Death knight

Greyhawk Creature

Death knight
A typical death knight, as depicted in Monster Manual II (2002). Art by Mark Sasso.
General information
Alignment:	Any evil
Type:	Undead
First appearance:	Fiend Folio (1981)

A death knight is a mighty warrior animated as an undead creature by Demogorgon, gods of death, evil deities, demon lords, or other malevolent forces.

Ecology

Martial champions of evil, death knights are usually created by demon lords or evil deities. These horrible undead are most commonly raised from the ranks of blackguards, fighters, rangers, and barbarians, but a paladin who falls from grace near the moment of death may also become a death knight.

Death knights generally retain most aspects of their personalities after the transformation, and may continue to observe the same code of honor that they held in life (never attacking from behind, for example).

In Dungeons & Dragons third edition (and 3.5), a death knight has an aura of fear that will rout groups of low level enemies, can channel powerful negative energy with a touch, and the ability to project explosions of fire and unholy energy. Paladins who become death knights are subject to the same modifications as are presented for the blackguard in Chapter 2 of the Dungeon Master's Guide (2000).

Environment

Though rare, death knights may be found in any environment, but often choose fortified lairs, such as old castles and towers.

Typical physical characteristics

A death knight's physical form is that of its decayed body. The face is a blackened skull with patches of rotting flesh, with two pinpoints of orange light in the eye sockets. The voice of a death knight is chilling, seeming to echo from deep within. Death knights were powerful people in life and so they often wear expensive or magic clothing and armor. They are quite fond of wearing flowing capes to mark them as figures of importance.

Alignment

Death knights are always evil.

Society

Though death knights rarely work with their own kind, they often have a variety of undead servants such as skeleton warriors, liches, and banshees. Death knights often ride nightmares into battle.

Notable death knights

The first death knights

The first death knight identified by name in a Dungeons & Dragons product was Saint Kargoth, "King of the Death Knights," who first appeared in Scott Bennie's Dragon article, "Setting Saintly Standards," in 1983. Thirteen of Kargoth's fellow and contemporary Knight Protectors of the Great Kingdom joined him in becoming death knights:

• Lord Adromansis of Garasteth.
• Sir Farian of Lirtham (destroyed 209 CY, but soul now powers the deathblade Astrosus).
• Lord Khayven of Rax.
• Lady Lorana Kath of Naelax.
• Sir Luren the Boar of Torquann.
• Sir Maeril of Naelax.
• Sir Minar Syrric of Darmen.
• Lord Monduiz Dephaar.
• Prince Myrhal of Rax.
• Sir Oslan Knarren.
• Sir Rezinar of Haxx.
• Lord Thyrian of Naelax.
• Duke Urkar Grasz of Torquann.

All of the original fourteen death knights were transformed by the power of the demon prince Demogorgon. These death knights, particularly Saint Kargoth, are venerated by the Sunsebb Sodality.

Other death knights

Other named death knights of Oerth include:

• Saint Ferrante, a fallen paladin of Heironeous who is currently held in stasis (Bastion of Faith). Though Bastion of Faith does not specifically refer to the risen Ferrante as a death knight per se, his physical description and statistics are very similar to those for death knights in second edition AD&D (BoF.40, 41).
• "Kas the Bloody-Handed". This death knight serves Vecna. His real name is unknown, but he calls himself, and believes himself to be, the Whispered One's former lieutenant, Kas (Die Vecna Die!).
• Sir Loran of Trollpyre Keep, a former knight of Sunndi and servant of Vecna (Die Vecna Die!).
• Murrim Khaleed, a death knight serving the Votaries of Vecna (Tome of Magic, 131).
• Vanthus Vanderboren, a former nobleman of Sasserine and servant of Demogorgon. Vanderboren becomes a death knight late in the Savage Tide adventure path.

Several unnamed death knights also appear in Die Vecna Die! as servants of Vecna.

Legacy

It is said that Ivid V's Knights of Doom were created in imitation of the original fourteen death knights.

Creative origins

Anti-Paladin

The death knight followed a theme coming before it, of powerful evil warriors as the antithesis of heroes. An article in Dragon #39 (July 1980) introduced a new non-player character to D&D, the evil opposite of the paladin, the anti-paladin. The article stated, "The Anti-Paladin represents everything that is mean, low and despicable in the human race."

