Warlock
A warlock is an arcane spellcaster who gained power through pacts with powerful entities, and through these pacts can channel powerful arcane abilities that would otherwise be closed to them. Warlocks have a poor reputation, a result of their dealings with otherworldly and often malevolent outsiders.
However, not all warlocks are evil by nature and may use such gifts for more helpful or benign purposes. Warlocks can make pacts with several creatures, rather than just one, to access even more power, though all warlocks eventually favored one pact over all the others.
Project Testing
While included as part of the Revision project, this subclass was only part of the Unearthed Arcana test play and guidelines are different due to this. Still aiming to use the design team's intent, lore, story, previous editions, characters, etc. to help this subclass function in a way that felt closer and more balanced when compared to the other wizard subclasses. Comments and reviews are appreciated.
The Veil
Based on the Raven Queen patron from
Unearthed Arcana 29 - Warlock and Wizard
From beyond the Prime Material Plane your patron watches over the veils between life and death. To these deities, life, the afterlife, and death are a foundational part of the multiverse’s workings. Depending on your patron, they might see that part as something they must protect or something to play with. Your pact allows you to stand against death and is physically represented in a creature.
You might agree to a task or feel driven to gain control over the negative energy that controls the undead and demons, or annihilate the undead or fiends, and protect the innocent. You could face intelligent undead for the Raven Queen or to be a random variable at the whims of Tenebrous, or you might never know to what, or why, or how long you are bound to them.
Their ability to reach into the world is limited, thus they turn to mortal warlocks to serve their wills. You may receive visions and whispers from them in your dreams, sending you on quests or warning of impending dangers.
You are gifted a Pact Familiar as a bond or symbol of your pact between you and your patron. It might be a spider to symbolize Istus, Lolth, or Majere, a frog for Ramenos, a raven for the Raven Queen, or an owl for Xan Yae. The Pact Familiar’s form is the manifest from either one’s self, the pact you have, a tool used to complete the pact, or a servant of the patron to assist and/or spy on you.
Comment:
This subclass is still in a development / testing phase. At this point, it may have unknown balance issues.
Expanded Spell List
Each of these spells counts as a warlock spell for you, but it doesn't count against the number of warlock spells you know. You, also, know the Spare the Dying cantrip.
Pact Spells
| Spell Level | Spells |
|---|---|
| 1st | False Life, Sanctuary, Spare the Dying |
| 2nd | Silence, Gentle Repose |
| 3rd | Feign Death, Speak with Dead |
| 4th | Compulsion, Locate Creature |
| 5th | Commune, Hallow |
Note:
Using the same spell or abilities from different classes do not stack or combine. (PHB. 163)
Pact Familiar
Starting at 1st level, you gain the service of a familiar from your pact. The spirit assumes the form and game statistics of a tiny beast (from the Find Familiar spell), except you can add your Proficiency Bonus to their natural AC and their hit points are calculated by your Proficiency Bonus + 2 times your Warlock level. You choose the Pact Familiar type as celestial, fey, or fiend instead of a tiny beast.
Possible Familiar forms:
Bat, cat, crab, frog (toad), hawk, lizard, octopus, owl, poisonous snake, quipper (fish), rat, raven, sea horse, spider, or weasel.
While your Pact Familiar is within 100 feet of you, you have the following:
- Your Pact Familiar will always obey your commands, which you can give telepathically.
- You can see and hear what your Pact Familiar sees and hears.
- Your Pact Familiar can awaken you from sleep as a Bonus Action.
The Pact Familiar doesn’t require sleep. The Pact Familiar does not have an Attack action.
Note:
Pact Familiar can use its Action for Dash, Disengage, Dodge, Help, Hide, or Search.
While the Pact Familiar is perched on you in a way it can still see, you gain 30 ft of darkvision and able to add your Charisma modifier to your passive Wisdom (Perception) score and to Wisdom (Perception) checks. While on you, the Pact Familiar can’t be targeted by any attack or other harmful effect; it can’t take damage; only you can cast spells on it; and it is considered incapacitated. To enter or exit a perched state requires an Action.
In combat, the Pact Familiar will act on your turn. If it is slain by a creature, you gain advantage on all attack rolls against that creature for the next 24 hours.
The Pact Familiar vanishes when it dies, if you die, or if the two of you are separated by more than a mile without being telepathically connected. At the end of a short or long rest, you can call the Pact Familiar back to you —no matter where it is or whether it died— and it will reappear within 5 feet of you.
Familiar Transposition
Starting at 6th level, you can use your Action to swap places with your Pact Familiar while it is within 100 ft of you. You can use this ability the number of times equal to your Charisma Modifier.
When you cast a spell with a range of touch, your Pact Familiar can deliver the spell as if it had cast the spell. Your Pact Familiar must be within 100 feet of you, and it must use its Reaction to deliver the spell when you cast it. If the spell requires an Attack Roll, you use your Attack Modifier for the roll.
Infused Power (Optional)
Untested. This might be a replacement feature rather than an addition.
At 10th level, when you have a surge of power, you can infuse some of it into yourself. Whenever your Attack Roll is a critical hit, you or your Pact Familiar can gain 1d4 + your Constitution modifier of health.
Death Shield
At 10th level, you are granted a protective blessing. Your max health points cannot be reduced. You gain advantage on death saving throws, immunity to the frightened condition, and resistance to necrotic damage.
Mystical Expansion
At 14th level, you are granted boons by your Patron to assist you or reward you for what you have done.
You can choose two:
- Pick an extra 6th level Mystic Arcanum spell, which you can cast once without expending a spell slot. You must finish a long rest before you can do so again.
- Pick an extra 7th level Mystic Arcanum spell, which you can cast once without expending a spell slot. You must finish a long rest before you can do so again.
- Pick an extra Eldritch Invocation. Normal Eldritch Invocation rules apply. Additionally, you can gain and apply a Pact of the Chain Eldritch Invocation to your Pact Familiar, even if you do not have the Pact of the Chain. If you already have one, you do not need to pick it again to apply it to your Pact Familiar.
- Your Pact Familiar can take the full amount of damage from an attack in your place if you have less than half of your max health points. This damage cannot be reduced in any way.
Pact Familiar Notes:
Note 1: Pact Familiar doesn’t count as a familiar. A familiar summoned by Pact of the Chain does.
Note 2: Pact Familiar cannot be dismissed. Pact Familiar does not change shapes. The Pact Familiar is part of your pact, so being without the Pact Familiar may limit your powers or the Pact Familiar might return on its own.
Note 3: A 6-foot-tall person can see about 3 miles (5km) away on a flat surface. If a familiar is 100 ft in the air, they can see about 12 miles (20km) away.
Origion File Location
Files copied from Revision on Homebrewery.