Exemplar (5A)

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An exemplar displays exceptional abilities in a specific ability score, to the degree they seem fantastic or even supernatural. As adventurers, exemplar leverage their specific abilities to the advantage of their team, each useful in their own peculiar way. As an exemplar your area of ability might be narrow or wide, but you can usually find an angle where your skills shine.

Mundane Heroics

As an exemplar, you can do things others simply cannot without magic. Your abilities are all mundane, and cannot be countered or dispelled. Some exemplars do cast spells, but that is separate from their exemplar abilities.

Creating An Exemplar

The first decision when making an exemplar is deciding your subclass. A Strongman is totally unlike a Daredevil, and though they may have the same class, the way they do things is completely different. Second, why are you adventuring? Most exemplars can have a decent life exploiting their special talents, why seek out even more danger than your job already has? Mesh this with your background, and you are well on your way to an exiting character.

Quick Build

To quickly build an exemplar, choose the scrapper focus and the noble background. Put your highest ability score in Dexterity and then Constitution, Wisdom and Charisma in that order. Choose Insight and Survival as class skills and gain History and Persuasion from the Noble background. Choose proficiency in playing cards and smith's tools. For equipment, choose a rapier, a hand crossbow, and a set of smith's tools.

Class Profile

Hit Points

Hit Dice: 1d8 per exemplar level

Hit Points at 1st Level: 8 + your Constitution modifier

Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 (or 5) + your Constitution modifier per exemplar level after 1st

Proficiencies

Armor: None

Weapons: Simple weapons, martial weapons.

Tools: Any one type of vehicle, musical instrument, gaming set, or set of artisan's tools.

Languages: Any one language.

Saving Throws: None, see Focus Ability below.

Skills: Choose two from History, Nature, Religion, Insight, Survival, Performance.

Equipment

You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background.

• a set of traveler's clothes .
• an entertainer's pack.
• A cane you can use as a mace.
• (a) a melee weapon you are proficient with.
• (a) a ranged weapon you are proficient with.
• (a) one set of tools you are proficient in.

Alternatively you can start with 4d4 x10 gp or 100 gp.

Multi-classing

Prerequisite: 13 in the ability selected for your Ability Focus. Multiclassing into exemplar gives proficiency in all simple weapons.

Exemplar Table

Level	Proficiency Bonus	Exemplar Dice	Features
1st	+2	—	Cane Mastery, Subclass
2nd	+2	d4	Exemplar Dice, Exemplar Tricks
3rd	+2	d4	Subclass Ability
4th	+2	d4	Ability Score Improvement
5th	+3	d6	Extra Attack
6th	+3	d6	Subclass Ability: Subclass Dice
7th	+3	d6	Double Tricks
8th	+3	d6	Ability Score Improvement
9th	+4	d8	Expanded Expertise
10th	+4	d8	Subclass Ability
11th	+4	d8	Twin Exemplar Dice
12th	+4	d8	Ability Score Improvement
13th	+5	d10	Mob Defense
14th	+5	d10	Subclass Ability
15th	+5	d10	Multiple Exemplar Dice
16th	+5	d10	Ability Score Improvement
17th	+6	d12	Ultimate Tricks
18th	+6	d12	Regain Exemplar Dice
19th	+6	d12	Ability Score Improvement
20th	+6	d12	Epic boon

Class features

As an exemplar, you gain the following class features.

1st level: Cane Mastery

In your hands a club and mace gains the finesse property, and you can use various canes and as if they were a mace. Many exemplars sport a handsome cane that functions as a mace while appearing to be nothing but an accessory. Another fancy option is the cane sword, a cane that conceals a short sword. Such a concealed weapon costs an additional 5 gp and the sheath functions as a club.

1st Level: Exemplar Subclass

Exemplar Subclasses

Daredevil (Dexterity) Engineer (Intelligence) Investigator (Intelligence) Ironman (Constitution) Leader (Charisma) Mystic (Wisdom) Occultist (Intelligence) Physic (Wisdom) Pugilist (Strength) Sage (Wisdom) Savant (Intelligence) Scrapper (Dexterity) Spy (Charisma) Strongman (Strength)

You gain an exemplar subclass of your choice. Different paths of expertise pursued by exemplars, each a unique focus with its own range of abilities focused on a Focus Ability. A subclass is a specialization that grants you special abilities at 3rd level and again at 6th, 10th, and 14th level.

Focus Ability
Each subclass is linked to a particular ability score, called your Focus Ability. Your Focus Ability is used for calculations in other abilities.

Focus Ability and Defense You can use your Focus Ability to improve your posture, using confidence and amazing ability to guide attacks away from yourself. While you are wearing no armor and not using a shield, you may use an AC equals 10 + your Proficiency Bonus + your Focus Ability ability bonus.

Saving Throw proficiencies Your subclass also determines which saving throws you are proficient in.

2nd Level: Exemplar Dice

You gain a die pool with a number of dice equal to your Proficiency Bonus. You recover all Exemplar Dice when you finish a long or short rest.

The size of your Exemplar Dice improve as you increase your level as an exemplar, becoming d6 at 6th level, d8 at 11th level, d10 at 14th level, and d12 at 17th level. The Exemplar Die type is also used as a general bonus die in many abilities, without consuming dice from your Exemplar Pool. When an Exemplar Die is added to damage it is rolled twice on a critical hit, like other damage dice are.

