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View Full Version : D&D 5e/Next Words Hurt: Spells of the Profane [Contest Spells + New Warlock Patron - PEACH]



Levism84
2015-12-28, 11:26 PM
"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me... unless they are laced with magic!" - mad utterances of the Profane Warlock

This is my entry for DracoKnight's 5th edition spell contest (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?473243-5e-Spellbrew-contest-I).

I had not intended for all of these spells to be of the enchantment school. I wanted to give them context, and, in doing so, they all ended up being enchantment spells. As a part of giving the spells context for their use, I made a new warlock patron, the Profane, to go along with the spells. The new patron's mechanics revolve around the use of the vicious mockery and vulgar gesticulation (contest spell) cantrips to literally use words and gestures to hurt opponents. While a number of the spells are purposefully very similar (vicious mockery/vulgar gesticulation, dissonant whispers/flinching feint), others provide new means to engage in public combat or a social intrigue campaign. I hope people enjoy the spells individually, but I also hope the new patron appears fun and balanced. Please, edit and critique honestly; I would like these to be balanced options for game play and am always looking for constructive feedback.

Thank you in advance for your time and consideration.

CONTEST SPELLS:

Belligerent Truth
7th-level enchantment – Warlock
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 30 feet
Components: V, S
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute

Choose one humanoid that you can see within range. On its next turn, the target begins an angry verbal tirade against you for the duration. Alternatively, you can designate another creature or object within line of sight of both you and the target to be the subject of the target's anger and frustration. Creatures that can't be charmed are immune to this spell.

The target can only use its action to reveal a secret, speak an unkind truth, or make some other hurtful but honest statement towards you or the designated creature or object. It says whatever it believes would be most hurtful at that particular moment, repeating itself if it cannot think of new hurtful things to say. The target must use all of its movement to gesture and pontificate without leaving its space. If the subject of the target's rant leaves the area, the target begins to project loudly or yell when it speaks—if not doing so already. If the target can no longer see the subject of its anger, it continues its tirade, rhetorically. During this time, the target has disadvantage on Charisma saving throws and Charisma ability checks; however, it can defend itself normally.

At the end of the target's turn, it may make a Wisdom saving throw to regain its composure. On a successful save, the spell ends.

Once this spell ends, the target is left in stunned silence at its own irrational, hurtful outburst—and any consequences resulting from it. Most intelligent creatures react poorly to being verbally berated, shifting their attitude towards the target one step towards hostile. If the target's verbal tirade is overheard by allies of the designated creature or those with a personal connection to the designated object (such as the holy symbol of a particular deity, the statue of a local hero, or the signature brew of a local tavern), those individuals may shift their attitude towards the target one step towards hostile, as well.

Flinching Feint
1st-level enchantment – Sorcerer, Warlock (The Profane), Wizard
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 60 feet
Components: S
Duration: Instantaneous

You make an innocuous feinting gesture that one creature of your choice within range perceives as magnified and threatening, causing it to flinch. The target must make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, it takes 3d6 psychic damage and must immediately use its reaction, if available, to drop any held items. On a successful save, the target takes half as much damage and doesn't have to drop any held items. A blinded creature automatically succeeds on the save.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, the damage increases by 1d6 for each slot level above 1st.

Fumble Fingers/Mumble Mouth
5th-level enchantment – Bard, Warlock (The Profane)
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 60 feet
Components: V, S
Duration: 8 hours

You invoke magical energy that undermines the competency of a humanoid you can see within range of the spell. Choose either deeds or words. The target must make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, the target's deeds or words suffer from magical interference, making it publicly awkward and vulnerable to social gaffes.

Fumble Fingers. The enchantment undermines the target's deeds. Whenever the target takes the Help action, the creature it is helping has disadvantage on the attack roll or ability check, instead of advantage. When a target attempts to use a held item, there is a 50% chance they will drop the item instead. When the target attempts to cast a spell with a somatic component, there is a 50% chance the spell triggers a magical mishap (treat as a scroll mishap; DMG, page 140). The target may also suffer from other mishaps of a similar nature, at the DM's discretion.

Mumble Mouth. The enchantment undermines the target's words. Whenever the target makes a Charisma check to influence a creature's attitude, the check is made with disadvantage. When a target attempts to say the name of a creature, there is a 50% chance they will say the wrong name instead. When the target attempts to cast a spell with a verbal component, there is a 50% chance the spell triggers a magical mishap (treat as a scroll mishap; DMG, page 140). The target may also suffer from other slips-of-the-tongue of a similar nature, at the DM's discretion.

A remove curse spell ends either effect.

Ruinous Rumor
5th-level enchantment (ritual) – Bard, Warlock (the Profane)
Casting Time: 10 minutes
Range: Special
Components: V, S, M (specially brewed spirits worth 250 gp, which the spell consumes, and four miniature gossiping humanoid figures carved from onyx worth 50 gp each)
Duration: Instantaneous

This spell negatively shapes public opinion about a specific person. Choose a humanoid known to you as the target of this spell. The target must reside within a village or other small community that is on the same plane of existence as you. If the target is currently away from its community, but still on the same plane of existence, the spell still takes effect so long as the target considers that community their home. If the target resides within a town, city, or other large community, the spell automatically fails.

