The Raven Queen Patron
Your patron is the Raven Queen, a mysterious being who rules the Shadowfell from a palace of ice deep within that dread realm. The Raven Queen watches over the world, anticipating each creature’s death and ensuring that it meets its end at the proscribed time and place. As the ruler of the Shadowfell, she dwells in a decayed, dark reflection of the world. Her ability to reach into the world is limited. Thus, she turns to mortal warlocks to serve her will. Warlocks sworn to the Raven Queen receive visions and whispers from her in their dreams, sending them on quests and warning them of impending dangers. The Raven Queen’s followers are expected to serve her will in the world. She concerns herself with ensuring that those fated to die pass from the world as expected, and bids her agents to defeat those who seek to cheat death through undeath or other imitations of immortality. She hates intelligent undead and expects her followers to strike them down, whereas mindless undead such as skeletons and zombies are little more than stumbling automatons in her eyes.
Expanded Spell List
The Raven Queen lets you choose from an expanded list of spells when you learn a warlock spell. The following spells are added to the warlock spell list for you.
Raven Queen Expanded Spells
| Spell Level | Spells |
|---|---|
| 1st | false life, sanctuary |
| 2nd | silence, spiritual weapon |
| 3rd | feign death, speak with dead |
| 4th | ice storm, greater invisiblity |
| 5th | commune, cone of cold |
Goddess of Death, Spinner of Fate, and Patron of Winter
The Raven Queen is the ancient goddess of death. She is so old and mysterious that her true name has long been lost. Her patrons seek her favor to guide them in death and prevent the curse of undeath from falling on them.
She marks the end of each mortal life, and mourners call upon her during funeral rites, in the hope that she will guard the departed from the curse of undeath. She expects her followers to abide by these commandments:
- Hold no pity for those who suffer and die, for death is the natural end of life.
- Bring down the proud who try to cast off the chains of fate. As the instrument of the Raven Queen, you must punish hubris where you find it.
- Watch for the cults of Orcus and stamp them out whenever they arise. The Demon Prince of the Undead seeks to claim the Raven Queen's throne.
The Raven Queen was once a powerful mortal sorcerer-queen. When she died, she came to Pluton, the domain of the evil death god Nerull. Nerull, impressed with her will and ambition, gave her form and made her his consort, naming her Nera. She stole Nerull's power over mortal shades, and by freeing most of them she managed to destroy Nerull and become the new god of death.
After overthrowing Nerull, she erased her true name from the knowledge of all creatures then abandoned Pluton and created her own realm in the mountains of Letherna in the Shadowfell.
Gift of the Raven
Starting at 1st level, the Goddess of Death bestows a gift upon you when you send her a new soul. When you reduce a hostile creature to 0 hit points, you gain temporary hit points equal to your Charisma modifier + your Warlock level. This gift lasts until your next long rest.
Sentinel Raven
Starting at 1st level, you gain the service of a spirit sent by the Raven Queen to watch over you. The spirit assumes the form and game statistics of a raven, and it always obeys your commands, which you can give telepathically while it is within 100 feet of you.
While the raven is perched on your shoulder, you gain darkvision with a range of 30 feet and a bonus to your passive Wisdom (Perception) score and to Wisdom (Perception) checks. The bonus equals your Charisma modifier. Starting at 5th level, you can choose your raven to perch on a willing targets shoulder and grant them the same effects. While perched on your shoulder, the raven can’t be targeted by any attack or other harmful effect; only you can cast spells on it; it can’t take damage; and it is incapacitated.
You can see through the raven’s eyes and hear what it hears while it is within 100 feet of you.
In combat, you roll initiative for the raven and control how it acts. If it is slain by a creature, you gain advantage on all attack rolls against the killer for the next 24 hours.
The raven doesn’t require sleep. While it is within 100 feet of you, it can awaken you from sleep as a bonus action.
The raven vanishes when it dies, if you die, or if the two of you are separated by more than 5 miles. At the end of a short or long rest, you can call the raven back to you—no matter where it is or whether it died—and it reappears within 5 feet of you.
Sentinel Raven
Tiny spiritual beast, unaligned
- Armor Class 12
- Hit Points 1(1d4 -1)
- Speed 10ft., fly 50 ft. ft
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 2 (-4) 14 (+2) 8 (-1) 2 (-4) 12 (+1) 6 (-2)
- Proficiency Bonus +2
- Senses passive Perception 13
- Skills Perception +3
- Challenge 0 (10 XP)
Mimicry The raven can mimic simple sounds it has heard, such as a person whispering, a baby crying, or an animal chittering. A creature that hears the sounds can tell they are imitations with a successful DC 10 Wisdom (Insight) check
Actions
Beak. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 1 piercing damage.
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Spirit of the Raven
At 6th level, you gain the ability to merge with your raven spirit. As a bonus action when your raven is perched on your shoulder, your body merges with your raven’s form. While merged, you can choose to either be the same size as your normal raven or grow to a giant raven form. You can switch between forms as a bonus action. As an action, you and the raven return to normal.
As a normal raven, you replace your speed with the raven’s, and you can use your action only to Dash, Disengage, Dodge, Help, Hide, or Search.
In giant raven form, you replace your phsycial stats and actions with that of the giant raven.
During this time, you gain the benefits of your raven being perched on your shoulder. If you are reduced to 0 points while in either form, you are immediately reverted back into your original form with any leftover damage carrying over to your normal HP, and your raven will reappear on your shoulder . If this happens while in giant raven form, you are unable to use this form again until you have finished a long rest, but can still transform into a normal raven.
Giant Raven
Large Beast, unaligned
- Armor Class 14
- Hit Points 26(4d10 + 4)
- Speed 10ft., fly 70ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 16 (+3) 17 (+3) 13 (+1) 8 (-1) 14 (+2) 10 (0)
- Proficiency Bonus +2
- Skills Perception +4
- Senses passive Perception 14
- Challenge 1 (200 XP)
Keen Sight. The raven has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight.
Actions
Multiattack.. The raven makes two attacks: one with its beak and one with its talons.
Beak. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6 + 3) piercing damage.
Talons. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5ft., one target. Hit 10 (2d6 + 3)
Raven's Blessing
Starting at 10th level, your body is not as mortal as it once was and it functions on more magical means, giving you immunity to being frightened. The Raven Queen has decided to bless you and lets you tap into a sliver of her power, allowing you to siphon a tiny fragment from one of the domains she presides over. Choose one of the following:
Touch of Death
You can feel the faint whisper of the veil that is ever-present and always looming over all living creatures. The lines between life and death begin to blur and at times it seems like your figure has taken on a more ghostly appearance. Everyone fears death, runs from it but not you, death cradles you, enveloping you in its comforting embrace. You no longer need to breathe, your body requires half the amount of sleep or trance it previously did and you gain advantage on death saving throws. You also gain resistance to nectrotic damage and deal an extra 1d4 whenever you inflict necrotic damage. This increases by 1d4 when you reach 13th level (2d4) and 17th level (3d4).
Touch of Chill
Your skin is cold to the touch, your veins have any icy appearance to them. When those around you are freezing, begging for the warmth of a fire, you are relaxed, comfortable, and in your element. You no longer feel the effects of the cold, even in the most extreme circumstances giving you immunity to any effects that may come about from the cold such as exhaustion, speed reduction, etc. You gain resistance to cold damage and whenever a creature deals cold damage to you, you gain temporary hit points equal to the damage dealt. The temporary hit points last until the end of your turn. Also, you deal an extra 1d4 whenever you inflict cold damage. This increases by 1d4 when you reach 13th level (2d4) and 17th level (3d4).
Avatar of the Raven
Starting at 14th level, your loyalty to your patron lets you dip further into her power, marking you as a potential avatar for the Raven Queen. She recognizes your fidelity by permitting you brief access to her plane of existence, allowing you to temporarily sunder a creature's soul form its body and judge it. The creature must succeed a Charisma saving throw or suffer 6d8 + 30 (half as much on a save) necrotic or ice damage (depending on which blessing you took) and is frightened. If the creature ends its turn where it doesn't have line of sight to you, it can attempt to make a Charisma saving throw and on a success is no longer frightened. After you use this ability, you can’t do so again until you finish a long rest.
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