Justiciar
An elf stares into the eye sockets of a lich who has been kidnapping locals as sacrifices for a dark ritual. The air is thick with necromantic magic, the lich preparing to raise a great army of the undead. With a quick flick of his hands, the elf creates a cylinder of arcane energy around the lich and charges in, sword and shield at the ready.
A fae charged with war crimes stands at the center of an arena, solemn witnesses in robes and armor all around him. He is armed with exceptionally made equipment, preparing for his trial by combat. A human with an enormous sword separates from the crowd. Something about her frightens the fae, a mien of quiet confidence and cold calculation emanates from her. Off to the side of the room, a gavel bangs, and the human wreathes her blade in arcane energies. She removes the fae’s head in one swing. He was guilty, and he was spared pain. It was a merciful execution, a mercy he didn’t deserve.
A gnome wizard stands trial in a courtroom for reckless endangerment of his apprentices. A tiefling defends him, laying out evidence to prove his innocence. A dragonborn prosecutor rebuts, exhibiting a list of injuries and the circumstances leading to them. The tiefling provides the best defense possible, but the gnome knew his fate long before he walked into the court. He should have known better than to send his 16-year-old apprentice to retrieve those mushrooms from the Underdark!
Justiciars are a unique mix of soldier and lawyer. They are members of Arcane Justice and enforce the laws of magical practice as set by the Prime Concilium . These arcane law officers spend years in study and training to reach peak physical, mental, and magical conditioning, and it shows when you run afoul of them.
Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier
Officer of the Court
Every justiciar is an officer of Arcane Justice, but begins life in the organization as a mere student, learning all manner of minutiae in not only magical law, but the strengths and weaknesses of all manner of magical creatures they can expect to encounter in the outer world. After passing extensive tests on these materials, the student advances to martial training, applying her knowledge of all manner of creatures to practical applications of how to subdue and slay them, and learning in what situations it is appropriate to do either. Only after completing long years of both these trainings is a student adopted into the Arcane Justice as an apprentice, a role in which he or she is allowed to journey into the wide world as a representative of the Justice, and begin practicing a justiciar’s unique style of arcane pursuits.The Arcane Justice
Arcane Justice is a massive, complex organization centralized in Arcania but slowly spreading to other cities around Aloran. But it is also an organization that justiciars see as a brotherhood of those who dedicate their lives to making the world a better place. The lowest-ranking justiciars are apprentices, those who are deemed worthy of entering the Justice but have not yet made their place within it. When an apprentice distinguishes himself, he is allowed to join his choice of the Justice’s divisions: the Division of Defense, where protection is paramount to holy script and all creatures are ensured fair representation; the Division of Execution, where justiciars practice the most efficient and merciful methods for ending the lives of the convicted; the Division of Enforcement, where investigation and street-level watch keeps the people safe; the Division of Prosecution, where evidence is compiled and cases are made against defendants; and the Division of Reformation, where convicted criminals deemed capable of atonement are brought to learn from a better example. There is always healthy rivalry between the divisions, but pervading that rivalry is a sense of mutual respect. A justiciar who distinguishes himself in his division is often promoted to the rank of Judge, which, in addition to raising him to a command position within his division, allows him to preside over trials, both in those of the court and by combat. The five most honorable of Judges ascend to the seat of High Judge, a council that makes the Justice’s executive decisions and protocols, and that presides over cases of great importance or controversy.Creating a Justiciar
As you build your justiciar, think about why your character decided to spend years of his or her life studying and training to enforce magical law. Did an evil wizard destroy your village or steal your family’s sacred artifact? Was your farm ransacked constantly by a troop of kobolds? Did an adventuring party’s fight with a vampire in your city end up destroying your family’s local business? Perhaps someone just told you that you couldn’t hack it and, in your extreme stubbornness, you had to prove them wrong. It’s an arduous and grueling process to join the Arcane Justice, and many don’t cut it, so something about your character needs to have given you the motivation to see it through.Quick Build
You can make a justiciar quickly by following these suggestions. First make Strength or Dexterity your highest ability score, depending on whether you want to focus on melee weapons or on archery (or finesse weapons). Your next highest ability score should be Intelligence. Second, choose the city watch or cloistered scholar background.Justiciar
Hit Points
