recommend checking it out here on GMBinder.), however that job has become an ever growing daunting task to try to translate into Fifth Edition. It will likely become more of a long term project I work on as I gather more experience with other jobs. Summoner will very likely be the most abstract class I’ll make.

On the hitlist now, I am already brewing ideas for a Knight class that will attempt to not step on Paladin’s toes and incorporates all of the Final Fantasy knights into one class (Dark Knight, Paladin, Mystic Knight, and Rune Knight). After spending so much time on White Mage, I have conclusively decided I much prefer building martial classes as that enables me to put up much more to the class when they have no spellcasting (maybe I do a half caster for the knights?). For now, I’m going to tackle the knights with a “Vestige” resource pool that is very traditional like Fury was in Dragoon (Ki points).

I’d love some feedback on all of my Final Fantasy homebrews and future projects I will work on eventually, so please leave some for me! You can reach me on twitter, @ArchiverButcher, leave a comment on wherever you found the document, or gmail: butcher9133@gmail.com

My experience

I’ve been playing D&D for about 6 years now, since 2018 specifically, all exclusively within 5e. And I’ve been with the same table for 5 years as well, give or take. Naturally, we have our own table rules, one of them allowing players to take a feat, and two subclasses of our chosen class from the beginning.

I go into these homebrews ignoring those table rules as best I can. However that directly impacts my desire and stubbornness to create more subclasses than the traditional 2 or 3 that most homebrews come up with. Besides, if it can be helped, why not add more subclasses? It adds more flavor, more variety, etc. In this case, White Mage surprisingly filled 4 subclasses incredibly easily!

Additionally I’ve played all of the vanilla classes that 5e has to offer meaningfully at various levels, with the exception of Barbarian, Paladin, Warlock, and Rogue. However I have played with players who have played those classes extensively.

I’ve been DM-ing a homebrew campaign that is a prologue to the story and world I have self-published on Amazon under the same name as my Twitter handle, and will likely write the campaign as a prologue story to it! I’d be flattered if you would check it out!

 

 

15

Credits

Huge shoutout to the artists that have made the amazing works that you have seen throughout the homebrew:

• Melanie Herrman
• swd3e2
• Mateusz Michalski
• Creators and Artists at Square Enix©

And thank you to Homebrewery for being an exceptionally amazing tool and website for these kinds of projects! It’s definitely allowed me to feel more empowered to create more in the future.

Special shoutout to my friends, and D&D buddies that have allowed me to feel so inspired and excited to create material that I can share with people!

Legal Disclaimer

None of the art that’s been shown throughout this document belong to me, are owned by me, or was commissioned by me. They, and the intellectual property of the D&D 5e system made by Wizards of the Coast, as well as the White Mage job and its identity pertaining to Final Fantasy and SquareEnix, are not owned by me, or claimed to be my property.

This document was created solely as a passion project.

The credit of each piece of art I used is next to the relevant artwork, all of them offering hyperlinks that can take you to the creator’s pages and in Final Fantasy III and Final Fantasy XIV’s case, the games themselves on Steam. Final Fantasy Tactics is not on Steam, so for that game I linked to the Apple store port of the game. I linked to CD Projekt Red’s website under the Witcher artwork’s credit.