Kwaku's Traveler
Patron: The Laughing Shadow, Prince of Loopholes
When you forged a pact with The Laughing Shadow, it wasn’t forged in flame or sealed with blood. It was whispered. Laughed. Twisted around the truth. The Laughing Shadow is no ordinary patron, he is a Prince of the Void, a trickster sovereign of contradiction and narrative, known to deal in secrets, riddles, and forgotten names. In return for your cleverness, he grants you power strung together from shadow and myth.
Your magic is not learned. It is told. Your spells are not cast. They are believed.
(1st Level)
Patron Feat Threadtongue
You gain proficiency in Deception. If already proficient, double your proficiency bonus for it.
Once per long rest, when you speak a sentence aloud, you may declare it “heard by the Shadow.” One creature within 30 ft must make a Wisdom save (DC = your spell save DC) or be Charmed for 1 minute.
- If they fail by 5 or more, they cannot lie to you during this time.
Ritual: “The Eighth Thread”
“Spin a lie, feed it truth, let it walk.”
Components: A lock of hair, a riddle whispered three times, 8 threads from 8 different colors of cloth
Casting Time: 10 minutes
Effect: You summon your Child of Eight Lies familiar. During the ritual, your tongue must be tied into a knot with the 8 threads and burned while speaking a half-truth.
Once complete, the spider crawls out of your mouth in its first form (Whisperling).
- You share telepathic communication (60 ft) with it.
- It levels up at class levels 1, 5, 10, and 15, gaining new powers and actions.
- This familiar links you to your patron and powers
Stage I: Whisperling
Small Beast, Neutral
AC 13 | HP 13 | Speed 30 ft, climb 30 ft
STR 4 | DEX 14 | CON 12 | INT 6 | WIS 12 | CHA 10
Skills: Stealth +4, Perception +3
Senses: Darkvision 60 ft, Web Sense
Languages: Understands your languages but cannot speak
Traits:
- Spider Climb
- Web Sense
- Silken Whisper (1/day): Mimics any whispered phrase heard in the last 24 hours with eerie precision.
Actions:
- Bite: +4 to hit, 1d4+2 piercing; DC 11 Con save or poisoned until end of target’s next turn.
- Weave (1/day):
- Web of Silence: Mute a 10 ft area.
- Tangle of Truths: Reveal the last lie spoken in the space.
- Snare of Loopholes: Target makes Int save or next ability check becomes a natural 1 or 20 (random).
(5th Level)
Deeds of the Laughing Shadow
You do not earn Deeds by leveling, you unlock them through acts of story. These are the offerings your patron craves.
Common Deeds
| Deed | Unlock Requirement | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Laughing Thread | Make a crowd laugh so hard they forget fear or anger. | Turn a critical hit into slapstick (no damage). 1/long rest. |
| Stolen Name | Whisper a creature’s true name into a sealed calabash and bury it at a crossroads at dusk. | Once, force that creature to make a Wisdom save or be Charmed and unable to lie for 1 hour. On success, they sense you're hunting them. |
| Thread Between Worlds | Escape a locked or sealed place without being seen or opening doors. | Misty Step 1/short rest through barriers only. You see shimmering cracks in reality. |
| Loop of the Liars | Publicly expose a powerful figure's hypocrisy or lie. | When a lie is spoken nearby, echo it back twisted. On a failed Charisma save, others believe your version instead. 1/long rest. |
| Silkheart Pact | Feed your spider a written secret, memory, or memento tied to your past. | Spider becomes undetectable by divination. You gain advantage on Deception and Insight while near it. Once/day, a lie you speak is believed unless magically countered. |
Stage II: Trickspindle
Medium Beast, Neutral
AC 15 | HP 39 | Speed 40 ft, climb 40 ft
STR 10 | DEX 16 | CON 14 | INT 10 | WIS 14 | CHA 14
New Traits:
- Illusory Form (1/day): Project an illusory copy within 30 ft for 1 minute. Enemies must succeed DC 14 Int (Investigation) to target the real one.
- Telepathic Thread: Can now speak telepathically to any creature it sees within 30 ft, always in riddles or metaphor.
Actions:
- Venomous Bite: +6 to hit, 2d6+3 piercing + DC 14 Con save or poisoned and silenced for 1 round.
Voidblast Upgrades
Your Voidblast evolves with your trickster path:
- Laughing Echoes: Target must make a Wisdom save or suffer disadvantage on their next save or attack.
(9th Level)
Ritual: “Web-Eye Unblinking”
“The Shadow sees. The Shadow hears. The Shadow remembers lies no one told.”
