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View Full Version : D&D 5e/Next Otherworldly Patron: The Uttercold Legion



Giegue
2018-10-03, 08:15 PM
https://pm1.narvii.com/6371/36b53a2519b472b6249399509e22f2c5f482ca71_hq.jpg

War is expensive. The toll of war is the lives of soldiers, and the lives of soldiers take immense resources to mantain. With requirements like food, shelter and rest, the average man-at-arms is a very inefficient tool in the game of war. While some nations try to rectify this with the use of constructs, their outrageous price tags prove prohibitive to deploying them en-mass. While most nations live with the costs of fielding an entirely living army or using constructs, for a few wayward nations necromancy provides an alluring alternative.

When morality is set aside, the undead can make terrifically efficient soldiers. Fearless and untiring, undead don't require food, lodging or rest for their survival. They do not shrink at the prospect of taking life, and will obey orders without question. With their relatively cheap price, at least when compared to constructs, it is no surprise some desperate or amoral nations turn to raising the dead as a means of cutting down on the number of living troops they must provide for. However, while obedient, mindless undead are less than ideal in many respects, being unable to take initiative or respond to changing battlefield conditions. Sentient undead are therefore the pinnacle of soldiering, but since they are not mindless they have the capacity for disobedience. Thus, both shambling mindless grunts and elite intelligent shock troopers come with the same need: the need for leadership.

For political reasons, the undead are seldom permitted to serve as their own officers; instead, fearful mortal authorities insist that they must be placed under the command of the living. However, if such officers hope to win the respect of their troops, they must be magically powerful in their own right, as well as charismatic and subtly tainted by the touch of death. Such officers are thus vested with magical powers by the sovereigns of their nations, giving them quick and easy access to the fell talents needed tolead undead units on the battlefield. Often called "uttercold assault necromancers," the defining trait of these Warlocks is their ability to harness a twisted blend of ice and death-based magics to support the undead that fight under them and destroy their enemies.

The undead soldiers that uttercold assault necromancers lead are perfectly disciplined, and their nations thus expect the same level of discipline from them. In order to maintain this expected discipline, and in response to the hatred and fear in which their forces are held, uttercold assault necromancers are held to the highest standard of military ethics. A degree of political aptitude is also demanded of these officers, as their forces are almost guaranteed to be given the most dangerous and least desirable missions. The stringent requirements that come with being an uttercold assault necromancer demand commitment from a young age, so most who take up the path are apprenticed in their teens, and low level characters typically fall into this apprentice category.

Patron Spells

The Uttercold Legion lets choose from an expanded list of spells when you select a Warlock spell. The following spells are added to the warlock spell list for you:

1st: Heroism, Ice Knife
2nd: Aid, Enhance Ability
3rd: Crusader's Mantle, Sleet Storm
4th: Death Ward, Ice Storm
5th: Circle of Power, Cone of Cold

An Officer and a Gentleman

As an Uttercold Assault Necromancer, you are a recognized officer in a military force that has one or more undead detachments, one of which you are responsible for, or one day will be responsible for. Starting when you select this patron at 1st level you and up to 4 of your allies may gain free food and lodging, while on a military installation within your nation. You also have advantage on all d20 rolls when gathering information from military members (active or retired) from your nation.

You gain proficiency in one versatile or one-handed weapon of your choice. Upon completing your training you are given a weapon of that type, known as a Ceremonial Weapon. You may use you ceremonial weapon as an arcane focus for your Warlock spells and abilities. If you lose or break your Ceremonial Weapon you may get a replacement at any military installation within your nation. A Ceremonial Weapon can become a pact weapon.

You also must abide by the officer's code, a set of exacting standards that your military and nation hold you accountable to. Your GM determines the exact punishment for defying this code.

As an Uttercold Assault Necromancer, you must conduct your villainous acts with restraint, good manners and aplomb. In addition, you must hold yourself to the following rules:

You must avoid harming innocents and civilians, when feasible.
You must be courteous and dignified of bearing (and towards the opposite sex, gallant) at all times.
You must graciously accept the surrender of a defeated foe, and treat them with decorum and respect, which means absolutely no torture.
You cannot summarily slay captured foes. You are permitted to test their worthiness by placing them in elaborate conditions almost certain to kill them, as long as those of sufficient character or cleverness might survive.
You must always keep your word of honor.
You are also expected to ensure that all of your subordinates (including undead minions you raise or summon yourself) obey this code, and to discipline them if they do not. Note that other "dishonorable" actions, including attacks from ambush, torture of captured spies, and the use of poison, are perfectly permissible under the Officer's Code.

