Homebrew Invocations (PEACH)

[RakiReborn]

Hi GiantITP,

I have been homebrewing for a while now, to use in the future in a campain with friends i will DM in. The campain will have a LOT of homebrewing, including new classes, subclasses, invocations, spells, etc.

This thread is about the Invocations for the Warlock class, and i'd like to get some feedback to see if it is balanced and to the liking of others :) Here they come:

While in dim light or darkness, you can take the Hide action as a bonus action.
Once per long rest, you can take advantage on saving throws against a spell or other magical effects.
You add half your Charisma modifier (rounded up) to your base AC when not wearing armor.
Prerequisite: Fiend Patron
Once per long rest, you can summon the image of your fiend patron above you. If you do, every creature in a 15ft radius around you must make a Wisdom saving throw or be frightened by you until the start of your next turn.
Prerequisite: Fey Patron
You have advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic can’t put you to sleep. At 10th level, you gain advantage on saving throws against being frightened.
Once per long rest, you can impose disadvantage on a mind-control spell (such as hold spells or suggestion, DM Fiat).
Prerequisite: Reaper Patron
Whenever you deal necrotic damage with a warlock spell or ability, you ignore resistance to necrotic damage.
--> This Invocation is for a Reaper Patron i made. I do not think the whole subclass is needed to rate this, it is mostly useful with other invocations or spells
Prerequisite: 9th level
You can cast the Commune spell once per long rest using a warlock spell slot, petitioning your patron with it.
Prerequisite: 20th level, Thirsting Blade Invocation, Pact of the Blade
You can attack with your pact weapon thrice, instead of twice, whenever you take the attack action on your turn.
Prerequisite: 18th level, Pact of the Tome, Book of Ancient Secrets
You add 5 spells from any spell list, maximum 5th level, to your tome. You can cast these spells using your pact magic spellslots, and they count as warlock spells for you.
Prerequisite: 18th level, Pact of the Chain
When your familiar is within 30ft of you and you cast a spell with your pact magic slots that requires concentration, you can let your familiar maintain the concentration for you (so you can concentrate on a different spell). The rules for concentration are applied to the familiar for that spell for its duration. As soon as the familiar moves away to more than 30ft from you, it loses concentration.
Prerequisite: Pact of the Blade
You gain one fighting style from the PHB.
You gain one spell slot of the maximum slot level you can cast with your pact magic. You do not regain this spell slot on a short rest, but instead on a long rest.
Prerequisite: 18th level
Choose a single 1st or 2nd level spell that you know. You can cast that spell at will as a 2nd level spell without expending a spell slot.
You can cast conjure minor elementals once using a warlock spell slot. You can’t do so again until you finish a long rest.
PLEASE NOTE: Some of the invocations may be derived or completely used from invocations that i found on the internet. Since i have homebrewed A LOT, i have no clue who originally posted it anywhere. If one of the invocations is made by you, or derived by you, please tell me and add the URL, so i can note it in the description of the invocation.

[Levism84]

I am a huge warlock fan, so I feel the need to give you honest and constructive feedback for this post. In general, I like the invocations a lot. They show creativity, and I am a proponent of patron specific invocation and alternate pact boon invocations. That being said, here is how I would break down each invocation:

Shadow Stealth: Sort of a weaker version of One with Shadows, it basically gives you 1/3 of the rogue's Cunning Action but only in dim light or darkness. I would be very comfortable giving the warlock the ability to use a bonus action to Dash, Disengage, and Hide (as Cunning Action) while in dim light or darkness. It would be thematic, it would be useful for stealthy warlocks, and it would be worth an invocation slot. Although, you might need a slightly different name for it (Shadow Sneak?).

Minor Magic Resistance: For an invocation slot, I would give advantage on saving throws against spells once per short or long rest (instead of just long rest). Although, at this level of power and usage, this sort of feels like a patron ability rather than a warlock invocation. Gnomes get advantage on Int/Wis/Cha saves against spells and an abjurer wizard gets advantage against spells all the them at 14th. Maybe change the invocation to have a prerequisite of 15th level and let it grant the same Spell Resistance as the 14th level abjurer? Although, you don't want to step on too many toes and that is the abjurer's school capstone ability.

Charismatic Blessing: I would go full Charisma modifier + Dexterity modifier to AC when not wearing armor. Gives bladelocks an option for unarmored combat and is a useful invocation for other warlocks to consider as well. Barbarian gets Con + Dex, Monk gets Wis + Dex, so a warlock getting Cha + Dex doesn't seem too far fetched.

