[INFO POST] Harbinger of the Void Transformation

“I have seen beyond the veil. I have felt the unmaking of all things.”

The night sky twists unnaturally as a figure emerges, suspended between shadow and nothingness. Citizens recoil, their screams swallowed by a silence that presses like water against the lungs. Tendrils of darkness ripple outward from the figure, consuming the light, bending reality with each undulation. The streets themselves seem to shiver, as if recoiling from a presence that should not exist. 

The Harbinger tilts its head, revealing a face that is both familiar and impossibly alien. Whispers of impossible geometries echo in the minds of those nearby, driving some to clutch their heads, others to flee in maddened awe. Its voice, a rasping harmony of countless voices, carries across the void.

Harbingers of the Void are born when a mortal mind fractures under the weight of true cosmic revelation. Their essence entwines with the Abyss, a darkness that is both infinite and alive. As the transformation completes, flesh contorts and fades into shadow, consciousness stretches into the madness of the void, and the former self becomes an instrument of unknowable intent. To wield the void is to abandon the self entirely, and in that abandonment, one becomes both predator and plague.

Harbinger of the Void Stage I: The Cradle of Understanding

You have embraced the start of something grand. The cosmos has a plan.

When you initially undergo the Harbinger of the Void Transformation, you gain Warping Mind and one other Stage 1 Boon of your choice. You also gain the Stage 1 Flaw.

Saving Throws 

Some abilities force targets to make a saving throw against the power of the void. 

Transformation Save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + the ability score modifier increased by Warping Mind boon.

Stage 1 Boon: Warping Mind

Harbinger of the Void Stage 1 Boon | Your understanding of cosmic structures sharpens your mind, even as it distorts other faculties.

One ability score of your choice increases by 2, to a maximum of 20, while a different ability score of your choice decreases by 1, to a minimum of 2. Choose one skill in which you are proficient and do not already have Expertise; you gain Expertise in that skill, meaning your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check you make with it. Choose one other skill in which you are proficient; you lose proficiency in that skill.

Stage 1 Boon: Form of the Void

Harbinger of the Void Stage 1 Boon | The void reshapes your existence beyond mortal biology.

You gain the Aberration creature type in addition to any other creature types you possess. You gain darkvision out to a range of 120 feet; if you already have darkvision, its range instead increases by 60 feet. You cease aging and are immune to magical aging effects, and you cannot die from old age. You no longer require air, food, drink, or sleep, though you must still complete long rests to gain their normal benefits.

Stage 1 Boon: Rite of the Void

Harbinger of the Void Stage 1 Boon | You inscribe your body with a psychic sigil, channeling raw void energy.

As a bonus action, you may sacrifice hit points equal to your character level to activate this rite, which lasts for 1 minute. While the rite is active, once per turn when you roll damage dice or roll dice to restore hit points to a creature, you may add a bonus to the roll equal to your proficiency bonus multiplied by your Transformation Stage. When the rite ends, the strain on your mind manifests, and you must make a Wisdom saving throw with a DC equal to 10 + half your character level(rounded down) + your Transformation Stage. On a failure, you roll on the Cosmic Madness Table.

You may use this feature a number of times per long rest equal to your Transformation Stage.

Stage 1 Boon: Glimpse into the Unknown

Harbinger of the Void Stage 1 Boon | The cosmos whispers truths to you. Though not all of them are reliable.

Whenever you finish a short or long rest, you roll a number of d20s equal to your Transformation Stage and record the results. When you or a creature you can see makes a d20 Test (an attack roll, saving throw, or ability check), you may choose to replace the result with one of your recorded d20 results as a free action. You must decide to do so after the roll is made but before the outcome is determined, and the chosen recorded result is then expended. When you attempt to replace a roll, roll a d4; on a 2–4, the test uses the chosen recorded result, while on a 1, the replacement fails and the test instead uses the original roll.

Stage 1 Flaw: Abyssal Craze
Harbinger of the Void Stage 1 Flaw | Your body and soul are permanently bound to the Abyss. 

Whenever you fail an Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma saving throw, roll a d6. On a result of 1–2, you must roll on the Cosmic Madness Table. In addition, when you witness incomprehensible or horrific phenomena, as determined by the DM, you must make a Wisdom saving throw with a DC equal to 10 + half your character level(rounded down) + your Transformation Stage or roll on the Cosmic Madness Table.

Harbinger of the Void Stage II: Seer of the Otherworldly

You have become known to the cosmic, and now you see more within the fabric of reality.

When you reach Stage 2 of the Harbinger of the Void Transformation, you gain the Echoing Curse boon and one other Stage 2 Boon of your choice. You also gain the Stage 2 Flaw.

Status Effect: “Voidtouched” 

Harbinger of the Void Condition | A creature marked by the void’s presence begins to lose its tether to reality. 

