Genie Warlock as an Enemy

[TheCleverGuy]

Had an idea for an adventure where lizardfolk raiders have suddenly begun taking villagers as slaves for some unknown purpose. The party will investigate/make a rescue attempt, and find the lizardfolk are using the captives to mine for gems and gold. Long story short, the leader of this tribe has somehow made a pact with a Dao.

How would you build a Genie pact Warlock as a "boss" monster for the players to fight? I know one of the books (Volo's Guide maybe?) has NPC stat blocks for warlocks of some of the other patrons--would it make sense to just re-skin one of those? And if so, what are some good, thematic spells for a Dao Warlock, aside from what's listed in their expanded spell list? Or would it be better to simply give the lizardfolk leader class levels?

I'd like to make this a challenging encounter for a level 3 or 4 party. One possibility I've considered is having the Warlock conjure up an Earth Elemental (though I think this would technically break the rules a bit, since Conjure Elemental isn't a Warlock spell).

[Unoriginal]

Had an idea for an adventure where lizardfolk raiders have suddenly begun taking villagers as slaves for some unknown purpose. The party will investigate/make a rescue attempt, and find the lizardfolk are using the captives to mine for gems and gold. Long story short, the leader of this tribe has somehow made a pact with a Dao.

How would you build a Genie pact Warlock as a "boss" monster for the players to fight? I know one of the books (Volo's Guide maybe?) has NPC stat blocks for warlocks of some of the other patrons--would it make sense to just re-skin one of those? And if so, what are some good, thematic spells for a Dao Warlock, aside from what's listed in their expanded spell list? Or would it be better to simply give the lizardfolk leader class levels?

First thing you need to do is define what part(s) of the Dao Warlock you want this character to have. Like, what's the thing you want that makes people think "this one is a Dao Warlock"?

Once this is established, we can see which method is best for your NPC.



I'd like to make this a challenging encounter for a level 3 or 4 party. One possibility I've considered is having the Warlock conjure up an Earth Elemental (though I think this would technically break the rules a bit, since Conjure Elemental isn't a Warlock spell).

The Servant of Chaos Invocation let them cast it.

Not that you need to respect class limits with NPCs, but just pointing out.


Also, yeah, the Warlock NPC statblocks are in the Volo's for the most part.

[TheCleverGuy]

First thing you need to do is define what part(s) of the Dao Warlock you want this character to have. Like, what's the thing you want that makes people think "this one is a Dao Warlock"?

That's a good question. Looking at the class features, I guess the only thing that really sets the Dao apart from other Genie patrons (apart from spell selection) is the Genie's Wrath and Elemental Gift features. So giving my Warlock some extra bludgeoning damage and resistance to bludgeoning as well sounds like a good idea.

I guess it's mostly going to come down to choosing a handful of Earth and stone themed spells. At first glance the ones in the expanded list seem a little lacking to me, from a combat perspective. But that might just be my lack of experience.

[HPisBS]

I guess it's mostly going to come down to choosing a handful of Earth and stone themed spells. At first glance the ones in the expanded list seem a little lacking to me, from a combat perspective. But that might just be my lack of experience.

A while back (long before Tasha's), I was looking through WotC's attempt at completing their set of elemental Sorcerous Origins and decided to make my own since theirs weren't so great. (I haven't post them anywhere yet.) This is the list of bonus spells I'd let Stone Sorcerers have (since all Sorcs need some bonus thematic spells.) Maybe it'll help a bit.

Cantrips - Mold Earth / Magic Stone
1 - Tenser’s Floating Disk / Earth Tremor
2 - Spike Growth (made of stone) / Maximillion’s Earthen Grasp
3 - Meld Into Stone / Wall of Sand
4 - Stone Shape / Stoneskin
5 - Transmute Rock / Wall of Stone


It isn't fully presentable, but I could post the full subclass if you'd like.

[TheCleverGuy]

Cantrips - Mold Earth / Magic Stone
1 - Tenser’s Floating Disk / Earth Tremor
2 - Spike Growth (made of stone) / Maximillion’s Earthen Grasp
3 - Meld Into Stone / Wall of Sand
4 - Stone Shape / Stoneskin
5 - Transmute Rock / Wall of Stone

This is helpful, thanks. I looked through the whole list of spells and only found a couple others that would work, like Erupting Earth and Bones of the Earth.

