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The Witch King is the leader of the Nazguls, one of the major villains of the LOTR series: in this entry the A.T.L.A.S. Research Team as transposed the Witch King of Angmar as a DnD 5e Creature.
TABLE OF CONTENT:
The History of the Witch King
The Witch-king is inspired by the Witch King of Angmar – also known as “Lord of the Nazgûl“, “The black captain” and “Lord of Minas Morgul” – who was the leader of the ringwraiths and Sauron’s second-in-command during the second and the third age.
He was a mighty leader and a powerful sorcerer, he was even able to shatter Frodo’s sword with just a flick of his wrist.
He could create or thaw ice at his will. He also could light objects with fire. His power fluctuated wildly over his existence because his strength was bound up with Sauron’s one; the more powerful Sauron became, the more influential the Witch-King was.
He was a king of Men, corrupted by one of the nine Rings of Power given to them by Sauron. The rest of his story and identity before the corruption is unknown, but he became one of Middle Earth’s most powerful and feared beings.
His name was given because after Sauron’s defeat, he hid for over a millennium and founded and ruled the kingdom of Angmar for over seven centuries. Then the Witch King began to conquer the northern lands until he returned to Mordor to assist Sauron to regain his power, leading his armies in the War of the Ring.
The name “Lord of Minas Morgul” instead comes from the fact that he conquered Gondor’s city Minas Ithil and refortified it as the fearful Minas Morgul.
The Witch-King led and coordinated the Nine in the hunt for Frodo, to retrieve Sauron’s ring. But they fell for Glorfindel’s lure and the flood wiped them out on the Bruinen river. Their horses were killed and their physical form was destroyed.
They were recalled to Mordor and Sauron gave them terrible winged creatures as mounts: the Fell Beasts.
The Witch-king then returned to Minas Morgul and resumed the role of commander of Sauron’s armies.
In the battle of Pelennor fields, Éowyn slayed his Fell Beast just before it could feast on King Theoden’s restrained body.
Then she confronted him and almost lost, but just before the Witch King could deal his fatal blow, Meriadoc Brandybuck stabbed him from behind, distracting him. Éowyn then stabbed him in the head.
Harming the Witch-King was almost impossible because of his magic because any weapon that touched him would have been disintegrated and his wielder would become fatally poisoned. But the swords they used enchanted Barro Blades, explicitly made to surpass his defenses.
Being a Ringwraith, he shares their powers, most notably “Black Breath.” However, he is more robust, even physically.
In fact, he usually fought using both a fiery broadsword and a great mace, capable of shattering shields or killing multiple enemies in a single swing.
TRIVIA
Unlike the other Nazgûl, his vision wasn’t affected by sunlight, and he did not fear rivers… Although he should definitely have.
Witch King’s Stat Block
Medium undead, legal evil
Base Statistics
Armor class: 17 (Natural Armor)
Hit Points (HP): 93 (11d8 +44
Speed: 30 ft
Characteristics
Skills: Perception +3, Intimidation +4
Saving throws: Int +5, Wis +4, Cha +5
Damage Vulnerabilities: Radiant
Damage Resistances: necrotic, slashing, piercing, bludgeoning from non magical or adamantine weapons
Senses: darkvision 120 ft., Truesight 20 ft. (Only during night time), Passive perception 14
Languages: Common, another language at will
Challenge rating: 10 (XP: 5900)
Abilities
Pack Tactics: The Witch King has advantage on an attack roll against a creature if at least one Nazgul is within 5 ft. and isn’t incapacitated
Black breath: Each creature of the Witch King’s choice within a 30 ft. range from him must make a Wisdom saving throw (DC 15) or become unconscious until an ally takes action to wake them up. If succeeded or the effect of Black Breath ends, the creature is immune to the Witch King’s aura for 24 hours.
Weapon Bond: If the Witch King loses one of his weapons, that weapon will dissolve into dust in 1 round, reappearing magically in his sheath.
Witch King’s boon: If any melee weapon harms the Witch King, the attacker will receive 16 (3d10) necrotic damage and has to succeed on a constitution saving throw (DC: 16) to avoid becoming poisoned for 1 day. If the weapon isn’t magical or made with adamantium it will be disintegrated.
Actions
- Multiattack: The Witch King can make three melee attacks using the sword the Morgul Knife.
- Flaming sword: Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d8 + 4) slashing damage and 7 (2d6) fire damage. If he uses it with two hands the physical damage increases to 9 (1d10+4)
- Morgul Knife: melee weapon attack,+8 to hit, reach 5ft, one target. Hit: 6 (1d4+4) piercing + 9 (2d8) necrotic. If hit, a creature must succeed a saving throw (constitution), DC 15, or becomes poisoned for 1 day.
- Great Flail: melee weapon attack,+8 to hit, reach 10ft, one target. Hit: 30 (4d12+4) bludgeoning damahe. If hit, a creature must succeed a saving throw (constitution), DC 16) or falls prone.
The Witch-King of Angmar as a Dnd 5e Creature
The Witch-King is a charismatic leader and a powerful wizard. It does not have a visible body due to the bad use of an object given to him by a powerful man, but to delineate the body wears a black cloak.
One of his skills involves lighting objects with fire and creating or thaw ice at will. The Witch-King has a long sword of steel that, according to his will, as previously said, can wrap with flames. If needed, he also uses a dagger capable of bearing a fatal wound and a mace capable of breaking shields and killing enemies. He also has a blade capable of transforming the victims into ghost slaves, and at his side, there is a beast, thanks to which large quantities of enemies can be killed at the same time. Besides that, he has an aura of fear that brings terror to anyone who comes near him.
His power fluctuates greatly over his existence because his strength is tied to that of a dark lord; the more powerful he becomes, the more influential the Sorcerer King is.
He was a king of men, corrupted by one of the nine rings of power given to them by the dark lord. His history and identity before corruption is unknown, but he has become one of the most powerful and feared beings. His name comes from the fact that after the defeat with the previously named lord, he hid for over a millennium, then founded and ruled the kingdom for over seven centuries. Then the Witch King began conquering the northern lands until he returned to help the dark lord regain power.
CREDITS
The Witch King DnD 5e is a homebrew creature freely inspired by the Witch King of Angmar, a villain created by J. R. R. Tolkien in his book series The Lord of the Rings.
- This creature was made following the OGL 5e
- Learn more about the Witch King of Angmar
- Discover More Homebrew Creatures
- Learn More About The Lord of The Rings
Elvin Trucker
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