Command the Dead

Also at 1st level, you gain the ability to control undead creatures. As an action you may expend a Warlock spell slot to take control of an undead creature. When you this, you target one undead creature you can see within 30 feet and force it to make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, the target must obey your commands for the next 24 hours, or until you use this feature again. Undead whose CRs equal or exceeds your warlock level are immune to this effect.

Chill of Death

At 6th level you learn to reanimate those that fall to your icy magics as undead minions. When a creature dies from a spell you cast that deals cold damage, you may use your reaction and spend one warlock spell slot to cast Animate Dead as a Warlock spell on the creature, ignoring its material component cost and casting time.

Cold Embrace

Starting at 10th level, you gain resistance to cold and necrotic damage, can hold your breath indefinitely, and don't require food, water, or sleep, though you still require rest to reduce exhaustion and still benefit from finishing short and long rests. In addition, you age at a slower rate. For every 10 years that pass, your body ages only 1 year, and you are immune to being magically aged.

Uttercold Assault

At 14th level, you learn how to draw upon the dual powers of frost and necromancy to devistate your foes. As an action you can create a burst of ice centered around you with a 20ft radius. Creatures caught within that radius must make a Dexterity saving throw against your Warlock spell save DC. On a failed save, they take 10d8 cold damage and become restrained. A restrained creature can spend their action to break the restrained condition. On a successful save, they take half as much damage, and are not restrained. If any creature is reduced to 0 or less hit points by this feature, they become skeletons or zombies (your choice, and not subject to change once chosen) under your control, as if you cast Animate Dead on their corpses. Once you use this feature, you cannot do so again until you complete a short or long rest.

New Invocations

The following invocations are added to those a warlock can choose from when they select their invocations:

Fell Animate
Prerequisite: Chill Touch cantrip
When a living creature’s hit points are reduced to 0 or less from your Chill Touch cantrip a skeleton rises from its corpse. The skeleton has 1 hit point and has the same initiative as the creature. When the skeleton takes it’s turn, it will move to and attack the closest target that is an enemy to you (if it can). At the end of the skeleton’s turn its hit points are reduced to 0 and crumbles to pieces. (Credit: Garfunion)

Frightful Touch
Prerequisite: Chill Touch cantrip
When you hit a creature with your Chill Touch cantrip, that creature must make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, it is frightened of you until the end of its next turn, after which it becomes immuned to this invocation’s effects. (Credit: Garfunion)

Fellfrost
When you cast a spell that deals cold damage, that spell deals additional necrotic damage equal to your Charisma modifier against a single target. (Credit: Garfunion)

Rime Blade
Prerequsite: Uttercold Legion Patron
You gain Green Flame Blade as a bonus Warlock cantrip, which does not count against your total cantrips known (as-per the warlock table). When you cast Green Flame Blade, it deals cold damage instead of fire damage.

Icy Burst
Prerequisite: 5th level, Frostbite cantrip, Uttercold Legion Patron
When you cast Frostbite cantrip, you may target two additional creatures. Each target can not be no more then 10ft apart from each other. (Credit: Garfunion)

The Dead Walk
Prerequisite: 5th level
You can cast Animate Dead using a Warlock spell slot twice per-long rest.

General of Undeath
Prerequisite: 5th level, Uttercold Legion Patron
Frendly undead creatures within 30ft of you add your Charisma modifier to their weapon damage rolls.

Unholy Healing
Prerequisite: 7th level, Uttercold Legion Patron
When a friendly undead creature within 30ft of you spends a hit die to heal, they restore additional hit points equal to your Warlock level. (Credit: Garfunion)

Flexible Arcanum
Prerequisite: 11th level
Choose one Warlock spell (which can be a mystic arcanum spell, if applicable) you know. You may use your Mystic Arcanum to cast that spell at a spell level equal to the Mystic Arcanum spent. (You do not also cast the expended mystic arcanum spell when you do this.) You can select this invocation multiple times. Each time you do so, you must choose a different spell. (Credit: Garfunion)

Patron Spells

The Uttercold Legion lets choose from an expanded list of spells when you select a warlock spell. The following spells are added to the warlock spell list for you:

1st: Heroism, Ice Knife
2nd: Aid, Snilloc's Snowball Swarm
3rd: Crusader's Mantle, Sleet Storm
4th: Elemental Bane, Ice Storm
5th: Circle of Power, Cone of Cold

An Officer and a Gentleman

As an Uttercold Assault Necromancer, you are a recognized officer in a military force that has one or more undead detachments, one of which you are responsible for, or one day will be responsible for. When you select this patron at 1st level, you gain the Military Rank feature of the soldier background, with your rank being an appropriate officer rank in your nation or faction's military. If you already have the Military Rank background feature, you instead gain the Retainers feature of the Knight variant of the Noble background. However, due to the foul reputation necromancy has, your military rank may not be honored among soldiers and nations that hold the undead and necromancy in contempt.

You also must abide by the officer's code, a set of standards that your military and nation hold you accountable to. Your GM determines the exact punishment for defying this code. Additionally, you can use an officer's dress sword (which is typically a longsword or rapier, though that may change depending on your nation or military) as an arcane focus for your Warlock spells. However, this feature dose not confer proficiency with any such weapons, just the ability to use them as arcane foci. If you wish, you can start play with an officer's dress sword instead of the arcane focus you would normally receive from the Warlock class.

Being placed in a position of great responsibility, Uttercold Assault Necromancers are held to the highest standards of millitary ethics. The powers they are vested and the undead they lead both hold the potential for great evil and destruction, and as a result these officers are made to understand the weight of their duty from a young age. Thus, Uttercold Assault Necromancers are required by their nations to hold themselves to the Officer's Code, a set of military ethics that help them to use the powers and soldiers they hold sway over responsibly. While the default fluff and mechanics of this archetype involve being held to this code, a GM can waive the requirement for an Uttercold Assault Necromancer to follow the Officer's Code at their discretion. The Officer's Code is outlined below:

As an Uttercold Assault Necromancer, you must conduct your villainous acts with restraint, good manners and aplomb. In addition, you must hold yourself to the following rules:

You must avoid harming innocents and civilians, when feasible.
You must be courteous and dignified of bearing (and towards the opposite sex, gallant) at all times.
You must graciously accept the surrender of a defeated foe, and treat them with decorum and respect, which means absolutely no torture.
You cannot summarily slay captured foes. You are permitted to test their worthiness by placing them in elaborate conditions almost certain to kill them, as long as those of sufficient character or cleverness might survive.
You must always keep your word of honor.
You are also expected to ensure that all of your subordinates (including undead minions you raise or summon yourself) obey this code, and to discipline them if they do not. Note that other "dishonorable" actions, including attacks from ambush, torture of captured spies, and the use of poison, are perfectly permissible under the Officer's Code.

Uttercold Magic

One of the foundational aspects of an Uttercold Assault Necromancer's training is learning to blend cold and necrotic magics into a unified whole. Starting at 1st level, your Warlock spells that deal cold damage deal half their damage as necrotic damage. When you cast Eldritch Blast it deals cold damage instead of force damage. (Meaning it would also deal half its damage as necrotic damage due to this feature) Additionally, when a frendly undead creature (including those you don’t control) would be dealt damage by a Warlock spell of 1st level or higher you cast that deals cold damage, they instead heal hit points equal to half the total damage the spell would deal.

General of Undeath

At 6th level you become a true lord of undead, able to raise empowered undead and use your mastery of uttercold magic to heal your minions. You gain The Dead Walk and Undead Mastery as bonus invocations, which do not count against your total invocations known. All frendly undead you don’t control recieve the benefits of your Undead Mastery invocation as if you created them with a necromamcy spell as long as they remain within 30ft of you.

Additionally, when you use a bonus action to command undead you control, you can also command all frendly undead you don’t control as a part of that bonus action, as if you controlled them. This does not confer actual control over those undead however; they can freely choose to disobey your commands if they are counter to their wishes or the wishes of their controllers.

Undead Shield

As you grow in power you eventually learn how to use your undead soldiers to defend yourself. Whenever you take damage and have an undead you control within 5ft if you, you can use your reaction to take half the triggering damage and have that undead take an equal amount of damage of the same type and from the same source. This damage cannot be prevented or avoided in any way. If using this ability drops an undead to 0 hit points, you gain temporary hit points equal to twice your Charisma modifier. Once you use this feature, you cannot do so again until you finish a short or long rest.