The target must make a Charisma saving throw. On a failed save, a nasty rumor about the target spreads throughout the target's community. The prevailing attitude towards the target shifts one step towards hostile (see social interactions; DMG, page 244). Shifting a community's general attitude towards a person doesn't affect everyone in the community. Individuals might hold to their own opinions, particularly if they have personal experience in dealing with the target.

The rumor can be of anything of your choosing. However, the rumor must be simple, concrete, and hard to disprove. The magic of the spell sows the rumor into the subconscious mind of the community who accept the rumor as having been common gossip for some time. While the initial casting of the spell may be limited to the target's community, some virulent or well founded rumors may spread beyond the target's home community, at the DM's discretion.

If you have circumstantial evidence to support the rumor, either real evidence or evidence that is falsely produced, the target makes its saving throw with disadvantage as signs and details of this evidence become weaved into the subconscious collective of the target's community.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 7th level, you can affect a target that resides within a town. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 9th level, you can affect a target that resides within a city or larger community.

Vulgar Gesticulation
Enchantment cantrip – Warlock
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 60 feet
Components: S
Duration: Instantaneous

You present an insulting gesture laced with subtle enchantments to a creature you can see within range. If the target can see you (though it need not understand the gesture), it must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or take 1d4 psychic damage and the next attack roll made against it before the end of its next turn has advantage.

This spell's damage increases by 1d4 when you reach 5th level (2d4), 11th level (3d4), and 17th level (4d4).

WARLOCK PATRON: THE PROFANE

WARLOCK PATRON: THE PROFANE
Your patron is a being of mischievousness and vulgarity known simply as the Profane. This being seeks to twist kind words cleverly into backhanded compliments, misrepresent innocent actions to take on humorously perverted meaning, and leave the unwary in stunned silence. All these things and more serve to entertain the Profane in its unending pursuit of humiliation, mischief, and reactionary offense. Those that serve this being as its dark-humor herald use profanity freely and are quick with quips, both tasteful and tasteless. However, they are also straightforward and honest with their allies—within reason—and have begrudging respect for anyone who can best them in wordplay or practical joke. Beings that fit this patron archetype include all manner of forgotten dark trickster fey, corrupted celestial quasi-deities of humor, or wickedly foulmouthed fiends.

As an optional way to add more flavor to your character, you can pick from or roll a d6 on the following table of flaws associated with warlocks of the Profane.

Profane Flaws
1 You consider nothing taboo when it comes to telling a joke. The more offensive, the better!

2 You have a compulsion to do the opposite of what someone tells you to do, especially if they are "very serious" about it.

3 You will try to take someone down a peg on the social ladder if they rub you the wrong way, even the king or queen.

4 Despite your tough exterior, you hate bullies, tyrants, and those who prey on the weak. You consider yourself a bully's bully and find it impossible to pass up an opportunity to take one down.

5 Sometimes it physically pains you to keep from quipping back or delivering an amazing one-line "zinger" at inappropriate moments.

6 Not only do you swear in public, you go out of your way to swear in public. After all, words only have power if society lends them such power!

EXPANDED SPELL LIST
The Profane lets you choose from an expanded list of spells when you learn a warlock spell. You gain the vicious mockery and vulgar gesticulation* cantrips, and the following spells are added to the warlock spell list for you.

Profane Expanded Spells

1st dissonant whispers, flinching feint*

2nd silence, zone of truth

3rd nondetection, sending

4th greater invisibility, Leomund's secret chest

5th fumble fingers/mumble mouth*, ruinous rumor*
* Denotes a contest spell

STICKS AND STONES
Starting at 1st level, your patron grants your mocking words and vulgar gestures a greater capacity to harm the psyche of others. Whenever you use the vicious mockery or vulgar gesticulation cantrips, you add your Charisma modifier to the damage.

In addition, when you use the Attack action, you can cast either vicious mockery or vulgar gesticulation as a bonus action. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier (a minimum of once). You regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

MISCHIEF
At 6th level, your patron teaches you the fine art of making mischief. Choose two of the following skill proficiencies when you finish a short or long rest: Deception, Persuasion, Sleight of Hand, or Stealth. Alternatively, you can choose one of the aforementioned skills and thieves' tools. You gain proficiency with these skills, or skill and thieves' tools, until you choose different ones with this feature. Your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check you make that uses either of the chosen proficiencies.

In addition, you can expend one use of your Sticks and Stones feature to cast a warlock spell you know without any somatic or verbal components.

RUBBER AND GLUE
Starting at 10th level, the honeyed words of others leave a bitter taste in your mouth, and the mental intrusions of others bounce off of you like rubber while sticking to them like glue. You are immune to being charmed. You also have resistance to psychic damage, and whenever a creature deals psychic damage to you, that creature takes the same amount of damage that you do.

