Homebrew Explosives Quality Control Specialist Species Details

Occultist Subclass

Some Occultists pursue the Arcane through ancient rituals, profound contemplation, and painstaking academic research.

Others have decided that the best way to understand an extraordinary phenomenon is to make it explode.

Explosives Quality Control Specialists belong firmly to the latter.

These Occultists combine the unpredictable properties of the Arcane with experimental engineering, creating spectacularly dangerous equipment that would never pass an ordinary safety inspection.

For them, every explosion is an experiment, every burn is a valuable lesson, and every catastrophic mechanical failure is another opportunity for improvement.

After all, quality control is a demanding profession.

Level 3: Too Hot to Handle

Upon choosing this subclass, you gain the ability to pull an extraordinarily experimental recipe straight from the depths of the Arcane.

You learn to create two specialized Artifacts of the Arcane: Sturdy Flight Companion and Chimera Peace Bringer.

Together, these artifacts form a single integrated flight and weapon system.

You can craft the equipment through your Creating Artifacts feature, following its normal creation procedure.

When you create this equipment, you are automatically attuned to it and are considered proficient in its use.

Neither artifact occupies an Artifact of the Arcane binding slot or counts against the number of magic items you can be attuned to. Both can be used simultaneously without occupying any of your normal magic-item attunement slots.

The two artifacts draw their operating power directly from the Arcane, providing them with a virtually inexhaustible energy supply.

Their ordinary functions require no conventional fuel or ammunition.

Sturdy Flight Companion

Wondrous item (jetpack)

The Sturdy Flight Companion is an extraordinary experimental propulsion system that combines advanced engineering with the Occultist's natural ability to manipulate the Arcane.

Although its propulsive output vastly exceeds that of its commercial competitors, its precisely regulated thrust-vectoring exhaust nozzles minimize the damage ordinarily associated with such an immensely powerful device.

While wearing the Sturdy Flight Companion, you gain the following benefits.

Powered Flight

You gain a Fly Speed of 40 feet and can Hover.

The jetpack allows you to ascend to a maximum altitude of 130 feet (approximately 40 meters) above the ground.

You cannot ascend beyond this altitude using the Sturdy Flight Companion.

The jetpack's propulsion systems operate without expending conventional fuel or ammunition.

Regulated Exhaust

Despite its remarkable propulsive power, the Sturdy Flight Companion's precisely engineered exhaust system produces surprisingly little collateral damage.

When you deliberately direct the active exhaust toward a creature immediately beneath the jetpack, that creature takes 1d4 Fire damage.

A creature can take this damage only once per turn.

Ordinary flight does not automatically damage creatures beneath you.

Overheat

The Sturdy Flight Companion possesses flight capabilities far beyond those of its market equivalents.

However, such extraordinary feats come at a minor caveat.

Overheating.

The jetpack can sustain continuous flight for a maximum of 3 consecutive turns (18 seconds) before its propulsion systems must cool down.

You can move and Hover normally throughout this period.

You must land before the end of your third consecutive turn of flight.

If you remain airborne beyond this limit, the jetpack automatically shuts down to prevent catastrophic mechanical failure.

You immediately lose the Fly Speed and ability to Hover granted by the jetpack and begin falling normally.

The shutdown provides no additional time or movement to reach a safe landing.

Cooling System. Landing completely resets the jetpack's overheating state, allowing you to begin another period of continuous flight.

The jetpack requires no additional cooling time once you have landed.

Emergency Ascent

Bonus Action

The Sturdy Flight Companion can briefly redirect an extraordinary amount of power into its propulsion systems, allowing you to reach its maximum operating altitude in a single explosive burst.

As a Bonus Action, you can propel yourself vertically upward, reaching an altitude of up to 130 feet above the ground.

This movement does not provoke Opportunity Attacks.

However, the immense acceleration places considerable stress on your body, causing you to take 1d6 Bludgeoning damage.

Immediately after the ascent, the jetpack resumes its ordinary flight capabilities, including its 40-foot Fly Speed, ability to Hover, and overheating restrictions.

You can use Emergency Ascent a number of times equal to your Proficiency Bonus, regaining all expended uses when you finish a Long Rest.

