Latest revision as of 04:43, 30 January 2016

Creak. Creak. Creak. The eerie sound of the reload crank on a heavy crossbow is often the last that many creatures ever hear should they not be paying attention to the heavily armoured woman aiming at them with a massive weapon more suited for the siege than casual battle. Shink. Thud. Blood spurts from a gaping wound torn open by a jagged bolt head. A creature sinks to the ground as the pain wracks its body and screeches with a final, futile effort to hang on to life. Arbalests wield the significant and terrifying power of heavy crossbows, trading freedom of movement and speed of attacking for vastly more powerful attacks. They are the spat venom of the Dominion's vast military might.

Merciless Executioners

As slow as the cold bubbling of terror and the approach of certain, inevitable death, Arbalests form the core of each Charge of the Tretalleri army. They stand at the centre of the formation, surrounded by foot soldiers who are not only trained to work with them, but are also trained to protect them. Intrinsically slowed by the heavy crossbow that they carry, Arbalests are sitting ducks out in the open, but at the heart of a Charge, they are the difference between life and death as the lines of battle clash.

One cannot expect a simple soldier who is mired in a fight with another soldier to notice the other one sneaking up on him, ready to end his life. The Arbalests' duty is to ensure that no man is felled by dirty tricks, that the foe willing to kill through subterfuge and deceit receives a fatal crossbow bolt to the neck.

Beast Slayers

In a world where firebirds and dragons exist, it is not unreasonable to expect that some kingdom in a faraway land has a creature that it uses as a weapon to destroy entire armies. When the Arbalest is not protecting his or her allies, he or she is looking for signs of these colossal beasts, just ready to be killed by a well-placed shot on a vulnerable spot.

Perhaps an Arbalest may spend more time reloading his or her crossbow than shooting bolts with it, but with his or her strength, it takes only one shot to incapacitate even the most intimidating of creatures.

Creating your Arbalest

As you create your Arbalest, consider first why he/she is an Arbalest. The position is not one of particular renown, though nearly everyone knows that it is an invaluable one within the army. Second, if you are playing a male, why is it that you chose to become an Arbalest, instead of becoming a cavalryman like most every other boy you know, and despite having gone through a good portion of that training? If you are playing a woman, why did you choose to become an Arbalest instead of a Siegemaster, a position of much greater prestige?

Beyond the gendered implications of choosing this class, what is your relationship with your Charge? Do you belong to a Flag comprised purely of Arbalests? Or do you belong to a Flag that is a mix of all the classes of soldier that comprise the Tretalleri army? Most importantly, perhaps, what is your relationship with your crossbow? Do you consider it merely an implement of destruction that you use as you see fit? Do you see it more as a partner, or perhaps as a child, precious and irreplaceable to you? Do you tinker with your crossbow, trying to make it more powerful? Or do you leave it as it is for fear of damaging it?

Quick Build

You can make your Arbalest quickly by following these suggestions. First, make Strength your highest ability score, followed by Dexterity. Finally, choose a background suited to the class, such as Soldier, for example.

Progression

Class Features

As an Arbalest, you have the following class features:

Hit Points

Hit Dice: 1d6 per character level

Hit Points at 1st Level: 6 + your Constitution modifier

Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d6(or 4) + your Constitution modifier per Arbalest level after 1st

Proficiencies

Armour: Light armour, medium armour

Weapons: Heavy Crossbows

Tools: Fletcher's Kit,

Saving Throws: Constitution, Strength

Skills: Choose two from Nature, Perception, Insight, Animal Handling, Investigation and Intimidation

Equipment

You start with the following equipment in addition to the equipment granted by your background:

• (a)Breastplate or (b)Half-Plate
• 6 sets of Metal Teeth and a dagger
• A heavy crossbow and a quiver of 20 crossbow bolts
• A Fletcher's Kit

Bane of Beasts

As an Arbalest, you have been trained from the very beginning to find and shoot only the most vulnerable spots of beasts because every bolt counts. You gain +2 on all attack rolls against beasts. You also gain advantage on all nature, investigation, perception, and insight checks involving beasts.

Arbalest's Lethargy

Arbalests are strong. Very strong. Man and woman alike fear them for their brute strength. However, more often than not this same strength prevents them from acting too quickly in battle. When wielding heavy ranged weaponry, Arbalests use Strength as their attack ability instead of Dexterity. However, as a price, they tend to jam up the mechanisms of even the best-made crossbows. Arbalests may only make attacks two times before having to reload. Reloading the crossbow takes an entire action.

Craft of the Khirriganë

As much as you exist, as an Arbalest, to destroy the beasts of the land, you have learned many things from them. From the great Black Wurms of the earth, the dragons that swim through rock as easily as the Black Flight flies through air, you have discovered the secret of making crossbow bolts that tear into flesh and rip it apart, dealing more damage than normal.

