Death Knight

An elf stalks her old family home, keeping an eye on the family who thinks she’s dead. She dares not let them see her as she is now, a decrapid corpse, but she will kill anyone who dares threaten them. What she would give to be allowed to hug her children one final time.

A blistering cold sweeps through the tundra, the dwarf’s comrades shiver and huddle together. The dwarf looks back at them with pity in his eyes, for he feels no cold wind. At the rate this party is moving, that lich will have long escaped.

A dark stalker of the night, 3 feet tall and full of purpose, a female gnome stalks the streets for the undesirables of society. Murder is murder, but no one will miss a few vile criminals. Besides, she needs the blood for what is coming next.

When the Lich King’s control of his death knights was broken, his former champions sought revenge for the horrors committed under his command. After their vengeance was won, the death knights found themselves without a cause and without a home. One by one they trickled into the land of the living in search of a new purpose. Frost sharpens their strikes; blood fortifies their bodies; and undeath allows them to erupt in unholy rage in the heat of battle. A thousand atrocities are etched in the eyes of every death knight, and foes who gaze into them too long will feel the warmth pulled from their bodies, replaced with cold steel.

All death knights are born of tragedy and death, damned to sow misery in all that they do. But collectively as a group, they have decided to not let their curse define who they are or what they do. Damned to sow misery? So be it, let the enemies of the living and innocent alike suffer a most unholy plague as ice freezes their bodies and the blood is drained from their veins. A league of damned knights powered by death and with an unwavering resolve to atone for the sin that is their existence. Ask not for whom the death knight rides; the death knight rides for thee!

The Ebony Pact

After gaining freedom from the lich king, the surviving knights of the Ebonblade swore to bring an end to Arthas and his lackeys. But that alone is not enough. Many death knights take the Ebony Pact, an oath as much to themselves as it is to all life; as the night is dark and full of terrors, let the warriors of the damned fight on the front so as not to sacrifice warriors of the living. While many death knights prefer to distance themselves from civilization as much as possible, wherever they choose to settle finds raids from monsters far less frequent and the presence of criminals plummet.

An Old Life Almost Forgotten

The process of their creation was traumatic, and as a result most do not remember being turned, or much of their old life. Distorted memories from before come to them in flashes while resting, but these shards rarely help explain anything and often only lead to further questions about their old life.

Many death knights decide that their old lives should be forgotten, as they can never be returned too. Some try to at least reconnect with old loved ones, and try and explain or give closure. Others still take it as an opportunity to completely reinvent themself; after all, what better reason to change into a completely different person than to do so after dying.

Endless Hunger

Since being raised as a death knight you have suffered an endless hunger that can only be sated by inflicting suffering on others. This suffering often comes in the form of spilling blood or committing acts of torture, but however you go about doing it the gnawing pain in the back of your throat can not be sated until you have harmed a living being. Death knights who try to resist and fight this urge slowly descend into madness and become more like a feral mindless monster. Others have decided to sate this bloodlust on those who they feel deserve it most, while the cunning and cruel take it a step further; capture an undesirable no one will miss and keep them locked up and alive as misery cattle.

Creating a Death Knight

All death knights must answer the following question: I was alive, now dead, broken free from slavery to a false god, now what? What next? What does someone created to be a weapon against the living do now? You should consider what all the death knight remembers of their former life, and what they have forgotten. Perhaps while walking through a crowded city street a veteran comes up to you and acts like you two are old war buddies; only you have no memory of this man. Perhaps you have an old trinket you keep, a locket with a photo of someone in it. Who is this person? Were they a lover? A sibling? A child? A parent? A friend? Do you even remember? Do you even care? Consider how their new existence as a creature of the dead affects their outlook on life, are they cynical and depressed? Are they stoic and filled with resolve? Do they gain a sense of morbid optimism and humor?

