Alexandria Playtest Options
This page collects the proposed replacement options for Alexandria's remaster playtest. It only includes new or revised options from the draft.
GM notes from the draft are included under each option so the player can see both the table-facing mechanic and the reasoning behind it.
Dominion Bond Options
Dominion Power
Cold
Hoarfrost Replacement Options
Your bond with the Dominion of Cold can be reshaped into protection, retaliation, stored magic, or allied weapon support.
Choose one Cold option. If a Cold option deals cold damage, you can choose for it to deal spirit damage instead when you want the benefit of Holy damage.
GM Notes
The goal is to replace Hoarfrost with something more in line with Alexandria's role, giving her either a better proactive option or a better off-turn option. This is the area with the most draft ideas; any one of these could be fun, and variations are welcome before the final balance pass.
In all cases, the base spell deals cold damage if it deals damage at all. The Dominion benefit also lets you choose spirit damage instead when the Holy interaction matters.
Focus Spell Options
Focus spell options are intentionally stronger and automatically heighten to 8th rank, but are limited by focus points and therefore can only be used up to 3 times per encounter.
Hoarfrost Concept 1
Description
You conjure a thick shield of frost to protect your ally in a flash. The targeted ally gains 10 temporary Hit Points, applied before the triggering attack deals damage.
While your ally still has these temporary Hit Points, they gain 5 cold resistance, and anyone attacking them with a melee attack takes 5 persistent cold damage.
GM Notes
At 8th rank, the ally gains 38 temporary Hit Points, 12 cold resistance, and attackers take 12 persistent cold damage. This is meant to be a strong reaction that stops a real chunk of damage. The cold resistance is mostly flavor but occasionally excellent, and the persistent cold damage is a strong punishment for the original attacker.
If the attack does not break the temporary Hit Points, other creatures have a reason not to attack that ally until the shield wears off or breaks.
Heightened (+1)
Increase the temporary Hit Points granted by 4, the cold resistance by 1, and the persistent damage by 1.
Hoarfrost Concept 2
Description
You conjure a thick shield of frost to protect yourself or your ally. The target gains 10 temporary Hit Points.
If these temporary Hit Points are removed by taking damage, the shield explodes. Each creature within 10 feet of the target when the shield explodes takes 1d8 cold damage with a basic Reflex save.
GM Notes
This grants similar temporary Hit Points at rank 8, reaching 38, but costs an action instead of a reaction so the temporary Hit Points can last longer. The punishment becomes a 10-foot burst that deals 8d8 cold damage. The idea is still defensive and proactive, but more "boom is going to happen" than "do not attack this ally."
Heightened (+1)
Increase the temporary Hit Points granted by 4, and the cold damage dealt by 1d8.
Hoarfrost Concept 3
Description
You imbue the targeted ally with a frozen glyph of divine power. As part of casting this spell, you also Cast a Spell from your spell slots to store in the glyph, expending that spell in addition to the focus point cost of this spell.
The stored spell must take 2 actions or fewer to cast, must not be hostile, and must not deal damage. The maximum rank of the stored spell is equal to half the rank of this spell, rounded down, plus 1.
The targeted ally gains 3 resistance to cold and fire damage for the duration. In addition, once during the duration, the target can use 1 action to expend the spell stored in the glyph.
If the stored spell has an area, it must be centered on the ally or emanate from them. If the stored spell has a target or targets, it only targets the ally with the glyph. All other effects of the spell are as though you cast the spell. If the spell needs to be sustained, you must sustain it.
Alternatively, if the ally is critically hit or critically fails a saving throw, they can expend the spell stored in the glyph as a reaction.
GM Notes
This is the weirdest Cold option and intentionally leaves room for spell-slot shenanigans. At 8th rank, it grants 10 fire resistance and 10 cold resistance, with fire being much more commonly useful. The maximum stored spell rank becomes 5th.
Because the stored spell must come from your spell slots, it cannot use divine font or staff spells. The obvious reliable use is preparing 4th- or 5th-rank heal spells and letting an ally spend one action or a reaction to heal themselves without Alexandria spending the action in the moment.
There are likely interesting 1st- through 5th-rank spells beyond heal. For example, a spell like bless could be placed in the glyph and cast by the ally instead of centered on Alexandria. Self-only buffs and emanations can originate from the ally with this option, so it opens up some unusual possibilities. This concept is different enough that it probably needs a new final name.
