NigelWalmsley
2020-08-23, 10:51 PM
The 3e Warlock gets a pair of pretty odd abilities: Deceive Item and Imbue Item. The rest of the class is pretty standard as far as madmen tainted by infernal power go, getting abilities that make you more like a demon or let you do traditionally Warlock-y things like shoot blasts of baleful energy or raise the dead to serve you. But then your big impactful abilities are about making and using magic items. It's not wrong per se, but it does leave a bit to be desired. A Warlock really ought to be calling up demons or learning the secrets of Lovecraftian Great Old Ones.
Fortunately, later editions sorted this out, with Warlocks getting different pacts that gave them different abilities. I won't claim that I'm really back-porting anything here, as the abilities Warlocks get in 4e and 5e for their pacts are a little more combat-focused than I think is appropriate for what I'm looking to replace, and many of the pacts (such as 4e's Vestige Pact) cover things that are separate classes in 3e (in that case, the Binder). The 5e ones are also a good deal more specific than I think is appropriate. Writing up a Kraken patron is all well and good, but what about the Warlocks who get their magic from Naga or the Leviathan? I've opted for more general pacts, with the understanding that it would be entirely reasonable to write up specific pacts for particular Demon Lords or other creatures of power if you wanted their Warlocks to be a central part of a campaign.
Mechanically, each Pact is an alternate class feature that replaces the Deceive Item and Imbue Item abilities and gives abilities at each level where the Warlock gains access to a new grade of invocations (that is, 1st, 6th, 11th, and 16th). An astute observer will note that this is more stuff than the Warlock is giving up. This is entirely intentional, as the Warlock as-written is not very good, and deserves some extra love (I might write up a more detailed fix, or at least a boatload of new invocations, at some point).
People coming from 5e may expect these to be like the Patrons, but they aren't intended to be. It's not necessarily the case that the Warlock is getting their power "from" anyone in particular. In many cases, the "Pact" represents an acquisition of knowledge, or being granted access to a source of power, rather than any ongoing relationship. At best, it might be appropriate for a pact to grant a Contact (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/campaigns/contacts.htm) who passes along opportunities and requests.
Without further ado, the pacts:
Death
Throughout history, countless magical secrets have been discovered, hoarded, and taken to their inventor's grave. Necromancy being what it is, those secrets aren't always as lost as some might want to think. Many Warlocks rise to power on the back of the ancient lore held by Lich Queens, Vampire Lords, or Ghost Princes. Some of these were even Warlocks in life, passing on their knowledge in a twisted sort of apprenticeship. Others employ magic like speak with dead to learn of these forgotten magics without needing to consort with unliving horrors, or simply plunder the tombs of ancient mages. Regardless of the source of their power, those who follow this path inevitably surrender to the temptation of eternal unlife.
Rebuke Undead: At 1st level, the Warlock gains the Rebuke Undead ability of a Cleric of his level.
Spell-Stitched Rebirth: At 6th level, the Warlock engraves runes upon his flesh, passing into undeath and gaining arcane power. He gains the Necropolitan and Spell-Stitched templates. Neither template effects his ECL, and he pays no XP cost to become a Necropolitan. Unlike a normal Spell-Stitched creature, he gains new spells if his Wisdom score changes, and cannot use any SLAs that are of higher level than the spells that a Bard of his level could cast.
Spell-Stitched Reanimation: At 11th level, the Warlock refines the techniques he used to become undead, and begins to apply them to his own creations. Any undead he creates (typically by use of the the dead walk invocation) gains the Spell-Stitched template, and its Wisdom score is treated as being four higher for the purposes of determining what kind of SLAs it is entitled to.
Greater Undeath: At 16th level, the Warlock elevates himself to one of the greater forms of undead. He may replace the Necropolitan template with another template that is acquired, changes the base creature's type to undead, and has a CR adjustment of +2 or less. He retains the Spell-Stitched template, even if the new template somehow renders him ineligible. As previously, this template does not effect his ECL.
Depths
The sea is vast, powerful, and full of secrets. Naturally, many are tempted to turn those secrets to their own ends. Most die. Drowned, killed by storms, or eaten by the beasts of the sea. But enough survive to tempt more to try. Warlocks who have dived beneath the waves to uncover the secrets of sunken cities, ancient sea monsters, or the gods of the depths find that they soon become more at home in the sea than on land. Such spellcasters are prized among seafaring cultures, their ability to foresee and eventually control the weather excusing a great deal of eccentricity.
Embraced by the Waves: At 1st level, the Warlock is equally comfortable in or out of water. He can breath air or water with equal ease, and can swim or walk at whichever of his two speeds are higher.
Eye of the Storm: At 6th level, the Warlock can walk unimpeded through storms of all sorts. He may ignore the effects of wind, and is immune to sonic or electric effects caused by storms. This includes storms called by magic, but not other magical effects. He can predict the weather with perfect accuracy a number of days in advance equal to his Warlock level.
Secrets of the Sea: At 11th level, the Warlock is as ageless as the sea, and knows of all who have touched its waters. He may perform an hour-long ritual requiring complete immersion in seawater, which replicates the effect of legend lore. This ritual inflicts 1d6 damage to each of his mental ability scores, and in any month where he performs it, he does not age.
