Introduction

Table of Contents

Red Mage

Among the weeds a beautiful rose blooms, its arsenal a piercing thorn. The scarlet-clad warrior dives into the midst of combat, her rapier empowered by unique energy. She strikes down enemies with blinding speed and powerful magic as she moves toward her next target.

A confident smirk spreads across the face of the veteran red mage. He unleashes spell after spell in quick succession, drawing on countless elements, casting relentlessly until his opponent is annihilated.

Like a lightning bolt streaking through the battlefield, she   makes quick work of foe after foe. At the first sign of danger,   the crimson beauty flips over the head of the enemy behind      her, letting loose a wave of energy as a parting gift.

 Red Mages have drawn on a multitude of disciplines    across the world, mixing black and white magic along with   focused swordplay and style. All of these abilities have   combined in this alluring mix of talent and flair.

Creating a Red Mage

When creating a red mage, you must consider why they may be heading out on their adventure. They may have learned of a plot which endangers their home, perhaps even the world as a whole, and will stop at nothing to prevent it. Or maybe it is simply a need to chase the thrill of adventure, garner fame, and become a hero of legend.

One key consideration to make as a red mage is where you came to learn your myriad of skills. Was it through the study of old tomes you discovered in an abandoned warehouse or library? Did you meet a mentor who saw great potential in you and introduced you to the art? Whatever the origin, you wield powerful magic and elegant martial skills.

Quick Build

You can make a red mage quickly by following these suggestions. First, make Dexterity or Intelligence your highest ability score, followed by the other as your second highest. Second, take the Folk Hero background. Third, take the Booming Blade, Jolt, and Prestidigitation cantrips, along with the 1st-level spells Burning Hands, Healing Word, and Magic Missile.

Pictured: The city-state of Ala Mhigo in
the Gyr Abania region and a red mage

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.

If your DM allows the use of feats, you may instead take a feat.

Embolden

At 5th level, you gain the ability to give yourself an edge during a situation. When you make an ability check, you can expend a Balance die and add the number rolled to your check. You make this decision before the d20 roll. You can use this feature once per short or long rest.

You gain more uses when you reach certain levels in this class: at 9th level you can use it twice per rest, and at 17th level three times.

Reprise

Starting at 6th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn. Moreover, you can cast one of your cantrips with a casting time of 1 action in place of one of those attacks. This feature doesn't stack with other instances of the Extra Attack class feature.

Acceleration

Beginning at 18th level, you can push yourself to your limits and gain access to even faster casting. As an action during a turn where you've used Dualcast, you can expend one of each

Manaward

At 3rd level, you can reserve your mana to maintain a barrier. You reserve mana by reducing your maximum number of Balance dice, making them irrecoverable until you finish a long rest. Unexpended dice exceeding this new maximum are lost. As an action, you can choose the following options, each lasting until you finish a long rest:

• You can reserve a number of black Balance dice to gain a +1 bonus to AC plus another +1 for each 2 black dice reserved.
• You can reserve a number of white Balance dice to gain a +1 bonus to Constitution saving throws plus another +1 for each 2 white dice reserved.

These bonuses don't stack with the Wizard's Bladesong class feature.

Aetherstrike

Beginning at 7th level, you gain the ability to channel an unstable mix of mana through your weapon, which bursts into violent magic. Once per turn when you hit a creature with a melee weapon attack, you can expend one of each Balance dice to deal the numbers rolled as force damage to the target, and you can choose to expend a spell slot dealing an extra 1d8 for each spell level higher than 1st. If the target is Huge or smaller, you can also force it to make a Strength saving throw. If it fails the save, you can knock it prone or push it 10 feet away from you.

Spell Combat

Also at 7th level, being within 5 feet of a hostile creature doesn't impose disadvantage on your ranged spell attack rolls.

Enchanted Blade

When you reach 11th level, magic courses naturally through your sword. Your melee weapon attacks score a critical hit on a roll of 19 or 20. In addition, whenever you score a critical hit, you can sap magic from your opponent to replenish your mana, regaining a Balance dice of your choice.

Riposte

At 14th level, you can quickly punish foes who fail to hit you with their strikes. When a creature misses you with a
melee attack, you can use your reaction to make two
attacks against the creature. These attacks count as
opportunity attacks.

