The Ethereal Compendium

Character Customization

Everyone in the D&D universe is unique. When determining your racial traits, you can use the guidelines presented here. Alternatively, you can apply the rules from Tasha's Cauldron of Everything to customize your origin, including the Ability Score Increases your character gains.

Ghost Elf

Ghost Elves live in spectral cities on the Ethereal Plane. When they were attacked by vengeful drow, these eerie-looking, grey-skinned elves made a deal with a being they knew as Thule to safeguard them from their distant cousins. Thule was revealed to be a pit fiend by name of Thulikazt and enslaved the Ghost Elves to fight for them for eternity.

As the Ghost Elves learned the art of war as warrior slaves for the pit fiend, they eventually rose up and joined forces with Thulikazt's enemies. After slaying their former master and escaping the hells, the Ghost Elves discovered their connection to the Material Plane had faded - but they found a strange connection to the ether beyond.

Ghost Elves use the racial traits granted by the Elf race, as well as the features described below:

Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases by 1.

Infernal Weapon Training. You have proficiency with the longsword, shortsword, rapier, and scimitar.

Cantrip. You know the light cantrip. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for it.

Bonus Language. You can speak, read, and write Infernal.

Optional feature: Ghostly Arcana. Some ghost elves find a natural affinity for weaving the arcane energy inherent in their home plane, forgoing the training of their struggled past. You may substitute the Infernal Weapon Training racial trait for an expanded spell list. If you have the Spellcasting or the Pact Magic feature, the spells from the Ghost Elf Spells table are added to the spell list of your spellcasting class.

Springer

Officially known as Sprigernii, these small beings quickly became known for their ability to jump through the Border Ethereal. Springers are very similar to gnomes in appearance, size, and build, though they often have much paler skin with turquoise or blue tattoo-like markings. Though sprigernii are born from the ether, many have lost their connection to their home plane and must exert themselves to return only for short periods of time.

Sprigernii are rare, and most people have never seen let alone heard of this strange race. Those that have heard of them often know them as mischievous, troublemakers, or even as thieves or worse. Despite this preconception, small, highly spiritual springer communities exist scattered throughout the realms.

Springer Traits

Your sprigernii character has a number of inherent gifts.

Age. Sprigernii mature quickly, reaching adulthood at around age 16 and live to be around 80.

Size. Your size is small.

Speed. 30 ft.

Ability Scores. Choose either +2/+1 or +1/+1/+1

Sprigernii Magic. You know the prestidigitation cantrip. Choose either Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma as your spellcasting ability for it.

Spring. As an action, you leap into the Border Ethereal until the start of your next turn. While there, you are invisible and inaudible on the plane you originated from, and your movement speed is doubled.

While on the Ethereal Plane, you can see and hear the plane you originated from, which is cast in shades of gray, and you can't see anything there more than 60 feet away. Creatures that aren't there can't perceive you or interact with you, unless they have the ability to do so. Equally, you cannot interact with anything on the plane you originated from.

Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.

Path of the Ethereal Barbarian

A select few tribes of the mountains follow the path of the ethereal, a revered tradition that connects the tribesfolk with the Ethereal Plane. Not only do these insular peoples travel the plane, they channel it and utilize its mystical powers in combat.

It is due to these abilities that some assume these folk hail from the Ethereal Plane itself, calling them fogspawn and other such unpleasant monikers. These rumours are of course untrue, but their attachment to the misty world beyond is all but a village tale.

From the Fog

14th level Path of the Ethereal feature

You are adept at leaping between enemies using the power granted by your connection to the ether. Whenever you take the Dash action on your turn, you can make a melee weapon attack at the end of your movement (no action required). If you do, your speed is 0 until the end of your current turn.

Obscuring Images

3rd level College of Obfuscation feature

Your powers of obfuscation are, more than anything, a shield from those that wish you ill. As a bonus action, you can expend one use of your Bardic Inspiration and roll the Bardic Inspiration die. A number of illusory duplicates form around you equal to the number rolled on the Bardic Inspiration die + your Charisma modifier. The duplicates look like ethereal versions of you, and they move in unpredictable ways around you. You gain a number of temporary hit points equal to the number of summoned duplicates, and one illusory duplicate disappears whenever you lose 1 temporary hit point. While you have at least one illusory duplicate, creatures have disadvantage on attacks against you.

An attacker is immune to this effect if it doesn't rely on sight, as with blindsight, or can see through illusions, as with truesight.

The illusory duplicates last for 1 minute (or until you lose all your temporary hit points).

Discombobulation

3rd level College of Obfuscation feature

Sometimes, vanishing requires more than mere illusion, and your training has shown you a way. As an action, you touch a Small or smaller object and attempt to send it to the Ethereal Plane until the end of your next turn. If the object is in the possession of another creature, that creature may make a Charisma saving throw. The DC of this saving throw is equal to your spell save DC. If the creature succeeds, the object stays on the original plane. The creature has advantage on the saving throw if it is wearing the targeted object.

While the object is on the Ethereal Plane, it is invisible and intangible on the original plane, and it makes no sound. When it returns, it does so in the space it previously occupied. If another object or creature occupies that space, the object is shunted to the nearest unoccupied space that it can occupy.

You can use this feature a number of times equal to 1 + your Charisma modifier and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Mindfog

6th level College of Obfuscation feature

You channel the deep fog of the ether in your spells to cloud the minds of your opponents. When you cast a spell of 1st level or higher that forces a creature to make a saving throw to resist its effects, you can choose one target of the spell that failed its saving throw to become charmed by you until the end of your next turn. While charmed in this way, you are invisible and inaudible to the creature.

Creatures that are immune to the charmed condition, and creatures that rely on senses other than sight and hearing, or have truesight, are immune to this effect.

Manifest Illusion

14th level College of Obfuscation feature

The line between the imagined and the real blurs for you. You gain the following benefits:

• A creature that has a Bardic Inspiration die from you can use it as if they had the Obscuring Images feature. They use your Charisma modifier to determine the number of duplicates created.
• While you have illusory duplicates summoned by the Obscuring Images feature, you can take actions as if you were in an adjacent space (except spaces already occupied by another creature or object and spaces behind full cover)
• When you are subjected to an effect that allows you to make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half damage, you may expend an illusory duplicate summoned by the Obscuring Images feature (and thus lose 1 temporary hit point) and instead take no damage if you succeed on the saving throw, and only half damage if you fail.
• When you roll initiative, and you have no Bardic Inspiration dice remaining, you can roll a d6 and treat it as a Bardic Inspiration die for the purpose of using Obscuring Images

Circle Spells

2nd level Circle of the Ether feature

Your link to the ether and your ability to channel the fog of the grey plane grants you access to certain spells. At 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 9th level you gain access to the spells listed for that level in the Circle of the Ether Spells table.

Once you gain access to one of these spells, you always have it prepared, and it doesn't count against the number of spells you can prepare each day. If you gain access to a spell that doesn't appear on the druid spell list, the spell is nonetheless a druid spell for you.

Summon Ethereal Spirit

2nd level Circle of the Ether feature

You can call forth an ethereal spirit to influence the world around you. As a bonus action, you can magically summon an incorporeal spirit to a point you can see within 60 feet of you. The spirit creates an aura in a 30-foot radius around that point, throughout which the ground is covered in a thin, grey mist, and all objects and creatures appear slightly blurry and translucent. The spirit counts as neither a creature nor an object, though it has the spectral appearance of the creature it represents (your choice).

The area counts as magical difficult terrain for creatures hostile to you. While in the aura of the spirit, you and your allies have advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks.

As a bonus action, you can move the spirit up to 30 feet to a point you can see.

The spirit persists for 1 minute or until you're incapacitated. Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

Ether Shape

6th level Circle of the Ether feature

Your beastly form is slightly misty and incorporeal. While you are transformed by Wild Shape, you have resistance to non-magical bludgeoning, slashing, and piercing damage.

Additionally, while transformed by Wild Shape, moving through nonmagical difficult terrain costs you no extra movement.

Maiming Mists

10th level Circle of the Ether feature

The mists surrounding your ethereal spirit are detrimental to your enemies and assist your allies. Whenever a creature enters the aura of a spirit summoned by your Summon Ethereal Spirit feature for the first time, or starts its turn in it, you may choose to have it make a Constitution saving throw. The DC for this saving throw is equal to your spell save DC. On a failed save, the creature takes 2d4 cold damage, or half that on a successful one.

Additionally, creatures of your choice within the aura count as heavily obscured to creatures outside it.

Spirit Walk

14th level Circle of the Ether feature

Throughout your training, you have become a guide to the spirit world. You can spend an hour in meditation, prayer, or ritualistic preparation to cast the spell Etherealness without spell components and without expending a spell slot. When you do, the target of the spell becomes a number of willing creatures equal to or less than your Wisdom modifier (minimum of 1) within 10 feet of you of your choice. One of these creatures must be yourself.

Creatures affected by this feature must participate in the ritual in whatever way you see fit, and the time spent preparing in this way can count as a short rest for creatures other than yourself.

Once you use this feature you cannot use it again until a week has passed.

Obscured Form

3rd level Way of the Clouded Strike feature

Through intense practice and communion with the grey mists of the ether, you have learned to imbue your fighting style with subversive tactics and mystical moves.

When you use certain Ki features, you gain additional benefits:

Flurry of Blows: Your strikes phase in and out of the Material Plane, hitting your enemies from implausible angles. One of the attacks made with this feature is made with advantage.

Patient Defense: Your form shimmers a silvery mist as it approaches the intersection between the material world and the ether beyond. You have resistance to non-magical bludgeoning, slashing and piercing damage while dodging in this way.

Step of the Wind: Your form is partly mist, and your step is light as air. Until the end of your turn, non-magical difficult terrain costs no extra movement, and you have advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks.

Through the Veil

6th level Way of the Clouded Strike feature

You have learned to detect the wisps of the ethereal when the material is obscured. You can spend 3 ki points to gain Truesight and the ability to see into the Ethereal Plane out to a range of 30 feet until the end of your turn. During this time, you have advantage on ability checks made to discover hidden, obscured, invisible, or otherwise concealed objects and creatures.

Redirection

11th level Way of the Clouded Strike feature

You can shift your form in an instant to throw off attackers, redirecting their blows to your advantage.

When you are targeted by a melee weapon attack, before the outcome of the attack roll is revealed, you can spend 2 ki points as a reaction to impose disadvantage on the attack. If the attack misses, you can cause it to hit one creature of your choice, other than the attacker, that you can see within 5 feet of you.

Avatar of the Mist

17th level Way of the Clouded Strike feature

Your body, mind, and soul have become one with the ether.

When you use certain Ki features, you gain additional benefits (in addition to those granted by Obscured Form):

Flurry of Blows: Your attacks phase into the ether and come out empowered. Both of your attacks made with this feature are made with advantage and their damage type is force.

Patient Defense: Your body turns to mist, and only a silvery outline is visible. You have resistance to all damage but force and psychic damage.

Step of the Wind: In the Ethereal Plane, your body does not conform to the physics of the material world. Instead of taking the Dash or Disengage action when you use this feature, you may teleport up to your speed to an unoccupied space that you can see.

Stunning Strike: You produce flashes of the whirling fog of the Deep Ethereal with your strikes. When a target succeeds on the Constitution saving throw to avoid being stunned, it is poisoned until the end of your next turn.

Disconnect

1st-level abjuration

• Casting Time: 1 reaction, which you take when you or another creature within range takes damage
• Range: 30 feet
• Components: V, S
• Duration: Instantaneous

You conjure a fleeting bridge between this world and the ether. The triggering damage is reduced by 1d10 + your Spellcasting ability modifier, unless the damage type is force or psychic.

At Higher Levels: When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, the damage is reduced by an additional 1d10 for each slot level above 1st.

Classes: Bard, Sorcerer, Wizard

Shunt

2nd-level abjuration

• Casting Time: 1 action
• Range: 60 feet
• Components: V, S
• Duration: 1 round

You attempt to send one creature that you can see within range through the Deep Ethereal in order to induce Ethersickness. The target must succeed on a Charisma saving throw or be transported to the Deep Ethereal.

While hurtling through the vast fog of the Deep Ethereal, the target is conscious and isn't incapacitated.

The target returns at the end of your next turn in the space it left or in the nearest unoccupied space if that space is occupied. When it returns, the target is poisoned until the end of its next turn.

Classes: Bard, Cleric, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard

Misty Barrier

3rd-level abjuration

• Casting Time: 1 action
• Range: Self, 10-foot radius
• Components: V, S
• Duration: 1 minute

You create a silvery, shimmering barrier which springs out of the ground at your feet. The barrier is immobile. As the barrier is created, roll 6d6. The result of the roll is the barrier's HP.

Whenever a weapon attack or spell from a source outside the barrier would damage a creature inside the barrier, the damage is reduced by an amount up to the barrier's current HP, and the barrier takes damage equal to the reduction. Force and psychic damage is unaffected by this spell.

If another barrier is created which overlaps with this barrier, both barriers disappear immediately.

At Higher Levels: When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 4th level or higher, roll an additional 2d6 to determine the barrier's HP for each slot level above 3rd.

Classes: Cleric, Sorcerer, Wizard

Silverspear

4th-level evocation

• Casting Time: 1 action
• Range: 120 feet
• Components: V, S
• Duration: Instantaneous

A streak of foggy, silver light coalesces and flies from your pointed finger at a creature within range. The target must make a Wisdom saving throw. The target takes 6d4 force damage on a failed save and is stunned until the end of its next turn. If the target succeeds, it takes half that damage and is not stunned.

Classes: Sorcerer, Wizard

Etherwarp

5th-level conjuration

• Casting Time: 1 action
• Range: Touch
• Components: V, S, M (a vial of mist)
• Duration: 24 hours

As an action, you touch a Medium or smaller object and attempt to send it to the Ethereal Plane for the duration of the spell. If the object is in the possession of another creature, that creature may make a Charisma saving throw to keep the object on the original plane. The creature has advantage on the saving throw if it is wearing the targeted object.

While the object is on the Ethereal Plane, it is invisible and intangible on the original plane, and it makes no sound. Anyone on the Ethereal Plane can interact with the object as normal, and it returns with them if they are in possession of the object when they return to the original plane. When it returns, it does so in the space it previously occupied (unless it was moved by another force). If another object or creature occupies that space, the object is shunted to the nearest unoccupied space that it can occupy.

Classes: Bard, Warlock

Circle of Fog

6th-level conjuration

• Casting Time: 1 minute
• Range: 10 feet
• Components: V, S, M (a divining rod attuned to the ether)
• Duration: Concentration, up to 10 minutes