D&D 5E Homebrew Ideas For Warlock Recharge (+)

[doctorbadwolf]

Level Up uses spell points for warlocks, and doesn't require warlocks to always cast at the highest level. This means that, technically speaking, LU warlocks could cast a lot more low-level spells than their 5e counterparts.

Yes, that is certainly true. I…strongly dislike that. In fact, the level up warlock is one of the things I dislike the most in level up. Even more than I dislike the weird “herald” stuff they did with the Paladin, and the fact they kept spells as this unique siloed thing that can’t mix with techniques or manuvers or whatever, when they could have run them all on “exertion” and allowed any gish to just smoothly mix them, and to have abilities that blur the line between them.

To me, making martial moves into “powers” like that is almost pointless if they are siloed off from the other “powers” in the system.

But anyway yeah, I really dislike the warlock in LU. I have never liked spell points in TTRPGs, and like them least in any game where a level 6 spell doesn’t just cost 6 spell points. I mean, 133 spell points at level 20!? Who on Earth wants to track 133 spell points!?

lol sorry /rant

 

[Ancalagon]

I agree. I think it’d be really fun to lean into the dynamic that they are basically the rogue of the “mages”, and the idea that they do magic wrong, that there is transgression inherent to what they do.

That’s a thing I’ve struggled to showcase in my own system.

I mean, I've always seen Warlocks as "cheating" the system. They don't have the academic capacity of a wizard, nor do they have the "bloodline" for sorcery so... what to do? They aren't pious enough to be a cleric or druid, buuuuuut .... because they are cheating they can get their slots back quickly, but because they don't actually "have what it takes" they can only "hold" a few slots at a time.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

Uncanny Reservoir (level 1)
You have great power, but can only access it efficiently in small doses. With a ten-minute ritual, during which you concentrate on an activity which connects you and your Patron, you can regain all of your expended Warlock slots. This feature does not affect your Eldritch Arcana spells. You can perform this ritual a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and regain all uses when you complete a long rest. This ritual can be performed as part of taking a short rest, if you wish.

Supernatural Spring (level 11)
You can, as a bonus action, call upon your Patron to honor the pact between you. You regain any spell slots you have used, without needing the ten-minute ritual of Uncanny Reservoir. You can use this feature once, and regain use of it after you have completed a long rest.

Between these two, you get a Warlock that has bursts of power but which are finite in number and can't be directly spammed, and the once-a-day ability to go HAM on someone (or to skip over the formalities, as it were, if you get jumped or were too occupied.)

Edit: Keep in mind, I literally wrote these just now, and slapped a random appropriate-seeming level on the second. If you have balance critique, consider this a 100% spitball suggestion, not a carefully-reasoned proposed solution. I also considered adding either "this counts as one of your uses of Uncanny Reservoir" to Supernatural Spring, or adding a "if you've already used up all your uses of Uncanny Reservoir, your patron my refuse your request; roll 1d20, on a 1 your patron refuses to help" limiter. But frankly the Warlock is already on the weaker side overall, so I don't think there's any harm in a small power boost here.

 

[Pauln6]

It's controversial but I really dislike agonising blast and the fact that so many warlock invocations are tied to eldritch blast.

Could a less spammy way to do agonising blast be to say that once per round when you hit you can decide to burn more uses of eldritch blast in one more powerful blast plus your ability modifier?

 

[Faolyn]

Yes, that is certainly true. I…strongly dislike that. In fact, the level up warlock is one of the things I dislike the most in level up. Even more than I dislike the weird “herald” stuff they did with the Paladin, and the fact they kept spells as this unique siloed thing that can’t mix with techniques or manuvers or whatever, when they could have run them all on “exertion” and allowed any gish to just smoothly mix them, and to have abilities that blur the line between them.

To me, making martial moves into “powers” like that is almost pointless if they are siloed off from the other “powers” in the system.

But anyway yeah, I really dislike the warlock in LU. I have never liked spell points in TTRPGs, and like them least in any game where a level 6 spell doesn’t just cost 6 spell points. I mean, 133 spell points at level 20!? Who on Earth wants to track 133 spell points!?

lol sorry /rant

Fair enough. It's a huge difference and I haven't seen it in play yet to know how annoying it will be.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

I mean, I've always seen Warlocks as "cheating" the system. They don't have the academic capacity of a wizard, nor do they have the "bloodline" for sorcery so... what to do? They aren't pious enough to be a cleric or druid, buuuuuut .... because they are cheating they can get their slots back quickly, but because they don't actually "have what it takes" they can only "hold" a few slots at a time.

