Spirit Warrior (Tales from Thedas)

*“The foolish warrior fights and dies alone. But I am never alone.”*

-Thenvik, Orth chieftain.

Spirit Warriors are not mages themselves, but rather, they are conduits for the powers of spirits. Any magical abilities they possess are not their own; they are loaned powers granted to them by their fade-bound associates. As templars rarely acknowledge this distinction, the tradition is most common among the Avvar, Chasind, and other peoples outside Chantry control. Spirit Warriors use their affinity for spirits to defend themselves and their allies, and perform feats no other non-mage could.

Adapted from Barbarian Path of the Ancestral Guardian

(Back to Character Creation)

Race Restrictions: Not an Awakened Darkspawn

* Hit Dice: 1d12
* Saving Throws: Constitution, Wisdom
* **Proficiencies:** Light armor, medium armor, shields, simple weapons, martial weapons
* **Skills:** Choose two from Animal Handling, Athletics, Intimidation, Nature, Persuasion, and Arcana

### **Equipment**

* (a) a greataxe or (b) any martial melee weapon
* (a) two hand axes or (b) any simple weapon
* An explorer's pack

### **Spirit Walk**

In battle, your spirit presses against the veil, eager to protect you. On your turn, you can enter a Spirit Walk as a bonus action.

While Spirit Walking, you gain the following benefits if you aren't wearing heavy armor:

* You have advantage on Wisdom checks and Wisdom saving throws.
* For the duration, all Strength checks become Wisdom checks
* When you make a melee weapon attack using Strength, you gain a bonus to the damage roll that increases as you gain levels as a spirit warrior, as shown in the Spirit Walk Damage column of the Spirit Warrior table.
* You have resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage.

If you are able to cast spells, you can't cast them or concentrate on them while spirit walking.

Your spirit walk lasts for 1 minute. It ends early if you are knocked unconscious or if your turn ends and you haven't attacked a hostile creature since your last turn or taken damage since then. You can also end your spirit walk on your turn as a bonus action. Once you have spirit walked the number of times shown for your Spirit Warrior level in the Spirit Walk column of the Spirit Warrior table, you must finish a long rest before you can spirit walk again.

As a Spirit Warrior, you have formed a close friendship with a guardian spirit. Choose such a spirit. Examples would include spirits of faith, hope, valor, justice, compassion, etc. Your spirit watches you through the veil, and assists you when you Spirit Walk. The only communication you have with your spirit is in dreams, which you experience with more clarity than most non-mages. Think about how you first attracted the spirit’s attention and how your relationship formed.

**Variant:** It is possible to attract the attention of less benevolent spirits, such as anger, hunger,            despair, etc. If you choose one of these spirits, they provide the same benefits as above, but are less inclined to perform these services for free. Your spirit may occasionally ask you for tasks or deeds, and refusing will likely mean you cannot spirit walk until your spirit is satisfied. Be careful, as these kinds of spirits are more than willing to forcibly take over your body if given the chance, turning you into an abomination.

### **Unarmored Defense**

With your spirit pressing against the veil, sometimes your mortal frame is more durable than armor. While you are not wearing any armor, your armor class equals 10 + your Dexterity modifier + your Constitution modifier. You can use a shield and still gain this benefit.

### **Fade Weapon**

If a melee attack would cause you to use your strength modifier, you may use your wisdom modifier instead.

## **Features**

### **Danger Sense**

At 2nd level, you gain an uncanny sense of when things nearby aren't as they should be, giving you an edge when you dodge away from danger. You have advantage on Dexterity saving throws against effects that you can see, such as traps and spells. To gain this benefit, you can't be blinded, deafened, or incapacitated.

### **Reckless Attack**

Starting at 2nd level, you can throw aside all concern for defense to attack with fierce desperation. When you make your first attack on your turn, you can decide to attack recklessly. Doing so gives you advantage on melee weapon attack rolls using Strength during this turn, but attack rolls against you have advantage until your next turn.

#### **Spirit Protector**

Starting at 3rd level, your spirit is so closely intertwined with you that it becomes somewhat visible in and able to affect the material world. While you’re spirit walking, the first creature you hit with an attack on your turn becomes the target of your spirit, which hinders its attacks. Until the start of your next turn, that target has disadvantage on any attack roll that isn’t against you, and when the target hits a creature other than you with an attack, that creature has resistance to the damage dealt by the attack. The effect on the target ends early if your spirit walk ends.

### **Ability Score Improvement**

When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.

### **Extra Attack**

Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.

### **Arcane Energy**

Starting at 5th level, your spirit can act through you to produce effects that seem similar to magic. Pick a Cantrip and a 1st-level spell from a suitable Spell List. You can cast the 1st level spell once per long rest, and the Cantrip 2 times per long rest. You cannot cast while spirit walking. Wisdom is your spellcasting ability. Choose spells that would match the nature of your spirit. For example, a spirit of hope might be able to produce the effects of the Light Cantrip and the Shield spell, while a demon of Rage might be able to produce the effects of the Fire Bolt Cantrip and the Burning Hands spell. If your spirit is of a more aggressive variety, after every spell or Cantrip you use you must pass a DC 12 Wisdom check or take the Abomination feature.

### **Spirit Shield**

Beginning at 6th level, the guardian spirit that aids you can provide supernatural protection to those you defend. If you are spirit walking and another creature you can see within 30 feet of you takes damage, you can use your reaction to reduce that damage by 2d6.

When you reach certain levels in this class, you can reduce the damage by more: by 3d6 at 10th level and by 4d6 at 14th level.

### **Spirit’s Warning**

By 7th level, your spirit can influence your intuitive combat skills, giving you advantage on initiative rolls.

Additionally, if you are surprised at the beginning of combat and aren't incapacitated, you can act normally on your first turn, but only if you enter your spirit walk before doing anything else on that turn.

### **Brutal Critical**

Beginning at 9th level, you can roll one additional weapon damage die when determining the extra damage for a critical hit with a melee attack. This increases to two additional dice at 13th level and three additional dice at 17th level.

### **Consult the Spirit**

At 10th level, you gain the ability to consult with your guardian spirit. When you do so, you cast the augury of clairvoyance spell, without using a spell slot. Rather than creating a spherical sensor, this use of clairvoyance has you fall into a trance-like state where communication with your fade-bound guardian is possible. Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for these spells.

After you cast either spell in this way, you can’t use this feature again until you finish a short or long rest.

### **Enduring Walk**

Starting at 11th level, your spirit can keep you fighting despite grievous wounds. If you drop to 0 hit points while you're spirit walking and don't die outright, you can make a DC 10 Constitution saving throw. If you succeed, you drop to 1 hit point instead.

Each time you use this feature after the first, the DC increases by 5. When you finish a short or long rest, the DC resets to 10.

### **Spirit Strike**

At 14th level, your guardian spirit grows powerful enough to retaliate. When you use your Spirit Shield to reduce the damage of an attack, the attacker takes an amount of force damage equal to the damage that your Spirit Shield prevents.

### **Tightly Bound**

Beginning at 15th level, your bond with your spirit  is so fierce that your spirit walk ends early only if you fall unconscious or if you choose to end it.

### **Indomitable Focus**

Beginning at 18th level, if your total for a Wisdom check is less than your Wisdom score, you can use that score in place of the total.

### **Two-Souled Champion**

At 20th level, you embody the connection between mortal and spirit more than any abomination ever could. Your Wisdom and Constitution scores increase by 4. Your maximum for those scores is now 24.

You may also take the Abomination feature if you desire.