Avatar of Fate - Strength
Our climb up the hierarchy of fate continues, this time with the most stalwart of the first half of the avatars: Strength, card #8. Traditionally shown as a woman peacefully subduing a lion, Strength symbolizes internal power and self-assuredness, strength in the quiet, unassuming sense. The avatar of Strength, then, is responsible for reminding mortals of their worth and inner power, and for empowering those who have been robbed of the ability to stand firm for themselves. Even the most feeble peasant is imposing with Strength on their side, as Strength exists to show that no one is as feeble as they might seem.
The Avatars of Fate loom ever closer, and so the last few previews we share will be some for the upper tiers of play, the kinds of creatures that appear to topple kingdoms or inspire new mythologies and faiths. We hope you’ve enjoyed our time in the realm of puny mortals, because we won’t be back until after the avatars are fully revealed on the 30th!
If you want to see what else we’ve been working on while the avatars have been coming, check in on our Patreon, where only a few dollars a month gets you access to everything we create. And, if you want to get updates on our work direct from the source, then our Discord is the best place for you to be. We hope to see you there soon!
VIII: Strength
Do something you love, and you will never work a day in your life. This old adage holds true across all walks of life, from the humble farmer to the aspiring nobleman. However, when boredom strikes and the temptation arises to seek easy solutions, the trial of strength embodies the value of tenacious, honest efforts.
Enemy of Wretchedness. Avatars of strength seeks to impart an understanding of worth in people, teaching them the values of integrity, determination, and respect. They are drawn to resolve feuds between neighbors, fight the use of exploitative tactics in trade, and dissuade hopeless feelings.
Standing Strong. An avatar of strength can appear as almost anyone, so long as they are relatable to those around them. In order to facilitate self worth in others, the avatar reminds others of the value within themselves and those around them. Strength does not seek to alter, but to alleviate, granting meaning to any circumstance or life position.
Strength
Medium Celestial (Avatar), Typically Neutral
Armor Class 18 (plate)
Hit Points 153 (18d8 + 72)
Speed 30 ft.
STR 20 (+5)
DEX 13 (+1)
CON 19 (+4)
INT 10 (+0)
WIS 13 (+1)
CHA 19 (+4)
Saving Throws Str +8, Wis +4, Cha +7
Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
Damage Immunities psychic
Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened
Senses truesight 120 ft., passive Perception 11
Languages All, telepathy 120 ft.
Challenge 8 (3,900 XP) Proficiency Bonus +3
Fateseer. The avatar has advantage on initiative rolls and cannot be surprised.
Fortitude. If damage reduces the avatar to 0 hit points, it can make a Constitution saving throw with a DC of 5 + the damage taken, unless the damage is from a critical hit. On a success, the avatar drops to 1 hit point instead.
Strength’s Influence. If the avatar speaks with a humanoid or beast for at least 1 minute, the avatar can force it to make a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or be charmed by the avatar for 24 hours, or until the avatar or its allies do anything harmful to it or its allies. The creature can choose to fail this saving throw. While charmed in this way, the creature views the avatar as a relatable, responsible, and down-to-earth person who is often in the right. Once on each turn, a charmed creature deals an additional 1d8 force damage when they deal damage as long as they can see or hear the avatar.
Magic Resistance. The avatar has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Magic Weapons. The avatar’s weapon attacks are magical.
Actions
Multiattack. The avatar makes two Greatsword attacks.
Greatsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d6 + 5) slashing damage plus 9 (2d8) force damage.
Reactions
Resolute Rebuke. Immediately after a creature deals damage to the avatar, the avatar commands an ally of its choice to attack that creature. The chosen creature must be within 30 feet of the avatar and charmed by it, and uses its reaction to move up to its speed towards the target and make a weapon attack against it.
Avatars of Fate
Scholars posit that history repeats itself—that life follows a cyclical pattern called fate. While the interpretation of ‘fate’ can take many different forms, it is often understood through archetypal figures and familiar tales. This collective understanding manifests itself as the trials of fate.
These trials, which exist on the boundaries of the astral and the upper planes, are as much primal forces of the multiverse as they are distinct agents within it. They are not gods, for they have no will of their own. Instead, they represent the self-fulfilling expectations that thinking beings have ascribed to fate.
Beings with natures so alien as the trials are impossible for one mind to comprehend. The only consistent, discernable purpose that a trial demonstrates is the preservation and resolution of fate itself. When such a purpose requires direct intervention, the trials form the avatars of fate—corporeal beings that ensure the sanctity of fate.
Agents of the Trials. Avatars can manifest anywhere that thinking beings exist. Each trials’ avatar fulfills a different role in the preservation of fate, embodying a different stage in the cyclical nature of fate’s progress through time. Unlike the abstract trials from which they are born, avatars are fully aware of their surroundings and possess unique personalities.
Each avatar takes on a single form that allows it to blend in amongst the beings it influences. These forms are appropriate to the context of where they appear, taking on the cultural signifiers of the time and people they occupy. Some avatars are entirely mundane, while others take on otherworldly or even mythical qualities in their appearance, such as wings or the heads of animals.
Driven by Purpose. An avatar instinctively knows what it must do to fulfill its purpose. It acts with a self-assured confidence in this purpose, refusing to abandon its goals. The fruits of an avatar’s work might come quickly or after many lifetimes, after which it returns to the astral sea from which it came.
To oppose an avatar is to take on the arduous task of opposing fate itself. The avatars are not infallible, however. A particularly clever individual might be able to bend an avatar’s beliefs to suit their desires. This is no easy task, however, as avatars have a shrewd understanding of the world and its workings.
Composites of Belief. While they can’t directly see the future, avatars are innately attuned to the ongoing beliefs of sentient life. Through this connection, the avatars maintain an abstract understanding of history and time, synthesized from the wills of beings across the multiverse’s past, present, and future.
Though they might not directly recall events of the past, they predict the future using allegories and fables drawn from vague memories of past events. Thus, to debate an avatar is to debate the beliefs of countless minds who have been and have yet to be.
Worldly Influencers. An avatar will never be the one who decides fate. Instead, they present the circumstances, opportunities, and challenges by which others must do so. The material world can bend to an avatar’s needs in small ways, but their existence never directly rewrites history.
Instead, avatars often appear to figures of influence such as political leaders, adventurers, or those destined for greatness. They might even infiltrate whole organizations or communities. Whatever the case, those who an avatar appears before are inextricably linked to events of great importance.
How to Run an Avatar of Fate
Avatars of fate are embodiments of particular ideas and characters. They can be run as a single encounter, or as an ongoing tie in with a broader campaign narrative. Whatever your method of inclusion, consider the following when you include an avatar in your game.
Narrative Role. What will the avatar’s relationship be with the player characters? Are they a challenge for the party to overcome? Are they a mentor meant to guide the party to fulfill their destiny? Or, are they perhaps a companion meant to accompany the party? Whatever you decide, you should have an idea of how the avatar will interact with the party based on its feelings and desires towards the player characters.
Prior Bonds. Avatars often acquire wealth and power to meet their ends; consider what bonds and arrangements the avatar has made ahead of the party encountering it. Perhaps it has established itself as a particularly notable member of a community, or perhaps it has been terrorizing a group of people that have goals opposed to its own. Establishing this will allow the avatar to feel like a facet of the world instead of a simple combat encounter.
Appearance and Personality. How has this avatar embodied the concept from which it came? Does it emulate a particular archetypal figure? What cultural signifiers has it taken on? Avatars can be otherworldly and strange or mundane and ordinary, depending on how they integrate into a setting. Deciding this will help you flesh out the avatar’s character and decide on a tone for how you present it to the players.
