TEXT: BY SHAWN MERWIN AND KELLY PAWLIK
  BY SHAWN MERWIN AND KELLY PAWLIK
  
  1
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  Product Identity: The following items are hereby identified as Product Identity, as defined in the Open Game License 
  version 1.0a, Section 1(e), and are not Open Content: All trademarks, registered trademarks, proper names (characters, 
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  (Elements that have previously been designated as Open Game Content are not included in this declaration.) 
  Open Game Content: The open content in this book includes the Class Options (excluding the Herald of the Ebon Star, 
  the Path of the Ebon Star, and all place names and specific character references such as gods and NPCs), the Spells, and 
  the Underworld Beasts. All other material is Product Identity, especially place names, character names, locations, story 
  elements, backgrounds, and fiction. No other portion of this work may be reproduced in any form without permission. 
  ISBN: 978-1-936781-21-8
  ©2020 Open Design. All rights reserved.
  www.koboldpress.com
  Credits
  Designers: Wolfgang Baur, Dan Dillon,  
  Jeff Lee, Christopher Lockey, Shawn Merwin, 
  Kelly Pawlik
  Additional Design: Joshua K Brown,  
  Chris Harris, Ben McFarland, Meagan Maricle
  Editor: Meagan Maricle
  Design Consultant: Brandes Stoddard
  Playtesters: 
  The 1 HP Club: Corey Fish, GM; Players: Jared P. Conley, 
  Anthony Lescroart, John Sauco, Liz Sauco, Lydia C. Troiano
  The Ravensworn: Timothy Baker, GM; Players: 
  Patricia Baker, Dan Mengelkamp, Tara Mengelkamp, 
  Rhiannon Pullin
  Unnamed Groups
  Seth Klein, GM; Players: Will, Chris Fewell, Tim Fewell
  Richard Green, GM; Players: Kate Berens, Gavin Moore, Matt 
  Still, Tim Bradbeer, Andy Way
  Playtest Coordinator: Ben McFarland
  Cover Art: Egil Thompson 
  Interior Artists: Rita Fei, William O’Brien, 
  Beatrice Pelagatti, Bryan Syme, Egil Thompson
  Art Director & Graphic Design: Marc Radle
  Layout: Anne Gregersen
  Publisher: Wolfgang Baur
  
  2
  Table of Contents
  Organizations ................................................................3
   The Order of the Ebon Star ................................................3
   The Red Winter  ...................................................................5
  Races  ...............................................................................8
   Darakhul  ..............................................................................8
   Dark Trollkin......................................................................14
   Derro ...................................................................................15
   Dhampir  .............................................................................19
   Drow ....................................................................................22
   Mushroomfolk ...................................................................25
   Satarre, the Children of Nidhogg ....................................27
   Shade ...................................................................................29
  Class Options .................................................................32
   Barbarian Primal Path  .....................................................32
   Bard College  ......................................................................33
   Monastic Tradition  ...........................................................35
   Paladin Sacred Oaths  .......................................................36
   Ranger Archetype  .............................................................39
   Roguish Archetypes  .........................................................41
   Sorcerous Origins  .............................................................43
   Wizard Arcane Traditions  ................................................46
  Backgrounds and Trinkets ............................................49
   Ghoul Imperium Deserter ................................................49
   Red Winter Adherent ........................................................51
   Siwali Embalmer ................................................................53
   Underworld Trinkets ........................................................55
  Spells  .............................................................................56
  Underworld Beasts ........................................................64
  OPEN GAME LICENSE Version 1.0a 
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  15. COPYRIGHT NOTICE 
  Open Game License v 1.0a Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc. System 
  Reference Document 5.0 Copyright 2016, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors Mike 
  Mearls, Jeremy Crawford, Chris Perkins, Rodney Thompson, Peter Lee, James Wyatt, 
  Robert J. Schwalb, Bruce R. Cordell, Chris Sims, and Steve Townshend, based on original 
  material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.
  Creature Codex © 2018 Open Design LLC; Authors: Wolfgang Baur, Dan Dillon, 
  Richard Green, James Haeck, Chris Harris, Jeremy Hochhalter, James Introcaso, Chris 
  Lockey, Shawn Merwin, and Jon Sawatsky.
  Tome of Beasts © 2016 Open Design; Authors: Chris Harris, Dan Dillon, Rodrigo 
  Garcia Carmona, and Wolfgang Baur.
  Midgard Heroes Handbook © 2018 Open Design LLC; Authors: Chris Harris, Dan 
  Dillon, Greg Marks, Jon Sawatsky, Michael Ohl, Richard Green, Rich Howard, Scott 
  Carter, Shawn Merwin, and Wolfgang Baur.
  Midgard Worldbook.  Copyright ©2018 Open Design LLC. Authors: Wolfgang Baur, 
  Dan Dillon, Richard Green, Jeff Grubb, Chris Harris, Brian Suskind, and Jon Sawatsky.
  Deep Magic © 2020 Open Design LLC; Authors: Wolfgang Baur, Richard Green, Jeff 
  Lee, Christopher Lockey, Kelly Pawlik, Mike Welham.
  Warlock 8: Undead. Authors: Wolfgang Baur, Dan Dillon, Chris Harris, Kelly Pawlik. 
  © 2018 Open Design.
  Underworld Player's Guide © 2020 Open Design LLC; Authors: Wolfgang Baur, Dan 
  Dillon, Jeff Lee, Christopher Lockey, Shawn Merwin, and Kelly Pawlik.
  
  3
  The undead rule two large swaths of territory in Midgard: 
  one below the surface and one on it. In both territories, the 
  living are second-rate citizens at best and viewed primarily 
  as food by their undead masters. The years of successful 
  control of these territories has led many of the undead 
  lords to existences of decadence and increasing corruption. 
  Inevitably, this kind of oppression and corruption leads 
  people to unite against their corrupt lords.
  The Order of  
  the Ebon Star
  When the Ghoul Imperium lent aid to the vampires 
  of Morgau and Doresh, filing out of tunnels beneath 
  Tannenbirg Castle and assisting them in the taking of 
  Krakova, now Krakovar, they did so at the directive of 
  their Emperor Nicoforus the Pale, and they did so without 
  question. When the emperor sent his forces northeast to 
  Wallenbirg, they went without hesitation. And as a result, 
  the taking of Krakova was swift. Darakhul forces rejoiced 
  in their success, and the emperor, through his alliance with 
  the vampires, was the most fruitful of all. 
  It is said all ghouls are faithful to their Emperor, but 
  even among creatures that can see in the dark, some 
  details are missed, some actions left unseen. While the 
  Ghoul Imperium appeared stronger and more successful 
  than ever, some of the forces instrumental in the shift of 
  power, including Hesstia Daarmirve, began to question 
  the Emperor’s concern for them and became uneasy with 
  the vampire alliance. And so was born the Order of the 
  Ebon Star. 
  HESSTIA DAARMIRVE 
  Hesstia Daarmirve (LE female dragonborn darakhul), led 
  a small, stealthy contingent of cutthroats from the ghouls’ 
  dark empire into the bowels of Tannenbirg Castle. From 
  this staging area, the darakhul swiftly slaughtered the 
  castle’s unsuspecting guards while taking few losses. This 
  gained Hesstia the notice of her superiors and the task of 
  leading the ghoul vanguard into Wallenbirg. Once again, 
  her initial assault left little for the Knights Incorporeal to 
  mop up when the time for the full assault came. 
  In the weeks following the taking of Krakova, Hesstia 
  began to resent her ruler. Despite all their efforts, Hesstia 
  and her surviving companions saw little reward, yet rumor 
  surfaced of Emperor Nicoforus the Pale being surrounded 
  by more bodies than ever to feast on. It seemed promises 
  that had been made were being delivered, but Hesstia felt 
  uneasy and, for the first time, questioned her ruler. 
  Shortly after this, while walking above ground just before 
  the first rays of the sun appeared on the horizon, Hesstia 
  had a vision. A woman surrounded by swirling stars as 
  dark as the darkest sky can be spoke to her and offered her 
  the chance to walk unhindered by day. The being promised 
  aid in exchange for Hesstia taking up her mantle. Both 
  questioning her ruler and awed at the power of the being 
  who granted the sleepless darakhul a vision, Hesstia agreed 
  without hesitation. 
  Born a dragonkin and turned shortly after puberty, 
  Hesstia is a smart, fierce individual who showed much 
  promise in her days with the Ghoul Imperium. Her height 
  and commanding presence give her an air of authority, 
  and her divine connection to one who grants her followers 
  freedom from their daylight sensitivity has made her a 
  Organizations
  
  4
  leader to those who seek change. Until embracing her 
  vision, Hesstia was unwaveringly loyal to the Imperium; 
  her dedication to the Queen of Night and Magic 
  is steadfast.
  THE ORDER’S ORGANIZATION 
  Comprised almost entirely of ghoul defectors from 
  the Ghoul Imperium, the order is hunted as much as it 
  hunts, and, for this reason, it exists in small mobile cells, 
  remaining at one location no more than a few days or 
  weeks before moving on. 
  Units are usually comprised of: an iron ghoul (Tome 
  of Beasts, p. 221); a darakhul mage or necrophage ghast 
  (Creature Codex, p. 175); and 10 imperial ghouls (Tome of 
  Beasts, p. 220). 
  Specialized groups of the order exist and can be 
  comprised of darakhul shadowmancers (Creature 
  Codex, p. 173), darakhul knights, darakhul blood mages 
  (Creature Codex, p. 397), and darakhul black knight 
  commanders (Tome of Beasts, p. 418). 
  Other members of the order work away from their 
  fellows, scouting out potential ways to strike at the 
  vampires and the Ghoul Imperium. These individuals 
  may enact their plans on their own, call on a unit to assist 
  them, or work with groups outside of the order. In the case 
  of the latter, the group may or may not be aware of the 
  order’s existence or assistance. Sometimes multiple units of 
  the order converge, assisting each other with missions of 
  significant import. 
  WORSHIP OF SARASTRA 
  Members of the Order of the 
  Ebon Star follow the Queen of 
  Night and Magic, who aids 
  in their fight against the 
  ghouls and vampires 
  who wish to push them 
  into servitude. Shrines to 
  Sarastra can be found in areas 
  the order has laid roots for a time, 
  and each member of the order 
  wears a crest of an ebon star to 
  denote their dedication. 
  The order has an uneasy alliance with the churches 
  of Sarastra. Most of her other followers have difficulty 
  understanding what their queen wishes from these undead 
  servitors and, while they have little desire to question their 
  fickle goddess’ whims, they also wish to protect their own 
  lives. For this reason, the order remains insular, keeping 
  to itself and avoiding contact with outside parties when 
  possible. Churches of Sarastra that have lent aid to the 
  order have done so only briefly, sheltering those who are 
  too wounded to continue their travels. 
  OUTSIDE RELATIONSHIPS 
  Viewed as traitors by other undead and feared by the 
  living, the Order of the Ebon Star has few allies, and those 
  they do have are tenuous. 
  Darakhul defectors are quickly replaced in the Ghoul 
  Imperium—those defecting do not reduce the emperor’s 
  numbers, but their treacherous actions upset the 
  Imperium. Most ghouls and vampires attack the order 
  on sight, and few parlay even briefly with these deserters. 
  The order, eager to survive, has no love lost for allies of 
  Emperor Nicoforus the Pale. 
  The reaver dwarves based at Skorgarholm and Jozht wish 
  to see their own territory expand and the undead fall, but 
  they have little interest in working with other undead to 
  accomplish this. The order gives the dwarves a wide berth, 
  and in return, the dwarves generally avoid killing those 
  undead bearing the dark eight-pointed star. 
  Queen Urzula views the order as an enemy since most 
  of its forces played a part in her defeat. She has been 
  unwilling to even parlay with members, and an alliance 
  with her and her people seems impossible. 
  Adventuring parties eager to fight back the undead have 
  managed to work with cells of the order with varying 
  degrees of success. Those groups wishing to destroy all 
  undead or who attempt to trick members of the order 
  into an alliance before attacking them find the order 
  unamenable to such activities. Those who are willing to 
  use less conventional means of striking out at the vampires 
  and darakhul in the region find the Queen of Night and 
  Magic’s undead followers eager to assist. 
  RECLAIMING THEIR RIGHTS 
  The Order of the Ebon Star focuses much of their wrath on 
  vampires: the undead creatures who live so easily on the 
  surface, the foul beasts who convinced their kind to join 
  forces. While the darakhul continued to serve the emperor, 
  their undead partners began to live a life of opulence. 
  The order can see the battles they faced were fought for 
  the vampires alone, and those of the order believe any 
  benefits the darakhul have gained have been negligible in 
  comparison and often at great expense. The vampires have 
  corrupted the Imperium; their forces must be dwindled, 
  and Emperor Nicoforus the Pale must be removed from 
  his seat of power. 
  
  5
  GROWING FORCES 
  Swaying the minds of the subservient darakhul is no easy 
  task, but some members of the order endeavor to do just 
  that. Infiltrating the Imperium they were once a part of, 
  these brave undead seek out any cracks they can widen, 
  separating individuals from the misled mass.
  Given the difficulty of this task, members of the order 
  have been known to turn to creation to reinforce their 
  numbers. This is not lightly done and must be done 
  carefully so as to indoctrinate those who are to be 
  turned to their cause. Often, these new recruits are either 
  vampire-hunting experts or victims of undead that follow 
  the Emperor’s rule—or sometimes both. 
  The most notable of these recruits is Tyrik Benion, a 
  dwarf darakhul graveslayer (Creature Codex, p. 400) who 
  at a young age found his parents brutally murdered by a 
  hungry vampire. Vowing vengeance, Tyrik devoted his life 
  to the destruction of these undead abominations. After 
  numerous foiled attempts to kill the vampire and with a 
  wake of dead innocents behind him, Tyrik was approached 
  by Hesstia herself. The persuasive dragonborn darakhul 
  offered the dispirited dwarf a chance to continue his 
  crusade against his hated vampire foes. Forever. 
  SARASTRAN GHOULS 
  The eyes of ghouls who have truly embraced the worship 
  of the Queen of Night and Magic darken to near black 
  with white motes that seem to swirl and drift across their 
  pupils. They find they no longer suffer from the sunlight 
  sensitivity plaguing others of their kind. 
  THE CODE OF THE ORDER 
  Members of the Order of the Ebon Star are tricky and 
  deceitful, but they all adhere to the same code. Forced for 
  much of their existence to live in the shadows, they now 
  find much solace in their worship of the Queen of Night 
  and Magic. Their tenets include the following affirmations: 
  • Vampire-kind has infected the Ghoul Imperium. We 
  save what we can and cleanse what we must.
  • The Queen of Night and Magic guides us. With her 
  aid we see what our fellows cannot. 
  • Enemies of our enemies can be allies, but we must 
  always be ready for their inevitable betrayal. 
  • There is a new way, if only one is willing to open 
  their eyes and embrace the Queen.
  PLAYING A MEMBER OF THE  
  ORDER OF THE EBON STAR
  If you are interested in playing a character who is part 
  of the Order of the Ebon Star, the Herald of the Ebon 
  Star roguish archetype and the Path of the Ebon Star 
  barbarian primal path (see the Class Options chapter) 
  are directly related to the order. The Ghoul Imperium 
  Deserter background on page 49 is recommended, though 
  not required, if you plan to play a darakhul or dhampir 
  character. If you are playing a member of the order that 
  isn’t a darakhul or dhampir, work with your GM to 
  determine how and why your character joined the order. 
  If you are playing a member of the order that is a darakhul 
  or dhampir, work with your GM to determine what, if 
  anything, you know about the Ghoul Imperium from your 
  life before the order, referencing the Underworld Gazetteer 
  in Empire of the Ghouls, if necessary.
  Though she isn’t always openly worshiped, every member 
  of the Order of the Ebon Star pays respect to Sarastra, the 
  Queen of Night and Magic. Their respect is more practical 
  than spiritual, however, as Sarastra often takes a direct 
  hand in the order’s actions. Those ghouls who have proven 
  particularly useful or who happen to earn her fickle favor 
  that day are blessed with a measure of her power and no 
  longer fear sunlight. If you are playing a darakhul member 
  of the order, check with your GM to determine if your 
  character has received this blessing from Sarastra—and 
  what, if anything, she requests in return—before removing 
  your Sunlight Sensitivity racial trait. More information 
  about Sarastra and her faith can be found in the Midgard 
  Worldbook on page 371.
  The Red Winter
  This splinter cult of Marena worshipers 
  is young, but growing in strength 
  and numbers. With the capture and 
  annexation of Krakova by the Greater 
  Duchy of Morgau, the Red Winter 
  has grown in strength, taking in members 
  from the ranks of those disaffected 
  from, displaced by, and dissatisfied with 
  vampiric rule. The Red Winter works 
  patiently, in secret, against Marena's 
  orthodoxy. They are confident in their 
  cause, certain that they are just as 
  worthy in the eyes of Marena as the 
  bloodsuckers they oppose.
  
  6
  THE CLERGY OF WINTER
  Most of the Red Winter's members come from the 
  conquered lands of Morgau. These recruits range from 
  escaped peasants to outcast nobles that fled their lands 
  rather than become undead. All have some reason to 
  want the vampires gone. The leaders are typically clerics 
  of Marena, those whose theology differs greatly from 
  the orthodox teachings in Morgau. Most are human, but 
  anyone is welcome to join the Red Winter—as long as 
  they are one of the living. Their ceremonial vestments 
  are red like the orthodox members of the clergy, but they 
  often have white linings or trim or snowflake patterns 
  embroidered upon them. These markings and patterns 
  symbolize winter, both as the season over which Marena 
  rules and as a metaphor for the end of their enemies, 
  which looms inevitable.
  The current leader of the Red Winter is Cardinal Vika 
  Brailas (LE female human war priest [Creature Codex, 
  p. 411]). Her current base of operations is in the city of
  Jozht. Cardinal Brailas often sets people off balance when 
  they first meet her. She is companionable and has a sense 
  of humor, if somewhat dark, that surprises strangers. 
  Her devotion is unquestionable, but she is approachable 
  (especially by those she deems physically attractive) 
  and makes friends easily. Beneath this open, welcoming 
  demeanor lies a calculating mind. The Cardinal is always 
  taking mental inventory of those she meets, assessing their 
  strengths and weaknesses, how they may serve the Red 
  Winter and in what capacity. Those that form ties with her 
  soon find they are binding. She does not give anything 
  away for free and always remembers a debt owed or 
  service rendered.
  THE RED WINTER IN MIDGARD
  Small cells of the Red Winter can be found throughout 
  the Greater Duchy of Morgau, with most of them 
  concentrated in Krakovar. They also maintain a presence 
  in the territories surrounding Morgau, mostly in Jozht 
  and the Rothenian Plain. The are often hidden in plain 
  sight, pretending to be part of the regular motions of their 
  surroundings, not revealing themselves or their goals to 
  anyone, even outside of Morgau. Brothels are often fronts 
  for the Red Winter's activities. Active members are also 
  found in hospitals and working as midwives.
  ERADICATING THE BLOODLESS
  The Red Winter believes the vampires have subverted 
  the natural order of things. Marena is the Blood Maiden. 
  Vampires have no blood except that which they take from 
  the living, whether offered freely or by force. They are 
  parasites. The vessels of their bounty are the truly blessed 
  of Marena—it is the living who live by blood and lust, 
  while the undead are but hollow shells whose manner of 
  procreation and hunger for blood are mere pantomimes of 
  reality. Having vampires rule over the living is an inversion 
  of the proper order. 
  Many have had their lives ruined by the expansion of the 
  vampire kingdom. Marena also has purview over Justice, 
  and it is Justice the cult seeks—a proper vengeance on 
  the parasites that have overreached their station and a 
  reckoning that will put the scales back in balance. This is 
  the Red Winter. A final, cold season when the snows run 
  red with stolen blood, spilled from the thieves who took it.
  Ultimately, the Red Winter wishes control of Morgau 
  wrested from the vampires. Whether it remains a 
  united country or is once again divided into its original 
  principalities is unimportant, so long as those who rule 
  the lands recognize Marena's worship as predominant and 
  accept the advice of its clergy. The leaders have kept careful 
  records of the remaining noble bloodlines that have not 
  succumbed to vampirism, and they have a list of likely 
  candidates to raise to positions of rulership when they 
  succeed in their mission.
  THE RED WINTER VS. THE RED SISTERS
  While the Red Winter works in direct opposition to 
  the Red Sisters, the two cults have much in common. 
  They both swear loyalty to Marena and indulge in dark 
  blood rites such as flagellation, torture, and sacrifice, 
  as well as orgiastic rituals and other expressions of lust 
  to please their goddess. Many of their interpretations 
  of scripture are compatible and their religious services 
  nearly identical. The main point of contention is the role 
  of the vampire. While the Red Sisters work to secure 
  the vampire's power and help them expand, the Red 
  Winter sees the living being subservient to the undead 
  as heresy. Vampires as servants or allies are acceptable, 
  but to submit to their will as chattel is something the 
  Red Winter sees as abominable. While many of the Red 
  Winter want to destroy the vampires outright, Cardinal 
  Brailas would be amenable to sparing those willing to 
  submit to the rule of the church while abdicating their 
  thrones. After all, they are Marena's children too; they 
  simply need to learn their place.
  
  7
  WAGING A SUBTLE WAR
  The Red Winter does not have the numbers or political 
  power to work openly, forcing them to worship and 
  work in secret. Anyone who is found to be a promising 
  new member is approached cautiously. The ceremony 
  performed to induct new members is always done during 
  daylight, to ensure no vampires infiltrate their ranks. Even 
  then, initiates are typically shadowed by a vetted member 
  for months to ensure they aren't spies. Secret signs, 
  symbols, and phrases are used to identify one another. 
  One such symbol is three crossed lines of red on a pale 
  background, which is often casually made when cleaning 
  blood with a rag.
  Much of the work of the Red Winter is done through 
  subtle sabotage and guiding influence. Those of the Red 
  Winter inserted into the orthodox hierarchy of Marena 
  often look for loyal members of the church to influence, 
  seeking those that bear resentment against the vampires 
  and giving them support and encouragement to defy 
  the undead. Missives are intercepted and forged changes 
  made. Supplies are “lost,” ending up in Red Winter hands. 
  Prisoners make miraculous escapes to cult safe houses 
  for later induction. Anything that helps to weaken the 
  vampires' grip on power is a worthy goal.
  Outside the Grand Duchy of Morgau, the Red Winter 
  can be more open about their activities. Even so, they are 
  careful about who they reveal themselves to, and when. 
  Cult members often work in brothels, hospitals, and as 
  midwives. They make themselves invaluable to the people, 
  fostering relations and alliances while creating distrust 
  and ill will towards the orthodoxy of the Red Sisters 
  and the vampire rulers of Morgau. Activity by the Red 
  Sisters outside of Morgau is immediately targeted by the 
  Red Winter when discovered. Often the Red Winter will 
  use their connections and informants to locate the Red 
  Sisters' base of operations and stage a raid. The Red Winter 
  will capture any living clergy of Marena they can while 
  destroying any vampires they encounter. Their captured 
  brethren are taken back to a base or safe house, where the 
  Red Winter attempts to convert their wayward peers back 
  to Marena's true path.
  PLAYING A MEMBER OF THE RED WINTER
  If you are interested in playing a character who is part of 
  the Red Winter, the Red Winter Adherent background 
  on page 51 is highly recommended. Every member of 
  the Red Winter worships or reveres the Blood Goddess 
  Marena in some way, though the cult’s reverence is 
  different than the church’s orthodoxy. Determine how 
  you want your character’s faith to be portrayed. Are 
  you an open worshiper of the Red Winter’s unorthodox 
  teachings? Is your faith hidden from all except others 
  of the Red Winter? Do you publicly uphold the church’s 
  orthodox teachings while adhering to the Red Winter’s 
  teachings in private? Also determine how your faith in the 
  Blood Goddess and the Red Winter’s goals shapes your 
  character’s own ideals and goals. More information about 
  the Blood Goddess Marena and her faith can be found in 
  the Midgard Worldbook on page 398.
  Many members of the order are spellcasters, particularly 
  clerics and wizards, and they favor spells that deal with 
  blood or that are part of the Blood subschool. The blood 
  puppet, boiling blood, hematomancy, and lacerate spells 
  can be found in this book, while the Midgard Worldbook 
  and Deep Magic for 5th Edition hold others. Check with 
  your GM before choosing spells of the Blood subschool to 
  determine which are allowed in your campaign.
  
