Element Bender (5e Class)

Design Note: This class was created in response to a large amount of Elemental manipulator type classes that get created and never finished. This class is meant to represent a balanced alternative and uses the incomplete and primarily Avatar: the Last Airbender inspired classes as a basis.

Element Bender

Under the power of a Great Comet, a disowned prince of a nation fights a duel for the throne, dispelling high-intensity flames from his maddened sister time and time again.

A young promising water bender strikes her opponent with a tendril of water only to freeze it—and, by extension, them—in place, ending the fight.

A spiritual air bender sees his last earthly tether, his lover, die, as he takes a step off a cliff and flies through the sky.

A blind earth bender senses every movement, breath, and object as she fights reading her opponents like a book and striking at the precise moment.

What is an Element Bender

Bending is the ability to manipulate an elements form and shape. There are four known bending arts each bending a specific physical element. The four elemental bending arts are based on the four classical elements, water, earth, fire, and air, and each is manipulated through certain martial art styles which are reminiscent of the qualities of the element itself. While bending is traditionally performed through the motions of one's hands and feet, skilled benders are able to effectively manipulate their element with only minimal movement of their body, such as by using just their head or torso. In even rarer cases, master benders are able to perform their bending without the aid of any physical movement at all, by instead using sheer focus and force of will, a skill known as psychic bending.

Quick Build

You can make an Element Bender quickly by following these suggestions. First, Wisdom should be your highest ability score, followed by Dexterity or Constitution depending on your bending nature. Second, choose the hermit background.

Class Features

As a Element Bender you gain the following class features.

Hit Points

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

Proficiencies

Armor: Light armor
Weapons: simple weapons, a single martial weapon of your choice
Tools: None
Saving Throws: Dexterity and Wisdom
Skills: Choose two from Acrobatics, Athletics, History, Insight, Intimidation, Nature and Arcana.

Equipment

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

• (a) any two simple weapons or (b) any martial weapon
• (a) a dungeoneer's pack or (b) a explorer's pack
• (a) a water skin or (b) a tinder box or (c) a small piece of meteorite or (d) an air chime

Table: The Element Bender

Level	Proficiency Bonus	Features
1st	+2	Unarmored Defense, Bending Nature, Bending
2nd	+2	Elemental Spellcasting
3rd	+2	Bending Nature Feature
4th	+2	Ability Score Improvement
5th	+3	Bending Improvement
6th	+3	Bending Nature Feature
7th	+3	Wise Fighter, Primordial Body
8th	+3	Ability Score Improvement
9th	+4	Bending Nature Feature
10th	+4	Empowered Bending Arts, Mind Bending
11th	+4	Bending Improvement
12th	+4	Ability Score Improvement
13th	+5	Strength of Jing
14th	+5	Bending Nature Feature
15th	+5	Bending Improvement
16th	+5	Ability Score Improvement
17th	+6	Bending Nature Feature
18th	+6	Transformation
19th	+6	Ability Score Improvement
20th	+6	Psychic Bending

Bending Nature

Choose a bending nature, which describes the personality of your character and by extension the source of their innate primordial power: air, earth, fire, and water, all detailed at the end of the class description. Your choice grants you spells and features at 1st level and again at 3rd, 6th, 9th, 14th, and 17th level.

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Unarmored Defense

Beginning at 1st level, while you are wearing no armor and not wielding a shield, your AC equals 10 + your Dexterity modifier + your Wisdom modifier.

Bending

Starting at 1st level, you are able to manipulate your bending element to a significant degree. You gain the Bend action which allows you to control your element. You cannot create your element, only change and move it, your element must be present in some form for you to bend.

When you take the Bend action, your bending has a limited amount of power. To begin with you can only cause one effect, when you reach level 5 you can cause 2 effects, at level 11 you can cause 3, and at level 15 you may cause 4. You can pick the same option multiple times or different ones or any combination. The effects you can cause are listed below and in later features. The damage dealt is your element's damage type unless specified.

Bending requires hand movements to use, which function the same as somatic components of a spell. Your DM may determine that you are unable to bend due to being restrained, paralyzed, or subjected to some other condition that limits movement.

Elemental damage types: air is force damage, earth and water are magical bludgeoning damage, and fire is fire damage. Your DM may determine that you are unable to bend due to being restrained, paralyzed, or subjected to some other condition that limits movement.

Elemental Attacks

• Elemental Strike: You throw a projectile made of your element at an enemy. Make a ranged spell attack roll against a creature within range, dealing 1d6 damage on a hit. Being within 5 feet of the target does not impose disadvantage on this attack. Damage die increases with your level, 1d8 at 5th, 1d10 at 11th and 1d12 at 15th.

