D&D 5E [Let's Read] 5e 3rd Party Class Sourcebooks

[Libertad]

Dungeons & Dragons has been borrowing concepts from a wide variety of media since its founding. The advent of the OGL let fans insert their own preferences beyond the tastes of Wizards of the Coast employees, so it was natural that we’d get a product that is a Jojo’s Bizarre Adventures reference and with some Persona influences too.

The Channeler is a class centered around a person whose internal psyche manifests as a spectral entity formed from a forgotten memory. Also known as phantasms, the origins of said entities are unknown, and most channelers are self-taught due to the rareness and lack of knowledge of their existence in wider communities. Phantasms take a variety of forms and roles, usually in relation to the memory responsible for their existence.

The Channeler’s role is either that of a ‘magical martial’ or specialized spellcaster depending upon their specific kind of phantasms. The class has a d8 Hit Die, is proficient Wisdom and Charisma saves, only simple weapons and no armor or shields, and chooses two skills from a rather diverse list: you have your physical options such as Acrobatics and Athletics but also all of the social skills and some ‘knowledge’ ones such as Investigation, Nature, Perception, and Survival.

The Channeler seems a bit squishy, but their phantasm does much of the grunt work. Phantasms are unique extraplanar incorporeal aberrations which are naturally invisible* and tethered to the Channeler in a ball and chain way which limits how far they can be separated. They can move no more than 5 feet from the Channeler barring one specific Aspect, but they automatically move an equal amount whenever the Channeler does. The Channeler’s own body counts as their native plane of existence which they shunt back to in the event of out of bounds movement, banishing effects, etc and can be summoned and dismissed as a bonus action and normal action respectively. Phantasms have quite a bit going for them: they use the Channeler’s proficiency bonus and Charisma for attack and damage rolls, being invisible means that they have advantage on attack rolls in most circumstances, and they are immune to all conditions and damage types save for force damage and magical bludgeoning/piercing/slashing attacks. They do not have their own hit points, and all damage is transferred to the Channeler; this makes AoE effects quite dangerous as the Channeler can end up taking double damage, but given that most AoE spells have an energy type in which the phantasm is immune this is not as common as one thinks.

*save to Channelers and creatures with Truesight, and can be outlined with invisible-countering spells.

The phantasm’s AC and that of the Channeler’s is the same (12/13/14 + Channeler’s Wisdom modifier depending upon the Aspect type) when the latter is not wearing armor, and while they have their own senses the Channeler can perceive through their phantasm by becoming deaf and blind themselves for the duration. Phantasms have no will of their own and more or less act at the behest of the caster, meaning that in some cases the channeler must transfer an ‘action’ of their own to order them to do something.

The Channeller’s other major feature is their Soul Dice, a number of d8s equal to their level which represent calling upon inner reserves to push themselves beyond their normal limits. Up to 3 Soul Dice (dependent upon level) can be spent at once, and the Channeler adds their Charisma modifier to the result. By default this number is added to the damage dealt by a phantasm’s attack, but certain types of Phantasms and Manifestations can let the Channeler add it to the result of certain skill checks and at 14th level to the results of a saving throw. Soul Dice are recovered all at once during a long rest, or half their Channeler level rounded down 1/day during a short rest.

Phantasmal Aspects represent the 3 different types of Phantasms a Channeler can manifest. Its type is chosen at character generation, after which point it cannot be changed. They all have their own features which are gained as the Channeler levels up, but one universal feature is granting proficiency in an additional saving throw at 13th level related to said Aspect (or one of the PC’s choice if they’re already proficient). In the case of the Iron Myrmidon and Harmonic Magician they have particular class features which cause them to become visible (wielded weapons and spellcasting respectively) but at 11th level they can use said features while remaining invisible.

The Chronos Avenger represents a memory regretting a past error or yearning for something long since past, and has time-related abilities ranging from being able to reform a broken object by rewinding time, temporarily freezing time via a ‘time slip’ to take another turn’s worth of actions, Extra attacks with the phantasm’s unarmed strikes and spike-throwing ranged attacks, the ability to attack a third time as a bonus action, a scrying window that can only see up to 10 days into the past, and a 20th level capstone where their bonus turn time slip ability can be triggered as a reaction even in a Timestop spell or similar effects.

The Iron Myrmidon comes from a memory of safety and protection, or at least the desire for it. It has abilities related to this, such as being able to manifest hovering shields which can grant +2 AC to an ally, the expenditure of Soul Dice at 7th level to reduce damage dealt to said ally by that amount, the ability to telekinetically move metal objects via magnetism and turning metal objects into natural magnets, a phantasmal arsenal where the phantasm can proficiently wield and use existing weapons and store them in an extradimensional storage space,* the ability to turn into a mobile platform that can hold up to 1,500 pounds of weight* but can also mow down opponents effortlessly via selective incorporeality and deal damage, turn into a 5 foot translucent cube that is immune to all forms of damage and conditions save a disintegrate spell, and a 20th level capstone ability where they can shoot out all of their extradimensional weapons at once in a spinning field that does selective damage to all within a 10 foot radius.

*and an infinite number of weight beyond that, but loses the ability to move until they’re under 1.5k pounds.

The Harmonic Magician is formed from a memory of discordant voices and sounds of some unknown yet important event, and is the “spellcaster” option for Channelers. Although the weakest aspect physically and lacking Multiattack, it is relatively untethered and can move freely independent of the Channeler up to 60 feet distant. Its main class feature is granting the Channeler access to actual spells and cantrips, drawing from its own class list of spells up to 5th level, and the aspect is similar to a familiar in that the Channeler can cast spells through them. Other features include the ability to spend Soul Dice to increase the damage dealt or healed with spells, converting Soul Dice to spell slots, an audible magic sonar which outlines invisible creatures to the Channeler and can disrupt concentration spells as a more focused single target attack, can record ritual-friendly spells as rituals onto magical plates even if it’s from other class’ spell list, and as a 20th level capstone ability can have the Channeler and the Aspect cast the same spell twice at the same time but with only one slot.

The class-specific spell list for the Harmonic Magician is a rather broad assortment. It’s got many energy-based and AoE damage dealing spells, but has quite a bit of utility magic such as Charm Person, Invisibility, Leomund’s Tiny Hut, and the like. Combined with the ritual casting plates, the Harmonic Magician is by far the most versatile Aspect for the Channeler class.

