New Class: The Aegis

A fusion of soul and steel

The Aegis is a marshall warrior who fights using a set of armor that is imbued with his own life force and psychic energy. They are a diverse group of warriors with as many armor styles as there are wearers. Skin tight suits of bonded flesh with flexing tendrils; rune carved plate armor that glows with psychic energy; wooden breastplate armor that flows and shifts as it adapts to the life energy of the wearer.

This armor is bonded to the wearer in a ritual that infuses it with a portion of the soul of the one that will come to bear it. These armored warriors are particularly beloved by fans and sponsors in The Dome because the armor leaves ample room for style and branding opportunities.

Class Features

As your connection to your Aegis grows in power, your soul and abilities improbe. You gain the following abilities at the listed levels.

Soul Bond

Starting at level 2, your bond with your armor begins to manifest itself and change the base armor that you are connected to. You carve, etch, brand, or use arcane inks to mark runes along the surface of your armor that grant your Aegis Armor additional capabilities.

This bond is represented by a pool of dice that you may spend for additional benefits. You begin with 2 Soul Dice and they are each a d4. As you increase in level your dice will increase in both number and die size as shown on the Soul Dice column of the Aegis Advancement Table.

These dice begin with following basic uses.

• Striking: When you miss with an attack, you may spend dice from your pool. For each die spent from your pool, roll one die of the according size listed on Aegis Advancement Table. Add the highest single die rolled to your attack roll.

• Shielding: When you are attacked, you may also spend your reaction to spend dice from your pool. For each die spend from your roll, roll one die of the according size listed on the Aegis Advancement table. Add the highest single die rolled to your AC against the triggering attack.

Your upgrades may use these in other ways.

Soul Shaped Aegis

As you grow in power, your spirit grows stronger and it begins to influence and change the form and capabilities of your Aegis. You enchant a set of runes and wards onto your armor, or heighten the spiritual bond, or join enchanted gems to your Aegis giving it access to additional abilities.

At level 2, you may select two of the following customization options. You may select additional options at level 7, 13, and 17. You only have access to these abilities while you are wearing your armor.

• Animal Kinship: Your Aegis is able to help you attune yourself to natural creatures and engage with them. You may cast Speak with Animals at will.

• Beastial Mobility: Your soul has been influenced by the natural world around you, helping you to mimic the ways you move through the world. You gain a Climb or Swim speed equal to your speed. At level 13 and beyond you may select a Fly or Burrow speed. This may be taking multiple times, picking a new movement each time.

• Call to Soul: Your Aegis is able to form a link between you and those you choose to reach out to. You may communicate telepathically with allies within 30 feet of you. If you spend a Soul Die, you gain the benefit of the Detect Thoughts spell using your wisdom modifier. You must be able to see a creature for this spell to affect them.

• Charming Spirit: You have an exceptional skill with words and body language as your Aegis helps you understand and influence those around you. You gain Expertise in one of the following skills: Deception, Intimidation, Insight, or Persuasion, You may select this multiple times, picking a new skill each time.

• Disguise Aegis: You know how to mute the effects of your Aegis and make it appear as something more mundane. You may cast Disguise Self at will. This effect is ended if you spend a Soul Die for any reason.

• Distant Hands: Your soul is able to extend outward from your armor allowing you to manipulate things at a distance. You are able to cast the spells Mage Hand and Unseen Servant at will. You may also spend a Soul Die as a Bonus Action to gain the Reach property with your attacks until the end of your next turn.

• Gaze into the Darkness: *You Aegis grants your vision increased focus in the dark. You gain darkvision and may perceive even through magical darkness, smoke, mist, or fog without hindrance.

• Helpful Motes: Your aegis is surrounded by flickering and helpful motes of light that help advise and guide you. As a reaction, you may spend one or more Soul Dice. Keep the highest die. You may add that result to a failed Ability Check.

• Impose Duel: Your Aegis can single out an enemy and draw them into combat with you. Spend a single Soul Die and declare your challenge to one enemy within 30feet that you can see. If they attack another creature before they attack you, they take psychic damage equal to your two Soul Die + Your wisdom modifier. Using this ability is a Bonus Action.

• Life Sustained by Spirit: Your Aegis is ready to assist you in your moments of need, making sure you have air, water, medicine, and nutrients to keep you on your feet. You gain the following benefits. You have Advantage on Death Saving Throws. Melee attacks against you cause one failed saving throw instead of 2.

Soul Shaped Aegis cont...

• Peer Into The Soul: Your soul is able to reach out and examine the souls of those around you. You may cast Detect Evil and Good at will using your action. You may spend a Soul Die as a bonus action to gain the following benefit. Select a creature you can see within 30 feet. You learn two of the following about the target: armor class, damage resistances, damage immunities, damage vulnerabilities, condition immunities.

