Abyss Walker
Very few people know of the existence of Abyss Walkers. Their order is ancient and is the subject matter of many books on history and mythology. Most believe that they are simply a legend. It is normal, however, for a Walker to reveal themselves should their services be in dire need. Most people keep their distance from revealed Walkers purely out of superstition. Because of their connection to the Darkness and their ability to manipulate shadows to a certain degree, most people would rather them not be around, despite their necessity.
At 3rd level when you begin your training in the order, you are given a book called the Hunter's Bestiary, a book given to all Abyss Walkers at the beginning of their training. After a battle, you can inspect a creature and take notes in your Hunter's Bestiary of it's different attributes. Make a Wisdom (Survival) check with a DC equal to 8 + half the challenge level of the creature. On a success, you learn the name of the creature and any 3 attributes about it. On a failure, you learn the name of the creature. If you encounter the same creature again and attempt to gather new information about it, you make the check with advantage. Doing this takes a short rest and costs 10 GP worth of ink and 1 page in your Bestiary. Should your Hunter's Bestiary be lost or destroyed, you can replace it over the course of a day with another book and copy down the lost information of up to 5 creatures at the cost of 10 GP worth of ink per page.
At 3rd level, you learn a ritual that creates a magical bond between yourself and one weapon. You perform the ritual over the course of 1 hour, which can be done during a short rest. The weapon must be within your reach throughout the ritual, at the conclusion of which you touch the weapon and forge the bond. Once you have bonded a weapon to yourself, you can’t be disarmed of that weapon unless you are incapacitated. If it is on the same plane of existence, you can summon that weapon as a bonus action on your turn, causing it to teleport instantly to your hand. You can have up to two bonded weapons.
Starting at 7th level, your body now better retains the effects of the intense physical training you have undergone throughout your time within the Order. You can add half your proficiency bonus (round up) to any Strength, Dexterity or Wisdom check you make that doesn’t already use your proficiency bonus. Your training also gives you improved mental fortitude as your sanity has been tested on multiple occasions. You gain proficiency in Wisdom saving throws and advantage on saving throws against charm and fear effects. You also have the ability to decrease the amount of Psychic damage an attack deals to you by a number equal to half your Soldier level rounded down once per round. Also, creatures are unable to telepathically communicate with you unless you allow them to and magic cannot be used to read your thoughts or discern your alignment. You know automatically when someone is trying to communicate telepathically with you or when someone is trying to use magic to read your thoughts or discern your alignment, though you do not know who in the same way.
At 7th level, the knowledge you have on certain creatures and how to track them grows as time passes and your senses are sharpened. You learn their languages and their ways in order to better understand them. You learn the languages Abyssal and Sylvan if you don't already know them. You also gain advantage on all Wisdom (Survival) and Intelligence (Investigation) checks when tracking any Fey, Fiends, and Aberrations, as well as advantage on all Intelligence (Arcana) and Intelligence (Nature) checks when attempting to gather information on these creatures.
At 10th level, you can choose a second option from the Fighting Style class feature. Archery You gain a +2 bonus to attack rolls you make with ranged weapons. Defense While you are wearing armor, you gain a +1 bonus to AC. Dueling When you are wielding a melee weapon in one hand and no other weapons, you gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls with that weapon. Great Weapon Fighting When you roll a 1 or 2 on a damage die for an attack you make with a melee weapon that you are wielding with two hands, you can reroll the die and must use the new roll, even if the new roll is a 1 or a 2. The weapon must have the two-handed or versatile property for you to gain this benefit. Protection When a creature you can see attacks a target other than you that is within 5 feet of you, you can use your reaction to impose disadvantage on the attack roll. You must be wielding a shield. Two-Weapon Fighting When you engage in two-weapon fighting, you can add your ability modifier to the damage of the second attack.
Starting at 15th level, your understanding of the anatomy of your prey grows to new heights. Your enemies now fall faster before you. Your weapon attacks score a critical hit on a roll of 18–20. All attacks you make against Fey, Fiends, and Aberrations are also at advantage.
At 18th level, you become a true Abyss Walker, take up the mantle of the Order, and become an unstoppable force of death on the battlefield. As a bonus action, you can take up the stance that you learned from your masters and those who came before you in order to make your enemies fear you and control the battlefield. Once you take up the stance, you can force up to 6 enemies within 60 feet that can see you to make a Charisma saving throw with a DC equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Strength or Dexterity modifier or become frightened for one minute. Using the same bonus action, you can pull the shadows around you, sacrificing two uses of Touched By Darkness to double your movement speed, impose disadvantage on all attack rolls against you, gain advantage on all attack rolls and saving throws, and any attack you make that hits a creature that is frightened by you is an automatic critical hit. You can do this once per long rest.
Hunter's Bestiary
At 3rd level when you begin your training in the order, you are given a book called the Hunter's Bestiary, a book given to all Abyss Walkers at the beginning of their training. After a battle, you can inspect a creature and take notes in your Hunter's Bestiary of it's different attributes. Make a Wisdom (Survival) check with a DC equal to 8 + half the challenge level of the creature. On a success, you learn the name of the creature and any 3 attributes about it. On a failure, you learn the name of the creature. If you encounter the same creature again and attempt to gather new information about it, you make the check with advantage. Doing this takes a short rest and costs 10 GP worth of ink and 1 page in your Bestiary. Should your Hunter's Bestiary be lost or destroyed, you can replace it over the course of a day with another book and copy down the lost information of up to 5 creatures at the cost of 10 GP worth of ink per page.