Does your character follow the Ebony Pact, and if so how stringently? Would you serve as a protector of all life you see in need of saving, or do you focus your efforts on greater more pressing evils that threaten a larger whole? Or are you callous and spiteful towards the living, envious of what you have lost? And how does your character feel about the undead Forsaken? They too are creations of the Lich King broken free from his dark will. Do you see them as kindred? Comrades in arms? Do you see them with pity, or sympathise with their plight? What of your old ties to the factions and their war? Do you retain your allegiance to the Alliance or the Horde? Do you revel in the carnage or seek to stop the fighting?

However your personality develops these facts remain: You are now dead, your flesh cold and slowly rotting. You have forgotten much of your past life, and what you do remember are flashes and fadings. You are a warrior trained to kill with blade and magic. What will you do now?

Quick Build

You can make a death knight quickly by following these suggestions. First, Strength should be your highest attribute score, followed by Constitution. If you intend to be casting many spells, or join the Chapter of Unholy, instead make your Charisma the second highest attribute. Second, choose the soldier background.

Table: Death Knight

Level	Prof. Bonus	Features	Runes	Spells Known	Mana Points	Max Spell Level
1	+2	Devour Corpse, Runeblade, Undeath, Unholy Sense	—	—	—	—
2	+2	Fighting Style, Spellcasting, Death Strike	—	2	4	1st
3	+2	Ebon Chapter, Icebound Fortitude, Runeforging, Uncommon Runeblade	1	3	6	1st
4	+2	Improvement	1	3	6	1st
5	+3	Chapter Spells, Extra Attack	1	4	14	2nd
6	+3	Death Steed	2	4	14	2nd
7	+3	Chapter Feature	2	5	17	2nd
8	+3	Improvement	2	5	17	2nd
9	+4	Chapter Spells, Rare Runeblade	3	6	27	3rd
10	+4	Path of Frost	3	6	27	3rd
11	+4	Improved Death Strike	3	7	32	3rd
12	+4	Improvement	4	7	32	3rd
13	+5	Chapter Spells	4	8	38	4th
14	+5	Control Undead	4	8	38	4th
15	+5	Chapter Feature, Very Rare Runeblade	5	9	44	4th
16	+5	Improvement	5	9	44	4th
17	+6	Chapter Spells	5	10	57	5th
18	+6	On a Pale Horse	6	10	57	5th
19	+6	Improvement	6	11	64	5th
20	+6	Chapter Feature	6	11	64	5th

Class Features

As a death knight you gain the following class features.

Hit Points

Hit Dice: 1d10 per death knight level
Hit Points at 1st level: 10 + your Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d10 (or 6) + your Constitution modifier per death knight level after 1st

Proficiencies

Armor: all armor and shields, including tower shields
Weapons: Simple melee weapons and martial melee weapons
Tools: Smith’s Tools

Saving Throws: Strength, Constitution
Skills: Choose two from Animal Handling, Arcana, Athletics, History, Intimidation, Perception, and Religion

Equipment

You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:

• (a) a greatsword, (b) a greataxe, or (c) a longsword and a shortsword; any of which may be your runeblade
• (a) a dungeoneer’s pack or (b) an explorer’s pack
• A light crossbow and 20 bolts
• Chain mail

Devour Corpse

When presented with a mostly intact or whole humanoid corpse, you may spend an action devouring it. You recover 1d10 + your death knight level hit points. The corpse is effectively destroyed. Other creatures who see you devour a corpse must make a Wisdom saving throw, on a failure the observing creatures gain the Frightened condition until the end of your next turn. Once you use this feature you must finish a short or long rest before you can use it again.

Runeblade

“The runeblade you carry is designed to steal souls. Yours was the first one it claimed.”
“Then I shall make do without one, what is the Lich King’s will?”
- The Dreadlord Tichondrius and Fallen Prince Arthas

At the time of your awakening as a death knight, you are given the opportunity to create and bond to a fearsome weapon; a runeblade. This weapon will grow in power as you do. You must choose the form of weapon your runeblade takes when you create it, and this choice is permanent. Your runeblade may be any martial melee weapon that does not have the reach or thrown properties.

