Home

Welcome to Everyday Heroes!

Picture the world outside your window. Then imagine taking part in your favorite movie or novel or streaming series set in the modern era, complete with fantastic action, danger, car chases, and explosions. And even better—you’re the hero of the story, setting out to stop the villains and save the day. You can do all that and more with the Everyday Heroes™ roleplaying game!

Everyday Heroes is a game inspired by action movies and the tales of adventure found in novels, comic books, and on television. It’s a cooperative game of the imagination where anything can happen and adventure abounds.

Food trucks, smartphones, tablet computers, electric cars, social media, same-day delivery . . . you know all about the modern world because you live there. But seen through a cinematic lens, the mundane and commonplace become exciting. The world takes on all the drama and adventure of a modern fantasy, just like a technothriller, spy novel, or an action movie where you’re the hero of the story. That’s what roleplaying is all about!

When you play Everyday Heroes, you create a fictional character to interact with the story that you experience through the action of the game. That character may be an elite government agent, a private investigator, an ex-cop, or former soldier; the fantasy tropes of the action-adventure genre provide a terrific milieu for amazing adventures. One person, the Game Master (Gm), runs the villains and other characters in the story, while the rest of the group plays characters of their own devising. You and your friends play the heroes of the story, trying to overcome challenges your GM sets before you—just like the heroes in an action movie.

Think about playing characters inspired by your favorite heroes from books, comics, movies, and TV shows set in the modern age. Whether those are hard-bitten soldiers, brilliant detectives, dedicated nurses and doctors, daring reporters, cunning tacticians, genius masterminds, dashing con men, or just people willing to put themselves in harm’s way for the sake of others, those heroes are who this book is designed to allow you to create and the GM to challenge with action and adventure. So fasten your fictional seatbelt, check your imaginary magazine, and get ready for unforgettable moments with Everyday Heroes!

On The Shoulders of Giants

Like any creative effort, Everyday Heroes owes a great deal to the amazing projects that came before it. The fantastic Modern System Reference Document released in 2002 inspired our theme and demonstrated how to model the real world in a game. We like to think of Everyday Heroes as its spiritual successor. For rules, we used the strong foundation of the most recent, fifth edition of the System Reference Document, whose roots extend to the dawn of roleplaying games. The team at Evil Genius Games melded these influences with our own inspiration and experiences to create the Everyday Heroes Rpg.

What You Need to Play

You don’t need much to play Everyday Heroes:

• Some friends or friendly strangers to play with, whether in person or online
• A copy of the Everyday Heroes Core Rulebook
• A set of polyhedral dice (real or virtual), including a d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, and d20
• Pencils, pens, and paper (real or virtual)

Welcome to Everyday Heroes

Beyond that, a wide variety of toys and tools exist to enhance your roleplay experience. You can use miniatures to represent your heroes. Virtual tabletops provide a way to play online. For in-person play, elaborate battle mats and 3-D terrain can provide a level of realism to focus on. You can also add music, lighting, and all kinds of props. We recommend using whatever enhances the game experience for you and your friends.

How to Use This Rulebook

This set of core rules is designed to be a toolbox, or perhaps a toybox, filled with inspiration and guidance for creating a grand adventure.

The rules of the game give you a framework to build on. Everyday Heroes presents enough rules to make combat a tactical challenge, and enough flexibility to allow for strong storytelling during firefights, car chases, and any other action scene you can imagine. Everyday Heroes seeks to inspire you and make the act of bringing stories to life simple and fun for everyone at the gaming table.

The setting for Everyday Heroes is the world we all live in, with plenty of space for you to imagine whatever differences you desire and whatever changes create exciting opportunities for adventure. Whether you want to experience a gritty story of heroism torn from today’s headlines, re-create a favorite movie franchise, or throw modern heroes into adventures in distant times and places, Everyday Heroes can take you there!

This site is divided into the following sections:

• Equipment
• Feats
• Game Mastering
• Home
• Legal

Part I: Heroes describes everything you need to know to create characters for Everyday Heroes. Character Creation (Backgrounds, Feats, Equipment and other rules that are involved in making or advancing a PC)

Part II: Game Rules includes the fine details on combat, chases, and how to play the game. This includes all rules the GM needs to determine if something a player tries succeeds or fails, as well as all of the challenges a PC might face (enemies, hazards etc.) as well as potential rewards for adventuring and defeating the challenges the GM presents.

Part III: Mastering the Game provides a toolbox of advice on how to run the game, special rules, and ideas for adventures.

Introduction to Roleplaying

People have been playing roleplaying games for almost 50 years, sharing imagination, group stories, and all sorts of fantastic adventures. In a roleplaying game, you imagine yourself in another life, another world, or another reality. Playing alongside friends, family, and even strangers, you share the experience of a fantastic adventure, overcoming challenges and laughing at the amazing things that happen along the way.

What is an RPG?

A roleplaying game, or Rpg, is a game of collaborative exploration and storytelling in which everyone has an important part to play in making a memorable adventure as unique as the people experiencing it. It’s a great way to make new friends and expand the horizons of your experience and imagination.

The game rules represent a random element of fate in the story. They help adjudicate fights and determine success or failure when heroes attempt risky or dangerous actions. This provides an element of the unknown for both players and Gms. Chance creates surprise and drama. If something bad does befall a hero, it’s not the GM being mean, it’s just the luck of the dice at play.

These days, it’s easy to see what a roleplaying game session is like. Search for “Actual Play Tabletop Roleplaying Videos” on the Internet. You’ll find lots of great examples of people playing games and having fun. While every roleplaying game is a little different, they all follow the same basic formula to tell an interactive group story.

New to Roleplaying Games?

On behalf of the entire Everyday Heroes team, welcome! As a player, you create a character to play in an adventure. As the GM describes the scene, you choose what your hero will do and how they will do it. You can create any kind of hero you want to be. You can play yourself, a famous character from a movie, or someone totally unique, born from your imagination.

After you finish this Introduction turn to Creating Heroes. Your character, or “hero,” is the way you interface with the game. Creating a character is a great way to learn the basic rules and key concepts behind Everyday Heroes.

Don’t worry about making mistakes. The rules make it difficult to create a poorly built hero. Your goal is to have fun and experience an adventure, and there are no winners or losers in this game as long as everyone enjoys the story.

Once you create a hero, read through the game rules. You don’t need to remember everything or master the rules all at once. Just look at your character sheet and make note of what you need to run your hero.

We designed these rules to teach you the game, but the best way to learn is to jump in and play with someone who already knows how. If you don’t know anyone, find a group at your local game store or look online for videos of games being played, whether Everyday Heroes or a similar roleplaying game.

If you’re a player interested in creating and playing a hero, all you need to know are the basic rules and any specific rules that apply to your character. If you decide to take the plunge and become a GM, then you’ll need to learn all of the rules, or at least become familiar enough with this book so you know where to find a rule when you need it.

New to Fifth Edition (5E) Rules?

Creating a character is still the best way to get started. This introduction provides a quick tour of the main concepts you need to understand to create your character, and Part II of this book goes into detail about all the rules.

Experienced With 5E Rules?

If you know the 5e rules, then it’s more a matter of noting how the rules differ in Everyday Heroes. The core mechanic of rolling a d20 and adding an ability and proficiency modifier are the same, as are the essentials of combat. Firearms and modern equipment introduce new rules, tactics, and actions to the game. Creating characters has some twists unique to Everyday Heroes. The rules for chases and vehicles, while based on core 5e mechanics, also employ new systems.

Variations on the Theme

Important differences between 5e SRD rules and Everyday Heroes include the following:

• Classes are broken up into two components: archetype and class. Each archetype offers several classes to choose from.
• Defense replaces Armor Class. Defense is based on a hero’s primary ability score and an archetype defense bonus.
• Feats are a core part of the game, rather than an optional rule.
• Multiclassing is accomplished through feats.
• Archetypes and classes go up to 10th level.
• Skills, equipment, conditions, and other game elements have been adjusted for play in the modern world.
• For a more extensive listing, see appendix A.

Want to be a Game Master?

Every game requires a Game Master. The GM sets the stage for adventure, directs the story, adjudicates the rules, and makes sure everyone has a great time. Being a GM is both challenging and rewarding. You describe the world and events that players encounter. Gms need a strong understanding of the rules to answer players’ questions and keep the game moving. Finally, they need to be able to give players a feeling of being challenged while also rewarding them for their exploits and giving them the space in the story to express their own imaginations.

Ideally, a GM knows the rules inside and out, or at least knows how to find a specific rule when they need it. Still, we designed sections of the book specifically for the player willing to take on this important role. It’s essential you grasp the game rules presented in Part II to guide your players and keep the game moving. Part III is exclusively for Gms, containing support, guidance, and essential resources you may need.

Being a GM is incredibly rewarding. You set the stage for exciting stories and direct how each story unfolds through the actions and additions of your players. You get to make your players smile, laugh, and enjoy themselves as your group story plays out. Game Masters also sometimes get free pizza from grateful players!

Example of Roleplaying

Five friends are gathered around a dining room table. They have a few game books, some dice, snacks, drinks, and other gaming staples. Emma is the GM, and her four friends each play a hero of their own creation. The adventure story concerns a team of private investigators looking into insurance fraud and possibly murder. (See the end of this section for a brief explanation of the game elements.)

Game Master Emma: You arrive outside the shipping warehouse around 1 AM. Lights around the perimeter of the building illuminate the area, and a few cars are parked in the lot adjacent to the building. You don’t see any other signs of activity. What do you want to do?

• Danny: We should spend some time watching the place, see if we spot any guards.
• Susan: Okay, but the longer we wait, the more likely someone will wander by.
• Jen: I’ve got night-vision goggles, so I put those on and look around carefully. It’s got a zoom lens, too. Does that help?
• GM Emma: Sure, I’ll give you advantage on perception in this situation. Give me a Wisdom (Perception) check.
• Jen: Okay. (Because she has advantage, Jen rolls two d20 dice instead of the usual one and takes the better roll. She rolled a 6 and an 18, so she takes the 18 and adds her +2 Wisdom modifier and her +2 proficiency bonus.) I got a 22.
• GM Emma: Nice! Okay, as you scan the building, you don’t see any people, but there is a dog lying near the doors to the warehouse, leashed to the railing there. It looks like it might be asleep, but it’s hard to tell.
• Brian: What kind of dog?
• GM Emma: It’s got short black fur and it’s pretty big. Beyond that, it’s hard to tell.
• Brian: We need to avoid alerting that dog. If it starts barking, that’ll bring trouble.
• Susan: Do we see another door somewhere? Or a window, maybe?
• GM Emma: Not from this angle.
• Jen: I’ve got a plan…

A typical roleplaying game works like a conversation. The GM sets the scene, the players describe their actions, and the GM determines what happens. When an element of chance, skill, or luck comes into play, dice are rolled to determine the outcome. And the story unfolds from there!

Regarding Diversity

Evil Genius Games is committed to the idea that games should be enjoyed by everyone. For us, that means both representing a wide range of heroes in our games and encouraging players to express these concepts without any limitations imposed by the rules. For these reasons, we don’t use the rules to model race, gender, sexuality, disability, or similar topics of social identity.

Roleplaying games are fantasy. They’re about having adventures and portraying characters you want to play. Some of us love to play a hero who is basically ourselves with small differences. Others love to play heroes that are wildly different from themselves. We actively encourage both approaches. Diversity isn’t just about accepting who we are, but also who we want to imagine ourselves to be. Play the hero of your imagination and be both respectful and considerate of everyone around the table.

GM’s Discretion

The term “GM’s discretion” appears from time to time in the Everyday Heroes rules. It means that you need to talk to your GM and get their permission before you can do something. The GM has the final say about what you can or can’t do in this sort of situation. Only the GM knows what is right for the adventure or campaign they are running. Gms are encouraged to set reasonable boundaries for the sake of the story, but to allow players the freedom to express their heroes’ abilities and character as they see fit. Players are encouraged to portray their characters as they envision them and avoid intentionally sabotaging the GM’s efforts to offer an exciting adventure.

Style of Play

There is no right way to play a roleplaying game. Everyday Heroes is designed to be flexible so you can mold it to fit your needs. You can use these rules to run a gritty and realistic military campaign, a zany action comedy, or an international spy operation. You will find adaptable elements in the characters, foes, and rules of the game.

That said, when you sit down to play with others, it’s important for everyone to understand the tone and style of the game you’re about to play. Generally, the GM has the most control over this as they lay out the plot and setting, but that doesn’t mean they should ignore the players’ wishes. Ideally, everyone agrees on a central theme and tone to shoot for. That can shift as you play, as long as everyone is having fun.

Everyday Heroes uses traditional game mechanics. Combat can be played tactically if you want, or loose and breezy if you prefer. The level of complexity and the length of combat tends to grow as heroes gain levels. If you want simple gameplay, it’s best to stick to lower-level heroes.

While the rules of the game focus heavily on combat and chases, Everyday Heroes isn’t a “combat game.” It’s first and foremost about telling a story, and many great adventure stories don’t involve combat. But combat is more exciting with a tactical element, and for that, rules are pretty handy.

Playing The Game

Everyday Heroes uses the fifth edition (5e) rules. Gameplay follows a basic pattern of steps:

1. The GM describes the environment and situation.
2. Given that information, the players tell the GM what they want their heroes to do.
3. The GM resolves the heroes’ actions and narrates the results.

To resolve actions, the game uses dice (like the sixsided dice commonly used in other games) with a variety of sides and values.

Polyhedral Dice

Polyhedral dice have been used in roleplaying games since the beginning of the hobby. A set of six polyhedral dice are used in Everyday Heroes: d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, and d20. Wherever you see this kind of notation, the “d” means dice, and the number is how many sides the die has.

The d20 is used a lot in Everyday Heroes. Whether you’re fighting, using skills, avoiding dangers, or just seeing how lucky you are, you roll a d20. The other dice determine how much damage a hero is about to deliver to the bad guys, among other uses.

While a 2-sided die (“d2”) is not used in these core rules, they might appear in a future product. If so, you can roll that on any die and assume odd numbers are 1, and even numbers are 2.

A number before the “d” tells you to roll that size die that many times and add the numbers together. So if the rules say “roll 2d6,” that means roll a six-sided die two times and add the results together. (Or, if you have them, just roll two six-sided dice at the same time.) Sometimes a modifier will appear at the end of a notation, indicated by a + or – sign. For example: Roll 1d6 + 3 means roll a six-sided die once and add 3 to the result.

Percentile Dice: A d100 is rolled by rolling two ten-sided dice. One is the tens place and the other is the ones place. So a roll of 1 and 5 is 15. A roll of 10 on the tens place is treated as 0 unless a 10 is rolled on the second die, in which case the result is 100. Special ten-sided dice with 00–90 are commonly used as the tens die, in which case 00 and 0 is 100.

Rolls, Results, And Modifiers

When you roll a die, the number that shows on the die is the roll. So if the rules say “when you roll a 20 . . . “ it means the actual number appearing on the die.

Modifiers are any values added to or subtracted from a roll.

A bonus is a positive modifier, and a penalty is a negative modifier.

A result is the total after applying modifiers to the roll.

Example: You roll d20 + 4, with the twenty-sided die coming up a 16. That’s your roll. You then add a +4 modifier and get a result of 20.

The Core Mechanics

Most actions in the game are resolved with a simple procedure:

1. Roll a d20.
2. Add any relevant modifiers.
3. Compare the result to a target number.

If the result equals or exceeds the target number, your character succeeds. If the result is lower than the target number, you fail.

Three general rules also apply to all elements of the game:

1. Round down. Unless otherwise noted, whenever you divide a number in the game and end up with a fraction, round down.
2. Specific beats general. All the rules of the game apply except when a talent or feature or feat says otherwise. For example, most firearms use Dexterity to attack, but the heavy gunner class can use Strength to fire the big guns they love.
3. Have fun! The entire point of a roleplaying game is to have a good time. It works best if everyone participating agrees they are all trying to make the game fun for everyone, rather than just themselves.

Roleplaying Game Terminology

If this is your first roleplaying game, or you’re still relatively new to the hobby, you might find this list of terms helpful.

• 5e. This stands for fifth edition and refers to the rules system used by the world’s most well-known fantasy roleplaying game. Everyday Heroes is based on this set of rules, as published under the fifth edition system reference document (SRD).
• Adventure. Any type of story where the heroes face challenges or adversity while pursuing a specific goal. Everyday Heroes adventures based on movies are called Cinematic Adventures™.
• Campaign. A long adventure or series of interconnected adventures where heroes face different challenges over a long period of time.
• Game Master (GM). The storyteller and judge of the rules who guides you through an adventure. The GM creates the world you will explore and everything in it except for the heroes you play.
• Hero. The heroes are the protagonists of the story that the GM will present for everyone’s enjoyment. Players create the heroes and decide what they do to overcome the challenges that come up during their adventures. The term “hero” isn’t meant to imply any sort of moral compass. Your character can be good, bad, or somewhere in between, as long as the rest of your group is okay with how that translates into play.
• Players. Players are the people who create the imaginary heroes and decide what they do in the story the GM presents. You can try to do nearly anything you like in a story, but whether or not it works out how you hope depends on the rules of the game and how the GM adjudicates those rules.
• Team. This term refers collectively to the heroes of the story.

What’s In A Name

The following terms are not rules, but they have specific meanings when used in the context of rules. These are generally used for clarity, but ultimately how they are interpreted is up to the GM. If an attack specifies it affects one target, it can generally also be used against discrete inanimate objects, such as a window, door, baseball, or anything else that could logically be damaged by it.

• Ally: This refers to heroes other than the acting hero, as well as companions, friendly NPCs, or anyone else the acting hero wants to treat as an ally. It specifically excludes the hero themself.
• Character: Any hero or nonplayer character.
• Combatant: Any entity engaged in combat or caught up in a combat situation, including yourself, allies, and opponents.
• Creature: This refers to any living entity or mechanical entity represented in the game rules.
• Hero: A character controlled by a player.
• NPC: A nonplayer character, an entity controlled by the GM.
• Opponent: Any combatant opposing the heroes or trying to do them harm is an opponent.
• Robot: Robots are mechanical entities that can act on their own and are often treated as NPCs rather than as equipment.
• Target: A target is the combatant chosen as the subject of an attack or other combat effect.
• Victim: The subject of a successful attack or other combat effect.

Rules Jargon

This section provides very brief definitions of the benefits from classes, backgrounds, and professions, to help you make decisions during the hero building process.

• Ability Check: A core mechanic of the game, a d20 roll based on one of your ability scores.
• Ability Scores: The essential measures of a hero: Strength (Str), Dexterity (Dex), Constitution (Con), Intelligence (Int), Wisdom (Wis), and Charisma (Cha).
• Action: Something you can do once on your turn, whether attacking an opponent, helping an ally, or searching a room.
• Advantage: When you have advantage, you roll two d20s and use the better result.
• Archetype: The essential type of hero you are: Strong, Agile, Tough, Smart, Wise, or Charming.
• Attack: The basic way you deal with opponents.
• Attack Roll: The roll to determine if you hit your opponents.
• Bonus Action: Something extra you can do once on your turn, usually granted by your class.
• Background: The elements that make you who you are.
• Class: The specific way you express your archetype.
• Conditions: Adverse states that can affect your character during the game, such as Blinded, Distracted, or Stunned.
• Damage: The amount of hurt you deal to opponents.
• Damage Roll: The roll to determine how much hurt your successful attack inflicts on your opponent.
• DC (Difficulty Class): The target number you need to succeed when rolling the dice for checks outside combat.
• Defense: How hard it is to hit you in combat.
• Defense Bonus: A value added to a hero’s defense, as determined by their class and level.
• Disadvantage: When you have disadvantage, you roll two d20s and use the worse result.
• Equipment: Stuff you use. Proficiency with a type of equipment gives you a proficiency bonus with that equipment.
• Expertise: Doubles your proficiency bonus for a skill you’re proficient in.
• Feat: A special way to customize your hero.
• Initiative: A roll that determines the order of combat.
• Hit Dice: Based on your archetype, this determines the die you roll for hit points.
• Hit Points: A measure of how tough you are. The more hit points you have, the longer you can stay in the fight.
• Level: A measure of how powerful you are, from 1 to 10. New characters start at 1st level.
• Profession: What you do for a living.
• Proficiencies: Things your hero is particularly good at. The three types are equipment, saving throws, and skills. If you’re proficient with something, you have a proficiency bonus when doing it.
• Proficiency Bonus: A level-based bonus to things you’re proficient with.
• PV/AV: Penetration Value rates an attack’s ability to penetrate armor, while Armor Value rates armor’s resistance to penetration.
• Reaction: An activity triggered by another effect, like diving for cover from an explosion.
• Round: A timeframe of combat; every combatant gets a turn during a round.
• Saving Throws (Saves): A roll to avoid danger. Proficiency with a save gives you a proficiency bonus on that save.
• Skills: Areas of knowledge used for everyday challenges. Proficiency in a skill gives you a proficiency bonus with ability checks that use that skill.
• Turn: Your time to act during a round.

Creating Heroes

Character creation is one of the joys of any roleplaying game. We’ve done our best to make the rules flexible enough to play a wide variety of modern action heroes. You can re-create your favorite action heroes from the movies, imagine yourself as an action hero, or invent a new hero from your raw imagination. You may have a grand vision, just a core idea, or maybe just a name in mind. Whatever the case, we can help you bring your idea to life within the rules for Everyday Heroes.

You can make a hero by starting with a concept and finding the right options to make it work, or you can let the options inspire you to build a persona and story around the mechanics you choose.

If you’re familiar with 5e, you have a good idea how character creation works. If you’re not familiar with 5e, just follow our step-by-step process. This may seem daunting the first time you do it but don’t worry, we explain each step in all the detail you need.

Your Kind of Hero

Your hero is the protagonist of an Everyday Heroes story or adventure. You can play a hero who never breaks the law and always strives to do good, or you can be a reluctant hero who mostly looks out for themselves but winds up getting involved and saving the day despite their convictions, or anything in between!

Throughout this book, the term “hero” refers to the character you’re playing—regardless of whether the rest of the world considers that character’s actions as heroic. Their decisions drive the story being told by your group.

Make a copy of the Everyday Heroes character sheet at the end of this book or grab a pad of paper and something to write with. Then follow these steps to create a hero. This section presents the basics of character creation. If you want more information or details, refer to the appropriate section later in this rulebook.

Three Approaches

There are two sides to every Rpg character: the way they are represented in the rules, and the way they are represented in your imagination. Ideally, the two aspects blend together and complement one another. But which comes first? Honestly, that’s up to you. Let’s quickly look at three different approaches to creating a hero.

Concept-First Approach

This approach is useful when you already have an idea for what kind of hero you want to make. The Everyday Heroes core rules imagine a world much like our own, seen through the lens of a Hollywood action film. Its heroes are mortal humans without magical powers or supernatural abilities, who are nonetheless destined for a life of adventure, excitement, and drama. Some of our classes are based on action movie archetypes that are not particularly realistic but are nevertheless portrayed as ordinary humans in action cinema.

Building a version of a famous movie character in Everyday Heroes would use this approach. Skim through the various choices and skip things that aren’t a good fit. Once you decide which options might work, look at them in greater detail to see which fits best.

Rules-First Approach

This approach assumes you know the game rules, and you have a notion as to what you want a hero to do in combat. You might want a hero who does impressive damage with unarmed strikes, or a character adept at specific skills. You might spend more time creating a hero this way as you look at synergies between classes, equipment, and feats you could take in the future.

For most starting players, a “rules-first” approach takes much more reading and searching through the rules to know what all your options are before you pick one. If that’s fun for you, go ahead! If not, there’s nothing wrong with just picking options that sound fun or flavorful without reading through everything.

“Just Wing It” Approach

This is as good a way to make a hero as any other. If you don’t know what you want to make, let the process guide you along. Each class, background, and profession has a bit of descriptive text to start it out. If you see something that sounds fun, go for it! It’s hard to make a truly “bad” character in Everyday Heroes so don’t worry about making “bad choices” or letting the GM or other players down. Whatever you do, it should be fun to play and work well with the game.

A Hero In Six Steps

This section of Everyday Heroes is presented in the order that we recommend you use when first creating a character. As you become more familiar with the process, you may choose another order you prefer.

You can reference the Everyday Heroes character sheet while making a hero. It’s a handy way to write down everything you need to record, and it works like a checklist so you know you have covered everything you need to do. The character sheet will help you find information quickly while you’re playing.

Each step includes an example of a player creating a character using the concept-first approach.

Step 1: Concepting Your Character

In a game where you can play anything available in the modern world, either from fiction or real life, where do you start? First, think about what kind of hero you want to play. Do you want to play a sneaky thief who uses skill and cunning while letting others do the fighting for them? Or maybe a former soldier who lets their fists and guns do the talking? Or a detective intent on solving cold cases everyone else has given up on? You could pick a character from your favorite action movie and then modify their background and personality to create a unique hero. Once you have an idea in mind, use the rules to create your hero.

Think about the following questions as you contemplate the hero you want to play:

• Who are you?
• What influences shaped you? What do you do now?
• When and Where did you step out of the ordinary and become a hero?
• Why and How did it happen?

Archetype And Class

Everyday Heroes uses six archetypes as the basis for every hero in the game: Strong Hero, Agile Hero, Tough Hero, Smart Hero, Wise Hero, and Charming Hero.

Each of the archetypes corresponds to an ability score, which defines every hero’s mental and physical characteristics: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma. In general, you want your highest ability score to match the archetype that best describes your hero.

Archetypes are further subdivided into classes. Each class represents a specific way that characters of that archetype use their talents. The classes also rely on their secondary ability scores to do what they do best.

Strong Heroes such as the brawler, heavy gunner, and MMA fighter use Strength to perform heroic feats and defeat enemies.

Agile Heroes such as the martial artist, scoundrel, and sharpshooter use Dexterity to make quick moves and outmaneuver opponents in combat.

Tough Heroes such as the bodyguard, commando, and scrapper use Constitution to outlast the competition and survive a fight.

Smart Heroes such as the engineer, hacker, mastermind, and scientist use Intelligence to further their agendas, plan brilliant strategies, and utilize amazing technology.

