Grim Subclasses
Subclasses inspired by fairytales, it'd be great if I managed to create one for every class, this time I wanted to start with those that have a penchant for evil.
Bard : College of Pest Control
Bonus Proficiencies
At 3rd level, you gain proficiency in Animal Handling and Nature.
Charming the Swarm
At 3rd level, you learn the Find Familiar spell if you don’t already know it, or a new Bard spell of 1st level if you do.
When you cast the Find Familiar spell, you can choose to summon a single familiar among the normal forms, or to summon a Swarm Familiar. The Swarm must be a Swarm of tiny beasts with a CR less or equal to 1/4.
The maximum CR increases to 1 at 6th level, and 2 at 14th level.
Dispersion
At 3rd level, when you have summoned a Swarm Familiar, you can disperse it instead of temporarily dismissing it. While dispersed, it is vulnerable to people seeing it and trying to eliminate it as they treat it like pests. As a bonus action while it is dispersed, you can have it reform in a space 30ft. of you that you can see.
If you use your bonus action to see through the eyes of your Swarm Familiar while it is dispersed, instead you get a lay of the land in a 100ft. radius, gaining the benefits of any special senses your Swarm Familiar has.
Creating a Swarm
You can improvise a Swarm monster of CR 1/4 by taking the stat block of any tiny Beast of CR 0 and adding the following features :
Swarm. The swarm can occupy another creature's space and vice versa, and the swarm can move through any opening large enough for a Tiny bat. The swarm can't regain Hit Points or gain Temporary Hit Points.
Immunities and Resistances The swarm has Resistance to Piercing and Slashing damage (plus Bludgeoning if the creatures are not big enough to be squashed) and cannot be Charmed, Frightened, Grappled, Paralyzed, Petrified, Prone, Restrained or Stunned
HP. The swarm has 14 Hit Points.
Damage. The swarm uses the same attack as the original stat block, except it deals 2d4 damage, or 1d4 damage if it is bloodied.
Swarm Surfer
At 6th level, you have learned to crowd surf using your swarm as a support. If your Swarm Familiar has a Flying, Climbing, Swimming or Burrowing speed, you can use your action to gain a speed of 10ft. of the same type, and can hover while moving with that speed.
This effect lasts for 1 minute or until you are incapacitated. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.
Vengeful Spirit
At 14th level, you can inflict punishment on those who have wronged you. If a creature has dealt damage to you or otherwise wronged you (at the DM’s discretion) in the last 24 hours, the spells you use against them ignore limitations like “the creature doesn’t walk into situations that would obviously harm them”, instead the creatures must succeed a Wisdom saving throw against your Spell Save DC to resist such a command, ending any of your spells’ effects on them.
Additionally, when you or an ally hurt a creature you have charmed, (or when a creature you have charmed hurts itself as a result of your commands), the condition doesn’t end immediately, instead only ending if the creature succeeds a Wisdom saving throw against your Spell Save DC.
Druid : Circle of the Big Bad
Massive Shape
At 3rd level, when you use your Wild Shape to transform into a creature that is smaller than Large, you can choose to make it larger, up to Large, adding +3 to its Strength and 1 hit dice for each level of size gained this way. (You use the creature's hit dice specified in its stat block).
Circle of the Big Bad Spells
When you reach a Druid level specified in the Circle of the Big Bad table, you thereafter always have the listed spells prepared.
In addition, you can cast the spell Enlarge/Reduce on yourself while you're in a Wild Shape form ignoring its casting components.
| Druid Level | Prepared Spells |
|---|---|
| 3 | Enlarge/Reduce, Earth Tremor, Speak with Animals |
| 5 | Erupting Earth |
| 7 | Guardian of Nature |
| 9 | Geas |
Imposing Specimen
At 6th level, you gain the following benefits,
Feared. You have Advantage on Intimidation checks against creatures smaller than you.
Respected. While you are in Wild Shape form, you can communicate with Beasts of the same species. You can use your Wisdom modifier instead of Charisma when interacting with Beasts.
Partial Transformation
At 10th level, it gets harder to get the beast out of you. When you revert to your normal form from one of your Wild Shape forms, you can choose to keep part of your body transformed, gaining natural weapons related to an attack your Wild Shape form had.