Hit Dice: d10 per Justiciar level
Hit Points at first Level: 10 + Con Mod
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d10 (or 6) + your Constitution modifier per justiciar level after 1st
Proficiences
Armor: Light armor, medium armor, heavy armor, shields
Weapons: Simple weapons, martial weapons
Tools: None
Saving Throws: Intelligence, Wisdom
Skills: Choose two from Arcana, History, Insight, Investigation, Nature, and Perception
Class Features
Judicial Education
In the schooling you underwent to become worthy of entering the Arcane Justice, you spent hours poring over ancient lore books and exploring the dark corners of old libraries, granting you a vast knowledge of cultural mores and societal laws. Over the course of a short rest, you can attune to a settlement you’re in as if it were a magical item. You spend this time studying your Tome of Magical Law, reminding yourself of the culture if you studied it previously, or extrapolating its customs from similar cultures you’ve studied. While attuned to a settlement this way, you can ascertain the laws and norms of the society without making an ability check. This allows you to determine if an action your party plans to take in the area would be considered illegal or faux pas, or if another creature you’re witnessing is breaking the settlement’s laws or customs. If your Tome of Magical Law is ever lost or destroyed, you can create a new one over the course of three days work (8 hours each day), using 25 gp of leather, paper, ink, and other raw materials. Alternatively, you can purchase a new one at any suitable library or bookstore for 100 gp. Once you reach 17th level in this class, when you attune to a settlement, you can choose to have it not count toward your limit of attuned magical items. You can be attuned to only one settlement in this manner at a time.Binding Cell
You can manipulate arcane energies to create a cell that holds and repels creatures. As an action, you can choose a point within 30 feet that you can see, creating a 5-foot-radius, 10-foot-high cylinder centered at that point. If there isn’t enough room for your cell, its radius and height reduce until it is of the maximum possible size in the space available. A creature hostile to you that attempts to pass through the cell’s barrier must make a Charisma saving throw (DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier). On a successful saving throw, the creature passes through the barrier. On a failed save, the creature can’t penetrate the barrier, and its speed drops to 0 for the remainder of the turn. A creature must make this saving throw each time it attempts to pass through the barrier. A creature that can cast at least one spell makes this saving throw with disadvantage. Alternatively, a creature pushed or thrown across the cell’s barrier by a creature hostile to it passes through the barrier without making a saving throw. The cell lasts 1 minute. Your cell dissipates when you use this feature to create a new cell, you use a bonus action on your turn to dismiss it, or when you become unconscious or die. You can create a number of cells equal to the number shown for your justiciar level in the Cells column of the Justiciar table. You regain all of your expended cells when you finish a long rest. When you reach 11th level in in this class, your cell becomes a 10-foot-radius, 20-foot-high cylinder.Fighting Style
At 2nd level, you adopt a particular style of fighting as your specialty. Choose one of the following options. You can’t take a fighting style 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.Close Quarters Shooting
When making a ranged weapon attack against a target within 20 feet of you, being within 5 feet of a hostile creature doesn’t impose disadvantage on the attack roll, and the attack ignores half and three-quarters cover.Defense
While you are wearing armor, you get 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.Great Weapon Fighting
When you roll a 1 or 2 on a damage die for an attack you make with a melee weapon that you are wielding with two hands, you can reroll the die and must use the new roll, even if the new roll is a 1 or 2. The weapon must have the two-handed or versatile property for you to gain this benefit.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.Two-Weapon Fighting
When you engage in two-weapon fighting, you can add your ability modifier to the damage of the second attack.Judiciary Division
At 3rd level, you are promoted from your position as an apprentice to a specific role within the Arcane Justice. Choose a division: the Division of Defense, the Division of Enforcement, the Division of Execution, the Division of Prosecution, or the Division of Reformation. Your choice grants you features when you choose it at 3rd level, and again at 5th, 7th, 14th, 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 an ability score above 20 using this feature.Applied Study
At 6th level, you learn to use your encyclopedic knowledge of magical lore and creatures to quickly deduce an opponent’s traits. You can recognize a non-shapechanging creature’s type without making an ability check, unless it is using magic to disguise its nature. As a bonus action, you can further study a creature within 60 feet of you that you can see, learning your choice of the following without making an ability check:- One type of damage the creature is vulnerable to, if any.
