Harbinger.
A woman rushes down the empty streets at the doors around her slam shut. The harbinger walks without urgency or distraction as their targets' last rites are spoken for all to hear. The woman slams her fist begging to be let inside but the store owner paralyzed by fear does nothing. He knows it’s too late, anyone who could help her will not intervene in the harbinger’s work. To do such is to resist fate.
The Ineitable Made Flesh
Harbingers are the scions of the inevitable forces in the universe.
Their masters are initially not fully cognizant of the harbinger’s presence. Often a harbinger is created when an individual survives an event that by all means would be impossible, as if they had been spared on the condition that they would now live in service to the force that nearly destroyed them.
Some harbingers claim to have a voice in their head that speaks their master’s will, but whether this is a genuine connection or merely how they perceive their own compulsion as a harbinger is unclear.
Harbingers often do not gain explicit recognition from the inevitable force until some time acting as their servant. These powers are far too vast to make note of most in their name until genuine works of effort in their name have been made.
What can be a master for a harbinger is a source of some discussion, with the leading theory that their masters are not one singular being but potentially a platonic ideal of that force. A concept that is inevitable to the point where those who exist solely to enforce that are made without effort or intervention of a higher power.
That does not mean that powers do not desire to have harbingers in their ranks, but they are wary of the fact that they serve the inevitable forces first, and anything else second.
Warpped Perceptions
While becoming a harbinger grants great power, there is a psychological toll. Becoming a Harbinger means that you have to give up some of yourself and your desires.
Some have experienced an inability to taste food, saying it feels like swallowing ash. Others have reported that they cannot appreciate something as it currently is, because they are unable to stop themselves from seeing how it will turn out. It is hard to see the beauty of a flower if all you can think about is how it will look wilting.
While many harbingers will take these changes of perception as large growing pains, some do find an almost serene beauty in them. Ash may have a texture that they enjoy on their lips, and think that a wilting flower is beautiful.
2024 Rules Convertion.
When converting this class for the 2024 rules, remove the fighting style and the abillity score improvement at 19th level and replace them with these features.
Level 1: Weapon Mastery
Your training with weapons allows you to use the mastery properties of two kinds of weapons of your choice with which you have proficiency, such as Longswords and Javelins. Whenever you finish a Long Rest, you can change the kinds of weapons you chose. For example, you could switch to using the mastery properties of Halberds and Flails.
Level 1: Fighting Style
You gain a Fighting Style feat of your choice (see "Feats").
Level 19: Epic Boon
You gain an Epic Boon feat (see "Feats") or another feat of your choice for which you qualify.
Multiclassing
Multiclassing requirements: a 13 or higher in strength and constitution.
You gain proficiency in all simple weapons, and all melee martial weapons.
Class Features
As a Harbinger, you gain the following class features
Hit Points
- Hit Dice: 1d10 per Harbinger level
- Hit Points at 1st Level: 10 + Con
- Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d10 + Con
Proficiencies
- Armor: None
- Weapons: Simple weapons, all melee martial weapons
- Tools: None
- Saving Throws: Strength, Wisdom
- Skills: Choose two from Athletics, Religion, History, Nature, Insight, Intimidation, and Persuasion
Equipment
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:
- 5d4 * 10 Gold pieces
The Harbinger
| Level | Proficiency Bonus | Features |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | +2 | Unarmored Defence, Fighting Style |
| 2nd | +2 | Army Breaker |
| 3rd | +2 | Master's Eminence |
| 4th | +2 | Ability score improvement |
| 5th | +3 | Extra Attack |
| 6th | +3 | Master's Eminence Feature |
| 7th | +3 | Improved Army Breaker, Imbue Terror |
| 8th | +3 | Ability score improvement |
| 9th | +4 | Horde Breaker |
| 10th | +4 | Master's Eminence Feature |
| 11th | +4 | Inevitable Will |
| 12th | +4 | Ability score improvement |
| 13th | +5 | Imbue Terror Improvement |
| 14th | +5 | Strings of Fate |
| 15th | +5 | Master's Eminence Feature |
| 16th | +5 | Ability score improvement |
| 17th | +6 | Swarming Slashes |
| 18th | +6 | Unbreakable |
| 19th | +6 | Ability score improvement |
| 20th | +6 | Master's Ascension |
Unarmored Defence
Beginning at first level, while you are wearing no armor and not wielding a shield, your AC equals 10 + your strength modifier + your constitution modifier.
Fighting Style
Choose one of the following options. You can't take a Fighting Style option more than once, even if you later get to choose again.
- Blind Fighting You have blindsight with a range of 10 feet. Within that range, you can effectively see anything that isn't behind total cover, even if you're blinded or in darkness. Moreover, you can see an invisible creature within that range, unless the creature successfully hides from you.
