You've made a pact with a deathless being, a creature that defies the cycle and life and death, forsaking its mortal shell so it might eternally pursue its unfathomable ambitions. For such beings, time and morality are fleeting things, the concerns of those for whom grains of sand still rush through life's hourglass. Having once been mortal themselves, these ancient undead know firsthand the paths of ambition and the routes past the doors of death. They eagerly share this profane knowledge, along with other secrets, with those who work their will among the living.
Beings of this type include the demilich Acererak, the vampire tyrant Kas the Bloody-Handed, the githyanki lich-queen Vlaakith, the dracolich Dragotha, the undead pharaoh Ankhtepot, and the elusive Darklord, Azalin Rex.
At 3rd level, you gain the following spells. They do not count against your spells known, and count as warlock spells for you. You only gain the spells when you have spell slots for them. The spells are listed by their spell level.
1st Level: Bane, False Life
2nd Level: Blindness/Deafness, Silence
3rd Level: Feign Death, Speak with Dead
4th Level: Death Ward, Aura of Life
5th Level: Antilife Shell, Contagion
At 3rd level, you manifest an aspect of your patron’s dreadful power. As a bonus action, you transform for 1 minute. You gain the following benefits while transformed:
You gain temporary hit points equal to 1d10 + your warlock level.
Once during each of your turns, when you hit a creature with an attack, you can force it to make a Wisdom saving throw, and if the saving throw fails, the target is frightened of you until the end of your next turn.
You are immune to the frightened condition.
You can transform a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest or use your Magical Cunning feature.
The appearance of your Form of Dread reflects some aspect of your patron. For example, your form could be a shroud of shadows forming the crown and robes of your lich patron, or your body might glow with glyphs from ancient funerary rites and be surrounded by desert winds, suggesting your mummy patron.
Starting at 6th level, you can give yourself vitality when you cheat death or when you help someone else cheat it. You can regain hit points equal to 1d8 + your Constitution modifier (minimum of 1 hit point) when you succeed on a death saving throw or when you stabilize a creature with Spare the Dying.
You can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, regaining all expended uses on a long rest, or when you use your Magical Cunning Feature.
Additionally, once per turn, your attacks deal extra necrotic damage equal to your charisma modifier while you are in your Form of Dread.
At 10th level, Your connection to undeath and necrotic energy now saturates your body. You have resistance to necrotic damage. If you are transformed using your Form of Dread, you instead become immune to necrotic damage.
In addition, you age at a slower rate. For every 10 years that pass, your body only ages 1 year, and you are immune to being magically aged. You can also hold your breath indefinitely, and you don't require food, water, or sleep, although you still require rest to stave off and reduce exhaustion.
At 14th level, your spirit can become untethered from your physical form. As an action, you can project your spirit from your body. The body you leave behind is unconscious and in a state of suspended animation.
Your spirit resembles your mortal form in almost every way, replicating game statistics but not your possessions. Any damage or other effects that apply to your spirit or physical body affects the other. Your spirit can remain outside your body for up to 1 hour or until your concentration is broken (as if concentrating on a spell). When your projection ends, your spirit returns to your body or your body magically teleports to your spirit’s space (your choice).
While projecting your spirit, you gain the following benefits:
Your spirit and body gain resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage.
When you cast a spell, you do not need to provide any components.
You have a flying speed equal to your walking speed and can hover. You can move through creatures and objects as if they were difficult terrain, but you take 1d10 force damage if you end your turn inside a creature or an object.
While you are using your Form of Dread, once during each of your turns when you deal necrotic damage to a creature, you regain hit points equal to half the amount of necrotic damage dealt.
Once you use this feature, you can’t do so again until you finish a long rest, or use your Magical Cunning feature.