As an empath, you gain the following class features.

Hit Points

Hit Dice: 1d8 per empath level

Hit Points at 1st Level: 8 + your Constitution modifier

Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 (or 5) + your Constitution modifier each time you gain a level in this class

Chi Points

Chi Dice: 1d8 per empath level

Chi Points at 1st Level: 8 + your Wisdom modifier

Chi Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 (or 5) + your Wisdom modifier each time you gain a level in this class 

Proficiencies

Armor: Light armor, Medium armor, shields

Weapons: Simple weapons

Tools: Herbalism kit

Saving Throws: Wisdom, Charisma

Skills: Choose two from Animal Handling, Athletics, History, Insight, Medicine, Nature, Perception, Spirit, and Survival

Equipment

You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:

• (a) scale mail or (b) leather armor
• (a) a simple melee weapon and a wooden shield or (b) any two simple weapons
• (a) a diplomat’s pack or (b) an explorer’s pack
• An empath focus

Bending

You have an intuitive connection to the world that you tap in to through energy and bending. See chapter 10 for the general rules of bending and chapter 11 for the empath technique list.

Basics

At 1st level, you know two basics of your choice from the empath technique list. Alternatively, if you are an elemental bender, you can choose basics from your elemental bending technique list. You learn additional empath basics of your choice at higher levels, as shown in the Basics Known column of the Empath table.

Techniques Known of 1st Level and Higher

As an empath, you understand bending by watching and practicing with others. At 1st level, you know three 1st level techniques of your choice from the empath technique list. Alternatively, if you are an elemental bender, you can choose techniques from your elemental bending technique list.

The Techniques Known column of the Empath table shows when you learn more techniques of your choice. The Technique Level column of the Empath table shows what level techniques you are able to learn at each level. When you reach 6th level, for example, you can learn a technique of 1st, 2nd, or 3rd level.

The techniques that you learn as you level up in this class represent your natural growth and progression as a bender. Since they come to you naturally, you do not have to go through the process of mastering them. To learn additional bending techniques, they must be on the empath technique list and you have to either be taught by somebody who can perform the technique or find the technique on a bending scroll. Techniques learned in these ways have to be mastered as described in the Mastery Points section of chapter 10.

Using Techniques

To use a technique, you must expend an amount of chi equal to the technique’s level. If you do not have enough chi available to you, you cannot perform the technique or the technique fails. If you try to use a technique you have not mastered yet and it fails, you expend chi equal to half the technique’s level (rounded down).

You are able to learn and perform techniques of a level equal to or lower than the level shown in the Empath table’s Technique Level column for your level. If a technique can be used at multiple levels, you can use it at any level at or below the level shown in the Empath table’s Technique Level column for your level.

Bending Ability

Wisdom is your bending ability for your empath techniques, since your bending relies on your ability to sense and feel the energy around you. You use your Wisdom whenever a technique refers to your bending ability. You use your Wisdom modifier when setting the saving throw DC for an empath technique you use and when making an attack roll with one.

Technique save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier

Technique attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier

If you are an elemental bender, you are able to extrapolate what you learn through your class to your elemental bending as well. Thus, you can choose whether to use your elemental bending abilities or your empath bending ability for your elemental bending techniques.

Meditation

You can perform empath techniques through  meditation if the technique has the meditation tag and you have mastered the technique.

Bending Focus

You can use an empath focus (found in chapter 5) as a focus for your empath techniques.

Healing Hands

Your connection to others allows you to heal and restore others through the transfer of the universal life force energy, chi. When you touch a creature, you can expend chi points to heal, cure, and boost their energy.

As an action, you can touch a creature and draw power from your pool of energy to restore a number of hit points to that creature. For each chi point spent, the creature regains 5 hit points

Alternatively, you can expend one chi point to cure the target of one disease or neutralize one poison affecting it.

Finally, you can directly transfer energy to a target, transferring your chi points to them. For each chi point you expend, the creature regains one chi point.

You can expend a number of chi points up to your Empath level for each use of Healing Hands, and can produce multiple effects in a single use of Healing Hands, including curing multiple diseases and neutralizing multiple poisons, expending chi points separately for each effect. 

            This feature has no effect on spirits or constructs.

Empathic Connection

At 2nd level, you identify the spirit to which you are most profoundly connected: Natural Spirit, or Human Spirit, each of which is detailed at the end of the class description. Your choice grants you features at 2nd level and again at 6th, 10th, 14th, and 20th level.

Ability Score Improvement

When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.

Intuitive Understanding

By 10th level, if you have seen another creature perform a chibending technique, you can intuit how to do it yourself. Choose two techniques that you have seen before from any class, including this one. The techniques you choose must be of a level you can perform, as shown on the Empath table, or a basic.