Call the Storm: At 16th level, the Warlock gains the power over the great oceanic tempests. He may replicate the effects of control weather (he is treated as a Druid for this purpose). Changing the weather is a free action, but changes do not manifest for 15 minutes after the decision. He can also call lightning, as the call lightning storm ability, though there is no limit to the number of bolts he can call, and he can call each as a swift action.
Dragonmark
Magical abilities often manifest in bloodlines. The most famous examples of this are the Dragonmarks. Most who bear them have little interest in finding out how they work, preferring to instead spend their time exploiting the gifts they've been given for profit. Some, however, instead seek to master the secrets of the Marks. Most learn little beyond a few tricks for using their mark more efficiently, but others uncover truths about these powers that many feel are better off hidden.
Special: The Warlock must have a dragonmark to chose this ACF. Either a true dragonmark or an aberrant one is sufficient.
Special: Levels in Dragonmark Heir (ECS), Heir of Siberys (ECS), and Aberrant Heir (Web Enhancement) stack with Warlock levels for determining which abilities the Warlock gains. For example, a Warlock 4/Dragonmark Heir 2 would gain Dual Mark. Dragonmark Heir and Aberrant Heir also provide new invocations and improved eldritch blast damage as if the character had gained a level in Warlock.
Special: A Warlock with this pact does not count as having a dragonmark for the purposes of qualifying for the Heir of Siberys prestige class. If he does take levels in Heir of Siberys, he must select the same mark for that prestige class as he does for his feats. Mutable Mark changes the powers granted by Heir of Siberys.
Extra Mark: At 1st level, the Warlock's connection to his dragonmark deepens. Once per day, he may use one of its abilities after expending all the daily uses he is normally entitled to.
Dual Mark: At 6th level, the Warlock's insight into the nature of dragonmarks reveals to him a profound symmetry between true and aberrant dragonmarks. If he has a true dragonmark, he gains an aberrant dragonmark. If he has an aberrant dragonmark, he gains a true dragonmark. He gains whatever feats he has for the other type of dragonmark as bonus feats (for example, if he has the Least and Less Marks of Making, he gains Aberrant Dragonmark and Lesser Aberrant Dragonmark as bonus feats). As he gains additional feats, he gains additional bonus feats as well.
Mutable Mark: At 11th level, the Warlock learns to change the nature of his marks, sometimes warping his flesh to do so.By performing a one-hour ritual, he may change the type of his true dragonmark. This replaces all his dragonmark feats (Least Dragonmark, Lesser Dragonmark, Greater Dragonmark, Dragonmark Prodigy, Dragonmark Adept, and Dragonmark Visionary). He may also choose new abilities for his Aberrant Mark, and his Siberys Mark if he possesses one. Other feats are not changed, and may become useless until he regains the appropriate mark. If the new mark he has selected requires a different race, he is effected as if by a reincarnate spell, though he does not lose a level, and the race is always one suitable to the new mark (if multiple races are possible, choose one at random). Once he performs the ritual, he may not do so again until the next time the sun rises or sets.
Dragonmark Brand: At 16th level, the Warlock has learned to mark others, gaining control over them in the process. A target that fails a Will save is dominated (as by dominate person). They also gain a dragonmark for which they are eligible, or an aberrant mark if they are not of a race that normally manifests dragonmarks. The Warlock chooses which mark they manifest, and what SLAs they gain. They gain the Least Dragonmark (or Aberrant Dragonmark) feat as a bonus feat, and gain the Lesser Dragonmark (or Lesser Aberrant Dragonmark) feat as a bonus feat if they have at least 6 hit dice, and gain the Greater Dragonmark (or Greater Aberrant Dragonmark) feat as a bonus feat if they have at least 9 hit dice. They gain these feats only if they do not already have them. This ability may be used three times per day, the Warlock may have no more than three targets currently dominated, and may not dominate a target who's CR is greater than his character level minus four.
Elements
Most interactions between mortals and genies are transient. Wishes granted for freedom, in trade, or simply on a whim. But there are stories of those who came away from the genies with more. Not some temporary boon or magical working, but real and lasting power. It's unclear weather this power is something anyone could wish for, or if it represents a deeper relationship. Some claim these individuals are genie outcasts, stripped of the bulk of their powers and forced to wander among mortals. Others hold that this state is a punishment for mortals who's wishes overstepped the bounds set by the genies, or that these Warlocks have simply managed to tap into whatever power source the genies draw their strength from.
Endure Elements: At 1st level, the Warlock may use endure elements at will.
Create Food and Water: At 6th level, the Warlock may use create food and water three times per day. Unlike the normal spell, he may create food of any quality, and may create drinks other than water.
Heart of the Elements: At 11th level, the Warlock's earth is replaced with a seed of elemental power. He is permanently under the effects of heart of air, heart of water, heart of earth, and heart of water (including the fortification effect for having all four active at once). If he expends one of the effects, the fortification effect is correspondingly reduced, and it returns the next time the sun rises or sets. If he is killed while at least one heart effect is active, he is restored to life (without level loss, as if by true resurrection) the next time the sun rises or sets. Destroying or removing the seed is sufficient to prevent this effect.
Gift of the Genie: At 16th level, the Warlock gains access to a more limited version of the signature power of the genies: the granting of wishes. Three times per week, he may replicate the effect of limited wish to fulfill a request made by a non-genie creature other than himself.
