Otherworldly Patron:
Empress of Frost V1.1

You've forged a pact with an ancient creature known as the Empress of Frost, one born long ago from the feelings of loneliness, loss, devastation, and from the pain the world inflicts on one it does not deem worthy of its praise. In the darkness of the place in which one shuts themselves off from the world around them, they may suddenly find the comforting presence of one who cares.
She may offer a deal to one who is desperate, seeming kind and loving while having twisted intentions. After all, one who makes a deal must benefit from it, and for one whose power comes from the isolation of her subjects from the world, perhaps that kindly visage hides something sinister underneath.

Expanded Spell List

The Empress of Frost lets you choose from an expanded list of spells when you learn a warlock spell. The following spells are added to the warlock spell list for you.

Empress of Frost Expanded Spells

Spell Level	Spells
1st	Frost FingersIDRotF, Shield
2nd	Pass Without Trace, Rime's Binding IceFTD
3rd	Leomund's Tiny Hut, Sleet Storm
4th	Death Ward, Ice Storm
5th	Antilife Shell, Cone of Cold

Barricade

At 1st level, the cold in your heart has allowed you to shut yourself off from the outside, and you have learned to manifest that power to put blockades between others and the danger that would befall them.

When a creature other than you within 60ft of you is hit by an attack, you may use your reaction to interpose a thin barrier of frost between them and the source of the attack. The target creature gains a bonus to their AC equal to your proficiency bonus which lasts until they are hit by an attack, or until the start of their next turn, at which point the sheet of ice melts.

If the creature is hit by an attack at any point while the barrier still exists, including by the triggering attack, the barrier explodes. When it does so, all creatures within 5ft. of the barricaded creature take cold damage equal to 1d4 + your proficiency bonus. This damage increases to 2d4 at level 6, 3d4 at level 10, and 4d4 at level 14.

You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a short or long rest.

Cold Distrust

At 6th level, your guard is always raised, even when speaking with others, as you've learned to recognize when they wish you harm and taught yourself to manipulate the flow of conversation to your benefit.

You gain proficiency in the Deception and Insight skills, and whenever you make an Insight check, you may add your Charisma modifier to the roll in place of your Wisdom modifier.

Additionally, you learn the Zone of Truth spell. It counts as a warlock spell for you, but it doesn't count against the number of spells you know. You can also cast it once without expending a spell slot, and you regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest.

Frigid Blockade

Starting at 10th level, your knowledge of the glacial recesses of your own mind allow you to fend off the outer frost. You gain resistance to cold damage.

Additionally, you learn the Fire Shield spell. It counts as a Warlock spell for you, but it doesn't count against the number of spells you know. You can also cast it once without expending a spell slot, and you regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. However, whenever you cast the spell, you may only choose the Cold Shield variant, unless you gain the spell from another source.

Heart of the Blizzard

Starting at 14th level, you gain the ability to open the gates to your heart and show the world around you who you really are.

As an action on your turn, you may activate your inner snowstorm. The storm lasts for 1 minute or until you lose concencentration (as if you were concentrating on a spell).

When you activate your storm, you are encased in a sphere of ice. The sphere occupies your space, and cannot contain any creatures other than yourself. Any other creatures in your space when the sphere is created are shunted to the nearest unoccupied space. While you are encased in the sphere of ice, you gain immunity to all damage types, and your hit points cannot be reduced by any means.

The sphere of ice has an AC of 10, has 70 HP, is immune to psychic and poison damage, and is vulnerable to fire damage. When the sphere is reduced to 0 hit points or when the storm ends, the sphere breaks, and you are no longer immune to damage and can be targeted normally. The ice comprising the sphere is opaque to all creatures other than yourself.

When you activate your storm, choose any number of creatures within 30 feet of you. Each of these creatures must make a Constitution saving throw versus your Warlock spell save DC or be affected by the Slow spell for the duration of the storm.

The area affected by the storm is considered difficult terrain for any creature that is hostile to you or your allies. All friendly creatures within your storm gain temporary hit points equal to your Charisma modifier at the start of their turn, and gain a +2 bonus to AC as well as resistance to cold damage.

While the storm is active, at the end of each of your turns, you must make a Constitution saving throw to maintain your Concentration. The DC for this saving throw begins at 10, and increases by 1 every time you make a Constitution saving throw to maintain Concentration on the storm.

Once you use this feature, you must complete a short or long rest before you can use it again.

Eldritch Invocations

Freezing Blade

Prerequisite: Empress of Frost patron,
Pact of the Blade feature
You can create a slick one-handed melee weapon with the finesse property made from magical, unshattering and unmelting ice using your Pact of the Blade feature. You can choose to have this weapon deal cold damage rather than its normal damage type when you deal damage with it. You can use your Charisma modifier for attack and damage rolls made with this weapon. Once per turn, when you deal cold damage to a creature with an attack from your Freezing Blade, you may choose to reduce the creature's speed to 0. Additionally, when you use your Barricade feature and successfully cause a creature to miss an attack roll, you may make a melee attack using your Freezing Blade against that creature if they are within your reach.

Comforting Chill

Prerequisite: Empress of Frost Patron,
Pact of the Chain feature
If you have a flurry spirit as a familiar, it gains additional maximum hit points equal to your warlock level. Additionally, as an Action on its turn, the flurry spirit can perform a Chilling Charge. When it does so, it may immediately move up to double its speed. Any creature of your choice that it moves through using this movement gains a +1 bonus to their Armor Class that lasts until the start of the flurry spirit's next turn, and gains temporary hit points equal to your Charisma modifier.

Talisman of Permafrost

Prerequisite: 5th level, Empress of Frost Patron,
Pact of the Talisman feature
Your connection with the Empress provides you the ability to use your ice to better defend yourself from oncoming harm. You gain the ability to cast the Shield spell at first level wihtout expending a spell slot. You may do so a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier, and you regain all expended uses of this feature when you complete a short or long rest.

Volume of the Polar Vortex

Prerequisite: Empress of Frost Patron,
Pact of the Tome feature
Your spellcasting has been deeply infused with the frozen might of the Empress, allowing you to channel her power to alter your spells. When you cast a spell that deals damage, you may choose to change the damage type of the spell to cold.

Additionally, when you deal cold damage to a creature, you may choose to create a polar vortex to surround them. The terrain within a 10 foot radius of the creature becomes difficult terrain for any creatures hostile to you or your allies as it is covered in snow and ice. The difficult terrain remains for 10 minutes, at which point it melts. You may use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses of this feature when you complete a short or long rest.

Isolationist

Prerequisite: Empress of Frost Patron
In learning to isolate yourself from the world, you have lost some of the dependencies of most mortals. You no longer need to eat or drink in order to survive. Additionally, your body always feels to be at a comfortable temperature regardless of outside elements, except for when you are in Extreme Cold or Extreme Heat.

Frozen Temperament

Prerequisite: 5th level, Empress of Frost Patron
You have learned not only to shrug off the worst of freezing temperatures, but to gain strength and resolve from it as well. You are immune to the effects imposed by Extreme Cold, and you are not affected by difficult terrain caused by snow, ice, or similar effects.

Additionally, when you take cold damage, you may use your reaction to instead take none of the cold damage and regain hit points equal to the amount of cold damage you would have taken. Once you use this feature, you must complete a long rest before you can use it again.

New Feat

An Eldritch Mark is a form of connection to a powerful entity that is different from a normal pact, instead representing some other way of gaining a small amount of power from them. Perhaps you had an interaction with them that led to you gaining some of their strength, or you received a curse or a close shave with death from a follower of them.

Mark of the Frost Empress

You have felt the chill of the Frost Empress, and the cold in your soul has resonated with her power. You gain the following benefits:

• As an action on your turn, you may encase yourself in a freezing globe of ice. When you do so, you gain temporary hit points equal to your character level, and gain immunity to all damage until the start of your next turn. However, until the start of your next turn, you become Incapacitated, as you are trapped inside the freezing shell.
• You can cast armor of agathys once as a 2nd-level spell without using a spell slot. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for this spell. You can't do so again until you finish a short or long rest.

Warlock Familiar

The Pact of the Chain

Warlocks who have chosen the Pact of the Chain as their Pact Boon may select the Flurry Spirit as their familiar, in addition to the options listed in the feature. While the Flurry Spirit is a familiar related to the Empress of Frost, this familiar may be summoned by any warlock who wishes for a companion of this sort.

Flurry Spirit

When a warlock who has only known strife, hatred, and unacceptance from the world gains the power to conjure life to bring to themselves, what would they make their companion? Some may say they would mirror what the world has shown to them - a creature of destruction and devastation to all those who wronged them. But if what one searches for is a true companion, someone to always stand by them, even in their darkest hour... what would come forth from the ritual? Perhaps instead it would be a new friend - someone who will do everything they can to bring their warlock joy.

The Flurry Spirit is a small manifestation of snow and wind, held aloft by a nature spirit at its core. While the spirit's default form is of a small floating mass of snowflakes, they seldom like to stay in this form, instead prefering to take the shape of various small animals, mimicking the playful and joyous movements of a fox pouncing through snow banks, the proud and righteous form of a wolf watching over its pack, the serene grace of a snowy owl gliding through the air, or any other beast that fits its fancy.

Some flurry spirits prefer to stay in the form of one animal and would rather not change to a different shape, while others find joy in rapidly shifting from one form to the next to suit its whims. Regardless of its preferences, however, a flurry spirit can only take the form of beasts or revert to its default form.

However, one constant among all flurry spirits is their joyous outlook on life. Flurry spirits find happiness everywhere they turn, seeing existence itself as a blessing to be celebrated, and for that celebration to be shared with all. The kindness and happiness of a flurry spirit knows no bounds, and if it sees someone with a sad demeanor, it will do whatever it can to bring a feeling of joy to that individual's life.

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Flurry Spirit

Small fey, neutral

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• Armor Class 15
• Hit Points 14 (4d4 + 4)
• Speed 0ft., fly 45ft. (hover)

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STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
8 (-1)	16 (+3)	13 (+1)	14 (+2)	16 (+3)	10 (+0)

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• Saving Throws Dexterity +5
• Skills Perception +5, Stealth +5
• Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing
• Damage Immunities cold, poison
• Condition Immunities exhaustion, grappled, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, prone, restrained
• Senses blindsight 10ft., passive Perception 15
• Languages Understands those known by its master but can't speak
• Challenge 1 (200 XP)

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Snow Camouflage. The spirit has advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks made to hide in snowy terrain.

Snowy Form. The spirit can move through a space as narrow as 1 inch wide without squeezing. In addition, the spirit can enter another creature's space and stop there.

Magic Resistance. The Flurry Spirit has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects

Death Burst. When the Flurry Spirit is reduced to 0 hit points, it explodes in a small burst of freezing energy. Each creature within 5 feet of it must make a DC 13 Constitution saving throw, taking 11 (3d6) cold damage on a failed save, or half as much on a successful one.

Actions

Frigid Breath. The spirit exhales a small burst of freezing wind in a 15-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw, taking 7 (2d6) cold damge on a failed save, or half as much on a successful one. A creature that takes damage from this breath has its movement speed reduced by 10 feet until the end of its next turn.