Seidr

Tua stood in front of the savage bandits who had mistaken her for a helpless commoner. She closed her eyes and chanted the words of her ancestors. Upon seeing the ancestors appear, the pillagers turned right around and ran like hel without looking back.

Juho knelt beside a warrior bleeding to death. The gothi on the other side of him seemed desperate, “Healing him is beyond my abilities”, she said. Juho answered, “It is not beyond the abilities of the great spirit of Death”. 

Eyes closed and focused, Ingir cut her hand with a dagger, dripping her blood on the soil beneath. When she opened her eyes, she was no longer a mere mortal. She was the heart and will of nature around her.

Seidrs feel the spirits around them and work with them. They commune with the beyond, acting as a bridge between the material and the immaterial, between life and death. They master ancient traditions to communicate with spirits, seeking to spread their will or perhaps to tie the will of the spirits to their own. While most seidrs are of the Kuning ancestry, there are seidrs from other ancestries as well.

The Spirits Chose You

Seidrs always feel the spirits around them. They may possess this gift from birth, or they may become aware of the connection in later years, perhaps even in adulthood. 

Spirits can act like a seidr’s deity, but they are not deities, nor the patrons of seidrs. Seidrs are the messenger of spirits. If the spirits think someone is ready, they test them. If the candidate passes the test, the spirits open their eyes as a seidr.

While their power comes from the spirits that guide them, seidrs can also make ranged attacks or fight in hand to hand combat. They are comfortable with light armor and know how to use simple weapons.

Learn From Ghostly Eyes

When spirits choose a seidr, they share their wisdom with it. Spirits are immortal and their wisdom is limitless. Some of them are souls of the departed, and some have very distinct characteristic features and alignments. 

The spirit’s character determines the seidr’s way of life. For example, if a spirit is evil, the seidr who is a channel of that spirit will most likely lean towards evil as well.

Some seidrs think that they are equals with the spirits in their relationship. In their opinion, spirits also learn from seidrs, as they want to know what is happening in the world and are able to do so through seidrs.

Hit Points

Hit Dice: 1d8 per seidr level.

Hit Points at 1st Level: 8 + your Constitution modifier

Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 (or 5) + your Constitution modifier per seidr level after the 1st

Proficiencies

Armor: Light armor

Weapons: Simple weapons, battle axes, shortswords, tridents, longbows, nets

Tools: Herbalism kit

Saving Throws: Wisdom, Charisma

Skills: Choose two skills from Arcana, Perception, Persuasion, Insight, Nature, Medicine, and Survival

Equipment

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

• (a) any simple weapon, or (b) a bone shortsword

• (a) a battle axe, or (b) a shield

• Leather armor, an explorer’s pack, and a totem

At 1st level, you are chosen by a family of spirits to follow in their footsteps. Choose one of the traditions from which you will gain your first feature.

Spirits who choose you also provide you with insight to guide you on their path. Once per day, you can choose to gain advantage on a Wisdom (Insight) check.

There are many spirits in the realm, and they are divided into 3 families; Ancestors, Sky Spirits, and Land Spirits.

Ancestors are those in your family or clan who passed away in the past. They are notable warriors or wise people. Some seidrs also have seidrs who have been dead a long time as guides even though they are not from the same family or clan.

Sky Spirits are heavenly spirits that are the wisest and the oldest in the realm. Some seidrs even perceive them as Gods and Goddesses. They are indeed deity-like figures who are very powerful but who are also equally distant from the errands of mortals.

Land Spirits are spirits that hold parts of the realm’s land as their arcane domain. They are not visible like wraiths or other monster-like spirits, but their essence and presence are quite strong in the areas they dominate. They mainly guide the habits of, and the balance between, beasts and vegetation. Seidrs call these spirits Nattura.

When you chant for the spirits to come to your aid, you cast spells from the powers they have bestowed upon you. See general rules about spellcasting. Your seidr spell list is made up of the druid spell list plus the seidr spells given in this book (see seidr spells - p. 131).

At 1st level, you know two cantrips of your choice from the seidr and druid spell lists. At higher levels, you learn additional cantrips, as shown in the Cantrips Known column of the Seidr table.

You can see how many spell slots you have for 1st level spells or higher from the Seidr table. When you cast one of these spells, you expend a slot of that spell’s level. Expended spell slots are regained after finishing a long rest.

You prepare your spell list for the day from your seidr spell list. To prepare your list of available spells, choose a number of spells equal to your Wisdom modifier + your seidr level (minimum of one spell). The spells must belong to a level for which you already have spell slots.

