Warlock - Archetypes
Duncehack Edition
Part 2
Skipping the preamble because this is Part 2 of the Warlock redesign.
See Part 1 if any of the introductory stuff matters to you.
Obligatory Natural Crit Plug
Someone else made a thing that lets me make homebrews without having to post them on pastebin or something. They deserve a lot of credit for that.
Obligatory /tg/ Plug
The feedback I got from various Anons on this helped me build it into something that wasn't bad and stupid.
I love you all in a way only abused spouse can possibly understand.
What if I think these are too much?
Then the changes are really simple.
- Archfey can centre Fey Presence on a point within 10 ft.
- GOO gets Intelligence Saving Throws at level 10.
- Undying gets 30 ft range on spare the dying and can use it as a bonus action.
- Undying also gets 1/long rest 'when reduced to 0, can set hp to 1 instead' at 10th.
What if I think you're retarded because Hexblade is overpowered and hurts the game as a whole?
I actually agree with you on all of those raised points.
I put a sidebar in down there for a couple of tweaks to compensate for the flat removal of the Charisma Modifier on weapon attacks from the Hexblade.
Otherworldly Patrons
The Archfey
Your patron is a lord or lady of the fey, a creature of legend who holds secrets that were forgotten before the mortal races were born. This being's motivations are often inscrutable, and sometimes whimsical, and might involve a striving for greater magical power or the settling of age-old grudges. Beings of this sort include the Prince of Frost; the Queen of Air and Darkness, ruler of the Gloaming Court; Titania of the Summer Court; her consort Oberon, the Green Lord; Hyrsam, the Prince of Fools; and ancient hags.
Expanded Spell List
The Archfey 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.
Archfey Expanded Spells
| Spell | Spell Level |
|---|---|
| 1st | faerie fire, sleep |
| 2nd | calm emotions, phantasmal force |
| 3rd | blink, plant growth |
| 4th | dominate beast, greater invisibility |
| 5th | dominate person, seeming |
Fey Presence
Starting at 1st level, your patron bestows upon you the ability to project the beguiling and fearsome presence of the fey. As a bonus action, you may centre a 10-foot cube within 10 ft. of yourself (or right on top of yourself). All creatures of your choice within that cube need to make a Wisdom saving throw against your warlock spell save DC. The creatures that fail their saving throws are all charmed or frightened by you (your choice) until the end of your next turn.
Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Misty Escape
Starting at 6th level, you can vanish in a puff of mist in response to harm. When you take damage, you can use your reaction to turn invisible and teleport up to 60 feet to an unoccupied space you can see. You remain invisible until the start of your next turn or until you attack or cast a spell.
Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Beguiling Defenses
Beginning at 10th level, your patron teaches you how to turn the mind-affecting magic of your enemies against them. You are immune to being charmed, and when another creature attempts to charm you, you can use your reaction to attempt to turn the charm back on that creature. The creature must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw against your warlock spell save DC or be charmed by you for 1 minute or until the creature takes any damage.
You may spend an action and a spell slot to increase the duration according to the following table:
Beguiling Defenses
| Spell Slot Level | Time |
|---|---|
| 1st | 10 minutes |
| 2nd | 30 minutes |
| 3rd | 1 hour |
| 4th | 4 hours |
| 5th or above | 8 hours |
You may do the same for creatures attempting to frighten you with magic, however you cannot spend spell slots to increase the duration. In addition, a creature frightened this way can repeat the save every turn and the effect ends the moment you are out of line of sight of them.
Dark Delirium
Starting at 14th level, you can plunge a creature into an illusory realm. As a bonus action, choose a creature that you can see within 60 feet of you. It must make a Wisdom saving throw against your warlock spell save DC. On a failed save, it is charmed or frightened by you (your choice) for 1 minute or until your concentration is broken (as if you are concentrating on a spell). This effect ends early if the creature takes any damage.
Until this illusion ends, the creature thinks it is lost in a misty realm, the appearance of which you choose. The creature can see and hear only itself, you, and the illusion.
You must finish a short or long rest before you can use this feature again.
Fey Presence and Dark Delirium on Bonus Action?
What else are you going to use your bonus action for?
More to the point, making these features require an action means you have to functionally sacrifice your whole turn to get them off as a Warlock.
Fey Presence range increase
One of the biggest issues with the feature is the fact its too risky to actually use in most situations.
