Shadow Magician (5e Class)
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Shadow Magician[edit]
A Magician that draws upon the power of the shadowfell to cast and use various shadow-related spells and abilities. Due to their strict focus on this one type of magic, Shadow Magicians have a much higher learning rate and therefore also usually have more experience than wizards, but still need to learn and train more than sorcerers. This high expertise in one specific field of magic comes with the drawback of a lack of variety and vulnerability towards radiant attacks.
Creating a Shadow Magician[edit]
The basic premise of this class is to cast spells or use class abilities mostly related to shadows and darkness while having some options to different types of abilities in this school of magic via the path of shadow you can choose to walk.
- Quick Build
You can make a Shadow Magician quickly by following these suggestions. First, Intelligence should be your highest ability score, followed by Dexterity. Second, choose the Far Traveler background. Third, choose <!-elaborate on spell choices->
Class Features
As a Shadow Magician you gain the following class features.
- Hit Points
Hit Dice: 1d6 per Shadow Magician level
Hit Points at 1st Level: 6 + Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d6 (or 4) + Constitution modifier per Shadow Magician level after 1st
- Proficiencies
Armor:
Weapons:
Tools: Disguise kit, Forgery kit, Thieve's tools, Gaming Sets
Saving Throws: Intelligence, Dexterity
Skills: Choose four from the following: Acrobatics, Sleight of Hand, Stealth, Arcana, History, Investigation, Insight, Perception, or Deception
- Equipment
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:
- (a) a Disguise kit or (b) a Forgery kit or (c) a set of Thieve's tools
- (a) a Dungeoneer's Pack or (b) an Explorer's Pack or (c) a Scholar's Pack
- One type of Gaming Set
- A Grimoire
- If you are using starting wealth, you have 6d6 x 6gp in funds.
Level | Proficiency Bonus |
Mana Points | Cantrips Known | Features | —Spell Slots per Spell Level— | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | |||||
1st | +2 | 1 | 4 | Grimoire Casting, Shadow Constitution, Shadow Hands Ruler | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
2nd | +2 | 2 | 4 | Shadowed Star Ruler | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
3rd | +2 | 3 | 4 | Path of Shadow | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
4th | +2 | 4 | 5 | Ability Score Improvement | 4 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
5th | +3 | 5 | 5 | — | 4 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
6th | +3 | 6 | 5 | — | 4 | 3 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
7th | +3 | 7 | 5 | — | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — |
8th | +3 | 8 | 5 | Ability Score Improvement | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — |
9th | +4 | 9 | 5 | — | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | — | — | — | — |
10th | +4 | 10 | 6 | — | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — |
11th | +4 | 11 | 6 | — | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — |
12th | +4 | 12 | 6 | Ability Score Improvement | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — |
13th | +5 | 13 | 6 | — | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | — | — |
14th | +5 | 14 | 6 | — | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | — | — |
15th | +5 | 15 | 6 | — | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | — |
16th | +5 | 16 | 6 | Ability Score Improvement | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | — |
17th | +6 | 17 | 6 | — | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
18th | +6 | 18 | 6 | — | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
19th | +6 | 19 | 6 | Ability Score Improvement | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
20th | +6 | 20 | 6 | — | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Grimoire Casting[edit]
As a follower of shadows and darkness, you have a grimoire containing spells that show your very own connection to them. See Spells Rules for the general rules of spellcasting and the Spells listed for the Shadow Magician spell list.
- Cantrips
At 1st level, you know four cantrips of your choice from the Shadow Magician spell list. You learn additional Shadow Magician cantrips of your choice at higher levels, as shown in the Cantrips Known column of the Shadow Magician table.
- Grimoire and Spellcasting Focus
At 1st level, you have a Grimoire containing six 1st-level Shadow Magician spells of your choice. Your Grimoire is the repository of the Shadow Magician spells you know, including your cantrips.
Additionally, your Grimoire acts as a Spellcasting Focus for all your spells and is required to cast any.
- Spells Known of 1st Level and Higher, and Casting them
You know 6 1st-level spells of your choice from the Shadow Magician spell list.
The Shadow Magician table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your Shadow Magician 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.