• Elemental Flow: You manipulate your element into striking a large area. This effect is contained in a cube with sides equal to 2 times your bender level (minimum of 10ft), with a least one corner of the cube being within your bending range. All creatures within this cube must make a Dexterity saving throw, taking 1d10 damage on a fail, or half damage on a successful save. This attack requires two effects of the Bend action.

• Elemental Push: You use your element to move your enemies. A creature of your choice within range must succeed on a Strength save against your spell save DC or they are knocked prone or moved 5ft in any direction. (State your intent for the end result of said push before they roll.) The distance you are able to push increases to 10ft at 11th level and 15ft at 15th level.

• Element Hold: You use your element to hold an enemy in place, you make a grapple check against a creature within range, you must concentrate to maintain the grapple.

Add your Wisdom modifier to damage rolls made by Elemental Strike and Elemental Attack.

The range of your bending action is 30 feet at level 1, increasing to 40 feet at level 5, 50 feet at level 11, and to 60 feet at level 20. The maximum volume of your element that you can manipulate at any one time in combat is a cube with sides equal in feet to your element bender level multiplied by 2. You are not restricted to bending in a cube that size, it only determines the maximum volume you can bend.

Level: # of controllable cubes - (Level 1-4, One element cube) (Level 5-10, Two element cubes) (Level 11-14, Three element cubes) (Level 15-20, Four element cubes)

Elemental Spellcasting

An event in your past, or in the life of a parent or ancestor, caused them to gain a primordial power that was passed on to you and infusing you with an affinity to a specific element. This font of magic, whatever its origin, whatever its nature, fuels your abilities.

While bending is separate from the way magic users cast spells you can manifest the effects of particular spells depending on your Bending Nature and level. Each spell effect can only be manifested once before you must complete a short or long rest to regain use of it with the exception of cantrips.

Starting at 2nd level, you may manifest the effects of a particular spell as if you had cast it. You gain additional spells at certain levels which depend on your bending nature. These spells, as well as the levels you receive them at, are listed at the beginning of your bending nature.

Cantrips

At 2nd level, you can manifest the effects of the following cantrips as if you cast it, depending on your Bending Nature.

Water: shape water
Earth: mold earth
Fire: control flames
Air: gust

Spellcasting Ability

Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for your element bender spells since your magic draws upon your devotion to your bending art and attunement to the natural world. You use your Wisdom score whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability.

Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + Wisdom modifier

Spell attack modifier = Your proficiency bonus + Wisdom modifier

Elemental Focus

You do not require material components to manifest your elemental bender spells.

Ability Score Increase

At levels 4, 8, 12, 16, and 19, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. You cannot increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.

Wise Fighter

Beginning at 7th level, you can add your Wisdom modifier to your initiative rolls.

Primordial Body

Also at 7th level, the element planes for which you powers originate from changes your body in a number of ways. You gain the following traits:

• You are not affected by certain negative effects associated with your element:
  • Fire: You have advantage on saving throws against the effects of Extreme Heat and dehydration.
  • Water: You have advantage on saving throws against Extreme Cold and hazards such as Slippery Ice.
  • Earth: You have advantage on saving throws against being knocked prone while in direct contact with earth and you can survive twice as long while suffocating.
  • Air: You are acclimated to High Altitude and have advantage against Strong Winds.

• You know how to read, write and speak the primordial dialect associated with your element:
  • Fire: Iganan
  • Water: Aquan
  • Earth: Terran
  • Air: Auran

• Elemental beings are aware of your primordial origins and the power you wield, and you have advantage on Charisma checks against elementals of your own element and disadvantage on Charisma checks against your opposing element.

Empowered Bending Arts

Starting at 10th level, you've learned to harm even the most elementally attuned creatures with your element. When you deal damage to a creature with resistance to your elemental damage you ignore their resistance and they instead take normal damage. In addition, when you deal damage to a creature with immunity to your elemental damage you treat it as if it were resistance.

Mind Bending and Element Creation

At 10th level, you can bend without needing to use the somatic component as long as you're concentrating. Also, with 10 minutes of concentration, you are able to tap into your elemental nature and energy enough to create a usable amount of your element. (Equal to a single element cube you are able to manipulate)

Strength of Jing

Starting at 13th level, you gain proficiency in saving throws relevant to your element.

• Water: Strength.

• Earth: Constitution.

• Fire: Charisma.

• Air: Intelligence.

