kosh49
2018-09-18, 06:45 PM
So looking over 5e one thing that is not there but feels like it should be is a partial caster using pact magic. The two partial caster models we have are a half caster class that has it as a core feature of the class and a third caster subclass that adds casting ability to a class that does not normally have it. I am not confident in my ability to homebrew a whole new class, but I thought I could handle the subclass. For the base class, I did not want to step on the Eldritch Knight or Arcane Trickster’s toes, and Barbarian rage does not interact well with casting so I decided to make this a Monk subclass.
Once I decided that I set my goals for the subclass:
A – Provide pact magic slots based on a 1/3 progression. Partly because this is the reason I am doing this in the first place, and partly because the alternative is to use the ki based spell casting that is part of the reason why the W4E (Way of the Four Elements) monk is so unpopular.
B – Have the subclass influenced by the nature of the patron. Since the pact magic comes from a deal with a specific supernatural entity this feels like a necessity for a pact magic based subclass, although the effect should be less pronounced than it is for the warlock.
C – Provide benefits in addition to spell casting at all subclass levels. Both the Eldritch Knight and the Arcane Trickster do this. The fact that the W4E monk does not is another reason it is so unpopular.
D – Provide uses of ki that are unique to this subclass and which fit the theme of the subclass. Every official monk subclass does this, so it feels necessary.
E – Provide abilities that do not consume ki (or other resources). Every official monk subclass does this, so it feels necessary. Also, the fact that Elemental Attunement provides so little effective functionality as the only option of this type is another reason why W4E monks are unpopular.
I have revised this significantly based on the feedback I have received. Any additional feedback would be appreciated. (Thanks Vogie for all of your help.)
This is an old thread, but I am updating it to add the Warlock subclasses from Tasha's Cauldron of Everything to the options. If anyone looking at this with a fresh set of eyes has additional feedback, it would be most welcome.
WAY OF THE HARBINGER:
Many monastic orders serve one or more gods or some other supernatural creature. Some monks seek to increase their connection to those entities by making a pact with one of those entities or with a powerful supernatural servitor of those entities. Not all monastic orders allow their members to follow the way of the harbinger, and none are dedicated to this tradition. But the powerful magics available to those few who follow this tradition makes them very effective indeed.
BONUS PROFICIENCY
When you choose this tradition at 3rd level, select a Patron from the Warlock Patron list. You get a bonus proficiency based on the nature of your Patron:
Archfey: Deception
Celestial: Medicine
Fathomless: Stealth
Fiend: Persuasion
Genie: Arcana
Great Old One: Insight
Hexblade: Intimidation
Undying: Survival
Harbinger Spellcasting
Monk Level
Cantrips
Spells known
Eldritch Secrets
Slot level
Number of spell slots
3rd
2
2
0
1st
1
4th
2
2
0
1st
2
5th
2
3
1
1st
2
6th
2
3
1
1st
2
7th
2
4
1
2nd
2
8th
2
4
1
2nd
2
9th
2
5
2
2nd
2
10th
2
5
2
2nd
2
11th
3
6
2
2nd
2
12th
3
6
2
2nd
2
13th
3
7
2
3rd
2
14th
3
7
2
3rd
2
15th
3
8
3
3rd
2
16th
3
8
3
3rd
2
17th
3
9
3
3rd
2
18th
3
9
3
3rd
2
19th
3
10
3
4th
2
20th
3
10
3
4th
2
PACT MAGIC
When you choose this tradition at 3rd level, your patron grants you the ability to cast spells. See chapter 10 for the general rules of spellcasting and chapter 11 for the warlock spell list.
Cantrips. You learn two cantrips of your choice from the warlock spell list. You learn an additional warlock cantrip of your choice at 11th level.
Spell Slots. The Harbinger Spellcasting table shows how many spell slots you have. The table also shows what the level of those slots is; all of your spell slots are the same level. To cast one of your harbinger spells of 1st level or higher, you must expend a spell slot. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a short or long rest.
For example, when you are 13th level, you have two 3rd-level spell slots. To cast the 1st-level spell hex, you must spend one of those slots, and you cast it as a 3rd-level spell.
Spells Known of 1st-Level and Higher. You know two 1st-level spells of your choice selected from your harbinger spell list which consists of all warlock spells of 4th level or lower and all spells of 4th level or lower on the expanded spell list your patron grants to warlocks of the same patron.
The Spells Known column of the Harbinger Spellcasting table shows when you learn more harbinger spells of 1st level or higher. A spell you choose must be of a level no higher than what’s shown in the table's Slot Level column for your level. For instance, when you reach 7th level in this class, you can learn one new spell of 1st or 2nd level.
Whenever you gain a level in this class, you can replace one of the harbinger spells you know with another spell of your choice from the harbinger spell list. The new spell must also be of a level no higher than what’s shown in the table's Slot Level column for your monk level.
