Archetype - Paragon

## The Virtuous Paragon

The Paragon represents Characters in fiction who epitomize a single ideal and pursue a path of exploring and supporting that ideal. They can be clerics and priests of a particular creed, passionate believers in a singular truth or purpose or teachers and mentors of a particular ideal. They may even be representatives of that ideal by virtue of their position in society, such as a doctor who strives to help heal those around them.

### Features

The Paragon draws power from the Supernatural Tradition of magic through they deep connection to the shared belief in a singular ideal. This ideal is sometimes, but not always, represented by a Deity or supernatural entity (e.g. such as how Saint Nicholas represents peoples belief in the celebration Christmas). As Paragons gain further levels they gain the ability to channel their ideal further and call upon greater and more powerful expressions of Supernatural magic.

### Recommended Ability Bonuses

* High Focus
* Good Endurance
* Good Dexterity or Strength

### Alternate Names

* High Fantasy and Historic Settings: Clerics
* Modern and Futuristic Settings: Paragons

## Level 0

In addition to the features your Character gains at Level 1, they gain the following for starting their adventure as a Paragon.

### Skill

* You gain the Social, Lore or Medical Skill (your choice).
	+ If you already have one of these Skills, you may choose any Skill of your choice.

### Weapon and Armor Training

* Trained in Simple Weapons.
* Trained in Light armor, Medium Armor and Shields.

### **Cantrip**

* You learn one Cantrip of your choice from the Supernatural Spell List.
* Focus is your Spellcasting Ability for this Spell

### Saving Throw Skills

* Skilled in Focus Saving Throws
* Skilled in Charisma Saving Throws

## Level 1

### Increased Damage Limit

* Your Damage Limit increases by 5 for each level of this Archetype you have.

### Will

* You gain a resource called Will Points, which represent your profound connection to the Natural World to create extraordinary effects, such as those granted by your Virtue feature.

* When you gain this feature you have two Will Points.
* You regain all Will when you finish either a Long or Short Rest.
	+ You may only gain the benefits of a Short Rest twice, after which you must take a Long Rest to gain further benefits from a Short Rest.
* The maximum amount of Will Points you have increases whenever you gain the Additional Will feature from this Archetype, or from another Archetype, or from a Theme which also grants this feature.

### Virtue

* You gain one of the following features: Virtue of Healing, Virtue of Protection and Virtue of Wrath.
* You may change your choice of Virtue when you complete a Long Rest.

#### Virtue of Healing

* As an Action, you can expend one or more Will Points to heal a Character within 5ft of you (you may also Target yourself)
* Alternatively, when you directly reduce the Damage taken by a Character, such as with a Spell, you may expend one or more Will Points to increase the amount reduced granted for one Character.
* For each Will Point you expend, that Character's Damage is reduced by an amount equal to two rolls of your Support Die.

#### Virtue of Protection

* As an Action, you can expend one or more Will Points to grant Temporary Hit Points to yourself or other nearby Characters.
* You must spend one Will Point for each Character Targeted with this effect. Each Character gains Temporary Hit Points equal to two rolls of your Support Die.
	+ If you target multiple Characters as part of the same Action, they each gain the same number of Temporary Hit Points.
* The Characters retain these Temporary Hit Points until you next complete a Long or Short Rest.

#### Virtue of Wrath

* When you choose this feature, choose either Radiant, Psychic or Necrotic Damage. You may change your choice of Damage type when you Level Up.
* When you Damage a Target you can see with an Attack or as a result of failing a Saving Throw against a Spell or Effect you caused, you may expend a Will Point to deal additional Damage of the chosen type against that Target equal to two Rolls of your Support Die.
	+ You may increase the Damage dealt by expending additional Will Points. For each Will Point more than one you expend, the Target takes additional Damage of the Chosen type equal to one Roll of your Support Die.
	+ If you chose the Radiant Damage Type and you use this feature against a Fiend or Undead, roll an additional Support Die of Damage.
	+ If you chose the Psychic Damage Type and you use this feature against a Fey or Aberration, roll an additional Support Die of Damage.
	+ If you chose the Necrotic Damage Type and you use this feature against a Celestial or Elemental, roll an additional Support Die of Damage.
	+ If you use this feature as part of an Attack which was a Critical Hit you may double the number of Support Dice you may roll.

