Well here's my shot at this. I love building Red Mage types, and I usually try to make them more of a gish but there's plenty of cases out there of Red Mages that are really just the baddest spellslingers in the land and don't need to bother touching a sword, with their signature ability to throw down multiple spells in a single turn. This one is themed after being sort of a magic commando, with the training of a soldier and the skills of a spy to compliment their immense magical prowess.
Level 1: Freelancer Mark of Shadow Elf: Divine Soul Sorcerer 1 Stats: 8 | 14 | 16 | 10 | 8 | 17 (after race bumps using Tasha's) Skills (5 w/ race): Arcana, Acrobatics, Persuasion, Deception, Stealth HP: 9 AC: 12 (15 w/ mage armor) Tools: Thieves Tools, Disguise Kit Cantrips: Fire Bolt, Guidance, Mind Sliver, Minor Illusion, Toll the Dead Spells: Cure Wounds, Guiding Bolt, Mage Armor Notable Features: Favored by the Gods
A charlatan finds their purpose “Jasper grew up in the slums, left with little after their parents disappeared other than a single crystal of light that he soon discovered could be used as a spellcasting focus to channel a magic deep within himself. He used his magic and street smarts to develop the skills of a silver tongued rogue in order to get by and make a name for themselves. Eventually the captain of the city watch caught up with him, but in a surprising turn of events, recommended the young con-man to turn their life around by apprenticing as a mage for the city and working to put their skills toward the greater good.”
Starting right away the build is a pretty versatile caster. Guiding bolt, fire bolt, and toll the dead are all solid offensive options. Guidance and mind sliver are great for party support. And minor illusion along with your skill and tool proficiencies will be pretty handy for getting in and out of trouble. Oh and don't forget Favored by the Gods can turn that guiding bolt miss into a hit or save you from a crucial saving throw fail.
“Jasper quickly develops an aptitude for a wide variety of magic, able to manipulate spells and amplify their effects in ways few other magic users could master. He soon rises to the rank of Red Mage of the city, a powerful class of magic users who learn to support the cities soldiers on the battlefield, and can also function as an infiltration unit when a more subtle approach is required. Since the city is not usually in immediate need of soldiers, Jasper spends most of his time when he isn't training joining adventurers on quests he deems a noble cause.”
Offense gets better with spiritual weapon and mind whip, the latter of which is a great choice for twinning. Support gets better with healing word and haste, both of which can be twinned as well. And magical guidance is basically advantage on any of your skill uses to help make up for the lower bonuses compared to a rogue or bard. Quicken spell was more of a thematic choice, as it just fits the doublecast theme of the red mage, even though subtle spell might be better here. But getting an extra 2d12 damage out with a toll the dead is still a decent use of sorcery points if you need to bring a target down as fast as you can. Oh and you can telekinetically shove enemies as a bonus action or just mess with the environment using mage hand without anyone knowing it's you because it's always a subtle spell.
“Jasper completes his training in the city when he rises to the rank of Red Magus, mastering the ultimate form of combat magic, doublecasting, the ability to quickly cast multiple high level spells in quick succession. At this point his training has also covered a wider range of martial techniques and now he wears the same armor as the elite soldiers he trains alongside."
We're pretty tough for a caster now with solid armor, shield, and absorb elements. And you can finally start truly doublecasting by using action surge to throw two fireballs into a room once per short rest. Or I guess you could do something a little more productive like twin haste your martials and synaptic static the bad guys at the same time. Greater invisibility and polymorph are just another two great buffs you can twin. Ya you can only have one concentration spell out but I feel like guiding bolt, mind whip, spiritual weapon, and fireball will remain useful uses for your spell slots when not able to use a second concentration spell.
Level 17: Red Wizard Divine Soul 15 / Fighter 2 Stats: 8 | 14 | 16 | 10 | 8 | 20 HP: 125 (147 after a rest) AC: 20 Cantrips: Mage Hand (taken twice extends the range of the telekinetic one) Spells: Disintegrate, Heal, Reverse Gravity, Holy Aura Notable Features: Transmuted Spell, Inspiring Leader Feat, Otherworldy Wings
"Jasper now spends most of his time roaming the land on dangerous missions that challenge great threats to the people. He begins learning some of the most powerful magic in the land and putting it to use thwarting villains far and wide. At one point he is called back to his home when they are drawn into a dangerous war with a coalition of monstrous races lead by powerful cultists, but before large scale fighting breaks out Jasper and his companions are able to break into their keep and slay their leadership, averting countless casualties.
More spell slots, more sorcery points, and we can now fly at no cost and dish out oodles of temp hp by cooking up tasty meals for our party. For spells we get a nice nuke with disintegrate, the only good in-combat recovery aside from healing word with heal, a solid battlefield control spell with reverse gravity, and a tremendous defensive buff with holy aura. For our third metamagic I went with transmuted spell to stick with the red mage theme of knowing spells of the various black magic damage types.
“Jasper was last seen paying one last visit to his old home before setting off on one last quest. Rumor has it he and his companions were travelling to a far off realm unlike any known to common folk, to stop a world ending cataclysm predicted by the local seers. No one has heard of them since, but the people have faith in his safety if only for the fact that the prophesied destruction has failed to fall upon them.”
Hey we have a 9th level spell slot finally, and of course we grab wish for maximum versatility. Pull out any 8th level or lower spell that perfectly fits the situation you find yourself in, and cast it as one action if it has an annoyingly long casting time. And then you can still action surge and cast another levelled spell on the same turn! Rather than go Sorc for the final level and picking up a really lame self heal option I figured battlemaster would be handy since every caster would love to have a bonus to initiative with ambush, commanding presence is nice for your charisma skills, and bait and switch might keep you alive in a tight spot.
Bonus round if you want to equate the dnd spells to their final fantasy equivalents (assuming metamagic optional): Fire/Blizzard/Water/Thunder -> Firebolt, Cure -> Cure Wounds/Healing Word, Dia -> Guiding Bolt, Shell -> Absorb Elements, Protect -> Shield, Confuse -> Mind Whip, Firaga/Blizzaga/Waterga/Thundaga -> Fireball, Haste/Hastaga -> Haste, Vanish/Vanishga -> Invisibility/Greater Invisibility, Toad/Summons -> Polymorph, Bioga - Synaptic Static, Flare/Megaflare -> Disintegrate, Curaga -> Heal, Graviga -> Reverse Gravity, Mighty Guard -> Holy Aura, Final Summon/Limit Break -> Wish. Only one I couldn't think of a match for is spiritual weapon or the other cantrips, but you can't just skip spiritual weapon.
Race; High Elf. (Take the Deep Speech Language and Message Cantrip).
Background; Sage (Dwarvish and Draconic languages)
Stats; Str 8, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 16, Wis 10, Cha 13.
Starting Level; Wizard
Ryze was just a young apprentice when he first learned of the arcane powers that had shaped the world.
His master, a sorcerer named Tyrus of Helia, was a member of an ancient order whose mission had been to gather and protect the most dangerous artifacts in Runeterra. Ryze overheard Tyrus speaking in hushed tones with another mage, discussing something called “World Runes.” When Tyrus noticed his apprentice, he abruptly ended the conversation, tightly clutching the scroll that never left his side.
In spite of the order’s best efforts, knowledge of the Runes began to spread—few could even begin to understand their importance, or the sheer power held within them, and yet all saw them as weapons that could be turned against their rivals. Ryze and Tyrus traveled between the various peoples of Valoran, trying to quell paranoia and encourage restraint. But over time, their missions became increasingly precarious, and Ryze could sense his master’s growing desperation. Finally, in the Noxii territories where Ryze was born, the first cataclysmic blow was struck in what would eventually be known as the Rune Wars.
We start off in Wizard, giving us an ok start. Not that much HP, but utility is utility and spells are spells. Pick up; Toll the dead, Ray of frost and mage hand for cantrips. Take; Alarm, comprehend languages, fog cloud, ice knife, mage armour and sleep. Ryze generally stands back and fights, using ray of frost to stop enemies getting close and ice knife and fog cloud to make a quick getaway. Alarm and comprehend languages are useful for his studies, and protection while resting. HP; 7, AC: 16 (w/mage armour, 13 without).
Level 5; War Wizard 5
Two nations were pitted against one another, and tensions were running high. Tyrus pleaded with their leaders in parley at the village of Khom, but he saw this conflict had already escalated beyond his ability to mediate. Fleeing into the hills, he and Ryze bore horrified witness to the destructive power of the World Runes firsthand.
The earth fell away beneath them, the bedrock itself seeming to retch and squeal, while the sky above them recoiled as if mortally wounded. They looked back upon the valley where the rival armies had stood, and beheld insanity—destruction on a scale so massive that it defied all physical sense. The buildings, the people, all were gone, and the ocean, once a day’s journey to the east, now rushed to meet them.
Ryze fell to his knees and stared into the great hole torn in the world. Nothing remained. Not even the village he once called home.
Open warfare soon raged across Runeterra. Ryze felt compelled to join the conflict, to pick a side and lend his magical strength to the cause, but Tyrus stayed his hand. The two of them had to guide others back toward peace, and pray there was anything left of the world by the time it was all over.
Wherever they met those who held the World Runes, Tyrus pleaded for restraint. Many were deeply sobered by the threat of total annihilation—indeed, those who had already suffered most bitterly in the war might have agreed to turn over their Runes to him, and yet none of them wished to be the first to do so.
Ryze has gained more power now. His arcane tradition is that of war magic, which grants him a bit more survivability and some bonus to initiative to help him get off those powerful spells quickly. His intelligence has grown, with 18 thanks to his ASI. He has picked up the cantrip control flames for the utility, damage and defence it provides. The following spells have been added to his spellbook, thanks to the power of the world runes; find familiar, misty step, aganazzar's scorcher, see invisibility, invisibility, counterspell, haste and enemies abound. The tactic is to stay out of the way, and cast spells. Ray of frost and ice knife provide a way to slow enemies and damage them, while Ryze has many tricks to confuse enemies (invisibility, enemies abound, misty step and counterspell). HP: 27, AC 16/13.
Level 11: War Wizard 6/Lore Bard 4/Wild Magic Sorcerer 1
As time passed and the conflict spread, Ryze noticed his master growing more distant. While Tyrus attended clandestine meetings with great leaders and archmages, he sent his apprentice on errands that seemed of little importance, often for many weeks at a time. Eventually, Ryze decided to confront him and, to his horror, discovered that Tyrus of Helia had secretly come into possession of not one Rune, but two.
Bitter and angry, the older mage insisted that common mortals were like reckless children, toying with powers they did not understand. He would no longer play diplomat to ignorant power-mongers. He had to stop them. Ryze tried to reason with Tyrus, but it was no use—before him stood a flawed man, susceptible to the same temptations as those he decried. The allure of the Runes had left its mark upon him. Where once he desired only peace, now he had the means to bring about the end of all things. Ryze had to act, even if it meant destroying his only true friend and ally in the world.
Ryze is starting to shine a bit more now. The next level in wizard grants him an extra 2 spells, another slot and the ability to store arcane power after counterspell-ing someone. The 4 levels in bard give us bardic inspiration that will mostly be used on cutting words, as well as jack of all trades. This allows Ryze to have more uses outside of combat, as well as in. The ASI gives us an increase to Cha and Int, so a 14 and 19 respectively. Lore bard gives us some more skills, allowing for overall utility when combined with expertise. And finally, the Wild Sorcerer level gives us the ability to get some random magic ( a result of the world rune's power on Ryze), and the ability to have some free advantage, which will definitely come in handy later. The extra spells are; minor illusion, poison spray, mending, dancing lights, light, shocking grasp, vicious mockery, prestidigitation (cantrips), bane, cure wounds, detect magic, animal messenger, faerie fire, longstrider, shatter, chaos bolt, absorb elements, snilloc's snowball swarm, fireball, enemies abound, protection from energy, magic missile, protection from evil and good (spells of 1st and above). His wizard ASI goes into his con, which is 14 now. HP: 61, AC: 16/13
Level 17: War Wizard 9/Lore Bard 4/Wild Magic Sorcerer 4
In an instant, he unleashed all the magic he could muster. A moment later, Tyrus’s corpse lay smoldering on the floor.
Ryze trembled as his mind struggled to process what he had done. If these deadly artifacts could corrupt a mage with the strength and integrity of Tyrus, how was Ryze to handle them? At the same time, he knew he could not entrust them to any other living soul...
Soon, the greatest civilizations all but destroyed one another, ending the war. Ryze now understood the task he had inherited—as long as any World Rune remained unsecured, Runeterra was surely doomed. This knowledge was to become a lonely burden indeed, for ever since that day he has scoured the world in search of the last remaining Runes.
Ryze is now getting to his height of power. The world runes he wields have truly awoken the wild magic in him, giving him the ability to use magic more frequently (font of magic) and to change his spells in powerful ways (twinned spell and empowered spell for metamagic). His ASI from sorcerer has gone into the feat Elven Accuracy, increasing our Int to 20, and giving us triple advantage whenever we use our tides of chaos feature! Combining this with empowered spell could cause for huge crit damage on on-hit spells like ice knife (cast at higher levels of course). Ryze has also gained more power from his studies as a wizard, and can now store the magic he counters and unleash it as raw power (power surge). In addition, he has level 9th level spell slots! The extra spells he has learnt are; primal savagery (sorcerer cantrip), chromatic orb (should have diamond), and disguise self (1st level sorc spells), legend lore (wizard 5th level) and evard's black tentacles (wizard 4th). HP: 108, AC: 16/13
Level 20: War Wizard 12/Lore Bard 4/Wild Magic Sorcerer 4
He continues to reject the promise of power within each one, choosing instead to bind them in secret locations, far from prying and greedy eyes.
Even with his life abnormally prolonged by the magic he is exposed to, Ryze cannot afford to rest, for rumors of the World Runes have begun to emerge once more, and the peoples of Runeterra seem to have forgotten the price of wielding them.
Ryze has made it. His journey to gather the World Runes has given him unrivalled power, and the ability to warp magic and minds alike. His last 3 levels in wizard have given him level 6 spells, the ability to protect himself while casting spells (durable magic). Ryze picks up; fire shield, hallucinatory terrain, disintegrate, chain lightning, shield, web and chill touch, for spells. His final ASI goes into Lucky, granting him even more sway over the battle. HP: 126, AC:16/13
Checklist for Ryze: Damage? Yes, combining spells like chain lighting or upcast fireball with empowered spell, or upcast ice knife with triple advantage. Defence? With spells like absorb elements, shield upcast for straight stopping, or fog cloud for being able to get away. Utility? Thanks to Bard and Wild sorc, we have plenty of it, and have many utility spells and cantrips. Overall, Ryze the Rune Mage is very flexible in his casting, and makes use of his tides of chaos feature to get things his way (and lucky!). With a bonus to initiative of +8, he can hopefully get ahead and use spells to kill off or restrain his targets before they can react. Ryze uses his bonus to saves to help him survive in a world where the opponents are tough.
And that was Ryze, the Rune Mage! Hoped you enjoy the music down below while reading this!
I put a lot of time into developing this concept, so I hope it can match up to some of the others. Without further ado, I give you.....
Mage Sovereign
"The sad fact about magic is that the person with more of it invariably wins."
Level 1: Wizard Race: Human (Variant Lucky) Stats: Str (8) Con (12) Dex (14) Int (16 with racials) wis (14) char (14 with racials) HP: 8 AC: 13 with mage armour, 18 with the shield spell + mage armour. Background: Noble Final level split: Wizard (abjurer) 17, Bard (lore) 3
Ke'heops looked at me with scorn. "You really believe your foolish ploys can defeat me? I am the most powerful mage our clan has ever produced." I just smiled "For now father." Ke'heops glanced back at his daughter, Shalla, who stood behind him. She laughed quietly, but there was a hint of steel in her voice "Don't be silly Kellen. I will always strive to be as good and just- and as powerful- as our father, but I shall never match his greatness. But I am more than powerful enough to defeat you." Ke'heops looked round, a smug look on his face. "See Kellen? Even your own sister has turned against you." I grimaced "Seems that way doesn't it." I turned to leave , but Shalla called my name "You are betraying your family Kellen. Your duty is to serve our line, not to run away." I should have kept walking, but that hit a nerve "What exactly has my family ever done for me?" For once, Shalla had no answer. It was eerily silent as I walked away.
Level 5: Wizard 5 Picking up the Abjuration subclass. The ward gives you some much needed tankyness and you have access to some prime spells such as Counterspell and fireball as well as all the other wizard utility goodies. You have a spell for pretty much all your needs at this point. At level four bump your int to 18 . A true mage knows that in a fight, things should never come down to the roll of a dice.... Not much else to say here, it is pretty much a standard wizard. HP: 32 (45 with arcane ward) AC: 13 with mage armour, 18 with the shield spell + mage armour.