Components: A silver mirror cracked with a truth you regret, a question written backward in ink made of ash
Casting Time: 10 minutes during twilight or in the reflection of a still pool
Effect: You contact the Laughing Shadow through a paradox—asking a question you already know the answer to.
The Shadow replies in three parts: one truth, one lie, and one that only becomes true if you act. Deciphering which is which becomes part of the narrative challenge.
(10th Level)
Greater Deeds
| Deed | Unlock Requirement | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| The First Lie | Betray a powerful being in a way that reshapes politics, war, or myth, but for a clever, noble goal. | Declare one falsehood that becomes true for 1 minute. (e.g., “The king is dead.”) Gods and mortals believe it. Fallout is determined by the DM. |
| Web of Impossible Escape | Free someone considered eternally imprisoned (a demigod, cursed immortal, etc.) without violence. | 1/long rest: For 1 min, you and allies within 30 ft can’t be restrained, paralyzed, or imprisoned. You auto-succeed on escape attempts. |
| Eight-Fold Veil | Trick eight powerful beings using a different identity/persona for each. | Once/long rest: Create 3 alternate versions of yourself. Each has separate movement and reactions. After 10 min, roll a d20. On a 1, one copy becomes real (and possibly disloyal). |
Stage III: Webshade
Large Monstrosity, Neutral
AC 16 | HP 75 | Speed 40 ft, climb 40 ft
STR 14 | DEX 18 | CON 14 | INT 12 | WIS 14 | CHA 16
New Traits:
- Mount of Secrets: Can carry you and one Small/Tiny ally. While riding, you may cast spells without somatic components.
- Shadow Leap (Recharge 5–6): Teleport self and rider up to 60 ft into dim light.
- Laughing Eyes (10 ft Aura): Hostile creatures must make a Wisdom save (DC = your spell DC) or have disadvantage on Insight and Perception for 1 minute.
Actions:
- Bite: +7 to hit, 2d10+4 piercing + DC 15 Con save or 2d6 poison damage
- Silken Cage (Recharge 6): 10-ft radius. All in area must STR save (DC 15) or become restrained for 1 minute.
Voidblast Upgrades
Your Voidblast evolves with your trickster path:
- Illusory Shatter: Creates a flickering illusion of the target. Nearby enemies must save or treat it as real for 1 round.
(15th Level)
Mythic Deeds
| Deed | Unlock Requirement | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| The Smiling Eye Opens | Make Beech (the eye of Ayan’nsí) laugh in full—perhaps through a divine irony or cosmic prank. | Once/campaign, rewrite one moment of reality. Declare a truth (e.g., “I never died,” “This city never existed”). All reality adjusts to match. Only you remember what changed. |
Stage IV: Laughing Claw
Huge Monstrosity (Fey), Chaotic Neutral
AC 18 | HP 150 | Speed 50 ft, climb 50 ft, teleport 60 ft
STR 18 | DEX 20 | CON 14 | INT 14 | WIS 16 | CHA 18
Saves: Dex +9, Wis +7, Cha +8
Skills: Stealth +11, Deception +9, Insight +8, Perception +8
Senses: Blindsight 30 ft, Darkvision 120 ft
Languages: Speaks in telepathic riddles (120 ft)
Proficiency Bonus: +5
Traits:
- Mythic Bond: Acts on your initiative; reforms next long rest if slain unless by divine radiant force.
- Laughing Web-Realm (1/day): 30 ft radius becomes warped:
- Enemies treat it as difficult terrain.
- When a creature fails a save here, Wisdom save (DC 17) or suffer disadvantage on next attack/save.
- Mount of the Trickster: While riding:
- Resistance to psychic and poison
- Can cast Mirror Image or Misty Step once per short rest
- Eyes of Paradox (1/short rest): When a creature within 30 ft fails an Int, Wis, or Cha save, the spider forces a reroll with disadvantage.
Actions:
- Mythic Bite: +9 to hit, 3d10+5 piercing + 3d6 poison. DC 17 Con save or target is poisoned and silenced for 1 minute.
- Silken Collapse (Recharge 5–6): 30-ft cone. Dex save DC 17 or:
- Restrained and hallucinate duplicates arguing riddles
- Success = half damage (4d8 force), no restraint
- Shadow Leap (Recharge 4–6): Same as Stage III, but causes Frightened (Wis save DC 17) to creatures left behind.
Legendary Actions (2/round):
- Shift Web: Move up to 30 ft without provoking.
- Mocking Glare (2 actions): Force a Charisma save (DC 17). On fail, target has disadvantage on next attack or spell.
Voidblast Upgrades
Your Voidblast evolves with your trickster path:
- Riddle of Pain: Each hit may deal +1d6 psychic damage, or force a Charisma save or silence the target until your next turn.
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