#unlike warlocks who turn to eldritch madness.

[essektheylyss]

"I mean, that's kind of the story of the wizard, right? My magic is all effort."

Entirely correct. The most long-suffering class. It's why they often turn to hubristic madness.

[grailfinders]

Fate and Phantasms #61: Elisabeth Bathory (Halloween) (rerun)

Yep, we’re doing this again. For those of you who weren’t here the first time I made a Bathory build, I went way too hard on making sure Elisabeth could fly, and made a lancer build with like 17 levels of sorcerer. I ended up redoing that build entirely, and shifting the failed build over to Caster Liz. She deserves better though, so we’re giving Elisabeth Bathory (Halloween) a full redo, top-down designed for Halloween!

This Elisabeth is a Bardlock, getting her power from the College of Creation and her Hexblade for plenty of treats and tricks alike!

Check out the level-by-level breakdown below the cut, or build summary over here!

Race and Background

Instead of going the Dragonborn route, this time we’re making Elisabeth a Winged Tiefling, a race option I didn’t realize existed until I dusted off my copy of the Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide. No, I’m not incredibly mad that I missed this option the first time around, why do you ask?

Anyway, winged tieflings get +1 Intelligence and +2 Charisma, 60′ of Darkvision, Hellish Resistance to fire damage, and are Winged, giving them 30′ of Flying speed as long as you’re not in heavy armor. Shouldn’t be an issue.

You’re still a Noble, which still gives you proficiency in History and Persuasion, and just like before you don’t have to have zero empathy for the lower classes, but why would you want to?

Stats

Your highest ability score is going to be your Charisma; that’s where the magic happens-literally. It’s also what determines your performance checks: you’re not always good, but you are always memorable. Second is Dexterity, those dance moves idols pull off require some skill. Third is Constitution, hour-long concerts can take a lot out of you. Your Intelligence isn’t great, you were locked in a castle for a lot of your childhood. Your Wisdom is even worse, because even under that costume you’re still you. Finally, dump Strength, you absolutely don’t need it here.

Class Levels

1. Bard 1: First level bards are proficient with Dexterity and Charisma saves, as well as any three skills. Grab Performance and Acrobatics for a stronger stage presence, and Deception so you won’t have to share your candy with anyone you don’t want to.

You can also cast Spells, using your Charisma as your spell casting ability, and you get some Bardic Inspiration, a number of d6 equal to your Charisma Modifier that you can hand out as a bonus action to another creature, letting them add that die to one attack roll, saving throw, or ability check.

For your first cantrips, Dancing Lights will help you set the stage for your big concert, while Mending will keep your fancy dress in one piece during adventures. (You should probably put on some armor though.) Since we didn’t go dragonborn this time, we’ll have to make some noise the old fashioned way with Thunderwave. Animal Friendship will keep your relationship with any deerlets you find along the way strong, and Cure Wounds can be you throwing some halloween candy to your friends (or eating it yourself, I won’t judge). Finally, Silent Image will help you decorate the castle with ease.

2. Bard 2: Second level bards become a Jack of All Trades, adding half your proficiency bonus to checks you’re not proficient in. Idols have a lot of talents, so you always need to be on the lookout for your next charm point! You also learn how to play a Song of Rest, adding a d6 to healing done over short rests. We’re not getting the chef feat this time around, but feel free to flavor it the same way.

For your spell, Detect Magic will help you find that cup that started this whole mess in the first place...

3. Warlock 1: First level warlocks get to pick their patron: yours might be a cup, but it’s still a sentient piece of metal with awesome power, and that’s close enough to a Hexblade to count in my book. When you pick this patron, you learn even more magic that also uses your Charisma. Unlike most spellcasters, warlock slots don’t mix with your bard slots, though you can use one for the other’s spells. This just means you have three slots that recharge on long rests, and one that recharges on short rests.

You can also lay a Hexblade’s Curse once per short rest. For a minute afterwards, you add your proficiency to all damage rolls against that creature, crit on 19s and 20s, and gain HP equal to your warlock level + your Charisma modifier when it dies. You also become a Hex Warrior, gaining proficiency with Martial Weapons, and more importantly, you can use Charisma as your modifier for attack and damage rolls with a weapon you pick at the end of a long rest. I’d suggest grabbing a Trident if you haven’t already. It’s pretty much just a spear, but it’s what you use in this form, and if you get stuck in the ocean you won’t suffer negative effects for using it. Don’t think about it too hard.

It looks like you may have left your candy out too long- you’ve got a bit of an Infestation on your hands! Throw that candy at your enemies to deal some poison damage and make them run around. Grab Minor Illusion for even more decorations, Hellish Rebuke for some small explosive pumpkins, and Cause Fear for some Halloween spooks.

4. Warlock 2: Second level warlocks get Eldritch Invocations, giving you two new charm points to wow your fans! You can’t get one of them until next level, but make sure you pick up Armor of Shadows so you can show up to the fight in your fancy dresses.

For your spell, grab Comprehend Languages so you can understand all your screaming fans.

5. Warlock 3: Third level warlocks get a Pact Boon, a special gift given to you by your patron. The Pact of the Blade gives you a special weapon you can summon as an action. It counts as magical for resistance’s sake, and your Hex Warrior effects are automatically added to it. As is traditional, grab the Improved Pact Weapon invocation to add an extra point to its damage and attack rolls, and let you use it as your casting focus.

Speaking of casting, grab Darkness at this level to really set the mood for your big musical numbers.

6. Bard 3: At this level you finally graduate from college; the College of Creation sends you off with some Sweets of Potential, bonus effects added to your bardic inspiration. If used for an attack roll, it deals a burst of thunder damage in a 5′ radius from the target. Each creature in the area that fails a Constitution Save takes as much thunder damage as the original roll of the inspiration die. If used for a save, the creature using it can add a number of temporary hit points equal to their original roll plus your charisma modifier. If used on an ability check, they can roll the inspiration die with advantage. 

Also thanks to Tasha’s changing things up, you can make a Performance of Creation at this level as well! You can spend an action to create a nonmagical item. As long as the item costs less than 20x your level in GP and is medium or smaller, you’re good. It lasts a number of hours equal to your proficiency bonus. You can use this once per long rest, or by spending a 2nd level spell slot, but you can only have one item at a time.

You also get Expertise in two skills, doubling your proficiency with them. Pick Performance and Persuasion to dominate the stage.

For your spell, Heat Metal will roast anyone silly enough to wear metal armor while fighting you. You are still Elisabeth Bathory, after all.

7. Bard 4: Use your first ASI to round up your Charisma and Constitution for more health and inspiration, as well as higher spell saves and better concentration. Grab Thunderclap for more thunder damage, and Locate Animals or Plants so you can start growing some pumpkins.

8. Bard 5: Fifth level bards see their Inspiration bump up to d8s, and you become a Font of Inspiration. This means you regain inspiration on short rests, rather than long ones. For your spell, grab Plant Growth to speed up that garden you started last level. This either turns a 100′ radius circle into super difficult terrain, quadrupling the movement cost within it, or you can cast it over the course of 8 hours, ensuring a bountiful harvest for a year.

9. Bard 6: Sixth level bards can perform a Countercharm, spending your action to give allies advantage against being charmed or frightened for the turn. For your spell, grab Speak with Plants to chat up those pumpkins you’ve been growing the last couple levels. You can also get them to perform little favors, turning difficult terrain into normal terrain, or vice versa. This doesn’t let them move around, though. For that, you’ll need your new Creation Bard feature, Animating Performance. As an action, you can bring an item to life, turning it into a Dancing Item, whose stat block is in the summary. You need to use your Bonus Action to command it, and you can only have one item dancing at a time. Also, you only get one free use per long rest- further uses require a third level or higher spell slot. More good news; unlike Animate Objects, this feature gives HP based on your level, not the item’s size. This means you can go for cuteness, rather than size, and still have a tough gourd to crack.

10. Warlock 4: Back in the warlock class, bump up your Charisma with another ASI for higher spell saves, stronger attacks, and more inspiration treats. You also get Eldritch Blast, because you can’t be a caster without caster balls, and Flock of Familiars. This lets you create three familiars that can function while within 1 mile of you, and you can still cast touch spells through them. Technically, these have to be a kind of creature you can get from the Find Familiar spell, but there’s got to be a homebrew SU Pumpkin stat block out there, somewhere, right?

11. Warlock 5: Fifth level warlocks get third level spells: grab Shatter for either one of your high notes or another pumpkin bomb. You also get another evocation at this level. Grab Lance of Lethargy to turn one Eldritch Blast per turn into a pumpkin that will wrap its vines around its target, reducing its speed by 10′.

12. Warlock 6: Hexblade Warlocks can make an Accursed Specter when they kill a creature. This creates a Specter (stats in the summary) with some extra temporary HP, and it gets an extra bonus to attack rolls equal to your charisma modifier. The spirit sticks around until you finish a long rest, and you can only make one per long rest as well. Ghosts are spooky-almost as spooky as being forced to listen to Liz’s practice sessions without corporeal hands to cover your ears.

Also, grab Tongues so you can be understood by anyone who knows a language, allowing you to become the true international idol you were destined to be.

13. Bard 7: Seventh level bards get fourth level spells. Hallucinatory Terrain lets you transform one natural terrain into another. This doesn’t change the physical nature of the world, but it will let you keep your pumpkin patch hidden to keep the teens from smashing them on mischief night.

14. Bard 8: Another ASI! Bump up your Dexterity for more AC, and grab Confusion-your music has that kind of effect on people.