You can choose later to reforge a new runeblade from scratch, and requires 1 week of dedicated work at a runeforge and 5 gp of raw materials. Doing so causes you to lose your bond to your previous runeblade.

For now it is little more than a piece of intimidating looking steel, however it can serve the place of an arcane focus for your death knight spells and any death knight spells that have a somatic component you can cast while wielding the runeblade even if your hands wouldn’t otherwise be free to make the movements.

You may only have one runeblade bonded to you, and can only gain the runic augmentations of your bonded runeblade even if you were to pick up another runeblade.

At 3rd level your Runeblade becomes an Uncommon weapon, at 9th level it becomes a Rare weapon, and at 15th level it becomes a Very Rare weapon. Your Runeblade can not have infusions.

Undeath

As a death knight your type is now Undead. When you were first raised by the Lich King he tried to remove all emotion and memories of your past life. Few remember their past before being raised, and fewer still are capable of any positive emotions; even after breaking free of the Lich King’s will.

However, who you were in life continues to bleed through, and you may continue to act as mostly the same person with the same morals and convictions. Your skin is cold, and an examination of your body would suggest you are dead. As an undead creature you do not need to eat, drink, breath, sleep, or defecate. You can not be magically put to sleep. You must spend at least 4 hours a day resting your mind and relaxing. If you go a full day without this time to relax, you incur the normal penalties for not sleeping.

Unholy Sense

The presence of life registers on your senses like a noxious odor, and undeath rings like sorrowful music to your ears. As an action, you can open your awareness to detect such beings. Until the end of your next turn, you know the location of any humanoid or undead creature within 60 feet of you that is not behind total cover. You know the type of any being whose presence you sense and how healthy or close to death they seem, but not its identity. Within the same radius, you also detect the presence of any place or object that has been consecrated or desecrated, as with the Hallow spell.

You can use this feature a number of times equal to 1 + your Charisma modifier. When you finish a long rest, you regain all expended uses.

Fighting Style

At 2nd level, you adopt a style of fighting as your specialty. Choose one of the following options. You can't take a Fighting Style option more than once, even if you later get to choose again.

Arcane Warrior

You learn two cantrips from the mage spell list. They count as death knight spells for you, and Charisma is your spellcasting ability for them. Whenever you gain a level in death knight, you can replace one of these cantrips with another cantrip from the mage spell list.

Blind Fighting

Being unable to see a creature doesn’t impose disadvantage on your attack rolls against it, provided the creature isn’t hiding from you.

Defense

While you are wearing armor, you gain a +1 bonus to AC.

Dueling

When you are wielding a melee weapon in one hand and no other weapons, you gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls with that weapon.

Great Weapon fighting

When you roll a 1 or 2 on a damage die for an attack you make with a melee weapon that you are wielding with two hands, you can reroll the die and must use the new roll. The weapon must have the two-handed or versatile property for you to gain this benefit.

Interception

When a creature you can see hits a target that is within 5 feet of you with an attack, you can use your reaction to reduce the damage the target takes by 1d10 + your proficiency bonus (to a minimum of 0 damage). You must be wielding a shield or a weapon you are proficient with to use this reaction.

Natural Weapon

The damage dealt by your unarmed strikes increases by 1 die size (1 to 1d4 to 1d6 to 1d8 to 1d10 to 1d12) to a maximum of 1d12. If your unarmed strike damage includes multiple dice, only one of them increases in size. You may choose which to improve, but your choice is permanent.

Protection

When a creature you can see attacks a target other than you that is within 5 feet of you, you can use your reaction to impose disadvantage on the attack roll. You must be wielding a shield.

Thrown Weapon Fighting

You can draw a weapon that has the thrown property as part of the attack you make with the weapon. In addition, when you hit with a ranged attack using a thrown weapon, you gain a +1 bonus to the damage roll.

