Additional Warlock Options
Pacts
Pact of the Grave
Your patron gives you a skull, a wand made of bone, or another small object made from a corpse. You can use this object as your spellcasting focus. Using this spell focus, you can animate a humanoid corpse as a zombie or skeleton, as though you had cast the Animate Dead spell on it. You can do this a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, after which you can't do so again until you finish a long rest.
You can only have 1 undead creature under your control at a time through the use of this pact. If you try to use this feature to exceed this limit, you lose control of the undead you created first.
If you lose your spell focus, you can perform a 1-hour ceremony to receive a replacement from your Patron. This ceremony can be performed during a short or long rest, and it destroys the previous spell focus. The spell focus turns to ash when you die.
Pact of the Mask
Your patron gives you a mask made of wood, metal or porcelain, called your Mask of Nightmares. When you gain this mask choose one of the following skills: Deception, Insight, Intimidation, Persuasion or Stealth. As long as you are wearing your mask, you are proficient in the chosen skill, if you weren't proficient in it already, and you may double your proficiency bonus for each skill check that uses the chosen skill.
While you are wearing this mask, you also have advantage on saving throws against being charmed or frightened.
You may put on or remove your mask as a bonus action.
If you lose your Mask of Nightmares, you can perform a 1-hour ceremony to receive a replacement from your Patron. This ceremony can be performed during a short or long Rest, and it destroys the previous mask. The mask turns to ash when you die.
Pact of the Ring
Your patron gives you a ring made of metal, wood or stone, called the Soul Ring. You can use this ring to store a small part of the energy of the souls of the dead.
Whenever you kill a creature, if the creature had a soul (see "What is a soul?" below) and you are wearing your ring you gain a Soul die, which is a d4. You may have a maximum number of Soul dice at the same time equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of 1), and may spend your Soul dice in the following ways:
Spirit's luck. Whenever you fail a skill check while wearing your ring, you may roll a soul die, and add the result to the check. The soul die is expended only if the check then succeeds.
Soul's Revenge. Whenever you deal damage to a creature while wearing your ring, you may expend a soul die, rolling it. The creature takes extra necrotic damage equal to the result.
If you lose your soul ring, you can perform a 1-hour ceremony to receive a replacement from your Patron. This ceremony can be performed during a short or long Rest, and it destroys the previous ring. The ring turns to ash when you die.
Some features increase your soul dice by 1 size, if they do, use the table below to calculate the new size..
Pact Eldritch Invocations
Death Eater
Prerequisite: Pact of the Ring feature
Whenever a creature dies within 20 feet of you while you are wearing your Soul Ring, if it had a soul as a reaction you may absorb it and gain a Soul die.
Hypnotizing Presence
Prerequisite: Pact of the Mask feature
While you are wearing your Mask of Nightmares, you may cast either the Charm Person spell or the Cause Fear spell once without consuming a spell slot or material components. After you have done so, you may not do so again until you finish a long rest.
Mask3 by Denstarsk8
Soul of the Grave
Prerequisite: Pact of the Grave feature
Whenever you use your skull spellcasting focus to cast a spell of 1st level or higher using a warlock spell slot or whenever you use your pact feature to animate a corpse, you gain 1d6 + your proficiency bonus temporary hitpoints.
Galloping Dead
Prerequisite: 5th level, Pact of the Grave feature
The number of creatures you can have under your control at the same time through the use of your pact increases by 1. Furthermore, you may use your pact feature to reanimate a skeletal warhorse instead of a skeleton or zombie. You may have a number of skeletal warhorses under your control equal to half of the total number of creatures you can have under your control through the use of your pact, rounded up.
Ghostly Accuracy
Prerequisite: 5th level, Pact of the Ring feature
Whenever you miss a creature with a spell or weapon attack, if you are wearing your Soul Ring you may expend a Soul dice, rolling it and adding it to the attack roll, potentially causing it to hit.
Additionally, your Soul dice increase by 1 dice size (therefore, if they are d4s they become d6s, if they are d6s they become d8s).
Mask of Silence
Prerequisite: 7th level, Pact of the Mask feature
You may use your Mask of Nightmares as your spellcasting focus while you are wearing it.
Additionally, while wearing your mask you may cast spells without using verbal or somatic components a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier. After which, you cannot do so again until you finish a long rest.
Relentless Dead
Prerequisite: 9th level, Pact of the Grave feature
Whenever you create an undead through the use of your pact, it has additional benefits:
- The creature's hit point maximum is increased by an amount equal to your warlock level.
- The creature adds your Charisma modifier to its AC.
Spirit Shield
Prerequisite: 9th level, Pact of the Ring feature
Whenever you are hit by an attack, if you are wearing your Soul Ring you may expend a soul die as a reaction, rolling it. You add the result to your AC until the start of your next turn, potentially causing the attack to miss.
Terrifying Presence
Prerequisite: 9th level, Pact of the Mask feature
Whenever you deal damage to a creature, if you are wearing your Mask of Nightmares you may attempt frighten that creature. The creature must succeed on a saving throw against your spell save DC, or be frightened of you until the end of your next turn. You may not attempt to frighten more than one creature per turn this way, and once a creature has been frightened by this invocation it is immune to it until you finish a long rest.
Soul Trapper
Prerequisite: 12th level, Pact of the Ring feature
While you are wearing you Soul Ring, you may expend a soul die to cast the Soul Cage spell once without consuming a spell slot and using your ring as the material component for the spell. Once you've done so, you may not do so again until you finish a long rest.
Additionally, your Soul dice increase by 1 dice size (therefore, if they are d4s they become d6s, if they are d6s they become d8s).
Army of the Dead
Prerequisite: 12th level, Pact of the Grave feature
The number of creatures you can have under your control at the same time through the use of your pact increases by 3. Furthermore, undead creatures you create using your pact add your proficiency bonus to their attack rolls and to the damage they inflict.
Mask of Death
Prerequisite: 12th level, Pact of the Mask feature
Whenever you successfully charm or frighten one or more creatures during your turn while wearing your Mask of Nightmares, you may choose to deal an amount of psychic damage to one of those creatures equal to half your warlock level. This damage doesn't cause the charmed or frightened condition to end, and doesn't allow the creature to repeat their saving throw.
Other Eldritch Invocations
Agathys' Protection
Prerequisite: Armor of Agathys spell
Whenever you cast Armor of Agathys, as long as you have temporary hitpoints from the spell you gain a bonus of +2 to your AC.
Persecuted Escape
You may take the Disengage action as a bonus action on your turn.
Uncanny Senses
Your senses are supernaturally sensitive. You gain proficiency with Perception, if you already had it then your proficiency bonus is doubled for any Perception skill check you make. Furthermore, you add you Charisma modifier to initiative rolls.
Elemental Blast
Prerequisite: 5th level, Eldritch Blast cantrip
Whenever you hit a creature with your eldritch blast, you may choose to convert the damage dealt to one of the following damage types: acid, cold, fire, lightning or thunder.
Potent Magic
Prerequisite: 5th level
When you gain this invocation, you may learn an additional cantrip and an additional 1st level or higher spell from the Warlock spell list that you could learn at your current level. These count as Warlock spells for you. Whenever you gain a level in this class, you may swap out the chosen cantrip and/or spell for another one you could learn at that level. You may cast the 1st level or higher spell once without expending a spell slot, after which you must finish a long rest to do so again.
Heart of the Dragon
Prerequisite: 9th level
You can cast Polymorph once targeting yourself and using a warlock spell slot. However, instead of being a beast, the new form can only be that of a dragon. You cannot use this feature to transform into creatures with legendary actions or resistances. All others rules of the spell apply. Once you've done this, you can't do so again until you finish a long rest.
Unseen Wings
Prerequisite: 15th level
You can cast Fly at will targeting only yourself without expending a spell slot or material components.
Additional Content
What is a Soul?
If you are thinking about choosing the Pact of the Ring feature, it's a good idea to ask this question first. This is an abstract and complicated question.
Ultimately, it's the DM's decision so it's best to discuss it with them before choosing this feature, to avoid any confusion during the game. Here are some tips for a DM on how to rule what has a soul and what doesn't:
- Every creature has a soul. The easisest interpretation, however this could allow the player to carry a bag of rats with them and slaughter them at will. Ruling this way could be problematic depending on the player.
- All intelligent or self-aware creatures have a soul. A slightly complex interpretation, in this case the cutoff is the intelligence score. The suggested intelligence cutoff is 4, but other cutoffs could work. This interpretation is probably the one that prevents abuse of the feature best.
- All living things have souls. In this case, constructs and undead don't have souls. While this interpretation makes a lot of sense, it severely weakens the feature against these specific opponents.
- Only powerful creatures have souls. Creatures only have souls if they have a CR of 1/4 or higher. This interpretation works well mechanically as it prevents abuse, but it makes the least sense thematically as, according to this interpretation, commoners don't have souls.
