Cataphract • LMS

"They always told me, growing up, that I was too smart for my own good. That my intellect would someday get me into serious trouble. Guess they were right, huh? Only thing is, I was clever enough to prepare some real trouble for said trouble..."

— Timothy Orville Devereaux, Cataphract Artificer

 

Despite lacking interest in athletic pursuits, you were always drawn to the thrill of combat and the allure of remarkable armor worn by soldiers and mercenaries. You decided early on that you would channel your talents into crafting yourself the greatest suit of armor, dedicating every fiber of your being to the forge, spending long, arduous days hammering steel over fire to create your masterpiece. You then dedicated every fiber of your being to the forge, spending long, arduous days hammering steel over fire to create your masterpiece. You took to the books, scouring every dusty old tome you could find, using arcane artifice, golem-craft, and even wizardry to imbue your creation with the vaguest whispers of sapience. Through years of hard work and unwavering determination, you found yourself at a final impasse, however. There always seemed to be something missing, something imperceptible to you. Having tried every desperate attempt at spellcraft, utilizing everything you knew of eldritch constructs, the final key became evident the moment you decided to synchronize your mind to your creation and became one with it; the day you became the strongest armor. You are the Cataphract, the one-person phalanx: the embodiment of man, magic, and machine.

Cataphracts value the frontline, being up close and personal with any martial conflict. They have produced a semi-sentient construct: partly armor and partly vehicle. While their highly modular mounts—the phaeton—can suit a variety of needs, they exist predominately as heavily armored mobile units that a cataphract rides into the heat of combat with near-reckless abandon. Often considered reckless daredevils rather than the academics they are, they engage in all manners of innovatory and extremely unorthodox research to further their goals of continually improving their mechanical abomination.

Tool Proficiency

3rd-level Cataphract feature

You gain proficiency with smith’s tools. If you already have this proficiency, you gain proficiency with one other type of artisan’s tools of your choice.

Martial Prowess

3rd-level Cataphract feature

Your combat training has paid off, you gain proficiency with martial weapons.

Cataphract’s Phaeton: The Armored Chariot

3rd-level Cataphract feature

Your tinkering has borne you a mighty mechanical companion, mounted steed, and vehicle all-in-one; a cataphract’s phaeton. It’s friendly to you and your companions, and it obeys your commands. See its game statistics in the Cataphract’s Phaeton stat block, which uses your spellcasting modifier and proficiency bonus (PB) in several places. You determine the creature’s appearance and whether it has two bipedal legs, four or more, or even wheels; your choice has no effect on its game statistics.

In combat, the phaeton shares your initiative count, but it takes its turn immediately after yours unless you are riding it. It can move and use its reaction on its own, but the only action it takes on its turn is the Dodge action, unless you take a bonus action on your turn to command it to take another action. That action can be one in its stat block or some other action. If you are incapacitated, the phaeton can take any action of its choice, not just Dodge.

You can synergize with and ride your phaeton, making it a controlled mount. While riding the phaeton, you share its Armor Class as well as its darkvision and passive perception, unless yours is higher. While mounted, you can make any spell you cast that can target yourself also target your phaeton. The phaeton shares any special movement characteristics you possess from spells, racial traits, class features, feats (ex: Spider Climb, Fancy Footwork, Mirthful Leaps, Rabbit Hop, etc), or ignorances to difficult terrain while you are riding it. It does not gain any benefits from your flying, burrowing, or swimming speeds.

If you grapple or become grappled while riding your phaeton, using your phaeton’s movement does not end the grapple. In addition, if you become grappled while riding your phaeton, its movement is halved instead of reduced to 0 unless the creature grappling you (or your phaeton) is your phaeton’s size or larger.

The phaeton can be continuously ridden for up to 4 hours before requiring a short rest to recharge. Alternatively, you can spend a spell slot to immediately recharge your phaeton instead of taking a short rest.

Your cataphract’s phaeton has a storage compartment that can carry up to 50 lbs. of cargo.

If the mending cantrip is cast on it, it regains 2d8 + your spellcasting modifier number of hit points. If it has died within the last hour, you can use your smith’s tools as an action to revive it, provided you are within 5 feet of it and you expend a spell slot of 1st level or higher. The cataphract’s phaeton returns to life at the start of your next turn with half its maximum hit points restored. If revived using a spell slot higher than 1st, the phaeton revives with an additional 2d8 + your spellcasting modifier number of hit points per spell level.

At the end of a long rest, you can create a new phaeton if you have smith’s tools with you. If you already have a phaeton from this feature, the first one immediately perishes. The phaeton also perishes if you die.

 

Cockpit Shielding

5th-level Cataphract feature

You have modified the cockpit of your phaeton to provide an extra layer of defense:

• You can add your Intelligence modifier to saving throws whenever you are riding it.
• While seated in the cockpit, you have advantage on saving throws made to avoid falling off your phaeton. If you fall off your phaeton and descend no more than 10 ft., you can land on your feet if you’re not incapacitated. Mounting or dismounting your phaeton only costs you 5 ft. of movement.

Cataphract’s Phaeton: Upgrades

9th-level Cataphract feature

You have upgraded your cataphract’s phaeton, adapting it for any challenge. Your phaeton gains Multiattack, On-Contact Casting, and Adjustable Tuner. Additionally, you have retrofitted it for traversing obstacles. Your phaeton ignores difficult terrain.

Final Bullwark

15th-level Cataphract feature

You make your final upgrades to your cataphract phaeton, providing the utmost in defense as well as a final countermeasure:

• Your phaeton shares its damage and condition immunities with you while riding it.
• As a final act of retribution, you can use a bonus action to set the phaeton to detonate. Creatures within a 30ft. radius of the phaeton must make a Dexterity saving throw or take the phaeton's hit point remainder as force damage and be knocked prone. On a successful save, the creature takes half as much damage.