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DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, Wizards of the Coast, Forgotten Realms, the dragon ampersand, Player’s Handbook, Monster Manual, Dungeon Master’s Guide, D&D Adventurers League, all other Wizards of the Coast product names, and their respective logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast in the USA and other countries. All characters and their distinctive likenesses are property of Wizards of the Coast. This material is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or unauthorized use of the material or artwork contained herein is prohibited without the express written permission of Wizards of the Coast. ©2016 Wizards of the Coast LLC, PO Box 707, Renton, WA 98057-0707, USA. Manufactured by Hasbro SA, Rue Emile-Boéchat 31, 2800 Delémont, CH. Represented by Hasbro Europe, 4 The Square, Stockley Park, Uxbridge, Middlesex, UB11 1ET, UK. Author's Note: I would not have been able to finish this work without the help of a few very important people (in no particular order): The folks down at Brap's Magic for your help with the playtesting; George Miller for his Mad Max films; Brom for the utterly inspirational art; Bradley Fish for the fantastic personal feedback; the Unearthed Arcana subreddit for the sheer amount of suggestions and encouragement; and, of course, the original creators of the Dark Sun setting at TSR.

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By

George Sutherland Howard

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Contents

Part 1: Races 4 Elf: Wasteland Elf 4

Halfling: Feral Halfling 4 Half-Dwarf 5 Half-Giant 6 Krith 6

Part 2: Classes 8 The Barbarian: Primal Path of the Ending 8

The Bard: College of Red Iron 9 The Cleric: Air Domain 10 The Cleric: Earth Domain 11 The Cleric: Fire Domain 11 The Cleric: Water Domain 12 The Fighter: World Warrior Archetype 13 The Paladin: Oath of the Sworn Sword 14

The Sorcerer: Psychic Sorcerous Origin 16 Other Classes 17

Part 3: Backgrounds 19 Secret-Broker 19 Tyrant’s Lieutenant 20

Part 4: feats 21 Animal Companion 21 Hardened 21 Herbalist 21 Historyskin 21 Hulking 21 Poison Master 22 Psychic Talent 22

Part 5: Alternate & Additional Rules 23 Alternate Materials 23 Defiling and Preserving 23 Expanded Weapons 24 Injuries 25 Wasteland Currency 26

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Part 1: RacesThe harsh wastes are home to many intelligent species. Some, like humans and elves, closely resemble their more traditional fantasy counterparts. Others, like feral halflings, have several marked differences from their depictions in other more traditional settings. Still other creatures, like the mantis-people known as the Krith, and the slaver-bred half-dwarves, are unique creatures found almost exclusively in dead and dying worlds.

Elf "I’d trust an elf about as far as I could throw ‘em. Maybe a few feet less."

- Dunla-Ek, caravan master Subrace: Wasteland Elf Wasteland elves live a nomadic lifestyle, their tribes running bare-foot across the scorching sands. They carry no more than what they can carry on their own backs, and live according to a harsh, if effective, maxim: keep up or be left behind. It is thus that very few wasteland elves die in their sleep of old age - the elderly among them are most likely doomed to die of broken legs or abandonment to the other residents of the unforgiving, post-apocalyptic hellscape.

Ability Score Increase. Taller and hardier than other elves, your body is built for speed and swift travel. Your Strength score increases by 1.

Fleet of Foot. Your base walking speed increases to 35 feet.

Elf Run State. After 10 minutes of warm-up and meditation, you can enter an elf run state. During this time, you are naturally adapted to hot climates and require no food, no sleep, and half as much water as normal, as long as you do nothing but run.

You cannot take long or short rests while running in this way. While you run in this state, at the end of every 48 hour period, you must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or gain a level of exhaustion. If you fail your save by 5 or more, your elf run state also ends. The DC for these saves starts at 10 and increases by 5 until your elf run state ends. You must finish a long rest to regain the use of this feature.

Wasteland Elf Weapon Training. You gain proficiency with the longbow, short bow, javelin, and spear.

Wasteland Elf

Halfling "Watch out. It bites."

- Kelsark, lieutenant of the warlord Toecutter the Immortal, on her trained attack halfling.

Subrace: Feral Halfling Not all the world is dead and grey. There yet exist patches of green forest, clinging to survival like a wild dog on a bone. But the relative abundance of life does not make these places any less deadly, for the halflings, feral and wild, roam these last bastions of vegetation. Their childlike faces and diminutive stature mask an inner strength, which manifests in the form of extreme ferocity when cornered and a willlingness to view anything as a potential source of food (except, perhaps, for other halflings).

Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 1.

Alignment. The wandering, hunter-gatherer culture of feral halflings leads them toward chaotic alignments. Halflings abhor slavery, and if forced into imprisonment, will wither and die. Those halfling slaves that do exist do so due to owing life-debts or being raised without knowing anything else but a life of servitude.

Darkvision. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you, and in darkness as if it were dim light.

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You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of grey.

Twitchy. You gain proficiency with the Perception skill.

Slippery. You have advantage on Dexterity checks to escape from chains, bindings, and other restraints.

Half-Dwarf "The half-dwarf can carry ten-score pounds on his back for twice as long as any human, and won't whinge about water every other moment. He doesn't get sick, he can eat anything, and he can bear the whip. And he can be yours for only three-hundred gold pieces!"

- Gredan the Slaver, showing off her finest wares

Of all the peoples that represent the death of the world, perhaps there are none more suited for that task than the half-dwarves. Sterile creatures that result exclusively from the forced crossbreeding of human and dwarf slaves, half-dwarves represent the ultimate debasement of life to nothing more than a means of profit. These freakish half-breeds display the best traits of both parent species - the physical toughness and resilience of dwarves, and the height and mental flexibility of humans - and thus are far too valuable to be put to any menial task. Instead, they are often trained to fight in bloody pits as gladiators or to cow other slaves into submission as overseers.

Very rarely, a half-dwarf will earn their freedom, and it is a thing to them more valuable than a lake of water. A free half-dwarf would usually prefer to die free than to live for even a second as a slave again.

Ability Score Increase. Your physique combines the best elements of humans and dwarves. Your Strength and Constitution scores each increase by 1, and you may also increase any one ability score of your choice by 1.

Age. Half-dwarves reach physical maturity at about the same time humans do, and can easily live to be over ninety years old.

Alignment. Since unions between dwarves and humans are rare, and children born of those unions rarer still (and often kill the mother during childbirth), half-dwarves are almost always the product of focused slave breeding, and thus grow up in slavery. Years of being treated as another's property often causes a freed half-dwarf to resent any kinds of unnecessary restraints on their actions, and thus tend towards chaotic alignments.

Half-dwarf

Size. Half-dwarves have the same height as a taller human, with the build of dwarves. Your size is medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet. Languages. You can speak, read, and write

Common. Extraordinary Stamina. You are resistant to

poison damage, and have advantage on Constitution saving throws against disease. If you are not suffering from exhaustion, you also have advantage on Constitution saving throws to avoid gaining a level of exhaustion.

Additionally, you only need to consume a minimum of one gallon of water per day in temperatures of 100 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. You can also hold your breath for twice as long as normal.

Perfect Laborer. You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.

Efficient Rest. You only need four hours of sleep during a long rest.

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Half-Giant "Mister Krand eat beans and grains. The next day, he eat beans. The next day, he eat grains. The next day, he eat beans and grains. The next day, he eat grains and beans. The next days, he eat… "

- Uk the half-giant, when questioned about his ill master's diet

If half-dwarves are crossbred freaks, then the origins of half-giants are, simply put, an enigma. Their ancestry is clear to see, with their sloping foreheads, hairy skin, and towering, hulking frames, but how such ancestry is even possible is quite unknown. Perhaps the first of their kind were the result of magical experimentation, or maybe they were birthed in the energies of the cataclysm that ended the world. Either way, the result is clear to see: a massive, powerful brute with no land of origin or ancestral stories of their own.

It is this latter trait that causes half-giants to latch onto other creatures and cultures as a source of identity and belonging. A half-giant who, for example, finds themselves among a quarrying settlement will attempt to carves stone from the land like the creatures around them, while one that falls in with a travelling band of performers may take to singing loudly and talking louder.

Ability Score Increase. You are a freakish, hulking beast, but your enormous size and questionable ancestry has left you clumsy and dimwitted. Your Strength score increases by 3, and your Intelligence score decreases by 1.

