Dread Knight (5e Subclass)

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Making a Dread Knight

Alignment: Any Evil or Any Chaotic

Starting Gold: 5d10×10 gp (250 gp).

Starting Age: Moderate.

Table: The Dread Knight

Hit Die: d10

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Saving Throws			Special	Invocations Known
		Fort	Ref	Will
1st	+0	+0	+0	+2	Eldritch Blast 1d6, Invocation (least), Bonus Feat	1
2nd	+1	+0	+0	+3	Detect magic	2
3rd	+2	+1	+1	+3	Eldritch Blast 2d6	2
4th	+3	+1	+1	+4	Bonus Feat	3
5th	+3	+1	+1	+4	Eldritch Blast 3d6	3
6th	+4	+2	+2	+5	Invocation (least or lesser)	4
7th	+5	+2	+2	+5	Eldritch Blast 4d6	4
8th	+6/+1	+2	+2	+6	Bonus Feat	5
9th	+6/+1	+3	+3	+6	Eldritch Blast 5d6	5
10th	+7/+2	+3	+3	+7	Energy Resistance 5	6
11th	+8/+3	+3	+3	+7	Eldritch Blast 6d6, Invocation (least, lesser or greater)	7
12th	+9/+4	+4	+4	+8	Bonus Feat	7
13th	+9/+4	+4	+4	+8	Eldritch Blast 7d6	8
14th	+10/+5	+4	+4	+9		8
15th	+11/+6/+1	+5	+5	+9	Eldritch Blast 8d6	9
16th	+12/+7/+2	+5	+5	+10	Invocation (least, lesser, greater or dark), Bonus Feat	10
17th	+12/+7/+2	+5	+5	+10	Eldritch Blast 9d6	10
18th	+13/+8/+3	+6	+6	+11		11
19th	+14/+9/+4	+6	+6	+11	Eldritch Blast 10d6	11
20th	+15/+10/+5	+6	+6	+12	Bonus Feat, Energy Resistance 10	12
Class Skills (4 + Int modifier per level, ×4 at 1st level) Bluff (Cha), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Disguise (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge (Arcana), Knowledge (the planes), Knowledge (Religion), Sense Motive (Wis), Spellcraft (Int), Use Magic Device (Cha)

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the Dread Knight.

Weapon and Armour Proficiency: Dread Knights are proficient with all simple weapons. They are proficient with light and medium armour and with shields (but not tower shields). Because the somatic components required for Dread Knight invocations are relatively simple, a Dread Knight can use any of his invocations while wearing light or medium armour or using a shield without incurring the normal arcane spell failure chance. However, like arcane spellcasters, a Dread Knight wearing heavy armour incurs a chance of arcane spell failure (all invocations, including eldritch blast, have a somatic component).

Invocations: A Dread Knight does not prepare or cast spells as other wielders of arcane magic do. Instead, he possesses a repertoire of attacks, defences, and abilities known as invocations that require him to focus the wild energy that suffuses his soul. A Dread Knight can use any invocation he knows at will, with the following qualifications: A Dread Knight's invocations are spell-like abilities; using an invocation is therefore a standard action that provokes attacks of opportunity. An invocation can be disrupted, just as a spell can be ruined during casting. A Dread Knight is entitled to a Concentration check to successfully use an invocation if he is hit by an attack while invoking, just as a spellcaster would be. A Dread Knight can choose to use an invocation defensively, by making a successful Concentration check, to avoid provoking attacks of opportunity. A Dread Knight's invocations are subject to spell resistance unless an invocation’s description specifically states otherwise. A Dread Knight's caster level with his invocations is equal to his Dread Knight level. The save DC for an invocation (if it allows a save) is 10 + equivalent spell level + the Dread Knight's Charisma modifier. Since spell-like abilities are not actually spells, a Dread Knight cannot benefit from the Spell Focus feat. He can, however, benefit from the Ability Focus feat (see page 303 of the Monster Manual), as well as from feats that emulate metamagic effects for spell-like abilities, such as Quicken Spell-Like Ability and Empower Spell-Like Ability (see pages 303 and 304 of the Monster Manual). The four grades of invocations, in order of their relative power, are least, lesser, greater, and dark. A Dread Knight begins with knowledge of one invocation, which must be of the lowest grade (least). As a Dread Knight gains levels, he learns new invocations, as summarised on Table 1–1 and described below. A list of available invocations can be found following this class description, and a complete description of each invocation can be found in Chapter 4 of this book. At any level when a Dread Knight learns a new invocation, he can also replace an invocation he already knows with another invocation of the same or a lower grade. At 6th level, a Dread Knight can replace a least invocation he knows with a different least invocation (in addition to learning a new invocation, which could be either least or lesser). At 11th level, a Dread Knight can replace a least or lesser invocation he knows with another invocation of the same or a lower grade (in addition to learning a new invocation, which could be least, lesser, or greater). At 16th level, a Dread Knight can replace a least, lesser, or greater invocation he knows with another invocation of the same or a lower grade (in addition to learning a new invocation, which could be least, lesser, greater, or dark). Finally, unlike other spell-like abilities, invocations are subject to arcane spell failure chance as described under Weapon and Armour Proficiency above.