You can change your list of prepared spells after you finish a long rest. After that, you pray to the spirits for them to bestow the new spells upon you. Your prayer must take 1 minute per spell level for each spell on your list.

Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for spells from your seidr spell list. Spirits, good or evil, seek wise people who recognize the otherworld and who treat them with the utmost respect. You use your Wisdom whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Wisdom modifier to determine the spell save DC and the spell attack modifier.

Spell Save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier

Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier

You can cast a seidr spell as a ritual if that spell has the ritual tag and if you have the spell prepared.

You can use a totem as a spellcasting focus for the spells from your seidr spell list.

Starting at 2nd level, you start to sense the spirits around you. By focusing on the beyond, you can see 60 feet into the ethereal plane for 1 minute. Once you use this feature, you cannot do so again until you finish a long rest.

At the GM’s discretion, spirits may show you some instant glimpses or visions, filled with hints and puzzles. They may show them to you for guidance or for mischief. You can understand which it is by succeeding on a Wisdom (Insight) check contested by their Charisma (Deception) check.

Starting at 6th level, you learn how to take a journey to the dream realm. By falling asleep with a specific purpose during a long rest, you voyage into the dream world to wander into the dreams of others and uncover things from their subconscious. Unlike other creatures, you don’t have disadvantage when moving and navigating within the dream realm. See (p. 86) Dream Realm for further information.

If you fall unconscious while in this realm, you wake up with the hit points you had when you went to sleep but take 1d4 psychic damage for each seidr level you have. This is because your soul manifests itself more strongly, and thus gets affected more when you are a higher level seidr.

While you are dream walking, your material body lies asleep and counts as paralyzed. If someone interacts with your body, you must succeed on a DC 10 Wisdom saving throw to go back to it, end this feature and wake up.

Starting at 13th level, you can also dream walk into the ethereal plane while sleeping as if you had cast an etherealness spell. Differing from the dream realm, any damage you take while walking in the ethereal plane decreases your hit point maximum by an equal amount. If you drop to 0 hit points, you fall unconscious and begin making death saves as usual. On the other hand, this decrease of hit point maximum does not break your long rest.

Once you wake up, you cannot dream walk again until your next long rest.

Dream realm is the land of transition. It is believed to be between the domains of spirits and the material realm. It is partially an ethereal realm but is subject to dreams of mortals.As it shifts and changes, it is not a complete reflection of the material realm unlike the ethereal realm. It seems like a twisted, symbolic version of the material realm with a landscape that seems as though it were constantly fading away into sand or dust.

While sleeping, mortals can find themselves in the dream realm. A creature can realize it is not dreaming but rather in a separate realm. To do so, it must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom (Insight) check. Additionally, a creature can figure out they are in the dream realm on a successful DC 15 Intelligence (Arcana) check.

Other than those who find themselves in the dream realm, no creatures inhabit it. A creature wandering in this realm sees dreams of mortals as white, flickering flames with shapes of it giving hints about their dreams. Nightmares are recognizable as black flames instead. 

Objects and places are similar to those in the material realm, but their appearance shifts according to what people who own those objects or go to those places make of them. For example, a sword standing still on the table of a warrior may seem to be bigger, sharper, or constantly bloodied. The shifts in objects and places as well as their meanings is determined at the GM’s discretion. Often, the sentient creature with the most association with an object or place dominates the shifts of the object or place. These objects can be used in the dream realm, but their location or condition in the material realm does not change. There are no colors in this realm but shades of black and white.

Letters or scribed stones are readable in the dream realm, but the thoughts of their writers and readers also appear as text on them, making the inscription very confusing to read. A creature wanting to understand the exact writing must succeed on a DC 18 Wisdom (Insight) check. A creature wanting to realize the thoughts behind the message must succeed on a DC 20 Wisdom (Insight) check.

A creature in the dream realm moves differently than it would in the material realm. To move in a certain direction, a creature must make an Intelligence (Arcana) or Wisdom (Insight) check. It moves a number of feet equal to (d20 + ability check) x 5. The movement does not appear as walking, but is rather as though the creature were gliding. This sort of movement makes Acrobatics checks to balance or Athletics checks to jump unnecessary. A creature can move as far as it can in the dream realm and is pulled back to its body when it wakes up. 

If they roll a natural 1 on the ability check, the creature spends both its movement and action standing still on its location for the turn. Creatures other than nightmares, spirits or seidrs have disadvantage on their movement check.

