Spiritcaller

An elf, marked by strange swirling tattoos and wearing bone jewelry, dances a slow circle around a funerary pyre, playing his ritual drum in uneven time. As the fallen warrior's body is cremated, his ghost bows and passes a smile to the drummer, now surrounded in the flickering images of lantern-bearing racoons.

A halfling scholar, spectacles askew, calls on ancient warriors, asking their guidance as he and his allies face down a mighty minotaur. With a rush of wind, their blows start landing more solidly, and the faint ghostly form of an armored knight strikes in a flanking maneuver.

A wizened human steps forward into the path of the charging fire elemental, raising his hand in a commanding gesture. As the elemental approaches him, it stops solid against a spectral wave, which resolves into an equine shape.

If clerics are intermediaries between gods and mortals, spiritcallers are intermediaries between spirits and mortals, stepping in to aid forgotten ghosts and placate primal furies alike.

Spiritual Conduit

The world is full of spirits, often unnoticed by mortals, but not by spiritcallers. These hidden spiritual entities include abstract spirits belonging to concepts such as valor, deceipt, or insight, as well as specific spirits belonging to places or the ghosts of fallen mortals. Some schools of thought even attribute elementals and treants as spirits of primal nature.

The spiritcaller is the conduit for the energies whispered by these spirits. Supported by a spirit guide, who trains them in their journey and enhances their ability to sense the spirit realm, spiritcallers can command a fire spirit into an inferno, aid the transition of a lost soul into the afterlife, or grant themselves and their allies the combined knowledge of ancient warriors.

Sacred Purpose

It is the most common case that a spiritcaller is chosen, rather than trained. Though their powers are developed with practice and dedication, they are only gained through the cooperation of a guiding spirit, and those spirits usually pick their future callers out before the eventual caller even knows it.

Spiritcallers, once chosen, are often drawn to adventure in the world. The nature of their task requires them to seek out spirits in unrest, and for the most part, such spirits cause upheaval that adventurers are suited to handling.

Creating a Spiritcaller

When creating a spiritcaller, it is important to know how they learned their art. Did they train under a mentor in the ways of the spirits, waiting for the day when their guide would find them? Were they selected by the guide while following some other profession?

Once they were trained, where did the spiritcaller find service? Perhaps they were raised in a society whose traditions eschew the gods in favor of more abstract notions of faith. Or perhaps they worked as a medium in a large city, cooperating with and clashing with the grand temples in equal amounts.

Work with your DM to determine the place of your spiritcaller in their world.

Quick Build

You can make a spiritcaller quickly by following these suggestions. First, your highest ability score should be Wisdom, followed by Constitution. Second, choose the Hermit background.

Class Features

Your Class gains the following features

Hit Points

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• Hit Dice: 1d8
• Hit Points at 1st Level: 8 + your Constitution modifier
• Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 (or 5) + your Constitution modifier per Spiritcaller level after 1st.

Proficiencies

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• Armor: Light armor
• Weapons: Simple weapons
• Tools: Herbalism Kit, one type of musical instrument

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• Saving Throws: Wisdom and Charisma
• Skills: Choose two from Animal Handling, Insight, Medicine, Nature, Performance, Persuation, Religion, Survival

Equipment

You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:

• (a) a spear or (b) any simple weapon
• (a) leather armor or (b) scale mail (if proficient)
• (a) a priest's pack or (b) an explorer's pack

What is a Spirit?

Many of the spiritcaller's class features refer to spiritual entities. The exact definition of a spiritual entities is up to your DM, but should always include incorporeal undead, elementals, and fey associated with specific locations or objects. An undead is considered incorporeal if it has the Incorporeal Movement special ability or a similar ability.

Some class features also refer to your spirit. Unless otherwise indicated, this always means the spirit gained by your Guiding Spirit class feature.

