Grave Walker (5e Class)
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Grave Walker
Typically clad in leather or light plate, with a longsword, bow, and dagger, cloaked in shadow and bearing light from beyond death itself, the Grave Walker hunts its enemies with an undying vigour. This class is heavily inspired by Talion from the Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War games. I highly recommend you play them if you have not already. However, as this is for a D&D campaign, I have altered many of the abilities for the sake of Game Balance.
Creating a Grave Walker
A Grave Walker is a resurrected fighter who died in combat. The fighters soul is now linked with that of a wraith, an ancient spectral creature. Wraiths are ancient people who came into contact with artifacts of immense power and retained that power into death. You cannot die until you have avenged your death and the deaths of your fellow soldiers and completed the goal for which the wraith attached to your body. The wraith has little to no memories of its own and will slowly regain its memories and why it resurrected you as you increase in power. Often a lone hunter, but can work alongside others. Due to their myriad weapon proficiencies, they can participate in both ranged and melee combat as well as stealth, and can create minions to serve at higher levels.
- Quick Build
You can make a Grave Walker quickly by following these suggestions. First, Dexterity should be your highest ability score, followed by Strength or Constitution. Second, choose the Revenant homebrew background. Third, choose a longsword and dagger, a longbow with no arrows, and an adventuring pack for your starting equipment.
Class Features
As a Grave Walker you gain the following class features.
- Hit Points
Hit Dice: 1d10 per Grave Walker level
Hit Points at 1st Level: 10 + Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d10 (or 6) + Constitution modifier per Grave Walker level after 1st
- Proficiencies
Armor: Light, Medium
Weapons: Martial, Simple
Tools: Smithing Tools
Saving Throws: Dexterity, Wisdom
Skills: Choose 3 from Stealth, Acrobatics, Survival, Nature, Perception, and Insight
- Equipment
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:
- Longsword and Dagger
- Longbow with no Arrows
- (a) Dungeoneering Pack or (b) Adventuring Pack
- Pack of 20 throwing daggers (1d4)
- Leather Armor
| Level | Proficiency Bonus |
Wraith Fire | Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | +2 | 2 | Wraith fire, Undying, Master Smith |
| 2nd | +2 | 4 | Focus |
| 3rd | +2 | 6 | Subclass Feature, Twin Soul |
| 4th | +2 | 8 | Ability Score Improvement |
| 5th | +3 | 10 | Second Tier Wraith Abilities, Extra Attack |
| 6th | +3 | 12 | Twin Soul (x2) |
| 7th | +3 | 14 | Runic Weapon, Subclass feature |
| 8th | +3 | 16 | Ability Score Improvement |
| 9th | +4 | 18 | Third Tier Wraith Abilities |
| 10th | +4 | 20 | Subclass Feature |
| 11th | +4 | 22 | Extra Attack (x2) |
| 12th | +4 | 24 | Ability Score Improvement, Hit Streak Improvement |
| 13th | +5 | 26 | Fourth Tier Wraith Abilities |
| 14th | +5 | 28 | Twin Soul (x3) |
| 15th | +5 | 30 | Subclass Feature |
| 16th | +5 | 32 | Ability Score Improvement |
| 17th | +6 | 34 | Fifth Tier Wraith Abilities |
| 18th | +6 | 36 | Hit Streak Improvement |
| 19th | +6 | 38 | Ability Score Improvement, Subclass Feature |
| 20th | +6 | 40 | Wraith Mastery, Extra Attack(x3) |
Master Smith
- Spectral Tools
The wraith that is bound to you was an expert smith in life. As an action, you may summon spectral smith's tools which persist as long as they are within 25 feet of you. Once you are further than 25 feet from them, the tools dissipate. When you use your spectral tools for their intended craft, you may add twice your proficiency modifier to checks made with them. Other creatures may not add their proficiency modifier to checks with your spectral tools, even if they are proficient.