Fae
Many Warlocks appeal to the fey for their power. While the stories of children wandering into the woods and returning with terrible gifts of Mab or Oberon are largely exaggerated, even stumbling upon a dryad grove, nymph's pool, or satyr revel can be a path to tremendous magical power. Provided, that is, you can convince the fae you are worthy of their attention, and survive receiving it. Most who follow this path become simple hedge witches (in many cultures, "witch" refers almost exclusively to fae-sworn Warlocks), but the truly powerful among them find themselves drawn into the otherworldly machinations of the great courts.
Forest Tongue: At 1st level, the Warlock gains the ability to speak to plants and animals (as the spells speak with plants and speak with animals).
Witch's Brew: At 6th level, the Warlock gains Brew Potion as a bonus feat. He may craft potions (and oils) of any spell of level less than or equal to 1/3 his Warlock level, regardless of whether he knows it or not. These spells must still meet the typical requirements for being brewed into potions (such as being of no greater than 3rd level, or not having Personal range). He does not have to pay the GP cost to create potions in this way, and receives a pool of XP equal to five times his level. This pool replenishes each week, but does not accumulate. If he gains a level, 5 points are added to the pool, but it does not replenish.
Fey Form: At 11th level, the Warlock himself becomes a Fey creature. His type changes to Fey, he no longer ages, and he may use Disguise Self, Silent Image, Minor Image, and Major Image at will. He may concentrate on a number of magical effects equal to one half his Warlock level at the same time (rounded down).
Fey Mantle: At 16th level, the Warlock captures the powers of the great faerie courts. He chooses one of the following sets of domains, and may use each spell from them a Cleric of his level could cast as a spell-like ability once per day:
Seelie
Creation (SpC), Fire, Plant, Sun
Unseelie
Air, Cold (SpC), Darkness (SpC), Trickery
The Warlock does not gain any granted powers for these domains.
Additionally, the Warlock can no longer permanently die. In the event that he is killed, he is restored to life (without level loss, as if by true resurrection) in the seat of the appropriate fae court the next time the sun rises or sets there. Binding the Warlock's soul, or powerful magic (a wish spell is sufficient) prevents this, as does successfully severing his connection to the fey.
Fiendish
When it comes to the trade of souls for power, few do more business than the fiends. Among every people of the world, there are those desperate enough for power to accept even the most terrible of prices. Contrary to popular expectation, these are not all howling madmen, or fools seduced by false promises of power. Many who offer up their souls do so with eyes open, believing their cause important enough to be worth risking everything for. Of course, many of these stories end in tragedy nonetheless, with victorious Warlocks defeating invading armies only to inflict back the cruelties their people suffered tenfold, calling up demonic servants to extract a terrible revenge on those who have wronged them.
Fell Fortune: At 1st level, the Warlock gains a taste of the devil's own luck. Once per day per four Warlock levels, he may reroll any d20 roll he makes. Using this ability is a free action, and he may wait until after the result of the roll is determined before using this ability, though he may not use it more than once on the same roll.
Familiar: At 6th level, the Warlock gains a familiar. This is identical to the Wizard ability, except that it scales with his caster level, and any familiar he acquires has the Fiendish template. If he gains the Improved Familiar feat, that familiar is also Fiendish (even if it is of a type to which the Fiendish template cannot normally be applied).
Call Fiend: At 11th level, the Warlock gains the ability to summon up allies from the lower planes. This ability is similar to planar binding, except that any creature summoned must be an Outsider or Magical Beast with the Evil and Extraplanar subtypes, it has no HD limit, and he cannot summon a creature who's CR is greater than his character level minus four (for example, an 11th level Warlock could summon a Succubus, but could not summon a Bone Devil). The summoning ritual takes an hour, and automatically replicates the effects of both an appropriate magic circle and, if necessary, a dimensional anchor. He may not have more than one creature summoned with this ability at a time, and when used he may not use it again until the next time the sun rises or sets.
Demon Lord: At 16th level, the Warlock ascends to the title of Demon Lord (or an analogous position in some other fiendish hierarchy if he prefers). His type changes to Outsider and he gains the Evil subtype. He no longer ages. He gains access to a demiplane, whose traits such as size, composition, structure, and actual planar traits he may determine within reason. He may plane shift there at will, and designate a specific arrival point on the plane for that ability. He may populate this demiplane with creatures he can summon with his Call Fiend ability. If he would die outside the demiplane, he is instead recalled there by his plane shift ability, his hit points are restored to full, and freed of any negative effect that could be removed by a heal spell. Magic that prevents planar travel prevents this effect.
Star
Far beneath the surface world, beneath even the great cave-cities of the dwarves and drow there is a world older than man. Older than writing. Older even than the gods. But not older than magic. In the bones of the earth, there lurk horrors fetid with eldritch knowledge who have been practicing their mystical arts since time began. Among their slaves there number Warlocks, and all of these are sworn to the Great Old Ones, the stargods that dwell beyond and beneath this reality. Most among them die in the wars of their inhuman masters, but over the years, some have escaped and spread their arts among the people of the world. Those who devote themselves to this path learn great and terrible secrets, learning to warp space, time, and even magic itself, but are warped in turn by the touch of beings beyond mortal comprehension.