Two-Weapon Fighting

When you engage in two-weapon fighting, you can add your ability modifier to the damage of the second attack.

Unarmed Fighting

Your unarmed strikes can deal bludgeoning damage equal to 1d6 + your strength modifier. If you strike with two free hands, the d6 becomes a d8. When you successfully start a grapple, you can deal 1d4 bludgeoning damage to the grappled creature. Until the grapple ends, you can also deal this damage to the creature whenever you hit it with a melee attack.

Spellcasting

By 2nd level, you have learned to draw on dark magic through study and meditation. See Chapter 11 for the general rules of spellcasting and Chapter 12 for the death knight spell list.

Mana Points

You gain a pool of 4 mana points that you can use to cast spells. When you wish to cast a spell you expend a number of mana points as part of the action to cast the spell to create a spell slot of a given level as indicated on Table: Mana Point Cost, and then use that slot to cast a spell. You can’t reduce your mana point total to less than 0, and you regain all spent mana points when you finish a long rest.

The number of mana points you have to spend increases as you gain levels in this class, as shown in the Mana Points column on Table: Death Knight. Your death knight level also determines the maximum level spell slot you can create. Even though you might have enough points to create a slot above this maximum, you can’t do so.

Table: Mana Point Cost

Spell Level	Point Cost
1st	2
2nd	3
3rd	5
4th	6
5th	7

Spells Known of 1st Level and Higher

You know two 1st-level spells of your choice from the death knight spell list.

The Spells Known column of Table: Death Knight shows when you learn more death knight spells of your choice. Each of these spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots. For instance, when you reach 5th level in this class, you can learn one new spell of 1st or 2nd level.

Additionally, when you gain a level in this class, you can choose one of the death knight spells you know and replace it with another spell from the death knight spell list, which also must equal to or less than the death knight maximum spell level.

Spellcasting Ability

Charisma is your spellcasting ability for your death knight spells, since your magic draws on unholy energies that infuse you. You use your Charisma modifier whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Charisma modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a death knight spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.

Spellcasting Versatility

Whenever you finish a long rest, you can replace one death knight spell you know with another spell from the death knight spell list. The new spell must be of the same level as the spell you replace.

Death Strike

Starting at 2nd level, when you hit a creature with a runeblade, you may expend one death knight spell slot to deal necrotic damage to the target, in addition to the weapon’s normal damage. The extra damage is 2d6 for a 1st-level spell slot, plus 1d6 for each spell level higher than 1st, to a maximum of 5d6. If Death Strike deals damage to a humanoid creature, you recover a number of hit points equal to 1d6 + your death knight level.

Ebon Chapter

When you reach 3rd level, your fellow knights pressure you into joining a chapter of the Ebon Blade. You are familiar with the chapters and their disciplines, but now you must devote yourself to one of them. Now you can choose the Chapter of Blood, Chapter of Frost, or Chapter of Unholy, all detailed at the end of the class description.

Your choice grants you features at 3rd level and again at 7th, 15th, and 20th level. Those features include chapter spells.

Chapter Spells

Each chapter has a list of associated spells. You gain access to these spells at the levels specified in the chapter’s description. Once you gain access to a chapter spell, it becomes a known spell for you. If you already know a spell that is also one of your chapter spells, you must choose a new spell to learn in its place taken from the death knight spell list. Chapter spells don't count against the number of spells you can known, and you can not trade a chapter spell for another spell you could know.

If you gain a chapter spell that doesn't appear on the death knight spell list, the spell is nonetheless a death knight spell for you.

Icebound Fortitude

By 3rd level, your undeath progresses further and you are now resistant to cold and poison damage and immune to disease.

Runeforging

At 3rd level the runes in your runeblade start to awaken, increasing its power. The number of runes that have awoken in your runeblade are shown on Table: Death Knight. At levels 3rd, 6th, 9th, 12th, 15th, and 18th a new rune awakens and you may choose which runic augmentations become active. Runic augmentations cost a number of runes, and you must have the required number of runes awaken and not used by a different runic augmentation to gain its effects. You only gain the benefits of a runic augmentation while you are wielding your runeblade. Additionally, starting at 3rd level your runeblade counts as a magical weapon for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage.

