Becoming an Aetherian

How exactly Sentients become Aetherians varies from world to world, and at the end of the day, it is up to your GM to decide. In the world of Aethra for example, the primary method of becoming an Aetherian is to ingest or inject Aether, and after suffering through the ensuing Aether Sickness, there is a chance the sufferer will come out of it an Aetherian. Other methods include being born on the appropriate plane, finding a relic that grants you Aetherian powers, being blessed with powers by one of the gods, or simply being born one. No one method of becoming an Aetherian is incorrect, unless it runs directly contradictory to the rules of the world that your GM has established; if your GM says that in their world, Aetherians are born with their powers, then you cannot make an Aetherian that learns their spells through tireless study (unless they allow it).

Control Over the Elements

The Aetherian is a special class: it does not have any class feats, but instead there are 6 different sub-types of the overarching class, referred to here as the Elemental Domains. It is also the only class with access to spells, and because of this has access to some of the most unique, powerful, and useful abilities in the game. An Aetherian can only ever have control over one Elemental Domain, unless they gain access to another through an external source such as an enchant.

The Power of Aether

Like the substance Aetherians' get their abilities from, the term Aether also refers to the spells they cast, the mystical abilities that they wield, the powers at their command, and more. Each Aetherian’s Aether is tied to a specific Elemental Domain, which they gain control over at the time of their transformation into an Aetherian, described in the “Becoming an Aetherian” section above. Each Elemental Domain is mostly restricted to its own abilities and powers due to their inherent differences, however there are some common spells, called such and detailed inside the class description.

The Aetherian

Class Features

As an Aetherian you gain the following class features.

Health

Health at 1st Level: 6 + your CON score

Health Beyond 1st Level: 1d6 (or 3.5) + your CON score per Aetherian level after 1st

Proficiencies

Skills at 0th/1st Level:

• You gain 1 proficiency in Arcana, which can now be increased to 6 even if another feature says otherwise;
• You gain 2 proficiency in an Exotic Weapon called "Aether", which is explained in further detail below.

Skills Beyond 1st Level: You gain 1 SP every time you level up.

Zeroeth Level

When a Sentient becomes an Aetherian, they do not immediately gain the ability to sling spells and hurl their element at-will. Rather, they start with a very basic and unrefined capacity to exert a modicum of control over their powers - like an athlete who has only just started practicing at a sport they want to one day become a world champion in. If a character has started the process of becoming a full-fledged Aetherian but has not yet put in the time and training to become Level 1, they start here. It is important to note that becoming a 0th Level Aetherian can occur at any time and is meant as an in-between while that character progresses toward their next proper level-up, at which point they become a 1st Level Aetherian.

Aether

At 0th level, you have begun to command one of the 6 elements, and will learn to use that power to cast spells and create arcane effects at your will. These abilities are collectively referred to as Aether, named after the mystical substance from which you have gained your powers.

The damage dealt by your spells is determined by your proficiency with Aether, which can be considered an Exotic weapon that you start with 1 proficiency in; you will gain more proficiency in Aether as you gain levels in this class, as shown in the Aetherian class table. Aether's base damage die is a d8, so when a spell or effect says it uses your Aether proficiency for damage, you will roll as many d8s as your Aether proficiency and add either your INT, WIS, or CHA score (e.g. 2d8 + INT/WIS/CHA at levels 1-4).

Lastly, casting spells and using Aether usually requires gesticulations and fine movements, meaning that you cannot cast spells or use class features while wearing Medium or Heavy armor or Medium or Large shields.

Aether Save DR (ASDR)

Several spells and other features cause the target(s) to make a save against them or be effected by one or more conditions, such as getting pushed, keeping their thoughts shielded, retaining control of their body, or something else entirely. The DR for these saves is referred to as your Aether Save DR (ASDR), and is determined as follows:

Aether Save DR: 5 + your INT, WIS, or CHA score + your Aether proficiency + your Aetherian level. The threshold for getting a Partial Success against your ASDR is just it minus your Aether proficiency, so for example if your ASDR at Level 1 is 12, the threshold for getting a Partial Success against it would be 10.

Elemental Domain

Also at 0th level, you have discovered your inherent control over one of the 6 elements: Dark, Light, Magic, Soul, Space, or Time. These Domains have different abilities, spells, and roles both in and out of combat; additionally, each Domain gets additional features at levels 5, 10, and 15. Whichever Domain your character controls is up to you, but you should also consider how this effects their personality, their background, how they came across their powers, their struggle to control the Aether they now command. Perhaps your Luxomancer is hot-headed and quick to anger, or your Magician is coy and mischievous. Whatever the case may be, be sure to put some thought into how discovering, gaining, struggling with, and controlling their Domain has influenced your Aetherian’s life, background, and personality.