I guess my next problem is figuring out how powerful to make this bad guy. As a Warlock, what level will his spell slots be, how many hit points, AC, that kind of stuff. I've never really designed my own bad guy from the ground up before.

[Hal]

One thing I'd caution about trying to build a warlock as an NPC enemy is that warlocks only get their 2 spell slots until a short/long rest. For PCs, this tends to balance out over the course of adventuring (plus, y'know, Eldritch Blast.) For a bad guy who is probably only lasting one encounter, those two spell slots go quickly, and then you have a villain with a lot less mojo. This won't be an issue if this will be a recurring villain, but it can be kind of a letdown to have your villain throw out two spells and then have to fall back on cantrips.

I'd just make the villain a "warlock," that is, call it whatever you want but use some other NPC statblock to do the work.

That said, if your party is only level 3-4, a CR5 Earth Elemental is going to be a very dangerous opponent. Even as a solo monster, that earth elemental will pull a lot of weight against a tier 1 party if they don't have any magical weapons.

[TheCleverGuy]

I'd just make the villain a "warlock," that is, call it whatever you want but use some other NPC statblock to do the work.

That said, if your party is only level 3-4, a CR5 Earth Elemental is going to be a very dangerous opponent. Even as a solo monster, that earth elemental will pull a lot of weight against a tier 1 party if they don't have any magical weapons.

I don't really expect this warlock to last for more then one fight, but that is a good point. Any suggestions for a suitable NPC stat block to use? Swapping out spells known for more thematic options seems pretty simple, I'm just not sure where to start from.

For the elemental, I don't have any problem tuning it down a CR level or two. Also, if the PCs can break the Warlock's concentration, I can either have the elemental turn against the Warlock or just crumble.

[Dalinar]

A warlock is basically someone who has entered a deal with a higher power, serving them in exchange for some of said power. NPC spellcasting doesn't have to work like PC spellcasting; maybe this particular guy knew to ask for more spell slots and is more beholden to the Dao in return than a typical Dao lock.

My ideas:

1. Your Dao warlock is actually way stronger than the PCs, but doesn't deign to fight them directly. Demonstrate that he's bad news by throwing out a high level spell or two (Wall of Stone? Maybe a sandstorm spell I don't know about?) in encounters prior to the climax. Then he summons an Earth Elemental, or a group of miniature ones (very dangerous for a Tier 1 party, as mentioned by others) and leaves, having judged the PC's strength and finding them not worth the exertion. Your warlock becomes a recurring antagonist in Tier 2. (If the party asks why he doesn't just have the Earth Elemental do the mine labor, it's probably because that would annoy the Dao. His powers were not meant for such menial tasks!)

2. In conjunction with 1 or separately, the party finds a way to go over the warlock's head and figure out what the Dao wants with all that mining. Maybe he can be bought off, maybe he's got a buddy trapped down there but can't interfere directly, etc. Your warlock is annoyed, but gets over it, and potentially becomes someone you can enlist for aid versus a bigger bad that shows up later.

3. It's very cliche (four-elements-themed villains? is this the original Final Fantasy?), but maybe instead of being very powerful individually, he's one of a group of four Genielocks, one of whom is visiting when the PCs show up. Your PCs are probably expecting bludgeoning damage, dust clouds, walls of stone/molded earth, and physical tankiness from an earth-themed encounter, so you can subvert that a little this way. The nice part with this idea is that you can kinda tailor this one to your PC's strengths and weaknesses. If they're good at dealing with poor visibility, maybe his Marid lock buddy throws up a Sleet Storm. If they can tank a Fireball and recover (which might be difficult at T1, admittedly), maybe it's an Efreeti lock. Otherwise, maybe it's a Djinni lock with Gust of Wind (which combos nicely with Dao's Spike Growth spell). This also evens up the action economy and resource management a bit.

4. Is he a Chainlock, Bladelock, or Tomelock? (Or Talisman I guess. Or none of the above!) Does he have invocations such as Repelling Blast? This might inform some of your encounter design. Also, if he has an Imp or Quasit familiar, he may be dealing with fiendish forces as well as genie ones, which could be a way to introduce future antagonists in your campaign.

