Living Armor (5e Class)

Bearer of The Curse of The Living Armor

The air is damp and heavy. The line of men, torches in hand, make their way through the tight cavern with care. Vines cover the walls and water drips from an unseen point in the ceiling. "Look, the ground, there are bricks!" the lead man shouts excitedly. The floor has gone from rough stone composties to ancient, yellowed and mossed, bricks. Excitedly, they push on, knowing their prize lays just ahead. After a few minutes, their march has ceased. The cave comes to an end infront of them. In the wall, the stone bricks creep up its face, surounding a massive, circular, vault door, which appears to be as old as the stone around it. An empty helm bearing two large horns adorns the door as a carving. Excited murmers drift about the group, and in a mighty heave, they rip the door off its tomb. A horrible stench reeks through the gaping hole. The men peer in quizitivly, hesitant to enter. Finally, one musters the courage to step through. As he steps into the dark room, torches adorning the small, circular room are lit ablaze. In the center, their prize is revealed. On a circular pedestal, a suit of ancient armor stands. It is covered in vines and moss, lost to the sands of time. Rough bronze patches peek through underneath. Many parts in the armor seem to come to a point, most noticably, the two large ox like horns, adorning its helm. The man walks closer to inspect the armor. His colleagues shout out warnings, but they are too late. Before he can react, the suit of armor shoots out an arm and grabs the explorer by the neck. The bronze breastplate, with a shudder, begins to open, revealing a rotted and long dead skeleton on the inside. The ancient remains fall out and the man is enclosed into the suit. Aware of the armor's curse, the new bear of the armor breaks for the door, reaching for one of his old friends, trying to put them in his place; however when he reaches the door, he finds that they have closed him inside the tomb, doomed to rot for eternity.

Bearers of the Curse of The Living Armor, otherwise shortened to Living Armor, have been trapped inside armor that they cannot escape. Their soul will live forever inside the armor until someone else less fortunate than them takes their place. It is supposed that only one suit of this armor exists, but this is only a theory.

Creating Living Armor

Quick Build

You can make Living Armor quickly by following these suggestions. First, Constitution should be your highest ability score, followed by Wisdom and Strength.

Class Features

As a Living Armor you gain the following class features.

Hit Points

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

Proficiencies

Armor: None
Weapons: Simple and Martial
Tools:
Saving Throws: Strength, Constitution
Skills: Choose two from Arcana, History, Insight, Persuasion, Deception, or Athletics

Equipment

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

• (a) One simple melee weapon or (b) One martial melee weapon or (c) One ranged weapon and 60 ammunition for it
• (a) Explorer's pack or (b) Priest's pack
• An ancient sickle
• The ancient armor that encases your body

Table: The Living Armor

Level	Proficiency Bonus	Features	Cantrips	—Spell Slots per Spell Level—
				1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th
1st	+2	Access to Armaments, Animus Armatura	2	—	—	—	—	—
2nd	+2	Runic Adaption, Spellcasting	2	2	—	—	—	—
3rd	+2	Lost Path	3	3	—	—	—	—
4th	+2	Ability Score Improvement	3	3	—	—	—	—
5th	+3	Extra Attack, Enhanced Steel	3	4	2	—	—	—
6th	+3	Metal to Mana, Runic Score Improvement	3	4	2	—	—	—
7th	+3	Lost Path	3	4	3	—	—	—
8th	+3	Ability Score Improvement, Animus Armis	3	4	3	—	—	—
9th	+4	Personal Weapon Mastery	3	4	3	2	—	—
10th	+4	Armor with a Purpose	4	4	3	2	—	—
11th	+4	Personal Weapon Mastery	4	4	3	3	—	—
12th	+4	Ability Score Improvement, Enhanced Steel	4	4	3	3	—	—
13th	+5	Lost Path	4	4	3	3	1	—
14th	+5	Mind of Magic	4	4	3	3	1	—
15th	+5	Armor with a Purpose	4	4	3	3	2	—
16th	+5	Ability Score Improvement, Animus Armis	4	4	3	3	2	—
17th	+6	Runic Score Improvement	4	4	3	3	3	1
18th	+6	Lost Path	4	4	3	3	3	1
19th	+6	Ability Score Improvement, Enhanced Steel	4	4	3	3	3	2
20th	+6	Mind of Magic, Eternal Titan	4	4	3	3	3	2

Class Limitation

The Living Armor is unable to wield equipment not made of its own self. You may equip rings, capes, clothes, but armors and shields must be forged from your shards (Access to Armaments).

