Hi I have been working on a playable character based on the Knight from the video game Hollow Knight. Feedback would be very useful, it is a work in progress. I am also beginning to make an outline for Hornet from Silksong.
The Vessel: Species, Background, and Class
Vessels:
You are the product of various experiments of the Pale King concerning the Void. Your shell is a vessel for the Void within. You gain the following properties as a result:
Vessel Traits:
Creature Type: Humanoid
Size: Small - Medium (ranging from 2 - 6 ft tall)
Speed: 30 feet
As a Vessel, you have these special Traits:
Voidborn
Whenever you fall to 0 hit points, instead of making death saving throws, your mask splits in two, revealing the fragment of the void inside. You then respawn at the last place you took a long rest and wherever you died, the void coalesces into a shade. This shade has hit points equal to one mask. Until you kill your shade, your maximum soul storage is 66 soul. Soul vessels still work as normal. If you fall to 0 hit points while your shade is still alive, you die outright.
Child of the Abyss:
The children of the Abyss are very rare, consisting of an incredibly small population of vessels that have escaped the abyss. Only 26 vessels have made this dangerous journey out of the Abyss, and of those that have made it out, only 2 vessels are still alive.
Your journey has strengthened you in many ways. As a result, you gain the following features:
You no longer take fall damage
Your standing and running jump are always 15 ft high and long.
At 5th level, you can use Nail Arts:
As an action, you can charge up a nail art. On your next turn, in place of the first attack you make, you can use one of the Nail Art options. If you take damage while charging a Nail Art, the charge is interrupted and you cannot use a Nail Art without charge it up again.
Great Slash: You make a nail attack roll. If this attack hits, it does double damage + your level.
Dash Slash: You use your mothwing cloak or shadow cloak along with this attack. After you complete your dash, your nail lengthens and performs a 15 foot slash. Each creature in a 15ft line that is 5 ft wide must succeed a Dexterity saving throw or take slashing damage equal to your nail attack + your level.
Cyclone Slash: You can make a nail attack against each creature within your nail attack range.
The Nail: A type of weapon used by many creatures in the kingdom of Hallownest.
This item has the following mastery property. You are proficient with this weapon and can use its mastery property if you are a vessel:
Light: When
Additionally, your nail acts as two light weapons despite only requiring one hand to wield. You cannot hold a shield or weapon in your other hand while using this property.
The Knight:
Class inspirations: Monk and Palladin
Core Knight Traits:
Primary Ability: Dexterity and Wisdom
Hit Point Die: D10 per Knight level
Saving Throw Proficiencies: Choose 2:
Weapon Proficiencies: Nail
Armor Training: none
Starting Equipment: Nail
Knight Class Features:
As a Knight, you gain the following class features when you reach the specified Knight levels.
Level 1: Masks
Your health is divided into pools called masks, where each mask consists of 10 hit points. This health pool increases when you reach levels 5 (15), 11 (20), and 17 (25).
Level 1: Soulcaster
Whenever you hit an enemy with your nail, you gain 11 soul. Soul is used to cast spells and heal damage. Your soulcasting modifier is Wisdom. Casting a spell consumes 33 soul. You can have a maximum of 99 soul stored at any given time
Level 1: Focus
As a Magic Action, you can cast a spell called Focus. To cast this spell, you must have used 0 ft of movement, and after you heal, your movement speed is set to 0 until the end of your turn.
Level 2: Charms
You gain 3 charm notches that can be used to equip charms. You gain more notches when you reach levels 4 (4), 6 (5), 8 (6), 10 (7), 12 (8), 14 (9), 16 (10), 18 (11).
Level 2: Mothwing Cloak
As a Bonus Action, you can take the dash action using your mothwing cloak. When you dash this way, you travel 30 ft no matter the bonuses to your movement speed and only in a straight line.
Level 3: Mantis Claw
You gain a climbing speed of 30 feet, in the form of a wall jump.
