Truenamer Class

[weaseldust]

Spoiler: Design Notes: The Basic Idea

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Truenaming checks are there, but they’re more like spell attack rolls, and there are resources to worry about. The resources are very similar to the Warlock’s, with Lesser Words of Power being equivalent to spells up to 5th level and Greater Words of Power being analogous to Mystic Arcana (except the 18th-level archetype features add more to better resemble full casters).

It’s intended to be less damage-oriented than the Warlock, though it can still get reliable but unexceptional damage through its Asides, which are the equivalent of cantrips. Its low level abilities scale, but it does get distinct bumps at odd levels like other spellcasters, so I left most of those free from other class features.

Obviously, a great deal rides on the specifics of the Asides and Words of Power, which are in their own sections.

Spoiler: What is a Truenamer?

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A Truenamer produces magical effects by making utterances, strings of words of intrinsic power, which are drawn from the True Speech that is the natural organising language of the universe. In True Speech there are words for concepts, commands, and even expletives, but most importantly there are Names. Every creature has one, though the Name of an individual will be fiendishly complicated since it has to completely capture the true nature of the creature it names.

Even very powerful Truenamers will know the Names of only a few individual creatures, but they will know somewhat more words for types or groups of creature, or of other kinds of thing, and a similar number of Words of Power, which are the basic commands in True Speech that allow the Truenamer to impose their will on the world.

Truenamers must engage in intense study to master the grammar and phonology of True Speech. They must also seek to experience the world in all its variety, since the complexities of True Speech mirror and must be understood through the complexities of the world it describes. A Truenamer needs a keen wit, broad general knowledge, an exceptional memory, a powerful analytic intellect, a supple larynx, and a playful imagination. They are likely to provide an adventuring party, not only with their magic, but also with a healthy supply of anecdotes and corny puns.

Hit Dice: d8
Saves: Intelligence and Wisdom
Proficiencies: Simple weapons, light armour, medium armour
Skills: 2 from Arcana, Deception, History, Investigation, Nature, Persuasion, Religion
Languages: Any two
Starting equipment: Quarterstaff, dagger, leather armour or scale mail, scholar’s or explorer’s pack

Spoiler: Note on Armour

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The medium armour is there because they don’t get many other defences and their abilities have quite short ranges.

Level	Features	Asides Known	Lesser Words Known	Greater Words Known	Genus Names Known	Personal Names Knowable	Euphony	Enunciation Limit
1	Truenaming; Specialism	3	2	-	3	-	20	-
2	Enunciation; Monikers; Swift Aside	3	2	-	3	-	20	1
3	-	3	3	-	3	-	30	1
4	ASI	3	3	-	3	-	30	1
5	Avocation Feature	4	4	-	4	-	50	1
6	Specialism Feature	4	4	-	4	-	50	1
7	-	4	5	-	4	-	60	1
8	ASI	4	5	-	4	-	60	1
9	-	4	6	-	5	-	80	1
10	Negation	4	6	-	5	-	80	1
11	Personal Names	5	7	1	6	1	90	2
12	ASI	5	7	1	6	1	90	2
13	-	5	8	2	7	2	110	2
14	Specialism Feature	5	8	2	7	2	110	2
15	Avocation Feature	5	9	3	8	3	120	2
16	ASI	5	9	3	8	3	120	2
17	-	5	10	4	9	4	140	3
18	Specialism Feature	5	10	4	9	4	140	3
19	ASI	5	10	4	10	5	150	3
20	Speak Truth	5	10	4	10	5	150	3

Truenaming (Level 1)
You can make magical utterances in True Speech. Your utterances include Namings, Asides, and Words of Power, all of which require an action to make.

Some utterances require a Truenaming check, which is an intelligence check to which you may add your proficiency bonus. Any saves against the effects of your utterances have a DC of 8 plus your proficiency bonus plus your intelligence modifier.
The range of your utterances is 60 feet unless otherwise stated. You cannot make utterances if you cannot speak audibly.

Naming:

When Naming at 1st level, you can either state a genus name you know, which names every creature or natural object in that genus within 60ft, or attempt a Truenaming check to name a single creature or natural object. Genus names are discussed in their own section below. The DCs for naming checks are as follows:

• To name a creature requires meeting a DC of 10 plus half its CR or level, rounding down.
• To name a natural object requires meeting a DC of 10 plus the object’s greatest dimension measured in yards, rounding down. For instance, if a tree measures 15 feet tall and 21 feet, or 7 yards, across, the DC to name it will be 10 + 7 or 17.

The benefits of having a creature or object named are as follows:

• When you use a Word of Power, you may exclude the creatures you have named from its effects, or choose that it affect only them. In the latter case, they need only have less HP than the total affected to be valid targets.
• After dice are rolled to resolve one event in which a named target acts or is acted upon, you can use your reaction to add your intelligence bonus to the result of the roll or to take it away from the result of the roll.

As soon as you fall unconscious or attempt another Naming, any targets currently named immediately cease to be named. Otherwise, named targets remain named indefinitely.

Asides:

The Asides you can choose from and their effects are detailed in their own section below. An Aside typically requires a Truenaming check to use.