### Support Die

* At Level 1 your Support Die is a d4.
* This die represents your Character's ability to provide help and guidance to those around them.
* At levels 5, 9, 13 and 17 of Paragon, the Improved Support Die feature increases the size of your Support Die to a d6, a d8, a d10 and a d12 respectively.
	+ If you gain the Improved Support Die feature from another source (such as the Champion or Summoner Archetypes), increase the Support Die by one size category, up to a maximum die size of a d12.

### Spellcasting: Supernatural

You embody a virtue to such an extent that your are able to draw Supernatural power to you connection to it.

All Spells you learn through this Archetype, or the Themes granted by this Archetype may be referred to as Paragon Spells.

#### Cantrips

* Cantrips are a subset of Spells which you may use with the Cast a Spell Action without expending Mana.
* You learn one Cantrip of your choice from the Supernatural Spell List.
* You learn additional Cantrips from this list you gain levels in this Archetype, as shown in the Cantrips Known column of the Paragon Archetype features Table.
* You may change any number of Cantrips gained through this Archetype for other Cantrips on the Supernatural Spell List when you Level Up.

#### Mana

* Mana is a resource which Characters may expend to Cast levelled spells of between 1st and 5th Level.
* When you gain the Spellcasting feature, you have one Mana point.
* When you gain the Additional Mana feature from this Archetype, another Archetype or another Feature, your Mana increases by one. You cannot have more than 10 Mana.
* When you Cast a Spell of between 1st and 5th Level, you must expend an amount of Mana equal to the Spells level. The Spell fails if you are unable to provide sufficient Mana.
* You regain all expended Mana when you complete a Long Rest, or when you use the Recharge Action.
* You are able to use the Recharge Action twice. You regain the ability to use the Recharge Action twice after you complete a Long Rest.

#### Upcasting

* Some Spells grant additional benefits when additional Mana is spent during their Casting. This is referred to as Upcasting.
* The Maximum Mana you can spend on a Spell is equal to the Highest Spell Level you may learn (see Max Spell Level in the Archetype features Table)

#### Greater Spells

* You cannot expend Mana to Cast a Spell of 6th Level or higher.
* At 11th, 13th, 15th and 17th Level of this Archetype you gain the ability to Cast a Spell of 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th Level respectively.
	+ You may also Upcast Spells of lower Level with this feature, Casting them as though you expended Mana equal to that Spell Level.
* You may Cast a Spell in this way once for each Spell Level described. You regain the ability to Cast Spells in this way when you complete a Long Rest.

#### Spells Known of 1st Level and Higher

* You may know up to two Spells at a time, and you may choose these Spells from the Supernatural Spell list.
* The number of Spells you may know at any time increases as you gain levels in this Archetype.
* Whenever you gain the Additional Spell Known feature from this Archetype or another Archetype or feature, you may learn an additional Spell, and you may choose this Spell from the Supernatural Spell List.
	+ For New Players, we recommend that whenever you may learn an additional Spell, you learn a Spell of the highest Spell Level available to you (see Additional Spellcasting Rules for Paragons).

#### Spellcasting Ability

* Focus is your Spellcasting Ability for your Paragon Spells. Your magic comes from your link with those who share your belief in the ideals you embody.
* You use your Focus Bonus whenever a Spell refers to your Spellcasting Ability.
* In addition, you use your Focus Bonus when setting the saving throw DC for a Paragon Spell you Cast and when making an Attack roll for such a Spell.
	+ Spell save DC = 8 + your Skill Bonus + your Focus Bonus
	+ Spell Attack Bonus = your Skill Bonus + your Focus Bonus

#### Ritual Casting

* You can Cast any Spell you have learned as a Ritual if that Spell has the ritual tag.
* The Duration to Cast a Ritual is the Spell's usual casting time plus 10 minutes.
* When you Cast a Spell as a Ritual you do not expend Mana.
	+ Casting a Spell as a Ritual requires you maintain Concentration on the Spell throughout performing the Ritual.

#### Additional Spellcasting Rules for Paragons

##### Maximum Spell Level

* The maximum level of a Spell you may learn through this Archetype is equal to half your Spellcasting level rounded up, up to a maximum of 9th level.

