PARAGON RACES
5th Edition Supplement
DESIGN
Joshua Raynack
ART
Claire Jones
Marty Kulma
Leysan
Joshua Raynack
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BEHIND THE DESIGN OF PARAGONS
When deciding to allow the option of paragon
classes into your campaign, consider the following:
Foregoing an ability score improvement is tremen-
dous and therefore, the paragon features are more
akin to feats then normal class or subclass benefits.
Second, unlike feats, characters gain paragon fea-
tures in a particular order and thus, allow them to
build upon one another or offer more powerful
abilities than feats.
WHY TIERS INSTEAD OF LEVELS
The initial design had the traditional concept of lev-
els. However, when creating paragon features, I felt
it might cause confusion between character levels
and paragon levels. Therefore, I selected the term
tier for clarity.
Furthermore, aside from its connection to the
4th edition set of rules, the word tier also appears in
the Tiers of Play section of the Player's Handbook.
This section served as inspiration for designing the
power level of the paragon features.
P aragonS
Racial paragons represent the epitome of
excellence, in both the natural strength and
talent, in a particular race.
GAINING A PARAGON TIER When you
Artwork: Joshua Raynack and Claire Jones
reach certain levels, your class grants you the
Ability Score Improvement feature. You can
forego taking that feature to advance a paragon tier, begin-
ning with the first tier.
You must meet any of the prerequisites specified in the
paragon description to gain a tier in that paragon. If you no
longer meet the prerequisites, you cannot benefit from the
paragon features until you regain the prerequisite.
Paragons are optional and always at the discretion of the
Game Master.
ELF PARAGON
Tier Rank Features Min. Level
1st Veteran Elven Magic, Superior 4th
Weapon Training
2nd Myrmidon Martial Adept 8th
3rd Myrmidon Premonition, Superior 12th
Seer Vision
4th Maga Fey Spirit, One with 16th
Nature, Portentous
5th Eldar Elf Sight, Infuse Magic 19th
elven subrace. You cast each spell at its lowest level
and must still expend material components.
High Elf Magic. You know the message cantrip and
illusory script spell. You can cast the illusory script spell
once per day. At 5th level or higher, you can also cast
the magic weapon spell once per day. At 9th level or
higher, you can cast the sending spell once per day.
Intelligence is your spell casting ability for these spells.
Superior Drow Magic. You know the detect magic
spell, and can cast it once per day. At 5th level or
higher, you can also cast the levitate spell (self only)
once per day. At 9th level or higher, you can cast the
clairvoyance spell once per day. Charisma is your spell-
casting ability for these spells.
Wood Elf Magic. You know the resistance cantrip and
animal friendship spell. You can cast the animal friend-
ship spell once per day. At 5th level or higher, you can
also cast the pass without trace spell once per day. At
ELF PARAGON
9th level or higher, you can cast the plant growth spell once
per day. Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for these
spells.
Paragon elves are supernatural beings with a mystical bond
with the mysterious Feywilds. These otherworldly crea- SUPERIOR WEAPON TRAINING Beginning with the
tures that exist between two worlds and known as one of 1st tier, your extensive training grants you the mastery of
the hidden folk, maintain the rigorous traditions of their combat techniques that use elf weapons, which are weap-
ancestors in both spell and blade. ons listed under either your elf weapon training or drow
While other, more adventurous of their kin, move be- weapon training racial feature.
yond the boundaries of their homeland, paragon elves re- When you use the Attack action with an elf weapon on
main attuned to their fey ancestry and explore their link to your turn, you can roll a 1d8 or 1d10 in place of the normal
the Plane of Faerie. damage. The weapon determines which die you roll ac-
cording to the following table.
Prerequisite. Elf
SUPERIOR WEAPON TRAINING
FIRST TIER
Artwork: Marty Kulma
Weapons Damage Die Roll
When you achieve the rank of veteran as an elf paragon, Shortsword, shortbow, and hand d8
you gain the following features: crossbow
Longsword, longbow, and rapier d10
ELVEN MAGIC You gain the ability to cast
innate spells and cantrips, dependent on your
The damage value in parentheses of elf weapons with the
versatile property remains unchanged.