Antimagic Susceptibility

You are incapacitated while in the area of an antimagic field. If targeted by dispel magic, you must succeed on a Constitution saving throw against the caster's spell save DC or fall unconscious for 1 minute.

Animus Armatura

At 1st level you gain a set of armor that is bound to you by magical runes. This armor is older than time, and it shows. It might have vines and plant life creeping over its body. However, the appearance is ultimatly up to you.

You can don or doff this armor as an action on your turn. When you don this armor, your AC with it equals 10 + your Constitution modifier + your Wisdom modifier, with a minimun of 10 AC. When you doff this armor, it retracts towards a bronze medallion depicting your armor's helm, which is fused into your chest or other part of your body if you wish. This medallion cannot be removed from your body by any means. When donning the armor, the face of the medallion opens and the armor spreads out from that point. Any weapons you have that are made of shards can be absorbed into the armor, but do not have to be. You cannot don other armor, even when your ancient armor is doffed.

Access to Armaments

Your armor is like a living organism, always growing and replacing itself, leaving excess armor shards. You can transmute this excess into a special kind of weapon.

At 1st, you can take this shard of armor and, using a bonus action, morph it into a melee weapon of your choice. This weapon is considered magical for the purpose of overcoming resistances to nonmagical damage, and it deals 1d8 slashing damage, regardless of the chosen shape. In addition, this weapon has the following properties: Versatile (1d10) and Thrown (20/60).

You cannot be disarmed of this weapon unless you are incapacitated. Whenever a creature other than you holds this weapon, you can use your action to cause spikes to grow from the shard weapon, forcing it to make a Dexterity saving throw equal to 8 + your weapon attack bonus. If it fails, it takes 2d4 slashing damage and immediately drops the weapon to the ground. As long as the shard is on the same plane as you, you also know its precise location at all times.

You start with having one shard. This shard is not absorbed back into your armor unless you choose it to. Removing this first shard does not decrease your AC. You can choose to remove another shard to forge another weapon at the cost of reducing your AC by 1 point for each additional shard used to create a weapon. You cannot remove an amount of shards that would bring your AC below 10. For example, if you have 14 AC, you can take no more than 4 shards out of your armor. When you complete a long rest, these weapons vanish and your armor is restored to the original amount of AC.

Runic Adaption

As a frontline spellcaster, you realize that it's not the smartest idea to cast ranged spells up close all the time. Knowing as much, you’ve inscribed runes in your gauntlets to aid your close-range aim.

At 2nd level, you no longer suffer disadvantage when casting a ranged spell at close range. In addition, if you can lay your hands on the target, you may cast single target ranged spells as a touch spell.

Spellcasting

The Living Armor casts spells from the wizard spell list, using Wisdom as their spell casting modifier. Spell DCs are 8 + Proficiency + Wisdom modifier.

At 2nd level, the Living Armor starts with 2 Cantrips, and 6 1st level spells. When leveling up, the Living Armor may inscribe one new spell in its armor. It may only learn spell levels as high as its highest known slot.

The armor is the Living Armor's focus, and each spell it knows is inscribed into runes on the inside of the armor. Thus, spells, once learned, cannot be forgotten or overwritten.

Lost Path

At 3rd level, the Living Armor may choose between two different paths, lost to the sands of time, in which to develop its power- Archaic Sage or Ancient Titan, which are detailed at the bottom of the page. These subclasses grant abilities at 3rd, 6th, 11th, and 17th levels.

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.

Extra Attack

Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.

Enhanced Steel

Your armor is continuously evolving, in response to your ever-growing hostile environment.

Starting at 6th level, you gain an additional +1 to your AC. This bonus increases to +2 at 13th level, and +3 at 17th level. In addition, whenever you use your Access to Armament feature, you can choose to remove this bonus from your armor to add it to the attack or damage bonus of one weapon you create as an action. For example, at 13th level you could remove 2 AC and add +1 to both your attack and damage bonuses, or +2 to one of them.

Metal to Mana

You've experimented with your excess armor, and have learned to apply its runic energy to magic.

