Sicarius Victis
2016-10-21, 04:50 PM
Recently, I happened to come across this (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?503557-Fixing-BladeLocks-via-Balancing) thread, discussing the balance of a Bladelock as a melee combatant. It was generally agreed that Pact of the Blade was a trap option. So I decided, I'd try to come up with a new version. This version is inspired by a few of the comments in the thread, as well as the Soulknife and a few other 3.PF classes.
Pact of the Blade
You can use your bonus action to create a pact weapon in your empty hand. You can choose its appearance every time you summon it. Your pact weapon can be a one-handed weapon that does 1d8 damage and has either the Finesse or Versatile (1d10) property, or a two-handed weapon that does 1d12 damage. This damage can be bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing, chosen when the weapon is summoned. You may also reduce the damage die type by one or more to give it one additional weapon property for each die type reduction. If you give a weapon with Versatile additional properties, the Versatile die is also reduced by one step per additional property. Two-handed weapons may gain the Finesse and Reach properties, while one-handed weapons may gain the Light and Thrown (20/60), properties. These properties are also chosen each time it is summoned. In addition, a two-handed weapon may be summoned with the Heavy property at no additional cost.
Your pact weapon disappears if it is more than 5 feet away from you for 1 minute or more. It also disappears if you use this feature again, if you dismiss the weapon (no action required) or if you die.
You can enhance your pact weapons with the magical properties of one magic weapon, by performing a special ritual while holding the weapon. You can perform the ritual over the course of 8 hours, which you may perform during a long rest. The weapon loses any of its magical properties, which your pact weapon then gains the effects of. If your pact weapon is summoned in a form that would not allow certain properties (such as a bludgeoning vorpal weapon), your pact weapon does not gain those properties until it is summoned in a different form. Your pact weapon may only have the magical properties of one weapon at a time. If it is enhanced with the properties of a magic weapon while it already has the properties of another, the properties of the first weapon are lost.
In addition, any Pact Weapon you wield is considered to be an Arcane Focus for your spells.
Also working on Invocations for the Bladelock.
Invocations
Note: All of these Invocations require Pact of the Blade as prerequisites. (Optional: a warlock with this modified Blade Pact may not take any of the Eldritch Blast Invocations.)
Arcane Channeling
Prerequisite: 5th level
When you would make a spell attack, you may instead choose to make a melee weapon attack with your Pact Weapon. If your Pact Weapon has the Thrown property, you may instead throw your Pact Weapon at your target. The attack does your Pact Weapon's standard damage, and adds the effects of the spell in addition. If you would normally be able to make multiple spell attacks in one round, such as from Eldritch Blast, you may only make one, and the effects of all of the attacks are applied to the one attack, functioning as just a single attack. For all purposes of the spell, damage from your Pact Weapon using this feature is considered to be damage from the spell. (Optional addition, in an attempt to make TWF semi-worthwhile: If you are wielding two Pact Weapons, you may make an attack with the weapon you didn't use for this feature as a bonus action. If you would make multiple spell attacks this round, you may divide those attacks between your two weapons however you choose.)
And thus, we have Arcane Channeling. Intended to be a separate option from Thirsting Blade for people who want a slightly more "Magic-enhanced melee attacks" feel, in addition to making spells such as Vampiric Touch a bit more useful. More TWF stuff as well, because it really needs the boosts. And if it isn't clear, if you use a spell that requires multiple attacks in a round, such as EB, you can divide those attacks between your two TWF weapon attacks. Thus, a 5th-level Bladelock with this can make two weapon attacks, and channel one EB blast through each attack.
Armour of Winter's Grasp
Prerequisite: Armour of Agathys spell, 7(?)th level
Any Armour of Agathys spell you cast continues for the full duration of the spell, whether or not you still have any temporary hit points from the casting of the spell. In addition, whenever you would gain temporary hit points while under the effects of Armour of Agathys, you may choose to instead regain a number of expended temporary hit points gained from Armour of Agathys equal to the amount of temporary hit points you would have gained then. Your temporary hit points may never equal more than the maximum you would gain just from casting Armour of Agathys.
Whenever you cast Armour of Agathys, you may choose for it to deal fire, lightning, thunder, acid, or poison damage instead of cold damage.
In case it's unclear, this Invocation provides two benefits:
1. When you use Armour of Agathys, its effects continue even if you run out of Temporary HP. This allows the secondary benefit to be somewhat more useful.
2. When you gain THP while benefitting from Armour of Agathys, those THP can be used to "refill" the ones you gained from Armour of Agathys.
It also lets you change the cold damage to another semi-elemental damage type, just for fun.
This Invocation is intended to make Bladelock slightly less squishy,
Lifedrinker (Alternate)
Prerequisite: 7(?)th level
Whenever you deal damage to an opponent using your Pact Weapon, you gain temporary hit points equal to your Charisma modifier.
An alternate version of Lifedrinker, focused around being slightly more tanky instead of doing a bit more damage. Has a lower level requirement because by 11th level, that much THP isn't going to be that useful. Intended to work with Armour of Winter's Grasp.
Twin Blades
When you summon your Pact Weapon, you may summon two Weapons, one in each hand, as your bonus action, provided that both Pact Weapons are summoned with the Light property. While wielding two Pact Weapons, you gain the benefits of the Two-Weapon Fighting fighting style.
In addition, your Pact Weapon may possess one additional magical property. However, whatever magical properties you are bonded to, each property can only apply to one Weapon while your Weapons are formed.
This makes TWF a bit more useful for Bladelocks. In case the "magic weapon properties" part was unclear, it means that the Bladelock can have multiple magic weapon properties bonded, such as having two +1 properties bonded, and each of these bonded properties can be applied to a different Pact Weapon while the different Weapons are formed. Whether you have one or two properties bonded, however, you still may only apply one property to each Pact Weapon.
