Rune Guard V2.1 Furnished in armor that earned its scratches, and decorated in the symbols of old, a copper dragonborn takes a step outside of the fortress and glances about the surrounding area. Upon finding no threats, she signals her client to step forward, and the two leave the gates to the forest after boarding a small horse-drawn cart. While traversing the woods, a group of mercenaries in the tree tops spies the older halfling noble in cart and leap down to take their mark. With orders to disrupt the plans of two countries forging an alliance, the mercenaries surround the diplomat with intent to take hostage. Cornered with nowhere to run, the mercenaries believe they are moments from success when, before their eyes, the noble disappears and in his place stands the armored dragonborn. With the halfling now hidden from sight, the mercenaries now find themselves to be the ones trapped and desperate to escape the wrath of their mark's protector. Regardless of their specific field of study, rune guards dedicate their lives to the protecting something they deem most important and dedicate all knowledge towards gaining an edge in defense of it. Whether they focus on strengthening their own might, draining the strength of others, or applying tactics learned from former masters, the rune guard forever trains to guarantee that they will be the last to fall. Empowered Warriors Scholarly militiamen, rune guards are the watchmen that have dedicated themselves to training their minds and their bodies. While taking the time to strengthen their muscles and their skills with a blade, they have found ways to further improve their martial prowess through the study of magic. Rune guards are the answer any army has to combat the powerful magic wielders that eliminate entire groups of common soldiers with a single spell. Through their trial and error method of learning magic, rune guards have gained an understanding of the arcane to be able to withstand the evocations upon a battlefield and close the gap, taking the fight to the face of their enemies. While their studies of magic result from a series of trial and error, they found ways to imbue magic directly onto themselves for prolonged periods while free their mind for more mentally tasking spells. This magic strengthens their body, mind, or even further strengthens the magic they wield, all to gain the upper hand in a fight. A village champion Despite the being a tactical piece in a fight, a rune guard is not necessarily a disciplined solider, nor even a member of a structured army. In many cases, large cities train select troops to undergo training to harmonize magic and might,

The Rune Guard Level Proficiency Bonus Features Glyphs Runes Known Rune Points Rune Max. 1st +2 Philologist, Bolstering Glyphs 2 ─ ─ ─ 2nd +2 Fighting Style, Runic Enchantments, Fortifying Glyphs 2 2 2 1 3rd +2 Arcane Caste 3 3 3 1 4th +2 Ability Score Improvement 3 3 3 1 5th +3 Extra Attack 3 5 6 2 6th +3 Arcane Caste Feature 4 5 6 2 7th +3 Report Recast, Rune Surge 4 6 7 2 8th +3 Ability Score Improvement 4 6 7 2 9th +4 ─ 5 8 10 3 10th +4 Improved Fortifying Glyphs 5 8 10 3 11th +4 Glyph Resonance 5 9 12 3 12th +4 Ability Score Improvement 6 9 12 3 13th +5 ─ 6 11 14 4 14th +5 Arcane Caste Feature 6 11 14 4 15th +5 Glyph Resonance Improvement, Rune Keeper 7 12 16 4 16th +5 Ability Score Improvement 7 12 16 4 17th +6 ─ 7 14 21 5 18th +6 Rune Breaker 8 14 21 5 19th +6 Ability Score Improvement 8 15 24 5 20th +6 Arcane Caste Feature 9 15 24 5 becoming a member of a legion set on defending a city from invasion, or to protect key individuals in the political or economic sphere. Tales of other rune guards come from remote villages or small wandering tribes, representing the epitome of their community's physical and magical abilities. Even still, many mercenaries unassociated with any combat organization learn the skills on their own through practice and experience in order to increase their own efficiency or survival. Creating a Rune Guard While crafting your rune guard, imagine the scenarios that lead them to need to learning how to wield a weapon, while also giving them the opportunity to gain an understanding of magic. What event led you to decide to dedicate your life to the art of both might and magic? Is there a mentor in your life that you admire and aspire to become? What have you found to be so important to you that you would dedicate your life to protect it? Did you seek out someone to teach you how to fight in order to get revenge upon a creature or person that killed someone you cared about? Consider what kind of armed forces were you apart of before you became an adventurer. Were you apart of a large army in an empire expanding its boarders even now? Did you come from a band of mercenaries that took on odd jobs, barely keeping afloat with the rent they pay each month? Were you trained from birth by a secret faction that dips more than their toe into illicit activities? Did you, by chance, teach yourself in order to defend your small village after all the remaining able-bodied citizens were drafted into war? Think about the focus of your academic studies, and how that impacts your character's approach to a fight? Did your character focus primarily on botany, and how does the knowledge of plants effect their preparation before a fight? Did your studies require testing on living subjects, and were the subjects willing, unwilling, or yourself? Did you lock yourself in a room and attempt rituals to pierce through boundary of the material plane? Quick Build You can quickly create a rune guard by following these steps. First, make Strength your highest ability score followed by Intelligence. Secondly, select either the Solider or the Scholar background.

