The Four Horsemen (5e Subclass)

The Four Horsemen

Warlock Subclass

Your pact was made with the essence of the apocalypse. Your patron takes the form of one of the following, riding atop a horse, War, Pestilence, Famine, and Death. Apocalypse brings destruction and by binding yourself to it, you become an agent of chaos. Whether you’re a harbinger of war, a catalyst of pestilence, a bringer of famine, or an element of death, chaos follows you wherever you go.

You may choose the form your patron takes or determine it randomly using the list below.

Apocalyptic Form

d4	Form
1	War
2	Pestilence
3	Famine
4	Death

Expanded Spell List

At 1st level, the Four Horsemen lets you choose from an expanded list of spells when you learn a warlock spell. The Four Horsemen Expanded Spells table shows the apocalyptic spells that are added to the warlock spell list for you, along with the spells associated in the table with your patron's form: war, pestilence, famine, or death.

Spell Level	Apocalyptic Spells	War Spells	Pestilence Spells	Famine Spells	Death Spells
1st	inflict wounds	bane	ray of sickness	create or destroy water	cause fear
2nd	find steed	aganazzar's scorcher	melf's acid arrow	silence	blindness/deafness
3rd	call lightning	elemental weapon	stinking cloud	bestow curse	animate dead
4th	find greater steed	staggering smite	giant insect	compulsion	toll the dead
5th	destructive wave	banishing smite	contagion	hallow	raise dead

Apocalyptic Curse

Also at 1st level, a side effect of the Four Horsemen patron is the apocalyptic curse that comes with it. As a passive stance, the curse (dependent on your patron’s form) will affect all creatures within a 30-foot radius with you as the center. You cannot control whether the curse takes effect or not, only how it is amplified and on who it is amplified for. It costs an action and a spell slot to amplify the curse. When amplified, the effect lasts for one minute and if a creature is of a challenge rating higher than your warlock level, they must make a Wisdom saving throw instead of the curse automatically taking effect.

• War. All creatures within 30 feet of you have a compulsion for battle. Although they will not act on it, they are easily suggestible to fight.

Amplified: All creatures you choose within 30 feet of you are considered battle-hungry, and cannot cast spells. They can only attack you using simple or martial weapons.

• Pestilence. All creatures within 30 feet of you feel physically ill. This does not cause a condition, only the urge to throw up.

Amplified: All creatures you choose within 30 feet of you are poisoned and take 2d8 poison damage at the start of each of your turns. The damage increases by an extra d8 every time your proficiency bonus increases.

• Famine. All creatures within 30 feet of you are constantly hungry and have their stomachs growling.

Amplified: All creatures you choose within 30 feet of you grow frail and begin to starve. Their movement is halved and they gain one point of exhaustion.

• Death. All creatures within 30 feet of you see the very concept of mortality and prefer to stay away from you.

Amplified: All creatures you choose within 30 feet of you become frightened of you. If one of these creatures succeeds on an attack roll, you may use your reaction to cause the creature to take 1d4 necrotic damage. The damage increases by an extra d4 every time your proficiency bonus increases.

Apocalyptic Traits

At 6th level, you begin to adopt certain traits equal to the form your patron takes. Whether these traits be new proficiencies, resistances, etc. you are still an agent of chaos nonetheless.

• War. You have proficiency with martial weapons and medium armor.

Extra Attack: You can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.

• Pestilence. You have resistance to poison damage and are immune to the poisoned condition.

Potent Disease: Any poison damage you give is even greater than normal poison. Those resistant to poison damage take double damage from you and those immune to poison take normal damage from you.

• Famine. You don’t need to eat, drink, or breathe to stay alive.

Increased Hunger: When a creature makes a successful attack roll against you they become increasingly starved. They are now incapacitated until the end of your next turn.

• Death. Your creature type changes to undead. You have resistance to necrotic damage.

Grim Reaper: If an undead creature has the choice of attacking you or another creature within their range, they will not attack you.

Apocalyptic Spread

At 10th level, by spreading your apocalyptic curse too as many creatures as possible you gain a damage bonus. For every creature affected by your amplified apocalyptic curse, you gain a +1 bonus to damage rolls for the duration of the curse.

As a bonus action you may also cause the ground behind you to become an ashen wasteland of the apocalypse. As you move, 5 feet of the ground behind you becomes magical difficult terrain as you move.

You have a number of uses of this equal to your Charisma modifier and regain uses after a long rest.

Apocalyptic Weapon

At 14th level, you can summon a weapon based on the form your patron takes. As a bonus action, a magical weapon made of black mist takes form in your hand. A greatsword for war, a longbow for pestilence, a quarterstaff for famine, and a scythe for death. You have proficiency with the summoned weapon. The damage from these weapons counts as magical for the purposes of overcoming resistance and immunity. Your attack roll and damage roll modifier is Charisma for these weapons.

• War. Damage: 2d6 + Charisma modifier (Slashing Damage)
• Pestilence. Damage: 1d8 + Charisma modifier (Piercing Damage)
• Famine. Damage: 1d6 + Charisma modifier (Bludgeoning Damage)
• Death. Damage: 2d4 + Charisma modifier (Slashing Damage)

A successful attack roll with this weapon causes the creature you are attacking to be affected by your amplified apocalyptic curse until the end of your next turn. The creature must make a Wisdom saving throw if they are of a challenge rating higher than your warlock level and on a success, nothing happens. Using the Apocalyptic Curse in this way does not cost a spell slot.

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