  8
  Many creatures and racial groups call the Underworld 
  home, in spite of its harsh and unforgiving environs. Some 
  of these groups regularly venture to the surface world, 
  while others rarely leave the Underworld. We offer eight 
  racial options here, though any of Midgard’s people can be 
  found in the darkness of the realms below.
  Darakhul 
  In the lightless depths beneath the ground, an empire 
  of devouring ambition grows and plots and dreams. Its 
  citizens call themselves the People, but the rest of Midgard 
  calls them the Lords Subterranean, the Ghoul Imperium, 
  or simply the Empire of the Ghouls. Their cities lie out of 
  sight, their agents infiltrate the underworlds of a score of 
  surface cities, and their goals know no limits. To them, if 
  you are not a member of the People, you are food. Their 
  empire maintains complex social structures and forges 
  serious alliances, particularly among the undead princes 
  of Morgau and Doresh. Unofficial embassies exist in 
  Zobeck, the Ironcrag Cantons, Krakova, and Magdar. 
  Other hidden outposts may lurk below the Seven Cities, 
  Illyria, or beyond.
  They scheme and plot. They hunger for the flesh of the 
  living. They are the darakhul.
  INTO THE BIG, WIDE WORLD 
  Some darakhul venture into the wider world on the 
  business of the Imperium. Maintaining their state requires 
  envoys and ambassadors, messengers and scouts, traders 
  and commerce, as well as knowledge of events in the 
  surface world. These undead diplomats engage with races 
  they might otherwise consider food out of duty to the 
  Imperium and with a specific purpose.
  Other members of their kind, however, have no such 
  obligations. For adventuring darakhul, those in self-
  imposed exile, or those who never belonged to the 
  Imperium, the quest to master their own hunger, to 
  transcend their role as predators of sentient beings, is as 
  A NOTE ON PREVIOUS ITERATIONS
  With the expansion of the Underworld brought about 
  by Empire of the Ghouls, we took the opportunity to 
  revisit some of the previously published races native 
  to that realm. Three of the races presented here—
  darakhul, derro, and dhampir—have appeared in prior 
  Kobold Press works. The darakhul and derro in this 
  book are significantly different from their first printings, 
  and the dhampir has had a few adjustments since the 
  first printing of the Midgard Heroes Handbook.
  If you are the GM of a campaign taking place in or 
  involving the Underworld, feel free to use the first 
  printings of these races or the versions presented here, 
  whichever works best for the story you want to tell.
  If you are a player, check with your GM before using 
  one of these three races to confirm which version of 
  each is most appropriate for your campaign.
  Races
  
  9
  much a part of their journey as the current quest. These 
  characters typically want to grow beyond their ghoulish 
  appetites and regain some part of their former lives in the 
  cultures and societies of the world’s surface. No one knows 
  better than the darakhul that they can’t overcome their 
  nature unless they confront it.
  But no matter how urbane or well-controlled the rare 
  diplomat or merchant might seem to be, the prejudice 
  of the living against the undead is powerful and visceral. 
  Humanity views the darakhul with suspicion if not 
  outright hostility, and it is difficult—but not impossible—
  for a darakhul to allay those fears.
  THE CUT OF YOUR CLOAK
  A quality disguise is one of the best tools for a darakhul 
  trying to make its way among the breathing. Almost all 
  ghouls traveling on the surface maintain a disguise kit and 
  a concealing outfit to match their cover identity. With a 
  good costume, a ghoul might pass unchallenged among 
  humans for a long time. Possibilities include the wrappings 
  of a leper, the enshrouding robes that are common within 
  the Magocracy of Allain, the veils of Siwali ladies, or the 
  LOOKING ALIVE
  To pass for a living creature, a darakhul needs a 
  convincing costume, matching language and speech 
  patterns, and appropriate mannerisms and behavior. 
  The best tactic for most darakhul is to mimic the cultures 
  they lived in while alive, because they have a lifetime (if a 
  short one) of knowledge to draw on. Whether it’s better 
  to try to blend into the local culture is an open question. 
  Someone who looks just like everyone else on the street 
  draws less attention than someone who looks like an 
  exotic foreigner—but a person who looks like everyone 
  else yet acts oddly can rouse even more suspicion than 
  the exotic stranger, especially in a crossroads of cultures 
  where foreign travelers are common.
   Under normal circumstances, a darakhul with a careful 
  disguise can move among the living without rousing 
  suspicion. As with any ability check, dice should be 
  brought in only when the character faces an unusual 
  situation or a challenge. If, for example, a darakhul gets 
  involved in a chase or a battle in a crowded city market, 
  there’s a chance a bystander might notice the pallor of 
  undead flesh beneath a flapping cloak or the rictus grin 
  inside a deep hood that’s momentarily pushed back. Palace 
  guards inspect supplicants to the Queen more carefully than 
  an innkeeper or a merchant inspects customers. If rumors 
  get around that there are murderers, monsters, or darakhul 
  loose in the city, everyone is more alert.
   In those situations, the GM can call for a Charisma 
  (Deception) check and either compare it to the NPC’s 
  passive Perception score or make an active Wisdom 
  (Perception) check for the NPC. Opposed checks should be 
  reserved for those times when an NPC intently scrutinizes 
  the character or is already suspicious. If a group of NPCs is 
  involved, it’s best to make one check with advantage for the 
  group instead of one check per NPC.
  
  10
  DARAKHUL TRAITS
  Your darakhul character has certain characteristics in 
  common with all other darakhul.
  Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score 
  increases by 1.
  Age. An upper limit of darakhul age has never been 
  discovered; most darakhul die violently.
  Alignment. Your alignment does not change when you 
  become a darakhul, but most darakhul have a strong 
  draw toward evil.
  Size. Your size is determined by your Heritage Subrace.
  Speed. Your base walking speed is determined by your 
  Heritage Subrace.
  Darkvision. You can see in dim light within 60 feet as 
  though it were bright light and in darkness as if it were 
  dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only 
  shades of gray.
  Hunger for Flesh. You must consume 1 pound of raw 
  meat each day or suffer the effects of starvation. If you 
  go 24 hours without such a meal, you gain one level of 
  exhaustion. While you have any levels of exhaustion from 
  head-to-toe garb of the desert raiders of the Tamasheq. 
  Each of these disguises requires appropriate details to help 
  the deception withstand scrutiny: the right language skills 
  along with knowledge of the region and its customs.
  Even a convincing disguise doesn’t explain a darakhul’s 
  need to eat alone and behind closed doors. Darakhul 
  can use cultural or religious requirements to justify such 
  behavior in most situations.
  In cases where a costume and a cover identity are 
  impractical, a skillful application of cosmetics and a few 
  gold coins slipped into the right hands are often enough 
  to make a request for privacy seem more reasonable. 
  Ensuring a sufficient supply of raw meat is a challenge left 
  to the darakhul’s imagination.
  DARAKHUL CHARACTERS
  Both ordinary ghouls and darakhul arise from the infected 
  corpses of other races. Most traits of the previous race are 
  gone, although every darakhul carries some trait of their 
  previous form (see the Heritage Subraces). Even their 
  cosmetic features, such as supple skin and long beards, 
  fade over time into the gaunt, skull-like faces, fanged maws 
  and taut, gray skin of the ghouls.
  PLAYING A DARAKHUL CHARACTER
  Life as the ravenous undead comes with challenges for 
  an adventurer. People revile the darakhul universally 
  as scavengers at best and as loathsome, murdering 
  abominations at worst. For such a being, participating 
  as a member of an adventuring party is complicated. 
  To survive on the daylit surface of the world, a darakhul 
  must be clever and thorough. 
  One of the touchstones that provides stability in your 
  new form is your old life. While you have urges and 
  thoughts that are dark and terrible, memories and 
  feelings from your life before undeath might resurface to 
  help you cope. Sometimes these flashes are corrupted 
  versions of your old self, manifesting in your mind in new 
  ways. Other times the recollections and feelings bubble 
  up unfiltered, reminding you of a time when you were 
  alive. Both are painful, but pain can be instructive.
  A major question you have to answer when you play 
  a darakhul is, “How am I dealing with the change that 
  transformed me into a ghoul?” Have you fully accepted 
  your new situation, embracing your new powers and 
  hungers as a boon? Do you fight against your urges 
  daily, seeking to return to your old self? What were your 
  goals before your transformation, and do you still pursue 
  them? Are your new goals simply about survival, or are 
  those aspirations a twisted reflection of the goals you had 
  as a living creature?
  Regardless of your current monstrous state, who you 
  once were has a powerful effect on who you are now. 
  The carefree spirit of a halfling, the fiendish urges of a 
  tiefling, or the creative spark of a gnome: all of these do 
  not leave you simply because of your new form. How do 
  those traits manifest themselves in your now?
  There is a great deal of narrative, dramatic, and 
  roleplaying potential in that tension between the old self 
  and the new. Darakhul may be undead, but they still must 
  function in their own society—be it on the surface or in 
  the Underworld. Most still have jobs to do and dreams to 
  fulfill within their society.
  
  11
  this trait, you can’t regain hit points or remove levels of 
  exhaustion until you spend at least 1 hour consuming 10 
  pounds of raw meat.
  Imperfect Undeath. You transitioned into undeath, 
  but your transition was imperfect. Though you are a 
  humanoid, you are susceptible to effects that target 
  undead. You can regain hit points from spells like cure 
  wounds, but you can also be affected by game effects that 
  specifically target undead, such as a cleric’s Turn Undead 
  feature. Game effects that raise a creature from the dead 
  work on you as normal, but they return you to life as a 
  darakhul. A true resurrection or wish spell can restore you 
  to life as a fully living member of your original race.
  Powerful Jaw. Your heavy jaw is powerful enough to crush 
  bones to powder. Your bite is a natural melee weapon, 
  which you can use to make unarmed strikes. When you 
  hit with it, your bite deals piercing damage equal to 1d4 
  + your Strength modifier, instead of the bludgeoning 
  damage normal for an unarmed strike.
  Sunlight Sensitivity. You have disadvantage on attack rolls 
  and on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight 
  when you, the target of your attack, or whatever you are 
  trying to perceive is in direct sunlight.
  Undead Resilience. You are infused with the dark energy of 
  undeath, which frees you from some frailties that plague 
  most creatures. You have resistance to necrotic damage 
  and poison damage, you are immune to disease, and you 
  have advantage on saving throws against being charmed 
  or poisoned. When you finish a short rest, you can reduce 
  your exhaustion level by 1, provided you have ingested 
  at least 1 pound of raw meat in the last 24 hours (see 
  Hunger for Flesh). 
  Undead Vitality. You don’t need to breathe, and you 
  don’t sleep the way most creatures do. Instead, you 
  enter a dormant state that resembles death, remaining 
  semiconscious, for 6 hours a day. While dormant, you 
  have disadvantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks. 
  After resting in this way, you gain the same benefit that a 
  human does from 8 hours of sleep.
  Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common, 
  Darakhul, and a language associated with your 
  Heritage Subrace.
  Heritage Subrace. You were something else before you 
  became a darakhul. This heritage determines some of 
  your traits. Choose one Heritage Subrace below and apply 
  the listed traits.
  HERITAGE SUBRACES
  Before the terrible scourge of darakhul fever transformed 
  you into an undead creature, you belonged to another race. 
  Although your undead self now rules you, some remnant 
  of your past form clings to you, making you different from 
  the darakhul created from another race. Sometimes you 
  retain a trait, but more likely you now have a trait that is 
  a corruption of one you once possessed. For example, the 
  elemental spark in a dragonborn is perverted into one of a 
  more necrotic bent. The luck inherent in a halfling’s spirit 
  twists into a power that brings ill fortune to their enemies.
  DERRO HERITAGE
  Your darakhul character was a derro before transforming 
  into a darakhul. For you, the quieting of the otherworldly 
  voices did not bring peace and tranquility. The impulses 
  simply became more focused, and the desire to feast on 
  flesh overwhelmed other urges. The darkness is still there; 
  it just has a new, clearer form.
  Size. Derro stand between 3 and 4 feet tall with slender 
  limbs and wide shoulders. Your size is Small.
  Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
  Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases by 2.
  Language. You can speak, read, and write Dwarvish.
  Calculating Insanity. The insanity of your race was 
  compressed into a cold, hard brilliance when you took 
  on your darakhul form. These flashes of brilliance come 
  to you at unexpected moments. You know the true strike 
  cantrip. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for it. You 
  can cast true strike as a bonus action a number of times 
  equal to your Charisma modifier (a minimum of once). 
  You regain any expended uses when you finish a long rest. 
  DRAGONBORN HERITAGE
  Your darakhul character was a dragonborn before 
  transforming into a darakhul. The dark power of undeath 
  overwhelmed your elemental nature, replacing it with the 
  foul energy of death. Occasionally, your draconic heritage 
  echoes a peal of raw power through your form, but it is 
  quickly converted into necrotic waves.
  Size. Dragonborn are taller and heavier than humans, 
  standing well over 6 feet tall and averaging almost 250 
  pounds. Your size is Medium.
  Speed. Your base walking speed is 25 feet, and you are not 
  slowed by wearing heavy armor.
  Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 2.
  Language. You can speak, read, and write Draconic.
  
  12
  Corrupted Bite. The inherent breath weapon of your 
  draconic heritage is corrupted by the necrotic energy of 
  your new darakhul form. Instead of forming a line or 
  cone, your breath weapon now oozes out of your ghoulish 
  maw. As a bonus action, you breathe necrotic energy onto 
  your fangs and make one bite attack. If the attack hits, it 
  deals extra necrotic damage equal to your level. You can’t 
  use this trait again until you finish a long rest.
  DROW HERITAGE
  Your darakhul character was a drow before transforming 
  into a darakhul. Your place within the highly regimented 
  drow society doesn’t feel that much different from your 
  new place in the Ghoul Imperium. But an uncertainty 
  buzzes in your mind, and a hunger gnaws at your gut. You 
  are now what you once hated and feared. Does it feel right, 
  or is it something you fight against?
  Size. Drow are slightly shorter and slimmer than humans. 
  Your size is Medium.
  Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
  Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score 
  increases by 2.
  Language. You can speak, read, and write Elvish.
  Poison Bite. When you hit with your bite attack, you can 
  release venom into your foe. If you do, your bite deals an 
  extra 1d6 poison damage. The damage increases to 3d6 
  at 11th level. After you release this venom into a creature, 
  you can’t do so again until you finish a short or long rest.
  DWARF HERITAGE
  Your darakhul character was a dwarf before transforming 
  into a darakhul. The hum of the earth, the tranquility of 
  the stone and the dust, drained from you as the darakhul 
  fever overwhelmed your once-resilient body. The stone is 
  still there, but its touch has gone from a welcome embrace 
  to a cold grip of death. But it’s all the same to you now. 
  Size. Dwarves stand between 4 and 5 feet tall and average 
  about 150 pounds. Your size is Medium.
  Speed. Your base walking speed is 25 feet, and your speed 
  is not reduced by wearing heavy armor.
  Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases by 2.
  Language. You can speak, read, and write Dwarvish.
  Dwarven Stoutness. Your hit point maximum increases by 
  1, and it increases by 1 every time you gain a level.
  ELF/SHADOW FEY HERITAGE
  Your darakhul character was an elf or shadow fey before 
  transforming into a darakhul. The deathly power coursing 
  through you reminds you of the lithe beauty and magic 
  of your former body. If you just use your imagination, 
  the blood tastes like wine once did. The smell of rotting 
  flesh has the bouquet of wildflowers. The moss of the 
  Underworld feels like the leaves of the forest. 
  Size. Elves range from under 5 to over 6 feet tall and have 
  slender builds. Your size is Medium.
  Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
  Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 2.
  Language. You can speak, read, and write Elvish (if you 
  were an elf) or Umbral (if you were a shadow fey).
  Supernatural Senses. Your keen elven senses are honed 
  even more by the power of undeath and the hunger 
  within you. You can now smell when blood is in the air. 
  You have proficiency in the Perception skill, and you have 
  advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks to notice or 
  find a creature within 30 feet of you that doesn’t have all 
  of its hit points.
  GNOME HERITAGE
  Your darakhul character was a gnome before transforming 
  into a darakhul. The spark of magic that drove you before 
  your transformation still burns inside of you, but now 
  it is a constant ache instead of a source of creation and 
  inspiration. This ache is twisted by your hunger, making 
  you hunger for magic itself.
  Size. Gnomes are between 3 and 4 feet tall and average 
  about 40 pounds. Your size is Small.
  Speed. Your base walking speed is 25 feet.
  Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score 
  increases by 2.
  Language. You can speak, read, and write Gnomish.
  Magical Hunger. When a creature you can see within 30 
  feet of you casts a spell, you can use your reaction to 
  consume the spell’s residual magic. Your consumption 
  doesn’t counter or otherwise affect the spell or the 
  spellcaster. When you consume this residual magic, you 
  gain temporary hit points (minimum of 1) equal to your 
  Constitution modifier, and you can’t use this trait again 
  until you finish a short or long rest.
  HALFLING HERITAGE
  Your darakhul character was a halfling before transforming 
  into a darakhul. Everything you loved as a halfling—
  food, drink, exploration, adventure—still drives you 
  
  13
  in your undead form; it is simply a more ghoulish 
  form of those pleasures now: raw flesh instead of stew, 
  warm blood instead of cold mead. You still want to 
  explore the dark corners of the world, but now you seek 
  something different.
  Size. Halflings average about 3 feet tall and weigh about 40 
  pounds. Your size is Small.
  Speed. Your base walking speed is 25 feet.
  Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 2.
  Language. You can speak, read, and write Halfling.
  Ill Fortune. Your uncanny halfling luck has taken a dark 
  turn since your conversion to an undead creature. When 
  a creature rolls a 20 on the d20 for an attack roll against 
  you, the creature must reroll the attack and use the new 
  roll. If the second attack roll misses you, the attacking 
  creature takes necrotic damage equal to twice your 
  Constitution modifier (minimum of 2).
  HUMAN/ELFMARKED HERITAGE
  Your darakhul character was a human or elfmarked before 
  transforming into a darakhul. Where there was once light 
  there is now darkness. Where there was once love there is 
  now hunger. You know if the darkness and hunger become 
  all-consuming, you are truly lost. But the powers of your 
  new form are strangely comfortable. How much of your 
  old self is still there, and what can this new form give you 
  that your old one couldn’t?
  Size. Humans and elfmarked vary widely in height and 
  build, from barely 5 feet to well over 6 feet tall. Your size 
  is Medium.
  Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
  Ability Score Increase. One ability score of your choice, 
  other than Constitution, increases by 2.
  Language. You can speak, read, and write one language of 
  your choice.
  Versatility. The training and experience of your early years 
  was not lost when you became a darakhul. You have 
  proficiency in two skills and one tool of your choice. 
  KOBOLD HERITAGE
  Your darakhul character was a kobold before transforming 
  into a darakhul. The dark, although it was often your 
  home, generally held terrors that you needed to survive. 
  Now you are the dark, and its pull on your soul is strong. 
  You fight to keep a grip on the intellect and cunning that 
  sustained you in your past life. Sometimes it is easy, but 
  often the driving hunger inside you makes it hard to think 
  as clearly as you once did.
  Size. Kobolds stand between 3 and 4 feet tall and weigh 
  around 40 pounds. Your size is Small.
  Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
  Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score 
  increases by 2.
  Language. You can speak, read, and write Draconic.
  Devious Bite. When you hit a creature with your bite 
  attack and you have advantage on the attack roll, your bite 
  deals an extra 1d4 piercing damage.
  RAVENFOLK HERITAGE
  Your darakhul character was a ravenfolk before 
  transforming into a darakhul. Your new form feels 
  different. It is more powerful and less fidgety, and your 
  beak has become razor sharp. There is still room for 
  trickery, of course. But with your new life comes a 
  disconnection from the All Father. Does this loss gnaw at 
  you like your new hunger or do you feel freed from the 
  destiny of your people?
  Size. Ravenfolk are slighter and shorter than humans, 
  ranging from 4 feet to just shy of 6 feet tall. Your size 
  is Medium.
  Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
  Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 2.
  Language. You can speak, read, and write Huginn’s Speech.
  Sudden Bite and Flight. If you surprise a creature during 
  the first round of combat, you can make a bite attack as a 
  bonus action. If it hits, you can Dodge as a reaction.
  TIEFLING HERITAGE
  Your darakhul character was a tiefling before transforming 
  into a darakhul. You are no stranger to the pull of powerful 
  forces raging through your blood. You have traded one 
  dark pull for another, and this one seems much stronger. Is 
  that a good feeling, or do you miss your old one?
  Size. Tieflings are about the same size and build as 
  humans. Your size is Medium.
  Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
  Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases by 2.
  Language. You can speak, read, and write Infernal.
  Necrotic Rebuke. When you are hit by a weapon attack, 
  you can use a reaction to envelop the attacker in 
  shadowy flames. The attacker takes necrotic damage 
  equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of 1), and it 
  has disadvantage on attack rolls until the end of its next 
  turn. You must finish a long rest before you can use this 
  feature again. 
  
  14
  TROLLKIN HERITAGE
  Your darakhul character was a trollkin before transforming 
  into a darakhul. Others saw you as a monster because of 
  your ancestry. You became inured to the fearful looks and 
  hurried exits of those around you. If only they could see 
  you now. Does your new state make you seek revenge on 
  them, or are you able to maintain your self-control despite 
  the new urges you feel?
  Size. Trollkin stand over 6 feet tall and are more solidly 
  built than humans, weighing around 200 pounds. Your 
  size is Medium.
  Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
  Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 2.
  Language. You can speak, read, and write Northern.
  Regenerative Bite. The regenerative powers of your trollkin 
  heritage are less potent than they were in life and need 
  a little help. As an action, you can make a bite attack 
  against a creature that isn’t undead or a construct. On a 
  hit, you regain hit points (minimum of 1) equal to half 
  the amount of damage dealt. Once you use this trait, you 
  can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.
  LONE SURVIVORS
  The dark trollkin is a rarity in the Underworld, and it 
  is unusual to find them banding together to form any 
  sort of community. Groups might form to work together 
  and create a community, but when food sources run low 
  or threats become overwhelming, the trollkin find it 
  easier to survive alone or in small, family groups. Other 
  races might adopt individual or small groups of dark 
  trollkin, providing them food and shelter in exchange 
  for protection. The one group that trollkin find it hard to 
  stomach are the darakhul, who might just turn them into a 
  meal if they don’t prove useful enough to the ghouls.
  Dark Trollkin
  The dark trollkin is a subrace of the surface dwelling 
  trollkin. Just as the surface trollkin spawned from unions 
  between humans and some of the more monstrous fey, 
  ogres, and trolls, the deep trollkin share heritage with 
  humans, deep trolls, and some of the other Underworld 
  fey-blooded. 
  ROUGH AND SOMETIMES SLIMY
  Like your trollkin cousins on the surface, you bear the 
  rippling muscles and natural weapons of your monstrous 
  ancestors. Your skin is dark and rough, although you can 
  will it to take on an oleaginous sheen and become soft 
  and pliable. This not only helps you travel in some of the 
  narrower passages of the Underworld, you can also resist 
  some crushing blows by making yourself squishy.
  
  15
  DARK TROLLKIN SUBRACE
  Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 1.
  Gelatinous Skin. You can use a bonus action to turn your 
  skin soft and mushy for 1 minute or until you use a bonus 
  action to end it. While in this state, you have a burrowing 
  speed of 20 feet, resistance to bludgeoning damage, and 
  advantage on ability checks and saving throws made to 
  escape a grapple, but your Armor Class is reduced by 2. 
  Once you use this trait, you can’t use it again until you 
  finish a short or long rest. 
  Malleable Body. You can squeeze through a space that is 
  large enough for a creature two sizes smaller than you.
  Derro
  Deep beneath the earth, the derro wait in twisted cities 
  built by their mad architects. These insane humanoids live, 
  work, and somehow thrive in the lightless depths. They 
  understand the truth about the uncaring gods that dwell 
  between the stars, and they abandoned sanity long ago to 
  save themselves. The derro hide within their insanity in 
  the hope that the dark gods they fear will turn that sinister 
  attention to other, saner races first. 
  Despite the great distances between their Underworld 
  cities and the surface, derro outposts can be found in 
  the slums of many cities, both above and below ground. 
  Occasionally, a derro discovers the wider world and finds a 
  path out of the madness. 
  PALE AND STUNTED 
  The derro are stunted, dwarflike humanoids, small of 
  stature with wide shoulders and stubby limbs. They stand 
  between 3 and 4 feet tall, with males only slighter taller 
  than females on average. Their slender builds rarely weigh 
  more than 40 pounds. Their pale skin is nearly translucent, 
  revealing a ghostly web of blue veins. Their large, pure 
  white staring eyes gleam in the dark. 
  Shorter than surface dwarves, derro are quick and erratic 
  in their movements. Their elaborately braided or styled 
  hair ranges from white to a pale straw color. Males take 
  great pride in their prodigious mustaches, which are often 
  braided and waxed. 
  HISTORY OF MADNESS 
  The true history of the derro is an incomprehensible 
  tangle. The entire race embraced insanity long ago. Even 
  when they keep records, their accounts conflict with each 
  other and with observable reality. The various cults and 
  PLAYING A DARK TROLLKIN
  Dark trollkin are one of the Underworld races that 
  might not look or feel out of place on the surface. 
  While they might have a fair amount of deep troll 
  blood running through their veins, trollkin are already 
  strange enough to most of the citizens of the world, 
  making the dark trollkin no more or less strange than 
  their cousins.
  You have to decide what your place is in the world. 
  Did your family travel to the surface or did you come 
  of age in the depths of the Underworld? Are you a 
  loner who seeks company only for mutual protection 
  or achieving goals, or have you adjusted into a society 
  with other trollkin or even other races entirely?.
  
  16
  clans of the derro embrace a wide variety of myths, mostly 
  passed along by oral tradition and mind-bending artwork. 
  Every new teller of a given tale twists or rewrites portions 
  of the story to fit their own warped view of the world. 
  The derro have existed for ages, perhaps thriving even 
  before the spread of humans across the surface. The 
  more reliable histories of other races agree the derro 
  once served the drow as enforcers and slave masters. The 
  drow regard them with a strange type of favor, almost 
  like dim-witted children. The aboleths and duergar have 
  likewise historically used and abused the derro. The 
  derro know no actual friends, but they are overawed by 
  power and dominance. They serve beings whose assumed 
  superiority impresses them, and, when led in this way, 
  their insanity clears enough to keep them moving toward 
  the leader’s goals. 
  CULTURE AND RULE 
  Love, as other races know it, is unheard of in the bizarre 
  core family unit of the derro. Derro children are born sane, 
  but they are deliberately driven mad by their relatives, 
  usually by age four. Parents feed, clothe, and protect 
  their children not out of a sense of love or tenderness, 
  but because they know that every derro awakened to the 
  mind-bending truth of their race brings them glory. The 
  horrific rituals that break a young derro’s sanity vary by 
  tribe and even year to year. Details are sparse, but known 
  ritual names include Staring into the Void, Enduring the 
  Heartless Fire, and the First Drink of True Knowledge. 
  Derro are paranoid, unstable, and jittery, and many suffer 
  powerful delusions of grandeur as well. Madness compels 
  them to commit acts of cruelty against their companions 
  or pets, and these acts ignite constant infighting among 
  them. A few, however, muster enough restraint and control 
  to keep the entirety of derro society from crumbling. 
  PLAYING A DERRO 
  Derro are unpredictable, fanciful, and prone to delusions, 
  confusions, and manias. So how can they function in 
  groups more used to the stability of humans, dwarves,  
  and elves? 
  In truth, the derro are less violent and more peculiar 
  in a quieter way than their common portrayal as rabid 
  maniacs. Among themselves, they are as likely to be 
  brooding, depressed, or sullen as crazed and violent. 
  Your derro character could have a tendency to talk to 
  themselves, might address an invisible friend before 
  undertaking any major step, or might simply consider all 
  the other members of the party as “imaginary friends” and 
  thus not subject to harassment. 
  Treat the derro’s madness as an occasional bit of flavor 
  for the character, rather than an excuse to cripple the 
  party with chaotic and self-defeating actions. A derro 
  character won’t be as predictable as a dwarf paladin or 
  an elfmarked bard, but the derro might occasionally talk 
  to rocks and interrogate mushrooms. Review the Minor 
  Madnesses section on page 19 for examples of playable 
  and flavorful maladies that afflict your character. Choose 
  an appropriate minor madness or roll percentile dice to 
  randomly determine it. Your character should have at 
  least one minor madness, but check with your GM to 
  confirm how many and which minor madnesses are most 
  appropriate in your campaign. 
  To avoid derailing the party constantly, your character 
  can have long lucid periods and might even regret actions 
  taken when “turned to the dark void” or “ridden by the 
  bat spirits” or a similar explanation. A derro in this lucid 
  state could be a tragic character, always wondering when 
  something will set off another bout of irrational raving. 
  Keep in mind, derro are often awed by beings they see 
  as powerful, though each derro defines what they deem 
  as “powerful.” Your derro character could view another 
  member of the group as the group’s “witch queen” 
  (regardless of that character’s gender) and follow that 
  character almost zealously. The instability of the derro 
  could also lead your character to choose a different 
  member of the group each day or each week as the 
  current “witch queen.” 
  Playing a derro character involves making a fantasy form 
  of otherworldly madness both playable and plausible. 
  Find a way to make your character memorable without 
  bogging down play or spoiling everyone else’s game.
  