Beguiling Defenses
The problem with this feature is, the only creatures likely to ever trigger this effect is a mortal spellcaster (an Enchanter or Arcane Trickster basically). Pretty much every monster reliant on charm, is themselves immune or resistant to charm. The ones who aren't have stupidly high Wisdom scores.
Enchanter antagonists are more likely to pop up in non-combat situations (i.e. that's when they're strongest) thought.
So the logic is simple: give a means to extend the duration (at a cost) so that it can be used effectively in that roleplay heavy style campaign.
The fear thing was to make it a little more worthwhile in more combat oriented games.
The Fiend
You have made a pact with a fiend from the lower planes of existence, a being whose aims are evil, even if you strive against those aims. Such beings desire the corruption or destruction of all things, ultimately including you. Fiends powerful enough to forge a pact include demon lords such as Demogorgon, Orcus, Fraz'Urb-luu, and Baphomet; archdevils such as Asmodeus, Dispater, Mephistopheles, and Belial; pit fiends and balors that are especially mighty; and ultroloths and other lords of the yugoloths.
Expanded Spell List The Fiend 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.
Fiend Expanded Spells
| Spell | Spell Level |
|---|---|
| 1st | burning hands, command |
| 2nd | blindness/deafness, scorching ray |
| 3rd | fireball, stinking cloud |
| 4th | fire shield, wall of fire |
| 5th | flame strike, hallow |
Dark One's Blessing
Starting at 1st level, when you reduce a hostile creature to 0 hit points, you gain temporary hit points equal to your Charisma modifier + your warlock level (minimum of 1).
In addition, you may move 10 ft. as a bonus action, this movement does not provoke attacks of opportunity. You may only do this a number of times equal to your Charisma Modifier (minimum once) per short or long rest.
Dark One's Own Luck
Starting at 6th level, you can call on your patron to alter fate in your favor. When you make an ability check or a saving throw, you can use this feature to add a d10 to your roll. You can do so after seeing the initial roll but before any of the roll's effects occur.
Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Fiendish Resilience
Starting at 10th level, you can choose one damage type when you finish a short or long rest. You gain resistance to that damage type until you choose a different one with this feature. Damage from magical weapons or silver weapons ignores this resistance.
You can spend a reaction to change this resistance, however you must take a long rest to do so again.
Hurl Through Hell
Starting at 14th level, when you hit a creature with an attack, you can use this feature to instantly transport the target through the lower planes. The creature disappears and hurtles through a nightmare landscape.
At the end of your next turn, the target returns to the space it previously occupied, or the nearest unoccupied space. If the target is not a fiend, it takes 10d10 psychic damage as it reels from its horrific experience.
Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.
You also regain the use of this feature after you use your Eldritch Restoration feature.
Disengage on Dark One's Blessing?
Two reasons: Nowhere else makes sense for a bonus action feature, and Fiend has a heavy theme of 'personal safety'.
Reaction on Fiendish Resilience?
Being able to choose your resistance is a big deal already, and requiring forethought for that is a fitting restriction.
The added reaction then is there as a 'do this to not die' feature.
Hurl Through Hell Added Line?
Personally I think once per long rest is too infrequent, but it's far too powerful for once per short rest.
This strikes a happy medium.
Design Notes
Fiend is considered one of the best pacts for a reason. I didn't want to wildly overdo it.
The Great Old One
Your patron is a mysterious entity whose nature is utterly foreign to the fabric of reality. It might come from the Far Realm, the space beyond reality, or it could be one of the elder gods known only in legends. Its motives are incomprehensible to mortals, and its knowledge so immense and ancient that even the greatest libraries pale in comparison to the vast secrets it holds. The Great Old One might be unaware of your existence or entirely indifferent to you, but the secrets you have learned allow you to draw your magic from it. Entities of this type include Ghaunadar, called That Which Lurks; Tharizdun, the Chained God; Dendar, the Night Serpent; Zargon, the Returner; Great Cthulhu; and other unfathomable beings.
Expanded Spell List
The Great Old One 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.
Great Old One Expanded Spells
| Spell | Spell Level |
|---|---|
| 1st | dissonant whispers, Tasha's hideous laughter |
| 2nd | detect thoughts, phantasmal force |
| 3rd | clairvoyance, sending |
| 4th | dominate beast, Evard's black tentacles |
| 5th | dominate person, telekinesis |
Awakened Mind
Starting at 1st level, your alien knowledge gives you the ability to touch the minds of other creatures. You can communicate telepathically with any creature you can see within 30 feet of you. You don't need to share a language with the creature for it to understand your telepathic utterances, but the creature must be able to understand at least one language.
In addition, you can exert crude control over willing creatures with your telepathic connection. You can spend a bonus action to fixate this focus on a creature. This fixation only lasts until the beginning of your next turn.
When a friendly creature you've fixated on would make a saving throw, you may give them a bonus to the roll equal to your Charisma Modifier. If they would suffer a weapon attack, you may give them a bonus to their AC equal to your Charisma modifier against the attack.
After you give this bonus, you must take a short or long rest before you can reuse this feature.
You gain further uses of this feature at 6th, 10th and 14th levels.
Entropic Ward
At 6th level, you learn to magically ward yourself against attack and to turn an enemy's failed strike into good luck for yourself. When a creature makes an attack roll against you, you can use your reaction to impose disadvantage on that roll. If the attack misses you, your next attack roll against the creature has advantage if you make it before the end of your next turn.
Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Thought Shield
Starting at 10th level, your thoughts can't be read by telepathy or other means unless you allow it. You also have resistance to psychic damage, and whenever a creature deals psychic damage to you, that creature takes the same amount of damage that you do.
In addition, you gain Proficiency in Intelligence Saving throws.
Create Thrall
At 14th level, you gain the ability to infect a humanoid's mind with the alien magic of your patron. You can use your action to touch an incapacitated humanoid. That creature is then charmed by you until a remove curse spell is cast on it, the charmed condition is removed from it, or you use this feature again.
You can communicate telepathically with the charmed creature as long as the two of you are on the same plane of existence.
Awakened Mind Ability
Honestly, in writing this the main thing I realised was how bad Bardic Inspiration is until you get your college features.
Kept it limited to AC and Saving Throws as not to overlap too heavily with Bardic Inspiration.
Thought Shield
Intelligence Saving Throws are the rarest in the game. How rare you ask?
Comes up 5 times in the PHB, a further 4 times in the MM. Cha. comes up over 20 times across both books for reference.
So yeah, just as situational as the previous, but at least it helps keep you safe from Stun effects and the kinds of Illusion spells this feature is thematically supposed to protect you from.
The Undying
Death holds no sway over your patron, who has unlocked the secrets of everlasting life, although such a prize—like all power—comes at a price. Once mortal, the Undying has seen mortal lifetimes pass like the seasons, like the flicker of endless days and nights. It has the secrets of the ages to share, secrets of life and death. Beings of this sort include Vecna, Lord of the Hand and the Eye; the dread Iuz; the lich-queen Vol; the Undying Court of Aerenal; Vlaakith, lich-queen of the githyanki; and the deathless wizard Fistandantalus.
In the Realms, Undying patrons include Larloch the Shadow King, legendary master of Warlock's Crypt, and Gilgeam, the God-King of Unther.
Expanded Spell List
The Undying 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.
Undying Expanded Spells
| Spell | Spell Level |
|---|---|
| 1st | false life, ray of sickness |
| 2nd | blindness/deafness, silence |
| 3rd | feign death, speak with dead |
| 4th | aura of life, death ward |
| 5th | contagion, legend lore |
Among the Dead
Starting at 1st level, you learn the spare the dying cantrip, which counts as a warlock cantrip for you. For you, it has a range of 30 feet, and you can cast it as a bonus action.
You also have advantage on saving throws against any disease.
Additionally, undead have difficulty harming you. If an undead targets you directly with an attack or a harmful spell, that creature must make a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC (an undead needn't make the save when it includes you in an area effect, such as the explosion of fireball). On a failed save, the creature must choose a new target or forfeit targeting someone instead of you, potentially wasting the attack or spell. On a successful save, the creature is immune to this effect for 24 hours. An undead is also immune to this effect for 24 hours if you target it with an attack or a harmful spell.
Defy Death
Starting at 6th level, you can give yourself vitality when you cheat death or when you help someone else cheat it. You can regain hit points equal to 1d8 + your Charisma modifier (minimum of 1 hit point) when you succeed on a death saving throw or when you stabilize a creature with spare the dying.
Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Undying Nature
Beginning at 10th level, you can hold your breath indefinitely, and you don't require food, water, or sleep, although you still require rest to reduce exhaustion and still benefit from finishing short and long rests.
In addition, you age at a slower rate. For every 10 years that pass, your body ages only 1 year, and you are immune to being magically aged.
When you are reduced to 0 hit points and are not killed outright, you can choose to drop to 1 hit point instead. Once you use this ability, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.
Indestructible Life
When you reach 14th level, you partake some of the true secrets of the Undying. On your turn, you can use a bonus action to regain hit points equal to 1d8 + your warlock level. Additionally, if you put a severed body part of yours back in place when you use this feature, the part reattaches.
Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
In addition, you may also use your bonus action to use a spell slot to heal yourself, for a number of d8s equal to the spell slot's level + your Charisma Modifier (Minimum 0).
Among the Dead
Ask any decent Cleric player, spare the dying is an awful cantrip, being touch ranged and a full action to use (for reference, any healing effect that would wake the character up, also costs an action). Literally its only benefit is it costs no resources, but for a couple of gold pieces, you can always have on your person a healer's kit which saves you the opportunity cost of a cantrip slot.
Using the Grave Cleric modifications to the cantrip actually makes it worthwhile.
Defy Death
Synergy with the Among the Dead change before.
Also, why scale off Constitution Modifier? Seems a bit... weird.
Long rest was a bit restrictive. I get that it's a free 1st level cure wounds, but the part that matters is getting people up, not the healing amount. That's why healing word is considered one of the best spells in the whole game.
Undying Nature
It was literally a dead level. No other warlock archetype has a dead level.
It's competing with the likes of Celestial's Temporary Hit Points for free at the same level or Fiend Pact's resistance to a damage type of their choice.
So I stapled on the rest of the Ancient's Paladin feature it's copying almost word for word.
The flavour is 'I am harder to kill', right?
Indestructible Life
It's a worse Second Wind.
So I stapled the 2nd level Moon Druid feature onto it to make it better. Combined with the fact that pact slots come back on a short rest, this makes the undying warlock... actually undying.
The Celestial
Your patron is a powerful being of the Upper Planes. You have bound yourself to an ancient empyrean, solar, ki-rin, unicorn, or other entity that resides in the planes of everlasting bliss. Your pact with that being allows you to experience the barest touch of the holy light that illuminates the multiverse.
Being connected to such power can cause changes in your behavior and beliefs. You might find yourself driven to annihilate the undead, to defeat fiends, and to protect the innocent. At times, your heart might also be filled with a longing for the celestial realm of your patron, and a desire to wander that paradise for the rest of your days. But you know that your mission is among mortals for now, and that your pact binds you to bring light to the dark places of the world.
Expanded Spell List
The Celestial 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.
Celestial Expanded Spells
| Spell | Spell Level |
|---|---|
| 1st | cure wounds, guiding bolt |
| 2nd | flaming sphere, lesser restoration |
| 3rd | daylight, revivify |
| 4th | guardian of faith, wall of fire |
| 5th | flame strike, greater restoration |
Bonus Cantrips
At 1st level, you learn the sacred flame and light cantrips. They count as warlock cantrips for you, but they don't count against your number of cantrips known.
Healing Light
At 1st level, you gain the ability to channel celestial energy to heal wounds. You have a pool of d6s that you spend to fuel this healing. The number of dice in the pool equals 1 + your warlock level.
As a bonus action, you can heal one creature you can see within 60 feet of you, spending dice from the pool. The maximum number of dice you can spend at once equals your Charisma modifier (minimum of one die). Roll the dice you spend, add them together, and restore a number of hit points equal to the total.
Your pool regains all expended dice when you finish a long rest.
Radiant Soul
Starting at 6th level, your link to the Celestial allows you to serve as a conduit for radiant energy. You have resistance to radiant damage, and when you cast a spell that deals radiant or fire damage, you can add your Charisma modifier to one radiant or fire damage roll of that spell against one of its targets.
If you have taken the Agonizing Blast invocation, then your sacred flame cantrip applies your Charisma Modifier per damage die rolled rather than just once.
Celestial Resilience
Starting at 10th level, you gain temporary hit points whenever you finish a short or long rest. These temporary hit points equal your warlock level + your Charisma modifier. Additionally, choose up to five creatures you can see at the end of the rest. Those creatures each gain temporary hit points equal to half your warlock level + your Charisma modifier.
Searing Vengeance
Starting at 14th level, the radiant energy you channel allows you to resist death. When you have to make a death saving throw at the start of your turn, you can instead spring back to your feet with a burst of radiant energy. You regain hit points equal to half your hit point maximum, and then you stand up if you so choose. Each creature of your choice that is within 30 feet of you takes radiant damage equal to 2d8 + your Charisma modifier, and it is blinded until the end of the current turn.
Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.
Radiant Soul
Honestly, sacred flame can't hold a candle to eldritch blast + Agonizing Blast otherwise.
It still doesn't with this change all things being equal, but at least it's a saving throw rather than AC and ignores cover.
No Other Changes?
It and Hexblade are the only archetypes that actually give bonus action economy, this archetypes benefit perhaps the most from the Pact of the Tome expanded spell change I made, and is otherwise just solid.
The Hexblade
You have made your pact with a mysterious entity from the Shadowfell—a force that manifests in sentient magic weapons carved from the stuff of shadow. The mighty sword Blackrazor is the most notable of these weapons, which have been spread across the multiverse over the ages. The shadowy force behind these weapons can offer power to warlocks who form pacts with it. Many hexblade warlocks create weapons that emulate those formed in the Shadowfell. Others forgo such arms, content to weave the dark magic of that plane into their spellcasting.
Because the Raven Queen is known to have forged the first of these weapons, many sages speculate that she and the force are one and that the weapons, along with hexblade warlocks, are tools she uses to manipulate events on the Material Plane to her inscrutable ends.
Expanded Spell List
The Hexblade 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.
Hexblade Expanded Spells
Celestial Expanded Spells
| Spell | Spell Level |
|---|---|
| 1st | shield, wrathful smite |
| 2nd | blur, branding smite |
| 3rd | blink, elemental weapon |
| 4th | phantasmal killer, staggering smite |
| 5th | banishing smite, cone of cold |
Hexblade's Curse
Starting at 1st level, you gain the ability to place a baleful curse on someone. As a bonus action, choose one creature you can see within 30 feet of you. The target is cursed for 1 minute. The curse ends early if the target dies, you die, or you are incapacitated. Until the curse ends, you gain the following benefits:
You gain a bonus to damage rolls against the cursed target. The bonus equals your proficiency bonus. Any attack roll you make against the cursed target is a critical hit on a roll of 19 or 20 on the d20. If the cursed target dies, you regain hit points equal to your warlock level + your Charisma modifier (minimum of 1 hit point). You can't use this feature again until you finish a short or long rest.
Hex Warrior
You can spread your Hexblade's Curse from a slain creature to another creature. When the creature cursed by your Hexblade's Curse dies, you can apply the curse to a different creature you can see within 30 feet of you, provided you aren't incapacitated. When you apply the curse in this way, you don't regain hit points from the death of the previously cursed creature.
Accursed Specter
Starting at 6th level, you can curse the soul of a person you slay, temporarily binding it to your service. When you slay a humanoid, you can cause its spirit to rise from its corpse as a specter, the statistics for which are in the Monster Manual. When the specter appears, it gains temporary hit points equal to your warlock level. Roll initiative for the specter, which has its own turns. It obeys your verbal commands, and it gains a special bonus to its attack rolls equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of +0)..
The specter remains in your service until the end of your next long rest, at which point it vanishes to the afterlife.
Once you bind a specter with this feature, you can't use the feature again until you finish a long rest.
Armor of Hexes
At 10th level, your hex grows more powerful. If the target cursed by your Hexblade's Curse hits you with an attack roll, you can use your reaction to roll a d6. On a 4 or higher, the attack instead misses you, regardless of its roll.
Master of Hexes
At 14th level, you still regain hit points from cursed creatures even if you reapply it with your Hex Warrior feature.
You can use your Accursed Specter feature after taking a short or a long rest, however if a spectre is still under your service when you use the feature, it is immediately released from its bond and it vanishes into the afterlife.
Accursed Specter
Poor scaling meant it was worthless at high levels. These scaling changes keep it more consistent.
General Note
This archetype that made me break my no nerfs rule. I don't like the idea of replacing Strengh/Dexterity with Charisma at all. It functionally means that if you don't go Hexblade, you're doing Bladelock wrong because of opportunity costs.
So here's the list of changes:
- Removed Hex Warrior, left the Cha replacement as an optional rule in Blade Pact. The proficiencies were just wrapped into the Pact Boon.
- Moved Master of Hexes to become the new Hex Warrior.
- Created new Master of Hexes feature.
Can this still be called Hexblade?
It's not the weapon specifically, it's the will of the Shadowfell. The Hexblade is the warlock's title, not the patron's.