Credits
Class is created by /u/Rachayz unless noted otherwise. Special thanks to GM Binder for allowing me to format this so nicely.
Also thanks to Weirdo Whoever for creating their artificer class which I used to help formating, and /u/Charrmeleon who crated the scholar class which I drew inspiration and used wording from.
I wish I could credit the artist of the amazing blue eye picture I used, but the only sources I can find are wallpaperplay.com or pexels.com or even cutewallpaper.org with no credit to the original artist.
And a great deal of thanks to the Discord of Many Things which helped me immensely with this project. If you are struggling with your own homebrew, I highly recommend you give them a look!
Watcher
A mail clad warrior surveys the battlefield. They note the positions of the enemies, and watch their skill with the blade. They see an opening, and take it. Exploiting the weaknesses they spotted in the enemy's swordsmanship, they swiftly maneuver to the back lines where they spot the general. As the general draws their blade to fight, it is already over. The warrior knows every move they are about to make.
A tiefling approaches the guarded keep in broad daylight. Bodies of those who attempted to enter the keep scatter the ground around them, full of arrows. Archers look over the side of the wall, but don't notice the bright blue tiefling as they casually enter the keep. The tiefling makes their way unimpeded through the keep, searching rooms until they find the hostage guarded by two powerful guards in full plate. The tiefling ignores the guards, picks up the hostage, and whispers an incantation as they vanish.
The forest erupts in flames as a fireball tears the trees apart. As the smoke clears, revealing an unscathed warmage, much to the archmage's frustration. The warmage continues to approach as the archmage throws every spell they know at them, attacking their body, mind, and spirit. The warmage continues, indifferent to the arcane show, and proceeds to separate the archmage's head from their body with an arcane flash of their own.
The watchers are experienced warriors and mages who have learned how to turn simple understanding into powerful attacks and spells. A watcher's specialty is making openings in hopeless situations, and poking holes in enemy strategies.
To Watch the World Unfold
Watchers pursue understanding just as a wizard hunts knowledge. To know the world and the creatures which inhabit it is their greatest goal, leading most watchers into a life of adventure. A watcher never stops pursuing wisdom, never stopping to settle down. The slower their lives become, the stronger their desire to journey forth becomes.
Creating a Watcher
When creating a watcher, it is important to know who you were before you took the path of the watcher. Were you a simple warrior, a doctor, or an urchin? Was the mantle of watcher thrust upon you by a mentor, or did you find and choose this path yourself?
A watcher can be any alignment, but they are never lazy. Sometimes they are driven by a single question or goal, while others are driven by the desire to understand everything they can. What do you search the world for? Why?
Quick Build
You can make a watcher quickly by following these suggestions. First, Wisdom should be your highest ability score, followed by Strength, or Dexterity. Second, choose the Soldier or Acolyte background.
Watcher Table
| Level | Proficiency Bonus | Features | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | +2 | Understand Your Enemy, Eyes from Beyond | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2nd | +2 | Spellcasting, Exploit Weakness | 2 | — | — | — | — |
| 3rd | +2 | Prying Eyes, Watcher Specialty feature | 3 | — | — | — | — |
| 4th | +2 | Ability Score Improvement | 3 | — | — | — | — |
| 5th | +3 | Extra Attack, Wide Open | 4 | 2 | — | — | — |
| 6th | +3 | The Watcher's Gaze, Mimic | 4 | 2 | — | — | — |
| 7th | +3 | Watcher Specialty feature, Greater Understanding | 4 | 3 | — | — | — |
| 8th | +3 | Ability Score Improvement | 4 | 3 | — | — | — |
| 9th | +4 | — | 4 | 3 | 2 | — | — |
| 10th | +4 | Eyes from Further Beyond | 4 | 3 | 2 | — | — |
| 11th | +4 | Watcher Specialty feature | 4 | 3 | 3 | — | — |
| 12th | +4 | Ability Score Improvement | 4 | 3 | 3 | — | — |
| 13th | +5 | — | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | — |
| 14th | +5 | Psychosis | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | — |
| 15th | +5 | Watcher Specialty feature | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | — |
| 16th | +5 | Piercing Gaze, Ability Score Improvement | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | — |
| 17th | +6 | — | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| 18th | +6 | Supreme Understanding | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| 19th | +6 | Ability Score Improvement | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| 20th | +6 | Complete Comprehension | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
Class Features
As a Watcher, you gain the following class features
Hit Points
- Hit Dice: 1d8 per Watcher level
- Hit Points at 1st Level: 8 + your Constitution modifier
- Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 (or 5) + your Constitution modifier per Watcher level after 1st
Proficiencies
- Armor: Light armor, medium armor, shields
- Weapons: Simple weapons, hand crossbows, longbow, longswords, rapiers, shortswords
- Saving Throws: Intelligence, Wisdom
- Skills: Choose two from Arcana, Athletics, History, Insight, Investigation, Medicine, Religion, Survival
Equipment
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:
- (a) a longsword or (b) any simple weapon
- (a) a hand crossbow with 20 bolts or (b) 3 javelins
- (a) leather armor or (b) a chain shirt
- (a) a diplomat's pack or (b) an explorer's pack
- an arcane symbol and a shield
Understand Your Enemy
At 1st level you have an uncanny ability to learn about your foe just by watching them. After a creature that you can see makes an attack or casts a spell, you can use your reaction to choose one piece of information from the following list. The DM will tell you the related information about the creature.