- Runic Weapon
At 7th level, You may use your spectral tools to craft any weapon that you are proficient with. This weapon costs 250 gp to craft, and may be summoned to you using a bonus action and a free hand, from any distance, even from another plane. Once completed, you can use your spectral tools to mark the weapon with runes, doubling the cost of the rune with each one added. You may craft any number of runic weapons, and each can have up to three runes on it. The 1st rune would cost 125 gold, while the second would cost 250 gold, and the 3rd rune would be 500 gold. You must take the appropriate amount of crafting time and spend the required gold to add runes to your weapon.
Each rune adds abilities to your weapon:
1st rune: Your runic weapon ignores resistance to non-magical damage. After reaching 10th level, this runic weapon is now indestructible.
2nd rune: When you land a critical hit with your runic weapon, you deal double your ability modifier as damage, in addition to doubling the damage dice as normal. After reaching 15th level, increase the damage die of your runic weapon by one size (1->d2->d4->d6->d8->d10->d12->2d6->2d8->2d10->2d12).
3rd rune: Any time you use your runic weapon to attack with advantage, if both rolls would hit, regain 1 expended wraith fire. After reaching 20th level, you also regain 1 expended wraith fire each time you deal a critical hit to a creature.
Wraith Fire
From using your bow to fire ethereal arrows, to throwing daggers of light and bursting aflame to ruin your enemies, Wraith Fire is a measure of your ability to pull some power from the void beyond death and visit it upon the world. Many abilities are powered by Wraith Fire. You don't naturally regain expended wraith fire; you regenerate all Wraith Fire when you kill a creature of greater level (or CR) than yourself. If you do not get the killing blow but assist in killing such a creature, you instead regain half your Wraith Fire (up to your current maximum). You may also regain all Wraith Fire when you perform a ritual at an appropriate place (graveyard, old battleground. etc). This ritual requires concentration, and may only be attempted at a given location once every seven days.
Alternatively, you can drain the very life from a living, intelligent creature (Intelligence 4 or greater). Such a creature must either be willing, or suitably restrained. Over the course of one minute, you carefully deal the creature damage equal to the amount of wraith fire you wish to regain. If the creature doesn't die, you regain the wraith fire at the conclusion of the ritual, then deal an equal amount of psychic damage to the creature. If such a ritual is attempted on the same creature again, the grave walker takes the same amount of psychic damage as the creature did when the ritual was last performed on it as the ritual begins, possibly breaking concentration and stopping the ritual. If the ritual is not completed for any reason, seven days must pass before an attempted ritual at that location can succeed.
Undying
Beginning at 1st level, your soul is forever tethered to the mortal realm through the wraith attached to it, and when you die by any means other than old age, your body is recreated at the nearest graveyard or battleground to your death. A week passes before you are remade, having only tattered traveling clothes when you return to life. This breaks any runes on your weapons and all of your items seemingly vanish upon your death, including armor or weapons. These items are now lost in the Wraith World and can be retrieved through a downtime activity of 1 week meditating in the Wraith World. Due to the exhaustion limit of Wraith World, count this as 7 consecutive days of meditating in the Wrath World without accumulating exhaustion. If there is an artifact of significant power or a magic item of Rare quality or more, they can resist being pulled into the Wraith World and will remain on your person. Upon death, you also lose all Wraith Fire and would need to long rest to regain any abilities that require long rests to regain. When you awaken, you are suffering from 3 levels of Exhaustion and are at 1/4th your hit point maximum rounded down.
Focus
Once you reach 2nd level, your Wraith can speed up your mental faculties, allowing you to perceive the world at a crawling pace. Expend 2 wraith fire as bonus action in order to take an extra action this turn.
Twin Soul
At 3rd level, when hit by an attack, you may use your reaction to roll a d6 and add the number to your AC. If the enemy fails to hit this new AC, your wraith steps out of your body to block the incoming attack, preventing all damage to you. You must complete an uninterrupted long rest before you can use this again. At 6th level, you can use this ability twice and three times at 10th level.
Hit Streak
Starting at 3rd level, every consecutive hit you land increases your weapon damage by +1, to a maximum of +5. If you take damage, this bonus is reduced to zero. When the hit streak reaches maximum, your connection to the Wraith World is channeled through your weapon, lighting it up with ethereal flames, shedding bright light for 20 feet and dim light for another 20 feet as long as the weapon is wielded unsheathed. At 12th level, you may keep your hit streak when hit once if the damage is less than 30. At 18th level, your hit streak is fully charged after only 3 hits.
Wraith World
Starting at 4th level, by using an action to slip partially into the void beyond death, the Grave Walker can perceive things long washed away by time, especially things that left a lasting impact on the world, or hold great power. Artifacts associated with great emotion or far-reaching events may carry with them whispers, at times just ramblings of no importance, at others clues towards greater secrets. Seeing into the Wraith World allows the Grave Walker to perceive the souls of others and identify enemies across great distances, even through physical barriers. By shifting his body into the Wraith World, the Grave Walker takes no damage from falls, no matter the height, and is resistant to fires and explosions. This also allows him True Sight up to 10 feet, but extended time spent in the Wraith World causes extreme mental exhaustion, especially to mortals. For every 10 minutes spent viewing the World through the Wraith's eyes without taking a short rest, a level of exhaustion is given.
Ability Score Increase
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.
Wraith Mastery
Once you reach 20th level, the Grave Walker and the Wraith are functionally one soul with two minds in perfect sync. The Wraith remembers its entire past life, and has regained the knowledge that it held before its death. The Grave Walker can now draw upon the greatest mind of its time to craft an artifact of unparalleled power. See your DM for acceptable artifact options. The Grave Walker can only create one such artifact, as it is the Wraith's magnum opus, the culmination of all that the two know, have learnt and have triumphed over. The artifact will cost a minimum of 25,000 gold in materials, and takes a month to craft.
Wraith Types
At 3rd Level, your Wraith reveals what sort of powers it has innately, without needing to channel them through a host. These are your subclasses, you only get one and you get to choose at 3rd level.
Wraith Incarnate
-Manifest Wraith
At 3rd level, you can use a bonus action to manifest your Wraith in an unoccupied space you can see within 15 feet of you. The Wraith is a translucent, and lasts until it is destroyed, until you dismiss it as a bonus action, or until you're incapacitated.
-Your Wraith has AC 14 + your proficiency bonus, 1 hit point, and immunity to all conditions. If it has to make a saving throw, it uses your saving throw bonus for the roll. It is the same size as you, and it occupies its space. On your turn, you can mentally command the Wraith to move up to 30 feet in any direction (no action required). If your Wraith is ever more than 30 feet from you at the end of your turn, it is destroyed. -As a bonus action, you can teleport, magically swapping places with your Wraith at a cost of 15 feet of your movement, regardless of the distance between the two of you. -When you take the Attack action on your turn, any attack you make with that action can originate from your space or the wraith's space. You make this choice for each attack. -When a creature that you can see within 5 feet of your Wraith moves at least 5 feet away from it, you can use your reaction to make an opportunity attack against that creature as if you were in the Wraiths's space.
-Unleash Wraith
At 3rd level, you can heighten your Wraith's fury. Whenever you take the Attack action, you can make one additional melee attack from the Wraith's position.
You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Constitution modifier (a minimum of once). You regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.
-Wraith Link
Starting at 7th level, you can temporarily transfer your consciousness to your Wraith. As an action, you can see through your Wraith's eyes and hear through its ears. During this time, you are deafened and blinded. You can sustain this effect for up to 10 minutes, and you can end it at any time (requires no action). While your Wraith is being used in this way, it can be up to 1,000 feet away from you without being destroyed.
-Wraith Savior
Starting at 10th level, you can make your Wraith throw itself in front of an attack directed at another creature that you can see. Before the attack roll is made, you can use your reaction to teleport the Wraith to an unoccupied space within 5 feet of the targeted creature. The attack roll that triggered the reaction is instead made against your Wraith.
Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
-Reclaim Potential
By 15th level, you've learned to absorb the fleeting magic of your Wraith. When your Wraith is destroyed by taking damage, you can gain a number of temporary hit points equal to 2d6 + your Constitution modifier, provided you don't already have temporary hit points.
You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Constitution modifier (a minimum of once). You regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.
-Legion of One
At 19th level, you can use a bonus action to split your Wraith and have two Wraiths to use in combat with your Manifest Wraith feature, and these Wraiths can co-exist. If you try to create a third Wraith, the previous two Wraiths are destroyed. Anything you can do from one Wraith's position can be done from the other's instead.
In addition, when you roll initiative and have no uses of your Unleash Wraith feature left, you regain one use of that feature.
Ghost
-Silent Sneak
Starting at 3rd level, you make no sounds when you breathe, walk, or climb, unless you want to. Creatures have disadvantage on Perception checks (and -5 from passive Perception) made against you while they cannot see you and when you roll a 1 or 2 on a damage die for an attack you make from hiding, you can reroll the die and must use the new roll, even if the new roll is a 1 or a 2.
-Friend Of Shadows
Starting at 7th level, you can make Stealth checks while you are partially obscured. This may be done when you are behind half cover or three-fourths cover or when you are in a setting where no opposing character can clearly see you (such as a dim or dark setting or when in a thick fog).
-Blur
Beginning at 10th level, you can cause yourself to become harder to hit through slight movements. When you would be hit by an attack from an attacker you can see, you may use your reaction to half the damage taken.
-Wall Walk
Beginning at 15th level, you are no longer affected by difficult terrain and you can walk through any wall that is no more than 1 foot thick.
You can walk through walls a number of times equal to your Dexterity Modifier, you regain all uses of this feature after finishing a short or long rest.
-Elusive
Beginning at 19th level, you are so evasive that attackers rarely gain the upper hand against you. No Attack roll has advantage against you while you aren't Incapacitated.
Wraith Resurrected
-Tokens of Past Life
Starting at 3rd level, you remember talents you had in your previous life. When you finish a long rest, you gain one skill or tool proficiency of your choice. You can replace this proficiency with another when you finish a long rest.
-Revived Nature
At 7th level, your newfound connection to death gives you the following benefits:
-You have advantage on saving throws against disease and being poisoned, and you have resistance to poison damage. -You don't need to eat, drink, or breathe -You don't need to sleep. When you take a long rest, you must spend at least four hours in an inactive, motionless state, rather than sleeping. In this state, you remain semiconscious, and you can hear as normal. Bolts from the Grave
-Connect with the Dead
At 10th level, you can create a link with a spirit through their corpse. When you do so, you cast the Speak with Dead spell, without using a spell slot or material components. Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for this spell.
Speaking with the dead in this way temporarily gives you a capability from a past life- you are unsure whether its from your past life or the Wraith's. When the spell ends, you can choose one benefit out of the following three. These benefits last until you finish a short or long rest.
You learn how to speak, read, and write one language of your choice. You gain one skill or tool proficiency of your choice. You gain proficiency with one saving throw of your choice.
After you cast the spell with this feature, you can't do so again until you finish a short or long rest.
-Audience with Death
By 15th level, when at death's door, you can converse with the powers of death. Whenever you die, your spirit can ask an entity of death a question that can be answered with "yes," "no," or "unknown." The entity answers truthfully, using the knowledge of all those who have died.
-Ethereal Jaunt
When you reach 19th level, like a ghost, you have the ability to slip in and out of the Wraith World as a free action. You can now use your bonus action to teleport to an unoccupied space within 30 feet of you. You don't need to see that space to teleport to it, but your teleportation fails if you attempt to teleport through magical force that is Medium or larger, such as a wall of force. If you appear in a space occupied by another creature or filled by an object, you are immediately shunted to the nearest unoccupied space that you can occupy and take force damage equal to twice the number of feet you are shunted.
Grave Walker Abilities List
Each level you gain an ability point, to unlock abilities that enhance or add to the Grave Walker's abilities. These abilities come in five Tiers, with more tiers being unlocked as time goes by. This is essentially a spell list for martial combat and the abilities the Wraith gives you. You get 20 ability points overall and there are 30 abilities, so you have to pick and choose. At every level-up, you can choose to switch out one ability for another. (Optional) For these abilities, they rely one of two things to activate, the amount of Wraith Fire you have left (essentially ki points) and your Hit Streak, which is how many times you have hit enemies without being hit in return.
- Tier One
-Execution: When your hit streak is at maximum, you may use an action to instantly execute a creature with discernible anatomy of Medium or smaller size, as long as it has only one head, and no legendary actions. Make an attack roll. On a hit, the creature must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw with a DC equal to your attack roll or be killed instantly, which consumes your hit streak.
-Impact: Enemies within melee range that are blocked by Twin Soul are knocked back 5 feet for one turn. If they cannot move at least 5 feet back (like hitting a wall or another creature, they are knocked prone and stunned for one turn.
-Strike from Above: Attacking an unaware enemy of Large size or smaller from above deals 3d6 + 1d6 per [Grave Walker level], barring exceptional Strength, Constitution or Dexterity rules.
-Wraith Swiftness: You can travel over difficult terrain with the assistance of your wraith, costing 1 wraith fire each turn you use your wraith this way. Each time you travel over difficult terrain with your wraith assisting you, you may do so at normal speed and increase your hit streak by 1.
-Detonate: Shooting a flammable substance or nonmagical fire with Wraith Fire causes it to explode, dealing 3d6 + 1d6 per [Grave walker level, min 1] within a 10 ft radius. Consumes 4 Wraith Fire
-Last Chance: Upon being taking lethal damage, the Grave Walker can roll against a DC 10 + the enemies Dexterity ability modifier. Upon success, the Grave Walker recovers one hit point. Can only occur once per long rest.
-Interrogate: The Grave Walker can spend a turn to delve into an enemy's mind upon the enemy losing a Wisdom Saving Throw, DC 10 + [Grave Walker Level, min 1]. Consumes 4 Wraith Fire
- Tier Two
-Critical Strikes: Attacks that score 19 or higher on a d20 roll to hit increase the Hit Streak by two as opposed to one. Also applies to Wraith Daggers.
-Lethal Last Chance: Upon scoring 19 or higher during a Last Chance Struggle and succeeding, the opponent takes lethal damage, barring exceptional Strength, Constitution or Dexterity rules. Not applicable to Beasts.
-Wraith Dagger: The Grave Walker can tap into the Wraith's power to throw a homing ethereal dagger dealing 1d4 piercing damage. The dagger will always hit the target, unless blocked by a physical object like a shield or wall, and staggers the enemy back slightly, forfeiting their movement in the next turn. Enemies of medium size and lower will always be staggered, barring exceptional Strength, Constitution or Dexterity rules. Consumes 4 Wraith Fire
-Brutalize: By sneaking up on an unaware enemy, the Grave Walker can savagely maul the enemy, the screams of which cause all allies of the brutalized enemy in the close proximity to roll a Wisdom saving throw of 10 + [Grave Walker Level] or flee in terror. The brutalized enemy takes lethal damage, barring exceptional Constitution rules.
-Shadow Strike: The Grave Walker steps through the Wraith World to a distant enemy, and knocks it down, consuming two Wraith Fire.
-Pin in Place: Shooting an enemy's leg with a Wraith Arrow roots them to the ground for two turns, barring exceptional Strength rules. Consumes 2 Wraith Fire
-Stealth Drain: When approaching an enemy from stealth, the Grave Walker can quickly drain the enemy, healing the grave walker by 2d6 and forcing the enemy to make a DC 10 + [Grave Walker Level, min 1] or become frightened. Consumes 4 Wraith Fire
- Tier Three
-Vault Stun: Upon passing an acrobatics roll, DC 10 + [Opponent Dexterity Modifier], the Grave Walker can vault over an enemy and blast them with Wraith energy, knocking them back 5 ft and preventing them from taking reactions until their next turn. If they cannot move at least 5 feet back (like hitting a wall or another creature, they are knocked prone and stunned for one turn. Consumes 4 Wraith Fire
-Wraith Flash: When the Hit Streak is charged, the Grave Walker can release the energy in a burst of otherworldly flame, stunning all enemies of medium size or smaller in a five meter radius. Consumes 4 Wraith Fire
-Lethal Shadow Strike: Shadow Strike can now be used to instantly kill unaware enemies. Consumes 2 extra Wraith Fire for a total of 4.
-Combat Drain: When the Hit Streak is charged, the Grave Walker may perform a drain as a normal attack, healing by 2d6 and forcing the enemy to make a DC 10 + [Grave Walker Level, min 1] or become frightened.
-Beast Master: The Grave Walker can attempt to dominate stunned Large creatures, DC 10 + WIS Modifier. Consumes 5 Wraith Fire
-Brand: All Drains now Brand the target, the target must succeed a Wisdom Saving Throw of DC 10 + [Grave Walker Level] to avoid becoming a slave to the Grave Walker, or take 4d6 on passing the Saving Throw.
- Tier Four
-Fire Arrow: When the Hit Streak is charged, the Grave Walker can unleash a flaming ethereal arrow, dealing 2d10 extra fire damage, ignoring fire resistance. Explosions caused by Fire Arrows are twice the size of normal ones, and deal double normal Detonate damage
-Beast Hunter: Allows Lethal Last Chance struggles against beasts of Large size or smaller.
-Release: the Grave Walker decides that his minion has served long enough, and safely releases them from service. minion keeps all strength gained under the gravewalker, but loses memory of service. enough magic remains so the minion is friendly towards you, without knowing how or why they know you. Consumes 2 Wraith Fire
-Wraith Burn: The Grave Walker can now use a charged Hit Streak to devastate the surrounding area (10 meters),setting targets alight for 10d6 fire damage. Enemies caught in the effect and not killed must pass a Wisdom Saving Throw, DC 10 + {Grave Walker Level] or flee in terror.
-Pin in Place: Shooting an enemy's leg with a Wraith Arrow roots them to the ground for 3 turns, preventing movement. The enemy can use their action to attempt to free themselves with a DC 10 + [Grave Walker Level] Strength check. (costs two Wraith Fire), barring exceptional Strength rules.
-Wraith Stun: You can take an action to release a burst of Wraith energy in a cone out to 10 ft, stunning all creatures within on a DC 10 + [Grave Walker Level] Dexterity check until their next turn. Consumes 5 Wraith Fire
- Tier Five
-Double Critical Strikes: Critical strikes now apply to all hits rolled above 17, and hits on 19 and 20 now gain three Hit Streak charges.
-Double Charge: When the Hit Streak is charged (at max) the Grave Walker can now use two abilities that drain it. (Execution, Combat Drain, Fire Arrow, etc.)
-Shadow Strike Chain: The Grave Walker seamlessly pounces through the Wraith World, killing multiple enemies in rapid succession. This allows you to chain multiple Shadow Strikes together in one turn. Each Shadow Strike still consumes two Wraith Fire and each Shadow Strike Kill costs 4 Wraith Fire.
-Quick Draw: The Grave Walker can now rapidly fire their bow, allowing two shots in one action. Can only be used once per turn. Consumes 2 Wraith Fire
-Dispatch: The Grave Walker decides that his minion's time has passed, and can use an action to instantly kill any or all minions under his control. Consumes 4 Wraith Fire
Multiclassing
Requires 13 DEX and 10 STR to multiclass into this class.
Proficiencies. When you multiclass into the Grave Walker class, you gain the following proficiencies: Smithing Tools
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