Iron Fated - A Martial Archetype for Fighters who intertwine their fate with a weapon of destiny

Iron Fated covers the archetype of the hero who has their fate forever intertwined with a great weapon. King Arthur and Excalibur or Aragorn and Andúril are both examples of such heroes.

The guide includes:

• Fighter Martial Archetype: The Iron Fated. Features:
  • Iron Heart Weapon
  • Harmonious Bond
  • Steel Songs and Ballads (Communicative links with an Iron Heart weapon to gain knowledge or advantage in combat).
  • Keen Strikes
  • Shared Keenness
  • Forged Fate
• Rules for weapons that scale as a character levels or progresses through the story.
  • Weapon Swap Method – A rules method for using prebuilt weapons from the Dungeon Master’s Guide.
  • Signature Weapon Method - A rules method for creating your own scaling weapons.
• Two signature weapons examples that scale from uncommon, to rare, to very rare, and finally, to legendary.
  • Law Bringer – A weapon for a lawfully aligned character that it chooses as a worthy leader, or a hero meant to restore order, protect a bastion of civilization, or carry justice to the far ends of the planarverse. Or, on the darker side of the law, Law Bringer may just as easily intertwine its fate with a character destined to rule with an iron fist, subjugating enemies into lifelong bondage.
  • Bond Breaker - Law Bringer’s counterpart, it is a weapon that represents the chaotic path. But while the breaking of a bond can mean turning away from a promise, it can just as easily mean shattering a chain. Bond Breaker is a weapon for a character fated to usurp a king, lead a revolution of slaves, or tear down systems of law. Whether the laws it helps destroy or the kings it unseats are good or evil, Bond Breaker fits either end.

This is version 2 of the class archetype, the rules for scaling weapons, and the two sample weapons. I have done my best to follow wording conventions of the canon texts and balance the options available, but this was a project I worked on by myself and we are just beginning playtesting in my home campaign. I welcome your feedback and questions so that I can revise based on wording and balance. I have left version 1 available for comparison. Version 2 is more powerful than the original due to feedback I received about the first version. Feel free to use either and let me know which you think is more balanced.

And, if you like this title, check out my other DM's Guild work: https://www.dmsguild.com/browse.php?author=Will%20Mayer&test_epoch=0&affiliate_rem=1639543