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View Full Version : D&D 5e/Next [D&D 5e] The Hexblade (A Base Class with Three Archetypes)



Ziegander
2015-05-14, 02:37 PM
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Hexblade
A wood elf witch with the devil in her purple, glowing eyes, glares at the ogre in her path as she runs her fingers along the blade of her sword. Smearing her own blood across the weapon, fell, black flames take light everywhere her fingers touch and spread across the length of the blade. When she has finished, she smiles and leaps at the lumbering oaf that would dare defy her.

A vengeful revenant dressed in shabby plate mail snarls as he surveys the burning village around him, surrounded by knights and nobles from the ruling castle. He has sworn an oath to destroy these men, and he utters a curse upon them in the Infernal tongue, as he draws his greatsword. If he had to die today, so be it. He would take these fiends with him.

An arrogant human knave dabbles in dark powers and sells his axe wherever men will pay him. He has traveled far and wide, and sold his soul for power and wealth. All that drives him is the thrill of his next kill, and the rush of power he knows will accompany it. He is a selfish, vain man, and, yet, some nights he finds that all the strongwine in the world cannot make him forget her. His first sacrifice to the dark gods.

In many ways, the Hexblade is the antithesis of the Paladin, an arcane spellcaster that has learned their craft either through study or the tutoring of a dark patron, a wielder of fell powers that makes a formidable warrior into a champion of hellish rapport. Though, as the Paladin is a staunch enemy of evil, the Hexblade is not necessarily a force against good. Though their methods may be evinced in shade, a Hexblade may have just as much cause to oppose evil as a Paladin. Still, many Hexblades forge their own paths, neither opposing evil or supporting good, these black knights walk a path of neutrality, serving whichever cause suits them best at the time.





—Spell Slots per Spell Level—


Level
Proficiency Bonus
Features
Spells
Known
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th


1st
+2
Arcane Origins, Cursed Weapon








2nd
+2
Fighting Style, Hexblade's Curse, Spellcasting
2
2






3rd
+2
Arcane Resistance, Origin Feature
3
3






4th
+2
Ability Score Improvement
3
3






5th
+3
Extra Attack
4
4
2





6th
+3
Aura of Unluck
4
4
2





7th
+3
Origin Feature
5
4
3





8th
+3
Ability Score Improvement
5
4
3





9th
+4

6
4
3
2




10th
+4
Aura of Weakness
6
4
3
2




11th
+4
Improved Hexblade's Curse
7
4
3
3




12th
+4
Ability Score Improvement
7
4
3
3




13th
+5

8
4
3
3
1



14th
+5
Greater Arcane Resistance
8
4
3
3
1



15th
+5
Origin Feature
9
4
3
3
2



16th
+5
Ability Score Improvement
9
4
3
3
2



17th
+6

10
4
3
3
3
1


18th
+6
Aura Improvements
10
4
3
3
3
1


19th
+6
Ability Score Improvement
11
4
3
3
3
2


20th
+6
Harbinger of Disaster
11
4
3
3
3
2



CLASS FEATURES
As a Hexblade, you gain the following class features.

HIT POINTS
Hit Dice: 1d10 per Hexblade level.
Hit Points at 1st Level: 10 + your Constitution modifier.
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d10 (or 6) + your Constitution modifier per Hexblade level after 1st.

PROFICIENCIES
Armor: All armor and shields.
Weapons: Simple and martial weapons.
Tools: None.

Saving Throws: Constitution and Charisma.
Skills: Choose two from Arcana, Athletics, Deception, Intimidation, Investigation, and Persuasion.

EQUIPMENT
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:


(a) a martial weapon and a shield or (b) two martial weapons.
(a) five javelins or (b) any simple melee weapon
(a) a dungeoneer's pack or (b) an explorer's pack
Chain mail and a spell component pouch

Arcane Origins
At 1st level you choose how your character developed its arcane talents whether by Fiendish Pact, Scholarly Learning, or Sorcery. Your choice grants you features at 1st level and again at 3rd level, 7th level, and 15th level.


Fiendish Pact
You have made a pact with a fiend from the lower planes of existence, a being whose aims are evil, even if you strive against those aims. Such beings desire the corruption or destruction of all things, ultimately including you. Fiends powerful enough to forge a pact include demon lords such as Demogorgon, Orcus, Fraz’Urb-luu, and Baphomet; archdevils such as Asmodeus, Dispater, Mephistopheles, and Belial; pit fiends and balors that are especially mighty; and ultroloths and other lords of the yugoloths.

SPELL LIST
You learn your spells from the Warlock spell list and begin play knowing the Fire Bolt cantrip. Your spellcasting ability is Charisma. Additionally, the following spells are added to the warlock spell list for you.


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Spell Level
Spells


1st
Burning Hands, Hellish Rebuke


2nd
Blindness/Deafness, Scorching Ray


3rd
Fireball, Stinking Cloud


4th
Fire Shield, Wall of Fire


5th
Hallow, Insect Plague



FIENDISH RENEWAL
Starting at 1st level, whenever you reduce a hostile creature to 0 hit points with a weapon attack or through fire damage, you may spend a bonus action. If you do, you or another creature within 10ft of you regains a number of hit points equal to 1d10 + your Charisma modifier. Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

FIENDISH FLAMES
At 3rd level you gain resistance to fire damage and fire damage you deal ignores resistance.

IMPROVED FIENDISH RENEWAL
Beginning at 7th level, whenever you use your Fiendish Renewal feature the number of hit points regained increases by 5 and the creature regaining hit points from the effect also loses one level of exhaustion and your choice of one disease or one condition afflicting it ends.

FIERY DISCORPORATION
At 15th level, if an attack would reduce you to 0 hit points, you may use your reaction to cast the Gaseous Form spell, even if you don't know it. If you do, you assume this form before suffering any damage from the triggering attack, and your form is a smoldering cloud of ash, smoke, and fire rather than harmless mist. Any creature that hits you with a melee weapon attack or whose space you move into or through while you remain in this form suffers fire damage equal to 1d10 + your Charisma modifier. You may remain in this form for up to 1 minute, or revert to your normal form as a bonus action on your turn, and you do not need to maintain this spell with Concentration. Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.

Scholarly Learning

Wild and enigmatic, varied in form and function, the power of magic draws students who seek to master its mysteries. As a student of arcane magic, you have a spellbook containing spells that show the first glimmerings of your true power. But the lure of knowledge and power has called you out of the safety of libraries and laboratories and into crumbling ruins and lost cities.

SPELL LIST
You learn your spells from the Wizard spell list and begin play knowing the Dancing Lights, Mage Hand, and Prestidigitation cantrips. Your spellcasting ability is Intelligence.

SPELLBOOK
At 1st level you have a spellbook, containing one ritual spell from the wizard spell list. Whenever you learn a new spell as shown in the table above you add that spell to your spellbook, and you may copy additional spells into your spellbook just like a Wizard would.

RITUAL CASTING
You can cast a Wizard spell as a ritual if that spell has the ritual tag and you have the spell in your spellbook. You don't need to have the spell prepared.