Publishing history

Introduced first in the original Fiend Folio (1981), the death knight is an undead warrior who only desires "vengeance, conquest, and other bloody evils"; tempted to have "power unmitigated by age", the ritual to become a death knight pulls and binds "the ritual caster's soul" into "the weapon used in the ritual". In a review in White Dwarf, Jamie Thompson referred to the Death Knight as one of the more interesting additions in the book.

Gaming historian Shannon Appelcline considered this creature created by Charles Stross one of the game's especially notable monsters. Appelcline also noted that it "would become a crucial feature in settings such as Dragonlance and Ravenloft".

In 2007, Dungeons & Dragons designer Matthew Sernett noted that Stross designed the creature to be "an armor-wearing lich" with the ability to wield both a sword and spellcasting; initially, the death knight "changed little from its original form" during edition changes. However, third edition "gave the lich some space by removing nearly all the death knight's spells" and the fourth edition iteration reinforced the idea of the creature "as a significant melee threat". The fifth edition Monster Manual (2014) describes the death knight as an undead paladin who has fallen from grace and has died before seeking atonement.

Gallery

• 
  Fiend Folio (1981)
• 
  Monstrous Compendium (1989)

References

Bibliography

• Bennie, Scott. "Setting Saintly Standards." Dragon #79. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1983.
• Bonny, Ed, Jeff Grubb, Rich Redman, Skip Williams, and Steve Winter. Monster Manual II. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2002.
• Cordell, Bruce R. Bastion of Faith. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 1999.
• Cordell, Bruce R., and Steve Miller. Die Vecna Die!. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2000.
• Holian, Gary. "The Death Knights of Oerth." Dragon' #290. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2001.

———. "Demogorgon's Champions: The Death Knights of Oerth, part 2." Dragon #291. Bellevue, WA: Paizo Publishing, 2002.

• Holian, Gary, Erik Mona, Sean K. Reynolds, and Frederick Weining. Living Greyhawk Gazetteer. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2000.
• Reynolds, Sean K. "The Lost Temple of Demogorgon." Dungeon #120. Bellevue, WA: Paizo Publishing, 2005.
• Sennert, Matthew. "Ecology of the Death Knight." Dragon #360. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2007.
• Sernett, Matthew, David Noonan, Ari Marmell, and Robert J. Schwalb. Tome of Magic. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2006.
• Stark, Ed. "The Death Knight." Dragon #222. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1995.
• Stewart, Doug, ed. Monstrous Manual. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1994.
• Turnbull, Don, ed. Fiend Folio. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1981.

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Encyclopedia Greyhawkania Index

The Encyclopedia Greyhawkania Index (EGI) is based on previous work of Jason Zavoda through '08, continued by numerous other fans. The EGI article has a list of sources, product names, abbreviations, and a link to the full, downloadable index.

Topic	Type	Description	Product	Page/Card/Image
Death Knight	Monster	Native of: Material Plane,	Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus, D&D 5e	4, 7, 100, 102, 103, 147
Death Knight	Monster	Native of: Material Plane,	Dragon magazine #290	100-104
Death Knight	Monster	Native of: Material Plane,	Dragon magazine #306	100
Death Knight	Monster	Native of: Material Plane,	Dungeon magazine #147	50, 66, 67, 77, 78, 82, 83
Death Knight	Monster	Native of: Material Plane,	Dungeon magazine #148	43, 48
Death Knight	Monster	Native of: Material Plane,	Fiend Folio, AD&D 1e	23
Death Knight	Monster	Native of: Material Plane,	Ghosts of Saltmarsh, D&D 5e	24
Death Knight	Monster	Native of: Material Plane,	Libris Mortis, D&D 3.5e	9
Death Knight	Monster	Native of: Material Plane,	Monster Manual 1, D&D 4e (Deluxe Edition)	50, 51
Death Knight	Monster	Native of: Material Plane,	Monster Manual 1, D&D 5e	47
Death Knight	Monster	Native of: Material Plane,	1991 TSR Trading Cards - Factory Set	61