An encounter with a being that emerged from the
Ethereal Plane—perhaps a ghost, night hag, or phase
spider—changed you forever. You may have been drawn
into the Border Ethereal itself or touched an object or
creature imbued with its energies. Whatever the cause,
you can now enhance your martial prowess with a
limited ability to cross such planar borders yourself.
Against beings that can hide in the Ethereal Plane, your
ability to step over and battle such creatures (if only
briefly) can be the difference between victory and
defeat.
Ghostly Step
Once you choose this archetype at 3rd level, when you
move during your turn, you can move through the
border regions of the Ethereal Plane for all or some of
that movement, in the area where it overlaps with your
current plane. You return from the Border Ethereal
whenever you choose to do so, or when your turn ends,
but once you return, you can’t use this feature to move
through the Border Ethereal again until your next turn.
Though other ethereal creatures can effectively fly,
your mind is still attuned to the rules of your home
plane, so you move along the ground or another solid or
liquid surface in the plane you originated from.
Otherwise, this movement works as if you were under
the effects of an etherealness spell, allowing you to
move through objects you perceive on the plane you
originated from, though you cannot pass through the
the surface you are effectively standing on.
Once this effect ends, you immediately return to the
plane you originated from in the spot you currently
occupy. When this happens, if you occupy the same
spot as a solid object or creature, you are immediately
shunted to the nearest unoccupied space that you can
occupy and take force damage equal to twice the
number of feet you are moved.
You cannot use this feature while you are on the
Ethereal Plane or a plane that doesn’t border it, such as
one of the Outer Planes.
You can use this feature to move through the Border
Ethereal a number of times equal to your proficiency
bonus, regaining expended uses when you finish a short
or long rest.
Ethereal Strike
At 3rd level, you can use a bonus action to harvest
extraplanar energies. When you do so, until the
beginning of your next turn, you deal an extra 1d4 force
damage whenever you hit with an attack roll. The die
you roll for this extra force damage changes when you
reach certain levels in this class, becoming a d6 at 5th
level, a d8 at 10th level, a d10 at 16th level, and a d12 at
20th level.
You can use your bonus action to activate this feature a
number of times equal to your Intelligence modifier (a
minimum of once), regaining expended uses when you
finish a short or long rest, or when you move from one
plane to another (such as when you use your Ghostly
Step).
Student Of The Planes
By 7th level, you have studied planar lore to increase
your understanding of the Ethereal Plane. You gain
proficiency in the Arcana and Religion skills, and you can
see into the Ethereal Plane out to a range of 60 feet.
Everything there looks gray and insubstantial. In
addition, when you use your Ethereal Step feature to
move through the Ethereal Plane, you no longer need to
move along a surface; you can move any direction you
wish. If you move up or down, every foot of movement
costs an extra foot. If you are not on a surface that can
support your weight when you leave the Border
Ethereal, you fall unless you have another means of
staying aloft.
Living Ether
Starting at 10th level, your body is infused with Ethereal
Plane energies you can draw on at all times to achieve
uncanny effects. You gain a flying speed of 10 feet, and
you can hover. In addition, when a creature hits you
with an attack roll, you can use your reaction to force
that creature to reroll its attack roll. It must use the
second roll. When an attack misses as a result of this
feature, it passes right through you, due to your having
become incorporeal for a split second.
In addition, you can use the bonus action to deal the
extra force damage from your Ethereal Strike feature
whenever you wish, instead of when you enter or leave
the Border Ethereal.
Border Walker
Starting at 15th level, when you roll initiative and have
no uses of your Ghostly Step feature remaining, you
regain one use of that feature.
In addition, you can cast the etherealness spell once
without using a spell slot or any components, regaining
the ability to do so whenever you finish a long rest.
Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for this spell, and
you cast it as if using an 8th level spell slot.
Shunt Damage
At 18th level, your mastery of planar lore allows you to
reduce damage you take, shunting part of the force
behind that damage into the Border Ethereal. When you
take damage, you can use your reaction to reduce that
damage by an amount equal to 1d10 + your Intelligence
modifier (minimum 1).
You can use this feature a number of times equal to
your Intelligence modifier (a minimum of once). You
regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.
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