I have been developing my world for quite sometime before I started playing and once I started to play and I ran into an issue to get the major part of my world to fit as a class. I tried multiple solutions from editing races slightly to make them closer, flavoring existing classes or spells, or trying to add subclasses to existing classes. However, none of these gave the right feeling, so I have made multiple attempts at creating a class to encompass how my world's main magic system works and I would like some input on the very early stages of my current build. I'm not looking for too much in mechanics but I want to see what character ideas you have after learning what my system is like and any questions you have about how my world works so I can fill in any holes I have before I go all-in on this current attempt. This is my third attempt at what I call the Aether Class.
What is Aether?
Aether is the primary cause of magic for my worlds. In my main world, Kosa, aether is in a state of supersaturation causing it to crystallize into 5 fundamental forms of aether, Electric, Gravity, Magnetic, Nuclear, and Spirit. To use these crystallized forms of aether, each human in Kosa is born with an Aether focus that grants an affinity to two types of crystals. An individual must have a crystal on their person to use any of their abilities.
Breakdown of Aether focuses and Class design
With the basics down for what Aether is and the types of forms of it, let's breakdown what each version does and make some characters that either use 1 focus or combine both.
Current class design: The way the class is set up is similar to the warlock class. First, you choose your primary Aether focus at lvl 1. This determines the types of "invocations" you can choose and which spell list you can choose from. At 3rd lvl, you choose your secondary Aether focus and unlock more choices for "invocations" and spells to choose from. However, the "invocations" carry far more weight than most of the warlock invocations.
Electric Aether users are known for their abilities to manipulate electric fields producing various effects such as, generating electricity to shock their foes, faster reactions, and movements, causing a person's body to lock in place, redirecting other forms of electricity, or firing projectiles at high speeds, a recent discoverer that normally requires metal projectiles and a rail to hold the projectile. Those who are skilled in this can fire the metal projectile without needing the rail to focus their current. Electric aether users are primarily used as bodyguards, bounty hunters, or even snipers as no other aether class can match the range of their fired projectiles.
In-game mechanics: Electric aether users can choose features ranging from faster movement speeds, multiple reactions per round (probably x number of times per long rest), ability to attempt to stun any target hit you damage with lightning damage x times per short rest, or even focus on firing projectiles at similar to the thunder cannon from the old Artificer UA.
Gravity Aether users are known for their abilities to manipulate gravity. This allows them to walk on any surface be it vertical or horizontal as if it was leveled ground, cause large fields of increased, decreased, or reversed gravity, sudden bursts of extreme gravity to crush or tear enemies or fly as if it was second nature. Many Gravity aether users make their homes in higher elevation or near cliffs as they have little fear of falling. When exploring mountainous regions, gravity aether users are normally sent first and in war, they are used to control the flow of battles.
In-game mechanics: Gravity Aether users primarily focus on gaining improved mobility leading up to flight if they choose to take that route, additional resources that wouldn't require spells slots to control movement such as creating areas of difficult terrain, reverse gravity, or crushing gravity to restrain. Current ideas also include a cantrip similar to mage hand and a damaging cantrip that can be further improved with "invocations". Due to a gravity user being used for exploration might add expertise to survival or even an ability to create a spyglass like effect with gravitational lensing (could be a cool combo with the railgun).
Magnetic Aether users are known for their abilities to manipulate metals, rapidly heat or cool their environment, and to make their bodies strong as steel. While electric aether users are known for scouting and gravity aether users for control, Magnetic aether users are the tanks. Their tough bodies make them hard to damage and getting too close will let them either freeze you or burn you up. Wearing metal near them is a death sentence as they can drag you in close. Magnetic Aether users will sometimes ingest metal powders to let them harden their bodies from the inside. Even a feeble looking magnetic user can be a physical powerhouse as they use the ingested metal to toughen their skin and infuse their muscles and bones. However, over-reliance on using magnetic aether for your physical strength can lead to not being able to function without it. Outside of combat, magnetic Aether users are commonly used as miners and blacksmiths since their abilities make finding metals easy and their affinity with metals make smithing almost second nature, only being beaten by nuclear Aether users.
In-game mechanics: Much like the barbarian, a magnetic aether user focuses on high hp and resistance to damage. Unlike the barbarian, they can substitute their strength-based rolls with their casting modifier, possibly x times a day or similar to the hexblade. AC is either dex+casting or dex+con. Also, the class has access to many fire, cold, and other metal-based telekinetic spells and can naturally or choose as a class feature, throw or slow metal-based items and treat them like spiritual weapon to float and attack in a space.
Nuclear Aether user's skills can be the deciding factor on whether a town or city thrives or collapses. Nuclear Aether users or more commonly called Form users can manipulate matter into any shape or other form of matter so long as they understand how to do so. A form user can take the air around them or the stone around them and break it down and reforge into a sword, armor, or a fancy outfit, so long as the initial mass is equivalent to the end product. Many creations will simply revert to their original forms once they leave the user, the more skilled a Form user, the more permanent the item. Due to their crafting skills, many Form users are trained in anything from smithing to weaving to masonry to better their skills for the community. The better their skills in a certain trade the better their Formed creations will be.
In addition to their abilities to crafting, form users are the first to settle as their ability to craft anything they need allows them to survive in almost any environment. Some form users have specialized in manipulating the amount of energy they use or found ways to gather more energy from the matter around them allowing them to continue without rest or food or a quick burst of energy in a pinch. Very few have become so adept at repairing their forms that they have ceased aging or have repaired missing limbs without thought.
