Death Monarch (5e Class)

Death Monarch

[1] by Yuriy Chemezov

Drawing Power from the Shadows

A death monarch is a mighty force to be reckoned with. They are cunning and dangerous spellcasters, knowledgeable and cautious masters of a specific type of necromantic study. They use their own essence to create a demiplane inside their shadows, made off the same material who forms the Shadowfell. The shadow of a death monarch is more than the mere absence of light, but the presence of the shadows of death itself. As a death monarch grew in power, so does its shadow domains, growing in size and in utility.

Masters of the Undead

The most terrifying aspect of the death monarch practice consists in its ability to use the shadows of living creatures as slaves. For some moments, the death monarch can corrupt the soul of a living creature with the shadow essence, creating creatures that are nothing but an echo of its former living self.

Creating a Death Monarch

In order to create a death monarch, you can answer a few questions. How did you begin your study in the shadow arts? Did you have a master, or you have always been alone, researching by yourself? Why did you begin your study of such a dark practice? You tried to overcome the death of a loved one by achieving the power to restore its body with the shadows? Are your pursuits in this art scientific in nature, being you a curious mind since your youth? Did you always wanted power, and the control over the dead is only a tool to accomplish your goals? Either way, the path of a death monarch is dangerous and grim, and only a disciplined or obsessive mind are capable of completing this journey.

Quick Build

You can make a demon hunter quickly by following these suggestions. First, Intelligence should be your highest ability score followed by Dexterity or Constitution. Second, choose the sage or the haunted one background. Third, choose the leather armor, a mace, the arcane focus, and the dungeoneer's pack.

Class Features

As a Death Monarch you gain the following class features.

Hit Points

Hit Dice: 1d8 per Death Monarch level
Hit Points at 1st Level: 8 + Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 (or 5) + Constitution modifier per Death Monarch level after 1st

Proficiencies

Armor: Light armor, medium armor
Weapons: Simple weapons
Tools: None
Saving Throws: Dexterity, Intelligence
Skills: Choose two skills from Arcana, History, Intimidation, Investigation, Perception, and Religion, Stealth

Equipment

You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:

• (a) a mace or (b) any simple weapon
• (a) a component pouch or (b) an arcane focus
• (a) a scholar's pack or (b) a dungeoneer's pack
• Leather armor, any simple weapon, two daggers and a tattered cloak
• If you are using starting wealth, you have 4d4 x 10 gp in funds.

Table: The Death Monarch

Level	Proficiency Bonus	Features	Cantrips Known	Spells Known	—Spell Slots per Spell Level—
					1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th
1st	+2	Shadow Servant, Monarch Dimension	-	2	—	—	—	—	—
2nd	+2	Shadow Extraction, Spellcasting	2	3	2	—	—	—	—
3rd	+2	Death Watch, Shadow Boon, Shadow Art	2	4	3	—	—	—	—
4th	+2	Ability Score Improvement	2	5	3	—	—	—	—
5th	+3	Silhouette Armaments, Monarch´s Hand	2	6	4	2	—	—	—
6th	+3	Shadow Art Feature	3	7	4	2	—	—	—
7th	+3	Undead Affinity, Shadow Exchange	3	8	4	3	—	—	—
8th	+3	Ability Score Improvement	3	9	4	3	—	—	—
9th	+4	Black Heart	3	10	4	3	2	—	—
10th	+4	Death's Gaze	4	11	4	3	2	—	—
11th	+4	Soul Harvest, Shadow Demon	4	12	4	3	3	—	—
12th	+4	Ability Score Improvement	4	12	4	3	3	—	—
13th	+5	Shadow Physiology	4	13	4	3	3	1	—
14th	+5	Shadow Art Feature, Undead Transport	4	13	4	3	3	1	—
15th	+5	Shadow Self	4	14	4	3	3	2	—
16th	+5	Ability Score Improvement	4	14	4	3	3	2	—
17th	+6	Shadow Shape	4	15	4	3	3	3	1
18th	+6	Conflux	4	15	4	3	3	3	1
19th	+6	Ability Score Improvement	4	15	4	3	3	3	2
20th	+6	The Goal of Life is Death	4	15	4	3	3	3	2

Monarch Dimension

The monarch energy is vastly different from normal magical energy. Your energy is not pulled from the surrounding area or any of the material plane, but rather from its own unique dimension of shadows. This dimension houses your essence, your very being. It is empty, cold, and devoid of life. Any form of living creature may only reside in this decision for a short period of time or risk complete annihilation. You gain the following benefits:

• You have control over your own dimension. you may open a 5-foot gateway that leads to your dimension. This dimension can take any form you wish, these can be used to deposit anything you wish within your dimension. To withdraw something, one must simply think of the desired item and it shall appear slightly inside the portal, without spending an action. At level 1 the dimension is 1 cubic foot and increases by one foot in all dimensions every time you level up in this class.

