Protection
Protection-sphere.png

You are a user of the magics of preservation. When you first gain the Protection sphere, you gain the aegis, succor, and ward sphere abilities.

Aegis

Casting Time: 1 action
Range: touch
Duration: concentration, up to 1 hour.
Target: 1 creature
Saving Throw: Wisdom
Cost: 0 sp

You can grant a creature an aegis. Unwilling targets are allowed a Wisdom saving throw to resist gaining an aegis.

Augment 2 sp: The effect persists for the remaining duration without concentration. This augment may be applied after the effect is cast on your turn without an action.

You gain the following aegis when you gain the Protection sphere:

Armored (aegis)

You can create an aegis that wraps the target in protective barriers, granting them a base AC equal to your sphere DC (no benefit from Dexterity modifier). This does not stack with other armor, though the target may still benefit from a shield.

Succor

Casting Time: 1 reaction
Target: 1 creature under the effects of your aegis
Range: 300 feet
Cost: 0 sp

You can create an effect by sacrificing an aegis you created. Doing so immediately ends one aegis on the targeted creature. The sacrificed aegis must be one that you have augmented to be maintained without concentration. You cannot use succor on a creature not currently under the effects of your aegis.

The base Protection sphere does not grant any succor abilities.

Ward

Casting Time: 1 action
Range: self
Duration: concentration, up to 1 minute
Area: 10-foot tall cylinder with a 20-foot radius
Cost: 0 sp

You can create a ward centered within range. Wards remain in the location they were created, even if you move. When creating a ward, you can always choose to reduce the height or radius below its maximum. The maximum height of the cylinder increases by 5 feet and the maximum radius increases by 10 feet at 5th level (15-foot-by-30-foot radius cylinder), 11th level (20-foot-by-40-foot radius cylinder), and 17th level (25-foot-by-50-foot radius cylinder).

Augment 2 sp: The effect persists for the remaining duration without concentration. This augment may be applied after the effect is cast on your turn without an action.

When you gain the Protection sphere, you gain the following ward:

Barrier (ward)

You can create a ward that creates a mostly-transparent wall at its perimeter, stopping attacks, movement, breath weapons, and any spells or sphere effects that must travel to their destination (such as destructive blasts, ghost strikes, or spells that require attack rolls). Other spells or sphere effects, however, such as teleportation effects, mind-altering magic, and gaze attacks may all bypass this ward.

If the barrier cuts through a creature’s space when it appears, the creature is pushed to one side of the barrier (its choice). If a creature would be surrounded on all sides by the barrier (or the barrier and another solid surface), that creature can make a Dexterity saving throw. On a success, it can use its reaction to move up to its speed so that it is no longer enclosed by the barrier. The barrier also extends into the Ethereal Plane, blocking ethereal travel through the ward. Ethereal creatures can sometimes go under the barrier, as the barrier does not cut through objects, and so usually stops at ground level.

A barrier has an AC equal to your sphere DC and hit points equal to 4 + your level. If the barrier is reduced to 0 hit points, the entire barrier effect ends immediately. If you maintain your barrier through concentration, its hit points are renewed each round on your turn.

If an attack deals more damage to the barrier than its current hit points, the attacker may burst the barrier and continue the attack against a target on the other side. The attacker makes a new attack roll against a target within range on the other side of the barrier, dealing the attack’s remaining damage if successful. This also applies to area-affect damage; for example, an area of effect spell that can overcome the barrier’s hit points can affect targets on the other side with its reduced damage.

Particularly strong creatures might be able to simply crush a barrier by ramming through it. A creature can attempt to break the barrier by shoving or overrunning (see the Game Master’s Guide) it, shattering it completely if the creature succeeds. Instead of a contested check, the creature succeeds if its Strength (athletics) check exceeds your sphere DC.



Protection Basic Talents

Talents that are marked (aegis), (succor), or (ward) will grant you new abilities of the respective type, while (barrier) talents will modify the barrier base sphere ability specifically.

Aegis Talents

Breathless (aegis)

You can create an aegis that allows a creature to survive without air. The creature becomes immune to effects that require breathing (such as inhaled poison), can survive underwater, or even in a vacuum. This does not give immunity to cloud or gas attacks that do not require breathing.

