The Warlock has some amazing hooks and background sources simply as a class, I love the flavor and the allure it spews. While the initial offerings in the 5th edition Player’s Handbook are all well and good, there is an appetite that seems to be unsatisfied. So I’ll be spending some articles going over some initial homebrews that I’ve been cooking up for a little while now. At the time of this article, we are still a few weeks away from the Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide, so for me this is just some experimentation. So we have two new Warlock patrons to look over today: the Undead and Celestial.
Patron: the Undead Lord
You have been blessed or cursed with servitude to an intellectual undead, a lich or vampire perhaps, or even a mummy if the fates be kind. Steeped in centuries of eldritch power, under your patron’s careful tutelage, you have begun to embark on your own journey to greater mysteries of death and undeath.
Expanded Spell List
1st – ray of sickness, false life
2nd – blindness/deafness, gentle repose
3rd – phantom steed, speak with dead
4th – phantasmal killer, evard’s black tentacles
5th – legend lore, insect plague
Death’s Touch: Starting at 1st level, you learn the chill touch cantrip. If you already know this cantrip, you may learn a different warlock cantrip of your choice. The cantrip does not count against your number of cantrips known.
Mantle of Undeath: Starting at 6th level, you can no longer be poisoned or frightened. The necromantic energies have begun their transformation within you, making your body and mind resilient to the horrors you have seen and perhaps committed.
Death’s Embrace: Starting at 10th level, whenever you are reduced to 0 or less Hit Points but not killed outright, you stabilize with 1 hit point and gain temporary hit points equal to your Charisma modifier + warlock levels (minimum of 1). Once you use this feature, you cannot use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Undead Thrall: Starting at 14th level, you have mastered your craft with creating undead almost as well as your patron. You can now create and command an undead thrall, the thrall lasts until it is destroyed or whenever you use this feature again, or you lose control of it. Your undead thrall is either a skeleton or zombie (your choice). Add your proficiency bonus to the undead’s AC, attack rolls, and damage rolls, as well as any saving throws and skills it is proficient in. Its hit point maximum is equal to its normal maximum or four times your warlock level, whichever is higher. The undead obeys your verbal commands as best it can, you can spend a bonus action to issue a command, and decide what action the creature will make and where it will move during its next turn, or you can issue a general command. If you issue no commands, the creature will defend itself against hostile creatures. Once given an order, the creature continues to follow it until its task is complete.
Patron: Celestial
While your practices require you to delve in the darker aspects of mortal nature, a ray of light guides and steadies your resolve. You channel the power of righteousness, justice, and the light, wielding its energies against the dark and mysterious. Patrons such as angels, coutals, unicorns, or even good-aligned spirits may establish a pact with an individual with potential.
Expanded Spell List
1st – bless, detect evil and good
2nd – silence, prayer of healing
3rd – daylight, crusader’s mantle
4th – freedom of movement, death ward
5th – flame strike, dispel evil and good
Bonus Proficiency: Starting at 1st level, you gain proficiency with wearing medium armor and shields, as well as proficiency with martial weapons.
Conduit of Life: Starting at 1st level, you gain a pool of healing energy that replenishes you when you take a long rest. With that pool, you can restore a total number of hit points equal to your Warlock level x 4. As an action, you can touch a creature and draw power from this pool to restore a number of hit points to that creature, up to the maximum amount remaining in your pool. Alternatively, you can expend 5 hit points from your pool of life to cure the target of one disease or neutralize one poison affecting it. You can cure multiple diseases and neutralize multiple poisons with a single use, expending hip points separately for each one. The feature does not work on undead and constructs.
Weapon of Light: Starting at 6th level, you gain the ability to infuse your weapon strikes with divine energy. When you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you add your Charisma modifier to the damage roll, additionally the weapon deals radiant damage (if the weapon has multiple damage types on a hit, all of the damage becomes the radiant type). When you use this feature, you cannot use it again until after finishing a short or long rest.
Celestial Resilience: Starting at 10th level, you can choose one damage type when you finish a short or long rest. You gain resistance to that damage type until you choose a different one with this feature. Damage from magical weapons or silver weapons ignores this resistance.
Divine Corona: Starting at 14th level, you channel the divine mysteries and surround you and your allies with divine light. As an action, you and each ally within 30 ft. gain resistance to the same damage type you choose for your Celestial Resilience feature. For 1 minute, you and allies are immune to being frightened or charmed, and they heal 10 hit points at the start of each of your turns. Additionally, whenever you or your allies hit with a weapon attack, they deal an additional 1d8 radiant damage.
So here are two takes on some interesting and alternative patrons for the Warlock. We have two more to come, our next patrons are going to be Vestiges (or spirits) and Dragons (click here).
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