Caster Wielder (5e Class)

Caster Wielder

With caution, a halfling approaches a goblin fortress. Holding his caster with two hands, a metal tube with a wooden handle, engraved with runes, he looks for a place to get a full view of the goblinoid settlement. With a deep breath, he takes aim, and with a grin, he presses a little gem embedded on the handle. The runes glow with a vivid red light, and a ball of orange and reddish energy is shot towards the fortress, hitting the ground with a thunderous explosion, ripping all the goblins to pieces.

A woman stands in the entrance of a graveyard, as a horde of reanimated skeletons run towards its direction, towards the direction of the city bellow. She pulls out a pair of pistol shaped casters, made of black wood and silver, and a start to rapidly blast beams of pure magic energy on the undead army, making them fall like flies as she make the magic rain upon them.

Arcane gunsmiths and marksman, the caster wielders are inventors obsessed in creating unique and powerful weapons fueled by magical energy. They vary in goals or roles in the world, but share the obsession with building the perfect weapon.

Weaponized Arcana

Magical users claim to pursue magic for many reasons: knowledge, devotion or power. A caster wielder see magic as something more simple, as a weapon. Instead of spending years studying magic or forging dangerous pacts with powerful entities, the wielder treats the weave as a natural resource, a fuel to be channeled into pure destructive power. Not being spellcasters themselves, they ignore all nuance or possibilities offered by magic, using it to craft marvelous weapons fueled by arcane power.

Creating a Caster Wielder

Now think about who makes up your character, what is their background? How did they end up as a Caster Wielder? Was it something they were born into? Are his or her family Caster Wielder and trained you into it. Was it something they is discovering later in life.

What made them start adventuring? Did they decide to do this for the next thrill? Was is by pure chance you were in the wrong place at the right time? Are you looking for something existential or personal? All these questions are lead to better understanding your character and their motivations.

It can be hard to find good backgrounds for an Caster Wielder. Caster Wielder Sage will be the most widely applicable background. A Folk Hero is also good for Caster Wielder. A noble background could be chosen for how well educated lords and ladies can be interesting. Let your Creativity be your best guide for your background.

Quick Build

You can make a caster wielder quickly by following these suggestions. First, make Dexterity your highest ability score, to increase your efficiency of your attacks with the caster. Make Intelligence your next highest, if you plan to focus on the modified shots. Choose a higher Constitution next, as you want to increase your odds of survival. Then, select the sage or soldier background.

[1] by Thiago Alexandre

Class Features

As a Caster Wielder you gain the following class features.

Hit Points

Hit Dice: 1d8 per Caster Wielder level
Hit Points at 1st Level: 8 + Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 (or 5) + Constitution modifier per Caster Wielder level after 1st

Proficiencies

Armor: Leather Armor, Medium Armor
Weapons: Simple weapons
Tools: Tinker’s tools, one artisan tool of choice.
Saving Throws: Dexterity, Intelligence
Skills: Choose three from Acrobatics, Arcana, Athletics, Insight, Investigation, Perception, Sleight of Hand and Stealth

Equipment

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

• (a) two simple weapons or (b) a crossbow, 20 bolts and a short axe
• (a) Medium armor or (b) Light armor
• (a) Scholar's Pack or (b) Tinker’s tools
• If you are using starting wealth, you have 4d4 x 10 gp in funds.

Table: The Caster Wielder

Level	Proficiency Bonus	Features
1st	+2	Caster Building, Quick Draw, Mystical Knowledge
2nd	+2	Wielder Willpower, Caster Enhancements
3rd	+2	Caster Model
4th	+2	Ability Score Improvement
5th	+3	Quick Shot
6th	+3	Caster Model Feature
7th	+3	Modified Shot Improvement
8th	+3	Ability Score Improvement
9th	+4	Modified Shot Improvement
10th	+4	Caster Model Feature
11th	+4	Quick Shot Improvement
12th	+4	Ability Score Improvement
13th	+5	Guided Shot
14th	+5	Caster Model Feature
15th	+5	Modified Shot Improvement
16th	+5	Ability Score Improvement
17th	+6	Modified Shot Improvement
18th	+6	Skilled Shot
19th	+6	Ability Score Improvement
20th	+6	Quick Shot Improvement

Mystical Knowledge

At 1st level, your training in designing casters have give you some basic knowledge in the workings of arcane energy, and how to infuse it into objects. Chose one of the following spells: detect magic, identify or arcane battery. You can cast the chosen spell as a ritual.

In addition, you learn the mending cantrip.

Caster Building

At 1st level, your research in how to channel magical energy led you to build a Caster, a weapon that can fire projectiles infused with magic.