- Which ability score is highest
- Which ability score is lowest
- Whether the creature has more than half its hit points
- Average damage the creature can do with the attack/spell that triggered the reaction
- Class levels, if any
- One random vulnerability, if any
- One random resistance/immunity, if any
After using this ability the chosen creature is considered 'understood' for the purposes of other abilities until your next rest.
You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier, after which you must take a short or long rest to use this feature again.
Eyes from Beyond
At 1st level when you pick this class, your eyes become far more perceptive than before as you start to see things you never noticed.
- You gain darkvision for 60 feet. If you already had darkvision, increase it's range by 30 feet.
- You add double your proficiency bonus to all Wisdom (Perception) checks you make.
- You can take the Search action as a bonus action.
Spellcasting
By the time you reach 2nd level, you have learned to use your perceptive power to cast watcher spells. See chapter 10 for the general rules of spellcasting and the bottom of the class sheet for the watcher spell list.
Spell Slots
The watcher table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your spells of first level or 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.
Preparing and Casting Spells
The watcher table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your spells. To cast one of your watcher spells of 1st level or higher, you must expend a slot of the spell’s level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest.
You prepare the list of watcher spells that are available for you to cast, choosing from the watcher spell list. When you do so, choose a number of watcher spells equal to your Wisdom modifier + half your watcher level, rounded down (minimum of one spell). The spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots.
For example, if you are a 3rd-level watcher, you have four 1st-level and two 2nd-level spell slots. With a Wisdom of 14, your list of prepared spells can include five spells of 1st or 2nd level, in any combination. If you prepare a 1st-level spell, and you can cast it using a 1st-level or a 2nd-level slot. Casting the spell doesn’t remove it from your list of prepared spells.
You can change your list of prepared spells when you finish a long rest. Preparing a new list of watcher spells requires time spent in silent meditation: at least 1 minute per spell level for each spell on your list.
Spellcasting Ability
Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for your watcher spells. Your magic comes from your powerful understanding of the world. You use your Wisdom whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Wisdom modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a watcher spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.
Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus +
your Wisdom modifier
Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus +
your Wisdom modifier
Spellcasting Focus
You can use an arcane symbol of an eye as a spellcasting focus for your watcher spells. You must wear it visibly, or bear it on a shield.
Ritual Casting
You can cast a watcher spell as a ritual if that spell has a ritual tag and you have that spell prepared.
Exploit Weakness
Also at 2nd level, once on your turn whenever you damage a creature that is understood you deal 1d6 extra damage of the triggering damage type. If the triggering damage has multiple types, you can choose which damage type to increase.
This damage increases to 1d8 at 8th level, and 1d10 at 14th level
Prying Eyes
Watchers keep watch on their foe, but to be seen is a feeling that watchers also know well. At 3rd level as an action, you can focus your senses to detect unwanted attention. If any creature within 60' is focusing it's attention on you, you are immediately aware of it and its location. If the observer is invisible or magically created (such as a the arcane eye spell's sensor, or a creature summoned by find familiar) you are instead only aware that you are being watched, but not the creature's location.
After using this ability, you must complete a short or long rest before you can use it again.