Wise Heroes such as the hunter, sleuth, and master use Wisdom to discover clues and find weaknesses in opponents.

Charming Heroes such as the duelist, icon, leader, and manipulator use Charisma to inspire allies and manipulate enemies.

For inspiration when creating a hero, take a look at the Class Overview table below for a quick rundown of the archetypes and their related classes.

Example of Step 1

Cindy thinks about her hero for a new game. She’s been reading about Annie Oakley, the sharpshooter from the American Wild West, and wants to create a similar character for a modern-day game. She decides to name her character Elizabeth “Lizzy” Mosey after Oakley’s given name. Cindy grabs a character sheet and starts bringing Lizzy to life.

The sharpshooter class on the Class Overview table sounds perfect for her concept. Lizzy will be an Agile Hero, which means Dexterity should be her highest ability score.

Step #2: Background

Think about a background for your hero. This choice gives your hero an ability score increase, proficiencies with skills and weapons, equipment, and a special feature. You can choose a background for its roleplaying aspect or because you want to round out your hero’s abilities. If you don’t find something you like in the presented backgrounds, this system includes rules for developing new backgrounds with your GM’s approval.

A hero’s background represents a significant element of their past that makes them who they are today. Most often it represents the circumstances of their childhood, but it can also be a reflection of a significant event that shaped them.

Ability Score Increase

This lets you improve one of your ability scores. Make note of it until you generate your scores (step 4).

Languages And Nationality

You can choose two languages to start with: a native language you grew up with and another you learned later in life. You can learn additional languages through backgrounds, professions, and feats. At the GM’s discretion, you might learn languages during play.

The world’s ten most commonly spoken languages are English, Mandarin, Hindi, Spanish, French, Arabic, Bengali, Russian, Portuguese, and Indonesian.

With your GM’s permission, you can take a “placeholder” language. This allows you to decide during play what second language you know—usually when the heroes encounter someone who speaks a language unknown to them. Once you make the choice, it’s permanent. Use this option when you don’t know the details of your upcoming campaign.

Similarly, choose your nation of citizenship. This choice has no mechanical benefit, but it’s useful in character building.

Proficiencies

Proficiencies describe the skills and subjects your hero is trained in. Proficiency in a skill, equipment type (including weapons), or saving throw grants a bonus according to the hero’s level.

Skill proficiencies indicate that a hero has trained in those subjects, such as Computers (anything involving computer use), Investigation (activities such as searching for or analyzing clues), or Performance (singing, dancing, or any other performing artistic discipline).

Equipment proficiencies indicate that a hero has trained in the use of particular items, such as Basic Equipment (common devices), Military Equipment (gear meant for war), or Historical Equipment (archaic tools).

Saving throw proficiencies give a bonus to saving throws (or saves), which are die rolls heroes make to avoid danger. See Core Rules for more about saving throws.

You might pick a combination of background, profession, and class that grants you a specific proficiency more than once. You can’t gain proficiency more than once for the same thing.

If a skill proficiency is granted more than once, you may choose any other skill proficiency in place of the repeated skill.

Duplicated equipment and saving throw proficiencies don’t grant any benefit.

Example: Sig is creating a new hero. He’s chosen the mastermind class and selected Natural Sciences as one of his hero’s skill proficiencies. Sig decides his hero has the cosmopolitan background. This background also gives the Natural Sciences skill proficiency. Sig can choose a different skill proficiency and takes Vehicles instead.

Iconic Equipment

The iconic equipment suggests small items reflective of your background. Use it as written or modify to your liking.

Special Feature

Some backgrounds include a special feature, a unique ability based on an aspect of your formative years.

Archetype	Class and Description	Key Ability Scores	Secondary Scores	Simplicity
Strong	The brawler is an in-your-face warrior who can fight with anything.	Strength, Constitution	Dexterity	Medium
Strong	The heavy gunner specializes in massive guns and giant explosions.	Strength	Constitution	Simple
Strong	The MMA fighter mixes strikes and wrestling to take down foes.	Strength, Constitution	Dexterity	Medium
Agile	The martial artist strikes and moves quickly in a fight.	Dexterity, Constitution	Strength	Simple
Agile	The scoundrel has a variety of useful skills and is a quick, dangerous fighter.	Dexterity	Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma	Medium
Agile	The sharpshooter is the foremost master of ranged weapons.	Dexterity	Strength, Constitution	Medium
Tough	The bodyguard defends allies and harries opponents.	Constitution	Strength or Dexterity	Simple
Tough	The commando is a well-rounded warrior with military training.	Constitution	Strength or Dexterity	Simple
Tough	The scrapper likes to get into the enemy’s face and trade blows.	Constitution	Strength	Medium
Smart	The engineer uses technological tools to overcome any obstacle.	Intelligence	Dexterity, Constitution	Complex
Smart	The hacker masters computers and the digital age.	Intelligence	Constitution, Dexterity	Complex
Smart	The mastermind concocts intricate plans to outwit everyone.	Intelligence	Wisdom, Charisma	Complex
Smart	The scientist use their vast knowledge to aid allies and attack enemies.	Intelligence	Constitution, Wisdom	Complex
Wise	The hunter tracks down prey with the help of an animal companion.	Wisdom, Dexterity	Constitution	Complex
Wise	The master practices ancient martial arts shrouded in mysticism.	Wisdom	Constitution	Medium
Wise	The sleuth uses intuition and experience to uncover the truth.	Intelligence, Wisdom	Constitution, Charisma	Medium
Charming	The duelist practices the martial arts of a more elegant age.	Dexterity, Charisma	Constitution	Medium
Charming	The icon conquers challenges by virtue of fame and personality.	Dexterity, Charisma	Constitution	Medium
Charming	The leader enhances allies and directs them in combat.	Charisma	Dexterity, Intelligence, Wisdom	Medium
Charming	The manipulator is the puppet master of the social arts.	Charisma	Intelligence, Wisdom	Medium

Example of Step 2

Cindy wants to mirror Annie Oakley’s biography and decides that Lizzy grew up on an American farm. Cindy chooses the United States as a nationality and picks English and Spanish as languages; her family speaks both at home, and it’d be fun to use them in roleplaying.

Glancing over the backgrounds, rural family looks like the ideal pick. For the moment, Cindy makes note of the ability score increase numbers until she has a better idea of their importance. On her character sheet, she marks the skill and equipment proficiencies she gets: the Mechanics and Survival skills, and proficiency with Basic Equipment. Finally, she notes that she has an old pickup truck.

Profession

Even heroes need jobs. Professions offer additional benefits to customize your character, and the choice of class and profession can create interesting roleplaying and mechanical combinations. Professions grant a mix of ability score increases, skill and equipment proficiencies, and a Wealth Level that represents your hero’s income. Many of them include a unique feature. This system includes rules for making custom professions, with your GM’s approval.

Wealth Level

In Everyday Heroes, your overall wealth is represented by a number from 0 to 5. It determines what equipment you can buy, what you might already own, and gives you an idea of your hero’s relative financial status.

Example of Step 3

For Lizzy’s profession, Cindy wants to choose something along the lines of Annie’s career as a sharpshooter in a Wild West show. Cindy decides the daredevil profession is a perfect fit. She notes Lizzy’s specific job as trick-shot performer in a Las Vegas rodeo show.

Cindy writes down the mechanical details: +1 to Dexterity and +1 to one other ability score (her choice); Athletics, Acrobatics, and Vehicles proficiency, plus Basic Equipment and Improvised Equipment. She already has Basic Equipment from her background, so she doesn’t gain any benefit from it.

The iconic equipment doesn’t quite fit, so with the approval of the GM she adds clothing and professional tools she thinks make more sense. Cindy writes down Lizzy’s Wealth Level: 3. She takes note of the daredevil’s special Take a Dive feature, which sounds like it’ll be fun in play.

Step 4: Ability Scores

Ability scores are like a hero’s D.N.A., representing a hero’s natural physical and mental capabilities. They form a foundation for a hero’s strengths and weaknesses. Each ability score ranges from 3 to 20, with 3 representing a human minimum, 20 a human maximum, and 10–11 as the human average. New heroes typically have ability scores between 8 and 17. Ability scores modify nearly every die roll you make in the game, so how you assign them deserves special consideration.

The Best Ability Scores

How you distribute your scores depends on what type of hero you want to play. Your highest ability score should usually match your hero’s archetype. Every archetype derives their Defense score from their matching ability score, and many use their matching ability score for attacks.

Your second-best score depends on what else you want your character to do well. All ability scores are useful, so there aren’t any bad choices. It’s also okay to have one or two ability scores that provide no bonus.

The physical abilities—Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution—mainly apply to combat: Strength is used for melee weapons, Dexterity for ranged weapons, and Constitution for hit points (toughness).

Strength represents physical power and might and is used for:

• Attack rolls in melee combat
• Damage rolls with melee weapons
• Saving throws against being pushed or knocked down
• Athletic themed ability checks
• Strong Hero defenses and talents

Dexterity determines your agility and reflexes and is used for:

• Attack rolls with ranged and finesse weapons
• Damage rolls with ranged and finesse weapons
• Saving throws against falling or other avoidable hazards
• Agility themed ability checks
• Agile Hero defenses and talents

Constitution represents your physical health and endurance and is used for:

• Determining your hit point maximum
• Saving throws against poison, disease, and other health risks
• Endurance-themed ability checks

Tough Hero Defenses And Talents

The mental abilities—Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma—contribute to skill and ability checks that usually occur outside combat situations.

Intelligence determines your reasoning ability and wits and is used for:

• Saving throws against confusion and trickery
• A wide range of skills and depth of knowledge

Smart Hero Defenses and Talents

Wisdom represents your intuitive understanding, sense of self, and strength of character. It is used for:

• Saving throws against temptation, fear, or corruption
• A wide range of skills

Wise Hero Defenses and Talents

Charisma determines your personal magnetism and ego and is used for:

• Saving throws against social embarrassment or demoralizing influences
• Social or entertainment themed ability checks

Charming Hero Defenses and Talents

Determining Ability Scores

Everyday Heroes offers three different options for determining your ability scores: the standard set, point buy, and dice roll. Ask your GM which method they want to use for their campaign. The standard set is recommended as the fastest and most balanced method for creating a character.

Standard Set: Assign scores to your abilities as you choose, from the following set: 15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8.

Point Buy: All your ability scores start at 8. You have 27 points to spend to buy higher scores. This method offers more customization but takes longer. Use the following table to determine the point cost to increase each score.

Ability Point Costs

Score	Modifier	Point	Cost
8	–1	0
9	–1	1
10	0	2
11	0	3
12	+1	4
13	+1	5
14	+2	7
15	+2	9

Rolling Ability Scores: The GM decides whether to use this method, since it can result in particularly weak or extremely strong heroes depending on how the dice fall. Roll 4d6 and add the three highest dice together. Do this six times. Assign the six results to your ability scores as you see fit. This option allows you to generate initial ability scores higher than 15 or lower than 8.

Raising Ability Scores

Whichever option you use, add the increases to ability scores from your backgrounds and professions.

You have two opportunities to raise your ability scores during character creation: when you select a background and a profession. Some backgrounds and professions tell you which ability score(s) to raise, others give you a choice.

Your hero begins play at 1st level. When you reach a milestone and level up, you can increase your ability scores using the Ability Score Training feat. The maximum for any ability score is 20. The game balance assumes that most heroes will eventually raise their primary ability score to 18, 19, or 20, though you don’t have to. A 16 is a reasonable score, especially for a 1st-level hero, and is certainly workable for higher level characters if you’d rather take other feats.

Ability Modifiers

Your ability scores determine the modifiers to add to your d20 rolls when you attack, make ability checks, and roll saving throws.

Ability Score	Modifier
3	–4
4–5	–3
6–7	–2
8–9	–1
10–11	0
12–13	+1
14–15	+2
16–17	+3
18–19	+4
20	+5

Example of Step 4

The GM uses the standard set method to determine ability scores, so Cindy has a 15, 14, 13, 12, 10, and 8 to assign as she sees fit. She gets +1 to Constitution or Strength from her rural family background, and +1 to Dexterity and +1 to another score from her daredevil profession.

Dexterity is important for ranged attacks, so Cindy assigns the 15 there. Since Lizzy is a famous performer, Charisma seems like a good pick for the 14. A performer should be hardy, so she puts the 13 in Constitution. Cindy admires Annie’s Wisdom and Intelligence, so she assigns Lizzy a 12 Wisdom and 10 Intelligence, leaving the 8 for Strength.

From her background she chooses a +1 to Constitution, raising that score to 14. Even numbers grant increased modifiers, so her Constitution modifier is now +2 instead of +1. This gives Lizzy more hit points, which makes her harder to kill.

Cindy increases Lizzy’s Dexterity by 1 to 16 and then thinks about where to put the other point from her profession. She decides to put the last point into Wisdom, taking it to 13. Maybe she’ll raise it at a higher level. Lizzy’s ability scores look like this:

Lizzy’s Abilities

Ability	Score	Modifier
Strength	8	–1
Intelligence	10	+0
Dexterity	16	+3
Wisdom	13	+1
Constitution	14	+2
Charisma: 14 (+2 modifier)

Step 5: Archetype And Class

A hero’s archetype and class determine how a hero approaches conflict, especially in combat situations.

Archetypes represent broad categories of heroes. Strong Heroes use their physical might to beat up the bad guys, while Smart Heroes use their wits and technology to overcome obstacles.

The six archetypes each feature three or more classes to choose from. Each class has unique talents and benefits that combine with the archetype talents to create a fully realized hero. When you create a character, you start with the 1st-level talents of both your archetype and class. See the Class Overview table for a quick listing of the archetypes and their related classes, and use the simplicity rating as a gauge to understand how complex the character class will be to play.

Hit Dice And Hit Points

The more hit points you have, the longer you can stay in the fight. Hit Dice are used to determine your hit points. The bigger the Hit Dice, the more hit points you have, and the faster you get them back when you rest.

Defense

Your Defense number determines how difficult it is to hit you during combat. The higher your Defense, the better.

Example of Step 5

Cindy already knows exactly what she wants: Lizzy is an Agile Hero (archetype) and a sharpshooter (class).

Cindy starts with the Agile Hero archetype. She writes down the d8 Hit Dice, then looks at starting hit points: 8 + Constitution modifier. Lizzy’s Constitution is 14, so she has a +2 modifier. Lizzy starts play with 10 hit points.

Her Defense is 10 + Dexterity modifier + Defense bonus. On the Agile Hero table, a 1st-level hero has a Defense bonus of +1. Lizzy’s Dexterity modifier is +3, so her total defense is 10 + 3 + 1 = 14.

Cindy notes the 1st-level proficiency bonus of +2, which is added to any skill, equipment, or saving throw she has proficiency with.

Finally, she writes down the 1st-level Agile Hero talent Fast Reflexes, which gives Lizzy advantage on initiative rolls.

A hero’s class provides their saving throw proficiencies, additional skill and equipment proficiencies, equipment recommendations, and additional talents.

Cindy moves on to Lizzy’s class, sharpshooter. First, she records her class proficiencies. She gets Dexterity and Intelligence saving throw proficiencies, Basic Equipment (which Lizzy already has), Advanced Equipment, and a choice of two skill proficiencies from a short list. Cindy chooses Sleight of Hand, something Lizzy picked up from carnies in the rodeo, and Perception to better spot distant targets.

From the equipment recommendations, Cindy chooses the Sniper Pack, which sounds right for Lizzy. Cindy writes down a sniper rifle as a recommended weapon.

A 1st-level sharpshooter has two talents: Gunslinging and Sharpshooting. The benefits involve the weapon rules, so Cindy looks them over and makes notes on the character sheet.

Step 6: Finishing Touches

All the important choices have been made, but the remaining spaces on your character sheet need to be filled out. Finishing Touches takes you step by step through the final details on your character sheet, as well as offering inspiration for roleplaying your hero.

Persona

Everyday Heroes isn’t just about numbers for making dice rolls. Deciding your hero’s personality, style, look, and other details is a huge part of the storytelling in a roleplaying game. The character sheet includes places to record details, and Finishing Touches has an extensive section dedicated to ideas and inspiration for bringing heroes to life with aspects of their persona. You can go into as much or as little detail as you like.

Example of Step 6

On the character sheet, Cindy records Lizzy’s ability score modifiers. She notes her maximum hit points, which are the same as her starting hit points. She writes down her speed of 30. Cindy runs down the list of her skills to figure out the total bonuses for each so she can quickly look them up during play. She notes her initiative bonus, +3 based on her Dexterity modifier. She also notes there she has advantage on initiative rolls so she doesn’t forget. Lizzy’s passive Perception is 10 + her Perception bonus. That includes Wisdom +1 and her proficiency bonus since she has proficiency in Perception +2, for a total of 13.

Cindy already has a list of equipment, so she looks at Equipment for the details. The recommended Sniper Pack looks good, though since she’s a performer, she doesn’t write down the inconspicuous clothing. She skips the car from daredevil since she has her old truck. The other stuff goes on her equipment list. Lizzy can have anything on the equipment list that doesn’t have the restricted property and has a price level of 3 or lower. Cindy wants a throwing knife because it’s cool, so she writes that down.

Cindy needs the weapon stats for her knife and her sniper rifle. She finds the knife in the Basic Melee Weapons table and the sniper rifle on the Advanced Ranged Weapons table. The rifle is a ranged weapon and the knife has the finesse property, so she can use her Dexterity modifier to hit and damage with both. She is proficient in both Basic Equipment and Advanced Equipment, so she can add her proficiency bonus to hit for both as well. As a sharpshooter, she gets +2 to hit with the rifle if she doesn’t move on her turn.

Finally, Cindy spends some time filling out personality details about Lizzy. She notes that Lizzy is brave, fights for women’s causes, believes everyone should know how to defend themselves, and that she fights tirelessly for what she thinks is right. Lizzy is ready for adventure!

Bonus Step: Equipment Shopping

Iconic equipment entries from backgrounds, professions, and classes provide a quick way to outfit a hero with items they might find useful or fun. Equipment contains the weapons and other equipment heroes might need or want. It also explains how that equipment works, how much you can carry, and how much you can afford.

If you decided not to take the recommended equipment provided by your background, profession, and class, or you want to round out the equipment your hero carries, now’s a good time to select equipment from the equipment list using your Wealth Level. Your hero can buy any equipment that is equal or lower to your hero’s wealth before you start playing. See Equipment for details.

Gaining Levels

Heroes gain levels when they reach a milestone. Milestones reflect moments in a story when the heroes have overcome trials and become stronger as a result of their efforts and experience. The GM controls when milestones occur, but they are most often awarded at the end of an adventure or when the heroes have achieved a major objective in the midst of a longer campaign.

If your game includes heroes of varying levels, heroes within or below the level range of the adventure gain one level when hitting a milestone. Heroes above the level range of the adventure do not gain a level unless the GM decides to grant it.

When you gain a level, you might get:

• Talents from your archetype table
• Feat picks from your archetype table
• Proficiency bonus advancement from your archetype table
• Defense bonus advancement from your archetype table
• Additional Hit Die based on your archetype
• Additional hit points based on your Hit Dice
• Talents from your class table

Talents

You gain new talents from both your archetype and class when you gain a level. Look at the leveling charts for both and write down the new talents. Also, check your existing talents to see if they change based on your level.

Defense Bonus Advancement

Each archetype has a Defense bonus advancement column in the archetype level table. Check your archetype table to see what your existing Defense bonus is. If it increased, update your Defense.

Proficiency Bonus Advancement

A hero’s proficiency bonus is based on their level. It increases to +3 at level 5 and to +4 at level 9.

Proficiency Bonus by Level

Hero Level	Proficiency Bonus
1–4	+2
5–8	+3
9–10	+4

Hit Dice

When you gain a new level, you gain a Hit Die. The size of the Hit Die is based on your archetype. Your number of Hit Dice is always the same as your level.

Hit Points

When you gain a new level, your hit point maximum increases. The default method is to gain a fixed number of hit points. Your GM may allow you to roll to determine your hit points, which could give you a larger or smaller increase. Here are the two methods:

Default: Half your Hit Dice type + 1 + Constitution modifier

Optional: Roll one Hit Die + Constitution modifier

If your Constitution modifier increases while leveling up, this also permanently increases your hit point maximum. When this happens, add 1 hit point per hero level.

Multiclassing

Multiclassing allows your character to acquire talents from archetypes and classes other than the one you start with. Your character can take special multiclassing feats as you gain levels. Feats has the details and a list of these feats. To take a multiclass feat, your character needs at least a 13 in the ability score corresponding to the desired archetype.

Backgrounds

Your character’s background represents an important factor in their life that influences who they are today. It could be an element of their childhood, a lifelong hobby, a social identity, or anything else that shaped your character as a person and as a hero. Your profession, described in the next chapter, represents your life now.

From a game mechanics perspective, a background rounds out your character with an ability score increase and useful proficiencies. From a roleplaying perspective, it can spark your imagination and offer a characteristic you can use to build your hero’s backstory.

Choose one background when creating a hero.

Each background can include the following entries. Not all backgrounds contain the same entries.

Ability Score Increase: You gain an increase to ability scores as noted. You may not increase any score more than once from background increases.

Language: You gain the noted language.

Skill Proficiencies: You gain the listed skills, as described in Core Rules. If you would gain the same skill proficiency from more than one source, choose a different skill proficiency for the duplication.

Equipment Proficiencies: You gain the listed proficiency (see Core Rules). You do not automatically have items associated with that proficiency.

Iconic Equipment: These items define your background, and you have them in your possession. If they don’t fit your specific background, check with your GM for equivalent substitutions.

Special Feature: [Name]. You gain a unique ability from your background.

Activist

Growing up, you were motivated to act on behalf of a social or political cause. You know how to influence people by your deeds and actions.

Ability Score Increase: Increase your Wisdom or Charisma score by 1, to a maximum of 20

Skill Proficiencies: Choose either Intimidation or Persuasion

Iconic Equipment: An old campaign button from your youth, a bullhorn

Special Feature: Political Speech. You have advantage on Charisma (Persuasion) checks made to promote a cause or convince people to support it.

Art Lover

You have loved art since you were a child and developed a significant talent in one or more forms of artistic expression. The knowledge and practice gives you something to talk about at parties.

Ability Score Increase: Increase your Wisdom or Charisma score by 1, to a maximum of 20

Skill Proficiencies: Choose either Arts and Crafts or Performance

Iconic Equipment: A large collection of your unsold art or clips of your performances

Special Feature: It’s Beautiful. You gain advantage on Charisma (Persuasion) checks when the subject involves art, such as selling a painting, convincing someone to see a show, or sparing the life of an artist.

Bookworm

As a child, you spent your free time reading anything you could get your hands on. You absorbed practical knowledge as you immersed yourself in wonderful stories.

Ability Score Increase: Increase your Intelligence or Wisdom score by 1, to a maximum of 20

Language(s): Choose one additional language

Skill Proficiencies: Choose either Natural Sciences or Social Sciences

Iconic Equipment: A first edition or a rare book, a well-used bookmark

Special Feature: Have You Ever Read. You can use your proficiency bonus on any ability check to recall knowledge on the subject of authors and literature.

Caregiver

You spent a significant portion of your childhood taking care of someone dear to you. It’s given you a strong sense of compassion, as well as experience in medical care.

Ability Score Increase: Increase your Wisdom or Charisma score by 1, to a maximum of 20

Skill Proficiencies: Medicine

Iconic Equipment: A first aid kit, a small memento

Special Feature: Soothing. You gain advantage on Charisma (Persuasion) checks when dealing with people who are angry, afraid, or in pain.

Cosmopolitan

You traveled or read widely and picked up useful knowledge from various cultures. You have the gift of feeling at home wherever you roam.

Ability Score Increase: Increase your Wisdom score by 1, to a maximum of 20

Language(s): Choose one additional language

Skill Proficiencies: Social Sciences

Iconic Equipment: A valuable piece of art from a foreign country

Special Feature: Common Tongue. You know basic informational phrases in a large number of languages and can understand simple replies. This allows rudimentary communication no matter where you go or what language the people speak there.

• Polite greetings and apologies
• Where is (place or thing)?
• Exchanging names
• What time is it?
• What is this place/thing called?
• How much does this cost?

Gamer

You grew up playing games: computer games, roleplaying games, and/or board games. Whatever happens in life, you have a strategy for it.

Ability Score Increase: Increase your Dexterity or Intelligence score by 1, to a maximum of 20

Skill Proficiencies: Choose either Computers or Insight

Iconic Equipment: A portable gaming console with a tremendous assortment of games

Special Feature: Exploit. When you roll a 1 on an ability check, you can reroll the die and must use the new roll. You cannot use this ability again until you finish a long rest.

Immigrant

You straddle the line between two cultures—that of your native country and that of your new home. Despite challenges, you are stronger for your experiences.

Ability Score Increase: Increase your Constitution or Wisdom score by 1, to a maximum of 20

Language(s): Choose one additional language

Skill Proficiencies: Choose one from Endurance, Insight, and Streetwise

Iconic Equipment: A flag from your swearing-in ceremony

Special Feature: One of Us. You gain advantage on Charisma checks when attempting to influence members of the same immigrant culture.

Juvenile Delinquent

As a kid, you went looking for trouble and found it in abundance: fighting, stealing, vandalism, or general mayhem. You either grew out of it or learned how to behave in a socially accepted manner.

Ability Score Increase: Increase your Strength, Dexterity, or Charisma score by 1, to a maximum of 20

Skill Proficiencies: Choose one from Deception, Sleight of Hand, Stealth, or Streetwise

Iconic Equipment: A switchblade knife with a skull on it

Special Feature: Underworld Contacts. You gain advantage on Wisdom (Streetwise) checks to buy or sell illicit goods and services.

Larper

You spent your weekends pretending to be a warrior of a past era, wizard, vampire, or the like. While the pastime didn’t necessarily prepare you for modern life, it did give you some unusual skills.

Ability Score Increase: Increase your Strength or Dexterity score by 1, to a maximum of 20

Language(s): Choose one invented language

Equipment Proficiencies: Basic Equipment and Historical Equipment

Iconic Equipment: A bad-ass costume and some foam-covered sticks

Special Feature: Playing Possum. You gain advantage on Charisma (Deception) checks made to appear dead or wounded.

