D&D’s New Free Feats Will Make You The Ultimate Edgelord At Every Table

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Wizards of the Coast is adding some new, free abilities to Dungeons & Dragons, especially for players who enjoy playing evil characters. Along with the upcoming Ravenloft: The Horrors Within sourcebook – which will bring back a popular character class – these additions give players more options to create dark and intense characters in their games.

D&D Beyond recently launched playtests for “Villainous Options,” introducing four new, free subclasses for D&D players to try. These include options like the Hellfire Domain Cleric and Hell Knight Fighter. But the playtest isn’t just about subclasses; it also includes “Paths of Villainy,” a system built around two connected sets of feats.

Paths Of Villainy Are Being Added To D&D

These Feat Series Let You Become A Death Knight Or A Lich

There are two distinct paths available, each offering a set of abilities that can dramatically change your character. These are the Path of the Death Knight and the Path of the Lich. As the names suggest, choosing one of these paths will turn your character into a powerful undead being – either a Death Knight, similar to the character Olanthius, or a Lich, like the infamous Vecna from Dungeons & Dragons. While an official release date hasn’t been announced, you can explore these options now on D&D Beyond.

Typically, content that Wizards of the Coast tests with players doesn’t appear in a final product for many months, or even years. A good example is the updated Spirits Bard for the next edition of Dungeons & Dragons; it was tested in 2025, but won’t likely be released until the upcoming Ravenloft: The Horrors Within book. This means the new Path of the Death Knight and Path of the Lich, which are currently being playtested, might not be finalized and available until 2027 or later, as player feedback often leads to further revisions.

Paths Of Villainy Allow You To Become An Avatar Of Evil

Your Character Becomes An Undead Mastermind

The new Paths of Villainy for D&D might not grab headlines like the upcoming subclasses, but they’re surprisingly fun. This idea of choosing a ‘feature path’ isn’t new—last year’s Forgotten Realms books let you align with groups like the Purple Dragon Knights or Emerald Enclave. Paths of Villainy works similarly, tasking you with becoming one of the undead.

The Path of the Death Knight is a great choice for close-combat characters, such as Oathbreaker Paladins in Dungeons & Dragons. It provides access to powerful spells like Wrathful Smite, Command, Bane, and Fear, which are all fueled by a resource called Death Points. The final ability, Death Knight Ascension, transforms your character into an Undead creature and lets you spend Death Points to unleash hellfire, dealing both Fire and Necrotic damage across the battlefield.

If you’re playing a spellcaster like a Warlock in Dungeons & Dragons and follow the Path of the Lich, you’ll be able to create a Spirit Jar. This jar lets you use a special ability called Soul Siphon on your enemies, which can have different effects based on the abilities you’ve chosen.

This covers things like gaining temporary hit points or getting your spell slots back. The most powerful ability on the Path of the Lich, Lich Ascension, transforms you into an Undead creature and allows you to reconstitute yourself near your spirit jar. This is a tactic you might recognize from powerful characters like Szass Tam or Sammaster, who is often considered the strongest dracolich in Dungeons & Dragons.

You Can Get Creative With Paths Of Villainy In D&D

Play In An Evil Party Or As The Secret BBEG

No matter which villainous path you pick for your character, they’ll likely be driven by selfish goals and willing to harm others to achieve them. This is a great choice for players who want to create an evil character and play with a group of similarly aligned individuals, as many tabletop role-playing games focus on heroic stories about saving the world.

You could also keep this a secret between you and the Dungeon Master, slowly revealing your true, villainous nature as your character levels up with the party. A twist like this can be really impactful, especially if both you and the DM are skilled roleplayers in D&D. It’s a fantastic way to catch the party completely off guard and change how they see the entire campaign.

There are several paths you can take, and you might even discover a compelling reason for your character to become a Death Knight or Lich. Maybe they view this change as a necessary, heroic act – a sacrifice to defeat a greater threat, even if it means becoming something they fear.

Sometimes, a character’s circumstances push them towards evil, even if they don’t intend to be bad. These interesting possibilities for Dungeons & Dragons are worth considering, even with all the awesome character classes already available.

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2026-04-04 23:13