Soulbowman (5e Class)

The bloody field around him glowed and pulsed with his own beating heart, as he walked those within the field bowed before him, energy crackling in their mind and into their very bones. Their knees bent, one was foolish enough to stand. With a flash, a massive black and red twisting mass erupting from his hands. The fool who stood before backed up as his body was riddled with arrows more red than the blood they spilled. This was the start of the Soulbow's Tyrannical Domain. --Empirical Records, First Era

Soulbowman

A soul is contained within a strong housing within the body, a mystical and magical barrier containing one's essence. This allows a soul to be stolen and traded by beings with the ability to control, see, and interact with the housing. However, there are certain powers that can destroy and fracture this housing, shattering and freeing the soul itself. With it's housing shattered, one's soul is no longer able to be contained in one's body, their power begins to exert itself outward into the world around them; still anchored to it's owner. Many of these people, who have gone through traumatic experiences or nearly perfect enlightenment in order to shatter their soul's housing; are generally found by the monastic orders of the Soulbowmen.

Soulbowmen are people who can control the area around them that their soul has begun to occupy and have learned how to harness the broken housing of it into weapons of great power or even greater devastation. Soulbowman have learned how to form and control all of this though their trademark, the Soulbow. Always armed and ready for combat, Soulbowman are rarely caught unawares and make fantastic guards and watchmen.

A Soulbowman is all about control and command and sacrifices the traditional archer's stand off distance for being far less vulnerable and far more adaptable in all out combat. Any party can have a Soulbowman, however it is very well served to it's own devices and often serves as a leader to any group for it's ability to command and react either its allies or its foes within its reach.

Relentless Tacticians

Soulbowmen are constant and relentless on the battlefield. During combat, the Soulbowman uses their abilities to hamper their enemies and assist their allies in combat. With careful positioning and proper timing, the Soulbowman can carry for more than their class suggests. Their abilities, made with almost limitless combinations, can be used to take down nearly any number or type of foe.

Nearly every Soulbowman is calm and calculating in combat. Their eyes dart around, finger on the knock of their arrows, string mostly taught. They tend to live on edge, and are often rewarded for what many can perceive as paranoia.

A Shattered Soul is a Disease

Soulbowman can be created from those people who have reached their limit and beyond or those who have reached enlightenment and self-acceptance to the highest levels that can be achieved by the living.

However, Soulbowman are more commonly created from people who have had an altercation with a Soulbowman in the past. As the power of a soul, much like a diamond, can be used to fracture another soul's housing. This serves as a propagation of this power like a disease. The original wound caused by a Soulbow onto a creature that is to become a Soulbowman never heals fully. Instead, having the wound replaced by a mystical glow, the leaking of their soul into the world around them.

This wound can be a through hole in a muscle or a knick across the face that glows purple. Often times, Soulbowman try to hide their wounds. Few, though they do exist, display their wounds proudly.

At character creation, you may use the table below to pick your Soulbowman's wound.

Soulbow Wound Table

1 - Roll 2D10, rerolling all 1's, and take both wounds onto your character

2 - Slash across the eye

3 - Slash across the jaw

4 - Hole in the neck

5 - Through hole punched through the hand

6 - Through hole in the upper torso/back

7 - Several holes in the stomach

8 - Through hole along the calf

9 - Ragged wound across the heel

10 - Wound on the character's buttocks

Whenever the Soulbowman or Soulbowmen who originally shattered your soul parish, the scars cease to glow in color and fade back into becoming normal wounds. Often, Soulbowmen are consumed with the goal to kill those who made them into a Soulbowman and lose this mark that haunts them.

Creating a Soulbowman

Soulbowman are for players that want a more reactionary and controlling role in their games or want to play a different style of ranged character on the battlefield. When creating a Soulbowman think about where your Soulbowman's energies lie. Do they focus on chasing the person who made them a Soulbowman for revenge? Do they work on learning what happened to them or avoiding those who they had made into Soulbowmen from the past? Work with your DM on the ramifications of this spreading destruction at it worms its way through your campaign and how it is perceived by the world at large.

Quick Build

A player can make a Soulbowman quickly by following these suggestions. First, dexterity should be their highest ability score, followed by intelligence. Second, choose the acolyte background, as a Soulbowman most likely comes from a church or monastery.

Class Features

As a Soulbowman you gain the following class features.

Hit Points

Hit Dice: 1d8 per Soulbowman level
Hit Points at 1st Level: 8 + Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 (or 5) + Constitution modifier per Soulbowman level after 1st

Proficiencies

Armor: Light Armor
Weapons: Simple Weapons, All bows
Tools: None
Saving Throws: Dexterity and Intelligence
Skills: Choose two from among Arcana, Nature, Slight of Hand, or Stealth

Equipment

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

• (a) Leather Armor or (b) Leather Armor or (c) Studded Armor
• (a) Staff or (b) Shortsword
• (a) 10 Darts or (b) 2 Daggers
• (a) Adventurer's Pack or (b) Dungeoneering Pack

Table: The Soulbowman

Level	Proficiency Bonus	Features	Harvest Aspects	Aspect Shards	Aspect Empowerment Damage
1st	+2	Soulbow, Soulsight	-	-	-
2nd	+2	Aspects of the Soul, Aspect Shards	1	2	-
3rd	+2	Soulbowman Rule	1	3	-
4th	+2	Ability Score Improvement	1	4	-
5th	+3	Extra Attack, Aspect Empowerment	2	5	1D4
6th	+3	Harmonized Soulbow	2	6	1d4
7th	+3	Rule Feature	2	7	1d4
8th	+3	Ability Score Improvement	2	8	1d4
9th	+4	Aspect Embodiment	3	9	1d4
10th	+4	Eternal Domain	3	10	2D4
11th	+4	Rule Feature	3	11	2D4
12th	+4	Ability Score Improvement	3	12	2D4
13th	+5	Shard Defense	4	13	2D4
14th	+5	Shard Surge	4	14	2D4
15th	+5	Rule Feature	4	15	3D4
16th	+5	Ability Score Improvement	4	16	3D4
17th	+6	Dual Aspect	5	17	3D4
18th	+6	Aspect Mastery	5	18	3D4
19th	+6	Ability Score Improvement	5	19	3D4
20th	+6	Aspect Purity	6	20	4D4

Soulbow

At Level 1 a you gain the heart of the Soulbow and with it the ability to focus the energy of your soul into the material world. Through the Soulbow, you can shape the world and its fate, and now you can summon your soulbow as a bonus action.

This weapon is weightless, the features of the bow depend on the background, nature, and temperament of the Soulbowman who summoned it but is always made of a translucent purple crystal that moves and flickers; it's exterior is set ablaze with flames. (This effect is purely for visual and flavor and has no effect on Stealth of Perception checks.)

When you draw back the Soulbow's string and fire, it creates an arrow of compressed crystalline energy, which vanishes after 1 minute.

The Soulbow can be dispelled at any time without using an action or if it is removed from your grasp. Your Soulbow is dispelled automatically you are incapacitated or killed.

Your Soulbow has the following stats:

Type: Ranged

Damage: 2D4 Piercing

Properties: Ammunition, Range 150/600, Two Handed, Special

Weight: 0

Soulsight

At Level 1 a your soul can no longer can be contained in your body and grows outside of its fractured housing. This allows you to feel the corporeal world and sense the souls of creatures near them.

You now have the ability to see each Soul within a 30 ft sphere around you. You can see the souls burning as if they were purple candle flames. This sight allows you to see a creature's soul through up to 1 foot of stone, 1 inch of common metal, or up to 3 feet of wood or dirt; regardless of light conditions. Thicker substances block this vision, as does a thin sheet of lead and magical barriers or magical substances.

Not all creatures have souls; constructs, most undead, and oozes, do not have souls unless their creators specifically deem them to. Creatures who have had their soul's stolen either through a demonic contract, resurrection, or by some other means, do not appear to your sight.

All souls appear the same but tend to reflect the size of the creature they originate from. For example, if you are looking at the soul of a large creature, you can tell the size of the creature is large.

It is incredibly hard to discern the soul of a particular creature apart from another within a crowd of other souls; a Survival (Wisdom) check for tracking or Investigation (Intelligence) check for discerning is used to keep track or find a soul within a crowd of similarly sized souls.

Being able to see a soul does not give you the ability to see through illusions or invisibility, as these spells are adept, however not perfect, at mimicking or covering up a soul. As long as you would be able to see a target's soul; when making an Investigation (Intelligence) check in order to discern if the creature is an illusion or not, a perception (Wisdom) check to find an invisible creature, or an attack against an invisible creature, you make those checks or rolls with advantage.

Aspects of the Soul

After a time, you have seen your soul outside of your body and have begun to harvest not just the power of a freed soul, but to also distil certain aspects of your soul, the essence of what makes you a sentient creature, into shards in order to produce even more potent and powerful aspects.

When you reach 2nd level, you may choose one of the Aspects listed below to harvest and add to your arsenal. Each of these Aspects gives you access to different effects to augment your attacks and abilities.

The Aspects you may choose from are the following:

Rage, Sorrow, Abhorrence, Disbelief, Elation, or Dread.

After completing a long rest, you may change which Aspects you are harvesting.

At higher levels, you gain the ability to harvest more aspects of your soul at one time. The number aspects that you can harvest at one time is based on your Soulbowman level indicated in the Harvested Aspects column of the Soulbowman table.

Aspect Shards

Also at 2nd level, you gain a number of Aspect Shards, powerful compressed pieces of your fractured Souls that hang intangibly around you. Your level determines how many Aspect Shards you have access to, as determined by the Aspect Shards column of the Soulbowman Table.

Once per turn when you fire an arrow from your Soulbow as part of the Attack action, you can apply one of your Aspect Shard options to that arrow. You decide to use the option when the arrow hits a creature, unless the option doesn’t involve an attack roll.

A Soulbowman regain each of their expended Aspect Shards upon completing a long rest. A Soulbowman must spend at least 30 minutes of this rest with their Soulbow summoned in order to do so.

Aspect of Rage

The soulbow has its damage changed to fire damage. If the arrow damages a creature, it has disadvantage on strength checks and strength saving throws until the end of your next turn.

Aspect of Sorrow

The soulbow has its arrow's damage type changed to cold damage. If the arrow damages a creature, it has disadvantage on dexterity checks and dexterity saving throws until the end of your next turn.

Aspect of Abhorrence

The Soulbow has its damage type changed to poison damage. If the arrow damages a creature, it has disadvantage on constitution checks and constitution saving throws until end of your next turn.

Aspect of Disbelief

The Soulbow has it damage changed to psychic damage. If the arrow damages a creature, it has disadvantage on intelligence checks and intelligence saving throws until end of your next turn.

Aspect of Elation

The Soulbow has it damage type changed to lightning damage. If the arrow damages a creature, it has disadvantage on wisdom checks and wisdom saving throws until the end of the your next turn.

Aspect of Dread

The Soulbow has its damage type changed to necrotic damage. If the arrow damages a creature, it has disadvantage on charisma checks and charisma saving throws until the end of your next turn.

Soulbowman Rule

Starting at 3rd Level, a you begin to walk the path of your domain and can choose one of the Soulbowman Ruling Styles below.

Ability Score Increase

When you reache 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.

Extra Attack

Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the attack action on your turn.

Aspect Empowerment

At level 5 your soul has begun to act upon the world around you far beyond allowing you to see the souls within your domain; your soul now acts against any who oppose their owner directing its power through the Soulbow and your Aspect Shards. Whenever you make an attack with your soulbow using an aspect shard, the damage of your soulbow is increased by an additional 1d4. This damage increases by an additional 1d4 at level 10, level 15, and level 20.

Harmonized Soulbow

Starting at 6th level, your Soulbow is becoming even more powerful and focused, finally beginning to balance out with your reality. Your soulbow is now considered a magic weapon for purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage and it gains a +1 bonus to its attack and damage rolls.

Aspect Embodiment

Now that you have begun to master your soul's new existence, at 9th level the aspects of your soul have begun to have far more reaching impact than simply allowing your Soulbow and you to gain additional temporary abilities.

As a bonus action, you may spend an aspect shard and gain the effects from one of your Aspect options for 1 minute. You may only have one of the chosen effects active at a time.

Embodiment of Rage

Attacks made with your Soulbow count as a critical on a roll of 19 as well as 20.

Embodiment of Sorrow

You gain resistance to slashing, piercing, and bludgeoning damage from non magical sources.

Embodiment of Abhorrence

You can sense the presence and location of poisons, poisonous creatures, and diseases within your domain. In addition, if you would drop to 0 hitpoints while under this effect, instead you drop to 1 hitpoint, and this effect ends.

Embodiment of Disbelief

You have advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects that target you.

Embodiment of Elation

Your pace is increased by 10 ft and your jump distance is tripled.

Embodiment of Dread

You gain a +5 bonus to stealth checks, can't be tracked except by magical means. You also leave behind no tracks or other traces of your passage unless you choose to do so.

Enhanced Soulsight

At 10th level, your Soulsight has become even more powerful as your soul has become accustomed to existing outside of your body. The range of your Soulsight is now 60 ft.

In addition, you are now immune to the effects of the Soul Cage spell.

Shard Defense

Being more open in close combat, you have begun to find yourself in ever increasingly severe battles. However, a Soulbowman's shards are armor to them as well as a weapon. Starting at 13th level, whenever you are hit by an attack, you may use your reaction and expend any number of aspect shards, reducing the damage of the incoming attack by an amount equal to two times the amount spent.

