Classes & Archetypes

Primal warriors defined by feral rage and raw combat prowess — fast, brutal, and able to withstand tremendous punishment. Conan, Tarzan, Fafhrd, Red Sonja, and Khal Drogo all fit this mold.

Bonuses · +10 speed, +2 to Athletics and Intimidate, +2 Defense while unarmored (stacks with Duelist).

Slayer

Advantage to initiative. Melee critical hits on a 19-20.

BelligerentReaction

Gain resistance to a single source of damage, OR force an attack against an ally within 10 feet to target you instead.

BerserkerBonus Action

Once per combat, go berserk. Add PROF to damage, soak, and saves. While berserk, you can only move or make melee and throwing attacks. You must use an action to end your rage on any round you are unable or unwilling to move or attack.

Author’s Note ·Barbarians are supposed to feel fast, deadly, and uncomplicated. Their simple, direct play style revolves around the berserker mechanic. Their unarmored defense bonus stacks with Duelist, offering extra protection for Conan- or Red-Sonja-flavored builds.

Expert warriors who use psionic power to augment their prowess, projecting a telekinetic field usable for both attack and defense. Unlike psions, their kinetic abilities express raw physicality, not intellect or spirit.

Bonuses · +2 to Alertness, Empathy, and Will saves.

Dabbler

Learn PROF mental sciences and gain their associated cantrip, as a Psion of your level. You cannot learn higher-tier powers.

Barrier

Gain 3× your level in temporary health. This pool renews after each full rest.

Quehn

At the start of every round, add a GD to one of: initiative, defense, soak, weapon damage, or one type of save. This bonus lasts for the round, and the die MUST be rolled.

KinesisBonus Action

Dash or leap up to half your foot speed in any direction, OR perform a combat maneuver against an opponent up to 20 feet distant using telekinesis. You also know the telekinesis cantrip and can use it subtly.

Disciplined soldiers with a professional understanding of war — commanders and tacticians who protect their allies from aggression. Achilles, Sir Lancelot, Charlemagne, and Eowyn of Rohan are all examples.

Bonuses · +2 to Initiative, Athletics, Perception, Tactics, two other skills of choice, and damage with weapons of all sorts.

Fortified

Proficiency in heavy armor, one bonus fighting style, and one additional save.

CounterReaction

Counter a single melee attack against yourself or an ally within reach. The protected individual adds your PROF to their defense against that attack. If it hits despite this bonus, you immediately counterattack — on a hit, deal an extra GD of damage. You may choose to let an attack hit yourself to enable a counterattack.

OfficerBonus Action

Allow one ally within 60 feet who has not acted yet to take their initiative immediately after yours, OR boost your initiative by a GD for the remainder of the combat. The first use does not alter the ally’s initiative in following rounds.

Author’s Note ·Fighters are supposed to feel savvy, resilient, and tactical. Mastering Officer turns unfavorable initiative rolls into opportunities, while Counter punishes any failed defense — a strong "weapon master" feel.

Elite mystical warriors with arcane training — eldritch knights, arcane archers, war mages. Partially affected by arcane rigor, they roll d8s for health.

Bonuses · +2 to Athletics and Arcana.

Dabbler

Cast wizard spells using dabbler progression. Learn PROF+1 arcane cantrips. Gain a single focus item (as arcanists do), which must be a weapon.

FadeMove Action

Once per round, teleport up to 20 feet to a spot you can see. This ability is quiet and causes no manifestation.

SpellshieldReaction

Reduce the damage of an effect you can see within 60 feet by half. This cannot mitigate slashing, piercing, crushing, or poison damage. The reduction applies to ALL targets of the effect.

SpellstrikeBonus Action

Charge your weapon with power until it strikes a target or you charge a new weapon. The weapon deals an extra GD of fire, lightning, sonic, cold, or acid damage.

Author’s Note ·Magi feel bombastic. Their abilities run every round — teleporting, dampening energy damage, and dishing out charged blows. But they cannot mitigate basic melee damage and have reduced health, so Fade must be used judiciously.

Elite soldiers who combine military training with divine magic. They must remain faithful to their ethos to regain spells. Sir Galahad, Rostam, Momotaro, and Lemminkainen are examples.

Bonuses · +2 to Empathy, Theology, and all saving throws.

Dabbler

Cast cleric spells using dabbler progression. Learn PROF+1 divine cantrips.

Bulwark

Proficient in heavy armor, and allies within 10 feet gain advantage on saves against magic.

CheirotoniaBonus Action or Reaction

Paladins have a pool of healing energy equal to 5× their class level. Distribute it by touch in any quantity as a bonus action, or heal yourself as a reaction when taking damage. For 5 pts, cure diseases or poisoning. The pool replenishes after a full rest.

