The Complete Illrigger Class Guide for DnD 5e (Updated for May 2025)

There is a new scent of brimstone in the air, and its source is the Illrigger—a class that storms onto the 2024 Dungeons & Dragons landscape with infernal ambition, martial precision, and darkly seductive magic. These knights of hell are weapon-wielding spellcasters whose very existence blurs the line between sword and sorcery, virtue and vice. To play an Illrigger is to walk the razor’s edge between infernal loyalty and mortal rebellion, threading themes of domination, conversion, and damnation amid the fury of combat and the whispers of devils.

Narratively, the Illrigger fills the anti-paladin niche that so many players have wished for—a champion corrupted not by fate, but by the deliberate alignment with the Nine Hells’ archdevils. Mechanically, they blend the spell-casting versatility of a Warlock with the martial resilience of a Paladin, but their signature is the sinister Baleful Interdict: a system of seals that marks the condemned, rupturing reality to punish, afflict, or annihilate.

What truly sets the Illrigger apart is their official status under the new 2024 D&D rules. Though not released through Wizards of the Coast, the class holds a unique first—being published by the acclaimed MCDM team, led by Matt Colville, and available through both MCDM’s digital shop and directly on D&D Beyond. This partnership marks a bold step for third-party design in mainstream fifth edition, promising polish and playability at the core.

Future Illriggers can find everything they need in the digital class compendium (MCDM’s site or D&D Beyond), ready for campaign integration. Expect a dramatically illustrated, thematic package unlike anything from the official core—and an approach to class design that prioritizes both mechanical innovation and narrative hooks.

To understand the Illrigger’s tone, look no further than the flavor text of Baraz—an enigmatic knight whose bargain with an archdevil birthed the first order of Illriggers. His story shapes not just the mechanics, but the entire style of play: high-stakes intrigue, temptations in shadowed halls, and the quiet menace of a devil’s promise echo with every Interdict placed on the battlefield.

What Is an Illrigger?

At their core, Illriggers are infernal agents—warrior-spellcasters sworn to the Nine Hells, their powers forged through a pact or oath with an archdevil. These aren’t mere diabolists or hellbound thralls; they serve as elite shock troops, enforcers, and inquisitors, executing infernal will with both blade and sorcery. To call them the “anti-paladin” is apt, but also incomplete: where paladins radiate holy power, the Illrigger’s might is insidious, wielding corruption and coercion as weapons.

Mechanically, the Illrigger fuses aspects of the Paladin and Warlock. Like Paladins, they stride into battle armoured and unafraid, channeling supernatural force into their strikes. Yet, like Warlocks, their magical power is channeled from an external, bargain-based source, and their Baleful Interdict is a constant threat to foes on the field. Illriggers can place magical seals—marks of condemnation—on enemies, detonating them for damage or debilitating effects with wicked timing.

This hybrid identity gives them one foot in the camp of frontline tank, and the other in the realm of magical disruptor. Their combat versatility is matched by their roleplay potential; an Illrigger’s mere presence suggests infernal agendas, hidden motives, and dark bargains unraveling in the campaign narrative. Players can explore both the tactical and thematic joys of being simultaneously a tactician, a spellcaster, and a herald of damnation.

Perhaps most uniquely, the Illrigger’s game mechanics—strongly updated for 2024’s rules—is built on its seals, Interdict Boons, and Infernal Conduit Dice, making it feel dramatically different from any baseline 5e class. Built to scale smoothly and with an eye toward narrative progression as well as combat escalation, the Illrigger brings fresh blood (sometimes literally) to your table.

Core Class Mechanics

The Illrigger class table lays out an escalation of power that is as methodical as it is dramatic. With each level, you’ll see signature mechanics scaling upward: not just in raw numbers, but in tactical complexity and devilish flavor. Let’s break these down for maximum clarity.

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First, proficiency bonus scales as normal, inflating attack rolls, vital saves, and skill checks. Seal damage—your core offensive mechanic—scales from a modest 1d8 at early levels to a menacing 4d8 at the height of your powers. Likewise, the number of seals you can maintain and the number of Interdict Boons you can deploy grow steadily, rewarding both specialists and strategists.

