Hereditary
Hereditary Occultists draw power from a powerful Ancestor whose power was so great their existence is still felt generations later. They are granted spells and abilities by drawing power from their ancestor through their Medium, a vial of their Ancestor’s blood, a preserved piece of flesh, or appendage such as a pinky finger. They seek to draw out the power of their Ancestor and the latent power in their blood. Other Occultists see them as cultists and zealots who can’t let go of the past.
| Level | Spells |
|---|---|
| 3 | Cause Fear, Inflict Wounds |
| 5 | Borrowed Knowledge, Gentle Repose |
| 9 | Life Transference, Summon Undead |
| 13 | Arcane Eye, Blight |
| 17 | Contagion, Legend Lore |
| 1D8 | Personality Traits |
|---|---|
| 1 | I dote upon my dear descendents, as long as they play nice…. |
| 2 | Mother knows best and you little ones need to be taught a lesson. |
| 3 | I laud my past achievements and miss my former beautiful body. |
| 4 | Grudges are eternal, never cross me or those who share my blood. |
| 5 | I am still shaken by my death and am haunted at the thought of nothingness. |
| 6 | I always have a plan within a plan within a plan. |
| 7 | I love my dear descendant and need to make sure that they are always looking their best. |
| 8 | Oh, a hint of knowledge I was unaware of? Do, tell. |
| 1D8 | Ideal |
|---|---|
| 1 | Nothing is more important than my imminent return. |
| 2 | Anyone who touches or even thinks of touching my family will be flayed with prejudice. |
| 3 | It is my way or the high way. |
| 4 | I am tired and will rest once I finish my mission. |
| 5 | My bloodline will last forever. |
| 6 | My current descendant is gorgeous, a perfect specimen, I will make sure they live a great life. |
| 7 | Any slight must be repaid, a thousandfold. |
| 8 | I do love those that know about my greatness. |
| 1D8 | Bond |
|---|---|
| 1 | History must be told correctly, I was there when the history books were written after all. |
| 2 | I am always right, even when I’m wrong, I’m right. |
| 3 | Death is the beginning, it's fun to have more of my family joining my army…. Ehr, coming home. |
| 4 | I am the hero of my own story. |
| 5 | I have never made a mistake and never will. |
| 6 | The one who ended my life must be killed, and raised up, and killed again. |
| 7 | I was so close to true power, my journey is nowhere near finished. |
| 8 | My lover never joined me in death, where are they? |
| 1D8 | Flaw |
|---|---|
| 1 | I am ruled by passion, logic can take a backseat. |
| 2 | Anyone who knows of my great deeds can’t be all that bad. |
| 3 | When it comes to family I would break every law of nature to protect them. |
| 4 | Anyone who is ugly really should hurry up and remove themselves from the gene pool. |
| 5 | How could anyone not recognize how cute my descendant is? They ought to be drawn and quartered. |
| 6 | I really never did have enough stuff in my last life, good thing my descendent can make me money. |
| 7 | I really am more of a god, and should be revered as such. |
| 8 | I have no concept of life and death, it's just existence really. |
| Ability | Score (1D4) |
|---|---|
| INT | 1- 14 (+2) 2- 12 (+1) 3- 10 (+0) 4- 8 (-1) |
| WIS | 1- 16 (+3) 2- 12 (+1) 3- 8 (-1) 4- 14 (+2) |
| CHA | 1- 16 (+3) 2- 14 (+2) 3- 8 (-1) 4- 10 (+0) |
| D100 | Communication |
|---|---|
| 01 - 60 | The Medium communicates by transmitting emotion to the creature, carrying or wielding it. |
| 61 - 90 | The Medium can speak, read, and understand one or more languages. |
| 91 - 00 | The Medium can speak, read, and understand one or more languages. In addition, the Medium can communicate telepathically with any character that carries or wields it. |
| D4 | Senses |
|---|---|
| 1 | Hearing and normal vision to 30 ft. |
| 2 | Hearing and normal vision to 60 ft. |
| 3 | Hearing and normal vision to 120 ft. |
| 4 | Hearing and Darkvision to 120 ft. |
| D100 | Alignment |
|---|---|
| 01 - 15 | Lawful Good |
| 16 - 35 | Neutral Good |
| 36 - 50 | Chaotic Good |
| 51 - 63 | Lawful Neutral |
| 64 - 73 | Neutral |
| 74 - 85 | Chaotic Neutral |
| 86 - 89 | Lawful Evil |
| 90 - 96 | Neutral Evil |
| 97 - 00 | Chaotic Evil |
| D10 | Purpose |
|---|---|
| 1 | Your Ancestor loves their family and seeks to be reunited in the flesh. |
| 2 | I, your Ancestor am eternal, anyone who seeks to end my bloodline must be mercilessly culled. |
| 3 | I need more knowledge and power, one lifetime is not enough. |
| 4 | My bloodline is the best, if I had hands I’d end each and every branch of Occultism until there is only one. |
