Prerequisite: 4th Level, Initiate of High Sorcery (Nuitari) Feat
You chose the moon Nuitari to influence your magic, and your ambition and loyalty to the Order of the Black Robes has been recognized, granting you these benefits:
Ambitious Magic. You learn one 2nd-level spell of your choice. The 2nd-level spell must be from the Enchantment or Necromancy school of magic. You can cast this feat’s 2nd-level spell without a spell slot, and you must finish a long rest before you can cast it in this way again. You can also cast this spell using spell slots you have of the appropriate level. The spell’s spellcasting ability is the one chosen when you gained the Initiate of High Sorcery feat.
Life Channel. You can channel your life force into the power of your magic. When a creature you can see within 60 feet of you fails a saving throw against a spell that deals damage that you cast, you can expend a number of Hit Dice equal to the level of the spell. Roll the expended Hit Dice and add them together. The damage that the creature takes increases by an amount equal to that total.
Adept of the Black Robes: Back in Black
Review by Sam West, Twitter:@CrierKobold
Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen brings with it nine new feats to play with specifically in the Dragonlance setting. Each feat has a prerequisite either requiring an earlier feat to be taken from the book, or that you’re playing in a Dragonlance Campaign, all of which end up functionally requiring the character be in the world of Dragonlance. Let's be honest, though: these feats are just as mechanically applicable at every table, even those outside of Dragonlance, and the vast majority of tables can find them to be solid additions to character sheets should you shrug off the lore and focus just on the mechanics they bring to the table. None of them require some Dragonlance specific gimmick or rule to function; if you’re DMing for somebody who likes these new feats, but aren’t playing in Dragonlance, I’d encourage you to let them give it a go should they meet whatever other prerequisites the feats ask for.
Adept of the Black Robes requires you already have the Initiate of High Sorcery with the Nuitari spell grouping and are at least 4th level. Your reward for this is robust: a 2nd level necromancy or enchantment spell of your choice, from any spell list, which you get a free cast of per long rest. In addition, you can use your existing spell slots to cast the spell, making it functionally a learned spell with a free 2nd level slot for it. Some notable spells fitting this criteria are Calm Emotions, Enthrall, Hold Person, Tasha’s Mind Whip, and Suggestion. You might notice those are all enchantment spells; the necromancy options are… let's just go with… lacking, comparatively.
But wait, you ALSO get the Life Channel ability, which lets you spend a spell level’s worth of hit dice when a creature within 60 feet of you fails a damaging spell save you create to deal that much bonus damage to hit, which is sweet. The only limit on usage is your hit dice pool and willingness to risk the resource. Some tables will spend almost no time short resting and using hit dice; more yet will be at tables where backline casters aren’t taking that much damage. In these cases, you’re turning an unused well of dice into free damage on basically whatever damaging spells you’re casting that require saving throws. This is a bit at odds with Hex, which the Nuitari offers, but works great alongside most of the powerful damaging options you’d want to be using as a wizard and sorcerer. It takes an area of effect damaging spell like Fireball and tacks 3d6 extra damage onto whatever the biggest, scariest hit creature is, for what will feel like no extra cost.
Adept of the Black Robes is finally giving us a feat that empower casters casting spells. Unlike Spell Sniper which runs out of options to pair with it almost immediately, Adept of the Black Robes gets better as you progress through the game, giving you a deeper well of extra damage in addition to expanding the kinds of effects you can pair it with. Adding on a bonus 6d6 damage to the 10d6+40 Disintegrate will make you feel like the casting damage dealer. It being fixed to increasing the damage to just a single creature keeps it reigned in, not stepping wildly over the line when it comes to damage empowerment like Sharpshooter can. Adept of the Black Robes is a sweet feat with a ton of utility and build around power. I’d highly recommend trying it out.
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