ORCISH ARMY | NEWLY TRAINED SOLDIER
Signallers maintain communications among infantry units, scouts, and headquarters under battlefield conditions. They relay orders, recognize important developments, interpret coded signals, and watch for hostile telepathic traffic. Their equipment includes nonmagical signalling methods for use when magic is unavailable or unwise.
Your spellcasting modifier is INT.
Starting character statistics
| Statistic | Starting rule |
| Hit points | 14 + 2 × CON modifier; no Hit Dice healing |
| Proficiency bonus | +2 |
| Spellcasting ability | Spell attack bonus = +2 + INT modifier; spell save DC = 10 + INT modifier |
| Saving throw proficiencies | Intelligence, Wisdom |
| Skill proficiencies | Survival (basic army fieldcraft), Perception, Investigation |
| Armor proficiency | Light armor, medium armor |
| Weapon proficiency | Simple weapons, shortsword |
| Weapon mastery | Shortsword (Vex): on hit, advantage on your next attack roll against that target before end of your next turn. Light crossbow (Slow): on hit, target speed −10 ft until start of your next turn. |
| Basic first aid | Add proficiency bonus to first-aid checks: stabilize (action, DC 10 Medicine); field dressing (1 minute, DC 10 Medicine, restores 1d4 HP, once per injury episode). Each attempt consumes 1 kit use. |
Issued arms and equipment
| Item | Standard issue |
| Weapons | Shortsword (1d6 piercing); light crossbow (1d8 piercing) with 20 bolts |
| Protection | Chain shirt (AC 13 + DEX modifier, maximum +2), helmet; no shield |
| Signalling gear | Compact signal horn, colored signal flags, coded signal booklet, waterproof message case |
| Medical supplies | Healer’s Kit (5 uses, including bandages and field dressings) |
| Field kit | Uniform, boots, bedroll, blanket, mess kit, waterskin, 3 days’ rations |
| Identification | Identification tag and unit insignia |
Military spells taught during training
All five spells use Intelligence. Mana costs are paid normally; if mana is insufficient, the shortfall is taken directly from actual HP. Unless specified otherwise, use the general Orcish magic rules. Telepathic spells transmit intended words, not involuntary thoughts or memories.
Whisper Link • 3 mana
Casting: Action | Range: 300 ft | Duration: 10 minutes
Establish a telepathic link with one willing creature within range. Either participant may communicate freely for the duration, so long as both remain within 300 feet of each other.
Battlefield Relay • 5 mana
Casting: Action | Range: 120 ft | Duration: 10 minutes
Establish a telepathic network among up to four willing creatures, including yourself, within range. All participants may communicate freely with one another while within 120 feet of you.
Signal Flare • 3 mana
Casting: Action | Range: Self | Duration: Instantaneous
Create a brilliant colored signal in the sky, visible up to one mile away in clear conditions. Choose its color and a simple pattern when casting. Visibility may be reduced by terrain, weather, or obstructions.
Piercing Call • 4 mana
Casting: Action | Range: 1,000 ft | Duration: Up to 15 seconds
Transmit a spoken message lasting up to 15 seconds. Everyone within 1,000 feet—friend or enemy—hears it as a comfortable conversational-level voice, regardless of distance or ordinary background noise. It is not dangerously loud, even close to the caster. Military messages are therefore commonly coded.
Etherwatch • 5 mana
Casting: Action | Range: Self (1,000-ft detection radius) | Duration: 1 hour
You automatically sense telepathic magical communications initiated or maintained within 1,000 feet, but not their details. As an action, make one Intelligence spellcasting ability check per detected communication: DC 10 estimates direction; DC 15 estimates distance (roughly ±25%); DC 20 reveals fragments of content; DC 25 reveals a substantial portion. Meeting a higher DC also grants lower-DC information. A failed check does not remove awareness of the communication. Passive listening itself is not a telepathic transmission.
Communications Discipline: add double your proficiency bonus to Intelligence checks to transmit or interpret military signals, codes, and orders. A wise signaller assumes that enemy specialists may also be able to detect telepathic traffic.