Codeguard

The Codeguard is a rare breed among wizards, wielding arcane mastery over the fabric of reality itself through a mystical interface known as the Codeguard Console. This subclass blends the esoteric knowledge of arcane magic with the intuitive manipulation of a digital-like interface, resembling a shimmering, semi-transparent console hovering in front of them.

Reality Shielding

2nd-level Codeguard feature

Starting at 2nd level, you gain the ability to protect and stabilize the fabric of reality itself, using a mystical interface known as the Codeguard Console. With this power, you can detect anomalies, restore broken code, and safeguard the code of existence. However, using such power comes with consequences, often resulting in feedback effects that can harm you and those around you.

Codeguard Console

2nd-level Codeguard feature

At 2nd level, you gain access to the Codeguard Console, which allows you to protect and stabilize reality. These abilities provide defensive and restorative effects, counteracting the chaos of glitches.

• Data Purge: As an action, you can target a creature within 60 feet and attempt to purge it of harmful effects. The target must make a Constitution saving throw against your spell save DC. On a failed save, the target is cleansed of one condition affecting it (such as poisoned, blinded, or charmed). You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum of once). You regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

• Code Stabilization: You can stabilize the code of a creature or object within 30 feet. As an action, choose one of the following effects:

  • Creature: The target gains temporary hit points equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum of 1) plus your wizard level.
  • Object: The object becomes resistant to damage for 1 minute, making it harder to destroy or manipulate. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum of once). You regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

• Reality Anchor: As a bonus action, you can create an anchor point of stable reality within 10 feet. For 1 minute, creatures within this area have advantage on saving throws against being charmed or frightened. This effect moves with you, centered on your location. You can use this feature once, and regain the use of it after you finish a long rest.

Feedback Table

Each time you utilize the Codeguard Console, you gain a level of Feedback. The effects of accumulating Feedback levels intensify, becoming increasingly hazardous to you and those around you.

1 Level of Feedback: Minor Feedback

• Effect on You: Mild sensory overload causes minor distraction. You have disadvantage on Dexterity-based checks.
• Effect on Environment: Minor disruptions in the environment, such as static noise and flickering lights. These effects are harmless but can be disorienting.

2 Levels of Feedback: System Shock

• Effect on You: Frequent sensory shocks make concentration difficult. You have disadvantage on all attack rolls and saving throws.
• Effect on Environment: Small environmental hazards, such as random electrical discharges and minor tremors. Creatures within 10 feet of you must succeed on a DC 10 Dexterity saving throw or take 1d4 lightning damage.

3 Levels of Feedback: Reality Distortion

• Effect on You: Severe feedback causes temporary reality distortions around you. You have disadvantage on all ability checks and saving throws, and your speed is halved.
• Effect on Environment: Dangerous environmental anomalies, such as short-lived gravity shifts and spatial warps. Creatures within 20 feet of you must succeed on a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw or be knocked prone.

4 Levels of Feedback: Critical Feedback

• Effect on You: Critical feedback results in debilitating effects. You gain one level of exhaustion, and you must succeed on a Constitution saving throw (DC 15) at the start of each of your turns or be stunned until the start of your next turn.
• Effect on Environment: Major environmental hazards, such as destructive energy bursts and localized reality breakdowns. Creatures within 30 feet of you must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or take 3d6 force damage.

5 Levels of Feedback: Reality Fracture

• Effect on You: Your connection to reality becomes unstable. You gain two levels of exhaustion, and your spells have a 25% chance of failing (roll a d4; on a roll of 1, the spell fails).
• Effect on Environment: Fractures in reality cause random teleportations and sudden, violent environmental changes. Creatures within 40 feet of you must succeed on a DC 17 Wisdom saving throw or be randomly teleported up to 30 feet to an unoccupied space.

6 Levels of Feedback: Temporal Instability

• Effect on You: Time around you becomes unstable. You occasionally skip turns or take additional ones. Roll a d6 at the start of your turn: on a 1-2, you lose your turn; on a 5-6, you take an additional turn immediately after this one.
• Effect on Environment: Time flows erratically, causing plants to wither, clocks to malfunction, and creatures to age or de-age randomly. Creatures within 50 feet of you must succeed on a DC 18 Constitution saving throw or be aged or de-aged by 1d10 years.

