Aberrant Summoner, Variant (5e Class)

Aberrant Summoner

By candlelight under a shimmering full moon, a hooded figure scribbles frantically on aged parchment. Scholarly notes, they proclaim, on beasts and creatures which wander Faerûn amongst mortal beings, and others still from further beyond. In their sheltered isolation, however, a darker truth is revealed - the markings and strange illustrations are for a creature yet to establish its form, made to serve the will of its creator. The figure, satisfied with their work, completes an almost alien ritual divined through arduous study and relentless research: from unknown realms, an aberrant form appears before the Summoner and awaits the instructions which define its being.

Pioneers of the Aberrant

The Aberrant Summoner class is designed to give the player a unique sense of power through a mix of control and freedom, at the expense of personal power. Through whatever means, an Aberrant Summoner has come to procure the power or knowledge to summon all manner of creatures from the fearsome and ferocious, to the nimble, friendly and accommodating. Each creature brings with it a new way to focus your abilities and create a variety of choices and options for the summoner to a degree that very few can hope to match. Your Aberrant Summon - whether it was born of your own will, knowledge and power, or bestowed upon you by another for whatever reason - is a creature of its own freedom and will, first bound by obligation, but with infinite potential for growth and change. The possibilities both in terms of choice and potential are virtually endless, with plenty of potential for choice and change of most any degree.

Creating an Aberrant Summoner

When making your Aberrant Summoner, it is important to first consider how your character has come about having a summon in the first place. Was it the result of years of study and practice? A fervent pursuit that finally bore fruit? Perhaps it was something more questionable, such as reaching into some terrible unknown, or treading the fine line between life and death in order to create life, or bring it to something since dead? Or maybe your summoner was instead bestowed the power to conjure or call upon the Aberrant Summon, such as a gift or guardian from a higher power, watchful eyes from a being with questionable or hidden motives, or to give body to a spirit you have create a connection with? Afterwards, its important to also consider what your interactions with your summon might consist of. How will you use your summon? What will its main directive be when you play? How will you interact with your summon both in and out of combat? Are you perhaps amicable with the creature? Or you see it as a source of power - a tool to be used, and a means to an end? Maybe you have an intimate connection to your summon, one that allows for your attachment to it no matter what form it takes. How long has it been since you first gained the ability to conjure your Aberrant Summon? Are you in the thick of your life story with them, or are you just getting started? With the motives and methods of relating your summoner to your summon, it is important to consider how they are as an individual as a result as well. What changes it has brought into their life, what they would do for or against the summon or the forces that brought it into being, and the sacrifices they are willing to make to keep hold of it.

Quick Build

/////

Class Features

As a Aberrant Summoner you gain the following class features.

Hit Points

Hit Dice: 1d6 per Aberrant Summoner level
Hit Points at 1st Level: 6 + Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d6 (or 4) + Constitution modifier per Aberrant Summoner level after 1st

Proficiencies

Armor: None
Weapons: Simple weapons
Tools: Alchemist’s Supplies and one type of artisan's tools
Saving Throws: Intelligence, Charisma
Skills: Nature, and two other skills of your choice.

Equipment

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

• (a) A light crossbow and 20 bolts or (b) any simple weapon
• (a) A component pouch or (b) an arcane focus
• (a) A scholar's pack or (b) a set of artisan's tools (one of your choice)
• If you are using starting wealth, you have 3d4 x10 gp. in funds.

Table: The Aberrant Summoner

Level	Proficiency Bonus	Features	Cantrips Known	Spells Known	Mutations	—Spell Slots per Spell Level—
						1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th
1st	+2	Aberrant Summon, Pursued Knowledge, Spellcasting	2	2	1	2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2nd	+2	Aberrant Pursuit	2	2	1	3	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
3rd	+2	—	2	2	2	4	2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
4th	+2	Ability Score Improvement	3	3	2	4	3	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
5th	+3	Summon Solidarity	3	3	3	4	3	2	—	—	—	—	—	—
6th	+3	Devotion	3	3	3	4	3	3	—	—	—	—	—	—
7th	+3	—	3	4	4	4	3	3	1	—	—	—	—	—
8th	+3	Ability Score Improvement	3	4	4	4	3	3	2	—	—	—	—	—
9th	+4	—	3	4	5	4	3	3	3	1	—	—	—	—
10th	+4	Emergency Redeployment	4	5	5	4	3	3	3	2	—	—	—	—
11th	+4	—	4	5	6	4	3	3	3	2	1	—	—	—
12th	+4	Ability Score Improvement	4	5	6	4	3	3	3	2	1	—	—	—
13th	+5	Countersummon	4	6	7	4	3	3	3	2	1	1	—	—
14th	+5	Refined Conjuration	4	6	7	4	3	3	3	2	1	1	—	—
15th	+5	—	4	6	8	4	3	3	3	2	1	1	1	—
16th	+5	Ability Score Improvement	4	7	8	4	3	3	3	2	1	1	1	—
17th	+6	—	4	7	9	4	3	3	3	2	1	1	1	1
18th	+6	Entropic Evocation	4	7	9	4	3	3	3	3	1	1	1	1
19th	+6	Ability Score Improvement	4	8	10	4	3	3	3	3	2	1	1	1
20th	+6	Aberrant Dynamism	4	8	10	4	3	3	3	3	2	2	1	1

Spellcasting

As a practitioner of the conjuring arts, you start at 1st level with the ability to cast a variety of spells, though of less variety than your peers as a result of your intense focus on summoning specialization. See chapter 10 for the general rules of spellcasting.

Cantrips

At 1st level, you know two Cantrips of your choice from the Summoner spell list. You learn additional summoner Cantrips of your choice at higher levels, as shown in the Cantrips Known column of the Summoner table.

Preparing and Casting Spells

The Aberrant Summoner table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your summoner spells of 1st level and higher. To cast one of these spells, you must expend a slot of the spell's level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest.

