Dungeons & Demons
A D&D Campaign in the Demon Cycle Universe
As the sun sets each night, demons rise from the Core. Only the ancient ward magic can protect humanity from the darkness below.
The Corelings
As the sun sets each night, demons rise from the Core - a hellish dimension beneath the earth. These creatures, known as corelings, hunt humanity with savage intelligence. Only the ancient ward magic, symbols of power drawn with precision, can repel their attacks and protect the living.
Common Demon Traits
All demons share these characteristics:
- Rise from the Core at dusk each night
- Are harmed and destroyed by sunlight
- Cannot cross properly drawn ward circles
- Driven by an insatiable hunger for human flesh and fear
Ward Runes
Ward magic is built from individual runes — symbols of power that can be combined to create powerful effects. Each rune belongs to one of two categories: Action (what it does) and Element (what energy it channels). A special component, the Demon Bone Core, powers the most advanced combinations. Each combo specifies what it applies to — circle, weapon, armor, or skin.
Ward Rules & Charges
Active vs. Passive
Passive wards work continuously once applied. Active wards cost 1 charge (flat, regardless of rune count). Circle wards never cost charges — limited by drawing time and material durability.
Gaining Charges
- Sunlight: 1 charge per day/night cycle
- Drain rune: Siphon from living corelings
- Wardwright: Feast on slain corelings
Per-Item Limits
- 1 ward combo per weapon
- 1 ward combo per armor
- 1 skin ward (Wardwrights scale with level)
- Circles: unlimited stacking
Ward Application
- Painted: 10-30 min, lasts 24 hrs
- Carved: 1+ hrs, permanent
- Tattoo: Master warder + expensive materials, permanent
Demon Bone Cores
Crafted from demon remains (DC 16 Arcana, 1 hour). Required for Tier 5 effects. Knowledge must be learned — not intuitive. Consumed on use for single-activation effects.
Charge Capacity
Non-Wardwright characters can hold a maximum of 1 demon charge at a time. Wardwrights can hold Level + WIS mod.
World Map
No Map Image Set
The DM needs to add a map image.
DM: Place your map image (e.g., world-map.jpg) in the data/ folder, then use "Map Settings" to set the filename.
Characters
Coming Soon
Character creation guides, backgrounds, and custom classes will be added here.
Planned content: Ward Dancer, Desert Warrior, Herb Gatherer backgrounds and more.
The Jongleur
In the Demon Cycle world, Jongleurs are traveling entertainers — singers, storytellers, acrobats, and musicians who carry news and culture between the isolated fortress cities. Most are simply performers. But a rare few have discovered something extraordinary: that music itself can affect corelings.
A legendary fiddler, maimed in a demon attack as a child, was the first to prove that instrumental music could mesmerize, lure, enrage, and even control demons. His discovery opened an entirely new front in humanity's war against the Core — one fought not with wards and weapons, but with melody and will.
The Jongleur class adapts the D&D Bard for the Demon Cycle setting, replacing arcane inspiration with the raw power of performance over demonkind.
Core Jongleur Traits
| Hit Dice | 1d8 per Jongleur level |
| Primary Ability | Charisma |
| Saving Throws | Dexterity, Charisma |
| Armor | Light armor |
| Weapons | Simple weapons, hand crossbows, longswords, rapiers, shortswords |
| Tools | Three musical instruments of your choice |
| Skills | Choose any three |
Jongleur Features by Level
| Level | Features | Cantrips | Spells Known | Fascination Die |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Coreling Fascination, Spellcasting | 2 | 4 | d6 |
| 2 | Expertise, Road Knowledge | 2 | 5 | d6 |
| 3 | Jongleur Tradition | 2 | 6 | d6 |
| 4 | Ability Score Improvement | 3 | 7 | d6 |
| 5 | Font of Inspiration | 3 | 8 | d8 |
| 6 | Tradition Feature | 3 | 9 | d8 |
| 7 | Demon's Lullaby | 3 | 10 | d8 |
| 8 | Ability Score Improvement | 3 | 11 | d8 |
| 9 | — | 3 | 12 | d8 |
| 10 | Secrets of the Road | 4 | 14 | d10 |
| 11 | — | 4 | 15 | d10 |
| 12 | Ability Score Improvement | 4 | 15 | d10 |
| 13 | — | 4 | 16 | d10 |
| 14 | Tradition Feature | 4 | 18 | d10 |
| 15 | — | 4 | 19 | d12 |
| 16 | Ability Score Improvement | 4 | 19 | d12 |
| 17 | — | 4 | 20 | d12 |
| 18 | Master Performer | 4 | 22 | d12 |
| 19 | Ability Score Improvement | 4 | 22 | d12 |
| 20 | Song of the Core | 4 | 22 | d12 |
Class Features
Level 1: Coreling Fascination
You have learned that certain melodies, rhythms, and tonal patterns can captivate the minds of corelings, overriding their predatory instincts with an irresistible compulsion to listen.
As a bonus action, choose one coreling within 60 feet that can hear you. It must make a Wisdom saving throw (DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your CHA modifier) or be charmed for 1 round. While charmed, the coreling moves toward you and cannot attack.
You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum 1) per long rest. Your Fascination die starts at d6 and scales as shown in the class table.
Design Note: Against non-coreling creatures, Coreling Fascination functions as standard Bardic Inspiration — you grant an ally within 60 feet a Fascination die to add to one ability check, attack roll, or saving throw within the next 10 minutes.
Level 1: Spellcasting
You have learned to channel power through ancient melodies and performances rather than arcane incantation. Your spells are themed as songs, stories, and musical effects. You use a musical instrument as your spellcasting focus, and Charisma is your spellcasting ability.
Your spell list is identical to the Bard spell list. Spell slots follow the standard Bard progression.
Level 2: Expertise
Choose two of your skill proficiencies. Your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check you make using either of the chosen proficiencies. At 10th level, choose two more proficiencies to gain this benefit.
Level 2: Road Knowledge
Jongleurs travel every road, visit every hamlet, and hear every tale. You can add half your proficiency bonus (rounded down) to any ability check you make that doesn't already include your proficiency bonus. The road teaches many things.
Level 3: Jongleur Tradition
At 3rd level, you choose a Tradition that shapes the nature of your performance and its effect on corelings. Your Tradition grants features at 3rd, 6th, and 14th level.
Level 5: Font of Inspiration
You regain all expended uses of Coreling Fascination when you finish a short or long rest.
Level 7: Demon's Lullaby
Your performance can soothe even the savage minds of demons. You gain two benefits:
- Steadying Melody: As a reaction when you or an ally within 30 feet fails a saving throw against being charmed or frightened, you can force a reroll. The new result must be used.
- Lullaby: Once per long rest, you can perform a soothing melody targeting one coreling within 60 feet. It must make a Wisdom saving throw (DC = 8 + proficiency + CHA modifier) or fall into a magical sleep for 1 minute. The coreling wakes if it takes damage.
Level 10: Secrets of the Road
Your travels across fortress cities, through desert warrior camps, along coastal trading ports, and into hidden libraries have exposed you to techniques from every tradition. Choose two spells from any class's spell list. These spells count as Jongleur spells for you. You learn two additional spells this way at 14th and 18th level.
Level 18: Master Performer
Your performance resonates with supernatural potency. If you roll initiative and have no uses of Coreling Fascination remaining, you regain one use.
Level 20: Song of the Core
You have learned to resonate with the frequency of the Core itself — the primal vibration that gives rise to all demonkind. As an action, you can perform the Song of the Core to produce one of the following effects (once per long rest):
- Song of Dawn: You perform a melody that channels the essence of sunlight. One creature you can see within 60 feet regains all its hit points and is cured of all conditions. (As Power Word Heal.)
- Song of Unmaking: You perform a discordant counter-frequency that tears at a creature's existence. One creature you can see within 60 feet with 100 HP or fewer dies instantly. Against corelings, this threshold increases to 150 HP. (As Power Word Kill, enhanced vs corelings.)
Tradition of the Fiddle
Some Jongleurs discovered that bowed string instruments — the fiddle above all — produce tonal frequencies that resonate directly with coreling physiology. A skilled fiddler can drive demons into frenzies, lure them into traps, or turn them against each other. The tradition was born in taverns and perfected on the road, where a single musician with a battered fiddle could mean the difference between a village surviving the night or being overrun. A master fiddler can conduct an entire demon horde like a symphony of destruction.
Level 3: Demon Dance
When you successfully use Coreling Fascination on a coreling, you can choose one additional effect:
- Frenzied Melody: The charmed coreling immediately uses its reaction to make one melee attack against the nearest creature (including other demons) within its reach.
- Luring Song: The charmed coreling must use its full movement speed to move toward you by the most direct route. This movement does not provoke opportunity attacks.
- Discordant Wail: The coreling has disadvantage on all attack rolls until the start of your next turn. This effect is automatic with a successful Fascination — no additional save required.
Level 6: Playing for Survival
You have mastered the art of sustaining your hold over corelings through continuous performance. As an action, you can begin a sustained performance that requires concentration (as if concentrating on a spell). While concentrating, you can target up to two corelings within 90 feet that can hear you.
Each target must make a Wisdom saving throw (DC = 8 + proficiency + CHA modifier) at the start of each of your turns. On a failure, you choose any one Demon Dance effect to apply to that target (Frenzied Melody, Luring Song, or Discordant Wail). You may choose different effects for each target.