Interdict Boons are a central innovation: choose from a growing list as you level, each modifying your seal detonations with devastating or creative effects. At certain levels, you’ll refine or replace these boons, shaping your arsenal to match your preferred playstyle or narrative arc. Infernal Conduit Dice, meanwhile, serve as your reserve of arcane energy, fueling key abilities and demanding careful management—burn them recklessly and risk exhaustion, but hold too tightly and miss the tide-turning moment.

Strategic choices burst forth at key levels: the subclass (Order) at 3rd; major upgrades to seal damage, Interdict slots, and Infernal Conduit Dice at 6th, 11th, and 17th; and potent endgame features at the capstone. This means the Illrigger’s mechanical and narrative threat grows with every milestone, offering a satisfying arc for both tacticians and storytellers.

Primary Ability Scores

Illriggers are fundamentally a trinity: Strength (or Dexterity) for physical might, Charisma for infernal power, and Constitution for resilience. Your primary choice—Strength vs. Dexterity—shapes both your combat approach and your narrative style: steel-clad juggernaut or elusive, shadow-cloaked duelist.

To multiclass, you’ll need both Strength or Dexterity at 13+ and Charisma at 13+, echoing the hybrid nature of the class. This maintains balance and ensures Illriggers don’t easily cherry-pick just the “good stuff” from other classes.

For the classic melee enforcer, maximize Strength, followed by Charisma, with solid Constitution for frontline durability. For archer or finesse builds, Dexterity takes precedence, with Charisma second. For the rare spell-first Illrigger, a spike in Charisma brings your magical and Interdict powers to the fore.

Hit Dice and Hit Points

The Illrigger wields a mighty d10 hit die, placing them shoulder-to-shoulder with Fighters and Paladins as some of the toughest warriors on the battlefield. This grants a substantial pool of hit points, allowing them to weather storms of steel and sorcery alike.

In direct comparison to their analogs, Illriggers fall just behind pure Fighters (who have more healing), but match or exceed Paladins due to their emergency self-healing and defensive seal powers. Expect to take—and survive—punishment few others could.

Proficiencies and Equipment

Illriggers are prepared for war and subterfuge alike, with a wide array of proficiencies:

Illrigger Proficiencies:

• Armor: All armor, shields
• Weapons: Simple weapons, martial weapons
• Saving Throws: Wisdom, Charisma
• Skills (choose 2): Arcana, Deception, Intimidation, Investigation, Persuasion, Religion

The inclusion of all armor and martial weapons cements their hybrid martial identity, while saves in Wisdom and Charisma echo the purview of spellcasters and manipulators. The skill list tips toward social and investigative domains, rooting the class in both the intrigue and the violence of hellish stories.

For starting gear, Illriggers choose between chain mail or leather armor, a martial weapon and shield or two martial weapons, a priest’s pack, a dungeoneer’s pack, and a holy symbol twisted into infernal design. Customizers can opt for 5d4 × 10 gp and create a bespoke loadout—perfect for players with a keen eye for both efficiency and aesthetics.

Customization goes further still—starting gear can be flavoured to reflect infernal origins: perhaps a blade wreathed in red runes, or a shield etched with the sigil of your devil patron. The class encourages thematic flair from the very beginning.

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Illrigger Class Features in Detail

From the outset, the Illrigger’s mechanics are unmistakably infernal. Their early features put immediate pressure on the table, establishing a unique play pattern that is part executioner, part manipulator.

Baleful Interdict, the signature seal system, lets you mark targets as condemned, setting up lethal payoffs and creative combos. Forked Tongue cements the Illrigger as an agent of social intrigue, adapting linguistically and reading intentions. Combat Mastery gives tactical control—pick from stylish maneuvers that fit your flavor or strategy. Interdiction powers, including Infernal Conduit, allow for mid-battle resource gambits with risks and rewards.

