Greywander
2021-08-25, 10:25 PM
I wrote these as features for a homebrew warlock patron, but I think these could actually work as invocations that any warlock could take (possibly with pact boon restrictions).
Maleficium
You can the cast bane spell at-will as a 1st level spell. When you cast the spell this way, you may also cast it as a bonus action rather than an action.
What Thief of Five Fates should have been, IMO. Due note that casting at-will means casting at the spell's lowest level, 1st in this case, so Thief of Five Fates would still have value if you really wanted to upcast the spell. I've had this discussion before (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?634554-How-good-is-at-will-Bane), and I do think Bane is a great candidate for a spell to be made at-will. Since it's concentration, it competes with many of your other spells, but makes a great backup option if you're out of spell slots. Originally this was a 1st level patron feature for the witch subclass, and based on feedback I added that you could cast it as a bonus action so that it didn't drop off in value at higher levels when EB damage escalates, though in the original patron feature you had to wait until 6th level to get bonus action casting. I don't know that any other invocation gains new features at higher levels, so here I rolled the bonus action casting into the default effect of the invocation.
Sympathetic Magic
Prerequisite: 7th level
You learn how to create and use effigies of a creature that allow you to cast spells on that creature from any distance. At the end of a short rest, you may create one effigy of one creature. To create the effigy, which is a small doll that represents that creature, you need a part of that creature’s body, such as a lock of hair, nail clippings, or at least an ounce of their blood. A silver coin must also be used when creating the effigy, payment for the spirits that carry your spells to the target.
To use an effigy, simply target it with one of your spells, and that spell will instead affect the creature represented by the effigy, as if the spell had been cast on them. When you use the effigy this way, the effigy is destroyed.
I really like this one, because it has so much potential. Perhaps too much. A creative player could certainly get up to a lot of shenanigans with a feature like this. Due note that this can be used for both helpful and harmful spells, so there's a lot of value in creating effigies of your party members. Used offensively, you're limited by the need to collect pieces of the target's body. Even so, I do feel like this might benefit from adding an expiration date to such material, and/or limiting how many effigies you can create of the same creature at a time. I just didn't want to impose too many arbitrary limits.
Shape of the Beast
Prerequisite: 9th level
You are able to magically take on the shape of an animal. Choose a number of beasts equal to your proficiency bonus that are medium or smaller. As an action, you may turn into one of the beasts you chose, or back into your true form. Each time your proficiency bonus increases, you may choose a new beast to take the form of. Each time you gain a level in this class, you may replace one of your beast forms with a different one. Temporary changes to your proficiency bonus, such as from a spell or magic item, don’t interact with this feature.
While you are in a beast form, your statistics don’t change except for your size and speed. Any equipment you are wearing or carrying isn’t transformed with you. You revert to your true form if you die.
This is basically the Shapechanger trait that certain monsters have, such as the imp. Weaker than the druid's Wild Shape because (a) your gear doesn't transform, (b) your stats (including HP) stay the same, and (c) a strict reading still requires you to breathe air even if you turn into a fish. Not sure I want to keep that last one. I was considering categorizing different forms you could take, with each one having a specific speed and special traits, such as an aquatic form that has a specific swim speed and ability to breathe air and water. You could still choose the specific form, you'd just have preset speeds and special traits. So I'm open to feedback if that sounds better than what I have here.
Ropes of the Demonweb
You can climb on difficult surfaces, including upside down on ceilings, without needing to make an ability check, and while keeping your hands free. You also gain a climb speed equal to your walking speed.
Not actually from my witch patron, but still a suitable ability for such. My plan, had I had the opportunity, was to try to snag this as a racial trait from the new dhampire using a Simple Custom Race (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?629700-Simple-custom-races). Apparently, there used to be an invocation like this in an older edition, but it didn't make the cut for 5e I guess. Spiderclimb is an interesting and flavorful trait, and it saddens me that the spell requires concentration, as a lack of concentration could have made it competitive with the Fly spell.