Eldritch Secrets. The Eldritch Secrets column on the harbinger spellcasting table gives the minimum number of spells you must know from the expanded spell list your patron grants to warlocks of the same patron. You can know more than the minimum number of spells from this list. No particular spell needs to come from this list as long as once you are finished selecting new spells and swapping spells when you gain a level the number of spells you know from this list is greater than or equal to the number in the Eldritch Secrets column. These spells do count against your spells known as well.
Spellcasting Ability. Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for your harbinger spells. You use your Wisdom whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Wisdom modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a harbinger spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.
Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier
Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier
MARTIAL ARTS MAGIC
Starting at 3rd level, when you use your action to cast a cantrip you can make one unarmed strike as a bonus action, or you can spend 1 ki point to make two unarmed strikes as a bonus action.
DAZING SPELLS
Starting at 6th level your spells can overwhelm an opponent’s psyche. When you hit another creature with a spell attack, you can spend 1 ki point to attempt to daze them. The target must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or be incapacitated until the end of your next turn.
ELDRITCH INVOCATIONS
At 11th level your patron makes eldritch invocations available to you. You select 2 invocations from the list of invocations available to a warlock. Your level for the purposes of selecting invocations and determining the effect of invocations is considered to be one third your monk level, rounded up. You may not select an invocation which requires a specific pact boon. If the effect of the invocation refers to your Charisma ability or your Charisma ability bonus, use your Wisdom ability or your Wisdom ability bonus instead.
Additionally, when you gain a level in this class, you can choose one of the invocations you know and replace it with another invocation that you could learn at that level.
HARBINGER’S AID
At 17th level you can call on your patron for assistance. As an action you can spend 6 ki points to request your patron to send 1 CR 5 creature or 2 CR 4 creatures to aid you. The creature type that responds depends on your patron as follows:
Archfey: Fey
Celestial: Celestial
Fathomless: Ooze
Fiend: Fiend
Genie: Elemental
Great Old One: Aberration
Hexblade: Construct
Undying: Undead
The DM chooses the specific creature(s) that respond. Each creature that responds appears in an unoccupied space that you can see within 60 feet. Each creature disappears when it drops to 0 hit points or when 10 minutes have passed. Each creature that responds is friendly to you and your companions for the duration. Roll initiative for each creature, which has its own turns and obeys any verbal commands that you issue to it (no action required by you), as long as they aren't opposed to its nature. If you don’t issue any commands the creature defends itself from hostile creatures but otherwise takes no actions. A CR 5 creature arrives with temporary hit points equal to your monk level plus your Wisdom bonus, and CR 4 creatures arrive with half that number of temporary hit points. Any creatures summoned by this ability also receives a bonus to all attack rolls equal to your Wisdom bonus. Once you have used this ability you must complete a long rest before you can use it again.
MULTICLASSING:
The following special rules apply to Way of the Harbinger monks when multiclassing.
Pact spell slots. Characters who have levels in both the warlock class and the monk class following the Way of the Harbinger have the pact spell slots of a single class warlock whose level equals the multiclass character’s warlock level plus one third (round down) of the multiclass character’s monk level. So a 7th level warlock/11th level Way of the Harbinger monk has two 5th level spell slots (as a 10th level warlock would). Characters having both regular spellcasting classes and pact magic classes ignore their pact magic classes when determining their regular spellcasting slots and ignore their regular spellcasting classes when determining their pact magic slots.
Eldritch Invocations. Characters who have levels in the warlock class who have 10 or fewer levels in the monk class following the Way of the Harbinger ignore the monk levels when selecting invocations or determining their effects.
Characters who have levels in the warlock class who have at least 11 levels in the monk class following the Way of the Harbinger select their invocations separately for each class. So a 7th level warlock/11th level Way of the Harbinger monk selects 4 invocations from among those available to 7th level warlocks with the pact boon selected as a 3rd level warlock (which use Charisma to determine their effect) and selects 2 additional invocations from among those available to a 4th level warlock with no pact boon (which use Wisdom to determine their effect). A character can not have any invocation on both classes list of invocations known. The level of ritual spells that can be transcribed due to the Book of Ancient Secrets ignores the character’s monk levels (as per the rules on learning spells), while other invocation effects based on warlock level (such as the temporary hit points granted by Tomb of Levistus) use the sum of the character’s warlock level plus one third (round down) of the character’s monk level.
Patrons. Characters who have levels in both the warlock class and the monk class following the Way of the Harbinger are strongly encouraged to choose the same patron for both classes. Players with two different patrons WILL wind up in situations where the patron’s demands are incompatible and they will face negative consequences from the patron whose demands are not met. The frequency and severity of these situations are up to DM and should depend on the natures of the two patrons involved. If the two patrons are the Celestial and the Fiend the character will probably be in severe trouble with one or both of their patrons at all times (and other servants of the patron(s) may be sent to deal with the troublesome renegade). Other patron combinations will probably be less contentious, but even patrons with either very similar goals or very unrelated interests should have occasional conflicts that cause the character in game negative consequences.