SUPERIOR VISION With age, elvish eyes be-
SECOND TIER come more acute than other humanoid races and
When you achieve the rank of myrmidon as an can pierce great distances.
elf paragon, you gain the following features: You gain the following benefits.
Attacking at long range does not impose dis-
Martial Adept, MARTIAL ADEPT You gain the martial
adept as describe in the Player's Handbook, advantage on your ranged weapon attack
PHB pg. 168 with the following exceptions:
rolls.
At least one of the two maneuvers you learn You have advantage on Wisdom (Perception)
must be from the listed maneuvers below. checks that rely on sight when whatever you
are trying to perceive is in dim or bright
light.
You learn one additional maneuver of your
choice from the list below when you gain a
new tier in this paragon.
FOURTH TIER
The maneuvers are in alphabetical order. When you achieve the rank of maga as an elf
Broken Charge. When a creature moves paragon, you gain the following features:
more than 20 feet, you can expend one superior-
ity die and use a reaction to make a ranged FEY SPIRIT You possess an indomitable sense
weapon attack against the creature. If the attack of freedom from your fey ancestors. You have
hits, add the superiority die to the damage roll of advantage on saving throws against being para-
the attack and the target must make a Strength lyzed.
saving throw. If it fails, the creature cannot end
its movement within 5 feet of you this turn. ONE WITH NATURE You can cast the com-
Prone Shot. When you use the Attack ac- mune with nature spell once per day as a ritual.
tion with a ranged weapon while prone, you can
expend one superiority die to gain advantage on PORTENTOUS Gifted in divination, older
the attack roll. If the attack hits, add the superi- elves learn to foretell the future by reading tea
ority die to the damage roll of the attack. leaves, runes, and natural omens. You can cast
Quick Shot. When a creature acts for the augury at will as a ritual. Furthermore, when
first time in the combat, you can expend one you cast a divination spell and as long as you
superiority die and use a reaction to make a remain conscious, you cannot be surprised until
ranged weapon attack against the creature. If you finish a rest.
Elves often the attack hits, it deals damage equal to your
FIFTH TIER
superiority die.
employ trick Trick Shot. When you make a Charisma
shots to impress (Persuasion or Intimidate) check, you can ex- When you achieve the last rank of eldar as an elf
pend one superiority die to make an attack paragon, you gain the following features:
or show disdain. against the target with a ranged weapon. If the
attack hits, it deals no damage, instead add the ELFSIGHT You automatically detect illusions
A few examples superiority die to the Charisma (Persuasion or and succeed on saving throws against them, and
of a trick shot Intimidate) check. perceive the original form of a shapechanger or a
Twin Arrow Strike. When you use the creature transformed by magic out to a range of
include knocking Attack action with a ranged weapon on your 60 feet.
turn, you can expend one superiority die to
a hat or helmet make one ranged weapon attack as a bonus ac- INFUSE MAGIC Your spirit is a conduit to the
from the head, tion. If the attack hits, it deals damage equal to arcane energy of the Feywild, and thus you can
your superiority die. infuse magic into common weapons and armor.
sending a dagger You spend 10 minutes concentrating the magic
an inch away THIRD TIER of the Feywild upon a mundane weapon, suit of
armor, shield, or bundle of twenty pieces of am-
from an ear, or When you achieve the rank of myrmidon seer as munition, and suffer 1 level of exhaustion to
an elf paragon, you gain the following features: infuse it with magical energy. The type of
splitting the weapon, armor, or shield you can create is as
PREMONITION When you are not surprised, follows:
arrow from a
you can take the Dash action on initiative count
previous shot. 20.
+1 armor
+2 weapon or +2 ammunition (20 pieces)
The magic item retains its enhancement for 8 hours or un-
til used (in the case of magic ammunition). You can infuse
one item at a time; if you infuse a second one, the first im-
mediately loses its potency.
ELVES AND INSPIRATION
When you spend inspiration, it grants you an advantage to an
attack roll, saving throw, or ability check. However, here are
a few other alternatives to the normal advantage when you
spend inspiration as an elf.
Descry Magic. Magic is the lifeblood that runs through
your veins. You can spend an inspiration to cast the detect
magic spell as a ritual.
Longeval Lore. When you first enter a location steeped in
history, you can expend an inspiration to ask the Game Mas-
ter for one important or obscure fact about the history of
that location.