I was having a rather bad dream before I was interrupted. I was lying on the cold floor while a massive lizard was eating my legs and white bears were dancing around wistling some horrific tune. It was rather odd when the lizard that until now had been intent on making me his lunch started speaking. It was even stranger what he said. "Its not a dream Kellen." I was horrified at that- If it wasn't a dream then I was royally screwed. Funnily enough, it said it again, and this time it sounded like Shalla, which was obviously impossible.... I closed my eyes, and when I opened them again, my surroundings were vastly different. Not the desert where I had fallen asleep, but the throneroom of what looked like a royal mage's sanctum. In front of me was my sister. "How is this possible? Are you in my mind?" She laughed "No silly! We are in mine. Yours is far too disorganized. Well technically, we are in a dream state, so it is not really my conscious mind." I was flabbergasted "How did you figure out how to do this? And why?" She looked bemused "I have had this sanctum in my dreams since I was six Kellen. It is a great place to practice spellwork" She raised her hand and a coil of black smoke appeared arround it "I could show you if yo-" I cut her off. "Why did you summon me? What do you wan't?" I was a little guilty at her hurt expression, but that quickly faded when she spoke "Come home Kellen. Please. Father will forgive you if I beg him. We can be a family again." I watched her silently but shook my head. "I won't come home until he is dead." "Kell-" "No Shalla." With a wave of my hand the illusion disappeared and the real world returned.
Level 11: Wizard 8, Bard 3 Pick up the college of lore for those beautiful cutting words. Between bardic inspiration, lucky and cutting words, you are now quite the dice controller. For your ASI bump int to max, which will help with your save DC and attack rolls. With the addition of the bard spell list you now have some minor healing, but the main attraction is jack of all trades. You can now add half your proficiency bonus to counterspells, which may seem small but it all stacks up. You have access to level 4 spells including polymorph and greater invisibility which can help with utility and scouting. Every level you come one step closer to being the most powerful mage ever seen... HP: 71 (92 with arcane ward) AC: 13 with mage armour, 18 with the shield spell + mage armour.
This time it was different. One moment I was alone, the next she was stood in front of me. The room in the tavern was rickety and old, and the lighting was terrible, but even I could tell that this was no illusion. She was actually here. I didn't bother with a long question, I knew she would understand. "How?" "I found an old toy of yours. It was buried in the back yard. I used it to track you then" She waved her hands around "I came" She looked tired. Older than the last time I saw her. I said nothing, as I had nothing to say "No words for your beloved sister? I should've expected as much. I have news." "What news?" She managed to get the last sentence out before she collapsed "Mother is dead. Father has a plan. Please, just listen to him. " It was only after I had packed my bags and saddled my horse that I realized I was going home.
Level 17: Wizard 14, Bard 3: There is a little feature that the abjuration wizard gets at level 10 called Improved abjuration. It allows you to add your proficiency bonus to your counterspell/dispel magic spells. Unfortunately this negates jack of all trades, but we can deal with that. At level 12 grab warcaster so that you can keep up concentration much more easily. Then at 14th level we get spell resistance...which is insane. Now listen. I am nearly 100% certain your builds have more magic than mine, but what is the benefit of magic if you can't cast it. Even if you do find a way past counterspell (Perhaps another counterspell), there is still arcane ward + Spell resistance to contend with. Even if you manage to get past all THAT and deal some damage, we can always upcast a cure wounds or healing word. HP: 107 (139 with arcane ward) AC: 13 with mage armour, 18 with the shield spell + mage armour.
It was nighttime when I reached the city. The magelights were glowing brightly and even the heavy cloud cover couldn't block out the moons glorious light. On any other occasion I would have relished the sight. As it was, I was fighting a losing battle against my instincts, who were telling me to run like hell. If you haven't realized, my instincts are ****ing cowards. I hadn't quite reached the edge of the city when I saw him. He wore fine robes and on his head was a band of pure gold set with a saphire, yet there were no guards near him. Shalla walked in front of me and went to embrace him. He gave her a cold look, then looked back at me without giving her another word. "You came." It wasn't a question, so I gave no answer. Shalla started to speak "Father, tell him yo-" "Silence child." To say I was curious would be a gross understatement. "What plan is this father? And why are you wearing the crown of the Mage Sovereign? Have you and your posse gotten any delusions of grandeur ?" He smiled "For years, our people have been ignored. To dangerous to make enemies of but too small to be a threat. That ends today." With a flourish of his hands, an illusion was stripped away and standing behind him were mages. Lots of mages. Ke'heops smiled "A full war coven, all lords magi. This......what was it you called us?.....Oh yes, this posse is comprised of enough mages to conquer the entire continent. And I am so glad you are here to see it Kellen" I was silent for a few seconds, but I knew they would not wait long for my answer, so I tilted my had and smiled up at the man standing in front of me. "Is today the day we dance father?"
Level 20: Wizard 17, Bard 3 The ASI will go towards a constitution buff to make us even more tanky, and despite the fact that we had ninth level spell slots three levels ago, at level 20 you can finally take the actual spells. Better late than never. The build at this level operates nearly exactly the same as at 17, apart from some extra stomping power. This is both the ultimate mage and the ultimate mage slayer. A master of the high magics for protection and offence, utility and even some healing. As I said at the beginning: "The sad fact about magic is that the person with more of it invariably wins." It is the job of this mage to make that completely irrelevant. HP: 145 (183 with arcane ward) AC: 13 with mage armour, 18 with the shield spell + mage armour.
I would like to say the fight lasted long, but my father was a fully trained mage and the paltry magic I could wield was quickly overpowered by his superior skills. He cast spells of fire and ice which wound themselves together and blew me off my feet, then wove a net of iron to trap me. I avoided it deftly, but I fell directly into a hand he created out of pure force. When he was sure I could do nothing he started to monologue "I hoped you would see reason Kellen. I would have loved for my son-" I cut him off "I wasn't aware that madmen could see reason from idiocy, father" His face went red and the hand squeezed me tighter. I felt a rib pop. "Don't mock me boy. I have you completely at my mercy." Shalla looked horrified at his treatment of me "Father stop! You are going to kill him!" Ke'heops looked genuinely confused "We must kill him Shalla. If I don't, I will look weak. I am sorry" Shalla looked at me in horror "Bu-You can't! Its Kellen! He-he isn't a traitor, he is just misguided! Please" Ke'heops shook his head sadly. "I am sorry Shalla. This is how it had to be." The hand started to steadily increase in pressure. The pain was so overwhelming, it was hard to stay conscious. As my vision started to fade, I thought that I had made a fatal miscalculation. I was going to die. Just as I was completely losing all senses the pressure ceased. I forced myself to look up, and what I saw surprised even me. Shalla was standing between us, and in her hands was the weave of a spell. Father's spell. She had somehow taken his own magic and nullified it. The war mages started to react, but she stopped their spells as well. She started drawing power to her and you could practically feel the void she left in her wake. Her lips were moving, but the sound was distorted by the energy output, so it sounded more like the roar of an ancient god. "NO ONE TOUCHES MY BROTHER!" With a simple flick of her wrist, she sent the mass of chaos hurtling towards her father and it enveloped him, ripping him to shreds. There was a minute of silence where no-one talked. Everyone seemed to be trying to figure out if Shalla was going to kill anyone else. Then Shalla walked over to the place where Ke'heops had been and retrieved the circlet. She looked me in the eyes but said nothing. She didn't need to. I could see the message written there as clear as glass. I made my choice, and I chose you, but I will never forgive you for forcing my hand. I am not sure who walked away first, but I remember turning back and looking at her one last time. I didn't see my sister. I saw the true mage sovereign.
What spells would you be using your two Sorcerer points per day on with quicken spell and extend spell? It seems like a waste of an ASI at 4th level when you're only at 16 intelligence to grab that feat.
What spells would you be using your two Sorcerer points per day on with quicken spell and extend spell? It seems like a waste of an ASI at 4th level when you're only at 16 intelligence to grab that feat.
Yeah I was actually just thinking that. Gonna switch that around with the ASI and get warcaster instead. For a defensive build it is a whole lot better
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
“I will take responsibility for what I have done. [...] If must fall, I will rise each time a better man.” ― Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer.
What spells would you be using your two Sorcerer points per day on with quicken spell and extend spell? It seems like a waste of an ASI at 4th level when you're only at 16 intelligence to grab that feat.
I think the feat is decent just to pick up subtle spell, but I agree it doesn't look worth it for quicken and extend it in that build, especially taken before bumping your casting stat.
Just an update to those who haven't seen it, I've updated my build. I haven't added any mechanical changes, but I have added some flavor text that will hopefully give Impending Doom a chance at winning this time. Hopefully . . .
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
For my build I used point buy (10,10,13,14,10,15). I'm also stealing the format used by Yurei and Necromas lol. Also MY GOD there's WAY more infusions than I thought when I first started this build. As my first time deep diving into spellcasters I looked at the infusion list and went "Nope not reading all that".
He started out as a young boy who had a habit of tinkering with things. He could typically be found playing with wooden pieces that his father had carved for him, spending many nights before bed trying to put them together in unique ways. His life was eventually turned on its head when he lost both of his parents in a storm. He was adopted by a dwarf, Argin Bronzehammer, a well known Blacksmith and Tinkerer when he was found along the side of the road collapsed from starvation. In his early years he learned from the dwarf but was told he wasn't allowed to each anyone else what he was shown. He was eventually taught low level magic by Argin and used it in his craftsmanship. But on his 18th birthday it seemed the universe hadn't been quite done with messing with him.
Artificer Cantrip: Light, Mending, Prestidigitation. 1st Lvl: Absorb Elements Grease.
Thoughts - The first level isn't anything too great all things considered as Artificer was taken first due to having more skills to choose from, more tool proficiencies, a higher starting hit dice, and worked as a fluff for the backstory. The spell list is geared more toward working with objects and items and being around a forge. But smart players can make fun use of Grease and Absorb Elements is a simple spell that can help with mitigation; and if you apply a weapon to it dealing a bit of damage of the type absorbed. Magical Tinkering could also be used to hilarious and occasionally devious effect. At this point our young Aasimar is more Blacksmith than adventurer. But, in a pinch, with a simple weapon and some armor he could get by with reasonable ease.
Level 5: A second new life. Artificer 1/Clockwork Sorcerer 4 Stats- 10|10|14|14|10|19 HP: 34 AC: 14 (19 with shield)
It started after he fell asleep. He could swear he was dreaming but it also felt so real. He heard a ticking sound, like he was in a clock, and all around him were cogs and gears all working in perfect unison. A voice came to him, told him that he had a destiny and something he had to do, but that he had to wake up and head north. He questioned it and the voice persisted until the voice became so loud that it caused him to jump awake. He woke with a start, he smelled smoke, and looked outside. His town was in chaos. People were fighting one another, buildings were on fire, and there were dead soldiers around. Argin grabbed him and told him to follow, heading him out of town until they were assailed by attackers. Argin fought them and pushed Elrin to flee on his own. Not knowing where to go he went north, like the voice told him. After a few days, feeling like he was on his last breath, he saw a structure. It looked like a cathedral and passed out at its doors.
When he woke he was inside. It was the home of an Order of warriors, scholars, mages, and all other types. Dedicated to preserving peace and order. They taught him magic, helped him learn new spells, and even assisted in teaching him more about smithing and tinkering. After a few days burning light erupted from him and he was told that this was part of his heritage. That he was descended from Celestials which explains the clock hands that spin within his eyes. He had to train with them, become one of them, and fight with them against those that ruined his life.
Sorcerer Meta Magic: 4 points. Heightened Spell, Subtle Spell. Clockwork: Alarm, Protection from Evil and Good, Aid, Lesser Restoration. Cantrip: Firebolt, Friends, Frostbite, Minor Illusion, Shocking Grasp. 1st Lvl: Magic Missile, Shield, Sleep, Aganazzar's Scorcher. 2nd Lvl: Hold Person.
Thoughts- After having his life turned upside down on him a second time he meets a group his celestial guide intended for him to meet. They outfit him, take care of him, and teaching him more about himself and what he can do. He gets intermittent visits in his dreams from the celestial of order that spoke to him before telling him to follow the ways of the Order. He's now looking more like a regular spell caster. With solid damage dealing spells like Firebolt, Magic Missile, Aganazzar's Sorcher. He also has crowd control like sleep, hold person, shocking grasp and mitigation like shield. He can give targets disadvantage on saves and make spells easier to cast with subtle spell. All of which he casts through a time piece he made himself, a pocket watch essentially. And with Restore Balance he can prevent enemies from rolling at advantage and allies from rolling at disadvantage.
And when spells fail him he still has a mace, a throwing hammer, and a crossbow. And a bump with the ASI gets our CHA to 19 for stronger spells.
As he learned the Order sent him on missions to uphold their tenants and subdue chaotic forces in the land. At first he accompanied senior members in order to learn at their side and get experience in the field that he would undoubtedly need. In his off time he studied and practiced, focused inward to learn more about himself and the celestial visitor that guided him, and eventually put together a suit of full plate armor that was to be his masterpiece. A series of sheets of steel laden with cogs and gears. His time piece arcane focus built into the palm of the left hand to make casting spells easier. He could put some of his magic into it and when it was worn it was like a second skin, it weighed almost nothing to him, and it was wonderful. He learned of spreading chaos, learned it was the forces that moved against his town and killed Argin.
He would get his revenge. He would bring the chaotic group to heel. He just had to get stronger.
Resistances: Necrotic, Radiant Skills: Arcana, History, Insight, Investigation. Saving Throws: INT, CON. Proficiencies: Light armor, medium armor, heavy armor, shields, firearms, simple weapons, Smith's Tools, Thieves' Tools, Tinker's Tools, Woodcarver's Tools, Jeweler's Tools. Languages: Celestial, Common, Dwarvish. Class based: Magical Tinkering(A), Restore Balance(S), Font of Magic(S), Right Tool for the job(A), Bastion of Law. Armor Model: Guardian. Thunder Gauntlets that deal 1d8 thunder damage on a hit and disadvantage on attacks when hit. Defensive Field bonus action to gain temporary hit points equal to level in Artificer.
Spells-
Artificer Infusions: Enhanced Arcane Focus, Enhanced Defense, Goggles of Night, Bag of Holding. Armorer Spells: Magic Missile, Thunderwave Cantrip: Light, Mending, Prestidigitation. 1st Lvl: Absorb Elements, Grease, Cure Wounds.
Sorcerer Meta Magic: 8 points. Heightened Spell, Subtle Spell. Clockwork: Alarm, Protection from Evil and Good, Aid, Lesser Restoration. Cantrip: Firebolt, Friends, Frostbite, Minor Illusion, Shocking Grasp. 1st Lvl: Shield, Sleep, Aganazzar's Scorcher. 2nd Lvl: Hold Person. 3rd Lvl: Counterspell, Fireball, Slow. 4th Lvl: Sickening Radiance, Dimension Door.
Thoughts- As he gets closer to being a full fledged mage he get the ability to wear full plate armor, the heaviest stuff that he can get to make him as safe as he can be. He picks up a bunch of spells to both add to his repertoire in order to deal more damage, like with fireball and sickening radiance, and aid in movement like with dimension door. The Guardian Arcane Armor gives him a melee attack should things get too close that imposes disadvantage on attacks and the Defensive Field from the armor itself can work together with Bastion of Law. Making him harder to hit and deal damage too. And for those moments that he doesn't have a tool he needs he can make new ones on the spot from his acquired bag of holding. Plus the acquisition of Goggles of Night, especially if they're built into the armor, extends his already 60 foot darkvision out to 120 feet.
I also took another ASI so that I can max out the CHA for better spells and bump up the HP with CON.
Level 17: Embracing Order. Armor Artificer 3/Clockwork Sorcerer 14 Stats- 10|10|17|14|10|20 HP: 125 AC: 18 (19 with Infusion, 24 with Shield, 26 with Haste)
His studies progress and he learns more about himself. He's a senior member of The Order at this point and he takes on disciplines of his own when he goes out on to mission. He follows the news of the growing chaotic force out to the east, the ones that were the reason he was where he was, and tried to never let them out of his sight. His celestial guide instructs him on better to use his powers for good and to maintain order. He figures out new, more powerful, spells with the help of those at The Order. And on a fateful day he finds members of the group that ruined his previous life. Now he was almost as mechanical in his precision as the Order he gave his life too. He learned that they were part of a bigger group, a growing rebellion, nothing but chaos. He killed them just like the others he met. These ones, though, gave him information so he made their deaths as painless as possible.
