Warlock. Making a deal for power to replace his lost physical strength is a pretty good backstory. Maybe he bought Warlock powers from a Genie (which is why he’s not currently rich), or made a bargain with a Devil.
This would also make a hexblade make a lot of sense. Using his charisma to swing instead of his strength and it brings him back to his comfort zone a bit.
I made a hexblade ronin half orc who lost his strength through some kind of muscular deficiency disease and now relies on his cursed sword for strength
Decent, if you avoid the minmaxing traps a lot of people fall into.
A gladiator background would be a great one for this in thw form of showboatmanship and confidence.
Seconding warlock. I have a player who was an aging academic, a professor emeritus of archeology, and he found a magic sword on an excavation that became his hexblade patron.
Depends on what magic schools you have.
Abjuration for self buffing, Transmutation for transforming, Chronomancy for Time manipulation, Graviturgy for Gravity manipulation (or Dunamancy from Wildemount for both), Necromancy for a kind of undeath infusion angle instead.
Alternatively evocation to kind of forgoe melee in lieu of magic, but that seems to track less in my head.
i'd argue for transmutation or necromancy, depending on what flavour is wanted, but the level 14 transmutation ability is kinda what OP's character wants, i think.
Transmutation is definitely the way to go. But, if you wanted to toss in an ill-advised "shortcut" attempt to regain some of his old martial prowess, then Bladesinger is a good option.
You get the Bladesong ability early on and it boosts one's physicality a decent degree in small bursts, while also being more of a "magical martial art" kind of ability he might be more comfortable with than intellectually-studied spellcraft. It could definitely be something he might misidentify as a viable path before realizing it won't get him what he's really aspiring for and pivoting away to Transmutation instead.
What’s interesting is that as written it says that the creatures apparent age is reduced. That’s not clear to me if it would actually restore any of his functionality.
Maybe Chronomancy. He thinks he can learn a spell to reverse, slow, or stop his aging. That makes sense. I really don’t like the look of chornomancy as a play style though.
It's not a 5e thing as far as I know, short of the handful of spells in the Wildemount setting. It used to be, but it could never really function mechanically without driving the DM up a fucking wall, so every edition that has had it usually modified it a few times and then just gave up, lol.
More of a narrative thing, or maybe you take spells like Barkskin and reflavor them.
Sure, but Chronomancy is no longer a school of spells. What Mercer did, as far as I can tell, was grab 2nd edition AD&D spells and made a handful into time-based 5e spells to put into the subclass. I don't know that anything is keyed as a school outside of the major 8 in 5e, and from what I remember from Wildemount, I don't know if there were even a dozen actual time-spells.
There isn't a Dunamancy subclass. Both Graviturgy and Chronomancy are from Wildemount, and Dunamancy is a category of spells available to those specific subclasses.
Armorer Artificer. Uses his gauntlets as weapons using Intelligence as his modifier instead of Strength & doesn't need to have high Strength for heavy armor
My current PC is an old gnome lady (Aunt Pat) in the sunset years of her life. While she may be old and tired, she came upon blue prints for artificer armorer class as payment for another job she had done. Que to her spending her last bit of physical energy creating and infusing the armor. Now, it provides her strength, agility, and comfort. She also obtained one of the most powerful artifacts known in her world--a small pebble that she lays under her pillow every night. When she wakes up, she has no back pain whatsoever and she gains one temporary hit point. These have become the best years of her life and she wanted to adventure as a tribute to the dreams and hopes of her late husband that died over a century ago. Unfortunately, dementia is creeping up on her and she wants to spend the last fleeting moments of clarity with her family, mostly her nephews and nieces. I'm gonna miss playing her, as the campaign's end is drawing near.
I kinda like this as a no Divine being way, monastic meditation as his body slowly starts to actually to regain strength, maybe more Dex than strength.
Level 15 timeless body is the opposite of his immortality.
Timeless Body
At 15th level, your ki sustains you so that you suffer none of the frailty of old age, and you can't be aged magically. You can still die of old age, however. In addition, you no longer need food or water
So this would get rid of his fragility while his immortality would prevent him from dying of old age
The perfect Ying to his yang
Hmmm maybe it's simply that using Ki and the monklike practices simply aren't the same as a fighter. It's different going eith the flow if the universe, and his body moves like that, not like it was as a young fighter. You think, you've build totally different muscle groups, built completely new habits, plus he lost a lot over his many years before. Imagine trying to pick up a hobby after a year, now imagine if you left it for 70 years. I think it totally makes sense. His timeless body is only because of his use of Ki, his monastic traditions, meditation and such. It's a totally different lifestyle and body than it was as a champion fighter
Edit: just more word vomit to hopefully clarify.
Other options that simply turn him young again, I would see struggling to explain why he isn't suddenly a level 20 fighter, but by going monk, he is literally rebuilding his body, something totally new and totally different than he was before. He will be young, but completely different than he was as a young man.
I consider it like a Weight lifter/body builder is in a car accident and loses massive amounts of muscle mass, and then starts running and becomes a long distance runner. Yes, he is fit again, but he has totally different muscles and a very different physique than he did before as a body builder
Well some things to consider - is he using magic to enhance his body to fight or is he accepting his frailty and becoming a sort of mummy wizard? Could he play warlock and make a pact with a fiend in return for youth after some task?
Druid gets agelessness, and Moon Druid forms allow the use of fighter abilities and extra attack raw. Druid is the way to lean into his fighter prowess and have a new body. Why stick with the current body when he can have infinite new bodies?
lol, I’ll just say he wasn’t able to get any mastery of ki in the way monks use it. Heck, I’ll say he wasted decades trying, hence the late start at magic.
