D&D 5E Need Help Clarifying a Warlock Pact

[keynup]

Pact of the Supporter

When you finish a short or long rest, you can designate one ally as your bonded ally. You can only have one bonded ally at a time using this feature. You may change your bonded ally when you finish a short or long rest. While you are within 1 mile of your bonded ally, you gain the following benefits:

• When either your bonded ally or you are affected by a positive effect, the other receives the same benefits.
• Your bonded ally counts as you for the purpose of triggering spells from you with a casting time of reaction.
• You may use your bonus action to grant your bonded ally advantage on his next ability check or attack roll.
• You can expend 10 minutes casting a ritual to teleport up to 30 feet from your bonded ally or you can perform the ritual to teleport him up to 30 feet of you.
• As an action you can see through you bonded ally eyes and hear what he does. During this time,you are blind and deaf with regard to your own senses.
• While your bonded ally is within 100 feet of you, you can telepathically communicate with him

It that 1st line that I'm not sure about.
Spell affects?
Non spell healing?
Bonus from a magical item?
Is it optional? (probably not to limit its power)
Thoughts overall?

Invocation: Improved Bond
Prerequisite: Pact of the Supporter

While you are within 1 mile of your bonded ally, you gain the following benefit:

• You may use your reaction to grant your bonded ally advantage on a single saving throw.
• You can give your energies to you bonded ally, you can suffer damage equal to twice your charisma modifier+your warlock level and heal him the same amount.
• When either your bonded ally or you suffer damage from attacks or spells, the other heals half the damage taken.
• When you cast a spell or cantrip that targets yourself, you can instead target your bonded ally.
• Your bonded ally also makes the extra damage from your cursed enemy by Hex or Hexblade curse.

Again, not all of makes sense on 1st glance.

 

[ccs]

What's this from?

1st, that's a really dumb sounding name for a pact.

I can see what they're aiming for. The problem of course is that "effect" is a bit vague. So it looks like a discussion to be had with the DM.
Optional? Sure. It says you MAY designate a bonded ally. Not must. But if you do, you're sharing positive effects.

 

[keynup]

Well, I am the DM, and it will be a 2 player campaign so the concept fits well. Also with just 2 players I'm fine with a bit of power creep, they're playing for fun not optimization.

• What would be considered a "positive effect"? Because the invocation has the spell you cast affect the other instead.
  If a positive effect is most spells, then forking everything seems too OP.
• For the invocation"suffer damage" I believe that should be splitting the damage between the 2. I'd also lump healing spells into this as well.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

You can get a similar effect using one of the Theros supernatural gifts: Lifelong Companion. I would use that and throw this out. It makes no sense - for a warlock patron to grant power it must have power to grant.

 

[ccs]

I'll repeat my question: What's the source of this pact & invocation? Some 5e book I haven't read? UA? 3Party? DMs Guild? Your own homebrew?

But whatever it is, if you're the DM? Then you tell us what all constitutes a positive effect. Afterall yours is the opinion that counts.

BTW, I don't care if it's OP, or anything else. I just think the term effect is a bit vague. If I were the DM I'd further define that - or at least the limits of this pact/invocation.

 

[jgsugden]

...1st, that's a really dumb sounding name for a pact...

Really rude. Extremely.

If you're not worried about power levels, I'd go with the following for that first point:

* Whenever your bonded ally or you are a target, you may elect to have both of you be the target.

That would negate the distinction between positive and negative effects, as well as remove the need to identify what types of things can be transmitted via the ability.

 

[MarkB]

Really rude. Extremely.

If you're not worried about power levels, I'd go with the following for that first point:

* Whenever your bonded ally or you are a target, you may elect to have both of you be the target.

That would negate the distinction between positive and negative effects, as well as remove the need to identify what types of things can be transmitted via the ability.

Could still lead to some odd effects. What if you're sitting down to eat around the camp fire and you toss a bread roll to your ally. Does it duplicate itself and land in both of your laps?

 

[Iry]

Pact of the Super PAC.

 

[keynup]

As for where: Warlock Invocations and Boons (5e Class Feature) - D&D Wiki

Looking at a 2 player party, Druid of the Moon & Feylock so having a connection between them would be appropriate.

For the Pack ability:

• When either of you are targeted by magic that does not need a saving throw, you may switch the target to the other. Once per long rest you may have both be affected by same thing.
• Your bonded ally counts as you for the purpose of triggering spells from you with a casting time of reaction.
• You may use your bonus action to grant your bonded ally advantage on his next ability check or attack roll.
• You can expend 10 minutes casting a ritual to teleport up to 30 feet from your bonded ally or you can perform the ritual to teleport him up to 30 feet of you.
• As an action you can see through you bonded ally eyes and hear what he does. During this time,you are blind and deaf with regard to your own senses.
• While your bonded ally is within 100 feet of you, you can telepathically communicate with him

Invocation: Improved Bond

• You may use your reaction to grant your bonded ally advantage on a single saving throw.
• You can use an action to give your energies to you bonded ally, you can suffer damage equal to twice your charisma modifier+your warlock level and heal him the same amount.
• When either your bonded ally or you suffer damage (or healing) from attacks or spells, the damage or heal is split between both.
• When you cast a spell or cantrip that targets yourself, you can instead target your bonded ally.
• When targeted by magic that does not need a saving throw, you may both be affected once per short rest.
• When either of you are targeted by magic that needs Int/Wis/Cha saving throw, you may switch the target.
• Your bonded ally also makes the extra damage from your cursed enemy by Hex or Hexblade curse.

 

[Cap'n Kobold]

As for where: Warlock Invocations and Boons (5e Class Feature) - D&D Wiki

Looking at a 2 player party, Druid of the Moon & Feylock so having a connection between them would be appropriate.

D&D Wiki is very much not an official site: its a fan site, and the things found there are not always balanced or clearly written. - Like this fact and feat.

The closest thing that I can think of that could be considered slightly more official would be the Pact of the Talisman in one of the Unearthed Arcana articles.

Having said that:
It does look like you're right in that there is a lot of overlap between those two bolded sections.
In terms of tightening up the wording, you may want to change "switching the target" with "transferring the effect to your ally". Depending upon who would actually be making the save. "Switching the target" implies that you could make a spell fail by changing the target to your ally if they are not in range of the original effect, and similar shenanigans.

The teleporting ritual should probably be changed to "a point within 30 feet". As written it sounds like it might be taking a 10 min ritual to move 30ft.