Occult Devotion

Delving into the hidden and taboo, your practice of magic has drawn you into the darkest traditions of magic. As you focus your studies in this tradition, you learn to manipulate the energy that animates all living things. As you progress, you learn to sap the life force from a creature as your magic destroys its body, transforming that vital energy into magical power you can manipulate. Through diligent growth in your craft in manipulating these forces, you may too uncover the secrets to perpetual life. 

Wizards that seek this tradition must make bargains with fiends, evil gods, or other foul entities. Many turn to Orcus, Demon Prince of Undeath, whose power has created countless liches. However, those that control this power always demand fealty and service for their knowledge.

Forbidden Knowledge

Beginning when you select this tradition at 2nd level, you have advantage on Intelligence ability checks involving undead and fiends.

Soulbound Ward

Starting at 2nd level, you can weave a piece of your soul into an item of great personal significance for protection. While this item is on your person, when you cast a necromancy spell of 1st level or higher, you can simultaneously use a strand of the spell’s magic to create a magical ward on yourself that lasts until you finish a long rest. The ward has a hit point maximum equal to twice your wizard level + your Intelligence modifier. Whenever you take damage, the ward takes the damage instead. If this damage reduces the ward to 0 hit points, you take any remaining damage.

While the ward has 0 hit points, it can’t absorb damage, but its magic remains. Whenever you cast a necromancy spell of 1st level or higher, the ward regains a number of hit points equal to twice the level of the spell.

Once you create the ward, you can’t create it again until you finish a long rest.

Undying Soul

Starting at 6th level, you have spent so much time dealing with undead and the forces that animate them that you have become inured to some of their worst effects.

You have resistance to necrotic damage. Additionally, when you are reduced to 0 hit points, you immediately make a DC 10 Constitution saving throw. If you succeed, you are instead reduced to 1 hit point. This ability recharges after a short or long rest.

Aura of Death

Beginning at 10th level, you may use a bonus action to emanate a deathly aura for 1 minute that extends 20 feet in every direction from your space. The aura is blocked by total cover. While in the aura, yourself and any friendly undead are immune to the frightened condition and have resistance to radiant damage. While the aura is active, you may use a bonus action on your turn to grant temporary hit points equal to your wizard level + Intelligence modifier to yourself and any friendly undead within the aura. Living creatures suffer disadvantage on death saving throws while in the aura.

The aura lasts for the duration unless you are incapacitated, or end it early as a bonus action.

Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest or you cast a necromancy spell of 1st level or higher.

Soulbound Vessel

Starting at 14th level, the object containing the magic of your Soulbound Ward becomes a powerful magical artifact, a phylactery, in which you store your life essence. With your phylactery prepared, you drink a potion of transformation — a vile concoction of poison mixed with the blood of a living, sentient creature whose soul is sacrificed to the phylactery. You then fall dead, rising as a lich as your soul is also drawn into the phylactery, where it forever remains.

Your creature type changes from humanoid to undead and you no longer require air, food, drink, or sleep. Instead, you must periodically feed souls to your phylactery to sustain the magic preserving your body and consciousness. You have advantage on saving throws against any effect that turns undead.

A lich that fails or forgets to maintain its body with sacrificed souls begins to physically fall apart, and might eventually become a demilich.

Rejuvenation

Starting at 14th level, when your body is broken by accident or assault, your will and mind drains from it, leaving only a lifeless corpse behind. Within days, a new body reforms next to your phylactery, coalescing out of glowing smoke that issues from the device. 

While unconscious and dying, you die after one failed saving throw instead of three. If your phylactery is intact, you gain a new body in 1d10 days, regaining all your hit points and becoming active again. The new body appears within 5 feet of the phylactery.