Sometimes, nightmares from mortals’ dreams leak out to the dream realm and attack creatures nearby as shadows or wraiths. Spirits may enter the realm and attack as well.

A creature that gets into an encounter with such monsters must make a Wisdom saving throw to wake up: 

Wake Up DC = 10 + CR (minimum one) of the strongest monster in the encounter

A sentient creature that falls unconscious in the dream realm vanishes from it and wakes up in the material realm in shock. It takes 2d4 psychic damage. It must also succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or become afflicted with a short-term madness.

Starting at 10th level, you become more capable in the ways of your spirit magic. Spirits can affect mortals more powerfully than other creatures.

By using their magic, you become better at casting mind-altering spells. The spell save DCs of enchantment spells increase by 1. Also, when a creature makes a saving throw against an enchantment spell you cast, it has disadvantage on the saving throw.

Starting at 20th level, you become a master of the flesh and of the spirit. As an action, you transform into a spirit for 1 minute. While in spirit form, you become a ghostly silhouette of yourself and gain the following features:

• You gain resistance against the following damage types: acid, cold, fire, lightning, necrotic, poison, thunder; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks.

• When you move, you can become incorporeal and move through creatures and objects. If you finish your movement within an object, you take 1d10 force damage.

• Bright light within 10 feet of you becomes dim light, and dim light within 10 feet of you becomes darkness.

• Any hostile creature that is within 30 feet of you and that is not an undead must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or be frightened of you for 1 minute. A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a successful one. A creature that succeeds on its saving throw is immune to this effect for 24 hours.

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

Seidrs follow traditions that are as ancient as the art of spirit magic itself. The traditions are taught by masters to apprentices in the form of verbal communication and of oneon- one training. Seidrs carry their secrets locked in their minds and souls, and don’t leave any kind of written trace regarding their craft.

Traditions focus on different kinds of spirit magic. They also involve chanting to different types of spirits.

For example, the tradition of Chanter of Kin focuses on your and your mentor’s ancestors and ancestral seidrs, while the tradition of Chanter of Skies summons the powers of the great spirits; moon, war, life and death, and the Chanter of Nattura draws its powers from the land spirits and the spirits of the woods.

You get initiated into the tradition by the spirits of your ancestors. They are your past. They fought and died for their path. Now, that path is yours. Ancestor spirits choose seidrs for their own purposes. They are exact and wise in their remarks, and can see what people cannot.

Ancestors may influence you to become a warden of your village, tribe, or nation. They may push you towards a path where you must confront challenges that threaten your people or other folks of Svilland. In any case, ancestors seek to communicate with, and aid or protect matters of the sentient folks and societies.

Tradition Proficiency

When you choose the Chanter of Kin tradition at 1st level, you gain proficiency in the History skill.

Ancestor’s Guidance

When you choose this tradition at 3rd level, you receive a blessing from your ancestors. During your short or long rests, you can invite your ancestors to dine with you. When they do, they make you and those around you feel guided and protected. At the GM’s discretion, they can give you advice on your quests.

You can also choose a number of creatures up to your Wisdom modifier, and your ancestors give them temporary hit points equal to your Wisdom modifier. 

Additionally, as a bonus action, you can invoke the protection of your warrior kin or guidance from ancient seidrs  as described below:

Ancient Seidr. Ancient seidrs manifest themselves to guide your magic. Roll 1d4 and add the result to your spell save DC, or spell attack modifier until the start of your next turn.

Warrior Kin. Your warrior ancestors manifest themselves to guide you. Roll 1d4 and add the result to your AC or attack bonus (of your choice) until the start of your next turn.

You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier (minimum of once). You regain any expended uses once you finish a long rest.

Ancestor’s Aid

Starting at 7th level, as an action, you can summon your ancestors and make them cause mischief upon your foes for 1 minute.

At your preference, you can form a barrier of your warrior kin or cause your ancient seidrs to haunt your enemies.

Ancient Seidr. Ancient seidrs manifest themselves close to you and haunt the targets of your spells. You have advantage on your spell attack rolls against creatures within 30 feet of you, and such creatures you target with your spells have disadvantage on saving throws against your spells.

Warrior Kin. Your warrior ancestors manifest themselves close to you and start circling around you and protect you. Attack rolls against you are made with disadvantage.

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

Ancestor’s Revenge

Starting at 11th level, whenever you take damage from an attack or spell, you can use your reaction to let your ancestors take revenge from the source of that attack if the attacker is within 30 feet of you. When you do so, the attacker must make a saving throw (Dexterity if your ancestor is a warrior kin, Wisdom if it is an ancient seidr).

