The Elder Dragon of Death (5e Subclass)
The Elder Dragon of Death[edit]
Warlock Subclass
Zhaitan, the Elder Dragon of Death and Shadow, is among the most feared by the people of the world. Zhaitan awoke underneath the ancient island kingdom of Orr, and in its wakening, it caused Orr to rise to the surface in a tremendous tidal wave that devastated every coastline. The residents of that drowned nation rose up, and ever since its shambling legions have been marching forth, every being that falls to them and their spreading poison adding to Zhaitan's armies. The Dragon knows what any of its servants know, and what the Dragon knows it may impart to any of its servants. While many of Zhaitan's undead are recognisable as having once been living creatures, humanoids or animals, some are truly freakish monstrosities, such as the Mouths and Eyes of Zhaitan. It relies, in part, on these most powerful servants.
Expanded Spell List[edit]
Zhaitan grants you the ability to add the following spells to the Warlock spell list, and you may choose them when selecting spells.
| Spell Level | Spells |
|---|---|
| 1st | false life, tasha's caustic brew |
| 2nd | blindness/deafness, acid arrow |
| 3rd | animate dead, speak with dead |
| 4th | black tentacles, greater invisibility |
| 5th | antilife shell, contagion |
Rebuke Undead[edit]
At 1st level, Zhaitan’s mastery of Undeath allows you to halt, and even control, the walking dead not of its origin. As an action you may speak the dread words of Zhaitan. Each undead that can see or hear you within 30 feet of you must make a Wisdom saving throw. If the creature fails its saving throw, it is rebuked for 1 minute or until it takes any damage. When it is rebuked, it crouches and cowers in place, unable to move, take any actions or bonus actions, or communicate at all. At level 5, when you use this ability, you may choose an undead of CR1 or lower who fails the save to be brought under your control rather than simply rebuked. The undead will follow your commands to the best of its ability and will do so until destroyed. You may use a bonus action to issue it a command on a turn. If you do not it will continue trying to carry out whatever your last command was. The CR of undead you may control this way increases to 2 at level 8, 3 at level 11 and 4 at level 15. You may have a number of undead under your command through this method equal to your Charisma modifier. You may use Rebuke Undead only once, recharging on a long rest.
Unholy Resilience[edit]
At 6th level, the corruption of Zhaitan has settled deep in your heart. You no longer need to breathe, and you gain a swim speed of 30ft. If you are reduced to 0hp by a non-critical attack, that does not deal radiant damage, you may make a constitution saving throw with a DC equal to that of half the damage of the blow dealt. If you succeed, your HP is instead set to 1. In addition, you gain resistance to necrotic damage, and your type changes to Undead.
Knowledge from the Grave[edit]
Starting at 10th level, what one servant of Zhaitan knows, the Dragon knows. You may grant yourself three extra known spells of level 5 or lower from any class’s spell list, provided they are from the necromancy or illusion schools. You may also add three spells of level 6 or higher of the same schools to the Warlock list as options for your Arcanum. Furthermore, once per day, you may add your proficiency score to an ability check in which you would not normally have proficiency. This only applies to that roll and must be done before the roll is made.
Final Transformation[edit]
At 14th level, none who see you now can doubt your allegiance to Zhaitan. Your skin rots away and you become very visibly undead. You gain immunity to necrotic damage and vulnerability to radiant damage. You may as a bonus action cause a set of skeletal wings to burst out of your back, giving you a flying speed of 30ft. These last as long as you wish and you may withdraw them at will. As an action, you may select a point within 60ft. of yourself. At that point, create a 30ft. radius circle of diseased land. This circle persists for one minute. Any living creature who enters this field for the first time in their turn or begins their turn there must make a constitution saving throw against your Warlock spell save DC. If they fail they take 4d10 poison damage and suffer one of the diseases in the Contagion spell. If they succeed they suffer half the poison damage and no other effects. You may only have one such field active at a time. You may use this ability a number of times equal to your charisma modifier, regaining any spent uses on a long rest.
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