You prepare the list of summoner spells that are available for you to cast, choosing from the summoner spell list. The Spells Known column of the Aberrant Summoner table shows how many summoner spells you can choose. The spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots.

For example, if you are a 3rd-level summoner, you have four 1st-level and two 2nd-level spell slots, and your list of prepared spells can include two spells of 1st or 2nd level, in any combination. If you prepare the 1st-level spell cure wounds, you can cast it using a 1st-level or 2nd-level slot. Casting the spell doesn't remove it from your list of prepared spells.

You can change your list of prepared spells when you finish a short or long rest. Preparing a new list of summoner spells requires time spent in study and recitation as you recount the incantations and gestures you have learned or gleamed: at least 1 minute per spell level for each spell on your list.

Spellcasting Ability

Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for your Summoner spells. You use your Intelligence whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Intelligence modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a Summoner spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.

• Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier.
• Spell Attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier.

Ritual Casting

You can cast any Summoner spell you know as a ritual if that spell has the ritual tag.

Spellcasting Focus

You can use an arcane focus (found in chapter 5) as a spellcasting focus for your summoner spells.

Pursued Knowledge

The events leading up to summoning your Aberrant Summon is frought with a need for knowledge and information. To pull the unknown and intangible into a physical form. You develop a keen understanding for Aberrations, as well as two other creature types of your choice out of Beasts, Celestials, Dragons, Elementals, Fey, Fiends, Monstrosities, Oozes, Plants and Undead.

Chosen at 1st level, this determines the creature type your Aberrant Summon can be conjured as, in addition to giving you advantage on ability checks made to identify or recall information about a creature of that type, such as uncovering information about them, tracking such a creature, or identifying their strengths and weaknesses. Additionally, spells you cast that refer to a specific extraplanar creature type such as Planar Binding, can be cast on the three creature types known to as chosen by this ability.

Aberrant Summon

You call forth an Aberrant Summon - a powerful creature of alien and unknown origin that you shape a fragment of into material being based on your gleaned knowledge and understanding of existing magic and creatures. The Aberrant Summon forms a link with you, so that you forever after summon an aspect of the same entity, even if it is reshaped into a completely different creature. The Aberrant Summon knows all of your languages, and can speak them if it has a mouth to speak. Its connection to you allows you to share a telepathic bond with it across any distance, so long as you each remain on the same plane of existence. In combat, it shares your initiative count and takes its turn alongside yours.

You can call upon your Aberrant Summon using a 10 minute ritual. When summoned in this way, its hit points remain unchanged from the last time it was dismissed, unless it was slain. The summon will stay with you until you dismiss it using your action, at which time it disappears, returning to a private pocket dimension unique to your Aberrant Summon. If the summon is reduced to 0 hit points, it dissipates, and cannot be resummoned until you finish a long rest. Alternatively, you can resummon your slain Aberant Summon if you cast a spell to revive a slain ally, at which time it reappears with all of its hit points, or in whatever state as specified by the spell or effect used to revive your summon. While dismissed, you can call upon it again with an action. Whether you are summoning it with a ritual, or recalling your dismissed summon, it reappears in an unoccupied space you choose within 30 feet of you that you can see. If your summon is banished or dispelled, it returns to its private pocket dimension as its home dimension, where you can resummon it as an action. If you are unconscious, the summon will forego any other orders given to it to protect you. If you are slain, the summon dissipates and returns to its pocket dimension.

Your Aberrant Summon takes nigh-any form you desire. It has 6 hit points and a hit die of 1d6 at 1st level when you first take this class, but gains additional health at higher levels, and changes hit die for all levels based on your chosen Aberrant Pursuit later on. While the summon has its own level to determine level-based factors such as its health or proficiency bonus, your Aberrant Summon only gains a level when you gain a level in this class. Your summon's shape and abilities are determined via a mix of its Base form, as well as selections made from a pool of Mutations, up to a maximum amount as shown under the Mutations column of the Aberrant Summoner table. When you first call upon your Aberrant Summon, you choose the base form and mutations it has. These choices can be chosen at any time, by finishing another 10 minute ritual. The changes being made to your summon must be chosen at the start of casting the ritual, though an active Aberrant Summon only disappears when the ritual is complete, at which time it disappears, before reappearing once more with its new body.

The physical appearance of the Aberrant Summon is up to the summoner, though it always appears as some kind of strange or fantastical creature. Your control to determine its appearance isn't fine enough to exactly copy a specific creature, though you can immitate the appearance of a race or species as a whole. The summon bears a mark to identify it as being connected to you, like a rune or glyph somewhere on its body, with an identical one appearing on your own. While this identifying feature can be hidden from view through mundane means, it cannot be concealed through magic that changes appearance, unless the concealment would completely hide the summon from view, such as making it invisible.

The details of your summons' base forms and mutations can be found at the end of the class details.

Aberrant Pursuit

Over the course of developing your knowledge and power as an Aberrant Summoner, you have taken particular interest in the fundamental nature of certain creatures above others, and with this knowledge, learn to better apply it to your summon.

At 2nd level, you choose one Aberrant Pursuits. Your choice grants your Aberrant Summon unique features, hit points and hit die starting at 2nd level.

Ability Score Increase

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.

Summon Solidarity

Starting at 5th summoner level, when you hit a target, your aberrant summon gains advantage to its attack rolls against the same target until the start of your next turn, and vice versa. If you have more than one aberrant summon, this feature is shared between them as well.

Devotion

At 6th level, your summon becoming more devoted to you and your cause grants it advantage on ability checks and saving throws against Enchantment spells and effects, as well as those that would attempt to charm or control it such as Dominate Monster or Command. If it already has advantage, it instead automatically succeeds the ability check or saving throw.

Emergency Redeployment

By 10th summoner level, your acute understanding and familiarity with your summon and the processes that go into summoning it allows you to occasionally expedite the process in a pinch. While your summon has at least 1 hit point, you can begin ritual casting Aberrant Summon as a concentration spell. If concentration isn't broken by the start of your next turn, you cast Aberrant Summon as if having completely the full 10 minute ritual.

