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View Full Version : D&D 5e/Next Continuing discussion of a Shadowmancer rogue subclass.



Segev
2021-06-08, 02:06 PM
Continued from here, (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?632646-Input-requested-homebrew-rogue-subclass&p=25077198) I wanted to give my own suggestions on this. As ever, I am prone to overpowering things, but am also prone to pushing back; please do explain thoroughly any elements that are too strong and why, because I'll use that to gauge fixes.

I'm the player mentioned by the OP of the linked thread, but while I have rejiggered things in part based on what I'd like, the theming of shadow-control was more important in this design and I've tried to keep "I may take this" as only a back-burner design concern. (Amongst other things, given the multiclass of the build, it's possible it'll only get to the third level feature, and highly unlikely it'll get to the 13th.)

((Bit of humor: Every time I type the subclass name, it winds up being "Shadowmander" before I correct it. I don't even play or discuss pokemon very often!))


Shadowmancer
Animate Shadow
At third level, when you become a shadowmancer, you gain the ability to animate your shadow at will. You fill it with semi-substantial essence from the Shadowfell, granting you the following abilities:
You can use your shadow to make unarmed strikes out to 30 feet away. These unarmed strikes count as simple finesse weapons and deal necrotic damage which appears on the target's shadow rather than its body. When you deal sneak attack damage with such an attack, you gain 1d6 temporary hit points.
When using the attack action to grab or shove, you may use your shadow to do so up to 30 feet away. You can maintain the grapple and move about with creatures so grappled as long as they remain within reach of your animated shadow (usually 30 feet). While grappled in this way, creatures may grapple you through your shadow.
You may manipulate objects with your shadow at up to 30 feet, as if by Mage Hand.
You may make your shadow form images or simple shapes—such as the vague form of a creature, an inanimate object, or a location—to appear and animate as you like. This requires no action.

Whispering Shadow
You learn the message cantrip, and may cast it without components. At ninth level, any creature whose shadow is connected to yours via the thread of shadow granted by Shadow Puppets is considered in range for your message spell.

Shadow Puppets
At ninth level, you gain the ability to make connections to and take control of other shadows. As a bonus action when you successfully damage, grapple, or shove a creature in dim light or darkness with your shadow, you may leave an invisible thread of shadow connecting yours to theirs. You may choose to make an attack that deals no damage in order to make this connection; if you do, a Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) check against observers' Passive Perception prevents them from noticing anything happen at all. Those who notice see your shadow attempt to touch the target's, whether the attack is successful or not. While this connection is maintained, creatures who can see into the Shadowfell can see the thread extending from your shadow to the target shadow.

While this thread is connected, the target is always considered to be within your shadow's reach.

As a use of your Cunning Action, you may manipulate a shadow connected to one of these threads to convert it into a Shadow Puppet under your control until the start of your next turn. You may use a Shadow Puppet as if it were your own animated shadow, using any abilities granted by that feature as if you were occupying the same space as the shadow's caster.

Your shadow threads dissipate after an hour or if the connected shadow's owner is ever more than a mile from you. If the shadow's owner is subject to an effect that deals radiant damage, so is the thread. The shadow thread uses your armor class and saving throws, and if it suffers any radiant damage, it is destroyed and your control over the shadow is broken.

You can have a maximum number of threads connected to other shadows equal to your proficiency modifier. If you create an additional one that would bring you beyond this maximum, you must choose an existing one to terminate.

Deep Shadows
When you reach 13th level, you learn to spread your shadow thickly over your surroundings. Within reach of your shadow, bright light is dim and dim light is darkness. You may choose to turn this ability on or off once during each of your turns. In addition, you are completely invisible to Darkvision; it cannot even help creatures see you in dim light.

Shadow Walker
At 17th level, you have learned to use the shadows as doorways. As an action, you may step from the Prime, Shadowfell, or Ethereal plane to the coterminous location on any of the others. The location must be in dim light or darkness on both the starting and destination planes.