The Yearning Black
Your patron is an ancient deity, as old as the mountains and inexperienced as a newborn. From far off, beyond mortal realms, an interest in worldly affairs has emerged in this entity. Its motivations are to learn and consume, and as such, it seeks to use servants vicariously to explore the world. Patrons of this type can be of any alignment, and are defined by their curiosities, level of involvement, and asks.
The Yearning Black is seldom talkative, typically only reaching out with questions, commands, and occasionally, boons. It is ultimately cryptic but reliable, and in spite of its finickiness, it rewards loyalty with influence and power.
As a follower of The Yearning Black, you will be tasked with living out certain experiences and so that The Yearning Black may feel them through you. These tasks can vary in extremity, being anything from swimming in the ocean to offering sacrifices. You may also be asked to fetch certain objects and feed them to your patron in a rite of sacrifice.
Communication with the Void
Communication with The Yearning Black is mercenary, with the patron expressing curiosity regarding some facet of physical mortal life, asking that you live out the specified experience, or provide any objects that The Yearning Black desires to consume and dissect.
Expanded Spell List
The Yearning Black lets you choose from an expanded list of spells when you learn a warlock spell. The following spells are added to the warlock spell list for you.
Yearning Black Expanded Spell List
| Spell Level | Spells |
|---|---|
| 1st | chaos bolt, inflict wounds |
| 2nd | blindness/deafness, blur |
| 3rd | nondetection, blink |
| 4th | private sanctum, black tentacles |
| 5th | contagion, antilife shell |
Starlit Study
Beginning at the 1st level, during a short or long rest, you can sacrifice a single object or dead creature to your patron. You immediately send that object to your patron.
Sacrificed objects are permanently lost, and you gain advantage on Intelligence rolls related to objects and creatures sacrificed for 12 hours.
The number of objects you can sacrifice increases by 1 at the 6th, 12th, and 18th levels.
Starry Eyes
Additionally, at the 1st level, you gain the ability to sacrifice emotions you are experiencing to your patron during a short or long rest. During the ritual, you can pick one of the following advantages to receive:
Steel Nerves: Impose disadvantage on Wisdom (Insight) checks against you for 12 hours.
Stillness of Mind: Gain advantage on saving throws against being frightened or charmed for 12 hours.
The duration of these benefits increases to 24 hours at the 6th level.
Esoteric Self-Sacrifice
From the 6th level onwards, you gain the ability to communicate your own experiences of mortality to The Yearning Black in exchange for blessings of power and will.
On your turn, before declaring an attack, you can lower your Armor Class by your Charisma modifier, add that number to your next attack roll, and add your proficiency bonus to all damage rolls during that turn. Your Armor Class returns to normal at the start of your next turn.
Endless Black Tongues
From the 10th level and beyond, your patron has grown quite fond of you as a vessel for experience in the mortal. It will now intervene against those that strike you.
As a reaction, when you are damaged by a creature, you can force the target to make a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC: on a failure, they become charmed, blinded, or deafened (your choice). At the end of each of its turns, the target can repeat the save, ending the effect on a success. The effect expires after 1 minute.
You can only use this feature once per short or long rest at the 10th level. Beginning at the 14th and 18th levels respectively, you can use this feature 2 or 3 times per rest.
Appel du Vide
Starting at the 14th level, you a favored follower of The Yearning Black, and are sufficiently empowered to cause small pieces of your patron to manifest in the world to consume of their own volition.
On your turn, you can conjure a massive static black pool that is 25 feet in diameter, centered on yourself and lasting until your next turn. Only you are immune to consumption by the black pool.
Creatures caught within the black pool upon creation or at the end of their turn must make a Constitution saving throw against your spell save DC: On a failure, they are consumed by your patron. Unsecured objects within the black pool are also consumed.
Consumed creatures are effectively banished until the end of your next turn, taking 3d10 necrotic damage while consumed. Once the effect expires, creatures reappear where they were upon consumption. If a creature dies while consumed, it does not reappear.
Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.
Otherworldly Communication
Communicating with The Yearning Black is a unique affair. Consider some inspiration for how your communication with your patron might take place and appear:
| d6 | Communication Method |
|---|---|
| 1 | Incomprehensible chanting |
| 2 | Intense and disturbing movements |
| 3 | Spoken communication directed skyward |
| 4 | Conversations through pitch-black tears in space |
| 5 | Telepathic communication that causes you to fall unconscious |
| 6 | Alien symbols and shapes scrawled in blood |
Tells of the Pact
Connecting yourself to a voraciously curious entity like The Yearning Black may lead to some quirks. Consider selecting some of these traits when creating your warlock and adding more during more profound sacrifices.
| d8 | Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | Extreme, dogged curiosity |
| 2 | Difficulty with explaining motivations |
| 3 | Blunted emotions and attachments |
| 4 | Unusual disdain for people not considered knowledgeable |
| 5 | Instinctive collecting or hoarding |
| 6 | Anxiety regarding ignorance |
| 7 | Blacked-out eyes that resemble a starry night sky |
| 8 | Obsessive protection of a ritual knife or similar item |
Eldritch Invocations
Sentient Wounds
Prerequisite: 7th level
Your magic and weapons have been imbued with a desire to consume. Upon dealing damage to a creature, you can impose disadvantage on its next attack. If the target creature makes an attack and fails, you gain hit points equal to your warlock level. Vou can't do so again until you finish a short or long rest.
Shaping the Void
Prerequisite: 16th level, The Yearning Black patron
Skyward Tongues
Prerequisite: 4th level, The Yearning Black patron
You have embedded the spoken portion of the invocations for Starlit Study and Starry Eyes in your mind, allowing the features to be used in 10 minutes instead of during a short or long rest.
Demands
The Yearning Black demands many things from its patrons. Here is a brief list of possible demands for inspiration.
The void speaks. "I demand..."
- natural, fresh fruit
- poison
- the symbol of a god
- a magic missile
- an undead creature
- the mind of a cultist
- a cursed item
- the remains of a dragon
- hope
Rewards
The Yearning Black rewards its followers dutifully. Here are some possible rewards for providing for The Yearning Black.
The void speaks. "I give thee..."
- shelter from a killing blow (force opponent to reroll a blow that would reduce you to 0 HP)
- magical knowledge and haste (free cast of a divination spell of the DM's choosing)
- clarity of mind (negate charmed and frightened statuses)
Ultimately, this is up to the DM's discretion. These are simply suggestions.
Credits
- Created by u/NomadNoah00
- Version 0.7
- Art by Alexandra Sylvia, on FineArtAmerica
- Rainbow Black Hole
- Carina Nebula
- Bright Eye Helix Nebula
- All feedback is welcome, encouraged, and appreciated!
- Many thanks to the many wonderful inhabitants of the Discord of Many Things!