Once you have used Emergency Redeployment, you cannot do so again until you finish a long rest.

Countersummon

Beginning at 13th level, your understanding and acute knowledge on magical strings and techniques that go into summoning a creature allows you to quickly respond to a summoning in process. When you see a spell or effect within 120 feet of you that would summon any number of creatures, you can use your reaction to attempt to interupt the summoning process. If the creature being summoned would be of a level or CR equal to or less than your proficiency bonus, the summoning fails to no effect. Otherwise, you must make an Intelligence check (DC 10 + the level/CR of the highest level/CR creature being summoned), made with advantage if the creature being targetted by this effect is of a creature type chosen by your Pursued Knowledge feature.

Refined Conjuration

Starting at 14th level, you can tweak your summon even while it is already active without having to run through the entire resummoning process. As an action, you can change up to two Mutations currently applied to your summon. The chosen mutations cannot be a spell, ability, effect or type of movement that it is in the process of using. This increases to three Mutations at 17th level.

You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Intelligence modifier, regaining expended uses after finishing a long rest.

Entropic Evocation

Starting at 18th summoner level, you are able to evoke greater power from your summon. As an action, you activate the Entropic Evocation listed as part of your Aberrant Pursuit. Once you have done so, you cannot do so again until you finish a long rest.

Aberrant Dynamism

Your knowledge and understanding of exactly what your summon is and can become is second nature to you. To refine and define your aberrant summon as innate as breathing. At 20th level, you can use Emergency Redeployment an unlimited number of times.

Aberrant Pursuits

Aberrant Convergence

Sorcerers and Wizards are often goaded into frustration for their weak composure, oft unaccustomed to the heavy and uncouth equipment of the common soldier and the celebrated knight. Due to this, they stay alone - an individual more likely to see a mage at the side of a fattened king than at the forefront of war. Sometimes, however, they need to protect themselves as much as they protect their kings, forcing them into the throes of battle. Here, the Summoner utilizes their skills to shape not just a creature, but they themselves into something stronger. Regardless of the consequences.

You can only choose this subclass if Monstrosity is one of your chosen Pursued Knowledge creature types.

Rather than a seperate creature with its own health, your Aberrant Summon changes to become a set of living armaments, though it is still considered as having at least 1 hit point while being worn for all spells, effects and rules purposes such as Emergency Redeployment.

Aberrant Union

Rather than commanding a separate creature, your summon instead fuses with you as living armaments.

While wearing your summon, you gain the following effects;

• Your Strength, Dexterity and Constitution ability scores are replaced by those of your summon. If it has proficiency in saving throws for any of these abilities, you also gain those.
• You have access to all features, senses and types of movement available to your summon, in addition to any mutations chosen for it.
• You use your summon's AC in place of your own for as long as it is worn, and no longer gain the benefits of any armour you previously wore.
• Your summon is considered to be magical armour while it is worn. When you doff your summon, it disappears to its pocket dimension until summoned again, at which time it appears on your body as armour and weapons again.
• Spells, effects, features and mutations that specify use or interaction with your summon instead apply to and through you for as long as it is worn. Ranges determined by size use your current size to determine its range or reach.

Amelioration

Your summons life essence acts as a last resort defense to defend you. When you would take damage that would reduce you below 1 hit point, you instead gain temporary hit points equal to 2 x your Aberrant Summoner level, which take as much of the triggering damage as possible. If these temporary hit points are reduced to 0, your summon is slain.

Two as One

In addition to the free mutations granted by the base form chosen for your summon, it also gains the Hypervitality mutation. Additionally, while wearing your summon, you cannot be surprised - the quasi-present nature of your summon always keeping an eye on your surroundings even when you may not be - and when you are forced to make a concentration check, you can use your reaction to automatically succeed a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus between long rests - your summon helping you by maintaining concentration on your spell when you are caught off-guard.

Entropic Evocation - Pneuma

Starting at 18th level, you can use your action to evoke Pneuma, granting the following effects for 1 minute;

• You can immediately resummon your Aberrant Summon as part of the same action as if completing the full 10 minute ritual. When you do, it gains up to 4 additional Mutations.
• Whenever you use an action listed in your Aberrant Summon's stat block, such as one of its weapon attacks, you regain missing hit points equal to your summon's Constitution modifier (minimum of 1).

At the end of the duration, the 4 mutations chosen when Pneuma was first activated are removed from your summon as it reverts back to its previous form.

Aberrant Defiance

The term "elemental" typically strikes an image of intense, raw power. They are creatures rarely seen on the Material Plane, and for good reason: their natural magic and extraplanar origin makes them impervious to most mortal threats including disease, paralysis, and fatigue. It can be assumed, then, that those who wield such creatures as minions for their own will are either extremely powerful, or extremely foolish. Either way, the creature wielded by the Summoner demonstrates the great feats that such individuals hold, and attests to their unyielding - and nigh untouchable - nature.

You can only choose this subclass if Elemental is one of your chosen Pursued Knowledge creature types.

• Hit dice 1d10
• Hit Points 6 + 7x your Summoner level.

Defiant

Whenever a creature damages your Aberrant Summon as a result of a melee attack against it, that creature must succeed on a Constitution saving throw (DC 10 + half your summon's AC, rounded down) or have its speed reduced by half until the end of its next turn. A creature already slowed by this effect instead refreshes the duration and reduces its speed by a further 5 feet.

Dependable

Attack rolls made against allies within 10 feet of your aberrant summon but not against the summon itself are made at disadvantage. Additionally, when a creature in this range besides your summon would take damage, the summon can use its reaction to substitute its own health for that of the target, using resistances and immunities of the original target.

Hardy

Your aberrant summon always has a minimum AC of 11 + half your Aberrant summoner level (rounded down). If this replaces its normal AC, it is considered natural armour.

