Ghost hunters, those who successfully bargained with Death for their lives or those of their loved ones, the most rational sorts of death cultist, and scholars of souls and the afterlife. These warlocks are deeply interested in the passage of souls from the mortal realm to the beyond and back again. They may serve as troubleshooters and bounty hunters, chasing down those who would cheat death of a god of death or the Grim Reaper itself. They may also be guides to the afterlife for those who are dying, or may even simply be dangerous people who understand a lot about how death works.
Table: Mortality Expanded Spells
| Spell Level | Patron Spells |
|---|---|
| 1st | detect poison and disease, corpse explosion |
| 2nd | aid, force of will |
| 3rd | revivify, speak with dead |
| 4th | blight, death ward |
| 5th | antilife shell, reincarnate |
When you take this archetype at 1st level, your special connection to life and death grants you some ability to manipulate the forces of both, as well as wielding death’s traditional arsenal. You gain proficiency with scythes, with the Religion skill and gain a Religion skill specialty in Mortality. Additionally, choose one of the following:
Mortal Coil. You have learned to draw strength from the sufferings of a mortal existence. You learn the spare the dying cantrip and it does not count against your cantrips known. Additionally, whenever you fail a saving throw and suffer a condition as a result, you gain temporary hit points equal to twice your proficiency bonus.
Vital Curse. 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:
When you deal damage against the cursed creature, it takes an additional 1d4 necrotic damage. This bonus increases by 1d4 at 10th level, and again at 15th and 20th level.
You gain a pool of mortality dice, which begins empty. Each die represents a sliver of control over life and death. Whenever the cursed creature gains hit points, temporary hit points, rage hit points, or when a condition on it ends, add one mortality die to this pool. When a creature you can see regains hit points, you can roll a mortality die and add 1d4 to the hit points the creature regains. The pool disappears when you finish a short or long rest.
Once you have used this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
At 6th level, you can take on some aspects of the undeparted dead. As a bonus action, you can become insubstantial, allowing you to walk through solid objects for one minute. You take 1d10 force damage if you end your turn inside a solid object and are immediately shunted to the nearest unoccupied space. This process is draining, and when you end the effect, either by dismissing it (no action required) or by its duration expiring, you suffer a level of fatigue.
Also at 6th level, you learn the gentle repose and ceremony spells. They do not count against your spells known, and you may always choose to cast them as rituals.
At 10th level, your connection to death means that you are afforded certain cosmic privileges. You make death saving throws with advantage, and your aging slows to a crawl. Once you have reached full maturity (25 years old for humans), each 50 years of life you live only counts as a single year for the purposes of aging.
Also at 10th level, you can more easily secure passage into and out of the afterlife. A creature casting a spell to return you to life such as (raise dead or reincarnate) does not need material components to do so. In addition, you may die as an action. Whenever you die (via this ability or by any other means), your soul is instantly set on the path to whatever final afterlife it is destined for and cannot be trapped or destroyed. Your body is on its own, however.
At 14th level, you gain the fearsome power and responsibility to shepherd souls into the afterlife. Your weapons and damaging spells deal an additional 2d6 points of radiant damage to undead creatures, and you automatically sense if a creature you can see is undead. At the Narrator’s option, this bonus damage can also apply to creatures that have cheated death in some other way. You may also choose to deal radiant damage with your Eldritch Blast instead of the usual force damage.
You can also help the unquiet dead who wish to depart. You have advantage on all checks to discern how to lay such a creature to rest and to perform tasks necessary to do so. In addition, if a creature is unable to move on due to something that is now impossible to fulfill, you may cut the red tape of fate and send it to its eternal reward as an action. Once you have used this final option, you cannot do so again for a year.
Also at 14th level, you can automatically sense the presence of trapped or imprisoned souls, such as those contained in a magic jar, a weapon that steals the souls of those it slays, or other similar receptacles. As an action, you may choose to release any such souls within 30 feet to their final judgment. The effect this has on the soul’s former container is left to the Narrator’s discretion.