I've seen this archetype in a few places (games like Spiritfarer, Kena Bridge of Spirits), and it seems like it could make for a great sub-class for Rangers (possibly Druids), as the solitary but spiritual nature of this feels like a good fit for this vibe.
What do folks think? What could be some good subclass features for this archetype?
I'm thinking...
-Acquiring cantrips like light, Spare the Dying, and/or Guidance
-Acquiring spells such as protection from Good and Evil, Commune, etherealness,
-Spirit Warden: When a humanoid creature dies within 30ft of you, you may you use a reaction to enter the Shepherd State. In this state, you gain resistance to all damage and do not provoke attacks of opportunity if you move towards the space of the deceased humanoid. If you are within 5ft of the deceased humanoid, you may enter the ethereal plane for 1 hour.
-Sojourner's Beacon: You harness radiant energy that empowers you on your sojourns throughout the planes and casts light to guide the way. You may use your bonus action to illuminate an object you are carrying, and this object radiates light (the color of which is your choice) creating bright light for up to 30ft. Additionally, if you have activated a weapon in this way, that weapon's attacks become magical for the sake of damage resistance and cause an additional 1d8 radiant damage upon impact. You may use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and these uses recharge after a long rest.
-Passage's Levy: when a humanoid creature dies within 30ft of you, you may use your reaction to enter the ethereal plane with the recently deceased creature to guide them to the fugue plane. This shepherding requires 1d4 hours of time. Upon completion, you may appear at your last position on the material plane with a Passage Token. For every 2 tokens possessed, your Max HP increases by +1. You lose all tokens after a week.
-Shining Beacon: The radiant energy empowering your sojourns burns even brighter. The light cast by your activated beacon extends by 30ft, and reveals any creature hidden by invisibility. Additionally, your weapon deals an additional 1d8 of radiant damage.
What do folks think? Does this look similar to something seen before? How else could this sub-class be structured?
while a fun idea, I feel the concept is better served as a specific character concept rather than a full subclass. the variation on the archetype isn't quite enough for many of them to be too different from each other. (Meaning two adventurers of the same subclass will probably be the same at different tables)
Mechanics wise they are kind of anti-adventuring skills. "after a creature dies" might mean the combat bits are over and if its not you'd have to step away from combat to "do the thing" for spirit warden or passages levy.
I really like the theme it has going. It's very evocative and interesting to me. I'm not sure about the abilities. As Roscoeivan says, they might be more suitable for an NPC since they mostly involve leaving the party, or are very situational for some of them. But I think it's definitely a concept worth exploring!
This probably belongs in the Homebrew portion of the forums but here's a version that would actually useful as a party member rather than just a concept:
Extra Spells 3rd level: Guidance, Protection from Good & Evil 5th level: Augury 9th level: Speak to Dead 13th level: Death Ward 17th level: Commune
Spiritual Guide 3rd level You have a deep understanding of the spiritual world and the process and passage from life to death. You gain proficiency in the Religion and Medicine skills, in addition you learn the Guidance cantrip, it counts as a Ranger spell to you.
Divine Guardian 3rd level You draw energy from the outer planes to empower your weapons. Once on your turn, when you hit a creature with a weapon attack you can deal an additional 1d6 damage to them this damage is either necrotic or radiant, you choose when you gain this feature. If the target of your attack is undead, increase the damage die to a 1d8.
Ferrier of Souls 7th level When you witness a humanoid die within 60 ft of you, you can use your reaction to ensure they pass safely to the great beyond. Their corpse cannot be raised as an undead for the next hour, and you gain temporary hit points equal to your level.
Guiding Light 11th level As a bonus action, you touch an option and illuminate it with divine light. The object sheds bright light in a 30ft radius and dim light for another 30 ft. Creatures of your choice within this light have advantage on Charisma saving throws and Death saving throws. When a creature within your light takes or deals damage you can use your reaction to increase or decrease that instance of damage by 1d10 + your proficiency bonus.
Celestial Ally 15th level You can summon one the souls you've aided to pass over to temporarily return to aid you in battle. You learn either the Summon Celestial or the Summon Shadowspawn spell (as detailed in Tasha's Cauldron of Everything) you choose when you gain this feature. This spell counts as a ranger spell for you. You can cast this spell once without expending a spell slot, regaining the ability to cast it in this way when you finish a long rest. You can also cast it with any spell slots you have.
Agilemind is pretty good at this stuff! I think you came up with a really cool concept too, Bai2get1free. It's something I would definitely be interested in playing.