Living Key. Your fey ancestry links you to the Feywild with
a tangible, supernatural bond. When you spend an inspira-
tion, your presence serves as the key to a portal leading to
the Feywild or the forked, metal rod attuned to the Feywild
required for the plane shift spell.
Master of Finesse. When you wield a melee weapon with
two hands and it has the versatile property, you can spend
an inspiration point to have the weapon gain the finesse
property for 1 minute.
Natural Rejuvenation. You share a mystical connection
with the land of you birth. Choose that land - arctic, coast,
desert, forest, grassland, mountain, swamp, or Underdark.
When in the chosen natural environment, you can expend an
inspiration to regain 1d6 + 4 hit points.
These variant uses for inspiration are at the discretion of
your Game Master. Furthermore, as a Game Master, feel
free to limit access to the number of variants that a character
can employ.
For example, you may decide that a 1st-level elf character
can select and use only one of these variants. You can also
allow characters to exchange one variant for another when
he or she gains a new level. Lastly, you may determine that
to gain access to one or more of these variants, the charac-
ter must first seek training from an elven mentor during
downtime.
RESTRICTION: ELVES ONLY
Only elves and half-elves can select the college of
spellsong. While the tradition of spellsong is not a
coveted secret by the elves, scholars claim that
others who learn to harmonize the ancient songs
of the fey with magic eventually become mad.
Furthermore, in the world of Faerûn, spellsingers
spend most of their time in the elven homelands.
However, tales tell of one human known to
learn its secrets. Danilo Thann, a Tethyrian hu-
man from Waterdeep, possessed the slightest
elven lineage and thus, learned to master the art
of spellsong.
Therefore, at the discretion of the Game Mas-
ter, if your character has a trace of elven heritage
and good rapport amongst the elven folk, he or
she can choose to learn the advanced techniques
of spellsong.
RESOUNDING INSPIRATION Beginning at
6th level, when you grant a Bardic Inspiration die
to another creature, you can decrease the inspira-
tion die by one step. If you do, the creature gains
one of following benefits of your choice as long as
the Bardic Inspiration die is in the creature's pos-
session:
Add your proficiency modifier to the Bardic
Inspiration die roll.
Resistance to psychic or thunder damage
(your choice whenever you select this bene-
fit).
AMPLIFIED MUSIC Starting at 14th level, increase the
range of your countercharm class feature to 60 feet.
Furthermore, when you use a musical instrument as
College of Spellsong
your spellcasting focus and cast an enchantment spell, you
can expend one use of Bardic Inspiration to extend the
range of the spell as follows:
Known as spellsingers, the bards from the College of Spell-
song uphold elven bardic traditions and immerse them- If the enchantment spell has a range of 5 feet or greater,
selves into the Weave with their music. Spellsingers learn double the range of the spell.
the ancient and enchanting melodies of the Feywild; those
often heard when curious travelers venture too close to a If the enchantment spell has a range of touch, extend the
bathing nymph or prancing satyr. range of the spell 30 feet.
BONUS PROFICIENCIES When you join the College of HARMONIZED CANTRIP Also at 14th level, when you
Spellsong at 3rd level, you gain proficiency in Performance, use an action to perform the countercharm class feature,
Persuasion, and one other skill of your choice. you can cast a cantrip as a bonus action.
SPELLSONG At 3rd level, you also learn to weave magic
Artwork: Leysan
with enchanting music. When you use a musical instru-
ment as a spellcasting focus, you can expend a spell slot to
cast an enchantment spell from the bard spell list. The
spell must be at least one level lower than the expended
spell slot.
MAGIC ITEMS
Adventurers discover strange and interesting relics over the
course of their journeys within the lands of other races.
ELVEN ARMOR
Armor (medium, but not chain shirt), uncommon
Elves forge this suit of armor with diligent care over several
human generations under the guiding hand of an elven
master armorer. While wearing it, increase the Dexterity
modifier to a maximum of +3.
ELVEN LONGSWORD
Weapon (longsword), uncommon
Elven weaponsmiths forge this blade in the enchanted
heartwood coals of an ancient treant that died of natural
causes. An elven longsword counts as a magic weapon for
the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to
nonmagical attacks and damage. The blade also has the
finesse and light weapon properties.
