Death Knight

Living... that is what a Death Knight once was. As they are know, they are dark warriors that serve the scourge, wielding powers of death and darkness as they cleave their foes with runeforged weapons. All with one goal built into them; to cause pain and strife, and fuel a bloodlust innate to them.

Many death knights have no recollection of who they were in life. Instead, they are instilled with a hunger for blood and a will to serve their master.

Class Features

As a Death Knight, you gain the following

Hit Points

Hit Dice : 1d10 per Death Knight level

Hit Points at 1st Level : 10 + your Constitution modifier

Hit Points at Higher Levels : 1d10 (or 6) + your Constitution modifier per Death Knight level

Proficiencies

Armor : All Armors

Weapons : Simple Weapons, Martial Weapons

Tools : N/A

Saving Throws : Constitution, Charisma

Skills : Choose 2; Athletics, Deception, Intimidation, Investigation, Perception, and Stealth

Class Table

Dark Rebirth

As a death knight, you straddle the line between the living and the dead, existing in both worlds and neither. You gain the following traits:

You are considered both a humanoid and undead. You can be affected by anything that would effect ether of those creature types. For example, because you are undead, you will register on a paladin's Divine Sense, but because you are also a humanoid, you can be healed by that paladin's Lay on Hands.
You don't need to sleep, instead you enter a semi-conscious state where you feed your eternal hunger by reminiscing on the agony you have caused. After doing so for 4 hours, you gain the same benefits as a human does from 8 hours of sleep.
You have advantage on saves versus any effect that turns or exclusively affects undead, such as the Shackle Undead spell.

Forsaken Death Knight

The Death Knight's dark blessing manifests differently for those already in undeath. Forsaken death knights do not sleep at all, and may spend their rests engaging in light activity. In addition, they are immune to any effects that turns or exclusively affects undead, such as the Shackle Undead spell.

Rune Weapons

You know how to inscribe runes unto your weapons, empowering them and binding them to you. You perform the ritual over the course of 10 minutes, which can be done over a short rest. The weapons must be within your reach throughout the ritual. You can only have a single, two-handed weapon bound to you, or two one-handed weapons. Bonding new weapons immediately breaks the bond with any previous rune weapons.

You can't be disarmed of your rune weapons unless you are incapacitated. If they are on the same plane of existence as you, you can summon your rune weapons as a bonus action on your turn, causing them to teleport instantly to your hands. If you have two one-handed rune weapons, when a death knight feature refers to your rune weapon, you may choose which one to use (but not both).

Runic Power

Necrotic energies rush through your body. This energy is represented by a pool of d6s that replenishes when you finish a long rest. The number of dice in this pool equals 1 + your death knight level. You can never spend more runic dice than your Charisma modifier (minimum of 1).

Death Coil

You can spend Runic Power dice as an action and choose one creature that you can see within 120 feet of you. If the creature is undead, it regains hit points equal to the result rolled. Otherwise, you make a ranged spell attack using your Charisma modifier. On a hit, you deal necrotic damage equal to twice the result rolled from the spent dice.

Rune Strike

When you hit a creature with a melee weapon attack, you can spend dice from your Runic Power pool to deal extra necrotic damage to the target equal to the result rolled from the spent dice, in addition to the weapon's damage.

Fighting Style

At 2nd level, you adopt a particular style of fighting as your specialty. Choose one of the following options. You can't take a Fighting Style option more than once, even if you later get to choose again.

Defense

While you are wearing armor, you gain a +1 bonus to AC.

Dueling

When you are wielding a melee weapon in one hand and no other weapons, you gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls with that weapon.

Great Weapon Fighting

When you roll a 1 or 2 on a damage die for an attack you make with a melee weapon that you are wielding with two hands, you can reroll the die and must use the new roll, even if the new roll is a 1 or a 2. The weapon must have the two-handed or versatile property for you to gain this benefit.