Fiendish Blessing: Very flavorful but mechanically weak, especially for a once per long rest ability. Maybe work with the mechanics a bit to make in on par with a fear-based spell you could cast. The imagery is very nice, though.

Fey's Blessing: Gives a nice boost defensively and when the fey patron grants you immunity to charm it switches to advantage against fear effects. I think this is mechanically balanced. However, since most invocations don't "grow" with you, maybe consider changing it to two invocations. Since warlocks can switch invocations when they level up, a player could chose the advantage vs. charm to begin with and then switch for advantage vs. fear at 10th. Or, you could just make it advantage vs. fear (add in the immunity to sleep) and leave it at that.

Great Old One's Blessing: Make sure this invocation states it is only available to warlocks with the Great Old One patron. I would reword it mechanically to impose disadvantage on any spell that requires an Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma saving throw (sort of reverse spell resistance). That way it stays broad and is worth a once per long rest recharge.

Reaper's Blessing: Modeled off of the Death domain's ability, seems balanced and would be nice for adding more necrotic love to the game.

Petition Patron: Seems fair and balanced. Contact Other Plane has the backlash chance, so it is less reliable than Commune, but for those warlocks that want a direct line to their patron, this would be a nice invocation to have. Alternatively, you could let your patron grant you double your proficiency bonus with either Arcana, History, Nature, or Religion checks related to your patron (each patron would grant a different skill) and the ability to cast Commune once per long rest with a warlock spell slot. That seems like a nice thematic power. Here is how I would restructure it:

Omniscient Whispers
Prerequisite: 9th level
When you make an Intelligence (Arcana, History, Nature, or Religion) check related to your patron, you are consider proficient in that skill and add double your proficiency bonus to the check, instead of your normal proficiency bonus. In addition, you can cast commune once using a warlock spell slot to speak directly to your patron or one of its representatives. You can't do so again until you finish a long rest.

Longing Blade: I know fighter gets a 4th attack as its 20th capstone. I would avoid capstone invocations and reduce this to 15th level. Gives bladelocks a nice boost to attack without overshadowing fighters.

Grand Grimoire: I like the flavor and thematic essence of this invocation, but it is a very powerful invocation. Normally, warlock spells are restricted due to some of those spells being "too annoying if cast too many times". For this reason, certain spells are given the "once per long rest" limit as an invocation. Tome warlocks already get 3 cantrips and all rituals if they take Book of Shadows, so maybe allowing them to do something with their Mystic Arcanum would be more appropriate. For example, you could allow them an 18th level invocation that allows them to select a 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th level spell from any spell list to add to their Book of Shadows. So long as the book is in their possession, they can use their Mystic Arcanum to cast either their normal warlock arcanum or their grand grimoire arcanum. This would be in line with the Arcana Cleric's 17th level ability. Although, it could have potential repercussions (such as granting warlocks access to wish). However, I think this would be a better upgrade than allowing 2.5 Magical Secrets to be used to load a warlock's spell list with repeatable spells of 5th and lower. At least, that is just my take on it.

Soul Link: Familiar concentration within 30 feet? Seems legit.

Combat Knowledge: I think this would be a good invocation for bladelocks (seeing a lot of those on this list) but I would also like to see something akin to "Eldritch Precision" to give eldritch blast a +2 to hit. Yeah, EB doesn't need a lot of love since it is already the most powerful cantrip (after invocations) in the game, but it just feels like a warlock should be able to train in order to gain the Archery equivalent for the eldritch blast. Maybe rename Combat Knowledge "Hidden Arts" or something more mysterious to fit thematically.

Weakened Pact Slot: Seems a little... weak, thematically. I can understand its mechanical benefits, but it just seems a bit out of place. At least for me. Mechanically, you are basically giving yourself a free daily use of your once per long rest warlock spells or getting off a 5th spell before a short rest if you really need it. I would maybe change this to a 15th or 18th level invocation and just give them an additional 5th level spell slot that recharges the same. The warlock would have to choose between that or some of the more powerful invocations out there, which isn't a bad thing. Or maybe limit the slot to only being able to cast a patron spell of 1st through 5th level. That way it really is a pact slot (for your patron). Although, you would have to be sure the warlock has at least one patron spell known.

Extra Patron Pact Slot
Prerequisite: 9th
You learn one spell from your patron's expanded spell list. This spell does not count against your number of warlock spells known. Whenever you regain spell slots for your Pact Magic feature, you regain one extra spell slot of the same level. This extra spell slot can only be used to cast a spell from your patron's expanded spell list. If you do not use this extra spell slot before the next time you regain spells, it is lost.