15. Bard 9: Ninth level bards get fifth level spells, and their Song of Rest becomes a d8. This is the level you get Animate Objects, turning your pumpkin brigade into a true pumpkin army! You can animate 10 tiny or small pumpkins, five medium pumpkins, two-and-change large pumpkins, or one-and-change huge pumpkins. Most of your crop is probably in the small to medium range, if I had to take a guess. You need to use your bonus action to command them, but they’ll handle general commands over multiple turns, so you can have these and your Dancing Pumpkin up at the same time with just a little bit of difficulty.

16. Bard 10: At this level, you get another round of Expertise, doubling your Acrobatics and Deception proficiencies. Your Bardic Inspiration bumps up to d10s, and you learn Magical Secrets. These are two spells from any spell list, as long as you can cast them at this level. You also get a cantrip here. Grab Message to send notes to your manager, Fireball for a powerful pumpkin ball, and Contagion for more torture techniques.

17. Bard 11: You get your first sixth level spell this level. Grab Mass Suggestion for impromptu dance sessions.

18. Bard 12: Max out your Charisma for the strongest spells and trident pokes you can muster.

19. Bard 13: Your Song of Rest becomes a d10, and you learn a seventh level spell! Mirage Arcane lets you bring the Castle Csejte to life with real walls and everything!

20. Bard 14: For your final level, you enter your Creative Crescendo, allowing you to make multiple items at once, up to your charisma modifier. Only one item can be medium or larger, the rest must be small or tiny. You also no longer have to worry about gp cost. This means you can make the really fancy candy now!

You also get one last round of Magical Secrets. Use your Heroes’ Feast to stock your castle with some proper meals (or more candy, w/e), and Power Word Pain to welcome any party crashers.

Pros

Flight is good, especially when you don’t have to deal damage at a melee range.

You also have a small army of Pumpkins on hand to really spread out your battlefield control.

Speaking of controlling the battlefield, you can literally do that with spells like Plant Growth, Speak with Plants, Mirage Arcane, and Hallucinatory Terrain. Mess up the whole field, and fly over it all, raining down pumpkin-spiced death from above.

Cons

A lot of your spells require Concentration, extra actions, or both, so you’ll have to plan out your parties carefully.

Going a couple levels into warlock left you without 9th level spells. This definitely isn’t an issue compared to the melee classes, but you missed out on wish and plenty of other goodies.

Despite everything else, your Wisdom is really low, so you might end up getting charmed or mind-controlled by another bard.

Next up: She’s Tamamo, she’s Tamamo, she’s Tamamo too, wouldn’t you like to be Tamamo too?

[tigerkirby215]

5e Pyke the Bloodharbor Ripper build (League of Legends)

(Artwork by Riot Games)

You look familiar... You. You were on my blog, looking at my builds.

Well here’s yet another League build, and yet another edgelord champion. I don’t know if it’s a problem with me or a problem with League but I seem to be drawn to characters with edgy personas... at least lore-wise. In game I spam Sona and Yuumi like an eGirl thot.

And Kayn. And Warwick. Alright I might just be an edgelord.

Regardless Pyke is always a character I’ve enjoyed more for his lore than his actual gameplay. Back in my DOTA days I used to main Bounty Hunter (and I might branch out to DOTA builds someday; who knows?) and while Pyke captures that gameplay to some extent he’s never really been my cup of tea. Gondar was considerably more light-hearted than Pyke and focused a lot more on information gathering than the raw killing that Pyke does. Even so I think Pyke was a great addition to the lore of Bilgewater with the rest of the region seemingly existing only as an excuse to put pirates into League of Legends. (Ironically enough I actually think the other character that displays Bilgewater’s lore the best is Tahm Kench, and considering that most people see him as a meme that’s really saying something.)

But regardless: you’re here for the build, not to read me ramble about why I made it. I can definitely say that if you genuinely want to play Pyke you’re certainly one for the roleplay, though try not to be overly edgy.

GOALS

Harpooner - Armed with an iconic Bone Skewer it’ll find its way stabbed into the stomachs or thrown into the backs of many victims.

Until it all sinks... - Pyke swims in the shadows before surfacing to pounce his prey. He did also swim in the water once.

Did I “support” right? - While we won’t have any healing Pyke has plenty of utility in his own right.

RACE

Officially Pyke is some sort of drowned revenant, and while I know there is a Revenant race in the Gothic Heroes UA it’s rather unbalanced and unfortunately doesn’t really work for what we’re trying to do here. The Gothic Heroes Revenant has a goal, but Pyke’s mind is warped so he thinks his goal is never done. While the health regen is in character for Pyke’s Gift of the Drowned Ones the other features don’t really help us or retain the aquatic theme of Pyke.

With that in mind I had a few ideas: Water Genasi was my first idea to have a character infused with the strength of the sea but unfortunately it’s focused far too much on magic as well as Constitution, both of which Pyke doesn’t have. My next thought was for a Kalashtar to have the spirit of the drowned one infused into you, but they’re tied deeply into their dream lore and less-so into the two-minds aspect.

But then I realized there’s a race that gets infused with parts from the ocean, and even starts out human just like Pyke! This is going to sound mad but you’re going to want a Simic Hybrid from Guildmaster’s Guide to Ravnica. While in-lore they receive their gifts from the deep from science we can reflavor it as gifts from the ocean itself. Anyways Simic Hybrids see their Constitution increase by 2 and a stat of their choice increase by 1: choose Dexterity for a better chance fighting the beasts below before your line is cut. You also get Darkvision up to 60 feet and Animal Enhancements. Since Animal Enhancement is tied to level I’ll be addressing it in the build instead of in the race section because this is getting long enough as is. And for your language of choice I’d opt for Elvish, mainly because it’s unlikely you’ll meet any Vedalken this side of the sea.

ABILITY SCORES

15; DEXTERITY - Fighting the monsters of Bilgewater in their own territory takes a great degree of nimbleness to avoid getting your line cut.

14; CHARISMA - All sea captains fear the Bloodharbor Ripper, and Charisma is a requirement to multiclass.

13; INTELLIGENCE - You need to be smart to hunt any prey, be it a monstrous fish or... more dangerous game...

12; CONSTITUTION - While not in-character for Pyke to be tanky we sadly can’t convert our health into damage in this build.

10; WISDOM - Even if you have to do it to survive jumping into monster-infested waters is not the best lifestyle choice.

8; STRENGTH - While perhaps in-character to drop Wisdom instead we simply don’t need Strength in this build.

BACKGROUND

There are several backgrounds for a man lost at sea but Pirate is the best for one who came back with a vengeance. You get the Athletics and Perception skills to scout out your prey and wrestle with it in deep tide, as well as proficiency with Water Vehicles and Navigator’s Tools to command your own ship someday. But the main feature we’re here for is Bad Reputation so everyone knows that you’re the Bloodharbor Ripper. If you’re in a civilized settlement people will be afraid of being put on your list, and will let you get away with minor crimes. Murder isn’t a minor crime though, so pull someone into an alley if they do end up showing up on your list.

(Artwork by Riot Games)

THE BUILD

LEVEL 1 - ROGUE 1

Starting off as a Rogue for the extra proficiencies: take Intimidation, Stealth, Investigation, and Acrobatics as your skills of choice. You also get Expertise in two of those skills and you’re going to want Investigation to find your quarry and Stealth to sneak up on them.

But of course the main reason for the expertise in Stealth is so we can Sneak Attack. Once per turn you can do an extra d6 damage with an attack if an enemy is within 5 feet of your ADC or if you have Advantage on the attack by jumping out of water. You must be using a finesse weapon such as your Bone Skewer, which for now would likely just be a Short Sword since you haven’t received your gifts from the deep yet.

But your time in Bilgewater did allow you to learn Thieves’ Cant, a mix of words and phrases that are actually a code among criminals. They may be speaking about the latest big catch but you know what they’re really talking about is cutting your line.

But while you were under the undertow you did receive some Animal Enhancement. As a Simic Hybrid you can choose between three Enhancement options at level 1: Manta Glide lets you fall slowly and glide as you do so, Nimble Climber gives you a climbing speed equal to your walking speed, but Underwater Adaptation is the obvious choice for the drowned man. You gain a swimming speed equal to your walking speed and can breath underwater. You drowned once but it won’t happen again.

NOTE: If you’re playing outside of an aquatic campaign Nimble Climber would be your next best bet to remaining in character. You can also opt to just play a Variant Human instead of a Simic Hybrid if you don’t mind the lack of swimming speed however, since Simic Hybrid was mainly picked for the aquatic implications.

LEVEL 2 - ROGUE 2

Second level Rogues get Cunning Action, allowing you to use your quick wit to Dash, Disengage, or Hide as a bonus action. A Bilgewater Harpooner needs to be quick on their feat and always trust their crew. But when that trust is lost...

LEVEL 3 - WARLOCK 1

As you’re lost to The Drowned Ones you receive their blessing to become a Warlock. The Drowned Ones could be seen as The Undying in many senses, as they keep you from death to serve them.

WHY NOT LURKER IN THE DEEP? - Lurker in the deep focuses a lot more on using the strength of those below more directly. Pike meanwhile merely serves them as an assassin. Not only that but Lurker in the Deep has far more of a focus on tentacles than knives, which is more of Illaoi’s thing.

Undying Warlocks are considered Among the Dead. They get the Spare the Dying cantrip and have Advantage against diseases, and undead enemies may not attack you as they see you as one of their own. If an undead attacks you they have to make a Wisdom save against your Warlock spell DC or choose a new target, losing the attack if there is no one else to hit. If you succeed on the save or you hit them they’re immune to this effect for 24 hours, so perhaps don’t pick fights with Sion.