SalvationReaction

Let one ally within 20 feet reroll a failed save. The target must use the second roll.

SmitingBonus Action

Charge your weapon with divine magic until it strikes a target or you charge a new weapon. The weapon deals an extra GD of radiant or necrotic damage. Fey, fiends, qlippoth, and undead suffer two GD of damage.

Author’s Note ·Paladins feel like bastions of strength. Heavy armor and reaction self-healing make them obnoxiously hard to kill, and they wreck supernatural evil. Every paladin must choose how much of their healing pool to share versus keep in reserve.

Elite warriors trained in an ancient druidic tradition of guerrilla warfare and primal magic — stealthy hunters with an almost supernatural aptitude for finding and eliminating targets. Legolas, Geralt, Hiawatha, and Orion are examples.

Bonuses · +10 speed, +2 to Stealth, Survival, and Nature.

Dabbler

Cast primal spells using dabbler progression. Learn PROF+1 primal cantrips.

Predator

Speak to animals at will, and influence them with the Survival skill. Use stealth without cover by remaining motionless. Hide, dash, disengage, or aim as a bonus action. Make one melee or missile attack against an enemy within 60 feet when they roll a natural 1 on an attack roll (this does not use a reaction).

QuarryBonus Action

Mark one creature within 60 feet as quarry until it dies or you mark a new creature. If you kill the target, shift the mark instantly. Add a GD to damage rolls against the target, and gain advantage on skill checks to track or influence it.

Author’s Note ·Rangers are supposed to feel like Batman. Vanish, hunt, and burn quarry quickly. Mastering primal spells matters — rangers have no damage mitigation, so they thrive on ambush, overwhelming opponents, and party teamwork.

Emissaries of a deity's power in the mortal world. Their covenant infuses them with a piece of their god's vast soul, allowing them to draw magic directly from the outer planes. Primary magic statistic is Spirit.

Bonuses · +2 to Theology and one intellect skill.

Sacrosanct

Immune to charm, domination, and spiritual possession.

Emissary

Cast divine spells using major progression. Learn PROF+1 divine cantrips. Gain one domain.

InvocationAction

Once per minute, use your holy symbol to unleash a blast of power in a 30' radius or 60' cone. Undead, fiends, fey, qlippoth, and spirits take PROF d12's of damage of a type determined by your deity (Will save for half). Alternately, sympathetic allies may receive a comparable amount of healing. Usable PROF times per full rest.

Shamans empowered by a primordial covenant with ancient nature spirits dwelling in the ethereal plane. They must uphold this covenant and maintain a neutral element in their moral alignment. Primary magic statistic is Spirit.

Bonuses · +2 to Nature and Survival.

Shaman

Cast primal spells using minor progression. Learn PROF+1 primal cantrips.

Vitality

Proficiency in all saves. Immunity to poison. You do not physically age unless you choose, but you die normally at the end of your natural lifespan. During your last year, you can feel it approaching.

ShapeshifterBonus Action

Transform into beast shapes ranging from tiny to large. Your gear merges into your new form and returns when you revert. You can speak in any form, but only cast spells in humanoid form. In beast shape, you gain the physical statistics of the beast, but your health and mental statistics remain the same. You cannot assume animal forms of a higher tier than your PROF modifier.

Zealous hunters devoted to rooting out and destroying enemies of their faith using espionage and divine magic. They have the special ability to counter enemy magic they witness being cast.

Bonuses · +2 to Investigate, Intimidate, Empathy, Stealth, and Will saves.

Minor Divine

Cast divine spells using minor progression. Learn PROF+1 divine cantrips. Gain 1 domain. If your domain influences invocation, gain +2 to a single statistic instead.

Seeker

Gain 1 bonus skill. If you land a weapon or spell attack that meets the criteria for a backstab, it deals an extra die of radiant or necrotic damage.

PurgeReaction

Roll the arete to counter a spell you witness being cast within 60 feet. Your difficulty is the base DC to resist the target’s magic.

BaneBonus Action

Mark a creature within 60 feet for destruction until it dies or you mark a new creature. If you kill the target, shift the mark instantly. Add a GD of radiant or necrotic damage to attack and spell damage rolls against the target.

Individuals born, cursed, or infused with innate divine power. Because their magic comes from within, they do not lose access to it if they commit ethos violations. Primary magic statistic is Spirit or Charisma.

Bonuses · +2 to Diplomacy and Empathy.

Demiurgic

Cast divine and primal spells using minor progression. Learn PROF+2 cantrips from the divine and primal lists.

Portfolio

Gain two divine domains. If your domain influences invocation, gain +2 to a single statistic instead. At 15th level, instead of the Ascension ability, you gain a third domain.

Author’s Note ·Oracles are supposed to feel a bit janky — people who have had divine power thrust upon them. Domain and spell selection matters more here than for any other class. Both divine and primal lists are available, but spell preparation is limited; two domains provide many synergies if read carefully.

