The Dead King (5e Subclass)
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The Dead King[edit]
Warlock Subclass
Many dark, powerful things that have died choose not to stay fully dead, clinging onto a semblance of half-life through only their powerful magics. Such creatures could be liches, gods of death, or powerful death knights, and almost universally these creatures seek out worthy minions to brandish and control the dark arts of necromancy as they do. Warlocks that sell their souls for necromantic power often seek the protection that only the eternally loyal dead can offer, as well as attempting to discern the nature of life after the grave. These potent spell-casters can commune with the dead and command small cadres of undead minions, but their grim patrons ubiquitously barter for their services after death and well into eternity as faithful undead lacking free will, which will likely last much longer than most warlocks care to admit. There are no shortage of undead gods, kings, queens, ladies, lords and liches willing to make this pact with willful would-be necromancers
Expanded Spell List[edit]
The Dead King lets you choose from an expanded list of spells when you learn a warlock spell. The following spells are added to the warlock spell list for you.
| Spell Level | Spells |
|---|---|
| 1st | inflict wounds, ray of sickness |
| 2nd | blindness/deafness, ray of enfeeblement |
| 3rd | animate dead, feign death |
| 4th | death ward, black tentacles |
| 5th | contagion, cloudkill |
Reaping Blade[edit]
Starting at 1st level, you can use a bonus action to imbue a melee weapon you are holding with Death's power. For the next minute, you can use your Charisma modifier instead of your Strength or Dexterity modifier for the attack and damage rolls of melee attacks made using that weapon, and you can choose to deal necrotic damage instead of that weapon’s normal damage type. Creatures reduced to 0 HP by this weapon cannot be turned into undead by spells (such as animate dead) unless that spell is cast at a level higher than half your warlock level.
Undead Cohort[edit]
At 6th level, you have an Undead Cohort, the very beginning of your own undead horde. You can choose a Skeleton Cohort or a Zombie Cohort.
Your cohort rolls its own initiative and acts on its own turn. Add your proficiency bonus to your cohort's AC, attack rolls, and damage rolls. Its hit point maximum equals half its normal maximum or four times your warlock level, whichever is higher.
On each of your turns, you can use a bonus action to mentally command your cohort and any other undead creatures under your control, as per the spell animate dead.
You can surgically repair your cohort when you take a long rest, reanimating the remains if it has died, and restoring it to maximum hit points.
Ghoulish Resilience[edit]
At 10th level, the Dead King grants you some of his unnatural resilience. This is beneficial, but costly, as your skin takes on a deathly pallor and several of your bodily functions cease. You gain resistance to necrotic damage, and you no longer need to eat, drink, or breathe.
Additionally, you can easily recover from horrific trauma. You can't be incapacitated or killed due to dismemberment or decapitation. If one of your body parts is severed but is still intact, you can hold it to the stump, and two instantly knit together.
Death's Embrace[edit]
At 14th level, when you hit a creature with a melee weapon attack, if that creature has less than 75 hp you can cause that creature to make a Constitution saving throw with a DC equal to 8 + your Charisma modifier + your proficiency bonus. On a failure, it dies, and it cannot be resurrected or raised by any means short of a wish or divine intervention. Undead creatures have disadvantage on this saving throw. Once you use this ability, you can't use it again until you have taken a long rest.
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