While a creature is Voidtouched, whenever it makes an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw, it must roll a d4 and subtract the number rolled from the result. If a Voidtouched creature dies, its unraveling essence may be consumed by you in a horrific act; as a reaction, when a Voidtouched creature you can see dies, you regain hit points equal to your character level plus the ability score increased by your Warping Mind boon. Furthermore, one creature of your choice that witnessed this horrific consumption must make a Wisdom saving throw against your Transformation Save DC. On a failed save, it must roll on a Cosmic Madness Table as the sight of an unspeakable horror consumes them. On a successful save, nothing happens.

Stage 2 Boon: Echoing Curse

Harbinger of the Void Stage 2 Boon | The void does not forget what harms its herald. 

When a creature within 60 feet of you deals damage to you, you may use your reaction to mark it with an echo of your suffering, manifested as fleeting black glyphs crawling across its flesh. The creature must make a Charisma saving throw against your Transformation Save DC. On a failed save, the creature takes psychic damage equal to your character level, becomes Voidtouched for a number of rounds equal to your Transformation Stage, and you gain temporary hit points equal to your character level. On a successful save, the creature instead takes psychic damage equal to half your character level (rounded down), and you gain temporary hit points equal to half your character level (rounded down). 

You may use this feature a number of times per long rest equal to your Transformation Stage.

Stage 2 Boon: Steps into the Abyss

Harbinger of the Void Stage 2 Boon | Your body no longer wholly belongs to the material plane.

Your walking speed increases by 10 feet. As a bonus action, you may dissolve into your shadow, slipping through a thin fold in reality and reappearing in a space you can see within 60 feet that is in dim light or darkness. Until the end of your current turn after you emerge, you do not provoke opportunity attacks. In addition, before the end of that turn, the next attack you hit with inflicts the Voidtouched condition on the target for a number of rounds equal to your Transformation Stage.

You may use this feature a number of times per long rest equal to your Transformation Stage.

Stage 2 Boon: Form of the Cosmic | Prerequisite Boon: Form of the Void
Harbinger of the Void Stage 2 Boon | Your body begins to manifest further as aspects of the cosmos enter you.

The darkvision granted by your Form of the Void boon becomes magical darkvision. You gain immunity to the charmed and frightened conditions. In addition, you can cast Alter Self at will, and when you cast the spell in this way, it does not require concentration.

Stage 2 Boon: Knowledge of the Beyond 

Harbinger of the Void Stage 2 Boon | Seeking secrets hidden in the cosmos has become your specialty.

Choose three skills in which you have proficiency or Expertise. When you make an ability check using any of those skills, you may add the ability score modifier of the ability score increased by your Warping Mind boon to the check, even if that modifier is already applied. Choose three other skills in which you do not have proficiency or Expertise; when you make ability checks using those skills, you do so at disadvantage.

Stage 2 Flaw: Whispers from Beyond
Harbinger of the Void Stage 2 Flaw | You hear voices that no mortal should hear…

When you are reduced to less than 50% of your maximum hit points but not killed outright, you must make a Wisdom saving throw with a DC equal to 10 + half your character level(rounded down) + your Transformation Stage. On a success, you avoid the incoming whispers and can steady your mind. On a failure, roll once on the Cosmic Madness Table as the void starts to whisper into your head.

Once the whispers are heard, you cannot trigger this flaw again until you finish a long rest.

Harbinger of the Void Stage III: Embodiment of Void

You have become something feared.

When you reach Stage 3 of the Harbinger of the Void Transformation, you gain one Stage 3 boon of your choice as well as the Stage 3 flaw

Stage 3 Boon: Wings of the Abyss
Harbinger of the Void Stage 3 Boon | You manifest spectral wings or void-tendrils, letting you glide between shadows and reality.

You gain a flying speed equal to your walking speed, and you can move through spaces as narrow as 1 inch wide without squeezing. While flying, your body partially phases into the void, allowing you to move through the space of other creatures without colliding with them. Whenever you pass through another creature’s space for the first time on a turn, that creature must make a Constitution saving throw against your Transformation Save DC. On a failed save, the creature takes force damage equal to your character level and gains the Voidtouched condition for a number of rounds equal to your Transformation Stage. On a successful save, the creature instead takes force damage equal to half your character level (rounded down). A creature can be affected by this feature only once per turn.

Stage 3 Boon: Umbral Aura
Harbinger of the Void Stage 3 Boon | faint sigils of your shadowed form crawl outward, hinting at a greater shape observing through you.

A shroud of whispering darkness surrounds you in a 10-foot radius, subtly warping light and sound. 

Moment of Twilight. The area within this aura is treated as dim light even in bright conditions, and nonmagical light sources within the aura are reduced by one step, with bright light becoming dim light and dim light becoming darkness. 

