PDA

View Full Version : D&D 5e/Next Warlocks and Curses: Pact Boon



Steampunkette
2016-06-09, 10:49 PM
So I saw a slightly unbalanced pact boon for Warlocks called Malediction and it made me realize that it is a style of Warlock that is missing. So I figured I would take a stab at it, with invocation support. This post has been updated to reflect the current thread discussion of the pact and some invocations.


Pact of Malediction: Your Patron has bestowed upon you a gift for your continued service, an Orb of Power known as an Evil Eye. The Evil Eye is a fist sized orb which, when you choose, flares with light and floats nearby. This orb can appear as something specifically tied to your Patron or otherwise have a cosmetic appearance of your choice. For example the orb of the Great Old One might appear as a disembodied eye, while the orb of the Fey might have the appearance of a will o' wisp.

The orb sheds dim light in a 15ft radius and follows you around. So long as you are within the orb's light, you gain the benefit of the Malediction, which augments several Warlock spells.

Hex: While within the light of the Orb, the Malediction allows you to apply Hex to two targets. When moving your Hex to a new target, each target requires a bonus action.
Crown of Madness: To control a target with Crown of Madness you need only expend your Bonus Action, rather than your Action.
Bestow Curse: The four standard functions of the Bestow Curse spell are empowered as follows. You may still only apply one improvement.
Disadvantage on all checks tied to a score, including attack.
Disadvantage on attack and damage rolls.
Wis save with disadvantage or do nothing.
All attacks on the target deal an additional 1d8 damage of the same type as the attack which triggers the effect.

The Orb, while magical, is not bound to your presence in any meaningful way and can be stolen, though after 1 minute it returns to your presence. If it is destroyed you may resummon it through an hour long ritual after you have completed a long rest.


Invocations

Dark Word: (Prerequisite: Pact of Malediction) While a Malediction is active, you may expend your reaction to apply a 1d6 penalty to an ability check, attack roll, or saving throw of a target currently affected by your Hex, Crown of Madness, or Bestow Curse spell. You choose to use this reaction after seeing the result of a d20 roll, but before the DM declares it's ssuccess or failure. You may use this ability a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier. Expended uses are recovered at the end of a short or long rest.

Gaze of the Evil Eye:(Prerequisite: Pact of Malediction) You gain the ability to cast the Bane spell once per short or long rest as a second level spell.

Augmented Malediction(Prerequisite: Pact of Malediction, level 5) When you apply a Malediction, the Hex, Crown of Madness, or Bestow Curse spells, you may select one of the following augmentations to take effect for a number of rounds equal to your proficiency modifier. You may use this ability a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier. Expended uses are recovered at the end of a short or long rest.

1: Consuming Hunger. The target gains a 1d6 Bite Attack with which they are proficient if they do not currently have a bite attack. On any turn in which they do not succeed at biting a target, they take 1d6 damage.
2: Speak no Evil. The target's mouth is sewn shut by spectral threads, rendering them incapable of intelligible speech.
3: Mirefoot. The target is restrained by vines, skeletal hands, or rising mud that holds them, fast.

Ninja_Prawn
2016-06-10, 03:30 AM
I'm not an expert on the warlock, but as it's you...

This feels just a little... off... to me. The mechanical benefit is solid - more tangible than the blade or chain pacts and probably on par with the tome pact (maybe a little stronger? Like I said, not an expert). But it seems to me that the other pact boons are real 'things'; chain, blade, tome; things you could touch and hold, even if they're not literally physical artifacts. Malediction doesn't have that; it's more like an innate power added to the warlock's person.

You know... "Evil Eye, the Cursed Tongue, and the Darkest of Words" puts me in mind of unseelie fey. Have you considered making this a whole subclass?

Steampunkette
2016-06-10, 07:05 AM
That is a potential problem, that they don't get -something- out of it...

Maybe I should give them a small Orb and have that be their "Evil Eye" and have it able to float and produce light? Fiend Pacts could have a ball of flame Sauron-style, GOO Warlocks can have an -actual- eye, possibly of a goat, fish, or otherworldly being, while Fey-pacters literally have a baby will-o-wisp type fey!

That's... actually not a bad idea. Have the orb be a floating lantern that doubles as a will-o-wisp, essentially, grants the bonus target, and the 1d6. But only while you're in the light. Make it a 15ft radius and such. If it's destroyed they can't use their Maledictions?

Then, for an invocation, the ability to inflict one of three curses alongside a Malediction, the use of the 1d6 penalty.

Augmented Malediction
1: Consuming Hunger. The target gains a 1d6 Bite Attack with which they are proficient if they do not currently have a bite attack. On any turn in which they do not succeed at biting a target, they take 1d6 damage.
2: Speak no Evil. The target's mouth is sewn shut by spectral threads, rendering them incapable of intelligible speech.
3: Mirefoot. The target is restrained by vines, skeletal hands, or rising mud that holds them, fast.

Lasts for Proficiency Mod rounds, save ends. Con, Wis, and Str respectively. Only one augment

Thoughts?

Final Hyena
2016-06-10, 09:10 AM
Another idea is that your eyes, tongue and teeth turn black.

