The Death Knight

Clad in black plate armour that absorbs the sunlight

despite the dust and grime of long travel, a human jabs
sword into a mortally wounded man. Necrotic energies
shine from her blade, the man's wounds knit closed, He
screams in pain as his soul is ripped out of his body, and
his eyes open wide with terror. She throws him a
Longsword, and he picks it up. He can feel a deep cold chill
from within. He has been rebirthed. Given a new chance for
vengeance.
Once bound now free
A hero... that's what you once were. You stood boldly
against the Shadow and purchased another dawn for the
world at the cost of your life. But the evil you fought is not
so easily defeated. For now, the spectre of death looms over
the world yet again, and it has found new champions to
bring about its final reign. Knights of darkness, wielding
runes of death and destruction, bound by the will of a
powerful Lich. This is the hour of your ascension! This is
the hour of your dark rebirth.
When a Death Knights Bond is broken, the freed Knight
sought revenge for the horrors committed under his
command. After their vengeance had been won, the death
knights found themselves without a cause and a home. One
by one they trickled into the land of the living in search of a
new purpose. Frost sharpens their strikes; blood fortifies
their bodies, and undeath allows them to erupt in unholy
rage in the heat of battle. A thousand atrocities are etched
in the eyes of every death knight, and foes who gaze into
them too long will feel the warmth pulled from their bodies,
replaced with cold steel.

The magic of Runes

Death Knights utilise enchanted rune weapons that
enhance their abilities and are powerful foes on the
battlefield. Like warriors, they deal large amounts of
physical damage and are capable of withstanding massive
amounts of damage to protect their allies. Death knights
spread infections and diseases among their enemies, and
use dark magics to heal themselves in battle. Born of the
corpses of fallen Paladins, Death Knights can command
the frost in their veins to freeze the hearts and minds of
their enemies, or even turn the very ground beneath their
feet to ice.
Runeforging allows the death knight to enchant their
weapon permanently. Once a weapon has been engraved
with a rune it is impossible for the rune to be removed. Like
all weapons that have been modified, a reforged weapon
becomes soulbound to its death knight.

PART 1 | The Background 1

 Death knights are the former champions of the undead.
They fortify their bodies and drain life energy itself with the
The Death Knight power of blood, sharpen their blades and strike powerfully
Proficiency Runes
with the power of frost, and raise the dead while striking
Level Bonus Features Stones with the unholy fervour granted by undeath. Most death
knights resemble their living selves, though pale and with
1st +2 Sense Death, Blood Strike 0 an unholy light that illuminates their eyes. Others may lack
2nd +2 Death Strike, Runes 1 the eye illumination and have tattoos decorating their faces.
3rd +2 Necrotic Veins, Runed 1
Weapon Quick Build
You can make a Death Knight Quickly by following these
4th +2 Ability Score Improvement 2 suggestions. First, Strength should be your highest ability
5th +3 Extra Attack 2 score, followed by Constitution and Charisma. Second,
6th +3 Rune-Empowered Strikes, 3
choose the Folk Hero Background.
Undead Fortitude
7th +3 Rune Weapon Feature 3 Class Features
8th +3 Ability Score Improvement 4 As a Death Knight, you can the follwing class features.
9th +4 Runic Magic 4
Hit Points
10th +4 Chilling Aura 5 Hit Dice: 1d10 per Death Knight level
11th +4 Improved Death Strike 5 Hitpoints at 1st Level: 10 + your Constitution modifier
Hitpoints at Higher Levels: 1d10 (or 6) + your
12th +4 Ability Score Improvement 6 Constitution modifier per fighter level after 1st
13th +5 ─ 6
Proficiencies
14th +5 Ability Score Improvement 7 Armour: All armour
15th +5 Runed Weapon Feature 7 Weapons: Simple weapons, martial weapons
16th +5 Ability Score Improvement 8 Tools: None
Saving Throws: Strenght, Constitution
17th +6 ─ 8 Skils: Choose two skills from Athletics, Insigt,
18th +6 Rune Mastery 9 Intimidation, Perception, Religion
19th +6 Ability Score Improvement 9
Equipment
20th +6 Runed Weapon Feature 10 You start with the following equipment, in addition to the
equipment granted by your background:
(a) a martial weapon and a two simple weapons or (b)
two martial weapons
Creating a death knight (a) a dungeoneers pack or (b) an explorers pack
(a) Chain mail (b) Leather Armour
As you build your Death Knight, think about two related
elements of your character's background: How did you
become a Death Knight, and what makes you different
from the rest. Why were you chosen to become a Death
Knight? Death Knights were once defenders of Justice.
However, once the Paladin ranks were disbanded, many of
these holy warriors travelled the lands to ease the suffering.
A small band of Paladins, embittered by society's cruelty,
travelled north to find the plague's source. These Renegade
Paladins succumbed to bitter hatred over the course of
their gruelling quest. Bestowed with black, vampiric
Runeblades and shadowy steeds, Death Knights serve as
the mightiest generals.

