Spheres of Power Wiki

Dark Sphere Feats

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Aura of Mystery

An air of mystique and class that comes hand in hand with an obscured face. Much like a mask.
Prerequisites: Dark sphere (Cloaking Darkness).

Benefit: You gain the benefits of the Cloaking Darkness obfuscation option as a constant sphere effect, functioning in any area of illumination except bright light. This constant sphere effect cannot be granted the gaze into the abyss augment.

Blackened Terrain (Defiler, Drawback)

The color drained from the very land, leaving behind bleakness and despair.
Prerequisites: Terrain Casting drawback, Dark sphere.

Benefit: Whenever you blight, corrupt, or drain an area using the Terrain Casting drawback, the blighted area is treated as a Dark sphere gloom for the purposes of other abilities and effects (such as your cloak ability and conflicting with light effects); this does not alter the light level or carry any other effects of your gloom. This effect lasts for 1 round per caster level.

Four Defiler Feats: Whenever you blight, corrupt, or drain an area using the Terrain Casting drawback, as a swift action you may spend 2 spell points to create a gloom (centered on the blighted area). You must still concentrate on this gloom (or may spend 1 spell point to allow it to continue without concentration). You may create a gloom this way despite being in a blighted area.

Note: The defiler feats were initially printed in Drop Dead Studios’ The Cataclysm Handbook and modify the defiled area caused by the Terrain Casting general casting drawback.

Dark Portal

Boots travel quietly through the night.
Prerequisites: Dark sphere (Traveler’s Darkness).

Benefit: Whenever you use the step through darkness (meld) to teleport, you may choose to leave a portal in the square you teleported from, which remains until the start of your next turn. Creatures may enter the portal as part of a move action to move, or by spending a move action while within the portal’s square, to move into any square adjacent to the square you teleported into. If there are no unoccupied spaces, the portal cannot be used. The portal is a teleportation effect.

Special - Umbral Transposition (requires Portal advanced talent): If you possess this feat, the Umbral Transposition feat, and the Portal advanced talent, the portal left behind by the Dark Portal feat is also treated as a Warp sphere Portal for other effects and abilities.

Shadow Boxer (Combat)

Prerequisites: Dark sphere (Manifest Darkness), Improved Unarmed Strike.

Benefit: When granting yourself a shadow limb with the manifested shadows option, the shadow limb may now be used as though it were your unarmed strike (but otherwise still cannot wield weapons or shields, fulfill somatic components, grant additional actions or extra attacks, etc.). In addition, your natural reach with the shadow limb increases by +5 feet, +5 feet per 5 caster levels.

Attacks made with the shadow limb using this feat’s additional reach suffer a -2 penalty if the target is in an area of bright light, -2 per 5 feet the target is from you.

Special - Master Of Shadows advanced talent: You may choose to use this feat to modify shadow limbs created using the advanced shadow limb option. If you do, weapons wielded by your shadow limbs deal damage equal to your unarmed strikes (instead of the weapon’s normal damage dice) and benefit from this feat’s additional natural reach (but also the penalty to attack rolls made against targets in an area of bright light).

Shadow Feast

Certain schools of thought heavily warn against burning one’s own wick at the base.
Prerequisite: Dark sphere.

Benefit: Once per day as a free action, you may gain any number of spell points (to a maximum number equal to 1/2 your casting ability score). Spell points gained this way may exceed your normal maximum spell pool. After using this ability, at the end of your turn you take 2 points of ability burn to your casting ability score for every spell point gained this way.

Your shadow disappears until this ability burn heals, making you unable to benefit from (shadow) effects, including the shadow stash sphere ability, creating shadow lurks from your own shadow, and so on.

Shadow Lurk Expert

The shadows obey your call and enact your will.
Prerequisites: Dark sphere (Living Darkness).

Benefit: In addition, you gain the following abilities that modify shadow lurks you create with the lurking shadow option:

  • Information Control: You learn all information a shadow lurk witnesses when its duration ends, and may choose what information the shadow lurk’s target learns, if anything (such as choosing to not let a target learn they had a shadow lurk created from their shadow).
  • Lurking Arsenal (requires Master Of Shadows, Shadow Stash): A shadow lurk you create from your own shadow benefits from constant magic items you have equipped in your shadow stash (such as a belt of physical prowess and other “always on” and passive magic items).