This toolkit means that, at level one, Illriggers already spark storylines and game tension—there’s no “wait until level 7 for your identity” problem here. Baleful Interdict, Interdict Boons, and Combat Mastery are frontloaded to enable immediate, creative play whether you face fiend, mortal, or angelic foe.

As you advance, the class grows more devilish: the scope of Interdict, the explosion of available boons, and the introduction of features like Blood Price and Infernal Majesty transform the Illrigger from hell’s favored errand-runner to a doom that walks.

Baleful Interdict

The Baleful Interdict is the Illrigger’s calling card—your mark of damnation, a curse set upon your foes. Every round, you can place a seal within 60 feet as a bonus action. You can maintain a number of active seals based on your level, visible only to those attuned to infernal magics.

Detonating a seal—known as “burning”—inflicts immediate force damage, which scales up as you gain levels. Seals can also trigger your chosen Interdict Boons, adding status effects, movement tricks, or utility. The interactivity of Baleful Interdict is what makes it so potent: you’re always looking for the perfect moment to damn a foe, reposition, or turn the tide with a precisely timed detonation.

Seals last until triggered, you lose concentration, or you place beyond your daily allotment, forcing a choice of which existing seal to end. They become tools for control, damage, and psychological warfare at the table, turning any combat into a chess match played with hell’s rules.

Key Mechanics Interactions:

• Place seals as a bonus action, up to your limit.
• Detonate a seal when you deal damage to the target or trigger with an ability.
• Seals are visible only to you and those with truesight or similar powers.
• Moving a seal onto a new target requires ending a previous one if you exceed your cap.
• Seal detonation can activate one Interdict Boon per turn.
• Certain effects (like Superior Interdict) can make seals bypass resistances or regenerate when missed.
• Incoming damage from another source can also sometimes trigger a seal—timing is everything.

Forked Tongue

Illriggers ooze infernal charm, capable of adapting their tongue to any social encounter. Forked Tongue grants proficiency in two languages at first level, and at 9th level, upgrades to fluency in any spoken language they hear.

In addition to these linguistic gifts, you add double your proficiency bonus to Insight checks related to reading emotions—a tool for both story intrigue and tactical deception or detection.

This blend of social versatility and mind-reading isn’t just flavor: it has huge utility in campaigns driven by political drama, interplanar travel, or devilish intrigue.

Combat Mastery

Illriggers practice a devil’s discipline—Combat Mastery empowers you to select a style that sets the tone for each encounter. Each choice unlocks a new vein of martial potential and highlights the class’s adaptive nature.

Combat Mastery Options:

• Bravado: Gain advantage on Intimidation checks, and foes have disadvantage to resist your seals when you attack them.
• Brutal: Crits deal extra seal damage; ideal for aggressive, crit-fishing builds.
• Inexorable: Advantage on saving throws against movement-impeding effects. Perfect for frontline tanks who can’t afford to be rooted.
• Lies: Proficiency in Deception or Persuasion, plus the ability to feint and confuse.
• Lissome: Extra mobility and bonus to Dex saves—dart in and out of danger.
• Unfettered: Ignore opportunity attacks when moving; perfect for skirmishers or archers.

Selecting your mastery shapes not only your strategy, but your table presence—each one is a roleplaying tool as much as a combat advantage.

Interdiction and Interdict Boons

Interdiction expands on the seal mechanic: Interdict Boons are modifications chosen as you level that transform every detonation into an opportunity—be it for healing, control, or outright terror. Some are passive, always-on buffs; others require activation on seal-trigger. You can only activate one per turn, and can swap boons at level-up, keeping your kit fresh and adaptable.

This system is an engine of creativity—no two Illriggers are alike, as each builds a toolkit of boons tailored to their strategy, campaign, and personal narrative arc.

Interdict Boons by Tier

The Boon system is the Illrigger’s arsenal of devilish tricks. At every major tier—2nd, 7th, 13th, and beyond—you select from a growing list, building layers of effect and strategy. The variety ensures each Illrigger has their own unpredictable play style, adapting to the campaign’s evolving challenges.

