Blackguard (5e Class)

**Note: This is meant to be a more evil-oriented counterpart to the Lionheart. It's basically a Death Knight, so while you *could* be a good-aligned Blackguard, it is unlikely. Without further ado, enjoy the class.**

## **The Blackguard**

A vampiric knight disappears as darkness falls, enveloping all who see him with fear. He drains all of the lifeblood of a commoner, and disintegrates his corpse, living for another day with the blood he has stolen.

## **Playing a Blackguard**

As a Blackguard, your strength comes directly from your attunement to the darkness and undead, and the ability to bend necrotic energies to your will.

## **Creating a Blackguard**

### **Requirements**

**Alignment:** Any

**Starting Age:** Any

**Race:** Any

### **Class Features**

As a Blackguard you gain the following class features.

Hit Points
**Hit Dice:** 1d10 per Blackguard level

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

**Hit Points at Higher Levels:** 1d10 (or 6) + Constitution modifier per Blackguard level after 1st

Proficiencies
**Armor:** All armor, shields

**Weapons:** Simple and Martial Weapons

**Tools:** None

**Saving Throws:** Constitution, Charisma

**Skills:** Choose 2 from Arcana, Athletics, Deception, Intimidation, Persuasion and Religion.

Equipment
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:

* (a) a martial melee weapon and a shield or (b) two martial weapons
* (a) four chakrams or (b) any simple weapon
* (a) a dungeoneer's pack or (b) an explorer's pack
* Chainmail and a necromantic charm

### **Table: The Blackguard**

**Spell Slots are shown on the next table, due to lack of room.**

### **Weapon of Darkness**

Starting at 1st level, all of your weapon attacks apply bonus necrotic damage to your attacks. This increases with level, as shown on the table. Note that Weapon of Light and Weapon of Darkness do **not** stack with multiclassing, only the highest damage one counts.

### **Arcanic Treachery**

Starting at 2nd level, the darkness rewards you with abilities that are seen from very powerful foul creatures. Choose from the Clan of the Vampire and the Clan of the Necromancer archetypes, seen at the bottom of this page. These give you features at 2nd, 5th, 10th, 14th, and 20th levels.

### **Spellcasting**

At 2nd level, you have harnessed the negative energies of the world, allowing you to cast spells.

#### **Spells Known of 1st Level or Higher**

The Spellcasting table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your spells. To cast one of your blackguard spells of 1st level or higher, you must expend a slot of the spell’s level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest. You know a total number of spells equal to your Charisma modifier + 1/2 your blackguard level (min 1 spell). The spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots. Casting a spell doesn't remove it from your list of spells known. Additionally, when you gain a level in this class, you can choose one of the blackguard spells you know and replace it with another spell from the blackguard spell list, which also must be of a level for which you have spell slots.

#### **Spellcasting Ability**

Charisma is your spellcasting ability for your blackguard spells, since their power derives from your ability to convince the darkness in the world to grant you might. 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 blackguard 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 necromantic charm as a spellcasting focus for your blackguard spells.

### **Fighting Style**

Beginning at 3rd 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.

#### Two-Weapon Fighting

When you engage in two-weapon fighting, you can add your ability modifier.

### **Ability Score Increase**

When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th and 19th level, you can increase one 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 6th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.

**Shadow Unleash**

At 5th level, you gain the ability to unleash the shadows that dwell within your soul, to fuel magical effects. You start with two such effects: Destroy Weakness and an effect determined by your archetype.
When you use your Shadow Unleash, you choose which effect to create. You must then finish a short or long rest to use your Shadow Unleash again. Some Shadow Unleash effects require saving throws. When you use such an effect from this class, the DC equals your blackguard spell save DC. Beginning at 13th level, you can use your Shadow Unleash twice between rests. At 18th level, you gain a third use. When you finish a short or long rest, you regain your expended uses.