You also learn the art of runeforging: changing the runes on your runeblade and then reforging it to change its dark powers. Runeforging lets you change the runic augmentations on your runeblade, but costs time and materials as well as access to a runeforge; several can be found in Acherus. Runeforging requires 8 hours of work, as well as 50 sp of materials per rune being reforged. If you are proficient in smith’s tools, you can make a Strength or Intelligence (Smith’s Tools) check to potentially speed up the process.

Rune Augmentations

Blighted Runeblade
2 Runes
When you make an attack with your runeblade against a creature suffering the effects of a disease, you may choose to have your runeblade become a carrier of that disease. Later, when you attack a creature with your runeblade that is not affected by the disease, you may have the disease spread to the target creature. The creature must make a Constitution saving throw against your death knight spell save DC, and if they fail they become infected with the disease. If the creature succeeds the saving throw, they are immune to your blighted runeblade for the next hour. You may only have one disease carried by your runeblade at a time.
Call of the Damned
1 Rune
As a bonus action you summon your runeblade to your hands. This fails if the runeblade is not on the same plane of existence as you.
Cinderglacer
1 Rune
Your runeblade deals an additional 1d6 necrotic damage on a hit.
Fallen Crusader
3 Runes
When you score a critical strike with your runeblade, you recover hit points equal to your death knight level + your Strength modifier.
Icy Talons
2 Runes
When you score a critical hit with your runeblade, you may make another attack with your runeblade, and an attack with an off hand weapon if you are wielding one, this turn as a bonus action. These attacks may not critically hit.
Killing Machine
2 Runes
Attacks with your runeblade critically hit on a 19 or 20.
Lichbane
2 Runes
When your runeblade deals damage to an undead creature, you may choose to reroll one of the damage dice rolled. You must accept the new roll, even if it is worse.
Lifebane
2 Runes
When your runeblade deals damage to a humanoid creature, you may choose to reroll one of the damage dice rolled. You must accept the new roll, even if it is worse.
Nerubian Carapace
1 Rune
While you are not wielding a shield, you gain a +1 bonus to AC.
Spellbreaking
2 Runes
When your runeblade damages a creature, you have advantage on saving throws against any spells that creature casts until the start of your next turn.
Stoneskin Gargoyle
3 Runes
As an action you become petrified, your AC becomes 17, and you may choose to expend a hit die to recover hit points equal to 1d10 + your death knight level. While you remain petrified by this feature, you may expend another hit die on the end of your turn to recover hit points equal to 1d10 + your death knight level. You may end the effect on the end of your your turn, no longer being petrified.
Sudden Doom
3 Runes
When you score a critical hit with your runeblade, you may cast death coil as a 1st level spell without expending any mana points before the end of your next turn.
Swordbreaking
2 Runes
When you are attacked and wielding your runeblade, you may use your reaction to increase your AC against the attack by 3, potentially causing it to miss.
Razorice
1 Rune
Your runeblade deals an additional 1d6 cold damage on a hit.

Improvement

At 4th level, and again at levels 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th you may choose to increase one ability score by 2, two ability scores by 1, or gain a feat. As normal, you may not improve an ability score above 20 using this feature.

Extra Attack

Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.

Death Steed

At 6th level you learn how to raise a Death Steed, an undead mount who can aid in transportation and combat. This requires the corpse of a horse and a 10 minute long ritual, the end of which raises a Death Steed, using the statistics for a Warhorse Skeleton. As an undead mount it does not tire nor eat nor sleep and can gallop at full speed unendingly. It may be directed to aid you in combat as per a normal mount. You may only have one Death Steed raised at a time, raising a new one will release the old, causing it to collapse. A raised Death Steed lasts until slain or released.

