3rd Level Complete - Khulod (S'sylin)

@Khulod

Okay, so we're starting out from the real beginning... your birth. Your parentage is, of course, a large piece of who you are. What race was each of your parents? Choose from these options (half races are also acceptable within the options): Aasimar, Avian, Dwarven, Dragonborn, Elven, Gnoll, Gnome, Goblin, Halfling, Human, Kobold, Orc, Tiefling.

Momma was a Dragonborn. Poppa was a Tiefling.

Dragonborn/Infernal Heritage
Average Life Expectancy: 95 years
Size: Medium
Height: 60 + 2d8 inches
-- Darkvision: If you are sighted, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
-- Hellish Resistance: You have resistance to fire damage.
-- Breath Weapon: You can use your action to exhale destructive energy. The damage type determines the size and shape of the exhalation. When you use your breath weapon, each creature in the area of the exhalation must make a saving check, the type of which is determined by your damage type. The DS for this saving check equals 8 + your Health + your proficiency bonus. A creature suffers 2d6 damage on a failed check, and half as much damage on a successful one.
---- The damage increases to 3d6 at your 6th step, 4d6 at your 11th step, and 5d6 at your 16th step.
---- After you use your breath weapon, you can’t use it again until you complete a short or long rest.

Breath Weapon Damage
Acid: 5 by 30 ft. line (Agility saving throw)
Cold: 15 ft. cone (Health saving throw)
Fire: 5 by 30 ft. line (Agility saving throw)
Lightning: 5 by 30 ft. line (Agility saving throw)
Poison: 15 ft. cone (Health saving throw)

Next question!

Morgrave University is not really a great school of learning. It's constantly dogged by allegations of grave-robbing the southern continent, and for being more concerned with money than with learning. Granted, most of these allegations come from other universities, but... why did you come to Morgrave instead of someplace more prestgigious? Was it a disability such of blindness or deafness, or lack of mobility, or was it lack of standing, or something else? Or was it that finding wealth in Xen'drik is more important than academics?

My character felt an outsider most of its life, so it yearned to make its own fortune. Morgrave asked the least questions, and Xen'drik is rumored to be an untapped treasure trove..

Alright, so next...

When you got to Morgrave, you still ran into some of that. In fact, the Theology professor still doesn't even let you in his classroom. I wonder why?

Choose one: Alchemy, Theology, Paramagery (think paralegal), Smithing, Arbitration, Dark Arts, Bodyguarding, Wayfinding, Drama (Acting), Market Finance, Geology, Music/Oratory, General Research, Theoretical Design, Martial Studies

Why, Dark Arts came so easily to our little monstrosity, maybe the theology professor had a point?

Diabolist
Ability Increase: +1 Presence, +1 Strength/Health/Intelligence
Saving Checks: You are proficient in Wisdom and Presence saving checks.
Skill Proficiency (Choose 3): Arcana, Deception, History, Intimidation, Persuasion, and Religion. You also gain
proficiency in any one additional skill of your choice.
Languages: You are fluent in Infernal and one other language of your choice.
Equipment:
-- Leather armor or a simple weapon with which you are proficient
-- a set of robes with a hood
-- a book written in Infernal
-- 10 candles
-- 3 pieces of white chalk
-- a belt pouch containing money. You have a starting wealth score of 1.
Hellish Legacy: You know the thaumaturgy cantrip. When you take your 3rd step (level), you can cast the hellish rebuke spell as a 2nd-level spell once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. Presence is your spellcasting ability for these spells.

Thaumaturgy
Transmutation cantrip
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 30 feet
Components: A
Duration: Up to 1 minute
You manifest a minor wonder, a sign of supernatural power, within range. You create one of the following magical effects within range:
-- Your voice booms up to three times as loud as normal for 1 minute.
-- You cause flames to flicker, brighten, dim, or change color for 1 minute.
-- You cause harmless tremors in the ground for 1 minute.
-- You create an instantaneous sound that originates from a point of your choice within range, such as a rumble of thunder, the cry of a raven, or ominous whispers.
-- You instantaneously cause an unlocked door or window to fly open or slam shut.
-- You alter the appearance of your eyes for 1 minute.

If you cast this spell multiple times, you can have up to three of its 1-minute effects active at a time, and you can dismiss such an effect as an action.

Hellish Rebuke
1st-level evocation
Casting Time: 1 reaction, which you take in response to being damaged by a creature you are aware of and that is within 60 feet of you
Range: 60 feet
Components: A, S
Duration: Instantaneous
You point your finger, and the creature that damaged you is momentarily surrounded by hellish flames. The creature must make an Agility saving check. It suffers 2d10 fire damage on a failed check, or half as much damage on a successful one.
-- At Higher Levels: When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, the damage increases by 1d10 for each slot level above 1st.

