Avatars of Fate - The Magician
Do you believe in fate? In DnD, grand destiny and ancient prophecy are tropes many DMs are fond of, but if fate is real, what forces make it work? Who, if anyone, enacts the will of fate?
The Avatars of Fate are our potential answer to that very complicated question. The avatars are the embodiments of aspects of fate’s intentions, and they become the actors through which fate can ensure its own fulfillment. To fulfill all the different outcomes fate has in store, the avatars have a myriad different forms and roles, most of whom are neither monster nor hero by definition. Just as it’s up to the players to decide whether to accept or rebel against fate, it’s up to them whether fate’s representatives are their friends or enemies.
To create the avatars, we took inspiration from the major arcana of the Rider-Waite tarot. As a result, you now have twenty-two full stat blocks to look forward to, one at every CR from 0 to 21, and as a first look, we have monster and card #1, the Magician! The Magician card can often represent beginnings or invention, infinite agency and possibility, and so the creature we have made from it is the natural place to introduce the project. The monster itself is a source of knowledge and innovation narratively, perfect as an early quest giver to novice adventurers, or as an early clever villain.
We are super excited to reveal these new creatures, and over the next month we will be showing off new avatars periodically until the 30th, when the entire project will become available. And of course, as usual, our Patreon patrons get the easiest access; patrons at the $7 tier or higher will have access to all 22 avatars as soon as they go live, in addition to all the rest of the goodies our patrons get to enjoy. Lastly, if you have opinions about tarot, or are just eager to see every scrap of tomfoolery and homebrew we create as quickly as possible, our Discord is the place to go to shout about how your latest reading means you deserve free homebrew. We hope to see you there!
Avatar of Fate
Strange entities are forged in the astral sea from the beliefs and desires of all thinking beings. They know all that is remembered, all that is known, and all that is anticipated— and with this knowledge they ensure that fate is preserved. Yet these forces cannot exist outside of the astral sea, and so they create avatars—corporeal beings to carry out fate itself.
These avatars can appear anywhere, ready and able to take on the role that fate requires of them. Be they powerful antagonists, trusted advisors, or beloved companions, these avatars can serve many roles in an adventure and be many things to an adventuring party. What role they fill and what the course of fate dictates is in your hands.
The Magician
Change is inevitable. When necessary, this inevitability is brought about by the avatar of the magician, which represents the ingenuity, resourcefulness, and vision to bring about revolutionary transmutations. An avatar of the magician sows the seeds of new things, giving others the opportunity to make these seeds flourish.
Fresh Ideas. Avatars of the magician most readily appear to those who are stagnant for some personal or collective failure. The difficulties to which these avatars are drawn are often the result of failures to correct mistakes, implement reforms, or accept new knowledge necessary to reach a resolution.
Inspiring Travelers. Avatars of the magician often appear as traveling merchants, mad scientists, and scholars. They carry wondrous, radical new ideas and technologies, which they introduce to a community. However, they will leave the acceptance of these new idea—and the conflict intrinsic to such intrusions—up to the community itself.
The Magician
Medium Celestial (Avatar), Typically Neutral
Armor Class 11 (14 with mage armor)
Hit Points 36 (8d8)
Speed 30 ft.
STR 8 (-1)
DEX 12 (+1)
CON 10 (+0)
INT 16 (+3)
WIS 12 (+1)
CHA 13 (+1)
Skills Arcana +5, Medicine +3
Damage Immunities psychic
Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened
Senses truesight 60 ft., passive Perception 11
Languages All, telepathy 60 ft.
CR 1 (200 XP) Proficiency Bonus +2
Fateseer. The avatar has advantage on initiative rolls and cannot be surprised.
Magician’s Transmutation. At the start of its turn, the avatar chooses acid, cold, fire, poison, lightning, or thunder damage. Until the start of the avatar’s next turn, it gains resistance to the chosen damage type and all creatures within 60 feet become vulnerable to the chosen damage type unless they have resistance or immunity to it already.
Innate Spellcasting. The avatar’s innate spellcasting ability is Intelligence (spell save DC 13). It can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:
At will: mage armor, prestidigitation
1/day: alter self, create or destroy water, misty step
Actions
Multiattack. The avatar makes 2 Elemental Hand attacks.
Elemental Bolt. Ranged Spell Attack: +5 to hit, range 60 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (2d4) acid, cold, fire, poison, lightning, or thunder damage (avatar’s choice).
Elemental Hand.Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 3 (1d4 + 1) bludgeoning damage plus 2 (1d4) acid, cold, fire, poison, lightning, or thunder damage (avatar’s choice).
