D&D 5E Xanathar's Guide to Everything gets the Shadow Sorcerer
To be honest I had no idea how to do that, I just figured it out, see below.
The shadow sorcerer gets their magic
from the shadow fell itself it makes
them very resilient and also can make
them incredibly quirky and fun to play
shadow so sure is really fun design
because it's the dark sorcerer it's the
sorcerer who is kind of creepy and draws
upon the power of the shadow fellow of
shadow magic it really plays with the
boundary between life and death and
that's where I really see this character
as this very weird sort of Gothic
ephemeral like you know III what I love
about that my favor thing with the class
even counting the mechanics is the the
table of quirks where it's things like
you know your heart beats once an hour
you know things like that your hands
like you blinked once yeah last week I
totally picture like if you if you're
familiar with the phantasm series in
movies it's an actor fantastic actor
like I don't know why he didn't get more
work as a villain angus scrimm plays the
tall man the the the nemesis of the
heroes in the series and I always
picture Aizen to play a shadow sorcerer
I'd play like angus scrimm who's this
very tall imposing guy and he and the
first one he poses as he's running a
he's a mortician that's like his cover
for his evil deeds and I would totally
play my character has like Angus Gramm
the mortician you know in D&D; you know
obviously geared up to adventure but
that's totally just like this rail thing
tall kind of creepy you know guy who
just can't look at other living
creatures except as things that could be
you know embalmed alright it's like how
will I make you look good once you're
dead right you're like and just having
that sort of morbid and that's the
morbid sense of humor about it and and
you know it's very easy just go dark
room dark room dark room dark right but
to me I think this character is really
fun when you play with that idea of the
dark humor we're all going to die
eventually right things like that death
is just part that's just it's part of
life it is you know it's the it's the
point of life you could say that's where
you know this character would say we're
all going to die and main let's see no
death is more important than life in
some ways to this character and so that
was really fun and you know this idea
that when they get dropped they get the
instead like I'm a zombie mechanic
instead of getting dropped they can
actually steena them once pressed they
can they then or they said drop to one
hit point so
denying death I like to think of it as
so much not that they're denying death
is if they're so familiar with death
could that rather than be afraid of it
they just read it or like wow that's
here it's not doesn't faze them so they
don't draw and then the Hound of
ill-omen shows up as one of their
abilities and this is one where we have
his cylindric anak in the heck's played
for the warlock and i just didn't seem
to fit in but here it really does that
sort of Hound of the Baskervilles feel
the the creepy you know the black dog in
Irish myth things like that like you
know it's the Hound that's it's it's
it's foretelling your doom you know
things like that because again this is
the character who being at the
intersection of life and death is
comfortable to them they're they're used
to traversing that barrier and so here's
like this this manifestation of that
power they can command to help people
along preferably their enemies but yeah
I like and I'm sorry I really love that
feel of it so I kind of just picture
this character as just a mortician
straight out of you know there's like a
classic like animal skin Old West
looking mortician type guy so that angus
scrimm appearance its callo utility as
well like you can just use your sorcery
source very points to like not spam
darkness but you can you can shoot
darkness around and you can see in that
magical yeah no not again that's me
that's the ideas and I think if I was
playing that character you know
obviously we just say it's a doctor
spell but to me it's like well what is
the what is the star kiss actually
represent right and the side of it
you're so comfortable with it and again
it kind of goes back to me that idea of
straddling life and death that to you
the darkness is just as it's just a
different state of light it's not
something to be afraid of and being
attuned to it as a shadow sorcerer
you're you're used to traversing and it
doesn't it doesn't faze you and it is
tactically fun if you're more in the
tactical end of things I go what's this
cool of this character shutting down
line-of-sight it's a very powerful
ability because I can you can't see me
but I can still see you because I can
see through it and so I can throw spells
through things like that and so that is
something I think is really fun to play
with and again you can play up that idea
of you think that the rest of the party
can't see through it but this character
can and so you're again you're treading
on that idea of I'm comfortable here in
the darkness that from the end that
comes before death everyone else might
be freaked out they don't want to be
there but that to you it's as a shadow
sorcerer
that's where you live you can find the
shadow sorcerer in xanthus guide
everything you can purchase that book on
dean DB on comm and earn pre-order
bonuses as well i'm todd kenric thanks
for
watching
you
Chaosmancer
Legend
Not that I will probably ever do it, but how do you get a transcript from these videos other than just listening and typing?
