An Uncanny Trio: Three Character Classes for World of Dungeons

by Kyle Thompson, Keeper of the Light of the Peerless Star (@wiegraf_) with contributions by Lauren McManamon, Keeper of the Secrets of Quachil Uttaus (@thestraykiwi) 

The default classes in World of Dungeons hew closely to original classes in B/X D&D, but the custom class rule allows players to enjoy much more creative fare. I was raised on the video games of the Japanese developer Quest, and the plethora of class types in those games always used to fascinate me as a child. World of Dungeons has let me express that fascination with its simple and fun class system, and I sometimes spend my free time hacking away at new classes to play with. In this series of articles I will be sharing some of the classes I’ve made.

These three classes are ones I have thought of pairing with the dark Celtic fantasy of the OSRIC adventure The Barrow Mound of Gravemoor. Such strange adventurers as these might be found stalking the bleak swamps and barrows of that land.
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Changeling

Because of its lack of emphasis on combat, World of Dungeons is a game that can reward characters that focus on trickery, and there are few better tricky archetypes than the fae changeling. Use this class to bend words and the world around you to your character’s will, but remember that tricks sometimes get the better of the trickster!

Changelings get Decipher. Choose two special abilities: Pact Sense (You can attempt to recall an ancient faerie pact a creature is bound to), Wild (You can converse with and attempt to command animals), Shapechange (You can attempt to assume the shape of a similarly sized creature), Riddlespeak (When you attempt to confuse someone by speaking in riddles, roll with advantage).
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Death Knight

This design was largely inspired by the Terror Knight class in Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together, and unlike the Changeling is very much focused on combat. However each of the Death Knight’s abilities tell us something about their frightening character. This is the sort of person whose use of violence comes at their own expense - and is all the more terrifying for it.

Death Knights get Leadership. Choose two special abilities: Necrotic Strike (You can choose to spend resting hit dice one for one to deal a commensurate amount of bonus damage vs. the living—until your next rest), Duel (You understand the rituals of dueling and can compel any opponent of equal or greater HD to duel you in single combat), Terrifying Presence (You may use your charisma to attempt to transfix any living creature with fear), Unnatural Corpus (You do not require drink or rations to rest).
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Herald of the White

One of the most memorable Celtic goddesses is Morrigan, and this character is meant to be her herald. As a goddess of war and death, Morrigan grants her closest followers the power to thrive off of her domain, and so the Herald is able to draw souls from the war dead or command the carrion beasts who are drawn to any site of battle. The Herald of the White might not be the best dungeon crawler, but they are very effective in overland travel, and can always frighten off enemies with a banshee’s scream.

Heralds get Lore. Choose two special abilities: Soul Harvest (You can attempt to harvest the soul of a creature recently deceased. It provides you with rest and nourishment for the day and tells you one of its secrets), Cry of Doom (You can attempt to use your horrific cry to convince a creature of their impending death), Uncanny Manifestation (When you scout ahead you manifest eerily at the edge of a creature you encounter’s vision), Carrion Queen (You have the respect and veneration of all carrion beasts).

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