Pool of Shadows is an upgraded version of the 2nd level darkness spell with a few perks. I have it set for 5th level right now, but I'm not so good at setting these things.
Conjure woodland beings is a fourth level spell that allows you to summon 4 creatures of CR 1/2, which a shadow is. In play, I assume you wouldn't summon more than four or five. With the addition of darkness I would put this at level 5 or 6.
"The relevant equation is: Knowledge = power = energy = matter = mass; a good bookshop is just a genteel Black Hole that knows how to read." - Terry Pratchett
This is really neat. Let's take a look. The real power from this spell comes from the conjuration aspect. First, I would likely reclassify the spell as a conjuration. Although darkness is an evocation, this spell doesn't so much create darkness as it does transport it from another plane.
A shadow is a CR 1/2 monster. If you concentrate on this spell for the full minute, you can create ten of them if you let them all sit around. In principle, the shadows could be a real hassle if a creature moves through the darkness, provoking a bunch of opportunity attacks--if you use the ability to conjure one shadow per round for all ten rounds, a creature moving through the darkness could provoke ten opportunity attacks, and be quickly killed by their strength drain. Although that's a bunch, the limitation on your control is the real bottleneck. First, I would probably switch the reaction to a bonus action, because generally reactions require a specific stimulus.
The comparable spells are Animate Dead, a 3rd-level conjuration which allows you to summon one CR 1/2 undead, either a [Tooltip Not Found] or a [Tooltip Not Found]. Clearly this spell is more powerful. Shadow of Moil is a 4th-level necromany spell which creates darkness, and threatens damage as a result of being attacked. Summon Greater Demon, on the other hand, pulls in a (max) CR 5 demon, which is more potent than a series of shadows. However, the risk of losing control of the demon makes the odds of maintaining control for an hour statistically impossible without a more powerful binding effect.
The spell, on its own as intended, is likely a level 4 spell. The action economy limit on the number of shadows you can create and command is binding. Also, the risk of losing control is very high. Even if you conjure only one shadow, the odds of maintaining control after its fourth round of existence is less than 10%. On the other hand, if the caster is hidden, they may very well want the shadows to break free of control, because they would proceed to act as an autonomous fighting force, ie. they wouldn't require any action on the part of the caster to attack. That would pump up the power considerably. You'd basically be able to use a bonus action on each of your turns to warp in a new soldier that will act on its own.
I would do the following. Model the spell on something like Danse Macabre, which has more specific language for what you can do with the conjured undead, and add the darkness effect on top of that. With shadows, the spell would be more powerful than 5th-level, probably closer to 6th (summoning 5 CR 1/2 shadows instead of 5 CR 1/4 skeletons or zombies + darkness effect). If that concerns you, drop the number of shadows to two or three and I'd say you're solid at 5th-level.
Thanks for the feedback. I picked a reaction over a bonus action for the additional flexibility. Also, the initiative of the shadow would be based on where in initiative order the creature was conjured. I was imagining an enemy advancing on the caster and suddenly a shadow emerges from the darkness to intercept the enemy before it can get to the caster. It could be that a reaction is just not the appropriate action for the situation.
If they appear in the darkness then they can not see a creature that they can move towards and attack. Therefore they can never move out of the darkness, as they would have to move towards a creature they can see and they can’t see anything.
I would say yes, they should be able to see through the magical darkness. I would also specify when the reaction can take place (after another creature’s turn, after they move, etc.) because it sounds like the shadow moves when you use your reaction.
If I was feeling additionally generous, I would allow the caster to see through the magical darkness, allowing the shadows to attack with advantage. If you made that change, I would recommend 6th level.
"The relevant equation is: Knowledge = power = energy = matter = mass; a good bookshop is just a genteel Black Hole that knows how to read." - Terry Pratchett
Thanks for bringing this up. I will add that any shadows created by the spell are not affected by the spell's darkness. The jury is still out on whether I want the caster to be unaffected by it as well because that is a big boost and I think it will definitely give the caster an incentive to drop the spell on them. I need to consider whether that's what I want from this spell.
It is my intention that the shadow moves and attacks when the caster uses their reaction. But now that I go over it more, I wonder if it's too disruptive and clumsy for the flow of battle if I allow that.
