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Waywhistler

About these subclasses

Waywhistlers are wandering performers who weave their magic through sharp, haunting notes that carry farther than they should. Their melodies—whether soft and lilting or piercing and shrill—have a way of drawing unseen listeners, as if something beyond the living world lingers just out of sight. To many, their music is beautiful; to others, it carries an unsettling edge, like a tune remembered from a dream or a voice heard in the distance when no one is there.

These bards are rarely still for long, traveling from place to place in search of stories, forgotten roads, and the quiet spaces where the boundary between worlds feels thin. The spirits they call are not always bound or controlled—some are companions, others are simply passing through—but all are drawn to the Waywhistler’s call. Over time, many Waywhistlers come to treat these ghostly presences as part of their journey, as familiar as the roads they walk.

At the table, Waywhistlers can be played as eerie storytellers, restless wanderers, or performers who blur the line between comfort and unease. Consider how your music manifests—do you whistle softly to guide spirits, or do your notes cut sharply through the air? Do you welcome the dead as companions, or merely tolerate their presence? And when something answers your call… do you always know what it is?

Designed for class

Bard image
Core class
Bard

Waywhistler

Spellcast Trait: Presence
Foundation

Wandering Haints: When an ally within Close range spends a Rally Die, you can summon a wandering spirit that lingers with them. Choose its form:

  • Grump: When the ally deals damage, you can spend a Hope to increase the damage by the roll of your Rally Die + your Presence modifier.

  • Sad Sack: When the ally takes damage, you can spend a Hope to reduce the damage by the roll of your Rally Die + your Presence modifier.

  • Scamp: When the ally fails an action roll, you can spend a Hope to increase the result by the roll of your Rally Die + your Presence modifier.

You can only have one Haint active at a time. The Haint fades when you summon another or when the scene ends.

Specialization

Ride the Rails: Once per scene, you can mark a Stress to whistle and summon a spectral train that surges through the area. Choose an unoccupied destination within Far range. You and any willing allies within Close range are carried to that location.

As the train passes, adversaries between your starting point and destination must make a Reaction Roll (13). On a failure, they are pushed aside within Close range and take magic damage equal to three rolls of your Rally Dice.

Homeward Bound: Once per Long Rest, you can whistle to conjure a ghostly train that returns you and your allies to a marked destination.

When you take a Long Rest, you can use a downtime action to leave a mark at that location. You can have a number of marked locations equal to your Presence modifier. If you mark a location beyond your maximum, one previous mark of your choice fades.

Mastery

Last Stop: Once per session, you can spend 3 Hope to unleash a piercing whistle that echoes into the beyond. Choose up to 6 adversaries within Very Far range. Each must make a reaction roll (16).

  • On a failure: They mark all Stress and become Vulnerable until the end of the scene.

  • On a success: They mark half Stress (rounded up) and are Vulnerable until the end of their next spotlight.

Printable cards

Foundation / Specialization / Mastery
Bard

Waywhistler

Foundation

SPELLCAST TRAIT: Presence

Wandering Haints: When an ally within Close range spends a Rally Die, you can summon a wandering spirit that lingers with them. Choose its form:

  • Grump: When the ally deals damage, you can spend a Hope to increase the damage by the roll of your Rally Die + your Presence modifier.

  • Sad Sack: When the ally takes damage, you can spend a Hope to reduce the damage by the roll of your Rally Die + your Presence modifier.

  • Scamp: When the ally fails an action roll, you can spend a Hope to increase the result by the roll of your Rally Die + your Presence modifier.

You can only have one Haint active at a time. The Haint fades when you summon another or when the scene ends.

Daggerheart Compatible. Daggerheart.comDaggerheart Compatible Logo
Card Backing
Bard

Waywhistler

Specialization

Ride the Rails: Once per scene, you can mark a Stress to whistle and summon a spectral train that surges through the area. Choose an unoccupied destination within Far range. You and any willing allies within Close range are carried to that location.

As the train passes, adversaries between your starting point and destination must make a Reaction Roll (13). On a failure, they are pushed aside within Close range and take magic damage equal to three rolls of your Rally Dice.

Homeward Bound: Once per Long Rest, you can whistle to conjure a ghostly train that returns you and your allies to a marked destination.

When you take a Long Rest, you can use a downtime action to leave a mark at that location. You can have a number of marked locations equal to your Presence modifier. If you mark a location beyond your maximum, one previous mark of your choice fades.

Daggerheart Compatible. Daggerheart.comDaggerheart Compatible Logo
Card Backing
Bard

Waywhistler

Mastery

Last Stop: Once per session, you can spend 3 Hope to unleash a piercing whistle that echoes into the beyond. Choose up to 6 adversaries within Very Far range. Each must make a reaction roll (16).

  • On a failure: They mark all Stress and become Vulnerable until the end of the scene.

  • On a success: They mark half Stress (rounded up) and are Vulnerable until the end of their next spotlight.

Daggerheart Compatible. Daggerheart.comDaggerheart Compatible Logo
Card Backing

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