7 Levels of Feedback: Spatial Collapse

• Effect on You: Your presence causes space to collapse around you. Movement is hindered; you can only move at half speed, and you cannot teleport or use dimension-altering abilities.
• Effect on Environment: Space warps, creating random black holes and teleportation portals that suck in or expel objects and creatures. Creatures within 60 feet of you must succeed on a DC 19 Dexterity saving throw or be sucked into a portal, taking 4d6 force damage and reappearing in a random location within 60 feet.

8 Levels of Feedback: Ethereal Dissolution

• Effect on You: Your physical form begins to fade. You become partially ethereal, giving you resistance to all damage but also causing you to have disadvantage on attack rolls and saving throws.
• Effect on Environment: The environment around you becomes ghostly and insubstantial, with objects and creatures phasing in and out of existence. Creatures within 70 feet of you must succeed on a DC 20 Wisdom saving throw or be affected by the Etherealness spell for 1 minute.

9 Levels of Feedback: Anomalous Feedback Loop

• Effect on You: Feedback loops cause erratic behavior. At the start of each of your turns, roll a d10: on a 1-2, you are incapacitated until the start of your next turn; on a 3-4, you act normally; on a 5-6, you must use your action to attack the nearest creature; on a 7-8, you must use your action to move as far away from the nearest creature as possible; on a 9-10, you can act normally but suffer one level of exhaustion.
• Effect on Environment: The environment becomes dangerously unpredictable, with spontaneous fires, ice storms, and other hazardous phenomena manifesting randomly. Creatures within 80 feet of you must succeed on a DC 21 Constitution saving throw or suffer a random effect (e.g., fire damage, freezing, etc.).

10 Levels of Feedback: Cataclysmic Breakdown

• Effect on You: Your connection to reality shatters. You are rendered unconscious and cannot be awakened until the Feedback level is reduced. Your body flickers in and out of existence, and your spells and abilities are completely unusable.
• Effect on Environment: Reality itself begins to collapse in your vicinity. The area around you for a radius of 90 feet becomes a chaotic maelstrom, causing immense environmental damage and affecting creatures with random, extreme effects. Creatures within this radius must succeed on a DC 22 Dexterity saving throw or take 8d6 force damage and suffer a random extreme effect from the table below.

Random Extreme Effects Table

When you reach 10 levels of Feedback and trigger a Cataclysmic Breakdown, roll a d10 to determine the random extreme effect that occurs. These effects are devastating and can have lasting consequences.

1. Temporal Disjunction: All creatures within the radius are frozen in time for 1d4 hours. During this time, they are completely immobile and unaware of their surroundings.

2. Petrification Wave: A wave of petrifying energy spreads out from you. All creatures within the radius must succeed on a DC 22 Constitution saving throw or be petrified. This effect lasts until dispelled by Greater Restoration or similar magic.

3. Dimensional Rift: A tear in the fabric of reality opens, pulling creatures into another plane. All creatures within the radius must succeed on a DC 22 Strength saving throw or be pulled into a random plane of existence.

4. Energy Surge: A surge of raw magical energy erupts from you, dealing 10d6 force damage to all creatures within the radius. This damage bypasses resistances and immunities.

5. Gravity Collapse: Gravity intensifies dramatically within the radius. All creatures within the radius must succeed on a DC 22 Dexterity saving throw or be crushed, taking 8d6 bludgeoning damage and being restrained until the effect ends. This effect lasts for 1 minute.

6. Mind Warp: The minds of all creatures within the radius are assaulted by chaotic psychic energy. All creatures must succeed on a DC 22 Intelligence saving throw or be driven insane (effect similar to the Insanity condition in Madness rules). This insanity lasts until cured by Greater Restoration or similar magic.

7. Life Drain: A wave of necrotic energy drains the life from all creatures within the radius. All creatures must succeed on a DC 22 Constitution saving throw or take 6d6 necrotic damage and have their maximum hit points reduced by the same amount. This reduction lasts until a long rest is completed.

