The Soulbound

[Gnomes2169]

Oh boy oh boy, here we go again! Making another class for a contest, and this time it's spooky season, so you know what that means: I'm making a friendship class. But spooky this time. Potentially this could be seen as a reimagining of my aaaancient wandering soul class, this one has a bunch of key differences. Foremost being that you don't need to be dead to play one. But anyway, that's enough digression, onto the class or something!

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The Soulbound

“We humans do not understand compassion. In each moment of our lives, we betray it. Aye, we know of its worth, yet in knowing we then attach to it a value, we guard the giving of it, believing it must be earned, T’lan Imass. Compassion is priceless in the truest sense of the word. It must be given freely. In abundance.”
-Steven Erickson, Memories of Ice

Magic and life are inextricably linked, even the magic of death and the dead which simply leaches its energy from the end of life and the living. As people who understand this interaction and practice to manipulate it, the Soulbound are individuals who's magic relies upon the principles of this relationship. By drawing upon their own lives, and the teaming life of others and even the elemental forces naturally lingering in the world around them, the soulbound draws magic from the Weave to form magic that is both arcane and echoes of the divine.

Empathic Spellweavers As their power comes from life and the living, so too is a soulbound required to understand and bond with the life that they live with. Their enhanced empathy is expressed by their magic, specializing them in empowering themselves and their allies and healing any harms that a creature has suffered. Their magic resonates and can be shared with the allies that they bond with, spreading their enchantments and healing energies between themselves and those allies.

Soul Shepherds The bonds they create are formed from bridges of spirit that the soulbound can form from the shards they collect. These shards of spirit are drawn from a myriad of sources; Living beings shed them passively, so the soulbound and their allies are a source in and of themselves, but there are even more that come from creatures at the moment of their deaths, and some that leak into the world from the elemental planes into the very earth and air around them. Regardless of where they come from, the soulborn is able to gather and shape a handful of these each day in order to share their spells and fuel their other capabilities.

Call of the Fellowships Soulborn are divided by how they assist others beyond simply casting spells. These 'fellowships' come in many flavors; Avenging warriors who strike down those that harm the people they've bonded, dancers who invigorate their allies and drive them to greater actions, guardians who can meld with their allies as a living shields, and summoners that conjure further allies to the battlefield.

Level	Proficiency	Class feature	Soul shards	Cantrips Known	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
1	+2	Fellowship feature, Spellcasting	--	3	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2	+2	Soul charged, Soul link	3	3	3	-	-	-		-	-	-	-
3	+2	Fellowship feature	3	3	4	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
4	+2	Ability score increase	4	4	4	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
5	+3	Replenishing shards	4	4	4	3	2	-	-	-	-	-	-
6	+3	Fellowship feature	4	4	4	3	3	-	-	-	-	-	-
7	+3	--	4	4	4	3	3	2	-	-	-	-	-
8	+3	Ability score increase	5	4	4	3	3	3	-	-	-	-	-
9	+4	--	5	4	4	3	3	3	1	-	-	-	-
10	+4	Fellowship feature	6	5	4	3	3	3	2	-	-	-	-
11	+4	Multi-link	6	5	4	3	3	3	2	1	-	-	-
12	+4	Ability score increase	7	5	4	3	3	3	2	1	-	-	-
13	+5	Defensive link	7	5	4	3	3	3	2	1	1	-	-
14	+5	Fellowship feature	8	5	4	3	3	3	2	1	1	-	-
15	+5	--	8	5	4	3	3	3	2	1	1	1	-
16	+5	Ability score increase	9	6	4	3	3	3	2	1	1	1	-
17	+6	--	9	6	4	3	3	3	2	1	1	1	1
18	+6	Soul storm	10	6	4	3	3	3	3	1	1	1	1
19	+6	Ability score increase	10	6	4	3	3	3	3	2	1	1	1
20	+6	Unbreakable bonds	11	6	4	3	3	3	3	2	2	1	1

Building a Soulbound
Soulbound are spellcasters who specialize in magic that can empower themselves and the allies of their choosing. Their spell list is a mishmash of magics from both arcane and divine sources, the majority of which focus around empowering, protecting or healing either the soulbound themselves or their allies, though some spells meant to control threats on the battlefield can still be found. Their fellowships focus on different roles and grant increased access to cantrips and equipment alike in order to differentiate the type of support that they offer their allies. Fellowships often also change the kinds of equipment and combat that a soulbound engages in, either making themselves more of a frontline shield or mid-line support, with only the summoner being truly wary of melee combat.