INVISIBLE AUDIENCE
Starting at 14th level, when you use vicious mockery or vulgar gesticulation against a humanoid, it has disadvantage on its Wisdom saving throw as long as there is an actual audience of one or more of the target's allies or nonhostile humanoids within its line of sight.

In addition, when a humanoid fails its Wisdom saving throw against your vicious mockery or vulgar gesticulation spell, you can cause it to become paranoid, believing an invisible audience only it can perceive is judging and mocking its every action and thought. At the beginning of each of its turns, it must make a Wisdom saving throw or take 4d10 psychic damage as its own self-doubt begins to tear its psyche apart. If there is an actual audience of one or more of its allies or nonhostile humanoids within its line of sight, it has disadvantage on these saving throws, as well. On a successful save, the effect ends. This ability otherwise lasts for 1 minute.

Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.

Flashy
2015-12-30, 07:06 AM
Belligerent Truth is a neat concept but I think the mechanics are a little clunky. I don't really like spells with very broad mechanical outcomes. You've humiliated this person, aired their dirty laundry, and then what happens? Are they thrown out of the building? They mouthed off to the king: are they executed? Is this sometimes a save or die spell? Why must the victim of the tirade be a humanoid? It makes sense thematically that the target could be forced to spend a minute screaming at someone's dog, why prevent it? What happens if the target runs out of mean things to say about the victim of their tirade? Does the spell end? It's flavorful, but the applications are so broad it might as well be "Ask your DM" the spell.

Flinching Feint I quite like. Dissonant Whispers but with a disarm function.

Fumble Fingers/Mumble Mouth is charging a 5th level spell slot for a substantially worse version of Hex with a longer duration and no concentration. Hex is disadvantage on all checks with any ability of choice, Fumble Fingers/Mumble Mouth is disadvantage on some dexterity or charisma checks whenever the DM feels like applying it.

Ruinous Rumor codifies a faster way to use the existing rumor spreading rules in a way I really love. Maybe add a specific reference to the DMG starting attitudes list on 244, since I had to look it up to figure out what the various stages actually were.

Vulgar Gesticulation might be a little more powerful than it's cousin Viscous Mockery, but my guess is that it isn't a big enough difference to really matter.

Levism84
2015-12-30, 01:16 PM
Belligerent Truth is a neat concept but I think the mechanics are a little clunky. I don't really like spells with very broad mechanical outcomes. You've humiliated this person, aired their dirty laundry, and then what happens? Are they thrown out of the building? They mouthed off to the king: are they executed? Is this sometimes a save or die spell? Why must the victim of the tirade be a humanoid? It makes sense thematically that the target could be forced to spend a minute screaming at someone's dog, why prevent it? What happens if the target runs out of mean things to say about the victim of their tirade? Does the spell end? It's flavorful, but the applications are so broad it might as well be "Ask your DM" the spell.

Flinching Feint I quite like. Dissonant Whispers but with a disarm function.

Fumble Fingers/Mumble Mouth is charging a 5th level spell slot for a substantially worse version of Hex with a longer duration and no concentration. Hex is disadvantage on all checks with any ability of choice, Fumble Fingers/Mumble Mouth is disadvantage on some dexterity or charisma checks whenever the DM feels like applying it.

Ruinous Rumor codifies a faster way to use the existing rumor spreading rules in a way I really love. Maybe add a specific reference to the DMG starting attitudes list on 244, since I had to look it up to figure out what the various stages actually were.

Vulgar Gesticulation might be a little more powerful than it's cousin Viscous Mockery, but my guess is that it isn't a big enough difference to really matter.

Thank you for the feedback. I made some changes to belligerent truth, fumble fingers/mumble mouth, and ruinous rumor.

I cleaned up some of the mechanics in belligerent truth, clarifying and simplifying some of the target's actions, and removed the ability of the caster to lead the target's rant. I also added a bit of mechanical certainty in what happens after a target's rant ends, although there is still a bit that could be left up to the DM (as you pointed out). I had not even considered making the target yell at a dog or something. As I thought about that, I also thought about making the target rant about an object as well. Lots of fun to be had.

I gave fumble fingers/mumble mouth a spellcasting mishap of 50% to at least make it more useful to keep an enemy spellcaster in check. Keep in mind, though, using fumble fingers on a target that uses weapons leaves a 50% chance they will drop their weapon when they attempt to use it. I see fumble fingers as more combat oriented and mumble mouth as more social oriented; two sides of the same coin.

Finally, I added the reference to the DMG for social interactions for ruinous rumor.

I do also agree vulgar gesticulation is a little more powerful than vicious mockery, but compared to other warlock cantrip options (eldritch blast) it is far from the most powerful cantrip a warlock could pick. While other classes could pick it up with their Magical Secrets (bard) or Magic Initiate (feat), I don't feel it would be overly abuseable as is (sits back and waits to be proven wrong).

PotatoGolem
2016-02-03, 12:03 AM
I don't think it's overpowered. It's mediocre damage and advantage on the next attack, both of which are negated by a save. It's essentially a non-trap version of true strike