Babaylan

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Overview & Creation

A wizened halfling kneels at the base of a bed, eyes shut tight as she reaches out to ancestral spirits, imploring them to heal their descendant. Amidst the roots of a vine-covered tree, an elf meditates on the concerns of her companions, before opening her mind to the wisdom of the ancient tree itself. A staff in one hand and a blade in the other, a balat-kayo gazes solemnly over her village. And by her side moves a proud spirit in the form of a great python, the shadows rippling off their spectral body. The two glance at each other, then nod, in a silent promise to defend their community until their last breath. Babaylan are mediums, channeling the power and wisdom of the spirits through offerings and communion. Accompanied by a patron spirit companion known as an abayan, babaylan serve as leaders, protectors, and healers for their communities.   Chosen by the Spirits Babaylan are intermediaries between the spirit realm and the mortal world. To accomplish this, babaylan dedicate their entire lives to studying the ancient histories of their people and honing their minds to best convey the wishes of the spirits who linger just beyond normal mortal sight. Most babaylan begin their training as an apprentice, shadowing an elder babaylan to learn the rituals and practice of the role. Once this training has been completed, the individual is conferred a personal spirit guide known as an abayan. This guide stays with the babaylan for their entire lives, strengthening their link to the spirit realm. Unlike with a familiar or animal companion, neither babaylan nor abayan is master over the other. Between them exists only a friendship born of sacrifice, ritual, and respect. It is through this bond with their abayan that babaylan can channel magic, drawing energy from both nature and ancestral spirits and manifesting it in spectacular feats of healing, divination, and even divine combat. To a babaylan, magic is never a means to an end, but rather a cherished gift and responsibility.   Respected Leaders Due to their connection to the spirits that flow through the world, babaylan are widely revered. When individuals fell ill, families would turn to the village’s babaylan for healing; when farmers wished for fertile crops, a babaylan would perform a ritual to commune with the spirits of the land. Babaylan led offerings to appease and honor powerful nature spirits, and some would even enact divination ceremonies to seek wisdom and omens from the spirits of the dead. Because of this, babaylan are often regarded on par with other leaders and nobles in their communities. If a village leader were to go missing, a babaylan would be given control in their place. However, like with their approach to magic, babaylan deeply respect this power they are granted and are loath to misuse it. Their position as leaders comes from their communities, and as such, they dedicate all they can to honoring and protecting the individuals of those communities. For without them, a babaylan is nothing.    Creating a Babaylan As you build your babaylan, consider your character’s relationship with their community and how they approach their responsibilities as a leader and mediator. Is serving as a babaylan a part of your character’s family history, a role your character has spent their entire life preparing for? Or is your character the first of their lineage to be chosen by the spirits, wrestling to manage the weight of leadership and the numerous voices vying for their attention?   Additionally, think about what prompted your character to leave their community and take up the adventuring path. Perhaps their home is threatened by a vicious evil, and your character seeks to find a ward against this malice. Or maybe the spirits themselves are pulling your character towards adventure, knowing your character has much to learn through a journey of exploration and sacrifice.    Quick Build You can make a babaylan quickly by following these suggestions. First, Intelligence should be your highest ability score, followed by Dexterity or Constitution. Second, choose the Lorechanter background.