Heightened (+1)
Increase both resistances granted by the spell by 1.
Cantrip Options
Cantrips automatically heighten to rank 8 and are available at will, so they have less power budget than the focus spell options. They can still be strong because at-will support or at-will support with cooldowns can matter a lot.
Hoarfrost Concept 4
Description
You conjure a thick shield of frost to protect your ally in a flash. Reduce the damage the target takes from the triggering attack by 3, and the attacker takes 3 cold damage and has their speed reduced by 10 feet for 1 round.
The targeted ally cannot be targeted by this spell for 1 minute.
GM Notes
This is meant to be quick and easy to adjudicate: prevent damage, splash a little damage back, and apply a consistent speed reduction. Since the spell does not allow a saving throw, the target immunity clause keeps it to roughly once per ally per combat.
At 8th rank, this prevents 17 damage and deals 17 damage, plus the speed reduction unless something like freedom of movement blocks it.
Heightened (+1)
Increase the damage reduced by the spell by 2, and the damage dealt by the spell by 2.
Hoarfrost Concept 5 (One Action)
Description
You conjure a thick shield of frost to protect a creature. The target gains 2 temporary Hit Points that last until the start of your next turn.
Creatures that hit the target with a melee attack while the temporary Hit Points remain have their speed reduced by 10 feet until the end of their next turn.
GM Notes
At 8th rank, this only grants 10 temporary Hit Points, but unlike the reaction cantrip it has no temporary immunity clause. You can use it as often as you want. Temporary Hit Points do not stack, but Alexandria could spend multiple actions in a round keeping several allies covered.
Heightened (+1)
Increase the temporary Hit Points granted by the spell by 1.
Hoarfrost Concept 5 (Two Actions)
Description
You imbue the target's weapon or unarmed strike with a shimmering rune of hoarfrost. The next Strike the target makes before the start of your next turn deals 1d4 additional cold damage on a hit, or double that amount on a critical hit.
If the Strike is a critical hit, the target of the Strike has its speed reduced by 5 feet until the end of its next turn.
GM Notes
This is a more direct support option, like a narrower version of the glyph focus spell. It is less about protection and more about boosting allies in a way that does not overlap with bless or benediction.
At 8th rank, this grants 8d4 bonus cold damage, which is 1d4 less than the current 2-action Hoarfrost deals. However, the ally's Strike determines the result of the spell, which means the party can benefit from flat-footed, high attack bonuses, and critical hits. It also lets Rak and Zakm have the fun of absolutely obliterating someone if they crit with the buff active.
Unlike the other Cold spells here, this option does not have the manipulate trait, so it does not provoke. In a pinch, Alexandria could use it on herself and use her third action to bonk someone. At 8th rank, the speed reduction on a critical hit reaches 40 feet, which is the largest movement penalty in these options.
Heightened (+1)
Increase the damage dealt by 1d4, and the speed reduction by 5 feet.
Dominion Power
Blood
Hostile Transfusion
Your blood magic becomes a violent exchange, pulling vitality from an enemy and pouring it into an ally.
When you target an undead creature, fiend, unholy creature, or creature with void healing with Hostile Transfusion, remove the requirement that the target can bleed and change the damage to spirit damage.
GM Notes
There is only one Blood version because the draft idea really wants to be a focus spell. It is essentially the player's vampiric touch idea, except the benefit goes to a nearby ally. The special rider for undead, fiends, unholy creatures, and creatures with void healing removes the "can bleed" requirement and changes the damage to spirit damage.
Hostile Transfusion
Description
You forcefully draw the blood from your target and channel it into healing for a nearby ally. You deal 2d6 void damage to the target, and one ally within 30 feet of the target regains Hit Points based on the target's save result.
GM Notes
This uses almost the same damage scaling as vampiric feast or vampiric touch, but with a 30-foot range and healing an ally instead of Alexandria. Instead of always granting temporary Hit Points, it heals for the amount vampiric feast would grant, and only allows overflow temporary Hit Points if the target fails or critically fails.
The rider against creatures that would usually be immune to bleed or void makes this one of Alexandria's strongest options against unholy creatures, because weakness can increase both the damage and the resulting healing.
Critical Success The target takes no damage.
Success The target takes half damage, and your ally regains Hit Points equal to half the damage the target takes after applying resistances and the like.
Failure As success, except the target takes full damage, and any healing done over your ally's maximum Hit Points is gained as temporary Hit Points instead. These temporary Hit Points fade after 1 minute.
