Warders of Hades are clergy devoted to gods of death — including Greek Hades, Roman Pluto, Celtic Arawn, Egyptian Anubis, and Norse Hel — and are concerned with the forces that cause creatures to die and with the disposition of their bodies once they do. Priests associated with such deities learn to wield potent necromantic powers and to control Undead creatures for purposes both of keeping them in check and, when needed, using them in the accomplishment of their goals. They often dwell in areas where the worlds of the living and the dead intersect (e.g., the Stygium in Skirmisher Publishing’s In the Footsteps of Hercules universal sourcebook, where the Cleric Zagreus serves as a Warder of Hades). Ultimately, their continuous use of necromantic energy transforms them into Undead beings.

Death Domain Spells

Cleric Level    Spells

1st                                            False Life, Inflict Wounds

3rd                                            Gentle Repose, Ray of Enfeeblement

5th                                            Animate Dead, Speak with Dead

7th                                            Banishment, Blight

9th                                            Contagion, Dispel Evil and Good

Bonus Cantrip

When you choose this domain at 1st level, you gain the cantrip Chill Touch if you do not already know it.

Speak with Undead

Also starting at 1st level, you gain the ability to comprehend and verbally communicate with Undead creatures within the limits of their knowledge and intelligence. This does not necessarily ensure any sort of friendliness on their part, however, and you might need to make appropriate Charisma checks or exert magical control in order to obtain their cooperation.

Channel Divinity: Pacify Undead

Starting at 2nd level, as an action you can present your holy symbol and speak a prayer calming the Undead (but can still turn them as normal if you prefer). Each Undead monster that can see or hear you within 30 feet of you must make a Wisdom saving throw at disadvantage. If the creature fails its saving throw it will remain where it is, making no movement and taking no actions, for 1 minute or until it takes any damage; it is still able to make reactions.

Resist Necrosis

Starting at 4th level, you gain resistance to necrotic damage, taking only half as much from it as you otherwise would have.

Channel Divinity: Control Undead

Starting at 5th level, when an Undead monster fails its saving throw against your Turn Undead feature, you can opt to take control of the creature if its challenge rating is at or below a certain threshold, as shown on the Control Undead table (this does not prevent you from destroying it instead if that is what you prefer).

            On each of your turns, you can use a bonus action to mentally command any Undead monster you took control of in this way if it is within 60 feet of you (if you control multiple creatures, you can command any or all of them at the same time, issuing the same command to each one). You can decide what action the creature will take and where it will move during its next turn, or you can issue a general command, such as to guard a particular chamber or corridor. If you issue no commands, the monster will only defend itself against hostile creatures. Once given an order, the creature will continue to follow it until its task is complete or you lose control of it.

            An Undead creature is under your control for a number of hours equal to your proficiency bonus, after which it stops obeying any commands you have given it. To maintain control of the creature, you must once again use channel divinity in an attempt to assert control over it and any others within range before the control ends. Those you already control make subsequent saving throws to resist ongoing control at disadvantage.

Control Undead

Cleric Level    Controls Undead of CR …

5th                               1/2 or lower

8th                               1 or lower

11th                             2 or lower

14th                             3 or lower

17th                             4 or lower

Siphon Life

Beginning at 6th level, necrotic attacks you successfully make against others bestows positive benefits upon you. When you cast a spell that inflicts necrotic damage to a creature other than you, you regain hit points equal to 2 + the spell’s level (e.g., 2 points for Chill Touch). If you inflict some non-damaging ill effect upon a target with a necromantic spell you gain a bonus on saving throws equal to the level of the spell until the beginning of your next turn (e.g., +2 for 2nd-level Ray of Enfeeblement, +3 for 3rd-level Bestow Curse).

Immunity to Necrosis

At 8th level, you become immune to necrotic damage. At this point, Undead creatures will treat you as if you were one of them, even though you are still a living a being, and you have advantage in Charisma-based skill checks when dealing with them. It might be unclear to observers at this point whether or not you are an Undead being.

Undeath

Upon reaching 17th level, you become an Undead being, fully appearing to be a creature of this type, and no longer requiring food, drink, sleep, or air and becoming immune to poison and the poisoned condition. You will continue to exist indefinitely until destroyed in some way.