Order of the Abyss Walkers

 

The creatures we fight, the horrors we face, the war we fight in shadow; All of this must be kept secret, lest the chaos we seek to quell be spread throughout the world we protect. Remember your training, stay vigilant, and never hesitate in the face of those who would add your heart as part of their collection. Hesitation is weakness; weakness is death. The dead make poor allies and even worse Walkers.

- Grandmaster Saranis Duskryn, First Watcher

 

An Ancient Order

The sacred Order of the Abyss Walkers was founded in a lost time out of necessity, in a time where creatures of the Hells and the Abyss ran amuck, the Fey weren't confined to the Feywild, and the eldritch horrors of the Far Realm reached out into the Mortal Coil to enact terrible plots. The world was wild, so the Order was created to tame it. Though those times have long since passed, the Order still exists to this day, watching the skies, walking among us, and waiting in the darkness.

Strange Travelers

Abyss Walkers don't spend every day of their lives meditating in monasteries or training under their Masters. Most of their training takes place in the world around them; no two Abyss Walkers are the same, nor do they have the same exact methods. Some Abyss Walkers live in solitude, away from society so that they wouldn't be bothered and distracted from their work. Others immerse themselves into society to find and root out problems from the source. They ask questions others see as strange but are rarely suspected of being who they are. Still, all Abyss Walkers are on a quest to protect the world from rampant monsters of the worst kind. It's not a common occurrence due to their numbers, but the next strange traveller you see on the road or in a tavern may just be an Abyss Walker.

At Arms Length

Very few people know of the existence of Abyss Walkers. Their Order is ancient and is the subject matter of many books on history and mythology. Most believe that they are simply a legend. It is normal, however, for a Walker to reveal themselves should their services be in dire need. Most people keep their distance from revealed Walkers purely out of superstition. Because of their connection to the Darkness and their ability to manipulate shadows to a certain degree, most people would rather them not be around, despite their necessity.

Warriors such as Paladins and Clerics, however, see them as allies of a different sort. Paladins seek to root out whatever evil wherever it chooses to den. It is common for them to align with Abyss Walkers for a time before respectfully parting ways. Clerics have a similar, if not the same, mentality towards Abyss Walkers.

Others, like Bards, Rogues and Rangers, see Abyss Walkers as optimum partners in certain situations and powerful friends to have around. Rangers and Abyss Walkers work well together because of their tracking abilities and superb knowledge of rare monsters, as well as their abilities to kill them efficiently. Rogues enjoy Abyss Walkers because of their uncanny ability to meld into the shadows and almost vanish from sight. With stealth capabilities that rival those of the best scouts, thieves, and assassins, they make strong allies and terrifying adversaries. Bards simply enjoy the company of strange folk and the stories they tell. This feeling is no different towards Abyss Walkers, especially those that are more traveled than others.

Barbarians, Monks, and other Fighters are relatively indifferent towards Abyss Walkers. They respect the Order for the fighting prowess of Abyss Walkers. Some train under Order Masters to learn new fighting techniques and to hone their craft. Others go as far as to become Abyss Walkers in times of great need or if they feel that their own power isn't enough.

Druids, Warlocks, Wizards, and Sorcerers usually keep Abyss Walkers around for simple conversation, insight, and knowledge as they travel the world in line with their eternal quest. At times, they are advisers who are sought after for guidance in experiments or to help gather information on certain creatures. They are often paid to bring in certain creatures alive for experimentation and knowledge gathering. Sometimes they keep Abyss Walkers around simply because they find them to be interesting people and strange companions.

Blood Hunters, however, often antagonize Abyss Walkers because of their relationship with the Darkness despite the common ground they often have with each other. They begrudgingly work together only when there is no other option, as they are usually hostile towards each other. It is not at all uncommon for Blood Hunters and Abyss Walkers to come to blows should they ever cross paths. Despite this, it is also not unheard of for the two of them to form close professional ties and work together for the sake of a common goal. Though both are happy with never crossing each other's path, it is unavoidable at times.

Abyssal Armaments

At third level, you learn a ritual that creates a magical bond between yourself and a weapon or shield. You perform the ritual over the course of one hour, which can be done during a short rest. The equipment must be one you are proficient with and must be within your reach throughout the ritual. At the conclusion of the ritual, you touch the weapon or shield and forge the bond.