Military Tradition

Your family has a strong tradition of service in the armed forces. No matter what you do later in life, this culture still influences you.

Ability Score Increase: Increase your Strength or Constitution score by 1, to a maximum of 20

Equipment Proficiencies: Basic Equipment and Advanced Equipment

Iconic Equipment: A parent’s antique 9mm service pistol

Special Feature: Military Solidarity. You gain advantage on Charisma (Persuasion) and Charisma (Intimidation) checks when interacting with members of the armed forces.

Misfit

For whatever reason, you never fit in with your peers. While growing up was sometimes lonely, your isolation made you a keen observer of your surroundings.

Ability Score Increase: Increase your Intelligence or Wisdom score by 1, to a maximum of 20

Skill Proficiencies: Choose either Insight or Perception

Iconic Equipment: A one-of-a-kind jean jacket from an iconic band

Special Feature: Devil in the Details. You gain advantage on Wisdom checks made to discern personal details about someone by directly observing them.

On The Run

You spent a portion of your life on the run. You might still be running from the law, a personal vendetta, or bill collectors. You’re accustomed to looking over your shoulder for your persecutors.

Ability Score Increase: Increase your Dexterity or Constitution score by 1, to a maximum of 20

Skill Proficiencies: Perception

Iconic Equipment: A fake ID, a loose-fitting hoodie, sunglasses

Special Feature: On Edge. Whenever you roll initiative, you can reroll once and must use the new result.

Ordinary

You don’t have exciting stories in your background. You grew up solidly middle class and had an unremarkable childhood.

Ability Score Increase: Increase an ability score of your choice (other than Charisma) by 1, to a maximum of 20

Skill Proficiencies: One of your choice

Not so Iconic Equipment: Bag stuff and pocket stuff

Special Feature: Blend In. You gain advantage on ability checks made to blend in with a crowd.

Orphan

Your childhood contains a tragedy, since you lost both your parents. Raised in part by the state, you learned to make connections wherever you could.

Ability Score Increase: Increase your Constitution or Charisma score by 1, to a maximum of 20

Skill Proficiencies: Choose either Endurance or Persuasion

Iconic Equipment: Your father’s watch or your mother’s pendant

Special Feature: Survivor. You can reroll one failed saving throw. You cannot use this feature again until you finish a long rest.

Person of Mystery

Your background is a mystery, even to you. You have no official records and only dim recollections of your life. It’s not a topic you feel comfortable discussing with others.

Ability Score Increase: Increase an ability score of your choice by 1, to a maximum of 20

Iconic Equipment: A mysterious locket

Special Feature: It’s Coming Back to Me. A forgotten skill and language rise from your foggy memory.

• At any point during play, you can decide what single additional skill proficiency you learned in your mysterious past. Once the choice is made, it is permanent.
• At any point during play, you can decide what single additional language you learned in your mysterious past. Once the choice is made, it is permanent.

Poor Family

Your family didn’t have much money while you were growing up. Whether you felt deprived of childhood pleasures or celebrate your ability to make do without much, you know what it takes to make your way in the world.

Ability Score Increase: Increase an ability score of your choice by 1, to a maximum of 20

Skill Proficiencies: Choose one from Arts and Crafts, Mechanics, Streetwise, or Survival

Iconic Equipment: An old photograph of where you grew up

Special Feature: Making Do. You can ignore disadvantage from not having the correct professional tools on hand when performing an ability check.

Raised By Assassins

Yours was not a usual childhood. A surrogate parent, government agency, or band of ninjas raised you from a young age to be a cold-hearted killer.

Ability Score Increase: Increase your Dexterity or Constitution score by 1, to a maximum of 20

Language(s): Choose one additional language and keep it secret from your team

Skill Proficiencies: Deception

Equipment Proficiencies: Basic Equipment and Advanced Equipment

Iconic Equipment: A memento of your lost childhood innocence

Religious Tradition

You grew up in a family with strong faith. Whether you still believe today, the practice left you with insight into the human condition.

Ability Score Increase: Increase your Wisdom score by 1, to a maximum of 20

Skill Proficiencies: Choose one from Insight, Performance, and Social Sciences

Iconic Equipment: A religious symbol or pendant representing your faith

Special Feature: Positive Reinforcement. Through words of encouragement or prayer, as a reaction, you can give advantage to an ally on a single saving throw. You cannot use this feature again until you finish a long rest.

Rural Family

You grew up outside the cities and among straightforward, honest folk. You learned the value of hard work and gained practical skills.

Ability Score Increase: Increase your Strength or Constitution score by 1, to a maximum of 20

Skill Proficiencies: Mechanics and Survival

Equipment Proficiencies: Basic Equipment

Iconic Equipment: Your family’s old pickup truck (“she still runs great”)

Social Butterfly

You had a knack for making friends from an early age. Your popularity and congeniality opens doors for you.

Ability Score Increase: Increase your Charisma score by 1, to a maximum of 20

Skill Proficiencies: Choose either Deception or Persuasion

Iconic Equipment: One-of-a-kind fashionable couture

Special Feature: Life of the Party. You gain advantage on Charisma (Deception) and Charisma (Persuasion) checks made while at a party or other social event.

Student Athlete

From an early age, you loved to compete and show off your athleticism. Even if you didn’t continue on to pro sports, your love of fitness and your fighting spirit live on.

Ability Score Increase: Increase your Strength or Dexterity score by 1, to a maximum of 20

Skill Proficiencies: Choose either Acrobatics or Athletics

Iconic Equipment: Your letter jacket from school

Special Feature: Give It Your All. You gain advantage on Strength (Athletics) and Dexterity (Acrobatics) checks made in the course of playing any sport.

Subsistence

You grew up off the grid and learned to live off the land and your own resourcefulness. Whether due to religious, political, or shared social beliefs, you are proud of your self-sufficiency.

Ability Score Increase: Increase your Strength or Wisdom score by 1, to a maximum of 20

Skill Proficiencies: Choose either Athletics or Survival

Equipment Proficiencies: Basic Equipment

Iconic Equipment: A hunting rifle, a camping kit, a small remote cabin

Special Feature: Natural Medicine. You can use Wisdom (Survival) in place of Intelligence (Medicine) to treat minor wounds and illnesses.

Survivor

Something horrible happened to you when you were young. The event left you emotionally scarred but determined to thrive despite your trauma.

Ability Score Increase: Increase your Constitution or Wisdom score by 1, to a maximum of 20

Skill Proficiencies: Choose either Endurance or Insight

Iconic Equipment: A memento from your tragic past that gives you hope

Special Feature: True Survivor. You need two successful death saving throws to stabilize, rather than three.

Technophile

You have loved technology since an early age. Your skills make you the person all your friends call when they have computer problems.

Ability Score Increase: Increase your Intelligence score by 1, to a maximum of 20

Skill Proficiencies: Choose one from Computers, Mechanics, and Security

Iconic Equipment: A not-yet-released smartphone

Special Feature: There’s an App for That. You always have the latest and greatest cell phone before the general public. Your phone can substitute as any plausible tool in the equipment list. The GM has final say on what is plausible for your phone to do.

Wealthy Family

You were born into wealth and privilege. You understand money and how to make it, though that doesn’t necessarily mean you know how to keep it.

Ability Score Increase: Increase your Intelligence or Charisma score by 1, to a maximum of 20

Skill Proficiencies: Choose either Intimidation or Vehicles

Special Feature: Silver Spoon. Choose one of the following:

• Sweet Ride: Any nonmilitary personal vehicle
• Trust Fund: +1 starting Wealth Level, to a maximum of 5
• Your Pad: A great rent-free apartment and a cleaning service to keep it tidy
• Family Lawyer: A lawyer who can get you out of non-felony legal trouble, at least temporarily
• Powerful Friends: The ability to speak with people of power and influence after a few phone calls

Creating New Backgrounds

To create new backgrounds, follow these guidelines to keep them balanced.

• 1. +1 to a single ability score
• 2. One skill or equipment proficiency
• 3. Iconic equipment that inspires you to roleplay this background but is not exceptionally valuable
• 4. A feature that is helpful in a limited situation or is limited in how often you can use it, or a second proficiency or language

Professions

Being a hero isn’t always financially rewarding work. That’s why your character has a day job. The choice of profession sets their starting Wealth Level and offers a range of ability bonuses, proficiencies, and special features.

Professions grant extra skill proficiencies and round out your character’s ability scores. Some offer weapon proficiencies, useful for heroes with less combat-oriented classes. Or you can choose one that fits the roleplaying concept you have in mind.

Special Feature: [Name]. You gain a unique ability from your profession.

Everyday Heroes gives you no special advantage for matching the theme of your profession with your class or archetype. A hacker (class) might have a personal history as a technophile (background) and work in information technology (profession), or might have grown up in a poor family and work in customer service, planning out digital exploits in their downtime. Unorthodox combinations can define character motivations and provide rewarding roleplay.

Specific adventures might recommend professions for heroes participating in the adventure. For example, an adventure based on a police procedural drama involves the heroes as police officers or department staff. Consult with the GM to find out if they want you to focus on certain professions.

Professions represent broad career categories rather than specific jobs. After choosing one, you can specify the specifics of title, duties, and the organization where your character works. This helps build your hero’s identity and creates roleplaying opportunities for you and the GM.

Choose one profession when creating a hero.

Each profession includes the following entries. Not all professions contain the same entries.

Sample Careers: A non-exhaustive listing of possible roles within the profession.

Ability Score Increase: You gain an increase to ability scores as noted. You may not increase any score more than once from profession increases.

Language: You gain the noted language.

Skill Proficiencies: You gain the listed skills. If you would gain the same skill proficiency from more than one source, choose a different skill proficiency for the duplication.

Equipment Proficiencies: You gain the listed proficiency (see Core Rules). You do not automatically have the items associated with that proficiency.

Iconic Equipment: These items define your profession, and you have them in your possession. If they don’t fit your specific job, check with your GM for equivalent substitutions.

Wealth Level: Your Wealth Level at character creation (see Equipment).

Special Feature: Animal Husbandry. You gain advantage on Wisdom and Charisma checks made to influence animal behavior.

Academia

You’re dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge and to sharing it with the next generation. You work with a university, library, museum, or other institution of culture and learning.

Sample Careers: Librarian, museum docent, preschool teacher, private school teacher, public school teacher, university professor

Ability Score Increase: Increase your Intelligence and two other ability scores of your choice by 1, to a maximum of 20

Language(s): Choose one additional language

Skill Proficiencies: Persuasion, and either Natural Sciences or Social Sciences

Iconic Equipment: Laptop computer, laser pointer, school ID card

Wealth Level: 3

Special Feature: Debate. You can use Intelligence instead of Charisma on checks involving persuasion, as long as the check relates to topics of academia. You gain advantage on such checks.

Agriculture

You work in an ancient profession of the civilized world: raising plants and animals for produce and trade. Your work involves established techniques and modern technology.

Sample Careers: Animal trainer, breeder, cowhand, crop scientist, farmer, rancher

Ability Score Increase: Increase your Strength and two other ability scores of your choice by 1, to a maximum of 20

Skill Proficiencies: Mechanics, Natural Sciences, Survival, and Vehicles

Equipment Proficiencies: Basic Equipment

Iconic Equipment: A double-barrel shotgun, a dirty pickup truck, mechanics kit, a copy of the Farmer’s Almanac

Wealth Level: 3

Athlete

You make your living as an athlete. Choose your emphasis from among the many varieties of sport and fitness activities.

Sample Careers: Baseball, basketball, football, hockey, or soccer player, boxer, golfer, gymnast, martial artist, skater, Olympic athlete, professional athlete, swimmer, wrestler

Ability Score Increase: Increase your Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution scores by 1, to a maximum of 20

Skill Proficiencies: Endurance, and choose either Acrobatics or Athletics

Iconic Equipment: Sporting equipment, your team jersey, sponsored shoes, an autograph pen

Wealth Level: 3

Special Feature: Sports. Choose one real-world sport. You gain advantage on Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution checks when performing an action performed as part of that sport.

Counseling

You work as a therapist, helping people cope with the emotional stresses of life. Your deep understanding of the human psyche gives you insight into people’s motives and emotions.

Sample Careers: Behavioral therapist, crisis counselor, marriage counselor, psychologist

Ability Score Increase: Increase your Wisdom and one other ability score of your choice by 1, to a maximum of 20

Skill Proficiencies: Insight, Persuasion, and Social Sciences

Iconic Equipment: Professional attire, a pencil and notepad, a copy of the DSM

Wealth Level: 3

Special Feature: Crisis Management. You have advantage on Charisma (Persuasion) checks made to calm someone down or to persuade someone against violent action.

Creative

You’re a professional artist or entertainer. Your creativity and dedication to your craft can carry you from busking for spare change to superstardom.

Sample Careers: Actor, artist, dancer, editor, game designer, graphic designer, musician, online personality, photographer, singer, songwriter, stage magician, writer

Ability Score Increase: Increase your Charisma and two other ability scores of your choice by 1, to a maximum of 20

Language(s): Choose one additional language

Skill Proficiencies: Insight, and choose either Arts and Crafts or Performance

Iconic Equipment: Artisan’s tools (for your artistic focus), fashionable clothing, examples of your work

Wealth Level: 3

Special Feature: Artistic Focus. Choose one type of performance or art as your specialty. You gain advantage on ability checks when practicing the chosen type of art or performance.

Crime

You break the law to make your living. Regardless of your particular flavor of criminality, you must stay one step ahead of law enforcement and navigate a world where business disputes are settled by violence rather than lawyers.

Sample Careers: Bank robber, cat burglar, con artist, enforcer, forger, gang member, grifter, hitman, jewel thief

Ability Score Increase: Increase your Dexterity and two other ability scores of your choice by 1, to a maximum of 20

Skill Proficiencies: Choose three from Deception, Intimidation, Security, Sleight of Hand, Stealth, and Streetwise

Equipment Proficiencies: Basic Equipment and Advanced Equipment

Iconic Equipment: Concealed carry pistol, cool jacket, a stolen luxury car with clean plates

Wealth Level: 2

Special Feature: Criminal Record. You have advantage on Charisma checks when interacting with the criminal underworld. You have disadvantage on Charisma checks when interacting with anyone from a law enforcement or private security profession, if they know about your record.

Customer Service

You work on the front lines of capitalism, greeting customers, taking their money, answering questions, and taking the heat for things you have no power over.

Sample Careers: Assistant manager, cashier, front desk, greeter, phone support, sales assistant, server, stocker, usher

Ability Score Increase: Increase your Charisma and three other ability scores of your choice by 1, to a maximum of 20

Skill Proficiencies: Deception and Persuasion

Iconic Equipment: Uniform, bottle of aspirin, name tag, employee of the month certificate

Wealth Level: 1

Special Feature: De-escalation. You gain advantage on Charisma checks to calm angry people or to persuade someone to show you mercy.

Daredevil

You make your living doing dangerous things. Whatever the specifics, you put your life on the line every time you go to work. If that which does not kill you makes you stronger, you must be very strong indeed.

Sample Careers: Extreme sports enthusiast, search and rescue expert, skydiver, street racer, stunt performer, test pilot, test subject, treasure hunter

Ability Score Increase: Increase your Dexterity and one other ability score of your choice by 1, to a maximum of 20

Skill Proficiencies: Acrobatics, Athletics, and Vehicles

Equipment Proficiencies: Basic Equipment and Improvised Equipment

Iconic Equipment: First aid kit, rugged clothes, a cool muscle car

Wealth Level: 3

Special Feature: Safety First. You take half damage as a passenger in a vehicle crash. (Drivers are also considered passengers in the vehicle rules.)

Emergency Services

You dedicate yourself to saving lives by standing among the ranks of the nation’s first responders. The work may be stressful, but it is also personally rewarding.

Sample Careers: Ambulance driver, emergency medical technician, firefighter, paramedic, rescue worker

Ability Score Increase: Increase your Dexterity and two other ability scores of your choice by 1, to a maximum of 20

Skill Proficiencies: Medicine and Vehicles

Iconic Equipment: A first aid kit and a firefighters axe

Wealth Level: 3

Special Feature: Emergency Medicine. If you successfully use the First Aid action to stabilize an ally, the ally can spend one Hit Die to recover hit points equal to the appropriate die roll plus their Constitution modifier.

Espionage

You work as a clandestine field agent. Though most of your work involves collecting intelligence through your contacts, you must occasionally put your life on the line for the sake of your country.

Sample Careers: Diplomatic attaché, field operative, secret agent, spy

Ability Score Increase: Increase your Dexterity or Intelligence score by 1, to a maximum of 20

Language(s): Choose one additional language not commonly spoken in your country of origin

Skill Proficiencies: Deception, Security, Stealth, and choose either Acrobatics or Athletics

Equipment Proficiencies: Basic Equipment and Advanced Equipment

Iconic Equipment: A concealed carry pistol or a holdout pistol, fake passport and ID, surveillance kit, a memento from the spy who loved you

Wealth Level: 3

Special Feature: Safe House. While employed by the agency, you have access to a level 3 safe house somewhere in the city. This safe house serves as a secure haven that no one else knows about and can be used for a long rest. (See Equipment for details on safe houses.)

Faith

You dedicate your life to your religious faith. This work involves both the rigors of scholarship and becoming a spiritual leader for your parishioners.

Sample Careers: Ordained clergy of any faith, religious studies expert, theological scholar

Ability Score Increase: Increase your Wisdom and two other ability scores of your choice by 1, to a maximum of 20

Skill Proficiencies: Insight, Persuasion, and Social Sciences

Iconic Equipment: Vestments of your faith, a symbol of your faith, a holy book or scroll

Wealth Level: 2

Special Feature: Trusted. You gain advantage on Charisma checks when dealing with committed members of your faith.

Finance?

In a capitalist world, capital is king. Whether you own a sizable business, provide venture capital, or play the markets for a living, your job involves turning money into more money.

Sample Careers: Accountant, day trader, finance advisor, investment banker, venture capitalist

Ability Score Increase: Increase your Intelligence score by 1, to a maximum of 20

Skill Proficiencies: Insight and Persuasion

Iconic Equipment: A large office, professional clothes, a luxury car

Wealth Level: 5

Special Feature: Personal Assistant. You employ a personal assistant who runs routine errands for you whenever you need them.

Independent

You’re independently wealthy, deriving your income from your considerable standing assets such as family holdings and trust funds. You spend your time in leisure, pursuing volunteer work, or whatever interests you.

Sample Careers: Dilettante, trust fund kid, well-off pensioner or retiree

Ability Score Increase: Increase your Charisma and one other ability score of your choice by 1, to a maximum of 20

Skill Proficiencies: Choose two skill proficiencies

Iconic Equipment: Tasteful clothing, platinum engraved debit card, a monogrammed scarf

Wealth Level: 4

Special Feature: Pulling Strings. You know how to wheedle favors from others and gain advantage on Charisma checks to receive special privileges, such as backstage access, tickets to a sold-out show, or a meeting with a public official.

Information Technology

As an IT professional, you are one of the most sought-after professionals in the modern world. Whatever your specialty, you’re a person of the information era, plugged in and churning through the dataverse.

Sample Careers: Hacker, IT support, software developer, software engineer

Ability Score Increase: Increase your Intelligence score by 1, to a maximum of 20

Skill Proficiencies: Computers and Security

Iconic Equipment: Laptop computer, mobile hotspot, an energy drink, and a protein bar

Wealth Level: 4

Special Feature: Tech Support. You gain advantage on Intelligence (Computer) checks to fix a broken computer system or to understand how to operate a computer system correctly.

Intelligence

You work for a government intelligence agency or private security firm, collecting and analyzing actionable information for your employer.

Sample Professions: Analyst, counter-terrorism expert, cryptographer, handler, operations officer, profiler

Ability Score Increase: Increase your Intelligence and one other ability score of your choice by 1, to a maximum of 20

Language(s): Choose one additional language

Skill Proficiencies: Computers and Investigation

Iconic Equipment: Laptop computer, security clearance card, a secure briefcase

Wealth Level: 4

Special Feature: That’s Need to Know. Your extensive access to classified government data gives you advantage on Intelligence (Investigation) checks made to gather information about people and organizations.

Investigative Services

You work for the private sector, dealing with civil investigations and protecting your clients’ assets from thieves and saboteurs.

Sample Careers: Bounty hunter, corporate security, military contractor, private investigator, repo specialist

Ability Score Increase: Increase your Intelligence and one other ability score of your choice by 1, to a maximum of 20

Equipment Proficiencies: Basic Equipment and Advanced Equipment

Skill Proficiencies: Insight, Investigation, and Security

Iconic Equipment: Inconspicuous clothing, laptop computer, concealed carry pistol, S.L.R. camera, security license

Wealth Level: 3

Special Feature: Investigative Expertise. You gain expertise in either Investigation or Security. You must be proficient in a skill to gain expertise in that skill.

Journalism

You’re passionate about uncovering things people want to keep hidden and then presenting an engaging report to inform the public about it. Along the way, you discover nefarious deeds, injustices, and buried truths.

Sample Careers: Blogger, investigative reporter, journalist, news anchor, paparazzi, photojournalist

Language(s): Choose one additional language

Ability Score Increase: Increase your Wisdom and two other ability scores of your choice by 1, to a maximum of 20

Skill Proficiencies: Insight, Investigation, and Streetwise

Iconic Equipment: Digital recorder, notepad and pencil, press credentials, laptop computer

Wealth Level: 2

Special Feature: I’m with the Press. You gain advantage on Charisma (Persuasion) checks made to convince people to talk with you and answer basic questions. At the GM’s discretion, your credentials may allow you to access off-limit areas.

Law

You apply the written law to real world situations, working for the government, a company, a law firm, or in private practice. Your expertise in legal matters is invaluable to your clients.

Sample Careers: Corporate lawyer, judge, patent lawyer, prosecutor, public defender

Ability Score Increase: Increase your Intelligence and one other ability score of your choice by 1, to a maximum of 20

Skill Proficiencies: Investigation and Social Sciences

Iconic Equipment: Professional clothing, briefcase, bar license, supreme court autographed photo

Wealth Level: 4

Special Feature: Dangerous Mind. You can use Intelligence instead of Charisma on checks involving intimidation or persuasion as long as you cite the law when doing so.

Law Enforcement

Enforcing the law isn’t an easy job. You take pride in your work and strive to serve and protect the public.

Sample Careers: Border agent, detective, narcotics agent, FBI agent, parole officer, police officer, state trooper, S.w.A.T., undercover cop, U.s. marshal

Ability Score Increase: Increase your Strength and Constitution scores by 1, to a maximum of 20

Skill Proficiencies: Investigation, Perception, and Vehicles

Equipment Proficiencies: Basic Equipment and Advanced Equipment

Iconic Equipment: Police uniform, 9mm semi-auto service pistol, Taser, badge, handcuffs, police radio, use of an official vehicle

Wealth Level: 3

Special Feature: Police Powers. You can make arrests, investigate suspected crimes, and call for backup using your police radio.

Medicine

Your dedication to the practice of medicine has given you the opportunity to save many lives and make a difference for everyday people. The practice is both an intellectual challenge and a weighty responsibility.

Sample Careers: Dentist, ER doctor, general practice physician, nurse, psychiatrist, specialist physician, surgeon, veterinarian

Ability Score Increase: Increase your Intelligence and two other ability scores of your choice by 1, to a maximum of 20

Skill Proficiencies: Insight and Medicine

Iconic Equipment: Medical license, a prescription pad, a first aid kit

Wealth Level: 3

Special Feature: Prescriptions. You have access to a range of prescription pharmaceuticals and otherwise-restricted drugs pertaining to your medical discipline. Abuse of this power can put you in serious legal jeopardy.

Military

You are a proud member of the national armed forces. As career military, you’re trained for fighting and learned a range of useful skills.

Sample Careers: Air Force special tactics, Army ranger, enlisted soldier, Green Beret, Marine, Military police, Navy Seal, officer, pilot, seaman

Ability Score Increase: Increase your Strength and Constitution scores by 1, to a maximum of 20

Skill Proficiencies: Athletics, Perception, and Stealth

Equipment Proficiencies: Basic Equipment, Advanced Equipment, and Military Equipment

Iconic Equipment: Military uniform, assault rifle (enlisted) or 9mm semi-auto service pistol (officer), medium ballistic vest, ballistic helmet, military ID, a letter from your sweetheart

Wealth Level: 2

Special Feature: Service-member. You gain the following benefits:

• When on mission or on base, you have access to military weapons, vehicles, and equipment. This includes the weapons and armor in your iconic equipment.
• You can travel for free to many destinations if you’re traveling alone.
• You are provided with room and board while living on base.

Outdoors

You prefer to work in the great outdoors rather than participate in the indoor rat race. The pay is not great, but you much prefer the company you keep.

Sample Careers: Conservationist, explorer, fish and game warden, hunter, mountain climber, park ranger, survivalist, wildlife photographer

Ability Score Increase: Increase your Constitution and one other ability score of your choice by 1, to a maximum of 20

Equipment Proficiencies: Basic Equipment and Advanced Equipment

Skill Proficiencies: Athletics, Perception, Stealth, and Survival

Iconic Equipment: A hunting rifle, a 4-wheel drive vehicle, frame backpack, camping kit

Wealth Level: 2

Special Feature: Tracker. You gain advantage on Wisdom (Survival) checks to track in a wilderness setting.

Politics

A passion for helping others or a desire for power drew you into public service. The job does grant both power and privilege. Just don’t let it go to your head.

Sample Careers: Council member, governor, legislator, mayor, political consultant

Ability Score Increase: Increase your Charisma and two other ability scores of your choice by 1, to a maximum of 20

Skill Proficiencies: Deception and Persuasion

Iconic Equipment: A trunk full of campaign posters and buttons, nonthreatening attire, a stump speech

Wealth Level: 3

Special Feature: Grassroots Organizing. You have a cadre of dedicated constituents you can call on for tasks, such as picketing a corporation or marching for a cause. Their willingness to act is at the GM’s discretion.

Private Security

You ensure that people, places, or things under your protection come to no harm while you remain on guard. It’s rarely exciting, but the job gives you plenty of time to reflect.