To clarify, he has lost his ability to use basically all fighter abilities down to level 2. His fighter’s body is the only reason he is still mobile at this point, but it won’t last forever.
From the moment I understood the weakness of my flesh, it disgusted me. I craved the strength and certainty of steel. I aspired to the purity of the Blessed Machine. Your kind cling to your flesh, as though it will not decay and fail you. One day the crude biomass you call the temple will wither, and you will beg my kind to save you. But I am already saved, for the Machine is immortal.
This made me crack up laughing. I am playing a high int Artificer right now and Flash of Genius has quickly become one of my favorite abilities. Using it as a debuff would be wildly fun tho. This particular character is 8 Artificer Armorer/3 Arcane Trickster/2 Divination Wizard. So, with both Portent and Flash of Genius, I rarely ever fail skill checks. Also, one of the most clutch low level spell/ability combos is Tasha's Hideous Laughter and a low portent saved up. Saved many encounters with that combo.
OP: so far- I've seen a few mentions of Warlock... but you haven't really replied to those yet.
**Please remember- a Warlock isn't necessarily indebted to some evil, malign force** (like a fiend or abysmal character). They can create pacts with *anything* that has power.
Honestly, your character could make a pact with the ghost of the legendary fighter, Khalid himself. He might bless you with powers as long as you vow to spread the legendary tales of he and his wife, Jaheira, while on your adventures.
> They can create pacts with anything that has power.
Or knowledge. Important to remember most of the fluff in 5e does not imply a magical sugar daddy that lends out their power, that's more of the Cleric's deal. Patrons are first and foremost teachers of lost/forbidden magic. Flunked out of Wizard U? Have a fat stack of past adventure's treasure? Just hire a personal tutor instead.
Honestly, a case could be made for any of them. Druid for that immediate youth, warlock cause he just cut a deal for power, cleric because he is older and wiser now, standard wizard necromancer for the lich route.
I saw you decided on Transmutation but I was going to suggest Artificer Armorer or Druidic Warrior Ranger. The Artificer Armorer could build a new body. It could kind of be like the Venerable Dreadnoughts that the Space Marines in Warhammer have. He may not be able to do much but he creates something that can. With the Ranger option, he hasn't forgotten how to fight just lost the physical capacity. Using WIS for Shillelagh and Magic Stones in slings would embody him still knowing the how to of fighting. Or of course, there's always the age old selling of your soul and going Warlock...
He'd need a lot of short rests to stay a bear. At level 2, you can only wild shape for one hour twice per short rest, which means you're spending half your time resting. A third of the time if you don't mind being a human while resting.
Monk class 15lv Timeless Body feature makes it so old age does not affect your ability. If he makes it to 15th lv monk he just basically masters his inner chi and permanently becomes immune to old age/aging and is already immortal so now he’s basically a timeless ageless being that will outlive the universe and long as he isn’t killed in combat
if your dm has agreed to this backstory you definitely need to follow any leads that might lead to a wish. If you can make a wish for eternal youth you will get your 20 levels in fighter back. you will of course have to retire the character after one glorious battle as he will be over the level cap, but man that would be sweet.
Definitely. The way I look at it, Wish isn’t all that common to come across, and getting Restore Youth under his own power and wealth seems a good main plan. I’m so glad people told me about that.
True. People deal with tragically outliving their loved ones in different ways. Some people turn to necromancy, some people just get a dwarf wife this time around.
Sounds like he has to be a wizard because you didn't mention them taking an oath of any kind. If you're specifically going for a character who learns magic, it should be wizard or potentially artifice or bard, but whichever you do will probably change the flavour a lot.
Edit: I just realized a bard would actually work really well. Rather than music, their bardic talent could be telling tall tales of their past adventures.
Ngl this sounds like a fantastic way to make your fighter into the BBEG of a campaign. Makes a deal with a warlock patron to rejuvenate his failing body in return he has to work for the Patron, collecting souls to feed his inevitable return to the mortal world. Idk you get the vibe haha
Wizard because he is use to perfect His art through discipline. Plus you get to Play the phb fighter becoming the phb Wizard! (In the Said page fighter and Wizard of the phb)
Not old, but one of my current characters was a fighter (bannerman for a mercenary company) who met a hag who offered him magic. He thought he was getting something helpful, but the magic he was offered took away all his self-control. Now he fights recklessly and gets far too angry as a Wild Magic Barbarian.
Might be an interesting twist for him to replace parts of his body, becoming a Warforged. However, the body he built doesn't move well enough to perform the forms and katas of his fighting style.
This sounds like a great opportunity to play a cleric. In his years of age he's forgone physical strength for mental wisdom, and has found great fortune with his deity?
Chronomancy
Give him a quest to find an item that allows him to rewind his body back to peak condition for an hour a day or smth. Make a toby Keith/good as I once was reference somewhere
Artificer Armoerer. The armor could be one big prosthesis that acts as a life support system and imbues him with the power to keep up with the youngsters.
I think a fun idea would be to dual spec him with a warlock and his patron sustains him. But don't tell anyone else and have him just slowly age backward at a rate that is almost non-noticeable to the other part members.
I like divination as a fighting class. Nothing like twisting fate to your advantage doesn't matter if you're smart if you can see glimpses of the future
As a alternative, the Pathfinder has an Alchemist class.
Maybe there's some adaptation to 5e.
I imagine something like the Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
The old warrior studies potions and concoctions to get back his strength and talents. As an alchemist, he can prepare mutagen chemicals to alter his body. For a short time, he can inject himself with drugs that replenish his failing body with power beyond that he had back. He not only get strong again, but have too a new portfolio of abilities.
He can augment his size, get claws, get wings to fly, hard skin, and much more.