In play, soulbound tend to be selfless individuals, willing to take hardship or suffer loss so that others do not have to. Think about how this might affect your character's day-to-day personality: Are you truly self-sacrificial? Do you only work to protect the people you know and care about? Are you perhaps tryng to leverage your sacrifices to enrich yourself through your service, and sharing your magic is simply a means by which you ensure your usefulness? However you play your soulbound, keep in mind that these ideas are flexible in nature, and can easily change based on circumstance.

Quick build
Soulbound are wise and flexible spellcasters who focus on supporting their allies. First, make Wisdom your highest ability score, followed by either Dexterity or Constitution as your second highest ability score, and the one you did not choose as your third. Finally, choose either the Acolyte or Folk Hero background.

Class features
As a Soulbound you gain the following class features.

Hit points
Hit dice: 1d8 per Soulbound level.
Hit Points at 1st level: 8 + your Constitution modifier
Hit Points at higher levels: 1d8 (or 5) + your Constitution modifier per Soulbound level after 1st

Proficiency
Armor: Light armor
Weapons: Simple weapons
Tools: One instrument

Saving Throws: Strength, Wisdom
Skills: Choose any two from Arcana, History, Insight, Medicine, Perception, Persuasion, Religion, Survival

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

• leather armor and a light crossbow and 20 bolts
• (a) A one-handed simple melee weapon
• (a) A Dungeoneer's pack or (b) an Explorer's pack
• 4 daggers and an instrument

Alternately, you may start the game with 4d6x5 gold, in addition to the equipment provided by your background.

Multi-classing
To multi-class as a Soulbound, you must have a minimum of 13 Wisdom and you must have a minimum of 13 Charisma.

Fellowhip feature
At level 1 you choose how you express your fellowship with your companions, determining how you support them. You can choose between the Avenger, Dancer, Guardian Spirit and Shepherd. You gain additional features at levels 3, 6, 10 and 14.

Spoiler: Fellowships

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Spoiler: Avenger

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"Eye for an eye? Tooth for a tooth? Pah, sounds like a parable made by someone who lacks imagination. Vengeance is never proportional."
-"Raging" Red Khalil

The avenger is a fierce guardian, their sympathetic magics bent towards striking back at the foes who would hinder them and their allies. Far more offensive than the average soulbound, the avenger is focused on combat and typically has training in heavier equipment to allow them to withstand assaults from the foes they would vanquish. They can burn soul shards to empower their spells and to bring about instantaneous reprisal, consuming those fragments for power instead of their normal sympathetic magics.

Level	Bonus spells known
1	Guiding bolt, Protection from evil and good
3	Blur, Hold person
5	Crusader's mantle, Fireball
7	Banishment, Fire shield
9	Circle of Power, Wall of light

Bonus proficiencies
You gain proficiency with medium armor, heavy armor and shields, and you learn the Firebolt cantrip in addition to your other cantrips. If you take this Fellowship at character creation, you may choose to either obtain a chain shirt and shield or chainmail instead of any other armor options provided by your class.

Vengeful
Also at level 1, you become more adept at striking down enemies after they have harmed you. When another creature causes you to lose hit points or fail a saving throw, you have advantage on weapon and spell attack rolls you make against that creature until the end of your next turn.

Starting at level 2, you also gain this bonus whenever a creature causes an ally with a soul link to lose hit points or fail a saving throw.