Forgotten Lore: At 1st level, the Warlock gains access to the ancient and forgotten knowledge of the stargods. This is mechanically equivalent to bardic knowledge, but the topics it covers are different. He may make forgotten lore checks to uncover secrets of ancient magic, knowledge of lost civilizations, unspeakable horrors, or similar subjects.
Places That Are Not Places: At 6th level, the Warlock gains the ability to reach into the space between bits of reality and store things there. This is similar to a Bag of Holding, but it has no weight or volume limits, and retrieving items is always a move action.
Pierce the Veil of Ages: At 11th level, the Warlock can partially detach himself from the ordinary flow of time. He no longer ages, and can peer into the past, future, or alternate present to gain secret knowledge.
This effect is broadly similar to commune, but different in a number of important ways. The answers are more complex, coming in the form of sentences or images. Rather than a limited number of questions, each answer inflicts a point of Wisdom damage. Finally, the answers given are sometimes deceptive. For each answer, the Warlock must roll a Sense Motive check (opposed by a +8 Bluff check). If he fails, he is mislead in some important fashion by the answer. Additionally, until the sun next rises or sets, any further questions will be answered as if that misconception was accurate.
For example, if a Warlock were to ask "who killed the king", receive an incorrect answer of "the queen", and then ask "where is the king's killer", he would learn the queen's location, rather than that of the actual killer.
Arcane Nexus: At 16th level, the Warlock learns to manipulate the fundamental structure of magic. He may apply any metamagic feat with a level adjustment of +4 or less he has to an ongoing spell effect as a swift action, or to a spell being cast as an immediate action. He also gains Extend Spell, Sculpt Spell (CArc), Widen Spell, Empower Spell, and Energy Substitution (CArc) as bonus feats. If he has one of these feats, he may select another metamagic feat for which he meets the prerequisites.
ECS: Eberron Campaign Setting
CArc: Complete Arcane
SpC: Spell Compendium
If it's not obvious, the intention of these is largely to provide the Warlock with some additional utility. For the most part, the abilities granted by the Pacts are non-combat in nature, and the ones that do improve the Warlock's combat abilities do other things as well. This is both because the primary use of Imbue Item is non-combat, and because I just feel that characters in general ought to get a wider variety of utility options.
You probably noticed I'm using "the next time the sun rises or sets" in place of "daily" in a lot of cases. This is for two reasons. First, I think it just sounds more magical. Second, the rules don't really define a singular meaning for "daily" leading to dumb arguments about repeatedly replenishing spell slots. By specifying an in-world event, we get more verisimilitude, and we avoid rules arguments. I consider that a win-win, and if I were writing the game, I'd probably make that explicit.
There are also a number of abilities that inflict ability damage. This is intended as a soft limit on their use. None of them are things that I think are truly broken if used repeatedly, but they are all things I don't want people spamming. Ability damage is a big enough deal you can't completely ignore it, but not so major as to be impossible to work around. Hopefully it provides a somewhat meaningful limitation on these abilities, while encouraging synergy between players (e.g. cashing in a Restoration on the Warlock is a lot more efficient than casting Legend Lore yourself).
I've also written a whole bunch of abilities that make you immortal and/or raise you from the dead. My view is that immortality is largely trinket text in most campaigns, and the "back from the dead" abilities are intended to mitigate the impact of rocket launcher tag at high levels.
Specific Concerns:
1. I'm not totally happy with the "only up to Bard casting" limitation on the SLAs from Spell-Stitched Rebirth. It's possible that "one less than a Wizard of your level could cast" maths out better.
2. The big list of "Specials" on the Dragonmark pact look kind ugly to me. The first one is definitely necessary (also, I think by RAW, it may have to be worded in a different way to let you take the ACF as a 1st level Warlock, but that's dumb). I'm kind of concerned that the second and third just put the build on rails as Warlock 4/Heir PrC 5/Other Heir Prc 5/Siberys Heir 3. On the other hand, it might not be an issue to have the Dragonmark guy take a bunch of Dragonmark PrCs.
3. I would like to have a proper reference for Aberrant Heir, but google only finds third-party sites I think I'm not supposed to reference here.
4. I wish I had figured out better language to express Dragonmark Brand giving the target the best mark the qualify for. Maybe I could just say "they get any of <feats> for which they meet the pre-reqs, but don't have", but since the Dragonmark feats require skill ranks, that makes every NPC's skill point allocation important, which is dumb. Maybe it should just always give them a Least Mark to reduce the amount of magic versatility it gives you.
5. Create Food and Water is kinda lame as your big utility offering at 6th level, even if it does make good food. Maybe some kind of mini-Fabricate/Minor Creation? Unseen Servants?
6. I really should go mathhammer the XP pool on Witch's Brew some. Should it be enough to replace a Cleric reasonably? To keep buffs up in most fights? Also it may require some kind of faster crafting shenanigans to be properly effective.
7. Letting Warlocks maintain half a dozen spell effects may be putting too much strain somewhere. Particularly since it's practically setting you up to do layered illusions. Also, probably doesn't need to give all three levels of Image.
