The iconic tabletop role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons Fifth Edition can fulfill all manner of genres. Although it's a heroic fantasy game by default, it takes influences from all types of stories. Tables playing around Halloween might want to tell a horror story, and D&D 5e has plenty of character options to choose from.

Most D&D 5e classes have spooky subclasses that derive power from dark sources, including evil patrons, necromancy, and shadows. Some subclasses are for a spooky-themed campaign or one-shot, from sorcerers who mold the darkness into magic to wizards who raise the dead.

Updated October 13th by Isaac Williams: Most D&D 5e subclasses can work for any sort of game. However, some have clear inspiration from horror and excel in a spooky-themed game. This list has been updated with even more of the best subclasses to make a D&D 5e Halloween character.

15 Undead Patron Warlock

Warlocks in D&D 5e gain magic by forging pacts with otherworldly patrons. Some are beings older than gods, and others are powerful fiends. The Undead D&D 5e warlock Patron from Tasha's Cauldron of Everything takes a dark and horror-themed class and exaggerates those qualities, ideal for a Halloween D&D 5e character.

The Undead warlock Patreon D&D 5e subclass sees the player make a deal with a deathless being. This being could be a vampire lord, a lich, or some of D&D 5e's other best undead creatures. From their patron, Pact of the Undead warlocks gets features such as Form of Dread, which can frighten a target, and Grave Touched, which makes the warlock seem undead.

14 Path Of The Beast Barbarian

Barbarians are more overt in their might than most horror options in D&D 5e. However, the Path of the Beast is one way to make a classic gothic monster. The D&D 5e Beast barbarian's features are designed to emulate werewolves in their design, particularly with its Claws or Bite option.

Full-on werewolves are very hard to play in a D&D 5e one-shot because of their immense power. The Beast barbarian gives a more balanced way for gamers to play a classic horror monster as a Halloween D&D character. Other options like the Tail or mandible version of Bite can also evoke a horror theme.

13 School Of Necromancy Wizard

The School of Necromancy is one of the darkest wizard subclasses in D&D 5e, but it is also one of the few that allows the wizard to heal themself. At second level, these wizards get the Grim Harvest ability, which heals the player a little each time they kill a monster with a spell.

Perhaps the most spooky and alluring features available to the School of Necromancy wizard are the Undead Thralls and Command Undead abilities. The former lets the wizard animate extra corpses, and the latter grants the wizard control over targeted undead creatures that fail a Charisma saving throw. They may not rival the infamous lich, but they'll still be a capable and unsettling wizard for a Halloween D&D game.

12 Oathbreaker Paladin

The paladin class is typically the opposite of a Halloween D&D 5e character. Even the more morally questionable oaths emphasize divine magic. The Oathbreaker paladin is a firm exception to the rule found in the Dungeon Master's Guide. It represents a paladin who has violated their original oath and sought dark power to replace it.

The Oathbreaker is the only D&D 5e paladin to be able to control and reanimate the undead. They also innately enhance the damage of undead and fiends around them. For players who want to play a paladin in a horror-themed D&D 5e one-shot, the Oathbreaker is the perfect choice.

11 Aberrant Mind Sorcerer

D&D 5e has influences from all kinds of horror. The Aberrant Mind is a D&D sorcerer subclass inspired by Lovecraftian cosmic horror. It gets its powers from an otherworldly influence that gives them the ability to warp space, the minds of others, and even themselves. Their features focus on psionics while their spells echo an alien theme.

Aberrant Mind sorcerers don't have to be evil or unsettling in D&D 5e. Nonetheless, their abilities naturally lend themselves to a creepy sort of horror while being very effective in and out of combat. Players could do far worse for a D&D 5e Halloween character than an Aberrant Mind sorcerer.

10 Death Domain Cleric

The Death Domain is one of the most overtly villainous subclasses for the D&D 5e cleric. Unlike most other cleric Domains in D&D 5e, it's not even in the Player's Handbook. Instead, it's an evil option found in the Dungeon Master's Guide. Death Domain clerics worship gods of undeath, murder, and sickness.

With Channel Divinity: Touch of Death, these D&D 5e clerics can deal extra necrotic damage when they hit an enemy. Abilities like Inescapable Destruction allow the cleric hit enemies that would usually be resistant to necromancy with the spell's total damage. The Death Domain cleric fits a D&D 5e Halloween character for its ability to raise corpses and fight with necromantic magic.

9 Hexblade Patron Warlock

The Hexblade Patron is known as the melee warlock subclass in D&D 5e, being significantly better with weapons and armor than most other warlocks. However, its power source comes from D&D's Shadowfell plane, giving it some sinister powers. Hexblades can curse their opponents in combat to impair them and inflict significant damage.

The Hexblade patron's most Halloween-esque power in D&D 5e is the ability to summon specters from those it kills. The Hexblade makes for a perfect dark knight who traps the spirits of its enemies to fight alongside it. As a result, it's an ideal character for a Halloween D&D one-shot, even over other warlock subclasses.