As an action, your summon can reduce its AC by up to an amount equal to its proficiency bonus. Any number of creatures it chooses within 30 feet of it then gain a bonus to their AC equal to that amount until the start of your summons next turn. Affected creatures also gain the benefits of Defiant for the duration.

Entropic Evocation - Halidom

Starting at 18th level, you can use your action to evoke Halidom, granting the following effects for 1 minute;

• Whenever your summon would take damage equal to or less than its Constitution ability score, it ignores that damage.
• Critical hits against your summon and creatures it chooses within 150 feet of itself are considered normal hits.
• At the start of your summon's turn, it grants temporary hit points to itself and any number of creatures within 150 feet of itself equal your summons AC until the start of your summon's next turn. While they have these temporary hit points, a creature also gains the effects of Defiant.
• The range of Dependable and Hardy is increased to 150 feet.

Additionally, your summon and all allies that remains within 150 feet of your summon for the full duration of Halidom gain the benefits of a short rest at the end.

Aberrant Divergence

Beasts of the wilds are fierce and loyal creatures, making up for their more mundane strength and lesser intellect with the incredible strength of numbers. From packs of wolves to swarms of insects, murders of crows and even herd of sheep are testament to the power of this pack mentality. Such great strength and potential is exploited deeply by the Summoner through their Aberrant Divergence: a reshapen creature which takes on the forms of many to provide the Summoner with a varitable army, manipulating the primeval ferocity of natural instinct for their own means.

You can only choose this subclass if Beast is one of your chosen Pursued Knowledge creature types.

• Hit dice 1d6
• Hit Points 6 + 3x your Summoner level.

Concerted

Upon taking this archetype, you become able to summon more than one Aberrant Summon at a time as you prioritize increased numbers over raw strength of a single entity. Whenever you cast Aberrant Summon, you can choose to summon or re-summon up to 2 creatures, instead of the usual 1. This increases by an additional 1 at 5th (3), 11th (4) and 17th (5) Aberrant Summoner levels. Furthermore, the number of mutations available to you is doubled.

You can design each summon separately, giving them different forms and mutations. The total number of mutations available to you is a total shared by all of the Aberrant Summons however, and no individual creature can have a number of mutations greater than the default maximum number of Mutations listed under the Mutations column of your Aberrant Summon levelling table. Mutations with a specific number of times it can be taken (such as Improved Defences) is shared between all of your summons. For example, at 2nd level, you have up to four mutations available to share between two Aberrant Summons, but each summon can only have a maximum of two mutations.

Gluttonous

Whenever one of your summons deals damage to a creature, it regains missing hit points equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum of 0).

Pack Stratagem

Your Aberrant Summons gain a bonus to their attack rolls equal to its proficiency bonus if you or another Aberrant Summon is within 5 feet of the target and isn't incapacitated.

Entropic Evocation - Plenitude

Starting at 18th level, you can use your action to evoke Plenitude, granting the following effects for 1 minute;

• You can immediately resummon any number of your Aberrant Summons as part of the same action as if completing the full 10 minute ritual. When you do, each of your summons gain two additional Mutations of your choice, up to its usual maximum.
• The healing granted by Gluttonous is doubled.
• The effective range of Pack Stratagem is increased to 10 feet.
• Whenever you target an Aberrant Summon with a spell or effect, all other aberrant summons within casting range of your target gain the benefits of that spell or effect as well. For example, if you cast Healing Word at first level on one of your summons, all other aberrant summons within 60 feet of your original target also heal for the same amount.

At the end of the duration, the mutations chosen when Plenitude was first activated are removed from your summons as they reverts back to its previous form. Alternatively, you can dismiss any number of summons until the total number of mutations on present summons doesn't exceed your usual limit as a Divergence Summoner. Summons dismissed in this way return to their pocket dimension as normal.

Aberrant Divinance

The few pursuers of Aberrant Divinance are typically founded from one of two very contrary situations; the heretically dissident, or the fanatically obsessive. Whether it is in one's love and adoration for their god or deity that they try to call upon them, or in spite of ones god that they perhaps try to call upon another, those that practice Aberrant Divinance have peerless faith in that which they summon. An all-encompassing attachment that, through feast and famine alike, cannot so simply be dismissed as just reverence. A pursuit not of power or providence, but one of devotion to faith and belief, that for better or for worse, ones chosen God given a form of their own would do better than they can alone.

You can only choose this subclass if Celestial is one of your chosen Pursued Knowledge creature types.

• Hit dice 1d6
• Hit Points 6 + 4x your Summoner level.

Demipresence

Your summon can forego moving during its turn to instead teleport to an unoccupied space within 15 feet of you (no action required).

Divine Perception

Your summon gains Truesight out to a range of 60 feet and proficiency in Perception if it doesn't already. Additionally, it telepathically receives visual information from your location as if from Truesight, out to a range of 15 feet in all directions.

Henosis

Your Aberrant Summon is blessed with a sliver of divinity, granting it the following benefits.

• It is summoned with a bonus to all of its ability scores equal to your Intelligence modifier, and its maximum ability score limit is increased to 30.
• Once per turn after your summon lands an attack, you can expend a spell slot as a reaction to cause the attack to deal additional radiant damage equal to a number of d6 equal to the spell slot level expended.
• It has advantage on attack rolls, ability checks, and saving throws against Fiends and Undead.

While your summon is more than 15 feet from you, its current and maximum hit points are reduced by half, and it loses all traits and features granted by Aberrant Divinance.

