Shadowmancer class features and progression.
Totally NOT evil. Why would you even say that? Great power sometimes comes from… horrible places. But what’s the alternative, spend our entire lives… STUDYING?! Now that’s horrible. Who’d want to waste their lives reading books—learning magic the hard way? Work SMART, not hard. Just scheme up a way to take what you need from someone who won’t miss it—ancient horrors don’t guard their power nearly as well as you’d think! And if there’s power just laying around, it’d be dumb of me to not use it, really.
So what if I wear black and have to occasionally sacrifice an animal here and there while chanting? Does that automatically mean I’m evil? Pfft, hardly! Not every ANCIENT HORROR is the same; that’s like saying crow black and spider black are the same. Okay, bad examples, but the point stands. If you’re tired of swinging swords around and getting sweaty like a peasant, just summon a horde of shadow minions to do your bidding. They’re always eager to serve! As a Shadowmancer:
-
Unspeakable Power Awaits. Use your cunning to forge pacts with ancient, unfathomable entities, drawing upon their incomprehensible power to crush foes and bend the shadows to your will.
-
Master Shadow Minions. Summon legions of shadowy minions to overwhelm your adversaries and bolster your magical abilities. Let them swarm your foes, serving as both sword and fodder in your quest for dominance.
- Key Stats
- INT, DEX
- Hit Die
- d8
- Starting HP
- 13
- Saves
- INT+, WIL−
- Armor
- cloth
- Weapons
- blade, wand
- Starting Gear
- Adventurer's Garb, Sickle, Shovel
Class features
Level 2
Your Patron grants you knowledge of Necrotic cantrips and tier 1 spells.
You may steal power from your patron to cast tiered spells, always at the highest tier you have unlocked. You can do this DEX times before your patron takes notice. Each time you exceed this limit, your patron damages you for half your max HP. Resets on Safe Rest.
Level 3
Choose a subclass and 1 Lesser Invocations.
Level 4
+1 INT or DEX.
Choose 1 Greater Invocations.
Level 5
You may now cast tier 2 spells; all of your spells are cast at this tier.
Your cantrips grow stronger.
+1 STR or WIL.
Level 6
Choose a 2nd Greater Invocations.
Choose 1 Necrotic Utility Spell.
Level 7
Gain your Shadowmancer subclass feature.
You may now cast tier 3 spells; all of your spells are cast at this tier.
Level 8
+1 INT or DEX.
Choose a 2nd Lesser Invocations.
Choose a 2nd Necrotic Utility Spell.
Level 9
Choose a 3rd Greater Invocations.
+1 STR or WIL.
Level 10
You may now cast tier 4 spells; all of your spells are cast at this tier.
Your cantrips grow stronger.
Level 11
Gain your Shadowmancer subclass feature.
Choose a 3rd Lesser Invocations.
Level 12
When you would take damage from Pilfered Power, make a STR save: 1–9: Suffer damage as normal. 10–19: Suffer only 10 HP of damage. 20+: Suffer no damage and cast the spell as if it were 1 tier higher.
+1 INT or DEX.
Level 13
You may now cast tier 5 spells; all of your spells are cast at this tier.
+1 STR or WIL.
Level 14
Choose a 4th Greater Invocations.
You know all Necrotic Utility Spells.
Level 15
Gain your Shadowmancer subclass feature.
Your cantrips grow stronger.
Level 16
You may now cast tier 6 spells; all of your spells are cast at this tier.
+1 INT or DEX.
Level 17
Attacks against your shadow minions are made with disadvantage. They take no damage from successful saves.
+1 STR or WIL.
Level 18
Choose a 5th Greater Invocations.
Level 19
Choose an Epic Boon.
You may now cast tier 7 spells; all of your spells are cast at this tier.
Level 20
+1 to any 2 of your stats. Whenever you summon a single shadow minion, summon 2 instead. They die only when they receive 12 or more damage at one time.
Your cantrips grow stronger.
Lesser Invocations
Choose Lesser Shadow Invocations as you level up.
- Abhorrent Speech.
You can communicate with horrible creatures (aberrations, undead, etc.).
- Beguiling Influence.
(1/day) You may reroll an Influence check.
- Blood Sight.
(1/day) You may reroll an Examination check. Additionally, you can detect traces of blood on a surface, even after it has been cleaned.
- Devoted Acolyte.
Learn 2 of the following languages: Celestial, Draconic, Deep Speak, Infernal, or Primordial. Advantage on Lore checks related to those 2 languages.
- Eldritch Sense.
You can sense the presence of any shapechanger or creature concealed by magic while within 6 spaces of them.
- Gaze of Two Minds.
Touch a willing creature and perceive through its senses instead of your own for as long as you hold concentration.
- Knowledge from Beyond.
Whenever you fail an Insight or Arcana check, you may suffer 1 Wound to succeed instead.
- My Favored Pet.
One shadow minion can begrudgingly tolerate you outside of combat. It can (very creepily) do any menial task a below average commoner could.
- Voice of the Dark.
You can communicate telepathically with a humanoid within 6 spaces.
- Whispers of the Grave.
(1/day) You can ask a dead creature 3 yes/no questions. It can never be questioned this way again.
Greater Invocations
Choose Greater Shadow Invocations as you level up.
- Armor of Shadows.
Reduce all damage you receive by an amount equal to the number of minions you have.
- Fiendish Boon.
Increase your DEX or INT by 1. You have 1 fewer maximum Hit Dice.
- Hungering Shadows.
Whenever one of your shadows would crit, the next tiered spell you cast this encounter does not cost a use of Pilfered Power.
- Repelling Blast.
When you hit a Medium or smaller creature with Shadow Blast, you can push the creature up to 2 spaces away from yourself.
- Shadow Magus.
Your minions gain +4 Reach and deal d10 damage instead.
- Shadow Rush.
When your shadow minions attack, instead of rolling damage, you may have any of them deal the max amount, then die.
- Shadow Warp.
Action: Switch places with a creature within 12 spaces that has been dealt necrotic damage this turn.
- Swarming Shadows.
Whenever one of your shadows would crit, summon another shadow minion adjacent to the target.
- Vengeful Blast.
Whenever a minion dies, you may cast Shadow Blast as a reaction (even if you already cast it this turn).
Subclasses
Abyssal Depths
Level 3
Your Patron grants you knowledge of Ice spells. Gain the ability to breathe underwater. Your shadow minions become beings of nightfrost. Your shadow blast and minions can deal cold or necrotic damage, and whenever they would crit, you gain INT+LVL temp HP.
Level 7
Your Shadow Blast also Slows. You can cast Cryosleep or Rimeblades without Pilfering Power by expending 10 temp HP. Choose 1 Ice Utility Spell.
Red Dragon
Level 3
Your Patron grants you knowledge of Fire spells. Your shadow minions become flaming dragon wyrmling shadows. Your Shadow Blast and minions can deal fire or necrotic damage and inflict Smoldering whenever they would crit.
Level 7
You may cast Pyroclasm without Pilfering Power by including yourself in the damage. You have advantage on the save. Choose 1 Fire Utility Spell.
Level 11
Regain 1 use of Pilfered Power each time you roll Initiative. This expires at the end of combat if unused.
Level 15
Gain 1d4 Wounds to cast Dragonform.