Dark Magic
"Master of Death and Decay"

Dark Magic taps into forbidden, shadowy energies, often associated with curses, necromancy, and spells that manipulate fear and suffering. Dark Magic practitioners can summon shadows, inflict curses, and raise the dead to serve as undead minions. In a fantasy RPG, Dark Magic is often viewed with suspicion, and those who wield it may be feared or shunned. Characters skilled in Dark Magic can drain the life force of others, summon fearsome creatures of darkness, and bind souls to their will. However, the cost of using such magic is high, and its power often comes with a corrupting influence.

Necromancers are wielders of forbidden life‐and‐death magic. They channel the energies of the departed to drain life, command undead minions, and curse the living. This class is built around a resource called Soul Points (SP), fueling their dark spells and rituals.

Core Themes:

• Life Drain & Decay: Sap the vitality of foes to heal yourself.

• Undead Command: Animate skeletons, zombies, and more to serve as your minions.

• Curses & Corruption: Inflict debilitating curses that wither the soul and body.

• Forbidden Rituals: Tap into taboo knowledge to bolster your power or risk your sanity.

 

Level 1: Dark Initiate

• Soul Sense: You can sense the presence of nearby spirits or undead (within 30 ft).

• Chill Touch Cantrip: Your signature cantrip deals necrotic damage and prevents healing.

• Spellcasting: You learn necromancy spells from a dedicated list (see Spell List below). You use Intelligence or Wisdom (your choice) as your spellcasting ability.

 

Level 2: Life Leech

• Grasp of Decay: When you hit a creature with a necromancy spell, you regain HP equal to half the necrotic damage dealt.

• Raise Undead (Ritual): You can animate a skeleton or zombie from a corpse over a 10-minute ritual. The number of undead you control is limited by your level.

 

Level 3: Dark Paths

Choose one of your necromantic archetypes:

• Grave Warden: Focus on defensive wards, controlling the battlefield, and bolstering your undead army.

• Soul Reaver: Specialize in aggressive life drain, curses, and turning enemies’ life into raw power.

• Bone Sculptor: For those who shape and animate the very bones of the dead.

 

Level 5: Improved Animus

• Corporeal Command: Your animated undead gain additional HP and damage equal to your proficiency bonus.

• Cursing Touch: Your melee necromancy attacks can impose a minor curse (–1 to one ability check) until removed.

 

Level 7: Forbidden Knowledge

• Necrotic Mastery: When you cast a necromancy spell, you can spend 1 SP to increase its damage by 1d8.

• Gravebound: You gain resistance to necrotic damage and advantage on saving throws against being frightened by undead.

 

Level 10: Dark Communion

• Soul Exchange: Once per long rest, you can sacrifice up to 5 of your SP to regain hit points or restore spell slots equal to the SP spent.

• Animate Greater Undead: Your Raise Undead ritual now animates more potent forms (e.g., ghouls, wights) if corpses are suitably decayed.

 

Level 14: Cursed Dominion

• Undeath Sovereign: Undead you control add your Intelligence/Wisdom modifier to their attack rolls and damage.

• Life Drain Aura: Creatures starting their turn within 10 ft of you take necrotic damage equal to half your level (save DC equals your spell save DC to avoid).

• Enhanced Spellcasting: Necromancy spells you cast without SP cost when targeting creatures below 50% HP.

Level 18: Master of Souls

• Soul Sacrifice: You can sacrifice your own HP (up to half your max) to gain SP equal to twice the HP sacrificed.

• Eternal Servitude: Your control over undead is so potent that even if a creature is destroyed, it rises as a spectral wraith under your command for 1 minute.

 

Level 20: Death’s Ascendancy

• Avatar of the Reaper: Once per long rest, you transform into a spectral avatar for 1 minute:

  • You gain immunity to necrotic and psychic damage.

  • Your spells and melee attacks deal maximum necrotic damage.

  • All creatures within 20 ft must make a Wisdom save or be frightened for 1 minute.

• Undying Legacy: When reduced to 0 HP, you can choose to drop to 1 HP instead. Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.

 

Dark Magic Spell List (Examples by Tier)

Cantrips:

• Chill Touch: Ranged spell attack, 1d8 necrotic; prevents healing until next turn.

• Toll the Dead: Target takes extra necrotic damage if it is missing HP.

• Spiritual Mending: Minor healing cantrip that heals 1d6 but leaves a trace of gloom.

1st-Level Spells:

• Ray of Sickness: 2d6 poison damage and possible poisoning.

• Arms of Hadar: Tendrils of dark energy lash out (necrotic damage in area).

• False Life: Gain temporary HP using forbidden vitality.

2nd-Level Spells:

• Blindness/Deafness: Affect one creature’s senses.

• Gentle Repose: Preserve a corpse and halt decay.

• Chill Touch (Enhanced): An upgraded version dealing 2d8 necrotic and sapping strength.

3rd-Level Spells:

• Animate Dead: Raise skeletons or zombies from corpses.

• Vampiric Touch: Melee spell attack; deal necrotic damage and heal you for half.

• Speak with Dead: Commune with departed souls.

4th-Level Spells:

• Blight: Deal heavy necrotic damage, especially effective on plants.

• Phantasmal Killer: Create illusory terror (fits the necromantic theme).

• Shadow of Death: Envelop a creature in gloom, reducing its attacks.

5th-Level Spells:

• Danse Macabre: Raise a large number of undead for a short period.

• Enervation: Drain life from multiple targets in a cone.

• Contagion: Inflict a deadly, necrotic disease.