Age. Half-giants reach adulthood in their mid-twenties and can live almost for one hundred and seventy years.

Alignment. Half-giants latch onto other creatures and generally behave as they do, thus tending towards a wide variety of alignments.

Size. Half-giants stand between 8 and 9 feet tall, and weigh in at around 600 pounds. Your size is Medium, but pushing it.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet. Darkvision. You can see in dim light within 60

feet of you, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of grey.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and one other language of your choice.

Powerful Build. You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.

Looming Presence. You gain proficiency with the Intimidation skill.

Krith "This one does not understand your hostility. Your broodmate was dead - what need had he of the meat on his bones?"

- Chik-Thras-Ee, krith adventurer, after consuming a mid-day snack

Of all the creatures of the wastes, none are quite so alien as the krith. Resembling giant mantises that walk on two legs, the krith are intelligent creatures - but said intelligence is so unlike that of other humanoids (or, as the krith refer to them, the "softshells") that to seek a direct comparison of intellect between a krith and, say, a human, is guaranteed to lead only to frustration and failure.

Besides their distinctive mantid appearance, the krith are also notable for two features: their extra set of arms, located in the middle of the abdomen; and an inability to speak any tongue but their own.

Krith secondary arms are notably weaker, and cannot wield heavy weapons or other bulky equipment with any degree of effectiveness. Otherwise, they are fully capable of performing all other tasks that any humanoid might do with their own two arms.

The krith tongue may well be the single greatest source of confusion between krith and non-krith. More than simple verbage, the krith language is comprised in equal parts of complicated clicks and whirs, scraping chitin, and subtle movements of the antennae. Some softshells learn to understand the krith tongue, and it is likewise not uncommon for a krith - especially a wandering one - to become familiar with humanoid speech; however, it is physically impossible for a krith to actually speak as other fleshy folks do, and vice versa.

Ability Score Increase. Your quick, spindly frame is covered in a chitinous exoskeleton that reduces the impact of small injuries and shields you from the heat of the sun. Your Dexterity score increases by 2, and your Constitution score increases by 1.

Age. Krith reach physical maturity about six months after hatching, and rarely live longer than 30 years.

Alignment. The mind of a krith is alien in comparison to those of other humanoid species. The actions and temperaments of the krith differ between individuals, but they all tend towards neutral alignments.

Size. A krith stands from five and a half to six and a half feet tall on two long, slender back legs. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

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Languages. You can speak Krith, and read and write, but not speak, Common. A krith's vocal system cannot produce the sounds necessary to speak any language other than Krith.

Sleepless. You don’t need to sleep when taking a long rest, and may instead remain alert and perform light tasks. Magic cannot put you to sleep. Some theorize that this ability is the reason for the short lifespan of the krith.

Leaper. You are always considered to have a running start when jumping.

Chameleonic Carapace. Your chitinous outer plating changes color to match your surroundings. If

you do not take actions on your turn while lightly obscured or pressed against a rough surface, you may make a Dexterity (Stealth) check to hide.

Extra Limbs. You have two extra arms that grow from the middle of your torso. You may wield one extra set of weapons or equipment. You may not wield a shield or a heavy weapon with these secondary limbs. If one of your secondary hands is free at the start of your turn, you may perform one additional interaction with an object on your turn.

Krith Weapon Training. You are proficient with the double spear and the throwing disk.

Krith

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Part 2: ClassesThe Barbarian When all semblance of order is gone from the world, the only sense is chaos. When peace is but a distant memory of the old and dying, the only way is violence. A barbarian's rage embodies the end times as no other creature can, and barbarians that follow the Primal Path of the Ending accept and welcome it, channeling the Apocalypse to lay waste to all in their path.

Primal Path of the Ending For every barbarian, the first step to mastering the rage requires a base acceptance of the fury that dwells within. With the world dying about them, some barbarians take this a step further, and walk the Path of the Ending. These ragers accept both the destruction of everything they knew and the power responsible for their loss. And by accepting this final end, they inevitably become a tiny part of it. Spellcasting Starting when you choose this path at 3rd level, your rage allows you to express the brutality of the apocalypse through the casting of spells.

You can only cast the spells you gain from this feature while raging. Your rage does not end early if you cast a sorcerer spell on your turn.

Spell Slots. The Path of the Ending Spellcasting table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your spells of 1st level and higher. To cast one of these spells, you must expend a spell slot of the spell's level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest.

For example, if you know the 1st-level spell chromatic orb and have a 1st-level and 2nd-level spell slot available, you can cast chromatic orb using either slot.

Spells Known of 1st-Level and Higher. You know two 1st-level sorcerer spells of your choice, which you must choose from the evocation and necromancy spells on the sorcerer spell list.

The Spells Known column of the Path of the Ending Spellcasting table shows when you learn more sorcerer spells of 1st level or higher. Each of these spells must be an evocation or necromancy spell of your choice, and must be of a level for which you have spell slots. For instance, when you reach 7th level, you can learn one spell of 1st or 2nd level.

Whenever you gain a level in this class, you can replace one of the sorcerer spells you know with another spell of your choice from the sorcerer spell list. The new spell must be of a level for which you have spell slots, and must be an evocation or necromancy spell.

Spellcasting Ability. Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for your sorcerer spells, since you learn your spells through insight and acceptance of a greater force. You use Wisdom whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Wisdom modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a sorcerer spell you cast and when you make an attack roll with one.

Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom

modifier

Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier

PATH OF THE ENDING SPELLCASTING

Barbarian Level

Spells Known

Spell Slots per Spell Level

1st 2nd 3rd 4th

3rd 2 2 — — —

4th 3 3 — — —

5th 3 3 — — —

6th 3 3 — — —

7th 4 4 2 — —

8th 4 4 2 — —

9th 5 4 2 — —

10th 5 4 3 — —

11th 6 4 3 — —

12th 6 4 3 — —

13th 7 4 3 2 —

14th 7 4 3 2 —

15th 8 4 3 2 —

16th 8 4 3 3 —

17th 9 4 3 3 —

18th 9 4 3 3 —

19th 10 4 3 3 1

20th 10 4 3 3 1

Kill the World At 3rd level, you gain a special unarmed strike attack as you unleash a fraction the world-ending destruction you have witnessed. Choose cold, fire, or lightning damage. Your unarmed strike deals damage of that type equal to 1d4 + your Strength

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modifier, and counts as a melee weapon attack for the purposes of your barbarian class features.

When you reach 8th and 14th level, you can choose one additional damage type. When you make an unarmed attack, you can use any damage type from the damage types you have chosen as part of this feature.

The elemental damage of your unarmed strike increases to 1d6 at 8th level, 1d8 at 14th level, and 1d10 at 20th level.

Fear Not the Void Beginning at 6th level, you embody the inevitable momentum of Armageddon. You cannot be frightened while raging. If you are frightened when you enter your rage, the effect is suspended for the duration of the rage. Endstorm Soul Starting at 10th level, the primal forces of destruction have noted your acceptance, and begin to embrace you as one of their own. You can speak and understand Primordial, and have advantage on Charisma checks made to interact with elementals. I am Become Death At 14th level, you become an avatar of the end of the world. When you use a bonus action to begin your rage, you can wreathe yourself in an aura of one of the following: freezing ice, arcing lightning, or raging fire. While your rage is active, you gain the following benefits:

• You are immune to damage of the type • Any creature that moves within 5 feet of you for

the first time on a turn or ends its turn there takes 1d10 damage of that type.

• Your melee attacks deal an extra 2d8 damage of that type, and their reach increases to 15 feet

When your rage ends, so does this effect, and you

gain two levels of exhaustion. Once you reach 19th level, you only gain one level of exhaustion from this feature.

You regain the use of this feature when you finish a long rest.

Other Barbarian Characters The barbarian class fits well into campaigns set in dying worlds, where roaming savages and primitive religions are hallmarks. A simple berserker character is a classic expression of feral rage and survival instinct. It works well with characters and settings of all sorts with little, if any, work required on the part of the game master.

Some barbarians might even forgo weapons, and instead use their bodies or armor as weapons, covering themselves in razor spikes and rusty hooks before charging into the fray and literally hugging enemies to shreds.

