The Faces of Evil

The Faces of Evil is a 5e supplement comprised of 12 dark subclasses, one for each of the classes in 5th Edition Dungeons and Dragons. This PDF is for players who want an antihero arc, a morally gray backstory, or an undead twist to their next adventure!

What’s inside

Barbarian: Path of Shadow. Forget the loud, brutish barbarian. The Path of Shadow transforms you into a terrifying predator who strikes from the dark. The Path of Shadow lets you use your bonus action to Hide in dim light and even see through magical darkness. You sap your enemy's very essence, reducing their speed and stealing their strength, adding both to your own!

Bard: College of the Dirgesinger. The true classic aura-master of old, I wanted to bring the old Bard from previous editions to 5th edition. Embrace the profound power of grief by wielding sorrow as a weapon in the form of the Song of Sorrow. It's a persistent song that radiates a constant debuff on enemies while you hold it, while allowing you to use your action to crescendo and unleash devastating Wails of damage or healing on a radius.

Cleric: Death Domain. A rework of the old Death Domain cleric only available in the 2014 Dungeon Master's Guide. With the power of death, you can target additional creatures with your Necromantic spells, maximize their damage through your Channel Divinity (getting the maximum value of your damage dice), and even heal from all the necrotic damage you deal!

Druid: Circle of the Witch. This isn't your typical druid. You will learn to empower both potions and poisons with extra uses and longer durations. You will trap the souls of your enemies in the trinkets you craft and exploit them for information and power. And most of all, you will hex your foes with persistent curses. Turning foes into toads never felt better.

Fighter: Spirit Warrior. This is a fighter who is never alone. This subclass lets you channel the ghosts of fallen heroes, each offering different passive buffs and big combat-swinging action abilities. You will have to choose which of your wide set of spirit options you will need for the battles to come, a hard choice as each spirit is unique and powerful in their own right!

Monk: Way of Profane Life. This monk is a master manipulator, able to support and control the battlefield. You can spend Ki to create a Profane Life Shield of temporary hit points for allies or force enemies to attack only you. Your most terrifying technique is Alter Chemistry, letting you spend Ki points to learn an enemy's weaknesses before giving them vulnerability to a damage type of your choice!

Paladin: The Fallen. Wield the very shadow of your failure as a weapon. The Oath of the Fallen is for paladins who broke their vows and allowed darkness to rush in to fill the void. This subclass completely changes how the Paladin plays. Your Lay on Hands pool can no longer heal, but you can now spend those points to cast your dark paladin spells. Your aura becomes an Unholy Aura, allowing you to use your reaction to weaken enemies around you. And when no light is truly left inside your heart, you can even learn to Wish Upon the Dark to make even your darkest wishes come true.

Ranger: Revenant. Become an avatar of vengeance for the restless dead. This ranger hunts down murderers to bring peace to tormented souls, summoning Spirits of Vengeance that empower and protect you. You can communicate with these spirits in order to enact their vengeance upon specific targets, granting you the ability to Hunter's Mark with unlimited range so long as you know the True Name of your quarry. When your powers grow, you will even be able to force spirits to haunt your enemies!

Rogue: Occultist. Step into the world of ghosts, cults, and paranormal investigations. This subclass is unique in that draws its power from the Cleric spell list and obtains bonuses when using Holy Water. You can consecrate your weapons with Holy Water to turn your Sneak Attack into radiant damage, or alternatively, you can add your full Sneak Attack damage to a thrown vial of Holy Water! And the best part is that if you do either against an Undead or a Fiend, the damage dice of your Sneak Attack evolves from d6s to d8s! Oh and you can also get Eldritch Invocations. This is probably my new favorite rogue subclass.

Sorcerer: Blood Mage. Power flows not from your ancestors, but from your own veins. This is a high-risk, high-reward caster who pays for power with life itself. Your core mechanic is Life Tap, which lets you expend your Hit Dice to regain Sorcery Points, fueled by your ability to regain all Hit Dice on a long rest. But fear not, blood magic increases your maximum hit points and lets you regain more hit points than normal whenever you are healed! You're a surprisingly tanky caster who can Overdraw their power, choosing to take damage in order to maximize all the dice of a damaging spell!

Warlock: Vampire Patron. Serve an ancient vampire and be rewarded with a taste of its immortal power. The Vampire Patron grants you a suite of Vampiric Powers, including passive health regeneration, extra speed, and the ability to use your Charisma rather than Strength for both checks and saving throws. You will learn how to become invisible, walk on walls, teleport, and even resist the call of death. By signing this pact in blood, you will add all the abilities of the feared vampire into your arsenal!

Wizard: The Reanimator. Command the dead as never before! The Reanimator is a subclass that throws out the old necromancy rules to give you a taste of true power. You can forge a Soulchain with which to bind yourself to your undead minions, allowing you to command your very own Undead Swarm. The more undead you add to the Soulchain the more powerful the swarm becomes! Just make sure you protect it when it grows weak lets you begin to lose undead one by one.

Two Playable Species 

Included are also two new species: The Vampire Spawn and the Flesh Golem.

• Vampire Spawn. Embrace the gothic fantasy and play as the iconic Vampire Spawn! Whether you are a loyal thrall or a free-willed antihero struggling against your hunger, this species is a powerhouse of vampiric flavor and mechanics.
• Flesh Golem. Become the monster stitched from many parts with the Flesh Golem! Brought to life by lightning and necromancy, you are a powerful Construct with a unique consciousness.