Tainted Nexus (5e Subclass)
Tainted Nexus[edit]
Sorcerer Subclass
There are places in the world where the channels of magical energies converge to form a nexus. Most nexuses are simply focal points of power. As such, they make convenient locations for powerful rituals, often involving sacrifices and dark emanations. Using a nexus this way can leave a stain on the energies there. A tainted nexus sullies the natural world around it, causing mutations and rifts, unseating the fabric of reality, allowing other spheres to influence our own.
Not every nexus is discernible to those not attuned to its energies, so sometimes people, villages, even cities settle in their wake. A child raised near a tainted nexus might absorb some of its power, manifesting powers mutations of their own. These changes aren’t necessarily permanent, frequently shifting and altering with the realignment of the spheres. Thus, a Tainted Nexus sorcerer – sometimes called “Fluxes” or, more crassly, “Taints” – might wake up one day with darkvision and the next the ability to breathe underwater, then a week later the ability to project their thoughts. Similarly, they might be stronger one day and smarter the next.
The first sign that a child is tainted is the teleporting. It starts when they’re scared – nightmares, conflict, even a loud noise can trigger it. Eventually they might obtain some control over it, but it’s a common malady of all young fluxes.
Nexus Spells[edit]
You learn additional spells when you reach certain levels in this class, as shown on the Nexus Spells table. Each spell counts as a sorcerer spell for you, but it doesn’t count against the number of sorcerer spells you know. The spells, like the source of their power, are tainted and vary from classic versions of the spell as indicated in the table.
| Sorcerer Level | Spells | Tainted effects |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | hellish rebuke | The damage type is random. Roll a d6: 1 cold, 2 fire, 3 lightning, 4 thunder, 5 acid, 6 force |
| 3rd | alter self | Duration is 20 minutes but does not require concentration |
| 5th | thunder step | The damage type is random. Roll a d6: 1 cold, 2 fire, 3 lightning, 4 thunder, 5 acid, 6 force |
| 7th | shadow of moil | In addition to resisting radiant damage, any damage you take has a chance of being resisted. When you take damage, roll a d6. On a 5 or 6, the damage is resisted. |
| 9th | negative energy flood | If this creates a zombie, it rises with temporary hit points equal to half the damage this spell dealt. |
- Tainted Blood
At 1st level, you acquire a racial benefit that doesn’t belong to you. You’ve experienced this all your life, but the nature of the benefit changed as you grew up — improved vision or elevated hearing or rest without sleeping... Every few weeks, something improved and something got worse.
Each time you gain a level, roll randomly from the table.
| d8 | Appropriated racial feature |
|---|---|
| 1 | darkvision 60’ (or increased by 30’) |
| 2 | improved smell and hearing; gain proficiency in perception |
| 3 | resistant to poison damage |
| 4 | increase your walking speed by 5 feet |
| 5 | you gain a swim speed of 30 feet and can breathe underwater for up to 30 minutes |
| 6 | twice per long rest, if you roll a 1 on a d20, reroll it |
| 7 | you don’t sleep; you have advantage to save against being charmed |
| 8 | you know the message cantrip and can cast it as a bonus action |
| ** | If you roll a benefit you already possess, add twice your proficiency bonus to your maximum hit points until the next time you roll for this feature. |
Any time you recover from being at zero hit points, reroll this trait. At 4th level, select one of these benefits to gain permanently on top of the randomly assigned one. Each time you reach a sorcerer level that provides an ASI, you may choose to swap your permanent benefit for another.
- Fueled by Magic
At 6th level, each time you expend a Sorcery Point to use metamagic, you can choose to gain 1d4 + your Charisma modifier temporary hit points for 1 minute. While you have these temporary hit points, add +1 to any Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma saving throws. Also, if you are suffering from exhaustion, you have one level less while you have these temporary hit points.
- Unstable Attributes
Also at 6th level, the unstable power within you fluctuates while you rest. You gain an extra +1 to one of your ability scores (Note: That's score, not modifier. Makes odd scores more fun, no?) To determine which, when you finish a long rest, roll a d6 and add that +1 to the attribute indicated on the Unstable Attribute Table.
| d6 | +1 to Attribute |
|---|---|
| 1 | Strength |
| 2 | Dexterity |
| 3 | Constitution |
| 4 | Intelligence |
| 5 | Wisdom |
| 6 | Charisma |
At the end of the next long rest, roll again and move that +1 to another attribute. The same attribute cannot gain this bonus both before and after a single rest, so if the same attribute rolls, you don’t gain the bonus until after the next long rest. Unstable indeed.
- Unfixed
At 14th level, the nexus energies within you make your location unfixed. Sometimes you go to bed at night and wake up on the roof. Other times you disappear just in the nick of time before something bad happens.
You know the dimension door spell and can cast it once as a reaction without a spell slot. Your reaction casting requires a successful Dexterity saving throw against a 15 DC. Success means you teleport away before the “bad thing” happens (#DMdiscretion). A failed save means you teleport away after the bad thing, potentially even bringing a bad thing with you. The triggering event could be anything: an attack, a trap, a spell effect, even just being seen by the wrong person.
There are two ways you can regain this ability. One would be to finish a long rest. The other is for a “random” teleportation to take hold of you. This can be as random or as plot-centered as your DM desires. This random teleport does not put you in a place of assured damage (off a cliff, into lava or a cloud of daggers). The range of the unfixed event is the same as the dimension door spell.
[DM note: This random teleportation probably started when the sorcerer was young and happened when they were scared. So, if you want to bampf them to the far side of the battlefield before they reach this level or kickstart an adventure with them waking somewhere different from where they fell asleep, go for it. Have fun.]
- Unbridled
At 18th level, you can tap into the residual power of the nexus to amplify your spells. You can spend 4 sorcery points to cast a spell at one level higher than the spell slot you expend. The amplified spell must be of level 5 or below, though any spell slot up to 8th level can be expended in the casting.
You can use this ability once without consequence, regaining that use when you finish a long rest. Subsequent uses without a long rest will add a level of exhaustion.
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