| 5 | Your Ancestor is riotous and unruly. Shiny thing? They want it. Hedonistic activity? Say less. A fight? Bring it on. |
| 6 | Your Ancestor is missing their lover, they will stop at nothing to be reunited. |
| 7 | Your Ancestor is meddlesome and forward. When they see a fine specimen with good characteristics they can’t help but want to raise up a stronger descendent. |
| 8 | A great treasure was lost upon the death of your Ancestor, they can’t however, remember where or what is what. They can get unpredictable when a possible lead is uncovered. |
| 9 | Your Ancestor has a distinct hatred of other Undead and Sentient Items. They must be destroyed. |
| 10 | Another Hereditary Occultist branch is out there, and they seek your Ancestor for their own purpose and your Ancestor will wipe them out at all costs. |
| 1D12 | Feature |
|---|---|
| 1 | Vengeful Ancestor: You can cast the spell Hellish Rebuke without expending a spell slot once per long rest. |
| 2 | Fiery Ancestor: You can cast the spell Burning Hands without expending a spell slot once per long rest. |
| 3 | Seductive Ancestor: You can cast the spell Charm without expending a spell slot once per long rest. |
| 4 | Assertive Ancestor: You can cast the spell Command without expending a spell slot once per long rest. |
| 5 | Scholarly Ancestor: You can cast the spell Comprehend Languages without expending a spell slot once per long rest. |
| 6 | Merciful Ancestor: You can cast the spell Cure Wounds without expending a spell slot once per long rest. |
| 7 | Cautious Ancestor: You can cast the spell Disguise Self without expending a spell slot once per long rest. |
| 8 | Scheming Ancestor: You can cast the spell Distort Value without expending a spell slot once per long rest. |
| 9 | Wild Ancestor: You can cast the spell Entangle without expending a spell slot once per long rest. |
| 10 | Protective Ancestor: You can cast the spell Shield without expending a spell slot once per long rest. |
| 11 | Frigid Ancestor: You can cast the spell Frost Fingers without expending a spell slot once per long rest. |
| 12 | Holy Ancestor: You can cast the spell Guiding Bolt without expending a spell slot once per long rest. |
| 1D4 | Demand |
|---|---|
| 1 | Your Ancestor wants to use your body for a night of revelry. |
| 2 | Your Ancestor needs you to make a special errand. |
| 3 | Your Ancestor wants energy, either yours or an Intelligent creature’s will do, surrender a spell slot of their choosing or fight. |
| 4 | Your Ancestor deems you unworthy, they demand to be given to another member of their family. |
| 1D6 | Backlash |
|---|---|
| 1 - 2 | You gain no benefits from your Medium. |
| 3 - 4 | Your Medium denies one or more of its benefits from you. |
| 5 - 6 | Attempts to take control of you. |
| 1D8 | Need |
|---|---|
| 1 | They have a hunger for knowledge in the form of magical items. They require one magical item to be offered every new moon. |
| 2 | They feed on humanoid contact and familiarity. If they are without contact with a humanoid creature that has a bond with their descendant, conflict arises. |
| 3 | They feed on intelligent life. They must consume the soul of a creature with an INT score of 13 or higher every week. |
| 4 | They feed on lifeforce, they must consume a foe whose power is greater than its descendant. They must consume the soul of a creature whose CR is higher than your Occultist level once per full moon cycle. |
| 5 | They feed on their own bloodline. You or a relative must surrender one CON point every three months. |
| 6 | They feed on their descendant’s lifeforce. Once a week the descendant is inflicted with one level of Exhaustion. The Ancestor chooses when to draw upon your lifeforce. |
| 7 | They feed on their descendant’s magical power. Once per week the descent must surrender their highest level spell slot. The Ancestor chooses when to draw upon your arcane energy. |
| 8 | They feed on darkness. If they are denied six continuous hours of complete darkness in a day conflict arises. |
| Path | Feature |
|---|---|
| Powerful Bloodline | Your Ancestor lends you their strength and empowers your body. You have the Tough Feat and have Resistance to Poison damage. |
| Faithful Descendant | Your Ancestor loves your faith and devotion and empowers your mind. You have the Keen Mind Feat and have Resistance to Psychic damage. |
| Grand Secret | Your Ancestor teaches you a grand secret. You learn the location of a rare wondrous item that your DM chooses. |
Subclass Features
Medium Spells
Your chosen Medium grants you certain spells. You know the following spells and they do not count towards the number of spells you can prepare.