• Rapid Runner: Your Aegis has enhanced your limbs, giving you a continual burst of speed. Your speed increases by 10 feet. If you use the dash action, you may move an additional 10 feet and enemies that target you with opportunity attacks have disadvantage. This benefit lasts until the end of your turn.

• Reactive Warding You have a series of runes and sigils on your Aegis that help to reinforce your body and push you beyond your physical limits. As a reaction, you may spend one or more Soul Dice. Keep the highest die. You may add that result to a failed Saving Throw.

• Self Mending Aegis: Your continued maintenance of your spirit and body has reinforced the recuperative abilities of your Aegis. You can use your Soul Dice to restore hit points to your armor. As a Bonus Action on your turn, you can spend one or more Soul Dice, rolling them all together. Your armor regains hit points equal to twice the total. You must be wearing your armor to use this feature.

• Soul Infused Gauntlets: Your arms of your Aegis are laced with a coating of your soul energy, making them into powerful weapons. While you are wearing your Aegis, your unarmed attacks deal d6 force damage. These count as light weapons.

• Spiritual Cleansing: The bond between you and your spirit is so strong that it continually ensures you are working at peak performance. You may spend a Soul Die to end one of the following effects on you: blinded, deafened, paralyzed, poisoned, stunned. You may also end one disease effect on yourself.

• Sprightly Leap: Your soul is able to send additional power through your body and help you leap long distances. Your Jump distance is increased by 3 and you are always treated as having a running start. If you are knocked prone, you may use your reaction to stand back up.

• Unmoving Determination: Your Aegis ensures that you stand tall and proud when enemies would try to force you to lose focus. You have advantage on Saving Throws against the Charmed, Frightened, and Stunned Conditions

• Wisdom of War: Your soul guides and infuses your weapons. You may use your wisdom modifier in place of dexterity or strength when calculating bonuses to attack and damage.

• Zoom and Enhance: Your Aegis aids you in picking out details and helping to bring hidden things into clearer focus. You have advantage on Investigation and Perception checks.

Extra Attack

Beginning at 5th Level, you can Attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on Your Turn.

Crafter’s Eye

Your time spent working on your armor and infusing it with your spirit has given you a deeper insight into the makings and workings of all manner of magical and non magical objects. Starting at 9th level, you have advantage on saving throws made against traps and effects or spells that originate from magical items. You add +d4 on any tool proficiency checks that you make.

Shared Spirit

As your bond with your Aegis deepens, you learn to share its focus with your allies.At 11th level you gain the Shared Spirit ability. As a Bonus Action, you may grant one ally within 30 the benefits of the Protection ability of your Aegis Armor, +1 to their AC, and a d4 Soul Die.

They also gain the benefit of your Soul Shaped Aegis. If these granted abilities require a Soulo Die, they may spend them from your pool if you allow it.

This benefit lasts for 10 minutes, until you dismiss it, or if they are more than 100 feet away from you. You may use ability once. You regain the use of this ability at the end of a short or long rest or if you spend a soul die to reactivate it.

Magical Attenuation

Your study of armor crafting and how your soul interacts with arcane magics allows you to activate wands, staves, or rods into your armor and use their benefits. Starting at level 15, you may Attune to a single Rod, Staff, or Wand as if you were a wizard. You may integrate a single rod, staff, or wand into your armor and may activate it as an action without needing to utilize one of your hands.

I am Invincible

Starting at level 20, you can quickly fortify your armor at a moment’s notice. This allows you to power through even the most devastating of assaults. While wearing your armor, if you take damage from any source you may reduce the damage to zero. You may use this ability once. You regain this ability after you finish a short or a long rest.

Aegis Embodiment: Fiend Bonded

You have opened you soul open to the reaches of the multiverse in search of more power, and you found it. Whether on purpose or accident, you have joined your soul to a fiend of the outer planes. You have managed to contain the spirit of a minor fiend inside your skin. In return for a share of its power now, it draws a portion of your soul in return. A mutually beneficial relationship. Your Fiend whispers to you, guiding you down a dark path to power and destruction. As you grow in strength, you begin to resemble your bonded fiend more and more, until you are nearly indistinguishable from a true fiend.

Aegis Empowerment: Hot Rod

Your spirit doesn’t just call to fight. It doesn’t just call to defend. It doesn’t call out for arcane might or holy radiance. No, your spirit calls for the open road. Your Aegis takes the shape of a vehicle, be it a carriage, car, or even a boat. When you first set out to embrace your inner Hot Rod, you are only able to transport yourself, but as you gain experience and strengthen your Aegis, you learn to carry allies along with you.

