Shadow Vessel

There is always a partner even in a lone warrior. The shadow that follows their every move. Some use their shadow as a way to train, to measure. Others to hide and conceal. But some take this relationship a step further, willingly accepting some otherworldly force to allow their shadow to come to life. Partnering with this pseudo-parasite to gain an edge in battle. Fighting as two in one rather than a lone sword.

Shadow Vessels are often warriors found in harsh lands, where the shadow is a reprieve from the lonesome endeavor they take on. Learning to fight in a manner that makes up for their lack of allies. It's a risky way of life, one that costs more than the normal person is willing to go through. But for them, this is their only option.

Shadow Parasite

3rd-level Shadow Vessel feature

You have a connection to some form of living shadow parasite, one that feeds off of your life to grant you power in return. The Shadow is a creature that can be summoned at any time by sacrificing half of your maximum hit points, these hit points are reduced and cannot be regained until the Shadow is dismissed or dies. The maximum hit points sacrificed becomes the total hit points the Shadow gains. While it is active the Shadow shares your statistics and has an armor class equal to (10 + your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier). The Shadow cannot move away from you, instead it remains within 5 ft. at all times or is worn. If an ability would require a saving throw then the DC is equal to (8 + Charisma modifier + proficiency bonus)

You have a pool of energy to use when the Shadow is active called Vestige dice that are represented by a 1d4. The number of Vestige dice you have is equal to your proficiency bonus plus your Fighter level and they fuel various powers the Shadow grants you.

When you reach certain levels in this class, the size of your Vestige dice increases: at 5th level (d6), 11th level (d8), and 17th level (d10). The powers below use your Vestige dice.

Shade Dash. As a bonus action you can expend 2 Vestige dice to perform a sudden dash in any direction of your choice. This dash moves you up to (your proficiency bonus times 5) ft. and cannot be halted. It passes through walls, treating it as difficult terrain and shunts you to the nearest unoccupied space if you cannot make it all the way through. If your Shadow, and only the Shadow is targeted by a harmful effect or attack you can use Shade Dash as a reaction. Causing the effect or attack to potentially miss.

Umbral Stitching. As a bonus action you can expend 3 Vestige dice to begin concentration on this ability. You immediately expend 1 hit die and roll it, restoring hit points equal to the amount rolled. At the start of your turns while concentrating on this ability, you expend a hit die for each round this ability was active and roll it. You restore hit points equal to the amount rolled. While this ability is active your Shadow restores hit points at the start of your turns equal to a roll of your Vestige die + your Charisma modifier.

Darkfall. If at any time you are midair or otherwise not touching the ground, you can expend 4 Vestige dice to immediately crash down toward the ground performing a magical slam by replacing one of your attacks. This slam lets out a shadow explosion in a (your proficiency bonus times 5) ft. radius sphere, creatures caught in the radius must make a Dexterity saving throw or take 1/4 of your Fighter level in rolled Vestige dice necrotic damage. On a success taking half as much damage.

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You restore 1 Vestige dice for every two successive attacks you hit on a hostile target. If an attack roll you make rolls your proficiency bonus or lower on the 1d20 you lose 2 Vestige dice. At the end of a short rest you restore all Vestige dice.

Darker Bonding

7th-level Shadow Vessel feature

You have mastered new ways to use your Shadow's abilities, detailed below.

Dim Image Strike. You can expend 1 Vestige dice to replace an attack with a shadow replica of last attack you made, dealing damage equal to half the initial damage and an additional amount in necrotic damage equal to one roll of the Vestige dice expended.

Dusk Wreath. As an action you can expend 6 Vestige dice to have the Shadow fuse with your form for 1 minute during which your Shadow receives any damage you take or heal. While in this state you can enter shadows you are standing on, becoming incorporeal and incapacitated while you remain inside of a shadow. If the shadow you are within is illuminated or for any reason is no longer available you are shunted out to the nearest unoccupied space. You can leave this state early by using a bonus action.

Dueling Darkness

10th-level Shadow Vessel feature

The Shadow grants you a dubious deal, increasing the potential for survival in a dire scenario at the cost of a challenge. When you drop to 0 hit points, your body drops unconscious and you exit it to become a spectral version of yourself. No creature can see this spectral version of yourself, you cannot interact with any other creature. After you've made your first Death Saving throw, your Shadow is summoned near your body in a spectral state where it copies all of your statistics and items. It becomes a hostile creature under your DM's control. While in this spectral state you have temporary hit points equal to half of your maximum hit points. If you defeat your Shadow during this time then you restore hit points equal to the temporary hit points remaining, then you lose these temporary hit points. Losing all of your temporary hit points in this state causes you to fail two Death Saving throws. Once this feature has been triggered for the first time it cannot happen again until you complete a short rest.

Gloom-Worked Arsenal

15th-level Shadow Vessel feature

You gain further control over your Shadow, once per turn any time you hit with an attack you may expend any number of Vestige dice to roll as additional necrotic damage up to a maximum equal to your Charisma modifier. Additionally any mundane weapon you touch you can choose to corrode with your shadow. A weapon corroded in this way becomes magical and gains a bonus to attack and damage rolls equal to half of your proficiency bonus in the form of necrotic damage, on hit dealing bonus necrotic damage equal to one roll of your Vestige dice. After a corroded weapon has hit a target a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, it withers away and is destroyed.

Penumbral Vault

18th-level Shadow Vessel feature

Your connection to shadow extends beyond just your bond, your physical shadow and shadows you stand on become spaces in which you can store objects. All shadows you are in contact with become pockets of space equal to the available size of the shadow being interacted with. You may store objects in your shadow as an object interaction and drawing them out of the shadow requires you to have the available shadow space to do so. For example, a 10 ft. pole requires at least 10 ft. of available shadow to draw it from the space. Additionally, your Shadow becomes more a physical presence. It now can hold and use objects as if it were an additional pair of limbs.