The Rider of Death is a final memento to the doomed; a pale horseman whose only role is to ensure all things meet their inevitable end. It is not an incompassionate role, however. To prolong life is not a crime, through healing, through resurrection, through medicine, for those that live create more for the fell reaper to harvest in the end, but to avoid it completely, to steal from what is Death's Domain to subvert finality...
Now that...
… that is a crime worth punishing.
After Strife, after Fury, and after War, there is only one prize that awaits all, whether they win or lose: Death. But do not let the title deceive you; Death's power is reliant on life, drawing from its ebb and flow like the tides of the sea. Perhaps this is why Death has such a vested interest in making sure life continues, rather than snuffing it all out at once. Death is the one thing that binds us all together. Sure, it can unmake us. Break us. Change us. But Death is persistent, constant, and unyielding. Without Death, nothing could change. Without Death, nothing could live. Perhaps this is why Death is so prevalent, so powerful in our dreams and in our nightmares, inspiring that which is
wild and
Shadowfell.
Perhaps this is why Death is often seen as the strongest of the Riders, even if it is the fourth sign rather than the first.
The Rider Death manifests the following powers in addition to those granted by the
Path of the Rider:
Grim Phantasm. Death is every bit a concept as it is a condition, and so it can be said that Death is impossible to ever fully grasp. Your
Dark One’s Own Luck feature is no longer limited to once between rests, however, after having used this ability a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, further uses cause you to gain a level of exhaustion (exhaustion gained this way cannot be restored by any means other than natural rest).
Additionally, you gain the ability to become ethereal as if by the effects of the etherealness spell. This does not count as magic for you, and thus cannot be prevented by antimagic or similar effects. You can share this benefit with a number of willing creatures (including yourself) equal to your proficiency bonus.
Call of the Grave. As a bonus action on your turn, you may teleport to a space within 30 feet of a creature marked by your
wild hunt trait. Repeated uses of this ability between long rests gain a level of exhaustion.
Dark Sacrifice. You are familiar with a variety of magics far exceeding the limitations of what a 9th level spell can accomplish, each otherwise demanding the willing sacrifice of the caster and one or more living creatures as part of its casting costs. The end result of using these spells is often creating a powerful magic item intended for a specific purpose based on who or what was sacrificed. For example:
- Mors Ultima (Abjuration). This spell demands the sacrifice of the caster and any number of willing participants. Pool together the maximum hit points of all creatures included in the sacrifice - if the target of this spell has hit points equal to or less than the total sacrificed, it is imprisoned in an object of the caster's design and choosing (for example, a crystalline spire buried beneath the surface of the world). Knowledge of this magic can have inherently catastrophic consequences for populations and even divines, and so it should only be offered to those Death inherently trusts to use the spell effectively and leave it be. Those involved in the casting of the spell die, whether it succeeds or fails. This does not necessarily prevent a divine from regenerating, but this can only be achieved if the divine manages to maintain sufficient faith through the ages to replace what's been given as part of casting the spell. A creature that attempts to learn this spell without your express permission is first warned of an ominous fate, and in the event they pursue it anyway, the creature is transformed irreversibly into an allip.
Dark Speech. You can use an action to speak the forgotten language of Dark Speech. When you do so, all creatures other than creatures that understand Dark Speech within 15 feet of you take 3d6 psychic damage.
Lord of Phantasms. While in the Feywild or the Shadowfell, you are considered invulnerable and cannot take damage unless you choose to allow it.
Reap. Whenever a spell, weapon, or unarmed melee strike you use critically hits a creature, you regain hit points equal to half the damage dealt. If the target is marked by your Wild Hunt trait, you may choose instead of taking the attack action to automatically hit the target creature as an action. This automatic hit is considered a critical hit, deals the maximum possible damage, and at your discretion, suppresses the target’s discorporation (or similar) trait if it has one unless it spends a legendary saving throw to resist this. After using this part of the effect, you may roll a d6 at the start of each of your turns. On a 6, you regain use of this ability.
If damage you deal reduces a creature to half its maximum health or less, or you damage a creature that present has half its maximum health or less, you may use your reaction to force the creature to make a Charisma saving throw against your spell save DC (Charisma). On a failed save, the creature dies. If the target is undead, it has a -5 penalty to its roll. If the target is a construct, it has a +5 bonus to the roll.
A divine power (or equivalent) slain as a result of this effect may trigger catastrophic consequences across the multiverse as a result of their destruction, often on a scale and proportion no one - not even you - can fully predict or comprehend. Kill such a being only if you’re certain you’re willing to accept the potential consequences of doing so.
Revenant. You do not have to see a creature to mark it with your wild hunt trait. Provided you have an object belonging to the creature, or know the creature’s name, you may mark the creature even if they are presently on another plane of existence. While marked by you, you know the distance to and direction of the marked creature, as well as when it is Fated to die (this includes unnatural extension of lives through such methods as undeath; Death makes no distinction between alive and undead, only that there is a point in time where
you cease to be, whenever that may happen between now and the end of time).
Shepherd. While in your avatar state, creatures that die or have died in your vicinity manifest as a cloud of souls in your wake. You gain the benefits of the spirit shroud spell for the duration you remain in your avatar state. You do not need to concentrate on the effect.
Whenever a creature dies within 10 feet of you while this trait is active, recover hit points equal to the number of the creature’s hit die.
Silver Throne. Of the four riders, it is Death that is the most final and absolute. Strife is pervasive, Fury is natural, and War is inevitable, but Death... all things lead to it, one way or another. This finality manifests as a throne fashioned of silver (or otherwise featuring silver motifs, as the exact appearance is at the rider's discretion) as a bonus action or as part of entering your Avatar state (it appears in a location you choose within 30 feet). While sitting in the chair, you are considered to be in your Avatar state with a duration of "until I am no longer sitting in the throne". The throne has 9 charges, and regains all spent charges at dawn. While sitting in the throne, you can harness its properties, which are as follows:
- The throne gains a flying speed of 30 feet and can hover and flies where you will it. This doesn't expend any charges.
- The throne can move through earth and stone without disturbing the material they move through, and shares this benefit with you while you sit in it. This property doesn't expend any charges.
- You can cast eldritch blast as a bonus action on your turn. This property doesn't expend any charges.
- As an action, you can expend 1 charge to cast antagonize, enemies abound, clairvoyance, or life transference. Spells cast this way use your spell save DC (Charisma) or DC 18, whichever is higher, and are considered to be cast at the 9th level.
- As an action, you can expend 2 charges to cast globe of invulnerability from the throne. The globe encloses both you and the throne.
- As an action, you can expend 3 charges to cast conjure fey at the 9th level. You do not need to concentrate on this spell, but the conjured spirit only remains for 1 minute instead of 1 hour, and follows your orders without fail. The conjured fey joins on your initiative, but acts immediately after you.
- As an action, you can expect 5 charges to cast dream of the blue veil. The item used as a focus point for this spell does not have to be magical. Alternatively, you may consider a creature you have marked with your Wild Hunt trait to be an "affected creature" even if unwilling, permitting you to travel to whatever world they are presently in by the same effects as the spell.
Undying. You decide when you die. When an effect would have the explicit result of killing you, you can choose to fall unconscious instead (you are still considered "dead" for the purposes of medicine checks and the like). You regain consciousness after 1d4 hours, regenerating fully (including any lost limbs) where you fell.
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