# Classes in Bloodrite In Bloodrite some classes are tweaked, re-flavored, or completely reworked. Below you will find those changes, if any, as well as descriptions of what each class *commonly* looks like in the setting. Nothing mentioned here is ironclad but is meant to provide a baseline to form your perceptions of each class and how the fit into the world of Méarn. As far as subclasses are concerned, there isn't much restriction (and those restrictions will be mentioned here) but with all things, if you have questions, please ask. ## Artificer --- Artificer's are rare, there are no known schools or college's that openly practice this expression of arcane magic. Additionally, Bloodrite is not a place of machines and systemized magic and as such there are some changes and restrictions on how they appear. Most notably, an Artificer is visually much closer to a Wizard. A person of study and magical runes, rather than a tinkerer with a wrench. #### Restrictions Alchemist is the only available sub-class for Artificers in this setting. ### What do most Artificers look like? Artificer's are a varied group of people. They are often people with a love of creation, or imagination. Moreso than their Wizarding siblings, an Artificer will be someone with an understanding of the Arcane but chooses to express that understanding, not as just pure expression, but as creation of new things altogether. Anyone with a keen mind and a knack for craft and creation. * It's possible you learned from secretive group of Alchemists who practice an ancient form of magic. * It's possible you're a particularly brilliant person piecing together your own knowledge of how to create amazing things. ## Bard --- Bards are an integral part of the continent of Méarn. Born through the study of some performance. Music, dance, or perhaps a card trick. Varied and mysterious, Bard's do not often understand spells the way a Wizard might. They learn not through study, but through reaching the very limits of their art and practice. When they perform they feel something indescribable. A rhythm, a song, a color, a sensation on their skin. They form a connection to the world... and through that connection, the world brings them the miracles know collectively as magic. ### What do most Bards look like? Enigmatic in their crafts. Bards have found a way to use performance to persuade the world itself into following your lead. Bards are found in every walk of life, from the edges of the world to the inner workings of great kingdoms. The many of the world will always look to those blessed with these skills, not just for stories and entertainment, but for true inspiration. * It's possible you lived with a traveling merchant while practicing the Lute, seeing the world in many frames. * It's possible you were a dancer in the circus, living by the warmth the crowd brings. * Perhaps you're a street urchin with deft hands gambling with dice. ## Barbarian --- There's not much to say when it comes to Barbarians. Barbarian's remain unchanged. Any Barbarian that you see in any other setting should work here. That being said, if you lived in the wilds, it may be important to think about what you're character's relationship to the Ire is like. Rage is integral to a Barbarian, so it will be vital to answer how that manifests and why you have it in the first place. ### What do most Barbarians look like? There is little more iconic than a warrior clad, not in armor, but their own ferocity. This is a Barbarian. Someone who fights not with cunning or tactics, but pure unadulterated strength. * Perhaps you are a mercenary. Knowing nothing but war since childhood. * It's possible you are someone who grew up in the woods with no care other than the largest beast, or person, you can wrestle. * Maybe you live in the big city, until you couldn't handle life anymore and snapped. Needing to be imprisoned. ## Blood Hunter --- Blood hunters are rare. Their abilities make them natural outcasts and mercenaries. Often coming from very troubled backgrounds as the means to gain these powers is never natural. ### Tweaks Blood Hunter's gain the following abilities ##### Resilient Flesh Reroll 1s, 2s, and 3s for hit dice on level up. ### What do most Blood Hunters look like? The result of trying to make a mockery of the blood magics blessed upon a sorcerer. Nobody becomes a Blood Hunter without making sacrifices. Often in the form of the lives they leave behind. * Perhaps you are a test subject of some evil lord. * Maybe you belong to a long forgotten order of protectors in the mountains. * It's possible you were born with some sorcerous power but not enough potential to be valued for it. So you turned to alternative means. ## Cleric --- Clerics... true Clerics... are not just anyone who worships a god, but the chosen few who the god deems worthy to guide. As such, anyone playing a Cleric should have answers for why and how they worship their god. ### What do most Clerics look like? Most Clerics are holy people. Priests, Vicars, or nomads walking the lands. They represent what their god wishes for them. Ranging from light and hope, to death and decay. It is not uncommon to see those blessed with healing powers hired by great houses, or people. But, due to the nature of their power. Their loyalty must lie in the ideals and gods they represent. * Perhaps you are a small town priest. Blessed with great power. * Maybe you're a soldier. Who's worship was built at the moment a friend was injured and they needed help. Reaching to a god of hope. * Maybe your a wanderer in search of greater meaning who worships a god of music and travel. ## Druid --- Druids fill a similar role in Méarn to what they do in all settings. The stranger's in the woods. That being said, there is a defining change. A part of the Druid's body must be given to nature. In many cases returned with a some sort of functional nature born transformation. Perhaps an