Yaaaay... time to rework a thing that -technically- doesn't need reworking but could be more narratively satisfying (to me) than it currently is...
Fortunately, the class table doesn't -really- need to change much, it's the patrons, invocations, and archetypes that do, aside from Magical Cunning... And a lil level 5 ability.
Magical Cunning can die in a fire. If you've got 1 minute to recover 1 pact magic slot with a special ritual you can probably get in a 10 minute short rest, who the hell are we kidding, here? And they give Wizards the ability to recover spell slots on a short rest once a day? Come -on-. That just means if you spend 1 minute to try and recover the Wizard's gonna complain if you don't wait another 9. Just like they did in 5e when short rest vs long rest came up.
Step 1: Level 1 Patron.
Patron grants you an improved spell list at level 1. Not a -huge- deal or massive increase in functionality, but it's a nice ribbon that bears narrative weight while unlocking invocation options.
Step 2: Invocations.
All the current archetype niftiness tied to patrons becomes a list of additional invocations you can select, and are still tied to patrons! Yaaaaay! Now your patron's abilities are still something you can select that shapes and informs your character as you grow, but you can also skip those abilities to gain something else. Tied to that, the Pact Boons and all subsequent invocations that require pact boons are removed. But hey, Hurl Through Hell becomes something you can take as an invocation around level 14 if you're a fiend warlock!
Step 3: Magical Cunning Replacement.
Look, I get it. Sorcerers get to use points to make extra spell slots and Wizards often felt underperforming because of it so you -had- to give them a short rest recovery option or -something-, but giving Warlocks an even SHORTER recovery method to make it feel less like its encroaching upon their territory is a bad idea. Go the other direction.
Magical Cunning can, instead, give Warlocks a scaling once per long rest spell slot that follows their pact magic capping at 5th. Yes. This increases their potential throughput in a single fight, rather than giving them a post-fight recovery mechanic. But isn't that exactly what the Wizard already has? Wizards are meant to hold onto their spell slots until they need them, rather than burning them all out in a single fight and needing a long rest to get "Enough" back to fight in another fight. So they installed a short rest option for Wizards who burn too hard.
This puts Warlocks on even footing in that regard. One big burst in the day, and smaller short-rest uses. And since a Wizard can't Arcane Recover more than a 5th level slot, it functionally works out to be the same.
Step 4: Extra Attack
Warlocks are cultists that function as quasi-fullcasters and quasi-halfcasters dependent on the situation. They will almost never (unless they're pact of the blade) try to wade into melee, but it creates another line of separation between them, sorcerers, and wizards when the antimagic field lands. "But it's a caster class! They don't need Extra Attack" you're damn right they don't... if they're not Pact of the Blade. They're gonna spend all their time hucking cantrips and spells if they're not pact of the blade. So what harm does it do if they all have it and only some of them need it?
Step 5: Subclasses
Instead of your patron being your subclass, your Pact Boon fulfills the role. 3, 6, 10, and 14. Quick example would be Pact of the Blade which can pretty much just be mapped out directly, though with some minor changes. Specifically adding the Hexblade's armor proficiencies at 3rd, moving Eldritch Smite and Lifedrinker up one level, and moving Devouring Blade up two levels. And just because Weapon Masteries are the new 'This is how you know you use weapons' for all the classes, put in a shift-up for Warlocks at 6 for interesting flexibility.
We can do the same thing for Pact of the Chain with a whole pet archetype. Pact of the Tome for a more caster-centric option. Pact of the Talisman for a protective option. Could look to A5e and other sources for other pact boon options. Like Pact of the Censer for a battlefield manipulation build creating areas of difficult or even damaging terrain, or the Pact of the Cauldron for a delightfully witchy potion-brewing and divination archetype.
And with those expended we could move into the Pact of the Wand providing more functionality to cantrip-casting. Pact of the Circlet for mind-control and manipulation. Pact of the Dagger for a more traditionally 'Cultist' option with some sacrificing abilities.
So then you can be a follower of a Fiend, like Mizora, from level 1 onward instead of having to deal with the "You don't know who you begged for power 'til level 3!' that got foisted onto Warlocks as part of a push for all subclasses to start at 3rd level. And 3rd level instead defines HOW you serve Mizora. You still get your fiend-specific options as part of your leveling progression through invocations, and by freeing up the pact boon invocations by moving them into the subclasses (which are much more fulsome) you get a larger more complete form of service.
