To strike fear into the hearts of enemies and allies? To serve a sole purpose of vengeance? That’s the way of an evil character in D&D. There are hundreds of combinations of characters you can make, but evil characters bring a new life to the game that’s both exciting and fun!
5. The Villainous (Oathbreaker Paladin)
An oathbreaker paladin stands on a hill of skulls, his sword glistening in the darkness
If you’re looking to play a character driven by greed and hatred, the Oathbreaker Paladin is a great choice! Paladins are special because they each have to swear an oath to a higher power.
The Oathbreaker Paladin is important because, per the name, they broke their oath. They now lead on a path of self ambition and evil, erupting terror from all those who may cross it in their path.
What does this build excel in?:
- Strength: Oathbreaker Paladins are strong characters, so they need to have high strength to reach their full potential.
- Durability: Paladins alone are generally pretty strong choices. Add the Oathbreaker aspect to them and you got a pretty durable character!
- Eldritch Adept: This is a helpful feat available to Oathbreaker Paladins. With Eldritch Adept, Oathbreaker Paladins can now learn an Eldritch Invocation.
Build Details:
- Race: There are a few obvious choices for race types. For example, you have Dragonborn, Orcs, and Half-Orcs.
- Dragonborns automatically start the game with a +2 STR and +1 CHA boost.
- Orcs and Half-Orcs start with a +2 STR and +1 CON. Orcs also get Restless Endurace, which can help keep them from dying in combat!
Stats: When rolling for your stats, make sure you have your highest levels in Strength and Charisma. Oathbreaker Paladins are strong and will need that extra strength boost to push the limits.
- Skills: Oathbreaker Paladins have a few essential skills, one being Athletics. Athletics is a Strength-based skill, which the Oathbreaker Paladins excel in! Some other skills that come with this are Deception, Insight, Intimidation, Persuasion, and Survival
- Equipment: Really, the basics will do for this. An Oathbreaker Paladin should always try to carry chainmail armor and two weapons. I suggest a maul and light hammer.
- Spells: Along with having a high melee rate, Paladins cast lots of unique spells! And the Oathbreaker Paladin comes with many options!
- 3rd Level: Hellish Rebuke, Inflict Wounds
- 5th Level: Crown of Madness, Darkness
- 9th Level: Animate Dead, Bestow Curse
- 13th Level: Blight, Confusion
- 17th Level: Contaminate, Dominate Person
4. The Breaker (Path of the Zealot Barbarian)
A path of the zealot barbarian stands strong, a Warhammer held tight in his hand
Barbarians alone are strong characters. But, when you have a Barbarian that’s also a Zealot, then you have an interesting game ahead of you!
If the goal of your game is to help yourself and no one else, this is a great pick! Zealots are durable, but only to a certain point. You can excel at aiding yourself in battle, but will more unlikely than not be able to help others.
What does this build excel in?:
- Durability: As I said before, Zealots have high durability. This gives you more protection in battle when you may need it most. When in battle, it’s almost impossible to die.
- Rage Beyond Death: This is a feat that shouldn’t be allowed but is anyway. With Rage Beyond Death, you get a time limit instead of a health bar. So that means that even though your HP may be at 0, you can still battle without the worry of death for up to a minute (10 rounds). That being said, you still have to make death-saving throws, but c’mon, it’s worth it!
Build Details:
- Race: There are a few races that go great with Path of the Zealot Barbarians. These include:
- Fallen Aasimar: You get darkvision, some cantrips, and a +1 STR, but the +2 CHA can be kind of useless sometimes.
- Centaur: Centaurs get 40 ft movement speed, +1 WIS, and +2 STR. You also get a free skill proficiency!
- Human: Humans can be great with this class! If you decide to play as a Variant Human, you can automatically boost your Strength and Constitution by 1. You also have a pretty handy selection of feats to choose from.
- Stats: The only skills you should primarily focus on are Strength, Constitution, and Dexterity.
- Skills: With many choices, the best skills for a Path of the Zealot Barbarian include Athletics, Perception, Acrobatics, Insight, and Intimidation.
- Equipment: The best thing to have as a Barbarian is a Great Axe. This is a two-handed weapon and an insanely strong one at that. If you land a hit, you can roll a d12+3 for damage. On top of that, if you are in rage you can add an extra 2 to that damage roll!
- Feats: There are a lot of interesting feats that come with a Path of the Zealot Barbarian.
- 1st Level: Rage
- 3rd Level: Divine Fury, Warrior of the Gods
- 6th Level: Fanatical Focus
- 10th Level: Zealous Presence
- 14th Level, Rage beyond Death
3. The Intellect (College of Whispers Bard)
A warforged college of the whispers bard stands tall, his cape blowing in the wind
Bards are interesting. They are smart and respected by many… if they are good. Here we have the College of Whispers. Bards involved in the College of Whispers are generally hated by other bards for being evil. They also involve themselves in extortion and threaten others often.
What does this build excel in?:
- Charisma: Bards, in general, need a high Charisma to be at the top of their game in battle. Thankful, Bards in the College of Whispers automatically get a high charisma boost!
- Deception: Bards in the College of Whispers are cool in the sense that they can deceive others into thinking they are part of another college.
Build Details:
- Race: In theory, you can choose any race to pair with this Bard, but there are only two that fit the idea perfectly.