I am sure this can be reworded better, but you get the gist of it.

Spellmaster: This is just too powerful for the warlock to have access to. Warlocks already have a number of at-will abilities and they regain their spell slots from Pact Magic after a short rest. They can cast all day and, depending on pacing, can outcast all the other classes. Also, applying it to a 1st or 2nd level spell (even limited to the warlock spell list) is too broad. Boosting it to 2nd level is icing on an already sweet dessert that makes it just too rich to eat. I know wizard gets something sort of like this, but wizards are meant to be flexible casting elites. I wouldn't step on their toes.

Minor Minions of Chaos: Make sure this has a prerequisite of 7th so the warlock can cast it with a 4th level spell slot. Otherwise, it should be fine.

[RakiReborn]

I am a huge warlock fan, so I feel the need to give you honest and constructive feedback for this post. In general, I like the invocations a lot. They show creativity, and I am a proponent of patron specific invocation and alternate pact boon invocations. That being said, here is how I would break down each invocation:
Thanks for taking the time to give me all this feedback! I will go through them one by one:


Shadow Stealth: Sort of a weaker version of One with Shadows, it basically gives you 1/3 of the rogue's Cunning Action but only in dim light or darkness. I would be very comfortable giving the warlock the ability to use a bonus action to Dash, Disengage, and Hide (as Cunning Action) while in dim light or darkness. It would be thematic, it would be useful for stealthy warlocks, and it would be worth an invocation slot. Although, you might need a slightly different name for it (Shadow Sneak?).
I think this is actually different enough from OwS, and this one is better usable in combat. The BA hide only with restriction might indeed be underpowered comparing it to the cunning action, but i wouldn't want to make it almost a complete copy. I will be thinking of what to add to make it a bit more interesting.


Minor Magic Resistance: For an invocation slot, I would give advantage on saving throws against spells once per short or long rest (instead of just long rest). Although, at this level of power and usage, this sort of feels like a patron ability rather than a warlock invocation. Gnomes get advantage on Int/Wis/Cha saves against spells and an abjurer wizard gets advantage against spells all the them at 14th. Maybe change the invocation to have a prerequisite of 15th level and let it grant the same Spell Resistance as the 14th level abjurer? Although, you don't want to step on too many toes and that is the abjurer's school capstone ability.
It was based of the conjurer capstone and the Magic Resistance from creatures in the MM, but i wanted to make it a weaker version to not step on the capstone. You might be right about that it seems more fitting for a patron ability, and i might make it someday and remove this from my upcoming campain. But for now, i think it is a nice extra option, and others may like it or may be inspired by it, so i'll leave it here. I'll make it once per rest instead of once per long rest, that seems better.


Charismatic Blessing: I would go full Charisma modifier + Dexterity modifier to AC when not wearing armor. Gives bladelocks an option for unarmored combat and is a useful invocation for other warlocks to consider as well. Barbarian gets Con + Dex, Monk gets Wis + Dex, so a warlock getting Cha + Dex doesn't seem too far fetched.
I was doubting about making it full or half Cha mod for such a long, long time... Still not completely made up my mind what it should be. My reasons for making it half are this:
- The barb needs con and dex, and wont quickly get full DEX if it maxes STR and CON first. With point-buy i think the most you will see after racial is STR and CON 16, and DEX 14. Getting STR and CON to 20 first, makes room for one ASI for DEX, and that is all the way at 19th level. (not counting the capstone).
-


Fiendish Blessing: Very flavorful but mechanically weak, especially for a once per long rest ability. Maybe work with the mechanics a bit to make in on par with a fear-based spell you could cast. The imagery is very nice, though.
Made this with Fey Presence from the Archfey Patron in mind. Made the range bigger (15ft radius instead of 10ft cube), and made it fear-only. Might make it once per rest instead of long rest, but am afraid that it becomes too powerful comparing it to the Fey Presence ability... What is your take on it with this information?


Fey's Blessing: Gives a nice boost defensively and when the fey patron grants you immunity to charm it switches to advantage against fear effects. I think this is mechanically balanced. However, since most invocations don't "grow" with you, maybe consider changing it to two invocations. Since warlocks can switch invocations when they level up, a player could chose the advantage vs. charm to begin with and then switch for advantage vs. fear at 10th. Or, you could just make it advantage vs. fear (add in the immunity to sleep) and leave it at that.
The compatibility with that ability was exactly my intention. I know they usually don't change, but i didn't want to make two different ones just for that point, as only the locks with the Archfey Patron can take this anyway. What about giving advantage on charm and fear both? Or is that too powerful?


