#that recharges when they cast a conjuration spell of 1st level or more

[grailfinders]

Fate and Phantasms Viewers' Choice #8: Touko Aozaki

Today on Fate and Phantasms we’re building Aoko’s older sister Touko Aozaki from Kara no Kyoukai, Mahou Tsukai no Yoru, Lord El-Melloi II’s Case Files, and even a cameo in Fate/Stay Night. If you’re confused by how she’s somehow managed to go from black hair to brown to red to blue, it’s because of the body doubles. Don’t worry, we’ll explain more in the build. Or you can check out the Witch on the Holy Night HD version coming out in December for more information if you like waiting more and reading more.

Anyways, Touko is a lot of things, but she is foremost a puppet maker, rune user, and transportation aficionado, and all of those fall under the purview of the Conjuration Wizard. Yeah that’s her entire build, we need some high-level kit here. Almost. I am breaking my own rules here and using an unofficial subclass from Keith Baker, purely because the Mastermaker Artificer is perfect for this build. Again, almost.

Check out her build breakdown here, or her character sheet over here!

Race and Background

While there is a chance you’re playing as the original Aozaki, it’s not high. In most cases, she’ll be a Reborn puppet of her own making. This gives her +2 Dexterity and +1 Intelligence, as well as an Ancestral Legacy giving her proficiency in Deception (self-inflicted) and Survival for those pizza crackers. Her Deathless Nature gives her advantage on saves against being diseased, poisoned, or dead, as well as resistance to poison damage. She also doesn’t need to eat, drink, or breathe, and you can finish a long rest in 4 hours without sleeping if you just sit around a bit. She also gets Knowledge from a Past Life for a d6 added to a skill check up to proficiency times per day. I wish they still kept the construct option from the UA, but we’ll work with what we’re given.

As for her background, like Kirschtaria her family life is absolutely fucked up as a mage Noble, but at least if gives you proficiency in History and Persuasion.

Ability Scores

First up is Intelligence. Your magic circuits are good, but the reason you’re powerful is because you make good use of them. Second is Dexterity, mostly because if you die before level 15 you’ll actually die, and that’s not canon. Third up is Constitution, you made yourself, and you’re good at making yourself, it’s probably why you’ve had multiple sealing designations put on you. Low constitution would be shoddy craftsmanship. This means your Charisma is a bit low- you tend to give people the cold shoulder and keep them arm’s length from you. Unless you’re building their arm, I guess. Your Strength is pretty low, but we’re dumping Wisdom. Between needing glasses, losing memories between puppets, and a depiction of DID which while I admit I have not read yet I don’t have high hopes for, your perception and stability is absolutely rock-bottom.

Class levels

1. Wizard 1: Like I said, you’re a Wizard, Touko. That means you get Arcane Recovery once a day to recharge a few spell slots on your short rest instead of a long one, and you get Spells from your spellbook to use those slots with. Touko can steal magic crests from other mages, sort of like how wizards can copy spells from other spellbooks, but at least in D&D you don’t have to keep the wizards alive for that. That whole spell-stealing thing is also why we’re not super in-depth with the list again, it’s hard to be specific when her abilities are mostly “casts good”. So we’ll just bring up spells from each level that are Touko-ish when we get to them, but keep in mind you get 3 cantrips right away, with another at level 4 and 10, as well as six 1st level spells now, and two more of any level you can cast each time you level up. Okay? Good. Let’s get into magic.

For cantrips, Prestidigitation is a great spell to grab when you don’t know what you want, giving you all sorts of minor magical effects. You can also use Friends for a very cheap version of your Eyes of Enchanting, but we’ll get more powerful ones laters. Finally, grab Gust for your last cantrip. Her wiki article mentions she could cause a hurricane with a wink in high school. I know that’s probably an expression, but it’s funnier to take it literally, so now she’s a wind mage too.

For first level spells, Mage Armor helps you not die, while False Life lets you repair yourself with puppet parts for some temporary HP. You can also use Magic Missile for the obligatory caster balls, and Find Familiar to get to puppet making early. They’re not super impressive, but it’s only level 1.

2. Wizard 2: At second level you get your Conjuration specialty, making you a Conjuration Savant. This means when you copy someone else’s magic crest into your own, conjuration spells are cheaper and faster. Why WotC decided all the wizards should have an incentive to not pick their own specialized spells during character creation is beyond me, but here we are.

On the plus side, you also get Minor Conjuration, letting you create any inanimate object that is smaller than 3’ long and lighter than 10 pounds, as long as you’ve seen it before. It’s obviously magical, and it lasts an hour. Most summoning spells come with large costs attached, so it’s nice that you can use your magic to cover a few of them.