Class Features As a rune guard, you gain the following class features Hit Points Hit Dice: 1d10 per rune guard level

1d10 per rune guard level Hit Points at 1st Level: 10 + your Constitution modifier

10 + your Constitution modifier Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d10 (or 6) + your Constitution modifier per rune guard level after 1st Proficiencies Armor: Light, Medium, Heavy, Shields

Light, Medium, Heavy, Shields Weapons: Simple weapons, Martial weapons

Simple weapons, Martial weapons Tools: Calligrapher's supplies Saving Throws: Intelligence, Constitution

Intelligence, Constitution Skills: Choose two from Arcana, Athletics, History, Intimidation, Investigation, and Perception Equipment You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background: (a) a martial weapon and a shield or (b) longbow and 20 arrows

(a) five javelins or (b) any simple melee weapon

(a) a dungeoneer's pack or (b) a scholar's pack

(a) a chain shirt or (b) chain mail Multiclassing Ability Score Minimum: Strength 13 and Intelligence 13 Proficiencies Gained: Light armor, medium armor, shields, simple weapons, martial weapons Philologist During your studies, the branching paths of magic intertwined with characters required constant translation from a multitude of languages, one of which you still recall fluently. You gain proficiency in one of the following languages of your choice: Deep Speech, Sphinx, or Modron. Bolstering Glyphs During your research, you stumbled upon a pair of powerful symbols that draw magic from the environment and channels them to you. When in close proximity, the first symbol anchored to surrounding sends magic energy to the second symbol that you hold close, empowering your abilities. As a bonus action, you can affix one bolstering glyph to a space you occupy. For the next minute or until you fall unconscious, when you are within 15 feet of the glyph, you gain the following benefits: You have advantage on saving throws against being frightened.

You add your intelligence modifier to any strength, dexterity, or constitution ability check.

At the start of your turn, you gain temporary hit points equal to your proficiency bonus plus half your rune guard level. Once you have used a number of glyphs shown for your rune guard level in the Glyphs column of the Rune Guard table, you must finish a long rest before you can use any more. You can only have one bolstering glyph active at a time. If you already have one active and affix another glyph, the oldest bolstering glyph becomes inert. Fighting Style At 2nd level, you adopt a style of fighting as your specialty. Choose one of the following options. You can't take a Fighting Style option more than once, even if you later get to choose again. Archery You gain a +2 bonus to Attack rolls you make with Ranged Weapons. Defense While you are wearing armor, you gain a +1 bonus to AC. Dueling When you are wielding a melee weapon in one hand and no other weapons, you gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls with that weapon. Protection When a creature you can see attacks a target other than you that is within 5 feet of you, you can use your reaction to impose disadvantage on the Attack roll. You must be wielding a Shield. Runic Enchantments Beginning at 2nd level, you know how to equip spells unlike other arcane scholars that merely cast them. These equipped spells, called runes, are an arcane magic adorned on the user in different forms depending on who wields it. A rune guard originating from a tribal society might have the runes imbedded into their skins as tattoos while a rune guard from a noble house could inscribe the runes into different stones that decorate a pendant. Runes Known of 1st Level and Higher You are in possession of two 1st level runes of your choice from the list of runes detailed at the end of the class. The number of runes you have increases as you level up as shown under the Runes Known column in the class table. At the end of a long rest, you can equip to any of the runes that you know, providing you with the benefits of their specific enchantment until you choose to unequip to it at the end of the next long rest. While you know many different runes, you cannot equip a number of runes that would exceed your current number of Rune Points.