Fortunately, the class table doesn't -really- need to change much, it's the patrons, invocations, and archetypes that do, aside from Magical Cunning... And a lil level 5 ability.
Magical Cunning can die in a fire. If you've got 1 minute to recover 1 pact magic slot with a special ritual you can probably get in a 10 minute short rest, who the hell are we kidding, here? And they give Wizards the ability to recover spell slots on a short rest once a day? Come -on-. That just means if you spend 1 minute to try and recover the Wizard's gonna complain if you don't wait another 9. Just like they did in 5e when short rest vs long rest came up.
Step 1: Level 1 Patron.
Patron grants you an improved spell list at level 1. Not a -huge- deal or massive increase in functionality, but it's a nice ribbon that bears narrative weight while unlocking invocation options.
Step 2: Invocations.
All the current archetype niftiness tied to patrons becomes a list of additional invocations you can select, and are still tied to patrons! Yaaaaay! Now your patron's abilities are still something you can select that shapes and informs your character as you grow, but you can also skip those abilities to gain something else. Tied to that, the Pact Boons and all subsequent invocations that require pact boons are removed. But hey, Hurl Through Hell becomes something you can take as an invocation around level 14 if you're a fiend warlock!
Step 3: Magical Cunning Replacement.
Look, I get it. Sorcerers get to use points to make extra spell slots and Wizards often felt underperforming because of it so you -had- to give them a short rest recovery option or -something-, but giving Warlocks an even SHORTER recovery method to make it feel less like its encroaching upon their territory is a bad idea. Go the other direction.
Magical Cunning can, instead, give Warlocks a scaling once per long rest spell slot that follows their pact magic capping at 5th. Yes. This increases their potential throughput in a single fight, rather than giving them a post-fight recovery mechanic. But isn't that exactly what the Wizard already has? Wizards are meant to hold onto their spell slots until they need them, rather than burning them all out in a single fight and needing a long rest to get "Enough" back to fight in another fight. So they installed a short rest option for Wizards who burn too hard.
This puts Warlocks on even footing in that regard. One big burst in the day, and smaller short-rest uses. And since a Wizard can't Arcane Recover more than a 5th level slot, it functionally works out to be the same.
Step 4: Extra Attack
Warlocks are cultists that function as quasi-fullcasters and quasi-halfcasters dependent on the situation. They will almost never (unless they're pact of the blade) try to wade into melee, but it creates another line of separation between them, sorcerers, and wizards when the antimagic field lands. "But it's a caster class! They don't need Extra Attack" you're damn right they don't... if they're not Pact of the Blade. They're gonna spend all their time hucking cantrips and spells if they're not pact of the blade. So what harm does it do if they all have it and only some of them need it?
Step 5: Subclasses
Instead of your patron being your subclass, your Pact Boon fulfills the role. 3, 6, 10, and 14. Quick example would be Pact of the Blade which can pretty much just be mapped out directly, though with some minor changes. Specifically adding the Hexblade's armor proficiencies at 3rd, moving Eldritch Smite and Lifedrinker up one level, and moving Devouring Blade up two levels. And just because Weapon Masteries are the new 'This is how you know you use weapons' for all the classes, put in a shift-up for Warlocks at 6 for interesting flexibility.
We can do the same thing for Pact of the Chain with a whole pet archetype. Pact of the Tome for a more caster-centric option. Pact of the Talisman for a protective option. Could look to A5e and other sources for other pact boon options. Like Pact of the Censer for a battlefield manipulation build creating areas of difficult or even damaging terrain, or the Pact of the Cauldron for a delightfully witchy potion-brewing and divination archetype.
And with those expended we could move into the Pact of the Wand providing more functionality to cantrip-casting. Pact of the Circlet for mind-control and manipulation. Pact of the Dagger for a more traditionally 'Cultist' option with some sacrificing abilities.
So then you can be a follower of a Fiend, like Mizora, from level 1 onward instead of having to deal with the "You don't know who you begged for power 'til level 3!' that got foisted onto Warlocks as part of a push for all subclasses to start at 3rd level. And 3rd level instead defines HOW you serve Mizora. You still get your fiend-specific options as part of your leveling progression through invocations, and by freeing up the pact boon invocations by moving them into the subclasses (which are much more fulsome) you get a larger more complete form of service.
