Ranger Conclave
Weave Warden
Some rangers hunt beasts, others hunt monsters. But Weave Wardens hunt the vilest foe of all: magic-users. They may have a vendetta against dark wizards, or may subscribe to a more general belief that magic is corrupting and not to be trusted. Either way, their mission in life is to keep arcane powers in check, and to stop spellcasters who are inclined to abuse their powers.
Weave Wardens are not fanatics; they understand that magic is a powerful tool, and are even willing to experiment with the arcane themselves. But they understand better than others that power corrupts, and none more so than the power to reshape the essence of the world. Weave Wardens study the fabric of the weave directly, delving into esoteric magical theory in order to perfect their mage-hunting techniques.
Members of this conclave tend to be Lawful, often subscribing to a code governing when magic is to be tolerated. Even the most zealous retain a certain pragmatism; they understand the need to work with friendly spellcasters when the situation demands it. But they may cast a suspicious eye on even friendly mages, especially if those erstwhile allies are too covetous of powers mortals were never meant to know.
Weave Warden Features
| Ranger Level | Feature |
|---|---|
| 3rd | Magical Theorist, Severing Strike |
| 7th | Arcane Bulwark |
| 11th | Slice the Weave |
| 15th | Weavemantle |
Weave Warden Spells
Starting at 3rd level, you learn an additional spell when you reach certain levels in this class, as shown in the table below. The spell counts as a ranger spell for you, but it doesn’t count against the number of ranger spells you know.
| Ranger Level | Spells |
|---|---|
| 3rd | detect magic |
| 5th | silence |
| 9th | counterspell |
| 13th | resilient sphere |
| 17th | circle of power |
Magical Theorist
Also at 3rd level, you have honed your skills at identifying spells and other arcanery. You gain proficiency in the Arcana skill (or another skill of your choice if you are already proficient in Arcana), and you can use your Wisdom in place of Intelligence when making Arcana checks. As a reaction to observing a creature casting a spell, you can make an Arcana check with a DC of 12 + the level of the spell to identify the spell. Even if the check fails, you still learn the school of magic and the creature's spellcasting ability.
Note: Psionics and the Weave Warden
If your campaign includes psionics, it is recommended that the Weave Warden's abilities have full effect against them. Weave Wardens excel at disrupting otherworldly power of all kinds.
Severing Strike
At 3rd level, you've developed techniques for slicing through threads of the weave directly. Once on each of your turns, when you make an attack against a creature you can see, you can disrupt the Weave with your strike. Your attack deals 1d6 additional force damage, or 2d6 additonal force damage if the target is maintaining concentration on a spell or effect. When you reach 11th level in this class, the extra damage increases to 2d6, or 3d6 if the target is maintaining concentration.
When you deal extra damage with your Severing Strike, you may also end one spell affecting the target by expending a spell slot of the same or higher level. If the target is willing, you may apply this dispel either in place of an attack or as a bonus action. Ending spells on willing targets requires no attack roll, deals no damage, and still expends a spell slot as above. It also counts as applying your Severing Strike damage for that turn, and is unavailable if you have already done so.
Arcane Bulwark
At 7th level, you gain an uncanny resistance to magic. You can add your Wisdom ability modifier to any saving throws you make against spells. In addition, when a creature within 30 feet of you fails a saving throw against a magical effect, you can choose to redirect the effect onto yourself, attempting your own saving throw and suffering the consequences as if you were the target. You can redirect an effect in this manner once per long rest.
Note: Being Targeted Twice
If you were already a target of the same magical effect (e.g. area-of-effect damage), this means the effect hits you twice, with separate saving throws.
Slice the Weave
At 11th level, you gain a preternatural ability to anticipate a foe's magic. As a reaction to an opponent within 30 feet casting a spell, you may make a single attack against them, optionally teleporting before the attack to any location within 5 feet of the target. If the attack hits, the target must make a Constitution saving throw as if concentrating on a spell; if they fail, the spell is lost. You may use this reaction once per short rest.
Weavemantle
At 15 level, your mastery of the weave is such that you can spin fragments of it to construct a shroud of pure magic. Any time you cast a spell, you conjure this mantle of arcane might. The next time an enemy would affect you with a spell, you gain advantage on any saving throws and resistance to any damage from that spell. Your Weavemantle fades at the end of a long rest.
Weave Warden quirks
The following are some optional quirks for a player of this Conclave to choose from.
| d6 | Quirk |
|---|---|
| 1 | You consider clerics and druids treacherous, and suspect they may be wizards in disguise. |
| 2 | You have tattoos or other markings that glow when you are aware of magic being cast. |
| 3 | You have difficulty sleeping when you know spellcasters to be nearby. |
| 4 | You have a particular dislike for one school of magic. |
| 5 | You get nauseous after casting spells yourself, even vomiting after expending your last slot for the day. |
| 6 | After dispelling or counterspelling enemy magic, you get a rush of adrenaline and become giddy. |
Change Log
v1.01
- Tiny language tweak
v1.0
- Removed dispel magic.
v0.4.3
- Finally got around to adding art.
v0.4.2
- Minor flavor text tweak to fix GMBinder's formatting screwups.
v0.4.1
- Minor wording updates and clarifications. Added the note about Being Targeted Twice.
v0.4
- Renamed to Weave Warden.
v0.3.1
- Added Dispel Magic to spell list.
v0.3
- Slight clarification and nerf on Slice the Weave.
- Slight buff to Arcane Bulwark to make it more general-purpose.
v0.2
- Added Mage Breaker Spells.
- Reworked Spellsight to Magical Theorist.
- Renamed Arcane Defense to Arcane Bulwark.
- Added quirks.
v0.1
- Initial draft
Credits & References:
Weave Warden created by somanyrobots Discord | Patreon
Art
- All art © Wizards of the Coast LLC, listed in order of appearance.
- Unity of Purpose, by Jason Felix
Background Image Stains
Fan Content Policy
This work is unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Fan Content Policy. Not approved/endorsed by Wizards. Portions of the materials used are property of Wizards of the Coast. ©Wizards of the Coast LLC.