RPG:Classes/Arbalest

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

Level	Proficiency Bonus	Features	Howling Bolts	Howling Bolt Damage	Jagged Bolts	Jagged Bolts Damage
1st	+2	Bane of Beasts, Arbalest's Lethargy	—	—	—	—
2nd	+2	Craft of the Khirriganë(Jagged Bolts)	—	—	3	+1d6
3rd	+2	Faeren Craft(Howling Bolts)	2	+1d4	3	+1d6
4th	+2	Ability Score Improvement, Chosen Craft (Novice Mastery)	2	+1d4	3	+1d6
5th	+3	Howling Bolts Improvement	3	+1d8	3	+1d6
6th	+3	Mark of the Damned	3	+1d8	3	+1d6
7th	+3	Jagged Bolts Improvement	3	+1d8	4	+2d6
8th	+3	Ability Score Improvement	3	+1d8	4	+2d6
9th	+4	Chosen Craft (Adept Mastery)	3	+1d8	4	+2d6
10th	+4	Howling Bolts Improvement	4	+2d8	4	+2d6
11th	+4	Mark of the Damned Improvement	4	+2d8	4	+2d6
12th	+4	Ability Score Improvement	4	+2d8	4	+2d6
13th	+5	Victor's Savagery	4	+2d8	4	+2d6
14th	+5	Multishot, Chosen Craft (Legendary Mastery)	4	+2d8	4	+2d6
15th	+5	Jagged Bolts Improvement	4	+2d8	5	+3d6
16th	+5	Mark of the Damned Improvement	4	+2d8	5	+3d6
17th	+6	Ability Score Improvement	4	+2d8	5	+3d6
18th	+6	Howling Bolts Damage Improvement	4	+3d8	5	+3d6
19th	+6	Chosen Craft (Mythical Mastery), Ability Score Improvement	4	+3d8	5	+3d6
20th	+6	Overload	4	+3d8	5	+3d6

Class Features

As an Arbalest, you have the following class features:

Hit Points

Hit Dice: 1d8 per character level

Hit Points at 1st Level: 10 + your Constitution modifier

Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8(or 5) + 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 arrows
• 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 advantage on all attack rolls against beasts.

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.

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.

Arbalest's Acuity

Years of training with your Arbalest peers and your trusty heavy crossbow, having the phrase "every shot counts" drilled into your head again and again, have helped steady your hands.

You gain a +2 bonus to your attack rolls while using heavy crossbows.

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 5th 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 11th level.