MCDM’s Illrigger class is now available on D&D Beyond! This hellish champion imposes their will through tactical manipulation of the battlefield—just like the archdevils who employ them. Included with this third-party class are five subclasses, eight new spells, five Illrigger NPCs, two magic items, and enough diabolical options to clog up the River Styx, all of which have been implemented in D&D Beyond's Character Builder.

Read on to learn more about how this devilish class can command the battlefield and annihilate their foes with infernal might.

• What is MCDM’s Illrigger Class?
• Illrigger Features
• Illrigger Subclasses
• Build Recommendations

Content Warning

This class has subclasses with themes that include mental manipulation, mind control, and blood magic. In addition, Illriggers are often evil-aligned characters or serve creatures with an evil agenda. Speak to your table about these themes at Session 0 to ensure everyone is comfortable engaging with these serious topics.

What is MCDM’s Illrigger Class?

A Sword Out of Hell

An Illrigger is an elite soldier of hell, seeking to further the infernal agenda of the treacherous and power-hungry archdevils. Illriggers wear many masks: they are knights and battlefield commanders, mages and political advisors, and even assassins and spymasters. We’re familiar with Illrigger-type characters from fiction: think of Sauron as Morgoth’s Illrigger or Darth Vader as Emperor Palpatine’s.

An Evil-Ish Class

Being servants of hell's Order of Desolation certainly has some implications. If you're traveling with a good-aligned party, you may have to do some mental gymnastics to explain how your party's goals further hell's agenda. You could be an Illrigger on the run from your order, which is why you've found common ground with your adventuring comrades. Or, you could be facing an enemy that even hell wants to defeat—the enemy of my enemy is my friend, after all.

Mix of Martial Masteries

Illriggers are a unique blend of martial and magical, meshing classic weapon fighting with powers that feel truly hellish. They can either use Strength to slash through foes with Melee weapons or Dexterity to nimbly defeat enemies with Finesse or Ranged weapons. Their Architect of Ruin subclass makes spellcasting available to the class, turning them into an anti-Paladin or Eldritch Knight-type build.

Subclasses for Every Occasion

Each Illrigger subclass allows you to specialize in your preferred type of play. When you think of a top-tier agent of hell, do you think of an assassin that stalks the shadows, a corrupt vizier, or a terrifying warrior with an even more terrifying axe?

Depending on which subclass you choose, the Illrigger can have totally different playstyles. Painkillers are battlefield tanks, whereas Shadowmasters function similarly to Rogues. It's worth checking which Illrigger subclass you'll want to strive towards before building your character, as you'll want to tailor your options to your preferred playstyle.

How is the Illrigger Unique?

The Illrigger's gameplay loop focuses on seals, which they gain with their level 1 Baleful Interdict feature. These seals are kind of like the Illrigger's spell slots, as expending them can damage creatures, impose debilitating effects on enemies, or buff you and your allies. Many of the Illrigger's features and subclass features center around these seals, but that's not the Illrigger's only unique aspect.

They also get access to Interdict Boons, which are similar to the Warlock's Eldritch Invocations. You pick which of these modular boons you'd like for your Illrigger from an extensive list, and they offer a variety of passive and activated abilities.

Illrigger Features

Illriggers allow for a high degree of customization thanks to their customizable loadout of Interdict Boons and varying subclasses, ensuring that no two Illriggers are ever quite the same. Below, we cover the key features of the Illrigger class, highlighting what you need to know before signing your infernal contract with this diabolic champion.

Note: Features that are shared with other classes, such as Ability Score Improvement and Extra Attack, are skipped over in favor of more coverage for the Illrigger's unique abilities.

Interdict DC

When a feature requires a saving throw, the saving throw DC for these effects uses your interdict save DC, which is calculated as follows:

Interdict Save DC = 8 + your Proficiency Bonus + your Charisma modifier.

