Homebrew Rogue, Sorcerer and Barbarian archetypes for a modern / futuristic setting


4th Edition


Due to a quick idea I had I came up with a whole setting for 5e which i've been designing mechanics for over the last couple of days. The setting is a sort of over the top futuristic setting somewhere between cyberpunk, the postapocalypse and some fantasy, taking a lot of inspiration from action movies especially from around the 80s.

I created a rogue archetype, a barbarian path and a sorcerous origin for this setting, on which I would like some critique.

A few pieces of relevant information:

  • This setting does make use of the Unearthed Arcana Modern Magic rules
  • I homebrewed modern firearms to deal damage more in line with regular weapons from the PHB, in order to maintain the balance when it comes to damage and hitpoints.
  • The burstfire quality on firearms can be used in an alternative way that allows characters to apply strength to attack and damage, by stabilizing the weapon against its own recoil and pelting targets with multiple bullets. Doing so consumes 5 shots per attack and uses a much shorter range than normal.
  • The monster manual in particular gets a lot of reflavoring, Monstrosities are genetically engineered creatures, Aberrations are alien life forms and constructs are futuristic robots. Beasts will generally reflect cybernetically enhanced animals, while the occasional normal animal or even humanoid will be represented by a much weaker statblock (the whole idea is that the scale in this setting is different)

    Primal Path: Bulletmonger
    When you get angry, your enemies better seek cover, because the lead content of the air is about to spike. A bulletmonger wades into battle, machine guns tucked under his arms spitting a constant hail of bullets at the enemy, the bark of the weapons only matched by the angry scream of the bulletmonger himself.

    Rage Gunner
    Starting at 3rd level, when you choose this path you gain the damage bonus from your rage ability when making strength based attacks with ranged weapons that have the burstfire quality.

    Bulletstorm
    At 6th level, when you use a weapon with the burstfire quality while raging to cover an area, the save DC becomes 8 + your proficiency bonus + your strength modifier or 15 whichever is higher. Additionally you can scythe an even larger area with bullets. Instead of covering a 10 foot cube, your attack becomes a cone with a range equal to the weapon’s short range. Doing so expends 20 bullets. If your weapon is holding less than that amount you cannot use this attack.

    Deafening Noise
    At 10th level, while raging, whenever you use the burstfire quality of a firearm you are wielding, you and your allies gain advantage on saving throws against effects based on sound until the start of your next turn.

    I Don’t Need Two Hands to Kill You
    At 14th level, you can ignore the two-handed quality of firearms while raging.

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    Roguish Archetype: Hacker
    You are an expert at electronic subterfuge. If someone needs a file retrieved from a secured mainframe you have the skills to obtain it.

    Bonus Proficiencies
    When you choose this archetype at 3rd level you gain proficiency with hacking tools. At 6th level, you may choose proficiency with hacking tools as one of your expertise choices.

    Hack the World
    Starting at 3rd level, your hacking skills become so advanced they seem like magic to the common observer. While wielding your hacking tools, you can reproduce the effect of technomagic spells. You can cast these spells as though you were a warlock of a level equal to your rogue level who knows all technomagic spells but no others. Instead of needing spell components, you simply need to interact with your hacking tools for the casting time. While this ability reproduces the effect of the spell it is not considered magic and thus is not subject to dispelling, immunity to magic or other effects influencing magic spells.

    Master of Machines
    At 9th level, as an action, you can use your hacking tools to influence robots and cyber animals and temporarily mess with their electronics. A robot or cyber animal of your choice you can see within 30 feet of you must make an intelligence saving throw (DC 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier) or become blinded, deafened, charmed or frightened by you (your choice) for one minute. The creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.

    Violent Shutdown
    At 13th level, you can use your Hacking tools to attempt to completely shut down a robot, cyber animal or electronic device. You can make attacks against electronic devices and robots within 30 ft, using your hacking tools as a two-handed weapon that you are proficient with and uses your intelligence bonus to hit and damage. The attack deals 1d6 lightning damage and always qualifies for sneak attack as though you had advantage on the attack or an ally was within 5 feet of the target.

