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.
Döpple, the Archivist
An archivist of countless treasures from the Vaults of Venagoth, Döpple shares history’s greatest artifacts with his binders.
Legend. When the Arcane Archive burned, many of its surviving treasures, including tomes of ancient lore and magic items of boundless power, were transported thousands of miles away to the Vaults of Venagoth, where they rested in safety for centuries. In its prime, the Venagoth family was immensely rich and influential, and chose to amass their wealth in their ancestral Vaults, which were practically impregnable, built deep into a mountain, and secured with excessively potent wards. No thief ever successfully infiltrated the Vaults of Venagoth and made it out alive. But one archivist, Döpple, was freely permitted into the Vaults to organize and curate their vast collection.
Alas, the record of history is long and unforgiving. With the Venagoth’s waning influence came the ire of a barbarian warlord from the north, who campaigned south to burn cities, dethrone kings, and eventually sack the Venagoth estates. Knowing their treasure to be too momentous to lose, the Venagoth patron commanded Döpple to seal himself within the Vaults until the military could drive back the savage horde.
But rescue never came. The Archivist lived out his final days, perhaps his final decades, surrounded by the amassed artifacts of millennia. The Vaults of Venagoth were lost to history, but the search for their location always lingers on the entombed Archivist, organizing the collection until his death. Ironically, Döpple’s vestige is exceedingly generous where history is not: he is represented by a learned, bespectacled man, standing at the Vaults’ door, offering his treasures to those who understand their significance.
Personality Trait. While bound to this vestige, you gain the following personality trait: “I look after the fine details of all my possessions, keeping them organized and in excellent repair.”
Archivist’s Eye
You can cast the spell identify at will, without expending spell slots or spell components.
Minor Relic
When you bind Döpple, a magic item appears in your possession. The item vanishes when you are no longer bound to Döpple.
The item is your choice of the following: 2 beads of force, a necklace of fireballs (2 beads), oil of etherealness, potion of gaseous form, or a potion of invisibility.
Major Relic
When you bind Döpple, a magic item appears in your possession. You are automatically attuned to it, if it requires attunement, and it does not count against the number of items you can have attuned. Moreover, no other creature can attune to the item or, if the item is a weapon, use it make an attack. The item vanishes when you are no longer bound to Döpple.
The item is your choice of the following: a carpet of flying, a cloak of the bat, a flame tongue, gauntlets of ogre power, an instant fortress, a ring of regeneration, a ring of telekinesis, a sun blade, or a wand of wonder.
Trait: Spectacles
As a final parting gift, Döpple offers his binders his very spectacles. While bound to Döpple, you can put on or take off these spectacles as an interaction on your turn. While wearing the spectacles, if you make an Intelligence (Arcana), Intelligence (History), Intelligence (Nature), or Intelligence (Religion) check, you can treat the result as a 10, or your binder level plus your Charisma modifier, whichever is higher.
Qadir, the Damned Djinn
9th-level vestige
An ill-fated genie who abandoned the one who summoned him, Qadir offers his binders a lone wish before abandoning them as well.
Legend. For centuries, an unremarkable lamp sat untouched, nestled amongst piles of gold in an long-forgotten treasure hoard, until one day, War’Red, the twin brother of legendary thief K’Sir, happened upon the lamp and rubbed its side. Emerging in a swirling cloud of lightning and wind, the noble genie Qadir offered his rescuer three wishes in exchange for his freedom from the lamp.
Little did Qadir know, War’Red was a cutthroat and a thief, with no love of his fellow man. First, War’Red wished to become a tyrant, who enslaved his enemies and domineered his allies. Reluctantly, Qadir agreed, and in a flash, War’Red became the brutal despot of his land. Then War’Red wished for an army, a million men strong, to spread bloodshed and conquest wherever he turned his gaze. Again, Qadir acquiesced, and legions of foot soldiers sprang into existence around them. Lastly, War’Red wished for immortality, that his reign might be unending. At this, finally, Qadir could comply no longer: he reversed the wishes, banished War’Red to a forsaken desert, and returned to his lamp.
When K’Sir learned of this, he sought out the lamp and summoned Qadir himself. Again, bound by the magic of the lamp, Qadir offered three wishes to his discoverer, which K’Sir happily accepted: his first wish would be to destroy the genie’s mind, his second to destroy his body, and his final wish to destroy his soul. In a whirlwind of deadly magic, Qadir was obliterated. He lives on only as a vestige, a cautionary tale that you should always honor your promises, no matter the cost.
Flaw. While bound to this vestige, you gain the following “I must honor my promises, no matter what consequences they might bring.”
Fatal Wish
While bound to Qadir, you can cast the spell wish, without expending spell slots or spell components, to duplicate the effects of any other spell of 8th level or lower. Once you cast this spell, Qadir is expelled and is replaced by a 1st-level vestige of your choice. You can’t rebind Qadir until you take a long rest.
Trait: Djinn Aspect
When you bind to Qadir, your skin tints to a blueish hue, and you constantly float a few inches off the ground on a layer of smoke. You ignore the effects of difficult terrain, your speed increases by 10 feet, and you can walk across fluid surfaces, such as water and quicksand.
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Changelog: 3/22/19: Qadir: Trait added
3/24/19: Dopple: Minor Relic: All options replaced with consumables
