Kydell
2011-03-10, 07:06 PM
I made up quite a few warlock invocations, and I was looking to get some helpful advice from other gamers on how they could be more balanced, or new ideas for invocations. These invocations are meant to make the warlock a bit more versatile in battle, with quite a bit of tactical flavor. Check it out:
Invocations:
Least
Bone Spear: Grow magical bony spikes usable as javelins. Also damages unarmed attackers.
Eldritch Missile: Eldritch Blast ignores cover/concealment.
Magus Aegis, Lesser: Reduce Eldritch Blast damage to increase AC.
Primeval Barrier: Summon multiple crystalline barriers on the battlefield.
Summon Item: Summon small marked item to your person.
Unholy Speed: Gain an increase to your base speed.
Lesser
Abyssal Geyser: Open up a thermal vent beneath your foes, damaging them and knocking them prone.
Amaranthine Pyre: Blast becomes purple flames, catching your foes afire.
Azure Vein: Blast forms slippery icy path, that entangles foes it hits.
Brimstone Hail: Blast rains down on area, hitting foes multiple times if they stay inside.
Chains of the Damned: Summon bloody spiked chain.
Ebon Lightning: Blast becomes black lightning, possibly disarming foes.
Sapping Roots: Drain HP from foes in an area.
Sinister Salvo: Split Blast between foes, ignore forward cover.
Vatic Spirit: Sense through blast, control it for consecutive rounds, then detonate.
Delayed Blast: Imbue area/small item with blast effect, making grenades or mines.
Greater
Magus Aegis, Greater: Summon magical tower shield.
Putrefaction: Decay nearby corpse, nauseating foes.
Invocation Descriptions:
Brimstone Hail (Blast Shape, Lesser 3rd):*Your Eldritch Blast is manifested as a rain of blazing sulfuric bolts. Designate a circular area within 60 ft. from you with a radius equal to 10 ft. per 5 warlock levels, rounded down. Also designate up to 1/2 your warlock's level in targets within this area to be struck by this attack. You make a ranged touch attack against all of the selected targets, which, if successful, deals damage equal to your Eldritch Blast damage, minus the amount of designated targets, minus 2. The following round, if any of the selected creatures remain in the same square as before, they are hit with a second barrage which deals 1/2 of the initial amount of die in damage, minimum 1 die.
Sinister Salvo (Blast shape, Lesser 3rd):*The warlock's Eldritch Blast is manifested as several brilliant projectiles shooting from your hand and arcing high overhead onto your enemies. Designate an amount of creatures to divide your eldritch blast in between. There must be at least 1d6 damage per target, all targets must be within 80 ft, and no farther than 15 feet from another target. This attack ignores forward cover, but not overhead cover, or concealment. Each bolt is resolved as a ranged touch-attack.
Eldritch Missile (Blast Essence, Least 2nd): Your Eldritch Blast becomes an Eldritch Missile, homing in on your target, eliminating AC bonuses due to anything less than total cover, and ignoring anything less than total concealment. This is force damage that also ignores incorporeal miss chance. However, the damage die for your blast are reduced to d4s, and the attack still requires a ranged touch attack roll to hit.
Ebon Lightning (Blast Essence, Lesser 4th): This invocation turns your Eldritch Blast into a bolt of Stygian electricity that cracks loudly as it lurches from your fingertips across the field toward your target. The damage dice are changed to d20s. However, your die amount is reduced to 1d20/5 levels of warlock, rounded down. Also, there is a 20% chance the struck creature will drop 1 of its held items. The damage is not electrical, but if the targeted creature is immune to electricity, it is also immune to the disarming effect.
Amaranthine Pyre (Blast Essence, Lesser 4th ): This invocation turns your Eldritch Blast into a jet of violet flame. Your damage dice are reduced to d4s. However, your die amount increases by 1/4 levels of warlock, rounded down. Also, for the following 1d4 rounds, the target takes 1d4 damage per 4 levels in warlock, rounded down, unless this fire is put out. This is not fire damage, but creatures who are immune to fire damage are not subject to be lit afire.
Azure Vein (Blast Essence, Lesser 4th):*This invocation changes your Eldritch Blast to resemble a quickly spreading path of thick, cobalt ice. Your damage die are changed to d10s, and your die amount is reduced to 1/4 levels of warlock, rounded down. If your Eldritch Blast hits a target, they are also entangled and must make a Strength or Escape Artist check equal 14 + Cha modifier + 1/2 your caster level to be freed. If the entangled target fails the first save, he becomes anchored to the ground. The subject may make another Escape Artist or Strength check on every following round until they break free. This is not cold damage, but creatures immune to cold damage are not subject to the entangling effect. Also, the path created by this attack becomes a slippery area as if under the effect of a Grease spell.