3. Wizard 3: Third level wizards get second level spells- any mage worth their salt can Detect Thoughts, and your Eyes of Enchantment give you more than enough hypnotizing power to Hold Person. We’ll also mention Misty Step while we’re here to get started on Touko Travel.

4. Wizard 4: Use your first Ability Score Improvement to bump up your Intelligence for stronger mystic eyes, spells, and later on prosthetics.

5. Wizard 5: Fifth level wizards get third level spells. Touko is the inventor of the Mystic Eye Killers, glasses that can suppress even the mystic eyes of death perception. Depending on what eyes you’re up against, that could be Counterspell or Dispel Magic. Either way, you can do it. We also get our first runes in the Glyph of Warding, and can begin making Tiny Servants out of small objects.

6. Wizard 6: A sixth level wizard can make Benign Transportation as an action, teleporting yourself up to 30’ away, or swapping places with a nearby willing creature. You can do this once per short rest, or it can be recharged when you cast a leveled conjuration spell.

7. Wizard 7: Your fourth level spell slots mean your eyes are now powerful enough to Charm Monsters- you can also move further with a Dimension Door, or you can create a person-sized puppet when you Summon Construct. tbh your constructs are pretty close to living things, you could probably get away with any spell with Summon or Conjure in its name, but we’re trying to stick as close as we can here.

8. Wizard 8: Once you use this ASI to max out your Intelligence, we’re finally strong enough to focus on puppetry full time- next level.

9. Artificer 1: A first level artificer can use Magical Tinkering to add small effects to tiny items. Not quite Tiny Servants level, but it’s still neat. Sensory effects, glowing, that sort of thing.

You also get another list of Spells and cantrips to prepare from, also using your intelligence. There’s a lot of overlap between wizard and artificer spell lists, so make sure you prepare something special. Pick up Guidance and Resistance to be better than your sister, and make sure you get Cure Wounds to patch people up properly. That’s really the only spells we need, but there’s plenty of other toys to make this dip worth it.

10. Artificer 2: Second level artificers gain four blueprints to Infuse Items, though you can only have two up at a time. It’s the nineties, cell phones exist, so grab Sending Stones. You can also make an Enhanced Arcane Focus for stronger attacks and to ignore half cover. Aside from that, a Bag of Holding and a Wand of Secrets are just nice to have. Only the first two are really in character, but you only really get two at a time, so it balances out.

11. Artificer 3: Normally getting prosthesis as an artificer requires 14 levels of training, but as a Mastermaker, your Prosthesis Expertise lets you turn any nonmagical item into a permanent prosthetic, functioning exactly like the original. It can be detached or attached as an action by the wearer, but it can’t be removed against their will.

You also turn one of your arms into a Battlefist, which is… less than ideal. It’s a melee weapon that is magical (but can be infused) and can also be your focus for artificer spells. It deals 1d10 damage on a hit, and can use your intelligence modifier for damage and attacks. When you make it, and every time you finish a long rest, you can give it one of the following properties: finesse, thrown(20/60), or reach. We’re going with finesse, obviously. You’re pretty slight, and I think it would be more prominent if Touko had a rocket arm in-game. Maybe she will if she ever comes over to FGO.

Also, you get Absorb Elements and Thunderous Smite on your prepared list permanently, but we were really just here for the hands. Also also, you can make The Right Tool for the Job over a long rest- any kind of tool you need, but you only get one at a time.

12. Wizard 9: Ninth level wizard, fifth level spells. Conjure Elemental is like Summon Construct, though the only one that really matches your aesthetic is an earth elemental. Or an air elemental if you agree with me about the hurricane winking thing. You can also use Modify Memory on yourself to convince yourself you’re still the original, a perfectly normal and healthy thing to do I’m sure.

13. Wizard 10: At tenth level, your Focused Conjuration means that you’ll never lose concentration on a conjuration spell unless you want to. Given how many of those make the creature go wild if you mess up, that’s a blessing.

14. Wizard 11: Sixth level spells! Also, this is one of the meatier levels for Touko-tier spellcasting. Create Homunculus is pretty self-explanatory for why we’d want it, but you can also use Guards and Wards to protect your hideout from the Clocktower. Finally, while Drawmij’s Instant Summons doesn’t quite work like Touko Travel, since it brings the object to you and not vice-versa, it’s a good place to start if you want to homebrew something with your DM.

15. Wizard 12: At twelfth level of wizard you get another ASI, and it’s time we finally round up that Constitution score with the Chef feat. As part of your short rest, you can cook food to give extra health to any creatures using their hit dice. Also over an hour of cooking (or a long rest), you can cook some pizza crackers to pass out to others or keep for yourself, no judgement. You make Proficiency treats per cooking session, and they stay fresh for 8 hours. If eaten during that time, they gain Proficiency temporary HP.

