Artorias of the Abyss
Starting Ability Scores
STR 16 (+3) | INT 8 (-1)
DEX 14 (+2) | WIS 10 (+0)
CON 13 (+1) | CHA 13 (+1)
Race: Variant Human
Artorias is a swordsman at heart, dark and rotten with abyss though it is. We're gonna need to buff Strength for that, here, but also to control that Ryu-style darkness inside he's gonna need Charisma because what better way to stave off the intrusive thoughts than pizzaz
Savage Attacker
Once per turn when you roll damage for a melee weapon attack, you can reroll the weapon’s damage dice and use either total.
Background: Soldier
Far as we know you were shoved into existence a fully grown adult and have literally only ever been one of the Four Knights of Gwyn, leading his armies against whatever foes aren't dragons, rescue a princess, and become friends with the best dog.
Proficiencies: Athletics, Intimidation
Background Feature: Military Rank
You have a military rank from your career as a soldier. Soldiers loyal to your former military organization still recognize your authority and influence, and they defer to you if they are of a lower rank. You can invoke your rank to exert influence over other soldiers or requisition simple equipment or horses for temporary use. You can also usually gain access to friendly military encampments and fortresses where your rank is recognized.
Equipment
So here we have a conundrum. The Dark Souls lore states that Arty here swings a Greatsword and uses a Greatshield, but DnD Greatswords require two hands at all times and Great Shields aren't a translatable thing in this edition. Thus and therefore, I'm including a Longsword to allow you to either go hard on two handed attacks or to balance out with a shield. If you wanna yeet the shield at someone like Steve Rogers and grab the biggest sword your DM will allow and step into the Berserk references this game is full of, more power to ya.
| Item | Damage | Type | Weight | Properties |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Longsword | 1d8 | Slashing | 3lbs | Versatile (1d10) |
| Item | AC | Stealth | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Half Plate | 15+Dex Mod(Max 2) | Disadvantage | 40lbs |
| Shield | +2 | N/A | 6lbs |
Level 1 (Barbarian 1)
Yep, Barbarian. Yes, he's a knight, yes he's in armor, yes he never screams in undying rage but... actually strike that last one. Artorias is a vicious, reckless warrior hell-bent on destroying his foes and becoming the wolf his soul always knew he was. We can get that here without turning him into a LITERAL wolf as a druid.
- Proficiencies: Animal Handling, Survival
Rage
In battle, you fight with primal ferocity. On your turn, you can enter a rage as a bonus action. While raging, you gain the following benefits if you aren’t wearing heavy armor:
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You have advantage on Strength checks and Strength saving throws.
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When you make a melee weapon attack using Strength, you gain a bonus to the damage roll that increases as you gain levels as a barbarian, as shown in the Rage Damage column o f the Barbarian table.
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You have resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage. If you are able to cast spells, you can’t cast them or concentrate on them while raging. Your rage lasts for 1 minute. It ends early if you are knocked unconscious or if your turn ends and you haven’t attacked a hostile creature since your last turn or taken damage since then. You can also end your rage on your turn as a bonus action. Once you have raged the number of times shown for your barbarian level in the Rages column of the Barbarian table, you must finish a long rest before you can rage again.
Unarmored Defense
While you are not wearing any armor, your Armor Class equals 10 + your Dexterity modifier + your Constitution modifier. You can use a shield and still gain this benefit.
Level 2 (Warlock 1)
Ok, I know, I know. You can't cast while Raging. But hear me out, you cast a real banger of a spell to enable combat superiority on your end, then next turn Rage up and start swinging with some battlefield advantage or another. I think it works real well and enables us to emulate the Abyss powers Arty here exhibits.
Patron: Hexblade
Spells:
- Cantrips: Eldritch Blast, Booming Blade
- Level 1: Create Bonfire, Hex
- Pact Spells: Shield, Wrathful Smite
Hexblade's Curse
Starting at 1st level, you gain the ability to place a baleful curse on someone. As a bonus action, choose one creature you can see within 30 feet of you. The target is cursed for 1 minute. The curse ends early if the target dies, you die, or you are incapacitated. Until the curse ends, you gain the following benefits:
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You gain a bonus to damage rolls against the cursed target. The bonus equals your proficiency bonus. Any attack roll you make against the cursed target is a critical hit on a roll of 19 or 20 on the d20. .