Manifestations are personalized expressions of the Channeler’s memories beyond just their Aspects, shaped to encourage exemplary abilities in certain fields. The Channeler gains 2 Manifestations at 2nd level, a third at 5th and another every 2 levels up to 9th, at which point they gain 1 every 3 levels up to a maximum of 8 at 18th level. They’re similar to feats in that you either have them or you don’t, and there’s a list of general Manifestions plus a few specific to certain Aspects.

I won’t go over all of them, but there’s a few which allow you to add Soul Dice results to various skills: Acrobatics and Athletics for peerless athletes, Investigation and Perception for savvy-eyed individuals, etc. There are Soul Dice options for other effects such as healing touch or adding to an ally’s saving throw results, albeit in the non-skill cases they are usually limited based on a short or long rest independent of how many Soul Dice you have remaining. Some non-Soul Dice Manifestations include automatically disengaging from opponents whenever you Dash and gain a bonus 10 feet while doing so, the ability to let your Phantasm pick up and manipulate objects,* increasing the reach of your Phantasm’s attacks by 5 feet as your bonus action, and one where your phantasm can emit a telepathic alarm whenever a non-designated creature comes within 30 feet of you.

*But not activate magic items or use weapons unless they have features specifically allowing this.

The Aspect-specific Manifestations are keyed to said Aspects’ strong suits, such as the Chronos Avenger treating their attacks as magical or increased uses of time slip, or the Harmonic Magician reducing the conversion cost of Soul Dice to spell slots or using its magical sonar to perfectly imitate any sound the Channeler heard within the past 24 hours.

Our book ends with a handy-dandy cheat sheet guide, and a list of FAQs at the end for situational rules and effects:

Existing Class Comparisons: The Channeler’s role in the party is dependent upon whether or not they choose Harmonic Magician as their Aspect. Otherwise they are by default a mostly-martial build albeit acting through a summoned proxy. They’re a bit of a glass cannon in this regard, as while they are capable of getting a high Armor Class with the right Aspect and Manifestations their rather average d8 hit die and inability to use magical armor or shields limits their defense unless they choose Iron Myrmidon. That the Chrono Avenger’s natural attacks are not counted as magical save via a Manifestation tax is a point against its favor.

The Harmonic Magician is akin to a Paladin, Ranger, or Warlock in that they have spell slots but do not go up to 9th level. They feel a bit closest to Wizards in terms of blasty/utility mix, and they can make for a nice “minor arcanist” in a pinch. While they may not get the continual short rest recharge rate of warlocks or the sheer power of post-5th slots, the use of Soul Dice can make them cast said minor magics much more often over a typical adventuring day.

Final Thoughts: In terms of general utility the non-Harmonic Aspects have some neat tricks but are rather situational, and in terms of scouting the natural invisibility of said Aspects are limited given they have to be adjacent to the Channeler at all times. The right Manifestation can easily break 5th Edition’s bounded accuracy with the expenditure of Soul Dice, but given it’s typically 2 related skills means that said Channeler will not be an all-purpose skill monkey unless they spend most of their Manifestation choices on such options.

The Harmonic Magician turns the Channeler into a capable spellcaster, and the ability to burn Soul Dice for spell slots means that they aren’t at risk of running out of spells anytime soon at mid-to-high levels. That their Aspect can go much farther and deliver spells through it is great for scouting and guerilla warfare purposes, not to mention that the “vague sounds” is much broader in terms of potential lost memories than the regret/nostalgia/safety shtick of the other two Aspects.

Join us next time as we see Matthew Mercer try his hand at converting the Witcher to D&D with the Blood Hunter class!

 

[Libertad]

A Note on Revisions: Someone asked me if I planned to review the old and new versions of the Blood Hunter side by side. I suppose this is an answer for all the classes I’ve reviewed and plan to review (which have all been updated to varying degrees), but unless the changes are drastic or otherwise notable I only plan to review the latest versions as of these postings.

There’s a fair chance that many of you know about Matthew Mercer. If not, he’s a very successful livestreamer of Critical Role, a YouTube/Twitch channel which plays Dungeons & Dragons and other tabletop games from time to time. CR has helped bring in new fans to D&D to the point that “Critters” are a noticeable subculture in and of themselves. Mercer’s own homebrew campaign of Wildemount was popular enough that Wizards of the Coast published it as an official setting. But Mercer’s been designing products here and there for far longer. Back in 2015 he collaborated with Vin Diesel to make a new character class, the Witch Hunter, based off of one of Vin’s movies. Initially free and not playtested, the Witch Hunter would turn into the Blood Hunter as a Pay What You Want Product on the Dungeon Master’s Guild in 2016. It was revised again in 2018 and most recently in 2020, the latter of which was released as a new product in and of itself.

I will admit that I never saw the Last Witch Hunter, but when reading the fluff text of the Blood Hunter they sound closest to a copyright-friendly Witcher: Blood Hunters study a long-lost magical tradition known as Hemocraft to physically enhance their own bodies and manipulate the elements at the temporary cost of their own blood and health. Blood Hunters use this magic to defend civilization from monsters of all stripes, organizing into societies to share their knowledge and resources.

As a class the Blood Hunter is a brainy martial: d10 hit die, proficient in Dexterity and Intelligence saving throws, alchemist’s supplies, and all weapons and armor save for heavy armor. They can choose three skills from a mix of physical and knowledge types. At 1st level a Blood Hunter has advantage on Survival checks in tracking fey, fiends, and undead and Intelligence ability and skill checks to know things about them. Additionally, they learn a Blood Maledict, a unique means of using their own life force to fuel a debilitating offensive curse, and can learn more as they gain levels. They also get the typical Fighting Style at 2nd level and Extra Attack at 5th level that most martial classes have.