16. Wizard 13: Thirteenth level, seventh level spells. Despite Touko’s body doubles, we are not picking up the Simulacrum/True Polymorph combo we gave Morgan. Touko’s puppets only come to life after she dies, so the snowmen have to stay down. That being said, you wouldn’t be a fucked-up mage if you didn’t know Power Word Pain. We’ll also grab Sequester to help you hide from the Clocktower a little better. It does mean you’ll be put in suspended animation, so it’s more of a last resort than anything else.

17. Wizard 14: Fourteenth level conjurers have Durable Summons- any creature you create or summon with a conjuration spell starts off with 30 THP as a free gift. Your self-puppets won’t have this benefit, but that’s literally future you’s problem.

18. Wizard 15: It’s now you’s problem again! The eighth level spell Clone imitates your puppetry almost perfectly- all you need is a gem worth 1,000 gp, and a vase worth 2,000 gp. Plus a cubic inch of your own flesh, but that’s why you have healing spells. After 120 days, a copy of you or a younger version of yourself will pop up in that jar, and upon death your soul will pop into the new creature and go on like nothing happened. As long as you can keep making new clones, it’s practical immortality.

19. Wizard 16: Use your last ASI for more Dexterity. I know you’re immortal now, but dying still hurts- don’t do it if you don’t have to.

20. Wizard 17: With our final level, you get ninth level spells. True Polymorph will let you turn clone you into proper you. Most people would say there isn’t a difference, but you can tell. You can always tell.

In more lighthearted news, Nasu mentioned Touko killed someone by putting on her glasses back in high school, so that sounds like Power Word Kill to me. Again, it almost certainly wasn’t literal, but I live for that glimmer of possibility.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

Wizards are already incredibly powerful, and adding even a little bit of Healing to their kit makes them even moreso. It’s not going to help much if you try to heal the tank, but your little HP matches up with your little healing perfectly, making you more self-sufficient. Also, having prosthetics on hand is always good if your DM likes to use lingering injury tables.

While you’re squishy, you’re also very hard to catch, with the ability to build your own frontline of beefy summons and plenty of teleportation options to make fighting you an absolute slog for anyone who isn’t an archer or another caster.

Even if they catch you, they’re probably not catching the other clones any time soon. Your healing just so happens to give you plenty of flesh to work with, and your Minor Conjuration means once you’ve seen one diamond worth 1,000 GP, you’ll have an infinite supply of gems to work with. You’ll still need a whole lot of jars, but that’s still not a discount to sneeze at.

Cons:

It’s a good thing you have so many spares, because you’ll be burning through bodies like nobody’s business with how little HP you have. Your AC certainly isn’t bad for a caster, but you’re just a breath away from getting Power Word Kill’d yourself.

You’ve also got low wisdom, so you’re more likely to experience cloning blues, miss out on important info due to failed perception checks, and fall for illusions/ mind control.

Your best stuff is amazing, but it comes late in the build. You start building prosthesis at level 11, and you can’t clone yourself until level 18. The odds of a campaign going this long is slim, and the odds you survive until then even worse. Even after that, you’ve got a good four months between your first clone being made and actually being able to use it, which is not ideal.

#touko aozaki #kara no kyoukai #mahou tsukai no yoru #lord el-melloi II case files #fate/stay night #dnd 5e #D&D #dear god she's in a lot of shit huh #wizard #artificer

[aberrantmind]

thinking about how a level 18 conjuration wizard can teleport 60 feet every 6 seconds

#ESSENTIALLY wizards (in 5th edition at least) can choose a 1st level spell or two to cast at will #when they reach level 18. conjuration wizards get an ability that lets them teleport 30 feet #that recharges when they cast a conjuration spell of 1st level or more #theres a 1st level conjuration spell that teleports the caster 30 feet. #the teleport feature and teleport spells are different actions (regular/bonus) #so can be cast in the same 6 second turn #making for about 54.5 miles in 8 hours of travel if my calculations are right #the fastest normal travel in 8 hours is 30 miles. #now i did have that leet hax 80mph centaur but that required more setup + spell slots #and was more of an unintended exploit than practically laid out in front of you by the rules #8lah #dnd

[mirthfulbrewist]

WIP Magical Girl class for 5e

...This is an idea I’ve been fiddling with for a little while now, and though I’m not ready to share the PDF with everyone yet, I am looking for a few other homebrewers who can help me put numbers to concepts and make this an actual, playable class.

I’ve been playing 5e for a few years and DMing for a few months, but I’ve never made a full-blown class before and would appreciate all the help I can get when it comes to balancing features. 

Please inbox or PM me if you’re interested in contributing! C&C is more than welcome.

Status: Looking for help putting numbers to concepts.

Last Updated: April 24 2020

The Basics:

WIS-based spontaneous caster. Secondary ability score depends on the archetype. Spells are learned but not prepared.

