Ancestral Bloodline
Some families have an ancient bloodline of heroism that allows Heroes to manifest rarely. These families become national treasures and are highly influential to the nations they reside in. Their powers are well documented, usually with the family being able to identify a Hero at a young age, usually by a certain eye color or the presence of a special birthmark. The family usually has a training regimen and many resources to help their fledgling Hero succeed.
Inherited Journey: An Ancestral Bloodline Hero’s Journey is a rigid one usually dictated by the Journeys of past Heroes in the family. Their main tenet is to bring honor to their family.
Heroic Trait (Optional):
| 1D12 | Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | Heroes in your family always have light colored hair and startlingly blue eyes. |
| 2 | Heroes in your family always have a birthmark in the shape of the family’s crest. |
| 3 | Heroes in your family make a certain unique gem light up in their presence. |
| 4 | Heroes in your family utter a magic phrase at 1 month old that the family is still trying to decipher. |
| 5 | Heroes in your family are born with a scarred over injury called the Hero’s Stigmata having one of the injuries sustained by the family’s original hero in their lifetime, now reflected on their ancestor. |
| 6 | Heroes in your family are able to speak with animals or see the colors of peoples auras until the age of 3. |
| 7 | Heroes in your family are heralded by a dragon being sighted on the day of their birth. |
| 8 | Heroes in your family are always left handed. |
| 9 | Heroes in your family are only a specific gender. |
| 10 | Heroes in your family are always born a specific race even if neither parent is a member of that race. |
| 11 | Heroes in your family have small bursts of fire shoot out of their eyes when they get angry. |
| 12 | Heroes in your family have a crest on their right hand that glows when they are able to use their Limit Break power. |
| 1D4 | Heroic Ancestor | Limit Break |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A legendary Hero who fought in an age of carnage and myth who used great power to fight gods and otherworldly threats (Lawful). | Hunt the Nameless: The power to fight unknown evils becomes yours. You can use an action to activate your ancestral power and for the next minute you have Resistance to attacks from Aberrations, Elementals, Fiends, and Undead and you deal an additional 2D6 Force damage on your first successful attack each turn. |
| 2 | A taboo Hero who tread down dark roads to gain more power in order to combat a threat that is still a mystery though some say that one threat is in fact two with one being a former ally (Neutral). | Gray Flash: A great power both good and evil but also neither at the same time has awoken. You can use your action to unleash a portion of this latent power in a flash of gray light and choose Light or Darkness at the time to condense this power into a pure white light or a deep black darkness. For the next minute, you gain the following feature based on your choice: Light: Gentle light envelopes that sheds Bright Light for 20 ft and Dim Light for an additional 20 ft. You heal 5 hit points at the start of each of your turns as long as you have at least 1 hit point remaining. In addition, you deal additional Radiant damage equal to your Proficiency Bonus each time you hit a creature. Darkness: Darkness streams from you causing Darkness in a 30 ft diameter around you. You can see normally in this Darkness. You can use a reaction to force a creature within your Darkness to make a STR saving throw DC 8 + your CHA modifier (Minimum 1) + your Proficiency Bonus and on a failed save tendrils of darkness bind them in place, reducing their movement speed to 0 ft until the end of their next turn. In addition, you deal additional Necrotic damage equal to your Proficiency Bonus each time you hit a creature. |
| 3 | A kind Hero who is still revered and worshiped to this day for their sacrifice in fighting evil to the end (Good). | Loving Sacrifice: Named for the greatest act your ancestor performed, you can emulate them using your Limit Break to aid your allies or harm those that stand against the greater good. As an action you can sacrifice a number of hit points up to twice your Hero level and either deal Radiant damage or heal hit points equal to twice the number of hit points you sacrificed to a target you can see within 60 ft of you. After one minute you then suffer your Blood Tax. |
| 4 | A wild Hero who took a great deal of risks and still came out on top. They were popular with the masses but clashed with the ideals of high society (Chaotic). | Wild Heart: Your unruly powers make you a force to be reckoned with. As an action you can activate your Wild Heart and for the next minute you gain the following feature: You can take a minus 10 penalty to an attack and if you succeed you deal an additional 10 damage. On a critical hit you deal an additional 15 damage instead. During this time you can use your reaction to give yourself advantage on an attack but the next time you make an attack in the next minute you have disadvantage on the attack (This disadvantage cannot be counteracted by your Limit Break). |
Subclass Features
Heroic Presence
Heroes of a Heroic Bloodline seem to carry the weight of all the previous heroes on their shoulders. They can influence creatures of their choice within 10 ft of them in the following ways but cannot influence a creature in more than one way and can switch the effect of their area of influence as a free action.
Burden of Responsibility: Creatures affected this way have disadvantage on CHA based checks on you as they feel the gaze of all the previous heroes on them.
Weight of Heroes: Creatures affected this way feel the literal and metaphorical weight of being a hero on their shoulders, halving their movement speeds.
Limit Break- Unleash the Bloodline
The Ancestral Power of the Hero depends on the initial ancestor who was the first hero of the bloodline. Roll 1D12 to determine the nature of your ancestor’s Limit Break or use the most appropriate one for your backstory.
Backlash: Besides the origins of the Ancestral Bloodline Heroes, you share one other key point that links you: the backlash of the Limit Break known as Blood Tax. After you use your Limit Break your blood is drained of vitality corresponding to your power and you take D12 Necrotic damage equal to your Proficiency Bonus. This damage cannot be reduced and is unaffected by Resistances, Immunities, and Vulnerabilities.
You can use this feature once per long rest.
Heroic Spirit
Having honored your Heroic Ancestor they have decided to aid you as well. Once per long rest you can call upon your Ancestor, you summon a vestige of your Ancestor that appears like how you would envision them and they remain for up to 10 minutes. The vestige appears within 15 ft of you and attacks a target you designate each turn forcing the target to make a WIS saving throw DC 8 + your CHA modifier (Minimum 1) + your Proficiency Bonus and on a failed save takes 3D6 Radiant damage or half as much on a failed save. Commanding the vestige is a free action. The vestige cannot move further than 15 ft away from you.
The effect is not a spell and is unaffected by effects such as Counterspell and Dispel Magic but is still affected by effects that would banish or otherwise harm the Undead. You maintain concentration on this feature as if you were concentrating on a spell.
True Limit Break- Awaken the Bloodline
Your connection with your ancestor has deepened. You can use your Limit Break feature three times per long rest.
Legendary Attack- Fusion Across Time
The lines between you and your Heroic Ancestor have blurred. At times it seems you two are close to becoming a new entity that is both neither and both of you. As a bonus action you and your Heroic Ancestor fuse together briefly appearing as the ideal warrior you envision yourself to be. Until the start of your next turn you gain the following features
You are Immune to all damage, spells, and conditions. Any spells or conditions you have affecting you are temporarily dispelled.
Your attacks deal an additional 2D10 radiant damage.
You regain the use of this feature after using your Limit Break feature and after the Backlash ends.