Pact of the Shadows
Between every candle flame and every torch there is darkness — not merely the absence of light, but a presence of its own. Some warlocks have found that presence, communed with it, and been changed by the encounter. Their patron is not a creature in the conventional sense but rather a being of pure dark, an entity that dwells in the spaces between illumination, older than the names mortals give to things.
Those who forge this pact find that light becomes unfamiliar territory. They move through shadow with unnatural ease, call servants made of living darkness, and eventually learn to slip the boundaries of their own physical form. Other mortals often find them unsettling — they tend to linger at the edges of rooms, fade into corners without thinking about it, and speak of the dark as though it were a close companion.
Pact of the Shadows Table:
| Level | Subclass Features Gained |
|---|---|
| 1st | Expanded Spell List, Shadow Servant |
| 6th | Steps of the Dark |
| 10th | Shadow Form |
| 14th | Child of Shadow |
Subclass Features
Expanded Spell List
1st-level Pact of the Shadows feature
The Shadows patron lets you choose from an expanded list of spells when you learn a warlock spell. The following spells are added to the warlock spell list for you.
| Spell Level | Spells |
|---|---|
| 1st | arms of Hadar, cause fear |
| 2nd | darkness, Maximilian's earthen grasp |
| 3rd | hunger of Hadar, summon shadowspawn |
| 4th | Evard's black tentacles, shadow of moil |
| 5th | danse macabre, enervation |
Shadow Servant
1st-level Pact of the Shadows feature
You can conjure a fragment of living shadow to serve you. As an action, you summon a shadow creature no larger than Small size that appears in an unoccupied space within 10 feet of you. It has 1 hit point, is immune to the prone condition, and is destroyed instantly if it takes any damage or enters an area of bright light.
The shadow servant obeys your mental commands (no action required). It can scout ahead, carry objects weighing up to 10 pounds, and deliver verbal messages to creatures you designate. It cannot attack or take the Help action in combat, but it can otherwise move and act freely.
The servant lasts until it is destroyed, until you dismiss it as a free action, or until you finish a short or long rest. Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Steps of the Dark
6th-level Pact of the Shadows feature
You move through darkness like a thought. While you are in dim light or darkness, your movement does not provoke opportunity attacks.
Additionally, as a bonus action, you can teleport up to 30 feet to an unoccupied space you can see that is also in dim light or darkness.
Shadow Form
10th-level Pact of the Shadows feature
As an action, you can dissolve partially into shadow, transforming into a form of living darkness for up to 1 minute. While in this form, you gain the following benefits:
- You have resistance to all damage except psychic and radiant damage.
- You can move through the space of other creatures, though you can't end your turn inside another creature.
- Your darkvision range increases by 30 feet. If you don't already have darkvision, you gain darkvision with a range of 30 feet.
The form ends early if you are incapacitated or if you choose to end it (no action required). Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.
Child of Shadow
14th-level Pact of the Shadows feature
Darkness has fully claimed you as its own. While you are in dim light or darkness, you are considered to be in three-quarters cover.
Additionally, you can cast darkness at will, without expending a spell slot.