Caster

The Caster is a weapon that can shoot magic infused shells. It is cover in magical runes and symbols, used to protect the weapon from the burst with the magical release of damage, preventing it from breaking. The caster can take any shape you like, like the form of a gun, a staff and so on (let your creativity guild you). Regardless the shape, there are a few things that all caster needs: a barrel for the magical energy to exit the caster, a trigger to activate the hammer, and a hammer to strike the shell activating the magical energy. Other then that the caster can be made from anything the wielder wants (and the DM approves), like wood, stone, metal, or any other material.

The Caster is considered a ranged martial weapon you are proficient. The exact properties of the Caster depend on the shape you chose for it. You must chose one of the shapes bellow for your caster. You can fire 50 shots before needing to recharge a shell. A Caster can only hold one shell at a time, and it takes an action to reload the Caster.

The caster deals 1d6 force damage and and has a short range of 150 feet and a long range of 600 feet. Has the light property.

On a role of a 1 or 2 on an attack roll, the Caster jams and it takes a round to fix it. When fixing a jammed gun you must make a tinker's tools check against a DC of 10. On a failed check, you need to take it to a workshop to fix it.

If you lose your caster or the caster breaks, you need to spend 8 hours and 250 gp worth of materials to build another one.

Crafting Shells

At 1st level, you can create the shells for your Caster. You can chose to create one of the following shells:

• Rechargeable Shell By spending 15 gp in materials and one hour, you can craft a rechargeable shell. You need to have your tinker tools in hand to make these shells, and pass in a check with a DC of 10 for each.

• Disposable Charge You can create a disposable shell that breaks after a charged shot (see charged shot bellow), by spending 25 gp and one day of work for each 1d6 of additional damage this shell is able to deal. This shell cannot be re infused, and you must decide how much damage will be dealt by this charge at the moment of creation.

Infusing Shells

Once the shell is created it can be infused with the raw magical energy. Over the course of a short or a long rest, you can infuse a number of shells equal to your proficiency bonus.

Charged Shot

At 1st level, as part of your Attack action, you can expend all charges of a shell in a powerful blast of arcane energy. This depletes all the energy of the shell, releasing it into a ball of raw magical energy, dealing additional 2d6 force damage.

The shells can be re infused after you release the energy inside them.

As you gain levels in this class, you can infuse more powerful shells. This extra damage increases by 1d6 when you reach certain levels in this class: 3rd level (3d6), 5th level (4d6), 7th level (5d6), 9th level (6d6), 11th level (7d6), 13th level (8d6), 15th level (9d6), 17th level (10d6) and 19th level (11d6).

Quick Draw

At 1st level, you are known for your speed when it comes to drawing and firing your Caster. You gain advantage on your initiative rolls.

In addition, you can draw and stow your Caster without spending an action.

Caster Enhancements

At 2nd level, you build a barrel into your Caster, that when moved, modify the way the weapon uses its shell magic energy.

Modified Shots.

You learn Minor Energy Damage and one modified shots of your choice, which are detailed under Modified Shots below. Each use of a modified shot must be declared before the attack roll is made. You can use only one modified shot per turn.

You learn an modified shot of your choice at 7th, 9th, 15th, and 17th level. Each time you learn a new trick shot, you can also replace one modified shot you know with a different one.

Modifier Points

You gain a number of modifier points equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum of 1). You regain 1 expended modifier point each time you roll a 20 on the d20 roll for an attack with a firearm, or deal a killing blow with a firearm to a creature of significant threat (DM’s discretion). You regain all expended grit points after a short or long rest.

Saving Throws.

Some of your modified shots require your targets to make a saving throw to resist the modified shot’s effects. The saving throw DC is calculated as follows:

Modified Shot save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Dexterity modifier

Wielder Willpower

At 2nd level, you will continue to fight even when you should not be able to do so, by pure will power, you can push yourself beyond your normal limits for a moment.

When you are reduced to 0 hit points, you can chose to go back to 1 hit point and can perform one action. After doing that, you suffer 1 level of exhaustion.

Caster Model

At 3rd level, you craft a personalized model of Caster. You can chose between Life Force Model and Sword Model.

Your choice grants you features at 3rd level and again at 6th, 10th, and 14th level.

Ability Score Improvement

When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.

Quick Shot

At 5th level, you have learned to do more in a short time. You can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn using the Caster.

In addition, you can forgo one of your attacks to reload the Caster.

The number of attacks increases to three when you reach 11th level in this class and to four when you reach 20th level in this class.

Guided Shot

At 13th level, you can use your Caster to guide your shots towards the target. Once in each of your turns, when you miss an attack with your Caster, you can use your bonus action to make another attack against any creature within 60 feet.

Skilled Shot

At 18th level, you can reroll 1’s when rolling damage when using a Caster.

