Is this Pact of the Chain House-rule broken?

[Duan'duliir]

Before I share the house-rule in question, a little context: I am building up a homebrew world and one of the traits of the world is that familiars are divine spirits. This means that the find familiar spell is removed from the wizard spell list, and clerics and paladins get the following feature as they get spellcasting:

Divine Guide
The find familiar spell is added to your spell list. You always have it prepared, and it doesn’t count against the number of spells you can prepare each day. In order to prepare your spells each day, your familiar must be within 15 feet of you.

This will mostly end up as a flavour thing, I expect. However, the basic fluff - that the familiar is the conduit for the magic of the two classes - kind of breaks down with the pact of the chain. There're four ways to solve this: ban pact of the chain, hope no-one picks warlock, ignore the fluff/crunch conflict and run it as raw, or a more complex house-rule.

The Pact of the Chain feature is modified as follows:
Pact of the Chain
You learn the find familiar spell and can cast it as a ritual. This spell is always prepared, and it doesn’t count against the number of spells you can prepare each day.
When you cast the spell, you can choose one of the normal forms for your familiar or one of the following special forms: imp, pseudodragon, quasit, or sprite.
Additionally, your familiar serves as a direct conduit to your patron's magic. Rather than knowing a limited amount of warlock spells, you immediately learn all the spells on the warlock spell list that are of a level equal to or lower than your pact magic slots. You can prepare a number of spells from the warlock spell list equal to the number of spells a warlock of your level would normally know*. In order to prepare your spells each day, your familiar must be within 15 feet of you.
The spells from your patron's expanded spell list are always prepared for you, and do not count against your number of prepared spells.


*i.e. the spells known column becomes a spells prepared column

This is what I'm currently looking at using. Now, this is a definite power boost, that I can see. But does it open up some completely broken thing that I can't see? Would giving a bonus invocation to warlocks who take the other pact boons balance them against this empowered form of Pact of the Chain?

 

[Krachek]

Making the patron spells as always prepared seem too much.
It won’t break anything. These warlocks will become more versatile.
If they cast more utility or situational spells they will ask for more short rests, that can be annoying.
Bard, sorcerer and even ranger fan will ask for the same feature.

 

[jaelis]

Yes it probably won't "break" anything, but I would probably rate it stronger than a single invocation. Would this part:
"The spells from your patron's expanded spell list are always prepared for you, and do not count against your number of prepared spells."
apply to all warlocks? If yes then maybe an extra invocation on top of that would balance just the spell prep part.

But I agree that it would make warlocks a lot more attractive as a class, that could be an issue.

 

[Duan'duliir]

So I should either remove the always prepared segment, or let warlocks without chain add the expanded spell list spells to their spells known (without counting against the number known), and then it will be balanced with granting a bonus invocation to the other two patrons?

Which do you feel would be better?

 

[epithet]

A re-skin of the quasit

So, I had occasion recently to re-skin the quasit as a CG celestial. I thought the "scare" ability fit the idea of a hissing cat, so this is what I wound up with. You might enjoy it.

Arborean Cat
Tiny celestial, chaotic good

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Armor Class 13
Hit Points 7 (3d4)
Speed 40 ft., climb 30 ft.

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STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
6 (-2)	17 (+3)	10 (+0)	7 (-2)	12 (+1)	10 (+0)

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Skills Acrobatics +5, Perception +3, Stealth +5
Damage Resistances radiant; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical weapons
Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened
Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 13
Languages Common, Celestial
Challenge 1 (200 XP)

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Keen Smell. The cat has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on smell.

Magic Resistance. The cat has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.

Standing Leap. The cat’s long jump is up to 20 feet and its high jump is up to 10 feet, with or without a running start.

ACTIONS

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Multiattack. The cat makes two attacks, one with its bite and one with its claws.

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 6 (1d6 + 3) piercing damage.

Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d4 + 3) slashing damage.

Invisibility. The cat magically turns invisible until it attacks or uses Scare, or until its concentration ends (as if concentrating on a spell). Any equipment the cat wears or carries is invisible with it.

Scare (1/Day). One creature of the cat's choice within 20 feet of it must succeed on a DC 10 Wisdom saving throw or be frightened for 1 minute. The target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, with disadvantage if the cat is within line of sight, ending the effect on itself on a success.


These cats are native to the Olympian Glades of Arborea. Similar in appearance to the mortal cats of the prime material plane, they are often seen in a golden tabby or bluish silver color.
While they roam wild on Olympus, they are also found in more domestic settings; they often condescend to permit other intelligent creatures to provide for their needs.

Variant: Arborean Cat Familiar
Mortal spellcasters interested in extraplanar familiars find these cats possible to summon but rarely willing to serve. The cat plays the part of the pampered pet. It serves its master well, but it demands to be maintained in luxurious style. Such cats have the following trait.
Familiar. The cat can serve another creature as a familiar, forming a telepathic bond with its willing master. While the two are bonded, the master can sense what the cat senses as long as they are within 1 mile of each other. While the cat is within 10 feet of its master, the master shares the cat's Magic Resistance trait. At any time and for any reason, the cat can end its service as a familiar, ending the telepathic bond.

Exported by NPC Engineer (www.masq.net)​

 

[Blue]

Let me point out an option you may not have thought of: Knowing all spells breaks time spent per action.

Basically, it's option paralysis as they need to evaluate a growing number of discrete options to see what best fit their needs. Takes more and more time.

This is in addition to any ability to always tailor for low save, always avoid resistances/take advantage of vulnerabilities/always have the right spell ready for other pillars of the game.

Yeah, I wouldn't give that, far too much chance to slow down the table on top of the power of the mechanical effects.

 

[Duan'duliir]

Let me point out an option you may not have thought of: Knowing all spells breaks time spent per action.

Basically, it's option paralysis as they need to evaluate a growing number of discrete options to see what best fit their needs. Takes more and more time.

This is in addition to any ability to always tailor for low save, always avoid resistances/take advantage of vulnerabilities/always have the right spell ready for other pillars of the game.

Yeah, I wouldn't give that, far too much chance to slow down the table on top of the power of the mechanical effects.

The warlock would have to prepare a number of spells each day (much like a cleric or paladin) equal to the number they would normally know.

So I don't think that's an issue? Or at least not as much of one as you appear to believe.

 

[TwoSix]

If there's any caster that's not going to be super powered up by a slightly more versatile selection of spells, it's the warlock. Assuming they can only reprepare spells after a long rest, of course.

 

[Duan'duliir]

If there's any caster that's not going to be super powered up by a slightly more versatile selection of spells, it's the warlock. Assuming they can only reprepare spells after a long rest, of course.

Indeed preparation is indeed intended to occur after a long rest.