Toxic Adept
The hiss of exhaled breath greets the closed room as dozens of eyes go to the cowled man before dropping like flies as a mist of green smoke enters the room. He laughs quietly before grabbing the papers on the table, the only things untouched by his breath, as he disappears through the open door.
The knife gleams in the half-light before it is plunged into the large half-orc by a small figure whose long hair lashes out in unruly curls. The half-orc's grin falters as he feels the strange burning sensation through his open wound.
Walking calmly through the street, the too-wide smile of a psychopath plastered on her face, the half-elf delights in how dozens of strangers simply fall around her as she walks nonchalantly about the city, waiting for the adventurers to enter her trap.
Toxic adepts hold the secret of poison within their body. There are many paths towards the journey to become a toxic adept, but very few survive to become full-fledged toxic adepts in their own right.
Natural Toxins
Nature is littered with examples of poisons; plants such as nightshade and hemlock can bring on a swift death if consumed, snakes whose bite can cause paralysis, and frogs whose very skin is covered in a substance that will necrotize living flesh it comes into contact with.
Toxic adepts take inspiration from many of these animals, changing their bodies to produce chemicals similar to those within their own bodies. While appearing virtually the same as anyone else of their ancestry on the outside, their insides are littered with foul-smelling sacs and pus-filled mounds which can sometimes cause great pain to the toxic adept themselves, but are rarely identified until after their death.
Unnatural Origins
While not the most rare of specimens, toxic adepts virtually never occur naturally. Often those who do rise normally grow up in toxin-littered jungles or within the most filthy of sewers where the sewage and waste of a city come together to create an incredibly hostile environment to living beings.
Others however choose to begin the arduous and agonizing task of becoming a toxic adept due to some strong emotional trigger, no it is never an easy choice. These poor souls should be pitied as they voluntarily take into their bodies bizarre combinations of magical potions and poisons in order to twist their bodies in strange and horrific ways, their internal anatomy becoming perverted and putrid as they complete their transformation.
Finally, there are those who are forced through circumstance to endure the process; perhaps a poisonous beast or dragon had attacked their village, and they barely escaped its destruction, though the foul miasma continues to filter through their bodies. Or perhaps they and their family had been poisoned by fellow nobles, and they were the only survivors, their bodies having adapted the only way in which their lives could have been saved, regardless of how painful the process was.
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Creating a Toxic Adept
When creating a toxic adept, keep in mind how they came to be; was the process natural, voluntary, or forced? Is there some pervading reason that your character decided to become a toxic adept? And have they already accomplished the task which originally started them on their journey, or do they still have it before them?
Keep in mind how to play your character while keeping group cohesion in mind; it would not do to play a character who will betray other party members at the drop of a hat to fulfill their goals. Instead, try to work your motivation into the plot, and think of ways to use your abilities to aid the group as a whole
Quick Build
An easy way to create a toxic adept is to focus on Constitution as your primary ability score, followed by either Strength or Dexterity depending on whether you wish to use heavy or finesse weapons. Afterwards, choose a tertiary ability score, usually a mental one, depending on whether you want to be able to assess environments, or be able to talk your way your way our of sticky situations.
Class Features
As a toxic adept, you gain the following class features.
Hit Points
Hit Dice: 1d8 per Toxic Adept level
Hit Points at 1st Level: 8 + your Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 (or 5) + your Constitution modifier per Toxic Adept level after first
Proficiencies
Armor: Light armor, medium armor, shields
Weapons: Simple weapons, martial weapons
Tools: Poisoner's kit
Saving Throws: Constitution, Intelligence
Skills: Choose 3 from Acrobatics, Athletics, Insight, Medicine, Nature, Perception, Stealth, Survival.
Equipment
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:
- (a) scale mail or (b) leather armor
- (a) a martial weapon and a shield or (b) two martial weapons
- (a) a light crossbow and 20 bolts or (b) two javelins
- (a) a dungeoneer's pack or (b) an explorer's pack
Envenom Weapon
At 1st level, your bodily fluids become poisonous, allowing you to envenom a weapon by sliding it across your sweat, blood, or even your saliva. As an action you may make an unarmed attack forcing an enemy to make a Constitution save. On a failed saving throw, the target takes damage equal to your unarmed strike plus 1d6 poison damage. On a successful save the poison damage is halved.
Additionally, as a bonus action you may spread venom across a weapon. The next time before the end of your next turn that you make a successful attack with your weapon, force the target to make a Constitution save. On a failed save, the target takes the damage as normal, and an additional 1d6 poison damage. On a successful save, halve the additional poison damage.
The damage from this ability increases by 1d6 for every three levels after the first in this class.