Lord of the Uttercold

At 14th level you learn how to effectively command your hoard of undead, turning them into a deadly fighting force through your tactical coordination. All frendly undead (including those you don’t control) have the Pact Tactics trait as long as they remain within 30ft of you. Additionally, any undead you command to attack that makes their attack with advantage deals additional damage equal to your Charisma modifier + the number of frendly undead that are adjacent to its target with that attack.

Credits

Current iteration property of Garfunion of GITPG. A big thanks to everybody who posted here and helped hammer out the class as well. Art credit sadly unknown, but I didn't draw it, and don't claim that I did.

Garfunion
2018-10-03, 11:52 PM
I believe that this archetype would be better suited for the Warlock of Paladin class. The Warlock has most on the necromancy spells an undead commander would need. Just make an expanded spell list to add some of the missing spells.

Edit: it seem that you changed it to an arcane tradition instead. Still think the Warlock would be a better choice in class. As of right now this arcane tradition is stomping on the toes of the Necromancy acane tradition.

Giegue
2018-10-04, 01:19 AM
Only reason it was a sorc thing was because I already had a bunch of necro stuff for the warlock that worked independent of the patron. However, you persuaded me to make it a patron so I just made it work with the pact boon and invocations I already had made. Either way, I am worried about the balance of the capstone. Its a VERY powerful pet, but also eats an attunement slot. I am not sure thats enough to balance it out. Thoughts and opinions would be appreciated.

Garfunion
2018-10-04, 01:36 AM
Only reason it was a sorc thing was because I already had a bunch of necro stuff for the warlock that worked independent of the patron. However, you persuaded me to make it a patron so I just made it work with the pact boon and invocations I already had made. Either way, I am worried about the balance of the capstone. Its a VERY powerful pet, but also eats an attunement slot. I am not sure thats enough to balance it out. Thoughts and opinions would be appreciated.

I’ll have to look at it later. You should also look at the Oathbreaker paladin in the DMG I think page 96 or 98. It may give you some ideas.

Giegue
2018-10-04, 01:40 AM
Its not really meant to be a melee class though; its very much the tactician-general that leads from the back lines and commands undead to hit people for them. Its main gimmick is having a hoard of minions that are on-par power-wise with the necro wizard while also being a cold + necrotic blaster that can heal its undead with blast spells, which is another reason it was a Sorcerer originally. Since I already made undead hoard mechanics for the warlock as invocations and a pact boon a long time ago, the only thing I am really stuck on is the capstone. Honestly I have no clue what to put there, as I am almost positive the current capstone is hella OP and I am not married to it thematically by any means.

EDIT: Thought of a way more fitting and hopefully balanced capstone. Thoughts and opinions would be most appreciated!

Amnoriath
2018-10-04, 09:19 AM
While not overpowered in any respect it is an odd and rather confusing subclass.
1. Right off the bat thematically you have a long, wordy theme summary which contradicts the idea of an otherwordly pact. Namely the idea that you completely command it rather than it being an other force that influences both you and the campaign.
2. Having a nation's alleigence code is probably something more for the back story rather than the subclass since the nation isn't your otherwordly pact.
3. Uttercold Magic should be a choice as forcing it makes Eldritch Blast worse.
4. Why not have the weapon proficiency?
5. Nothing really wrong with your 6th level but it is different from most others.
6. Okay you put the traditional 6th level as a 10th level with a condition and a rider. It is weak.
7. So you gave the off chance you actually find friendly undead a loop hole to ignore this ability? The first half of this is barely a ribbon. This and the other probably needed to be early.
8. Again your 14th level very wordy and kind of hard to follow.
9. You have a theme directive of this subclass is having intelligent undead but this doesn't give you any until 14th level sort of.

Vogie
2018-10-04, 09:57 AM
While not overpowered in any respect it is an odd and rather confusing subclass.
1. Right off the bat thematically you have a long, wordy theme summary which contradicts the idea of an otherwordly pact. Namely the idea that you completely command it rather than it being an other force that influences both you and the campaign.
2. Having a nation's alleigence code is probably something more for the back story rather than the subclass since the nation isn't your otherwordly pact.


