Dark Templar

Dark Templars are the evil champions of dark forces. They can serve fiendish lords, kings and queens of the undead, or they can be controlled by eldritch powers beyond the stars. Whoever they may serve, their presence strikes fear into the hearts of the innocent. Their foul minds and unholy powers bring corruption, pain, and agony.

Tenets of Dark Templar

The tenets of a dark templar can vary from paladin to paladin, but all of its tenets revolve around crushing the enemies of their deity and spreading the one, true path as they have been instructed. Paladins living by these tenets are ready to sacrifice even the ones they love the most for the sake of this path. They can be lawful evil, neutral evil and chaotic evil. The tenets are the epitome of evil.

Exemplar of Evil. Whoever you worship, lead other worshippers of your deity by example; commit evil deeds to inspire them.

Fanatic Resolution. Do not fear your enemies, as the power bestowed upon you is the greatest one of all. But be cautious, so as to not look stupid in the eyes of your deity.

Dark Compassion. Never lose your compassion for spreading evil and the words of your deity or another dark templar will make an example out of you through cruel punishment.

Lay on Hands

You can use your Lay on Hands feature to heal or deal necrotic damage. However, you can only heal evil-aligned creatures. You can also use a portion of Lay on Hands to deal damage, and the rest to heal.

Evil Blast

Starting at 3rd level, you can focus your dark powers into an evil blast. You choose one of the following damage types: cold, f ire, or necrotic. As an action, you designate a point within 30 feet of you. An energy fueled with your unholy powers explodes in a 10-foot radius centered on that point. Creatures within 10 feet of the chosen point must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or take 4d6 damage of the chosen type. Good aligned creatures take an extra 1d6 damage of the same type.

The damage dealt increases to 7d6 at 7th, 10d6 at 15th, and 13d6 at 20th level.

Also, creatures who are affected by Evil Blast must make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, the creature feels overwhelmed by the dark powers and becomes frightened for a number of rounds equal to your “Charisma modifier (minimum one) or until it takes damage. Once you use this feature, you must finish a short or long rest to use it again.

Unholy Embodiment

As you grow in power, the evil and hatred within you grow as well. Starting at 7th level, as an action, you can emanate an aura of foulness in a 30-foot radius for 1 minute. Saving throws must be made against your spell save DC.

You can use three of the following auras, which are relevant to your deity, with the GM’s permission.

• Sacrificial Aura. You become a collector of souls for your deity and your offerings become more valuable than others who are mere worshippers. The ones who die within the area of the aura must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or they are sacrificed to the dark gods, their souls are damned, and you are immediately compensated in return. For each creature killed in this way, a servant with a CR of 1 or lower is sent to your aid. For this to happen, you must play a part in the deaths, meaning you should deal damage to them and the servants must be tied to the power you worship. These servants stay with you until the aura ends, or until they are killed.
• Aura of Death. You carry the call of death with you, making the length of the bridge between life and death shorter. When a creature enters the aura, it must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or have disadvantage on its death saving throws until the aura ends. On a failed save, it also becomes vulnerable to one of the following damage types of your choice for the duration of the aura: cold, fire, or necrotic. If there are any creatures with resistance to the chosen damage type within the aura, the damage ignores this resistance.
• Vampiric Aura. You take life so that you may live longer. You regain 3d6 hit points every time you score a critical hit against a creature within the aura.
• Aura of Power. Your aura crushes the enemies within it and overwhelms them with the powers you possess. When you make a successful melee weapon attack against a creature within the aura, you can choose to score a critical hit instead. You can use this feature on every attack you make for the duration of the aura, however, you can score a critical hit on the same creature using this feature only once before finishing a long rest.
• Sickening Aura. A noxious aura emanates from you with a sickening smell, and it spreads disease to life around you. When a creature enters the aura, it must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or take 6d6 poison damage and becomes poisoned until the aura ends. Also, after it takes this poison damage, it becomes vulnerable to poison damage for the duration of the aura. A creature that succeeds on its saving throw becomes immune to this effect for 24 hours.
• Aura of Fear. Your very existence frightens your enemies, showing them their deepest fears. Creatures in the aura must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or are frightened for the duration of the aura. They can repeat their saving throws at the end of each of their turns. On a successful save, the frightened condition ends. If a creature fails three consecutive saving throws with a difference of more than 5 in each outcome, it has a heart attack because of the unbearable fear and falls unconscious, starting to make death saving throws.
• Clouding Aura. An aura of evil emanates from you and clouds the senses of others around you. Creatures within the aura must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or are blinded or deafened for the duration of the aura. They can repeat their saving throws at the end of each of their turns. On a successful save, the condition ends. If a creature fails three consecutive saving throws with a difference of more than 5 in each outcome, it becomes blinded or deafened (that is chosen by you) permanently. These effects can be removed by a remove curse spell.
• Aura of Temptation. An aura of evil emanates from you, hiding your true intentions and playing with the minds of others that see you as their friend. Creatures within the aura must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or become charmed for the duration of the aura. They can repeat their saving throws at the end of each of their turns. On a successful save, the condition ends. If a creature fails three consecutive saving throws with a difference of more than 5 in each outcome, it becomes charmed permanently. This charm can be removed by a remove curse spell.

You can use this feature a number of times equal to half your proficiency bonus (rounded down). You must finish a long rest to regain any expended uses.

Node of Evil

Your evil deeds and the corruption in your soul make you a node of evil energies. In all the planes and all the realms of the universe, you are now one of the points where evil forces come together. Starting at 15th level, you leave an evil trace behind you wherever you go. This trace can be seen by the detect evil and good spell and can be sensed by the creatures who follow your deity. The trace stays intact for 1 week.

Some of those creatures follow in your footsteps. You gain one follower whose challenge rating is equal to or lower than 1/2, once a week. These followers are neither charmed nor dominated by you; however, they hold you in the highest regard and respect you or are afraid of you. So, they can be negotiated with, or intimidated. You can form a little cult with these followers and become a cult leader yourself.

Evil Incarnation

You are evil incarnate. You are one of the most evil and foul creatures alive. You are the shadow of your dark deity. You repeat its words, carry its powers, and execute its will. Starting at 20th level, you gain a special power granted by your deity. As an action, you can call upon your dark deity, and undergo a dark transformation with its presence within you. This transformation lasts 1 minute. Through this transformation your body goes through a profane metamorphosis, changing in a way so that it looks like a shadow of your deity. During the transformation, you gain the following benefits:

• You can use your Evil Blast feature every round without expending its uses.
• You can have two of the auras listed in the Unholy Embodiment feature at the same time.
• You gain resistance to one of the following damage types: bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing coming from nonmagical attacks.
• You gain resistance to one of the following damage types: cold, fire, or necrotic.
• Your weapon attacks open vital wounds, lowering the hit point maximum of your target by 2 each time you deal damage with a weapon attack. The target creature must finish a long rest before it can regain the points deducted from its hit point maximum.

Once you use this feature, you must finish a long rest before you can use it again.

Related Locations

• Mindabar