- One type of damage the creature is resistant or immune to, if any.
- One condition the creature is immune to, if any.
- If the creature is resistant or immune to bludgeoning, piercing, and/or slashing damage from nonmagical weapons.
- If the creature is in its true form.
- The creature’s Challenge Rating.
Prohibitive Cell
Beginning at 10th level, when a creature hostile to you attempts to teleport out of your cell, attempts to open a portal to a location or plane outside your cell, or otherwise attempts to escape the cell by magical means, the creature must make a Charisma saving throw as though it’s attempting to pass through the cell’s barrier. On a failed save, its attempt fails and has no effect.Punitive Cell
Starting at 11th level, your more potent arcane abilities begin to bolster the power of your cell, much to the chagrin and suffering of your enemies. Whenever a hostile creature begins its turn inside your cell, it takes 1d10 force damage.Judicial Arcanum
At 13th level, you are recognized by the High Judges as worthy of learning the Arcane Justice’s great magical secrets, called arcanums. Choose one 4th-level spell from the justiciar spell list as this arcanum. You can cast your arcanum once without expending a spell slot, and you must finish a long rest before you can do so again. You can also expend an arcanum to cast a different justiciar spell you know at a level corresponding to the level of the expended arcanum’s spell. For example, if you chose the 4th-level spell banishment as an arcanum, and you also know the magic missile spell, you can expend this arcanum to cast magic missile as a 4th-level spell without expending a spell slot. Additionally, when you finish a long rest, you can spend 10 minutes studying a Tome of Magical Law to replace your arcanum spell with a different one of the same level from the justiciar spell list. At 17th level, you gain a 5th-level justiciar spell of your choice that can be cast this way. You regain all uses of your Judicial Arcanum when you finish a long rest. When you spend 10 minutes studying a Tome of Magical Law at the end of a long rest, you can replace one or both of your arcanum spells.Arcane Safeguard
By 15th level, you’ve become powerful and careful enough that you’ve learned to ward yourself against the effects of spells. You have resistance to damage from spells, and advantage on saving throws against spells.Judge’s Cell
At 20th level, your power, focus, and skill make you worthy of the title of Judge. When you create a cell, choose one creature you can see. Until you create a new cell, that creature automatically fails all Charisma saving throws it makes to attempt to pass through your cell’s barrier.Starting Equipment
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:
- (a) leather armor, (b) scale mail, or (c) chain mail
- (a) a martial weapon and a shield or (b) two martial weapons
- (a) a longbow and 20 arrows, (b) a hand crossbow and 20 bolts, or (c) 4 javelins
- (a) a dungeoneer’s pack or (b) a scholar’s pack
- a copy of the Tome of Magical Law
Spellcasting
Court Magic
By the time you reach 2nd level, you’ve begun applying the arcane knowledge from your study to cast spells. However, justiciars do not have the same relationship with magic as many other orders. You have learned to cultivate a small reserve of quickly recovering arcane energy that you use to augment your martial prowess and subdue your foes. See chapter 10 in the Player’s Handbook for the general rules of spellcasting and the end of this document for the justiciar spell list.Spell Slots
The Justiciar table shows how many spell slots you have. The table also shows what the level of those spell slots is; all of your spell slots are the same level. To cast one of your justiciar spells of 1st level or higher, you must expend a spell slot. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a short or long rest. For example, when you are 5th level, you have 2 2nd-level spell slots. To cast the 1st-level spell thunderwave, you must expend one of those spell slots, and you cast it as a 2nd-level spell.Spells Known of 1st Level and Higher
At 1st level, you know two 1st-level spells of your choice from the justiciar spell list. The Spells Known column of the Justiciar table shows when you learn more justiciar spells of your choice of 1st level and higher. A spell you choose must be of a level no higher than what’s shown in the table’s Slot Level column for your level. When you reach 9th level, for example, you can learn a new justiciar spell, which can be 1st, 2nd, or 3rd level. Additionally, when you gain a level in this class, you can choose one of the justiciar spells you know and replace it with another spell from the justiciar spell list, which must also be of a level for which you have spell slots.Spellcasting Ability
Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for your justiciar spells, so you use your Intelligence whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Intelligence modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a justiciar spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier
Subclass Options
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