  17
  Savants are powerful sorcerers who hold their madness at 
  bay long enough to cobble together coherent plans, though 
  even they are dangerously unpredictable. The derro’s 
  antipaladins are terrifying engines of crazed destruction 
  who have looked deep into the void between stars and 
  survived—and even the savants respect them for that. 
  Clans that stick together long enough inadvertently create 
  a witch queen among their ranks, a collective spirit of the 
  clan. These derro become the leaders and central focuses 
  of their clans, driving the clan to inscrutable ends. When 
  one witch queen dies, her spirit transfers to another derro 
  in the clan, transforming that derro into the next witch 
  queen and perpetuating the clan.
  GODS OF THE DERRO 
  The derro worship a horde of bizarre and terrible beings. 
  Derro ancestral gods such as Addrikah, the Mother of 
  Madness, are common figures of veneration, as are demon 
  lords. Perhaps the most disturbing of their deities are the 
  Great Old Ones whose mere symbolic presence melts 
  minds and corrupts the world. Derro worshipers venerate 
  Nyarlathotep and Shub-Niggurath, the Black Goat of 
  the Woods, in particular. There is no pattern or reason 
  that governs which dark being will catch a given derro’s 
  fancy, and devotees are violently hostile to worshipers of 
  other entities.
  Derro consider themselves the most exalted servants of 
  the blasphemous figures they venerate; the only beings 
  in the entire multiverse who can truly understand their 
  deity’s glory. Specific rituals vary from cult to cult, but 
  the unifying thread of derro faith asserts that their racial 
  madness is a gift that makes communion with these deities 
  possible. Further, the derro believe they are the harbingers 
  of the end of time, and that they alone will inherit the 
  shattered husk of creation. 
  DERRO NAMES 
  Names are thrust upon derro children haphazardly and 
  with no clear general customs. Derro who worship an 
  ancestor god might give their children a variation on 
  the exalted figure’s name or title, or a child might grow 
  almost to maturity before any adult bothers to call them 
  by the same jumble of sounds twice. Clan, tribe, and 
  family names also lack any discernable pattern, though 
  occasionally they form a coherent description. 
  Male Names: Akrath, Avrik, Brosh’Kal, Byrgryg, 
  Crok’Til, Cyzyk, Daagrath, Durvin, Farq’shul, Folvig, 
  Gaargrth, Grolesh, Haaskrin, Hvorig, Korzh, Lormaq, 
  Orvuld, Ostvyrk, Perk’rasz, Pulver’Kash, Quirth, Qvaalak, 
  Saasqar, Vorqaar
  Female Names: Aazha, Artriss, Bruen, Bylir, Dal’lyn, 
  Drussil, Ealla, Erkytl, Grunhaas, Gvarla, Heldraag, Hylala, 
  Muerna, Mzish, Ophella, Ortys, Rushal, Synder, Thryka, 
  Tonlix, Ulga, Veraka, Vilya, Wulfada, Xanka  
  Tribe Names: Aardsyn, Blackreach, Balerock, 
  Crystaaq, Daash’Void, Guundhold, Hellsreach, Iirdvank, 
  Laash’Kath, Moldheim, Nyar’Ryk, Ovildhaash, Rylstaaq, 
  Slys’Kath, Xaalyf 
  DERRO TRAITS 
  Your derro character has certain characteristics in 
  common with all other derro. 
  Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 2. 
  Age. Derro reach maturity by the age of 15 and live to be 
  around 75. 
  Size. Derro stand between 3 and 4 feet tall with slender 
  limbs and wide shoulders. Your size is Small. 
  Alignment. Their naturally unhinged minds are nearly 
  always chaotic, and many, but not all, are evil. 
  Speed. Derro are fast for their size. Your base walking 
  speed is 30 feet. 
  Superior Darkvision. Accustomed to life underground, 
  you can see in dim light within 120 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. 
  Eldritch Resilience. You have advantage on Constitution 
  saving throws against spells. 
  Sunlight Sensitivity. You have disadvantage on attack rolls 
  and on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight 
  when you, the target of your attack, or whatever you are 
  trying to perceive is in direct sunlight. 
  Languages. You can speak, read, and write Dwarvish and 
  your choice of Common or Undercommon.
  Subrace. Three subraces of derro exist in Midgard: far-
  touched, mutated, and uncorrupted. Choose one of 
  these subraces.
  DERRO SUBRACES
  Derro differ based on their location within the derro 
  communities of the Underworld, their clan’s connections 
  to the dark powers that sculpt and manipulate the 
  derro race, and the manifestations of the changes their 
  otherworldly patrons bestow on them. Most derro dwell 
  happily and deeply in their culture-induced insanity for 
  their entire existence, others escape the madness-inducing 
  indoctrination, and others still go straight through the 
  madness toward powers beyond what derro usually enjoy.
  
  18
  FAR-TOUCHED
  You grew up firmly ensconced in the mad traditions of the 
  derro, your mind touched by the raw majesty and power 
  of your society’s otherworldly deities. Your abilities in 
  other areas have made you more than a typical derro, of 
  course. But no matter how well-trained and skilled you get 
  in other magical or martial arts, the voices of your gods 
  forever reverberate in your ears, driving you forward to do 
  great or terrible things.
  Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score 
  increases by 1.
  Insanity. You have advantage on saving throws against 
  being charmed or frightened. In addition, you can read 
  and understand Void Speech, but you can speak only a 
  few words of the dangerous and maddening language—
  the words necessary for using the spells in your Mad 
  Fervor trait.
  Mad Fervor. The driving force behind your insanity has 
  blessed you with a measure of its power. You know the 
  vicious mockery cantrip. When you reach 3rd level, you 
  can cast the enthrall spell with this trait, and starting at 5th 
  level, you can cast the fear spell with it. Once you cast a 
  non-cantrip spell with this trait, you can’t do so again until 
  you finish a long rest. Charisma is your spellcasting ability 
  for these spells. If you are using the Midgard Worldbook, 
  these spells are instead crushing curse, maddening whispers, 
  and alone, respectively. 
  MUTATED
  Most derro go through the process of indoctrination into 
  their society and come out of it with visions and delusion, 
  paranoia and mania. You, on the other hand, were not 
  affected as much mentally as you were physically. The 
  connection to the dark deities of your people made you 
  stronger and gave you a physical manifestation of their gift 
  that other derro look upon with envy and awe.
  Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 1.
  Athletic Training. You have proficiency in the Athletics 
  skill, and you are proficient with two martial weapons of 
  your choice.
  Otherworldly Influence. Your close connection to the 
  strange powers that your people worship has mutated your 
  form. Choose one of the following:
  • Alien Appendage. You have a tentacle-like growth on 
  your body. This tentacle is a natural melee weapon, 
  which you can use to make unarmed strikes. When 
  you hit with it, your tentacle deals bludgeoning 
  damage equal to 1d4 + your Strength modifier, instead 
  of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed 
  strike. This tentacle has a reach of 5 feet and can lift 
  a number of pounds equal to double your Strength 
  score. The tentacle can’t wield weapons or shields or 
  perform tasks that require manual precision, such as 
  performing the somatic components of a spell, but it 
  can perform simple tasks, such as open an unlocked 
  door or container, stow or retrieve an object, or pour 
  the contents out of a vial.
  • Tainted Blood. Your blood is tainted by your 
  connection with otherworldly entities. When you 
  take piercing or slashing damage, you can use your 
  reaction to force your blood to spray out of the 
  wound. You and each creature within 5 feet of you 
  take necrotic damage equal to your level. Once you 
  use this trait, you can’t use it again until you finish a 
  short or long rest. 
  • Tenebrous Flesh. Your skin is rubbery and tenebrous, 
  granting you a +1 bonus to your Armor Class.
  UNCORRUPTED
  Someone in your past failed to do their job of driving 
  you to the brink of insanity. It might have been a doting 
  parent that decided to buck tradition. It might have been 
  a touched seer who had visions of your future without the 
  connections to the mad gods your people serve. It might 
  have been a whole outcast community of derro rebels who 
  refused to serve the madness of your ancestors. Whatever 
  happened in your past, you are quite sane—or at least quite 
  sane for a derro.
  Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases by 1.
  Extra Language. You can speak, read, and write one extra 
  language of your choice.
  Psychic Barrier. Your time among your less sane brethren 
  has inured you to their madness. You have resistance 
  to psychic damage, and you have advantage on ability 
  checks and saving throws made against effects that 
  inflict insanity, such as spells like contact other plane and 
  symbol, and effects that cause short-term, long-term, or 
  indefinite madness.
  Studied Insight. You are skilled at discerning other 
  creature’s motives and intentions. You have proficiency 
  in the Insight skill, and, if you study a creature for at least 
  1 minute, you have advantage on any initiative checks in 
  combat against that creature for the next hour.
  
  19
  MINOR MADNESSES 
  01–10 
  Collector; roll on subtable 1 for specific object 
  11–20 
  Pica (eats nonfood objects); roll on subtable 1 for specific object 
  21–40 
  Minor delusion; roll on subtable 3 
  41–50 
  Irrational prejudice against creature; roll on subtable 2 for specific creature 
  51–60 
  Taboo (cannot touch or interact with creature); roll on subtable 2 for specific creature 
  61–70 
  Phobia (strong fear of creature); roll on subtable 2 for specific creature 
  71–80 
  Obsessed with creature; roll on subtable 2 for specific creature 
  81–00 
  Physical effect; roll on subtable 4 
  SUBTABLE 3: DELUSIONS 
  01–10 
  Has imaginary friend; god/spirit who is friendly 
  and encouraging 
  11–20 
  Has imaginary friend; god/spirit who is hateful 
  and discouraging 
  21–30 
  Is a high noble of derro society 
  31–40 
  Has less power than actually does 
  41-50 
  Has more power than actually does 
  51–60 
  Has an important destiny 
  61–70 
  Believes a particular inanimate object  
  (roll on subtable 1) is alive 
  71–80 
  Is a powerful creature polymorphed as a derro 
  81–90 
  Is commanded by voices speaking random 
  gibberish and commands 
  91–00 
  Random patterns of either inanimate objects 
  (subtable 1) or living things (subtable 2) have an 
  important meaning and must be studied 
  SUBTABLE 4: PHYSICAL EFFECTS 
  01–10 
  Leers and rolls eyes upon seeing a particular type 
  of creature (roll on subtable 2) 
  11–20 
  Tic or tremor in body part 
  21–30 
  Mutters constantly to self, sometimes narrating 
  actions or feelings 
  31–40 
  Speaks inappropriate but true facts during 
  diplomatic situations 
  41–50 
  Randomly speaks a word (chosen by GM) during 
  combat or negotiation 
  51–60 
  Laughs at inappropriate moments 
  61–70 
  Weeps at inappropriate moments 
  71–80 
  Constantly clenches and unclenches hands 
  81–90 
  Minor hunchback 
  91–00 
  Half of face paralyzed 
  SUBTABLE 1: SMALL OBJECTS 
  01–10 
  Rocks or crystals 
  11–20 
  Bones, hair, nails, or bugs (dead or alive) 
  21–30 
  Deodands (items responsible for the death of 
  a creature) 
  31–40 
  Eyes, fingers, teeth, ears, toes, or other small 
  body parts 
  41–50 
  Dirt, dust, or clay 
  51–60 
  Rags, cloths, or papers 
  61–70 
  Hats, socks, gloves, or other clothing 
  71–80 
  String, wire, or chain 
  81–90 
  Clockwork parts, jewelry, or buttons 
  91–00 
  Holy symbols, religious goods, or sacred texts 
  SUBTABLE 2: LIVING CREATURES  
  01–10 
  Tiny insect, slug, or worm 
  11–20 
  Chicken, cat, dog, sheep, cow, or other 
  domestic animal (pick a type) 
  21–30 
  Elf, dwarf, human, kobold, or other humanoid 
  31–40 
  Rat, giant centipede, gelatinous cube, or other 
  giant vermin or ooze (pick a type) 
  41–50 
  Cleric or druid 
  51–60 
  Wizard or sorcerer 
  61–70 
  Sparrow, pigeon, hawk, owl, or other bird 
  71–80 
  Rat, wolf, mole, badger, or other 
  mammalian beast 
  81–90 
  Construct or clockwork creature 
  91–00 
  Angel or fiend (pick type) 
  
  20
  Dhampir 
  The half-living children of vampires and human mothers, 
  dhampirs are born into a world that rejects them. Stigma 
  and suspicion follow them regardless of whether the truth 
  of a dhampir child’s nature is known. This mistrust either 
  forces a dhampir to develop a disarming wit and charm, 
  or to embrace bitterness and keep others at arm’s length 
  through guile or outright intimidation. 
  Few dhampirs find solace with their undead forebears. 
  As living creatures, even tainted ones, the reality of living 
  with an evil, blood-sucking monster seldom appeals 
  even as they struggle with their own urges or hungers. 
  Dhampirs struggle to find acceptance both within society 
  and within themselves.
  The dhampir of the Underworld, on the other hand, 
  are slightly more feral than their surface kin due to a 
  harsh upbringing of fending for themselves against 
  the innumerable dangers in the realms below. There is 
  sometimes a home for them in the Underworld, as part of 
  the Ghoul Imperium, if they are willing to pledge loyalty 
  to the Emperor. That is not to say the darakhul completely 
  trust the dhampir who come to them seeking a place in the 
  world. But the ghouls know how to use the tools at their 
  disposal, and they are happy to open their arms to allies 
  who carry a tinge of undeath.
  PLAYING A DHAMPIR 
  Whether you are a surface-dwelling or a feral dhampir, 
  you are constantly struggling against your dual nature. 
  Good-aligned dhampir try to be good while an evil 
  ember burns deep within, trying to force them to 
  be the beasts their vampiric parents are. Evil-aligned 
  dhampir face the opposite conflict: they give in to 
  their feral nature readily, but even then their humanity 
  washes over them in waves at opportune times, trying 
  to bring them out of the darkness and into the light.
  Playing a dhampir of either ilk brings its own 
  dramatic tension, but the structure of the Underworld 
  adds another complicating factor for many dhampir. 
  Does the potential of belonging to a true civilization of 
  undead tempt you? Or does its very nature repel you 
  even more than the dark taint of your own blood?
  LITHE AND GRACEFUL 
  Dhampirs appear much like humans at first glance. Adults 
  stand between 5 and 6 feet tall but are more slender on 
  average than humans; males weigh around 160 pounds. 
  Female dhampirs are only slightly shorter but are a fair bit 
  leaner, weighing around 120 pounds. Their skin and hair 
  color runs the vast spectrum of tones available to humans, 
  though they tend to be slightly pale. 
  The flawless features of the surface-dwelling dhampir 
  are tinged with some unnamable exotic quality. Despite 
  the fear and uncertainty that follow them, these half-dead 
  possess a seductive appearance. Listeners find themselves 
  unconsciously giving weight to a dhampir’s words and are 
  
  21
  drawn to the exotic presence. Dhampirs glide through life 
  with a seemingly effortless grace that belies their struggle.
  The Underworld dhampir have no need to keep up 
  appearances, however. They are just as likely to let their 
  hair grow wild and their clothes get tattered as they 
  are to try to appear or act in a seductive manner. Their 
  movements and actions still have a graceful quality, to be 
  sure, but it is the grace of a predator on the prowl.
  BLOOD TIES 
  For most dhampirs, family is all they have. Immediate kin 
  might be the only source of solace for a dhampir raised 
  by a mortal family. Driven away by the unconscious or 
  superstitious derision of their peers, families containing 
  a dhampir can easily become clannish and reclusive. 
  They learn to keep the world at a distance to protect 
  themselves and their loved ones. Dhampirs who grow up 
  in this situation commonly strike out on their own after 
  reaching maturity, both out of a need to find connection to 
  the greater world and to spare their family the burden of 
  their presence. 
  Conversely, some dhampirs are born into bloodlines 
  that deliberately cultivate their tainted nature. A true 
  vampire patron, usually the one who originally began the 
  line, oversees these bloodlines. Such a bloodline holds its 
  lineage in the highest regard. There is no doubt among its 
  members that theirs is a superior stock and upbringing, 
  and that greatness is their due. The majority of outright 
  evil dhampirs arise from cultivated bloodlines. They 
  quickly become true monsters, seeing a living creature’s 
  fear as envy of their station. 
  Underworld dhampir, sometimes called feral dhampir, 
  are most often loners who understand that the world of 
  light and life is not for them. In the subterranean dark, 
  there is still plenty of blood to sate their thirst, and much 
  darker creatures than dhampir haunt the depths of 
  the world. 
  CULTURAL MASKS 
  Particularly close-knit or cosmopolitan communities can 
  easily tolerate a dhampir in their midst, but that has more 
  to do with adherence to tradition or relative anonymity 
  than true acceptance. Larger cities include dhampirs 
  sprinkled among the population as the half-dead blend 
  in and find their niche, relying on their innate charm. 
  Dhampir don’t relate easily to humans but find a natural 
  kinship with other half-breed races, particularly the 
  fiendish tieflings. They, along with elfmarked, know all too 
  well what it’s like to live between two worlds, never truly 
  fitting in to either. 
  Some dhampirs choose to band together for safety, 
  camaraderie, and understanding. These groups are 
  nomadic, traveling from town to town and making their 
  living off the land. Such a band adheres to a loose set of 
  guidelines called the Walking Crow edicts. These rules 
  dictate the dhampirs’ responsibility to protect one another 
  from outsiders, for each caravan group to self-govern and 
  be self-sustaining, and for every Crow to work toward the 
  prosperity of the caravan. These groups rarely find warm 
  welcome with outsiders, but they are often tolerated for 
  their diverse adventuring skills. Despite their trepidation, 
  villagers can resolve threats to their homes by hiring a 
  band of Crows to handle the problem for them. 
  CANDLES IN THE DARK 
  Dhampirs constantly struggle with their nature. They 
  suffer from a troubled upbringing and intrinsic corruption 
  that gnaws at civilized thoughts and behavior. The truth of 
  their heritage weighs on them. Many experience disturbing 
  urges to consume blood or to control others. They shun 
  the light and find safety and comfort in darkness. Enticed 
  and repulsed by mortals at the same time, constant 
  struggle is at the core of a dhampir’s existence. 
  Many dhampirs use this struggle as fuel to action. Good 
  dhampirs are horrified by their own corrupted existence 
  and dedicate themselves to living in opposition to it. They 
  become priests who venerate gods of light, or they vow to 
  destroy all undead who perpetuate their misery. Others 
  are broken by their turmoil. They lash out at the world in a 
  rage of bloodlust and hatred. Many evil dhampirs turn to 
  worship of demons and other gods of darkness and pain, 
  seeking to conquer and subjugate their mortal peers.
  DHAMPIR NAMES
  Most dhampirs bear names appropriate to their mothers’ 
  human culture. Some, particularly those belonging to 
  cultivated bloodlines, might have archaic names chosen 
  by, or in honor of, their family’s vampire patron. Surnames 
  follow a similar pattern. Dhampirs might use the family 
  name of their mortal relatives, or they might adopt the 
  family name of a powerful vampire as a badge of office. 
  Nomadic dhampirs uniformly take the surname “Crow.” 
  DHAMPIR TRAITS 
  Your dhampir character has certain characteristics derived 
  from your undead ancestry. 
  Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases by 2, 
  and your Dexterity score increases by 1. 
  Age. Dhampirs reach maturity at the same age as humans, 
  but their lifespans are much longer. They can live up to 
  750 years before death finally claims them. 
  
  22
  Alignment. Most dhampirs are neutral, but some are 
  driven toward evil by the bitterness and suspicion their 
  parentage thrusts upon them. A few turn toward good in 
  defiance of their nature. 
  Size. Dhampirs are about as tall as humans but are slighter 
  of build. Your size is Medium. 
  Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet. 
  Darkvision. Thanks to your undead ancestry, you have 
  superior vision in dark and dim conditions. 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. 
  Dark Thirst. You can bite as an unarmed strike against an 
  incapacitated creature or one you have grappled. Your bite 
  deals 1 piercing damage, and if the target has blood and 
  isn’t a construct or undead, you can feed from it as part 
  of the attack. Your feeding deals necrotic damage equal to 
  your Charisma modifier (minimum of 1), and you gain 
  temporary hit points equal to the necrotic damage dealt. 
  Once you gain temporary hit points with this trait, you 
  can’t do so again until you finish a short or long rest. 
  Predatory Charm. You have proficiency in the Persuasion 
  skill. In addition, if you spend at least 1 minute conversing 
  or interacting with a humanoid you or your allies haven’t 
  attacked within the last 24 hours, you have advantage on 
  your next Charisma ability check against that humanoid. 
  Regardless of the result, you can’t use your Predatory 
  Charm on that humanoid again until 24 hours have 
  passed. If you roll a 20 on the d20 for the Charisma check, 
  the humanoid is a willing target for your bite attack.
  Vampiric Resilience. You have advantage on saving 
  throws against disease, and you have resistance to 
  necrotic damage. 
  Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and 
  one extra language of your choice. Dhampir from the 
  Underworld typically learn Darakhul. 
  VARIANT DHAMPIR: FERAL
  Feral dhampir are most often found in the Underworld, 
  abandoned there as children, sold to ghoul slavers 
  by families desperate to rid themselves of the cursed 
  child, or created by the vampires who regularly visit the 
  Ghoul Imperium. 
  A feral dhampir has a climbing speed of 20 feet and 
  doesn’t have the Predatory Charm trait. In addition, it 
  gains the following traits in place of the dhampir’s Ability 
  Score Increase and Dark Thirst traits: 
  Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 2, 
  and your Strength score increases by 1.
  Feral Hunger. Your fangs are longer and your jaw more 
  powerful than your less-feral cousins, and even your 
  vampire progenitor. Your bite is a natural melee weapon, 
  which you can use to make unarmed strikes. When you 
  hit with it, your bite deals piercing damage equal to 1d4 
  + your Strength modifier, instead of the bludgeoning 
  damage normal for an unarmed strike. If the target of 
  your bite has blood and isn’t a construct or undead, you 
  can feed from it as part of the attack. Your feeding deals 
  necrotic damage equal to your Constitution modifier 
  and you gain temporary hit points equal to the necrotic 
  damage dealt. Once you gain temporary hit points with 
  this trait, you can’t do so again until you finish a short or 
  long rest.
  Drow
  The denizens of the surface world did not know of the 
  existence of the drow until recently in the world’s history. 
  Even other Underworld creatures only heard of the race 
  through rumors and half-mythical stories. The magnificent 
  cities and structures created by the drow were viewed 
  by very few outsiders, as the locales were kept secret, 
  protected by traps, magic, and a network of fortifications 
  and soldiers. With the rise of the Ghoul Imperium, 
  however, the drow civilization is now exposed to the rest of 
  the Underworld and on the brink of annihilation.
  A HIDDEN RACE
  The beginnings of the drow race are shrouded in mystery. 
  With their resemblance to the elves of the surface world, 
  many would posit the drow are some subterranean 
  offshoot of that surface race, driven underground for 
  some treacherous and evil acts. The truth is practically the 
  opposite. The drow lived long before the surface elves, and 
  if there is any connection between the two races at all, the 
  drow are the elders.
  The skin of a drow ranges from grey to blue-black to the 
  darkest ebon. Their features are delicate and streamlined, 
  and their eyes glow red. Drow who have hair general 
  sport white or silver hair, and they do not grow facial 
  or body hair.
  THE RELIGION OF INDUSTRY
  The drow pattern their entire way of life by the strength and 
  beauty of the work of the insects of the Underworld. These 
  insects, though seemingly small and insignificant, create 
  great structures, while at the same time having the power to 
  destroy even the greatest enemy. Their structures are built 
  with materials as fine and as strong as spider webs. Their 
  fortifications are like the colonies of ants: defensible and 
  
  23
  carefully planned. The various beetles that are now staples 
  of the Ghoul Imperium were first utilized and bred by the 
  drow centuries ago, though the darakhul have, in their 
  minds, perfected these creatures in recent years.
  The religious ceremonies of the drow also follow patterns 
  of insectoid energy and cooperation. Everyone has a place, 
  from the weakest to the most powerful. If one fails to do 
  their job well, all will suffer the consequences. Careful 
  planning and execution can overcome any obstacle. 
  Unfortunately, the defeats suffered at the hands of 
  darakhul have left many drow questioning their faith. 
  Some want to begin worshipping new, more violent forces 
  to turn the tides. Even those who still cling to the old ways 
  are split on whether to go into hiding or commit to a full-
  blown assault on the ghouls.
  TERRIBLE DEFEATS
  At first, the territory controlled by the darakhul did not 
  intersect with that of the drow. As the Ghoul Imperium 
  spread further and further throughout the Underworld, 
  skirmishes between the outer guard and advance scouts of 
  the drow and darakhul became more frequent. Realizing 
  that such a powerful force and rich food supply was within 
  reach, the darakhul quickly took the fight to the drow in 
  their own cities.
  The drow had never before been successfully invaded, 
  but they had never before been attacked by a 
  force like the darakhul. The drow relied on 
  traps and defenses that employed poison or 
  necrotic magic, which was great against living 
  foes but mostly ineffective against the darakhul. Unable 
  to kill what was already dead, the drow watched one 
  city after another fall. And to make matters worse, their 
  own dead were rising up as the enemy and joining the 
  darakhul ranks.
  DROW NAMES 
  Drow are named by their families at birth, with the names 
  having meanings that convey the wishes of the family for 
  the child. Common drow names translate as obedient, 
  ingenious, commanding, and fearless.
  Female Names: Ar’tik, Berril, Chi’zzl, Dillin, Fal’zzn, 
  Id’sin, Li’liin, Mzz’ik, Ni’zzt, Ril’sir, Til’zzr
  Male Names: Ber’zzn, Chr’fru, Dro’shu, Fru’kkr, Har’trk, 
  Joor’tzz, Kru’jat, Ohb’qor, Pzz’lok, Vor’tre
  DROW TRAITS 
  Your drow character has certain characteristics in common 
  with all other drow. 
  Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score 
  increases by 2. 
  Age. Drow physically mature at the same rate as humans, 
  but they aren’t considered adults until they reach the age 
  of 50. They typically live to be around 500. 
  Size. Drow are slightly shorter and slimmer than humans. 
  Your size is Medium. 
  Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
  Alignment. Drow believe in reason and rationality, which 
  leads them to favor lawful activities. However, their 
  current dire situation makes them more prone than 
  their ancestors to chaotic behavior. Their vicious fight 
  for survival makes them capable of doing great evil in 
  the name of self-preservation, although they are not by 
  nature prone to evil in other circumstances.
  Superior Darkvision. Accustomed to life in the darkest 
  depths of the world, you can see in dim light within 120 
  feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it 
  
  24
  were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only 
  shades of gray. 
  Fey Ancestry. You have advantage on saving throws against 
  being charmed, and magic can’t put you to sleep.
  Mind of Steel. You understand the complexities of minds, 
  as well as the magic that can affect them. You have 
  advantage on Wisdom, Intelligence, and Charisma saving 
  throws against spells.
  Sunlight Sensitivity. You have disadvantage on attack rolls 
  and on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight 
  when you, the target of your attack, or whatever you are 
  trying to perceive is in direct sunlight. 
  Languages. You can speak, read, and write Elvish and your 
  choice of Common or Undercommon.
  Subrace. Three subraces of drow exist in Midgard: delver, 
  purified, and the more recent fever-bit. Choose one of 
  these subraces.
  DROW SUBRACES
  The drow are generally born into different castes, which 
  determines what is expected of them in drow society. 
  The delvers are the workers who maintain the (once) 
  magnificent drow cities, serve in the drow military, and 
  keep the rest of the drow safe and fed. The purified make 
  up the leaders, skilled laborers, and magic-users of the 
  drow. With the war between the drow and the darakhul 
  going so poorly, a new and growing population of drow, 
  called the fever-bit, have been infected with darakhul fever 
  and survived, changing them into something quite new—
  and potentially powerful.
  DELVER 
  You are one of the workers whose laborers prop up most of 
  drow society. You were trained from birth to follow orders 
  and serve the collective. You learned your trade well, 
  whether it was building or fighting or erecting the traps 
  that protected passages to your population centers.
  Ability Score Increase. Your Strength or Dexterity score 
  increases by 1.
  Rapport with Insects. Your caste’s years of working 
  alongside the giant spiders and beetles that your people 
  utilized in building and defending cities has left your 
  caste with an innate affinity with the creatures. You can 
  communicate simple ideas with insect-like beasts with an 
  Intelligence of 3 or lower, such as spiders, beetles, wasps, 
  scorpions, and centipedes. You can understand them 
  in return, though this understanding is often limited to 
  knowing the creature’s current or most recent state, such 
  as “hungry,” “content,” or “in danger.” Delver drow often 
  keep such creatures as pets, mounts, or beasts of burden.
  Specialized Training. You are proficient in one skill and 
  one tool of your choice.
  Martial Excellence. You are proficient with one martial 
  weapon of your choice and with light armor.
  FEVER-BIT 
  You were once a normal drow, then you fell victim to 
  the ravaging claws and teeth of a darakhul. The deadly 
  darakhul fever almost took your life, but, when you were 
  on the verge of succumbing, you rallied and survived. 
  You were changed, however, in ways that even the greatest 
  healers of your people can’t fathom. But now that you 
  are immune to darakhul fever, your commanders have a 
  job for you.
  Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score 
  increases by 1.
  Deathly Resilience. Your long exposure to the life-sapping 
  energies of darakhul fever has made you more resilient. 
  You have resistance to necrotic damage, and you have 
  advantage on death saving throws. 
  Iron Constitution. You are immune to disease.
  Near-Death Experience. Your brush with death has 
  made you more stalwart in the face of danger. You have 
  advantage on saving throws against being frightened. 
  PLAYING A DROW 
  You were born into a civilization that survived and 
  thrived on order, stability, rational thought, and careful 
  planning. Within your lifetime, you watched all of that 
  come crashing down. The darakhul forces have you 
  on the run, hiding out in small pockets of civilization, 
  moving from place to place to avoid detection, or 
  hearing about the devastation from a safe place far 
  from the battle lines. Some within your ranks want to 
  completely change the way drow live, create new rules 
  and new ways of life, and do everything and anything 
  to survive. Others believe this is naught but a new test 
  of your people’s resolve, and that only by remaining 
  faithful to the old ways can you defeat your enemy. 
  Wherever you come down on this debate, you have a 
  new, strange world in front of you.
  
