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The Warden Class (5e) by Steve Fidler (@vorpaldicepress)
“Wield the elements as a Warden, a brand-new class for 5th Edition. A powerful mix of martial and magical prowess, influenced by nature and the world around them.”
“The Warden Class has been in development and playtesting for over 4 years, and this is the definitive version, ready for your game!”
Warden
“No matter their duties, no matter their creed, a warden has honed their skill in battle and attuned to their innate elemental power into a force of nature. Each warden has a different perspective on the natural order of things, but they have in common a natural-born command of the elements and an aptitude for adventuring.”
The Force of Nature
“As you grow stronger, you develop a deeper connection to the elements, and the world in which you live.”
The Warden is a “distant cousin” to the Druid and Ranger, harnessing the raw power inherent in nature and a wielding it as a tool and weapon to their own ends; commanding the innate, raw potential in nature to work for them, opposed to giving themselves over to its service.
Elemental Awakening
A table of inspiring suggestions as to why your Warden came to be able bend the element to their will, including my favourite: “On each of my birthdays, year after year, a local natural disaster occurs”, which is gloriously tragic, as well as being a stellar reason to be adventuring, whether to try to atone, discover the cause or simply to keep moving, hoping it won’t happen again. This is also a wonderful thing for a DM to have knowledge of for devastating future plans.
Place in the World
Unlike Druids and Rangers, Wardens can be more comfortable and competent in urban environments, though a table is provided to help discover your Warden’s true feelings. I’m particularly fond of: “Whenever you travel to new places, you wish to help the disenfranchised”, which is a truly wonderful sentiment we could all have a bit more of. It also gives a better idea of your Warren’s character and gives a DM an idea of areas and NPCs that work with this, particularly with contacts, information and even adventures and jobs that fulfil their drive to aid the outcast and downtrodden.
Creating a Warden
Great advice regarding building tour own Warden is provided, especially with regard to their personality and drive, considering the 1st level discipline and prime elemental core at 3rd level. I thoroughly enjoy character and outlook being discussed and integral the building of a character, so it’s lovely to see it here.
Quick Build and Optional Rule: Multicasting information are provided. This includes “if you gain the Pact Magic feature from another class, your levels in that class combine with your warden class level to determine what level your spell slots are”, which makes experiments with Wardens and Warlocks could be a lot of fun. There is a natural fit, both mechanically and from a flavour perspective with both classes drawing power from a source and wielding it to their own ends.
The base class features are comparable to the Ranger for hit dice, proficiencies, though the Warden is limited to simple weapons, relying more on their elemental abilities. With the saving throws of Strength and Wisdom, rather than Strength and Dexterity, with Arcana and Intimidation now being on the table, instead of Insight and Stealth, the Warden’s mien really asserts itself in its own right; more of a solid, imposing presence, while at the same time having a greater connection to the magic and knowledge thereof, compared to the Ranger’s unfulfilling Jack of all trades, master of none approach.
Equipment
While comparable to the Ranger again, there seems to be more room to become a greater force upfront or any position really, with leather armour or scale mail, two simple weapons or a martial (if proficient), a shortbow or shield, explorer’s pack and component’s pouch. Impressively, their appears the prospect of greater range and utility granted by the relative specificity and studied choices.
Discipline
These combine the Fighting Style with a subclass, beginning to truly start seeing your Warden come to life as they balance magic and martial prowess. There are four Disciplines included with absolutely sumptuous WarmTail artwork, which I’ll get into later.
Natural Awareness
The Warden may not be the reverent servant of nature, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t learnt a few things from some time in they have picked up a few things from camping trips “honing [their] skills has given [them] an acute sense of danger...while in a natural environment”, as well as having an innate ability to “unerringly identify if environmental phenomena are natural or unnatural.”
I’m a real sucker for ridiculously thematic, lore backed and genuinely useful features, naturally.
Natural Power
The Warden’s channels the power of nature on their strike, represented by a pool of Power Dice, which increase in number and die type with experience, and can be expended to add the corresponding elemental damage to their Draconic Influence. These Power Dice can be expended in conjunction with Natural Powers to grant additional abilities in a similar way to the Battle Master’s Superiority Dice.
Glamour (Level 2)
This allows the Warden to “create a harmless elemental sensory effect originating from your body” with the examples of “water dripping from your hands, a fiery glow in your eyes, or your skin appearing mottled and earthen”, which is a very cool aesthetic effect. I now have the need for an Aasimar water-attuned Warden who is permanently her best 2015 perfect slick back wet look moment of all time, personifying GLAMOOOUURRR!
You can also use your powered of Glamour to add a Power Die to Charisma checks.
