Unchained
Unchained are a rare occurrence. Very few necromancers willingly create undead with full human intelligence. Those who do almost always leave in magic that ensures their complete, unquestioning loyalty. However, this is not infallible. It is possible for this control to slip or be broken, and while rare, also possible for an undead to maintain their sanity afterwards. Thus, the Unchained.
Unlike Reborn, an Unchained is undeniably undead. They were raised by a corpse and powered by the Negative Energy plane. Being an Unchained, you’ve become powered by another source altogether, or have learned how to suppress your natural inclination towards evil. Regardless, the experience leaves all Unchained with the same deathlessness- shrugging off would-be mortal wounds and reattaching limbs as if they were nothing.
Many Unchained struggle with finding purpose in the world after breaking free from the forces controlling them. Most tend to live in solitude or among small communities of other Unchained, fearing backlash from common society. Others take to serving gods of death, finding solace in something they’ve escaped. A rare few become necromancers with their own undead, and a rarer few make it their mission to ensure no one else is made an undead like them, becoming paladins.
The circumstances behind new Unchained are hardly understood. You can roll on the Unchained Origin table to decide your own creation, or use it for inspiration.
Ability Score Increase
When determining your character's ability scores, increase one score by 2 and increase a differnt score by 1, or increase three different scores by 1. Follow this rule regardless of the method you use to determine the scores, such as rolling or point buy. The "Quick Build" section for your character's class offers suggestions on which scores to increase. You can follow those suggestions or ignore them, but you can't raise any of your scores above 20.
Creature Type
Your creature type is Undead.
Size
Your size is Medium or Small.
Speed
Your walking speed is 25 feet.
Darkvision
The necrotic magic that raised you into undeath still lingers ever so slightly. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
Resilient Soul
You can be healed or stablized by spells and features that normally exclude undead. However, any instance of healing you receive this way is reduced by an amount equal to your proficiency bonus.
State of Undeath
You are a being that has been raised from the dead, represented by the following benefits:
Undead Fortitude
When you are reduced to 0 hit points but not killed outright, you can make a Constitution saving throw with a DC equal to 5 + the damage taken. On a success, you drop to 1 hit point instead. When you use this trait, or when you take radiant damage or suffer a critical hit, this trait doesn’t function until the start of your next turn.
Unchained on dndbeyond
Unique Constitution
Purpose Beyond Death
Many Unchained struggle with finding purpose in the world after breaking free from the forces controlling them. Most tend to live in solitude or among small communities of other Unchained, fearing backlash from common society. Others take to serving gods of death, finding solace in something they’ve escaped. A rare few become necromancers with their own undead, and a rarer few make it their mission to ensure no one else is made an undead like them, becoming paladins.
Varied Origins
The circumstances behind new Unchained are hardly understood. You can roll on the Unchained Origin table to decide your own creation, or use it for inspiration.
| d6 | Unchained Origin |
|---|---|
| 1 | Summoner's Death. Whatever dark person or entity created you died. Despite all odds, you somehow avoided going feral and instead gained sapience. |
| 2 | Planar Experiment. You or your summoner traveled through another plane. Unexpectedly, their control over you was shattered in the process. |
| 3 | Turn Undead. When a cleric raised its symbol to turn away all undead, it was slightly too effective, breaking all control placed upon your mind. |
| 4 | Positive Affirmation. Through pure circumstance you managed to tap into the Positive Energy Plane, and learned to use it as the power that fuels your body. |
| 5 | Planned Break. After months of planning, you enacted a ritual that broke your summoner's control over you. You ran away soon after. |
| 6 | Intentional Creation. Either out of genuine affection, scientific pragmaticism, or mild insanity, your summoner chose to give you free will. |
Features and Traits
Ability Score Increase
When determining your character's ability scores, increase one score by 2 and increase a differnt score by 1, or increase three different scores by 1. Follow this rule regardless of the method you use to determine the scores, such as rolling or point buy. The "Quick Build" section for your character's class offers suggestions on which scores to increase. You can follow those suggestions or ignore them, but you can't raise any of your scores above 20.
Creature Type
Your creature type is Undead.
Size
Your size is Medium or Small.
Speed
Your walking speed is 25 feet.
Darkvision
The necrotic magic that raised you into undeath still lingers ever so slightly. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
Resilient Soul
You can be healed or stablized by spells and features that normally exclude undead. However, any instance of healing you receive this way is reduced by an amount equal to your proficiency bonus.
State of Undeath
You are a being that has been raised from the dead, represented by the following benefits:
- You have advantage on saving throws against disease and being poisoned, and you have resistance to poison damage.
- You don't need to eat, drink, or breathe.
- You don't need to sleep, and magic can't put you to sleep. You can finish a long rest in 4 hours if you spend those hours in an inactive, motionless state, during which you retain consciousness.
- Whenever you finish a short or long rest, you can reattach any of your dismembered limbs.
Undead Fortitude
When you are reduced to 0 hit points but not killed outright, you can make a Constitution saving throw with a DC equal to 5 + the damage taken. On a success, you drop to 1 hit point instead. When you use this trait, or when you take radiant damage or suffer a critical hit, this trait doesn’t function until the start of your next turn.
Unchained on dndbeyond
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