Loader image
Loader image
Back to Top

Blog

Nerdarchy > Dungeons & Dragons  > Become the Monster as The Undead Warlock from Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft
the undead warlock 5E D&D van richten's guide to ravenloft

Become the Monster as The Undead Warlock from Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft

D&D Ideas -- Weapons
Expanding 5E D&D Background Characteristics -- Noble

Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted venture into the Domains of Dread and play with dead things like The Undead from Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft. This Otherworldly Patron for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons slowly transforms a warlock into a form best suited to carry out the will of their ancient undead benefactor. Let’s get into it.

Storytelling through mechanics of 5E D&D

Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft includes one new Otherworldly Patron for 5E D&D. The Undead aims to provide players a pathway to a cool, creepy and effective warlock with a strong undead theme. Previously those concepts were left at the feet of The Undying Otherworldly Patron, a thematically identical warlock subclass option. Perhaps if The Undying were a core class option found in the Player’s Handbook then Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft may have instead offered Optional Class Features in a similar way to Primal Companion creating a better Beast Master ranger experience. But since the worst warlock Otherworldly Patron is in the supplemental Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide creating a new option wholecloth makes sense.

“You’ve made a pact with a deathless being, a creature that defies the cycle and life and death, forsaking its mortal shell so it might eternally pursue its unfathomable ambitions.” — The Undead warlock from Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft

When we explored each subclass option in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything here on the website I determined they fall into one of two buckets. Some like the Fey Wanderer Ranger Archetype, Path of Wild Magic Primal Path and Bard College of Creation lead me to believe 5E D&D is transitioning into a storytelling game, which I don’t fancy very much at all. This feeling is mitigated by character options like the Oath of the Watchers, Circle of Stars and others.

The Undead comes across a bit differently as a sort of third bucket, which I often refer to as a superhero character option for 5E D&D. These kinds of subclasses stick to a strong theme with features somewhat divorced from the core class. Instead the progression of features gives characters a gimmick not really dependent on their class. In the case of warlocks especially this isn’t quite so restrictive since this 5E D&D class is so versatile with access to Eldritch Invocations and the like. At the end of the day (and The Undead’s progression of features) these warlocks are all about the necrotic damage.

Here’s a breakdown of the The Undead features along with commentary:

The Undead features

  • Expanded Spell List. Some of these seem on brand for the sorts of eldritch knowledge The Undead might reveal to a warlock and others feel tacked on for effectiveness. They’re all quite good and about half are identical to The Undying. I guess I’m not sure how some fit thematically. Bane, phantom steed and cloudkill represent the forces of life and death? These Undead Expanded Spells suggest these warlocks are resilient debuffers from a distance.
  • Form of Dread. While I like features and mechanics using characters’ proficiency bonus as a calculating factor this also means a quick multiclass dip for a 1st level feature feels like cheating. One of the three benefits this feature provides relies on warlock level however. Temporary hit points and attacks causing the frightened condition on those hit by them suggest these warlocks prefer the action take place somewhere other than near them. Essentially this toughens up the warlock a little bit, at least soaking up a little damage until eldritch blast scares the newly frightened enemies away.
  • Grave Touched. The Undead warlock eliminates the need to eat, drink or breathe four levels before The Undying although the latter also need not sleep and ages slower. The former on the other hand transforms damage from attack rolls into necrotic damage. If Form of Dread is going the attack deals an extra damage die too. The thing to consider for character features like these is the type of campaign the character is involved with. In a campaign featuring lots of undead (not a stretch in a Ravenloft setting) characters like this fit in too closely. Seeking to emulate the undead grants powers basically less effective against those same creatures. They who become a monster should look to it that they themselves do not fight with monsters who are resistant or immune to their powers. Friedrich Nietzsche would be proud.
  • Necrotic Husk. At this point The Undead warlock is very edgy. They’re all about the necrotic damage except for when they’re on the receiving end. All this built up necrotic power serves a darker purpose too. When death nears for these warlocks they can expel a burst of this dark energy washing over nearby creatures and damages them. This causes exhaustion, which is essentially meaningless in combat. There’s a disconnect for me here as well because if the idea is the warlock’s body erupting with deathly energy as a reaction to imminent death it seems weird they can control who is affected by the wave of energy.
  • Spirit Projection. I like a lot of what I see in this feature where the warlock kinda becomes an apparition with flight, perks when casting conjuration or necromancy spells, the ability to move through creatures and objects, some damage resistances and self healing via the necrotic damage they deal. Maintaining this state requires concentration, which is a major drawback for a spellcaster but really The Undead warlock feels more about throwing around necrotic eldritch blasts anyway. The weird part of this feature that doesn’t jive for me is the separation of spirit and body. This seems like it would be very clunky in practice and for my taste it would be cooler to completely transform into the spirit form. It’s also bizarre how ending the effect can cause the physical body to teleport to where the spirit form is at the time.

The Undead warlock gives me vibes like several other recent 5E D&D subclasses in the sense it feels more like a superhero than a fantasy adventurer. In this case the features lean into an edgy creep master all about necrotic damage. I understand the great appeal this holds for a ton of players though. I get it but this kind of theme just isn’t very interesting to me. For people who love playing characters who could easily be the NPC villain of an undead themed campaign this one no doubt slaps.

*Featured image — A wood elf warlock of The Undead as seen in the fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything playing with dead and undead things. [Image courtesy Wizards of the Coast]

New videos every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel here

Share
Doug Vehovec

Nerditor-in-Chief Doug Vehovec is a proud native of Cleveland, Ohio, with D&D in his blood since the early 80s. Fast forward to today and he’s still rolling those polyhedral dice. When he’s not DMing, worldbuilding or working on endeavors for Nerdarchy he enjoys cryptozoology trips and eating awesome food.

No Comments

Leave a Reply