Path of Frost

Starting at 10th level a freezing aura surrounds you and your Death Steed, covering the ground in a layer of permafrost as you walk and freezing water solid. This allows you to walk over most fluids as if they were solid and other creatures can follow behind you safely. The ice melts an hour after it is formed, or you can dismiss all formed ice as an action.

Improved Death Strike

By 11th level, you leech lifeforce with every strike of your runeblade. When you use your Death Strike feature against a creature that is not a construct or an undead creature, you recover hit points equal to 1d10 + your death knight level. Additionally, when you deal damage to a creature, that is not a construct or undead creature, with your runeblade you recover hit points equal to your Charisma modifier, but not more than half the damage dealt by the runeblade.

Control Undead

At 14th level you gain the ability to dominate your will over other mindless undead. As an action target an undead creature up to 30 ft away, that creature must make a Wisdom save against your spell save DC or become Charmed for 1 hour. You may use this feature only on undead creatures even if that creature is immune to being charm. If the creature’s Intelligence score is between 8 and 14, it gains advantage on the Wisdom save. A creature with an Intelligence score of 15 or higher gets a new save at the start of every round. A creature who succeeds their save becomes immune to this feature for 24 hours. You may use this feature a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier, minimum once. You regain all uses of this feature when you finish a long rest.

On a Pale Horse

At 18th level you become as hard to stop as death itself. Your Death Steed may now be any kind of undead beast or mount, including but not limited too griffons, wyverns, and dragons. The target creature must be dead, and if the creature is not a horse the ritual takes 1 hour. At the end of the ritual, apply the skeleton or zombie template to the creature, and it is now considered your Death Steed. If the creature has a flying speed, it retains the flying speed as your Death Steed. Additionally your Death Steed gains +10 feet to its speed for all modes of movement it already has a speed for, is immune to being slowed, and may take the Dash action as a bonus action.

Ebon Chapter

Knights of the Ebon Blade were trained in combat with three philosophies to war. These philosophies have been codified as chapters within the Order of the Ebon Blade, and death knights often join the chapter that calls out to them most. Lord Thorval, a fallen human paladin who swore allegiance to the Lich King and was then raised into a death knight, leads the Chapter of Blood. Amal'thazad, a powerful human mage who fought against the Lich King was made into a Lich and forced to serve him, leads the Chapter of Frost. And the Lady Alistra, a blood elf paladin who impressed Arthas during the invasion of Quel'thalas and later raised death knight, leads the Chapter of Unholy.

Chapter of Blood

In undeath, some death knights find a special affinity for the blood and bone of the living. They carve into their enemies, sustaining themselves with deadly sanguine strikes, while using the bloody, shattered remains of the dead to fortify their own defenses. These crimson-soaked knights bend the very rules of mortality to control the frontlines of the battlefield.

Chapter Spells

You learn chapter spells at the death knight levels listed.
Table: Chapter of Blood Spells

Death Knight Level	Spells
3rd	Blood Boil, Rune Tap
5th	Dancing Runeblade, Marrowrend
9th	Bloodworms, Vampiric Touch
13th	Blight, Shadow of Moil
17th	Bonestorm, Blood Mirror

Veteran of the Third War

When you join the Chapter of Blood at 3rd level, they put you through rigorous endurance training. The result of it causes you to immediately gain 3 additional HP added to your maximum hit points, and when you gain a level in death knight you gain an additional 1 hit point to your maximum. When you expend a hit dice to recover hit points, you recover 1 additional hit points.

Blood Tap

At 3rd level as a bonus action you may expend one of your hit dice to recover up to 2 points of expended mana.

Bladed Armor

At 7th level the armor you wear is as dangerous as your weapons. When you make with a melee weapon you deal an additional 1 piercing damage if you are wearing light armor, 2 piercing damage if you are wearing medium armor, and 3 piercing damage if you are wearing heavy armor. If you are in a grapple with a creature, that creature immediately takes the piercing damage at the start of your turn. If the armor being worn is magical, the piercing damage is also considered magical, and if the amor has a magical bonus to its AC, that bonus also applies to the piercing damage.

