Spellcasting

As a magister, the skill to manipulate the essence of living beings is your goal that you must study and meditate on to achieve. The techniques for doing so can be enhanced by studying spells and the arcane.

See chapter 10 of the official player handbook for the general rules of spellcasting and the end of this document for the magister spell list.

Hit Dice

When a magister ability or feature mentiones the use of hitdice, it refers only to magister hitdice.

When a feature involves rolling a magister hitdice, you roll the hitdice + your constitution modifier.

For example, if you're a 5th-level magister you have five magister hitdice, which are all d8's, if an ability requires you to roll your hitdice you roll a d8 + your constitution modifier.

3

Essence magic

At 1st level, you learn how to harness essence to power your abilities, as such you gain the following features

when you deal damage or heal with a spell you may expend hitdice to empower it. You may spend one hitdice to increase the damage or healing of the spell by the number rolled on this die. Essence magic only applies for the first instance of healing or damage caused the spell. At 13th level you may spend one additional hitdice when using this feature.

Your control over essence allows you to recuperate your own lifeforce quickly. When taking a long rest, you regain all magister hitdice rather than half, in addition, you regain one magister hitdice on a short rest.

You may never store more more magister hitdice than you have magister levels.

Magister Sect

At 2nd level, you choose one of three magister sects to adhere to: the Sect of Bone, the Sect of Blood, or the Sect of Flesh. These Sects give you features at 2nd level and again at the 6th, 10th, 14th and 20th levels. Each sect is detailed at the end of the class description.

Essence spells

At 3rd level, you gain the ability to manipulate essence to alter your magister spells. You may use multiple effects on the same spells, as long as you meet all the requirements.

• Reversed lifeforce: When you deal damage or heal with a spell using a spell slot of 1st level or higher, you may spend hitdice equal to the level of the slot to turn damage into healing, or healing into damage. This effect only applies for the first healing or damage roll you make for the spell. When dealing damage with a healing spell the enemy must make a constitution saving throw against your spell save DC.

• Mana overflow: When you roll damage or healing for a spell using a spell slot of 1st level or higher, you can spend hitdice equal to the level of the slot to take the maximum damage or healing instead of rolling.

• Essence sentry: Spending one hitdice when you cast a spell or cantrip, you may delay the spell. Set a trigger that makes the spell go off, this can be something like "When an enemy passes through that door hit them with disintegrate". You then cast the spell as normal, and leave a magical essence sentry hovering in your space, which remains there for 1 minute. When the triggering event occurs, the Essence sentry releases the spell at your designated target, it then dissapears.

• Reverbing magic: When you cast a non concentration spell or cantrip that requires an attack roll or saving throw that targets a single creature, you may spend two hitdice to make it a reverbing spell. If the spell hits it has its normal effect and then hits an additional target within 15ft of the first. If the spell required an attack roll you roll again to hit the second target.

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.

Essence Embodiment

At level 5 your hitdice increases to a d8, this does not retroactively increase your health, but does change all of your magister hitdice to d8's At level 11, it increases to a d10, at level 17, it increases to a d12.

Essence Harvest

Starting at 9th level, when a spell you cast reduces a creature to 0hp you may steal its essence regaining one hitdice. Additionally as an action, you may harvest the essence of a creature within 5ft if it was killed within the last minute, regaining one hitdice. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses of it when you finish a long rest.

Essence incarnate

At 18th level, you master the manipulation of essence in your own body, and others.

As an action you choose a creature within 120ft and manipulate its essence, if the creature is an ally it rolls one of its hitdice and gains hp equal to the result. If the creature is hostile it rolls one of its hitdice and takes necrotic damage equal to its result.

Additionally, as an action, you may touch a creature and transfer a number of years between you up to your level. If the creature is unwilling, they make a constitution saving throw against your spell save DC, on a success they are unaffected. When you have used this ability, you may not use it again until after a long rest.

Magister Sects

Though the basic skills of each magister are at their core identical, practitioners of essence manipulation choose various means to an end. This is done through adhering to the discipline of various magister sects. Though the disciplines have their orgins in various Sects, some which still exist, the disciplines created by those sects have a far further reach than the sects themselves, magisters are always hungry for apprentices to grow their field of study's reach.

The Sect of Bone

Magisters belonging to the sect of bone study and draw upon negative energy and expend it to empower their allies, raise the dead and puppeteer the living and dead. It's practitioners include liches, tribal shamans, Mortuary caretakers and students of the occult. Their essence focus is a bone, rarely the practitioners own, often from dead relatives, saints, or from powerful creatures, especially undead.