That works, yeah. Cheating is certainly transgressional.

I do wish the class wasn’t quite so heavily invested in the patron, though. A Warlock that has stolen power through various forbidden rituals, who uses the same power as her enemies, an Eldritch “hacker” who has learnt the math of the weave and instead of continuing to study has instead become an expert in shortcuts, are all valid warlocks, IMO.

Uncanny Reservoir (level 1)
You have great power, but can only access it efficiently in small doses. With a ten-minute ritual, during which you concentrate on an activity which connects you and your Patron, you can regain all of your expended Warlock slots. This feature does not affect your Eldritch Arcana spells. You can perform this ritual a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and regain all uses when you complete a long rest. This ritual can be performed as part of taking a short rest, if you wish.

Supernatural Spring (level 11)
You can, as a bonus action, call upon your Patron to honor the pact between you. You regain any spell slots you have used, without needing the ten-minute ritual of Uncanny Reservoir. You can use this feature once, and regain use of it after you have completed a long rest.

Between these two, you get a Warlock that has bursts of power but which are finite in number and can't be directly spammed, and the once-a-day ability to go HAM on someone (or to skip over the formalities, as it were, if you get jumped or were too occupied.)

Edit: Keep in mind, I literally wrote these just now, and slapped a random appropriate-seeming level on the second. If you have balance critique, consider this a 100% spitball suggestion, not a carefully-reasoned proposed solution. I also considered adding either "this counts as one of your uses of Uncanny Reservoir" to Supernatural Spring, or adding a "if you've already used up all your uses of Uncanny Reservoir, your patron my refuse your request; roll 1d20, on a 1 your patron refuses to help" limiter. But frankly the Warlock is already on the weaker side overall, so I don't think there's any harm in a small power boost here.

I think there something good there for the “get slots back by strange means” warlock.

It's controversial but I really dislike agonising blast and the fact that so many warlock invocations are tied to eldritch blast.

Could a less spammy way to do agonising blast be to say that once per round when you hit you can decide to burn more uses of eldritch blast in one more powerful blast plus your ability modifier?

I’m not sure that would be less spammy. I think Instead I’d look at adding the damage to any cantrip, or something like that. Perhaps something where if you use EB it’s as written, but if you use Chill Touch you can make them move half speed until they succeed on a save, which they can try 1/round as the hand continues to grasp them and sap thier strength, etc.

Fair enough. It's a huge difference and I haven't seen it in play yet to know how annoying it will be.

Yeah I also don’t like how they did Eldritch blast as a class feature, tbh. Feels half baked, to me. I’m probably overly critical though due to it being one of my favorite class concepts.

 

[Ancalagon]

That works, yeah. Cheating is certainly transgressional.

I do wish the class wasn’t quite so heavily invested in the patron, though. A Warlock that has stolen power through various forbidden rituals, who uses the same power as her enemies, an Eldritch “hacker” who has learnt the math of the weave and instead of continuing to study has instead become an expert in shortcuts, are all valid warlocks, IMO.

.

I have been thinking about this "polyestic" warlock, where each spell, power etc is potentially from a different patron....

 

[doctorbadwolf]

I have been thinking about this "polyestic" warlock, where each spell, power etc is potentially from a different patron....

Hell yeah. My Binder homebrew class is a bit like that. An invocation and evocation specialist in the RL Hermetic occultism sense of the terms, and a ritualist who has no actual spell power of their own but uses knowledge and ritual technology to bind and direct power nonetheless.

 

[Faolyn]

Yeah I also don’t like how they did Eldritch blast as a class feature, tbh. Feels half baked, to me. I’m probably overly critical though due to it being one of my favorite class concepts.

Honestly, I love that bit. So many different forms it can take.

 

[MechaTarrasque]

You could also do something along the lines of "if you reduce an enemy to 0 hp's using your pact weapon, attack from your familiar (pact of the chain only), or a cantrip gained from your tome of shadows, then you regain a spell slot."