Anarcane A human leads his obedient companions up the steps of the Sorcerer of Sorrows' maze-like tower. Dressed in leather adorned with iron trim and a metal symbol of his Puritan organization, he bellows battle-cries and threats towards the cowering magician on the upper floor. Step by step, they make their way up the stone staircase of the tower, activating every magical trap and rune the Sorcerer of Sorrows had placed there. Every curse, every fireball, every magic missile seemed to fade into dust as it neared closer and closer to the human and his companions. "Your time is up, vile witch!" the human screams at the fearful sorcerer. "Death will take you in your own home!" The sorcerer, upon the human reaching the upper floor, starts chanting a magical curse that will instantly kill the human upon touch. The human readies his whips in both hands, cracking them, and showing them burn brightly with the warmth of fire. The human charges the Sorcerer of Sorrows, only for the magician to strike him in the chest with his hand, activating the spell which can take any life in an instant. Upon interaction with the human's chest armor, the sorcerer's hand begins to dissolve into dust. "Foolish jester of chaos!" the human laughs maniacally. The sorcerer whimpers as he is pushed to the ground by the human's boot. He aims his whips, as sharp as blades, towards the head of the Sorcerer of Sorrows, going for a scolding decapitation. "Your reign is now longer, spawn of arcana!" This human is an anarcane, a person trained in the art of nullifying magic, hellbent on the finding and destruction of magic-users. Playtest Material The material here is presented for playtesting and to

spark your imagination. These game mechanics are in

draft form, usable in your campaign but not refined by

design iterations or full game development. They are

not officially part of the game. For these reasons,

material in this column is not legal in D&D Adventurers

League events. Inquisitorial Hatred All anarcanes share a common objective: to find and kill evil users of magic who abuse the power they have been gifted with. This is the general goal of all anarcanes. The abuse of magic is considered heresy of the highest order to these peoples' philosophy. They seek to act out and destroy all those who dare commit such heresy, and usually punish them through extreme methods, often seen as worse than death by the uneducated populace. Anarcanes are a mixed bunch when it comes to popularity, as they are usually either revered and loved for destroying evil magic, or despised and infamous for their often wrong judgements. The best and the worst live their lives among them, which would be fine, if it wasn't for them having so much power over others. The common people, either if they love anarcanes or hate them, usually fear such individuals, as they possess major control when concerning the matter of magic users. Countless anarcane organizations exist around the world, all united under the goal of destroying magic. They consist of two main groups: Puritans and Radicals. Puritans believe in the works of the Code, which states that you should rid yourself of all magic inside you, purging it from your mind and soul, but never submitting yourself to the Hunter's Blood, which can be just as dangerous as true magic. However, the Radicals believe differently, seeing the Hunter's Blood as a tool ready at hand for destroying magic. As explained later, in order to become an anarcane, you must control a sort of mental supernatural phenomenon, called the Hunter's Blood, which allows them to tap into a bloodline of magic-nullificating blood which is hidden inside themselves.

The Anarcane Level Proficiency Bonus Features Bloodline Mastery Dice 1st +2 Deny the Witch, Fighting Style 1d6 2nd +2 Mental Fortress 1d6 3rd +2 Hunter Pact 1d6 4th +2 Ability Score Improvement 1d6 5th +3 Extra Attack 2d6 6th +3 Bloodrite of Flames 2d6 7th +3 Hunter Pact Feature 2d6 8th +3 Ability Score Improvement 2d6 9th +4 Fearless Fortitude 3d6 10th +4 Hunter Pact Feature 3d6 11th +4 Antimagic Field 3d6 12th +4 Ability Score Improvement 3d6 13th +5 Additional Fighting Style 4d6 14th +5 Bloodrite of Flames Advanced 4d6 15th +5 Hunter Pact Feature 4d6 16th +5 Ability Score Improvement 4d6 17th +6 Antimagic Field Advanced 5d6 18th +6 Hunter Pact Feature 5d6 19th +6 Ability Score Improvement 5d6 20th +6 Aspect of the Hunter 5d6 Supernatural Control Inside of all creatures, there dwells a suppressed supernatural substance called the Hunter's Blood. This is the object inside everyone which can protect them from magic. If it was not for the Hunter's Blood, a simple magic missile could kill a person instantaneously. While not magical, the actual nature of the Hunter's Blood is unknown, although it is definitely not natural. Anarcanes become what they are through extreme meditation and manipulation of the Hunter's Blood through control of your own willpower. After they have gained control of the Hunter's Blood, they obtain the supernatural powers of it, like heroic defense against spells, immunity to fear, and being able to burn a sorcerer's head with your mind. Although, it should be stated that tapping into the Hunter's Blood is often dangerous and threatening to the anarcane and the people around them. Many anarcanes have destroyed themselves in the process of experimenting with their powers. Anarcanes use this power for one thing only: to aid in the destruction of magic. Even Radicals will only ever extend their power to bring about the end of a witch. The Hunter's Bloodline is not something to be experimented with, it is only prevalent for the anarcanes to use it against magic. The Hunter's Blood is wild in nature, and not to be trusted. Creating an Anarcane As you build an anarcane, study deeply about your character's philosophy on magic, how strong their beliefs take hold in their actions, and how they react to their supernatural gifts. Why does your character hunt down magic-users in the first place? Is there any specific type of magic-user your character hates? Does your character have any friends that may be magicians, and if so, how would he react if he knew about their sorcery? What made your character train themselves to the point of complete mental stability against witches? Does your character show the witch mercy, or do they purge them outright, quick and violent? A murder of a loved one by a wizard, a curse put down on your homeland by a warlock, or a superstitious, extreme education on the dangers of sorcery could all be factors to this. You might have been disillusioned since childhood into believing all magic deserves to be put down. Perhaps you trained your mentality religiously after you had been charmed by a witch into committing a terrible act. Maybe a wizard's curse on your noble family rained down on your clan for decades before you decided to put a final death blow into their pathetic, evil mind. How did you become an anarcane? Were you taught by a master, or are you self taught? What did your teacher believe? Was their an organization that carried a role in your development into an anarcane? Were they Puritans or Radicals? Were you given full access to their sacred records, or were you simply a pawn in a much larger game? To be an anarcane means to live a life in superstitious hatred. It is to become an embodiment of vengeance for the people that have died at wild magic's hand. You have learned that your violence against them will lead to their damnation and expellation from this world. You are the herald of death for all arcane natures. You will show them what the true, dominant power is. Quick Build You can make an anarcane quickly by following these suggestions. First, make Dexterity and Wisdom your highest ability scores. Your next highest score should be Intelligence, or Constitution if you plan to adopt the Radical hunter pact. Second, choose the Noble, Sage, or Soldier background.

