Grave Commander

You are not merely a student of death, you are its commander.

Where others raise the dead as mindless thralls, you impose discipline, structure, and purpose. Through precise control and calculated intent, you transform scattered corpses into a coordinated force, each movement guided by your will. To you, undeath is not chaos, but order perfected. An army that does not falter, does not question, and does not break.

On the battlefield, your presence reshapes the flow of combat. The dead advance in formation, strike with unnatural precision, and hold the line with tireless resolve. Where you stand, death itself becomes a weapon of strategy, and every fallen foe is simply another asset waiting to be claimed.

Level 3: Commander's Awakening

You gain proficiency in two of the following skills of your choice:

• History
• Investigation
• Nature
• Religion

If you already have proficiency in any chosen skill, you instead gain proficiency in another skill from the list.

Level 3: Grave Adjutant

You bind an undead to your will—not as a mere servant, but as your adjutant, a conduit of your command.

At the end of a long rest, you create or restore your Grave Adjutant, which appears in an unoccupied space within 5 feet of you.

The adjutant takes the form of an armored wraith—its body a fusion of spectral essence and hardened necromantic plating. It moves with disciplined precision, positioning itself where your will must be enforced, an extension of your authority made manifest.

The adjutant counts as an undead you control for the purpose of your subclass features.

In combat, the adjutant shares your initiative count and takes its turn immediately after yours. It obeys your commands (no action required). If you are incapacitated, it takes the Dodge action.

If the adjutant is destroyed, it can be restored when you finish a long rest, or by expending a spell slot of 1st level or higher as an action. When restored in this way, it reappears in an unoccupied space within 5 feet of you with hit points equal to 5 + your character level. The adjutant regains all its hit points when you finish a long rest.

Grave Adjutant Stat Block
Medium Undead

Armor Class: 13 + your proficiency bonus
Hit Points: 5 + three times your character level
Speed: 30 ft.

STR 10 (+0)
DEX 10 (+0)
CON 12 (+1)
INT 10 (+0)
WIS 14 (+2)
CHA 6 (−2)

Saving Throws: Con + your proficiency bonus, Wis + your proficiency bonus

Damage Resistances: Necrotic
Condition Immunities: Charmed, Exhaustion, Poisoned
Senses: Darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 12
Languages: Understands the languages you speak

Traits

Magical Attacks. The adjutant’s attacks count as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity.

Bound to Command. The adjutant counts as an undead you control for your subclass features.

Command Relay. You can use your adjutant as the point of origin for all your spells.

Eternal bond. Immune to all effects that could turn the adjutant against his commander.

Actions

Grave Strike. Melee Weapon Attack: +your spell attack modifier to hit, reach 5 ft., Hit: 6 (1d8 + 2) Slashing Damage plus 3 (1d4) Necrotic damage.

Soul Bolt. Range Spell Attack: +your spell attack modifier to hit, range 30 ft., Hit: 4 (1d4 + 2) Necrotic damage.

At 11th level, the adjutant’s attack damage increases by one additional damage die.

Reaction

Guard Assist. When a creature you can see hits you or an undead you control within 5 feet of the adjutant, the adjutant can use its reaction to redirect the damage onto himself or another friendly creature in 5 ft. range.

Level 3: Direct Assault

When you cast a spell of 1st level or higher, you can choose one undead you control that you can see within 30 feet of you. That creature can use its reaction to make one weapon attack or move up to its speed.

You can use this feature once per turn.

Level 6: Undead Autonomy

Your undead operate with flawless efficiency under your leadership. (No need to spend the bonus action to command them)

• They no longer require commands to act.
• They take their turns immediately after yours.

Level 10: Aura of absolute Command

While you are not incapacitated, undead you control within 30 feet of you

• add your Intelligence modifier to attack rolls
• are immune to being frightened

As a reaction, you can also share incoming damage on your controlled undead with other undead under your control. The amount is set by your proficiency modifier.

 

Level 14: Bound Return

When a creature dies within 60 feet of you, you can skip your next turn completely, to bind the fallen soul and body under your absolute control.

After the skipped turn, the targeted creature is revived as an undead version of its former self.

The creature retains its stat-block with the addition to become undead and fully restored.

• It obeys your commands completely
• After 8 hours, the soul in the bound creature breaks out of the body and the creature dies instantly and cannot be revived by this magic ever again.

Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.