Attacks made with these natural weapons deal 1d6 damage of the same type as the Wild Shape attack chosen instead of dealing the normal damage for your Unarmed Strike, and you use your Wisdom modifier for the attack and damage rolls rather than using Strength.
This effect lasts for 1 minute, until you use your Wild Shape again, or if you decide to end it early (no action required).
Nightmarish Howl
At 14th level, your howl instills fear in the hearts of many.
As a Magic action, you produce a howl that can be heard up to 300ft. Every creature that can hear you except those you choose must succeed a Wisdom saving throw against your Spell DC or be Frightened by you. Creatures that cannot see you and creatures that can see you but are smaller than you make this saving throw at disadvantage.
Warlock Patron : The Old Crone
Old Crone Spells
The magic of your patron ensures you always have certain spells ready; when you reach a Warlock level specified in the Old Crone Spells table, you thereafter always have the listed spells prepared.
Old Crone Spells table
| Warlock Level | Spells |
|---|---|
| 3 | Ray of Sickness, Tasha’s Caustic Brew, Enhance Ability, Nystul’s Magic Aura |
| 5 | Bestow Curse, Glyph of Warding |
| 7 | Polymorph, Vitriolic Sphere |
| 9 | Insect Plague, Seeming |
Stealing the Youth
Starting at 3rd level, you learn to steal the essence of life from your enemies. When you reduce an enemy’s hit points to 0 with a spell, you gain 1d6 of Life Essence. You cannot hold more than one Life Essence die at a time, and lose it upon finishing a Short or Long Rest.
Whenever you roll for damage or healing done to a single creature with a spell, you can roll your Life Essence die and add it to the result.
You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Proficiency Bonus (minimum 1).
Complex Curse
At 6th level, you can cast a spell of first-level or higher that targets a single creature as a Witch’s Curse. Instead of the spell taking effect instantly, you can designate a condition that will trigger it.
The target can try to identify the curse as you cast it as described in the rules to identify a spell. Afterwards, it functions as a curse for the purpose of dispelling and identifying it.
A creature trying to identify this curse chooses if it is trying to identify the spell cast or the condition that triggers it. The curse is active for a number of days equal to your Proficiency Bonus, this duration is doubled if you make the target aware of the details of the curse yourself as you cast it.
Twisted Pact
At 10th level, you know how to offer what someone most desires, and you offer it for a steep price. You gain proficiency in Persuasion and Deception if you don't already have them, and expertise if you do.
Additionally, your witch’s curse has no duration limit if the target has accepted it willingly as part of a deal.
You yourself can break your pacts at any point, at the risk of incurring your Patron's disapproval.
Malevolent Aura
At 14th level, you emit an aura of decay that corrupts nature around you. Good and Neutral Beasts and Plant creatures have disadvantage to attack you and you ignore difficult terrain caused by plants, vines, thorns, or something similar, magical or not. Nonmagical plants wilt upon touching you unless you choose to suppress this effect.
As an action, you can manifest this aura as an 20ft. emanation that lasts 1 minute. All your allies in the emanation benefit from the effects above.
All nonmagical plants in the emanation decay instantly and Plant creatures starting their turn in the emanation must succeed a Constitution Saving throw against your Spell Save DC or take 2d8 necrotic damage.
You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Charisma Modifier (minimum 1) and regain all expended uses.
Warlock : Eldritch invocations
Pact of the Cauldron
Outside of combat, you can conjure a Brewing Cauldron in an unoccupied space next to you. The cauldron can serve as Alchemist Supplies, Brewer’s Supplies, Cook's Utensils or a Poisoner’s Kit and you are proficient with it. This allows you to craft potions and poisons following the rules for crafting magic items from the Dungeon Master’s Guide.
Additionally, you can use the Brewing Cauldron to create a witch’s potion by choosing a first-level or high spell you know that has a casting time of one action, a range of self or touch and targets a single creature. Creating a potion this way requires 30 minutes of work per level of the spell, and can count as Light Activity. You must provide any costly material components required by the spell and expend a Warlock spell slot when you finish the potion.
Any creature can use its action to drink your witch’s potion, acting as the target of the spell as if you had cast it targeting them (taking into account if you have expended a spell slot of higher level). You can only have one witch potion at a time, the previous one becoming nonmagical if you create a new one.
