Binder | Base Class

Get all 31 Vestiges in the Complete Binder!

Binder

When he finally spoke, it was with the voices of several beings at once, overlapping in an unnatural harmony. But the most prominent voice was gruff and confident, which he used to lull his targets into complacency seconds before he struck with a hidden dagger. By the next morning, the gruff, independent voice was gone, instead replaced with a profound melancholy. He also discarded the daggers in favor of a sturdy spear and imposing armor. The day after that, he struck an air of erratic rage, and he abandoned weapons altogether in favor of eldritch flame. Each morning, he woke up anew, possessed by other new infernal spirit, dead god, or forgotten sinner.
Binders are students of soul magic, an ancient and forbidden art that allows them to call to entities that live beyond the known planes, in the spaces between worlds. Through this specialized magic, binders can draw these entities into their own souls to steal their power—though not always without a price.

Beyond Reality

Binders learn to cast their minds into the Void between planes, to search the abyss there for beings that will answer their call. These beings—called vestiges—are remnants of powerful spirits residing in the nothingness outside of reality, which is born from the last echoes of the world’s creation and from energies that leak out of the planes.
Vestiges are born of dead gods and tragic heroes, but their forms, personalities, and motivations are shaped by the whims of remembrance. Righteous spirits that are remembered as villains develop a fiendish aspect and sinister overtones, while those who are forgotten fade over millennia into the Void’s static. Mercifully, binder scholars record and preserve the original, often apocryphal, tales of these vestiges’ origins, allowing them to persist longer in the Void.
Because vestiges are deprived of all sensation in the Void, they crave any small taste of reality, and will answer the call of any binder powerful enough to draw them forth. Binders can merge a portion of their soul with a vestige in exchange for some of the power that vestige commanded in life.

A Soul Fractured

In order to harbor a vestige, a binder must divide their very soul and offer part of it to the vestige for residence. Sharing their soul in this way leaves profound marks as the vestige pushes its way into reality: it influences its binder’s personality and usually warps their body in accordance with the vestige’s esoteric form. Last but not least, the soul itself is permanently fractured, which could have unforeseen consequences in the afterlife. It is for this reason that binding magic is usually forbidden.
Skilled binders learn to break their soul into smaller and smaller pieces to bind greater and more numerous spirits. At their pinnacle, a binder can wield magic of ancient, forgotten gods while swinging the blades of legendary heroes, but their voice becomes quiet among the clamor of disparate spirits and their soul is relegated to but a fraction of their persona.

Creating a Binder

As you make your binder character, spend some time thinking about your relationship to your vestiges, and the extent to which you allow them to influence your personality. How did you learn about the mysterious vestiges, and do you have a special relationship with any of them? What drew you to your first summoning? How do you view your own soul, given that you allow other spirits to take up residence within it?
Work with your GM to determine what role vestiges and other binders will play in your campaign.
As a binder, you can redefine your role in the adventuring party—daily, if desired. There is also the possibility that your appearance and your very personality will flex with different vestiges holding sway over your soul. How do you and your adventuring party confront this, and how do you handle the physical traits presented by your vestiges? Do you hide these signs, for fear of public retribution? Or do you flaunt them, embracing the power that they offer you?

Quick Build
To make a binder quickly, consider the following suggestions: make Charisma your highest stat, followed by a medium balance of Constitution, Strength, and Dexterity. Because you can take any party role, you should be prepared to change your hat on a moment’s notice. Lastly, choose any background.

Class Features

As a binder, you gain the following class features.

• A light crossbow, 20 bolts, and any simple weapon
• (a) scale mail or (b) leather armor
• 10 pieces of chalk and a component pouch
• (a) a scholar’s pack or (b) a dungeoneer’s pack

Soul Binding

In your studies, you have uncovered the means to pierce the veil of the planes and call to what lives beyond. You learn how to summon a vestige and bind it to your soul.

