August 24, 2015

Elementalborns

Sorcerous Origins
Comments from the Finger: Three for the price of 1 today! This brilliant collaboration with the amazing Toaau (Felix Ashworth) is an expansion of the Unearthed Arcana: Waterborne Adventures, which featured the Stormborn sorcerer, and completes the 4 elements with the Flameborn, Stoneborn, and Waveborn.

**Special thanks to Toaau for creating these fantastic origins! He's brilliant, patient, and a good friend of the blog. The Digits of Vecna really don't deserve such talented collaborators and readers.**

Flameborn

Your innate magic comes from the power of elemental fire. Perhaps you were born during a volcanic eruption, so destructive its effects are felt to this day. Your lineage might include the influence of potent fire creatures, such as a fire giant or an efreeti. Whatever the case, the magic of the flames permeate your soul.
     Flame sorcerers are invaluable members in many expeditions, particularly volcanic or jungle forays. Their magic allows them to exert control over fire and lava in their immediate area. Their abilities also prove useful in repelling blights, treants, and other plant-based threats.


Flameborn Expanded Spell List
The arcane magic you command is infused to elemental fire. You can speak, read and write primordial. You learn additional spells at the levels specified below. These spells don't count against your total number of spells known.

Sorcerer Level Spells
1st burning hands, faerie fire
3rd flame blade, scorching ray
5th fireball, gaseous form
7th conjure minor elementals*, wall of fire
9th conjure elemental**
*Unless you gain this spell from another source, you can only summon magma mephits, smoke mephits, and steam mephits with it.
**Unless you gain this spell from another source, you can summon only fire elementals with it.

Flaming Magic
At 1st level, fire magic surges in your veins. Whenever you damage a creature with a 1st level spell or higher, you can create a burst of flame as a bonus action. Each creature adjacent to you takes 1d4 fire damage.

Fire Barricade
Beginning at 6th level, you have resistance to fire damage. Additionally, you can light an intense blaze in an unoccupied 5 foot sphere you can see as an action. This fire remains lit for 1 minute, and you can have up to 3 lit at a time. A creature that enters or begins its turn in such a space must make a Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, it takes 4d8 fire damage, or half as much on a successful one.

Heat Cultivation
At 6th level, you learn the control flames and create bonfire cantrips, if you did not already know them.

Burning Shield
At 14th level, your fire scorches those who harm you. As a reaction when you take damage from a melee attack, you can raise a fiery aegis. The creature that damaged you must make a Dexterity saving throw with a DC equal to your Spell Save DC. On a failed save, the creature takes fire damage equal to your Sorcerer level and takes 2d4 fire damage at the beginning of its next turn. On a successful save, the creature takes fire damage equal to half your sorcerer level.

Tornado of Flame
By 18th level, you are immune to fire and can channel flame into a whirlwind of flame around yourself. You can create a Tornado of Flame as an action on your turn as an action expending 2 sorcery points, and you must expend 2 additional sorcery points at the end of each of your turns to maintain the tornado, or the effect ends. Your tornado is a cylinder 5 feet in radius with a 30 foot height. Each creature that begins its turn inside the tornado must make a Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, the creature takes 8d8 fire damage, or half as much on a successful one.
     As a bonus action on your turn, you can change the size and intensity of your tornado, which are inversely proportional. You can choose between a 15 foot radius dealing 4d8 fire damage, a 10 foot radius dealing 6d8 fire damage, and a 5 foot radius dealing 8d8 fire damage.


Stoneborn

Your innate magic comes from the power of elemental earth. Perhaps you were born during a massive earthquake whose fissures divide the land to this day. Your lineage might include the influence of potent earth creatures, such as the stone giants and the dao. Whatever the case, the magic of the stones permeate your soul.
     Stone sorcerers are invaluable members of an Underdark crew. Their magic allows them to create cracks and move the boulders in their immediate area. Their abilities also prove useful in repelling basilisks, hydras, and other landbound threats.

Stoneborn Expanded Spell List
The arcane magic you command is infused to elemental earth. You can speak, read and write primordial. You learn additional spells at the levels specified below. These spells don't count against your total number of spells known.

Sorcerer Level Spells
1st longstrider, shield
3rd hold person, protection from poison
5th protection from energy, slow
7th conjure minor elementals*, stoneskin
9th conjure elemental**
*Unless you gain this spell from another source, you can only summon dust mephits, magma mephits, and mud mephits with it.
**Unless you gain this spell from another source, you can summon only earth elementals with it.

Stoneflesh
At 1st level, you are attuned to elemental earth magic. Whenever you cast a spell other than a cantrip during your turn that targets at least 1 other creature, you can use a bonus action to harden your skin. Until the start of your next turn, when you are take damage from nonmagical weapons that aren't adamantine, you can roll a d4 subtract the amount rolled from the damage.

