Classes (Western Supplement)

There are a variety of different classes in D&D, this is a guide to flavoring them for a western setting as well as some lore to get some inspiration flowing. Accepted homebrew is included too, but anything homebrew is going to have to be manually entered onto your character sheet so be warned.

DMs Note: Going with a class that can’t do anything outside martial combat might be a bad move for this campaign. Multiclassing is encouraged if you feel your character won’t be dragging their weight outside combat.

Standard Classes

These are standard classes from the PHB and other official sources.

Artificer

”If the ancients understood anything it’s that magic is a science, on of the most important in fact. With all these new exciting advancements in technology, think about what we can achieve if we combine the old ways with the new? Wizards have no interest in technology and the brilliant inventors of our age know nothing of the arcane, so it’s up to us to push society towards a better future!” - Jebediah Wright, inventor of the Death Ray

Combining the worlds of magic and technology, artificers are engineers and scientists who use their tinkering prowess to create powerful magic items. Artificers had existed for a long time and was considered a dead end compared to industrial technology, but after the discovery of ancient magical technology the art has had a rush of activity. Many ambitious scientists and engineers rushed out west in order to study these ancient ruins, hoping to use their discoveries to improve the world or at the very least get rich.

The most respected institution in the artificer world is Peleset University, with many artificers and inventors coming to the west just to study there. Peleset University is known for its dedication towards the study of both technology and arcana, with a particular interest in advanced ancient technology.

Barbarian

“He was the village idiot. People treated him kindly but nobody thought he was capable of much, that was until the bandits came. They held us at gunpoint and robbed us of our valuables, shot the sheriff dead in the eyes. At that moment it felt like the good lord was out for lunch, we all thought we was dead. But these bandits underestimated the village idiot and pushed him aside as they went along. That was there last mistake you see, because that village idiot had some real bad anger issues. He saw what they were doing and one by one tore the off their horses and beat them to a bloody pulp. They unloaded their guns into him but he kept on fighting as if nothing happened, it was only after his rage subsided did his body realize he had 30 holes ripped through his chest.” - “Old Man” Rowan on the Deepgulch raid of ‘68.

Barbarians are powerhouses of strength who use overwhelming force to get what they want. Brute force can get you far in a lawless world, but they are vulnerable to get outsmarted. Not all barbarians are stupid mind you, just the good majority of them. Some barbarians are charismatic, intimidating people to get what they want. Some barbarians don’t want to steal from others, instead using their strength to protect the innocent.

Their unbridled rage must be directed at something, injustice, vengeance, maybe just whatever poor sap looks at them funny. That’s what separates a barbarian from a monster, their wrath is directed and focused. They’ve made a skill out of getting mad, it’s like a state of mind for them. Most saps succumb to anger, barbarians harness it. Anger flows through their veins like ichor, giving them the strength to destroy everything in their path.

Barbarians were made for the waste, and they thrive as bandits and lone wanderers as their natural strength allows them to survive. Barbarians almost always live on the far edges of society, this draws them to the frontier as it’s one of the last few places where they can thrive in a growingly passive world.

When creating a western barbarian think about why they would want adventure across the desert frontier? Are they an infamous bandit seeking repentance? A settler from the east who was rejected for their barbaric ways? Maybe even someone who was abandoned in the desert a child and forced to adapt to survive? The sky is the limit and in a lawless wasteland barbarians aren’t hard to come by.

Maurauder

”The rangers had him surrounded and outnumbered, twenty against one. He was the most wanted man alive then, robbed a train of 200k gp. He was held up in a little shack next to the corpses of his fellow outlaws, his gold buried underneath his feet. The rangers demanded he step out of the shack, and so he did. He walked out of the shack with a gatling gun in his hands, he carried it around like it was just a standard rifle. The outlaw revved up his gun and tore the rangers asunder, laughing maniacally as he did so. Every bullet landed he’d pluck with his own hands like it was nothing, it was the scariest moment of my life. I’m lucky I got out alive, hell I’m lucky I only lost my left arm.” - Retired ranger, Smith Weston.

