Warlock Patron: the Ice Queen

This is a little bit silly, and not very creative or original (Disney...and Blizzard...got here before me), but I would totally play this if it were an option.

The Ice Queen

The Ice Queen is the imperious, arrogant, and...according to rumor...ethereally beautiful ruler of a wind swept demi-plane of frost and snow. From her magical castle of ice, waited upon by minions, she plots and schemes and spies upon the activities of lesser beings on other planes. Occasionally she forms a pact with a mortal servant, granting powers in exchange for them acting as her agent and envoy. But beware, for she is both a fickle and jealous employer!

Expanded Spell List
Your patron grants you access to the following spells:

1st: Ice Knife, Command
2nd: Snilloc’s Snowball Storm, Detect Thoughts
3rd: Sleet Storm, Tiny Servant
4th: Ice Storm, Compulsion
5th: Cone of Cold, Modify Memory

Verglas
Starting at 1st level when you select this patron...or you are selected by her...each time you cast a spell that does cold damage a thin layer of hard, clear ice forms on your body and clothing, increasing your AC by one, or by two if you aren't wearing any armour. At the beginning of your next turn this ice melts away into vapor.

Spare the Ray, Spoil the Servant
Also at 1st level you learn the cantrip Ray of Frost as a bonus cantrip. Your Invocations which normally affect Eldritch Blast also affect Ray of Frost.

Icy Veins
Your glare of disapproval could make a fire elemental shiver. Starting at 6th level, when you take damage from an attacker within 5’ who you can see and can see you, as a reaction you can give the attacker a frosty look. The target must make a Wisdom saving throw versus your spell save DC, and if unsuccessful is affected as if by a Slow spell that wears off at the end of its next turn. After you use this ability you cannot use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

Frost Butler
At 10th level, as a bonus action you can summon a minor elemental of snow and ice that will remain with you until destroyed or dismissed. The size Small elemental speaks Common and may have a personality of its own, but is otherwise identical to an Unseen Servant created by the spell of that name and will perform tasks, tidy up, and chill your drinks perfectly. While the Butler is within 30’ of you, you have resistance to cold damage, and are effectively immune to non-magical cold.

Congeal Essence
You may use an action to verbally command your Frost Butler to magnify its power. The Butler grows to Large size and becomes an Ice Lord Elemental. It has the attributes of a Myrmidon Earth Elemental, with the following changes:
- Languages: Common
- Thunderous Strike does cold instead of thunder damage
The elemental will obey your commands and fight for you, on its own initiative roll, for 1 minute (usually bellowing imperiously about feasting on your enemies souls as it attacks), before reverting to its normal, humble Butler self. You must finish a long rest before using this ability again.

(As an aside, does anybody else think that the way expanded warlock spell lists should work is that you get to pick one of the spells at each level to add to your known spells, without it counting toward your your total number of known spells? Maybe it should simply be called "Bonus Spells Known" and just list one spell at each level, which might even already be a Warlock spell.)

I like it.
Though I am not sure how I feel about Icy Veins as it stands. The target (who is already within 5') is affected by the slow spell. I feel like this should be dropping off at the end of its turn, your your next turn. That way so get some better use out of the ability.

Istbor said:

I like it.
Though I am not sure how I feel about Icy Veins as it stands. The target (who is already within 5') is affected by the slow spell. I feel like this should be dropping off at the end of its turn, your your next turn. That way so get some better use out of the ability.

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You may be right, but even as is there's a lot of benefit:
- If the target still has remaining attacks he loses them.
- If he was planning to move after attacking the warlock his movement is halved.
- He loses reaction, so on the Warlock's turn she can move out of range without provoking an AoO
- You and all your allies get to attack him once with reduced AC and Dex saving throws.

I'll keep tinkering, though. Thanks for the feedback.

Cool ;P. I don't exactly have any advice I can give. You have a solid patron here.


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I love it! Good selection of spells.

Elfcrusher said:

(As an aside, does anybody else think that the way expanded warlock spell lists should work is that you get to pick one of the spells at each level to add to your known spells, without it counting toward your your total number of known spells? Maybe it should simply be called "Bonus Spells Known" and just list one spell at each level, which might even already be a Warlock spell.)