Transformation

At 18th level you can transform into the elemental of your bending nature. You use an action to transform and it lasts until you detransform (no action) or you complete a long rest. You then cannot use this feature again until you complete a long rest. This transformation otherwise follows the same rules as the druids wild shape feature.

Psychic Bending

At 20th level, You do not need somatic components to bend and you can use your bonus action to perform one bending effect.

Elemental Bending Natures

Bending Effect

You also gain an additional effect depending on your element. These effects can only be used once per round and are transferred immediately after a successful attack.

• Air: The winds move with you during every strike, allowing you to knock targets that are no larger than Large backwards 10 feet.

• Fire: Your flames heat metals with ease. When you strike a target twice in a row with an attack that deals fire damage you can force them to make a Constitution saving throw or flinch, dropping their weapon and effectively disarming them.

• Water: The freezing cold and inconvenience of being wet in battle cause your opponents to suffer a 10 feet decrease in their movement speed until your next turn. Creatures with a swim speed are immune to this effect.

• Earth: Your hits shake targets to their very core. When you roll higher then half your damage die you can force the struck target to make a Constitution saving throw or fall prone. Constructs are immune to this effect.

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Water

Water bending, one of the four elemental bending arts, is the hydrokinetic ability to control water in all of its various forms. Water is a versatile element, as is fitting for the element of change. The moon is the source of power in water bending, and the original water benders learned to bend by observing how the moon pushed and pulled the tides.

Similar to their element, water benders are extremely adaptable and versatile. Water bending concentrates on the flow of energy and focuses less on strength and more on turning the opponent's own energy against them. The fighting style of water bending is mostly fluid and graceful, acting in concert with the environment. Water benders deal with the flow of energy; they let their defense become their offense, turning their opponents' own forces against them. Even when water benders do take an attack stance, their moves always appear to flow from one to the other. While a generally a bender's victory in battle depends on their skill or ingenuity, water benders, unlike other benders, gain a serious advantage or disadvantage depending on the amount of water around them. As the element of change, water benders can fluidly and quickly alternate from defense to offense, from a wall of ice to a jet of water, turning their opponent's strength against them.

The opposite of water bending is fire bending, with its relatively stagnant and direct philosophy.

Water Bender Spell List

Bender Level	Spell
1	grease
3	misty step
6	slow
11	control water
17	tsunami

Ebb and Flow

Water benders possess the ability to alter the physical state of the water they manipulate, between liquid, solid and gas. Changing the phase of water allows for multiple techniques in the course of a battle, from encasing an opponent in ice to hiding behind a wall of mist. Ice and steam/fog can also be molded in a diverse range of shapes. Ice provides a degree of hard lethality since it can be molded into spikes or blades to pin down or impale opponents. Steam or mist can obscure a battlefield and mask movement. Whenever you take a bend action option, you can also turn water into fog the size of your maximum bend volume or control fog of the same size, within your bend range. The fog is, by default, lightly obscuring. At level 10 you can compress the fog 10x to make it heavily obscuring. (note; 1 gram of water makes a 1 foot cube of fog)

Born of the Moon

At 1st level, you can use your water bending to propel across and in water, you gain a swim speed equal to your speed. You can also anchor water, holding it in place so you can step or hold onto it. Additionally, when you are standing in at least a foot of water, you can use it to move faster. At level 1, the increase to your speed is 5ft, increasing by 5ft at level 5, level 10, level 15, and level 20.

Water Bender Style

At level 6 you have learned you can use your opponent's energy against them. Once per round as a reaction, if an opponent makes a successful melee attack against you, you may halve incoming damage and reflect a quarter of the original damage as an unarmed strike.

Element of Change

At 14th Level You cannot be limited, through your embodiment of the element of change you gain the following traits:

• You are resistant to cold, fire and piercing damage.

• You can move across difficult terrain created by liquid or any form of water without spending extra movement.

• At will, you can choose to make the ground in a 10-foot radius around you icy, becoming difficult terrain for creatures other than you and those you choose. The radius moves with you.

Master Skill: Blood Bending

You have learned the taboo skill of Blood Bending which allows you to hydrokinetically take hold of and manipulate the various fluids within an organism's body. This technique is referred to as the darkest, most powerful, and most feared of all bending techniques and is the only art known to endanger the user's mental state.

The forms and styles used by blood benders resemble how a puppeteer controls a marionette. Whereas water bending uses flowing motions with the arms, blood bending seems to require a more rigid and abrupt form of movement, further highlighting how different it is from the primary water bending stances.

