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Avatar Legends

Hang Back

Technique

Avatar Legends Nexus - Hang Back - Drop back one position.

Hang Back - Techniques - Avatar Legends Nexus

Avatar Legends: The RPG

This section contains all of the game's playbooks, as well as advice for each playbook’s moves, features, and story arcs. The advice helps expand on the core ideas of each playbook, setting you up for success without demanding you always take the same course, in addition to mechanics advice on the particular moves and features of these playbooks. Remember that each player in the game should use a different playbook.

Each game begins with your group picking an era as the backdrop for your game. The eras are each tied to the span of an Avatar’s life—except for the Hundred Year War era during which Avatar Aang was frozen—and focuses on distinct themes which define the type of game you play.

Name

Source

Subcategory

Rolls With

Details

Rare?

Approach

Principle

Examples

Trait

A zealous advocate with a heart of gold and a diamond-hard will, ready to do what it takes to fix the world. Their balance principles are Restraint vs. Results.

A zealous advocate with a heart of gold and a diamond-hard will, ready to do what it takes to fix the world. Their balance principles are Restraint vs. Results.

A charming adventurer who knows they’re greater than others assume, striving to show their worth. Their balance principles are Loyalty vs. Confidence.

A charming adventurer who knows they’re greater than others assume, striving to show their worth. Their balance principles are Loyalty vs. Confidence.

A protector and defender, devoted to others…perhaps to their own detriment; they have adopted one of their companions as their ward. Their balance principles are Self-Reliance vs. Trust.

A protector and defender, devoted to others…perhaps to their own detriment; they have adopted one of their companions as their ward. Their balance principles are Self-Reliance vs. Trust.

A fighter, looking to solve problems by smashing them, even when that might not be the right solution. Their balance principles are Force vs. Care.

A fighter, looking to solve problems by smashing them, even when that might not be the right solution. Their balance principles are Force vs. Care.

A survivor of some terrible harm, now struggling to maintain hope and a belief in the good of the world and others. Their balance principles are Forgiveness vs. Action.

A survivor of some terrible harm, now struggling to maintain hope and a belief in the good of the world and others. Their balance principles are Forgiveness vs. Action.

A chosen figure of an ancient tradition, expected to carry forward the duties of their role regardless of what they want. Their balance principles are Role vs. Freedom.

A chosen figure of an ancient tradition, expected to carry forward the duties of their role regardless of what they want. Their balance principles are Role vs. Freedom.

A proficient leader, coming from their own special team but now devoted to this new group of companions, trying to help the others to cohere. Their balance principles are Support vs. Leadership.

A proficient leader, coming from their own special team but now devoted to this new group of companions, trying to help the others to cohere. Their balance principles are Support vs. Leadership.

An extraordinarily capable practitioner of their training, but that tends to make them a bit too arrogant and isolated. Their balance principles are Excellence vs. Community.

An extraordinarily capable practitioner of their training, but that tends to make them a bit too arrogant and isolated. Their balance principles are Excellence vs. Community.

A vagabond who has struggled to survive—they’ve never felt they belonged, and they’ve become a rebel and a troublemaker to make it. Their balance principles are Friendship vs. Survival.

A vagabond who has struggled to survive—they’ve never felt they belonged, and they’ve become a rebel and a troublemaker to make it. Their balance principles are Friendship vs. Survival.

The inheritor of a massively powerful legacy, known all over, with its own dark history. Their balance principles are Tradition vs. Progress.

The inheritor of a massively powerful legacy, known all over, with its own dark history. Their balance principles are Tradition vs. Progress.

They are known to have some important, incredible fate before them…but exactly what that fate is, when it will come for them, and how it will play out all remain to be seen. Their balance principles are Patience vs. Determination.

The Destined

They are known to have some important, incredible fate before them…but exactly what that fate is, when it will come for them, and how it will play out all remain to be seen. Their balance principles are Patience vs. Determination.

