College of Shadows

A rebalance of College of Whispers and theme changed to fit better.

Haunting Shadow

When you join the College of Shadows at 3rd level, you gain the ability to make your weapon attacks magically toxic to a creature’s mind.

When you hit a creature with a weapon attack, if another creature is inspired by you, you deal an extra 2d6 psychic damage to that target. You can do so only once per round on your turn.

The psychic damage increases when you reach certain levels in this class, increasing to 3d6 at 5th level, 5d6 at 10th level, and 8d6 at 15th level.

Creeping Terror

At 3rd level, you learn to infuse innocent-seeming words with an insidious magic that can inspire terror.

If you speak to a humanoid for at least 1 minute, you can attempt to seed paranoia in its mind. At the end of that or any future conversations, you can force to make a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC or be frightened of you or another creature of your choice. The target is frightened in this way for 1 hour, until it is attacked or damaged, or until it witnesses its allies being attacked or damaged.

If the target succeeds on its saving throw, the target has no hint that you tried to frighten it.

Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

Mantle of Shadows

At 6th level, you gain the ability to steal a humanoid’s shadow and persona. When a humanoid is knocked unconscious within 30 feet of you, you can magically capture its shadow using your reaction. You retain this shadow until you use it or you finish a long rest. If the creature dies,  you can magically capture its shadow permanently instead. You can have a number of permanent shadows equal to your proficiency modifier. If you steal a humanoid’s shadow while you already have the max number, you can instead replace one of the permanent shadows you have, forgetting the replaced one forever.

The first time as an action, or any other time as an action and expending 1 spell slot, you can use the shadow to disguise yourself as the  person. You may assume the look of the person in any state you have seen them while they were conscious or alive. This disguise lasts for 1 hour or until you end it as a bonus action.

While you’re in the disguise, you gain access to all information that the humanoid would freely share with a casual acquaintance. Such information includes general details on its background and personal life, but doesn’t include secrets. The information is enough that you can pass yourself off as the person by drawing on its memories.

Another creature can see through this disguise by succeeding on a Wisdom (Insight) check contested by your Charisma (Deception) check. You gain a +5 bonus to your check.

Once you capture a shadow with this feature, you can’t capture another one with it until you finish a short or long rest.

Shaded Bargain

At 14th level, you gain the ability to weave dark magic into your words and tap into a creature’s deepest fears.

As an action, you magically whisper a phrase that only one creature of your choice within 30 feet of you can hear. The target must make a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC. It automatically succeeds if it doesn’t share a language with you or if it can’t hear you. On a successful saving throw, your whisper sounds like unintelligible mumbling and has no effect.

On a failed saving throw, the target is charmed by you for the next 8 hours or until you or your allies attack it, damage it, or force it to make a saving throw. It interprets the whispers as a description of its most mortifying secret. You gain no knowledge of this secret, but the target is convinced you know it regardless if they have one or not.

The charmed creature obeys your commands for fear that you will reveal its secret. It grants you favors and gifts it would offer to a close friend or even fights along side you but may flee from certain danger if it would do so normally.

When the effect ends, the creature has no understanding of why it held you in such fear.

Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.