Shaman (5e Class)/Bond of the Collector

Some Shamans enjoy the menagerie of creatures they can summon so much that the search for ways to conjure a wider variety of creatures. The few that successfully discover the Ritual of Reawakening are known as Collectors, Shamans who learn to collect the recently-departed in the form of special tokens. These tokens allow the Collector to transform the physical body that their connection grants to their Eidolon into the body of the creature stored within the token, allowing them to accrue, over time, quite the arsenal of deadly creatures.

Shamans the choose the Bond of the Collector most often have Biped, Quadruped or Avian Eidolons, typically of the Fiend, Monstrosity or Undead type.

Summoning Specialist

Beginning at 2nd level when you select this Bond, you learn one additional Cantrip of your choice from any class spell list.

Additionally, the number of Pact Magic spell slots you possess is permanently increased by one.

Doll Maker

At 2nd level, you gain proficiency with one of the following tools of your choice: Leatherworker's Tools, Mason's Tools, Potter's Tools, Weaver's Tools, or Woodcarver's Tools.

Ritual of Reawakening

Beginning at 2nd level when you select this Bond, you learn a special ritual which allows you to create a special totem icon, known as an Effigy Token.

Crafting an Effigy token requires you to have a tool on your person, which you must be proficient with, and which must belong to the list of tools you could select for your Doll Maker feature. In order to make an Effigy Token, you must also have access to the appropriate material (Leather, bone, cloth, clay, stone, or wood). When first created, these Tokens are featureless, save for runes in a forgotten language. An Effigy Token is a Tiny object weighing 1lb, with AC equal to 10 + your Proficiency Bonus + your Wisdom modifier, and hit points equal to twice your Shaman level; As an object, it is immune to Poison and Psychic damage, and all conditions.

As part of finishing a Short Rest, you can craft one Effigy Token. As part of finishing a Long Rest, you can craft a number of Effigy Tokens up to one-half of your Proficiency Bonus. The maximum number of Effigy Tokens you may possess at one time is equal to your Proficiency Bonus; However, permanent Astral Totems do not count against this number (see below).

Harvesting a Creature

In order to collect a creature into an Effigy Token, the creature must meet the following criteria:

• The creature cannot have been dead for more than 1 minute. Attempting to harvest a creature that is still alive, or has been deceased longer, will always fail, as there either isn't enough life force to harvest, or the life force is still too attached to the body for it to bond to a new vessel.

• The creature's CR must be no more than one-half of your Shaman level, rounded down. Attempting to harvest a creature whose CR is above this threshold will always fail, and causes the Effigy Token used to shatter, destroying it.

Harvesting a creature requires you to touch the creature with an empty Effigy Token, and concentrate as if concentrating on a spell, for 1 minute. If you maintain contact and your concentration for the full duration, you must make a Charisma saving throw. The DC for this saving throw is equal to 10, plus the deceased creature's proficiency bonus, plus the deceased creature's highest ability score modifier; You gain advantage on this saving throw if the creature is of the same creature type as your Eidolon. If you fail, the creature resists you attempt to harvest it, and the Effigy Token shatters and is destroyed.

If you succeed, however, the creature becomes bonded to the Effigy Token, and remains bonded until the Effigy Token is used or destroyed; The Effigy token's appearance changes to resemble that of the creature bonded to it. While a creature is bonded to an Effigy Token or Astral Totem, it cannot be returned from the dead or raised as an undead creature, unless the spellcaster attempting to do so is able to destroy the Effigy Token or Astral Totem as part of casting the corresponding spell. However, an Effigy Token or Astral Totem counts as the creature's whole, un-decayed body with no wounds or conditions, for the purposes of resurrecting the creature or communicating with it via the Speak With Dead spell.

Reawakening an Effigy

While your Eidolon meets the criteria for your Restricted Casting, as part of the bonus action used to command your Eidolon, you can choose to expend a Pact Magic spell slot in order to Reawaken a creature that is bonded to an Effigy Token or Astral Totem that you have on your person. Doing so causes your Eidolon's appearance and game statistics to immediately be replaced with those of the Reawakened creature, though the Eidolon retains its alignment, personality, and Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores, as well as the benefits it gains from its Eidolon Type. The Eidolon remains transformed for up to 1 minute. You can end the transformation early as a bonus action, and the Eidolon automatically reverts to its natural form if it falls unconscious, drops to 0 hit points, or dies, or if the Effigy Token or Astral Totem used to transform it is destroyed.

