Many are those who seek to cheat death or unlock its secrets because they fear it. Far rarer are those whose desires drive them to immerse themselves into it. Some are tricksters seeking to cheat Death at their own game and live eternally, others are bound to serve death or related entities like Life in Death and are granted a reprieve to do so. Others serve powerful undead like elder vampires, mummy lords, or liches, often in the hopes of one day following in those footsteps. Still others simply find that the pull of mortality is lessened on them for reasons even they do not fully understand, as powerful forces have marked them apart. All walk the paths of death.
When you select this archetype at 1st level, you begin to learn how to manipulate the powers and energies of death. You learn the spare the dying cantrip, which does not count against your number of cantrips known. Choose one of the following:
You can use a bonus action to place a curse on a creature you can see within 30 feet. The curse lasts for 1 minute, and ends early if the target dies, you die, or you become incapacitated. The curse has the following effects:
Once you have used this ability, you cannot use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
You can cast spare the dying as a bonus action. In addition, when you are reduced to 0 hit points as a reaction you may cast spare the dying on yourself.
When you cast spare the dying on another creature that is actually dying, you regain hit points equal to 1d8 + your Charisma modifier.
You have advantage on saving throws against poison and disease.
At 6th level you gain the ability to bind the spirits of the recently departed to your service. When you kill a creature targeted by your Death Curse or under the effects of one of your warlock spells, you can resurrect it as a specter or a shadow (your choice) into an unoccupied space within 30 feet. The creature rolls its own initiative, has its own turns, and obeys your verbal commands. It retains no memory from its life. The creature disappears after 1 minute, when you are knocked unconscious, or when it is reduced to 0 hit points.
At 15th level, you can have your patron conjure for you either a banshee or a wraith instead.
Once you have used this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
At 10th level, you can hold your breath indefinitely, and you don't require food, water, or sleep, although you still require rest to reduce fatigue and strife and still benefit from finishing short and long rests.
In addition, your hit point maximum cannot be reduced, and you gain resistance to necrotic damage.
At 14th level whenever you finish a short rest, you gain the benefits of a death ward spell automatically. You also have advantage on death saving throws.
Anytime you deal necrotic damage to a creature they must make a constitution saving throw against your warlock spell save DC or have their hit point maximum reduced by the same amount. A creature dies if its hit point maximum is reduced to 0, and such a creature may not be returned to life by anything short of a wish spell.