Ravenloft: The Horrors Within - Phantom (Rogue)
Table of Contents
The Phantom Rogue is now official in Ravenloft: The Horrors Within, and I was especially curious to see how much this one changed. I already really like the Phantom. It has a strong identity, useful features, and a very cool relationship with the souls of the dead.
As it turns out, the answer is: not much changed at all. The official Phantom is remarkably close to the Unearthed Arcana version. Most of the subclass survived untouched, with only a few small adjustments around soul trinkets and Speak with Dead.
Description
Phantom Rogues walk along the boundary between life and death. They shepherd enemies toward the grave, borrow knowledge from the dead, and carry fragments of departed souls as strange trinkets with supernatural power.
What Changed From Unearthed Arcana?
Wails from the Grave (Level 3)
UA
After dealing Sneak Attack damage, the UA Phantom could target a second creature within 30 feet of the first. That creature took Necrotic damage equal to a roll of half the Rogue’s Sneak Attack dice, rounded up. The feature had uses equal to the Rogue’s Dexterity modifier and refreshed on a Long Rest.
Release
The release version keeps the same trigger, range, damage calculation, number of uses, and Long Rest recharge.
My take
No change was needed here. Wails from the Grave is a simple and satisfying way to spread Sneak Attack damage around, and tying its uses to Dexterity gives it a natural progression for most Rogue builds.
Whispers of the Dead (Level 3)
UA
Whenever the UA Phantom finished a Short or Long Rest, it could temporarily gain one missing skill or tool proficiency. Choosing another proficiency replaced the previous one.
Release
The release version keeps the feature unchanged.
My take
I still like this a lot. A flexible proficiency is useful without being complicated, and the idea that a ghost briefly shares its knowledge with you is perfect for the subclass.
Tokens of the Departed (Level 9)
UA
The UA version granted soul trinkets after a Long Rest and let the Phantom regain them when nearby creatures died. Trinkets could fuel an extra Wails from the Grave, grant Advantage on Death and Constitution saving throws, or be spent to cast Augury using Dexterity as the spellcasting ability.
Release
The release version keeps the trinket generation, scaling maximum, Death’s Knell, Life Essence, and reaction-based recovery. Spirit Query still lets you spend a trinket to cast Augury, but it now uses Constitution instead of Dexterity as the spellcasting ability. If you knew the creature associated with the trinket, you can instead ask its spirit one question.
My take
This is mixed. Using Constitution instead of Dexterity is a small nerf for most Rogues, but the option to ask the soul inside a trinket a direct question is flavorful and potentially very useful. Death’s Knell and Life Essence remain the strongest everyday reasons to keep trinkets around.
Voice of Death (Level 9)
UA
The UA Phantom could cast Speak with Dead once without a spell slot or components, using Dexterity as the spellcasting ability. The free casting refreshed on a Short or Long Rest.
Release
The release version keeps the free Speak with Dead casting and adds another option: when casting it, you can target one of your soul trinkets instead of a corpse and use the spirit connected to that trinket to answer.
My take
This is a small but very fitting buff. Carrying a soul around and later questioning it feels exactly like something a Phantom Rogue should be able to do. It also makes the trinkets feel like more than a collection of mechanical charges.
Ghost Walk (Level 13)
UA
As a Bonus Action, the UA Phantom could assume a spectral form for 10 minutes. The form granted a slow hovering Fly Speed, imposed Disadvantage on attacks against the Rogue, and allowed movement through occupied spaces. A soul trinket could restore the feature’s use.
Release
The release version keeps the feature effectively unchanged.
My take
That is completely fine with me. Ghost Walk is strong, visually memorable, and gives the Phantom a very different movement and defensive profile from other Rogues.
Death's Friend (Level 17)
UA
Death’s Lament let Wails from the Grave damage both the first and second creature. Draw of Death restored one soul trinket when the Phantom rolled Initiative with none remaining.
Release
The release version keeps both benefits unchanged.
My take
This remains a good capstone. Death’s Lament improves the subclass’s signature damage feature, while Draw of Death makes sure the Phantom enters an important fight with at least one soul trinket available.
Final Thoughts
The official Phantom is almost entirely the UA Phantom, and I think that is a compliment. The subclass already had a clear identity and a solid mechanical package, so there was no reason to rebuild it.
Level 3 is unchanged, Ghost Walk is unchanged, and Death’s Friend is unchanged. Tokens of the Departed gets a small tradeoff through the Constitution-based Spirit Query, while Voice of Death gains a flavorful new interaction with soul trinkets.
Overall, I still really like this subclass. It is useful, eerie, and mechanically distinct without becoming difficult to run. Of all the horror subclasses we have compared so far, this might be the one that changed the least on its way to release.
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