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View Full Version : D&D 5e/Next Pact of Discovery [Warlock Pact] P.E.A.C.H.



Bjarkmundur
2019-03-19, 05:38 AM
Design Goal:
To give my Player a mechanic that showcases his character's flavour of creating spells through crafting and experiments.

Pact of Discovery
Your Patron has given you a one-time gift of power, and it is up to you to learn to weild it. You spend countless hours trying to understand the intricacies of spellcasting, experimenting and discovering new spells.

When you choose this feature at 3rd level you choose a Spell School to study for your next experiment. As an action, you can test your findings and attempt to cast an unknown spell from the school you are studying. Roll an Intelligence check against a DC of 11+ your spell slot level. On a success, you cast a random spell of that school against a target within 30ft that you can see. If the spell targets self it is cast on you and not your target. The spell can only be of a level for which you have spell slots or lower. You regain the use of this feature at the end of a long rest, at which point you can choose a different school to study.

When choosing this feature at 3rd level you can add two 1st Level Spells from any class to your list of known spells.

This Pact counts has Pact of the Tome for meeting prerequisites.

TyGuy
2019-03-21, 11:01 PM
When you gain this feature you choose a Spell School to study. You can change which spell school you're studying at the end of a long rest. As an action you can make your final experiment and attempt to use your discovered spell in action. Roll a Charisma check against a DC of 13+ your spell slot level. On a success you cast a random spell of the school you chose, against a target within 30ft that you can see. If the spell targets self it is cast on you and not your target. The spell can only be of a level for which you have spell slots or lower. You regain the use of this feature at the end of a long rest.
Does the spell's range get ignored? Touch spells or spells with a range greater than 30' for example.

How about point and area effect spells?

How are the spells randomly chosen?


It gives me a little bit of a wild magic sorc. vibe.

Bjarkmundur
2019-03-22, 02:46 AM
Does the spell's range get ignored? Touch spells or spells with a range greater than 30' for example.

How about point and area effect spells?

How are the spells randomly chosen?


It gives me a little bit of a wild magic sorc. vibe.

My group will try this pact at level 3. I knew the random spell would pose some unique problems, and decided not to worry about it. I will tackle it once we start playtesting and I gert a feel for the effect.
As a place holder the pact works on such a way the DM rolls the random table. I might end up having to make a separate list of "discoverable spells" just to simplify and keep some obviously game breaking spells out of the Warlock's arsenal.
And yes, the spell's targeting ignores pretty much everything except 'self'. This mean that areas of effect are centered around the target. On the fly I would probably rule touch spells as "Your hands glow, but the spell does not leave your palm. You can walk up to a creature and deliver the spell manually"

And yes, wild sorcerer is kinda the effect I wanted. I want the feeling of Discovery and awe. That feeling you get when you look at 9th level spells the first time, or when you first read about the Feywild. Something that engages the player and pulls him into a fantastic world of wonder through dice and action, not reading character optimisation posts and Spell guides.

Bjarkmundur
2019-03-25, 06:21 AM
Edit: When choosing this feature at 3rd level you can add two 1st Level Spells from any class to your list of known spells.
Removed Discovered spell list.

I feel like the List of Discovered Spells is a clunky feature.
But it really feels like if a Warlock can cast otherwise unaccessible spells at the cost of a feature and a check, he should be pretty good at casting eccentric spells, compared to other Warlocks. Giving him two 1st Level Spells from any class seemed like a good way to do it.

Crisis21
2019-03-25, 07:49 PM
I honestly feel like the check should be Intelligence based instead of Charisma. Yes, I know Warlocks use Charisma to cast, but Intelligence fits the fluff of research better.

Bjarkmundur
2019-03-26, 02:05 AM
I honestly feel like the check should be Intelligence based instead of Charisma. Yes, I know Warlocks use Charisma to cast, but Intelligence fits the fluff of research better.

I completely agree, changing it now.

Crisis21
2019-03-26, 09:43 AM
Also, 'random spell of the school you are studying' is really nebulous and honestly if I was GM, I wouldn't want to touch that without a dice chart handy nor would I want to make one from scratch. Seriously, it's eight schools of magic and five levels of spells. Forty charts that would need to be made essentially.

Now, if you already had the charts ready on the other hand...

Bjarkmundur
2019-03-26, 12:04 PM
Guess I should've included this (https://donjon.bin.sh/5e/spells/)