8. I'm not sure Fey Mantle and Demon Lord are properly balanced. Mantle makes you personally harder core, but Lord gives you a big pile of resources. Then again, the notion of the 16th level abilities is that the campaign is probably over at that point.
9. I'm not sure how much good the "like this other spell" reference in Call Fiend and Pierce the Veil of Ages is doing, as I'm making a lot of custom modifications.
Fortunately, later editions sorted this out, with Warlocks getting different pacts that gave them different abilities. I won't claim that I'm really back-porting anything here, as the abilities Warlocks get in 4e and 5e for their pacts are a little more combat-focused than I think is appropriate for what I'm looking to replace, and many of the pacts (such as 4e's Vestige Pact) cover things that are separate classes in 3e (in that case, the Binder). The 5e ones are also a good deal more specific than I think is appropriate. Writing up a Kraken patron is all well and good, but what about the Warlocks who get their magic from Naga or the Leviathan? I've opted for more general pacts, with the understanding that it would be entirely reasonable to write up specific pacts for particular Demon Lords or other creatures of power if you wanted their Warlocks to be a central part of a campaign.
Mechanically, each Pact is an alternate class feature that replaces the Deceive Item and Imbue Item abilities and gives abilities at each level where the Warlock gains access to a new grade of invocations (that is, 1st, 6th, 11th, and 16th). An astute observer will note that this is more stuff than the Warlock is giving up. This is entirely intentional, as the Warlock as-written is not very good, and deserves some extra love (I might write up a more detailed fix, or at least a boatload of new invocations, at some point).
People coming from 5e may expect these to be like the Patrons, but they aren't intended to be. It's not necessarily the case that the Warlock is getting their power "from" anyone in particular. In many cases, the "Pact" represents an acquisition of knowledge, or being granted access to a source of power, rather than any ongoing relationship. At best, it might be appropriate for a pact to grant a Contact (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/campaigns/contacts.htm) who passes along opportunities and requests.
Without further ado, the pacts:
Death
Throughout history, countless magical secrets have been discovered, hoarded, and taken to their inventor's grave. Necromancy being what it is, those secrets aren't always as lost as some might want to think. Many Warlocks rise to power on the back of the ancient lore held by Lich Queens, Vampire Lords, or Ghost Princes. Some of these were even Warlocks in life, passing on their knowledge in a twisted sort of apprenticeship. Others employ magic like speak with dead to learn of these forgotten magics without needing to consort with unliving horrors, or simply plunder the tombs of ancient mages. Regardless of the source of their power, those who follow this path inevitably surrender to the temptation of eternal unlife.
Rebuke Undead: At 1st level, the Warlock gains the Rebuke Undead ability of a Cleric of his level.
Spell-Stitched Rebirth: At 6th level, the Warlock engraves runes upon his flesh, passing into undeath and gaining arcane power. He gains the Necropolitan and Spell-Stitched templates. Neither template effects his ECL, and he pays no XP cost to become a Necropolitan. Unlike a normal Spell-Stitched creature, he gains new spells if his Wisdom score changes, and cannot use any SLAs that are of higher level than the spells that a Bard of his level could cast.
Spell-Stitched Reanimation: At 11th level, the Warlock refines the techniques he used to become undead, and begins to apply them to his own creations. Any undead he creates (typically by use of the the dead walk invocation) gains the Spell-Stitched template, and its Wisdom score is treated as being four higher for the purposes of determining what kind of SLAs it is entitled to.
Greater Undeath: At 16th level, the Warlock elevates himself to one of the greater forms of undead. He may replace the Necropolitan template with another template that is acquired, changes the base creature's type to undead, and has a CR adjustment of +2 or less. He retains the Spell-Stitched template, even if the new template somehow renders him ineligible. As previously, this template does not effect his ECL.
Depths
The sea is vast, powerful, and full of secrets. Naturally, many are tempted to turn those secrets to their own ends. Most die. Drowned, killed by storms, or eaten by the beasts of the sea. But enough survive to tempt more to try. Warlocks who have dived beneath the waves to uncover the secrets of sunken cities, ancient sea monsters, or the gods of the depths find that they soon become more at home in the sea than on land. Such spellcasters are prized among seafaring cultures, their ability to foresee and eventually control the weather excusing a great deal of eccentricity.
Embraced by the Waves: At 1st level, the Warlock is equally comfortable in or out of water. He can breath air or water with equal ease, and can swim or walk at whichever of his two speeds are higher.
Eye of the Storm: At 6th level, the Warlock can walk unimpeded through storms of all sorts. He may ignore the effects of wind, and is immune to sonic or electric effects caused by storms. This includes storms called by magic, but not other magical effects. He can predict the weather with perfect accuracy a number of days in advance equal to his Warlock level.
Secrets of the Sea: At 11th level, the Warlock is as ageless as the sea, and knows of all who have touched its waters. He may perform an hour-long ritual requiring complete immersion in seawater, which replicates the effect of legend lore. This ritual inflicts 1d6 damage to each of his mental ability scores, and in any month where he performs it, he does not age.
Call the Storm: At 16th level, the Warlock gains the power over the great oceanic tempests. He may replicate the effects of control weather (he is treated as a Druid for this purpose). Changing the weather is a free action, but changes do not manifest for 15 minutes after the decision. He can also call lightning, as the call lightning storm ability, though there is no limit to the number of bolts he can call, and he can call each as a swift action.
