The Protagonist

An unassuming halfling watches as his heroic companions quickly conjure spells and slash their gleaming swords at the mind flayers, but the halfling is only watching, a doomed expression on his face. A struggling comrade's look tells him that its time for him to fight. With hesitation, the inexperienced halfling unsheathes a small sword, and a with a blow exaggerate from the halfling's level of strength, he slays the beast, landing on the ground and panting, surprised he was able to commit to such a feat of heroics.

Boom, boom, are the sounds of monstrous orc feet trampling natural material, grunting and growling, recklessly swinging their bloodied swords around them. A human wearing nothing but a normal garment of clothing and childishly adjusting her heavy sword and shield, which are obviously to big for her anxiously spectates. She had never wanted to be in a battle, but waiting on the edge of one she couldn't escape is even worse. But nonetheless, she meets the army in a heroic clash, shockingly defeating the militia with little effort and training.

In the shadowy depths of a dark mountainous crevice, the valiant halfling faced the unspeakable terror of the giant spider, a creature of nightmarish proportions. With courage fueled by friendship and an unyielding sense of duty, the small figure demonstrated remarkable bravery, confronting the monstrous foe to protect the burdened companion caught in the web of despair. Amidst the clashing of wills, the halfling's determination shone like a beacon, revealing the indomitable strength that can be found in the smallest of hearts when faced with overwhelming darkness.

These are all examples of the heroically fumbling characters whose abilities may not seem to amount to anything, yet nevertheless they endure and defeat their enemies with courage and strength.

Quick Build

When you are creating a protagonist quickly, consider following these steps. Firstly, Charisma should be your highest ability score, followed immediately by either Strength or Constitution. Secondly, choose the civilian background later in this class.

Class Features

As a protagonist, you gain the following class features.

Protagonists and Death

Because protagonists play such an important role as somewhat of the main character, dying is never really good for them or the plot. Protagonists have excellent defense only because of this. When a protagonist dies, it is not always good for another person to just step in and take over for them: their influence is theirs alone and cannot be replicated. Most protagonists are natural masters t avoiding death, so it remains in their favor to live, but not all are able to escape the reaper's clutches.

That being said, some of the most famous protagonist's journeys ended in their untimely death, but in these stories the evil often wins. If the protagonist does not find a way, no one will. To summarize, protagonists are vital to the plot and their avoidance of death is a key aspect of their characteristics and abilities.

Unarmored Defense

You are protected without ask from some divine power, and it allows you to stay safe even without the heavy weight of suits of armor.

Starting at 1st level, when you are not wearing armor, your Armor Class is equal to 12 + your Charisma modifier, instead of the usual 10 + your Dexterity modifier.

Introduction

This is your beginning, your origin. This point in the plot is where you are introduced: your personal introduction. This is where your story begins.

At 1st level, you are at the point of your introduction, where your story begins. Because of this, you gain one feat or racial feat that you qualify for of your choice. This feat counts as a class feature.

Plot Influence

You know how to directly predispose the story that you take part in as the main character, sometimes without even realizing that you have done it.

Beginning at 2nd level, you have learned to use your vital importance in the story to literally transform the plot whenever you want. You gain 2 plot points, and you gain more at certain protagonist levels, as shown on the plot points column of the protagonist class table. When you use a plot point, you expend it, and you regain all expended uses at the end of a long rest. Sometimes, effects that you expend your plot points to use require you to make an attack roll or for an target to make a saving throw, so calculate the attack modifier and the save DC as shown below.

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 cannot increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.

Extra Attack

Though your fighting and combat abilities are not as honed as that of some of your companions, but you are able to miraculously attack effectively.

At 5th level, when you take the attack action on your turn, you attack it two times consecutively, instead of the regular one attack normal for the action.

Rising Action

Your life is finally getting exciting, and events are becoming more exhilarating with each experience. The plot in your story is getting good, thus the rising action.

When you reach 5th level, the action in your story is rising to exciting levels. You are able to expend a plot point to give a creature that you can see within 60 feet of you a use of your heroic moment or plot armor feature to be used within the next hour. You can also expend an extra plot point when using your plot armor feature to use it as a bonus action or a reaction instead.

When you reach 15th level, this feature improves to allow you to expend a plot point to give a plot influence option to a creature you can see within 30 feet of you to be within the next hour.