Entropic Evocation - Reverence

Starting at 18th level, you can use your action to evoke Reverence, granting the following effects for 1 minute;

• Your summon is cleansed of any conditions afflicting it, and is made immune to new ones for the duration.
• It's size is increased by one (for example, a Medium creature becomes Large).
• The range of Divine Perception is increased to 150 feet for both your summon and the visual information is receives from your location.
• Radiant damage dealt and ability score bonuses granted by Henosis are doubled.
• Creatures your summon chooses within 150 feet of it must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw (DC 8 + your summon's Wisdom modifier + its Proficiency bonus) or are forced to prostrate themselves before it as a divine being. Affected creatures are Charmed by your summon, while Fiends, Undead, and evil-alignment creatures are Frightened of it. Creatures that are Charmed fall prone and are paralyzed. Creatures that are Frightened must take the Dash action and move away from your summon by the safest available route on each of its turns, unless there is nowhere to move. At the end of a creature's turn, it can retake the saving throw, ending the effects of Revenerece for it on a success.

Aberrant Mucilagence

You can only choose this subclass if Ooze is one of your chosen Pursued Knowledge creature types.

• Hit dice 1d10
• Hit Points 6 + 6x your Summoner level.

Aberrant Form

Your summon can move through a space as narrow as 1 inch wide without squeezing.

When a creature touches your summon, or your summon successfully hits the target, nonmagical wood or metal armour the target is wearing is partly corroded and takes a permanent and cumulative −1 penalty to the AC it offers. The armour is destroyed if the penalty reduces its AC to 10. Similarly, nonmagical weapons made of metal or wood that hits your summon corrodes. After dealing damage, the weapon takes a permanent and cumulative -1 penalty to damage rolls. If its penalty drops to -5, the weapon is destroyed. Ammunition is immediately destroyed after dealing damage. Your summon can also eat through 2-inch-thick, nonmagical wood or metal in 1 round.

This effect does not stack with the effect granted by any Pseudopod Mutations your summon might already have, and it can choose to avoid afflicting a creature or material with this effect at will.

Tripoint

As a bonus action, you summon can choose to coagulate or congeal, maintaining the chosen form until it uses a bonus action to end the effects of Tripoint, or swap to the opposing state.

• Coagulate.

While coagulated, your summon gains a bonus to its AC equal to your Intelligence modifier, but its speed is reduced by half. Additionally, when it initially coagulates, and as a bonus action on subsequent turns, it can choose to briefly jut sharp spines from all over its body. Until the start of its next turn, a creature that touches the summon, hits it with a melee attack while within 5 feet of it, or is hit with a melee attack made by your Aberrant Summon takes 1d6 acid damage, in addition to any other penalties for coming into contact with it, such as Aberrant Form.

• Congeal

While congealed, your summon suffers a penalty to its AC equal to your Intelligence modifier, but its speed is increased by half. Additionally, while congealed, your summon leaves behind an acidic, translucent mucal trail on all solid surfaces it touches or moves along for 1 hour. This trail shares the same effects as Aberrant Form, taking effect on all creatures, objects and surfaces that touches it. A creature that come into contact with your summon or this trail must also make a Constitution saving throw against your summon (DC 8 + your summon's Constitition modifier + its proficiency bonus) or become Poisoned until the start of their next turn.

Split

If your summon is subjected to lightning or slashing damage while it is Small or larger and has at least 10 hit points, it splits into two new creatures once the damage has been dealt. Each new creature is identical to the original, but each has current and maximum hit points equal to half that of the original (rounded down), and are one size smaller than the original. They each maintain any traits, features and mutations the original creature had. Persistent effects such as conditions or cooldowns continue for each of the new creatures formed after the split, and must make any checks, rolls or saves individually. If you dismiss your summon, all creatures that were created as a result of it splitting are dismissed. When you next resummon your Aberrant Summon, it is resummoned with its usual maximum hit point total, and current hit points equal to the combined total of the dismissed split summons. For example, if you summon was split, with both of the new creatures being dismissed with 12 hit points each, your summon reappears as a single creature with 24 current hit points.

Entropic Evocation - Emaculation

Starting at 18th level, you can use your action to evoke Emaculation, granting the following effects for 1 minute;

• Your Aberrant Summon and any split parts of itself are cleansed of all conditions and diseases, and are immune to new ones for the duration.
• Once per turn, you can manually split your aberrant summon or any already split portions of it without having to deal damage.
• Aberrant Summons can choose to gain the benefits of being Congealed, Coagulated, both or neither at will, rather than one at a time or using its bonus action.
• It can use its action to change its base form to something else, though none of its chosen Mutations change besides those granted as part of the former base form.
• An aberrant summon can use its action to hide in plain sight, such as becoming a translucent layer on a surface or object, straightening to act as a panel of glass, or bubble like water from a fountain. It has advantage on any Stealth checks required to hide or remain hidden, and any checks made to find or trakc your summon while it is hiding are made at disadvantage.

Aberrant Necromance

You can only choose this subclass if Undead is one of your chosen Pursued Knowledge creature types.

• Hit dice 1d6
• Hit Points 6 + 4x your Summoner level.

Foul Conscription

You can cast Animate Dead at will without requiring any components or spell slots. The target must be the remains of a creature other than your aberrant summon. To do so, you must first succeed on a Nature check with a DC equal to 5 + the CR or level of the target. On a success, you reanimate the creature as per the spell, though with a maximum number of hit points equal to half that of your aberrant summon, and current hit points equal to 6 + your Aberrant Summoner level. The creature is considered an Aberrant Summon for all other rules purposes, such as class features available to you.

If you fail the check or lose concentration during the ritual, the remains are instead destroyed, rendering them unusable for any features of this class.

Grim Celerity

Your aberrant summon only lasts for 24 hours after it has been summoned. At the end of the duration, you can spend 1 minute in ritual to sustain your summon for another 24 hours. This can be done as part of a short or long rest, and you must be within reach of your summon for the full duration of the ritual. If you do not sustain your summon, it dissipates, returning to its pocket dimension and cannot be resummoned without repeating the full 10 minute ritual again.

