Back in March, I was playing a lot of Torchlight II, and I created an Outlander class for D&D Next, because arcane archers and creepy gunslingers are awesome as hell. Now that we have the last D&D Next rules set we’re going to get until actual publication (presumably), I’m updating all of my homebrewed content, so here’s the Outlander. As before, it is a blatant reskin of the monk, without unarmed damage scaling (because Outlanders use weapons) or any immunities (because immunities are bad, mmkay?). The previous design was (not by intent) awfully close to my revised warlock. In Aurikesh, Outlanders are more or less the weapon-using kindred of Warlocks – much less discipline on the magical front, a bit more in the way of weird tricks and resilience to hostile effects.

The other major deviation from the monk design is the more restrictive approach to Paths used here, as opposed to the very open design of the Way of the Four Elements. I’m not sure how I feel about this, and at some point in the future I may change the Outlander to work more like the monk in this regard. I would have to create a new Path option as an alternative to the putative “Way of the Four Nightmares,” and I don’t have clear ideas on that point at present. The current design doesn’t offer options upon leveling, and that’s not my general preference.

Outlander, Version 2

An outlander is a warrior who has developed a mystical connection with bows or starlock weapons. Most outlanders are drifters, either righting wrongs, creating havoc, or both wherever their travels take them. They tend to remain lightly armored, and they place their greatest trust in their preferred weapons. (Think “arcane ranger.”)

Creating an Outlander

You can create an outlander quickly by following these suggestions.

Background: Bounty Hunter
Equipment: Starlock musket, dagger, 40 bullets, adventurer’s kit, 92 gp

THE OUTLANDER

Creating an Outlander
Hit Dice: 1d8 per Outlander level
Hit Points at 1st level: 8 + Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 + Constitution modifier per level after 1st

Proficiencies
Armor: Light and Medium armor
Weapons: Simple weapons, light crossbow, heavy crossbow, longbow, starlock pistol, starlock musket, starlock rifle, blowgun, bolas
Tools: Gaming Set
Saving Throws: Dexterity, Intelligence
Skills: Choose two of Sleight of Hand, Stealth, Arcana, Religion, Survival

Arcane Gifts
Your training allows you to perform unusual feats of magic, called Arcane Gifts. In this way you can make a devastating strike against an opponent, aim with supernatural clarity, or one of many other abilities. Your Outlander level determines the number of Arcane Gifts you have, as shown on the table above. You recover all expended Arcane Gifts when you complete a short rest or a long rest. When one of your Arcane Gifts forces an opponent to make a saving throw, the DC is 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence bonus.

Cunning Defense
Your wits grant you extraordinary combat awareness to protect yourself from harm. Benefit: While you are wearing no armor and are not using a shield, your Armor Class equals 10 + your Dexterity modifier + your Intelligence modifier.

Shadow Power
All outlanders can empower their attacks by expending an arcane gift; there is little mystery in simple slaughter. Benefit: Following any successful weapon attack, the Outlander can spend an Arcane Gift to deal additional damage, equal to the weapon’s damage die plus the Outlander’s Intelligence modifier.

Outlander Tradition
There are as many kinds of outlanders as there are nations of the world. Maybe more. These are a few of them. Save DC is based on Intelligence. Use of Outlander Traditions is powered by your Arcane Gifts.

• Death – The Adept Path of Bone and Shroud: Outlanders on the Path of Bone and Shroud learn to bind necrotic power to their arrows or bullets, and ward themselves from harm with the stillness of the grave. It is chiefly a defensive path. 
• The Fey – The Adept Path of Mask and Mirror: Outlanders on the Path of Mask and Mirror learn some of the tricks of fey-pact warlocks and imitate the powers of the fey themselves. It is a balanced path of offense and utility.
• The Infernal – The Adept Path of Flame and Blood: Outlanders on the Path of Flame and Blood have learned some of the lore of Hell, and bind some of its malevolent power into their arrows or bullets. It is primarily focused on dealing damage.
• The Stars Are Right – The Adept Path of the World’s Ending: Outlanders on the Path of the World’s Ending derive their arcane power from that which lies beyond both planets and constellations. It is primarily focused on dealing damage. 

Marksman’s Trance
Outlanders learn to slip into a momentary trance, which allows them to succeed in extraordinary acts of precision.

Benefit: The Outlander may spend an Arcane Gift to gain advantage on any attack roll against a single target. Despite its name, this ability can apply to melee attacks as well as ranged attacks. In non-combat situations such as trick shooting, this ability may extend to multiple attacks (at the DM’s discretion), but it never does so in actual combat.

Knowledge of the Nightmare
Familiar as they are with the dark and unsettling things of the world, Outlanders are hardened against nightmarish things.

Benefit: The Outlander gains advantage on all saving throws against fear. Additionally, the Outlander may expend an Arcane Gift to gain a bonus of 1d6 on any skill check that pertains to knowledge of forbidden lore.

Torment
Upon scoring a critical hit with any attack, the Outlander may inflict additional psychic torment upon her opponent. The opponent must succeed a Intelligence saving throw against DC (8 + Outlander’s proficiency bonus + Outlander’s Int bonus) or become Restrained and Frightened until the end of your next turn. This saving throw is a fear effect.

Uncanny Dodge
At 7th level, the Outlander’s agility is instinctive. When you make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half damage from an effect, you instead take no damage if you succeed on the saving throw, and only half damage if you fail.

Improved Shadow Power
The Outlander’s Shadow Power gifts now deal a further weapon damage die, and the Outlander adds his Constitution to the damage as well.

Fortification of the Will
The Outlander gains proficiency in Wisdom saving throws. When the Outlander is affected by any ongoing effect that allows an Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma saving throw, she may reflexively spend an Arcane Gift as a free action on her turn to reroll her saving throw, once per round; this is allowed even if the effect otherwise prevents the target from using free actions. If the effect normally allows saving throws once per round, such as hold person, the Outlander still gains one additional saving throw beyond the one normally granted.

Tradition Features

The Adept Path of Bone and Shroud
3: Curse of the Grave
6: Death’s Veil

The Adept Path of Mask and Mirror
3: Dart of the Poison-Fey
6: Hidden Path

The Adept Path of Flame and Blood
3: Baneful Rune
6: Hellfire Shot

The Adept Path of the World’s Ending
3: Unbearable Insight
6: Unleash the Horror

Baneful Rune
You draw a rune of infernal power on a square adjacent to you, and expend one arcane gift. Any creature watching you sees it flare with power, but it fades from sight after one round. Any creature entering that square other than you takes 2d10 fire damage and is blinded until the end of its next turn.

Curse of the Grave
When you hit with a ranged attack that uses your Shadow Power gift, your target must make a Constitution saving throw. On a failure, the damage from the target’s attacks are minimized until the beginning of your next turn.

Dart of the Poison-Fey
When you make a ranged attack using Shadow Power, the additional damage you deal is poison-based, and your target must make a Constitution saving throw. On a failure, the target is paralyzed until the beginning of your next turn.

Death’s Veil
As a reaction when you take damage, you can expend an arcane gift to magically reduce the damage to 0.

Hellfire Shot
When you make a ranged attack, you may expend an Arcane Gift to cause the bullet, arrow, or other projectile to explode into a gout of hellfire. This creates a 15-foot cone of magical fire originating from you. Each creature in the cone takes 2d8 fire damage, or half damage on a successful Dexterity saving throw. Resolve the initial shot normally as well.

Hidden Path
In place of your movement, you may expend an arcane gift to teleport up to 40 feet away, to a location within line of sight. The square you previously occupied is filled with smoke that grants concealment; the smoke dissipates after one round.

Unbearable Insight
In your travels, you’ve seen and heard things that mortals were not meant to know. Speaking aloud, you utter a small part of one of these mysteries, expending an arcane gift. Your allies within 30 feet take 2d6 psychic damage, while enemies within 30 feet take 5d6 psychic damage. All targets may attempt Intelligence saving throws for half damage.

Unleash the Horror
When you make a ranged attack that drops a target to 0 hit points or fewer, you may expend one arcane gift. That creature dies, and from its corpse a horrifying aberration rises under your command. The Medium-sized creature has (4 hit points x your Outlander level), and shares your AC and saving throws. It flies at a speed of 40 feet, and may make a magical attack at (2 + your Int bonus) that deals 1d8 psychic damage and forces the target to make a Wisdom saving throw or become frightened for one round.

Each round at the end of your turn it makes an Intelligence saving throw against DC 14; if it fails this saving throw it dies immediately. It automatically passes this saving throw on the round it rises, and it makes this saving throw with advantage on any round that it deals damage.

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