Baleful Interdict

At level 1, you can place a magical seal on a creature within 30 feet of you once per turn—either by hitting the creature with an attack or using a Bonus Action. When the target takes damage from a source other than a seal burned by an Illrigger, you can burn any number of your seals placed on the creature to deal an additional 1d6 Fire or Necrotic damage per seal. You have a limited number of seals based on your Illrigger level, but you regain all of them on a Short or Long Rest. The damage of each seal increases by 1d6 at levels 5, 11, and 20.

Forked Tongue

Illriggers must often be capable spies, negotiators, and blackmailers, which is tough to pull off if you don’t speak the same language as your marks! The Forked Tongue feature is also gained at level 1 and allows you to speak, read, and write Infernal, and speak two other languages of your choice. You can swap one of these languages when you finish a Long Rest, so you can prepare Dwarvish before delving underground or Sylvan before stepping into the Feywild. At level 9, you gain another language, and you gain Advantage on Wisdom (Insight) checks made to ascertain the intentions or sincerity of creatures.

Combat Mastery

At level 2, you gain one of five Combat Mastery options, such as Bravado, which allows you to calculate your Armor Class (when you are not wearing any armor) as 10 + your Dexterity + your Charisma, or Inexorable, which provides you with a +1 bonus to saving throws for each Hostile creature within 5 feet of you (max +5).

Interdiction

Interdict Boons are magical enhancements that your Illrigger starts receiving at level 2. Some Interdict Boons are passive bonuses, some activate when you burn a seal that you have placed on an enemy, and others allow you to expend a seal to fuel a magical effect. For example, the Soul Eater Interdict Boon grants you Temporary Hit Points equal to your Illrigger level when you burn a seal on an interdicted creature. On the other hand, the Shadow Shroud Interdict Boon allows you to expend a seal (that has not been placed on an enemy) to bestow yourself or a creature you touch with a +2 bonus to AC for 1 minute. If you select an Interdict Boon that isn’t synergizing with your playstyle as much as you’d hoped, you can swap one out every time you level up in this class. You also learn more Interdict Boons as you level up, according to the Interdict Boons column in the Illrigger table.

Diabolic Contract

At level 3, it's time to write your name in blood, select which archdevil best suits your inner sins, and pledge your soul to an agent of hell. (Normal hero stuff!) When signing a Diabolic Contract, you select a subclass that best suits your playstyle and power fantasy. Will you be a cunning battlemage, an enchanting diplomat, an imposing knight and commander, a blood mage, or a stealthy assassin?

Invoke Hell

At level 3, an Illrigger can summon the power of hell and use it to produce certain powerful effects. The Diabolic Contract subclass you selected will detail two Invoke Hell options that you can select from when using this ability. Once you Invoke Hell, you must finish a Short or Long Rest before you can do so again. Expect these features to lean into your chosen subclass’s specialties, amplifying your Architect of Ruin’s magic, your Painkiller’s damage output, and so forth.

Infernal Conduit

At level 6, Infernal Conduit allows you to drain Hit Points from an enemy and give them to yourself, or you can give your own Hit Points to an ally. Using this feature, you touch a creature, expend Infernal Conduit dice from your pool, and roll them. If you choose the Invigorate feature, the target regains Hit Points equal to the total you rolled, and you take Necrotic damage equal to the Hit Points gained. The target has a chance to save against this effect, though that might not be in their best interest if they want the Hit Points, so they can choose to fail.

If you choose the Devour option, the target must make a saving throw and takes Necrotic damage equal to the total you rolled on a failed save, or half as much on a successful save, and you regain Hit Points equal to the damage inflicted.

The Necrotic damage from this feature can't be reduced in any way, so it's very useful against creatures with Resistance or Immunity to Necrotic damage.

Blood Price

Blood Price at level 10 is my personal favorite Illrigger feature. Whenever you fail a saving throw, you can spend one of your Hit Dice and add it to the result of your saving throw! Illriggers have d10s for Hit Dice, so this ability will add an average of around +5 to your roll. You’ll pay for this later during a Short Rest, when you may need potions to make up for the Hit Dice spent, but it’ll be worth it to succeed on a throw against something like Hypnotic Pattern or a dragon’s breath weapon!