Barbarians that follow a more spiritual route to their rage by taking on animal totems are perhaps the hardest barbarian archetype to integrate cleanly into a dying- or dead-world setting, but a little imagination goes a long way. If a player uses the barbarian class to represent a wild, animalistic character, the totem spirits might represent different ways to express that feral regression. If such characters use Primal Paths that grant limited spellcasting, game masters might consider using other spells of similar power and design intent in place of those normally granted by those features, and re-flavoring the totems as spirits or even disembodied voices that urge the barbarian to violence.

The Bard In most worlds, bards spread joy and stir hearts wherever they go, evoking great emotion with their words and music. In most worlds, there is room for hope. But in the end times, when all the realms are scorched wastes and the survivors kill for what is left, these bards will have to find a different song, a different purpose. The College of Red Iron offers all of this, and more.

Bardic College of Red Iron You reject the tender strings of the harp and the lyre and the soothing tones of the flute and the pipes. You reject the calming lullabies and proud speeches, the witty rhetoric and cutting jibes. You reject it all, and embrace only one thing: a masterful cacophony of fire, metal, and death, which heralds the world's ending - the Song of Red Iron.

The College of Red Iron is merely a term used to encompass all bards that have devoted themselves to replicating and interpreting the Song of Red Iron. Some bards of this "college" travel the world, performing the Song to all who would hear it. Other bards of Red Iron prefer to play a more active role in bringing about the apocalypse (or emulating it after the fact), and ride alongside warlords into battle and death.

Fire and Thunder At 3rd level when you join this College, you learn the produce flame and shocking grasp cantrips, if you did not know them already. Additionally, you learn

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the burning hands spell. These spells do not count against the number of bard spells that you know. Song of Red Iron At 3rd level, your performance itself enhances flames, empowers lightning, and makes the ground around you shake with thunder. Whenever you or a friendly creature within 40 feet of you deals fire, lightning, or thunder damage, you can expend a use of Bard Inspiration as a reaction to roll a Bardic Inspiration die and add it to the damage. Death Knell At 6th level, once per turn when you deal thunder damage to a creature, you can cause your notes to reverberate and impact with physical force. The creature must succeed on a Constitution saving throw against your Spell Save DC or be stunned until the end of your next turn.

You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier. You regain all expended uses of this feature when you finish a long rest. War Pig At 14th level, your warlike cries and masterful tempest of noise radiate out before you, wreathing your allies' weapons in the forces of destruction. You can expend a use of your Bardic Inspiration to choose a number of friendly creatures equal to your Charisma modifier. The first time each creature affected by this feature hits with an attack within the next minute, they add one die of fire, thunder, or lighting damage (you choose when you use this feature) to the damage roll of the attack. This die is equal to your Bardic Inspiration die.

Other Bard Characters Due to their tendencies towards more classic flavors of fantasy and magic, it may be difficult to fit more traditional bardic archetypes into a dead world setting; however, it is far from an impossible task.

Bards who follow a path of lore-gathering and trickery might look to preserve the history of the world that fell, and to ensure that any survivors do not repeat the mistakes of the past. Alternatively, they might jealously hoard fragments of tomes and records of the past, using them as currency and power in a savage wasteland society.

Some classic bards stride into battle with their comrades, their songs and cheering bolstering their allies. This archetype actually works very well in post-apocalyptic settings, particularly if one focuses on the bard's potential as a leader and commander. These bards might use their martial prowess and

incredible powers of persuasion to build armies and amass followers, guaranteeing some level of comfort and safety in the hell that is a dying world.

The Cleric The gods are dead, or maybe they just gave up and left. Whatever truly happened, they certainly aren't answering prayers any more.

In a world abandoned by the divine, the people turn their prayers and pleas to the only constant: the primordial, elemental forces around them.

Air Domain An elusive, cooling breeze. The howl of a sandstorm. The most fundamental aspect of life - a breath filling the lungs. Clerics of Air seek to understand what guides these things, what links them all together across what is left of existence. AIR DOMAIN SPELLS

Cleric Level Spells

1 jump, thunderwave

3 gust of wind , silence

5 fly, wind wall

7 freedom of movement, resilient sphere

9 cloudkill, conjure elemental (air only)

Disciple of Air At 1st level, you know the gust and druidcraft cantrips. You do not need to cover your mouth to breath in sandstorms and duststorms, and you are acclimated to high altitudes between 10,000 and 20,000 feet. Feather in the Wind At 1st level, you gain proficiency with the Acrobatics skill. Your movement speed increases by 5 feet. Channel Divinity: Empower the Wind At 2nd level, when you use an air-themed spell to force movement, you may use your Channel Divinity to force all creatures affected by the spell to make their first saving throws with disadvantage. Divine Strike At 8th level, once on each of your turns when you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you deal an extra 1d4 bludgeoning damage to the target and you can push the target 5 feet in any direction. When you reach 14th level, this damage increases to 1d8 and the distance increases to 10 feet.

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Carried on the Breeze At 17th level, you have a flying speed equal to your walking speed whenever you are not underground or indoors. You gain resistance to thunder damage.

Earth Domain A boulder, resilient though weathered by time. A tablet, still bearing forgotten writings despite its age. An earthquake, rupturing crude buildings and fragile beings alike. Fertile earth, rarer that gold and far more valuable.

Life, it seems, springs from the ground itself, and clerics of Earth dedicate themselves to understanding that power. EARTH DOMAIN SPELLS

Cleric Level Spells

1 detect poison and disease, entangle

3 shatter, spike growth

5 meld into stone, tiny hut

7 stone shape, stoneskin

9 conjure elemental (earth only), wall of

stone

Disciple of Earth At 1st level, you know the resistance and mending cantrips. You may see twice as far in sandstorms and duststorms as usual, and do not require eye protection when moving through them. Standing Stone Starting at 1st level, whenever an effect or creature moves you against your will, you may reduce the distance moved by 10 feet. Channel Divinity: Shatter the Ground At 2nd level, you may use your Channel Divinity to turn all terrain within 25 feet of you into difficult terrain and forcing all creatures other than yourself within this area to make a Dexterity saving throw against your spell save DC. If they fail, they fall prone. Due to the buckling and rupturing of the ground around you, the difficult terrain effect is permanent until repaired. Shield of Stone At 6th level, when you or a creature you can see takes slashing, bludgeoning, or piercing damage, you may use your reaction to grant that creature resistance against that instance of the damage. You may use this feature a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier (a minimum of once). You

regain all expended uses when you finish a short rest. Divine Strike At 8th level, once on each of your turns when you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can cause the attack to deal your choice of an extra 1d8 bludgeoning or piercing damage to the target. When you reach 14th level, the extra damage increases to 2d8. Grounded At 17th level, you gain resistance to psychic and lightning damage. You also gain proficiency with Strength saving throws. Fire Domain Since the very dawn of civilization, those who commanded fire commanded others. Their partnership with the most destructive and most useful element was the key to their success.

Thus is has been since the Beginning, and so shall it be after the End. Clerics of Fire seek not to control the element, but to nurture it, kindling their own flames - for ends known only to themselves.

FIRE DOMAIN SPELLS

Cleric Level Spells

1 burning hands, faerie fire

3 heat metal, scorching ray

5 fireball, daylight

7 fire shield , wall of fire

9 conjure elemental (fire only), flame strike

Disciple of Fire At 1st level, you know the control flames and firebolt cantrips. You are acclimated to hot environments. Holy Flame At 1st level, whenever you deal fire damage with a cantrip, you may add your Wisdom modifier to the damage. Channel Divinity: Fuel the Flames At 2nd level, when you roll for fire damage, you may use your Channel Divinity to deal the maximum amount of damage instead. Extinguish At 6th level, when you or a creature you can see takes fire damage, you may use your reaction to grant that creature resistance against that instance

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of the damage. They then regain 1d6 hit points. You may use this feature a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier (a minimum of once). You regain all expended uses of this feature when you finish a long rest. Divine Strike At 8th level, once on each of your turns when you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can cause the attack to deal an extra 1d8 fire damage to the target. When you reach 14th level, the extra damage increases to 2d8. Tempered in Heat At 17th level, you gain resistance to fire and lightning damage. Water Domain A trickle of water through the dirt. A tidal wave, washing away entire cities. A small spring, precious and sacred beyond measure. Without water, there is no life. And where water runs, so does hope.