The effect persists for as long as you maintain concentration. On each subsequent turn, you can use your action to continue the performance — affected corelings repeat the saving throw, and you choose new effects for any that fail. A coreling that succeeds on its save is freed from the current effect but can be targeted again on your next turn.
Design Note: This requires concentration, so you cannot maintain Playing for Survival while concentrating on a spell. You must also use your action each turn to sustain it, limiting your other options. However, keeping two corelings locked down with chosen Demon Dance effects round after round is extremely powerful crowd control against demon encounters.
Level 14: Symphony of Madness
Once per long rest, you can perform a devastating symphony that tears at the minds of all nearby corelings. You must play for 1 minute (10 rounds, concentration). All corelings within 120 feet must make a Wisdom saving throw (DC = 8 + proficiency + CHA modifier) or be charmed for 10 minutes.
Charmed demons attack each other instead of your party. If you take damage, your concentration breaks and the effect ends.
Ward Synergy: If you perform inside a Sound Amplification Ward (Resonance Circle or Amplification Circle), the range extends to 300 feet.
Tradition of the Voice
Before there were instruments, there was the human voice — the oldest and most primal form of performance. Practitioners of the Voice tradition have discovered that the spoken word, war chant, and battle cry carry a different kind of power over corelings than instrumental music. Where fiddlers manipulate demons through melody, Voice performers shatter their will through raw conviction. Their tradition traces back to desert warrior chanters who sang battle hymns at dusk to steel themselves against the rising, and to old storytellers whose tales carried a spark of something more than mere words. A master of the Voice does not play for demons — they command them.
Level 3: War Cry
Your voice carries supernatural force against demonkind. When you successfully use Coreling Fascination on a coreling, you can choose one additional effect:
- Commanding Shout: The charmed coreling is also frightened of you until the end of your next turn. It must spend its movement moving away from you by the safest route. A coreling that cannot move is instead stunned until the end of your next turn.
- Rallying Cry: Each ally within 30 feet of you that can hear you gains temporary hit points equal to your Fascination die + your Charisma modifier. These last for 1 minute.
- Thunderous Rebuke: The coreling takes thunder damage equal to your Fascination die + your Charisma modifier. No save — the sound itself is a weapon. This damage cannot be reduced or resisted.
Level 6: Unyielding Chorus
Your voice bolsters your allies' resolve against the terrors of the night. You gain the following benefits:
- Battle Hymn: As a bonus action, you can begin chanting a battle hymn that requires concentration. While chanting, you and all allies within 30 feet who can hear you have advantage on saving throws against being charmed or frightened. This includes effects from Mind Demons.
- Words of Iron: When an ally within 30 feet takes damage from a coreling, you can use your reaction to reduce that damage by your Fascination die + your Charisma modifier. You can use this reaction a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier per long rest.
Design Note: The Voice tradition trades the Fiddle's direct demon manipulation for party-wide resilience. Battle Hymn requires concentration (no stacking with spells), but the effect is potent in encounters with Mind Demons or when facing overwhelming fear effects during a demon rising.
Level 14: Voice of the Dawn
Once per long rest, you can speak a single word of power that carries the authority of sunlight itself. As an action, you release the Voice of the Dawn — a sound that is felt as much as heard:
- All corelings within 60 feet must make a Wisdom saving throw (DC = 8 + proficiency + CHA modifier).
- On a failure, they take 4d8 radiant damage and are stunned until the end of your next turn. Corelings reduced to 0 HP by this damage cannot reform for 1d4 days.
- On a success, they take half damage and are not stunned.
- All allies within 60 feet who can hear you are cured of the charmed and frightened conditions, and gain temporary hit points equal to your Jongleur level.
Ward Synergy: If you perform inside a Sound Amplification Ward (Resonance Circle or Amplification Circle), the range extends to 120 feet and the radiant damage increases by 2d8.
The Wardwright
In the Demon Cycle world, Wardwrights are warriors who have taken the fight against corelings to its most primal extreme — inscribing ward magic directly into their own flesh. Where warders protect walls and weapons, the Wardwright becomes the weapon.
The first wardwright in living memory tattooed offensive combat wards across his entire body. But he discovered something even more forbidden: by consuming the flesh of demons he killed, he could absorb their Core magic, gaining supernatural strength, speed, and healing. The more he fought and fed, the more he transformed — becoming something neither fully human nor demon.
The Wardwright class adapts the D&D Monk for the Demon Cycle setting. Unlike other classes, the Wardwright's power comes from ward tattoos (discovered through the Rune system) and demon charges gained by eating corelings. The class provides a martial framework and a vastly expanded charge pool — where a normal person can hold 1 charge and sustain 1 passive tattoo, the Wardwright can hold dozens, sustain many, and push past the limits of sanity to activate more.
Core Wardwright Traits
| Hit Dice | 1d8 per Wardwright level |
| Primary Ability | Dexterity and Wisdom |
| Saving Throws | Strength, Dexterity |
| Armor | None (Warded Flesh replaces armor) |
| Weapons | Simple weapons, martial weapons with the Light property, warded fists |
| Tools | Warder's tools (tattooing kit) |
| Skills | Choose 2: Acrobatics, Athletics, Arcana, Intimidation, Perception, Survival |
Demon Charge Pool
The Wardwright's charge pool dwarfs what any normal person can sustain. Where a typical character holds at most 1 demon charge at a time, a Wardwright's body has been conditioned to store and channel vastly more Core energy.
| Maximum Charges | Wardwright Level + Wisdom modifier |
| Dawn Recovery | Regain charges equal to your Wisdom modifier at dawn (residual Core energy). Does not exceed your maximum. |
| Feast Recovery | Gain charges by consuming slain corelings (see Feast on Your Enemies) |
| Drain Recovery | Gain charges via Siphara (Drain) rune combinations, same as any character |
| Ward Save DC | 8 + Wisdom modifier + proficiency bonus |
Passive Tattoo Slots: A normal person can sustain only 1 active passive tattoo at a time — their body doesn't hold enough residual charge. A Wardwright can sustain more, scaling with level (see the class table). This is what makes the Wardwright the undisputed master of body wards.
The Demon's Price — Madness
Every time you spend charges to activate a ward effect, the Core energy surges through your body. Push too hard in a single day and the Core pushes back.
How Madness Works
- Madness Threshold = Wardwright level + Wisdom modifier
- Track activations used today — each time you spend charges on an active ward effect (tattoo, class feature, etc.), increment by 1
- The "Max Activations/Day" column in the class table shows how many you can safely use. Going over your threshold triggers a Madness save.
- When activations exceed your threshold: WIS save (DC 10 + number of activations over threshold). Failure = Madness effect.
- Madness resets at dawn.
Madness Effects (Escalating)
| Failed Saves | Effect |
|---|---|
| 1st | Shaken: Disadvantage on Wisdom checks and Wisdom saving throws for 1 hour. Your eyes flicker with Core light. |
| 2nd | Feral Lash: You immediately attack the nearest creature (ally or enemy) with one unarmed strike. You regain control afterward but feel the pull. |
| 3rd | Berserker Rage: You attack the nearest creature each turn for 1 minute (WIS save DC 15 at end of each turn to end early). You cannot distinguish friend from foe. Your wards blaze uncontrollably. |
| 4th | Core Seizure: You lose control of your character to the DM for 1d4 rounds. The Core acts through you — targeting whoever it perceives as a threat. |
| 5th+ | Permanent Madness: You gain a permanent madness effect (determined by the DM). Only a Greater Restoration, Wish, or a quest to purge the Core taint can cure it. |
Lore Note: "He looked at his hands and did not recognize them. The wards glowed with an inner light that had nothing to do with sunlight. The hunger gnawed at him — not in his stomach, but in his blood, in the spaces between his cells where the Core had taken root." — The Wardwright's greatest enemy is not the demons they fight, but the demon they are becoming.
Wardwright Features by Level
| Level | Features | Charge Pool | Tattoo Slots | Max Activations/Day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Warded Flesh, Feast on Your Enemies | 1 + WIS | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Ward Charge Pool | 2 + WIS | 1 | 2 |
| 3 | Deflect Attacks, Wardwright Path | 3 + WIS | 1 | 2 |
| 4 | Ability Score Improvement | 4 + WIS | 1 | 3 |
| 5 | Extra Attack, Warded Strikes | 5 + WIS | 2 | 3 |
| 6 | Empowered Strikes, Path Feature | 6 + WIS | 2 | 4 |
| 7 | Evasion | 7 + WIS | 2 | 4 |
| 8 | Ability Score Improvement | 8 + WIS | 2 | 5 |
| 9 | Improved Consumption | 9 + WIS | 3 | 5 |
| 10 | Heightened Wards, Self-Restoration | 10 + WIS | 3 | 6 |
| 11 | Path Feature | 11 + WIS | 3 | 6 |
| 12 | Ability Score Improvement | 12 + WIS | 3 | 7 |
| 13 | Deflect Energy | 13 + WIS | 4 | 7 |
| 14 | Disciplined Survivor | 14 + WIS | 4 | 8 |
| 15 | Core Hunger | 15 + WIS | 4 | 8 |
| 16 | Ability Score Improvement | 16 + WIS | 4 | 9 |
| 17 | Path Feature | 17 + WIS | 5 | 10 |
| 18 | Superior Defense | 18 + WIS | 5 | 11 |
| 19 | Ability Score Improvement | 19 + WIS | 5 | 12 |
| 20 | Avatar of the Core | 20 + WIS | 5 | Unlimited |
Class Features
Level 1: Warded Flesh
You have inscribed protective ward runes directly into your skin. Your body is a weapon and a fortress. While you are wearing no armor and not wielding a shield, you gain the following benefits:
- Unarmored Defense: Your AC equals 10 + your Dexterity modifier + your Wisdom modifier. The wards glow faintly when corelings are within 30 feet.