- Spellcasting Ability
Intelligence is your Spellcasting Ability for your Shadow Magician spells, since you learn your spells through your comprehension of shadows and darkness. 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 Shadow Magician 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 a Shadow Magician spell as a ritual if that spell has the ritual tag and you have the spell in your Grimoire. You don’t need to have the spell prepared.
- Learning Spells of 1st Level and Higher
Each time you gain a Shadow Magician level, you can add a number of Shadow Magician spells of your choice to your Grimoire equal to half your Intelligence Modifier rounded down to a minimum of zero for free. Each of these spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots, as shown on the Shadow Magician table.
For example, when you reach 3rd level in this class with an Intelligence of 18, you can learn one new 1st and one new 2nd level spell or two new spells of 1st or 2nd level.
Additionally, when you gain a level in this class, you can choose one of the Shadow Magician spells you know and replace it with another spell from the Shadow Magician spell list, which also must be of a level for which you have spell slots.
- Mana Points
At 1st level, you tap into a deep wellspring of shadowy magic within yourself. This wellspring is represented by mana points, which allow you to create a variety of magical effects.
You have 2 mana points, and you gain more as you reach higher levels, as shown in the Mana Points column of the Shadow Magician table. You can never have more mana points than shown on the table for your level. You regain all spent sorcery points when you finish a long rest.
- Flexible Casting
You can use your mana points to gain additional spell slots, or sacrifice spell slots to gain additional sorcery points. You learn other ways to use your mana points as you reach higher levels.
- Creating Spell Slots
You can transform unexpended mana points into one spell slot as a bonus action on your turn. The Creating Spell Slots table shows the cost of creating a spell slot of a given level. You can create spell slots no higher in level than 9th.
Any spell slot you create with this feature vanishes when you finish a long rest.
—Spell Slot Level— | —Mana Point Cost— |
---|---|
1 | 2 |
2 | 3 |
3 | 5 |
4 | 6 |
5 | 7 |
6 | 9 |
7 | 10 |
8 | 11 |
9 | 13 |
- Converting a Spell Slot to Mana Points
As a bonus action on your turn, you can expend one spell slot and gain a number of mana points equal to the slot’s level.
Your Grimoire[edit]
You might find other spells during your adventures. You could discover a spell recorded on a scroll in an evil wizards’ chest, for example, or in a dusty tome in an ancient library.
Copying a Spell into the Book[edit]
When you find a Shadow Magician spell of 1st level or higher, you can add it to your Grimoire if it is of a spell level you can prepare and if you can spare the time to decipher and copy it.
Copying that spell into your Grimoire involves reproducing the basic form of the spell, then deciphering the unique system of notation used by the Shadow Magician who wrote it. You must practice the spell until you understand the sounds or gestures required, then transcribe it into your Grimoire using your own notation.
For each level of the spell, the process takes 2 hours and costs 50 gp. The cost represents material components you expend as you experiment with the spell to master it, as well as the fine inks you need to record it. Once you have spent this time and money, you can prepare the spell just like your other spells.
Replacing the Book[edit]
You can copy a spell from your own Grimoire into another book—for example, if you want to make a backup copy of your Grimoire. This is just like copying a new spell into your Grimoire, but faster and easier, since you understand your own notation and already know how to cast the spell. You need to spend only 1 hour and 10 gp for each level of the copied spell.
If you lose your Grimoire, you can use the same procedure to transcribe the spells that you have prepared into a new Grimoire. Filling out the remainder of your Grimoire requires you to find new spells to do so, as normal. For this reason, many Shadow Magicians keep backup Grimoires in a safe place.
The Book’s Appearance[edit]
Your Grimoireis a unique compilation of spells, with its own decorative flourishes and margin notes. It might be a plain, functional leather volume that you received as a gift from your master, a finely bound gilt-edged tome you found in an ancient library, or even a loose collection of notes scrounged together after you lost your previous Grimoire in a mishap.
Shadow Constitution[edit]
At 1st level, due to your attunement to shadows and darkness, you are vulnerable to radiant damage.
Starting at 3rd level, you gain resistance to psychic damage, and at 12th level immunity to it.
Shadow Hands Ruler[edit]
At 1st level, you learn to fuel the Shadow Hand cantrip with extra magic, exceeding its original limits.
As a bonus action, you can spend one Mana Point to cast the cantrip Shadow Hand. Shadow Hands created this way do not count against the limit of Hands you can have summoned at once.
You can also spend one Mana Point to raise the limit of Shadow Hands you can control and move in one action by 1 as a bonus action.
Shadowed Star Ruler[edit]
At 2nd level, you learn to fuel the Shadowed Star cantrip with extra magic, exceeding its original limits.
As a bonus action, you can spend one Mana Point to cast the cantrip Shadowed Star: Concalo.
You can also spend a number of Mana Points up to or equal to your spellcasting modifier to move as many Shadowed Stars, as described in the cantrip, as you spend Mana Points at once.
Path of Shadow[edit]
At 3rd level, you chose a Path of Shadow. Choose between Companions, detailed at the end of the class description. Your choice grants you features at 3rd and again at 6th, 9th, 12th, 15th, and 18th level.
Ability Score Improvement[edit]
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.
<!-Class Feature->[edit]
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Paths of Shadow[edit]
Companions[edit]
<!-For subclasses introduce this class option here->
- <!-Class Feature->
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- <!-Class Feature->
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Shadow Magician Spell List[edit]
You know all of the spells on the basic Shadow Magician spell list and additional spells based on your subclass.
- Cantrips
Conjuration cantrip | |
Casting time: | 1 Action |
---|---|
Range: | 66 feet |
Components: | V, S |
Duration: | 6 minutes |
A dark, light swallowing hand made out of your shadow emerges from it.
The hand is connected to your shadow, through a seemingly endless arm, likewise composed out of your shadow.
If this connection is severed, the hand disappears. This can be done by an attack targetting it. The AC for resisting this attack is your spell save DC. An attack dealing radiant damage automatically succeeds.
The spell also disperses, if you are unable to cast a shadow, or the hand is directly covered in a radiant light, this does not include normal sunlight.
Otherwise, the hand lasts for the duration or until you dismiss it as an action. The hand vanishes if it is ever out of range, the pivot being your shadow.
You may cast this spell a number of times, equal to your spellcasting modifier. If you would exceed the limit, the oldest hand will vanish.
You can use your action to control one hand. You can use a hand to manipulate an object, open an unlocked door or container, stow or retrieve an item from an open container, or pour the contents out of a vial. You can move a hand up to 30 feet each time you use it.
A single hand can’t attack directly, activate magic items, though it still can trigger traps including magical ones, or carry more than 13 pounds.
The number of hands you can control in one action increases by 1 and the distance one can travel by 12 feet when you reach 5th level (2, 42 feet), 11th level (3, 54 feet), and 17th level (4, 66 feet).
transmutation cantrip | |
Casting time: | 1 Bonus Action |
---|---|
Range: | Touch |
Components: | V, S |
Duration: | Instantaneos |
You touch one object that is no larger than 10 feet in any dimension. Until the spell ends, the object is covered in a pitch-black shadow. The shadow can have a slight shimmer to it of any color you like.
The spell ends if you cast it again or dismiss it as a bonus action.
The next attack made using this object changes its damage type to psychic. But when the weapon is used to deal radiant damage in any way, subtract 1d6 + your spellcasting modifier, used for this spell, damage from the radiant damage that would be dealt, and afterward, this spell ends.
If you are able to cast this spell on your own, you gain proficiency with the weapon for the attack.
If you target an object held or worn by a hostile creature, that creature must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw to avoid the spell.
Psychic damage dealt with the object will increase by 1d6 when you reach 5th level and again at 11th (2d6) and 17th level (3d6).
evocation cantrip | |
Casting time: | 1 Action |
---|---|
Range: | Touch |
Components: | V, S |
Duration: | 1 hour |
You touch one object that is no larger than 10 feet in any dimension. Until the spell ends, the object sheds pitch-black light in a 20-foot radius, absorbing the light it touches, and absorbs half of the light's power for an additional 20 feet, turning light to dim light and dim light to darkness. The shadowy light can have a hue of any color you like to it. Completely covering the object with something opaque blocks the dark light. The spell ends if you cast it again or dismiss it as an action.
You may control the radius of this shadowy light to a maximum of the given radius while you are touching said object.