##### Changing Spells Known

* Whenever you level up, you may change any number of Spells learned through this Archetype for other Spells you may learn from the Supernatural Spell List.
* These Supernatural Spells may be of any Spell Level available to you through this Archetype, but we recommend having a balanced number of Spells from each Level.

##### Daily Spell Preparation

* In addition to changing their learned Spells when they Level Up, when a Paragon completes a Long Rest they may change one Supernatural Spell they know for another they could learn at their current Level.

##### **Spellcasting Focus: Paragon Symbol**

* You may use a Spellcasting Focus whenever a costless material component is required to perform a Paragon Spell.
* Paragons may use any object bearing their Symbol as their Spellcasting focus, which is a visual representation of their allegiances or beliefs.
* You may wear a Symbol as a necklace, or have inscribed upon your clothes or an item you hold (for example on Armor, the back of a coat, on a weapon or upon a Shield you are wearing).
	+ If ever you are deprived of an item bearing your Paragon Symbol, you may spend 10 minutes to improvise a Paragon's Symbol (e.g. scratching it into clothing, crafting it from scrap materials etc).
* There is no limit to how many objects bearing your Paragon Symbol you may have.

##### **Honest Spellcasting**

* Whenever you Cast a Paragon Spell, you MUST display your Paragon Symbol openly.
* It is a sign of your Virtue, and only in openly representing that Virtue are you able to channel Supernatural Power.
* Efforts to hide the Symbol when performing a Paragon Spell either automatically fail, or the Spell itself fails (your choice).
	+ Only when a Character cannot see you due to Obscurement (such as that caused by darkness, fog, Invisibility or a Character being Blinded) are they unable to see the Symbol. i.e. If they can see you, they can see the Symbol.
* No matter the size of the Paragon's Symbol, the Symbol and what it represents is clear to all Character's who can see you, provided they are within at least 60ft of you.
	+ The Symbol does not emit light however.

## Level 2

### Calling

Each Paragon gains the benefits of a Calling, which represents their specific approach in life to furthering their cause. Paragons may pick one of three Callings: Theurge, Scholar or Defender, each of which grant the following benefits.

As you gain levels of Paragon, you gain additional benefits from your Calling.

#### Theurge

* You gain two Cantrips of your choice from any Tradition of Magic.
	+ These Cantrips are treated as Paragon Spells for you, and you use your Focus for your Spellcasting Ability Modifier with these Spells
	+ You may change your choice of Cantrips when you Level Up.

#### Scholar

* You gain either the Lore or Social Skill.
	+ If you are already Skilled in both of these Skills, you gain another Skill of your Choice.
* Additionally you become Skilled in Intelligence Saving Throws.
	+ If you are already Skilled in this Saving Throw, you become Skilled in another Saving Throw of your choice.

#### Defender

* You become Trained in Medium Armor and Shields.
	+ If you are already Trained in Medium Armor and Shields, you also become Trained in Heavy and Difficult Armor.
* You become Trained in Advanced and Complex Weapons available within the setting.

### Additional Mana and Spell Known

* Your Mana Point Maximum increases by one.
* The number of Spells you may know at a time increases by one.

## Level 3

### Theme

* At Level 3 you may choose a Theme compatible with this Archetype, such as the Life Theme.
* At Levels 6, 10 and 14 the Theme Improvement feature unlocks additional benefits from this Theme.

### Additional Mana and Spell Known

* Your Mana Point Maximum increases by one.
* The number of Spells you may know at a time increases by one.

## Level 4

### Major Improvement

* You may either: Increase an Ability Bonus by 1; Train Two Abilities; Train One Ability and Gain a Basic Feat; or Choose one Advanced Feat
	+ You cannot increase an Ability Bonus to higher than +5 at this level.

### Additional Mana, Cantrip and Spell Known

* Your Mana Point Maximum increases by one.
* You learn one additional Cantrip from the Supernatural Spell List.
* The number of Spells you may know at a time increases by one.

## Level 5

### Improved Support Die

* Your Support Die increases from a d4 to a d6.

