The Creed of the Claret Orders asks its followers to commit their lives to the hunt of entities and creatures that threaten the sanctity of life and joy. While the sacrifice is great, the reward is the continued existence of purity and good in the world. The Orders strive to protect those who cannot protect themselves from the shadows, taking no credit for their deeds or reward for their services, beyond the means to live and travel. Some have strayed, focusing on building a fortune for themselves, but should word of such intent make it back to the heads of the Orders, and their actions begin to threaten the innocents they’ve sworn to protect, they may find themselves the hunted. Recognizing the difficulty of pitting blood magic against blood magic, and the negative impact that a conflict between dark guardian and dark betrayer could bring, a small sect of the order sought other means to become one with the shadows to render judgement on those who would unbalance justice’ scales, and to bring betrayers directly to the Raven Queen’s gaze.

Shadow Judges are rumored among the rank and file of the Claret Orders but few know what or who they are. Recruited as orphans or as outcasts, they magically sacrifice a portion of their heart’s blood to a secret denizen of the Feywild. This ritual trades blood for Shadow Fell and killed more candidates than it created successfully, but those that bonded successfully with the Shadow Fell became one with the shadow.  Their training merged monk discipline with Feywild borne stealth. These monks were taught to hold the ideal of Justice above all else and to hunt those who abused their authority, those who perverted the ideals of Justice, and those who would use blood magic for nefarious purposes. For a Shadow Judge, none are exempt from Justice.  

However, almost no members of the Shadow Order remain. The Briarwoods discovered  the training grounds for the Shadow Order and the alters that created them were destroyed, those on site drained and wiped out. Some few members were away on assignment or who narrowly escaped are all that remain, and the leaders of the Claret Order deny that they ever existed.

Shadow Judge

Starting when you choose this tradition at 3rd level, you can use your ki to duplicate the effects of certain spells. As an action, you can spend 2 ki points to cast Shadow Shroud without providing material components. The Shroud has AC 16 and hit points equal to 15 + your character level. The Shroud has resistance to necrotic and cold damage, and vulnerability to radiant and fire damage. If the Shroud would be reduced to 0 hit points, it dissipates and cannot be summoned again until you complete a short or long rest. 

Shadow Step

At 6th level, you gain the ability to step from one shadow into another. When you are in dim light or darkness, as a bonus action you can teleport up to 60 feet to an unoccupied space you can see that is also in dim light or darkness. You then have advantage on the first melee attack you make before the end of the turn.

Shroud Strength

By 11th Level, the Shadow Shroud's affinity for the bearer has increased, and it wishes to protect him more fully. HP increases to 20 plus character level.

Shadow Fell

At 17th level, once per day, when an attacker targets the Shroud Bearer with a melee attack, the Shadow Judge can use a reaction to transport the attacker to the Shadow Fell on a failed Constitution Save. (17). The Shadow Judge suffers 1d12 psychic damage as a result of the reaction and must make a Constitution Save (17) to avoid suffering an additional 2d12 psychic damage.