Keystone feature is the "Transformation", which allows the MG to don a Magical disguise, boosting her AC and granting her temporary HP for the duration. She can transform twice per day and the duration of each transformation scales as she levels up. The MG probably needs to be transformed to access her spells, excluding cantrips. Numerically, a lot hinges on what is decided for this feature.

Secret Identity. For the sake of scrying and tracking, the MG is considered as two separate people.

Archetype chosen at 1st level determines where on the battlefield your MG is placed. 

Sailor Scout “Monk” archetype with unarmed strikes and improved mobility (jumping, running, etc)

Cardcaptor/Yu-gi-oh/Pokémon trainer “Summoner” archetype with a focus on conjuration and buff spells.

Rayearth “Knight” archetype with improved armour class and a bonded weapon.

Other archetypes could include Wild Fae Magic, Dreamwalker, and a basic “Arcane” caster. 

Team Attack feature. Lets you use a reaction to add damage (or metamagic effects) to an ally’s attacks. (Might cut this one)

Shared Spellcasting feature, which allows the whole party to pool their efforts and cast certain spells as a ritual which would be too high level for them to cast individually. Think dispel magic, dimension door, etc. THE POWER OF FRIENDSHIP. This would start in 2nd tier play but scale up.

The list of spells available for this feature would expand if you have certain caster classes in the party, i.e. Hallow if you have a Cleric or Awaken if you have a Druid.

Additional customization comes from “Mystical Perks” which are like mini-feats that grant you boons in certain areas. You’d get one of these every few levels. E.g:

 Elemental Specialist. You gain resistance to a damage type of your choice: Cold, Bludgeoning, Fire, Lightning, or Force. In addition, you can add your WIS bonus to the damage of any spell you cast of that type. This perk can be taken more than once.

Willpower. You can Roll Wisdom instead of Constitution to maintain concentration on spells.

An expansive spell list but somewhat limited spellslots or “learnt spells”

“Limit Break” powered-up Transformation at 3rd tier, likely with a 1d4 day recharge.

At 3rd tier a MG may confer 1 level of MG on another person, as a sort of passing-of-the-torch. The number of times she can do this without losing her powers is limited by her level.

Again, Inbox or PM me if you’re interested in contributing! 

#eg Sailor Mercury would be an “assist and control” type whereas Sailor Jupiter would be a close-up “fighter” type. #magical girl #5e #homebrew class #salad crafting #magical girl class #sailor moon #s4 cc #cardcaptor sakura #magical girls #d&d #dungeons and dragons #homebrew #class #classes #magical girl masterpost #magical girl class masterpost

[grailfinders]

Fate and Phantasms #139: Cleopatra

Today on Fate and Phantasms, we’re making the last queen of Egypt, Cleopatra! She’s a Divine Soul Sorcerer for some Pharaoh flavoring, and a Battle Smith Artificer for a giant metal snake and vast material wealth from your empire.

Check out her build breakdown below the cut, or her character sheet over here!

Next up: Is it bad if the mad Vlad’s MAD or is a MAD mad Vlad just sad?

Race and Background

With the blood of the gods in your veins and the lack of restraint for your snake’s attacks, you make a good Scourge Aasimar. This gives you +1 Intelligence (thanks, Tasha) and +2 Charisma. You also get some Darkvision, Celestial Resistance to necrotic and radiant damage, the Light cantrip, and Healing Hands. Once per long rest, you can touch a creature as an action, healing it a number of hit points equal to your level.

Like a lot of pharaohs, you’re a Noble at the very least, giving you proficiency with Persuasion, and we’re swapping history for Religion here.

Ability Scores

As a cunning negotiator and shrewd businesswoman, your Intelligence has to be pretty high. Your manifestation has also been affected by rumors of your effect on men, so Charisma is next. Your Wisdom is also pretty good, can’t be a businesswoman without a good insight check. Your Dexterity isn’t amazing, but knowing how to not die is useful. Your Constitution’s pretty bad, but we’re dumping Strength instead. You’ve got armies for that.

Class Levels

1. Artificer 1: I know artificers usually make their stuff, but hey, nobody said you couldn’t have a trade-based artificer. Your empire’s pretty big, finding a bag of holding won’t be that hard.

First level artificers get Magical Tinkering, letting you add minor magical effects to small objects, basically your version of prestidigitation. You also learn Spells that you can cast and prepare using your Intelligence.

When you start as an Artificer, you also get proficiency with Constitution and Intelligence saves, as well as History and Perception. 

You get some cantrips, like Message to sneak notes to your advisors, and Create Bonfire, because you’re the goddess of magic, you do what you want.

For first level spells, I’d suggest Cure Wounds to deal with your snake issues, Detect Magic to find the best deals on magic nonsense, and Feather Fall. Later on, that last one will be your giant flying snake breaking your fall, but feel free to use it earlier if necessary.