Resistances: Necrotic, Radiant Skills: Arcana, History, Insight, Investigation. Saving Throws: INT, CON. Proficiencies: Light armor, medium armor, heavy armor, shields, firearms, simple weapons, Smith's Tools, Thieves' Tools, Tinker's Tools, Woodcarver's Tools, Jeweler's Tools. Languages: Celestial, Common, Dwarvish. Class based: Magical Tinkering(A), Restore Balance(S), Font of Magic(S), Right Tool for the job(A), Bastion of Law(S), Trance of Order(S). Armor Model: Guardian. Thunder Gauntlets that deal 1d8 thunder damage on a hit and disadvantage on attacks when hit. Defensive Field bonus action to gain temporary hit points equal to level in Artificer.
Spells-
Artificer Infusions: Enhanced Arcane Focus, Enhanced Defense, Goggles of Night, Bag of Holding. Armorer Spells: Magic Missile, Thunderwave Cantrip: Light, Mending, Prestidigitation. 1st Lvl: Absorb Elements, Grease, Cure Wounds.
Sorcerer Meta Magic: 14 points. Heightened Spell, Subtle Spell, Empowered Spell. Clockwork: Alarm, Protection from Evil and Good, Aid, Lesser Restoration. Cantrip: Firebolt, Friends, Frostbite, Minor Illusion, Ray of Frost, Shocking Grasp. 1st Lvl: Shield, Sleep, Aganazzar's Scorcher. 2nd Lvl: Hold Person. 3rd Lvl: Counterspell, Fireball, Haste, Slow. 4th Lvl: Sickening Radiance, Dimension Door. 5th Lvl: Synaptic Static. 6th Lvl: Disintegrate. 7th Lvl: Fire Storm.
Thoughts- More power doesn't even begin to explain the boost in power that Elrin got by the time he's level 17. Synaptic Static, Disintegrate, Fire Storm all provide increase damage coverage and area. Picking up Haste allows his AC to climb higher, makes him faster, and overall improves his efficiency in combat. All the work he has done in his plate armor bolstered his physicality as shown in the increase in constitution. With an inclusion of Ray of Frost as an additional method to slow down enemies Elrin is beginning to round out his kit. Trance of Order is also a very good pick up. The ability to deny advantage against himself and making his attack rolls, ability checks, and saving throws count as a 10 if he rolls below nine increases his lethality and survivability.
Level 20: Arbiter of Order. Armor Artificer 3/Clockwork Sorcerer 17 Stats: 10|10|19|14|10|20 HP: 166 AC: 18 (19 with infusion, 24 with Shield, 26 max with Haste active.)
Elrin is now a fully realized sorcerer of The Order. He has steeped himself in the practices of the Cathedral all for the sake of enacting their whim. He's ruthless to those that break the law and disrupt society. He's kind to those that require his aid. And he's feared among those that know of him. He's acquired some of the strongest spells that he can make and he is given a final order from the celestial guide that has lead him this far. He's to seek out the source of chaos that upended his life. He set out, seeking out the pockets of anarchy that popped up from time to time, and did what he had to do in order to get the name of his quarry. From the lips of a dying man he got two words Silver Hand. After a bit of information gathering he moved east, searching for the anarchist.
Resistances: Necrotic, Radiant Skills: Arcana, History, Insight, Investigation. Saving Throws: INT, CON. Proficiencies: Light armor, medium armor, heavy armor, shields, firearms, simple weapons, Smith's Tools, Thieves' Tools, Tinker's Tools, Woodcarver's Tools, Jeweler's Tools. Languages: Celestial, Common, Dwarvish. Class based: Magical Tinkering(A), Restore Balance(S), Font of Magic(S), Right Tool for the job(A), Bastion of Law(S), Trance of Order(S). Armor Model: Guardian. Thunder Gauntlets that deal 1d8 thunder damage on a hit and disadvantage on attacks when hit. Defensive Field bonus action to gain temporary hit points equal to level in Artificer.
Spells-
Artificer Infusions: Enhanced Arcane Focus, Enhanced Defense, Goggles of Night, Bag of Holding. Armorer Spells: Magic Missile, Thunderwave Cantrip: Light, Mending, Prestidigitation. 1st Lvl: Absorb Elements, Grease, Cure Wounds.
Sorcerer Meta Magic: 17 points. Heightened Spell, Subtle Spell, Empowered Spell, Seeking Spell. Clockwork: Alarm, Protection from Evil and Good, Aid, Lesser Restoration. Cantrip: Firebolt, Friends, Frostbite, Minor Illusion, Ray of Frost, Shocking Grasp. 1st Lvl: Shield, Sleep, Aganazzar's Scorcher. 2nd Lvl: Hold Person. 3rd Lvl: Counterspell, Fireball, Haste, Slow. 4th Lvl: Sickening Radiance, Dimension Door. 5th Lvl: Synaptic Static. 6th Lvl: Disintegrate. 7th Lvl: Fire Storm. 8th Lvl: Power Word Stun. 9th Lvl: Power Word Kill.
Thoughts- Now that he's a fully realized, level 20, character he has access to power magic like Power Word Kill. Picking up Seeking Spell also allows him a chance to reroll failed spell attacks, which can be doubled up with another meta magic ability. Between all of the types of damage that he has at his disposal, the ability to remove advantage with his Clockwork Origin ability and use Heightened Spell to impose disadvantage he's hard to slip away from. He has spells that serve as crowd control to tie down evasive opponents and the ability to speed himself up if necessary. His plate armor combined with his infusion, haste, and shield makes him incredibly hard to hit. He's well rounded and a wall when you take into consideration the temp HP he can get and the barrier his Guardian Armor grants him. 17 sorcery points gives him a few options as well.
The only issue I have is how the stats played out with ASI's. I looked between getting the Tough feat and putting a point in CON and the latter of the two got me greater gains. I would have liked to get War caster but I wanted to get the HP pool as high as possible. The only other way I could have avoided this would have been to drop STR, DEX, or WIS to 9 or 8 and give CON a bump. I didn't want to have negatives in other places though, ugh. But I'm this far in so I'm just going to go with what I got.
For my build I used point buy (10,10,13,14,10,15). I'm also stealing the format used by Yurei and Necromas lol. Also MY GOD there's WAY more infusions than I thought when I first started this build. As my first time deep diving into spellcasters I looked at the infusion list and went "Nope not reading all that".
He started out as a young boy who had a habit of tinkering with things. He could typically be found playing with wooden pieces that his father had carved for him, spending many nights before bed trying to put them together in unique ways. His life was eventually turned on its head when he lost both of his parents in a storm. He was adopted by a dwarf, Argin Bronzehammer, a well known Blacksmith and Tinkerer when he was found along the side of the road collapsed from starvation. In his early years he learned from the dwarf but was told he wasn't allowed to each anyone else what he was shown. He was eventually taught low level magic by Argin and used it in his craftsmanship. But on his 18th birthday it seemed the universe hadn't been quite done with messing with him.
Artificer Cantrip: Light, Mending, Prestidigitation. 1st Lvl: Absorb Elements Grease.
Thoughts - The first level isn't anything too great all things considered as Artificer was taken first due to having more skills to choose from, more tool proficiencies, a higher starting hit dice, and worked as a fluff for the backstory. The spell list is geared more toward working with objects and items and being around a forge. But smart players can make fun use of Grease and Absorb Elements is a simple spell that can help with mitigation; and if you apply a weapon to it dealing a bit of damage of the type absorbed. Magical Tinkering could also be used to hilarious and occasionally devious effect. At this point our young Aasimar is more Blacksmith than adventurer. But, in a pinch, with a simple weapon and some armor he could get by with reasonable ease.
Level 5: A second new life. Artificer 1/Clockwork Sorcerer 4 Stats- 10|10|14|14|10|19 HP: 34 AC: 14 (19 with shield)
It started after he fell asleep. He could swear he was dreaming but it also felt so real. He heard a ticking sound, like he was in a clock, and all around him were cogs and gears all working in perfect unison. A voice came to him, told him that he had a destiny and something he had to do, but that he had to wake up and head north. He questioned it and the voice persisted until the voice became so loud that it caused him to jump awake. He woke with a start, he smelled smoke, and looked outside. His town was in chaos. People were fighting one another, buildings were on fire, and there were dead soldiers around. Argin grabbed him and told him to follow, heading him out of town until they were assailed by attackers. Argin fought them and pushed Elrin to flee on his own. Not knowing where to go he went north, like the voice told him. After a few days, feeling like he was on his last breath, he saw a structure. It looked like a cathedral and passed out at its doors.
When he woke he was inside. It was the home of an Order of warriors, scholars, mages, and all other types. Dedicated to preserving peace and order. They taught him magic, helped him learn new spells, and even assisted in teaching him more about smithing and tinkering. After a few days burning light erupted from him and he was told that this was part of his heritage. That he was descended from Celestials which explains the clock hands that spin within his eyes. He had to train with them, become one of them, and fight with them against those that ruined his life.
Sorcerer Meta Magic: 4 points. Heightened Spell, Subtle Spell. Clockwork: Alarm, Protection from Evil and Good, Aid, Lesser Restoration. Cantrip: Firebolt, Friends, Frostbite, Minor Illusion, Shocking Grasp. 1st Lvl: Magic Missile, Shield, Sleep, Aganazzar's Scorcher. 2nd Lvl: Hold Person.
Thoughts- After having his life turned upside down on him a second time he meets a group his celestial guide intended for him to meet. They outfit him, take care of him, and teaching him more about himself and what he can do. He gets intermittent visits in his dreams from the celestial of order that spoke to him before telling him to follow the ways of the Order. He's now looking more like a regular spell caster. With solid damage dealing spells like Firebolt, Magic Missile, Aganazzar's Sorcher. He also has crowd control like sleep, hold person, shocking grasp and mitigation like shield. He can give targets disadvantage on saves and make spells easier to cast with subtle spell. All of which he casts through a time piece he made himself, a pocket watch essentially. And with Restore Balance he can prevent enemies from rolling at advantage and allies from rolling at disadvantage.
And when spells fail him he still has a mace, a throwing hammer, and a crossbow. And a bump with the ASI gets our CHA to 19 for stronger spells.
As he learned the Order sent him on missions to uphold their tenants and subdue chaotic forces in the land. At first he accompanied senior members in order to learn at their side and get experience in the field that he would undoubtedly need. In his off time he studied and practiced, focused inward to learn more about himself and the celestial visitor that guided him, and eventually put together a suit of full plate armor that was to be his masterpiece. A series of sheets of steel laden with cogs and gears. His time piece arcane focus built into the palm of the left hand to make casting spells easier. He could put some of his magic into it and when it was worn it was like a second skin, it weighed almost nothing to him, and it was wonderful. He learned of spreading chaos, learned it was the forces that moved against his town and killed Argin.
He would get his revenge. He would bring the chaotic group to heel. He just had to get stronger.
Resistances: Necrotic, Radiant Skills: Arcana, History, Insight, Investigation. Saving Throws: INT, CON. Proficiencies: Light armor, medium armor, heavy armor, shields, firearms, simple weapons, Smith's Tools, Thieves' Tools, Tinker's Tools, Woodcarver's Tools, Jeweler's Tools. Languages: Celestial, Common, Dwarvish. Class based: Magical Tinkering(A), Restore Balance(S), Font of Magic(S), Right Tool for the job(A), Bastion of Law. Armor Model: Guardian. Thunder Gauntlets that deal 1d8 thunder damage on a hit and disadvantage on attacks when hit. Defensive Field bonus action to gain temporary hit points equal to level in Artificer.
Spells-
Artificer Infusions: Enhanced Arcane Focus, Enhanced Defense, Goggles of Night, Bag of Holding. Armorer Spells: Magic Missile, Thunderwave Cantrip: Light, Mending, Prestidigitation. 1st Lvl: Absorb Elements, Grease, Cure Wounds.
Sorcerer Meta Magic: 8 points. Heightened Spell, Subtle Spell. Clockwork: Alarm, Protection from Evil and Good, Aid, Lesser Restoration. Cantrip: Firebolt, Friends, Frostbite, Minor Illusion, Shocking Grasp. 1st Lvl: Shield, Sleep, Aganazzar's Scorcher. 2nd Lvl: Hold Person. 3rd Lvl: Counterspell, Fireball, Slow. 4th Lvl: Sickening Radiance, Dimension Door.
Thoughts- As he gets closer to being a full fledged mage he get the ability to wear full plate armor, the heaviest stuff that he can get to make him as safe as he can be. He picks up a bunch of spells to both add to his repertoire in order to deal more damage, like with fireball and sickening radiance, and aid in movement like with dimension door. The Guardian Arcane Armor gives him a melee attack should things get too close that imposes disadvantage on attacks and the Defensive Field from the armor itself can work together with Bastion of Law. Making him harder to hit and deal damage too. And for those moments that he doesn't have a tool he needs he can make new ones on the spot from his acquired bag of holding. Plus the acquisition of Goggles of Night, especially if they're built into the armor, extends his already 60 foot darkvision out to 120 feet.
I also took another ASI so that I can max out the CHA for better spells and bump up the HP with CON.
Level 17: Embracing Order. Armor Artificer 3/Clockwork Sorcerer 14 Stats- 10|10|17|14|10|20 HP: 125 AC: 18 (19 with Infusion, 24 with Shield, 26 with Haste)
His studies progress and he learns more about himself. He's a senior member of The Order at this point and he takes on disciplines of his own when he goes out on to mission. He follows the news of the growing chaotic force out to the east, the ones that were the reason he was where he was, and tried to never let them out of his sight. His celestial guide instructs him on better to use his powers for good and to maintain order. He figures out new, more powerful, spells with the help of those at The Order. And on a fateful day he finds members of the group that ruined his previous life. Now he was almost as mechanical in his precision as the Order he gave his life too. He learned that they were part of a bigger group, a growing rebellion, nothing but chaos. He killed them just like the others he met. These ones, though, gave him information so he made their deaths as painless as possible.
Resistances: Necrotic, Radiant Skills: Arcana, History, Insight, Investigation. Saving Throws: INT, CON. Proficiencies: Light armor, medium armor, heavy armor, shields, firearms, simple weapons, Smith's Tools, Thieves' Tools, Tinker's Tools, Woodcarver's Tools, Jeweler's Tools. Languages: Celestial, Common, Dwarvish. Class based: Magical Tinkering(A), Restore Balance(S), Font of Magic(S), Right Tool for the job(A), Bastion of Law(S), Trance of Order(S). Armor Model: Guardian. Thunder Gauntlets that deal 1d8 thunder damage on a hit and disadvantage on attacks when hit. Defensive Field bonus action to gain temporary hit points equal to level in Artificer.
Spells-
Artificer Infusions: Enhanced Arcane Focus, Enhanced Defense, Goggles of Night, Bag of Holding. Armorer Spells: Magic Missile, Thunderwave Cantrip: Light, Mending, Prestidigitation. 1st Lvl: Absorb Elements, Grease, Cure Wounds.
Sorcerer Meta Magic: 14 points. Heightened Spell, Subtle Spell, Empowered Spell. Clockwork: Alarm, Protection from Evil and Good, Aid, Lesser Restoration. Cantrip: Firebolt, Friends, Frostbite, Minor Illusion, Ray of Frost, Shocking Grasp. 1st Lvl: Shield, Sleep, Aganazzar's Scorcher. 2nd Lvl: Hold Person. 3rd Lvl: Counterspell, Fireball, Haste, Slow. 4th Lvl: Sickening Radiance, Dimension Door. 5th Lvl: Synaptic Static. 6th Lvl: Disintegrate. 7th Lvl: Fire Storm.
Thoughts- More power doesn't even begin to explain the boost in power that Elrin got by the time he's level 17. Synaptic Static, Disintegrate, Fire Storm all provide increase damage coverage and area. Picking up Haste allows his AC to climb higher, makes him faster, and overall improves his efficiency in combat. All the work he has done in his plate armor bolstered his physicality as shown in the increase in constitution. With an inclusion of Ray of Frost as an additional method to slow down enemies Elrin is beginning to round out his kit. Trance of Order is also a very good pick up. The ability to deny advantage against himself and making his attack rolls, ability checks, and saving throws count as a 10 if he rolls below nine increases his lethality and survivability.
Level 20: Arbiter of Order. Armor Artificer 3/Clockwork Sorcerer 17 Stats: 10|10|19|14|10|20 HP: 166 AC: 18 (19 with infusion, 24 with Shield, 26 max with Haste active.)
