Unearthed Arcana Unearthed Arcana: Wizards & Warlocks -- Hexblades, Raven Queens, and Lore Mastery!

Master of Hexes
Starting at 14th level, you can use your
Hexblade’s Curse again without resting, but
when you apply it to a new target, the curse
immediately ends on the previous target.

Does this mean you can cast it one more time, or over and over again? And does the 1 minute duration reset upon a new target, or does it continue from the previous target?

 

[gyor]

I'd merge the Hexblade and Ravenqueen subclasses, if the Raven Queen is connected to these blades, then you don't need a seperate patron for her. Just replace the shadow hound with the raven and maybe one other feature with the ability to merge with it.

The Lore Wizard, wow can you say over powered much!

I mean I do like that they gave the generalist wizard a unique flavour so that its not boring, so A+ on flavour, but the features need to be toned down, they should not have an ability that is straight up better then the distant spell metamagic.

And the elemental damage change should be be restricted to once a short rest and/or require a spell slot to power. In fact almost every feature of the class needed to be toned done except for the lore expertise which fits the themes of the class to a tee, your that scholar's scholar, the sage's sage.

I have mixed feelings about the patron features, I'd be more open to having this prequiste if there were far more general invocations, so I'd keep it to a minium. And tone down the patron pact weapons abit, you don't need to out shine the Paladin's smite. Even the Stone Sorceror doesn't do that.


I personally liked the previous sorceror subclass UA better honestly, I was suprised at having no Shi'ar wizard which was disappointing to me.

And as I said merge Hexblade and Raven Queen Patrons to make space for another patron like Slaadi Lord, Primus and high powered and rogue Modrons, Celestial Pact (Angels, Kirin, Unicorns, Coutls, Archons, Celestial Elderin, ect...), Beast Lord Pact (like the Cat Lord, Bear Lord, ect...), Pain Patron (Lady of Pain, Dabos, and simular entities pact).

And for Pact news perhaps a tattoo back, you gain a magic tattoo that can hold a first level spell that you unleash by touching it, short rest at first, then at will at higher levels.

Aura Boon, those enemies who are in your aura, 30 feet at first the. 60 feet at level 18, take disvantage on their saves, perhaps with a charisma saving throw to aviod the effect.

Maybe turn the shadow hound into a pact boon, you get a shadow hound as boon, but fluff wise it reflects your patron, so if you a have Hysam your hound might have Satyr horns and a fey look with glowing Elven Runes over its body, a shadow hound of Acamar might have tentacles instead of legs and a look of alien madness in doggy eyes, a Undying Hound of Gilgamesh might have his holy symbol on its forehead and be shaped like a popular Untheric breed of dog, and have a very dominating presence.

 

[Ainamacar]

About the Pact Boon question, if you've read En5ider you know there's potential there. I really like the "Pact of the Evil Eye" that was featured in En5ider #042 "Heroes of the Night" (October 2015) by Brandes Stoddard of Tribality.com and Harbinger of Doom Blog. Great example of a classic profane magic trope filling the right niche. I'm actually kind of surprised that WotC didn't think of the idea, given that they had a mid-4e Theme devoted to the concept (Oracle of the Evil Eye, "Character Themes: Born from the Feywild" by Logan Bonner, Dragon #405, November 2011).

I haven't read those, but an eye was one of the first things I thought could be interesting. There are all sorts of non-martial objects, they just need a hook.

For fun I whipped up a take on an eye pact, with apologies to Vecna.
---
Pact of the Wandering Eye

Your patron grants you a partially independent living eye of unknown biology that replaces one of your own. The eye may be removed from its socket or put back in as a bonus action. While in your body or carried you can see what the eye sees, and though it occasionally looks around of its own accord, it otherwise functions as your normal eye, including any special abilities such as darkvision or spells affecting vision. As long as the eye is in your body or you carry it you have advantage on saving throws against being blinded and may cast the light cantrip at will. This does not count against your number of cantrips known. Finally, the eye is an arcane focus for you.

If the eye is absent (not in your body or carried by you) you have a -1 to attack rolls. Unless it has been destroyed, the eye continues to observe its surroundings, looking in any direction as it wills. If you regain contact with the eye, as an action you may learn everything it has seen in the last 24 hours.

If the eye is absent you may perform a 1-hour ritual to reform it in your body, slowly shrivelling the existing one until only an iridescent dust remains when the new eye is complete. This can be done during a short or long rest. Reforming the eye prevents you from learning what the previous incarnation saw.

Creatures that sleep with the eye in often find it remains disconcertingly active, or even disappears completely only to return shortly after waking.

 

[ccs]

So, am I literally the only one who took one look at the Hexblade's fluff and figured out the justification for the Cha replaces Strength thing is because you're literally drawing upon the power of the magic weapon you derive your magic from and using it to guide your blade in battle? I mean, this is literally what Elric of Melnibone, the obvious inspiration for this warlock archetype, did with Stormbringer - without its magic bolstering him, he was an invalid.

No. But you've got to have read, or at least be familiar with, the stuff that provided the initial inspirations for this game.