Living Void. Hostile creatures that start their turn within the aura must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw against your Transformation Save DC or become Voidtouched for a number of rounds equal to your Transformation Stage. 

Your Umbral Aura persists only while you are conscious; if you become unconscious, incapacitated, or die, the aura immediately fades until you regain consciousness. You may suppress or reactivate this aura as a bonus action.

Stage 3 Boon: Lament of the Abyss
Harbinger of the Void Stage 3 Boon |A dirge of the cosmic follows you, and you know its melody

As a Magic action, you exhale a harmonic resonance of the void. Each creature of your choice within 30 feet must make a Wisdom saving throw against your Transformation Save DC. On a failed save, a creature becomes Voidtouched for a number of rounds equal to your Transformation Stage and suffers one additional effect of your choice, which you choose separately for each creature.

If you choose Reverence, the creature’s will bends inward, caught in a gravitational fixation upon you for 1 minute. While affected, the creature cannot willingly target you with harmful attacks, abilities, or magical effects, and if it would deal area damage that includes you, it must exclude you if able. On each of its turns, it must use at least half its movement to move toward you by the safest available route. If it ends its movement adjacent to you, it has disadvantage on attack rolls against creatures other than you. If the creature takes damage from you or one of your allies, it may repeat the saving throw at the end of its turn, ending the effect on a success.

If you choose Despair, the creature’s spirit buckles beneath the pressure of the abyss for 1 minute. While affected, its speed is halved, and it has disadvantage on attack rolls while you remain within its line of sight. At the start of each of its turns, it takes psychic damage equal to the ability score modifier of the ability score increased by your Warping Mind boon as the void whispers its name. If the creature willingly attempts to move closer to you, it must first succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or its speed becomes 0 for that turn. The creature may repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on a success.

You may use this feature a number of times per long rest equal to your Transformation Stage.

Stage 3 Boon: Revelation Without End
Harbinger of the Void Stage 3 Boon | You do not see everything. But you see enough.

Choose three skills in which you are proficient, and you learn three additional languages of your choice. When you make an ability check using one of those skills, you can treat a d20 roll of 9 or lower as a 10. In addition, you gain advantage on saving throws using the ability score increased by Warping Mind.

Stage 3 Flaw: Echoes Under Fire
Harbinger of the Void Stage 3 Flaw | When combat turns dire, the void presses closer, threading itself through panic, loss, and fractured focus.

When a creature you can see within 60 feet is reduced to 0 hit points, when you are reduced to 0 hit points, or when you suffer a critical hit, you must make a Wisdom saving throw with a DC equal to 10 + half your character level(rounded down) + your Transformation Stage. On a success, you regain control of your mind, suppressing the whispers and suffering no additional effects. On a failure, the voices flood through the fracture in your resolve: you gain 1 level of exhaustion and roll once on the Cosmic Madness Table.

Once you gain exhaustion from this flaw, you are immune to triggering this for the next minute.

Harbinger of the Void Stage IV: Cosmic Horror

You have become the embodiment of what you once feared.

When you reach Stage 4 of the Harbinger of the Void Transformation, you gain one Stage 4 boon of your choice as well as the Stage 4 flaw.

Stage 4 Boon: Form of the Horror. | Prerequisite Boon: Form of the Cosmic
Harbinger of the Void Stage 4 Boon | Your body finishes its manifestation.

Your creature type becomes Aberration, replacing any creature types you previously had. You gain resistance to force damage; if you already have resistance to force damage, you instead gain immunity. You gain truesight out to a range of 120 feet.

Additionally, you can cast summon aberration once per long rest. When cast using this feature, the spell requires a bonus action, is cast at 9th level, does not require concentration, and lasts for 1 minute.

Stage 4 Boon: Dominion of Eclipse. | Prerequisite Boon: Umbral Aura
Harbinger of the Void Stage 4 Boon | The space around you bends light, and the being looking over you seems curious.

Your aura has grown into something sentient, a living manifestation of the void’s hunger. The darkness around you bends and breathes with your thoughts, and reality itself trembles at its edge. Your Umbral Aura expands to a 30-foot radius and becomes a living manifestation of the void’s hunger. 

Moment of Twilight. The area within this aura is shrouded in magical darkness regardless of existing light conditions, and nonmagical light sources and magical light of a level lower than your proficiency bonus are suppressed within the area until the start of your next turn. You may designate a number of creatures you can see within the aura, up to the ability score modifier of the ability score increased by your Warping Mind boon, to be unaffected by this darkness.
Living Void. Hostile creatures that start their turn within the aura must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw against your Transformation Save DC or become Voidtouched for a number of rounds equal to your Transformation Stage.

Your Umbral Aura persists only while you are conscious; if you fall unconscious, become incapacitated, or die, the aura immediately fades until you regain consciousness. You may suppress or reactivate the aura as a bonus action. 

