Copyright 2008 Wizards of the Coast

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I believe Sorrowsworn started out as a type of Forgotten Realms demon in 2e, but now they’re something different. They’re only on the Monster Manual.

The Lore

Sorrowsworn resemble undead demons in appearance, though they’re neither demons nor undead. Rather, they’re a sort of living avatar of death. Does that sound contradictory to you? Deep mysteries tend to be like that.

You see, they’re not a natural species. Most are divine servitors of the Raven Queen, transformed into their current state by her powers. Some were mortals particularly attuned to death and its related concepts who managed to ascend on their own.

Both types were often shadar-kai in their mortal lives. Becoming sorrowsworn is seen by them as a glorious ascension, since it makes them not only ageless but also more goth than anything mortal.

Sorrowsworn feed on grief, and so tend to hang out at the sites of great catastrophes or conflicts. Those who serve the Raven Queen are also tasked with hunting down beings who have cheated death. This doesn’t mean people who were the subject of Raise Dead - rather, it’s people who have found a way to stick around beyond their appointed time. Most often they’re some sort of undead like vampires, liches or nightwalkers, but I guess someone who hunts phoenixes and regularly huffs their powdered feathers would fit as well.

Sorrowsworn lairs are bleak caves and pits whose walls are covered in tiny alcoves containing trophies from their past victims. These are arranged in tableaus that each tell a more depressing story than the last. Flocks of shadowravens (sinister half-spirit birds) hang out in these lairs, and swarm to attack intruders. These swarms also often fly out with their sorrowsworn masters, acting as heralds and allies to them in combat.

Their greatest enemies are the Nightwalkers, since they are anathema to all of the Raven Queen’s precepts. Death Giants are also frequent foes. Of course, despite their opposition to undeath they’re not really that nice themselves, and have their own stuff going on when they’re not on holy missions for the Raven Queen. That means they can easily end up fighting your PCs even when none of them are guilty of cheating death.

As sorrowsworn like to fight with scythes, I figure the symbol of death in 4e’s implied setting isn’t a robed skeleton, but a sorrowsworn. At least when it’s not an image of the Raven Queen.

The Numbers

Sorrowsworn are Medium Shadow Humanoids and have Darkvision. Their signature trait is Bleak Visage, a fear effect which inflicts a -2 penalty on melee and ranged attacks targetting them (close and area attacks are unaffected).

They use scythes in combat and their powers are a blend of teleportation and psychic attacks. They don’t have any elemental resistances of vulnerabilities, which is interesting.

Sorrowsworn Soulripper

This Level 25 Skirmisher has 236 HP and a land speed of 10. Unlike most of its colleagues, it fights unarmed, with claws that do a mix of physical and psychic damage, and deal extra damage when it has combat advantage.

It will often Flutter and Strike (recharge 5-6), which allows it to teleport 10 squares and make an attack with combat advantage at the arrival point. Sorrow’s Rush is an encounter power that allows it to move 10 squares and attack up to three different targets along the movement path.

Sorrowsworn Reaper

A Level 27 Soldier with 254 HP, this is likely the one that replaces the robed skeleton as the D&D setting’s “grim reaper” figure. It runs and climbs at speed 8, with Spider Climb.

It wields Sorrow’s Scythe, which does psychic damage and marks for a turn. It can also use a Reaping Blow (recharge 6), which is stronger and heals the reaper for 60 HP if it reduces the target to 0.

Sorrowsworn Deathlord

This Level 28 Lurker (Leader) has 204 HP. It’s surrounded by an aura (1) of Mournful Whispers that daze any enemies caught inside for a turn. It runs at speed 8, flies at speed 10, and has phasing.

Its Dark Scythe deals necrotic and psychic damage, and weakens for a turn. It can also Reap and Fade (recharge 3-6), which allows it to make an attack, teleport 10 squares, and become insubtantial for a turn in that order.

This is a lurker that inverts the usual routine! Instead of attacking every other turn, it can only be attacked every other turn, assuming it takes care to phase into a wall, floor, or ceiling after it attacks. So it moves in, attacks, and is exposed until its next action, when it attacks and moves away. Reap and Fade makes it even harder to pin down, as it can move in and use the ability to attack and immediately move away again.

Shadowraven Swarm

A shadowraven swarm counts as a Medium Shadow Beast with the Swarm keyword. It’s a Level 27 Brute with 296 HP. It has a land speed of 2 and a flight speed of 12, and all the standard swarm traits: a Swarm Attack aura, half damage from single target attacks, and 10 extra damage from area ones.

Its basic attack is a Swam of Talons that does a mix of physical and necrotic damage. Once bloodied, it can use the Murder’s Wrath encounter power, allowing it to fly 6 squares, move through other creatures’s squares, and make a basic attack against anyone whose square it moves through.

Sample Encounters and Final Impressions

Sorrowsworn tend to group with each other, with deathlords running the show and the others following their orders. They’re often accompanied by shadowraven swarms, and ride fell wyverns.

One of the sample encounters here also has them alongside the epic-level dragonborn deathknight, which hints that not all of them hate undead.

Sorrowsworn fill the same niche as rot harbingers: as regulars, they’re supposed to be the basic building block for encounters in a late Epic adventure focusing on their patron. I feel they work a lot better, though, as they have more interesting maneuvers in their stat blocks. They also don’t rely exclusively on necrotic damage, so it’s harder to get protection against their attacks.

I guess this explains why Orcus isn’t likely to usurp the Raven Queen anytime soon!

You can still use sorrowsworn in a campaign where the PCs aren’t likely to oppose the Raven Queen. There might very well be renegade sorrowsworn out there, and you could also reskin them and make them undead to use as better rot harbingers in a campaign focused on opposing Orcus.