8 College Of Spirits Bard

Bards are typically chaotic and lively characters in D&D 5e. They are performers and one of D&D 5e's best support classes, but there is one subclass that takes a more morbid tone. College of Spirits bards dabble in the occult to summon spirits, making them a perfect Halloween character in D&D 5e.

One of the College of Spirits' unique features in D&D 5e is Tales from Beyond, which allows the bard to contact a spirit from a table of twelve options. These spirits range from the Tale of the Renowned Duelist to the Tale of the Mind-Bender. Each of these tales offers a specific boon. For example, Tale of the Avenger hits foes with force damage each time they attack the bard.

7 Gloom Stalker Ranger

For players who are more interested in a Stealth-based, fighting character rather than a full caster. The Gloom Stalker is one of the D&D 5e ranger's best subclasses and a perfect option for a spooky one-shot tale. These rangers live in the shadows, often calling the Underdark home.

The D&D 5e Gloom Stalker is a formidable fighter. Its Dread Ambusher ability allows them to go an extra 10 feet at the start of their turn and grants them an extra attack if they take the Attack action on their first turn of combat. The Gloom Stalker's ability to hide in the shadows and ambush foes makes them a more conventionally horrifying D&D Halloween character.

6 Shadow Magic Sorcerer

Shadow Magic sorcerers gain power from their connection to Shadowfell, the plane of shadows. Rather than merely hiding in darkness, these D&D 5e sorcerers wield it as a magical weapon. At first level, they get Eyes of the Darkness, which gives them the Darkness spell and allows them to see through magical darkness if they spend the sorcery points.

Two of the Shadow Magic sorcerer's most fascinating abilities are Strength of the Grave, through which the sorcerer can make a saving throw to stave off death by dropping to one hit point instead of zero, and Shadow Walk, which lets the sorcerer travel from shadow to shadow. Shadow Magic isn't the sorcerer's best subclass, but it's still well-suited to a Halloween-themed D&D 5e character.

5 Grave Domain Cleric

D&D 5e Grave Domain clerics are a more benevolent take on a death-themed cleric. Rather than focusing on dealing extra damage to put enemies in an early grave, the Grave Domain cleric manipulates the line between life and death. They ensure creatures stay dead when they are meant to and prevent them from departing before their time.

They get Spare the Dying as a cantrip early on and have Eyes of the Grave from first level, making them able to feel undead presences in the area. One of their most impressive abilities is Sentinel at Death's Door, which allows the cleric to negate a critical hit. This ability can mean the difference between life and death in a Halloween D&D game.

4 Undying Patron Warlock

The Undying patron is an earlier subclass with significant ties to the Undead patron. Warlocks in this subclass forge bonds with a lich or deathless wizard and gain abilities that share themes with the Undead. However, these two subclasses are very different, showing off the D&D 5e warlock's versatility.

At first level, Pact of the Undying warlocks in D&D 5e gets Among the Dead, which allows the player advantage on saving throws against being sick, makes it harder for undead foes to hurt them, and affords them the Spare the Dying cantrip. Furthermore, at sixth level, players the Defy Death, which heals their character when they succeed on a death saving throw or use Spare the Dying.

3 Circle Of Spores Druid

The Circle of Spores druid looks at a different kind of nature to other D&D 5e druid subclasses. Spores druids look at rot and decay as alternate stages of life, with a focus on necrotic damage and undeath. They're rare clerics who can reanimate dead bodies both through the Animate Dead spell and a unique feature involving their spores.

A D&D 5e Circle of Spores druid can be an entirely benevolent character with downplayed horror themes. However, a player can also choose to play them as gruesomely and unsettlingly as possible. Players who want a druid as a D&D Halloween character are well-set with the Circle of Spores.

2 Phantom Rogue

Another non-caster, melee-based subclass is the Phantom rogue, one of the best rogue subclasses in D&D 5e. Their name highlights their superb Stealth and their connection to ghosts. The ability Whispers of the Dead lets the rogue contact a spirit to gain proficiency in a specific skill. Furthermore, Wails from the Grave allows the rogue to deal extra damage to a second target.

Perhaps the spookiest of the Phantom rogue's abilities in D&D 5e comes at level 13. Ghost Walk turns the rogue into an apparition that can float, ignore difficult terrain, and force disadvantage on enemy attack rolls. Rogues are welcome in any party, and they can be a perfect D&D Halloween character with the Phantom rogue subclass.

1 Way Of The Long Death Monk

Monks may not seem the spookiest D&D 5e class, but the Way of the Long Death subclass has some scary features. At third level, these monks get the Touch of Death, which can siphon life from enemy targets and heal the player. Hour of Reaping lets the monk frighten foes, much like the Pact of the Undead warlock's Form of Dread.

The Way of the Long Death monks can be notoriously hard to kill, too. Their Mastery of Death feature lets them use a ki point to avoid dropping to zero hit points, instead leaving them with one. The result is a perfect Halloween character in D&D 5e who is extremely viable on the battlefield.