Deathless (aegis)

You can create an aegis that grants the subject resistance to necrotic damage and grants advantage on all saving throws against effects that would kill it instantaneously without dealing damage. The subject is granted a saving throw to negate such effects even if one is not normally allowed. This aegis does not protect against other sorts of attacks, even if those attacks might be lethal. Additionally, the target automatically stabilizes when reduced to 0 hit points and does not have to make death saving throws at the start of its turn.

Energy Resistance (aegis, ward)

You can create an aegis that grants energy resistance to one damage type of your choice (acid, cold, fire, lightning, radiant, thunder).

You can also create a ward that suppresses one damage type of your choice. All creatures within the ward benefit from resistance to the chosen damage type for as long as they remain within the ward.

Friendship (aegis)

You can create an aegis that gives a creature special protection from its allies’ magic. You can designate a number of creatures up to your proficiency bonus; whenever one of the designated creatures uses a spell or sphere ability that covers an area, they may exclude the target of this aegis from the area of effect.

Guardian (aegis)

You can create an aegis that draws harmful attention to its bearer and away from their allies. Any hostile creature within 10 feet of the bearer of this aegis who decides to target any creature other than the bearer of this aegis suffers disadvantage on their attack roll. Multiple Guardian aegis do not stack; if a creature attacks one creature with this aegis while within the area of another creature with this aegis, they suffer no disadvantage on their attack.

Impartiality (aegis, ward)

Creatures bearing this aegis or within this ward are treated as having no alignment for all magical effects. Celestials, fiends, or Undead still count as such, but do not detect as such for effects such as a paladin’s divine sense. Effects that detect alignment (such as the Divine Alignment alternate divination from the Divination sphere) do not detect the creature or creatures protected, while those that affect certain alignments have no effect on protected creatures at all. This does not allow a creature to disguise their alignment - they appear as an absence of alignment. This also hides the creature type of fiends, fey, celestials, and undead.

Impedance (aegis, ward)

You can create an aegis that requires creatures to succeed on a Wisdom saving throw to enter a space within 5 feet of the target. Failure prevents entering such a space until the start of the creature’s next turn, when it can attempt to do so, triggering a new saving throw.

This talent does not interfere with attacks; only movement. You can create a ward that makes it difficult for creatures to approach the center of the ward. At the beginning of their turn, or when they try to enter the ward, a creature must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or they are unable to enter or move any closer to the center of the ward until the start of their next turn when it can attempt to do so, triggering a new saving throw.

Augment 1 sp: the aegis option affects spaces within 10 feet.

Inner Peace (aegis)

You can create an aegis that grants resistance to psychic damage and grants the target advantage on saving throws against effects that would cause the charmed or frightened condition or would otherwise manipulate emotions, such as the calm emotions spell or the Hostility (charm) of the Mind sphere.

Obscurity (aegis, ward)

Creatures with this aegis or within this ward appear unremarkable and unimportant to those around them. Creatures must make an Intelligence saving throw to be able to notice their presence. This is before any Wisdom (Perception) checks are made. A successful save allows them to see the obscured creatures normally (assuming they can see the creatures normally), until they have left the sight of the creature by either moving out of line-of-sight or making a successful Dexterity (Stealth) check. Creatures who are specifically looking for the protected creatures and are aware of their identity (like those who have been told you are there by someone else), or who are engaged in combat with them automatically succeed on this saving throw.

Obstruction (aegis)

You can create an aegis that absorbs damage. The target gains resistance to nonmagical bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage.

Peacebound (aegis, ward)

You can create an aegis that makes the target immune to violent actions or magic. Any such action made against the target requires the attacker to pass a Wisdom saving throw or lose that action, including any spell points or spell slots spent. If a creature succeeds at this saving throw (or the bearer of the peacebound aegis takes an offensive action against any creature) the aegis immediately ends.

You can create a ward that renders all creatures incapable of causing violence. Any violent action or targeted offensive magical effect created within the ward requires a successful Wisdom saving throw or else the action is wasted, including any spell points or spell slots spent. If any creature succeeds at this saving throw, the ward’s effect immediately ends for all. When a peacebound ward is broken in this fashion, all creatures within become immune to that caster’s peacebound ward until the next dawn.

Protected Health (aegis, ward)

You can create an aegis that grants a target resistance to poison damage and advantage on saving throws against all poisons and diseases, both magical and mundane. You can create a ward that grants this benefit to all within its area.