Sample Careers: Bodyguard, bouncer, mall cop, night guard, security guard

Ability Score Increase: Increase your Wisdom and two other ability scores of your choice by 1, to a maximum of 20

Skill Proficiencies: Intimidation, Perception, and Security

Equipment Proficiencies: Basic Equipment

Iconic Equipment: Your trusty flashlight, an officiallooking badge, orthopedic shoe inserts

Wealth Level: 2

Special Feature: I’m Calling the Police. You have a good relationship with law enforcement. You gain advantage on Charisma checks when dealing with law enforcement. Furthermore, the police respond if you call to report a security problem related to your official duties.

Science

You are dedicated to advancing the systems of knowledge, whether for public good or personal gain. You might be a resident scientist at a research institute, working for a large corporation, or a mad genius tinkering in your basement.

Sample Careers: Data analyst, engineer, inventor, lab researcher, mathematician, product developer, research scientist

Ability Score Increase: Increase your Intelligence and two other ability scores of your choice by 1, to a maximum of 20

Skill Proficiencies: Computers and Natural Sciences

Iconic Equipment: Lab coat, laptop computer, a patent application

Wealth Level: 3

Special Feature: Science Lessons. When you use the Help action, you do not need to be within reach of the person you’re helping and can do so from anywhere they can hear your voice, including over the phone.

Student

You’re currently a student in high school, college, or graduate school. You might have a job, but you put your focus and energy into your studies.

Side Gigs: Blood donor, intern, part-time work, teacher’s aide, volunteer

Ability Score Increase: Increase your Intelligence and three other ability scores of your choice by 1, to a maximum of 20

Skill Proficiencies: Computers, and choose either Natural Sciences or Social Sciences

Iconic Equipment: A small backpack full of books and school supplies, a library card

Wealth Level: 1

Special Feature: All-Nighter. You can remove one level of Exhaustion from yourself. You must finish a long rest before you can do this again.

Trades

You enjoy working with your hands and your mind, building and fixing useful things. If they don’t find you handsome, they will at least find you handy.

Sample Careers: Carpenter, construction worker, electrician, flooring specialist, plumber, shoemaker, tailor

Ability Score Increase: Increase your Dexterity and two other ability scores of your choice by 1, to a maximum of 20

Skill Proficiencies: Arts and Crafts and Mechanics

Iconic Equipment: Tool belt, mechanic’s kit, laptop computer, small workshop

Wealth Level: 3

Special Feature: Handy. Choose a specific trade you focus on. You gain advantage on Intelligence checks for activities performed in the practice of that trade.

Transportation

You’re an expert in operating some kind of vehicle. Whether you work in the civilian sector or military, you are on a path of mastery in your chosen form of transportation.

Sample Careers: Boat captain, bus driver, commercial pilot, rideshare driver, taxi driver, race car driver

Ability Score Increase: Increase your Dexterity and three other ability scores of your choice by 1, to a maximum of 20

Skill Proficiencies: Mechanics and Vehicles

Iconic Equipment: A vehicle appropriate to your type of work, a dashboard buddy, a pair of leather gloves

Wealth Level: 2

Special Feature: Experienced Driver. You can ignore the effects from the first level of the Body Damage, Loss of Control, and Loss of Power conditions when driving a vehicle.

Unemployed

For whatever reason, you don’t have regular work and haven’t had a paying job in a long time. You make your way by resourcefulness, charity, or some mix of the two.

Sample Careers: Beggar, hermit, hobo, institutionalized person, prisoner, recluse

Ability Score Increase: Increase your Constitution and three other ability scores of your choice by 1, to a maximum of 20

Skill Proficiencies: Endurance, and choose either Streetwise or Survival

Iconic Equipment: A small backpack, a sleeping bag, a knife, various handmade items

Wealth Level: 1

Special Feature: Colorful Character. The story of the trials you have overcome in life gives you advantage on Charisma (Persuasion) checks made to ask for help or acts of mercy.

White Collar

You work in an office, tending to the minutia of everyday life. Your true potential is yet to be revealed, you’re certain of it.

Sample Careers: Accountant, human resources, mail clerk, management consultant, marketer, office manager, salesperson, tax preparer

Ability Score Increase: Increase your Intelligence and one other ability score of your choice by 1, to a maximum of 20

Skill Proficiencies: Computers and Persuasion

Iconic Equipment: Laptop computer, briefcase, favorite coffee mug

Wealth Level: 3

Special Feature: Management Material. You can use the Help action as a bonus action. You must finish a short rest (coffee break) before you can do this again.

Creating New Professions

The professions in Everyday Heroes were designed using a points system to keep them relatively balanced. To create further professions, consider these guidelines.

You can also use this system to make adjustments to the professions listed above. You could swap out an ability score increase for a few more proficiencies or vice versa to create a specific job within that profession.

Mandatory ability score adjustments and proficiencies should be appropriate to the nature of the profession. Wealth Levels are based on broad U.s. average salaries for the type of work. Professions with lower pay and lower skill requirements enjoy more free choice ability score adjustments for balance. In a category with a wide range of specialties (such as crime), players have a greater choice of skill proficiencies.

Use the following table to cost out new professions. A profession should have the following qualities:

• Worth a total of 6 points
• Have a special feature or skill expertise
• Have a Wealth Level
• Have at least one ability adjustment
• Offer at least one proficiency
• Have some flavorful iconic equipment

Profession Points Points Feature0Basic Equipment proficiency0Iconic Equipment (affordable for the Wealth Level) .5 Feature (a circumstantial advantage on an ability check) .5 Advanced, Historical, or Improvised equipment proficiency .5 Skill proficiency .5 Wealth Level 11+1to an ability score1Military Equipment proficiency1Wealth Level 21.5 Wealth Level 32.5 Wealth Level 43.5 Wealth Level 5

Choosing a hero’s archetype and class are important decision points in making a new hero. They define a hero’s unique combat abilities and can shape a hero’s personality and approach to resolving challenges they face.

Archetypes are broad categories, each focusing on one of the six core ability scores in the game: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma. They form a foundation for the classes. In Everyday Heroes, most of your abilities come from your class, especially as you gain levels. Classes represent action movie classics as well as unique tactical approaches to combat.

Each archetype and class includes a flavorful description and a short summary of the ideas behind their design. These can give you an idea if the class is right for your hero, but the description isn’t a requirement. You can play a scoundrel and not be a literal scoundrel—that’s just the inspiration for the class. The classes can be re-imagined in style, while still using the same game mechanics.

Hero Level

Hero level represents how experienced and powerful a hero is. All heroes are first created at 1st level. The maximum hero level is 10. Levels are gained through the process of adventure and play. This process is in the hands of the GM and is detailed in Part III of this book.

You can play Everyday Heroes and make characters of a higher starting level. Some adventures call for higher-level heroes, and some famous action movie heroes represent a more experienced hero than 1stlevel characters can emulate. To make a higher-level hero, have your GM tell you what level the campaign or adventure calls for, then create your character as normal for 1st level, then add abilities at each level until you reach the appropriate starting level.

At 1st level, you choose both an archetype and a class belonging to that archetype. You gain the benefits and talents of your archetype and class at every level where one is listed.

Choose one archetype and one class when creating a hero.

Archetype

Each archetype includes the following entries. Not all archetypes contain the same entries.

Hit Dice: The die you use for hit points.

Starting Hit Points: The number of hit points you begin with at 1st level.

Hit Points at Higher Levels: The number of hit points you gain at each subsequent level. Ask the GM whether you should take the average or roll your Hit Die.

Defense: The formula used to determine your Defense.

Example: The Tough Hero has 1d12 (or 7) + Constitution modifier per hero level after 1st. At 2nd level, they either gain 7 + Constitution modifier hit points, or 1d12 + Constitution modifier hit points.

The Tough Hero’s Defense formula is 10 + (Constitution or Dexterity) modifier + Tough Hero Defense bonus. At 1st level, a Tough Hero with a Constitution of 16 and a Dexterity of 12 would use their higher Constitution modifier for the calculation, for a Defense of 15 (10 + 3 Constitution mod + 2 Defense bonus).

Your archetype table contains the following entries: Talents: The special abilities of your archetype.

Feats: Opportunities to take feats (see Feats).

Proficiency Bonus: The bonus you add to rolls you are proficient in.

Defense Bonus: The bonus used to calculate your Defense.

Other Columns: Specific level-based abilities of your archetype.

Class

Each class includes the following entries. Not all classes contain the same entries.

Saving Throw Proficiencies: You gain proficiency with the listed saves.

Skill Proficiencies: You gain the listed skills, as described in Core Rules. If you would gain the same skill proficiency from more than one source, choose a different skill proficiency for the duplication.

Equipment Proficiencies: You gain the listed proficiency (see Core Rules). You do not automatically have the items associated with that proficiency.

Expertise: Additional bonuses to certain skills (see Core Rules).

Equipment Recommendations: Suggestions for sets of equipment you have in your possession. If they don’t feel right for your character, check with your GM for equivalent substitutions.

Your class table contains the following entries:

Talents: The special abilities of your class.

Other Columns: Specific level-based abilities of your class.

Leveling Up

You have trained your body for strength and explosive power. You hit hard, excelling in close combat. As a hero, you fight because others can’t.

Strong heroes are durable fighters who make high damage attacks. They specialize in melee attacks, whether they favor unarmed strikes or close combat weapons.

Hit Dice: 1d10 per hero level

Starting Hit Points: 10 + Constitution modifier level

Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d10 (or 6) + Constitution modifier per hero level after 1st

Defense (Meat Shield): 10 + Strength modifier + Strong Hero Defense bonus

Level	Talents	Proficiency Bonus	Defense Bonus
1	Reckless Attack, Class Talent(s)	+2	+1
2	Power Attack, Two Minor Feats or One Major Feat	+2	+1
3	Class Talent(s)	+2	+2
4	Two Minor Feats or One Major Feat	+2	+2
5	Class Talent(s)	+3	+2
6	Two Minor Feats or One Major Feat	+3	+2
7	Class Talent(s)	+3	+3
8	Two Minor Feats or One Major Feat	+3	+3
9	Class Talent(s)	+4	+3
10	Two Minor Feats or One Major Feat	+4	+3

Strong Hero Talents

Reckless Attack (Level 1). At the start of your turn, you can declare you are being reckless. You gain advantage on attack rolls with melee weapons until the end of your turn. Your opponents gain advantage on attack rolls against you until the start of your next turn.

Power Attack (Level 2). Before making an attack roll with a melee weapon (including weapons with the thrown property) during your turn, you can take a –5 penalty on the attack roll to gain a +10 bonus to damage if the attack hits. You cannot use Power Attack if the attack was made as part of a bonus action, with a thrown explosive, or when using Reckless Attack. You also cannot use Power Attack with any attack that does not require an attack roll.

Two Minor Feats or One Major Feat (Levels 2, 4, 6, 8, 10). You can choose two minor feats or one major feat (see Feats). Some feats have prerequisites you must meet to take the feat.

Brawler

You break stuff and hit people. Sometimes you mix it up by hitting stuff and breaking people.

You imprinted on comics as a kid, and it shows in your approach to a fight. With fists like hammers and the ability to turn nearly anything into a deadly weapon, you are dangerous and everyone knows it.

The brawler charges into melee combat, hitting hard and destroying everything in their path. They enjoy using improvised weapons but are also great unarmed combatants. The brawler doesn’t need to carry weapons to fight at full strength.

Proficiencies

• Saving Throws: Strength and Constitution
• Skills: Choose two from Acrobatics, Athletics, Endurance, Intimidation, Mechanics, and Streetwise
• Equipment: Basic Equipment and Improvised Equipment

Equipment Recommendations

• Equipment Pack: Badass Pack
• Weapons: Unarmed strikes and anything you find lying around

Brawler Level Up

Level	Talents	Smash Damage/with Power Attack
1	Crush, Hurl, Smash 1d6/1d12
3	Rampage 2d6/2d12
5	Bits and Pieces, Haymaker 3d6/3d12
7	Unstoppable 4d6/4d12
9	Ultimate Brutality 5d6/5d12

Brawler Talents

Crush (Level 1). You have advantage on any Strength check you make to break an object. In addition, your melee attacks have +1 Penetration Value.

Hurl (Level 1). You can double the throwing range when you attack with any weapon that has the thrown property.

Smash (Level 1). Once during your turn, when you hit an opponent with a melee weapon (including weapons with the thrown property), you can choose to deal an additional 1d6 damage, or an additional 1d12 damage if you used the Power Attack talent as part of the attack. If you did not attack with an unarmed strike, the weapon you used to make the attack is destroyed. You can’t use this talent with thrown explosives, such as grenades.

The amount of extra damage increases as you gain levels in this class, as shown on the Smash Damage column of the Brawler table.

Rampage (Level 3). As a bonus action, you can move up to your speed if you move toward an opponent. If there are no opponents present, you may move toward an obviously dangerous situation instead. In addition, during a foot chase, if you are a predator (you’re doing the chasing), you have advantage on Strength (Athletics) and Constitution (Endurance) checks made as part of a Gain Ground action.

Bits and Pieces (Level 5). Immediately after you use your Smash talent with a melee attack that is not an unarmed strike and break the weapon, you can use a bonus action to make an additional attack using the destroyed pieces of the weapon. The pieces are an improvised weapon that deal 1d4 piercing damage and are destroyed after the attack.

Haymaker (Level 5). When making an unarmed strike and using Reckless Attack, you can also use Power Attack. (Normally, you cannot use Power Attack when using Reckless Attack.)

Unstoppable (Level 7). You have advantage on ability checks and saving throws to avoid or escape being Grappled, Restrained, Paralyzed, Stunned, or knocked Unconscious.

Ultimate Brutality (Level 9). You add one damage die to your melee weapon damage rolls. (See “Dice Rules” in Core Rules for details on extra dice.)

Heavy Gunner

You leverage your beefy biceps by using them to treat big guns as if they were made of plastic. The louder the gun, the bigger the explosion, the wider your smile.

The heavy gunner applies their Strength modifier to large firearms and deals extra damage with nearly any weapon. The heavy gunner is especially dangerous when they have access to restricted military weapons, but they are still effective with nonrestricted big guns from the advanced and military weapons lists.

Proficiencies

• Saving Throws: Strength and Constitution
• Skills: Choose two from Athletics, Endurance, Intimidation, Mechanics, Natural Sciences, and Vehicles
• Equipment: Basic Equipment, Advanced Equipment, and Military Equipment

Equipment Recommendations

• Equipment Pack: Soldier Pack
• Weapons: Light machine gun or hand cannon

Heavy Gunner Level Up

Level	Talents
1	Big Guns, Salvo
3	Big Boom
5	Advanced Combat Training, Got You Covered
7	Make a Mess, Bigger Boom
9	Ultimate Carnage

Heavy Gunner Talents

Big Guns (Level 1). You can use Strength instead of Dexterity when you make a ranged attack with a ranged weapon that doesn’t have the light property. In addition, you can ignore the stationary property of weapons.

Salvo (Level 1). You can use your Reckless Attack talent, (and the Power Attack talent when you get it), when making attacks with ranged weapons that don’t have the light property.

Big Boom (Level 3). When you damage any target with suppressive fire or an explosive, you can add your proficiency bonus to the damage.

Advanced Combat Training (Level 5). Once during your turn, when you take the Attack action, you can make two attacks as part of that action.

Got You Covered (Level 5). When you take the Suppressive Fire action, you can double the area covered.

Make a Mess (Level 7). Whenever you score a critical hit, you roll the attack’s damage dice three times instead of twice.

Bigger Boom (Level 7). When you damage any target with suppressive fire or an explosive, you can add double your proficiency bonus to the damage, replacing the bonus from Big Boom.

Ultimate Carnage (Level 9). You add one damage die to your ranged weapon damage rolls. (See “Dice Rules” in Core Rules for details on extra dice.)

MMA Fighter

You are highly trained in the modern discipline of mixed martial arts and the philosophy of eschewing martial arts tradition for pure pragmatism. You can use your skills both in the ring as a competitor, and on the streets as a hero. One on one, you have few equals.

The MMA fighter is an unarmed strike specialist who performs combinations of special punches and grappling attacks to ensure their opponent’s ultimate defeat. The MMA fighter is not an especially strong damage dealer, but they are adept at neutralizing difficult and dangerous opponents one-on-one. Be sure to take advantage of the OffHand Attack bonus action when fighting unarmed.

Proficiencies

• Saving Throws: Strength and Dexterity
• Skills: Choose three from Acrobatics, Athletics, Deception, Endurance, Intimidation, Medicine, and Streetwise
• Equipment: Basic Equipment
• Athletic Expertise: You gain expertise in one skill, chosen from Acrobatics, Athletics, and Endurance. You must be proficient in a skill to take expertise in that skill.

Equipment Recommendations

• Equipment Pack: Fitness Pack
• Weapons: Unarmed strike

MMA Fighter Level Up

Level	Talents
1	Heavy Hands, Pin, Submission Move
3	Jab, Takedown
5	Advanced Combat Training
7	Improved Heavy Hands, Master Grappler
9	KO Punch, Sleeper Hold

MMA Fighter Talents

Heavy Hands (Level 1). The damage from your unarmed strikes improves by one die step from 1d4 to 1d6. In addition, when you get your Strong Hero Power Attack talent at 2nd level, you can use it when making off-hand unarmed strikes, but the damage bonus is +5 instead of +10.

Pin (Level 1). If you currently have an opponent Grappled, you can make a special attack to pin them (see Combat for special attacks). No attack roll or ability check is required; success is automatic. You and the opponent are considered Restrained until the grapple is broken.

Submission Move (Level 1). If you have an opponent Grappled, you can perform a special attack called a submission move. This attack automatically hits and deals the same damage as your unarmed strike. You cannot use your Power Attack talent when making a submission move. (Special attacks can be used in place of any attack you could normally make.)

Jab (Level 3). Once during your turn, before rolling to hit with an unarmed strike, you can declare it is a jab. You cannot declare an attack as both a jab and a takedown. If the jab hits, you gain advantage on your next melee attack roll against that opponent before the end of your next turn.

Takedown (Level 3). Once during your turn, before rolling to hit with an unarmed strike, you can declare it is a takedown. You cannot declare an attack as both a jab and a takedown. If the takedown hits, you deal damage normally and then perform one of the following special attacks:

• Grapple the target
• Shove or trip the target
• Disarm the target

Advanced Combat Training (Level 5). Once during your turn, when you take the Attack action, you can make two attacks as part of that action.

Improved Heavy Hands (Level 7). Your unarmed strike damage improves by one die step. In addition, you now get your full Power Attack damage bonus (+10) with off-hand unarmed strikes.

Master Grappler (Level 7). You gain advantage on Strength (Athletics) checks made to initiate or escape a grapple.

K.O. Punch (Level 9). After you hit an opponent with a jab during your turn, you can declare your next unarmed strike before the end of your next turn a KO punch. If a K.O. Punch hits, it is treated as a critical hit and the target must make a Constitution saving throw (Dc = 8 + your Strength modifier + your proficiency bonus). If the opponent fails, they are knocked Unconscious. They can make a Constitution saving throw with the same DC at the end of each of their turns, ending the effect on a success.

Sleeper Hold (Level 9). After you use a submission move on an opponent, you can apply a sleeper hold instead of a submission move on that opponent before the end of your next turn. When you apply a sleeper hold, in addition to the effects of a submission move, the opponent must make a Constitution saving throw (Dc 8 + your Strength modifier + your proficiency bonus). If the opponent fails, they are knocked Unconscious. They may make a Constitution saving throw with the same DC at the end of each of their turns, ending the effect on a success.

Agile Heroes

Level	Talents	Proficiency Bonus	Defense Bonus
1	Fast Reflexes, Class Talent(s)	+2	+1
2	Quickness, Two Minor Feats or One Major Feat	+2	+1
3	Class Talent(s)	+2	+1
4	Two Minor Feats or One Major Feat	+2	+1
5	Class Talent(s)	+3	+2
6	Two Minor Feats or One Major Feat	+3	+2
7	Class Talent(s)	+3	+2
8	Two Minor Feats or One Major Feat	+3	+2
9	Class Talent(s)	+4	+3
10	Two Minor Feats or One Major Feat	+4	+3

Leveling Up

You are a master of speed and precision. You have honed your reflexes to the point you can act faster than you can think. Your pinpoint accuracy makes you a deadly foe in any firefight.

Agile heroes focus on ranged attacks and light weapons. Their high mobility and rapid attacks make them deadly heroes in combat.

Hit Dice: 1d8 per hero level

Starting Hit Points: 8 + Constitution modifier level

Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 (or 5) + Constitution modifier per hero level after 1st

Defense (Agile Movement): 10 + Dexterity modifier + Agile Hero Defense Bonus

Agile Hero Talents

Fast Reflexes (Level 1). You have advantage on initiative rolls.

Quickness (Level 2). You can take the Dash or Disengage action as a bonus action. In addition, during a foot chase, you have advantage on Strength (Athletics) checks made as part of a Gain Ground action.

Two Minor Feats or One Major Feat (Levels 2, 4, 6, 8, 10). You can choose two minor feats or one major feat (see Feats). Some feats have prerequisites you must meet to take the feat.

Martial Artist

Through rigorous physical training and mental discipline, you have turned your body into a potentially deadly weapon. You prefer the weapons of an idealized past to those of the modern world.

The martial artist specializes in rapid attacks and high mobility. They freely mix unarmed strikes and weapon attacks to precise effect. Their mobility helps them enter melee combat quickly.

Proficiencies

• Saving Throws: Strength and Dexterity
• Skills: Choose two from Acrobatics, Athletics, Endurance, Performance, Sleight of Hand, and Stealth
• Equipment: Basic Equipment and Historical Equipment

Equipment Recommendations

• Equipment Pack: Martial Artist Pack or Fitness Pack
• Weapons: Unarmed strike or sword

Martial Artist Level Up

Level	Talents
1	Martial Arts
3	Lightning Strikes, Parkour
5	Advanced Combat Training
7	Evasion, Advanced Martial Arts
9	Lightning Strikes Twice

Martial Artist Talents

Martial Arts (Level 1). The damage from your unarmed strikes improves by one die step from 1d4 to 1d6. In addition, you treat all melee weapons that don’t have the heavy property as if they had the finesse property.

Lightning Strikes (Level 3). You can make an unarmed strike as a bonus action.

Parkour (Level 3). You ignore difficult terrain when you move. Climbing and swimming do not count as difficult movement for you. In addition, during a foot chase, you have advantage on Dexterity (Acrobatics) checks made as part of a Gain Ground action.

Advanced Combat Training (Level 5). Once during your turn, when you take the Attack action, you can make two attacks as part of that action.

Evasion (Level 7). When you make a Dexterity saving throw to take half damage from an effect, you take no damage on a successful save, and half damage on a failed one.

Advanced Martial Arts (Level 7). Your unarmed strike damage improves by another die step. In addition, you now treat all melee weapons as if they had the finesse property.

Lightning Strikes Twice (Level 9). You can make two unarmed strikes as a bonus action.

Scoundrel

Honorable combat is a sucker bet. There isn’t a low blow, dirty trick, or cheap shot you don’t know. You have mastered skills that can be put to disreputable uses. These skills don’t make you a bad person, but you do have the necessary credentials to play the part.

The scoundrel is a capable fighter who boasts a range of useful skill proficiencies. Getting advantage on attacks is key to their success in a fight. For this reason, shotguns are a great weapon choice for scoundrels in ranged combat, since the shot property always offers advantage within 30 feet.

Proficiencies

• Saving Throws: Dexterity and Charisma
• Skills: Choose three from Acrobatics, Deception, Intimidation, Security, Sleight of Hand, Stealth, Streetwise, and Vehicles
• Equipment: Basic Equipment and Advanced Equipment
• Criminal Expertise: You gain expertise in one of the following skills: Deception, Security, Sleight of Hand, Stealth, or Streetwise. You must be proficient in a skill to take expertise in that skill.

Equipment Recommendations

• Equipment Pack: Street Criminal Pack or Spy Pack
• Weapons: Pump shotgun, brass knuckles, or stun gun

Scoundrel Level Up

Level	Talents	Vital Strike
1	Vital Strike	1d6
3	Swift, Surprise Attack	2d6
5	Roll With It	3d6
7	Covert Expertise	4d6
9	Master of Subterfuge	5d6

Scoundrel Talents

Vital Strike (Level 1). Once during your turn when you hit a target with an attack, if you had advantage on that attack or an ally is within 5 feet of that target, you can deal an additional 1d6 damage.

The amount of extra damage increases as you gain levels in this class, as shown in the Vital Strike column of the Scoundrel table.

Swift (Level 3). As a bonus action, you can make a Dexterity (Security) check, a Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) check, use the Hide action, or use the Object Interaction action.

Surprise Attack (Level 3). You have advantage on attack rolls against any opponent that has not yet taken a turn during this combat.

Roll With It (Level 5). When you take damage from an attack, you can use your reaction to reduce that attack’s damage by half.

Covert Expertise (Level 7). You gain expertise in two of the following skills: Deception, Security, Sleight of Hand, Stealth, or Streetwise. You must be proficient in a skill to take expertise in that skill.

Master of Subterfuge (Level 9). You always treat a roll of 9 or lower as a 10 on Deception, Security, Sleight of Hand, Stealth, or Streetwise checks (even if you are not proficient in those skills).

Sharpshooter

You are a master of modern firearms, able to make impossible shots look effortless. Whether you’re sniping targets from a mile away or dancing through a hail of bullets with a gun in either hand, you rarely miss your mark.

The sharpshooter focuses on ranged weapons, using either dual pistols or long guns. Both are highly effective at bringing down foes quickly. Sharpshooters are not especially durable and stick to cover in combat.