Rune Points and Maximum Your Rune Points determine the maximum number of runes you can equip on a given day and is shown under the Rune Points column in the class table. The summation of the levels of the runes you equip each day may not exceed the number of Rune Points you have at your given rune guard level. For example, at 5th level, you have 6 Rune Points, meaning that you can equip four 1st level runes and one second level rune, two 1st level runes and two 2nd level runes, three 2nd level runes, or other combinations. However, in this example, you cannot equip to three 1st level rune and one 3rd level rune because that would exceed your Rune Maximum. Your Rune Maximum is the highest level of runes you can learn and equip, and is shown under the Rune Max. column in the class table. Likewise, you cannot learn a rune that is a higher level than your Rune Max. While the energy of the runes continually flows through your body for large periods of time, their magic is not a permanent boon. The arcane nature of the runes means that they can be dispelled. A dispel magic can dispel a single equipped rune and cannot be re-equipped until after your next long rest. Treat 4th and 5th level runes as 4th and 5th level spells respectively. In addition, your runes fail to function in areas where magic cannot exist, such as in the gaze of a beholder. Rune-Scribing Ability Intelligence is your rune-scribing ability for your runes, since you gain them from intensive study into the rules of magic. You use your Intelligence whenever a rune refers to your rune-scribing ability. In addition, you use your Intelligence modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a rune guard rune ability you activate or when you cast make an attack roll when casting a spell through a rune. Rune save DC = 8 + proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier Rune effect modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier Fortifying Glyphs Beginning at 2nd level, you unlock the secret combination of runes required to form the glyphs that respond to danger faster than mind can comprehend, prolonging your life from careless mishaps. As a reaction, whenever you make a saving throw, you may add your proficiency bonus to your saving throw. You may choose to wait until after you roll the d20 before deciding to use this ability, but must decide before the DM says whether the roll succeeds or fails. Arcane Caste At 3rd level, the fixation of your protection becomes apparent as you hone your skills to defend it. Choose a caste that befits your style of combat: Whiffler or Plane Raider, all detailed at the end of the class description. Your choice grants you features at 3rd level and again at 6th, 14th, and 20th 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. Report Recast Beginning at 7th level, when you place pen to paper, the words and letters literally jump out of the page and lay where you see fit. Over the span of an hour, you can rearrange the words and letters on a nonmagical piece of text. You can remove letters and words from text, but you cannot add anything that wasn't there before. The text maintains the same style and handwriting as before. Rune Surge Beginning at 7th level, you can recoup some of the energy you placed into your runes to redistribute as you see fit. Once per day when you finish a Short Rest, you can choose to move a number of rune points to different runes you've attained. The rune points can be equal to or less than half your rune guard level (rounded up). Improved Fortifying Glyphs Beginning at level 10, after constant use of the glyphs, you understand how to fine tune them to the point that their use radiates energy to protect you from harm. Whenever you use your Glyphs of Reflex, you gain resistance to any damage dealt, regardless if you pass or fail. Glyph Resonance Beginning at 11th level, your practice with maintaining connections with your bolstering glyphs reaches new heights, allowing you to increase the number of connections you make at a time. You now can keep two active bolstering glyphs at a time. Additionally, you gain +1 to weapon damage rolls while inside the area of one of your bolstering glyphs. At level 15, the number of active bolstering glyphs you muster is increased to three.

Rune Keeper Beginning at level 15, your ability to read and decipher the written word is greater than most would believe possible. You can read all languages. Additionally, you can read at a pace of a page a second, and can read print from a distance of 100 feet without difficulty. Rune Breaker Beginning at 18th level, you can flood your runes with magic, pushing them past their limit to grant you a boon in the most desperate of situations. Whenever you use this ability, you may select one of the following effects below. As a reaction, when you are reduced to zero hit points, you gain a number of hit points equal to your rune guard level, and you are invulnerable to all damage until the end of your next turn.

As a bonus action, the range of your bolstering glyph becomes 60 feet for the next minute. Additionally, the temporary hit points you gain at the start of your turn is equal to your rune guard level plus your proficiency bonus.