LESSER ARCANE RECOVERY
Beginning at 3rd level, when you finish a short rest, you can choose expended spell slots to recover. The spell slots can have a combined level that is equal to or less than the highest level spell slot available to you. For example, if you’re a 10th-level Hexblade, you can recover up to three levels worth of spell slots. You can recover either a 3rd-level spell slot or one 1st-level and one 2nd-level spell slot. Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.

SPELL SCHOLAR
At 7th level, you learn one additional language and add any two Wizard spells you are able to cast to your spellbook. Furthermore, choose a school of magic (Abjuration, Conjuration, Divination, Enchantment, Evocation, Illusion, Necromancy, or Transmutation. The gold and time you must spend to copy a spell from the chosen school into your spellbook is halved.

CANCEL SPELL
At 15th level, you learn the spell Counterspell, and you are always considered to have prepared it. This does not count against your normal number of prepared spells. If you already know this spell you may learn any other Wizard spell instead. You may choose to cast Counterspell once at the highest spell level you have spell slots for without expending a spell slot, though after you do so you cannot do so again until you have finished a short or long rest.



Sorcery

An event in your past, or in the life of a parent or ancestor, left an indelible mark on you, infusing you with arcane magic, but the exact source of your power is up to you to decide. Is it a family curse, passed down to you from distant ancestors? Or did some extraordinary event leave you blessed with inherent magic but perhaps scarred as well? Perhaps you feel like you’ve been given this power for some lofty purpose. Or you might decide that the power gives you the right to do what you want, to take what you want from those who lack such power.

SPELL LIST
You learn your spells from the Sorcerer spell list and begin play knowing the Fire Bolt, Ray of Frost, and Shocking Grasp cantrips. Your spellcasting ability is Charisma.

BLOOD MAGIC
At 1st level choose one 1st-level spell from the Sorcerer spell list. You can cast that spell once without expending a spell slot, though after you do so you cannot do so again until you have finished a long rest.

SPELL BREAK
Beginning at 3rd level, whenever a creature fails its saving throw against a spell you've cast, the next weapon attack you make against it before the end of your next turn has Advantage.

POWER IN THE BLOOD
Starting at 7th level, as a bonus action when casting any spell, you may expend one or more Hit Dice instead of a spell slot. A spell cast in this way cannot be cast at a level higher than 1 per Hit Die expended in this way (to a maximum of 5). Conversely, as a reaction, whenever you are reduced to 0 hit points, you may expend a spell slot to regain a number of hit points equal to 6 times the slot's level.

SPELL STRIKE
At 15th level, whenever you use the Attack action on your turn and hit with a weapon attack, you may cast a single Hexblade spell with a casting time of 1 action on the creature your attack hit as a bonus action. This spell cannot target more than one creature, and after using this feature you cannot do so again until you have finished a short or long rest.



Cursed Weapon
From 1st level, your weapon attacks inflict wounds that are difficult to heal. Any creature dealt damage by one of your weapon attacks cannot regain hit points lost due to that damage until it both succeeds at a Constitution saving throw (DC 8 + your proficiency bonus + your spellcasting ability modifier) and finishes a long rest.

Fighting Style
At 2nd level you adopt a fighting style as your specialty. Choose one of the following options. You can’t take a Fighting Style option more than once, even if you later get to choose again.


DEFENSE
While you are wearing armor, you gain a +1 bonus to AC.

DUELING
When you are wielding a melee weapon in one hand and no other weapons, you gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls with that weapon.

GREAT WEAPON FIGHTING
When you roll a 1 or 2 on a damage die for an attack you make with a melee weapon that you are wielding with two hands, you can reroll the die and must use the new roll. The weapon must have the two-handed or versatile property for you to gain this benefit.

TWO-WEAPON FIGHTING
When you engage in two-weapon fighting, you can add your ability modifier to the damage of the bonus action attack.

Hexblade's Curse
Starting at 2nd level, when you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can expend one Hexblade spell slot to deal necrotic damage to the target, in addition to the weapon's damage, and potentially inflict one or more levels of exhaustion. If you do, the creature you hit makes a Constitution saving throw (DC 8 + your proficiency bonus + your spellcasting ability modifier). On a failure, the creature suffers 1d6 necrotic damage per spell slot level and suffers the effects of a like number of levels of exhaustion. These effects do not stack with actual levels of exhaustion and linger for 1 hour. On a success, that creature takes half as much necrotic damage and suffers no additional effects.

Spellcasting
By the time you reach 2nd level, you are able to leverage your arcane origin to cast spells, much as a wizard does. See chapter 10 of the Player's Handbook for the general rules of spellcasting. There is no set Hexblade spell list, rather your Arcane Origin determines which list, among Sorcerer, Warlock, or Wizard, you learn spells from.


SPELL SLOTS
The Hexblade table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your spells of 1st level and higher. To cast one of these spells, you must expend a slot of the spell’s level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest. For example, if you know the 1st-level spell burning hands and have a 1st-level and a 2nd-level spell slot available, you can cast burning hands using either slot.

SPELLS KNOWN OF 1ST-LEVEL AND HIGHER
You know two 1st-level spells of your choice from the spell list available to you. The Spells Known column of the Hexblade table shows when you learn more spells of your choice. Each of these spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots. For instance, when you reach 5th level in this class, you can learn one new spell of 1st or 2nd level. Additionally, when you gain a level in this class, you can choose one of the spells you know and replace it with another spell from your available spell list, which also must be of a level for which you have spell slots.

SPELLCASTING ABILITY
Depending on your personal approach to magic, your spellcasting ability may be either your Intelligence or Charisma score (see the Arcane Origins feature). You use this ability whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your spellcasting ability modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a Hexblade spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one. Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your spellcasting ability modifier; Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your spellcasting ability modifier.

Arcane Resistance
By 3rd level, your experience with arcane magic helps you avoid the worst effects of spells, even in areas you aren't particularly gifted. You can add half your proficiency bonus, rounded down, to any saving throw you make against spells or magical effects that doesn't already include your proficiency bonus.

Ability Score Improvement
When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.

Extra Attack
Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.

Aura of Unluck
Starting at 6th level, hostile creatures within 10ft of you cannot gain Advantage on any attack rolls, ability checks, or saving throws.

Aura of Weakness
Starting at 10th level, hostile creatures within 10ft of you suffer a penalty to all damage rolls equal to your spellcasting ability bonus (minimum of -1). A creature can only suffer this penalty from one Hexblade at a time.

Improved Hexblade's Curse
By 11th level, you are so filled with fell power that all your melee weapon strikes carry the touch of death with them. Whenever you hit a creature with a melee weapon, the creature takes an extra 1d6 necrotic damage and has disadvantage on all ability checks until the end of its next turn. If you also use your Hexblade's Curse with an attack, you add this damage to the extra damage of your Hexblade's Curse.

Greater Arcane Resistance
Starting at 14th level, whenever you are subjected to a spell that allows you to make a saving throw for which you are proficient, and that spell would have a lesser effect or deal half damage, you instead suffer no effects or damage if you succeed on the saving throw.

Aura Improvements
At 18th level, the range of each of your Aura class features increases from 10ft to 30ft.