PART 1 | Creation
2
Sense Death
You are attuned to the presence of death. You can use an
action to sense undead in the vicinity, and in which
direction they are. You won't be able to sense what kind of
undead creature or the identity of said creature. You can
use this feature a number of times equal to 1 + your
Charisma modifier (Minimum of 1 time) . When you finish a
long rest, you regain all expended uses.
Blood Strike
When you hit with a melee attack, you can use a bonus
action to declare that you will use this feature before you
roll the damage dice.
You heal for a quarter of the amount of your damage.
rounded down. In level 8 it increases to half of the damage
rounded down, and in level 16 it is all of the damage you
heal. You can use this feature a number of times equal to 1
+ your Charisma modifier (Minimum of 1 time) . When you
finish a long rest, you regain all expended uses.
This feature cannot be used on Constructs, Plants and
Undead.
Rune Stones
Starting at 2nd level, you gain access to the powerful
arsenal of Rune Stones Death Knights use. Your Death
Knight Levels determines the number of Runes you have,
as shown in the Rune Points column of the Death Knight
table.
You can spend these Runes Stones to use various
abilities.
When you spend a Rune Stone, it is unavailable until you
finish or long rest, at the end of which you regain all
expended Rune Stones.
Some of your Rune features require your target to make
a saving throw to resist the feature's effects. The saving
throw DC is calculated as follow:
Rune save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your
charisma modifier
Death Strike
Starting at 2nd leve, when you hit a creature with a melee
weapon attack, you can expend one of your Runes to deal
necrotic damage to the target, in addition to the weapon's
damage. The extra damage is 1d8. At level 5 it becomes
2d8 and at level 14 it becomes 3d8.
Necrotic Veins
By 3rd level, you have grown even stronger as an undead
gaining resistance to necrotic and poison. You cannot
become poisoned, and gain immunity towards diseases.
You will count as an undead instead of a creature that is
alive. You become vulnerable to radiant attacks, and
healing spells like Cure Wounds and Healing word won't
work on you as they state it won't work on undead.
Runed Weapon
When you reach 3rd level, you gain the ability to engrave
Runes into a weapon of your choice, permanently bonding
with your weapon. Your runes get more powerfull at 3rd
level and again at 7th, 15, and 20th level.
You can spend a short rest to recall the Rune weapon if
you have crit failed a lot and thrown it 200 feet behind
enemy lines, and it would be pure suicide to retrieve it.
Usable only, if the weapon is on the same plane of
existence as you.
Ability Score Improvement
When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and
19th leve, you can increase on 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.
Extra Attack
Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice instead of once,
whenever you take an Attack action on your turn.
Rune-Empowered Strikes
Starting at 6th level, you learn to utilise the runes in your
weapon to do magic damage when you damage with your
melee attacks for the purpose of overcoming resistance and
immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage.
Undead Fortitude
Starting at 6th level, If damage reduces the Death Knight to
0 hit points or lower, roll a constitution saving throw with a
dc of 5 + the damage difference taken, unless the damage is
radiant or from a critical hit. On a sucess, the Death Knight
drops to 1 instead.
Runic Magic
At 9th level, you gain the ability focus the magic in the Rune
Stones. You can use them to cast magic of various strength
and intensity
Chilling Aura
Starting at 10th level, hostile creatures within 10 feet of
you will have their movement reduced by half while you are
conscious. At 18th level, the range of this aura increases to
30 feet.
Improved Death Strike
By 11th level, you are so suffused with necrotic might that
all your melee weapon strikes carry necrotic power with
them. Whenever you hit a creature with a melee weapon,
the creature takes an extra ld8 necrotic damage. If you also
use your Death Strike with an attack, you add this damage
to the additional damage of your Death Strike.
Rune Mastery
At 18th level, when you roll for initiative and have no Rune
Stones remaining, you regain 4 Runes Stones.