Terrorizing Force

When you gain this feature at level 10, you choose a damage type from Cold, Fire, Necrotic, and Poison. When you hit with a weapon attack, you deal 1d8 extra damage of the chosen type. Heading into unfamiliar territory? No worries! You can change the damage type after a Long Rest, allowing you to skirt Resistances and target Vulnerabilities.

Superior Interdict

At level 14, the power of your seals ignores petty things like Resistance to damage types. In addition, once per Long Rest, you can use a Bonus Action to regain one seal if you have none remaining. So, if you find yourself in a pinch and know that one of your Interdict Boons or subclass features could get you out of it, you can regain a seal and jump back into the fray.

Infernal Majesty

When you gain this feature at level 17, you can don a measure of the archdevils' power! As a Bonus Action, you can channel the might of hell for 10 minutes. While active, this feature gives you Resistance to Fire, Cold, and Necrotic damage, a Fly Speed of 60 feet, and buffs your Blood Price and Terrorizing Force features. Blood Price now damages a nearby creature equal to the number you rolled on the Hit Dice, and your Terrorizing Force deals 2d8 damage instead of 1d8. You also become basically unkillable because when you die while this feature is active, your body disappears in a burst of flame and reappears 1d6 days later somewhere in hell! You'll want to keep this feature for when it matters, though, as you can only use it once per Long Rest.

Master of Hell

At level 20, you burn with infernal power, able to rip through reality and show the world a glimpse of hell. As an action, you summon a hellstorm filling a 50-foot radius sphere centered on a point within 150 feet of you, and choose the Inferno, Pestilence, or Darkness options. If creatures in the area of effect fail their save, they'll take 10d10 damage based on your selection and suffer from additional, similarly nasty effects. On a successful save, they take half as much damage and can skirt the rider effects of the Inferno and Pestilence options, but the Darkness option will blind creatures regardless of their saving throw.

Illrigger Subclasses

The Illrigger subclasses allow for a great degree of specialization, allowing you to lean into one of five archetypes.

Build Recommendations

Architect of Ruin

Illriggers with the Architect of Ruin subclass can use their limited magic to heighten their martial prowess, trick enemies with illusions and enchantments, or control the battlefield. For spellswords, grab Mirror Image, Shield of Faith, and Haste. Tricksters may reach for Silent Image, Suggestion, and Arcanist’s Magic Aura, while control casters will look to spells like Darkness, Silence, and Slow.

When selecting ability scores, you’ll want to focus on Charisma first and Constitution second. If you’re undecided on a species, consider those that learn a few extra spells, such as Elves and Tieflings. When choosing a feat, you’ll want to tailor it to your playstyle and party role. Any feats that grant extra spells, such as Fey-Touched or Shadow-Touched, are welcome. But, if you’re casting Concentration spells during most battles, you may want to look to War Caster to preserve those precious spell slots. If you want to target enemy spellcasters, select the Mage Slayer feat to break their Concentration and resist their magic.

Hellspeaker

Hellspeakers can swindle, negotiate, or, if that fails, enchant their way through hell’s greatest dangers. You’ll want to focus on Charisma first, but your second priority might vary. Dexterity will ensure you’re sneaky and good with a Rapier and Shortbow, Constitution will keep you alive, and Wisdom will help you see through your enemies’ lies. You can have fun with any species, but the Human's ability to gain Heroic Inspiration when completing a Long Rest never hurts, and Gnomes’ Advantage on Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma saving throws would help you resist enemy spells.

Most Hellspeakers are judicious and talented liars, so I recommend feats like Actor if you plan on using disguises or Skill Expert if you just need to increase that Deception bonus. Observant can also aid you in social encounters by granting Expertise in Insight, while Keen Mind helps you remember key information during an investigation, reconnaissance mission, or con. Any feats that grant spells, such as Magic Initiate or Fey-Touched, can help fine-tune your Illrigger into a master manipulator.

