Those who walk the path of the Pale Banner do not lead the living—they command the dead. These Warlords have unlocked the secrets of necromantic warfare, raising and commanding legions of tireless, unyielding soldiers from the remains of the fallen. Whether serving dark gods, lost empires, or some higher purpose, the generals of the Pale Banner wield the forces of undeath as a weapon, ensuring that war never truly ends.
Commander of the Fallen
3rd-Level Warlord (Academy of the Pale Banner) Feature
Your presence exerts control over the dead, allowing you to rally and command them as easily as others inspire the living. You gain the following benefits:
You learn the Bone Chill cantrip. Additionally, you can cast Animate Dead once without expending a spell slot. Your Leadership ability is your spellcasting ability for these spells. Once you cast this spell in this way, you cannot do so again until you finish a long rest.
When you use Inspiring Word, you can target an Undead creature under your control, even if it is Mindless. Instead of granting temporary hit points, your voice channels negative energy and it regains hit points equal to the number of temporary hit points it would have gained.
Undead creatures under your control add your Leadership modifier to their attack rolls while within 30 feet of you.
Pale Banner's Exploits
3rd-Level Warlord (Academy of the Pale Banner) Feature
You learn certain Exploits at the Warlord levels noted in the table below. They do not count against your total number of Exploits Known and cannot be switched upon gaining a level.
| Warlord Level | Exploit |
|---|
| 3rd | attack order, maneuvering order |
| 5th | hold the line, intimidating command |
| 9th | pack tactics |
Endless March
6th-Level Warlord (Academy of the Pale Banner) Feature
Your undead forces heed your call, moving in perfect unison. When you roll initiative, all
Undead creatures under your control that can see or hear you immediately shift up to half their speed.
Additionally, when you use Rallying Cry, undead creatures of your choice within 30 feet of you gain resistance to radiant and positive energy damage and cannot be turned for 1 minute.
Lastly, Mindless undead see you as one of their own, and will not attack you unless you or your companions attack them first, and you can cast
Animate Dead using your Commander of the Fallen trait up to twice, regaining all expended uses when you finish a long rest.
Dread Commander
14th-Level Warlord (Academy of the Pale Banner) Feature
Your mere presence bolsters your undead warriors and strikes terror into your enemies. You gain the following benefits:
When an Undead creature under your control within 30 feet of you reduces a creature to 0 hit points, you can expend one exploit die as a reaction to have the slain creature immediately rise as a zombie under your control for a number of hours equal to your Leadership modifier.
When you use an Exploit, you can choose one undead creature under your control that can see or hear you within 30 feet of you. That creature can use its reaction to make a weapon attack.
Undead under your control score a critical hit on a roll of 19 or 20.
Additionally, your undead minions no longer require mental commands to follow your orders; they act autonomously with tactical intelligence, prioritizing enemies as if they were well-trained soldiers.
Legion of the Pale Banner
18th-Level Warlord (Academy of the Pale Banner) Feature
Your mastery over the dead reaches its peak, allowing you to sustain an endless, tireless army, granting the following benefits:
Undead creatures under your control within 30 feet of you have advantage on all saving throws.
If an undead creature under your control is reduced to 0 hit points, it remains animated for until the end of its next turn, then dies as normal.
When you animate a creature using your Dread Commander trait, the animated creature is permanent, as though animated using Animate Dead.
When you finish a long rest, you can expend 1 Exploit die for every 2 Undead creatures under your control to reassert your control over them.
When you roll initiative, you can immediately raise up to 5 corpses or sets of bones within 30 feet of you as skeletons or zombies for 1 minute. Once you use this feature, you cannot do so again until you finish a long rest.
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