They have seen much, been to many places, and done much. Now esteemed and successful, they have much to teach…but they also have the wisdom to see they have much to learn. Their balance principles are Experience vs. Humility.

The Elder

They have seen much, been to many places, and done much. Now esteemed and successful, they have much to teach…but they also have the wisdom to see they have much to learn. Their balance principles are Experience vs. Humility.

They are the inheritor of two traditions, two cultures, two frameworks of training and philosophies. They are constantly trying to represent the best of both, and sometimes to combine them into something new. Their balance principles are Unity vs. Heritage.

The Foundling

They are the inheritor of two traditions, two cultures, two frameworks of training and philosophies. They are constantly trying to represent the best of both, and sometimes to combine them into something new. Their balance principles are Unity vs. Heritage.

They were raised to be a weapon, a tool for their masters to use against enemies. But they have seen a better way forward, and now they seek to make up for the terrible things they did and what they were taught to do. Their balance principles are Control vs. Connection.

The Razor

They were raised to be a weapon, a tool for their masters to use against enemies. But they have seen a better way forward, and now they seek to make up for the terrible things they did and what they were taught to do. Their balance principles are Control vs. Connection.

The Adrift is trying to find a cause and purpose to invest in. Play the Adrift if you want to encounter conflicts around what to care about, and when caring too much is dangerous.

The Adrift

They used to do exactly what they were told, never stepping out of line or really having an identity of their own, and now they’re putting themselves out there and fighting for something they believe in. Their balance principles are Risk vs Stability.

The Aspirant hopes to change the world, and to do that they seek fame and influence. Play the Aspirant if you want to contend with reputation and the demands of those who see you as their hero.

The Aspirant

They are deeply and fully committed to the group’s overall focus, but they believe they need the help of public opinion to achieve real positive change in the world. Their balance principles are Legacy vs Adoration.

The Outcast was thrown out of their home for their unwillingness to compromise their integrity. Play the Outcast if you want to see things clearly and act on them, while seeking a place where you can fit in.

The Outcast

They were thrown out of their hometown for a conflict over their integrity, and now they’re finding ways to belong while staying true to themselves. Their balance principles are Society vs Integrity.

The Architect built up an institution and its structures, but now those things have their own life. Play the Architect if you want to be a creator managing their creation.

The Architect

They created a marvel and a whole organization rose to steward that marvel in the world…but they don’t have direct control over the organization and struggle to guide it. Their balance principles are Planning vs Discovery.

The Authority leads an important faction. Play the Authority if you want to balance the power of your leadership with the needs of your constituents.

The Authority

They lead a faction with power and presence throughout the setting. Sometimes, they serve the faction’s desires, but sometimes they must be true to their own beliefs. Their balance principles are Service vs Self.

The Bound has sworn oaths and committed themselves wholly to their role. Play the Bound if you want to be a duty-bound servant of others wrestling with your oaths and your own sense of justice.

The Bound

They serve an institution in a position of importance and responsibility. The rules and obligations of their position are clear and even comforting in the strength they provide, but they don’t always align with the Bound’s sense of justice. Their balance principles are Duty vs Justice.

The Broken suffered a tragedy that shattered them; now, they are piecing themselves back together. Play the Broken if you want to strive to heal yourself and become someone new.

The Broken

They endured a terrible tragedy that broke them as a person, but now they are rebuilding themselves. They are determining whether they should return to who they were before or become someone new altogether. Their balance principles are Restoration vs Reinvention.

The alchemist uses their skill at crafting to create alchemical items—such as bombs, elixirs, and poisons—that they use to defeat foes and aid allies. Smart and resourceful, an alchemist often has just the right tool for the job and esoteric knowledge to help their friends get out of a jam.

Alchemist

The alchemist throws alchemical bombs and drinks concoctions of their own making.

The barbarian is a fearsome embodiment of rage, focusing the deadly power of their anger against anyone who stands in their way. A barbarian is quick to enter battle and, once their fury has been unleashed, is immensely strong, often unpredictable, and nearly unstoppable.

