Soul Weaver

In the mystical realms within the world, the Soulweaver Wizards are a rare and enigmatic order, emerging from a convergence of forbidden knowledge and the inescapable mysteries of life and death. Their origins can be traced back to a cryptic and ancient tome known as the "Codex of the Ephemeral," said to be written by a long-forgotten archmage who delved deep into the secrets of the afterlife. The Codex's cryptic pages revealed how to capture and harness the essence of souls, creating the foundation for the Soulweaver tradition.

The Path of the Soulweaver

Those who choose to follow the path of the Soulweaver Wizards become scholars of life and death. They are driven by a relentless curiosity about the nature of existence, the transition from life to death, and what lies beyond. Soulweavers are often solitary and introspective individuals, known to spend years in research and meditation to unlock the secrets of the soul.

Soulweaver Wizards use their wisdom, keen insight, and emotional intelligence to interact with the spirits of the departed. They capture the souls of fallen creatures, binding them to their spellcasting focuses. These souls become a source of power, enabling Soulweavers to perform feats beyond the grasp of other wizards. They can use the stored souls to enhance their spells, summon minions, and even infuse their own life force with the spirits they've harnessed.

The magic of a Soulweaver is often tinged with a spectral and ethereal quality, drawing upon the energies of the souls they've captured. Their abilities provide a unique blend of necromantic power and spiritual insight, making them both feared and respected by those who understand the depths of their mastery.

Soulweaver Wizards are frequently sought after as experts in matters of life and death. They are often called upon to commune with spirits, investigate hauntings, and provide guidance on matters related to the afterlife. The order of the Soulweavers, although secretive and elusive, is a source of great knowledge and power in the world, offering a unique perspective on the delicate balance between the living and the dead.

Soul Harvesting

You are versed in dead and undead Arcana and have a unique spellcasting focus that has some hidden abilities that you have yet to discover. The spellcasting focus can be jewelry, a replacement eye, grimoire, etc. Discuss the idea with your DM and come up with something you like and is feasible within your campaign.

Starting at 2nd Level:
You gain the ability to collect souls and store them in your spellcasting focus. You start with 1 Soul Slot. To collect a soul the creature must have been living(not undead or constructs), it must be within 30ft of you, cannot have been dead for more than a day, and you must be able to see the creature. The value of the soul depends on the size of the creature or it's CR rating(up to the DM). For a basic calculation of what you could expect use the following values: Medium or Small=1, Large=2, Huge=3, Gargantuan=5.

You gain a Soul Slot every level until you reach Level 11 at which time you should have no more than 10 total Soul Slots.

You can use Soul Slots to regenerate your wounds and fortify your body. At the end of your turn, if you or any undead under your control have killed one or more enemies, you and your undead minions, regain hit points equal to your Soul Weaver Level. If doing so would grant you more hit points than your maximum hit points allow you gain temporary hit points equal to the difference.

You also gain the ability to use Soul Slots to raise a dead target you can see within 30ft to fight for you expending a Soul from a Soul Slot. The size of the dead creature determines how many Souls from your Soul Slots is required for the cost. Medium or Small=1, Large=2, Huge=3, Gargantuan=5. You use the creature's stat block from what the DM provides you in accordance with whatever it was before it died(subject to DM terms and conditions) and this creature is now undead and follows you and obeys your commands until it dies. It takes it's turn right after you in combat and has it's own actions, bonus actions, reactions, and movement dependent on the stat block provided to you. The number of creatures you can resurrect as minions depends on your current Soul Slot total. For example if you have 5 Soul Slots you could have 5 Small-Medium creatures, 2 Large and 1 Small-Medium, 1 Huge and 2 Small-Medium, or 1 Gargantuan.

Undeath Versatility

Using Souls from your spellcasting focus you can harden your armor class. For each soul you spend to use your class features you gain +1 to your Armor Class for that combat or for the next 10 minutes.

Using your collected souls from your spellcasting focus you can heal your minions. For each Soul you expend with this feature undead allies within 60ft of you that you can see gain 20 hit points.

Soul Exchange

You can use your collected souls to regain spell slots. Each spell slot costs 1 Soul per level to restore. For example a level 3 spell slot would cost 3 souls to restore.

Undead Follower

You gain a personal follower that takes the mantle of the necrotic arcane arts that you follow. You may chose from one of the following undead creatures to act as your companion:
Skeleton
Will-o-wisp
Zombie

You can change between which follower you have freely while not in combat, a dungeon, or traveling. Otherwise you may only do so once per day.

The Skeleton will be dressed as a butler and aid in carrying your things around. They will have a bag of holding.
The Zombie will be an undead fighter with 2 short swords and have a multi-attack with each of them.

If the follower is reduced to 0 hit points it will need to be re-summoned after you long rest. The re-summoning costs 25gp worth of materials such as bone dusts, rotten flesh, and wisp wrappings as well as a soul from your Soul Slots.

Greater Undeath Versatility

Starting at 6th Level:
You can use your collected souls to enhance your minions. For each Soul you spend using this feature undead minions within 60 ft of you gain the following benefits:
1 Soul - +1 to Attack and Damage Rolls
2 Souls - +2 to Attack Rolls and Damage Rolls, +1 AC
3 Souls - +4 to Attack and Damage Rolls, +2 AC, +THP equal to your Soul Weaver Level
4 Souls - +6 to Attack and Damage Rolls, +3 AC, +THP equal to 2x your Soul Weaver Level
5 Souls - +10 to Attack and Damage Rolls, +4 AC, +THP equal to 3x your Soul Weaver Level, Advantage on Attack Rolls.

Soul Aura

The souls that you carry can be heard and their essence can be felt by those around you. Depending on how many unused Souls you have in your collection you gain the following stacking benefits:

1 Soul - Enemies within 5ft of you have 1d4 removed from their attack rolls
2 Souls - Enemies within 10ft of you take 1d8 Necrotic Damage at the start of their turn. This increases to a d10 at level 10, a d12 at level 12, and a d20 at level 14.
3 Souls - Friendly creatures within 30ft of you deal 1d8 additional Necrotic Damage. This increases to a d10 at level 10, a d12 at level 12, and a d20 at level 14.
4 Souls - All sources of damage that you deal ignore Necrotic resistances and immunities and you deal an additional 1d8 Necrotic damage. This increases to a d10 at level 10, a d12 at level 12, and a d20 at level 14.
5 Souls - You are immune to Radiant, Fire, Cold, and Acid Damage

Soulless

Starting at 10th Level:
Whenever your collected souls in your spellcasting focus are expended entirely for the 1st time each day, your spellcasting focus lets out a horrendous screech. All hostile creatures within 80ft of you must pass a WIS Saving Throw DC 18 or take 5d8 Necrotic Damage and are now Frightened. On a successful save those creatures take half damage and are not Frightened.

Master of Souls