Class Features
As an Essentialist, you gain the following class features.
- Hit Dice
- 1d4 per Essentialist level
- Primary Ability
- Charisma
- Saves
- Intelligence, Charisma
- Multiclassing
- Intelligence 12, Wisdom 12, Charisma 12
Proficiencies
- Armor: Light armor, shields
- Weapons: Simple weapons
- Tools: One set of artisan's tools (your choice), glassblower's tools
- Skills: Choose two from Arcana, Deception, Insight, Intimidation, Investigation, Medicine, Nature, and Religion
Equipment
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:
- (a) a light crossbow and 20 bolts or (b) any simple weapon
- (a) a component pouch or (b) an arcane focus
- (a) a scholar's pack or (b) a diplomat's pack
- Leather armor, any simple weapon, and two daggers
- Two Tier 0 (Glass) soul vials
Essentialist Spellcasting
You have a limited number of spell slots, and all of your spell slots use the highest available level. To cast one of your Essentialist spells, you must expend a spell slot. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a short or long rest. You cannot replace known spells or cantrips when you gain levels unless a feature explicitly allows it.
Your spell save DC for Essentialist spells is 8 + your proficiency bonus + your spellcasting ability modifier.
Your spellcasting is called sigil magic. Whenever you cast an Essentialist spell, you must inscribe a visible sigil in the air with one hand (You must have a free hand to draw the sigil), tracing a specific pattern that shapes the spell. This sigil serves as a special somatic component for the spell. You do not need to provide the spell's verbal component, if it has one, when you cast it as an Essentialist spell.
| Essentialist Level | Spell Slot Level | Slots | Cantrips | Spells Known |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-2 | 1st | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| 3-4 | 2nd | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| 5-6 | 3rd | 3 | 4 | 6 |
| 7-8 | 4th | 3 | 4 | 8 |
| 9-10 | 5th | 4 | 5 | 10 |
| 11-12 | 6th | 4 | 5 | 12 |
| 13-16 | 6th | 5 | 6 | 14 |
| 17-20 | 6th | 5 | 6 | 16 |
Spellcasting Focus
Your bounded object acts as a spellcasting focus for your Essentialist spells.
Essentialist Spell List
You can choose your spells from the Essentialist spell list.
Loading spells...
| Spell Name | School | Ritual |
|---|
Fascination
You wield magic through a bond fueled by your fascination, using sigil magic rather than regular magic. Your spellcasting is described in the Essentialist Spellcasting feature. That bond is bound to your mind, and it can be anchored through certain objects, entities or situations that resonate with your subconsciousness.
Charisma is your spellcasting ability for your Essentialist spells.
Bounded Object (1st Level)
At 1st level, you gain the ability to bind one item you can carry or wear (such as a ring) as your bounded object, which you use to focus your fascination. You can spend 30 minutes performing a ritual to bind a different item as your bounded object. You can perform this ritual once per day, and you can have only one bounded object at a time. While the object is in your possession, you can use one of the following options. After you use one option, you can't use a different one until you finish a long rest.
- When you make an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw, you can roll 1d4 and add it to the total. You can use this option a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus.
- When a creature you can see makes an attack roll, saving throw, or ability check, you can roll 1d4 and subtract it from the roll. You can use this option a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus.
- As an action, you regain a number of expended spell slots equal to half your proficiency bonus (rounded down), to a minimum of 1 slot. Once you use this option, you can't do so again until you finish a long rest.
When you finish a long rest, you regain all expended uses of your bounded object.
Soul Vials
You can capture and store a creature's essence in a soul vial. Soul vials have tiers. A vial's tier must be high enough for the creature's challenge rating, and your Essentialist level must meet the required level for that tier. Each soul vial can hold only one creature's essence at a time. Undead and constructs can't be captured in a soul vial. You can capture a creature only if it has been dead for no more than 24 hours.
From 2nd level, your work with soul vials also lets you Transmute Essence using a 10-minute ritual.
| CR Range | Vial Tier | Essentialist Level |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Tier 0 (Glass Vial) | - |
| 1-3 | Tier 1 (Normal Vial) | - |
| 4-7 | Tier 2 (Silver Vial) | 4th |
| 8-11 | Tier 3 (Golden Vial) | 8th |
| 12-15 | Tier 4 (Forgotten Vial) | 12th |
| 16-19 | Tier 5 (Legendary Vial) | 16th |
| 20 | Tier 6 (Mythic Vial) | 20th |
Soul Vial Costs
Approximate costs by tier are shown below.
| Tier | Approximate Cost |
|---|---|
| Tier 0 | About 25 gp |
| Tier 1 | About 50 gp |
| Tier 2 | About 250 gp |
| Tier 3 | About 1,250 gp |
| Tier 4 | About 2,500 gp |
| Tier 5 | About 5,000 gp |
| Tier 6 | About 10,000 gp |
Essence Sight (2nd Level)
Starting at 2nd level, your study of souls lets you sense living essence. You gain blindsight called Essence Sight that starts at 15 feet and increases by 5 feet at 4th level and every two Essentialist levels thereafter. Essence Sight is in addition to your normal senses; it does not replace them. You and your Essence Monstrosity are immune to the blinded condition. Within the Essence Sight range, you perceive creatures as outlines of essence even in darkness, though you can't see through full cover. Essence Sight does not detect undead or constructs. While your Essence Monstrosity exists, it also has Essence Sight at the same range.
| Essentialist Level | Essence Sight (blindsight) |
|---|---|
| 2 | 15 ft. |
| 4 | 20 ft. |
| 6 | 25 ft. |
| 8 | 30 ft. |
| 10 | 35 ft. |
| 12 | 40 ft. |
| 14 | 45 ft. |
| 16 | 50 ft. |
| 18 | 55 ft. |
| 20 | 60 ft. |
As a bonus action, you can read a creature's essence. Choose one creature you can sense with Essence Sight and roll a d100. Results are additive; higher brackets include all lower information.
| d100 Roll | You Learn |
|---|---|
| 10-30 | What it is and its creature type |
| 40-60 | Its ability scores and challenge rating |
| 70-90 | Either one of its resistances or one of its vulnerabilities (if any),(your choice) |
| 100 | All of its resistances and all of its vulnerabilities (if any) |
Transmute Essence
You recombine three captured essences into a new one.