Toxic Adept
| Level | Proficiency Bonus | Features | Envenom Weapon Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | +2 | Envenom Weapon, Toxin Resistance | 1d6 |
| 2nd | +2 | Food Taster, Poison Pool, Toxic Cloud | 1d6 |
| 3rd | +2 | Toxic Track | 1d6 |
| 4th | +2 | Ability Score Improvement | 2d6 |
| 5th | +3 | Exposed Defenses, Stigmatic Defense | 2d6 |
| 6th | +3 | Improved Taint | 2d6 |
| 7th | +3 | Track feature | 3d6 |
| 8th | +3 | Ability Score Improvement | 3d6 |
| 9th | +4 | Blight Trail | 3d6 |
| 10th | +4 | Improved Toxin Resistance | 4d6 |
| 11th | +4 | Greater Taint | 4d6 |
| 12th | +4 | Ability Score Improvement | 4d6 |
| 13th | +5 | Track feature | 5d6 |
| 14th | +5 | Improved Exposed Defenses | 5d6 |
| 15th | +5 | Corrosive Touch | 5d6 |
| 16th | +5 | Ability Score Improvement | 6d6 |
| 17th | +6 | Blighted Gaze | 6d6 |
| 18th | +6 | Track feature | 6d6 |
| 19th | +6 | Ability Score Improvement | 6d6 |
| 20th | +6 | Toxic Master | 7d6 |
In addition, you learn the Poison Spray cantrip.
Some of your class features may require your target to make a saving throw to resist the feature's effects. The saving throw DC is calculated as follows:
Poison save DC: 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Constitution modifier
Toxin Resistance
Beginning at 1st level, you have a resistance to poisonous abilities, granting you advantage on saving throws against poison and resistance against poison damage.
This ability improves at 10th level, giving you immunity to poison damage and any abilities that rely on poison.
Food Taster
At 2nd level, your enhanced senses allow you to detect the faint tinge of poison in the air, even through obstacles. You automatically know when you are within 5 feet of a poison or creature with a poisonous ability. As an action you can open your senses further. Until the end of your next turn, you know the location of anything poisonous within 60 feet of you that is not behind total cover. You know what direction it is in, but not its exact location. You can use this feature a number of times equal to 1 + your Constitution modifier. When you finish a long rest, you regain all expended uses.
Poison Pool
Starting at 2nd level, your body begins to produce a steady supply of poison which you can store and expend. Your access to this pool is represented by a number of poison points. The number of poison points you have is equal to your level in this class. When you spend a poison point, it is unavailable until you finish a short or long rest, at the end of which you regain the expended poison points. You must spend at least 30 minutes of the rest in silent stillness as you force your body to replenish the poison within it.
Toxic Cloud
Upon reaching 2nd level, you gain the ability to forcibly expel some of the poison in your body by spending two poison point as an action. If you do so, you may choose the middle or a corner of the square you are located in, and cause all creatures within 5 feet of that location (except for yourself) to make a Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, creatures within the area take poison damage equal to that of your Envenom Weapon ability. On a successful save, creatures take half as much damage. You may spend additional poison points on this ability, every point increased the radius of this ability by 5 feet.
Toxin Track
Also at 3rd level, you begin to unlock the secrets of toxins, forcing you to choose a specialization. Choose one of the following: Toxicant, Venin Doctor, Venom Symbiont, all detailed at the end of the class description. You chosen track grants you features at 3rd level, and again at 7th, 13th, and 18th level.
Ability Score Improvement
When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two Ability Scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.
Exposed Defenses
At 5th level, your poisons are so intense that they can even bypass the resistance of most creatures. Your abilities ignore resistance to poison damage and advantage to saves against poisons, and creatures normally immune to poisons instead have resistance to your poisons and gain advantage on saves against your poisons.
When you reach 14th level this ability improves further, and creatures who would be immune to your poisons or the poisoned condition have neither immunity, resistance, nor advantage on saves against your abilities.
Stigmatic Defense
Beginning at 5th level, you may be slashed, stabbed, or burnt, only for poison to run where blood usually would, covering the wounds and healing broken skin. Upon taking damage (but before you know how much damage you will take), you may spend one or more poison points as a reaction to roll 1d6 for each poison point spent and gain the total as temporary hit points that last until the end of your next turn. You may spend up to a maximum number of points spent equal to one-half your class level. This ability activates before you would take the damage from the effect that prompted this reaction.
Improved Taint
Starting at 6th level, your poisons not only damage enemies, but also cause them to suffer, disrupting their abilities. When a creature fails a saving throw against your Envenom Weapon or Toxic Cloud ability, they are considered to be under the effect of the Bane spell until the start of your next turn.
This ability improves further upon reaching 11th level. Instead of Bane, creatures affected by the above abilities are also Poisoned for the same duration.
Blight Trail
When you have reached 9th level, you can leave a toxic trail behind you as you move. As an action you may spend three poison points to release your Poison Cloud in all adjacent squares, continuing to release this while you move until the end of your turn. The thick fog momentarily blocks view of you, and movement upon activating this ability does not prompt opportunity attacks until the end of your turn.