Great Old One's Blessing: Make sure this invocation states it is only available to warlocks with the Great Old One patron. I would reword it mechanically to impose disadvantage on any spell that requires an Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma saving throw (sort of reverse spell resistance). That way it stays broad and is worth a once per long rest recharge.
This was one of the last ones i made, and was struggling with the wording, until i became fed up with thinking about it and just made it 'DM Fiat' xD Thanks for rewording it for me, if it is OK with you, i would like to use your wording. Also, i forgot to add the prerequisite, oops :P


Reaper's Blessing: Modeled off of the Death domain's ability, seems balanced and would be nice for adding more necrotic love to the game.
Glad it is balanced in your view :)


Petition Patron: Seems fair and balanced. Contact Other Plane has the backlash chance, so it is less reliable than Commune, but for those warlocks that want a direct line to their patron, this would be a nice invocation to have. Alternatively, you could let your patron grant you double your proficiency bonus with either Arcana, History, Nature, or Religion checks related to your patron (each patron would grant a different skill) and the ability to cast Commune once per long rest with a warlock spell slot. That seems like a nice thematic power. Here is how I would restructure it:

Omniscient Whispers
Prerequisite: 9th level
When you make an Intelligence (Arcana, History, Nature, or Religion) check related to your patron, you are consider proficient in that skill and add double your proficiency bonus to the check, instead of your normal proficiency bonus. In addition, you can cast commune once using a warlock spell slot to speak directly to your patron or one of its representatives. You can't do so again until you finish a long rest.
I personally do not like the skill part, and think it makes it more powerful comparing it to other invocations that grant a spell to cast with you pact magic slots. Those invocations only grant one spell, nothing more. The second part is nicely worded, i would like to use that.


Longing Blade: I know fighter gets a 4th attack as its 20th capstone. I would avoid capstone invocations and reduce this to 15th level. Gives bladelocks a nice boost to attack without overshadowing fighters.
I was worries it would be too powerful at 15th level. Fighter gets its 3rd attack at 11th, and the 4th at 20th. With the warlock you can take the lifedrinker invocation at 12th to make it competetive with 3rd attack from fighter (at least to some length), and with this sooner than 20th level, you have more dpr than the fighter until 20th level i think? If anyone can show me the maths that it wouldnt, i will change it, but for now i will leave it at 20 to be carefull.


Grand Grimoire: I like the flavor and thematic essence of this invocation, but it is a very powerful invocation. Normally, warlock spells are restricted due to some of those spells being "too annoying if cast too many times". For this reason, certain spells are given the "once per long rest" limit as an invocation. Tome warlocks already get 3 cantrips and all rituals if they take Book of Shadows, so maybe allowing them to do something with their Mystic Arcanum would be more appropriate. For example, you could allow them an 18th level invocation that allows them to select a 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th level spell from any spell list to add to their Book of Shadows. So long as the book is in their possession, they can use their Mystic Arcanum to cast either their normal warlock arcanum or their grand grimoire arcanum. This would be in line with the Arcana Cleric's 17th level ability. Although, it could have potential repercussions (such as granting warlocks access to wish). However, I think this would be a better upgrade than allowing 2.5 Magical Secrets to be used to load a warlock's spell list with repeatable spells of 5th and lower. At least, that is just my take on it.
You are right, and this needs a complete overhaul. Your example seems nice and fitting. Might use that one, but originally wanted to give access to more versatility with the pact magic slots. Might make them both though xD


Soul Link: Familiar concentration within 30 feet? Seems legit.
I'm sorry, but i can't recognise it this is honest or sarcasm. Could you elaborate this? :)


Combat Knowledge: I think this would be a good invocation for bladelocks (seeing a lot of those on this list) but I would also like to see something akin to "Eldritch Precision" to give eldritch blast a +2 to hit. Yeah, EB doesn't need a lot of love since it is already the most powerful cantrip (after invocations) in the game, but it just feels like a warlock should be able to train in order to gain the Archery equivalent for the eldritch blast. Maybe rename Combat Knowledge "Hidden Arts" or something more mysterious to fit thematically.
Like it, and will think about it. +2 seems a bit powerful for an already powerful cantrip, but +1 might be more in line with it. Love the name, and would love to use it for the invocation, is that okay? :)


Weakened Pact Slot: Seems a little... weak, thematically. I can understand its mechanical benefits, but it just seems a bit out of place. At least for me. Mechanically, you are basically giving yourself a free daily use of your once per long rest warlock spells or getting off a 5th spell before a short rest if you really need it. I would maybe change this to a 15th or 18th level invocation and just give them an additional 5th level spell slot that recharges the same. The warlock would have to choose between that or some of the more powerful invocations out there, which isn't a bad thing. Or maybe limit the slot to only being able to cast a patron spell of 1st through 5th level. That way it really is a pact slot (for your patron). Although, you would have to be sure the warlock has at least one patron spell known.