Starting at 17th level, You gain the ability to manipulate blood like it was water. Granting you the following techniques:

Disconnect: When you simultaneously use all your bend options and hit/affect one creature, they must make an additional con save or become unconscious. If you or creatures that are friendly to you are fighting it, it has advantage on the saving throw. If the target takes damage, it can repeat the saving throw waking up on a succes.

Compel: Another bend option; You can try to compel a creature you can see within range to follow your commands. The target must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or are affected as if by the command spell.

Dominate: When you take the bend action, you can choose to only perform the following option: You use Blood Bending to control a creature you can see within range. The target must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or are affected as if by the Dominate Monster spell for 3 hours, you maintain this ability like concentrating in a spell. Whenever you take this option again before a long rest, you must make a DC 20 Wisdom saving throw or become affected by a random effect on the short-term madness table.

Severing: Your training and use of Blood Bending have given you advanced knowledge of the energy flow in your opponent's body, and you know what the root of its power is as well as how to cut it off. While a creature is affected by one of the other Blood Bending techniques, you can attempt to private it from its energy flow, the target must make a Constitution saving throw or lose its spellcasting ability if any, the capability of interact with magical items, and also its bending if any, as well as any other skill that its based on magic from its own body (at DM's discretion) or recharge. The creature fall unconscious for 1 minute after that. A creature affected by this ability its only able to repair its energy flow by succeeding on a Constitution saving throw that can only be made after being healed by the greater restoration spell.

While executing any of the Blood Bending techniques, your target cannot use any Bending techniques unless it succeeds its saving throw or its The Avatar itself.

 Variant Water Bender: Healer
Some master the art of healing with water, as opposed to attacking. If you chose to do so, you can replace one bending effect with the following: 
Elemental Heal: you channel water to heal wounds. When you take the Bend action, you may heal a creature for 1d10 + your Wisdom Modifier. You may heal in this way only twice before completing a long rest. You may spend 10 minutes to heal as a ritual, restoring the same amount of Hit Points. You can do this as much as time allows.

Variant Master Skill: Plant Bending

You can controll the water inside of the plants, what isn't as unhealthy for your mental state as bloodbending.

Animate Plants: If there are any plants around, you can animate up to: 1 large plant or: 2 medium plants or: 4 smal plants or: 8 tiny plants. If the plants are alive (monsters of the plant type), they have to succed on a wisdom save. This costs an action.

Vine Armor: As an bonus action you cover yourself in vines. Your AC now is increased by 1. if you take a total of 10 damage times your Elemental Bender lvl, the vines disappear. While in the vine armor, you can use your action to do an unarmed strike that has a bonus range of 5ft. and you deal aditional 1d4 bludgeoning damage.

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Earth

Earth bending, one of the four elemental bending arts, is the geokinetic ability to manipulate earth and rock in all their various forms. Earth is the element of substance and as such earth benders are diverse, strong, and enduring.

The key to earth bending is utilizing neutral jing, which involves waiting and listening for the right moment to strike and, when that moment comes, acting decisively. In other words, earth benders generally endure their enemies' attacks until the right opportunity to counterattack reveals itself.

Like water benders, earth benders gain an advantage or disadvantage in battle based on the amount of earth around them, though the conditions are not as extreme. Because of their element's stability and its stress on neutral jing, earth benders stand their ground, absorbing or intercepting attacks until they completely overwhelm their opponents. Unlike the other bending arts, earth bending's strength equally lies in both offense and defense.

Earth bending is in stark contrast to air bending as air bending's emphasis is on evasion and mobility while earth bending's emphasis is on fortitude and strength.

Earth Bender Spell List

Bender Level	Spell
1	Catapult
3	Maximilian's Earthen Grasp
6	Erupting Earth
11	Summon minor elementals
17	Earthquake

Born of the Earth

At 1st level you have learned to use earth bending as an extension of your senses granting you the ability to "see" every vibration that passes through the ground. You have tremorsense a range of 30ft as long as your feet are on solid ground. The radius increases by an additional 5ft at levels 6, 10, 14, and 18. In addition, you insinctivly bend yourself hand and foot holds while climbing, giving you a climb speed equal to 30ft.

Earthen Defense

At 3rd level you have learned to protect yourself with the rock and stone of the world. As a bonus action, you call earth to your defense, encasing yourself in an Earthen Armor. Your Armor Class becomes 13 + your Dexterity modifier (max of 2) + your Wisdom modifier and your speed is halved. You use a bonus action to remove the armor.