Critical Failure As failure, except the target takes double damage.
Heightened (+1)
The void damage increases by 2d6.
Dominion Power
Bone
Lively Bones Revision
Your understanding of the body lets you move your allies like familiar anatomy, tugging them clear of danger without asking their reflexes to keep up.
Your connection to the Dominion of Bone grants you a deep grasp of the inner workings of those you regularly heal. The range of your heal spell increases by 30 feet when you cast it using 2 actions. In addition, you gain the Lively Bones feature below.
GM Notes
This is mostly a quality-of-life change, while keeping the core fun of Lively Bones intact. The goal is to remove the question of whether the ally uses their reaction to move or simply lets Alexandria move them, because the forced movement is both simpler and more fun. The other quality-of-life buff is allowing the movement even when healing is not needed.
Lively Bones
Description
You can use this ability with 1 action, 2 actions, or as a free action when you cast the heal spell using 2 actions.
1 Action. You move one willing ally within 30 feet of you up to 20 feet. This movement does not provoke reactions as the target is obviously moving outside its own control, like a puppet controlled by an amateur puppeteer.
2 Actions. As the 1-action version of this ability, except the distance moved is 40 feet, and you can choose to target yourself with this version of the ability.
Free Action. When you cast the heal spell using 2 actions, you can use this ability as a free action targeting the creature you healed with the spell. If you do, the target is moved as the 1-action version of this ability, except the distance moved is 30 feet.
GM Notes
The free-action 30-foot movement attached to heal is the same as the prior version, just without requiring the ally's reaction. In practice, the reaction version was not getting used because allies value their reactions and 30 feet is plenty of distance for an off-turn move.
For the 1- and 2-action versions, the distances are tuned differently. A single at-will action moving someone farther than a normal Stride felt too strong, so it is trimmed to 20 feet. The 2-action version moves 40 feet and can target Alexandria herself, giving her a way to move out of melee without provoking reactions when getting punished by reactions is a major risk.
Dominion Power
Storm
Flashstep Revision
Your storm bond still binds your initiative to an ally, but now it stores a burst of emergency movement for the moment they are truly struck.
Your body is filled with the energy of a building storm, full of potential. Any time you would roll Perception for initiative, choose one ally within 60 feet of you. Each of you rolls initiative as normal, but you both take the higher result and choose which of you acts first.
In addition, you can use the Flashstep free action once. You regain the ability to use Flashstep when you refocus.
GM Notes
The shared initiative feature is cool, but this revision adds more incentive to choose different allies depending on the situation, provides off-turn emergency coverage, and removes the opening free Stride that often added little value or spread the party too far out in round one.
Flashstep
Description
Trigger. The ally chosen when you rolled initiative suffers damage from a critical hit or critically failing a saving throw.
You teleport up to 60 feet to an empty space you can see.
If you are adjacent to the triggering ally, you can also use Battle Medicine, lay on hands, or cast the 1-action version of the heal spell targeting that ally. You must expend the focus point, spell slot, or other resource required for the chosen ability or spell as normal.
GM Notes
The lay on hands or 1-action heal is not free through this ability. Battle Medicine still only works if that ally is eligible for it. Alexandria can use staff-based healing through Flashstep by spending the required staff charges.
Dominion Power
Life
Avatar Options
Your strongest bond can either let Alexandria act across two initiative counts or call forth one of Aurelia's Chosen to carry part of her work.
Choose one Avatar of Life option.
GM Notes
These are the major Life options, and both are intentionally exciting and complex. The staff revisions below help make power budget for this buff, and the existing Avatar of Mercy ability is cut entirely. Each option is an attempt to give Alexandria a "act twice per round" feature worthy of Life being her biggest dominion.
Avatar of Life (Concept 1)
Description
As a 2-action activity, you call upon your connection to the Dominion of Life, empowering yourself into an embodiment of living vitality and Aurelia's grace. This avatar state lasts for 1 minute, after which you cannot re-enter it for 1 hour.
When you activate this ability, you gain the following benefits:
- You glow, shedding bright light in a 60-foot emanation. You can suppress or activate this glow as a free action.
- Spells and feats you use with the healing trait no longer have the concentrate or manipulate traits, and do not provoke reactions.
- You gain an additional action this turn, and at the start of each turn while in this avatar state. This action is not the quickened condition.
