Warlock

Image used by permission of Yama Orce.

As a warlock, you gain the following class features.

Hit Points

Hit Dice: 1d8 per warlock level
Hit Points at 1st Level: 8 + your Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 (or 5) + your Constitution modifier per warlock level after 1st

Proficiencies

Weapons: Simple weapons
Tools: None
Saving Throws: Wisdom, Charisma
Skills: Choose two skills from Arcana, Deception, History, Intimidation, Investigation, Nature, and Religion
Armor: Light armor

Equipment

You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:

  • (a) a light crossbow and 20 bolts or (b) any simple weapon
  • (a) a component pouch or (b) an arcane focus
  • (a) a scholar’s pack or (b) a dungeoneer’s pack
  • Leather armor, any simple weapon, and two daggers
Table: The Warlock
Level Proficiency Bonus Features Cantrips Known Spells Known Spell Slots Slot Level Invocations Known
1st +2 Otherworldly Patron, Pact Magic 2 2 1 1st
2nd +2 Eldritch Invocations 2 3 2 1st 2
3rd +2 Pact Boon 2 4 2 2nd 2
4th +2 Ability Score Improvement 3 5 2 2nd 2
5th +3 3 6 2 3rd 3
6th +3 Otherworldly Patron feature 3 7 2 3rd 3
7th +3 3 8 2 4th 4
8th +3 Ability Score Improvement 3 9 2 4th 4
9th +4 3 10 2 5th 5
10th +4 Otherworldly Patron feature 4 10 2 5th 5
11th +4 Mystic Arcanum (6th level) 4 11 3 5th 5
12th +4 Ability Score Improvement 4 11 3 5th 6
13th +5 Mystic Arcanum (7th level) 4 12 3 5th 6
14th +5 Otherworldly Patron feature 4 12 3 5th 6
15th +5 Eldritch Master (8th level) 4 13 3 5th 7
16th +5 Ability Score Improvement 4 13 3 5th 7
17th +6 Mystic Arcanum (9th level) 4 14 4 5th 7
18th +6 4 14 4 5th 8
19th +6 Ability Score Improvement 4 15 4 5th 8
20th +6 Eldritch Master 4 15 4 5th 8

Patron

At 1st level, you have struck a bargain with an otherworldly being of your choice. Only details for the Fiend were released as Open Game Content by Wizards of the Coast. Additional options are listed below.

Your choice grants you features at 1st level and again at 6th, 10th, and 14th level.

The beings that serve as patrons for warlocks are mighty inhabitants of other planes of existence-not gods, but almost godlike in their power. Various patrons give their warlocks access to different powers and invocations, and expect significant favors in return. Some patrons collect warlocks, doling out mystic knowledge relatively freely or boasting of their ability to bind mortals to their will. Other patrons bestow their power only grudgingly, and might make a pact with only one warlock. Warlocks who serve the same patron might view each other as allies, siblings, or rivals.

Subpages

    Pact Magic

    Your arcane research and the magic bestowed on you by your patron have given you facility with spells.

    Cantrips

    You know two cantrips of your choice from the warlock spell list. You learn additional warlock cantrips of your choice at higher levels, as shown in the Cantrips Known column of the Warlock table.

    Spell Slots

    Table: The Warlock shows how many spell slots you have. The table also shows what the level of those slots is; all of your spell slots are the same level. To cast one of your warlock spells of 1st level or higher, you must expend a spell slot. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a short or long rest. For example, when you are 5th level, you have two 3rd-level spell slots. To cast the 1st-level spell thunderwave, you must spend one of those slots, and you cast it as a 3rd-level spell.

    Spells Known of 1st Level and Higher

    At 1st level, you know two 1st-level spells of your choice from the warlock spell list. The Spells Known column of Table: The Warlock shows when you learn more warlock spells of your choice of 1st level and higher. A spell you choose must be of a level no higher than what’s shown in the table’s Slot Level column for your level. When you reach 6th level, for example, you learn a new warlock spell, which can be 1st, 2nd, or 3rd level. Additionally, when you gain a level in this class, you can choose one of the warlock spells you know and replace it with another spell from the warlock spell list, which also must be of a level for which you have spell slots.

    Spellcasting Ability

    Charisma is your spellcasting ability for your warlock spells, so you use your Charisma whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Charisma modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a warlock spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one. Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier

    Spellcasting Focus

    You can use an arcane focus as a spellcasting focus for your warlock spells.

    Eldritch Invocations

    In your study of occult lore, you have unearthed eldritch invocations, fragments of forbidden knowledge that imbue you with an abiding magical ability. At 2nd level, you gain two eldritch invocations of your choice. Your invocation options are detailed at the end of the class description. When you gain certain warlock levels, you gain additional invocations of your choice, as shown in the Invocations Known column of the Warlock table. Additionally, when you gain a level in this class, you can choose one of the invocations you know and replace it with another invocation that you could learn at that level.

    See this page for complete list of eldritch invocations.

    Pact Boon

    Each Pact Boon option produces a special creature or an object that reflects your patron’s nature.