- Bonus Unarmed Strike: You can make one Unarmed Strike as a bonus action.
- Dexterous Attacks: You can use Dexterity instead of Strength for attack and damage rolls of your Unarmed Strikes and Monk weapons.
Your unarmed strikes deal 1 + STR or DEX modifier bludgeoning damage (standard unarmed). They count as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks, but only against corelings. Against non-coreling creatures, they are mundane until level 6.
No Ward Die: Unlike a Monk, the Wardwright has no innate damage scaling on unarmed strikes. Your damage comes from ward tattoos — discover and inscribe combat wards like Combat Fists (Strike + Skin) or Burning Fists (Strike + Fire + Skin) to add bonus damage. The class gives you the framework; the runes give you the power.
Level 1: Feast on Your Enemies
This is what separates you from everyone else. Others charge wards in sunlight or risk their lives with drain runes. You charge them with blood and ichor.
When you reduce a coreling to 0 HP, you can use a bonus action to consume its flesh. You gain demon charges equal to half the coreling's CR (minimum 1, maximum equal to your proficiency bonus). The consumed coreling cannot reform for 1d4 days.
You can also consume a recently slain coreling (dead within 1 hour) as an action outside of combat.
The Wardwright Difference: Any character can gain 1 charge per day from sunlight or use a Drain rune in combat. But only a Wardwright can rip charges from a fallen demon's corpse with nothing but teeth and fury. At level 1, your charge pool is small (1 + WIS), but every kill puts fuel in the tank.
Level 2: Ward Charge Pool
Your body has adapted to hold more Core energy than any normal person could survive. Your maximum demon charges equals your Wardwright level + your Wisdom modifier (compared to a maximum of 1 for non-Wardwright characters).
You regain charges equal to your Wisdom modifier at dawn as residual Core energy replenishes your reserves. Your Ward save DC equals 8 + your Wisdom modifier + your proficiency bonus.
You start knowing three ways to spend charges as class features:
- Flurry of Wards: Immediately after you take the Attack action, you can spend 1 charge to make two Unarmed Strikes as a bonus action. Your ward tattoos flare with each impact. Requires: Percutia (Strike) rune discovered.
- Patient Defense: You can take the Disengage action as a bonus action. Alternatively, spend 1 charge to take both Disengage and Dodge as a bonus action — your wards shimmer protectively. Requires: Defensia (Ward) rune discovered.
- Step of the Wind: You can take the Dash action as a bonus action. Alternatively, spend 1 charge to Dash and Disengage as a bonus action, and your jump distance is doubled for the turn. Requires: Velocia (Speed) rune discovered.
Rune Dependency: Unlike a Monk who innately knows these techniques, a Wardwright must discover the relevant runes to unlock each ability. At level 2, you likely only have access to Patient Defense (the Ward rune is commonly known). The other two unlock as you discover Strike and Speed runes through play. Until then, you can still spend charges on ward tattoo activations.
Level 3: Deflect Attacks
Your body wards instinctively flare to deflect incoming strikes. When you are hit by a melee or ranged attack, you can use your reaction to reduce the damage by 1d10 + your Dexterity modifier + your Wardwright level.
If you reduce the damage to 0, you can spend 1 demon charge to make one Unarmed Strike against the attacker (if within reach) as part of the same reaction.
Level 3: Wardwright Path
At 3rd level, you choose a Path that defines how you channel the power of your wards and consumed demon essence. Your Path grants features at 3rd, 6th, 11th, and 17th level.
Level 5: Extra Attack
You can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.
Level 5: Warded Strikes
Your ward-channeled attacks can disrupt a creature's inner balance. Once per turn when you hit a creature with an Unarmed Strike, you can spend 1 demon charge to attempt a Warded Strike. The target must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or be stunned until the start of your next turn.
Against corelings, the target has disadvantage on this saving throw as your wards resonate with destructive frequency against their Core-born flesh.
Requires: Percutia (Strike) rune discovered. If you have the Corpus (Skin) rune tattooed, stunned corelings also take an additional 1d6 radiant damage.
Level 6: Empowered Strikes
Your unarmed strikes now count as magical against all creatures, not just corelings. Your fists glow with visible ward light.
Level 7: Evasion
Your instincts and ward-enhanced reflexes let you dodge out of certain area effects. When you are subjected to an effect that allows a Dexterity saving throw to take half damage, you instead take no damage on a success and half damage on a failure.
Level 9: Improved Consumption
Your body has adapted to process demon essence with greater efficiency. You gain the following benefits:
- When you consume a coreling via Feast on Your Enemies, you gain demon charges equal to the coreling's full CR (instead of half, still capped at your proficiency bonus per consumption).
- You can consume a coreling as part of the attack that kills it (no bonus action needed).
- The consumed coreling cannot reform for 1 week (instead of 1d4 days).
Level 10: Heightened Wards
Your ward tattoo mastery has reached a new threshold. Active ward tattoos you activate have their duration doubled (e.g., 1 minute becomes 2 minutes). Additionally:
- Improved Flurry: When you use Flurry of Wards, you can spend 2 charges (instead of 1) to make three Unarmed Strikes instead of two. Requires: Percutia (Strike) discovered.
- Improved Patient Defense: When you spend a charge on Patient Defense, you also gain temporary hit points equal to your Wisdom modifier + proficiency bonus. Requires: Defensia (Ward) discovered.
- Improved Step: When you spend a charge on Step of the Wind, your jump distance is tripled (instead of doubled). Requires: Velocia (Speed) discovered.
Level 10: Self-Restoration
The Core essence in your blood purges impurities. As an action, you can spend 2 demon charges to end one of the following effects on yourself: blinded, charmed, deafened, frightened, paralyzed, poisoned, or stunned.
Requires: Sania (Heal) rune discovered. Without it, this feature is unavailable — you haven't learned to direct the Core energy inward for purification.
Level 13: Deflect Energy
Your Deflect Attacks feature now works against all damage types, not just weapon attacks. You can reduce damage from spells, breath weapons, and elemental attacks using the same reaction.
Level 14: Disciplined Survivor
Your body is saturated with ward energy and demon essence. You gain proficiency in all saving throws. Additionally, when you fail a saving throw, you can spend 1 demon charge to reroll it. You must use the new result.
Level 15: Core Hunger
The Core energy in your blood has become self-sustaining to a degree. When you roll initiative and have 0 demon charges, you regain charges equal to your Wisdom modifier (minimum 1). Your body draws on residual demon essence stored deep in your cells.
Additionally, your Madness Threshold increases by 3 — your will has learned to master the Core's pull.
Level 18: Superior Defense
Your ward tattoos have become so dense and potent that they project a persistent aura of protection. While you have at least 1 demon charge, you gain resistance to all damage except force and psychic.
Level 20: Avatar of the Core
You have become what the first wardwright could only glimpse — a being of pure ward energy sustained by the Core itself. As an action, you can spend 10 demon charges to enter the Avatar State for 1 minute:
- Your entire body blazes with ward light, shedding bright light in a 30-foot radius (counts as sunlight for corelings)
- You gain resistance to all damage
- Your unarmed strikes deal an additional 2d8 radiant damage
- You regain 2 demon charges at the start of each of your turns
- All ward tattoos on your body activate simultaneously at no additional charge cost
- Corelings that start their turn within 10 feet of you take 1d8 radiant damage (treated as sunlight)
- You are immune to Mind Demon telepathy and psychic effects
- Activations during the Avatar State do not count toward your Madness threshold
- Your Max Activations/Day is Unlimited at this level
Ward Synergy: If you bear the Avatar of the Dawn ward tattoo (Strike + Ward + Heal + Light + Force + Skin), the Avatar State duration extends to 10 minutes and the radiant aura radius increases to 60 feet.
Path of the Painted Man
The path pioneered by the first wardwright. Those who walk this path master the art of ward tattooing, learning to inscribe their own flesh and channel power through ink and blood with terrifying efficiency. A painted warrior can activate wards faster, sustain them longer, and push their tattoos further than any other Wardwright — but every new mark brings them closer to something inhuman.
Level 3: Self-Inscriber
You have learned to tattoo wards onto your own body without assistance. You gain the following benefits:
- Personal Warding: You can tattoo ward combinations onto yourself during a long rest (normally requires another warder). The Arcana DC is increased by 2 when self-inscribing.
- Efficient Wards: Ward tattoos on your body cost 1 fewer demon charge to activate (minimum 1). Your intimate knowledge of your own ward network means less energy is wasted.
- Burning Brand: When you hit a coreling with an unarmed strike, you deal an additional 1d4 radiant damage. Your fists glow with inner light on impact. This is innate to the Path and does not require a specific rune.