Painkiller

Painkillers tend to defeat their foes the old-fashioned way: with brutal and practical blows from their weapon. Painkillers are proficient in Heavy armor, and several of their features heighten their martial prowess, making them dangerous frontline fighters. At level 14, the Painkiller can turn attacks on interdicted creatures into a Critical Hit by using a Reaction and burning a seal on the creature. At level 18, the Painkiller can score a Critical Hit against all interdicted creatures on a roll of 18 through 20. But these hell knights are also excellent battlefield tacticians, able to use their abilities to allow allies to make attacks, move without provoking Opportunity Attacks, or even drop to 1 Hit Point instead of 0.

As a heavy hitter, you’ll probably want to prioritize Strength and Constitution, with Charisma third to maintain a respectable interdict save DC. Species like the Dwarf or Goliath are obvious choices for their resilience and martial skill, but an Aasimar could also be a thematic and exciting choice here. Feats like Crusher, Piercer, and Slasher (depending on your preferred weapon) are always handy, and Sentinel perfectly fits a hell knight on the hunt.

Sanguine Knight

The Sanguine Knight leans all the way into the support martial, using blood magic to assist your allies and bring down your enemies. You’ll place seals on enemies as you attack them, and then when you burn those seals, you can grant Temporary Hit Points to your fellow party members. When your Barbarian friend becomes Blinded, the Sanguine Knight can use blood magic to rip the condition away and impose it on someone else within 60 feet. At level 15, the Sanguine Knight can even sap power from an enemy by imposing a 1d8 penalty to their next attack roll or saving throw and granting that 1d8 as a bonus to an ally’s next attack roll or saving throw.

When assigning ability scores, I recommend considering an unusual maneuver and prioritizing Constitution first. You can’t heal your allies, give them Temporary Hit Points, or remove their conditions if you get knocked Unconscious. And unlike other support builds, most of the Sanguine Knight’s features scale with class level and Proficiency Bonus, not with an ability score. But if you want to put the martial in “support martial,” then invest in Strength or Dexterity, and if you select many Interdict Boons that trigger saving throws, you’ll want to prioritize Charisma. Any species would make a good Sanguine Knight, but choosing the Orc species will offer a significant boost to their survivability.

If you’re seen restoring Hit Points, boosting healing spells, and removing conditions on the battlefield, shrewd enemies are likely to target you. Feats like Tough, Resilient (Dexterity or Wisdom), and Mage Slayer can help you resist enemy efforts to bring you down, while Speedy can help you reach allies who need your help.

Shadowmaster

Shadowmasters could give Faceless Men of Braavos and Antivan Crows a run for their money. These Illriggers are hell’s premier assassins, spies, and scouts. Shadowmasters can become Invisible, deal extra damage to their targets, use magic to prevent their marks from escaping, and shroud their enemy in darkness. You’ll absolutely want to focus on Dexterity for this Illrigger, with Charisma a close second to talk your way out of trouble and keep your interdict save DC high. Though any species can make a deal with a devil, species like Shadar-Kai, Halflings, and Goblins often make for great Shadowmasters.

Feats like Skulker and Shadow-Touched help a Shadowmaster stay sneaky and unseen, while feats like Speedy and Fey-Touched make a Shadowmaster mobile and tough to catch. If your Shadowmaster focuses a bit more on spying than assassinating, consider feats like Alert, Observant, and Telepathic.

One Hell of a Class

The Illrigger is an elite operative of evil sent to enact hell’s will. As an emissary of your archdevil and the Order of Desolation, your magic can pierce Resistances, restrain and blind enemies, and even summon a Horned Devil to fight alongside your party!

You also have tools to refute any paltry attempts to destroy your being. You can sap the life out of creatures and strengthen your defenses at the cost of vitality, and when enemies are swarming you, and all seems lost, you can use your infernal power to incinerate nearby foes and rise again.

So, if you’re ready to become a knight of hell, hop into the D&D Beyond character builder and create an Illrigger today! You'll also find five stat blocks for Illrigger NPCs, eight new spells, and two powerful items that any Illrigger would love to get their gauntleted fists on.

Damen Cook (@damen_joseph) is a lifelong fantasy reader, writer, and gamer. If he woke up tomorrow in Faerûn, he would bolt through the nearest fey crossing and drink from every stream and eat fruit from every tree in the Feywild until he found that sweet, sweet wild magic.