2. Sorcerer 1: First level divine sorcerers can learn Spells that use Charisma to cast. Thanks to your magical origin, you also know Divine Magic, giving you access to the cleric spell list and a freebie in Cure Wound. Hey, it frees up a prep slot. You’re also Favored by the Gods, letting you add 2d4 to a save or attack roll once per short rest. You’re a god, you do what you want.

For spells, Friends,  Thaumaturgy, Minor Illusion and Charm Person will be useful for navigating court, while Frostbite and Mage Armor will be much more helpful once things get busy.

3. Sorcerer 2: Second level sorcerers are Fonts of Magic, giving you a number of sorcery points per long rest equal to your sorcerer level. Your Radiant Consumption also kicks in this level, letting you spend an action to transform your self for a minute. While transformed, you shine with bright light for 10 feet and dim light for another 10, and at the end of each turn you deal half your level in radiant damage to everything around you. You also deal extra radiant damage once per turn to something you hit with an attack or spell equal to your entire level. You can do this once per long rest. Your snake ain’t too picky with what it hits, but it hits nonetheless. 

You also learn Comprehend Languages, because people tend to be more honest when they don’t know you understand them.

4. Sorcerer 3: Third level sorcerers get Metamagic, ways to customize their magic using sorcery points. Subtle Spell lets you cast magic without making it obvious, and Twinned Spell lets you make the most of your spell slots by basically casting a single-target spell twice over.

You also learn the spell Detect Thoughts. Strategy’s well and good, but nothing beats knowing your opponents’ next moves before they do.

5. Sorcerer 4: Use your first Ability Score Increase to grab the Tough feat. Sorcerer hp dice are not your friend, but this spell will give you an extra +2 HP each level, retroactively too.

You also learn Dancing Lights for more holy nonsense, and Enhance Ability to do what you want, giving you (or target creature) advantage on one kind of ability check.

6. Sorcerer 5: Fifth level sorcerers can use their sorcery points on some Magical Guidance to re-roll a failed ability check.  Once again, you do what you want.

For your last sorcerer spell, grab Bestow Curse for a little pre-mummification mummy magic. This is one of those “have fun with it” spells, so feel free to make it wild.

7. Artificer 2: With who you are out of the way, let’s get back to what you do. As a second level artificer you know how to trade for Infused Items, magic items you can make at the end of a long rest. You learn four now, but you can only use two at the same time. Enhanced Weapon will work well with next level’s features, but Enhanced Arcane Focus will make your magic stronger now. Mind Sharpener lets you keep your concentration when you get hit, and Bag of Holding is just really useful.

8. Artificer 3: As a Battle Smith, you are Battle Ready, giving you proficiency with martial weapons, and you can use your intelligence instead of strength when using a magical weapon. You also learn how to build your Steel Defender, a medium sized construct that uses your bonus action to command. It can attack creatures, or defend party members. Rules as written it has to have two or four legs, but snakes are cool, so I’d allow it. 

You also learn your first specialty spells, Heroism and Shield, for more survivability. 

9. Artificer 4: Use this ASI to become a Martial Adept, giving you one superiority die (1d6) per short rest. You can use it in one of two ways- Commander’s Strike lets you ignore one of your attacks and your bonus action to let another creature attack as a reaction instead, adding the die to their damage. Alternatively, your Tactical Assessment adds the d6 to an Investigation, History, or Insight check you make instead.

10. Artificer 5: Fifth level battle smiths get an Extra Attack per attack action, and they can now cast second level spells. Your specialty spells are Branding Smite and Warding Bond, neither of which are particularly useful for Cleopatra. Instead I’d suggest Levitate to get the full Giant Metal Snake Coiling Around You effect, and Protection from Poison. As a noble, that’ll probably come in handy a lot.

11. Artificer 6: Sixth level artificers gain Expertise with all tool checks, doubling their proficiency. You’re royalty, you had a lot of free time. You also learn the Mending cantrip to heal your snake in a vain attempt to make it stop biting you, and you get two more infusions. Spell-Refueling Ring will help you recharge those spell slots/sorcery points, and the Eyes of Charming help you save on slots by using an item instead.

12. Artificer 7: By seventh level, your Flashes of Genius let you use your reaction to add your intelligence modifier to a check or save happening within 30 feet of you. You can use this a number of times per long rest equal to your intelligence modifier.

13. Artificer 8: Speaking of your intelligence, use this ASI to bump that up a bit for stronger spells, attacks, and more flashes of genius.

14. Artificer 9: At ninth level your Steel Defender grows even stronger, thanks to its Arcane Jolt. When you hit a creature, either with a magical weapon or your Uraeus Astrape, you can either a, deal extra force damage to it, or b, heal a nearby creature. You can do this once per turn, a number of times per long rest equal to your intelligence modifier.

