I ran a campaign earlier this year that was based on Pathfinder/3.5 and I decided to convert some of the resources that I put together for that campaign into a 5th edition style for when I revisit the setting.
That setting previously included potent ritual magic that was essentially modified prestige classes, but due to events of the campaign reducing the effects of most magic I decided that it was appropriate to convert these rituals into feats that are remnants of the old magic.
Not sure if some of these might be a bit overpowered for regular D&D, so feedback is welcome.
Necrotic Cyst
Your necromantic spells cause a cyst of undead flesh to form within the target, leaving the target weakened against your necromantic magic. You gain the following benefits:
Cancerous Companion
You can form a familiar of sentient cancerous flesh within your body, you gain the following benefits:
Children of the Night
When you cast the Find Familiar spell you can instead summon a swarm of creatures. Choose from: Swarm of Bats, Swarm of Insects, Swarm of Snakes, Swarm of Quippers, Swarm of Rats or Swarm of Ravens.
Although you gain the benefit of any special sense the familiar swarm has, the disjointed effect of perceiving through the swarm gives you disadvantage on any rolls while using the familiar swarm's senses.
When dismissed your familiar swarm cannot be placed into a pocket dimension.
Lifedrinker
You can consume the life blood of a helpless creature to fuel your powers.
When you attack a restrained or incapacitated creature you can choose to make a single melee attack to bite the creature, dealing 1d6 damage with a successful attack and the creature must make a Constitution save.
On a failed save the creatures maximum health is reduced by an amount equal to the damage dealt by your bite and you become invigorated, regaining one use of an expended resource (Rage, Inspiration, Spell slot of 5th level or lower, Sorcery Point, Channel Divinity, Combat Superiority, Ki or Shapechange). You cannot exceed the normal number of uses for an ability replenished in this way. If you successfully drain power from the creature, you must complete a long rest before using this ability again.
Mindblade
You can focus your willpower to create a blade of force, you gain the following benefits:
You can use your action to create a melee weapon made of force in your empty hand. You can choose the form that this melee weapon takes each time you create it. You are proficient with it while you wield it. This weapon counts as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage.
When making an attack with the mindblade, you use your choice of Strength, Dexterity (for a Finesse weapon form) or your spellcasting ability score modifier for the attack and damage rolls. You must use the same modifier for both rolls.
The blade lasts as long as you maintain concentration (as if you were concentrating on a spell). You must complete a short rest before you can create another blade, or you can expend a spell slot to create a new blade.
Master of the Unseen Hand
Your prowess with telekinesis is unmatched, you gain the following benefits:
Malign Fury
Draw upon the spirits of dread predators, enhancing your senses and speed. You gain the following benefits:
Spell Poppet
You craft a familiar stitched from human skin and stuffed with shards of bone, fingernails, and grave dirt. You gain the following benefits:
Fleshcrafter
You have learned the dark secrets of crafting dead flesh and bone. You gain the following benefits:
Argent Savant
Your talent with force constructs allows you to make the most of your spell power, you gain the following benefits:
Annihilist
Your skill with the most destructive of magic is unmatched, you gain the following benefits:
Weaver
You have learned to weave magical webs as easily a spider. You gain the following benefits:
Dark Arts
Your study of the necromantic arts allows you to fuel your magic with the final breath of the living.
If you touch a creature that has died within the last round and cast a Necromancy spell of 3rd level or lower, you do not expend a spell slot. You must complete a long rest before you can use this ability again.
That setting previously included potent ritual magic that was essentially modified prestige classes, but due to events of the campaign reducing the effects of most magic I decided that it was appropriate to convert these rituals into feats that are remnants of the old magic.
Not sure if some of these might be a bit overpowered for regular D&D, so feedback is welcome.
Necrotic Cyst
Your necromantic spells cause a cyst of undead flesh to form within the target, leaving the target weakened against your necromantic magic. You gain the following benefits:
- You can touch a creature, and that creature must succeed on a Constitution save or be affected by the necrotic cyst. While the cyst remains the target has disadvantage on saves against necromancy spells and spells dealing necrotic damage. The target may attempt a new save at the end of each of its turns to end the effect of the Necrotic Cyst. You cannot form another Necrotic Cyst until after you finish a long rest.
- If the target dies under the effects of the necrotic cyst you can choose to gain 2d6 temporary hit points, or deal 2d6 necrotic damage to creatures within 5ft of the target.
Cancerous Companion
You can form a familiar of sentient cancerous flesh within your body, you gain the following benefits:
- When you cast the Find Familiar spell you can choose to form a Cancerous Companion rather than gain the service of a regular familiar.
- When you use your action to use your familiar's senses, your Cancerous Companion grants you blindsight with a radius of 10ft and advantage on saves against disease effects.
- The cancerous companion can form a fleshy tendril that you can use to cast touch range spells if your hands are occupied.
- You can use a bonus action to touch a creature with the Cancerous Companion's tendril. The target must make a Constitution save, taking 3d6 poison damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. You must finish a short rest before using this ability again, unless you are a Warlock with the Pact of the Chain feature.
Children of the Night
When you cast the Find Familiar spell you can instead summon a swarm of creatures. Choose from: Swarm of Bats, Swarm of Insects, Swarm of Snakes, Swarm of Quippers, Swarm of Rats or Swarm of Ravens.
Although you gain the benefit of any special sense the familiar swarm has, the disjointed effect of perceiving through the swarm gives you disadvantage on any rolls while using the familiar swarm's senses.
When dismissed your familiar swarm cannot be placed into a pocket dimension.
Lifedrinker
You can consume the life blood of a helpless creature to fuel your powers.