Class Features As an Anarcane, you gain the following class features. Hit Points Hit Dice: 1d6 per anarcane level

Hit Points at 1st Level: 6 + your Constitution modifier

Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d6 (or 4) + your Constitution modifier per anarcane level after 1st Proficiencies Armor: Light armor, medium armor

Weapons: Simple weapons, glaive, halberd, pike, whip, all crossbows

Saving Throws: Intelligence, Wisdom

Skills: Choose two from Arcana, History, Insight, Intimidation, Investigation, Medicine, Nature, and Perception Equipment You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background: (a) a martial weapon with the reach property and a hand crossbow or (b) a simple weapon and a heavy crossbow

(a) two whips or (b) a glaive and a dagger

(a) a dungeoneer's kit or (b) an explorer's kit

30 bolts, studded leather armor and 5 wooden stakes Deny the Witch You have a pool of mental fortification that you can use to defend against dark magic. You have a number of Mental Willpower equal to 1d4 + your anarcane level to spend per short rest. When a creature casts a cantrip or spell targeting you or a friendly creature within 15 ft of you, as a reaction, you may: Spend 2 Mental Willpower to give the creature disadvantage when rolling to attack with that spell.

Spend 5 Mental Willpower and roll 1d6. On a roll of 6, the spell is cancelled, and has no effect.

Spend 10 Mental Willpower and the casting creature must make a DC 15 Wisdom save. On a failure, the creature takes 1d6 times your Wisdom modifier amount of damage. On a save, they take half of the roll. You may choose for this damage to be psychic damage or fire damage.

Spend 20 Mental Willpower and the casting creature must make a DC 20 Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, the casting creature's spell fails, no matter what circumstance, and the creature takes 4d6 damage. You may choose for this damage to be psychic damage or fire damage. After performing any of the reactions, you must make a Bloodline Control roll and succeed. The roll's DC is equal to 1d10 + the amount of Mental Willpower spent - your Bloodline Mastery dice (seen on the anarcane class table). On a success, nothing happens to your character. On a score of 20 or more, you gain an amount of temporary hit points equal to your Bloodline Mastery dice. On a failure, you take an amount of psychic damage equal to half your Bloodline Mastery dice. On a critical failure, you take an amount of fire damage equal to your Bloodline Mastery dice. Fighting Style With the extensive training of your mind, you have learned to control your weapons through supernatural means. You may choose one of the following benefits: Searing Bolts When rolling for damage while using a Hand Crossbow, Light Crossbow, or Heavy Crossbow, you deal an additional 1 fire damage. Silent Precision You gain +1 to attack rolls when attacking with Ranged Weapons when in short range, and +2 when attacking with Ranged Weapons in long range. Lashing Spirit You critically succeed on a 19 and 20 when rolling to attack with a weapon with the Reach property. Psychic Fortress You gain +2 AC when being attacked by a spell or cantrip. Mental Fortress At 2nd level, your mind is nigh-impenetrable to any witch. You have advantage when making a save against a spell or cantrip or being charmed. Hunter Pact At 3rd Level, you choose a hunter pact that your philosophy of magic and the Hunter's Blood aligns closest to. Choose Puritan or Radical, both detailed at the end of the class description. The archetype you choose grants you features at 3rd, 7th, 10th, 15th, and 18th 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 the 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. Bloodrite of Flames At 6th level, you gain the ability to call forth a swarm of blood-red fire from your fingertips, blazing into your enemies, to the ill of your own willpower. Make a DC 15 Wisdom save. If you succeed, all enemy creatures within 20 ft of you take 3d6 fire damage. If you fail, the damage towards the enemy creatures is halved rounding down, and you also take the damage. If you critically fail, you take 3d6 fire damage. Upon hitting 14th level, the radius of the feature becomes 40 ft. You can only use this feature once per long rest.