Elrin is now a fully realized sorcerer of The Order. He has steeped himself in the practices of the Cathedral all for the sake of enacting their whim. He's ruthless to those that break the law and disrupt society. He's kind to those that require his aid. And he's feared among those that know of him. He's acquired some of the strongest spells that he can make and he is given a final order from the celestial guide that has lead him this far. He's to seek out the source of chaos that upended his life. He set out, seeking out the pockets of anarchy that popped up from time to time, and did what he had to do in order to get the name of his quarry. From the lips of a dying man he got two words Silver Hand. After a bit of information gathering he moved east, searching for the anarchist.
Resistances: Necrotic, Radiant Skills: Arcana, History, Insight, Investigation. Saving Throws: INT, CON. Proficiencies: Light armor, medium armor, heavy armor, shields, firearms, simple weapons, Smith's Tools, Thieves' Tools, Tinker's Tools, Woodcarver's Tools, Jeweler's Tools. Languages: Celestial, Common, Dwarvish. Class based: Magical Tinkering(A), Restore Balance(S), Font of Magic(S), Right Tool for the job(A), Bastion of Law(S), Trance of Order(S). Armor Model: Guardian. Thunder Gauntlets that deal 1d8 thunder damage on a hit and disadvantage on attacks when hit. Defensive Field bonus action to gain temporary hit points equal to level in Artificer.
Spells-
Artificer Infusions: Enhanced Arcane Focus, Enhanced Defense, Goggles of Night, Bag of Holding. Armorer Spells: Magic Missile, Thunderwave Cantrip: Light, Mending, Prestidigitation. 1st Lvl: Absorb Elements, Grease, Cure Wounds.
Sorcerer Meta Magic: 17 points. Heightened Spell, Subtle Spell, Empowered Spell, Seeking Spell. Clockwork: Alarm, Protection from Evil and Good, Aid, Lesser Restoration. Cantrip: Firebolt, Friends, Frostbite, Minor Illusion, Ray of Frost, Shocking Grasp. 1st Lvl: Shield, Sleep, Aganazzar's Scorcher. 2nd Lvl: Hold Person. 3rd Lvl: Counterspell, Fireball, Haste, Slow. 4th Lvl: Sickening Radiance, Dimension Door. 5th Lvl: Synaptic Static. 6th Lvl: Disintegrate. 7th Lvl: Fire Storm. 8th Lvl: Power Word Stun. 9th Lvl: Power Word Kill.
Thoughts- Now that he's a fully realized, level 20, character he has access to power magic like Power Word Kill. Picking up Seeking Spell also allows him a chance to reroll failed spell attacks, which can be doubled up with another meta magic ability. Between all of the types of damage that he has at his disposal, the ability to remove advantage with his Clockwork Origin ability and use Heightened Spell to impose disadvantage he's hard to slip away from. He has spells that serve as crowd control to tie down evasive opponents and the ability to speed himself up if necessary. His plate armor combined with his infusion, haste, and shield makes him incredibly hard to hit. He's well rounded and a wall when you take into consideration the temp HP he can get and the barrier his Guardian Armor grants him. 17 sorcery points gives him a few options as well.
The only issue I have is how the stats played out with ASI's. I looked between getting the Tough feat and putting a point in CON and the latter of the two got me greater gains. I would have liked to get War caster but I wanted to get the HP pool as high as possible. The only other way I could have avoided this would have been to drop STR, DEX, or WIS to 9 or 8 and give CON a bump. I didn't want to have negatives in other places though, ugh. But I'm this far in so I'm just going to go with what I got.
Seven there shall be/In the halls of the eighth/Eights shall witness/Eight and eight and eight and eight/Blood of the father/Blood of the sun/Endless darkness/Day is done
Okay, let me first get my point clear. I do not like the Order of the Scribes, and dislike that this build is legal, but it technically follows RAW. According to Sage Advice, Magic Missile works similarly to AoE spells in the sense that there is one roll for the spell and everyone that is hit by a magic missile takes the damage rolled. That means that features like an Aasimar's Radiant Soul adds to the damage of each individual magic missile. This combined with other features can allow you to abuse that single spell with a multitude of features, as shown in this build. The combo takes a bit to get up, but it is very much worth it once you do.
Impending Doom
Impending Doom is a Fallen Aasimar, a member of a long line of Fallen Aasimar that are descended from Zariel, falling from grace with Zariel becoming an Archdevil. As servitors of the archduchess's will, this group of Zariel's mortal kin have been trained in magic for centuries, honing in their power to accomplish what their mistress desires, in return for a quick promotion through the ranks of the devils upon their deaths. This tradition of magic practicing has carried on for many generations, and is the origin of our character, a Fallen Aasimar named Impending Doom.
Impending Doom
Fallen Aasimar Draconic Bloodline Sorcerer 6/Celestial Warlock 6/Order of the Scribes 2/Wildfire Druid 6 Ability Scores: 8 | 10 | 14 | 20 | 13 | 13 HP: 132 AC: 17 (Half-Plate and a Shield), 22 with shield
Quote from Impending Doom:
"The flames of the furnace of Hell will reshape the world. All it needs is a little spark to ignite it."
Born in the secluded aasimar enclave of Hellfyre's Inferno, Impending Doom was raised in an overly indoctrinated community of devotees towards the Archduchess of Avernus, Mistress Zariel. Their community began centuries ago, after Zariel's fall from grace, being sucked down to her infernal disgrace with the transgression of their ancestral mother, as all aasimar descended from Zariel became fallen aasimar or Zariel tieflings at the moment of her descent from celestial glory.
Molded by his upbringing, the young fallen aasimar named "Impending Doom" was a unique member of his community, with an innate knack for all things magical, with the fiery blessing of Zariel herself. This granted him a strange connection with the vestigial healing powers of his celestial heritage, combined with the fiery magic of Zariel's current form, allowing him to help his small community grow in followers who came to see the so called "Fire-Born Angel".
Level One: A Burning Ember
Fallen Aasimar Druid 1 Ability Scores: 8 | 10 | 14 | 17 | 13 | 13 Background: There's not really one that fits that well, so I'll just choose Boros Legionnaire HP: 10 AC: 13 (Leather Armor, Shield) Skills: Athletics +1, Arcana +5, Perception +3, Intimidation +5 Other Proficiencies: Dragonchess, Draconic Spells: Control Flames, Produce Flame, Absorb Elements, Goodberry, Light
You may ask why we're starting out as druid. Most simply, it is for powergaming purposes, as we're going to take Circle of Wildfire later on (which will grant us a lot of nice features), and get armor proficiencies for starting in it, as well as more hit points. We want to survive, and want to start preparing for our combo later on. This will help us do so.
For story purposes, we'll "pull an Eberron". That is, we will explain our features through a way contrary to the way the books explain the classes. For us, we are not a druid that pulls our magical energy from nature. We are a druid that pulls our energy from the infernal fire bestowed upon us by our matron, Zariel. Zariel is the Mistress of Fiendish Fire, and we are her scion, giving us these powers.
The healing and restorative powers granted by being our specific kind of druid is thematically due to our matron's quasicelestial nature and our connection with our angelic heritage, allowing us an easy and thematically appropriate way of explaining the features granted by our future druid circle, the Circle of Wildfire. The quasicelestial nature of Zariel combined with the dormant angelic powers of our aasimar blood grants us many magical powers, including ones unique to a fiendish character.
At this level, we're not doing much in combat. Occasionally we will hit someone with a blast of fire, but are mostly just hanging in the back, trying to survive.
A young, purply-gray skinned man with pointed ears walks alone through the dark night, this one being particularly gloomy due to the newness of the moon. His neck and head covered by a black cloak, smothering the orangish glow of his strange hair to conceal his otherworldly nature. He walks slowly down the old and worn cobbled path of northern Elturgard, holding no torch or lamp to light his way,. He travels slowly his careful steps making nothing but the faint scratch of his new leather boots meeting the grey stones that lead the way through the Forest of Wyrms to roundabout path to the Evermoors. This figure is a fallen aasimar known as Impending Doom, a blood descendent of the fallen angel archdevil, Zariel.
In the distance the small flicker of a torch is barely visible, bobbing up and down with the burdened tread of a lone humanoid figure, with the torch faintly lighting his way back to his hunting lodge. The young man with the pointy ears quietly and carefully follows the figure for over an hour and a half, until the figure bearing the torch stops at a small hunting lodge hidden in the dense woods. This young man approaches close enough to make out features of the figure, who appears to be an old human hunter carrying home his freshly slain deer, wooden bow, and quiver. Suddenly, Impending Doom's hand begins to emit a bright orange flame, which he propels directly into the backside of the lonely hunter, ending his life straightaway.
Impending Doom casually walks forward to enter the lodge. He mutters under his breath, "I'll burn the body in the morning."
Our youngling angel-born has just left his hometown to experience the world, to see what land will eventually be scorched by his infernal fires. All that he comes across he views in its future state, a smoldering pile of ashes and coals surrounded by the charred skeletons of all who dare oppose the might of the Baatezu. He starts out carefully, making absolutely certain that his diabolical acts are undiscovered by his potential rivals, stealthily incinerating dozens of townsfolk as an omen of the inevitable destruction and domination that will come to the unknowing world.
Impending Doom is a ringmaster for Zariel, who toys with the souls of other mortals as a cat would play with a meal. He is an expert at parleying with monsters and frightening them into turning their monstrous fury onto unsuspecting townsfolk, releasing havoc and destruction on innocent commoners to slowly grow their paranoia and increase their superstitions. As the people get more manic and desperate, the more likely they are to turn to darker sources of power to protect themselves.
He has most recently taken up residence in a hunting lodge in northern Elturgard, as a temporary base stolen from the ownership of a now dead hunter. He does not plan to stay there long, merely refreshing his resources and resting for a short time before he continues on his long, treacherous journey through the unknown world.
Level Five: A Scorched Scholar
Fallen Aasimar Wildfire Druid 3/Order of Scribes 2 Ability Scores: Same as before HP: 33 AC: 17 (Half-Plate made of a strong wood, Shield), 22 with Shield New Spells: Burning Hands, Guiding Bolt, Magic Missile, Flaming Sphere, Scorching Ray, Mage Hand, Toll the Dead, Chromatic Orb, Find Familiar, Shield
We are now starting to do our calling, which is to burn everything in sight in the name of Zariel. To assist us in this task, we now have two servants, our Fox-shaped Wildfire Spirit named Faux, and a fiendish Winged Monkey named Taboo. Our two companions stick around each other, assisting them in combat (Taboo provides the Help action for Faux, and Faux teleports Taboo around).
Faux is composed entirely out of orange flames, and Taboo appears as a tiny, fiendish angel formed completely out of fire, with an undefined, ever-changing form.
Now we get to the good stuff. Our first action is used for Necrotic Shroud to frighten our enemies, and our next action is used to summon our Wildfire Spirit, burning our newly frightened enemies. On our next turn, we cast Magic Missile at 3rd level, each bolt dealing 1d4+6, having 5 bolts. On average, that is 42.5 force/radiant damage, which we can do for our next two turns. That is 85 damage in two damage, which is automatic, requiring no attack roll or saving throw. During those turns, we also get to command our Wildfire Spirit, which deals an average of 13 (2d6+6) extra fire damage if it hits twice (rolling its attack rolls at advantage).
In four rounds, if our Wildfire Spirit hits twice, we deal on average 98 damage + however much damage we deal when summoning our Wildfire Spirit. On later turns, we can cast Magic Missile with our 3 second level spell slots, and 4 first level spell slots.
It's good. Not crazy impressive, but it gets even better at later levels.
"Do you see 'em, Faux?" Impending Doom asks, "Did the people get away? Wait! I see something over in the corner! Move a bit closer, let me see it better. That's it. Got 'em."
Suddenly a series of seeking bursts of flames erupt out of Impending Doom's, all sending the cowardly commoners back to their maker, their hopeless lives ending with ear-piercing screams. Impending Doom smiles wickedly, slowly walking through the crisp ashes of his incinerated victims.
Impending Doom has now begun to master the art of channeling the inevitable flames of the Archduchess Zariel. He can conjure the infernal flames of his matron in the form of a fox composed completely of fire, which he has named Faux, as well as summoning Taboo to aid Faux in attacking enemies.
With his flames much more potent than before, Zariel's favor with Impending Doom has increased greatly. Now Impending Doom gets indirect orders from an imp sent by Zariel, serving as the mortal hitman for the fallen angel, causing his name to begin being whispered among communities where he travels, spoken of in hushed tones. Impending Doom and his two servants, Faux and Taboo, are seen as infernal boogeymen, following the directions of an Archduchess of Avernus.
Level Eleven: The Hand of Zariel
Fallen Aasimar Wildfire Druid 6/Hexblade Pact of the Talisman Warlock 3/Order of Scribes Wizard 2 Ability Scores: 8 | 10 | 14 | 18 | 13 | 13 (Telepathic feat) HP: 75 AC: Same as before New Spells: Plant Growth, Revivify, Hex, Friends, Chill Touch, Mirror Image, Misty Step, Call Lightning, Sacred Flame
Our patron is Zariel, with Hexblade being the closest patron to a fallen angel.
We take the Telepathic feat and Devil's Sight Eldritch Invocation, as Zariel (like other angels) has telepathy and has devil's sight (like other devils). This is flavored as us harnessing the power of our fallen, fiendish ancestor, gaining the ability to learn the thoughts of others and speak with them telepathically. We also take Pact of the Talisman, which we wear, taking the Rebuke of the Talisman invocation to punish those who attack us. The Talisman is shaped like a fiendish angel, as a symbol of Zariel. With Pact Magic, we will regain spell slots on a short rest, allowing us to use our combo more often than before.
As before, we start combat with Necrotic Shroud. As a bonus action in the same turn, we cast hex on our target, which we will unleash our fiery fury later. On our next turn, we summon our Wildfire Spirit, using Hexblade's Curse on our enemy. Then, on our next turn, we will cast Magic Missile, changing its damage type to Fire. Now we get to stack our bonus from Hex, Necrotic Shroud, Hexblade's Curse, and Enhanced Bond onto Magic Missile, dealing 1d4+16+1d6+1d8 damage on each missile, using a 4th level spell slot to do so. With this spell slot, we deal an average of 132.5 damage on a hit, being able to do this 2 rounds in a row. We also add our fire damage from our Wildfire Spirit to this damage, dealing 240 damage in two turns (once we get all our stuff up, of course).
Impending Doom lays sleeping in the ashes of a once thriving village, now burnt to the ground with the help of his companions, Faux and Taboo. A bright orange appears in front of him, blinding him with light. Raising his hand to shield his face, he sits up and readies a deadly spell. Once his eyes register what is causing the glow, Impending Doom quickly stops his spell and stares in awe.
"Zariel,"He says in reverence, "Why have you come?"
The form in front of him is the glowing Archduchess of Avernus, Lady Zariel herself. In her unholy glory, she silently raises her right palm, in which lies a burning, wrapped-up scroll, wreathed in infernal flames.
"Take it," Zariel whispers in his mind, "and you shall forever be my loyal scion, exercising my will on this mortal realm."
"Have I not already done everything your messenger has asked of me?"Impending Doom questions, "What more can I do?"
"Everything." She replies, "You will do . . . everything."
Level Seventeen: The Second Sun
Fallen Aasimar Wildfire Druid 6/Draconic Bloodline Sorcerer 4/Celestial Pact of the Talisman Warlock 5/Order of Scribes Wizard 2 Ability Scores: 8 | 10 | 14 | 20 | 13 | 13 HP: 114 AC: Same as before New Spells: Fly, Spirit Shroud, Fear, Blink, Thunder Step
We take Eldritch Mind, granting us advantage on saving throws for Concentration, also taking the Elemental Adept (Fire) feat, so we can do our combo more effectively against creatures that are resistant to fire damage. We also replace Hex with Spirit Shroud, and our subclass is the Draconic Bloodline (Red Dragon). Even though we are not descended from a dragon, this is the closes thing to a fiendish ancestry, which we will use for our purposes later on. Our Metamagic are Quickened Spell and Empowered Spell.
Due to us being a Sorcadin, we can regain sorcery points and a spell slot for Spirit Shroud on a short rest.
We do the same thing we did in combat before, replacing Hex with Spirit Shroud (cast at 5th level), casting magic missile at 6th level. This increases our damage from magic missile to 1d4+3d8+23, having 8 bolts. This deals an average of 312 damage to our target. We can use our 6th, 5th, 4th, and lower level spell slots on later turns to do less (but still a lot of) damage.
Impending Doom stares out at the smoking embers of a raging wildfire, standing in a field across a river from the scorched logs. The profound heat of the colossal flames that erupt from this once thriving forest is evaporating enough of the river's water to cause wisps of steam to slightly block Impending Doom's view of the simmering logs.