Barbarian

The barbarian flies into a rage on the battlefield, smashing foes with abandon.

An artist and a scholar, the bard uses performance and esoteric learning to bolster their companions and foil their enemies. Sometimes sneaky and quite often charming, the bard adventures with pizzazz and talent backed up by an impressive repertoire of occult magic.

Bard

Skilled performances and secrets of the occult enable the bard to distract foes and inspire allies.

A defender of good who straps on armor and wields a righteous weapon, the champion protects the innocent and vanquishes evil. Steadfast in their beliefs, and devoted to both a deity and an aspect of good, they follow a strict code as they fight to make the world a better place.

Champion

A warrior dedicated to a deity, the champion uses divine power to enhance their abilities and protect allies.

The cleric is dedicated to the worship of a single deity and draws divine magic from this devotion. Clerics can be vastly different depending on who they worship, and whether they’re cloistered clerics who pursue one of their deity’s domains or war priests who serve as the sword arm of their god.

Cleric

The cleric calls on the power of a deity to cast spells that can heal allies or harm foes.

The druid walks the wild, primordial places of the world without fear, harnessing the primal magic of nature and controlling it with calm purpose. A devotee of the wilderness, the druid finds nourishment in its power, allies among its creatures, and strength in its fury.

Druid

The druid uses the magic of the natural world to bolster allies and strike down enemies.

With calculated daring and fearless determination, the fighter tracks down and confronts their enemies while defending allies from harm. A master of the battlefield, the fighter is quick to exploit opportunities and strike any who stumble within reach of their sword or bow.

Fighter

The fighter is a master of weapons, martial techniques, and powerful attack combinations.

While most people can fire a gun or crossbow, a gunslinger knows such weapons better than anyone. From reloading to customization, a gunslinger demands more from their weapons, though demanding too much can result in a misfire. Gunslingers remain unrivaled in their skill and accuracy with weapons that strike hard from afar.

Gunslinger

Gunslingers use firearms and crossbows to perform trick shots and take down their enemies while remaining at a safe distance.

Any tinkerer can follow a diagram to make a device, but the inventor creates the impossible and challenges the boundaries of reality. An inventor remains on the verge of the next great breakthrough, and every trial and tribulation presents another opportunity to test and tune their contraptions.

Inventor

The inventor battles enemies with a groundbreaking innovation only they can use.

Clever and insightful, the investigator solves mysteries and teems with knowledge. In battle, they play out every possibility in advance, striking true when the time is right. Their methodology grants them an edge, and their high Intelligence and number of skills mean they almost always have the right tool for the job.

Investigator

The investigator uses knowledge to uncover mysteries and best their foes.

The magus, a polymath of battle, trains in both spells and strikes. Combining these arts, a magus channels spells into their weapon or body to inflict devastating wounds upon their foes. The magus’s versatility in combat and knowledge of the arcane makes them a welcome addition to any party.

Magus

The magus, a polymath of battle, trains in both spells and strikes.

The monk seeks perfection in all things, and that includes transforming their body into the perfect weapon. They can be walking with calm purpose and contemplating the subtleties of existence in one minute and then transform into a blur of deadly blows in the next.

Monk

The monk wields the secrets of martial arts in dazzling displays of battlefield prowess.

The oracle is a paradox of divine magic, able to tap into and manipulate energies from disparate sources throughout the universe that would overwhelm anyone else. These mysteries grant unusual powers and revelations, as well as a double-edged curse - which they must learn how to simultaneously endure and exploit.

Oracle

The oracle balances powerful divine magic with a supernatural curse.

Resourceful and cunning, the ranger is a hunter, tracker, and warrior who preserves the natural world and protects civilization from its ravages. Whether they use a bow, crossbow, a pair of weapons, or snares, the ranger is a fearsome enemy and great ally in the wild.