The Eidolon also assumes the creature's Hit Points while transformed; When it reverts to its normal form, it returns to the number of hit points it had before it was transformed. However, if it reverts as a result of dropping to 0 hit points, any excess damage carries over to its normal form. For example, if your Eidolon takes 10 damage while transformed and has only 1 hit point left, it reverts to its natural form, which suffers the remaining 9 points of damage. As long as the excess damage doesn't reduce the Eidolon's normal form to 0 hit points, it isn't knocked unconscious.

Once the transformation ends, the corresponding Effigy Token crumbles to dust and is destroyed, freeing the spirit of the creature that was bonded to it.

Astral Totems

While ordinary Effigy Tokens make wonderful temporary vessel for a creature's essence, most Shamans desire more permanent additions to their collection. As such, they can create an Astral Totem. Doing so requires an Effigy Token with a creature bonded to it, 1 day of labor per point of CR the creature possesses, and 100 gold per point of CR the creature possesses (Creatures with a CR less than 1 cost 50gp and one day of work). The time and gold required are halved if the creature is of the same type as your Eidolon at the time you craft the Totem.

An Astral Totem doesn't count against the number of Effigy Tokens you may possess at one time, nor is it destroyed at the end of the transformation when you Reawaken the creature within it. Instead, once the transformation ends, you cannot Reawaken that creature until you finish a Long Rest.

Evolving Collection

Beginning at 6th level, you learn how to twist the forms of the creatures stored within your Astral Totems just as you do your Eidolon's.

Doing so is a process that requires 1 day per point of CR the bonded creature possesses, and costs 20 gold per point of CR the bonded creature possesses (Creatures with a CR less than 1 cost 10gp and one day of work). The time and gold required are halved if the creature is of the same type as your Eidolon at the time you grant it the Evolution.

Once this process is complete, you can apply a single Evolution to one creature form you have stored in an Astral Totem; The creature bonded to that Astral Totem must meet the prerequisites for the Evolution, its body shape must be able to support the Evolution, and the Evolution chosen cannot have the "Eidolon only" prerequisite. If the creature is ever returned to life, it loses all Evolutions applied in this manner.

At 14th level, you can apply up to 2 Evolutions to a single Astral Totem, and at 18th level, you may apply up to 3 Evolutions. The time and gold costs must be paid per individual Evolution, per individual Totem.

Spirit Vessel

Beginning at 6th level, you learn how to trap the essence of more powerful creatures. When you harvest a creature, if its CR is too high, you can still bond it to an Effigy Token - However, you know upon harvesting it whether or not its CR is higher than your threshold, and if it is, you cannot Reawaken it as you normally could with your Ritual of Reawakening ability.

This allows you to collect the essence of a slain noble, dangerous bounty hunter, or even a fallen comrade, and keep it around for questioning, or take it to be restored to life.

As a side effect, you learn the Speak With dead spell if you do not already know it; this does not count against your number of Shaman spells known. You may cast it once without expending a spell slot, and regain the ability to do so when you finish a Short or Long Rest.

Reactive Capture

Beginning at 14th level, whenever a creature you can see dies within 30ft of you or your Eidolon, if you have an empty Effigy Token on your person, you can attempt to trap that creature within the Effigy token as a Reaction, instead of with the normal ritual.

Once you use this feature, you must finish a Short or Long Rest before you can do so again.

Master Vessel

Beginning at 14th level, you can create a special Effigy Token as part of finishing a Long Rest, called a Master Vessel. You may only have one Master Vessel at a time, and if you create another one, the previous one crumbles to dust. Your Master Vessel gains a +4 bonus to AC, and its hit points are equal to 5 times your Shaman level. You Master Vessel cannot be used to collect the essence of a creature other than you.

However, when you would be reduce to 0hp, you can choose to activate your Master Vessel if it is on your person. If you do, you stabilize, and you, your Eidolon, and all of your gear dissipate into smoky mist, which flows into the Master Vessel. This effect triggered automatically if an effect slays you outright.

While trapped within your Master Vessel, you cannot interact with the world outside, nor can you be returned to life unless the caster of the resurrection magic possesses and destroys your Master Vessel as part of casting the spell. If your Master Vessel is destroyed in any other way, you die, your Eidolon is dismissed, and all of your equipment is suspended as a little orb attached to your spirit somewhere on the other side. If you are ever returned to life, you return to life wearing and carrying your gear exactly as you were when you died.

Infinite Catalogue

At 18th level, the number of Effigy Tokens you can have at one time increases to 20.

Additionally, the time and gold required to to create an Astral Totem or apply an Evolution to one using Evolving Collection are always halved as if the creature was the same type as your Eidolon.

Finally, your Reactive Capture ability can be used an unlimited number of times.