But along with Spare the Dying you also get access to more Spellcasting. You learn 2 cantrips from the Warlock spell list: Lighting Lure will let you throw your Bone Skewer out at an enemy within 15 feet. They must make a Strength saving throw or be pulled 10 feet towards you, taking a d8 of Lightning damage if they’re pulled into melee range. Eldritch Blast lets you throw your Bone Skewer further down range - make a ranged spell attack against a target you can see and on a hit they take a d10 force damage.

You also learn 2 first level spells from the Warlock list: False Life comes from The Undying patron list and lets you “regenerate” some health in the darkness. You gain a d4 + 4 temporary hitpoints when you cast this spell. That temp HP lasts for an hour or until it’s cut off of you.

Illusory Script meanwhile is the perfect spell to write your list. You can cast this spell while writing with lead-based ink worth at least 10 gold to imbue the words with powerful illusion magic for 10 days. Creatures you designate can read the message normally but any other creature won’t be able to read it, or will see a completely different message as long as it’s written in a language you know. If the spell is dispelled the message is dispelled, so no one will know that your list is truly unending... unless they have truesight, as they’ll be able to read it under the light of a pink ward.

LEVEL 4 - WARLOCK 2

2nd level Warlocks get Eldritch Invocations and the only one we really need is Grasp of Hadar. Every time you hit an enemy with your Eldritch Blast you can pull them 10 feet closer, so you can drag ‘em under and get your hands dirty. You other choice of invocation really doesn’t matter: Armor of Shadows can be a good boost to your AC but I personally like Mask of Many Faces to hide behind your facemask before finding your prey.

You also get another spell and Hex will let you mark your prey as a gift to the Drowned Ones. Whenever you hit a target that’s Hexed you do an extra d6 Necrotic damage, and the target has disadvantage on a type of ability check of your choosing. I’d personally choose Strength so that they can’t swim up when you pull them down to drown.

LEVEL 5 - ROGUE 3

3rd level Rogues get access to their Roguish Archetype and the Soul Knife subclass from the Psionics UA will make sure you always have a Bone Skewer. The Soul Knife gets a Psionic Enhancement: you can either have a 30 foot Telepathy, some extra health and Toughness equal to your Intelligence modifier plus your Rogue level, or 5 feet of extra Walking Speed. These all have their uses but while it’s perhaps not in-flavor Toughness is probably your most consistently useful enhancement.

WHY NOT REVIVED? - Revived focuses far more on the manipulation of death, and has a heavier skill focus than the Soul Knife. But put in simple terms Soul Knife has nearly all the abilities I’d want from Pyke without having to multiclass too much. Undying Warlock is already more than enough undeath for Pyke, and it also helps give him some Deep One patrons.

I should also mention I made this build before the latest Psionics Options Revisited UA. This build uses old features so discuss with your DM if you want to use the newer version.

But of course the main reason to go for the Soul Knife is your Psychic Blade. You can create a bone skewer in your hand, or two bone skewers if you’re feeling particularly vicious. You can’t hold anything in the hand you hold the blade but you can choose to dispel them without using an action.

The blade has the finesse and light properties so you can dual wield them and use your Dexterity as your attack modifier. It deals 1d6 psychic damage on a hit and you can throw it 30 feet normally or 60 feet with disadvantage. Regardless of if you throw your knife or stab with it you can proc your Sneak Attack, which now deals 2d6 damage. If you throw the blade as part of an attack it vanishes immediately after it hits or misses, and the blade(s) disappear the instant it leaves your hand or if you’re incapacitated.

You also get another Animal Enhancement as a Simic Hybrid so you may as well get more AC from the Carapace enhancement, which increases your AC by 1 as long as you’re not wearing Heavy Armor. The only other enhancement I’d maybe suggest is Nimble Climber, which you could’ve taken at level 1. But simply put more AC is more useful, and was limited to us for a reason. You can consider the extra AC as the salt soaked into your skin, and your lust for vengeance allowing you to shrug off attacks.

(Artwork by FMM CAT)

LEVEL 6 - ROGUE 4

4th level Rogues get an Ability Score Improvement: increase your Dexterity for deadlier strikes with your Bone Skewer.

LEVEL 7 - ROGUE 5

At 5th level Rogues get Uncanny Dodge, letting them reduce the damage of an attack by half as a reaction. Is a female bounty hunter shooting you? Dive in the ghostly waters and set yourself up for the kill, especially since your Sneak Attack is also increased to 3d6 at this level.

LEVEL 8 - ROGUE 6

6th level Rogues get Expertise in two more skills: I’d choose Intimidation and Athletics. A frightened target won’t be able to lie to you, and Athletics Expertise will compensate for your low Strength score.

LEVEL 9 - ROGUE 7

7th level Rogues get Evasion: if you’re targeted with a Dexterity-based skill shot you can dash out of the way and take no damage on a successful saving throw, or only half damage if you fail. Pyke is far more evasive than the average support, and can get up and personal to do 4d6 with Sneak Attack.

LEVEL 10 - ROGUE 8

8th level Rogues get another Ability Score Improvement and we’ll max out our Dexterity for even deadlier strikes with your Bone Skewer.

LEVEL 11 - ROGUE 9

At 9th level you get the Terrifying Blade Soul Knife feature. When you damage a creature with your Psychic Blade you can force them to make a Wisdom saving throw based on your Intelligence modifier. If they fail the creature is frightened of you until the start of your next turn, but on a successful save they become immune to this feature for 24 hours. Traitors run from their past, or face them head on. Regardless you’ll kill them all, especially with a 5d6 Sneak Attack.

LEVEL 12 - ROGUE 10

10th level Rogues get another Ability Score Improvement, and you may have noticed our uneven Intelligence score? The Observant Feat will let us see when traitors talk about their coin. You can increase one of your mental stats by 1 (we’ll improve Intelligence) and you can read a creature’s lips to understand what they’re saying as long as you share a language. Your passive Perception and Investigation also increase by 5, so you can be aware of any backstabbers trying to slip away.

LEVEL 13 - ROGUE 11

11th level Rogues get Reliable Talent, meaning that any roll below a 10 in a skill you’re proficient in is treated as a 10. This means that your lowest possible roll with the skills your proficient in is:

25 on Stealth

22 on Intimidation or Investigation

20 on Acrobatics

19 on Athletics

15 on Perception

Your Sneak Attack also increases to 6d6.

LEVEL 14 - ROGUE 12

12th level Rogues get another Ability Score Improvement and we’ll want more Intelligence to know how to truly terrify our foes.

LEVEL 15 - ROGUE 13

13th level Soul Knife Rogues can dive into spectral waters with Psychic Veil. As an action you become invisible for 10 minutes. This invisibility ends if you make an attack or if you force a creature to make a saving throw. You can become invisible a number of times equal to your Intelligence modifier and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest. Your Sneak Attack also increases to 7d6 now, and just so you know attacking out of Invisibility counts as a Sneak Attack.

(Pyke concept art by Riot Games)

LEVEL 16 - ROGUE 14

14th level Rogues borrow some techniques from the monk in the jungle and get a 10 foot radius Blindsense to chase your prey.

LEVEL 17 - ROGUE 15

15th level Rogues get Slippery Mind for proficiency in Wisdom saving throws. It’s not much but considering that you have a +0 to Wisdom it certainly helps. Your Sneak Attack also increases to 8d6 now.

LEVEL 18 - ROGUE 16

16th level Rogues get another Ability Score Improvement and more Intelligence will lead to more Ghostwater Dives and better Terrifying Blades.

LEVEL 19 - ROGUE 17

17th level Soul Knife Rogues can Rend Mind for a powerful Phantom Undertow. If you have a Psychic Blade manifested you can force a creature you can see within 30 feet of you to make an Intelligence saving throw. The target takes 12d6 psychic damage and is stunned until the start of your next turn on a failed save, but only takes half as much on a successful save and isn’t stunned. If you are hidden from the target it has disadvantage on the save, and one of your Psychic Blades vanishes after using this feature.

You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Intelligence modifier and regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest. Pro tip: attacks against Stunned enemies automatically have Advantage so you can use your 9d6 Sneak Attack damage.

LEVEL 20 - ROGUE 18

Our final level is the 18th level in Rogue for Elusive so that no attack can have Advantage against you. "Death keeps spitting me right back out."

FINAL BUILD

PROS

I smell panic - Soul Knife on its own is a very powerful subclass. Having an unlimited supply of weapons that are viable at both melee and range, the ability to turn invisible, and tons of crowd control with both fears and stuns makes for an incredible damage dealer who can provide a lot of utility to the party.

Big Beast - It wasn’t my intention when making this build but for a Rogue you’re remarkably tanky. You have an above-average constitution and Psionic Enhancement buffing your health to a respectable level, and the Carapace Animal Enhancement turns what would be a +5 to AC (from your Dexterity) to a +6. This means that you have 17 AC with Leather Armor, 18 with Studded, and a 19 AC with Armor of Shadows! As a Rogue, meaning you have Uncanny Dodge and Evasion to further increase your survivability! Not to mention you have two Warlock slots to cast False Life is the fight starts to go south.

Crews share the wealth - Expertise in Intimidation and Investigation are helpful, and having Spare the Dying means that your Cleric can focus on stronger cantrips instead. But having 10 minutes of invisibility is insanely helpful for infiltration.

CONS

Every kill makes the voices louder - The two levels in Warlock are done almost entirely for flavor, and while we do get some useful features it does still mean you lose out on Stroke of Luck. If you have a DM who likes roleplay you can take the Magic Initiate feat for Wizards to get Lightning Lure along with potentially Ray of Frost to simulate a long-ranged “pull” and be a Warlock without actually being a Warlock. But the honest truth is that Soul Knife on its own is strong enough and the ability to pull people closer to you is largely redundant.