Blood Shield

At 15th level each time you recover hit points with your Death Strike feature, you also gain temporary hit points equal to the amount of hit points recovered. While these temporary hit points remain, your concentration on spells can not be disrupted by damage.

Purgatory

At 20th level you simply can not die thanks to an unholy pact that wards you from even the most grievous of wounds. Your hit points can now drop below 0, into the negatives, and you may continue to act as normal for a number of rounds equal to your Constitution modifier. During these few rounds, you are immune to death by conventional means, though you can still suffer instant death by powerful magic, such as the Disintegrate spell or Shadow Word: Death, or if your current negative hit points equals your maximum hit points. Purgatory immediately ends if your current hit points recovers to 1 or more. If at the end of these rounds your current hit points remains negative, you fall unconscious and suffer an automatic death save failure for every time your Constitution score can be divided into your current negative hit points. Your hit points then immediately become 0, and you suffer the effects of dying as normal.

You must finish a long rest to gain the protection of Purgatory again.

Chapter of Frsot

Combining martial prowess with supernatural cold, frost death knights leave their enemies chilled to the bone—and broken of the will to fight. Unlike mages who learn to harness frost magic to great effect, these death knights are born of it, rime gripping their decaying hearts. These frozen undead warriors often wield two blades to strike with ferocity and inflict deathly cold upon anyone who would stand against them.

Chapter Spells

You learn chapter spells at the death knight levels listed.
Table: Chapter of Blood Spells

Death Knight Level	Spells
3rd	Chains of Ice, Howling Blast
5th	Horn of Winter, Obliterate
9th	Sleet Storm, Pillar of Frost
13th	Elemental Bane, Ice Storm
17th	Cone of Cold, Frostscythe

Frost Strike

At 3rd level when you join the Chapter of Frost, you may strike with frigid cold. When you hit a creature with your runeblade, you may use this feature to cause your attack to deal damage as cold, and the target creature must make a Constitution saving throw, becoming slowed if they fail. You may then use your reaction to make an attack with your offhand weapon, if you are wielding one. This attack's damage is also cold.

You may use this feature a number of times equal to the number of runes active on your runeblade. You recover all uses of this feature when you finish a short or long rest.

Runic Empowerment

At 3rd level you may activate the power of your runes forged into the runeblade, increasing its damage. When you hit on an attack with your runeblade, you may deal an additional 2 cold damage for each rune forged into your runeblade. You may use this feature a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier, minimum once. You recover all uses of this feature when you finish a short or long rest.

Freezing Fog

At 7th level you radiate a fog so cold creatures who end their turn adjacent to you must make a Constitution saving throw against your death knight spell save DC. On a failed save they take cold damage equal to your Charisma modifier. You are considered to be lightly obscured to all creatures who are not adjacent to you while the fog remains, or heavily obscured to other creatures while in a snowstorm, but a strong magical wind or magical fire damage negates the fog until the end of your next turn. As an action you may will the fog to dissipate, and will it to return as an action.

Frozen Heart

At 15th level you become immune to cold damage, gain advantage on saving throws to resist being slowed, and ignore a creatures resistance to cold damage.

Hungering Runeblade

"Frostmourne hungers..."
- Fallen Prince Arthas
At 20th level your runeblade craves the taste of blood, to rend flesh, and slice bone. Attacks with your runeblade are made at advantage against any creature, that is not a construct or undead, who does not have it’s full hit points. Additionally, when attacks with your runeblade critically hit, you reroll any 1s rolled for damage.

Chapter of Unholy

While free from the Lich King’s grasp, some death knights still embody the ever-corrupting nature of the Scourge plague that once threatened to consume Azeroth. No matter their allegiance or cause, they remain defilers of life; and nowhere is their callousness more on display than when threatened. Inflictors of the most aggressive of diseases—and masters of raising unhallowed minions from the ground—these unholy death knights are vicious melee combatants, capable of striking with the force of an undead legion and unleashing pestilence that would bring their foes to ruin.