Whenever your summon is killed, rather than dissipating as normal, it instead leaves behind remains for 10 minutes before doing so. While within 30 feet of the remains, you can use your action to begin casting Aberrant Summon on them as a concentration spell. If your concentration isn't broken by the start of your next turn, the aberrant summon reformed, reappearing with a number of hit points equal to 6 + your Aberrant Summoner level. This spellcast automatically fails if the remains are destroyed of you do not complete the ritual within 10 minutes of it dying.

Casting Aberrant Summon in this way simply restores your summon, rather than allowing you to change anything about it.

Reap

As a bonus action, you can touch one undead creature you control to reap it of its undead vital essence, destroying it instantly. Their remains turn to ash, becoming unusable for any features of this class. As part of the same action, choose one creature you can see within 60 feet of you. This can include yourself. That target then regains missing hit points equal to the total hit points the reaped undead had.

Entropic Evocation - Penumbra

Starting at 18th level, you can use your action to evoke Penumbra, granting the following effects for 1 minute;

• Grim Celerity, Foul Conscription and both the execution and healing portion of Reap have their ranges increased to 150 feet.
• The cast time for Foul Conscription is reduced to one action.
• When an undead creature you control takes damage that would reduce it below 1 hit point while it is within 150 feet of you, it instead makes a Constitution saving throw with a DC equal to the damage taken. On a success, the creature is instead reduced to 1 hit point.

Aberrant Prepotence

The green folk, as they are commonly known, have a reputation for being mischievous but kind-hearted creatures. The abundant sprites of the feywild infrequently make their appearance on Faerûn for common sighting, and the noble Eladrins have no time for mortal affairs, but they have traversed to the material plane enough for some to have studied these Fey sufficiently. With this study, their guarded nature and tricksy but kind-hearted essence has been accentuated in the form of the Prepotent Aberration: a summon whose very being is to ensure no harm befalls their summoner and allies, even if they must stand at the front lines to do so.

You can only choose this subclass if Fey is one of your chosen Pursued Knowledge creature types.

• Hit dice 1d6
• Hit Points 6 + 4x your Summoner level.

Fount

Your summon has a number of charges of Fount equal to your proficiency bonus, and regains all expended uses when it finishes a long rest.

As an action, your summon can expend any number of charges to target the same number of creatures that it can see within 60 feet. Until the start of your Aberrant Summon's next turn, a target of this effect gains a bonus to its attack rolls, ability checks and saving throws equal your summon's modifier for the same ability score (minimum of 0).

Whenever your summon makes a successful attack roll, ability check or saving throw, it regains one expended use of this ability (can only regain one use per turn).

Scapegoat

Your aberrant summon can use its action to touch a willing creature and receive one negative condition afflicting it for its remaining duration. Alternatively, if your summon is within reach of a creature that gains a negative condition as a result of failing a saving throw that targetted only that creature, your summon can use its reaction to receive that negative condition in place of the original target, as the summon were the original target instead. Your Aberrant Summon cannot use Scapegoat if it is already suffering from any negative conditions.

Sciolist

Your summon is granted proficiency in all skills. Whenever it is required to make a skill check or ability check, it magically creates any tools or instruments required to make the roll (no action required), assuming it has the capacity to use the item or instrument (such as a means of holding an instrument or tool). It is considered proficient in any tools or instruments created in this way. Once the check has been made, the magically created equipment disappears.

Entropic Evocation - Censure

Starting at 18th level, you can use your action to evoke Censure, granting the following effects for 1 minute;

Whenever a creature starts its turn within 150 feet of your summon, it can force that creature to make a Wisdom saving throw (DC 8 + your summon's Wisdom modifier + its Proficiency bonus). On a failed save, that creature wastes its action that turn doing nothing.

Aberrant Providence

The Aberrant Pursuit of Providence is a selfless one. To actively seek out ways to aide and provide for those that can't do so themselves, and to assist those that would need the hand lent. Even among the best of healers, clerics and aides however, there is only so much one person can achieve, and it is through this Aberrant Pursuit that one would find that assistance one would need to truly provide their all for others.

You can only choose this subclass if Plant is one of your chosen Pursued Knowledge creature types.

• Hit dice 1d6
• Hit Points 6 + 3x your Summoner level.

Charitable

During its turn, each action your Aberrant Summons makes besides Charitable adds to a reserve of potential, rejuvenating energy. Each sliver of power is represented by a d4, storing up to a maximum amount equal to your summons proficiency bonus.

As an action, your summon can choose one creature it can see within 60 feet, including itself, and spend all the Charitable dice it currently has reserved. Roll the spent dice, and add them together. The target then regains a number of hit points equal to the total.

Additionally, whenever your summon targets at least one creature for any healing besides Charitable, it can choose one additional target.

Dependant

If your summon would take damage while you can see it within 120 feet of you, you can use your reaction to magically substitute your own health for that of your summon, causing you to take the damage in its place, using your summons resistances and immunities for the damage calculations.

Succor

When a creature your summon can see within 60 feet of it would fall below 1 hit point, it can use its reaction to expend all of its Charitable dice to grant them temporary hit points equal to 4 per die expended, which takes as much of the triggering damage as possible, potentially saving the creature from falling below 1 hit point.

After using this ability, your summon can't regain any Charitable dice until the end of its next turn.

Entropic Evocation - Benediction

Starting at 18th level, you can use your action to evoke Benediction, granting the following effects for 1 minute;

• When initially cast, your summon and all allies within 150 feet of it are cured of all conditions and diseases. Prone creatures affected can also use their reaction to immediately stand up.
• For the duration, your summon and all allies within 150 feet of it double any healing they receive.

Additionally, as a bonus action while under the effects of Benediction, your summon can give itself a full complement of Charitable dice, before choose any number of creatures within range - including itself - as targets for one of the following effects;

• Instantly regain 50 hit points
• Instantly regain a number of hit points equal to 3 + your Aberrant Summons's Constitution modifier (minimum of 1). Targets then regain the same number of hit points at the start of their turn for as long as they are under the effects of Benediction.