### Additional Mana, Will and Spell Known

* Your Will Point Maximum increases by one.
* Your Mana Point Maximum increases by one.
* The number of Spells you may know at a time increases by one.

## Level 6

### Theme Improvement

* You unlock the 6th Level Features of a Theme you gained from this Archetype.

### Additional Mana and Spell Known

* Your Mana Point Maximum increases by one.
* The number of Spells you may know at a time increases by one.

## Level 7

### Improved Calling

* At 7th Level you gain additional Benefits from your Calling:

#### Theurge

* When you cause Damage with a Cantrip, it deals Additional Damage of it's Type equal to one roll of your Support Die.
	+ If the Damage is caused as a result of an Attack which is a Critical Hit, double the number of Support Dice rolled.
* Additionally, you may expend one Will Point to Cast a Cantrip with a Casting time of one Action as a Minor Action instead.

#### Scholar

* You gain either the Lore or Social Skill.
	+ If you already have both of these Skills, you gain another Skill of your Choice.
* Additionally when you make a Lore or Social Skill Check, you may expend one Will Point to add a Roll of your Support Die to the Result.
	+ You may use this feature after it is determined whether the Check was a Success or a Failure but before the outcomes of the Check are resolved.

#### Defender

* When you take the Attack Action, you may make up to two separate Attacks during your Turn.
* Additionally, when you take the Attack Action, you may expend one Will Point to make one additional Attack as part of that Action.

### Additional Mana and Spell Known

* Your Mana Point Maximum increases by one.
* The number of Spells you may know at a time increases by one.

## Level 8

### Major Improvement

* You may either: Increase an Ability Bonus by 1; Train Two Abilities; Train One Ability and Gain a Basic Feat; or Choose one Advanced Feat
	+ You cannot increase an Ability Bonus to higher than +5 at this level.

### Additional Mana, Will and Spell Known

* Your Will Point Maximum increases by one.
* Your Mana Point Maximum increases by one.
* The number of Spells you may know at a time increases by one.

## Level 9

### Improved Support Die

* Your Support Die increases from a d6 to a d8.

### Additional Mana, Will and Spell Known

* Your Will Point Maximum increases by one.
* The number of Spells you may know at a time increases by one.

## Level 10

### Theme Improvement

* You unlock the 10th Level Features of a Theme you gained from this Archetype.

### Additional Mana and Spell Known

* Your Mana Point Maximum increases by one.
* The number of Spells you may know at a time increases by one.

## Level 11

### Supernatural Intervention

* As an Action, you can appeal to the Supernatural sources you draw your power from in hopes of causing a Miracle to occur.
* Roll a d100. If you roll a number equal to you Paragon Spell Level or less, your request is heard and a Miracle occurs.
	+ The GM determines the effect of this Miracle, however we recommend it should grant the effects of any Spell of 7th or 8th Level.
* On a Failure, you instead may Cast a Paragon Spell you know or 5th level or less with a Casting time of one Action or Minor Action, without expending Mana.
* Once you use this Feature, you may not use it again until you finish a Long Rest.

### Greater Spell: 6th Level

* You may Cast a 6th Level Spell you know, or upcast a lower level Spell at that Level.
* You may Cast a Spell in this way once, and you regain the ability to do this again when you complete a Long Rest.

### Additional Spell Known

* The number of Spells you may know at a time increases by one.

## Level 12

### Major Improvement

* You may either: Increase an Ability Bonus by 1; Train Two Abilities; Train One Ability and Gain a Basic Feat; or Choose one Advanced Feat
	+ You cannot increase an Ability Bonus to higher than +5 at this level.

### Additional Spell Known

* The number of Spells you may know at a time increases by one.

## Level 13

### Improved Support Die

* Your Support Die increases from a d8 to a d10.

### Additional Will and Spell Known

* Your Will Point Maximum increases by one.
* The number of Spells you may know at a time increases by one.

### Greater Spell: 7th Level

* You may Cast a 7th Level Spell you know, or upcast a lower level Spell at that Level.
* You may Cast a Spell in this way once, and you regain the ability to do this again when you complete a Long Rest.

## Level 14

### Theme Improvement

* You unlock the 14th Level Features of a Theme you gained from this Archetype.

### Additional Spell Known

* The number of Spells you may know at a time increases by one.