Fearless Fortitude At 9th level, your iron will can not be penetrated by even the greatest of foes. You are immune from being frightened. Antimagic Field At 11th level, you gain the ability to summon forth fields of antimagic auras around you and your allies, at the cost of your own willpower. In a 60 ft radius around you, the following effects take place: Enemy creatures must make a DC 20 Wisdom save each time they attempt to cast a spell or cantrip. On a success, they are able to begin casting the spell or cantrip. On a failure, they can not cast the spell and take 1d4 psychic damage.

Enemy creatures can only move half their running speed.

Upon an enemy creature exiting the radius, they must succeed a DC 20 Wisdom save or take 1d4 psychic damage.

Friendly creatures gain +2 AC when being targeted by a spell or cantrip.

Friendly creatures have advantage when attacking creatures that know at least one spell or cantrip. For every 2 rounds of combat you have the antimagic field running, you must make a DC 12 Wisdom Save. If you succeed, the antimagic field still runs. If you fail, the antimagic field stops and you take 1d4 psychic damage. The antimagic field automatically ends after 8 rounds of combat, and you take 1d4 psychic damage nevertheless. At 17th level, the radius increases to 80 ft. You may use this feature once per long rest. Additional Fighting Style At 13th level, you may choose an additional fighting style from the Fighting Style feature list. Aspect of the Hunter At 20th level, the true power of the Hunter's Blood manifests in you, filling your veins with glowing red blood and an aura of brightness around you. For 1 hour, you gain the following benefits: You gain a flying speed of 60 ft.

You are immune to fire and psychic damage.

All enemy creatures that know a spell and start the turn within 30 ft of you take 10 damage per turn. You may choose if the damage is psychic damage or fire damage. You can only use this feature once per long rest. Hunter Pacts The anarcanes of the world all belong to one of two subfactions: Puritans, who believe in restraining the raw power of the Hunter's Blood, and the Radicals, who believe in exceeding the limits of the Hunter's Blood to destroy magic at the greatest possible power. These subfactions, while usually not being violent towards eachother, generally dislike working with the other. This disrespect can also be exceeded into refusal to work together, public defamation, or brutal violence. But, all anarcane know that at the end of the day, they are all working to destroy magic. Many anarcane go farther than just aligning themselves to Puritan ideals or Radical ideals. They usually belong to an organization which they represent. Work with your Dungeon Master to decide if your character belongs to an anarcane agency, and if so, what their ideals and beliefs are. Puritan The anarcanes aligning themselves to the Puritan subfaction are dogmatic in their beliefs that the Hunter's Blood is not something to experiment with. In the end, the anarcane's life is worth more than trying to push the limits of the supernatural powers they have controlled. Puritans understand the Code, which tells of ridding oneself of magic throughout and within themselves. Many Puritans rather focus on defending from magic rather than actively seeking it out and attacking it, and as such their limited powers are usually to protect allies against it. Code of Purity The Code of Purity was established by the First Puritan Order during the beginnings of magic in the world. The Code follows several simple guidelines: Find Purity Within. Before even beginning to become a Puritan, the anarcane must first find the light within himself to protect the weak against dark magic. Protect Against Evil. A Puritan must always strive to shield his allies from the sway of dark magic, and must always be ready to strike at the witch. Use Caution in your Powers. While the powers of the Hunter's Blood are necessary for an anarcane's work, they are not to be tampered with, as the raw power of the Hunter's Blood is just as wicked as that of sorcery. Be Just in your Sentence. One shall execute the death of a witch with the utmost honor, and must hold respect towards your opponent. In the end, they are simply just another mind whose will was not strong enough to reject the foul seductress of sorcery. Burn the Heretic Starting at 3rd level, after you have successfully attacked a target, you may choose for the target to be burned by the wrath of your anarcane. The target takes the damage of the weapon you were using to attack, along with an additional 1d6 fire damage. You may use this an amount of times equal to 1 + your Wisdom modifier per long rest. Fear Denies Faith At 7th level, your presence emits a gruesome aura for your enemies, striking fear into their hearts. In a 30 ft radius, all enemy creatures must make a DC 15 Wisdom save, or be frightened for 1 minute. You can only use this feature once per long rest.