Watcher Specialty
At 3rd level, you choose a specialty to focus on. Your choice grants features at 3rd level, and again at 7th, 11th, and 15th level.
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.
Wide Open
Also at 5th level, when you hit a creature with an attack that had advantage, you can treat the creature as understood for the purposes of other abilities.
The Watcher's Gaze
At 6th level you learn how to focus your power into special abilities. You learn two Gaze abilities of your choice. Additionally, when you gain a level in this class, you can choose one of the Gaze abilities you know and replace it with another Gaze ability that you could learn at that level. A level prerequisite in a Gaze Ability refers to watcher level, not character level.
Using a Gaze ability that requires an action can replace one of your attacks.
Mimic
At 6th level, you have studied the way creatures move and react to danger, and can now mimic their responses. You gain the following abilities:
-
Evasiveness. If you are subjected to a saving throw that also affects at least one other creature, and that creature succeeds on the saving throw, you may choose to automatically succeed as well. In addition, if that creature takes no damage instead of half, such as with the Evasion feature, you take no damage as well.
-
Vigilance. If you would roll initiative, you can instead use the roll of a friendly creature you can see, acting immediately after them. In addition, you may move and act normally in any surprise round in which the creature you chose was not surprised.
Once you use this feature, you can't do so again until you finish a short or long rest.
Greater Understanding
At 7th level you improve your ability to understand your foe. The first time you make an attack roll against an understood creature you gain advantage on the roll regardless of any other disadvantages. You cannot use this feature against a creature more than once unless you understand them again.
Eyes From Further Beyond
At 10th level your vision improves even further.
- You can see normally in darkness, both magical and nonmagical, to a distance of 60 feet.
- You can use double your proficiency bonus in Wisdom (insight) checks made to determine if a creature is lying.
- You open your third eye, and can now have three gaze abilities instead of two.
- Your eyes can be used as a spellcasting focus in place of your arcane symbol, and you can ignore somatic components in spells cast with your eyes.
Psychosis
Starting at 14th level, you have learned how to overwhelm the senses of your foes. As an action, each creature of your choice within 30 feet of you must make a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC. Choose one of the following effects.
- Stricken. The stricken creature is blinded and deafened
- Muddled. A muddled creature automatically fails Perception checks and can't gain any benefit from blindsight or truesight
- Silenced. A silenced creature can't speak or concentrate on spells
Each creature that fails its saving throw is subjected to the condition you chose for 1 minute or until you end the effect as a bonus action. Affected creatures can use their action to try to push your influence away, allowing them to make another Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC. On success, the effect ends.
When you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.
Piercing Gaze
At 16th level, your sight becomes so powerful that even physical obstructions do not limit your sight. As an action, you can see through most barriers up to a range of 60 feet for 1 minute, but are blocked by 1 foot of stone, 1 inch of common metal, a thin sheet of lead, or 3 feet of wood or dirt.
Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Supreme Understanding
At 18th level you have mastered your ability to learn a creature's skills in combat. When using Understand Your Enemy you can choose two choices from the list instead of one.
Additionally, if using Understand Your Enemy could reveal multiple traits, such as multiple resistances, you learn all of the traits instead of a random one.
Complete Comprehension
At 20th level, you have learned how to completely dissect the strengths and weaknesses of your foe with just a glance. When you use Understand Your Enemy on a creature, you can choose to use this ability on it as well. Any time you use Understand Your Enemy on the affected creature it does not use a charge. Additionally, all of your attacks have advantage against the creature, and the creature has disadvantage on all saving throws you force them to make. This effect lasts as long as the creature remains understood.
Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.
Watcher Specialties
Watchers come from many different places and are good at many different things. There are four typical specialties for watchers: the True Watcher, the Watchblade, the Lore Seeker, and the Seer.
True Watcher
Many watchers only adhere somewhat to the ideals of their kin. Those who focus on the core of what makes a watcher so strong are given the title of True Watchers. True Watchers appear as pacifists to others, while in reality they are waiting for the right moment to make a move.
Ever Watchful
When you choose this specialty at 3rd level, you can attempt to understand a creature in different ways. As a bonus action you can make a Wisdom (Perception) check against a creature you can see that isn't incapacitated, contested by the target's Charisma (Deception) check. If you succeed, the creature is considered understood for the purposes of abilities for 1 minute.
You can only have one creature understood in this way at a time, and if you attempt to understand a different creature the first creature is no longer considered understood.