- At 2nd level, you learn to Transmute Essence, a 10-minute ritual that lets you recombine essence into something greater. You sacrifice three essences stored in your soul vials; the three soul vials and their essences are destroyed. You must also provide an empty soul vial of a tier that can hold the ritual's base CR (see below). You gain one new soul vial filled with a random living creature's essence (no undead or constructs). You can perform this ritual once per day, and it consumes a nonmagical gemstone worth at least 100 gp. The minimum Challenge Rating (CR) of any creature whose essence you attempt to transmute is 2; creatures of CR 1 or lower are never valid targets.
- At 4th level, you can instead sacrifice the three essences used by your Essence Monstrosity, rather than using three vials. When you do so, you still need to provide an empty soul vial. In this case, the Monstrosity and those essences are destroyed, and your empty vial is filled with a random living creature's essence (this doesn't require a gemstone).
- Base CR: Use the average of the three sacrificed essences' CRs (round down, minimum 2).
| d100 Roll | CR Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 10-30 | Base CR - 1 (min 1) | Lower than average |
| 40-60 | Base CR | Average |
| 70-90 | Base CR + 1 | Higher than average |
| 100 | Base CR + 1 | Choose one of two valid creatures |
Arcane Initiate (2nd Level)
At 2nd level, your foundational sigil studies sharpen your spell execution. Your spell save DC increases by 1.
Fixation (3rd Level)
Fixations are powerful enhancements amplifying your fascination. Each one reshapes your bond and subtly steers your thoughts and behavior.
You choose one fixation when you reach 3rd level. This choice reflects a singular, defining focus within your fascination, and you can't choose a second fixation later. Starting at 9th level, your fixation deepens into an obsession. Your obsession grants you an additional benefit, as described in the fixation's entry.
Loading fixations...
| Fixation | Obsession |
|---|
Fascination Paths (4th Level)
When you reach 4th level, choose one path for your fascination.
Loading fascinations...
| Path | Bonus |
|---|
Monstrous Resilience (5th Level)
At 5th level, your Essence Monstrosity grows more durable. It has resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical attacks.
Polyglot (6th Level)
Starting at 6th level, you learn two languages of your choice. In addition, you can cast Comprehend Languages without expending a spell slot a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest. You can also cast Comprehend Languages using spell slots you have of the appropriate level.
Arcane Prodigy (7th Level)
At 7th level, your grasp of magical concepts and sigil structures deepens. You read spellflows as they form, react faster to shifting arcane patterns, and apply your magic more effectively. Your spell save DC increases by 1, and you gain proficiency in one skill of your choice.
At 14th level, your understanding of arcane theory broadens. You anticipate disruptions, adapt mid-incantation, and refine your casting in the moment. Your spell save DC increases by an additional 1, and you gain proficiency in one additional skill of your choice.
Expertise (10th Level)
At 10th level, choose two of your skill proficiencies. Your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check you make that uses either of the chosen proficiencies.
At 15th level, you can choose two more of your skill proficiencies to gain this benefit.
Mind of Steel (11th Level)
Starting at 11th level, you and your Essence Monstrosity are immune to psychic damage.
Essence Sacrifice (13th Level)
Starting at 13th level, you can convert stored souls into raw vitality. As an action, you destroy a number of filled soul vials of your choice, up to a maximum equal to your Essentialist level. You and your Essence Monstrosity each regain hit points equal to twice the combined challenge rating of the creatures whose souls were contained in the destroyed vials (minimum of 1 hit point per creature). The chosen soul vials and the essences within them are lost forever.
Devouring (17th Level)
Starting at 17th level, your Essence Monstrosity can consume a creature's body and lingering essence. When a creature dies within 10 feet of the Monstrosity, you can have it devour the creature over the next minute, leaving behind only the creature's equipment and faint soul scars.
If your Essence Monstrosity has consumed a creature in this way within the last 24 hours, you can't be put to sleep by magic and you are immune to disease. You don't age; your body remains youthful and healthy, and effects that would age you have no effect on you. If 24 hours pass without your Essence Monstrosity consuming a creature in this way, you immediately lose these benefits until it feeds again.
Essence Bomb (18th Level)
Beginning at 18th level, you can force your Essence Monstrosity to violently rupture, releasing the bound essences inside it in a devastating burst. As an action, you cause your Essence Monstrosity to explode and be destroyed. Each creature within 20 feet of it must make a Dexterity saving throw against your spell save DC.
On a failed save, a creature takes force damage equal to half of your Essence Monstrosity's maximum hit points (rounded up), is pushed 15 feet away in a random direction and stunned until the end of its next turn. On a successful save, the creature takes half as much damage and is not stunned. As part of this detonation, all essences in your soul slots are sacrificed and are lost forever.
Essence Vortex (20th Level)
At 20th level, you can tear open the vortex of essences within you and let it flood the battlefield. As a bonus action, you unleash the Essence Vortex, which lasts for 1 minute. For the duration, you emit a 30-foot-radius aura of swirling essence fragments. Every hostile creature within 30 feet of you has its Armor Class reduced by an amount equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum reduction of 1) and has a penalty to its saving throws equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum penalty of 1) while it remains in the radius.