Extra Patron Pact Slot
Prerequisite: 9th
You learn one spell from your patron's expanded spell list. This spell does not count against your number of warlock spells known. Whenever you regain spell slots for your Pact Magic feature, you regain one extra spell slot of the same level. This extra spell slot can only be used to cast a spell from your patron's expanded spell list. If you do not use this extra spell slot before the next time you regain spells, it is lost.

I am sure this can be reworded better, but you get the gist of it.
This one was essentially a point to work from with the feedback i got, as i had this in my mind but couldnt think of how to make it more fitting. Your feedback gave me this idea for the invocation:
Prerequisite: 15th level
You gain one extra Pact Magic slot. This slot is bound to your Patron, and it gives you the temporarely knowlage to cast a spell specific to itself. You can only use the extra Pact Magic slot only to cast any spell of expanded spell list options granted by your patron. The spell slot recharges at a short rest as normal.
Now i need a more fitting name. Patron Spell? Patron Spell Slot? Anything better?


Spellmaster: This is just too powerful for the warlock to have access to. Warlocks already have a number of at-will abilities and they regain their spell slots from Pact Magic after a short rest. They can cast all day and, depending on pacing, can outcast all the other classes. Also, applying it to a 1st or 2nd level spell (even limited to the warlock spell list) is too broad. Boosting it to 2nd level is icing on an already sweet dessert that makes it just too rich to eat. I know wizard gets something sort of like this, but wizards are meant to be flexible casting elites. I wouldn't step on their toes.
Yeah, you're right. Will take this out, don't think it is fixable.


Minor Minions of Chaos: Make sure this has a prerequisite of 7th so the warlock can cast it with a 4th level spell slot. Otherwise, it should be fine.
Thanks, forgot to add that!

Thank you for the time you put into giving me all this feedback. It helps a lot! ^^

[Levism84]

I'm sorry, but i can't recognise it this is honest or sarcasm. Could you elaborate this? :)

Not sarcasm. This seems like an appropriately leveled invocation to me.

[RakiReborn]

Thanks for explaining, guess that i'm just too used to sarcasm on the internet xD

[Princess]

Another thing to consider with charismatic blessing is this: Armor of Shadows grants Mage Armor at will which sets base AC to 13+dex, effectively giving you +3, which is more than half of max charisma. Which means if they don't stack, half cha is clearly the worse choice. Full Cha would be at least as good, since most warlocks start with 16/+3 and those that don't will want it ASAP. Half Cha that stacks with Armor of Shadows' Mage Armor would ultimately work out to the same (13 + half of 5, vs 15) but require two invocations instead of 1 to do. Full Cha effectively makes Armor of Shadows meaningless, so it'd be easier to just houserule that to add Cha instead of mage armor, as the overwhelming majority of warlocks are better off that way. Only multiclass Warlock/Wizard - Abjurer School characters would prefer the Mage Armor effect because it grants temp HP through that wizard feature.

[RakiReborn]

Another thing to consider with charismatic blessing is this: Armor of Shadows grants Mage Armor at will which sets base AC to 13+dex, effectively giving you +3, which is more than half of max charisma. Which means if they don't stack, half cha is clearly the worse choice. Full Cha would be at least as good, since most warlocks start with 16/+3 and those that don't will want it ASAP. Half Cha that stacks with Armor of Shadows' Mage Armor would ultimately work out to the same (13 + half of 5, vs 15) but require two invocations instead of 1 to do. Full Cha effectively makes Armor of Shadows meaningless, so it'd be easier to just houserule that to add Cha instead of mage armor, as the overwhelming majority of warlocks are better off that way. Only multiclass Warlock/Wizard - Abjurer School characters would prefer the Mage Armor effect because it grants temp HP through that wizard feature.
Good points. The mage armor doesn't require concentration, so you can cast it and have the same AC as with charismatic blessing (its half CHA rounded up, so also +3). Upping it renders the AoS useless for most builds, except abjuration wizard MC's. Do you have a suggestion to go around this problem? I thought of simply giving the bonus regardless of armor, but that would be powerful i think. Still not convinced whether it should be half or full CHA to AC when unarmored... Any more opinions? Preferably with substantiation.