Order of the Dark Knight

What is a Dark Knight? What does it mean to become one? To become a Dark Knight, one must take up the sword and renounce that which does not mean anything to the individual. They bear neither shield nor sigil, and draw strength from their inner flame. With it, they learn to harness the abyss, but attempting to do so without the proper training can have potentially disastrous consequences. All living things have an inner darkness, and very few have the ability to commune and draw upon it. Dark Knights are among those few. Upon becoming more familiar with their inner abyss, they learn how to use it in their spells, often using it in sync with their swordsmanship.

Due to the lack of people who have a proper understanding of these individuals and their abilities without being a Dark Knight themselves, these individuals are often viewed as heretics, their techniques branded forbidden. As a result, it has been far too long since the last time they could openly patrol the streets of the various towns and cities. To openly pass judgement upon the wicked, to punish corrupt nobles who would see their people suffer if it meant lining their pockets with a little more gold. To protect those who cannot protect themselves, even if it must be from themselves.

What say you, adventurer? Will you cast aside your meaningless ties, and take up the sword? Will you cast aside the light that blinds you to your inner darkness, and learn truths that only the darkest depths of your heart can tell? Remember... To walk the path is to suffer. To sacrifice. Justice demands no less.

Rite of the Abyss

Rite of the Abyss. Your rite damage is abyssal damage. While the rite is active, you gain the following benefits:

• You and your weapon become enshrouded in a pitch-black abyssal aura.
• You have resistance to light/radiant damage.
• Your weapon deals one additional hemocraft die of rite damage when you hit a light-aligned enemy.

Curse Specialist

Beginning at 3rd level, your ancient order teaches advanced mastery over blood curses. You gain an additional use of your Blood Maledict feature. In addition, your blood curses can target any creature, whether it has blood or not.

Shadow Step

Upon reaching 7th level, at the start of your turn, if you aren’t incapacitated, you can choose to magically step into the veil between the planes. Must be done via shadows.

You can use any and all shadows present to travel from one place to another, as well as see and affect creatures and objects on the Shadow Realm. You take 1d10 force damage if you end your turn inside an object. If you are inside an object when this feature ends, you are immediately shunted to the nearest unoccupied space that you can occupy and take force damage equal to twice the number of feet you moved. This feature lasts for a number of rounds equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum of 1 round).

You can use this feature once. Beginning at 15th level, you can use your Shadow Step feature twice between rests. You regain all expended uses when you finish a short or long rest.

Brand of Sundering

Beginning at 11th level, your Brand of Castigation now exposes a fragment of your foe’s essence, leaving them vulnerable to your Crimson Rite. Whenever you damage a branded creature with your Crimson Rite, your weapon deals one additional hemocraft die of rite damage. In addition, the branded creature can’t move through creatures or objects.

Blood Curse of the Blackblooded

At 15th level, you’ve honed your hemocraft to tear unwilling divine influence from your allies, punishing those who would wrongfully infiltrate their body and mind. You gain the Blood Curse of the Blackblooded for your Blood Maledict feature. This doesn’t count against your number of blood curses known.

Living Dead

Upon reaching 18th level, you learn to protect your fading life by absorbing your blood rite or dark knight spell. When you are reduced to 0 hit points while you have an active Crimson Rite or Dark Knight spell, but don’t die outright, the rite ends and you drop to 1 hit point instead. If you have rites active on multiple weapons, you choose which one ends.