Segev
2021-02-08, 10:51 PM
I've been looking at the Fiend and Archfey in the PHB, and realizing that, compared to the other Patrons, they feel...lackluster. Even if they're not mechanically weak (which is debatable), they're kind-of boring. I was bouncing some ideas around with Valmark and it occurred to me that what the Fiend is going for is trying to be "the straightforward option" and being "the bruiser option" for Warlocks. It...kind-of succeeds at the first, but doesn't so much at the second. It's trying ot be a tank without the chassis to support that, and doesn't really help you do much.
It also hit me that the Hexblade - which I hate thematically - kind-of has the "evil warrior" vibe that I think Fiend was dancing around the edges of, but seems unfocused with some of its features (the shade, in particular). So what if I swap out some of the more boring features of the Fiend for things that excite people from the Hexblade?
Not sure if this winds up too powerful, but here's an hour or two's thought and effort in putting this together.
Revised Fiend
This essentially combines level one of Hexblade with the Fiend Patron in an effort to make the Fiend more thematic and remove the Hexblade's rather forced fluff.
Expanded Spell List
1st: burning hands, shield (replaces command)
2nd: blindness/deafness, scorching ray
3rd: fireball, stinking cloud
4th: fire shield, wall of fire
5th: flame strike, hallow
Dark One's Curse
Your Patron's first gift is the ability to place a malign curse on someone. As a bonus action, choose one creature you can see within 30 feet of you. The target is cursed for 1 minute. The curse ends early if the target dies, you die, or you are incapacitated. Until the curse ends, you gain the following benefits:
You add your proficiency bonus to damage rolls against the cursed target.
Any attack roll you make against the cursed target is a critical hit on a roll of 19 or 20 on the d20.
If the cursed target dies, you regain hit points equal to your warlock level + your Charisma modifier (minimum of 1 hit point).
You can't use this feature again until you finish a short or long rest.
Dark One's Blessing
Choose either Dark Panopoly or Dark Magic.
Dark Panopoly: If you choose Dark Panopoly, your Patron provides you the knowledge and skill to effectively arm yourself for battle. You gain proficiency with medium armor, shields, and martial weapons.
The influence of your patron also allows you to wield a single weapon with the pure force of your dark will. Whenever you finish a long rest, you can touch one weapon that you are proficient with and that lacks the two-handed property. When you attack with that weapon, you can use your Charisma modifier, instead of Strength or Dexterity, for the attack and damage rolls. This benefit lasts until you finish a long rest. If you later gain the Pact of the Blade feature, this benefit extends to every pact weapon you conjure with that feature, no matter the weapon's type.
Dark Magic: If you choose Dark Magic, your Patron fills your mind with magics designed to inflict agony and woe. You learn the eldritch blast cantrip. If you already know it, choose another Warlock cantrip to learn instead. You may choose to have it deal fire damage instead of force damage when you cast it, and may even mix the types between multiple beams in the same casting. You also learn one Invocation of your choice that has eldritch blast as a prerequisite.
Dark One's Own Luck[b]
Starting at 6th level, you can cheat fate. When you make an ability check or a saving throw, you can call upon your Patron to alter probability in your favor, allowing you to add a d10 to your roll. You can do so after seeing the initial roll but before any of the roll's effects occur.
Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest, unless you expend a Pact Magic spell slot to do so.
Little changes here, save the additional ability to spend pact magic spell slots to use this feature more than once per short rest.
[B]Fiendish Resilience
This one is unchanged: a movable resistance to a damage type.
Unto the Seventh Generation
Starting at 14th level, you can spread your Dark One's Curse from a slain creature to another creature. When the creature cursed by your Dark One's Curse dies, you can cause its corpse to vanish in a suitably hellish fashion (the ground opens a maw to swallow it whole, it burns to nothing in a flare of hellfire, or something similar), and you can apply the curse to a different creature you can see within 30 feet of you, provided you aren't incapacitated. When you apply the curse in this way, you don't regain hit points from the death of the previously cursed creature.
It also hit me that the Hexblade - which I hate thematically - kind-of has the "evil warrior" vibe that I think Fiend was dancing around the edges of, but seems unfocused with some of its features (the shade, in particular). So what if I swap out some of the more boring features of the Fiend for things that excite people from the Hexblade?
Not sure if this winds up too powerful, but here's an hour or two's thought and effort in putting this together.
Revised Fiend
This essentially combines level one of Hexblade with the Fiend Patron in an effort to make the Fiend more thematic and remove the Hexblade's rather forced fluff.
Expanded Spell List
1st: burning hands, shield (replaces command)
2nd: blindness/deafness, scorching ray
3rd: fireball, stinking cloud
4th: fire shield, wall of fire
5th: flame strike, hallow
Dark One's Curse
Your Patron's first gift is the ability to place a malign curse on someone. As a bonus action, choose one creature you can see within 30 feet of you. The target is cursed for 1 minute. The curse ends early if the target dies, you die, or you are incapacitated. Until the curse ends, you gain the following benefits:
You add your proficiency bonus to damage rolls against the cursed target.
Any attack roll you make against the cursed target is a critical hit on a roll of 19 or 20 on the d20.
If the cursed target dies, you regain hit points equal to your warlock level + your Charisma modifier (minimum of 1 hit point).
You can't use this feature again until you finish a short or long rest.
Dark One's Blessing
Choose either Dark Panopoly or Dark Magic.
Dark Panopoly: If you choose Dark Panopoly, your Patron provides you the knowledge and skill to effectively arm yourself for battle. You gain proficiency with medium armor, shields, and martial weapons.
The influence of your patron also allows you to wield a single weapon with the pure force of your dark will. Whenever you finish a long rest, you can touch one weapon that you are proficient with and that lacks the two-handed property. When you attack with that weapon, you can use your Charisma modifier, instead of Strength or Dexterity, for the attack and damage rolls. This benefit lasts until you finish a long rest. If you later gain the Pact of the Blade feature, this benefit extends to every pact weapon you conjure with that feature, no matter the weapon's type.
Dark Magic: If you choose Dark Magic, your Patron fills your mind with magics designed to inflict agony and woe. You learn the eldritch blast cantrip. If you already know it, choose another Warlock cantrip to learn instead. You may choose to have it deal fire damage instead of force damage when you cast it, and may even mix the types between multiple beams in the same casting. You also learn one Invocation of your choice that has eldritch blast as a prerequisite.
Dark One's Own Luck[b]
Starting at 6th level, you can cheat fate. When you make an ability check or a saving throw, you can call upon your Patron to alter probability in your favor, allowing you to add a d10 to your roll. You can do so after seeing the initial roll but before any of the roll's effects occur.
Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest, unless you expend a Pact Magic spell slot to do so.
Little changes here, save the additional ability to spend pact magic spell slots to use this feature more than once per short rest.
[B]Fiendish Resilience
This one is unchanged: a movable resistance to a damage type.
Unto the Seventh Generation
Starting at 14th level, you can spread your Dark One's Curse from a slain creature to another creature. When the creature cursed by your Dark One's Curse dies, you can cause its corpse to vanish in a suitably hellish fashion (the ground opens a maw to swallow it whole, it burns to nothing in a flare of hellfire, or something similar), and you can apply the curse to a different creature you can see within 30 feet of you, provided you aren't incapacitated. When you apply the curse in this way, you don't regain hit points from the death of the previously cursed creature.