One thing I should note before continuing. Two of the Blood Hunter’s class features, notably the Blood Maledicts’ amplified effects and Crimson Rites, require them to cut their own flesh, drawing power from wounds in the form of 1d4 to 1d10 damage* per use. This is a very heavy expenditure at lower levels in comparison to higher ones, as even a 1d4 can be deadly at 1st or 2nd level. The major Hemocraft centric class features include Crimson Rites, where you can enchant a wielded or natural weapon with 1d4 bonus damage of a specific energy type until the next short or long rest, and you can learn more energy types as the Blood Hunter increases in level. They also gain the ability to brand a target at 6th level which allows them to never lose track of their target as well as damaging them when they attack back. Said Brand at 13th level prevents the target from taking the Dash action, teleporting, or otherwise leaving their current plane of existence.

*die grows as the Blood Hunter levels up.

The other class features are more sedentary and blood-less. At 9th level they can use History to recall information about an object or building they touch with advantage pertaining to grim and evil things; at 10th level they increase their speed by 5 feet and add their Intelligence bonus to physical saving throws; at 14th level they gain advantage on saves vs being charmed or frightened; at 20th level they can reroll their Hemocraft Die and take the lower result while also regaining one use of Blood Maledict whenever they get a critical hit with a Crimson Rite-empowered weapon.

Blood Maledicts: A Blood Hunter can learn up to 5 Blood Curses over the course of a 20 level career, and there are 11 in this book. As four of those can only be taken by a specific Order subclass and gained automatically as a result of the process, the Blood Hunter is not exactly overwhelmed with options. Every Curse can only be used a limited amount of times per short rest based on class level, but can also be Amplified to be more powerful than usual albeit at the cost of losing hit points equal to the result of the Hemocraft Die.

Summarizing the Curses, most of them impose various kinds of debuffs and in some cases damage (usually necrotic or psychic) and are all “Blood Curse of X” in title. They are also restrictive in that they can only work against targets that have blood in their system whether it’s their own or another’s. Most of them are quite useful in a variety of situations. [Blood Curse of] Binding reduces a target’s speed to 0 feet and prevents use of reactions until the next turn or for 1 minute if Amplified (new save every round). Exposure is triggered by reaction, causing the target to lose resistance or immunity if applied against a damaging effect targeting them.* One Blood Curse I particularly like is the Fallen Puppet, where as a reaction the Blood Hunter causes a target who just fell unconscious or died within 30 feet to make a single attack against a target within attack range (and half movement if Amplified). Another nice one is The Eyeless, where an attacking creature subtracts the number rolled on the Hemocraft Die** from their attack roll (or all attack rolls made that turn if Amplified). Muddled Mind imposes disadvantage on the next Constitution save a target makes with a concentration spell, being a good anti-magic option.

*is still rolled if used normally, but makes higher-level Blood Hunters capable of imposing larger penalties.

**the attack can be done by an ally rather than the Blood Hunter themselves, making for a nice team player.

Two of the more situational ones include Anxious, which makes a target easier to Intimidate and forces disadvantage on the resisting roll when Amplified, while Bloated Agony imposes disadvantage on Strength and Dexterity checks and deals damage every time the target performs an attack more than once per round (longer duration when Amplified).

The Order-specific curses are invariably high level for prerequisites, ranging from 15th to 18th, and are automatically gained as part of being in that Order at the appropriate level. Blood Curse of the Exorcist (Ghost Slayer) instantly dispels any charm, frightened, or possessed condition on a target with no chance to resist and deals bonus psychic damage to the bestower of said condition if Amplified. Blood Curse of Corrosion (Mutant) imposes the poisoned condition on a target as a bonus action and a failed Constitution save, and 4d6 poison damage every turn they remain poisoned if Amplified. Blood Curse of the Howl unleashes a roar that stuns and frightens targets in a 30 foot radius or 60 feet if Amplified, albeit you cannot be selective of targets which limits its utility due to friendly fire. Finally, Blood Curse of the Soul Eater as a reaction grants advantage on attacks until the end of the Blood Hunter’s next turn whenever a (non-construct non-undead) creature drops within 30 feet of them and restores a warlock spell slot if Amplified.

Blood Hunter Orders are societies dedicated to the study and fighting of a related set of creatures, and serve as the Blood Hunter’s subclass. We have 4 to choose from. Order of the Ghostslayer specializes in undead of all kinds and grants a new Crimson Rite which has various anti-undead measures (radiant damage, resistance to necrotic damage, etc), a bonus Blood Malediction of the Blood Hunter’s choice as well as the ability to use curses against bloodless targets, the ability to turn Ethereal for a limited number of rounds at 7th level, adding bonus Hemocraft die worth of damage when attacking undead and/or branded creature (which cannot become ethereal while the brand’s active), and at 18th level can avoid dropping to 0 hit points by ending an active Crimson Rite and dropping to 1 hit point instead.

Overall, a rather good option. I feel that the bonus damage and Blood Malediction are a bit unimaginative, but being able to expand said Maledictions to affect any kind of target as well as limited Etherealness are very good features.

Order of the Profane Soul instructs its initiates to make pacts with entities in the ways warlocks do so as to better fight fiends, mages, and other entities which take more than muscle and steel to take down. The subclass grants warlock spellcasting albeit at slower progression, which is really good. They can also use held weapons activated as a Crimson Rite as a spell focus, and depending on their chosen Warlock patron can impose various debuffs and beneficial side effects: Archfey prevents a target from becoming invisible or taking advantage of cover due to a magical light, Great Old One imposes the frightened condition, Celestial can heal a creature within 60 feet equal to Hemocraft die + Intelligence modifier, etc. At 7th level they can make a weapon attack as a bonus action whenever they cast a cantrip. Also at 7th and 15th level they gain a 1/long rest use of a specific spell depending upon their patron, and tend to have direct combat uses such as buffs, debuffs, and damaging effects although there’s a few utility and healing spells included. 11th level imposes disadvantage for a branded creature on saves vs the Blood Hunter’s warlock spells. May seem like this class’ features end early, but the further options are the 15th level spell I mentioned, and the Curse of the Souleater bonus Malediction at 18th level.

Another strong option, particularly due to the opening up of warlock spells. As you can choose the Hexblade as a patron, you can totally play that angsty gish you always wanted but with a d10 Hit Die!