Once I decided that I set my goals for the subclass:
A – Provide pact magic slots based on a 1/3 progression. Partly because this is the reason I am doing this in the first place, and partly because the alternative is to use the ki based spell casting that is part of the reason why the W4E (Way of the Four Elements) monk is so unpopular.
B – Have the subclass influenced by the nature of the patron. Since the pact magic comes from a deal with a specific supernatural entity this feels like a necessity for a pact magic based subclass, although the effect should be less pronounced than it is for the warlock.
C – Provide benefits in addition to spell casting at all subclass levels. Both the Eldritch Knight and the Arcane Trickster do this. The fact that the W4E monk does not is another reason it is so unpopular.
D – Provide uses of ki that are unique to this subclass and which fit the theme of the subclass. Every official monk subclass does this, so it feels necessary.
E – Provide abilities that do not consume ki (or other resources). Every official monk subclass does this, so it feels necessary. Also, the fact that Elemental Attunement provides so little effective functionality as the only option of this type is another reason why W4E monks are unpopular.
I have revised this significantly based on the feedback I have received. Any additional feedback would be appreciated. (Thanks Vogie for all of your help.)
This is an old thread, but I am updating it to add the Warlock subclasses from Tasha's Cauldron of Everything to the options. If anyone looking at this with a fresh set of eyes has additional feedback, it would be most welcome.
WAY OF THE HARBINGER:
Many monastic orders serve one or more gods or some other supernatural creature. Some monks seek to increase their connection to those entities by making a pact with one of those entities or with a powerful supernatural servitor of those entities. Not all monastic orders allow their members to follow the way of the harbinger, and none are dedicated to this tradition. But the powerful magics available to those few who follow this tradition makes them very effective indeed.
BONUS PROFICIENCY
When you choose this tradition at 3rd level, select a Patron from the Warlock Patron list. You get a bonus proficiency based on the nature of your Patron:
Archfey: Deception
Celestial: Medicine
Fathomless: Stealth
Fiend: Persuasion
Genie: Arcana
Great Old One: Insight
Hexblade: Intimidation
Undying: Survival
Harbinger Spellcasting
Monk Level
Cantrips
Spells known
Eldritch Secrets
Slot level
Number of spell slots
3rd
2
2
0
1st
1
4th
2
2
0
1st
2
5th
2
3
1
1st
2
6th
2
3
1
1st
2
7th
2
4
1
2nd
2
8th
2
4
1
2nd
2
9th
2
5
2
2nd
2
10th
2
5
2
2nd
2
11th
3
6
2
2nd
2
12th
3
6
2
2nd
2
13th
3
7
2
3rd
2
14th
3
7
2
3rd
2
15th
3
8
3
3rd
2
16th
3
8
3
3rd
2
17th
3
9
3
3rd
2
18th
3
9
3
3rd
2
19th
3
10
3
4th
2
20th
3
10
3
4th
2
PACT MAGIC
When you choose this tradition at 3rd level, your patron grants you the ability to cast spells. See chapter 10 for the general rules of spellcasting and chapter 11 for the warlock spell list.
Cantrips. You learn two cantrips of your choice from the warlock spell list. You learn an additional warlock cantrip of your choice at 11th level.
Spell Slots. The Harbinger Spellcasting table shows how many spell slots you have. The table also shows what the level of those slots is; all of your spell slots are the same level. To cast one of your harbinger spells of 1st level or higher, you must expend a spell slot. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a short or long rest.
For example, when you are 13th level, you have two 3rd-level spell slots. To cast the 1st-level spell hex, you must spend one of those slots, and you cast it as a 3rd-level spell.
Spells Known of 1st-Level and Higher. You know two 1st-level spells of your choice selected from your harbinger spell list which consists of all warlock spells of 4th level or lower and all spells of 4th level or lower on the expanded spell list your patron grants to warlocks of the same patron.
The Spells Known column of the Harbinger Spellcasting table shows when you learn more harbinger spells of 1st level or higher. A spell you choose must be of a level no higher than what’s shown in the table's Slot Level column for your level. For instance, when you reach 7th level in this class, you can learn one new spell of 1st or 2nd level.
Whenever you gain a level in this class, you can replace one of the harbinger spells you know with another spell of your choice from the harbinger spell list. The new spell must also be of a level no higher than what’s shown in the table's Slot Level column for your monk level.
Eldritch Secrets. The Eldritch Secrets column on the harbinger spellcasting table gives the minimum number of spells you must know from the expanded spell list your patron grants to warlocks of the same patron. You can know more than the minimum number of spells from this list. No particular spell needs to come from this list as long as once you are finished selecting new spells and swapping spells when you gain a level the number of spells you know from this list is greater than or equal to the number in the Eldritch Secrets column. These spells do count against your spells known as well.