Profane Warrior

You learn two cantrips of your choice from the warlock spell list. They count as death knight spells for you, and Charisma is your spellcasting ability for them. Whenever you gain a level in this class, you can replace one of these cantrips with another cantrip from the warlock spell list.

Reckless Style

You fight with reckless abandon in battle. Once per turn, you can grant yourself advantage on a single melee weapon attack roll. Once you take this advantaged attack, your Armor Class is reduced by 2 until the beginning of your next turn.

Two-Weapon Fighting

When you engage in two-weapon fighting, you can add your ability modifier to the damage of the second attack.

Spellcasting

Also at 2nd level, the dark power bestowed upon you by the forces of death have given you facility with spells.

Spell Slots

The death knight table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your death knight spells of 1st through 5th level. 1st level and higher. To cast one of these 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. Many death knights manifest their spell slots visibly as runes of power on their rune weapons.

For example, if you know the 1st-level spell Ice Knife and have a 1st-level and a 2nd-level spell slot available, you can cast ice knife using either slot.

Spells Known of 1st Level and Higher

You know two 1st-level spells of your choice from the death knight spell list.

The Spells Known column of the death knight table shows when you learn more death knight spells of your choice. Each of these spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots. For instance, when you reach 5th 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 knight spells you know and replace it with another spell from the death knight spell list, which also must be of a level for which you have spell slots.

Spellcasting Ability

Charisma is your spellcasting ability for your death knight spells, so you use your Charisma whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Charisma modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a death knight spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.

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

Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier

Spellcasting Focus

You can use a rune weapon as a spellcasting focus for your death knight spells.

Undead Constitution

By 3rd level, your undead nature makes you immune to disease and the poisoned condition, and resistant to poison damage.

Malignant Presence

When you reach 3rd level, you commit yourself fully to one of the following aspect of death:

Your choice grants you features at 3rd level and again at 7th, 11th, 15th, and 20th level.

Presence Spells

Each presence has a list of associated spells. You learn these spells at the levels specified in the presence description. Presence spells don't count against the number of death knight spells you may know.

If you gain a presence spell that doesn't appear on the death knight spell list, the spell is nonetheless a death knight spell for you.

Extra Attack

Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.

Essence of the Grave

Starting at 5th level, your connection to the shadowlands allows you to call upon undead more easily, you learn the Animate Dead spell and you treat it as if it were a 2nd level spell. This spell does not count against the number of death knight spells you may know.

Runeforging

At 6th level, you learn to inscribe enchantments onto your rune weapons. Whenever you finish a long rest, you may inscribe one of the following runes onto your weapons. You gain the benefits of the rune while wielding the rune weapons. You can only have one rune active at a time.

Rune of Cinderglacier

Whenever you hit a creature with a weapon attack, the creature has disadvantage on any saving throws it makes against your death knight features and spells until the end of your next turn.

Rune of the Fallen Crusader

Whenever you score a critical hit or reduce a creature to 0 hit points with a weapon attack, you may immediately heal yourself with death coil as part of the same action and regain hit points equal to twice the result rolled on the spent runic power dice.

Rune of the Lichsworn

You gain a +2 bonus to your spell attack modifier.

Rune of Spellbreaking

You gain resistance to damage dealt by spells.

Rune of Swordbreaking

You gain a +2 bonus to your Armor Class.

Rune of Wraithwalk

Your movement speed increases by 10 feet, and you gain a bonus to your initiative equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of +1).

Will of the Grave

Starting at 10th level, you can't be charmed or frightened while you are conscious.

Deathless

Beginning at 14th level, you don't need to eat, drink, or breathe. In addition, you age at a slower rate. For every 10 years that pass, your body ages only 1 year, and you are immune to being magically aged.

Greater Runeforging

Upon reaching 18th level, you may inscribe two different runes onto your rune weapons at once (as described in your Runeforging feature), both of which may be changed when you complete a long rest.

Death Knight Spell List

This section will list off all the spells the Death Knight can utilize, as well as link off to the various spells on the list.