You can dismiss the Cauldron while you are not working on it, storing it into a pocket dimension with its contents (it can only contain ingredients for the brew you are currently working on) allowing you to spread your work over the course of several periods.
This is heavily inspired by u/Peach_Cobblers' Witch Druid subclass. I had ideas going in the same direction but couldn't find the right wording and they had done an excellent work in that regard, I figured crediting them appropriately was the least I could do.
Distilled Malice
Prerequisite : Pact of the Cauldron
While creating a potion with your Brewing Cauldron, you can decide on a command word. Any creature attempting to drink the potion without speaking the command word takes 2d8 poison damage per level of the spell slot expended to create the potion, or 1d8 per level of rarity if the potion is not a witch’s potion and instead a potion crafted as a magical item.
Mirror mirror on the wall
Prerequisite : Pact of the Tome
Your Tome of Shadows takes the form of a silver mirror. You can choose spells that don't have the Ritual tag if they are in the Divination school of magic.
Whenever you cast a Divination spell using your Mirror of Shadows as a spellcasting focus, if that spell’s effect concerns a creature, you can designate one metric (stat, alignment, etc..), and compare the detected creature’s stat with yourself, a creature you are touching, or a second creature concerned by the spell. You don't know the exact value, but you know how they compare to each other.
Flying Broom
Prerequisite : Level 12
You can cast Fly on yourself without expending a spell slot a number of times equal to your Charisma Modifier. You regain all expended uses when you finish a Long Rest. Casting the spell in this way doesn’t require Concentration, but moving with the flying speed it grants does, and requires a free hand.
Black Mass
You can cast the spell Ceremony without expending a spell slot once, and regain the ability to do so upon finishing a Long Rest.
Ranger Subclass : Reaper
Finishing the Job
At 3rd level, when you choose this subclass, you become an emissary of Death, ready to give their final judgement to those whose time has come. When a creature you can see drops below half its hit points, you can use your reaction to move your Hunter’s Mark to it. If the creature already has your Hunter’s Mark, you have advantage on your next attack against it.
Reaper Spells
When you reach a Ranger level specified in the Reaper Spells table, you thereafter always have the listed spells prepared.
| Ranger Level | Spells |
|---|---|
| 3 | Cause Fear |
| 5 | Wither and Bloom |
| 9 | Speak with Dead |
| 13 | Mordenkainen's Faithful Hound |
| 17 | Cloudkill |
Two Sides of the Same Coin
At 3rd level, you also learn that everything must be balanced, and for everything that’s given, something has to be taken. Whenever you cast a spell of first-level or higher that heals a creature, you can deal 1d4 necrotic damage to an enemy you can see less than 60ft. of you.
Spectral Scythe
At 7th level, you learn the spell Shadow Blade if you don’t already know it. You can cast it without expending a spell slot once per Short Rest.
When you cast the Shadow Blade spell, you can choose to create a Scythe instead of a sword. The Scythe deals 2d8 Psychic damage, has the Finesse, Two-Handed, and Reach properties, and you can use its Cleave weapon mastery.
You can choose to cast the Shadow Blade spell without requiring Concentration, however if you aren’t concentrating on the spell when you drop the weapon or throw it, the spell ends early.
Ineluctable End
At 11th level, after moving on your turn, you can move up to an extra 10ft. in a straight line towards the target of your Hunter’s Mark if you know its location.
Additionally, when you hit a creature marked by your Hunter’s Mark with an opportunity attack, its speed becomes 0 for the rest of the current turn.
Deadly Strength
At 15th level, whenever you deal Force damage, you can choose to deal Necrotic damage instead. If you do, you can add an additional die to the damage roll.
Artificer Specialist : Puppet Maker
Tool Proficiency
When you adopt this specialization at 3rd level, you gain proficiency with woodcarver’s tools. If you already have this proficiency, you gain proficiency with one other type of artisan's tools of your choice.