In addition, as an action, you can fully encase yourself in a ball of earthen mass. The mass has an Armor Class of 15, hit points equal to 10 times your Elemental Bender level and gains whatever resistances or immunities you have as well as an immunity to psychic and poison damage. You cannot move while in this form. Once you use Earthen Mass you cannot use it again until you complete a short or long rest.

Earth Benders Style

At 6th level you have learned how to capitalize on the openings and vulnerabilities in your enemies defences. Once per round when an enemy makes an attack against you and misses, you may make a single elemental strike against them as a reaction if they are within your bending range..

In addition, if you take the ready action to bend in reaction to being attacked, you have advantage on the attack roll and if you hit, the target has disadvantage on their next attack.

Element of Substance

At 11th level, You can no longer be broken, through your embodiment of the element of substance you gain the following traits:

- You are immune to being petrified.

- You have resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage.

- You can move across difficult terrain made of earth or stone without spending extra movement.

- You can move through solid earth or stone as if it was air and without destabilizing it, but you can’t end your movement there. If you do so, you are ejected to the nearest unoccupied space, and you are stunned until the end of your next turn.

Master Skill: Metal Bending

Through your experience and experimentation, you have discovered that metal is but derived from ore, which is found in the earth and that metal is just a part of earth that has been purified and refined. As such, through locating the impurities in metal, you can manipulate them in order to bend them to a degree.

Starting at 15th level, you gain the ability to bend metal. In addition, you gain the following techniques:

Metallic Defense: Your Earthen Armor can now implement metal. When you call metal to you, your Armor Class is 17 plus your Wisdom modifier and you do not suffer a penalty to your movement speed.

Lava Bending: By observing how metal can transformed into a molten state, you have learned how to heat up your bending substance. If you spend an action while bending earth or metal, you may heat it to the point at which it becomes a liquid. This adds 2 additional bending die to it's damage, in addition, the damage type is fire. It remains heated for an amount of rounds equal to your Element Bender level halved.

Advanced Bending: Metal is, by nature, a more solid and refined substance when compared to rock and earth. When bending metal in an offensive form, you increase DCs by 2 and add one bending die to its damage.

In metals that are highly purified, such as platinum, where there are no or not enough particles left to bend and as such renders the material impervious to metal bending technique.

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Fire

Fire bending, one of the four elemental bending arts, is the pyrokinetic ability to control fire and is considered to be the most aggressive bending art. It is unique among the bending arts, as it is the only one in which the performer can generate their element. Fire bending draws its power from the sun, and the first human fire benders derived their fire bending techniques from the dragons.

As the element of power, fire benders have to be able to maintain a constant source of energy and balance in battle, unleashing a volley of direct, successive attacks, consisting of overpowering force tempered by the unflinching will to accomplish tasks and desires. However, some users twist this into a fire bending technique that is fueled by rage, hatred, and anger.

Fire bending is known for its intense and aggressive attacking style and general lack of adequate defensive moves, although fire benders can modify offensive maneuvers to function as a defense, such as creating large walls of fire or shooting down incoming attacks with fire jabs. Fire bending's relatively simple and direct style contrasts the complex and changing style of water bending. Due to its solar affinity, fire bending is stronger during the day, but completely ineffective during a solar eclipse. When a comet passes close to the planet, the power of a fire bender is greatly increased.

[opposite water]

Fire Bender Spell List

Bender Level	Spell
1	hellish rebuke
3	aganazzar's scorcher
6	fireball
11	wall of fire
17	sunburst

Born of the Sun

You've learned to use fire to propel yourself at high speeds. You now are able to move your full jumping distance when you jump regardless of the amount of movement you have. Your jumping distance increases by 5ft for Long and High Jumps as well as increases by an additional 5ft at levels 6, 10, 14 and 18 due to your propulsion of flames.

Jumping Flame

Beginning at 3rd level, you are a continuous blur of fiery motion in battle as you dart in, attack, and slip away to safety. During your turn, if you make an attack against a creature, that creature cannot make opportunity attacks against you for the rest of your turn.

Fire Bender Style

At 6th level, landing two successive attacks against the same target you may add one bending die for damage against that target. Your amount of bending die can only be increased this way by an amount equal to your proficiency bonus.

Element of Power

Starting at 11th level, you cannot be dampened, through your embodiment of the element of power you gain the following traits:

- You are immune to fire damage and have resistance to cold damage.

- Your speed increases by 10ft while you are not wearing armour or using a shield

- Standing up from being prone knocks targets back 10ft dealing 1d10 fire damage to each one and doesn't cost any movement

- If you are subject to an effect that allows you to take half damage on a successful save you instead take no damage on a successful save.