I agree, but not in the same manner. I saw the introduction more as part of a supplement. I'd actually rather another Uttercold Legion archetype, rather than reducing it to "just backstory". Even subtle mentions, such as "to create a Champion of the Uttercold Legion, use the Oathbreaker Paladin stats" would be better than nothing.

If the nation is an otherworldly one, I think the ability to patronize heralds on other worlds via patronage would be interesting. It's kind of like sending out sleeper agents.

However, I don't know what "Warlock spell of 1st Level or higher you cast that deals both cold and necrotic damage" you're referring to. I've been flipping through the available spells, and I can only find ones that deal one or the other. The one I've found that deals 2 type of damage is Hunger of Hadar, but it deals cold & acid damage, and not simultaneously. And you specified a 1st level spell or higher, so it can't be your Rimefrost version of Eldritch Blast, either (not that you'd want to have a healing cantrip).

Giegue
2018-10-04, 10:40 AM
It’s meant to be more like the Hexblade in that it’s an atypical Patron; however you are still very much bound to a higher power. It’s just instead of that higher power being some creepy entity from another world its a worldly political power that has potent enough magical resources to dole out warlock powers like a more traditional patron. Your still just as bound to the crown and your county as a fiendlock is to Beelzebub, and will be expected to do things on their behalf. Its basicly a subclass meant for use in Tippyverse settings where worldly nations having magic enough to make Warlocks is at home as a concept. As to the spells, the first level feature makes all your cold damage spells deal half their damage as necrotic, meaning they all trigger the pet heal. If you notice, you get a bunch of cold damage spells from your Patron, which with Uttercold Magic deal both cold and necrotic damage.

Also, took your advice and moved some class-defining things down and added new features. Any balance comments are appreciate!

Garfunion
2018-10-04, 11:13 AM
While not overpowered in any respect it is an odd and rather confusing subclass.
1. Right off the bat thematically you have a long, wordy theme summary which contradicts the idea of an otherwordly pact. Namely the idea that you completely command it rather than it being an other force that influences both you and the campaign.
2. Having a nation's alleigence code is probably something more for the back story rather than the subclass since the nation isn't your otherwordly pact.
I’m the one that suggested it be a warlock archetype. The class has the most flavorful necromancy spells.
Who is to say that a nation desperate for an army may “lie” to their troops about what they are truly getting into. Disguising a pact ritual as an initiation ceremony.

Giegue
2018-10-04, 12:26 PM
Yeah. Does the current form look too broken or is it fine balance-wise? The numbers should be calculated assuming the Undead Mastery invocation is taken, since ithe archetype is pretty underpowered without it, but with it the damage may end up too high.

Garfunion
2018-10-04, 12:55 PM
Yeah. Does the current form look too broken or is it fine balance-wise? The numbers should be calculated assuming the Undead Mastery invocation is taken, since ithe archetype is pretty underpowered without it, but with it the damage may end up too high.
I’m going to be honest, the archetype just seems weird to me. It doesn’t follow the standard norm of what an archetype would give.
Do you want the archetype to be more focused on attack with cold and necromancy spells or the controlling of undead?

Giegue
2018-10-04, 01:06 PM
Undead control, first and foremost. The cold damage stuff is mainly for pet healing and a themeatic nod to 3.5e. If you think the themeatics of it are off I can just swap it to healing off necrotic damage spells instead of the current Uttercold stuff, have it heal a number of creatures up to your Cha mod which can be living or undead (so it’s not dead before you get pets), and also have it let undead not healed ignore the frendly fire entirely.

Nifft
2018-10-04, 01:34 PM
Just FYI this looks very applicable to Eberron.

Karnnath is the northern-most of the 5 Nations, and it's got a significant undead necromancer army thing going on. (Their undead legions retain their own minds and are thus mostly Neutral rather than being inherently Evil.)

I feel like this archetype could find a home in Karnnath.

clash
2018-10-04, 03:09 PM
I would actually suggest making the patron all about undead and go with something like an "Ascendant Undead" or "Demi-Lich" as your patron then make the uttercold a pact boon. I could just a soon see a Fae or GOO warlock that uses uttercold magic as an undead one.

Garfunion
2018-10-04, 03:49 PM
Here is my version of your archetype.


