Gier Variant (5e Class)

Gier

The power to want is perhaps the strongest of any. Simply desire itself is what spawned most of the impulses in our world. Lust, envy ... all because there is an innate force that gravitates things and people to each other. Would that one can control that, play a heart like a fiddle, or even beyond, and accrue godhood... Greed is not hell. It is salvation.

A thief runs along the rooftop. He sees the guards below riding their horses parallel to him. They point and shout. He extends a hand and momentarily, the horse is robbed of its vision. Neighing madly, it careens into the other rider and the two end up in a pile on the cobbled street. The thief laughs madly before making off with the night's bounty.

The woman stalks the nobleman and his every move in his study. His rhythm was hers, and she moved in total sync with his shadow. He came before a mirror. Before he even knew of the danger so close to him, she struck. He could not cry out, as she pierced his throat from behind. When the guards showed up, they saw the lord looking fine. Puzzled as they were dismissed, they failed to notice a trickle of blood from the corpse behind the shelf.

Goliaths prefer to act by action. Words are only good if they can be fulfilled. The young goliath angrily draws a hand through the air. The babble of his duel opponent ceases immediately as his chords seize up, his voice stolen. The fight was far from over. As his rival struggled to spin more spells at him, the goliath was already bearing down upon him with his axe.

Necessity Begets Power

The power of desire is underestimated as needy. But for the ones who know its power and its influence on the world, there is no greater force which enacts one's own will on reality. Gier means "avidity." It evokes passion, obsession, lust and covetous emotion, and those of the gier class use it so to their advantage. Gier is a power, much like the void, that moves unseen about the world. The force of gier is selective. Those without a great desire cannot wield it. Once they have it, they find reality becomes an oddly malleable substance rather than a stark constant. Gier allows its users to make their desires come true, a bit at a time. It is said to be able to overturn the power of misfortune and even the will of another.

Creating a Gier

By Jason Nguyen

The power of gier is not granted to those with simple, whimsical desire. It is a focus which develops and sharpens itself. In a way, it is a person consumed by an avid passion for something. The force of gier is not for all, and some will end up being consumed by it in exchange.

When making your gier character, think about some of the following questions. What is your character's desire? How has their life centered around it and why? How were they chosen by the power of gier and what makes their want particularly special?

Quick Build

You can make a gier quickly by following these suggestions. First, Charisma should be your highest ability score, followed by Constitution. Second, choose the urchin background.

Class Features

As a Gier you gain the following class features.

Hit Points

Hit Dice: 1d10 per Gier level
Hit Points at 1st Level: 10 + Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d10 (or 6) + Constitution modifier per Gier level after 1st

Proficiencies

Armor: Light and Medium armor
Weapons: Simple weapons, weapons with the light or finesse properties
Tools: Jeweler’s Kit or one artisan tool of your choice
Saving Throws: Charisma, Constitution
Skills: Choose four from Deception, Stealth, Persuasion, Investigation, Insight, sleight of hand, Acrobatics, Perception, Performance, and History.

Equipment

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

• (a) a scimitar or (b) a rapier
• (a) a hand crossbow with a quiver of 20 bolts or (b) 2 daggers
• (a) a burglar’s pack or (b) a diplomat’s pack or (c) a dungeoneer’s pack
• (a) leather armor or (b) Jeweler's Kit

Table: The Gier

Level	Proficiency Bonus	Features
1st	+2	Gier Force, Crushing Obsession
2nd	+2	Speech of Greed
3rd	+2	Gier Force feature
4th	+2	Ability Score Improvement
5th	+3	Undying Desire
6th	+3	Gier Force feature
7th	+3	Speech of Greed Improvement, Relentless Wanting
8th	+3	Ability Score Improvement
9th	+4	Gier Force feature
10th	+4	Coveting Grip
11th	+4	Relentless Wanting Improvement
12th	+4	Ability Score Improvement
13th	+5	Gier Force feature
14th	+5	Manifest Gier
15th	+5	Empire Mind
16th	+5	Ability Score Improvement
17th	+6	Gier Force feature
18th	+6	Greed's Warp
19th	+6	Ability Score Improvement
20th	+6	Restless Pursuit

Gier Force

At 1st level, you chose a force which is the motivation behind your gier. Choose from Avid Klepto, Passion of Will, and Self Taker, all detailed at the end of the class description. Your choice grants you features at 1st level and again at 3rd, 6th, 9th, 13th, and 17th level.