Comeback

Hurtfulness makes you stronger, without pain you do not gain. You are able to strike back double strong when you have been targeted and beaten.

When you reach 7th level, after you have been attacked and taken over 25 damage from that single attack, you can comeback stronger. When you have taken 25 damage or more from a single attack, you can use your action to attack that creature, dealing double damage on a hit. The target must also succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or be frightened of you and knocked prone for 1 minute.

Facer of Fears

You are so mentally strong in your brave spirit that you are basically immune to fear, and moreover facing your fears excites you and boosts you.

At 7th level, facing your fears makes you stronger. When you are subjected to an effect that gives you the frightened condition, you can use a plot point to not be frightened. If you choose to endure the frightened condition instead, you gain a bonus equal to your Charisma modifier for the next attack you make.

Plot Savant

Your vital importance is so influential that your decisions alter the plot of your story permanently, whether for good or for evil, sometimes even without the protagonist noticing.

Starting at 9th level, you can influence your story with little effort and ease. When you use a plot point, you can choose to use it as a bonus action instead of an action. You still expend the plot point normally. You can use this feature once per every long rest.

Time Crunch

When you are in a situation where you have to cut things close or an overall time crunch, you are able to seemingly extend time to do what you need to do.

Beginning at 9th level, you are able to crunch time to fit your needs. During combat, you can take an extra action in your turn. You can use this feature once per long rest.

When you reach 13th level, this feature improves, letting you use this feature twice per long rest. At 17th level, it can be used three times per long rest.

Grow and Learn

You are able to grow with your many experiences and learn lots of vital information about them. With every day you learn something new.

At 11th level, your experiences in battle and pursuit of knowledge allow you to adapt dynamically to challenges. When you finish a short or long rest, you may choose one ability score or skill you have proficiency in. For the next 24 hours, you can replace the chosen ability score or skill with another ability score or skill of your choice. You can switch between these two at any point during that duration. When you use this feature, you expend a plot point.

Heartwarming Speech

While you travel sullenly through the wilderness, or after you have been brutally mauled by monsters, you are able to lift your companions spirits by delivering a heartwarming speech to your friends.

At 11th level, you are able to warm the hearts of your compatriots with your words. As a bonus action, you can speak a specific string of words, and any ally you can see and hear within 30 feet of you gains a d10, which they keep until they use it on any roll they wish. When you use this feature you expend a single plot point.

Substantial Sacrifice

When things are looking bad, and the lives of your friends are threatened, that is where you shine: you sacrifice yourself to save others.

At 11th level, sacrifice is your specialty. You can expend a plot point to deal up to 50 damage (your choice) to yourself, and have up to three people you can see within 60 feet of you heal the same amount of health as the damage you take.

Driven by Despair

Your tragic losses drive you to strive and thrive, helping you to press on or exact revenge on the one who has murdered your beloved friend or compatriot.

When you reach 13th level in this class, you become resistant to the gripping effects of losses. You do not maintain any trauma at all through tragic or traumatic events, to put it simply, you are immune to trauma. This makes you immune to being subjected to fear or any other condition your DM may associate with trauma or tragic loss.

Press On

Despite your pain, besides your losses, you press on, carrying out your task with wholesome and utmost determination, however daunting or seemingly impossible it may be.

At 17th level, you have become so downright indispensable that what seems to be now divine intervention keeps you safe from harmful foes. All damage you take while you are under half your hit point maximum is reduced by 10 (if you use your plot armor it adds up). Also, if you are knocked unconscious or reduced to 0 hit points, you can choose to wake up or be knocked only to 1 hit point instead. You can use the ability to awaken yourself and to stay safe from death a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier, regaining all expended uses at the end of a long rest.

Epic Climax

The epic and fearless climax is the undoubtedly the most supreme aspect of any story, whether it be a preeminent battle, an intense debate, or some other heroic similar thing.

When you reach 18th level, you have reached the most climactic point in your career as the main character. When you fail a saving throw or do not succeed on an ability check or attack roll, you can choose to succeed instead. You can use this feature to also decide the roll of a damage die. When you use this feature, you expend a single plot point.