Order of the Mutant focuses on self-improvement over the base alchemical modifications all Blood Hunters undergo. Said orders’ abilities revolve around learning formulas for mutagens which grant short-term boosts of various kinds albeit at a cost to something else. They can only be used by the Blood Hunter and nobody else, and the number of mutagens which can affect them at once ranges from 1 to 3 depending on their level. They start with 4 formulas and learn more as they level up. There are 20 mutagens total, and include a rather diverse mixture. Quite a few of them grant advantage* on various d20 rolls, resistance to damage, etc but disadvantage/vulnerability on a related subject as the body min-maxes to compensate. Some of the more notable mutagens include granting true flight for 1 hour but disadvantage on STR/DEX ability checks; “fast healing” of a few hit points per round as long as you’re between 1 hit point up to 50% of your total but reduces speed by 10 feet; and a bonus use of Blood Maledict but disadvantage on death saving throws.

*or a +3 to +5 bonus in the case of an ability score

The other Order features include immunity to poison condition and damage at 3rd level, the ability to ignore the negative effects of a mutagen for 1 minute 1/long rest at 7th level, force branded targets to be unable to use polymorph or illusion magic to conceal their true form at 11th level, and at 18th level can flush a mutagen from their system as a bonus action and immediately gain the benefits of another one in its place a number of times per long rest equal to their Intelligence modifier.

This order has some potential, although will likely be taken by players who seek to optimize their Blood Hunters for a specific kind of role or build. The side effects of the mutagens may make the Order unappealing in comparison to the others who don’t have that kind of cost. The brand’s unique feature is more situational, too given the relatively limited amount of shapeshifting monsters.

Order of the Lycan was originally a supplement, but as of the latest version is now part of the base product. Blood Hunters of this Order study lycanthropes, including injecting their bodies with an altered form of the disease to enhance their combat prowess. This is perhaps the most straightforward of the three options in that it’s a PC-friendly way of being a werewolf. At 3rd level the Blood Hunter gains advantage on vision and scent-based Perception checks, and can transform into a hybrid form 1/short rest up to one hour but can be ended as a bonus action. This alternate form grants resistance vs nonmagical non-silver weapons, +1 to +3 bonus to melee damage rolls, and better unarmed damage. But they suffer from Bloodlust, which is the potential to attack their own allies on a failed Wisdom save if they’re under 50% hit points and no enemies are nearby! Even worse, this save is automatically failed if the Blood Hunter ever suffers from an effect that would make them lose focus on a concentration spell or ability.

At 7th level they add 10 feet to their base speed and add +1 to +3 on unarmed attack rolls, and said attacks are treated as magical when undergoing a Crimson Rite. At 11th level they gain more uses of their wereform, and can regenerate hit points every round when between 1 hit point and under 50% of their total. At 15th level they gain advantage on attacks vs branded creatures and on Wisdom saving throws to avoid friendly firing allies. At 18th level they can transform an unlimited amount of times and can last indefinitely in said form in addition to gaining Blood Curse of the Howl.

This is my least favorite Order. The others had a nice mixture of combat and utility features, but the Order of the Lycan is geared almost entirely to combat save for their Perception advantage. Furthermore, the chance of attacking one’s own allies forces the rest of the players to build their characters a certain way to avoid accidental team-killing. It is very reminiscent of the Frenzied Berserker from 3rd Edition. For those unfamiliar with said system, the Berserker was similar in that it had Frenzy, a super-barbarian rage equivalent, but had the chance of attacking their own allies. As the Frenzy can be triggered by a wide variety of things involuntarily, it was common for gaming groups to have a PC spellcaster act as a handler where they’d plop an enchantment spell to put them out of the frenzy. Conversely, an enemy spellcaster could do the very same thing to trigger it, so it was always a double-edged sword.

Existing Class Comparisons: When it comes to monster hunter themes, a comparison with the Ranger is inevitable. Additionally, one particular Order also makes one think of the Warlock. Beyond these two classes, comparisons get murkier.

First off, the basic Player’s Handbook Ranger sucks donkey dongs; it’s widely acknowledged as the weakest class in 5th Edition, and a huge portion of the fanbase prefers to play with the Revised version in Unearthed Arcana which is what we’ll use as a measuring stick. First off, the Blood Hunter is more likely than the Ranger to know things in general: having the various “knowledge” skills along with Intelligence as one of their primary ability scores, combined with advantage on said rolls for monsters and phenomena, does quite a bit to help. The Blood Hunter doesn’t get bonus languages, a static damage bonus vs favored enemies, or automatically does things good in the wilderness, but their ability to call upon various alternative energy types and compass-like Brand means that when it comes to hunting monsters they are unparalleled.

One mark against the Blood Hunter is that they typically deal with foes of a more supernatural nature, while the Ranger has a wider variety of favored enemy choices and can communicate with mundane animals. Rangers are also better at stealth by default, barring access to the Blood Hunter’s warlock spells: hello invisibility!

Another point in the Ranger’s favor is that they have spellcasting capability by default, and the spells they do get vary in utility and can include a few ‘team player’ options both in and out of combat. The Blood Hunter is rather lacking in features which can directly aid their fellow party members barring some Blood Maledictions, as most of their abilities involve enhancing their own prowess or reducing that of their foes.

When it comes to the Warlock, a Blood Hunter belonging to the Order of the Profane Soul has less of everything in the magical department: they can only get a 4th level slot maximum, and even then at 19th level (1st at 3rd, +1 every 6 levels) and are at a static 2 spell slots for almost the entirety of their class. They can learn up to 3 cantrips and 11 normal spells as opposed to the warlock’s 4 and 15 so they’re a bit under par in the amount of spells that they know. The Blood Hunter’s inability to learn Eldritch Invocations robs them of some more useful at-will features of the base warlock, and their Eldritch Blasts are going to be less powerful should they learn said cantrip.

But how do they compare to the Hexblade Patron, aka the Bladelock? Well, the Blood Hunter already has all of their major weapon/armor proficiencies, but with a higher hit dice to boot. Both classes have a good number of counterattack and debuffing abilities to use, drawing from respective short rest-refreshing sources. But the Blood Hunter has various abilities which draw independently of each other, while most of the Warlock’s arsenal of magic draws upon the same spell slots. Their Crimson Rites and Blood Maledictions are more versatile than the Hexblade’s Curse which is the subclass’ primary debuffer, which is a big point against the Bladelock. Another point is that the Blood Hunter can attack and cast a cantrip in the same round. But a point in the Bladelock’s favor is that they can summon specters to fight alongside them in combat, a feature which the Blood Hunter does not have an equivalent.