At tier one, the effects are potent but focused: manipulate positioning, heal, or inflict classic status effects. At higher tiers, complexity and explosiveness escalate. Your choice determines whether you’re a hunter, a support, a field controller, or a raw damage engine.

This scaling structure lets advanced players chase deep optimization, while new Illriggers find accessible, impactful choices right from level two. Respec is easy, making each level-up a cause for devilish excitement.

Level 2 Boons

• Abating Seal: Target’s speed is reduced by 10 feet until the start of your next turn.
• Bedevil: Target takes an additional 1d4 psychic damage.
• Soul Eater: You gain temporary hit points equal to your Charisma modifier.
• Styx’s Apathy: Target has disadvantage on its next attack.
• Swift Retribution: You can immediately move up to 10 feet without provoking opportunity attacks.

Level 7 Boons

• Acheron’s Chain: Target can’t take reactions until the start of your next turn.
• Conflagrant Channel: Seal’s detonation deals fire instead of force damage, and ignites flammable objects.
• Eyes of the Gate: You learn if the target is under any magical effects or curses.
• Shadow Shroud: You gain advantage on your next Stealth or Intimidation check against the target.
• Unleash Hell: Deal seal damage to all enemies within 5 feet of the primary target.
• Vengeful Shot: If damaged by the target, make an immediate ranged attack as a reaction.

Level 13 Boons

• Dis’s Onslaught: Foe is stunned until the end of your next turn if it fails a Wisdom save.
• Flash of Brimstone: Instantly teleport to a space adjacent to the sealed target.
• Hellish Frenzy: Make an immediate weapon attack against the target.
• Hellsight: You learn the creature’s true nature (type, alignment, resistances).
• Impaling Shot: Target is restrained by spectral chains for one round.
• Iron Gaol: Target can’t heal until the start of your next turn.
• Last Word: If the seal slays the target, you can place a new seal as a free action.
• Soul’s Doom: Target is frightened until the end of its next turn.

Signature Powers by Level

From 3rd to 20th level, Illriggers are granted signature powers that escalate both their martial and magical threat. Each key milestone brings not just more damage, but a broader portfolio: manipulation, transformation, control, and battlefield reshaping.

Abilities like Invoke Hell offer subclasses dual-mode devastation; Infernal Conduit makes resource management a deadly minigame; Blood Price extends your survivability into clutch defenses; and Master of Hell turns you into the stormfront of the Nine Hells, raining fire, plague, or shadow as the encounter climaxes.

This progression ensures Illriggers never plateau. Every arc—from devil’s apprentice to hell’s master—unfolds with mechanical escalation and narrative drama.

Invoke Hell

Invoke Hell is the Illrigger’s trump card—at 3rd level, your subclass choice determines its flavor and effect. Some Orders unleash area-wide firestorms, while others radiate corrupting debuffs. This feature is balanced by a recharge mechanic akin to a limited-rest usage, and its save DC scales with your Charisma, keeping it viable well into high-level play.

You’ll use this either as a solo big move or to set up devastating combos with Interdict Boons—timing and placement can turn the tide of multi-round boss fights.

Infernal Conduit

Infernal Conduit is your reservoir of hellish force. Choose “Devour” mode to absorb hit points (at risk of Constitution saves and exhaustion), or “Invigorate” to spend Infernal Conduit Dice and restore the wounded. Each mode is a double-edged sword: the power is immense, but repeated use can cripple you with exhaustion or self-inflicted wounds.

Synergy with boons and seals is rampant—a smart player combines quick damage, self-healing, and battlefield repositioning into a routine. At higher levels, refining use of Infernal Conduit is what separates a mortal enforcer from the master manipulator of hell’s energies.

Blood Price

Blood Price lets you spend your Hit Dice not just for healing, but as an emergency shield against a failed death saving throw, or as a bolster against forced saves. This “resource shield” is crucial for clutch moments—whether tanking a dragon’s breath or standing toe to toe with celestial enemies.

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It elevates survivability to legendary levels, and rewards careful management of both Hit Dice and Conduit resources.

Terrorizing Force

Weapon damage gets a menacing bump at 6th and then again at 17th level—adding an extra d8 (then 2d8) of a chosen element (fire, cold, necrotic, etc). The choice of element fits campaign themes: fire for pyromaniacs, necrotic for tormentors, thunder for lords of chaos.

At 17th level, this bonus turns you into a true nova machine, capable of splitting the earth with a single strike. Foes will learn to fear your arrival.

Superior Interdict

At 11th, your seal detonations bypass resistances (even immunity, in some builds) and missed Interdicts have a chance to recover. This drastically lowers the opportunity cost of risky plays.

From here on out, every seal is a credible threat, and resource management becomes less about “if” and more about “when.”

Infernal Majesty

At 15th, embrace your heritage—transform, sprout wings, exude a fear aura, resist radiant/fire/cold, and even cheat death once per long rest. This marks your ascension to the brink of devilhood—both a tactical and narrative climax.

The wings and resistances grant both flight and raw durability, making you a true menace against any who hope to pin you down or outpace you.

Master of Hell

At 18th, you command cataclysms. Master of Hell unleashes a trio of storm effects—elemental devastation, pestilence, or maddening darkness—and at 20th, you can invoke all three at once to shatter the battlefield.

Hellstorm Effects:

• Inferno: Area burns, each creature takes fire damage (4d8), must save or suffer burning for extra damage over time.
• Pestilence: Poisonous fumes, creatures must save or be poisoned, taking 2d8 damage at the start of each turn for a minute.
• Darkness: Blinding gloom, all non-allies in an area are blinded, must save or be frightened, darkness lingers for several rounds.

Master of Hell not only devastates enemies but warps the very landscape—your character becomes the nightmare at the heart of every story.

Diabolical Subclasses

Each Illrigger Order ties you directly to an archdevil’s court, infusing gameplay and story with unique focus and flavor. Subclass defines both your core combat approach and the personality of your damned path.

Whether you serve ambition, chaos, pain, or shadow, the Order shapes every Interdict, every intrigue, and every climactic moment. Subclasses create signature abilities, elevate specific boons, and grant transformations that cement your character as unforgettable.

Illrigger Subclasses:

• Architect of Ruin (Patron: Dispater): Defensive specialist, battlefield control, city-burning schemes. Think brilliant tactician, a devil-architect with power over walls and gates.
• Hellspeaker (Patron: Mammon): Mind dominator, status-afflicter, social manipulator. Focuses on charms, compulsions, and manipulating coin or conversation.
• Painkiller (Patron: Fierna): Raw DPS with self-sustain, emotional manipulation, and pyrokinetic effects. A walking tempest fueled by agony—yours or your foes’.
• Sanguine Knight (Patron: Glasya): Life-drinker, necromantic tricks, crowd-sapper. Drains vitality, manipulates the living and the dead alike.
• Shadowmaster (Patron: Levistus): Stealth, backstab, and darkness incarnate. Master of movement, vision denial, ambushes, and assassination.

Background Synergies

The 2024 D&D background overhaul offers a feast of synergy for Illriggers. With backgrounds now granting feats and custom ability bonuses, careful selection amplifies both power and story cohesion.

Tactical optimization is as much about story fit as raw numbers: lean on backgrounds to gain much-needed proficiencies, social skills, or even extra infernal tricks. Remember, your background is the backdrop of damnation you struggle with, resist, or exploit.

Strong Backgrounds:

• Soldier: Alert feat or Martial Adept, boosts Strength and Constitution; perfect for hell’s shock troops.
• Outcast: Skilled or Mobile feat, edges up Dexterity and Charisma; the forsaken, lone-wolf Illrigger.
• Charlatan: Actor or Skilled feat, plus Charisma and Wisdom boosts; master manipulators or double agents.
• Acolyte: Magic Initiate or Resilient feat, plusses to Charisma or Wisdom; infernal cultist with wider magical reach.
• Noble: Inspiring Leader or Diplomat, improves Charisma and skills; scion of a family touched by infernal ambition.

Each background shapes not just a statblock, but a narrative arc: the outcast fighting back against demonkind, or the fallen noble lured to devilish power.

Best Species for Illriggers

The right species makes an Illrigger even more formidable—whether through resistances, innate magic, or thematic resonance. Some choices tie directly to infernal flavor; others offer optimization gold.

Synergy is about more than power—choose what suits your story and build, but these options offer both.

Top Species Choices:

• Tiefling: Resistance to fire, free spells, plus Charisma. They are the quintessential Illriggers.
• Dragonborn: Draconic ancestry, breath weapon, Strength or Charisma boost. For those who blend hellish power with draconic pride.
• Aasimar: Healing, radiant resistance, transformation. The “redeemed” Illrigger, or one constantly at war with inner light and darkness.
• Goliath: Boon to survivability with damage reduction and Strength; build a juggernaut who smashes Hell’s enemies.
• Orc: Aggressive mobility, relentless endurance; perfect for primal, brute-force Illrigger archetypes.

Consider both mechanical perks—resistances, feats, and stat alignment—with how well the choice fits your hellish saga.

Roleplaying the Illrigger

More than most classes, Illriggers cry out for rich roleplay—a soul marked by infernal power always stands on a precipice. The question isn’t just “how did you fall?” but “what are you doing with your damnation?” Are you the knife of Hell, or its secret enemy?

Play up the themes of temptation, ambition, loyalty, and rebellion. Your story can focus on the price of power, the boundaries of faith, and the tension between destiny and free will. Use every encounter—combat, social, or personal—to ask: what would a hellbound warrior do?

Roleplaying Archetypes:

• Hell’s Vanguard: Zealous, unyielding, the first into the fray for their infernal lord.
• Cursed Knight: Tortured and haunted by their pact—a martyr in the armor of hell.
• Rebel Against the Chains: Seeking freedom from their patron, plotting overthrows or escape.
• Spy in Shadows: A double agent embedded among mortals or rival devils.
• Temptress/Tempter: Spreader of infernal bargains, seducing friend and foe alike.
• Reluctant Damned: Caught by necessity or accident; power-wielder desperate for redemption.
• Devil’s Arbiter: An enforcer of infernal law, punishing mortals and devils in equal measure.

Motivations might include ambition, revenge, atonement, family secrets, or a desire to see Hell reformed, not just served. Moral tension is built in—the more you lean into internal and external conflicts, the more memorable your Illrigger will become.

Where to Find the Illrigger

The Illrigger stands alone as the only “official” new class not published by Wizards of the Coast, but welcomed into D&D’s central platforms. Pick up the full class at MCDM’s website or on D&D Beyond. Neither the Player’s Handbook nor core expansions include the Illrigger; its DNA is all MCDM.

For further insight into the class’s creation, style, and narrative possibilities, check out the in-depth video interview with designer Sadie Lowry on MCDM’s YouTube—her commentary is a perfect primer for aspiring hellknights.

Final Thoughts on the Illrigger

The Illrigger is everything experienced tabletop players crave: a fresh mechanical identity, roleplay hooks with infinite nuance, and a toolkit bursting with strategic depth. It blends well-known archetypes (paladin, warlock, blackguard) yet feels uniquely its own—every seal you place, every boon you burn, is a moment of high drama.

What truly elevates the Illrigger is its versatility. You want to tank? Lash into the thick of combat. Prefer to dominate? Weave social intrigue with Forked Tongue and subvert every conversation. Crave nova damage? Combine boons, Infernal Conduit, and Interdict for scenery-shattering turns.

Customization is king: your selection of boons, subclass, and abilities lets you fine-tune the “feel” of your character while responding to the needs of your campaign. No two Illriggers will walk the same dark path.

In the new D&D landscape, the Illrigger proves that third-party classes can be impactful, balanced, and, best of all, dripping with new-player awe and veteran curiosity. Here’s a class that brings both the darkness and the hope—the heroism and the horror—of the infernal bargain to game night. Embrace both, and you and your table will never forget the stories you create.

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No other class lets you stride so fully into damnation… or redemption. The Nine Hells await. Are you ready to answer the call?