Punishment (aegis, succor)

You can create an aegis that inflicts pain on creatures that hurt its bearer. Whenever a creature successfully hits the bearer of this aegis with a melee or ranged attack, that creature suffers 1d4 points of psychic damage, increasing by 1d4 at 5th (2d4), 11th (3d4), and 17th (4d4) levels.

As a succor, when an ally under the effects of your aegis takes damage from an attack, you can dismiss an aegis to deal 1d6 points of psychic damage, increasing by 1d6 at 5th (2d6), 11th (3d6), and 17th (4d6) levels to the attacking creature. This damage stacks with that from the Punishment aegis.

Resistance (aegis)

You can create an aegis that grants the target the ability to spend a reaction to grant itself advantage on a saving throw.

Shield (aegis)

You can create an aegis that grants the target with a shield of translucent force. This shield acts as a normal shield except it is weightless and does not interfere with the target providing material and somatic spell components. If the target takes another object in the hand the shield occupies (except for manipulating spell components), the shield is suppressed and provides no benefit until the start of the next turn in which the target has a free hand.

Augment 1 sp: The target is always considered proficient with the shield.

Slippery (aegis)

You can create an aegis that protects a creature from being physically restrained or manipulated. The bearer of this aegis gains advantage on saving throws to resist being restrained or moved, or ability checks made to avoid being shoved, escape a grapple, squeeze through a tight space, or escape bonds.

Spell Ward (aegis, ward)

Cost: 1 sp
You create an aegis that grants the target advantage on all saving throws against magic.

Cost: 1 sp
You can create a ward that represses all magic within its area of effect. Make one spellcasting ability check against each magical effect, magic item, or summoned creature within the area. If your check exceeds the spell save DC or sphere DC of the magical effect, item, or caster who summoned the creature, the effect is suppressed, the magic item ceases to function, or the summoned creature temporarily disappears.

Time spent suppressed counts toward a magical effect’s total duration. Any caster attempting to use a magical ability in or targeted within this area, or any summoned creature attempting to enter this area, must pass a spellcasting ability check against your sphere DC. On a success, the magical effect is unimpeded, and the summoned creature is not banished by that spell ward.



Barrier Talents

Continuous (barrier)

Augment 0 sp: You can form your barrier as a hemispherical dome or a sphere; regardless of form, this barrier is completely sealed. If creating the barrier would cause it to go through another object, the barrier cuts harmlessly through the material (without compromising the integrity of the object, but preventing the object from being moved). If creating the barrier would cause it to go through a creature or animated object, the barrier shunts the creature as usual. These modifications to your barriers make it so that ethereal creatures, or creatures with unusual movement modes such as burrowing cannot enter the warded area by going around the barrier, but must instead destroy the barrier to enter or exit.

This ability can be combined with the Greater (barrier) talent to allow your barrier wall to pass through objects.

Greater (barrier)

Augment 0 sp: You can fashion your barrier into a flat, vertical plane if you so choose. This wall must be contiguous and be adjacent to you at one point, although it may extend as far out as 30 feet (if you possess the Reaching (metasphere) talent from the Universal sphere, it must be within range of you at one point, although it may extend as far as twice your range), and formed of a maximum number of 10-foot-by-10- foot panels equal to twice your proficiency bonus.

Augment 1 sp: You can increase your barrier’s Hit Points to 10 per level and increase the DC of shoving or overrunning the barrier by 5. The barrier’s hit points do not replenish, even if maintained through concentration.

Augment 1 sp: The maximum number of panels you can create increases to four times your proficiency bonus.

Augment 2 sp: The maximum size of your panels increases to 20-foot-by-20-foot.

You also gain the following ability:

Buttress

Casting Time: 1 action
Target: 1 barrier ward
Range: 300 feet
Cost: 1 sp

You restore up to 5 hit points per level to one barrier you created.

Augment 1 sp: The casting time is reduced to a bonus action.

Augment 2 sp: The casting time is reduced to a reaction. If used in reaction to an attack that would destroy the barrier, the restored hit points can prevent the barrier from being destroyed. Subtract the damage dealt from the total of the barrier’s current hit point plus the hit points granted by this talent to determine the final hit points. This cannot cause the barrier to have more hit points than its maximum.



Succor Talents

Bulwark (succor)

When an ally is targeted by an attack roll, you can dismiss an aegis on that ally to give them resistance to all damage from the triggering attack as a reaction.

