A Brief Guide to the Vault Welcome to the Vault of Stars, a fantastical sci-fi setting for Dungeons and Dragons inspired by works and settings such as Spelljammer, Treasure Planet, and Kill Six Billion Demons. The void between worlds can be a dangerous place for the average adventuring party, even before you factor in aetheric storms, giant spacefaring monstrosities, and shoddy ship construction. So before you go and get eaten by a giant space worm, blasted out of orbit, crushed between the clockwork gears of a living city, imprisoned by one of the seven Divines, or torn limb from limb by mad cultists from the dark beyond the stars, there's a few things you ought to know. The Vault The region of known space in the Vault of Stars setting is commonly referred to as the Vault. It's a lot like a galaxy, except it plays a good deal faster and looser with the laws of physics (the old gods took a... creative view regarding the appropriate size, shape, and proximity of worlds in space), and there's nothing beyond it. Or rather, there is something beyond it, but there are no stars or light beyond its edge, so nobody's quite sure how much stuff is out there or where it all is. The void between the worlds of the Vault isn't quite the frigid, empty vacuum of space found in the real world. Though it's too cold for most earth-dwelling creatures to survive without proper equipment, and oxygen makes up only a small fraction of the interstellar atmosphere - far too little to breathe for most - there are nonetheless a wide variety of specialized life forms adapted to travel through the void, or even permanently inhabit it. Most fully-grown true dragons can fly through the void to travel between worlds, and many aberrations such as flumphs and beholders make their home there. Meanwhile, the spacefaring races of the Vault travel through the void on interplanetary vessels, which range in size and shape from more traditional-looking spaceships to wooden sailing ships and flying cathedrals. Prior to the advent of space travel, travellers often walked along the lunar roads between worlds on the ethereal plane. Some of these roads remain in use, but many have faded into the fog-shrouded, dreamlike wilderness of the ethereal plane. Nearly every world in the Vault is at least nominally ruled by one of the Divines - former mortals who seized divine power after uncovering the lost cities of the long-departed old gods. Once, there were many Divines who peacefully shared control of the Vault, but a great war erupted among them over a thousand years ago. At its end, only seven remained, their power near-absolute, each ruling over a seventh of the known universe as both a political leader and a godlike object of worship. Races of the Vault Nearly any race from D&D history can be found somewhere in the Vault, and races from just about any source, including the Player's Handbook, the Elemental Evil Player's Companion, Volo's Guide to Monsters, and Unearthed Arcana articles are appropriate, as are some homebrew races if they are adequately balanced and have been subject to playtesting. Because the Vault contains such a staggering array of creatures, most people are not unduly frightened by the appearance of a goblin or orc, provided they are not blatantly hostile. Thus, most of the monstrous races found in Volo's Guide to Monsters can be played with little conflict in most parts of the Vault. Some particularly prevalent or influential races not found in the Player's Handbook include the aasimar, genasi, warforged, and changeling. Aasimar are humanoids blessed by an angel at birth, and can be found in Volo's Guide to Monsters. Receiving wisdom and visions from their angelic guide, who has existed since the dawn of creation, they represent one of the few surviving links to the long-vanished old gods. Genasi are people of elemental heritage, most commonly found near the heart of the Vault in the worlds surrounding the elemental forges of creation. Stats for genasi can be found in the Elemental Evil Player's Companion: https://media.wizards.com/2015/downloads/dnd/EE_PlayersCompanion.pdf Warforged are sentient robots or golems powered by magic, commonly manufactured to serve as soldiers. They can be found in Unearthed Arcana: Eberron: http://media.wizards.com/2015/downloads/dnd/UA_Eberron_v1.1.pdf as can Changelings, a race of shapeshifters descended from doppelgangers such as the Divine of trickery, Masque. Character Creation When creating your character, you should use the point buy system outlined in part 1 of the Player's Handbook rather than rolling for stats. If you would prefer to use a quick, simple set of ability scores, you can use the standard array: 15, 14, 13, 12, 10, and 8, to be assigned to the six abilities as you see fit. You may also choose to start your character with a feat instead of some of your race's bonuses to ability scores. Humans starting with a feat should use the variant human found in the Player's Handbook. For all other races, you can give up all but one point of your race's ability score increase to start with a feat instead. For example, a mountain dwarf normally starts with +2 strength and +2 constitution, but they could instead start with +1 strength or +1 constitution and also take a feat of their choice.