You also get third level spell now! Your specialty spells are Aura of Vitality, leaning into your Isis-ness to heal people as a bonus action, and Conjure Barrage for when you’re fighting something that won’t stay put. You could also use Fly on your snake to give it some extra mobility, or Intellect Fortress to give long lasting resistance to psychic damage and advantage on intelligence, wisdom, and charisma saves. You’re the queen, you do what you want.

15. Artificer 10: Tenth level artificers are Magic Item Adepts, letting you attune an additional magic item and crafting a common/uncommon item takes 1/4 the time and 1/2 the gold. 

You can also trade for two more infusions now. The Ring of Mind Shielding will protect your brain even more, making you immune to having your thoughts read, any sort of lie detection, or knowing your alignment/creature type. it also lets you possess the ring if you die while wearing it! You could also get the Cloak of Protection, giving you +1 AC and +1 to all your saves.

16. Artificer 11: At eleventh level you can make Spell-Storing Items, weapons or other hand-held items that can hold spells for other people to use. They store a 1st or second level spell to put in it at the end of a long rest, and then other creatures can cast that spell using the item a number of times equal to twice your intelligence modifier. It uses your intelligence, but the caster’s concentration. You can also only have one object used like this at a time.

17. Artificer 12: Use your last ASI to bring up your Charisma for stronger sorcery spells.

18. Artificer 13: At long last, you can use fourth level spells! Your specialties are Aura of Purity, protecting creatures around you from disease, poison, and status effects for the duration. You also learn Fire Shield, which gives you resistance to cold or fire damage, and deals damage to attackers of the opposite type. Again it’s not super in character, but you’re the god of magic, what do you care.

For additional spells, Fabricate and Stone Shape will let you construct great works over time, and Summon Construct will bring in another giant metal snake to make sure the first one doesn’t get too uppity.

19. Artificer 14: Fourteenth level artificers are Magic Item Savants, giving you yet another attunement slot and you can ignore all restrictions when using magic items.

You also learn Guidance as your last cantrip, and get your last infusions. The Bracers of Defense give you +2 AC, or the Ring of Protection can give you +1 AC and +1 to all your saves. Trying to get a Golden Rule going is tough when all your ability points got put into your soft stats.

20. Artificer 15: Our capstone level gives you Improved Defender, increasing the severity of your Arcane Jolt, making your snake just a bit tougher, and giving it a way of dealing damage while also protecting your party.

Pros:

Thanks to your divine favors, magical guidance, and flashes of insight, you’re awfully good at cheating the odds with your saves and checks. Basically, if you really need to get something done, you can do it.

With multiple people on the battlefield and a variety of goodies to hand out to your party, you are great at supporting your party. 

With your high intelligence and charisma, you can control social situations easily, especially when you mix in your mind-reading abilities.

Cons:

If you ever fall into an anti-magic zone/exist at low levels you’ll find your AC very lacking, especially given your HP. Basically, hope your snake helps out.

Speaking of your snake, using it and your radiant consumption at the same time makes things complicated. I know the flavor is your snake is hitting you, but really you’re hitting your snake, and it doesn’t get resistance like you do.

Our tiny multiclass into sorcerer gives you a lot of flexibility and stealth options, but it means you have limited sorcery points. Thankfully, your sorcerer features don’t bother with your points, so it’s not game breaking for you.

#Fate Grand Order #D&D 5e #FGO #Cleopatra #Fate and Phantasms #Sorcerer #Artificer

[grailfinders]

Fate and Phantasms #11: EMIYA

Today’s build on Fate and Phantasms is the surprisingly versatile swordsarcher EMIYA! He’s technically not a servant, but he looks polite so we’ll make him a build anyway. We have three goals for this build: you need to be able to throw all kinds of swords everywhere; you need to be able to enter spirit form for fast getaways; and you need to be passable with a bow and arrow. As usual, the build’s spreadsheet can be found here, and there’s a more detailed explanation for everything below the cut!

Race and Background

Emiya is a Human, but he’s not a normal servant, so we’ll take the variant option. This gives him +1 to Dexterity and Intelligence, proficiency in one skill of our choice, grab Survival, since it’s the closest thing the vanilla stat sheet has to cooking, and an extra feat, which will be Spell Sniper. This turns Archer into the Archest, doubling the range on spells with attack rolls, ignoring half and 3/4 cover on those attacks, and giving us a bonus cantrip. Grab Eldritch Blast. It has to use your charisma for the attack roll, but any spell that involves throwing a lot of projectiles around will work for you, as long as you remember to always call them swords. 