Crushing Obsession

People think greed is something which is solely damaging to the soul. The force of Gier is something which warps the body as well. Starting at 1st level, you can harness the power of gier to show just how destructive your passion can get. This force manifests in the form of an invisible hand and it extends from around your body. Creatures without the ability to see into the Ethereal Plane or truesight cannot sense this force. This force permanently hovers near you when you do not command it, and you can summon or de-summon it without an action.
This arm can reach up to 30 feet away from you and you can move it up to 30 feet each time you use it. As an action, you can control it as an extension, almost like an extra limb. You can use the hand to manipulate an object, flip a switch, open an unlocked door or container, stow or retrieve an item from an open container, or pour the contents out of a vial. The hand cannot activate magic items, or carry more than 10 pounds. You can have it make attacks like an unarmed strike at creatures within range with your action, but it cannot wield weapons. It uses your Charisma modifier for the attack roll, and it deals bludgeoning damage equal to 2d6. This feature's damage increases by 2d6 when you reach 5th Level (4d6), 11th level (6d6), and 17th level (8d6) in this class.

Speech of Greed

To make money, one must be versed to talk to anyone. The force of Gier makes that easy. Starting at 2nd level, if you hear an unfamiliar language, you may use this feature (no action necessary), after you spend at least 1 minute listening to it. Then, for the next hour, your tongue can accurately recreate the sounds of the language and you speak it as if you know the language. After that hour, the force of Gier takes back what it gave and you can no longer speak the language until you use this feature again. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier, regaining all use after you finish a long rest.

When you reach 7th level, Gier further lets your words carry better into people's minds, making them easier targets for your desire. You gain proficiency in the Persuasion skill. If you already were proficient with this skill, you can double your proficiency.

Ability Score Increase

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.

Undying Desire

Giers do not die easily. Their passions and desires are like flames which refuse to be extinguished. Starting at 5th level, when you would drop to 0 hit points, you can instead drop to X hit points, where X is equal to your Constitution modifier. You must finish a long rest before using this feature again.

Relentless Wanting

Starting at 7th level, the force of Gier bolsters your body, allowing you to better pursue what you seek in the face of adversity. When you take damage from a source you can see, you can use your reaction decrease the damage you would have taken by Xd4, where X is equal to your Charisma modifier.
Starting at 11th level, this dice increases to a d6, and you can add your Constitution modifier to X.

Coveting Grip

Starting at 10th level, your very obsession lends itself to your physical grasp on whatever you want. If anyone wants to take anything from you, they'll have to pry it from your cold, dead hands. You can now add your Charisma modifier to any skill checks involving grappling, stealing or disarming and any real tug-of-war situation in general. You can also grapple creatures of sizes equal or smaller to your own with your Crushing Obsession.

Manifest Gier

Starting at the 14th level, you can channel the force of Gier and summon forth your obsession in a truer form. As an action, you transform yourself. You gain the following benefits for the next minute:

• You gain a +1 bonus to your Armor Class.
• You are immune to being charmed or frightened and you are not affected by difficult terrain.
• You are resistant to bludgeoning, piercing and slashing damage.
• You add your Charisma modifier to all your weapon damage rolls.
  

You change back to normal after the minute passes or you dispel this form with a bonus action. You cannot use this feature again until you finish a short or long rest.

Empire Mind

Starting at the 15th level, the power of Gier has roots into your mind as well as your body, and it comes with some interesting benefits. Your emotions can no longer be sensed and your thoughts are no longer readable. You have advantage on saving throws against any magical effects which affect your mind and you are instantly aware if you are targeted by divination magic.

Greed's Warp

Starting at 18th level, you can use the power of Gier to bend more of reality to your will. You gain one of the following effects below. You can swap this effect with another option as part of a short rest.

• As a reaction, you can either divert or attract a ranged attack. If you divert a ranged attack directed at you, it misses. If you attract a ranged attack targeting another creature, you make yourself the target of the attack instead and redirect its trajectory. You must finish a short or long rest after using either of these effects to use this feature again.
• As an action, you summon up the power of Gier to create a small point of warped space in any spot within 30 feet of you. It is invisible save to creatures with truesight. If a creature begins or ends their turn within 15 of the warped space, they take force damage equal to the damage of your Crushing Obsession. You can dismiss this effect with a bonus action. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier, regaining use after you finish a long rest.
• As a bonus action, you prime your body to deliver a salvo of savage blows. Until the end of your turn, you may attack a number of times equal to your Constitution modifier instead of just once, when you take the Attack action. You must finish a long rest before using this feature again.
• With no action necessary on your part, you can expend a hit dice to regain hit points.