#### **Shadow Unleash: Destroy Weakness**

As an action, you clutch your necromantic charm, and speak with the darkness itself, to purge all those that are weak. A number of creatures equal to your Charisma modifier (min 1) within 20 feet of you must make a Constitution saving throw. If a creature fails the saving throw, they take necrotic damage equal to 2 times your Weapon of Darkness die (e.g. 2d4, 2d6), taking half damage on a successful save. If a creature's Challenge Rating is lower than 1/4 your level, it does not resist/is immune to necrotic damage, and they fail the saving throw, they are instantly destroyed. Targets destroyed by this feature leave no corpse, for it is consumed by the darkness. Shadow creatures (e.g. shadow demons, shadows) are immune to this effect.

### **Conduit of Night**

Starting at 7th level, you are used to the darkness. When in non-magical darkness, you have a blindsense of 10 feet. When in magical darkness, you have a blindsight of 15 feet. Additionally, you gain 30 feet of Darkvision, if you did not have any before.

### **Nyctophilia**

At 9th level, your fondness of the darkness and the night has been kindly returned to you. You have resistance to necrotic damage, and can cast *darkness* without using a spell slot. After casting *darkness* with this feature, you must take a long or short rest until you can do so again.

### **Cruciaphilia**

Beginning at 15th level, you have grown a fondness for pain itself, and pain rewards you for enjoying inflicting it. You can roll one additional weapon damage die when determining the extra damage for a critical hit with a melee attack.

### **Eternal Night**

At 20th level, your body becomes a pure energy source of darkness. As a bonus action, you can choose to extinguish all non-magical lights within 60 feet of you. Additionally, you can see in magical darkness for 60 feet, and are immune to necrotic damage.

## **Clan of the Vampire**

The Clan of the Vampire focuses on the might of hemomancy, and stealing the life of other creatures, to fuel their own necrotic magic and life force.

### **Hemophilia**

At 2nd level, when you choose this archetype, your fondness for blood has awarded you vampiric fangs. These count as natural weapons, and can only be used on a grappled, willing, or restrained target. They deal 1 plus your Strength modifier piercing damage, and necrotic damage equal to 2 times your Weapon of Darkness die. Half of the necrotic damage dealt you receive as temporary hit points, which last for 1 hour. At 20th level, the necrotic damage increases to 3 times the Weapon of Darkness die. Criticals with Cruciaphilia still increase the necrotic damage.

### **Vampire's Grip**

Starting at 6th level, you are able to grab a target quickly, after striking them. After hitting a target with a melee weapon attack or a melee spell attack, you can grapple them as a bonus action.

### **Shadow Unleash: Cruorthief**

Beginning at 6th level, as an action, you can point your necromantic charm towards a target within 30 feet of you. The target must succeed on a Constitution saving throw, or take 3d10 + your Weapon of darkness die necrotic damage, taking half on a successful save, healing yourself for the same amount dealt.

### **Hemomancy**

Starting at 10th level, you have gained the ability to transfer your blood into magic. When you cast a spell, you can instead choose to take irreducible damage instead of expending a spell slot. This cannot be used to cast a spell with a level higher than your Proficiency bonus. This does not ignore temporary hit points, synergizing well with Hemophilia.

 2nd
 3rd
 4th
 5th

### **Bloodlust**

Beginning at 14th level, whenever you hit a target with a melee weapon attack, you restore hit points equal to your Charisma modifier (min 1).

### **Bleeding Eclipse**

At 20th level, you are fully enveloped into your love of pain, blood, and the night. As an action, you can expend a quarter of your maximum hit points, to cause blood to rupture out of your body, surrounding a target. A target of your choice must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw, with the DC being your Spell save DC + 2, or take 10d6 necrotic and 10d6 poison damage, taking half damage on a successful save. After using this feature, you must take a long rest before using it again.

## **Clan of the Necromancer**

The Clan of the Necromancer allows you to summon the undead, to do your bidding.

### **Necrophilia**

Starting at 2nd level, when you choose this archetype, your love of corpses and undeath has been noted, and you have been rewarded for it. You gain control over the soul of a single randomly-chosen being, and give it the form of either a zombie, or a skeleton. Your undead servant has the following features.