            The chosen techniques count as empath techniques for you and are included in the number in the Techniques Known column of the Empath table.

            You learn one additional chibending technique from any class at 14th level and another at 18th level.

While all empaths are able to forge powerful relations with others, each has a particular affinity for certain types of connection. Those who have strong intuitive emotional connection to others may devote themselves to the art of human connection. Others find the emotional distress of others overwhelming and burdensome and will seek out comfort and joy in their connection with nature. Yet others are more capable of physically empathizing with others, both taking on the pain and emulating the actions of others. Your choice of connection reflects your preferred point of connection to the beings around you.

Natural Spirit

Natural Recovery

Starting at 2nd level, you can regain some of your energy by sitting in meditation and communing with nature. During a short rest, you can regain up to an amount of chi points equal to half your empath level rounded up. You can’t use this feature again until you finish a long rest.

            For example, when you are a 4th-level empath, you can recover up to chi points.

Animal Companion

Also at 2nd level, you gain a beast companion that accompanies you on your adventures and is trained to fight alongside you.

Choose a beast that is no larger than Medium and that has a challenge rating of ¼ or lower (appendix D presents statistics for the deer dog, eagle hawk, and viper bat as examples). As you gain levels in this class, the maximum challenge rating of your animal companion increases, as shown in the Animal Companion table below.

You add your proficiency bonus to the beast’s AC, attack rolls, and damage rolls, as well as to any saving throws and skills it is proficient in. Its hit point maximum equals its normal maximum or four times your empath level, whichever is higher.

            The beast obeys your commands as best it can. It takes its turn on your initiative, though it doesn’t take an action unless you command it to. On your turn, you can verbally command the beast where to move (no action required by you). You can use your action to command it to take the Attack action. When you reach 6th level, your beast companion can make two attacks when you command it to use the Attack action.

On any of your turns when your animal companion doesn’t attack, you can use a bonus action to verbally command it to take the Dash, Disengage, Dodge, or Help action.

            If the beast dies, you can obtain another one by spending 8 hours bonding with another beast that isn’t hostile to you, either the same type of beast as before or a different one.

Land’s Stride

Starting at 6th level, moving through difficult natural terrain costs you no extra movement. You can also pass through plants without being slowed by them and without taking damage from them if they have thorns, spines, or a similar hazard.

            In addition, you have advantage on saving throws against plant spirit attacks or hazards that impede movement, such as those created by the entangle technique.

Spiritual Bond

Beginning at 10th level, when you perform a technique targeting yourself, you can also affect your animal companion with the technique if it is within 30 feet of you.

Nature’s Sanctuary

When you reach 14th level, creatures of the natural world sense your connection to nature and become hesitant to attack you. When a beast or plant creature attacks you, that creature must make a Wisdom saving throw against your empath technique save DC. On a failed save, the creature must choose a different target, or the attack automatically misses. On a successful save, the creature is immune to this effect for 24 hours.

            The creature is aware of this effect before it makes its attack against you.

One with Nature

At 20th level, there is limit to the maximum challenge rating of your animal companion. Any willing creature that you spend 8 hours bonding with can become your animal companion.

Human Spirit

Diplomat

Beginning at 2nd level, your skill in interpersonal relations helps you to resolve conflict outside of combat. You gain proficiency with three skills or human languages of your choice.

Tether

Also at 2nd level, you learn to make an energetic connection with another human. As a bonus action, you can expend 1 chi and touch a willing humanoid creature to create a tether. While tethered, you are able to share thoughts, feelings, energy, and health.         

You can tether yourself to a creature for up to ten minutes. The tether breaks if you are separated from the creature by more than 30 feet or either you or the tethered creature falls unconscious. You can also break the tether on your turn without expending an action.

            While you are tethered to a creature, the following rules apply:

• You are able to share simple thoughts, ideas or intentions with the tethered creature telepathically.
• You can use the tether to deliver the effects of your Healing Hands to the tethered creature without touching them.
• You can use the tether to deliver bending techniques with a range of touch to the tethered creature without touching them.
• Any time you are healed, you can share any number of the hit points healed with the tethered creature, dividing the total between the two of you.

Double Team

Starting at 6th level, when the creature you are tethered to takes the Attack action on its turn, you can use your reaction to make an attack as well.

Synergy

Beginning at 10th level, when you target yourself with a bending technique and you are tethered to a creature, you can pass the effect of the technique on to the creature you are tethered to as well.

Cleansing Touch

Beginning at 14th level, you can use your action to end one technique or condition effect on a creature that you touch.

            You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier (a minimum of once). You regain expended uses when you finish a Long Rest.

Intrinsic Connection

At 20th level, you no longer need to expend chi to tether to a creature, and you no longer need to touch a creature to initiate the connection. When you use your tether, you can connect to any willing creature within 30 feet of you.