In addition, at the start of your turn, you may select one Voidtouched creature within your aura as a free action. That creature must make a Wisdom saving throw against your Transformation Save DC. On a failed save, the creature rolls on the Cosmic Madness Table. On a successful save, the creature instead takes 2d10 psychic damage.

Stage 4 Boon: Form of the Harbinger

Harbinger of the Void Stage 4 Boon | You can assume the form of the creatures and visions that once haunted you.

As an action, you may partially embrace your harbinger form for one minute. While this transformation lasts, your body twists into something distinctly monstrous, bolstering both your presence and your power. Your Armor Class increases by 3, you gain resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage, and your movement speed increases by 30 feet. You can perceive and strike creatures on the Ethereal Plane as though they were fully corporeal, and you have advantage on attack rolls against such creatures.

Your attacks are wreathed in a cosmic aura, dealing an additional 4d6 psychic damage on a hit. When a creature misses you with a melee attack, the void itself lashes out in retaliation, dealing force damage to that creature equal to your character level.

In addition, at the start of each of your turns, you may, as a free action, target one creature within 60 feet that is afflicted by Voidtouched. That creature must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw against your Transformation save DC or roll on the Cosmic Madness table. On a successful saving throw, the creature instead takes 2d10 psychic damage.

Once you use this feature, you cannot do so again until you finish a long rest.

Stage 4 Boon: The Knowing Abyss

Harbinger of the Void Stage 4 Boon |You are not a keeper of secrets. You are where secrets go to die.

Your mind has unfolded beyond mortal comprehension, and fragments of that understanding bleed into reality. You gain proficiency in all skills and all languages, living and dead. You are immune to effects that read your thoughts, compel truthful speech, or alter your memories, unless you choose to allow them. In addition, you automatically know when a creature within 60 feet knowingly speaks a lie, as the contradiction reverberates painfully through your perception.

When a Voidtouched creature you can see within 60 feet makes an attack roll, saving throw, or ability check, you may use your reaction to force it to confront a truth it cannot reconcile. The creature must succeed on an Intelligence saving throw against your Transformation Save DC. On a failed save, the roll becomes a failure regardless of the number rolled, and the creature must roll on the Cosmic Madness Table. On a successful save, the creature instead takes 2d10 psychic damage.

You may use this feature a number of times per long rest equal to your Transformation Stage.

Stage 4 Flaw: Final Words

Harbinger of the Void Stage 4 Flaw | When the end approaches, the void speaks through you.

When you are reduced to less than 10% of your maximum hit points but not killed outright, you must make a DC 25 Wisdom saving throw. On a success, you choke back the words clawing up from the abyss. You remain silent, though the pressure lingers like a held breath. On a failure, the void speaks through you. You immediately utter a set of Final Words, chosen by the DM or yourself, revealing an unsettling truth, prophecy, demand, or condemnation tied to the current moment. When this occurs, you gain 2 levels of exhaustion, roll once on the Cosmic Madness Table, and each creature within 60 feet must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw against your Transformation Save DC or be filled with overwhelming dread as they have disadvantage on all ability checks, attack rolls, and saving throws until the end of your next turn. Allies that are affected by this dread may choose to take psychic damage equal to the ability score increased by Warping Mind to end the effects.

Once your Final Words are spoken, you cannot trigger this flaw again until you finish a long rest.

Cosmic Madness!

Various magical effects can inflict madness on an otherwise stable mind. Certain spells, such as contact other plane and symbol, can cause insanity, and you can use the madness rules here instead of the spell effects in the Player's Handbook. Diseases, poisons, and planar effects such as psychic wind or the howling winds of Pandemonium can all inflict madness. Some artifacts can also break the psyche of a character who uses or becomes attuned to them. 

Cosmic Madness is a sub-type of madness inflicted through glimpses and visions into things that should not be known. Eldritch knowledge on the cosmic level, revelations written within the fates, or even visions of the unknown.

Cosmic Madness Table! 

When a creature is subjected to Cosmic Madness, its Transformation Stage determines the severity of the effect rolled on the table below. 

If the creature possesses a Transformation feature, use its current Transformation Stage as normal. If the creature does not possess a Transformation feature, it instead uses the Transformation Stage of the creature who inflicted the madness. This represents the intensity of the eldritch revelation forced upon the victim, scaling with the cosmic corruption or ascension of the source. 

If Cosmic Madness is caused by an environmental effect, artifact, planar phenomenon, or any source without a clear originator, the GM assigns a Transformation Stage appropriate to the potency of the effect (typically Stage 1 for minor exposure, Stage 2–3 for significant cosmic intrusion, and Stage 4 for direct contact with overwhelming outer truths). This assigned or inherited Transformation Stage is used for all calculations within the table below.