Dragonmark
Magical abilities often manifest in bloodlines. The most famous examples of this are the Dragonmarks. Most who bear them have little interest in finding out how they work, preferring to instead spend their time exploiting the gifts they've been given for profit. Some, however, instead seek to master the secrets of the Marks. Most learn little beyond a few tricks for using their mark more efficiently, but others uncover truths about these powers that many feel are better off hidden.
Special: The Warlock must have a dragonmark to chose this ACF. Either a true dragonmark or an aberrant one is sufficient.
Special: Levels in Dragonmark Heir (ECS), Heir of Siberys (ECS), and Aberrant Heir (Web Enhancement) stack with Warlock levels for determining which abilities the Warlock gains. For example, a Warlock 4/Dragonmark Heir 2 would gain Dual Mark. Dragonmark Heir and Aberrant Heir also provide new invocations and improved eldritch blast damage as if the character had gained a level in Warlock.
Special: A Warlock with this pact does not count as having a dragonmark for the purposes of qualifying for the Heir of Siberys prestige class. If he does take levels in Heir of Siberys, he must select the same mark for that prestige class as he does for his feats. Mutable Mark changes the powers granted by Heir of Siberys.
Extra Mark: At 1st level, the Warlock's connection to his dragonmark deepens. Once per day, he may use one of its abilities after expending all the daily uses he is normally entitled to.
Dual Mark: At 6th level, the Warlock's insight into the nature of dragonmarks reveals to him a profound symmetry between true and aberrant dragonmarks. If he has a true dragonmark, he gains an aberrant dragonmark. If he has an aberrant dragonmark, he gains a true dragonmark. He gains whatever feats he has for the other type of dragonmark as bonus feats (for example, if he has the Least and Less Marks of Making, he gains Aberrant Dragonmark and Lesser Aberrant Dragonmark as bonus feats). As he gains additional feats, he gains additional bonus feats as well.
Mutable Mark: At 11th level, the Warlock learns to change the nature of his marks, sometimes warping his flesh to do so.By performing a one-hour ritual, he may change the type of his true dragonmark. This replaces all his dragonmark feats (Least Dragonmark, Lesser Dragonmark, Greater Dragonmark, Dragonmark Prodigy, Dragonmark Adept, and Dragonmark Visionary). He may also choose new abilities for his Aberrant Mark, and his Siberys Mark if he possesses one. Other feats are not changed, and may become useless until he regains the appropriate mark. If the new mark he has selected requires a different race, he is effected as if by a reincarnate spell, though he does not lose a level, and the race is always one suitable to the new mark (if multiple races are possible, choose one at random). Once he performs the ritual, he may not do so again until the next time the sun rises or sets.
Dragonmark Brand: At 16th level, the Warlock has learned to mark others, gaining control over them in the process. A target that fails a Will save is dominated (as by dominate person). They also gain a dragonmark for which they are eligible, or an aberrant mark if they are not of a race that normally manifests dragonmarks. The Warlock chooses which mark they manifest, and what SLAs they gain. They gain the Least Dragonmark (or Aberrant Dragonmark) feat as a bonus feat, and gain the Lesser Dragonmark (or Lesser Aberrant Dragonmark) feat as a bonus feat if they have at least 6 hit dice, and gain the Greater Dragonmark (or Greater Aberrant Dragonmark) feat as a bonus feat if they have at least 9 hit dice. They gain these feats only if they do not already have them. This ability may be used three times per day, the Warlock may have no more than three targets currently dominated, and may not dominate a target who's CR is greater than his character level minus four.
Elements
Most interactions between mortals and genies are transient. Wishes granted for freedom, in trade, or simply on a whim. But there are stories of those who came away from the genies with more. Not some temporary boon or magical working, but real and lasting power. It's unclear weather this power is something anyone could wish for, or if it represents a deeper relationship. Some claim these individuals are genie outcasts, stripped of the bulk of their powers and forced to wander among mortals. Others hold that this state is a punishment for mortals who's wishes overstepped the bounds set by the genies, or that these Warlocks have simply managed to tap into whatever power source the genies draw their strength from.
Endure Elements: At 1st level, the Warlock may use endure elements at will.
Create Food and Water: At 6th level, the Warlock may use create food and water three times per day. Unlike the normal spell, he may create food of any quality, and may create drinks other than water.
Heart of the Elements: At 11th level, the Warlock's earth is replaced with a seed of elemental power. He is permanently under the effects of heart of air, heart of water, heart of earth, and heart of water (including the fortification effect for having all four active at once). If he expends one of the effects, the fortification effect is correspondingly reduced, and it returns the next time the sun rises or sets. If he is killed while at least one heart effect is active, he is restored to life (without level loss, as if by true resurrection) the next time the sun rises or sets. Destroying or removing the seed is sufficient to prevent this effect.
Gift of the Genie: At 16th level, the Warlock gains access to a more limited version of the signature power of the genies: the granting of wishes. Three times per week, he may replicate the effect of limited wish to fulfill a request made by a non-genie creature other than himself.