- Great Weapon Fighting. When you roll a 1 or 2 on a damage die for an attack you make with a melee weapon that you are wielding with two hands, you can reroll the die and must use the new roll, even if the new roll is a 1 or a 2. The weapon must have the two-handed or versatile property for you to gain this benefit.
- Interception. When a creature you can see hits a target, other than you, within 5 feet of you with an attack, you can use your reaction to reduce the damage the target takes by 1d10 + your proficiency bonus (to a minimum of 0 damage). You must be wielding a shield or a simple or martial weapon to use this reaction.
- Superior Technique. You learn one maneuver of your choice from among those available to the Battle Master archetype. If a maneuver you use requires your target to make a saving throw to resist the maneuver's effects, the saving throw DC equals 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Strength or Dexterity modifier (your choice.) -You gain one superiority die, which is a d6 (this die is added to any superiority dice you have from another source). This die is used to fuel your maneuvers. A superiority die is expended when you use it. You regain your expended superiority dice when you finish a short or long rest.
- Two-Weapon Fighting. When you engage in two-weapon fighting, you can add your ability modifier to the damage of the second attack
Army Breaker
At 2nd level, you start to be able to easily face multiple enemies at once. No amount of minions can stop you from executing your master's will.
When a melee attack you make hits, you may target another creature within reach and, if the original attack roll can hit it, apply damage of that weapon type equal to your strength modifier.
This may only be performed once per turn, and only during your turn.
Master's Eminence
At 3rd level, your ability has unlocked a deeper connection to the source of your power. You choose your subclass at this level. You gain features related to your subclass at levels 3rd, 6th, 10th, and 15th.
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.
Extra Attack
Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.
Improved Army Breaker
At 7th level, your abilities to clear hordes begin to refine.
When you damage a target with army breaker, the damage you deal is as if you made another attack with that same weapon, instead of just your strength modifier.
Imbue Terror
At 7th level, your master allows you to tap into their primal aura to strike fear in others.
As a bonus action you may unleash this terror and have all creatures of your choice within 30 ft of you make a wisdom saving throw (8 + con mod + pb) or become frightened of you for up to one minute.
When the creature ends its turn, the creature can make a Wisdom saving throw. On a successful save, the frightened effect ends for that creature.
When a creature that is frightened of you because of this feature starts their turn, you can choose to have them use their movement to either approach you, to run away, or to not move at all. While this uses their movement speed, this counts as forced movement.
You can do this a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus and you regain all uses on a long rest.
Inevitable Will
At 9th level, your master has taken an acute awareness of your ability, and so they have gifted you ways so that you will keep acting as their will.
As a bonus action, you may gain temporary hp equal to the number of hostile targets of cr 1/2 or greater within 25 ft of you * 3. The maximum amount of temporary hp you can gain from this feature is your harbinger level * 3.
You may activate this ability once per short rest.
Horde Breaker
At 11th level, you no longer are limited by the amount of foes you can strike down.
You can use army breaker twice per turn and it does not have to be on your turn.
Imbue Terror Improvement
At 13th level, the range of your imbue terror increases by 30ft, to all creatures of your choice within 60ft.
When you and a creature that is afraid of you because of imbue terror is in the radius of an effect that requires you to make a saving throw, the source of that save may give you advantage on that save.
Imbue Terror ignores a creature's immunity to the frightened condition, and gives them advantage against the save instead.
Strings of Fate
at 14th level, you gain an eerie ability to see into what lies in store for a person, place, or thing.
As an action you can look into the fate of a certain person, place, or object that is within 150 ft of you and you can see. You may do this once per long rest.
The fate that you see gives you a slight idea of the future of that thing.
Until you use this feature again, you have advantage on checks related to predicting future events around what you have targeted.
Once per long rest, you may add your constitution modifier to one of these prediction checks.
Your predictions do not gain any bonuses if they are predicting anything a month in advance.
Swarming slashes
At 17th level your abilities to strike down all in your way approach perfection. You start to become the true embodiment of your master's will.
The range for all of your melee weapon attacks increases by 10ft.
You can hit two additional targets with army breaker, instead of one.
Unbreakable
At 18th Level, No external will can override you. when you make a saving throw, you may change the type of save to a strength saving throw.
You may do this a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus per long rest.
Masters
Harbinger of Death
Those who bring the end of those who either deserve to die, those whose time has come for them naturally, or those who attempt to unnaturally extend their lives.
Your Master may be a god of death, creating a new reaper to collect souls for them, or after a near death experience, the concept of death has seen you as a worthy vessel for their power.
Mark for death.