Watching Undisturbed
At 11th level, you can enter a special meditation that surrounds you with an aura of peace. At the end of a rest, you and a number of willing creatures up to your Proficiency modifier gain the effect of a sanctuary spell that lasts until the start of your next rest (the spell can end early as normal).
The saving throw DC for the spell is the same as your spell save DC.
Eyes of Truth
At 15th level, your eyes can see the world for how it really is. You gain truesight at a range of 60 feet.
You also gain immunity to the Charmed and Frightened condition.
Watchblade
The warriors of the watchers are known as the Watchblades. They use their powerful eyes to spot openings in combat and weaknesses in an enemy's defense.
Push the Advantage
At 3rd level, whenever you deal damage with a weapon attack when you had advantage on the attack roll, you deal additional damage equal to half your watcher level (rounded up). If the attack deals multiple types of damage, you can choose which damage type to add to.
Flow of Battle
At 7th level, you have learned how to turn dodging one attack into dodging them all. If an attack misses you, you can use your reaction to instantly take the dodge action.
Perfect Opening
At 11th level, you can spot rare but advantageous moments in combat to exploit. As an action, you move in a straight line in a direction of your choice a number of feet equal to your walking speed. You can make a melee attack against every creature or object that comes into your melee range during this movement, and your reach with melee weapons is considered 10 feet if it is not already higher. Any opportunity attack made against you while moving in this way is made with disadvantage.
If the direction chosen would not allow you to move your full movement, you instead move the maximum possible distance. You can use this action only if you haven't moved during this turn, and after you use the action, your speed is 0 until the end of the current turn.
Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.
Critical Understanding
At 15th level, you know exactly how to make the most out of an attack against an enemy you understand. Attacks against an understood creature score a critical hit on a roll of 18-20.
Lore Seeker
Lore Seeker watchers specialize in learning about the magical side of the world.
Learned Scholar
At 3rd level, when taking a short rest you regain up to two 1st level spell slots. At 11th level, you instead regain up to four.
When you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.
You can also use Understand Your Enemy outside of combat by spending 1 minute observing a creature.
Unfailing Observation
At 7th level, you can instantly use Understand Your Enemy on a creature that you miss with an attack or on a creature that successfully saves against a spell you cast (no reaction required). You can only use this ability once per round.
Arcane Resilience
At 11th level, your knowledge of how magic works allows you to better overcome their effects. Whenever you are affected by a spell or spell like ability that forces you to make a saving throw to take only half damage, you instead take no damage if you succeed on the saving throw, and only half damage if you fail.
Epiphany
At 15th level, you have made a breakthrough in the way you cast spells. Whenever you cast a watcher spell that can be cast at a higher level for additional effects, you can choose to have it cast at one level higher than the spell slot you use to cast it. You can't cast a spell at a level higher than your highest spell slot
Seer
Most watchers simply look around them to learn about the world they live in, but seers are different. They seek to learn more about the world than "now" can tell them, and thus have found ways to peer into the near future and unleash new kinds of power.
Comprehend Beyond
At 3rd level, you can use your bonus action to target a creature within 60 feet of yourself. The creature is considered understood until the end of your next turn as you peer into the possible future and glean insight into the creature's potential.
You can use this ability a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier, and regain all uses after a long rest.
Foreseen
At 7th level, your ability to sense the near future allows you to anticipate danger and counter it. When you or a non-hostile creature within 15 feet of yourself take damage, you can use your reaction to reduce the severity of the damage, causing all creatures within 15 feet of yourself to instead take the minimum possible roll of that damage.
When you use this feature, you can't use it again until you complete a long rest.
Bend Fate
At 11th level, you have learned how to not only see into the future, but how to change it. If you or a creature you can see makes an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw, you can choose to give it advantage or disadvantage (your choice). This can be done even after the result is determined as you were only seeing a possible future.
When you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.
Diviner
At 15th level, you can choose three divination spells in any spell list of 3rd level or lower. These spells become watcher spells for you and are always prepared, and do not count against your maximum prepared spells.
Multiclassing
On the DM's discretion, you can multiclass in the Watcher class, as described in a book most players should have (page 163-165). If you do so, the following rules are applied.
Prerequisites
To qualify for an Watcher class, you must meet the ability score proficiencies for the Watcher class, as shown in the table below.
Table: Multiclassing Prerequisites
| Class | Ability Score Minimum |
|---|---|
| Watcher | Wisdom 13 |
Class Feature: Spellcasting
When you multiclass into the Watcher class and gain the Spellcasting feature from both the Watcher class and other classes, you add half your levels (rounded down) in the Watcher class when you determine your available spell slots.
Watcher Spells
1st Level
- alarm
- (XGE) cause fear
- color spray
- command
- compelled duel
- cure wounds
- detect evil and good
- detect magic
- detect poison and disease
- disguise self
- faerie Fire
- find familiar
- hunter's mark
- identify
- sleep
- tasha's hideous laughter
- (XGE) zephyr strike
2nd Level
- alter self
- blindness/deafness
- blur
- continual flame
- crown of madness
- detect thoughts
- find traps
- invisibility
- knock
- lesser restoration
- levitate
- locate object
- (XGE) mind spike
- mirror image
- misty step
- pass without trace
- see invisibility
- silence
- suggestion
3rd Level
- blinding smite
- blink
- clairvoyance
- counterspell
- (XGE) enemies abound
- fly
- gaseous form
- glyph of warding
- haste
- hypnotic pattern
- major image
- nondetection
- protection from energy
- revivify
- sending
- slow
- (XGE)thunder step
- water breathing
4th Level
- arcane eye
- banishment
- confusion
- death ward
- dimension door
- divination
- dominate beast
- fabricate
- freedom of movement
- greater invisibility
- hallucinatory terrain
- locate creature
- phantasmal killer
- stoneskin
5th Level
- animate objects
- circle of power
- contact other plane
- creation
- dominate person
- geas
- legend lore
- mislead
- passwall
- telekinesis
- wall of force
Gaze Abilities
Charming Personality
You learn the spell Charm Person. You always have this spell prepared and it doesn't count against the number of Spells you can prepare each day. You can cast it once without expending a spell slot, and can't do so again until you finish a long rest.
Defensive Measures
You can cast Mage Armor on yourself without expending a spell slot.
Devil's in the Details
You gain the following additional options to choose from when using the Understand Your Enemy Ability;
- Creature Type
- Armor Class
- If the creature is under the effects of a spell
- Highest level spell slot the creature can cast, if any
- If the creature has legendary resistance
- The senses of the creature
- One random condition immunity, if any
Distracting Eyes
You can spend 1 minute talking with a creature in an attempt to distract them. The creature must make a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC. On failure, the creature is distracted by you and will automatically fail any perception check made for the next 10 minutes, or earlier of you choose to end the effect. Additionally, while under this effect the creature is always considered surprised if they are attacked. Creatures immune to the charmed condition cannot be targeted by this feature.
Eye of Erasure
As an action you focus your gaze on a creature within 60 feet of yourself. That creature must make a Wisdom saving throw, and on failure it cannot cast any spells for a number of rounds equal to your Wisdom modifier. You must concentrate on this ability (as though you were concentrating on a spell) to maintain the effect for the duration, and the creature can repeat the Wisdom saving throw at the end of each of their turns for the duration. When the effect ends the creature can use spellcasting as normal.
When you use this feature, you can't use it again until you complete a long rest.
Eye of Fear
You can cast Fear once using a watcher spell slot. You can't do so again until you finish a long rest.
Gift of Sight
You can cast darkvision at will without expending a spell slot.
Impair
As a reaction to when you are targeted by an attack roll from a creature you understand, you can give the attack roll disadvantage. This cannot be done after the dice is rolled.
Improve
As a reaction to an ally within 30 feet making an attack roll against a creature you understand, you can give the attack roll advantage. This cannot be done after the dice is rolled.
Magi
When a creature is casting a spell with verbal and/or somatic components, you can tell what spell is being cast as well as the spell level it is being cast at.
Additionally, you can attempt to use a spell scroll from any class list, treating it as a Watcher spell.
Magical Burst
Choose one cantrip from the Bard or Wizard spell list. Instead of swapping a gaze ability when you level up, you may instead choose a new cantrip.
Make Alone
As an action you force one creature of your choosing to make an Intelligence saving throw against your spell save DC. On failure, the creature can no longer perceive any allies around them, treating them as if they were invisible.