The Pact is still a WiP, as are the Invocations.
Pact of the Blade
You can use your bonus action to create a pact weapon in your empty hand. You can choose its appearance every time you summon it. Your pact weapon can be a one-handed weapon that does 1d8 damage and has either the Finesse or Versatile (1d10) property, or a two-handed weapon that does 1d12 damage. This damage can be bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing, chosen when the weapon is summoned. You may also reduce the damage die type by one or more to give it one additional weapon property for each die type reduction. If you give a weapon with Versatile additional properties, the Versatile die is also reduced by one step per additional property. Two-handed weapons may gain the Finesse and Reach properties, while one-handed weapons may gain the Light and Thrown (20/60), properties. These properties are also chosen each time it is summoned. In addition, a two-handed weapon may be summoned with the Heavy property at no additional cost.
Your pact weapon disappears if it is more than 5 feet away from you for 1 minute or more. It also disappears if you use this feature again, if you dismiss the weapon (no action required) or if you die.
You can enhance your pact weapons with the magical properties of one magic weapon, by performing a special ritual while holding the weapon. You can perform the ritual over the course of 8 hours, which you may perform during a long rest. The weapon loses any of its magical properties, which your pact weapon then gains the effects of. If your pact weapon is summoned in a form that would not allow certain properties (such as a bludgeoning vorpal weapon), your pact weapon does not gain those properties until it is summoned in a different form. Your pact weapon may only have the magical properties of one weapon at a time. If it is enhanced with the properties of a magic weapon while it already has the properties of another, the properties of the first weapon are lost.
In addition, any Pact Weapon you wield is considered to be an Arcane Focus for your spells.
Also working on Invocations for the Bladelock.
Invocations
Note: All of these Invocations require Pact of the Blade as prerequisites. (Optional: a warlock with this modified Blade Pact may not take any of the Eldritch Blast Invocations.)
Arcane Channeling
Prerequisite: 5th level
When you would make a spell attack, you may instead choose to make a melee weapon attack with your Pact Weapon. If your Pact Weapon has the Thrown property, you may instead throw your Pact Weapon at your target. The attack does your Pact Weapon's standard damage, and adds the effects of the spell in addition. If you would normally be able to make multiple spell attacks in one round, such as from Eldritch Blast, you may only make one, and the effects of all of the attacks are applied to the one attack, functioning as just a single attack. For all purposes of the spell, damage from your Pact Weapon using this feature is considered to be damage from the spell. (Optional addition, in an attempt to make TWF semi-worthwhile: If you are wielding two Pact Weapons, you may make an attack with the weapon you didn't use for this feature as a bonus action. If you would make multiple spell attacks this round, you may divide those attacks between your two weapons however you choose.)
And thus, we have Arcane Channeling. Intended to be a separate option from Thirsting Blade for people who want a slightly more "Magic-enhanced melee attacks" feel, in addition to making spells such as Vampiric Touch a bit more useful. More TWF stuff as well, because it really needs the boosts. And if it isn't clear, if you use a spell that requires multiple attacks in a round, such as EB, you can divide those attacks between your two TWF weapon attacks. Thus, a 5th-level Bladelock with this can make two weapon attacks, and channel one EB blast through each attack.
Armour of Winter's Grasp
Prerequisite: Armour of Agathys spell, 7(?)th level
Any Armour of Agathys spell you cast continues for the full duration of the spell, whether or not you still have any temporary hit points from the casting of the spell. In addition, whenever you would gain temporary hit points while under the effects of Armour of Agathys, you may choose to instead regain a number of expended temporary hit points gained from Armour of Agathys equal to the amount of temporary hit points you would have gained then. Your temporary hit points may never equal more than the maximum you would gain just from casting Armour of Agathys.
Whenever you cast Armour of Agathys, you may choose for it to deal fire, lightning, thunder, acid, or poison damage instead of cold damage.
In case it's unclear, this Invocation provides two benefits:
1. When you use Armour of Agathys, its effects continue even if you run out of Temporary HP. This allows the secondary benefit to be somewhat more useful.
2. When you gain THP while benefitting from Armour of Agathys, those THP can be used to "refill" the ones you gained from Armour of Agathys.
It also lets you change the cold damage to another semi-elemental damage type, just for fun.
This Invocation is intended to make Bladelock slightly less squishy,
Lifedrinker (Alternate)
Prerequisite: 7(?)th level
Whenever you deal damage to an opponent using your Pact Weapon, you gain temporary hit points equal to your Charisma modifier.
An alternate version of Lifedrinker, focused around being slightly more tanky instead of doing a bit more damage. Has a lower level requirement because by 11th level, that much THP isn't going to be that useful. Intended to work with Armour of Winter's Grasp.
Twin Blades
When you summon your Pact Weapon, you may summon two Weapons, one in each hand, as your bonus action, provided that both Pact Weapons are summoned with the Light property. While wielding two Pact Weapons, you gain the benefits of the Two-Weapon Fighting fighting style.
In addition, your Pact Weapon may possess one additional magical property. However, whatever magical properties you are bonded to, each property can only apply to one Weapon while your Weapons are formed.
This makes TWF a bit more useful for Bladelocks. In case the "magic weapon properties" part was unclear, it means that the Bladelock can have multiple magic weapon properties bonded, such as having two +1 properties bonded, and each of these bonded properties can be applied to a different Pact Weapon while the different Weapons are formed. Whether you have one or two properties bonded, however, you still may only apply one property to each Pact Weapon.
The Pact is still a WiP, as are the Invocations.