Special - Living Darkness Mastery: A shadow lurk you create from your shadow with the lurking shadow, improved advanced option benefits from your constant magic items and may also use use-activated magic items stored in your shadow stash (as though you used it, consuming a charge as normal).

  • Lurking Stash (requires Shadow Stash): A shadow lurk you create from your own shadow can access your shadow stash while adjacent to you. A shadow lurk must spend at least a move action to place or retrieve an item from the shadow stash. A shadow lurk is unable to use alchemical, consumable, technological, charge-based, and other similar items drawn from your shadow stash.
  • Lurking Step (requires Traveler’s Darkness): Shadow lurks you created are treated as though they were a gloom you created when determining a valid space to teleport into with the step through darkness (meld) option. When you teleport into a shadow lurk’s square this way, you may choose to swap places with the shadow lurk.

As a sphere ability, you may use lurking step as an immediate action by spending 1 spell point to teleport into the space of a shadow lurk that was dismissed (by you or with its own actions) or destroyed. You may choose to use this ability after learning the information from the shadow lurk being dismissed. The shadow lurk must be within range of your step through shadows teleportation to use this ability.

Special - Seeing Shadows (Dual Sphere) feat: When teleporting into a shadow lurk’s square, you may immediately disguise yourself with the Illusionary Disguise option with a disguise matching the shadow lurk’s. Creatures that have not disbelieved your shadow lurk’s disguise are not granted a chance to disbelieve the disguise and believe that you took its place.

Special - Eternal Darkness, Master Of Shadows: You may teleport to a shadow lurk by spending 2 additional spell points if it would be further away than your step through darkness (meld)’s range, instead using the shadow walk (shadow) advanced option to travel to that shadow lurk’s square. This may also be used as part of the immediate action to teleport to a shadow lurk that has been dismissed or destroyed, requiring a total of 3 spell points.

  • Permanent Shadow Lurk (requires Clinging Darkness): You gain a single, permanent shadow lurk formed using your own shadow as a constant sphere-like ability. This shadow lurk cannot be modified by the empowered shadow lurk or lurking surprise augments, and may be detached or reattached from your shadow as a move action. If this shadow lurk is destroyed, this constant sphere-like ability is suppressed for 1d4 rounds.
  • Slippery Shadow Lurks (requires Trickster’s Darkness): Shadow lurks you create benefit from the fluid silhouette (shadow) option as a constant effect. At caster level 10, this is further modified with the malleable silhouette augment.

Dual Sphere Feats

Feats with the (dual sphere) tag allow you to combine the effects of multiple spheres either by combining the effects of multiple spheres as part of using a single sphere ability, or by granting new sphere abilities which can be used to interact with those spheres.

Abilities granted by a dual sphere feat may list additional prerequisites, which must also be met to use that ability. If an ability would require a specific sphere ability or option, and the character does not possess it, the character cannot use that option (i.e. a Dark caster that has exchanged the cloak ability cannot use a dual sphere ability that would add (meld) or (shadow) options to another effect, and so on).

Only one (1) dual sphere feat can be applied as part of using a sphere ability (i.e. a single casting of a magic sphere ability, use of a martial sphere ability, and so on).

Dual Sphere Effects as Separate Effects: Effects created using a dual sphere feat that “add their effects” to another sphere effect are treated as two separate sphere effects, although their durations are shared (i.e. if one is suppressed, dismissed, or dispelled, both effects are dismissed). Sphere effects created simultaneously this way using a dual sphere feat are treated as being cast separately when determining their caster level, saving throw DCs, effect descriptors, and other relevant statistics, except as noted by the dual sphere feat (usually the range, area, and/or duration being shared by a common factor). If the “added” effect would be affected by spell resistance or require a saving throw, these are rolled separately from the original effect.

[Control] Options and (Dual Sphere) Feats: If using a [control] ability on an effect created with a dual sphere feat, the [control] effect must be able to affect the “original” effect (for example, using rolling blackout to move a gloom with other effects added to it would work, but you could not move a War sphere totem with Dark sphere effects added to it).

