Shadowstalker (5e Subclass)

Shadowstalker

Rogue Subclass

In the whispered tales of the night, there exists a figure that is but a fleeting shadow, a rumor made flesh, known only as the Shadowstalker. Cloaked in the embrace of darkness, they traverse the unseen paths that lie between the world of light and shadow. To speak of them is to acknowledge the fears that linger in the heart of every tyrant, the dread that clutches at the souls of the wicked. For the Shadowstalker is the embodiment of the unseen, the guardian of secrets, and the herald of silence.

Born from the marriage of moonlit mystery and the ink-black depths of night, the Shadowstalker moves with a grace that belies the mortal coil. They are the eyes in the dark, the whisper in the silence, the chill that caresses the nape of your neck when you realize you are not alone. With every step taken in absolute silence, they are the masters of the hunt, tracking their quarry not with brute force, but with the patience of the eternal night.

The Shadowstalkers are not born; they are forged in the absence of light, trained in the art of becoming one with the darkness that most fear to tread. Theirs is a world of contrast, where the play of shadow and light reveals the truths hidden from the untrained eye. In their hands, the darkness becomes a weapon, a shield, and a passage through which they manipulate their surroundings, bending the very essence of shadow to their indomitable will.

To their allies, the Shadowstalker is the unseen sentinel, the protector cloaked in mystery, ensuring safety from the threats that lurk in the unseen corners of the world. To their foes, they are the last glimpse of a shadow before oblivion, a nightmare made real, a promise that justice—or vengeance—will come from where they least expect.

In the tapestry of legends, the Shadowstalkers are the threads that remain unseen, yet hold the weave of tales together. They exist in the spaces between stories, where their deeds are felt but not seen, where their legacy is the silence that follows the storm, and the peace that comes from knowing that the night, in all its unfathomable depth, is on your side.

Cloak of Shadows

When you choose this archetype at 3rd level, you learn to meld with the darkness, becoming one with the shadows around you. This ability allows you to manipulate the darkness to obscure your presence and move unseen by your enemies.

• Shadow Cloak : As a bonus action, you can envelop yourself in shadows to become heavily obscured to others until the end of your next turn. While obscured in this way, you gain the following benefits :

1. Advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks.
2. The first attack made against you has disadvantage if you are in dim light or darkness.

This effect ends early if you make an attack, cast a spell, or enter an area of bright light. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Dexterity modifier (minimum of once). You regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

• Shadow's Step : Starting at 3rd level, while in dim light or darkness, you can take the Disengage action as a bonus action on your turn. This represents your ability to slip away and blend into the dark corners of the world, making it difficult for foes to track your movements.

• Ambusher's Insight : Additionally, you have honed your ability to exploit the moment of surprise. The first time you hit a creature with an attack during the first round of a combat, you deal an extra 1d6 damage to that creature. This damage increases as you gain levels in this class, becoming 2d6 at 9th level, 3d6 at 13th level, and 4d6 at 17th level.

Umbral Evasion

By 7th level, your affinity with the shadows has deepened, granting you unparalleled reflexes and the ability to evade attacks through brief moments of intangibility. You've learned to become one with the darkness, allowing it to protect you in ways that defy the understanding of your enemies.

• Shadow Dodge : You can call upon the shadows to shift your position slightly out of the normal flow of time and space, making it extremely difficult for attacks to land. When you are hit by an attack, you can use your reaction to increase your AC by a number, including your Dexterity modifier (minimum of 1), against that attack, potentially causing it to miss you. If the attack still hits, you can choose to halve the attack's damage against you.

After using this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

• Veil of Shadows : Additionally, when you are in dim light or darkness, you can take the Hide action as a bonus action on your turn, further emphasizing your ability to disappear and reappear when and where your enemies least expect it. This ability makes you a slippery target on the battlefield, able to evade detection and retaliate from the shadows.

Shadow's Grasp

By the time you reach 10th level, your command over the shadows has grown so profound that you can now harness them to manipulate and control the environment around you. Your connection to the darkness is not just a defense mechanism or a means to an end—it is an extension of your will, capable of influencing the very fabric of reality in subtle, yet powerful ways.