Proficiencies

• Saving Throws: Dexterity and Intelligence
• Skills: Choose two from Acrobatics, Intimidation, Mechanics, Perception, Sleight of Hand, Stealth, and Vehicles
• Equipment: Basic Equipment and Advanced Equipment

Equipment Recommendations

• Equipment Pack: Underworld Pack or Sniper Pack
• Weapons: Two concealed carry pistols or sniper rifle

Sharpshooter Level Up

Level	Talents
1	Gunslinging, Sharpshooting
3	Improved Gunslinging, Improved Sharpshooting
5	Advanced Combat Training
7	Headshot
9	Supreme Ranged Combat Training

Sharpshooter Talents

Gunslinging (Level 1). You can draw two one-handed light weapons as a free action. In addition, you can reload two guns as part of the same action, without needing a free hand.

Sharpshooting (Level 1). When using a two-handed ranged weapon, if you don’t move during your turn you gain +2 to attack rolls with that weapon. In addition, you ignore the slow-firing property of ranged weapons.

Improved Gunslinging (Level 3). You can add your Dexterity modifier to damage rolls made with offhand ranged attacks.

Improved Sharpshooting (Level 3). You gain the following benefits when using a two-handed ranged weapon and you don’t move during your turn:

• You do not have disadvantage on attack rolls due to long range.
• When attacking a target behind three-quarters or half cover, you treat their cover as if it were one category lower for purposes of their Defense. So three-quarters cover is treated as half cover, and half cover is treated as no cover.

Advanced Combat Training (Level 5). Once during your turn, when you take the Attack action, you can make two attacks as part of that action.

Headshot (Level 7). You score a critical hit on a roll of 19 or 20 when making ranged attacks.

Supreme Ranged Combat Training (Level 9). Once during your turn, when you take the Attack action, you can make three ranged attacks as part of that action. This talent supersedes Advanced Combat Training.

Tough Heroes

Level	Talents	Proficiency Bonus	Tough As Nails Defense Bonus
1	Payback, Class Talent(s) +2 —	+2
2	Tough as Nails, Two Minor Feats or One Major Feat +2 (Dr 2)	+2
3	Class Talent(s) +2 (Dr 2)	+2
4	Two Minor Feats or One Major Feat +2 (Dr 2)	+2
5	Class Talent(s) +3 (Dr 3)	+3
6	Two Minor Feats or One Major Feat +3 (Dr 3)	+3
7	Class Talent(s) +3 (Dr 3)	+3
8	Two Minor Feats or One Major Feat +3 (Dr 3)	+3
9	Class Talent(s) +4 (Dr 4)	+4
10	Two Minor Feats or One Major Feat +4 (Dr 4)

Leveling Up

You don’t know what it means to give up. No matter what knocks you down, you get up again. Where there is a fight to be found, you’ll be in the thick of it, often risking your life to protect others.

Tough heroes are durable characters, sometimes at the expense of offensive options or out of combat abilities. Many excel at protecting their teammates.

Hit Dice: 1d12 per hero level

Starting Hit Points: 12 + Constitution modifier level

Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d12 (or 7) + Constitution modifier per hero level after 1st

Defense (Thick Skinned): 10 + (Constitution or Dexterity) modifier + Tough Hero Defense bonus

Tough Hero Talents

Payback (Level 1). You gain a +2 bonus on one attack roll against an opponent who has damaged you since the end of your last turn. You can use this talent once during your turn. You can decide to use Payback after making your attack roll, but before determining the result.

Tough as Nails (Level 2). You gain damage reduction (against all damage types) equal to your proficiency bonus.

Two Minor Feats or One Major Feat (Levels 2, 4, 6, 8, 10). You can choose two minor feats or one major feat (see Feats). Some feats have prerequisites you must meet to take the feat.

Bodyguard

You are dedicated to the protection of others. You do whatever it takes to keep your allies safe from harm, even if it risks your own life. Fortunately, it takes quite a lot to take you down.

Bodyguards have abilities to protect their allies from harm and have among the best defenses of any hero. Concealable weapons are a great thematic choice for bodyguards, but they can make good use of high damage weapons when discretion isn’t needed.

Proficiencies

• Saving Throws: Strength and Constitution
• Skills: Choose three from Athletics, Endurance, Intimidation, Medicine, Perception, Security, Streetwise, and Survival
• Equipment: Basic Equipment and Advanced Equipment
• Security Expertise: Choose one from Endurance, Intimidation, and Security. You must be proficient in a skill to take expertise in that skill.

Equipment Recommendations

• Equipment Pack: Bodyguard Pack
• Weapons: Concealed carry pistol, stun gun, tactical rifle

Bodyguard Level Up

Level	Talents
1	Get Down, Take a Bullet
3	Come Get Some, Friendly Fire
5	Advanced Combat Training, Pin Them Down
7	Vigilance
9	Human Shield

Bodyguard Talents

Get Down (Level 1). If you are in cover and within 10 feet of a willing ally, you can take a bonus action on your turn to move that ally into cover. You can move up to 15 feet during this action to make room for your ally.

Take a Bullet (Level 1). When an ally within 5 feet is hit by an attack, you can use your reaction to cause the attack to hit you instead of your ally.

Come Get Some (Level 3). As a bonus action, choose one opponent that you can see. That opponent has disadvantage when it attacks anyone other than you before the start of your next turn, as long as it can see you and you are in range of its attack.

Friendly Fire (Level 3). You can ignore cover provided by your allies that are in your line of fire or in melee combat with your target. In addition, you do not damage allies if you roll a critical miss when firing into close combat.

Advanced Combat Training (Level 5). Once during your turn, when you take the Attack action, you can make two attacks as part of that action.

Pin Them Down (Level 5). When an opponent uses Dive for Cover as a reaction to one of your attacks or actions, their movement speed becomes 0 during their next turn.

Vigilance (Level 7). You can take up to two reactions between each of your turns.

Human Shield (Level 9). You take half damage from the attack when you use your Take a Bullet ability, and whenever you are hit by an opponent under the effect of your Come Get Some ability. (This is applied before Tough as Nails.)

Commando

You are the consummate warrior, dangerous with any weapon and trained to survive every circumstance. You are ready for whatever the enemy has to throw at you. The only thing you might be unprepared for is peace.

The commando is an all-around combat class that offers a great blend of defense and offense. Unlike the other tough heroes, they can’t directly protect their allies, but they are versatile and can use nearly any weapon. You might consider investing in Dexterity if you want to lean into offensive strategies.

Proficiencies

• Saving Throws: Strength and Constitution
• Skills: Choose two from Athletics, Endurance, Mechanics, Persuasion, Streetwise, Survival, and Vehicles
• Equipment: Basic Equipment, Advanced Equipment, and Military Equipment

Equipment Recommendations

• Equipment Pack: Soldier Pack
• Weapons: Assault carbine rifle, 9mm semi-auto pistol, combat knife

Commando Level Up

Level	Talents
1	Fighting Spirit, Watch Your Six
3	Extra Effort, Grenadier
5	Advanced Combat Training
7	Maximum Effort, Situational Awareness
9	Master of Arms

Commando Talents

Fighting Spirit (Level 1). You can take the Second Wind action as a bonus action.

Watch Your Six (Level 1). You gain a +1 bonus to your Defense.

Extra Effort (Level 3). By pushing yourself to the limit, you can take an additional action during your turn. You can do this only once before you finish a short or long rest.

Grenadier (Level 3). You can draw, arm, and throw a grenade as a bonus action. You must have a free hand or already be holding the grenade to do this.

Advanced Combat Training (Level 5). Once during your turn, when you take the Attack action, you can make two attacks as part of that action.

Maximum Effort (Level 7). You can use your Extra Effort ability twice before finishing a short or long rest, instead of only once. You can use Extra Effort only once per turn.

Situational Awareness (Level 7). You gain a +2 bonus to your Defense, replacing the bonus from Watch Your Six.

Master of Arms (Level 9). You add one die to the damage of all weapons you wield. (See “Dice Rules” in Core Rules for details on extra dice.)

Scrapper

You haven’t been killed yet, but not for lack of anyone trying. You can take a beating and dish out a double helping in return. When the dust settles, you’ll be the one left standing.

The scrapper excels at getting in the enemy’s face and forcing them to engage. If the enemy tries to go around them, they can punish them for it. If the enemy attacks the scrapper, they can punish them for it. If you want to be unstoppable in combat, this is the class for you.

Proficiencies

• Saving Throws: Constitution and Intelligence
• Skills: Choose one from Acrobatics, Athletics, Endurance, Intimidation, Persuasion, Streetwise, and Vehicles
• Equipment: Basic Equipment, Advanced Equipment, and Improvised Equipment

Equipment Recommendations

• Equipment Pack: Thug Pack
• Weapons: Brass knuckles, sledgehammer

Scrapper Level Up

Level	Talents	With Interest
1	Opportunist —3 Frenzy, With Interest	1d6
5	Roll With It	2d6
7	Anger Issues, Indomitable	3d6
9	Ultimate Brutality	4d6

Scrapper Talents

Opportunist (Level 1). You gain the following benefits:

• Enemies taking the Disengage action provoke opportunity attacks from you before leaving your reach.
• Enemies within your reach that attack one of your allies provoke an opportunity attack from you.
• When you damage an opponent with an opportunity attack, their speed becomes 0 until the end of the current turn, preventing further movement.

Frenzy (Level 3). After you take damage in combat, you can use your reaction to enter a Frenzy. While in a Frenzy, you double the damage reduction from Tough as Nails, but you take damage equal to your proficiency bonus at the start of each of your turns. This damage cannot be reduced by any means. You can end the Frenzy as a free action during your turn (after taking the damage), and it ends automatically after 1 minute or if you become Unconscious. Once your Frenzy ends, you cannot use this talent again until you finish a short or long rest.

With Interest (Level 3). When you apply your Payback talent’s bonus to an attack and hit, or you hit with an opportunity attack, you deal an additional 1d6 damage.

The amount of extra damage increases as you gain levels in this class, as shown in the With Interest column of the Scrapper table.

Roll With It (Level 5). When you take damage from an attack, you can use your reaction to halve that attack’s damage against you. This effect happens before damage reduction is applied.

Anger Issues (Level 7). You can use your Frenzy talent twice before finishing a short or long rest.

Indomitable (Level 7). After failing any saving throw, you may reroll that saving throw. You can’t do this again until you finish a short rest.

Ultimate Brutality (Level 9). You add one damage die to your melee weapon damage rolls. (See “Dice Rules” in Core Rules for details on extra dice.)

Smart Heroes

While others are playing checkers, you’re playing 4-dimensional chess. The human mind is the ultimate weapon, and yours is honed to a razor’s edge.

Smart Heroes use their genius to enact plans. Plans are powerful but limited effects that can break the fourth wall, effectively changing the past to affect the present.

Hit Dice: 1d6

Starting Hit Points: 6 + Constitution modifier level

Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d6 (or 4) + Constitution modifier per hero level after 1st

Defense (Superior Tactics): 10 + Intelligence modifier + Smart Hero Defense bonus

Leveling Up

Smart Hero Talents

Plans (Level 1). You have a limited number of plans at your disposal. The total number is: Intelligence modifier (minimum 1) +1/2 Hero Level (rounded down)

Select a set of plans equal to the total above from the shared plans list and your class’s plan list. As your maximum number of plans grows due to your intelligence or level, you can select additional plans for your list. These selections are semi-permanent. When you gain a level, you can decide to exchange a single plan you know for a different plan.

The effect of each plan, as well as the action you must take to enact it, is included in the plan’s individual description. If a plan calls for a saving

Level	Talents	Proficiency Bonus	Defense Bonus	Genius Plans
1	Plans, Genius, Class Talent(s) +2 +0 2 Intelligence modifier (min. 1)
2	Mental Refresh, Two Minor Feats or One Major Feat +2 +0 3 1 + Int modifier
3	Plans Improve, Class Talent(s) +2 +0 4 1 + Int modifier
4	Two Minor Feats or One Major Feat +2 +0 4 2 + Int modifier
5	Plans Improve, Class Talent(s) +3 +1 5 2 + Int modifier
6	Two Minor Feats or One Major Feat +3 +1 5 3 + Int modifier
7	Plans Improve, Class Talent(s) +3 +1 6 3 + Int modifier
8	Two Minor Feats or One Major Feat +3 +1 6 4 + Int modifier
9	Plans Improve, Class Talent(s) +4 +2 7 4 + Int modifier 10 Two Minor Feats or One Major Feat +4 +2 7 5 + Int modifier

throw, the save DC is 8 + your Intelligence modifier + your proficiency bonus. This is your plan DC.

Plans grow in power as you gain more levels. Each plan describes how it improves, and these enhancements are cumulative unless otherwise noted. Heroes multiclassing into Smart Hero have a cap on the level of effect they can access.

Genius (Level 1). Your incredible Genius allows you to devise and enact cunning plans that can accomplish what seems impossible until you explain how they came to fruition.

You can enact any plan you know by spending 1 Genius. The Smart Hero table shows how much Genius you have based on your level. Genius recharges when you finish a long rest. Provided you have Genius, you can use any of your plans without restriction.

Mental Refresh (Level 2). When you take a short rest, you can refresh your mind with a nice snack, a power nap, and/or some light reading. You regain 1 Genius point when you finish that short rest. You can do this only once before you finish a long rest.

Two Minor Feats or One Major Feat (Levels 2, 4, 6, 8, 10). You can choose two minor feats or one major feat (see Feats). Some feats have prerequisites you must meet to take the feat.

Smart Hero Shared Plans

These plans are available to all Smart Heroes. Plans represent the ability of the Smart Hero to anticipate situations and have preparations in place to deal with the challenges that face them. Players are not required to explain precisely how those arrangements came into being, but it can add a lot of fun to the game. The GM is welcome to help with this as well.

Each plan has some level of detail explaining how it can be used, but we encourage both players and the GM to invent creative new uses for these plans in keeping with the idea behind each. Doing so can lead to fun moments in roleplay and problem solving. However, the GM gets final say in just how far you can push the boundaries with your plans.

Coordinated Maneuvers

You already told your team exactly where to go in this very situation. When you enact this plan as a bonus action, you and each ally that can see or hear you can immediately move up to their movement speed. Opportunity attacks made in reaction to this movement have disadvantage. During a foot chase, each affected hero gains advantage on Strength (Athletics) checks until the start of your next turn.

• Level 5: Each affected hero can perform Dash as a bonus action for the next 10 rounds. Opportunity attacks made in reaction to this movement have disadvantage. During a foot chase, each affected hero gains advantage on Strength (Athletics) checks for the next minute.
• Level 9: For the next minute, each affected hero’s movement speed is increased by 10 feet. During a foot chase, each affected hero gains advantage on Strength (Athletics), Dexterity (Acrobatics), and Constitution (Endurance) checks for the next minute.

Dirty Little Secrets

Your information network gives you access to confidential and compromising information about nearly anyone. You memorize this information in advance of meeting people. At any time, you can enact this plan to recall information about a given person you meet or know. This gives you advantage on Charisma checks made against that person for the next hour.

• Level 5: The effect lasts for one week.
• Level 9: Ignore all sources of disadvantage on Charisma (Intimidation) checks made against the target.

Expect The Unexpected

When you enact this plan as an action, you prepare yourself for every form of attack. For the next hour, your Defense bonus is +3.

• Level 5: The bonus becomes +4. While this plan is active, you can use this bonus in place of your Strength or Dexterity modifier when making a saving throw.
• Level 9: The bonus becomes +5.

Know The Layout

You knew you were going to end up here, so naturally you carefully studied the blueprints. Or perhaps you’ve researched so many similar locations that you can perfectly predict the layout. When you enact this plan, which does not require any action, the GM reveals one of the following facts of your choice:

• All entrances and exits from the building
• The number of guards normally stationed
• The type of security systems installed in the building
• Which floor of the building a given person or object is located on
• The location of all stairs and elevators in the building
• The location of one secret room or door within the building
• The fastest path from one location in the building to another

• Level 3: The GM reveals two facts of your choice.
• Level 5: The GM reveals three facts of your choice.
• Level 7: The GM reveals four facts of your choice.
• Level 9: The GM reveals five facts of your choice.

The Right Tool

When you enact this plan as a free action, you produce the perfect tool for the task at hand. You brought it with you, had it brought to you, or knew just where to find it. The tool can be any piece of equipment that you can carry and afford. If it is a weapon, it is fully loaded.

• Level 3: You can produce up to two pieces of equipment.
• Level 5: You can produce up to three pieces of equipment. The equipment can have a price level of up to one level higher than your Wealth Level.
• Level 7: You can produce up to four pieces of equipment.
• Level 9: You can produce up to five pieces of equipment. The equipment can have a price level of up to two levels higher than your Wealth Level.

Watch Your Step

When you enact this plan as an action, you cause a 10-foot square surface within 60 feet to become slick with oil, ice, marbles, or some other slippery substance. The area becomes difficult terrain. Each combatant standing in the area must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw against your plan DC or fall Prone. A combatant that enters the area or ends their turn there must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw against your plan DC or fall Prone. This effect lasts for 1 minute.

When you enact this plan during a chase, instead choose up to two opponents on foot or one land vehicle’s driver. Each target must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw against your plan DC. You earn 1 chase point for each target that fails, or 2 points if the target was a driver.

• Level 5: You can increase the area to a 20-foot square. Your allies are not affected by the surface thanks to what you did to their shoes. During a chase, you can choose up to four opponents on foot or two vehicles’ drivers instead.
• Level 9: The area you affect can be any distance away, as long as you can see it. You can enact this plan as a bonus action.

When A plan Comes Together

After you enact any other plan, you may use this plan as a free action to inspire your team. You and up to six of your allies that can see or hear you gain temporary hit points equal to your Intelligence modifier.

• Level 3: You and your allies gain temporary hit points equal to 1d4 + your Intelligence modifier instead.
• Level 5: You and your allies gain temporary hit points equal to 2d4 + your Intelligence modifier instead.
• Level 7: You and your allies gain temporary hit points equal to 3d4 + your Intelligence modifier instead.
• Level 9: You and your allies gain temporary hit points equal to 4d4 + your Intelligence modifier instead.

Engineer

You love technology. You see the material world as a giant set of tools to build whatever you can imagine. Whether it’s programming drones with artificial intelligence or inventing new and wondrous machines, where others see impossibility, you see inevitability.

Engineers are capable combatants thanks to their mechanical companion and plans that deal electrical damage. They also offer strong support to members of their team and bring a number of useful skills to the table.

Proficiencies

• Saving Throws: Dexterity and Intelligence
• Skills: Choose three from Arts and Crafts, Computers, Vehicles, Investigation, Mechanics, Natural Sciences, and Security
• Equipment: Basic Equipment
• Mechanical Expertise: Choose one from Computers, Mechanics, and Vehicles. You must be proficient in a skill to gain expertise in that skill.

Equipment Recommendations

• Equipment Pack: Mechanic Pack
• Weapons: Stun gun

Engineer Level Up

Level	Talents
1	Mechanical Companion, Field Repairs
3	Fine Tuning, Plans Improve
5	Plans Improve
7	Plans Improve
9	Plans Improve

Engineer Talents

Mechanical Companion (Level 1). You have a unique robot or drone that assists you in tasks, fights beside you, and obeys your commands. Your companion is perfectly loyal and obeys even suicidal commands. You can communicate with it at any range as long as you have a device it can remotely connect to. Its sensory input can be recorded.

You can enact plans from your mechanical companion’s location instead of your own. If a plan affects you, it can affect your companion instead. If a plan calls for an attack, you make the attack roll, but the range is calculated from the companion’s location.

Your mechanical companion can be a creation of your own genius, or a commercial product you have modified with enhanced abilities. Its engineering is such that you don’t have to worry about battery life, and you can command it by voice or using a remote device. You can choose from the robots detailed below. (See the Companion rules in Misc. Rules for the full details on how companions can be commanded in combat.)

Field Repairs (Level 1). As an action, you can allow a friendly robot, such as your companion, within 5 feet of you to spend up to half of its maximum Hit Dice, rounded down. If it does, it regains additional hit points equal to your Intelligence modifier for each die spent. A robot can benefit from this talent only once before it finishes a short or long rest.

Fine Tuning (Level 3). You can use a bonus action to order your mechanical companion to make a single attack. You can take this action even if you have issued another command to your companion as an action this turn.

Engineer Companions

Mechanical Companion (Amphibious Robot)

Small robot (autonomous)
Defense 12 + your proficiency bonus (treat your proficiency bonus as its Defense bonus)
Hit Points 4 + four times your level (d6 Hit Dice equal to your level)
Speed 30 ft., swim 60 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
8 (-1)	14 (+2)	12 (+1)	5 (-3)	11 (0)	1 (-5)

Senses passive Perception 10; Nightvision.

SPECIAL TRAITS

• Mechanical Nature. The mechanical companion cannot be Frightened, Paralyzed, Sickened, or Stunned, and it cannot gain levels of Exhaustion or Intoxication. It is immune to poison damage.

ACTIONS

• Multiattack. If you are 5th level or higher, the mechanical companion makes two attacks. If you are 9th level or higher, it makes three attacks instead.
• Shock. Melee Attack: your Intelligence modifier + your proficiency bonus to hit, PV 0, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 1d4 electrical damage and the target must make a Constitution saving throw with a DC equal to your plan DC or be Stunned until the end of its next turn.
• Flechette Gun. Ranged Attack: your Intelligence modifier + your proficiency bonus to hit, PV 2, range 50/100 ft., one target. Hit: 1d8 + 2 piercing damage. This attack can be used underwater normally. (This weapon does not need to track ammunition or reload.)

Mechanical Companion (Flying Drone) Tiny robot (autonomous)
Defense 12 + your proficiency bonus (treat your proficiency bonus as its Defense bonus)
Hit Points 3 + three times your level (d4 Hit Dice equal to your level)
Speed 0 ft., fly 60 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
5 (-3)	14 (+2)	12 (+1)	5 (-3)	11 (0)	1 (-5)

Senses passive Perception 10; Nightvision

SPECIAL TRAITS

• Hover. The mechanical companion does not fall Prone when it dives for cover as long as it is flying.
• Mechanical Nature. The mechanical companion cannot be Frightened, Paralyzed, Sickened, or Stunned, and it cannot gain levels of Exhaustion or Intoxication. It is immune to poison damage.

ACTIONS

• Multiattack. If you are 5th level or higher, the mechanical companion makes two attacks. If you are 9th or higher, it makes three attacks instead.
• Nudge. Melee Attack: your Intelligence modifier + your proficiency bonus to hit, PV 0, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 1 bludgeoning damage.
• Firearm. Ranged Attack: your Intelligence modifier + your proficiency bonus to hit, PV 2, range 50/100 ft., one target. Hit: 1d6 + 2 ballistic damage. (This weapon does not need to track ammunition or reload.)

Mechanical Companion (Walking or Driving Robot)

Small robot (autonomous)
Defense 12 + your proficiency bonus (treat your proficiency bonus as its Defense bonus)
Hit Points 4 + four times your level (d6 Hit Dice equal to your level)
Speed 40 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
8 (-1)	14 (+2)	12 (+1)	5 (-3)	11 (0)	1 (-5)

Senses passive Perception 10; Nightvision

SPECIAL TRAITS

• Mechanical Nature. The mechanical companion cannot be Frightened, Paralyzed, Sickened, or Stunned, and it cannot gain levels of Exhaustion or Intoxication. It is immune to poison damage.

ACTIONS

• Multiattack. If you are 5th level or higher, the mechanical companion makes two attacks. If you are 9th level or higher, it makes three attacks instead.
• Power Saw. Melee Attack: your Intelligence modifier + your proficiency bonus to hit, PV 2, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 1d8 + 2 slashing damage.
• Turret. Ranged Attack: your Intelligence modifier + your proficiency bonus to hit, PV 2, range 100/200 ft., one target. Hit: 1d8 + 2 ballistic damage. (This weapon does not need to track ammunition or reload.)

Engineer Plans

Your Smart Hero level determines the number of plans you know, as shown in the Plans column of the Smart Hero table. Engineers can select from these plans in addition to the shared plans available to all Smart Heroes.

Customize

When you enact this plan as an action, you apply a custom modification to a firearm or other mechanical weapon you or an ally within 5 feet is wielding. For the next 10 minutes, or until you enact this plan again, the weapon gains one of the following benefits of your choice:

• AP Rounds. The weapon’s Penetration Value is increased by 1.
• Carrying Strap. The weapon loses the Stationary property.
• Improved Balance. Attack and damage rolls made with the weapon gain a +1 bonus.
• Incendiary Rounds. The weapon deals an additional 1d4 fire damage.
• Modded Barrel. The weapon’s range values are doubled.
• Quick Reload. The reload speed of the weapon is decreased by 1 step: from action to bonus action or from bonus action to no reload time.
• Rapid Action. The weapon gains the full-auto weapon property.
• Level 3: The effect lasts for 1 hour.
• Level 5: You can choose up to two benefits.
• Level 7: The effect lasts for 4 hours.
• Level 9: You can choose up to three benefits.

Cut The Power

When you enact this plan as a bonus action, you cause any one machine that you can see, or everything powered by the building’s electrical system in a single room that you can see, to lose electrical power until repaired. If a machine is being held or operated, its owner can attempt an Intelligence saving throw against your plan DC to ignore this effect. Anyone can attempt to fix the outage as an action by succeeding on an Intelligence (Mechanics) check against your plan DC. You can return power as a bonus action.

An autonomous robot targeted by this plan temporarily shuts down. Instead of the above effect, it must make an Intelligence saving throw against your plan DC or be Paralyzed until the end of your next turn.

• Level 3: You can cut the power to up to two machines.
• Level 5: You can cut the power to an entire building, or up to three individual machines.
• Level 7: You can cut the power to up to four machines.
• Level 9: You can cut the power to an entire block, or any number of individual machines you can see.

Demolish

You can enact this plan as an action to activate a hidden demolition charge you planted earlier on a surface you can see. The effect depends on the surface you placed the charge on. Targets cannot Dive for Cover in reaction to this plan.