He casts fly and begins to float high above the forest, with fiery angelic wings sprouted from his back. He looks down on the burning forest, the clouds of thick smoke neither stinging his eyes, obscuring his vision, nor affecting his breathing. This is his natural environment, where he is meant to be.
The flames are shaped as a radiant angel, scorching the elven settlements that formerly lay inside. For the first time in his life, Impending Doom feels something new; complete and utter bliss.
Level 20: Blazing Angel
Fallen Aasimar Wildfire Druid 6/Draconic Bloodline Sorcerer 7/Celestial Pact of the Talisman Warlock 5/Order of Scribes Wizard 2 Ability Scores: 8 | 10 | 14 | 20 | 13 | 13 HP: 132 AC: Same as before New Spells: Fireball, Blight, Sickening Radiance, Wall of Fire
Not much happens at this level, we just max out our Sorcerer levels, granting us more sorcery points and features.
As our arcane potency increases, we have become a master of shooting deadly, impossibly accurate bursts of flames, incinerating all in our path. We becomes an archmage, a casting hitman of Zariel, doing as our matron commands. Our inherent magic, our pact magic, our learned magic, and our siphoned magic all combine to make us become a quintessence of destruction, the impending doom that comes to all that dare to oppose our unholy mistress. As all fear her name, all tremble at the infernal fury of that can be unleashed by a certain aasimar known as Impending Doom.
We do the same as before, but now cast Magic Missile at 8th level, doing Elemental Adept to increase our magic missile damage even more, and Spirit Shroud at 7th level. Here's the breakdown:
We have 10 missiles, each doing 1d4+4d8+31 damage each. This makes our total damage in one round be 515 damage. Against one target. The vast majority of creatures that you target this way instantly die. If you use this combo against a creature immune to fire damage, you still do 1d4+3d8+26 damage, for a total of 420 force and necrotic damage. That still kills almost anything you come across.
In addition to this, we still have our Wildfire Spirit and familiar to help us do some extra damage.
The sun sets over the town of Daggerford, with the crest of the sun is almost under the horizon. The citizens of the populous town hurriedly end their day, making their way into their small homes. On a hill to the east, a young man clad in half-plate approaches the city with two fiery companions, one an elemental fox, the other a fiendish fallen angel. He is wreathed in flames and carries a blackwood shield inscribed with brigtht-red infernal runes.
The guards of the city gate drop was a swarm of impossibly accurate bursts of fire burn straight through their chainmail armor. A watchtower goes up in flames as a fireball erupts from its wooden base, causing it to fall onto and crash through the city's stone wall as the men on the tower attempt to hide beneath the trapdoor. The men inside scream as they are trapped inside the burning building, slowly being asphyxiated by smoke.
Impending Doom readies his hand for another burst of fire, searching with his eyes for the town's other defenses, "One down, three to go."
Impending Doom is now an exemplar of the fiery might of the Nine Legions of Baator, now fully capable of destroying entire towns and cities using solely his mastery of pyromancy, his fiendish ability to magically heal himself and his pets, as well as his spell-shaping ability to turn missiles of magical force into flaming bursts of utter annihilation. He is an exemplar of the power of fire, and uses his incredible power over arcane and infernal magic to complete any task given him by his immensely powerful devilish matron.
Okay, that's the build. We have a decent AC and HP, a great range of spells and healing abilities if we need to heal ourselves or our elemental. We also have our Talisman and Magical Guidance to avoid failing ability checks, and if we roll low damage for Magic Missile we can reroll using Empowered Casting.
I hope you like the build! May the best Mage win!
Edit: Added some cool flavor text! Hopefully this will give him a fighting chance.
I vote for Third_Sundering's Impending Doom.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
All stars fade. Some stars forever fall. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Homebrew (Mostly Outdated):Magic Items,Monsters,Spells,Subclasses ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If there was no light, people wouldn't fear the dark.
Okay, let me first get my point clear. I do not like the Order of the Scribes, and dislike that this build is legal, but it technically follows RAW. According to Sage Advice, Magic Missile works similarly to AoE spells in the sense that there is one roll for the spell and everyone that is hit by a magic missile takes the damage rolled. That means that features like an Aasimar's Radiant Soul adds to the damage of each individual magic missile. This combined with other features can allow you to abuse that single spell with a multitude of features, as shown in this build. The combo takes a bit to get up, but it is very much worth it once you do.
Impending Doom
Impending Doom is a Fallen Aasimar, a member of a long line of Fallen Aasimar that are descended from Zariel, falling from grace with Zariel becoming an Archdevil. As servitors of the archduchess's will, this group of Zariel's mortal kin have been trained in magic for centuries, honing in their power to accomplish what their mistress desires, in return for a quick promotion through the ranks of the devils upon their deaths. This tradition of magic practicing has carried on for many generations, and is the origin of our character, a Fallen Aasimar named Impending Doom.
Impending Doom
Fallen Aasimar Draconic Bloodline Sorcerer 6/Celestial Warlock 6/Order of the Scribes 2/Wildfire Druid 6 Ability Scores: 8 | 10 | 14 | 20 | 13 | 13 HP: 132 AC: 17 (Half-Plate and a Shield), 22 with shield
Quote from Impending Doom:
"The flames of the furnace of Hell will reshape the world. All it needs is a little spark to ignite it."
Born in the secluded aasimar enclave of Hellfyre's Inferno, Impending Doom was raised in an overly indoctrinated community of devotees towards the Archduchess of Avernus, Mistress Zariel. Their community began centuries ago, after Zariel's fall from grace, being sucked down to her infernal disgrace with the transgression of their ancestral mother, as all aasimar descended from Zariel became fallen aasimar or Zariel tieflings at the moment of her descent from celestial glory.
Molded by his upbringing, the young fallen aasimar named "Impending Doom" was a unique member of his community, with an innate knack for all things magical, with the fiery blessing of Zariel herself. This granted him a strange connection with the vestigial healing powers of his celestial heritage, combined with the fiery magic of Zariel's current form, allowing him to help his small community grow in followers who came to see the so called "Fire-Born Angel".
Level One: A Burning Ember
Fallen Aasimar Druid 1 Ability Scores: 8 | 10 | 14 | 17 | 13 | 13 Background: There's not really one that fits that well, so I'll just choose Boros Legionnaire HP: 10 AC: 13 (Leather Armor, Shield) Skills: Athletics +1, Arcana +5, Perception +3, Intimidation +5 Other Proficiencies: Dragonchess, Draconic Spells: Control Flames, Produce Flame, Absorb Elements, Goodberry, Light
You may ask why we're starting out as druid. Most simply, it is for powergaming purposes, as we're going to take Circle of Wildfire later on (which will grant us a lot of nice features), and get armor proficiencies for starting in it, as well as more hit points. We want to survive, and want to start preparing for our combo later on. This will help us do so.
For story purposes, we'll "pull an Eberron". That is, we will explain our features through a way contrary to the way the books explain the classes. For us, we are not a druid that pulls our magical energy from nature. We are a druid that pulls our energy from the infernal fire bestowed upon us by our matron, Zariel. Zariel is the Mistress of Fiendish Fire, and we are her scion, giving us these powers.
The healing and restorative powers granted by being our specific kind of druid is thematically due to our matron's quasicelestial nature and our connection with our angelic heritage, allowing us an easy and thematically appropriate way of explaining the features granted by our future druid circle, the Circle of Wildfire. The quasicelestial nature of Zariel combined with the dormant angelic powers of our aasimar blood grants us many magical powers, including ones unique to a fiendish character.
At this level, we're not doing much in combat. Occasionally we will hit someone with a blast of fire, but are mostly just hanging in the back, trying to survive.
A young, purply-gray skinned man with pointed ears walks alone through the dark night, this one being particularly gloomy due to the newness of the moon. His neck and head covered by a black cloak, smothering the orangish glow of his strange hair to conceal his otherworldly nature. He walks slowly down the old and worn cobbled path of northern Elturgard, holding no torch or lamp to light his way,. He travels slowly his careful steps making nothing but the faint scratch of his new leather boots meeting the grey stones that lead the way through the Forest of Wyrms to roundabout path to the Evermoors. This figure is a fallen aasimar known as Impending Doom, a blood descendent of the fallen angel archdevil, Zariel.
In the distance the small flicker of a torch is barely visible, bobbing up and down with the burdened tread of a lone humanoid figure, with the torch faintly lighting his way back to his hunting lodge. The young man with the pointy ears quietly and carefully follows the figure for over an hour and a half, until the figure bearing the torch stops at a small hunting lodge hidden in the dense woods. This young man approaches close enough to make out features of the figure, who appears to be an old human hunter carrying home his freshly slain deer, wooden bow, and quiver. Suddenly, Impending Doom's hand begins to emit a bright orange flame, which he propels directly into the backside of the lonely hunter, ending his life straightaway.
Impending Doom casually walks forward to enter the lodge. He mutters under his breath, "I'll burn the body in the morning."
Our youngling angel-born has just left his hometown to experience the world, to see what land will eventually be scorched by his infernal fires. All that he comes across he views in its future state, a smoldering pile of ashes and coals surrounded by the charred skeletons of all who dare oppose the might of the Baatezu. He starts out carefully, making absolutely certain that his diabolical acts are undiscovered by his potential rivals, stealthily incinerating dozens of townsfolk as an omen of the inevitable destruction and domination that will come to the unknowing world.
Impending Doom is a ringmaster for Zariel, who toys with the souls of other mortals as a cat would play with a meal. He is an expert at parleying with monsters and frightening them into turning their monstrous fury onto unsuspecting townsfolk, releasing havoc and destruction on innocent commoners to slowly grow their paranoia and increase their superstitions. As the people get more manic and desperate, the more likely they are to turn to darker sources of power to protect themselves.
He has most recently taken up residence in a hunting lodge in northern Elturgard, as a temporary base stolen from the ownership of a now dead hunter. He does not plan to stay there long, merely refreshing his resources and resting for a short time before he continues on his long, treacherous journey through the unknown world.
Level Five: A Scorched Scholar
Fallen Aasimar Wildfire Druid 3/Order of Scribes 2 Ability Scores: Same as before HP: 33 AC: 17 (Half-Plate made of a strong wood, Shield), 22 with Shield New Spells: Burning Hands, Guiding Bolt, Magic Missile, Flaming Sphere, Scorching Ray, Mage Hand, Toll the Dead, Chromatic Orb, Find Familiar, Shield
We are now starting to do our calling, which is to burn everything in sight in the name of Zariel. To assist us in this task, we now have two servants, our Fox-shaped Wildfire Spirit named Faux, and a fiendish Winged Monkey named Taboo. Our two companions stick around each other, assisting them in combat (Taboo provides the Help action for Faux, and Faux teleports Taboo around).
Faux is composed entirely out of orange flames, and Taboo appears as a tiny, fiendish angel formed completely out of fire, with an undefined, ever-changing form.
Now we get to the good stuff. Our first action is used for Necrotic Shroud to frighten our enemies, and our next action is used to summon our Wildfire Spirit, burning our newly frightened enemies. On our next turn, we cast Magic Missile at 3rd level, each bolt dealing 1d4+6, having 5 bolts. On average, that is 42.5 force/radiant damage, which we can do for our next two turns. That is 85 damage in two damage, which is automatic, requiring no attack roll or saving throw. During those turns, we also get to command our Wildfire Spirit, which deals an average of 13 (2d6+6) extra fire damage if it hits twice (rolling its attack rolls at advantage).
In four rounds, if our Wildfire Spirit hits twice, we deal on average 98 damage + however much damage we deal when summoning our Wildfire Spirit. On later turns, we can cast Magic Missile with our 3 second level spell slots, and 4 first level spell slots.
It's good. Not crazy impressive, but it gets even better at later levels.
"Do you see 'em, Faux?" Impending Doom asks, "Did the people get away? Wait! I see something over in the corner! Move a bit closer, let me see it better. That's it. Got 'em."
Suddenly a series of seeking bursts of flames erupt out of Impending Doom's, all sending the cowardly commoners back to their maker, their hopeless lives ending with ear-piercing screams. Impending Doom smiles wickedly, slowly walking through the crisp ashes of his incinerated victims.
Impending Doom has now begun to master the art of channeling the inevitable flames of the Archduchess Zariel. He can conjure the infernal flames of his matron in the form of a fox composed completely of fire, which he has named Faux, as well as summoning Taboo to aid Faux in attacking enemies.
With his flames much more potent than before, Zariel's favor with Impending Doom has increased greatly. Now Impending Doom gets indirect orders from an imp sent by Zariel, serving as the mortal hitman for the fallen angel, causing his name to begin being whispered among communities where he travels, spoken of in hushed tones. Impending Doom and his two servants, Faux and Taboo, are seen as infernal boogeymen, following the directions of an Archduchess of Avernus.
Level Eleven: The Hand of Zariel
Fallen Aasimar Wildfire Druid 6/Hexblade Pact of the Talisman Warlock 3/Order of Scribes Wizard 2 Ability Scores: 8 | 10 | 14 | 18 | 13 | 13 (Telepathic feat) HP: 75 AC: Same as before New Spells: Plant Growth, Revivify, Hex, Friends, Chill Touch, Mirror Image, Misty Step, Call Lightning, Sacred Flame
Our patron is Zariel, with Hexblade being the closest patron to a fallen angel.
We take the Telepathic feat and Devil's Sight Eldritch Invocation, as Zariel (like other angels) has telepathy and has devil's sight (like other devils). This is flavored as us harnessing the power of our fallen, fiendish ancestor, gaining the ability to learn the thoughts of others and speak with them telepathically. We also take Pact of the Talisman, which we wear, taking the Rebuke of the Talisman invocation to punish those who attack us. The Talisman is shaped like a fiendish angel, as a symbol of Zariel. With Pact Magic, we will regain spell slots on a short rest, allowing us to use our combo more often than before.
As before, we start combat with Necrotic Shroud. As a bonus action in the same turn, we cast hex on our target, which we will unleash our fiery fury later. On our next turn, we summon our Wildfire Spirit, using Hexblade's Curse on our enemy. Then, on our next turn, we will cast Magic Missile, changing its damage type to Fire. Now we get to stack our bonus from Hex, Necrotic Shroud, Hexblade's Curse, and Enhanced Bond onto Magic Missile, dealing 1d4+16+1d6+1d8 damage on each missile, using a 4th level spell slot to do so. With this spell slot, we deal an average of 132.5 damage on a hit, being able to do this 2 rounds in a row. We also add our fire damage from our Wildfire Spirit to this damage, dealing 240 damage in two turns (once we get all our stuff up, of course).
Impending Doom lays sleeping in the ashes of a once thriving village, now burnt to the ground with the help of his companions, Faux and Taboo. A bright orange appears in front of him, blinding him with light. Raising his hand to shield his face, he sits up and readies a deadly spell. Once his eyes register what is causing the glow, Impending Doom quickly stops his spell and stares in awe.
"Zariel,"He says in reverence, "Why have you come?"
The form in front of him is the glowing Archduchess of Avernus, Lady Zariel herself. In her unholy glory, she silently raises her right palm, in which lies a burning, wrapped-up scroll, wreathed in infernal flames.
"Take it," Zariel whispers in his mind, "and you shall forever be my loyal scion, exercising my will on this mortal realm."
"Have I not already done everything your messenger has asked of me?"Impending Doom questions, "What more can I do?"
"Everything." She replies, "You will do . . . everything."
Level Seventeen: The Second Sun
Fallen Aasimar Wildfire Druid 6/Draconic Bloodline Sorcerer 4/Celestial Pact of the Talisman Warlock 5/Order of Scribes Wizard 2 Ability Scores: 8 | 10 | 14 | 20 | 13 | 13 HP: 114 AC: Same as before New Spells: Fly, Spirit Shroud, Fear, Blink, Thunder Step
We take Eldritch Mind, granting us advantage on saving throws for Concentration, also taking the Elemental Adept (Fire) feat, so we can do our combo more effectively against creatures that are resistant to fire damage. We also replace Hex with Spirit Shroud, and our subclass is the Draconic Bloodline (Red Dragon). Even though we are not descended from a dragon, this is the closes thing to a fiendish ancestry, which we will use for our purposes later on. Our Metamagic are Quickened Spell and Empowered Spell.
Due to us being a Sorcadin, we can regain sorcery points and a spell slot for Spirit Shroud on a short rest.
We do the same thing we did in combat before, replacing Hex with Spirit Shroud (cast at 5th level), casting magic missile at 6th level. This increases our damage from magic missile to 1d4+3d8+23, having 8 bolts. This deals an average of 312 damage to our target. We can use our 6th, 5th, 4th, and lower level spell slots on later turns to do less (but still a lot of) damage.
