MURDER-CALL APOSTLE — CLERIC SUBCLASS / DIVINE DOMAIN

Salorras Paragon: Murder-Call Apostle · Path: Apostle (Cleric) · Patron: Nerkan Thak’Ar, the Betrayer, god of Murder · Subclass type: Cleric Divine Domain, chosen at 3rd level

Few in the world are priests of Nerkan Thak’Ar, god of assassins, and fewer still are the apostles of his murderous creed. Theirs is a solitary road with a grim ending; the anointment they receive from the coldhearted god is the conscription of a higher calling rather than divine grace. Those who walk the deepest path of the Suicidal God experience the act of murder as the holy grail of their fated existence.

Because the clergy of the Betrayer is unorganized, no mentor teaches a new priest his gifts — the way to the assassin’s quintessence rests purely on one’s deeds: acts horrific and violent, meant to sow misery, fear, and unrest beneath night’s heavy veil, until they catch the god’s eye. Should Nerkan come to value a priest-killer’s “art,” he may visit them at prayer — and after such a meeting one of two things follows: the world is rid of a dangerous murderer as the Dark Blade gathers his soul into the demiplane Sehh Saye, or it receives the wrath of a priest-killer steeped in the dreadful power of the darkest of all gods. Few know that, for all their chaos and bloodlust, these killers maintain hidden cells — the Gallery of Murder — where they display their victims’ bodies as trophies for future generations of murderers to admire.

Walking the dark path (roleplay, not a mechanical prerequisite)

You choose this domain at 3rd level with no in-game prerequisites. In the fiction the Murder-Call Apostle is a deceiver who blends into crowds, eyes always open for the next macabre strike. The 3.5e prestige class required a divine caster with the Backstab feature and access to the Murder domain — all flavor now.

Note. As a 5e Cleric domain, the Murder-Call Apostle is a full Cleric; the Nerkan Domain spells below are always prepared. The old “Backstab” stacking and the +enhancement DR-piercing become the features below.

Nerkan Domain Spells (Murder, lies, treachery)

You always have these prepared; they don’t count against your prepared total.

Cleric Level	Spells
3	Bane, Disguise Self
5	Invisibility, Pass without Trace
7	Bestow Curse, Nondetection
9	Phantasmal Killer, Dimension Door
11	Contagion, Hold Monster

Murder-Call Apostle Features

Cleric Level	Feature
3	Sacred Killer, Channel Divinity: Murder Call
6	Murderer’s Cunning, Channel Divinity: Shroud of the Dark Blade
17	Final Rest

Level 3 — Sacred Killer

You are anointed to kill in Nerkan’s name. You gain proficiency in Stealth and Deception (Expertise in one if already proficient), and you can use a dagger or other Finesse or light melee weapon as your Holy Symbol. Once on each of your turns, when you hit a creature with a Finesse or light melee weapon and you have Advantage on the attack (or the target is Surprised), the attack deals an extra 1d8 Necrotic damage (the Backstab). This extra damage increases to 2d8 at 6th level and 3d8 at 17th level.

Level 3 — Channel Divinity: Murder Call

You channel the Betrayer’s killing power. When you hit a living creature with a melee weapon, you can expend one use of Channel Divinity: the target takes an extra 2d8 Necrotic damage plus your Cleric level, and must succeed on a Constitution saving throw against your spell save DC or have its Speed halved and be unable to take Reactions until the end of your next turn. If the target is Surprised or hasn’t yet taken a turn in the combat, this attack is automatically a critical hit. Murder Call ignores any resistance a creature has to damage from nonmagical attacks.

Level 6 — Murderer’s Cunning

You vanish into the crowd as easily as into shadow. You can cast Disguise Self at will, without expending a spell slot, and you have Advantage on Charisma (Deception) checks to pass yourself off as harmless or as someone you are not.

Level 6 — Channel Divinity: Shroud of the Dark Blade

As a Bonus Action, you can expend one use of Channel Divinity to become Invisible until the end of your next turn or until immediately after you make an attack roll, whichever comes first — long enough to slip behind a mark and strike (combining naturally with Sacred Killer and Murder Call).

Level 17 — Final Rest

You attain the supreme power of your faith: the soul-theft of the Dark Blade. When you use Murder Call against a creature that has 100 Hit Points or fewer, it must succeed on a Constitution saving throw against your spell save DC or die. Any living creature you slay with Murder Call is annihilated — consumed by cold black flame, its soul carried forever to Sehh Saye. Such a victim can be restored only by a true resurrection or wish spell.

The Killer’s End

It is whispered that, when their circle in this vain world closes, the apostles of murder retire by their own hand, dedicating the act of suicide to the pitch-black creed of their god — and so cross the threshold of Nerkan Thak’Ar themselves.

Ability Note

The Murder-Call Apostle is a Wisdom caster like any Cleric, but leans on Dexterity for its Finesse-weapon killings and stealth.