Hit Points

• Hit Dice: 1d10 per Helot level
• Hit Points at 1st Level: 10 + your Constitution modifier
• Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d10 (or 6) + your Constitution modifier per helot level after 1st

Proficiencies

• Armor: Light armor
• Weapons: Simple weapons
• Tools: None
• Saving Throws: Dexterity, Intelligence
• Skills: Choose two from Arcana, Acrobatics, Deception, History, Intimidation, Investigation, or Sleight of Hand

Equipment

You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:

• (a) leather armor or (b) cloth armor and a simple ranged weapon with 20 ammo
• (a) a simple melee weapon
• (a) two handaxes or (b) two daggers
• (a) an explorer's pack or (b) a scholar's pack

Spellcasting

There are times when you force enemies to make spell saves. In those scenarios, your spellcasting ability is Intelligence:

• Spell save DC = 8 + proficiency + Intelligence

Also, for any spell gained through a Helot feature, you do not require a Spellcasting Focus or material components.

Note: (save ends) indicates that a condition can be dropped by rerolling the save at the end of each turn until it's gone.

Condition: Despair

Some Helot-related features can lead to a special condition called despair. Comparable to exhaustion for the soul, it is measured in six levels. An effect can give a creature one or more levels of despair, as specified in the effect’s description.

Despair decreases by 1 level after a short rest providing you spent at least 30 minutes recollecting your thoughts without interruption. You must finish a long rest to remove all levels of despair at once. Each effect stacks with prior ones.

Fixations

You innately sense which creature meets the requirement, unless it is purposely hidden from you. If no creature seems to meet it, choose the creature closest to you.

At 6th level, roll 1d6 on the above table whenever you enter delirium and gain the result as an additional fixation. You can pursue either one. If you roll your chosen fixation, roll again.

Evasion or Desperate Attack doesn't fit your helot? Check out Alternate Features on page 10.

Harlequin

While they may seem unaware of their surroundings, there is method behind their wordless madness. Harlequins allow themselves to become lost in their own thoughts, becoming oblivious to the real world.

Extra Proficiency

Gain proficiency in the Insight skill. In addition, you can treat the short sword as a simple weapon, including gaining proficiency with it.

Nightmare

Starting at 1st level, you can torment another creature along with yourself. As a bonus action, both you and an enemy within 5 feet make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, become frightened of the other creature (save ends).

If the creature is immune to being frightened (as you will be at 2nd level), it rolls the saving throw at advantage. If you fail the saving throw, you still become frightened. If another creature fails, it is unable to comprehend the extent of your turmoil. You gain advantage on attacks against it (save ends).

Beginning at 7th level, you can target all creatures within 5 feet. If more than one fail, you can choose to make them afraid of each other instead of you.

In addition, you can cast the 1st level spell Cause Fear. You must finish a long rest before you can use it again. You are also able to cast the 3rd level spell Speak With Dead as a ritual, but gain a level of Despair upon doing so.

Haunted Delirium

Starting at 2nd level, you can enter or increase your Delirium at the start of your turn as long as you have no ongoing Fixation. You gain the benefit from both the previous and current stages.

Extra Proficiency

Gain proficiency in the Athletics skill. In addition, you can treat the war pick as a simple weapon, including gaining proficiency with it.

Ferocity

Starting at 1st level, you can make an unarmed strike against an enemy within 5 feet as a bonus action. It does not require hands, and does 1d4 + Strength bludgeoning damage. You are considered proficient with this attack.

If it misses, the enemy can use their reaction to attack you. If you hit, the creation is unsettled, gaining disadvantage on its next ability check before the end of your next turn.

At 7th level, you can unarmed strike each creature within 5 feet. Also, all return damage dealt is halved.

In addition, you can cast the 2nd level spell blur as an action. You must finish a long rest before you can do so again.

Unbound Delirium

Starting at 2nd level, you can enter or increase your Delirium at the start of your turn as long as you have no ongoing Fixation. You gain the benefit from both the previous and current stages.