This is Your Story

The story has been yours all along, you just didn't know it. You have become the embodiment of a hero, a fairy tale main character who despite all obstacles, continues adventuring and resumes living.

Finally, when you reach 20th level, you are the paramount character in the lives of your companions, and the story of your great deeds and your journey will carry on for centuries after your death. When you take damage, you can choose to not take it, provided that the damage is under 100. Also, your importance lets you ignore a few universal rules to complete your task or adventure. You can only activate two of these features at a time, each one remaining in effect for 1 hour after its activation.

• You ignore rough terrain
• You ignore handicaps you may have gained from an injury (such as having a finger lost but still able to hang onto a rocky cliff)
• You gain a climbing or swimming speed of 30 feet
• You ignore damage from falling
• You ignore damage from drowning for 1 minute
• You double your walking, swimming, or climbing speed (swimming and climbing speeds are if you have them)

Conclusion

Finally, the end of your story has been reached. Your conclusion has come. But that does not mean your story is over, it has much more to finish.

At 20th level, your conclusion has been reached. You can make a creature the target of an effect similar to the spell suggestion. The DC is your plot save DC. When you use this feature, you expend a plot point.

Protagonist Chapters

Presented in this section of the protagonist class are the multiple subclasses, known as protagonist chapters, for characters with the protagonist class. The protagonist chapters herein are the Chapter of Bravery, the Chapter of Good versus Evil, the Chapter of Redemption, and the Chapter of Travel. Their features are also shown here.

Despite all Odds

People, usually more experienced soldiers, would call you weak, and would say that you cannot win against your enemies, but despite all odds you have victory.

When you reach 6th level, your bravery in the face of total doom compels you to conquest. If you are under a third of your hit point maximum and are facing a creature whose challenge rating is higher than your protagonist level plus your Charisma modifier, you can increase the range of your critical hits from 20 to 19-20 instead, boosting your performance in battle.

Surge of Bravery

Your small flame of courage ignites a spark and blazes a fire, giving you surges of immense bravery, making you just as fierce a fighter as other soldiers, maybe even fiercer.

At 10th level, you gain a surge of bravery time after time when you need it. As a bonus action on your turn, you can activate your courageous surge of ability, which remains in effect for 10 minutes. During this duration, any creature to whom you deal over 30 damage with an attack loses a limb or appendage of your choosing and maintains the detriments that accompany it.

Victory

Somehow, despite your inexperience and your intimidated and scared manner towards battle, you fearlessly win nonetheless. Victory is yours.

Finally, at 14th level, you become the embodiment of victory within your adventuring group. Set up a counter, for each creature you kill, you gain a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls you make against any other creature you attack. This adds up as you go along killing monsters, but it resets after s1 hour passes.

Chapter of Good versus Evil

As a protagonist of the Chapter of Good versus Evil, you are a hero, a good guy who must face the bad guy and win. Protagonists of this chapter often have a main antagonist, a villain, who they must continuously confront until they achieve their victory.

Chapter of Redemption

Regaining honor or restoring your family name is literally the most important thing to protagonists of the Chapter of Redemption. They strive endlessly to deprive themselves of the misdemeanor with which they are treated, and they dream of a time when they are honored as a legend and as a hero instead of a dishonored villain.

Dishonored Devotion

Even though you have unfairly been dishonored, you remain loyal and devoted no matter what. You may be loyal to your friends, your family, or your country.

When you take this protagonist subclass at 3rd level, your being dishonored has not affected your determination or devotion to your friends and family. Choose one creature that is within 1 mile of you or is related to you by blood. You create a bond with that creature, and at any time when that creature is attacked, you can use a reaction to half the damage. You can also speak telepathically with that creature without limits. If the bonded creature exits the 1 mile range, the bond is ended. You can only have one creature bonded to you at a time.

Strength in Numbers

You do your best work with other people, especially other dishonored or exiled civilians. This strength in numbers is why you seeked out a a party of adventurers to share in your exiled pain and strengthen you to redeem yourself.

Also at 3rd level, you are strong from being together, working and fighting with other people. As an action, when an ally that you can both see and hear within 30 feet of you makes an attack, you can aid them by rolling for an attack yourself and targeting the same creature.

Temporary Restoration

Although you have been dishonored, you are able to redeem yourself temporarily for a short period of time, which in turn heals your wounds.