Level 6: Living Canvas
Your ward network has grown into an interconnected system that amplifies itself. You gain:
- Ward Resonance: When you activate a ward tattoo, all other passive ward tattoos on your body pulse with sympathetic energy. Until the start of your next turn, your passive tattoo bonuses are doubled (e.g., Swiftfoot Ward's +10 ft. becomes +20 ft.).
- Hardened Wards: You gain resistance to one damage type of your choice from: fire, cold, lightning, or acid. You can change this during a long rest by retracing different ward patterns. When you consume a demon, you can temporarily gain resistance to that demon's primary damage type until your next long rest instead.
Lore Note: The first wardwright noticed that his wards pulsed in sequence when he fought — one ward activating would send ripples across his entire body, each mark amplifying the next. A renowned herb gatherer theorized they had become a single interconnected system, like a circuit of Core energy.
Level 11: The Painted Warrior
Your body is now extensively covered in interlocking ward tattoos that form a comprehensive system of offense and defense. You gain:
- Ward Eruption: As an action, you can spend 3 demon charges to unleash the energy stored in your tattoos. Each creature of your choice within 15 feet must make a Dexterity saving throw, taking 3d8 radiant damage on a failure or half on a success. Corelings killed by this eruption cannot reform for 1d4 days. Requires: Luxara (Light) rune discovered.
- Living Ward: While you have at least 1 demon charge, you and all allies within 5 feet of you have advantage on saving throws against being frightened. Your body wards radiate a faint protective aura.
- Predator's Instinct: You can sense any coreling within 60 feet, even if hidden or burrowed. You know the direction and creature type. Mimic Demons in disguise within this range provoke a prickling wrongness (advantage on Insight checks to see through their disguise).
Level 17: One with the Core
The boundary between your ward-infused body and the Core itself has blurred. You gain:
- Core Walk: You can spend 2 demon charges and 10 feet of movement to sink into the ground and emerge from any point within 60 feet. You arrive with a burst of ward light (each coreling within 5 feet takes 2d6 radiant damage). Usable a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier per long rest. Requires: Fortis (Force) rune discovered.
- Apex Predator: When you consume a coreling, the proficiency bonus cap on charges gained is removed. You also regain hit points equal to twice your Wardwright level and for 1 minute your unarmed strikes deal an extra 1d8 damage of the demon's primary type.
- Undying Wards: When you are reduced to 0 hit points but not killed outright, you can spend 4 demon charges to drop to 1 hit point instead. Usable once per long rest.
Ward Synergy: If you bear the Warded Warrior ward combination (Strike + Light + Force + Skin), your Core Walk radiant burst increases to 3d8 and you gain temporary hit points equal to your level when you emerge.
Path of the Eater
While the Path of the Painted Man emphasizes ward tattoos and measured consumption, the Path of the Eater embraces the demon's hunger without reservation. Eaters consume demon flesh voraciously, absorbing the raw essence of each coreling type to manifest their stolen power directly. Desert warrior outcasts who stumbled onto this dark practice called themselves the Stomach Clan — warriors who fought with stolen demon power rather than wards. They are feared, reviled, and undeniably effective.
Level 3: Devour
You have developed the ability to consume demon essence in the heat of combat with such ferocity that you absorb the creature's traits. When you consume a coreling (via Feast on Your Enemies), you also gain a Demon Aspect based on the type of demon consumed. The aspect lasts for 1 minute. Activating a Demon Aspect costs no additional demon charges beyond the normal consumption.
- Flame: Your unarmed strikes deal an additional 1d4 fire damage. You gain resistance to fire.
- Wood: Your speed increases by 15 ft. and you gain a climb speed equal to your walking speed.
- Water: You gain a swim speed of 60 ft. and can breathe underwater. Your unarmed strikes deal an additional 1d4 cold damage.
- Field: You can Dash as a bonus action without spending charges. Your movement doesn't provoke opportunity attacks.
- Snow: You gain immunity to cold damage. Creatures you hit must make a CON save or have their speed reduced by 10 ft.
- Wind: You gain a fly speed of 40 ft. (you fall if you end your turn in the air with no support).
- Sand: You gain tremorsense 30 ft. and a burrow speed of 20 ft.
- Rock: You gain +2 AC and your unarmed strikes deal an additional 1d6 bludgeoning damage.
- Mimic: You can cast Disguise Self at will for the duration. You gain advantage on Deception checks.
- Mind: You gain telepathy 60 ft. and advantage on all Wisdom saving throws.
You can only have one Demon Aspect active at a time. Gaining a new one replaces the previous.
Level 6: Insatiable
Your body processes demon essence with ravenous efficiency:
- Extended Feast: Your Demon Aspects now last 10 minutes instead of 1 minute.
- Residual Power: You can spend 2 demon charges as a bonus action to activate any Demon Aspect you have previously consumed (even if no demon is present), drawing on the residual essence in your blood. This lasts 1 minute.
- Iron Stomach: You are immune to the poisoned condition and have resistance to poison damage. You have advantage on Madness saving throws — your body has adapted to the Core's pull better than most.
Level 11: Chimera
You can maintain two Demon Aspects simultaneously. When you gain a third, you choose which one to replace. Additionally, when you use Flurry of Wards while a Demon Aspect is active, each unarmed strike can benefit from the aspect's bonus damage.
Your appearance shifts based on your active aspects — your skin might take on a faint reddish hue (Flame), your eyes might slit vertically (Sand), or frost might cling to your breath (Snow). These changes fade when the aspects end. For now.
Level 17: Abomination
You have consumed so much demon essence that you have become something beyond human classification. You gain:
- Permanent Aspects: When you consume a demon, that Demon Aspect remains available to you indefinitely. You can switch your active aspects (up to two) as a bonus action, without spending charges.
- Core Absorption: Once per round, when you deal damage to a coreling with an unarmed strike, you regain 1 demon charge. This cannot exceed your maximum.
- Horrifying Presence: You can spend 3 demon charges to unleash your consumed power. Each creature of your choice within 30 feet must make a Wisdom saving throw or be frightened of you for 1 minute (repeat save at end of each turn). Corelings that fail are also stunned for 1 round — they recognize one of their own kind staring back at them.
- Beyond Madness: You are immune to Madness effects from the Demon's Price system. The Core's whispers have become a familiar chorus — you no longer hear them as madness, but as instinct. You are what you have become.
Lore Note: "It looked at him and saw not a man but something else — something that wore a man's shape the way a Mimic wore a human face. The demon screamed." At this level, the Wardwright is no longer fully human in any meaningful sense.
The Courier
In the Demon Cycle world, Couriers are the bravest souls alive — men and women who travel between warded cities through demon-infested wilderness, carrying messages, goods, and hope. They are not scholars of ward theory or tattooed extremists; they are practical warriors who have learned to inscribe wards on shields, armor, and surfaces to survive the night roads.
Where the Wardwright internalizes ward magic through tattoos and consumed demon flesh, the Courier masters external ward inscription — painting circles on the ground, etching runes into shield faces, and reinforcing armor with protective patterns. Their fighting style combines martial weapon mastery with tactical ward deployment, making them the frontline defenders of any party brave enough to travel after dark.
The Courier class adapts the D&D Fighter (Battlemaster) for the Demon Cycle setting. The Courier's superiority dice fuel combat maneuvers built around fast reflexes, demon anatomy knowledge, and the tactical activation of ward patterns already inscribed on their equipment. The class provides a durable, shield-focused martial framework with ward-based utility.
Core Courier Traits
| Hit Dice | 1d10 per Courier level |
| Primary Ability | Strength |
| Secondary Ability | Intelligence (Arcana — required for ward inscription) |
| Saving Throws | Strength, Constitution |
| Armor | All armor, shields |
| Weapons | Simple weapons, martial weapons |
| Tools | Warder's tools (field inscription kit) |
| Skills | Choose 2: Athletics, Arcana, Perception, Survival, Intimidation, Investigation |
Superiority Dice & Maneuvers
As a veteran of the demon roads, you have developed combat techniques that combine martial reflexes, knowledge of demon anatomy, and the smart activation of ward patterns already inscribed on your equipment. These maneuvers are powered by superiority dice — representing your reserves of focus, stamina, and ward energy. Each maneuver involves either a physical technique honed through experience, or the deliberate enabling or disabling of runes already present on your shield, weapon, or armor.
| Superiority Die | d8 (levels 2–9) → d10 (levels 10–17) → d12 (levels 18–20) |
| Starting Dice | 4 (at level 2) |
| Additional Dice | +1 at levels 7, 10, and 15 |
| Recovery | All expended dice recharge on a short or long rest |
| Maneuvers Known | 5 (at level 2), +2 at levels 7, 10, and 15 |
| Maneuver Save DC | 8 + proficiency bonus + Intelligence modifier |
Superiority Dice vs Demon Charges: Superiority dice are a separate resource from demon charges. They represent your combat expertise and ability to activate existing ward patterns at the right moment — not internalized Core energy. A Courier can still use demon charges for active ward combinations on warded items (per the normal rules), but their class maneuvers run on superiority dice.
