One of the things that happened at the end of the Maze of the Minotaur was that our PC's (Player Characters) each received a new ability. They have been so incredibly excited about their new powers that they've been asking me non-stop for over a week how they work exactly and when they can use them. I figured if they were this excited, maybe some other players would enjoy similar upgrades in your games. So this is how I plan on implementing them.
Our Master Archer gained the ability to blend into any environment if he hasn't already been seen. Basically, he will have "super stealth" that will make him nearly invisible to all but the most perceptive enemies. Mechanically, instead of starting with 1 die and gaining a die to his stealth check pool for each thing that helps him, he will always start with 5 dice and remove 1 for each thing that would hinder perfect camouflage (like bright sunlight in an open field or a very perceptive foe). He will also always succeed with a 3 or higher. Once he does something to attract attention, he loses his camouflage. Also, if his pet bear follows him and fails a standard stealth check, he will lose his camouflage.
Our Life Mage has gained the ability to heal at range. I will probably also give her some sort of protective shield or extra defense so that she isn't left completely vulnerable while playing a mostly supportive role (she's the youngest and will probably need a little extra help as the encounters begin to become increasingly more difficult). The only limit I plan to impose on this ability is that the target must be within eyesight and a main PC (no pets except her own).
The Nature Mage gained the spell, Polymorph, which allows him to transform into an animal for a time. Each animal form will have its own set of stats and abilities. For example, if he morphs into a bear, he will have 3 HP, 3 melee dice, 1 armor die, and have the Barging Attack Special Action. If he is KO'd in animal form or the spell reaches its time limit, the mage will revert back to the same state he was in when he cast the spell (if he had 2 HP when he cast the spell, he has 2 HP after it's done, no matter how many HP he had left in animal form). Clearly, this has the potential to become very overpowered very quickly. I'm imposing several limitations on the spell to balance this. First, he has to choose 6 animals ahead of time that will be available for him to morph into. He can only change out which animals are in those 6 when he can rest for a full day. Additionally, there are 4 size classifications for all the animals (small, medium, large, huge) with a max of 2 from any given size allowed to be in the 6. A max of 2 of the 6 can be magical or mythical creatures (dragon, griffin, etc.). Finally, Polymorph may only be cast twice per encounter with each animal limited to one use until he can get a short rest. A short rest replenishes the availability of all 6 animals, but if there isn't time for resting, any used animals remain unavailable for the next encounter.
The Elemental Mage gained the spell, Living Elemental, which allows him to transform into one of 4 elemental creatures: fire, water, earth, and air. The elemental forms can pass through their own element for a short distance. They also have stronger element based attacks. Otherwise, the spell is mechanically identical to Polymorph.
I haven't had the opportunity to see these in use yet. I'm sure situations will arise that I did not anticipate that will force me to improvise better balances. I will check back in with how things work out in game once they get used to using them. If you guys have incorporated anything like these, let me know how they worked for you
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