Blessed Strikes
Starting at level 6, you are blessed with divine might in battle. When a creature takes damage from one of your cantrips or weapon attacks, you can also deal 1d8 radiant damage to that creature. Once you deal this damage, you can't use this feature again until the start of your next turn.

Shard empowerment
Starting at level 10, whenever you cast a spell using a 5th level or lower spell slot, you may expend 1 soul shard to treat that spell as if it were cast from a slot 1 level higher. If you enhance a spell cast with a level 1, 2 or 3 slot this way, instead treat the expended slot as if it were 2 levels higher.

Instant retribution
Starting at level 14, whenever a creature that you can see causes a creature that you have a soul link with damage or to fail a saving throw, you may expend 1 soul shard and use your reaction to cause that creature to suffer 2d10 + your Soulbound level radiant damage.

Spoiler: Dancer

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"Magic and rhythm intertwine, a concept that even the most bumbling of hedge wizards and humble of bards understand, but such a simple statement scratches but the surface of reality. For those who are connected to the world and the weave, there is a deeper, far more intimate understanding between motion and the flow of anima. Every step propells the soul, every sway of the body and twist of the wrist a motion to conduct the fragments of spirit and the living beings who inhabit this symphony that we call life."
-Exerpt from A Fool's Guide to Magic, section C; The Magic of Motion

What wizardly blade singers dabble in, the Dancer masters. Weaving magic and step together, those who follow this fellowship's teachings immerse themselves within the magic and spirits of those who surround them. With their dance, they tug upon the threads of anima that connect all living beings to one another and the world in which they live, inspiring their allies to act more effectively and more often. Their grace and mobility also make them more effective with a blade than most of their soulbound peers, and their understanding of the fundamental connections between mana and soul gives them a much finer method of manipulating the fabric of their spells than the devotees of other fellowships.

Level	Bonus spells known
1	Charm person, Longstrider
3	Mirror image, Pass without trace
5	Dancing Lights, Haste
7	Charm monster, Freedom of movement
9	Far step, Mislead

Bonus proficiencies
You know the Green Flame Blade and Booming Blade cantrips in addition to your regular cantrips, and gain proficiency in two martial weapons of your choice.

Invigorating dance
Also at level 1, you may perform a dance as an Action that touches the soul of an ally and drives them to greater feats. When you use this action, select one willing creature within 30 feet of you. That creature may move up to 10 feet and make one attack with a weapon they have equipped or cast a cantrip that has a casting time of 1 action. Movement made in this way does not provoke opportunity attacks.

You may use this feature a number of times equal to your Proficiency bonus. If you are out of uses, you may expend a level 1 spell slot in order to use this feature again. You regain all expended uses at the end of a long rest.

Extra attack
Starting at 6th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn. Moreover, you can cast one of your cantrips in place of one of those attacks.

Mana weaving
Starting at level 10, you are able to use the flow of your dance to channel the magic of your spells without needing to chant or pull out any basic components. Whenever you cast a spell that has verbal components or material components with no gold cost, you may replace those components with Somatic components. A spell that already has somatic components may still be modified in this way.

Additionally, when you cast a spell that has a saving throw, you may spend 1 soul shard to choose a number of creatures up to your Wisdom modifier to automatically succeed on all saving throws caused by that spell. If the spell has a partial effect on a successful save, the chosen creatures suffer no effect instead.

Perfected dance
Starting at level 14, you may spend 1 soul shard in order to use your Invigorating Dance as a bonus action. Additionally, a creature that you target with Invigorating Dance may cast a spell of level 2 or lower with a casting time of 1 action instead of a cantrip. If your Invigorating Dance is used on a creature with the Extra Attack or Multi-attack feature and that creature chooses to make a weapon attack, that creature may make two attacks instead of just one.