Source Magic (Level 2)
The Warden is granted spell casting, drawing on natural magic with many great new elemental spells, which I’ll touch on later. There is also a full Warden Spell List full of many of the new Spells and some old favourites! There is a definite crossing of the steams from the Druidy to Wizardy and the new spells to create a most potent brew.
While not having an abundance of spell slots, not being a primary caster, the ability to regain all expended spell slots on a short rest makes them more feasible. I definitely see many Wardens holding onto their spell for the truly epic Hail Mary situations.
Prime Element (Level 3)
The core of the Warden is their Prime Element, which come in a variety of flavours and abilities they grant initially and at higher levels, including the relative set of cantrips on offer, this choice having a huge impact on the type of Warden you want to play, and should definitely be considered when choosing a Discipline. Together these two elements are the core of the character mechanically and otherwise.
Earthen Bulwark
This grants the ability to take your enemies to the mat in a grapple when you use your Natural Power, as well as being able to shove foes away from you.
Flaming Bravery
When you use your Natural Power your attack sears, dealing the additional fire damage at the start of the targets next turn, as well as being able to summon a bulwark of fire, similar the Shield spell linked to your Charisma modifier.
Putrid Corrosion
You can use your Natural Power feature to deal extra acid damage, the target can’t add their modifier to weapons attacks until the end of their turn, as well as giving your saving throw spells the ability to “add a corrosive element” causing ongoing damage.
Stoic Chill
Your Natural Power causes your enemies disadvantage on their next weapon attack it makes before the start of your next turn. Additionally, you can use you Power Dice to boost your saving throws, if you let it go “all surfaces in a 10-foot radius of you become covered in enchanted ice” causing foes to slip and slide.
Unrelenting Storm
Using your Natural Power feature to deal extra lightning or thunder damage, causes the target to get hot with additional thunder or lightning damage if they have the temerity to move on their turn.
Additionally, you use power die to boost an attack roll. If the attack hits, you let out a concussive blast that can push back enemies around you.
Prime Elemental Shield (Level 7)
The Prime Elemental energy is always with you and you can call upon it to protect you from an attack as a reaction, with details relating to your attuned element. For example, Earthen Bulwark gives you the ability to “kick up a cloud of dust and rocks, imposing disadvantage on [a ranged] attack or granting advantage on your saving throw”, or
Stoic Chill “can create a thick barrier of ice between you and the [attacking] weapon, reducing the damage dealt by the attack...”
Nature Sense (Level 10)
This bizarre, but super handy surveillance ability allowing you to gain a new viewpoint, based on a touched surfaced, for a short period, while still and losing sight and hearing to see from your natural CCTV.
Natural Power (Level 12)
A natural surge of power can be released with a weapon or cantrip attack, dealing additional damage of your attuned element.
Channel Power (Level 15)
You are so full of raw mako energy you are pumping straight from the planet into your veins that you can sacrifice a bunch of Power Dice for a Spell Slot!
Master of Elements (Level 20)
You can live the full Dragon Ball Z fantasy releasing your very own Kamehameha, “a torrent of magical energy in a 30-foot radius cantered on you...infused with primal magic”. You’re fully charged and elemental resistant in this raw power zone, which does the most awesome and ridiculous thing I’ve seen in D&D in a while: “As an action, you can have the area itself come alive and attack. Make a single weapon attack against any number of creatures within the area, dealing damage against each creature you hit.” This image is freaking awesome, even if the explanation seems to lack what the hit and damage would be, which I’m sure will become clearer in revised editions, but let’s be honest this is level 20 stuff and you’re basically a god drawing on the very soul of the plane you’re on, so do whatever you want! But if I had to guess, it would probably be a proficient attack dealing your Improved Natural Power damage with your element or you just draw on the latent power in your enemies’ bodies and dehydrate and obliterate them!
Disciplines
These are the four awesome Warden archetypes:
Guardian
This is the beefy, up-close and personal Warden with Martial Weapons, Heavy Armour and choice of Combat Training, which is very similar to Fight Styles. Many of the spells are new and offensive and abilities maximise damage, as well as offering protection of others.
Fanatic
Needing nothing save for their fists to unleash their elemental wooparse, these Wardens use magic to ward and charge themselves, and wield the elements for empowered pugilism. These elemental Steer Fighters learn later features comparable to Dhalsim’s reaching punches (without the hyper combo of problematic stereotypes) with Extension Stance and the archetypal Hadouken with Exploding Elements.
Sage
These Wardens are truly one with the magic of nature with an impressive array of spells, access to extra casting on subsequent turns to utilising their Natural Power, and even combined with melee attacks. The natural energy aids their studied steps around enemies and flows through them with such potency they can eventually master a second prime element.