Harbinger of Disaster
At 20th level, a Hexblade becomes a force of entropy that is not to be trifled with. As an action, the Hexblade can conjure pure dark power and disastrous magic into itself and the surrounding area, and may expend a spell slot if he or she chooses. For the next minute the Hexblade can fly up to its speed, its eyes glow with a pallid purple light, and dark tendrils of smoke waft around its body. Creatures that end their turns within 30ft of the Hexblade suffer 1d6 necrotic damage per level of spell slot expended (if any) and have Disadvantage on all ability checks, all attack rolls made against the Hexblade, and on all saving throws made against the Hexblade's spells and abilities. Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.

SonsOfSauron
2015-05-14, 03:12 PM
This looks AWESOME ( * A*)!!

At first reading the only thing that seems particularly strong is the 14th-level aura, giving free constantly-moving Bane with no concentration requirements. EDIT: Though it does only affect 10-foot radius to start.

Love the flavor, love the take on Divine Smite (the exhaustion level is awesome and I'm just giddy over the elegance of the half-caster progression and the 6 levels of exhaustion)!

You could make the capstone a catastophically-themed version of the cleric's Divine Intervention, possibly. Or at least take inspiration from there.

CantigThimble
2015-05-14, 03:40 PM
I'm not sure how I like the exhaustion levels. That is really brutal if used on a PC and allows a 9th level hexblade to kill ANYTHING with 2 hits. What if the exhaustion levels didn't stack from the ability and wear off after a minute or so each? A hexblade BBEG could ruin a party for days with a couple of attacks.

SonsOfSauron
2015-05-14, 03:43 PM
I'm not sure how I like the exhaustion levels. That is really brutal if used on a PC and allows a 9th level hexblade to kill ANYTHING with 2 hits. What if the exhaustion levels didn't stack from the ability and wear off after a minute or so each? A hexblade BBEG could ruin a party for days with a couple of attacks.

Good catch. Could make them like temporary HP, i.e. only the highest level of exhaustion from that ability applies.

Ziegander
2015-05-14, 03:45 PM
This looks AWESOME ( * A*)!!

Thanks! It's the first in a project I'm getting started on to fill in for 5e what we are missing from 3.5. Many of the previous classes will end up as archetypes, but I couldn't come up with a satisfactory way to make Hexblade into a Fighter, Ranger, or Rogue archetype, so here we are.


At first reading the only thing that seems particularly strong is the 14th-level aura, giving free constantly-moving Bane with no concentration requirements. EDIT: Though it does only affect 10-foot radius to start.

I thought so too, so I changed it to Greater Arcane Resistance almost exactly when you posted. :)

I'm a little concerned with the "Wizard" Hexblade in that it can learn infinite spells, and that's why I tried to give it, overall, the weakest of the archetype features. Hopefully it's in line.


I'm not sure how I like the exhaustion levels. That is really brutal if used on a PC and allows a 9th level hexblade to kill ANYTHING with 2 hits. What if the exhaustion levels didn't stack from the ability and wear off after a minute or so each? A hexblade BBEG could ruin a party for days with a couple of attacks.


Good catch. Could make them like temporary HP, i.e. only the highest level of exhaustion from that ability applies.

I will change the ability so that exhaustion levels from that ability do not stack at all with existing exhaustion, only apply if the Curse would apply a higher level of exhaustion than the target already has, and exhaustion levels delivered from the Curse are removed one per short rest or entirely after a long rest. Work?


You could make the capstone a catastophically-themed version of the cleric's Divine Intervention, possibly. Or at least take inspiration from there.

I like the direction you're thinking in, but I don't know how much I would like the execution... If anyone has any other ideas for the capstone, do let me know (even ideas that have nothing to do with the Harbinger of Disaster fluff).

Mr.Moron
2015-05-14, 03:49 PM
This is well-formatted and easy to read. I'll have to steal you use of color over mere text size for breaking sections, given how ugly a lot of class entries wind up I'd love to see this adopted by as the standard.

The Archetypes splitting up by being micro-sorc, micro-wiz or mirco-lock is pretty cool.

I don't like Cursed Weapon or Hexblade's Cuse. These both put mechanics that are (in my mind) mostly meant to be PC facing: healing & exhaustion, monster facing. Hexblade's Curse also needs an attack rolll, a save, and a possible damage-halving to fully resolve which is kind of cumbersome.

EDIT: Especially for something that can trigger 3/Round before multi-classing or outside spells.

The healing thing in particular makes me think "When is this going to come up outside PVP?" it just doesn't feel like a very PC ability to me.

Origins Coming online before you even have spells feels kind of odd.

EDIT(Agian): Arcane Resistance might be a bit much. Since it covers all the major saves it may as well read "Have Advantage on all saves versus magic" at least outside corner cases. I had a few similar abilities in various iterations of one of my classes and got lots of feedback to cut them. I'm wondering if making it Str/Dex/Con to mirror the gnome ability would be better.

Wartex1
2015-05-14, 03:52 PM
How about making it only inflict one level of exhaustion at all spell levels and then increase the damage dealt to compensate?

Ziegander
2015-05-14, 04:14 PM
This is well-formatted and easy to read. I'll have to steal you use of color over mere text size for breaking sections, given how ugly a lot of class entries wind up I'd love to see this adopted by as the standard.

Part of the reason why I also posted all the preset tables today. It's been a long time since I've done any serious homebrew, but I've always tried to hold my work to a high standard.


I don't like Cursed Weapon or Hexblade's Cuse. These both put mechanics that are (in my mind) mostly meant to be PC facing: healing & exhaustion, monster facing. Hexblade's Curse also needs an attack rolll, a save, and a possible damage-halving to fully resolve which is kind of cumbersome.

EDIT: Especially for something that can trigger 3/Round before multi-classing or outside spells.

The healing thing in particular makes me think "When is this going to come up outside PVP?" it just doesn't feel like a very PC ability to me.

Well, keep in mind the class features that Paladins and Rangers get at 1st level. They aren't stand-outs either. Cursed Weapon is mostly a flavor ability (much like Favored Enemy can often be) that stops enemies from using healing potions or benefitting from healing spells or regeneration.

Hexblade's Curse is an iconic Hexblade ability from 3.5 that I wanted to port over as well as mirroring the 5e Paladin's Divine Smite. The translation got a little clumsy perhaps. I have a few other ideas I can try.


Origins Coming online before you even have spells feels kind of odd.

Well, each origin grants you at minimum one cantrip and determines your spellcasting ability modifier which is important for Cursed Weapon at 1st level. Sorcery can let you cast 1 sorcerer spell per day at 1st level too.


EDIT(Again): Arcane Resistance might be a bit much. Since it covers all the major saves it may as well read "Have Advantage on all saves versus magic" at least outside corner cases. I had a few similar abilities in various iterations of one of my classes and got lots of feedback to cut them. I'm wondering if making it Str/Dex/Con to mirror the gnome ability would be better.

You are probably right about this one. Again, this was an iconic Hexblade ability that basically did just that in 3.5, but I will have to change it up some.


