QuintonBeck
2020-10-28, 10:40 AM
Hello Playground!
I'm running a Spelljammer campaign and one of the PCs is a Dragonborn Hexblade Warlock. I intend for the next arc to involve the party traveling to a "Shattered Sphere" where they will discover the warlock's patron, a sentient super weapon known as the Dragonblade created during the Unhuman Wars by the elves, has been left abandoned after it was used to shatter the sphere it now resides in as a former stronghold of the Scro. Naturally the party will be drawn into interacting with this superweapon which was created/empowered by grafting a number of Dragon souls together. These Dragons were led to the slaughter by another Dragon who features in the warlock's backstory having killed his family prompting the warlock to swear revenge and make the pact in the first place (classic!). The souls of these dragons want revenge on the same dragon and this is why they empowered the warlock with the remnants of their power in the first place.
This background may not be necessary but I'm providing it in case anyone is inspired by the fluff. I've been thinking that the party will be 9th level when they reach the Dragonblade and I was thinking upon completion of the dungeon that will precede gaining access to the "control room" (thinking some Scro survivors/holdouts have made a base on the abandoned station) and meeting their patron the Warlock will be given a boon in the form of an additional Warlock invocation and here is where I'm not sure how to balance it properly.
I kind of want to ape the Minions of Chaos invocation but re-geared towards summoning a draconic spirit instead of an elemental however there are no CR 5 dragon-type creatures. I know CR is far from foolproof but I do find it a decent enough guideline on power levels. Allowing the warlock to summon CR 6 or lower dragons for one spell slot seems overly good but without any CR 5s keeping the Conjure Elemental rules as written and filing off Elemental to paste in Dragon would mean effectively only being able to summon CR 4 or lower draconic spirits. I've worked out the below as a possibility forcing the expenditure of 2 Warlock Spell Slots to access CR 7 and lower dragon spirits but I'm not sure if it would be overly unbalanced. Perhaps I should simply find/make a "generic" stat-block for the draconic summon that has a few different flavors for breath weapon options? I like the idea that the warlock will have to maintain concentration or risk the dragon peacing out (if Metallic) or turning on the party (if chromatic) as well as the 1 Minute casting time preventing mid-combat dragon dropping, more of a prepped combat for a big encounter or utility as a flying taxi service or the like however I could be convinced to have the summon simply pop back into non-existence on a lost concentration but in that case I'd probably want to calibrate the strength downward as I see the increase in potency of a higher CR dragon being on the table as a summon being balanced against it potentially turning on the party if Concentration is lost.
Looking for help with balance or re-designing the idea!
Invocation
Dragon Master - You can cast Conjure Dragon once using two warlock spell slots. You can't do so again until you finish a long rest.
Spell
Conjure Dragon
Casting Time: 1 minute
Range: 90 feet
Components: V, S
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 hour
You call forth a draconic servant. Choose an area within range with sufficient space to host your chosen summon. A dragon of challenge rating 7 or lower appears in an unoccupied space within 10 feet of it. The dragon disappears when it drops to 0 hit points or when the spell ends. The dragon is friendly to you and your companions for the duration. Roll initiative for the dragon, which has its own turns. It obeys any verbal commands that you issue to it (no action required by you). If you don't issue any commands to the dragon, it defends itself from hostile creatures but otherwise takes no actions.
If your concentration is broken, the dragon doesn't disappear. Instead, you lose control of the dragon, it becomes hostile toward you and your companions, and it might attack. An uncontrolled dragon can't be dismissed by you, and it disappears 1 hour after you summoned it. The DM has the dragon’s statistics.
I'm running a Spelljammer campaign and one of the PCs is a Dragonborn Hexblade Warlock. I intend for the next arc to involve the party traveling to a "Shattered Sphere" where they will discover the warlock's patron, a sentient super weapon known as the Dragonblade created during the Unhuman Wars by the elves, has been left abandoned after it was used to shatter the sphere it now resides in as a former stronghold of the Scro. Naturally the party will be drawn into interacting with this superweapon which was created/empowered by grafting a number of Dragon souls together. These Dragons were led to the slaughter by another Dragon who features in the warlock's backstory having killed his family prompting the warlock to swear revenge and make the pact in the first place (classic!). The souls of these dragons want revenge on the same dragon and this is why they empowered the warlock with the remnants of their power in the first place.
This background may not be necessary but I'm providing it in case anyone is inspired by the fluff. I've been thinking that the party will be 9th level when they reach the Dragonblade and I was thinking upon completion of the dungeon that will precede gaining access to the "control room" (thinking some Scro survivors/holdouts have made a base on the abandoned station) and meeting their patron the Warlock will be given a boon in the form of an additional Warlock invocation and here is where I'm not sure how to balance it properly.
I kind of want to ape the Minions of Chaos invocation but re-geared towards summoning a draconic spirit instead of an elemental however there are no CR 5 dragon-type creatures. I know CR is far from foolproof but I do find it a decent enough guideline on power levels. Allowing the warlock to summon CR 6 or lower dragons for one spell slot seems overly good but without any CR 5s keeping the Conjure Elemental rules as written and filing off Elemental to paste in Dragon would mean effectively only being able to summon CR 4 or lower draconic spirits. I've worked out the below as a possibility forcing the expenditure of 2 Warlock Spell Slots to access CR 7 and lower dragon spirits but I'm not sure if it would be overly unbalanced. Perhaps I should simply find/make a "generic" stat-block for the draconic summon that has a few different flavors for breath weapon options? I like the idea that the warlock will have to maintain concentration or risk the dragon peacing out (if Metallic) or turning on the party (if chromatic) as well as the 1 Minute casting time preventing mid-combat dragon dropping, more of a prepped combat for a big encounter or utility as a flying taxi service or the like however I could be convinced to have the summon simply pop back into non-existence on a lost concentration but in that case I'd probably want to calibrate the strength downward as I see the increase in potency of a higher CR dragon being on the table as a summon being balanced against it potentially turning on the party if Concentration is lost.
Looking for help with balance or re-designing the idea!
Invocation
Dragon Master - You can cast Conjure Dragon once using two warlock spell slots. You can't do so again until you finish a long rest.
Spell
Conjure Dragon
Casting Time: 1 minute
Range: 90 feet
Components: V, S
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 hour
You call forth a draconic servant. Choose an area within range with sufficient space to host your chosen summon. A dragon of challenge rating 7 or lower appears in an unoccupied space within 10 feet of it. The dragon disappears when it drops to 0 hit points or when the spell ends. The dragon is friendly to you and your companions for the duration. Roll initiative for the dragon, which has its own turns. It obeys any verbal commands that you issue to it (no action required by you). If you don't issue any commands to the dragon, it defends itself from hostile creatures but otherwise takes no actions.
If your concentration is broken, the dragon doesn't disappear. Instead, you lose control of the dragon, it becomes hostile toward you and your companions, and it might attack. An uncontrolled dragon can't be dismissed by you, and it disappears 1 hour after you summoned it. The DM has the dragon’s statistics.