Runic Magic
At level 9 you gain the ability to use these features with
your rune stones as resource
Mark of Elements
You can use a reaction and a Rune Stone to capture some
of the incoming energy, lessening its effect on you and
storing it for your next melee attack. You have resistance to
the triggering damage type until the start of your next turn.
Also, the first time you hit with a melee attack on your next
turn, the target takes an extra 1d6 damage of the triggering
type, and the spell ends.
Rune of Binding Ice
When you hit another creature with a melee weapon attack,
you can spend 1 Rune Stone to attempt to bind the enemy
in ice. The target must succeed on a Constitution saving
throw or be stunned until the end of your next turn.
Seal of Bones
You conjure up a wall of bones, from the ground at a point
you can see within 60 at the cost of 4 Rune Stones.
You can make the wall up to 30 feet long, 10 feet high,
and 10 feet thick, and it vanishes when it is destroyed, or
released by you. You can crudely shape the wall to create
crenellations, battlements, and so on.
The wall is a structure made of bones that can be
damaged and thus breached. Each panel has AC 15 and 30
hit points per inch of thickness. Reducing a panel to 0 hit
points destroys it and might cause connected panels to
collapse at the DM’s discretion.
If the wall is not destroyed or released after a week, it
becomes permanent and can’t be dispelled.
Rune of Death
As an action you spend 4 Rune Stones to touch a willing
creature and put it into a cataleptic state that is
indistinguishable from death.
For the duration of 1 hour, or until you use an action to
touch the target and dismiss the spell, the target appears
dead to all outward inspection and to spells used to
determine the target’s status. The target is blinded and
incapacitated, and its speed drops to 0. The target has
resistance to all damage except psychic damage. If the
target is diseased or poisoned when you use the ability or
becomes diseased or poisoned while under the spell’s
effect, the disease and poison have no effect until the ability
ends.
Mark of Freezing Winds
As an action you spend 4 Rune Stones to summon a storm
and hail of rock-hard ice in a 20-foot-radius centred on
yourself. Each creature, except yourself, in the radius, must
make a Dexterity saving throw. A creature takes 2d8
bludgeoning damage and 4d6 cold damage on a failed save,
or half as much damage on a successful one.
3 PART 1 | Abilities
Rune of Stranglehold
You can spend 3 Rune Stones as an action to choose a
humanoid that you can see within 30. The target must
succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or be paralyzed for the
duration. At the end of each of its turns, the target can
make another Wisdom saving throw. On a success, the
spell ends on the target.
Mark of the Blighter
As an action you can spend 4 Rune Stones to make a melee
spell attack against a creature of your choice, to cause
death and disease to wash over the target and draining
moisture and vitality from it. The target must make a
Constitution saving throw. The target takes 8d8 necrotic
damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a
successful one. The spell has no effect on undead or
constructs.
If you target a plant creature or a magical plant, it makes
the saving throw with disadvantage, and the spell deals
maximum damage to it.
Runed Weapons
Becoming a Death Knight involves etching magical runes
into a weapon of your choice, which you learn at the 3rd
level. Some characters with this class don't consider
themselves real Death Knights if they have not yet etched
runes into their weapon. You can choose between the
Harbinger Runes, Marauder Runes or Soul Reaper Runes.
Harbinger
“I am the Harbinger of your perfection. I am the Harbinger
of your ascendance.” - Wors Thul, the first Harbinger.
Etching the runes of the Harbinger into your weapon.
Death Knights taking on this path are sometimes called
Pale Horsemen, Death Bringers, or Black Riders. These
Death Knights use the powers of the Harbinger runes to
command death and leave destruction in their wake.
Deathly Sovereign