Spoiler: Guardian Spirit

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We come to mend the shattered hearts
Of those who fell, of those appart!
We come to stand with shield in hand
Against the dark that chokes the land!
We come and hold the dreams we've shared
Though land be choked and baren bared!
We come with hearts that blaze with hope
And dark shall fall before our stroke.
-Balad of the Guardian

The fellowship of the guardian spirit evokes the image of an avenging angel, a being that protects the righteous from harm whilst striking down the wicked who would sew misfortune and despair. This certainly ends up being more or less true, though that reputation might be caused by the fact that most adventurers act as heroes rather than any standards of righteousness that the soulbound is required to meet. Regardless, this fellowships' capabilities are bent even further towards the protection of their allies than those of a standard soulborn, and even the darkest members among them are ultimately defenders rather than slayers.

Level	Bonus spells known
1	Healing word, Shield of faith
3	Spiritual weapon, Lesser restoration
5	Protection from energy, Spirit guardians
7	Death ward, Freedom of movement
9	Holy weapon*, Mass cure wounds

*Xanathar's Guide to Everything

Bonus proficiencies
You gain proficiency with medium armor, heavy armor and shields and learn the Spare the Dying cantrip in addition to your other cantrips. If you take this Fellowship at character creation, you may choose to either obtain a chain shirt and shield or chainmail instead of any other armor options provided by your class.

Warding burst
Also at level 1, when another creature within 30 feet of you is hit by an attack or fails a saving throw, you may use your reaction to cause one of the following effects:

• The creature that made the attack must reroll their attack roll. The results of this new roll must be used.
• The creature that failed their saving throw must reroll their saving throw. The creature may choose which result they want to use.

You may use this feature a number of times equal to your Proficiency bonus. If you are out of uses, you may expend a level 1 spell slot in order to use this feature again. You regain all expended uses at the end of a long rest.

Forceful Strike
Starting at level 6, you gain the ability to infuse your weapon strikes with divine energy. Once on each of your turns when you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can cause the attack to deal an extra 1d8 force damage to the target. When you reach 11th level the extra damage increases to 2d8, and when you reach 17th level the damage increases to 3d8.

Guardian's rejuvenation
Starting at level 10, whenever you use your Warding Burst feature, you may expend 1 soul shard. When you do, you immediately regain the use of your Reaction and the creature that was attacked or failed their saving throw gains 2d8 + your Wisdom modifier temporary hit points. These temporary hit points last until the end of your next short or long rest.

Benevolent Possession
Starting at level 14, you are able to convert your body into pure spiritual energy and inhabit the body of another ally. As an action, you may expend 4 soul shards to become ethereal and possess one willing creature within 5 feet of you until the end of your next short or long rest. While you possess this creature, you both gain the following benefits:

• You share that creature's space and cannot be attacked or the target of spells or abilities while you possess the creature. If an area of effect spell includes the creature you are possessing, you do not suffer damage or other negative effects from that spell.
• The creature gains your current hit points as temporary hit points. If these temporary hit points are ever reduced to 0, the possession ends, and you are expelled from their body into the nearest open space to them and suffer 4d12 force damage that ignores resistances and immunities.
• You and the creature are treated as if you were under the effects of your Soul Link until the possession ends. Whenever you cast a spell targeting yourself, you automatically apply the effects of your cast spell to your possessed creature in addition to any other linked targets you may select.
• Whenever you roll for initiative, you and the creature you are possessing roll separately, and you both use the best roll made by either creature. You both decide which of you acts first at this initiative count, and who acts second.
• You may still make weapon attacks while possessing a creature. Any weapon attacks you make are made with ghostly forms of your weapon and deal Force damage instead of their regular damage type.