We'll come back to those ability increasesm, btw. But for now...

Either during your childhood, before you came to Morgrave, or after you arrived, you came into possession of a treasured item. Which one of was it?
-- A well-thumbed deck of lucky cards that's so worn that each card has the feel of cloth.
-- Loose, well-worn, dusty robes that glitter like the night sky under a full moon.
-- A dusty old tome filled with writing in a strange hand that has so far been indecipherable to you.
-- A dark, mahogany horn covered in arcane necromantic runes.
-- A simple narrow ring of silver that holds a large gemstone.
-- A white, wooden rod with strange, carved motifs.
-- A spherical, sparkling marble that seems to contain a swirling nebula.
-- A plain, carved, wooden wand with a strangely deep grain.

The horn with necromantic runes, which dad told was modeled after his grandfather's...

Maybe it even WAS your grandfather's horn. Who knows what he got up to? No one really talks about him. It seems that they'd rather pretend he didn't do anything at all.

Horn of the Crypt Keeper
This dark mahogany horn is covered in arcane necromantic runes.
Proficiencies: You gain proficiency with horns and in the Arcana and Religion skills.
Seemingly Mundane: When blown, this horn always makes a sad, mournful tune.

Which of these two descriptors best describes your character? Preternatural or Scrappy?

Having defended itself from plenty of bigoted bullies, the character became rather scrappy.

Scrappy
1st-step feature
Prerequisite: none
Health Pool: d8 (8)
Your weapon attacks score a critical hit on a roll of 19 or 20, and you gain proficiency with simple weapons and light armor.
Proficiency Bonus. Your proficiency bonus is +2.

Finally, each character has six abilities (these are really just the six from D&D but partially renamed for some reason):
-- Strength is physical power
-- Agility is aim and nimbleness
-- Health is endurance and fitness
-- Intelligence is reasoning and memory
-- Wisdom is perception and insight
-- Presence is force of personality

Assign the following scores to these abilities: +2, +2, +1, +1, +0, -1. After you assign them you can adjust one by -1 (as long as it isn't the one that's already -1) to adjust another by +1. For instance, +3, +2, +1, +1, -1, -1 is valid, as is +2, +1, +1, +1, +0, +0, but +3, +2, +1, +1, +0, -2 is not.

As a note, you have proficiency in Wisdom and Presence, and Presence is your spellcasting ability for the spells you can cast.

+3 Strength
+0 Agility
+2 Health
-1 Intelligence
+0 Wisdom
+1 Presence

As stated in discord, the descriptors may have been slightly misleading, so instead of JUST the word, I'm going to give you (and everyone else when they get to it) a bit more detail.

Scrappy: You've learned how to handle yourself in fights.
Preternatural: You're learned in things beyond the mundane.

Hmmmm, I've decided to keep it!

Do you want to throw all this together, or do you want to just submit an empty sheet and let me do the legwork? I'm good either way.

@Khulod

You gain:

Necrotic Life: You can cast false life as a 1st-level spell without expending a spell slot or material components a number of times equal to your spellcasting ability. If you drink out of this horn as part of casting false life, instead of rolling one or more dice to replenish your health pool, you instead use the highest number possible for each die.

In addition, your recent experiences have given you an added outlook on life. You gain GRITTY or MILITANT:

Gritty: +1d8 or 5 HP. In addition to your regular action, you can take one additional action on each of your turns in combat. This action can be used only to take the Dash, Hide, or Withdraw action. Also, while you are wearing no armor and not wielding a shield, you gain the following benefits:
-- Your defense bonus is equal to your Agility + your Intelligence or Wisdom (your choice).
-- You can use Agility instead of Strength for the attack and damage checks of your unarmed strikes, shortswords, and any simple reach weapons that don’t have the two-handed or heavy property.
-- You can roll a d4 in place of the normal damage of your unarmed strike.

Militant: +d10 or 6 HP. You gain proficiency with martial weapons, medium armor, and shields. In addition, you gain your choice of either a +2 bonus to attack rolls you make with ranged weapons or a +2 bonus to damage rolls with reach weapons.

Okay, 3rd step. S'sylin gains:

Create Undead
Once you take your 3rd step, as an action, you can imbue a pile of bones or the corpse of a beast of CS ¼ or lower within 15 feet of you with a foul mimicry of life. If you targeted a pile of bones, the beast is a skeletal version of itself, using the same stat block
but with vulnerability to bludgeoning damage and immunity to poison damage, exhaustion, and the sickened condition. If you targeted a corpse, the beast comes back as a zombie version of itself, using the same stat block but with immunity to poison damage and the poisoned condition and gaining the Undead Fortitude feature found in the zombie stat block. Once used, you cannot use this property again until after the next midnight.