Impending Doom stares out at the smoking embers of a raging wildfire, standing in a field across a river from the scorched logs. The profound heat of the colossal flames that erupt from this once thriving forest is evaporating enough of the river's water to cause wisps of steam to slightly block Impending Doom's view of the simmering logs.
He casts fly and begins to float high above the forest, with fiery angelic wings sprouted from his back. He looks down on the burning forest, the clouds of thick smoke neither stinging his eyes, obscuring his vision, nor affecting his breathing. This is his natural environment, where he is meant to be.
The flames are shaped as a radiant angel, scorching the elven settlements that formerly lay inside. For the first time in his life, Impending Doom feels something new; complete and utter bliss.
Level 20: Blazing Angel
Fallen Aasimar Wildfire Druid 6/Draconic Bloodline Sorcerer 7/Celestial Pact of the Talisman Warlock 5/Order of Scribes Wizard 2 Ability Scores: 8 | 10 | 14 | 20 | 13 | 13 HP: 132 AC: Same as before New Spells: Fireball, Blight, Sickening Radiance, Wall of Fire
Not much happens at this level, we just max out our Sorcerer levels, granting us more sorcery points and features.
As our arcane potency increases, we have become a master of shooting deadly, impossibly accurate bursts of flames, incinerating all in our path. We becomes an archmage, a casting hitman of Zariel, doing as our matron commands. Our inherent magic, our pact magic, our learned magic, and our siphoned magic all combine to make us become a quintessence of destruction, the impending doom that comes to all that dare to oppose our unholy mistress. As all fear her name, all tremble at the infernal fury of that can be unleashed by a certain aasimar known as Impending Doom.
We do the same as before, but now cast Magic Missile at 8th level, doing Elemental Adept to increase our magic missile damage even more, and Spirit Shroud at 7th level. Here's the breakdown:
We have 10 missiles, each doing 1d4+4d8+31 damage each. This makes our total damage in one round be 515 damage. Against one target. The vast majority of creatures that you target this way instantly die. If you use this combo against a creature immune to fire damage, you still do 1d4+3d8+26 damage, for a total of 420 force and necrotic damage. That still kills almost anything you come across.
In addition to this, we still have our Wildfire Spirit and familiar to help us do some extra damage.
The sun sets over the town of Daggerford, with the crest of the sun is almost under the horizon. The citizens of the populous town hurriedly end their day, making their way into their small homes. On a hill to the east, a young man clad in half-plate approaches the city with two fiery companions, one an elemental fox, the other a fiendish fallen angel. He is wreathed in flames and carries a blackwood shield inscribed with brigtht-red infernal runes.
The guards of the city gate drop was a swarm of impossibly accurate bursts of fire burn straight through their chainmail armor. A watchtower goes up in flames as a fireball erupts from its wooden base, causing it to fall onto and crash through the city's stone wall as the men on the tower attempt to hide beneath the trapdoor. The men inside scream as they are trapped inside the burning building, slowly being asphyxiated by smoke.
Impending Doom readies his hand for another burst of fire, searching with his eyes for the town's other defenses, "One down, three to go."
Impending Doom is now an exemplar of the fiery might of the Nine Legions of Baator, now fully capable of destroying entire towns and cities using solely his mastery of pyromancy, his fiendish ability to magically heal himself and his pets, as well as his spell-shaping ability to turn missiles of magical force into flaming bursts of utter annihilation. He is an exemplar of the power of fire, and uses his incredible power over arcane and infernal magic to complete any task given him by his immensely powerful devilish matron.
Okay, that's the build. We have a decent AC and HP, a great range of spells and healing abilities if we need to heal ourselves or our elemental. We also have our Talisman and Magical Guidance to avoid failing ability checks, and if we roll low damage for Magic Missile we can reroll using Empowered Casting.
I hope you like the build! May the best Mage win!
Edit: Added some cool flavor text! Hopefully this will give him a fighting chance.
Trying to get your physical content on Beyond is like going to Microsoft and saying "I have a physical Playstation disk, give me a digital Xbox version!"
Gura D. Bumbac - The Anti-Magic specialist BY Transmorpher.
This is my vote, I love how it can counter pretty much everything here, and his flavour is really fun. Random potions and some utility, as well as some good damage potential? Yes please.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
'The Cleverness of mushrooms always surprises me!' - Ivern Bramblefoot.
Okay, let me first get my point clear. I do not like the Order of the Scribes, and dislike that this build is legal, but it technically follows RAW. According to Sage Advice, Magic Missile works similarly to AoE spells in the sense that there is one roll for the spell and everyone that is hit by a magic missile takes the damage rolled. That means that features like an Aasimar's Radiant Soul adds to the damage of each individual magic missile. This combined with other features can allow you to abuse that single spell with a multitude of features, as shown in this build. The combo takes a bit to get up, but it is very much worth it once you do.
Impending Doom
My vote is going to Impending doom. Elrin may be tied into Jhanni's story, which is an awesome story, but I can't help but appreciate the damage I see on mister Doom.
Well here's my shot at this. I love building Red Mage types, and I usually try to make them more of a gish but there's plenty of cases out there of Red Mages that are really just the baddest spellslingers in the land and don't need to bother touching a sword, with their signature ability to throw down multiple spells in a single turn. This one is themed after being sort of a magic commando, with the training of a soldier and the skills of a spy to compliment their immense magical prowess.
Level 1: Freelancer
Mark of Shadow Elf: Divine Soul Sorcerer 1
Stats: 8 | 14 | 16 | 10 | 8 | 17 (after race bumps using Tasha's)
Skills (5 w/ race): Arcana, Acrobatics, Persuasion, Deception, Stealth
HP: 9
AC: 12 (15 w/ mage armor)
Tools: Thieves Tools, Disguise Kit
Cantrips: Fire Bolt, Guidance, Mind Sliver, Minor Illusion, Toll the Dead
Spells: Cure Wounds, Guiding Bolt, Mage Armor
Notable Features: Favored by the Gods
A charlatan finds their purpose
“Jasper grew up in the slums, left with little after their parents disappeared other than a single crystal of light that he soon discovered could be used as a spellcasting focus to channel a magic deep within himself. He used his magic and street smarts to develop the skills of a silver tongued rogue in order to get by and make a name for themselves. Eventually the captain of the city watch caught up with him, but in a surprising turn of events, recommended the young con-man to turn their life around by apprenticing as a mage for the city and working to put their skills toward the greater good.”
Starting right away the build is a pretty versatile caster. Guiding bolt, fire bolt, and toll the dead are all solid offensive options. Guidance and mind sliver are great for party support. And minor illusion along with your skill and tool proficiencies will be pretty handy for getting in and out of trouble. Oh and don't forget Favored by the Gods can turn that guiding bolt miss into a hit or save you from a crucial saving throw fail.
Level 5: Red Mage
DIvine Soul 5
Stats: 8 | 14 | 16 | 10 | 8 | 18
HP: 37
AC: 12 (15 w/ mage armor)
Cantrips: Shocking Grasp, Mage Hand (Telekinetic)
Spells: Healing Word (swap CW), Shield, Invisibility (racial), spiritual Weapon, Tasha's Mind Whip, Haste
Notable Features: Twinned Spell, Quicken Spell, Magical Guidance, Telekinetic Feat
“Jasper quickly develops an aptitude for a wide variety of magic, able to manipulate spells and amplify their effects in ways few other magic users could master. He soon rises to the rank of Red Mage of the city, a powerful class of magic users who learn to support the cities soldiers on the battlefield, and can also function as an infiltration unit when a more subtle approach is required. Since the city is not usually in immediate need of soldiers, Jasper spends most of his time when he isn't training joining adventurers on quests he deems a noble cause.”
Offense gets better with spiritual weapon and mind whip, the latter of which is a great choice for twinning. Support gets better with healing word and haste, both of which can be twinned as well. And magical guidance is basically advantage on any of your skill uses to help make up for the lower bonuses compared to a rogue or bard. Quicken spell was more of a thematic choice, as it just fits the doublecast theme of the red mage, even though subtle spell might be better here. But getting an extra 2d12 damage out with a toll the dead is still a decent use of sorcery points if you need to bring a target down as fast as you can. Oh and you can telekinetically shove enemies as a bonus action or just mess with the environment using mage hand without anyone knowing it's you because it's always a subtle spell.
Level 11: Red Magus
Divine Soul 8 / Fighter 2
Stats: 8 | 14 | 16 | 10 | 8 | 20
HP: 83
AC: 20 (medium armor, shield, defense fighting style)
Spells: Absorb Elements (swap Mage Armor), Fireball, Greater Invisibility, Polymorph, Synaptic Static
Notable Features: Action Surge!
“Jasper completes his training in the city when he rises to the rank of Red Magus, mastering the ultimate form of combat magic, doublecasting, the ability to quickly cast multiple high level spells in quick succession. At this point his training has also covered a wider range of martial techniques and now he wears the same armor as the elite soldiers he trains alongside."
We're pretty tough for a caster now with solid armor, shield, and absorb elements. And you can finally start truly doublecasting by using action surge to throw two fireballs into a room once per short rest. Or I guess you could do something a little more productive like twin haste your martials and synaptic static the bad guys at the same time. Greater invisibility and polymorph are just another two great buffs you can twin. Ya you can only have one concentration spell out but I feel like guiding bolt, mind whip, spiritual weapon, and fireball will remain useful uses for your spell slots when not able to use a second concentration spell.
Level 17: Red Wizard
Divine Soul 15 / Fighter 2
Stats: 8 | 14 | 16 | 10 | 8 | 20
HP: 125 (147 after a rest)
AC: 20
Cantrips: Mage Hand (taken twice extends the range of the telekinetic one)
Spells: Disintegrate, Heal, Reverse Gravity, Holy Aura
Notable Features: Transmuted Spell, Inspiring Leader Feat, Otherworldy Wings
"Jasper now spends most of his time roaming the land on dangerous missions that challenge great threats to the people. He begins learning some of the most powerful magic in the land and putting it to use thwarting villains far and wide. At one point he is called back to his home when they are drawn into a dangerous war with a coalition of monstrous races lead by powerful cultists, but before large scale fighting breaks out Jasper and his companions are able to break into their keep and slay their leadership, averting countless casualties.
More spell slots, more sorcery points, and we can now fly at no cost and dish out oodles of temp hp by cooking up tasty meals for our party. For spells we get a nice nuke with disintegrate, the only good in-combat recovery aside from healing word with heal, a solid battlefield control spell with reverse gravity, and a tremendous defensive buff with holy aura. For our third metamagic I went with transmuted spell to stick with the red mage theme of knowing spells of the various black magic damage types.
Level 20: Red Sage
Divine Soul 17 / Battlemaster 3
Stats: 8 | 14 | 18 | 10 | 8 | 20
HP: 148 (173 after a rest)
AC: 20
Spells: Wish
Notable Features: Subtle Spell, Ambush, Commanding Presence, Bait and Switch.
“Jasper was last seen paying one last visit to his old home before setting off on one last quest. Rumor has it he and his companions were travelling to a far off realm unlike any known to common folk, to stop a world ending cataclysm predicted by the local seers. No one has heard of them since, but the people have faith in his safety if only for the fact that the prophesied destruction has failed to fall upon them.”
Hey we have a 9th level spell slot finally, and of course we grab wish for maximum versatility. Pull out any 8th level or lower spell that perfectly fits the situation you find yourself in, and cast it as one action if it has an annoyingly long casting time. And then you can still action surge and cast another levelled spell on the same turn! Rather than go Sorc for the final level and picking up a really lame self heal option I figured battlemaster would be handy since every caster would love to have a bonus to initiative with ambush, commanding presence is nice for your charisma skills, and bait and switch might keep you alive in a tight spot.
Bonus round if you want to equate the dnd spells to their final fantasy equivalents (assuming metamagic optional): Fire/Blizzard/Water/Thunder -> Firebolt, Cure -> Cure Wounds/Healing Word, Dia -> Guiding Bolt, Shell -> Absorb Elements, Protect -> Shield, Confuse -> Mind Whip, Firaga/Blizzaga/Waterga/Thundaga -> Fireball, Haste/Hastaga -> Haste, Vanish/Vanishga -> Invisibility/Greater Invisibility, Toad/Summons -> Polymorph, Bioga - Synaptic Static, Flare/Megaflare -> Disintegrate, Curaga -> Heal, Graviga -> Reverse Gravity, Mighty Guard -> Holy Aura, Final Summon/Limit Break -> Wish. Only one I couldn't think of a match for is spiritual weapon or the other cantrips, but you can't just skip spiritual weapon.
Hello everyone! Here's my first build (hopefully doing 2), which is as wizard-y as you can get for me!
Ryze, The Rune Mage.
Level 20 Split; War Magic Wizard 12/Wild Magic Sorcerer 4/Lore Bard 4
Race; High Elf. (Take the Deep Speech Language and Message Cantrip).
Background; Sage (Dwarvish and Draconic languages)
Stats; Str 8, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 16, Wis 10, Cha 13.
Starting Level; Wizard
Ryze was just a young apprentice when he first learned of the arcane powers that had shaped the world.
His master, a sorcerer named Tyrus of Helia, was a member of an ancient order whose mission had been to gather and protect the most dangerous artifacts in Runeterra. Ryze overheard Tyrus speaking in hushed tones with another mage, discussing something called “World Runes.” When Tyrus noticed his apprentice, he abruptly ended the conversation, tightly clutching the scroll that never left his side.
In spite of the order’s best efforts, knowledge of the Runes began to spread—few could even begin to understand their importance, or the sheer power held within them, and yet all saw them as weapons that could be turned against their rivals. Ryze and Tyrus traveled between the various peoples of Valoran, trying to quell paranoia and encourage restraint. But over time, their missions became increasingly precarious, and Ryze could sense his master’s growing desperation. Finally, in the Noxii territories where Ryze was born, the first cataclysmic blow was struck in what would eventually be known as the Rune Wars.
We start off in Wizard, giving us an ok start. Not that much HP, but utility is utility and spells are spells. Pick up; Toll the dead, Ray of frost and mage hand for cantrips. Take; Alarm, comprehend languages, fog cloud, ice knife, mage armour and sleep. Ryze generally stands back and fights, using ray of frost to stop enemies getting close and ice knife and fog cloud to make a quick getaway. Alarm and comprehend languages are useful for his studies, and protection while resting. HP; 7, AC: 16 (w/mage armour, 13 without).
Level 5; War Wizard 5
Two nations were pitted against one another, and tensions were running high. Tyrus pleaded with their leaders in parley at the village of Khom, but he saw this conflict had already escalated beyond his ability to mediate. Fleeing into the hills, he and Ryze bore horrified witness to the destructive power of the World Runes firsthand.
The earth fell away beneath them, the bedrock itself seeming to retch and squeal, while the sky above them recoiled as if mortally wounded. They looked back upon the valley where the rival armies had stood, and beheld insanity—destruction on a scale so massive that it defied all physical sense. The buildings, the people, all were gone, and the ocean, once a day’s journey to the east, now rushed to meet them.
Ryze fell to his knees and stared into the great hole torn in the world. Nothing remained. Not even the village he once called home.
Open warfare soon raged across Runeterra. Ryze felt compelled to join the conflict, to pick a side and lend his magical strength to the cause, but Tyrus stayed his hand. The two of them had to guide others back toward peace, and pray there was anything left of the world by the time it was all over.
Wherever they met those who held the World Runes, Tyrus pleaded for restraint. Many were deeply sobered by the threat of total annihilation—indeed, those who had already suffered most bitterly in the war might have agreed to turn over their Runes to him, and yet none of them wished to be the first to do so.
Ryze has gained more power now. His arcane tradition is that of war magic, which grants him a bit more survivability and some bonus to initiative to help him get off those powerful spells quickly. His intelligence has grown, with 18 thanks to his ASI. He has picked up the cantrip control flames for the utility, damage and defence it provides. The following spells have been added to his spellbook, thanks to the power of the world runes; find familiar, misty step, aganazzar's scorcher, see invisibility, invisibility, counterspell, haste and enemies abound. The tactic is to stay out of the way, and cast spells. Ray of frost and ice knife provide a way to slow enemies and damage them, while Ryze has many tricks to confuse enemies (invisibility, enemies abound, misty step and counterspell). HP: 27, AC 16/13.
Level 11: War Wizard 6/Lore Bard 4/Wild Magic Sorcerer 1
As time passed and the conflict spread, Ryze noticed his master growing more distant. While Tyrus attended clandestine meetings with great leaders and archmages, he sent his apprentice on errands that seemed of little importance, often for many weeks at a time. Eventually, Ryze decided to confront him and, to his horror, discovered that Tyrus of Helia had secretly come into possession of not one Rune, but two.