Guiding Spirit

At first level, spiritcallers gain the service of a powerful personal guiding spirit, which can manifest in the world to aid them as needed. The exact form of the spirit varies widely, but all guiding spirits have the following characteristics:

• The guiding spirit has hit points equal to 4 times your spiritcaller level. Its size is medium and it has a 30 foot move speed.
• The guiding spirit's armor class is equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + your wisdom modifier.
• The guiding spirit uses your ability checks and saving throws, including proficiency bonuses where applicable.
• The guiding spirit can detect the presence of spiritual entities within 30 feet of it, even if they are hidden by a special feature such as natural invisibility. This does not allow the guiding spirit to locate those creatures.
• While within 100 feet of you, the guide can communicate with you telepathically. Additionally, both you and your guide have advantage on Wisdom and Charisma checks made involving spiritual entities while within this range.
• The guiding spirit acts on your turn. You may use your action to direct it to make a melee attack against a target adjacent to it. This attack uses your proficiency bonus and wisdom modifier, and deals damage equal to 1d8 + your wisdom modifier. The type of damage is determined by your spirit's Aspect.

When you complete a long rest, your Guiding Spirit regains all of its hit points. If it has fallen in battle, you can remanifest it by performing a ritual that takes ten minutes following a long rest, restoring it to full hit points.

Spiritual Aspect

When you first take this class, your guiding spirit is imbued with an aspect, representing the nature of its connection to the world. Choose from the Aspect of the Psychopomp, the Aspect of Bravery, or the Aspect of Elements. Your choice grants you class features when you select it and at levels 3, 7, 10, 15, and 20.

Spirit Points

At second level, your connection to the spirit world deepens, allowing you to draw on a pool of spiritual energy represented by your spirit points. You have a number of spirit points indicated in the spiritcaller class table, which are used to fuel a number of class features. You regain all expended Spirit Points upon completing a short or a long rest.

Spirit Surge

At second level, you can imbue yourself, an ally, or your Guiding spirit with spiritual energy. As a bonus action on your turn, you may spend up to 4 spirit points. For each point spent, a target within 30 feet deals an extra 1d8 damage on their next successful weapon attack within one minute. This additional damage is of a type that matches your Guiding Spirit's damage type. A target can only have one instance of Spirit Surge on them at a time.

Ghostwise Sight

At third level, you can sense spirits even when they are hidden from mortal view. As an action on your turn, you extend your senses. Until the end of your next turn, you can identify the location of each spirit within 60 feet, even if it is hidden by a special feature such as natural invisibility, and generally know the disposition of that spirit (hostile, unfriendly, neutral, or friendly). If the spirit has a condition which compels it in some way (such as a ghost's unfinished business or a geas spell), you additionally learn of that fact (but not what the condition is).

You can use this feature a number of times equal to 1 + your Wisdom modifier. You regain all uses when you finish a long rest.

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. Alternatively, you can choose a feat (see Chapter 6 for a list of feats).

Rebuke Spirits

At 5th level, you can apply your will against hostile spirits. As an action, you can spend 3 spirit points. Each hostile spirit within 30 feet of you must make a saving throw (DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier) or suffer one of the effects below (your choice). All spirits in the area suffer the same effect.

• Chastised: Spirits must make a Constitution saving throw or be stunned for until the end of their next turn.
• Turned: Spirits must make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, they must use their reaction, if available, to move as far away from you as possible, and are frightened of you and your guiding spirit until the end of their next turn.
• Pacified: Spirits must make a Charisma saving throw or be charmed for one minute. This effect ends if the target takes damage. At the end of the minute, the spirit knows that it was charmed by you.

Spirits targetted by Rebuke Spirits cannot be affected by it again until the you have completed a short or a long rest.

Imbued Spirit

Starting at 6th level, you learn how to invest equipment with spiritual energy. As an action on your turn, you may spend 3 spirit points and touch a nonmagical weapon or suit of armor. For 1 minute per spiritcaller level you possess, that item is treated as magical and grants a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls (if a weapon) or armor class (if a suit of armor). The bonus to AC from this effect does not stack with bonuses to AC from spells or magic items. Only one target may be affected by Imbued Spirit at a time. If you use this feature on a new target, the old target loses the benefits.