Starting from 2nd level, whenever you take a rest, you may spend a minimum of 1 hour crafting as many Jagged Bolts as you are allowed to carry.

Crafting Jagged Bolts

In order to craft Jagged Bolts, you must have the following components:

• 1 hour of time for all Jagged Bolts
• Blood to consecrate the bolt(deal 1d4 damage to yourself for every bolt you are crafting)
• Metal Teeth
  • Metal Teeth can also be crafted with the following components:
    • An additional 1 hour
    • A campfire or comparable source of heat
    • 2 pieces of any currency (copper, silver, electrum, gold, or platinum)
    • A Successful Crafting check against DC 15
      • Crafting check: 1d20 + your Fletcher's Kit proficiency + your Dexterity Modifier

Jagged Bolts

Basic Jagged Bolts simply deal more damage than normal crossbow bolts, adding +1d6 to your damage roll starting from 2nd level, +2d6 from 7th, and +3d6 from 15th level.

Jagged Bolts gain additional effects if you take Dragon-Craft as your Chosen Craft at 11th level.

In order to apply any of the Chosen Craft effects to your targets, your enemies must fail a Constitution saving throw against your Jagged Bolts DC.

Jagged Bolts DC: ⌊Arbalest Level/2⌋ + 5 + your Strength Modifier

Faeren Craft

As much as you exist, as an Arbalest, to destroy the beasts of the land, you have learned many things from them. From the dread Faeren, Wolf-shifters enslaved by the High-Elves, whose howling songs can strike fear into the hearts of even the hardiest creatures, you have discovered the secret of making crossbow bolts that howl as they streak through the air, piercing the ears of your enemies and inspiring terror in them.

Starting from 3rd level, you may spend a minimum of 1 hour crafting as many Howling Bolts as you are allowed to carry whenever you take a rest.

Crafting Howling Bolts

In order to craft Howling Bolts, you must have the following components:

• 1 hour of time for all Howling Bolts
• Blood to consecrate the bolt(deal 1d6 damage to yourself for every bolt you are crafting)
• 2 Small Silver Whistles
  • Small Silver Whistles can also be crafted with the following components:
    • An additional 1 hour(For every 2 Small Silver Whistles)
    • A campfire or comparable source of heat
    • 4 silver pieces(for each Small Silver Whistle)
    • A Successful Crafting check against DC 15
      • Crafting check: 1d20 + your Fletcher's Kit proficiency + your Dexterity Modifier

Howling Bolts

Basic Howling Bolts simply deal more damage than normal crossbow bolts, adding +1d8 to your damage roll starting from 5nd level, +2d8 from 10th, and +3d8 from 18th level.

Howling Bolts gain additional effects if you take Wolfin-Craft as your Chosen Craft at 7th level.

In order to apply any of these additional effects to your targets, your enemies must fail a Constitution saving throw against your Jagged Bolts DC.

Howling Bolts DC: ⌊Arbalest Level/2⌋ + 5 + your Dexterity Modifier

Chosen Craft

Starting from 4th level, you may choose one Craft to work towards mastery of. At 4th level, you gain a feature from your Chosen Craft that endows either your Jagged Bolts or your Howling Bolts, depending on your Chosen Craft, with bonuses. You gain further features at 9th, 14th, and 19th levels, representing the path you take towards mastery of your Chosen Craft.

Mark of the Damned

Beginning from 6th level, blood magic has begun to awaken in your veins and it makes its presence known by marking those whom you deem your enemies with the Mark of the Damned. Your first successful hit against an organic enemy leaves an indelible mark on their very essence. As a bonus action while you are reloading your crossbow, you may choose to roll a contested Constitution check against a specific target who is afflicted with Mark of the Damned. If you succeed the contested check, you deal 1d8 damage to the enemy as the blood magic that binds the two of you together flares with power. If you fail the contested check, you deal 1d8 damage to yourself as the strength of your enemy's constitution reflects your blood magic back at you.

The damage that this feature deals increases by an additional 1d8(2d8) at 11th level, and a further 1d8(3d8) at 16th level.

Victor's Savagery

From 13th level onwards, as beast after beast falls before you, bloodlust overtakes your body and guides your hand through the motions of reloading your weapon as you wait with anticipation to fell the next creature that dares to stand against your might. Whenever you deal the killing blow to a creature, you may take an extra action to reload your crossbow, priming it to fire the very next turn.

Multishot

Starting from 14th level, you have gained enough experience that you know how to tinker with your crossbow to allow it to carry two arrows at once. Whenever you use Multishot, you may only use it against a single enemy. A Multishot counts as two attacks launched simultaneously. Do note, however, that Jagged Bolts or Howling Bolts may not be used with Multishot unless you have attained Legendary Mastery of Dragon-Craft or Wolfin-Craft respectively.