How about making it only inflict one level of exhaustion at all spell levels and then increase the damage dealt to compensate?

I think I may have to toss out exhaustion entirely and come up with something else. Let me review what the 3.5 version of the ability did exactly...

Wartex1
2015-05-14, 04:20 PM
3.5's version was a free action to impose -2 on attacks, saves, checks, and damage rolls for 1 hour with a save DC of 10+1/2 Hexblade level+CHA modifier.

If you follow the Smite route, you could do extra damage on an attack and impose an effect like Hex (Yep).

Ziegander
2015-05-14, 04:29 PM
How about, "for a number of rounds equal to the expended slot's level, the affected creature has disadvantage on attack rolls, and other creatures have advantage on their saving throws against the affected creature's spells?"


impose an effect like Hex (Yep).

Oh! Then how about, "choose an ability score, for a number of hours equal to the expended slot's level, the affected creature has disadvantage on all ability checks, attack rolls, and saving throws made using the chosen ability score?"

The second is nice, but applies more against brutes than it does against casting enemies. Not much of an issue, I guess, given the Monster Manual we have.

Mr.Moron
2015-05-14, 04:34 PM
Part of the reason why I also posted all the preset tables today. It's been a long time since I've done any serious homebrew, but I've always tried to hold my work to a high standard.



Well, keep in mind the class features that Paladins and Rangers get at 1st level. They aren't stand-outs either. Cursed Weapon is mostly a flavor ability (much like Favored Enemy can often be) that stops enemies from using healing potions or benefitting from healing spells or regeneration.


This is not a criticism of power level so much as it is one of elegance. It's not the fact that it has almost no use outside of PvP makes it weak, it's that it seems to have almost no use at PvP.

From a design standpoint I think 5e kind of firmly stands that class abilities are for PCs, for use against monsters and NPCs that spend time off screen not using class/level/exhaustion recovery mechanics.

These abilities both feel like ones that would really be at home in monster entries, and I don't think that's a good place class abilities regardless of how strong/weak they might be.

Ziegander
2015-05-14, 04:45 PM
This is not a criticism of power level so much as it is one of elegance. It's not the fact that it has almost no use outside of PvP makes it weak, it's that it seems to have almost no use at PvP.

We may simply have to agree to disagree, but it might be that you're missing my point. It might not.

I didn't think you were criticizing the power level of the feature, you seemed to be questioning its usefulness. To which I replied that both the Paladin and the Ranger also have 1st level class features of questionable usefulness. It was exactly my goal in creating a new class feature for the Hexblade that was both in-flavor for the class and of comparable use to the Paladin and/or Ranger class features at 1st level. I thought I'd succeeded, though I must admit I don't understand your complaint over the ability's elegance.


From a design standpoint I think 5e kind of firmly stands that class abilities are for PCs, for use against monsters and NPCs that spend time off screen not using class/level/exhaustion recovery mechanics.

If this is a complaint against Cursed Weapon, then I don't understand. I mentioned that the ability can be fully functional in-combat against monsters and other NPCs by preventing the healing from potions, spells, and regeneration (and similar abilities).


These abilities both feel like ones that would really be at home in monster entries, and I don't think that's a good place class abilities regardless of how strong/weak they might be.

Now, I do understand your misgivings about the Hexblade's Curse ability, and I'm working out different ways to change it, but I don't feel like "PC features are for PCs and monster features are for monsters," is a good argument for or against anything. Would you feel better about Hexblade's Curse if it read, "on a failed save the creature is subjected to the effects of one level of exhaustion per spell slot level. These effects do not stack with actual levels of exhaustion and linger for 1 hour?"

Steampunkette
2015-05-14, 04:52 PM
How about giving them a weapon based Hex spell? Give them a d4 to start with and a reason to hit every target they can reach by giving them a number of simultaneously hexed enemies based on their casting stat?

So a sorc on hits someone with her sword and has a charisma mod of 3. They now take 1d4 extra damage from further attacks. She can hit up to 2 more targets, but if she hits a 4th the hex shifts to them And one previous target is no longer hexed.

At higher levels it increases to a d6 and eventually a d8.

It would make them favor multitarget spells to get the best bang for their swings and a lot of moving between targets to get max spread On the hex.

Mr.Moron
2015-05-14, 05:01 PM
We may simply have to agree to disagree, but it might be that you're missing my point. It might not.

I didn't think you were criticizing the power level of the feature, you seemed to be questioning its usefulness. "


Suppose and I'll take an extreme example here you had two abilities each with the same name:

Fire Quencher
When a creature is hit with a fire quencher attacke, they only recharge breath weapons on a 6 instead of a 5 or 6.

Fire Quencher
When a creature his hit with a fire quencher attack, torches they are holding are snuffed and any torches in their inventory are ruined.


The first ability clearly affects only monsters, as only monsters have breath weapons that recharge with dice.

The second ability clearly affects (mostly), PCs as typically only PCs are going about carrying relevant number of torches in their inventory. Like you might get rid some NPCs light sources but the ability is written in such a way that it affects a persistent entity. "torches in your inventory are ruined" only means all that much when you're going toe exist on screen for long enough to use multiple torches.

It's not the ability is narrow, or not very useful it's that the uses it does have would be most useful against other PCs or entities that are built in a PC-like fashion. Like if you had an ability:

Curse of the Reader
Each time the creature reads text, they take 1d12 damage for every sentence they read.

That's pretty powerful when used on a PC and can theoretically be used on a monster, and might even come up in a few clever situations where you can get an NPC to read something. However it's just a really bizarre mechanic to have on a PC ability because monsters don't read and we don't spend time with NPCs when they go off to a library.

The Exhaustion rules were clearly written with PCs in mind. Monster generally don't have abilities that exhaust them or refer to exhaustion. (PCs do), monsters don't have rules for recovering from exhaustion (PCs do). Exhaustion is generally caused by travel or lack of food, things that are tracked and relevant for PCs but not monsters. It's an entire mechanic that's centered around PCs and adventuring and it's being bolted to an ability that will typcially only affect monsters.

Healing is an less extreme version of this. You reference "Rests" but monsters don't' take rests (long or short), and outside of regeneration they don't generally heal much. Healing Potions & Healing spells are similarly PC-mostly affairs.

In it's current form Cursed Weapon could read "They can never heal again, and when they attempt healing they take 1d42000 damage per point of damage they would heal. Also their mother starts hating them" and be a very powerful ability, but one that still doesn't feel like a PC ability.

CantigThimble
2015-05-14, 05:59 PM
What if the cursed blade gave them -1d4 on their next saving throw before the end of your next turn, like a mini-bane effect?

The hexblade's curse could give disadvantage on their next attack roll against you and halved movement.

Ziegander
2015-05-14, 10:43 PM
Suppose and I'll take an extreme example here you had two abilities each with the same name:

Fire Quencher
When a creature is hit with a fire quencher attacke, they only recharge breath weapons on a 6 instead of a 5 or 6.

Fire Quencher
When a creature his hit with a fire quencher attack, torches they are holding are snuffed and any torches in their inventory are ruined.


