Overlord (5e Class)
From D&D Wiki
Overlord
“ | Evil always finds a way. My supreme overlord. | ” |
—Gnarl introduces himself, Overlord |
It is an ugly thing when gods and deities start feeling hatred toward mortals, for this feeling can manifest into evils that create fiends and nightmares of all kinds. Sometimes this feeling of hatred can exist in other creatures besides the divine themselves, such as a kid who was thrown into a well and left to die in darkness because his family was in a demon cult, a lady taken by bandits and then used as a servant and beaten, or even a great hero who is captured by necromancers and sacrificed to help them continue their work. These types of people feel hatred beyond the limits of any dark god, and can sometimes manifest this hatred into a great evil that will one day be a bane to all mortal and immortal beings.
Creating a Overlord
A supreme overlord with his full might, Source |
When you create your character, think, what provoked them to be an evil overlord or were they an overlord since the beginning? Perhaps they always had a hunger for power, drawing them to become such a being, or maybe they grew up in a position of power, only to be tainted by the corruption around them.
- Quick Build
You can make a overlord quickly by following these suggestions, first, Strength should be your highest ability score, followed by Charisma. Constitution is a good ability score as well. Second, choose the Outlander or Soldier background.
Class Features
As a Overlord you gain the following class features.
- Hit Points
Hit Dice: 1d12 per Overlord level
Hit Points at 1st Level: 12 + Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d12 (or 7) + Constitution modifier per Overlord level after 1st
- Proficiencies
Armor: Medium armor, heavy armor, and shields
Weapons: Simple and martial melee weapons
Tools: None
Saving Throws: Strength, Charisma
Skills: Choose two from Athletics, Deception, Insight, Intimidation, Perception, and Religion
- Equipment
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:
- (a) a longsword with a shield or (b) a battleax with a shield or (c) a warhammer with a shield
- (a) one martial melee weapon or (b) two simple weapons
- (a) chain mail or (b) scale mail
- a whip
- (a) a dungeoneer's pack or (b) a diplomat's pack
Level | Proficiency Bonus |
Terror Points |
Minions Number |
Cantrips Known |
Spells Known |
Features | —Spell Slots per Spell Level— | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | |||||||
1st | +2 | 1 | — | 2 | — | Terror Points, Strike Fear, Cantrips | — | — | — | — |
2nd | +2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | — | Minions, Infamous, Terrifying | — | — | — | — |
3rd | +2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | Spellcasting, Evil Path | 2 | — | — | — |
4th | +2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | Ability Score Improvement | 3 | — | — | — |
5th | +3 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 4 | Extra Attack | 3 | — | — | — |
6th | +3 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 4 | Evil Path Feature | 3 | — | — | — |
7th | +3 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 5 | Leader of the Pack | 4 | 2 | — | — |
8th | +3 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 6 | Ability Score Improvement, Lords Prowess | 4 | 2 | — | — |
9th | +4 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 6 | Minion Ability Score Improvement | 4 | 2 | — | — |
10th | +4 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 7 | Evil Path Feature | 4 | 3 | — | — |
11th | +4 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 8 | Weapon of Evil | 4 | 3 | — | — |
12th | +4 | 12 | 6 | 3 | 8 | Ability Score Improvement | 4 | 3 | — | — |
13th | +5 | 13 | 7 | 3 | 9 | Improved Leader of the Pack | 4 | 3 | 2 | — |
14th | +5 | 14 | 7 | 3 | 10 | Minion Ability Score Improvement | 4 | 3 | 2 | — |
15th | +5 | 15 | 8 | 3 | 10 | The Lord | 4 | 3 | 2 | — |
16th | +5 | 16 | 8 | 3 | 11 | Ability Score Improvement | 4 | 3 | 3 | — |
17th | +6 | 17 | 9 | 3 | 11 | Physical Domination | 4 | 3 | 3 | — |
18th | +6 | 18 | 9 | 3 | 11 | Evil Path Feature | 4 | 3 | 3 | — |
19th | +6 | 19 | 10 | 3 | 12 | Ability Score Improvement | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
20th | +6 | 20 | 10 | 3 | 13 | Supreme Being | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
Terror Points
Your overlord level determines the number of points you have, as shown in the Terror Points column of the Overlord table. You can regain Terror Points equal to your Charisma modifier(minimum of 1) after you finish a short rest, and you regain all your Terror Points after you finish a long rest.
Terror Ability
Charisma is the statistic used to determine the power of your spells.