Overload

At 20th level, you have attained true mastery of your crossbow. It is as much an extension of yourself now as your limbs are. Because of this familiarity with your crossbow, you are able to spend 1 action and 1 bonus action in order to unleash a flurry of four bolts against a single target. You may not use this with Multishot, and you may only use Jagged Bolts or Howling Bolts if you have already attained Mythical Mastery of either Dragon-Craft or Wolfin-Craft respectively.

Once you have used Overload, you may not perform an attack with your crossbow until you make three Repair checks against a DC of 20, which you may attempt at the start of every turn after using Overload as an action and a bonus action combined.

Repair Check: 1d20 + your proficiency bonus + your Strength modifier

Chosen Craft

Starting from 4th level, your experience with creating Jagged Bolts or Howling Bolts has increased enough that you may choose to pursue true mastery of either one of these crafts. Your Chosen Craft endows your Jagged Bolts or Howling Bolts respectively with additional bonuses that you may find useful in the heat of battle.

Dragon-Craft

No longer are you just a spectator of dragons tearing to shreds the flesh of poor unfortunate souls, you feel the burning fire of Draconic Blood in your very veins as you craft your Jagged Bolts.

Dragon-Craft Mastery: Novice

Starting from 4th level, Metal Teeth no longer take any time to craft, and your Jagged Bolts DC increases by 2. In addition, upon a successful hit with a Jagged Bolt, your target must make a Constitution saving throw against your Jagged Bolts DC. If they fail, you inflict 2 Wounds upon them—4 Wounds on a critical strike.

Dragon-Craft Mastery: Adept

Starting from 9th level, Blood Magics that thus far have remained latent within you begin to manifest. No longer do you simply offer your bolts to the Stranger. He blesses them. Your blood imparts increased strength upon the bolts and offers them corrosive properties. Your Jagged Bolts now deal acid damage instead of piercing.

Dragon-Craft Mastery: Legendary

Starting from 14th level, the Blood Magics you never knew you had awaken even more. They strengthen your Jagged Bolts and lend an additional +1d6 of damage to attacks using Jagged Bolts.

In addition, you may now carry an 1 additional Jagged Bolt.

Dragon-Craft Mastery: Mythical

Starting from 19th level, you are, without dispute, the only one in the world to know how to make these implements as well as you do. Such masterfully crafted Jagged Bolts are much more difficult to resist than your earlier work. Your Jagged Bolts DC increases by a further 2.

The Blood Magics that course through your veins, while not as powerful as that which the Di'Marrë ply, are formidable all the same. When you consecrate your Jagged Bolts, they gain the power to apply the effects of powerful blood magic upon your target.

Your target must make a Constitution saving throw against your DC. If they fail, your Jagged Bolt applies the effects of the Di'Marrë spell Lacerate. Note that this effect applies after the effect of Adept Mastery of Dragon-Craft.

Wolfin-Craft

No longer are you mere witness to the savagery and the beauty of the Faeren as they cry to the moon each night in greeting. You feel the call of the very moon in your veins as you craft your Howling Bolts.

Wolfin-Craft Mastery: Novice

Starting from 4th level, Small Silver Whistles no longer take any time to craft, and your Howling Bolts DC increases by 2. Blood magics that have thus far remained asleep in your veins spread their ruinous influence upon your target's body. Your Howling Bolts apply the effects of the Di'Marrë spell Fracture if your enemy fails a Constitution saving throw against your Howling Bolts DC.

Wolfin-Craft Mastery: Adept

Starting from 9th level, the blood magic you impart upon your Howling Bolt makes the terrifying sound it makes all the more terrifying. The feeling of impending doom your Howling Bolts inspire makes your target tremble with fear upon a successful hit.

Your target must make a Wisdom saving throw against your Howling Bolts DC. If it fails and the target is not immune to the Frightened condition, it instantly flees the battle until it succeeds in a Wisdom saving throw against your Howling Bolts DC. It may attempt this saving throw every minute(6 rounds).

Wolfin-Craft Mastery: Legendary

Starting from 14th level, the Blood Magics within you begin to stir even more. Your newfound abilities empower your Howling Bolts, allowing them to meander through the air to avoid any obstacles while still flying in the direction you released them. Your Howling Bolts now ignore cover.

You may now carry 1 additional Howling Bolt.

Wolfin-Craft Mastery: Mythical

Starting from 19th level, you are, without dispute, the master of Wolfin-Craft. No one knows better than you how to make Howling Bolts. Such craft is much more difficult to resist than your previous, inferior work. Your Howling Bolts DC increases by a further 2.

The moment that you loose your Bolt, all enemies within earshot, (30ft range of the path of the Bolt), must make a Wisdom saving throw against your Howling Bolts DC. If they fail this save, your arrow applies the effects of the Di'Marrë spell False Agony. On your target, this effect stacks with the effects of the Novice and Adept Masteries of Wolfin-Craft.