Naturey Warlock Patrons

[LibraryOgre]

Does anyone know of naturey warlock patrons? Sort of how Celestial Warlocks are semi-clerics, a warlock that results in semi-druids?

(I have few books and haven't kept up)

[nickl_2000]

I always saw Arch-Fey as the most natury Warlock.

[Rfkannen]

a LOT of fey are nature themed so the archfey warlock isn't a bad pick.

The fathomless warlock from tasha's could pretty easily be flavored as a water spirit patron.

As of now there isn't an official nature patron, but I think fey works!

[quindraco]

Genielocks are pacted to noble genies, which is an incredibly druidic notion. Druids have strong connections to the elemental planes.

[Naanomi]

A celestial patron warlock bound to one of the animal lords in the beastlands would be pretty nature-y

I do agree that an official 'totemic' druidish patron would be nice to have

[Kuulvheysoon]

UA and super controversial, but the Mage of Witherbloom from the Strixhaven UA was meant to be used by both druids and warlocks.

[LibraryOgre]

Looking at the ones suggested (Thank You!), I agree that most of them have great druidish aspects, though none are quite what I was thinking... the Archfey are more trickstery with a touch of nature, the Fathomless and the Genies are both elemental, and single-element at that.

Thank you again.

[Sparky McDibben]

I'd recommend checking the Horned One from Arcadia, Vol 2.

[Dr. Cliché]

Unfortunately, I don't think there's any patron that will make you more Druid-like in and of itself.

However, you could perhaps take Archfey (or whichever patron you think is the closest match) and supplement it with other Warlock abilities.

e.g. Pact of the Tome (and take Druid cantrips), Invocations like Beast Speech, Sculptor of Flesh, Master of Myriad of Forms (at higher level) etc.

[Kvess]

I think it is a mistake to conflate the elemental planes with nature or even the feywild. Nature is not an environment of pure fire, water, rock or air. Nature is embodied in complex ecosystems; the interplay between plants, animals and, yes, the elements. The feywild is a mirror of nature — it looks similar on the surface but follows different rules.

A nature patron could be the totems that Barbarians draw powers from, a vestige of the dead primordials who shaped the world before the gods, other powerful nature spirits, or something like Jeryth Phaulkon, who ascended to demigod status and embodies a garden in Waterdeep.

Maybe a dwarven mining operating is dumping their waste material in an awakened swamp, and the land itself chose to empower someone to intervene on its behalf?

[MrStabby]

I would also suggest taking a look at the Ravnica backgrounds and the Eberron races.

Ravnica can give you golgari background which gives entangle and plant growth, lashing vine and a few others.

Eberron can get you mark of handling, which gives all the talking to animals stuff and conjure animals.

With these two and a Fey Pact warlock I think you could be doing quite well.

[Naanomi]

I think it is a mistake to conflate the elemental planes with nature or even the feywild.
Druids have been associated with the inner planes since the class was created; not because they are natural per se, but because they are fundamental... The underlying building blocks that nature is built upon. I agree that Djinn-pact doesn't end up feeling very druidish though (Djinn are among the least naturalistic denizens of the inner planes)

[nickl_2000]

Looking at the ones suggested (Thank You!), I agree that most of them have great druidish aspects, though none are quite what I was thinking... the Archfey are more trickstery with a touch of nature, the Fathomless and the Genies are both elemental, and single-element at that.

Thank you again.

I would be an interesting homebrew to create something like Gaia as a patron.

[Kvess]

Of the existing subclasses, I would suggest playing with The Celestial patron. It is more radiance, fire and sunlight-themed than animal-themed, but does have some overlap with the healing aspect of druids.

[TheMango55]

I'd recommend checking the Horned One from Arcadia, Vol 2.

This right here, one of the coolest Warlock subclasses.

It's like a Warlock ranger, casts eldritch blast through a bow, and if your bow is magical then Eldritch Blast gets the benefit of the bow's enchantment.

https://shop.mcdmproductions.com/products/arcadia-issue2

https://www.patreon.com/mcdm/posts

The patreon is actually much cheaper because the issue is $7 but the patreon is $5 and lets you get every issue that has been released.

[sambojin]

Whilst your one will have to be refluffed to not be from the outer planes, a great old one patron could work. The spirit of the primordial forest, or the eternal soul of a mountain, or the lifeforce of an entire region, etc. Not unchanging, but that has been here since before the civilized races. That's pretty great and old and one'ish.

Your pact is to protect it or the region it is in, and so it gives you the power to do so. You might get ancient and awesome weapons to employ on its behalf, or a book of knowledge and secrets of the spirits of such an area, or a helper buddy spirit (possibly even a mischievous manifestation of the old one you serve), to do the work you have said. Or just to see the world and learn all you can of it, because the GOO can't leave its region, but you as its servant can.

Plus, telepathy rocks :)

[Naanomi]

Whilst your one will have to be refluffed to not be from the outer planes
Note that almost none of the Great Old Ones have anything to do with the Outer Planes

[Kvess]

The Far Realm is what lies beyond the Outer Planes, past the infinite expanse of The Great Wheel. It is similar to the Outer Realms in the Cthulhu Mythos.

[Sparky McDibben]

This right here, one of the coolest Warlock subclasses.

It's like a Warlock ranger, casts eldritch blast through a bow, and if your bow is magical then Eldritch Blast gets the benefit of the bow's enchantment.

https://shop.mcdmproductions.com/products/arcadia-issue2

https://www.patreon.com/mcdm/posts

The patreon is actually much cheaper because the issue is $7 but the patreon is $5 and lets you get every issue that has been released.

I want to play one so bad, man. Then I remember I'm the forever DM. I really recommend the patreon - for $5 you can pick up like 6 issues. The last one they released has a bunch of villains, including a whole separate adventuring party customized for 5e. It's pretty cool!

[TheMango55]

I want to play one so bad, man.

Same, I even have a mini I’ve 3D printed for it (not painted yet)

https://imgur.com/a/mMdtT1D

[Sparky McDibben]

Same, I even have a mini I’ve 3D printed for it (not painted yet)

Quoth Colville: "Dope!" :)

[jaappleton]

I checked out Horned One myself. With the lack of UA for July, I needed something to scratch that itch.

*IF* I am reading it correctly…. And that’s a big if, admittedly…. This completely breaks bounded accuracy.

You can confer a Weapon enhancement bonus to Eldritch Blast and treat it as if it’d been fired from the weapon. Right?

So correct me if I’m wrong, but at 9th level, if:

+5 Charisma
+4 Proficiency
+2 Rod of the Pact Keeper item
+2 Archery Style vía Feat
+1 Improved Pact Weapon invocation

That’s +14 to hit. At level 9.

Rod of the Pact Keeper still works because you’re still CASTING Eldritch Blast.

Add in Sharpshooter, which should work because you now ALSO treat EB as if it were fired from a weapon, that’s +9 to hit. AFTER the Sharpshooter penalty you’re still doing what would be your minimum attack roll of +Modifier and +Proficiency?

[RogueJK]

Yeah, being able to stack all the bow/archery type bonuses on top of all the spellcasting/EB-specific bonuses seems excessive. (Granted, I haven't read the actual homebrew subclass itself, so I'm just going off what you've stated.)

An example of something more balanced would be if they had to choose whether their EB qualifies as a weapon or as spellcasting. So you could say it's a magical bow weapon granted by your Horned One patron, and get stuff like magic weapon bonuses, Sharpshooter, Improved Pact Weapon, and Archery fighting style, but then you'd be limited to just 2x Attacks (using Thirsting Blade) since it's a weapon and not a cantrip with a scaling number of beams, and you couldn't stack on something like a Rod of the Pact Keeper. You'd basically operate just like a traditional Longbow archer, with a slightly higher base damage dice (d10 vs. d8), force damage instead of piercing, and the ability to add a few additional EB Invocation bonuses like Repelling Blast on top. That wouldn't be overpowered, and would actually likely be a bit underpowered, compared to traditional EB. But it could potentially be a cool take on the Arcane Archer theme, and could make for some interesting multiclassing.

[Joe the Rat]

There's a little bit of a double-shot here - what is "druidy" and what is "naturey".

Form the druid side, Archfey, Fathomless, and to a lesser extent Genie sit on the fence. Archfey has druid-aligned spells, and druids do have significant interplay with fey (and Fey with nature). Dr. Cliche's build is the best aligned here (though I would be tempted to go Chain for a Sprite). Hell, Beast Speech makes you better at talking to nature than most druids. Fathomless is what a Coastal Druid ought to look like when in their element.

As for Nature - what aspect of the natural world are you tapping into?

Vitality of nature, cycles of life and death, cleansing? - Celestial patron, pick something that is or works for a nature-creature. Unicorns and Coatl feel right, but enh. An Archon in the service of a Nature deity? Solid. A primordial and somewhat forgotten Earth Mother entity? Where there's a Willendorf, there's a way.

Nature as anti-civilization: The untouched world at its best - Archfey is still a good option here. You are invoking the Old Power of the world, throwing the haunts of what was as your enemies. A Hunt-aligned Archfey sits nicely. As an Archaic alternate, Great Old One - Mother Nature as a more primordial, unthinking force as opposed to a personification of life. Skipping past the trees and flowers, we're getting to the deepest roots of life - the origins of species and those primal elements. Remove the the gilding of civilization, and beneath remains the savagery. It can mess with you. All your mind-warping weirdness is about getting back to the Feral. You are speaking in the minds of others by tapping into those most primal roots of all creatures. Dissonant Whispers? Crown of madness? That's pulling forth the inner beast, touching on the reptile brain's flight and fight instincts. (Friends and Charm person can reflect the other "F's"). Go ahead and sculpt flesh here - we're making dinosaurs!.

Horrifically Tongue-In-Cheek? Genie. But you need all four, plus an Old One mind-warper. The power is yours.

[TheMango55]

I checked out Horned One myself. With the lack of UA for July, I needed something to scratch that itch.

*IF* I am reading it correctly…. And that’s a big if, admittedly…. This completely breaks bounded accuracy.

You can confer a Weapon enhancement bonus to Eldritch Blast and treat it as if it’d been fired from the weapon. Right?

So correct me if I’m wrong, but at 9th level, if:

+5 Charisma
+4 Proficiency
+2 Rod of the Pact Keeper item
+2 Archery Style vía Feat
+1 Improved Pact Weapon invocation

That’s +14 to hit. At level 9.

Rod of the Pact Keeper still works because you’re still CASTING Eldritch Blast.

Add in Sharpshooter, which should work because you now ALSO treat EB as if it were fired from a weapon, that’s +9 to hit. AFTER the Sharpshooter penalty you’re still doing what would be your minimum attack roll of +Modifier and +Proficiency?

I don’t have the pdf in front of me but I don’t believe you can add archery fighting style or the sharpshooter feat. It’s still a spell and not a physical projectile, the bow is just the focus, with eldritch blast gaining the enchantment of the focus.

Also probably dm dependent as to whether you can hold a rod of the pact keeper while casting EB through your bow.

[jaappleton]

I don’t have the pdf in front of me but I don’t believe you can add archery fighting style or the sharpshooter feat. It’s still a spell and not a physical projectile, the bow is just the focus, with eldritch blast gaining the enchantment of the focus.

Also probably dm dependent as to whether you can hold a rod of the pact keeper while casting EB through your bow.


At 1st level, you are given the tools to take on a proper

role in the hunt. You gain proficiency with martial weap-
ons and the Stealth skill, and you can use a ranged weap-
on as a spellcasting focus for your warlock spells.

In addition, you learn the eldritch blast cantrip, which
doesn’t count against the number of warlock cantrips
you know. When you cast eldritch blast, you can make
each beam you create with the cantrip take the form of

an arrow, without the need for verbal and somatic com-
ponents, and immediately fire this arrow from a short-
bow, longbow, light crossbow, or heavy crossbow you are

wielding. When used in this way, any benefits the weap-
on may confer to normal ammunition also apply to the

magical arrow. For instance, a +1 longbow would confer
a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with your

eldritch blast cantrip. The weapon may be used as a spell-
casting focus for all warlock spells, but only grants its

bonuses to the eldritch blast cantrip.

Emphasis mine.

Due to the wording, I believe that the Eldritch Blast is both being cast and being fired. As such, I believe both Archery style, and anything else regarding a ranged weapon attack, would apply. So would anything regarding a ranged spell attack, like Rod of the Pact Keeper.

Is that the intent? Honestly, I do believe so. Is being able to add all that together the intended consequence? Hard to say.

[TheMango55]

[I]

Emphasis mine.

Due to the wording, I believe that the Eldritch Blast is both being cast and being fired. As such, I believe both Archery style, and anything else regarding a ranged weapon attack, would apply. So would anything regarding a ranged spell attack, like Rod of the Pact Keeper.

Is that the intent? Honestly, I do believe so. Is being able to add all that together the intended consequence? Hard to say.

So first it says the eldritch blast gains the benefits that the bow confers to normal ammunition, sharpshooter and archery fighting style is not conferred by the bow. Those both require weapon attack rolls while I believe eldritch blast even used this way would still be a spell attack roll. EDIT: archery fighting style it seems may not require the weapon attack roll so that could work, definitely not sharpshooter though.

Second, a rod of the pact keeper has to be held to grant the bonus to hit, how do you hold that and fire a two handed bow simultaneously?

[jaappleton]

Second, a rod of the pact keeper has to be held to grant the bonus to hit, how do you hold that and fire a two handed bow simultaneously?


I don't need hands to clench things!

[jaappleton]

I checked out Horned One myself. With the lack of UA for July, I needed something to scratch that itch.

*IF* I am reading it correctly…. And that’s a big if, admittedly…. This completely breaks bounded accuracy.

You can confer a Weapon enhancement bonus to Eldritch Blast and treat it as if it’d been fired from the weapon. Right?

So correct me if I’m wrong, but at 9th level, if:

+5 Charisma
+4 Proficiency
+2 Rod of the Pact Keeper item
+2 Archery Style vía Feat
+1 Improved Pact Weapon invocation

That’s +14 to hit. At level 9.

Rod of the Pact Keeper still works because you’re still CASTING Eldritch Blast.

Add in Sharpshooter, which should work because you now ALSO treat EB as if it were fired from a weapon, that’s +9 to hit. AFTER the Sharpshooter penalty you’re still doing what would be your minimum attack roll of +Modifier and +Proficiency?

None of it works. I went back to the drawing board. The bow or crossbow becomes the focus, so it doesn't stack with Rod of the Pact Keeper or anything like that. Additionally, it only ever utilizes the Cast a Spell action, meaning things like Archery Style or Sharpshooter is a no-go.

Dangit.