Xyra - Hidden Moon of Forbidden Knowledge, Transgression, and Keys

XYRA – HIDDEN MOON OF FORBIDDEN KNOWLEDGE, TRANSGRESSION, KEYS

From your bible:

• “Forbidden knowledge, transgression, ‘keys’ to outer realms.”
• Part of the Hidden Triad, tied to Silent Void, Weeping Gate, and Old Portals.
• Associated with keys, locks, and thresholds—especially those that should not be opened.

Themes:

• Forbidden lore: things mortals aren’t meant to know
• Transgression: crossing lines, violating taboos, breaking seals
• Keys and thresholds: gates, wards, planar doors, lock‑magic

A Xyra Cleric is:

• A gate‑priest, ward‑breaker, or taboo‑scholar
• Either a guardian of seals or a heretical opener of doors—and sometimes both
• In play: strong on warding and breaching, knowledge‑gathering, anti‑secrecy, and some nasty “price of knowing” debuffs

Visually: Xyra is never seen directly; cults describe a faint “false star” that moves wrong, or a shimmering ring near the Weeping Gate. Symbols: black keys, broken locks, eyes set in keyholes, spiral staircases.

XYRA DOMAIN FEATURES BY LEVEL

These stack with your base Lunar Cleric chassis.

Level 1 – Domain Spells & Keybearer Initiate

Domain Spells

Always prepared; don’t count against prepared spells.

• 1st:detect magic, dissonant whispers (the mind hearing what it shouldn’t)
• 3rd:knock, detect thoughts
• 5th:counterspell, nondetection
• 7th:arcane eye, dimension door
• 9th:modify memory, passwall

This gives you a package of detection, intrusion, counter‑magic, and passage.

Keybearer Initiate

You’re marked as one who carries (or breaks) metaphysical locks.

• You gain proficiency in Arcana or Investigation (your choice).
• If you already have both, gain proficiency in Thieves’ Tools.
• You can cast detect magic as a ritual without preparing it.
• Sense the Seal:
• As an action, you can attune your senses to an area or object within 30 ft:
• You learn whether it is:
• Ward‑bound (sealed by magic, curse, or divine edict), or
• Keyed to a specific token, phrase, bloodline, or celestial alignment (GM describes in broad strokes).
• You also know whether breaking/using that lock:
• Is sanctioned by Xyra (no immediate spiritual backlash), or
• Is a Transgression, likely to draw Void/Hidden‑Triad attention.

This gives you an in‑world way to tell “safe to open” from “this is a plot key, not yet.”

Level 2 – Channel Divinity: Open the Way

You gain a Xyra‑specific Channel Divinity.

Channel Divinity: Open the Way

You force a path where one is barred.

• As an action, choose one barrier or bond within 30 ft, such as:
• A locked door or chest
• A magical wall (wall of force, wall of stone, etc.) or glyph
• A grapple, restraint, or manacle on a creature you can see
• A ward against teleportation or planar travel in a small area

You expend Channel Divinity and attempt to open or bypass it:

• Make a Wisdom (Religion) or Intelligence (Arcana) check (your choice) vs a DC set by the GM:
• Mundane lock/door: DC 10–15
• Typical magical ward or spell: DC 15–20
• Major artifact ward or plot‑lock: DC 20–25+

On a success (choose one):

• Break: The barrier opens or is dispelled for 1 minute, after which it returns if its magic persists (or remains broken, if mundane).
• Bypass: You and a number of creatures up to your Wisdom modifier (min 1) can pass through once, leaving the barrier otherwise intact.

On a failure:

• Nothing opens, and you take 1d6 psychic damage per spell level (or 2d6 for powerful non‑spell wards) as the lock “bites back.”

This is your “we go through here now” button, with a real cost and GM‑gateable DCs.

Level 3 – (Base: Secondary Moon Influence I)

No Xyra‑specific feature; you choose your first secondary moon.

Level 4 – (Base ASI)

Level 5 – Forbidden Insight

At 5th, you begin paying for knowledge with hurt.

Forbidden Insight

You can ask questions that scratch the glass between worlds.

• Once per short rest, you can perform a 1‑minute impromptu divination with no material components:
• Ask one question about:
• A creature, place, object, or secret.
• This functions roughly like a stronger augury or “mini‑divination”:
• You receive a symbolic, unsettling vision or phrase from Xyra.
• The answer is cryptic but truthful, often hinting at:
• A hidden danger,
• A true motive,
• Or a locked path.