    Pact of the Chain. Your familiar is more cunning than a typical familiar. Its default form can be a reflection of your patron, with sprites and pseudodragons tied to the Archfey and imps and quasits tied to the Fiend. Because the Great Old One’s nature is inscrutable, any familiar form is suitable for it.

    Pact of the Blade. If your patron is the Archfey, your weapon might be a slender blade wrapped in leafy vines. If you serve the Fiend, your weapon could be an axe made of black metal and adorned with decorative flames. If your patron is the Great Old One, your weapon might be an ancient-­looking spear, with a gemstone embedded in its head, carved to look like a terrible unblinking eye.

    Pact of the Tome. Your Book of Shadows might be a fine, gilt-­edged tome with spells of enchantment and illusion, gifted to you by the lordly Archfey. It could be a weighty tome bound in demon hide studded with iron, holding spells of conjuration and a wealth of forbidden lore about the sinister regions of the cosmos, a gift of the Fiend. Or it could be the tattered diary of a lunatic driven mad by contact with the Great Old One, holding scraps of spells that only your own burgeoning insanity allows you to understand and cast.

    At 3rd level, your otherworldly patron bestows a gift upon you for your loyal service. You gain one of the following features.

    Pact of the Arrow (3pp)

    Source AoM:HP (3pp)

    You can use your action to create a pact weapon in your empty hand. You can choose the form that this ranged weapon takes each time you create it, and you do not require any ammunition to use this weapon as ammunition will be created for you each time you use the weapon. You are proficient with it while you wield it. This weapon counts as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to non-magical attacks and damage. Your pact weapon disappears if it is more than 5 feet away from you for 1 minute or more. It also disappears if you use this feature again, if you dismiss the weapon (no action required), or if you die. You can transform one magic weapon into your pact weapon by performing a special ritual while you hold the weapon. You perform the ritual over the course of 1 hour, which can be done during a short rest. You can then dismiss the weapon, shunting it into an extradimensional space, and it appears whenever you create your pact weapon thereafter. You can’t affect an artifact or a sentient weapon in this way. The weapon ceases being your pact weapon if you die, if you perform the 1-hour ritual on a different weapon, or if you use a 1-hour ritual to break your bond to it. The weapon appears at your feet if it is in the extradimensional space when the bond breaks.

    Pact of the Chain

    You learn the find familiar spell and can cast it as a ritual. The spell doesn’t count against your number of spells known. When you cast the spell, you can choose one of the normal forms for your familiar or one of the following special forms: imp, pseudodragon, quasit, or sprite. Additionally, when you take the Attack action, you can forgo one of your own attacks to allow your familiar to make one attack of its own with its reaction.

    Pact of the Blade

    You can use your action to create a pact weapon in your empty hand. You can choose the form that this melee weapon takes each time you create it. You are proficient with it while you wield it. This weapon counts as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage. Your pact weapon disappears if it is more than 5 feet away from you for 1 minute or more. It also disappears if you use this feature again, if you dismiss the weapon (no action required), or if you die. You can transform one magic weapon into your pact weapon by performing a special ritual while you hold the weapon. You perform the ritual over the course of 1 hour, which can be done during a short rest. You can then dismiss the weapon, shunting it into an extradimensional space, and it appears whenever you create your pact weapon thereafter. You can’t affect an artifact or a sentient weapon in this way. The weapon ceases being your pact weapon if you die, if you perform the 1-hour ritual on a different weapon, or if you use a 1-hour ritual to break your bond to it. The weapon appears at your feet if it is in the extradimensional space when the bond breaks.

    Pact of the Skull (3pp)

    Source SPCM

    Your patron gives you a magical pact skull, generally a humanoid or ghoul skull collected from a graveyard with at least one hundred bodies. Using this skull, you can cast spells you know with the ritual tag as rituals.

    Additionally, the skull whispers magical secrets that only you can hear. When you choose this feature, choose two 1st-level spells with the ritual tag from any class (not necessarily the same class), including this one. The chosen spells are warlock spells for you. While the skull is within 5 feet of you, you know those spells and they do not count against your number of warlock spells known, but you can’t cast them using spell slots as normal. You can cast them as rituals or as formulas (if they have the formula tag).

    You can also use this class feature to cast one of the chosen spells as an action without expending a spell slot while your pact skull is within 5 feet of you. Once you do so, you can’t do so again until you finish a short or long rest.

    Each time you gain a warlock level, you can replace one of the chosen spells with another ritual spell that is of a spell level lower than half your warlock level (rounded up, minimum 1). On your adventures, you can also add other ritual spells to your pact skull. When you find such a spell, you can add it to the skull if the spell’s level is equal to or less than half your warlock level (rounded up) and if you take the time to teach the spell to your skull. For each level of the spell, the teaching process takes 2 hours and costs 50 gp for the rare incense that you must burn in your pact skull while reading the spell aloud to it.

    If you lose your pact skull, you can perform a 1-hour ceremony to receive a replacement from your patron. This ceremony can be performed during a short or long rest, and it destroys the previous skull. Your pact skull crumbles to sand when you die.