Medium
Your Medium is sentient and possessed by your revered Ancestor. It is HIGHLY recommended you roll for your Medium’s attributes.
Personality
Ideals
Bonds
Flaws
Ability Scores
Communication
Your Medium has some ability to communicate, either by sharing its emotions, broadcasting its thoughts telepathically, or speaking aloud. You can choose how it communicates or roll on the following table.
Senses
With sentience comes awareness. The Medium can perceive its surroundings out to a limited range. You can choose its senses or roll on the following table.
Alignment
Your Medium has the same alignment it had in life.
Special Purpose
Your Ancestor has an objective they pursued, perhaps to the exclusion of all else. As long as the descendant’s will aligns with that special purpose, the Ancestor remains cooperative. Deviating from this course might cause conflict between the wielder and your Ancestor, and could even cause the Medium to prevent the use of its activated properties. You can pick a special purpose or roll on the following table.
Feature
Your Medium has an ability that allows their wielder to further your Ancestor’s purpose. The ability reflects the type of person they were in life
Conflict
Your Ancestor has a will of their own, shaped by former life. If their descendant acts in a manner opposed to their Ancestor’s alignment or purpose, conflict can arise. When such a conflict occurs, your Ancestor makes a CHA check contested by the wielder’s CHA check. If your Ancestor wins the contest, it makes one or more of the following demands
If its wielder refuses to comply with the item’s wishes, the item can do any or all of the following
If your Ancestor attempts to take control of its descendant, the descendant must make a CHA Saving Throw, with a DC equal to 12 + your Ancestor’s CHA modifier. On a failed save, the Descendant is Charmed by the item for 1d12 hours. While Charmed, the descendant must try to follow their Ancestor’s commands. If the descendant takes damage, they can repeat the Saving Throw, ending the effect on a success. Whether the attempt to control its descendant succeeds or fails, your Ancestor can’t use this power again until the next dawn.
Needs
Your Ancestor does not require what mortal creatures do. They have other needs.
Familiar Ceremony
You conduct a ceremony of sprinkling blood upon your Medium and using closely guarded phrases to enact it. As an action you call upon your Ancestor’s aid and you regain your lowest level of spent spell slot as long as the spell slot is not greater than your WIS modifier (Minimum 1).
You can use this feature once per long rest.
Path of the Bloodline
Choose a path from which to channel power as it shapes your ancestral journey, allowing you to connect further with your Ancestor. Choose one of the following
Desecrate Space
You can spend one turn dedicated to consecrating a space around you that extends for 20 ft centered on you. It remains Consecrated for one minute or until the spell Dispel Magic is cast or a similar effect is used. Your Ancestor forces those beneath them to submit within this space. Once per turn you can use your bonus action to cast the spell Mind Spike on a target within the circle without expending a spell slot.
You can use this feature once per long rest.
Conduit of the Ancestor
You open yourself to become a conduit to your Ancestor of your Medium (No action required). Your Ancestor uses your mouth and body for your next action. Your Ancestor may take on of the following actions as determined by the DM requiring no resources from you, though if a saving throw is required it uses your spell save DC.
Your Ancestor can cast Globe of Invulnerability, Scatter, or Sequester or an effect of a similar magnitude as determined by the DM.