Black Magic

A witch’s craft is distinct from a school of magic. Whereas magical schools seek to categorize spells, crafts are defined by the use of magic, and seek to capture the essence of spells. There are dozens of varieties, from those practiced by covens in secret, to those plied in marketplace potion shops.

Each craft has a number of Craft Spells. New spells are marked with an asterisk.

Level 3: Black Magic

Black magic is associated with hexes that cause pain and suffering, and spells that give rise to undeath. Harnessing such a craft can lend you great power, but inevitably carries a cost. Darkness cannot be contained, after all; it merely seeps forth from wherever it is kept.

Level 3: Hex - Decay

You learn to drain the vitality from a living being. As an action, choose one creature you can see within 60 feet of you to make a Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, the creature takes 1d4 necrotic damage at the start of its next turn, and its hit point maximum is reduced by an amount equal to the necrotic damage taken. This reduction lasts until the hex ends. The target dies if this effect reduces its hit point maximum to 0. This hex ends at the end of your next turn.

Level 6: Undeath Command

You have intertwined the magic of your familiar with the magic you use to animate the dead. When you use your bonus action to command your familiar, you can use the same bonus action to issue a command to any Undead you control via the animate dead spell or similar magic.

Level 10: Life Tether

As a reaction when you take damage from a creature you can see, you can transfer some of that damage to a creature that is the sole target of your hex. You take half the damage (rounded down) and the hexed creature takes the remaining damage. Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

Level 14: Black Sacrifice

If your familiar is within 10 feet of you, you can use your action to command it to dissolve its magical bond to this plane, which unleashes a torrent of necromantic energy. Each creature you choose within 20 feet of your familiar must make a Dexterity saving throw against your spell save DC. A creature takes 8d10 necrotic damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one, and its hit point maximum is reduced by an amount equal to the necrotic damage taken. A target dies if this effect reduces its hit point maximum to 0. Once you use this feature, you can’t summon your familiar again until you finish a long rest.