Delayed Blast (Blast Shape, Lesser 4th): This allows you to take a full-round action to imbue a 5-foot square, or a tiny or a diminutive object you hold with the power of your Eldritch Blast. The power stays imbued for a number of rounds equal to your caster level + your Cha modifier. When a creature (not you) steps into the square or attempts to use the imbued item, they trigger your Eldritch Blast to explode, dealing damage equal to your Eldritch Blast damage to them and anyone in contiguous squares. You may also throw the imbued item as a grenade-like weapon that detonates on impact. Anyone damaged in this fashion can attempt a reflex saving throw for half damage.
Primeval Barrier (Least, 2nd): You may summon up to your Cha modifiers worth of crystalline barriers within line of sight from your current position which break through the ground, and cover one entire side of a 5 foot square. This barrier gives you low cover (+4 AC), and has 3 hit points per inch of thickness. Each barrier has 1 inch of thickness per caster level. Once a barrier is broken, it cannot be summoned in the same place for 24 hours.
Unholy Speed (Least, 1st):*You gain an increase to your base speed equal to 5 ft/3 caster levels, rounded down for 24 hours.
Vatic Spirit (Blast Shape, Lesser 4th):*Your Eldritch Blast is manifested as a Vatic Spirit. As long as you maintain Concentration every round up to a maximum number of rounds equal to 1/2 your warlock levels, rounded down, you may control this blast, moving at 40ft per round. You have darkvision out to 10ft from the spirit, and may choose to remotely trigger the spirit to explode, damaging everyone within a 15 by 15 ft. square centered on the spirit. Targets caught within this blast are offered a Fortitude save to receive half damage.
Abyssal Geyser (Blast Shape, Lesser 4th):*Your Eldritch Blast takes the form of an abyssal geyser. This is a line within 60 ft from you, but not necessarily starting at your position. This line is 10 ft per 4 warlock levels, rounded down and deals damage equal to your Eldritch Blast damage. The target(s) of the attack are offered a reflex save for half damage, and if they damaged by the geyser, they must succeed another reflex save DC equal 10 + your caster level + your charisma modifier, or are knocked prone.
Sapping Roots (Lesser 3rd):*You summon a field of vile, sinewy roots to entangle and sap life from your foes. You designate a square area starting within 30 ft. from you equal to 5ft per 2 caster levels per side, rounded down. Within this area, you determine a number of targets equal to your Cha modifier to have the roots attempt to grapple. Each root has a grapple bonus equaling 1/2 your warlock level, rounded down + your Cha modifier. If any root is successful in grappling it's foe, and does not have it's grapple broken by your next round, it does 1d6 damage to its foe. You receive an amount of hit points equal to the damage dealt, not exceeding your natural hit point total. Every round, on the captured foe's turn, the target may attempt an opposed grapple check to break free from the roots. You may not use this invocation unless there are currently no other Sapping Roots in play.
Putrefaction (Greater 6th):*You cause a corpse within 10 ft. per 2 caster levels from you to rapidly decompose, and subsequently release a cloud of putrid stink. The cloud covers a circular area with a radius of 10 ft. centered on the corpse. Anyone caught within this cloud must make a Fortitude save DC 16 + your charisma modifier or be nauseated for 1d4 rounds.
Magus Aegis, Greater (Blast Shape, Greater 3rd):*The power of your Eldritch Blast is focused into a form resembling a tower shield. In this form, you cannot use your Eldritch blast to attack foes, it cannot be modified by other invocations, and while it is in use, other invocations cannot be used. This shield gives you a shield bonus to your AC equal to 5 + 1 per damage die of your Eldritch Blast, and full cover against those directly in front of you. The shield has a hardness equal to your DR granted by the warlock class, and hit points equal to 10 per caster level. If the shield is broken by an attack of a foe, there ensues a small explosion that deals you 1/2 the damage of your Eldritch Blast, and you may not manifest the shield again for 1d4 rounds. Dismissing the shield is a move-equivalent action. You may only move 10 ft. while the shield is active.