  25
  PURIFIED 
  You were born into the caste that produces the leaders and 
  planners, the priests and wizards, the generals and officers 
  of drow society. Your people, it is believed, were tested by 
  the beneficent powers your worship, and you passed those 
  tests to become something more. Your innate magic proves 
  your superiority over your fellows.
  Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases by 1.
  Innate Spellcasting. You know the poison spray cantrip. 
  When you reach 3rd level, you can cast suggestion once 
  with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you 
  finish a long rest. When you reach 5th level, you can cast 
  the tongues spell once with this trait and regain the ability 
  to do so when you finish a long rest. Intelligence is your 
  spellcasting ability for these spells. 
  Born Leader. You gain proficiency with two of the 
  following skills of your choice: History, Insight, 
  Performance, and Persuasion.
  Mushroomfolk
  The Underworld is teeming with danger and death. The 
  ravenous and unrelenting darakhul seek domination 
  over everything in their path. The inscrutable madness 
  of the derro make them dangerous to creatures in reach 
  of their domain. The calculating and dispassionate drow 
  put their own survival above everything else. With so 
  many inhospitable, or openly evil, forces at play in the 
  Underworld, one race lives a more-or-less peaceful life in 
  the depths of the world: the mushroomfolk.
  A DIVERSE 
  PHYSIOGNOMY 
  The physical appearance of 
  mushroomfolk is even more 
  diverse than their flesh-and-blood 
  counterparts. They have evolved 
  appendages resembling arms and 
  legs, as well as organs for taking in 
  sensory information. Beyond that, they 
  can be as different from one another as 
  surface fungi are from each other, 
  even within the same clan. Some 
  mushroomfolk are tall and thin 
  with caps like toadstools, while 
  others might be short and squat 
  like puffballs. Their diversity 
  strengthens the survivability of their 
  race and their clan.
  Mushroomfolk have no gender, and they are capable 
  of both sexual and asexual reproduction. Roughly once 
  a year, a mushroomfolk is capable of creating a copy of 
  itself via a specialized spore, which takes about 5 years to 
  become an adult mushroomfolk. It’s also possible for two 
  mushroomfolk to combine spores and create a completely 
  new type of mushroomfolk. This process takes longer, and 
  usually only takes place when the clan is in a settlement 
  phase. An adult grows from this process after about 10 
  years, but such individuals are considered hardier and a 
  good omen for a clan.
  CLANS OF WANDERERS AND SETTLERS 
  The lives of the mushroomfolk are concerned mainly with 
  the search for, or the tending of, sources of nutrition. This 
  concern dictates the lifestyle, religion, ethos, and survival 
  of the mushroomfolk. Clans of the creatures wander the 
  Underworld until they find an area rich in the nutrition 
  they need to survive. If a large area of potential nutrition is 
  found, the wandering clan changes its mode of operation. 
  Specialists in raising creatures or farming vegetation take 
  over, letting the scouts and wayfinders rest for a bit.
  
  26
  At the same time, the scouts and wanderers from 
  other clans might encounter a settled clan. Wandering 
  newcomers join the settled clan for a time, learn from 
  them, share spores to strengthen the clans, and determine 
  if the clans must combine or split to ensure optimal 
  chances of survival.
  Clans may settle for a few weeks, a few months, or even a 
  few years. At some point, however, the nutrition runs out. 
  Then the clan switches survival modes again, repeating 
  the process as scouts are deployed and the clan goes 
  on the move.
  MUSHROOMFOLK RELIGION
  The mushroomfolk gain sustenance from death and decay. 
  Unlike the darakhul, however, they feed on creatures and 
  vegetation that have died naturally and started to decay. 
  This reliance on putrescence as a form of food often seems 
  ghoulish to outsiders—or at least it seems so until the 
  outsider encounters the true ghouls of the Underworld.
  During important times of the year, the mushroomfolk 
  perform elaborate rituals involving the finding and the 
  harvesting of food: when scouts leave or return, when 
  important sites of sustenance are found, when scouts 
  of other clans join them or leave, etc. Even during less 
  important times, the mushroomfolk have small rites and 
  rituals they perform that others might not even notice. 
  Experts in religion who watch these rituals recognize 
  them as a spattering of rites from different faiths. The most 
  prevalent offerings revolve around the worship of Anu-
  Akma, the Lord of the Underworld and one of the main 
  deities of the darakhul. However, the mushroomfolk have 
  no idea of the power they are worshipping: they simply 
  revere the force that brings the decay and rot that they 
  need to survive.
  RELATIONS WITH THE DARAKHUL
  The mushroomfolk have an interesting and unique 
  relationship with the darakhul. They are no threat to 
  the darakhul, but nor are they a potential food source. 
  The darakhul, on the other hand, are a tasty treat to the 
  mushroomfolk—even when still in an undead state, 
  but especially after they have been destroyed. This is 
  disconcerting to the darakhul.
  On the other hand, the trusting and placid nature of the 
  mushroomfolk makes them a useful tool for the darakhul. 
  Darakhul spies can count on getting honest intelligence 
  from mushroomfolk scouts or clans they encounter, which 
  might be useful in their subjugation of the Underworld. 
  The mushroomfolk also understand that where darakhul 
  armies march, there is often death, with rotting bodies to 
  give them sustenance.
  MUSHROOMFOLK NAMES 
  A mushroomfolk is given a name by the clan leaders when 
  it becomes old enough to take on important work for the 
  clan. The individual receives a name for itself, and it also 
  takes on the name of its clan. A mushroomfolk without 
  a clan only uses its given name, or it might take on a 
  pseudonym if it lives in shame for past misdeeds.
  Individual Names: Arhk, Bussle, Carntul, Darvish, 
  Furnum, Garbelt, Haredt, Jarbish, Lever, Mivel, Paruuk, 
  Qibble, Staphle, Vassil
  Clan Names: Aaughot, Chough, Dousku, Guush, 
  Hoovush, Kushuk, Nouhuph, Phushmug, Shublum, 
  Unugh, Wurnush
  MUSHROOMFOLK TRAITS 
  Your mushroomfolk character has certain characteristics in 
  common with all other mushroomfolk. 
  Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases by 2. 
  Age. Mushroomfolk reach maturity by the age of 5 and 
  rarely live longer than 50 years. 
  Size. Mushroomfolk size is determined by their subrace. 
  Alignment. The limited interaction mushroomfolk have 
  with other creatures leaves them with a fairly neutral view 
  of the world in terms of good and evil, while their societal 
  structure makes them more prone to law than chaos.
  Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet. 
  Darkvision. Accustomed to life underground, you can see 
  in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, 
  PLAYING A MUSHROOMFOLK  
  The close-knit nature of mushroomfolk clans generally 
  makes the tales of mushroomfolk PCs hard-luck 
  stories. Most likely your clan was destroyed by some 
  Underworld threat, and you now wander the world 
  looking for a new family. Maybe you were exiled from 
  your clan for some reason, and you were adopted 
  by some other race or a group of adventurers. You 
  even might be off on a long-term mission to collect 
  information about an area, serving your clan in that 
  way, and you will return only when you feel you have 
  enough interesting data to provide.
  
  27
  and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern 
  color in darkness, only shades of gray.  
  Fungoid Form. You are a humanoid, though the fungal 
  nature of your body and your unique diet of decayed 
  vegetable and animal matter marks you with some 
  plant-like characteristics. You have advantage on saving 
  throws against poison, and you have resistance to poison 
  damage. In addition, you are immune to disease.
  Hardy Survivor. Your upbringing in mushroomfolk society 
  has taught you how to defend yourself and find food. You 
  have proficiency in the Survival skill.
  Languages. You can speak, read, and write Mushroomfolk 
  and your choice of Common or Undercommon.
  Subrace. Three subraces of mushroomfolk are known to 
  wander Midgard: acid cap, favored, and morel. Choose 
  one of these subraces.
  MUSHROOMFOLK SUBRACES
  Because of the multitude of physical makeups of 
  mushroomfolk, there are great differences among and 
  within the clans. However, there are three main subraces of 
  mushroomfolk that are most likely to become adventurers.
  ACID CAP
  You were one of the warriors and guardians of your 
  clan, using your strength and acid spores to protect your 
  clanmates and your territory.
  Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 1.
  Size. Your size is Medium.
  Acid Cap Resistance. You have resistance to acid damage. 
  Acid Spores. When you are hit by a melee weapon attack 
  within 5 feet of you, you can use your reaction to emit 
  acidic spores. If you do, the attacker takes acid damage 
  equal to half your level (rounded up). You can use your 
  acid spores a number of times equal to your Constitution 
  modifier (a minimum of once). You regain any expended 
  uses when you finish a long rest.
  Clan Athlete. You have proficiency in the Athletics skill.
  FAVORED
  A few special mushroomfolk grow to become shamans, 
  generals, and other types of remarkable leaders. Your 
  spores invite cooperation, peace, and healing among your 
  allies. Others look to you for guidance and succor in the 
  harsh Underworld environs.
  Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases by 1.
  Size. Your size is Medium.
  Blessed Help. Your intuition and connection to your allies 
  allows you to assist and protect them. You know the spare 
  the dying cantrip. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast 
  the bless spell once with this trait and regain the ability 
  to do so when you finish a long rest. Charisma is your 
  spellcasting ability for these spells. 
  Clan Leader. You have proficiency in the Persuasion skill.
  Restful Spores. If you or any friendly creatures within 30 
  feet of you regain hit points at the end of a short rest by 
  spending one or more Hit Dice, each of those creatures 
  regains additional hit points equal to your proficiency 
  bonus. Once a creature benefits from your restful spores, 
  it can’t do so again until it finishes a long rest.
  MOREL 
  Your specialty for your clan was acting as a scout and a 
  wayfinder. Your abilities to avoid problems and locate new 
  sources of food for your clan was instrumental in their 
  survival, and your interactions with other clans helped 
  keep your people alive and well.
  Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 1.
  Size. Your size is Small.
  Speed. You are light on your feet and capable of quick 
  movement to escape the threats of the Underworld. Your 
  base walking speed increases to 35 feet.
  Adaptable Camouflage. If you spend at least 1 minute in 
  an environment with ample naturally occurring plants 
  or fungi, such as a grassland, a forest, or an Underworld 
  fungal cavern, you can adjust your natural coloration to 
  blend in with the local plant life. If you do so, you have 
  advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks for the next 24 
  hours while in that environment. 
  Clan Scout. You have proficiency in the Stealth skill.
  Satarre, the  
  Children of Nidhogg
  The satarre call themselves the “devourers” or “those who 
  end the world” due to their association with Nidhogg, 
  the World-Eater. Others call them “Children of Nidhogg” 
  to avoid drawing their direct attention and, frankly, 
  out of fear for the attention. The satarre are rarely kind 
  or compassionate; they are, at best, devoted, zealous 
  servants of the gods of death and oblivion. More often 
  they function directly as servants of Nidhogg, the dragon 
  gnawing at the roots of the World Tree. Some believe 
  the satarre have a distant connection to the dragonborn, 
  though both sides deny any such affiliation. 
  
  28
  SOME LAZY, SOME STRIVING
  The satarre are powerful and wise creatures often found 
  serving in dark cults or (less often) warning other races 
  of the plans of such cults and seeking to prevent some 
  disaster by prophecy, guidance, and cunning. 
  Most of them strive to destroy the worlds of mortals and 
  bring about the end of all things. They are relentless in the 
  pursuit of knowledge, of the veneration of dark gods, and 
  in their swift action to pursue any goal that might topple 
  the World Tree and end a corrupt age. They are often 
  advisors to cultists and evil priests.
  However, some of the satarre are simply in no such hurry 
  to bring on the end of all things. Other satarre call these 
  renegade satarre the latje, “the slothful ones.” Though not 
  outwardly different from other satarre, the latje often see 
  little purpose in destruction for its own sake, or they see 
  their role as warning others of the dangers of the dark 
  gods and the widening grasp of the cold, uncaring Void. 
  Most latje are exiled from their communities or seek the 
  company of other races, rather than remaining close 
  to the world-ending ambitions of most of their kind. 
  Their numbers have always been small.
  PLANAR TRAVELERS
  The satarre know the many worlds and their 
  connections, and they are familiar with shadow, 
  planar doorways, and similar arcana. They are 
  comfortable speaking with demons, devils, and 
  heralds of darkness, for their people have long been 
  those who turn grand and maleficent visions into 
  plans suitable for action. 
  All satarre have a deep hatred of the volmar (also called 
  the Children of Yggdrasil [Creature Codex, p. 61]) and 
  the ravenfolk (Midgard Heroes Handbook, p. 26), for these 
  two have long opposed the satarre’s efforts on behalf of 
  darkness and destruction.
  STRONG VOID SPEAKERS
  The satarre are speakers of Void Speech, and the whispers 
  and invocations of dark gods that drive others mad seem 
  to not trouble the satarre. The satarre are a friend to the 
  darakhul, dhampirs, tieflings, and vampires, and satarre 
  and derro always seem to understand one another.
  SATARRE NAMES
  Satarre names are often similar to names of the cultures 
  where they are raised, though satarre raised on the planes 
  or in cults of Chernobog or Hriggala tend toward names 
  with a Northern or Eastern ring to them. Names in Void 
  Speech are also common and are presented below.
  All satarre are given cult names, indicating which dark 
  god their lives were dedicated to at their naming day. 
  Most continue to serve or at least pray to these gods as 
  adults, with varying degrees of piety. However, the latje 
  satarre no longer use their cult names, preferring instead 
  more neutral terms such as “ai-Vellec” (of the World) or 
  “ai-Rinska” (the Messenger).
  Male Names: Aggorret (eater), Denahrek (servant), 
  Medloss (binder), Mörkothr (darkness), Narkot (gnawer), 
  Pälsore (slaver), Vessar (blooddrinker), Rabefress (slayer)
  Female Names: Atlessa (jewel), Binulett (scout), Frizel 
  (scribe), Ixa (blade), Miskra (maggot), Respy (builder), 
  Unskappa (wisdom), Unterra (doom)
  
  29
  Common Cult Names: ai-Anuako (Anu-Akma), 
  ai-Charno (Chernobog), ai-Hrigga (Hriggala), ai-Loki 
  (Loki), ai-Marena (Marena), ai-Mokko (Mot), ai-Niresh 
  (Nidhogg), ai-Nakro (Nakresh), ai-Quam (Alquam), 
  ai-Qorgeth (Qorgeth), ai-Vardoss (Vardesain), ai-Vitta 
  (White Goddess)
  SATARRE TRAITS
  Your satarre heritage is apparent in a variety of traits you 
  share with other satarre.
  Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases 
  by 2, and your Intelligence score increases by 1.
  Age. Satarre grow quickly, walking soon after hatching and 
  reaching the development of a 15-year old human by age 
  6. They maintain the same appearance until about 50, then 
  begin a rapid decline. Satarre often die violently, but those 
  who live longer survive to no more than 65 years of age.
  Alignment. Satarre are born with a tendency toward evil 
  akin to that of rapacious dragons, and, when raised 
  among other satarre or darakhul, they are usually evil. 
  Those raised among other cultures tend toward the norm 
  for those cultures.
  Size. Satarre are tall but thin from 6 to 7 feet tall with 
  peculiar, segmented limbs. Your size is Medium.
  Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
  Darkvision. Thanks to your dark planar parentage, you 
  have superior vision in darkness. 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.
  A Friend to Death. You have resistance to necrotic damage.
  Keeper of Secrets. You have proficiency in the Arcana skill, 
  and you have advantage on Intelligence (Arcana) checks 
  related to the planes and planar travel. In addition, you 
  have proficiency in one of the following skills of your 
  choice: History, Insight, and Religion.
  Carrier of Rot. You can use your action to inflict rot on a 
  creature you can see within 10 feet of you. The creature 
  must make a Constitution saving throw. The DC for this 
  saving throw equals 8 + your Constitution modifier + 
  your proficiency bonus. A creature takes 1d4 necrotic 
  damage on a failed save, and half as much damage on a 
  successful one. A creature that fails the saving throw also 
  rots for 1 minute. A rotting creature takes 1d4 necrotic 
  damage at the end of each of its turns. The target or a 
  creature within 5 feet of it can use an action to excise 
  the rot with a successful Wisdom (Medicine) check. The 
  DC for the check equals your saving throw DC. The rot 
  also disappears if the target receives magical healing. The 
  damage for the initial action and the rot increases to 2d4 
  at 6th level, 3d4 at 11th level, and 4d4 at 16th level. 
   After you use your Carrier of Rot trait, you can’t use it 
  again until you complete a short or long rest.
  Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and 
  one of the following: Abyssal, Infernal, or Void Speech. 
  Void Speech is a language of dark gods and ancient 
  blasphemies, and the mere sound of its sibilant tones 
  makes many other creatures quite uncomfortable.
  Shade
  Life leaves echoes in its wake, whether crumbled remnants 
  of a bygone civilization, tales of heroes and gods that spawn 
  new beliefs, or even the echo of an individual soul left 
  behind to haunt the living world. The world of Midgard is 
  no stranger to ghosts and specters that linger beyond death, 
  but sometimes a person’s passion, purpose, and will to live 
  are so strong, their tie to the living world so unbreakable, 
  that their memories create a vessel for their soul after their 
  body dies. These people are called shades. Shades can arise 
  from any living race. 
  There are rumors of darakhul or other undead leaving 
  shades behind after destruction, but there are no reliable 
  accounts of such a creature. It is more likely that an 
  undead creature with strong enough will to become a 
  shade becomes a shade of the race they were in true life. 
  SPIRIT AND FLESH 
  A shade possesses a physical body that looks, acts, and 
  feels similar to a living member of their original race, at 
  least superficially. Shades must breathe, consume food and 
  drink, and require shelter from adverse weather. Despite 
  the functional similarities to a living body, a shade isn’t 
  composed of flesh and blood. Their bodies are a memory 
  of who they once were, inhabited and quickened by the 
  presence of their soul. Exhaustion, deprivation, and injury 
  take their toll on a shade’s body, disrupting their body’s 
  ability to maintain the connection to their soul. Food, 
  drink, and air aren’t necessary to nourish their bodies but 
  merely to help them maintain the sense of being a living, 
  breathing creature. Similarly, shades appear to sleep, but 
  they do not require it. 
  The more injured or exhausted a shade, the less corporeal 
  they appear. The colors of their body wash out to pale, 
  desaturated tones, and light begins to pass through them. 
  Blood from their wounds starts out as red and vibrant as 
  any humanoid’s, but closer to death, their wounds cease to 
  bleed and seem to evaporate at the edges. 
  
  30
  LIVING MEMORY 
  The strength of a shade’s memory of themselves and their 
  place in life is the core of their being. Newer shades are 
  almost impossible to distinguish from their prior, fully-
  living selves. Like anything exposed to the gnawing ravages 
  of time, however, memory fades. The older a shade gets, 
  the memories that keep them tethered to the living world 
  begin to fray. They might grow forgetful, losing track of 
  where they are or what year it is. Their memories might 
  drift together, causing them see people around them as 
  figures from their past.
  Many shades keep detailed memoires, tending to them 
  with the same devotion that any living creature shows 
  seeking out food and water. Shades can theoretically live 
  forever, but in practice, the memories that tether them to 
  life can’t hold out indefinitely. Journals and other personal 
  mementos help shades keep hold of themselves and allow 
  them to last longer, sometimes for centuries. 
  SHADES IN MIDGARD 
  The largest known concentration of shades has arisen 
  relatively recently in the conquered kingdom of Krakovar. 
  The death that swept from the vampires to the south and 
  their ghoulish allies that boiled up from the earth’s crevices 
  created the perfect conditions for shades to arise. Despite 
  their greater frequency, even in the new annex of the 
  greater Blood Kingdom, shades remain scattered except 
  for one place. A tiny village in the Ostre Hills, Werghart, 
  hosts a community of shades. It’s remote and completely 
  beneath the notice of the vampire ruling nobility because 
  a scouting force destroyed it during the conquest. The 
  shades found it not long after and set about to building 
  themselves a new life.
  The Werghart shades are cut off, but they are determined 
  and could make powerful allies in striking at the Blood 
  Kingdom from within. 
  In the Southlands, shades are more common in Nuria 
  Natal and in Siwal the City of Gardens. Siwali shades 
  are great assets to the gravebinders who oversee the 
  Necropolis, often becoming gravebinders themselves. 
  SHADE ADVENTURERS 
  Because they can arise from any people, shades come from 
  all corners of Midgard and from all walks of life. Station 
  and wealth are no guarantee to help one linger on after 
  the body’s death either. It’s not unheard of for a person 
  to die only to rise as a shade with little understanding 
  that anything changed. Some even hide or dispose of 
  their original remains, sometimes suppressing or deeply 
  denying the act at all, and resume their life with no 
  disruption. Anyone could secretly, sometimes even to 
  themselves, be a shade. 
  Some traveling shades leave their old lives behind, 
  particularly those who were alone in life with no one to 
  mourn them or fuel their memory. Such shades make up 
  the majority of adventurers. Other more established shades 
  might set out on a quest for the means to restore their true 
  life or to protect loved ones from a threat. Krakovan shades 
  engage in endless sabotage, harassment, and even outright 
  warfare against the occupying forces of the Blood Kingdom.
  SHADE TRAITS 
  Your shade character has a collection of traits that arise 
  from being a shade as well as a few drawn from life. 
  Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases by 
  1, and one other ability score of your choice increases 
  by 1. Choose one ability score that is increased by your 
  Living Origin or by one of its subraces. That ability score 
  increases by 1. 
  Age. Shades appear as the age they were when they died. 
  They potentially have no limit to their lifespan, but, 
  realistically, ancient shades grow weary and lose their 
  hold on their memories, fading away near 750 years old. 
  Alignment. Shades come from all walks of life but tend 
  toward neutrality. Shades that lack contact with other 
  people grow more selfish over time and slip toward evil. 
  Size. Your size is determined by your Living Origin. 
  Speed. Your speed is determined by your Living Origin. 
  Darkvision. Your existence beyond death makes you at 
  home in the dark. 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. 
  Ghostly Flesh. Starting at 3rd level, you can use your action 
  to dissolve your physical body into the ephemeral stuff of 
  spirits. You become translucent and devoid of color, and 
  the air around you grows cold.  
   Your transformation lasts for 1 minute or until you end 
  it as a bonus action. During it, you have a flying speed of 
  30 feet with the ability to hover, and you have resistance 
  to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from 
  nonmagical attacks that aren’t made with silvered weapons. 
  In addition, you have advantage on ability checks and 
  saving throws made to escape a grapple or against being 
  restrained, and you can move through creatures and solid 
  objects as if they were difficult terrain. If you end your turn 
  inside an object, you take 1d10 force damage.  
    Once you use this trait, you can’t use it again until you 
  finish a long rest. 
  
  31
  Imperfect Undeath. You are a humanoid, but your partial 
  transition into undeath makes you susceptible to effects 
  that target undead. Though you can regain hit points 
  from spells like cure wounds, you can also be affected 
  by game effects that specifically target undead, such as 
  a cleric’s Turn Undead feature. Game effects that raise a 
  creature from the dead work on you as normal, but they 
  return you to life as a shade. A true resurrection or wish 
  spell can restore you to life as a fully living member of 
  your original race.
  Life Drain. When you damage a creature with an attack or 
  a spell, you can choose to deal extra necrotic damage to 
  the target equal to your level. If the creature’s race matches 
  your Living Origin, you gain temporary hit points equal 
  to the necrotic damage dealt. Once you use this trait, you 
  can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest. 
  Spectral Resilience. You have advantage on saving throws 
  against poison and disease, and you have resistance to 
  necrotic damage. 
  Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and 
  one other language spoken by your Living Origin. 
  Living Origin. As living echoes of who they once were, 
  shades maintain some of the traits they bore in life. 
  Choose another race as your Living Origin. This is the 
  race you were in life. Your size and speed are those of 
  your Living Origin, and you know one language spoken 
  by your Living Origin.
  MEMENTO MORI   
  A shade’s remembrance of their own life, their own self, is 
  the key to their continued existence. When others honor 
  their memory, a shade can draw sustenance and strength 
  from it. Any token, gift, or even a work of art or poetry 
  intended to honor the memory of the shade carries the 
  giver or creator’s memory and can sustain the shade. 
   
  Creating a true memento mori requires that the 
  creator have a genuine desire to honor the shade. It 
  might seem trivial for a shade’s bard companion to 
  compose poems or songs regularly, thus sustaining the 
  shade, but such attempts fail. Memory is the key, and a 
  creator who is in regular close contact with the shade 
  draws more on that contact than on their own memory. 
  A shade’s traveling companion painting a portrait of the 
  shade during their travels will never become a memento 
  mori, but a handmade twine bracelet given by a villager 
  after the shade saved their village might if the shade 
  moves on. Above all, a true, empowered memento mori 
  must carry meaning. 
  Memento Mori 
  Wondrous item, uncommon (requires attunement by the 
  shade for whom it was offered) 
  As long as you have the memento mori in your 
  possession, you don’t require food, drink, or sleep. As an 
  action, you can draw on all the stored memory at once, 
  and you receive the effects of a potion of heroism. When 
  the effect expires, the memento mori loses its magic.
  
  32
  An adventurer’s time in the Underworld or interacting 
  with the undead can often shape the adventurer, leading 
  them down darker paths or to new resolve. The options 
  presented in this chapter are all appropriate choices for 
  adventurers in the Underworld or any campaign where 
  the undead are a major threat. Some of the options are 
  restricted to members of particular races native to the 
  Underworld, while other options might be better suited for 
  more villainous characters. Check with your GM to find 
  out which class options are allowed in your campaign.
  Barbarian Primal Path   
  Though founded by undead deserters from the Ghoul 
  Imperium, the Order of the Ebon Star (see page 3) 
  welcomes assistance from any who wish to see the 
  Imperium fall, living or undead. Those who join the 
  order and pledge themselves to the goddess of magic 
  often find themselves blessed by her power in many 
  ways. The barbarians of the order are particularly adept 
  at resisting the powers of the undead while crushing the 
  order’s enemies.
  PATH OF THE EBON STAR  
  The fight against the Ghoul Imperium and its vampire 
  allies that consumes the thoughts and actions of all 
  members of the Order of the Ebon Star is generally one 
  that is handled with finesse and careful planning. Then 
  there is how the Order’s barbarians handle things. If 
  the rest of the order is the sharpened wooden stake, its 
  barbarians are the blunt instrument used to drive that 
  stake home.
  BLINDING RAGE
  Starting when you choose this path at 3rd level, your 
  attacks while you rage carry the blinding magic of the 
  Queen of Night and Magic. While raging, you can blind a 
  creature you hit with a melee weapon attack. The creature 
  RESTRICTED CLASS OPTIONS
  Some of the class options presented here have 
  restrictions based on the character’s alignment or race 
  or the class option’s tenets. Not every campaign includes 
  races native to Midgard, good/evil axis alignments, 
  or the same tenets regarding life and death. At the 
  GM’s discretion, some of these class options might be 
  available to characters who don’t meet these restrictions. 
  Keep in mind, however, that many of these restrictions 
  utilize a trait unique to a particular race, such as a 
  bite attack, or reinforce the goal or story of a class 
  option. Some features of a class option might need 
  to be reworked to make it viable to those outside of 
  its restrictions, especially the class options with race 
  restrictions. For example, if the Oath of Consumption 
  was open to any race, its Fearsome Bite would need to 
  be adjusted to allow a creature without a natural bite 
  attack to make a bite attack. 
  Check with your GM to find out which restricted class 
  options are available in your game.
  Class Options
  
  33
  must succeed on a Constitution saving throw (DC 
  equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Constitution 
  modifier) or be blinded until the end of its next turn. 
  Undead have disadvantage on this saving throw. You can 
  use this ability only once per rage.  
  FERVOR OF THE EBON STAR
  Beginning at 6th level, your rage strengthens the 
  goddess’ magic within you, protecting 
  you and enhancing your 
  deadliest weapon strikes. 
  While you’re raging, you have 
  resistance to necrotic damage, 
  and, when you critically hit 
  with a melee attack, you deal extra force 
  damage equal to half your barbarian level.
  EBON PRESERVATION
  Beginning at 10th level, you are immune to disease, 
  and your hit point maximum can’t be reduced.
  SLAY HER ENEMIES
  Starting at 14th level, as a bonus action, you can 
  move up to your speed toward a hostile undead 
  creature you can see and make one melee 
  weapon attack. If the attack hits, the target is 
  knocked prone.
  Bard College 
  The Underworld presents a unique challenge for those 
  creating music. Its stalagmite and stalactite-filled caverns 
  and its long tunnels twist sound, alternating between 
  dampening and enhancing it. Some bards find inspiration 
  in this twisting and learn to manipulate the sounds 
  around them.
  COLLEGE OF ECHOES 
  In the Underworld, sound works differently than on the 
  surface. Your exposure to echoes has taught you about 
  how sound changes as it moves and encounters obstacles. 
  Inspired by the effect caves and tunnels have on sounds, 
  you have learned to manipulate sound with your magic, 
  curving it and altering it as it moves. You can silence the 
  most violent explosions, you can make whispers seem to 
  reverberate forever, and you can even change the sounds of 
  music and words as they are created. 
  ECHOLOCATION
  When you join the College of Echoes at 3rd level, you 
  learn how to see with your ears as well as your eyes. As 
  long as you can hear, you have blindsight out to a range 
  of 10 feet, and you have disadvantage on saving throws 
  against effects that would deafen you.
  At 14th level, your blindsight is now out to a range of 
  15 feet, and you no longer have disadvantage on saving 
  throws against effects that would deafen you.
  ALTER SOUND
  At 3rd level, you can manipulate the sounds of your speech 
  to mimic any sounds you’ve heard, including voices. A 
  creature that hears the sounds can tell they are imitations 
  with a successful Wisdom (Insight) check contested by 
  your Charisma (Deception) check.
  In addition, you can manipulate some of the sounds 
  around you. You can use your reaction to cause one of the 
  following effects.
  Enhance. You can increase the volume of a sound 
  originating within 30 feet of you, doubling the range it 
  can be heard and granting creatures in range of the sound 
  advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks to detect the 
  sound. In addition, when a hostile creature within 30 feet 
  
  34
  of you takes thunder damage, you can expend one use of 
  Bardic Inspiration and increase the thunder damage by 
  an amount equal to the number you roll on the Bardic 
  Inspiration die.
  Dampen. You can decrease the volume of a sound 
  originating within 30 feet of you, halving the range it can 
  be heard and granting creatures in range of the sound 
  disadvantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks to detect 
  the sound. In addition, when a friendly creature within 30 
  feet of you takes thunder damage, you can expend one use 
  of Bardic Inspiration and decrease the thunder damage 
  by an amount equal to the number you roll on the Bardic 
  Inspiration die.
  Distort. You can change 1 word or up to 2 notes within 
  30 feet of you to another word or other notes. You can 
  expend one use of Bardic Inspiration to change a number 
  of words within 30 feet of you equal to 1 + the number 
  you roll on the Bardic Inspiration die, or you can change a 
  number of notes of a melody within 30 feet of you equal to 
  2 + double the number you roll on the Bardic Inspiration 
  die. A creature that can hear the sound can notice it was 
  altered by succeeding on a Wisdom (Perception) check 
  contested by your Charisma (Deception) check. At your 
  GM’s discretion, this effect can alter sounds that aren’t 
  words or melodies, such as altering the cries of a young 
  animal to sound like the roars of an adult.
  Disrupt. When a spellcaster casts a spell with verbal 
  components within 30 feet of you, you can expend one 
  use of your Bardic Inspiration to disrupt the sounds of 
  the verbal components. The spellcaster must succeed on 
  a concentration check (DC 8 + the number you roll on 
  the Bardic Inspiration die) or the spell fails and has no 
  effect. You can disrupt a spell only if it is of a spell level 
  you can cast. 
  RESOUNDING STRIKES
  Starting at 6th level, when you hit a creature with a melee 
  weapon attack, you can expend one spell slot to deal 
  thunder damage to the target, in addition to the weapon’s 
  damage. The extra damage is 1d6 for a 1st-level spell slot, 
  plus 1d6 for each spell level higher than 1st, to a maximum 
  of 6d6. The damage increases by 1d6 if the target is made 
  of inorganic material such as stone, crystal, or metal.
  REVERBERATING STRIKES
  At 14th level, your Bardic Inspiration infuses your allies’ 
  weapon attacks with sonic power. A creature that has 
  a Bardic Inspiration die from you can roll that die and 
  add the number rolled to a weapon damage roll it just 
  made, and all of the damage from that attack becomes 
  thunder damage. The target of the attack must succeed on 
  a Strength saving throw against your spell save DC or be 
  knocked prone.
  THE RANGE OF SOUND
  Some effects that create sounds specify the range at 
  which they can be heard, such as the horn of blasting, 
  but the range of sound on many effects is more 
  ambiguous, such as the voice altering aspect of the 
  thaumaturgy spell. Before you play a College of Echoes 
  bard, discuss with your GM how sounds and their 
  ranges, especially for the more ambiguous effects, will 
  be treated in your game. This will keep you both on 
  the same page of how sound will work throughout the 
  course of play and help avoid frustrations when you 
  use your Alter Sounds feature to manipulate the sounds 
  around you.
  At your GM’s discretion, the dampening and 
  enhancing effects of your Alter Sounds can allow 
  message spells to travel further, allies to sneak more 
  quietly, your group to have a private conversation in a 
  crowded area, or other similar effects.
  
  35
  Monastic Tradition 
  Ghouls are ruled by their hunger and have even built 
  their society around the consumption and preservation 
  of the humanoid flesh that sustains them. However, some 
  darakhul have found a path that frees them from their 
  hunger, allowing them to turn it on their enemies. 
  WAY OF SATED HUNGER 
  The hunger clawed at you. It was for blood or for flesh, but 
  it was impossible to ignore. Until now. The hunger once 
  ruled your life, but no more. You have transcended the 
  need to feed through meditation and spiritual discipline, 
  and you are no longer a prisoner of your hunger. 
  A less-popular creed followed by a sect of the Hunger 
  God’s cult, the Sated Hunger path is one few successfully 
  tread. Most who try succumb to their hunger shortly after 
  beginning. You might have found the Sated Hunger path 
  through this sect, or you might have found it through your 
  own personal meditation. Whatever the case, you are freed 
  of your hunger, and you have even found a way to turn the 
  energy of that hunger against your enemies.
  RESTRICTION: DARAKHUL OR DHAMPIR
  You can choose this monastic tradition only if you are a 
  darakhul or a dhampir.
  SATED APPETITE
  Starting when you choose this tradition at 3rd level, you 
  no longer feel hunger, you don’t need to eat or drink, and 
  you don’t suffer any penalties for not eating or drinking. 
  If you are a darakhul, you gain the full benefits of your 
  Undead Resilience, even if you haven’t consumed 1 pound 
  of raw meat in the last 24 hours.
  WEAPONIZED HUNGER
  At 3rd level, you have learned to use your bite to great 
  effectiveness. Once per turn, when you hit a creature with 
  your bite, you can spend 1 ki point to deal extra necrotic 
  damage equal to one roll of your Martial Arts die. If the 
  attack roll is a critical hit, you gain temporary hit points 
  equal to the necrotic damage dealt for 1 hour.
  FEED THE HUNGRY
  Beginning at 6th level, you can share some of your inner 
  peace with another creature, healing its wounds and 
  quelling its hunger for a time. As an action, you can spend 
  1 ki point to restore hit points to a creature you touch. 
  The creature regains hit points equal to one roll of 
  your Martial Arts die + your Wisdom modifier. You 
  can spend up to 2 additional ki points to increase 
  the amount of hit points restored. For each 
  additional point you spend, the creature regains hit points 
  equal to one roll of your Martial Arts die. This feature 
  can restore a creature to no more than half its hit point 
  maximum. A creature healed in this way is provided with 
  enough nourishment to sustain it for one day.
  SATED CLARITY
  At 11th level, your mastery of your hunger grants you 
  greater clarity and awareness. You have advantage on 
  initiative rolls, and you can spend 4 ki points to cast life 
  sense (see page 62). 
  INDUCE HUNGER
  At 17th level, you can turn the energy of your sated hunger 
  into a ravenous hunger that afflicts a creature who dares to 
  strike you. When a creature hits you with a melee attack, 
  you can use your reaction to induce hunger in the attacker. 
  If you do, the attacker takes necrotic damage equal to your 
  Wisdom modifier, and it must succeed on a Constitution 
  saving throw or be incapacitated by overwhelming hunger 
  until the end of its next turn. 
  You can’t use this feature 
  on creatures that don’t 
  need to eat, such as 
  constructs, elementals, 
  and many undead.
  
  36
  Paladin Sacred Oaths 
  The influence of the undead spreads in many ways. Among 
  the darakhul and dhampirs, the God of Hunger’s influence 
  often reigns, leading them to lives of excess and gluttony. 
  Conversely, those who survive the dreaded darakhul fever 
  often find themselves empowered by its touch and dedicate 
  themselves to preventing further spread of the disease. 
  OATH OF CONSUMPTION 
  The Oath of Consumption dredges the paladins who 
  follow it in an existence of base greed. These paladins, 
  often called all-eaters by horrified witnesses, revel in 
  degradation, not just of their foes, but of the social norms 
  their opponents champion. They seek to consume 
  anything they can overpower and bow only to those 
  with the power to consume more than them. 
  Paladins of this oath often follow gods of hunger, 
  excess, and greed. They hold voracious creatures as 
  ideals and incorporate images of purple worms, 
  hyenas, sharks, and similar animals into their 
  helmets, armor, or coats of arms. 
  RESTRICTION: DARAKHUL OR DHAMPIR
  You can choose this paladin sacred 
  oath only if you are a darakhul 
  or a dhampir.
  TENETS OF CONSUMPTION
  While the exact manner in 
  which these paladins show their 
  faith varies, all adherents of the Oath of 
  Consumption share these tenets.
  Devour. Feast on any who stand against you. 
  They are the fuel for your war. 
  Debase. Let none stand higher than you. 
  Consume their spirit that they know 
  their place.
  Demoralize. Take what you want and 
  flaunt it before those who could not 
  keep it from you. 
  Despoil. Learn what your enemy loves and 
  destroy it.
  OATH SPELLS
  You gain oath spells at the paladin levels listed.
  OATH OF CONSUMPTION SPELLS
  Level 
  Spells
  3rd
  hunter’s mark, undermine armor* 
  5th
  boiling oil*, enhance ability
  9th
  fear, spiteful weapon*
  13th
  desiccating breath*, locate creature
  17th
  ensanguinate*, insect plague
  *indicates a spell in the Midgard Heroes Handbook
  
  37
  CHANNEL DIVINITY
  When you take this oath at 3rd level, you gain the 
  following two Channel Divinity options.
  Fearsome Bite. As a bonus action, your jaw widens and 
  shadows curl around your teeth for 1 minute or until you 
  dismiss it as a bonus action. During this time, when you 
  use the Attack action with a melee weapon, you can make 
  one bite attack as a bonus action and add your Charisma 
  modifier to the damage roll. In addition, your bite counts 
  as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and 
  immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage.
  Horrifying Thoughts. You can use your Channel Divinity 
  to fill your foes with dread at the prospect of becoming 
  your meal. As an action, you force a creature within 30 
  feet of you to make a Wisdom saving throw as you fill 
  its thoughts with images of you tearing at its flesh with 
  your teeth. On a failed save, the creature is incapacitated 
  until the end of your next turn. On a successful save, 
  the creature is frightened of you until the end of 
  your next turn.
  Starting at 15th level, on a failed save, the target is 
  paralyzed until the end of your next turn. On a successful 
  save, the target is incapacitated until the end of your next 
  turn or frightened of you for 1 minute (your choice). A 
  frightened creature can repeat the saving throw at the end 
  of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.
  AURA OF DEVOURING
  Beginning at 7th level, you exude an aura of hunger to a 
  distance of 10 feet while you’re not incapacitated. When 
  you hit a creature in this aura with a weapon attack, you 
  can choose for the attack to deal necrotic damage instead 
  of its normal type of damage, which includes any extra 
  damage the attack deals, such as the extra damage from 
  Divine Smite. In addition, when you score a critical hit on 
  an attack roll made with your bite against a creature in the 
  aura, you regain hit points equal to half your paladin level.
  At 18th level, the range of this aura increases to 30 feet.
  DYING FEAST
  Starting at 15th level, when you are reduced to 0 hit points 
  within 60 feet of the body of a creature that died less than 
  1 year ago, you can use your reaction to drain what vitality 
  remains in the body to halt your death, and you regain hit 
  points equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of 1). 
  Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you 
  finish a long rest.
  AVATAR OF HUNGER
  At 20th level, you become an avatar of hunger and gain the 
  following benefits: 
  • When you use Fearsome Bite to make a bite attack, 
  you regain hit points equal to the amount of damage 
  you dealt with the bite attack.
  • As a bonus action, you can infect a creature you can 
  see within 30 feet of you with hunger. Once you use 
  this feature on a creature, you can’t use it on that 
  creature again until it finishes a long rest. 
  Friendly Target. If you infect a friendly target, its 
  mouth widens and grows fangs, which it can use to 
  make unarmed strikes. If the target hits a creature 
  with its fangs, the target deals piercing damage 
  equal to 1d6 + its Strength modifier to the creature, 
  and it regains hit points equal to the damage dealt. 
  The fangs last until the end of the target’s next turn.
  Hostile Target. If you infect a hostile target, it 
  must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or 
  have disadvantage on its attack rolls until the end of 
  its next turn as its hunger gnaws at it, distracting it.
  OATH OF THE PLAGUETOUCHED 
  After suffering an attack by a darakhul, you were infected 
  with the dreaded—and generally fatal—darakhul fever. As 
  you felt your life draining away and the grasp of eternal 
  undeath clenching its cold fingers around your heart, you 
  called out to any power that would answer your prayers. 
  You pledged that you would do anything asked of you, if 
  only you would be spared this fate worse than death.
  That prayer was answered. The source of that answered 
  prayer is not known, but its power flowed through you, 
  helping you drive off the horrible unlife that was your 
  fate. And that power flows through you still. It drives you 
  to defend innocents from the scourge of undeath, and it 
  provides special powers for you to use in that fight.
  RESTRICTION: NON-DARAKHUL
  You can choose this paladin sacred oath only if you are not 
  a darakhul.
  TENETS OF THE PLAGUETOUCHED
  Paladins following the Oath of the Plaguetouched share 
  these tenets.
  Bravery. In the face of terrible creatures, you stand like a 
  wall between them and the innocent people who those 
  creatures would devour or transform.
  Stop the Spread of Undeath. Fight to ensure the undead 
  don’t snuff out the light of life in the world. 
  
  38
  Relentless. Creatures of undeath never tire; you must 
  remain vigilant.
  Mercy. Those who suffer disease must be cared for. If you 
  could survive certain death, so can they. But when it is 
  clear they are about to transform into a monster, you 
  must end their suffering quickly.
  OATH SPELLS
  You gain oath spells at the paladin levels listed.
  OATH OF PLAGUETOUCHED  SPELLS
  Level 
  Spells
  3rd
  bane, protection from evil and good
  5th
  enhance ability, lesser restoration
  9th
  life from death*, remove curse
  13th
  blight, freedom of movement
  17th
  greater restoration, hold monster
  *indicates a spell found in this book
  CHANNEL DIVINITY
  When you take this oath at 3rd 
  level, you gain the following two 
  Channel Divinity options.
  Protective Aura. As a bonus action, 
  you summon forth your power into 
  a shining aura around yourself. For 1 minute, 
  you shed bright light in a 10-foot radius and dim 
  light for an additional 10 feet. In addition, each 
  hostile creature within 5 feet of you has disadvantage 
  on its first attack roll each turn that isn’t against 
  you. If the hostile creature is undead, it instead has 
  disadvantage on all attack rolls that aren’t against you. 
  You can end this effect on your turn as part of any other 
  action. If you fall unconscious, this effect ends.
  Turn Undead. As an action, you present your 
  holy symbol and call upon your power, using your 
  Channel Divinity. Each undead that can see or 
  hear you within 30 feet of you must make a Wisdom 
  saving throw. If the creature fails its saving throw, it 
  is turned for 1 minute or until it takes damage.
  A turned creature must spend its turns trying 
  to move as far away from you as it can, and 
  it can’t willingly move to a space within 
  30 feet of you. It also can’t take 
  reactions. For its action, it can 
  use only the Dash action or try to 
  escape from an effect that prevents it from 
  moving. If there’s nowhere to move, the creature 
  can use the Dodge action.
  AURA OF RADIANT ENERGY
  Beginning at 7th level, you and your allies within 10 feet of 
  you have resistance to necrotic damage. In addition, when 
  you or a friendly creature hit an undead creature within 
  10 feet of you with a melee weapon attack, the attacker can 
  choose if the attack deals radiant damage or its normal 
  type of damage. 
  At 18th level, the range of this aura increases to 30 feet.
  BULWARK AGAINST DEATH AND DISEASE
  Starting at 15th level, you can expend only 1 hit point from 
  your lay on hands pool to cure the target of a disease. In 
  addition, your hit point maximum can’t be reduced, and 
  you have advantage on saving throws against effects from 
  undead creatures that reduce your ability scores, such as a 
  shadow’s Strength Drain. 
  
  39
  SCOURGE OF UNDEATH
  At 20th level, as a bonus action, you can become a scourge 
  to undead. For 1 minute, you gain the following benefits:
  • The bright light shed by your Protective Aura 
  is sunlight.
  • You have advantage on attack rolls against undead.
  • An undead creature in your Aura of Radiant Energy 
  takes extra radiant damage equal to twice your 
  Charisma modifier (minimum of 2) when you or a 
  friendly creature hit it with a melee weapon attack.
  Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you 
  finish a long rest.
  Ranger Archetype 
  The Underworld is a lonely, harsh, and unforgiving 
  landscape, even for the undead who inhabit it. In spite of 
  this, some undead choose not to live within the safety of 
  the Ghoul Imperium’s cities, preferring to reside in the dark 
  caverns with only undead beasts by their sides. The less 
  scrupulous of these individuals are sought by the Ghoul 
  Imperium for their expertise in navigating the Underworld 
  and in capturing fodder for the empire, enjoying a unique 
  status among its nobility in return for their services.  
  IMPERIAL HUNTER 
  Imperial hunters are darakhul or dhampirs that have not 
  adapted well to ghoul society. Preferring the solitude of 
  the Underworld’s dangerous caverns, these rangers devote 
  themselves to tracking, hunting, and capturing or killing 
  humanoids of all kinds. They primarily operate as scouts 
  and slavers for the Imperium yet they are mostly left to 
  their own devices. They hunt for flesh and bone 
  and reveal in finding new, unexplored caverns 
  of the Underworld.
  To aid them in their tasks and to stave off a 
  bit of the loneliness their role can 
  bring, imperial hunters often create 
  and train undead companions to 
  fight and hunt beside them. The 
  ghoul bat is the most common 
  companion, but many undead beasts of 
  the Underworld and surface world have been seen in the 
  service of the imperial hunters.
  Though the majority of imperial hunters work directly 
  for the Ghoul Imperium, there are many who operate 
  outside the Imperium, reveling more in the discovery 
  of the unknown and in the general hunt for the living 
  than in being slavers for the empire. Some find work 
  on the surface as mercenaries or assassins for those 
  who don’t mind working with the undead. Wherever they 
  roam, imperial hunters are skilled at finding and capturing 
  or killing living creatures. 
  RESTRICTION: DARAKHUL OR DHAMPIR
  You can choose this ranger archetype only if you are a 
  darakhul or a dhampir.
  IMPERIAL HUNTER MAGIC
  Starting at 3rd level, you learn an additional spell when 
  you reach certain levels in this class, as shown in the 
  Imperial Hunter Spells table. The spell counts as a ranger 
  spell for you, but it doesn’t count against the number of 
  ranger spells you know.
  IMPERIAL HUNTER SPELLS
  Level 
  Spells
  3rd
  bolster undead*
  5th
  stench of rot*
  9th
  mortal insight*
  13th
  keening wail*
  17th
  contagion
  *indicates a spell found in this book
  UNDEAD COMPANION
  Starting at 3rd level, you gain a ghoul bat (see page 66) 
  as an undead companion that accompanies you on your 
  adventures and is trained 
  to fight alongside you. 
  
  40
  Alternatively, you can infuse the body of a deceased 
  Medium or smaller beast that has a challenge rating of 
  1/4 or lower with some of your necrotic essence, making 
  the beast your undead companion instead of the ghoul 
  bat. This process takes 8 hours and can be done during a 
  long rest. See the Undead Beast Companion sidebar for 
  the beast’s adjusted statistics after you infuse it with your 
  necrotic essence.  
  Whether a ghoul bat or an undead beast, your undead 
  companion is friendly to you and your companions, and 
  it obeys any commands that you issue to it. In combat, it 
  shares your initiative and takes its turn immediately after 
  yours. Your undead companion can move and use its 
  reaction on its own, but, if you don’t issue any commands 
  to it, the only action it takes is the Dodge action. You can 
  use your bonus action to direct it to take the Attack, Dash, 
  Disengage, Help, Hide, or Search action. 
  Add your proficiency bonus to your undead companion’s 
  AC, attack rolls, damage rolls, Wisdom saving throws, and 
  to any saving throws and skills in which it is proficient. 
  Your undead companion’s hit point maximum is equal to 
  its Constitution modifier + your Wisdom modifier + five 
  times your ranger level. Your undead companion doesn’t 
  have Hit Dice and can’t spend Hit Dice during a short 
  rest to regain hit points. When you regain hit points from 
  magical healing, your undead companion regains hit points 
  equal to half that amount. In addition, when you spend Hit 
  Dice during a short rest to regain hit points, you can apply 
  those hit points to yourself or your companion. You use 
  your Constitution modifier when calculating the hit points 
  regained, and effects that increase the healing of your Hit 
  Dice, such as a bard’s Song of Rest, still apply. Your undead 
  companion regains all its hit points at the end of a long rest, 
  as normal. 
  If your undead companion has died within the last hour, 
  you can touch it to infuse it with some of your necrotic 
  essence as an action and revive it, as long as you expend 
  a spell slot of 1st level or higher. It returns to unlife after 
  1 minute with all its hit points restored. If it has been 
  dead for longer, you can revive it at the end of a long rest 
  or create a new undead companion from the remains of 
  an appropriate beast, as detailed in this feature. You can 
  have only one undead companion at a time. If you create 
  another, the previous one immediately dies. 
  HUNTER’S STRIKE
  Starting at 7th level, your bond with your undead 
  companion strengthens, allowing it to strike right as you 
  do. When you hit a target within 5 feet of your undead 
  companion, your companion can use its reaction to make 
  one melee attack against that target. If the attack hits, your 
  companion’s attack deals an extra 1d8 necrotic damage. 
  In addition, your undead companion’s attacks now count 
  as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and 
  immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage.
  UNDYING MARCH
  Beginning at 11th level, you can call your undead 
  companion to you (no action required by you). If you do, 
  your companion uses its reaction to move up to its speed 
  toward you. Alternatively, when you or your companion 
  take damage, you can use your reaction to move up to 
  your speed toward your companion. When moving 
  in this way, you and your companion don’t provoke 
  opportunity attacks. 
  In addition, when you spend Hit Dice during a short rest 
  to regain hit points, both you and your companion regain 
  that number of hit points. You no longer have to choose 
  which of you regains the hit points. 
  SHARED UNDEATH
  At 15th level, your connection to your undead companion 
  has become so strong that you share the strength of each 
  other’s unlife. When you take damage that isn’t radiant, 
  UNDEAD BEAST COMPANION
  Imperial Hunters are most often found with ghoul bat 
  companions, but some prefer the company of other 
  undead beasts. As an Imperial Hunter, you can infuse 
  the body of a deceased Medium or smaller beast that 
  has a challenge rating of 1/4 or lower with some of your 
  necrotic essence. This procedure makes that creature 
  your undead companion in place of the ghoul bat that 
  is common to Imperial Hunters. The beast retains all the 
  statistics it had in life, except as noted below.
  Type. The companion’s type changes to undead, and it 
  doesn’t require air, food, drink, or sleep.
  Senses. The companion gains darkvision out to a range 
  of 60 feet.
  Resistances. The companion gains resistance to necrotic 
  damage.
  Immunities. The companion gains immunity to poison 
  damage and the poisoned condition.
  Languages. The companion understands all languages 
  you know, but it can’t speak.
  Turn Resistance. The companion has advantage on 
  saving throws against any effect that turns undead.
  
  41
  you can use your reaction to transfer half of the damage 
  to your undead companion, if your companion is within 
  30 feet of you. Alternatively, when your companion takes 
  damage that isn’t radiant, you can use your reaction to 
  transfer half of the damage to yourself, if your companion 
  is within 30 feet of you.
  In addition, when your undead companion is within 
  1 mile of you, you can use an action to sense what it is 
  sensing, seeing through its eyes and hearing what it hears. 
  During this time, you are deaf and blind with regard to your 
  own senses. You can use an action to end the connection.
  Roguish Archetypes 
  Though founded by undead deserters from the Ghoul 
  Imperium, the Order of the Ebon Star (see page 3) 
  welcomes assistance from any who wish to see the 
  Imperium fall, living or undead. Those who join the order 
  and pledge themselves to the goddess of magic often find 
  themselves blessed by her power in many ways. Unrelated 
  to the Order of the Ebon Star, the soulspy is similarly an 
  instrument of divine might, though the soulspy’s fight lies 
  in the eternal war of life and death.
  HERALD OF THE EBON STAR 
  Through a mixture of training, personal experience, and 
  the blessing of the Queen of Night and Magic, you have 
  mastered the art of killing undead who fear the sun’s 
  light—the queen’s night holds no safety for such creatures. 
  Some heralds see themselves as righteous freedom fighters, 
  battling to receive what they feel is their due, but just 
  as many are simple thugs and thrill seekers, vying to 
  pit themselves against worthy foes. Regardless of their 
  motivations, they are largely viewed as heretics by their own 
  people and with tentative suspicion by most others.
  HERALDIC PROFICIENCIES
  When you choose this archetype at 3rd level, you gain 
  proficiency with longbows and shields. In addition, you 
  gain proficiency in the Arcana and Religion skills if you 
  don’t already have it. 
  FAITH’S WEAPON 
  At 3rd level, you can use your action to create a rapier of 
  metallic starlight in your empty hand. This weapon counts 
  as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and 
  immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage. Your faith 
  weapon disappears if it is more than 5 feet away from 
  you for 1 minute or more. It also disappears if you use 
  this feature again, if you dismiss the weapon (no action 
  required), or if you die. 
  In addition, when you use your Sneak Attack against an 
  undead creature, your weapon deals extra force damage 
  equal to half your level.
  GLOAM RUNNER
  When you reach 9th level, you can shroud yourself in 
  shadows to misdirect those that would strike you. If you 
  are in dim light or darkness and a creature you can see 
  targets you with a melee weapon attack, you can turn 
  invisible and move up to half your speed as a reaction. You 
  remain invisible until the start of your next turn. Once you 
  use this feature, you must finish a short or long rest before 
  you can use it again.  
  EBON STAR BLAZON
  At 13th level, the Queen of Night and Magic’s power 
  protects you from even the deadliest attacks. When a 
  creature scores a critical hit on an attack roll against you 
  while you are in dim light or darkness, you can make a 
  Constitution saving throw with a DC equal to 15 or half 
  the attack roll result, whichever is higher. If you succeed 
  on the saving throw, the attack against you is resolved as a 
  normal hit rather than as a critical hit. 
  EBON STAR VENGEANCE
  Starting at 17th level, when you use your Sneak Attack 
  against an undead, your weapon deals extra force damage 
  equal to your level. If the target is an undead with sunlight 
  sensitivity (or hypersensitivity, in the case of vampires), 
  your weapon deals extra force damage equal to twice your 
  level instead.
  SOULSPY 
  In the eternal war between good and evil, between light 
  and darkness, between life and death, there are many types 
  of participants on each side. Soulspies are agents of the 
  divine who lurk in the shadows, taking a less-visible role 
  in the fight. Occasionally, they aid other agents of their 
  deities, but most often they locate and manage or eliminate 
  threats to their deities that more scrupulous agents might 
  be unwilling or unable to handle.
  SPELLCASTING
  When you reach 3rd level, you gain the ability to cast spells 
  drawn from the magic of a divine entity.
  CANTRIPS
  You learn three cantrips of your choice from the cleric 
  spell list. You learn another cleric cantrip of your choice at 
  10th level.
  
  42
  SPELL SLOTS
  The Soulspy Spellcasting table shows how many spell slots 
  you have to cast your cleric spells of 1st level and higher. 
  To cast one of these spells, you must expend one of these 
  slots at the spell’s level or higher. You regain all expended 
  spell slots when you finish a long rest.
  For example, if you know the 1st-level spell inflict 
  wounds and have a 1st-level and a 2nd-level spell slot 
  available, you can cast inflict wounds using either slot.
  SPELLS KNOWN OF 1ST-LEVEL AND HIGHER
  You know three 1st-level cleric spells of your choice, 
  two of which you must choose from the abjuration and 
  necromancy spells on the cleric spell list. The 
  Spells Known column of the Soulspy 
  Spellcasting table shows when 
  you learn more cleric spells of 1st level or higher. Each of 
  these spells must be an abjuration or necromancy spell and 
  must be of a level for which you have spell slots. The spells 
  you learn at 8th, 14th, and 20th level can be from any 
  school of magic.
  When you gain a level in this class, you can choose one 
  of the cleric spells you know and replace it with another 
  spell from the cleric spell list. The new spell must be of 
  a level for which you have spell slots, and it must be an 
  abjuration or necromancy spell, unless you’re replacing the 
  spell you gained at 3rd, 8th, 14th, or 20th level.
  SPELLCASTING ABILITY
  Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for your cleric spells. 
  You learn your spells through mediation and prayer to 
  the powerful forces that guide your actions. You use your 
  Wisdom whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. 
  In addition, you use your Wisdom modifier when setting 
  the saving throw DC for a cleric spell you cast and when 
  making an attack roll with one.
  Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your 
  Wisdom modifier
  Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your 
  Wisdom modifier
  SOULSPY SPELLCASTING
  Rogue 
  Level 
  Cantrips 
  Known
  Spells
  Known
  1st
  2nd
  3rd
  4th
  3rd
  3
  3
  2
  —
  —
  —
  4th
  3
  4
  3
  —
  —
  —
  5th
  3
  4
  3
  —
  —
  —
  6th
  3
  4
  3
  —
  —
  —
  7th
  3
  5
  4
  2
  —
  —
  8th
  3
  6
  4
  2
  —
  —
  9th
  3
  6
  4
  2
  —
  —
  10th
  4
  7
  4
  3
  —
  —
  11th
  4
  8
  4
  3
  —
  —
  12th
  4
  8
  4
  3
  —
  —
  13th
  4
  9
  4
  3
  2
  —
  14th
  4
  10
  4
  3
  2
  —
  15th
  4
  10
  4
  3
  2
  —
  16th
  4
  11
  4
  3
  3
  —
  17th
  4
  11
  4
  3
  3
  —
  18th
  4
  11
  4
  3
  3
  —
  19th
  4
  12
  4
  3
  3
  1
  20th
  4
  13
  4
  3
  3
  1
  Spell Slots per Spell Level
  
  43
  BONUS PROFICIENCY
  When you choose this archetype at 3rd level, you gain 
  proficiency in the Religion skill if you don’t already have it.
  DIVINE SYMBOL
  Starting at 3rd level, you can use an action to create a 
  symbol of your deity that hovers within 5 feet of you. The 
  symbol is a Tiny object that is visible but invulnerable and 
  intangible, and it lasts for 1 minute, until you die, or until 
  you dismiss it (no action required). While this symbol is 
  active, you gain the following benefits:
  • Your Divine Symbol functions as a spellcasting focus 
  for your cleric spells.
  • As a bonus action, you can turn the symbol into 
  thieves’ tools, which you can use to pick locks, 
  disarm traps, or any other activities that would 
  normally require such tools. While your Divine 
  Symbol is functioning in this way, it loses all other 
  properties listed here. You can change it from thieves’ 
  tools back to its symbol form as a bonus action.
  • The symbol sheds bright light in a 10-foot radius 
  and dim light for an additional 10 feet. You can 
  extinguish or restore the light as a bonus action. 
  When you extinguish the symbol’s light, you can also 
  snuff out one candle, torch, or other nonmagical light 
  source within 10 feet of you.
  • When you create this symbol and as an action on 
  each of your turns while the symbol is active, you can 
  force the symbol to shoot divine energy at a creature 
  you can see within 30 feet of you. Make a ranged 
  spell attack. On a hit, the target takes 1d8 radiant or 
  necrotic damage, your choice. The symbol’s damage 
  increases by 1d8 when you reach 5th level (2d8), 
  11th level (3d8), and 17th level (4d8). 
  SACRED STEALTH
  Starting at 9th level, you can use your Sneak Attack on a 
  creature hit by an attack with your Divine Symbol if the 
  target of the attack is within 5 feet of an ally, that ally isn’t 
  incapacitated, and you don’t have disadvantage on the 
  attack roll. You can use this feature a number of times equal 
  to your Wisdom modifier (a minimum of once). You regain 
  any expended uses when you finish a short or long rest.
  TOUCHING THE SOUL
  When you reach 13th level, you can use your Divine 
  Symbol to deliver your cleric spells that have a range of 
  touch. Choose a creature you can see within 30 feet of you 
  as the target of the spell. You can’t use your Sacred Stealth 
  feature on a spell delivered in this way. After you cast the 
  spell, your Divine Symbol ends. 
  In addition, when you cast a spell that deals radiant or 
  necrotic damage, you can switch it to do the other type of 
  damage instead.
  LIFE THIEF
  At 17th level, you gain the ability to magically channel life 
  force energy out of one creature and into another. When 
  you deal radiant or necrotic damage with your Divine 
  Symbol attack or a cleric spell or cantrip, choose a friendly 
  creature you can see within 30 feet of you. That creature 
  regains hit points equal to half the radiant or necrotic 
  damage dealt. You can target yourself with this feature. 
  Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you 
  finish a short or long rest.
  Sorcerous 
  Origins 
  Sorcerers with connections to 
  undeath or decay might draw 
  their innate power from the 
  hunger of the undead or the 
  power of fungi. Those influenced 
  by the undead often hunger 
  for more magical might, 
  empowering 
  themselves with 
  each creature 
  they slay. Those 
  influenced by fungi can use 
  spores to manipulate and 
  enhance their magic.
  HUNGERING 
  Your innate magic comes 
  from a deep, primal source 
  of hunger and craving. 
  Perhaps your line was 
  cursed for its greed by a 
  god of plenty or generosity. 
  Perhaps one of your forebears 
  was marked by the hungering 
  undead.  Sorcerers with this origin 
  have an unyielding appetite for 
  arcana and go to nearly any length 
  to satiate their desire to increase 
  their magical power.
  
  44
  HUNGRY EYES
  At 1st level, you can sense when a creature is nearing 
  death. You know if a creature you can see that isn’t undead 
  or a construct within 30 feet of you is below half its hit 
  point maximum. Your spell attacks ignore half cover and 
  three-quarters cover when targeting creatures you sense 
  with this feature. 
  THIRSTY SOUL 
  Beginning at 1st level, when you reduce a hostile creature 
  to 0 hit points, you regain hit points equal to your sorcerer 
  level + your Charisma modifier (minimum of 1). This 
  feature can restore you to no more than half your hit 
  point maximum. 
  FEAST OF ARCANA 
  Starting at 6th level, when you reduce one or more hostile 
  creatures to 0 hit points with one spell of 1st level or 
  higher, you regain 1 spent sorcery point. 
  GLUTTON FOR PUNISHMENT
  Starting at 14th level, you can use your reaction to 
  intentionally fail a saving throw against a spell that deals 
  damage and that was cast by a hostile creature. If you do 
  so, you regain a number of spent sorcery points equal to 
  half your Charisma modifier (minimum of 1).
  GREEDY HEART
  At 18th level, when you spend sorcery points to create 
  spell slots or use metamagic, you reduce the cost by 1 
  sorcery point (this can’t reduce the cost below 1). 
  SPORE SORCERY  
  One of the most omnipresent elements in the atmosphere 
  is practically invisible and often ignored: spores. 
  Plants of all varieties, fungal sentient life forms like 
  mushroomfolk, and even animals emit these tiny 
  pieces of life. You’ve always had an affinity for the 
  natural world, and your innate magic is carried 
  within the power of these omnipresent spores. 
  Spore sorcerers are regularly found in the Underworld, 
  often among the mushroomfolk and derro who grow large 
  gardens of fungi. Though less common, some darakhul 
  possess the power of spore sorcery and spend their days 
  tending the fungal fields that feed the Imperium’s carrion 
  beetles. Spore sorcerers can also be found in any area with 
  an abundance of plant life, such as the many forests that 
  dot the surface of Midgard.
  NATURE MAGIC
  Your affinity with the natural world and the spores that 
  exist between all plants and creatures allows you to learn 
  spells from the druid class. When your Spellcasting feature 
  lets you learn or replace a sorcerer cantrip or a sorcerer 
  spell of 1st level or higher, you can choose the new spell 
  from the druid spell list or the sorcerer spell list. You must 
  otherwise obey the restrictions for selecting the spell, and 
  it becomes a sorcerer spell for you.
  In addition, when you reach 5th level, you can cast speak 
  with plants without expending a spell slot a number of 
  times equal to your Charisma modifier (a minimum of 
  once). You regain any expended uses when you finish 
  a long rest.
  
  45
  SPORE TRANSMISSION
  At 1st level, your spores allow you to communicate with 
  creatures telepathically. You can use a bonus action 
  to create a telepathic link with one creature you can 
  see within 30 feet of you. Until the link ends, you can 
  telepathically speak to the target, and, if it understands at 
  least one language, it can speak telepathically to you. The 
  link lasts for 10 minutes or until you use another bonus 
  action to break the link or to establish this link with a 
  different creature.
  If the target is unwilling, it can make a Charisma saving 
  throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the link on a 
  success. If an unwilling target ends the link in this way, you 
  can't establish a link with that target again for 24 hours.
  METAMAGIC SPORE TRANSMISSION
  Starting at 6th level, the spores connecting you and the 
  target of your Spore Transmission enhance your metamagic 
  effects on the linked target. You gain the following benefits 
  when using the indicated Metamagic options:
  • Careful Spell. If the spell allows a target to take only 
  half damage on a successful saving throw, the linked 
  target instead takes no damage.
  • Distant Spell. When you use this Metamagic option 
  to increase the range of a touch spell, the spell’s range 
  is 60 feet when cast on the linked target.
  • Extended Spell. If cast on the linked target, the 
  spell’s duration is tripled rather than doubled, to a 
  maximum of 36 hours.
  • Hungry Spell. If the linked target is reduced to 0 
  hit points with your hungry spell, you regain hit 
  points equal to double your Charisma modifier 
  (minimum of 2). 
  • Lingering Spell. If the linked target failed its 
  saving throw against your lingering spell, it has 
  disadvantage on the saving throw to avoid the 
  additional damage at the start of your next turn.
  • Shared Hunger Spell. If you use this Metamagic 
  option on the linked target, you and the target 
  regain hit points equal to double your Charisma 
  modifier (minimum of 2) if the target hits with its 
  weapon attack.
  • Twinned Spell. By spending 1 additional sorcery 
  point, you can affect the linked target in addition to 
  the two original targets.
  SPORE’S PROTECTION
  Starting at 14th level, when an attacker you can see targets 
  you with a melee attack, you can use your reaction to 
  call forth spores to cloud its senses. The attacker has 
  disadvantage on the attack roll. If the attack hits, you gain 
  10 temporary hit points as the spores bind the wound for a 
  short time. The temporary hit points last for 1 minute.
  SPORE FORM
  At 18th level, you gain immunity to poison damage and 
  the poisoned condition.
  In addition, as an action, you can radiate spores in a 
  20-foot radius around you for 1 minute. Each friendly 
  creature that starts its turn in the area regains hit points 
  equal to your Charisma modifier (a minimum of 1). Each 
  hostile creature that starts its turn in the area takes poison 
  damage equal to your Charisma modifier (a minimum of 
  1). The target of your Spore Transmission regains (if it is 
  friendly) or takes (if it is hostile) double this amount. Once 
  you use this action, you can’t use it again until you finish 
  a long rest.
  METAMAGIC OPTIONS 
  Here are new options for the sorcerer’s Metamagic class 
  feature. Though favored by Hungering sorcerers, a sorcerer 
  of any origin can use these options.
  AUTONOMOUS SPELL 
  When you cast a spell that has a duration of concentration, 
  you can spend 3 sorcery points to cast it without requiring 
  concentration. For example, using autonomous spell on 
  detect magic changes its duration to 10 minutes. You can 
  have only one autonomous spell in effect at a time. If you 
  use this metamagic to modify a second spell, the first 
  autonomous spell ends.
  HUNGRY SPELL
  When you cast a spell that deals damage to a single target, 
  you can spend 1 sorcery point to add your Charisma 
  modifier to the damage roll of the spell. If you reduce a 
  creature to 0 hit points with a hungry spell, you regain hit 
  points equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of 1).
  INSATIABLE SPELL 
  When you cast a spell on a creature that is immune to the 
  damage or effects of the spell, you can spend 5 sorcery 
  points to bypass the creature’s immunity for this casting of 
  the spell. The creature is affected by the spell as if it didn’t 
  have immunity to the spell’s damage or effects and must 
  make any saving throws allowed by the spell as normal. 
  
  46
  LINGERING SPELL
  When you cast a damaging spell with an instantaneous 
  duration that requires a saving throw, you can spend 
  a number of sorcery points equal to the spell’s level to 
  prolong the spell’s damage. A creature that failed its saving 
  throw against your original casting of this spell must 
  succeed on the same saving throw at the start of your next 
  turn or take half of the spell’s damage. 
  SHARED HUNGER SPELL
  When you cast a beneficial spell on a friendly 
  creature, you can spend 3 sorcery points to 
  empower the creature’s weapons. The creature’s 
  next weapon attack roll has advantage and, if 
  the creature hits, you and the creature regain 
  hit points equal to your Charisma modifier 
  (minimum of 1).
  Wizard Arcane 
  Traditions 
  Wizards have long studied the power of 
  necromancy and the undead, but they rarely 
  agree on what they should do with the knowledge. 
  Some wizards dedicate themselves to eradicating 
  undead, ensuring the dead remain at rest and the 
  living remain safe from the dead. Other wizards 
  choose to empathize with those who have 
  passed and use their unique power over death 
  to protect the living.
  GRAVEBINDING 
  While most wizards who desire power over 
  the dead focus their efforts on necromancy, 
  there are other, rarer, paths one can choose. 
  Gravebinders focus their efforts on safeguarding 
  tombs and graveyards to ensure the dead remain 
  at rest and the living remain safe from the dead. 
  When undead rise to prey upon the living, a gravebinder 
  hunts downs the abominations and returns them to their 
  eternal slumber.
  RESTRICTION: THE DEAD MUST REST
  When you choose this wizard arcane tradition, you can no 
  longer cast spells that animate, conjure, or create undead, 
  and, if any such spells are copied in your spellbook, they 
  fade from the book within 24 hours, leaving blank pages 
  where the spells were.
  GRAVEBINDER LORE
  At 2nd level, you can use an action to inscribe a small 
  rune on a corpse. While this rune remains, the corpse 
  can’t become undead. You can use this feature a number 
  of times equal to your Intelligence modifier (a minimum 
  of once). You regain all expended uses when you finish a 
  long rest. 
  
  47
  In addition, you have proficiency in the Religion skill 
  if you don’t already have it, and you have advantage on 
  Intelligence (Religion) checks made to recall lore about 
  deities of death, burial practices, and the afterlife. 
  HUNTER OF THE DEAD
  Starting at 2nd level, you gain access to spells passed down 
  by generations of gravebinders. The heart to heart (2nd), 
  dead walking (3rd), gird the spirit (3rd), life from death 
  (5th), and lay to rest (9th) spells are wizard spells for you, 
  and you add them to your spellbook at the indicated levels 
  (see the Spells chapter for details on these spells). Once 
  you gain access to one of these spells, you always have it 
  prepared, and it doesn’t count against the number of spells 
  you can prepare each day. 
  Also at 2nd level, you can use your action and expend 
  one wizard spell slot to focus your awareness on the 
  region around you. For 1 minute per level of the spell slot 
  you expend, you can sense whether undead are present 
  within 1 mile of you. You know the general direction of 
  the undead creatures, though not their exact locations 
  or numbers, and you know the direction of the most 
  powerful undead within range.  
  WARD AGAINST THE RISEN
  Starting at 6th level, when an undead creature you can see 
  within 30 feet of you targets an ally with an attack or spell, 
  you can use your reaction to hamper the attack or spell. 
  The undead has disadvantage on its attack roll or your ally 
  has advantage on its saving throw against the undead’s 
  spell. You can use this feature a number of times equal 
  to your Intelligence modifier (a minimum of once). You 
  regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest. 
  DISRUPTIVE TOUCH
  Beginning at 10th level, when an undead creature takes 
  damage from a 1st level or higher spell you cast, it takes an 
  extra 4d6 radiant damage. Undead creatures you kill using 
  this feature are destroyed in a puff of golden motes.
  RADIANT NIMBUS
  At 14th level, you can use your action to envelope 
  yourself in a shroud of golden flames for 1 minute. While 
  enveloped in these flames, you gain the following benefits:
  • When you summon the flames and as an action on 
  each of your turns while the flames are active, you 
  can frighten undead within 30 feet of you. Each 
  undead creature in the area must succeed on a 
  Wisdom saving throw or be frightened of you until 
  the flames fade or until it takes damage. An undead 
  creature with sunlight sensitivity (or hypersensitivity, 
  in the case of vampires) also takes 4d6 radiant 
  damage if it fails the saving throw. 
  • You shed bright light in a 30-foot radius and dim 
  light for an additional 30 feet. This light is sunlight. 
  • When an undead creature hits you with a melee 
  weapon attack, it takes 2d10 radiant damage. 
  Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you 
  finish a long rest.
  WHITE NECROMANCY 
  An enlightened few wizards know true mastery of life 
  and death requires understanding of the uneasy balance 
  between life, death, and undeath – the necromantic triad. 
  You don’t walk the same path as traditional necromancers, 
  which your order calls “dark necromancers.” You have a 
  deep and profound respect for life’s eternal cycle and use the 
  power you have earned to honor the dead and aid the living. 
  RESTRICTION: NON-EVIL
  You can choose this wizard arcane tradition only if you 
  have an alignment that isn’t evil.
  REBUKE DEATH
  Beginning when you select this tradition at 2nd level, you 
  gain proficiency in the Medicine skill if you don’t already 
  have it, and your proficiency bonus is doubled for Wisdom 
  (Medicine) checks. In addition, you learn the spare the 
  dying cantrip, which is a wizard cantrip for you and doesn’t 
  count against the number of wizard cantrips you know.
  UPHOLD LIFE
  Starting at 2nd level, you can use your action to heal a 
  creature. A creature you touch regains hit points equal to 
  your Intelligence modifier + your wizard level (minimum 
  of 1). Once a creature has regained hit points from this 
  feature it can’t do so again until it finishes a long rest. 
  WHITE NECROMANCER
  At 6th level, you add the animate dead spell to your 
  spellbook. At 11th level, you add the create undead spell to 
  your spellbook.
  When you create an undead creature using a necromancy 
  spell, it has additional benefits:
  • If the undead creature has an Intelligence score of 
  5 or less, its Intelligence becomes 6, and it gains the 
  ability to understand and speak one language of your 
  choice that you speak.
  • The undead creature’s alignment changes to 
  match yours.
  
  48
  • At the end of the undead creature’s first 24 hours of 
  serving you, it can choose to continue serving you 
  for the next 24 hours or return to its eternal rest. 
  Re-casting the spell that created it doesn’t reassert 
  your control over it. You can convince the undead 
  creature to continue serving you with a successful 
  Charisma (Persuasion) check against a DC equal to 8 
  + the creature’s CR. The DC increases by 1 for every 
  24 hours it serves you. You have disadvantage on this 
  check if you were disrespectful to the creature in the 
  previous 24 hours. If the undead creature chooses to 
  return to its eternal rest, it immediately crumbles to 
  dust. Alternatively, an undead creature might choose 
  to serve you until a particular task is completed (such 
  as seeking justice against someone who wronged it 
  in life or helping you infiltrate a keep where its living 
  relative is captive), extending or shortening the time 
  it serves you at the GM’s discretion. 
  LIFE BOND
  At 10th level, you add the warding bond spell to your 
  spellbook, and it is a wizard spell for you. You can cast 
  warding bond without expending a spell slot. If you do so, 
  it doesn’t require a material component, and the duration 
  increases to 4 hours.
  Once you cast warding bond in this way, you can’t do 
  so again until you finish a long rest. You can still cast 
  warding bond normally using an available spell slot.
  PROTECT LIFE
  Once you reach 14th level, you can use an action to 
  cause life-preserving magic to emit from you. You 
  and friendly creatures within 20 feet of you have 
  resistance to necrotic damage for 1 minute. 
  In addition, each creature affected by your Protect Life has 
  advantage on saving throws against spells and effects that 
  reduce its hit point maximum, such as a 
  specter’s Life Drain or the harm spell.
  Once you use this feature, you 
  can’t use it again until you 
  finish a short or long rest. 
  
  49
  Threats from the Underworld and Ghoul Imperium call to 
  people from all across Midgard. The Red Winter Adherent 
  and Siwali Embalmer seek to quell undead threats to life 
  on Midgard, while the Ghoul Imperium Deserter wants to 
  see their former homeland destroyed.
  Ghoul Imperium Deserter
  You have served your emperor and his officers dutifully, 
  and it has brought you nothing. The rewards you have 
  been promised—a herd of fattened manlings for feasting 
  upon, a troop of skeletons to serve your needs, and 
  possibly a zombie or three for light security—all of these 
  things and more have failed to materialize in whole or in 
  part, and now you want what you feel is coming to you, 
  even if you have to live among the feeble mortals of the 
  surface lands to get it.
   While some Ghoul Imperium deserters are found 
  amongst vampires and their dhampir progeny, most 
  frequently they are darakhul, many of whom are veterans 
  of the constant conflicts with the ghoul emperor’s many 
  enemies, both above and below the surface of the world. 
  You are viewed with suspicion if not outright hostility by 
  the majority of the people you meet. 
  Backgrounds  
     and Trinkets
  Skill Proficiencies: Intimidation, Performance 
  Tool Proficiencies: Disguise kit 
  Language: Darakhul 
  Equipment: A bag of caltrops, a hunting trap, a disguise 
  kit, a humanoid skull or femur, and a pouch with 25 gp
  RESTRICTION: DARAKHUL OR DHAMPIR
  You can choose this background only if you are a darakhul 
  or a dhampir.
  FEATURE: ALTER EGO 
  You have a second identity that includes documentation, 
  established acquaintances, and disguises that allow you to 
  assume this persona. Additionally, you have a safehouse 
  in one of the cities or towns of the Crossroads region. 
  This safehouse is of average quality and is registered in the 
  name of your alter ego. 
  SUGGESTED CHARACTERISTICS
  While benevolence isn’t completely unknown to the 
  darakhul of the Ghoul Imperium, deserters are often 
  marked with a streak of selfishness or unbridled self 
  interest. Often their ideals and bonds are shaped by the 
  type of company they keep.
  
  50
  d8 Personality Trait
  1 
  I will do whatever it takes, barring personal harm, to 
  get what I want. 
  2 
  Caution is as necessary on the battlefield as in the 
  bargaining chamber. 
  3 
  If no one saw this, it didn’t happen. 
  4 
  If you have what I want, I will take it. 
  5 
  Trickery and persuasion are the same thing. 
  6 
  I am owed a blood debt that will be repaid 
  with interest. 
  7 
  Happiness is as pointless as sorrow. 
  8 
  Killing should be done in the  
  bloodiest fashion possible. 
  d6 Ideal
  1 
  Power. Those weaker than myself deserve neither 
  mercy nor pity. (Evil) 
  2 
  Control. I know what is best. Kneel and do my 
  bidding. (Law) 
  3 
  Selfishness. If I get what I desire, there may be some 
  little thing left for you. (Evil) 
  4 
  Benevolence. We were free creatures in life. It does 
  not have to be different in un-life. (Good) 
  5 
  Anarchy. If everyone rises up as one, they cannot 
  strike at all of us. (Chaos) 
  6 
  Fairness. We toil for our masters, and what 
  does it gain us? When do we see reward for our 
  efforts? (Neutral) 
  d6 Ideal
  1 
  My standard bearer has been with me through 
  hell and high water. I will see to it that he makes it 
  through this too. 
  2 
  I take a fingertip from each dwarf I slay and string 
  them on a thong I wear around my neck. 
  3 
  After I fell in battle near Triolo, my spouse remarried 
  and took our children to live with the new family. I 
  will find and recover my children while punishing my 
  spouse’s betrayal of my memory. 
  4 
  This rose engraved blade has seen my family’s 
  fortunes fall. It will now see them rise again in 
  eternal life. 
  5 
  The gnomes of Niemheim took me in when I 
  was near my second death. I will protect gnomes 
  wherever I find them. 
  6 
  I was branded a traitor and driven into exile. I will 
  return in force and bring glory to my name. 
  d6 Flaw
  1 
  I can only stomach meat that is cut from living prey. 
  2 
  When I am telling the truth, it seems like I am lying. 
  3 
  I cannot help but to be deceitful when I am speaking 
  to an authority figure. 
  4 
  My tone is loud and aggressive, even when I am 
  feeling calm. 
  5 
  I cannot read my mother tongue, but I will not admit 
  this fact. 
  6 
  When living people are near me, I lick my lips and 
  salivate profusely. 
  
  51
  VARIANT GHOUL IMPERIUM DESERTER: 
  ESCAPED SLAVE
  You were part of the Ghoul Imperium not as one of 
  its ghoulish citizens but as one of its living slaves. You 
  can choose this variant only if you are not a darakhul 
  or dhampir. 
  As a “skilled” slave, you survived longer than your 
  fellow “fleshling” slaves who were food for the Imperium’s 
  masses. You might have served as the personal attendant 
  to a noble who flaunted you as proof of their wealth or an 
  artisan who had slaves supplement their apprentices—a 
  darakhul who doesn’t need to eat its slave is a wealthy 
  or talented darakhul indeed. You eventually made your 
  escape by sneaking to the surface on a merchant’s caravan 
  or through the many dark and dangerous tunnels of the 
  Underworld. Perhaps a living merchant even took pity on 
  you and smuggled you out. Whatever your role as a slave 
  in the Ghoul Imperium and your method of escape, you 
  are now free. 
  Your former master might still be looking for you and 
  your loved ones have long presumed you dead. Your 
  Alter Ego is the new identity you have built for yourself 
  after being unable to return to your former life, but 
  your safehouse might be the home of a former traveling 
  companion or relative who held out hope for your survival. 
  Rather than proficiency in Performance, you might have 
  proficiency with one set of artisan’s tools. And instead of a 
  humanoid skull or femur, you can start with a small trinket 
  you stole when you made your escape, though the trinket 
  has no value except as something sentimental to your 
  former ghoulish master.
  Red Winter Adherent
  You are part of the Red Winter, whether recently inducted 
  or a more seasoned member. You and your brothers and 
  sisters of the Red Winter believe vampires have subverted 
  the natural order of things by ruling over the living. 
  Vampires have no blood except that which they take from 
  the living. They are parasites. It is the living who are truly 
  blessed by the Blood Goddess. Your order seeks vengeance 
  on the parasites who have overreached their station, and 
  you plan to put the scales back in balance. You and your 
  fellow adherents will bring the Red Winter, a final, cold 
  season when the snows run red with stolen blood, spilled 
  from the thieves who took it. Your connection to the cult 
  provides you with essential direction and inspiration. The 
  beliefs of the cult helped to set you on the difficult path 
  you walk today.
  Skill Proficiencies: Deception, Religion
  Tool Proficiencies: Disguise kit or forgery kit 
  Language: One of your choice 
  Equipment: A holy symbol, a disguise kit or forgery kit, 
  vestments or a set of common clothes, and a belt pouch 
  containing 5 gp
  
  52
  FEATURE: CLANDESTINE ASSISTANCE
  When in the Grand Duchy of Morgau, or its adjacent 
  territories, you can receive assistance from other members 
  of the Red Winter for you and your companions. By using 
  secret signs or notes at designated drops, you can ask your 
  fellow cultists for aid. The circumstances of whether aid 
  can be provided, when, and in what amount, is dependent 
  on the GM. For example, if you and your companions 
  need access to a noble's house, you might be provided 
  with a forged invitation to a party being held in a few days 
  time. Or you could receive the floor plans to the noble's 
  dungeon, as well as a copy of a key to open a gate into a 
  little-used courtyard. This feature works both ways. If you 
  and your companions can provide needed assistance to 
  local Red Winter cultists, they might contact you to seek 
  such assistance. Refusal is remembered and can affect use 
  of this feature in the future.
  SUGGESTED CHARACTERISTICS
  Adherents of the Red Winter walk a difficult road. They are 
  faithful to Marena, but they directly oppose her church's 
  orthodoxy and the political base that supports it. They 
  support the living citizens of Morgau, but they can’t trust 
  those citizens. This tightrope walk between devotion 
  and distrust shapes the adherents’ personalities and 
  interactions with others.
  d8 Personality Trait
  1
  I expect treason constantly, and I always have 
  contingency plans in place in case of betrayal.
  2
  I always try to find an advantage in even the worst 
  situations.
  3
  In public, I work to avoid notice and act as 
  unassuming as possible.
  4
  I'm fond of quoting scripture apt to a situation, 
  especially to my enemies in the same faith.
  5
  Having spent much time living in spartan conditions, 
  I'm uncomfortable with luxurious accommodations.
  6
  When entering a new area, I always look for avenues 
  of escape and potential enemies.
  7
  I perform subtle tests when meeting new people to 
  ensure they aren't vampires.
  8
  By treating servants and the oppressed well, I often 
  find new avenues for information and gossip.
  d6 Ideal
  1
  Tradition. A return to traditional ways must come 
  from an overthrow of the current hierarchy. (Lawful)
  2
  Freedom. Let the oppressors be overthrown, so my 
  people and I can live free. (Chaotic)
  3
  Self Interest. I will help the Red Winter succeed, so 
  that I can achieve my own goals. (Neutral)
  4
  People. The people deserve a chance to live in 
  accordance with Marena's teachings without bowing 
  to the undead. (Neutral)
  5
  Power. The path of the Red Winter will lead me to a 
  position of prestige. (Evil)
  6
  Zeal. As a living example of the Red Winter's 
  teachings, I will prove myself faithful. (Any)
  d6 Bond
  1
  My service to the Red Winter is penance for letting a 
  loved one die at the hands of a vampire.
  2
  If I aid the Red Winter in overthrowing the current 
  order, I will restore honor to my family name.
  3
  By helping the cult succeed, I repay the dead 
  family members/friends/allies that sacrificed their 
  lives for mine.
  4
  A Red Winter priest rescued me as a child; I owe 
  them my life.
  5
  I shall spread the holy word of the Red Winter 
  among the orthodoxy, so they may convert and save 
  themselves.
  6
  My family was taken by the vampires. If they still live, 
  I will find them.
  d6 Flaw
  1
  I'm slow to trust and often misjudge the actions of 
  others because of my suspicious nature.
  2
  My judgment can be clouded when pursuing 
  personal vendettas.
  3
  Faced with a choice between my faith and my friends, 
  I will usually choose my faith.
  4
  I often give the faithful of Marena the benefit of the 
  doubt, even when they serve the opposition.
  5
  My penchant for bloodletting can be 
  disturbing to others.
  6
  Seduction is the purview of Marena, one to which I 
  may pay entirely too much attention.
  
  53
  Siwali Embalmer
  In Siwal, dealing with the dead is the livelihood of a 
  select few families. You are a member of one of the 
  families of Siwal’s gravebinders, or you have apprenticed 
  to one of them. You are trained in the making of 
  shrouds, leading mourning ceremonies, and the methods 
  one must use to consecrate both body and gravesite 
  to prevent the dead from rising as undead. As one of 
  the few who truly knows the streets and avenues of the 
  Grand Necropolis, you are afforded a measure more 
  respect than most simple gravediggers.
  Skill Proficiencies: Medicine, Religion
  Tool Proficiencies: Choose one of the following: 
  alchemist’s supplies, carpenter’s tools, mason’s tools, 
  weaver’s tools, or woodcarver’s tools
  Equipment: A set of tools you are proficient 
  with, a flask of holy water, a set of 
  traveler’s clothes, and a pouch 
  containing 10 gp
  FEATURE: SECRETS  
  OF THE GRAVEKEEPER
  You spent your formative years walking the streets and 
  alleys of graveyards and understand similar logic dictates 
  the layout and architecture of most burial grounds. 
  When you are in a graveyard, cemetery, or other burial 
  site, you have advantage on Intelligence (Investigation) 
  checks to find the location of individuals or families 
  interred at the site. In addition, you have advantage on 
  Intelligence (History) checks to discover information 
  about those interred at a burial site if you have visited the 
  site at least once. 
  You also spent much of your life experiencing and 
  sharing the grief of those who have lost loved ones. You 
  are adept at bringing solace to grieving people, and, when 
  you do, you receive their gratitude in return. Whether 
  this gratitude is given immediately or at some point 
  in the future is at the GM’s discretion. This gratitude 
  might come as a minor gift, monetary aid, much-needed 
  information, or other token of their appreciation.
  
  54
  SUGGESTED CHARACTERISTICS
  Siwali embalmers spent the bulk of their time ensuring 
  the dead were respectfully prepared for eternity, which 
  often makes them seem distant or disinterested when they 
  must interact with the living. Dedicated to the task of 
  properly disposing of the dead, Siwali embalmers despise 
  the undead. When they come across the remains of a 
  humanoid creature that has been improperly laid to rest, 
  they take as much time as they can spare to ensure the 
  body, and hopefully the spirit, are properly put to rest.
  d8 Personality Trait
  1
  I have no reason to fear death; it is merely the next 
  step in our journey.
  2
  I enjoy the quiet stillness of the dead. The living are 
  far too busy and loud.
  3
  I hide my fear of death from my colleagues.
  4
  I cope with life’s uncertainties by ensuring my life is 
  perfectly ordered.
  5
  I treat the dead with respect because I hope I am 
  shown the same kindness when my end comes.
  6
  Every corpse I prepare gives me reason to rejoice that
  I still live..
  7
  How I treat the tools of my trade is representative of 
  how I treat the living.
  8
  Our ends could come at any time, why should I not 
  live each day as though it was my last?
  d6 Ideal
  1
  Tradition. The way our society treats those who have 
  passed to the next life is indicative of how they treat 
  those who still live this life. (Lawful)
  2
  Balance. We live then we die—it is the cycle of 
  life. (Neutral)
  3
  Service. If no one steps forward to ensure the 
  dead are interred, we will be awash in restless 
  spirits. (Good)
  4
  Knowledge. The more we understand how we die, 
  the better we can live a healthy and productive 
  life. (Neutral)
  5
  Greed. Every life that ends leaves more for those who 
  remain living. (Evil)
  6
  Exultation. We must beat death back and live as fully 
  as possible before the end takes us. (Chaotic)
  d6 Bond
  1
  My livelihood keeps the community safe from 
  angry spirits.
  2
  I am required to know the funerary traditions of all 
  the major religions of the region to ensure every spirit 
  passes to its proper resting place, no matter its faith.
  3
  When I was young, I barely survived an encounter 
  with a zombie.
  4
  My family has tended to the needs of the dead 
  for centuries.
  5
  I will pass my skill on to the next generation before it 
  is time to put down my tools.
  6
  My deeds as a hunter and destroyer of the undead 
  will be told and retold.
  d6 Flaw
  1
  After I am done with my work, I wash my hands until 
  they are red and raw.
  2
  When I am questioned about my work, I get 
  defensive and angry.
  3
  When I witness something dying, I stare at it in 
  fascination.
  4
  When matters of medicine or the dead are discussed, 
  I discount anyone’s contributions other than my own.
  5
  I dislike being in open spaces and prefer 
  close confines.
  6
  When performing my work, I talk to the dead and 
  often pause while doing so, as if giving the dead time 
  to respond.
  
  55
  d100 Trinket
  01-02
  Jar of inedible mushrooms that never runs empty.
  03-04
  A small, smooth stone that makes everyone but 
  you feel nauseous when they handle it.
  05-06
  A ghoul’s tongue on a leather thong, the end of 
  which flicks of its own volition on occasion.
  07-08
  A bone pen that writes in blood.
  09-10
  A small broken granite statuette of the first 
  ghoul emperor.
  11-12
  A small wooden box that emits a single harsh laugh 
  each time it is opened.
  13-14
  A tarnished brass locket with the painting of a 
  haunted-looking boy inside.
  15-16
  A tiny, dull knife carved from a 
  petrified mushroom.
  17-18
  A jar holding a single desiccated eye, which always 
  seems to be looking at you.
  19-20
  A pair of gleaming white vampire fangs. 
  21-22
  A tattered toy mouse stained with blood.
  23-24
  A collection of humanoid thumbs on a sinew cord.
  25-26
  A tattered holy text with all references to the deity 
  scratched out.
  27-28
  A vial of luminescent fungi.
  29-30
  A resilient bowl made of a red and white 
  mushroom cap.
  31-32
  A child’s block made of a hardened piece of 
  gelatinous cube.
  33-34
  A porcelain doll dressed in fine lace-trimmed 
  clothing with fangs painted on her mouth.
  35-36
  A small cloth wallet filled with ancient stone coins. 
  37-38
  A fist-sized chunk of pyrite.
  39-40
  A single teardrop earring with a green crystal 
  nestled in the center.
  41-42
  A pouch of bone dice of various shapes and sizes.
  43-44
  A grey, palm-sized, heart-shaped rock that is 
  disproportionally heavy.
  45-46
  A scroll covered in pictures of 
  assorted mushrooms.
  47-48
  An empty, blood-stained vial hanging from a 
  tarnished gold chain. 
  49-50
  A flat-bottomed glass orb that has no opening, but 
  holds an undead mouse inside.
  51-52
  A blood stained love letter written on parchment. 
  UNDERWORLD TRINKETS
  When you make an Underworld character, you can roll percentile dice once and consult the Underworld 
  Trinkets table to determine an oddity you found or inherited in your past.
  53-54
  A bag of petrified garlic.
  55-56
  A simple silver ring that seems shinier the closer 
  the moon is to full. 
  57-58
  A simple wooden box filled with small pebbles that 
  appear to be collected from various sources. 
  59-60
  A small vial containing a clear liquid that, upon 
  closer inspection, is salty, like a person’s tears. 
  61-62
  A child-sized leather bracelet adorned with a 
  collection of animal teeth. 
  63-64
  A broken clockwork canary inside a small cage  
  that has no door. 
  65-66
  A simple, long black cloak that never makes you 
  feel warmer. 
  67-68
  A carefully stitched finger puppet made from what 
  appears to be drow flesh. 
  69-70
  A shrunken duergar head that has a magic mouth 
  which sporadically warns of danger in Dwarvish.
  71-72
  A candlestick that changes the color of candles 
  placed in it to purple.
  73-74
  A spur of stone containing a tiny, fossilized bird.
  75-76
  Deck of playing cards depicting the current ghoul 
  emperor as the joker.
  77-78
  A palm-sized volcanic stone that is always warm 
  to the touch.
  79-80
  A cloak clasp made of a mummified human hand.
  81-82
  A stained, white handkerchief that you find lying 
  next to your pack every morning, regardless of 
  where you left it the night before.
  83-84
  Ring of polished white stone engraved with 
  unknown runes.
  85-86
  Blank scroll made of mushroom gills.
  87-88
  A tiny petrified bat.
  89-90
  Flask made of limestone with a tough, 
  mushroom stopper.
  91-92
  A tiny, potted shrieker that only sounds when the 
  roosters crow each morning.
  93-94
  Mottled chunk of fungus which looks uncannily 
  like your face in profile.
  95-96
  A marble sphere that vibrates gently.
  97-98
  One-inch glass cube filled with vivid, purple sand.
  99-00
  Pouch of nails made of ankheg carapace.
  d100 Trinket
  
  56
  Spell Lists
  The spell lists are organized by class. Check with your GM to find out which spells are allowed in your campaign. 
  Some GMs might allow only spells associated with specific schools, domains, backgrounds, etc., or they might 
  allow certain spells only to characters who have a feat or feature associated with that spell’s origin. On the other 
  hand, some GMs may throw the doors wide open and allow everything. In any case, it’s always best to ask first.
  Spells
  BARD SPELLS
  1st Level
  Heart to Heart
  Unluck on That
  2nd Level
  Lacerate
  Stench of Rot
  3rd Level
  Life Sense
  4th Level
  Keening Wail
  CLERIC SPELLS
  Cantrips (0 Level)
  Dark Maw
  1st Level
  Bolster Undead
  Gird the Spirit
  Unluck on That
  2nd Level
  Conjure Spectral Dead
  Lacerate
  Rotting Corpse
  Stench of Rot
  Unholy Defiance
  3rd Level
  Hematomancy
  Life from Death 
  Life Sense
  Mortal Insight
  Seeping Death
  Touch of the Unliving
  4th Level
  Blood Puppet
  Keening Wail
  Not Dead Yet
  5th Level
  Lay to Rest 
  7th Level
  Conjure Greater  
    Spectral Dead
  Curse of the Grave
  Death God’s Touch
  8th Level
  Ghoul King’s Cloak
  DRUID SPELLS
  1st Level
  Gird the Spirit
  Maw of Needles
  2nd Level
  Stench of Rot
  3rd Level
  Life Sense
  Mortal Insight
  Seeping Death
  PALADIN SPELLS
  1st Level
  Gird the Spirit
  Heart to Heart 
  3rd Level
  Life from Death 
  Life Sense
  5th Level
  Lay to Rest
  RANGER SPELLS
  1st Level
  Maw of Needles
  2nd Level
  Dead Walking
  Stench of Rot 
  3rd Level
  Life Sense
  Mortal Insight
  SORCERER SPELLS
  Cantrips (0 Level)
  Dark Maw
  1st Level
  Bolster Undead
  Disquieting Gaze
  Heart to Heart 
  Unluck on That
  
  57
  2nd Level
  Dead Walking 
  Lacerate
  Stench of Rot
  3rd Level
  Hematomancy
  Life Sense
  Touch of the Unliving
  4th Level
  Blood Puppet
  Not Dead Yet
  5th Level
  Boiling Blood 
  7th Level
  Death God’s Touch
  Curse of the Grave
  WARLOCK SPELLS
  Cantrips (0 Level)
  Dark Maw
  1st Level
  Bolster Undead
  Disquieting Gaze
  Unluck on That
  2nd Level
  Conjure Spectral Dead
  Dead Walking 
  Rotting Corpse
  3rd Level
  Life Sense
  Mortal Insight
  Touch of the Unliving
  4th Level
  Keening Wail
  Not Dead Yet
  Spell Descriptions
  All spells are listed in alphabetical order. 
  BLOOD PUPPET
  4th-level transmutation (blood)
  Casting Time: 1 action
  Range: 100 feet
  Components: V, M (a drop of blood from the 
  intended target)
  Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
  With a sample of its blood, you are able to magically 
  control a creature's actions, like a marionette on magical 
  strings. Choose a creature you can see within range 
  whose blood you hold. The target must succeed on a 
  Constitution saving throw or you gain control over its 
  physical activity as long as you interact with the blood 
  material component each round. As a bonus action on 
  your turn, you can direct the creature to perform various 
  activities. You can specify a simple and general course of 
  action, such as “Attack that creature,” “Run over there,” or 
  “Fetch that object.” If the creature completes the order and 
  doesn’t receive further direction from you, it defends and 
  preserves itself to the best of its ability. The target is aware 
  of being controlled. At the end of each of its turns, the 
  target can make another Constitution saving throw. On a 
  success, the spell ends. 
  BOILING BLOOD
  4th-level necromancy (blood)
  Casting Time: 1 action
  Range: 30 feet
  Components: V, S, M (a vial of blood)
  Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
  You cause the blood within a creature’s body to boil with 
  supernatural heat. Choose one creature that you can see 
  within range that isn’t a construct or undead. The target 
  must make a Constitution saving throw. On a successful 
  save, it takes 2d6 fire damage and the spell ends. On a 
  failed save, the creature takes 4d6 fire damage and is 
  blinded. At the end of each of its turns, the target can make 
  another Constitution saving throw. On a success, the spell 
  ends. On a failure, the creature takes 2d6 fire damage, and 
  it remains blinded. 
  At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell 
  slot of 5th level or higher, you can target one additional 
  creature for each slot level above 4th. The creatures must be 
  within 30 feet of each other when you target them.
  5th Level
  Boiling Blood 
  7th Level
  Conjure Greater  
    Spectral Dead
  Curse of the Grave
  Death God’s Touch
  8th Level
  Ghoul King’s Cloak
  WIZARD SPELLS
  Cantrips (0 Level)
  Dark Maw
  1st Level
  Bolster Undead
  Disquieting Gaze
  Heart to Heart
  Unluck on That
  2nd Level
  Conjure Spectral Dead
  Dead Walking 
  Lacerate
  Rotting Corpse
  Stench of Rot
  Unholy Defiance
  3rd Level
  Hematomancy
  Life Sense
  Seeping Death
  Touch of the Unliving
  4th Level
  Blood Puppet
  Not Dead Yet
  5th Level
  Boiling Blood 
  7th Level
  Conjure Greater  
    Spectral Dead
  Curse of the Grave
  Death God’s Touch
  
  58
  At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a 
  9th-level spell slot, you summon a deathwisp (see Tome of 
  Beasts) or two ghosts instead.
  CONJURE SPECTRAL DEAD
  2nd-level conjuration
  Casting Time: 1 minute
  Range: 60 feet
  Components: V, S, M (a handful of bone dust, a crystal 
  prism, and a silver coin)
  Duration: Concentration, up to 1 hour
  You summon a shroud (see Tome of Beasts) to do your 
  bidding. The creature appears in an unoccupied space 
  that you can see within range. The creature is friendly to 
  you and your allies for the duration. Roll initiative for 
  the creature, which has its own turns. It obeys any verbal 
  commands that you issue to it (no action required by you). 
  If you don't issue any commands to the creature, it defends 
  itself from hostile creatures but otherwise takes no actions. 
  The creature disappears when it drops to 0 hit points or 
  when the spell ends.
  At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a 3rd-
  level spell slot, you can choose to summon two shrouds 
  or one specter. When you cast this spell with a spell slot 
  of 4th level or higher, you can choose to summon four 
  shrouds or one will-o’-wisp.
  CURSE OF THE GRAVE
  7th-level necromancy 
  Casting Time: 1 action
  Range: 120 feet
  Components: V, S, M (a pinch of dirt from a freshly 
  dug grave)
  Duration: Until dispelled
  You tap your connection to death to curse a humanoid, 
  making the grim pull of the grave stronger on that 
  creature’s soul.
  Choose one humanoid you can see within range. The 
  target must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or 
  become cursed. A remove curse spell or similar magic ends 
  this curse. While cursed in this way, the target suffers the 
  following effects:
  • The target fails death saving throws on any 
  roll but a 20.
  • If the target dies while cursed, it rises 1 round later 
  as a vampire spawn under your control and is no 
  longer cursed.
  BOLSTER UNDEAD
  1st-level necromancy 
  Casting Time: 1 action
  Range: 60 feet
  Components: V, S, M (a sprinkle of unholy water)
  Duration: 1 hour
  You suffuse undead creatures with necrotic energy to 
  increase the difficulty of harming or affecting them.
  Choose up to three undead creatures within range. 
  When a target creature makes a saving throw against being 
  turned or against spells or effects that deal radiant damage, 
  the target has advantage on the saving throw. 
  At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell 
  slot of 2nd level or higher, you can affect one additional 
  undead creature for each slot level above 1st.
  CONJURE GREATER SPECTRAL DEAD
  7th-level conjuration
  Casting Time: 1 minute
  Range: 60 feet
  Components: V, S, M (a handful of bone dust, a crystal 
  prism worth at least 100 gp, and a platinum coin)
  Duration: Concentration, up to 1 hour
  You summon an incorporeal undead creature that appears 
  in an unoccupied space you can see within range. You 
  choose one of the following options for what appears:
  • One wraith
  • One spectral guardian (see Tome of Beasts)
  • One swarm of wolf spirits (see Tome of Beasts)
  Summoned creatures disappear when they drop to 0 hit 
  points or when the spell ends.
  The summoned creature doesn’t attack you or your 
  companions for the duration. Roll initiative for the 
  summoned creature, which has its own turns. The 
  creature attacks your enemies and tries to stay within 60 
  feet of you, but it otherwise controls its own actions. The 
  summoned creature despises being bound and might 
  harm or impede you and your companions by any means 
  at its disposal other than direct attacks if the opportunity 
  arises. At the beginning of the creature’s turn, you can use 
  your reaction to verbally command it. The creature obeys 
  your commands for that turn, and you take 1d6 psychic 
  damage at the end of the turn. If your concentration is 
  broken, the creature doesn’t disappear. Instead, you can 
  no longer command it, it becomes hostile to you and your 
  companions, and it attacks you and your allies if it believes 
  it has a chance to win the fight or to inflict meaningful 
  harm; otherwise it flees. You can’t dismiss the uncontrolled 
  creature, but it disappears 1 hour after you summoned it.
  
  59
  • The target, as a vampire spawn, seeks you out in 
  an attempt to serve its new master. You can have 
  only one vampire spawn under your control at a 
  time through this spell. If you create another, the 
  existing one turns to dust. If you or your companions 
  do anything harmful to the target, it can make a 
  Wisdom saving throw. On a success, it is no longer 
  under your control. 
  DARK MAW
  Necromancy cantrip  
  Casting Time: 1 action
  Range: Touch
  Components: V, S
  Duration: 1 round
  Thick, penumbral ichor drips from your shadow-stained 
  mouth, filling your mouth with giant shadow fangs. Make 
  a melee spell attack against the target. On a hit, the target 
  takes 1d8 necrotic damage as your shadowy fangs sink into 
  it. If you have a bite attack (such as from a racial trait or a 
  spell like alter self), you can add your spellcasting ability 
  modifier to the damage roll but not to the temporary 
  hit points.
  If you hit a humanoid target, you gain 1d4 temporary hit 
  points until the start of your next turn.
  This spell’s damage increases by 1d8 when you reach 5th 
  level (2d8), 11th level (3d8), and 17th level (4d8). 
  DEAD WALKING
  2nd-level illusion   
  Casting Time: 1 action
  Range: 10 feet
  Components: V, S, M (a copper piece)
  Duration: Concentration, up to 1 hour
  As part of the casting of this spell, you place a copper 
  piece under your tongue. This spell makes up to six willing 
  creatures you can see within range invisible to undead 
  creatures for the duration. Anything a target is wearing or 
  carrying is invisible as long as it is on the target’s person. 
  The spell ends for all targets if one target attacks or 
  casts a spell.
  At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a 3rd-
  level spell slot, it lasts for 1 hour without requiring your 
  concentration. When you cast this spell using a spell slot 
  of 4th level or higher, the duration increases by 1 hour for 
  each slot level above 3rd. 
  DEATH GOD’S TOUCH
  7th-level necromancy   
  Casting Time: 1 action
  Range: Touch
  Components: V, S
  Duration: Instantaneous
  This spell allows you to shred the life force of a creature 
  you touch. You become invisible and make a melee spell 
  attack against the target. On a hit, the target takes 10d10 
  necrotic damage. If this damage reduces the target to 0 hit 
  points, the target dies. Whether the attack hits or misses, 
  you remain invisible until the start of your next turn. 
  At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell 
  slot of 8th level or higher, the damage increases by 2d10 for 
  each slot level above 7th.
  DISQUIETING GAZE
  1st-level necromancy  
  Casting Time: 1 action
  Range: Self
  Components: V, S
  Duration: 1 minute
  Your eyes burn with scintillating motes of unholy crimson 
  light. Until the spell ends, you have advantage on Charisma 
  (Intimidation) checks made against creatures that can see 
  you, and you have advantage on spell attack rolls that deal 
  necrotic damage to creatures that can see your eyes.
  GHOUL KING’S CLOAK
  8th-level transmutation
  Casting Time: 1 action
  Range: Touch
  Components: V
  Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
  You touch a creature, giving it some of the power of a 
  ghoul king. The target gains the following benefits for the 
  duration of the spell: 
  • Its Armor Class increases by 2, to a maximum of 20.
  • When it uses the Attack action to make a melee 
  weapon attack or a ranged weapon attack, it can 
  make one additional attack of the same kind.
  • It is immune to necrotic damage and radiant damage.
  • It can’t be reduced to less than 1 hit point.
  At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a 
  9th-level spell slot, the spell lasts for 10 minutes and 
  doesn’t require concentration.
  
  60
  GIRD THE SPIRIT
  1st-level abjuration    
  Casting Time: 1 reaction, which you take when you or a 
  creature within 30 feet of you is hit by an attack from an 
  undead creature
  Range: 30 feet
  Components: V, S
  Duration: 1 minute
  Your magic protects the target creature from the 
  life-sapping energies of the undead. For the duration, 
  the target has immunity to effects from undead creatures 
  that reduce its ability scores, such as a shadow’s Strength 
  Drain, or its hit point maximum, such as a specter’s Life 
  Drain. This spell doesn’t prevent damage from those 
  attacks; it prevents only the reduction in ability score or hit 
  point maximum.
  HEART TO HEART
  1st-level necromancy    
  Casting Time: 1 action
  Range: Touch
  Components: V, S, M (a drop of your blood, which the 
  spell consumes)
  Duration: 1 hour
  For the duration, you and the creature you touch remain 
  stable and unconscious if reduced to 0 hit points while 
  the other has 1 or more hit points. If you touch a dying 
  creature, it becomes stable but remains unconscious 
  while it has 0 hit points. If both of you are reduced to 0 
  hit points, you must both make death saving throws, as 
  normal. If you or the target regain hit points, either of you 
  can choose to split those hit points between the two of you 
  if both of you are within 60 feet of each other. 
  HEMATOMANCY
  3rd-level divination
  Casting Time: 1 minute
  Range: Touch
  Components: V, S, M (at least one drop of a 
  creature’s blood)
  Duration: Instantaneous
  You can learn information about a creature whose blood 
  you possess. The target must make a Wisdom saving 
  throw. If the target knows you’re casting the spell, it can 
  fail the saving throw voluntarily if it wants you to learn the 
  information. On a successful save, the target isn’t affected, 
  and you can’t use this spell against it again for 24 hours. 
  On a failed save, or if the blood belongs to a dead creature, 
  you learn the following information:
  • The target’s most common name (if any).
  • The target’s creature type (and subtype, if any), 
  gender, and which of its ability scores is highest 
  (though not the exact numerical score).
  • The target’s current status (alive, dead, sick, 
  wounded, healthy, etc.).
  • The circumstances of the target shedding the blood 
  you’re holding (bleeding wound, splatter from an 
  attack, how long ago it was shed, etc.).
  Alternatively, you can forgo all of this information and 
  instead use the blood as a beacon to track the target. For 
  1 hour, as long as you are on the same plane of existence 
  as the creature, you know the direction and distance to 
  the target’s location at the time you cast this spell. While 
  moving towards the location, if you are presented with a 
  choice of paths, the spell automatically indicates which path 
  provides the shortest and most direct route to the location.
  KEENING WAIL
  4th-level necromancy 
  Casting Time: 1 action
  Range: Self (15-foot cone)
  Components: V, S, M (a ringed lock of hair from an 
  undead creature)
  Duration: Instantaneous
  You emit an unholy shriek from beyond the grave. Each 
  creature in a 15-foot cone must make a Constitution 
  saving throw. A creature takes 6d6 necrotic damage on a 
  failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. If 
  a creature with 50 hit points or fewer fails the saving throw 
  by 5 or more, it is instead reduced to 0 hit points. This wail 
  has no effect on constructs and undead. 
  At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell 
  slot of 5th level or higher, the damage increases by 1d6 for 
  each slot level above 4th. 
  LACERATE
  2nd-level evocation 
  Casting Time: 1 action
  Range: 60 feet
  Components: V, S, M (a shard of bone or crystal)
  Duration: Instantaneous
  You make a swift cutting motion through the air to lacerate 
  a creature you can see within range. The target must make 
  a Constitution saving throw. It takes 4d8 slashing damage 
  on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful 
  
  61
  one. If the saving throw fails by 5 or more, the wound 
  erupts with a violent spray of blood, and the target gains 
  one level of exhaustion. 
  At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell 
  slot of 3rd level or higher, the damage increases by 1d8 for 
  each slot level above 2nd.
  LAY TO REST
  5th-level evocation
  Casting Time: 1 action
  Range: Self (15-foot-radius sphere)
  Components: V, S, M (a pinch of grave dirt)
  Duration: Instantaneous
  A pulse of searing light rushes out from you. Each undead 
  creature within 15 feet of you must make a Constitution 
  saving throw. A target takes 8d6 radiant damage on a failed 
  save, or half as much damage on a successful one. 
  An undead creature reduced to 0 hit points by this spell 
  disintegrates in a burst of radiant motes, leaving anything 
  it was wearing or carrying in a space it formerly occupied.
  LIFE FROM DEATH
  3rd-level necromancy 
  Casting Time: 1 action
  Range: Self
  Components: V, S
  Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
  Your touch can siphon energy from undead to heal your 
  wounds. Make a melee spell attack against an undead 
  creature within your reach. On a hit, the target takes 2d6 
  radiant damage, and you or an ally within 30 feet of you 
  regains hit points equal to half the amount of radiant 
  damage dealt. If used on an ally, this effect can restore the 
  ally to no more than half of the ally's hit point maximum. 
  This effect can’t heal an undead or a construct. Until the 
  spell ends, you can make the attack again on each of your 
  turns as an action.
  At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell 
  slot of 4th level or higher, the damage increases by 1d6 for 
  each slot level above 3rd.
  
  62
  LIFE SENSE
  3rd-level divination 
  Casting Time: 1 action
  Range: Self
  Components: V, S, M (a clear piece of quartz)
  Duration: Concentration, up to 10 minutes
  For the duration, you can sense the location of any 
  creature that isn’t a construct or an undead within 30 feet 
  of you, regardless of impediments to your other senses. 
  This spell doesn’t sense creatures that are dead. A creature 
  trying to hide its life force from you can make a Charisma 
  saving throw. On a success, you can’t sense the creature 
  with this casting of the spell. If you cast the spell again, 
  the creature must make the saving throw again to remain 
  hidden from your senses.
  MAW OF NEEDLES
  1st-level transmutation 
  Casting Time: 1 bonus action
  Range: Self
  Components: V, S
  Duration: 1 minute 
  A spiny array of needle-like fangs protrudes from your 
  gums, giving you a spiny bite. For the duration, you can 
  use your action to make a melee spell attack with the bite. 
  On a hit, the target takes 2d6 piercing damage and must 
  succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or some of the spines 
  in your mouth break off, sticking in the target. Until this 
  spell ends, the target must succeed on a Constitution 
  saving throw at the start of each of its turns or take 1d6 
  piercing damage from the spines. If you hit a target that 
  has your spines stuck in it, your attack deals extra damage 
  equal to your spellcasting ability modifier, and more spines 
  don’t break off in the target. Your spines can stick in only 
  one target at a time. If your spines stick into another target, 
  the spines on the previous target crumble to dust, ending 
  the effect on that target. 
  At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell 
  slot of 3rd level or higher, the damage of the spiny bite 
  and the spines increases by 1d6 for every two slot levels 
  above 1st. 
  MORTAL INSIGHT
  3rd-level divination
  Casting Time: 1 action
  Range: Self
  Components: V, S
  Duration: Concentration, up to 10 minutes
  A supernatural olfactory sense allows you to smell 
  wounded living creatures. Until the spell ends, you can 
  pinpoint a creature that doesn’t have all of its hit points 
  within 30 feet of you, and you have advantage on Wisdom 
  (Perception) and Wisdom (Survival) checks to track a 
  creature that doesn’t have all of its hit points. In addition, 
  you have advantage on melee attack rolls against any 
  creature that doesn’t have all of its hit points. The spell has 
  no effect on creatures that don’t have blood.
  NOT DEAD YET
  4th-level necromancy (ritual)
  Casting Time: 1 minute
  Range: Touch
  Components: V, S, M (a cloth doll filled with herbs and 
  diamond dust worth 100 gp)
  Duration: Concentration, up to 1 hour
  You cast this spell while touching the cloth doll against the 
  intact corpse of a Medium or smaller humanoid that died 
  within the last hour. At the end of the casting, the body 
  reanimates as an undead creature under your control. While 
  the spell lasts, your consciousness resides in the animated 
  body. You can use an action to manipulate the body’s limbs 
  in order to make it move, and you can see and hear through 
  the body’s eyes and ears, but your own body becomes 
  unconscious. The animated body can neither attack nor 
  defend itself. This spell doesn’t change the appearance of the 
  corpse, so further measures might be needed if the body 
  is to be used in a way that involves fooling observers into 
  believing it’s still alive. The spell ends instantly, and your 
  consciousness returns to your body, if either your real body 
  or the animated body takes any damage.
  You can’t use any of the target’s abilities except for 
  nonmagical movement and darkvision. You don’t have 
  access to its knowledge, proficiencies, or anything else that 
  was held in its now dead mind, and you can’t make it speak.
  ROTTING CORPSE
  2nd-level necromancy 
  Casting Time: 10 minutes
  Range: Touch 
  Components: V, M (a rotting piece of flesh from an 
  undead creature)
  Duration: 3 days 
  Your familiarity with the foul effects of death allows you 
  to prevent a dead body from being returned to life using 
  anything but the most powerful forms of magic.
  You cast this spell by touching a creature that died within 
  the last 24 hours. The body immediately decomposes to a 
  
  63
  state that prevents the body from being returned to life by 
  the raise dead spell (though a resurrection spell still works). 
  At the end of this spell’s duration, the body decomposes 
  to a rancid slime, and it can’t be returned to life except 
  through a true resurrection spell. 
  At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell 
  slot of 3rd level or higher, you can affect one additional 
  corpse for each slot level above 2nd.
  SEEPING DEATH
  3rd-level necromancy
  Casting Time: 1 action
  Range: Touch
  Components: V, S
  Duration: 3 days
  Your touch inflicts a virulent, flesh-eating disease. Make a 
  melee spell attack against a creature within your reach. On 
  a hit, the creature’s Dexterity score is reduced by 1d4, and it 
  is afflicted with the seeping death disease for the duration.
  Since this spell induces a natural disease in its target, any 
  effect that removes a disease or otherwise ameliorates a 
  disease’s effects apply to it and can end the spell early.
   Seeping Death. The creature’s flesh is slowly liquefied 
  by a lingering necrotic pestilence. At the end of each long 
  rest, the diseased creature must succeed on a Constitution 
  saving throw or its Dexterity score is reduced by 1d4. The 
  reduction lasts until the target finishes a long rest after 
  the disease is cured. If the disease reduces the creature’s 
  Dexterity to 0, the creature dies.
  STENCH OF ROT
  2nd-level necromancy 
  Casting Time: 1 action
  Range: 30 feet
  Components: V, S, M (a live maggot)
  Duration: 1 hour
  Choose one creature you can see within range that isn’t 
  a construct or undead. The target must succeed on a 
  Charisma saving throw or become cursed for the duration 
  of the spell. While cursed, the target reeks of death and rot, 
  and nothing short of magic can mask or remove the smell. 
  The target has disadvantage on all Charisma checks and 
  on Constitution saving throws to maintain concentration 
  on spells. A creature with the Keen Smell trait, or a similar 
  trait indicating the creature has a strong sense of smell, 
  can add your spellcasting ability modifier to its Wisdom 
  (Perception) or Wisdom (Survival) checks to find the target. 
  A remove curse spell or similar magic ends the spell early.
  At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell 
  slot of 3rd level or higher, the duration increases by 1 hour 
  for each slot level above 2nd.
  TOUCH OF THE UNLIVING
  3rd-level necromancy 
  Casting Time: 1 action
  Range: Touch
  Components: V, S
  Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
  Make a melee spell attack against a creature you can reach. 
  On a hit, the target takes 2d6 necrotic damage and, if it is 
  not an undead creature, it is paralyzed until the end of its 
  next turn. Until the spell ends, you can make the attack 
  again on each of your turns as an action.
  At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell 
  slot of 4th level or higher, the damage increases by 1d6 for 
  each slot level above 3rd.
  UNHOLY DEFIANCE
  2nd-level necromancy 
  Casting Time: 1 action
  Range: 30 feet
  Components: V, S, M (a pinch of earth from a grave)
  Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
  Until the spell ends, undead creatures within range have 
  advantage on saving throws against effects that turn 
  undead. If an undead creature within this area has the 
  Turning Defiance or Turn Resistance trait, that creature 
  can roll a d4 when it makes a saving throw against an 
  effect that turns undead and add the number rolled to the 
  saving throw.
  UNLUCK ON THAT
  1st-level enchantment 
  Casting Time: 1 reaction, which you take immediately 
  when a creature within range makes an attack roll, saving 
  throw, or ability check
  Range: 25 feet
  Components: V
  Duration: Instantaneous
  By uttering a swift curse (“Unluck on that!”), you bring 
  misfortune to the target’s attempt; the affected creature has 
  disadvantage on the roll.
  At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell 
  slot of 2nd level or higher, the range of the spell increases 
  by 5 feet for each slot level above 1st.
  
  64
  The Underworld is home to all manner of hungry 
  monsters, malicious humanoids, and treacherous caverns. 
  In spite of all this, many beasts eek out a meager living 
  in the depths of the world. The following beasts make 
  up a few of the more mundane creatures that inhabit the 
  Underworld. Some of the beasts make suitable familiars 
  for spellcasters, while others are appropriate choices for a 
  ranger’s companion or a druid’s Wild Shape. The ghoul bat, 
  in particular, is a favorite among the imperial hunters of 
  the Ghoul Imperium. 
  Familiars. Bilbies, lantern beetles, and sniffer beetles can 
  be called to serve a spellcaster via the find familiar spell. 
  Underworld Beasts
  BILBY
  Tiny beast, unaligned
  ARMOR CLASS 10
  HIT POINTS 2 (1d4)
  SPEED 30 ft., burrow 5 ft.
  STR DEX 
  CON 
  INT 
  WIS 
  CHA
  6 (–2) 
  10 (+0) 
  10 (+0) 
  2 (–4) 
  10 (+0) 
  8 (–1)
  SENSES darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 10
  LANGUAGES —
  CHALLENGE 0 (10 XP)
  Shadow Camouflage. The bilby has advantage on Dexterity 
  (Stealth) checks made while in dim light or darkness.
  ACTIONS
  Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +2 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 
  1 piercing damage.
  Often called rabbit-eared bandicoots, bilbies are rarely 
  seen directly. They are commonly treated as a pest by 
  Underworld and desert travelers as they enjoy rummaging 
  in unattended packs and tents for food.
  
  65
  CAVE GOAT
  Small beast, unaligned
  ARMOR CLASS 11
  HIT POINTS 22 (4d6 + 8)
  SPEED 50 ft.
  STR DEX 
  CON 
  INT 
  WIS 
  CHA
  14 (+2) 
  13 (+1) 
  15 (+2) 
  2 (–4) 
  10 (+0) 
  6 (–2)
  SKILLS Athletics +4
  SENSES darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 10
  LANGUAGES —
  CHALLENGE 1/4 (50 XP)
  Keen Hearing. The cave goat has advantage on Wisdom 
  (Perception) checks that rely on hearing.
  Sturdy Climber. The cave goat has advantage on Strength 
  (Athletics) checks to climb rocky surfaces.
  ACTIONS
  Ram. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 
  4 (1d4 + 2) bludgeoning damage.
  Cave goats are the size of a spaniel and have dog-like paws 
  rather than hooves. Despite being quadrupeds, they are 
  accomplished climbers of the steep and uneven confines 
  of the Underworld. Cave goats are loyal, if a bit surly, 
  and strong, making them a favorite 
  companion of Underworld travelers.
  FENNEC FOX
  Tiny beast, unaligned
  ARMOR CLASS 11
  HIT POINTS 7 (2d4 + 2)
  SPEED 40 ft., burrow 5 ft.
  STR DEX 
  CON 
  INT 
  WIS 
  CHA
  6 (–2) 
  12 (+1) 
  12 (+1) 
  2 (–4) 
  14 (+2) 
  10 (+0)
  SKILLS Stealth +3
  SENSES darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 12
  LANGUAGES —
  CHALLENGE 1/8 (25 XP)
  Keen Hearing and Sight. The fennec fox has advantage on 
  Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing or sight.
  ACTIONS
  Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 
  3 (1d4 + 1) piercing damage.
  Fennec foxes are tiny canids which make their homes in 
  the shallow parts of the Underworld and the deserts of the 
  Southlands. Their huge semi-erect ears and wide eyes give 
  them a disarmingly friendly appearance. 
  
  66
  GHOUL BAT
  Small undead, neutral evil
  ARMOR CLASS 13
  HIT POINTS 14 (4d6)
  SPEED 5 ft., fly 30 ft.
  STR DEX 
  CON 
  INT 
  WIS 
  CHA
  6 (–2) 
  16 (+3) 
  11 (+0) 
  8 (–1) 
  12 (+1) 
  10 (+0)
  DAMAGE IMMUNITIES poison
  CONDITION IMMUNITIES charmed, exhaustion, poisoned
  SENSES blindsight 60 ft., passive Perception 11
  LANGUAGES —
  CHALLENGE 1/4 (50 XP)
  Echolocation. The ghoul bat can’t use its blindsight 
  while deafened.
  Keen Hearing. The ghoul bat has advantage on Wisdom 
  (Perception) checks that rely on hearing.
  Undead Nature. Ghoul bats don’t require air, food, 
  drink, or sleep.
  ACTIONS
  Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 
  5 (1d4 + 3) piercing damage. If the target is a creature other 
  than an undead, it must succeed on a DC 10 Constitution saving 
  throw or be paralyzed until the end of its next turn.
  This bat has an emaciated, three-foot-long torso and a 
  head that looks like skin stretched over bone. Its jaws are 
  unnaturally distended, and its mouth is full of needle-
  like teeth. Ghoul bats are popular messengers and pets 
  amongst darakhul and can be found both in colonies and 
  alone throughout the Ghoul Imperium.
  GIANT ARMADILLO
  Small beast, unaligned
  ARMOR CLASS 12 (natural armor)
  HIT POINTS 10 (3d6)
  SPEED 25 ft., burrow 15 ft.
  STR DEX 
  CON 
  INT 
  WIS 
  CHA
  12 (+1) 
  8 (–1) 
  10 (+0) 
  2 (–4) 
  10 (+0) 
  6 (–2)
  SENSES darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 10
  LANGUAGES —
  CHALLENGE 1/4 (50 XP)
  ACTIONS
  Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. 
  Hit: 4 (1d6 + 1) slashing damage. 
  Tuck In. The giant armadillo tucks its entire body into its shell, 
  forming an armored ball. While in this form, it moves by rolling 
  around, it has resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing 
  damage, and it can’t take the Attack action or burrow. The giant 
  armadillo can return to its true form as a bonus action.
  Giant armadillos look like a hybrid of aardvark, 
  rhinoceros, and turtle with vicious-looking claws used 
  primarily for burrowing. These creatures are generally 
  placid and seek to avoid conflict whenever possible. 
  
  67
  LANTERN BEETLE
  Tiny beast, unaligned
  ARMOR CLASS 13 (natural armor)
  HIT POINTS 2 (1d4)
  SPEED 30 ft., climb 10 ft., fly 10 ft.
  STR DEX 
  CON 
  INT 
  WIS 
  CHA
  6 (–2) 
  12 (+1) 
  10 (+0) 
  1 (–5) 
  7 (–2) 
  3 (–4)
  SENSES passive Perception 8
  LANGUAGES —
  CHALLENGE 0 (10 XP)
  Illumination. The beetle sheds bright light in a 
  10-foot radius and dim light for an additional 10 
  feet. When it dies, its body continues to glow for 
  another 6 hours.
  ACTIONS
  Horn. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.  
  Hit: 1 piercing damage.
  Subsisting primarily on bioluminescent fungi, the 
  lantern beetle gets its name from its glowing 
  abdomen. It is a popular light source in the 
  Underworld and is used extensively by the 
  Ghoul Imperium as such. 
  SNIFFER BEETLE
  Small beast, unaligned
  ARMOR CLASS 12 (natural armor)
  HIT POINTS 5 (1d6 + 2)
  SPEED 30 ft., fly 10 ft.
  STR DEX 
  CON 
  INT 
  WIS 
  CHA
  13 (+1) 
  10 (+0) 
  14 (+2) 
  3 (–4) 
  12 (+1) 
  7 (–2)
  SKILLS Perception +5
  SENSES darkvision 30 ft., passive Perception 15
  LANGUAGES —
  CHALLENGE 1/8 (25 XP)
  Keen Smell. The sniffer beetle has advantage on Wisdom 
  (Perception) checks that rely on smell.
  ACTIONS
  Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 
  3 (1d4 + 1) piercing damage.
  The sniffer beetle is a docile creature with an excellent 
  sense of smell. The Ghoul Imperium trains the beetles to 
  sniff out hidden contraband on merchant caravans. On the 
  surface and in the Underworld, the beetles are often valued 
  as guide animals by those with limited vision.
  
  Midgard and the Kobold Press logo are trademarks of Open Design. 
  BY DAN DILLON, CHRIS HARRIS, AND RICH HOWARD
  HEROES HANDBOOK
  TM
  Find Adventure in Midgard
  Find Adventure in Midgard
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  ZOBECK GAZETTEER FOR 5TH EDITION       HAECK                           KOBOLD PRESS
  BY WOLFGANG BAUR AND RICHARD GREEN
  TM
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  WORLDBOOK
  MIDGARD WORLDBOOK
  t is an age of war. Civilization slowly gives way to 
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  dventure in  
    a dark world 
         of deep magic!
  
  The undead ghoul bat drops like rotten fruit, startling 
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  This book provides character options well 
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  Uncover new Underworld subclasses that fit  
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  •  Imperial Hunter ranger archetype
  •  And many others!
  Plus new spells, trinkets, Underworld beasts,  
  and more!
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  PO Box 2811  |  Kirkland WA 98083
  www.koboldpress.com
  Not All Heroes Wear 
  Not All Heroes Wear 
  Shining Armor
  Shining Armor
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Dungeons & Dragons [multi]/5th Edition (5e)/3rd Party/Kobold Press/Underworld Players Guide.pdf