Luck (succor)

You can dismiss an aegis on a target to allow them to reroll a saving throw they have just made. They must take the second result, even if it is worse.

Punishment (aegis, succor)

You can create an aegis that inflicts pain on creatures that hurt its bearer. Whenever a creature successfully hits the bearer of this aegis with a melee or ranged attack, that creature suffers 1d4 points of psychic damage, increasing by 1d4 at 5th (2d4), 11th (3d4), and 17th (4d4) levels.

As a succor, when an ally under the effects of your aegis takes damage from an attack, you can dismiss an aegis to deal 1d6 points of psychic damage, increasing by 1d6 at 5th (2d6), 11th (3d6), and 17th (4d6) levels to the attacking creature. This damage stacks with that from the Punishment aegis.



Ward Talents

Clarity (ward)

Within the area of this ward, attempts to conceal, obfuscate, or disguise oneself are hindered. Any creature within the ward must make a Wisdom saving throw or they become unable to use any abilities to disguise or conceal themselves. Likewise, any spell, sphere effect, or other ability that creates illusions or makes it difficult to sense physical phenomena is more difficult to use. When the ward is first created, the user makes a single spellcasting ability check against every illusion or magical concealing effect. If your check succeeds, the effect is suppressed or the magic item ceases to function, respectively.

Time spent suppressed counts toward a magical effect’s total duration. Any additional attempt to create an illusion or concealment effect requires the caster succeed on a spellcasting ability check against your sphere DC. They must do this even if they passed their Wisdom saving throw.

Energy Resistance (aegis, ward)

You can create an aegis that grants energy resistance to one damage type of your choice (acid, cold, fire, lightning, radiant, thunder).

You can also create a ward that suppresses one damage type of your choice. All creatures within the ward benefit from resistance to the chosen damage type for as long as they remain within the ward.

Exclusion (ward)

You can create a ward that prevents entry of a common material or element chosen when you create the ward. You can choose an element based on their physical material (such as stone, metal, water, or acid), form of energy (such as fire or light), or based on their physical properties (such as poisonous materials or living materials). Magical and non-magical materials excluded have great difficulty entering the ward, but are unaffected once inside.

Creatures made of or carrying the material with them must make a Strength check against your Protection sphere DC to cross the threshold of the ward, or they can simply drop any of the warded material they are carrying. An attack from outside the ward that crosses into the ward that is composed of the excluded material receives disadvantage on the attack roll.

Impartiality (aegis, ward)

Creatures bearing this aegis or within this ward are treated as having no alignment for all magical effects. Celestials, fiends, or Undead still count as such, but do not detect as such for effects such as a paladin’s divine sense. Effects that detect alignment (such as the Divine Alignment alternate divination from the Divination sphere) do not detect the creature or creatures protected, while those that affect certain alignments have no effect on protected creatures at all. This does not allow a creature to disguise their alignment - they appear as an absence of alignment. This also hides the creature type of fiends, fey, celestials, and undead.

Impedance (aegis, ward)

You can create an aegis that requires creatures to succeed on a Wisdom saving throw to enter a space within 5 feet of the target. Failure prevents entering such a space until the start of the creature’s next turn, when it can attempt to do so, triggering a new saving throw. This talent does not interfere with attacks; only movement.

You can create a ward that makes it difficult for creatures to approach the center of the ward. At the beginning of their turn, or when they try to enter the ward, a creature must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or they are unable to enter or move any closer to the center of the ward until the start of their next turn when it can attempt to do so, triggering a new saving throw.

Augment 1 sp: the aegis option affects spaces within 10 feet.

Obscurity (aegis, ward)

Creatures with this aegis or within this ward appear unremarkable and unimportant to those around them. Creatures must make an Intelligence saving throw to be able to notice their presence. This is before any Wisdom (Perception) checks are made. A successful save allows them to see the obscured creatures normally (assuming they can see the creatures normally), until they have left the sight of the creature by either moving out of line-of-sight or making a successful Dexterity (Stealth) check. Creatures who are specifically looking for the protected creatures and are aware of their identity (like those who have been told you are there by someone else), or who are engaged in combat with them automatically succeed on this saving throw.

