Otherworldly Patron
At 1st level, a warlock gains the Otherworldly Patron feature. The following options are available to a warlock, in addition to those offered in the Player's Handbook: The Yellow King.
The Repairer of Reputations
by: Robert W. Chambers
"I remember after finishing the first act that it occurred to me that I had better stop. I started up and flung the book into the fireplace; the volume struck the barred grate and fell open on the hearth in the firelight. If I had not caught a glimpse of the opening words in the second act I should never have finished it, but as I stooped to pick it up, my eyes became riveted to the open page, and with a cry of terror, or perhaps it was of joy so poignant that I suffered in every nerve, I snatched the thing out of the coals and crept shaking to my bedroom, where I read it and reread it, and wept and laughed and trembled with a horror which at times assails me yet." —Castaigne
The Yellow King
The Unspeakable One, Him Who Is Not To Be Named, The Feaster From Afar, The Yellow King, Hastur...You have stumbled upon and read a play entitled The King in Yellow. You have seen the truths contained within. You have been faced by names and terms and have been gifted with the most hideous and horrific of connections. You have been drawn back through the nameless eons and through inconceivable dimensions to worlds of elder, of which many have only guessed in the vaguest of way. Hastur's call rings through your soul and you know nothing or anything else.
Expanded Spell List
The Yellow King 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.
| Spell Level | Spells |
|---|---|
| 1st | command, dissonant whispers |
| 2nd | Nystul's magic aura, phantasmal force |
| 3rd | glyph of warding, sending |
| 4th | Leomund's secret chest, phantasmal killer |
| 5th | modify memory, geas |
Bonus Proficiencies
At 1st level, you gain the ability to speak and understand Deep Speech and one other language of your choice. You gain proficiency in the Performance skill and Calligrapher's Supplies.
The Script
Starting at 1st level, you become bound to a copy of The King in Yellow. This copy may present itself as a handwritten tome, a series of tattoos, a script branded onto animal hide, or a number of other ways, regardless the copy is bound to you. If lost, stolen, or destroyed, your copy will always find its way back to you when you finish a short or long rest.
Your copy may act as your spell focus, and as long as it is on your person you may use a bonus action to recall lines of the play, granting yourself advantage on a Charisma check of your choice. You may use this feature a number of times equal to half of your Charisma modifier (minimum of 1). You regain all uses of this feature after a short or long rest.
Act I
The play has begun to grip your very being. From your dreams to each of your waking thoughts, you hear the whispers of the Yellow King.
Starting at 6th level, you can channel his wisdom and utter the whispers of the Yellow King to others, an unwilling target within 30 feet that can see and hear you must make Wisdom saving throw against your warlock spell save DC. On a success, the target is unaffected by this feature and is immune to it for 24 hours. On a failed save the target is struck with a short-term madness. If the target takes any damage, then the target may make another Wisdom saving throw. On a success, the effect ends on the target.
Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest. You gain an additional use at 10th level and again at 14th level.
Prop Master
Starting at 10th level, the Pallid Mask comes into your possession. Whether you handcrafted the mask or happened upon it when reaching 10th level does not matter, regardless the mask is bound to you.
While wearing the mask you gain the following effects:
- You are under the effect of the nondetection spell.
- You have advantage on saving throws against being frightened or charmed.
- You may cast alter self, disguise self, or invisibility once per short or long rest without expending a spell slot.
The Yellow Sign
A symbol fills your thoughts and your dreams, and you have seen visions of black stars and the land of Carcosa. A symbol appears in your copy of The King in Yellow. You do not remember how or when it appeared, but you know it matters not. The symbol brings you closer to understanding the whispers of the Yellow King and this brings you calm and peace.
Starting at 14th level, the Yellow King has gifted you with the ability to share the symbol of Lost Carcosa from your book and into the thoughts of others. As an action, a creature within 60 feet of you must make an Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma saving throw against your warlock spell save DC, on a failure the target suffers the following effects based on the number of failed saving throws made.
- At least one failed saving throw, the target is afflicted with a short-term madness.
- At least two failed saving throws, the target is afflicted with a short-term madness and a long-term madness.
- If the target fails all three saving throws, then the target immediately drops to 0hp, unless the creature is immune to the charm or frightened conditions. In which case the creature takes 10d10 necrotic damage and gains a short-term madness.
You may use this ability twice per short or long rest.
Cassilda's Song
"Along the shore the cloud waves break, The twin suns sink beneath the lake, The shadows lengthen In Carcosa. Strange is the night where black stars rise, And strange moons circle through the skies But stranger still is Lost Carcosa. Songs that the Hyades shall sing, Where flap the tatters of the King, Must die unheard in Dim Carcosa. Song of my soul, my voice is dead; Die thou, unsung, as tears unshed Shall dry and die in Lost Carcosa."
—The King in Yellow Act I, Scene 2
Eldritch Invocations
At 2nd level, a warlock gains the Eldritch Invocations feature. Here are new options for that feature, in addition to the options in the Players Handbook.
If an eldritch invocation has a prerequisite, you must meet it to learn the invocation. You can learn the invocation at the same time that you meet its prerequisite. A level prerequisite refers to your level in this class.
Bitter Cry of Cassilda
Prerequisite: 5th level, The Yellow King patron
"Not upon us, O King, not upon us!" As an action, you may draw upon the scenes of horror that plague your psyche and force them into the minds of others. You can cast the spell hypnotic pattern once, without expending a spell slot or material components. Once this invocation is used, it cannot be used again until you finish a short or a long rest.
