In this series, I’ll be slowly tackling a rework of one of our favorite classes, the Binder. The class was originally a straight update of the class of the same name from D&D 3.5’s Tome of Magic, including most of the original vestiges, but as we revisit this class, we’d like to examine its mechanics and its concepts with fresh eyes, improve upon them, and write a whole new list of vestiges.
We’re rapidly approaching the final stages of writing this class, so it’s time to zoom out and check in on the class chassis and look at possibilities on how we handle the capstone. That means it’s time for another community design day: throw out some ideas for capstones in the comments!
Chassis, 1-20
Here’s what we’ve got for the final class table, sans the capstone:
| Level |
Proficiency
Bonus
|
Features
|
Vestige
Level
|
Vestiges
Bound
|
| 1st |
+2
|
Soul Binding |
1
|
1
|
| 2nd |
+2
|
Minor Spirits, Rebinding |
1
|
1
|
| 3rd |
+2
|
Esoteric Cult, Suppress Sign |
2
|
1
|
| 4th |
+2
|
Ability Score Improvement |
2
|
1
|
| 5th |
+3
|
Minor Spirits (3) |
3
|
2
|
| 6th |
+3
|
Ability Score Improvement |
3
|
2
|
| 7th |
+3
|
Esoteric Cult feature |
4
|
2
|
| 8th |
+3
|
Ability Score Improvement |
4
|
2
|
| 9th |
+4
|
Adamant Mind |
5
|
2
|
| 10th |
+4
|
Esoteric Cult feature |
5
|
2
|
| 11th |
+4
|
— |
6
|
3
|
| 12th |
+4
|
Ability Score Improvement |
6
|
3
|
| 13th |
+5
|
Minor Spirits (4) |
7
|
3
|
| 14th |
+5
|
Esoteric Cult feature |
7
|
3
|
| 15th |
+5
|
Rebinding improvement |
8
|
3
|
| 16th |
+5
|
Ability Score Improvement |
8
|
3
|
| 17th |
+6
|
— |
9
|
4
|
| 18th |
+6
|
Minor Spirits (5) |
9
|
4
|
| 19th |
+6
|
Ability Score Improvement |
9
|
4
|
| 20th |
+6
|
[Capstone] |
9
|
4
|
Dead levels show up when you get new features, but not when you get new vestige levels. I found that there wasn’t enough space left for other features when I blocked off all the new vestige levels. Most levels when you get new vestige levels instead get new minor spirits, which gets you something new, but nothing extraordinarily powerful. Minor spirits are on the class table, rather than in their own column, to help sell the idea that you’re getting something substantial on those levels.
Last, but not least, I haven’t filled in the capstone.
Community Design: Capstone
The capstone is almost always the last thing I write for a base class, and for good reason. It needs to be powerful enough to tempt players into sticking with the class all the way to 20th level, but not so powerful it breaks the game. It needs to thematically resonate with the class’s themes, since it’s the pinnacle of what a character of this class can achieve. And it’s the last feature players get, so it can’t overlap with a feature that comes online earlier. It’s a lot to get right.
For the binder, this should emphasize the core drive of the class: its flexibility and binding kit.
Let’s brainstorm together what we can do with this feature. Leave your ideas in the comments below and I’ll throw out a few ideas up here:
Split Soul
At 20th level, you have fully severed part of your soul, creating a compartment for a permanent vestige inhabitant. Choose a 1st level vestige. You are always bound to this vestige, and it does not count against the total number of vestiges you have bound.
Self-Possession
Starting at 20th level, as a bonus action, you can fully give your body over to your assembly of vestiges for a short time, becoming an embodiment of their various traits and skills. For 1 minute, all your ability scores become 20. Your increased Constitution gives you temporary hit points equal to the increase you would get in maximum hit points. Once you use this ability, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.
Sacrifice Soul
Beginning at 20th level, you can imbue negative energies into a vestige you have bound and cast it into the Void, ridding yourself of them. As an action, you can dismiss one vestige you have bound to regain 5 hit points per level of the vestige dismissed, end a spell or disease affecting you, or end one of the following conditions: blinded, charmed, deafened, fatigued, frightened, incapacitated, invisible, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, restrained, or stunned. You can take this action even if the condition would otherwise prevent it. Once you have dismissed a vestige in this way, you can’t bind it again until you finish a long rest.
There’s major pros and cons to all of these, but they might provide some idea of how to approach this. I look forward to seeing what you all come up with!