The first ability clearly affects only monsters, as only monsters have breath weapons that recharge with dice.

The second ability clearly affects (mostly), PCs as typically only PCs are going about carrying relevant number of torches in their inventory. Like you might get rid some NPCs light sources but the ability is written in such a way that it affects a persistent entity. "torches in your inventory are ruined" only means all that much when you're going toe exist on screen for long enough to use multiple torches.

It's not the ability is narrow, or not very useful it's that the uses it does have would be most useful against other PCs or entities that are built in a PC-like fashion. Like if you had an ability:

Curse of the Reader
Each time the creature reads text, they take 1d12 damage for every sentence they read.

That's pretty powerful when used on a PC and can theoretically be used on a monster, and might even come up in a few clever situations where you can get an NPC to read something. However it's just a really bizarre mechanic to have on a PC ability because monsters don't read and we don't spend time with NPCs when they go off to a library.

The Exhaustion rules were clearly written with PCs in mind. Monster generally don't have abilities that exhaust them or refer to exhaustion. (PCs do), monsters don't have rules for recovering from exhaustion (PCs do). Exhaustion is generally caused by travel or lack of food, things that are tracked and relevant for PCs but not monsters. It's an entire mechanic that's centered around PCs and adventuring and it's being bolted to an ability that will typcially only affect monsters.

Healing is an less extreme version of this. You reference "Rests" but monsters don't' take rests (long or short), and outside of regeneration they don't generally heal much. Healing Potions & Healing spells are similarly PC-mostly affairs.

In it's current form Cursed Weapon could read "They can never heal again, and when they attempt healing they take 1d42000 damage per point of damage they would heal. Also their mother starts hating them" and be a very powerful ability, but one that still doesn't feel like a PC ability.

We're going to have to agree to disagree on this. You're resorting to extreme hyperbole here.


What if the cursed blade gave them -1d4 on their next saving throw before the end of your next turn, like a mini-bane effect?

Personally, I like how Cursed Blade functions, and I see nothing wrong with it. The mini-bane effect would be too powerful on every weapon attack anyway.


The hexblade's curse could give disadvantage on their next attack roll against you and halved movement.

What I'm trying to do with the curse is give a reason to actually expend higher level spell slots on the effect. If I gave a decent enough debuff, then the ability would eventually become all about spamming that debuff rather than expending higher level spell slots to deal more damage. I want to give players an incentive to not just spam 1st level spell slots with the ability. In it's current state, I think it works a lot better than it did at first, but I'm still open to suggestions to change it if people aren't happy with it.

Anyone have suggestions on what to replace Arcane and Greater Arcane Resistance with? I can't come up with a satisfactory way to power at least the 3rd level version down to something I want, and even if I could, they do feel a little out of theme here don't they?

Also, I wrote up the 20th level ability, Harbinger of Disaster. It's powerful, but it potentially hurts allies as well as enemies. Thoughts?

Flashy
2015-05-14, 10:49 PM
This is sort of wildly off topic, but I was deeply amused by how similar your forum thumbnail is to the image you used for the hexblade.

SonsOfSauron
2015-05-14, 10:54 PM
I like that it only deals damage if they end their turn near the hex blade, though maybe a save against all the disadvantage?

As for the 3rd-level ability, what about something like:

Arcane Resistance
By 3rd level, your experience with arcane magic helps you avoid the worst effects of spells, even in areas you aren't particularly gifted. You can add half your proficiency bonus, rounded down, to any saving throw you make against spells or magical effects that doesn't already include your proficiency bonus.

Ziegander
2015-05-14, 11:04 PM
This is sort of wildly off topic, but I was deeply amused by how similar your forum thumbnail is to the image you used for the hexblade.

Ha. That's actually a custom avatar Kymme made for me based off this image (http://i46.tinypic.com/2aj2837.png), which is art for the Pathfinder Fighter Archetype, the Lore Warden. Which I would love to attempt to translate into 5e someday. :)


I like that it only deals damage if they end their turn near the hex blade, though maybe a save against all the disadvantage?

I'm considering it, but I'd like to hear other opinions. It's a 20th level ability, but when I get the chance I'll compare it more closely to the different Paladin Oath features at 20th level.


As for the 3rd-level ability, what about something like:

Arcane Resistance
By 3rd level, your experience with arcane magic helps you avoid the worst effects of spells, even in areas you aren't particularly gifted. You can add half your proficiency bonus, rounded down, to any saving throw you make against spells or magical effects that doesn't already include your proficiency bonus.

Now that is a really good idea.

CantigThimble
2015-05-14, 11:33 PM
Well, incentive to use higher spell slots (besides damage) is tough, because 5e doesn't use random -2 or +2 modifiers to stuff, no good way to have a layered debuff effect. The only exception to that seems to be the exhaustion levels, so that will need to stay as is. Though I think it's a bit strong, 3rd level slot is disadvantage on attacks and saves with no way I know of for it to wear off during combat, 4th and 5th are even nastier.

Edit: What if it only lasted for one round? It would honestly still be quite brutal.

Also, could the fiendish renewal be set to a fixed amount? It might get a little tedious to have another die to roll every attack sequence so if it were just 6+cha modifier things could run smoother.

Ziegander
2015-05-14, 11:43 PM
Though I think it's a bit strong, 3rd level slot is disadvantage on attacks and saves with no way I know of for it to wear off during combat, 4th and 5th are even nastier.

Edit: What if it only lasted for one round? It would honestly still be quite brutal.

I know, I was thinking the same myself. I'm waffling back and forth on how to do it between the setup I currently have, which seems really strong, or giving one actual level of exhaustion that simply lasts for 1 round per slot level (or 1 minute, or something).


Also, could the fiendish renewal be set to a fixed amount? It might get a little tedious to have another die to roll every attack sequence so if it were just 6+cha modifier things could run smoother.

It's not another die roll on every attack sequence, it only triggers when you drop a foe to 0 hit points and can only be used once per short rest. It's like a Charisma modified Second Wind that you can't use unless you kill something.

CantigThimble
2015-05-14, 11:46 PM
Oh I missed the short rest bit, never mind!

Ziegander
2015-05-15, 11:55 AM
So... really, all we need for a Hexblade is Hexblade's Curse and the Auras, so I'm thinking it should just be an archetype. But since there is no arcane half-caster class, I wrote up the Hexblade as a class. But if there were a Duskblade class, let's say, then the Hexblade would be a natural archetype for it.

CantigThimble
2015-05-15, 01:56 PM
Why not a paladin subclass? They have a lot in common, hit dice, smite, auras, spell progression.

Ziegander
2015-05-16, 05:39 PM
Why not a paladin subclass? They have a lot in common, hit dice, smite, auras, spell progression.

While it does have a lot in common with the Paladin, the Hexblade is a) Not an Oath, b) a caster that should have a fixed number of known spells, rather than a suite of divine magic such as Bless, Cure Wounds, Zone of Truth, Crusader's Mantle, Aura of Purity, or Raise Dead; and c) not a character that would have class features such as Lay on Hands, Aura of Protection/Courage, or Cleansing Touch.

In other words, while it does have much in common with the Paladin, it has just as many irreconcilable differences.

