Hi,
Another variant on Pact Magic:
A Warlock gets Pact Magic at level 1 as usual, but never gets a second 'slot'.
Instead, at level 2, the following class ability, which I'll call Font of Power:
When you cast a spell using Pact Magic, choose a level at least equal to the level of the spell you are casting, up to the maximum level permitted. The spell is cast as though using a spell slot of the level you have chosen. Immediately roll a d2. If the die roll is less than or equal to the spell level, your Pact Magic is expended as usual; otherwise, your Pact Magic is not expended. At levels 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11, the d2 increases to a d4, d6, d8, d10 and d12 respectively.
Also, at level 11, you get the following class ability, which I'll call Bathe in Power:
As a bonus action, you regain your Pact Magic. Once you have done this, you must take a long rest before doing so again. At level 17, you gain a second use.
---
This may seem a bit weird, so let's walk through it.
At level 2, you can only select level 1. You have a 50% chance to retain the spell slot. On average, that becomes 2 uses of Pact Magic per short rest, which is the same as always... except that sometimes you will be able to only cast 1 spell and sometimes you will be able to cast many! But the average is 2, same as always.
At level 3, you can select level 1 or 2. If you only cast at level 2, you again have a 50% chance to retain Pact Magic (because you now roll d4), and again have an average of 2 castings per short rest, which is again the same as always. But you can choose to cast (a level 1 spell) at level 1 rather than upcasting, and when you do so you have a 75% chance of retaining Pact Magic.
All the way through level 9, the same pattern holds: If you only cast at full power, you have the same number of castings as a canonical warlock, on average. But you also have the option of casting lower level spells that scale poorly or not at all, using a lower level 'slot' that does not 'waste' your Pact Magic at all. For example, a level 9 Warlock casting at level 1 rather than level 5 (Shield, anyone?) has a 90% chance of retaining Pact Magic! Casting at level 2 (Misty Step?) keeps Pact Magic 80% of the time, etc. Overall, this Warlock is much better off, I think, provided he takes advantage of lower level spells, which are now very good for a Warlock.
At level 11, the die again increases, but not enough to match the canonical improvement (2.4 average uses at level 5 compared to the canonical 3 uses). Adding Bathe in Power rebalances this, and somewhat addresses the current inability of a Warlock to nova compared to a normal caster. It is a bit more difficult to compare the 'average' power level, because this new ability is 1/long rest.
At level 17, this Warlock gets one more use of Bathe in Power every long rest. In a critical combat, he might be able to go through Pact Magic 3 times.
Really, I'd rather change the Warlock class even more fundamentally, but this slots into the existing structure pretty easily, addressing the biggest issues I have (especially spell scaling) in a way that dramatically improves versatility without dramatically increasing top-end power. I also like how Warlock spellcasting is less predictable, which fits the eldritch, ineffable power Warlocks strain to understand.
Anyway,
Ken
Another variant on Pact Magic:
A Warlock gets Pact Magic at level 1 as usual, but never gets a second 'slot'.
Instead, at level 2, the following class ability, which I'll call Font of Power:
When you cast a spell using Pact Magic, choose a level at least equal to the level of the spell you are casting, up to the maximum level permitted. The spell is cast as though using a spell slot of the level you have chosen. Immediately roll a d2. If the die roll is less than or equal to the spell level, your Pact Magic is expended as usual; otherwise, your Pact Magic is not expended. At levels 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11, the d2 increases to a d4, d6, d8, d10 and d12 respectively.
Also, at level 11, you get the following class ability, which I'll call Bathe in Power:
As a bonus action, you regain your Pact Magic. Once you have done this, you must take a long rest before doing so again. At level 17, you gain a second use.
---
This may seem a bit weird, so let's walk through it.
At level 2, you can only select level 1. You have a 50% chance to retain the spell slot. On average, that becomes 2 uses of Pact Magic per short rest, which is the same as always... except that sometimes you will be able to only cast 1 spell and sometimes you will be able to cast many! But the average is 2, same as always.
At level 3, you can select level 1 or 2. If you only cast at level 2, you again have a 50% chance to retain Pact Magic (because you now roll d4), and again have an average of 2 castings per short rest, which is again the same as always. But you can choose to cast (a level 1 spell) at level 1 rather than upcasting, and when you do so you have a 75% chance of retaining Pact Magic.
All the way through level 9, the same pattern holds: If you only cast at full power, you have the same number of castings as a canonical warlock, on average. But you also have the option of casting lower level spells that scale poorly or not at all, using a lower level 'slot' that does not 'waste' your Pact Magic at all. For example, a level 9 Warlock casting at level 1 rather than level 5 (Shield, anyone?) has a 90% chance of retaining Pact Magic! Casting at level 2 (Misty Step?) keeps Pact Magic 80% of the time, etc. Overall, this Warlock is much better off, I think, provided he takes advantage of lower level spells, which are now very good for a Warlock.
At level 11, the die again increases, but not enough to match the canonical improvement (2.4 average uses at level 5 compared to the canonical 3 uses). Adding Bathe in Power rebalances this, and somewhat addresses the current inability of a Warlock to nova compared to a normal caster. It is a bit more difficult to compare the 'average' power level, because this new ability is 1/long rest.
At level 17, this Warlock gets one more use of Bathe in Power every long rest. In a critical combat, he might be able to go through Pact Magic 3 times.
Really, I'd rather change the Warlock class even more fundamentally, but this slots into the existing structure pretty easily, addressing the biggest issues I have (especially spell scaling) in a way that dramatically improves versatility without dramatically increasing top-end power. I also like how Warlock spellcasting is less predictable, which fits the eldritch, ineffable power Warlocks strain to understand.
Anyway,
Ken
