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View Full Version : D&D 5e/Next The Deathsinger - Wizard School based on League of Legend's Karthus (PEACH)



Vogie
2018-09-24, 01:36 PM
Deathsinger
The living fear the eternity of undeath, but Lich-like deathsingers see only beauty and purity in its embrace, a perfect union of life and death. When Deathsingers emerge from the Shadow Isles, it is to bring the joy of death to mortals as an apostle of the unliving.

Thousand-Yard Stare
Starting at level 2, if you have 0 HP, any creature who targets you with an attack or a harmful spell must first make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, the creature must choose a new target or lose the attack or spell.

Dirge of Defilement
Starting at level 2, you gain the ability to use words of power to curse the living, bringing pain and death. As a bonus action, you can start a vocal performance that lasts 1 minute, weaving vocal components for any other spells you cast during the duration into the defiling song. The performance ends early if you are knocked unconscious, or if you dismiss the song at any time. During that time, you gain the following benefits:

any hostile creatures within 15 feet of you take necrotic damage equal to your proficiency modifier.
When you reduce a hostile creature that isn't undead or a construct to 0 hit points, you can recover an expended spell slot. This spell slot is of a level equal to a quarter of your wizard level (rounded up).
The range of this feature increases to 30 feet at level 10, and 45 feet at level 18.

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

Death Defied
At level 6, if you are reduced to 0 hit points, your spirit stands above your body and can continue to cast wizard spells and use your Deathsinger features for an additional round. If you use this feature while under the effects of Dirge of Defilement, the feature persists through this round. While in your spirit form, you ignore verbal, somatic or material components, and spells you cast in that form do not consume spell slots. The following round, you begin making death saving throws as normal.

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

Lay Waste
Starting at level 10, whenever you deal damage with a cantrip or spell that requires a saving throw, add your Intelligence modifier to the damage it deals.

Requiem
Starting at 14th level, as an action, you can begin channeling a powerful song, as though concentrating. The following turn, when you cast a cantrip with a single target that deals damage, it instead targets all hostile creatures within 100 feet of you. The spell automatically hits all targets if it requires a ranged spell attack, and all targets fail any saving throws required. Once you successfully use this feature, you can't do it again until after you finish a long rest.

If you use this feature while using your Death Defied feature, the channeling of your Requiem extends the duration of your Death Defied feature an additional round.


New Spell:

Wall of Pain
3rd-level evocation
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 100 feet
Components: V, S
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute

Create a wall of pain on a solid surface within range. You can make the wall up to 60 feet long, 20 feet high, and 5 feet thick. The wall is ethereally translucent and is considered difficult terrain.
When the wall appears, each creature within its area, or that starts a turn in that area, has disadvantage on all saving throws, and has their movement speed reduced by 10 feet.

At Higher Levels: When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 5th level or higher, creatures that enter the area or start their turn in the area, loses resistance to magic damage. Those creatures with immunity to magic damage that enter the area or start their turn in the area, have their immunity reduced to resistance while within the wall.

kosh49
2018-09-24, 02:21 PM
This looks pretty good to me in general, but there are a few things that are not clear to me.

For the Defile ability, do you need to do anything to maintain it for the minute? Mechanically I think it is fine if it starts with a bonus action, takes no effort to maintain, and ends in a minute or if you are knocked unconscious. But the phrase "start a vocal performance" seems like you need to do something to maintain it and may not be able to use verbal components to cast spells during the minute. I think this is just a case of needing to refluff the ability a bit, but I am not completely sure.

For the Requiem feature, I assume any saving throws the spell would normally grant still apply, correct? If the spell uses an attack roll (not sure any suitable spells do) would you still need to roll the attack roll?

This looks like it could be a lot of fun. Does the character have to be undead to follow this wizard school? Flavorwise that feels appropriate, but I am not sure that it is necessary.

Vogie
2018-09-24, 03:05 PM
For the Defile ability, do you need to do anything to maintain it for the minute? Mechanically I think it is fine if it starts with a bonus action, takes no effort to maintain, and ends in a minute or if you are knocked unconscious. But the phrase "start a vocal performance" seems like you need to do something to maintain it and may not be able to use verbal components to cast spells during the minute. I think this is just a case of needing to refluff the ability a bit, but I am not completely sure.

