Class: Hero

The Hero
								Heroism
Level	BAB	FRC	Fort	Ref	Will	Det	Special	Heroic Paths
1	+0	+0	+1	+1	+1	+1	Heroic Knack	1
2	+1	+1	+2	+2	+2	+2	Heroic Knack	1
3	+2	+2	+2	+2	+2	+2		2
4	+3	+3	+3	+3	+3	+3	Heroic Knack	2
5	+3	+3	+3	+3	+3	+3		2
6	+4	+4	+4	+4	+4	+4	Heroic Knack	2
7	+5	+5	+5	+5	+5	+5		3
8	+6	+6	+5	+5	+5	+5	Heroic Knack	3
9	+6	+6	+6	+6	+6	+6		3
10	+7	+7	+6	+6	+6	+6	Hero Talent	3
11	+8	+8	+7	+7	+7	+7		4
12	+9	+9	+8	+8	+8	+8	Hero Talent	4
13	+9	+9	+8	+8	+8	+8		4
14	+10	+10	+9	+9	+9	+9	Hero Talent	4
15	+11	+11	+9	+9	+9	+9		5
16	+12	+12	+10	+10	+10	+10	Hero Talent	5
17	+12	+12	+11	+11	+11	+11		5
18	+13	+13	+11	+11	+11	+11	Hero Talent	5
19	+14	+14	+12	+12	+12	+12		6
20	+15	+15	+12	+12	+12	+12	Hero Talent	6

 

Hero

Link, iconic hero

"I'm here to kick ass and chew bubblegum... and probably save the day."

Adventurers are a varied breed, and the most versatile amongst them is the hero, an individual who has felt the call to wander the world and is willing to pick up whatever tools of the trade are necessary to achieve their goals. Heroes are rarely interested in the more esoteric nature of the sources of their powers, being significantly more action-oriented than their peers. Wherever danger looms, heroes rise up to the challenge, using a combination of their wits, their blades, and whatever tricks they've picked up along the way; all heroes have in common the basic skills and knowledge necessary to get by in a world where dragons roam the skies and untold dangers lurk in the depths.

Heroes are an incredibly varied lot and come from all walks of life; it is entirely possible that the only similarity between two heroes is that they both answered the call and became adventurers. The term "hero" should not be understood as a claim to any particular outlook: heroes run the gamut from the actually heroic to the villainous, from the insightful and introspective to the impulsive and ignorant. Regardless of how they act, however, all heroes have a drive to excel and, from their own beliefs, derive a sense of purpose in the world.

As a hero, you have a few paths from which you can choose. You can choose to be a specialist, focused on one particular set of tools, learning the deepest of its secrets available to heroes; you can go for versatility, learning a wide variety of tricks with a wide variety of applications; or you can choose something in-between, shooting for a middle ground of depth and breadth that gives you a few more options than generalists without the intensity of a specialist. As you gain experience, you can trade out old tricks for new ones, so you never need to be afraid of trying something out: if it doesn't pan out for you, you can always trade it out later.

Special Note: This class is not really intended for players experienced with Trinity, or gaming in general. Instead, it is meant as an introductory class for new players, both for those completely new to gaming and those new to the world of Trinity in particular. That does not mean it is less powerful, or crappier than other classes - on the contrary, it is designed to be a solid addition to a party, able to hold its own against the sorts of things parties find themselves facing. It accomplishes this through being significantly more focused: while the options available to the hero are significantly fewer than other classes, their ability to use all class features at will puts them on a more-or-less even footing.

Game Rule Information

Heroes have the following game statistics.

Force Alignment: None.

Force Resistances: None.

Abilities: Heroes benefit from a variety of ability scores, depending upon the path they wish to follow.

Hit Points at 1st Level: 15 + Con score.

Hit Points at Each Additional Level: 9 + Con modifier.

Healing Surges: 10 + Con modifier.

Starting Age: Simple.

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the hero.

Proficiencies

Weapons: Five weapons of your choice.

Armor: Cloth, leather, and mail.

Implements: Two implements of your choice.

Heroism

Heroes are a versatile lot, able to pick and choose the tricks they learn as they advance in experience. Due to their approach to such abilities, however, heroes do not spend significant time in training halls or being tutored by a mentor: instead, heroes seem to almost effortlessly pick up a few tricks, and are able to use them whenever they like, their drive to excel being the only fuel they need for such abilities.

 

Heroic Paths
Path	Description
Hero of Battle	Focusing on the arts martial, you can gain access to incredibly versatile combat tricks, from defending your allies with your shield to helping them get into position on the field.
Hero of Skill	You are an expert in a set of adventuring tasks, ranging from picking locks to surviving treks through the wilderness to winning hearts and minds of people.
Hero of Magic	You have attuned yourself to the leylines of the world, allowing you to work small magics, such as conjuring flame or healing your allies.
Hero of Psionics	A student of the mind, you have learned to tap into the secrets of the brain, allowing you to perform telepathy or telekinesis.
Hero of Technology	You have dabbled in physics and technology, and you can craft things like tesla cannons or cloak generators.
Hero of the Divine	You are devout and pious, and your patron has seen fit you grant you divine power, such as being able to read souls or work other miracles.
Hero of Nature	The pristine glades and destructive forces of nature weave through you, and you can call upon their powers to manipulate nature, bending earth or lightning to your will.
Hero of Void	The darkness and emptiness of the Void speaks to you, and through you, and with its help you can make yourself invisible or destroy others' memories.
Hero of Time	You have studied the secrets of time, and have unlocked some fraction of its power, letting you speed up allies or trap your foes in non-existent space.
Hero of Memory	You have become attuned to the world memory, and through it you gain access to information without bounds, allowing you to answer questions that utterly stump others.
Hero of Chaos	You have left your fate to chance, and it has smiled upon you, letting you perform actions that seem nonsensical.

