Eldritch Stalker
Some Witchers draw the short straw and are forced to take on tasks well beyond human comprehension. They must decide to fight the madness and die or embrace it and hunt the aberrations that creep in the evil places of the world. Every Elditch Stalker is insane and well aware of it. They use their mysterious abilities to mimic and use the vile powers of those they hunt against them. They are well respected Witchers for doing the tasks that most wouldn’t even attempt but that does not mean that they are well liked.
| 1D8 | Manifestation |
|---|---|
| 1 | Skittering Sensation: You often feel unseen things are skittering around your feet or on your body. You are always on guard and cannot be Surprised unless you are asleep. |
| 2 | Something in My Head: You always feel that something is inside of your head. Perhaps it is a presence or maybe something was implanted in your head and you can feel its pressure at times. Any creature that attempts to read your mind perceives unrelated thoughts to what you are thinking. |
| 3 | My Skin is not my Own: You feel like you do not belong in your own skin. To sooth yourself you learned the spell Disguise self. This spell does not count towards the number of spells you can know. |
| 4 | Things Move While I’m not Looking: You think that things are moved or rearranged when you are not watching. You have advantage on Investigation checks as you are hyperaware of where things are or should be. |
| 5 | I Can Understand Things that I Shouldn’t: Sometimes words and symbols come together whether you like it or not. When you hear or attempt to read a language you do not understand roll 1D4. On a 1 you hear or read awful things and you take 1D6 damage, on a 2 or 3 you hear or read as if you understand the language but you cannot speak it, on a 4 you can hear, speak, and read the language as if you are a native for the next minute. |
| 6 | Things Lurk in the Dark: You often see movements real or not in Dim Light or Darkness of things that want to hurt you. If a creature attacks you with advantage while in Dim Light or Darkness you can use your reaction to make them roll as normal as you are always anticipating such attacks. |
| 7 | Something Scratches Me in My Sleep: You sometimes wake up with marks on your body. It is unknown if they were caused by a creature or if your mind manifested them using force of will. Each morning roll 1D4 on a 1, marks appeared on your body from that night. Then roll 1D6 on a 1 the marks are a message written in a language of your DM’s choice or are a symbol. Otherwise the marks are random, at least to those that see them. |
| 8 | I See Things that Aren’t There: Sometimes a person or object will stick out to you like a vase that shines or a person that no one else seems to see. If you investigate oddities that you see in your Madness you can roll 1D20 and on a 20 the thing or person really is there but may have been in another form or was Invisible or on another plane. On a 1 the thing or person was never there. Otherwise upon looking closer everything appears normal. |
| 1D8 | Transformation |
|---|---|
| 1 | Nightmare Wings: Wings sprout from your back and when they are unfurled the faces of many terrible creatures can be seen pressing against the membrane of the wings. You have a Flying speed equal to your movement speed. Once per long rest you can excite the visages contained in your wings and force each creature within 60 ft of you that can see you make a WIS saving throw DC equal to your Sign save DC and on a failed save takes 3D6 Psychic damage and uses their reaction to move as far away from you while avoiding obviously dangerous obstacles. On a successful save they take half as much damage and suffer no additional effects. |
| 2 | Barbed Tentacles: Two purple tentacles covered in black barbed sprout from your sides. They are 10 ft long and can manipulate simple mechanisms such as closing a door, pulling a lever, etc. They can hold a number of lbs equal to twice your STR score but cannot. They are unable to hold weapons or shields with enough strength or finesse to be useful in combat. You can use a bonus action to cause one or both tentacles to spring forth and make an unarmed attack dealing 1D10 magical Piercing damage + 1D6 Psychic damage and the tentacles are embedded. The target can attempt to remove the tentacle(s) by attempting an Athletics check DC equal to your STR score otherwise they cannot move more than 10 ft from you. You can withdraw one or both tentacles as a bonus action. When a tentacle is removed its barbs deal 3D4 Piercing damage. |
| 3 | Scintillating Skin: Your skin has become slightly sticky and you lose all your hair. You can change the color of your skin at will, allowing you to have advantage on Stealth checks or a +6 bonus to Stealth checks in Dim Light or Darkness. When a creature makes an attack on you can use a reaction to cause your skin to make a dizzying display of alien colors and patterns causing the attack to be made with disadvantage. If a creature fails the saving throw by 5 or more they take 2D6 Psychic damage as they try to grasp the unfathomable patterns displayed. You can use this feature a number of times per long rest equal to your Proficiency Bonus. |
| 4 | Ebon Shell: Your skin becomes hard and a deep shade of black. You gain an unarmored AC of 18 and any critical hit on you becomes a normal hit. |
| 5 | Deep Eyes: Your eyes sink to an impossible degree and become swirling voids. You can use an action and target one creature that can see you within 60 ft of you and force them to gaze into your eyes. The target must make an INT saving throw DC equal to your Sign save DC and on a failed save their mind becomes maddened causing them to see things that are not there for 1D4 turns. If the target would take the attack action or make an attack it must roll 1D4 per attack and on a 1 the attack targets a hallucinatory figure and on a 2-4 they attack their original target with a 1D8 penalty to the attack. You can use this feature once per long or short rest. |
| 6 | Alien Heart: A second presence beats to life in your chest, a second heart pumping an oily substance that can be seen spreading throughout your body like your own blood. While you have both hearts you can gain two levels of Exhaustion without taking side effects and as long as you have at least 1 hit point remaining you regain 2 hit points at the start of each of your turns. If you would be reduced to 0 hit points roll 1D10, on a 1 your normal heart gives out from the strain and your alien heart takes over. If you are killed, your alien heart takes over and your normal heart is lost. Once your alien heart takes over roll 1D6: on a 1 your race changes to Flayed, 2 Choker, 3 Nothic, 4 Skum Infiltrator, 5 Slaadi Abomination, 6 Star Spawn. You then arise with half your hit points as your new race and fight on. |
| 7 | Everlasting Hunger: Something is deeply wrong with you. Something feels off. It seems something has taken up residence alongside you. The first time you deal damage to a non Construct, Elemental, or Undead or reduce one such creature to 0 hit points, a black tentacle ending with a toothy mouth on an eyeless head shoots out of your mouth. It makes an attack with a range of 10 ft with +7 to hit dealing 1D6 + 2 Piercing damage and 2D8 Necrotic damage and you gain temporary hit points equal to the Necrotic damage dealt as it feeds and gives you a portion of its substance in a bizarre and terrifying act of symbiosis. |
| 8 | Skittering Legs: Your legs split and bend and become four to six thin legs ending in small claws granting you a Climbing speed equal to your movement speed and you can move along vertical surfaces or upside down without requiring an ability check. The legs at times have a mind of their own, if you fail a DEX or STR saving throw they try to move you from danger allowing you to reroll the save and take the new result. |
Subclass Features
Eldritch Madness
You have seen things and studied things that mortals are better off not knowing. You have one permanent level of Madness that cannot be cured with means less than divine intervention. Roll 1D8 to determine the way your Madness manifests.
Madness Table
Amenti
Eldritch Stalkers can choose to use the forbidden alchemical sign for madness which would shred the mind of any other Witcher attempting to use it if they even could use it at all. You know how to manipulate it in the following ways
Unsettle (0 Stamina): You make the Sign of Amenti as a bonus action and cause a creature of your choice within 10 ft of you to make a WIS saving throw and on a failed save the target has a 1D4 penalty to their next attack or saving throw for the next minute.
Infiltrate Mind (1 Stamina): You can make the Sign of Amenti as an action and attempt to gleam insight from a creature of your choice within 60 ft of you. The creature must make a WIS saving throw and on a failed save you gain a brief insight as to their surface thoughts and can see what they are currently viewing through their eyes. Success or failure you take 1D6 Psychic damage for your meddling.
Nightmare Magen (2 Stamina, Inscribed): You can use an action and inscribe the Sign of Amenti. You choose a trigger such as an amount of time passing by, a certain word or phrase, or such as if a creature moves within 5 ft of it and when triggered the inscribed Sign makes an illusion of a terrifying creature for one minute. The creature’s appearance is determined by you and makes a predescribed series of motions and sounds determined by you for the duration of the Sign. The illusion is highly distressing so much that if a creature is unaware of the illusion creatures have advantage on attacks on the creature as long as they are aware of the illusion.
Eldritch Slayer
You channel the power of law and order into your weapons in order to combat the madness that lies outside the realms. When you hit a creature with an attack you can use a bonus action to deal an additional 2D6 Radiant damage. If you would deal damage to an Aberration this way you deal 2D8 damage instead.
You can use this feature once per long or short rest.
Warped Mind
You have seen things that cannot be unseen and it has changed you. You have Expertise in Intimidation checks as words unbidden can leap from your lips. This change also gives you Resistance to Psychic damage and if you would gain Resistance to Psychic damage from another feature you instead gain Immunity to Psychic damage for the duration of the secondary effect.
Creeping in the Dark
You stalk your prey from the shadows for in the shadows they dwell. You have advantage on Stealth checks in Dim Light or Darkness.
Brief Escape
You have developed a small haven that has allowed you to retain what remains of your sanity. When you would be dealt damage you can use a reaction and expend 5 Stamina and escape to a pocket dimension until the start of your next turn. The pocket dimension is your ideal temperature and while it contains no resources other than air it can take on any illusory appearance you desire such as a sunny beach.
Terrifying Change
In a fit of madness and rage you consumed a piece of Aberrant flesh at some point and it reacted to your growing power and sought to transform you. You can either roll on the Aberrant Change table or choose one option.
Aberrant Change
Escapism
Your mental and bodily strain is great and the need to escape is great. The first instance each day of your Brief Escape feature costs no Stamina.