Whilst most sorcerous magic is inherited from a magical bloodline, Inkromancy is one of the few artificially created paths to magical power. A highly secret and highly risky procedure, outlawed in almost every region, is undertaken by a number of skilled individuals. The procedure involves the infusion of rare, magical inks beneath the skin and into the body of an individual, who must endure immense pain and psychological torment simply to survive.

Those few that come out of it alive find themselves intertwined with the very essence of the strange ink inside them, providing them with the ability to cast spells and perform impossible feats. There are those that try to hide their new magical tattoos from society, retracting the ink beneath clothing, but many more choose to wear them proudly, causing images to form and shift in enthralling displays, or simply allowing the spells they cast to create arcane imagery in a kaleidoscope of ways.

The magical ink you choose for this class determines its appearance. 

INK
Beastmarrow	A shifting mixture of black and white inks, often resembling ancient barbarian tribe tattoos in style.
Feyspore	As unpredictable and whimsical as the Fey themselves, this ink varies in colour and vibrancy almost constantly: drawing mesmerising patterns, and glittering in the twilight.
Darkwood Ash	Changing steadily throughout the year, ink made from the rare Darkwood Ash cycles through earthy greens to deep amber and piercing blue, sometimes matching the seasons or the mood of the sorcerer.
Nightlight	Alchemised with a bio-luminescent fungus from the underdark, this ink offers a faint, soothing glow in darkness.
Tritonstone	From a steady ebb-and-flow to a righteous thunderstorm, Tritonstone ink is distinguished less by its varying blue colours, and more for its fluid motions that mirror the tide and the waves of the sea.

 

 

Calligrapher's Soul

Your symbiosis with the magical ink in your body allows you to draw comprehension from handwriting. When you touch words that have been written in ink, you can understand what they say- regardless of what language it is, and whether or not you can see the writing- as long as the writer understood the language.

Additionally, while touching any surface with ink on it, you can spend one minute in concentration to manipulate it, potentially altering images, changing words, or absorbing the ink to leave the surface blank. Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest. You can manipulate your own ink tattoos at will, as a free action.

Ink Heart

The legendary inks suffused within your body have unique magical properties depending on their source.

Choose a magical ink for the source of your power: Beastmarrow, faespore, darkwood ash, nightlight, or tritonstone. You gain an additional ability based on that source, as listed below.

Beastmarrow Ink

When you finish a long rest, you gain temporary hit points equal to your sorcerer level.

Darkwood Ash

At the end of a short rest, choose a season for your ink to represent. The chosen season grants you resistance to the corresponding damage type. Summer - Fire, Autumn - Necrotic, Winter - Cold, Spring - Radiant.

Feyspore

You gain proficiency in one charisma skill of your choice, and can speak and understand Sylvan.

Nightlight

You gain darkvision for 60 feet, and if you already have darkvision, the range is increased by an additional 30 feet.

Tritonstone

You gain a swim speed equal to your walking speed, and while underwater, you can hold your breath for a number of minutes equal to 1 + your charisma modifier (minimum of 1 minute)

Blinding Cloud

Starting at 6th level, you are able to expel a cloud of magical ink toward attackers. Whenever a creature within 5 feet of you makes an attack roll, you can spend 1 sorcery point and use your reaction to blind the attacker, imposing disadvantage on that roll. The creature must make a constitution saving throw against your spell DC, or be blinded until the beginning of its next turn. A creature with blindsight is unaffected.

Liquid Step

Starting at 14th level, you can briefly assume an inky form to move. As a bonus action on your turn, you can cause your body to become an amorphous fluid, allowing you to move up to 10 feet of your movement through another creature's space, or an object, as long as there is at least a 1 inch gap for you to traverse. This movement does not provoke opportunity attacks.

After travelling this distance, or at the end of your turn, you revert back to your regular form. If there is no room to do so, you are shunted to the nearest free space, and take 1d6 bludgeoning damage.

Symbiotic Ink

At 18th level, you gain a heightened unity with the magical ink in your body. As an action, you can spend 6 sorcery points to prepare to enter a state of symbiosis for one minute. As a bonus action, you can touch another conscious humanoid and bind with their skin as a large, visibly magical tattoo. While in this state, you cannot be targeted, and the host creature gains resistance to all damage types except for psychic- to which it is vulnerable. You share all damage taken after resistances. Additionally, you can spend 1 sorcery point to add or subtract your charisma modifier to or from any roll the host makes, once per round.

You share the host's initiative order, but you have a speed of 0. As free action on your turn, you can leave the host to reform your own body in an adjacent space, and re-enter as a bonus action without taking opportunity attacks. Upon taking damage, you must make a DC 13 constitution saving throw or be ejected into an adjacent space. If the host creature falls unconscious, you are automatically ejected into the nearest free space. A host can also attempt to expel you by making a DC 13 constitution check as an action on their turn. If they succeed, you cannot bind with them again for 24 hours.

After one minute, or if you fall unconscious, the ability ends, and you are ejected from any host you are currently bound to.