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View Full Version : D&D 5e/Next Dragon Age Homebrew for D&D 5th edition



giles92
2014-10-20, 04:44 PM
With a new game comes new fascination with the world. Presented here is a faithfully reconstructed version of the Dragon Age universe, hopefully one that sees plenty of play.


Specialty Rules
Limited Magic- In the world of Thedas, there exists no way of teleporting over large distances, physically traveling through the planes, or bringing someone back from the dead. Any spells or magic that do so are considered to not exist. Of course, this is based on a Circle book on the subject. There are elfgates that crisscross Thedas and a few benevolent Fade spirits can defeat death. Ultimately, how all encompassing this rule is depends on your DM.

With no deities interfering in the affairs of mortals, divine magic is considered non-existent with the exception of those that are powered by nature, such as druid magic or Oath of the Ancients paladins. Once again this is a rule ultimately left up to the DM. Andraste could have very well been a cleric and the Maker could choose another conduit of his will. The Old Gods and elvish pantheon are all imprisoned, save one, but who knows when that could change. In addition, Fade Spirits have been known to grant people powers similar to those of clerics and paladins, though this is actually detailed below as a feat.

No dwarf, regardless of caste, geographic location, or time period has ever been capable of magic. It's just the way it is.

Blood Magic- In a godless world, radiant and necrotic energies are defined a different way. Radiant energy is the same as spirit energy, often associated with the more positive aspects of the Fade. Necrotic energy is the same as blood magic and the extensive use of it can lead to casters being possessed by demons. That’s true of all spells that deal necrotic damage, so be wary.

It is possible to send ones spirit into the Fade, which can be accomplished via some planar travel spells, but physically entering it is a no go. The last spell that did so required hundreds of blood sacrifices and the skills of ancient blood mages.

Money- In Thedas, a 100 copper is equal to 1 silver and 100 silver is equal to 1 gold. A singular gold coin is a lot of money, the most a middle-class worker might make in a month. For comparison in 5th edition, copper remains copper, gold is considered silver, and a coin one step above platinum to be gold.


Class Archetypes
Barbarian Path, The Reaver

True reavers taste the ritually prepared blood of dragons to become something more than a mere warrior. They revel in blood and death, using it to power their own abilities.


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Blood Frenzy- At 3rd level the Reaver starts to enhance his natural abilities with blood magic. By dealing or self-inflicting at least 8 damage to an enemy with a single melee attack, he increases his strength score by +1. At 6th, 10th, and 14th level this bonus increases by an additional +1, but the damage also increases by 4 each time, for a maximum of 20. This bonus lasts a number of rounds equal to ½ the Barbarian’s level and cannot be stacked. Self-inflicting the damage is a bonus action and damage dealt that way heals at a rate of 1 per minute outside of combat. Creatures that do not bleed, such as skeletons or golems, cannot grant this bonus.

Devour- At 6th level the Barbarian can absorb energy from the newly dead. By spending 1 minute with the corpse of a living creature that died within the last hour he can restore a number of hit points equal to four times his class level. This only works once with each corpse, but it does not need to be one he personally killed.

Aura of Pain- At 10th level the Reaver radiates a constant psychic attack. This can be turned on and off as a bonus action. When on, the Barbarian and every creature within 10 feet of him take ¼ his class level in psychic damage. This damage cannot be blocked or saved against. When it applies to the Barbarian it counts as damage inflicted by Blood Frenzy, so that he only needs to inflict the remaining amount to activate the strength bonus.

Fervor- At 14th level the Reaver has been close to death so many times, often at his own hands, that it takes little to activate his abilities in that state. When the Barbarian is at 10 hitpoints or less, Blood Frenzy is constantly active with no ill effects, Aura of Pain ceases to do damage to him, and he is constantly raging. Raging with Fervor does not take up Rage rounds. Fervor ends when the Barbarian falls below 1 hp or above 10.

Fighter Archetype, Spirit Warrior

Not every creature from the Fade is a demon. A few embody the more noble aspects of humanity, such as Compassion, Hope, Valor, Justice, and Faith. Though they rarely interact with the humanity, a few lend their assistance to those in great need.


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Beyond the Veil- At 3rd level the fighter is possessed by a benevolent Fade spirit, which grants him a multitude of abilities. Choose one of the following spirits. Each spirit, while granting their initial power, also decides his later abilities. Beyond the Veil draws in Fade energy to protect from attacks or augment abilities. This requires an action, lasts for 1 minute, and can only be done once per day. Can be performed an additional time per day at 7th and 10th levels.
Compassion- Beyond the Veil restore hitpoints at a rate of 2 per turn.
Hope- Beyond the Veil gives Disadvantage to the first attack made against you every turn.
Valor- Beyond the Veil grants resistance to Bludgeoning, Slashing, or Piercing damage, chosen when Beyond the Veil is activated.
Justice- Beyond the Veil changes all melee damage to Radiant and increases all Radiant damage dealt by 2.
Faith- Beyond the Veil grants advantage on all saves against poison and magical effects.

Soulbrand- At 7th level the Fighter gains a deeper understanding of the Fade and the creatures that inhabit it. He gains advantage on all Wisdom saves against effects caused by demons and can no longer be possessed or influenced by them.

