The rhythmic drumbeat of galloping hooves and the searing pinpoints of red eyes signal the arrival of a black rider. Such necromancers embrace mounted combat, commanding their thralls from the back of a skeletal steed and terrorizing countrysides with unparalleled swiftness. Mastering this discipline means not only commanding an undead mount, but also requires sure mastery over weapons while on horseback and on foot. However, the reward is immense: a black rider isn’t a plodding marshal of shambling masses, but a wind of death that blows across the battlefield at a moment’s notice.
Skeletal Steed
Starting when you choose this ambition at 3rd level, you’ve trained in the saddle as a mounted combatant. You gain proficiency with light armor, medium armor, shields, battleaxes, flails, lances, longsword, morningstars, war picks, and warhammers.
Additionally, when you perform your Animate Thralls ritual, you can animate the skeleton of a horse or similar animal as a warhorse skeleton.
Charnel Shield
At 3rd level, you can fortify yourself with necromantic energy to lessen blows. As a reaction when you take damage from a creature you can see, you can expend a number of points from your Charnel Touch pool, up to half the damage dealt. Reduce the damage by the number of points expended.
Extra Attack
Beginning at 6th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn. Additionally, your melee weapon attacks score a critical hit on a roll of 19 or 20.
Gruesome Charge
Beginning at 10th level, your foes crumble beneath your steed’s hooves. If you make an attack while you are mounted and 20 feet or further away from where you began your turn, your mount can use its reaction to make a melee weapon attack.
Lichdom: Dullahan
At 20th level, you have reached the pinnacle of necromancy and transformed yourself into a lich. Through a vile ritual and a guillotine, you have severed your own head to act as your phylactery, allowing you to see without eyes. Liches of your kind are known as dullahans or headless horsemen. You gain the following features in addition to the Lichdom feature:
Skull Phylactery. Your phylactery is your own magically preserved head. Even without your head, your senses aren’t inhibited. You can hear and smell from where your head once was and your disembodied voice booms from the stub of your neck. Additionally, you have blindsight with a range of 120 feet. Within that range, you can effectively see anything that isn’t behind total cover. Moreover, you can see an invisible creature within that range, unless the creature successfully hides from you.
If you are carrying your skull phylactery, you also have truesight with a range of 30 feet.
Damage Resistance. You gain resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical attacks.
Nightmare. When you perform your Animate Thralls ritual, you can summon a nightmare. You command this creature as your thrall and it counts as Undead for the purpose of your necromancer class features. When this creature is reduced to 0 hit points or released by you, it vanishes in a puff of flame