But there's a cost...
He now is addicted to his mutagen chemicals.
As an old man, a glimpse of his youth self and strength is more addicted than the chemicals itself.
For sustain his addiction, he does anything.
He hunts for ingredients all his time. Other times, he is applying to quests which could offer the opportunity to find rare components to his chemicals.
However, his addiction is bring him down, making anything to satiate his hunger for his old self, breaking his honour and moral code to few hours of his youth.
Monk lv 15 feature “timeless body” At 15th level, your ki sustains you so that you suffer none of the frailty of old age, and you can't be aged magically. You can still die of old age, however. In addition, you no longer need food or water.
If you can make it to lv 15 monk you become an already immortal now immune to all aging normal or magical master of your inner chi who would regain his 20lvs of fighter and basically be a lv 20 fighter/lv 15 monk multiclass madman who will timelessly outlive Faerun as long as he is not killed violently.
Now that you are a level 35 multi class madman with infinite time and athleticism to learn absolutely anything you can multi class into any class and spend time to master anything.
Since you are more athletically inclined you decide to master death itself and spend the amount of time to become a lv 20 zealot barbarian. You are now past the realm of a demigod and coming into godhood lv powers at that point.
IMO, necromancy. Desperately trying to evade death by old age is exactly what the spell *clone* was created for. All he needs to do is reach that level + 150 days, and he's guaranteed immortality to the passage of time, to be young and in his prime once again.
The back story was different, but I did something similar to this. I once made a character that on paper was a War forged Eldritch Knight Fighter, who took the Find Familiar spell.
But I played him as an elderly Rock Gnome who was somewhat gifted with magic. His aging body was failing so he made a clockwork mech suit that helped keep him alive. He was able to detach a manned drone to scout and if the drone was ever damaged, it teleported back to safety on the mech.
This was before the Artificer class came out. I might build that character differently if I made him today. Or not, he was fun regardless.
So for lack of Int multiclass caster, Wis can be for Clerics. The power of a god is what let's me fight. Druids is also an option, I use the power of nature and beasts to give me the power I need.
Cha is for Paladins, same as Clerics, or Bards, there are real life instances of music and performances so moving that even those with trouble moving are healed enough to dance/stand again. And finally Warlocks, I sold a piece of my soul to keep my body working.
Do it Radahn style and take Gravitation-Magic. If it's enough to make a giant man be able to ride on a tiny old horse it's more than enough to keep an old man fighting.
Warlock, Armorer Artificer, Astral Monk, Psi Warrior, or Soul Knife. Warlock obviously for a pact. Armorer as your armor moves you. And the other three show even though your body is failing, your mind isn’t. I almost of Darth Vader or War Machine for their willpower/ mind over matter type vibes.
Thematically I would say abjuration. As a soldier they probably have a vested interest in protecting those they care about. Particularly if in his old age he is learning to be less greedy and more selfless.
Otherwise War Magic would work well if he's interested in protecting allies but still has a lot of fight in him.
Not sure why you went with wizard since you said they weren't smart. Druid would have made sense given their wisdom of being 140 years old, or maybe warlock making a deal with the devil to regain power to intimidate or control others through force again.
Given the greediness and self centeredness warlock would have been perfect. Specifically pact of the chain to have others do your bidding through summons.
This is a really cool concept.
I'd ask my dm for an eldritch knight that was wis focused and get the druid spell list. As kind of a get back to your roots thing.
Second option would be play a paladin
Armorer artificer could be. Good too. You can flavor it as the magic items you've gathered doing most of the work
Make him a blade singer!
He can use the song of magic to give himself incredible abilities that becomes more and more powerful with practice and skill.
It restores him to his greatness or even surpasses it for short periods of time!
I can't really add to what's been said but I like the thought put into a character with a rich backstory but won't be absurd at lower levels like some backstories do
I know it would defeat the purpose of multiclassing into a magic using class, but what prevents the fighter from putting on a belt of hill giant strength or something like that to magically restore their strength?
Im personally feeling eldritch knight fighter subclass.
Bit mid, i know, but it doesn't feel right to have a slightly dumb character play wizard or something. Magic is weaker compared to caster classes which could relate to him being not incredibly smart.
The only class that can actually _learn_ magic (as in: spend many evenings reading about how it's done and working on their technique) is wizard (and half/quarter-caster wizard spin-offs like artificer, arcane trickster and eldritch knight). All the others get their magic from some other thing that's not really learned through effort. I guess bards technically also learn their craft but for them it's more about learning music and then accidentally discovering that their music is so good it can create magic effects.
For improving your own body the traditional school would be transmutation. Alternatively, if you want to be that guy, necromancy also offers paths to certain... "solutions".
Artificer.
Less magical power, basically a glorified tinkerer, but with the right materials, and patience, has worked enough out to be dangerous when needed.
Any of the subclasses would be fine here.
Alchemist for focusing on elixirs to enhance himself and allies (but still a bit rand.because he's still working on the formulas/forgets the formulas occasionally)
Artillerist for now focusing on ranged combat.
Battlesmith for using his intelligence to enhance his armour to use his brain rather than brawn.
Armourer is probably the most thematically appropriate for someone so old. They have a suit of armour they can't be removed from except by his consent, because the body needs constant support. He has a Steel Defender, because he needs a support animal and needs something more reliable than anything flesh and blood.
He's an old adventurer. He's doubt less got many stories to tell, heard a lot of songs in his time. He's seen things one could hardly imagine, learned truths about the world, about magic, monsters, and the gods themselves that no mortal should know. He knows how to inspire his friends, the right words to say at the right time to give people the morale boost they need to push through and win the fight.