Cost:

• Immediately after the vision, you take 2d6 psychic damage.
• If you ask about outer realms / Void / Silent‑Void‑tied subjects, the damage increases to 4d6, and:
• You gain disadvantage on Wisdom saves vs fear until you finish a short rest.

Additionally:

• When you succeed on an Intelligence (Arcana/History/Religion) check by 5 or more, you may ask the GM:
• “What forbidden detail would a Xyra‑priest notice here?”
• The GM provides one extra bit of lore, rumor, or implication—possibly dangerous, but juicy.

Level 6 – Channel Divinity: Seal the Unseen

At 6th, Xyra grants you not just the power to open, but to lock.

Channel Divinity: Seal the Unseen

You hard‑lock a metaphysical threshold.

• As an action, choose one of the following within 60 ft:
• A door, gate, or portal (mundane or magical)
• A summoning circle, ritual site, or planar rift
• A creature currently benefiting from a teleportation, possession, or planar tether effect

You expend Channel Divinity to Seal it:

• For 1 minute (concentration):
• Attempts to open/use the sealed subject (other than yours) must succeed on a Charisma saving throw vs your spell save DC.
• On a failure, the attempt fails, and:
• The user takes 2d8 psychic damage, and
• Is stunned until the start of its next turn (once per creature per Seal).
• Creatures you designate when you Seal can pass/use it freely.

If used on a creature’s tether (e.g., demon possessing someone, or a Void cultist bound to a patron):

• The creature must make a Charisma save vs your DC:
• On a failure, the tether is suppressed for 1 minute:
• No teleportation/plane shifting for that creature.
• Possession/puppet effects are muted (GM: treat as disadvantage on such abilities or temporary loss).

You can only maintain one active Seal of the Unseen at a time; creating a new one ends the old.

Level 7 – (Base: Secondary Moon Influence II)

No extra Xyra feature.

Level 8 – (Base ASI)

Level 9 – Price of Knowing

At 9th, Xyra’s lore begins to exact a deeper toll—on others.

Price of Knowing

You can weaponize revelation.

• Once per short rest, when you:
• Hit a creature with a spell attack, or
• A creature fails a saving throw vs one of your spells,
• You can choose to inflict a Revelatory Shock:
• The creature must make a Wisdom saving throw vs your spell DC.
• On a failure:
• It takes 2d8 psychic damage, and
• Is frightened of you until the end of your next turn, as it glimpses truths it can’t process.
• On a success:
• It takes half the damage and is not frightened.

Additionally:

• You gain resistance to psychic damage from divination, enchantment, and illusion effects (GM adjudication).

This reinforces the idea that Xyra’s “light” is blinding and cuts both ways.

Level 10 – Lunar Intervention (Base)

Mechanically unchanged; under Xyra, interventions might be:

• A glyph “coincidentally” mis‑parsing, letting you through.
• A Void cult’s ritual stuttering as a key phrase slips from their minds.
• A sudden, horrifying flash of what’s beyond the gate, scaring enemies away from opening it.

Level 11 – Master of Thresholds

You become a living key and lock.

Master of Thresholds

• While you are conscious, you emit a 10‑ft‑radius aura of threshold distortion.

Within the aura:

• Allies:
• Have advantage on saving throws vs being grappled, restrained, or paralyzed (harder to pin).
• When they move through a doorway, arch, or narrow passage, they can move through hostile creatures’ spaces as if they were difficult terrain (no opportunity attacks from that movement).
• Enemies:
• Treat all doorways, windows, and portals in the aura as difficult terrain, as edges seem to slide away from them.
• When they attempt to teleport or plane shift while in the aura:
• They must succeed on a Charisma save vs your spell DC or the effect fails (once per creature per day).

Additionally:

• You gain advantage on all checks to understand, disable, or reinforce magical traps, glyphs, sigils, and wards.

At 18th, this aura expands.

Level 12 – (Base ASI)

Level 13 – Law of Transgression

You understand the metaphysics of “crossing the line.”

Law of Transgression

• Whenever you break a magical ward, taboo, or law that you know is dangerous (GM adjudication), you may choose to:
• Own the Sin –
  You alone take 2d6 psychic damage, but:
• Allies involved in the act do not suffer any immediate supernatural backlash (no curses or madness checks from that specific breach).
• Share the Burden –
  You and up to three willing allies within 30 ft:
• Each take 1d6 psychic damage, and
• Gain advantage on one roll each (attack/check/save) related to dealing with the consequences of that transgression, within the next 24 hours.