My list just got longer - Soul Knife uses their Bonus Action a lot more than other Rogues, meaning that you can’t use your Cunning Action to hide as often. Yes you can make two knives at a time but this still means that you’ll have to spend another bonus action to “reload” after throwing two hooks. And if both your hands are full you can’t hold your list!

Swim or Sink - Unfortunately you don’t get to max out your Intelligence modifier, which is needed for a lot of your class features. However the far bigger issue is your saving throws: proficiency in Wisdom saves help but your Charisma and Constitution are stuck at +2 and your Strength is forever at a pitiful -1. While you can compensate for strength checks with Expertise in Athletics your saving throws are less than desirable.

But problems only come for those without a plan. Make your list, check it twice, find out who’s naughty or nice before gutting them. Make sure your crew’s got your back and that they aren’t going to cut your line too. You’ve died before, but it doesn’t hurt not to do it again.

(Artwork by Riot Games)

[sin-emberstalker]

Character Sheet: Sin

The Basics ––––

Name: Zalaearis “Sin” Emberstalker

Nickname(s): Sin / The Desert Viper 

Age: 235

Birthday: November 26th

Race: Sin’dorei (Blood Elf)

Gender: Male

Marital Status: Married to the incomparable Nivaeh Emberstalker

Physical Appearance ––––

Hair: Ivory

Eyes: Naturally emerald eyes accented with the distinct fel glow of his kind 

Height: 6′3″

Build: Athletic, muscular but without a lot of mass. 

Distinguishing Marks: A distinct serpentine like smirk. Elongated fingers often obfuscated by bandages, each digit adorned with razor like talons imbued with eldritch energy.

Tattoos: A mix of mundane but highly skilled tattoos along with eldritch runes and a permanent stain of shadow ichor upon his fingers and hands all the way to his elbows. He bears two full sleeves of tattoos, a chest and back piece, as well as shamanistic blessings upon his legs. 

Piercings: Ear lobes, and helix often wearing serpentine like piercings. 

Common Accessories: Unless at some formal event or at home Sin is never seen without his well-worn leather mask. He has worn this item so much that it has perfectly formed with his lower visage and is able to convey a bevy of expressions, no matter how snake like in appearance, through it. 

Personal Information––– –

Profession: Void Wanderer / Engineer (Master shipwright) / Dealer

Hobbies: Narcotics, Designing new gadgets, Art, Artifacts (Specifically with regards to the old gods) causing trouble. 

Languages: Thalassian, Orcish, Common, Goblin. 

Residence: Emberstalker Estate (location unknown)

Birthplace: Dalaran 

Religion: N/A

Patron Deity: N/A

Fears: Forever loosing the connections he has made with those close to him due to the madness that he seems to struggle with daily. 

Relationships ––– -

Spouse: Nivaeh Emberstalker 

Children: None living. 

Parents: Genrath Emberstalker (Alive and in exile) Auria Emberstalker (Deceased) 

Siblings: Mercilia Emberstalker (Twin)

Other Relatives: TBD

Pets: A shadow raven named Talah

Sex & Romance ––– -

Sexual Orientation: Pansexual

Preferred Emotional Role: submissive | dominant | switch | non-existent

Preferred Sexual Role: submissive | dominant | switch

Libido: High

Turn ons: “Thats a long and rather detailed list.”

Turn offs: "Another long list but since I only bed my wife and Jovi it doesn’t matter much.”

Love Language: "What the fuck does that mean?”

Relationship Tendencies: A formally devout poly individual Sin has been in a long term marriage for some time now. His only other lover his is constant companion Jovi. 

Traits ––– -

* Bold your character’s answer.

Extroverted / In Between / Introverted

Disorganized / In Between / Organized

Close Minded / In Between / Open Minded

Calm / In Between / Anxious

Disagreeable / In Between / Agreeable

Cautious / In Between / Reckless

Patient / In Between /  Impatient

Outspoken / In Between / Reserved

Leader / In Between / Follower

Empathetic / In Between / Apathetic

Optimistic / In Between / Pessimistic

Traditional / In Between / Modern

Hard-working / In Between / Lazy

Cultured / In Between / Uncultured

Loyal / In Between / Disloyal

Faithful / In Between / Unfaithful

Additional information ––– –

Smoking Habit: Heavy Use of bloodthistle

Drugs: As one of the Hordes foremost pharmacologists Sin has access to both chemical and mystical components for a variety of moods. 

Alcohol: Heavy

RP Hooks ––– –

Illicit Activities: Despite the level of power he has obtained and the vast wealth shared between himself and Nivaeh, Sin still finds it enjoyable to do the things that he got his start doing. Are you looking to get custom narcotics for a club event? Smuggle in a forbidden magic relic? Acquire property that for one reason or another is in the possession of someone else? Well look no further. These sorts of things can be jobs that someone hires Sin to do, but what I find more enjoyable is heists and capers with more than one involved.

Shadow Magic / Void Magic: While Sin may not be a mage or some sort of powerful warlock, he is however very adept at using magical fonts to imbue himself with certain abilities. It was only within the last ten years that he has been able to use this ability due to a long story line that has since been closed out. His focus has always been on shadow magic as it is the most useful for one in his line of work. He can train other individuals in these martial/magic practices if they have the diligence, bravery, and little regard for their own physical and sanity well being. He is also interested in acquiring any sort of relics associated with the void.

Master Shipwright/ Bike Enthusiast: Sin has always had a knack for all things engineering but his true loves are building airships and bikes. Airships are surely more impressive but these are expensive and labor intensive tasks. Lucky for Sin he has a close goblin associate who has access to a lot of skilled hands to aid in these projects. Motorcycles, on the other hand, are a far more personal project. Every one he builds, fabricates, and designs himself. He only takes on maybe 1-3 commissions for a bike per year. 

Devil’s Deal: This one is rather vague in nature but the end run of it is a business transaction on either end leaves one of the individuals in a semi-perpetual state of debt that they struggle to get out of. This is handy if the characters seem like they might not get along well ICly but we want to see that train wreck oocly. This way a compulsion exists for both characters where they have to interact which can lead to some funny encounters and sometimes even deep if unlikely friendships. 

[bytheangell]

Caught in the Fire

(Read on AO3) (Canon typical violence/injuries, 4.9k)

All Magnus told Alec earlier was that he might be a little late because he had a client that evening. It wasn't a lie, though he did decide to leave out the fact that the client was a representative from the Clave, and he definitely left out being warned that whatever they wanted him for was going to be very dangerous. Magnus justified this by 1) not really knowing any details about what was needed from him yet, and 2) not wanting to worry Alec when he hadn't even agreed to do it. Whatever ‘it’ was. 

So when he showed up and got the run-down of the exact situation at hand, he knew that it was right in his particular skill set. This wasn’t the first time Magnus Bane was called on to help the Shadowhunters out with a demon problem, and he was certain it wouldn’t be the last. He did feel a certain thrill with this one though, because the circumstances were unlike anything he encountered before; they were also something the Shadowhunters hadn’t encountered before, either, which was why they turned to him for help. 

Whatever this demon was, it seemed to possess unique abilities beyond that of the average demon. The Nephilim weapons were almost entirely ineffective against it which was when the idea of using magic to combat it came into play. No wonder they called him in. And after hearing about the previous injuries (and deaths, rest their souls) already suffered in trying to handle things in-house, well, Magnus wasn’t heartless;  he couldn't say no and risk someone getting seriously injured, or killed, when he could've been there to stop it. Especially not when he knew Alec would be on the list of people to send out there sooner or later if he didn’t. 

What he didn’t anticipate was Alec being sent on the mission with him. 

“...Magnus? What are you doing here? You didn’t tell me you were visiting, I was just getting ready to head out. ” Alec crossed over to him with a tense half-smile, his attention diverted and his mind already on the mission ahead of him. 

“I know. That’s why I’m here. It looks like we’re on this one together.” 

“No.” Alec’s reply was immediate, the color draining from his skin. Suddenly his previously diverted focus was entirely on Magnus. “Absolutely not. I’ll get another warlock.” 

Magnus winced. “Wow, talk like that and I’ll start to think you don’t have any faith in my abilities.” 

“It isn’t that and you know it. Magnus, this thing is dangerous, you don’t even know the half of it. I don’t want you out there. Just… let me handle this.” Alec insisted. 

“If you think there’s any chance of me letting you go out there with any warlock besides myself…” Magnus shook his head. “Not to sound pretentious, darling, but I’m the best you’ve got and you know it.” 

Alec glared at the ground. Magnus knew that him being right wouldn’t make Alec feel any more at ease over putting him in danger, but Magnus also knew that Alec would always put his duty to protect before his personal feelings. It was normally an annoyance, but in this case it made Alec’s decision that much easier. 

“Fine. Let’s go.” 

---

“So, what are we looking at here? The guy I spoke to from the Clave gave me a real by-the-book report rundown, but you could tell he hasn’t seen the thing up close.” Magnus asked as they made their way towards the abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the city that the Shadowhunters managed to trap the demon in. It was kept inside by wards, but they weren’t holding. 

“It’s like a giant octopus, almost. Which is why it’s nearly impossible to deal with - it just sits in the middle of the ground floor, lashing out in every direction with these ridiculously long tentacles.” 

“Of course it is,” Magnus said, rolling his eyes. “Why is it always some kind of horrifying eldritch abomination when you stumble into things, and never something like a small, manageable rabbit-like demon?” This was pretty par for the course from what he could tell after some of Alec’s stories from patrols and missions. Magnus had to wonder how many of them Alec downplayed in the past when they were brought up after a patrol… but he couldn’t worry about that too much just then. 