When etching the harbinger runes into your weapon at 3rd
level, you gain the following two abilities.
Command Dead. As an action, you can expend Rune
Stones to attempt to take command of an undead for 1
minute. The targeted undead must succeed a Wisdom
Saving Throw, or become controlled by the Harbinger. If
the target succeeds its saving throw, it becomes immune to
the effect for 24 hours.
The cost of Runes to control undead increases with 1 per
CR. Taking control of a CR 1/2 Requires 1 Rune, and CR 1
costs 2 Runes op to a maximum of 5 Runes.
Rune Stone Cost per. CR
CR Cost
1/2 1 Rune Stone
1 2 Rune Stone
2 3 Rune Stone
3 4 Rune Stone
4 5 Rune Stone
Deathly Whispers You can spend an action and 1 Rune
to use this ability. It makes a targeted humanoid, within 30
feet, become frightened of you, if it fails a Charisma Saving
Throw against the Death Knights DC. If the target becomes
frightened, you gain advantage on Intimidation and
Persuasion skill checks on said. If the target saves against
the ability, it becomes immune to the effect for 24 hours.
Unyielding Assault
By 7th level, your Runes have an everlasting effect on your
body. When a hostile creature hits an ally within 10 feet of
you, you can as a reaction use 3 Runes to take full a melee
attack action on said hostile creature, if it is within range.
Army of the Damned
As an action you can spend 4 to the summon spirits of slain
warriors in the form of undead and appear in unoccupied
spaces that you can see within 30 feet. Choose one of the
following options for what appears:
One undead creature of challenge rating 2 or lower
Two undead creature rating 1 or lower
Four undead creature of challenge rating 1/2 or lower
Eight undead creature of challenge rating 1/4 or lower
The summoned creatures are friendly to you and your
companions. Roll initiative for the summoned creatures as
a group, which has its own turns. They obey any verbal
commands that you issue to them (no action required by
you). If you don’t issue any commands to them, they defend
themselves from hostile creatures, but otherwise take no
actions.
The DM has the creatures’ statistics.
Avatar of First Harbinger
At 20th level, as an action, you can emanate an aura of
death for I minute. Whenever an enemy creature starts its
turn within 30 feet of you, the creature takes 10 necrotic
damage. Also, for the duration, you have advantage on
saving throws against spells. Once you use this feature, you
can't use it again until you finish a long rest.
Marauder
"I know what I did. I remember. Thousands dead... because
of me! I’ve always been a destroyer of things. Anything I
touch, anything I care about...that’s why he picked me.
Because I’m a destroyer of things..." - Thev Laeris, first
Marauder after being freed from the clutches of a lich.
Death Knights, taking on the mantle of Marauder revels
in slaughter. They are some of the most talented killing
machines when given the order to kill. Most people see
Marauders as menacing, or even villainous, due to their
association with massacre and slaughter. Not all
Marauders are evil. Some walk the earth to find a way to
atone for their sins.
Chilling Pressence
When etching the Marauder runes into your weapon at 3rd
level, you gain the following two abilities.
Glacial's Wrath. You can use the power of your Runes to
invoke chilling cold to ensnare a foe. As an action, you can
cause ice to form up and reach for a creature within 10 feet
of you that you can see. The creature must succeed on a
Strength or Dexterity saving throw (its choice) or be
restrained. While restrained by the ice, the creature repeats
the saving throw at the end of each of its turns. On a
success, it frees itself and the ice vanish.
Marauders Focus As a bonus action, spend 1 Rune to
help you focus on a targeted enemy you can see within 30
feet. You gain advantage on attack rolls against the creature
for 1 minute or until it drops to O hit points or falls
unconscious. If you attack any other target that the one you
have focus, you attack with disadvantage.
Anti Magic Shield
Beginning at 7th level, you learn to manipulate the runes