Words of Power, Euphony, and Cacophony:

The Words you can choose from and their effects are detailed in their own section below. Using a Word of Power consumes your action but requires no Truenaming check unless otherwise specified. The effects of a Word are determined by your Euphony, which is a measure of your experience and talent, in a way detailed in the description of each particular word. At level 1, you have a Euphony of 20, which increases later as shown in the table.

Whenever a Word is spoken, faint echoes called Cacophony adhere to you until you take a sufficiently long rest to damp them down. Using a Word adds 1 point of Cacophony, and at level 1 you cannot use another Word so long as you have any Cacophony on you, but you can remove all of it at the end of a long or short rest.

The on-going effects of any Word of Power on a target end when they are the target of another Word uttered by the same Truenamer, unless otherwise stated.

Specialism (Level 1, and again at Levels 6, 14, and 18)
At first level you gain one of the Truenamer specialisms: Geographer, Antiquarian, or Occultist. You gain expertise in two skills, extra Words, and the ability to Name, and know genus names for, a distinct kind of target. You gain new abilities from your archetype at levels 6, 14, and 18.

Enunciation (Level 2)
Your improved uttering ability allows you to speak a Word of Power when you have 1 point of Cacophony on you, but no more. The amount of Cacophony you can speak over increases to 2 at level 11 and to 3 at level 17.

Monikers (Level 2)
In a ritual lasting 1 hour, you can grant nicknames to yourself and a group of up to 7 allies who are present for the duration. Afterwards, you gain a genus name for the group which does not count against your total. You can add creatures, but not beyond 7 total, by repeating the ritual.

Swift Aside (Level 2)
You can toss off a simple Aside while engaged in other matters. On any turn in which you do not use your action to utter or to cast a spell, you can expend your bonus action to use an Aside in a way that does not deal damage.

Avocation Features (Level 5, and again at Level 15)
These are covered below in the section on Asides.

Negation (Level 10)
You learn to negate your Words of Power to reverse their effects. When you know a Word that can directly and explicitly inflict a certain condition on creatures and any number of creatures you have named are temporarily suffering from that condition, you can utter that Word as an action to immediately end that condition on them (and have no other effect). E.g. the Word of Power “Sleep” can wake creatures up and the Word of Power “Bleed” can be used to end bleeding (but not heal the injuries causing it). Using this ability increases and is restricted by the Cacophony on you in the normal way.

Personal Names (Level 11)
Personal names are used just like genus names, except that they name only a single individual.

You automatically know your own personal Name, though you will have to relearn it if you are ever reincarnated. You do not learn others automatically, but can only learn one over a series of occasions on which you gain significant new knowledge about the creature whose Name you are trying to learn (for instance, finding their family genealogy or casting the spell Legend Lore). Each potential source of information should be able to produce significant new knowledge only once (so casting legend Lore again and again will not suffice). On each occasion you may make one Truenaming check against the creature. If you fail three times before you succeed three times, the Name is too difficult to learn and you cannot try again. Otherwise, the third time you succeed, you learn the Name. When you learn a new personal Name, you can choose not to try to recall one you previously knew, but the total number you can recall (not counting your own) cannot be higher than shown in the table.

The benefits of having a creature named under its personal Name are the same as for a genus name, plus the following:

• When you specify the creature as the target of a Word of Power, it is a valid target as long as its HP is less than your Euphony, no matter the usual HP limit on the Word.
• You can use your bonus action each turn to inflict the effects of one of the Words Shun, Brand, or Charm without uttering it (i.e. without adding to your Cacophony or ending the effects of other Words).
• You can cast the spell Geas on the target in a ritual lasting 1 minute, and you receive a mental notification whenever such a geas is broken as long as you are on the same plane when it happens.

Speak Truth (Level 20)
You can perform Namings with such precision that they truly capture their targets' natures, and thereby grant you exceptional control over them. As an action, you can inflict the effects of any of the Words Shun, Brand, and Charm without uttering it (i.e. without adding to your Cacophony or ending the effects of other Words) on any named creature.

Spoiler: Design Notes

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The Truenaming DCs for creatures go from about 11 to 20 as you level up, with 25 for the Tarrasque. That’s about the same as AC, except that AC varies a lot more at all levels. On average, Truenaming checks will be a bit easier than attack rolls, but they’re harder to get advantage on and the Asides mostly aren’t that dangerous.

Swift Aside is to capture the feel of tossing off phrases that do a little bit of good without it requiring your whole action because, hey, all you’re doing is talking. Also, the class’s at will abilities are more important to it than for full casters from this point onwards (just as for the Warlock), and this keeps the non-damaging ones worthwhile even in combat.

The Monikers feature just helps you avoid sending your friends to sleep rather than the goblins.

The Avocations are almost like a second archetype. It ended up being difficult to fit any effect on the Asides into the actual archetypes (Specialisms), because the Asides are too varied and the archetypes are already doing a lot of work, so I made these instead.

Negation provides only a little bit of extra versatility. It’s already reflected in the Words gained from the Specialisms, which come in contrary pairs.

I hope the way I’ve done personal Names makes the research somewhat taxing, but fun and worthwhile.

Finally, capstones are nigh impossible to balance, but I don’t think Speak Truth breaks anything, and it should feel like a genuine culmination of your abilities.