Clerics of Water seek that hope, that last vestige of possibility and potential for something better. But what they will do with it when they have found it - that is for them to decide.

WATER DOMAIN SPELLS

Cleric Level Spells

1 fog cloud, grease

3 acid arrow, protection from poison

5 water breathing, water walk

7 blight, control water

9 contagion, conjure elemental (water only)

Disciple of Water At 1st level, you know the acid splash and spare the dying cantrips. You only need to consume half as much water per day as normal. You gain a swimming speed equal to your walking speed. Channel Divinity: Disrupt the Veins At 2nd level, you can use your Channel Divinity to disrupt the water within living hostile creatures. Choose a number of creatures equal to 1 + half your Cleric level (rounded down). These creatures must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or be stunned until the end of their next turn.

Undead and constructs are immune to this effect, unless water is a key part of their functionality. Water-based elementals automatically fail this saving throw.

Scent of Moisture At 6th level, you may open up your senses to the world around you. If there is a body of fresh water within 5 miles of you, you know of its presence and in which direction you must go to find it, but not how far away from you it is.

You must finish a long rest to regain the use of this feature. Channel Divinity: Calm the Humors At 6th level, you may use your Channel Divinity to cure a creature you can see of one disease or poison. The creature then regains hit points equal to 1d6 + your Cleric level. Divine Strike At 8th level, once on each of your turns when you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can cause the attack to deal an extra 1d6 necrotic damage to the target. When you reach 14th level, the extra damage increases to 2d6. The River At 17th level, you gain resistance to necrotic damage. You can cast the spell water breathing without expending a spell slot.

Other Cleric Characters Elemental domains and worship are appropriate for settings without gods, or settings in which the gods have died. Adventures that take place during the Apocalypse might still make use of other cleric domains by linking them to gods as normal. Properly post-apocalyptic games may feature new gods rising from the ashes of the previous world.

Alternatively, clerics might not worship gods, and instead dedicate themselves directly to aspects of existence, manifesting miracles directly in the name of their chosen domains.

The Fighter

In the aftermath of great cataclysms, the only law is that of blood. Those who have the skill and will to survive will do so, often by ensuring that others do not. Some of these warriors rise up as new rulers and powerful warlords, but others are too broken by their experiences, too marred by loss, to commit to a new life. These lost souls wander the old paths and roads of the world, some searching for righteous causes despite their own misgivings, while others find themselves reduced to little more than their most basic instincts. Whatever their circumstances, these wandering fighters travel light and swift,

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relying on solely on their own knowledge and endurance to survive in a hostile world.

World Warrior Archetype The archetypal world warrior excels at navigating and surviving in dangerous regions. Such fighters usually favor skirmish tactics, using their knowledge of the area, combined with dirty fighting techniques, to quickly overwhelm their opponents in sudden guerilla strikes. Natural Survivor At 3rd level, you are adept at traveling and surviving in difficult conditions. You gain proficiency in one of the following skills of your choice: Acrobatics, Animal Handling, Athletics, Investigation, Nature, Perception, Stealth, or Survival.

Choose one of the skills listed in this feature with which you are proficient. When you make ability checks for that skill, your proficiency bonus is doubled for that check.

Additionally, you gain the following benefits when you travel for an hour or more:

• Difficult terrain doesn’t slow your group’s travel. • Your group can’t become lost except by magical

means • Even when you are engaged in another activity

while traveling (such as foraging, navigating, or tracking), you remain alert to danger.

• When you forage, you find twice as much food as you normally would.

• While tracking other creatures, you also learn their exact number, their sizes, and how long ago they passed through the area.

Skirmisher Superiority When you choose this archetype at 3rd level, you gain a set of abilities that are fueled by special dice called superiority dice.

Superiority Dice. You have four superiority dice, which are d8s. A superiority die is expended when you use it. You regain all of your expended superiority dice when you finish a long or a short rest.

You gain another superiority die at 7th level and one more at 15th level.

Using Superiority Dice. You can expend superiority dice to gain a number of different benefits:

• After a minute of gathering and preparing herbs, berries, and natural resources, you can choose a creature near you and expend a superiority die. Roll the die, and that creature regains hit points

equal to the result + your Wisdom modifier. You can expend additional superiority dice to heal other creatures in this manner.

• When you hit a creature that is Large or smaller with a weapon attack, you can expend one superiority die to knock that creature prone or shove them 10 feet.

• When you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can expend one superiority die to mark that creature as your quarry. Once per turn for one minute, you can roll that superiority die and add it to the damage roll of a weapon attack you make against that creature, including the attack you just made.

Skirmisher's Step At 7th level, while you are wearing light or medium armor, you can take a bonus action on each of your turns in combat. This action can only be used to Dash or Hide.

In addition, moving through non-magical difficult terrain costs you no extra movement, and you don't take damage from moving through non-magical plants that have spines, thorns, or other similar hazards.

Hide in Plain Sight Starting at 10th level, you can remain perfectly still for long periods of time in order to set up ambushes.

When you attempt to hide on your turn, you can opt to not move on that turn. If you avoid moving, you gain a +10 bonus to your ability check to hide. You lose this benefit if you move or fall prone, either voluntarily or because of some external effect. You are still automatically detected if any effect or action causes you to no longer be hidden.

If you are still hidden on your next turn, you can continue to remain motionless and gain this benefit until you are detected. Improved Superiority Dice At 10th level, your superiority dice turn into d10s. At 18th level, they turn into d12s. Superior Senses Beginning at 15th level, you can attempt to determine the location of a creature within 30 feet of you that you cannot see as a bonus action.

When you attack a creature you cannot see, you can expend a superiority die before you make the attack. For one minute, your inability to see a creature doesn't impose disadvantage on your attack rolls against it.

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Relentless Starting at 15th level, when you roll initiative and have no superiority dice remaining, you regain one superiority die.

Other Fighter Characters Even without the additional focus on survival in a world gone mad, the open-ended nature of the fighter class fits into any setting where conflict is a way of life - and post-apocalyptic settings fit that mold perfectly.

Some fighters are simple and powerful, juggernauts of strength and toughness. Fighter characters who follow this archetype can vary from the brawny simpleton who can crush foes in their grasp to scarred and brutal bodyguards and mercenaries of the wastes.

Other fighters might be highly trained warriors, skilled in the use of tactics mid-battle and preparation beforehand. Their focus on controlling an opponent as a means to victory is emulated in gladiatorial combat, where winning the crowd with dazzling displays of combat prowess is key to survival, and in those few remaining schools of warrior training, where practical rituals and techniques mix with petty superstition and mysticism until the two are indistinguishable.

A few warriors stumble across forgotten arcane secrets, or have the knowledge passed on to them by dying exiles. In addition to weaponizing these magic powers, these arcane knights often take advantage of the fear and ignorance of others by using their spells to cow and intimidate the weak.

The Paladin When the world falls, each and every survivor will, in their own way, be broken. Some might still cling to the vestiges of morality, even as they are driven to greater and greater evil in the name of survival. Others surrender to the new reality, discarding thoughts of right and wrong in favor of fulfilling their own desires.

But amidst this rabble, new powers arise, and in restoring order to the chaos gain the loyalty of fanatics who would die for their leaders. These agents are some of the most feared in the whole wasteland, for they view their leaders as divine beings, and their faith is nigh-incorruptible.

Oath of the Sworn Sword In the dying world around them, people cling to those few with the will and the wit to force law and structure upon the lawless. It is in this way that

many regions fall under the control of powerful and charismatic warlords, who impose their rule through might and cunning. Some of these despots rule benevolently, while others show themselves as truly selfish tyrants - and many fall somewhere in between, once-noble intentions caught up and strangled in the fight for survival. Regardless, they all know that their power can be held only through complete and utter control.

It is perhaps inevitable, then, that the most powerful of these warlords begin to be worshipped as divine beings. The most devoted warriors swear the Oath of the Sworn Sword, calling upon their warlord for favor in battle, and in the warriors' final moments, invoking that favor so that the warrior might find the ultimate glory in a violent death, inflicting as much pain upon their foes as they are able before their bodies finally give out. Such is the drive and loyalty of a powerful sworn sword that their mere presence next to their oathkeeper on the battlefield is enough to urge allied troops greater violence or to break the spirits of oathkeeper's foes.