Corrosive Touch
Beginning at 15th level, your poison is so corrosive and virile that it can even chew through structures. As an action, spend one poison point to touch an object and deal your Envenom Weapon damage to it. This damage ignores the object's damage threshold.
Blighted Gaze
Upon reaching 17th level, your poisons are so potent that they can be delivered just through your gaze. As an action spend two poison points and choose a creature you can see within 120'. That creature must make a Wisdom save or become Stunned until the end of your next turn. On a successful save, the creature is Poisoned until the start of your next turn instead.
Toxic Master
At 20th level you have reached the end of your path, and plumb all the secrets of poison. Whenever you use an ability that requires a save, you may spend 2 poison points to cause that save to be made at disadvantage.
Toxic Tracks
Toxins can cause many things; euphoria, paralysis, and even instant death. However, toxic adepts are artists of their trade, and can shape poisons in ways that other creatures could not dream of.
Toxicant
Toxic adepts who become toxicants prefer to delve into the minds of their victims; after all, by better understanding people, one can easily find out what makes them tick--and how to break them.
Poison the Mind
When you choose the Toxicant Track, you gain the ability to use your toxin to reveal the greatest fear in creatures, instilling a sense of great paranoia. As an action, you may spend two poison points to cast the Cause Fear spell.
Entice the Senses
At 7th level, you learn that by twisting your poison in a ... certain way, you can cause creatures to become suggestible to your words. As an action, you may spend four poison points to cast the Suggestion spell.
Frighten the Flock
Starting at 13th level, you have learned how to spread your poison far and wide, causing multiple people to have hallucinations, or particularly intense nightmares in one person. As an action, you may spend six poison points to cast Fear or eight poison points to cast Phantasmal Killer.
Shroud the Senses
Beginning at 18th level you reach the pinnacle of your mind-twisting arts. As an action, you may spend 12 poison points to cast Mass Suggestion or 15 poison points to cast Weird.
Venin Doctor
By accepting the burden of becoming a venin doctor, on the one hand you save lives... on the other, sometimes the cure can be as bad as the disease...
Burn Out the Disease
When you choose the Venin Doctor Track, you gain the ability to use your toxin to burn out the evils within other creatures, but only at great cost. As an action, you may spend two poison points to cast Lesser Restoration, though the creature also takes 1d6 poison damage. If the poison damage is reduced to zero by an effect or ability, this ability has no effect.
One For All
At 7th level, your study of your own body allows you to metabolize your poison to change it into a healing mixture for others, though at great cost to yourself. As an action, you may spend four poison points to cast Life Transference.
Spread the Disease
Upon reaching 13th level, you realize that your own body is full of contagion and rot... and how to transfer some of that to others. As an action, you may spend ten poison points to cast Contagion.
Cauterize the Infection
Building upon your earlier successes in medicine, you learn how to rid the body of virtually any disease. As an action, spend twelve poison points and both you and the target take 5d6 poison damage to cast Greater Restoration. If either you or your target take no damage from this effect, this ability has no effect.
Venom Symbiont
In some macabre way, the poison within your body has gained a semblance of sentience.
Poison Coating
Upon choosing the venom symbiont track, the poison coursing through your body begins to gain a sort of intelligence. You can allow the symbiont to cover your body by spending one poison point as a bonus action. Doing so gives you a number of temporary hit points equal to your Constitution, and you can renew these temporary hit points, maintaining the symbiont's control over you by spending an additional poison point at the beginning of each turn. While you allow the symbiont to maintain control, your Intelligence score drops to 2 (though you maintain your personality,) and the Blinded, Charmed, Incapacitated, and Stunned conditions are suppressed if you would normally be affected by them. If you would be affected by one of these conditions, you may activate the symbiont by spending two poison points as a reaction, immediately gaining the temporary hit points, along with the normal cost to maintain it each round.
Distended Body
Starting at 7th level, you gain greater control over the symbiont. While you maintain the Poison Coating feature, all of your melee weapons (including unarmed attacks) are considered to have the Reach property.
Poison Blood
At 13th level, you can release a squirt of poisononous blood that harms enemies who attack you. As a reaction after taking damage by a melee weapon attack, you may spend three poison points to activate the Toxic Cloud ability in a 5 foot square occupied by the creature who made the attack.
Blood-Bound Toxic Ooze
At 18th level, the symbiont within your body awakens at the most dire of times, allowing you a chance to escape when on death's door. If you would die while leaving a body (for example, not due to the Disintegrate spell), your skin immediately splits open to reveal the creature inside, a mass of writhing, oozing tentacles that drips corrosive poison which sizzles with every step.
The creature uses your statistics and starts at your maximum hit point total, though it has the same number of poison points when you died. The creature remembers what you do, as well as who your friends and allies are, and does its best to do what you would do. If it too is killed, the only way to bring you back is through the use of a Wish or Miracle spell followed immediately by a Wish or True Resurrection spell. The creature requires eight hours of immobility to rebuild your body around it, healing you fully when it is finished, though it must begin anew if interrupted in any way.