A bit ago I asked if this Warlock patron was balanced.
I was told to explain this patron a bit more, so here we go:
The idea of this patron is that you have made a pact with some Lord of the Undead. Unlike the pact of the Undying, this patron has control over supernatural powers, rather than the avoidance of death.
This Warlock is mostly based off of the success of the Path of the Totem Warrior for barbarians, and so it has multiple choices for Warlocks to choose from. Unlike my last version, I will post my full thoughts and intentions for each individual feature, so this will be a rather long read.
You have struck a pact with a great supernatural being, a great lord over the chaotic Undead. The Supernatural rarely make these alliances with the living, but those who do tire of only ruling over the dead and long for the world of the living. You could have been found yourself in the service of a rather ambitious Lich or Demilich, such as Acererak, a powerful Vampire, perhaps even the mysterious Artor Morlin, or Shyressa.
Expanded Spell List
- 1st level: Ray of Sickness, False Life
- 2nd level: See Invisibility, Blur
- 3rd level: Life Transferrence, Feign Death
- 4th level: Locate Creature, Evard's Black Tentacles
- 5th level: Telekinesis, Contagion
The next part I'm a bit nervous about:
Unnatural Aura
At first level, creatures sense an unnatural air about you. You are proficient with Intimidation checks, and can deal 1d4 psychic damage to all creatures within 10 ft. of you as a bonus action. You may use this feature a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of 1 use) which resets after you complete a short or long rest. At 8th, 10th, and 14th level, the damage increases by 1d4.
To clarify, I meant this to be auto-hit AoE. It levels, too, but d4s and the condition of being within 10 feet is a bit difficult to do with a spellcaster. A bonus action might be too much, but I leave this question up to you.
Supernatural Path
At 1st level, you may choose a supernatural path.
- Path of the Blix: When you kill a creature, you may regain HP up to the creature's number of hit dice.
A bit of healing wouldn't be bad for the Warlock, I suppose...when you kill a strong creature.
- Path of the Skeleton: You may reduce damage by 1d8 plus your Warlock level that you take from a single source as a reaction. Once you use this feature, you cannot use it again until you complete a short or long rest.
Yay! Damage reduction! 1d8 as a reaction is pretty good...
- Path of the Ghost: As an action, you may become invisible until the start of your next turn. You may use this feature a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum 1) before completing a short or long rest.
Great...except it does use up your action, so its basically only a defensive option.
This wraps up all the juicy first-level benefits. Mostly defensive options to choose from, but wait until you see 6th level:
Monstrous Power
At 6th level, you may choose a Monstrous Power, or choose another Supernatural Path.
- Powers of the Vampire: You are always under the effects of Spider Climb and have a flying speed equal to 10 times your Dexterity modifier. While exposed to sunlight, you have -2 to AC.
Very strong, but don't get caught in sunlight! In my earlier version, this didn't work at all in sunlight. Note: I did not make this give you sunlight sensitivity as certain races can already get that cough Drow cough. As they wouldn't stack, this would be quite OP.
- Powers of the Zombie: When you are hit by a melee attack, you may use your reaction to use your Unnatural Aura. To do this, you cannot have used the Unnatural Aura this round.
Why go to your enemies when you can let your enemies come to you? This feature is for defense (notice that most of the middle options are).
- Powers of the Spectre: You may become intangible until the end of your next turn as a bonus action. While intangible, you are immune to all damage besides psychic damage, cannot take actions or bonus actions, and your movement speed is doubled. Usable once per long rest.
While the wording is a tad complex, this can be very good for scouting.
After 6th level, we take a break from having choices at 10th level:
Supernatural Sense
At 10th level, you are incredibly aware of what is happening at any given moment. You cannot be surprised or charmed, and are always under the effect of the Detect Good and Evil spell.
A hyperaware Warlock is quite interesting... good luck sneaking something past this guy. I'm unsure whether this is weak or strong, though.
And now, back to the last choice this Warlock gets to make. 14th level is a powerful time for combat, so:
- The Count's Legacy: Your Unnatural Aura drains energy from your enemies. When you damage enemies using your Unnatural Aura, you gain temporary hit points equal to the total damage it deals for 1 hour.
Note that temp HP does not stack. This is quite powerful against large swarms of enemies.
- The Lich's Legacy: As a bonus action, you point to a creature that has died within the last round that also has a equal or lesser number of Hit Dice than you. That creature regains hit points equal to their number of Hit Dice. You control this creature for one hour, after which it returns to life with its current HP. Once you use this feature, you cannot use it again until you complete a short or long rest.
Complex, but basically a way to revive your companions with no components. Quite powerful, but situational.
- The Wraith's Legacy: When you deal damage to a creature, their hit point maximum is reduced by the damage you deal. Additionally, if you kill a humanoid, it becomes a Specter under your command. You may have a number of Specters equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of one) at a time.
All in all, the power of the Wraith. Helpful vs. healing enemies, and good against lots of weak ones, too.
That's all for this Otherworldly Patron. I do hope that it's balanced, but if you find it not to be, please include whether it is underpowered or overpowered, and why.