Elemancy

A core ability of Aetherians' is their ability to do an incalculable number of simple effects relating to their element without expending any Mana, such as creating puffs of air, minor sensory effects, or dousing Tiny fires. Any elemancy effect can only deal up to 1d6 damage.

Common Spells

Every Domain, for all their differences, has access to a handful of common spells, which you start to gain access to at 1st level. The flavoring of these spells may differ between domains, but mechanically these spells all function the same; they can be found at the bottom of the class description, before the Elemental Domain descriptions.

Mana

Mana is a numeric representation of an Aetherian’s mental fortitude, of their remaining strength and will to wield the Aether at their disposal. It determines how much you can use your Aether before needing to rest and what spells you are able to cast, as you can only cast spells with a Mana Cost < your maximum Mana. If the Mana Cost of a spell that you are normally able to cast is > your remaining Mana, you can still cast it, however your Mana will be reduced to 0 and your current Health will be reduced by 5 times the remaining difference.

Your primary method of regaining Mana is resting: a night's or day's rest will restore your Mana to full, while during a quick rest, you can roll a number of d6s up to half your Aetherian level (rounded up) and have your Mana replenished by the total amount. Alternatively, Mana Potions restore Mana similar to how Health Potions restore Health. You also regain 5 Mana whenever you ingest ½ a pound of Aether of your domain’s type, and can gain up to 10 temporary Mana this way if your Mana was already at full. If eating it, it takes 5 seconds (independent of your DEX) to eat ½ a pound.

Feat and Ability Score Improvement

When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one of your ability scores by 1 or two of them by .5, as well as take a classless feat. You cannot increase an ability score beyond 5 via this feature.

First Pseudo-Element

At 6th level, as your powers and abilities grow ever stronger, you can select one pseudo-element to gain control over. At 12th level, you will gain whichever pseudo-element you didn't choose at this level. The pseudo-elements available to each domain are as follows:

• Dark: Twilight and Decay.
• Light: Lightning and Twilight.
• Magic: Prophecy and Lightning.
• Soul: Decay and Water.
• Space: Water and Memory.
• Time: Memory and Prophecy.

Second Pseudo-Element

When you reach 12th level you gain control over whichever pseudo-element you did not select at 6th level.

Elemental Tongue

At 14th level you learn and are able to speak and write the language of your element: Dark learns Tenebric, Light learns Luxan, Magic learns Faen, Soul learns Animan, and Space learns Spacic. Since Time elementals do not have a language of their own, Tempomancers instead gain the ability to telepathically communicate with any one creature at a time that is within 15 meters of them.

Favored Spell

Upon reaching 18th level, choose a single spell that costs <2 Mana and does not deal damage directly or via its Notable Effects; from this point on, that spell is permanently embedded in your mind and you can cast it (without modifications) without expending Mana. Alternatively, you can permanently make Elemental Strike d8-based instead of d6-based.

One With the Element

When you reach 20th level, you are truly a master of your element, nearly a demigod with nigh-unmatched arcane power. From now on, whenever you are in an area heavily saturated with your element or on your domain’s plane, you regain 1 Health and 1 Mana per minute. An example for a suitable environment for each domain is given here:

• Dark: Being in an area filled with complete natural darkness;
• Light: Being in an area filled with natural bright light;
• Magic: Being within 3m of anything arcane that is not one of your spells or effects;
• Space: Being surrounded entirely by air or earth;
• Soul: Being in an area flush with life, like a thriving forest, or flush with death, like a battlefield or graveyard;
• Time: Being in or within 3m of anything Medium or larger that is ever-changing and dynamic, such as flowing water, an hourglass, or a large mechanism with shifting parts, such as a large clock.

Common Spells

Elemental Domains

Every Aetherian discovers that they have control over a single natural element: Dark, Light, Magic, Soul, Space, or Time. Each element, with a couple of exceptions, has its own powers, abilities, and spells.

Dark

Umbramancers command and bend the element of Dark, the element of silence, secrets, chaos, and freedom. They can block out the light of the sun in the middle of the day or silence the din of battle to a dead quiet, and this has led to many fearing and mistrusting them, and not always without reason, though Dark is no more inherently evil than any other element. More powerful Umbramancers learn to control Twilight and Decay as well.

Umbramancy

Umbramancy refers to the ability to control both the pure darkness of Void and the freezing cold of Frost.

Umbramancy Features

At levels 5, 10, and 15, your powers in Umbramancy have grown to manifest themselves as additional abilities. At each of the given levels, select one of the following features; you gain that feature permanently, and cannot change it later.

Pseudo-Elements

At levels 6 and 12, select a single pseudo-element to gain control over. The spells for these pseudo-elements are given after your Frost and Void spells.