Spoiler: Summoner

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"But that is something that you do not understand. This world, and all that are attached to it, are so, so much older than you realize. There is hardly an inch of its surface, and even the ruins hidden beneath, that have not been touched by the beings that stride around us. Life always leaves a mark, and even the echo of a footfall, or the beating of a wing, can carry with it the memory of the creature. So when I tell you that I have a dragon that I can conjure here as an ally, even in this long dead place, I am not being metaphorical."
-Veil Faucrist, author of Echoes in the Ages

While most soulbound limit themselves to the allies that they find within the world they inhabit, there are some who reach out with their empathic magics into the worlds that border and touch their own. The form connections with the spirits of these realms, and, through the use of their spells and their soul bonds, they may conjure those allies to themselves to assist in times of need. The average summoner, once they have a bit of talent, is therefore one of the most independent of Soulbound, not needing to rely upon their flesh-and-blood allies as much, though even the most accomplished conjurer knows the value of a reliable ally cannot be replaced by summoned help.

Level	Bonus spells known
1	Bless, Find familiar
3	Blur, Summon beast**
5	Phantom steed, Summon shadowspawn**
7	Summon aberration**, Summon elemental**
9	Far step, Summon draconic spirit**

**Tasha's Cauldron of Everything

Bonus proficiencies
You learn the Mage Hand and Poison Spray cantrips in addition to your other cantrips, and you also gain proficiency in Arcana.

Enhanced mage hand
Also at level 1, whenever you cast the Mage Hand cantrip, you may conjure two hands at once and double the range that the hands may be away from you. When you cast a spell with a range of touch, you may target creatures that share a space with one of your mage hands.

Linked conjurations
Starting at level 6, whenever you cast a spell that creates or summons a creature, you may spend 1 soul shard in order to make a Soul Link with all creatures created by that spell. A soul link created in this way lasts until the created creature is reduced to 0 hit points or end of the spell's duration, whichever occurs first.

Enhanced conjurations
Starting at level 10, whenever you create or summon a creature, that creature gains the following benefits:

• The creature's maximum hit points are increased by your Soulbound level.
• The creature gains a +2 bonus on their attack and damage rolls.
• The creature's weapon attacks are considered magical.

Twinned conjurations
Starting at level 14, whenever you cast a spell that creates or summons a creature using a spell slot, you may expend a number of soul shards equal to the level of spell slot you expended in order to create an additional creature with that spell. A creature created in this way is treated as being made with the same level of spell slot as any others created by the spell (if relevant) and may be commanded using the same actions that are used to command other creatures created by the spell. Once the spell that was modified by this ability ends, the additional creature created by it vanishes, even if the created or summoned creatures would normally persist beyond the end of the spell.

Spellcasting
Starting at level 1 your control over the shards your own fragmented soul begins. See chapter 10 and 11 of the player's hand book for general rules of spellcasting.
-Cantrips: You learn three cantrips of your choice from the Soulbound spell list. You learn an additional cantrip of your choice from this list at levels 4, 10 and 16.
-Spell slots: The Soulbound spellcasting table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your spells of first level and higher. To cast one of these spells, you must expend a slot of the spell's level or higher. You regain all spell slots at the end of a long rest.
-Spells prepared: You prepare the list of Soulbound spells that are available for you to cast, choosing from the Soulbound spell list. When you do so, choose a number of Soulbound spells equal to your Wisdom modifier + your Soulbound level (minimum of one spell). The spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots.
-Spellcasting: Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for your Soulbound spells.
-Ritual Casting: You can cast a Soulbound spell as a ritual if that spell has the ritual tag and you have the spell prepared.
-Spellcasting Focus: You can use a holy symbol, an orb, rod or wand, or a weapon you are proficient with as a spellcasting focus for your Soulbound spells.

Spoiler: Class spells

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Spoiler: Cantrips

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Blade Ward
Dancing Lights
Guidance
Gust
Light
Mending
Message
Resistance
Thaumaturgy
Toll the Dead
True Strike

Spoiler: Level 1

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Absorb Elements
Bless
Ceremony
Cure Wounds
Divine Favor
Friends
Guiding Bolt
Heroism
Healing Word
Longstrider
Mage Armor
Protection from Evil and Good
Shield
Shield of Faith

Spoiler: Level 2

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Aid
Alter Self
Blur
Enhance Ability
Enlarge/ Reduce
Hold Person
Lesser Restoration
Mirror Image
Prayer of Healing
Protection from Poison
Silence
Spiritual Weapon