    Ability
    I haven't had a good idea for the 17th level ability yet. Feel free to make a suffestion

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    Sorcerous Origin: Nanomachines
    You don’t strictly use magic though it looks like it to the untrained eye, instead your body is infused with a swarm of high tech nanomachines which can perform a wild variety of functions, from projecting holograms, carrying objects through the air, to warping space time in order to teleport you or others over any distance or even repathing neural connections to give you control over the mind of another creature.

    Technological Affinity
    At 1st level, the machines in your body guide you to almost instinctively interact with technology. You gain proficiency with hacking tools.

    Digital Memory
    At 1st level, your nanomachines can attach to the wiring of electronic devices, allowing you to transfer data between the device and your own memory. As an action you can access any electronic device within 30 feet and maintain this access as long as you maintain concentration. While you have access to the device you can browse files on it as long as these files are unencrypted and not hidden behind a password protected log-in that you cannot access. You can download files from that device in your own memory as if it were a data storage device. You can also upload files from your own memory to the device. Each individual file requires an action to upload or download. You can access files stored in your memory seeing or hearing them as a vivid memory. You can also use an illusion spell of 1st level or higher that can produce the necessary features to make the file viewable to others. (For example a silent image spell could display a text or picture file or a video without sound for others to see, while a major image could display a video with sound or even a full Three-Dimensional simulation)

    Electrostatic Recharge
    At 6th level, whenever are hit by an effect dealing lightning damage from a source other than yourself you may as a reaction gain lightning resistance against this effect. If you do you may also immediately spend sorcery points to create a spell slot and the sorcery point cost of creating this slot is halved (rounded up).

    Grey Goo
    At 14th level, you can use an action to spend 2 or more sorcery points and command your nanomachines to collect into a liquid mass. You summon a grey ooze within 5 feet of you that has the construct type rather than ooze and is friendly to you and your companions. For each sorcery point spent beyond the first 2 the ooze has 5 additional hit points. The goo acts on your turn. It obeys any verbal commands that you issue to it (no action required by you). If you don't issue any commands to the goo, it automatically takes the dodge actions. When you cast a spell from your sorcerer spell list, or use a Sorcerous Origin ability, you can measure ranges and radiuses from the goo instead of yourself. The grey goo may also deliver touch range spells you cast from your sorcerer spell list. Use your spell attack bonus and save DC regardless of wether you cast a spell from yourself or the goo. The goo lasts for one hour, until it is destroyed or you dismiss it.

    Evolving Goo
    At 18th level, your grey goo is no longer limited to a 1 hour period. When you summon it, you may summon it as a black pudding instead. The goo uses its reaction to split automatically if it becomes subjected to slashing or lightning damage, it cannot be prevented from doing so unless its reaction is already spent. If the goo splits, you must use your concentration to remain in control of both parts. If your concentration is lost, one randomly chosen goo becomes hostile toward every other creature except for other grey goos that are not under a character’s control. You cannot maintain control of more than two goos. If a goo splits further, randomly determine one goo for each you have above two to become hostile (this can even be one that has not just split).
    You can command a goo under your control to merge with another. If you do you cannot use your spells or origin abilities through any of the goos involved in the merging this turn and the goo you commanded uses its action to try and envelop another goo within 5 feet. If the target is hostile, your goo must make a strength check opposed by the hostile goo’s strength check. If it wins, it merges with the split goo, if it loses, the attempt fails. A goo can only attempt to merge with a goo of larger size if the target is not hostile.
    When a goo successfully merges with another, they become one goo again growing by one size category, if both goos were the same size or maintaining the size of the larger goo if they are different sizes and its hit point total becomes the sum of both goos’ totals. The GM may allow hostile goos to merge with each other, but a hostile goo will not attempt to merge with one that is under the control of a character.

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