Magus Aegis, Weak (Blast Shape, Least 1st): You manifest a small shield on your arm that does not impose an arcane spell failure chance. When you summon the shield you choose to subtract an amount of die from your Eldritch Blast that cannot exceed 1 less than your total damage. You receive an AC bonus from the shield equal to 1 + the amount of dice subtracted. You may move your normal speed, and use your Eldritch Blast, with damage equal to the remaining damage die while the shield is active. Manifesting this shield is a move-equivalent action, and provokes an attack of opportunity. Dismissing the shield is a free action which does not provoke an attack of opportunity.
Bone Spear (Least, 2nd): You sprout spiky, bone-like growths about your body. When an opponent attacks you with an unarmed strike, or a natural weapon, they receive damage equal to ¼ your warlock level, rounded down. Growing these bony protrusions is a move-equivalent action that provokes an attack of opportunity. Also an amount of shards equal to the amount of damage dice in your Eldritch Blast can be removed from your body and used as javelins. Each shard can be thrown 30 ft + 10 ft per 5 caster levels, rounded down. Removing a bone javelin is a free action, that allows iterative attacks for a split base attack bonus, and also provokes an attack of opportunity. Also, these attacks are resolved as ranged touch-attacks, each dealing 1d8 + 1 damage. These are considered magical for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction. After removed, the javelin lasts 1 round per 5 caster levels, and you may re-grow any lost javelins with the same move-equivalent action as described above.
Summon Item (Least 2nd): You place a magical symbol on an amount of items equal to ¼ your warlock level. You may summon one of these items to your hand as a move-equivalent action. These items may be no larger than 1 cubic foot per 5 warlock levels. Also, the magic involved makes the item appear so malevolent that no creature would buy it unless they fail an appraise check DC 10 + your Cha mod.
Chains of the Damned (Blast Shape, Lesser 3rd): Darkness coalesces around your arm then lengthens into a crimson spiked chain dripping with blood 10 feet in length. This chain acts exactly like a spiked chain, including the ability to trip and disarm at a +2 bonus. You are automatically proficient with this weapon. Also, this chain can be used to attack, dealing ½ of your Eldritch Blast damage, rounded down. This damage is evil, or chaotic-aligned damage (chosen at the point of summoning). You may not apply any other invocations to this chain, or your Eldritch Blast while the chain is manifested, however, you may still use your Eldritch Blast with your free hand at the same ½ damage. Manifesting this chain is a move-equivalent action that provokes an attack of opportunity. Relinquishing grip is a free action that makes the chain disappear, and does not provoke an attack of opportunity.
Editing and balancing made possible by:
Re'ozul
Invocations:
Least
Bone Spear: Grow magical bony spikes usable as javelins. Also damages unarmed attackers.
Eldritch Missile: Eldritch Blast ignores cover/concealment.
Magus Aegis, Lesser: Reduce Eldritch Blast damage to increase AC.
Primeval Barrier: Summon multiple crystalline barriers on the battlefield.
Summon Item: Summon small marked item to your person.
Unholy Speed: Gain an increase to your base speed.
Lesser
Abyssal Geyser: Open up a thermal vent beneath your foes, damaging them and knocking them prone.
Amaranthine Pyre: Blast becomes purple flames, catching your foes afire.
Azure Vein: Blast forms slippery icy path, that entangles foes it hits.
Brimstone Hail: Blast rains down on area, hitting foes multiple times if they stay inside.
Chains of the Damned: Summon bloody spiked chain.
Ebon Lightning: Blast becomes black lightning, possibly disarming foes.
Sapping Roots: Drain HP from foes in an area.
Sinister Salvo: Split Blast between foes, ignore forward cover.
Vatic Spirit: Sense through blast, control it for consecutive rounds, then detonate.
Delayed Blast: Imbue area/small item with blast effect, making grenades or mines.
Greater
Magus Aegis, Greater: Summon magical tower shield.
Putrefaction: Decay nearby corpse, nauseating foes.
Invocation Descriptions:
Brimstone Hail (Blast Shape, Lesser 3rd):*Your Eldritch Blast is manifested as a rain of blazing sulfuric bolts. Designate a circular area within 60 ft. from you with a radius equal to 10 ft. per 5 warlock levels, rounded down. Also designate up to 1/2 your warlock's level in targets within this area to be struck by this attack. You make a ranged touch attack against all of the selected targets, which, if successful, deals damage equal to your Eldritch Blast damage, minus the amount of designated targets, minus 2. The following round, if any of the selected creatures remain in the same square as before, they are hit with a second barrage which deals 1/2 of the initial amount of die in damage, minimum 1 die.
