The Undying One
Warlock Subclass
This replaces the Undying and Undead subclasses, for use in this setting. It is as follows:
Among the various Olyphian Mystics dedicated to the service of Olyph, the Memory of the Gods, are various men and women who have entered into a binding pact with the Undying One in return for secret knowledge and arcane favors. Working through such individuals in quid pro quo fashion, the God-Who-Was deftly exerts his subtle influence and agency upon the world.
Disciplined Selfishness
This is a path for those who are entirely focused on transforming themselves into a state of undeath, a difficult and isolating journey that requires unswerving dedication, determination, and total self focus. You might not be actively malevolent, but you have no time for charity or wasting effort to help others while you are seeking your ultimate goal of undeath, and likely have little interest in doing so once you acheive it. When you would take a level in this subclass, including the 1st level, you cannot take that level if you are chaotic or good.
Expanded Spells
The Undying One lets you choose from an expanded list of spells when you learn a warlock spell. The following spells are added to the warlock spell list for you.
Spell Level | Spells |
|---|---|
1 | False Life, Inflict Wounds |
2 | Gentle Repose, Wither and Bloom |
3 | Animate Dead, Speak with Dead |
4 | Arcane Eye, Phantasmal Killer |
5 | Commune, Modify Memory |
Undeath Affinity
Starting at 1st level, while not incapacitated you sense the location of any undead within 60 feet of you that isn't protected from divination magic; this sense doesn't tell you anything about an undead creature's capabilities or identity however. Additionally, the initial disposition of undead towards you is friendly, and they will not deliberately attack you directly or indirectly unless their disposition changes to hostile.
Soultap
Starting at 1st level, you know the secret of harnessing the departing life forces of others to strengthen your own soul. If you are not incapacitated and have not taken radiant damage since your previous turn, you may regain hit points equal to your warlock level (minimum of 1 hit point) when a living biological creature dies by any means within a 5-foot radius of you. This increases to a 10-foot radius at 6th class level, a 15-foot radius at 10th class level, and a 20-foot radius at 14th class level.
Pact Boon
At 3rd level, when you gain the Pact Boon feature you have a wide selection available to you. In addition to Pacts that lack prerequisites such as the Pact of the Blade or the Pact of the Chain, you may also select the Pact of the Perfidious, or any other Pact for which you meet the prerequisites.
Necrotic Surge
Starting at 6th level, when you are reduced to 0 hit points, you can use your reaction to cause your body to erupt with deathly energy. If you do, each living biological creature within 30 feet of you must make a Constitution saving throw against DC 12 + half your warlock level (rounded down). On a failed save, a creature takes necrotic damage equal to 4d8 + your Charisma bonus. On a successful save, a creature takes half as much damage. You have hit points equal to the total necrotic damage taken by all affected creatures (up to your maximum hitpoints) instead of 0 hit points. You must finish a long rest before you can use this feature again.
Undead Body
Starting at 10th level, you have successfully transformed yourself into a state of undeath. You no longer age, you can't be aged magically, you do not need to breathe, you no longer need to eat or sleep, and no magic can make you sleep. You may still gain the benefit of rests, but must spend the requisite time doing nothing more strenuous than light activity. You have resistance to necrotic, bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage. You gain immunity to disease as well as to poison damage and to the poisoned and exhausted conditions. However, you are no longer a living creature; you are considered to be undead and are now vulnerable to radiant damage.
Phylactery
When you reach 14th level, you may spend 2d10 weeks to turn an object worth at least 1000 gp that you are carrying upon your person into your phylactery, transfering your soul into the object. Regardless of what kind of object you used to make your phylactery, it now has 20 AC and 20 hit points and detects as having a faint aura of necromantic magic. Once your phylactery is completed, you may do whatever you wish with it. The common practice is to carefully hide it someplace very safe and very secret.
At dusk of each day, if you are dead and your phylactery still exists and a new body made by it does not currently exist, the phylactery will cause a new body identical to your original one to come into existence (unclothed and with no equipment) in the closest open space within 5 feet sufficient to fit the body. The new body made by the phylactery is an inert and empty vessel for 1d10 days; at the end of which if you still remain dead the body becomes your new self and you awaken within it refreshed as if you have just completed a long rest. If there isn't sufficient open space within 5 feet of the phylactery to fit the body, such as if it is buried or encased in stone or currently residing in an extradimensional storage space, this process is suspended until such a time as there is sufficient open space. If your previous body is returned to life by other means prior to you becoming conscious in your new body, the process is halted and the new body discorporates.
You may only have one phylactery at a time; if your phylactery is destroyed and you still survive your soul returns to you. If this occurs you may subsequently make another phylactery following the previously described process.