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Vogie
2018-06-18, 12:03 PM
Gaia Patron (Iron Druid Series)
You have made a pact with the Gaia, the spirit of the earth itself. You are connected to the earth via a series of interconnected tattoos inscribed by a living thorn, running down your right side, from your arm to your foot.

https://society6.com/cdn/0025/p/10707316_3013933_lz.jpg

1. Expanded Spell List
At 1st level, your link to the earth allows you to learn spells normally associated with the Druid class. When your Pact Magic or Mystic Arcanum feature lets you learn or choose a warlock cantrip or a warlock spell of 1st level or higher, you can choose the new spell from the druid spell list or the warlock spell list. You must otherwise obey all the restrictions for selecting the spell, and it becomes a warlock spell for you.

However, your patron's magic that was granted to you came with the caveat that it cannot directly harm a living natural being. You have no restrictions against using any magic against vampires, undead, constructs, and the like, but dealing damage directly with a spell or cantrip to a living being will immediately give you a level of exhaustion and remove your Pact Magic feature until you finish a long rest in atonement. Using magic to augment your power, create weapons, and harm living things indirectly, such as Primal Savagery, Earth Tremor, Absorb Elements, Heat Metal, and their ilk are fine to be used. The DM chooses the line between direct and indirect damage, and the warlock can always tell if a creature is living or not.

1. Empowered by Gaia
At 1st level, While physically in contact with the earth, if you cast a Pact Magic spell with the range of self, or a spell targeting yourself, you may do so without expending a spell slot. You can use this feature twice, and regain expended uses when you finish a short or long rest. (Mystic Arcanum spells do not use this feature)

Additionally, you gain proficiency with medium armor, shields, and martial weapons. You also learn 2 cantrips from the Druid spell list. They count as warlock cantrips for you, but they don’t count against your number of cantrips known.

6. Bound Shapeshifting
Gaia has bound you to a series of four CR 1 (or lower) non-swarm beasts that you can magically assume the shape of with an action, as the Druid's Wild Shape feature. You can use this feature twice per short or long rest.

At 6th level, you gain two shapes that have no flying or swimming speed. One shape will be a predator, the other will be hoofed.
At 8th level, you gain a beast shape that has a swimming speed, but no flying speed.
At 10th level, you gain a beast shape that has a flying speed, but no swimming speed.

10. Gaia's Secrets
At 10th level, while physically in contact with the ground:

If you are healed by a spell or by spending Hit Die, add your Constitution modifier (minimum of 1)
You gain the ability to cast your known healing and restoration spells into potions. You spend 1 minute focusing your magic on a vial of mundane water and expend a spell slot to transform it into a potion. You can create up to two potions at a time, and potions created this way last 24 hours.


14. Elemental Charm
Starting at 14th level, you can connect with a friendly elemental to craft a charm that further expands your abilities. Choose one from the following list. You may create additional charms over time, over the course of 7 long rests. The charms resize as you change form and persist to be used even when shapeshifted.

Cold Iron Amulet - as a reaction, you can gain resistance to psychic damage until the beginning of your next turn, and if a fiend, fey, or fey spirit creature ends its turn within 5 feet of you, it takes radiant damage equal to your warlock level + twice your Charisma modifier (minimum 2). Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Bear Charm - When you start a short rest, if you have an unexpanded spell slot, you can store a spell slot in this charm. You can use this slot at will, but only for spells on the druid spell list. Once you use this slot, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest while physically in contact with the ground.
Fulgurite Talisman - As a reaction, you gain immunity to lightning and thunder damage until the beginning of your next turn. Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Soul-Catcher Bead - If you are reduced to 0 hit points, you can use your reaction instead be reduced to 1 hit point. Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest while physically in contact with the ground.
Healing Charm - Your Healing spells targeting only yourself can be cast as a bonus action without verbal or somatic components
Camouflage Charm - you gain the Shroud of Shadow invocation, allowing you to cast Invisibility at will, without expending a spell slot. This doesn't count against the number of invocations you know, and you cannot replace it when you gain a level in the class.
Stalking Charm - Choose two types of favored enemy: fey, monstrosities, undead, aberrations, celestials, constructs, dragons, elementals, or fiends. You gain a +2 bonus for damage rolls against all your favored enemies. Additionally, you have advantage on saving throws against the spells and abilities used by favored enemy, you have advantage on Wisdom (Survival) checks to track your favored enemies, as well as on Intelligence checks to recall information about them.
Beast Amulet - You can cast Speak with Animals & Animal Friendship at will, without expending a spell slot. Additionally, you can communicate telepathically with your familiar or charmed animal companion while shapeshifted, while it is within 60 feet of you.
Shapeshifting Focus - You can use your Bound Shapeshifting feature as a bonus action, rather than an action.