If you target an object held or worn by a hostile creature, that creature must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw to avoid the spell.
Conjuration cantrip | |
Casting time: | 1 Action |
---|---|
Range: | Self |
Components: | V, S |
Duration: | 1 minute |
Your shadow extends from the surface and a small sphere forms floating beside you while growing long thin spikes covering the entirety of its surface — A Shadowed Star. Your shadow flattens again after that.
You can move this sphere up to 16.5 feet as a bonus action or 33 feet as an action — doubled if the star is within darkness. The Star will dissolve itself when it is further than 666 feet from you or after the 6 minutes of its duration.
The star itself has hit points equal to your spellcasting modifier and an AC equal to your spell save DC, but it is instantly destroyed if hit by radiant damage or covered in strong magical light, and as it hovers, you occupy the same place as the star, but it counts as difficult terrain for others.
(better star version (longer time and no dark weakness))
- 1st Level
1st-level Transmutation | |
Casting time: | 1 Action |
---|---|
Range: | Touch |
Components: | V, S |
Duration: | Instantaneous |
If you touch any surface, as long as it is not a living creature, and cover it with a shadow, up to as big as if you were projecting yourself onto the surface additional to a bit of a margin.
If there is an unoccupied space after a maximum of 5 feet, the other side is also covered in a similar shadow. After that, you may step through the shadow, into the unoccupied space.
If that is not the case, the spell fails and the shadow disperses again.
It also fails, if the area you are targeting is covered in radiant light, this does not include normal sunlight.
1st-level Transmutation (ritual) | |
Casting time: | 1 Action |
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Range: | Touch |
Components: | V, S |
Duration: | Instantaneous |
You hold up two fingers and gesture a circle. You then teleport to a spot beneath any of your Shadowed Stars.
This can also be used on other creatures or objects if you touch them, but an unwilling creature has to make a Dexterity saving throw against your spell save DC.
The stars are consumed upon use.
(add a class feature for mana points to cast it as a bonus action)
1st-level Evocation | |
Casting time: | 1 Action |
---|---|
Range: | 66 ft. |
Components: | V, S |
Duration: | Instantaneous |
The shadowy Energy from the Shadowed Stars within 5 ft. of you is galvanized.
They connect via this energy building a regular shape with the stars at the corners. Then the energy concentrates in the center in front of the shape, shadows extending from every star to this point.
Then you shoot a beam at the target dealing 1d6 psychic damage per Star if they fail a Dexterity saving throw against your spell save dc.
The beam will continue forward, even after dealing damage, until it goes out of range or hits a number of people, equal to the number of stars used.
The stars are consumed upon use.
1st-level Conjuration | |
Casting time: | 1 Action |
---|---|
Range: | 90 ft. |
Components: | V, S |
Duration: | Concentration, up to 1 minute |
Grasping Shadow Hands sprout from the ground in a 20-foot square starting from a point within range. For the duration, these hands turn the ground in the area into difficult terrain.
A creature in the area when you cast the spell must succeed on a Strength saving throw or be restrained by the entangling Hand until the spell ends. A creature restrained by the plants can use its action to make a Strength check against your spell save DC. On a success, it frees itself.
You can sacrifice 1 summoned hand within the radius, summoned through the Shadow Hand cantrip, to let a creature automatically fail one save regarding this spell after they rolled the dice, or two if they rolled a critical success. Additionally, if the spell is targeted with magic light or a radiant damage-dealing attack, the spell vanishes in the affected areas and completely if more than half of the area vanishes.
When the spell ends, the conjured hands vanish.
- 2nd Level
<!-2nd level spell list->
- 3rd Level
<!-3rd level spell list->
- 4th Level
<!-4th level spell list->
- 5th Level
<!-5th level spell list->
- 6rd Level
<!-6rd level spell list->
- 7th Level
<!-7th level spell list->
- 8th Level
<!-8th level spell list->
- 9th Level
<!-9th level spell list->
Multiclassing[edit]
Prerequisites. To qualify for multiclassing into the Shadow Magician class, you must meet these prerequisites: Intelligence 13
Proficiencies. When you multiclass into the Shadow Magician class, you gain the following proficiencies:
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