Final Thoughts: The Blood Hunter is a pretty fine class, although it’s biggest weakness is that its various effects come at a cost. Even if said abilities are powerful, many players are loath to pick options with a negative effect unless they find some means of minimizing or countering it. I feel that Matt Mercer wanted to get across the double-edged nature of Witchers, but in 5th Edition mechanics the closest equivalent we have to this is the Berserker Barbarian who suffers a level of Exhaustion after every Rage. And guess how popular that subclass is among gamers?

If I were to adopt the Blood Hunter to my games, I think that I would lower the damage of Hemocraft to a 1d2 or maybe a 1d3 at 1st and 2nd level, and likely redesign the Order of the Lycan to have broader out of combat use while also getting rid of that stupid friendly fire Bloodlust.

Join us next time as we gotta catch ‘em all with the Caretaker Warlock!

 

[Matrix Sorcica]

Do you take requests? If so, I'm curious what you think about the Warmage from Mage Hand Press.

DriveThruRPG

www.drivethrurpg.com

They have other interesting classes as well, such as the Warden.

 

[Rellott]

Do you take requests? If so, I'm curious what you think about the Warmage from Mage Hand Press.

DriveThruRPG

www.drivethrurpg.com

They have other interesting classes as well, such as the Warden.

I love their warmage. Note that they’re currently working on updates to a lot of their classes, including warmage, to put out a Mage Hand Press Player’s Handbook of their most popular races, classes, archetypes, etc.

 

[Weiley31]

I love their warmage. Note that they’re currently working on updates to a lot of their classes, including warmage, to put out a Mage Hand Press Player’s Handbook of their most popular races, classes, archetypes, etc.

I actually base a Warmage BBEG after this who is member of the King Subclass.

 

[TwoSix]

I actually base a Warmage BBEG after this who is member of the King Subclass.

House of Kings is my favorite subclass. Using superiority dice to get off-turn cantrips is amazing.

 

[Libertad]

The Baby Monster Dilemma, or more specifically the Baby Orc/Kobold Dilemma, is one of the most poorly-implemented concepts in D&D. Although ostensibly done to query nature vs nurture and to what extent evil races have free will, I rarely see it implemented save by edgy Dungeon Masters. The Baby Bestiary series more or less sought to find a non-edgy answer to this question while also tugging on the Charismatic Megafauna concept to state that no, killing babies is wrong. Even monster babies, and instead PCs who happen to find said monsters parentless by their own hand or others should help ensure they are brought to safety. Game stats were made for child versions of various iconic monsters, and rules for raising them and having them as companions on the PC side resulted in a very successful series of KickStarters for the publisher.

The Caretaker Warlock is a spin-off product, in that it’s a subclass where the patron is not some otherworldly distant entity but an egg or hatchling of a powerful and majestic monster breed. The Caretaker receives their spells and abilities from their patron, and in turn the patron is cared for by the warlock until it grows into its own.

In most cases a warlock patron gives alternate class features at 1st, 6th, 10th, and 14th level, but the Caretaker also gets several new and reflavored invocations, an alternate 20th level capstone ability, and specific rules for how to handle the patron in play that the sourcebook effectively reprints the entire class. This feels like a bit of unnecessary padding in my opinion.

The patron can be either a phoenix, couatl, dragon, or dragon turtle. There’s a brief description of mechanical differences between an egg and a hatchling, where the egg is hardy (AC 18, 24 HP) and can have its HP restored via healing magic and/or over time in an optimal environment. The book says that when said egg hatches is up to GM Fiat, although several of the class features in this book lean towards having a hatchling eventually. For the hatchling, it’s mentioned that they are noncombatants but are pointed towards the Baby Bestiary 5e Companion if we must have stats. Otherwise we get 2 options of either any damage to the patron suffers being transferred to the warlock (no double damage on AoE attacks) or to treat them separately where the hatchling is Tiny or Small but has the same AC and health as an egg. Albeit in this case, the warlock loses all of their supernatural class features if the patron falls to 0 hit points; said result causes unconsciousness rather than death.

Caretaker Warlocks as a subclass replace Deception and Intimidation with Handle Animal and Insight, and their various creepy-sounding invocations and Pacts are renamed to be more generic or lofty-sounding: Minions of Chaos becomes Elemental Ally, Fiendish Vigor becomes Bolster Vitality, etc. Pacts, meanwhile, become Entrusted Boons, and we get two new Pacts/Boons: Entrusted Awareness grants the warlock Darkvision and their Charisma bonus to Perception when within 60 feet of their patron, and Entrusted Shield summons a magical shield to their hand that grants +2 on Constitution saves vs magical effects in addition to the normal AC bonus of a shield. The 20th level capstone ability, Parting Gift, represents the egg hatching into a great entity or the hatchling finally coming into independence. In this case the warlock gains a permanent Enhance Ability to an ability score of their choice with a bonus effect depending on said score: +25 hit points for Bear’s Endurance, Calm Emotions at will for Eagle’s Splendor, etc. Once per month the warlock can also call upon their patron a la a Cleric’s Divine Intervention but is automatically successful, can only be done once per month, and the patron cannot remain with the party for longer than 48 hours.

We have 21 new Invocations, 3 of which can be taken by the caretaker warlock without any special pacts/patrons, 4 of which are specific to certain Pacts/Boons, and 14 of which are dependent on your patron’s species. I won’t go over them all, but will list the ones I find rather interesting.

Sleepless Guardian allows a free casting of the Alarm spell whenever you take a short/long rest with your patron, and Patron’s Manifestation grants a 1/long casting of Spirit Guardians which take the form of the patron’s species. Aura of Vision, keyed off of the Entrusted Awareness Boon, grants allies Darkvision within 30 feet of the patrion, which is a great means of letting the party go around without light sources when dungeon delving.* Several of the Dragon Turtle-specific Invocations help enhance the bonus Blade Ward cantrip, such as longer duration, reflecting the damage back to the attacker, and casting it as a reaction 1/long rest. The Phoenix-specific ones are a mix of healing and fire damage, such as becoming immune to one’s own Bonfire cantrip and being able to restore a limited amount of hit points when standing in it. The Couatl-specific ones are a bit underwhelming IMO and mostly involve gaining bonus spells as opposed to innovative improvements on existing ones.