An ally of any affected creature can end this effect by spending an action alerting them to their presence (slapping or shaking them, yelling, etc). This effect lasts 1 minute, or can be ended by you using a bonus action.
Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Measured Approach
As a Watcher no enemy can cause you to waver from your goals. You have advantage on any saving throw to resist being charmed or frightened.
Medusa's Gaze
As an action, you can force a creature within 30 ft. of you that can see you to make a Constitution saving throw against your spell save DC. If the saving throw fails by 5 or more, the creature is instantly petrified. Otherwise, a creature that fails the save begins to turn to stone and is restrained. A creature restrained by this effect must make another Constitution saving throw at the end of its next turn. If it successfully saves against this effect, the effect ends. On failure it is turned to stone. This effect also ends if you use your action to do anything else other than continue this effect, lasting up to 1 hour.
Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Paralytic Glance
You can cast Hold Person once using a watcher spell slot. You can't do so again until you finish a long rest.
Peaceful Aura
You learn the spell Calm Emotions. You always have this spell prepared and it doesn't count against the number of Spells you can prepare each day. You can cast it once without expending a spell slot, and can't do so again until you finish a long rest.
Power of Kings
When casting Geas, you reduce the casting time to 1 action.
Scopaesthesia
You can use Prying Eyes as a bonus action, and can use it twice before needing to rest to use it again.
Additionally, when using Prying Eyes, you can sense the exact location of even invisible or magical creatures.
Shooting Daggers
As a bonus action on your turn you can create daggers of psychic energy that strike a foe. Make a melee spell attack roll against a creature within 15 feet, dealing 2d6 psychic damage on hit. This ability's damage increases by 1d6 when you reach 11th level (3d6) and 17th level (4d6).
Once you use this feature a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Truth of the Beholder
You can cast Zone of Truth without expending any spell slots.
Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Unrestricted Gaze
You cannot be blinded by any means, and treat lightly obscured areas as normal.
Versions History
Version 14 (current)
- Added cooldown to Prying Eyes. This was done so a Watcher doesn't just spam the ability when in hostile territory
- Removed level 5 improvement from Shooting Daggers since you don't get gaze abilities till level 6
- Buffed Scopaestesia to add an extra charge to Prying Eyes since I nerfed the cooldown to Prying Eyes
- Clarified Eyes from Further Beyond that when your eyes are used as a focus, you don't need to perform somatic components
- Clarified Eye of Erasure's end condition
- Added the Seer subclass
- Removed Foreseen from the base class and moved it to the Seer
- Moved Understand Your Enemy to level 1
- Added Exploit Weakness. The class severely lacked damage, so this should help
- Replaced Unending Watch with Ever Watchful. This should give the True Watcher some combat and social potential at lower levels
- Replaced Disabling Advantage with Wide Open
- Fixed wording on Shooting Daggers gaze ability to simplify it
- Decapitalized most "watcher"'s to be more in line with official content
- Split Mimic into two separate abilities and cleaned up the wording
- Altered Eyes from Beyond, reduced the improvement to darkvision to 30 feet, and gave expertise in perception instead of just proficiency.
- Added longbow to proficiencies
- Changed Hidden in Plain Sight by removing the negative to passive perception, and allowed creatures to make perception checks if you alter things around them. Also reduced cooldown to only on long rests
- Replaced Lesson in Pain with Psychosis
- Limited the highest level you can cast a spell with Epiphany
- Replaced Exploitative Movement with Flow of Battle
- Fixed wording on Prying Eyes, Hidden in Plain Sight, Perfect Opening, and Epiphany
- Cleaned up wording on several gaze abilities, and buffed some that gave new spells to the watcher
- Improve and Impair gaze abilities are now unlimited use, but only work on understood creatures
- Unrestricted Gaze now has an 8th level requirement
- Eye of Erasure is less random now, but also allows the target to repeat the saving throw and is 1/long rest now
- Added and removed several spells from the spell list at all levels
Version 13 (link)
- Replaced Helpful Eye with Disabling Advantage. I felt that helpful eye was too similar to paladin smite and felt out of theme
- Modified Understand Your Enemy to only understand a creature until next rest, and added a new option (avg damage)
- Changed Exploit Weakness to Exploitative Movement (instead of no AoO from understood, u can move when understanding)
- Modified Prying Eyes to be able to detect any creature watching you, not just magically enchanted ones. Also no longer linked to search action
- Added Scopaesthesia Gaze Ability to improve Prying Eyes
- Allowed the damage from Push the Advantage to be applied to any damage type the weapon deals
- Replaced Spell Fusion with Epiphany. Watchers already get so few spell slots that fusion wasn't worth it
- Improved Arcane Resilience to apply to all spell saves
- Changed the 3rd paragraph of the opening text to better reflect the new Lore Seeker
- Replaced the component pouch in the equipment with the arcane symbol.