Restless Pursuit

The force of obsession which motivates you now elongates your endurance and makes you all the better to hunt for that which you desire. Starting 20th level, you can spend 1 minute gathering the force of Gier within your body to amplify your desires, destroying your mortal shackles and rejuvenating you with fresh vigor. You are refreshed, as though you just finished a long rest. You cannot use this feature again until you finish a long rest.

Avid Klepto

Your passion is for the objects and material goods, that which is real and fits in your hand. You are not a common thief, having an avidity for perhaps a specific type of object. There may be something which you are very attached to, or something which holds no value in truth, yet you are inexplicably drawn to it. Avid klepto giers have the stickiest of fingers.

Helpful Trio

Three hands are better than one; all the better to steal with. Starting at 1st level, you can summon 3 hands instead of just one when you use your Crushing Obsession feature. Additionally, their range extends to 60 feet. You can have them interact collectively to lift one large item or several smaller items, as well as their usual manipulations. They can also perform skill checks as if they are part of your own body, using your modifiers.

Gaze for Value

As part of your obsession with materials, you know their qualities very well. Starting at 3rd level, you can spend 1 minute inspecting a nonmagical object. The DM then gives you the values of the object in terms of worth, as well as the number of properties it has, but not what they are.

Precious Hardness

Precious metals like adamantine or gems like diamond are incredibly hard. You can use these properties to your advantage. Starting at 6th level, you can copy the properties of an object via touch. You touch your source item and then touch another object of equal or smaller size with your other hand for 10 minutes. The hardness (Armor Class) of the source object is copied onto the other object. This effect remains active for 24 hours, after which the properties return to their respective objects.

Fleet and Nimble

Despite not being a thief, thinking and acting like one helps you get what you need. Starting at 9th level, the power of Gier allows you to augment your movement. You gain one of the following effects of your choice. For every level above 9th you gain in this class, you may swap your option.

• Your movement speed increases by 5X, where X is equal to your proficiency bonus.
• Your movement speed cannot be lowered by any means, and you can use a bonus action to Dash.
• When you Dash, you gain a special flying speed. You cannot fly higher, but you can go over water or gaps as though walking on water or air.
• You gain the ability to move up, down, and across vertical surfaces and upside down along ceilings, while leaving your hands free.

Destructive Greed

Starting at 13th level, your passion becomes harmful to those who stand in your way. By using at least two of your arms of Crushing Obsession, you can grapple a creature one size larger than you, using an additional hand for each size above that. When you grapple a creature with your Crushing Obsession, the target takes force damage equal to the arm's damage and their movement speed is reduced to 0.

Omni Gier

Starting at 17th level your Gier manifests incredibly clear and can use all material to its advantage. For the duration of your Manifest Gier feature, you gain proficiency with all weapons and you can also cast the spiritual weapon spell at 3rd level without limit, requiring only the somatic component. You use your Charisma for your spellcasting modifier.

Passion of Will

Giers sometimes can steal what is not material, but in the ether. Thoughts, powers, even willpower, they are all able to be taken away. The true force of gier is manifested when one can actively exert their own power over another and take the goods for themselves, leaving their opponent void of even the voice to cry out.

Soul Rend

Your obsession with souls implements onto the force of Gier implanted in you. Starting at 1st level, the arm conjured by your Crushing Obsession grows wicked claws and can now shred at another creature's very being. The arms damage type becomes magical slashing. Being able to interact with the very soul of creatures, you are able to snatch emotions or feelings from the very soul of creatures to take them for yourself, when you use your Crushing Obsession you can give up doing damage, however your attack will necessarily hit and you will be able to steal, even if in a small part, the emotions of your target; for example, if you steal happiness from your goal you will feel how much you have stolen, while he will feel less happy, or if he has been robbed of all happiness he will feel sadness. The effects of this mechanic are totally up to the DM's description, targets hit may have disadvantages on some dice rolls, may behave differently than when they have other feelings, or just feel different.

Sensory Robbery

To weaken those who oppose you, you demonstrate your power over them by taking away their senses. Starting at 3rd level, you focus your Crushing Obsession on a creature within 60 feet of you. The force of Gier goes to snatch away the target's senses. The target must make a Wisdom saving throw (DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier) or be struck with one of the following conditions: blind, deafened or grappled. At the start of the creature's following turns, they can repeat the save and end the condition on a success. Starting 9th level, you gain the choice of inflicting the restrained or incapacitated conditions, and this feature's range increases to 90 feet.