Weapon Bond
At 3rd level, you learn a ritual that creates a magical bond between yourself and one weapon. You perform the ritual over the course of 1 hour, which can be done during a short rest. The weapon must be within your reach throughout the ritual, at the conclusion of which you touch the weapon and forge the bond. Once you have bonded a weapon to yourself, you can’t be disarmed of that weapon unless you are incapacitated. If it is on the same plane of existence, you can summon that weapon as a bonus action on your turn, causing it to teleport instantly to your hand. You can have up to two bonded weapons.
Heightened Fortitude
Starting at 7th level, your body now better retains the effects of the intense physical training you have undergone throughout your time within the Order. You can add half your proficiency bonus (round up) to any Strength, Dexterity or Wisdom check you make that doesn’t already use your proficiency bonus. Your training also gives you improved mental fortitude as your sanity has been tested on multiple occasions. You gain proficiency in Wisdom saving throws and advantage on saving throws against charm and fear effects. You also have the ability to decrease the amount of Psychic damage an attack deals to you by a number equal to half your Soldier level rounded down once per round. Also, creatures are unable to telepathically communicate with you unless you allow them to and magic cannot be used to read your thoughts or discern your alignment. You know automatically when someone is trying to communicate telepathically with you or when someone is trying to use magic to read your thoughts or discern your alignment, though you do not know who in the same way.
Grim Understanding
At 7th level, the knowledge you have on certain creatures and how to track them grows as time passes and your senses are sharpened. You learn their languages and their ways in order to better understand them. You learn the languages Abyssal and Sylvan if you don't already know them. You also gain advantage on all Wisdom (Survival) and Intelligence (Investigation) checks when tracking any Fey, Fiends, and Aberrations, as well as advantage on all Intelligence (Arcana) and Intelligence (Nature) checks when attempting to gather information on these creatures.
Additional Fighting Style
At 10th level, you can choose a second option from the Fighting Style class feature. Archery You gain a +2 bonus to attack rolls you make with ranged weapons. Defense While you are wearing armor, you gain a +1 bonus to AC. Dueling When you are wielding a melee weapon in one hand and no other weapons, you gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls with that weapon. Great Weapon Fighting When you roll a 1 or 2 on a damage die for an attack you make with a melee weapon that you are wielding with two hands, you can reroll the die and must use the new roll, even if the new roll is a 1 or a 2. The weapon must have the two-handed or versatile property for you to gain this benefit. Protection When a creature you can see attacks a target other than you that is within 5 feet of you, you can use your reaction to impose disadvantage on the attack roll. You must be wielding a shield. Two-Weapon Fighting When you engage in two-weapon fighting, you can add your ability modifier to the damage of the second attack.
Touched By Darkness
At 10th level, the darkness of the Abyss seems to seep into your skin and you learn how to weave it in your favor and use it as a weapon towards those who strike you. While you are in dim light or darkness, you gain Resistance to Necrotic damage, and whenever a creature deals Necrotic damage to you in dim light or darkness, they are forced to take twice the Necrotic damage that you take. This damage ignores resistance and immunity and cannot be reduced in any way. You also gain 30 feet of Darkvision. All creatures have disadvantage on attacks on you in dim light or darkness if they rely on Darkvision to see you. You also gain the ability to pull the shadows around you as a bonus action while standing in dim light or Darkness, making you invisible for up to ten minutes. This invisibility stops whenever you attack a creature or force a creature to make a saving throw, though you can still take action. This can be done a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier (minimum of 1) per short or long rest.Honed Blades
Starting at 15th level, your understanding of the anatomy of your prey grows to new heights. Your enemies now fall faster before you. Your weapon attacks score a critical hit on a roll of 18–20. All attacks you make against Fey, Fiends, and Aberrations are also at advantage.
Mantle of Darkness
At 18th level, you become a true Abyss Walker, take up the mantle of the Order, and become an unstoppable force of death on the battlefield. As a bonus action, you can take up the stance that you learned from your masters and those who came before you in order to make your enemies fear you and control the battlefield. Once you take up the stance, you can force up to 6 enemies within 60 feet that can see you to make a Charisma saving throw with a DC equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Strength or Dexterity modifier or become frightened for one minute. Using the same bonus action, you can pull the shadows around you, sacrificing two uses of Touched By Darkness to double your movement speed, impose disadvantage on all attack rolls against you, gain advantage on all attack rolls and saving throws, and any attack you make that hits a creature that is frightened by you is an automatic critical hit. You can do this once per long rest.
Career
Qualifications
The ability to walk the Abyss and come back
Career Progression
None
Payment & Reimbursement
None
Perception
Purpose
To walk the shadows and defeat what lurks in it
Social Status
Extremely low
Alternative Names
Shadowalkers
Demand
Very low
Legality
Illegal in most places
Other Associated professions
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