Dark Magic

A man watches a play at the local theater. He absentmindedly looks at the ceiling and sees a plank of wood transform into an old man, with black tendrils under his skin. He gives a small yelp in surprise and the old man looks at him and utters 2 words that reverberate in his mind. "Dark Magic". The old man pulls out a lizard and snaps its neck and mutters some arcane words. The man in the audience starts to contort and his skin starts to rend as he is turned into a lizard. The old man climbs through the rafters as the crowd beneath start to scream and run as word of a man that has been turned to a lizard starts to spread.

Dark Magic allows you to cast spells at higher levels or even spells that require higher spell slots using lower spell slots by using living material components. The greater the differential between the spell slot being used and the spell (or spell level) that is trying to be cast, the greater the danger. Most Dark Magic practitioners don't live long and old dark magicians should be feared.

Dark Knowledge

Beginning when you select this path at 2nd level, you can add warlock spells to you spellbook and the gold and time you must spend to copy a warlock spell into your spellbook is halved. Additionally, when you level up, 1 of the spells you learn can be a spell of 1 higher than you can cast with your spell slots. 

Dark Dealing

Beginning at 2nd level, you can use one tiny creature that is willing (or that has an intelligence score of 5 or less) that you are holding to enhance your spells or cast spells you do not have the spell slot for (you still need at least a 1st level spell slot). This is not an exact method and may strain on the user. Role a 1d100 and subtract you proficiency bonus and intelligence modifier. If the result is less than 100 minus 10 * the spell level times 2 minus the spell slot, plus the number of hit die of the creature used times 4. Example: Casting a level 3 magic missile using a level 1 slot using a lizard as the living material component, the DC is 100 - (3*2-1)*10 + (1*4)d4. Missing the DC by less than 10 results in the failure of the spell and the use of the spell slot and material components (if they are living or have a cost associated with it)

Strains: If you miss your role by 10 or more, you suffer a strain and gain a corruption.

Degree of Failure	Effect
1	Roll on the wild magic table, replacing the 99-00 result with "Lose your wizards level worth of corruption"
2	Roll on the short term madness table and gain an additional corruption
3	You take 2d6 psychic damage times the level of the spell attempted to be cast and are blinded for 1d8 hours and gain two additional corruption
4	You are unable to cast or maintain any concentration spells or any spell over 1st level for 1d4 hours and gain three additional corruption
5+	Roll on the long term madness table and make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or gain five corruption plus four additional corruption

 

Corruption: Dark Magic is poison to the soul and corruption is that manifested.

Number of Corruption	Effect
1-4	Your appearance makes you look and sound older than you are
5-9	Black tendrils can be seen under you skin. You gain advantage on intimidation checks but disadvantage on persuasion on good aligned characters.
10-13	You smell of rotting flesh and your teeth are yellowed, but you can feel the dark magic flow through you. You have disadvantage on stealth checks where smell is a component but you can choose to add 10 to the Dark Magic DC once per long or short rest
14-19	You are the whispers in dreams. Once per long rest you can teleport 60 feet and take the form of an inanimate object of your size or smaller, similar to a polymorph spell, on arrival. You also gain an additional use of you can choose to add 10 to the Dark Magic DC (you may use both uses on the same Dark Magic check)
20+	The Dark Magic has consumed you. You lose your mind and go feral. No medicine or magic can reclaim you. You are lost.

 

Curing Corruption: Corruption runs deep and is difficult to purge, but there are ways. A wish spell can remove any number of corruption points. A Greater Restoration and Remove Curse spells can remove up to 5 and 1 points of corruption, respectively, and can only do so every ten-day. When you roll a critical hit, you also remove 1 corruption. If you don't cast dark magic for a year, you remove 1 corruption. Good or Lawfully alighted Gods or creatures of similar power and alignment may also be able to remove corruption, although it usually comes at a cost.

Dark Manipulation

Starting at 2nd level, you may chose to gain 1 corruption and use your reaction to gain advantage on saving throws from a magical effect.

Dark Drain

Starting at 6th level, you can use living creatures up to large for your dark magic. The same rules for the living material components and dark magic still apply. In addition, when you cast a spell with a living component, if the creature base "elements" match the spell being cast (up to the DM's discretion), then you may also add the an additional damage die to any damage roles you make OR add or manipulate the effect of the spell (again, up to the DM's discretion). This additional die is the same as the lowest die from the spell. Example 1: A wizard casts Tidal Wave at 3rd level and uses a frog as a living component and then uses Dark Drain to rolls 5d8 instead of the 4d8. Example 2: A wizard casts polymorph on an enemy and uses a lizard and then used Dark Drain to give disadvantage to the enemies saving throw to become a lizard.

Darker Magic

Beginning at 10th level, you can gain 2 corruption to add to the DC of the Dark Magic roll by 15. You may only do this once per dark magic cast.

Darkest Magic

Starting at 14th level, you regain spell slots equal to corruption you gain when using dark magic. In addition, you can choose to regain a spell slot up to 5th level for half the spell slot's worth of corruption (rounded up). Example: A wizard gains 3 corruption and a 5th level spell slot.

Also, you may now preform dark rituals. These are complex and large spells that take time and resources to complete. All dark rituals should be cleared by the DM before attempting. Dark rituals can use any living thing as a living component and they do not need to be willing, although the dark ritual needs physical markings delineating the area of the ritual. A dark ritual takes 2d20 months minus 2d20 + your corruption weeks, taking a minimum of 1 week and requires 8 hours a day prepping the area (carving runes, digging lines. When the ritual area is finished, you then start the final phase of the ritual, which takes an hour to perform. Any living creatures in the ritual area at the end of hour must make a Constitution saving throw against your spell casting modifier with advantage if they are sentient and disadvantage if they are incapacitated. Example: A wizard spends 2 years carving runes across a city and then completes the ritual, bring back a dead god back to the Material plane.