In addition:

• You have advantage on saving throws vs madness, corruption, and possession effects tied to:
• Outer realms,
• Silent Void,
• Or eldritch sources in your setting.

This makes Xyra clerics the ones who choose how the price is paid when you crack important seals.

Level 14 – (Base: Third Moon / Deeper Influence)

No additional Xyra‑specific feature.

Level 15 – Nightwatch Zenith (Base)

With Xyra, Nightwatch might manifest as:

• You always noticing one door ajar that shouldn’t be.
• Dreams of endless corridors of doors, some locked, some bleeding light, hinting at which gates are about to be used.

Mechanics remain those of your base Nightwatch.

Level 16 – (Base ASI)

Level 17 – Xyra’s Confluence

At 17th, your Lunar Confluence gains a Xyra‑specific rider.

Xyra’s Confluence

While Lunar Confluence is active (1 minute):

• Your spells that target a single creature:
• Ignore half cover and three‑quarters cover if the cover is doors, walls, or barriers you can see.
• Enemies within 30 ft of you:
• Have disadvantage on all saving throws vs your divination, enchantment, and illusion spells.

In addition, once during each Confluence:

• You can cast one of the following without expending a spell slot:
• plane shift (self + up to 8 willing or grappled creatures),
• gate (with limited function), or
• mass suggestion (flavored as “you see the truth now; act accordingly”).

Suggested constraints for balance:

• Plane Shift (Xyra‑tuned):
• Only to:
• A plane you have visited before, or
• A Weeping Gate / Silent Void‑adjacent region the GM allows.
• Gate (Xyra‑tuned):
• Opens a portal that:
• Lasts only 1 round, and
• Can only connect:
• Two locations on the same plane, or
• To a specific sealed location (Broken Crown, Silent Void edge, etc.) at GM discretion.

Also, once during each Confluence:

• You can declare a Lockdown or Breach as a bonus action:
• Lockdown –
  For 1 round, no teleportation, plane shift, or extradimensional travel can occur within 60 ft of you (friend or foe), unless it is from you or an effect you explicitly allow.
• Breach –
  For 1 round, all non‑artifact magical barriers and wards within 60 ft are treated as if affected by dispel magic at 9th level (roll once per barrier; GM resolves).

This is your “keys to everything” moment in a climactic scene.

Level 18 – Keeper of the Last Door

You become the final arbiter of what opens and what stays shut.

Keeper of the Last Door

• Your Master of Thresholds aura radius increases to 30 ft.
• While you are conscious:
• Allies in the aura:
• Can move through allied spaces without treating them as difficult terrain (excellent for tight dungeons).
• Have advantage on Dexterity saves against traps and environmental hazards involving doors, pits, or portals.
• Enemies in the aura:
• Have disadvantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks, as unseen thresholds “betray” them with creaks and flickers.
• When they attempt to enter or exit the aura via any doorway, portal, or teleport:
• Must succeed on a Wisdom save vs your spell DC or:
• Be stopped at the threshold and lose their movement for that turn.

Once per long rest, you can invoke The Last Door:

• As an action, choose one portal, rift, or extraplanar access point you can see within 120 ft (this can be conceptual—like the metaphysical “door” of an ongoing summoning).

You either:

1. Close It Forever (or nearly so)
2. You attempt to permanently seal it:
3. The GM sets a DC (20+ for major story gates).
4. Make a Wisdom (Religion) or Intelligence (Arcana) check.
5. On a success:
6. The portal is sealed; reopening it requires:
7. An artifact,
8. A major ritual, or
9. GM‑determined mythic effort.
10. On a failure:
11. The portal closes for 1d6 days instead, and you take 4d6 psychic damage.
12. Throw It Wide
13. You force the gate fully open for 1 minute:
14. Anything on the other side can pass freely.
15. All attempts to control or limit what passes through suffer disadvantage.
16. You and up to 8 creatures you choose gain advantage on saves vs any harmful effect specifically emerging from that portal for the duration (you came prepared).

This is your apex “we decide how this story’s doors behave” feature.

Level 19 – (Base ASI)

Level 20 – Lunar Avatar (Base)

Your Lunar Avatar capstone applies as normal. For Xyra, it might look like:

• Key‑shaped constellations orbiting you, turning and aligning as you speak.
• Every doorway you pass through briefly showing a different world beyond.
• Enemies hearing faint knocking from inside their own minds.

Mechanics remain those of the base Lunar Avatar; this is flavor alignment.