On a failed save, the creature takes 5d8 force damage (if the ancestor is a warrior kin) or psychic damage (if the ancestor is an ancient seidr), and it becomes frightened of you for 1 minute. On a successful save, it takes half as much damage and is not frightened. The creature can repeat its saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on a successful one.

Once you use this feature, you cannot do so again until you finish a short rest.

Ancestral Gathering

Starting at 15th level, when you use the Ancestors’ Aid feature, you can affect a number of additional creatures up to your Wisdom modifier (minimum of one creature). The creature(s) can benefit from this feature while they are within 60 feet of you.

Ancestral Might

At 18th level, your ancestors provide you with the power to take their revenge, coming from their decades or centuries of old wisdom. 

As an action, you can invoke the powers of your warrior kin or magical influence from ancient seidrs. As an action, you invoke your ancestral might. Choose a number of creatures equal to your Wisdom modifier within 120 feet of you. These creatures must succeed on a Constitution (for warrior kin) or Wisdom (for ancient seidr) saving throw, or be affected by one of the following (according to the type of ancestor you choose):

Ancient Seidr. Seidrs of the past, who were masters of seeing through the souls of creatures, seal your enemies’ souls and thus keep them from spellcasting. For 1 minute, whenever a creature you targeted casts a spell, it must first succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or cannot cast the spell.

Warrior Kin. Your warrior ancestors project a war cry that is heard as an unnatural, terrifying sound, in a 300-foot radius centered on you. On a failed save, a creature takes 2d10 psychic damage and becomes stunned until the end of its next turn. On a successful save, it takes half as much damage and is not stunned. The warrior kin remain for 1 minute and you count as though you cast a spirit guardians spell that has an area of 30- foot radius and that you don’t have to maintain concentration on.

Once you use this feature, you cannot do so again until you finish a long rest.

You get initiated into the tradition by the spirits of nature. As a chanter of nattura, you are able to receive the aid of nature in your deeds. Your spells derive their essence from the nature spirits around you. Nature spirits do not care about the errands and politics of the mortal kind. They only care about balance and perseverance. As neutral beings, they do not question how you use their gifts, as long as you are respectful to them and to nature.

Tradition Proficiency

When you choose the Chanter of Nattura tradition at 1st level, you gain proficiency in the Animal Handling skill.

Nature Spirit’s Watch

Starting at 3rd level, spirits of nature begin to respect you as a seidr and aid you while you are in nature. Whenever you are within a forest, woods, waterside, or away from a settlement that contains more than 50 people, spirits of nature begin to guide you and watch your back.

You have advantage on Wisdom (Survival) checks to find a good place to camp and to find your way through nature, and on your Wisdom (Animal Handling) checks.

Additionally, when you make camp to take a long rest, spirits watch over the area within 300 feet of you. They wake you up if they perceive a threat within that area. The nature of the threat is at the GM’s discretion according to the following:

The “threat” they perceive does not have to be a threat to you, they also perceive lumberjacks or hunters as a threat, for example.

Similarly, a real threat may not be perceived as a threat by the spirits. For example, if someone approaches you with intentions of tricking or attacking you but does not draw their weapon, it may not be a “threat” for them.

When they wake you up in this way, you have a feeling that a threat is approaching, but you do not know where the threat is or anything else about it.

Beast Spirit

At 7th level, you learn how to invoke a spirit of a beast within you. As an action, you invoke a beast spirit and gain one of the following benefits of your choice for 1 minute:

Bear Spirit. You gain temporary hit points equal to your seidr level.

Raven Spirit. You have advantage on saving throws.

Wolf Spirit. You deal an extra damage equal to your Wisdom modifier (minimum one) on a successful attack.

Once you use this feature, you cannot do so again until you finish a long rest.

Nature’s Rejuvenation

Starting at 11th level, you channel the rejuvenation of nature whenever you heal someone. The healing spells you cast restore 4 additional hit points.

Beast Spirit’s Gathering

Starting at 15th level, the Beast Spirit feature can also affect your allies. Choose a number of creatures up to your Wisdom modifier (minimum of one creature) that is within 60 feet of you to grant them the benefits of Beast Spirit. The type of the beast spirit can be different for each chosen creature.

Nature’s Wrath

At 18th level, you can invoke the wrath of nature and release it upon your enemies. As an action, you summon the spirits of nature to provide you with the following benefits:

Animals immediately come to your aid as if you had cast a conjure animals spell using a 5th-level spell slot. The types of the animals depend on the region and are determined at the GM’s discretion.