Fade Burst- At 10th level the Spirit Warrior can create a large explosion of Fade Energy around himself. It deals 2d10 radiant damage in a 10 ft area around the Spirit Warrior, though a successful dexterity save (dc Fighter’s Strength or Dexterity modifier+Proficiency+8) halves that damage. Each spirit grants a different bonus to Fade Burst and it may only be used twice a day. Can be performed an additional time at 15th and 18th levels.
Compassion- Fade Burst only harms those the Spirit Warrior wants it to.
Hope- Creatures who take full damage from Fade Burst are also Restrained by chains of radiant energy for 1 round.
Valor- Any creature vulnerable to Radiant damage automatically take full damage from this power and have disadvantage on all attack rolls for 1d4 rounds.
Justice- The radiant damage from Fade Burst and Beyond the Veil counts as force, psychic, magic, silver, slashing, bludgeoning, and piercing for the purposes of overcoming damage resistances and immunities.
Faith- Rather than 10 ft circle, Fade Burst can be fired as a 30 ft line or 15 ft cone.

Blessings of the Fade- At 15th level Beyond the Veil can be turned on and off as a bonus action with no time limit.

One With the Spirit- At 18th level the Spirit Warrior and his internal companion fight as one. The spirit itself get’s their own action to use during combat, though they must act on the same turn as the Fighter. Different spirits get different actions.
Compassion- Three times per day a spirit of Compassion can choose to heal the Spirit Warrior or an adjacent ally 10d6 hit points or remove an existing, temporary condition. They will always do this if the Spirit Warrior has a condition they can remove, is at half-health, or if a good adjacent ally falls to 10 hp or lower.
Hope- Twice per day the Spirit of Hope can cast Counterspell as an 8th level spell and only does so when the spell would harm one or more people.
Valor- Can enchant a weapon the Spirit Warrior wields to deal an extra 2d6 radiant damage for 1 minute, but will only do so when it would be used against a demon, darkspawn, or if the wielder has no allies within sight.
Justice- Two times per day the Spirit of Justice can cast Haste on the Spirit Warrior, though he must first issue a loud challenge to an evil foe.
Faith- Twice per lifetime, the Spirit of Faith may cast Resurrection on the Spirit Warrior, though they may also not. Who knows why they do things?

Fighter Archetype, The Templar

Controlled by the Chantry through their lyrium addiction, Templars are their military arm. Primarily tasked with killing apostates, guarding magi from possession, and occasionally hunting down blasphemers.


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Holy Smite- At 3rd level the Templar can use his lyrium infused blood to harm creatures from the Fade or those they possess, such as apostates. A number of times per day equal to his class level the Templar can add 1d8 force damage to melee attacks when targeting undead, demons, or those capable of casting spells.

Cleanse- At 7th level the Templar can cast Dispel Magic as Ritual, adding ten-minutes to the Ritual Time and increasing what level the spell is being cast at by every increment.

Improved Smite- At 10th level select one of the following abilities from the list below.
Righteous Smite- Smite now affects Dragons and all creatures with the Evil alignment.
Cleansing Smite- When hitting a target with Smite, the Templar can cast Dispel Magic as a bonus action as a 6th level spell.
Fiery Smite- Smite now deals an additional 1d8 Radiant damage.

Annulment- At 15th level the Templar gains Resistance on damage from spells and advantage on saves against spells.

Cleansing Fire- At 18th level, twice per day the Fighter can cast a 5th level Dispel Magic as a standard action, though he may expend both uses to cast it as an 8th level spell. In addition, if the target is a creature, he may choose that it also takes 8d8 fire damage. If the Dispel has no magic to work on or if it fails, then the target only takes 4d8 fire damage.

Roguish Archetype, Antivan Crow

The Antivan Crows, also known as the House of Crows, are an elite organization of thieves, spies, and assassins which are renowned throughout Thedas.


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Pin-Point Precision- At 3rd level when the Crow has advantage on an attack roll, she can forego that advantage to instead deal d8s with her sneak attack rather than d6s.

Contract- At 9th level the Antivan Crow has become a master in her organization and is sent on assassination missions outside of Antiva. She is highly paid for this work and receives advantage on all attack rolls against a target she has been paid to kill. This can only apply to one target at a time and only the Crows can stop or switch the target. If the Crow does not complete her mission, her life is forfeit and the Crows will send people after her.
Renegade- If she has left the Crows, either by choice or failing to kill a target, the Antivan Crow instead gains this advantage bonus on Antivan Crows sent against her. She must be aware of their allegiance and they must have been sent to kill her, not those she just attacks.

Devious Harm-[/FONT][/B] At 9th level the Rogue adds her intelligence modifier to all sneak attack rolls, but not damage rolls.

Annihilate- At 17th level sneak attacks affect creatures normally immune to them, such as golems and certain undead. In addition, any target slain by the Antivan Crow cannot be brought back to life by anything short of True Resurrection.

Roguish Archetype, The Orlesian Bard

Minstrels who often acts as spies, saboteurs, and even assassins. Though famed in Orlais, many sell their services elsewhere when their homeland becomes too dangerous.


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Bardic Inspiration- At 3rd level the Rogue gains a some abilities of the bard. She can use Bardic Inspiration as a Bard of the same level, -5 (minimum 1).

Distraction- At 9th level Bardic Inspiration now affects enemies as well as allies. When being used on an enemy, the Bard herself chooses which roll receives the Bardic Inspiration die and it makes a penalty rather than a bonus. She must choose the roll before it is cast.

Unobtrusive- At 13th level the Rogue can use her bardic abilities without being detected and receives advantage on all stealth checks so long as she is within ten ft of two or more people. In addition, she also deals 4 bonus sneak attack damage against any target affected by Distraction in the last minute.

Captivating Song- At 17th level the Bard knows how to perfectly manipulate almost any creature with music, including animals and darkspawn. The target must make a contest check against the Bard’s perform check, using their wisdom. If it fails, they stop moving and attacking, swaying docilely side to side. Captivating Song requires an action to use and maintain (a second contest is not necessary), has an effective range of 30 ft, and cannot be used against the same target more than once per day. If the song ends or if they take damage, the target immediately snaps out of it. If the player moves more than 10 ft away, the target is compelled to follow the music, so long as they stay within range.