Sinister Salvo (Blast shape, Lesser 3rd):*The warlock's Eldritch Blast is manifested as several brilliant projectiles shooting from your hand and arcing high overhead onto your enemies. Designate an amount of creatures to divide your eldritch blast in between. There must be at least 1d6 damage per target, all targets must be within 80 ft, and no farther than 15 feet from another target. This attack ignores forward cover, but not overhead cover, or concealment. Each bolt is resolved as a ranged touch-attack.
Eldritch Missile (Blast Essence, Least 2nd): Your Eldritch Blast becomes an Eldritch Missile, homing in on your target, eliminating AC bonuses due to anything less than total cover, and ignoring anything less than total concealment. This is force damage that also ignores incorporeal miss chance. However, the damage die for your blast are reduced to d4s, and the attack still requires a ranged touch attack roll to hit.
Ebon Lightning (Blast Essence, Lesser 4th): This invocation turns your Eldritch Blast into a bolt of Stygian electricity that cracks loudly as it lurches from your fingertips across the field toward your target. The damage dice are changed to d20s. However, your die amount is reduced to 1d20/5 levels of warlock, rounded down. Also, there is a 20% chance the struck creature will drop 1 of its held items. The damage is not electrical, but if the targeted creature is immune to electricity, it is also immune to the disarming effect.
Amaranthine Pyre (Blast Essence, Lesser 4th ): This invocation turns your Eldritch Blast into a jet of violet flame. Your damage dice are reduced to d4s. However, your die amount increases by 1/4 levels of warlock, rounded down. Also, for the following 1d4 rounds, the target takes 1d4 damage per 4 levels in warlock, rounded down, unless this fire is put out. This is not fire damage, but creatures who are immune to fire damage are not subject to be lit afire.
Azure Vein (Blast Essence, Lesser 4th):*This invocation changes your Eldritch Blast to resemble a quickly spreading path of thick, cobalt ice. Your damage die are changed to d10s, and your die amount is reduced to 1/4 levels of warlock, rounded down. If your Eldritch Blast hits a target, they are also entangled and must make a Strength or Escape Artist check equal 14 + Cha modifier + 1/2 your caster level to be freed. If the entangled target fails the first save, he becomes anchored to the ground. The subject may make another Escape Artist or Strength check on every following round until they break free. This is not cold damage, but creatures immune to cold damage are not subject to the entangling effect. Also, the path created by this attack becomes a slippery area as if under the effect of a Grease spell.
Delayed Blast (Blast Shape, Lesser 4th): This allows you to take a full-round action to imbue a 5-foot square, or a tiny or a diminutive object you hold with the power of your Eldritch Blast. The power stays imbued for a number of rounds equal to your caster level + your Cha modifier. When a creature (not you) steps into the square or attempts to use the imbued item, they trigger your Eldritch Blast to explode, dealing damage equal to your Eldritch Blast damage to them and anyone in contiguous squares. You may also throw the imbued item as a grenade-like weapon that detonates on impact. Anyone damaged in this fashion can attempt a reflex saving throw for half damage.
Primeval Barrier (Least, 2nd): You may summon up to your Cha modifiers worth of crystalline barriers within line of sight from your current position which break through the ground, and cover one entire side of a 5 foot square. This barrier gives you low cover (+4 AC), and has 3 hit points per inch of thickness. Each barrier has 1 inch of thickness per caster level. Once a barrier is broken, it cannot be summoned in the same place for 24 hours.
Unholy Speed (Least, 1st):*You gain an increase to your base speed equal to 5 ft/3 caster levels, rounded down for 24 hours.
Vatic Spirit (Blast Shape, Lesser 4th):*Your Eldritch Blast is manifested as a Vatic Spirit. As long as you maintain Concentration every round up to a maximum number of rounds equal to 1/2 your warlock levels, rounded down, you may control this blast, moving at 40ft per round. You have darkvision out to 10ft from the spirit, and may choose to remotely trigger the spirit to explode, damaging everyone within a 15 by 15 ft. square centered on the spirit. Targets caught within this blast are offered a Fortitude save to receive half damage.
Abyssal Geyser (Blast Shape, Lesser 4th):*Your Eldritch Blast takes the form of an abyssal geyser. This is a line within 60 ft from you, but not necessarily starting at your position. This line is 10 ft per 4 warlock levels, rounded down and deals damage equal to your Eldritch Blast damage. The target(s) of the attack are offered a reflex save for half damage, and if they damaged by the geyser, they must succeed another reflex save DC equal 10 + your caster level + your charisma modifier, or are knocked prone.
