Homebrew Death Knight Species Details
"When a paladin that falls from grace dies without seeking comment, dark powers can transform the once-mortal knight into a hateful undead creature. A death knight is a skeletal warrior clad in plate armor. Beneath its helmet, one can see the knight's skull with malevolent pinpoints of light burning in its eye sockets.
"LORD SOTH
"Lord Soth began his fall from grace with an act of heroism, saving an elf named Isolde from an ogre. Soth and Isolde fell in love, but Soth was already married. He had a servant dispose of his wife and was charged with murder, but fled with Isolde. When his castle fell under siege, he prayed for guidance and was told that he must atone for his misdeeds by completing a quest, but growing fears about Isolde's fidelity caused him to abandon his quest. Because his mission was not accomplished, a great cataclysm swept the land. When Isolde gave birth to a son, Soth refused to believe that the child was his and slew them both. All were incinerated in a fire that swept through the castle, yet Soth would find no rest in death, becoming a death knight."
- The Monster Manuel, page 47.
Death Knight Traits
Your death knight will have the following traits.Ability Score Improvement.
Your death knight gains a +2 to Strength and a +1 to both Constitution and Charisma.
Saving Throws.
Dexterity, Wisdom, Charisma.
Immunities.
Being undead and without flesh, the death knight is immune to necrotic and poison damage. In addition to being unable to be poisoned, it also cannot be frightened as it has no fear of death, and will never tire.
Superior Darkvision.
You can see in dim light within 120 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
Languages.
Your death knight can speak, read, and write both Abyssal and Common, as well as the racial language it spoke in life. (For example, a death knight who was an elf when alive would also know how to speak, read, and write in Elvish.)
Class Restriction.
Given the fact that a death knight was once a disgraced paladin, that is all it may ever be. A death knight can multiclass, but it will always be a paladin first and foremost.
Magical Resistance.
The death knight has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Marshal Undead.
Unless the death knight is incapacitated, it and undead creatures of its choice within 60 ft. of it have advantage on saving throws against features that turn undead.
Eldritch Power.
The death knight retains the ability to cast divine spells, but no death knight can use its magic to heal. It also attracts and commands lesser undead, although death knights that serve powerful fiends might have fiendish followers instead. Death knights often use warhorse skeletons and nightmares as mounts.
Immortal Until Redeemed.
A death knight can arise anew even after it has been destroyed. Only when it atones for a life of wickedness or finds redemption can it finally escape its undead purgatory and truly perish. However, when a death knight is destroyed, it takes 1d4 days to restore itself.
Undead Nature.
A death knight doesn't require air, food, drink, or sleep.
Hellfire Orb.
Once per day, the death knight can hurl a magical ball of fire that explodes at a point it can see within 120 feet of it. Each creature in a 20 foot radius sphere centered on that point must make a DC 18 Dexterity saving throw. The sphere spreads around corners. A creature takes 2d6 fire damage and 2d6 necrotic damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. (The number of damage dice goes up by 2 every 4 levels, capping at 10d6 for both fire and necrotic damage.)
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Posted Jul 5, 2023I like the idea, however, It is simply too powerful. First, you gave it a combined plus four, which is the second highest in the game, following human. Human however only has it's Asi going for it though. Also, you gave it the powerful immunities to air, food, drink and sleep, which effectively makes it op for coffeelock, you made it immortal, which is not good for players to have just for free, you gave it superior darkvision, which most races dream of, immunity to necrotic, poison, fear, immunity to exhaustion, and the ability that bans Yuan Ti from most campaigns (magic resistance).
To improve this, I would recommend decreasing the Asi's to a +2 and +1, take only necrotic and poison, and possibly give it one or two other features.