- Choose an initiative value at least 10 points below your current initiative. Each turn, including this one, you must assign one to three actions, up to the number of actions remaining in your turn, to this second initiative value.
- You act both on your normal initiative count and on this second lower initiative count. You cannot assign more than three actions to either of your initiatives.
- You still only have one reaction per round and regain the use of your reaction at the start of your normal initiative count.
- While this ability is active, you cannot delay or ready actions.
- If you would become quickened, the additional action must be taken on your normal initiative count, but does not count toward the limit of three actions per initiative count.
- If you would become slowed, stunned, or otherwise lose a number of actions, the lost actions apply to your normal initiative count before you assign actions.
- Each initiative count must be assigned at least one action unless you have fewer than two actions total for the round. If you have fewer than two actions total for the round, you cannot act on your second initiative.
GM Notes
This one is complex, but the short version is that Alexandria activates it, spends 2 actions, immediately gains the extra action, and then has 2 actions left. She chooses a second initiative value at least 10 lower, similar to delaying but with that restriction.
On the activation turn, she can use one of the two remaining actions and send one to the second initiative, or use none and send two. She cannot use both and send zero.
On later turns, she starts her main initiative with 4 actions before quickened or slowed effects. She can act, see results, and then decide how many remaining actions to send to the second initiative. In practice, she can split actions 3/1, 2/2, or 1/3, but never 0/4 or 4/0.
If Alexandria is hasted, the quickened action is not assigned to the second initiative. It stays on the main initiative and does not count toward the three-action limit. If she loses actions, those losses reduce her total before she chooses the split. The wording is intentionally detailed to avoid edge case weirdness and keep the ability working cleanly with haste.
Avatar of Life (Concept 2)
Description
You call upon the blessing of Aurelia to send forth one of her Chosen to aid you and your allies. The Chosen is Medium, and appears in an empty space you can see within range.
The Chosen has a fly speed of 60 feet and can hover, meaning it does not fall if it does not fly on its turn. The Chosen cannot attack, but it does count as your ally and can provide flanking.
The Chosen shares your Armor Class and saving throw modifiers, as well as your Acrobatics, Athletics, and Stealth modifiers. It is immune to damage and all effects, however any damage or effect that the Chosen would suffer is inflicted on you instead.
If you would both suffer an effect from the same spell, such as both you and the Chosen being in the area of a fireball spell, you are only affected once.
If the Chosen would take damage that would reduce you to 0 Hit Points, you can immediately dismiss the summon as a reaction instead of suffering the transferred damage. If you do, you cannot cast this spell again until your next daily preparations.
Each round, the Chosen acts on your initiative count minus 15. If your initiative changes, so too does the Chosen's initiative.
On your turn, you may choose to sustain this spell. If you do, the Chosen gains 2 actions on its turn. Otherwise it gains 1 action on its turn.
Special
If you have the quickened condition, you can use the additional action granted by that condition to sustain this spell, even if you normally could not, such as the quickened condition granted by the haste spell, which would normally be restricted to the Stride or Strike actions.
Chosen Abilities
On its turn, the Chosen can take any basic action or specialty basic action for which it meets the requirements, such as Fly and Arrest a Fall. In addition, it can use the following two abilities.
Chosen's Blessing ( or ). This ability targets 1 willing creature within 30 feet of the Chosen if it uses one action, or all willing creatures of your choice within 30 feet of the Chosen if it uses 2 actions. Each target gains the Chosen's blessing. The next time they would deal damage with a spell or Strike before the Chosen's next turn, that spell or Strike deals an additional 1d6 spirit damage. This damage is sanctified Holy. When the Chosen uses this ability, you can expend a prepared spell slot or a use of your divine font. If you do, this bonus damage increases by 1d6 per rank of the spell slot or divine font expended.
Lifebringer ( or ). This ability targets 1 willing creature within 60 feet of the Chosen if it uses one action, or all willing creatures of your choice within 60 feet of the Chosen if it uses 2 actions. This ability restores a total of 1d10 Hit Points, or 1d10+8 Hit Points if the Chosen used 2 actions, divided as you see fit amongst all targets of the spell. When the Chosen uses this ability, you can expend a prepared spell slot or a use of your divine font. If you do, this ability restores an additional 1d10 Hit Points, or 1d10+8 Hit Points for the 2-action version, per rank of the spell slot or divine font expended.
