The Sleeper’s Options · No. 7
The First Age
Power older than roads, in four subclasses for 5e.
Printable PDF · instant download from Etsy
- 9 pages
- 4 subclasses
- Screen and print editions
- Plain text for VTTs
- US Letter
- The 2024 rules for fifth edition
The cover. The rest is in the PDF.
4 Primeval Subclasses for 5e
Everything here is very old. The sorcerer talks in a language from before words, and the druid's stones were standing before anyone cut the first road.
THE FIRST TONGUE (sorcerer) takes the expected result of a damage roll without rolling, once a turn at first and later whenever it matters. Spells cast with Sorcery Points are hard to counter and harder to dispel. Beasts and infants understand the sorcerer the whole time, and at 18th level one word makes those spells impossible to stop for a minute.
SCHOOL OF THE PAINTED CAVE (wizard) keeps its spellbook as objects, like a knotted cord or an ochre handprint on a flat stone. They can't burn and cost half as much to fill. At 10th level a painted wall holds three spells for whoever returns to it, and at 14th the painted places become doors.
PATH OF THE OLD BONES (barbarian) brings one extinct anatomy into every Rage, Tusk or Shell or Neck or Stride. At 10th level the barbarian counts as one size larger whenever that helps and can Trample through a formation. By 14th they carry two, and once a day the animal stops fitting inside their outline.
CIRCLE OF THE STANDING STONES (druid) raises two stones with a line between them that wards allies who cross it and tolls enemies who do. It lasts an hour with no Concentration. Three stones close a ring, and the ground inside a ring is territory with its own laws.
WHAT'S INSIDE
- 4 full subclasses built on the 2024 rules, with features at each class's own subclass levels.
- Balanced against the strongest published 2024 subclasses, and never stronger than them.
- Play notes for all four, and a d6 flavor table for each one.
- Conversion sidebars on every subclass for tables still playing the 2014 rules.
- A screen edition and a plain white print edition, both US Letter, plus the full text as plain text for VTT import.
- A bookmarked PDF that isn't locked.
Compatible with the 2024 rules for fifth edition. Includes material from the SRD 5.2 by Wizards of the Coast LLC under CC-BY-4.0. Full license statement in the PDF. Unaffiliated with Wizards of the Coast.
This one sits beside the rest of the Sleeper's Options line, starting with No. 1, Dream & Ruin, and No. 2, Lullaby & Larceny. After those come No. 3, Ruin & Remnant, No. 4, Keep the Vigil, No. 5, Hearth & Home, and No. 6, On the Hunt.
We'll Pick Up Next Week, the free letter: sleepersartifice.substack.com
The Sleeper’s Options
The four inside it
Druid
Circle of the Standing Stones
Two standing stones and the line between them, which helps allies across and charges enemies a toll.
In this pack
Barbarian
Path of the Old Bones
Tusks, a shell, a long neck and a long stride, all borrowed from extinct animals and stacked up as the barbarian levels.
In this pack
Wizard
School of the Painted Cave
The spellbook is a satchel of marked stones and knotted cord, and later on it's the walls of places the party has been.
In this pack
Sorcerer
The First Tongue
Magic spoken in a language from before words, where 3d6 can just be 10, once a turn.
In this pack
