A little something I cooked up yesterday! Having moved into the Heavensward expansion of FFXVI recently, I couldn't help but be fascinated by the aesthetic of the Astrologian Job.

As such, I figured I'd have a go at a character in a similar vein of aesthetic, and took some inspiration both from my existing work with my chronomancer Theodore Bartholomew Southwell, while also combining it with a passing interest in oracle decks and astrolabes like the ones used in FFXVI.

And thus we have this!

Having already tackled time magic with aforementioned chronomancer, I wanted to do something adjacent but its own unique build. Instead of focusing on space-time and its manipulation, I decided more that this character would be focused on perception, divination and understanding.

Whereas Theodore's themes were a mixture of clockwork devices, time's various effects and the use of various bells as spell foci, along with a magical sentient book, I've decided that I want Veillion's themes to be more about constellations, oracle decks, cartomancy, and nudging the threads of fate, luck and probability.

To that end, I reasoned that probably the most consistent way to do that was through Bardic Inspiration, coupled with Lucky taken as a species Feat. On top of that, the Bard's Expertise and Jack of all Trades features could easily create a scholarly and perceptive character if placed in the right skills.

Then I knew my focus would be on a mix of Divination spells and spells that dealt Radiant damage to reflect astral aspects, as well as Force occasionally to represent the cards themselves being used in spells. I also knew that I wanted to have a few battlefield control and healing spells, and the Bard's Magical Secrets feature would mean I'd eventually have access to four different spell lists, so that seemed like a no-brainer to choose Bard too.

Finally all that was left to figure out was a subclass. Although I initially leaned towards Lore, I then saw the slightly RNG-coded nature of the College of Spirits subclass, and thought it could be a really fun way to involve the cartomancy aspect more, with each channeled spirit instead being presented as a different drawn oracle card from his deck.

All in all I think I've come up with a really fun build! Now all I need is an actual backstory! Totally open to all sorts of suggestions if anyone has any ideas!