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Class Features

Cantrips At 1st level, you know three cantrips of your choice from the babaylan spell list. You learn additional babaylan cantrips of your choice at higher levels, as shown in the Cantrips Known column of the Babaylan table.   Preparing and Casting Spells   The Babaylan table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your babaylan spells of 1st level and higher. To cast one of these spells, you must expend a slot of the spell’s level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest.    You prepare the list of babaylan spells that are available for you to cast, choosing from the babaylan spell list. When you do so, choose a number of babaylan spells equal to your Intelligence modifier + your babaylan level (minimum of one spell). The spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots.   For example, if you are a 3rd-level babaylan, you have four 1st-level and two 2nd-level spell slots. With an Intelligence of 16, your list of prepared spells can include six spells of 1st or 2nd level, in any combination. If you prepare the 1st-level spell cure wounds, you can cast it using a 1st-level or 2nd-level slot. Casting the spell doesn’t remove it from your list of prepared spells.    You can change your list of prepared spells when you finish a long rest. Preparing a new list of babaylan spells requires time spent communing with the spirit world: at least 1 minute per spell level for each spell on your list.   Spellcasting Ability Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for your babaylan spells, as your magic stems from years of studying ancestral history and honing your mind to focus and strengthen your connection to the spirit realm. You use your Intelligence whenever a babaylan spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Intelligence modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a babaylan spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.   Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier   Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier   Ritual Casting You can cast a babaylan spell as a ritual if that spell has the ritual tag and you have the spell prepared.   Abayan As a babaylan, your journey is guided by a steadfast spirit companion known as an abayan. Part guardian and part mentor, your abayan helps you better understand your connection to the spirit realm and channel your magical gifts.Your abayan manifests as an incorporeal semi-transparent creature of Medium size. Often, the form the abayan chooses to adopt is a beast native to your home, though there are exceptions.    Regardless of their form, your abayan has truesight out to 60 feet, is immune to all damage, and cannot be dismissed or dispelled by magical means. You can use your abayan as a spellcasting focus for your babaylan spells; unlike other spellcasting foci, you do not need to be holding your abayan in order to gain this benefit. While your abayan is within 60 feet of you, you can communicate with them telepathically. An abayan is always truthful, but they may answer questions cryptically or withhold information as they see fit in order to best facilitate your spiritual journey as a babaylan.   As a bonus action on your turn, you can ask your abayan to move up to 30 feet in any direction. Your abayan can then immediately move to where you directed it as part of that same bonus action (provided the abayan is willing). When you cast a spell with a range of touch, your abayan can deliver the spell as if they had cast it; if the spell requires an attack roll, you use your attack modifier for the roll. Additionally, when you cast a spell that produces an area of effect originating from yourself, you can choose to have it originate from your abayan instead.   Babaylan Calling Spirits call on mortals to become babaylan for different reasons, with each reason influencing the specialities a babaylan develops. Select a babaylan calling, which describes the purpose for which the spirits have chosen you. Your choice grants you features when you select it at 1st level and again at 2nd, 6th, 11th, and 15th levels.   Spirit Conduit At 3rd level, your abayan begins to lend you some of their innate power, allowing you to become a conduit for the spirit and strengthen your spells. The power your abayan lends you is represented by a pool of d4s called Spirit Dice. You start with 4d4 in this pool and gain more dice as you reach higher levels, as shown in the Spirit Dice column of the Babaylan table. You can use dice from this pool to bolster a spell via one of the conduit options below. Once you take a die from the pool and roll it for one of the conduit options, the die is considered expended and cannot be used for another option.    You can use multiple conduit options on a single spell, but the total number of Spirit Dice expended in a single turn must be less than or equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum of one). For example, if you use your action to cast inflict wounds and have an Intelligence of 16, you could expend 1d4 from your Spirit Dice pool for the Precision conduit option and buff the attack roll, then expend another 2d4 from the pool for the Vehemence conduit option and increase the damage of the spell; after doing so, though, you would not be able to expend any more Spirit Dice until the start of your next turn. You regain all expended Spirit Dice after a long rest.   Conduit Options:

• Persistence. When you cast a spell that requires a saving throw against damage or an effect, you can use a number of Spirit Dice to increase the DC for that spell. Roll the Spirit Dice and add the total rolled to your usual spell save DC; the result is the new DC for the spell. This increase in DC lasts until the start of your next turn. You must choose to use this option before affected creatures begin to make their saving throws. 
• Precision. When you cast a spell that requires an attack roll, you can roll a number of Spirit Dice and add the total rolled to your attack roll. You can use this option after rolling the d20 but before you know if the attack hits or misses. 
• Vehemence. When you roll damage for a spell, you can roll a number of Spirit Dice and add the numbers rolled to the total damage of the spell.

Ability Score Improvement When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature. Using the optional feats rule, you can forgo taking this feature to take a feat of your choice instead.   Spirit Recovery Starting at 7th level, you can spend time communing with your abayan and regain some of your magical strength. During a short rest, you can regain a number of Spirit Dice up to a number equal to half your Intelligence modifier, rounded up (minimum of one). Additionally, starting at 7th level, you gain resistance to necrotic damage.   Preternatural Speaker  At 10th level, your time spent as an intermediary between mortals and spirits has opened your mind to all forms of communication. You can now speak and read all languages, and any creature that can understand a language can understand what you say.   Between Worlds Starting at 14th level, your communion with ancestral spirits wards against the sting of death. You are immune to necrotic damage and have advantage on death saving throws.   Mythic Reverence At 20th level, your abayan confers more of their legendary power to you, deeply proud of how far you’ve come on this arduous journey. Whenever you start your turn with fewer than half your hit point maximum and are not incapacitated, you automatically regain 20 hit points. Additionally, if you fail a saving throw, you can choose to succeed instead. You can do this three times, and regain all uses after a long rest.