Chimera Peace Bringer

Weapon (integrated lava cannon), legendary

The Chimera Peace Bringer is an immensely powerful, two-handed lava cannon directly mounted to the Sturdy Flight Companion.

It draws raw arcane energy through the jetpack's internal systems, converting it into a continuous supply of extraordinarily hot, pressurized molten material.

The cannon can function as both a melee and ranged weapon.

You are proficient with the Chimera Peace Bringer.

You use your Dexterity modifier for its ranged weapon attack and damage rolls.

Ranged Weapon Attack Modifier = your Proficiency Bonus + your Dexterity modifier

Its normal range is 30 feet, and it has two firing modes.

Charged Attack

You concentrate a substantial amount of pressurized lava inside the cannon, forming a dense, Medium-sized sphere of molten material before releasing it toward a chosen location.

When you make an attack with this mode, choose a point or creature within 30 feet of yourself.

The projectile erupts across a 5-foot-radius sphere centered on the chosen point or creature.

Make a separate ranged weapon attack against each creature within the affected area.

On a hit, a creature takes 1d12 + your Dexterity modifier Fire damage.

A creature against which the attack misses takes no damage.

All attacks made through this firing mode are resolved individually against the affected creatures' Armor Classes.

Burst Fire Mode

You rapidly discharge three smaller projectiles of molten lava.

As the projectiles travel through the air, their outer surfaces cool and solidify, becoming extraordinarily sharp, jagged shards of magma.

Make one ranged weapon attack against a creature within 30 feet.

On a hit, all three projectiles strike the target, each dealing 1d4 Piercing damage.

Add your Dexterity modifier once to the total damage dealt by the three projectiles.

On a miss, all three projectiles miss.

Melee Weaponry

The Chimera Peace Bringer can also function as a melee weapon.

When you hit a creature with a melee weapon attack using the cannon, it deals Bludgeoning damage using the melee artifact damage appropriate to your Occultist level, as shown in your Creating Artifacts feature.

For these melee attacks, you use your Dexterity modifier instead of your Wisdom modifier.

The cannon requires two hands to wield.

Arcane Weapon Attacks

Attacks made with the Chimera Peace Bringer's ordinary firing modes or melee weaponry can be made as part of the Attack action.

Each firing mode expends one attack, allowing you to benefit from your Extra Attack feature normally.

The Chimera Peace Bringer does not require conventional ammunition, as its projectiles are generated directly through the Arcane.

Increasing Firepower

As your understanding of the Chimera Peace Bringer improves, you learn to concentrate increasingly powerful quantities of arcane energy within its chambers.

The damage of its ranged attacks increases according to your Occultist level.

Occultist Level	Charged Attack	Burst Fire Mode
3	1d12 + Dexterity	3d4 + Dexterity
7	2d12 + Dexterity	3d6 + Dexterity
13	3d12 + Dexterity	3d8 + Dexterity
18	4d12 + Dexterity	3d10 + Dexterity

As the cannon grows in power, the molten material inside its chambers gradually changes color, progressing from brilliant bluish shades toward increasingly intense crimson tones.

The precise progression of these colors is determined by the DM.

These changes are visual manifestations of the cannon's increasing power and do not independently alter its damage type or other properties.

Damaged Artifacts

The Sturdy Flight Companion and Chimera Peace Bringer are products of your own experimental knowledge and can be repaired or recreated even after suffering catastrophic damage.

Once per Long Rest, you can use your Creating Artifacts feature to repair or completely recreate either artifact, provided you have the necessary components.

This process follows the normal creation time and procedure of Creating Artifacts.

Recreating either artifact is an exception to the Unique Creation restriction of your Occultist class. This exception applies only to these two artifacts.

The reconstructed artifact retains its normal properties and functions.

Repairing or recreating these artifacts does not occupy an Artifact of the Arcane binding slot or a normal magic-item attunement slot.

Level 3: Gas Leak

Action
Uses: Dexterity modifier per Long Rest (minimum of once)

Sometimes, the most extraordinary technological innovations come from the least dignified circumstances.

You bend forward as though preparing to fart, redirecting the Sturdy Flight Companion's propulsion systems into an enormously overcharged release of flame.

The resulting eruption engulfs everything around you.

Each creature other than you within 20 feet of yourself must make a Dexterity saving throw against your Occultist Save DC.

On a failed save, a creature takes 2d6 + your Dexterity modifier Fire damage.

On a successful save, it takes half as much damage.

Immediately after the flames erupt, the final burst of propulsion becomes powerful enough to launch you 10 feet in the opposite direction.

This movement is part of the same Action.

Scaling

The damage increases as you gain Occultist levels.

Occultist Level	Fire Damage
3	2d6 + Dexterity
7	3d6 + Dexterity
13	4d6 + Dexterity
18	5d6 + Dexterity

Level 3: Seasoned Employee

Years of brutally exploding for the good of your company have granted you a sturdiness like no other.

You gain Resistance to Fire damage caused by explosions.

This benefit applies to explosive effects, including explosions caused by your own artifacts, but not to Fire damage from nonexplosive sources.

The DM determines whether a particular source of Fire damage qualifies as an explosion.

Level 3: Graveyard Spiral

Bonus Action
Uses: Constitution modifier per Long Rest (minimum of once)

Prerequisite: You must have been flying continuously using the Sturdy Flight Companion for at least two consecutive turns before activating this feature.

You open a series of seemingly random valves throughout your jetpack, gradually destabilizing its carefully regulated propulsion systems.

As the engines become increasingly imbalanced, you redirect their combined output through a single exhaust nozzle.

Then, you turn your body downward.

What follows is not so much a landing as a spectacular mechanical catastrophe.

As a Bonus Action, choose a point on the ground you can see within a 45-foot cone extending in the direction you are facing.

You immediately propel yourself toward that point, crashing into the ground with formidable force.

Each creature other than you within a 5-foot-radius sphere centered on the point of impact must make a Dexterity saving throw against your Occultist Save DC.

On a failed save, a creature takes 2d8 + your Constitution modifier Fire damage and is pushed 10 feet directly away from the point of impact.

On a successful save, the creature takes no damage and is not pushed.

Regardless of the result, you take only 1d8 Bludgeoning damage from this ability. You do not take its Fire damage.

Emergency Cooling

The violent release of accumulated pressure completely resets the Sturdy Flight Companion's overheating state.

You can begin another period of continuous flight immediately after the impact.

Level 7: Direct Hit

Action
Range: 30 feet
Uses: Constitution modifier per Long Rest (minimum of once)

You charge the Chimera Peace Bringer to just below its maximum operating capacity before momentarily jamming the exit valve by forcing its ventilation tubes inward.

The resulting obstruction produces an outrageous amount of pressure within the cannon.

With a single violent motion, you release the valve, directing the pressurized eruption toward the feet of a creature within range.

The target must make a Constitution saving throw against your Occultist Save DC.

On a failed save, the creature takes 1d12 Fire damage and is launched 15 feet vertically into the air.

On a successful save, the creature takes half as much damage and is not launched.

Overwhelming Follow-Up

If the creature fails the initial saving throw, you immediately discharge an enormous, fully pressurized ball of lava toward its airborne body.

The creature takes an additional 2d8 Fire damage.

Quality Control

As part of the same Action, you supercharge the Sturdy Flight Companion and launch yourself toward the airborne creature before it can fall.

You collide with the target, overwhelming it through sheer mechanical force.

You then drag the creature up to 15 feet, dealing an additional 1d10 Bludgeoning damage.

The entire sequence is resolved as part of the same Action, provided the target failed the initial saving throw and the Sturdy Flight Companion is operational.

You may now pose for the cameras.

Quality Control is completed!

Scaling

The damage increases as you gain Occultist levels.

Occultist Level	Initial Eruption	Lava Follow-Up	Impact
7	1d12	2d8	1d10
13	2d12	3d8	2d10
18	3d12	4d8	3d10

Level 7: Jettison Fuel

Action
Range: Self (25-foot cone)
Duration: Concentration, up to 2 turns
Uses: Dexterity modifier per Long Rest (minimum of once)

Countless burns sustained over years of testing your flight kit have finally paid off, granting you a considerably better understanding of the equipment.