More than meets the eye continued

• You may make a single attack as a Bonus Action. You may use a weapon or a natural attack granted by this feature. This atack deals 2d6+your Strength Modifier bludgeoning damage and counts as magical. You are proficient with it.

• This is a concentration effect. If you lose concentration due to taking damage, you and all allies riding you may pick any space within 5 feet of you to land in as the Aegis transforms back into armor and drops them on the ground.

Mimicry

All the time you have spent tinkering with your Aegis, bonding with it, crafting it, and modifying it has given you extraordinary insight into the inner workings of constructs and you are even able to emulate them.

Starting at 10th level as a Bonus action, you may transform into a mundane, non weapon, object. A stove, a cabinet, a dresser, a miniature windmill, or a clock. The object may not occupy more than a 5-foot area. If the object has a heat source, light source, or water source like a sink, oven, or lamp, you may provide it.

For the first minute you are transformed you have advantage on stealth checks. If you remain motionless for at least a full minute you are indistinguishable from another household object. If someone investigates your physical body or you take damage you revert to your original form.

Additionally, your experience with objects and your eye for detail gives you advantage on Investigation checks.

Gotta Go Fast

Your Aegis feels the need for speed! Starting at level 14, at the start of your turn, you may gain the benefit of the Haste spell until the end of your next turn. This ability may be used a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier. You regain all uses of this at the end of a long rest.

Highway to the Planes

Your Aegis has transformed as you have grown, from a simple suit of armor, to a transport, to something never before seen. Starting at level 18, you gain a burrow, fly, and swim speed equal to your speed. You retain these even when you are using More Than Meets the Eye. A protective bubble of air is created by your Aegis and sustains you and your allies in hostile environments.

Additionally, when using More Than Meets the Eye, you may use the Planeshift spell without using any material components. Before you use the spell you must spend one minute traveling and concentrating. This spell only affects you and any creature that is currently being transported by you. Once you use this ability, you may not use it again for a week.

Aegis Empowerment: Knightblade

A Knightblade takes a very different approach from other nightblades. While they still have the ability to shield themselves and take a harsh blow, they focus on stealth, infiltration, and distracting enemies from your allies. Your Aegis wraps you in darkness and silence as you move through the world, A Knightblade knows that patience is the key to victory. Your aegis enhances your weapons as well, allowing you to use them as throwing weapons even if they are meant for melee combat.

Diversion

Your armor is capable of creating an exact duplicate of you that even mimics your movements and expressions.

Starting at 10th level you may spend a Soul Die as an action to create an illusory double of yourself. This double lasts for 10 minutes or until you lose concentration, as if concentrating on a spell, or if it moves more than 120 feet away from you.

When created, the image appears within 5 feet of you and then moves up to 30 feet away. During your turn, you may spend a bonus action to move your illusion up to 30 feet to a space you can see.

For the duration of this effect, if you or an ally attacks an enemy that is within 5 feet of your illusion, they make their first attack with advantage. Starting at level 18, they may make all attacks with advantage if they are within 5 feet of your diversion..

Hunter’s Gaze

Starting at 14th level, your Aegis is capable of tracking down your foes even under adverse circumstances. If you spend a Soul Die as an action, you may perceive through solid material for ten minutes. When you do so, you gain the ability to see into and through solid matter for 1 minute.

This vision has a radius of 30 feet. To you, solid objects within that radius appear transparent and don't prevent light from passing through them. The vision can penetrate 1 foot of stone, 1 inch of common metal, or up to 3 feet of wood or dirt. Thicker substances block the vision, as does a thin sheet of lead. Any enemy struck by your Shadowed Strike is also revealed to you as if they were under the effect of a Light spell.

One with the Darkness

Starting at 18th level your Aegis is continually flickering into and out of shadows. While you are within darkness, you are invisible. When you use your Diversion ability, you also turn invisible. Lastly, when attacking with advantage you may score a critical hit on a 19 or 20.

Aegis Empowerment: Spirit Guardian

You are a loyal and protective defender of those you care about. As a Spirit Guardian, you charge into the frontlines of combat to establish a bastion and hold back the oncoming tide of enemies. You care so much about your allies that your soul can reach outward from your armor to shield them from harm. As you get more powerful, you become nearly impossible to bring down.

Spiked Aegis

You are able to protect yourself by creating multiple spikes of spirit energy on the outside of your armor. Starting at level 10, you may spend a Bonus Action to cover yourself in spikes. These spikes last until the end of your next turn. Enemies that strike you with a Melee Attack take force damage equal to d4+your Wisdom Modifier. At level 18, the damage of these spikes increase to 2d4+your Wisdom Modifier.

Iron Titan

As your power grows, you can focus on your armor and fully enclose yourself in it as it grows. Starting at level 14. at the start of your turn, you may choose to use your Iron Titan ability.