- Terror save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier
- Terror attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier
Strike Fear
Starting at 1st level, your infamous reputation can make a single look from you drive a person insane with fear. As an action, you may spend 1 terror point to force any creature you can see to roll a Wisdom saving throw versus your Terror save DC. On a failed save, the target will be frightened for one minute. If they are attacked by you or your allies during that time there are frightened, they must make a second save. They may repeat the saving throw at the end of their turn, and if they succeed, they are no longer frightened and have advantage on saving throws against being frightened for a day. If they fail, they must use all of their movement to move as far away as possible from you for that minute.
Cantrips
You learn two cantrips of your choice from the sorcerer or warlock spell list. You learn an additional sorcerer or warlock cantrip of your choice at 10th level.
Minions
Hives
"MASTER you must not forget the hive for each of our minion kind!!! We don't feel at home with out them."(Upon finding and moving your hive to a stronghold or home, you may summon minions to your side at any time.)
At 2nd level, you may summon a minion with an action and 1 terror point within 30 feet of you if you have found the corresponding hive the minion belongs to. The brown hive is found in arid or rocky climates, the red hive is found underground or by sources of heat, the blue hive is found by large bodies of water, and the green hive is found in forested areas.
The Hives in general are the source of the type of minions in question. They reproduce the appropriate minions as needed up to the maximum number of minions aloud at the time. The hive is considered a large object and takes at least 5 Medium or Small creatures to carry it a movement rate of 15 feet per round. Each creature added to the carrying task adds a +5 to movement up to a maximum of 3 extra minions giving a total of movement of 30. A Large creature counts as 2, and a Huge creature counts as 4.
As an Overlord, minions are your servants and will do your every bidding regardless of how insane it is. They are fanatically loyal to you and will lay down their lives for you even if it's merely for your amusement. However, they aren't very strong. You may use an action and a terror point to summon a minion. Assemblages of minions generally act as a group. As a free action you may assign select or miscellaneous minions to alter your surroundings, clearing away rubble, clouds of poisonous gas, burning wreckage, traps, and other difficult terrain. In combat, you can remotely control the movement of all your minions, treating them as a mob when in groups of five or more for the purposes of resolving attacks which may only occur between your turns. Otherwise the attacks are resolved individually and will be targeted at the nearest hostile creature. Commanding more than one minion type on your turn counts as a bonus action.
Minions: Control
You may only control as many minions as your level allows outside your stronghold, as explained on the overlord class grid. No matter the situation, you cannot have any more minions under your control than your level permits. Never will a minion willingly betray you, but if two overlords confront each other, minions will usually flock to the greater. If two overlords are in combat with one another, the higher level one steals the loyalty of minions from the other overlord's ranks until his maximum minion limit is reached. If any minions of his die or are sent away during the combat, he does not receive further minions from the other overlord.
Minions: Type
There are four types of minions none of them are like the ones from Despicable Me. Each of the Minions have different abilities and features. At 2nd level, when you first gain this ability, you can summon a minion as an action for 1 terror points within 30 feet of you. You may summon minions of a certain type only if you have found their corresponding hive. The four minions are Brown, Red, Blue, and Green.
Links to the minions are given here: Brown Minion (5e Creature) Red Minion (5e Creature) Blue Minion (5e Creature) Green Minion (5e Creature)
Keep Upgrades
"For the MASTER!!! Something shinny master, it makes us stronger!"
Stronghold building is a down time activity. If starting from nothing, the cost and times are listed in the DMG p. 128. The size is determined by how much is built onto or into it. You need a place to keep your summoned minions, and what better place than a stronghold, but a cave, or small fort will work as well, with info in the DMG p. 128. These general guidelines should be followed with the exceptions to the minions that will build once the hive is collected. Minions may help you build your stronghold if you allow them, with browns building above ground and below ground mostly in wood, reds building below ground, blues building moats and springs, and greens creating areas of foliage or stonework. The minions build as gnomes and dwarves do as ratios in time.
If you acquire a forge and an anvil or workplace to forge equipment, a creature with proficiency in Smith's tools can make equipment for the minions, both weapons and armor. 10gp to create a weapon that gives +1 to attack/damage or armor that gives +1 to AC. 100gp to create a weapon that gives +2 to attack/damage or armor that gives +2 to AC. And so on, Up to a total of +4. It takes 24 hours per +1 bonus to create a piece of armor or weaponry. This armor and weaponry only retains the stated bonuses when used by a minion, and does not provide any other benefits to other creatures. This weaponry and armor also only has the bonuses states above.
If you acquire a brewery, you may pay a upkeep of 10 gold every day to give your minions get +2 to their Constitution, as well as the following; Browns get a +1 to Strength, reds get a +1 their Intelligence, blues get a +1 to their Wisdom, and greens get a +1 to their Dexterity.