After you see the result of an attack roll, saving throw, or ability check, you can spend a die from your exemplar pool and add the result to your roll. If you re-roll a d20 roll for any reason, you also re-roll any Exemplar Dice that affects that roll.

You gain additional uses of your Exemplar Dice as you advance in level and gain a subclass.

2nd Level: Exemplar Tricks

Exemplar tricks are special abilities exemplars use to reflect their skills and abilities. You can chose the tricks listed below, or other tricks available from your subclass. When you finish a long rest, you can replace the tricks you know with the same number of other tricks from this list or from your focus. You can use one trick once each round, regaining the ability to use a trick at the start of each of your turns. Each use can be any one trick you know. Using a trick is not an action unless the description of the trick says it is but you must not be Incapacitated.

Some of your tricks require your target to make a saving throw to resist its effects. The saving throw DC is calculated as follows:

Trick save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Focus Ability bonus.

You know a number of tricks equal to your Focus Ability Bonus (minimum one trick). When you finish a long rest, you can replace the tricks you know with the same number of other tricks from this list or from your focus.

• Diversion. You distract a creature who is attacking you or a creature within within 30 feet of you just as it is about to attack, giving it disadvantage on that attack roll.

• Marvelous Escape. You can to re-roll a saving throw that you have just failed. If you do so, you must use the new roll.

• Off-Balance. When you damage a creature with a weapon attack, you can force the target to make a Dexterity saving throw. On a failure, it is either knocked prone or moved up to 10 feet, your choice of which and how. This movement can trigger attacks of opportunity.

• Sidestep. When you are hit or missed by an attack and there is another creature (not the attacker) within 5 feet of you, you can force the attacker to make an Intelligence saving throw. On a failure, the attack is redirected to strike a creature of your choice within 5 feet of you but not back at the original attacker. You are not hit. The attacker makes a new attack roll and applies it against the new target.

Tricks and the Action Economy A trick requires no action to use unless the description specifically says so, but you are limited to one trick per round. This effectively a fourth kind of action available only to exemplars, who can now use actions, bonus actions, reactions, and tricks, each once per round. All recharge at the start of your turn. At level 7, tricks also recharge at the end of your turn, meaning you can use one trick on your turn and one trick when it is not your turn each round. This is useful for reactive tricks like Diversion, Marvelous Escape, and Sidestep. At level 17, you can use two tricks on your turn and two outside of your turn each round. Most tricks can only be used in certain circumstances, often at a particular time during your turn, in response to someone else's action, or along with some other action such as an Attack. Other tricks enable you to take an action and get more than the usual effect, such as using a trick and a bonus action to get the effect of what is normally an action. If no action is mentioned in a trick, it does not require any action to use, but still does use up your trick for the round.

3rd level: Subclass Ability

You gain a feature from your exemplar subclass.

4th Level: Ability Score Improvement

You gain the Ability Score Improvement feat or another feat of your choice for which you qualify.

5th Level: Extra Attack

You can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.

6th Level: Subclass Ability

You gain a feature from your exemplar subclass, generally new ways to use Exemplar Dice.

7th Level: Reactive Tricks

Your Exemplar Tricks ability recharges both at the start and end of your turn. You also learn two additional tricks.

8th: Level: Ability Score Improvement

You gain the Ability Score Improvement feat or another feat of your choice for which you qualify.

9th Level: Expanded Expertise

Pick two skills or tools you know. You gain expertise (double proficiency bonus) in the chosen skills or tools.

10th Level: Subclass Ability

You gain a feature from your exemplar subclass.

11th Level: Twin Exemplar Dice

When you spend Exemplar Dice but are not satisfied with the result, you can spend another Exemplar Die and add to the result.

12th: Level: Ability Score Improvement

You gain the Ability Score Improvement feat or another feat of your choice for which you qualify.

13th Level: Regain Exemplar Dice

You regain two Exemplar Dice when you roll initiative, not to exceed your maximum.

14th Level: Subclass Ability

You gain a feature from your exemplar subclass.

15th Level: Multiple Exemplar Dice

When you spend Exemplar Dice but are not satisfied with the result, you can continue to roll Exemplar Dice and add the result of these later dice one by one.

16th: Level: Ability Score Improvement

You gain the Ability Score Improvement feat or another feat of your choice for which you qualify.

17th Level: Ultimate Tricks

You can use two tricks, and both recharge at the start and end of your turn. You now know all tricks available from the exemplar class and your exemplar subclass.

18th Level: Regain Exemplar Dice

You regain all Exemplar Dice when you roll initiative.

19th Level: Ability Score Improvement

You gain the Ability Score Improvement feat or another feat of your choice for which you qualify.

20th Level: Epic boon

Your Focus Ability score increases by 4, and its maximum is now 30.

Designer's Notes

This began as the Intelligence-based class Savant from En5ider #246, #250. Original writing Jeremiah McCoy. It underwent several evolutions, moved on to cover all ability scores, and changed name several times.

Exemplars get their subclass at level 1, which makes the class work much better but breaks a design rule.

Previous Versions

Savant—Adept—Adept 2