You squeeze the main lava conduit connecting the Sturdy Flight Companion to the Chimera Peace Bringer, creating a severe imbalance in the flow of molten material.

The resulting pressure builds rapidly until the mouth of the cannon erupts with the fury of a living volcano.

As an Action, you unleash a violent torrent of lava in a 25-foot cone.

Each creature in the area must make a Dexterity saving throw against your Occultist Save DC.

On a failed save, a creature takes 3d10 + your Dexterity modifier Fire damage.

On a successful save, it takes half as much damage.

You can maintain Concentration on the eruption until the end of your next turn.

At the start of that turn, provided you are still concentrating, another eruption occurs, affecting each creature in the cone.

Each affected creature must repeat the Dexterity saving throw against the same damage.

The second eruption occurs automatically and does not require another Action.

After the second eruption, the effect ends.

Scaling

The damage increases as you gain Occultist levels.

Occultist Level	Fire Damage per Eruption
7	3d10 + Dexterity
13	4d10 + Dexterity
18	5d10 + Dexterity

Level 7: Strix Salvo

Action
Range: 45 feet
Uses: Dexterity modifier per Long Rest (minimum of once)

You succumb to your rage and begin violently smashing the buttons on your Chimera Peace Bringer.

The cannon responds by deploying three expandable aerial landmines, each carried toward its destination by a concentrated burst of arcane propulsion.

As an Action, you launch three landmines onto a straight path within 45 feet of yourself.

The mines must land on a sufficiently flat, solid surface, with 5 feet of space between each mine.

They become armed immediately upon landing.

Their deployment in this formation does not trigger the mines or cause them to detonate one another.

A mine that lands directly on a creature does not become armed, as the mechanism requires a stable surface to function.

Detonation

An armed mine detonates whenever a creature or object comes within 5 feet of it.

The mines can be triggered by virtually anything capable of activating their pressure-sensitive mechanisms.

When a mine detonates, each creature within a 10-foot-radius sphere centered on it must make a Dexterity saving throw against your Occultist Save DC.

On a failed save, a creature takes 6d6 + your Dexterity modifier Fire damage.

On a successful save, it takes half as much damage.

Chain Reaction

If an exploding mine is within the explosion radius of another armed mine, the second mine detonates immediately.

This can cause a chain reaction involving all three mines.

A creature can take damage from a maximum of two mines during the same use of Strix Salvo, regardless of how many explosions overlap its space.

Shattered Terrain

Each detonated mine leaves behind a shallow, shattered area measuring 5 feet across.

This area becomes Difficult Terrain until physically or magically restored.

Scaling

The damage increases as you gain Occultist levels.

Occultist Level	Fire Damage per Mine
7	6d6 + Dexterity
13	7d6 + Dexterity
18	8d6 + Dexterity

Level 13: Cannon in the Hole!

Action
Range: 20 feet
Uses: Once per Chimera Peace Bringer

You've had enough.

They want a bigger explosion?

They'll get it.

You begin charging an enormous sphere of molten lava within the Chimera Peace Bringer, forcing its internal chambers far beyond their intended operating limits.

Once the pressure reaches a catastrophic level, you seal the cannon's mouth, disconnect it from the Sturdy Flight Companion, and throw the entire weapon toward a creature or point within 20 feet of yourself.

Immediately afterward, you propel yourself 30 feet in the opposite direction, using your Sturdy Flight Companion as part of the same Action.

Within seconds, the abandoned cannon erupts in a cataclysmic explosion.

Each creature within a 30-foot-radius sphere centered on the Chimera Peace Bringer must make a Dexterity saving throw against your Occultist Save DC.

On a failed save, a creature takes 10d8 + your Dexterity modifier Fire damage.

On a successful save, it takes half as much damage.

Burning Aftermath

The explosion devastates the surrounding area, scattering molten debris and fragments of the destroyed weapon across the battlefield.

The affected terrain becomes engulfed in flames for 1d4 rounds.

