#gloomblade

(art by @Aszith on Twitter)

Ah, shadow magic, the branch of illusion magic centered on adding a bit of the quasi-real nature of the Plane of Shadow to your illusion to make them partially real and able to affect your foes. We’ve looked at that particular subject a few times on the blog, usually focusing on various spellcasters focused on using that shadowy power in various ways.

However, today we are looking at one of the rare quasi-magical fighter archetypes, one that draws upon shadow magic to pull any weapon they could possibly need from nothing, creating quasi-real weapons of shadow that hit as hard as the real thing.

Fans of previous editions of D&D might notice this sounds suspiciously similar to the soulknife class from 3.5’s Psionic Handbook, and they’d be right. This archetypes, as well as similar ones like the mindblade magus, definitely exist as homages to that particular concept while finding their own ways to be unique.

Gloomblades may be from regions where shadow magic is so pervasive that most anyone could pick up the basics and learn to incorporate it into their own style, or they might have been would-be casters that simply didn’t have what it takes to be illusionists but found this one secret to make sure their training wasn’t a total waste. Others might have been gifted or afflicted with this power by an outside force.

Whatever the source, these warriors always have a weapon whenever they need it, meaning they rarely ever have to spend money on arming themselves unless they happen upon a truly unique weapon, but most prefer to seek out items that bolster their other abilities further.

These warriors are more focused on agility and stealth than others, but their true ability lies in creating shadow weapons, drawing upon any weapon they can reasonably wield. At first they can only create one weapon, but later they can create two, and add additional abilities to either a single or twin weapon, though focusing on a single weapon lets them add more magical abilities.

Rather than specialize in individual weapons, gloomblades instead become intimately familiar with mastering their shadowblades, no matter the form they take. What’s more, they can use their quasi-real nature to alter them, stretching them to strike with reach, shaping throwing ones to fly further, warp them to hook into foes to shift them around, or harden them to pierce objects. The greater their mastery, the more they can do at once.

With this archetype, these fighters rarely ever need to spend money for their weapons budget. With that in mind, I recommend picking a few mainstay forms for your build so that you can take feats for those styles of combat rather than relying on more general feats all the time. Just remember that this archetype offers no support for ranged weapons beyond those that can be thrown, so you’ll probably have to pick up one of those for those rare occasions when you can’t just run up and hit things. Also consider taking exotic weapons proficiency at least once if you want to be able to add a shadowy truly exotic weapon to the mix.

What’s interesting about the powers of a gloomblade is that their shadowy constructs are not at risk of being disbelieved. Perhaps this is because of the relative small size of what they create with their shadows, the warrior’s focus solidifying them, or some secret they have not shared with more traditional shadow-casters. Might be worth exploring that in your setting.

Rather than being destroyed for being an untainted caligni, Asterfon was blessed by the owb masters of the dark folk with power to shape the shadows to make him an instrument of their will. However, as soon as he got the chance to, he ran, and now he is hunted as a blasphemer by his dark kindred.

From the lightless depths, some undine villages have heard the call of the Black Water. Those that have answered are able to shape shadow without compare as spellcasters and warriors, but they clearly have lost a part of themselves in the exchange.