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Starting Equipment

You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:

• (a) a bangkaw or (b) a kampilan
• (a) a busog and 20 arrows or (b) one simple melee weapon of your choice
• (a) a dungeoneer’s pack or (b) an explorer’s pack
• Reinforced leather armor, a component pouch, and a bolo

 

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Spellcasting

As an intermediary between the mortal world and the spirit realm, you can perform acts of magic. The Babaylan Spell-list is as follows:   Cantrips (0 Level)

• Guidance
• Light
• Mending
• Poison Spray
• Produce Flame
• Resistance
• Spare the Dying
• Spirit Dart
• Thaumaturgy

1st Level

• Apolaki’s Light
• Create or Destroy Water
• Create or Harden Lava
• Cure Wounds
• Detect Evil and Good
• Detect Magic
• Detect Poison and Disease
• Fog Cloud
• Healing Word
• Inflict Wounds
• Protection from Evil and Good
• Purify Food and Drink
• Sanctuary
• Speak with Animals
• Thunderwave

2nd Level

• Aid
• Augury
• Blindness/Deafness
• Bonded Spirits
• Continual Flame
• Darkvision
• Gentle Repose
• Lesser Restoration
• Locate Animals or Plants
• Locate Object
• Moonbeam
• Prayer of Healing
• Protection from Poison
• Silence
• Spike Growth
• Zone of Truth

3rd Level

• Beacon of Hope
• Bestow Curse
• Call Lightning
• Clairvoyance
• Coral Cage
• Daylight
• Dispel Magic
• Magic Circle
• Mass Healing Word
• Plant Growth
• Protection from Energy
• Remove Curse
• Speak with Dead
• Speak with Plants
• Spirit Guardians
• Tongues
• Water Breathing

4th Level

• Banishment
• Blight
• Control Lava
• Control Water
• Death Ward
• Divination
• Freedom of Movement
• Guardian of Faith
• Locate Creature
• Ride Lightning
• Stone Shape
• Stoneskin
• Wall of Fire

5th Level

• Commune
• Commune with Great Spirits
• Commune with Nature
• Contagion
• Flame Strike
• Greater Restoration
• Hallow
• Legend Lore
• Mass Cure Wounds
• Scrying
• Tree Stride
• Wall of Stone

6th Level

• Find the Path
• Harm
• Heal
• Heroes’ Feast
• Move Earth
• Sunbeam
• Transport via Plants
• True Seeing

7th Level

• Cry of the Spirits
• Divine Word
• Fire Storm
• Regenerate
• Symbol

8th Level

• Control Weather
• Earthquake
• Sunburst
• Wrath of Lalahon

9th Level

• Celestial Chaos
• Foresight
• Mass Heal
• Storm of Vengeance

 