Courier Features by Level
| Level | Features | Dice | Die |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fighting Style, Ward Scribe, Shield Bearer | — | — |
| 2 | Superiority Dice (4), Warded Armor | 4 | d8 |
| 3 | Courier Discipline (subclass) | 4 | d8 |
| 4 | Ability Score Improvement | 4 | d8 |
| 5 | Extra Attack, Field Repair | 4 | d8 |
| 6 | Ability Score Improvement | 4 | d8 |
| 7 | Discipline Feature, +1 Die | 5 | d8 |
| 8 | Ability Score Improvement | 5 | d8 |
| 9 | Indomitable (1), Adaptive Warding | 5 | d8 |
| 10 | Discipline Feature, +1 Die | 6 | d10 |
| 11 | Two Extra Attacks | 6 | d10 |
| 12 | Ability Score Improvement | 6 | d10 |
| 13 | Indomitable (2), Layered Wards | 6 | d10 |
| 14 | Ability Score Improvement | 6 | d10 |
| 15 | Discipline Feature, +1 Die | 7 | d10 |
| 16 | Ability Score Improvement | 7 | d10 |
| 17 | Action Surge (2), Indomitable (3) | 7 | d10 |
| 18 | Discipline Feature | 7 | d12 |
| 19 | Epic Boon | 7 | d12 |
| 20 | Master Warden | 7 | d12 |
Combat Maneuvers
You learn 5 maneuvers of your choice at level 2 and learn 2 additional maneuvers at levels 7, 10, and 15. You can replace one maneuver you know with a different one each time you gain a level in this class. Each maneuver represents a combination of battlefield reflexes, knowledge of demon anatomy, and the smart activation of runes already inscribed on your equipment.
Repelling Strike
When you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can expend one superiority die to add it to the attack's damage roll. You drive forward with a practiced shield thrust or weapon strike, exploiting the creature's momentum — the target must make a Strength saving throw or be pushed 15 feet away from you.
Binding Strike
When you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can expend one superiority die to add it to the attack's damage roll. You activate the binding rune etched into your weapon — a brief ward pattern anchors to the target, reducing its speed by 10 feet until the end of your next turn. Against corelings, the binding resonates with their Core essence and the speed reduction is 15 feet instead.
Shielding Ward
When an ally within 5 feet of you is hit by an attack, you can use your reaction to expend one superiority die. You interpose your warded shield, adding the die roll to the ally's AC against that attack. If the attack still hits, the shield's wards absorb some of the impact — the ally has resistance to the attack's damage.
Precision Strike
When you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can expend one superiority die. Your knowledge of anatomy — demon or otherwise — lets you target a weak point. If you have the Percutia (Strike) rune discovered, you add the superiority die to the attack's damage roll. Regardless of whether the rune is unlocked, if the target is a coreling, it has disadvantage on the next attack roll it makes before the end of its next turn as the precision blow disrupts its coordination.
Reinforcing Ward
As a bonus action, you can expend one superiority die to activate a defensive rune pattern on an ally's armor or shield that you can touch. The ally gains temporary hit points equal to the die roll + your Intelligence modifier. If the ally is not wearing warded equipment, you can quickly trace a temporary pattern that fades after the effect ends.
Grounding Brace
When an ally within 10 feet of you would be subjected to forced movement or knocked prone, you can use your reaction to expend one superiority die and rush to their side, bracing them with your body and shield. The forced movement or prone effect is negated entirely. You move to a space adjacent to the ally as part of this reaction (this movement does not provoke opportunity attacks).
Searing Ward
When you hit a coreling with a weapon attack, you can expend one superiority die to activate the offensive runes on your weapon, dealing additional radiant damage equal to twice the die roll. The seared coreling cannot reform for 24 hours if slain by this attack. Against non-coreling creatures, the additional radiant damage equals the die roll (1x instead of 2x). Requires: Percutia (Strike) rune discovered.
Circle Ward
As an action, you can expend one superiority die and make an Arcana check (DC 13) to rapidly inscribe a simple 5-foot-radius ward circle on the ground — no other class can draw a ward circle this fast. On a success, the circle functions as a standard ward circle: corelings cannot willingly enter or pass through it. The circle has hit points determined by the materials used — chalk or charcoal gives it HP equal to the die roll; inscribed into stone or wood with proper tools gives it HP equal to the die roll + your Intelligence modifier. Corelings can attempt to break the circle by attacking it. On a failed Arcana check, the ward is flawed and does not activate, but the superiority die is still expended.
The circle lasts for 1 minute or until its hit points are reduced to 0. Drawing in dirt with a finger functions the same as chalk but at disadvantage on the Arcana check.
Warding Riposte
When a coreling misses you with a melee attack, you can use your reaction to expend one superiority die and make a melee weapon attack against the creature. Your reflexes and knowledge of demon attack patterns let you exploit the opening — on a hit, you add the die roll to the damage as radiant damage. If you are wielding a warded shield, you have advantage on this attack roll.
Mending Ward
During a short rest, you can expend one superiority die to inscribe a temporary healing ward on one willing creature. That creature regains hit points equal to the die roll + your Intelligence modifier, without needing to spend a Hit Die. Requires: Sania (Heal) rune discovered.
Distracting Ward
When you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can expend one superiority die to add it to the attack's damage roll. You activate the Luxara (Light) rune on your shield or weapon, releasing a brief flare of ward light that disorients the target — the next attack roll made against this target before the start of your next turn has advantage. Requires: Luxara (Light) rune discovered.
Fortifying Ward
As a bonus action, you can expend one superiority die to activate a specific elemental ward on your armor or shield, granting yourself or a creature you touch resistance to one damage type of your choice until the start of your next turn. The damage type must correspond to an elemental rune you have discovered and inscribed on your equipment (e.g., Flamara for fire resistance, Glacia for cold). Requires: at least one elemental rune discovered and inscribed.
Class Features
Level 1: Fighting Style
You adopt a particular style of fighting as your specialty. Choose one of the following options:
- Defense: While you are wearing armor, you gain a +1 bonus to AC.
- Dueling: When you are wielding a melee weapon in one hand and no other weapons, you gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls with that weapon.
- Protection: When a creature you can see attacks a target other than you that is within 5 feet of you, you can use your reaction to impose disadvantage on the attack roll. You must be wielding a shield.
- Great Weapon Fighting: When you roll a 1 or 2 on a damage die for an attack you make with a melee weapon that you are wielding with two hands, you can reroll the die and must use the new roll.
Level 1: Ward Scribe
You are trained in the practical art of ward inscription. You can inscribe ward patterns on shields, armor, surfaces, and objects using warder's tools. You know a number of ward patterns equal to 2 + your proficiency bonus, chosen from the runes your party has discovered.
- You can inscribe a painted ward on a shield or armor during a short rest (lasts until your next long rest or 24 hours).
- You can inscribe a permanent ward on a shield or armor during a long rest (requires appropriate materials).
- You can draw a temporary ground ward circle in 20 minutes (lasts 8 hours). Rushing this process risks flawed wards — the DM may call for an Arcana check if conditions are hostile.
Courier vs Wardwright: The Wardwright tattoos wards onto their body; the Courier inscribes them onto equipment and terrain. Both use the same rune system, but the Courier's wards are external, removable, and shareable. A Courier can ward an ally's shield; a Wardwright cannot share their tattoos.
Level 1: Shield Bearer
Your expertise with warded shields provides additional protection against the demons of the Core:
- While wielding a warded shield (a shield with at least one ward inscribed on it), you gain +1 AC against attacks from corelings (in addition to the shield's normal AC bonus).
- You can use your warded shield as a melee weapon, dealing 1d4 bludgeoning damage. Against corelings, this attack counts as magical.
Level 2: Superiority Dice
You gain 4 superiority dice and learn 5 combat maneuvers of your choice. Your superiority die is a d8. These dice fuel your maneuvers — each one representing a burst of focus, a flash of ward activation, or an exploit of demon anatomy. See the Combat Maneuvers section above.
Level 2: Warded Armor
The ward patterns inscribed on your armor resonate with protective energy when you steel yourself for battle. As a bonus action, you can activate your armor's wards to gain temporary hit points equal to 1d8 + your Intelligence modifier. These temporary hit points last until the start of your next short or long rest.
Once you use this feature, you must finish a short or long rest before you can use it again. You must be wearing armor with at least one ward inscribed on it to use this feature.
Not Healing: Temporary hit points are not healing — they are a buffer of ward energy that absorbs damage before your real hit points. They don't stack with other sources of temporary hit points; you use whichever value is higher.
Level 3: Courier Discipline
At 3rd level, you choose a Discipline that defines your approach to surviving the roads and protecting others. Your Discipline grants features at 3rd, 7th, 10th, 15th, and 18th level.
Level 5: Extra Attack
You can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.
Level 5: Field Repair
You can restore damaged ward inscriptions on equipment under pressure. As an action, you can touch a warded item (shield, armor, or weapon) and make an Arcana check (DC 10 + the number of runes inscribed on the item). On a success, the item gains temporary hit points equal to your superiority die roll + your Intelligence modifier, preventing it from being destroyed. On a failure, the repair fails and the use is still expended.
You can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.
Under Fire: Field Repair is not a casual action — it requires focus and steady hands. If you take damage between the start of your turn and the completion of the repair, the DM may impose disadvantage on the Arcana check.
Level 9: Indomitable
You can reroll a saving throw that you fail. If you do so, you must use the new roll. You can use this feature once between long rests. You gain additional uses at 13th level (2 uses) and 17th level (3 uses).