Note: Many dual sphere feats may have their own exceptions or notes to ensure that the two effects (the “original” and the “added”) resolve intuitively; if there is a conflict between the dual sphere feat’s text and these rules, the feat’s text takes precedence (subject to GM discretion).

Dark Monuments (Dual Sphere)

Noble wars are fought in the light of day. Winning wars are fought beneath the cloak of night.
Prerequisites: Dark sphere, War sphere.

Benefit: You gain the following abilities based on the Dark sphere and War sphere talents you possess:

  • Black Totem: Totems you create are treated as a gloom you created for the purposes of other abilities and effects (such as your cloak ability and conflicting with light effects); this does not alter the light level or carry any other effects of your gloom. Whenever you create a totem, you may spend 1 spell point to add a gloom’s effects to the totem’s area, paying any additional spell point costs for the gloom or its options as appropriate.
  • Dark Commandments: While you are within a gloom you created, creatures within the area of the same gloom may spend points of momentum as though they were within range.
  • Night Rally: Whenever you rally a creature, you may add a cloak’s effects to that rally, paying any additional spell point costs for the cloak or its options as appropriate. This cloak lasts until the end of the target’s next turn (even if the rally’s duration would end earlier).

Ecliptic Transformation (Dual Sphere)

Their form twisted and contorted with a howl, the candles snuffed and bleeding smoke.
Prerequisites: Alteration sphere, Dark sphere.

Benefit: You gain the following abilities based on the Alteration sphere and Dark sphere talents you possess:

  • Dark Presence (requires aura-granting trait, see text): Whenever you grant a trait that grants an aura (such as Orb Transformation’s aura of fascination or Undead Body’s fear aura), the aura’s area is treated as a darkened area.
  • Ecliptic Change: Whenever you use the shapeshift ability, you may spend 1 additional spell point to create a gloom centered on the target of the shapeshift, paying any additional spell point costs for the gloom or its options as appropriate. This gloom ends when the target leaves its area, or its duration ends, whichever occurs first. The caster may choose to make the target of the shapeshift immune to any of the gloom’s additional effects (as though under the clearsight option).

You gain the following traits which may be applied to any shapeshift. If a trait requires additional spell points, that spell point cost is listed in the trait’s name.

  • Cloaked Body: The target is granted a cloak, paying any additional spell point costs for the cloak or its options as appropriate. Because the cloak is granted as a trait, it does not need to continue without concentration (and instead is treated as being part of the shapeshift).
  • Shadow Rending (requires natural attack): The target’s natural attacks cleave at the target’s shadows, making them susceptible to manipulation. A creature struck by one of the target’s natural attacks suffers a -2 penalty on saving throws made against Dark sphere effects for 1 round.

Guarding Dark (Dual Sphere)

Prerequisites: Dark sphere, Protection sphere.

Benefit: You gain the following abilities based on the Dark sphere and Protection sphere talents you possess:

  • Darkness’s Embrace: You may use (succor) talents to sacrifice cloak effects you create as though they were an aegis. A cloak sacrificed this way must be one that has been made to continue without concentration.
  • Shadow Cage: Wards you create are treated as a gloom you created for the purposes of other abilities and effects (such as your cloak ability and conflicting with light effects); this does not alter the light level or carry any other effects of your gloom. Whenever you create a ward, you may spend 1 spell point to add a gloom’s effects to the ward’s area, paying any additional spell point costs for the gloom or its options as appropriate.
  • Umbral Protection: Whenever you grant an aegis to a creature, you may spend 1 spell point to add a cloak modified with a (meld) to that aegis, paying any additional spell point costs for the cloak or its options as appropriate.

Minions of the Deathlord (Dual Sphere)

Your allies lurk in the most conspicuous place.
Prerequisites: Death sphere, any [minion] option.

Benefit: You may treat any minion you summon as an undead creature you reanimated, allowing it to benefit from your Death sphere talents and other abilities. A minion is always treated as a willing creature for your other abilities and effects (such as Corpse Bomb and Dark Sacrifice, even if the minion is not mindless).