Druid Circle, The Witch

There are tales of powerful spellcasters that commune with demons and dance naked amongst the trees, taking terrible vengeance on all those that would cross them. It is one of the rare circumstances where the truth is more terrible than the fiction.


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Dark Magic- At 2nd level the Witch adds the following Warlock spells to her list of known spells.
1st- Hex, Witchbolt
2nd- Crown of Madness, Enthrall
3rd- Fear, Vampiric Touch
4th- Banishment
5th- Contact Other Plane
6th- Eyebite
7th- Finger of Death
8th- Dominate Monster
9th- Imprisonment

Monstrous Form- At 6th level the Witch can use her Wildshape ability to transform into Monstrosities, though their intelligence must be 3 or lower.

Flemeth’s Curse- At 10th level when the Witch inflicts a negative affliction with a spell, all efforts to remove that affliction, magical or otherwise, are at a disadvantage. This can only apply to a single target at a time and she chooses when the spell is cast. This lasts until the affliction is removed.

Chosen Form- At 14th level the Witch chooses one creature that she is truly comfortable as. This can be any Beast, Dragon, or Monstrosity with a challenge rating of 7 or lower. She can transform into this creature with Wildshape, but maintaining this form requires twice the amount of time as usual.

Druid Circle, The Keeper

These are the cultural and religious leaders of Dalish elves. It is their responsibility to recover lost magic and knowledge from the elvish golden age, keep safe what little they've recovered, and guide their clans.


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Speak with the Trees- At 2nd level the Keeper can converse with flora as easily as she does with her own kin. This ability acts as Speak With Plants, but is limited to communication and cannot cause them to perform any tasks for her.

One With Nature- At 6th level the Keeper can manipulate plant life with a wave of her hand. She can cast Plant Growth as an innate spell once per day. At 10th and 14th levels she can cast it an additional time per day. In addition, she may manipulate the plants within the area’s effect as if she had the full effect of Speak With Plants.

Thornblades- At 10th level the Keeper has learned to use the flora under her control to defend and attack. Once per day she can cast Thorn Whip, Entangle, and Spike Growth as bonus actions while in the area of effect generated by Plant Growth. Each of these spells are cast at her highest spell slot level.

Replenishment- At 14th level nature itself sees the Keeper as its protector and seeks to protect her. While in the area of effect generated by Plant Growth that she cast, the Keeper regenerates hit points at 4 per round.

Ranger Archetype, Legionnaire Scout

The Legion of the Dead are some the most hardened warriors to ever exist, spending their usually short lives fighting darkspawn. Even more famous are their scouts, who travel alone through the underdark, often with only a pile of darkspawn corpses to mark their trail.


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Hardy- At 3rd level the Scout becomes tougher than the average ranger, able to take hits that might even fell a barbarian. She gains the Durable feat or a feat of her choosing if she already has Durable.

Strength of Stone- At 7th level the Ranger draws on the implacable stone around her to resist even the most insidious of attacks. She adds her strength modifier to constitution and wisdom saves.

Mark of the Legion- At 11th level the Scout learns the most efficient ways to kill Darkspawn or anyone else, really. She deals sneak attack damage as a Rogue of the same level -6, though only on attacks where she has advantage.

Blessings of the Ancestors- At 15th level the Scout can ignore some damage dealt by magic or inflicted by the strange abilities of monsters. She gains temporary hit points equal to 5 per class level that regenerate after a long rest. These temporary hit points are kept in a separate pool and are only affected by attacks that deal fire, cold, lightning, or acid damage. Attacks that deal any other type of damage take away from her usual hit points, as per normal.

Ranger Archetype, The Werewolf

The exact nature of the werewolf curse has always been a fluid one. In recent years, werewolves of uncanny intelligence and willpower have been popping up across the Ferelden countryside. In truth, they do not have a full werewolf’s raw power, but instead gain a great level of control.


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Golden Eyes- At 3rd level the Ranger has few of the of the more powerful werewolf abilities. He has low-light vision and can grow a pair of claws that deal 1d6 slashing damage each as a bonus action. The only thing that sets him apart is the shaggy hair and strange colored eyes, usually gold, yellow, or amber.

Transformation- At 7th level the Werewolf truly comes into his own. As a bonus action, he can transform into a man-wolf hybrid for a number of rounds per day equal to his class level + wisdom modifier. These rounds do not need to be consecutive, with a bonus action to revert back. While in hybrid form the werewolf gains +2 strength and dexterity, and he has resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from non-magical/non-silvered weapons.

Wolf Lord- At 11th level the Werewolf gains a measure of control over his own animal form and the animals of his namesake. He now can now use scent as a sense, gaining advantage on all perception checks to follow tracks, knowing the general location of creatures within 30 ft, and guessing the emotional state of creatures 10 ft away or less. The Werewolf's claws also now deal 1d8 damage and he can always speak to canines as if under Speak With Animals. Wolves always start out friendly towards him.

Alpha- At 15th level the Werewolf is strong enough to lead a pack of his own. His claws now deal 1d10 damage and he regenerates 3 hitpoints per round, or 30 per minute.



