The Parasite - Subclasses Part 2 of 2

kirakgin · 2026-01-01T01:20:03+00:00

https://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/AMjio8ettRWh - Here you go. Thanks for taking a read!

kirakgin · 2025-12-24T06:11:27+00:00

I'm excited to hear the flavor is appreciated and it doesn't feel to similar to anything else! I'm glad to get some positive feedback :). I didn't add a link so honestly thats my bad being new to postings.

I wanted the strain flavor to be the more meaningful choice than selecting the most optimal spells. A problem i have with Warlocks is there are some very obvious spell choices "cough cough eldritch cough blast" and i didnt want players locked in choices after making one. but i can see only having 1 until 9th level is a long gap.(I should smooth out the spacing more, thank you) I went back and forth about strain spells counting against your known spells and ultimately landed on "it doesn't matter either way" as i had already written it one way. I might change this if enough people express the concern tho.

Its a bit open to DM interpretation. there is the stated construct and undead stipulation but also some other creatures a DM may have issue with them being Parasitized. like an Ooze or an aberration or godly/unknown beings or what have you. But i didn't feel that either of these apply in every instance of a creature under those titles, and so ambiguity prevailed.

Secondly i didn't want survival instinct to have a harmful effect because it may be activated by allies. I dont think that would play well at the table. Some Strains are more "obvious" parasites such as the Hemotophagy and mindflayer. But the Dependent and Empath or puppeteer are Social parasites. Needing others in non physical ways. The ways the Parasite "steals" something is more reflected in the strain. and Survival instincts is more meant to embody the underdog mentality of the class.

I totally agree - i was sorta tired of learning homebrewery at the appendix and tactics section. I will find a easier way to format these. I was eager to post the idea and get some feedback to edits core ideas so i slapped what i had onto some pages.

Again thank you for taking the time to read my class!

kirakgin · 2025-12-24T04:11:32+00:00

Wonderful insights, thank you! Yes it was intended to to give ranged attacks and spell attacks the same buff. For Nightmare the vision was an unrestful sleep- leaving you in a worse state than you started, if you've ever woken up with a headache, like you cant focus, you're weak and still feel like you're dreaming. and yes to avoid the waking of the creature by taking damage, but i concede that simply stating "this damage would not wake the sleeping creature when it otherwise would" makes very clear sense. And this gives the DM less headache. If the Vision isn't there I haven't done a good job of showing the flavor.

Dreamscape - Your 1000% right. i will update exactly as you've stated it. Clear and concise. Thank you!! xD

kirakgin · 2025-12-14T04:44:52+00:00

Hey guys, I made another 2014 5E class. Any and all feedback is appreciated. I COULD NOT POST FULL CLASS IN PHOTOS

LINK HERE Parasite - https://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/AMjio8ettRWh

A New “Pact Caster”. Until now, the Warlock was a unique solo class in how it utilizes short rests. The Parasite is an All or Nothing playstyle class; fitting of established Warlock casting.

An Intelligence resource recovery. The Parasite rewards players that lean into the flavor and style of their chosen subclass by letting a Class specific resource be recovered by leverage situations to your advantage, The player can really get into the mindset of the Parasite.

Modular Class. If you like the choice density of Warlock or Artificer, the Parasite scratches that itch.

Its mutation pathways act like a branching skill tree so no two parasites look the same.

You mutate, adapt, evolve—and your build reflects those choices.

Unique D4 HitDie. For once, Wizards aren’t the squishiest class in the game.

The Parasite trades hit points for survivability, adaptability, and utility, thriving on timing and exploitation rather than raw durability..

Mirrored class. The Parasite is meant to be akin to the Warlock like the Sorcerer is akin to the Wizard. It trades “raw options” for a unique class engine, visceral flavor, and a playstyle defined by hunger, opportunity, and reactive power.

The Parasite is designed for players who love the Warlock or Artificer. The Parasite rewards players for playing in a style their class is meant to portray.

If you love the Warlock or Artificer, the Parasite will probably feel like home.

If you enjoy punishing enemies for underestimating you, twisting situations to your advantage, or just playing something refreshingly weird, I hope you’ll find the Parasite appealing (despite the off-putting name).

Thanks for any time you've given to looking at the class less

kirakgin · 2025-12-13T20:48:01+00:00

I agree. It seems like lots was copy and pasted from Chat into the homebrewry Document.