Level 9: Adaptive Warding
Your ward knowledge has become flexible enough to adjust on the fly. When you finish a short rest, you can swap one maneuver you know for a different one from the maneuver list.
Level 11: Two Extra Attacks
You can attack three times whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.
Level 13: Layered Wards
You have learned to layer multiple ward effects onto a single trigger. When you use a maneuver, you can expend two superiority dice to apply a second maneuver to the same trigger (e.g., a weapon attack that both pushes and slows, or a reaction that both shields and grounds).
You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum 1), and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.
Level 17: Action Surge
You can push yourself beyond your normal limits. On your turn, you can take one additional action. You can use this feature twice between short or long rests.
Level 20: Master Warden
You have become the supreme practitioner of external ward magic. You gain the following benefits:
- Inexhaustible Wards: When you roll initiative and have fewer than 4 superiority dice remaining, you regain dice until you have 4.
- Grand Circles: You can maintain up to 3 active Circle Wards simultaneously (normally limited to 1).
- Free Layering: Your Layered Wards feature no longer costs additional uses — you can layer maneuvers freely whenever you expend a superiority die.
Lore Note: "The messenger knelt in the dirt and drew. The wards flowed from his fingers like water, circle within circle, line and curve and angle, until the ground itself blazed with light. The demons screamed and retreated. The villagers stared. They had never seen a Courier work before."
Discipline of the Road
The Discipline of the Road is followed by Couriers who specialize in speed, scouting, and survival in the open wilderness. Road Couriers are the fastest messengers and the most elusive fighters — they survive not by standing and fighting, but by knowing when to fight, when to run, and how to make the roads themselves an ally. They are the ones who make the impossible journeys between distant cities, outrunning demons and delivering hope.
Level 3: Pathfinder's Instinct
Your experience navigating demon-haunted roads has sharpened your senses and reflexes:
- You have advantage on Wisdom (Survival) checks.
- You can't be surprised while you are conscious.
- Your walking speed increases by 10 feet while you are not wearing heavy armor.
Level 7: Evasive Courier
Your ability to dodge and weave through danger is unmatched:
- When you use Warded Armor, you can also take the Dodge action as part of the same bonus action as your wards flare protectively.
- When you take the Dash action, opportunity attacks against you are made with disadvantage for the rest of the turn.
Level 10: Rapid Inscription
Your field experience has made you extraordinarily fast at ward work. You gain the following benefits:
- You can inscribe a painted ward on a shield or piece of armor in 1 minute instead of requiring a short rest. The ward still lasts until your next long rest or 24 hours.
- Your ground ward circle inscription time is reduced to 10 minutes (from 20 minutes).
- When you use your Circle Ward maneuver in combat, the circle's duration extends to 10 minutes instead of 1 minute.
Rune Dependency: This feature accelerates your inscription speed, but you still need to know the relevant runes. The ward combinations you inscribe still follow the normal rune system — this just lets you apply them faster.
Level 15: Road Warrior
When a coreling hits an ally within 30 feet of you with an attack, you can use your reaction to:
- Force the coreling to reroll the attack and use the lower result.
- Move up to half your speed toward the coreling (this movement doesn't provoke opportunity attacks).
- If you end this movement within melee range and the rerolled attack misses, you can make one melee weapon attack against the coreling.
Level 18: The Living Road
As an action, you can create a 60-foot-long, 10-foot-wide warded corridor on the ground. The corridor lasts for 10 minutes and provides the following effects:
- Corelings cannot willingly enter the corridor. A coreling forced into the corridor takes 4d8 radiant damage.
- Allies within the corridor have advantage on all saving throws.
- The corridor sheds bright light in a 10-foot radius and dim light for an additional 10 feet.
Once you use this feature, you must finish a long rest before you can use it again.
Lore Note: "The greatest Couriers could ward the road itself, turning the demon's own hunting ground into a highway of light. The demons would part before them like water before the prow of a ship, snarling impotently at the edges of the warded path."
Discipline of the Wall
The Discipline of the Wall is followed by Couriers who have traded mobility for absolute defensive mastery. Where Road Couriers survive by outrunning the night, Wall Couriers survive by becoming immovable. They are the shield-bearers who hold the line when ward circles fail, the living walls that stand between demons and the people they protect. Their ward work emphasizes barriers, fortification, and punishing anything foolish enough to attack them directly.
Level 3: Bulwark Stance
As a bonus action, you can enter a Bulwark Stance, planting yourself and activating your shield's ward network. While in Bulwark Stance:
- You gain +2 AC.
- Your speed becomes 0 and can't be increased.
- Corelings have disadvantage on attack rolls against allies within 5 feet of you.
The stance lasts until the start of your next turn. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Constitution modifier (minimum 1), and you regain all expended uses when you finish a short or long rest.
Level 7: Shield of Wards
Your warded shield and armor crackle with retaliatory energy. When a coreling hits you with a melee attack, it takes 1d6 force damage as your wards discharge. This damage increases to 2d6 at 15th level.
Level 10: Warden's Expertise
Your mastery of ward inscription on equipment has reached a new level. You gain the following benefits:
- Reinforced Inscriptions: Warded items you create (shields, armor, weapons) gain +1 to their ward durability — they can withstand one additional critical hit or massive damage event before their wards crack.
- Efficient Warding: When you inscribe a passive ward combination on a piece of equipment, the material cost is halved.
- Shield Mastery: Your warded shield bash damage increases to 1d6 (from 1d4). When you hit a coreling with a shield bash, you can push it 5 feet away from you.
Rune Dependency: All ward combinations you inscribe still follow the rune system. This feature makes you better at applying wards you already know — it does not grant new ward effects outside the rune framework.
Level 15: Fortress Mind
Your mental fortitude is as impenetrable as your ward circles:
- You are immune to the charmed and frightened conditions.
- Allies within 10 feet of you have advantage on saving throws against being charmed or frightened.
Level 18: Last Stand
When you are reduced to 0 hit points, your wards erupt in a final desperate blast of energy:
- Each creature of your choice within 30 feet takes 4d10 radiant damage.
- Corelings caught in the blast are blinded until the end of their next turn.
- You regain hit points equal to your Courier level instead of falling unconscious.
Once you use this feature, you must finish a long rest before you can use it again.
Requires: Your shield or armor must bear ward combinations using Fortis (Force), Defensia (Ward), and Sania (Heal) runes. Without all three rune types inscribed on your equipment, this feature is unavailable — the blast requires Force to detonate, Ward to shape the energy outward, and Heal to knit your body back together. If any of these wards are destroyed during combat (e.g., your shield's wards crack), Last Stand cannot trigger until they are repaired.
Lore Note: "The wall was breached. The wards were failing. But the Courier did not fall. He slammed his shield into the earth and the world went white. When the light faded, the demons were gone and the man still stood, blood streaming from his eyes, his shield cracked but unbroken."
House Rules & Mechanics
No House Rules Yet
Custom rules and mechanics for the campaign will appear here.
The DM can add house rules, ward magic mechanics, and more.
Story Hints & Discoveries
Coming Soon
Unlocked lore, story discoveries, and campaign revelations.
This section will be populated as your party discovers secrets in the campaign.
Known NPCs
No Known NPCs
NPCs your party has encountered will appear here.
This section will grow as you meet characters in your adventures.
DM Notes & Resources
Quick Navigation
Challenge Rating Balance Philosophy
The CR values are tuned for the ward magic system, not vanilla 5e. All demons have lower HP than the DMG CR tables suggest. This is intentional — ward combos add significant bonus damage, encounters use multiple demons, and Sunlight Destruction already provides a universal weakness. Low HP prevents combat from becoming a slog.
Tier 1 — Bare Survival (Levels 1-3)
Characters rely on defensive circles for survival. Available runes: Defensia (Ward), Ignis (Fire), Terrus (Earth), Fortis (Force), Revelara (Detect). All Tier 1 combos are free circles — no charges needed. Direct combat is extremely dangerous. Encounters should emphasize ward maintenance, fleeing to safety, and the terror of night.
- Key wards available: Basic Ward Circle, Warming Circle, Deep Foundation, Hardened Circle, Light Circle, Alarm Ward
- Appropriate threats: 1-2 Flame Demons (CR 2), a single Wood/Field/Snow/Water Demon (CR 3)
- Tone: Survival horror. The ward circle is everything.
Tier 2 — Tricks & First Kills (Levels 3-5)
Players gain trapping circles, elemental weapons, and their first active ward (Sonic Pulse). Introduce Vinculia (Bind), Siphara (Drain), Glacius (Cold), and Sonara (Sound). Warded Weapons make basic demon-fighting possible. Draining Circles let players harvest charges.
- Key wards available: Snare/Draining Circle, Tremor Ward, Warded Weapon, Ember/Frost Edge, Sonic Pulse (1 charge)
- Appropriate threats: Packs of CR 2-4 demons, Wind/Sand Demons as elites
- Tone: Gaining confidence. Traps, tricks, and the first real kills.
Tier 3 — Fighting Normally (Levels 5-7)
The game-changer: Percutia (Strike) arrives around level 5. Combined with elemental runes, players can now deal serious damage. Sania (Heal) arrives as a rare discovery. Skin wards and combat fists become available.