Wartex1
2015-05-16, 05:43 PM
I'd make it a fighter archetype using the Warlock spell list with features specifically revolving around Hex, or, two further separate from the Eldritch Knight, you could give it just Hex and features revolving around it if you don't feel like straying a bit more from 3.5e's Hexblade.

Ziegander
2015-05-16, 05:49 PM
I'd make it a fighter archetype using the Warlock spell list with features specifically revolving around Hex, or, two further separate from the Eldritch Knight, you could give it just Hex and features revolving around it if you don't feel like straying a bit more from 3.5e's Hexblade.

Which would be a fair assessment, however, as it was a sort of "arcane paladin" in 3.5, it should stand on a rough parity with the 5e Paladin, in my opinion. It would also bare far too striking a similarity with the already existing Eldritch Knight if I did that, basically the only differences between them being, perhaps, the available spell schools, and the actual archetype features. Finally, I also just do not see the Hexblade with the Second Wind or Action Surge features.

But then, and I don't wish to start a debate, but I think it was a misstep to make Eldritch Knight one of the three Fighter archetypes. I'll never understand that decision. Lacking a proper Duskblade/Swordmage/Gish half-caster base class to mirror the Paladin and stand beside the Ranger was a huge missed opportunity.

Wartex1
2015-05-16, 05:51 PM
Well, the Paladin is the melee half-caster, while the Ranger was the ranged half-caster. A Bladelock sort of emulates a Hexblade already, and there isn't a divide between divine and arcane anymore.

Ziegander
2015-05-16, 05:58 PM
Well, the Paladin is the melee half-caster, while the Ranger was the ranged half-caster. A Bladelock sort of emulates a Hexblade already, and there isn't a divide between divine and arcane anymore.

No offense, but tell that to everyone brewing a Gish, Duskblade, Swordmage, Mystic Warrior, etc base class. It's a niche that's only real support is through subclasses that don't do it justice. Eldritch Knight isn't caster-y enough, while Bladelock is, honestly, really not melee or caster-y enough. You can't tell me a Bladelock plays the gish game on the same level as a Paladin does.

Ziegander
2015-05-16, 11:07 PM
Anyway, I've been thinking about the Fighter subclass idea, and I wanted to run something by the forum.

Spellcasting
When you reach 3rd level, you gain the ability to cast spells. See chapter 10 for the general rules of spellcasting and chapter 11 for the warlock spell list.


CANTRIPS
You learn two cantrips of your choice from the warlock spell list. You learn another warlock cantrip of your choice at 10th level.

SPELL SLOTS
I will put up a table eventually, but to give you the idea of how this works, you regain spell slots after you finish a short or long rest; however, at 3rd level you have only one spell slot. You gain a second spell slot at 9th level, and a third at 17th. Your spell slots are all one slot level, 1st, but that level increases with your Fighter level at the same rate an Eldritch Knight gains higher level spell slots. For example, at 7th level, you still have only one spell slot, but you regain that spell slot after a short rest, and it is a 2nd level spell slot. At 13th level, you have two spell slots, and you regain both of them after a short rest, and both of them are 3rd level slots.

SPELLS KNOWN OF 1ST-LEVEL AND HIGHER
You know two 1st-level warlock spells, Hex and one other. The Spells Known column of the Hexblade table shows when you learn more spells of your choice (starting at 2, ending at maybe 7 or 8). Each of these spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots. For instance, when you reach 5th level in this class, you can learn one new spell of 1st or 2nd level. Additionally, when you gain a level in this class, you can choose one of the spells you know and replace it with another spell from your available spell list, which also must be of a level for which you have spell slots.

SPELLCASTING ABILITY
It's Charisma.


Hexblade's Curse
Starting at 3rd level, when you cast Hex, you can place the curse on your weapon, rather than an enemy. Until the spell ends, that weapon is considered magical for the purpose of overcoming damage resistance, and you may use a bonus action whenever you hit an enemy with the cursed weapon, dealing 1d6 additional necrotic damage to that creature and delivering the curse to it as if it were the normal target of your spell. From that point on, the struck creature bears the curse and normal effects of the Hex spell as if you had just cast it on them; however, anytime you hit a different creature with the cursed weapon you may use your bonus action to transfer the spell's effect to the new creature. You may continue applying your Hex spell to different creatures in this way until the spell ends.

7th level, Aura of Unluck
10th level, Dire Hexblade's Curse - When you cast Hex from a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, the extra necrotic damage dealt to an affected creature increases by 1d6 for every slot level higher than 1st.
15th, Aura of Weakness
18th, Harbinger of Disaster (you may maintain a separate Hex effect on a number of creatures equal to the slot level used to cast the spell)

Would something like this feel alright?

SonsOfSauron
2015-05-16, 11:23 PM
The fighter sub-class idea is really cool! Though tbh the Harbinger of Disaster ability would be cleaner imo with just saying "three targets," since all your spell slots are 3rd-level. (This precludes any potential "epic" progression, but that's not something that I think is a huge concern for now.)

Edit: Thinking about it, scaling hex damage up is a problem on a class that gets 4-8 attacks/round (it outpaces Improved Divine Smite with just 1d6 at 11th level).

Ziegander
2015-05-18, 11:58 AM
Edit: Thinking about it, scaling hex damage up is a problem on a class that gets 4-8 attacks/round (it outpaces Improved Divine Smite with just 1d6 at 11th level).

I am more or less in agreement. I'll come up with something.

SonsOfSauron
2015-05-18, 06:30 PM
What about scaling Hex with the number of attacks the fighter can get? Hexing 1 target at 3rd level, 2 at 5th, 3 at 11th, 4 at 20th. Then you can make a different capstone to tie into that.

Maybe the hex becomes permanent at 20th level? Probably too strong but we're still hexing 4 things at max.

EDIT:

I suggested multihexing upthread... :P

oops (-w -);;;

Steampunkette
2015-05-18, 11:31 PM
I suggested multihexing upthread... :P

McNinja
2015-09-16, 05:53 AM
I know I'm commenting on a thread that is months old but this is glorious.

sajro
2015-09-17, 08:01 AM
I read the Cursed Weapon and it felt rather strong for me, that you effectively make it impossible for any monster to heal damage dealt from your weapon.

I was wondering if it wouldn't be better to make it read: This damage can't be healed until the target succeeds on a Constitution Saving Throw OR finishes a long rest.
The target receives a savingthrow every time they are attempted healed.

Ultimos
2018-05-02, 12:36 PM
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/e9/ca/72/e9ca72c80e6811fe491df2c89d44baf4.jpg

Hexblade
A wood elf witch with the devil in her purple, glowing eyes, glares at the ogre in her path as she runs her fingers along the blade of her sword. Smearing her own blood across the weapon, fell, black flames take light everywhere her fingers touch and spread across the length of the blade. When she has finished, she smiles and leaps at the lumbering oaf that would dare defy her.

A vengeful revenant dressed in shabby plate mail snarls as he surveys the burning village around him, surrounded by knights and nobles from the ruling castle. He has sworn an oath to destroy these men, and he utters a curse upon them in the Infernal tongue, as he draws his greatsword. If he had to die today, so be it. He would take these fiends with him.