Races
There is only one all new race, the Qunari. However, both elves and dwarves have different subtypes. In a pure Dragon Age campaign players would be limited to only those, but that's an optional rule left up to the DM.
The Qunari


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This particular race are actually called Kossith, as Qunari simply means someone who follows the Qun. Those who leave the Qun are known as Tal-Vashoth and those that have never known it are called Vashoth. Regardless of their origins, each one is a huge grey skinned giant with pale hair. Though most have horns, those born without them are important in Qunari society and often selected for important jobs.
Each Qunari typically stands between 6.5 and 8 ft tall, weighing between 190 and 280 pounds. Their society rarely produces anything less than an athletic specimen, as they are always expected to fulfill some physical role.
Mages born to the Qun are treated far worse than even those in the circle. Known as Saarebas, they are forced to wear chains, heavy pauldrons, and metal face masks. In extreme cases their lips are stitched together to prevent any insurrection. They can never be alone and must always wear collars that their handlers use to restrict access to magic.
Male Names- Orilay, Aren, Askehan, Akinant, Tamazim, Oraas, Gunaarad, Burak, Oraner, and Arvat.
Female Names- Sayaz, Canide, Kutice, Solmek, Seram, Yasemek, Canemin, Orazik, Solme, and Biret
Ability Score Increase- Strength +1, Constitution +1

Racial Templates
Qunari
Born amongst the Qun, you knew no parents and were educated by the Ben-Hassrath. Assigned a job as a teenager, you’ve lived amongst your brother and sister Qun all your life. Choose a single assignment from the list below.
Military- Gain the Charger or Martial Adept feat.
Craftsmen- Gain the Keen Mind or Linguist feat.
Religion- Gain the Observant or Mage Slayer feat.
Mage- Gain the Resilient or War Caster feat.

Tal-Vashoth
Though life amongst the Qun is quite a bit more joyous than it sounds, there is no freedom. No choices to make. Your entire life is laid out before you, with no stops for wild passion, getting to know your children, or even the chance to truly better your station. For most, leaving the Qun is a difficult decision, though they would take a sword through the guts than go back. This subrace also includes the Vashoth, those that have never known the Qun.
Ability Score Increase- +1 Dexterity
More Than One Path In Life- Select a background in addition to your first, gaining whatever skill and tool proficiencies that background offers.


Elven and Dwarven Racial Templates

Caste Dwarf- True dwarves that live underground and are members of their incredibly rigid caste system. From branded casteless to deshyr nobles, all dwarves that are born underground share the same racial traits.
Nullify Magic- There is some debate as to what gives them this ability, but when Dwarves save against magical effects they can choose to make that a constitution save, regardless of the actual save required.

Surface Dwarf- Just as there are dwarves that have never seen the sky, there are also those that have never known the stone. While some are forced outcasts, there are those that willingly leave, choosing to avoid the darkspawn and often cruel caste system of their people. Leaving their society means choosing to be less than casteless, but that’s often of little worry to those that get paid to drink mead in the back room of a smithy simply because dwarves make the finest armor.
Bonus Feat- Due to their varied nature, a surface dwarf receives a single bonus feat at level 1.

Dalish Elves- Nomadic hunters and traders that seek to return the elvish race to glory at all costs. They try to avoid contact with any other race, only trading when necessary. Still, certain common items crafted by the Dalish are worth dozens of gold to the right collector.
Ability Score Increase- Wisdom +1
Elf Weapon Training- Longbow, Shortbow, Shortsword, and Longsword

City Elf- Centuries of slavery and oppression have reduced the once mighty elven race to second class citizens, forced to live in cramped Alienages, and often abused with no hope of defending themselves. If there is one word to describe these elves, it would be survivor. Or perhaps, lost.
Ability Score Increase- Strength +1
Elf Weapon Training- Hand Crossbow, Shortsword, and Rapier



Feats
These are feats specific to the Dragon Age universe and generally require the participation of in-game events, such as being trained by the Chevaliers or consuming different types of blood.

Grey Warden
You have joined the Grey Wardens, those elite warriors dedicated to fighting Darkspawn. The alchemical concoction you are forced to drink grants powers to help in defeating them, but also carries with it a thirty year death sentence.
Gain +1 to a single ability score of your choice.
Can sense the presence of Darkspawn up to a hundred feet away and always have advantage on perception checks against them.
Can understand Darkspawn to some degree, though the more intelligent ones are always easier to understand.
Have advantage on all saves against Darkspawn poison, special attacks, and spells.

Chevalier
Most applicants do not pass the intense training regimen required by Orlesian chevaliers, but it is one of the few ways to raise your station in life while living in Orlais.
*Must be proficient in Heavy Armor, born in Olais, and Human*
Gain +1 to your strength ability score
Add your Strength ability score to Handle Animal checks, but only to control a mount.
Gain proficiency with the lance, greatsword, mace, flail, and longsword.

Blood Mage
Blood magic is expressly forbidden in nearly every nation in Thedas, with the sole exception of the Tevinter Imperium, where its use is encouraged. Users are either made Tranquil or killed.
Gain +1 Wisdom, Intelligence, or Charisma
Increase all Necrotic damage dealt by +2.
Three times per day change the damage type dealt by a single spell to Necrotic. This feat can be taken up to three times, each additional time increasing the damage dealt by 2 and number of times used by three, for a maximum of +6 damage and nine times per day.

Spirit Healer
Though contact with the Fade is highly controlled in the Circle, there are a select few who have learned from the more benevolent aspects of the Fade. Almost unprecedented in Thedas, they can use magic to heal others.
Gain +1 Wisdom, Intelligence, or Charisma
As an action, sacrifice a single spell slot to touch the target and heal them 1d10 damage plus an additional 1d10 per spell slot level sacrificed, for a maximum of 10d10 with a 9th level spell slot. Against creatures vulnerable to Radiant damage, this can be used as a touch attack, dealing the same amount of Radiant damage as would normally be used to heal.
In addition, sacrifice a spell slot of 4th level or higher to end an ongoing condition. If the condition was caused by a spell, then the spell slot sacrificed to heal it must be of equal or greater level.