power to form an eldritch ward. You can take an action to
expend 2 Runes to create a shield around you, for one
round. Granting resistance to damage from spells.
Deathless Cadaver
Starting at 15th level, when you are reduced to 0 hitpoints,
you can Spend 5 runes to drop to 1 hit point instead.
additionally, you suffer none of the drawbacks of old age,
and you can't be aged magically.
Death's Bargain
At 20th level, you can assume the form of the first
Marauder, taking on the appearance of a dark hooded
Reaper.
Using your action, you undergo a transformation. For 1
minute, yo gain the following benefits:
At the start of each of your turns, you regain 10
hitpoints.
Whenever you use a Death Knight ability that uses an
action, you can use it as a bonus action instead.
Enemy creatures within 10 feet of you have
disadvantage on saving throws against your abilities.
Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until
you finish a long rest.
Reaver
"You're my dark guardian who manipulates and corrupts
life energy to sustain himself in the face of an enemy
onslaught" - Lichlord Iskos
A Death Knight who follows the path of Reavers usually
has no problems with the living as they are masters of
corruption. A Reaver corrupts the mind and the life force of
those around them. Most Reavers are in service to warlords
and lords to help them further their influence.
PART 1 | Archetypes 4
 Blood Mastery
When etching the Reaver runes into your weapon at 3rd
level, you gain the following two abilities
Blood Influence As an action, you can spend 1 Rune
Stone to attempt to charm a humanoid you can see within
range. It must make a Wisdom saving throw, and does so
with advantage if you or your companions are fighting it. If
it fails the saving throw, it is charmed by you until you or
your companions do anything harmful to it or until the
ability ends after 1 hour. The charmed creature regards you
as a friendly acquaintance
Transfusion As an action, you can send your life force
into a creature with a touch. If the target creature is an ally,
you can spend up to a maximum of your Death Knight level
* 5 Hit points to give your ally a shield of temporary hit
points equal to the amount of hit points spent. if the target
is an enemy you can spend 15 hit points to attempt poison
it. The targeted enemy must succeed a Constitution saving
throw or become poisoned .while the enemy is poisoned it
has disadvantage on ability checks, and attack rolls.
Hungering Essence
Starting at 7th level, when you reduce a hostile creature to
O hitpoints, you gain temporary hit points equal to your
Charisma modifier + your Death Knight level (minimum of
1).
You can gain up to a maximum of 30 Temporary hit
points. The temporary hitpoints gained with this feature do
stack. The Temporary hit points vanishes after a short or a
long rest.
Empowered Corruption
At 15th level, you can tap into the life force of the living to
control and corrupt a humanoid's mind. You can use your
action to touch an incapacitated humanoid. That creature is
then charmed by you until a lesser restoration spell is cast
on it, the charmed condition is removed from it, or you use
this feature again. You can communicate telepathically with
the charmed creature as long as the two If you are on the
same plane of existence.
Share Blood
At level 20, as an action, you can choose to share your
blood with a creature that has been dead for no longer than
200 years and that died for any reason except old age, at
the cost of 50 max hit points. If the creature’s soul is
willing, the creature is restored to life with all its hit points.
The soul can choose to remain either as it's current
class or become a Death Knight. Level stays the same. If
the target chooses to be brought back to life, it will
count as an undead creature.
This ability closes all wounds, neutralises any poison,
cures all diseases, and lifts any curses affecting the
creature when it died. The ability replaces damaged or
missing organs and limbs.
Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you
finish a long rest. After the long rest, you regain your spent
max hit points

5 PART 1 | Archetypes