 

At first level, you select one heroic path. At 3rd level, and every four levels after, you can choose another heroic path; once you have access to a path, you can start taking heroic knacks related to it (see below).

If you would gain access to a new heroic path, you can choose to forgo it and gain a new heroic knack in its place.

Heroic Knack

Knacks are tricks up your sleeve, things you've learned either from mentors, through experience, or something that just came to you in a dream or during meditation. Regardless of your story pertaining to how you gain them, heroic knacks are abilities you can use.

Once you know a knack, that knack is always available for use. Some specific restrictions may apply - for instance, you can't use your tesla cannon if someone has stolen it - but in general, these abilities are usable at will.

Knacks may have prerequisites, such as other knacks, or that you specifically don't have access to a particular heroic path. Each knack's description will list its prerequisites.

At every odd level, you can trade out a knack you know for another knack of your choice. You have to meet all the prerequisites for the new knack, and you can't forget a knack if you have others that have it listed as a prerequisite.

Hero Talent

At tenth level, and every two levels after, the hero's abilities become greatly expanded. Choose one of the following abilities; unless otherwise stated, each ability can only be selected once.

▶ Knack

You gain another heroic knack of your choice.

Heroic Knacks

The following is a list of heroic knacks, by path.

Hero of Battle

Battle Basics

You gain called shot, crushing blow, and iron shell.

CALLED SHOT On your turn, you can spend a move action to aim. If you do, when you make a ranged physical attack on that turn, you gain a +4 bonus to the d20 roll.

CRUSHING BLOW On your turn, you can spend a move action to wind up. If you do, when you hit with a melee physical attack on that turn, you deal +1 potency damage.

IRON SHELL You gain proficiency with plate armor. While you are wearing plate armor, you gain protect (slash). (A character with the protect status takes half damage from the listed type of physical damage.)

 

Hero of Skill

Test.

Hero of Magic

Magic Basics

You gain fire, cure, and sleep.

FIRE You can conjure a small ball of magical flame to harm your foes or light objects on fire. As a standard action, you can make a magical attack (d20 + your Intelligence modifier + your FRC bonus) against a creature's Reflex defense; the target must be within 30 feet. If you hit, you deal potency 2 fire damage. This spell can also be used to burn objects. The fire created by this spell is hot enough to melt soft metals, like gold, and ignite combustibles.

CURE You can use magical power to heal an ally of their wounds. As a swift action, you let an ally within 30 feet of you spend a healing surge. (When you spend a healing surge, you regain hit points equal to 25% of your maximum hit points, rounded down. Healing surges are regained after a long rest.)

SLEEP You use magic to make a creature feel drowsy and fall asleep. As a standard action, you can make a magical attack (d20 + your Intelligence modifier + your FRC bonus) against a creature's Will defense; the target must be within 30 feet. If you hit, the target falls asleep. A sleeping creature can be roused by loud noises, being roughly handled, or taking damage, but normal noise will not awaken it. The target will stay asleep for 30 minutes unless otherwise awoken.

 

Hero of Psionics

Psionics Basics

You gain biofeedback, precognition, and telepathy.

BIOFEEDBACK You can use your mind to heal your wounds. As a standard action, you can spend a healing surge to gain regen for 5 rounds. (A character with the regen status gains hit points equal to 10% of their maximum hit points at the beginning of their turn. Healing surges are regained after a long rest.)

PRECOGNITION You have brief glimpses of the future that improve your chances of succeeding at tasks. Whenever you roll a d20 and don't like the results, you can spend your swift action to gain a +1 bonus to the roll. You have to decide to use this ability before the effects of your roll have been determined.

TELEPATHY You can communicate with other creatures directly from your mind to theirs. When you talk to a creature, you can declare that you are doing so telepathically. If you do, you do not speak, and no one other than you and the creature you are speaking to know you are communicating. While many people are aware that telepathy exists, most will react with surprise or alarm if you use this ability without warning them first.

 

Hero of Technology

Test.

Hero of the Divine

Test.

Hero of Nature

Test.

Hero of Void

Test.

Hero of Time

Time Basics

You gain alacrity, escape, and float.

ALACRITY You can use temporal energy to speed up a creature. As a standard action, you give a creature the haste status on its next turn; the target of this effect must be within 30 feet of you. (A character with the haste status gains an extra standard action on their turns.)

ESCAPE You can twist and bend space, allowing you to travel instantly from one place to another. As a move action, you can teleport up to your speed. (Teleportation allows you to move from one space to another without crossing the intervening space. You can only teleport to a space you can see.)

FLOAT You can interfere with gravity, allowing you to float above the ground. You gain innate float. (A character with the float status floats a foot above the ground, but still moves and acts as if she were standing on solid ground. If the creature falls, her rate of falling is reduced to 60 feet per round, and takes no fall damage. A creature with this status is treated as though she were flying, and has an effective fly speed of 0 ft.) (An effect with the innate tag means that even if something removes the effect, you immediately regain it.) You can turn this ability on or off as a swift action.

 

Hero of Memory

Test.

Hero of Chaos

Test.

Design Notes

This is intended to be a simple class, both in terms of selecting abilities and in play. Simple does not automatically mean less powerful, but it does mean that we will be limiting the sort of off-the-wall craziness that happens with other classes at higher levels.