Unleash Delirium

Starting at 3rd level, you gain the ability to transform into a physical manifestation of your psyche during Delirium if you have no ongoing fixation. It uses your Initiative.

At the start of your turn, you can disburse into a number of Savage Spirits equal to your stage of Delirium. If the final Spirit reaches 0 HP or a minute passes, return to your normal form in its place with your previous HP and no Delirium (make Intelligence save normally). You must take a long rest before using this feature again. The spirit can be found at the end of the class.

Starting at 13th level, your Unleash becomes more powerful. Spirits now become harder to hit and gain more potency.

Unrestrained Aggression

Also at 11th level, you can force a hit to go your way. When you miss an attack, you can instead gain a level of Exhaustion and change the die roll to a natural 20. You must finish a long rest before you can use this feature again.

Beat Down

Once per turn starting at 17th level, if you hit 3 attacks on the same turn , then you can use Ferocity once for free.

Torrential Power

At 20th level, you can finally tap into unmitigated power. Add 1d8 to all your damage rolls. Also, when you deal damage from melee attacks, you can choose to make it Force damage.

Extra Proficiency

Gain proficiency in the Religion skill. In addition, you can treat the Whip as a simple weapon, including gaining proficiency with it.

Inflict

Starting at 1st level, whenever you hit a creature with a melee attack you can deal additional damage equal to your Intelligence modifier + weapon die damage to the creature as a bonus action, but you also take damage equal to half the result.

At 7th level, deal the damage to all creatures you hit this turn when you use this feature.

In addition, you can cast the 2nd level spell crown of madness as an action. You must finish a long rest before you can do so again.

Crazed Delirium

Starting at 2nd level, you can enter or increase your Delirium at the start of your turn as long as you have no ongoing Fixation. You gain the benefit from both the previous and current stages.

Unleash Delirium

Starting at 3rd level, you gain the ability to transform into a physical manifestation of your psyche during Delirium if you have no ongoing fixation. It uses your Initiative.

As a bonus action, morph into a Diseased Scourge. Your gear, armor, and weapons do not carry over. If the Scourge reaches 0 HP or a minute passes, return to your normal form in its place with your previous HP and no Delirium (make Intelligence save normally). You must take a long rest before using this feature again. The scourge can be found at the end of the class.

Starting at 13th level, your Unleash becomes more powerful, increasing the potency of your poison.

Sacrificial Transfer

Also at 11th level, you gain the ability to take on the burdens of others. As an action, transfer any number of ongoing effects from one willing creature to yourself, and (if applicable) make a save against each. You must finish a long rest before you can use this feature again.

Babbled Prayer

Beginning at 17th level, your incomprehensible muttering is finally heard. As an action, fall prone. For the next minute, once per turn when you roll for damage, you can change the damage type to radiant, and can also gain hit points equal to your Intelligence modifier. If you use this effect again before a minute is up, then refresh the minute timer.

Joy in Suffering

At 20th level, your righteous suffering gains power. Whenever you take damage, you can gain vulnerability to it and gain one of the following benefits:

• The damage dealer makes an Intelligence save. On a failure of over 5, it becomes paralyzed. On a failure, it becomes frightened (both save ends)
• Gain advantage on all attack rolls made against the damage dealer until the end of your next turn
• Increase Delirium by 1 stage, regardless of Fixation

Headless Puppet

Harlequin-sized aberration

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• Armor Class 15 (unnatural armor)
• Hit Points 1/2 Harlequin Max HP
• Speed fly 30 ft (hover)

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• Condition Immunities All
• Senses none
• Languages None

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Puppet Master. Has the same Ability Scores and proficiencies as its controller. Must end turn within line of sight of its controller, or health goes to 0.

Ultimate Salvation. Automatically succeed on all saving throws

Actions

Lurching Grasp. Melee Weapon Attack: INT + prof. to hit, reach 10 ft; one target. Hit (number of d6 equal to Delirium stage) + INT psychic damage.

