ZickZak
Explorer
5e Waterbender
(Refluffed Warlock with minor changes)
(Refluffed Warlock with minor changes)
Hit Points
Hit Dice: 1d8 per Waterbender level
Hit Points at 1st Level: 8 + your Constitution modifier Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 (or 5) + your
Constitution modifier per Waterbender level after 1st
Proficiencies
Armor: None (gets in the way of somatic components of bending)
Weapons: Simple weapons
Tools: None
Saving Throws: Wisdom, Charisma
Skills: Choose two from Acrobatics, Athletics, History,
Insight, Religion, and Stealth
Water Bending
At 1st level you have discovered your innate ability to command the elements through a link between martial arts, magic and will power. All spells you cast have their effects changed to water-based effects, including its damage. All the following damage types are unchanged aside from their description.
- Spells that do necrotic damage involve leaching water from the bodies of living beings.
- Spells that do force damage involve the sheer magical force you place into your blasts dealing the damage.
- Cold damage comes from the freezing temperatures of the water you attack with.
- Slashing damage comes from pressurized water blades.
- Bludgeoning damage is the force of thousands of liters of water crushing your enemy.
- Piercing damage is needle sharp ice shards launched with pinpoint accuracy.
Elemental Prowess
A waterbender practices extensively with his element, learning to understand it as if it were a part of himself. As this understanding grows, the Waterbender is able to apply his waterbending techniques to achieve unbelievable results. However, these complex uses of bending are more draining than the simpler techniques, and require more of the Waterbender’s ki.
(As warlock’s Pact magic, but casting attribute is Wisdom).
Thus, Eldritch Blast will become the generic “Water Blast” for the Waterbender, reflavored to look and feel appropriate. Therefore the Waterbender could strike his enemy with blasts of pressurized water or shards of ice. The damage type remains force for this spell. As with Eldritch Blast, the Water Bender would gain additional “blasts” at 5th, 11th, and 17th, reflecting his increased speed and strength in bending which allows him to fire off more blasts.
Further, most spells can be refluffed in order to make sense with regards to water bending. Dominate person could be bloodbending; stunning, incapacitating, or restraining effects could be thought of as freezing the enemy; burning hands could launch ice shards instead of a blast of flame. Hex could mean that you leave lingering ice crystals on the target enemy and every time he is struck, these ice crystals leech more humidity from the target’s body, dealing necrotic damage each time he’s struck and decreasing his ability to move quickly (dexterity). Even Power Word Kill could be a nefarious bloodbending technique that pulls all blood out of a target.
Bending Forms
You have learned certain forms that allow you to achieve unbelievable feats through your Waterbending.
(The bending forms will essentially be Eldritch Invocations, though some have been removed or changed in fluff or function.)
- Intuitive Blast (Agonizing Blast) – Increased understanding and feel for the flow of water allows the Waterbender to more effectively channel his water blasts or ice shards. The Waterbender may add his Wisdom modifier to the damage his Water Blast (Eldritch Blast) deals on hit.
- Flowing Defense (Armor of Shadows) – A waterbender mimics the flow of a river in combat. Attacks seem to slide by him and he is never where you expect him.
- Water Column (Ascendant Step) – A spinning column of water lifts the Waterbender into the air.
- Blood Bender (Bewitching Whispers) – By bending the blood within an enemy, you can cause them to do as you command.
- Blindsight (Devil’s Sight) – By simply focusing on the movement of water vapor in the air and the water that resides in every living being, the Waterbender is aware of all that goes on around him. This grants the Bender blindsight out to 30 ft.
- Magic Attunement (Eldritch Sight) – As water conducts electricity, so too does it conduct magic. You may sense magic in any object touched by water, or even water vapor in the environment.
- Woven Blast (Eldritch Spear) – By weaving your water blasts into a thicker strand, you may extend the range of your Water Blast up to 300 feet.
- Eyes of the Rune Keeper
- Ice Armor (Fiendish Vigor) – You have learned to surround your body with minute ice crystals that protect you from damage.
- Heat Leeching Strike (Lifedrinker) – When you hit a creature with your unarmed strikes, the creature takes extra necrotic damage equal to your Wisdom modifier (minimum 1) as you leech moisture from his body
- One with the Waters (Master of Myriad Forms) – (Cast time, duration and concentration as Alter Self) By creating a pocket where water cannot enter, the waterbender may “breathe” underwater. Additionally, using water currents to push him along, the Waterbender has a swim speed equal to his land speed. Finally, by controlling surface tension, the Waterbender may walk on water as though on solid ground.
- Water Elemental (Minions of Chaos) - The water bender forces a pool of water into a powerful Water Elemental.
- Clinging Ice Shards (Mire the Mind) – You chill the ambient water around your target, slowing their movements and thoughts.
- Misty Visions
- Fleet of Foot (NEW) – Grants +10 to movement speed. Stacks with Winter Stride.
- Leaping Geyser (Otherworldly Leap) – A blast of water pushes the Waterbender up or forward, allowing him to jump higher or further than he normally could.
- Smashing Wave (Repelling Blast) – Your water blasts strike with such force that they push even the mightiest enemies back.
- Ki Block (Sign of Ill Omen) – You may use your knowledge of Ki to block an enemy’s Ki, harming his body in specific ways.
- Pounding Surf Strike (Thirsting Blade) – As the surf strikes the coast over and over again, you have learned to strike one additional time whenever you take the Attack action.
- Visions of Distant Realms – Communing with the spirits of water allows you to communicate with them and gather information on distant lands.
- True Sight (Witch Sight) – Using the purity of water as a lens, you are able to see through magic and to true self.
After much training, a Waterbender is able to control the pinnacles of Waterbending known as Master Techniques. These technique are much too complex and taxing to be used more than once per day.
Masterful Recovery
By refocusing your internal energies and meditating for 1 minute, you may regain enough Ki to use all of your Elemental Prowess once again.
(This ability will functionally work as the Warlock’s Eldritch Master, though the beseeching to his patron will take the form of a rapid meditation.)
Southern Tribe Style
Waterbenders of the Southern Water Tribe have a specific Style of Waterbending that relies on quick movement, counterattacks and a destructive Ice-based technique. (Mix of Great Old One and Fiend archetypes. Additional spell list should be based on Fiend but refluffed to cold / necrotic / piercing damage).
- Level 1: Winter Stride – Southern Tribe Waterbenders ignore any difficult terrain related to snow, water, mud, or plants. Additionally, they are adept at marching long distances quickly, and gain a 10 foot bonus to movement speed.
- Level 6: Ebb and Flow (functionally Entropic Ward) – The waterbender bends, weaves and adapts like water, causing enemy attacks to miss and allowing him to quickly counterattack the undefended enemy.
- Level 10: Elemental Resilience (functionally Fiendish Resilience) – You adapt your defenses using ice, water, or water vapor to grant you damage resistance to one type of damage.
- Level 14: Ice Tomb – Upon landing a melee attack, you surround your target in a globe of water, which begins to freeze and constrict simultaneously. The ice is completely impenetrable until the end of your next turn, when it finally shatters and deals 10d10 cold and necrotic damage to the target. (functionally Hurl Through Hell, but with Cold Damage).
Last edited:
