Herald of the Planes
Astral Plane
The Astral Plane is a great, endless gravityless space of clear silvery sky, both above and below, where lost travelers would hover forever, where children of Gith would build their cities, and where dead gods were deposited. Erratic whirlpools of color flicker in midair like spinning coins.
The Astral Plane is not exactly known as the home of any god, but some used to wander around it, or pass through during adventures. The god that chooses you can be Celestian, Sardior, Bhaal, Leira, or any other that is used to visiting the plane.
Planar Spells
Starting at 3rd level, your connection to the plane of the silvery sea grants you access to certain spells.
Planar Spells
| Level | Spell |
|---|---|
| 3 | Sleep, Calm Emotions |
| 5 | Intellect Fortress, Major Image |
| 9 | Confusion, Geas |
| 13 | Forbiddance, Sequester |
| 17 | Telepathy, Astral Projection |
Mana Exchange: Planar Guardian
When choosing this subclass at 3rd level, you define the type of creatures that you can summon as your Planar Guardian, which is any type of creature that can be found on the Astral Plane: Githyankis as they are one of the only humanoids living in the Astral Plane, and other creatures like Berbalangs, Starspawns, Angels, Devils, Night Hags, Yugoloths, Red Dragons, Amethyst Dragons and almost all kinds of aberrations.
Astral Wisdom
When choosing this plane at 3rd level, you improve your connection with your astral self. You gain proficiency with shortswords, longswords, and greatswords. Additionally, when you attack with a weapon, you can use your Wisdom modifier, instead of Strength or Dexterity, for the attack and damage rolls.
Gish Summoner
At 6th level, you learned combat techniques from the Gith that live in the Astral Plane. When you use your action to cast a spell, you can use your bonus action to take an Attack action or to order your guardian to take one.
Spiritual Movement
At 11th level, you can move in any plane as if you were in the astral plane. You have a flying speed (in feet) equal to 3 x your Intelligence score and can hover. You also no longer age or suffer from hunger or thirst.
Astral Storm
At 18th level, you can bring the psychic winds from the Astral Plane to the plane that you are.
Using an action and expending 5 spell slots, you can conjure a psychic wind that affects an area of a cube with 50 feet of size centered on a point of your choice up to 150 feet away. The wind affects all creatures inside its area.
Any creature that moves inside the wind's area takes 8d6 psychic damage and becomes Poisoned for 1 minute. After a wind deals damage to a creature, it can't deal any damage to the same creature again for the duration. Any creature that takes damage from a psychic wind automatically fails any checks made to determine directions or to follow/track anything for the duration of the wind.
Any creature that is traveling and passes by the wind's area becomes lost. They add 2d6 hours to their travel time. The wind stays up for 1 hour in place, diverting creatures from their path and making travelers lost. You can end a psychic wind at any moment using an action.
Feywild
The Feywild, also called the Plane of Faerie, is a land of soft lights and wonder, a place of music and death. It is a realm of everlasting twilight, with glittering faerie lights bobbing in the gentle breeze and fat fireflies buzzing through groves and fields. The sky is alight with the faded colors of an ever-setting sun, which never truly sets (or rises for that matter); it remains stationary, dusky and low in the sky.
Away from the settled areas ruled by the seelie fey that compose the Summer Court, the land is a tangle of sharp-toothed brambles and syrupy fens -- perfect territory for the unseelie fey to hunt their prey.
The Feywild is also widely known as the the origin plane of the elves. The god that chooses you can be any of the most famous Archfey such as Baba Yaga, Titania or Oberon, or more obscure deities from the Feydark like Psilofyr.
Mana Exchange: Planar Guardian
When choosing this subclass at 3rd level, you define the type of creatures that you can summon as your Planar Guardian, which is any type of creature that can be found on the Feywild: Sylvan creatures, such as elves, dryads, satyrs, pixies and centaurs; And magical creatures such as blink dogs, unicorns and treants. The darker regions of the plane are home to such malevolent creatures as blights, hags, goblins, ogres and giants.