As some feats grant a +1 bonus to a specific ability score, starting with a feat can also be helpful when playing as a race whose ability score increases are not well suited to your class. For example, a dwarven wizard could give up some of their ability score increase to take the keen mind feat, which grants a +1 bonus to intelligence. A number of these feats that improve an ability score can be found in Unearthed Arcana: Feats for Skills: https://media.wizards.com/2017/dnd/downloads/UA-SkillFeats.pdf The sci-fi elements of the Vault of Stars setting means that many backgrounds may be appropriate for characters beyond the ones found in the Player's Handbook, and you should feel free to to mix and match proficiencies, background features, and personality traits, ideals, bonds, and flaws to best represent your character's background. With your DM's approval, you may also make up your own tool proficiencies to represent skill with tools and equipment not found in the Player's Handbook. Some tool proficiencies unique to the Vault of Stars setting include starship subsystems such as engineering, defense, weapons, and the helm, which use the rules found in Sailing the Astral Flow: https://sterlingvermin.files.wordpress.com/2016/05/sailing-the-astral-flow-part-1-5.pdf Classes of the Vault Most player characters in the Vault of Stars setting should use one of sixteen classes - the twelve classes found in the Player's Handbook, plus the Artificer and Mystic from Unearthed Arcana and the Pugilist and Magus from Sterling Vermin Adventuring Co. Class options from just about any source can be used, provided they are reasonably balanced and do not conflict with the cosmology of the setting. Possible sources beyond the Player's Handbook include the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide, Unearthed Arcana articles, and some balanced, playtested homebrew class options such as those produced by Sterling Vermin Adventuring Co. and Walrock Homebrew. When considering whether a given class option conflicts with the setting's cosmology, the most important things to keep in mind are that the old gods have long since vanished from the Vault, leaving only the occasional angel behind, that only seven Divines exist in present-day, and that they do not take kindly to challenges to their power. What follows is a brief description of all of the classes, their role in the setting, and any options outside of the Player's Handbook that may be particularly prevalent or influential in the Vault of Stars. Fighter, Rogue, and Pugilist The fighter, rogue, and pugilist classes represent characters who generally eschew mystical and magical power, relying solely on their own skill and strength in combat. Fighters are typically well equipped and extensively trained in armed combat, while pugilists are largely brawlers and street-fighters who overwhelm their foes with raw strength and determination. Meanwhile, rogues are masters of stealth who specialize in sneak attacks. The fighter and rogue classes can be found in the Player's Handbook, while the pugilist class was created by Sterling Vermin Adventuring Co: http://www.dmsguild.com/product/184921/The-Pugilist http://www.dmsguild.com/product/186640/Additional-Fight-Clubs-for-the-Pugilist-Class In addition to the fighter's class options found in the Player's Handbook, the gunslinger martial archetype from the Complete Martialist Handbook may also be used: https://sterlingvermin.files.wordpress.com/2015/11/complete-martialist-handbook2.pdf The firearms provided alongside the gunslinger are divided into sidearms and longarms, and can be used by any class proficient with the appropriate type of firearm. All rogues are proficient with sidearms, while all fighters are proficient with both sidearms and longarms. Players who wish to become proficient with a type of firearm that their class lacks or gain additional skill with guns may take the firearm expert feat, provided alongside the gunslinger. Scheming masterminds and swashbuckling action heroes can be represented by the swashbuckler and mastermind roguish archetypes, both found in the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide. Barbarian, Monk, and Mystic Barbarians, Monks and Mystics tap into a mystical inner strength, which is associated with one of the three souls of mortal beings in the mythology of many starfaring cultures. Members of these three classes often live as monks, hermits, or wandering ascetics, in order to better hone their spirits and bodies through regimented meditation and exercises. However, individuals who tap into this power without any particular spirituality or formal training, though rare, are not unheard of. Barbarians draw on the power of the red soul, the soul of hunger, emotion, instinct, and raw physicality. Demons are said to be physical embodiments of the red soul, and barbarians often arise in regions with a strong demonic presence, as well as on worlds torn by poverty, famine, and warfare. The volatile nature of the red soul makes it far easier to harness without any formal training than its two sister souls, and many barbarians tap into the wellspring of power and rage that it provides on their own, neither knowing nor caring about the spiritual traditions associated with it. The path of the berserker in the Player's Handbook can represent barbarians without any spiritual training, while the path of the totem warrior is appropriate for those who take the more meditative approach of many monks and mystics. Monks draw on the power of the white soul, the soul of restraint, purity, and patient contemplation. Angels are often seen as physical embodiments of the white soul, and many monks can be found among the ranks of those who still honor the old gods and their works. As part of their spiritual training, monks hone their bodies and minds by practicing one of the hundreds of different styles and traditions of martial arts that exist throughout the Vault. Players interested in playing a monk who follows the Way of the Four Elements may wish to use the following revised version, which adds a greater number and variety of elemental disciplines, including spells from the Elemental Evil Player's Companion: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1pdYIcfHauwNDM2My1XeWFYSDA/view