    Pact of Stolen Power (3pp)

    Source AoM:HP (3pp)

    You can perform a special 1-hour long ritual on one magic object such as a rod, wand, or staff to obtain its power. You can perform the ritual over the course of 1 hour, which can be done during a short rest which uses one charge from the object. You can then dismiss or summon the magic object at will, but when you summon the object it is a shadow object possessing half the charges or uses of the magic object, rounded down while expending another charge from the original object. You can use the shadow object until all the charges are used up, and after a long rest, you can summon another copy of the object to use its charges again, but you still expend an additional charge from the original object every time you summon the shadow object.

    Pact of the Tome

    Your patron gives you a grimoire called a Book of Shadows. When you gain this feature, choose three cantrips from any class’s spell list (the three needn’t be from the same list). While the book is on your person, you can cast those cantrips at will. They don’t count against your number of cantrips known. If they don’t appear on the warlock spell list, they are nonetheless warlock spells for you. If you lose your Book of Shadows, you can perform a 1-hour ceremony to receive a replacement from your patron. This ceremony can be performed during a short or long rest, and it destroys the previous book. The book turns to ash when you die.

    Ability Score Improvement

    When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.

    Mystic Arcanum

    At 11th level, your patron bestows upon you a magical secret called an arcanum. Choose one 6th- level spell from the warlock spell list as this arcanum. You can cast your arcanum spell once without expending a spell slot. You must finish a long rest before you can do so again. At higher levels, you gain more warlock spells of your choice that can be cast in this way: one 7th- level spell at 13th level, one 8th-level spell at 15th level, and one 9th-level spell at 17th level. You regain all uses of your Mystic Arcanum when you finish a long rest.

    Eldritch Master

    At 20th level, you can draw on your inner reserve of mystical power while entreating your patron to regain expended spell slots. You can spend 1 minute entreating your patron for aid to regain all your expended spell slots from your Pact Magic feature. Once you regain spell slots with this feature, you must finish a long rest before you can do so again.

    Warlock Spells

    Cantrips (0 Level)

    1st Level

    2nd Level

    3rd Level

    4th Level

    5th Level

    6th Level

    7th Level

    8th Level

    9th Level

    Warlock Origins

    Source AoM:HP (3pp)

    People become warlocks for a number of reasons. Here are twenty reasons why a warlock might make a pact with a patron. If you need a quick way to build a character background, choose an origin or roll a d20 and see what path fate chose for you.

    d20 Origin
    1 Revenge. Your patron promised you a chance to hurt those who hurt you. This revenge isn’t what you wanted.
    2 Anger. Your anger at someone in your family drove you to find power through any means necessary. You patron seized on that hate to have you sign the deal.
    3 Opportunity. Your patron provided a quick solution to a debt, an obligation, or an arrangement in your life. This solution was not what you expected.
    4 Survival. You were going to die, and you patron appeared offering you a chance to live again at a cost!
    5 A Life Preserved. Someone you cared for would have died. You sold your soul to keep them alive. Now they live for as long as you serve.
    6 Exile. You were exiled from your people for a serious crime. Your patron offered you a home that you thought you wanted.
    7 Immense Riches. You grew up in poverty, and your patron offered you wealth beyond your imagination. Wealth is not worth your freedom now.
    8 Power. You’ve been preyed upon your whole life. Your patron offered you a chance to turn the tables.
    9 Admiration. You’ve seen other warlocks and always wanted to be one yourself. You were young and foolish then.
    10 Spurned by the Gods. The gods have never heard your prayers or stopped hearing them suddenly, but something much darker listened instead.
    11 Destiny. Your patron engineered all the steps in your life to lead to you signing the deal.
    12 Lord of the Cult. Not all dark powers need priests, but they do want servants. You joined a cult that gave you power beyond a clerics limited imagination.
    13 Family Ties. All members of your family signed the pact, and so did you. Do you regret this rite of passage?
    14 Family Abandonment. You grew up in a family where you were shown neither loved or kindness. Something else filled that void, and all it asked of you was one thing-your soul!
    15 A Quicker Path. You were on the right path, but it would have taken too long. A dark power offered you a quicker path for the small price of your loyalty.
    16 Life or Death. Your life was on the life, and the only way to survive was to sign the pact. Death would have been a mercy.
    17 A Debt Paid. Someone used you to pay their debt. You could have refused, but they would have paid the ultimate price. Maybe the price for them would have been less than what has happened to you.
    18 The People’s Chosen. Your town, family, or kingdom regularly sacrifices one to the patron. You were the “lucky” winner.
    19 Curiosity. You read words from a tome or ruins, not knowing the deal you were making. That was a mistake.
    20 Love. You love your patron. The patron has taken advantage of this and asked for the one thing only you could give it.
    Section 15: Copyright Notice

    System Reference Document 5.1 Copyright 2016, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford, Chris Perkins, Rodney Thompson, Peter Lee, James Wyatt, Robert J. Schwalb, Bruce R. Cordell, Chris Sims, and Steve Townshend, based on original material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.

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