Once you have bonded a weapon or shield to yourself, you can’t be disarmed of that weapon or shield unless you are incapacitated. If it is on the same plane of existence, you can summon a bound weapon or shield as a bonus action on your turn, causing it to teleport to and equip to you. If you already have a weapon or shield summoned, you can dismiss any amount of armaments you have summoned as part of the summon. Any crimson rite applied to an already summoned armament can be transferred to your new armament as part of the same bonus action.

You can have up to a number of bonded weapons/shields equal to your proficiency bonus, and can only have two armaments summoned at any one time.

Gift of the Old Walkers

Your devotion to the abyss walkers has not gone unnoticed, and at times of need, aid can be given when prompted.

Beginning at 7th level, You gain the Blood Curse of the Abyssal Armory for your blood maledict feature. This doesn't count against your number of blood curses known.

Blood Curse of the Abyssal Armory

You create a floating abyssal weapon within 10ft of you that lasts for 1 minute. When you activate the blood curse, you can make a single attack against a creature within 5 feet of the weapon, using your hemocraft modifier for the attack roll. On a hit, the target takes [rite] damage equal to 1d8 + your hemocraft ability modifier. At the start of each of your turns, you can move the weapon up to 20 feet and attack a creature within 5 feet of it. The weapon can take whatever form you choose. If you have no crimson rite applied upon activation, the Abyssal weapon deals bludgeoning damage. 

Amplify. The floating weapon deals force damage instead of your crimson rite damage, and any creature hit by it cannot regain hit points until the start of your next turn.

Intrinsic Armaments

Your bond with your armaments becomes stronger as you learn to weave from one attack to another in fluidity, using weapon changes to enhance your combat prowess.

Beginning at 11th level, When you summon a new armament as a bonus action, you can make a single weapon attack with that new armament as part of the bonus action. If this attack hits it deals an additional hemocraft die. You can use this ability a number of times equal to your Hemocraft modifier, and gain all expended uses on a long rest.

Brand of the Abyssal Maiden

Your Brand now summons the Abyssal Maiden, a cage of weapons surrounding the branded foe.

Beginning at the 15th level, When activating your Brand of Castigation, a field of Abyssal Armaments sprouts from the ground, piercing the branded creature's body with a layering of abyssal weapons. The Branded creature takes magical piercing damage equal to three rolls of your hemocraft dice upon use.

Whenever the Branded creature willingly moves more than 5ft, it takes magical piercing damage equal to one roll of your hemocraft dice and must make a Strength Saving Throw against your Hemocraft Save DC. On a failed save, the creature is unable to move. 

At the end of the branded creature's turn, they can attempt to break free, making a Strength saving throw against your Hemocraft Save DC, breaking free upon success.

Armaments of the Soulbound

Your Armaments have fused to your very soul, granting you immense power for a short duration.

Beginning at 18th level, your armaments are now invoked with the Sigils of the Abyss Walkers, and grant you benefits depending on their properties. If an armament has more than one property, you must declare the property you are using when summoning the Armament.

Whilst you have Armaments summoned, you can use the following abilities:

- While you have an Armament with the light property summoned, you provoke no attacks of opportunity.
- While you have an Armament with the Finesse property summoned, you gain a flight speed of 30ft and can hover.
- While you have an Armament with the Versatile property summoned, you can make one additional attack with that Armament when you take the attack action.
- While you have an Armament with the Heavy property summoned, once per turn, you can roll an additional hemocraft die when determining the extra damage from the rite.
- While you have an Armament with the Ranged property summoned, you gain +2 to weapon attack rolls.
- While you have an Armament with the Armor property summoned your AC increases by +2.

Whenever you would take damage from an attack, you can sacrifice an armament, shielding yourself from the attack. As a reaction, the armament is destroyed, and the damage you take is reduced by 1d10+ your Blood hunter level. You cannot resummon this armament until you take a short rest; for each destroyed armament, you must spend one hit dice to recover. You do not regain any hit points from this spent hit dice.

You cannot gain the benefits more than once, even if you have more than one Armament that would grant you that benefit.