eye that is replaced with a flower. ### What do most Druids look like? Cryptic and changed, Druids are rarely anything more than folk tale to people living is civilization. Life is different for a Druid. What does it take to be someone who puts nature above their own physical form. Not all Druids are against order and civilization though, many see people as part of a greater ecosystem but just know that system needs to be maintained and balanced. * Most likely you are a part of some Druidic circle living in nature. * Maybe you were saved by nature when at the brink of death. Given new purpose. * Possibly, your the product of some terrible curse or experiment. Searching for a way to become whole again. ## Fighter --- Fighters are common and unchanged. Found in all reaches of life. Nothing more needed to be said. ### What do most Fighters look like? Fighters are everywhere. Combatants in the purest sense. Nothing less. Nothing More. To speak to what they look like would be a disservice as this is the class with the most varied expressions. They do all share one thing in common though, martial prowess. * Soldiers, mercenaries, sailors, guards. Anyone with a need to fight. No other talents. Just hard work. ## Monk --- Meeting a Monk in Méarn, you will not often see someone clad in robes who meditates. You're more likely to meet a former thug who's turned the other cheek. To be a Monk is to master oneself, in whatever method it takes. ### What do most Monks look like? Some Monks do come from holy places but most are people who have somehow found the key to unlocking more within themselves, whether taught or discovered. As such, being a Monk is rare. Very few survive fighting a war with just fists. * Perhaps you're a pugilist who's life changed when they were scouted by secretive order. * Maybe you're a former soldier who was captured and tortured until you broke. Training so that will never happen again. ## Paladin --- Paladin's are more than just knights in shining armor. Though, they may often take that form. A Paladin can be anyone who has sworn an Oath the guides and binds their life. Someone who believes so much in their ideals, that belief manifests as the very power required to make those ideals come true. Importantly, those who possess the resolve and purpose to accept such ideals are few and far between. ### What do most Paladins look like? Paladin's come in many shapes and sizes. Often people with similar ideals band together to found orders or factions, as such you'll often find Paladin's working together. Paladin's also make reliable and predictable retainers. At their core, a Paladin's existence is that of contradiction. To believe so much in an ideal is always at odds with the reality of life's inconsistency. Every Paladin will need to face their contradictions... eventually. * You may be a knight sworn to protect the people, at odds with their commands to abandon their post. * Maybe you're a scoundrel who believes that the poor deserve more and are willing to steal to fix that. * Perhaps you're a former soldier, who's heart can neither bear the bloodshed of war nor the disgrace of their lineage for deserting. ## Ranger --- Ranger's are the bridge between civilization and nature. What makes a Ranger, is to know nature as well as we know our homes. Where things are stored. What turns to make in order to find a place to sleep. What other life lives there. But also, to know where people live and what they need. Part of being a Ranger is having access to ancient magic. Natural, Wild Magic. For a Ranger to take steps into the world of that magic, they must be given a natural blessing. A form of signet or tattoo that marks them as an ally to the wilds. ### What do most Rangers look like? Rangers come in many shapes and sizes, and often have different talents. Most come from some form of order, but it is not uncommon to see a Ranger born from a life of solitude. The thing that binds them is their connection to nature, and nature's connection of them. * Maybe you're an imperial scout, raised in the traditions of your order. * Perhaps you're a wild woman, from the mountaintops. Finding friends only in the wolves. * Maybe, you're a guide in the deserts. Making it your life's mission to protect traveler's and the sands from harming each other. ## Rogue --- Not much is needed to say about Rogue's. Rogues live where people live. A rogue is not just a criminal, though. A Rogue is anyone who's life is guided by an understanding that society is just as an obstacle as it is a tool. In the way that Druid's are a part of nature. Rogues are a part of civilization. ### What do most Rogues look like? Rogues look like anyone and can be anything. That is the point. All rogues are skilled by definition. But those skills change from person to person. That being said, Rogues do have a propensity towards stealth and picking a few locks. * Maybe you're a petty thief who's life needs to change or else their past is going to catch up to them, or one whose life has already caught up. * Perhaps you're a spy for the local Baron who found a secret they shouldn't have. * It's possible you're a street rat, who always dreamed of being a hero. But you couldn't let your sister starve... that was until she went missing. ## Sorcerer --- Few children are born with sorcerous aptitude, but those that are will face a fate of respect and fear. Sorcerers wield potent magics capable of destructive force but at the cost of their own vitality. Blood. A Sorcerer's blood is that which gives them life and allows them to take it from others. For a Sorcerer, casting spells rips blood from their veins to manifest the echoes of their ancestors. Every Sorcerer wears an Ancestral Focus, a piercing containing a magically constructed jewel of blood, that provides them access to the spells their ancestors once knew. Sorcerer's have had substantial changes. All of which are listed below. Notably