When you reach 6th level as a protagonist Chapter of Redemption, you can heal your wounds through temporary restoration of your honor. As an action, you can gain temporary hit points equal to triple your protagonist level, and also, all higher life forms capable of advanced thought (humanoids and anything similar to them) will treat you as a friend and will refrain from hostile interactions with you for 1 hour or until you dismiss it as a bonus action.

Utmost Determination

Your devotion to regaining your honor and redeeming yourself transfers to other matters as well as it works for its original purpose.

At 10th level, your utmost and steadfast determination helps you with matters other than relieving your honor and clearing your name. As a bonus action, you can target a creature within 30 feet of you. You double all damage and gain advantage on all attack rolls against that creature for 10 minutes, but the effect ends if you do anything on your turn besides attacked that specific creature. The effect also ends if the creature die.

Redeemed

You are finally and completely redeemed. Your efforts to reclaim and restore your honor have succeeded, landing you in high favor among your people.

When you get to 14th level, you have been redeemed completely and entirely. You gain proficiency in Wisdom saving throws and in the Charisma (Persuasion) skill if you are not already proficient in it. If you are already proficient in the Charisma (Persuasion) skill, you gain expertise in it instead. You also gain favor among the people who earlier dishonored you, giving you friendly interactions with them and anyone related to them by occupation, blood, or friendship. Your DM can choose to add any other benefits of your redemption if they wish.

Chapter of Travel

The wilderness eternally beckons you, calling you into its unpredictable situations, even though you may not want it to, or though you not dream of adventure or travel, and would much rather enjoy a home cooked meal than a slop of rations away from a rocking chair and a cozy fireplace.

Extended Starvation

Because of your ability to uncannily adventure and survive within the wilderness, you can stay alive without food for much longer than other people.

At 10th level in this subclass, you can choose to extend your limit of starvation for a time. You can avoid starvation for five months without food, instead of the regular three months usual for most other races.

Nomadic Traveler

You have become so endorsed in your travels that you journey from location to location nomadically without refrain. Nothing stops your voyages, whether it be land obstacles or oceans, not until death takes you.

When you reach 14th level, you are practically a nomad other than just a traveler. You gain a +5 bonus to all Wisdom (Survival) checks you make when you are in the wilderness or in uncharted and unknown territory. Creatures with the beast creature type act friendly around you, but not to any other creature or ally of yours in the vicinity.

Plot Point Options

When a protagonist gains their plot points feature at 2nd level, they are able to use a few options to substantially influence the plot. A tip for roleplaying usage of the following plot point options is to maintain the fourth wall and play so that the influence of the plot was not purposely altered by the character.

Background: Civilian

You are just a simple home-town civilian who enjoys the simplicity of quiet life in your village. Civilians often take up hobbies such as cooking, baking, sewing, and other unneeded activities for adventure. Everything goes exactly as planned, no unexpected events or adventures, and meals are made specifically at the time they should be, delicious cuisine that is in no way similar to the bland rations of an adventurer.

• Skill Proficiencies: Animal Handling, History
• Tool Proficiencies: Cook's Utensils, one type of Gaming Set of your choice
• Equipment: A box of spice, a fancy dining set (a fork, spoon, knife, plate, cup, and bowl), a handkerchief, some kind of household item that is useless for adventuring, a set of dress clothes, and a pouch containing 10 GP.

Civilian Hobbies

Every civilian has a few unique hobbies which they cling to and attend to every now and then, usually at the most inopportune instances, like sewing during a goblin raid, or cooking a pan of bacon when trying to hide from enemies. You can use this table below for reference of common hobbies, but make your DM aware of it before you confirm, because the activity may not be relevant to the setting.

Feature: Skills of Simplicity

Many people may not suspect you to be an insignificant figure, just a random denizen to be ignored, but you show that your people have skill, even if it is not useful for adventure. You are able to somehow find use for your simple hobbies and recreations. If you have not already, choose a civilian hobby from the table above or from your own design. You are an expert on that topic, and know everything to do with it, which could prove useful during adventures.

Suggested Characteristics

Civilians are simple and straightforward folk, and everything is outright. They expect nothing unexpected, believing that every meeting should be planned and everything should be able to be predicted. This gives them unembellished personalities that are not fit for adventure.