Rare individuals whose souls are permanently merged with a potent spiritual entity called an eidolon. The two serve as twin aspects of the same being. Primary magic statistic is Spirit or Charisma.

Bonuses · +2 to Occult, Perception, Wrangling, and one skill of choice.

Dabbler

Cast divine and primal spells using dabbler progression. Learn PROF+2 cantrips from the divine and primal lists.

Symbiosis

One fighting style, one bonus skill, and one additional save.

Eidolon

A small or medium non-humanoid creature accompanies you. It cannot have opposable thumbs or perform advanced tool use. It does not require sustenance or air. Statistics: Defense 10+Arete, Health (Arete×LVL)+10, Speed (PROF×10)+10, Attack +Arete, Damage 2 GD +Arete. Attacks per round = ½ PROF (max 3). It gains PROF+2 traits, shares your knowledge / mental stats / skills / saves / initiative / resistances / immunities, and uses your arete for athletics. You communicate telepathically across any distance and can perceive through it like a familiar. As an action you can touch the eidolon and cause it to discorporate into a tattoo on your body — it must spend at least 6 consecutive hours of every 24 this way. While in tattoo form, you may use a bonus action to assume its form (as Shapeshifter) or revert. Spells and tool use require your birth form. Traits can be reshuffled on a long rest.

Author’s Note ·Summoners are janky but fun. The synergy between summoner and eidolon delivers the class’s fundamental power: the eidolon has combat ability, and with the right traits a great deal of that power is shared with the summoner.

Killers who use stealth and subterfuge to defeat their enemies with great precision. Most are trained by syndicates, cults, government or military agencies.

Bonuses · +10 speed, +2 to Alertness, Initiative, Stealth, and Subterfuge.

Quietus

Backstab deals d12's. Resistant to poison. Proficient with weapons that have the finesse or missile traits. Learn 1 fighting style. Attack as a bonus action.

ReflexesReaction

Share a reflex save you have just rolled with a willing target within 10 feet. Alternatively, share your elusive ability with a willing target within 10 feet that is also suffering damage from the same effect.

VanishBonus Action

Use stealth to hide by breaking the line of sight in combat. Creatures attempting to locate you never count as being on high alert. On a successful pickpocket or backstab, immediately move up to half your speed without provoking attacks of opportunity. If done on a surprise round and the move takes you behind cover or obscuration, you can try to hide as part of that action — if successful, targets don't realize where you went.

Author’s Note ·Assassins are supposed to feel invisible and deadly. Their combat mechanics center on Vanish and Quietus. They benefit from teamwork where allies distract targets and take attention away from them. They are also vulnerable, so they must be selective. Multiple reactions per round have little to use them on except Elusive, which is intentional.

Charismatic rogues with social skills and magical training grounded in the ancient words of power used to sing the universe into being. Primary magic statistic is Charisma.

Bonuses · +2 to Diplomacy, History, Performance, Subterfuge, and Will saves.

Dabbler

Cast arcane, divine, and primal spells using dabbler progression. Learn PROF+2 cantrips from these lists.

Ambassador

Learn PROF bonus languages. With 10 minutes of effort, you can communicate concepts to any creature that has an intelligence of 8 or higher.

MuseReaction

Grant one ally within 60 feet a bonus GD on a failed attack, save, or non-intellect skill check. If this roll allows an ally to meet the DC, the roll is a success. Usable once a round during combat and once per scene outside combat.

Author’s Note ·Bards are versatile. They can prepare a handful of spells from any class list, bolster allies, backstab enemies, and excel in social situations. Built correctly, bards can do anything passably. Playing one satisfyingly requires a firm grasp of spells and an opportunistic mindset.

Practitioners of a monastic tradition of unarmed combat emphasizing trickery and quickness. They cultivate inner spiritual power (many names) for magical feats of martial-arts prowess.

Bonuses · +10 speed, +3 to Acrobatics, Athletics, and Perception.

Tranquil

Attacks against a monk suffer disadvantage if the monk has not yet attacked that round.

Techniques

Learn PROF techniques from the technique list (below).

Wuxia

Attack twice as a bonus action. While unarmored and unsurprised, add PROF+3 to defense. Attacks deal standard or a GD of damage, whichever is higher. Backstab does not require advantage, or for an ally to threaten your target.

Author’s Note ·Monks are great fun, but their abilities require reactions to use. Each round they must decide whether to forego damage mitigation or trickery for extra attacks or pseudo-magical feats. Backstab is simply a bonus added to one attack each round; combined with Flurry, three attacks on their turn are possible.

Flashy duelists who wield finesse weapons and use wit, precision, and mobility to overcome enemies. Many are renowned for gallantry.