“It can reach any floor, any door we try to come through, without even trying. And it isn’t stupid, either - it thinks about as fast as it moves. Past two missions most of them could only try with long-range weapons. The few who got close enough to use a seraph blade-” the choked off end of that sentence told Magnus the time for jokes and eye-rolls was over. “But neither had any serious effect.” 

“If I can find a way to bind the tentacles, do you think that’d be enough to get us in there properly to deal with it?” Magnus suggested, watching as Alec’s eyes never stopped scanning their surroundings, constantly alert even though they were still a ways off from the warehouse. 

“Only if your magic has any effect on it. As far as we know you’ll be just as useless as my weapons.” 

“Promising. Alright then. We’ll try the magic first, and hope it works. And if it doesn’t…” Magnus didn’t really want to think about the ‘what if’ scenario of ending up entirely helpless, but he knew it was a possibility, and better to have all the options planned out before they got caught off-guard. 

“If it doesn’t, we get to safe ground and regroup. Maybe they have a cage in Idris we can portal it into, or… I don’t know. Something. The wards aren’t going to hold much longer, and we can’t risk it getting out, or some foolish mundane to try breaking in.” 

Magnus nodded. 

They walked along a little farther until Alec brought his hand up in a fist. Magnus stopped at the signal from Alec, following his gaze toward the windows along the first floor in front of them. He looked carefully, watching the shift of the light behind them in the shadows - there was certainly movement behind them, uneven and large. Just because it seemed contained to the windows along the first level didn't mean it couldn't reach higher, either. If the creature was as dangerous as Alec and his boss described Magnus wasn't about to downplay anything he saw at first glance. 

He didn't like the feeling he got in the pit of his stomach watching the shifting movement from within the building. Could it sense them? Or was it simply restless? 

"I could portal us to the roof, and we could try and catch it off-guard by getting the drop on it from above." Magnus suggested. If the body was confined to the first floor despite the reach of the tentacle, they might get lucky if they didn't approach it from a level it could easily see.

“It’s as good a plan as any. We haven’t tried that yet, and coming in front he ground obviously isn’t working,” Alec admitted reluctantly. 

"One rooftop portal, coming up." Magnus gave Alec what he hoped was a smile that projected a lot more confidence than he actually felt about getting any closer to the building than they already were, especially if all of the weapons Alec had on him were essentially useless. The portal opened in front of them, with Magnus easily keeping the image of the roof in front of them in his mind's eye while he held it open for Alec to step through first, followed by himself. 

It closed behind him on the ground as he stepped through to the rooftop - it was windy, nothing too terrible, but much worse up here than it was on the ground. Magnus looked around them, listening carefully to the sounds of movement from the building below their feet. Was the demon louder than before, like it was moving around more? 

Magnus could practically feel the demonic energy radiate from within the building - this was something stronger than anything he felt outside of Edom before. The signature was entirely unique, it was no wonder Alec's usual weapons weren't having an effect. 

"Be careful," Magnus started, a frown settling onto his face. "The read I'm getting off of this thing is strong. And that's with an entire building separating us."

He was careful to walk quietly, shifting his weight and rolling his feet as he walked to avoid any too-heavy steps. His hands were at his sides but they were tense - ready for him to call upon his magic at any moment. They moved as silently as possible down one flight, then another, hearing the thrashing of the demon below them grow louder with each one. 

Magnus followed behind until they were at the doorway to the next floor and he put a hand on Alec's shoulder to stop him. "Let me go first," he said, not as a matter of trying to keep Alec out of harm's way but as a matter of practicality. If the demon was close enough for them to interact with here, if it was visible, Magnus didn't want to worry about hitting Alec if he was standing in front of him. "I'll need a clear shot if it's there." 

He didn't go out blindly, however, opening the door slowly and peering through, listening closely to the much louder sounds of movement, thumps and thrashes that seemed mostly restless and not hostile. Not yet. 

Opening the door all the way it was easy to see the damage caused by the demon in question - parts of the floor had holes broken through them, walls collapsed, and significant structural damage. "This should do," Magnus whispered behind him, taking a cautious step forward into the hallway. As if on cue a black tentacle shot up through the floor several yards in front of them near the middle of the long hallway. Without wasting any time Magnus brought his hands up in front of him, ruby reds and deep crimsons swirling in his palms for just a second before releasing upon the thing snaking its way towards them. His magic hit, and the demon pulled the tentacle back immediately, the black form retreating back through the hole it came out of almost as quickly as it appeared. 

Magnus rushed forward then, looking down, trying to see the damage done. Was it seriously injured? Bleeding? Had he cut a part of it off? Or was it simply surprised, and otherwise unharmed? He couldn't tell for sure without seeing, and thankfully the hole the demon made was plenty big enough to get a good look down...

“Magnus!” 

Magnus heard his name and slowed - he hadn't noticed anything, but he was also so focused on trying to get a good look at the demon that he wasn't looking anywhere else. He felt Alec's hand on his arm and was tugged back as he noticed the slight shift in the floor beneath him. 

A few hurried, stumbling steps backwards got him just clear of the collapsed floor which left an even larger hole where the creature's tentacle burst through. Clearly the integrity of the floor was compromised, and now the  two of them stood on the edge of the newly widened hole. He could feel it start to shift again, this time already starting to move before Alec urged them back up to the roof. They started running back towards the door they came in before Magnus thought to open a portal - it would only save them about a minute, but every second counted in moments like this. 

The portal took them both past the remaining two floors to the roof, giving them some extra time to collect themselves. "I think the magic hurt it," Magnus said. "If it was just surprised it would've hit back again before we got out of there - I think I scared it." He couldn't pretend to know for sure, not when he never managed to get a good look at it afterward, but he had a feeling. 

"I could try enchanting your arrows, see if they'll have an effect then." Magnus suggested, aware of the angry sounds from the building which were growing loud enough to hear clearly from the roof now.

Alec, still catching his breath, handed over the arrows without a word. Magnus took the quiver and brought his hands over the arrows, first giving the entire lot of them a once-over with a deep crimson magic before holding each one individually, giving it a little extra of his power within the arrowheads specifically, infusing them with the strongest battle magic he could manage. He had no idea if this would work, or how much it would hold before they could be used, but it was better than nothing. 

Magnus worked quickly, spending no more than a few seconds on each arrow before handing them back to Alec. "It knows we're here now - we probably can't catch it by surprise, and if I'm going to kill it with my magic I need to be able to hit something vital - a head, or a heart. I think I might need to go back to the ground floor." 

The holes in the upper floors weren't enough for him to get any sort of clear, steady amount of magic flowing. He knew even as he suggested it that Alec was going to say no and argue. And hell, maybe Alec would have a better idea, but for now it was the best plan Magnus could think of to offer on his own.

As anticipated, Alec shook his head immediately. “Not a chance. You’re not going to the ground floor, not now that it’s pissed off and--” 

Magnus bit his lower lip at the immediate dismissal of the idea. He wasn't going to argue it though - at least not yet. If Alec could think of something else, something better, of course he would be game for it. But he knew it was coming from a place of fear - and he didn't want Alec to make this decision just because he didn't want Magnus to get hurt. Of course it was dangerous - this whole thing was dangerous. That's why he was called in in the first place. They both had a job to do here. 

He was about to argue that point when the door behind him burst open violently. Alec already had an arrow loose before Magnus spun around to see the cause: a tentacle shooting out through the space where the door used to be, flinging itself into the space around them on the roof.

Alec's arrow hit and the tentacle drew back, wounded, but it didn't withdraw as the sounds below them grew louder, the movements of the tentacle more violent. Magnus braced himself before shooting another burst of crimson red magic at the tentacle that lashed out towards them - and this time it did pull back, flinging itself wildly to the right in reaction to the hit. He saw smoke coming from where his attack landed - it was definitely hurt but not nearly enough, and it only bought them a second before the tentacle came back toward them with even more force than before. Before it'd been blindly reaching out... after their attacks it knew exactly where they were now.

It all happened so fast. One second they were both focused on the demon's tentacle, launching their attacks and looking for weak spots, and the next it was flinging itself back at them so quickly Magnus barely had time to get out of the way. He fell roughly to the ground which was better than Alec fared, the tentacle catching him square in the middle to push him backwards and away from where Magnus scrambled back to his feet. He watched as Alec tried, and failed, to get an arrow out in time to stop the demon's momentum. 

Magnus went after Alec without a second thought. He used his magic twice, a shot to hurt the demon and another immediately after to try and hold it, to freeze it in place or at least slow it down a little. Both grazed the demon and he heard the cries from within the building grow in shock, or pain, or both, but the tentacle didn’t stop pushing toward the ledge of the roof. 

A moment later the tentacle reached as far as it could and stopped, dropping Alec over the side of the building. 

"No." The word escaped Magnus’ lips in a ragged breath. Magnus ran as fast as he could to close the gap between where he was and the edge of the roof as Alec fell, disappearing from sight. Every step he took felt weighed down by the dread which filled him more and more with every millisecond that passed before reaching the ledge and looking over. Catching sight of Alec immediately Magnus reached out with his magic to try and catch him before he hit the ground, to slow his fall, but before Magnus could see if he made it in time he felt something wrap around his legs and pull them out from under him. 

"ALEXANDER!" Magnus called, not out of fear for his own safety, but wanting - no, needing - to know that he got there in time to stop the fall. But the answer he received was not the one he wanted - the noise he heard echo up to him was faint but there was no denying it was the sound of Alec hitting the ground, an almost imperceptible ‘thump’ that somehow rang deafeningly in Magnus' ears as he was pulled backward into the building by the demon.