3rd level.
As a bonus action, you may mark a target you can see within 30ft that you deem as incredibly heinous to the point where they must die. The target must make a wisdom saving throw (DC 8 + Proficiency bonus + con mod) or become marked for death.
For the next hour, or until you mark another target for death these effects take place Whenever the target gains hitpoints, they instead regain half that amount rounded down. Any temporary hit points they gain are also halved, rounded down.
If the target is at zero hit points, they cannot gain hit points unless they are stabilized.
Once per turn if you make a melee attack against them, and you do not use army or horde breaker with this attack, that attack deals an extra 1d4 necrotic damage.
Your attacks against the marked target cannot be declared as non-lethal.
You may do this a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus per short rest.
Morticians Cunning
3rd level.
Death is something common to you, which has given you an understanding of the body and of the nature of fear.
A number of times equal to your proficiency bonus per long rest, you may add your constitution modifier to the result of either a medicine check, intimidation check, or check related to a poisoner’s kit.
Checking the 11th hour
6th level
You gain a 6th sense to see the embers of life fade away.
If you spend at least one minute observing or interacting with another creature, you gain some insight on how close they are to a natural death. You do not know the date, but you can give estimates. A healthy 20 year old human may have decades, but an 800 year old elf may have months. If someone is going to die in the next 24 hours because of old age, diseases they have, or wounds they have already received, then you do not require a minute to learn this information. Your predictions do not take into account care that they could receive in the future.
Thanatophobia
10th level
Those that you have marked for death have disadvantage against your imbue terror. Those that are frightened of you because of your imbue terror ability cannot gain hit points or temporary hit points. When a creature frightened of you from your imbue terror drops to zero hit points, you may use your reaction to deal necrotic damage equal to your constitution modifier to a creature within 10ft of you.
A Eulogy
15th level
Creatures you mark for death take an extra 1d6 necrotic from all sources of damage. Your attacks ignore the damage resistances or immunities of the creature marked for death.
All Our Times Have Come
20th level
As an action, you may truly embody death in all its power. For the next minute you gain the following traits
When a creature drops to zero hp within 90 ft of you, you may choose to destroy their soul or essence entirely. The only creatures who are immune to this are deities, which instead are unable to reform, move, or use their powers in any way for the next 1d20 decades. When a creature within 90 ft of you rolls a death saving throw, you can choose to change the result to either a 5 or a 15. Your attacks deal an extra 2d10 necrotic damage.
You may do this once per long rest and you gain a level of exhaustion after.
Harbinger of Destruction
You are the reminder of the folly of man against nature. The storm crackles at your finger tips. The earth shakes under your foot. The blaze burns through your veins. As all people die, all work will be washed away to sediment in your master’s tide.
Perhaps your master chose you to bring ruin to those who have evaded it for far too long, or in exchange for sparing your life, a god of storms made you their thrall.
Localized Disaster
3rd level.
As a bonus action, you may invoke your master to cause destruction centered around yourself. You may do this a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus per short rest.
Saves are determined by (8 + con mod + pb)
Choose a variant Earthquake (Bludgeoning), Wild Fire ( Fire), Hurricane (Lightning), or Blizzard (Cold)
All creatures within 10ft of you must make a strength saving throw or be knocked prone and take 1d4+Con modifier damage of the type chosen, half damage on a success. This area also becomes difficult terrain for all creatures except you for the next minute or until you use this again.
At 6th level the range increases by 5 ft.
Omen Reader.
3rd level You can feel when the earth begins to fester with rage. If the land wishes to show man his place, you will be one of the first to know. Your senses are heightened, even able to detect slight changes in wind speed and temperature.
A number of times equal to your proficiency bonus per long rest, you may add your constitution modifier to the result of either a nature check, survival check, or a perception check.
Calamity’s Mouthpiece
6th level.
You gain a 6th sense for incoming devastation. If you spend a minute studying a location or area that you can see, you gain insight into possible disasters. You are able to give a rough time frame and nature of the event. The clarity of your 6th sense increases with the severity of the event, and increases the closer in time the event is.
You cannot sense disasters caused by magic or machines.
If a natural disaster hits your location within 24 hours, then you automatically know about it, and the images of the coming destruction are shown to you whenever you close your eyes.
Seimophobia.
10th level.
When you use your imbue terror, an area 20ft around you becomes difficult terrain for all creatures but you.
When a creature starts their turn on difficult terrain created by your Imbue terror or localized disaster, you may have that creature make a strength save or you deal damage to that creature equal to your constitution modifier, nothing on a success. The type of this damage is the same as your latest use of localized disaster.
You may only do this a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus per round.
Walking Disaster.