8. Spatial Implosion: Space itself implodes within the radius. All creatures must succeed on a DC 22 Dexterity saving throw or be crushed into a single point, taking 12d6 force damage. On a successful save, creatures take half damage and are knocked prone.

9. Ethereal Banishment: All creatures within the radius are shifted to the Ethereal Plane. They remain there for 1 minute, unable to interact with the material world. At the end of this duration, they return to their original location (or the nearest unoccupied space).

10. Chaotic Transformation: All creatures within the radius must succeed on a DC 22 Charisma saving throw or be transformed into a random creature (determined by the DM) for 1d6 hours. This transformation can only be reverted by a Wish spell or similar magic.

Reducing Feedback Levels

To reduce your Feedback levels, you must take specific actions. Feedback reduction is crucial to prevent the catastrophic effects of high Feedback levels.

Rest

• Long Rest: Each long rest reduces your Feedback level by 1.

Stabilization Ritual

• Ritual: Perform a stabilization ritual, requiring 1 hour and a successful Intelligence (Arcana) check against a DC equal to 10 + your current Feedback level. On a success, reduce your Feedback level by 2. This ritual can be performed once per day.

Reality Anchor

• Anchor: Using the Reality Anchor feature (available at 2nd level) while outside of combat can help stabilize your Feedback. Spending 10 minutes in a safe area with a Reality Anchor reduces your Feedback level by 1.

Magical Aid

• High-Level Spells: Certain high-level spells, such as Greater Restoration, can reduce your Feedback level by 1 when cast specifically for this purpose.

Mystical Conduits

• Rare Artifacts/Locations: Rare artifacts or locations with strong ties to the fabric of reality can provide respite. Spending an hour at such a location or using such an artifact can reduce your Feedback level by 2, but these are exceedingly rare and may come with their own risks.

Firewall Projection

6th-level Codeguard feature

You can project a firewall of arcane energy as an action. The firewall creates a barrier in a 20-foot radius around you that lasts for 1 minute or until you dismiss it as a bonus action. The firewall grants you and your allies within its radius advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects originating from outside the firewall. Additionally, any enemy that starts its turn within the firewall's radius takes fire damage equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum of 1). Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

Reality Fortification

10th-level Codeguard feature

At 10th level, your mastery of the Codeguard Console allows you to fortify reality against anomalies. As an action, you can create a zone of fortified reality within a 60-foot radius. The possible fortifications include:

• Barrier Creation: Erect a barrier that provides cover and prevents passage. The barrier can take the form of walls, domes, or other shapes and lasts for 1 hour.

• Effect Nullification: Nullify ongoing magical effects within the area, similar to the Dispel Magic spell, but affecting all spells of 3rd level or lower.

• Harmonic Balance: Temporarily create an area where the natural laws are reinforced. Creatures within the area have advantage on saving throws against magical effects, and any attempts to manipulate reality (such as teleportation or polymorphing) are resisted.

You can use this feature once per long rest. Using Reality Fortification causes you to gain two levels of Feedback.

Antivirus Protocol

14th-level Codeguard feature

At 14th level, you gain the ability to deploy a powerful antivirus protocol that seeks out and neutralizes harmful glitches and anomalies. As an action, you can activate the Antivirus Protocol, which provides the following benefits for 1 minute:

• Anomaly Detection: You and allies within 30 feet of you gain the ability to see invisible creatures and objects, as well as automatically detect illusions and shapeshifters. This functions as if under the effects of True Seeing.

• Harmful Effect Immunity: You and allies within 30 feet of you gain immunity to one condition of your choice (charmed, frightened, poisoned, paralyzed, stunned, or petrified) for the duration.

• Feedback Reversal: For the duration, any harmful magical effect or condition that would affect you or an ally within 30 feet of you is instead reflected back at the source. The source must succeed on a saving throw against your spell save DC or suffer the reflected effect.

You can use this feature once per long rest. Activating the Antivirus Protocol causes you to gain four levels of Feedback.