That's a good point... I updated the formatting to better follow the bladesinger format, and noted that verbal components of other spells are part of it. Thanks!


For the Requiem feature, I assume any saving throws the spell would normally grant still apply, correct? If the spell uses an attack roll (not sure any suitable spells do) would you still need to roll the attack roll?

No - it's going to automatically hit. Basically, I'm trying to make an "overchannel" but with maximizing targets rather than damage. It's like a supersized Twin spell... like an Acid Arrow or Sorching Ray that automatically hits everyone in range. . I'm not happy with the wording, but that's the idea. I'll have to go back to the books to figure out if it's too narrow...


This looks like it could be a lot of fun. Does the character have to be undead to follow this wizard school? Flavorwise that feels appropriate, but I am not sure that it is necessary.

Not explicitly, no - Karthus, the original character, is a spirit, IIRC, but I think the idea of the in-the-fray wizard is particularly fun for both living and undead characters.

kosh49
2018-09-24, 07:59 PM
The wording on Dirge of Defilement is clearer now, and I like it.

Requiem is a cool concept, but it feels broken. You hit every monster in a huge area (it is equivalent to the area of 25 fireballs) with no chance of friendly fire and no way for the monsters to reduce the damage they take. Even with a cantrip dealing 3d8 to 3d12 (depending on your best cantrip) that is a very impressive ability (and cantrip damage increases to 4 dice just 3 levels after you get this ability). Going to 1st to 5th level spells just gets insane, and that is without dealing with spells that heal half the damage inflicted (like Enervation and Vampric Touch), or those that have lingering effects either with subsequent saves (like Immolation) or without subsequent saves (like Witch Bolt or Enervation).

I would recommend going to a damaging cantrip (even though it is less cool) and adding language to clarify that the caster can not miss spell attack rolls for the cantrip and the targets automatically fail any saving throws the cantrip might give. If you do keep it as a 1st to 5th level spell I would reduce the radius and think very carefully about how to deal with any healing and lingering effects resulting from the spell (still add the language to clarify that the caster can not miss spell attack rolls for the spell and the targets automatically fail any saving throws the spell might give).

Vogie
2018-09-25, 07:33 AM
I would recommend going to a damaging cantrip (even though it is less cool) and adding language to clarify that the caster can not miss spell attack rolls for the cantrip and the targets automatically fail any saving throws the cantrip might give. If you do keep it as a 1st to 5th level spell I would reduce the radius and think very carefully about how to deal with any healing and lingering effects resulting from the spell (still add the language to clarify that the caster can not miss spell attack rolls for the spell and the targets automatically fail any saving throws the spell might give).

Done. You're right, hitting everything with a 3d10 (firebolt) or 3d12 (toll the dead), then bumping up the damage at 17 will be great.

I also included a rider that if the concentration is broken, you don't automatically lose the feature.

kosh49
2018-09-25, 05:07 PM
Very nice. I like the catch that if you lose concentration before you cast the cantrip you do not lose the 1 use of Requium for the day.

One more question occurred to me. What (if anything) can disrupt your concentration when using the Death Defied ability? It probably will not come up often before getting Requium, but if the character uses Requium while using Death Defied it will matter if it can be disrupted (if so it also matters if the character can try again for Requium on the next round).

Vogie
2018-09-26, 07:13 AM
Very nice. I like the catch that if you lose concentration before you cast the cantrip you do not lose the 1 use of Requium for the day.

One more question occurred to me. What (if anything) can disrupt your concentration when using the Death Defied ability? It probably will not come up often before getting Requium, but if the character uses Requium while using Death Defied it will matter if it can be disrupted (if so it also matters if the character can try again for Requium on the next round).

While Defying Death, you can't be interrupted or even targeted... You're still on the material plane (so you don't have to worry about ethereal shenanigans), your spirit is just standing over your body, continuing to fight a little bit longer.

kosh49
2018-09-26, 06:14 PM
That makes sense. I think it's ready for someone to try it out.