• Ceiling or Floor. The surface within 5 feet of the charge collapses. Everyone under the collapse must make a Dexterity saving throw against your plan DC, taking 3d6 bludgeoning damage (Pv 1) from falling debris on a failed save, or half as much on a successful one. Anyone who was standing on the collapsed surface must make a Dexterity saving throw against your plan DC, taking 3d6 explosive damage (Pv 4) on a failed save, or half as much on a successful one. If they fail, they also fall through the hole, suffering falling damage as normal.
• Wall or Door. The surface within 5 feet of the charge is breached, becoming difficult terrain and providing half cover. Anyone behind the breached surface must make a Dexterity saving throw against your plan DC, taking 3d6 explosive damage (Pv 4) on a failed save, or half as much on a successful one.
• Chase Hazard. The charge damages your enemies’ path. Choose up to two opponents, who must each make a Dexterity saving throw against your plan DC, taking 3d6 bludgeoning damage (Pv 1) on a failed save, or half as much on a successful one. Each failed save also gives your side 1 chase point unless that opponent drops from the chase.
• Level 3: The damage from debris or the explosion becomes 4d6.
• Level 5: The damage from debris or the explosion becomes 6d6. You can collapse or breach the surface within 10 feet of the charge. During a chase, you can choose up to four opponents.
• Level 7: The damage from debris or the explosion becomes 7d6.
• Level 9: The damage from debris or the explosion becomes 9d6. You can collapse or breach the surface within 20 feet of the charge. During a chase, you can choose up to six opponents.

Emergency Jetpack

When you enact this plan as an action, you reveal an emergency jetpack. You gain a flying speed of 60 feet until the end of your next turn, at which point you fall if you are not on solid ground.

While the jetpack is active during a foot chase, you automatically pass all ability checks and saving throws related to difficult terrain, jumping, or climbing, and you have advantage on all Strength (Athletics) and Constitution (Endurance) checks.

• Level 3: You can choose one ally within 30 feet to benefit from this plan instead of you.
• Level 5: The jetpack lasts for 1 minute.
• Level 7: You can enact this plan as a reaction when you or an ally within 30 feet falls.
• Level 9: You can choose yourself and up to six allies within 30 feet to benefit from this plan.

My Robot Can Do That

You can enact this plan as an action to activate an experimental system you installed in your mechanical companion. For the next hour, or until you enact this plan again, your mechanical companion gains one of the following perks of your choice:

• Combat Protocol. Your mechanical companion can make opportunity attacks using its reaction. In addition, you can add your proficiency bonus to the damage of your companion’s attacks.
• Defense Protocol. Your mechanical companion gains 10 temporary hit points. You can select this perk multiple times, increasing the amount of temporary hit points by 10 each time. These temporary hit points are lost when this plan ends.
• Efficiency Protocol. This plan lasts for 4 hours instead of 1. You can take this perk a second time, increasing the duration to 8 hours.
• Skill Protocol. Your mechanical companion can use your Intelligence (Computers) bonus instead of its normal bonus when it makes an ability check using one of the following skills of your choice: Investigation, Intimidation, Perception, Mechanics, Security, Sleight of Hand, or Stealth. You can select this perk multiple times, choosing a different skill each time.
• Speed Protocol. The mechanical companion’s movement speed is doubled.
• Level 3: You can choose up to two perks.
• Level 5: You can choose up to three perks.
• Level 7: You can choose up to four perks.
• Level 9: You can choose up to five perks.

Overload

When you enact this plan as an action, you cause any electronic device within 120 feet that you can see or that you have access to via a network to short out, shocking anyone nearby. Each combatant within 5 feet of the device must make a Dexterity saving throw against your plan DC, taking 3d6 electrical damage (Pv 4) on a failed save, or half as much on a successful one. Combatants cannot dive for cover reaction to this plan.

• Level 3: The damage becomes 4d6.
• Level 5: The damage becomes 6d6 and you can choose to affect all targets within 10 feet of the chosen device.
• Level 7: The damage becomes 7d6.
• Level 9: The damage becomes 9d6 and you can choose to affect all targets within 20 feet of the chosen device.

Shocking Blow

As an action, you can enact this plan to make a melee attack using your Intelligence modifier + your proficiency bonus as your attack bonus. If you hit, you deal 3d6 electrical damage (Pv 2) to the target thanks to the special electrical capacitor hidden up your sleeve or in your glove. On a hit, the target must make a Constitution saving throw against your plan DC or be Stunned until the end of your next turn.

• Level 3: The damage becomes 4d6.
• Level 5: The damage becomes 5d6. A target that fails its saving throw is Stunned for 1 minute. It can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on a successful save.
• Level 7: The damage becomes 6d6.
• Level 9: The damage becomes 7d6. For the next minute, you can spend an action to repeat this attack.

Hacker

You feel more at home in the abstract digital realm than you do in analog reality. You are the new mind, the new flesh, and the new cybernetic entity born of an ever-advancing interface between human and machine. When knowledge is power, you are near infinite.

Hacker plans revolve around computers, information, and an understanding of human behavior in the digital sphere. The hacker can easily overcome technological challenges and exploit the increasingly digital world. They are vulnerable in a physical fight but excel at avoiding the need for such primitive conflict.

Proficiencies

• Saving Throws: Intelligence and Wisdom
• Skills: Choose four from Computers, Deception, Investigation, Insight, Mechanics, Natural Sciences, Security, Social Sciences, Stealth, and Streetwise
• Equipment: Basic Equipment
• Electronic Expertise: Choose either Computers or Security. You must be proficient in a skill to gain expertise in that skill.

Equipment Recommendations

• Equipment Pack: Hacker pack
• Weapons: Stun gun or pepper spray

Hacker Level Up

Level	Talents
1	Digital Ghost, It’s for You
3	Plans Improve
5	Plans Improve
7	Plans Improve
9	Plans Improve

Hacker Talents

Digital Ghost (Level 1). You maintain an array of electronic aliases you use for digital transactions and official records. Your real name, address, and other vital data has been scrubbed clean, making it impossible for any person or organization to discover anything about you.

It’s for You (Level 1). You can use your bonus action to make someone’s cell phone ring at maximum volume. You must be able to see your target, and they must have a cell phone or similar device. The target must make a Wisdom saving throw against your plan DC. If they fail, they are Distracted until the end of their next turn.

Hacker Plans

Your Smart Hero level determines the number of plans you know, as shown in the Plans column of the Smart Hero table. Hackers can select from these plans in addition to the shared plans available to all Smart Heroes.

Brick It

Using the latest zero-day exploit, you can activate this plan as an action to shut down or damage computer-controlled devices that are not specifically shielded against wireless communications and are within 100 feet of you. You need a computer or smartphone to enact this plan.

Success is automatic against computer terminals, handheld devices, smartphones, electronic door controls, and similar devices.

Against a device being actively driven or operated, or when targeting a robot, the operator or entity can make an Intelligence saving throw against your plan DC to negate the effect.

The exact effect depends on the type of target and the plan enhancement level:

Hacker Level	Device (Computer Controlled)	Vehicle (Computer Controlled)	Robot, Droid, or Cyborg
1	Shuts down	Vehicle risks a crash (see the vehicle rules in Chases and Vehicles)	3d6 electrical damage
3	Cannot restart for 10 minutes	Driving checks have disadvantage	6d6 electrical damage
5	Destroyed; 3d6 fire damage to anyone holding or carrying it and they are Burning	Console ignites; 3d6 fire damage to driver and they are Burning	9d6 electrical damage
7	You can affect a number of devices equal to your Intelligence modifier	Vehicle shuts down and comes to a stop	12d6 electrical damage
9	Fire damage becomes 6d6	Vehicle is Totaled due to the control system being destroyed	15d6 electrical damage

Brick IT Results

A targeted system that is shut down but not destroyed can be restarted as an action by someone with an Intelligence (Computers) check made against your plan DC.

Cha-Ching

Thanks to your array of fake and stolen credit accounts, you can activate this plan any time you need to make a purchase that takes electronic payments or credit. You can treat your Wealth Level as 4 or your current Wealth Level +1 (whichever is higher) for a single purchase. Purchasing traceable goods such as a car, boat, real estate, or a company with this plan is potentially dangerous. After one week, authorities may investigate the purchase and track such goods. The highest Wealth Level in the game is Wealth Level 6.

• Level 3: Wealth Level 5 or your Wealth Level +2 (whichever is higher)
• Level 5: Effect lasts for 24 hours instead of one purchase
• Level 7: Wealth Level 6
• Level 9: You can safely purchase traceable goods.

Did My Homework

Having previously studied your opponent’s online profile, you can enact this plan as a bonus action to know an opponent’s weakness. Choose one target you can see and apply one of the following effects. The target can make an Intelligence saving throw against your plan DC at the end of each of their turns. Success ends all effects.

• Achilles’ Heel. The target has disadvantage on saving throws against your other plans.
• Best Defense. The target has disadvantage on attack rolls against you.
• Weak Spot. You have advantage on attack rolls against the target.
• Stronger Than You. You have advantage on Strength (Athletics) and Dexterity (Acrobatics) checks made against the target.
• Smarter Than You. You have advantage on Wisdom (Perception) and Wisdom (Insight) checks made against the target.
• Faster Than You. You have advantage on Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) and Dexterity (Stealth) checks made against the target.
• Level 3: You can apply two effects.
• Level 5: You can apply three effects.
• Level 7: You can apply four effects.
• Level 9: You can apply five effects.

I’M IN

Thanks to the back-door access you set up last week, when you enact this plan as a bonus action, you take control of a single computer system or computer dependent device you can access directly, through a network connection, or by radio communications. You cannot access remote systems (those not connected to public or wireless networks) unless you have physical access.

If the device or system is being actively operated by someone, or if the target is a robot, the operator or entity can make an Intelligence saving throw against your plan DC at the end of each of their turns to end the effect.

In combat, you can operate the device as an action during your turn. If the device is an autonomous AI, operating them means you can command them to perform any one action they are normally capable of, or command them to move.

Out of combat, this gives you access to a computer system automatically. You can then access data, run malicious software, or manipulate data while in the system. You maintain access until someone detects the breach and tries to remove access. Kicking you out of the system requires an Intelligence (Computers) check against your plan DC.

• Level 3: Your access cannot be traced back to you.
• Level 5: Anyone trying to detect and kick you out of a system has disadvantage on their Intelligence (Computers) check.
• Level 7: Saving throws against this plan have disadvantage.
• Level 9: After enacting this plan, you can use it again as an action without expending any Genius, taking control of more systems until the one-hour time limit expires. If an operator or AI successfully makes their save, you cannot target that same device again.

RTFM

Because you previously read the “friendly” manual, you can enact this plan as a reaction before making an ability check allowing a skill proficiency, as a bonus action, or any time outside of combat. Choose a skill. You gain proficiency and expertise in that skill for the next 10 minutes.

• Level 3: You can also choose an equipment proficiency. You gain that equipment proficiency for the duration of the effect.
• Level 5: You can use your Intelligence modifier for attack and damage rolls with weapons you are proficient with instead of the default ability score for the duration of the effect.
• Level 7: The effect lasts until you complete a short or long rest.
• Level 9: The effect lasts until you complete a long rest.

Sucks to be You

You must know the name of the target to enact this plan against them. The effect lasts until the target has a chance to clear up the problem with authorities. Clearing their name requires a Charisma (Persuasion) check against your plan DC and takes at least 24 hours.

When it is time to unleash the vicious malware you prepared earlier, you can enact this plan as an action to hack someone’s personal data in one of the following ways.

• No Access. Scramble all their passwords.
• No Credit. Stop all their credit cards and debit cards from working.
• No Exit. Put them on a no-fly list or a similar list used at border crossings.
• No Explanation. Fill their hard drives with embarrassing and salacious media files.
• No Free Pass. Put out a warrant for their arrest for unpaid parking tickets.
• Level 3: You can choose two ways to make them miserable.
• Level 5: You can choose three ways to make them miserable.
• Level 7: You can choose four ways to make them miserable.
• Level 9: You can make them miserable in all five ways. Wish them good luck with their new life!

We Interrupt This Program

Using your bot-net within media company mainframes, you can enact this plan as an action to broadcast an audio/video message in real time to all media devices within 200 feet of your current location. The message could be preprepared or can be a live address using your cell phone camera. You can limit the message to specific devices, types of devices, or specific media networks if you so choose. The message can be up to 3 minutes long.

• Level 3: You can extend the range to 1 mile and the duration to 5 minutes.
• Level 5: You can extend the range to 100 miles and the duration to 10 minutes.
• Level 7: You can send the message nationwide.
• Level 9: You can send the message worldwide.

Using this plan at 100 miles or more draws unwanted attention from security experts and law enforcement. While they cannot trace the hack, they can use circumstantial information from the message to investigate the hacker.

Mastermind

You are always at least one step ahead of your enemies, plotting, scheming, and planning your next masterstroke. Your allies benefit from your genius as well. If only you could find someone to truly challenge you.

Mastermind plans involve strategies that were retroactively enacted in the past, to be revealed only in the present moment. This makes the mastermind very powerful outside combat, with the ability to shortcut difficult challenges. In combat, however, they are rather weak and vulnerable.

Proficiencies

• Saving Throws: Intelligence and Wisdom
• Skills: Choose four from Computers, Deception, Insight, Investigation, Medicine, Natural Sciences, Perception, Persuasion, Security, Social Sciences, and Streetwise
• Equipment: Basic Equipment
• Mental Expertise: Choose two from Computers, Deception, Insight, Investigation, Perception, Persuasion, Security, Social Sciences, and Streetwise. You must be proficient in a skill to take expertise in that skill.

Equipment Recommendations

• Equipment Pack: Executive Pack
• Weapons: Pocket .38 pistol or hunting rifle

Mastermind Level Up

Level	Talents
1	Know-It-All, You’re Doing It Wrong
3	Plans improve
5	Plans improve
7	Plans improve
9	Plans improve

Mastermind Talents

Know-It-All (Level 1). You have advantage on all ability checks to recall information.

You’re Doing It Wrong (Level 1). When an ally that can see and hear you misses with an attack, you can use your reaction to instruct them on the proper technique, allowing them to reroll the attack.

Mastermind Plans

Your Smart Hero level determines the number of plans you know, as shown in the Plans column of the Smart Hero table. Masterminds can select from these plans in addition to the shared plans available to all Smart Heroes.

I Had IT Poisoned

Thanks to your brilliant foresight and schemes, this plan can be enacted as a reaction when one of the following occurs.

• When you or an ally you can see makes a successful attack with a weapon that does piercing or slashing damage to a target.
• After someone in the same room as you eats something, drinks something, or receives medical treatment. When you enact this plan, choose one of the following poisons.
  • Common Hallucinogens. The target must succeed on a Constitution saving throw against your plan DC or be Sickened for 1 minute. The target can repeat the save at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on a success.
  • Common Snake Venom. The target must make a Constitution saving throw against your plan DC, suffering 3d6 poison damage (ignoring armor) on a failed save, and half as much on a successful one. If you have an ingestible or injury poison in your inventory, you can choose to use that poison in place of one of the above. If you do, the target of the plan suffers the effects of that poison instead, using its normal save DC. This uses up the poison.
  • Level 3: You can choose one of the following poisons instead.
  • Common Spider Venom. The target must succeed on a Constitution saving throw against your plan DC or be Sickened for 1 minute. While Sickened in this way, the target suffers 1d6 poison damage (ignoring armor) at the start of each of its turns. The target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on a success.
  • Rare Hallucinogens. The target must succeed on a Constitution saving throw against your plan DC or be Sickened for 1 minute. The target is Blinded while Sickened in this way. The target can repeat the save at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on a success.
  • Level 5: You can choose one of the following poisons instead.
  • Rare Snake Venom. The target must make a Constitution saving throw against your plan DC, suffering 6d6 poison damage (ignoring armor) on a failed save, and half as much on a successful one.
  • Tranquilizer. The target must succeed on a Constitution saving throw against your plan DC or be Sickened for 1 minute. The target is Unconscious while Sickened in this way. The target wakes up if it suffers any damage.
  • Level 7: You can choose one of the following poisons instead.
  • Mushrooms. The target must succeed on a Constitution saving throw against your plan DC or be affected by this poison for 1 minute. A target that cannot be Sickened is immune to this effect. The target can repeat the save at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on a success. While affected by this poison, a target must roll a d10 at the start of each of its turns to determine what it does:

d10	Effect
1	The target uses all its movement to move in a random direction. To determine the direction, roll a d8 and assign a direction to each die face. The target doesn’t take an action this turn.
2–6	The target doesn’t move or take actions this turn.
7–9	The target uses its action to make an attack with whatever it is holding against a randomly determined target within range.
10	The target can act and move normally but is poisoned during this turn.

• Rare Spider Venom. The target must succeed on a Constitution saving throw against your plan DC or be Sickened for 1 minute. While Sickened in this way, the target suffers 3d6 poison damage (ignoring armor) at the start of each of their turns. The target can repeat the save at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on a success.
• Level 9: You can choose the following poison instead.
• Neurotoxin. The target must make a Constitution saving throw against your plan DC, suffering 6d6 poison damage (ignoring armor) on a failed save, and half as much on a successful one. On a failed save, the target is also Sickened for 1 minute. While poisoned in this way, the target takes 6d6 poison damage (ignoring armor) at the start of each of its turns. The target can repeat the save at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on a success.

I Had Them Bugged

When you enact this plan, you can name one person you met within the last 24 hours. Since you bugged them at the time, you can ask one question of the GM about that person or their activities. The GM will give you a true answer to your question if you could reasonably have learned the answer from recording the target’s actions and communications. The GM might refuse for the sake of the story, but if they do, you may ask another question following the same guidelines. If no question is appropriate, you get your Genius point back. The GM can reveal additional information if they so choose.

• Level 3: You can ask up to two questions.
• Level 5: You can name a person you have met within the last week, and you can ask up to three questions. Instead of asking questions, you can perform active surveillance on the target. If you do, you receive up-to-date visual and audio information from their location for the next 10 minutes as if you were there.
• Level 7: You can ask up to four questions. If you perform active surveillance, you can do so for up to 1 hour.
• Level 9: You can name any person you have ever met, you can ask up to five questions, and you can perform active surveillance as well as asking these questions.

I Have The Perfect Disguise

When you enact this plan as an action, you can reveal a disguise you have prepared for the occasion. This disguise makes you look almost identical to another person you have seen. The disguise can include facial prosthetics, a realistic wig, skin tone adjustments, and anything else required to mimic the chosen person. It can include any normal clothing or uniform, but any identification or badge does not hold up to more than cursory scrutiny. You can make yourself appear up to 3 inches taller or shorter, and up to 25% lighter or heavier, but this does not hold up to any measurements. The disguise is purely visual; you can’t change your voice.

You have advantage on Charisma (Deception) checks to pretend to be the person you are disguised as, as long as the target can see you.

Anyone trying to see through the disguise must use their action to inspect your appearance and make an Intelligence (Investigation) check against your plan DC. If the check is successful, they see through the disguise. Otherwise, they believe the disguise.

The disguise lasts for 1 hour before pieces begin falling off and breaking apart, at which point it no longer functions.

• Level 3: You can add a voice modulator to your disguise, allowing you to mimic the chosen person’s voice. You have advantage on Charisma (Deception) checks to pretend to be the person you are disguised as if the target can hear you or see you. In addition, the disguise can make you appear to be up to 1 foot taller or shorter, and up to 50% lighter or heavier, which holds up to basic measurements but not medical exams.
• Level 5: You can target up to two allies within 30 feet of you instead of yourself, or yourself and one ally within 30 feet, giving a unique disguise to each.
• Level 7: Any disguise constructed by this plan lasts for up to 8 hours.
• Level 9: You can affect yourself and up to six allies within 30 feet, giving each an individual disguise.

I Knew You’d Do That

When you are attacked or must make a Dexterity saving throw, you can enact this plan as a reaction. When you do, you gain a +5 bonus to your Defense and Dexterity saving throws until the start of your next turn. You can wait until you know the result of the roll to use this ability, potentially forcing an attack that would have hit to miss, or a save that would have failed to succeed.

• Level 3: You can grant the bonus to an ally instead of yourself, when they are attacked or make a Dexterity saving throw.
• Level 5: The bonus lasts until the start of your second turn after you use it.
• Level 7: The bonus lasts until the start of your third turn after you use it.
• Level 9: The bonus lasts for 1 minute.

I Lured You Into Danger

You can enact this plan as a reaction when an opponent within 30 feet of you and that you are aware of moves closer to you, causing the opponent to stumble into a cleaning cart, trip over a mop, get their foot stuck in a loose floorboard, and so on. That opponent must make a Dexterity saving throw against your plan DC, taking 2d6 bludgeoning damage (Pv 1) on a failed save, or half as much on a successful one. In addition, on a failed save, the target falls Prone and their movement speed is reduced to 0 until the end of the current turn, ending their movement.

• Level 3: The damage becomes 3d6.
• Level 5: The damage becomes 5d6. You can affect an opponent up to 60 feet away.
• Level 7: The damage becomes 6d6.
• Level 9: The damage becomes 8d6. You can affect an opponent up to 120 feet away.

I’ll Tell You How It’s Done

When you enact this plan as an action, choose yourself or one ally within 5 feet that can hear you. The chosen hero gains your choice of one of the following effects for the next minute, or until you enact this plan again.

• Stronger. The target has advantage on Strength checks.
• Tougher. The target has advantage on Constitution checks. They also gain 2d6 temporary hit points, which are lost when the effect ends.
• Faster. The target has advantage on Dexterity checks. They also gain damage reduction 15 against falling if they aren’t Incapacitated.
• Smarter. The target has advantage on Intelligence checks.
• Wiser. The target has advantage on Wisdom checks.
• Comelier. The target has advantage on Charisma checks.
• Level 3: The effect lasts for 10 minutes.
• Level 5: You can affect up to two targets.
• Level 7: You can affect up to three targets.
• Level 9: You can affect up to four targets, and you can choose two effects instead of one.

They’ll Never See Us Coming

When you enact this plan as an action, you and any allies you choose that can see or hear you gain a +5 bonus to Dexterity (Stealth) checks. This effect lasts for 10 minutes, or until you enact this plan again.

• Level 3: The bonus lasts for 1 hour.
• Level 5: The bonus becomes +10.
• Level 7: The bonus lasts for 4 hours.
• Level 9: The bonus becomes +15.

Scientist

Your mastery of the sciences is normally applied in the lab, making new discoveries and advancing human knowledge. But when lives are on the line, you are ready to demonstrate that knowledge truly is power.

A scientist’s plans are themed around biology and chemistry to damage enemies and aid allies. They are a great choice if you want to play a support role in combat or to tend to the injuries of other heroes. They are one of the more highly skilled classes with a range of expertise available to them.

Proficiencies

• Saving Throws: Constitution and Intelligence
• Skills: Choose three from Computers, Investigation, Mechanics, Medicine, Natural Sciences, Security, and Social Sciences
• Equipment: None
• Scientific Expertise: Choose two from Computers, Mechanics, Medicine, and Natural Sciences. You must be proficient in a skill to gain expertise in that skill.

Equipment Recommendations

• Equipment Pack: Scientist Pack
• Weapons: None

Scientist Level Up

Level	Talents
1	Dangerous Stuff
3	Plans improve
5	Hazardous Stuff, Plans Improve
7	Plans Improve
9	Deadly Stuff, Plans Improve

Scientist Talents

Dangerous Stuff (Level 1). You can use leftover science materials to attack your enemies. As an action, you can make an attack with this dangerous stuff. The statistics of this weapon are shown below. Your attack bonus for this attack is your Intelligence modifier + your proficiency bonus. Your damage bonus is equal to your Intelligence modifier. You have an effectively unlimited supply of dangerous stuff. As a bonus action, you can change the damage type of this weapon until the end of combat to your choice of acid, cold, electricity, explosive, fire, or poison.

Hazardous Stuff (Level 5). The damage of your dangerous stuff improves to 2d6. Its PV becomes 2.

Deadly Stuff (Level 9). The damage of your dangerous stuff improves to 3d6. Its PV becomes 3.

Thrown Weapon Damage Range Rounds Reload PV Properties Price Level Bulk Level 1: Dangerous Stuff 1d6* 40/80 — — 1 Thrown — — Level 5: Hazardous Stuff 2d6* 40/80 — — 2 Thrown — — Level 9: Deadly Stuff 3d6* 40/80 — — 3 Thrown — —* damage may be acid, cold, electricity, explosive, fire, or poison Dangerous, Hazardous, and Deadly Stuff

Scientist Plans

Your Smart Hero level determines the number of plans you know, as shown in the Plans column of the Smart Hero table. Scientists can select from these plans in addition to the shared plans available to all Smart Heroes.

Adrenaline Shot

As an action, you can enact this plan to inject yourself or a willing or Unconscious ally within 5 feet of you with an adrenaline shot you prepared earlier. The target gains temporary hit points equal to 1d6 + your Intelligence modifier. If they were at 0 hit points, they also regain 1 hit point.

• Level 3: The target gains temporary hit points equal to 2d6 + your Intelligence modifier.
• Level 5: The target gains temporary hit points equal to 4d6 + your Intelligence modifier. Alternatively, instead of granting temporary hit points, you can inject an ally who died within the last round. That ally returns to life with 1 hit point.
• Level 7: The target gains temporary hit points equal to 6d6 + your Intelligence modifier.
• Level 9: The target gains temporary hit points equal to 8d6 + your Intelligence modifier. Alternatively, instead of granting temporary hit points, you can inject an ally who died within the last minute. That ally returns to life with 1 hit point.

Can of Whoop Ass

As an action, you can enact this plan to provide yourself or a willing ally within 5 feet of you with a chemical agent of your own making that provides the following benefits for the next minute.

• The target’s movement speed is increased by 10 feet.
• The target gains advantage on Strength checks and Strength saving throws.
• The target gains a +2 bonus to all damage rolls they make.
• Level 3: You can affect a target up to 60 feet away, either by shooting a dart at them or because you slipped them a vial earlier.
• Level 5: You can affect up to two targets with this plan.
• Level 7: The targets also ignore the effects of Exhaustion and have advantage on Constitution (Endurance) checks for the duration.
• Level 9: The targets also gains advantage on all attack rolls for the duration.

I Have The Cure

When you enact this plan as an action, you can administer a prepared curative agent to yourself or one living ally within 5 feet of you, ending either one illness or one condition afflicting the target. Applicable conditions include Blinded, Deafened, Paralyzed, Sickened, and all levels of Intoxication.

