Paladins –
Paladins are Holy Warriors of Lawful Good alignment blessed by a deity even if they’re not necessarily pledged to a deity. They are not merely knights sworn to some ideal. We’ll be using the 5e mechanics, but Paladins in the world of Erldworn are a rare thing, and if you see one, be on its good side and consider deeply anything the paladin asks of you…
At 1st Level as a Bonus Action on her turn, a paladin can call out for protection. This holy protection is the same effect as Protection from Evil and Good. Until 5th Level, it only affects the paladin herself. Starting at 5th Level, this power gains a 10′ radius around the paladin. This protective effect has a duration of one minute, and does not require Concentration. This power can be used 1/day at 1st Level, increasing to 2/day at 6th, 3/day at 14th, and unlimited times per day at 17th Level.
Paladins can “Call Light” at will as a Bonus Action. This is similar to the Light cantrip, but it is Sunlight and has no range (it’s centered on the paladin herself). It can be dismissed at will, using no actions.
If a Paladin depletes her pool of healing dice, she may trade her own hit points on a one-for-one basis, giving of her own life essence should the need arise. While this hit point loss is not wounding per se, the paladin will suffer the effects as covered in the Working While Wounded house rules section.
Warlocks –
Warlocks are people who have struck deals with powerful entities to exchange service for power. In Erldworn, these deals are rarely profitable for the warlock… This is your only warning.
Wizards –
Wizards are rarely seen in Erldworn. To be a wizard is to play a multidimensional game of chess, go, and poker with the very forces of the universe. Most of a wizard’s time is spent learning what the consequences might be for exercising power and, more importantly, how to avoid those consequences if possible. Every step into power comes with problems of its own. As discussed in the Magic section of the house rules, wizards spend most of their time learning how not to get killed (or worse) rather than actually indulging in, exercising, or exhibiting their power.
Clerics –
What’s the difference between a Cleric, who devotes his life in service of a deity, and a Warlock, who devotes her life in service of a… something else? Nothing much really. I look at it this way (and so this is how we’ll use it in the game), a religion, and the church that surrounds it, is an organizing set of principles that guides and governs the members… it’s sort of like a union that proscribes what treatment its members may be subject to.
Druids (Kuakgan) –
All Kuakgan are followers of the Great Tree. The Great Tree expresses its will through the words and actions of its Kuakgan. They are a lot like paladins in the sense that they often feel an urge to act on something with no necessary understanding of why they’re being asked to act. They trust in the will of the Great Tree and do as they’re bid.
Rangers –
Rangers are a rare class in Erldworn. They guard the borders of the Elven Homewood, which requires that they have great familiarity the mystical realms of the elves.
All rangers have Expertise in Survival for free. Starting at 6th Level, rangers with animal companions have the same connection with that companion that wizards have with their familiars including sense sharing. Rangers can command their animal companions as a Bonus Action, and the animal companion will continue with that action until the ranger changes the command with another Bonus Action command. Having said that, animal companions are not smart; they are animals and behave as such except as commanded by the ranger.
Also, a ranger’s animal companion has all the abilities of a normal animal of the companion’s species… they are normal animals of the species.
Basically, everything the 5e designers did to nerf a ranger’s animal companion, is unnerfed in our game.
Bards –
There are minstrels in Erldworn. They play music. They sing. They entertain. They tell stories. They travel. They educate. They perform in taverns. They perform at court. They perform on the roads. There are minstrels in Erldworn… but there are also Bards.
The ability to change the world with a song is literally the power of god. The High Lord sang the world into existence. The elves know him as The Singer. To be able to channel tones and rhythm and melody in such a way as to shift the universe… what a gift indeed!
Like most gifts given from the gods, it comes with a price. True Bards are as rare or rarer than Paladins in Erldworn. The reason for this is that forces antithetical to the High Lord seek out Bards with relentless vigor to crush them, or corrupt them.
In our game, Bards have the equivalent of Expertise with their Spell Save DC and their Spell Caster Bonus. Bards also do not require spell components of any kind for any of their spells, but if they choose to use them, they receive a +1 to their Spell Save DC and their Spell Caster Bonus.
At 7th Level, Bards receive the equivalent of the Paladin’s Aura of Protection, but only for personal use. At 11th Level, the Bard can use a Bonus Action to extend this effect to others of her choice out to 30 feet. This extended effect lasts until the start of the Bard’s next turn.