You can also use this feature on your guiding spirit, it gains the bonuses of both weapons and armor.

This ability improves at 11, allowing you to spend 5 spirit points to grant a +2 bonus, and again at 17, allowing you to spend 7 spirit points to grant a +3 bonus.

Eternal Spirit

Starting at 9th level, whenever you complete a short rest, your spirit regains hit points equal to the amount you regain by spending hit dice. If your spirit has fallen in battle, you may remanifest it with a single hit point over the course of a short rest before applying this healing.

Additionally, you and your guiding spirit each gain temporary hit points equal to 5 + your wisdom modifier each time you complete a short or a long rest.

Spirit Journey

At 11th level, your connection to the spirit realm allows you greater mobility in the physical realm. You may spend spirit points to take the following actions:

• By spending 2 spirit points, you can, as a bonus action on your turn, teleport to any point you can see within 100 feet of you.
• By spending 4 spirit points, you can, as an action, give yourself a 60 foot fly speed for 1 minute.
• By spending 3 spirit points, you can, as a bonus action, become intangible until the end of your turn, allowing you to move through solid objects as though they were difficult terrain. If you end your turn in a solid object, you take 1d10 force damage.

Guardian Spirit

Starting at 13th level, when you take damage and your spirit is alive and within 100 feet of you, you can use your reaction and spend 3 Spirit Points to cause the spirit to suffer all of the damage taken instead of you.

Spirit Burst

At 14th level, you can use your action to cause your spirit to unleash a furious explosion of energy. Every target within 10 feet of it must make a Dexterity saving throw (DC 8 + proficiency bonus + wisdom modifier). On a failed save, targets take damage as though they were struck by the Guiding Spirit's melee attack (including bonuses from magic, Spirit Surge, or Imbued Spirit), or half as much damage on a successful save.

Ley Lines

At 17th level, you learn how to tap into flows of spiritual energy that are laced over the mortal world. You may as an action regain a number of spirit points equal to half of your maximum. Once you have used this feature, you cannot use it again until you finish a long rest.

Astral Traveler

At 18th level, your attunement to the spirit realm allows you to enter it. You can spend 10 spirit points to cast the spell astral projection, without needing material components. While on the Astral Plane, you and anyone traveling with you cannot be lost. Once you have used this feature, you cannot use it again until you have completed a long rest.

Spiritual Aspects

The exact nature of their spirit guide determines both the focus of the spiritcaller's purpose and the nature of many of their powers.

Described here are the Aspect of the Psychopomp, the Aspect of Bravery, and the Aspect of Elements.

Aspect of the Psychopomp

The psychopomp spirit's ultimate purpose is the guide the souls of dead mortals to their final rest (or punishment, as the case may be). To that end, their callers receive many abilities specifically useful for the destruction of undead and manipulation of life and death.

Guiding Spirit

Your guiding spirit's attacks deal necrotic damage when you take this aspect, or radiant damage if striking an undead. When your spirit or a target of your spirit surge class feature deals damage to an undead target, they deal an additional 1d8 damage. These effects do not stack.

Speech of the Dead

When you first take this archetype at 1st level, you learn an additional language of your choice. You may change this bonus language whenever you complete a long rest.

Not Your Time

When you first take this archetype at 1st level, your spirit learns to read the flow of life and can grant allies a fighting chance against the march of death. Whenever an ally within 30 feet of your spirit falls to 0 hit points, they automatically succeed on one death saving throw.

Grave Grasp

At 3rd level, you learn to call forth echoes of final rest to creatures. You may spend 2 spirit points to cause the earth to attempt to drag a creature down into it. Choose a target within 60 feet. They must make a Strength saving throw (DC equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + your wisdom modifier) or become restrained for 1 minute. The creature may use an action to make a Strength saving throw to end this effect. Undead have disadvantage on both saving throws. Affected undead lose the Incorporeal Movement trait or similar traits while the effect lasts.