Steal Magic

Starting at 6th level, you can gain the magical powers coursing within another as it embodies their will and intent. As a reaction, you attempt to steal the magic of a spell from a creature as it is casting it within 30 feet of you. You must be able to see the creature casting the spell. You must succeed on a Charisma saving throw with a DC of 10 + the target spell's level. Upon success, you steal the spell and can cast that spell a number of times equal to your competence modifier + your charisma modifier for the next 12 hours. The target creature can no longer cast this spell for the duration. When casting, you use Charisma as your spellcasting modifier for spell attacks and determining spell saves. After 12 hours, you can no longer cast the spell and the original user regains its use. You can only have one stolen spell at a time. You must finish a long rest before using this feature again.
Starting at 13th level, you can use this feature twice before needing to finish a long rest and you can now have up to 2 stolen spells at a time.

Subvert Will

You no longer just steal the will of a creature, but you can manipulate it to your every whim when they are within the grip of your obsession. Starting at 17th level, when you successfully grapple a creature with your Crushing Obsession, the target becomes charmed by you on the beginning of their next turn if they haven't broken free of the grapple and both of you remain conscious. They behave like a slave to you, obeying your every desire, including murder or self-harm and being friendly to you and your allies. However, every time they take damage, they can make a Charisma saving throw equal to a DC of 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier. On a success, they break free of your control and are immune to its effects for the next 24 hours. They have no recollection of their time under your thrall. You can only have one creature charmed by this effect at a time.

Self Taker

Despite what is material and what is will, there are yet also giers which can take that which is innate and intrinsic. Self takers not only do this, but also integrate their new good into themselves. As such, they are sometimes also called face stealers, and can amass properties from others, both physical and metaphysical.

Take and Twist

As one who plays with bodies and identities, you can painfully warp another person's physical form as part of your obsession. Starting at 1st level, as an action, you can have it grab a creature within range, forcing them to make a Constitution saving throw. The DC for this throw is 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier. On a failed save, the creature takes 2d8 force damage as your arm painfully crushes their body.
This feature's damage increases by 2d8 when you reach 5th Level (4d8), 11th level (6d8), and 17th level (8d8).

Voice Steal

Your obsession with individuals allows you to take their vocals for yourself, eventually stealing their voice all-together. Starting at 3rd level, you can spend 1 minute listening to another creature's voice. You can then mimic that creature's voice and speech mannerisms. A creature that hears the voice you make can tell they are imitations with a successful Wisdom (Insight) check opposed by your Charisma (Deception) check.

Starting 9th level, you can use an action to steal the voice of another creature as well as use it for yourself. The target must succeed a Charisma saving throw (DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier) or become muted. They become unable to speak and cannot fulfill verbal spell components until the end of their next turn. You gain their voice to use as your own for this duration, and it is not an imitation, as you actually stole their voice. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier, regaining uses after you finish a long rest.

Replicate Face

Starting 6th level, you can proceed to take the face of another, and to a very damaging extent. As an action, you can use your Crushing Obsession to make a special attack on a creature within range. On a successful hit, damage applies as usual and the target's face becomes blurred and warped. You then gain their appearance, but not their clothes or equipment. Your base statistics and class do not change, but your race and traits becomes that of the creature whose identity you steal, as well as your physical characteristics like height and weight. This transformation lasts for 1 hour or until you dispel it with a bonus action. You must finish a short or long rest before you use this feature again.

Absorption Revive

Starting 13th level, you can heal yourself with the life essence of another as part of becoming and collecting their persona. When you use your Undying Desire, any creature within 10 feet of you has a part of their own life force ripped away by the gaping hole of longing in your soul. Every creature within range takes necrotic damage equal to your Charisma modifier. You then regain hit points equal to the amount of damage dealt.

Mind Steal

Physical transformation is child's play for you, and you move on to take even the mental faculties of your prey. Starting 17th level, you can use an action to use your Crushing Obsession to grasp at the mind of another creature within range and wrest it. The target creature must attempt a Charisma or Intelligence saving throw, you choose. The DC for this saving throw is 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier.
On a failed save, the creature's Intelligence and Charisma scores become 1. The creature can't cast Spells, activate magic items, understand language, or communicate in any intelligible way. The creature is barely aware of its surroundings or even who its allies are.
The creature can repeat this save every 24 hours, ending this feature's effect on a successful save.
For the duration of this effect, you in turn gain access to the creature's mind and memories. If the creature knows a spell and you have a spellcasting feature, you can learn what spells they know. You must finish a long rest to use this feature again.

Multiclassing

Prerequisites. To qualify for multiclassing into the gier class, you must meet these prerequisites: Charisma 14, Constitution 14

Proficiencies. When you multiclass into the gier class, you gain the following proficiencies: light armor, simple weapons, one tool kit of your choice

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