Magnus twisted around the best he could as the demon pulled him backwards by his ankle, the tentacle wrapped around his legs several times. They were moving fast, his body bouncing roughly off of walls and stairs as the demon dragged him down one flight, then two, before pulling him through a hole in the floor. He shot at the tentacle several times, the grip around him loosening more and more with each hit of crimson magic he managed to land. It helped but it wasn't enough, and by the time a fourth shot hit and the demon let go he was already tumbling down through another hole in the floor, landing in a pile on the ground of the first floor. 

Magnus heard the crack of his leg hitting the floor before he felt the sharp pain shoot through it, biting on his lip hard enough to draw blood to avoid crying out in a clear display of weakness as he did his best to stand back up. 

Well, getting to the first floor was his plan, after all. It was just helped along a bit, no big deal. 

But he couldn't even keep himself calm with jokes, not while he was staring up at the demon as it loomed over him, tentacles thrashing wildly in the air above his head. He was torn between the obvious need to take down this demon, to fight it and kill it and finish the mission they set out to do, and his much more personal need to find the nearest exit and see if Alec was alright. He didn't know what he would do if he got outside and found--

Magnus  didn't get the luxury of thinking about what state he might find Alec in when another tentacle came crashing down at him. Magnus threw himself out of the way, bruising his shoulder as it hit the ground in the least graceful roll he ever executed. That was what he got for allowing himself to grow distracted in his current situation. With multiple tentacles flying towards him he couldn't afford to think about anything other than getting out of here alive. 

Except he also couldn't shake the mental image of Alec falling, of him lying on the ground, injured or unconscious or worse, though he wouldn't even think the word 'dead' despite knowing the chances of any mortal surviving that fall were slim. The rage that filled him at that thought married with the focus he knew he'd need to get out of here in any condition to help Alec which allowed him to respond to the constant barrage of tentacles with rapid releases of magic, hitting each one in turn as it came towards him while weaving in barriers to block when he couldn't dodge fast enough. 

It was no longer about the mission - not as the image of Alec falling replayed over and over in his mind, refusing to grant him a moment of reprieve. This was about revenge now, and Magnus felt a strong, primal instinct begin to take over as fury and self preservation overwhelmed any sense of restraint he had before. His eyes flashed a dangerous slit of golden yellow as he gave into his power entirely in a way he hadn't allowed himself to for centuries. 

Hearing the chilling voice of his father in the back of his head Magnus closed his eyes and focused inward, allowing himself to tap into a reserve of power he’d always been capable of but knew better than to risk unless absolutely necessary. He knew first hand how easily it was to give in to this sort of power and the darkness that came with it if left unchecked: in the past under Asmodeus’ guidance it was a raw power that could level an entire city at its height.

Right now the city was safe, for Magnus’ wrath held a singular focus. 

The demon was able to sense the new surge of power radiating from Magnus, sensed the danger it was now in, and suddenly brought every single one of its tentacles down in Magnus's direction at once with every ounce of force it could muster. It would probably be enough to kill him should he be hit by all of them at once, but Magnus didn't try to run. He didn't move, rooted to the spot, staring up at the exposed underside of the demon as it raised every limb simultaneously before bringing them all down over the warlock. 

It was a sight to behold, and almost a shame no one else was around to witness the display of power, but only almost because if they were they would’ve been obliterated on the spot. 

The reds and blues of his offensive and defensive magic seemed to blend into one and the magic Magnus released next came out of not just his hands but seemingly every inch of him, emitting a pulsing wave of deep purple magic up at the underside of the demon in something akin to a visible magical shockwave. It came from the very core of him and Magnus cried out as he used it, drawing out both the magic and the scream that accompanied it, hands thrust forward to channel the strongest waves of it towards what he hoped was the demon's heart, or core, or whatever fueled this thing. 

The demon howled in pain this time, pulling back every tentacle to wrap around itself in agony as Magnus' magic pierced its skin and started to burn it from the inside out. Magnus hadn't known what effect the magic might have when he released it and barely took notice now, only looking to see that he was winning. A dangerous line was crossed to get to this point but Magnus knew he couldn't turn back now, so he didn't. He couldn’t think, he wasn’t even entirely aware of the damage he caused as the remaining floors above collapsed around him - the power he tapped into was consuming and all he could do was give in to the need to release it. To destroy. To kill. He didn't stop the magic he drew from within the deepest parts of the power he kept locked away, continuing to yell (which was more of a shriek by this point) into the space in front of him as he attacked, pushing himself until his vision started to go dark at his peripheral and both his breath and his energy left him entirely. 

The demon was hurt. Badly. Mortally, perhaps, but not dead yet. Which was a shame, Magnus realized as he collapsed onto the ground, magic and energy completely spent. Magnus wondered if the demon had enough left it in to kill him now anyway, even after all of that, and as he saw it writhe against the pain of the last of his magic he knew it would only be a matter of time before he got his answer one way or the other.

It was impulsive and reckless and he was loathe to think what might have happened if he didn’t completely exhaust himself here and now… but if it worked it was worth it. And if it didn’t-

Magnus felt the anger and rage fade away with the last of his energy which left him feeling strangely empty in its sudden absence. There was movement to the side of him and for a moment he thought it was the demon again, perhaps one of the tentacles sprung back to life to deal a final blow now that he was too weak to defend himself properly. He closed his eyes for a second, bracing himself for an impact that never came, and he when opened them again a moment later it was to the sound of footsteps as Alec came into the room, limping but moving at as much of a run as he could, bow in hand. 

It was all Magnus could do to watch as Alec released several arrows in succession, each hitting the point where the demon’s tentacles connected to the base of its body, before lunging towards the center of it and plunging the tip of the arrow deep into the demon before landing on the ground next to it. The demon screamed, jolting forward as it’s cry fell silent and all movement ceased. Only then was everything still for the first time since they arrived, leaving an eerie silence to wash over what was such loud, imposing chaos only moments before.

Magnus wanted to move to where Alec was but he couldn't find the strength to push himself up onto his feet. He didn't have to, Alec was coming to him. It looked for a moment as if Alec might be alright but it was clear as the adrenaline wore off and he fell to his knees at the warlock's side that he was far from okay. Several recently activated runes were likely all that kept Alec upright but he was alive, and that was all that mattered. 

“Magnus.” The word left Alec’s lips in a breath of relief, reaching a hand out slowly towards Magnus. 

Meeting Alec’s gaze with unglamored yellow cats-eyes Magnus reached out to take Alec's hand in both of his, pulling it close. "Alexander," he said, the word coming out strained between labored breaths. His eyes looked Alec up and down, squeezing onto the hand he held as if to make sure Alec was really there. 

"I was afraid you--" but the sentence choked off as a lump in his throat. Magnus swallowed hard against it. "It pulled me down here before I could get to you." The excuse tumbled out of him, as if some part of him was afraid Alec thought he abandoned him out there to chase the demon inside against Alec's wishes. As if he could ever willingly abandon Alec, injured or otherwise. 

“I’m fine, thanks to you,” Alec sighed, taking a stronger hold of Magnus’ hands before moving from kneeling to sitting down next to him on the floor to rest his own weary, injured body. “Your magic… slowed me down… just in time.” Magnus cringed at how difficult it was for Alec to even string together a full sentence between panting breaths, heart aching at the strain of the wince Alec’s lips pull into, but reminded himself that it could be much, much worse. 

Magnus tried to reach out with his magic, to see if he could heal anything that was wrong with Alec, but there was barely a spark of blue before it faded to nothing at all.

“Magnus, don’t,” Alec protested weakly. “Just rest. I called-” Alec stopped, his words turning into a sputtering cough, wiping the bit of blood it turned up on the back of his hand onto his jeans. “-called backup.” Alec shifted then, laying down next to Magnus on the floor among the dirt and debris to rest himself while they waited. 

With the danger behind them and the mission a success (and most importantly with the knowledge that Alec was (or at least would be) alright) Magnus allowed himself to take Alec’s advice and close his eyes for a moment… which was how their backup would find them, Magnus curled protectively around Alec on the floor of the warehouse, both succumbed to unconsciousness. 

Magnus’ awareness flickered in and out as the Shadowhunters lifted himself and Alec to take them back to the Institute, catching pieces of conversation mixed with horror and awe over the destruction the demon caused. 

Magnus wondered, not without his own fear, how they would react when they realized the worst of it had been him. 

[officialworldofmistren]

Magic in Mistren (Part 3)

Last part of the magic system explanation.

The Universe

The Universe is an entity all its own.

It seems that it is indifferent to the goings-on within it, although powerful spell casters (ones only a few steps behind gods in terms of power) can borrow a measure of power from it temporarily.

Spells cast with the power of the universe are permanent, as the universe itself now considers the changes to be part of the natural order. Examples include changing the appearance or even species of an individual (even a someone blessed by a god could not discern their original form because the universe itself considers their new form to be the true form), creating a landmark such as a mountain or lake, or lengthening someone’s life span.

Granting Power

Powerful entities can give power to weaker ones. 

Clerics and Paladins are given magical powers by their gods as rewards for their service and faith.

Warlocks are given magic by beings lesser than gods, but still of considerable power, such as Demon Lords, Fey Nobility, Angelic Lords, and the like, in exchange for their service to said powerful entity.

Unlike normal spellcasters, who must study and master each spell before being able to use it, Clerics, Paladins, and Warlocks are given the knowledge of how to cast their spells directly from their patron. Although, they still have limits on how many spells they can cast per day. Their limits are no more than an average person.

Realms of the Immortals

The homes of the immortals are imbued with a magic of their own, and any of the natives of those realms have a distinct, indescribable feel to their magic that separates them from other beings.

Anyone able to detect and identify magic can easily tell if a spell was cast by a fey, demon, angel, Eldritch being, or celestial. (Dannick being the one type of immortal with no magical signature.)