GM Notes
This focus spell is meant to let Alexandria be in two places at once and spend resources in a unique way. Since the duration does not require sustain, Alexandria can keep all three of her actions while the Chosen gets 1 action, or she can sustain the spell to give the Chosen 2 actions while she keeps 2 actions.
Both special abilities are at will while the Chosen is summoned, and their base forms cost no additional resource. Even without sustaining or spending spell slots, the Chosen can provide 1d10 healing or +1d6 Holy spirit damage every round.
At the high end, sustaining the spell and using the 2-action damage buff with an 8th-rank spell or divine font gives everyone on the team +9d6 damage on their next qualifying attack or spell. That may need to be halved if the spell or attack targets more than one creature, because applying that to a large area spell could be too much.
The 2-action healing option with an 8th-rank spell or divine font restores 9d10+72 Hit Points divided across the team, which is effectively the healing of a 9th-rank 2-action heal split as needed. This gives Alexandria a way to spend a font without wasting healing on overheal, and it is a strong answer to area damage without needing to fit in the 3-action heal.
The quickened rule exists so Alexandria does not feel punished for being hasted while wanting to use a 3-action ability and still sustain the spell.
Revised Magic Items
Any items not listed here are unchanged.
GM Notes
The main item-side change is reducing the Staff of Eternal Remembrance to create power budget for whichever Avatar of Life option is chosen.
Staff of Eternal Remembrance
Description
This revision keeps Angelic Countenance, reduces Power of Aurelia to once per day, and removes the prior Lifebringer benefit.
In addition to its other effects, this staff functions as a Staff of Healing (Major). Add the bless spell to the first rank spells granted by the staff. In addition, you gain the following benefits while wielding this staff:
- Power of Aurelia. Once per day, you can call upon the awesome power of Aurelia. Choose a spell you have already cast from a spell slot today that is 7th rank or below. You cast that spell even though the spell slot is already expended, and the spell is heightened to one rank higher than the expended spell slot.
- Angelic Countenance. When you cast bless using this staff, you can spend 2 additional charges, 3 total. If you do, the area starts at a 25-foot emanation, and grants the benefits of both the bless and benediction spells for its duration.
GM Notes
This drops Lifebringer, the extra divine font use, and reduces Power of Aurelia from twice per day to once per day. Power of Aurelia also now requires choosing a spell slot Alexandria already expended today. Angelic Countenance is unchanged.
The staff spell list may still get a later review pass to make it more custom to Alexandria instead of cloning the Staff of Healing spell list.
Ring of Rebellion (Xandria)
Description
This revision turns the ring into an emergency repositioning and protection tool.
Once per day, you can activate this ring as an action. When you do, you step through nearby shadows, teleporting to an empty space you can see within 60 feet.
Until the end of your next turn, you are surrounded by thick, roiling shadows that grant you greater concealment.
GM Notes
This is an emergency movement button that also protects Alexandria for one round. Greater concealment is a 50% miss chance, so it works both as an escape button and as a way to get into danger to heal someone without immediately getting pasted into the floor.
Activation
Once per day, step through nearby shadows.
Storm Warden's Heart
Description
This revision creates an emergency off-turn heal with stronger options paid for by slowed on your next turn.
Once per day, when an ally within 120 feet takes damage from a hostile attack or spell, you can activate this item as a reaction. If you do, choose one of the following.
- Cast lay on hands, expending the focus point as normal, targeting the triggering ally and ignoring the range limitation of the spell.
- Cast the heal spell using a spell slot, divine font, or another source such as a staff, expending the resource as normal. You can choose to cast the 1-, 2-, or 3-action version of the spell.
- 1 Action. The spell targets the triggering ally and ignores the range limitation of the spell.
- 2 Actions. As the 1-action version, and you are slowed 1 on your next turn.
- 3 Actions. The spell emanates from the triggering ally instead of you, and you are slowed 2 on your next turn.
GM Notes
This is Alexandria's final emergency off-turn heal, and it gives her several interesting choices. Each reaction option is treated as being worth 1 action. That is why lay on hands and the 1-action heal do not cost future actions.
The 2- and 3-action versions of heal take the additional actions out of Alexandria's next turn through slowed 1 or slowed 2. The vision is Alexandria seeing the team get hit by a big area effect at a distance and immediately forcing out a 3-action heal from the ally's position, then nearly collapsing from the effort until she catches her breath.
Activation
Once per day, when an ally within 120 feet takes damage from a hostile attack or spell.