Bitter and angry, the older mage insisted that common mortals were like reckless children, toying with powers they did not understand. He would no longer play diplomat to ignorant power-mongers. He had to stop them. Ryze tried to reason with Tyrus, but it was no use—before him stood a flawed man, susceptible to the same temptations as those he decried. The allure of the Runes had left its mark upon him. Where once he desired only peace, now he had the means to bring about the end of all things. Ryze had to act, even if it meant destroying his only true friend and ally in the world.
Ryze is starting to shine a bit more now. The next level in wizard grants him an extra 2 spells, another slot and the ability to store arcane power after counterspell-ing someone. The 4 levels in bard give us bardic inspiration that will mostly be used on cutting words, as well as jack of all trades. This allows Ryze to have more uses outside of combat, as well as in. The ASI gives us an increase to Cha and Int, so a 14 and 19 respectively. Lore bard gives us some more skills, allowing for overall utility when combined with expertise. And finally, the Wild Sorcerer level gives us the ability to get some random magic ( a result of the world rune's power on Ryze), and the ability to have some free advantage, which will definitely come in handy later. The extra spells are; minor illusion, poison spray, mending, dancing lights, light, shocking grasp, vicious mockery, prestidigitation (cantrips), bane, cure wounds, detect magic, animal messenger, faerie fire, longstrider, shatter, chaos bolt, absorb elements, snilloc's snowball swarm, fireball, enemies abound, protection from energy, magic missile, protection from evil and good (spells of 1st and above). His wizard ASI goes into his con, which is 14 now. HP: 61, AC: 16/13
Level 17: War Wizard 9/Lore Bard 4/Wild Magic Sorcerer 4
In an instant, he unleashed all the magic he could muster. A moment later, Tyrus’s corpse lay smoldering on the floor.
Ryze trembled as his mind struggled to process what he had done. If these deadly artifacts could corrupt a mage with the strength and integrity of Tyrus, how was Ryze to handle them? At the same time, he knew he could not entrust them to any other living soul...
Soon, the greatest civilizations all but destroyed one another, ending the war. Ryze now understood the task he had inherited—as long as any World Rune remained unsecured, Runeterra was surely doomed. This knowledge was to become a lonely burden indeed, for ever since that day he has scoured the world in search of the last remaining Runes.
Ryze is now getting to his height of power. The world runes he wields have truly awoken the wild magic in him, giving him the ability to use magic more frequently (font of magic) and to change his spells in powerful ways (twinned spell and empowered spell for metamagic). His ASI from sorcerer has gone into the feat Elven Accuracy, increasing our Int to 20, and giving us triple advantage whenever we use our tides of chaos feature! Combining this with empowered spell could cause for huge crit damage on on-hit spells like ice knife (cast at higher levels of course). Ryze has also gained more power from his studies as a wizard, and can now store the magic he counters and unleash it as raw power (power surge). In addition, he has level 9th level spell slots! The extra spells he has learnt are; primal savagery (sorcerer cantrip), chromatic orb (should have diamond), and disguise self (1st level sorc spells), legend lore (wizard 5th level) and evard's black tentacles (wizard 4th). HP: 108, AC: 16/13
Level 20: War Wizard 12/Lore Bard 4/Wild Magic Sorcerer 4
He continues to reject the promise of power within each one, choosing instead to bind them in secret locations, far from prying and greedy eyes.
Even with his life abnormally prolonged by the magic he is exposed to, Ryze cannot afford to rest, for rumors of the World Runes have begun to emerge once more, and the peoples of Runeterra seem to have forgotten the price of wielding them.
Ryze has made it. His journey to gather the World Runes has given him unrivalled power, and the ability to warp magic and minds alike. His last 3 levels in wizard have given him level 6 spells, the ability to protect himself while casting spells (durable magic). Ryze picks up; fire shield, hallucinatory terrain, disintegrate, chain lightning, shield, web and chill touch, for spells. His final ASI goes into Lucky, granting him even more sway over the battle. HP: 126, AC:16/13
Checklist for Ryze: Damage? Yes, combining spells like chain lighting or upcast fireball with empowered spell, or upcast ice knife with triple advantage. Defence? With spells like absorb elements, shield upcast for straight stopping, or fog cloud for being able to get away. Utility? Thanks to Bard and Wild sorc, we have plenty of it, and have many utility spells and cantrips. Overall, Ryze the Rune Mage is very flexible in his casting, and makes use of his tides of chaos feature to get things his way (and lucky!). With a bonus to initiative of +8, he can hopefully get ahead and use spells to kill off or restrain his targets before they can react. Ryze uses his bonus to saves to help him survive in a world where the opponents are tough.
And that was Ryze, the Rune Mage! Hoped you enjoy the music down below while reading this!
https://youtu.be/dsveCVCt5J4
'The Cleverness of mushrooms always surprises me!' - Ivern Bramblefoot.
I'll worldbuild for your DnD games!
Just a D&D enjoyer, check out my fiverr page if you need any worldbuilding done for ya!
I put a lot of time into developing this concept, so I hope it can match up to some of the others. Without further ado, I give you.....
Mage Sovereign
"The sad fact about magic is that the person with more of it invariably wins."
Level 1: Wizard
Race: Human (Variant Lucky)
Stats: Str (8) Con (12) Dex (14) Int (16 with racials) wis (14) char (14 with racials)
HP: 8
AC: 13 with mage armour, 18 with the shield spell + mage armour.
Background: Noble
Final level split: Wizard (abjurer) 17, Bard (lore) 3
Ke'heops looked at me with scorn. "You really believe your foolish ploys can defeat me? I am the most powerful mage our clan has ever produced."
I just smiled "For now father." Ke'heops glanced back at his daughter, Shalla, who stood behind him. She laughed quietly, but there was a hint of steel in her voice "Don't be silly Kellen. I will always strive to be as good and just- and as powerful- as our father, but I shall never match his greatness. But I am more than powerful enough to defeat you." Ke'heops looked round, a smug look on his face. "See Kellen? Even your own sister has turned against you." I grimaced "Seems that way doesn't it." I turned to leave , but Shalla called my name "You are betraying your family Kellen. Your duty is to serve our line, not to run away." I should have kept walking, but that hit a nerve "What exactly has my family ever done for me?" For once, Shalla had no answer. It was eerily silent as I walked away.
Level 5: Wizard 5
Picking up the Abjuration subclass. The ward gives you some much needed tankyness and you have access to some prime spells such as Counterspell and fireball as well as all the other wizard utility goodies. You have a spell for pretty much all your needs at this point. At level four bump your int to 18 . A true mage knows that in a fight, things should never come down to the roll of a dice....
Not much else to say here, it is pretty much a standard wizard.
HP: 32 (45 with arcane ward)
AC: 13 with mage armour, 18 with the shield spell + mage armour.
I was having a rather bad dream before I was interrupted. I was lying on the cold floor while a massive lizard was eating my legs and white bears were dancing around wistling some horrific tune. It was rather odd when the lizard that until now had been intent on making me his lunch started speaking. It was even stranger what he said. "Its not a dream Kellen." I was horrified at that- If it wasn't a dream then I was royally screwed. Funnily enough, it said it again, and this time it sounded like Shalla, which was obviously impossible.... I closed my eyes, and when I opened them again, my surroundings were vastly different. Not the desert where I had fallen asleep, but the throneroom of what looked like a royal mage's sanctum. In front of me was my sister. "How is this possible? Are you in my mind?" She laughed "No silly! We are in mine. Yours is far too disorganized. Well technically, we are in a dream state, so it is not really my conscious mind." I was flabbergasted "How did you figure out how to do this? And why?" She looked bemused "I have had this sanctum in my dreams since I was six Kellen. It is a great place to practice spellwork" She raised her hand and a coil of black smoke appeared arround it "I could show you if yo-" I cut her off.
"Why did you summon me? What do you wan't?" I was a little guilty at her hurt expression, but that quickly faded when she spoke "Come home Kellen. Please. Father will forgive you if I beg him. We can be a family again." I watched her silently but shook my head. "I won't come home until he is dead."
"Kell-"
"No Shalla."
With a wave of my hand the illusion disappeared and the real world returned.
Level 11: Wizard 8, Bard 3
Pick up the college of lore for those beautiful cutting words. Between bardic inspiration, lucky and cutting words, you are now quite the dice controller. For your ASI bump int to max, which will help with your save DC and attack rolls. With the addition of the bard spell list you now have some minor healing, but the main attraction is jack of all trades. You can now add half your proficiency bonus to counterspells, which may seem small but it all stacks up. You have access to level 4 spells including polymorph and greater invisibility which can help with utility and scouting. Every level you come one step closer to being the most powerful mage ever seen...
HP: 71 (92 with arcane ward)
AC: 13 with mage armour, 18 with the shield spell + mage armour.
This time it was different. One moment I was alone, the next she was stood in front of me. The room in the tavern was rickety and old, and the lighting was terrible, but even I could tell that this was no illusion. She was actually here. I didn't bother with a long question, I knew she would understand.
"How?"
"I found an old toy of yours. It was buried in the back yard. I used it to track you then" She waved her hands around "I came"
She looked tired. Older than the last time I saw her. I said nothing, as I had nothing to say
"No words for your beloved sister? I should've expected as much. I have news."
"What news?"
She managed to get the last sentence out before she collapsed "Mother is dead. Father has a plan. Please, just listen to him. "
It was only after I had packed my bags and saddled my horse that I realized I was going home.
Level 17: Wizard 14, Bard 3:
There is a little feature that the abjuration wizard gets at level 10 called Improved abjuration. It allows you to add your proficiency bonus to your counterspell/dispel magic spells. Unfortunately this negates jack of all trades, but we can deal with that. At level 12 grab warcaster so that you can keep up concentration much more easily. Then at 14th level we get spell resistance...which is insane. Now listen. I am nearly 100% certain your builds have more magic than mine, but what is the benefit of magic if you can't cast it. Even if you do find a way past counterspell (Perhaps another counterspell), there is still arcane ward + Spell resistance to contend with. Even if you manage to get past all THAT and deal some damage, we can always upcast a cure wounds or healing word.
HP: 107 (139 with arcane ward)
AC: 13 with mage armour, 18 with the shield spell + mage armour.
It was nighttime when I reached the city. The magelights were glowing brightly and even the heavy cloud cover couldn't block out the moons glorious light. On any other occasion I would have relished the sight. As it was, I was fighting a losing battle against my instincts, who were telling me to run like hell. If you haven't realized, my instincts are ****ing cowards. I hadn't quite reached the edge of the city when I saw him. He wore fine robes and on his head was a band of pure gold set with a saphire, yet there were no guards near him. Shalla walked in front of me and went to embrace him. He gave her a cold look, then looked back at me without giving her another word.
"You came." It wasn't a question, so I gave no answer.
Shalla started to speak "Father, tell him yo-"
"Silence child."
To say I was curious would be a gross understatement. "What plan is this father? And why are you wearing the crown of the Mage Sovereign? Have you and your posse gotten any delusions of grandeur ?"
He smiled "For years, our people have been ignored. To dangerous to make enemies of but too small to be a threat. That ends today." With a flourish of his hands, an illusion was stripped away and standing behind him were mages. Lots of mages. Ke'heops smiled "A full war coven, all lords magi. This......what was it you called us?.....Oh yes, this posse is comprised of enough mages to conquer the entire continent. And I am so glad you are here to see it Kellen"
I was silent for a few seconds, but I knew they would not wait long for my answer, so I tilted my had and smiled up at the man standing in front of me. "Is today the day we dance father?"
Level 20: Wizard 17, Bard 3
The ASI will go towards a constitution buff to make us even more tanky, and despite the fact that we had ninth level spell slots three levels ago, at level 20 you can finally take the actual spells. Better late than never. The build at this level operates nearly exactly the same as at 17, apart from some extra stomping power. This is both the ultimate mage and the ultimate mage slayer. A master of the high magics for protection and offence, utility and even some healing. As I said at the beginning: "The sad fact about magic is that the person with more of it invariably wins." It is the job of this mage to make that completely irrelevant.
HP: 145 (183 with arcane ward)
AC: 13 with mage armour, 18 with the shield spell + mage armour.
I would like to say the fight lasted long, but my father was a fully trained mage and the paltry magic I could wield was quickly overpowered by his superior skills. He cast spells of fire and ice which wound themselves together and blew me off my feet, then wove a net of iron to trap me. I avoided it deftly, but I fell directly into a hand he created out of pure force. When he was sure I could do nothing he started to monologue "I hoped you would see reason Kellen. I would have loved for my son-"
I cut him off "I wasn't aware that madmen could see reason from idiocy, father"
His face went red and the hand squeezed me tighter. I felt a rib pop. "Don't mock me boy. I have you completely at my mercy."
Shalla looked horrified at his treatment of me "Father stop! You are going to kill him!"
Ke'heops looked genuinely confused "We must kill him Shalla. If I don't, I will look weak. I am sorry"
Shalla looked at me in horror "Bu-You can't! Its Kellen! He-he isn't a traitor, he is just misguided! Please"
Ke'heops shook his head sadly. "I am sorry Shalla. This is how it had to be."
The hand started to steadily increase in pressure. The pain was so overwhelming, it was hard to stay conscious. As my vision started to fade, I thought that I had made a fatal miscalculation. I was going to die. Just as I was completely losing all senses the pressure ceased. I forced myself to look up, and what I saw surprised even me. Shalla was standing between us, and in her hands was the weave of a spell. Father's spell. She had somehow taken his own magic and nullified it. The war mages started to react, but she stopped their spells as well. She started drawing power to her and you could practically feel the void she left in her wake.
Her lips were moving, but the sound was distorted by the energy output, so it sounded more like the roar of an ancient god.
"NO ONE TOUCHES MY BROTHER!"
With a simple flick of her wrist, she sent the mass of chaos hurtling towards her father and it enveloped him, ripping him to shreds.
There was a minute of silence where no-one talked. Everyone seemed to be trying to figure out if Shalla was going to kill anyone else. Then Shalla walked over to the place where Ke'heops had been and retrieved the circlet. She looked me in the eyes but said nothing. She didn't need to. I could see the message written there as clear as glass. I made my choice, and I chose you, but I will never forgive you for forcing my hand.
I am not sure who walked away first, but I remember turning back and looking at her one last time. I didn't see my sister. I saw the true mage sovereign.
“I will take responsibility for what I have done. [...] If must fall, I will rise each time a better man.” ― Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer.
What spells would you be using your two Sorcerer points per day on with quicken spell and extend spell? It seems like a waste of an ASI at 4th level when you're only at 16 intelligence to grab that feat.
Yeah I was actually just thinking that. Gonna switch that around with the ASI and get warcaster instead. For a defensive build it is a whole lot better
“I will take responsibility for what I have done. [...] If must fall, I will rise each time a better man.” ― Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer.
I think the feat is decent just to pick up subtle spell, but I agree it doesn't look worth it for quicken and extend it in that build, especially taken before bumping your casting stat.
Just an update to those who haven't seen it, I've updated my build. I haven't added any mechanical changes, but I have added some flavor text that will hopefully give Impending Doom a chance at winning this time. Hopefully . . .
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Spells, Monsters, Subclasses, Races, Arcknight Class, Occultist Class, World, Enigmatic Esoterica forms
For my build I used point buy (10,10,13,14,10,15). I'm also stealing the format used by Yurei and Necromas lol. Also MY GOD there's WAY more infusions than I thought when I first started this build. As my first time deep diving into spellcasters I looked at the infusion list and went "Nope not reading all that".
Elrin Bronzehammer
Scourge Aasimar Clockwork Soul Sorcerer 17/Armorer Artificer 3
10|10|19|14|10|20
Clan Crafter Background
Level 1: A simple smith.
Artificer 1
Stats- 10|10|14|14|10|17
HP: 10
AC: 10
He started out as a young boy who had a habit of tinkering with things. He could typically be found playing with wooden pieces that his father had carved for him, spending many nights before bed trying to put them together in unique ways. His life was eventually turned on its head when he lost both of his parents in a storm. He was adopted by a dwarf, Argin Bronzehammer, a well known Blacksmith and Tinkerer when he was found along the side of the road collapsed from starvation. In his early years he learned from the dwarf but was told he wasn't allowed to each anyone else what he was shown. He was eventually taught low level magic by Argin and used it in his craftsmanship. But on his 18th birthday it seemed the universe hadn't been quite done with messing with him.
Resistances: Necrotic, Radiant
Skills: Arcana, History, Insight, Investigation.
Saving Throws: INT, CON.
Proficiencies: Light armor, medium armor, shields, firearms, simple weapons, Smith's Tools, Thieves' Tools, Tinker's Tools, Woodcarver's Tools.
Languages: Celestial, Common, Dwarvish.
