GLOGtober 2023 #7: Dwarven Smith - racial-archetype as class
GLOGtober 2023 prompts are here.
2. Dwarves.
Race-as-class is fun in theory, but most fantasy races have a handful of archetypes of particular note. For example, for dwarves, we might have Dwarven Smith, Dwarven Berserker, and Dwarven Tinker.
Here's a Dwarven Smith.
Templates
Starting Equipment: Portable smithing kit, 1H hammer
Skills: Smithing and 1d3: History, Masonry, Logistics
- A) Blacksmith, Improvise, +1 Lesser Boon, +1 relic
- B) Hammer Time, +1 Greater Boon, +1 relic
- C) Supercharged, +1 Lesser Boon, +1 relic
- D) Masterwork, +1 Greater Boon, +1 relic
A: Blacksmith
You are a master smith. You treat an entire portable smithing kit (including a 1H hammer suitable for use as a weapon, an anvil, porta-forge, and other such items) as a single slot item. You have a [2 + templates]-in-6 chance of automatically identifying the function and properties of any objects of primarily metal construction, including magical functions and properties.
You are trained in the use of all hammers as weapons.
A: Boons
At each level, you choose a relic to study. Each relic has associated boons, which can be lesser or greater boons, and are applied to your equipment. You can also learn new relics in the field by examining related special items, histories, spells, or other such phenomena, at the GM's discretion. Generally, 4 distinct examples will be adequate to learn a new relic, with extraordinary samples counting double and an instance of the relic in question instantly granting full progress.
You can only choose any given boon once, though you may choose multiple boons from a single relic. You can change your boons whenever you rest. You can choose a lesser boon in place of a greater boon.
Most boons are discharged when used. When you use those abilities, you cannot use them again until they recharge. At the start of your turn, if you are conscious, you have a [1 + templates]-in-6 chance of recharging an ability of your choice. You do not have to recharge an ability if you do not want to.
B: Hammer Time
You may make an additional attack each round, so long as both attacks are made with hammers. You treat all items you have a boon associated with as though they were in quick slots.
B: Improvise
You may carry metals scraps of a given value and number of slots which you can combine and work into useful objects. The total value of items created from the scraps cannot exceed the scrap's value, and you can have at most [templates] such items in existence at any one time - creating a new one causes the oldest to fall apart after 1d6 rounds. You can break down an item created this way in to scrap as an action.
Improvising an item takes 10 minutes, doubled for every slot past the first, or halved if the item is less than 1 slot. You can only improvise items that are primarily made of metal, and cannot create items that require secret knowledge (such as a key you do not know the pattern of) or involve sophisticated machinery (such as clockworks).
C: Supercharged
You make an additional recharge check at the start of your turn.
D: Masterwork
Choose one of your relics. You always gain its greater and lesser boons, and automatically succeed on recharge checks for that relic. You may change your masterwork with a week of crafting and study.
Relics
This list is non-exhaustive, and is better viewed as a collection of examples.
1. Hammer of Thunderbolts
A hammer softly crackling with energy.
- Thunderclap (Lesser): When you strike an enemy with the hammer, you may deal 1d6 additional electricity damage and [templates] sonic damage to the target and all enemies adjacent to them.
- Lightning Bolt (Greater): As an action, you may hurl a powerful lightning bolt in a 40 foot line for 1d6 damage (save for half). For each other currently discharged boon, the bolt deals +1d6 damage, is 20 feet longer, and can turn up to 90 degrees once. You may discharge other boons as a free action (to no other benefit) as part of activating the bolt.
2. Belt of Giant Strength
A large, sturdy belt.
- Giant Burdens (Lesser): You can discharge this as a free action to ignore penalties to your movement speed and gain an additional save (or force an additional check from the grappler) against an ongoing effect that slow or immobilize you. Passive: You can carry +[templates] slots of items.
- Rock Throwing (Greater): As an attack, you conjure and hurl a boulder. The boulder has a range increment of 30 feet and deals damage as a 2H weapon.
3. Boots of the Dwarf
Stolid, quality boots.
- Natural Sprinter (Lesser): You move [templates] times faster for one round. This ability is activated as part of moving.
- Self-Tossing (Greater): You leap up to [5 + 10 x templates] feet as an action or in place of your movement.
4. Gauntlets of Ogre Power
Brutish gauntlets.
- Mighty Lift (Lesser): Until this boon recharges or you let go of the item, you may hold and carry a single item or creature of up to your size without being encumbered by it. For each template past the first, increase the maximum size of object or creature you can carry by 1 step. You may activate this as part of a successful action to grapple a creature or pick up an object.
- Crush (Greater): You deal [1 + templates]d6 damage to something you are holding.
5. Armor of Invincibility
Particularly sturdy-looking armor.
- Juggernaut (Lesser): As a free action, you gain [templates] temporary health, which does not stack with itself.
- Invincible Stand (Greater): Until this boon recharges or you next move, you gain resistance (all damage types) [templates].
6. Aegis Shield
An oddly reflective heavy shield.
- Spellturn (Lesser): As a free reaction, you gain advantage on a save against a magical effect. If you succeed on your save, save again - if this save also succeeds, the effect is turned against its source.
- Unbreakable (Greater): As an action, you repair this shield if it is sundered. If it is not sundered, you may parry once until the start of your next turn without sundering it.
7. Belt of Dwarvenkind
An old but well-kept belt with an intricate geometric pattern.
- Hardy (Lesser): As a free reaction, you gain advantage on a save against a poison, disease, or similar effect, and are healed of 1 damage you took this round. Passive: You can see in the dark to a range of [10 x templates] feet (or extend your darkvision by that amount).
- Oathkeeper (Greater): As a free action at the end of your turn, you may declare your actions (including specific targets) for your next turn. All creatures that are aware of you and can understand any language understand the declaration. You get advantage on all actions described this way, but can take no other actions (if the actions you described are impossible, you cannot act).
8. Foecrushing Hammer
A particularly heavy-looking hammer.
- Shieldsmasher (Lesser): When you hit an enemy with this hammer, you can wreck their defenses, reducing their defense by [templates] until this boon recharges.
- Slayer (Greater): When you kill or incapacitate an enemy with this hammer, you can discharge this boon to make an additional attack against an enemy adjacent to them. This can trigger again up to [templates - 1] times (each time striking an enemy adjacent to the last one felled).
9. Flagon of Quaffing
A flagon that always seems to have a swallow left.
- Quenchiest (Lesser): You may activate this as a free action as part of your turn. Until this boon recharges, you gain one of the following effects: all melee attacks by you and all attacks against you gain advantage, or all attacks by or against you gain disadvantage.
- Fire-Belly (Greater): As an action, you take a swallow then spit a cone of flame, dealing 2d6 fire damage in a [5 x templates] foot cone.
10. Horned Helm
A helmet with large, sharp-looking horns.
- Ram (Lesser): As an action, you headbutt a creature or object, knocking it up to [10 + 5 x templates] feet away. Creatures may save to resist, and objects cannot be tightly afixed to the ground and must be no more than [templates] sizes larger than you.
- Berserker (Greater): You may discharge this as a free reaction to make a melee attack against an opponent within your reach. When you do, they may make a free melee attack against you, and if they have [templates] hit dice or more, their attack resolves first.