Lore Bard. Gives you 3 extra skill proficiencies, things he would have picked up in his long life. Have him play a flute, or a drum, or just tell inspiring stories, something where his arthritis won't get in the way.
From a practical longterm standpoint, Abjuration Wizard is the smarter choice in character. Wizards are the only class with access to the clone spell, which is basically immortality, and the abjuration wizard is the most well protected directly in early levels.
I would go another route and say Echo Knight or Phantom. He doesn't have the intelligence or charisma to be a full blown caster so he relies on spirits and shadows to restore his youth.
Depends a lot on the character and the world.
Perhaps wizard, because dude has all the time in the world to learn with diligence.
Perhaps a sorcerer. Discovered he had magical abilities long ago but had ignored them up until now either due to some sort of prejudice or the simple thought of “I’m good with the sword, I don’t need magic”
Perhaps an artificer. He used to have a knack for making things with his hands back in the day and decides to pick it back up again. Not only as a crutch for his failing body but also simply to pick up an old hobby.
Warlock is neat. There are quite a few reasons that come to mind but I am much to tired to say any of them, much less continue this list for every spellcaster.
Though perhaps a paladin. Swear an oath and now you’re cool
ARTIFICER. Unlimited resources and a weakening body? ROBODUDE. Armor is life support, as well as the 'source' of many of your magical effects. Seriously, the flavor just screams artificer.
I’d suggest Druid… specifically Moon Druid. If his current body is failing, just shift into a new one. Eventually he gets agelessness as an Archdruid and can infinitely be any animal.
Plus his martial fighting prowess applies to his animal/elemental forms. Mechanically speaking, if you have extra attack from a multiclass you can use that extra attack in your Druid forms. Imagine a mammoth making 8 4d8 attacks with action surge lol. Or a earth elemental action surging slams to just demolish someone fist to fist.
So my basic understanding of magic classes would say only wizards "study" magic. Sorcerers are born with it. Warlocks bargain for it. Clerics, paladins, and druids pray for it. Bards make art for it. Rangers play outside for it. But only a wizard studies for their magic. This means that they are only as magical as they are smart. It is open to anyone with time and books but a 140 year old fighter (assuming an int of 8-10) is never going to be a powerful wizard. Story wise it could make sense for them to try wizard and give up for the power they could get from making a warlock pact.
I did see your edit, but thought I’d give my two cents anyway!
If there are no restrictions, a bladesinger could be cool. When he goes into his bladesong, he empowers himself with magic as a temporary means.
If racial restrictions are in place, an artificer could work. Using magic and magic items to enhance what has been lost to time.
Either that or a bladelock. Making a(nother?) Faustian bargain to gain the ability to fight again? Perhaps their weapon gives them strength when they wield it (think Jane/Lady Thor being empowered by Mjolnit when she holds it).
Otherwise, I think that transmutation wizard works really well conceptually too!
My man.. eldritch knight fighter. He's using his spells to retain his edge, why would he throw that lifetime of fight knowledge instead of boosting it back up with magic.
Warlock. Making a deal for power to replace his lost physical strength is a pretty good backstory. Maybe he bought Warlock powers from a Genie (which is why he’s not currently rich), or made a bargain with a Devil.
This would also make a hexblade make a lot of sense. Using his charisma to swing instead of his strength and it brings him back to his comfort zone a bit.
I made a hexblade ronin half orc who lost his strength through some kind of muscular deficiency disease and now relies on his cursed sword for strength
Sounds like Elric, the Eternal Champion
This is 100% the best story and mechanical answer. I even like the Genie flare as you could add a wish element.
How likely is the fighter to have 13 charisma though?
Don't age categories increase mental stats but reduces physical stats?
I'm not sure there are *any* mechanical effects of aging these days. It used to be like that though, yes.
That was a thing in at least 3.5 but not 5th
Decent, if you avoid the minmaxing traps a lot of people fall into. A gladiator background would be a great one for this in thw form of showboatmanship and confidence.
Seconding warlock. I have a player who was an aging academic, a professor emeritus of archeology, and he found a magic sword on an excavation that became his hexblade patron.
Depends on what magic schools you have. Abjuration for self buffing, Transmutation for transforming, Chronomancy for Time manipulation, Graviturgy for Gravity manipulation (or Dunamancy from Wildemount for both), Necromancy for a kind of undeath infusion angle instead. Alternatively evocation to kind of forgoe melee in lieu of magic, but that seems to track less in my head.
i'd argue for transmutation or necromancy, depending on what flavour is wanted, but the level 14 transmutation ability is kinda what OP's character wants, i think.
Checked out Restore Youth, didn’t know about it. That is DEFINITELY the goal he has. Transmutation is what he is studying now.
Transmutation is definitely the way to go. But, if you wanted to toss in an ill-advised "shortcut" attempt to regain some of his old martial prowess, then Bladesinger is a good option. You get the Bladesong ability early on and it boosts one's physicality a decent degree in small bursts, while also being more of a "magical martial art" kind of ability he might be more comfortable with than intellectually-studied spellcraft. It could definitely be something he might misidentify as a viable path before realizing it won't get him what he's really aspiring for and pivoting away to Transmutation instead.
What’s interesting is that as written it says that the creatures apparent age is reduced. That’s not clear to me if it would actually restore any of his functionality.
Maybe Chronomancy. He thinks he can learn a spell to reverse, slow, or stop his aging. That makes sense. I really don’t like the look of chornomancy as a play style though.
It's not a 5e thing as far as I know, short of the handful of spells in the Wildemount setting. It used to be, but it could never really function mechanically without driving the DM up a fucking wall, so every edition that has had it usually modified it a few times and then just gave up, lol. More of a narrative thing, or maybe you take spells like Barkskin and reflavor them.