Paths of the Other Side

Starting at 7th level, you have resistance to necrotic damage due to your connection to the afterlife. You also have advantage on saving throws against effects that would reduce your maximum hit points, and can make a Constitution saving throw (DC equals 15 or half damage dealt, whichever is higher) to avoid those effects if they do not already allow one.

Reaping Spirit

Starting at 10th level, your spirit guide's damage increases. Its base damage increases to 2d8, and the bonus damage to undead for your spirit and spirit surge increase to 2d8.

Ghostflesh

Starting at 15th level, your connection to the realms of the dead allows you to grant yourself false life. You may spend 5 spirit points to increase the maximum hit points of both you and your spirit guide by an amount equal your spiritcaller level until the next time you complete a short or a long rest. Using this feature also increases your current hit points by the same amount. You may only be affected by one instance of this ability at a time.

Cut the Thread

At 20th level, you learn to end a life in almost an instant. When your spirit guide hits a target in combat, you may spend 8 spirit points to attempt to end that target's life or unlife. It must make a constitution saving throw with a DC equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + your wisdom modifier. On a failed save, it is reduced to 0 hit points. On a successful save, it takes 15d8 necrotic damage. Undead have disadvantage on this saving throw and take 15d10 radiant damage instead.

Once you have used this feature, you cannot use it again until you have finished a long rest.

Aspect of Bravery

Fallen heroes leave long shadows, and famous battles can birth new spirits entirely. These spirits, when acting as a guide, encourage their callers to turn the tides and shift the lines on powerful battles.

Guiding Spirit

The damage type of your guiding spirit is either slashing, piercing, or bludgeoning. You may choose the type each time the spirit attacks.

Bonus Proficiencies

At 1st level when you select this aspect, you gain proficiency in medium armor. You also gain proficiency in the History skill.

Lore of Battle

You are able to recall information about battles long past and draw on the knowledge gained from them. If you spend at least 1 minute observing a tactical map or massed armies, you learn the following information about them.

• Which commander has more experience
• Which army is better provisioned
• Which army has more troops
• The primary troop types of each army

Spectral Volley

At 3rd level, you can call on a unit of spiritual archers to unleash a volley. Spend 3 spirit points and specify a point within 100 feet. Each creature within 20 feet of that point must make a Dexterity saving throw (DC 8 + your proficiency bonus + your wisdom modifier). They take 3d6 piercing damage on a failed save or half as much on a successful one. Until the start of your next turn, the affected area counts as difficult terrain.

Spiritual Shield

Starting at 7th level, your guiding spirit can occupy the same space as you without penalty. While you are both occupying the same space, you each get a +2 to Armor Class.

Olympian Spirit

At 10th level, your spirit masters the ancient art of thrown weapons. Instead of making a melee attack when you command it to attack, it can make a thrown ranged attack with a range of 30/120. This attack uses the same attack bonus and damage as their melee attack.

Additionally, your spirit's attacks improve to deal 2d8 damage.

Phalanx

Starting at 15th level, you can call on a unit of spiritual shieldmen to protect yourself and your allies. Spend 5 spirit points and specify up to 6 targets within 60 feet. For one minute, all affected targets are protected by a shieldman, giving them advantage on dexterity saving throws and attack rolls against them have disadvantage. A shieldman can be attacked directly to remove this effect. They have hit points equal to half your class level plus your wisdom bonus and an armor class of 10.