You may have a magician lay a teleportation circle as mentioned in the spell description.
Infamous
At 2nd level the overlord becomes infamous and you give ridiculous loyalty to you people, giving you advantage on saving throws against being charmed.
Terrifying
At 2nd level, you become proficient with the intimidation skill. If you are already proficient, double your proficiency bonus. If someone knows of you or your feats, they have disadvantage against all charisma based checks against you. Terrifying isn't it?
Evil Path
At 3rd level, you choose an evil path. Each path empowers you in a specific type of evil energy. Your path allows you to choose from its unique powers in the form of your class features, and you also gain specific spells for the path. Choose a Dark Overlord, a Hellish Overlord, or a Tyrant Overlord, all of detailed at the end of the class description. The path you choose grants you features at 3rd level and again at 6th, 10th, and 18th level.
Spellcasting
When you reach 3rd level, you augment your terror prowess with the ability to cast spells.
- Spell Slots
The Overlord Table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your spells of 1st level and higher. To cast one of these overlord 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.
For example, if you know the 1st-level spell magic missile and have a 1st-level and a 2nd-level spell slot available, you can cast magic missile using either slot.
- Spells Known of 1st Level and Higher
You know three 1st-level spells of your choice from the sorcerer spell list or the warlock spell list.
The Spells Known column of the Overlord Table shows when you learn more overlord spells of your choice from the sorcerer spell list or the warlock spell list. Each of these spells must of a level where you have spell slots. For instance, when you reach 7th level in this class, you can learn one new spell of 1st or 2nd level.
Additionally, when you gain a level in this class, you can choose one of the overlord spells you know and replace it with another spell from the sorcerer spell list or the warlock spell list, which also must be of a level for which you have spell slots.
- Spellcasting Ability
Charisma is your spellcasting ability for your overlord spells, since the power of your magic relies on your intellect. You use your Charisma whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Charisma modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a overlord spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.
Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier
Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier
- Spellcasting Focus
You can use a melee martial weapon as a spellcasting focus for your overlord spells.
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.
Extra Attack
At 5th level, you may attack twice instead of once when you take the Attack action on your turn.
Leader of the Pack
At 7th level, one of your minions have found a pack of wolves. Defeat the pack leader(Dire wolf) alone to assert dominance and add to your minions strength. Minions get the mounted combatant feat and pack tactics when they spend at least 2 days with a particular wolf. The number of wolves you have can not exceed the number of minions you can control and changes with leveling up as your minions do. The wolves become dire wolves at level 13.
Lords Prowess
At 8th level, your weapon attacks score a critical hit on a roll of 19 or 20. (The effect also works for minions)
Minion Ability Score Improvement
When you reach 9th level, and again at 14th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1 for your minions. As normal you can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature. This increase applies to all minions no matter their type.
Weapon of Evil
At 11th level, an overlord is only effective if he has a weapon that matches his terror and brings fear to the hearts of others. During a short or a long rest, you can spend 2 Terror Points enhance a weapon you hold by counting it as magical for 1 hour and gives it a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls. You can only enchant one weapon during the rest, and if you try to enchant another weapon the oldest enchantment will disappear.
The Lord
At 15th level, you have become notorious and powerful. All building, upkeep, hireling, and forging costs are halved. You may use intimidation when trying to get something you want even if it is not necessary. Or even if its just a bad idea at the time. At least your minions will always love you.
Physical Domination
By 17th level, the overlord has become all powerful. As a bonus action, you may spend 7 terror points to gain resistance to all damage from for 1 hour. You regain use of this feature at the end of a long or short rest.
Supreme Being
At 20th level, you may spend a minute to summon 5 minions without using terror points. You gain immunity to a damage type of your choice for 24 hours, and you regain use of this feature after you finish a long rest.
Dark Overlord
A dark overlord often has powers related to the plane of Shadowfell. They don armor ranging anywhere from dark grey to coal black. They mainly focus on driving fear into the hearts of their enemies and choking control out of their subjects with terror.
Dark Drain
At 3rd level when you first select a dark path, you get the option to expend one or more terror points to equip your next attack to deal an extra d4 necrotic damage equivalent to the amount of terror points you expend to use this ability.
Horrific Strike
At 6th level, you gain the ability use a bonus action and expend one terror point to force an enemy within your sight to make a Charisma saving throw equivalent to your spell save DC. If they succeed, they are unaffected, but if they fail, they have disadvantage on attack rolls until the end of their next turn. Once a creature has made a save from Horrific Strike, it is unaffected by it for 24 hours.