In addition, you gain the following ability:

  • Corpse-Wrought Minion (requires reanimate): Whenever you would reanimate a corpse, you may choose to instead summon a minion (using an ability you possess to summon minions). If you do, reduce the spell point cost of that ability by 1 and the corpse is destroyed (such that it cannot be the target of a reanimate effect without being repaired, such as with the Corpse Manipulation talent).
  • Minion Cairn (requires Tomb Of Flesh): Minions may be stored within your tomb of flesh without counting against the ability’s maximum number of bodies. Minions cannot be stored with items they were not summoned with (such items are harmlessly left behind when the minion is stored). A minion’s duration is suspended while stored in the tomb of flesh.

Note: As of this book, the only [minion] option is the dark calling sphere ability. Other [minion] options may be added in future releases.

Night Sky (Dual Sphere)

Like rough gems strewn across the empty canvas, the night’s sky holds great wonders.
Prerequisites: Dark sphere, Light sphere.

Benefit: You gain the following abilities based on the Dark sphere and Light sphere talents you possess:

  • Dusk / Dawn: Whenever you grant a lens to a creature, you may spend 1 spell point to add a cloak modified with a (meld) to that lens, paying any additional spell point costs for the cloak or its options as appropriate.
  • Starlight Darkness: Whenever you create a gloom, instead of altering the light level, the gloom instead causes creatures to be dazzled (referred to by this ability as “starlight darkness”). The starlight darkness is no longer a conflicting effect with magical light. If the starlight darkness is modified with the true darkness option, instead of true darkness’s normal effects, the penalties of the dazzled condition become -2, +1 per 5 caster levels. If the starlight darkness is modified with the Absolute Darkness pitch black option, the penalties imposed by dazzled apply to all attack rolls (even if the creature does not rely on sight).
  • Sunrise / Sunset: When creating a starlight darkness, you may add a (light) option to a gloom, as though it were a (darkness). A (light) option used this way must be one that affects all creatures in the light’s radius (such as Disorienting Patterns, Searing Light), and has no additional effects against an individual target (even if attached to that target). You may spend a standard action to treat a starlight darkness granted a (light) option as an area of bright light (or as part of the action used to create the starlight darkness).

Nightmare Caller (Dual Sphere)

Give form to the eyes and teeth which curl inside of the darkness.
Prerequisites: Conjuration sphere, Dark sphere.

Benefit: You gain the following abilities based on the Conjuration sphere and Dark sphere talents you possess:

  • Born From Darkness: Whenever you summon a companion within a gloom you created, that companion may immediately make a Stealth check to hide, even if they do not have cover or concealment. The companion may remain hidden this way until the end of its next turn.
  • Cloaked Entry: Whenever you summon a companion, you may spend 1 spell point to also grant that companion a cloak for the summon’s duration, paying any additional spell point costs for the cloak or its options as appropriate. A companion granted a cloak this way also gains the benefits of the Deeper Darkness clearsight option, even if you did not grant the companion the darkvision (meld).
  • Darkveil: You gain the darkveil sphere ability (detailed below). The darkveil sphere ability uses either your Conjuration sphere or Dark sphere caster level when determining variables (such as range, etc.), whichever is higher.
Darkveil

Descriptor(s): darkness
Action: immediate action
Range: close (25 + 5 ft./2 caster levels)
Duration: 1 turn (see text)
Target / Area: 1 Conjuration companion or called creature
Cost: 1 sp

Effect: The target creature gains total concealment (50% miss chance) until the end of the current turn in initiative; this concealment may be granted in response to an attack roll which has been rolled, but before its results are revealed. If an attack misses the target creature because of the granted concealment, at the end of the current turn, the creature may make a Stealth check to hide, even if they do not have cover or concealment. The creature may remain hidden this way until the end of its next turn. If the target creature is not in an area of darkness, the creature instead gains concealment (20% miss chance).

Paranoia Agent (Dual Sphere)

Success so clearly within their grasp … or is it merely a trick of the light.
Prerequisites: Dark sphere, Mind sphere.