Your background is a bit of a pickle. You were an orphan, but not alone, so you’re not an Urchin. You spent plenty of time perfecting your magic, but the most you can do is make swords, so you’re not a sage. In the end I had to throw my hands up and just say you’re a Far Traveler. You get proficiencies in Insight and Perception, and you also get to speak another language (like, say, English).

Stats

As usual, we’re using the standard arrary, but feel free to roll if you want. Just make sure your dex and wisdom are high enough to multiclass later. First, put your highest score into Intelligence. You have info on game mechanics that even we aren’t that clear on, and also you really need this. Next is Dexterity. You’re an archer, so it would be nice if you’re good at it. Follow that up with Charisma, then Wisdom. You’re Chaldea’s #1 mom for a reason, and we just need wisdom to be a 13. Next is Constitution, you’re an archer, so just try not to get hit too much. Finally Strength is your dump stat. Your muscles are impressive, but we needed other stats more.

Class Levels

1. Wizard 1: You may be an archer, but making things with your mind means we need magic and a lot of it. First level wizards gain a spell book and Arcane Recovery, letting you recover a number of spell slots on a short rest with a total level equal to or less than half your wizard level, and they all have to be below level 6. 

You start with three cantrips and six 1st level spells, and can prepare a number of spells each day equal to your int mod and your wizard level (so right now 4). For your cantrips, grab Sword Burst (Swords out of nowhere, nice), Blade Ward (you’re... making swords to block physical attacks coming in?), and True Strike (Taking aim at a long distance target). For spells, grab Catapult (throwing existing swords at people), Ice Knife (Somebody’s had to have made a sword out of ice by now, right?), Jump and Longstrider (anime level movement), Mage Armor (you’ll probably die without it), and Magic Missile (more swords, and these can’t miss!). In case you couldn’t tell, a lot of the work for your kit is going to be more flavor based than anything. If we stuck with only spells that explicitly involved making and throwing swords, we couldn’t get much done. Fortunately, Unlimited Blade Works is well suited for this, as your DM can’t prove that flaming sword you just threw doesn’t exist in UBW.

2. Wizard 2: Second level wizards graduate from their chosen school of magic. Sadly, the School of Swords doesn’t exist (there’s the bladesingers and the bard’s college of swords, but neither of them are really what we’re after), so we’ll have to go with the next best thing, the School of Conjuration. As a conjurer, you become a Conjuration Savant, so copying conjuration spells into your spellbook costs half the time and money. You also learn Minor Conjuration, letting you spend an action to conjure a copy of any nonmagical object you’ve seen that would fit in a 3′ cube. The object is magical, glows, and only lasts for 1 hour or until it takes any damage. You can also only have one object at a time, so you can’t make  Kanshou and Bakuya just yet.

For your spells, grab Expeditious Retreat and Shield for more movement and survivability options. You have Rho Aias bumping around in there, so it tracks.

3. Wizard 3: At third level, grab Cloud of Daggers and Misty Step. The former is an obvious choice, the latter counts as moving really fast, as long as you say “Nothing personnel, kid” afterwards. 

4. Wizard 4: Use your first Ability Score Improvement to beef up your Intelligence. Also grab Message as your cantrip, you’ll be away from the action most of the time and should try to stay in touch with your team. For spells, grab Invisibility to get closer to a true spirit form and Magic Weapon to improve what you can already conjure up.

5. Wizard 5: Grab Shadow Blade (weirdly not conjuration) for more sword-based fun, and also Summon Lesser Demons. The latter lets you summon 2-8 “swords” somewhere within 60′ of you. You don’t actually control these “swords”, so try not to get your teammates caught in the crossfire. The phb says to let your DM decide what gets summoned, but generally if you already have a stat block ready to go they’ll let you choose. I’ve attached stat blocks for some easily-flavored-as-living-swords demons (Dretch and Manes) in the spreadsheet.

6. Wizard 6: You gain Benign Transposition, letting you teleport as an action to any spot within 30′ of you, so long as anything in that spot is willing and small or medium size. You either teleport to that spot, or you and the willing creature swap places. You can only use this ability once per long rest, but it also recharges every time you cast a conjuration spell.

For your spells, grab Nondetection to conceal your presence and Melf’s Minute Meteors (again, weirdly not conjuration) to create and fire several broken phantasms over the course of a couple turns.

7. Wizard 7: Grab Stone Shape to make swords that will actually last, and Conjure Minor Elementals to create more living “swords”. These will listen to you, at least! Like before, you can make 1-8 “swords” that will obey your commands. Like with the demons, I’ve included some likely candidates for you to use in the spreadsheet.