these changes are subject to further changes so be warned that you will need to be flexible about your abilities. ### Tweaks Primary Ability Score: Constitution Sorcerer's gain the following abilities: ###### Resilient Flesh Reroll 1s, 2s, and 3s for hit dice on level up. ###### Potent Blood When you gain Maximum Hit Points from gaining levels as a Sorcerer. Those Hit Points are kept reserve in a separate health pool. This Hit Point pool is known as your Potent Blood. Potent Blood is used in place of both Sorcery Points and Spell Points. If you have received Maximum Hit Points from a source separate from your Sorcerer levels (i.e. Multiclassing or the Tough feat), those hit points are put in a separate pool of life. * When taking damage, you would first deduct points from your regular life before taking any remaining points to your Potent Blood (similar to how Temporary Hit Points work). * When healing hit points any healing applies to your Potent Life first before applying to any other health. ###### Ancestral Condensation At any time, a Sorcerer can spend 1 hour and take 1d6 damage to ritually manifest their ancestry into a crystal of any shape and color no bigger than 2 inches by 2 inches. This crystal counts as an Ancestral Focus. Once done, any existing Ancestral Focus disintegrates. This ritual may be done during a short rest. ###### Bloodcasting Unless a Sorcerer has an Ancestral Focus pierced through their flesh, they can only cast Cantrips. Sorcerer's gain no Spell Slots or Sorcery Points as they gain levels. Instead, in order to cast a spell or use Metamagic, they must spend their Potent Life. When spending Potent Life, the Sorcerer must lower their Maximum and Current Potent Life by the specified amount. Any time Sorcery points are needed you may spend the same amount in Potent Life to satisfy the requirement. When casting spells, you must meet the minimum sorcerer level and spend the requisite Potent Life. | Spell Level | Potent Life Cost | Minimum Sorcerer Level to Cast | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------------------------ | | 1st | 2 | 1st | | 2nd | 3 | 3rd | | 3rd | 5 | 5th | | 4th | 6 | 7th | | 5th | 7 | 9th | | 6th | 9 | 11th | | 7th | 10 | 13th | | 8th | 11 | 15th | | 9th | 13 | 17th | Spells of 6th level and higher are particularly taxing to cast. You can use Potent Blood to cast one spell of each level of 6th or higher. You can't create another slot of the same level until you finish a long rest. At 19th level you can cast an additional 6th level spell per long rest. At 20th level you can cast an additional 7th level spell per long rest. ### What do most Sorcerers look like? Sorcerer's are rare... beings of innate magic whose lives are destined to cause change. No one knows why some people are born with this potential and some are not. But it doesn't change the fact that they have it. All across Méarn, people's views of Sorcery differ but there is no hiding the truth that a Sorcerer is dangerous. Most Sorcerer's come from lineages known far and wide for their capabilities, but even then not everyone in these houses will have power. * Perhaps you're the heir to a noble house, afraid of what it means to live up to your parentage. * Maybe you're a street rat who just wants to stay with their grandfather, but can't help garnering attention. * It's possible you're an advisor to a King. Picked at birth for your talents. ## Warlock --- Warlocks are perhaps the most varied of all the classes. As such there is little to say here. There is one thing they share however. Being driven to such desperation that they willing to sell a part of themself away to the highest bidder. But the beings that deal in such contracts rarely have such human goals as money or fame. ### Tweaks Primary Ability Score: Wisdom, Intelligence, or Charisma ### What do most Warlocks look like? Warlocks often have visages that don't beget their true nature. As such, they could be anyone. * Maybe you're a sailor whose life nearly ended at sea until a voice spoke to you from the depths. * Perhaps you're debts were too great, you needed to make a deal with the devil in order to just scrape by. * It's possible you were a soldier, who in a last ditch effort to save their family, threw away everything. ## Wizard --- Wizards are a strange bunch on Méarn. Most don't even know that you can learn magic. They think magic is for those who are born to it. But you know different. To you, magic is a friend... an ally. As part of preparing spells, a Wizard must sow their spells into their skin using a thread made from the Ire. There is no school, at least that most people know of, that teaches this art and practice. But somehow you were able to study, that secret art makes you not only dangerous, but also valuable. ### Restrictions If you want to play a wizard, there are some secrets that your character, and thus you will need to know. These secrets will have to do with how spellcasting works in Bloodrite and will depend on other parts of your character. Mechanically this doesn't change much at all. But narratively it will be important to tie your character further into the settings ethos than most other classes. ### What do most Wizards look like? Though, generally unknown to the world, wizards are still wizards. Reclusive, curious, intelligent. Being a wizard is often less a choice than it is an inevitability for those born with the weight of intelligence it require to learn and master such arts. In this way... they are quite similar to their Sorcerer brethren. * It's possible you're an orphan who was adopted by vagrant stranger who carried many books. * Maybe you're a scholar who's life changed when they discovered a old text that had been forgotten. * Perhaps you're an archeologist who fell into a long forgotten library. Note, the methods of wizards in Bloodrite are nuanced and specific. But as they are secret, only a wizard may truly know them.