## Level 15

### Greater Spell: 8th Level

* You may Cast a 8th Level Spell you know, or upcast a lower level Spell at that Level.
* You may Cast a Spell in this way once, and you regain the ability to do this again when you complete a Long Rest.

### Additional Spell Known

* The number of Spells you may know at a time increases by one.

### Improved Calling

* At 15th Level you gain additional Benefits from your Calling:

#### Theurge

* You learn two Spells from any Tradition of Magic or 8th Level or Lower. These do not count against your total number of known Spells.
* These Spells are Paragon Spells from the Supernatural Tradition of Magic for you, and use Focus for their Spellcasting Ability.
	+ You may change your choice of Spells when you Level Up.

#### Defender

* When you gain this feature, choose either Radiant, Psychic or Necrotic Damage.
* Whenever you Damage a Target with a Weapon Attack, they take Additional Damage of the Chosen Damage type equal to one roll of your Support Die.
	+ If the Damage is caused as a result of an Attack which is a Critical Hit, double the number of Support Dice rolled.
	+ You may change the chosen Damage Type when you Level Up.

#### Scholar

* When you Fail an Intelligence, Focus or Charisma Saving Throw, you can expend two Will Points to change the failure into an Automatic Success.

## Level 16

### Major Improvement

* You may either: Increase an Ability Bonus by 1; Train Two Abilities; Train One Ability and Gain a Basic Feat; or Choose one Advanced Feat
* You cannot increase an Ability Bonus to higher than +5 at this level.

### Additional Cantrip and Spell Known

* You learn one additional Cantrip from the Supernatural Spell List.
* The number of Spells you may know at a time increases by one.

## Level 17

### Improved Support Die

* Your Support Die increases from a d10 to a d12.

### Additional Will and Spell Known

* Your Will Point Maximum increases by one.
* The number of Spells you may know at a time increases by one.

### Greater Spell: 9th Level

* You may Cast a 6th Level Spell you know, or upcast a lower level Spell at that Level.
* You may Cast a Spell in this way once, and you regain the ability to do this again when you complete a Long Rest.

## Level 18

### Improved Supernatural Intervention

* When you use your Supernatural Intervention, the d100 Check automatically Succeeds.

### Additional Spell Known

* The number of Spells you may know at a time increases by one.

## Level 19

### Major Improvement

* You may either: Increase an Ability Bonus by 1; Train Two Abilities; Train One Ability and Gain a Basic Feat; or Choose one Advanced Feat
	+ You cannot increase an Ability Bonus to higher than +5 at this level.

### Additional Spell Known

* The number of Spells you may know at a time increases by one.

## Level 20

### Avatar of Virtue

* When you use your Supernatural Intervention, instead of gaining the effects of a Spell you may choose to instead to become an Avatar of your Virtue. Doing so grants you the following benefits:
	+ For one minute, you do not expend Mana when you Cast any Supernatural Spell you know of 5th Level or less, provided you Cast the Spell at it's lowest level.
	+ Additionally you do not need to provide Verbal, Somatic or inexpensive Material Components for Supernatural Spells of 5th Level or less, and you automatically succeed on Checks to maintain Concentration on these Spells.
	+ Additionally when you use Supernatural Intervention in this way, you:
		- Immediately healed of all Damage taken.
		- Recover all your expended Will Points.
		- You may immediately Cast one Supernatural Spell you know with a Casting time of one Action or Minor Action as part of the Action used for the Supernatural Intervention feature.

### Additional Spell Known

* The number of Spells you may know at a time increases by one.

### Epic Improvement

* You may either: Increase an Ability Bonus by 1; Train Two Abilities; Train One Ability and Gain a Basic Feat; or Choose one Epic Feat

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## Copyright Notice

This work includes material taken from the System Reference Document 5.1 (“SRD 5.1”) by Wizards of the Coast LLC and available at https://dnd.wizards.com/resources/systems-reference-document. The SRD 5.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode

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This work includes material taken from "7e” by Peter Rees and materials taken from the System Reference Document 5.1 (“SRD 5.1”) by Wizards of the Coast LLC. Both "7e" and the "SRD5.1" are Licensed under the Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 International License, available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode