Shadow Magic
You are a creature of shadow with for innate magic from the shadowy realm of Annwn. You might trace your lineage to an entity from that place, or perhaps you were exposed to its fell energy and transformed by it.
The power of shadow magic casts a strange pall over your physical presence. The spark of life that sustains you is muffled, as if it struggles to remain viable against the dark energy that imbues your soul. At your option, you can pick from or roll on the table below to create a quirk for your character.
| d6 | Quirk |
|---|---|
| 1 | You are always icy cold to the touch. |
| 2 | When you are asleep, you don’t appear to breathe (though you must still breathe to survive). |
| 3 | You barely bleed, even when badly injured. |
| 4 | Your heart beats once per minute. This event sometimes surprises you. |
| 5 | You have trouble remembering that living creatures and corpses should be treated differently. |
| 6 | You blinked. Once. Last week. |
Branch Features
Bonus Spells
Once you can cast spells of a given level, select two spells of that spell level from the list below as bonus spells. Once you gain a bonus spell, you always know it and it doesn’t count against the number of spells that you know.
If you have a bonus spell that doesn’t appear on the arcane spell list, that spell is nevertheless an arcane spell for you.
| Spell Level | Spells |
|---|---|
| 1st | Cause Fear, False Life, Hex, Inflict Wounds |
| 2nd | Pass Without Trace, Phantasmal Force, Shadow Blade, Silence |
| 3rd | Bestow Curse, Dark Hunger, Feign Death, Phantom Steed |
| 4th | Biting Shadows, Black Tentacles, Death Ward, Phantasmal Killer |
| 5th | Enervation, Mislead, Negative Energy Flood |
Talents
| Talent | CP | Prerequisites |
|---|---|---|
| Strength of the Grave | 5 | - |
| Eyes of the Dark | 5 | 2nd Level Spells and Strength of the Grave |
| Hound of Ill Omen | 5 | 3rd Level Spells and Eyes of the Dark |
| Shadow Walk | 50 | 7th Level Spells and Hound of Ill Omen |
| Umbral Form | 80 | 9th Level Spells and Shadow Walk |
| Master of the Shadow Pack | 80 | 9th Level Spells and Shadow Walk |
Strength of the Grave
Cost: 5 Character Points
Your existence in a twilight state between life and death makes you difficult to defeat.
When damage reduces you to 0 Stamina, you can make a defense check using your spellcasting attribute vs 5 + the damage taken. On a success, you instead drop to 1 Stamina. You can’t use this feature if you are reduced to 0 stamina by sacred damage or by a critical hit.
After a success, you can’t use this ability again until you finish a long rest.
Eyes of the Dark
Cost: 5 Character Points
Prerequisite: 2nd Level Spells and Strength of the Grave
No darkness can block your sight.
You have darkvision with a range of 60 feet. If you already have darkvision, then the range of your darkvision increases by 60 feet.
You also learn the Darkness spell, which doesn’t count against your number of mage spells known. Additionally, you gain the ability to see through the darkness created by the spell.
Hound of Ill Omen
Cost: 5 Character Points
Prerequisite: 3rd Level Spells and Eyes of the Dark
Actions: 2
You curse an enemy and call forth a howling creature of darkness to dispatch them.
You mark one creature that you can see within 120 feet of you for death. Spend 3 Mana to magically summon a hound of ill omen in an unoccupied space of your choice within 30 feet of the target. The hound uses the Dire Wolf statistics, with the following changes:
- The hound is size medium, not large, and it counts as a monstrosity, not a beast.
- It appears with a number of temporary hit points equal to the maximum spell level that you can cast.
- It can move through other creatures and objects as if they were difficult terrain. If the hound ends its turn within a creature or object, both take 5 profane damage.
- At the start of its turn, the hound automatically knows its marked creature’s location. If the creature was hidden, it is no longer hidden from the hound.
In combat, the hound shares your initiative, but takes its turn immediately after you. On its turn, it can only use its actions to move towards the marked creature by the most direct route and attack the marked creature. The hound can make attacks of opportunity, but only against the marked creature.
While the hound is within 5 feet of the marked creature, you gain +1d on spell attacks against the marked creature. Additionally, the marked creature suffers -1d to any checks against effects created by your spells.
The hound disappears if it is reduced to 0 Stamina, if the marked creature is reduced to 0 Stamina, if you use this ability again, or after 5 minutes.
Shadow Walk
Cost: 50 Character Points
Prerequisite: 7th Level Spells and Hound of Ill Omen
Actions: 1
You can step from one shadow into another.
When you are in dim light or darkness, you can magically teleport up to 120 feet to an unoccupied space you can see that is also in dim light or darkness.
Umbral Form
Cost: 80 Character Points
Prerequisite: 9th Level Spells and Shadow Walk
Actions: 1
You transform yourself into a shadowy specter.
You can spend 6 Mana to magically transform yourself into this shadowy form. In this form, you have resistance to all damage except for energy and sacred damage, and you can move through other creatures and objects as if they were difficult terrain. If you end your turn within a creature or object, you both take 5 profane damage.
You remain in this form for 1 minute. It ends early if you are incapacitated, if you die, or if you dismiss it using 1 Action.
Master of the Shadow Pack
Cost: 80 Character Points
Prerequisite: 9th Level Spells and Shadow Walk
Cry “Havoc!” and let slip the hounds of shadow!
When you use your Hound of Ill Omen abiliity, you can spend 5 Mana to summon 2 hounds, or 7 Mana to summon 3. You can mark as many creatures within range for your hounds to target, either individually or as a group, as you have hounds.
If a marked creature is reduced to 0 Stamina, a hound attacking it will proceed to the nearest marked creature that remains. If no marked creatures remain, then all summoned hounds disappear. The hounds also disappear if reduced to 0 Stamina, if you use this ability again, or after 5 minutes.