As a reaction, you can reduce the damage you take from an attack by an amount equal to your intelligence score times four. If the attack targets multiple creatures, it is reduced by the same amount for all creatures within 60 feet of you. Once you activate this ability, all of your currently equipped runes are immediately unequipped to you. Any effects granted by a rune with a time limit immediately ends, even if the time limit has not yet been reached. Once you use this ability, you must finish a long rest before you can use it again. Arcane Castes Training to become a rune guard requires the practice of martial techniques as well as the investigation of the rules comprising magic. While newly recruited rune guards appear to lack differences between one another, the fixation of their defense guides their studies which becomes more defined as a rune guard becomes stronger. Caste of the Whiffler Rune guards belonging to the Caste of the Whiffler dedicate themselves to protecting the people around them. Whether a specific person's philosophy attracts the rune guard or a sense of duty to a hierarchy, a whiffler makes it their mission to save certain people from harm. In times of peace, however, whifflers symbolize wealth and power for those they protect. Body Double Beginning at 3rd level, you learn to place wards on those you wish to protect, allowing you to take a hit in their stead. As a reaction, when a friendly creature within 30 feet of you is attacked, you teleport both you and the friendly creature, switching places, and you become the target of the attack. You can use this ability a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and regain any uses after a short or long rest. Safe Haven Beginning at 6th level, you give small glyphs to your allies similar to the bolstering glyph you hold, allowing them to gain benefits from your glyph. Whenever an allied creature is within the range of your bolstering glyph, they gain the following benefits: Advantage on constitution saving throws against poison and magic.

Half-cover against ranged attacks.

Cannot be targeted by magic missile. Additionally, when you use your reaction to use your body double ability, you may teleport the target creature to an active bolstering glyph instead of to your original location. Protector's Oath Beginning at 14th level, you make good on your promise to keep those around you alive, and uphold it even after they fall in battle. A living ally regains 1 hit point when it starts its turn with 0 hit points in the area of a bolstering glyph. Master Reflexes At level 20, you're so used to covering others that adapting to situations becomes second nature to you. You can take 3 reactions every round. Caste of the Gatekeeper Gatekeepers belong to certain places in the multiverse, and believe they need to protect them. For many rune guards, they dedicate themselves to a place they love, while others feel a predestined draw towards an area in need of preservation. Regardless of why they chose to become a gatekeeper, these rune guards channel magic from the multiverse through their runes. Planar Aura Beginning at 3rd level, your connection with one of the many planes of existence give you elements of that plane's abilities to ward off trespassers. Select one of the planes from the list below. You produce an aura that extends 10 feet from you in every direction, but not through total cover. Elemental Plane: The chaotic power from the planes causes harm to those that dare to withstand it. When you roll for initiative, choose one of the following damage types: acid, cold, fire, lightning. When a creature starts it turn or the first time it enters your aura, it takes an amount of the chosen damage equal to your proficiency bonus.

The chaotic power from the planes causes harm to those that dare to withstand it. When you roll for initiative, choose one of the following damage types: acid, cold, fire, lightning. When a creature starts it turn or the first time it enters your aura, it takes an amount of the chosen damage equal to your proficiency bonus. Feywilds: The area surrounding you becomes filled with life and energy, growing obstacles for those unworthy of passage. For every 1 foot of movement a hostile creature moves in your aura, the creature expends 2 feet of movement.

The area surrounding you becomes filled with life and energy, growing obstacles for those unworthy of passage. For every 1 foot of movement a hostile creature moves in your aura, the creature expends 2 feet of movement. Shadowfell: Whenever a hostile creature in your aura uses a reaction, any attack rolls or ability checks it makes are done so at disadvantage.

Realm Expansion Beginning at 6th level, your able to send energy from another plane to the locations where you place your bolstering glyphs, expanding the influence of the planes into the one in which you reside. Your bolstering glyphs emit your planar aura within a 10 foot radius from its center. Billowing Domain Starting at 14th level, the power you siphon from another realm influences and further shapes your aura. The aura you exude gains an ability based upon your choice at 3rd level. Elemental Plane: Whenever you damage a creature in your aura with a weapon attack, you deal additional damage by an amount equal to your rune effect bonus. The damage type of the additional damage is your choice of one of the following: acid, cold, fire, or lightning.