Binding Ritual
You can spend 10 minutes conducting a special binding ritual, which entails drawing the signs of vestiges in chalk, calling each by name, and performing other, more esoteric acts. During this ritual, vestiges manifest tangible signs as they press against the boundaries of reality and find purchase within your soul.
At 1st level, you can bind one vestige. You can bind more vestiges at higher levels, as shown in the Vestiges Bound column of the Binder table. Unless otherwise specified, you can only bind vestiges whose combined level is no greater than your binder level.
Vestiges remain bound until you finish a long rest. Once you perform a binding ritual, you can’t do so again until you finish a long rest.

Spellcasting Ability
Charisma is your spellcasting ability for all spells and features granted to you by your vestiges, since you command the power of your vestiges through your very soul. You use your Charisma whenever such a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Charisma modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a spell or feature granted to you by one of your vestiges, and when making an attack roll with such a spell or ability.

Vestige save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier

Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier

Minor Spirits

Beginning at 2nd level, you can use the runoff energy from your binding ritual to enlist two minor spirits to your service, selected from the Minor Spirits list. These spirits manifest faintly around you, though you can cause them to become invisible or return to visibility once on each of your turns (no action required).
You can bind additional spirits to your service as you gain additional levels in this class, as shown on the Binder table. When you gain a level in this class, you can choose to replace a minor spirit enlisted to you with another.

Rebinding

Starting at 2nd level, you can use your action to perform a modified version of the binding ritual, allowing you to expel a bound vestige early and bind another vestige of equal or lower level in its place. Any effects created by a dismissed vestige immediately end. Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.
Starting at 15th level, you can rebind two vestiges instead of one when you use this feature.

Esoteric Cult

Starting at 3rd level, you align yourself with an esoteric cult, a secretive organization of binders bound together by similar motives and shared mystic knowledge. Choose one of the cults presented at the end of the class description. Your choice in cult grants you features at 3rd level, and again at 7th, 10th, and 14th level.

Suppress Sign

Also at 3rd level, you can use your action to conceal all Trait features offered by your bound vestiges. All physical signs created by these Traits vanish, but you can’t use any Trait features until you use your action to reveal your vestiges’ Traits.

Ability Score Improvement

When you reach 4th level, and again at 6th, 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.

Adamant Mind

At 9th level, your experience in sharing your soul with otherworldly entities has taught you how to guard your thoughts and punish those that dare to influence them. You have advantage on saving throws against being charmed, frightened, or possessed, and against any effect that would sense your emotions or read your thoughts.
Additionally, when you succeed on a save against such an effect caused by a creature, the creature that created the effect takes psychic damage equal to your binder level + your Charisma modifier.

Voidsoul

By 20th level, your soul is so cracked from its inhabiting vestiges that you can surrender the last sliver of your soul to the Void for a time. As a bonus action, you can bind an additional vestige of your choice of 3rd level or lower for 1 minute. This vestige doesn’t count against the total number or level of vestiges you can bind.
Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.

Minor Spirits

These minor spirits are presented in alphabetical order. If a minor spirit calls for an attack roll, it uses your spell attack bonus, and if it calls for a saving throw, it uses your vestige save DC.

Binders as Spellcasters
A binder conjures up their magic from the deepest pits of their souls, in much the same way that a creature with innate magic does. Despite this, binders are still considered spellcasters for the purposes of spells and effects that target them. Similarly, all effects granted by them by vestiges, including the vestige traits, cease while in an antimagic field or similar effect.
Furthermore, spells offered by a vestige are cast at their lowest level, unless otherwise specified.

Blade Spirit
The remnants of an intelligent item’s soul, a blade spirit manifests as a faint, ethereal weapon. As a bonus action, you can make a melee spell attack with it against a target within 5 feet of you, dealing 1d8 slashing damage on a hit.
Additionally, you can use your action to transform your blade spirit into a shield or melee weapon with which you are proficient or return it to its normal form. You can’t make a melee spell attack with your blade spirit while it is transformed.

Chill
A chill is a minor elemental spirit resembling a multifaceted snowflake. As a bonus action, you can make a ranged spell attack with it against any creature within 30 feet of you, dealing 1d6 cold damage on a hit.
Additionally, as an action, you can also use the chill to freeze a handheld object, create an icicle, or extinguish a torch or small campfire.

