Subclass Warlock Undead Patron
The Undead Patron is a fear and Necrotic damage Warlock subclass. From Level 3 you can transform into an avatar of your patron's power to project Frightened conditions, at Level 6 your necrotic damage ignores Resistance, and at Level 10 you gain Necrotic Resistance plus a once-per-rest detonation that picks you back up when you drop.
This is a full progression subclass with features at Levels 3, 6, and 10, and an expanding spell list across all odd levels through Level 9.
| LEVEL | FEATURE |
|---|---|
| 3 | Form of Dread, Undead Spells |
| 5 | Undead Spells (expanded) |
| 6 | Grave Touched |
| 7 | Undead Spells (expanded) |
| 9 | Undead Spells (expanded) |
| 10 | Necrotic Husk |
Form of Dread is an activated transformation, not a permanent passive. It runs on its own action resource:
- Cost: Bonus Action + 1 Form of Dread charge
- Charges: Equal to your Charisma modifier, minimum 1 — so 2 at Charisma 14, 3 at 16, 4 at 18, 5 at 20
- Recharge: Long Rest
- Duration: 10 turns (1 minute)
While transformed you gain three benefits:
Facsimile of Life — You gain Temporary Hit Points equal to 1d10 + your Warlock level, rolled when you transform.
Fearless Form — You have Immunity to the Frightened condition for as long as the form lasts.
Frightful Avatar — Once per turn, when you hit a creature with an attack roll, it must make a Wisdom saving throw against your Spell Save DC.
- Failure: The target has the Frightened condition until the end of your next turn.
At Level 10, Necrotic Husk adds Necrotic immunity to the form as well.
Your pact grants you a permanently expanded spell list that grows as you level. These spells are always prepared and do not count against your Prepared Spells limit.
| WARLOCK LEVEL | SPELLS ADDED |
|---|---|
| 3 | Bane, Blindness, Phantasmal Force, Ray of Sickness |
| 5 | Speak with Dead, Animate Dead |
| 7 | Greater Invisibility, Phantasmal Killer |
| 9 | Danse Macabre, Cloudkill |
10 spells total added to your list across the full progression — a toolkit built for fear, death, and control.
Grave Touched is a three-part passive that fundamentally changes how your necrotic damage works:
Arcane Necrosis — Necrotic damage from your attacks, Warlock spells, and Warlock features ignores Resistance to Necrotic damage. Creatures that would normally take half damage from necrotic sources take full damage from you.
Dreaded Necrosis — When you deal Necrotic damage with a spell, you cannot roll a 1 on any damage die. The floor on your necrotic output is raised permanently.
Undead Endurance — You don't need to sleep, and magic cannot put you to sleep. Immunity to the Sleep condition and any magical sleep effect.
At Level 6, necrotic Resistance no longer reduces your damage, minimum necrotic dice rolls are raised, and you become immune to magical sleep effects.
Necrotic Resilience — You have Resistance to Necrotic damage. While your Form of Dread is active, that Resistance becomes full Immunity.
Unholy Resuscitation — When you drop to 0 Hit Points without dying outright, your body erupts with deathly energy and you get straight back up instead of staying downed.
- Area: 9-meter radius around you
- Save: Constitution against your Spell Save DC
- Damage: 2d10 + your Charisma modifier Necrotic — half on a successful save
- Recovery: Your Hit Points are restored to twice your Warlock level
- Recharge: Short or Long Rest
This is the natural endpoint of the progression:
- Level 3: You inflict fear and project your patron's dread
- Level 6: Your necrotic damage bypasses resistance and gets a minimum floor
- Level 10: You shrug off the damage type you specialize in, and dying once per rest costs you nothing
The Undead Patron is a Charisma-based control and necrotic striker that becomes increasingly resilient to its own damage type while making enemies more vulnerable to it.
Your combat identity:
- Open a fight with Form of Dread — the Temporary Hit Points land immediately, and every turn after that your first hit forces a Wisdom save or Frightened, which gives the target Disadvantage on attacks and stops it willingly moving toward you
- Charges are the limit, not uptime — you only get your Charisma modifier's worth per Long Rest, so save the form for fights where a full minute of fear pressure matters
- Blast with necrotic spells knowing Resistance does nothing from Level 6 onward
- Your necrotic damage dice never land on 1 — consistent, reliable output
- Magical sleep never works on you, and Frightened can't touch you while transformed
- At Level 10 you resist Necrotic damage at all times and absorb it entirely while transformed, and the first time you drop each rest you stand back up with twice your Warlock level in Hit Points while everything within 9 meters takes the blast