Some paladins manage to outlive the warlord to whom they first swore their oath. These lost souls often fall in with groups of mercenaries or wanderers, and may end up rededicating their oath to their new comrades. In this case, a sworn sword will fight with fanatical zeal to protect their new allies and accomplish their aims.

Tenets of the Sworn Sword The tenets of the Oath of the Sworn Sword vary according the values of the warlord to which they are sworn as well as the warrior who swears them. Collectively, however, the tenets all concern undying loyalty to a powerful figure, and a willingness to die to further that figure's goals.

Loyalty. You swear your Oath to a single person or group, and their desires are your desires. You will die to protect them and advance their aims.

Courage. Be willing to stare death in the face, and laugh defiantly even as its dark clutches dim your vision. Death is nothing in the face of your eternal reward.

Duty. Complete your oathkeeper's orders as if they were a magical compulsion. Any task they demand of you is a righteous one. Any injury that befalls them is a personal failing of yours.

No Mercy. The foes you face have defied the will of your oathkeeper. Such heresy is a death sentence, and one that you will gladly carry out.

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Oath Spells You gain oath spells at the paladin levels listed. OATH OF THE SWORN SWORD SPELLS

Paladin Level Spells

3rd bane, shield of faith

5th hold person, warding bond

9th fear, haste

13th death ward, fire shield

17th hold monster, raise dead

Channel Divinity When you take this oath at 3rd level, you gain the following two Channel Divinity options.

Witness My Glory. When a hostile creature that you can see reduces you to 0 hit points but you are not killed outright, you can charge forward with a surge of fanatical adrenaline, using your Channel Divinity to move up to your speed and take the Attack action as a reaction against the creature that reduced you to 0 hit points. You do not provoke opportunity attacks with this movement. This reaction counts as being done on your turn for the purposes of the Extra Attack feature, and you make your attacks with advantage. Any of these attacks that hit are critical hits.

If, after taking this reaction, you still have 0 hit points, you fall unconscious and begin dying as normal.

Vow of Sacrifice. As a bonus action, you can use your Channel Divinity to utter a vow of sacrifice to a creature you can see. For one minute, when that creature would take damage, you can choose to take that damage instead if you are within 5 feet of that creature. Also, while your Vow of Sacrifice is active, if a creature within 5 feet of you makes an attack against the target of your vow, you can use your reaction to make one melee weapon attack against that creature with advantage.

Aura of Zealotry Starting at 7th level, you and friendly creatures within 10 feet of you can't be stunned while you are conscious.

At 18th level, the range of this aura increases to 30 feet. Undying Sentinel Starting at 15th level, when you are reduced to 0 hit points and are not killed outright, you can choose to drop to 1 hit point instead. Once you use this ability, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.

If you use your Witness My Glory option for your Channel Divinity, you may use this feature at the end of your reaction.

Fanatical Fury At 20th level, as an action, you allow yourself to become consumed with zealous rage, lashing out at all who dare oppose your oathkeeper. For 1 minute, you gain the following benefits while you are conscious:

• Whenever an enemy creature starts its turn within 10 feet of you, it takes 15 slashing damage.

• At the end of each of your turns, you may choose an ally within 5 feet of you. Attack rolls to hit this ally have disadvantage until the end of your next turn.

Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.

Other Paladin Characters In post-apocalyptic worlds, the idea of a champion of absolute good clashes heavily with the themes of the setting, which focus on survival and simply staying alive over great moral triumphs. Good versus evil is not a simple dichotomy, but a spectrum - a complex web of choices from which no one can emerge with their hands still clean.

Because of this, certain paladin oaths are far easier to integrate than others. The brutality and relative moral ambiguity of a paladin devoted to vengeance and retribution is a far better fit for a dead world than an idealistic crusader.

Of all the paladin archetypes, the classic chivalric knight, devoted to protection and righteousness, is by far the hardest to bring cleanly into a dead-world setting. If attempted, it is perhaps best played straight, to contrast the rest of the setting and to demonstrate the hopelessness and futility of the paladin's goals.

Overall, players should be under no illusions that any paladin who fulfills this archetype will have a happy ending. The world and its peoples are horrifically scarred, and any significant restoration of goodness and order will take multiple attempts over the course of many generations. A single individual attempting this goal is either delusional, suicidal, or some combination of both.

Some paladin characters might swear to protect what life is left in the world. Perhaps they watched over a small oasis settlement that was somehow destroyed by a warlord, a roving gang, or other intelligent creatures, and this event prompts the character take up the wandering life in an adventuring party. Paladins who follow this path

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often work with druids to preserve what little life remains in the world after Armageddon. They might wander the world seeking lost artifacts in the hope of discovering power great enough to reseed the world with green again.

Paladins who swear vengeance upon all evildoers walk a thin line between moral righteousness and murderous rage. Paladin characters might take up this oath in order to launch a last, final crusade against the harbingers of the apocalypse, or mercilessly exterminate all who would bring further suffering to the post-apocalyptic wastes.

The Sorcerer The raw power and energy unleashed during world-ending events can have serious consequences on the balance of magic and the way spellcasters interact with their spells. Survivors – both sapient and otherwise – may gain incredible powers of the mind that function differently from any other known magic.

Psychic Sorcerous Origin Certain sorcerers gain powers of the mind - weird mystical talents that operate differently from normal magic. Creatures that gain these powers are most commonly called “psychics”. Some creatures may even evolve these powers as a means of survival in the harsh, post-apocalyptic wastelands. Mind Magic When you gain this feature at 1st level, you may choose to use Intelligence for the Spellcasting feature and your chosen metamagic options instead of Charisma. This decision is permanent. Psychic Spellcasting At 1st level, your magic comes from your own mental manipulation of the world, rather than from an external source like the Weave. You know one of the following cantrips of your choice: friends, mage hand, or message. If you choose friends, the duration is extended to 5 minutes. If you choose mage hand, the hand is invisible and can lift up to 20 pounds. If you choose message, you can target any specific creature within range, even if you do not know their exact location.

The Psychic Sorcerer Spells table contains spells that seem to come particularly easily to many psychics. When you cast a spell on the Psychic Sorcerer Spells table that has both verbal and somatic components, you only need to provide one of those components, and you do not need to provide

material components that do not have a specific cost. Additionally, all spells listed on this table count as sorcerer spells that you may learn.

Mindful Manipulation At 6th level, choose one of the following options:

Empath. When a creature you can see causes you to lose or regain hit points, you can spend one or more sorcery points as a reaction to cause that creature to take psychic damage or regain hit points equal to half the hit points you lost or regained, to a maximum of 5. This maximum increases by 5 for each additional sorcery point you spend above one.

Telepath. If a creature would roll its saving throw to avoid being charmed by you with advantage, you can spend two sorcery points to negate its advantage as if you had imposed disadvantage upon it.

Telekinetic. When you cast a spell that lets you magically move inanimate objects, you may spend a sorcery point. The maximum size category for objects you can lift with the spell is increased by one step, and you may also target objects that are being held or worn, if you were not able to before. The creature wearing or holding the object may use their reaction to attempt a Strength saving throw against your spell saving throw DC, and the spell fails if they succeed.

Mental Defense Starting at 14th level, you gain resistance to psychic damage. When you make an Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma saving throw, you may spend two sorcery points to gain advantage on the roll.

PSYCHIC SORCERER SPELLS Spell Level

Spells

1 charm person, command, comprehend languages, detect magic, dissonant whispers, feather fall, hideous laughter, mage armor, sleep

2 calm emotions, detect thoughts, enthrall, hold person, levitate, locate object, see invisibility, shatter, suggestion

3 clairvoyance, fear, hypnotic pattern, sending, slow, tongues

4 arcane eye, confusion, compulsion, dominate beast, locate creature, phantasmal killer

5 animate objects, dominate person, hold monster, modify memory, scrying, seeming, telekinesis, telepathic bond, wall of force

6 eyebite, irresistible dance, mass suggestion, true seeing

7 divine word, forcecage, reverse gravity, teleport

8 antipathy/sympathy, dominate monster, feeblemind, glibness, mind blank, power word stun, telepathy

9 foresight, power word kill, time stop, weird

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Iron Mind At 18th level, when you are concentrating on a spell from the Psychic Sorcerer Spells table and you must make a Constitution saving throw to maintain concentration, you can expend sorcery points equal to the level of the spell and automatically succeed on the saving throw.