Dragon Guard
There unique Wardens revere, protect and emulate dragons, seeing them as the apotheosis of the raw elemental energy of nature physically manifested. Their spells encapsulate the aspects of the dragon, while their Draconic Influence grants them a skill and a damage type associated with their chosen dragon colour. This influence can be wielded as a blast of energy from the Warden’s mouth, as well as eventually physically manifests itself on their hardened skin and granting a unique Fury of Dragons ability unleashing a portion of the power of their revered dragon type.
The only negative thing I can say about this quadruple of archetypes is that I’m just not going to be able to play them all right, stat, now and I NEED them all. How am I supposed to choose?!
Appendix – Spells
This is a full set of 21 original elemental spells ranging from cantrips to 5th level spells (which is where the Warden tops out as only a secondary caster). All the Spells have the appropriate tags for the various classes’ spell lists they would be available for, and to be honest this repository of spells is worth the asking price on its own, without the phenomenal class and eye-meltingly beautiful art.
The spells range from cantrips like Braise and Douse, which follow the conventions of cantrip damage/ range and the higher level damage adjustments, but with the added awesome elemental flavour of extra damage of the target is wearing metal or outside where the clouds can get them, respectively, through Spells like Entomb, a 1st level evocation spell that attempts to freeze an enemy, giving them levels of Entomb, slowing to stopping them in their tracks if they can’t pass their saves, and Manifest Elements, a 3rd level evocation that imbues your next attack with extra elemental damage of your choice, each with their own added effect such as, “Acid. One piece of nonmagical metal equipment that the target is wearing or wielding immediately corrodes and falls apart, rendering it useless”, which is simply brilliant! All the way to Toxin Well, a 4th level transmutation, which truly messes up a body of water up to 120 gallons, with different effects for contact, dip, submerge, drink or steam – do not drink from the Toxin Well! Lightning Recoil is the 5th level evocation that turns you into a lightning powered live wire dealing massive damage of anyone gets within hugging range.
These are a seriously a well thought out and exciting array of spells for far more the just Wardens!
I just need to take a moment for the Caio Santos cover art, which is simply divine! Truly beautiful and encapsulates the Warden so well!
“The Warden Class has been in development and playtesting for over 4 years, and this is the definitive version, ready for your game!”
This is the quote Fidler has attached to this supplement and let me tell you, the love, care, time and effort gone into making this something unique and simply needed; it existing has absolutely proved it’s need. The elements and time are a flat circle and we’re discussing it now, but it’s surely always existed, right?
“Print and PDF options available! Premium soft cover booklet, ideal for bringing to your DM during session zero and saying “I’m playing this shit.”
This is the other quote, which made me laugh the first time I read it, but honestly I’m reminded of the words of the unfortunately, now right-wing philosopher, who still spoke the truth of this matter: “People say I’m cocky, and I say, “what?! It ain’t bragging mtherfcker if you back it up” (Rock, Kid. “Cocky.” Cocky, Lava/ Atlantic, 2001.)
I’ll be honest with you, I’m always a little hesitant when going into a third-party class or any beyond the standard set. Don’t get me wrong, I’m so often proven wrong, but I do see the various stores absolutely full of extra classes with sketchy reviews, but this. Is. SOMETHING ELSE ENTIRELY!
The ability to have a truly distinct and original core that is intrinsically consistent all the way through, but with the versatility to be utilised in so very many different ways, all the while true to its original conceit; now that’s the true mark of a distinct robust and worthwhile addition to the roster of classes. As far as I’m concerned, it’s canonised and always has and always will in my worlds!
Credits
Lead Designer: Steve Fidler
Design Consultants: Andrew T. Ha (Leuku), Israel Moreira, Laura Hirsbrunner, Nicolo Dela Merced, William Hudson King
Editor: Laura Hirsbrunner
Layout and Graphic Design: Steve Fidler
Cover Art: Caio Santos
Interior Art: Matt Forsyth, Alozo Emata, nyothep, warmtail, Lars Rune, Patrick Langwallner, Pete Linforth, Bob Greyvenstein, Dennis Saputra, Pixabay, Vecteezy, Adobe Stock
Additional Graphics: “5e Classes” cover graphic by Nathanaël Roux
Some artwork © Louis Porter, Jr. Design, used with permission. All rights reserved.
Elite Design Elements ©Rising Phoenix Games Some artwork by www.critial-hit.biz Some artwork used under the CC0 license or Public Domain.
Special Thanks: My thanks go out to the many playtesters over the years who have provided meaningful feedback and championed the Warden class as a worthy addition to their campaigns.
“Print and PDF options available! Premium soft cover booklet, ideal for bringing to your DM during session zero and saying “I’m playing this shit.”
My Affiliate Link:
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/317044/The-Warden-Class-5e?affiliate_id=1507682
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