Puppet Maker Spells
Starting at 3rd level, you always have certain spells prepared after you reach particular levels in this class, as shown in the Puppet Maker Spells table. These spells count as artificer spells for you, but they don't count against the number of artificer spells you prepare.
| Artificer Level | Spells |
|---|---|
| 3 | Entangle, Heroism |
| 5 | Mirror Image, Summon Beast |
| 9 | Life Transference, Conjure Animals |
| 13 | Compulsion, Grasping Vine |
| 17 | Hold Monster, Animate Objects |
Breath of life
At 3rd Level, your strong will lets you instill life into your creations. You learn the Homunculus Servant infusion, it does not count against the maximum number of infusions you can learn, nor the maximum number of infusions you can have active at the same time (you still can only have one item with this infusion at a time).
For you, the Homunculus Servant infusion does not require a crystal as material, instead it requires a Puppet made of wood (crafting sucha Puppet would take at least one hour of work with Woodcarver’s Tools and can count as light activity). The resulting Puppet Servant is Small instead of Tiny.
When you create this Puppet, choose an aspiration for it, giving it the corresponding benefits.
- Soldier. When you create the Puppet, give it a Light weapon. The puppet can use its action to make an attack with this weapon, adding your Intelligence modifier to its attack rolls with this weapon.
- Mage. When you create the Puppet, choose two first-level spells. As a bonus action, you can expend a spell slot of first level to have your Puppet use its action to cast one of the chosen spells. The spells you choose for your Puppet don't need to be spells you have prepared.
- Assistant. When you create the Puppet, give it a set of artisan’s tools. The puppet adds your Intelligence modifier to checks made with it. It can also give someone else advantage on checks made with the same tools by assisting it.
Strong emotions
At 6th Level, you gain new options for the inspiration of you puppet :
- Protector. When you create a puppet, give it a shield. When a creature within 10 ft. of the puppet makes a melee attack, the puppet can use its reaction to give a bonus to the target’s AC equal to the AC bonus of its shield. It can do so a number of times equal to your proficiency modifier per long rest.
- Real Boy. When you create the puppet, choose a language you know. The puppet can speak the chosen language, its Charisma becomes 10 + your Proficiency Bonus. It acts as a humanoid child and will do its best to be perceived as such. Noticing that the puppet is a construct requires an Investigation check against your Spell Save DC. It has disadvantage on Deception checks.
Complex will
At 9th Level, your puppet has strengthened its aspiration and gains additional features depending on its aspiration.
- Soldier. The puppet can take the attack action without needing you to expend your bonus action.
- Mage. You can choose any number of artificer spells you would be able to prepare, the cumulated level of spells can't exceed your proficiency bonus. Having the puppet cast a spell of level higher than 1 requires you to expend a spell slot of the same level or higher.
- Assistant. You give a second set of artisan's tools to your puppet. Its assistance automatically lets someone finish a task in half the time it would normally take.
- Protector. A creature that has been successfully protected by the puppet’s reaction gains a number of temporary hit points equal to your Proficiency Bonus.
- Real Boy. Add your Intelligence Modifier to the DC of the Investigation check to figure out the nature of the puppet. Additionally, you can make the puppet Medium sized instead of Small.
Magnum Opus
At 15th Level, you have to choose between a big number of servants and one single masterpiece. Your Homunculus Servant infusion can be used on any number of puppets at the same time, and it can be used several times on the same puppet, giving it an additional aspiration for each time it is used. However you can’t choose the same aspiration more than once, and each infusion past the first one counts towards the limit of items you can have infused.
Rogue : Crowd Pleaser
Granted, this one isn’t fairytales inspired, it’s clearly Dreamworks’ Puss in Boots
As a Crowd Pleaser, you know when to throw aside all subtlety and discretion, and instead go for flashy moves that will impress friends and foes alike.
Hero Landing
At 3rd level, when you fall, you can reduce any damage you take from the fall as if you had fallen from a height of 30ft. less. If you do so, you have advantage on Charisma checks (Persuasion, Deception, Intimidation) against any creature who could see you land.
You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Proficiency Bonus and regain all expended uses when you finish a Long Rest.
People Person
At 3rd level, when you use your Sneak Attack to deal additional damage, you can add your Charisma modifier to the roll.
Public Enemy
At 9th level, you gain the following Cunning Strike option :
- Provoke (Cost: 1d6). The target of the attack makes a Wisdom saving throw against a DC of 8 + your Charisma modifier + your Proficiency Bonus. On a failure, the target has disadvantage on attack rolls against creatures other than you and can't willingly move away from you. This effect ends after 1 minute or if you move a distance of more than 10ft. away from the creature.
Into the melee
At 13th level, when you use your Sneak Attack, you can hold any number of dice, meaning you don’t roll them or spend them for Cunning Strikes. When you make an attack against a different creature in the same turn, you can use your Sneak Attack again, using the amount of dice you held instead of your normal amount.
Fight against fate
At 17th level, when you would die, you can instead choose to be reincarnated as if the spell Reincarnate had been cast on you.
You can benefit from this feature no more than 6 times. When you use this feature for the last time, an Avatar of Death is summoned 20 miles from you, and starts chasing you.
The avatar targets only you with its attacks, appearing as a ghostly skeleton clad in a tattered black robe and carrying a spectral scythe. The avatar disappears when it drops to 0 Hit Points or you die. If an ally of yours deals damage to the avatar, that ally summons another Avatar of Death. The new avatar appears in an unoccupied space as close to that ally as possible and targets only that ally with its attacks. You and your allies can each summon only one avatar as a consequence of this feature. A creature slain by an avatar can't be restored to life.
Barbarian : Path of the Entangler
Let Down your Hair
Starting at 3rd level, when you Rage, your hair magically grows to be several feet long. When you move (willingly or not), you can decide if the hair occupies the same space as you or trails in a 5ft. space behind you. After moving on your turn, or by expending 5ft. of movement, you can have the hair move to your space or to a space next to you in any direction.
Your hair is Difficult Terrain for hostile creatures and allows you to make an Unarmed Strike against a creature occupying or traversing its space without requiring free hands, but you can only choose the Grapple option with it.
Note : Attempting to leave the space occupied by your hair counts as traversing it and thus allows you to make this Unarmed Strike as an opportunity attack.
If your hair occupies the same space as you or an ally, a creature making a melee attack against them on their turn must expend an extra 5ft. of movement or have disadvantage on the attack roll.
While your hair is magically long, it has separate HP equal to 4 times your Barbarian level, and an AC of 10 plus your Constitution modifier. It is immune to every type of damage except slashing and fire, and if it drops to 0 HP your Rage ends immediately.
When your Rage ends, you can choose to keep the hair as long as it is, or have it shorten magically to a length of your choice.
Thy golden stair
At 6th level, as a Magic Action while you are not raging, you can make your hair grow without expending a use of your Rage. When you do so, it grows to a length of 60ft instead of its usual length, and it can be used in any way a Rope would.
Additionally, as a Bonus action, you can have the end of your hair move up to 30 feet and attach itself to a point of your choice. Once it is attached, the end can move again keeping a point of attachment in the middle of the hair.
While attached in this way, you have a Climbing Speed equal to your walking speed as long as you are climbing your hair, and you can choose to give advantage to other creatures using the hair as a climbing rope.
This effect lasts for 10 minutes unless you Rage, or your hair drops to 0 HP, in which case the effect ends early. You can also choose to end this effect early with no action required. When this effect ends, the extra length you gained from this feature magically disappears.
When you use this feature, you can’t do so again until you finish a Long Rest.
Impenetrable Hairball
At 10th level, as a Bonus Action while you rage, you can have your hair occupy space as an emanation of 7.5ft. around you, provided there are points it can attach to.
Hostile creatures standing in that space can’t benefit from their melee weapon’s Reach property or use their weapon’s mastery property.
Your hair counts as half-cover for your allies for ranged attacks that have to pass through your hair’s space.
Capillary entanglement
At 14th level, your hair grows with even more vigor than before. When you activate your Rage, choose any amount of creatures in a 10ft. radius around you, they must make a Dexterity Saving Throw with a DC of 12 + your Constitution Modifier. Every creature failing the saving throw takes 1d6 Bludgeoning damage and is Grappled by you. The grapple’s escape DC is 12 + your Constitution Modifier.
Thank you for reading
Art used :
Totentanz, Swarm Piper - Matt Stewart
Pestilent Wolf - Oriana Menendez
Tempting Witch - Mila Pesic
Conceited Witch - Anna Pavleeva
Midnight Reaper - Sidharth Chaturvedi
Animating Faerie - Joseph Meehan
Rhystic Study - Serena Malyon
The Infamous Cruelclaw - Christina Kraus
Trapped in the Tower - Howard Lyon
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