The Medium: Domain of Witchcraft

A Cleric Witch Subclass for Hexbound

Preserving an oral tradition requires dedicated members devoting their lives to the safekeeping of that knowledge. Clerics of Witchcraft are traditionally the custodians of the oral tradition of witchcraft. The biggest threat to the survival of any oral tradition is the death of those that practice it, which is why these clerics’ ability to invite spirits into their minds and learn their knowledge is vital to the survival of the practice. They are experts in the art of possession: both self-possession to learn the secrets of those that have passed, and also possession of others to weaken their foes from the inside. The clerics of this domain who choose to serve the divine generally serve the gods that rule over magic, knowledge, and death; some even act as psychopomps for them thanks to their ability to act as a bridge between the material and the ethereal planes.

Covens of Witchcraft clerics are often tasked to live within the covens of other witches in order to preserve the specific teachings of that coven, but this is not what all these cleric witches do. Some Witchcraft clerics do not dedicate their lives to keeping the tradition of witchcraft alive, but rather decide to use their talents for possession to serve as a bridge between planes, giving others the opportunity to speak to those that have left the world of the living. Many of these clerics go by the term medium, as more than any witch they are the bridge that parts the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead, letting the dead communicate to the living through themselves. Whether they do so out of the kindness of their hearts, the prospective monetary gain, or to right the wrongs of those that have been killed unjustly depends on the witch.

Witchmark

Mediums usually have their witchmarks on their eyes, symbolizing their ability to contact the realm of the dead. These witchmarks often take the shape of eyes, although some mediums have pupils in the shape of stars as a witchmark. Other Domain of Witchcraft clerics sport witchmarks on their hands or tongues, once again to symbolize the connection between the two realms. When using their gift and inviting spirits into their bodies or the bodies of others, the witchmark’s color and glow is known to reflect the emotional state of the spirit.

1st Level: Witchcraft

Domain Spells: Starting at 1st level, you learn an additional spell when you reach certain levels in this class, as shown in the Witchcraft Domain Spells table. The spell counts as a cleric spell for you, but it doesn’t count against the number of cleric spells you know.

Level	Spell
1st	bane, command
3rd	hold person, ray of enfeeblement
5th	animate dead, speak with dead
7th	compulsion, phantasmal killer
9th	dominate person, raise dead

1st Level: Medium Possession

Starting when you choose this domain at 1st level, you can allow spirits to come into your mind, acting as the bridge between the planes of the living and the dead. By spending 10 minutes meditating, you can reach into the ethereal plane and summon a creature that has died. You must know the true name of the creature you summon. When you do so, your intentions and your character become clear to the spirit of that creature, at which point it may choose to come into your mind and speak through you at the GM’s discretion.

The spirit can speak the languages they knew in life through you, but they can’t move your body unless you allow them. If you do, their movements are slow and laborious. When speaking while possessed by a spirit, your voice changes to the voice of the spirit when they were alive. The connection lasts for 5 minutes, after which you must immediately take a short rest or gain 1 level of exhaustion. Once you’ve used this feature you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

1st Level: Whispered Secrets

Starting at 1st level, you can ask spirits to infiltrate the body of a creature to know their weaknesses. As a bonus action, you send spirits into the body of a creature within 30 feet that you can see. Unless the creature has a witch subclass, they are unaware of the spiritual incursion. On your next turn, the spirits come back to you and tell you what that creature’s damage resistances, immunities, and weaknesses are, if any. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier. You regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

2nd Level: Channel Divinity - Weakening Possession

Starting at 2nd level, you can use your Channel Divinity to weaken the body of a creature through spiritual possession. As an action, you send spirits into the body of a creature within 30 feet that you can see. The creature must make a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC. On a failure, they are now vulnerable to radiant, necrotic, or psychic damage - your choice. If the creature was resistant or immune to the type of damage selected, they lose the resistance or immunity for the duration of this feature. This feature lasts for 1 minute, or until you lose your concentration (as if you were concentrating on a spell).

6th Level: Channel Divinity - Envoy of Feebleness

At 6th level, you use spirits to pass a debilitating effect from your body to your foes. As an action, whenever you are under one of the following conditions: blinded, charmed, deafened, frightened, paralyzed, poisoned, exhausted, or stunned, you can attempt to become free of that condition and pass it to another creature within 30 feet of you that you can see. The creature receiving the condition must make a Constitution saving throw against your spell save DC. On a failure, the creature is now afflicted with the condition you were under and you are no longer affected by it. If you were able to make saving throws against a DC to be freed of that condition, the creature is able to make those same saving throws to be freed, against the same DC.

If the creature is immune to the condition, it must still make a saving throw. On a failure, both you and the creature are not affected by that condition.

If the condition is exhaustion, the creature receiving the exhaustion condition has the same exhaustion levels as you had.

8th Level: Potent Spellcasting

Starting at 8th level, you add your Wisdom modifier to the damage you deal with any cleric cantrip.

17th Level: Master Medium

At 17th level, your mastery over spirits and possession knows no bounds, emboldening your abilities of possession and granting you new uses for them:

When you target a creature with Whispered Secrets you know which of their ability scores is the highest and lowest, as well as the damage resistances, inmunities and vulnerabilities.

You can use any other creature you can see that is under a negative condition as a source to pass a condition when using Envoy of Feebleness.

When a creature is under the effects of the Channel Divinity option Weakening Possession, the spirit possessing them can take control of the body of the possessed target. If the creature fails their saving throw when targeted by Weakening Possession, they are also under the effects of one of the following spells: command, compulsion, or irresistible dance, your choice. If the target breaks out of the spell effect through a successful saving throw at the end of their turn, they are still vulnerable to the damage type selected when using the Channel Divinity option.