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I've seen this archetype in a few places (games like Spiritfarer, Kena Bridge of Spirits), and it seems like it could make for a great sub-class for Rangers (possibly Druids), as the solitary but spiritual nature of this feels like a good fit for this vibe.
What do folks think? What could be some good subclass features for this archetype?
I'm thinking...
-Acquiring cantrips like light, Spare the Dying, and/or Guidance
-Acquiring spells such as protection from Good and Evil, Commune, etherealness,
-Spirit Warden: When a humanoid creature dies within 30ft of you, you may you use a reaction to enter the Shepherd State. In this state, you gain resistance to all damage and do not provoke attacks of opportunity if you move towards the space of the deceased humanoid. If you are within 5ft of the deceased humanoid, you may enter the ethereal plane for 1 hour.
-Sojourner's Beacon: You harness radiant energy that empowers you on your sojourns throughout the planes and casts light to guide the way. You may use your bonus action to illuminate an object you are carrying, and this object radiates light (the color of which is your choice) creating bright light for up to 30ft. Additionally, if you have activated a weapon in this way, that weapon's attacks become magical for the sake of damage resistance and cause an additional 1d8 radiant damage upon impact. You may use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and these uses recharge after a long rest.
-Passage's Levy: when a humanoid creature dies within 30ft of you, you may use your reaction to enter the ethereal plane with the recently deceased creature to guide them to the fugue plane. This shepherding requires 1d4 hours of time. Upon completion, you may appear at your last position on the material plane with a Passage Token. For every 2 tokens possessed, your Max HP increases by +1. You lose all tokens after a week.
-Shining Beacon: The radiant energy empowering your sojourns burns even brighter. The light cast by your activated beacon extends by 30ft, and reveals any creature hidden by invisibility. Additionally, your weapon deals an additional 1d8 of radiant damage.
What do folks think? Does this look similar to something seen before? How else could this sub-class be structured?
while a fun idea, I feel the concept is better served as a specific character concept rather than a full subclass. the variation on the archetype isn't quite enough for many of them to be too different from each other. (Meaning two adventurers of the same subclass will probably be the same at different tables)
Mechanics wise they are kind of anti-adventuring skills. "after a creature dies" might mean the combat bits are over and if its not you'd have to step away from combat to "do the thing" for spirit warden or passages levy.
I really like the theme it has going. It's very evocative and interesting to me. I'm not sure about the abilities. As Roscoeivan says, they might be more suitable for an NPC since they mostly involve leaving the party, or are very situational for some of them. But I think it's definitely a concept worth exploring!
This probably belongs in the Homebrew portion of the forums but here's a version that would actually useful as a party member rather than just a concept:
Extra Spells
3rd level: Guidance, Protection from Good & Evil
5th level: Augury
9th level: Speak to Dead
13th level: Death Ward
17th level: Commune
Spiritual Guide
3rd level
You have a deep understanding of the spiritual world and the process and passage from life to death. You gain proficiency in the Religion and Medicine skills, in addition you learn the Guidance cantrip, it counts as a Ranger spell to you.
Divine Guardian
3rd level
You draw energy from the outer planes to empower your weapons. Once on your turn, when you hit a creature with a weapon attack you can deal an additional 1d6 damage to them this damage is either necrotic or radiant, you choose when you gain this feature. If the target of your attack is undead, increase the damage die to a 1d8.
Ferrier of Souls
7th level
When you witness a humanoid die within 60 ft of you, you can use your reaction to ensure they pass safely to the great beyond. Their corpse cannot be raised as an undead for the next hour, and you gain temporary hit points equal to your level.
Guiding Light
11th level
As a bonus action, you touch an option and illuminate it with divine light. The object sheds bright light in a 30ft radius and dim light for another 30 ft. Creatures of your choice within this light have advantage on Charisma saving throws and Death saving throws. When a creature within your light takes or deals damage you can use your reaction to increase or decrease that instance of damage by 1d10 + your proficiency bonus.
Celestial Ally
15th level
You can summon one the souls you've aided to pass over to temporarily return to aid you in battle. You learn either the Summon Celestial or the Summon Shadowspawn spell (as detailed in Tasha's Cauldron of Everything) you choose when you gain this feature. This spell counts as a ranger spell for you. You can cast this spell once without expending a spell slot, regaining the ability to cast it in this way when you finish a long rest. You can also cast it with any spell slots you have.
I like this a lot! It really feels like a much more fleshed-out and 5E-applicable subclass.
Agilemind is pretty good at this stuff! I think you came up with a really cool concept too, Bai2get1free. It's something I would definitely be interested in playing.