Other Sorcerer Characters Some apocalypses scour the earth with strange energies, warping and twisting the world and its inhabitants. Such creatures often begin to display unknown and barely-controllable magic powers. The sorcerer class works well to translate these characters to the tabletop.

The more elemental powers of sorcerers with draconic ancestors it to adapt easily to any dead or dying world where some ordinary beings have been granted strange and terrifying powers by the energies that destroyed the world. Players could consider altering the flavor of any additional toughness and resilience they might receive from their ancestor to reflect heavy scarring or mutations instead of, or in addition to, dragon-like scales.

In a dead world where dragons are rare or nonexistent, game masters should consider altering features that specifically call out dragons, such as those that increase damage dealt to dragons, grant additional dragon-themed languages, or grant a bonus when interacting with dragons.

The nature of the powers of sorcerers whose origins lie in "wild" or "chaos" magic tends to skew games towards the zany and unpredictable. Game masters who prefer a darker or more grounded dead world setting should consider implementing an alternate table of random magic effects of their choice.

Other Classes The Druid Druids may seem like the last people to have a place in a dead world, but when all life goes to hell, those surviving druids are the ones most determined to drag it back out. When clean water and arable land are rarer than rare, druids can be found fighting to protect them both.

Other druids might be voodoo-priests, creating their own faiths to replace the ones that fell, or even feral humanoids who embraced their inner beast in order to survive in a savage world.

The Monk As characters defined by an adherence to discipline and a monastic lifestyle, the classic take on monks seems to clash with the themes of savagery and lawlessness that are ever-present in a dead world setting; however, such a character can offer a stark contrast and highlight those areas of the setting in the same way a classic paladin might.

Altering the story of the monk can also help a character fit into the setting. A wandering character might have been forced by solitude and the world to hone their very body into a lethal weapon, or perhaps they were altered by the events of the end of the world, granting them heightened agility and the ability to control elements or even the darkness itself.

The Ranger A ranger's reliance on magic might seem somewhat at odds with the tone of certain post-apocalyptic settings, so players seeking to play a non-magic ranger should use the included World Warrior martial archetype for the fighter, or the author’s Wild Souls: Options for High Fantasy and Gritty Realism for the Revised Ranger, which can be downloaded for free from dmsguild.com.

If the ranger's reliance on spellcasting is acceptable in the game master's setting, rangers work very well as outcasts and exiles, those who work subtler magicks to aid in their own survival and the survival of their allies.

The Rogue In the rubble of society, there will always be those who use their skill and cunning to stay alive. Whether they are silver-tongued con artists, hardened bandits, or simply trained craftsmen and women looking to make themselves more useful alive than dead, rogues have a way of sticking around even after everything should have died. The Warlock When lawlessness and chaos reign, survival becomes the only priority. And when the taboos of civilized society break down alongside civilization itself, no option is off the table. As the world crumbles, the most unsavory and ambitious folk will reach out to those dark powers that can ensure their ascension in the new world emerging from the ashes. The Wizard A person's drive for power and control over arcane forces will not be diminished by the end of the world - indeed, the breakdown of society may well be the catalyst to push some individuals even further in

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their search for magical secrets. Even in the ruins and wastes of post-apocalyptic worlds, wizards build secret towers and plunder ancient tombs in search of scraps of knowledge and lost spells.

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Part 3: Backgrounds These character backgrounds are intended to be incorporated into post-apocalyptic settings as the GM sees fit; however, with the game master's permission, each can also be brought into other, more traditional fantasy settings.

The Secret-Broker background focuses on those who covet information in a world where the line between legend and true history is blurred beyond recognition. These characters range from lore-hunters and arcane researchers to blackmailers and assassins, but all share one thing in common: they, more than anyone else, know the power of a well-placed lie - or the revealing of a hidden truth.

Those who grew to power as a ranking henchman of a wasteland warlord may be interested in the Tyrant's Lieutenant background. A character with this background might be a noble soul looking to buffer the cruelty of their superior, or simply a lesser tyrant in their own right, looking only to advance themselves and inflict pain on a whim.

Secret-Broker Your way with words has turned you to the path of knowledge and secrets, and instead of sharing these treasures with the world, you hoard them jealously. Your knowledge is not intended for charity, but for selling to the highest bidder. Your skills are those of subterfuge, sabotage, and poison of both the physical and mental sort.

Skill Proficiencies: Insight or Intimidation, Investigation

Tool Proficiencies: Poisoner’s kit Equipment: An incriminating note, a set of dark common clothes including a hood, an inconspicuous knife, and a belt pouch containing 15 gp or the equivalent. Feature: Dirty Secret You have a skill for digging up the hidden and unpleasant truths about people and places - truths that certain individuals may want to keep hidden. Whenever you spend at least three days in a single location researching, you may also uncover a dirty secret about the local area or an individual within it, unless your GM states otherwise. Your GM determines the nature of this secret.

Suggested Characteristics Some secret-brokers wander from place to place, selling intelligence to merchants and warlords, while others find a large settlement and set up a permanent place of business, integrating themselves into the city's politics. Powerful secret-brokers often hire multiple agents to manage individual tasks while they pull the strings from above, weaving their complex webs of lies and misdirection and hiding behind multiple fronts and identities.

d8 Personality Trait

1 As a precaution, I always find dirt on my clients before we do business

2 Uncovering secrets is my favorite game of all.

3 I make note of everything about a person when I meet them.

4 I enjoy the power of holding someone's own secret over their head

5 No one knows my real name - not even me.

6 I'm pretty sure that I've seen or heard of everything.

7 I don't believe in good people.

8 Anyone who has ever known both my face and my real occupation is dead.

d6 Ideal

1 Freedom. Information can empower the weakest of us.

2 Caution. You can never be too careful. Knowing secrets make you a target.

3 Control. Knowledge is power. With it, you can drive the best folk to the worst deeds.

4 Honesty. When no one has anything to hide, it shows us who they really are.

5 Greed. Everything has its price.

6 Curiosity. Nothing great ever came of accepting everything you see

d6 Bond

1 I blackmailed the wrong person, and now they're after my head.

2 I fell into this trade by accident, after I killed a secret-broker and assumed their identity.

3 I carry a ledger of my most prized information with me at all times.

4 I often have my friends unknowingly carry out illegal tasks for me. This always/never makes me feel guilty.

5 The family business is in secret trading.

6 More than anything, I want to find the right person, settle down, and get out of this life.

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d6 Flaw

1 Paranoia consumes my every waking moment Every shadow is another enemy,

2 I've built up a web so complex that I believe no one will ever bring me down.

3 People are just tools to me, there to be used.

4 I just have to know everything.

5 I believe I am smarter than everyone else, actually.

6 I can't stop lying.

Tyrant's Lieutenant You have sworn yourself to a great warlord or tyrant of the wastes. You can wield great influence in their citadels, but may find yourself a target in places hostile to them… Skill Proficiencies: Religion or History, Intimidation Languages: Two of your choice Equipment: An icon of your position that is unique to your tyrant, a secure gag and manacles for subdued prisoners, a set of fine clothes, and a leather pouch containing 10 gp or the equivalent. Feature: Direct Authority When in the territory of your warlord, you may freely arrest those who you deem are breaking the warlord's laws and codes, and ordinary citizens obey your lawful orders under fear of punishment. Some tyrants allow their lieutenants freer rein than others, and any mistakes you make will be noted by higher-ranking officers. You are required to obey all orders given to you by your superiors. Suggested Characteristics Most warlords promote their underlings based on skill and talent as leaders on the battlefield, so any lieutenant of theirs is most likely tough as old leather and cunning like a wild dog.

