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I'm not approaching this from a min-maxing perspective, but if I'm being pragmatic I'm trying to discern whether or not the shadow relic's grand gift, which should be earned around level 17, is helpful at high levels.

The grand gift, Umbral Body, is a 6th level spell that can't be heightened, which matches the power of a 12th level character. This doesn't strikes me as somewhat weak to a character of 17th level or higher. Is there something else I'm missing about this gift's description that makes it more powerful than just the 6th level spell?

The only thing I can think of is that it can be cast every 1d4 rounds as opposed to being linked to spell slots. Even still, would this be doing enough damage at high levels to even be used at all?

I've never played at high levels, so it's possible I'm greatly underestimating 6th level damage spells.

Austin Brown
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  • "This doesn't strikes me as somewhat weak to a character of 17th level or higher" you meant "does", not "doesn't", right? – András Oct 27 '22 at 21:33

2 Answers2

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Umbral Body is Pretty Powerful

Being able to cast a spell every 1d4 rounds is much stronger than just having it available to cast in spell slots, as most dedicated spellcasters only get 3-4 casts of a spell level per day. This allows for around 4 casts every minute.

Additionally, activating Umbral Body doesn't require the Cast a Spell action, so even a fighter with no spellcasting could use this gift. On such characters, access to some form of spellcasting is particularly valuable as a form of versatility, in this case dealing with many creatures at various distances all at once.

The 6d8 damage on shadow blast is somewhat lackluster compared with other spells of its level (like 12d6 with vampiric exsanguination), but it does come with the benefit of being versatile in how the area of damage is shaped, allowing for the caster to choose a 30-foot cone, a 15-foot burst within 120 feet, or a 50-foot line with each activation, and allowing the activator to determine the damage type.

And while the physical damage types allowed by Umbral Body are less useful than the various elemental types normally allowed by the spell, there's still a large number of creatures vulnerable to one of the options either way.

brandon
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    For further comparison, Umbral Body averages 28 damage to each target (before the save). Electric Arc from a level 17 full caster averages 28.5 (before the save, from 9d4+6). So without any real investment, a character with Umbral Body gets the routine power of a normal full caster. Since you can shape the burst, it should be pretty trivial to hit at least 3 creatures, and you can trigger weaknesses or avoid resistances in a few cases. So Umbral Body won't replace what your character can do, but adds a huge level of versatility with very little investment. – ESCE Oct 27 '22 at 20:27
  • Comparing it to a 17th level cantrip is helpful, thanks! – Austin Brown Oct 28 '22 at 21:26
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It is quite good, especially on martials

There are very few things a martial character can effectively use against crowds. If you take a multiclass dedication for the cantrips, by level 17 your DC will be 4-6 behind a full caster's because of your proficiency and your spellcasting ability modifier.
Focus spells are quite similar in this regard.

Umbral Body will be more effective, as it uses your class DC, which should be on par with a caster's spell DC.

You could do better damage, at the cost of flexibility

A Kobold with Kobold Breath and Dragon's Breath deals 40,5 damage, compared to the 27 of Umbral Body. The cone or line is of similar size, but cannot be a burst, and the damage type along with the shape is set at character creation. Also, it is only usable once per hour.

For casters, it is about as good as great cantrip

Electric Arc is the best cantrip, this one does about the same damage (27 vs 28,5 of EA)1, in a better (more flexible) shape, so likely you can include more than 2 enemies in it. In exchange Umbral Shroud can only be used less frequently.
How important this is for a caster varies quite a bit. Sorcerers have 4 slots per level, so they might not need a cantrip at all, while Psychics get half as many. Primal and arcane casters have a comparable cantrip, divine especially lacks a good combat cantrip.

  1. ESCE gave me the idea for the comparison
András
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  • You make a good point by mentioning its special relevance to martials. While I had imagined it going to a martial character, I did take it for granted; but in that mindset it's also cool that it is a damage-dealing option for martials that does not have the attack trait. – Austin Brown Oct 29 '22 at 20:42