A master of heavy artillery, they use their brute strength to use weapons like cannons and gatling guns as if they were rifles. Unlike other barbarians who favor melee combat or gunslingers who are weak when it comes to physical blows, they combine the best of both worlds. A marauder’s rage is not their only element, but fun as well. Marauders are psychopaths who want to have fun with their, they are known to mock their enemies as they rip them to shreds and laugh at the suffering of others. Some marauders are truly irredeemable in their cruelty, and even those those marauders inclined for good like to see their actions as some form of karmic justice and will act incredibly cruel.

Mad Gunner When you take this path at 3rd level you gain the strength to wield and gain proficiency in heavy firearms. And when you rage you cannot misfire with any of your heavy weapons and you can use a bonus action to reload instead of an attack or action if you so wish.

Killing Machine Beginning at 5th level, if using a ballistic heavy firearm (gatling gun, gardner gun, revolving cannon, etc.) you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn. If you are wielding an explosive based heavy firearm (cannon, hotchkiss gun, Armstrong gun, etc.) while raging the DC to escape the explosion’s flat DC becomes 10 instead of 8 and the 1d8 fire damage on failure becomes 1d8 + your Strength modifier fire damage.

Swiss Cheese Beginning at 10th level, while using a heavy firearm any creature you target is denied any advantages while from cover as your bullets or explosives pierce through whatever they’re standing behind.

Juggernaut Starting on 14th level the benefits of unarmored defense now apply even when wearing light armor.

Bard

I don’t trust that drifter with the harmonica, once he starts playing those tunes people start acting strange. Local tough guy tried to show him who’s boss, got knocked out by a price of wood the fell from the ceiling right as he got in the drifter’s face. Something’s not right about him I say, something’s real off.” - Jedediah Morgan, former mayor of Snakehide.

Entertainers, snake oilers, and card sharks. Bards are masters of people, turning their charisma into a figurative and literal weapon. Their magic often takes a subtle form, absurd luck and strange coincidences. Their supernatural luck and charisma can be harnessed as a tool, to further their own gains or to help those around them. Bards are unpredictable wild cards, and you should underestimate them.

Cleric

"Behold, I will bring it health and cure, and I will cure them, and will reveal unto them the abundance of peace and truth." - Jeremiah 33:6

Faithful followers of their god, they claim to have a spiritual connection to the divine and they gain mystical from them. They are respected and beloved on the frontier for both the religious significance and their healing abilities. Small monasteries dedicated to healing the wounded and sick are set across the frontier, often run by retired clerics and their disciples.

Although most clerics are worshippers of the Good Lord, other religions have clerics of their own. Although these religions are less common on the frontier that doesn’t mean they never appear. These clerics are less fondly looked upon and often only valued for their healing abilities.

Clerics can vary greatly based on whatever religion or sect they follow. Read the religion section for more info on how clerics of certain sects and religions are flavored.

Monk

“There are two kinds of people in this world my friend, those with a gun and those without. The people with guns think they can boss everyone around, but the problem with having something that gives you whatever want just by pointing at people is that it makes you weak. If you know how to get what you want having a gun, then all those people with loaded guns might as well be shooting pebbles.” - Jacqui Morgan

Monks are masters of hand to hand combat. Whether they’re a highly trained professional or random drunkard on the side of the road, you can a rely on a monk to get the job done. They’re willing to get heir hands dirty, relying on their bare strength instead of any weaponry.

But monks are more than just punches, as they dedicate themselves to mastering a spiritual power they call Ki. The mysterious power of Ki is not very well understood, and the abilities it grants can vary wildly from monk to monk. Ki is unlocked is a variety of different ways. Sometimes it’s through years of dedicated meditation, and other times people can get so drunk it’s unlocks their third eye.

Homebrew Classes

Inventor

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