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In my current group, the House Rules give Warlocks their Expanded Spell list spells for free, just like Cleric Domain spells. I really think it's necessary, as Warlocks know so few spells they're basically forced to choose only the most basic, utilitarian spells.

The way I see it,
(1) Patron benefits are basically equal to Domain and Tradition features, so
(2) Invocations + Spell Slots + Mystic Arcanum should be roughly balanced with the spell progression normally available to Wizards and Clerics, who I consider to be the baseline casters everyone else is measured against.

By that measure, Warlocks are really hamstrung by the Spells Known limitation. I've run some spreadsheets and they're basically equal on spell slots as long as they get 2 SRs/day. But wizards just crush them on spells known, and of course clerics have access to their whole spell list for free. So giving Warlocks their Expanded Spell List spells as free spells known makes them equal to Bards and brings them closer to where Wizards and Clerics are in terms of utility and flexibility.

I also have bonus Bloodline spells for each Sorcerer bloodline.

Last bit: I also allow Warlocks to "borrow" any one spell from their class spell list from their Patron. The can do this once per long rest, at the end of any long or short rest.

Before anyone asks, I don't think that the above house rules make Warlocks unbalanced. I'm currently in a group with my playing a Warlock (using the expanded spells known, but no borrowing), a gnome illusionist, and a battle cleric. The other two casters more than hold their own.

My warlock has no AoE spells to speak of and is of limited combat utility besides what Eldritch Blast can do. He mostly just spams Mask of Many Faces to do infiltration and "social" stuff and uses Sending a lot to keep separated parts of the company in touch. The two slots/SR limit really forces him to be so judicious with the spells he uses that there are spells I can go a whole level without using.

Huh. Are you counting Invocations in your spreadsheet? If you select all spell-like Invocations it can significantly increase your repertoire. (And if you choose non-spell-like Invocations you're willingly trading spells for something else, right?)

I like this a lot as a patron. Side note, implying that Disney or Blizzard somehow created the image of an ice mage is amusing. Folklore and the snow queen people!

As for the specifics? I feel overall it is good. I think it may actually be a bit weak. The spell choices are great. My thoughts on the other abilities:

1) I actually think Veras should be increase their AC by the level of the frost spell cast until the end of their next turn. I also think it should be restricted to spells 1st level or higher. This may seem like a lot, but in reality it is no worse than a few extra castings of a lesser version of the shield spell as a rider when they use frost magic. You should consider how all the parts of the warlock work. Already looking at your abilities I am looking to invocations that fit well and overlap. More on this later, but here I think of the armor of Shadows and the ice tomb one. The latter does temporary HP (which is why I don't suggest it here), and the former is basically a passive buff to AC, which is what your proposed idea is if you don't restrict it to non-cantrips. I feel like getting a +1 to +5 buff for one turn when I cast a frost spell seems more fun and adequately powerful, though if you feel that is too many (potentially one per spell slot), make it instead cast the spell shield once per short rest as a reaction, or when you cast a frost spell 1st level or higher.

I would also consider taking on adding their charisma modifier to ray of frost as part of learning it, or let agonizing blast apply to it, as otherwise otherwise they would then have no reason to favor ray of frost outside of fluff.

2) Icy Veins is a cool ability, but given its limitation I feel it should last 1 minute on the target, with a save at the end of each of their turns. It's still WAY weaker than the slow spell, but seems more in line with the level ability they are getting, especially when they don't get any real combat ability at level 10. If you don't like Tha option, you could alternatively make it an aura that lasts one minute (with maybe concentration) and effects any creature that strikes them until the end of their next turn.

3) Butler: I like this ability, though it could use a bit more definition. Perhaps make it function as per unseen servant or as tiny servant? I get that it is supposed to be non-combat, but it feels a bit vague as written.

4) Congealed Essence is fine as it functions (i.e. once per long rest you turn your butler into anew ice myrmidon, but I feel the requirement of the corpse seems arbitrary and best left to fluff instead of mechanics. Not every patron has to be evil and I could see a player wanting to just argue that they "summon more snow" instead of having it eat a corpse. The limitation is what is important anyway.