Master Skill: Lightning Bending

You take your stance, creating circular motion with your arms. (You must have both hands free)

You calm yourself mentally, becoming completely absent of emotion and reaching a peace of mind. (Your character must have a certain degree of emotional discipline in this moment (Up to the DM))

Once you reach 17th level, You can feel the positive and negative energy of your flame, separating them with one motion, and in another colliding them to create lightning. (You cannot do this while squeezing)

If one attempts to conjure lightning without the required emotional discipline or the correct motions, you must make a Wisdom saving throw. On a fail, the equivalent of a fireball spell as if cast at third level is expelled from your body, causing you to take full damage, ignoring your resistance, and causes you to become paralyzed for 1 minute. If you save, you take 1d4 lightning damage and nothing else happens.

You have gained the ability to create and then strike your opponents with lightning, so you can choose for your bending attacks to deal lighting damage. In addition, you gain the following techniques:

Stunning Strike: As an action, you may strike a target forcing them to make a Constitution saving throw or be stunned until the end of your next turn and deal damage equal to your Bender Die.

Lightning Redirection: As a reaction to when you take lightning damage, you can instead take quarter damage rounded up to redirect that lightning damage to a target of your choice. That target must make a Dexterity saving throw or take full damage from the original lightning plus your Bending Die. On a successful save the target takes half damage.

Chain Lightning: As an action you create a bolt of lightning that arcs toward a target of your choice that you can see within range. Five bolts then leap from that target to as many as five other targets, each of which must be within 30 feet of the first target. A target can be a creature or an object and can be targeted by only one of the bolts. A target must make a Dexterity saving throw. The target takes 10d8 lightning damage on a failed save, or half as much on a successful one.

Variant Master Skill: Explosion Bending

This Bending Technique is a verry dangerous form of Fire Bending. You only can reach it, by hard training. You also need a "3rd Eye" on your forehead, that is needed to channel your energy.

Explosion: As an action you can cause an explosion, centered on a point up to 40ft. away from you. Everyone in a 10 foot radius of that point has to make a Dex save, taking 2d10 fire damage on a fail and half as much on a succes. You also have to make that save, taking half the damage on a fail and no on a succes. The damage increases for 2d10 at lvl 10 and again at lvl 20.

Chain Explosion: As an action you can emit explosions in a 15ft. line. Everyone on that line including you has to make a Dex save, taking 1d12 fire damage on a fail and half as much on a succes. The damage increases for 1d12 on 6th lvl, and again on lvl 10, 14 and 18.

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Air

Air bending, one of the four elemental bending arts, is the aerokinetic ability to control and manipulate air. Air is the element of freedom and as such Air benders detached themselves from worldly problems and concerns; finding peace and freedom as the key to solving their difficulties in life. The trait to constantly seek spiritual enlightenment is common among air benders.

The key to air bending is flexibility and finding and following the path of least resistance. Air bending is notable for being almost purely defensive, as well as the most dynamic of the four bending arts. Air benders can overwhelm many opponents at once with large and powerful attacks that could prove fatal; however, due to the pacifist nature of most air benders, such attacks are rarely used. Due to their aforementioned spirituality, they often adapt to the situation surrounding them and employ negative jing, preferring evasive maneuvers as opposed to direct confrontation.

Air benders in battle concentrate on speed and evasion, forgoing a strong offense for a greater defense. Though apparently lacking fatal finishing moves, it is the most dynamic of all the bending arts. As the element of freedom, air benders use their capability to bend unencumbered by the ground or any other environmental factors and use their own momentum as a weapon, evading attacks with astounding agility to tire their opponents out or building up massive inertia for explosive gusts of wind to make their counterattacks finishing moves. Air benders, when resorting to a physical confrontation, are able to harness the immense and intangible power of wind.

Air bending's opposite is earth bending and the confrontational style that serves as an earth benders foundation.

Air Bender Spell List

Bender Level	Spell
1	feather fall
3	gaseous form
6	haste
11	freezing sphere
17	whirlwind

Born of the Wind

You have learned to enhance your movements in battle using your air bending by decreasing the air resistance around you. You can move up vertical surfaces as if they were normal, but cannot end your turn on them. If you do so, you fall to the ground and suffer fallimg damage as normal. In addition, your speed increases by 10ft and then by an additional 5ft at levels 6, 10, 14 and 18. Also, when falling, you can choose to glide as if under the effect of the spell feather fall.