• Level 3: You can affect a living ally within 60 feet of you, by shooting them with a dart or because you already gave them the cure to hold on to.
• Level 5: For the next 8 hours, the target also gains damage reduction 10 against poison and has advantage on saving throws against poison, illness, and any effect that would inflict the Blinded, Deafened, Paralyzed, or Sickened conditions.
• Level 7: You can affect up to two living allies.
• Level 9: Instead of the usual effects, you can reduce a target’s Exhaustion level by up to three.

Inferno Bomb

As an action, you can enact this plan to throw a rigged incendiary explosive at a point up to 80 feet away. Each combatant within 20 feet of that point must make a Dexterity saving throw against your plan DC, taking 4d6 fire damage (ignoring armor) on a failed save, or half as much on a successful one. A target who fails this save is also Burning, taking 1d6 fire damage at the start of each of its turns instead of the normal amount. The DC to extinguish the fire is your plan DC.

• Level 3: The initial damage becomes 5d6. You can choose to affect all targets within 30 feet of the chosen point.
• Level 5: The initial damage becomes 6d6. The damage from Burning becomes 2d6.
• Level 7: The initial damage becomes 7d6. You can choose to affect all targets within 40 feet of the chosen point.
• Level 9: The initial damage becomes 8d6. The damage from Burning becomes 3d6.

Knockout Gas

As an action, you can enact this plan to throw a canister of gas that induces unconsciousness. The gas can affect a number of hit points’ worth of combatants equal to 3d8 + 10. You can target a location up to 80 feet away as the center of the effect. Each combatant within 20 feet of the target location is potentially affected. Combatants wearing a gas mask or similar protective gear are not affected.

Starting with the combatant who has the lowest current hit points, each combatant affected by the gas falls Unconscious for 10 minutes, or until the sleeper takes damage or someone uses an action to shake or slap the sleeper awake. Subtract each combatant’s hit points from the total before moving on to the combatant with the next lowest hit points. A combatant’s hit points must be equal to or less than the remaining total for that combatant to be affected.

• Level 3: The total hit points affected is 5d8 + 10. The unconsciousness lasts for 1 hour if the sleeper is not damaged or shaken awake.
• Level 5: The total hit points affected is 7d8 + 15. Your allies cannot be affected by the gas due to the antidote you gave them.
• Level 7: The total hit points affected is 9d8 + 20. The unconsciousness lasts for 8 hours if the sleeper is not damaged or shaken awake.
• Level 9: The total hit points affected is 11d8 + 25. You can choose to affect all targets within 30 feet of the chosen point.

Right Into MY Trap

When you enact this plan as an action, choose an opponent within 120 feet that you can see. They have set off the sticky web trap you placed earlier, knowing they would blunder into it at this moment. The target must make a Dexterity saving throw against your plan DC or become Restrained for 1 hour.

A Restrained target can use their action to attempt to break free by making a Strength check against your plan DC, ending the effect on a successful check.

• Level 3: You can choose to affect everyone within 5 feet of the target. During a foot chase, you can affect up to two opponents.
• Level 5: You can choose to affect everyone within 10 feet of the target. You can choose to exclude any number of targets in the area.
• Level 7: You can choose to affect everyone within 20 feet of the target. During a foot chase, you can affect up to three opponents.
• Level 9: Targets have disadvantage on Strength checks to escape the trap.

Smokescreen

As an action, you can enact this plan to throw a smoke bomb, creating a 20-foot-radius sphere of smoke centered on a point within 80 feet. The sphere spreads around corners, and its area has no visibility (see “Visibility” in Misc. Rules). It lasts for 1 hour or until a wind of moderate or greater speed (at least 10 miles per hour) disperses it.

• Level 3: You can increase the radius of the sphere to 40 feet.
• Level 5: You can cause the smoke to be noxious. If you do, each combatant who is completely within the smoke at the start of its turn must make a Constitution saving throw against your plan DC. On a failed save, the combatant becomes Sickened until the start of their next turn. While Sickened, a combatant spends their action during their turn retching and reeling. Combatants wearing a gas mask or similar protective gear are not affected.
• Level 7: You can increase the radius of the sphere to 60 feet.
• Level 9: You can cause the smoke to be poisonous. When a combatant enters the smoke for the first time on a turn or starts their turn there, that combatant must make a Constitution saving throw against your plan DC. The combatant takes 5d8 poison damage (ignoring armor) on a failed save, or half as much on a successful one. Combatants wearing a gas mask or similar protective gear are not affected. If you cause the smoke to be both noxious and poisonous, combatants must make a single Constitution saving throw against both effects.

Wise Heroes

Level	Talents	Proficiency Bonus	Defense Bonus	Focus
1	Focus, Concentration, Class Talent(s)	+2	+2	2
2	One Step Ahead, Two Minor Feats or One Major Feat	+2	+2	3
3	Class Talent(s)	+2	+2	4
4	Two Minor Feats or One Major Feat	+2	+2	5
5	Class Talent(s)	+3	+3	5
6	Two Minor Feats or One Major Feat	+3	+3	6
7	Class Talent(s)	+3	+3	7
8	Two Minor Feats or One Major Feat	+3	+3	8
9	Class Talent(s)	+4	+4	8
10	Two Minor Feats or One Major Feat	+4	+4	9

Leveling Up

You are known as a person who thinks before you act. You observe the world around you and move with its rhythms instead of struggling against the tide. By first knowing yourself, you can reach out and make the world a better place.

Wise Heroes are thematically diverse, but they all have a Focus mechanic that can be spent to activate special actions and abilities.

Hit Dice: 1d10 per hero level

Starting Hit Points: 10 + Constitution modifier level

Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d10 (or 6) + Constitution modifier per hero level after 1st

Defense (Know Your Enemy): 10 + (Wisdom or Dexterity) modifier + Wise Hero Defense bonus

Wise Hero Talents

Focus (Level 1). You have Focus points equal to the number shown on the Wise Hero table, which can be spent to use your Concentration talent as well as talents granted by your class. All your Focus recharges whenever you finish a short or long rest.

Concentration (Level 1). When you fail a Wisdom ability check, you can spend 1 Focus to reroll that check. This can be used only once per ability check.

One Step Ahead (Level 2). You can choose not to fall Prone when you take the Dive for Cover reaction.

Two Minor Feats or One Major Feat (Levels 2, 4, 6, 8, 10). You can choose two minor feats or one major feat (see Feats). Some feats have prerequisites you must meet to take the feat.

Hunter

Whether it’s big game or a fugitive from justice, your prey was doomed the moment you set your sights on them. You can hunt with a faithful companion or go it alone and focus only on your chosen target. Either way, there can be only one outcome.

The hunter is both a skilled hero and one that can hold their own in combat. Their animal companion can be both fun and effective but makes the hunter a complex class to play in combat.

Proficiencies

• Saving Throws: Strength and Wisdom
• Skills: Choose three from Acrobatics, Arts and Crafts, Athletics, Endurance, Insight, Medicine, Perception, Stealth, and Survival
• Equipment: Basic Equipment and Advanced Equipment
• Hunting Expertise: Choose one from Endurance, Perception, Stealth, and Survival. You must be proficient in a skill to take expertise in that skill.

Equipment Recommendations

• Equipment Pack: Hunter Pack
• Weapons: Hunting rifle or modern bow

Hunter Level Up

Level	Talents
1	Hunting Companion, Hunter’s Mark, Animal Husbandry
3	Companion Training, Marked as Prey
5	Advanced Combat Training
7	Learn Their Moves, No Escape
9	Marked for Death

Hunter Talents

Hunting Companion (Level 1). You have an animal companion that can hunt beside you and obeys your commands. You can choose among the companion types listed for the hunter. (See Companion rules for the full details on how companions can be commanded in combat.)

Hunter’s Mark (Level 1). As a bonus action, you can spend 1 Focus to mark one opponent you can see. You and your hunting companion gain the following special advantages against a target you have marked. The mark represents your determination to bring down your target.

• You and your animal companion have advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks against the marked target.
• You and your animal companion have advantage on Wisdom (Streetwise) and Wisdom (Survival) checks made to track or chase the marked target.
• You can take a bonus action to make a single attack against a marked target, or to command your hunting companion to make a single attack against a marked target. You cannot add your ability score modifier to the damage of this attack, but your companion’s damage is calculated normally.

Animal Husbandry (Level 1). As an action, you can command your animal companion to use the Second Wind action. You cannot do this again until you and your companion have completed a short or long rest.

Companion Training (Level 3). Your companion adds your proficiency bonus to its Defense, ability checks, saving throws, and damage rolls. In addition, your companion can make opportunity attacks using its reaction.

Marked as Prey (Level 3). You can spend 1 Focus to reroll a damage roll against a marked target made by you or your hunting companion. If multiple dice are rolled for damage, you reroll all damage dice. You may only do this once per attack.

Advanced Combat Training (Level 5). Once during your turn, when you or your companion take the Attack action, you or your companion can make two attacks as part of that action.

Learn Their Moves (Level 7). After an opponent hits you or your companion with an attack, you and your companion gain a +4 bonus to Defense against any further attacks that same opponent makes against you or your companion until the start of your next turn.

No Escape (Level 7). You can spend 1 Focus to reroll a missed attack roll against a marked target made by you or your hunting companion. You may only do this once per attack.

Marked for Death (Level 9). You and your hunting companion deal an additional 1d8 damage on all successful attacks against marked targets.

Hunter Animal Companions

Animal Companion (Ape)

Medium animal
Defense 12
Hit Dice 1d8 per hero level
Hit Points 5 + five times your level
Speed 30 ft., climb 30 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
14 (+2)	14 (+2)	14 (+2)	6 (-2)	12 (+1)	10 (0)

Skills Athletics +4
Senses passive Perception 11

ACTIONS

• Fist. Melee Attack: your Wisdom modifier + your proficiency bonus to hit, PV 1, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 1d6 + 2 bludgeoning damage.
• Rock. Ranged Attack: your Wisdom modifier + your proficiency bonus to hit, PV 1, range 25/50 ft., one target. Hit: 1d6 + 2 bludgeoning damage.

Animal Companion (Canine)

Medium animal
Defense 12
Hit Dice 1d8 per hero level
Hit Points 5 + five times your level
Speed 40 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
14 (+2)	14 (+2)	14 (+2)	4 (-3)	14 (+2)	10 (0)

Skills Perception +4
Senses passive Perception 14

SPECIAL TRAITS

• Keen Smell. The animal companion has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on smell.

ACTIONS

• Bite. Melee Attack: your Wisdom modifier + your proficiency bonus to hit, PV 1, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 1d6 + 2 piercing damage. The target must succeed on a Strength saving throw with a DC of 10 + your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier or be knocked Prone.

Animal Companion (Feline)

Medium animal
Defense 12
Hit Dice 1d8 per hero level
Hit Points 5 + five times your level
Speed 40 ft., climb 40 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
14 (+2)	14 (+2)	14 (+2)	4 (-3)	14 (+2)	10 (0)

Senses passive Perception 12

SPECIAL TRAITS

• Pounce. If the animal companion moves at least 20 feet straight toward a target and then hits it with a claw attack on the same turn, that target must succeed on a Strength saving throw with a DC of 10 + your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier or be knocked Prone. If the target is Prone, the animal companion can then make one bite attack against it.

ACTIONS

• Bite. Melee Attack: your Wisdom modifier + your proficiency bonus to hit, PV 1, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 1d6 + 2 piercing damage.
• Claw. Melee Attack: your Wisdom modifier + your proficiency bonus to hit, PV 1, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 1d4 + 2 slashing damage.

Animal Companion (Bird)

Small animal
Defense 13
Hit Dice 1d6 per hero level
Hit Points 4 + four times your level
Speed 10 ft., fly 60 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
6 (-2)	16 (+3)	12 (+1)	4 (-3)	14 (+2)	10 (0)

Senses passive Perception 12

SPECIAL TRAITS

• Flyby Attack. The animal companion does not provoke opportunity attacks when it flies out of an opponent’s reach.

ACTIONS

• Beak and Talons. Melee Attack: your Wisdom modifier + your proficiency bonus to hit, PV 1, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 1d4 + 3 piercing damage.

Master

Through long training and meditation you have achieved something rare: karmic harmony, inner balance, and the ability to kick prodigious amounts of ass. You need no weapons to make your presence felt by those who would disturb your tranquility.

The master is a melee combatant with a diverse range of both offensive and defensive moves. They don’t hit especially hard, but they can strike quickly, and in unexpected ways. Like a true ascetic, they don’t need material equipment to be at their best.

Proficiencies

• Saving Throws: Wisdom and Charisma
• Skills: Choose three from Acrobatics, Arts and Crafts, Deception, Endurance, Insight, Medicine, Perception, Performance, Sleight of Hand, and Survival
• Equipment: Basic Equipment and Improvised Equipment

Equipment Recommendations

• Equipment Pack: Martial Artist Pack
• Weapons: Unarmed strikes or improvised weapons

Master Level Up

Level	Talents
1	Mystic Arts, Ki
3	Dance in the Storm, Flow Like the River
5	Advanced Combat Training, Ki Strike
7	Balance Within, Evasion
9	Deep Focus, Like the Willow

Master Talents

Mystic Arts (Level 1). You gain the following benefits:

• You can use Wisdom instead of other ability modifiers when making attacks with melee weapons.
• You can use Wisdom instead of other ability modifiers when making a special attack and when you try to escape a grapple. (A special attack can be used in place of any attack, such as a grapple attempt.)
• You can add your ability modifier to the damage of melee off-hand attacks you make.
• As long as you are not wearing armor and are not Encumbered, your Defense improves by 1.
• You have damage reduction 15 against damage from falling.

Ki (Level 1). You can spend 1 Focus to use any of the following abilities:

• After you take the Attack action during your turn, if you made only unarmed strikes or attacks with a melee weapon that doesn’t have the heavy property, you can make two unarmed strikes as a bonus action.
• You can take the Dash, Disengage, or Dodge action as a bonus action.
• When you fail a Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check, you can reroll that check. This can be done only once per ability check.

Dance In the Storm (Level 3). When an opponent’s attack misses you and you are within 5 feet of a different opponent, you may use your reaction to cause the missed attack to hit the second opponent.

Flow Like the River (Level 3). Whenever you hit an opponent with one of the attacks granted by your Ki talent or an opponent is hit by an attack you redirected, you can make a special attack against the target as a free action.

Advanced Combat Training (Level 5). Once during your turn, when you take the Attack action, you can make two attacks as part of that action.

Ki Strike (Level 5). When you hit a target with an unarmed strike, you can spend 1 Focus to attempt to stun that target. The target must succeed on a Constitution saving throw (Dc 8 + your Wisdom modifier + your proficiency bonus) or be Stunned until the end of your next turn.

Balance Within (Level 7). Your mind, spirit, and body are so in tune that you cannot be Frightened or Sickened, you cannot gain levels of Intoxication, and you are immune to poison damage.

Evasion (Level 7). When you make a Dexterity saving throw to take half damage from an effect, you take no damage on a successful save, and half damage on a failed one.

Deep Focus (Level 9). When you roll initiative, if you have fewer than 4 Focus points remaining, your remaining Focus becomes 4.

Like the Willow (Level 9). You become proficient in all saving throws. When you fail a saving throw, you can spend 1 Focus to reroll that save. You must use the new result.

Sleuth

Evil never sleeps, so neither do you. Your keen perception pierces the veil of the devious. Your inner darkness gives you insight into the worst villains humanity has to offer. It’s a dirty job, but someone’s gotta do it.

The sleuth has the skills necessary to solve mysteries and avoid dangers. They are the most defensive of the Wise Heroes with abilities to help them stay alive. At higher levels they gain offense to make them dangerous to unwary enemies.

Proficiencies

• Saving Throws: Intelligence and Wisdom
• Skills: Choose three from Arts and Crafts, Computers, Deception, Insight, Investigation, Perception, Security, Stealth, Streetwise, and Vehicles
• Equipment: Basic Equipment
• Investigative Expertise: Choose one from Insight, Investigation, or Perception. You gain expertise in that skill. You must be proficient in a skill to take expertise in that skill.

Equipment Recommendations

• Equipment Pack: Detective Pack or Police Pack
• Weapons: Heavy revolver pistol or hunting rifle

Sleuth Level Up

	Level	Talents	Weak Spot
1	Deduction, Sixth Sense, Weak Spot	1d6
3	Alert, Investigative Expertise	2d6
5	Roll With It	3d6
7	Evasion	4d6
9	Elementary	5d6

Sleuth Talents

Deduction (Level 1). When you fail an Intelligence ability check, you can reroll that check. This can be done only once per ability check.

Sixth Sense (Level 1). You gain the following benefits:

• You can use Wisdom instead of Dexterity for any attack or damage roll you make with weapons that don’t have the heavy property.
• You can use Wisdom instead of Dexterity when you roll for initiative.
• You can take the Search action as a bonus action.

Weak Spot (Level 1). As a bonus action, you can spend 1 Focus to gain advantage on your next attack roll against one opponent you can see. If that attack hits, you deal an additional 1d6 damage. The amount of extra damage increases as you gain levels in this class, as shown in the Weak Spot column of the Sleuth table.

Alert (Level 3). You cannot be surprised.

Investigative Expertise (Level 3). Choose one from Insight, Investigation, or Perception. You must be proficient in a skill to take expertise in that skill.

Roll With It (Level 5). When you take damage from an attack, you can use your reaction to halve that attack’s damage against you.

Evasion (Level 7). When you make a Dexterity saving throw to take half damage from an effect, you take no damage on a successful save, and half damage on a failed one.

Elementary (Level 9). You always treat a roll of 9 or lower as a 10 on any ability check you make that uses Perception, Insight, or Investigation, even if you are not proficient in those skills.

Charming Heroes Leveling Up

Level	Talents	Proficiency Bonus	Defense Bonus	Influence Dice	Influence Die Type	Tricks
1	Influence, Tricks, Class Talent(s) +2 +1 2 d6	2
2	Charm, Two Minor Feats or One Major Feat +2 +1 3 d6	2
3	Class Talent(s) +2 +1 3 d6	3
4	Two Minor Feats or One Major Feat +2 +1 4 d6	3
5	Improved Influence, Class Talent(s) +3 +2 4 d8	3
6	Two Minor Feats or One Major Feat +3 +2 5 d8	4
7	Class Talent(s) +3 +2 5 d8	4
8	Two Minor Feats or One Major Feat +3 +2 6 d8	4
9	Mastered Influence, Class Talent(s) +4 +3 6 d10	5
10	Two Minor Feats or One Major Feat +4 +3 7 d10	5

When you smile, the whole world smiles with you. It might be your beauty, your golden voice, or your way with words, but your ability to influence others is the key to your success.

Charming heroes use influence dice to boost their other die rolls. They focus on helping allies and hindering enemies in combat rather than relying on their own strengths.

Hit Dice: 1d8 per hero level

Starting Hit Points: 8 + Constitution modifier level

Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 (or 5) + Constitution modifier per hero level after 1st

Defense (Not in the Face!): 10 + (Charisma or Dexterity) modifier + Charming Hero Defense bonus

Charming Hero Talents

Influence (Level 1). You have two influence dice, which are d6s. An influence die is expended when it is rolled. You regain all your expended influence dice when you finish a short or long rest.

You gain additional influence dice as you gain levels, as shown in the Charming Hero table.

Tricks (Level 1). You learn two tricks, chosen from your class’s list of tricks. You learn additional tricks as you gain levels, as shown on the Charming Hero table. Whenever you gain a level in Charming Hero, you can replace one trick you know with another from your class list.

You can use only one trick during a single attack, saving throw, or ability check.

The effect of each trick, as well as the action you must take to enact it, is included in the trick’s individual description. If a trick calls for a saving throw, the save DC is 8 + your Charisma modifier + your proficiency bonus. This is your trick DC.

Charm (Level 2). When you make a Charisma check, after rolling but before determining the result, you can roll an influence die and add it to your result.

Two Minor Feats or One Major Feat (Levels 2, 4, 6, 8, 10). You can choose two minor feats or one major feat (see Feats). Some feats have prerequisites you must meet to take the feat.

Improved Influence (Level 5). Your influence dice increase by one die step from d6s to d8s.

Mastered Influence (Level 9). Your influence dice increase by one die step from d8s to d10s.

Duelist

Duelists are fighters who prefer style over brutality. Any fool can swing a stick around like a caveman. True combat prowess unites the body, mind, and soul to a singular purpose.

The duelist is a melee specialist who masters a mixture of offensive and defensive combat tricks, allowing them to react to the situation at hand. A duelist who wants to focus on combat performance should have a strong Dexterity score.

Proficiencies

• Saving Throws: Dexterity and Charisma
• Skills: Choose two from Acrobatics, Athletics, Deception, Endurance, Intimidation, and Performance
• Equipment: Basic Equipment and Historical Equipment

Equipment Recommendations

• Equipment Pack: Duelist Pack
• Weapons: Rapier

Duelist Level Up

Level	Talents
1	Precision
3	En Garde
5	Advanced Combat Training
7	Fancy Footwork
9	Panache

Duelist Talents

Precision (Level 1). While wielding a finesse weapon, you can roll one additional weapon damage die when determining the damage for a melee attack. This does not apply to attacks you make as a bonus action. In addition, while wielding a weapon with the finesse property, your Defense bonus is increased by 1.

En Garde (Level 3). You can add your Charisma modifier to your initiative rolls.

Advanced Combat Training (Level 5). Once during your turn, when you take the Attack action, you can make two attacks as part of that action.

Fancy Footwork (Level 7). Opportunity attacks made against you have disadvantage.

Panache (Level 9). Whenever you add influence dice to an attack’s damage or to reduce damage dealt to you, double the result of the influence dice rolled.

Duelist Tricks

Your Charming Hero level determines the number of duelist tricks you know, as shown in the Tricks column of the Charming Hero table.

Disarming Strike. When you hit with a melee attack, you can attempt to disarm your opponent. Roll one influence die and add the result to the damage dealt. In addition, the target must make a Strength saving throw against your trick DC. On a failed save, the target drops one object of your choice that they are holding. The object falls at their feet.

Flèche. When you make an attack roll with a melee weapon, you can roll one influence die to add it to your result. You can do this after making the attack roll, but before determining the result. The target of your attack, hit or miss, is Distracted by you until the end of its next turn.

Lunge. When you make a melee attack, you can expend one influence die to make a lunge. If you hit, roll the influence die twice and add the total result to the attack’s damage. (You spend one die, but roll twice.)

Parry. When an opponent damages you with a melee attack and you are wielding a melee weapon, you can use your reaction and expend an influence die to reduce the damage you take by the number you roll on your influence die + your Charisma modifier.

Riposte. When an opponent misses you with a melee attack, you can use your reaction and expend one influence die to make a melee attack against that opponent. If you hit, add the influence die roll result to the attack’s damage roll.

Tripping Strike. When you hit with a melee attack, you can attempt to trip your opponent. Roll one influence die and add the result to the damage dealt, and the target must make a Strength saving throw against your trick DC. On a failed save, the target falls Prone.

Icon

You are too cool for school, a legend among those who know of you. You add something special to everything you do and you make sure everyone knows about it. You’re sure you were born to be a hero.

The icon offers an even mix of offense, defense, and social skills. Their abilities are unique, fun, and versatile, but if you’re looking for a powerhouse in combat, this is not the class for you. If you want to be wonderfully ridiculous, you have come to the right place.

Proficiencies

• Saving Throws: Dexterity and Charisma
• Skills: Choose three from Acrobatics, Athletics, Arts and Crafts, Deception, Intimidation, Performance, Persuasion, and Streetwise
• Equipment: Basic Equipment and Advanced Equipment
• Celebrity Expertise: Choose one from Arts and Crafts, Performance, and Persuasion. You must be proficient in a skill to gain expertise in that skill.

Equipment Recommendations

• Equipment Pack: Entertainer Pack
• Weapons: Pump shotgun or hand cannon

Icon Level Up

Level	Talents
1	Banter, Center of Attention
3	Flinch
5	Advanced Combat Training
7	Not My Style
9	Star of the Show

Icon Talents

Banter (Level 1). As a bonus action, you can give your allies an opening by drawing the attention of an opponent you are aware of who can hear you within 60 feet. The next attack one of your allies makes against that target before the start of your next turn has advantage.

Center of Attention (Level 1). Whenever you desire, you can make yourself the center of attention. As long as you continue to speak, perform, or otherwise attract attention, enemies and bystanders that can see or hear you have disadvantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks made against anyone and anything other than you.

Flinch (Level 3). As a reaction, when an opponent within 5 feet that can see you targets you with an attack, you can cause that attack to have disadvantage. They cannot change targets in response to you doing this.

Advanced Combat Training (Level 5). Once during your turn, when you take the Attack action, you can make two attacks as part of that action.

Not My Style (Level 7). Whenever you roll a 1 on an influence die or a damage die, you can reroll that die once, taking the new result.

Star of the Show (Level 9). When you make an attack, you can choose to automatically hit, and that hit is a critical hit. You cannot do this again until you finish a short or long rest.

Icon Tricks

Your Charming Hero level determines the number of icon tricks you know, as shown in the Tricks column of the Charming Hero table.

Do You Know Who I am? When you ask someone to do a favor for you, as long as they aren’t overtly hostile, you can roll an influence die to convince them to agree. The target must make a Charisma saving throw against your trick DC. On a failed save, the target does the favor for you, no questions asked. The favor can be timeconsuming, as long as it won’t take more than an hour.

You can choose a number of the following properties for the favor equal to half of the result of the influence die, rounded up.

• The favor can be expensive, as long as it is within the target’s Wealth Level.
• The favor can be embarrassing, as long as the embarrassment won’t cost the target anything but pride.
• The favor can be dangerous, as long as it doesn’t involve combat and there is a reasonable chance to avoid harm.
• The favor can be illegal or could get the target in trouble, as long as there is a chance of not getting caught.

Frightening Blow. When you hit an opponent with an attack, you can attempt to scare the target. Roll one influence die and add the result to the damage dealt, and the target must make a Wisdom saving throw against your trick DC. On a failed save, the target is Frightened of you until the end of your next turn.

Insult to Injury. When you hit a target that can hear you with an attack, you can roll an influence die and add it to the damage of that attack. In addition, the target has disadvantage on attack rolls until the end of your next turn.

