Draugr Sorcerous Origin
Woe to the unwary explorer who delves deep into the burial crypts of the ancient Nords, and disturbs the Draugr that dwell within.
- TES V: Skyrim loading screen
Dragur are undead Nordic warriors of Skyrim. It is believed that draugr once served the Dragon Priests; some even know several Words of Power. They are easily recognized by their grey, wrinkled skin, their glowing ice-blue eyes, and their signature armaments.
A bloodline most common in Nords, draugr sorcerers are necromanctically-inclined. The aspects of this origin are cold, death, and combat. Adventuring draugr sorcerers are extremely atypical; they often are sent on quests by a dragon priest or similar ancient power.
Draugr Sorcerer Quirks
Draugr sorcerers are visibly touched by their magic. The longer they've embraced their power, the stronger the resemblance is to their ancestors. You may select one of the options below, or roll to create a quirk for your undead spellcaster.
| d8 | Quirk |
|---|---|
| 1 | You are always icy cold to the touch. |
| 2 | You blinked. Once. Last week. |
| 3 | You barely bleed, even when badly injured. |
| 4 | Your heart beats once a minute. This event sometimes surprises you. |
| 5 | You have an innate distrust (or even hatred) towards the living. |
| 6 | When in dark places, your eyes glow a pale blue. |
| 7 | Your voice has a slight echo to it when you speak. |
| 8 | Your skin is visibly grey and wrinkled. |
Draugr Sorcerer Features
| Sorcerer Level | Feature |
|---|---|
| 1st | Origin Spells, Amongst the Draugr, Death-Touched, Fighting Style |
| 6th | Tomb Tender, Extra Attack |
| 14th | Draugr Deathlord, Unnatural Selection |
| 18th | Hallowed Lich |
Origin Spells
Once you gain an origin spell, you always know it, and it doesn’t count against your number of spells you know. If you have an origin spell that doesn’t appear on the sorcerer spell list, it is nonetheless a sorcerer spell for you.
| Sorcerer Level | Spells |
|---|---|
| 1st | cause fear |
| 3rd | blindness/deafness |
| 5th | animate dead |
| 7th | ice storm |
| 9th | danse macabre |
| 11th | circle of death |
Amongst the Draugr
At 1st level, you are proficient with handaxes, longswords, longbows, maces, shortbows, shortswords, warhammers, and light armor. You can also read, write, and speak dovah-zul and draconic.
Your type becomes undead, and you gain immunity to poison and the poisoned condition. You have advantage against being turned, and your CR is considered your character level in regards to clerics’ turn and destroy undead features.
Additionally, the necromantic energy within your body dissuades hostile undead near you. You have advantage on Charisma checks when interacting with undead creatures. When an undead creature attempts to make an attack against you, if you can see it, you can choose to cause disadvantage on the roll. You can do this a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of once) before requiring a long rest.
Death-Touched
Beginning 1st level, you can sense death and undeath. You benefit from the effects of the detect evil and good spell, with the following modifications:
- you can only detect recently deceased creatures, undead creatures and consecrated or desecrated sites, and you can determine their direction and distance from you.
- this effect is permanent and magical though it cannot be permanently dispelled. If targeted by dispel magic or antimagic field, this effect is suppressed for 1 hour, the duration of the spell, or the duration you are in an antimagical area, whichever is longer.
Additionally, you know the chill touch cantrip.
Fighting Style
You adopt a particular fighting style as your specialty. Choose one of the following options. You can’t take a fighting style option more than once, even if you later get to choose again.
- Archery. You gain a +2 bonus to attack rolls you make with ranged weapons.
- Caster. When you wield a weapon in one hand and nothing in the other, you can cast a spell as an action and make a weapon attack as a bonus action.
- Defense. When you are wearing armor, you gain a +1 bonus to AC.
- Dueling. When you are wielding a melee weapon in one hand and no other weapons, you gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls with that weapon.
- Protection. When a creature you can see attacks a target other than you that is within 5 feet of you, you can use your reaction to impose disadvantage on the attack roll. You must be wielding a shield.
- Simplicity. You gain a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls with simple weapons. When you roll maximum damage on a simple weapon’s damage die you can roll the die again and add the result to the damage.
- Two-Weapon Fighting. When you engage in two-weapon fighting, you can add your ability modifier to the damage of the second attack.
- Versatile. When you fight with a light or one-handed weapon and nothing in your off hand, gain +1 to AC. If you fight with a versatile weapon using both hands you gain a +2 bonus to damage.
Tomb Tender
At 6th level, you no longer need to sleep and can’t be forced to sleep by any means. To gain the benefits of a long rest, you can spend all 8 hours doing light activity, such as lighting candles, cleaning, simple rites, and keeping watch. You also know one of the following cantrips: control flame, create bonfire, or produce flame.
Extra Attack
Starting at 6th level, you can attack twice with a weapon, instead of once, when you take the Attack action on your turn.
Unnatural Selection
By 14th level, your body ceases to respect the boundaries of life, able to maintain itself through unnatural means. You become immune to disease, and you no longer need to eat, drink, or breathe.
Draugr Deathlord
At 14th level, you benefit from slaying the encroaching living. When you lower a creature to 0 hit points, you gain temporary hit points equal to your sorcerer level + your Charisma modifier. This feature does not work when constructs, plants, or other undead are brought to 0 hit points.
Additionally, if damage would reduce you to 0 hit points but not kill you outright, you can expend 3 sorcery points and return to 1 hit point. You cannot return to 1 hit point in this way if you were dropped to 0 hit points through radiant damage or damage from a critical hit.
Hallowed Lich
Upon reaching 18th level, you are extremely hard to kill.
You gain immunity to necrotic damage. When dealt necrotic damage, you instead heal for the amount rolled.
When reduced to 0 hit points, you must fail 4 death saving throws to die. When you die, your body must be completely destroyed (dismembered, burned, disintegrated) and buried, otherwise you return to life as you were before you were slain after a year and a day.
Source: https://elderscrolls.fandom.com/wiki/Draugr_Wight_(Skyrim)
Created by u/KoyukiTei13
Thanks to the homebrew community for inspiration.