Defensive Current

Starting at 3rd level, you have a passive wind current that flows around you like a shield, ranged attack rolls made against you and those standing within 5ft of you have disadvantage. As an action you can expand this current to a size equal your Bendable Mass, centred on you, knocking creatures of choice out of the radius and granting those within it the same passive benefit. Moving through this space is considered difficult terrain to those not permitted to enter by you. This field can be maintained for 1 minute as if concentrating on a spell. When the duration ends, the effect stops, and the user no longer gains the passive or active effect of this feature until they finish a short rest.

Air Bender Style

Reading the flow of air around you, you can sense movement that you wouldn't normally be able to see. Starting at 6th level, when a creature attempts to attack you with a projectile or weapon during a while you are surprised, you can roll a competing Dexterity check with the attacker. If your total is higher than the attacking creature you can react before them.

In addition, your dedication to the employment of negative jing enhances your evasive maneuvers to the point where you can avoid attacks that would have normally hit you. When an attacker that you can see hits you with an attack, you can use your reaction to halve the attack's damage against you.

Element of Freedom

At 11th level, You cannot be hindered, through your embodiment of the element of freedom you gain the following traits:

- You are immune to being knocked back

- You have advantage on checks made to escape from grapples

- Standing up from being prone knocks targets back 15ft and doesn't cost any movement

- If you are subject to an effect that allows you to take half damage on a successful save you instead take no damage on a successful save.

Master Skill: Flight

The ability to fly is unlocked by releasing oneself of all his earthly tethers, achieving true and complete freedom. The complete mastery of this technique is rare even among master air benders. Being able to fly without an aid, such as a glider, grants the practitioner more stability and freedom in the sky, while also permitting easier use of bending mid-flight. Although a powerful technique, the ability is hindered by additional weight and the currents of the wind.

Starting at 17th level, you gain a flying speed equal to your movement speed, this includes the movement you gain from Born of the Wind. However, to gain full use of this feature you must of let go of all your earthly desires (up to your DM's discretion), otherwise, you can only fly for 3 hours and are then required to complete a short or long rest to use this feature again.

Variant Class: Avatar

Some people would like to play an avatar figure in their games, one that can bend all four elements as opposed to just one. The following are changes that would be made to the above class to allow for such a character to be played. Naturally the avatar is a figure that is significantly stronger then even a master bender so this option should only be allowed with you're DM's considered approval and understanding that this variant rule causes this class to become much stronger than the standard class above, which already has an edge in comparison to the classes presented in the Player's Handbook.

Bending Nature

You are no longer limited to a single bending nature and can switch between the effects granted from each feature granted from each Bending Nature per short rest. For example, you could have an earth bender's Earth Defense and a water bender's Aquan Movement but not Aquan Movement and Born of the Earth. In addition, you cannot use the master skill feature of any of the archetypes but instead, you always use the Avatar Master Skill listed below.

Master Skill: Avatar State

The strongest and most powerful ability that the Avatar can invoke is the Avatar State. This state was created when Wan permanently bonded with Raava by touching the energy coming through the spirit portal during the Harmonic Convergence in 9,829 BG. It allows the Avatar to channel vast cosmic energies and the knowledge of previous Avatars, granting them increased strength and the ability to perform especially powerful and extraordinary feats of bending. The Avatar may unconsciously enter the State in response to the perception of mortal danger, utilizing the State as a defense mechanism, or when under emotional distress.

While in this state, the Avatar has access to bending techniques that may have not yet been learned in their current lifetime but has no conscious control over the resulting actions, which can cause great collateral damage. An Avatar with full mastery of the Avatar State has conscious control over the State and can enter and exit it at will.

At DM will, when your life is in danger or you are exposed to extremely stressful situations you enter in the avatar state gaining the following benefits:

- all four element spells and abilities (except the master skills)

- resistance to all four elements

Weakness: While the Avatar is all but invincible in the Avatar State, having access to the bending experiences of all the past lives, there is one grave weakness: while in effect, the Avatar Spirit can be harmed. If the Avatar were to be killed while in the Avatar State, the cycle would break and the Avatar would cease to exist.

If you fail three death saves you enter the avatar state reflexively. When entering the avatar state this way you gain all the benefits as if you entered the avatar state normally

Avatar Soul

At level six, you have greater control over the Avatar spirit inside you. You can now end your avatar stance as a reaction. You can also talk with the past Avatar's spirits.

Creature Shape

At level 14 you can use an action turn into a titanic being based on your elemental origins. You cannot bend while in this form. (You will have to use the next monsters sheets, you can still determine your appearance as long as it does not generate inconsistencies with the monster )

- Water: Frost Giant

- Fire: Fire Giant

- Air: Cloud Giant

- Earth: Stone Giant

The One who brings Balance

At level 17, you had become all that you're supposed to represent. You gain the following abilities:

Avatar State: You can now enter an get out of the Avatar State at will as a bonus action.

