Shadow Magic (revised)

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

Shadow Sorcerer Quirks

Shadow Spells

1st-level Shadow Magic feature

You learn additional spells when you reach certain levels in this class, as shown on the Shadow Spells table. Each spell 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 a conjuration or necromancy spell from the sorcerer, warlock, or wizard spell list.

Shadow Spells

Strength of the Grave

1st-level Shadow Magic feature

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.

Eyes of the Dark

1st-level Shadow Magic feature

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.

Hound of Ill Omen

6th-level Shadow Magic feature

You gain the ability to call forth a howling creature of darkness to harass your foes. As a bonus action, you can magically summon a shadowy hound to target one creature you can see within 120 feet of you. You don't have to be able to see the target if you know its name or possess an object of significance to it (such as a lock of hair, a vial of blood, or a family heirloom). See its game statistics in the accompanying Hound of Ill Omen stat block, which uses your proficiency bonus (PB) in several places.

The hound appears in an unoccupied space of your choice within 30 feet of you, and acts on its own turn in initiative. 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. The hound disappears after 10 minutes, if either the hound or its target is reduced to 0 hit points, or if you summon it again.

Once you summon the hound, you can’t do so again until you finish a long rest, unless you expend 3 sorcery points to summon it again.

Author's Note: DMs, consider allowing NPCs (and mid-high level PCs) to create a longer-lasting hound with an increased range for some cool dark sorcerer vibes. The character should expend an additional resource such as spell slots or sorcery points, and the exact amount the duration increases should be based on the value of that resource (slot level, number of sorcery points, etc). This extended duration should most likely require concentration for low-mid tier play, but may not matter as much for higher level campaigns.

Example: When you summon the hound, you can expend a spell slot of 1st level or higher. When you do so, the hound can target a creature within a number of miles equal to the slot's level, and it remains for 1 hour or until your concentration ends (as if concentrating on a spell). When you expend a spell slot of 3rd or higher, the duration you can maintain your concentration for increases: 3rd or 4th level (4 hours), 5th or 6th level (8 hours), 7th or 8th level (12 hours), and 9th level (24 hours).

Shadow Sorcery

6th-level Shadow Magic feature

When you cast any spell of 1st level or higher from your Shadow Spells feature, you can cast it by expending a spell slot as normal or by spending a number of sorcery points equal to the spell’s level. If you cast the spell using sorcery points, you can give one target of the spell disadvantage on the first ability check or saving throw it makes against the spell.

Shadow Walk

14th-level Shadow Magic feature

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 magically teleport up to 120 feet to an unoccupied space you can see that is also in dim light or darkness.

Umbral Form

18th-level Shadow Magic feature

As a bonus action, you can magically transform yourself into a shadow. 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 1d10 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. If you have your Hound of Ill omen summoned, it also gains these resistances for the duration.

Once you use this bonus action, you can’t do so again until you finish a long rest, unless you expend 6 sorcery points to use it again.