Avatar of Bravery

At 20th level, you learn how to bond with your spirit, temporarily becoming an avatar of bravery. Activating this feature takes an action. For 1 minute, your spirit merges with you, granting the following benefits:

• You gain resistance to slashing, bludgeoning, and piercing damage.
• Your weapon attacks deal the damage of your spirit's attack, including any modifiers such as Imbued Spirit.
• Your armor class is the greater of you and your spirit's armor class, and you gain the +2 bonus from Spiritual Shield.
• You can add your Wisdom bonus to Strength and Constitution saving throws.
• You can make an additional attack when you take the attack action.

Once you have used this feature, you cannot use it again until you finish a long rest.

Aspect of Elements

Not all spirits are echoes of men; many spirits come about due to natural phenomena or represent primal forces. When one of those naturally occuring spirits chooses a caller, that caller is tasked with protecting the natural world from the onslaught of civilation and protecting the innocents from the wrath of angry primals.

Guiding Spirit

The damage type of your guiding spirit's attacks is either acid, cold, fire, lightning, or thunder, chosen when this aspect is selected. The spirit gains resistance to the same damage type. When you complete a short or a long rest, you may change your choice of damage type for this feature.

Mark of the Elements

At 1st level, you can mark a target within 60 feet with a weakness to elemental energy as a bonus action. Choose one of the following damage types: acid, cold, fire, lightning, or thunder. For 1 minute, each time that target takes damage of the specified type, they take an additional 1d6 damage of that type. Once you have used this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a short or a long rest.

You gain an additional use of this feature at 10th level. You regain all uses upon completing a short or a long rest.

Primal Speech

Additionally at 1st level, you learn how to speak, read, and write primordial. When communicating with elementals, you always sound like you are speaking their native dialect of primordial (aquan, auran, ignan, or terran).

Stormcaller

At 3rd level, you can call down an elemental strike on a target. Spend 2 spirit points and make a ranged spell attack using wisdom as your spellcasting ability score against a target within 100 feet. On a hit, that target takes 2d8 damage of your spirit's current damage type, and all creatures within 5 feet of the target take 1d8 damage of the same type unless they succeed on a Dexterity saving throw (DC 8 + proficiency bonus + Wisdom modifier).

You can increase the damage of this attack by spending additional spirit points. For each spirit point spent beyond 2 (up to a maximum of 6 total), both the initial damage and the splash damage increase by 1d8.

Primal Attunement

Starting at 7th level, you have resistance to the current damage type of your guiding spirit. Whenever you change the damage type of your spirit following a rest, you also change your resistance to match.

Improved Mark of the Elements

At 10th level, your Mark of the Elements improves. The damage bonus increases to 2d6. As a bonus action on your turn, you can change the damage type of an active mark.

Elemental Absorption

Starting at 15th level, you can use your spiritual energy to turn elemental damage into temporary hit points. As a reaction when you or your spirit take acid, cold, fire, lightning, or thunder damage, you can spend 5 spirit points as a reaction to negate that source of damage and instead gain temporary hit points equal to the lower of your level or the damage dealt.

Ascendance

At 20th level, you can cause your spirit to enter an ascendant form as a bonus action. For 1 minute, its attacks deal 4d8 instead of their normal damage, and it gains an additional effect depending on its current damage type:

• Acid: The spirit's attacks ignore all resistances and immunities, and enemies striking the spirit in combat take 2d8 acid damage.
• Cold: Enemies struck by the spirit are restrained until the start of the spirit's next turn.
• Fire: The spirit's attacks deal 2d8 fire damage to all other creatures within 10 feet of the spirit. You are immune to this damage.
• Lightning: The spirit's move speed increases to 100 feet. It can make two attacks when you use your action to make it attack, instead of one.
• Thunder: Enemies struck by the spirit are defeaned until the end of their next turn. While defeaned by this effect, targets must make a saving throw (DC = 8 + your proficiency modifier + your Wisdom modifier) using their spellcasting ability whenever they attempt to cast a spell with a verbal component. If they fail this save, they do not cast the spell and their spell slot is not consumed, but they lose whatever action they used to cast it.

Once you have used this feature, you cannot use it again until you finish a long rest.