Mabari Huntmaster
Dogs are prized in Ferelden, but none more so than Mabari war hounds. These huge mastiff/wolf hybrids have been known to fight off entire units of trained soldiers in defense of their master. Of course such tales are often exaggerated, but their usefulness cannot be denied.
Gain a companion that you have total control over, using the statistics provided for the wolf. However, increase that companion’s health by 5, strength, constitution, and intelligence by 1, and AC by 1 for every five character levels that you possess. If the character levels are in Ranger or Druid, than they are instead increased by every 4 character levels that you possess.

Power of the Blood
Grey Wardens have always been dedicated to fighting the Darkspawn, but for some that dedication turns into an obsession with defeating them permanently. Those obsessed have tried to seize military or political power, but the blood mages among them have even darker aspirations, creating concoctions and spells capable of turning the taint into a weapon.
*Requires the Grey Warden feat*
When you first take this feat, choose two of the following abilities. This feat can be taken multiple times, though who knows what could happen to a Grey Warden with that much taint…
Dark Sustenance- Once per day sacrifice a number of hitpoints to regain an expended spell slot as an action. Requires 8 hitpoints per level of spell slot. These hit points cannot be healed by magical means.
Bloody Grasp- Inflict 2d6 necrotic damage to yourself and target a single enemy within 40 ft with a ranged touch attack, dealing double that damage to the target if successful. Damage taken this way cannot be healed by magical means.
Dark Passage- For up to 1 total minute per day, increase speed by 10 ft. While active, this bonus also eliminates any disadvantage to stealth checks caused by movement.
The Tainted Blood- Create a gushing wound that covers a weapon with tainted poison. Any target struck by this weapon must make constitution save against the attack or be afflicted by poison for 1 round. This ability takes an action, deals 1d10 necrotic damage to yourself, can only be used once per day, and lasts for 1 hour or three successful attacks. Hitpoints lost by this ability cannot be healed by magical means.
Blood Thirst- Spill your own blood in sacrifice as a bonus action, increasing raw speed at the cost of health. While this mode is active, you can move an additional 10 ft, make one extra attack per turn, and take 1d8 necrotic damage. It can only be used once per day, but has no time limit, only ending when you use a bonus action to stop it. Hitpoints lost by this ability cannot be healed by magical means.
Blood Fury- Spray tainted blood to damage and knock enemies back. This ability can be activated up to three times per day. It deals 2d6 damage to you and all adjacent enemies. In addition, they must make a strength save (dc equals 8+proficiency bonus+highest physical ability score) or be knocked back 10 ft from the user.

Arcane Warrior
There are legends of ancient elven battle mages who fought with both spell and sword.
By expending a single spell slot, change strength to your primary spellcasting ability when performing melee attacks. This lasts a number of hours equal to the level of spell expended.

Aura of Might
*Requires Arcane Warrior*
Gain additional bonuses when Arcane Warrior is active. Gain an armor bonus to AC and damage bonus on melee attacks equal to the level of spell expended, maximum +4. In addition, all of your melee attacks count as Force Damage.



Items
Most of the equipment presented by the core rules functions well enough in the Dragon Age universe, but they have a few unique items of their own.
Magic Staves- Used as primary weapons by those capable of casting spells. All classes capable of casting spells are proficient in their use and they also function as normal quarterstaffs. Each stave has a max range of 30 ft and deals 1d6 damage, either acid, fire, cold, lightning, force, psychic, or thunder. They all have a base cost of 100 gold, though versions capable of more fantastic effects do exist.

Injury Kits- Places without divine healing have learned to adapt. Those capable in Alchemy can turn commonly found plants into Injury Kits. When an Injury Kit is applied, the target makes a constitution save, gaining hit points equal to the save x2. Injury Kits usually cost 40 gold. Crafting them is a DC 20 check, requires 1 hour of work, and materials that can be bought for 15 gold or found with a DC 15 Survival check. Materials for a single Injury Kit can only be found in a 5 mile area once per month. Injury Kits can be used any number of times, but lose half their effectiveness after the first use between long rests.

Lyrium- Very dangerous to everyone except Dwarves in its base form, Lyrium can be refined to create potions and magically charged items. Lyrium potions can restore up to 1 4th level spell slot, 2 3rd level spell slots, 3 2nd level spell slots, or 4 1st level spell slots. They usually cost 50 gold. Crafting them is a DC check, requires 1 hour of work, basic alchemical supplies and tools, and lyrium sand. Lyrium potions can only be used once between long rests.

Silverite- A rare silver colored ore that does not rust and is harder than steel. Silverite weapons count as silvered for overcoming damage reduction and deal +1 damage. Sunder attempts on Silverite armor are always at a disadvantage, unless the primary attacking force is magical or silverite. Silverite equipment usually costs +5000 gold.

Draconic Materials- Dragons and wyverns can have their body parts harvested to create fantastic armor and weapons, though usually only the bone and scales are used. Weapons and armor crafted from materials gained by lesser dragonkind, such as Wyverns and Dragonlings, have a +1 inherent magical bonus. The materials gained by killing a High Dragon or it's equivalent, have an inherent +2 magical bonus. Equipment crafted from lesser Dragonkind usually cost +15000 gold. Equipment crafted from High Dragons are generally not for sale.