Version 12 (link)
- Increased the damage of Helpful Eye to 1d10 instead of 1d6 due to reduced usability
- Nerfed Forseen to only be usable twice at 11th level and doesn't increase further
- Buffed Understand Your Enemy to just require you see the creature, and it can be used when a creature casts a spell now
- Removed the spell Darkvision from the Watcher spell list
- Added Gift of Sight Gaze Ability
- Made changes throughout the document to remove the "otherworldly entities" from the flavor. Class is focused on gaining power from understanding, not warlock-y patrons
- Added an arcane focus to their Spellcasting ability
- Replaced the level 20 ability Burning Eyes with Complete Comprehension
- Buffed Unfailing Observation to also include saving throws as most Watcher spells are not attacks and moved it to 7th level
- Removed Picked Apart from Lore Seeker
- Added Arcane Resilience as the Lore Seeker's 11th level ability
- Gave the watcher the ability to cast spells with a symbol, so they can cast while still sword/shield equiped
Version 11 (link)
- Added 20 bolts to the crossbow in equipment
- Foreseen costs a reaction to use now
- Greater Understanding now only works for one turn
- Learned Scholar now only regens spell slots once per long rest
- Added title page
- Removed (L) from spellcasting feature description
- Fixed wording in Foreseen
- Improved Unrestricted Gaze Gaze Ability
- Improved and fixed wording of Prying Eyes
- Replaced Master of Weapons with Push the Advantage
- Nerfed Helpful Eye to now only affect one creature max. This was so AOE effects were not the only ones this ability would be used on
Version 10 (link)
- Changed Helpful Eye to give bonus damage to one attack instead of advantage on all attacks
- Sleepless Watch Gaze ability was moved to the True Watcher's Unending Watch
- Hidden in Plain Sight was buffed to no longer require you see the creatures you wish to be hidden from, gives a -5 debuff to passive perceptions sometimes, and allows you to cast spells as long as no creatures are affected
- Watching Undisturbed now allows you to give allies the Sanctuary effect as well
- Eyes of Truth now gives immunity to Charm/Frighten
- Changed Picked Apart to require less bookkeeping
- Spell Fusion was changed to allow you to combine spell slots to make more powerful ones instead of upcasting one spell.
- Perfect Opening now increases weapon reach by 5 ft during the ability.
- Removed proficiency bonus when multiclassing
- Upgraded Unrestricted Gaze to make you immune to being blinded by any means even magical
- Hidden in Plain Sight now has all creatures remember you after the duration (to avoid easy shop stealing)
Version 9 (link)
- Added several spells at every level to the spell list of the class (including from XGE)
- Replaced Master of Lore with Picked Apart
- Changed Burning Eyes success affect to 10 minutes and allowed saves
- Added third eye and eyes are focuses to Eyes From Further Beyond
- Exploit Weakness is changed again to understood creatures can't use opportunity attacks against you
- Gave Piercing Gaze a 60 foot range
- Added Eye of Erasure Gaze Ability
- Reworded Unfailing Observation since Combat Understanding had been removed in a previous version
- Rewrote Learned Scholar to now allow UYE outside of combat and regain spell slots
- Removed (L) from spell list as it is now invalid
Version 8 (link)
- Added links to previous versions. This is in case someone is using/prefers an older version they can have access to it
- Added Shield proficiency and a shield to equipment
- Added spell slot info to Devil's in the Details
- Made Supreme Understanding also let you learn all traits linked to a single question instead of a random one
- Gave Lesson in Understanding a limit to uses
- Reduced the number of skills known from three to two
- Foreseen now recharges at short/long rests
- Fixed missing text in spellcasting, should only prepare a number of spells with half the Watcher level not equal to
- Prying Eyes is now at will
- Completely rewrote opening text
- Changed Lesson in Understanding to Lesson in Pain and changed it to target attacker instead of creature of choice
- Removed Prepare Gaze Ability
- Reworded Improve and Impair to only be usable before the attack is rolled
- Changed Distracting Eyes so that it is no longer a charm ability, and instead creatures immune to charm cannot be targeted