Level 3: Dream Nail
As a Magic Action, you summon a spectral nail and slice a creature within reach. You gain 33 soul as the blade passes through them harmlessly. In addition, you can hear their surface thoughts for a brief moment, allowing you to understand a sentence.
Level 4: Spells
You gain more ways to use your soul. Each spell takes 33 soul to cast and have varying casting durations:
Vengeful Spirit: In the place of one of your nail attacks, you create a ball of spectral energy that bursts out from you in a 5 ft wide, 60 ft long area. Each creature in the area must make a Dexterity saving throw or take 3d8 radiant damage and be pushed back 10 feet, or half as much damage on a success with no push. Creatures that have CR equal to or less than half your level have a 10% chance to be double hit, if they fail the first saving throw, causing them to make yet another Dexterity saving throw or experience the same effect. Creatures of a CR equal to or less than a fourth of your level have a 1% chance of being triple hit. If a creature is moving away from you, the chance to double hit ignores the CR range and the necessity for the creature to have failed the first saving throw.
Desolate Dive: As a Magic action, you jump up 15 feet into the air and perform a dive. Creatures within a 10 foot radius cylinder with a height of however high you begin the dive must make a Strength saving throw or take 3d8 radiant damage and be grounded (flying creatures), or half as much damage on a success. Then a shockwave strikes the ground in a 15 ft radius, inside of which each creature must make a Dexterity saving throw or take 4d8 radiant damage, or half as much damage on a success.
Howling Wraiths: As a Magic action, you tilt your head back and a 15 foot cone of white energy erupts from you. Each creature in that cone must make a Constitution saving throw or take 7d8 radiant damage, or half as much damage on a success.
Level 5: Extra Attack
Whenever you take the Attack action, you can attack twice with your nail.
Level 5: Sharpened Nail
At the cost of 250 gp, your nail is sharpened, changing its damage die to 1d8.
Level 6: Crystal Dash
As an action while either standing or clinging to a wall, you can charge up a super dash. At the start of your next turn, provided that you haven't taken any damage, you can launch forward and travel in a straight line, moving at 150 feet per round.
Level 6: Soul Vessel
Your maximum soul storage is increased by 33 soul, to 132 soul. When you hit a creature with your nail when you have more than 99 soul, you only gain 6 soul.
Level 7: Lumafly Lantern
At the cost of 1800 gp, you gain a lantern that contains many lumaflies. The light shed by this lantern allows you to see through invisibility and magical darkness. You make Perception checks with no penalty while in darkness or searching for invisible creatures.
Level 8: Monarch Wings
Level 9: Coiled Nail
At a cost of 800 gp, your nail's damage die upgrades to 1d10.
Level 9: Shade Variants
Your spells change, due to the void within strengthening them. The following spells replace Vengeful Spirit, Desolate Dive, and Howling Wraiths respectively.
Shade Soul: Same as Vengeful Spirit, does an additional 3d8 necrotic damage and can go through walls and other objects.
Descending Dark: Same as Desolate Dive, does an additional 3d8 necrotic damage in the dive, an additional 4d8 necrotic damage in the shockwave, and extends the range from a 10 foot cylinder and 15 foot radius to a 15 foot cylinder and a 25 foot radius.
Abyss Shriek: Same as Howling Wraiths, does an additional 7d8 radiant damage, and extends the range to a 30 foot cone.
Level 10: Isma's Tear
You gain immunity to acid damage
Level 11: Extra Attack
Whenever you take the attack action, you can attack three times instead of twice.
Level 11: Soul Vessel
Your maximum soul storage is increased by 33 soul, to 165 soul.
Level 12: Shade Cloak
Level 13: Channeled Nail
At a cost of 2000 gp, your nail's damage die is upgraded to 1d12.
Level 15: tbd
Level 16: Soul Vessel
Your maximum soul storage is increased by 33 soul, to 198 soul.
Level 17: Pure Nail
At a cost of 4000 gp, your nail's damage die is upgraded to 2d8.
Level 17: Extra Attack
Whenever you take the Attack action, you can attack four times with your nail instead of three times.
