Death Knight

Intense blue-green magic pours from a female-presenting wizard in the background, lifting her from the ground and flaring her waist-length white hair behind her. She is surrounded by skeletal minions brandishing rusty weapons.

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Some Necromancers are content to sit in dusty tombs with moldering tomes, occasionally picking apart a battlefield for fresh ingredients and new company. By contrast, Death Knights are predators among scavengers, seizing their goals through a melding of magic and traditional combat. Bolstered with dark energies and sturdy armor, the Death Knight wields weapons edged with death itself. They are simultaneously the vanguard and general of their Undead forces, unafraid of getting their hands dirty when necessary.

Level 3: Combat Research

Your training in the art of war grants you the following benefits.

Martial Training. You gain proficiency with Martial weapons and training with Light armor, Medium armor, and Shields.

Charnel Strike. When you use Charnel Touch, you can make a melee attack with a weapon as a Bonus Action later on the same turn.

Somatic Components. You can perform the Somatic components of spells even when you have weapons or a Shield in one or both hands.

Level 3: Charnel Resilience

When you deal Necrotic damage with your Charnel Touch, you gain Temporary Hit Points equal to the Necrotic damage dealt.

Level 6: Extra Attack

You can attack twice instead of once whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.

In addition, you can use your Charnel Touch or cast one of your cantrips that has a casting time of an action in place of one of those attacks

Level 10: Overcharged Thralls

When one of your thralls is reduced to 0 Hit Points or you release it, you regain a number of expended Charnel Touch points equal to your Necromancer level.

Level 20: Imperator [Lichdom]

You have reached the pinnacle of Necromancy and transformed yourself into a lich. Due to your martial capabilities and inner nexus of necromantic power, you have transformed into an imperator lich—an Undead creature unmatched in both arcane and combat prowess. You gain the following benefits in addition to those of your Lichdom feature.

Heavy Armor Training. You gain training with Heavy Armor.

Damage Resistance. You gain Resistance to Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing damage.

Improved Charnel Strike. When you use Charnel Touch, you can make two melee attacks with a weapon as a Bonus action later on the same turn.

Peerless Necrotic Damage. When you deal Necrotic damage with Charnel Touch or a Necromancer spell, it ignores Resistance and Immunity to Necrotic damage.