Whenever you damage a creature in your aura with a weapon attack, you deal additional damage by an amount equal to your rune effect bonus. The damage type of the additional damage is your choice of one of the following: acid, cold, fire, or lightning. Feywilds: Your knowledge of the energy of the plain allows you to recognize its use, and deny its use within your domain. Hostile creatures cannot teleport into or out of your aura.

Your knowledge of the energy of the plain allows you to recognize its use, and deny its use within your domain. Hostile creatures cannot teleport into or out of your aura. Shadowfell: The negative energy you exude becomes violent at the presence of life magic. A hostile creature in your aura cannot regain hit points. If any attempts are made to recover hit points, the creature instead takes half the amount in necrotic damage. Realm Ambassador Beginning at level 20, you have drawn so much magic from another plane, that it appears to begin to consume and assimilate you. As you begin to transform into a vessel for another realm, the magic you exude grants you an ability based upon your choice at 3rd level. Elemental Planes: While you are a solider of each of the elemental planes, one of them in particular has come to favor you. Choose one damage type from acid, cold, fire, or lightning. You gain immunity to that damage type. Additionally, you gain resistance to the other three damage types.

While you are a solider of each of the elemental planes, one of them in particular has come to favor you. Choose one damage type from acid, cold, fire, or lightning. You gain immunity to that damage type. Additionally, you gain resistance to the other three damage types. Feywilds: The nature of the feywilds pushes your fighting style to extremes that even those who are adjusted to your attacks are intensely pained. All of damage rolls ignore resistances.

The nature of the feywilds pushes your fighting style to extremes that even those who are adjusted to your attacks are intensely pained. All of damage rolls ignore resistances. Shadowfell: The cloak of the shadowfell gives off the sense of undeath to those around you. You are invisible to any undead as if under the effect of Greater Invisibility.

Rune Guard Rune List Below is the list of available runes to select from. 1st-Level Runes Air Resistance You can cast Feather Fall at 1st level as a reaction, but only targeting yourself. Arcane Dowsing This rune glows whenever you are within 10 feet of a source of magic. You may choose to exclude any sources of magic that are known to you when you equip this rune. Barter When you equip this rune, you gain proficiency in your choice of either Insight or Persuassion. Battering Ram Your weapon attacks against structures deal double damage. Crafty When you equip this rune, you gain proficiency in one of the following tools of your choice: Carpenter's tools, Leatherworker's tools, Mason's tools, or Smith's tools. Fast Healer When you roll a 1 on a hit die, you can reroll the die and must use the new roll. Gales of Purity You are immune to the harmful effects of gasses and vapors, and any gasses and vapors are dispersed within 5 feet of you. Hearing of the Sentinel You can cast Alarm once without expending a spell slot, and any additional number of times until your next long rest as a ritual. Retreat As a bonus action, you can take the Disengage action. Slippery You have advantage on ability checks made to avoid or escape a grapple. Synchronized When you roll a 20 on the die for initiative, you may instead choose where to be placed in intiative, provided your turn is immediately before or after the turn of a friendly creature. Tailwind Your movement speed increases by 5 feet. Moon Jump Your running long jump increases by a number of feet equal to your rune effect modifier, and your running high jump increases by a number of feet equal to your intelligence modifier. Weapon's Specialist You count as one size category larger for determining which weapons you may wield without penalty. 2nd-Level Runes Attunement Frequency Touch one object through the preparation of this rune. As long as you are on the same plane of existence, you sense the direction to the object's location. If the object is in motion, you know the direction of its movement. You cease to know the object's location while any thickness of lead blocks a direct path between you and the object. You continue knowing the object's location until either you fail to prepare this rune or choose to sense the location of a different object while preparing this rune. Blitzkrieg You gain a bonus to your initiative rolls equal to your intelligence modifier. Captivation You can cast Enthrall at 2nd level once per short rest. Distant Quill Using a bonus action, and a piece of ammunition, you can place a bolstering rune within the short range of the ranged weapon attack. First Impressions Prerequisite: Whiffler

Creatures have disadvantage on deception checks against you if they have intent to bring you harm. Gills You are able to breath underwater and have a swim speed equal to your walking speed. Night Guard You no longer need to sleep and can't be forced to sleep by any means. To gain the benefits of a long rest, you must spend all 8 hours keeping watch. Pain Amplifier When you injure a creature that is concentrating on a spell, the minimum DC to maintain concentration is 13. Planar Adaption Prerequisites: Gatekeeper

You gain special benefits based upon the plane you draw power from. Elemental Plane: You are acclimated to all climates and do not suffer any penalties while traveling in harsh environments.