When you use Iron Titan, your size increases to Large, as if the Enlarge spell had been cast on you, and your Aegis gains temporary HP equal to your Aegis level. These benefits last for one minute or until your Aegis is reduced to 0 hp. Once this is used you must complete a short or long rest. You may also spend 3 Soul Dice to gain this ability again.

Bastion of Defense

You have spent so much of yourself defending your friends, that even while you are unconscious or dying, your soul continues to protect them.

Starting at level 18, when you use Soul Fortress, your armor gains temporary hp equal d4+your Wisdom Bonus. You lose these temporary hp at the start of your next turn.

Additionally, if you are knocked unconscious, allies that are within 10 feet of your body gain temporary hp equal to your Wisdom Modifier + your Proficiency Bonus at the start of their turn. Once this ability is triggered it may not be used again until you complete a Long Rest.

Aegis Empowerment: Steel Tempest

A Steel Tempest is focused not only on using their Aegis for protection and defense, but can also wrap their weapons in the same soul energy that empowers your armor. On the battlefield, you can swing massive weapons and cut down your foes with strikes radiating with the power of your soul.

Forgoing heavy armor in favor of bigger weapons, they can unload a flurry of powerful blows with a weapon in each hand. A steel tempest embodies the idea of making a weapon an extension of yourself.

Falling iron

Starting at level 10, you can use your momentum from falling to your advantage. While your Aegis is donned, you reduce all damage caused by falling to zero When you impact the ground all creatures with 15 feet of the point of impact take d6 force damage for every 10 feet you fell and are knocked prone. Affected creatures may make a Strength Saving throw with a dc equal to 8+Your Wisdom Modifier+Your Proficiency Bonus. If they succeed, they take half damage and are not knocked prone.

You may choose to spend a Soul Die and as part of your movement that round to count the distance between where you started your movement and where you ended your movement as falling distance.

Extra Attack

Starting at level 18, when you take the Attack action, you may attack 3 times instead of two.

Aegis Empowerment: World Soul

As you have grown in strength, you have made a connection to a spirit of the natural world. For most, this is an elemental, but it may also be a fey, a plant, or even a powerful magical beast. This creature chose you because it trusted you to defend the lands, waters, and life that you encounter. A World Soul Aegis is in tune with the heart of nature and their armor reflects this.

You wear wooden armor styled in natural themes with whorls of natural energy that sound like rivers, mountain winds, or crackling flames. But the most distinct feature about your Aegis is the headpiece, a large highly stylized representation of a natural creature that gives you strength.

Natural Mask

A significant portion of your power is held in the helmet of your armor. This is often stylized magical beast or an exaggerated humanoid face covered in elemental runes and whorls to channel the natural magics of the world into your soul. Starting at 3rd level, your Aegis gains the following properties.

• Spellcasting: When you select this Aegis Empowerment, you may select two cantrips from the Druid spell list. One of these cantrips must not deal damage. Your spells use Wisdom as your spellcasting ability score and your Spell Save DC is 8 + your Wisdom Bonus + your Proficiency Bonus.

• Resistance: You gain resistance to one energy type from the following list: Acid, Fire, Ice, Lightning, or Thunder.

• Spell Advancement:You continue to gain new spells as shown on the World Soul Spell Advancement Table. These spells are chosen from the Druid or Ranger spell list. When you gain access to a new level of spells, you also learn two spells of that level. One spell of each level that you know must not deal damage. Your caster level for these spells is equal to your Aegis level. At the end of a long rest, you may replace which spells you know, but must follow the same restrictions. You do not need to be wearing your Aegis to cast your spells.

Elemental Power

Starting at level 6, your natural powers are infused into your spells and attacks. Your attacks and your cantrips deal additional damage equal to your Wisdom Modifier.

This bonus damage is equal to your Wisdom Modifier and is the same type as the resistance granted by Natural Mask. you do not need to wear your Aegis to gain this power.

Natural Empowerment

Starting at level 10, you can draw on your bond with your Aegis to empower your natural abilities. You may spend your Soul Dice to regain one of your spells granted by this feature.

At the start of your turn you may regain one spell slot if you so wish. You spend a number of soul dice equal to the level of the spell. At level 18, the first use of this ability does not cost any Soul Dice.

Elemental Embrace

Your connection with your Aegis becomes more intense, allowing you to face a barrage of elemental forces.

You gain immunity to the damage type that you chose to resist when you first gained Natural Mask.

You also gain resistance to one additional damage type from the list under Natural Mask.

Natural Juggernaut

Starting at level 18, you may send your spiritual energy into your spells for a boost of power. When you cast a spell, you may spend a Soul Die.

If you do so, you may reroll all damage dice and keep the highest total or impose disadvantage on one creature's saving throw.