*In case your group is not all-dwarf, all-drow.

Afterwards we have a 1d12 and 1d20 table of sample stories of how the warlock came into contact with their patron and sample mishaps representing the creature’s immaturity as a role-play challenge.

Guardians are 4 options detailing each of the patron species types and the patron-specific class features they bestow upon the warlock. They do have some universal features: a supernatural life bond where any damage dealt to the patron is transferred to the warlock, and the patron will die in one month if the warlock dies unless they can find a new warlock to take them on as a patron. At 6th level playtime with the patron during a short or long rest bestows a persistent buff of a defensive nature to the warlock and the participating party members.

Guardian of Rebirth is the phoenix, who grants fire and healing-related bonus spells to the warlock, as well as +1 maximum hit point per warlock level and resistance to fire damage. Its playtime buff grants temporary hit points to ½ the warlock’s level + their Charisma bonus. At 10th level the warlock can manifest burning wings which grant short-term 40 foot flight (1 minute per warlock level) 1/long rest. At 14th level the warlock can 1/short rest burst into radiant flames whenever they’d make a death saving throw, regaining hit points and dealing fire/radiant damage in an AoE effect.

As you can tell, the Guardian of Rebirth is less flashy in that its features are more done in reaction to something than on their own. Oddly enough Cure Wounds aren’t on the list of bonus spells (that’d be the Guardian of Sunset) but it gets the useful Healing Word, Revivify and both types of Restoration spells. Its weakness is that fire is a rather common resistance or immunity among monster types, and the short-term flight may not be so impressive if the PCs have airborne mounts or the 3rd level Flight spell (which has 60 feet and can last up to 10 minutes per casting). But the patron will ensure that the warlock and the party as a whole to be much less likely to suffer death and other maladies long-term.

Guardian of Sunset is the couatl, who grants a mixture of defensive and generic “white magic” bonus spells such as Cure Wounds, Zone of Truth, Calm Emotions, etc. At 1st level the warlock becomes fluent in Celestial, gains resistance to psychic and radiant damage, and for more cosmetic effects white hair and small patches of iridescent scales scattered on their body. Their playtime ability grants a shared telepathic network for the next 4 hours, allowing communication to anyone within 120 feet of each other. At 10th level the warlock and their patron are immune to all scrying attempts and other divination spells related to reading one’s emotions, thoughts, and/or location when said warlock and patron are within 100 of each other. At 14th level the warlock can grant themselves Truesight 60 feet up to 60 feet for 1 hour 1/short rest.

The Guardian of Sunset is sort of the jack-of-all-trades in that its abilities don’t have as much of a unifying theme as the other Guardians. A telepathic hivemind and anti-scrying measures are very useful for stealth and scouting-focused parties, and most of its bonus spells are more situational and as a reaction to common threats.

Deep Scale Guardian is the dragon turtle, who is the more defensively-minded patron, albeit their bonus spells are nature-themed and terrain-shaping options such as Fog Cloud, Spike Growth, Water Breathing, etc. At 1st level the warlock adds their Dexterity and Charisma modifier to their default Armor Class when not wearing any armor, and becomes fluent in their choice of Aquan or Draconic. Their playtime ability grants resistance to the warlock’s choice of bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage for the next 2 hours. At 10th level the warlock can breath an AoE attack of scalding steam breath 1/long rest which can work underwater and deals 5d10 fire damage. At 14th level the warlock never suffers the ravages of aging or magical aging, but can still die of old age. But they also become immune to the first five levels of Exhaustion, and given that the sixth level is instant death they basically never have to worry about the condition for any real length of time.

The Deep Scale Guardian has a pretty useful spell list for battlefield control purposes, and adding one’s primary casting stat to Armor Class is a great choice as well. Resistance to common forms of physical damage is something the party can appreciate, although the 14th level anti-aging ability is a bit mum given the rarity of such effects. Overall this is the most attractive patron for a general-concept Caretaker Warlock.

Guardian of the Dragon’s patron is self-explanatory. The fluff text interestingly notes that in their implied setting true dragons are never born good or evil, that their alignment being an unchangeable facet is but a common myth:

All chromatic dragons are evil. All metallic dragons are good. These universal truths held by the common folk are without a doubt, untenably wrong. These majestic, intelligent creatures feel powerful emotions and think in alien ways that mortals have trouble understanding, but they are not born good or evil. A red dragon’s heart is full of fiery passion, a silver dragon’s need to protect can become toxic, and a white dragon’s simplicity can enjoy the small moments of life.

The dragon’s bonus spells are mostly elemental-themed with some utility: Chromatic Orb, Protection From Energy, See Invisibility, Legend Lore, etc. At 1st level the warlock gains a pair of claw attacks with which they’re proficient and use their Charisma to determine their attack and damage* along with fluency in Draconic and proficiency in either Intimidation or Persuasion. Their 6th level playtime ability grants advantage on saving throws vs the frightened condition for the next 4 hours. At 10th level the warlock gains blindsight out to 60 feet and smells like that of a dragon to creatures with a strong sense of smell; I imagine that said warlock causes animals to panic whenever they enter a farm or settlement. At 14th level the warlock can 1/long rest utter an AoE authoritative command which can cause a number of targets equal to their warlock level to follow any non-suicidal command for the next 2 hours on a failed Charisma save.

*said claws are treated as pact weapons if taking Pact of the Blade/Entrusted Blade.

Guardian of the Dragon has some rather situational class features: claw attacks are more useful to bladelock types, and an Eldritch Blast cantrip is still more useful and can make multiple attacks on top of that. 60 foot Blindsight is a pretty nice touch, and the bonus spells are widely useful for both general-purpose and blasty builds. The 14th level AoE may not seem as impressive at the level it’s gained given that it’s replicating a much lower-level spell, but is quite useful when fighting large groups of enemies.

Existing Class Comparisons: As a technical subclass, it’d be more pertinent to compare the Caretaker Warlock to other Patron options. The Caretaker Warlock is more of a team player as its 6th level features are meant to be shared among the party, and half of its patrons have bonus spells which make the warlock more of a beneficial caster. The Phoenix has quite a bit of overlap with the Celestial patron, such as granting the party temporary hit points during a long rest, fire and healing-focused bonus spells, and even a very similar 14th level feature in a short burst AoE and self-healing on a death saving throw. The Phoenix is better in regards to self-healing and resilience on the warlock’s part, but the Celestial with its bonus healing dice is better at being a party healer.