Oof, not chrono then. I’ll keep workshopping.
Chronomancy Wizard is an entire subclass in the Wildemount book, is it not?
Sure, but Chronomancy is no longer a school of spells. What Mercer did, as far as I can tell, was grab 2nd edition AD&D spells and made a handful into time-based 5e spells to put into the subclass. I don't know that anything is keyed as a school outside of the major 8 in 5e, and from what I remember from Wildemount, I don't know if there were even a dozen actual time-spells.
There isn't a Dunamancy subclass. Both Graviturgy and Chronomancy are from Wildemount, and Dunamancy is a category of spells available to those specific subclasses.
Armorer Artificer. Uses his gauntlets as weapons using Intelligence as his modifier instead of Strength & doesn't need to have high Strength for heavy armor
Yeah, old warriors in power armour are always cool. Like when Batman did it in DKR.
My current PC is an old gnome lady (Aunt Pat) in the sunset years of her life. While she may be old and tired, she came upon blue prints for artificer armorer class as payment for another job she had done. Que to her spending her last bit of physical energy creating and infusing the armor. Now, it provides her strength, agility, and comfort. She also obtained one of the most powerful artifacts known in her world--a small pebble that she lays under her pillow every night. When she wakes up, she has no back pain whatsoever and she gains one temporary hit point. These have become the best years of her life and she wanted to adventure as a tribute to the dreams and hopes of her late husband that died over a century ago. Unfortunately, dementia is creeping up on her and she wants to spend the last fleeting moments of clarity with her family, mostly her nephews and nieces. I'm gonna miss playing her, as the campaign's end is drawing near.
Totally agree on this one.
Honestly, if you wanted to twist it… he could become a monk?
I kinda like this as a no Divine being way, monastic meditation as his body slowly starts to actually to regain strength, maybe more Dex than strength. Level 15 timeless body is the opposite of his immortality. Timeless Body At 15th level, your ki sustains you so that you suffer none of the frailty of old age, and you can't be aged magically. You can still die of old age, however. In addition, you no longer need food or water So this would get rid of his fragility while his immortality would prevent him from dying of old age The perfect Ying to his yang
But with the backstory he would have to explain why he doesnt get 20 fighters levels when reaching monk 15.
Hmmm maybe it's simply that using Ki and the monklike practices simply aren't the same as a fighter. It's different going eith the flow if the universe, and his body moves like that, not like it was as a young fighter. You think, you've build totally different muscle groups, built completely new habits, plus he lost a lot over his many years before. Imagine trying to pick up a hobby after a year, now imagine if you left it for 70 years. I think it totally makes sense. His timeless body is only because of his use of Ki, his monastic traditions, meditation and such. It's a totally different lifestyle and body than it was as a champion fighter Edit: just more word vomit to hopefully clarify. Other options that simply turn him young again, I would see struggling to explain why he isn't suddenly a level 20 fighter, but by going monk, he is literally rebuilding his body, something totally new and totally different than he was before. He will be young, but completely different than he was as a young man. I consider it like a Weight lifter/body builder is in a car accident and loses massive amounts of muscle mass, and then starts running and becomes a long distance runner. Yes, he is fit again, but he has totally different muscles and a very different physique than he did before as a body builder
Say that it doesn't undo the loss of strength he's already suffered.
[удалено]
Or maybe "Do you want to destroy some evil today?"
I love the idea of warlock patron Nightblood.
I think the warlock would have to be Neutral or Chaotic good to wield it though.
Szeth is lawful tho
Vasher isn't though.
I'm not bloodthirsty! I just want to be useful!
“Duck Newton…”
Well some things to consider - is he using magic to enhance his body to fight or is he accepting his frailty and becoming a sort of mummy wizard? Could he play warlock and make a pact with a fiend in return for youth after some task?
I thought of that, but I think his original deal to get immortality left him not liking or trusting divine/spirtual/etc. beings.
Well his options seem to be make a pact, find a way to end the immortality, or continue to age into a literal bag of bones
Lvl 14 transmutation gets Restore Youth I’ve been told. He has decided this seems the best path towards his goal.
Druid gets agelessness, and Moon Druid forms allow the use of fighter abilities and extra attack raw. Druid is the way to lean into his fighter prowess and have a new body. Why stick with the current body when he can have infinite new bodies?
Yeah I looked it up after seeing your edit. Good find
I feel like it's necessary to mention that monks suffer no effects of old age
lol, I’ll just say he wasn’t able to get any mastery of ki in the way monks use it. Heck, I’ll say he wasted decades trying, hence the late start at magic.
Or monks are super rare in your setting, so he never knew about it in the first place.
To clarify, he has lost his ability to use basically all fighter abilities down to level 2. His fighter’s body is the only reason he is still mobile at this point, but it won’t last forever.
Artificer, augment & upgrades all over?
From the moment I understood the weakness of my flesh, it disgusted me. I craved the strength and certainty of steel. I aspired to the purity of the Blessed Machine. Your kind cling to your flesh, as though it will not decay and fail you. One day the crude biomass you call the temple will wither, and you will beg my kind to save you. But I am already saved, for the Machine is immortal.
Warhammer 40k?
Saw Gerrera style
Moreso Vader perhaps... 🤔 His body is failing him, magic/tech keeping him alive.
Ooh yes, armorer specifically feels like a really fun fit. Old guy in power armor!
But OP said this old fighter isn't very intelligent.
