Warlock

‹

›

Basics

Identity

The Warlock is a spellcaster bound to a patron by a pact. The pact is the source of the power and also its price, and the patron has interests of its own. A Warlock chooses an Otherworldly Patron at 3rd level, and the patron decides what the Warlock's powers are for and what it wants in return.

Proficiencies

Channeling

Pact Slots are a small pool of spell slots that are always cast at the maximum slot level the warlock can normally cast. Slot count by Warlock level: 1 at L1, 2 at L2, 2 at L3 (slot level 2), 2 at L5 (slot level 3), 2 at L7 (slot level 4), 2 at L9 (slot level 5), 3 at L11 (slot level 5), 4 at L17 (slot level 5). Maximum normally-cast slot level caps at 5th; slots of level 6, 7, 8, and 9 are accessed only through Mystic Arcanum (see L11+). Pact Slots refresh on a short or long rest. Spell save DC = 8 + proficiency bonus + CHA modifier.

Level Progression

• L1
  Pact Magic

  You channel Rift Energy through a pact with a greater power. At this level you know 2 cantrips and 2 1st-level spells from the Warlock spell list. Cantrips known increase to 3 at 4th level and 4 at 10th level, and spells known increase by one at most levels, to fifteen at 19th level. You cast all your spells with Pact Slots, which are always cast at the highest slot level you can normally cast. Pact Slots refresh when you finish a short or long rest. Spell save DC = 8 + proficiency bonus + Charisma modifier. Spell attack modifier = proficiency bonus + Charisma modifier.

  Patron Contact

  Once per long rest, you can ask your patron for guidance, and it can send back a single brief communication: a one-sentence answer, a glimpse, an impression, or an evasion. The patron is under no obligation to be helpful, candid, or comprehensible, and the GM determines what arrives. The communication does not bypass distance, planar boundaries, or wards your patron cannot reach through.

• L2
  Eldritch Invocations

  Your contact with your patron gives you a set of modular abilities, small always-on tricks and modifications you choose from the Eldritch Invocations list. You learn 2 invocations at this level and more at Warlock levels 5, 7, 9, 12, 14, and 18, for a total of 8 by level 18. Some invocations have prerequisites, such as a Warlock level, a Pact Boon, or a known spell. When you gain a Warlock level, you can swap one invocation you know for another you qualify for. Examples include improvements to a signature cantrip's damage or range, at-will utility spells (read minds for surface-level information, walk unseen in dim light, breathe in vacuum, see in total darkness), short-rest recovery options for a single spell slot, Pact Boon enhancements, and minor abilities tied to specific patrons.

• L3 Subclass feature
  Otherworldly Patron

  Choose your Patron: Pact of the Archfae (a dream-spirit of the Faewyld), Pact of the Divine (a god of Primus, under contract), Pact of the Ebon Creed (the Creed's sanctification liturgy), Pact of the Elementari (a sealed elemental titan), Pact of the Fiend (a named infernal power), Call of Khaos (a god of Khaos), Hoodoo Hexer (folk terms struck at a crossroads), Pact of the Lich (an archmage who declined to finish dying), Pact of the Old One (a primordial being that barely notices you), or Pact of the Sanguine Sacrament (a rite paid for in your own blood). Your Patron grants features now and at 7th, 11th, 15th, and 18th level.

• L4 ASI / Feat
• L5
  Pact Boon

  Your patron gives you a token of the pact. Choose one: Pact of the Blade. You can create a Rift-bound weapon in an empty hand as a bonus action. You choose its form each time you summon it (any melee weapon, including monk and martial weapons). You are proficient with it while wielding it, and you can use Charisma in place of Strength or Dexterity for its attack and damage rolls. It vanishes if it leaves your hand for longer than 1 minute or you release it as a free action. You can bond an existing magic weapon to you over a 1-hour ritual, and while it is bonded you can summon it with Pact of the Blade. Pact of the Chain. You learn a 1-action ritual that binds an unusual familiar to you, such as an imp, sprite, quasit, pseudodragon, ether-mote, or Mythar-shard-spider. The familiar serves as a scout and proxy. Once per turn, you can forgo one of your own attacks to have your familiar make one attack as a reaction. Pact of the Tome. Your patron gives you a Book of Whispers. You add 3 cantrips of your choice (from any class's cantrip list) to your cantrips known, and they do not count against your cantrips known limit. The tome is a spellcasting focus for you. Pact of the Talisman. Your patron gives you a Rift-bound talisman, such as an amulet, a ring, or a branded scar. While you wear it, you can add a d4 to any failed ability check, a number of times per long rest equal to your proficiency bonus. Some invocations require Pact of the Talisman.

• L6
  Psychic Rebuke

  When a creature you can see within Close range hits you with an attack, you can use your reaction to call on your patron. The attacker takes psychic damage equal to your Warlock level and must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC or be unable to target you with attacks until the end of its next turn. You can then move up to 10 feet without provoking opportunity attacks. You can use this feature once, and you regain the use when you finish a short or long rest.

• L7 Subclass feature
• L8 ASI / Feat
• L10
  Pact Resilience Capstone

  Choose one damage type when you gain this feature: cold, fire, lightning, necrotic, psychic, radiant, or rift. You have resistance to that damage type. You can change the chosen damage type whenever you gain a Warlock level.

• L11 Subclass feature
  Mystic Arcanum (6th)

  Your patron gives you access to a spell of a higher level than your Pact Slots can hold. Choose one 6th-level spell from the Warlock spell list as your 6th-level Mystic Arcanum. You can cast it once without expending a Pact Slot, and you regain the ability to cast it when you finish a long rest. You can swap your Mystic Arcanum spell for another when you finish a long rest spent in contemplation of your patron.

• L12 ASI / Feat
• L13
  Mystic Arcanum (7th)

  Choose one 7th-level spell from the Warlock spell list as your 7th-level Mystic Arcanum. You can cast it once without expending a Pact Slot, and you regain the ability to cast it when you finish a long rest.

• L14
  Arcanum Renewal

  Your patron tops up what it lent. When you finish a short rest, you can regain the use of one Mystic Arcanum of 7th level or lower that you have cast since your last long rest. Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.

• L15 Subclass feature
  Mystic Arcanum (8th)

  Choose one 8th-level spell from the Warlock spell list as your 8th-level Mystic Arcanum. You can cast it once without expending a Pact Slot, and you regain the ability to cast it when you finish a long rest.

• L16 ASI / Feat
• L17
  Mystic Arcanum (9th)

  Choose one 9th-level spell from the Warlock spell list as your 9th-level Mystic Arcanum. You can cast it once without expending a Pact Slot, and you regain the ability to cast it when you finish a long rest.

• L18 Subclass feature
• L19 ASI / Feat
• L20
  Pact Recovery Capstone

  Once per long rest, you can spend 1 minute entreating your patron, and you immediately regain all your expended Pact Slots. The patron is not obligated to respond without cost, so the GM can permit the recovery in exchange for a narrative complication, a future obligation, or a small piece of your autonomy, scaled to the moment. Your Charisma score and Charisma maximum each increase by 2, to a maximum of 24.

  Mystic Arcanum (10th)

  Choose one 10th-level spell from the Warlock spell list as your 10th-level Mystic Arcanum. It is an apex spell, cast under the Apex spells rules: you need Rift Affinity 6 or higher, you can cast it once without expending a Pact Slot, and you regain the ability to cast it when you finish a long rest. Casting it gives you one level of exhaustion and a roll on the Surge Table.

Subclasses (10)

• Call Of Khaos
• Hoodoo Hexer
• Pact Of The Archfae
• Pact Of The Divine
• Pact Of The Ebon Creed
• Pact Of The Elementari
• Pact Of The Fiend
• Pact Of The Lich
• Pact Of The Old One
• Pact Of The Sanguine Sacrament

Background: Publisher's Choice Quality Stock Art © Rick Hershey / Publisher's Choice Stock Art , Publisher's Choice Stock Art