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If the cursed target dies, you regain hit points equal to your warlock level + your Charisma modifier (minimum of 1 hit point). You can’t use this feature again until you finish a short or long rest.
Hex Warrior
At 1st level, you acquire the training necessary to effectively arm yourself for battle. You gain proficiency with medium armor, shields, and martial weapons. The influence of your patron also allows you to mystically channel your will through a particular weapon.
Whenever you finish a long rest, you can touch one weapon that you are proficient with and that lacks the two-handed property. When you attack with that weapon, you can use your Charisma modifier, instead of Strength or Dexterity, for the attack and damage rolls. This benefit lasts until you finish a long rest. If you later
Level 3 (Barbarian 2)
This is where we start to get Abyss-crazy. Artorias is literally being driven mad from the inside out by the power of a giant human-esque beastman from eons past and honestly, he's holding it together real well.
Reckless Attack
Starting at 2nd level, you can throw aside all concern for defense to attack with fierce desperation. When you make your first attack on your turn, you can decide to attack recklessly. Doing so gives you advantage on melee weapon attack rolls using Strength during this turn, but attack rolls against you have advantage until your next turn.
Danger Sense
At 2nd level, you gain an uncanny sense o f when things nearby aren’t as they should be, giving you an edge when you dodge away from danger. You have advantage on Dexterity saving throws against effects that you can see, such as traps and spells. To gain this benefit, you can’t be blinded, deafened, or incapacitated.
Level 4 (Barbarian 3)
Subclass time! Remember back when I made allusions to becoming, on all levels but the physical, a wolf? Here we go!
Additional Rage
You can now Rage three times between Long Rests
Primal Path: Totem Warrior
Spirit Seeker
Yours is a path that seeks attunement with the natural world, giving you a kinship with beasts. At 3rd level when you adopt this path, you gain the ability to cast the beast sense and speak with animals spells, but only as rituals, as described in chapter 10.
Totem Spirit: Wolf
While you're raging, your friends have advantage on melee attack rolls against any creature within 5 feet o f you that is hostile to you. The spirit of the wolf makes you a leader o f hunters.
Level 5 (Warlock 2)
Yeah you're choosing whether to beat someone about the face and head with a sword or zap 'em with that old black magic but variety is the spice of your quickly-darkening life.
New Spell
- Expeditious Retreat
Eldritch Invocations
- Devil's Sight
- Grasp of Hadaar
Level 6 (Barbarian 4)
Your main mode of damage is casting Sword at someone, so up that Barbarian casting stat, stat!
Ability Score Improvement
- +2 STR, total of 18 (+4)
Level 7 (Barbarian 5)
Extra Attack
You can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.
Fast Movement
Your speed increases by 10 feet while you aren’t wearing heavy armor.
Level 8 (Warlock 3)
Magic sword time, best time. This eliminates the need to carry two weapons, and give you the ability to just say no to enemies disarming you. Pesky guards tossing you in jail and stealing your sword? Nah.
New Spell
- Hold Person
Pact Boon: Pact of the Blade
You can use your action to create a pact weapon in your empty hand. You can choose the form that this melee weapon takes each time you create it (see chapter 5 for weapon options). You are proficient with it while you wield it. This weapon counts as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage.
Your pact weapon disappears if it is more than 5 feet away from you for 1 minute or more. It also disappears if you use this feature again, if you dismiss the weapon (no action required), or if you die.
You can transform one magic weapon into your pact weapon by performing a special ritual while you hold the weapon. You perform the ritual over the course of 1 hour, which can be done during a short rest. You can then dismiss the weapon, shunting it into an extradimensional space, and it appears whenever you create your pact weapon thereafter. You can’t affect an artifact or a sentient weapon in this way. The weapon ceases being your pact weapon if you die, if you perform the 1-hour ritual on a different weapon, or if you use a 1-hour ritual to break your bond to it. The weapon appears at your feet if it is in the extradimensional space when the bond breaks.
Level 9 (Barbarian 6)
More wolf stuff! And QUICK wolf stuff, to boot! Arty's no slouch, he's here to save dogs and slay... well, player characters, actually, but don't dwell on that.