Peacebound (aegis, ward)

You can create an aegis that makes the target immune to violent actions or magic. Any such action made against the target requires the attacker to pass a Wisdom saving throw or lose that action, including any spell points or spell slots spent. If a creature succeeds at this saving throw (or the bearer of the peacebound aegis takes an offensive action against any creature) the aegis immediately ends.

You can create a ward that renders all creatures incapable of causing violence. Any violent action or targeted offensive magical effect created within the ward requires a successful Wisdom saving throw or else the action is wasted, including any spell points or spell slots spent. If any creature succeeds at this saving throw, the ward’s effect immediately ends for all. When a peacebound ward is broken in this fashion, all creatures within become immune to that caster’s peacebound ward until the next dawn.

Protected Health (aegis, ward)

You can create an aegis that grants a target resistance to poison damage and advantage on saving throws against all poisons and diseases, both magical and mundane. You can create a ward that grants this benefit to all within its area.

Repel Alignment (ward)

You can create a ward that repels creatures of the fiend, celestial, fey, and undead creature types. Any creatures of these types cannot cross the edge of this ward unless they succeed at a Charisma saving throw. Once a creature has succeeded at this saving throw, they may cross the barrier without trouble and are immune to your Repel Alignment ward until the next dawn. If a creature is already within this warded area when it is created, or if the ward is moved into their space, they instantly become immune to the ward, as if they had succeeded at their saving throw.

Spell Ward (aegis, ward)

Cost: 1 sp
You create an aegis that grants the target advantage on all saving throws against magic.

Cost: 1 sp
You can create a ward that represses all magic within its area of effect. Make one spellcasting ability check against each magical effect, magic item, or summoned creature within the area. If your check exceeds the spell save DC or sphere DC of the magical effect, item, or caster who summoned the creature, the effect is suppressed, the magic item ceases to function, or the summoned creature temporarily disappears. Time spent suppressed counts toward a magical effect’s total duration. Any caster attempting to use a magical ability in or targeted within this area, or any summoned creature attempting to enter this area, must pass a spellcasting ability check against your sphere DC. On a success, the magical effect is unimpeded, and the summoned creature is not banished by that spell ward.



Other Talents

Community

Whenever a creature under your aegis takes damage, you can transfer up to half of that damage to any other willing creature under one of your aegis as a free action. The transferred damage is of the same type and cannot be further redirected by any means.

Status

You always know the direction and distance to all creatures benefiting from your aegis and are aware of any conditions affecting them (unharmed, wounded, disabled, frightened, unconscious, dying, poisoned, stunned, poisoned, diseased, confused, etc.). If the target dies or moves to another plane of existence, this effect ceases to function.



Protection Advanced Talents

Adaptation (aegis)

Prerequisites: Protection sphere (Breathless, Energy Resistance), 11th level or higher.

Augment 4 sp: When applying the Breathless aegis, you can make them immune to most environmental conditions. They become immune to extreme temperatures, toxicity in the air, and can breath underwater or in a vacuum. In addition, the target gains Resistance to acid, cold, fire, lightning, radiant, and thunder damage. The target also gains resistance to necrotic if you possess Deathless, psychic if you possess Inner Peace, and poison if you possess Protected Health.

Anti-Magic Aura

Prerequisites: Protection sphere (Spell Ward), 11th caster level or higher.

Augment 2 sp: When creating a ward with Spell Ward, you can improve its abilities: the ward stops all magic and summoned creatures without the need for a spellcasting ability check. This ward cannot be centered anywhere other than on yourself.

Unplottable (aegis)

Prerequisites: Protection sphere (Obscurity), 15th level or higher.

Augment 3 sp: When granting a target the Obscurity aegis, you can make them undetectable through divination magic of any sort. Any magical attempt to gather information on the target (including scrying, effects that detect invisibility, detect alignment, or even miracle and wish spells when used in a similar manner) automatically fails. In the case of scrying that does not directly view the bearer of this aegis (such as instead scanning the area they happen to be in), the spell or effect works normally, but the creature isn’t detected.



Variants

Limited Protection

Choose either ward or aegis; you only gain the chosen ability. If you select aegis, you can still take and benefit from (succor) talents. You gain a bonus talent of the selected type.

Protected Soul

You cannot target other creatures with your aegis, only yourself. Any ward you create immediately ends if you end your turn outside of it. You gain either a (ward) or (aegis) talent of your choice as a bonus talent.



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