One with the Rocks
At 6th level, you gain resistance to bludgeoning damage, and proficiency with light armor. In addition, you learn the blade ward cantrip if you don't already know it.

Mutate Earth
At 6th level, you learn the mold earth cantrip. In addition, you can cast it as a bonus action.

Earthbind
At 14th level, you gain proficiency with shields. In addition, by expending one Sorcery point, you can use your reaction to merge your feet with the earth. For up to one minute, your movement speed is reduced to 0, and effects that would move you have no effect. Attack rolls made against you by creatures equal to or smaller than you have disadvantage, and your Dexterity modifier for AC is replaced by your proficiency bonus if it is smaller. You can end this effect as a bonus action.

Stonewalk
At 18th level, you gain the ability to move through difficult terrain caused by rubble without being slowed by it. You also gain resistance to force damage, and the ability to Stonewalk.
     On your turn, you can use your action to enter solid stone. While in the stone, you have full cover, and effects that affect areas, such as Auras, do not affect you. You move at half speed in the stone, may not take bonus actions, may take no actions other than the Dash action, and can take no reactions other than the following:
When you make an Opportunity attack, you can attempt a special Grapple check to pull a creature partially into the stone. The creature makes the grapple check against your Spell Save DC. If the creature fails the grapple, it is Grappled, Restrained, and pulled into the stone. Each turn the grappled creature begins in the stone, it takes 2d10 bludgeoning damage.


Waveborn

Your innate magic comes from the power of elemental water. Perhaps you were born during great tsunami which decimated the countryside. Your lineage might include the influence of potent water creatures, such as the merfolk and the marid. Whatever the case, the magic of the wave permeates your soul.
     Wave sorcerers are invaluable members of a team in any hostile environment. Their magic allows them to exert control over water and currents in their immediate area. Their abilities also prove useful in repelling efreeti, salamanders, and other fiery threats.

Waveborn Expanded Spell List
The arcane magic you command is infused to elemental water. You can speak, read and write primordial. You learn additional spells at the levels specified below. These spells don't count against your total number of spells known.
Sorcerer Level Spells
1st expeditious retreat, grease
3rd blur, mirror image
5th haste, water breathing
7th conjure minor elementals*, wall of ice
9th conjure elemental**
*Unless you gain this spell from another source, you can only summon ice mephits, mud mephits, and steam mephits with it.
**Unless you gain this spell from another source, you can summon only water elementals with it.

Wave Magic
At 1st level, you are attuned to elemental water magic. Whenever you cast a spell of 1st level or higher, you can use a bonus action to conjure a rushing wave to sweep knock down your enemies. Select a creature standing within 30 feet of you to make a Strength saving throw. Creatures with 4 legs or which are otherwise exceptionally stable have advantage on this save. On a failed save, the creature is knocked prone.

Whelm
At 6th level you can breathe underwater and you gain resistance to cold damage. Additionally, as an action you can create a torrent of water around yourself in a 10 foot radius for up to 1 minute while you maintain concentration on the effect. For the duration, creatures move at half speed while in this area, and ranged attack rolls have disadvantage against yourself and other creatures in the torrent. After using this ability, you must complete a short or long rest before using it again.

Stream Master
At 6th level, you learn the shape water cantrip, and a swimming speed equal to your walking speed.

Poisonous Punch
At 14th level, the water energy you channel in your spells flows through your veins. When you are hit by a melee attack, you can use your reaction to deal Poison damage equal to you Sorcerer level. The attacker must also make a Constitution saving throw against your spell save DC. On a failed save, the attacker is poisoned for 1 minute. They can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of their turns, ending the condition on a success.

Drown
Beginning at 18th level you gain immunity to cold damage.
     In addition, you can conjure water an enemy's lungs. As an action, select 1 creature within 30 feet to make a Constitution saving throw. Elementals, oozes, plants, undead, and other creatures without lungs automatically succeed this saving throw. On a failed save, as long as you concentrate on this effect, the creature is incapacitated, prone, and begins to make death saving throws. These death saving throws do not end on three successes, but the creature still dies on three failures. The creature can attempt this saving throw again at the end of each of its turns to end the effect early. On a successful save, the target is poisoned until the end of its next turn. After using this ability, you must complete a short or long rest before using it again.




Changelog 8/24/15: Expanded spell list levels adjusted to match Stormborn. Waveborn corrected to have Wall of Ice, not Wall of Flame.
8/25/15: Replaced Waveborn capstone with Drown.
11/20/15: Waveborn: Expanded Spell List: minor image should be mirror image

28 comments:

  1. Waveborn's lvl 18 feature is really kinda' crap...
    Those conditions aren't too common, poisoned normally doesn't last long at all and very little causes blinding.
    Elemental damage immunity is standard for elemental-borns at this level.
    Healing water is worse than practically every other healing ability.