Benefit: You gain the following abilities based on the Dark sphere and Mind sphere talents you possess:

  • Hypnotic Darkness (requires Debilitating Darkness): Your gloom is always treated as having the looming darkness option when targeting a creature with a charm, debuffing the saving throw associated with that charm (i.e. applying a penalty to Will saves for a charm that requires a Will saving throw). This is in addition to any other (darkness) options added to the gloom; if the gloom was already granted the looming darkness option, looming darkness functions normally and penalizes the charm’s associated saving throw (if not already selected); this includes the emergent augment.
  • Memory Hole (requires Amnesia): You gain the memory hole (darkness) option:
Memory Hole (darkness)

Descriptor: compulsion, mind-affecting
Saving Throw: Will (negates); see text
Cost: +1 sp

Effect: This (darkness) does not actively affect targets when within the gloom, only when the target would no longer be within the gloom (including the gloom ending, moving out of the gloom’s area, and so on). When the target leaves the gloom, the target immediately loses all awareness of events which occurred within the gloom (including interactions with people, items, events, and so on). This (darkness) otherwise functions as the Mind sphere Amnesia greater charm, but only for events within the gloom.

A target may naturally notice or remember objects in their possession being misplaced, notice wounds on their body, and make reasonable conclusions; likewise, a target may remember they were engaged in combat (if aware of a threat before entering the gloom and so on).

Augment 1 sp [Damnatio Memoriae]: An affected target’s memories can only be restored through magical means (break enchantment, Inception, etc.); a reminder of events from another creature is no longer sufficient to attempt a new saving throw to remember.

Seeing Shadows (Dual Sphere)

Prerequisites: Dark sphere, Illusion sphere.

Benefit: You gain the following abilities based on the Dark sphere and Illusion sphere talents you possess:

  • Body Double (requires Living Shadow): When using the lurking shadow option, you may spend 1 spell point to create the shadow lurk as a glamer. The shadow lurk shares the target’s space (and does not penalize the target for sharing its space). Whenever the target is attacked or targeted by a single-target effect, there is a 50% chance the shadow lurk is affected instead. A creature with the see in darkness ability or a similar effect only suffers a 25% to target the shadow lurk instead.
  • Shadow Doppelganger (requires Living Shadow, Illusionary Disguise): Your shadow lurk is disguised to look and sound like you (or the target), functioning as the Illusionary Disguise option. The shadow lurk can speak in the voice of whomever it is disguised as (and use its languages). A creature that physically interacts with the shadow lurk (physical touch, attacks, etc.) receives a Will saving throw to disbelieve the disguise.
  • Shadows In Corners: Figments you create are treated as a gloom you created for the purposes of other abilities and effects (such as your cloak ability and conflicting with light effects); this does not alter the light level or carry any other effects of your gloom. Whenever you create a figment, you may spend 1 spell point to add a gloom’s effects to the figment’s area, paying any additional spell point costs for the gloom or its options as appropriate.

Shadow Defender (Champion, Combat, Dual Sphere)

Be their shadow and shield them from what they cannot see.
Prerequisites: Dark sphere, Guardian sphere.

Benefit: You gain the following abilities based on the Guardian sphere packages you possess:

  • Blinding Challenge (requires (challenge) package): When issuing a Guardian sphere challenge, instead of your challenge’s normal penalties, the target treats other creatures as though they had concealment (20% miss chance), except the issuer of the challenge. This concealment does not allow other creatures to make Stealth checks against the challenged target (unless both the challenged target and the other creature are within a gloom you created, effectively allowing other creatures to hide from the challenged target even if they lack cover and concealment). This is a supernatural effect.

You may spend 1 spell point when using this ability; the target treats other creatures as having total concealment (50% miss chance) for 1 round (Will negates; determine the saving throw DC using your Dark sphere or Guardian sphere DC, whichever is higher). A successful saving throw prevents this increased concealment (but not the altered challenge penalties).