Fae
Many Warlocks appeal to the fey for their power. While the stories of children wandering into the woods and returning with terrible gifts of Mab or Oberon are largely exaggerated, even stumbling upon a dryad grove, nymph's pool, or satyr revel can be a path to tremendous magical power. Provided, that is, you can convince the fae you are worthy of their attention, and survive receiving it. Most who follow this path become simple hedge witches (in many cultures, "witch" refers almost exclusively to fae-sworn Warlocks), but the truly powerful among them find themselves drawn into the otherworldly machinations of the great courts.
Forest Tongue: At 1st level, the Warlock gains the ability to speak to plants and animals (as the spells speak with plants and speak with animals).
Witch's Brew: At 6th level, the Warlock gains Brew Potion as a bonus feat. He may craft potions (and oils) of any spell of level less than or equal to 1/3 his Warlock level, regardless of whether he knows it or not. These spells must still meet the typical requirements for being brewed into potions (such as being of no greater than 3rd level, or not having Personal range). He does not have to pay the GP cost to create potions in this way, and receives a pool of XP equal to five times his level. This pool replenishes each week, but does not accumulate. If he gains a level, 5 points are added to the pool, but it does not replenish.
Fey Form: At 11th level, the Warlock himself becomes a Fey creature. His type changes to Fey, he no longer ages, and he may use Disguise Self, Silent Image, Minor Image, and Major Image at will. He may concentrate on a number of magical effects equal to one half his Warlock level at the same time (rounded down).
Fey Mantle: At 16th level, the Warlock captures the powers of the great faerie courts. He chooses one of the following sets of domains, and may use each spell from them a Cleric of his level could cast as a spell-like ability once per day:
Seelie
Creation (SpC), Fire, Plant, Sun
Unseelie
Air, Cold (SpC), Darkness (SpC), Trickery
The Warlock does not gain any granted powers for these domains.
Additionally, the Warlock can no longer permanently die. In the event that he is killed, he is restored to life (without level loss, as if by true resurrection) in the seat of the appropriate fae court the next time the sun rises or sets there. Binding the Warlock's soul, or powerful magic (a wish spell is sufficient) prevents this, as does successfully severing his connection to the fey.
Fiendish
When it comes to the trade of souls for power, few do more business than the fiends. Among every people of the world, there are those desperate enough for power to accept even the most terrible of prices. Contrary to popular expectation, these are not all howling madmen, or fools seduced by false promises of power. Many who offer up their souls do so with eyes open, believing their cause important enough to be worth risking everything for. Of course, many of these stories end in tragedy nonetheless, with victorious Warlocks defeating invading armies only to inflict back the cruelties their people suffered tenfold, calling up demonic servants to extract a terrible revenge on those who have wronged them.
Fell Fortune: At 1st level, the Warlock gains a taste of the devil's own luck. Once per day per four Warlock levels, he may reroll any d20 roll he makes. Using this ability is a free action, and he may wait until after the result of the roll is determined before using this ability, though he may not use it more than once on the same roll.
Familiar: At 6th level, the Warlock gains a familiar. This is identical to the Wizard ability, except that it scales with his caster level, and any familiar he acquires has the Fiendish template. If he gains the Improved Familiar feat, that familiar is also Fiendish (even if it is of a type to which the Fiendish template cannot normally be applied).
Call Fiend: At 11th level, the Warlock gains the ability to summon up allies from the lower planes. This ability is similar to planar binding, except that any creature summoned must be an Outsider or Magical Beast with the Evil and Extraplanar subtypes, it has no HD limit, and he cannot summon a creature who's CR is greater than his character level minus four (for example, an 11th level Warlock could summon a Succubus, but could not summon a Bone Devil). The summoning ritual takes an hour, and automatically replicates the effects of both an appropriate magic circle and, if necessary, a dimensional anchor. He may not have more than one creature summoned with this ability at a time, and when used he may not use it again until the next time the sun rises or sets.
Demon Lord: At 16th level, the Warlock ascends to the title of Demon Lord (or an analogous position in some other fiendish hierarchy if he prefers). His type changes to Outsider and he gains the Evil subtype. He no longer ages. He gains access to a demiplane, whose traits such as size, composition, structure, and actual planar traits he may determine within reason. He may plane shift there at will, and designate a specific arrival point on the plane for that ability. He may populate this demiplane with creatures he can summon with his Call Fiend ability. If he would die outside the demiplane, he is instead recalled there by his plane shift ability, his hit points are restored to full, and freed of any negative effect that could be removed by a heal spell. Magic that prevents planar travel prevents this effect.
Star
Far beneath the surface world, beneath even the great cave-cities of the dwarves and drow there is a world older than man. Older than writing. Older even than the gods. But not older than magic. In the bones of the earth, there lurk horrors fetid with eldritch knowledge who have been practicing their mystical arts since time began. Among their slaves there number Warlocks, and all of these are sworn to the Great Old Ones, the stargods that dwell beyond and beneath this reality. Most among them die in the wars of their inhuman masters, but over the years, some have escaped and spread their arts among the people of the world. Those who devote themselves to this path learn great and terrible secrets, learning to warp space, time, and even magic itself, but are warped in turn by the touch of beings beyond mortal comprehension.
Forgotten Lore: At 1st level, the Warlock gains access to the ancient and forgotten knowledge of the stargods. This is mechanically equivalent to bardic knowledge, but the topics it covers are different. He may make forgotten lore checks to uncover secrets of ancient magic, knowledge of lost civilizations, unspeakable horrors, or similar subjects.