Level 20: Embrace The Void
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Hi I have been working on a playable character based on the Knight from the video game Hollow Knight. Feedback would be very useful, it is a work in progress. I am also beginning to make an outline for Hornet from Silksong.
The Vessel: Species, Background, and Class
Vessels:
You are the product of various experiments of the Pale King concerning the Void. Your shell is a vessel for the Void within. You gain the following properties as a result:
Vessel Traits:
Creature Type: Humanoid
Size: Small - Medium (ranging from 2 - 6 ft tall)
Speed: 30 feet
As a Vessel, you have these special Traits:
Voidborn
Whenever you fall to 0 hit points, instead of making death saving throws, your mask splits in two, revealing the fragment of the void inside. You then respawn at the last place you took a long rest and wherever you died, the void coalesces into a shade. This shade has hit points equal to one mask. Until you kill your shade, your maximum soul storage is 66 soul. Soul vessels still work as normal. If you fall to 0 hit points while your shade is still alive, you die outright.
Child of the Abyss:
The children of the Abyss are very rare, consisting of an incredibly small population of vessels that have escaped the abyss. Only 26 vessels have made this dangerous journey out of the Abyss, and of those that have made it out, only 2 vessels are still alive.
Your journey has strengthened you in many ways. As a result, you gain the following features:
You no longer take fall damage
Your standing and running jump are always 15 ft high and long.
At 5th level, you can use Nail Arts:
As an action, you can charge up a nail art. On your next turn, in place of the first attack you make, you can use one of the Nail Art options. If you take damage while charging a Nail Art, the charge is interrupted and you cannot use a Nail Art without charge it up again.
Great Slash: You make a nail attack roll. If this attack hits, it does double damage + your level.
Dash Slash: You use your mothwing cloak or shadow cloak along with this attack. After you complete your dash, your nail lengthens and performs a 15 foot slash. Each creature in a 15ft line that is 5 ft wide must succeed a Dexterity saving throw or take slashing damage equal to your nail attack + your level.
Cyclone Slash: You can make a nail attack against each creature within your nail attack range.
The Nail: A type of weapon used by many creatures in the kingdom of Hallownest.
This item has the following mastery property. You are proficient with this weapon and can use its mastery property if you are a vessel:
Light: When
Additionally, your nail acts as two light weapons despite only requiring one hand to wield. You cannot hold a shield or weapon in your other hand while using this property.
The Knight:
Class inspirations: Monk and Palladin
Core Knight Traits:
Primary Ability: Dexterity and Wisdom
Hit Point Die: D10 per Knight level
Saving Throw Proficiencies: Choose 2:
Weapon Proficiencies: Nail
Armor Training: none
Starting Equipment: Nail
Knight Class Features:
As a Knight, you gain the following class features when you reach the specified Knight levels.
Level 1: Masks
Your health is divided into pools called masks, where each mask consists of 10 hit points. This health pool increases when you reach levels 5 (15), 11 (20), and 17 (25).
Level 1: Soulcaster
Whenever you hit an enemy with your nail, you gain 11 soul. Soul is used to cast spells and heal damage. Your soulcasting modifier is Wisdom. Casting a spell consumes 33 soul. You can have a maximum of 99 soul stored at any given time
Level 1: Focus
As a Magic Action, you can cast a spell called Focus. To cast this spell, you must have used 0 ft of movement, and after you heal, your movement speed is set to 0 until the end of your turn.
Level 2: Charms
You gain 3 charm notches that can be used to equip charms. You gain more notches when you reach levels 4 (4), 6 (5), 8 (6), 10 (7), 12 (8), 14 (9), 16 (10), 18 (11).
Level 2: Mothwing Cloak
As a Bonus Action, you can take the dash action using your mothwing cloak. When you dash this way, you travel 30 ft no matter the bonuses to your movement speed and only in a straight line.
Level 3: Mantis Claw
You gain a climbing speed of 30 feet, in the form of a wall jump.