Patron Spells
The Uttercold Legion lets choose from an expanded list of spells when you select a warlock spell. The following spells are added to the warlock spell list for you:

1st: Heroism, Ice Knife
2nd: Aid, Enhance Ability
3rd: Crusader's Mantle, Sleet Storm
4th: Death Ward, Ice Storm
5th: Circle of Power, Cone of Cold

An Officer and a Gentleman
As an Uttercold Assault Necromancer, you are a recognized officer in a military force that has one or more undead detachments, one of which you are responsible for, or one day will be responsible for.
When you select this patron at 1st level, you and up to 4 of your allies may gain free food and lodging, while on a military installation within your nation. You also have advantage on all d20 rolls, when gathering information from military member(active or retired) from your nation.

•Ceremonial Weapon
You gain proficiency in one, versatile or one-handed weapon of your choice. Upon completing your training you are given a weapon that your proficient with, known as a Ceremonial Weapon. You may use you ceremonial weapon as an arcane focus for all your warlock spells and abilities. If you lose or break your Ceremonial Weapon, you may get a replacement at any military installation within your nation. A Ceremonial Weapon can become a pact weapon.

You also must abide by the officer's code, a set of standards that your military and nation hold you accountable to. Your GM determines the exact punishment for defying this code.

<insert code of conduct>

General of Undeath
At 1st level you gain the ability to control undead.
As an action you may spend one warlock spell slot, to take control over an undead creature. You targets one undead creature you can see within 30 feet of you. The target must make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, the target must obey the your commands for the next 24 hours, or until you use this feature again. An undead whose challenge rating is equal to or greater than your warlock level is immune to this effect.

Chill of Death
At 6th level, when a creature dies from a spell you cast that does cold damage. You may use a reaction and spend one warlock spell slot to cast Animate Dead spell on the creature, ignoring material component cost and cast time.

Cold Embrace
Beginning at 10th level, you gain resistance to cold and necrotic damage, can hold your breath indefinitely, and you don't require food, water, or sleep, although you still require rest to reduce exhaustion and still benefit from finishing short and long rests.
In addition, you age at a slower rate. For every 10 years that pass, your body ages only 1 year, and you are immune to being magically aged.

Uttercold Assault
At 14th level, you send a burst of ice centered around you, up to 20ft radius. Creatures within the radius must make it dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, the creature takes 10d8 cold damage and becomes restrained. A restrained creature may spend their action to un-restrained themselves. On a successful save, the creature takes half damage and is not restrained.
If any creature’s hit points are reduced to 0 or less by this ability, they become undead monsters under your control as if you cast Animate Dead spell on them.
You can not use this ability again, until you complete a long rest.

New Invocations
Unholy Frost
When you cast a spell that deals cold damage, you can add additional necrotic damage equal to your Charisma modifier against one of its targets.

Unholy Healing
When a friendly undead creature within 10ft if you spend a hit die to heal. They restore additional hit points equal to your warlock level.

Giegue
2018-10-04, 04:39 PM
Looks good, thanks for all the help! One thing I will add is that there are no healing spells that work on undead. While the pact boon I made has an invocation that lets you heal undead with life draining spells like Vampiric touch, those spells are not targeting undead at all, but rather enemies. So instead, maybe word it as "When you an undead creature would heal hit points as a result of a warlock spell or class feature you used, it heals additional hit point equal to your Warlock level." Other than that, looks good. Mind if I add it to the OP (along with the original for posterity) and credit you, as well as clean up the formatting/grammar a bit?

Garfunion
2018-10-04, 04:50 PM
Looks good, thanks for all the help! One thing I will add is that there are no healing spells that work on undead. While the pact boon I made has an invocation that lets you heal undead with life draining spells like Vampiric touch, those spells are not targeting undead at all, but rather enemies. So instead, maybe word it as "When you an undead creature would heal hit points as a result of a warlock spell or class feature you used, it heals additional hit point equal to your Warlock level." Other than that, looks good. Mind if I add it to the OP (along with the original for posterity) and credit you, as well as clean up the formatting/grammar a bit? go for it.

Yeah I did a little more research and found out that healing spells do not affect undead.

Unholy Healing
When a friendly undead creature within 10ft of you spend a hit die to heal. They restore additional hit points equal to your warlock level.

Edit: I also made some grammatical changes to my version.

Blackbando
2018-10-04, 06:25 PM
Life Transference can heal undead, actually. So can Regenerate.

Garfunion
2018-10-04, 07:12 PM
Now that I have fully embraced the Uttercold Assault Necromancer, I can now help you create a Sorcerer version if you want.