An arrogant human knave dabbles in dark powers and sells his axe wherever men will pay him. He has traveled far and wide, and sold his soul for power and wealth. All that drives him is the thrill of his next kill, and the rush of power he knows will accompany it. He is a selfish, vain man, and, yet, some nights he finds that all the strongwine in the world cannot make him forget her. His first sacrifice to the dark gods.

In many ways, the Hexblade is the antithesis of the Paladin, an arcane spellcaster that has learned their craft either through study or the tutoring of a dark patron, a wielder of fell powers that makes a formidable warrior into a champion of hellish rapport. Though, as the Paladin is a staunch enemy of evil, the Hexblade is not necessarily a force against good. Though their methods may be evinced in shade, a Hexblade may have just as much cause to oppose evil as a Paladin. Still, many Hexblades forge their own paths, neither opposing evil or supporting good, these black knights walk a path of neutrality, serving whichever cause suits them best at the time.





—Spell Slots per Spell Level—


Level
Proficiency Bonus
Features
Spells
Known
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th


1st
+2
Arcane Origins, Cursed Weapon








2nd
+2
Fighting Style, Hexblade's Curse, Spellcasting
2
2






3rd
+2
Arcane Resistance, Origin Feature
3
3






4th
+2
Ability Score Improvement
3
3






5th
+3
Extra Attack
4
4
2





6th
+3
Aura of Unluck
4
4
2





7th
+3
Origin Feature
5
4
3





8th
+3
Ability Score Improvement
5
4
3





9th
+4

6
4
3
2




10th
+4
Aura of Weakness
6
4
3
2




11th
+4
Improved Hexblade's Curse
7
4
3
3




12th
+4
Ability Score Improvement
7
4
3
3




13th
+5

8
4
3
3
1



14th
+5
Greater Arcane Resistance
8
4
3
3
1



15th
+5
Origin Feature
9
4
3
3
2



16th
+5
Ability Score Improvement
9
4
3
3
2



17th
+6

10
4
3
3
3
1


18th
+6
Aura Improvements
10
4
3
3
3
1


19th
+6
Ability Score Improvement
11
4
3
3
3
2


20th
+6
Harbinger of Disaster
11
4
3
3
3
2



CLASS FEATURES
As a Hexblade, you gain the following class features.

HIT POINTS
Hit Dice: 1d10 per Hexblade level.
Hit Points at 1st Level: 10 + your Constitution modifier.
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d10 (or 6) + your Constitution modifier per Hexblade level after 1st.

PROFICIENCIES
Armor: All armor and shields.
Weapons: Simple and martial weapons.
Tools: None.

Saving Throws: Constitution and Charisma.
Skills: Choose two from Arcana, Athletics, Deception, Intimidation, Investigation, and Persuasion.

EQUIPMENT
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:


(a) a martial weapon and a shield or (b) two martial weapons.
(a) five javelins or (b) any simple melee weapon
(a) a dungeoneer's pack or (b) an explorer's pack
Chain mail and a spell component pouch

Arcane Origins
At 1st level you choose how your character developed its arcane talents whether by Fiendish Pact, Scholarly Learning, or Sorcery. Your choice grants you features at 1st level and again at 3rd level, 7th level, and 15th level.


Fiendish Pact
You have made a pact with a fiend from the lower planes of existence, a being whose aims are evil, even if you strive against those aims. Such beings desire the corruption or destruction of all things, ultimately including you. Fiends powerful enough to forge a pact include demon lords such as Demogorgon, Orcus, Fraz’Urb-luu, and Baphomet; archdevils such as Asmodeus, Dispater, Mephistopheles, and Belial; pit fiends and balors that are especially mighty; and ultroloths and other lords of the yugoloths.

SPELL LIST
You learn your spells from the Warlock spell list and begin play knowing the Fire Bolt cantrip. Your spellcasting ability is Charisma. Additionally, the following spells are added to the warlock spell list for you.


[/tr]

Spell Level
Spells


1st
Burning Hands, Hellish Rebuke


2nd
Blindness/Deafness, Scorching Ray


3rd
Fireball, Stinking Cloud


4th
Fire Shield, Wall of Fire


5th
Hallow, Insect Plague



FIENDISH RENEWAL
Starting at 1st level, whenever you reduce a hostile creature to 0 hit points with a weapon attack or through fire damage, you may spend a bonus action. If you do, you or another creature within 10ft of you regains a number of hit points equal to 1d10 + your Charisma modifier. Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

FIENDISH FLAMES
At 3rd level you gain resistance to fire damage and fire damage you deal ignores resistance.

IMPROVED FIENDISH RENEWAL
Beginning at 7th level, whenever you use your Fiendish Renewal feature the number of hit points regained increases by 5 and the creature regaining hit points from the effect also loses one level of exhaustion and your choice of one disease or one condition afflicting it ends.

FIERY DISCORPORATION
At 15th level, if an attack would reduce you to 0 hit points, you may use your reaction to cast the Gaseous Form spell, even if you don't know it. If you do, you assume this form before suffering any damage from the triggering attack, and your form is a smoldering cloud of ash, smoke, and fire rather than harmless mist. Any creature that hits you with a melee weapon attack or whose space you move into or through while you remain in this form suffers fire damage equal to 1d10 + your Charisma modifier. You may remain in this form for up to 1 minute, or revert to your normal form as a bonus action on your turn, and you do not need to maintain this spell with Concentration. Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.

Scholarly Learning

Wild and enigmatic, varied in form and function, the power of magic draws students who seek to master its mysteries. As a student of arcane magic, you have a spellbook containing spells that show the first glimmerings of your true power. But the lure of knowledge and power has called you out of the safety of libraries and laboratories and into crumbling ruins and lost cities.

SPELL LIST
You learn your spells from the Wizard spell list and begin play knowing the Dancing Lights, Mage Hand, and Prestidigitation cantrips. Your spellcasting ability is Intelligence.

SPELLBOOK
At 1st level you have a spellbook, containing one ritual spell from the wizard spell list. Whenever you learn a new spell as shown in the table above you add that spell to your spellbook, and you may copy additional spells into your spellbook just like a Wizard would.

RITUAL CASTING
You can cast a Wizard spell as a ritual if that spell has the ritual tag and you have the spell in your spellbook. You don't need to have the spell prepared.

LESSER ARCANE RECOVERY
Beginning at 3rd level, when you finish a short rest, you can choose expended spell slots to recover. The spell slots can have a combined level that is equal to or less than the highest level spell slot available to you. For example, if you’re a 10th-level Hexblade, you can recover up to three levels worth of spell slots. You can recover either a 3rd-level spell slot or one 1st-level and one 2nd-level spell slot. Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.

SPELL SCHOLAR
At 7th level, you learn one additional language and add any two Wizard spells you are able to cast to your spellbook. Furthermore, choose a school of magic (Abjuration, Conjuration, Divination, Enchantment, Evocation, Illusion, Necromancy, or Transmutation. The gold and time you must spend to copy a spell from the chosen school into your spellbook is halved.