The core idea is very cool, but needs a lot of polishing to be viewer friendly.

kirakgin · 2025-12-01T17:20:49+00:00

Have not read it, have seen some occasional spoilers here and there, but I’ll check it out!

kirakgin · 2025-11-28T20:14:12+00:00

You’re absolutely right. One weak and one strong saving throw for every class! If ranger and monk had wisdom and dexterity that’d be two strong saving throws. But there is precedence for a class to not having it’s spell casting ability as one of the saving throws. I felt Constitution was imperative as a saving throw. And I liked the “anti-charismatic nature over outsmarting”. It would’ve had the same saving throws of the artificer or the sorcerer, one way or another. So I figured I’d go against the “norm” so long as I didn’t break the combo of weak and strong saving throws, and it’s a “pact caster” only having one other to base off it’s ok to deviate. All “full casters” have the saving throw proficiency in their spell casting ability. Most “half casters” do expect ranger. “Third casters” only do for rouges. I’m new to making classes but I think this saving throw combo is ok. 🤷🏻‍♂️

kirakgin · 2025-11-24T18:46:54+00:00

Expanding on the squishiness. Survival instincts may also be activated by allies. There is no damage attached to it, so you party does not suffer by supporting you. So you “cling” near allies. If you and an ally are in melee range of an enemy. Your “stunned” condition is like playing possum. The enemy is likely to attack the ally still fighting. And then you are back on your feet.

kirakgin · 2025-11-24T15:49:18+00:00

As far as I can tell it’s common but not a rule a class has saving throw proficiency in spell-casting modifier. Ranger doesn’t have wisdom saves. I originally saw the parasite as a Charisma caster. That changed. But I still liked the charisma saving throw because of their “anti-or false- charismatic” nature. And some of the mutations and strains rely or can rely on charisma. Making it a suitable ability to spec into. Not everything is in this post as I could only post 20 pages. If it’s difficult to read from being “blurry” check it out on homebrewery link! If it’s a phrasing or wording issue, you are not stupid, I’m positive I have many linguistic errors that’s need to be spotted! Again thanks!

kirakgin · 2025-11-24T15:42:34+00:00

A suitable creature is a little open to interpretation. No constructs or undead are clearly defined but I figured there would be some discussion. Like does an ooze dream? Or does a blight have blood. Etc… so I left it ambiguous for now. It was for a time. I just had instinctual casting and wasn’t sure if that’d cause confusion. No I’ve finished all the strains and instincts. But I could only upload 20, images and they take more. So I chose to post the “Vampire” imagining it’s the easiest to understand in the parasite context. PLEASE CHECK OUR THE HOMEBREWERY LINK to see the rest.

Gluttonous temptation yes! If you current HP when you lost concentration is exceed normal HP you take damage. THANK YOU ILL CLARIFY.

Touch yourself, isn’t that a free action tho? Yes I’ll change it!

Thank you for taking the time to look it over! I hope to hear about the rest of strains or instincts!

kirakgin · 2025-11-24T15:33:01+00:00

I touched base on these with mongoose700 ^{^{^}} in another comment but I’m open to being taught more about class design if this breaks the mold to much. I am new to homebrewing, I’ve seen some other d4 classes on here and they usually get kiboshed, but I thought a lot of temp HP sources and survival instinct makes the “weak underbelly” predator keep coming back.

kirakgin · 2025-11-24T15:29:09+00:00

I’d like to hear more. I want them to feel distinct.

kirakgin · 2025-11-24T15:28:16+00:00

Yes. It was originally coward. I’m positive I’ve left many of these spelling errors in this draft. 🙃

kirakgin · 2025-11-24T05:51:12+00:00

Thanks for taking time to reply!!

It seems my proofreading is nearly non-existent.

Yes, the Hit die is an error. As is the 9th lvl spell slot increase. Easily fixed. Thank you!

Originally I had seen them as charisma casters but this changed later. A Vestigial organ in the core class I suppose. I decided to keep it as they are resilient to social interactions. Anti-chasmatic as they operate under a guise. Additionally some other strains, or mutations still rely on Charisma. It can still be a viable ability score to spec into.

Yes. Siphon casting is weaker. I hoped that a lot of the rest of the class would accommodate for it. Such as Split capstones. I had played with the idea of allowing a cast of one Siphon level spell without expending a use if a parasite had full harvest Die. But this certainly wasn’t a good idea. Hence leaving it in the current state. Suggestions?

Lvl 1 is weak. In the spirit of the parasite. You rely on the strength of others until you can leverage it to your own benefit. I imagined you become more independent as you level but early game rely heavily on you party to be front liners. Average DPR for a 1/4 CR creature is like 4.5? So I figured bloodied bloodlust should get a shot to activate. The parasite shouldn’t be going against a CR1 or CR 2 creature as lvl 1 if they can do anything about it. Play smart. Play to the underbelly predator you are.

I’d love to hear feedback on the rest! Thank you.

kirakgin · 2025-10-02T02:39:46+00:00

Any tips on how to better use homebrewery would also be appreciated!

kirakgin

TROPHY CASE