- Key wards available: Flaming/Frozen/Impact Strike (+1d6-1d8), Grasping Weapon, Skin Ward, Combat Fists, Warded Instrument, Mending Touch
- Appropriate threats: Mimic Demons (CR 7) as boss encounters, mixed demon packs
- Tone: Shifting to active hunting. Players become demon fighters, not just survivors.
Tier 4 — Feeling Strong (Levels 7-9)
Luxara (Light) and Mentis (Mind) arrive as major campaign milestones. Sunlight Strike prevents reforming. Mind Ward Circle counters Mind Demons. Warded Armor and Binding Circles provide serious defense and control.
- Key wards available: Sunlight Strike (+1d8 radiant), Warded Armor, Mind Ward Circle, Binding Circle, Coreling Lantern
- Appropriate threats: Rock Demons (CR 10) as boss encounters, Mind Demons (CR 13) as campaign villains
- Tone: Mastery. The party can handle most threats and counter specific demons.
Tier 5 — Suppression (Levels 9+, Demon Bone Core required)
The pinnacle of ward magic, requiring Demon Bone Cores crafted from demon remains. These combos are campaign-defining rewards: Demonslayer, Demon Prison, Sanctum of the Sun, The Painted Circle, and The Core Seal.
- Key wards available: Demonslayer (+2d8, crit = destroyed), Demon Prison (DC 18 containment), The Painted Circle (30ft auto-damage), The Core Seal (permanent rising prevention)
- Appropriate threats: Mind Demon + mimic retinue + controlled demon army, multiple Rock Demons, siege scenarios
- Tone: Legendary. The PCs are suppressing the demon threat itself.
Demon Stat Block Analysis
How each demon compares to standard 5e CR expectations, and why the differences are intentional.
| Demon | CR | HP | AC | Avg DPR | Key Strength | Weakness |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flame | 2 | 33 | 13 | 8 | Fire Breath AoE, swarm numbers | Water, cold damage |
| Wood | 3 | 52 | 14 | 17 | Tree Stride mobility, Stealth +7 | Fire vulnerability |
| Water | 3 | 58 | 13 | 15 | Swim 60ft, Capsizing Charge | Lightning vuln, disadvantage on land |
| Field | 3 | 45 | 13 | 16+ | Pack Tactics, 50ft + Dash bonus = 100ft | No resistances, lowest HP at CR 3 |
| Snow | 3 | 52 | 14 | 16 + 3.5 aura | Cold immune, Chilling Aura (auto 1d6) | Fire vulnerability |
| Wind | 4 | 60 | 14 | 18 (25 dive) | Fly 80ft, Flyby, Dive Attack +2d6 | Low ground speed, no resistances |
| Sand | 4 | 65 | 15 | 17 | Burrow 40ft, Tremorsense, ambush | No special resistances, Earthen wards block |
| Mimic | 7 | 112 | 16 | 29 | Shapechanger, Daylight Adaptation, infiltration | Detect + Light wards reveal disguise |
| Rock | 10 | 184 | 18 | 40 | Siege Monster, nonmagical resistance, Earthshaker | DEX 8, slow, no ranged defense vs casters |
| Mind | 13 | 127 | 15 | 22-108 | Telepathic Command, dominate, summon demons | Low HP/AC, Mind Ward Circle blocks it |
Design Note: Low HP is Intentional
All demons have lower HP than standard 5e CR tables because ward magic adds +1d4 to +2d8 bonus damage per hit. A Demonslayer-warded weapon adds +2d8 (avg 9) per attack — that would trivialize a CR 10 creature with standard HP. The reduced pools keep combat tense even with powerful wards.
Encounter Building Tables
Quick-reference encounter compositions by party level. Assumes a party of 4 PCs with level-appropriate ward access.
Easy / Medium / Hard / Deadly Reference
| Party Level | Easy | Medium | Hard | Deadly |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-2 | 1 Flame Demon | 2 Flame Demons | 1 Wood/Field Demon | 2 Field Demons (pack tactics!) |
| 3-4 | 2-3 Flame Demons | 2 Wood/Snow + 1 Flame | 1 Wind/Sand + 2 Field | 3-4 Field Demons (100ft speed packs) |
| 5-7 | 3 mixed CR 3 demons | 1 Wind + 1 Sand + 2 Field | 1 Mimic Demon + 2 Field bodyguards | 1 Mimic + 1 Wind + 3 Field/Wood |
| 8-10 | 2 Mimic Demons | 1 Rock Demon | 1 Rock + 2 Wind + 2 Sand | 1 Rock + 1 Mimic + 4 mixed CR 3 |
| 11-13 | 2 Rock Demons | 1 Mind + 2 Mimic bodyguards | 1 Mind + 2 Mimic + 1 Rock | 1 Mind + 3 Mimic + 2 Rock + field swarm |
| 14+ | 1 Mind + 4 Mimic | 2 Mind Demons (coordinated) | 2 Mind + 4 Mimic + 2 Rock | Full demon army siege (see Demon Swarm rules) |
Night Siege Escalation Timeline
Use this to build tension during a full night siege. Each phase, the corelings probe the ward circle.
| Phase | Time | What Arrives | Ward Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 - Rising | Sunset + 30min | Flame Demons (scouts) | 1d4 per demon per round |
| 2 - Gathering | Sunset + 1hr | Wood/Field/Snow join | 2d4 per round total |
| 3 - Assault | Midnight | Wind/Sand arrive, coordinated attacks | 3d6 per round total |
| 4 - Siege | Deep night | Rock Demon (if present in area) | 4d8 per round (Siege Monster) |
| 5 - Withdrawal | Pre-dawn | Demons retreat, stragglers linger | 1d4 per round |
Demon Tactics Guide
How to run each demon type intelligently. Common corelings are animalistic but cunning; Mind Demons are strategic masterminds.
Flame Demon (CR 2) - The Swarm
- Always use in groups of 3-6. Individually they're fodder.
- Open with Fire Breath from multiple angles to overlap cones.
- They ignite flammable materials — target tents, rope, wooden ward posts.
- Counter: Water (1 cold damage per 5ft), cold damage vulnerability. Frost Ward Circle and Frozen Strike are devastating.
Wood Demon (CR 3) - The Ambusher
- Stealth +7 with Woodland Camouflage = near-invisible in forests.
- Tree Stride lets them teleport 60ft between trees — use this to bypass frontline fighters and strike casters/warders.
- 17 DPR (bite + claws) can down a level 2 character in one round.
- Counter: Fire vulnerability. Flaming Strike (+1d6 fire) is specifically designed for these. Burn the forest to deny Tree Stride.
Water Demon (CR 3) - The Territorial
- Devastating in water (swim 60ft, no disadvantage) but weakened on land (disadvantage on attacks).
- Capsizing Charge can destroy boats — 3d10 damage to the vessel plus DEX save or prone for crew.
- Use them to make river crossings and sea voyages terrifying at night.
- Counter: Lightning vulnerability, land combat. Earthen Ward Circle with water-adjacent placement. Stay on shore.
Field Demon (CR 3) - The Pack Hunter
Warning: Extremely Dangerous in Groups
Pack Tactics (advantage) + 50ft speed + Dash as bonus action = 100ft per round with advantage on every attack. A pack of 4 Field Demons with Pack Tactics deals an average of 64 DPR with advantage. This can TPK a level 3 party in one round. Use with caution — 2-3 is usually sufficient.
- Pounce: 20ft charge + hit = STR 13 save or prone, then bonus claw attack. Devastating opener.
- They run down fleeing targets. 100ft movement means nothing escapes.
- Use them to harry ward circles — they probe for gaps, then burst through.
- Counter: No resistances or immunities. Any ward damage works. Binding Circle and Earthen Snare shut down their mobility.
Snow Demon (CR 3) - The Attrition Fighter
- Chilling Aura (auto 1d6 cold per round to adjacent creatures) makes melee costly even when they miss attacks.
- Snow Camouflage + burrow in snow = ambush potential in winter environments.
- Cold immunity means cold-based wards and weapons are useless. Plan encounters accordingly.
- Counter: Fire vulnerability. Flaming Strike and Fire Ward Circle are highly effective. Fire Trap Wards are excellent vs Snow Demons.
Wind Demon (CR 4) - The Aerial Threat
- Fly 80ft + Flyby = hit and run with zero opportunity attacks. Players cannot pin them down in melee.
- Dive Attack adds +2d6 damage (25 avg DPR on first hit). Target the squishiest party member.
- Shriek (DC 14 WIS) can frighten the whole party, disrupting concentration and ward maintenance.
- They bypass ward circles without roofs — wards on the ground don't stop flying demons!
- Counter: Ranged attacks, roofed ward circles. Solar Burst (20ft radius) can catch them. Psychic Cage stuns them out of the sky.
Sand Demon (CR 4) - The Underground Terror
- Burrow 40ft + Tremorsense 60ft = they attack from below without warning.
- Erupting Strike (4d6 + prone) is a brutal opener against surprised targets.
- They can bypass ward circles by burrowing underneath — unless the circle uses Terrus (Earth) runes.
- Krasian desert encounters should feature these heavily.
- Counter: Earthen Ward Circle (extends underground), Deep Foundation rune, Tremor Ward (detects burrowing). Remove their ambush advantage.
Mimic Demon (CR 7) - The Infiltrator
- Shapechanger + Daylight Adaptation = they can walk among humans in daylight. This is a campaign-shaping ability.