Mad Terror
At 10th level, you gain an aura that emanates fear towards all creatures around you, this aura spreads around you as a circle of 20 feet radius. Any hostile creature entering the circle must make a Wisdom saving throw equal to your spell save DC. If they fail, they have disadvantage to attack you or your minions until they leave the circle. They may repeat the saving throw every turn and if they succeed, they are immune to the effects of Mad Terror for 24 hours.
Command of Fear
At 18th level, you gain the ability to bend intelligent creatures to your will with the power of fear. You may expend 10 terror points to force them to make a Wisdom saving throw equivalent to your spell save DC. If they fail, they are charmed and will obey your commands as long as they don't obviously go against the creature's wishes. If you command them to do anything that would be against their interests, they may repeat the saving throw. If you command them to do anything that would harm themselves or are damaged by a creature friendly to you, they repeat the saving throw with advantage. You regain use of this feature after you finish a long rest.
Hellish Overlord
Hellish overlords seek chaos and destruction or everything within their iron grasp. They are known for summoning fiends and only wearing armor made to look truly evil such as black iron mixed with volcanic rock.
Fearful Cry
At 3rd level when you first pick this path, you gain the ability to create a ghastly scream that forces enemies to turn and flee from you. You may expend three terror point to force hostile creatures within 30 feet of you to make a saving throw equivalent to your spell save DC, if they fail, they are affected by strike fear for 1 minute. If they succeed, they are unaffected. You regain use of this feature after you finish a long rest.
Furious Attack
At 6th level, your anger and fury enhance your attacks making them more destructive then ever. When you make hit a creature with a melee martial weapon, you can spend 2 terror points as a bonus action to force the target to make a Strength saving throw equal to your Terror DC. On a failed throw, if the target is Medium or smaller, they are pushed in the opposite direction a distance equal to your Strength modifier(minimum 1) x 5 feet and get knocked prone, if the target is Large, they are only pushed 5 feet, and if the target is Huge or bigger they are unaffected. On a successful saving throw, your target is pushed only 5 feet and takes regular damage, unless they are Large or bigger, by which they are unaffected.
Call of Hell
At 10th level, you gain the ability to summon fiends to aid your vile machinations. You may use an action to expend 10 terror points to summon a fiend with a CR less than or equal to your proficiency bonus. The fiend will serve you for no more than 1 minute and returns to it's respective plane after that. You may not kill the fiend and if you willingly attempt to harm it, it returns immediately to it's plane. You must complete a long rest before using this feature again.
Demonic Pitch
At 18th level, you gain use an action to cast the black tentacles spell. You regain use of this feature after you finish a short or long rest.
Tyrannical Overlord
Tyrannical overlords focus purely on conquering and ruling property with the usage of their minions. They are often Lawful Evil but they can be any evil alignment. They are known for donning sharp imposing armor that often makes them look taller and decorated with their colors. They often take rich pleasures in their pastimes such as enslaving foes and sending them to fight to the death in arenas against their ever loyal minions or lounging in lush gardens being catered to by minions and concubines.
Throttle
At 3rd level, when you first select this path, you can make your minions go BOOM! Using a bonus action, you pick up a minion within 5 feet of you and shake them vigorously, making their eyes glow and mouth froth with red light. At the end of the minion's next turn, they explode in a fiery blast dealing 1d6 fire damage and 1d6 bludgeoning damage to structures and creatures within 10 feet of them, knocking Medium or smaller creatures prone if they fail a DC 13 Strength saving throw and dealing double damage to structures. You are unaffected by this.
Marked
At 6th level, you gain the ability to magically Mark one creature you can see within sixty feet range as a bonus action for 1 minute. Until the spell ends or creature is dead, you and your minions deal an additional 1d6 damage of the respective damage type to the target whenever it takes damage. You regain use of this feature after you finish a short or long rest.
Minion Sacrifice
When you reach 10th level, you gain the ability to instantly kill a minion and absorb their life force. You may use an bonus action to pick up a minion under your control and kill it instantly to heal twice its current hp. If this would bring you to full hp, the rest is turned into temporary hitpoints.
Frenzy
At 18th level, as a bonus action, you may spend 4 terror points to make all your minions around you go into a rage, giving the minions with 60 feet of the overlord advantage on attack rolls until the start of your next turn.
Multiclassing
Prerequisites. To qualify for multiclassing into the overlord class, you must meet these prerequisites: you must be of evil alignment and have a Strength and Charisma of at least 13.
Proficiencies. When you multiclass into the overlord class, you gain the following proficiencies: simple and martial melee weapons.
Back to Main Page → 5e Homebrew → Classes