Ruler (5e Race)
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Rulers
By the Gods you've done it. Somehow you've found your way here to me. I offer you my congratulations and my respect.
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| Three Kings by [weed]. Alexander the Great, Gilgamesh, King Arthur. |
Physical Description
Rulers appear as they did in life, meaning they can be of any race or appearance. Thus it is difficult to group them together based on appearance, the magic used to bring them back restoring their bodies to what they once were. Their skin is normally a shade paler then it was in life, their bodies cold to the touch, their heartbeats and breaths not present, giving them a peculiar and otherworldly presence to them.
History
A dormant magic, a concerned god, a vain king, each are ways a ruler may be created. Deep within a desert tomb, a crowned crypt or an honored sarcophagus a ruler sleeps waiting for the day when they are needed again. For some, they are awakened exactly when needed and begin their quest to raise their civilization from the dark. For others, their magic fails and they remain dormant until long after their civilizations have fallen and awaken to a strange new world, the weight of their failure on their shoulders. An emissary of God leads his people for the last time he walks through the shadow of the valley of death and fears no evil and while he may fall now he will rise again when the time is right to lead his people once more. The ruler who claims he is the god of this world descends into his tomb to wait for the day where he may rule once more.
Regardless of how or who has caused a ruler to be reborn it is the knowledge of a magic that has been discovered, and lost, and discovered again many times over the course of history that allows them to be and it is always the ones who command the most power who take it. Sometimes the secrets are whispered into the mind from a God. Sometimes, the knowledge is discovered in the ruins of a long lost civilization. And, sometimes, a civilization discovers this knowledge all on their own, not knowing they weren't the first to do so.
As such, the ruler race is as much a constant across history and civilizations as farming, archery, or the wheel. The only variance is how their culture treats this race; for some who become rulers, it is a responsibility. For others, it's a frivolous deed to evade death.
Society
Rulers do not have a single society or culture. Many rulers believe their civilization, ancient or otherwise, were the only ones who ever discovered this magic. Thus, those who discover they are not the only ones of their kind may feel a kinship with each other... or they may be humbled, afraid or even enraged that they are no longer unique.
Ruler Names
A name is said to hold great power and even greater responsibility. A name is strong enough to lead a people to greatness and ingrain fear into the hearts of those that would oppose you. For a ruler, this is one of their greatest strengths as a nameless king is nothing but a footnote in history. Choose your name wisely Player, for your ruler will not forgive a lacking title. The names of great rulers, of history and of legend, the titles they held and the subrace they fit into are as follows:
Male: Gilgamesh(God-King, King of Heros), Temüjin of the Borjigin(Warlord, Genghis Khan), Mehmed II(Sultan, Mehmed the Conqueror), Alexander of Macedon(King, Alexander the Great), Oda Nobunaga(Shogun), Ramesses II(Pharaoh), Atilla The Hun(Warlord, The Scourge of God), Charlemagne(King, Charles the Great), Thutmose III(Pharaoh), Arthur Pendragon(King, King Arthur), Suleiman I(Sultan, Suleiman the Magnificent), Jesus of Nazareth(Prophet).
Female: Tomoe Gozen(Shogun), Neferneferuaten Nefertiti(Pharaoh, Lady of Grace), Artemisia(Queen), Jeanne d'Arc(Prophet, The Maid of Orléans), Hatshepsut(Pharaoh, Foremost of Noble Ladies), Nakano Takeko(Shogun), Boudicca(Queen), Saint Martha(Prophet, Dragon Rider), Hürrem Sultan(Sultan, Sultanate of Women).
Ruler Traits
Reborn and undead, rulers of eras now past walk the Material Plane again, ready to rebuild their kingdoms.
Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases by 2.
Age. As an undead creature you are ageless. However, rulers generally die via combat or some other conflict at around the age of 200.
Alignment. Rulers can be of any alignment, though their subrace may cause them to lean in particular directions. A shogun or a prophet may be lawful sticking to their morals and teachings. While a god-king may be chaotic, driven by pride and the insatiable need for more.
Size. A rulers height and weight is about the same as it was in life. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Darkvision. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
Leader. Although you may have been dead for a long time, a ruler never forgets how to lead, it is ingrained in their very soul and being. They will make a fine leader to their companions, god help them if they don't. At the beginning of combat, you may grant your allies(which can include yourself) within 30 feet of you a bonus to their initiative score equal to your Charisma modifier. You may select a number of allies equal to your proficiency bonus and you must complete a long rest before you can use this trait again.