Cataclysmic Sphere: As an action while in the avatar state you can surround yourself with a 4 elements sphere that last for the next 4 rounds. In this state you replace your 4 elements damage resistance for an invulnerability to all damage and cannot be targeted by magic and in a sphere centered radius of 30 ft, you deal 1d10 of each element damage type.

Plane Walker: At will you can jump across every single plane of existence.

Energy Bending: You can Energy bend, this bending allows you to perfectionate not only your domain of your own energy, but the energy of other creatures as well, even removing its entire energy flow. As an action you can take away the bending and spellcasting abilities from a creature as well as its capabilities to interact with magic items. A creature that has seen its abilities taken away in this way can only regain them by the use of Energy Bending in which case it will regain the same amount of levels in the Element Bender class as well as the spells it has already chosen in the past. As well you can endow a creature with making it sensitive to an element to bend, as an action you can give a creature the privilege of leveling up (when it achieves the required amount of XP) as an Element Bender (once the creature has gained its first level it can keep leveling up the class on itself.)

Environmental/ Cosmological Events

Certain cosmological events strengthen, weaken and even strip a bender of their powers, as well as certain environments, serve some benders better than others.

The Elemental Planes: When on the elemental plane of your element you Bender Die and Bendable Mass doubles. However, if you are on the elemental plane for which your element is the antithesis of then your Bender Die and Bendable Mass is halved.

Great Comet: When comets pass by they do so with little effect, however, it is when they skim the upper atmosphere and generate a huge amount of heat it is then that they enhance a fire benders ability greatly. You can increase the amount of Bender Dice you roll by 2 and your Bendable Mass by an additional 20ft.

Full Moon: During a full moon, in particular, water bending is greatly enhanced, to the point where a single water bender can overpower multiple opponents with relative ease. You can increase the amount of Bender Dice you roll by 1, your Bendable Mass by an additional 10ft and anytime you target one creature with a bending attack you can target another within 10ft also the saving throws of the blood bending techniques are made with disadvantage.

Extreme Heat: A fire bender's power is at its maximum potential nearest to the equator and while under the conditions of an extremely hot climate. You can increase the amount of Bender Dice you roll by 1 and your Bendable Mass by an additional 20ft.

Night/Day: Water bending is strengthened and enhanced during the night, due to its lunar affinity. You can increase the amount of Bendable Mass by an additional 10ft. On the other hand, Fire benders ability rises in the day and sets in the night due to their solar affinity. You decrease the amount of Bendable Mass by 10ft.

Extreme Cold: Cold temperatures reduce a fire bender's abilities. You decrease the amount of Bender Dice you roll by 1 and Bendable Mass by 20ft.

Lack of Contact Since earth benders rely on having access to earth, their abilities can be decreased by separating them from any contact with the earth. When not in direct contact with the earth you decrease the amount of Bender Dice you roll by 1 and Bendable Mass by 10ft.

Natural Jammer Sand, although an earthen substance, is not firm like normal earth and renders seismic sense "fuzzy" and imprecise for earth benders who are not used to bending it. Also, uninterrupted contact with the ground is preferred for users of tremorsense and as such an object such as a shoe sole interferes with the sense. While walking on sand or not having direct contact with the earth your tremorsense range is halved(rounded down to the nearest multiple of 5).

Solar Eclipse: A solar eclipse is the only natural event known to cause a complete loss of fire bending ability, leaving them powerless. You cannot fire bend while a Solar Eclipse is happening.

Lunar eclipse: While a Lunar Eclipse takes place, the water benders cannot take the benefits of the **Full Moon** and **Night** events, instead the bloody red of the moon during a lunar eclipse takes control of the psyche of the water benders drowning their minds in megalomaniac attitudes and the feeling of control. During a Lunar Eclipse all the saving throws of the Blood bend techniques automatically fails and their duration extends to all night.Each time a water bender uses an blood bend technique during this event it must roll for the Long-Term Madness instead

If at any point these effects reduce you Bending Die to 0 then it is assumed you don't have the skill or proficiency yet to bend under these conditions, however, if you have has your Bending Mass reduced to 0ft but still have a Bending Die of at least 1, then you can only bend your element with a duration of instant and it cannot travel further than 5ft.

There may be other conditions that affect your bending but these will be up to your DM's discretion.

References

Avatar the Last Airbender

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