Additional Rage
You can now Rage four times between Long Rests
Aspect of the Beast: Wolf
You gain the hunting sensibilities o f a wolf. You can track other creatures while traveling at a fast pace, and you can move stealthily while traveling at a normal pace (see chapter 8 for rules on travel pace).
Level 10 (Barbarian 7)
Feral Instinct
Your instincts are so honed that you have advantage on initiative rolls. Additionally, if you are surprised at the beginning of combat and aren’t incapacitated, you can act normally on your first turn, but only if you enter your rage before doing anything else on that turn.
Level 11 (Barbarian 8)
Dying is bad. Do not do that thing.
Ability Score Improvement
- +2 CON, total of 16 (+3)
Level 12 (Barbarian 9)
This is a big level in a Barbarian's life. Your crits get crittier, your Rage gets angrier, and your muscles get swolier.
Brutal Critical
You can roll one additional weapon damage die when determining the extra damage for a critical hit with a melee attack.
Increased Rage Damage
Your Strength-based melee attacks now deal +3 damage while you're Raging
Level 13 (Warlock 4)
So here we have a real nice combo built in that's chock full of flavor AND advantages. Your new, fancy Invocations here will let you manipulate enemy position AND craft a mass zoning challenge for them. Darkness + Devil's Sight is a real hard combo to top, and if you're in a confined area like an arena in the woods outside a provincial township, it's crushing.
New Cantrip
- Sword Burst
New Spell:
- Darkness
Ability Score Imrpovement
- +2 STR, total of 20 (+5)
Level 14 (Barbarian 10)
Artorias can have a little Druid flavor. As a treat.
Spirit Walker
At 10th level, you can cast the commune with nature spell, but only as a ritual. When you do so, a spiritual version of one of the animals you chose for Totem Spirit or Aspect of the Beast appears to you to convey the information you seek.
Level 15 (Barbarian 11)
You're old. REAL old. Literally from the beginning of recorded history old. Know how you got to BE so old? Anger. Man literally too angry to die.
Relentless Rage
Starting at 11th level, your rage can keep you fighting despite grievous wounds. If you drop to 0 hit points while you’re raging and don’t die outright, you can make a DC 10 Constitution saving throw. If you succeed, you drop to 1 hit point instead. Each time you use this feature after the first, the DC increases by 5. When you finish a short or long rest, the DC resets to 10.
Level 16 (Barbarian 12)
Rage more. Hit more. Win more.
Additional Rage
You can now Rage five times between Long Rests
Level 17 (Barbarian 13)
Hit harder. Hit better. Hit faster. Hit stronger.
Brutal Critical
You can now roll two additional weapon damage die when determining the extra damage for a critical hit with a melee attack.
Level 18 (Barbarian 14)
You fight Giants for a living, tackling some Bugbear to the ground and headbutting him into the distant past to make war on the Abyss itself is your version of an HR training day.
Totemic Attunement: Wolf
While you’re raging, you can use a bonus action on your turn to knock a Large or smaller creature prone when you hit it with melee weapon attack.
Level 19 (Barbarian 15)
Remember when you were too angry to die? Now your anger is too angry to die. This recursion, while startling, is possibly the key to perpetual motion, so long as that motion is your sword swinging.
Persistent Rage
Your rage is so fierce that it ends early only if you fall unconscious or if you choose to end it.
Level 20 (Barbarian 16)
Here the capstone folks. Your rage attacks now deal more and you're picking up a feat that reads "gain 40 HP" and that's just good math on our end. Have at it.
Rage Damage Increase
Your Strength-based melee attacks now deal +4 damage while you're Raging
Feat: Tough
Your hit point maximum increases by an amount equal to twice your level when you gain this feat. Whenever you gain a level thereafter, your hit point maximum increases by an additional 2 hit points.
Summation
So there's a lot here. Yeah, we're melding a caster into a Barbarian and that's a non-bo, but the casting here is largely setup and reserves, for if your rage somehow falls off. Overall, you're a beat-em-up in wolf-themed armor and the Hexblade patronage is here to help with that in expectable ways. Curse someone, drop some darkness, and go to town with that magic sword and insanity of darkness.
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Total HP: 260
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Average AC: 19