Bonuses · +2 to Initiative, Acrobatics, Diplomacy, and Defense while unarmored and not using a shield.

Swordplay

Proficient with all weapons that have the light or finesse traits. Backstab does not require advantage or for an ally to threaten your target. Gain the extra attack ability at 6th level, as a warrior.

RiposteReaction

Increase your defense against a single melee attack by PROF+1. If the attack misses, you can move up to 10 feet without provoking attacks of opportunity OR make a melee attack against the opponent who just missed you.

Outlaws blessed with an auspicious mix of talent and dumb luck. They apply themselves to treasure hunting, espionage, exploration, and crime.

Bonuses · +10 speed, +2 to Alertness, Initiative, Stealth, Thievery, and Reflex saves.

Looter

Attune to one extra magic item. Carry 10 extra points of load before being encumbered. Always correctly appraise the value of items. Advantage on stealth in dim light or light obscuration.

SetupReaction

Give an ally within 10 feet advantage on an attack roll. If the attack hits, add your backstab damage. If the bonus damage kills the target, this counts as your use of backstab for the round.

LegerdemainBonus Action

Use the Thievery skill to steal, disarm basic traps, or open mundane locks. You can also steal a weapon from a distracted or surprised target. If you succeed by more than 5 points, the target does not immediately notice the loss.

Inventors who dabble in the mystic arts. Renaissance people with a natural talent for engineering, alchemy, and various academic and pseudo-scientific disciplines. Primary power statistic is Intellect.

Bonuses · +2 to toolset rolls and damage with firearms.

Dabbler

Cast arcane spells using dabbler progression. Learn PROF+1 arcane cantrips.

Engineer

Proficient in medium armor, three extra toolsets, all firearms, and one extra save. Attacks with inventions use a standard or bonus action.

Inventions

Gain PROF+1 inventions from the list below. They may be used by others, but malfunction if you take a full rest while not in your possession (for maintenance). Permanent inventions usable by anyone follow the magical item creation process.

Ascetics who have attained a special form of mental awakening. Psionic power is not the same as magic: a psychic mind is a mighty reactor that slowly generates and stores power on its own. Despite this, psionicists still suffer arcane rigor. Primary power statistic is Intellect or Spirit.

Bonuses · +2 to Alertness and 2 intellect skills.

Psychic

Learn PROF mental sciences and gain their associated cantrip. Learn 3+LVL powers, chosen from the sciences you practice. Your powers cannot be higher-tier than your PROF. Gain an energy pool equal to a major caster of your level.

Note

Psionicists replace the Arcanist Focus, Wards, and Wyrd abilities with extra perks.

Author’s Note ·Psychic powers go from Tier 1–6. There are two cantrips per science, and every new science adds its cantrips. These baseline powers are versatile and can be spammed at no cost — the mainstay of a psionicist’s utility. A high-level psychic with many of them is extremely potent.

Individuals naturally gifted with arcane powers. Each is a walking nexus connected directly to the astral sea, making them innately charismatic and afflicting them with arcane rigor. Primary magic statistic is Intellect or Charisma.

Bonuses · +2 to Arcana and Diplomacy.

Sorcery

Cast arcane, divine, and primal spells using minor progression. Learn PROF+2 cantrips from these lists.

Bloodline

Select one bloodline (below) and gain its associated powers.

Metamagic

Gain PROF Metamagic talents from the list below. You may use them PROF+1 times. These uses recharge after a full rest.

Mystics who forge pacts with otherworldly beings for power. Once a pact is made, the soul is permanently endowed with investments. Unlike sorcerers and wizards, they do not suffer the full effects of arcane rigor. Primary magic statistic is Intellect, Spirit, or Charisma.

Bonuses · +2 to Occult, Theology, and one save of choice.

Arcanum

Cast arcane spells using minor progression. Learn PROF+1 cantrips from this list.

Investments

Gain PROF+1 investments from your patron(s) — see list below.

Intellectuals who learn magic academically through long years of frustrating study, paying for that power in arcane rigor. Primary magic statistic is Intellect.

Bonuses · +2 to Arcana, History, Occult, and Will saves.

Wizardry

Cast arcane spells using major progression. Learn PROF+2 cantrips from the arcane list.

Grimoire

To prepare new spells, you must study a grimoire of arcane formulae. Transcribing a spell takes 2 days and 100 silver per level. Each formula must be personalized and practiced using noetic techniques. While the grimoire remains in your possession, you can cast any spell written in it once for free. This ability recharges after a full rest.

Thesis

You have a single field of specialized study (see thesis list below). Within your specialization, you gain additional special abilities.

Author’s Note ·There’s no such thing as a lousy or mediocre thesis. A wizard’s thesis provides serious, tangible benefits that define how they play and differentiate them from other wizards.