Gracefully Dead. Dead and born again, through gods grace or foul magics, they still retain a shine of glory and importance they had in a life. They will not be seen or known to have been dead, that is a burden for them alone to bear. Your creature type is both undead and humanoid. In addition, any magic that would detect your undead nature is ineffective against you.
Languages. You can speak, read and write Common, and two other languages of your choice.
Subrace. Pick a one from King/Queen, Pharaoh, Shōgun/Warlord, Sultan, Prophet, and God-King.
King/Queen
The Kings and Queens of old have risen as Rulers since there were Rulers to raise. They are plentiful as far as rulers go due to their short lives and they often come with much riches to help their new rule along. Kings and Queens excel in leading their people and can often raise kingdoms much quicker than other types of rulers. Although Kings and Queens often live lavish lives, they often practice swordplay and archery, leaving them much more adept and prepared for life as an adventurer, creating their new kingdom.
Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 2.
Symbol of Power. Every Leader has their symbol of power, for some its bears or other animals of strength, but for Kings and Queens, it is the royal bird. You will never find a better-trained bird than one at a royal palace, they perfectly reflect the elegance and dignity it takes to be royalty. You can cast the find familiar spell once with this trait, requiring no material components, and you regain the ability to cast it this way when you finish a long rest. However, you can only summon a hawk, owl or raven with this spell.
Royal Discourse. Royalty has a certain charm to the common folk, they will often follow blindly if the conditions are right. This makes it very easy for up and coming Rulers to get their kingdom in order. You are proficient in the Persuasion skill and whenever you make a Charisma (Persuasion) check, against humanoid commoners, or nobles, you add double your proficiency bonus to the check, instead of your normal proficiency bonus.
Royal Training. As part of your upbringing you were taught the finer practices of combat. You have proficiency with the rapier, longsword, shortbow and the longbow.
Pharaoh
Pharaohs are the more powerful rulers, they are often sent straight from the gods and have a high affinity for both arcane and divine magicks. Their familiars and pets are often well trained, acting and attuned their masters, behaving in ways that attest to the connection they have to their Pharaoh. They often live a lot longer than other types of rulers, as many don't dare to oppose them and will serve under them willingly or in fear of getting killed.
Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score increases by 1.
Symbol of Power. Snakes and Cats have always captivated pharaohs, they fill their halls with their iconography and keep them as pets. Cobras keep a special place in their hearts, and Pharaohs will often capture giant cobras to keep as pets and mounts. You can cast the find familiar spell once with this trait, requiring no material components, and you regain the ability to cast it this way when you finish a long rest. However, you can only summon a poisonous snake or a cat with this spell. In addition, through sounds and gestures, you can communicate with felines and reptiles. To these creatures, you are considered a neutral or friendly creature and are naturally attracted to you unless you've done something to hostile towards them.
Divine Ruler. Your affinity to the sun and connection to the divine grants you resistance to radiant damage.
Sacred Magic. You know one cantrip of your choice from the wizard or cleric spell list. Charisma or Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for it, whichever is higher.
Shōgun/Warlord
The Shōgun or Warlord are rulers bound to the battlefield. They are known for the great and often rapid expansion of the borders of their homeland and their own unmatched combat prowess as they charge into the battlefield with their army by their side. These are the most martially inclined of the rulers, striking down all that oppose them with a precision only the most capable of warriors may attain, however, don't let their martial prowess fool you, for their minds are often as sharp and honed as their blades, often proving themselves to be skilled tacticians humbled by an unweaving sense of honor.
Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 1.
Resolve. You have advantage on saving throws against being frightened.
Shōguns Stance/Warlords Bloodlust. Pick one from Shōgun Stance or Warlords Might:
- Shōguns Stance. You can use two-weapon fighting even when the one-handed melee weapons you are wielding aren’t light. In addition, you can use longswords as if they had the finesse property.
- Warlords Bloodlust. When you score a critical hit with a melee weapon attack, you can roll one of the weapon’s damage dice one additional time and add it to the extra damage of the critical hit. In addition, when you are reduced to 0 hit points but not killed outright, you can drop to 1 hit point instead. You can’t use this feature again until you finish a long rest.
Sultan
Sultan's have a good eye for profit, they organized caravans to traverse deserts in days of old and will always go for a good bargain. Setting up trade routes over vast distances or seemingly impassable terrains a Sultan understands and amasses vast sums of wealth building their nations on a mountain of gold and trade they afford only the best.
Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases by 3, instead of by 2. You cannot increases this score above 20 as per normal.
Gift of the Gab. Whenever you make a Charisma (Persuasion) check to barter or engage in other commerce-based activities, you are considered proficient in the Persuasion skill and add double your proficiency bonus to the check, instead of your normal proficiency bonus.
Desert Rider. You can cast the find steed spell once with this trait, requiring no material components, and you regain the ability to cast it this way when you finish a long rest. However, this can only be used to summon a Camel in celestial form.
Prophet
Since the dawn of time, Gods have sent down Prophets to lead the people, through struggle and strife they grew to be loved and respected by their people as those sent from God to lead. Prophets are religious rulers, they have not a kingdom but a god to stand by, they will follow them till the end as they lead others down the righteous path and into the loving embrace of their god.
Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases by 1.
Divine Flinch. Prophets have been seen to be rulers sent from God to lead the people, all beings know that attacking them will lead to bad things, even the most mindless servants of dark necromancers feel this divine flinch. When a creature or a takes a harmful action against you, you can, as a reaction, force them to make a Wisdom saving throw. If they fail they instead target another creature. Undead creatures react more strongly to this and have disadvantage on this saving throw. The DC for this saving throw is equal to 8 + your Charisma modifier + your proficiency bonus. You can use this trait a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier and regain all expanded uses on completion of a long rest.
Grace. It is in the morning, during the first meal of the day, when the sun rises, and then in the evening, during the last meal of the day, when the sun sets. All from the prophet to the peasant thank their god for the blessing themselves and those who sit with you for the meal they are about to receive. You can cast the purify food and drink spell a twice with this trait, requiring no material components, and you regain the ability to cast it this way when you finish a long rest. Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for this spell.
Religious Leader. For this sub-race you must choose a god that you completely and utterly devoted yourself to in life, the stronger your connection to this god the stronger your bond to the material world is, to go against this god is to go against the life you have been given. Each time you do something that is in opposition of your god you feel your connection between your soul and your body diminish and if done enough you may eventually die when this happens nothing can bring you back to life besides divine intervention. In addition, particularly religious individuals such as clerics, priests, and paladins are aware of your status as a prophet of your god.
God-King
Clad in full-plate armor adorned with magic and gems alike, crafted by the finest smiths in all the lands the King who claims godhood sits on his throne looking down at his mortal subjects. This is the ideal of any God-King. To be above all of creation, the Gods included, to look down and rule all those below him, unquestioned, unchallenged, all-powerful. God-Kings are the most prideful and power hungry rulers in existence, seeking to dominate all and willing to stop at nothing to do so.
Fated. A God-King cannot fail. When you roll a 1 on an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw, you can re-roll the die and must use the new roll.
Commanding Will. Your will cannot be questioned. You can cast the command spell once with this trait, requiring no material components, and you regain the ability to cast it this way when you finish a short or long rest. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for this spell.
Wrath of God. To force you to take a knee the highest of insult and is to go against God itself. When you are reduced to 0 hit points but not killed outright, you can drop to 1 hit point instead and as a reaction, take an action. You can’t use this feature again until you finish a long rest.
Divine Awareness. Whether you can hear the slightest difference in the heartbeat of a supposedly loyal subject or the divine simply recognizes your greatness and wishes to appease you. You know when you hear a lie.
Sin of Pride. It is said that pride is the original sin, the greatest and the father of all sins and thus, there is none as corrupted by it as the King who would call himself God. If you are reduced to 0 hit points, and your Wrath of God trait does not trigger, you have disadvantage on all attack rolls, ability checks and saving throws until you take a long rest. Your pride, what sustains your undead body, wounded.
Racial Feat: Heirloom Of The Grave
Prerequisite: Must be part of the ruler race
Servants or those who were close to you in life, buried items of importance to you in your grave at death, wanting your prized belongings to come with you into the afterlife. They may or may not have traveled into the afterlife with you upon your death, but they may be useful again in life, take them, for your journey may be short if you do not. You gain one magical item of your DM's choice that pertains to your rulership in some way. This item cannot be an item with limited uses such as Quaal's feather token or a potion of healing and must be of an at least uncommon rarity. This item is also bound to your soul so only you may attune to and use it. As a bonus action, you may summon or dismiss that item freely.
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