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Subclass Options

Babaylan Callings Though all babaylan serve as leaders and mediators between the mortal and spirit worlds, many babaylan find themselves called by the spirits to serve a specific purpose or fulfill a particular destiny. Some are drawn more towards healing and herbalism, while others find themselves pulled to become vessels to facilitate communication with the spirits. And still others are guided by the spirits to become fearsome warriors called to defend their communities.    How babaylan encounter this call is different for each individual. For some, it is a family legacy passed down among generations. Others though, find themselves visited by spirits in their dreams, experiencing wild visions that pull their heart inextricably towards this course of action. Whatever the case may be, the calling of these spirits follows the babaylan throughout their entire journey, influencing the skills the babaylan develops and the entire path of their life.   Call of Clairvoyance Babaylan who heed the Call of Clairvoyance specialize in divination and history. Steeped in the unseen spirit world, these babaylan learn to open their bodies as vessels, allowing the spirits to pour forth their guidance, knowledge, and memories through them.   Divining Eye When you choose this calling at 1st level, you learn the true strike cantrip, which doesn’t count against the number of babaylan cantrips you know. You can cast this cantrip as a bonus action, and you cannot lose concentration on this cantrip as a result of taking damage.   Vessel for the Spirits At 2nd level, you learn to open your mind and body to your abayan, allowing them to momentarily inhabit your physical form. As an action, you call upon your abayan and open yourself as a vessel for them. The abayan then enters your body. While you and your abayan share your physical form, you still have full control over your movements and actions and can still use your abayan as a spellcasting focus. Additionally, you gain advantage on all Intelligence checks to recall past knowledge or information, you add your Intelligence modifier to any saving throws made to maintain concentration on a spell or similar effect, and you can cast the spells detect evil and good, detect poison and disease, and identify once each without expending a spell slot. This state lasts for 10 minutes, or until you use your action to ask your abayan to leave your physical form, whichever happens first. Once you use this feature, you cannot do so again until you finish a short or long rest.   Clarity of Mind Starting at 6th level, you are immune to being charmed or frightened, as your connection with your abayan strengthens your mind against invasive forces.   Piercing Sight Starting at 11th level, you gain truesight out to 30 feet when using your Vessel of the Spirits feature.   Living Memory At 15th level, you learn to commune with the spirit of an object or creature and uncover their history. To do so, you must be able to touch the object or creature in question. If the spirit of the object or creature is hostile towards you, you must first succeed on an Intelligence check; you are proficient with this check. The DC for this check begins at 15, but the DM can increase or decrease this depending on your interactions towards the spirit and other outside factors. If the spirit is friendly towards you, you automatically succeed on this check.   On a success, you receive glimpses of significant events in the spirit’s past, beginning with the most recent. Significant events typically involve powerful emotions, such as battles and betrayals, marriages and murders, births and funerals, and other moments that may be pertinent to your current situation. The number of events you glean through this feature is equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum of one). Once you use this feature, you cannot use it again until you finish a short or long rest.   Call of Sacrifice Experts in healing and herbalism, babaylan following the Call of Sacrifice dedicate themselves to remedying the hurts that plague their communities. Beyond healing physical wounds, these babaylan can reach forth and snatch away a creature’s pain in an instant, and even give up parts of themselves to restore things that seem irrecoverable.   Undaunted Healer At 1st level, your connection to the spirits bolsters your healing prowess. Whenever your abayan is within 30 feet of you and you cast a spell to restore hit points to at least one creature, you can add your proficiency bonus to the number of hit points regained by each creature.   Absolve Hurt Starting at 2nd level, all friendly creatures within 10 feet of your abayan gain a +2 bonus to saving throws made against spells and effects that deal damage.    Additionally, your abayan begins to teach you how to magically seize the pain of others and pull it away. Whenever a creature other than yourself that is within 30 feet of your abayan takes damage, you can use your reaction to expend a spell slot and reduce the amount of damage the creature takes. The amount of damage reduced by this feature is equal to your babaylan level + 1d6 per spell slot level.   Yield Vitality At 6th level, you learn how to sacrifice some of your own vitality to restore magical energy. As an action, you can choose a creature within 30 feet of your abayan that has the ability to cast spells (including yourself). You immediately lose a number of hit points, and the chosen creature recovers one expended spell slot of a level of your choice. The number of hit points you lose when using this feature is equal to 10 ⨉ the recovered spell slot’s level. If the number of hit points lost via this feature exceeds your remaining hit points by an amount greater than or equal to your hit point maximum, you die instantly. Else, if the number of hit points lost via this feature exceeds your remaining hit points but does not kill you, you fall unconscious and automatically receive one failed death saving throw.    Hale of Body Your time spent communing with spirits as a healer has strengthened your own physical form against toxins. Starting at 11th level, you are immune to all poison and disease.   Banish Affliction At 15th level, you learn to cleanse a creature of afflictions. As an action, you end one condition on yourself or on one willing creature that you touch. The condition can be blinded, charmed, cursed, deafened, frightened, petrified, paralyzed, or poisoned. You can do this a number of times equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum of once), and regain all uses after you finish a long rest.   Call of Wrath Babaylan dedicate themselves to the protection and well-being of their community—and none more so than babaylan who heed the Call of Wrath. Wielding menacing martial prowess alongside powerful sorcery, these babaylan are some of the most fearsome warriors in living memory.   Bonus Proficiencies At 1st level, you gain proficiency with medium armor, shields, and martial weapons.   Guided Strikes Also starting at 1st level, whenever you are within 10 feet of your abayan, you can use your Intelligence modifier for weapon attack and damage rolls, instead of Strength or Dexterity. At 6th level, the range of this ability increases to 30 feet from your abayan. At 15th level, you can use your Intelligence modifier for weapon attack and damage rolls regardless of how far you are from your abayan.   Fury of the Spirits Starting at 2nd level, when you take the Attack action on your turn, your abayan can also make one melee spell attack against a hostile creature within 5 feet of them. This attack uses your spell attack modifier, and on a hit, the attack deals 2d6 force damage. This damage increases when you reach certain levels in this class, increasing to 3d6 at 5th level, 4d6 at 11th level, and 6d6 at 17th level.   Magic Warrior Starting at 6th level, your weapon attacks count as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistances and immunities. Additionally, when you use your Spirit Conduit feature, you can apply the Precision and Vehemence conduit options to weapon attacks and weapon damage respectively.   Tempered Will At 11th level, your experience in battle has toughened your mind. You can no longer lose concentration on a spell as a result of taking damage.   Armor of Ancients Starting at 15th level, you can use your action to call upon the spirits of warrior babaylan past to aid you in combat. This armor lasts for 1 minute, or until you are incapacitated, during which you gain the following benefits:

• You are immune to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical weapons. You gain resistance to all other types of damage.
• You gain a number of temporary hit points equal to your Intelligence modifier + your proficiency bonus + your level in this class. These temporary hit points can be combined with temporary hit points received from other spells and abilities.
• Whenever a creature hits you with a successful melee attack, they take force damage equal to 1d6 + your level in this class.

Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest