Accursed Broken, battered, and bloody, a man in light armor limps down a dark alley, armed pursuers a short distance behind him. They close on their prey, ready to put down this outsider. The man's eyes begin glowing like coals, and he beats them off with savage ferocity, like a monster in the shadows. They're afraid, but so is he. A woman cleans her weapon of blood, several bandits freshly cut down before her. She turns to the farmer she was defending, but a stone bounces off her shoulder, thrown by the man she just saved. She departs silently, understanding that those she helps rarely thank her. The accursed are those shunned by destiny, and marked by some greater power. Such curses would kill lesser people, but these few have the fortune- or misfortune some might say- to survive. Marked for Death What unites all accursed is just that; a curse. At some point every accursed was chosen to meet an untimely end, and many suffer magical or biological scourges. What seperates an accursed from someone who would succumb to such an affliction, is the ability to draw upon its power. By allowing their curse to eat away at their own bodies, the accursed are able to channel it outward. Twisting their curses in this way grants them nearly unparalleled power, but at a terrible cost. Many who would walk the path of an accursed overextend themselves, and tear themselves apart as they try to wield this darkness. Against All Odds An Accursed is someone who persits when others fail. They take up arms to spite their fate, and to prove that they possess the power to endure. They are almost universally shunned by society, typically leading lives of isolation. Many accursed are instilled with a deep sense of empathy, and wish to spare others from the same fate they suffer. These accursed seek justice for those exploited by greater powers, and work outside of traditional laws to do so, as they feel no allegiance to the systems that deny them. Others are overcome with rage, cursing fate and whatever else may be responsible for their state. These accursed dedicate their lives to getting revenge on those that wronged them, their ultimate goal being the destruction of their own curse. Creating an Accursed When making your accursed, consider from where your curse came from. Is it something that has been with you since birth? Did you adventure somewhere dangerous, and contract a primordial evil into yourself? Were you duped by a genie? Or perhaps you willingly took the curse upon yourself, to save another. Consider as well how your character has reacted to this curse. Has it spurred you on to accomplish as much as you can before you expire? Did it instill in you sympathy for the plights of others, dedicating yourself to bringing them justice? Or did it tragically sear your soul with deep resentment?

Quick Build You can make an accursed quickly by following these suggestions. First make Constitution your highest ability score, followed by Strength or Dexterity. Second, take the Hermit background. Class Features As an accursed, you gain the following class features. Hit Points Hit Dice: 1d12 per accursed level

1d12 per accursed level Hit Points at 1st Level: 12 + your Constitution modifier

12 + your Constitution modifier Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d12 (or 7) + your Constitution modifier per accursed level after 1st.

Proficiencies Armor: All armors and shields.

All armors and shields. Weapons: Simple and martial weapons.

Simple and martial weapons. Tools: None Saving Throws: Charisma, Constitution

Charisma, Constitution Skills: Choose two from Athletics, Deception, Insight, Intimidation, Perception, Survival Equipment You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background: (a) Two martial weapons or (b) One martial weapon and a shield

(a) leather armor or (b) chain mail

(a) a dungeoneer's pack or (b) an explorer's pack

The Accursed Level Proficiency Bonus Features Darkside Bonus 1st +2 Darkside, Stigma 2d4 2nd +2 Delay the Inevitable 2d4 3rd +2 Manifested Curse 2d4 4th +2 Ability Score Improvement 2d6 5th +3 Extra Attack, Dark Drift 2d6 6th +3 Manifested Curse Feature 2d6 7th +3 Into the Abyss 3d6 8th +3 Ability Score Improvement 3d6 9th +4 Sympathetic Pain 3d6 10th +4 Manifested Curse Feature 3d6 11th +4 Mired Strike 4d6 12th +4 Ability Score Improvement 4d6 13th +5 Dark Drift Improvement 4d6 14th +5 Manifested Curse Feature 4d6 15th +5 Mortal Coil 4d6 16th +5 Ability Score Improvement 5d6 17th +6 Weep No Longer 5d6 18th +6 Manifested Curse Feature 5d6 19th +6 Ability Score Improvement 5d6 20th +6 Traitor to Fate 5d6

Darkside As a 1st level Accursed, you know how to tap into the darkness that marks you. Doing so, however, corrodes your mortal form. As a bonus action, you can choose to invoke your darkside. While succumbing to this darkness, the following effects are applied: You immediately take necrotic damage equal to your darkside penalty, as outlined below. While using darkside, you continue to take this damage at the start of each of your turns.

All your weapon attacks made with the attack action on your turn deal an additional 2d4 necrotic damage. This damage increases as you level as an accursed, as shown in the Darkside Bonus column of the class table.

All necrotic damage you deal overcomes resistances and immunities.

You gain resistance to all damage types, excluding radiant. This resistance does not apply to any damage suffered from your darkside penalty. Your darkside lasts until you lose consciousness. If the damage you take from your Darkside Penalty would reduce you below 1 hit point, you do not take the damage, but your darkside ends immediately. You may choose to end your darkside early as a bonus action, ending all the effects outlined above. Whenever you forcibly end your darkside in this way, your hit point maximum is reduced by your darkside penalty until you take a long rest. Your darkside penalty is calculated as follows: Darkside Penalty = your hit point maximum divided by 10, rounded up Some accursed features incur your darkside penalty when you use them. You can't use any of those features if they would reduce you to below 1 hit point. Stigma Also at 1st level, an aura of unease exudes from you. You have disadvantage on persuasion and deception checks against good aligned creatures, but advantage on persuasion and deception checks against evil aligned ones. Delay the Inevitable Beginning at 2nd level, you can harness your indomitable resolve to keep fighting when others would have fallen. Once per short or long rest, you can use your bonus action to restore hit points equal to your Constitution modifier + your darkside bonus, as shown in the Darkside Bonus column of the class table. Manifested Curse At 3rd level, the nature of your curse becomes completely clear. Choose either the Corrupted or Damned curses, outlined at the end of the class description. Your specific curse grants you features at 3rd level and again at 6th, 10th, 14th, and 18th levels. Ability Score Improvement When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature. Extra Attack Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the attack action on your turn. Dark Drift At 5th level, you can use your curse to drift along the battlefield in a shadowy haze. As a bonus action, you can immediately suffer your darkside penalty in order to increase your walking speed by 30ft for the rest of your turn. Whenever you use this feature, other creatures cannot make attacks of opportunity against you for the rest of your turn. When you reach 13th level, this bonus increases to 60ft, and changes to flying speed. Into the Abyss Having survived until the 7th level, the unnatural state of your existence has granted you a keener understanding of your affliction. You gain proficiency in Wisdom saving throws. Additionally, you are able to cast Detect Evil and Good at will.

Sympathetic Pain By 9th level, through your own tribulations, you have gained an unnatural understanding of the plights that others face. You can use your action to peer into the mind of a creature within 30ft, learning of its deepest or most pressing fear at the moment. In addition, you are able to cast Speak with Dead as a ritual. You may cast this spell once, its use refreshing with a long rest. Mired Strike At 11th level, your desperation pushes you to act even as your body fails. When you take damage, you may use your reaction to immediately suffer your darkside penalty instead. You may use this feature once before requiring a short rest. Mortal Coil At 15th level, you find yourself empowered when fighting on the edge of your mortality. Whenever you fall below half of your maximum hit points, you gain a +2 bonus to all attack and damage rolls. Weep No Longer Beginning at 17th level, your command of your darkside is so second nature that your hit point maximum is no longer reduced when you end it deliberately. Traitor to Fate By 20th level, you have defied fate and persisted against all odds. When you are reduced to 0 hit points, you roll a Constitution saving throw with a DC of 10. On a success, you instead fall to 1 hit point, and cannot be reduced to 0 for a number of turns equal to your Constitution modifier. At the end of these turns, regardless of your current hit points, you fall to 0. Manifested Curse The afflicted harness curses of many varieties. For some, it is an affliction of the body, and for others it is an affliction of the soul. Corrupted To be corrupted is to have your very biology perverted and twisted. Your curse has deformed you, sloughing skin from bone and turning blood to acid. Like all else, even this bitter transformation you turn to your advantage. Frightening Visage By 3rd level, the corruption within you has malformed your body into a sickly and terrifying sight. You add your proficiency bonus to any intimidation checks, even if you are already proficient. Bad Blood Additionally at 3rd level, your blood has become poisonous to others. When a creature within 5ft strikes you with slashing, piercing, or bludgeoning damage, they become poisoned for the rest of their turn. Unmend Beginning at 6th level, you can channel your corruption to unleash it upon multiple foes. You can use your action to unleash a wave of necrotic energy in a 15ft cone in front of you. All creatures caught in the cone must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw (DC equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier) or else take necrotic damage equal to your darkside bonus, as shown in the Darkside Damage column of the class table. Spit At 10th level, you can spit upon others, your corrosive bile carrying with it unholy effects. As an action, you can spit on a creature within 5ft, who must succeed on a Constitution saving throw (DC equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier) or else be blinded and frightened by you until the start of your next turn. Blighted By 14th level, your own corruption is so overpowering that other ailments can make no purchase in your body. You are immune to disease and poison. Toxicity When you reach 18th level, your pestiferous corruption splashes back more potently against your foes, hampering their ability to defend themselves. If a creature within 5ft of you strikes you with slashing, piercing, or bludgeoning damage and is already under the effect of your bad blood, its AC is instead reduced by 2 until the end of your next turn. A creature’s AC can only be reduced by a maximum of 4 using this feature. Damned A damned accursed understands that their soul has been made forfeit. The nature of your curse mars your very essence, and so you wield it in tandem with the curse itself. Soul Snare When you reach 3rd level, you become able to hurl dark missiles of your curse manifested in reality, which pull the unwilling towards you. You can use your action to cast a ranged spell attack. The attack has a range of 40 feet, uses Charisma as its attack bonus, and you are considered proficient with it. The attack deals necrotic damage equal to your darkside bonus, as shown in the Darkside Bonus column of the class table. If you successfully hit a creature with your soul snare, it is pulled 20ft towards you.