Get all 14 Grave Ambitions in the Complete Necromancer!
Overlord
There are few ambitions that capture the imagination more than the power to rule. From peasantry to nobility, many dream of a world in which they are in charge. Some necromancers, known as overlords, see their magic as a means to accomplish this pervasive dream. Seeking control both on and off the battlefield, overlords leverage their dark magic to bolster their allies and manipulate their foes.
Overlord Spells
When you choose this ambition at 3rd level, you learn additional spells as noted in the table below. Each of these spells counts as a necromancer spell for you, but doesn’t count against the number of necromancer spells you know.
| Spell Level | Spells |
| 1st | command, bane |
| 2nd | detect thoughts, hold person |
| 3rd | haste, slow |
| 4th | compulsion, confusion |
| 5th | dominate person, geas |
Charnel Boon
At 3rd level, you can grant a boon to minions by empowering them with your own potency. As a bonus action on your turn, you can expend 5 or more points from your Charnel Touch pool to empower each of your thralls within 30 feet of you. Until the end of your next turn, those thralls gain a +1 bonus to their attack rolls, damage rolls, and AC for every 5 points expended, up to a maximum of +3.
Despotic Discourse
When you reach 6th level, your black magic has granted you a silver tongue, which you can use to manipulate those around you. You gain proficiency in one of the following skills of your choice: Deception, Intimidation, or Persuasion.
Additionally, you can use your Intelligence, instead of Charisma, for Charisma (Deception), Charisma (Intimidation), and Charisma (Persuasion) checks.
Sacrificial Thralls
At 10th level, you can force your thralls to sacrifice themselves to ensure your own safety. When you are targeted by an attack, you can use your reaction to force a thrall within 5 feet of you to become the new target of the attack.
Once you use this feature, you can’t do so until you finish a short or long rest.
Lichdom: Tyrant
At 20th level, you have reached the pinnacle of necromancy and transformed yourself into a lich. Your desire for control has warped your transformation, turning you into a tyrant lich. Your flesh and bone rapidly decay, reducing your features to nothing more than two glowing dots beneath your hood. You gain the following features in addition to the Lichdom feature:
Immortal Rule. If you drop to 0 hit points, you can choose to possess a nearby body, instead of beginning the process of reforming at your phylactery. When you do so, choose an unconscious Humanoid or the corpse of one that has died within the last minute that is within 120 feet of you to possess (a creature warded by a protection from evil and good or magic circle spell can’t be possessed).
Once you possess a body, you control it. Your game statistics are replaced by the statistics of the creature, though you retain your alignment and your Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores. If the body has 0 hit points when you possess it, its type becomes Undead and it regains 50 hit points, up to its hit point maximum. You retain the benefit of your own class features. If the target has any class levels, you can’t use any of its class features.
If you possess the body of an unconscious creature, the creature makes a Charisma saving throw against your spell save DC after 8 hours, and it repeats the save every 8 hours thereafter until the effect ends. On a success, you are ejected from the body and begin the process of reforming at your phylactery. You are also ejected if the body dies or you choose to leave it as an action. Once you’ve possessed a creature in this way, you can’t possess it again using this feature.
Tyrant’s Influence. You can expend 25 points from your Charnel Touch pool to cast the spell dominate beast without expending a spell slot. You can also expend 30 points to cast the spell dominate person, or 60 points to cast the spell dominate monster without expending a spell slot.
