Otherworldly Patron
A warlock chooses an otherworldly patron at 1st level, and the Archmage is a new option for that feature.
The Archmage
Though they may not be physical gods or extraplanar leviathans, the most powerful spellcasters can approach a level of skill and raw might that well exceeds the typical mortal experience. In the quest for enlightenment and true understanding of the cosmos, certain of these mages find themselves in need of other, lowlier agents to go about the physical world whilst their consciousnesses swim through ethereal seas.
You have made a pact with one such archmage, receiving a portion of their unfathomable power in exchange for a service rendered, loyalty given, or otherwise fulfilling one of the mage's needs. Your patron may be a court wizard in need of eyes across the empire while they spend their time researching. Or perhaps a secretive lich sold you a seed of their spellcasting in exchange for the last holy relic needed to complete a phylactery. Arcanists such as Mordenkainen, Acererak, Melf, and even deities of magic like Mystra are all examples of beings capable of forging such pacts. Whoever your patron is, they have given you a shortcut in arcana that they may have never had, which could be either a sign of goodwill—or an omen of inevitable envy.
Expanded Spell List
The Archmage 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.
The Archmage Expanded Spells
| Spell Level | Spell |
|---|---|
| 1st | identify, shield |
| 2nd | blindness/deafness, enlarge/reduce |
| 3rd | glyph of warding, sending |
| 4th | greater invisibility, watery sphereXGE |
| 5th | Bigby's hand, cloudkill |
Prepare Arcana
Beginning at 1st level, your patron has taught you techniques for flexible spell preparation. Choose two spells of 1st-level or higher from your warlock spell list. A spell you choose must be of a level you can cast, as shown on the Warlock table. You learn these spells, but they don't count against the number of warlock spells you know.
You can replace one or both of these spells with a different viable spell when you finish a short or long rest. Preparing new spells requires time spent communing with your patron and memorizing the incantations and gestures you must make to cast the spells: at least 1 minute per spell level for each spell on your list.
Beginning at 6th level, you can select up to three spells.
Credits
Created by Bunnygeon Master using GM Binder.
Thanks to Alice the Alhoon, BladeBotEU, Caim, Cixal, Genuine Believerer, Janawhamme, Mardy, Peanaut, and SgtBriar.
Demystify by Véronique Meignaud (© Wizards of the Coast).
Residual Power
By 6th level, you've mastered harnessing the surplus power your patron provides. When you cast a spell using your Pact Magic feature that doesn't have a benefit from being cast using a spell slot of a higher level, you gain 1d8 temporary hit points per level the spell is cast at above its lowest level.
Weaveblooded
Starting at 10th level, when you take damage from a spell,
you can use your reaction to gain resistance to that instance of damage.
You can use this feature once, and you regain the use of it when you finish a short or long rest.
Flexible Arcanum
Beginning at 14th level, the Archmage allows you to tap into their most powerful arcane secrets. 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th level wizard spells are added to your warlock spell list. When you finish a long rest, you can replace any one of your Mystic Arcanum with another spell from your warlock list of the same level.
Your Pact Boon
It may be valuable to consider how your choice of Otherworldly Patron influences your pact boon. The following are ideas for the appearance and style of that boon as a warlock of the Archmage:
Pact of the Chain. Your own patron may have a familiar of their own—if they don't think a warlock fulfills that role. You might choose the same creature as your patron's familiar, in their honor. Other warlocks of Archmages are gifted Weave Elementals their patrons may inadvertently create.
Pact of the Blade. Your pact weapon may be elegant and supernaturally lightweight, making for a perfect tool to blend martial technique with the subtleties of magic.
Pact of the Tome. Few are the archmages that don't keep their own tomes for storing arcane research and recording their spells. Your tome could be wrought in similar fashion, bound with smooth leather and written in the same rare inks your master uses. Or perhaps the tome is but a sheaf of pages, given directly from that book.
Eldritch Invocations
At 2nd level, a warlock gains the Eldritch Invocation feature. The following invocations have been added as options for the Archmage patron. Your DM can lift this restriction to better suit the campaign if these invocations are also appropriate for another Otherworldly Patron.
If an eldritch invocation has a prerequisite, you must meet it to learn the invocation. You can learn the invocation at the same time that you meet its prerequisite. A level prerequisite refers to your level in this class.
Arcanist's Archive
Prerequisite: the Archmage patron, Pact of the Tome feature
Your patron gifts you with access to their grand repository of magic, augmenting your Book of Shadows and filling its pages with lore, research, and spells. You can read and cast from any spell scroll, as if the spell was on the warlock spell list. You also gain proficiency in one of the following skills of your choice: Arcana, History, Nature, or Religion.
Gishmaker
Prerequisite: the Archmage patron, Pact of the Blade feature
When you create a weapon using your Pact of the Blade feature, you can craft it of fluidlike metal that thrums in harmony with your magic. You can use your pact weapon as a spellcasting focus for your warlock spells. When a creature fails a saving throw against a warlock spell you cast, you can make a single melee weapon attack targeting it as a bonus action using this weapon.
Wizard Tack
Prerequisite: the Archmage patron
You can cast Tenser's floating disk at will, without expending a spell slot. When you cast Tenser's floating disk in this way, any other existing floating disk created by your casting the spell in this manner is dispelled.
Pact of the Chain Familiar
The following familiar is provided as an additional choice for warlocks who have chosen the Pact of the Chain feature.
Weave Elemental
Faint and amorphous bundles of raw magic, weave elementals are sometimes created in the aftermath of powerful rituals and innovative spell research. Occasionally taken on as familiars, weave elementals are instinctively affectionate, often forcing their masters to endure the slight buzzing sensation their cuddling generates. When a weave elemental is summoned as a familiar, it is an elemental instead of a celestial, fey, or fiend.
Weave Elemental
Tiny elemental, neutral
- Armor Class 13
- Hit Points 17 (5d4 + 5)
- Speed 15 ft., fly 30 ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 10 (+0) 16 (+3) 13 (+1) 6 (-3) 10 (+0) 7 (-2)
- Skills Arcana +1, Perception +2
- Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 12
- Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks; damage from spells
- Languages —
- Challenge 1 (200 XP)
Amorphous. The elemental can move through a space as narrow as 1 inch wide without squeezing.
Illumination The elemental sheds bright light in a 20-foot radius and dim light in an additional 20 feet. While shedding this light, the elemental radiates a gentle warmth. It can suppress and activate this effect as a bonus action.
Magic Resistance. The elemental has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Actions
Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d6 + 3) force damage.