Ranger

The ranger is a master of using their surroundings, traps, and animal allies to harry enemies.

Cunning and quick, the rogue brings skill and expertise few of their comrades can match. In battle, they excel at sneak attacks and ambushes. Their racket gives them the tools they need to get the job done, and their wide array of skill choices lets them specialize as they see fit.

Rogue

The rogue is a multitalented master of skulduggery who strikes when enemies least expect it.

The intense magic the sorcerer commands comes from neither study nor worship—it comes from their blood. Their magical abilities depend on whether they have the blood of dragons, angels, fey, aberrant creatures, or some other being flowing through their veins and powering their spells.

Sorcerer

The sorcerer’s magical might flows from their blood and manifests as fantastic spells and abilities.

A summoner acts as the living anchor to a powerful being called an eidolon, which they call upon for aid. Summoners maintain deep connections with their eidolons, granting them the ability to influence the way the creature evolves. Eidolons manifest in many forms, including as constructs, demons, dragons, fey, and other creatures.

Summoner

A summoner acts as the living anchor to a powerful being called an eidolon, which they call upon for aid.

To a swashbuckler, anything worth doing is worth doing with style. This dynamic daredevil performs bold feats of derring-do and mixes their own unique style with flamboyant attacks. The swashbuckler tumbles around the battlefield, befuddling their foes to set them up for powerful finishing moves.

Swashbuckler

The swashbuckler earns panache through showy acts and leverages this flair to thwart their foes.

The witch is a versatile spellcaster who learns a variety of magical lessons from a mystical familiar, sent to them by a powerful and mysterious patron. The witch's mastery of potent hexes from their patron allows them to supplement their other spells with special tricks to solve any problem.

Witch

The witch casts spells and hexes learned through a powerful familiar from a mysterious patron.

The wizard is the arcane master of spellcasting, plucking incredible power from reality through complicated spell formulas. They stride with confidence, without a need for armor or weapons, enacting their will upon the world and bringing woe upon their enemies.

Wizard

The wizard is a scholar whose reservoirs of arcane knowledge powers their wondrous spells and abilities.

Guided by the personal combination of their subconscious and conscious mind, a psychic calls forth occult magic with but a thought. The psychic focuses more on the moment than on daily spell slots, wielding unique, versatile cantrips and unleashing their mind to use strange and powerful abilities.

Psychic

Guided by the personal combination of their subconscious and conscious mind, a psychic calls forth occult magic with but a thought.

The thaumaturge has seen every monster and knows every secret. Supplementing their skill at arms and ability to strike a monster’s weakness with myriad supernatural trinkets and mystic implements that can fill a wide range of roles, the thaumaturge is a versatile agent who can contribute to any team facing the unknown.

Thaumaturge

The thaumaturge has seen every monster and knows every secret.

Elemental matter blasts from a magical gate within every kineticist. Shaping these elements into magical impulses, a kineticist can fight nonstop with wild elemental magic. Kineticists can specialize in one element or grow into many, increasing their command over the fury of the elemental planes as they do.

Kineticist

Elemental matter blasts from a magical gate within every kineticist.

You are the interlocutor between the seen and unseen, the voice that connects the mortal and the spiritual. You may hold your powers as a sacred trust to be kept free of ego and personal desire, or you may see your unique abilities as a sign that you’ve been chosen as a champion of two worlds.

Animist

You channel the power of spiritual entities, called apparitions, to cast potent spells and manipulate the battlefield to your advantage.

An imbalance in the Outer Planes has seeded the Material World with unearthly power. Somehow, a fragment of divinity rests within your body, granting you abilities that reach into the realm previously reserved for heroes and legends.

Exemplar

You fight on the vanguard, scattering lesser foes to the winds. You concentrate your divine energy into the right weapon or tool for the moment.

The bard distracts foes and inspires allies with skilled performances and secrets of the occult.