Finally, mystics draw on the power of the black soul, the soul of intellect, rationality, and thought. The psionic races such as mindflayers from the dark worlds beyond the edge of the Vault specialize in harnessing the power of the black soul, though particularly skilled members of the more mundane races have been known to do so as well. Compared to monks and especially barbarians, mystics place a heavy emphasis on channeling the power of their souls directly, and many eschew training in hand to hand combat in order to focus on honing their psionic powers. The most recent draft of the mystic can be found in this Unearthed Arcana article: https://media.wizards.com/2017/dnd/downloads/UAMystic3.pdf Wizard, Bard, and Druid The wizard, bard, and druid all represent those who have, through training and study, gained a formidable mastery of magic, though their precise understanding of and approach to magic differs from class to class. Wizards are the most formally educated and academic of the three, collecting spells in books and classifying and categorizing them into various schools of magic. Not all wizards learn magic in a formal, academic setting, but all gain most of their understanding of the arcane from the scholarly, scientific writings of other wizards who have come before them. Some wizards who serve one of the seven Divines are granted a portion of their power, and can be represented by the theurgy arcane tradition from Unearthed Arcana: https://media.wizards.com/2017/dnd/downloads/MJ320UAWizardVF2017.pdf Bards, on the other hand, tend to treat magic as more of an art than an exact science, relying more on personal charisma and trial and error than formal rules and study. They gather what knowledge of magic they can mostly through word of mouth, translating the spells they learn to fit their own individual style of spellcasting. Bards are famous for employing unusual implements to focus their spells - most commonly various types of musical instruments, though other types of foci that have at times been used by bards range from playing cards to oregami figures. In addition to the weapons listed in the Player's Handbook, bards in the Vault are also proficient with sidearms (see the note on gunslingers in the fighter section of this document). Druids take a more spiritual view of magic, dealing in esoteric rites and rituals and freely learning new spells by communing with the world around them. Most druids forge a mystical connection with the land of their home, and must carry a piece of their chosen land with them as they travel across the stars - such as a jar of its sands or a staff carved from one of its trees - in order to channel its power (and for use as a spellcasting focus). These druids may be represented by the circle of the land in the Player's Handbook. A rare few druids reject these bonds, however, and wander the lunar roads instead, drawing power from the mystical energies of the ethereal plane. For these druids, the circle of the moon is more fitting. Time flows strangely in the ethereal plane, and those who stray too far from the lunar roads may return to find that decades or even centuries have passed in their absence. Sorceror Unlike wizards, bards, and druids, sorcerors have little need for practiced study, drawing instead on an innate magical power conferred through heredity or exposure to untamed magical energies. Some use arcane foci similar to a wizard, though many sorcerors in the Vault are able to use magic with no spellcasting implements at all, using their own body as a focus for their spells. Sorcerors can arise from a wide array of different origins in the Vault. In addition to the sorcerous origins found in the Player's Handbook, the storm, spiritualist, and favored soul origins are particularly prevalent or significant in the setting. The storm sorceror can be found in the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide. Storm sorcerers arise from direct exposure to the great aetheric storms that periodically rage through the void between worlds. Though many chase these storms to harvest the crystalized lightning left in their wake, only the most daring and fortunate among them become storm sorcerors. There is no true afterlife known to exist in the Vault outside of myths, legends, and folklore, and the spirits of the recently deceased often drift between the material and ethereal planes before presumably fading into oblivion. Those who become bonded to a spirit and exposed to its otherworldly energies following a close brush with death gain sorcerous power, and are known as spiritualists. The spiritualist can be found in the Complete Arcanist's Handbook: https://sterlingvermin.files.wordpress.com/2016/02/the-complete-arcanist-handbook1.pdf Favored soul sorcerors are those whose bloodline can be traced back to an ancient ancestor at the dawn of creation who was granted the favor of the old gods themselves. They carry the spark of divinity within themselves, with no need to serve one of the Divines for power. As such, most of the Divines and their servants view favored soul sorcerors with suspicion, though some, such as Azrael, the Divine of life, themselves worship the old gods and honor favored soul sorcerors as their handiwork. The favored soul sorceror can be found in Unearthed Arcana: Revised Subclasses: https://media.wizards.com/2017/dnd/downloads/UA-RevisedSubclasses.pdf Ranger, Artificer, and Magus The Ranger, Artificer, and Magus all study magic in a more narrow, limited sense, using it as a tool to augment their abilities in other fields. Rangers use magic out in the wilderness to aid in survival, hunting, and tracking, while Artificers use it in the laboratory or workshop to augment their inventions and enhance their craftsmanship. Magi of the various eldritch societies found in the Vault wield magic as a weapon in combat alongside the blade or bow, passing down powerful arcane techniques to combat their foes and further the interests of their order.