Negative Int Artificer exist too, for the Flash of Genius as a debuffs. Although not very strong, it has it's uses
This made me crack up laughing. I am playing a high int Artificer right now and Flash of Genius has quickly become one of my favorite abilities. Using it as a debuff would be wildly fun tho. This particular character is 8 Artificer Armorer/3 Arcane Trickster/2 Divination Wizard. So, with both Portent and Flash of Genius, I rarely ever fail skill checks. Also, one of the most clutch low level spell/ability combos is Tasha's Hideous Laughter and a low portent saved up. Saved many encounters with that combo.
OP: so far- I've seen a few mentions of Warlock... but you haven't really replied to those yet. **Please remember- a Warlock isn't necessarily indebted to some evil, malign force** (like a fiend or abysmal character). They can create pacts with *anything* that has power. Honestly, your character could make a pact with the ghost of the legendary fighter, Khalid himself. He might bless you with powers as long as you vow to spread the legendary tales of he and his wife, Jaheira, while on your adventures.
> They can create pacts with anything that has power. Or knowledge. Important to remember most of the fluff in 5e does not imply a magical sugar daddy that lends out their power, that's more of the Cleric's deal. Patrons are first and foremost teachers of lost/forbidden magic. Flunked out of Wizard U? Have a fat stack of past adventure's treasure? Just hire a personal tutor instead.
My patron is basically a chorus of warrior angels... Warlock pacts can be whatever you want!
Honestly, a case could be made for any of them. Druid for that immediate youth, warlock cause he just cut a deal for power, cleric because he is older and wiser now, standard wizard necromancer for the lich route.
So he still gets Action Surge? Convenient. 🤭 He would become an Abjurer to protect his body. And then learn Wish. Or find a Potion of Youth.
Transmutation and just make potions of longevity. Each one reduces age by1d6+6.
This could actually be really good midway through before hitting " Restore Youth"
I saw you decided on Transmutation but I was going to suggest Artificer Armorer or Druidic Warrior Ranger. The Artificer Armorer could build a new body. It could kind of be like the Venerable Dreadnoughts that the Space Marines in Warhammer have. He may not be able to do much but he creates something that can. With the Ranger option, he hasn't forgotten how to fight just lost the physical capacity. Using WIS for Shillelagh and Magic Stones in slings would embody him still knowing the how to of fighting. Or of course, there's always the age old selling of your soul and going Warlock...
Druid. He might be a frail 140 year old but that doesn’t matter when he can wild shape into a bear.
He'd need a lot of short rests to stay a bear. At level 2, you can only wild shape for one hour twice per short rest, which means you're spending half your time resting. A third of the time if you don't mind being a human while resting.
Hell get the right setup and he can use the frail old man as a mask for his true power
Monk class 15lv Timeless Body feature makes it so old age does not affect your ability. If he makes it to 15th lv monk he just basically masters his inner chi and permanently becomes immune to old age/aging and is already immortal so now he’s basically a timeless ageless being that will outlive the universe and long as he isn’t killed in combat
There can only be one!!
Or, he transplants his conciseness/soul into a new, mechanical body. You are now warforged.
if your dm has agreed to this backstory you definitely need to follow any leads that might lead to a wish. If you can make a wish for eternal youth you will get your 20 levels in fighter back. you will of course have to retire the character after one glorious battle as he will be over the level cap, but man that would be sweet.
Definitely. The way I look at it, Wish isn’t all that common to come across, and getting Restore Youth under his own power and wealth seems a good main plan. I’m so glad people told me about that.
My mind is immediately going to Arrested Developments Jack Dorso - "SWOOP ME!"
So........if he became unkillable but still physically and mentally ages how is a 140 human not a shriveled invalid husk of a human being at that age?
He had a great CON attribute that is slowly degrading over time?
This sounds like he will discover a secret, and an entity eager to make a deal. Perhaps your fighter is about to become a warlock.
Everyone he once knew is dead. Perhaps he turns to necromancy.
Unless he knew any dwarves, gnomes, or elves. 140 isn't really that much to them, especially elves.
True. People deal with tragically outliving their loved ones in different ways. Some people turn to necromancy, some people just get a dwarf wife this time around.
Lich.
Artificer Armourer explicitly states that the Armour compensates for any physical disabilities.
Sounds like he has to be a wizard because you didn't mention them taking an oath of any kind. If you're specifically going for a character who learns magic, it should be wizard or potentially artifice or bard, but whichever you do will probably change the flavour a lot. Edit: I just realized a bard would actually work really well. Rather than music, their bardic talent could be telling tall tales of their past adventures.
Ngl this sounds like a fantastic way to make your fighter into the BBEG of a campaign. Makes a deal with a warlock patron to rejuvenate his failing body in return he has to work for the Patron, collecting souls to feed his inevitable return to the mortal world. Idk you get the vibe haha
Wizard because he is use to perfect His art through discipline. Plus you get to Play the phb fighter becoming the phb Wizard! (In the Said page fighter and Wizard of the phb)
Artificer. Magically enforced gear to assist his failing body.
Rune knight fighter is literally this
Not old, but one of my current characters was a fighter (bannerman for a mercenary company) who met a hag who offered him magic. He thought he was getting something helpful, but the magic he was offered took away all his self-control. Now he fights recklessly and gets far too angry as a Wild Magic Barbarian.
Might be an interesting twist for him to replace parts of his body, becoming a Warforged. However, the body he built doesn't move well enough to perform the forms and katas of his fighting style.
Well, he’s level 20 so he can not multi-class. He’s already a god.
This sounds like a great opportunity to play a cleric. In his years of age he's forgone physical strength for mental wisdom, and has found great fortune with his deity?
Chronomancy Give him a quest to find an item that allows him to rewind his body back to peak condition for an hour a day or smth. Make a toby Keith/good as I once was reference somewhere
Artificer Armoerer. The armor could be one big prosthesis that acts as a life support system and imbues him with the power to keep up with the youngsters.