• Grasping Shadows : You gain the ability to use shadows to hinder your enemies and control the battlefield. As an action, you can cause tendrils of darkness to erupt from a point you can see within 60 feet of you. Each creature of your choice within a 15-foot radius of that point must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or be restrained by the shadowy tendrils.

While restrained by the shadows, a creature takes 2d6 necrotic damage at the start of each of its turns. A creature restrained by the tendrils can use its action to make a Strength or Dexterity check (its choice) against your spell save DC. On a success, it frees itself.

After using this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

• Shadow's Embrace : In addition, you've learned to draw sustenance from the shadows themselves. Whenever you reduce a hostile creature to 0 hit points, you can choose to have shadows swirl around you, granting you temporary hit points equal to your rogue level + your Dexterity modifier.

• Shadowmeld : Finally, when you are in an area of dim light or darkness, you can use your action to become invisible, along with anything you are wearing or carrying. This invisibility lasts for 1 minute or until you attack, cast a spell, or enter an area of bright light. This ability can be used a number of times equal to your Dexterity modifier (minimum of once), and all expended uses are regained after a long rest.

Shadow Sovereign

By reaching the 15th level, you've become a paragon of shadow, mastering its essence to such a degree that you embody its elusiveness and lethal potential. Your presence is now a herald of darkness, commanding respect and fear from those who dare to oppose you. The shadows around you seem almost alive, eager to respond to your silent commands.

• Sovereign of Shadows : Your bond with the darkness has become so profound that the shadows themselves offer protection and empowerment. When you are in dim light or darkness, you gain the following benefits :

1. Your speed increases by 10 feet.
2. You have advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
3. Attacks against you have disadvantage if the attacker doesn't have truesight or isn't illuminated by bright light.

This passive enhancement underscores your dominion over shadows, making you a formidable foe in your preferred environment.

• Eclipse Step : Moreover, your mastery over shadows has granted you the ability to traverse through them across distances. As a bonus action, while in dim light or darkness, you can teleport up to 60 feet to an unoccupied space you can see that is also in dim light or darkness. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Dexterity modifier (minimum of once), and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

• Nightfall's Nemesis : Lastly, your attacks are imbued with a fragment of the night's dread power. Once on each of your turns when you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can cause the attack to deal an extra 3d6 necrotic damage to the target. If this extra damage reduces the target to 0 hit points, you become invisible until the end of your next turn as you blend into the shadows, celebrating your dominion.

Umbra Incarnate

Upon reaching the 18th level, you are no longer just a master of shadows—you are an embodiment of the dark, a living incarnation of the umbra that commands respect and fear from both the seen and unseen worlds. Your understanding and control over shadows have transcended mortal limits, allowing you to manipulate darkness in its purest form.

Incarnation of the Night : You have become one with the shadow, granting you powers that blur the line between the material world and the realm of darkness. Your mastery over the umbra grants you the following abilities:

• Shadowform : As an action, you can transform yourself into a being of pure shadow for 1 minute. In this form, you are resistant to all damage except radiant damage, and you can move through other creatures and objects as if they were difficult terrain. If you end your turn inside an object, you are shunted to the nearest unoccupied space, and you take 1d10 force damage. This transformation can be used twice, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.
• Darkvision : Your connection to the darkness enhances your sight in the dark. You gain superior darkvision out to a range of 120 feet. If you already have darkvision, its range increases by 60 feet.
• Terrifying Visage : Your appearance in low light or darkness becomes unsettling to your foes. When a creature that can see you starts its turn within 30 feet of you in dim light or darkness, you can use your reaction to force it to make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, the creature is frightened of you for 1 minute. A frightened creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. Once you use this feature to frighten a creature, you can't use it again on that creature until you finish a long rest.

• Eternal Night's Embrace : The shadows you command are now extensions of your will, responsive to your desires with but a thought. You gain the ability to cast darkness at will, without expending a spell slot. When you are within the area of darkness you have created, you can see through it perfectly, and you can choose a number of creatures equal to your Dexterity modifier (minimum of 1) that can also see through it as if it were normal light.

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