The ranger can be found in the Player's Handbook, though you may wish to use the revised ranger from Unearthed Arcana instead: https://media.wizards.com/2016/dnd/downloads/UA_RevisedRanger.pdf In addition to the weapons listed in the Player's Handbook, rangers in the Vault are also proficient with longarms (see the note on gunslingers in the fighter section of this document). The most recent official draft of the artificer can be found here: https://media.wizards.com/2016/dnd/downloads/1_UA_Artificer_20170109.pdf though you may wish to use this revised homebrew version instead: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6GeXkJY4hvfVEp1QXJCS3FVVjA/view The magus was created by Sterling Vermin Adventuring Co, and can be found here: http://www.dmsguild.com/product/200237/the-Magus-Class Cleric A cleric is a spellcaster who serves one of the seven Divines, and is granted divine power by them. A cleric's relationship with the Divine they serve may be one of religious reverence or philosophical admiration, or merely a purely mercenary alliance to gain power. Because only seven Divines currently exist, each one corresponding to one of the divine domains found in the Player's Handbook, it may be difficult to incorporate clerics with domains found in other sources into the setting. That said, it is possible that a surviving cleric of one of the many Divines killed in their ancient war might still hold on to a spark of their power. Perhaps such a cleric is of a race that does not age, such as a warforged, or perhaps they got lost on the ethereal plane during the time of the war, only to re-emerge many centuries later. Needless to day, such clerics that exist as relics of a bygone age are seldom on good terms with even the most charitable of the seven Divines, and may be endangered by revealing their abilities around the wrong people. They also are generally unable to use their Divine Intervention class feature, as the Divine they once served no longer exists, though a passing angel may occasionally take pity on them and grant some intervention - typically of a lesser strength than a Divine could provide. The seven Divines and their respective domains are as follows: Life. The Divine of Life is the Prophet Azrael, an aasimar who rules the Holy Kingdom of Celestia and serves as its spiritual leader. Azrael is himself a devout worshipper of the old gods, and promotes their worship and adherance to their laws within his realm. He often grants clerical powers to those who are pious, obedient, pure of spirit, and well-versed in the old religious traditions. His realm is usually safe and hospitable, if a bit austere, but he is often privately criticized for the strictness of the laws he enforces and the swift and merciless nature of the justice he delivers. Light. The Divine of Light is the Great Dragon Aureon, a gold dragon who rules the Gauldor Federation, the formost hub of trade and wealth in the Vault. Aureon was already ancient at the time of the Divine war, and has not aged terribly well. Though she is generally benevolent and well-intentioned, promoting personal growth and enlightenment among her subjects, she is increasingly senile, and much of her day to day affairs are handled by her notoriously corrupt ministers. They tend to charge exorbitant bribes when selecting those who will stand before the Great Dragon to be commissioned as clerics, lining their pockets and ensuring that the wealthiest families in the Federation retain their power. Tempest. The Divine of the Tempest is High King Stronheim, a storm giant who rules the Iron Union. Under Stronheim's rule, the Iron Union has become a military and industrial powerhouse unrivaled by any other faction in the Vault. He espouses a philosophy of strength, might, and progress before all else, and grants power to whomever he believes can most effectively advance his aims. So great is the supply of technology, weaponry and soldiers he has stockpiled that some suspect that if ever war were to break out among the Divines again, he could singlehadedly overcome the combined forces of all of the other Divines. Knowledge. The Divine of Knowledge is Ralayan, the Eldest Brain, ruler of the Illithid colony worlds. The colony worlds are a strange and unsettlingly alien realm, seldom willingly visited by non-illithids, which serve as a gateway to the dark worlds beyond the edge of the Vault where the mind flayer race originated. As a rule, the Illithid tend to be inscrutable and insular, seldom dealing with members of other races, though they are rumored to occasionally conduct mysterious research projects at the request of the other Divines. On the rare occasions when Ralayan commissions an outsider as a cleric of knowledge, it is generally in order to extend their reach to distant corners of the Vault and acquire further knowledge of them. Trickery. The Divine of Trickery is Masque, a doppelganger who manipulates affairs in the otherwise largely-lawless Tenebrial Arm region of the Vault. alongside the sinister Cabinet of Faces. By allowing black market enterprises to thrive in their realm and employing a sophisticated network of spies and informants, Masque is able to collect information on illicit dealings across the Vault, blackmailing everyone from drug dealers to Divines in order to accumulate power. Those chosen by Masque to serve as their clerics are taken in without warning - stolen away from their beds at night, initiated in a hidden ceremony, and let loose on the Vault to (often unwittingly) further Masque's aims. Masque is careful to conceal their identity, casually wearing and discarding countless faces, and speculation abounds among those in the know as to whether they are one doppelganger, or perhaps dozens sharing a single identity to obscure their actions.