CANCEL SPELL
At 15th level, you learn the spell Counterspell, and you are always considered to have prepared it. This does not count against your normal number of prepared spells. If you already know this spell you may learn any other Wizard spell instead. You may choose to cast Counterspell once at the highest spell level you have spell slots for without expending a spell slot, though after you do so you cannot do so again until you have finished a short or long rest.



Sorcery

An event in your past, or in the life of a parent or ancestor, left an indelible mark on you, infusing you with arcane magic, but the exact source of your power is up to you to decide. Is it a family curse, passed down to you from distant ancestors? Or did some extraordinary event leave you blessed with inherent magic but perhaps scarred as well? Perhaps you feel like you’ve been given this power for some lofty purpose. Or you might decide that the power gives you the right to do what you want, to take what you want from those who lack such power.

SPELL LIST
You learn your spells from the Sorcerer spell list and begin play knowing the Fire Bolt, Ray of Frost, and Shocking Grasp cantrips. Your spellcasting ability is Charisma.

BLOOD MAGIC
At 1st level choose one 1st-level spell from the Sorcerer spell list. You can cast that spell once without expending a spell slot, though after you do so you cannot do so again until you have finished a long rest.

SPELL BREAK
Beginning at 3rd level, whenever a creature fails its saving throw against a spell you've cast, the next weapon attack you make against it before the end of your next turn has Advantage.

POWER IN THE BLOOD
Starting at 7th level, as a bonus action when casting any spell, you may expend one or more Hit Dice instead of a spell slot. A spell cast in this way cannot be cast at a level higher than 1 per Hit Die expended in this way (to a maximum of 5). Conversely, as a reaction, whenever you are reduced to 0 hit points, you may expend a spell slot to regain a number of hit points equal to 6 times the slot's level.

SPELL STRIKE
At 15th level, whenever you use the Attack action on your turn and hit with a weapon attack, you may cast a single Hexblade spell with a casting time of 1 action on the creature your attack hit as a bonus action. This spell cannot target more than one creature, and after using this feature you cannot do so again until you have finished a short or long rest.



Cursed Weapon
From 1st level, your weapon attacks inflict wounds that are difficult to heal. Any creature dealt damage by one of your weapon attacks cannot regain hit points lost due to that damage until it both succeeds at a Constitution saving throw (DC 8 + your proficiency bonus + your spellcasting ability modifier) and finishes a long rest.

Fighting Style
At 2nd level you adopt a fighting style as your specialty. Choose one of the following options. You can’t take a Fighting Style option more than once, even if you later get to choose again.


DEFENSE
While you are wearing armor, you gain a +1 bonus to AC.

DUELING
When you are wielding a melee weapon in one hand and no other weapons, you gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls with that weapon.

GREAT WEAPON FIGHTING
When you roll a 1 or 2 on a damage die for an attack you make with a melee weapon that you are wielding with two hands, you can reroll the die and must use the new roll. The weapon must have the two-handed or versatile property for you to gain this benefit.

TWO-WEAPON FIGHTING
When you engage in two-weapon fighting, you can add your ability modifier to the damage of the bonus action attack.

Hexblade's Curse
Starting at 2nd level, when you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can expend one Hexblade spell slot to deal necrotic damage to the target, in addition to the weapon's damage, and potentially inflict one or more levels of exhaustion. If you do, the creature you hit makes a Constitution saving throw (DC 8 + your proficiency bonus + your spellcasting ability modifier). On a failure, the creature suffers 1d6 necrotic damage per spell slot level and suffers the effects of a like number of levels of exhaustion. These effects do not stack with actual levels of exhaustion and linger for 1 hour. On a success, that creature takes half as much necrotic damage and suffers no additional effects.

Spellcasting
By the time you reach 2nd level, you are able to leverage your arcane origin to cast spells, much as a wizard does. See chapter 10 of the Player's Handbook for the general rules of spellcasting. There is no set Hexblade spell list, rather your Arcane Origin determines which list, among Sorcerer, Warlock, or Wizard, you learn spells from.


SPELL SLOTS
The Hexblade table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your spells of 1st level and higher. To cast one of these spells, you must expend a slot of the spell’s level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest. For example, if you know the 1st-level spell burning hands and have a 1st-level and a 2nd-level spell slot available, you can cast burning hands using either slot.

SPELLS KNOWN OF 1ST-LEVEL AND HIGHER
You know two 1st-level spells of your choice from the spell list available to you. The Spells Known column of the Hexblade table shows when you learn more spells of your choice. Each of these spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots. For instance, when you reach 5th level in this class, you can learn one new spell of 1st or 2nd level. Additionally, when you gain a level in this class, you can choose one of the spells you know and replace it with another spell from your available spell list, which also must be of a level for which you have spell slots.

SPELLCASTING ABILITY
Depending on your personal approach to magic, your spellcasting ability may be either your Intelligence or Charisma score (see the Arcane Origins feature). You use this ability whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your spellcasting ability modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a Hexblade spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one. Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your spellcasting ability modifier; Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your spellcasting ability modifier.

Arcane Resistance
By 3rd level, your experience with arcane magic helps you avoid the worst effects of spells, even in areas you aren't particularly gifted. You can add half your proficiency bonus, rounded down, to any saving throw you make against spells or magical effects that doesn't already include your proficiency bonus.

Ability Score Improvement
When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.

Extra Attack
Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.

Aura of Unluck
Starting at 6th level, hostile creatures within 10ft of you cannot gain Advantage on any attack rolls, ability checks, or saving throws.

Aura of Weakness
Starting at 10th level, hostile creatures within 10ft of you suffer a penalty to all damage rolls equal to your spellcasting ability bonus (minimum of -1). A creature can only suffer this penalty from one Hexblade at a time.

Improved Hexblade's Curse
By 11th level, you are so filled with fell power that all your melee weapon strikes carry the touch of death with them. Whenever you hit a creature with a melee weapon, the creature takes an extra 1d6 necrotic damage and has disadvantage on all ability checks until the end of its next turn. If you also use your Hexblade's Curse with an attack, you add this damage to the extra damage of your Hexblade's Curse.

Greater Arcane Resistance
Starting at 14th level, whenever you are subjected to a spell that allows you to make a saving throw for which you are proficient, and that spell would have a lesser effect or deal half damage, you instead suffer no effects or damage if you succeed on the saving throw.

Aura Improvements
At 18th level, the range of each of your Aura class features increases from 10ft to 30ft.

Harbinger of Disaster
At 20th level, a Hexblade becomes a force of entropy that is not to be trifled with. As an action, the Hexblade can conjure pure dark power and disastrous magic into itself and the surrounding area, and may expend a spell slot if he or she chooses. For the next minute the Hexblade can fly up to its speed, its eyes glow with a pallid purple light, and dark tendrils of smoke waft around its body. Creatures that end their turns within 30ft of the Hexblade suffer 1d6 necrotic damage per level of spell slot expended (if any) and have Disadvantage on all ability checks, all attack rolls made against the Hexblade, and on all saving throws made against the Hexblade's spells and abilities. Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.

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