Sapping Roots (Lesser 3rd):*You summon a field of vile, sinewy roots to entangle and sap life from your foes. You designate a square area starting within 30 ft. from you equal to 5ft per 2 caster levels per side, rounded down. Within this area, you determine a number of targets equal to your Cha modifier to have the roots attempt to grapple. Each root has a grapple bonus equaling 1/2 your warlock level, rounded down + your Cha modifier. If any root is successful in grappling it's foe, and does not have it's grapple broken by your next round, it does 1d6 damage to its foe. You receive an amount of hit points equal to the damage dealt, not exceeding your natural hit point total. Every round, on the captured foe's turn, the target may attempt an opposed grapple check to break free from the roots. You may not use this invocation unless there are currently no other Sapping Roots in play.
Putrefaction (Greater 6th):*You cause a corpse within 10 ft. per 2 caster levels from you to rapidly decompose, and subsequently release a cloud of putrid stink. The cloud covers a circular area with a radius of 10 ft. centered on the corpse. Anyone caught within this cloud must make a Fortitude save DC 16 + your charisma modifier or be nauseated for 1d4 rounds.
Magus Aegis, Greater (Blast Shape, Greater 3rd):*The power of your Eldritch Blast is focused into a form resembling a tower shield. In this form, you cannot use your Eldritch blast to attack foes, it cannot be modified by other invocations, and while it is in use, other invocations cannot be used. This shield gives you a shield bonus to your AC equal to 5 + 1 per damage die of your Eldritch Blast, and full cover against those directly in front of you. The shield has a hardness equal to your DR granted by the warlock class, and hit points equal to 10 per caster level. If the shield is broken by an attack of a foe, there ensues a small explosion that deals you 1/2 the damage of your Eldritch Blast, and you may not manifest the shield again for 1d4 rounds. Dismissing the shield is a move-equivalent action. You may only move 10 ft. while the shield is active.
Magus Aegis, Weak (Blast Shape, Least 1st): You manifest a small shield on your arm that does not impose an arcane spell failure chance. When you summon the shield you choose to subtract an amount of die from your Eldritch Blast that cannot exceed 1 less than your total damage. You receive an AC bonus from the shield equal to 1 + the amount of dice subtracted. You may move your normal speed, and use your Eldritch Blast, with damage equal to the remaining damage die while the shield is active. Manifesting this shield is a move-equivalent action, and provokes an attack of opportunity. Dismissing the shield is a free action which does not provoke an attack of opportunity.
Bone Spear (Least, 2nd): You sprout spiky, bone-like growths about your body. When an opponent attacks you with an unarmed strike, or a natural weapon, they receive damage equal to ¼ your warlock level, rounded down. Growing these bony protrusions is a move-equivalent action that provokes an attack of opportunity. Also an amount of shards equal to the amount of damage dice in your Eldritch Blast can be removed from your body and used as javelins. Each shard can be thrown 30 ft + 10 ft per 5 caster levels, rounded down. Removing a bone javelin is a free action, that allows iterative attacks for a split base attack bonus, and also provokes an attack of opportunity. Also, these attacks are resolved as ranged touch-attacks, each dealing 1d8 + 1 damage. These are considered magical for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction. After removed, the javelin lasts 1 round per 5 caster levels, and you may re-grow any lost javelins with the same move-equivalent action as described above.
Summon Item (Least 2nd): You place a magical symbol on an amount of items equal to ¼ your warlock level. You may summon one of these items to your hand as a move-equivalent action. These items may be no larger than 1 cubic foot per 5 warlock levels. Also, the magic involved makes the item appear so malevolent that no creature would buy it unless they fail an appraise check DC 10 + your Cha mod.
Chains of the Damned (Blast Shape, Lesser 3rd): Darkness coalesces around your arm then lengthens into a crimson spiked chain dripping with blood 10 feet in length. This chain acts exactly like a spiked chain, including the ability to trip and disarm at a +2 bonus. You are automatically proficient with this weapon. Also, this chain can be used to attack, dealing ½ of your Eldritch Blast damage, rounded down. This damage is evil, or chaotic-aligned damage (chosen at the point of summoning). You may not apply any other invocations to this chain, or your Eldritch Blast while the chain is manifested, however, you may still use your Eldritch Blast with your free hand at the same ½ damage. Manifesting this chain is a move-equivalent action that provokes an attack of opportunity. Relinquishing grip is a free action that makes the chain disappear, and does not provoke an attack of opportunity.
Editing and balancing made possible by:
Re'ozul