I've just finished Shattered, so if there are more charms added in the final 2 books, I apologize.

I started thinking about building the Iron Druid as a Warlock because of the limitations of the druids in the series. In 5e terms, the Atticus & Granuaile are decidedly not druids - No blasting, wild shape limited to only 4 forms that are not chosen by them, ability to use metal arms & armor, and more. However, they are bound to the earth, to Gaia, which had a warlock-y flavor to it, so I went with it. Thankfully, the Divine Soul Sorcerer paved the way to make such an idea happen. Just like DS Sorcs allows players to effectively be "Charisma Clerics", Gaia Warlocks are, effectively, Charisma Druids.

I also really liked the idea of making a warlock that not only doesn't use EB, but in most cases CANNOT. The idea of having a class that was actively seeking spells that didn't actually deal damage also sounded fun. And the fact that the restriction would require the character to use things like Shillelagh (hit with stick), Primal Savagery (hit with claws), & Magic Stone (hit with Rocks) as their baseline damaging cantrips is fantastic.

Of course, the DM fiat will be strong with this class due to that restriction, and the decision on who decides what beast shapes the 'locks have (DM vs Player or both), and also the power the "Empowered by Gaia" class feature - Being able to self-buff without spell slots is awesome, but having the restriction of being on the ground makes that awesome largely Campaign-dependent.

For readers of the series, The "binding" magic will be refluffed as a blend of the warlock and druid spell lists. Hold Person, for example, would be Atticus' infamous trick of binding a target's clothes together or to the ground, while Enhance Ability is his go-to self-buff.

I couldn't decide if there should be a line in there to allow wolves as familiars for pact of the chain, or if I should make a new Pact Boon that gives an animal companion, or if Atticus specifically has a couple levels in Beastmaster Ranger (which would be thematically appropriate, actually). However, since Animal Friendship, Beast Bond & Awaken are on the Druid Spell list, you can pretty easily get that in an ad hoc way

BerzerkerUnit
2018-07-03, 11:08 PM
Haven't read the books, but I think 2 Awaken's per short rest, even with the costly component, might get very interesting very quickly.

Vogie
2018-07-05, 01:28 PM
Haven't read the books, but I think 2 Awaken's per short rest, even with the costly component, might get very interesting very quickly.

You're not wrong. Personally, I hadn't thought about it, as I didn't think it'd be that powerful, as Land Druids can also do that 3x/LR starting at level 10 (2 normal, 1 per Natural Recovery) and up to 11x/LR by level 20 (9 spell slots of 5 or higher, 2 via Natural Recovery). But, as you said, it's also gated by a 1000g component and an 8 hour casting time.

That being said, having access to Awaken certainly helps the Patron, as the Protagonists to have companion animals that have been awakened and gain the ability to communicate.

I did notice, after the fact, that this patron renders the Dreadful Word, Minion of Chaos & Sculptor of Flesh invocations irrelevant. It's not that big of deal, IMHO, as I don't think anyone uses the first 2 ever, and the latter only occasionally.

Crisis21
2018-07-31, 10:36 PM
Warlock with a side of Druid? Nice.


Empowered by Gaia is particularly interesting as it is essentially two extra spell slots, even if they have to target yourself. Certainly encourages the warlock to put more focus onto buffs I'd think. Personally, I'd advise you to add a clarification that this can not be used with any of the Warlock's Mystic Arcanum spells as free spells of 6th level or higher will get very broken very fast.

Sir Brett Nortj
2018-07-31, 11:19 PM
Fantastilistic!

Thoroughly enjoyed reading this, makes me want to play!

Vogie
2018-08-01, 09:50 AM
Warlock with a side of Druid? Nice.


Empowered by Gaia is particularly interesting as it is essentially two extra spell slots, even if they have to target yourself. Certainly encourages the warlock to put more focus onto buffs I'd think. Personally, I'd advise you to add a clarification that this can not be used with any of the Warlock's Mystic Arcanum spells as free spells of 6th level or higher will get very broken very fast.

Indeed. Thankfully, the warlock is built the spell slots given via Pact Magic are completely different from the Mythic Arcanum, and have their own independent cooldown


Mystic Arcanum
At 11th level, your patron bestows upon you a magical secret called an arcanum. Choose one 6th-level spell from the Warlock (or Druid) Spells list as this arcanum.
You can cast your arcanum spell once without expending a spell slot. You must finish a long rest before you can do so again.
At higher levels, you gain more warlock spells of your choice that can be cast in this way: one 7th-level spell at 13th level, one 8th-level spell at 15th level, and one 9th-level spell at 17th level. You regain all uses of your Mystic Arcanum when you finish a long rest

Emphasis mine.

However, it's probably still a good idea to make it known. I'll add some reminder text.