In-game mechanics: There are several paths Nuclear users can go or a bit of everything. Crafting times reduces and cost reduced, gaining more tool proficiencies, free versions of the fabricate spell, etc. For combat, you choose fighting styles much like fighter or ranger, however you gain a small bonus to go with your ability to materialize your weapons based on your fighting style. Example: archery fighting style gives you the normal +2 bonus but also lets you form arrows every time you fire removing the need for arrows. Example: two-weapon fighting lets you summon two weapons as a free action and future bonuses added to your formed weapons carry over to both formed weapons. For armor, you can summon armor and have it donned as an action or bonus action (still deciding). Pushing further into crafting and formed weapons you can start forming your weapons with different exotic materials with bonuses (adamantine, silver, etc). Out of combat, you can choose some invocations to remove the need for eating, breathing, sleeping, or even prevent visible aging or aging entirely (still working out if not dying from aging should be a spirit aether ability).
Spirit Aether: While the other focuses can be described as manipulating the physical aspects of the world, Spirit Aether is the manipulation of minds, souls, and how the body interacts with the world. Many spirit users are trained to be healers or have close relations with religious organizations, many work as grave keepers to tend to the souls of the departed and ensure they pass on without corruption, sometimes forming close bonds with these wisp-like souls and letting them be housed within their own soul. This bond allows the wisp to share knowledge it once knew in life. Many spirit users find themselves as leaders, either through underhanded methods or having such a strong connection to the soul that they can view the souls of others to gain greater insight into their motives.
While Spirit users are seen in a good light in many kingdoms, they are still considered to be on the fringe of humanity, sharing many similarities to the monsters that lurk in the shadows (commonly called youkai in Kosa). Some traits that spirit users can perform that are similar to Youkai can be the ability to see in the dark giving a shimmer to their eyes, abilities to drain the life force from another like spirits or vampires, or even cursing others similar to Youkai in stories. Normally in small regions, spirit users could be thought of as a curse or a danger to the region so they are shunned. Spirit users also exhibit visual differences only common to them including white/silver hair, and/or dull grey or red eyes. While not all spirit users have these traits, they are far more common with them.
In-game mechanics: Spirit users gain access to many healing spells, mental altering spells like dissonant whispers, charm person or crown of madness, necromancy spells like inflict wounds, or traveling to the ethereal plane or passing through walls like a ghost. For features, spirit aether can follow a few paths or pick bits along the way. The ability to partner with a wisp/spirit or more commonly called dual soul users gain a familiar who can either scout for them or tethering with your own soul to grant extra skill or tool proficiencies. While tethered, you visibly and mentally change such as your pale grey eyes turning another color, hair bleeding to a different color or two shades, or taking on personalities/flaws of the spirit. Soul sight gives the ability to find those who are hostile to you similar to a weapon of warning by bleeding the world around you into a faint grey when you focus and individuals who show up as red are hostile to you and you gain expertise in insight as you have a watch their souls for tells (like a polygraph). As you progress further into soul sight you gain stronger darkvision leading up to truesight, the ability to track targets by following the ripples their souls leave through the ethereal plane, study the ethereal plane to rewind what events have happened (knowledge domain cleric ability). As a capstone, after studying the soul for so long, you can reach superhuman insight and the ability to force your presence similar to the barbarian capstone of 24 str and 24 con, except wisdom and charisma.
Character examples
Relentless Immortal (Spirit/nuclear): By focusing on removing the need to eat, sleep, and stopping aging with the spirit and nuclear focus combined with a spirit companion to refresh you on "current events" as you lose your grasp of time due to your long life. Also, combine with the ability to regenerate your body if you lose limbs, regenerate health, or maybe a capstone to revive from death. With this, you can make a character who has had a long life and maybe have it where the spirit companion is keeping you alive despite your wishes.
Sniper (Electric/Gravity): Combine the gravity user's ability to get to hard to reach places and their knowledge of exploring with the electric user's railgun can make for an interesting sniper build. Also for flavor or function have the character make a scope using gravitational lensing for better accuracy or just advantage at finding targets.
Anime Sword (Magnetic/Nuclear): Say you want a buster sword but you want str as a dump stat or you feel even with 20 str you wouldn't be able to wield it. Well, imaging using the strength of the magnetic user to strengthen your muscles or even use the magnetism to aid in your swings. Combine the Nuclear aether to form the weapon on the spot to keep you from being encumbered.
Share your thoughts
So with that, I would like to hear what kinds of ideas do you have for characters? What things would you like me to explain further? Are there any ideas or themes you think should be added or expanded upon for an Aether focus?
I had an idea to make a light version that is a combination of magnetic and electric but it wouldn't allow you to split it into magnetic and electric. I choose this since I didn't want too many options in one focus. I have an idea for time and space but lore-wise it doesn't exist so far, due to aether being so concentrated. Trying to fold space-time is difficult as the aether resists it.
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Aether Class
What is Aether?
Breakdown of Aether focuses and Class design
Character examples
Share your thoughts
idea mix magnetic and electric and make a time one
Check out my homebrew subclasses spells magic items feats monsters races
i am a sauce priest
help create a world here
I had an idea to make a light version that is a combination of magnetic and electric but it wouldn't allow you to split it into magnetic and electric. I choose this since I didn't want too many options in one focus. I have an idea for time and space but lore-wise it doesn't exist so far, due to aether being so concentrated. Trying to fold space-time is difficult as the aether resists it.