At 6th, you may use a bonus action to spend up to 3 AC to restore one spell slot. The level of the spell slot regained in that manner equals the AC reduction. For example, you must reduce your AC in 2 points to regain a 2nd-level spell slot. You may restore up to 3rd-level spell slots this way. You regain any AC point spent in that manner after finishing a long rest.

Armor with a Purpose

You've discovered some ancient runes that bestow magical resistance into the metal it's inscribed on. At 10th, you gain resistance to one of the following damage types: acid, cold, fire, force, lightning, necrotic thunder, poison, psychic or radiant.

You may choose another damage type resistance at 15th.

Mind of Magic

The armor isn't just adapting physically anymore. It's learning.

At 14th level, you gain proficiency with wisdom saving throws, and you may spend 2 AC to forcefully succeed on Wisdom saving throws. You also have advantage on saving throws against being charmed, frightened, or being controlled.

At 20th, you've unlocked the secrets of the spell casting magic imbued in your runes. You inscribe one final spell into your armor. This does not replace the spells you've learned upon reaching 20th. Your choices are not limited to the wizard spell list, but are still limited by your maximum spell level.

In addition, choose one signature spell of 3rd level or lower. You may cast this spell at its lowest level without expending spell slots. Casting this spell at higher spell levels still expends slots as normal.(You cannot chose animate dead as the signature spell)

Eternal Titan

At 20th, you gain additional 4 points to your Constitution, up to a new maximum of 24. In addition, you gain immunity to all non-magical slahing, bludgeoning, and piercing damage when your armor is fully donned and you have all of your shards absorbed, exept for any free shards.

Subclasses

Archaic Sage

As an Archaic Sage, you view your armor more as a resource for your magic, rather than protection.

Glyph of Pain

At 3rd level, for all offensive damage spells, you may add your proficiency modifier to the damage rolls.

Runic Empowerment

You've chosen to focus on your magical aspects other than your physical aspects.

At 6th level, you no longer receive one free use of Access to Armaments per rest, for a total of two free uses. All other weapons made will cost 1 AC. You now use the full spellcaster (spell slot) table. You may also inscribe three new 3 spells into your armor. And now every level henceforth, you may inscribe two spells into your armor instead of one.

Mana-based Armor

At 11th level, you may spend 2 AC to recover one spell slot up to 5th-level. You may spend 3 AC to recover one spell slot up to 7th-level. You may also restore 2 3rd level or lower spell slots for 1 AC. You may not restore more spell slots than the maximum per level as defined by the "full" spellcasting table.

Overwhelming spell

At 18th level, if an enemy would have succeeded on a spell DC check or save, you may spend 1 AC force them to fail(legendary resistance can negate this). You may use this ability three times per short rest.

Ancient Titan

You like being untouchable. You want to be even more so. Magic is nice, but survival is priority.

Access to Aegis

At 3rd level, you may use Access to Armaments to form a shield as well. The shield's AC can not be used for Metal to Mana. For the purpose of negating the AC penalty with shards, the shield does not draw from your AC when summoned.

Sunken In

When you decide to settle into a defensive stance, no one can break through. At 7th level, if you do not use your movement on your turn you go into a defensive stance. All attacks made against you are done with disadvantage in this state. In addition, if a creature tries to leave your attack range and you manage to hit them with an opportunity attack, you reduce their movement to 0. If you take the Sentinel feat, you not only reduce their speed to 0, but also make them fall prone. Furthermore, any attack or effect that knocks you prone that you make a save for, you make the save with advantage.

In order to use this ability, you must not move on your turn. If you move or are moved, the ability is no longer active.

You must be wielding your armor to use this ability.

Hostile Barrier

You might not be the heaviest hitter, but ignoring you isn’t a wise decision. At 11th level, whenever an enemy steps into your attack range, you may force them to make a strength saving throw and shove them with your shield. If they fail then their movement speed is reduced to 0. If they succeed their movement is halved (rounded down). If you, additionally, have the Sentinel feat, then they are knocked prone.

You must be wielding your shield to use this ability.

Anti-Magic Master

All your experience with magic has taught you just how to deal with it to minimize its effects. At 18th level, you have advantage on all spell-caused saving throws.

You must have your shield or armor equippted to use this ability.

Multiclassing

In order to multiclass into Living Armor, you must come across a set of the cursed armor and enter the suit. You also gain proficiency in martial melee weapons.

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