    Overall, waveborn seems to lack focus, I understand that there are barely any water-based spells, but using poison seems off. Whelm also seems more windy than watery.

    Wave magic should also probably say "creatures with 4 or more legs" as well.

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    1. Hi Aurtose!
      The Waveborn was the hardest to plan, I think, because not only did the Stormborn overlap with it somewhat, the 'brief', as it were, was to have it be a buffing/debuffing class. The Finger and I did rewrite the various abilities of that one a LOT, and we were hoping it'd be fine. What would you suggest as replacements?

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    2. Perhaps healing word charisma per long rest?

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    3. Healing is fine, but I think it needs more. You ought to double the amount of hp you can heal, and make it able to end a status effect.

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    4. Thematically, a higher level waveborn could focus on freezing enemies and manipulating storms and ice. Waveborn always had a strong focus on debuffing enemies, and changing to an ice theme might support that.

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    5. https://www.luminpdf.com/viewer/oAWcqXwjiRmCRMusf

      Here is my version of water. You might like it more.

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    6. https://www.luminpdf.com/viewer/oAWcqXwjiRmCRMusf

      Here is my version of water. You might like it more.

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    7. There really is very little media in which water powers are done well...
      So much of the time it seems to be used more as a bludgeoning melee weapon with a little bit of reach.
      Thematically, the only 2 things I can think of are something akin to gaseous form where the sorcerer turns into a puddle upon getting hit and can move away before reforming and a concentration ability that allows them to hold a bubble of water over a foe's head to suffocate them.
      Neither of these fits with the buffing/dubuffing role however.

      Out of curiosity, are you allowing spells from official guides other than the PHB?

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    8. For this, apart from the automatically gained Cantrip, I tried not to. Even the cantrips are pretty simple to improvise without the actual rules, so if you only have the PHB, this is easily compatible.

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    9. We try to avoid spells from outside the phb out of principle, to make it as accessible as possible. We made some concessions here, since it made sense to use the mechanics of those spells, rather than writing new, parallel mechanics.

      For Waterborn: Here's a rough version of a final ability:

      Drown
      Beginning at 18th level, you can conjure water an enemy's lungs. As an action, select 1 creature within 30 feet to make a Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, while you concentrate on this effect, the creature is incapacitated, prone, and begins to make death saving throws. These death saving throws do not end on three successes, but the creature still dies on three failures. The creature can attempt this saving throw again at the end of each of its turns to end the effect early.

      What do you think?

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    10. Fits the theme very well and adheres to the debuffing idea.
      A few notes though:
      -Needs a per rest limit
      -Needs notes on how it interacts with creatures with natural waterbreathing, magical waterbreathing and creatures that don't need to breathe/don't have lungs

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    11. Looks good. Don't forget the Immunity, though.

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  2. I would like to point out that the bonus spells are far from up to par with stormborn, which gains bonus spells when it would just become a high enough level able to cast them, as opposed to twice the level requirement

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    1. Also, why do waterborn sorcerers get wall of fire? Is that a typo, or is there some big conspiracy that I'm not aware of?

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    2. Also, the levels are fixed too

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    3. Ok, i was just wondering; thanks!

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  3. Marvelous! Just what I've been wanting since the PHB came out.

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    1. One note though, there seems to be a typo. Waveborn says "At this level, you learn the shape water cantrip, and a swimming speed equal to your walking speed" but it doesn't specify which level is this level. I assume it's 6th?

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  4. You should adjust the picture for the Stormborn, it covers up some text.

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  5. Question: Where is the 'Minor Image' spell listed? I cannot find it in my player's handbook or Elemental Evil Player's Companion.

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    1. This looks like a typo on my part; it should be mirror image. I'll edit this asap

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  6. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  7. Wall of Ice is lvl 6 and is very powerful; It is not a counter[part of Wall of Fire, but a more powerful spell.

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  8. I really like the fireborn sorcerer, but the capstone seems a little meh in comparison to others, the fact that you have to keep feeding it your limited sorcerer points makes it seem very constraining.

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  9. I just want to note that while these elementalborns work well as counterparts to the "Unearthed Arcana: Waterborne Adventures" Stormborn, the official SCAG Stormborn got rebalanced to remove the extra spells it gained.
    Now this means nothing really, as it would be up to any given group to decide which versions to use, but maybe add into the pdf/article that for a group that decides to use the SCAG Stormborn, they should probably look away from the extra spells gained.

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