Spoiler: Level 3

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Blink
Counterspell
Dispell Magic
Fly
Haste
Hypnotic Pattern
Mass Healing Word
Protection from Energy
Revivify
Spirit Shroud
Thunder Step

Spoiler: Level 4

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Aura of Life
Aura of Purity
Banishment
Death Ward
Dimension Door
Fire shield
Freedom of Movement
Guardian of Nature
Polymorph

Spoiler: Level 5

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Far Step
Greater Restoration
Hold Monster
Holy Weapon
Mass Cure Wounds
Mislead
Raise Dead
Skill Empowerment
Steel Wind Strike

Spoiler: Level 6

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Globe of Invulnerability
Heal
Hero's Feast
Tasha's Otherworldly Guise
True Seeing
Word of Recall

Spoiler: Level 7

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Crown of Stars
Divine Word
Draconic Transformation
Etherealness
Regenerate
Resurrection

Spoiler: Level 8

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Antimagic Field
Holy Aura
Mind Blank
Sunburst
Telepathy

Spoiler: Level 9

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Foresight
Mass Heal
Shapechange
Time Stop
True Resurrection

Soul charged
All forces, living, dead and elemental, possess spirits that you can connect to and use shards of to augment your abilities. Starting at level 2, you can attract and harness these shards to do your will. Whether you use the shards your own body generates or bend the drifting shards in the world to your will, these fragments are used to power your spells and abilities and can be expended in an increasing number of ways. The number of soul shards you possess is shown on the level progression table. You recover all expended soul shards at the end of a long rest.

Soul link
Also at level 2, you may expend 1 soul shard as a bonus action to link yourself to an allied creature within 30 feet. For the next 10 minutes, whenever you cast a spell that targets only yourself your linked ally also gains the benefits of that spell. If you have multiple Soul Links active at one time, then you must choose a single creature with which you have a link to gain the benefits of each spell you cast. If it is a spell that requires your concentration or has a duration that extends beyond the end of your soul link, your chosen linked ally gains its benefits until that spell ends.

If a spell you target yourself with has multiple potential targets, such as the spell Bless, your soul linked target simply counts as an additional target for the spell. (So for a Bless spell cast with a 1st level slot, you would effectively select yourself, your soul linked creature, and two other creatures to gain the benefits of the spell.)

Replenishing shards
Starting at level 5, whenever you roll for initiative while you have 0 soul shards, you regain 1 of your expended soul shards for every five levels of Soulbound you possess.

Multi-link
Starting at level 11, whenever you use your soul link to share a spell with another creature, you may select up to two linked creatures to gain the benefits of that spell instead of just one.

Defensive link
Starting at level 13, whenever a creature first gains the benefits of a spell you cast via your soul link, that creature also adds half of your Proficiency bonus (rounded down) to their armor class and saving throws until the beginning of your next turn.

Soul storm
Starting at level 18, you may cast your level 1 and 2 spells using soul shards instead of spell slots. When you do so, you expend 1 soul shard instead of a level 1 or 2 spell slot, and you treat the spell as if it were cast using a level 3 slot.

Unbreakable bonds
Starting at level 20, whenever you finish a long rest, you may choose up to two creatures within 30 feet of you to be treated as if they were permanently under the effects of your Soul Link. These links lasts until you choose to change the creatures you have linked at the end of a different long rest, or until you or one of the chosen creatures die.

[Gnomes2169]

Alright, with the spell list FINALLY DONE, that should get the class down mechanically. Finally. Now I just need to work on some fluff.

Also, trying a little bit of reformatting from my normal homebrew classes, putting the subclasses spoiler tag just below the subclass feature instead of at the base of the class. I think it will make navigating the class just a little bit easier.

[Gnomes2169]

Annnnnd there, fluff done just in time for the competition deadline. Now we just need 2-4 more people to join the base-class creation thread, and...