15th level
Each variant of localized disaster gains a trait. When you use your imbue terror, you may choose a variant.
Earthquake Range increases by 15ft to 30 ft. For Localized Disaster, creatures within 15ft have disadvantage on the save knocking them prone. For imbue terror, creatures within 15th have disadvantage on the against getting frightened.
Wild Fire Those who fail the saving throw are ignited and take fire damage equal to your con modifier at the end of their turns until they or an ally takes an action to extinguish the flames, or a minute passes.
Hurricane For the next minute, or until you use localized disaster or imbue terror again, all ranged attacks going in, out, or though the aoe is made at disadvantage.
Blizzard If a creature starts its turn on the difficult terrain and is concentrating on a spell, the creature must make a successful Constitution saving throw against your save DC or lose concentration.
I am The Storm That is Approaching
20th level
As an action, you may truly embody Calamity in all its power. For the next minute you gain the following traits.
At the start of your turn, you may choose to do one of the following.
-
Increase or decrease the wind speed by up to 15 mph within an area one mile around you.
-
Increase or decrease the sea level by 1 meter within an area one mile around you
-
Increase or decrease the temperature by up to 10 degrees fahrenheit within an area one mile around you.
When your transformation ends, these effects stay for a minute before slowly reverting to normal.
Your melee attacks deal an extra 2d6 damage of the type of your last use of localized disaster.
As an action, all creatures on difficult terrain you created must make a strength saving throw, and they take damage equal to your 4d6 + constitution modifier on a failed save, half on a success. The damage is the same as your last use of localized disaster.
You may do this once per long rest and you gain a level of exhaustion after.
Harbinger of Judgement
Out of all harbingers, those that are devoted to judgement are the most connected to the divine. Your powers may come from a god directly, or even from the laws and rules that the god has written down.
For that god, their clerics are the speakers of the word, those they imbue with a divine soul as those who establish their word, and their harbingers are the enforcers of the word. The wicked shall not go unpunished.
Respite and Retribution
At 3rd level, you tap into the loving and hateful side of your master's nature.
As a bonus action, you may make a ranged spell attack using your strength modifier as the casting modifier against one target within 60ft of you. On a hit you deal 3d8 radiant damage and that creature has their move speed set to zero until the end of your next turn.
Then you may target another creature that is not unconscious within 60ft of you to heal them equal to 1d6 + your constitution modifier. You may not target yourself.
At 7th and 12th level the damage increases by 1d8 and the healing increases by 1d6.
You may do this a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus per long rest.
Eyes of Justice.
At 3rd level you gain a special way to find the guilty. They shall not escape your sight and you will track them down.
A number of times equal to your proficiency bonus per long rest, you may add your constitution modifier to the result of either an insight check, an investigation check, or religion check.
Seeing the blood on their hands.
At 6th level, you gain a 6th sense to those who break contracts, those who refuse retribution, or those who run from consequence. If you spend one minute deeply analyzing a person, you are able to sense if they regret or feel guilty about an action that they have taken. This knowledge can be the nature of the act, details on who was there, the general location, how it played out, and/or their mental state during the act.
This peers into the memories of the person who you have analyzed. The longer the amount of time has passed or the less the person regrets/feels guilty about that action, the less clear the results of your analysis.
You are automatically aware of anyone that you can see who believes themselves to have committed a vile crime within the last 24 hours.
Theophobia
At 10th level, you show the unclean true fear as you reign down fire and brimstone.
When you use your imbue terror feature, all creatures that fail the initial saving throw take 2d8 fire and 2d8 radiant damage, with the creatures succeeding taking half.
When they fail any of the other saving throws that imbue terror has, they take 1d4 fire and 1d4 radiant damage, and none on a success.
Silhouettes Stand Against the Sky.
At 15th level, no darkness can break past your light, and no shadow may be cast that evil. You fight on, but you do not fight alone.
You see through all dim light or darkness as if it was bright light.
As an action, you may cast Summon Celestial, at 6th level, without the need for material components. You may do this a number of times equal to half your proficiency bonus, rounded down.
Dies Irae.
At 20th level, You can fully embody the divine wrath of your god, becoming their avatar. As an action you may tap into their power anmd for the next munute you gain the following benefits.
All your melee attacks deal an extra 2d6 radiant damage, and when you make an attack to may heal a concious creature within 60ft of you 1d4 hp.
You gain a flying speed of 90 ft.
When you deal radiant damage, you ignore any resistances of immunities.
When you use this ability, target up to five creatures within 30 ft. Whenever they make an attack roll or saving throw, they may roll a 1d8 and the number rolled to an attack roll or saving throw.
You may do this once per long rest and you gain a level of exhaustion after.