D&D 5E Deepening Warlock customization, and it's mechanical implications

Lanliss

Explorer
Looking at warlock, and it is extremely customisable. But, I want to take it further. My plans:

1. Allow ranged weapons for Pact of Blade. Yes, I know ranged combat is sweet, but I love the idea of a spectral archer. Would probably put a limit on the number of arrows summoned, if any. Since this is just for my home game, I am not worried, because my players are not always looking for the best mechanical option, just whatever helps their characters tear concept most.

2. Patron specific Invocations. These would be little in game tidbits that help solidify a character. For example, a Warlock of Saint Nicholas could have access to an invocation that gives Proficiency in Performance, and maybe the ability to craft small toys from whatever happen to be lying on the ground nearby.

3. More invocations, because more options are always fun. Has anyone made their own Invocations? How did they work out?
 

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Hawk Diesel

Adventurer
Yes, I've made several new invocations.

Book of Ancient Lore
Prerequisite: 5th level, Pact of the Tome feature
Your patron has inscribed spells into your Book of Shadows to aid you in your servitude. Choose one spell from the Bard, Druid, Sorcerer, Warlock, or Wizard spell list to add to your spells known. A spell you choose must be of 3rd level or lower, or a cantrip.

The chosen spells count as warlock spells for you. They don’t count against your number of spells known.

Book of Ancient Power
Prerequisite: 9th level, Pact of the Tome feature
You patron has imbued your Book of Shadows with a reserve of power that you can draw from as you need. You gain one additional warlock spell slot.

Book of Ancient Wards
Prerequisite: 5th level, Pact of the Tome feature
Within your Book of Shadows, you have discovered incantations to provide protection granted by your patron. When you take this invocation, you add Unseen Servant and Glyph of Warding onto your spell list. These spells count as warlock spells for you and do not count towards your normal number of spells known.

Book of Ancient Whispers
Prerequisite: 12th level, Pact of the Tome feature
When you need guidance from your patron, you can whisper your questions into your Book of Shadows. Your patron will answer through these pages as magical writing appears in a strange language only decipherable to you. Once you have read this correspondence, the writing vanishes, leaving only unfilled pages. When you take this invocation, you can cast Commune without using a spell slot. Once you have communed with your patron, you cannot use this ability again until you have finished a long rest.

Chain Master’s Command
Prerequisite: 5th level, Pact of the Chain feature
As an action, you can command your familiar to sacrifice itself in a blaze of destruction. It explodes and each creature in a 10-foot-radius sphere centered on that point must make a Dexterity saving throw. A target takes damage equal to 5 + your warlock level + your charisma modifier on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. The damage type can be either radiant or necrotic, and is chosen when you gain this invocation.

If your familiar is killed, you can use your reaction to activate this ability immediately upon its death.

Once this invocation is used, you must wait until you have finished a long rest to summon a new familiar.

Eldritch Claws
Prerequisite: eldritch blast cantrip
Being within 5 feet of a hostile creature doesn’t impose disadvantage on your eldritch blast attacks.

Eldritch Warrior
Prerequisite: 15th level, Pact of the Blade feature
When you use your action to cast a spell or cantrip, you can make one weapon attack with your pact weapon as a bonus action.

I've also changed several of the current invocations, but this invocation in particular had the most significant change.

Gaze of Two Minds
Prerequisite: 12th level, Pact of the Chain feature
You can use your action to perceive through senses of a humanoid, celestial, fiend, or elemental until the end of your next turn. You must know the name of your target, and they must be on the same plane of existence as you. The target knows that you are seeing through its senses unless you want to remain hidden. The target receives a Wisdom saving throw once every minute to become aware of your presence. Celestials, fiends, and elementals have disadvantage on this saving throw. Once a target becomes aware that you are perceiving through its senses, it learns who you are and your location. An aware target may use an action to end the effect immediately. If a target chooses to end the effect, you cannot attempt this ability on that target for 1 week. As long as the creature is on the same plane of existence as you, you can use your action on subsequent turns to maintain this connection, extending the duration until the end of your next turn. While perceiving through the other creature’s senses, you benefit from any special senses possessed by that creature, and you are blinded and deafened to your own surroundings. While you do not need to know the location of the target to use this invocation, use of this invocation does not automatically inform you of the target’s location (though you may perceive clues as to the target’s whereabouts through its senses).
 
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Hawk Diesel

Adventurer
I was also considering something like this:

Improved Familiar
Prerequisite: 9th level, Pact of the Chain feature
Your patron has recognized your deeds in their service, and knows you will need help to manage the greater challenges that lie ahead. Your familiar becomes hardier, its maximum hit points increasing by 5 per Warlock level. In addition, it adds your proficiency bonus to its armor class and saving throws.
 
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Lanliss

Explorer
Thanks, I'll just go ahead an cannibalize all of that if you don't mind. Never know what my players will decide to play.
 

Yes, I've made several new invocations.

Book of Ancient Lore
Prerequisite: 5th level, Pact of the Tome feature
Your patron has inscribed spells into your Book of Shadows to aid you in your servitude. Choose two spells from any class, including this one. A spell you choose must be of 3rd level or lower, or a cantrip.

Whoa, nelly! My powergamer instincts are really excited about this one. Now you can be healing 480 HP per short rest by 9th level without taking a Lore Bard dip at all! Life Cleric 1/Warlock 5/Sorcerer 3 FTW!

I would exploit this one like crazy. Doesn't make it bad, but I would exploit it. Aura of Vitality + Conjure Animals for sure and certain.
 

Hawk Diesel

Adventurer
Whoa, nelly! My powergamer instincts are really excited about this one. Now you can be healing 480 HP per short rest by 9th level without taking a Lore Bard dip at all! Life Cleric 1/Warlock 5/Sorcerer 3 FTW!

I would exploit this one like crazy. Doesn't make it bad, but I would exploit it. Aura of Vitality + Conjure Animals for sure and certain.

Well the idea was that those with Pact of the Tome should be able to learn knowledge or lore normally forbidden for them, so thematically I thought it fit. It also gives a bit more customization for warlock builds that are thematically distinct, such as the necromancer warlock by taking animate dead or the healing warlock a la the UA variant. But I did not think about how these invocations may be abused. It's good to know and remember for consideration.
 

Yeah. It's also possible that your players aren't powergamers, or won't discover that particular combination. (They'll probably discover Animate Dead because it's fairly obvious.) And maybe you wouldn't have a problem with it if they did.

The main thing I wanted to point out is that just because a spell is "3rd level or lower" doesn't mean it's not awesome, and that granting free picks from any spell list opens up a lot of options.

But "awesome" doesn't have to mean "forbidden." Roll with this if you like. If you want to be slightly less daring, you could restrict it to picks from the wizard and sorcerer spell lists. At least that way you're guaranteed to be granting only spells that the designers intended 5th level characters to have access to.
 

Ganymede81

First Post
Book of Ancient Lore
Prerequisite: 5th level, Pact of the Tome feature
Your patron has inscribed spells into your Book of Shadows to aid you in your servitude. Choose two spells from any class, including this one. A spell you choose must be of 3rd level or lower, or a cantrip.

The chosen spells count as warlock spells for you. They don’t count against your number of spells known.

This is essentially a double-power version of Invocations like Thief of Five Fates and Mire the Mind. Even ignoring the fact that you get to pick any spell you want as opposed to from a narrow list, and ignoring the fact that they are usable like normal spells as opposed to only once per long rest, you get to pick twice as many spells.

While those Invocations are generally considered subpar, this change pushes things too far in the opposite direction.
 

Hawk Diesel

Adventurer
This is essentially a double-power version of Invocations like Thief of Five Fates and Mire the Mind. Even ignoring the fact that you get to pick any spell you want as opposed to from a narrow list, and ignoring the fact that they are usable like normal spells as opposed to only once per long rest, you get to pick twice as many spells.

While those Invocations are generally considered subpar, this change pushes things too far in the opposite direction.

While I can see the comparison to those two invocations, I don't necessarily agree with it. Those invocations are available to all warlocks, while Book of Ancient Lore is only available to Tomelocks. We tend to see that invocations centered around Bladelocks to be a step up in power from the general invocations (Chainlock invocations still lag behind in my opinion, and I'm trying to find ways to change that).

I initially based this invocation on the Bard's Magical Secrets ability. I still think the power level of this invocation is fair, but perhaps scaling back the number of spells to a single new spell from any list would be more appropriate? Also, I like the suggestion from [MENTION=6787650]Hemlock[/MENTION], but I don't think I would limit it to only Wizards or Sorcerer spell lists. I think I would go for Bard, Cleric, Druid, Sorcerer, Warlock, and Wizard spell lists. This way, it gives quite a bit of flexibility, but still remains within the realm of spells meant for a 5th level character.
 

Hawk Diesel

Adventurer
Here's another invocation I've been considering.

Damning Hex
Prerequisite: 9th level, Hex spell
Your aptitude with using the Hex spell has grown to the point that it requires minimal effort. When you cast the Hex spell, you no longer require concentration to maintain the spell.
 
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