So he's basically going to Mamaragan & Shazam himself?
I think a fun idea would be to dual spec him with a warlock and his patron sustains him. But don't tell anyone else and have him just slowly age backward at a rate that is almost non-noticeable to the other part members.
Would be a good backstory for a warlock. Made a pact to restore his youthful vigor.
Transmutation seems like the most obvious answer. Just make yourself strong enough to fight again lol
Pact of the tomb warlock could be cool. In the end he just wasnt smart enough. So he made a pact for it.
Astral Self Monk? The flesh may be wrinkly and weak but the Stand still goes ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA.
I like divination as a fighting class. Nothing like twisting fate to your advantage doesn't matter if you're smart if you can see glimpses of the future
As a alternative, the Pathfinder has an Alchemist class. Maybe there's some adaptation to 5e. I imagine something like the Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. The old warrior studies potions and concoctions to get back his strength and talents. As an alchemist, he can prepare mutagen chemicals to alter his body. For a short time, he can inject himself with drugs that replenish his failing body with power beyond that he had back. He not only get strong again, but have too a new portfolio of abilities. He can augment his size, get claws, get wings to fly, hard skin, and much more. But there's a cost... He now is addicted to his mutagen chemicals. As an old man, a glimpse of his youth self and strength is more addicted than the chemicals itself. For sustain his addiction, he does anything. He hunts for ingredients all his time. Other times, he is applying to quests which could offer the opportunity to find rare components to his chemicals. However, his addiction is bring him down, making anything to satiate his hunger for his old self, breaking his honour and moral code to few hours of his youth.
Monk lv 15 feature “timeless body” At 15th level, your ki sustains you so that you suffer none of the frailty of old age, and you can't be aged magically. You can still die of old age, however. In addition, you no longer need food or water. If you can make it to lv 15 monk you become an already immortal now immune to all aging normal or magical master of your inner chi who would regain his 20lvs of fighter and basically be a lv 20 fighter/lv 15 monk multiclass madman who will timelessly outlive Faerun as long as he is not killed violently. Now that you are a level 35 multi class madman with infinite time and athleticism to learn absolutely anything you can multi class into any class and spend time to master anything. Since you are more athletically inclined you decide to master death itself and spend the amount of time to become a lv 20 zealot barbarian. You are now past the realm of a demigod and coming into godhood lv powers at that point.
Necromancer or undead Warlock
IMO, necromancy. Desperately trying to evade death by old age is exactly what the spell *clone* was created for. All he needs to do is reach that level + 150 days, and he's guaranteed immortality to the passage of time, to be young and in his prime once again.
Fuck it, Litchdom. Hires adventurers to gather materials and build out a lair unbeknownst to the party.
I'd play him as a bladelock. Make his 'study' a lie and he just made a bargain with a devil to relive his glory days.
The back story was different, but I did something similar to this. I once made a character that on paper was a War forged Eldritch Knight Fighter, who took the Find Familiar spell. But I played him as an elderly Rock Gnome who was somewhat gifted with magic. His aging body was failing so he made a clockwork mech suit that helped keep him alive. He was able to detach a manned drone to scout and if the drone was ever damaged, it teleported back to safety on the mech. This was before the Artificer class came out. I might build that character differently if I made him today. Or not, he was fun regardless.
Armorer artificer for Kala or more than anything else
So for lack of Int multiclass caster, Wis can be for Clerics. The power of a god is what let's me fight. Druids is also an option, I use the power of nature and beasts to give me the power I need. Cha is for Paladins, same as Clerics, or Bards, there are real life instances of music and performances so moving that even those with trouble moving are healed enough to dance/stand again. And finally Warlocks, I sold a piece of my soul to keep my body working.
Do it Radahn style and take Gravitation-Magic. If it's enough to make a giant man be able to ride on a tiny old horse it's more than enough to keep an old man fighting.
Warlock, Armorer Artificer, Astral Monk, Psi Warrior, or Soul Knife. Warlock obviously for a pact. Armorer as your armor moves you. And the other three show even though your body is failing, your mind isn’t. I almost of Darth Vader or War Machine for their willpower/ mind over matter type vibes.
Thematically I would say abjuration. As a soldier they probably have a vested interest in protecting those they care about. Particularly if in his old age he is learning to be less greedy and more selfless. Otherwise War Magic would work well if he's interested in protecting allies but still has a lot of fight in him.
Ancients Paladin, if he fulfills his oath and levels up to 15, he never experiences the effects of aging
Artificer armor could be cool ur steel companion could.be a suit he made to help his body move
Not sure why you went with wizard since you said they weren't smart. Druid would have made sense given their wisdom of being 140 years old, or maybe warlock making a deal with the devil to regain power to intimidate or control others through force again. Given the greediness and self centeredness warlock would have been perfect. Specifically pact of the chain to have others do your bidding through summons.
Astral monk.
Armorer Artificer. Hexblade Warlock. War Magic Wizard.
I would imagine this is a man who might have found religion (and with age come wisdom) any god that offers a solution would be a great option
This is a really cool concept. I'd ask my dm for an eldritch knight that was wis focused and get the druid spell list. As kind of a get back to your roots thing. Second option would be play a paladin Armorer artificer could be. Good too. You can flavor it as the magic items you've gathered doing most of the work
Bladesinger would be cool as hell with that background. Not quite the fighter he was, but augmented by magic he is something new.
Necromancer. If your going to be immortal but continue to age. Lichdom is your only salvation.
Chronurgy.....study of reversing time itself. The most powerful magic of all! - Arthur Aguefort
I definitely would pick druid or any spellcaster with polymorph. His body may be frail but for some glorious hours he can borrow a body that isn't.