- Infiltrate (Detect Thoughts, DC 14 WIS) lets them maintain perfect disguises by reading surface thoughts.
- In true form: 29 avg DPR with resistance to nonmagical BPS. Serious combatants.
- Use them for paranoia — is that merchant really a merchant? The blacksmith acting oddly? The new guard?
- Counter: Coreling Lantern (reveals disguised mimics), True Sight of the Warder (truesight 30ft), Detect + Light combos. Make players earn the reveal.
Rock Demon (CR 10) - The Siege Engine
- Siege Monster = double damage to structures and wards. A Rock Demon can crack an Unbreakable Bastion in a few rounds.
- 40 avg DPR (two slams), 23 ranged (hurl rock at 120ft). Can't be ignored.
- Earthshaker (8d6 in 20ft + prone) is devastating to clustered defenders.
- Nonmagical resistance means mundane weapons bounce off. Players need warded weapons.
- Counter: Impact Strike (force damage bypasses stone hide), Demonslayer (bypasses all resistance). Kite with ranged attacks. DEX 8 means it fails DEX saves constantly.
Mind Demon (CR 13) - The Campaign Villain
Major Spoiler: Hidden from players by default
Mind Demons should be revealed gradually. First, encounters feel "too coordinated." Then an NPC mentions "a demon that thinks." Then the party finds evidence of telepathic control. Only then reveal the Mind Demon entry.
- Never alone. Always with 2-4 Mimic bodyguards + commanded lesser demons.
- Telepathic Command (1 mile range) means every demon in the encounter acts on the Mind Demon's initiative with perfect coordination.
- Dominate Person + Hold Monster can neutralize 2 PCs simultaneously. Feeblemind is campaign-altering.
- Mind Crush (8d8 to 3 targets + stun, DC 19 INT save) can swing an entire encounter in one action.
- Summon Demons (1d4 mimics or 2d6 field demons) means reinforcements are always coming.
- HP 127 and AC 15 are deliberately low — if the PCs reach it, it should fall fast. The challenge is reaching it.
- Counter: Mind Ward Circle (blocks telepathy, DC 19 to breach), Mind Demon Trap (DC 20 containment), True Sight of the Warder. Kill the Mind Demon and its controlled demons lose coordination instantly.
Ward Rune Progression Guide (5 Tiers)
When to introduce each rune and tier of combinations. This is a suggestion — adjust based on your campaign's pacing. The system now uses 33 curated combos across 5 tiers, from bare survival to demon suppression.
| Tier | Levels | Runes to Introduce | Key Combos Unlocked | How to Introduce |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1-3 | Defensia (Ward), Ignis (Fire), Terrus (Earth), Fortis (Force), Luxara (Light), Revelara (Detect) | Basic Ward Circle, Warming Circle, Deep Foundation, Hardened Circle, Light Circle, Alarm Ward | Ward at session 1. Elements via warder toolkits, guild libraries, mentors. All circles, all free, all passive. |
| 2 | 3-5 | Vinculia (Bind), Siphara (Drain), Glacius (Cold), Sonara (Sound) | Snare/Draining Circle, Tremor Ward, Resonance Circle, Warded Weapon, Ember/Frost Edge, Sonic Pulse | Krasian texts for Bind, combat encounters for Drain. First weapons and area effects. Sonic Pulse is the first active (1 charge). |
| 3 | 5-7 | Percutia (Strike), Sania (Heal) | Flaming/Frozen/Impact Strike, Grasping Weapon, Skin Ward, Combat Fists, Warded Instrument, Mending Touch | Major milestone. Strike is a quest reward — changes game from survival to combat. Heal is a rare discovery. |
| 4 | 7-9 | Mentis (Mind), Velocia (Speed) | Sunlight Strike, Warded Armor, Mind Ward Circle, Binding Circle, Coreling Lantern, Swiftfoot Ward | Major milestone. Light+Strike combos arrive. Mind introduced with Mind Demon storyline. Speed for Wardwrights. |
| 5 | 9+ | Demon Bone Core (crafted component) | Demonslayer, Demon Prison, Sanctum of the Sun, The Painted Circle, The Core Seal | Requires Demon Bone Core + advanced rune knowledge. Each combo is a campaign-defining reward. The Core Seal is legendary. |
Wards vs Demons Quick Reference
Which ward combinations are most effective against each demon type. Updated for the 5-tier system.
| Demon | Best Offensive Ward | Best Defensive Ward | Useless Against It |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flame | Frozen Strike (+2d6 cold total) | Warming Circle (fire-resistant material) | Fire-based wards (it resists fire) |
| Wood | Flaming Strike (+1d6, fire vuln = doubled) | Warming Circle, Coreling Lantern (vs stealth) | Cold-based wards (no special effect) |
| Water | Any lightning source (vulnerability) | Land-based ward circles (disadvantage on land) | Cold wards (it resists cold) |
| Field | Grasping Weapon (stops 100ft mobility) | Binding Circle (DC 15 trap) | Nothing — no resistances or immunities |
| Snow | Flaming Strike (+1d6, fire vuln = doubled) | Warming Circle (fire-resistant material) | All cold-based wards (cold immune) |
| Wind | Sonic Pulse (15ft radius catches flyers) | Roofed ward circle, Snare Circle | Ground-only ward circles (it flies over) |
| Sand | Impact Strike (force bypasses ambush) | Deep Foundation (blocks burrowing), Tremor Ward | Fire wards (it resists fire) |
| Mimic | Demonslayer (bypasses all resistance) | Coreling Lantern (reveals disguise) | Nonmagical weapons (it resists BPS) |
| Rock | Demonslayer (bypasses stone hide resistance) | Hardened Circle (+10 HP), Demon Prison | Nonmagical weapons, poison |
| Mind | Any physical damage (low HP/AC) | Mind Ward Circle (blocks telepathy), Sanctum of the Sun | Psychic damage (immune), charm/fear (immune) |
Balance Notes & Errata
Stat Block Notes
- Snow Demon attack bonus (+4) is 1 lower than other CR 3 demons (+5). This is correct (STR 15 = +2 mod + prof +2 = +4) and balanced by the automatic Chilling Aura damage (avg 3.5/round to adjacent creatures). No change needed.
- Field Demon packs are the most dangerous CR 3 encounter in the system. Pack Tactics + Relentless Pursuit creates 100ft/round advantage-on-every-attack hunters. Recommend capping packs at 3-4 for parties below level 5.
- Mind Demon HP (127) is deliberately low for CR 13. It's a glass cannon controller — the difficulty is reaching it through Mimic bodyguards and dominated allies, not surviving a slugfest.
- Rock Demon is the most "standard" creature in the system. Its stats closely match 5e expectations for CR 10. It's the baseline by which all other demons are measured.
- All demons share Sunlight Destruction (10 radiant/round in sunlight, destroyed at 0 HP). This is a universal safety valve that prevents any encounter from lasting past dawn.
Ward Balance Notes (Reworked System)
- Flat charge cost (1 charge for all active effects) simplifies resource management. Players no longer avoid big combos due to charge scaling. Circle wards being free encourages creative circle use.
- Demonslayer (Strike + Light + Force + Demon Bone Core, Tier 5): Instant-kill on crit (DC 16 CON or destroyed). Requires a Demon Bone Core to craft, gating it behind both rune knowledge AND a physical resource. Rock Demons (+9 CON save) pass 60% of the time.
- The Painted Circle (Ward + Strike + Light + Force + Demon Bone Core, Tier 5): 3d8 radiant+force per round to touching corelings. Requires 4 hours, DC 20, and a Core. The ultimate defensive ward.
- The Core Seal (6 runes + Core, Tier 5): Permanent rising prevention. 24 hours continuous work, DC 22. This is the campaign capstone — should require a major quest arc.
- Demon Bone Cores create natural scarcity tension. DC 16 Arcana to craft means ~30% failure rate for mid-level characters. Failed attempts waste materials. Players must choose: Demonslayer OR Demon Prison?
- Ward HP system is well-calibrated. A standard wardpaint circle (30 HP) lasts about 4-5 rounds of siege. A Hardened Circle (+10 bonus) extends that meaningfully.
Potential Adjustments
- If combat feels too easy with warded weapons: increase demon HP by 20-30% or add "Ward Resistance" to specific elite demons (half ward bonus damage).
- If combat feels too hard without wards: ensure players always have access to at least a basic warded weapon by level 5. A +1d4 radiant weapon is the minimum viable combat ward.
- If Mind Demon encounters feel unfair: remember players should have Mind Ward Circle access (level 7-8) before encountering one. If they don't, the encounter is a "flee or die" scenario — which is fine for foreshadowing.
- If ward circles feel too safe: use mixed demon types. Wind Demons fly over circles, Sand Demons burrow under, and Rock Demons smash through them. Force the party to address multiple threat vectors simultaneously.
Campaign Data Management
Automatic Saving Enabled
All changes are automatically saved to the JSON files in the data/ folder. No manual export needed!
- Add/edit/delete story hints → saved to
data/story-hints.json - Add/edit/delete NPCs → saved to
data/npcs.json - Add/edit/delete map pins → saved to
data/map-pins.json - Change map settings → saved to
data/map-settings.json - Toggle demon visibility → saved to
data/demon-visibility.json - Toggle rune visibility → saved to
data/rune-visibility.json
Tip: The Flask backend automatically updates the files — perfect for hosting!