Additionally, nature within 100 feet of you becomes your lair for 1 minute. On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), you take a lair action to cause one of the following effects:

Branch Hit. If you are in the woods, a tree shakes and hits a creature within 5 feet of it (10 feet if the tree is Huge or larger) with its branches. It uses your spell attack modifier and deals bludgeoning damage equal to 3d8 + your Wisdom modifier.

Crumble. If you are in a cave, a part of the ceiling collapses on a 10-foot-square area. Creatures within the area must make a Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, a creature takes 3d6 bludgeoning damage and falls prone. It takes half as much damage and does not fall prone on a successful one.

Entangle. If you are in the woods, bushes move to entangle a creature within 5 feet of them. The creature must succeed on a Strength saving throw or become restrained. It can attempt to break free from the bushes by making a Strength check to escape at the end of each of its turns.

Rock Slide. If you are on the mountains, some rocks within 100 feet of you slide and start to fall towards a 30-foot-square area. Creatures within the area must make a Dexterity saving  throw. A creature takes 3d6 bludgeoning damage and is buried under the rubble on a failed save. It takes half as much damage and is not buried on a successful one.

A buried creature is restrained and unable to breathe or stand up. A creature can take an action to make a DC 13 Strength check to create an opening and use its movement to get out through that opening back to the surface.

Winter Call. If you are in snowy areas, spirits of snow and winter betray your enemies. For your enemies, the ground becomes difficult terrain. Also, when an enemy enters the area for the first time on a turn or ends its turn there, it must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or take 2d6 cold damage.

Once you use this feature, you cannot do so again until you finish a long rest.

Sky Spirits are some of the most well-known spirits of Svilland. Most of the Kuning and some other ancestries believe in their existence and guidance. There are lots of Sky Spirits, but after the murder of the High Seidr Council (p.7), only 5 of them have been granting power to seidrs. They are: Sun, Moon, Life, Death, and War.

Tradition Proficiency

When you choose the Chanter of Skies tradition at 1st level, you gain proficiency in the Religion skill.

Blessing of the Moon

Starting at 3rd level, you have advantage on your Wisdom (Insight), Wisdom (Perception), Dexterity (Stealth), and Wisdom (Survival) checks made at night-time.

Ritual of Life

At 7th level, you learn a ritual that lets you create spiritual decoctions of vitality through the teachings of the Life spirit. To perform the ritual, you prepare a decoction by blessing a bowl of water with special spiritual herbs during a short rest in a meditative trance. If your trance is interrupted, you should start over. When you are done, the decoction acts like a Potion of Healing.

In one short rest, you can create a number of potions equal to your Wisdom modifier (minimum of one potion). In a long rest, creating these decoctions count as light activity as if you are standing watch, and you can create a number of potions up to twice your Wisdom modifier (minimum of one).

These decoctions are the gifts of the Life spirit, thus, it only affects a number of those you consider to be allies, to a maximum of 6 allies. As they are decoctions, they do not look like normal Potions of Healing, and they turn sour and unusable after one day. The decoction you make acts like a Potion of Greater Healing once you reach 11th level and acts like a Potion of Superior Healing once you reach 17th level in this class.

Fury of War

Starting at 11th level, you can incite fury within your allies as an action. Choose a number of allies equal to your Wisdom modifier (minimum of one ally) within 60 feet of you. For 1 minute, you and the chosen allies deal an extra 1d6 psychic damage on each successful attack.

The damage increases by 2d6 when you reach the 14th level and 3d6 when you reach 17th level in this class.

Once you use this feature, you cannot do so again until you finish a long rest.

Blessing of the Sun

Starting at 15th level, whenever you cast a spell that deals radiant or fire damage, the damage you deal increases by one die (for example, a fireball spell you cast deals 9d6 fire damage instead of 8d6. If the spell deals both damage types, you choose the damage type of the additional die).

Also at 15th level, as an action, you can emanate a 60-footradius aura of sunlight for 1 minute or until you dismiss it as another action. The aura is centered on you and moves with  you. You emit bright light in a 60-foot radius and dim light for an additional 30 feet. The area of bright light created by this feature counts as sunlight.

Once you channel the Sun in this way, you cannot do so again until you finish a long rest.

Channel Death

At 18th level, you can touch a creature and release a magical ray of death and agony. You make a touch spell attack against a creature that is not an undead or a construct. On a hit, you deal necrotic damage to the target by a number of d6s equal to its hit dice.

Once you use this feature, you cannot do so again until you finish a short rest.