Aether Magic

At 3rd level, you tap into the Aether and broaden your magical knowledge: you learn additional spells when you reach certain levels in this class if you don't already know them, as shown in the Aether Magic Spells table.

Each given level, you can only choose to learn one of the spells provided. These spells don't count against the number of red mage spells you know.

Liquification

At 3th level, you can bolster your mana with your magic reserves. As a bonus action, you can expend one spell slot to gain a number of Balance dice equal to twice the slot's level. You can choose how many of those dice are black or white.

Manafication

At 7th level, you're more powerful when your mana is balanced. When you use a Balanced Mana feature while you have an equal number of black and white Balance dice, you can add your Intelligence modifier to the result of the Balance die roll.

  Minor Dualcast

      Beginning at 11th level, swift casting of spells comes           naturally to you. When you take the Attack action, you                  can replace both attacks with cantrips, ignoring

rules on spells cast per turn. Cantrips requiring you to make multiple spell attacks or a melee weapon attack can't be used with this feature.

You can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Vermilion Spells

By 14th level, you've learned how to fuse either black or white mana with aether to cast a powerful spell. As an action, you can expend one of each Balance dice and an appropriate spell slot to cast the spell Verflare or Verholy (see at the end of this document). In addition, you can choose to expend one more of each Balance dice to cast the spell as a bonus action instead.

You don't learn these spells and can only cast them through this feature. Once you cast either spell, you can't do so again until you finish a long rest, unless you expend two Balance dice on top of the normal cost to use it again.

The Fringes of Gyr Abania

Like much of Gyr Abania, the Fringes are arid and prone to violent thunderstorms. The area is divided in half by the Velodyna River, which plunges into a deep canyon.

Grand Finale

When you reach 14th level, you are able to perform an awe-inspiring dance with equally majestic swordplay, that is both beautiful and deadly.

As an action, you can expend three Balance dice, and for the duration of this turn, whilst moving within 5 feet of a creature, you can make a number of melee weapon attacks against that creature for every 10 feet you move. You deal an extra two Balance dice as force damage on your first hit. The number of attacks you can make with this feature is limited to a maximum of 5.

You can't use this feature again until you finish a long rest, unless you expend two Balance dice on top of the normal cost to use it again.

August 13th 2021, ver 1.5:

• clarified Spellcasting Focus, Corps-a-corps, Displacement, Jolt
• nerfed Balanced Mana's features to limit the number of creatures healed/damaged to be the same as the triggering spell's level
• removed requirement for Limit Break to have 0 Balance Dice
• reworked Manaward
• changed Aetherstrike to optionally use spell slots
• added Spell Combat
• reworked Enchanted Blade
• switched Redoublement with Riposte and buffed the latter
• removed the Advice for DMs descriptive block
• bumped Liquification from 7th level to 3rd
• reduced Vermilion Spell's cost from two of each dice to one of each
• buffed Grand Finale to a max of 5 attacks and reducing its cost and re-use cost by one each
• added Blade Ward, Resistance, Jump, Longstrider, and Tasha's Otherworldly Guise to spell list

July 24rd 2021, ver 1.41:

• fixed text pertaining to spells known
• clarified Balanced Mana
• changed Embolden to scale per level
• reduced the Jolt spell's extra crit damage from triple base damage to double +1d8 damage

July 22nd 2021, ver 1.4:

• removed Aether and aether points
• total rework of Balanced Mana to be the main class resource
• reworked every feature with aether point cost to be based on Balanced Mana
• changed Embolden's decision point from after the roll to before the roll and limited it to 2/rest
• renamed Extra Attack to Reprise to signify that it's not just the generic extra attack feature
• nerfed Acceleration to have a resource cost
• replaced Aetheric Mastery with Limit Break
• buffed Verflare's damage from a total of 8d6 to 10d6
• removed Vermilion Scourge spell
• updated wordings, page formatting, and images

July 17th 2021, ver 1.32:

• reworked spell slots to a gradual progression and adjusted multiclassing rules
• increased overall spells known by 1
• shuffled features around AGAIN to try and hit similar power spike levels compared to other classes
• improved wording of Balanced Mana, and limited spells that can turn the die b. or w. to 1st or higher
• removed Dualcast's spell level limitation to make the class less convoluted
• limited Extra Attack's available cantrips
• changed Aether Magic's spells to provide a white and black spell each level
• ...