Mana Exchange: Knowledge
Also at 3rd level, you gain a new option of Mana Exchange that you can use, that restores spell slots instead of spending them. During a short rest, you sacrifice any combination of two languages or proficiencies of your choice and you gain a spell slot. You lose those languages or proficiencies and you only restore them back after a Long Rest.
Expertise can also be sacrificed and counts as a proficiency. You can't benefit from Expertise if you lost a proficiency tied to it.
Fey Trickery
At 6th level, you can steal information from people, like the fey usually do using trickery and magic. You can use your Mana Exchange: Knowledge as an action targeting a creature that can hear you.
The feature requires that any combination of two languages or proficiencies are sacrificed, and one of those can be taken from the target creature if they fail an Intelligence saving throw against your Spell save DC. If they succeed, the feature fails (no languages or proficiencies are lost).
You choose if the creature loses either a language or a proficiency, but your GM chooses which one language or proficiency.
Optionally, you can name a language or proficiency, but if the target doesn't have it, they succeed the saving throw automatically.
Affected creatures gain back their lost knowledge after a Long Rest, like you do. A creature affected by this feature doesn't naturally realize that you used magic on them, but they can if they have special abilities or magic to help them.
Veil of the Wizen
At 11th level, the fey influence protects your mind. You gain two Condition Immunities: against being charmed and frightened.
Psychic Power
At 18th level, you draw the planar power of the Feywilds to give more power to the creatures you conjure. Whenever your Planar Guardian attacks and hits, you may add 2d6 psychic damage to its damage roll.
Shadowfell
The Plane of the Shadow, as it is sometimes called the Shadowfell, is a dimension of black, gray, and white; It is a place of darkness with neither sun nor stars in the sky. The landscapes are dark, twisted and warped, being home to sinister creatures. The entity that chooses you can be one of those that claimed the plane as theirs, such as the Raven Queen, Shar, Mask, or even Strahd; or maybe a deity with dark powers that sometimes wanders through the plane like Vecna.
Planar Spells
Starting at 3rd level, your connection to the plane of shadow grants you access to certain spells.
Planar Spells
| Level | Spell |
|---|---|
| 3 | Darkness, Blindness/Deafness |
| 5 | Fear, Bestow Curse |
| 9 | Shadow Of Moil, Phantasmal Killer |
| 13 | Contagion, Wall of Shadow* |
| 17 | Eyebite, Maddening Darkness |
Mana Exchange: Planar Guardian
When choosing this subclass at 3rd level, you define the type of creatures that you can summon as your Planar Guardian, which is any type of creature that can be found on the Shadowfell: Shadow dragons, vampires, the Shadar-Kai, several types of undead, including wraiths, specters and ghosts, as well as other creatures that thrive in the gloom, including cloakers, darkmantles, banderhobbs and bodaks. You also often find beasts such as ravens and spiders.
Shadow-vision
At 3rd level, you connect yourself with the shadows. You can see normally in darkness, both magical and non-magical, to a distance of 60 feet, and so does your your Planar Guardian, whenever you summon it.
Undead Power Source
Starting at 6th level, you start to passively exude the power of undeath. As an action, you can infuse false life essence into yourself and any undead that you control. When doing so, you increase your hit point maximum and current hit points by 2d6 + your Transcendental level and any undead of your choice that you control gain the same benefit. You can use this feature once, and regain its use after a Long Rest.
Cloak of the Raven Queen
Starting at 11th level, you become involved by a dark thin shadow that resembles a cloak and powers your summons. While in dim light or darkness, you and your Planar Guardian have resistance to radiant damage.
Additionally, you can use a bonus action and expend a Transcendental spell slot to make a creature in darkness vulnerable to necrotic damage for 1 round.