Once your summon has used this effect, it cannot do so again until you cast Benediction again. A creature loses the benefits of Benediction if they exit its range, or your summon is removed from the current plane of existence, such as after being slain.

Aberrant Severance

While typically associated with isolated study and lonesome experimentation, the work of the Aberrant Summoner is not exclusive to magical colleges and royal courts. Instead, some find their way onto the battlefield, using their skills to shift the tides of military action, while others use their knowledge to aid in the defeat of grand foes seemingly unmatched by any other adversary. These battles between titans are only made possible through the wielding of the Severant Aberration; creatures of pure strength and ferocity, birthed in the image of the grandest titans of all: Dragons.

You can only choose this subclass if Dragon is one of your chosen Pursued Knowledge creature types.

• Hit dice 1d8
• Hit Points 6 + 5x your Summoner level.

Bloodthirsty

Your summon is bloodthirsty, and eager to rip into its enemies. Whenever you roll for initiative, your summon does so as well. You can then choose to use its initiative in place of your own. Additionally, your summon gains the following benefits.

• When making an attack roll, a d20 roll of 19 or higher is considered a critical hit. While missing at least half its hit points, this becomes 18 or higher.
• Your summon can use its bonus action to move up to half its movement towards a creature.
• The maximum number of attacks your summon can make when it takes the Attack action is increased by 1.

Malicious

When your summon lands an attack or deals damage to a creature, it marks that target after that attack and damage roll; a mystical representation of the summon's animosity and drive to tear them apart. Until it marks another creature, your summon gains a bonus to its attack rolls against them equal to your Intelligence modifier. Attacking or damage a creature besides the marked target removes the mark from that creature, replacing it on the new target. If your summon hits or damages multiple creatures at once, this mark applies to each of them.

Sadomasochist

Each time your summon makes a damage roll, it suffers necrotic damage equal to the number of damage dice rolled (minimum of 1). This damage ignores any immunities and resistances your summon might have. Additionally, whenever your summon damages a target marked by Malicious, your deals 1 additional damage for every 6 hit points it is missing.

Entropic Evocation - Relentless Malediction

Starting at 18th level, you can use your action to evoke Malediction, granting the following effects for 1 minute;

• Your summon cannot be reduced below 1 hit point from damage taken, unless the attack is a critical hit.
• It makes one additional attack with each of its weapons when taking the attack action, in addition to the usual number of attacks it can make when it takes the Attack action.
• Bonus damage dealt by Sadomasochist is no longer limited to only the target marked by Malicious.

Aberrant Vengeance

You can only choose this subclass if Fiend is one of your chosen Pursued Knowledge creature types.

• Hit dice 1d6
• Hit Points 6 + 4x your Summoner level.

Covetous

Whenever you cast a spell of 1st level or higher, your summon gains a cumulative +1 bonus to its attack rolls, as well as skill checks and saving throws it makes against spells and other magical effects. This bonus lasts until you end a turn without casting a spell. If your summon casts a spell of 1st level or higher, or your do while within 30 feet of it, your summon regains missing hit points eqau l to the spell slot level expended.

Malicious Compliance

Damage your Aberrant Summon takes from a spell cast at a level equal to or less than its proficiency bonus is reduced by half. Additionally, whenever your summon is forced to make a saving throw against an attack, spell or magical effect and it doesn't have disadvantage, it can choose to willing fail the save, to the following effects:

• Any conditions, diseases or similar effects suffered for failing the saving throw automatically end at the end of its next turn.
• Damage your summon would take as a result of failing the save is reduced by half. This reduction stacks with any damage reduction already in place.
• It gains advantage on the next attack roll, ability check, or saving throw it makes within 1 minute, and increases its current Covetous bonus by +1.

Versant

Your summon is granted proficiency in Arcana. Additionally in addition to any other free mutations it gets as a result of its chosen base form, your summon also gets the Basic Spellcaster mutation for free. Your summon knows, and can casts the spells Counterspell and Dispel magic at will a number of times equal to its proficiency bonus, regaining all expended uses on a long rest. It can still cast these spells normally, expending one of your spell slots in the process. Whenever it successfully Counterspells or Dispels a spell or magical effect, it also learns the details of that spell or effect, such as the nature of the magical effect, or the level the spell was cast at.

Entropic Evocation - Titanomachy

Starting at 18th level, you can use your action to evoke Titanomachy, granting the following effects for 1 minute;

• The bonus granted by Covetous is doubled.
• Your summon can cast Counterspell without expending its reaction once per turn. Besides its free casts, it still expends your spell slot to do so.
• Your summon gains one Legendary action, which it can use to make one attack or cast one spell between other creatures' turns each round.

Additionally, your summon creates a 150-foot radius sphere centered on itself, granting your summon and creatures it choses within the area advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects. When one of these targets succeed on a saving throw against a spell or magical effect that allows it to make a saving throw to take only half damage, it instead takes no damage if it succeeds on the saving throw.

Aberrant Summoner Spell List

Cantrips

blade ward, dancing lights, encode thoughts, frostbite, guidance, infestation, light, mage hand, mending, message, mind sliver, minor illusion, prestidigitation, sapping sting, spare the dying, thorn whip.

1st Level

bane, bless, color spray, comprehend languages, cure wounds, detect magic, detect poison and disease, disguise self, expeditious retreat, faerie fire, false life, fog cloud, gift of alacrity, goodberry, healing word, heroism, identify, sanctuary, sleep, speak with animals, thunderwave, unseen servant.

2nd Level

aid, alter self, blindness/deafness, blur, borrowed knowledge, continual flame, darkvision, dragon’s breath, enhance ability, enlarge/reduce, fortune’s favor, gust of wind, hold person, invisibility, lesser restoration, knock, locate object, misty step, rope trick, spider climb, suggestion, tasha's mind whip, vortex warp, wristpocket.