Giegue
2018-10-04, 09:43 PM
Sure. I also updated the invocations a bit, so word on the changes (and new invocation added) would be appreciated!

Garfunion
2018-10-05, 02:21 PM
You don’t need to really add so many extra requirements or verbiage to most class/archetype features.

Chill of Death
You don’t need to add “as a warlock spell” to this feature. It is a warlock feature and you are using a warlock spell slot.

Uttercold Assault
You don’t need to state skeleton or zombie plus the restriction you added. The Animate Dead spell tells you what you can do.

•••••••••••••••

Pact of Consumption
This pact gift doesn’t seem right to me, it more resembles an archetype feature. It also to niche and not as universal as the other pact gifts. There is also no physical interaction with it. Maybe make it more into a simpler invocation orr a vampire/blood magus archetype.

••••Invocations••••
You have a lot of fell names. Invocations that are not list here seem ok to me.

Vampiric Healing
Also seem like it should be an archetype ability.

Fell Animate
(I like where you are going with this but here is how I would word it. If you want to keep it as a low level Invocation(which you should).)

Fel-Animate
Prerequisite chill touch cantrip
When a living creature’s hit points are reduced to 0 or less from your chill touch cantrip a skeleton rises from its corpse. The skeleton has 1 hit point and has the same initiative as the creature. When the skeleton takes it’s turn, it will move to and attack the closest target that is an enemy to you (if it can). At the end of the skeleton’s turn its hit points are reduced to 0 and crumbles to pieces.

Fell Frighten

Frightful Touch
Prerequisite chill touch cantrip
When you hit a creature with your chill touch cantrip, that creature must make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, it is frightened of you until the end of its next turn, after which it becomes immuned to this invocation’s effects.

Fellfrost
Doesn’t need a prerequisite. A character will already have to invest two levels into the warlock class and have at least one spell that does cold damage(or they wouldn’t take the invocation). The effects of this invocation only apply to a single creature, so it’s not that powerful.

Icy Burst
(I’m not really into modifying cantrips like this unless the class was designed to do so. But here’s my take on it.)

Icy Burst
Prerequisite: 5th level, Frostbite cantrip, Patron Uttercold Legion
When you cast Frostbite cantrip, you may target two additional creatures. Each target can not be no more then 10ft apart from each other.

Undead Mastery
Removed. If you want this level of power, play a necromancer wizard.

Unholy Healing
Removed. I’ve had second thoughts. The warlock is more of a set it and forget it, selfish class.
The warlock class in general lack the resources to maintain an army of undead. So in my mind a nation would employ necromancer wizards to create and maintain undead while a Uttercold Assault nercomancer warlock gains control of a handful of them and marches them onto the battlefield.

Ghoulcaller
Not sure what you want this invocation to do. A warlock can already chose to learn Create Undead spell, it is on the warlock spell list.

Enslave Undead
Removed. If you want this level of power, play a necromancer wizard.


••••Spells••••
I’m going to be honest, as a warlock I’m not gonna choose any of these spells. Both of the spell seem like they are more appropriate to be archetype abilities.

Giegue
2018-10-05, 02:38 PM
The main thing I wanted from this was to be a good undead pet master. Getting rid of undead mastery makes it straight up worse than the wizard at undead pets, which totally destroys the design intent. Maybe a sorcerer thats an undead pet lord would be a better choice for having a viable cha-based undead pet lord comporable to a necro wizard in pet power? I could easily see a sorc that, say, spends sorcery points to buff the undead created by its reanimation spells, for example....and since there is a precident for sorcs selecting spells from other lists (divine soul) just letting them choose any necromancy spell they want as a spell known, regardless of list (as long as its of a level they can cast) may work.

Garfunion
2018-10-05, 02:58 PM
The main thing I wanted from this was to be a good undead pet master. Getting rid of undead mastery makes it straight up worse than the wizard at undead pets, which totally destroys the design intent. Maybe a sorcerer thats an undead pet lord would be a better choice for having a viable cha-based undead pet lord comporable to a necro wizard in pet power? I could easily see a sorc that, say, spends sorcery points to buff the undead created by its reanimation spells, for example....and since there is a precident for sorcs selecting spells from other lists (divine soul) just letting them choose any necromancy spell they want as a spell known, regardless of list (as long as its of a level they can cast) may work.
If you’re just going to take the necromancer wizard features and bolted onto a sorcerer then I have an alternate solution for you.