Shard Surge

At 14th level, your soul has gained a reserve of strength that it can tap into in order to allow you to fight. As an action, you can expend any number of hit dice. You regain a number of aspect shards equal to the number of Hit Dice expended this way. You cannot have more aspect shards than the maximum listed in the Aspect Shards column of the Soulbowman table.

You must complete a long rest in order to regain use of this feature.

Dual Aspect

Having utilized the natures of your soul at every turn, at 17th level, you may apply your Aspect Shard option to each of your attacks during the attack action instead of to one attack. You must still spend an aspect shard each time you use an Aspect Shard option.

Aspect Mastery

Having used the shards of their aspect, you have learned how to harvest and distil the strongest portion of each aspect in order to create a Soulbowmans' most powerful attacks. At 18th level, as an action, a you may spend 5 aspect shards and make an attack with your Soulbow, adding the effects of one of the aspect masteries below to that attack.

Only aspect masteries from aspects that you are currently harvesting can be chosen in this way.

The save DC on each of your Aspect Mastery options is calculated by the following: Saving Throw DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier

Mastery of Rage

Your Soulbow has its damage is changed to fire. If the target is hit, it is skewered by the shard. During the target's next turn, they may use their action in order to make a strength saving throw. Upon a successful save, the shard is fractured and crumbles to dust, having no other effect. Upon a failed save, or at the end of that creature's turn, the shard detonates, dealing 12d6 fire damage to the creature.

Mastery of Sorrow

Your Soulbow has its damage changed to cold. Each creature within 15ft of the point of this shard's impact must make a dexterity saving throw. Each creature that fails takes 2d8 bludgeoning damage and 4d8 cold damage and has their pace halved for 1 minute; or half as much damage upon a successful save.

Mastery of Abhorrence

Your Soulbow has its damage changed to poison. A creature hit by this shard must make a constitution saving throw. Upon a failed save, the target is considered poisoned for 1 minute. At the start of each of the poisoned creature's turns, that creature makes a Constitution saving throw, upon a failed save, the creature takes poison damage equal to your Soulbowman level and is knocked prone. The creature takes damage equal to half the your Soulbowman level upon a successful save.

Mastery of Disbelief

Your Soulbow has its damage changed to psychic. A creature hit by this shard must make an intelligence saving throw. Upon a failed save, each spell cast on or cast by the target ends, that creature cannot cast spells and all of their magical items in their possession become mundane until the end of the Soulbowman's next turn.

Mastery of Elation

Your Soulbow has its damage changed to lightning. If a creature is impacted this way, it must succeed on a wisdom saving throw. Upon a failed save, the target is launched 120 ft continuing in the direction the attack was made and is knocked prone. If the target would impact a surface before finishing their travel, they stop immediately and suffer 1d10 bludgeoning damage for each 10 ft of travel remaining (rounded down).

Mastery of Dread

Your soulbow has its damage type changed to necrotic. A creature hit by this shard must make a charisma saving throw. Upon a failed save, whenever the effected creature makes an attack roll or a saving throw for the next 1 minute, the target subtracts your intelligence modifier from each of those rolls.

Aspect Purity

As a Soulbowman, you have begun to learn how to make the different aspects of your soul live in harmony. However, at 20th level, even the most unified Soulbowman knows that an aspect, fully realized on it's own, has the ability to awaken even deeper power.

Whenever you complete a long rest, instead of harvesting each of your aspects, you may harvest 1 aspect instead. If you do, you gain the following effects based on which aspect you are harvesting.

Purity of Rage

Whenever you take the attack action on their turn, the number of attacks they may make from the Extra Attack feature is increased from two to three.

In addition, you have immunity to fire damage and may stand and move across molten rock as though it were solid ground.

Purity of Sorrow

As a bonus action on your turn you may half the pace of any creature who's soul you can see.

In addition, you have immunity to cold damage and you may ignore difficult terrain caused by ice and snow.

Purity of Abhorrence

Whenever you deal damage to a creature, if that creature has less than 50 hit points, it is considered poisoned for 1 minute.

In addition, you have immunity to poison damage, immunity to disease, and are immune to the effects of poisons and the poisoned condition.

Purity of Disbelief

Whenever you are dealt damage from a source who's soul you can see, it takes psychic damage equal to half your Soulbowman level.

In addition, you have immunity to psychic damage and cannot be Charmed.

Purity of Elation

You may move, though not stop, along walls and over water, and you may Dash as a bonus action.

In addition, you have immunity to lightning damage and cannot be Paralyzed.

Purity of Dread

Attacks you make with your Soulbow ignore damage immunities and resistances.

In addition, you have immunity to necrotic damage and have advantage on Death Saving throws.

Soulbowman Rule Style

The Soulbowman is a commander, a ruler of their Domain. As your influence grows, the you begin to exert your will and truly influence the world around you with an open hand, with an iron fist, or from the shadows.

Tyrannical Rule

A Soulbowman controls the dominion their soul rules over. This power often time corrupts a Soulbowman, making them believe that their way, especially within their dominion, is the only way. A Soulbow who follows the Tyrannical rule controls and eviscerates their foes within their domain.

As you level up within the Tyrannical Rule Style the glow of all of your Soulbow abilities changes from a purple to a brilliant bloody crimson.

Violence of Words

You have begun to realize that force is the only way with which to conduct your soul now that it has sway over the world. As such, you have become unique in your manner of intimidation, and as such gain proficiency with Intimidation and can add double your proficiency bonus to your Intimidation checks.

Strike Terror in Their Soul

At 3rd level, it has become a frightening aspect for others to be within your domain and may bypass a creature's thoughts and strike fear direcly into their Soul. As a bonus action, you may have a creature who's soul you can see, make a Wisdom saving throw (DC equal to 8 + Proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier). If you do and that creature fails, it is considered frightened of you for 1 minute.

This ability can only be used on the same creature once and cannot be used again on that creature for a week.

You regains use of this feature if a creature frightened in this manner dies. Otherwise, you must complete a short or long rest in order to regain use of this feature.

Terrifying Targets

Because of the terror that the you have begun to exert within your domain, you have learned how to exploit such cracks in your opponents' fear. Starting at 7th level, you have advantage on attack rolls whenever they are made against a creature that is frightened.

Savagery of Terror

At 11th level, your viciousness has begun to manifest not only in your targets but also in the wounds that you inflict. Whenever you damage a target that is frightened you increase the damage dealt by an amount equal to half your Soulbowman level (rounded up).

Bloody Domain

Now that the your domain is a brilliant bloody crimson at 15th level, you have begun to emanate your frightening presence throughout it. As an action, you may have any number of creature's who's soul's you can see within 30 ft of you make a Wisdom saving throw (DC equal to 10 + your Proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier). Each creature who fails is considered frightened of you for 1 minute.

This ability can only be used on the same creatures once and does not effect those creatures for a week.

You must complete a long rest in order to regain use of this feature.

Lordly Rule

A Soulbowan can often grow in majesty as they learn to rule of their domain, often, they begin to see this as a station. As a lordly Soulbowman, you take great care with every ally within their domain, feeling their souls as charges that they are sworn to protect and as such specialize aiding those within the inner circle of your domain.

As a Soulbowman levels up in the Lordly Archetype, the color of their Soulbow powers changes to a brilliant cerulean blue.

Beacon of Hope

You have begun to choose your station in this life, becoming a person who others may rally around in combat. Steadfast, and standing above the rest of your comrades in order to lead them. This, obviously comes with great risks to you and you have begun to adapt to those risks. As a bonus action, you may have any number of friendly creatures within your domain each gain a number of temporary hit points equal to the your Soulbowman level + your proficiency bonus.

You regain use of this feature after completing a long rest.

Across the Domain

Startting at 3rd level, you have begun to notice and revel in the strength you have within your domain and this has lead you to protect it fiercely. Whenever a creature willingly moves into or out of your domain, you may spend your reaction to make an attack against that target.

Cobalt Bastion

Retreat is not an option, especially for a leader. Starting at 7th level, standing open in combat has caused your soul to armor you and your allies against strikes as you call orders from the front of the line. If a critical attack is made against you or your allies within your domain, you may spend an aspect shard to have that attack considered a normal hit.

Sapphire Solidarity

At 11th level your soul has begun to hold sway above death itself. When any other creature with a soul reaches 0 hit points within your domain, at that time, you may spend a reaction to have that creature's hit points reduced to 1 instead.

This ability can only be used on a creature who's soul the Soulbowman can see. This ability cannot be used on yourself.

You must complete a long rest in order to regain use of this feature.

Cerulean Domain

At 15th level, your will to protect within your domain has become even more powerful and prominent as your domain glows with a magnificent cerulean hue that takes and lifts all of those within it to higher stations. You and all friendly creatures within your domain, each reduce the damage dealt to them by a number equal to your Intelligence modifier to a minimum of 1.

Multiclassing

Prerequisites. To qualify for multiclassing into the Soulbowman, a character must meet these prerequisites: They must be proficient with a Shortbow or Longbow, and a Dexterity or Intelligence of 13 or higher.

Proficiencies. When you multiclass into the Soulbow class, you gain the following proficiencies: Acrobatics and Survival, proficiency with Longbows.

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