Mortuary magic

Your affinity for necromantic essence gives you the option to learn some non-magister spells that focus on manipulating the energies of life and death. When your Spellcasting feature lets you learn a magister spell of 1st level or higher, you can select the spell from the following list of spells, in addition to the magister spell list. You must otherwise obey all the restrictions for selecting the spell, and it becomes a magister spell for you.

spell Level	spells
1st	Inflict Wounds	Bane
2nd	Gentle Repose	Blindness/Deafness
3rd	Animate dead	Speak with Dead
4th	Death Ward	Shadow of Moil
5th	Danse Macabre	Negative Energy Flood
6th	Create Undead	Magic Jar
7th	Resurrection	Finger of Death

Grim Harvester

At 2nd level you learn to flow essence to your allies and minions to empower them, and to draw it back into you when they expire.

Any undead you control add your proficiency bonus to their saving throws and attacks rolls.

When an ally within 30ft of you rolls initiative they gain temporary hp equal to your magister level.

Whenever an ally within 30ft of you is reduced to 0hp, you may regain one hitdice. You can benefit from this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses of it when you finish a short rest.

Puppeteer

At level 2 you can use your essence to animate the dead controlling them to your whims.

As an action you may raise corpse of a beast, humanoid, monstrosity or undead as your undead minion expending two hitdice.

The minion cannot have a CR higher than your magister level and must be large or smaller in size. If it had a flying speed it cannot end its turn in the air, gliding to the ground at the end of its turn.

• the newly created undead has health equal to three times your magister level + your constitution modifier, it lacks hitdice of its own.
• The minion retains any proficiencies, gains the undead type and becomes immune to poison damage and the poisoned condition.
• The minions ability scores are reduced by 4 to a minimum of 1 and it loses any ability to cast spells or summon other creatures.
• You may telepathically communicate with your minion as long as it is within 120ft of you and it obeys your mental and verbal commands to the best of its ability.
• as a bonus action you may spend one hitdice healing the minion for the result.
• In combat the minion acts on your turn, it benefits from grim harvester's temporary hitpoints as if it rolled initiative.

Your control over your minion lasts for one day, each day as part of your morning preparations you may spend one hitdice to reassert control over your minion, restoring it to full health in the process. Raising a minon does not repair its form nor restore body parts, but its body can be mended through other spells or through surgery.

A minion not under your control may act according to its instincts in life, seek vengeance against its killer, or become hostile to all life. It retains its ability to speak if it could in life, but cannot lie to or work against its master.

Dance macabre

Starting at 6th level you can infuse your allies with unholy vigor, moving by your direction and power.

As an bonus action you you may spend one hitdice, selecting creatures within 30ft up to your intelligence modifier. These creatures may move their speed without provoking opportunity attacks. Until the end of their next turn they gain advantage on their next dexterity saving throw or attack roll. Undead affected by Dance macabre gain temporary hp equal to the result on the hitdice.

Overwhelming Power

At 10th level learn to infuse your undead minion with negative energy, unleashing a blast of life sapping power.

As an action you spend a hitdice to infuse your undead minion within 120ft, The undead releases a wave of energy dealing necrotic damage in a radius around it determined by its CR, as seen on the Overwhelming power damage chart, a successful constitution saving throw, halves the damage.

Master of Undeath

Starting at 14th level your mastery of the essence of death increases, improving earlier features.

• with your puppeteer ability you may raise Dragons, fiends and giants as well.

• If your undead minions have a flying speed they no longer must end their turn on the ground.

• Your undead minions physical ability scores are reduced by 2 instead of 4, at level 20 they are not reduced at all.

• The amount of creatures you can affect with dance macabre increases to your intelligence modifier + your proficiency bonus.

Necropolis

At 20th level you can consecrate an area with negative energy, empowering yourself and undead within it. you may spend 1 hour to perform this ritual, at the end of which you consecrate an area 1 mile in radius for 24 hours. If this ritual is performed in the same location every day for a year, it becomes permanent and is considered a 9th level spell for the purposes of being dispelled.

• Creatures that aren't undead or constructs within this area that die raise again as skeletons or zombies under your control at the beginning of your turn.

• Creatures within the Necropolis are considered to be in range for your grim harvester features. When the duration of the Necropolis ends, all undead raised by its effects die. Undead raised by the Necropolis may not leave its area.

• While within the necropolis, you may cast the spell negative energy flood at 5th level as a bonus action once per turn, casting the spell this way it does not consume a spell slot.

Once you have used this feature, you may not use it again until you have taken a long rest.

Tip for DMs:

Bone magisters have access to a lot of spells and abilities that allow them to control many different creatures at the same time. If there is a lot of extra bodies on the battlemap it can slow down combat significantly.

If there is a lot of the same kind of creature you may choose to treat them like a horde.

A horde roll initiative together, moves together and attacks only once. The attack bonus of this attack is the creatures proficiency bonus +1 for each creature beyond the first in the horde. Its damage is the damage of the main attack of the creatures in the horde multiplied by the remaining creatures without bonuses from ability scores or magic items.

The horde has health equal to the combined health of each member of the horde, once the horde has taken damage equal to the health of one member the horde loses one member.

the horde rolls saving throws only once and are immune to non-damaging effects that only affect a single target. Damage from area of affect abilities is multiplied by the amount of members of the horde the effect hits. Hordes should generally not exceed 5 members, if there is a lot of additional creatures try forming additional hordes.

A horde of 5 skeletons has an attack bonus of 6, and deal 5d6 damage on a hit, they have 65 health and loses a member each time it loses 13 health or more.

Master of blood magic

Starting at 14th level your mastery of blood magic increases.

• when using Hematometic movement you may teleport to living creatures as well, though you still require a corpse or another significant source of blood as an origin point.

• When you blood tap, if the blood tap attack reduces the target to 0hp, you regain the spent hitdice.

• When you invigorate an ally they may choose to make their extra attack immediately.

Bloodthirster

At 20th level you master blood magic, controlling blood and essence as a natural extension of yourself. You can take on a form of flowing blood controlling it to your whims.

As an action you may undergo the transformation, for 1 hour, you gain the following benefits.

• Your worn equipment are integrated into your form, and transform with you, they retain their normal function.

• You do not need to breathe, and are immune to the exhaustion, grappled, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, prone and restrained conditions.

• You may slip through gaps as small as 1 inch and can take any shape desired, limited only by size.

• you gain resistance to slashing, bludgeoning and piercing damage from non-magical weapons.

• Your melee attacks have their reach increased by 10ft and deal extra necrotic damage equal to your intelligence modifier.

• When a non construct creature within 30ft is reduced to 0hp, you may drain it of its essence, restoring hp equal to its CR to yourself or an ally within 60ft. Draining a creature this way, extends the duration of bloodthirster by 1 hour, draining creatures with a CR lower than 1 has no effect.

You may end the transformation early as a bonus action. Once you have used this ability, you may not use it again until you have taken a long rest.

Magister Sect of Flesh

Magisters belonging to the sect of Flesh, focus on the study of the physical form and positive energy, using their magics to empower themselves, becoming living weapons.

Practitioners include warrior mystics, battlemages, macabre cultists and village healers.

Their Essence focus is usually a vessel containing a piece of flesh gathered from a forearm or leg, some extreme sects have been known to use an eye, or even their tongues.

Control the flow

Beginning at 2nd level you know how to strengthen your body at the right time to deflect and absorb incoming damage.

Once per turn when you take damage you may spend one hitdice, and reduce the damage taken by the result.

8

Essence Strike

Starting at 6th level you make your flesh as strong as steel when you strike your foes striking at their very lifeforce with every blow.

• Once per turn when you hit with an unarmed attack, you may use the Essence magic feature to empower it, following the same restrictions otherwise.

• You can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the unarmed attack bonus action on your turn.

• Your unarmed strikes count as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage.

Essence bulwark

At 10th level, your control of your body now extends to your allies, protecting them as well.

As a reaction when an ally within 30ft of you that you can see takes damage you may spend one hitdice, and reduce the damage taken by the result.

Master of the Flow

Starting at 14th level your mastery of the physical form and the flow of essence increases.

• When you spend a hidice to reduce damage with the Essence bulwark or Control the Flow features you double the result on the hitdice.

• When you make an unarmed attack on your turn, your movement speed is increased by 5ft until the end of your turn.

Perfect Warrior

At 20th level, you learn to transform your body and mind into a perfected form, taking on an shape idealized for combat. Your mind-set changes alongside your body so that you relish combat, fighting without fear or worry.

As an action you may undergo a transformation gaining the following benefits:

• You have advantage on strength and constitution checks and saving throws.
• You are immune to the frightened condition.
• If you are smaller than large sized, you may grow to be large.
• Your unarmed strikes can do your choice of slashing, bludgeoning or piercing damage, has a reach of 10ft and deal an additional 3d8 damage.
• you gain resistance to slashing, bludgeoning and piercing damage.
• your movement is doubled and you are unaffected by non-magical difficult terrain.
• You may not cast spells other than cantrips while you are in this form.

You may end the transformation early as an action. You may remain in this form for 1 hour, which does not need to be consecutive, once the time is up you may not transform again until you have taken a long rest.

Magister Spell List