Some lieutenants revel in their authority, lashing out at those below them for the smallest of slights, while other use their power to benefit those wretched souls suffering in the dregs of the wastes. A few high-ranking lieutenants have used their position in a warlord's confidence to usurp the tyrant's position - for better or for worse. d12 Title d12 Title

1 Argbadh 7 Judge

2 Blood-bishop 8 Nob

3 Brother/sister-captain 9 Polemarch

4 Commandant 10 Praetorian

5 Hand of… 11 Templar

6 Imperator 12 Ironbar

d8 Personality Trait

1 I always look for ways to turn a situation to my favor.

2 I don't accept failure as an option.

3 I've gotten really good at rationalizing every atrocity I commit.

4 Every time I must make a decision, I ask myself what my leader would do.

5 I desire glory in combat above all else.

6 Every time I arrest someone in the name of my leader, I get a rush of power.

7 I don't believe in good people.

8 I used to care for those wretches lower than me. Now they sicken me.

d6 Ideal

1 Fairness. Favor should be earned through blood and sweat, not nepotism and preferential treatment.

2 Loyalty. Give your life for our leader, who is powerful and rewards those who serve them!

3 Power. Those who earned power have the right to use it authority as they see fit.

4 Redemption. It's never too late to start to make the world a little less awful.

5 Force. Fear is the universal motivator.

6 Unity. A disciplined army can defeat a force ten times its size.

d6 Bond

1 I killed a friend to prove my loyalty to my warlord. I [don't] regret it.

2 I was forced into slavery, but clawed my way to freedom. I still have family out there.

3 My subordinates look to me for guidance, and I must provide it. They are the closest I have to family.

4 I hate the warlord I serve, and would love nothing more than to see them deposed.

5 If I serve my leader well, I will ride beside him to the afterlife.

6 I have a rival, and I will do anything to undermine them.

d6 Flaw

1 I care more for a glorious death than I do for any of my subordinates.

2 I am easily swayed by groveling and displays of submission.

3 I once made a mistake that crippled my leader's plan, and will do anything to avoid being found out.

4 Those who question my plans simply cannot comprehend my genius.

5 I would slay thousands to receive even a glance from my beloved leader.

6 I have an addiction, and use my authority to feed it.

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Part 4: FeatsIn the harsh wastes of dying worlds, certain traits and aspects emerge to become of far greater import than they would in other settings. From toughened wanderers to those touched with psychic powers, here are some all-new feats designed to help players fully realize characters who will live - and die - in post-apocalyptic settings.

Animal Companion You’ve found a companion in the form of a loyal beast.

Choose one of the following beasts: blood hawk, mastiff, mule, or riding horse.

You can give simple verbal commands to your companion without using your action. Your animal companion takes its turn directly after yours, and attempts to fulfill your commands as best as possible. Additionally, your companion gains the following benefits:

• It adds your proficiency bonus to its armor class, attack rolls, and all its saving throws.

• Its hit point maximum is equal to your level X 6.

Hardened You think nothing of marching many days with little sustenance or consuming food and drink that even a feral beast might pass up.

• You have advantage on Constitution saving throws against exhaustion, as well as on saving throws against ingested diseases and poisons.

• You need only consume half as much water per day as normal.

• If your game master is using the Alternate Materials additional rule, increase the durability of non-metal armor and weapons you are using by 1.

HerbalistPrerequisite: Proficiency with herbalism kitYou have mastered the techniques for preparing andstoring herbal concoctions, as well as finding andgathering the necessary ingredients. You gain thefollowing benefits:

• When you craft items with the herbalism kit, youcan choose to reduce either the time required orthe cost of materials by half.

• Creatures that regain hit points by using an itemyou craft regain additional hit points equal to yourlevel.

Historyskin You preserve records of the past by tattooing said records upon your own body.

• Increase your intelligence score by 1, to a maximum of 20.

• You gain proficiency with the History skill. • When you make an Intelligence (History) check,

you may use your passive score instead of rolling the d20.

Hulking Prerequisite: Half-Giant race, Strength 17 or higher Even among your people, you are massive. Your incredible size means you wear bigger armor, carry bigger weapons, and eat bigger meals.

• Your size becomes Large. You must consume four times as much food and water daily as a medium-sized creature.

• You take a -2 penalty to your armor class, as well to all Dexterity checks and saving throws.

• Weapons that are correctly sized for you add their damage die a second time to damage rolls. For example, a large spear would deal 2d6 damage, and a large greatsword would deal 4d6 damage.

• Equipment that is the correct size for you costs and weighs four times as much as normal. You cannot wear incorrectly-sized armor, but you can still use medium-sized weapons without penalty.

THE HULKING FEAT IN OTHER SETTINGS

Half-giants do not exist in many worlds, but that does not mean that the Hulking feat cannot be a useful addition to other settings. DMs may decide that certain Medium-sized creatures that border on Large size may fulfill the feat's race requirement in place of the half-giant. A good rule of thumb to aid DMs in this decision is to start by looking at the races that have the Powerful Build feature, and then think about whether or not this feat matches the identity of that race.

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Poison MasterPrerequisite: Proficiency with poisoner's kitYou have mastered the usage and creation ofpoisons, and gain the following benefits:

• You add your proficiency bonus to the savingthrow DC of poisons you craft.

• If a creature would make a saving throw to avoidtaking damage from a Player's Handbook basicpoison that you crafted, the creature automaticallyfails their saving throw.

Psychic Talent You have some basic psychic abilities. You know the following cantrips:

• friends • mage hand (the hand is invisible) • message

Additionally, you know one of the following spells: charm person, command, or sleep. You can cast that spell once per day at the lowest spell level. Intelligence is your spellcasting ability score for these spells. If the spell has both verbal and somatic components, you need only provide one of these when you cast it in this way.

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Part 5: Alternate & Additional Rules

Alternate Materials This alternate rule provides details for alternate materials for arms and armor, as well as providing rules for the durability of different materials. If a dead world lacks metal, most equipment is made from other, less sturdy materials, leaving it prone to breaking and thus reducing the equipment’s effectiveness or even destroying it.

In addition to being struck and suffering damage to its hit points, items made out of alternate materials may break from regular use. When an item is at risk of breaking, find the item’s material on the Metal Replacement Materials table below and roll a d6. If the number on the d6 is equal to or higher than material's durability, it breaks.

Different items trigger rolls for breaking in different ways, and have unique consequences associated with breaking.

METAL REPLACEMENT MATERIALS Tier Material Durability

1 Obsidian, Stone 5

2 Bone , Scales 4

3 Leather, Wood, Chitin 3

Armor and Shields If a creature wearing armor takes damage from a critical hit, roll to see if the armor breaks. If the armor does indeed break, the creature’s armor class is reduced by 1.

When a creature wearing armor has its armor class reduced to a certain number in this manner, the armor is rendered useless and cannot be repaired. This number is equal to 10 + the creature’s Dexterity bonus if the creature is wearing light armor, 10 + the creature’s Dexterity bonus (to a maximum of 2) of the creature is wearing medium armor, and 10 if the creature is wearing heavy armor.

Weapons When a character rolls a natural 1 when making an attack roll with a weapon made from an alternate material, roll to see if the weapon breaks.

If a weapon breaks, it is ineffective in combat. All attacks with that weapon count as attacks with an improvised weapon until the weapon is repaired. In some circumstances, the damage may be irreparable.

When you miss an attack roll with a weapon, you may choose to turn the miss into a hit. If you do so, your weapon automatically breaks.

Costs Use the prices listed on the Alternate Armor table for non-metal armor. For weapons, assume that the base price is for weapons made of tier 3 materials. Weapons made of tier 2 materials cost twice as much as normal, and weapons made of tier 1 materials cost three times as much as normal.

If you use the Wasteland Currency alternate rule below, remember that all the armor types in the Alternate Armor tables are made of non-metal materials.

Use this rule if you want: • To emphasize the primitive, scavenged nature of

equipment. • To highlight the brutal, savage aspects of lethal

combat in a dead world. • To emphasize a lack of metal material in your

world.

Defiling & Preserving This alternate rule makes magic inherently evil and immoral - and perhaps the source of the apocalypse itself. All spells defile an area around the caster with a radius in feet equal to the level of the spell slot used x 5. This defiling is immediately apparent - plants wither, water clouds, and all creatures other than the caster within the defiling radius take Xd6 necrotic damage, where X is the level of the expended spell slot. Cantrips simply defile the 5-by-5-foot space in which the caster is standing and deal 1 point of necrotic damage in this way.

Before a creature casts a spell, they must decide if they will cast the spell as normal (and defile the area where their character stands), preserve (and create no defiling effects but follow the penalties associated with preserving), or further defile.

Further Defiling A spellcaster may choose to empower their spells through further defiling, allowing them to cast it as if they had used a higher spell slot. After the spellcaster has decided which spell they will cast and the level of the spell slot used to cast it, they

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must declare if they will further defile, and if they do so, what new spell slot level they will use. The radius of, and the necrotic damage dealt within, the defiled area changes to match the new spell slot level.