Places That Are Not Places: At 6th level, the Warlock gains the ability to reach into the space between bits of reality and store things there. This is similar to a Bag of Holding, but it has no weight or volume limits, and retrieving items is always a move action.
Pierce the Veil of Ages: At 11th level, the Warlock can partially detach himself from the ordinary flow of time. He no longer ages, and can peer into the past, future, or alternate present to gain secret knowledge.
This effect is broadly similar to commune, but different in a number of important ways. The answers are more complex, coming in the form of sentences or images. Rather than a limited number of questions, each answer inflicts a point of Wisdom damage. Finally, the answers given are sometimes deceptive. For each answer, the Warlock must roll a Sense Motive check (opposed by a +8 Bluff check). If he fails, he is mislead in some important fashion by the answer. Additionally, until the sun next rises or sets, any further questions will be answered as if that misconception was accurate.
For example, if a Warlock were to ask "who killed the king", receive an incorrect answer of "the queen", and then ask "where is the king's killer", he would learn the queen's location, rather than that of the actual killer.
Arcane Nexus: At 16th level, the Warlock learns to manipulate the fundamental structure of magic. He may apply any metamagic feat with a level adjustment of +4 or less he has to an ongoing spell effect as a swift action, or to a spell being cast as an immediate action. He also gains Extend Spell, Sculpt Spell (CArc), Widen Spell, Empower Spell, and Energy Substitution (CArc) as bonus feats. If he has one of these feats, he may select another metamagic feat for which he meets the prerequisites.
ECS: Eberron Campaign Setting
CArc: Complete Arcane
SpC: Spell Compendium
If it's not obvious, the intention of these is largely to provide the Warlock with some additional utility. For the most part, the abilities granted by the Pacts are non-combat in nature, and the ones that do improve the Warlock's combat abilities do other things as well. This is both because the primary use of Imbue Item is non-combat, and because I just feel that characters in general ought to get a wider variety of utility options.
You probably noticed I'm using "the next time the sun rises or sets" in place of "daily" in a lot of cases. This is for two reasons. First, I think it just sounds more magical. Second, the rules don't really define a singular meaning for "daily" leading to dumb arguments about repeatedly replenishing spell slots. By specifying an in-world event, we get more verisimilitude, and we avoid rules arguments. I consider that a win-win, and if I were writing the game, I'd probably make that explicit.
There are also a number of abilities that inflict ability damage. This is intended as a soft limit on their use. None of them are things that I think are truly broken if used repeatedly, but they are all things I don't want people spamming. Ability damage is a big enough deal you can't completely ignore it, but not so major as to be impossible to work around. Hopefully it provides a somewhat meaningful limitation on these abilities, while encouraging synergy between players (e.g. cashing in a Restoration on the Warlock is a lot more efficient than casting Legend Lore yourself).
I've also written a whole bunch of abilities that make you immortal and/or raise you from the dead. My view is that immortality is largely trinket text in most campaigns, and the "back from the dead" abilities are intended to mitigate the impact of rocket launcher tag at high levels.
Specific Concerns:
1. I'm not totally happy with the "only up to Bard casting" limitation on the SLAs from Spell-Stitched Rebirth. It's possible that "one less than a Wizard of your level could cast" maths out better.
2. The big list of "Specials" on the Dragonmark pact look kind ugly to me. The first one is definitely necessary (also, I think by RAW, it may have to be worded in a different way to let you take the ACF as a 1st level Warlock, but that's dumb). I'm kind of concerned that the second and third just put the build on rails as Warlock 4/Heir PrC 5/Other Heir Prc 5/Siberys Heir 3. On the other hand, it might not be an issue to have the Dragonmark guy take a bunch of Dragonmark PrCs.
3. I would like to have a proper reference for Aberrant Heir, but google only finds third-party sites I think I'm not supposed to reference here.
4. I wish I had figured out better language to express Dragonmark Brand giving the target the best mark the qualify for. Maybe I could just say "they get any of <feats> for which they meet the pre-reqs, but don't have", but since the Dragonmark feats require skill ranks, that makes every NPC's skill point allocation important, which is dumb. Maybe it should just always give them a Least Mark to reduce the amount of magic versatility it gives you.
5. Create Food and Water is kinda lame as your big utility offering at 6th level, even if it does make good food. Maybe some kind of mini-Fabricate/Minor Creation? Unseen Servants?
6. I really should go mathhammer the XP pool on Witch's Brew some. Should it be enough to replace a Cleric reasonably? To keep buffs up in most fights? Also it may require some kind of faster crafting shenanigans to be properly effective.
7. Letting Warlocks maintain half a dozen spell effects may be putting too much strain somewhere. Particularly since it's practically setting you up to do layered illusions. Also, probably doesn't need to give all three levels of Image.
8. I'm not sure Fey Mantle and Demon Lord are properly balanced. Mantle makes you personally harder core, but Lord gives you a big pile of resources. Then again, the notion of the 16th level abilities is that the campaign is probably over at that point.
9. I'm not sure how much good the "like this other spell" reference in Call Fiend and Pierce the Veil of Ages is doing, as I'm making a lot of custom modifications.