Magnetic Personality. As a bonus action, you can roll an influence die to trick an opponent within 60 feet that can hear you into coming closer. The target must make a Wisdom saving throw against your trick DC. On a failure, it must move up to its speed toward you, taking the safest path. If there is no safe path, it does not move. Whether the target succeeds or fails, add the influence die result to the next attack roll you make against the target this turn.

Taunting Blow. When you hit an opponent with an attack, you can goad that opponent into attacking you. Roll one influence die and add the result to the damage dealt. The target of the attack must make a Wisdom saving throw against your trick DC. On a failed save, the target has disadvantage on all attack rolls against targets other than you until the end of your next turn.

Watch This. After you make an attack roll, Strength (Athletics) check, or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check, but before determining the result, roll an influence die and add it to your result. At least one other person must be able to see you to use this trick.

Leader

You are a natural leader. Even when you are not in a position of power, people listen to what you say and follow your example. You can turn a band of demoralized misfits into a world-class team of highly motivated winners.

The leader focuses on supporting their allies in combat. Their best attack is their strongest ally’s attack. Their skill selection also allows them to be the face of a team.

Proficiencies

• Saving Throws: Constitution and Charisma
• Skills: Choose three from Deception, Insight, Intimidation, Medicine, Perception, Performance, Persuasion, and Social Sciences
• Equipment: Basic Equipment and Advanced Equipment
• Leadership Expertise: Choose either Intimidation or Persuasion. You must be proficient in a skill to take expertise in that skill.

Equipment Recommendations

• Equipment Pack: Executive Pack
• Weapons: Tactical rifle

Leader Level Up

Level	Talents
1	Command
3	Encouraging Banter
5	Improved Command
7	Rousing Speech
9	Aura of Leadership

Leader Talents

Command (Level 1). As an action, you can command one of your allies. That ally can use their reaction to make one attack or move up to their speed.

Encouraging Banter (Level 3). You encourage camaraderie among your allies. Whenever you and your allies finish a short rest, you and any ally that can hear you each regain 1 spent Hit Die, whether it was spent during this rest or earlier. You can use this talent only once before finishing a long rest.

Improved Command (Level 5). You can use your Command talent as a bonus action. You can still use it as an action as well, allowing you to use it twice during your turn if you like.

Rousing Speech (Level 7). As an action, you can grant yourself and up to six allies that can hear you temporary hit points equal to your hero level plus your Charisma modifier. You cannot take this action again until you finish a short or long rest.

Aura of Leadership (Level 9). While you are conscious, you and each ally within 10 feet of you can add your Charisma modifier to all saving throws.

Leader Tricks

Your Charming Hero level determines the number of leader tricks you know, as shown in the Tricks column of the Charming Hero table.

Barked Order. As an action, you can bark an order at one person who can hear and understand you. Roll an influence die. The order can contain a number of words equal to half the roll, rounded up. The target must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw against your trick DC or follow the order to the best of their ability on its next turn. The order cannot be directly harmful to the target or involve a direct attack on their allies.

Defensive Order. As a reaction, when an ally you can see is hit by an attack, you can tell them how to defend themself. Roll an influence die and reduce the damage the ally takes from that attack by the roll + your Charisma modifier.

Inspiring Order. When an ally that can hear you makes an attack roll or saving throw, you can use your reaction to motivate them. After they roll, but before determining the outcome, you can roll an influence die and add it to their result.

Motivate. As a bonus action, you can motivate one ally that can hear you. Roll an influence die. That ally gains temporary hit points equal to the result plus your Charisma modifier.

Open Them Up. When you hit an opponent with an attack, you can create an opening for your allies. Roll one influence die and add the result to the damage dealt. In addition, the next attack one of your allies makes against the target before the start of your next turn has advantage.

Repositioning Order. When an ally you can see that can hear you hits with an attack, you can tell them where to move. Roll one influence die and add the result to the damage dealt. In addition, that ally’s movement does not provoke opportunity attacks for the rest of this turn, and they can move up to half their speed as a free action now or at the end of the current turn.

Manipulator

People think you are charming, useful, and mostly harmless. That’s exactly what you want people to think. In reality, you have everyone dancing on your strings to whatever tune you want to play for them.

The manipulator focuses on weakening or controlling opponents in a fight and rarely makes attacks. With the right allies, these are powerful abilities. They also have the strongest set of social skills for any hero and shine in noncombat situations.

Proficiencies

• Saving Throws: Wisdom and Charisma
• Skills: Choose three from Deception, Insight, Intimidation, Performance, Persuasion, and Sleight of Hand
• Equipment: None
• Social Expertise: Choose one from Deception, Intimidation, and Persuasion. You must be proficient in a skill to take expertise in that skill.

Equipment Recommendations

• Equipment Pack: Socialite Pack
• Weapons: None or double-barrel shotgun

Manipulator Level Up

Level	Talents
1	Demoralize
3	Copycat
5	Hypnotize, Improved Demoralize
7	False Identity, Social Expertise
9	Master of Manipulation

Manipulator Talents

Demoralize (Level 1). As an action, you can choose one opponent that can hear you within 60 feet. The target must make a Wisdom saving throw against your trick DC. On a failed save, the target has disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks, and attack rolls against the target have advantage. This effect lasts until the end of your next turn.

Copycat (Level 3). You can perfectly mimic the voice of another person, as long as you have heard them speak for at least 1 minute. A successful Wisdom (Insight) check contested by your Charisma (Deception) check allows a listener to determine that the voice is fake.

Hypnotize (Level 5). You can convince people to do almost anything. As an action, you suggest a course of activity (limited to a sentence or two) and influence one person you can see that can hear and understand you. The suggestion must be worded in such a manner as to make the course of action sound reasonable. Asking the target to shoot itself, throw itself off a building, immolate itself, or do some other obviously harmful act ends the effect.

The target must make a Wisdom saving throw against your trick DC. On a failed save, the target pursues the course of action you described to the best of their ability. The suggested course of action can continue for up to 8 hours. If the suggested activity can be completed in a shorter time, the effect ends when the subject finishes what it was asked to do.

You can specify conditions that will trigger a special activity during the duration. For example, you might suggest that a soldier give their gun to the first civilian they meet. If the condition isn’t met before the effect ends, the activity isn’t performed.

If you or any of your companions damage the target, the effect ends.

You cannot use this talent again until you finish a short or long rest.

Improved Demoralize (Level 5). You can use your Demoralize ability as a bonus action. You can still use it as an action as well, allowing you to use it twice during your turn if you like.

False Identity (Level 7). You can create impeccable false identities for yourself and up to six allies. You must spend seven days to establish the history, profession, and affiliations for these identities. You can’t establish an identity that belongs to someone else. Thereafter, if any one of these allies adopts their new identity as a disguise, other people believe them to be that person until given an obvious reason not to.

Social Expertise (Level 7). You gain expertise in Deception, Intimidation, or Persuasion. You must be proficient in a skill to gain expertise in that skill.

Master of Manipulation (Level 9). You always treat a roll of 9 or lower as a 10 on any Charisma check you make.

Manipulator Tricks

Your Charming Hero level determines the number of manipulator tricks you know, as shown in the Tricks column of the Charming Hero table.

Disappearing Act. By misdirecting onlookers with sleight of hand or trickery, you can take the Hide action even if you would normally have no way to hide. Roll an influence die and add it to your Dexterity (Stealth) result. You remain hidden from any targets that you pass your check against without the need for cover or darkness for the remainder of your turn. After your turn, you remain hidden only if you could normally hide from a target.

Feint. You can roll an influence die to feint as a bonus action, granting you advantage on the next attack roll you make this turn against a target within 5 feet of you. If the attack hits, add the influence die roll to the damage dealt.

Human Shield. As a reaction, when an opponent targets you for an attack but before they roll to hit, you can expend an influence die to change the target to a different opponent within 5 feet of you. If the attack hits the chosen opponent, add the influence die to the damage dealt.

In Your Head. When an opponent that you can see and that can hear you makes a saving throw, after they roll but before determining the result, you can use your reaction to throw them off their game. Roll an influence die and reduce their saving throw result by the amount rolled.

Scapegoat. When you’re caught by an authority while violating their rules, you can spend one influence die to avoid blame. Choose a number of crimes up to half the result, rounded up. The authority figure agrees someone or something other than you is responsible for those crimes if they fail a Wisdom saving throw against your trick DC. You must return any stolen goods you are known to have and leave any premises you aren’t allowed on, but you will not be apprehended or reported, and you do not need to pay for any damages. The crimes cannot involve directly harming anyone.

Trust Me. When you are asking a non-hostile person for information, you can roll one influence die to nudge them outside their comfort zone. The target must make a Wisdom saving throw against your trick DC. On a failure, they truthfully answer a number of questions equal to your influence die result. They do so as if you were a close personal confidant with proper security clearance.

You have made all the important game choices for your hero. Next up, we have a few calculations to do, some finishing mechanical touches that make your hero complete, and look at ways to fill out your hero’s personality and history.

Critical Calculations

These calculations will help you fill out your character sheet.

Speed

Your speed is 30. This is how many feet of movement you have each round of combat under normal conditions.

Proficiency Bonus

Your proficiency bonus at 1st level is +2. This bonus is added to ability checks, attack rolls, and saving throws when you have a relevant proficiency. This number rises as you gain levels.

Skill Bonuses

Skill bonuses are the combination of an ability modifier and proficiency bonus for each skill. To get the proficiency bonus, you must have that skill proficiency. If you have expertise, you can add your proficiency bonus twice. Sometimes you might use a skill proficiency with a different ability score, but these will be your default bonuses.

Passive Perception

Your GM uses your passive Wisdom (Perception) check—commonly called passive Perception—to secretly determine if you notice hidden dangers or opportunities without you having to say you’re specifically doing so.

Passive Perception = 10 + Wisdom modifier + proficiency bonus (if proficient in Perception)

Double your proficiency bonus if you have expertise in Perception.

Equipment

The fastest way to equip your hero is to use one of the equipment packs suggested for your class. They can be found in Equipment, where you will also find details on weapons, armor, and other items. You can also use the iconic equipment provided by your background and profession.

If you want to dive into all the options, Equipment has detailed lists of weapons, armor, and other gear to choose from. Heroes can purchase any item with a price level equal or lower than their own Wealth Level that is legal in their country of residence. Equipment with the restricted property requires the GM’s permission to purchase and use.

Weapons

As you look at equipment, think about what weapon your character will most often use in a fight. Character sheets normally have a few spots to write down details about your most used weapons. Unarmed strikes are considered basic weapons and are sometimes all you will have on hand. (See the combat rules in Combat for details.)

Weapon Attack Bonus

The spaces listed for a weapon has a place to record an attack bonus. This is the total bonus you add when making an attack roll.

Attack roll = d20 roll + ability modifier* + proficiency bonus

* The ability modifier depends on the weapon being used.

• Strength for melee weapons
• Dexterity for ranged weapons
• Strength or Dexterity for finesse weapons

If you are proficient in the weapon’s equipment category, add your proficiency bonus.

Weapon Damage

Weapon damage is determined by the weapon, but you can often add an ability modifier depending on the weapon type. (See the combat rules in Combat for details.)

Damage roll = weapon damage + ability modifier*

* The ability modifier depends on the weapon being used.

• Strength for melee weapons
• Dexterity for ranged weapons
• Strength or Dexterity for finesse weapons
• None for explosives
• None for off-hand attacks

Persona

The most important aspects of heroes are not covered by the rules. These are the traits, both internal and external, that comprise a hero’s personality and character. While the rules tell you how you can do things, what you do and why you do it is the domain of your imagination and no rule can define that for you. The following suggestions can provide inspiration for fleshing out your hero’s persona.

Consider these nine aspects of persona. You may choose any or none of them, but we encourage you to consider at least the first three.

• Motivation. What drives you to do the things you do?
• Attachments. What people, places, or things do you care about?
• Biography. What is your life’s journey thus far?
• Beliefs. How do you see and understand the world?
• Role. What role do you see yourself playing in society?
• Appearance. What do you look like?
• Virtues. What makes you a good person?
• Flaws. What makes you a fallible person?
• Quirks. What makes you a little bit strange or different?

Don’t feel like you must fill in all this information right away. It’s perfectly reasonable to leave some areas blank, and then, as you play your hero, you may get a better feel for who they are, where they have been, and where they are going in their life.

Gms might also find inspiration for creating memorable NPCs and villains. Heroes aren’t the only imaginary characters with dreams and feelings!

Motivations

A hero’s motivations define elements of their character. Nearly every action a hero takes can be traced back to a core motivation of some kind. Most people share a range of motivations, but a few stick out as defining characteristics.

General Motivations

• Approval. You need the approval of others to feel good about yourself.
• Charity. You’re committed to helping others who are less fortunate than yourself.
• Creation. You’re driven to create art, inventions, or organizations.
• Drugs. You constantly crave an altered state of mind.
• Duty. You have a sacred duty you agreed to, and you will never fail to uphold it.
• Faith. You’re a committed member of your faith and seek to uphold its values at all times.
• Family. You’re always thinking of your family, providing and caring for them.
• Food. You love to eat and drink for the sheer pleasure of it.
• Friendship. You will do anything for your friends and live for their companionship.
• Heroism. You want to be a hero and play a heroic role in the lives of others.
• Justice. You’re determined to see that justice is done whenever possible.
• Leisure. You always want to relax and not have any worries or obligations.
• Love. You desire to love and be loved by others above all else.
• Pleasure. You pursue visceral pleasures at all opportunities and often at great cost.
• Power. You want to be powerful, more powerful than anyone else.
• Redemption. You feel guilty about something you did and seek to make it right.
• Revenge. You have been wronged and you will make it right by punishing your oppressor.
• Sex. You’re driven by the desire for sex and are always looking for opportunities.
• Society. You desire an important role within society and to fulfill it well.
• Survival. You will do anything to stay alive as long as possible.
• Thrill. You seek new and intensely exciting experiences.
• Truth. The truth of any major issue matters to you, whether that works in your favor or not.
• Validation. You believe in a specific theory or worldview, and you want to see it validated by the circumstances of the world.
• Vanity. You want to be admired and observed by others whenever possible.
• Violence. You have an inner need to fight and do violence to others.
• Virtue. You’re forever trying to improve yourself in various ways to be a better person.
• Wealth. You seek to amass wealth and income for yourself and your enterprises.
• Work. Your job means everything to you and is the center of your life.

Specific Motivations

To take your motivations to the next level, consider adding specifics to the general categories, such as in the following examples.

• Approval. The police chief is one of your childhood heroes and you’re going to make him proud by taking down the Green Dragon cartel.
• Family. It was your mother’s dream to find the lost city of Atlantis. Now you will finish her work to honor her memory.
• Love and Work. The love of your life was taken from you too early and now you throw yourself into your work so you don’t have time to think about them.
• Revenge. You believe the Cia is behind your father’s death and will stop at nothing to uncover the truth and expose their corruption.

Adventure Motivations

At the start of a campaign or an adventure, the GM may ask you to provide a specific motivation. Ideally these meld well with your character concept, but sometimes it’s best to tweak your character a little so they fit into the story at hand. For example, the GM is going to run an adventure about finding a rumored secret diary of George Washington. The GM wants everyone to come up with a motivation for why their hero wants to do this.

• Kat Whitlock, a reporter, wants to find the lost diary because it might reveal startling truths about the founding of America, and she believes in sharing the truth with the public.
• The ]=0XX, who enjoys accumulating wealth, figures the diary is worth a small fortune and wants to find it to sell it off to the highest bidder.
• Doc Jefferson believes he is a direct descendant of George Washington and believes the diary could finally offer validation that his genealogical claim is legitimate.

Attachments

Attachments are the people, places, and things we make part of our own identity and have an emotional investment in. These attachments become part of ourselves and we invest in them emotionally, financially, and even spiritually. Be warned, the friends and family of heroes have an unnaturally high risk of being kidnapped by criminal cartels.

Types of Attachments

• Celebrity. Celebrity attachments range from harmless admiration to unhealthy obsession. They are usually one-way relationships.
• Cultural. Many people have a strong sense of identity as a member of a given culture or subculture. Sometimes without even being a member of it.
• Family. Nearly everyone has family attachments, but some are stronger than others. They can even transcend death.
• Friend. Friendship can be among the strongest attachments possible and arise in nearly any walk of life.
• Hometown. People become attached to the place where they grew up and identify strongly with it.
• Media. Many people become devoted to music, films, books, or other kinds of media that have special meaning or influence over their life.
• Organization. Joining an organization comes with an emotional attachment, especially with longterm membership.
• Pet. Many people have a strong bond with their pets or other animals they care for, sometimes as much or more than their human attachments.
• Politics. People who are politically aware and active form an attachment to a party, ideal, or cause they are passionate about and committed to.
• Romantic. Romantic attachments can include those you have, those you want to have, and those you have lost.
• Sports Team. Becoming a fan of a sports team is a very common and enjoyable type of attachment.
• Vehicle. People spend a lot of time and money on cars, boats, and planes, becoming very sentimental about them.

Attachment Details

Some attachments are positive and give us joy, but others can be sources of negative emotions such as pain and fear. When describing an attachment in detail, you can note both who or what the attachment is, and how it makes you feel. Here are a few examples.

• Celebrity. You think the actor Dwayne Johnson is the greatest action movie star of all time and he inspires you to give everything you do 110% effort.
• Family. Your father was a cop, and his father was a cop, and now you’re a cop. While this fills you with pride, you also feel a little trapped by the pressure of this legacy.
• Politics. Your family home was poisoned by toxic waste from a government run bioweapons lab. You harbor a deep distrust and hatred for government agencies and politicians and seek to warn others of the danger.
• Vehicle. You have a ‘66 midnight blue Gto you hand restored from an old wreck. You will never part with it and are paranoid about it being damaged.

Adventure Attachments

Attachments allow players to hook into an adventure by way of an NPC that is part of the story. When starting up a campaign or adventure, the GM may ask everyone to come up with a connection between their hero and an NPC important to the plot. In some cases, this might be a positive attachment, in others it might be better as a negative one. The focus of these attachments then serve as a connecting thread between the different heroes in the team, naturally pulling them together for the adventure.

An adventure attachment might also be a place, event, or an important object. For an adventure about recovering a priceless artifact, each player could be asked to create an attachment to this artifact that makes sense for their hero and motivates them to want to recover it from the thieves.

Biography

For many people, their history plays a large part in how they see themselves. Some heroes’ stories naturally lead up to the moment their lives turned to heroic pursuits, others stand in stark contrast to it. While you can build out your hero’s biography as far as you like, a short paragraph or two is usually enough to tell a compelling tale. To inspire you, here are a few examples.

Example: Jaycene Meyer grew up in a firefighter’s household. She fondly remembers her father’s get-togethers in the backyard, the smell of his uniform, and the heroic values that her father demonstrated on the job every day. So she was devastated when her father left to put out a 5-alarm fire and never came back. On her 18th birthday, she knew she was going sign up for the firefighter’s test and beat it in one try. This same focus and tenacity are how she was promoted to lieutenant and became the first woman fire chief in the district.

Chris Hansen grew up in foster care. It was not the healthiest environment. At a very early age, Chris had to learn to defend himself. He first learned karate, then jujitsu, and even a little boxing. When he got older, competing in mixed martial arts seemed like the next logical choice. After 17 titles, Chris didn’t know what was next until he met a Cia recruiter.

Damon Johnson was always gifted at science. He spent his childhood in the school’s lab. This made transitioning to Mit an easy thing. When he got there, he came into his own, excelling in microbiology. Now Damon works for Advanced Genetics, Inc, has his own lab, and is working on groundbreaking research. What more can a guy want?

Beliefs

A hero’s beliefs inform how they make their way in the world. When two people come into conflict, both thinking they are doing right, their underpinning beliefs about what is truth drive the conflict. This is the realm of philosophy, religion, and lived experience.

Religious Beliefs

Not only are there many religions in the world, each with many branches, but adherents of those religions take different meanings and inspiration from their religion. Nonetheless, religion is a good starting place for beliefs. Before choosing to portray the beliefs of a major religion that is not your own, be respectful and delve into its beliefs, history, and traditions.

Philosophical Beliefs

Philosophy is an intellectual discipline of seeking truth and knowledge of ourselves and the world around us. Some philosophical positions are holistic, but many seek to answer specific questions about life and the nature of reality. Religion and philosophy are not mutually exclusive, but philosophy is usually devoid of ritual or worship.

Philosophy is roughly divided into four categories: metaphysics, epistemology, axiology, and logic.

• Metaphysics. What is the fundamental nature of reality?
• Epistemology. How can we come to know the truth?
• Axiology. What is good and what is bad?
• Logic. Not so much a statement of belief as a methodology.

Proverbs

Proverbs are pithy statements about the nature of reality that reflect common wisdom or belief. They are one of the most common forms of belief expression in any given culture. They can become a touchstone for a hero.

• A fool and his money are soon parted.
• A penny saved is a penny earned.
• A stitch in time saves nine.
• Actions speak louder than words.
• An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
• Blood is thicker than water.
• Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.
• Freedom always comes at a cost.
• Good is not a thing you are. It’s a thing you do.
• Live fast, die young, leave a beautiful corpse.
• Love conquers all.
• Never look a gift horse in the mouth.
• Never tell me the odds.
• Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely.
• Sometimes you just have to roll the dice.
• Speak softly but carry a big stick.
• Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.
• The early bird gets the worm.
• What goes around, comes around.
• When the going gets tough, the tough get going.
• With great power comes great responsibility.

Role

You can define your character through the roles they play in society. Not everyone finds role to be important, but those who do are focused on this idea. For some, their role in society is simply their job, but for others it can be a family role, a broader social responsibility, or some combination of the above.

Social Roles

• Artist
• Caretaker
• Creator
• Explorer
• Guardian
• Hero
• Intellectual
• Leader
• Lover
• Parent
• Partier
• Provider
• Survivor
• Teacher
• Warrior
• Worker

Detailed Roles

Once you have identified a role to focus on, think about how your hero exemplifies it day to day. Why are they attracted to this role and in what situations do they act it out? Here are examples of how these roles can be expressed.

• Artist. You wake up every morning before dawn to head out with your camera to capture sunrise in the city. You want others to understand what a beautiful place it can be.
• Guardian. You work at the Sunnybrook home for the elderly. You love the residents there like your family and would do anything to protect them.
• Survivor. As the last member of your family lineage, you feel a responsibility to survive as long as possible to carry on the family name.
• Warrior. You are attracted to violence, but you channel that into keeping innocents safe from others like yourself.

Appearance

While our outward appearance may be a superficial aspect of who we are, it is the first thing others perceive about you. For better or worse, first impressions are based on this limited information.

Aspects of Appearance

• Body shape and proportion
• Clothing style and coloration
• Eye color and decoration
• Facial hair style
• Facial shape and features
• Hair style and coloration
• Height
• Posture and movements
• Skin complexion and coloration
• Gender presentation

A Picture IS Worth 1,000 Words

When it comes to describing a hero, this adage is spot on. It’s faster to show people at the gaming table how you imagine your hero than to read a long physical description. A web search can find inspirational character images that reflect your vision. If you’re an artist, try illustrating your character!

Virtues

Your virtues are the aspects of your personality that you or others think make you a good and worthy person. Typically, you take pride in these virtues, though if humility is among them, you try not to take too much pride. Listed here are virtues that do not obviously stem from ability scores and proficiencies heroes have: Strong, Wise, Intelligent, Insightful, and so on.

• Amiable
• Grateful
• Brave
• Hardworking
• Chill
• Honest
• Civil
• Humble
• Compassionate
• Judicious
• Creative
• Loving
• Earnest
• Patient
• Educated
• Resourceful
• Experienced
• Respectful
• Friendly
• Stylish
• Funny
• Tolerant
• Generous
• Thoughtful

Virtues In Detail

A good way to detail your virtues is to add an example of how your hero demonstrates the virtue in their actions.

• Brave. You never back down from a challenge, even when the odds are against you.
• Chill. No matter how aggravating perps can get, you keep your cool on the streets.
• Friendly. You make new friends wherever you go and avoid fighting whenever possible.
• Judicious. You settle disputes at work in a way that leaves everyone feeling satisfied.

Flaws

Your flaws are the aspects of your personality, appearance, or character that you or others find wanting and perhaps wish you could change. Sometimes we are ashamed of our flaws, sometimes we accept them, and on rare occasions we even celebrate them.

• Annoying
• Brash
• Dishonest
• Dour
• Inconsiderate
• Irresponsible
• Fearful
• Feckless
• Forgetful
• Greedy
• Gullible
• Heartless
• Lazy
• Lecherous

Flaws In Detail

If you want to describe your flaw in an evocative way, describe a typical situation where this flaw is evident to everyone.

• Feckless. You use cheat codes in video games because you don’t feel like practicing, but you still want to win.
• Inconsiderate. You always eat all the maple bars when someone brings donuts to the office.
• Nosy. You name-search all your colleagues at work, keeping tabs on their social media.
• Spiteful. You never leave a tip when you have to wait longer than 20 minutes at a restaurant.

Quirks

Quirks are little things that make you unique. A quirk might be a catch phrase, an unusual talent, or a repeated behavior people remark on. The possibilities are endless, but here are a few examples to get your imagination going.

Quirky Mannerisms

• You have a slight limp due to a bull fighting accident.
• You like to stroke your beard when you’re thinking.
• You pretend to conduct an orchestra after a victory.
• You always shake hands with your left hand first.

Quirky Speech

• You refer to everyone as “My little friends.”
• You begin every explanation with the word “Basically,”
• You constantly make baseball metaphors.
• You meow like a cat to the people you care about.

Quirky Limitations

• You refuse to kill anyone on the weekends.
• You won’t go outside without your lucky hat.
• You never drink alcohol during a full moon.
• You can’t stand the sound of squeaky toys.

Quirky Talents

• You can burp the Star-Spangled Banner.
• You do a perfect Elvis impression.
• You can move your eyes independently of one another.
• You can detect cancer by sense of smell.
• Manipulative
• Narcissistic
• Nosy
• Provocative
• Shy
• Smelly
• Spiteful