Ironbark- The Dalish collect this rare material from dead trees and are the only ones capable of crafting from it, making such things collectors items when not among the Dalish. Ironbark weapons have +1 to their attack, due to being easier to wield, and Ironbark armor increases its max dex by 2, but the real specialty with Ironbark are bows. Any long or shortbow crafted with Ironbark adds the users strength ability (max of +2 with shortbows and +3 with longbows) to ranged attacks. This does not stack with the standard +1 attack bonus. In addition, Ironbark shortbows can be used as a club with no penalty while longbows can be used as a quarterstaff with no penalty.
Ironbark equipment is incredibly rare to find outside of the Dalish and it costs +20000 gold, though the DM is free to reduce this amount to +5000 for Dalish elves or those favored with them.

Starmetal- Once in a very long while, a meteor will fall from the sky and ore can be harvested from it. Master blacksmiths can create weapons from this ore (there is never enough to create armor), weapons that are assured to last for ages, for the metal is invulnerable. Any melee weapon crafted from Starmetal cannot be sundered and has a +3 inherent magical bonus to attack and damage. Starmetal is incredibly rare and anything made from it will almost certainly not be for sale.




Monsters
Rather than create a full list of creatures, these are simply the best representations in my opinion. Of course, their appearance should be changed, but the stats should stay the same.
Darkspawn
Hurlocks- Orogs for the standard and Orc War Chiefs for the Alphas.
Genlocks- Duegar for the standard and Hobgoblin Warlord for the Alphas.
Shrieks-Shadow Demon
Ogres- Fire Giant, though without the Fire Immunity.
Emissaries- Gray Slaads and Rakshasa would most likely work best.

Others
Revenant- Deathknight
Dragons- Limited to Red Dragons, though without the ability to cast spells. Reduce the challenge rating by 1 to make up for this.

Ralcos
2014-10-20, 05:16 PM
Okay... This is AWESOME

Sorry. Nerdgasm just happened. :smallbiggrin::smallcool:

In more serious terms, this is awesome!

BRKNdevil
2014-10-20, 07:29 PM
Ok, these Subclasses are pretty damn awesome. However i dunno how balanced they are, which means I really don't know and someone else should figure that out. The Reaver may be to powerful and the Werewolf seems too weak. The Crow's 17th Level ability doesn't actually do anything, because i don't think there are any undead or golems that aren't effected by sneak attack. The made it so that Sneak Attack can be used on anyone, but can only be done once a round.

T.G. Oskar
2014-10-21, 03:13 PM
I'd personally make the Templar a Sacred Oath for the Paladin. They already have the Smite ability, and Holy Smite appears much later; their 17th level ability could make their Divine Smite become an AoE effect. Their Aura-based ability could grant them (and allies) Advantage on saving throws against all spells, making it work as a form of Spell Resistance. Cleanse would definitely work as Channel Divinity, except turned into a scaling Dispel Magic effect (Cleanse IS an AoE Dispel Magic effect, after all). Making it a Fighter Martial Archetype doesn't seem to cut it, IMO (particularly since you still have Barbarian as a class); if the problem is the spellcasting, then have the Paladin miss its spells and instead gain uses of Smite related to the spells, with maybe the Smite-based spells turned into improvements to Divine Smite. It's just that Fighter doesn't really seem the best choice for them, particularly when you're giving them more Smites per day than the Paladin gets Smites overall.

Ninjadeadbeard
2014-10-21, 05:05 PM
I concur that this is AWESOME. I also concur that some of the races and classes are a touch unbalanced (Qunari holy crap!). I typically feel that 5E wasn't designed so that Players could get feats at all until 4th level, if that. So seeing so, so many of them appear as Racial Bonuses makes me squirm a little. Dragonage is meant to be a pretty gritty setting, so Player power should be kept to a minimum by DMs.

Also, I'd be careful using language such as "Resistance to magic" with the Dwarves. Resistance is a gameplay term, and it isn't being used quite correctly in the Dwarf entry. Advantage is stupidly good, so you might want to stick with Resist Magic. Or, allow all Dwarves to add their Proficiency bonus when resisting Spell effects.

I shall be watching this space intently...

DiBastet
2014-10-21, 08:09 PM
Yeah, love it. The subclasses are a little all over the place in terms of balance, but this doesn't take away from the amazing-ness of your work.

I would add the warrior-mage guy. I think that the ability to use INT in place of STR for all purposes is pretty easy to use in this edition. You can use INT in place of STR for melee weapons and armor. The second ability could be that active battlemagic thing. the battlemagic ability can be activated or deactivated with a bonus action, while active you can't cast spells (or maybe can't cast spells with somatic components or something like that) and can't concentrate on spells, but can make a second attack and receive a little something else. Then finally you get that fade thing and while the battlemagic is active you receive resistance to physical damage.

Could be a funny wizard subclass.

BRKNdevil
2014-10-21, 08:30 PM
Yeah, love it. The subclasses are a little all over the place in terms of balance, but this doesn't take away from the amazing-ness of your work.

I would add the warrior-mage guy. I think that the ability to use INT in place of STR for all purposes is pretty easy to use in this edition. You can use INT in place of STR for melee weapons and armor. The second ability could be that active battlemagic thing. the battlemagic ability can be activated or deactivated with a bonus action, while active you can't cast spells (or maybe can't cast spells with somatic components or something like that) and can't concentrate on spells, but can make a second attack and receive a little something else. Then finally you get that fade thing and while the battlemagic is active you receive resistance to physical damage.

Could be a funny wizard subclass.

Ah, the Arcane Warrior was my favorite class, even if that was my least favorite beginning in Dragon Age: Origins. I stacked the crap out of fire resistance and made Firestorms on my position while I fought.