Modified Shots

Bleeding Shot

When you score a critical hit with this modification, the creature that took the damage take 2d6 damage the creature next turn.

Elemental Shot

You learn how to infuse your shots with energy extracted from the inner planes. You can spend 1 modifier point to change the damage type of the Caster shell to acid, cold, fire, lighting or thunder.

When you learn this modification, you can infuse the energy type when you are creating a disposable shell or infusing a rechargeable one.

Planar Shot

You learn how to infuse your shots with celestial, profane and eldritch energy. You can spend 1 modifier point to change the damage type of the Caster shell to necrotic, psychic and radiant.

When you learn this modification, you can infuse the energy type when you are creating a disposable shell or infusing a rechargeable one.

Solidify Shell

You can spend 1 modifier point to condense the magical energy into solid matter, changing the damage type to bludgeoning, piercing or slashing damage.

When you learn this modification, you can infuse the energy type when you are creating a disposable shell or infusing a rechargeable one.

Venomous Shell

You can spend 2 modifier points to shape the magical energy into a magic poison. When you hit a creature with a venomous shell, it takes poison damage instead of force, and the creature must make a Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, the target takes 1d6 damage during 1 minute and it is poisoned for the duration. The target can make another saving throw, at each of its turns, to end the effect.

Explosive Shell

You can spend 2 modifier points to shoot an explosive shell. In this case, when the normal ball of energy hits the target, it explodes out hitting the area around the target as well, in a 5-foot radius. You can increase the number of points spent, increasing the area of explosion in 5-foot for each modifier point spent after the 2. Any creature in the area must make a Dexterity saving throw to take half damage from the blast.

Rayshot Shell

You can spend 2 modifier points to shoot an long beam of energy. In this case, a line of energy come from your Caster in a 5-feet wide 30 foot long line. You can increase the number of points spent, increasing the length of the line in 30-foot for each modifier point spent after the 2. Any creature in the area must make a Dexterity saving throw to take half damage from the blast.

Scattering Shell

You can spend 2 modifier points to shoot an scattered energy shoot. In this case, a cone of energy comes from the Caster, in a 15-foot cone. You can increase the number of points spent, increasing the length of the cone in 15-foot for each modifier point spent after the 2. Any creature in the area must make a Dexterity saving throw to take half damage from the blast.

Archetypes

Life Force Model

The life force mode allows the wielder to use its own blood to fuel and boost the energy of the caster.

Life Shot

At 3rd level, you learn how to shot a empty shell, infusing it on the fly with your life force. You can spend a number of hit die up to a number equal to your proficiency bonus. Your shots made with a shell infused with your life force are not spent with normal shots.

When you make a charged shot with a shell infused with your life force, you deal damage equal to them number of hit dices infused in it.

Blood Empowering

At 6th level, as a bonus action on your turn, you can choose to lose a number of hit points to regain modification points. You regain 1 modification point for each 6 hit points sacrificed.

In addition, you can empower your shots, gaining a bonus of +1 for each 5 hit points spent (up to your Intelligence modifier). The bonus last until your next short rest. You cannot recover hit points lost in this way until your next short rest.

Health Storing

At 10th level, you can use your shell infused with life force to restore hit points. As an action, you can shot the shell, healing the target a number of hit points equal to the number of hit die stored.

Stealing Vitality

At 14th level, when you reduce a creature to 0 hit points, you regain one Hit Die.

Sword Model

The Sword Caster Wielder have taken another path with the Caster. They enjoy close combat over longer ranges.

Sword Caster

At 3rd level, you modify your Caster, turning it into a swordcaster, a Caster with a blade integrated on it, allowing you to engage in melee combat. The range of a swordcaster is lessened, becoming 75 feet of short range and 300 feet of long range.

Cut and Shoot

At 3rd level, when you perform a successful attack with the blade of a swordcaster, you can make an additional attack with your bonus action.

Empowered Blade

At 6th level, when you hit a creature with your blade, you can spend your shell to deal additional damage of the Charge Shot feature.

Distracting Shot

At 10th level, whenever a creature is hit by your Caster has disadvantage on attack rolls against you.

Energy Blade

At 14th level, while a shell inserted on your caster is full, an energy field keeps flowing around you. Once in each your turns, you can use this field in the following manners :

• You can empower your attacks. When you do this, your weapon gain the reach property, and you deal 1d6 additional damage.

• You can raise an energy shield, as a bonus action, you reduce 1d6 damage from the next attack against you.

Multiclassing

Prerequisites. To qualify for multiclassing into the Caster Wielder class, you must meet these prerequisites: Dexterity 13, Intelligence 13.

Proficiencies. Light armor, medium armor, simple weapons, one skill from the class’s skill list, tinker's tools.

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