* Your servant loses the Multiattack feature, if it had one.
* The servant obeys your commands as best it can. It rolls for initiative like any other creature, but you determine its actions, decisions, attitudes, and so on. If you are incapacitated or absent, your servant acts on its own.
* Your undead servant has abilities and game statistics determined in part by your level. Your servant uses your proficiency bonus rather than its own. In addition to the areas where it normally uses its proficiency bonus, your servant also adds its proficiency bonus to its damage rolls.
* Your undead servant adds your Weapon of Darkness damage to each attack it makes.
* For each level you gain after 2nd, your undead servant gains an additional hit die and increases its hit points accordingly.
* Whenever you gain the Ability Score Improvement class feature, your servant's abilities also improve. Your servant can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or it can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, your servant can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature unless its description specifies otherwise.
* Your servant shares your alignment. Your servant shares your ideal, and its bond is always, “The necromancer who bound me to them is truly the best friend I could ever have. I would gladly die a second time for them."

If your servant is slain, you can either spend 4 hours meditating with your necromantic charm on their body, with 25 gold pieces worth of jewels nearby the body, or spend 4 hours meditating near another corpse, with 25 gold pieces, to get a new body for them.

### **Necrotic Combos**

At 5th level, your undead servant synergizes with your attacks, to allow you to more easily destroy your foes. Whenever you hit a target with a weapon or spell attack, and your servant can see you, it can use it's reaction to make a single melee weapon attack.

### **Shadow Unleash: Rise From Death**

Starting at 5th level, as a ritual, you can revive a creature that has died within the past hour, similarly to the *raise dead* spell. Alternatively, instead of reviving a creature, you can cast *animate dead*, at a level equal to your Proficiency bonus.

### **Unliving Bombs**

Beginning at 10th level, corpses for you make effective bombs of necrotic energy. When a corpse is within 30 feet of you, as an action, you can point your necromantic charm towards it, and fill it's body with necrotic energy. Either instantly (no action required), or as a bonus action within the next minute, you can cause the corpse to explode. It deals necrotic damage equal to 1d10 plus your Charisma modifier if the creature was Tiny sized, and it goes up by one die (e.g. small is 2d10) for each size larger than Tiny. All creatures within 10 feet of the corpse must make a Dexterity saving throw, taking full damage on a failure, or half on a success.

### **Ignorance of Doom**

At 14th level, you now ignore necrotic resistance, and treat necrotic immunity as resistance, instead.

### **Mark of Death**

Starting at 20th level, you are able to channel the grim reaper's dark energies, to mark one target for death. Choose a target that you can see, within 60 feet of you. For 1 minute, that target is marked for death. The following applies to a target that is marked.

* All targets that do not currently apply Weapon of Darkness apply Weapon of Darkness on attacks against the target, using your WoD die.
* Undead creatures that are not magically controlled by that target become hostile towards them.
* The target must succeed on a Constitution saving throw at the start of each of its turns, or take 1d8 necrotic damage, with the amount being subtracted from their maximum hit points.
* If the creature dies with the Mark of Death on them, they rise as a zombie under your control. They only leave your control if they are revived.

After using this feature, you must take a long rest before using it again.

## **Blackguard** **Spell List**

### **1st Level**

* Arms of Hadar
* Absorb Elements
* Charm Person
* Detect Magic
* Disguise Self
* False Life
* Hellish Rebuke
* Inflict Wounds
* Ray of Sickness
* Sleep
* Shield

### **2nd Level**

* Blindness/Deafness
* Blur
* Detect Thoughts
* Darkness
* Invisibility
* Misty Step
* Moonbeam
* Ray of Enfeeblement
* Suggestion

### **3rd Level**

* Animate Dead
* Bestow Curse
* Fear
* Haste
* Gaseous Form
* Major Image
* Phantom Steed
* Vampiric Touch

### **4th Level**

* Banishment
* Blight
* Evard's Black Tentacles
* Death Ward
* Dimension Door
* Phantasmal Killer
* Greater Invisibility

### **5th Level**

* Dominate Person
* Insect Plague
* Modify Memory
* Raise Dead
* Telekinesis