And if a mortal spends too much time inside one of the realms of these immortals, then their souls and bodies are gradually changed by the realm itself. Their magic will now register as being that of one of the realm’s natives.

The types of altered mortals include:

Fey-Touched: When a mortal spends too much time in the Fey Realms, they become a “Fey-Touched.” Their magic registers as being fey in origin, they’re resistant to charms, and they have learned to read, write, speak, and understand Sylvan (the language of fey) perfectly without ever studying a single sentence.

In addition, they gain at least one physical change as well, such as sprouting butterfly or dragonfly wings (which are indeed capable of flight), pupils becoming slits, a pattern appearing on their skin, growing antlers, or their skin, hair, or eyes changing color. Generally, a change in appearance that makes them look fey-like.

Additional note: Elves were humans who spent many generations inside the Fey Realms. A Fey-Touched human, however, is not an elf. Fey-Touched means that an individual personally spent time inside the Fey Realms. Elves spent so many generations inside the Fey Realms that they were permanently changed into a new species. In addition, elves cannot be Fey-Touched. 

Neither can gnomes, whose entire species were trapped in the Fey Realms. (Thus, there are no gnomes without a touch of the fey realms in their blood.)

Half-fey, half-elves, and half-gnomes cannot be Fey-Touched.

Demon-Blessed: Spending time in the Demon Realm turns a mortal “Demon-Blessed.” Their magic registers as demonic, they’re resistant to either fire and heat or cold and ice (depending on what part of the realm they stayed in), they can cast either fire or ice spells more easily and with more power, and they learn at least one Demonic language.

They gain a physical feature that makes them appear more demonic. Such as sprouting bat-like wings (capable of flight), growing horns or a devil tail, gaining claws or fangs, their pupils turning either slitted or goat-like, or their skin, hair, or eyes changing color.

Half-demons cannot become Demon-Blessed.

Angel-Marked: Rarely does a mortal ever even see the Angelic Realms, let alone spend enough time there to become Angel-Marked. When it does occur, the mortal’s magic registers as angelic, they’re resistant to damage caused by light magic and cannot be blinded by magical light, and they learn to speak Enochian (language of the angels). 

They gain a new physical feature, which can only be one of the following: Bird wings (capable of flight), an increase in height (up to ten inches), or their skin, hair, or eyes changing to a metallic color (such as gold or bronze). Eyes may also change to the color of a gem. If the eyes change to the color of a gemstone, then upon closer inspection the eyes have a pattern like the faceting of a precious gem.

Half-angels cannot become Angel-Marked.

Eldritch-Cursed: It’s even more rare for a mortal to become Eldritch-Cursed than Angel-Marked, and it is truly a curse. The mortal’s magic register’s as Eldritch, they’re resistant to damage from psychic spells and attacks, and they have learned to understand the alien language of the horrors from the other dimension.

The mortal’s form changes in a disturbing way. Such as growing an extra body part that moves on its own (which may not even be of the same species as the rest of the body), gaining a pattern of scars that induce madness in anyone who stares for too long, or something equally (or exponentially more) horrible.

In addition, the mortal’s sanity is no longer intact. The depth of the insanity can range anywhere from severe alcoholism to being haunted by visions of the Far Realm.

Last note: Being Fey-Touched, Demon-Blessed, Angel-Marked, or Eldritch-Cursed can be “cured” with a very strong purification spell. 

A purification spell will not change an elf into a human, though.

[grailfinders]

Fate and Phantasms #32: Gilles de Rais

Today on Fate and Phantasms we’re building everyone’s favorite french henchman, Gilles de Rais! Not to be confused with Gilles de Rais, Gilles de Rais is a Warlock, meaning you’ll spend 80% of the game casting eldritch blast and 100% of the game creeping people out with your special eyes.

As always, there’s a spreadsheet to quickly go over the build here, and a level-by-level breakdown below the cut!

Race and Background

Much like the other Gilles, this Gilles is Human, giving +1 to each stat. Unlike the other Gilles, this one is a Noble, giving him proficiency in History and Persuasion. He’s got a taste for art and... things of a less than legal nature, so this works out well for him.

Stats

I use the standard array for consistency, feel free to roll if you want. Put your highest score into Intelligence; Gilles has a lot of book learning, even if that book is demonic. Second is Charisma; he isn’t “pretty”, but that fishbowl stare is pretty intimidating. After that is Dexterity, followed by Constitution; Gilles isn’t particularly strong in either of those, but the last two are definitely his dump stats. Wisdom and Strength are his lowest stats, in that order. He saw one bad thing happen and decided to leap down the slippery slope of villainy, so he’s a pushover. He’s also a huge nerd, making him easy to push over as well.

Class Levels

1. Gilles is a Warlock, and he gets proficiency in Deception, Religion, and Wisdom and Charisma saving throws. First level warlocks make a pact with their patron; you could pick the Great Old One if you want extra flavor points, but here we want maximum tentacles, and it doesn’t get much more tentacle-filled than The Fathomless pact. These warlocks get Pact Magic, a variant of spell casting with fewer spell slots that recover on short rests and use charisma, as well as two features. 

Tentacle of the Deep allows Gilles to summon a 10′ long tentacle within 60′ of himself as a bonus action. The tentacle sticks around for 1 minute or until he makes another. Upon its creation, and as a bonus action each turn afterwards, the tentacle can attack and move up to 30′, dealing 1d8 cold damage and slowing down the target. Gilles can use this feature a number of times equal to his proficiency bonus per long rest, and its damage increases to 2d8 at level 10.

Gift of the Sea allows Gilles to swim 40′ per movement, and breathe underwater. You can’t prove Gilles can’t do this, so it works out.

At this level, Gilles gains two cantrips and two first-level spells. Grab Eldritch Blast to be your caster balls, Infestation for a little bit of the plagues, Hex to throw some curses around, and Protection from Evil and Good. Right now it’s a bit situational, but you’ll be thankful for this in a couple levels.

2. Second level warlocks get Eldritch Invocations, (mostly) passive bonuses to give your little hellspawn a little more personality. There isn’t that much to pick from at this level, so grab Repelling Blast and Armor of Shadows to keep Gilles alive long enough to reach level 3. At this level, Gilles also gets Arms of Hadar for even more tentacle action.

3. At third level, warlocks unlock their pact, a little gift straight from their eldritch sugar daddy. Gilles partakes in the Pact of the Tome, giving us a stand-in for Prelati’s Spellbook. This pact currently gives Gilles an extra three cantrips, but we can enhance it with invocations later (or you can swap them around right now if you’re impatient). Gilles’ pact magic also increases to the second level and he grabs Crown of Madness as this level’s spell. His spellbook contains Thuamaturgy and Word of Radiance to mock the religious, and Vicious Mockery to mock everyone in general.

4. Use Gilles’ first ASI to round out his Wisdom and Charisma for better saves and stronger spells. Grab Mage Hand so Gilles doesn’t wear himself out lugging that book all over the place and Mind Spike to help him keep track of any holy maidens he stumbles upon.

5. At fifth level, Gilles’ magic increases to third level spells, and he gets another invocation. Grab Book of Ancient Secrets to turn Prelati’s Spellbook into a proper ritual book. When you take this invocation, two 1st level ritual spells from any class are inscribed into the book, and can be cast as warlock rituals. Gilles starts with Find Familiar and Detect Magic in his book, but he can add more rituals to it as he comes across them. These spells can be from any class, but you cast them as warlock rituals.

Gilles’ first 3rd level spell is Hunger of Hadar, dragging a 20′ radius mass of tentacles into our world.

6. Sixth level fathomless warlocks have a Oceanic Soul, giving Gilles cold resistance, and you can understand and communicate with any submerged creature while you are also submerged. It doesn’t specify water, but I guess that’s implied.

Gilles also has a Guardian Coil, letting him move his tentacles between his allies and attackers as a reaction, reducing the damage taken by the same amount the tentacle would deal. Gilles doesn’t normally have allies, but I can see giant tentacles making it hard to hit them if he did.

At this level Gilles can also cast Summon Lesser Demons. These demons aren’t that loyal, so make sure they’re closer to the enemy than anyone you care about.

7. Gilles gains a new invocation, Aspect of the Moon. Now he can rest without sleeping, and can’t be forced to sleep. I mean, look at those eyes. Those are the eyes of a man who hasn’t slept in weeks. Gilles also gains fourth level slots and a spell, Summon Greater Demon. This one is slightly more reliable than the last spell’s, but keep that Protection from Evil and Good on hand, just in case.

8. Use the next ASI on Charisma for more tentacles and spells. Gilles also gains Evard’s Black Tentacles for obvious thematic reasons.

9. A new level, a new Invocation. Gilles gets Devil’s Sight to supplement the fact that he doesn’t have darkvision. He’s got special eyes, they deserve the best. Gilles also gets fifth level slots and learns a new spell, Infernal Calling. It’s more demon summoning, but at least this one doesn’t require fresh blood.

10. Speaking of summoning, at tenth level fathomless warlocks can summon Grasping Tentacles; you can swap Evard’s Black Tentacles for something else, because now you get it for free, and it doesn’t count against your spells known! You can also cast it once a long rest for free, and all castings give you temporary hp equal to your warlock level. If that wasn’t enough, damage can’t break your concentration on this spell. (This used to be a giant maw, and while I can understand the change I’m a little disappointed that I’ll have to get more creative for the Kiara build now.)

He also gets a new cantrip, so grab Frostbite to continue the cold theme he’s got going.

11. Eleventh level warlocks gain a Mystic Arcanum. Instead of continuing to grow their spell slots, warlocks get one high level spell per day, no exceptions. The first mystic arcanum is for sixth level spells, and Gilles gets Soul Cage for the sake of torture. Soul cages are versatile, and you’re already killing people for the demon summonings, so you might as well use the whole body.