Black Stars Rise
Prerequisite: 15th level, The Yellow King patron
"Strange is the night where black stars rise..." Darkness fills your eyes as you bring to reality the visions of Cassilda. As an action, you may expend a spell slot to manifest five black star-like motes appear and orbit your body for one hour. As a bonus action, you can send one of the streaking towards one creature or object within 60 feet of you. When you do so, you make a ranged spell attack. On a hit the target takes 2d12 necrotic damage. Whether you hit or miss, the mote is expended. The spell ends early if you expend the last mote.
If you have three or more motes remaining, they dim the light in a 60-foot radius around you. If you have one to three motes remaining, they dim the light in a 30-foot radius around you.
Eternal Script
Prerequisite: Pact of the Tome, The Yellow King Patron
Your Book of Shadows and your copy of The King in Yellow become one. As a result, you no longer need to perform a ceremony to reclaim your Book of Shadows. Additionally, you choose two additional cantrips from any class' spell list. While the script is on your person, you can cast those cantrips at will. They don't count against your number of cantrips known.
Interlude
Prerequisite: The Yellow King patron
As long as your copy of the King in Yellow is on your person, you may as an action you may choose to use a spell slot to heal a number of d6's equal to the spell level used.
For example, 1d6 for a 1st level spell slot, 2d6 for a 2nd level spell slot, and 3d6 for a 3rd level spell slot.
I Wear No Mask!
Prerequisite: 10th level, The King in Yellow patron
"No mask? No mask!" While under the effects of a spell that alters your appearance, such as disguise self, polymorph, or alter self, you may choose to dramatically reveal your true form as an action. This immediately ends the spell, and every creature that can see you in a 60-foot radius must make a Wisdom saving throw versus your Warlock spell save DC or become frightened of you for one minute. Victims who critically fail, instead become stunned with terror. Victims frightened or paralyzed can make a new saving throw at the end of each of their turns to end these effects. Creatures who are immune to the charmed or frightened conditions are immune to this effect.
A target who witnesses this reveal is immune to this ability for 24 hours.
Lost Carcosa
Prerequisite: 16th level, The Yellow King patron
"Song of my soul, my voice is dead, Die thou, unsung, as tears unshed, Shall dry and die in Lost Carcosa." You have experienced dreams and visions of the calm and beauty of Carcosa. You must share the majesty of Carcosa with others. You may cast the maze spell once using a Warlock spell slot, using the yellow sign and a verbal invitation to the target in place of the spell's normal listed components. The target vanishes from sight and appears in the mysterious, ancient, and cursed city of Lost Carcosa instead of the extradimensional labyrinthine demiplane.
Once you use this invocation, it cannot be used again until the following twilight.
Prelude
Prerequisite: The Yellow King patron
While your copy of The King in Yellow is on your person, you may add your Charisma modifier to your initiative roll. Additionally, during the first round of combat as a reaction, you may add your Charisma modifier to your AC and attack rolls.
Created by Pochi
Art: Adrian Smith, WendigoMoon, Diana Franco, and Jared Ondricek
Inspiration: The King in Yellow written by Robert W. Chambers, All Sorts of Critters, and sandwichbear
Short-Term Madness
| 01d100 | Effect (lasts 1d10 minutes) |
|---|---|
| 01-20 | The character retreats into his or her mind and becomes Paralyzed. The Effect ends if the character takes any damage. |
| 21-30 | The character becomes Incapacitated and spends the Duration screaming, laughing, or weeping. |
| 31-40 | The character becomes Frightened and must use his or her action and Movement each round to flee from the source of the fear. |
| 41-50 | The character begins babbling and is incapable of normal Speech or Spellcasting. |
| 51-60 | The character must use his or her action each round to Attack the nearest creature. |
| 61-70 | The character experiences vivid hallucinations and has disadvantage on Ability Checks. |
| 71-75 | The character does whatever anyone tells him or her to do that isn’t obviously self- destructive. |
| 76-80 | The character experiences an overpowering urge to eat something strange such as dirt, slime, or offal. |
| 81-90 | The character is Stunned. |
| 91-100 | The character falls Unconscious. |
Long-Term Madness
| 01d100 | Effect (lasts 1d10 × 10 hours) |
|---|---|
| 01-20 | The character feels compelled to repeat a specific activity over and over, such as washing hands, touching things, praying, or counting coins. |
| 21-30 | The character experiences vivid hallucinations and has disadvantage on Ability Checks. |
| 31-40 | The character regards something (usually the source of madness) with intense revulsion, as if affected by the antipathy Effect of the Antipathy/Sympathy spell. |
| 41-45 | The character experiences a powerful delusion. Choose a potion. The character imagines that he or she is under its Effects. |
| 46-55 | The character becomes attached to a “lucky charm,” such as a person or an object, and has disadvantage on Attack rolls, Ability Checks, and Saving Throws while more than 30 feet from it. |
| 56-65 | The character is Blinded (25%) or Deafened (75%). |
| 66-75 | The character experiences uncontrollable tremors or tics, which impose disadvantage on Attack rolls, Ability Checks, and Saving Throws that involve Strength or Dexterity. |
| 76-85 | The character suffers from partial amnesia. The character knows who he or she is and retains Racial Traits and Class Features, but doesn’t recognize other people or remember anything that happened before the madness took Effect. |
| 86-90 | Whenever the character takes damage, he or she must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or be affected as though he or she failed a saving throw against the Confusion spell. The Confusion Effect lasts for 1 minute. |
| 91-95 | The character loses the ability to speak. |
| 96-100 | The character falls Unconscious. No amount of jostling or damage can wake the character. |
Dungeon Master's Guide pg 258 - 260