Gifts of the Darkness – Volume One!

One of the coolest parts of Curse of Strahd was the dark gifts that your characters could get from the Vestiges in the Amber Temple. And Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft expanded on Dark Gifts even further, making them something that you wrap into your character right from the start.

So we’re here today to introduce FIVE new Dark Gifts in a little supplement that I’m calling, “Gifts From The Darkness”.

I go over the gifts in the video down below, but we’ve got a preview of one of the gifts further down this page. You can also get the whole PDF over on our Patreon!

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Touch of the Beast

Wild beasts have inspired people since time immemorial, the beast is a primordial force in all cultures. Beasts appear on totems and in the most powerful tales, we see them in the constellations at night, and they speak to us as guides or even gods. Some souls in the Domains of Dread—difficult to say whether to call them fortunate or cursed—are touched by the power that lies within this deep esoteric connection. Everyone is affected differently by this touch of the beast—but the beast snarls deep inside them all, waiting to break free.

Roll on or choose an option from the Touch of the Beast table to determine what kind of beast you are bound to. Additionally, you gain the traits that follow.

d6	Beastly Change
1	Feline. Your pupils are slitted like a cat’s and your eyes are an unusual color.
2	Avian. Long feathers grow from behind your ears and your lower arms.
3	Canine. You have long floppy ears, covered in soft fur.
4	Equine. You have a long tail made of hair resembling your head hair.
5	Reptilian. Patches of your skin are covered in scales and you have a forked tongue.
6	Amphibian. Your skin is constantly secreting a thin layer of mucous.

Beast Senses. You have advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight, hearing, or smell—choose one.

Quickened Movement. You have a climbing or swimming speed equal to your walking speed—choose one.

Primal Instincts. Your bestial instincts allow you to anticipate danger and to spring into action at a moment’s notice. When you make a Wisdom (Survival) check or roll for initiative, you can roll a d4 and add the number rolled to the result.

The Beast Within. The beast within you is constantly coiling and uncoiling, waiting for a chance to break free. When you kill, this rouses the beast and it might take control. Whenever you reduce a creature to 0 hit points, you must make a Wisdom saving throw with a DC equal to 10 + your proficiency bonus. On a failure, you lose control and are compelled to use your action each turn to make a melee attack against a target you can reach—whether friend or foe. You make this attack with advantage. If you cannot reach any target, you are compelled to move as close to the closest one as quickly as possible. You can repeat this saving throw at the end of each of your turns and snap out of it on a success, or when you are incapacitated.