Those are my suggested changes, take them as you will. Great concept either way.

MostlyHarmless42 said:

I like this a lot as a patron. Side note, implying that Disney or Blizzard somehow created the image of an ice mage is amusing. Folklore and the snow queen people!

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Sorry if you interpreted that to mean that Disney or Blizzard "somehow created the image of an ice mage". In the former case I was more referring to the haughty, imperious, self-absorbed sort that I ascribe more to Disney than to the Hans Christian Andersen snow queen, although there may be other references that I'm unaware of.

The Blizzard reference was more subtle and refers to just one detail. But I'm not going to reveal it in case somebody else wants to figure it out.

As for the specifics? I feel overall it is good. I think it may actually be a bit weak. The spell choices are great. My thoughts on the other abilities:

1) I actually think Veras should be increase their AC by the level of the frost spell cast until the end of their next turn. I also think it should be restricted to spells 1st level or higher. This may seem like a lot, but in reality it is no worse than a few extra castings of a lesser version of the shield spell as a rider when they use frost magic. You should consider how all the parts of the warlock work. Already looking at your abilities I am looking to invocations that fit well and overlap. More on this later, but here I think of the armor of Shadows and the ice tomb one. The latter does temporary HP (which is why I don't suggest it here), and the former is basically a passive buff to AC, which is what your proposed idea is if you don't restrict it to non-cantrips. I feel like getting a +1 to +5 buff for one turn when I cast a frost spell seems more fun and adequately powerful, though if you feel that is too many (potentially one per spell slot), make it instead cast the spell shield once per short rest as a reaction, or when you cast a frost spell 1st level or higher.

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I'd have to run some numbers on that. The spell level idea sounds fun, but in practice it's awkward. First, it relies on lucky timing between spell casting and getting attacked or using your spells preemptively to get the AC, which doesn't seem like a good trade. The other problem is that Warlocks cast all their spells at max level, and they get so few slots. So a 10th level warlock, for example, would get +5 twice per short rest. Sure, when the stars align that's great, but it's really swingy and unpredictable.

That said, the version I wrote was just the first one off the top of my head and I do like the idea of something less passive/consistent.

Maybe it's by spell level as you suggest, and then it degrades by 1 each round as the ice melts.

I would also consider taking on adding their charisma modifier to ray of frost as part of learning it, or let agonizing blast apply to it, as otherwise otherwise they would then have no reason to favor ray of frost outside of fluff.

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Oh, I quite like that. Something along the lines of "Any invocations that affect Eldritch Blast instead affect Ray of Frost."

2) Icy Veins is a cool ability, but given its limitation I feel it should last 1 minute on the target, with a save at the end of each of their turns. It's still WAY weaker than the slow spell, but seems more in line with the level ability they are getting, especially when they don't get any real combat ability at level 10. If you don't like Tha option, you could alternatively make it an aura that lasts one minute (with maybe concentration) and effects any creature that strikes them until the end of their next turn.

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A minute would be overpowered, just comparing it to other level 6 warlock abilities, which on average are pretty weak. Maybe, as an earlier poster suggested, if it lasts through the beginning/end of the creature's next turn.

3) Butler: I like this ability, though it could use a bit more definition. Perhaps make it function as per unseen servant or as tiny servant? I get that it is supposed to be non-combat, but it feels a bit vague as written.

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It does function as unseen servant. I'll assume that my witty, clever fluff is so engaging that it's easy to miss the mechanical details.

4) Congealed Essence is fine as it functions (i.e. once per long rest you turn your butler into anew ice myrmidon, but I feel the requirement of the corpse seems arbitrary and best left to fluff instead of mechanics. Not every patron has to be evil and I could see a player wanting to just argue that they "summon more snow" instead of having it eat a corpse. The limitation is what is important anyway.

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Well, that's part of the Blizzard reference. But you are probably right.

Those are my suggested changes, take them as you will. Great concept either way.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the feedback! I'll ponder this and fold some changes in.

I like it, it seems like a solid patron, and one I could (and would) totally use.