Homebrew Heroic Spirit Species Details

 Heroic Spirits are powerful beings who represent the development of humanity. Partnering with mages called Masters in order to "shift" through time, these Spirits, also known as "Servants" when working under a Master, are responsible for travelling through time and correcting "errors" in history to ensure humanity's survival. While most Servants are humans from throughout history, the "Throne of Heroes (a term that refers to all Heroic Spirits that can be 'summoned' by mages)" also includes mythological figures, fictional characters, and anthropomorphic concepts.

When creating a Heroic Spirit, consider the following: what is your Heroic Spirit's "claim to fame?" How did this person fight during their lifetime? Who summoned your Servant? What relationship does your Servant have with their Master?

Humble Beginnings

A Heroic Spirit is created at the end of a person's life. If that person has accomplished incredible tasks that benefit humanity, or is simply destined to become known worldwide, they "ascend" to the Throne of Heroes, from which they can be summoned by mages. The Heroic Spirit tends to manifest "in their prime," with the appearance to match. Most Heroic Spirits were originally humans, but there are records of the occasional divine or animal Servant, along with demons, homunculi, and dragons disguised as humans.

For this campaign, assume your character was a human in life. Such Servants mostly resemble humans, aside from unusual hair or eye colors. However, how a Servant is known and portrayed throughout history, as well as how deeply they indulge in the “shadow alignments (evil and chaotic),” can grant them monstrous features.

The Master-Servant Relationship

Heroic Spirits are summoned through sufficient magical energy and are controlled by powerful mages. A mage who commands Heroic Spirits is called a Master. While the Servant retains free will while under a Master, they are obligated to obey, regardless of one's opinion on the other.

Servant True Names and Gender Norms

How a Heroic Spirit is portrayed in modern times does not always correlate with the truth. A Heroic Spirit can be any gender, regardless of how they are perceived by history.

Please note that a Servant's True Name could also simply be a title and not their actual name.

Female True Names: Artoria Pendragon (King Arthur),  Beni-enma, Atalante, Elizabeth Bathory, Kama, Medea, Medusa, Murasaki Shikibu, Paul Bunyan, Quetzalcoatl, Stheno, Tomoe Gozen, Valkyrie

Male True Names: Achilles, Avicebron, Bedivere, Cu Chulainn, Edward Teach, Gaius Julius Caesar, Gilgamesh, Heracles, Hijikata Toshizou, Kiyohime, Li Shuwen, Mephistopheles, Sasaki Kojirou, Vlad III, William Tell

Subraces

Each subrace of Heroic Spirit represents a different classification in the Servant Summoning System. A Servant’s subrace is indicative of what sort of famous deeds they did in life or, if any, the weapon in which they specialized. Your subrace will replace the class that you would choose at the beginning of most campaigns. The seven “core” classes are as follows, along with some examples of each:

• Archers: Servants proficient in shooting projectiles. Weapons include bows and arrows, slings, and guns. (Examples: William Tell, Billy the Kid)
• Assassins: Servants known in life as spies or killers, regardless of success as either. (Examples: Fuuma Kotaro, Carmilla, Charles Henri-Sanson)
• Berserkers: Servants who went insane at some point in their lives. (Examples: Frankenstein, Eric Bloodaxe, Kiyohime)
• Casters: Magicians and “producers” such as authors, musicians, scientists, and artists. (Examples: Murasaki Shikibu, Charles Babbage, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
• Lancers: Servants who specialize in polearms. (Examples: Vlad III, Leonidas I, Cu Chulainn)
• Riders: Servants who famously had a “mount.” Mounts include horses, ships, chariots, sleighs, and surfboards. (Examples: Christopher Columbus, Iskandar, Edward Teach)
• Sabers: Servants known for using swords. (Examples: Miyamoto Musashi, Fergus mac Roich)

Collaborate with your DM to determine which classification/subrace best represents the historical or fictional being you chose to play as. In some cases, your character might be eligible for more than one class, in which case, you will have to decide which one you prefer.

Heroic Spirit Traits

A person significant enough to human history to defend it must be more powerful than the average person.

Ability Score Increase

Your Wisdom and Dexterity scores both increase by 1.

Age

Heroic Spirits are as old as time and do not physically age. Their bodies manifest in a wide variety of ages, ranging from nine to 4,200 years old.

Alignment

Servants come in each and every alignment, although some subraces may sway toward a particular one.

• Archers trend toward Good.
• Assassins can come in almost any alignment but are often Evil. They usually lean toward Lawful.
• Berserker: By definition, the majority of Berserkers are Chaotic Evil, but Neutral ones of a non-Chaotic nature have been found.
  
• Casters are the “wildcards” of Servant alignments, usually Chaotic and unconcerned with Good or Evil.
  
• Lancers are usually Lawful, and almost always Neutral.
  
• Riders tend to be Neutral, and are often Good. However, it is not impossible for a Rider to have a non-Good alignment.
  
• Sabers are usually Lawful Good, or at least Lawful Neutral.
  

Size

Heroic Spirits come in several shapes and sizes, ranging from 4 to 18 feet tall. However, most Servants are Medium, as are you for the convenience of both the DM and the players.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Noble Phantasm

Noble Phantasms are the major identifying factor of each Heroic Spirit, representing a major aspect or event of their life. They come in four categories: Buff, Debuff, Area of Effect, and Single Target. The four categories are explained below.

• Buff: For three turns, you and your allies have advantage on all checks related to your highest stat (For example, if you use a Buff Noble Phantasm and your highest stat is Dexterity, you and your allies have advantage on Dexterity saving throws, Skill checks such as Acrobatics and Sleight of Hand, etc.)
• Debuff: For three turns, all enemies have disadvantage on all checks related to your highest stat.
• Area of Effect: An attack that can hit all enemies within a 15 foot radius. If an enemy within the radius fails a saving throw with a DC equivalent to your highest stat, that enemy takes 2d8 Force damage unless otherwise immune.
• Single Target: An attack that can only hit one enemy within a 10 foot radius. If that enemy fails a saving throw with a DC equivalent to your highest stat, that enemy takes 3d8 Force damage unless otherwise immune.

Collaborate with your DM to decide what in your Servant's history could be considered a Noble Phantasm, and which type it would qualify as.

NOTE: Depending on your subrace, certain Noble Phantasm types may be unselectable.

Trance

Heroic Spirits don’t need to sleep. Instead, they can meditate deeply, remaining semiconscious, for 4 hours a day. (The Common word for such meditation is “trance.”) While meditating, you can dream after a fashion; such dreams are actually mental exercises meant to help a Servant channel magic more fluidly through their bodies. After resting in this way, you gain the same benefit that a human does from 8 hours of sleep. Similarly, you do not need to eat.

Worth-Reflecting Stamina

Only exceptional people with superior stamina can ascend to the Throne of Heroes. You have proficiency in one of the following skills: Athletics, Acrobatics, or Survival.