Umbra Maxima
Starting at 18th level, you can turn off light sources and create more darkness. Using an action, you can turn off a light source up to 18m/60ft away. If you turn off a magical light source, then you can't turn off magical sources anymore until you finish a Long Rest.
Mount Celestia
The Seven Heavens of Mount Celestia, also called the Seven Mountains of Goodness and Law, Seven Mounting Heavens of Celestia or just simply Celestia, are the model of justice and order, of celestial grace and endless mercy, where angels and champions of good guard against incursions of evil. It is one of the few places on the planes where travelers can let down their guard. Its inhabitants strive constantly to be as righteous as possible. All aspects of Celestia are beautiful and perfect; it is where the souls of many creatures of lawful good alignment go to after death.
The god that chooses you can be any lawful good deity like Tyr, Bahamut, Moradin or Zaphkiel.
Planar Spells
Starting at 3rd level, the plane of righteousness blesses you with additional spells.
Planar Spells
| Level | Spell |
|---|---|
| 3 | Sanctuary, Lesser Restoration |
| 5 | Remove Curse, Revivify |
| 9 | Aura Of Purity, Greater Restoration |
| 13 | Temple Of The Gods, Resurrection |
| 17 | Power Word Heal, True Resurrection |
Mana Exchange: Planar Guardian
When choosing this subclass at 3rd level, you define the type of creatures that you can summon as your Planar Guardian, which is any type of creature that can be found in this plane. Mount Celestia is not so much the plane of
creatures, as it is more the plane of the gods, but you can find celestials laying around: archons, solars, hollyphants, planetars, foo creatures, devas, agathia, shedu, lammasu, ki-rin, dragon horses and many others. It's also the plane of the lawful good, being home to bronze, silver and gold dragons, tortles, nagas and others.
Blessed Hand
At 3rd level, you can infuse a creature with heavenly essence. You touch a creature with an action and spend 1 spell slot. For 1 hour that creature is resistant to necrotic damage and their weapon attacks deal radiant damage instead of their normal damage and count as magical.
Luminance
At 6th level, you gain the ability to control radiancy. As an action, you choose a creature within 1.5m (5ft.) from you or from your guardian and force it to make a Charisma saving throw against your spell save DC. If they fail, you make them shine bright light in a 9m/30ft radius and they become blind. Additionally, at the start of their turns, they take radiant damage equal to your Transcendental level. The creature can repeat the saving throw at the start of each of its turns, ending all effects on a success.
Hallowed Summons
Starting at 11th level, you gain 2 new abilities to help your Planar Guardian in combat:
- As an action, restore a third of your guardian's maximum hit points (rounded down). You can't do so again until you finish a long rest.
- As an action, you can end a condition on your guardian. You can't do so again until you finish a short or long rest.
Guardian Resurrection
At 18th level, you can reactively bring your Planar Guardian back from the dead in the middle of the fight. When your guardian reaches 0 hit points, you can use you reaction and spend 6 spell slots. Your guardian is returned back to life, conscious and awake, with half of its maximum hit points.
You need to be able to see and hear your Planar Guardian to use this ability and you can only use this ability on the very same turn that it dies. Once you resurrected your guardian, you will need to finish a long rest before being able to do it again.
The Abyss
The Abyss embodies all that is perverse, gruesome, and chaotic. Its virtually endless layers spiral downward into ever more appalling forms. Each layer of the Abyss boasts its own horrific environment. Although no two layers are alike, they are all harsh and inhospitable. Each layer also reflects the entropic nature of the Abyss. In fact, much of what one sees or touches on the plane seems to be in a decaying, crumbling, or corroded state.
The God that chooses you can be any chaotic evil deity like Demogorgon, Baphomet, Orcus, Umberlee or Lolth.
You don't need to be evil to use the powers of the Abyss, but it is weird that an evil god would choose you as their herald if you were a good person. Up to your GM's discretion, you will need to have done at least one act of great vileness to prove your worth to them.
Mana Exchange: Planar Guardian
When choosing this subclass at 3rd level, you define the type of creatures that you can summon as your Planar Guardian, which is any type of creature that can be found on The Abyss. The main layers have demons of all types, but across all layers you'll also find abyssal creatures and any type of creature with a chaotic evil alignment.
Mana Exchange: Sacrifice
At 3rd level, you gain a new option of Mana Exchange that you can use, that restores spell slots instead of spending them. During a Short Rest you can use your Portian Key to magically consume your own health to gain mana in return. Choose a number of d3s to roll. You take necrotic damage equal to the result rolled and you restore one spell slot for each d3 rolled.
The Word of the Abyss
At 3rd level, you learn to speak Abyssal.
Magnify Guardian
At 6th level, you can make a demonic ritual during a short or long rest where you expend 6 spell slots to replace your Planar Guardian by a better one with CR one higher than the previous, but both the old and the new guardian have to be of the fiend (demon) type.
The guardian needs to be close to you for the whole ritual. At the end of the ritual you receive 2 levels of exhaustion and roll a number of d6s equal to the CR of the new guardian which you take as necrotic damage.
If you perform this ritual during a short rest, you can also make your ritual of Mana Exchange: Sacrifice as part of the same rest.
Demonic Trade-off
Starting at 11th level, you can greatly increase the power of your Planar Guardian, at a cost of losing control over it.
Once a day, when you use your Mana Exchange feature to conjure a Planar Guardian, you can use this feature to make the ritual instantly, using only an action. You also increase the maximum CR of the guardian you summon by 2, but the creature that you choose can only be of the fiend (demon) type. Immediately after summoning the Guardian in this way, you lose control over it. If the Guardian is summoned during combat, it gains its own initiative count and acts to its own will.
You can summon the Guardian in this way once, and then you need a Long Rest before doing it so again. Once you summoned the Guardian, you can channel your connection to the Abyss to try to stop the Guardian. Using an action, you cause the Guardian to lose 10 feet of movement for its next turn and it takes a number of d10s equal to your proficiency modifier in force damage.
Abysallity
Starting at 18th level, you partially become a Demon Lord. Your creature type becomes fiend (demon), your Strength and Charisma scores each increases by 1 (to a maximum of 20) and you gain a Legendary Resistance that you can use once and it recharges after a Long Rest.
Legendary Resistance
If you fail a saving throw, you can choose to succeed instead.
Mechanus
The Clockwork Nirvana of Mechanus, sometimes also called just Nirvana or just Mechanus, is a plane of pure law, filled with clockwork gears, all interlocked and turning according to measure. The cogs seem to be engaged in a calculation so vast that no deity can fathom its purpose. Modrons are the primary inhabitants of Mechanus. The plane is also home to the creator of the modrons: a godlike being called Primus.
The entity that chooses you can be gods worshipped in Mechanus like Primus, Yama, Lendys or Mystra, or the Nirvana itself. The Nirvana isn't exactly a god, but the plane itself and at the same time it's a concept that represents perfection and divine ascent. You can also be chosen by an inevitable, a god-like construct that uses everything in their power to maintain order. Each different type of inevitable takes care of a different kind of law enforcement.
Mana Exchange: Planar Guardian
When choosing this subclass at 3rd level, you determine the options of Planar Guardians that you can summon. You can summon any creature that can be found in Mechanus as your Planar Guardian.
The Clockwork Plane is composed mainly of constructs, specially modrons, and lots of lawful neutral creatures like the Formian folk. It's also home of maruts, a type of inevitable, but these are too powerful for a transcendental to summon or control.
Mana Exchange: Abandon Greed
Habitants of Mechanus believe they can reach liberation from suffering, and ascend to a state of true enlightment, the so called Nirvana. You share this belief and the first step in the right direction is to abandon material possessions and greed.
At 3rd level, you gain a new option of Mana Exchange that you can use, that restores spell slots instead of spending them. When you use this feature, you sacrifice a number of pieces of gold and gain half that many spell slots (rounded down). Sacrificing money means letting go of the material greed, which gives you more wisdom and makes you more connected to your spiritual self.
Ascended Defense
Starting at 3rd level, you start to acquire a mix of construct characteristics and monk features. Your skin becomes harder like metal, and you understand better the combat discipline of a monk.
Your character's AC without armor or shield becomes 11 + your Wisdom modifier.
Feeling the Weavings
Starting at 6th level, you learn to connect to your guardian through the planar weavings, and it understands your orders instinctively. You can now communicate with your Guardian telephatically and you can give it orders as a bonus action.
Lawful Bodies
At 11th level, your connection to the plane of ultimate order protects you and your guardian against transformation effects.
You become immune to any spell or effect that would alter your form against your will. Whenever you summon a Planar Guardian, they also gain the same effect.
Cosmic Contract
At 11th level, you can request a contract to an inevitable Kolyarut, a mechanical engine of absolute jurisprudence. When you use this feature, you and a willing creature of your choice are transported to The Hall of Concordance in Sigil, The City of Doors, located in the plane called The Outlands.
You need to give to a Kolyarut a contract that you and the creature you chose have agreed upon, plus 1000 gp. The Kolyarut will forge a magical version of your contract onto a sheet of gold, that you both will sign. The contract will then be placed on the Kolyarut's chest. After the contract is sealed, you both are transported back to where you were, and your character gains 2 levels of exhaustion.
From that moment until the contract is fulfilled, the Kolyarut is bound to enforce its terms and to punish any party who breaks them. It resorts to lethal force only when a contract calls for it, when the contract is fully broken, or when it is attacked.
You can request a Kolyarut's service once. At 15th level, you gain another use of this feature, and at 20th level your third and last use.
The Contents of a Contract
Inevitables care nothing for the spirit of an agreement, only the letter. They enforce what is written, not what was meant by or supposed to be understood from the writing. A Kolyarut rejects contracts that contain vague, contradictory, or unenforceable terms. Beyond that, it doesn't care whether both parties understand what they're agreeing to.
A small army of solicitors waits outside the Hall of Concordance, eager to sell their expertise in the crafting or vetting of contracts.
To have your contract accepted by a Kolyarut, it needs to be perfect. You need a workweek of preparation, and at the end of the week, make an Intelligence check. If you have proficiency with Calligrapher's supplies, you can add your proficiency with it to the roll. If you get at least a 21, your contract is perfect, if not, you can still deliver it to a Kolyarut, but at a risk of being rejected.
Shaped by the Nirvana
At 18th level, you get more and more close to the Nirvana, and gain more mechanical qualities. Your gain the following features:
- Your creature type becomes construct.
- You are immune to poison damage, disease and the poisoned condition.
- You don't need to eat, drink, or breathe.
- You don't need to sleep, and magic can't put you to sleep. You still need to rest, nevertheless.
Glossary of Abbreviations
| Initials | Source |
|---|---|
| MM | Monster Manual |
| MToF | Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes |
| VGtM | Volo's Guide to Monsters |
| MOoT | Mythic Odysseys of Theros |
| FTD | Fizban's Treasury of Dragons |
| ToA | Tomb of Annihilation |
| GGtR | Guildmasters Guide to Ravnica |
| BGDiA | Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus |
| ERftLW | Eberron: Rising from the Last War |
Example Planar Guardians
Check with your GM!
These lists of creatures are suggestions based on what creatures are allowed in my personal world: Vifel.
Maybe in your GM's setting some creatures won't be found in certain planes, so remember to check with them what types of Planar Guardians they allow you to summon.
Astral Plane
| Level | CR | Creature | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1/4 | Star Spawn Grue | MToF p. 234 |
| 4 | 1/2 | Nupperibo | MToF p. 168 |
| 7 | 1 | Maw Demon | VGtM p. 137 |
| 10 | 2 | Berbalang | MToF p. 120 |
| 12 | 3 | Githyanki Warrior | MM p. 160 |
| 14 | 4 | Red Dragon Wyrmling | MM p. 98 |
| 16 | 5 | Mezzoloth | MM p. 313 |
| 18 | 6 | Gauth | VGtM p. 125 |
| 19 | 7 | Mind Flayer | MM p. 222 |
| 20 | 8 | Githyanki Knight | MM p. 160 |
Feywild
| Level | CR | Creature | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1/4 | Vegepygmy | VGtM p. 196 |
| 4 | 1/2 | Satyr | MM p. 267 |
| 7 | 1 | Dryad | MM p. 121 |
| 10 | 2 | Giant Boar | VGtM p. 323 |
| 12 | 3 | Owlbear | MM p. 249 |
| 14 | 4 | Yeth Hound | VGtM p. 201 |
| 16 | 5 | Unicorn | MM p. 294 |
| 18 | 6 | Annis Hag | VGtM p. 159 |
| 19 | 7 | Theran Chimera | MOoT p. 216 |
| 20 | 8 | Young Emerald Dragon | FTD p. 197 |
Shadowfell
| Level | CR | Creature | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1/4 | Zombie | MM p. 316 |
| 4 | 1/2 | Darkmantle | MM p. 46 |
| 7 | 1 | Giant Spider | MM p. 328 |
| 10 | 2 | Minotaur Skeleton | MM p. 273 |
| 12 | 3 | Sword Wraith Warrior | MToF p. 241 |
| 14 | 4 | Banshee | MM p. 23 |
| 16 | 5 | Vampire Spawn | MM p. 298 |
| 18 | 6 | Bodak | VGtM p. 127 |
| 19 | 7 | The Lost | MToF p. 233 |
| 20 | 8 | Tyrannosaurus Zombie | ToA p. 241 |
Mount Celestia
| Level | CR | Creature | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1/4 | Tortle | MToF p. 242 |
| 4 | 1/2 | Hippocamp | MOoT p. 227 |
| 7 | 1 | Eblis | ToA p. 219 |
| 10 | 2 | Pegasus | MM p. 250 |
| 12 | 3 | Gold Dragon Wyrmling | MM p. 115 |
| 14 | 4 | Couatl | MM p. 43 |
| 16 | 5 | Unicorn | MM p. 294 |
| 18 | 6 | Wyvern | MM p. 303 |
| 19 | 7 | Firefist | GGtR p. 231 |
| 20 | 8 | Young Bronze Dragon | MM p. 108 |
The Abyss
| Level | CR | Creature | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1/4 | Abyssal Chicken | BGDiA p. 97 |
| 4 | 1/2 | Shadow | MM p. 269 |
| 7 | 1 | Quasit | MM p. 63 |
| 10 | 2 | Rutterkin | MToF p. 136 |
| 12 | 3 | Bugbear Chief | MM p. 33 |
| 14 | 4 | Orc War Chief | MM p. 246 |
| 16 | 5 | Cambion | MM p. 36 |
| 18 | 6 | Young White Dragon | MM p. 101 |
| 19 | 7 | Venom Troll | MToF p. 245 |
| 10 | 8 | Spirit Naga | MM p. 234 |
Mechanus
| Level | CR | Creature | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1/4 | Duodrone | MM p. 225 |
| 4 | 1/2 | Anvilwrought Raptor | MOoT p. 209 |
| 7 | 1 | Iron Defender | ERftLW p. 293 |
| 10 | 2 | Azer | MM p. 22 |
| 12 | 3 | Giff | MToF p. 204 |
| 14 | 4 | Iron Cobra | MToF p. 125 |
| 16 | 5 | Wood Woad | VGtM p. 19 |
| 18 | 6 | Githzerai Zerth | MM p. 161 |
| 19 | 7 | Living Cloudkill | ERftLW p. 299 |
| 20 | 8 | Warforged Titan | ERftLW p. 315 |