[HPisBS]

I don't really expect this warlock to last for more then one fight, but that is a good point. Any suggestions for a suitable NPC stat block to use? Swapping out spells known for more thematic options seems pretty simple, I'm just not sure where to start from.

Is that because the warlock is himself a lizardfolk, too, and expects to live or die with the rest of the tribe?


For the elemental, I don't have any problem tuning it down a CR level or two. Also, if the PCs can break the Warlock's concentration, I can either have the elemental turn against the Warlock or just crumble.

You could always go with Conjure Minor Elementals (mud and dust mephits) or Summon [Earth] Elemental Spirit instead.

"Fiercely territorial, they use camouflaged scouts to guard the perimeter of their domain. When unwelcome visitors are detected, a tribe sends a hunting band to harass or drive the trespassers off, or tricks them into blundering into the lairs of crocodiles and other dangerous creatures."

If they do this, it could be an opportunity to fiddle with the difficulty of the warlock encounter in a couple of ways. Overcoming whatever that diversion is could be enough for the party to level up before the main event, thus allowing your warlock to be that much stronger without being OP. If they don't stop and rest in between, then you may want to adjust the warlock's summon(s) up or down to compensate for the party's current state, etc.

[TheCleverGuy]

Is that because the warlock is himself a lizardfolk, too, and expects to live or die with the rest of the tribe?

You could always go with Conjure Minor Elementals (mud and dust mephits) or Summon [Earth] Elemental Spirit instead.

"Fiercely territorial, they use camouflaged scouts to guard the perimeter of their domain. When unwelcome visitors are detected, a tribe sends a hunting band to harass or drive the trespassers off, or tricks them into blundering into the lairs of crocodiles and other dangerous creatures."

I'm sort of working backwards from the boss here, so I don't really have a lot of the lead-up fleshed out yet. I have a vague notion that the PCs will end liberating the lizardfolk from the Warlock (or I guess from the Dao) at the same time that they're freeing the human slaves. Maybe the Dao is bound deep underground and the Warlock is mining to try and free it. The Warlock rose to power in his own tribe, and subjugated a neighboring tribe or two before reaching out to human lands.

Killing the Warlock will free the slaves and the subjugated lizardfolk as well. If the PCs take too long the Dao is freed and escapes back to the Elemental Plane, perhaps to trouble the party again later.

Looked into Elemental Spirit more, and that does look like a good option.

[HPisBS]

Sounds fun. Wish I could play.

You could respec a lizardfolk shaman (https://www.aidedd.org/dnd/monstres.php?vo=lizardfolk-shaman) a bit. Shuffle the mental stats around and bump Cha to 18. Exchange the listed druidic spells for earth - and maybe mental control - spells. Finally, I'd trade its Change Shape for some low-level earth themed powers and/or transformation.

The lvl 1 and 6 features I thought up for my version of a Stone Sorcerer could work:


-- Manifest or dismiss a stone shield on your arm as a bonus action
-- Learn Shield spell, and can cast it with 1 sorcery point (stacks with manifested shield, and doesn’t count against spells known) (flavored as rocks rotating around your body to divert the blow)


-- 15 ft tremor sense
-- Reaction to seeing or tremor-sensing an attack roll by someone who’s also on the same ground as you: Launch a rock from the ground near the attacker’s feet, dealing 1 magical bludgeoning damage and impairing their aim, imposing disadvantage for that attack
-- You learn to interpose your stony shield between yourself and effects that cause you to make a Dexterity Save to avoid damage, adding +2 to your saving throws.


These could be 1/day invocations. And/or involve a special Pact of the Stone. (I'd say the ability to manifest a shield that can apply to dex saves as a bonus action is roughly on par with standard pacts.)

[Unoriginal]

I would have the Lizardfolk Warlock summon an Earth Elemental as a brute force threat against the party, then turn their lower body into a earth cloud like Dao do and fly to the ceiling of the boss area (I'm supposing this is happening underground) to stay out of reach of the PCs.

For the next rounds, I'd have the Warlock throw Eldritch Blasts at the PCs to assist the Elemental, and keep their Warlock spell slots for if the Elemental gets free of their control or if the PCs manage to destroy it.


The statblock I'd use would be the Warlock of the Archfey one, with a modified spell list and the Lizardfolk features.