The maximum number of extra spell slot levels a character may use to empower a spell through defiling is equal to the character’s total number of spellcasting class levels (calculated using the rules for multiclassing) divided by 3 (minimum 1). A spellcaster cannot use defiling to cast a spell at a higher level than they would be able to achieve without defiling.

For example, a 6th level wizard could expend a 1st level spell slot to cast burning hands and then, through further defiling, empower that spell as if it were cast using a 3rd level spell slot. Every creature within 15 feet of the wizard would then take 3d6 necrotic damage. The wizard could use defiling to cast scorching ray as a 3rd level spell, but not as 4th level spell, as they do not have any 4th level spell slots. Preserving With the required training, a spellcaster can stop the defiling effect entirely. This is called “preserving”. However, should they choose to do so, they may not add their proficiency bonus to their spell attack rolls and spell saving throw DC for that casting.

Some game masters may alter these rules to best fit their setting. Perhaps the divine magic of druids, rangers, and elemental clerics doesn't defile, or perhaps psychic abilities don't count as spellcasting for the purposes of defiling at all.

Use this rule if you want: • Spellcasters to have to hide their magic or have

special authority (such as that of the Direct Authority feature from the Tyrant's Lieutenant background) granted to them to use it.

• Spellcasting characters to be offered a direct moral tradeoff - increase their personal power at the cost of what little green life remains in the world.

• To focus on the use of preserving magic for utility and healing, and defiling magic for more blatantly offensive spells.

Expanded Weapons This alternate rule includes more weapons for a dead-world game. Expanded Weapons These weapons may seem strange and unwieldy to those with access to more conventional arms, but the survivors of dying worlds use whatever they can find to fight and survive.

It should be noted that all of these weapons can be made without metal, allowing them to merge well with the Alternate Materials and Wasteland Currency alternate rules.

Special Weapons Weapons with special rules are described here.

Boomerang, Throwing Disk. When you make an attack with this weapon within the weapon's normal range and you are proficient with the weapon, it returns to you at the end of your turn. If you have a

ALTERNATE ARMOR

Armor Cost Armor Class (AC) Strength Stealth Weight

Light Armor

Leather 10 gp 11 + Dex modifier — — 10 lb.

Scales 45 gp 12 + Dex modifier — — 15 lb.

Medium

Leather 50 gp 13 + Dex modifier (max 2) — — 12 lb.

Chitin 50 gp 14 + Dex modifier (max 2) — Disadvantage 20 lb.

Scales 400 gp 14 + Dex modifier (max 2) — 30 lb.

Bone 750 gp 15 + Dex modifier (max 2) — Disadvantage 45 lb.

Heavy Armor

Wood 75 gp 15 Str 13 Disadvantage 45 lb.

Chitin 200 gp 16 Str 15 Disadvantage 50 lb.

Bone 1,500 gp 17 Str 15 Disadvantage 60 lb.

Shield

Wood 10 gp +2 — — 5 lb.

Bone 20 gp +2 — — 8 lb.

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free hand, you may catch it. If not, it falls at your feet.

Forearm blades, Wrist blades. This weapon is mounted on your forearm or wrist, respectively. It does not require a free hand to wield, but you must use your action to don it.

Use this rule if you want: • To expand the current list of weapons. • To emphasize the differences between traditional

fantasy combat styles and those of your dead world setting

Injuries This set of alternate rules gives greater consequence to combat events like critical hits and dropping 0 hit points. Game masters may use any and/or all of them in any combination they see fit. Minor Injuries When you suffer one of the following effects, you must roll on the Minor Injuries table:

• Reduced to below 1/2 of your hit point maximum • Take damage from a critical hit

When you regain hit points from spending a hit die or consuming a potion of healing, you can choose to remove the effects of a minor injury. When you target a creature with a cure wounds spell, you can remove one minor injury for each level of the spell slot you use. When you finish a long rest, you may

remove the effects of one minor injury. You may expend a use of a healer's kit to remove the effects of one minor injury.

If a character receives a minor injury that they already have, increase the d4 penalty by one die step unless otherwise noted in the injury description.

Focused Attacks This optional rule emulates realistic combat by allowing players and monsters to focus their shots on already-injured body parts, and works with any injury tables that use a d20. When a creature inflicts an injury upon another creature, they may increase or reduce the number rolled on the injuries table by an amount equal to or less than their proficiency bonus.

Dropping to 0 Hit Points When you are reduced to 0 hit points and then regain hit points, you gain a level of exhaustion. Follow the normal rules for reducing exhaustion. Use this rule if you want: • To expand the consequences of hit point loss. • To expand the use of hit dice, and help potions of

healing and lower-level castings of the cure wounds spell retain relevance at higher levels.

• To insert a feeling of grittier combat while keeping the core healing system and abstraction of hit points consistent with the base game rules.

EXPANDED WEAPONS

Name Cost Damage Weight Properties

Simple Melee Weapons

Hewer 5 gp 1d10 slashing 7 lb. Heavy, two-handed

Wrist blades 3 gp 1d4 slashing 1 lb. Finesse, light, special

Simple Ranged Weapons

Boomerang 10 gp 1d6 bludgeoning 1 lb. Special, thrown (30/90)

Martial Melee Weapons

Double spear 15 gp 1d8 piercing 5 lb. Versatile (1d10)

Fist spikes 10 gp 1d6 piercing 2 lb. Finesse, light

Forearm blades 20 gp 1d6 slashing 3 lb. Finesse, light, special

Great maquahuitl 30 gp 2d6 slashing 6 lb. Heavy, two-handed

Maquahuitl 15 gp 1d8 slashing 3 lb. Versatile (1d10)

Spiked chain or rope 20 gp 1d8 slashing 5 lb. Finesse, reach, two-handed

Martial Ranged Weapon

Throwing disk 25 gp 1d6 slashing 2 lb. Special, thrown (40/120)

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MINOR INJURIES TABLE

d20 Injury Effect

1-2 Face You subtract 1d4 from all Wisdom (Perception) checks.

3 Left hand Attacks made using a weapon in this hand deal 1d4 less damage.

4 Right hand Attacks made using a weapon in this hand deal 1d4 less damage.

5-8 Arm You subtract 1d4 from all Strength checks.

9-10 Foot You subtract 1d4 from all Dexterity (Acrobatics) and Dexterity (Stealth) checks.

11-14 Leg

Your movement speed is reduced by 5 feet. Each additional Leg injury increases the penalty by an additional 5 feet.

15-18 Body

Roll 1d3. Depending on the result, you subtract 1d4 from the following saving throws: 1 - Strength, 2 - Dexterity, or 3 - Constitution. For each additional body injury, roll the 1d3 again. If the result is an uninjured ability saving throw, you subtract 1d4 from that saving throw. If the result is an injured ability saving throw, increase the penalty by one die step.

19-20 Head

Roll 1d3. Depending on the result, you subtract 1d4 from the following saving throws: 1 - Intelligence, 2 - Wisdom, or 3 - Charisma. For each additional head injury, roll the 1d3 again. If the result is an uninjured ability saving throw, you subtract 1d4 from that saving throw. If the result is an injured ability saving throw, increase the penalty by one die step.

Wasteland Currency This alternate rule works well for worlds where refined metal is a rare commodity, unsuited for use as less valuable currency. In certain dead worlds, where refined metals or the tools to work them are far rarer than they are in many other settings, additional currencies are used by the inhabitants of the wastes - ceramic, slate, and glass bits (conveniently abbreviated as cb, sb, and gb, respectively). There are ten ceramic bits in a slate bit, and ten slate bits to a glass bit. Ten glass bits equal one silver piece, and ten silver pieces equal one gold piece as normal. Copper pieces are not used.

The prices for all non-metal equipment can be converted to this wasteland currency at the rate of one ceramic bit for one copper piece, one slate bit for one silver piece, one glass bit for one gold piece, and so on. All metal-based equipment retains the original pricing.

For example, a wooden longbow would cost 50 glass bits, a club would cost 5 slate bits, and thorn darts would cost 5 ceramic bits each. A metal longsword would still cost 15 gold pieces, but each gold piece would be functionally worth 100 times their value.

Use this rule if you want: • To emphasize the lack of metal material in the

world. • To differentiate your dead world from other more

traditional fantasy settings at the base level.