When you attack a restrained or incapacitated creature you can choose to make a single melee attack to bite the creature, dealing 1d6 damage with a successful attack and the creature must make a Constitution save.
On a failed save the creatures maximum health is reduced by an amount equal to the damage dealt by your bite and you become invigorated, regaining one use of an expended resource (Rage, Inspiration, Spell slot of 5th level or lower, Sorcery Point, Channel Divinity, Combat Superiority, Ki or Shapechange). You cannot exceed the normal number of uses for an ability replenished in this way. If you successfully drain power from the creature, you must complete a long rest before using this ability again.
Mindblade
You can focus your willpower to create a blade of force, you gain the following benefits:
You can use your action to create a melee weapon made of force in your empty hand. You can choose the form that this melee weapon takes each time you create it. You are proficient with it while you wield it. This weapon counts as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage.
When making an attack with the mindblade, you use your choice of Strength, Dexterity (for a Finesse weapon form) or your spellcasting ability score modifier for the attack and damage rolls. You must use the same modifier for both rolls.
The blade lasts as long as you maintain concentration (as if you were concentrating on a spell). You must complete a short rest before you can create another blade, or you can expend a spell slot to create a new blade.
Master of the Unseen Hand
Your prowess with telekinesis is unmatched, you gain the following benefits:
- You gain advantage on saves to maintain concentration for the Telekinesis spell.
- You can manipulate a creature or object with the Telekinesis spell by using a bonus action.
- As an action you can choose to end your Telekinesis spell by hurling the creature or object you are manipulating at a target. Make a spell attack roll to hurl the subject of your Telekinesis spell at another creature or object within 30ft of the subject and within range of the spell. Both the subject of your Telekinesis spell and the target takes damage on a successful hit. A small object or creature deals 1d8 damage, larger objects or creatures deal an extra 1d8 damage per size category. You must complete a short rest before using this ability again.
Malign Fury
Draw upon the spirits of dread predators, enhancing your senses and speed. You gain the following benefits:
- Increase your Wisdom or Charisma score by 1, to a maximum of 20.
- You can use a bonus action on your turn to roar with fury. You have blindsight with a radius of 10ft and an Extra Attack until the end of your next turn. You must complete a long rest before using this ability again.
Spell Poppet
You craft a familiar stitched from human skin and stuffed with shards of bone, fingernails, and grave dirt. You gain the following benefits:
- When you cast the Find Familiar spell you can choose to instead craft a Spell Poppet. The Spell Poppet functions as a familiar and counts as a Tiny Animated Object (as per the spell).
- When you cast a spell that has a range of touch and you are holding your Spell Poppet, you can drive a silver pin into your Spell Poppet to make the range of the spell 30ft. You must complete a long rest before using this ability again.
Fleshcrafter
You have learned the dark secrets of crafting dead flesh and bone. You gain the following benefits:
- Undead creatures under your control that you created with Animate Dead or Create Undead, gain a +1 AC bonus.
- When you cast the Find Familiar spell you can instead use the severed hand of a dead creature that has not been raised or animated to create a Crawling Claw. You can create additional crawling claws, but must complete a short rest before you can create another. You may cast Find Familiar on a Crawling Claw that you have created and that Crawling Claw then functions as your familiar until dismissed.
- If you have the Pact of the Chain class feature, you may increase the hit point maximum of a Crawling Claw currently serving as your familiar, by an amount equal to your class level. The Crawling Claw also adds your proficiency bonus to damage rolls.
Argent Savant
Your talent with force constructs allows you to make the most of your spell power, you gain the following benefits:
- When you cast the Bigby's Hand spell you can choose to create a second hand of force in an unoccupied space adjacent to the first hand. You can use your action to control one hand and a bonus action to control the additional hand. While you have two hands manifest, you cannot cast any other spells. You must complete a long rest before you can use this ability again.
- When you are attacked you may use your reaction to use the Interposing Hand effect for one of the hands you have manifest. That hand is automatically dispelled at the end of the attacker's turn.
Annihilist
Your skill with the most destructive of magic is unmatched, you gain the following benefits:
- When you cast the Disintegrate spell you can choose to strike additional targets within range of the spell. The total damage of the spell is divided evenly between the targets. Each creature targeted by your Disintegrate spell can make a Dexterity saving throw to avoid its portion of the damage.
- If a creature survives or successfully saves against your Disintegrate spell, you can choose to have the creature wreathed in destructive green flames as long as it is not immune to the effects of Disintegrate. The green flames cause 2d6 force damage each round. An affected creature can attempt a Constitution save at the end of reach round to extinguish the flames. You must complete a short rest before you can use this ability again.
Weaver
You have learned to weave magical webs as easily a spider. You gain the following benefits:
- You gain the Web Sense and Web Walker abilities when in contact with a web you have created.
- When you cast the Web spell and the target area is adjacent to any existing Web created by you, the previous Web is also maintained by the new casting instead of being dispelled. You may only use this effect if you are in contact with the original Web.
- You can cast Web on a creatures that are restrained by a Web you have created, the creatures affected must make a Reflex saving throw or become completely cocooned within your web. On a failed save the creatures are stunned until freed from the web. Cocooned creatures may still attempt Strength checks to escape the web, but with disadvantage. You must complete a short rest before you can use this ability again.
- You may cast the Web spell using a higher level spell slot. Each spell slot above 2 adds another 20-foot cube to the web area of effect.
Dark Arts
Your study of the necromantic arts allows you to fuel your magic with the final breath of the living.
If you touch a creature that has died within the last round and cast a Necromancy spell of 3rd level or lower, you do not expend a spell slot. You must complete a long rest before you can use this ability again.
