Captain Zark
2019-04-08, 01:38 PM
For an upcoming campaign, which errs on the dark and gritty with elements of cosmic horror, I wanted to include the Sanity attribute. This led me to a curiosity in the Warlock.
In this campaign, regardless of which pact they are drawing upon, each patron is, in some way or another, rather jarring to the psyche when you interact with them. As a result, I was interested in exchanging the Warlock's Charisma spellcasting ability with Sanity. Further, I want it to function inversely — as in, the lower the sanity score, the more powerful the spellcasting —, representing a descent into madness.
For the warlock, this carries the penalty of rolling worse on Sanity saves and checks. To counter this decrease, I was thinking of including invocations that make the insanity worth it (such as the already existing damage increase, maybe something based off of being under the effects of short-term, long-term, and permanent insanity, as well as perhaps doubling the modifier with a level prerequisite?).
For some clarification on the Sanity system I intend to use, it is a modified version of what is presented in the DMG, with inspiration from Darkest Dungeon:
- You cannot have 0 Sanity. If you would otherwise hit 0 sanity, you develop a permanent madness (Affliction) to cope with your insanity, regaining 2d6 Sanity.
- Once per downtime, you can develop a flaw in the form of a vice that serves as a coping mechanism, increasing your sanity by 1d6.
- (TBD) Upon reaching 20 Sanity, you may choose to remove a permanent madness or vice plaguing your character, or gain a Virtue.
- Sanity decreases upon failing Sanity saving throws when met with alien interactions or unspeakable horrors.
The downsides of this are that Warlocks lose the ability to boost their Spellcasting Ability at ASIs, they'd likely lose out on Virtues, and they'll likely suffer from multiple vices and Afflictions in an attempt to maintain their power.
On the plus side, they stand to gain impressive (though potentially OP) Spellcasting DCs and Modifiers, and some other benefits that I'm not quite certain on.
What I'm looking for is constructive criticism (does this have potential, or was it doomed from the start and how could I get something similar) and potential benefits, mostly in the way of invocations. Constructive criticism on the Sanity system itself would also be appreciated.
In this campaign, regardless of which pact they are drawing upon, each patron is, in some way or another, rather jarring to the psyche when you interact with them. As a result, I was interested in exchanging the Warlock's Charisma spellcasting ability with Sanity. Further, I want it to function inversely — as in, the lower the sanity score, the more powerful the spellcasting —, representing a descent into madness.
For the warlock, this carries the penalty of rolling worse on Sanity saves and checks. To counter this decrease, I was thinking of including invocations that make the insanity worth it (such as the already existing damage increase, maybe something based off of being under the effects of short-term, long-term, and permanent insanity, as well as perhaps doubling the modifier with a level prerequisite?).
For some clarification on the Sanity system I intend to use, it is a modified version of what is presented in the DMG, with inspiration from Darkest Dungeon:
- You cannot have 0 Sanity. If you would otherwise hit 0 sanity, you develop a permanent madness (Affliction) to cope with your insanity, regaining 2d6 Sanity.
- Once per downtime, you can develop a flaw in the form of a vice that serves as a coping mechanism, increasing your sanity by 1d6.
- (TBD) Upon reaching 20 Sanity, you may choose to remove a permanent madness or vice plaguing your character, or gain a Virtue.
- Sanity decreases upon failing Sanity saving throws when met with alien interactions or unspeakable horrors.
The downsides of this are that Warlocks lose the ability to boost their Spellcasting Ability at ASIs, they'd likely lose out on Virtues, and they'll likely suffer from multiple vices and Afflictions in an attempt to maintain their power.
On the plus side, they stand to gain impressive (though potentially OP) Spellcasting DCs and Modifiers, and some other benefits that I'm not quite certain on.
What I'm looking for is constructive criticism (does this have potential, or was it doomed from the start and how could I get something similar) and potential benefits, mostly in the way of invocations. Constructive criticism on the Sanity system itself would also be appreciated.