Spellcasting Ability. Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for your harbinger spells. You use your Wisdom whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Wisdom modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a harbinger spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.
Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier
Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier
MARTIAL ARTS MAGIC
Starting at 3rd level, when you use your action to cast a cantrip you can make one unarmed strike as a bonus action, or you can spend 1 ki point to make two unarmed strikes as a bonus action.
DAZING SPELLS
Starting at 6th level your spells can overwhelm an opponent’s psyche. When you hit another creature with a spell attack, you can spend 1 ki point to attempt to daze them. The target must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or be incapacitated until the end of your next turn.
ELDRITCH INVOCATIONS
At 11th level your patron makes eldritch invocations available to you. You select 2 invocations from the list of invocations available to a warlock. Your level for the purposes of selecting invocations and determining the effect of invocations is considered to be one third your monk level, rounded up. You may not select an invocation which requires a specific pact boon. If the effect of the invocation refers to your Charisma ability or your Charisma ability bonus, use your Wisdom ability or your Wisdom ability bonus instead.
Additionally, when you gain a level in this class, you can choose one of the invocations you know and replace it with another invocation that you could learn at that level.
HARBINGER’S AID
At 17th level you can call on your patron for assistance. As an action you can spend 6 ki points to request your patron to send 1 CR 5 creature or 2 CR 4 creatures to aid you. The creature type that responds depends on your patron as follows:
Archfey: Fey
Celestial: Celestial
Fathomless: Ooze
Fiend: Fiend
Genie: Elemental
Great Old One: Aberration
Hexblade: Construct
Undying: Undead
The DM chooses the specific creature(s) that respond. Each creature that responds appears in an unoccupied space that you can see within 60 feet. Each creature disappears when it drops to 0 hit points or when 10 minutes have passed. Each creature that responds is friendly to you and your companions for the duration. Roll initiative for each creature, which has its own turns and obeys any verbal commands that you issue to it (no action required by you), as long as they aren't opposed to its nature. If you don’t issue any commands the creature defends itself from hostile creatures but otherwise takes no actions. A CR 5 creature arrives with temporary hit points equal to your monk level plus your Wisdom bonus, and CR 4 creatures arrive with half that number of temporary hit points. Any creatures summoned by this ability also receives a bonus to all attack rolls equal to your Wisdom bonus. Once you have used this ability you must complete a long rest before you can use it again.
MULTICLASSING:
The following special rules apply to Way of the Harbinger monks when multiclassing.
Pact spell slots. Characters who have levels in both the warlock class and the monk class following the Way of the Harbinger have the pact spell slots of a single class warlock whose level equals the multiclass character’s warlock level plus one third (round down) of the multiclass character’s monk level. So a 7th level warlock/11th level Way of the Harbinger monk has two 5th level spell slots (as a 10th level warlock would). Characters having both regular spellcasting classes and pact magic classes ignore their pact magic classes when determining their regular spellcasting slots and ignore their regular spellcasting classes when determining their pact magic slots.
Eldritch Invocations. Characters who have levels in the warlock class who have 10 or fewer levels in the monk class following the Way of the Harbinger ignore the monk levels when selecting invocations or determining their effects.
Characters who have levels in the warlock class who have at least 11 levels in the monk class following the Way of the Harbinger select their invocations separately for each class. So a 7th level warlock/11th level Way of the Harbinger monk selects 4 invocations from among those available to 7th level warlocks with the pact boon selected as a 3rd level warlock (which use Charisma to determine their effect) and selects 2 additional invocations from among those available to a 4th level warlock with no pact boon (which use Wisdom to determine their effect). A character can not have any invocation on both classes list of invocations known. The level of ritual spells that can be transcribed due to the Book of Ancient Secrets ignores the character’s monk levels (as per the rules on learning spells), while other invocation effects based on warlock level (such as the temporary hit points granted by Tomb of Levistus) use the sum of the character’s warlock level plus one third (round down) of the character’s monk level.
Patrons. Characters who have levels in both the warlock class and the monk class following the Way of the Harbinger are strongly encouraged to choose the same patron for both classes. Players with two different patrons WILL wind up in situations where the patron’s demands are incompatible and they will face negative consequences from the patron whose demands are not met. The frequency and severity of these situations are up to DM and should depend on the natures of the two patrons involved. If the two patrons are the Celestial and the Fiend the character will probably be in severe trouble with one or both of their patrons at all times (and other servants of the patron(s) may be sent to deal with the troublesome renegade). Other patron combinations will probably be less contentious, but even patrons with either very similar goals or very unrelated interests should have occasional conflicts that cause the character in game negative consequences.