8. Ranger 1: Despite being an Archer, you haven’t had proficiency in a bow and arrow yet, so let’s fix that. We’re using the Class Feature Variants UA for some of this level. As a 1st level ranger, you gain proficiencies with Light and Medium Armor, shields, simple and martial weapons, and one skill from their list. Grab Stealth to make combat an even bigger pain for your enemies. You gain a Favored Enemy, giving you advantage on checks to track and remember information about a group of creatures. As a Counter Guardian, Beasts are a pretty good choice for you to pick. You also become a Deft Explorer, grabbing the Roving option which increases your walking speed by 5′ and gives you a climbing and swimming speed equal to your walk speed. You don’t need to worry about melee combat when you’re faster than everyone else.

9. Ranger 2: You gain another bit of spellcasting as a ranger, but you’ll have to check the multiclassing table to figure out how many spell slots you’ll have. Grab Hail of Thorns (A flurry of shots in that general direction) and Hunter’s Mark (just really, really hating that guy in particular). You also get a fighting style, Archery, which gives you +2 on all attack rolls made with ranged weapons. Sadly, saying every spell you cast is a sword doesn’t count.

10. Wizard 8: Use your Ability Score Improvement to grab the Sharpshooter feat. This lets you fire a bow at long range without disadvantage, ignore half and 3/4 cover, and take a 5 point deficit to your attack roll in exchange for a 10 point bonus on damage. Ideally, your opponent should be somewhere in the next zipcode when you engage them.

For spells, grab Otiluke’s Resilient Sphere for more shield action and Greater Invisibility to get closer to your spirit form.

11. Wizard 9: Grab Conjure Elemental for one big “sword” that will follow your orders. Just try not to lose concentration until next level, or it might start swinging at you. As with the other summoning spells, some good picks for swordifying are in the spreadsheet. Also grab Telekinesis to get finer control when you throw swords around.

12. Wizard 10: You learn Focused Conjuration, making it impossible for you to lose concentration due to damage when focusing on conjuration spells. Grab Green Flame Blade as your cantrip this level. You probably will never use it, but it does have blade in the name so it can’t be all bad. Also grab Creation to make swords that can last a bit longer than the ones made by Minor Conjuration. Also, grab Animate Objects so you can perform Triple Crane Wings from 500′ away.

13. Wizard 11: Grab Sunbeam to make some Swords of Revealing Light that will ruin the day of anything within 60′ of you. Also grab Legend Lore. With this many legendary weapons rattling around inside you, you’ve probably gotten pretty good at figuring them out.

14. Wizard 12: Use your Ability Score Improvement to max out Intelligence, and grab Melf’s Acid Arrow- I mean sword- and Tongues to make sure everyone knows how cool your chant is.

15. Wizard 13: Grab Crown of Stars to put more finesse behind your Swords of Revealing Light, and Etherealness to reach a true spirit form.

16. Wizard 14: You now have Durable Summons. Any creature you make with a conjuration spell starts with 30 extra hit points. Sadly this only really effects your demonic and elemental “swords”. Grab Prismatic Spray to launch eight different elemental swords at once, and Plane Shift to drag your enemies into Unlimited Blade Works if they get too close. You haven’t made Unlimited Blade Works yet, but you’ll get there.

17. Wizard 15: Grab the spells Demiplane to start making your own pocket dimensions filled with swords. Each casting of Demiplane makes a door to a 30′ cube room that can hold anything that can fit in it. Each cast can either make a new room or connect to a room you have already made, or even one made by someone else if you know of it. Also grab Counterspell. You have Rule Breaker in UBW, so chuck one at a wizard if they start getting too uppity.

18. Wizard 16: Use your last Ability Score Improvement to become Resilient in Dexterity. You have plenty of movement options to avoid physical combat, but a fireball is still an issue. Now you have a better shot at surviving a spell or two. Grab Mighty Fortress to relive the Gudaguda days, and Flame Arrows/swords to give your bow attacks a bit more variety.

19. Wizard 17: Grab Wish to win the Holy Grail, and Meteor Swarm to launch some supercharged Broken Phantasms.

20. Wizard 18: For your last level, grab Prismatic Wall and Invulnerability to make some shields worthy of the name Rho Aias. You also gain Spell Mastery, letting you cast a first and second level spell at will for no cost, as long as they’re prepared. I’d suggest picking Shield and Ice Knife so you can use the former constantly and the latter to recharge your teleportation in a pinch, but you can always change them later, so it’s not a huge deal.

Pros: You have a lot of long ranged attack options, with plenty of damage types to pick from. If any enemies do get close to you, you can always teleport away. 

Cons: You have very, very, very low health. If you get surprised or run out of teleportation, a solid crit can be a serious threat to you. Also, you only have ranged attacks, meaning your usefulness is inversely proportional to how far away you can stay from the enemy. Open fields? very powerful. Cramped caves? Much less so. A lot of your spells need concentration too, so you can’t summon too many swords on your enemies at once.

#fgo #fate grand order #dnd #EMIYA #Fate and Phantasms