First you cannot multiclass.
Create a necromancer wizard. You still need to use your intelligence modifier to determine how many spells you can prepare for the day. Replace their spellcasting ability from intelligence to charisma and any necromancer features that require the use of intelligence is now replaced with charisma.

This will give you all the undead mastery power that you want with the use of charisma.

Edit: I was actually planning on using the divine soul as a base model for a Uttercold Assault bloodline.

Giegue
2018-10-05, 03:43 PM
Thats called a houserule. Houserules are NEVER allowed in virtually all games. LIKE NEVER. Homebrew archetypes are more regularly allowed, however, which is why my charisma necromancer MUST be an archype and CANNOT, I REPEAT, CANNOT CANNOT CANNOT be a wizard hosueruled to run off cha. That being said, the bonuses to undead pets do not, and should not, be just straight up the wizard's grafted onto a Sorc. They should be different, but comporable/equal in power. That was the idea.

Giegue
2018-10-07, 08:06 AM
@ Garfunion: After thinking it over I think I kinda get what your saying abs like a lot of your ideas. I still want these guys to be good at using undead minions though, but I think , I made a good compromise with that with some of the Nee invocations I added that don’t just straight up rip off the wizard. Would appreciate your thought on them, knowing that they are meant to make this a viable undead pet master. That being said, I liked the idea of nations employing actual Necromancer wizards to raise undead so I made the warlock pet buffs less significant than the wizard’s, but able to buff any frendly undead, including those they don’t control themselves, and if they choose they can take their buffs without taking the Animate Dead indication meaning they can never raise permanent undead pets and instead buff party member’s undead or ones they control with their 1st level power. I felt this was more in-line with their fluff while still letting them be a Necro pet lord all on their own if they wish.

Also, Ghoulcaller’s purpose, BTW, is to get better Undead off it than Ghouls. By default, Warlocks cannot “upcast” lower level mystic arcanum to get their higher level effects. This invocation lets you blow your higher level mystic arcanum on Create Undead/Sink them all into pets rather than use them for their normal spells. The name “ghoulcaller” is kinda a misnomer though, so I changed it.

Garfunion
2018-10-07, 02:31 PM
•••Invocations••••

Frotnline Officer
This is to much. The Warlock would be better off starting as a Fighter. An invocation should not provide this level of proficiency. Beside, don’t forget about spells like Armor of Agathys it needs the warlock to be hit for it to work.

Master Re-animator
Let’s make this a more broad invocation.

Flexible Arcanum
Prerequisite: 13th level
Choose one Warlock spell you know. You may use your Mystical Arcanum to cast the spell, at a spell level equal to the Mystical Arcanum spent.
You can select this invocation multiple times. Each time you do so, you must choose a different spell.

Or

Necromancy Savant
Prerequisite: 13th level, Uttercold Legion Patron
Choose one necromancy spell you know. You may use your Mystical Arcanum to cast the spell, at a spell level equal to the Mystical Arcanum spent.
You can select this invocation multiple times. Each time you do so, you must choose a different spell.
•••••••••••••

Everything else seem to look ok. If I was your DM I would let you play it.

Giegue
2018-10-07, 07:36 PM
Yeah, I realized frontline officer was too broken, so to facilitate the "melee" playstyle I decided to instead replace it with Rime Blade, which just gives them Green Flame Blade for free, but sets its damage to cold. This accomplishes the same goal of making a blade pact Uttercold Assault Legion Warlock without a fighter dip viable by letting a dex-build add their Cha and Dex to melee damage (As pairing the Rime Blade invocation with the Fellfrost invocation allows them to get the bonus necrotic damage on Green Flame Blade, giving them solid melee dpr despite not being str-based).

Also yeah, that take on Master Reanimator works. I like the first general one more, as there are plenty of other mystic arcanum that other warlocks would like to be able to upcast. Anyway, with that change I think this archetype is in a good place now. Its still a viable undead lord all on its own, as the General of Undeath invocation and Inspiring Leader feat both let you have pets on par with a necromancer wizard. Granted, the wizard will still control far more undead than you, but your undead buffs can work on other people's undead, so I think it balances out in the end.

Garfunion
2018-10-07, 10:41 PM
Well, I looked it over one more time. Everything looks balanced to me.

Are you going to play the class?