Shadow Magic (5A)

Starfox's 5th Edition Fan Page

This is a Sorcerous Origin for 5A.

You are a creature of shadow, for your innate magic comes from the Shadowfell itself. 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.

Source: Xanathar's Guide to Everything

Shadow Sorcerer Quirks (d6)

At your option, you can pick from or roll on the Shadow Sorcerer Quirks table to create a quirk for your character.

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.

Subclass Features

Shadow Spells

Starting at 1st level, you learn additional spells when you reach certain levels in this class, as shown on the Shadow Spells table. Each of these spells counts as a sorcerer spell for you, but it doesn't count against the number of sorcerer spells you know.

Whenever you gain a sorcerer level, you can replace one spell you gained from this feature with another spell of the same level. The new spell must be an illusion or a necromancy spell from the warlock or wizard spell list.

Shadow Spells

Sorcerer Level	Spells
1	Cause Fear, Silent Image
3	Blur, Darkvision
5	Enemies Abound, Nondetection
7	Evard's Black Tentacles, Phantasmal Killer
9	Dream, Sending

Eyes of the Dark

From 1st level, you have darkvision with a range of 120 feet.

When you reach 3rd level in this class, you learn the Darkness spell, which doesn't count against your number of sorcerer spells known. In addition, you can cast it by spending 2 sorcery points or by expending a spell slot. If you cast it with sorcery points, you can see through the darkness created by the spell.

Strength of the Grave

Starting at 1st level, your existence in a twilight state between life and death makes you difficult to defeat. When damage reduces you to 0 hit points, you can make a Charisma saving throw (DC 5 + the damage taken). On a success, you instead drop to 1 hit point. You can't use this feature if you are reduced to 0 hit points by radiant damage or by a critical hit.

After the saving throw succeeds, you can't use this feature again until you finish a long rest.

Hound of Ill Omen

At 6th level, you gain the ability to call forth a howling creature of darkness to harass your foes. As a bonus action, you can spend 3 sorcery points to summon a hound of ill omen to target one creature you can see within 120 feet of you. The hound uses the dire wolf’s 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 half your sorcerer level.
• It can move through other creatures and objects as if they were difficult terrain. The hound takes 5 force damage if it ends its turn inside an object.
• At the start of its turn, the hound automatically knows its target’s location. If the target was hidden, it is no longer hidden from the hound.

The hound appears in an unoccupied space of your choice within 30 feet of the target. In combat, the defender shares your initiative count, but it takes its turn immediately before yours. Roll initiative for the hound. On its turn, it can move only toward its target by the most direct route, and it can use its action only to attack its target. The hound can make opportunity attacks, but only against its target. Additionally, while the hound is within 5 feet of the target, the target has disadvantage on saving throws against any spell you cast. The hound disappears if it is reduced to 0 hit points, if its target is reduced to 0 hit points, or after 5 minutes.

Hound of Ill Omen

Medium monstrosity, unaligned

Armor Class 14 (natural armor)

Hit Points 37 (5d10 + 10)

Temporary Hit Points Half your sorcerer level (rounded down)

Speed 50 ft.

STR 17 (+3) DEX 15 (+2) CON 15 (+2) INT 3 (-4) WIS 12 (+1) CHA 7 (-2)

Skills Perception +3, Stealth +4

Senses: passive Perception 13

Languages —

Challenge —

Special Traits

Keen Hearing and Smell: The wolf has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing or smell.

Pack Tactics: The wolf has advantage on an attack roll against a creature if at least one of the wolf’s allies is within 5 feet of the creature and the ally isn’t incapacitated.

Shadow Form: an move through other creatures and objects as if they were difficult terrain. The hound takes 5 force damage if it ends its turn inside an object.

Target The hound of ill omen has a target when it is summoned. At the start of its turn, the hound automatically knows its target’s location. If the target was hidden, it is no longer hidden from the hound.

Action Limits: On its turn, the hound can move only toward its target by the most direct route, and it can use its action only to attack its target. The hound can make opportunity attacks, but only against its target.

Ill Omen: While the hound is within 5 feet of the target, the target has disadvantage on saving throws against any spell you cast.

Actions

Bite: Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 10 (2d6 + 3) piercing damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 13 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone.

Shadow Walk

At 14th level, you gain the ability to step from one shadow into another. When you are in dim light or darkness, as a bonus action, you can teleport up to 120 feet to an unoccupied space you can see that is also in dim light or darkness.

Umbral Form

Starting at 18th level, you can spend 6 sorcery points as a bonus action to transform yourself into a shadowy form. In this form, you have resistance to all damage except force and radiant damage, and you can move through other creatures and objects as if they were difficult terrain. You take 5 force damage if you end your turn inside an object.

You remain in this form for 1 minute. It ends early if you are incapacitated, if you die, or if you dismiss it as a bonus action.

Editor's Notes

• Only real change is the spells.
• The wording of the Darkness spell part of Eyes of the Dark has changed, but the effect is very close to what it was, since a 2nd level spell slot can be used to gain 2 sorcery points.
• The Hound of Ill Omen has been statted per de text.