Class: Energy Thrower

Wizardry is powerful and versatile, but fickle. Energy throwing is simple but reliable.

Some people have just enough talent to use magic, but not enough patience to become wizards nor enough power to become sorcerers. These people might become energy throwers instead. They can do exactly one thing, but they can do it all day. Energy throwers are prized by the movers and shakers as good soldiers, but disdained by real magic users as... well, not real magic users.

 

  

A: Throw Energy (d6)

B: Throw Energy (d8)

C: Throw Energy (d10)

D: Throw Energy (d12), Ultimate Technique

Throw Energy

At will, conjure a blast of magical energy that deals damage dependant on [template] and has a range of 60 feet.

Most energy throwers content themselves with flinging nondescript globs of colourful energy, but there are some who train themselves in shaping these blasts into lightning, runic orbs, or even temporary weapons. The effect remains the same, though.

Ultimate Technique

Even energy throwers eventually find the motivation to learn a special technique. Roll or choose one of the following techniques:

1. Energy armour: The same kind of energy throwers who would shape their blasts into weapons might wish to learn how to make armour out of the energy, too. This technique allows one to summon any type of armour (light, medium, heavy) with all properties of a mundane armour, except made of coruscating energy.
2. Energy bubble: As a reaction once per round, reduce incoming damage by your energy throwing die.
3. Energy breath: Disperse your blast through your mouth as a cone-shaped emanation with range of 30 feet.
4. Eye beam: This technique allows you to concentrate the blast through your eyes, dealing d20 damage but blinding you for [digit sum of damage] rounds after each use.
5. Elemental blast: Choose one element; you can now change your blast into that element.
6. Twin blasts: Create one blast in each hand, throwing them both as a single action. They each deal only d6 damage, though.
7. Chained blast: On 10+ damage, the blast jumps to another nearby creature. It can jump a second time, too.
8. Kamehameha: Technique of the secretive monkey monks. Takes two full rounds to charge up (and can be interrupted), then releases as a brilliant beam that deals 2d12 damage to everything in a 100 ft line. Any wall weaker than a castle bulwark is melted through, too.

The other techniques may be possible to learn via mentors and quests.

5e Lingering Injuries

In my D&D 5e game, I have replaced massive damage with lingering injuries, but I have never posted the rules. There were a few design considerations when devising this dismemberment table:

1. I wanted something small and simple, rather than a fiddly subsystem with multiple tables for an eventuality that is frankly rather rare.
2. I wanted something painful. Dismemberment happens rarely, but it should matter when it does. Even if there is a save, it should not negate a consequence.
3. I wanted diegetic, not mechanical penalties. While -4 Strength is painful, it is also patently unfun. On the other hand, "You cannot speak." or "You have only one arm." are painful and interesting, because they force the player to actively adapt, rather than do the same old with lower bonuses.

You tell me whether I succeeded or not.

 

Jan Žižka

  

While a character cannot go below 0 hp, when a hit would result in enough surplus damage to take them below negative Constitution score in hit points, they roll on the dismemberment table.

Write the surplus damage down next to the injury taken. To remove an injury, first a medical treatment (and a successful Medicine check) is needed, then this surplus damage must be healed. Whenever a character receives (natural or magical) healing, they can decide to regain hp, or to reduce the surplus damage from one of their injuries.

