#but still. Like longsword plus 1d6 from hunter's mark plus 1d6 from the swarm is. pretty fucking good

[the--days]

Subclass Concepts: 4/112

Shade, Warforged Ranger [Swarmkeeper]

The nighttime chorus of insects grows louder as the foliage parts. A suit of black plate mail comes into sudden view as a swarm of fireflies flocks around it, lighting the empty visor of its helmet-- and the dangerous edge on its sword.

Shade is a decommissioned weapon. An undying machine, he's dedicated himself to protecting the short, fleeting lives of mortal creatures in an effort to atone for the lives he once ended. [expanded backstory under the cut]

Background: Hermit

Traits:

I'm in no rush. I've seen decades pass by without much thought, and tend to speak slowly, or pause for a long time while considering my actions.

I will often stop to point out plants or animals I find pretty-- though my notion of beauty doesn't always match up with common definitions.

Bonds: I will stop the villains threatening my forest. While I would rather avoid killing, if their lives must to end so the forest can live-- so be it.

Ideals: Life. While death is inevitable, even a mayfly's life is precious in its time. I will protect that light in the world. Flaws: I struggle to differentiate between different types of life. To me, a humanoid's life is equally as worthy as an ant's. Skill Proficiencies: Medicine, Religion, Animal Handling, Nature, Survival, Perception

Stat Spread (Highest to Lowest): STR, WIS, CON, DEX, INT, CHA

Build Notes: I'd lean completely into being a clanky tank for Shade's build-- the idea of a big loud hulking obvious robot being a Wise Nature Lover is thematically pretty fun IMO. Defence as his fighting style, multiclass into fighter* for heavy armour proficiency and the 'Protection' fighting style (suits his 'protect life' shtick). Heavy armour plus the +1 from defence, +1 from warforged and +2 from a shield would make him a complete AC wall guaranteed to make your DM cuss you out (and then hit you with breath weapons which your horrible DEX could not protect you from).

*You could also multiclass into Oath Of Redemption paladin for a bunch of levels. Same heavy armour and fighting style, but with Extra Pacifism Points; really fun for flavour, but the reliance on CHA for spellcasting would be a huge issue.

Expanded Backstory: Shade was created as a weapon of war, and for the first years of his life he did as he was made to do. Part of a small unit of warforged soldiers, Shade would venture deep behind enemy lines; without the need for sleep, food, or water, his team made the perfect strike force.

Shade and his companions would destroy enemy supply lines, would wipe out stragglers or advance scouts. Ruthless and efficient, the warforged team were widely feared; even their own army was wary of them.

Shade didn't mind his negative reputation, nor the bloody work he was doing. He didn't think about much of anything; in those early days of his existence, he hadn't yet woken to thought and feeling.

Without goals or thoughts of his own, when Shade returned to report on a finished mission, and found his commander's tent- and the entire outpost that had surrounded it- destroyed, he had no idea what to do next. So he did nothing; only stood- and eventually sat- motionless, waiting for his next orders.

Decades passed, and then centuries. A forest grew up around Shade. He waited. Slowly, awareness grew in his mind. He began to think, and feel, and the waiting became a conscious choice.

He had no other goals in mind but to watch the seasons change, and came to love the forest; he watched litters of fox kits born, and watched those kits grow up, and have litters of their own, and die of old age. He watched trees sprout and grow and fall and rot, and learned to value life; undying, and already generations old, it all seemed fleeting to him, and the hours-long lifespan of a mayfly seemed not much shorter than the handful of years a stag got. Rather than making their lives seem trivial, it all seemed valuable and beautiful to him, no matter how small.

A dim guilt began to haunt him; though death, he knew, was the inevitable end for every creature, the unnecessary and untimely deaths he had caused started to bother him. When [campaign appropriate villain] came to threaten his forest, Shade- for the first time in decades- rose to fight, and defend the place he loved.

The insects who had begun to nest in his body came with him; together, they made a powerful fighting force, and Shade was able to chase off his enemies for a time. He was outnumbered, though, and the victory was narrow-- he would need allies if he wanted to protect his forest properly.

So he set out into the wider world, bringing a small piece of his forest with him in the form of his Swarm. He hopes to find a more permanent way to stop those threatening his forest and- in the back of his mind- harbours thoughts of doing some greater good, and atoning for the violence of his past.

Progress:

1/7 Ranger Subclasses

4/112 Total Subclasses

4/40 Races

[image from Heroforge]