How do these look as invocations? Would you want to use these as a player? Would you permit them as a DM? What tweaks would you suggest?
Maleficium
You can the cast bane spell at-will as a 1st level spell. When you cast the spell this way, you may also cast it as a bonus action rather than an action.
What Thief of Five Fates should have been, IMO. Due note that casting at-will means casting at the spell's lowest level, 1st in this case, so Thief of Five Fates would still have value if you really wanted to upcast the spell. I've had this discussion before (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?634554-How-good-is-at-will-Bane), and I do think Bane is a great candidate for a spell to be made at-will. Since it's concentration, it competes with many of your other spells, but makes a great backup option if you're out of spell slots. Originally this was a 1st level patron feature for the witch subclass, and based on feedback I added that you could cast it as a bonus action so that it didn't drop off in value at higher levels when EB damage escalates, though in the original patron feature you had to wait until 6th level to get bonus action casting. I don't know that any other invocation gains new features at higher levels, so here I rolled the bonus action casting into the default effect of the invocation.
Sympathetic Magic
Prerequisite: 7th level
You learn how to create and use effigies of a creature that allow you to cast spells on that creature from any distance. At the end of a short rest, you may create one effigy of one creature. To create the effigy, which is a small doll that represents that creature, you need a part of that creature’s body, such as a lock of hair, nail clippings, or at least an ounce of their blood. A silver coin must also be used when creating the effigy, payment for the spirits that carry your spells to the target.
To use an effigy, simply target it with one of your spells, and that spell will instead affect the creature represented by the effigy, as if the spell had been cast on them. When you use the effigy this way, the effigy is destroyed.
I really like this one, because it has so much potential. Perhaps too much. A creative player could certainly get up to a lot of shenanigans with a feature like this. Due note that this can be used for both helpful and harmful spells, so there's a lot of value in creating effigies of your party members. Used offensively, you're limited by the need to collect pieces of the target's body. Even so, I do feel like this might benefit from adding an expiration date to such material, and/or limiting how many effigies you can create of the same creature at a time. I just didn't want to impose too many arbitrary limits.
Shape of the Beast
Prerequisite: 9th level
You are able to magically take on the shape of an animal. Choose a number of beasts equal to your proficiency bonus that are medium or smaller. As an action, you may turn into one of the beasts you chose, or back into your true form. Each time your proficiency bonus increases, you may choose a new beast to take the form of. Each time you gain a level in this class, you may replace one of your beast forms with a different one. Temporary changes to your proficiency bonus, such as from a spell or magic item, don’t interact with this feature.
While you are in a beast form, your statistics don’t change except for your size and speed. Any equipment you are wearing or carrying isn’t transformed with you. You revert to your true form if you die.
This is basically the Shapechanger trait that certain monsters have, such as the imp. Weaker than the druid's Wild Shape because (a) your gear doesn't transform, (b) your stats (including HP) stay the same, and (c) a strict reading still requires you to breathe air even if you turn into a fish. Not sure I want to keep that last one. I was considering categorizing different forms you could take, with each one having a specific speed and special traits, such as an aquatic form that has a specific swim speed and ability to breathe air and water. You could still choose the specific form, you'd just have preset speeds and special traits. So I'm open to feedback if that sounds better than what I have here.
Ropes of the Demonweb
You can climb on difficult surfaces, including upside down on ceilings, without needing to make an ability check, and while keeping your hands free. You also gain a climb speed equal to your walking speed.
Not actually from my witch patron, but still a suitable ability for such. My plan, had I had the opportunity, was to try to snag this as a racial trait from the new dhampire using a Simple Custom Race (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?629700-Simple-custom-races). Apparently, there used to be an invocation like this in an older edition, but it didn't make the cut for 5e I guess. Spiderclimb is an interesting and flavorful trait, and it saddens me that the spell requires concentration, as a lack of concentration could have made it competitive with the Fly spell.
How do these look as invocations? Would you want to use these as a player? Would you permit them as a DM? What tweaks would you suggest?