If you aren't? Then you get stuck arguing about rules & game balance & wondering why the hell the other guy keeps referencing this Elric of Melnibone guy as if that's supposed to mean anything....

 

[Greenstone.Walker]

…figuring out just what sorts of new boons you could have that wouldn't step on the toes of the existing ones. As I said back on the first page, we've got the Familiar, we've got the Book of Eldritch Lore, we've got the Magical Weapon - just what kind of presents are actually left?

Here's one idea: Minions. Lots of minions, with some amount of independant thinking (to differentiate them from a necromancers horde of skeletons and zombies). They might be individually weak or they might be individually quite powerful (so the Warlock essentially has a warband).

Hmmm, thinking about it, a warband would be quite cool and distinctive. Does anyone else in D&D 5E get a warband?

A Warlock as a cult leader mouahahahaha.

 

[ccs]

It does seem a bit single pact-ey. I really can't see anyone coming to the table with Hexblade patron, but book or tome pact, just to mix things up. Not that I mind some sort of Bound Object patron, but Hexblade feels overly combat corner case-ey.That made sense, right?

Congrats, you've detected the obvious....

As for playing a Hexblade patron with some other pact? I'd do that. Well, I might. I'll play odd stuff just because I can & what I come up with varies with my inspiration at the time I need a new character. So it's nice to have these odd combos as possibilities.

 

[Parmandur]

The Lore Master is the 1e/3e OA Wu Jen made culturally-generic. Sudden Action? Sorta, you can choose to add your Int bonus to initiative—not ki-powered, but scratches the same itch. Metamagic-like abilities. Yup, Spell Secrets. Elemental Mastery? Sorta—your Spell Secrets can make you a master of elements, if not an elemental specialist (though you could choose to do that).

Wow, good catch!

Sent from my BLU LIFE XL using EN World mobile app

 

[MoonSong]

Again, I really like the Lore Wizard. If I were to play a Wizard tomorrow, I would try to use that one.

That being said, I can see the overpoweredness of it. I wonder if you could balance it a little by instead of changing any spell to any damage type, you gain the ability at 1st level to select 1 damage type, and you have the option to change any spells damage to that damage type if you want to. Now if you want to run around as Elsa, every spell can be a cold spell. Maybe add another damage type or two at later levels to represent the studying and learning aspect.

Elsa is so much a sorceress though.

As for Wizard (CLASS)… I'm so glad they finally figured out a Generalist Wizard that doesn't (A) step on the toes of the Sorcerer, (B) step on the toes of the Specialist Wizards, and (C) feels like its own concept, rather than just "I'm a dabbler of different schools."

I don't know what you are reading, because yes this one doesn't step on the sorcerer's toes, it gives her a gutpunch then a beating, tells her mommy never loved her, throws her off a cliff and then steps on her toes. Not only the lore master has the same ability that many sorcerer players wish they had in order to cover their concepts -other than fire-. It is free to use over and over and over. Then it goes and gets three extra abilities that are metamagic on steroids. They are not twin or quicken, but they don't need to because these are outright superior to what a sorcerer at that level can do and the wizard actually can afford to know the spells to get the most power out of them. And all of them at the same time.

 

[jrowland]

Loremaster is broken. Level 2 ability to consistently target an enemy with their most disadvantageous saving throw using your most powerful spell and avoid resistances by switching damage types is just OP.

1 per long rest to change stat for save, not "consistently"

 

[jrowland]

Re: Lore Master Wizard

I am not seeing it OP nor stepping on sorcerers toes. Wizards have an opportunity cost "problem" (I use that word loosely). In many ways, particularly with 5E, the wizard spell list is all bout the "wierd" utility spells. As a wizard I have to prepare these wierd, corner case utility spells, AND damage spells for many (if not all) potential targets. With this archetype, the wizard can pick a few key damage spells to use as needed, and actually prepare MORE of the weird utility spells.

The metamagic-like feature is a pretty steep cost to a wizards mojo. Sorcerers get them as a bonus, this wizard has to burn more slots. Burn them if you must, but all the time? 15min workday anyone?

I think this is one of those builds you have to play to really feel its weakness/strength. If 5E has taught me anything, its that not everything is as it seems on paper. YMMV

 

[Parmandur]

Re: Lore Master Wizard

I am not seeing it OP nor stepping on sorcerers toes. Wizards have an opportunity cost "problem" (I use that word loosely). In many ways, particularly with 5E, the wizard spell list is all bout the "wierd" utility spells. As a wizard I have to prepare these wierd, corner case utility spells, AND damage spells for many (if not all) potential targets. With this archetype, the wizard can pick a few key damage spells to use as needed, and actually prepare MORE of the weird utility spells.

The metamagic-like feature is a pretty steep cost to a wizards mojo. Sorcerers get them as a bonus, this wizard has to burn more slots. Burn them if you must, but all the time? 15min workday anyone?

I think this is one of those builds you have to play to really feel its weakness/strength. If 5E has taught me anything, its that not everything is as it seems on paper. YMMV

Well, some balance work is certainly needed, I think; the main question mark is the damage type changing, that doesn't have much cost, but can have huge effects.

Sent from my BLU LIFE XL using EN World mobile app