Ilinoris
2014-10-22, 09:42 AM
I concur that this is AWESOME. I also concur that some of the races and classes are a touch unbalanced (Qunari holy crap!). I typically feel that 5E wasn't designed so that Players could get feats at all until 4th level, if that. So seeing so, so many of them appear as Racial Bonuses makes me squirm a little. Dragonage is meant to be a pretty gritty setting, so Player power should be kept to a minimum by DMs.

I can totally understand where Ninjadeadbeard is coming from, with that 5E seems like that feats are something that you should defintely not take lightly.
But then again, the way that I feel the Qunari is protrayed in the Dragon Age universe, it seems awfully fitting that they should be getting a feat. However I think that the benefit of a feat should be restricted to the Qunari and not be available for the Vashoth.

EDIT:
Also, from a Dragon Age lore standpoint, it should be noted that the Tal-Vashoth and the Vashoth are technically the same, Tal-Vashoth is just the what the Vashoth usually call themselves.
Source being Dragon Age Wiki :smallsmile:

2nd EDIT:
From a balancing standpoint, perhaps offer the Background Related feats strictly for the Qunari, instead of racial ability modifiers. Then for the Vashoth / Tal-Vashoth offer some slightly strong ability modifers?

3rd EDIT(This is getting out of hand):
I was simply browsing DA I stuff, and noticed that they are introducing a Mage Specialization called Necromancer, the description reads the following: "These mages specialize in binding the spirits that are drawn to death. They can put the fear of death into enemies, bring spirits to fight on their behalf, and even cause devastating explosions when their enemies die."
How do you think that this will affect what we so far have known of Magic in Thedas? Also, this seems to be a Teventir speciality.

giles92
2014-10-22, 11:03 PM
I'd personally make the Templar a Sacred Oath for the Paladin. They already have the Smite ability, and Holy Smite appears much later; their 17th level ability could make their Divine Smite become an AoE effect. Their Aura-based ability could grant them (and allies) Advantage on saving throws against all spells, making it work as a form of Spell Resistance. Cleanse would definitely work as Channel Divinity, except turned into a scaling Dispel Magic effect (Cleanse IS an AoE Dispel Magic effect, after all). Making it a Fighter Martial Archetype doesn't seem to cut it, IMO (particularly since you still have Barbarian as a class); if the problem is the spellcasting, then have the Paladin miss its spells and instead gain uses of Smite related to the spells, with maybe the Smite-based spells turned into improvements to Divine Smite. It's just that Fighter doesn't really seem the best choice for them, particularly when you're giving them more Smites per day than the Paladin gets Smites overall.

Divine Sense, Lay on Hands, Divine Health, Auras.... They're all intensely magical abilities quite clearly designed to make the Paladin a force for good. In Dragon Age, there are practically no 100% good guys. It's all shades of grey and black. Now it wouldn't be hard to refluff them into something else, but at it's core the class does not fit with the universe.


I concur that this is AWESOME. I also concur that some of the races and classes are a touch unbalanced (Qunari holy crap!). I typically feel that 5E wasn't designed so that Players could get feats at all until 4th level, if that. So seeing so, so many of them appear as Racial Bonuses makes me squirm a little. Dragonage is meant to be a pretty gritty setting, so Player power should be kept to a minimum by DMs.

Also, I'd be careful using language such as "Resistance to magic" with the Dwarves. Resistance is a gameplay term, and it isn't being used quite correctly in the Dwarf entry. Advantage is stupidly good, so you might want to stick with Resist Magic. Or, allow all Dwarves to add their Proficiency bonus when resisting Spell effects.

I shall be watching this space intently...

With this particular homebrew, I was more going for the main characters of Dragon Age, such as The Warden and Morrigan. People who battle demons in the Fade, turn back tides of Darkspawn, recover lost magic that has gone for centuries, and generally have enough exploits to fill a Bard's playlist. If you want more realistic heroes, just add EC to the top of your thread.

I think I'll just switch it to target their constitution, instead of wisdom.


Ok, these Subclasses are pretty damn awesome. However i dunno how balanced they are, which means I really don't know and someone else should figure that out. The Reaver may be to powerful and the Werewolf seems too weak. The Crow's 17th Level ability doesn't actually do anything, because i don't think there are any undead or golems that aren't effected by sneak attack. The made it so that Sneak Attack can be used on anyone, but can only be done once a round.

I'm just going to rehash the Werewolf.


Yeah, love it. The subclasses are a little all over the place in terms of balance, but this doesn't take away from the amazing-ness of your work.

I would add the warrior-mage guy. I think that the ability to use INT in place of STR for all purposes is pretty easy to use in this edition. You can use INT in place of STR for melee weapons and armor. The second ability could be that active battlemagic thing. the battlemagic ability can be activated or deactivated with a bonus action, while active you can't cast spells (or maybe can't cast spells with somatic components or something like that) and can't concentrate on spells, but can make a second attack and receive a little something else. Then finally you get that fade thing and while the battlemagic is active you receive resistance to physical damage.

Could be a funny wizard subclass.

Probably going to add the two battle magic things as feats. Expend spells to allow INT to count as Strength with melee weapons for an hour. Also put up Shimmering Shield to allow for Physical Resistance, with more powerful versions to cost higher level spell slots.


I can totally understand where Ninjadeadbeard is coming from, with that 5E seems like that feats are something that you should defintely not take lightly.
But then again, the way that I feel the Qunari is protrayed in the Dragon Age universe, it seems awfully fitting that they should be getting a feat. However I think that the benefit of a feat should be restricted to the Qunari and not be available for the Vashoth.