In regards to the other 3 Guardians, the PHB and Xanather patrons don’t have any closer comparisons. The Archfey is very enchantment-focused, the Fiend with more direct offense. The Great Old One has some similarities to the Couatl with telepathy and anti-divination means, although the Couatl’s abilities are more broadly-focused. The GOO’s 14th level ability to make a charmed thrall is similar to the Dragon’s 14th level authoritative command, save that the GOO is more limited in several ways but of an indefinite duration and telepathic link. Both abilities have their uses but in very different situations.

The Dragon’s claw attacks point to a melee-friendly option, which brings to mind the Hexblade. But a pair of fancy claws cannot really compete with the explicitly-martial patron, who gets better weapon and armor proficiencies, a nifty single-target curse which can grant increased damage and critical hit chances, and whose Pact of the Blade can be transferred to touched weapons as part of the Hex Warrior feature. The Dragon is better in that its bonus spells have more ranged offensive options, while the Hexblade’s are more of a self-buffing nature.

Final Thoughts: The Caretaker Warlock is an interesting concept, and can make a better choice in a more light-hearted game than the class’ basic “dark mage” feel. The sourcebook is good at turning the Warlock into a better team player in various ways, and the new Guardian patrons have worthy choices for the most part. I feel that the Phoenix borrowed too liberally from the Celestial, and the Couatl’s core features and invocations are a bit too broad yet situational to be appealing in comparison to the others. While the patrons are meant to be noncombatants, I cannot help but feel that shilling for another product is rather unnecessary given that there’s really only 4 choices which shouldn’t take much room page-wise to make stat blocks.

Join us next time as we look at another one of Robert Schwalb’s 4th Edition conversions, the Warden!

 

[Matrix Sorcica]

I actually base a Warmage BBEG after this who is member of the King Subclass.

So I guess you like it

 

[Libertad]

After the phenomenal success of his Warlord conversion, Robert Schwalb tried his hand at bringing another class to 5th Edition. This time he picked a lesser-known one, the Warden. Comparatively speaking this product did not get as many sales: as of this review Warlord is a Platinum seller on Drive-Thru RPG, while the Warden a mere Silver. The other products I reviewed for this series have been Platinum with one exception* so they’re all quite popular which got my attention in the first place. As for why I’m reviewing Warden, I was impressed by Schwalb’s Warlord enough to see how he handles this one.

*In the Company of Dragons being a Gold.

The Warden is a defender of nature, striking without mercy against those who would threaten it. They channel the powers of elements, spirits, and other primordial entities as part of their vigil and...wait a second, how is this any different than a Druid or Ranger? In terms of fluff, nothing really, but the true differences lie in the mechanics.

The Warden is something of a tanky Ranger: 1d10 Hit Die, is proficient in Constitution and Charisma saves, all weapons and armor save for heavy armor (but like druids they cannot use metal armor or shields), and choose two skills part of a nature-themed set: Animal Handling, Nature, and Survival are the expected three plus Athletics, Intimidation, Medicine, and Perception, and Religion. At 1st level they gain Defender’s Ward, a self-centered aura of 10 to 30 foot radius (level-based) which as a reaction 1/short rest can impose a d6 penalty to the attack roll of any enemy’s successful hit on someone within the radius. The Warden can spend a bonus action to draw life from the very ground, regaining hit points and turning nearby ground into difficult terrain, which is also 1/short rest. At 2nd and 5th level they gain the Fighting Style and Extra Attacks common to martial classes.

Wardens gain and cast spell slots like a ranger, capable of casting up to 5th-level spells which they can also burn as a reaction to reduce incoming damage by 1d6 + 1d6 per spell slot level, and at 11th level also deal 2d8 bonus damage on melee attacks until the end of their next turn when blocking incoming damage in such a way. At 3rd level they are able to reroll the result of a failed saving throw once per turn for ongoing harmful effects, which is unlimited in use and as such is a highly useful ability. At 6th level the Warden gains advantage on all opportunity attacks, adding 1d12 bonus damage if they already have said advantage, and at 14th level opponents trigger opportunity attacks whenever they attack targets besides the Warden. At 14th level the Warden regains hit points whenever they roll a natural 20 on a death saving throw, and 1/short rest can treat a result of 17-19 as a natural 20 on said rolls. Finally, their 20th level capstone ability lets them automatically heal 1d12 hit points per round whenever they’re between 1 hit point and 50% of their total.

As you can tell, the Warden is designed to be very hard to put down, and whose abilities impose penalties when nearby foes who ignore them in combat.

Aspects of Nature are the Warden’s subclasses, granting bonus spells at 3rd, 5th, and every 4 levels thereafter, and special features at 3rd, 7th, 15th, and 18th level. We have 3 Aspects to choose from: Elemental Storm, Primal Beast, and Sacred Trees represent an affinity for nature’s various domains of influence.

Elemental Storm grants energy-based bonus spells, usually of an AoE nature along with summoning elementals. At 3rd level the warden can take the form of a miniature storm 1/short rest with various defensive features: various energy resistances, disadvantage to ranged attack rolls against you, and automatic lightning damage counterattack vs metal weapons and creatures. At 7th level spell slots can be expended to create thrown lightning bolts with scaling damage. At 15th level creatures who miss a target within your Defender’s Ward take bonus lightning damage, and at 18th level the miniature storm form creates a radius of difficult terrain in all areas through which you pass.

Primal Beast grants bonus spells centered around animals and self-improvement at physical activities (Expeditious Retreat, Nondetection, Insect Plague, etc). At 3rd level the Warden can transform their upper body into that of an animal 1/short rest, granting them various effects such as darkvision, higher unarmed damage, +10 feet speed, and advantage on scent-based perception checks along with avoiding opportunity attacks from movement provided that they first hit a target in melee. At 7th level they gain an additional feature in said form where they can knock a target prone when moving and attacking in melee, and gaining a bonus attack on an already-prone target. At 15th level the Warden grants an ally advantage on attack rolls vs enemies which missed them due to Defender’s Ward. At 18th level their beastform gains +10 hit points, advantage on all senses for Perception, and +30 foot speed instead of +10.

Sacred Trees grants plant-themed bonus spells which tend to be utility but several are capable of limiting an enemy’s mobility (Entangle, Grasping Vine, Hold Monster). At 3rd level the Warden can take the form of a holy tree 1/short rest, gaining +2 AC, can effortlessly move through nonmagical difficult terrain, can cause a 10 foot radius centered on them to become difficult terrain from rapid overgrowth, and can automatically ignore any unwanted movement provided they remain in touch with the ground. At 7th level they gain an additional ability in tree form, where they can restrain a target within 15 feet in contact with the ground via binding roots and vines. At 15th level they can increase the radius of their Defender’s Ward and treat the squares in said radius as difficult terrain.* Finally, at 18th level their tree form gains a total +4 AC, advantage on Constitution saves, +10 foot reach on all melee attacks, and creatures in difficult terrain from their class features cannot Disengage from combat.

*as it’s either all or nothing, this is rather limiting in that it will affect allies.

New Spells

This section details 10 new spells for not just the Warden, but also the Druid, Ranger, and Sorcerer. Additionally, we get a complete list of the Warden’s spell list which happens to include all 10! The Warden shares a lot of spells with the Ranger, but it gives up some utility spells (Fog Cloud, Locate Object, etc) in exchange for more combat-worthy options (Barkskin, Enlarge/Reduce, etc). What utility spells the Warden gains that the Ranger does not are in fitting with its martial nature, such as Dispel Magic, Polymorph, and Greater Restoration. Now moving on to new spells...

Anathema imposes a curse which causes a target to spend extra movement when moving on natural terrain, is vulnerable to several elemental energy types (or lose existing resistance), and creatures of the beast and plant type have advantage on attack rolls. To top it all off, there’s also bonus poison damage each round on a failed Constitution save! Bombardment throws up to three pebbles into the air, which turn into boulders that can damage and restrain creatures they hit. Call of the Wild summons a group of spectral animals to damage, trip, and drag up to five targets towards the caster. Close the Gap drags a target 30 feet closer to the caster, granting them advantage on the next attack roll made against the affected target. Cloud of Thorns causes the caster to grow protective thorns which automatically hit targets attacking them in melee should they fail a Dexterity save, and also forces the afflicted to make attack rolls with disadvantage. Dome of Brambles conjures a 30 foot radius lattice-like net which can damage and hinder movement on targets trapped inside it. Mountain Might makes the caster strong and sturdy while in contact with the ground, making them heavier and slower but their melee attacks deal 2d8 bonus damage, they gain resistance vs piercing and slashing damage, and reduce unwanted movement by half. Nature’s Wrath targets up to five creatures; those who fail a Charisma save suffer disadvantage on attack rolls made against targets other than the caster for the spell’s duration, and the caster can spend a reaction to attack such creatures whenever they’re ignored in this way. Unruly Earth creates a 30 foot cone tremor which damages targets, knocks them prone, and knocks any held objects out of their hands. Upheaval causes an underground explosion in a 60 foot radius centered on the caster, damaging, knocking prone, and blinding creatures who fail a Dexterity save within the radius while also turning the affected ground into difficult terrain.

While the Warden gets the lion’s share, the other classes can learn around 2 to 4 of them depending on the class in question. Close the Gap, Crown of Thorns, Mountain Might, and Nature’s Wrath can all be cast as bonus actions, which lines up nicely with making a follow-up attack in the same combat round. Although many of the spells are damaging, they also impose various conditions upon foes which makes for some nice tactical variety.

Existing Class Comparisons The most immediate classes which jump to mind are the Oath of Ancients Paladin and the Ranger. Like I did with the Blood Hunter, I’m going to be comparing the Warden to the Unearthed Arcana Revised Ranger.

First off, the Paladin is an overall better healer thanks to Lay on Hands. The Warden has some nice healing spells, but none of its class features add to or enhance said restoration resources. The Warden has some nice means of enhancing their melee damage such as Mountain Might, but the Paladin has a greater total damage potential thanks to Divine Smite. In terms of protecting other allies the Oath of Ancients Paladin has broader defenses against magic (Aura of Protection, Ancients’ Aura of Warding, Cleansing Touch), while the Warden is better in direct battlefield control both in affecting enemy movement and in making bad things happen to their foes when they choose to strike the Warden’s allies instead.

In regards to the Revised Ranger, said class is better than the Warden at ranged combat, general utility magic, and stealth, things at which the Warden is not built to excel so there’s little overlap. However, the Revised Ranger does not get Extra Attack unless they’re part of the Hunter Conclave, and in terms of staying power and battlefield control the Warden is the clear superior.

The Druid is still magically superior, and the Circle of the Moon beats the Warden out in sheer offense and personal defense. But even so the Warden can still be a distinctive choice, as unlike the Moon Druid it is better able to protect the entire party.

Final Thoughts: I like the Warden’s mechanics, although I do have some concerns with a few of them. The ability to attempt new saving throws vs persistent effects every round means that in terms of long-term debilitating conditions it’s a manner of when, not if the Warden will break free. This is really only a concern when said effects have a save but aren’t the kind that will kill you during the source of a normal combat, like long-term enchantment. Although given said malady is quite situational, this is not a large concern. Furthermore, many of the Warden’s features create difficult terrain without the ability to self-select who is hindered. Deployed smartly it can prevent enemies from getting past the Warden to the rest of the party but can also hinder the mobility of other allies, particularly those prone to entering melee.

While an interesting class, it doesn’t have the clear distinction and appeal that the Warlord does, and doesn’t have enough fluff-wise to make one ask how to distinguish it from the other nature-themed classes. While it has many good options in terms of ‘drawing aggro,’ Dungeons & Dragons as both a subculture and as a system isn’t very fond of ‘tanking’ as a game mechanic. These aren’t knocks against the class itself so much as the fact that its design is not one that I can see being popular among players, which is a shame.

This is going to be my final class sourcebook review for the time being. I’m feeling in the mood for a change of pace after reviewing seven of them. Something more...hardcore.

Join us next time as we review 5e: HARDCORE MODE!