Gloom Stalker[Basic Affiliation]

Gloom Stalkers are rangers who thrive in darkness and danger. They are at home in deep caverns, shadowed forests, and any place where light fails. Their training focuses on striking first, moving unseen, and hunting threats before those threats ever reach the wider world.

Gloom Stalker Magic (3rd Level)

You gain an expanded list of spells that reflect stealth, misdirection, and supernatural concealment. Each spell is learned automatically at the ranger level indicated and doesn’t count against your normal spell choices.

Dread Ambusher (3rd Level)

You excel at ambushing foes. Your initiative improves, your speed surges at the start of combat, and you can make an extra attack on your first turn. If that extra attack hits, it deals additional damage.

Umbral Sight (3rd Level)

Your senses adapt to darkness. You gain darkvision or extend your existing darkvision, and creatures relying on darkvision cannot see you while you remain in darkness.

Iron Mind (7th Level)

Your mental resilience strengthens. You gain proficiency in Wisdom saving throws, or another mental save if you already have it.

Stalker’s Flurry (11th Level)

Your speed and precision allow you to recover instantly from a missed strike. Once per turn, when you miss with a weapon attack, you can immediately make another attack.

Shadowy Dodge (15th Level)

You learn to blur into supernatural shadows. When a creature attacks you without advantage, you can use your reaction to impose disadvantage on the attack.

Level 3: Gloom Stalker Magic

3rd Level — Disguise Self

A perfect infiltration tool. You can change your appearance for 1 hour: height, weight, clothes, face — all illusory.

5th Level — Rope Trick

Creates an invisible extradimensional pocket at the top of a rope.

9th Level — Fear

You project a terrifying presence that forces creatures to flee.

13th Level — Greater Invisibility

You turn invisible and stay invisible even when attacking.

17th Level — Seeming

You alter the appearance of your entire party for 8 hours.

Level 3: Dread Ambusher

1. +10 ft Speed at the Start of Combat

At the beginning of the first round, your walking speed increases by 10 feet until the end of that turn.

Why it matters:

• Lets you reach priority targets before anyone else

• Helps you close distance for melee builds

• Lets you reposition for the perfect ambush shot

• Combines beautifully with Umbral Sight to strike unseen

This is your “I get there first” button.

2. One Extra Weapon Attack on Your First Turn

During the first round, when you take the Attack action, you can make one additional weapon attack.

Important details:

• It stacks with Extra Attack

• It does not cost a bonus action

• It only applies on your first turn of combat

This is the heart of your burst damage.

3. Extra 1d8 Damage if That Extra Attack Hits

If the bonus attack hits, it deals +1d8 damage of the weapon’s type.

Why it’s strong:

• Works with any weapon

• Scales with crits

• Adds reliable burst to your opening round

• Pairs with advantage from darkness, invisibility, or surprise

This is the “I hit harder than anyone else at level 3” part.

Level 3: Umbral Sight

1. Superior Darkvision

You gain:

• 60 ft darkvision OR

• +30 ft to your existing darkvision

This means even if you already had darkvision (like an elf, tiefling, or shadar‑kai), yours becomes longer‑range than most creatures’.

2. You Become Invisible to Darkvision

This is the real power.

Any creature that relies on darkvision cannot see you while you are in darkness.

That means:

• You are effectively invisible to most underground monsters

• You gain advantage on attacks against them

• They have disadvantage to hit you

• You can ambush, reposition, or escape without being detected

• Even creatures with superior darkvision still can’t see you

This is one of the strongest stealth features in the game because it works without concentration, without a spell slot, and every single round.

 

Level 7: Iron Mind

By 7th level, you have honed your ability to resist the mind-altering powers of your prey. You gain proficiency in Wisdom saving throws. If you already have this proficiency, you instead gain proficiency in Intelligence or Charisma saving throws (your choice).

Level 11: Stalker's Flurry

At 11th level, you learn to attack with such unexpected speed that you can turn a miss into another strike. Once on each of your turns when you miss with a weapon attack, you can make another weapon attack as part of the same action.

Level 15: Shadowy Dodge

Starting at 15th level, you can dodge in unforeseen ways, with wisps of supernatural shadow around you. Whenever a creature makes an attack roll against you and doesn't have advantage on the roll, you can use your reaction to impose disadvantage on it. You must use this feature before you know the outcome of the attack roll.