chunkosauruswrex
First Post
Youtube closed captioning
Sir Brennen
Legend
I'm currently playing a Shadow Sorcerer in a bi-weekly campaign, so I was really hoping this archetype made the cut for XGtE. The party is only 4th level, so I haven't had a chance to play with features like the shadow hound yet, but he's been pretty fun. I took from the list of quirks more for inspiration, and went with he has a low metabolism overall (very slow heartbeat, breathing, cold to the touch, only occasional blinking.) My Backstory with a Dark Secret (tm) includes a physical transformation when I gained my sorcerous powers, so I look like Keanu Reeves playing Neil Gaiman's Sandman comic character. So I've got the goth-y look, but that's about it. He's more a criminal (background) who likes finding ways to leverage his new magical powers in such endeavors. Magical darkness I can see through is great in that regard (and I've used it to good effect in combat as well.)
Two things kind of played for laughs in party interactions: some of my companions are kinda of freaked out by my appearance, debating whether I'm undead or not. They're convinced at higher levels I'm going to turn into the "Final Boss". I look for opportunities to creep them out when I can. One character has stated when he's on watch, he also watches my character, to make sure I'm still breathing at least a little. When exploring a hot, humid cave fed by geothermal springs, I leaned over and theatrically whispered "I'm not sweating."
The other is the party mage is generally annoyed with the warlock and I for our magical abilities which didn't require years of study to gain. You need books for your spells? Pfft.
The one thing I really hope is in XGtE are more shadow themed spells, especially at lower levels. Fire-bolt and Burning Hands don't really say "Shadow Sorcerer" to me. (Though I changed, with DM permission, Fire-bolt to necrotic damage, and my Burning Hands flames are black and shadowy in appearance.)
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Refluff for black fire.
I think Olivia "Liv" Moore from izombie would be a fun seed idea for a Shadow Sorceror.
I call the Shadow Sorceror Silhouette, she has bone white skin and hair, and needs to eat brains, with her quirks being she takes on personality traits of the last brain she has eaten.
I think Olivia "Liv" Moore from izombie would be a fun seed idea for a Shadow Sorceror.
I call the Shadow Sorceror Silhouette, she has bone white skin and hair, and needs to eat brains, with her quirks being she takes on personality traits of the last brain she has eaten.
Refluff for black fire.
I think Olivia "Liv" Moore from izombie would be a fun seed idea for a Shadow Sorceror.
I call the Shadow Sorceror Silhouette, she has bone white skin and hair, and needs to eat brains, with her quirks being she takes on personality traits of the last brain she has eaten.
I think Olivia "Liv" Moore from izombie would be a fun seed idea for a Shadow Sorceror.
I call the Shadow Sorceror Silhouette, she has bone white skin and hair, and needs to eat brains, with her quirks being she takes on personality traits of the last brain she has eaten.
grimslade
Krampus ate my d20s
THe weird thing is that the Shadow Sorcerer is a charismatic character. I could see a PC as guardian of the veil between light and shadow. Keeping the dark nasties from the 'fell from crossing over and creatures of the prime from falling into darkness. A forceful personality that coerces and dominates, not a wallflower who hides in the shadows and mopes.
Exactly I picture that dark, maybe a bit Goth, but not emo, like Mike sad, Dark sense of humour.
Maybe even seductive in the way Shar Goddess of Night can be nilihistically seductive.
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