- Exploit Weakness no longer gives an extra attack, instead allows you to dodge understood creatures better
- Critical Understanding no longer gives guaranteed crits, instead increasing the crit range
Version 7 (link)
- Changed Understand Your Enemy from level 5 to level 2 and changed how it is activated
- Changed Supreme Combat Understanding to Supreme Understanding
- Supreme Understanding now allows more choices instead of allowing it to be used without expending a charge
- Cleaned up errors left over from changes in version 6
- Reworked Prying Eyes to no longer be always active, no longer detects non-magical creatures
- Moved Prying Eyes to level 3
- Moved Measured Approach to a Gaze Ability
- Removed Combat Understanding
- Added Greater Understanding
- Moved Eyes From Further Beyond to level 10
- Changed Exploit Weakness to give a bonus action attack against nearby understood creatures
- Moved Helpful Eyes to level 5 and made it a bonus action
Version 6 (no link)
- Brought to Discord of Many Things
- Changed Forseen to use proper syntax
- Reworded Combat Understanding and Lesson in Understanding to be more clear
- Removed Piercing Gaze's ability to ignore cover
- Completely reworked Supreme Combat Understanding. No longer uses a charge, and removed restrictions on how many times a single creature can be targeted
- Burning Eyes no longer causes damage to self when used, but can only be used once per day
- Reworded Hidden in Plain Sight again
- Completely reworked Master of Weapons. No longer involves a skill contest, now only activates on critical hits
- Moved Master of Lore to now be the Lore Watcher's second ability instead of third
- Removed Dangerous Game from Lore Watcher
- Added Unfailing Observation to Lore Watcher
- Renamed Spell Mixer to Spell Fusion
- Reworded Distracting Eyes and made it a charm effect
- Removed Gaze Ability Fighting Blind
- Reworded Magi, Magical Burst, Prepare, and Sleepless Watch
- Reworked Peaceful Aura
- Reduced the range of Shooting Daggers from 30 to 15 feet
- Reworded most abilities to use proper syntax when stating how long before it can be used again
- Added "at level 1" to the first level abilities
- Moved Unrestricted Gaze to a Gaze Ability
- Moved The Watcher's Gaze to 6th level (have yet to remove all level requirements of 6th or below from abilities till more solid)
- Reworked Helpful Eye to no longer give free crits, now is an upgraded "help" action with similar flavor to smite
Version 5 (link)
- Added Forseen and Helpful Eye to give the class more use at early levels
- Gave the gaze ability Shooting Daggers a range
- Gave Burning Eyes a cost
- Gave Hidden in Plain Sight a time to activate so it can't be used in combat (easily)
Version 4 (link)
- Removed the Watch and Learn ability and replaced it with The Watcher's Gaze ability
- Added the Gaze Abilities table
- Improved Perfect Opening to give attacks of opportunity made against you disadvantage
- Switched the Eyes of Truth ability and Piercing Gaze
- Reworded Critical Understanding
- Changed Hidden in Plain Sight to be a check against passive perception instead of an active roll for each creature
- Improved Prying Eyes to also detect non-magical means of being seen
- Reworked Dangerous Game to give constant charges instead of charges based on enemy CR
- Gave the ability Understand your Enemy one additional use across all levels
Version 3 (link)
- Revisions made to wording and quality check
- Improved Eyes from Beyond ability
- Removed Watch and Learn ability's feature that allowed copying of skills and replaced with weapons instead
- Dangerous Game reworded for clarity and changed in wording
- Added component pouch to equipment (woops)
- Gave Master of Lore restrictions but lowered the DC
- Published on reddit for help reviewing
Version 2 (link)
- Transfered to GM Binder.
- Near complete rework of entire class, including removing Mark/Burn core mechanic due to being overly complicated
- Added new core mechanic of Understand Your Enemy
Version 1 (no link)
- Original idea written out in Word
- Mark mechanic introduced as core mechanic. Abilities cause you to gain marks, and too many causes damage or other affects
Thanks!
Special thanks to the discord of many things and its many brewers who helped me as I made this class, it wouldn't be nearly as polished as it is now without them!