The Shadestrider

Your patron is an otherworldly incarnation of fate that strides between planes; a living omen of ill luck and good fortune alike. Drawn to the dreams of mortals, its lesser reflections perch upon the chests of the unwary in their sleep, stealing breath and fragments of life from their victims as they feed upon the nightmares this brings. When they’ve had their f ill, they return to their master, who sends them back again to hunt down the creatures that have escaped from the nightmares of those tormented by darker fates. You’ve drawn the attention of this creature, for good or ill, and have made your pact in the deepest shadows of the dark. Now, shadows boil around your hands, both inky black and snow white, tainted and blessed by the touch of the Inverse. You’ve been there, seen the sun of endless emptiness and the void of pure light that shines from beyond the stars, and you have felt the gaze of the nightmares that stare upon you with jealousy, feeling their hate. They know that while you can depart unharmed, their nights are numbered. You’ve stolen their luck, and now you’ll use that power for your own ends.

Traits of the Shadestrider:

Servants of the Shadowcat are often known as shadestriders. Consider adding one or more of these traits when creating a warlock or after serving the First Nightmare’s goals. 

1. You feel most comfortable in the dark.

2. You prefer to be nocturnal in your habits.

3. You sometimes hiss when startled.

4. You enjoy watching others sleep. 

5. You view everyone as beneath you.

6. You move in a way that is oddly catlike. 

7. When you speak, you often purr your words.

8. You tend to grin widely and inappropriately. 

9. You curl your back and bare your teeth when threatened.

10. You enjoy lounging in the moonlight.

11. Your skin has wisps of shadow coming from it.

12. Your irises and eyes are shaped like those of a cat. 

13. Your blood is thick and dark like ink.

14. Your skin fades to an obsidian shade in shadow.

15. Clothing or armor you wear for long periods of time becomes dark and tattered.

16. Your teeth become fanged and sharp.

17. Your ears become pointed and catlike.

18. Your shadow seems to pace beside you, even against the light. The effect is disconcerting to others.

19. When you cast a spell, your eyes glow with a blue light and shadows pour from your hands.

20. Small retractable claws sprout from your fingers in place of your fingernails. 

Expanded Spell List

The Shadowcat lets you choose from an expanded list of spells when you learn a warlock spell. The following spells are added to the warlock spell list for you.

Spell Level / Spell

1st / duskwalk, feather fall

2nd / shadow armor, silence

3rd / creeping dark, nondetection

4th / greater invisibility, unseen claw

5th / creation, shadow world

Dream Stalker

Starting at 1st level, your patron’s magic allows you to be everywhere and nowhere at once. As an action, you can fade partway into the Inverse, gaining advantage on Stealth checks for 1 hour. When you roll initiative while in this state, you can choose to teleport up to 60 feet to a location within 10 feet of a creature you can see. If you deal damage to the creature with an attack during the first round of combat, you can use your bonus action to steal their breath and spirit. The target takes psychic damage equal to your warlock level and cannot speak or make sound until the start of your next turn.

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

Stolen Luck

At 6th level, you can curse an enemy that you can see within 60 feet of you with terrible misfortune as a bonus action. Whenever the target makes an attack roll or ability check, you can use your reaction to roll a d6 after seeing the result. If the result is a 6, the result of their d20 roll is replaced with a 1. This curse lasts for one minute, and ends early if either you or the target are reduced to 0 hit points.

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

Umbral Leap

Starting at 10th level, whenever you are subject to an effect that requires you to make a Dexterity saving throw, you can use your reaction to instantly dissolve into a dark mist to avoid the initial effect. You reappear in an unoccupied space of your choosing within 30 feet of your initial location.

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

Dark Apparition

At 14th level, the Shadowcat’s hunger for nightmares grants you the power to create them. You can no longer be surprised. Your Dream Stalker feature no longer has a limit to the number of times it can be used. Whenever you use your Dream Stalker feature’s bonus action, all hostile creatures within 10 feet of you must make a Wisdom saving throw against your warlock spell save DC. If they fail, they are frightened of you until the end of your next turn.

Eldritch Invocations

These eldritch invocations are offered as additional options to the invocations you can normally take. Due to how DnD Beyond, please be careful and work with your DM to ensure you have the correct amount of invocations for your level. 

Codex of the Black Dawn

You can summon forth nightmarish fire from the Inverse to deepen the darkness of an area. By performing a 10-minute ritual, you can create a cold, black shadowflame around an object you are touching. The object consumes light within a 30-foot radius, turning bright light to dim light and dim light to nonmagical darkness. A shadowflame remains until you dispel it as an action, it enters the radius of another shadowflame, or it comes into contact with real fire.

Duskborne Companion

When you have a dimcat as your familiar, it gains additional hit points equal to your warlock level. Whenever you cast a spell using a warlock spell slot while you have a dimcat as your familiar, you can choose to teleport up to 30 feet to a location you can see within 5 feet of your familiar.

Everburning Gaze

Your Stolen Luck curse draws your patron’s eye. The target’s d20 roll is changed to a 1 if the result of your d6 roll is a 5 or 6.

Fang of the Prowler

When you create a melee weapon with the finesse property using your Pact of the Blade feature, you can make it from polished silver flowing with blue-black smoke. While wielding this weapon, you gain advantage on initiative rolls. During the first round of combat, attacks with this weapon deal extra psychic damage equal to your Charisma modifier plus half your warlock level.

Wretched Fortune

Your Stolen Luck curse darkens. If the result of your d6 roll is a 1 or 2, choose a creature you can see within 30 feet of you. T hat creature gains disadvantage on their next attack roll.