12. Max out Gilles’ Charisma with this next ASI. Gilles also gains a new Invocation. Grab Agonizing Blast to make his caster balls really sting.

13. Gilles gains a 7th level Mystic Arcanum, Power Word Pain. Again, this is mostly torture for the sake of torture.

14. Fourteenth level fathomless warlocks can enter a Fathomless Plunge, teleporting yourself and up to five other creatures up to a mile away in a body of water or within 30′ of its shore. You can use this once per short rest. A great way to get back to the sewers in a hurry.

15. Gilles gets an 8th level Mystic Arcanum, Maddening Darkness. It’s great for escapes and also just making even more tentacles. He also gets a new invocation, Eyes of the Rune Keeper, making his special eyes even more special by letting them read all writing.

16. This time, dump Gilles�� ASI into Intelligence for more of a method to his madness.

17. Gilles learns a 9th level Mystic Arcanum, Psychic Scream, blasting Gilles’ nonsense into the head of anyone who’ll listen.

18. Gilles’ final invocation is Witch Sight, making his eyes special enough to negate the effect of any shapeshifter or illusion hiding a creature near him.

19. Use Gilles’ last ASI to maximize his Intelligence. He also learns a final spell, Banishment. You probably shouldn’t have waited this long to grab this, but you have it now, and that’s what matters.

20. At his capstone level, Gilles becomes an Eldritch Master, allowing him to beg his patron for more spells. This can only be done successfully once per long rest, lest his patron think he’s needy.

Pros: Gilles is very effective at summoning, with two features and spells that can function at the same time. You can run around with a tentacle, a stationary mouth, and a demon all at once. You’re also well equipped to deal with extraplanar creatures, which is great since that’s your MO. If a deal goes south, you can always banish your demon, or if worst comes to worst, yeet yourself 100 miles away with your patron’s gift.

Cons: This build is very situational. Evil characters don’t mesh well with a lot of parties, a lot of fathomless warlock features need to be around water to be useful, and the book of ancient secrets is almost a waste of an invocation unless you’re going to encounter other rituals on your journey. Also, the higher levels of warlocks aren’t particularly powerful, but most games won’t reach level 20 anyway. Overall: bad for a player character, great for a DM’s villain NPC.

[grailfinders]

Servant #3: Artoria (Alter)

Our next Servant is the Burger King herself, Artoria Alter! Our goals for this build is, unsurprisingly, pretty similar to that of Artoria proper: a fancy laser sword, mana bursts, and as an addition, the ability to summon a skeleton army to help sack Fuyuki. Her spreadsheet is here, and details are below the cut.

Race and Background

Like before, your background is Knight, giving you three retainers and proficiency in History and Persuasion. This time, however, you’re a variant human, giving +1 to only your Constitution and Charisma in exchange for starting with the feat Great Weapon Master and Athletics proficiency.

Your skills are similar to your counterpart, taking a hit to dexterity to bump up several of your other stats. We’re using the standard array, but feel free to roll as long as you can multiclass. From high to low, we’re going Strength, Charisma, Constitution, Intelligence, Dexterity, Wisdom. The general reasoning for each is in Artoria’s explanation, but the hit to dexterity is a canonical part of Salter’s kit due to her heavier armor.

Class levels

1. Paladin 1. First level paladins get Divine Sense, letting you sense extraplanar entities that would threaten your rule, and Lay on Hands, because you can’t trust anyone else to help you in a moment of weakness.

2. Paladin 2. Second level paladins get a Fighting Style: you specifically get Great Weapon Fighting, so you can swing around Excalibur Morgan like it ain’t no thing. You also get Divine Smite, giving you the option to burn magic for extra damage, and your first taste of Spellcasting. Paladins have their whole list open to them, but can only prepare a number of them equal to their charisma mod + 1/2 their paladin level. I suggest focusing on the various smites available to you because who doesn’t love more sword on their sword, plus Command. You’re the king, and everyone should listen to you.

3. Paladin 3. Third level paladins get to pick their oath, but you’re going to start out as an Oathbreaker, because nothing’s more important to you than staying on the throne. You gain the channel divinity powers Control Undead, because not even death can end your rule, and Dreadful Aspect, because repression is for suckers who lose to their son. You also have Divine Health, making you immune to disease because you’re just that scary. 

At this level, you also pick up Hellish Rebuke and Inflict Wounds as oath spells, because if someone’s stupid enough to attack you they deserve to be set on fire.

4. Warlock 1. First level warlocks get a patron, yours is The Grail, a Great Old One. It gave you these shiny new powers, and in return you stuff your face with burgers. (That’s how this works, right?) You also receive an Awakened Mind, letting you telepathically speak with anything less than 30′ away from you; perfect for intimidating people who don’t speak your language. And people who do. Honestly if someone started talking in my head I’d just do what they asked me to.

You also receive your Pact Magic. Like before, the slots don’t mix with spellcasting, but you can use warlock spells in paladin slots and vice versa. For cantrips, take Booming Blade because it’s basically a free smite and Eldritch Blast because the alternative is a warlock not taking eldritch blast, a literally unthinkable event. For first level spells, take Cause Fear to stop the populace from rebelling and Arms of Hadar to make them regret trying in the first place.

5. Warlock 2. Second level warlocks get Eldritch Invocations, you’re getting Agonizing Blast to make your Eldritch Blast more worthy of coming out of your sword and another, easily replaceable one. You also gain the spell Hex to make your blade just that much sharper.

6. Warlock 3. Third level warlocks get their pact boon, and you enter the Pact of the Blade, giving you a magical weapon you can bring into and out of existence as a bonus action. At this point replace that other Invocation with Improved Pact Weapon, giving Excalibur +1 on attack and damage rolls and turning it into your spell focus. You also gain the spell Shadow Blade, which is a bit awkward at the moment, but the free advantage in darkness is well worth it.

7. Warlock 4. Fourth level warlocks get an Ability Score Improvement, split this one into Strength and Charisma to make your enemies’ lives more painful. You also gain the spell Mind Spike, letting you hunt down enemies of the crown (i.e., your enemies) with unfailing accuracy.

8. Warlock 5. Fifth level warlocks get another spell. Take Enemies Abound to help open your enemies’ eyes to how the world really works. You also get another Invocation, in your case Eldritch Armor, letting you don armor in an action instead of several minutes. With any luck you’ll be convincing your DM to let you doff armor that fast as well, or else the next two levels are pointless.

9. Barbarian 1. Switch into barbarian mode to pick up Unarmored Defense, turning your minimum AC to 10 + Dex + Con, and Rage, letting you Mana Burst to gain advantage on strength checks, resistance to all kinds of damage, and a damage bonus to your melee attacks, all at the cost of not being able to cast or concentrate on spells while doing so.

10. Barbarian 2. Gain Reckless Attack to gain advantage now in exchange for your enemies gaining advantage later, and Danger Sense to help bolster your weak dexterity.

11. Warlock 6. Back in the powerful class, you gain Entropic Ward, letting you impose disadvantage on an attacking creature and giving you advantage on your next attack as well. Now you can have all the power of the reckless attack with only some of the downside. You also get the spell Fear this level, letting you - and more importantly, your enemies - see their greatest fear. If this doesn’t just make another copy of you, you haven’t been beating them enough.

12. Warlock 7. Seventh level warlocks get another invocation. This time take Devil’s Sight. It’ll make sense in a few levels, I swear. Also pick up your last warlock spell, Shadow of Moil. Again, if someone’s foolish enough to hit you, they deserve whatever’s coming to them.

13. Paladin 4. Fourth level paladins get an Ability Score Improvement, which you’ll trade in for War Caster. All these spells are useless if you can’t cast them with your sword in hand.

14. Paladin 5. Fifth level paladins get an Extra Attack, as well as 2nd level Paladin spells. You receive Crown of Madness and Darkness as oath spells, and I recommend looking at Branding Smite and Zone of Truth. It’s important that your subjects are honest with you. You will make your subjects honest with you.

15. Paladin 6. Sixth level paladins get an Aura of Protection, granting a bonus on all saving throws you make equal to your charisma modifier, and making all attempts to dethrone you that much less likely to succeed.

16. Paladin 7. Seventh level paladins get an Aura of Hate, granting you and your undead allies (don’t worry they’re coming) a bonus to all melee damage rolls equal to your charisma modifier, and making all those who attempted to dethrone you that much more penitent. 

17. Paladin 8. Eighth level paladins get an Ability Score Improvement,  dump yours into Strength.

18. Paladin 9. Ninth level paladins gain access to their third level spells. You gain Animate Dead and Bestow Curse as oath spells, finally giving you troops that are actually loyal to you. You should also look into Blinding Smite and Dispell Magic, just in case any fool thinks some enchantments will be enough to even the playing field against you.

19. Paladin 10. Tenth level paladins get an Aura of Courage, rendering you immune to being frightened. You’re much more likely to be the one doing the frightening anyway.

20. Paladin 11. For your final level, you receive your Improved Divine Smite, adding 1d8 radiant damage to all of your melee attacks. 

This build is much more offensively focused than the original Artoria’s, trading dexterity and health for raw strength and combat spells. Like the original, you’re able to fight both in close and mid range, supplementing your physical prowess with magic when needed. Unlike her, you fight dirty, blinding and frightening opponents, and outnumbering them with skeletal minions.

Unfortunately, all those extra warlock levels were as healthy for you as those burgers you love so much, causing a slight dip in your health. Several of your spells are also concentration based, so you can’t use shadow blade and darkness or Shadow of Moil at the same time. Also like Artoria, you need to get your DM’s permission to make your mana burst shine.