Chapter Spells

You learn chapter spells at the death knight levels listed.
Table: Chapter of Blood Spells

Death Knight Level	Spells
3rd	Death Coil, Festering Strike
5th	Anti-Magic Shell, Outbreak
9th	Animate Dead, Unholy Frenzy
13th	Blight, Reanimation
17th	Danse Macabre, Raise Dead

Animate Servant

You may channel necrotic energies into a corpse to raise it as a servant. As a bonus action touch a corpse and expend 2 mana, at the start of your next turn the corpse will rise as a CR ¼ undead creature, such as a Skeleton or a Zombie. Its hit point total is equal to its normal maximum or five times your death knight level, whichever is higher.

 

On each of your turns, you can use a bonus action to mentally command any creature you made with this feature or the Animate Dead spell if the creature is within 60 feet of you (if you control multiple creatures, you can command any or all of them at the same time, issuing the same command to each one). You decide what action the creature will take and where it will move during its next turn, or you can issue a general command, such as to guard a particular chamber or corridor. If you issue no commands, the creature only defends itself against hostile creatures. Once given an order, the creature continues to follow it until its task is complete.

 

If your servant dies you can raise a new one from a new corpse at any time by expending 2 or more mana. Raising a new servant while you still have the old will release the old servant, causing it to collapse.

 

At 7th level, you can create an undead servant of CR ½ by expending 3 mana, at 15th level you can create an undead servant of CR 1 by expending 6 mana, and at 20th level you can create an undead servant of CR 2 by expending 7 mana.

Runic Corruption

At 3rd level, the power of your runeblade corrupts and destroys life. The save DC to resist your diseases increases by 1.

Dark Transformation

At 7th level, your experimentations have taught you how to imbue even more dark power into your undead servant. As an action on your turn you may activate a dark transformation in your undead servant if it is within 30 feet of you. Your undead servant increases by 1 size category, adding 1d4 damage to all of its attacks, and adds your proficiency bonus to its AC, attack rolls, damage rolls, and skills and saving throws it is proficient in. This change lasts for 1 minute, or until dispelled (considered a spell level equal to the highest level spell you can cast). At the end of which your undead servant reverts to its normal size and form and becomes stunned for 1 minute. You may use this feature again when you complete a long rest.

All Will Serve

At 15th level, you have mastered the art of raising undead creatures to serve you. When you use your Animate Servant feature or cast the Animate Dead spell, you may create an additional number of CR ¼ undead creatures, 1 creature for expending 2 mana, 2 creatures for expending 3 mana, 3 creatures for expending 5 mana, 4 creatures for expending 6 mana, and 5 creatures for expending 7 mana. When using Animate Servant, only the highest CR creature is considered your servant, the rest are considered undead creatures as if they were created by the Animate Dead spell. The number of undead creatures you can assert control over increases equal to the highest level death knight spell level you can cast plus your Charisma modifier.

Epidemic

At 20th level you can unleash the ultimate of plagues: an epidemic. As an action you can expend 14 mana to target a creature you can see, either line of sight or through magical means such as scrying. This creature must make a Constitution saving throw, on a failed save the creature becomes afflicted with a number of diseases you know, up to your Charisma modifier. You are considered to know a disease if you know a spell that afflicts it. Immediately after it fails its save, all creatures within 100 feet, but not behind solid air tight barriers, must make a Constitution saving throw. The original target and all creatures who fail this save become plague carriers, and the additional creatures gain the chosen diseases. While a plague carrier is afflicted with any disease starts its turn, a creature within 30 feet of a plague carrier must make a Constitution saving throw or become infected with all diseases the plague carrier is currently suffering from.

You may not use this feature again until you finish a long rest, and after a week has passed or all the plague carriers are cured or are dead.