  • Ecliptic Patrol (requires (patrol) package): The area of your patrol is treated as a gloom you created for the purposes of other abilities and effects (such as your cloak ability and conflicting with light effects); this does not alter the light level or carry any other effects of your gloom, and if suppressed by a light effect or otherwise dispelled, does not end your patrol. In addition, when beginning a patrol, you may spend 1 spell point to cast a gloom centered on yourself with a radius equal to your patrol’s radius and the Clinging Darkness following darkness option (even if you do not have the Clinging Darkness talent); this casting does not provoke attacks of opportunity. This gloom lasts until the end of your next turn, and its duration is extended until the end of your next turn if you patrol again. You must pay any additional spell point costs for the gloom or its options as appropriate.

Umbral Transposition (Dual Sphere)

Prerequisites: Dark sphere, Warp sphere.

Benefit: You gain the following abilities based on the Dark sphere and Warp sphere talents you possess:

  • Dark Room (requires Extradimensional Room (space)): When using the Extradimensional Room talent, the entrance is obscured by a gloom, which covers the portal’s entrance (you may apply options to this gloom normally, paying any additional spell point costs for the gloom or its options as appropriate). Creatures inside the room can look outside of the portal unhindered by the gloom. If the portal was created within a darkened area, the portal requires a Perception check to spot (as though searching for secret doors). If you possess the insinuate option, you may choose to have the portal obscured by the insinuate option regardless of the area’s light level.
  • Extradimensional Shadow (requires Extradimensional Storage (space), Shadow Stash): Your Extradimensional Storage and shadow stash becomes a single extradimensional space (instead of separate effects). Add your Extradimensional Storage’s weight limit to your shadow stash. This combined extradimensional space is treated as and may be interacted with as though it was both the Extradimensional Storage talent and the shadow stash sphere ability, such as using feats like World In Miniature to create elements, donning items with the shadow armory option, and so on. If using the shadow armory option, equipment in your combined extradimensional space resizes to fit your form (if desired). The combined extradimensional storage is treated as both a Dark sphere and Warp sphere effect (whichever is more advantageous for the caster, including using the greater of your Dark and Warp sphere caster levels to determine both talents’ weight capacities).
  • Shadow Warp (requires Traveler’s Darkness, caster level 5): Your step through darkness (meld) is treated as a Warp sphere teleport effect and may be modified by Warp sphere options that alter how teleport functions (but not when the teleport is used, such as Imbue Teleport, Recall, or Segmented Warp). If a Warp sphere option would require additional spell points or increase the casting time, the target must spend those spell points or increase the casting time when using step through darkness’s teleportation. If an option incompatible with the Quick Teleport talent would be used with a step through darkness modified this way, the step through darkness effect is used as a standard action (and then modified normally).
  • Slip Into Darkness: Whenever you create a gloom, you may spend 1 additional spell point to also teleport into a square occupied by the gloom.
  • Transpose Gloom (requires Clinging Darkness): Whenever you would teleport while within a gloom you created, you may spend 1 additional spell point to move that gloom; if you do, the gloom is centered on yourself in the square you teleport into.
  • Yawning Passage (requires Traveler’s Darkness, Wormhole (space)): You may spend 1 additional spell point when using the Wormhole (space) talent. If you do, the connected wormholes are treated as a single gloom with the dark passage (blot) option, creating a single linked blot on the floor of each square. Creatures are entitled to a Reflex saving throw to avoid falling in (as per the dark passage (blot)), with a failure causing the creature to fall into the wormhole, becoming prone in a connected wormhole of the caster’s choice.

If you possess the insinuate option, the wormholes are not immediately noticed when a creature would be affected (while a creature could notice that someone fell in, they would not be immediately notified of the wormhole; a creature that fell into a wormhole this way gains a +10 bonus to notice the wormhole they were transported to).

Teamwork Feats

Twilight Adept (Teamwork)

Light and shadow interplay and create one another. Through practice and patience, your magics no longer impede one another.
Prerequisites: Dark sphere or Light sphere.

Benefit: Your Dark sphere and Light sphere effects are not treated as conflicting effects against similar effects created by an ally with this teamwork feat (and vice versa). If both sphere effects modify the light level, the light level in the overlapping area defaults to the ambient light level.

The MSD of an overlapping Dark sphere and Light sphere effect benefiting from this feat increases by +2.

Archived: Ultimate version (before Polished)