EDIT:
Also, from a Dragon Age lore standpoint, it should be noted that the Tal-Vashoth and the Vashoth are technically the same, Tal-Vashoth is just the what the Vashoth usually call themselves.
Source being Dragon Age Wiki :smallsmile:

2nd EDIT:
From a balancing standpoint, perhaps offer the Background Related feats strictly for the Qunari, instead of racial ability modifiers. Then for the Vashoth / Tal-Vashoth offer some slightly strong ability modifers?

3rd EDIT(This is getting out of hand):
I was simply browsing DA I stuff, and noticed that they are introducing a Mage Specialization called Necromancer, the description reads the following: "These mages specialize in binding the spirits that are drawn to death. They can put the fear of death into enemies, bring spirits to fight on their behalf, and even cause devastating explosions when their enemies die."
How do you think that this will affect what we so far have known of Magic in Thedas? Also, this seems to be a Teventir speciality.

I'm just going to eliminate the Vashoth subrace entirely.

Amnoriath
2014-10-23, 12:05 PM
1. The Antivan Crow is just insane and completely outclasses the Assassin in offensive output. Not only does the first ability roughly adds about 10 damage the second can add 50 damage outright. Also while the Mark of Death is only once a day with every attack dealing this kind sneak attack damage even Epic Creatures are dying in a round or two. Plus damage and more damage is boring.
2. The Witch is officially the best new Tier 1 character.
a. Better Wildshape and selection than the Circle of the Moon.
b. Free and unlimited Heighten Spell
c. Cross class spell selection
3. The Legionnaire Scout's last ability doesn't make much sense for it to have 100 temporary hit points against 2/3 the type of energy.

giles92
2014-10-24, 01:23 PM
1. The Antivan Crow is just insane and completely outclasses the Assassin in offensive output. Not only does the first ability roughly adds about 10 damage the second can add 50 damage outright. Also while the Mark of Death is only once a day with every attack dealing this kind sneak attack damage even Epic Creatures are dying in a round or two. Plus damage and more damage is boring.
2. The Witch is officially the best new Tier 1 character.
a. Better Wildshape and selection than the Circle of the Moon.
b. Free and unlimited Heighten Spell
c. Cross class spell selection
3. The Legionnaire Scout's last ability doesn't make much sense for it to have 100 temporary hit points against 2/3 the type of energy.

Fair enough on the Crow. I'll change Mark of Death to something less combat centric.

I'll limit Witch a little bit, but I don't think it's quite the best around.

I'll take away a few of the damage types, making it more in line with standard magic.

giles92
2014-10-24, 02:19 PM
Made some balance changes to the classes and races, hopefully bringing them more in line with standard 5th edition. For all of those interested, I will be starting up two campaigns with this material, in addition to the ones in my other thread. One I will DM and the other I will play, to get a better feel for both perspectives.

Oh, and I intend to add the different materials presented in Dragon Age, such as Silverite, here fairly quickly.

Erik Vale
2014-10-25, 11:44 PM
I'd like to point out that your Elf subspecies need work:
Dalish Elves are wood elves, minus the easy hiding and movement speed boost, so strictly worse.
City Elves normally aren't allowed weapons, so why do they get race based weapon training? And again, strictly worse than both subspecies.

Surface Dwarf matches human and I think Caste Dwarf is fine, however both types are supposed to be magic resistant and beyond that, unable to use magic.

Wymmerdann
2014-10-26, 01:04 AM
The Spirit Warrior Archetype should frankly be replaced by the paladin class, with the archetypes of the paladin class serving as different spirits. The Paladin class doesn't appear to have any requirement in 5e to be any kind of goody goody (Oath of Vengeance says hi) and the oath feature would serve as the bond of spirit and host. It's also worth noting that the features you consider to make the paladin a "force for good" are actually more pronounced in the Spirit Warrior Archetype than in that class. Divine sense really lends itself to the idea of the spirit being able to sense its own kind.

Ralcos
2014-10-26, 01:03 PM
The Spirit Warrior Archetype should frankly be replaced by the paladin class, with the archetypes of the paladin class serving as different spirits. The Paladin class doesn't appear to have any requirement in 5e to be any kind of goody goody (Oath of Vengeance says hi) and the oath feature would serve as the bond of spirit and host. It's also worth noting that the features you consider to make the paladin a "force for good" are actually more pronounced in the Spirit Warrior Archetype than in that class. Divine sense really lends itself to the idea of the spirit being able to sense its own kind.

http://cdn.meme.am/instances/500x/23266068.jpg

*ahem*
What I mean to say is that I agree that you can use the Dragon Age lore to establish how classes work in lore.
What Wymmerdann says is that Spirit Warrior could be the explanation to keep Paladin in.
Examples of how that could work:


Hadriel is a Dalish Spirit Warrior, communing with the spirits of the Fade that have similar goals to himself, and helping his Keeper to defend his clan. A Spirit of Compassion has bonded its spirit to Hadriel, giving him his powers and making both able to protect the natural world from dangers unseen.
In game terms, Hadriel is a Paladin that took the Oath of the Ancients. I just reflavored the lore a bit to fit around that.

Reality Glitch
2014-11-01, 08:33 PM
I have a question. How does Arcane magic work in this? Is it the same? Are there differences and if so what are they? Or is it just stripped out, in which case what's the closest thing the diehard wizard fanatics can get to a wizard?

Ilinoris
2014-11-10, 09:07 AM
I have a question. How does Arcane magic work in this? Is it the same? Are there differences and if so what are they? Or is it just stripped out, in which case what's the closest thing the diehard wizard fanatics can get to a wizard?

This person voiced my ponders. Mages? Apostates? Blood Magic? Abominations. All of these things.

Ilinoris
2015-01-26, 06:00 PM
Seriously, no magic?!