You are acclimated to all climates and do not suffer any penalties while traveling in harsh environments. Feywilds: You cannot get lost by magical means. Additionally, you are immune to any effect that would cause you to age unnaturally.

You cannot get lost by magical means. Additionally, you are immune to any effect that would cause you to age unnaturally. Shadowfell: Whenever you kill a creature, the corpse cannot be reanimated and become undead. Furthermore, your body cannot be reanimated once you die. Additionally, you can determine if a creature is undead after conversing with it for 1 minute.

Primordial Fury When you prepare this rune, choose one damage type from fire, cold, acid, or lightning. All weapon attacks you make deal the selected type of damage. Radar You see invisible creatures and objects as if they were visible out to a range of 30 feet. Resolve You have advantage on saving throws against being frightened. Soul Wards You can't be possessed by aberrations, celestials, elementals, fey, fiends, or undead. The Tower Whenever you fall and take damage, make a strength (athletics) check against a DC equal to half the distance you fell. On a success, you land on your feet, and remain standing. 3rd-Level Runes Anti-Espionage Creatures cannot observe you via divination magic unless you are aware of it and allow it to occur. Arcane Aura When you prepare this enchantment, select one damage type between cold, fire, or lightning. Whenever a creature in 5 feet of you hits you with a melee attack, it takes 1d4 damage of the chosen type. Arcane Revocation Once per short rest, you may cast Counterspell as a third level spell. Astral Tether You have advantage on death saving throws. Heightened Senses Prerequisites: Gatekeeper

You have blindsight that extends to any area covered by your aura. Inflexible Will Prerequisite: Whiffler

Your runic magic shields your mind from outside influences that would attempt to force you to target those that you swore to protect. You are immune to the charmed condition. Immutable Body You are immune to any spell or effect that would alter your form. Iron Skin Your AC while not wearing armor is a minimum of 16. Primordial Wrath When you prepare this rune, choose one damage type from acid, cold, fire, lightning, or thunder. Melee damage rolls deal an additional 1d4 of the selected damage type. Signal Boost Choose one class ability with a specified range other than self or touch. The range of the ability increases by 10 feet. Target When a creature or magical effect attempts to dispel one of your runes, this rune is dispelled in its place. The Lovers Whenever a creature casts a spell that charms you, and you fail the saving throw, have the creature make the same saving throw against your rune save DC. On a fail, the creature is charmed by you under the same effects. 4th-Level Runes Camouflage Wearing medium or heavy armor doesn't impose disadvantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks. Layline Reader You gain a tremorsense of 30 feet. Lost Knowledge Whenever you gain temporary hitpoints from you Bolstering Glyphs, you gain an additional amount of temporary hitpoints equal to your intelligence modifier. Instant Fortress Prerequisites: Gatekeeper

All friendly creatures that gain the benefits from your safe haven also gain temporary hit points equal to your intelligence modifier at the start of your turn. Nature's Embrace When you prepare this rune, choose one damage type from acid, cold, fire, lightning, or thunder. You have resistance to the selected damage type. Self Bound You automatically succeed any saving throw that would transport you to another plane of existance while you are conscious. You may still choose to fail the save. Teamwork You may use the Help action as a bonus action. Tuck-in-Roll Creatures do not gain advantage on attack rolls against you as a result of you being prone. Unbound Prerequisites: Gatekeeper

You can teleport from the location of one bolstering glyph to another by spending 5 feet of movement. 5th-Level Runes Counter Success Once per short rest, when a creature within 30 feet uses an ability to automatically succeed on a saving throw that is would have failed otherwise, you can use your reaction to negate the success back into a failure.