With calculated daring and fearless determination, the fighter confronts their enemies while defending allies from harm. A master of the battlefield, the fighter is quick to exploit opportunities and strike any who stumble within reach of their blade or bow.

The witch is a versatile spellcaster who learns their magic from a familiar, sent to them by a powerful and mysterious patron. The witch’s mastery of potent hexes from their patron allows them to supplement their other spells with special tricks to solve any problem.

The wizard is the arcane master of spellcasting, plucking incredible power from reality through complicated spell formulas. They stride with confidence, without need for armor or weapons, enacting their will upon the world and bringing woe upon their enemies.

Wielding a weapon of their faith, the champion fights for a cause espoused by their deity. A champion is steadfast in their beliefs, whether righteous or wicked.

You approach battle with the knowledge that tactics and strategy are every bit as crucial as brute strength or numbers. You may have trained in classical theories of warfare and strategy at a military school or you might have refined your techniques through hard-won experience as part of an army or mercenary company. Regardless of how you came by your knowledge, you have a gift for signaling your allies from across the battlefield and shouting commands to rout even the most desperate conflicts, allowing your squad to exceed their limits and claim victory.

Commander

You approach battle with the knowledge that tactics and strategy are every bit as crucial as brute strength or numbers.

You are the shield, the steel wall that holds back the tide of deadly force exhibited by enemies great and small. You are clad in armor that you wear like a second skin. You can angle your armor to protect yourself and your allies from damage and keep foes at bay. You also make yourself a more tempting target to take the hits that might have otherwise struck down your companions.

Guardian

You are the shield, the steel wall that holds back the tide of deadly force exhibited by enemies great and small..

Smart and resourceful, the alchemist crafts alchemical items—such as bombs, elixirs, and poisons—that they use to defeat foes and aid allies.

The barbarian is a fearsome embodiment of rage, unleashing the unstoppable power of their fury against anyone who stands in their way.

Clever and insightful, the investigator solves mysteries and teems with knowledge. In battle, they play out every possibility in advance.

The monk seeks perfection in all things, including using their body as the perfect weapon. They can transform into a blur of deadly blows in an instant.

The oracle is a paradox of divine magic, able to tap into energies that grant potent revelations. Such power comes at the cost of a curse that they must endure.

The intense magic the sorcerer commands comes from neither study nor worship—it comes from their blood, the power of their heritage flowing through their veins.

To a swashbuckler, anything worth doing is worth doing with style. This dynamic daredevil performs flamboyant attacks and bold feats of derring-do.

The swashbuckler thwarts their foes with panache earned through showy acts.

The envoy is a Charisma-based class that combines battlefield direction and leadership. Lacking any sort of built-in spellcasting, the envoy is a class that lets players live the fantasy of supporting allies without the need of magic. Envoys excel at directing their allies and party members, granting powerful buffs that improve if the envoy performs actions that fulfill a “lead by example” clause. This might be simple, like nominating and Striking a foe, or more intricate, based on your selected leadership style and involving actions like Raising a Shield or a specific skill action. Play the envoy if you want to be the smooth talker with a plethora of skills and be able to take on a variety of different roles in combat while guiding your party members.

Envoy

You’re a master influencer. You make your way in the Universe with a charming smile, quick wit, and keen sense of self-preservation. 

Forming bonds with their closest allies, the Mystic is a Wisdom-based class that fulfills the role of battlefield healer and spellcaster. They access a vitality network that acts as a floating pool of Hit Points that they can transfer to their bonded allies, allowing them to spot heal in a punch. Able to access the divine, occult, and primal traditions via their selected connection, the mystic is also an incredible versatile spellcaster who spontaneously casts spells and can make decisions on the fly. Play the mystic if you want a class that provides a new spin on the healer concept while also giving you a strong selection of spell traditions and the ability to create close bonds with your party members.

Mystic

Forming bonds with their closest allies, the Mystic is a Wisdom-based class that fulfills the role of battlefield healer and spellcaster.