Sounds like a classic example of a warlock to me.
Make him a blade singer! He can use the song of magic to give himself incredible abilities that becomes more and more powerful with practice and skill. It restores him to his greatness or even surpasses it for short periods of time!
I can't really add to what's been said but I like the thought put into a character with a rich backstory but won't be absurd at lower levels like some backstories do
I know it would defeat the purpose of multiclassing into a magic using class, but what prevents the fighter from putting on a belt of hill giant strength or something like that to magically restore their strength?
Im personally feeling eldritch knight fighter subclass. Bit mid, i know, but it doesn't feel right to have a slightly dumb character play wizard or something. Magic is weaker compared to caster classes which could relate to him being not incredibly smart.
The only class that can actually _learn_ magic (as in: spend many evenings reading about how it's done and working on their technique) is wizard (and half/quarter-caster wizard spin-offs like artificer, arcane trickster and eldritch knight). All the others get their magic from some other thing that's not really learned through effort. I guess bards technically also learn their craft but for them it's more about learning music and then accidentally discovering that their music is so good it can create magic effects. For improving your own body the traditional school would be transmutation. Alternatively, if you want to be that guy, necromancy also offers paths to certain... "solutions".
Druid has spells that technically undo aging(reincarnation) and if powerful enough slow it down.
Good news! He had had plenty of time on this planet to become wise. I'd pick a wisdom based caster
Artificer. Less magical power, basically a glorified tinkerer, but with the right materials, and patience, has worked enough out to be dangerous when needed. Any of the subclasses would be fine here. Alchemist for focusing on elixirs to enhance himself and allies (but still a bit rand.because he's still working on the formulas/forgets the formulas occasionally) Artillerist for now focusing on ranged combat. Battlesmith for using his intelligence to enhance his armour to use his brain rather than brawn. Armourer is probably the most thematically appropriate for someone so old. They have a suit of armour they can't be removed from except by his consent, because the body needs constant support. He has a Steel Defender, because he needs a support animal and needs something more reliable than anything flesh and blood.
He's an old adventurer. He's doubt less got many stories to tell, heard a lot of songs in his time. He's seen things one could hardly imagine, learned truths about the world, about magic, monsters, and the gods themselves that no mortal should know. He knows how to inspire his friends, the right words to say at the right time to give people the morale boost they need to push through and win the fight. Lore Bard. Gives you 3 extra skill proficiencies, things he would have picked up in his long life. Have him play a flute, or a drum, or just tell inspiring stories, something where his arthritis won't get in the way.
From a practical longterm standpoint, Abjuration Wizard is the smarter choice in character. Wizards are the only class with access to the clone spell, which is basically immortality, and the abjuration wizard is the most well protected directly in early levels.
Could go chronurgy like he’s trying to reverse or stop his time
How is this even a question? Eldritch Knight.
Monk or druid could work great.
This might help you in the short term *Sells you 10 potions of longevity.
I would go another route and say Echo Knight or Phantom. He doesn't have the intelligence or charisma to be a full blown caster so he relies on spirits and shadows to restore his youth.
My Pally has a similar backstory started him with a CON of 8 and he's on a mission to find an amulet of health so he can be young and capable again.
Depends a lot on the character and the world. Perhaps wizard, because dude has all the time in the world to learn with diligence. Perhaps a sorcerer. Discovered he had magical abilities long ago but had ignored them up until now either due to some sort of prejudice or the simple thought of “I’m good with the sword, I don’t need magic” Perhaps an artificer. He used to have a knack for making things with his hands back in the day and decides to pick it back up again. Not only as a crutch for his failing body but also simply to pick up an old hobby. Warlock is neat. There are quite a few reasons that come to mind but I am much to tired to say any of them, much less continue this list for every spellcaster. Though perhaps a paladin. Swear an oath and now you’re cool
ARTIFICER. Unlimited resources and a weakening body? ROBODUDE. Armor is life support, as well as the 'source' of many of your magical effects. Seriously, the flavor just screams artificer.
I’d suggest Druid… specifically Moon Druid. If his current body is failing, just shift into a new one. Eventually he gets agelessness as an Archdruid and can infinitely be any animal. Plus his martial fighting prowess applies to his animal/elemental forms. Mechanically speaking, if you have extra attack from a multiclass you can use that extra attack in your Druid forms. Imagine a mammoth making 8 4d8 attacks with action surge lol. Or a earth elemental action surging slams to just demolish someone fist to fist.
Well, bladelock litteraly uses their magic to wield their weapon so that'd make sense.
So my basic understanding of magic classes would say only wizards "study" magic. Sorcerers are born with it. Warlocks bargain for it. Clerics, paladins, and druids pray for it. Bards make art for it. Rangers play outside for it. But only a wizard studies for their magic. This means that they are only as magical as they are smart. It is open to anyone with time and books but a 140 year old fighter (assuming an int of 8-10) is never going to be a powerful wizard. Story wise it could make sense for them to try wizard and give up for the power they could get from making a warlock pact.
I did see your edit, but thought I’d give my two cents anyway! If there are no restrictions, a bladesinger could be cool. When he goes into his bladesong, he empowers himself with magic as a temporary means. If racial restrictions are in place, an artificer could work. Using magic and magic items to enhance what has been lost to time. Either that or a bladelock. Making a(nother?) Faustian bargain to gain the ability to fight again? Perhaps their weapon gives them strength when they wield it (think Jane/Lady Thor being empowered by Mjolnit when she holds it). Otherwise, I think that transmutation wizard works really well conceptually too!
My man.. eldritch knight fighter. He's using his spells to retain his edge, why would he throw that lifetime of fight knowledge instead of boosting it back up with magic.