And your choice of either Resilient or Oathsworn.

Oathsworn
Health Pool: d10 (6) + CON mod
You gain proficiency with heavy armor. In addition, the strength of your convictions gives you power. You gain two 1st-level spell slots and learn one 1st-level spell. Choose from among Intelligence, Wisdom, or Presence. This is your spellcasting ability. In addition, choose between radiant or necrotic. When you hit a creature with a reach weapon attack, you can expend one spell slot to inflict your chosen damage type to the target, in addition to the weapon’s damage. The extra damage is 2d8 for a 1st-level spell slot, plus 1d8 for each spell level higher than 1st, to a maximum of 5d8. The damage increases by 1d8 if the target is an undead or a fiend.

Resilient
Health Pool: d10 (6) + CON mod
You gain proficiency with heavy armor. In addition, you have a limited well of stamina that you draw on to protect yourself. When you suffer damage or take the Withdraw action, you can use a reaction to replenish your health pool by a number of drops equal to 1d10 + your steps. Once you use this feature, you must finish a short or long rest before you can use it again.

I think I went to sleep while typing the names. And yes, it will change them.

@Khulod - I edited the previous post.

Oooh! Now that's more like it!

I'd like to go with Oathsworn to unlock spellcasting. Necrotic of course. Are there limitations on the spell I can pick or can it be any 1st-level spell?

Edit: I just read that Reach means melee in this system. *Facepalming intensifies* That will make life so much easier.
Since the system is so ambiguous however, when I use the Create Undead power, does it specifically have to be targeting the Beast subclass of creatures, or can I also, say, raise me a little undead kobold buddy?

It is for some reason specifically Beast, or Animal, HOWEVER.

If you want it to be Person rather than Beast, go for it. I don't see any reason (right now) why that shouldn't be allowed. Might have to revisit it later, though.

Humanoid minions it is! And are there spell limitations?

You should pick a school and go with spells inside that school.

They are:
-- Blight: Meddle in rot, decay, putrefaction, and other manifestations of entropy.
-- Clairvoyance: Glimpse the future, distant places, and the recesses of people’s minds.
-- Creative: Create something from nothing or shape the raw elements. TAKEN BY LAAESH
-- Destructive: Just... wreak havoc.
-- Grave: Straddle the line between life and death.
-- Hunter: Catch bounties, seek revenge, or fight to survive.
-- Martial: Be a war mage or lead troops into battle. TAKEN BY VERIN.
-- Natural: Harness nature, the wilderness, or the primeval.
-- Shiver: Master the cold or call yourself friend to the incorporeal or imperceptible.
-- Trickery: Be a master of deception or protect your ill-gotten goods. TAKEN BY CUALLI.
-- Watchcare: Protect the weak or innocent.

Blight, Grave, or Shiver would seem to suggest themselves.

Possibly literally now.

oh crap. Sorry.

SHIVER Spell List

(I hate that every time I see this thread, I initially think I need to respond. Lol)

Well your name is on it so answer me! ANSWER ME NAOWH!

My answer is, "Teusday."

frag it. I'm sorry, I'm fixing it now. XD

Some day I shall know what Enrapture does. Some day.....

Enrapture
1st-level enchantment
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 30 feet
Components: A, S
Duration: 1 hour
You attempt to enrapture a person you can perceive within range. If you are within 5 feet, you can target with senses other than sight or touch, but the target has advantage. They must make a Wisdom saving check, and do so with advantage if you or your
companions are fighting them. If they fail the saving check, they are enraptured until the spell ends or until you or your companions do anything harmful to them. The enraptured person is indifferent to you. When the spell ends, the person knows you cast a spell
on them.

At Higher Levels: When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, you can target one additional person for each slot level above 1st. The persons must be within 30 feet of each other when you target them.

Hmm, seems very situational. I will go with something more multi-purpose in both combat and outside, and that suits my dark lordly ambitions: Command!

It literally has a Grovel option. How can I say no to that?

Now I would like to get some heavy armor, a shield and a 1-handed martial weapon like a sword. Is that possible?

S'sylin's wealth score right now is one. Now, that'll probably be going up as the kobolds find things (which might influence your choice of what to do next, as the troglodyte is probably hindering their exploration). The way wealth works is that you can afford anything below your wealth score without changing it. You can buy one thing equal to your wealth score, and then your score drops. That means that you can buy either a sword or a shield, but you can't afford both right now. Your tetsubo, though, is worth about the same as a sword, so you could trade it in.

As far as the heavy armor goes, that needs a wealth of two, so it's a bit out of your range at the moment, but not too far out. You could probably trade some of your other stuff - though it would take a bit - or you could wait til after the next adventure when you'll probably have more.