d10 Dismemberments

1. Panicking, you block the blow with your weapon - successfully, but you only hold a half of your weapon now. Magical weapons get a Dexterity saving throw. On success, you were only disarmed.
2. The blow was so hard that your armour is all twisted, sundered and useless now. At least all your limbs are still attached. Magical armours get a Dexterity saving throw. On success, you were only sent flying backwards.
3. Suddenly, blackness. Until this injury is healed, you are in a coma.
4. Blood everywhere! So much blood! Until this injury is healed, gain +1 Exhaustion level for every strenuous action. Fighting or casting spells is strenuous. Lying in a ditch or shuffling around is not.
5. Something inside you is broken. Lose all Hit Dice and you cannot regain hp naturally until this injury is healed.
6. You spit teeth and blood. You cannot speak or cast spells until this injury is healed.
7. Ouch, my eye! A successful Constitution saving throw means it is too bruised to use, but can be healed. A failure means you are left with an empty socket.
8. Crunch! Lose d2 legs. A successful Constitution saving throw means they are broken, but can be healed. A failure means they are no longer attached to your body, and healing the injury only stops the bleeding.
9. Crunch! Lose a random arm. A successful Constitution saving throw means it is broken, but can be healed. A failure means it is no longer attached to your body, and healing the injury only stops the bleeding.
10. Blood is dripping from your nose, but you have to laugh. Regain 1 hp and immediately get an extra turn.

Difficulty of all mentioned checks is either half surplus damage or 10, whichever is higher.

Class: Ogre Ape

Depending on the setting, this could be an ogre, an ape, or an ogre ape. (Or a half-giant, or a goliath, even a really brawny barbarian. Any big guy/gal, really.) It has a touch of James Young's barbarian, SaltyGoo's ogre and Skerples' brawler.

Ogre Sitting by vshen

 

Quest: Visit the Ape Islands, or defeat and devour a bear by your lonesome.

Language: dialect basically unheard of Around Here

Items: loincloth, greatclub (d10)

Skills: Astrology, Cooking, Fishing, Herb Lore

A: Unconquered, Half-Naked

B: choose one of Commanding Roar or Powerful Presence

C: Unyielding

D: choose one of Silverback Punch or Withstand

Unconquered

You are an eight foot tall slab of muscle.

Your unarmed attacks deal d6 damage and other melee attacks +d6 damage.

Take half damage from things smaller than you.

Edit: Double your base maximum HP.

This probably requires a bit of an explanation. In my current ruleset, you have base HP based on Constitution and extra HP from class levels. So if your rules have for example Meat and Grit, double the Meat. If nothing like that is applicable, maybe step up their hit dice, or simply give them +2 HP per level?

Half-Naked

You are immune to the negative effects of weather and hypothermia.

Commanding Roar

Once per encounter, you can give a one-word command to a humanoid that is smaller than you. It can choose to fall prone instead of obeying the order.

Powerful Presence

At the start of each round, you can decide how creatures smaller than you react to you: They either avoid fighting you unless there is no other choice, or they gang up on you, ignoring your teammates.

Unyielding

Once ever when you would die, instead regain full HP and gain a cool scar.

Silverback Punch

Once per session, you can knock anything unconscious. This can be used even against things like golems or doors, where unconsciousness should be interpreted liberally.

Withstand

Once per session, completely ignore an attack or effect. If it would normally continue further, you also shield everyone behind you.

This negates secondary effects too (If a trap swings a huge stone hammer at you and you withstand it with your face, you also won't be knocked back.), but may not help much against ongoing effects. (When splashed with liquid flame, you can withstand the initial damage, but you will still be on fire.)

Ritual of Communion

No wizard is to be trifled with lightly, but when several wizards join forces, they become the stuff of nightmares. Especially if they literally join forces via the ritual of communion.

Winter Solstice by shk28

All wizards partaking in a communion must be within a pre-made magic circle. The wizard who initiates the ritual becomes the communion master, the rest are communion slaves. Communion slaves cannot use magic until they break communion by stepping outside of the circle.

The communion master gets access to MD and spells of all communion slaves, and can use them as if they were his own.

Only one participant is affected by any Mishaps or Dooms triggered during communion. The communion master chooses who is affected - potentially shunting any consequences of powerful spells onto a communion slave. This is often kept secret from the communion slaves, for obvious reasons.

Wizard shackle: Most often forged in the form of a ring or manacle, it obviates the need for a magic circle when starting a communion. The bearer of the master ring can draw upon anyone wearing a linked shackle.