PC: *casts Pool of Shadows* DM: ok, next up is the troll. It walks up and makes a melee attack against you. PC: I use my reaction to command a shadow to appear and intercept the troll before he can get to me. DM: OK, the shadow catches the troll just before he can make a move toward you. Roll for the shadow's attack. PC: The shadow rolls a three and misses. DM: Now the troll walks up and makes a melee attack against you PC: I'd like the shadow to use his reaction to make an opportunity attack against the troll as it walks away. DM: OK, make the shadow's attack roll on the troll as he leaves the shadow's melee range. PC: The shadow rolls an 18. It hits the troll for nine points of necrotic damage and the troll's strength is reduced by two. DM: Now the troll walks up and makes a melee attack against you.
That's exactly how I envision the spell to play out. Do you think that bogs things down when you have activated 2, 3, 4 or more shadows around the battlefield?
Thanks for bringing this up. I will add that any shadows created by the spell are not affected by the spell's darkness. The jury is still out on whether I want the caster to be unaffected by it as well because that is a big boost and I think it will definitely give the caster an incentive to drop the spell on them. I need to consider whether that's what I want from this spell.
It is my intention that the shadow moves and attacks when the caster uses their reaction. But now that I go over it more, I wonder if it's too disruptive and clumsy for the flow of battle if I allow that.
PC: *casts Pool of Shadows* DM: ok, next up is the troll. It walks up and makes a melee attack against you. PC: I use my reaction to command a shadow to appear and intercept the troll before he can get to me. DM: OK, the shadow catches the troll just before he can make a move toward you. Roll for the shadow's attack. PC: The shadow rolls a three and misses. DM: Now the troll walks up and makes a melee attack against you PC: I'd like the shadow to use his reaction to make an opportunity attack against the troll as it walks away. DM: OK, make the shadow's attack roll on the troll as he leaves the shadow's melee range. PC: The shadow rolls an 18. It hits the troll for nine points of necrotic damage and the troll's strength is reduced by two. DM: Now the troll walks up and makes a melee attack against you.
That's exactly how I envision the spell to play out. Do you think that bogs things down when you have activated 2, 3, 4 or more shadows around the battlefield?
There were two reactions in that interaction--the character's reaction to create the shadow and the shadow's reaction to make an opportunity attack. Are you saying the DM should control the shadow's reaction instead of the player? I hadn't considered that, but I'm not sure how that would work.
EDIT: I just thought of something else that I need to consider. Do I want the darkness to be resistant to magical light the way the darkness spell does? Or do I just want it to blot out nonmagical light and allow other magical light sources to pierce it?
Thank you both for your input. I think your suggestions have helped me shape this spell a bit and come up with some new considerations. Here is where I am now. There are a few ambiguities I decided to leave alone because not every aspect of a spell needs to be defined, so long as the function is not contradictory or confusing. I hope neither is the case for this spell.
Pool of Shadows is an upgraded version of the 2nd level darkness spell with a few perks. I have it set for 5th level right now, but I'm not so good at setting these things.
"Not all those who wander are lost"
Conjure woodland beings is a fourth level spell that allows you to summon 4 creatures of CR 1/2, which a shadow is. In play, I assume you wouldn't summon more than four or five. With the addition of darkness I would put this at level 5 or 6.
Can the shadows see through the magical darkness?
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Astromancer's Homebrew Assembly
"The relevant equation is: Knowledge = power = energy = matter = mass; a good bookshop is just a genteel Black Hole that knows how to read." - Terry Pratchett
This is really neat. Let's take a look. The real power from this spell comes from the conjuration aspect. First, I would likely reclassify the spell as a conjuration. Although darkness is an evocation, this spell doesn't so much create darkness as it does transport it from another plane.
A shadow is a CR 1/2 monster. If you concentrate on this spell for the full minute, you can create ten of them if you let them all sit around. In principle, the shadows could be a real hassle if a creature moves through the darkness, provoking a bunch of opportunity attacks--if you use the ability to conjure one shadow per round for all ten rounds, a creature moving through the darkness could provoke ten opportunity attacks, and be quickly killed by their strength drain. Although that's a bunch, the limitation on your control is the real bottleneck. First, I would probably switch the reaction to a bonus action, because generally reactions require a specific stimulus.
The comparable spells are Animate Dead, a 3rd-level conjuration which allows you to summon one CR 1/2 undead, either a [Tooltip Not Found] or a [Tooltip Not Found]. Clearly this spell is more powerful. Shadow of Moil is a 4th-level necromany spell which creates darkness, and threatens damage as a result of being attacked. Summon Greater Demon, on the other hand, pulls in a (max) CR 5 demon, which is more potent than a series of shadows. However, the risk of losing control of the demon makes the odds of maintaining control for an hour statistically impossible without a more powerful binding effect.
