Animator Class

Animators are a unique creature that aren't well known to most. While they study the arcane like wizards, they don't cower in the back line or wear robes. They wear heavy armor and wield swords but not the way fighters do. They are a unique breed that focuses on manipulating physics and sentience itself to create servants out of weapons and companions out of their tools. An animator is an impressive battlemage that will frighten even the most seasoned of warriors and attacks with a force that will split even the thickest of shields.

A thin half elf sits on a stump, clad head to toe in armor that seems entirely too heavy for him. Three bandits surround him, weapons drawn. They slowly back away as the elf's Greatsword slowly floats out of his bag and readies itself for battle.

Created by u/olkolk2015

spellcasting

Fighting style.

At second level, you gain greater mastery while using an animated weapon. Select one fighting style from the two below. When attacking with a weapon animated with your Major Animation feature, you gain the benefits of that style.

• Thrown Mastery: You gain a +2 bonus to attack rolls you make with thrown weapons.
• Dueling: When you are animating a melee weapon, you gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls with that weapon.
• Flask Master: You add twice your proficiency modifier to all rolls to drench a target in acid, oil, or any other liquid while using your Major Animacy or sentient animations features.

Animacy focus

At third level, you choose an animacy focus. These subclasses represent the focus that every animator chooses to focus on to hone their skill.

• Those who follow the way of the one focus on animating one item at a time, but they wield it with much greater power and skill than the other paths.

• The way of the few, is the classic animator subclass that focuses on being a generalist, animating a few items at a time while casting spells.

• The way of many, focuses on animating a horde of objects and using them together for a massive effect.

• These subclasses give features at levels 3, 6, 10, and 15.

Ability Score Improvement

When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature. You may also select a feat instead if you are using the variant rules.

Systematic Attack

At level 5, when you take the attack action, either with an animated weapon or one held in your hand, you may make an additional attack with an animated weapon.

Sentient Animation.

In your travels you have animated a small item to assist you in battle. When you reach seventh level, you pick one item to permanently animate by giving minor sentience similar to that of dog or cat. The item cannot speak and does its best to follow your telepathic orders and has no goals or alignment other than to please you and follow your orders. Once you animate an item using this feature you may not change its form unless it is destroyed. Should the item be destroyed, , it can be restored during a long rest by providing an item to be animated and 25 gp that is consumed by the spell.

Pick one of the following items to become animated:

• Animated dagger: With an animated knife, you gain the ability to use a reaction when melee attacked to immediately perform an attack at advantage against the attacker using the animated dagger. Additionally, you may use a bonus action to make a ranged attack using the animated dagger as if it was an animated thrown weapon. After the attack is complete, hit or miss, the dagger returns to you. When making an attack the dagger has a bonus to hit and damage equal to your proficiency bonus.

• Animated flask: With an Animated flask, you may direct the flask as a free action to have the potion move to a creature within 30 ft and either pour its contents down its throat or be covered in the substance. A willing creature drinks the contents automatically, however a hostile creature may attempt to resist the flask. If they do, they must make a DEX save against your spell save DC. On a failure they are forced to drink or be covered in the substance, on a save they avoid the flask entirely.

• Animated Armor. With Animated armor, you ignore any strength requirement to wear armor. In addition, the armor provides +1 AC while being worn by you. In order to animate a piece of armor you must attune to it. This is required even if the armor does not require attunement. Additionally, your animated armor removes the stealth disadvantage of heavy and medium armor.

• Animated cloth: With an animated cloth, you may use your bonus action to direct the cloth to move up to 30 ft and attempt to suffocate a creature. The creature in question must make an opposed grapple check against your Spell save DC or become blinded and suffocating. During the target’s turn they may use an action to repeat this check or may attack the cloth. The cloth has an AC of 14 and hp equal to half your Animator level. When killed, the cloth is unanimated until reanimated with 5gp worth of material.

• Animated rope. You animate a nonliving rope-like object, such as string, yarn, cord, line, rope, or cable of up to 50 ft or a maximum of 10lbs. You may give your rope simple movement and shaping instructions, such as: "Move one end up 30 ft in a vertical line, loop over that branch twice, and knot yourself." The rope itself does not deal damage, but can be used as a trip line, or noose-like object. If the rope is used to restrain a creature, you may attempt a special grapple. As an action, you may make a spell attack contested by the target’s Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check (the target chooses the ability to use). If you succeed, you subject the target to the grappled condition.