Eldritch Blast: The first ability a Dread Knight learns is eldritch blast. A Dread Knight attacks his foes with eldritch power, using baleful magical energy to deal damage and sometimes impart other debilitating effects. An eldritch blast is a ray with a range of 60 feet. It is a ranged touch attack that affects a single target, allowing no saving throw. An eldritch blast deals 1d6 points of damage at 1st level and increases in power as the Dread Knight rises in level. An eldritch blast is the equivalent of a spell whose level is equal to one-half the Dread Knight's class level (round down), with a minimum spell level of 1st and a maximum of 9th when a Dread Knight reaches 18th level or higher. An eldritch blast is subject to spell resistance, although the Spell Penetration feat and other effects that improve caster level checks to overcome spell resistance also apply to eldritch blast. An eldritch blast deals half damage to objects. Metamagic feats cannot improve a Dread Knight's eldritch blast (because it is a spell-like ability, not a spell). However, the feat Ability Focus (eldritch blast) increases the DC for all saving throws (if any) associated with a Dread Knight's eldritch blast by 2.

Bonus Feat: At 1st level, a Dread Knight gets a bonus combat-oriented feat in addition to the feat that any 1st-level character gets and the bonus feat granted to a human character. The Dread Knight gains an additional bonus feat at 4th level and every four Dread Knight levels thereafter (8th, 12th, 16th, and 20th). These bonus feats must be drawn from the feats noted as fighter bonus feats. A Dread Knight must still meet all prerequisites for a bonus feat, including ability score and base attack bonus minimums.

These bonus feats are in addition to the feat that a character of any class gets from advancing levels. A Dread Knight is not limited to the list of fighter bonus feats when choosing these feats.

Detect Magic: Beginning at 2nd level, a Dread Knight can use detect magic as the spell at will. His caster level equals his class level.

Energy Resistance: At 10th level and higher, a Dread Knight has resistance 5 against any two of the following energy types: acid, cold, electricity, fire, and sonic. Once the types are chosen, this energy resistance cannot be changed. At 20th level, a Dread Knight gains resistance 10 against the two selected types of energy.

Ex-Dread Knights

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Dread Knight Starting Package

Weapons: .

Skill Selection: Pick a number of skills equal to 4 + Int modifier.

Skill	Ranks	Ability	Armor Check Penalty

Feat: .

Bonus Feats: .

Gear: .

Gold: .

Campaign Information

Playing a Dread Knight

Religion: .

Other Classes: .

Combat: .

Advancement: .

Dread Knights in the World

“		”
—,

Daily Life: .

Notables: .

Organizations: .

NPC Reactions: .

Dread Knight Lore

Characters with ranks in can research to learn more about them. When a character makes a skill check, read or paraphrase the following, including information from lower DCs.

DC	Result
5	.
10	.
15	.
20	.

Dread Knights in the Game

Adaptation: .

Sample Encounter: .

EL : .

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