The DM determines the extent of any physical destruction according to the composition of the affected terrain.

Total Equipment Loss

The Chimera Peace Bringer is completely destroyed by the explosion.

It cannot be used again until repaired or recreated through your Damaged Artifacts feature.

The Sturdy Flight Companion remains operational, provided it has not been damaged by another effect.

Each Chimera Peace Bringer can be used to perform Cannon in the Hole! only once before its destruction.

Level 15: Grab & Go

Bonus Action
Uses: Dexterity modifier per Long Rest (minimum of once)

You seize a nearby creature before directing the Sturdy Flight Companion's engines vertically, hauling your unfortunate passenger into the sky.

As a Bonus Action, choose one Medium or smaller creature within your reach that weighs less than 1,100 pounds (500 kilograms).

You grab the creature and immediately fly up to 30 feet vertically, carrying it with you.

A willing creature can be carried without making a saving throw.

An unwilling creature must succeed on a Strength or Dexterity saving throw (its choice) against your Occultist Save DC or be Grappled by you and carried during this movement.

On a successful save, the creature avoids your grasp and is not moved.

A creature you successfully Grapple remains Grappled according to the normal rules until the condition ends.

Special Movement. The 30-foot ascent granted by this ability ignores the additional movement cost normally imposed when moving a Grappled creature. You travel the full distance without spending additional movement for carrying the target.

This movement is performed using the Sturdy Flight Companion and cannot exceed its maximum operating altitude.

Level 15: Fast Delivery

Action
Range: 5 feet

You close the distance between yourself and a nearby target with a swift burst of propulsion, coming so close that your breath could almost touch theirs.

You then charge an enormous sphere of lava directly against the creature's body.

Before the target can react, you release the accumulated pressure.

The resulting blast scorches the creature while violently launching it away from you.

Make a ranged weapon attack using the Chimera Peace Bringer against one creature within 5 feet of yourself.

You do not have Disadvantage on this attack roll solely because a hostile creature is within 5 feet of you.

On a hit, the target takes 8d8 Fire damage.

If the target is Large or smaller, it is also pushed 30 feet directly away from you.

No saving throw is required to resist this forced movement.

A creature larger than Large takes the Fire damage normally but is not pushed.

Collision

If the launched creature strikes a solid surface during this movement, it takes an additional 3d8 Bludgeoning damage, at the DM's discretion.

If the launched creature instead collides with another creature in its path, the second creature must make a Dexterity saving throw against your Occultist Save DC.

On a failed save, the second creature takes 3d8 Bludgeoning damage.

On a successful save, it takes no damage.

The target's movement ends when it collides with a surface or creature that prevents it from traveling farther.

Level 18: Order in Bulk

Congratulations.

You sold it!

Now everyone can fly.

With the confidence of a seasoned entrepreneur and the recklessness of an Occultist who has somehow survived their own inventions, you tear open a portal through the Arcane.

Beyond it lies an immense warehouse filled with fully charged flight kits, meticulously assembled and ready for immediate distribution.

Mass Production

You can summon an unlimited number of fully functional replicas of the Sturdy Flight Companion through this portal.

You can distribute these flight kits to any number of creatures of your choice.

Each replica grants its wearer the same flight capabilities and features as your original Sturdy Flight Companion, including its Fly Speed, ability to Hover, maximum operating altitude, overheating restrictions, and Emergency Ascent.

A creature wearing one of these replicas can operate it as though attuned to the Sturdy Flight Companion, without occupying any of its normal magic-item attunement slots.

The replicas do not occupy your Artifact of the Arcane binding slots.

Temporary Equipment

Each flight kit remains functional for 24 hours after being summoned.

At the end of this duration, the equipment dissolves into its constituent arcane energy and returns to the warehouse beyond the portal.

There is no limit to the number of flight kits you can distribute through this feature.

These replicas consist of the Sturdy Flight Companion only. They do not include the Chimera Peace Bringer.

After all, it's a hit!

Explosives Quality Control Specialist Traits

An explosion-obsessed Occultist who masters experimental jetpack propulsion, devastating lava weaponry, and dangerously innovative demolition techniques.