6th-Level Spells:

• Circle of Death: Massive necrotic burst affecting all creatures in a large radius.

• Create Undead: Raise more potent undead like ghouls or mummies.

• Eyebite: Weaken, frighten, or even cause unconsciousness.

7th-Level Spells:

• Finger of Death: A powerful single-target spell that can outright kill and animate the victim as a zombie.

• Wave of Fatigue: Overwhelm foes with draining necrotic energy.

• Dark Resurgence: Temporarily increase your SP regeneration by channeling death’s energy.

8th-Level Spells:

• Abi-Dalzim’s Horrid Wilting: Drains moisture and life from creatures, causing massive necrotic damage.

• Horrid Contagion: Infect a creature with a supernatural disease.

• Soul Cage: Trap the soul of a dying creature for later use (such as regaining SP or commanding undead).

9th-Level Spells:

• Astral Abduction: Banish a creature’s soul to the Shadowfell, effectively removing it from battle.

• Flesh to Stone (Necrotic Variant): Turn living flesh to brittle, lifeless stone.

• Death Knell: Instantly slay a creature and raise it as a powerful undead servant under your command.

 

Necromancer Subclasses

Below are two detailed subclass paths with unique abilities and their spell lists.

Grave Warden (Defender & Undead Commander)

Focus: Bolstering undead minions, protecting allies with necrotic wards, and controlling the battlefield.

Subclass Abilities:

• 3rd Level – Gravebound:

  • When you animate undead, they gain extra hit points equal to your Necromancer level.

  • You can command undead with a bonus action, granting them advantage on attack rolls until the start of your next turn.

• 6th Level – Tomb Ward:

  • You create a necrotic shield around an ally or yourself. When hit by an attack, expend 1 SP to reduce the damage by 2d6.

  • Additionally, creatures striking you in melee take necrotic damage equal to your Intelligence/Wisdom modifier.

• 10th Level – Undying Legion:

  • Your Raise Dead and Create Undead spells affect additional corpses within 30 ft.

  • Whenever an undead under your control is destroyed, you may use a reaction to reanimate it with half its original HP.

• 14th Level – Warden’s Command:

  • As an action, you can grant all undead you control temporary hit points equal to twice your Necromancer level.

  • In addition, enemies within 10 ft of your undead must succeed on a Wisdom save or be frightened for 1 round.

• Expanded Spell List (Grave Warden):

  • 3rd: Animate Dead, Gentle Repose

  • 5th: Vampiric Touch, Danse Macabre

  • 9th: Finger of Death, Enervation

  • 13th: Create Undead (upgraded), Dark Resurgence

  • 17th: Death Knell, Wave of Fatigue

 

Soul Reaver (Aggressive Life-Drainer & Curse Master)

Focus: Directly siphoning life from foes, imposing debilitating curses, and turning enemy vitality into raw power.

Subclass Abilities:

• 3rd Level – Siphon Life:

  • When you hit a creature with a necromancy spell, you can choose to siphon additional life. Gain temporary HP equal to half the necrotic damage dealt.

  • You can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus per long rest.

• 6th Level – Curse of Withering:

  • As a bonus action, mark a creature for death. For 1 minute, it takes an extra 1d6 necrotic damage from all sources. The target can attempt a Save at the end of its turns to shake off the curse (ending it on a success).

• 10th Level – Soul Rend:

  • When you use Siphon Life, you may expend additional SP to force the target to make a death save immediately (DC = your spell Save DC), representing a ripping of its soul.

• 14th Level – Reaver’s Fury:

  • Once per long rest, when you reduce a creature to 0 HP, you can use an action that deals 3d6 necrotic damage.

• Expanded Spell List (Soul Reaver):

  • 3rd: Ray of Sickness, False Life

  • 5th: Blindness/Deafness, Vampiric Touch

  • 9th: Life Drain (homebrew variant that siphons more HP), Finger of Death

  • 13th: Horrid Contagion, Shadow of Death

  • 17th: Soul Cage, Astral Abduction

 

Bone Sculptor (Architect of the Fallen)

Focus: Crafting and manipulating bones to form weapons, armor, and animated constructs.

Subclass Abilities:

• 3rd Level – Bone Craft:

  • You learn to magically shape bones from corpses into simple weapons (bone dagger, bone club) or a temporary shield (+1 AC).

• 6th Level – Skeletal Swarm:

  • As an action, you can animate a swarm of bones from nearby corpses. The swarm acts on your command for 1 minute and deals 1d6 bludgeoning damage (Save for half).

• 10th Level – Ossuary Armor:

  • You gain a bonus to AC equal to your proficiency bonus when wearing no armor, as your bones reform into a protective lattice.

• 14th Level – Bone Colossus:

  • Once per long rest, you can animate an enormous bone construct (using a corpse as the base) that fights for 1 minute. It has hit points equal to twice your Necromancer level and deals 3d10 damage per attack.

• Expanded Spell List (Bone Sculptor):

  • 3rd: Animate Dead (with a bone flavor), Cause Fear

  • 5th: Gentle Repose, Bone Shatter (new, 4d8 force damage to bone-type creatures)

  • 9th: Create Undead (skeletons or bone constructs), Shadow of Death

  • 13th: Blight, Death Knell

  • 17th: Flesh to Bone (transform a creature's body to brittle bone), Bone Storm (summon a whirlwind of jagged bones)

 

Spellcasting Table for Necromancer

Like many full casters, necromancers prepare spells from their class list. Their spell slots and spells known follow a similar progression to that of a wizard, with additional benefits tied to your Soul Points and class features.