Level 3: Dream Nail
As a Magic Action, you summon a spectral nail and slice a creature within reach. You gain 33 soul as the blade passes through them harmlessly. In addition, you can hear their surface thoughts for a brief moment, allowing you to understand a sentence.
Level 4: Spells
You gain more ways to use your soul. Each spell takes 33 soul to cast and have varying casting durations:
Vengeful Spirit: In the place of one of your nail attacks, you create a ball of spectral energy that bursts out from you in a 5 ft wide, 60 ft long area. Each creature in the area must make a Dexterity saving throw or take 3d8 radiant damage and be pushed back 10 feet, or half as much damage on a success with no push. Creatures that have CR equal to or less than half your level have a 10% chance to be double hit, if they fail the first saving throw, causing them to make yet another Dexterity saving throw or experience the same effect. Creatures of a CR equal to or less than a fourth of your level have a 1% chance of being triple hit. If a creature is moving away from you, the chance to double hit ignores the CR range and the necessity for the creature to have failed the first saving throw.
Desolate Dive: As a Magic action, you jump up 15 feet into the air and perform a dive. Creatures within a 10 foot radius cylinder with a height of however high you begin the dive must make a Strength saving throw or take 3d8 radiant damage and be grounded (flying creatures), or half as much damage on a success. Then a shockwave strikes the ground in a 15 ft radius, inside of which each creature must make a Dexterity saving throw or take 4d8 radiant damage, or half as much damage on a success.
Howling Wraiths: As a Magic action, you tilt your head back and a 15 foot cone of white energy erupts from you. Each creature in that cone must make a Constitution saving throw or take 7d8 radiant damage, or half as much damage on a success.
Level 5: Extra Attack
Whenever you take the Attack action, you can attack twice with your nail.
Level 5: Sharpened Nail
At the cost of 250 gp, your nail is sharpened, changing its damage die to 1d8.
Level 6: Crystal Dash
As an action while either standing or clinging to a wall, you can charge up a super dash. At the start of your next turn, provided that you haven't taken any damage, you can launch forward and travel in a straight line, moving at 150 feet per round.
Level 6: Soul Vessel
Your maximum soul storage is increased by 33 soul, to 132 soul. When you hit a creature with your nail when you have more than 99 soul, you only gain 6 soul.
Level 7: Lumafly Lantern
At the cost of 1800 gp, you gain a lantern that contains many lumaflies. The light shed by this lantern allows you to see through invisibility and magical darkness. You make Perception checks with no penalty while in darkness or searching for invisible creatures.
Level 8: Monarch Wings
Level 9: Coiled Nail
At a cost of 800 gp, your nail's damage die upgrades to 1d10.
Level 9: Shade Variants
Your spells change, due to the void within strengthening them. The following spells replace Vengeful Spirit, Desolate Dive, and Howling Wraiths respectively.
Shade Soul: Same as Vengeful Spirit, does an additional 3d8 necrotic damage and can go through walls and other objects.
Descending Dark: Same as Desolate Dive, does an additional 3d8 necrotic damage in the dive, an additional 4d8 necrotic damage in the shockwave, and extends the range from a 10 foot cylinder and 15 foot radius to a 15 foot cylinder and a 25 foot radius.
Abyss Shriek: Same as Howling Wraiths, does an additional 7d8 radiant damage, and extends the range to a 30 foot cone.
Level 10: Isma's Tear
You gain immunity to acid damage
Level 11: Extra Attack
Whenever you take the attack action, you can attack three times instead of twice.
Level 11: Soul Vessel
Your maximum soul storage is increased by 33 soul, to 165 soul.
Level 12: Shade Cloak
Level 13: Channeled Nail
At a cost of 2000 gp, your nail's damage die is upgraded to 1d12.
Level 15: tbd
Level 16: Soul Vessel
Your maximum soul storage is increased by 33 soul, to 198 soul.
Level 17: Pure Nail
At a cost of 4000 gp, your nail's damage die is upgraded to 2d8.
Level 17: Extra Attack
Whenever you take the Attack action, you can attack four times with your nail instead of three times.
Level 20: Embrace The Void