The spell, on its own as intended, is likely a level 4 spell. The action economy limit on the number of shadows you can create and command is binding. Also, the risk of losing control is very high. Even if you conjure only one shadow, the odds of maintaining control after its fourth round of existence is less than 10%. On the other hand, if the caster is hidden, they may very well want the shadows to break free of control, because they would proceed to act as an autonomous fighting force, ie. they wouldn't require any action on the part of the caster to attack. That would pump up the power considerably. You'd basically be able to use a bonus action on each of your turns to warp in a new soldier that will act on its own.
I would do the following. Model the spell on something like Danse Macabre, which has more specific language for what you can do with the conjured undead, and add the darkness effect on top of that. With shadows, the spell would be more powerful than 5th-level, probably closer to 6th (summoning 5 CR 1/2 shadows instead of 5 CR 1/4 skeletons or zombies + darkness effect). If that concerns you, drop the number of shadows to two or three and I'd say you're solid at 5th-level.
Thanks for the feedback. I picked a reaction over a bonus action for the additional flexibility. Also, the initiative of the shadow would be based on where in initiative order the creature was conjured. I was imagining an enemy advancing on the caster and suddenly a shadow emerges from the darkness to intercept the enemy before it can get to the caster. It could be that a reaction is just not the appropriate action for the situation.
Not as I had envisioned them. Do you think they should?
"Not all those who wander are lost"
If they appear in the darkness then they can not see a creature that they can move towards and attack. Therefore they can never move out of the darkness, as they would have to move towards a creature they can see and they can’t see anything.
I would say yes, they should be able to see through the magical darkness. I would also specify when the reaction can take place (after another creature’s turn, after they move, etc.) because it sounds like the shadow moves when you use your reaction.
If I was feeling additionally generous, I would allow the caster to see through the magical darkness, allowing the shadows to attack with advantage. If you made that change, I would recommend 6th level.
Tooltips | Snippet Code | How to Homebrew on D&D Beyond | Subclass Guide | Feature Roadmap
Astromancer's Homebrew Assembly
"The relevant equation is: Knowledge = power = energy = matter = mass; a good bookshop is just a genteel Black Hole that knows how to read." - Terry Pratchett
Thanks for bringing this up. I will add that any shadows created by the spell are not affected by the spell's darkness. The jury is still out on whether I want the caster to be unaffected by it as well because that is a big boost and I think it will definitely give the caster an incentive to drop the spell on them. I need to consider whether that's what I want from this spell.
It is my intention that the shadow moves and attacks when the caster uses their reaction. But now that I go over it more, I wonder if it's too disruptive and clumsy for the flow of battle if I allow that.
PC: *casts Pool of Shadows*
DM: ok, next up is the troll. It walks up and makes a melee attack against you.
PC: I use my reaction to command a shadow to appear and intercept the troll before he can get to me.
DM: OK, the shadow catches the troll just before he can make a move toward you. Roll for the shadow's attack.
PC: The shadow rolls a three and misses.
DM: Now the troll walks up and makes a melee attack against you
PC: I'd like the shadow to use his reaction to make an opportunity attack against the troll as it walks away.
DM: OK, make the shadow's attack roll on the troll as he leaves the shadow's melee range.
PC: The shadow rolls an 18. It hits the troll for nine points of necrotic damage and the troll's strength is reduced by two.
DM: Now the troll walks up and makes a melee attack against you.
That's exactly how I envision the spell to play out. Do you think that bogs things down when you have activated 2, 3, 4 or more shadows around the battlefield?
"Not all those who wander are lost"
You only get one reaction per round!
There were two reactions in that interaction--the character's reaction to create the shadow and the shadow's reaction to make an opportunity attack. Are you saying the DM should control the shadow's reaction instead of the player? I hadn't considered that, but I'm not sure how that would work.
EDIT: I just thought of something else that I need to consider. Do I want the darkness to be resistant to magical light the way the darkness spell does? Or do I just want it to blot out nonmagical light and allow other magical light sources to pierce it?
"Not all those who wander are lost"
Thank you both for your input. I think your suggestions have helped me shape this spell a bit and come up with some new considerations. Here is where I am now. There are a few ambiguities I decided to leave alone because not every aspect of a spell needs to be defined, so long as the function is not contradictory or confusing. I hope neither is the case for this spell.
"Not all those who wander are lost"
I like it.
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