Glitch
Abruptly shifting and flashing, the glitch is a time-lost spirit from a distant era. As a bonus action, you can make a ranged spell attack with it against any creature within 120 feet of you, dealing 1d4 force damage on a hit. The glitch ignores half cover and three-quarters cover as it clips through solid objects.

Grue
A ravenous spirit that haunts dark places, the grue is feared for its stealth and acidic saliva. As a bonus action, you can use the grue to force a creature you can see within 15 feet of you to succeed on a Dexterity saving throw, taking 1d6 acid damage on a failed save. If the target is in darkness, it has disadvantage on its saving throw.

Haunt
A haunt is a spirit of regret or woe that persists long after its death. As a bonus action, you can use the haunt to force a creature you can see within 30 feet of you to succeed on a Dexterity saving throw, taking 1d6 necrotic damage on a failed save.
Additionally, as an action, you can use the haunt to project faint, ethereal noises or create up to four ghostly lights that shed dim light in a 10-foot radius and move as you direct. These effects must remain within 30 feet of you, and they last until the start of your next turn.

Lantern
A minor divine spirit of pure goodness, a lantern manifests as a fist-sized ball of light. As a bonus action, you can use the lantern to force a creature you can see within 30 feet of you to succeed on a Dexterity saving throw, taking 1d6 radiant damage on a failed save.
The lantern sheds bright light in a 20-foot radius and dim light for an additional 20 feet. You can use your action to double its radius of bright and dim light until the start of your next turn.

Stone
A stone is a rocky, hovering elemental spirit, the smallest unit of living elemental earth. As a bonus action, you can make a melee spell attack with it against a target within 5 feet of you, dealing 1d8 bludgeoning damage on a hit.
Alternatively, you can throw the stone up to 30 feet as an improvised weapon. After being thrown, the stone returns to you at the end of your turn.

Spark
A spark is a minor elemental spirit resembling a small blue bolt of crackling lightning. As a bonus action, you can make a ranged spell attack with it against any creature within 30 feet of you, dealing 1d6 lightning damage on a hit. You can repeat this attack roll against a second target within 5 feet of the first if both targets are wearing metal armor.

Strange
The shifting, incomprehensible form of a strange must originate in a far-off dimension whose rules differ from our own. As a bonus action, you can use the strange to force a creature you can see within 60 feet of you to succeed on a Wisdom savingthrow, taking 1d4 psychic damage on a failed save.
As an action, you can use the strange to cloud the thoughts of a creature within 30 feet of you with bizarre images, making it impossible for its thoughts to be read or for it to communicate telepathically until the end of your next turn.

Torchling
A torchling is a flickering, living flame, a minor elemental spirit of elemental fire. As a bonus action, you can make a ranged spell attack with it against any creature within 60 feet of you, dealing 1d6 fire damage on a hit.
Additionally, as an action, you can use the torchling to start a fire, melt snow or ice, or boil water.

Totem
A totem is a manifestation of an animal spirit. As a bonus action, you can make a melee spell attack with the totem’s bite against a target within 5 feet of you, dealing 1d8 piercing damage on a hit.
Additionally, you can use your action to channel your totem’s animal instincts, allowing you to make a Wisdom (Perception) check that relies on smell with advantage.

Wisp
This wisp is a faintly glowing spirit of capricious fey energy that produces poisonous spores. As a bonus action, you can use the wisp to force a creature you can see within 15 feet of you to succeed on a Constitution saving throw, taking 1d8 poison damage on a failed save.
The wisp shines light as a torch. As an action, you can cause the wisp and its light to be visible only to yourself until the end of your next turn.

Esoteric Cults

Cults of binders are founded on forbidden, lost, or transgressive knowledge. While some cults meet regularly in secret, assembling in private lodges or covert hideaways, others do not meet at all, its members united only by a shared philosophy or obscure dogma. Each cult keeps its own mysterious rituals for induction, proceedings, and most importantly, binding. As these occult secrets are passed to binder initiates, they can master new, enigmatic powers unknown to all but their order.

Get all seven Esoteric Cults (subclasses) in the Complete Binder!

Vestige Codex

This codex contains all the vestiges binders can commonly call forth from the Void. Vestiges are listed by level and are summarized on the following table.

New Forgotten Vestiges can be found in the Complete Binder!

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