To design a Spellcaster Tier 2 ability, begin by deciding if your ability is a Single Target damage/healing spell, AOE damage/healing spell, or in-combat Utility spell. In general, Single Target abilities deal more damage and have stronger secondary effects. Once you have chosen, follow the instructions in the respective section -- and you’re done!
In general, Tier 2 abilities are stronger than Tier 3 abilities. They may be used twice per encounter.
Contents
Single Target
| . | Tier 2 Single Target Damage or Healing | Maximum roll | Minimum roll | Average roll |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Option 1 | 4 + 2d8 | 20 | 6 | 13 |
| Option 2 | 6 + 2d6 | 18 | 8 | 13 |
| Option 3 | 8 + 2d4 | 16 | 10 | 13 |
| Option 4 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 |
Once you’ve chosen an Option for damage / healing output, choose a secondary effect for your Tier 2 ability. Tier 2 abilities do not lock buffs for allies behind healing-only spells; in other words, you can deal damage and buff an ally with a Tier 2 ability. If you choose a secondary effect, your damage is decreased by 2.
Secondary Effects
- Target is rooted in place, and cannot move for two turns
- Target takes -3 to all Attack rolls for one turn
- Target takes -3 to all Defense rolls for one turn
- Target takes 2 damage each turn, for 3 turns
- Target takes -5 to Dexterity, Strength, Knowledge, Stamina, Charisma OR Arcana checks for two turns
- Target takes an additional 5 damage if they are of the type your spells gain an attack bonus against
- A nearby ally (or the target) can make a short-range teleport
- A nearby ally (or the target) gains +3 to all Attack rolls for one turn
- A nearby ally (or the target) gains +3 to all Defense rolls for one turn
- A nearby ally (or the target) deals an additional +2 damage each turn when they hit with an ability, for 3 turns
- A nearby ally (or the target) gains +5 to Dexterity, Strength, Knowledge, Stamina, Charisma OR Arcana checks for two turns
Special Note for Single Target Hybrid Damage / Healing Abilities
If you would like to deal damage and heal in one ability, you can. Choose Option 1, 2, 3, or 4 from the table above for your base damage or healing. Your secondary effect will be “deals 7 damage” or “deals 7 healing”.
Multi Target (AOE)
There are four options for damaging/healing Tier 3 Abilities. For convenience of player choice, you can see the minimum and maximum rolls made possible by each option, and the average roll that each option has.
| . | Tier 2 AOE Damage or Healing | Maximum roll | Minimum roll | Average roll |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Option 1 | 3 + d8 | 11 | 4 | 7.5 |
| Option 2 | 4 + d6 | 10 | 5 | 7.5 |
| Option 3 | 5 + d4 | 9 | 6 | 7.5 |
| Option 4 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
Once you’ve chosen an Option for damage / healing output, choose a secondary effect for your AOE Tier 2 ability. If you choose a secondary effect, your damage is decreased by 3.
Secondary Effects
- Target is rooted in place, and cannot move for two turns
- Target takes -3 to all Attack rolls for one turn
- Target takes -3 to all Defense rolls for one turn
- Target takes 2 damage each turn, for 3 turns
- Target takes -5 to Dexterity, Strength, Knowledge, Stamina, Charisma OR Arcana checks for two turns
- Target takes an additional 5 damage if they are of the type your spells gain an attack bonus against
- A nearby ally (or the target) can make a short-range teleport
- A nearby ally (or the target) gains +3 to all Attack rolls for one turn
- A nearby ally (or the target) gains +3 to all Defense rolls for one turn
- A nearby ally (or the target) deals an additional +2 damage each turn when they hit with an ability, for 3 turns
- A nearby ally (or the target) gains +5 to Dexterity, Strength, Knowledge, Stamina, Charisma OR Arcana checks for two turns
Special Note for AOE Hybrid Damage / Healing Abilities
If you would like to deal damage and heal in one AOE ability, you can. Choose Option 1, 2, 3, or 4 from the table above for your base damage or healing. Your secondary effect will be “deals 4 damage” or “deals 4 healing”.
Utility
As a spellcaster, you can choose to forgo dealing damage or healing to create a Tier 2 ability with in-combat Utility. Buffs for allies usually last two turns, and debuffs for enemies usually last one turn (depending on the strength of the buff/debuff). You can choose any effect from this list or create your own with DM approval:
Utility Effects
- The caster teleports an enemy a short distance
- The caster “steals” a Tier 2 ability from an ally or enemy and uses it once
- All allies gains 5 extra hit points from any healing abilities for one round
- All allies gain +7 to their next skill check (Arcana, Dexterity, Strength, Stamina, Knowledge, OR Charisma)
- All allies gain +5 to all Defense OR Attack rolls for one turn
- All enemy targets take a -5 penalty to all Defense OR Attack rolls for one turn
- All enemy targets cannot heal for one turn
- Conjure a creature that has 10 hit points and deals the same damage or healing as your basic attack, with a +2 bonus to attack rolls.
- Conjure a wall that lasts for three rounds, preventing movement and line of sight.