3rd Level

bestow curse, counterspell, create food and water, dispel magic, fear, Galder’s tower, gaseous form, glyph of warding, haste, magic circle, major image, mass healing word, life transference, protection from energy, revivify, speak with dead, tiny hut, tongues.

4th Level

arcane eye, banishment, control water, dimension door, dominate beast, fire shield, greater invisibility, guardian of nature, hallucinatory terrain, polymorph, resilient sphere.

5th Level

creation, dream, far step, geas, greater restoration, legend lore, mass cure wounds, modify memory, planar binding, raise dead, reincarnate, scrying, seeming, skill empowerment, wall of force.

6th Level

contingency, eyebite, Fizban's Platinum Shield, guards and wards, heal, magic jar, mass suggestion, Tenser’s transformation, true seeing, wind walk.

7th Level

etherealness, plane shift, regenerate, resurrection, reverse gravity, simulacrum, teleport, tether essence.

8th level

antipathy/sympathy, demiplane, dominate monster, feeblemind, power word stun, telepathy.

9th Level

foresight, gate, imprisonment, mass heal, shapechange, power word heal, true polymorph, wish.

Multiclassing

In the process of gaining the 1st level in this class, a character must make a sacrifice, as described under Aberrant Summon.

Prerequisites. To qualify for multiclassing into the Aberrant Summoner class, you must meet these prerequisites: Intelligence 13

Proficiencies. When you multiclass into the Aberrant Summoner class, you gain the following proficiencies: Light armor, simple weapons, nature skill.

---

Aberrant Summon Details

The Aberrant Summon's abilities are determined by your level as its summoner, and by the choices made using its Mutations. Regardless of your summon choices, it always possesses a base form that modifies some of these base statitistc. Your summon is considered an extraplanar creature for the purposes of determining what spells and effect affect them and how.

Summon level. The Aberrant Summon gains a level whenever you put a level into the Aberrant Summoner class.

Proficiency bonus. Its proficiency bonus starts at 2, and increases in identical increments as listed under the Aberrant Summoner class table. However, levels put into classes other than the Aberrant Summoner do not count for levels for your summon.

Hit die. At 1st level, your summon has a d6 hit die, and 6 hit points. At higher levels, the hit die value and amount of hit points it gains are determined by your chosen Aberrant Pursuit. Regardless of these choices, your summon always has a number of hit dice equal to its level - your Aberrant Summoner level.

Saving throw and skill proficiencies. Your summon has proficiency in all saving throws, and at 1st level starts with two skill proficiencies of your choice. These skill can be changed whenever you resummon the Aberrant Summon, much like how you can change its base form and mutations whenever it is resummoned. It gains an additional skill proficiency whenever it gains an Ability Score Improvement.

Ability Score Improvements. At 5th, 11th and 17th Aberrant Summoner levels, your summon gains an Ability Score Improvement of its own. The ability score modifier and feat choices made with these Ability Score Improvements are permanent, and remain unchanged regardless of the changes made to your summon.

1st level features

Darkvision. Your summon has Darkvision out to a range of 60 ft.

Spell Proxy. Whenever you cast a spell with a range of Self or Touch, your summon can use its reaction to deliver the spell as if it had cast the spell itself. The spell uses your spell save DC and attack modifier. If you have more than one aberrant summon, it is delivered through one of your choice.

Summoner Bond. You and your summon create a telepathic link as part of your first time summoning it. This link allows you to communicate telepathically across any distance, so long as both you and your summon are on the same plane of existence. Your summon knows all of your known languages, and can speak them if it has a mouth to speak with. Due to the conflicting nature of magical attunement, your summon shares your magical item attunement slots, and your summon must always have an appropriate appendage to use any items.

9th level feature

Multiattack. At all stages of the game, when your summon takes the Attack action, it can make up to a number of attacks equal to half its proficiency bonus, rounded down. As such, starting at 9th level, it can make two attacks as part of the same attack action, using any of its available weapons in any combination. This increases to three attacks at 17th level.

Summon Base Forms

When calling upon your summon, you must determine a base form that determines a number of fundamental qualities of the creature, such as its starting size, speed, AC, attacks, and ability scores. In addition, these base forms note any free Mutations that base form possesses. The bonuses granted by these free mutations are already factored into the starting statistics of the summon, though they can be freely removed should the desire arise. You do not get any extra Mutations for doing so. Furthermore, any of the base forms can be chosen to be a Small creature, though most of them start off as Medium-sized creatures. A medium creature that you choose to make small gains a bonus +2 to its Dexterity ability score, and a -2 penalty to its Strength ability score. If you choose to make Medium base form small, reduce all damage die types included in that base form by one (for example, 1d6 becomes 1d4). These modifiers only persist for as long as the Medium base form is made to be small, and are not a permanent alteration to that base form. Additionally, any natural weapons the base form has can be swapped for any other suitable natural weapons available to that portion of the summons body. For example, the Hooves weapons on the Quadrupedal base can be swapped to Claws weapons at no cost.

• Amorphous Base.
• Aquatic Base.
• Avian Base.
• Bipedal Base.
• Quadrupedal Base.
• Serpentine Base.

Regardless of the chosen base, while bearing a rider, your summon acts as an independent mount, retaining its place in the initiative order, and bearing no restrictions on the movement and actions it can make. Your summon can only serve as a mount if it is at least one size larger than the creature riding it, and doesn’t use the Amorphous or Bipedal body types.

Mutations

Your summon has a pool of Mutations available to it, each giving it new abilities, traits, features and powers. These abilities can be changed whenever you resummon your Aberrant Summon. Some mutations have prerequisites, and certain others can be taken multiple times. Below is the list of Mutations you can pick from for your summon. Mutations are listed by level they are available at, as some mutations require you be a certain level in this class to take them. If a Mutation has prerequisites, you must meet them to use it. You can take a mutation at the same time that you meet its prerequisites. A level prerequisite refers to your level in this class.

• Mutations.

5.00

(one vote)

---

Back to Main Page → 5e Homebrew → Classes