The Skulker v1.1
Who exactly a Warlock of this patron serves is something that often prefer not discuss. Suffice to say that it's an interested party and leave it at that. In truth they tend be powers that have been banished or persecuted - sometimes even those thought dead. The prototypical example of a patron of this kind of Warlock would be Vhaeruan the Masked Lord.
These warlocks most often are serving their own end and the ends of their dark, shrouded, patrons, but they can be trusted so long as their goals align. The patron of a skulker is not always evil, but they are almost always a being that operates in the dark and values secrecy and quiet efficiency.
Expanded Spell List
The Skulker 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.
Skulker Expanded Spells
| Spell Level | Spells |
|---|---|
| 1st | ray of sickness, nauseating poison* |
| 2nd | melf's acid arrow, pass without trace |
| 3rd | cloak of miasma*, stinking cloud |
| 4th | phantasmal killer, vitriolic sphere |
| 5th | cloudkill, contagion |
Venomous Gift
Starting at 1st level, you have learned from your patron that there is all things a weakness to the insideous arts. You gain proficiency with a poisoners kit and learn the cantrip poison spray.
With the secrets gained from your dark patron, when you roll poison damage for a spell you cast or for a poison you crafted, that poison damage bypasses resistance and immunity to poison.
Dark Grace
Additionally at 1st level, your patron favors you with a grace and pose in their favored arts. When you roll a Dexterity (Stealth), Dexterity (Acrobatics) or Charisma (Deception) check, after you roll but before you know the outcome you can reroll the result. You must take the second result.
Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Noxious Parting
Starting at 6th level, you can leave behind a deadly gift. When you take the disengage action, teleport, or become invisible, you can leave behind a burst of poison gas. Creatures other than you within 10 feet of the spot you leave behind must make a Constitution saving throw against your spell Save DC, or become poisoned for one minute. A poisoned creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of their turns, ending the effect on a success.
Once you do this, you cannot do so again until you complete a short or long rest.
Shrouded Guise
Beginning at 10th level, your patrons power shrouds you from even the most careful scrutiny. If a creature attempts to detect (such as with detect magic) or pierce illusion magic (such as with true sight) that effects only you (such as disguise self or invisibility), they must roll a Wisdom (Perception) check against your Spell Save DC, or they do not detect or pierce the illusory effect.
Dark Deception
Starting at 14th level, you have inherited your patron's dark paranoia and cannot be so easily extinguished. Whenever you would take damage that reduces you under half your maximum hit points, as a reaction vanish becoming invisible and hidden from creatures that cannot see you. You can move up to half your movement speed and leave behind an illusory corpse of yourself.
The illusory corpse remains until you become visible again, and is only revealed to be a fake if a creature makes an Intelligence (Investigation) check against your spell save DC.
While the corpse remains, as a bonus action you can choose for it explode into shadows. Creatures within 10 feet of it must make a Dexterity saving throw, or take 3d6 necrotic damage as shadows swirl about it, violently consuming it and leaving behind no evidence it was an illusion.
You remain invisible until the end of your next turn. Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you complete a long rest.
Additional Eldritch Invocations
Poisonous Blast
Prerequisite: The Skulker Patron, Cannot have Agonizing Blast
When you cast eldritch blast, you can choose to make its damage roll poison damage. When you deal poison damage with a spell on your turn, add your Charisma modifier to the damage it deals.
Deft Poisoner
Prerequisite: The Skulker Patron, Pact of the Blade
You can apply poison to a blade or piece of ammunition as a bonus action.
Noxious Knowledge
Prerequisite: The Skulker Patron
Your patron gifts you much dark knowledge. You can craft special poisons to bring down your foes in the most insidious fashion. You gain expertise with the poisoner's kit, and can craft any of the following special poisons in 1 minute with 5 gold pieces of materials:
- Inhaled Poison: Kept in a flask, when released the poison fills a 15 foot radius. Creatures other than you within that radius must make a Constitution saving throw against your Spell Save DC or take 1d6 poison damage and become poisoned until the end of their next turn.
- Ingested Poison: Kept as a small envelope of powder, this can poison the food or drink of up to 5 creatures before becoming too diluted to be effective. Creatures that ingest it must make a Constitution saving throw or become poisoned for 1 hour.
- Injury Poison: A vial of dark paste, this can be applied to a weapon that deals slashing or piercing damage or a piece of ammunition. When that weapon or piece of ammunition rolls damage, the target must make a Constitution saving throw or take 1d12 damage and become poisoned until the end of their next turn.
Any poison you make with this feature is improvised and empowered by your dark power, its potency fading when you make another poison using this feature or after 24 hours has passed.
Traitor's Face
Prerequisite: Mask of Many Faces, The Skulker Patron
You can touch a corpse that was killed by you and cast disguise self assuming the appearance of that corpse. When you do so, that corpse either takes on your appearance or becomes invisible for the duration of the spell.
Skulker Quirks
The following are some optional quirks for a Warlock with The Skulker as their Otherworldly Patron.
| d6 | Quirk |
|---|---|
| 1 | You always aim to sit in dim light or darkness. You don't have to hide if no one sees you in the first place. |
| 2 | You don't eat food or drink provided to others. Who knows who got to it already. |
| 3 | Why walk when you can sneak? |
| 4 | You lie about mundane things just to stay sharp. |
| 5 | You dislike anything that looks like a church. Your patron wouldn't be so ostentatious. |
| 6 | You're not in a cult. It's a respectable organization serving a mysterious unnamed powers dark goals. |
Changelog
- Noxious parting now works with disengage, but has a limit of 1/short rest.
- Dark Deception now causes you to become hidden from creatures that cannot see you while invisible.
- Claok of Miasma mechanicals clarified.
Spells
Nauseating Poison
1st-level necromancy
- Casting Time: 1 bonus action
- Range: Self
- Components: V, S, M (a piece of rotten meat)
- Duration: 1 round.
You shroud your hand, a weapon you are holding, or a natural weapon in dark ichorous miasma. After casting this spell, the next melee attack you strike with before the spell ends deals and 1d8 poison damage and the target must make a Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, the target becomes poisoned until the end of your next turn.
The spell ends after dealing damage, or at the start of your next turn, whichever occurs first.
Cloak of Miasma
3rd-level conjuration
- Casting Time: 1 action
- Range: Self
- Components: V, S
- Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute.
You wreath yourself in a cloud of dark miasma. For the duration, you lightly obscured and dark swirling cloud of miasma surrounds you to a distance of 10 feet. When the creature enters the area for the first time on a turn or starts its turn there, it must make a Constitution saving throw. On failure, it takes 2d6 poison damage and becomes poisoned until the start of its next turn.
As an action, you can magically command the miasma to concentrate on a target within 30 feet, suspending the effect of the other effects of the spell until the start of your next turn. The target of the concentrated miasma must make a Constitution saving throw immediately, taking 4d6 poison damage and becoming poisoned until the start of its next turn on a failed save.
At Higher Levels: When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 4th level or higher, the damage increases by 1d6 for each slot level above 1st.
Art Credit: Wizard's of the Coast (Dragon Magazine #413)