• You can store any shadow creature under your control in said dimension. You can summon or store a shadow within 5 feet of you as a bonus action on your turn. The number of shadows you can store inside the vault equals half your level in this class, rounded down. While in this dimension, your shadows replenish all hit points and abilities after a short or long rest depending on the strength of the shadow.

• Your Shadows can never actually die, if a Shadow falls in battle or in any other fashion The Monarch can reassemble them after a period of time. The amount of time it takes to restore a shadow depends on the CR rating of the Shadow in question. Up to DM discretion

Shadow Servant

Starting from 1st level, you can use your bonus action to summon a shadow in an unoccupied space within 30 feet of you. You can use this feature twice. You regain expended uses when you finish a short or long rest. You can’t have more than one shadow summoned at a time. Your shadow acts independently of you, but it always obeys your commands. In combat, it rolls its own initiative and acts on its own turn. A shadow can’t attack, but it can take other actions as normal. When you take the Attack action, if your shadow is within 100 feet, you can forgo one of your own attacks to allow your shadow to use its reaction to make one attack of its own. When you cast a spell with a range of touch, your shadow can deliver the spell as if it had cast the spell. Your shadow must be within 100 feet of you, and it must use its reaction to deliver the spell when you cast it. If the spell requires an attack roll, you use your attack modifier for the roll. While your shadow is within 100 feet of you, you can communicate with it telepathically. As an action, you can temporarily dismiss your shadow. It disappears, merging into your own shadow as if were part of it, where it awaits your summons. Alternatively, you can dismiss it forever. As an action, while it is temporarily dismissed, you can cause it to reappear in any unoccupied space within 30 feet of you. While the shadow is merged with your own shadow, you gain darkvision with a range of 30 feet and a bonus to your passive Wisdom (Perception) score and to Wisdom (Perception) checks. The bonus equals your Intelligence modifier. While merged with your own shadows, the shadow can’t be targeted by any attack or other harmful effect; only you can cast spells on it; it can’t take damage; and it is incapacitated. At 3rd level, you can use your bonus action to command your shadow to hide in the shadows of a creature you can see within 100 feet. When you do so, you can use your action to see everything near that creature, similar to the arcane eye spell centered on the target. You can see through the shadow of that creature up to a range of 1000 miles. At the 11th level, your shadow offers passive protection to you. Whenever it is merged with your own natural shadows, you can use your reaction to gain resistance to any type of damage. When you do so, your shadow receives the same amount of damage.

Spellcasting

You have begun your path to become a lesser divinity of death, controlling a type of magic that focuses on aspects of necromancy.

Cantrips

At 2nd level, you know two cantrips of your choice from the death monarch spell list. You learn additional death monarch cantrips of your choice at higher levels, as shown in the Cantrips Known column of the Death Monarch table.

Spell Slots

The Death Monarch table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your spells of 1st level and higher. To cast one of these death monarch 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 inflict wounds and have a 1st-level and a 2nd-level spell slot available, you can cast inflict wounds using either slot.

Spells Known of 1st Level and Higher

You know two 1st-level spells of your choice from the death monarch spell list. The Spells Known column of the Death Monarch table shows when you learn more death monarch spells of your choice. Each of these spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots. For instance, when you reach 3rd 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 death monarch spells you know and replace it with another spell from the death monarch spell list, which also must be of a level for which you have spell slots.

Spellcasting Ability

Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for your death monarch spells, since the power of your magic comes from your capacity of understanding the workings of the death in order to control it. You use your Intelligence whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Intelligence modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a death monarch spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.

Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier

Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier

Spellcasting Focus

You can use an arcane focus as a spellcasting focus for your death monarch spells.

Shadow Extraction

Starting from 2nd level, when a creature is reduced to 0 hit points within the last 24 hours, you can use your reaction to store the soul of that creature inside your Monarch Dimension. You can have a number of souls stored equal to your level.

As an action, you can raise the shadow from the fallen entity stored inside the dimension, a death echo of the former living creature from the following types: aberration, beast, celestial, dragon, elementals, fey, fiend, giant, humanoid, or monstrosity. The newly formed Shadow becomes an undying subordinate to the Monarch, it cannot speak but can emote.

The shadow of the creature have the same statistics of the deceased creature, though is an undead. You can raise up to eight creatures, but the result from the sum of the CR's can't be higher than 1/4 of your level. Two creatures of CR 0 are equivalent to one creature with a CR equal to 1/8.

Roll initiative for the shadow extraction, which has its own turns. It obeys your verbal commands and remains in your service for 1 hour, at which point it vanishes to the afterlife.

Once you extract a shadow with this feature, you can't use the feature again until you finish a short or a long rest.

Death Watch

At 3rd level, the necromantic energy inside you sharpen your senses, allowing you to detect the presence of life. You can now detect the presence of living creatures around, in a 30-foot radius. You can tell if there are living creatures in the area, but not the quantity or the direction of the.

You can spend 1 minute concentrating on this feature to reveal the number of creatures and their general direction (north, south, east or west) and distance from you.

Shadow Art

At 3rd level, you can choose one shadow art that will define your death monarch practice. You can choose between the Shadow Magic, the Monarch Knight or the Dark Stalker.

Your choice will give you features at 3rd level, and again at 6th, 10th and 14th levels.

Shadow Boon

Being a Monarch, you either care deeply for your shadows or at least want them to last as fodder for as long as possible. Starting at 3rd level, you can use your bonus action and expend a hit die to heal a shadow or shadow extraction under your control. The shadow regain a number of hit points equal to the number rolled + your Intelligence modifier.

Silhouette Armaments

At the 5th level, you now have the knowledge to attempt shadow extraction on objects. The object must be armor, weapon, or equipment, mundane or magical. When making an extraction on the object, the object is destroyed and you create a shadowy replica of that item. If the object is a weapon or armor, your shadow extractions are proficient with it. If the item requires attunement, this counts against your limit of attuned items. The item remains stored in your monarch's vault until you decide to use it on a shadow extraction, which can be decided on the moment you use that feature.

You can have a number of objects stored equal to your Intelligence modifier.

Monarch´s Hand

At 5th level, you can manipulate your shadows as appendages and limbs, being able to extend them up to a range equal to 10 + (5 x Intelligence modifier) feet gaining the following benefits:

• You can take any action on your turn that would require your hands to use your monarch's hand instead.
• When using your Monarch's Hand, you use your Intelligence, instead of Strength, for any Strength check you make.
• You can take the Attack action to make attacks with melee weapons using the limbs. When doing so, you add your Intelligence instead of Dexterity or Strength to the attack and damage rolls.
• You can use your action to make two attacks with your monarch's hand. Make a melee spell attack for each, causing 1d10 damage on a hit. You gain one additional attack at 11th level and another one at 17th level. The damage is necrotic.

Undead Affinity

Starting at 7th level, undead creatures see you as one of their own. Any undead hostile undead creature within 60 feet is indifferent about towards you. This indifference ends if the undead is attacked or harmed by a spell or if it witnesses any of its friends being harmed by you or your shadows.

Shadow Exchange

At 7th level, you can use your bonus action or reaction to switch positions with a shadow or shadow extraction you can see within 30 feet. Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a short or a long rest. At 14th level, you are able to cast teleport to the location of one of your shadows as if it was a permanent circle. Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.

Black Heart

At the 9th level, you have spent so much time dealing with shadows/undead and the forces that animate them that you have become partially immune to some of their worst effects. You gain resistance to necrotic and poison damage, and your hit point maximum can't be reduced.

Additionally you can now summon stored souls up to 1/2 your cr instead of 1/4.

Death's Gaze

Beginning at 10th level, you have acquired enough energy to become naturally terrifying, by flexing your monarch energy you attempt to intimidate any being, whether magically inclined or not. As an action, you can force one creature within 60 feet of you that can see you must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or be frightened of you until the end of your next turn. In addition, you can add your Intelligence modifier as a bonus to your Charisma (Intimidation) checks.

Soul Harvest

Starting at 11th level, by reaping life you are able to claim a fraction of those unfortunate creatures' souls to regenerate your wounds and fortify your body. When you or any shadow under your control reduce a hostile creature to 0 hit points, you or one shadow under your command of your choice gain temporary hit points equal to your Intelligence modifier + your death monarch level (minimum of 1).

Shadow Demon

At 11th level, you learn how to warp your shadow with fiendish energy. You can spend two uses of your Shadow Servant feature to summon a shadow demon.

Once you do this, you can't do it again until you finish a long rest.

Shadow Physiology

Starting at 13th level, your physiology becomes more shadowy making you harder to hit your AC increases by 2, and spells that target you have a disadvantage on spell attack roll and you have advantage on every DC against spells that exclusively target you. In addition, you are always under the effect of feather fall

Undead Transport

Your army has grown to the point where they can now carry you. At 14th level, your shadow army can emerge from the ground, grab you and up to 8 other creatures size large and under, and transport you elsewhere, given that you know where you want to go. You can move 20 feet in any direction when doing this. Also, while transported by your shadows, you can move through water without suffering any effects of being underwater.

Shadow Self

At 15th level, you can move and merge with the shadows, becoming now able to use the Disengage and the Hide action as a bonus action. Additionally, you are able to emit darkness within 5ft of you causing bright light to become dim light and dim light to become darkness this does not inhibit your vision.

Shadow Shape

At 17th level, your body is now sustained by shadow. Parts of your figure seem to flicker with darkness when you move, and wispy tendrils of shade curl from your form. You gain the following benefits:

• You no longer need to eat, sleep, breathe, or drink.
• You stop aging and are immune to being aged magically.
• You are immune to necrotic and poison damage, as well as the poisoned condition.

Conflux

Starting from 18th level, you may converge the material plane with your inner shadows. You turn an area 60-foot sphere around you into a death dimension. All undead creatures under your control can teleport to any place within the sphere, up to a range equal to their movement speed.

At the beginning of your turn, both you and the undead creatures under your control regain a number of hit points equal to your Intelligence modifier and gain a bonus to their attacks and AC equal to your proficiency bonus.

This area lasts for 10 minutes. Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.

The Goal Of Life is Death

Starting at 20th level, should you perish, you will not fully die as long as your monarch dimension still exists. You can use one of these features once, being unable to do it again until you finish a long rest.

• You become able to enter your dimension of shadows. You can cast demiplane, creating an opening to your monarch dimension.

• When you die, your soul is transferred to your monarch dimension, and you return on your next turn with all the benefits of having completed a short rest.

In addition, whenever you die without using this feature to return, your body will be replicated on your demiplane of shadows over the course of a week. The new body is physically identical to the original and has the same personality, memories, and abilities, but none of your equipment. Your physical remains, if they still exist, become inert and can’t thereafter be restored to life, since your soul is in your body of shadows.

Shadow Arts

Shadow Magic

The death monarchs who follow the shadow art of Shadow Magic can extract the arcane power present in their victims as fuel for their own spellcasting.

Diligent Apprentice

At 3rd level, you gain proficiency in the Arcana skill. You can add double your proficiency bonus if you already are proficient in it.

Dark Arcana

Starting at 3rd level, you can use the souls contained in your shadow dimension to create magical power. You can spend two uses of your Shadow Extractions to create spell slots. The level of the spell slot created equals your proficiency bonus.

In addition, you learn one cantrip from the wizard spell list. You can spend one use of your Shadow Extractions to replace this cantrip for another one from the same spell list.

Book of Shadows

At 6th level, you learn how to create magical effects using your inner darkness, mimicking spells. The book contain two spells from the wizard spell list, and you can write new spells on this spell book, as if you were a wizard, spending the same time and gp, and using the same process. The highest level of spells that can be written on your book of shadows is equal to your highest level of spell slot.

You can prepare a number of spells equal to your Intelligence modifier on this spell book.

To cast spells written on your book of shadows, you need to spend a spell slot of one level higher. For example, you need a 3rd-level spell slot to cast a 2nd-level spell.

When you cast a spell from your book of shadows, you are actually casting a shadow variant of that spell, which generates some variant effects. The spells are visually different: fireballs become balls of pure darkness, and illusions always have a black aura surrounding them. All damage from the spells cast with this feature cause necrotic damage, instead of the regular damage, and any spells that change the appearance of a creature, object, or place give advantage on saving throws for creatures trying to resist their effects.

Shadow Clone

At 14th level, you can craft a shadow version of yourself. You can cast simulacrum, without needing to offer any of the spell components. You can't have more than one simulacrum created by this feature at the same time. Once you summon your shadow clone, you can't do it again until you finish a long rest.

Monarch Knight

Armor of Shadows

Starting when you choose this shadow art at 3rd level, you learn how to cover yourself in your shadows for protection.

• You can summon your armor of shadows as a bonus action, and you gain an AC equal to 10 + your Intelligence modifier + your Dexterity modifier, if you are not using armor or wielding a shield.
• Your armor of shadows gives you resistance to radiant damage and you gain, at the start of each of your turns, a number of temporary hit points equal to your level in this class.

• You can use your bonus action to make a shadow weapon appear from your armor of shadows. You can choose the form that this melee weapon takes each time you create it. You are proficient with it while you wield it, and you can use your Intelligence modifier, instead of your Dexterity or Strength for your attack and damage rolls with it. This weapon counts as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage.

Your shadow weapon disappears if it is more than 5 feet away from you for 1 minute or more. It also disappears if you use this feature again, if you dismiss the weapon (no action required), or if you die.

Extra Attack

Starting at 6th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.

Shadow Warrior

When you reach the 14th level, you can absorb the shadows stored in your shadow vault. You can spend one use of your shadow extraction and four stored souls to gain the following benefits for 1 minute:

• You become one size larger.
• You gain a fly speed of 30 ft (hover).
• You gain resistance to all types of damage.
• You gain a bonus of 3d8 to all your damage rolls for melee weapon attacks.

Dark Stalker

Shadow Jump

Starting when you choose this shadow art at 3rd level, you can hide into your monarch dimension as a bonus action, remaining in it until the beginning of your next turn, working as if you were being targeted by the banishment spell. While in your monarch dimension, you can't be target of any attacks or effects, and can't take any actions other than exiting the monarch dimension, reactions, or bonus actions. You can jump out of your pocket dimension as an action on your turn.

In addition, while grappling a creature, you can bring this creature to your monarch dimension as a bonus action. When you do so, the creature take 1d8 necrotic damage each turn it starts inside it. At the start of each of its turns, the creature can make a Strength saving throw against your spell save DC to escape the monarch dimension.

Lurker in the Shadows

At 3rd level, while you are in an area of dim light or darkness, you gain advantage on your Dexterity (Stealth) checks. In addition, you can see in normal or magical darkness up to a range of 120 feet.

Shadow Dancer

At 6th level, you gain the ability to step from one shadow into another. When you are in dim light or darkness, as a bonus action, you can teleport up to 60 feet to an unoccupied space you can see that is also in dim light or darkness, or to the position of a shadow under your control.

In addition, you move freely through shadows. In any area of dim light, darkness or covered in some type of shadows, you gain additional 10 feet of movement. You ignore difficult terrain under these circumstances and can walk on walls covered in shadows as if you were under the effect of spider climb. And you can fit through a space as narrow as 1 inch without squeezing.

Corrupt Shadow

At 14th level, you can use your bonus action to enter the shadow of a creature you can see within 120 feet. The creature must make a Dexterity saving throw against your spell save DC, allowing you to enter on a failed save (creatures warded by a Protection from Evil and Good or Magic Circle spell are immune). While inside its shadow, you can't be the target of attacks or spells, except spells or effects that target undead or are used to stop possession. While in its shadow,

When inside its shadow, you can drain its vitality. At the start of each of your turns, the creature must make a Constitution saving throw against your spell save DC. On a failed save, the creature loses 1d8 + your Intelligence modifier hit points, and you regain the same amount. If you reduce the creature to 0 hit points using this vitality drain, the creature becomes a shadow under your control for 24 hours on the start of your next turn. In each of its turns, the creature can use its action to make a Wisdom saving throw to try to expel you from its shadow.

In each of your turns, you can use your action to make a single attack with advantage against the creature, and jump temporarily from its shadow to make an attack. You can exit its shadow as a bonus action.

Once you are successful in entering a shadow of a creature, you can't use this feature again until you finish a long rest

Death Monarch Spell List

Cantrips

chill touch, mage hand, spare the dying, toll the dead , minor illusion, weave shadows

1st

arms of hadar, cause fear, false life, inflict wounds, ray of sickness, unseen servant

2nd

blindness/deafness, darkness, gentle repose, invisibility, ray of enfeeblement, shadow blade

3rd

animate dead, bestow curse, feign death, hunger of hadar, life transference, revivify, speak with dead, vampiric touch, fear, phantom steed, spirit shroud , summon undead spirit

4th

blight, black tentacles, death ward, faithful hound, greater invisibility, phantasmal killer, sickening radiance, shadow of moil

5th

antilife shell, contagion, danse macabre, enervation, negative energy flood, raise dead

Multiclassing

Prerequisites. To qualify for multiclassing into the death monarch class, you must meet these prerequisites: 15 Intelligence. or 17 Dexterity

Proficiencies. When you multiclass into the death monarch class, you gain the following proficiencies: simple weapons and light armor.

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