Class based: Magical Tinkering
Spells-
Artificer
Cantrip: Light, Mending, Prestidigitation.
1st Lvl: Absorb Elements Grease.
Thoughts - The first level isn't anything too great all things considered as Artificer was taken first due to having more skills to choose from, more tool proficiencies, a higher starting hit dice, and worked as a fluff for the backstory. The spell list is geared more toward working with objects and items and being around a forge. But smart players can make fun use of Grease and Absorb Elements is a simple spell that can help with mitigation; and if you apply a weapon to it dealing a bit of damage of the type absorbed. Magical Tinkering could also be used to hilarious and occasionally devious effect. At this point our young Aasimar is more Blacksmith than adventurer. But, in a pinch, with a simple weapon and some armor he could get by with reasonable ease.
Level 5: A second new life.
Artificer 1/Clockwork Sorcerer 4
Stats- 10|10|14|14|10|19
HP: 34
AC: 14 (19 with shield)
It started after he fell asleep. He could swear he was dreaming but it also felt so real. He heard a ticking sound, like he was in a clock, and all around him were cogs and gears all working in perfect unison. A voice came to him, told him that he had a destiny and something he had to do, but that he had to wake up and head north. He questioned it and the voice persisted until the voice became so loud that it caused him to jump awake. He woke with a start, he smelled smoke, and looked outside. His town was in chaos. People were fighting one another, buildings were on fire, and there were dead soldiers around. Argin grabbed him and told him to follow, heading him out of town until they were assailed by attackers. Argin fought them and pushed Elrin to flee on his own. Not knowing where to go he went north, like the voice told him. After a few days, feeling like he was on his last breath, he saw a structure. It looked like a cathedral and passed out at its doors.
When he woke he was inside. It was the home of an Order of warriors, scholars, mages, and all other types. Dedicated to preserving peace and order. They taught him magic, helped him learn new spells, and even assisted in teaching him more about smithing and tinkering. After a few days burning light erupted from him and he was told that this was part of his heritage. That he was descended from Celestials which explains the clock hands that spin within his eyes. He had to train with them, become one of them, and fight with them against those that ruined his life.
Resistances: Necrotic, Radiant
Skills: Arcana, History, Insight, Investigation.
Saving Throws: INT, CON.
Proficiencies: Light armor, medium armor, shields, firearms, simple weapons, Smith's Tools, Thieves' Tools, Tinker's Tools, Woodcarver's Tools.
Languages: Celestial, Common, Dwarvish.
Class based: Magical Tinkering(A), Restore Balance(S), Font of Magic(S)
Spells-
Artificer
Cantrip: Light, Mending, Prestidigitation.
1st Lvl: Absorb Elements, Grease, Cure Wounds.
Sorcerer
Meta Magic: 4 points. Heightened Spell, Subtle Spell.
Clockwork: Alarm, Protection from Evil and Good, Aid, Lesser Restoration.
Cantrip: Firebolt, Friends, Frostbite, Minor Illusion, Shocking Grasp.
1st Lvl: Magic Missile, Shield, Sleep, Aganazzar's Scorcher.
2nd Lvl: Hold Person.
Thoughts- After having his life turned upside down on him a second time he meets a group his celestial guide intended for him to meet. They outfit him, take care of him, and teaching him more about himself and what he can do. He gets intermittent visits in his dreams from the celestial of order that spoke to him before telling him to follow the ways of the Order. He's now looking more like a regular spell caster. With solid damage dealing spells like Firebolt, Magic Missile, Aganazzar's Sorcher. He also has crowd control like sleep, hold person, shocking grasp and mitigation like shield. He can give targets disadvantage on saves and make spells easier to cast with subtle spell. All of which he casts through a time piece he made himself, a pocket watch essentially. And with Restore Balance he can prevent enemies from rolling at advantage and allies from rolling at disadvantage.
And when spells fail him he still has a mace, a throwing hammer, and a crossbow. And a bump with the ASI gets our CHA to 19 for stronger spells.
Level 11: Gaining Momentum.
Armorer Artificer 3/Clockwork Sorcerer 8
Stats- 10|10|14|15|10|20
HP: 72
AC: 18 (19 with Infusion, 24 with shield)
As he learned the Order sent him on missions to uphold their tenants and subdue chaotic forces in the land. At first he accompanied senior members in order to learn at their side and get experience in the field that he would undoubtedly need. In his off time he studied and practiced, focused inward to learn more about himself and the celestial visitor that guided him, and eventually put together a suit of full plate armor that was to be his masterpiece. A series of sheets of steel laden with cogs and gears. His time piece arcane focus built into the palm of the left hand to make casting spells easier. He could put some of his magic into it and when it was worn it was like a second skin, it weighed almost nothing to him, and it was wonderful. He learned of spreading chaos, learned it was the forces that moved against his town and killed Argin.
He would get his revenge. He would bring the chaotic group to heel. He just had to get stronger.
Resistances: Necrotic, Radiant
Skills: Arcana, History, Insight, Investigation.
Saving Throws: INT, CON.
Proficiencies: Light armor, medium armor, heavy armor, shields, firearms, simple weapons, Smith's Tools, Thieves' Tools, Tinker's Tools, Woodcarver's Tools, Jeweler's Tools.
Languages: Celestial, Common, Dwarvish.
Class based: Magical Tinkering(A), Restore Balance(S), Font of Magic(S), Right Tool for the job(A), Bastion of Law.
Armor Model: Guardian. Thunder Gauntlets that deal 1d8 thunder damage on a hit and disadvantage on attacks when hit. Defensive Field bonus action to gain temporary hit points equal to level in Artificer.
Spells-
Artificer
Infusions: Enhanced Arcane Focus, Enhanced Defense, Goggles of Night, Bag of Holding.
Armorer Spells: Magic Missile, Thunderwave
Cantrip: Light, Mending, Prestidigitation.
1st Lvl: Absorb Elements, Grease, Cure Wounds.
Sorcerer
Meta Magic: 8 points. Heightened Spell, Subtle Spell.
Clockwork: Alarm, Protection from Evil and Good, Aid, Lesser Restoration.
Cantrip: Firebolt, Friends, Frostbite, Minor Illusion, Shocking Grasp.
1st Lvl: Shield, Sleep, Aganazzar's Scorcher.
2nd Lvl: Hold Person.
3rd Lvl: Counterspell, Fireball, Slow.
4th Lvl: Sickening Radiance, Dimension Door.
Thoughts- As he gets closer to being a full fledged mage he get the ability to wear full plate armor, the heaviest stuff that he can get to make him as safe as he can be. He picks up a bunch of spells to both add to his repertoire in order to deal more damage, like with fireball and sickening radiance, and aid in movement like with dimension door. The Guardian Arcane Armor gives him a melee attack should things get too close that imposes disadvantage on attacks and the Defensive Field from the armor itself can work together with Bastion of Law. Making him harder to hit and deal damage too. And for those moments that he doesn't have a tool he needs he can make new ones on the spot from his acquired bag of holding. Plus the acquisition of Goggles of Night, especially if they're built into the armor, extends his already 60 foot darkvision out to 120 feet.
I also took another ASI so that I can max out the CHA for better spells and bump up the HP with CON.
Level 17: Embracing Order.
Armor Artificer 3/Clockwork Sorcerer 14
Stats- 10|10|17|14|10|20
HP: 125
AC: 18 (19 with Infusion, 24 with Shield, 26 with Haste)
His studies progress and he learns more about himself. He's a senior member of The Order at this point and he takes on disciplines of his own when he goes out on to mission. He follows the news of the growing chaotic force out to the east, the ones that were the reason he was where he was, and tried to never let them out of his sight. His celestial guide instructs him on better to use his powers for good and to maintain order. He figures out new, more powerful, spells with the help of those at The Order. And on a fateful day he finds members of the group that ruined his previous life. Now he was almost as mechanical in his precision as the Order he gave his life too. He learned that they were part of a bigger group, a growing rebellion, nothing but chaos. He killed them just like the others he met. These ones, though, gave him information so he made their deaths as painless as possible.
Resistances: Necrotic, Radiant
Skills: Arcana, History, Insight, Investigation.
Saving Throws: INT, CON.
Proficiencies: Light armor, medium armor, heavy armor, shields, firearms, simple weapons, Smith's Tools, Thieves' Tools, Tinker's Tools, Woodcarver's Tools, Jeweler's Tools.
Languages: Celestial, Common, Dwarvish.
Class based: Magical Tinkering(A), Restore Balance(S), Font of Magic(S), Right Tool for the job(A), Bastion of Law(S), Trance of Order(S).
Armor Model: Guardian. Thunder Gauntlets that deal 1d8 thunder damage on a hit and disadvantage on attacks when hit. Defensive Field bonus action to gain temporary hit points equal to level in Artificer.
Spells-
Artificer
Infusions: Enhanced Arcane Focus, Enhanced Defense, Goggles of Night, Bag of Holding.
Armorer Spells: Magic Missile, Thunderwave
Cantrip: Light, Mending, Prestidigitation.
1st Lvl: Absorb Elements, Grease, Cure Wounds.
Sorcerer
Meta Magic: 14 points. Heightened Spell, Subtle Spell, Empowered Spell.
Clockwork: Alarm, Protection from Evil and Good, Aid, Lesser Restoration.
Cantrip: Firebolt, Friends, Frostbite, Minor Illusion, Ray of Frost, Shocking Grasp.
1st Lvl: Shield, Sleep, Aganazzar's Scorcher.
2nd Lvl: Hold Person.
3rd Lvl: Counterspell, Fireball, Haste, Slow.
4th Lvl: Sickening Radiance, Dimension Door.
5th Lvl: Synaptic Static.
6th Lvl: Disintegrate.
7th Lvl: Fire Storm.
Thoughts- More power doesn't even begin to explain the boost in power that Elrin got by the time he's level 17. Synaptic Static, Disintegrate, Fire Storm all provide increase damage coverage and area. Picking up Haste allows his AC to climb higher, makes him faster, and overall improves his efficiency in combat. All the work he has done in his plate armor bolstered his physicality as shown in the increase in constitution. With an inclusion of Ray of Frost as an additional method to slow down enemies Elrin is beginning to round out his kit. Trance of Order is also a very good pick up. The ability to deny advantage against himself and making his attack rolls, ability checks, and saving throws count as a 10 if he rolls below nine increases his lethality and survivability.
Level 20: Arbiter of Order.
Armor Artificer 3/Clockwork Sorcerer 17
Stats: 10|10|19|14|10|20
HP: 166
AC: 18 (19 with infusion, 24 with Shield, 26 max with Haste active.)
Elrin is now a fully realized sorcerer of The Order. He has steeped himself in the practices of the Cathedral all for the sake of enacting their whim. He's ruthless to those that break the law and disrupt society. He's kind to those that require his aid. And he's feared among those that know of him. He's acquired some of the strongest spells that he can make and he is given a final order from the celestial guide that has lead him this far. He's to seek out the source of chaos that upended his life. He set out, seeking out the pockets of anarchy that popped up from time to time, and did what he had to do in order to get the name of his quarry. From the lips of a dying man he got two words Silver Hand. After a bit of information gathering he moved east, searching for the anarchist.
Resistances: Necrotic, Radiant
Skills: Arcana, History, Insight, Investigation.
Saving Throws: INT, CON.
Proficiencies: Light armor, medium armor, heavy armor, shields, firearms, simple weapons, Smith's Tools, Thieves' Tools, Tinker's Tools, Woodcarver's Tools, Jeweler's Tools.
Languages: Celestial, Common, Dwarvish.
Class based: Magical Tinkering(A), Restore Balance(S), Font of Magic(S), Right Tool for the job(A), Bastion of Law(S), Trance of Order(S).
Armor Model: Guardian. Thunder Gauntlets that deal 1d8 thunder damage on a hit and disadvantage on attacks when hit. Defensive Field bonus action to gain temporary hit points equal to level in Artificer.
Spells-
Artificer
Infusions: Enhanced Arcane Focus, Enhanced Defense, Goggles of Night, Bag of Holding.
Armorer Spells: Magic Missile, Thunderwave
Cantrip: Light, Mending, Prestidigitation.
1st Lvl: Absorb Elements, Grease, Cure Wounds.
Sorcerer
Meta Magic: 17 points. Heightened Spell, Subtle Spell, Empowered Spell, Seeking Spell.
Clockwork: Alarm, Protection from Evil and Good, Aid, Lesser Restoration.
Cantrip: Firebolt, Friends, Frostbite, Minor Illusion, Ray of Frost, Shocking Grasp.
1st Lvl: Shield, Sleep, Aganazzar's Scorcher.
2nd Lvl: Hold Person.
3rd Lvl: Counterspell, Fireball, Haste, Slow.
4th Lvl: Sickening Radiance, Dimension Door.
5th Lvl: Synaptic Static.
6th Lvl: Disintegrate.
7th Lvl: Fire Storm.
8th Lvl: Power Word Stun.
9th Lvl: Power Word Kill.
Thoughts- Now that he's a fully realized, level 20, character he has access to power magic like Power Word Kill. Picking up Seeking Spell also allows him a chance to reroll failed spell attacks, which can be doubled up with another meta magic ability. Between all of the types of damage that he has at his disposal, the ability to remove advantage with his Clockwork Origin ability and use Heightened Spell to impose disadvantage he's hard to slip away from. He has spells that serve as crowd control to tie down evasive opponents and the ability to speed himself up if necessary. His plate armor combined with his infusion, haste, and shield makes him incredibly hard to hit. He's well rounded and a wall when you take into consideration the temp HP he can get and the barrier his Guardian Armor grants him. 17 sorcery points gives him a few options as well.
The only issue I have is how the stats played out with ASI's. I looked between getting the Tough feat and putting a point in CON and the latter of the two got me greater gains. I would have liked to get War caster but I wanted to get the HP pool as high as possible. The only other way I could have avoided this would have been to drop STR, DEX, or WIS to 9 or 8 and give CON a bump. I didn't want to have negatives in other places though, ugh. But I'm this far in so I'm just going to go with what I got.
That's an incredibly badass picture!
Subscribe to our channel for character builds, roleplay and DM tips: www.youtube.com/c/dorkforge
Interested in Tasha's Cauldron of Everything? Check out our playlist on Youtube
Please feel free to message us with any requests or build challenges!
Thanks! Took some doing to find one that fit what I had in my head on pinterest. It's not exact but close enough!
Submissions are now closed and voting is now open
Subscribe to our channel for character builds, roleplay and DM tips: www.youtube.com/c/dorkforge
Interested in Tasha's Cauldron of Everything? Check out our playlist on Youtube
Please feel free to message us with any requests or build challenges!
1 vote for Yurei's Jhanni, the Silver Hand
It's...really freaking awesome.
Seven there shall be/In the halls of the eighth/Eights shall witness/Eight and eight and eight and eight/Blood of the father/Blood of the sun/Endless darkness/Day is done
Savior/Sovereign/Saint Foresworn/Traitor/Trusted/Tortured Truthborn/Chosen/Cursed
Created by deities/Created by mortals/Created by powers unseen/Unheard of
Fate speaks of one/Fate speaks to none/Eternal shadows/Day is Done.
I vote for Third_Sundering's Impending Doom.
All stars fade. Some stars forever fall.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Homebrew (Mostly Outdated): Magic Items, Monsters, Spells, Subclasses
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If there was no light, people wouldn't fear the dark.
I vote for Impending Doom (by @Third_Sundering)
I am an average mathematics enjoyer.
>Extended Signature<
My vote goes to Ryzel, the rune mage.
“I will take responsibility for what I have done. [...] If must fall, I will rise each time a better man.” ― Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer.
I vote for Jhanni.
Formerly Devan Avalon.
Trying to get your physical content on Beyond is like going to Microsoft and saying "I have a physical Playstation disk, give me a digital Xbox version!"
Thanks mate!
'The Cleverness of mushrooms always surprises me!' - Ivern Bramblefoot.
I'll worldbuild for your DnD games!
Just a D&D enjoyer, check out my fiverr page if you need any worldbuilding done for ya!
Gura D. Bumbac - The Anti-Magic specialist BY Transmorpher.
This is my vote, I love how it can counter pretty much everything here, and his flavour is really fun. Random potions and some utility, as well as some good damage potential? Yes please.
'The Cleverness of mushrooms always surprises me!' - Ivern Bramblefoot.
I'll worldbuild for your DnD games!
Just a D&D enjoyer, check out my fiverr page if you need any worldbuilding done for ya!
My vote is going to Impending doom. Elrin may be tied into Jhanni's story, which is an awesome story, but I can't help but appreciate the damage I see on mister Doom.
No worries! I loved the flavour :)
“I will take responsibility for what I have done. [...] If must fall, I will rise each time a better man.” ― Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer.