Some warriors call upon divine power, others master the elemental forces of the world—but you are something stranger. As an Abyss Walker, you have forged a bond with a realm not meant to be understood: the Abyss, a place of endless darkness, fractured time, and shadowy echoes of reality. Whether by ancient pact, forbidden magic, or a traumatic brush with death, you have gained the power to walk beside yourself—splitting your presence across the battlefield using a spectral double known as the Abyssal Shade.

This shade is no illusion. It is a displaced reflection, a ghost of what could be or might have been, torn from the threads of possibility. You and your shade fight as one, overwhelming enemies with attacks from impossible angles, vanishing from danger in a flicker of darkness, and intercepting strikes with a being that barely exists. While others fight with strength and steel alone, you fight with presence—twisting space, time, and perception to your advantage.

An Abyss Walker is a paradox made flesh, a warrior who is both here and not, who leaves shadows of themselves wherever they go. On the battlefield, they are elusive, disorienting, and devastating—masters of movement, deception, and sudden violence.

Your journey might be one of vengeance, redemption, or curiosity—but whatever your purpose, you are marked by the Abyss, and it will not easily let go.

Level 3: Manifest Shade

You can manifest an Abyssal Shade—a warped, shadowy copy of yourself pulled from a dark mirror of your existence. As a bonus action, you can summon your Abyssal Shade within 15 feet of you. It lasts until it is destroyed, you manifest another shade, you're incapacitated, or you dismiss it (no action required).

The shade is an ethereal, spectral image, counts as a creature, Has an AC of 14 + proficiency bonus. It has 1 hit point, is immune to all conditions, and uses your saving throw modifiers. It is the same size as you, and it occupies its space. On your turn, you can mentally command the echo to move up to 30 feet in any direction (no action required). If your echo is ever more than 30 feet from you at the end of your turn, it is destroyed.

. As a bonus action, you can teleport, magically swapping places with your shade at a cost of 15 feet of your movement, regardless of the distance between the two of you.

. When you take the Attack action on your turn, any attack you make with that action can originate from your space or the shade's space. You make this choice for each attack.

. When a creature that you can see within 5 feet of your shade moves at least 5 feet away from it, you can use your reaction to make an opportunity attack against that creature as if you were in the shade's space.

 

 

 

Unleash Incarnation

At 3rd level, you can heighten your shade's fury. Whenever you take the Attack action, you can make one additional melee attack from the shade's position. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Constitution modifier (a minimum of once). You regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

 

Level 7: Abyssal Avatar

Starting at 7th level, you can temporarily transfer your consciousness to your shade. As an action, you can see through your shade's eyes and hear through its ears. During this time, you are deafened and blinded. You can sustain this effect for up to 10 minutes, and you can end it at any time (requires no action). While your echo is being used in this way, it can be up to 1,000 feet away from you without being destroyed.

Level 10: Shadow Martyr

Starting at 10th level, you can make your shade throw itself in front of an attack directed at another creature that you can see. Before the attack roll is made, you can use your reaction to teleport the shade to an unoccupied space within 5 feet of the targeted creature. The attack roll that triggered the reaction is instead made against your shade.

Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

Level 15: Reclaim Potential

By 15th level, you've learned to absorb the fleeting magic of your echo. When an echo of yours is destroyed by taking damage, you can gain a number of temporary hit points equal to 2d6 + your Constitution modifier, provided you don't already have temporary hit points.

You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Constitution modifier (a minimum of once). You regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Level 18: Abyssal Legion

At 18th level, you can use a bonus action to create two shades with your Manifest Shade feature, and these shades can co-exist. If you try to create a third shade, the previous two shades are destroyed. Anything you can do from one shade's position can be done from the other's instead.

In addition, when you roll initiative and have no uses of your Unleash Incarnation feature left, you regain one use of that feature.