What is a blackguard?
Blackguard was a prestige class (PRC for short) in dnd 3.5, possible even before that. A "prestige class" is a class that cannot be chosen at creation, representing specialized training at the very least, and usually narrative paths. They had mechanical requirements, and sometimes story based ones as well.
Thematically, a blackguard is sometimes seen as the "antipaladin", given 3.5's more pronounced distinction on evil and good, and their increased mechanical significance. As 5e did away with the alignment restriction of classes (something that I personally agree with), the need for an "evil only paladin" diminished, as almost any sacred oath can be played by an evil alignmented paladin
I however, miss both the theme and the mechanics of the blackguard (minus the alignment restriction), and feel like the alternatives 5e gives us are insufficient replacement. In the beginning of this document, I will list the mechanics of the 3.5 blackguard, and will consider them design goals.
In 3.5, a character:
- had to be evil (duh)
- needed martial prowess (Base Attack Bonus of 6, and some feats, effectively serving as a level requirement)
- had to show minimal competence in stealth (hide rank 5)
- had to have a minimal understanding of evil entities and/or planes (knowledge religion rank 2)
- had to make peaceful contact with an evil being, summoned from another plane (narrative reason)
After all of these requirements were fulfilled, the character could take the first level of the Blackguard PRC. While strictly speaking not part of the blackguard toolkit, I feel at least some of these are important enough to be included in the plans.
This is the point where I would also like to note, this document attempts to focus on the mechanics of the class, not the narrative behind it. I believe the narrative in 5e is pretty malleable from setting to setting, what makes sense in one, could be outlandish in the other; I have seen Oath of Conquest paladins being the fanatical frontline force of gods, to a mercenary army with a population 3 in-world cities. And limiting the player options is something I am vehemently against. And so I feel imposing any limit would be pointless.
What being a blackguard gave you:
- Aura of Evil - spells that detect alignment marked you as evil
- Detect Good - you had an innate spell for detecting good alignmented creatures
- Poison Use - you could safely use poisons
- Dark Blessing - your charisma modifier increased all your saves, Aura of Protection, but only for you
- Smite Good - aligment restricted smite, I believe the standard Divine Smite in 5e covers this
- Aura of Despair - enemies near you got a -2 on all saves.
- Command Undead - could take control of enemy undead (evil cleric stuff)
- Sneak Attack - a level 20 rogue went up to 10d6, yours only up to 4d6 (also sneak attack in general worked differently)
- Spell List - a separate list of spells and slots, very limited in number, used to heal, harm, summon, buff and debuff
- Fiendish Servant - a permanent pet that could fight beside you, and got stronger with you
Out of all these things, the one I am the least sure about is the fiendish servant. 5e is notorious for not getting pets right, and I dont believe I have the ability to give a combat pet to a paladin, and still keep it balanced. Others are of course free to experiment with it, and I would like to hear how they manage to incorporate it.
Oathbreaker and Treachery
It has been somewhat suggested, by different people with different methods, that the Oathbreaker and the Oath of Treachery (UA) would be the 5e equivalent of the blackguard. And while I see aspects of the blackguard in them, I do not consider them a proper adaptation of the PRC into 5e. Oathbreaker focuses on hate, anger, and destroying your enemies with evil creatures, undead and fiends. Treachery brings the sneakier aspects of the blackguard to life, duplicate, illusion, poison, and a get out of jail free card. I believe those two are pieces of a whole.
WIP notes:
- I am unsure if aura of despair should use charisma modifier, or half of proficiency.
- once again combat pets. I came up with a strange solution for Fiendish Servant + capstone, no idea how balanced it is.
Blackguard
The blackguard epitomizes evil. Consorting with demons and devils and serving dark deities, the blackguard is hated and feared by all. The blackguard has many options available to him: sending forth dark minions and servants to do his bidding, attacking with stealth and honorless guile, or straightforward smiting of the forces of good that stand in his way.
Oath spells
You gain oath spells at the paladin levels listed in the Blackguard Spells table. See the Sacred Oath class feature for how oath spells work.
Blackguard Spells
| Paladin Level | Spell |
|---|---|
| 3st | Inflict Wounds, Bane |
| 5rd | Magic Weapon, Darkness |
| 9th | Protection from Energy, Animate Dead |
| 13th | Freedom of Movement, Summon Greater Demon |
| 17th | Mislead, Negative Energy Flood |
Channel Divinity
When you take this oath at 3rd level, you gain the following two Channel Divinity options:
Control Undead: As an action, you target one undead creature you can see within 30 feet of you. The target must make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, the target must obey your commands for the next 24 hours, or until you use this Channel Divinity option again. An undead whose challenge rating is equal to or greater than your paladin level is immune to this effect.
Poison Strike: You can use your Channel Divinity to make a weapon deadlier. As a bonus action, you touch one weapon or piece of ammunition and conjure a special poison on it. The poison lasts for 1 minute. The next time you hit a target with an attack using that weapon or ammunition, the target takes additional poison damage equal to 2d10 + your paladin level, or 20 + your paladin level if you had advantage on the attack roll.
Servant of the Lower Planes
Also at 3rd level, you gain proficiency in the Stealth skill.
Furthermore, whenever you deal damage with your divine smite or improved divine smite features, you can choose to deal necrotic damage instead of radiant.
Aura of Despair
Starting at 7th level, when an enemy creature makes a saving throw within 10 feet of you, the enemy subtracts half of your proficiency bonus from the roll (rounded down). A creature can only be affected by this feature from only one paladin at a time.
At 18th level, the range of this aura increases to 30 feet.
Unseen Threat
At 15th level, due to your time spent in service of darkness, you have developed ways to overcome previous hardships. Wearing medium or heavy armor no longer gives disadvantage on your Dexterity (Stealth) checks, and when you use your Channel Divinity - Poison Strike feature, you ignore resistance to poison damage dealt by that feature.
Additionally, starting from 15th level, you know how to strike subtly and exploit a foe's distraction. Whenever you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can deal an extra 1d10 damage to the creature you hit if you have advantage on the attack roll.
You don't need advantage on the attack roll if another enemy of the target is within 5 feet of it, that enemy isn't incapacitated, and you don't have disadvantage on the attack roll.
Fiendish Servant
At 20th level, you can overdraw from your connection to the lower planes, pulling forth something that is normally beyond your reach, and empower is further.
You can use your Action to cast your Summon Greater Demon Oath spell without expending a spell slot, but can not do so again until you finish a long rest. When you cast the spell in this way, you summon a Draegloth, with the following changes:
- The spell lasts for 1 minute instead of 1 hour.
- The Draegloth will not attack you or creatures friendly to you even if you lose concentration on the spell.
- The Draegloth gains a bonus to its Armor Class equal to your Charisma modifier.
- The Draegloth gains a bonus to its spell save DC equal to your Charisma modifier.
- The Draegloth's Bite and Claw attack deal an additional 2d10 points of fire damage.