Anyway I think it's very powerful at low levels, a 2 for 1 (both slots and action economy wise) curse or madness is a bit powerful. And then there is a negative d6 on top of that. a sort of slightly worse inspiration die.

I would suggest removing the 2 for 1 aspects, but give the malediction scaling dice. Perhaps for end game give either new spells to trigger the dice or allow them to be used on their own.

Steampunkette
2016-06-10, 01:32 PM
I feel like a 1d6 reaction once per round might be too little. And while having two Hex targets is great, (or 5 Bane targets, 2 CoM targets or 2 Bestow Curse Targets) it's not increasing the warlock's DPR. Only spreading it around a bit more and spreading around the debilitation of penalties to attack rolls or skill checks.

For Crown of Madness you still have to spend your action to control either target, and can't control them both in the same turn. So it helps by allowing you to alternate between them based on which one is in a more favorable position to help you.

For Bane it's one more person taking a 1d4 penalty.

For Bestow Curse it's one of the four benefits (or a personal curse) on two people instead of one.

And Hex is just two targets of ability check deficiency and 1d6 if you hurt them.

So it's more like a Twin Spell that is very limited in its options. And the actual effect of it is far more tame than most twin spell options (Hold Person, anyone?).

The only DPR increase would happen if a dual-wielding warlock (without bladelock since these are mutually exclusive) killed one of the two hex targets and used their off-hand attack to swing at the other without having to spend the time moving their hex.

Overall I feel like it -seems- stronger than it is.

Ninja_Prawn
2016-06-10, 01:45 PM
Overall I feel like it -seems- stronger than it is.

I feel it adds a lot of tactical flexibility, even though you can only take advantage of one of the curses at a time. In a nutshell, if you can only have one person hexed, you have to think hard about who you choose; twinning it makes that decision a lot more comfortable. There's less an enemy team can do to hide their cursed members if there's twice as many of them.

I'm not saying it's too powerful, but adding the extra 1d6 in there definitely makes it start to look that way.

Steampunkette
2016-06-10, 01:53 PM
Could move that out to an Invocation pretty comfortably, I think?

Final Hyena
2016-06-10, 01:58 PM
Twin spell doesn't allow you to have two concentration spells going at a time, but a double bestow curse is exactly that and it only costs one slot.
Bestow curse is good affect, a wisdom save or lose your turn.

Steampunkette
2016-06-10, 02:46 PM
Twin spell doesn't allow you to have two concentration spells going at a time, but a double bestow curse is exactly that and it only costs one slot.
Bestow curse is good affect, a wisdom save or lose your turn.

Actually, yes, Twin Spell -does- allow you to cast a spell with concentration and maintain it on a second target. It doesn't create a second spell to concentrate on, it changes the way the spell you cast works to add a second target. Mearls clarified in 2014 and in 2015.

http://www.sageadvice.eu/2014/09/06/twinned-spell/
http://www.sageadvice.eu/2015/06/01/twinned-spell-one-spell-two-targets/

Final Hyena
2016-06-10, 03:35 PM
Fair enough, I still feel that it's too good with bestow curse, especially as you can keep adding on that 1d6 to keep someone from having their turn, especially as you can choose after the roll to stick it on the best target.
You're getting as good as two spells and a further debuff against the victims, for a pact.
It's a massive level 5 power spike, that evens out after a few levels.

Kane0
2016-06-10, 07:25 PM
Bestow curse still needs an invocation to get remember, its not on the default warlock list.

Suggestion:
Pact of Malediction:
You gain Hex, Crown of madness and Bestow curse as bonus spells known.
Hex applies disadvantage to saves of the same type as ability checks
Crown of madness uses your bonus action to makntain control instead of your action
Bestow curse can target a second creature with the same curse
Then if that isnt enough maybe a free +\- 1d6 to the d20 rolls as a raction on creatures subject to one of those spells.

Steampunkette
2016-06-10, 10:37 PM
I think that one might work, Kane0. Then have the d6 Malediction as a separate invocation.

I still feel like Bane should be a thing for them as an AoE curse, too. Another Invocation.

How about we swap up Hex and Bestow Curse for the benefit? Two Hex targets from low level grants more target options and skill debuffs, then have Bestow Curse apply stronger curses with the pact.

Choose one of the following:
Disadvantage on all checks tied to a score, including attack.
Disadvantage on attack and damage rolls.
Wis save with disadvantage or do nothing.
All attacks on the target deal an additional 1d8 damage.

Final Hyena
2016-06-11, 08:08 AM
With regard to the new suggestion.

Pact of the Tome ~ 3 extra cantrips known.

Pact of Malediction ~ 3 extra spells known, which are buffed up.

Crown of madness maintained as a bonus action is also a big deal, you're allowing the warlock to use EB at the same time.
The Bestow curse
Wis save with disadvantage or do nothing. makes the spell roughly twice as good.

Perhaps having those spells be known with any further boons to them being an invocation.

Steampunkette
2016-06-11, 04:02 PM
Three Cantrips from ANY Class gives that Warlock a hell of a lot more versatility than buffing up or granting spells that are already on the Lock List... That said, I agree with you. It should be either or.

Updating OP with latest version for discussion.