• Animated lantern: You animate a lantern to follow you. It casts bright light in a radius of 30 ft and dim light for an additional 30 ft. The lantern also requires no fuel to function as a result of the animation. The lantern moves as with you or as a bonus action you can command it to move an additional 30 feet. The lantern is always floating 7 feet in the air unless it must adjust height to follow you. Finally, as a bonus action you may command the lantern to try and blind a target within 30 feet. the target must make a Dex save equal to your spell save DC or be blinded until the end of its next turn.

Enhanced Animation

At the 11th level Items that you animate with both your Major Animacy and Sentient Animation features gain the following bonuses:

• They are considered magical for the purposes of overcoming resistances.
• They have +1 to any attack and damage rolls you make while using them
• They give advantage to any tool check made while using them.
• You may cast touch spells on targets that the animated item is touching.

Additional sentient animation.

At 15th Level, you may animate an additional item on the list provided at level 7. The item has minor sentience and has the intelligence level of a troll, ogre, or other unintelligent sentient creature of your choice. The item cannot speak but can communicate telepathically similar to a familiar. You choose the personality of the item but its alignment mirrors yours and its only goal is to please you.

Hostile animation

At the 18th level, you have mastered the art of animation, even if the item you are animating is in possession of another person or far away. Your Major animation feature now has a range of 30ft instead of touch and can now target items that are worn, held, or being used by other people. Should you target an item being held by another person, you may make a spell attack contested by the target’s Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check (the target chooses the ability to use). If you succeed, you animate the object, ripping it from their hands and may move it at a rate of 30ft per turn. If the item is a weapon, you may attack with it using your attack action as normal.

Additionally, when you are attacked with a melee weapon, you may use your reaction to impose a -5 to hit and reduce the damage taken by the attack if it hits by 5 points. You may use your reaction this way a number of times equal to your INT modifier.

Manic animation.

By level 20 you have mastered the arcane art of animation. As an action you may animate all things around you to work for you, and against your enemies. Manic animation lasts for 1 minute and has the following effects.

• All terrain in a 50 by 50-foot cube becomes difficult terrain for all hostile creatures and deals them 1 damage for every 5 feet that they move.
• Your allies ignore any pre-existing difficult terrain or environmental hazards other than fall damage.
• All allies who make an attack roll or spell attack role against a creature in the cube have advantage.
• All enemies who make an attack roll or spell attack role against an ally in the cube have disadvantage.
• All allies have advantage on saving throws while in the cube.
• All enemies who leave the cube take damage equal to your level plus your INT modifier.
• Taking damage does not trigger concentration checks on animator spells while you are in the cube.

You may use Manic Animation once per long rest

Way of the few:

The way of the few is the most commonly encountered form of Animacy. These battle mages often wear heavy armor that is similar to most paladins. These mages, however, focus on the arcane rather than the divine like their holy cousins. These animators chose to focus on animating a few items, increasing their options in battle while still maintaining control of each individual weapon. The most famous followers of the way of the few are said to animate the bones in their body to enhance their martial prowess.

Way of the one

Those who focus on the Way of the One focus on animating one item at a time rather than a few or a mass amount. The bond they create is much stronger as a result and the magic is significantly more potent in terms of raw power. Those who follow this path often look strange as the contrast of the massive weapons of war they employ often dwarfs the mage controlling it.

Way of the Many

The way of the many focuses on animating a horde of items as a single entity rather than animating single items. This leads to a brute force hail of items being animated at a single time.

New Spells

The Angerhoffer House Smash

Evocation Spell Level 1

• Casting Time: 1 Reaction
• Range: Self
• Components: V, S
• Duration: Instant

The House of Angerhoffer is a suspicious lot that are rarely surprised and are never the last to get in the fight. This spell was custom crafted for the rare situation where someone manages to react quicker than they do. When a creature moves within 5 feet of you before you have taken an action in combat, you may cast this spell to immediately make an unarmed attack. If you hit, roll 1d6. The target takes the result in bludgeoning damage, and once more in force damage.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, you add an additional damage type for slot level above 1st. For example this spell deals 1d6 of bludgeoning necrotic, force, and once again of a damage type of your choosing at 2nd level casting.

Word of Force

Evocation cantrip

Wizard, Animator, Sorcerer, Warlock

• Casting Time: 1 Action
• Range: Self
• Components: V, S
• Duration: Instant

You speak a word of force that pushes all enemies and objects away from you. All creatures and unworn objects your size and smaller within 5 feet of you must make a STR save against your spell save DC or take 1d6 force damage and be knocked 5 feet away from you in a line.

The spell’s damage increases by 1d6 when you reach 5th level (2d6), 11th level (3d6), and 17th level (4d6).