- Verdan: Verdan’s automatically gain a +2 CHA and +1 CON. You can also collect a Persuasion skill and one other of your choice!
- Kalashtar: Kalashtar can be very similar to this, but add on the mind link and you got a pretty tough character!
- Lightfoot Halfling: According to the player's handbook, Halflings can tend to be a hit or miss when paired with Bards. But with the College of Whispers, the stats you gain are actually pretty decent! You get a +2 DEX and a +1 AC. Along with a +1 CHA that quickly changes to +3, you have a pretty decent character on your hands!
- Stats: The most important stats you will need as a Bard in the College of Whispers is Charisma and Dexterity. If you play as one, you will rely heavily on these for checks and saving throws. Another stat you will want to level up quickly in Constitution.
- Equipment: If you have high Dexterity, a robe would be a good choice for your character. You would also want to have a quarterstaff equipped. Bards typically can’t wield too many weapons, so a quarterstaff is a safe choice.
- Feats: There are four feats that Bards in the College of Whispers can acquire.
- 3rd Level: Psychic Blades, Words of Terror
- 6th Level: Mantle of Whispers
- 14th Level: Shadow Lore
2. The Undead (Death Domain Cleric)
A domain death cleric sits down, his long white beard reaching the floor
If you want to play a character that surrounds itself with death and the undead, the Death Domain Cleric is an easy choice. With the Death Domain Cleric, you have a fascination with death and destruction, and a well-versed history in vampires and other undead beings.
What does this build excel in?:
- Martial Weapon Proficiency: What’s cool about the Death Domain Cleric is that they get an extra proficiency called Martial Weapon Proficiency. What this does is just give your character better melee weapons.
- Melee: Speaking of melee, Death Domain Clerics (and Clerics in general) specialize in melee fighting. You will always see them carrying some sort of sword or ax, and then see them cast a spell out of nowhere.
Build Details:
- Race: There are a bunch of races that go great with Death Domain Clerics!
- Wood Elf: There are lots of reasons to love the Wood Elf! For starters, they have a higher movement speed, the ability to hide, and bow focus. They also have a high Dexterity that will help them when it comes to their initiatives.
- Human: Humans are good for any subclass, really, but are pretty helpful with Death Domain Clerics on their own! Humans have the ability to hold shields, which are great for raising your AC to a slightly higher level.
- Skills: There isn’t much that can seriously aid your character here besides Dexterity and Wisdom. Both are important with casting spells and such.
- Equipment: For a simple choice, scale mail and leather work great with these clerics. For a weapon, obviously, you have spells, but a simple shortsword will prove to be a decent help in the battle!
- Spells: There are lots of spells to choose from as a Death Domain Cleric!
- 1st Level: False Life, Ray of Sickness
- 3rd Level: Blindness/Deafness, Ray of Enfeeblement
- 5th Level: Animate Dead, Vampiric Touch
- 7th Level: Blight, Death Ward
- 9th Level: Antilife Shell, Cloudkill
- Feats: Death Domain Clerics at new levels gain access to a lot of new Reaper abilities!
- 1st Level: Reaper
- 2nd Level: Channel Divinity: Touch of Death
- 6th Level: Inescapable Destruction
- 8th Level: Divine Strike
- 17th Level: Improved Reaper
1. The Mechanic (Way of the Long Death Monk)
A way of the long death monk holding his fists up
Finally, we have the Way of the Long Death Monks. While not best for durability, these characters are bound by the concept of death and disease, pursuing them to fight harder.
What does this build excel in?:
- Extra Health: One cool thing that Way of the Long Death Monks get access to is extra health. While they aren’t very durable in battle, they are decently good at fighting and can use extra health whenever they need it!
- Monks can also spend ki to reduce the damage done to them. For example, if a Bugbear deals 50 damage to you and you spend one ki, it would be reduced down to 30! This is great since they are so low in HP most of the time.
Build Details:
- Race: Really there are only two races I can think of that would be good for this class. They include Kenku and Wood Elf.
- Kenku: Kenku are great with Dexterity, which this class can sometimes lack. They also have high wisdom. Along with these two stats, you are able to gain base stats in two different bonus skills!
- Wood Elf: Wood Elves are fun lil fellas. They are high in Dexterity and Wisdom, have a great moving speed, dark vision and so much more!
- Stats: Two of the most important things you will need playing as a Way of the Long Dead Monk are Dexterity and Wisdom. Monks are extremely wise, so having a high Wisdom level will prove to be useful in the long run.
- Skills: Some fun skills you can get as this Monk is forgery and mimicry, though they are only the base stats.
- Equipment: A great weapon that you will want to carry as this character is a Longbow as you will be proficient in it!
- Fighting Styles: As a Way of the Long Dead Monk, you will be able to unlock four different fighting styles.
- 3rd Level: Touch of Death
- 6th Level: Hour of Reaping
- 11th Level: Mastery of Death
- 17th Level: Touch of the Long Death
There is something for everyone when it comes to evil characters. Not to mention, they are extremely fun to play. Whether you are playing a chaotic, neutral, or lawful evil character, you are always sure to have a great time! Even if you don’t like to play evil characters, I would still give one or more of these a shot. You may find a new favorite!