Rattling Leap. Melee Spell Attack: INT + prof. to hit, range 5ft; all nearby targets. Hit Knock the target prone. As part of this action, fly up to 30 feet before landing at target location.

Level 13 Upgrades

Lurching Grasp. Double the number of d6s being rolled for damage.

Rattling Leap. Increase hit range to 15 ft.

Mongrel

Savage Spirit

Savage-sized elemental

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• Armor Class Savage AC + proficiency bonus
• Hit Points 1
• Speed fly Savage Speed

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• Condition Immunities Prone, Frightened, Charmed
• Senses Savage senses
• Languages Roaring

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Part of a Whole. When one Spirit takes an action, all other spirits must take the same action. If they can't, then their HP falls to 0 and they disappear.

Still Savage. Uses the Savage's Ability Scores and proficiencies.

Shifty. When an ability would do half damage, it does none instead. Also, can Disengage as a bonus action.

Actions

Lock Down. Melee Spell Attack: As a bonus action, force a nearby enemy to make a Constitution save. On a failure, the enemy becomes restrained until the end of your next turn.

Attack. Melee Weapon Attack: same to hit and damage as Savage. Upon dealing damage, become immune to next damage taken (does not stack).

Level 13 Upgrades

Shifty: Attack rolls against the Spirit are made at disadvantage.

Multiattack. Can attack twice instead of once with the Attack action.

Lock Down. Now stuns instead of restrains.

Mutations

You have developed a beneficial mutation as a result of stress. However, it has also sapped some of your natural ability. Choose one of the following, but subtract 1 from an ability score at random by rolling a d6.

Alternatively, you can gain a mutation and a single +1 to an ability score in place of a normal Ability Score Improvement.

Oddities (descriptive)

When you enter Delirium, you take on a certain trait, which becomes more pronounced as Delirium increases. Choose from the following, or roll a d4.

Alternate Features

At level 5, you gain the Desperate Attack and Anticipate features. If your character is more of an able fighter than a varied attacker, consider using the following features instead:

Inspiration and Creation

The helot was partially inspired by the game Darkest Dungeon, with some other lighter influences, like like the movie Apocalypse Now. The initial concept went something like this: Using a source of untapped power that was only accessible after experiencing a traumatic event, the helot is able to break the normal boundaries of humanoid ability.

So how do I express this? I settled on 3 aspects.

Case Study: Delirium

Each of the previous aspects is obvious in one feature that I have avoided mentioning so far: Delirium, the core mechanic.

• Delirium is strange. It ramps up over time, going from a small-ish benefit at stage 1 to a very powerful stage 3 feature. While it does offer raw power on occasion, the way it grants it is still not quite normal.
• Delirium is full of drawbacks. To use delirium, you have to deal with a nagging fixation which becomes more bothersome as you power up. It also has a potential downside when ended, making it a risky ability in general.
• Delirium is a distinct choice. Each affliction has a very different delirium load out. In game, choosing when to enter or increase delirium leads to choices, since it is not gated by a number of uses, but instead by consequences.

Balance Philosophy

This class is not very balanced. Let me rephrase. I did not make the helot with the specific math of 5th edition in mind. Instead, I used a rough framework (barbarian), came up with features I liked and fit my design goals, and then made sure the class wasn't (1) obviously overpowered and (2) strictly better at doing something that is a major theme of another class. If this method scares you, I totally understand, but I also think using math as a baseline leads to blander features compared to inventing stuff that's cool and balancing after.

Feature Changes

The helot's first iteration mirrored the barbarian's progression much more, and also had a few features that were later either removed (Terrifying Presence, which frightened people), redone (Desperate Attack), or moved to optional (Mutations).

It also had a much greater focus on lingering insanity or madness being the driving cause behind each affliction's power. While I still think this is a valid way to play the class, I wanted to open it up to a larger array of ideas, which I think both the features and the flavor now reflect.

You can see an earlier version of the class here.