Decay. When you gain control over Decay, in addition to being able to cast Decay spells, you also gain the ability to alter the damage type of your Frost spells to rot.

Twilight. Gaining control over Twilight allows you to alter the damage type of your Void spells to burn, as well as granting you Twilight spells.

Frost Spells

Void Spells

Decay Spells

Twilight Spells

Light

Light is the element of knowledge, security, order, and hope. It guides Sentients in their times of need and gives them the hope to succeed where others may have failed. Many associate Light with goodness and honesty, and for this reason are typically quite trusting of Luxomancers, though Light is no more inherently good than any other element. Since Light is adjacent to Magic and Dark, more powerful Luxomancers are able to control Lightning and Twilight as well.

Luxomancy

Luxomancy pertains to the control over both the pure light of Radiance and the scalding heat of Fire.

Luxomancy Features

At levels 5, 10, and 15, your powers in Luxomancy have grown to manifest themselves as additional abilities. At each of the given levels, select one of the following features; you gain that feature permanently, and cannot change it later.

Pseudo-Elements

At levels 6 and 12, select a single pseudo-element to gain control over. The spells for these pseudo-elements are given after your Fire and Radiance spells.

Lightning. The power of Lightning grants you both new spells and the ability to alter the damage type of your Fire spells to electric.

Twilight. Gaining control over Twilight grants you access to both Twilight spells and the ability to change the damage type of your Radiance spells to freeze.

Fire Spells

Radiance Spells

Lightning Spells

Twilight Spells

Magic

When Sentients think of Magic, they also think of mysticism, Illusion, imagination, and the Fae, with their mysterious tricks and troublesome pranks, as well as the Dynami, with their powerful Force thaumaturgy and electrifying Lightning powers. Because of this mysticism, Magic, more than any other element, is associated with lies and deceit, and Magimancers – also known as Magicians – are no strangers to embracing that reputation. More powerful Magicians learn to bend Lightning and form Prophecy.

Magimancy

Magic is the element of Illusion and Force, and its adjacency to Time and Light allowing for the manipulation of Prophecy and Lightning.

Magimancy Features

At levels 5, 10, and 15, your powers in Magimancy have grown to manifest themselves as additional abilities. At each of the given levels, select one of the following features; you gain that feature permanently, and cannot change it later.

Pseudo-Elements

At levels 6 and 12, select a single pseudo-element to gain control over. The spells for these pseudo-elements are given after your Force and Illusion spells.

Lightning. The power of Lightning grants you both new spells and the ability to alter the damage type of your Force spells to electric.

Prophecy. Prophecy grants you Prophecy spells, makes you unable to be surprised, and grants you advantage on Reflex saves against traps.

Force Spells

Illusion Spells

Lightning Spells

Prophecy Spells

Soul

Animancers are able to tap into the very life force of their targets and use their own energies to hurt or heal them. More powerful Animancers are able to bend the pseudo-elements of Decay and Water to their will as well.

Animancy

The element of Soul is split between the forces of Death, which allows Animancers to harm their foes, and Life, which grants them healing abilities.

Animancy Features

At levels 5, 10, and 15, your powers in Animancy have grown to manifest themselves as additional abilities. At each of the given levels, select one of the following features; you gain that feature permanently, and cannot change it later.

Pseudo-Elements

At levels 6 and 12, select a single pseudo-element to gain control over. The spells for these pseudo-elements are given after your Death and Life spells.

Decay. The power of Decay grants you both new spells and the ability to alter the damage type of your Death spells to freeze.

Water. Water enables you to both cast Water spells and to breathe underwater.

Death Spells

Life Spells

Decay Spells

Water Spells

Space

The element of Space is that of matter and material, of that which physically exists and takes up, well, space. Although its sub-elements are Earth and Air, "Earth" includes all physical material, not just dirt and soil, while "Air" refers to all empty space, not just breathable oxygen. Stronger Mattemancers are also able to control both Memory and Water as well.

Mattemancy

As controllers over all of that which is physical and takes up, well, space, Mattemancers have access to some of the most useful and versatile spells in all of Iron & Aether.

Mattemancy Features

At levels 5, 10, and 15, your powers in Mattemancy have grown to manifest themselves as additional abilities. At each of the given levels, select one of the following features; you gain that feature permanently, and cannot change it later.

Pseudo-Elements

At levels 6 and 12, select a single pseudo-element to gain control over. The spells for these pseudo-elements are given after your Air and Earth spells.

Memory. Gaining control over Memory allows you to both cast Memory spells and recall any of your past experiences with perfect clarity, unless inflicted with arcane-borne amnesia.

Water. Water enables you to both cast Water spells and to breathe underwater.

Air Spells

Earth Spells

Memory Spells

Water Spells