WotC teased a return to Ravenloft and the incarnation of Dark Gifts as Feats in Ravenloft: The Horrors. But what does that look like?
Welp, we’re going back to Ravenloft, friends. Only this time it’s 5.5E style. And that means a new pass at old mechanics. As we saw with the return to Eberron in Eberron: Forge of the Artificer, these updates can be pretty spicy. I personally love the new Dragonmark Feats as a way to inject flavor into your campaign.
So when, in the announcement, WotC teased Dark Gifts as Feats, it got me thinking. What are we likely to see? So I dug out my Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft and went looking at the Dark Gifts as they were in 5E to see if we can glean something from the bones.
Gathered Whispers
The first thing to say about Dark Gifts is that they give you a benefit for a price. Possibly because the mechanics for them were as a gift from a sinister force in exchange for some power. Now if they’re explicitly feats that you can just pick for your character, that might change. But hey, it’s Ravenloft, you never know.
At any rate, Gathered Whispers is a Dark Gift that teaches you the Message cantrip and lets you use your Reaction to channel the haunting spirits that whisper around you, turning them into a howling cacophony that adds your Proficiency Bonus to your AC. But if you roll a 1 on a D20 test, you might have Disadvantage on a roll, become deafened for a minute, become frightened of a nearby creature, or rarely, gain the Augury spell as a sort of secret boon.
Symbiotic Being
Symbiotic Being is a Dark Gift that thrives in the Eldritch Horror genre. You have another creature that lives in your body. It relies on you for survival, but also offers you guidance and knowledge and it has its own agenda that it pushes you to follow. It gives you proficiency in a skill like Arcana, History, Insight, or Investigation, and can expend your Hit Dice to give you a bonus to saving throws – including automatically getting you back up if you use your Symbiote to enhance a Death Save.
Touch of Death
Touch of Death is a great one for brooding heroes whose “touch is pain” because yeah, with this Dark Gift you have a deathly power beyond your control that afflicts any who touch your bare skin. You can do 1d10 necrotic damage with an Unarmed Strike in 5E, though I imagine this would probably change in 5.5E. You also get to ignore resistance to Necrotic damage, and deal damage to those who touch your bare skin, including via grappling or whatever.
Watchers
Watchers is for those who are haunted by a foreboding presence. You are constantly followed by ethereal spirits that take the shape of Tiny beasts and who follow you and stare at you all the time. You can use the Watchers to your advantage, gaining advantage on Intelligence and Perception checks – but at the cost of having Disadvantage on Deception and Performance checks (and saves vs. the scrying spell) while facing any who can see the Watchers.
Living Shadow
It doesn’t get more Ravenloft-y than having a living shadow. With this Dark Gift in 5E, your Shadow would become animate and ever present, sometimes taking actions on its own. In practical terms, this means Mage Hand and the ability to icrease your reach by 10 feet (though again, I imagine this would change) but if you roll a 1 on a d20 Test, your Shadow exerts an influence on you, either increasing or decreasing an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw by 1d4 depending on what you roll. Fun stuff. I can’t wait to see what the new Dark Gifts look like!
Happy Adventuring!
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Source: Bell of Lost Souls
