New Warlock Invocations and Pacts
A hoary host of homebrew invocations for your D&D 5e warlock! Many of these require specific patrons, but these are homebrew so many of them could be interchangeable as long as the other prerequisites remain. A lot of these would also make great spells, but I decided these ones had more of a once-per-day feel so they were confined here rather than the spell list to be released later this week.
New Invocations
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Abyssal Rebuke. (prereq: Hellish Rebuke) The flames summoned by your Hellish Rebuke spell are tainted by fumes from the Abyss. When you cast Hellish Rebuke, the creature must also make a CON saving throw against your spell save DC. On a failed save, the creature becomes poisoned for 1 minute.
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Betrayal of Hollow's Heart. (prereq: 5th level, Fiend Patron, Counterspell) Your Counterspell causes a cruel feedback of hellfire against the caster. When you successfully counter a spell with Counterspell, the caster of the countered spell takes 1d6 fire damage per level of the spell countered.
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Clutch of Orcus. (prereq: 9th level, Fiend Patron) Once each day using a warlock spell slot, you can target a creature with your demonic clutch. The creature must make a CON saving throw against your spell save DC. On a failed save, you telekinetically grab hold of either their heart or lungs (A creature that does not need to breath or pump blood through its body is unaffected). You can use your action and concentration each round to maintain your grip. The creature starts to convulse and must make a CON saving throw again to be able to act normally during their turn. After a number of rounds equal to 3+the creature's CON modifier, the creature is reduced to 0 hit points and begins dying.
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Curse of Baphomet. (prereq: Fiend Patron) Once per day, you can curse a creature to lose all memory of its surroundings, causing it to become hopelessly lost. The creature must make a WIS saving throw against your spell save DC to resist this effect. A cursed creature must make an INT save DC 20 to find their way to a desired location, even if they normally know the place very well.
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Eyes of the Beholder. (prereq: 7th level, Eldritch Blast) Your Eldritch Blast gains an additional beam. Each beam deals a different type of damage from the following: acid, cold, fire, force, necrotic, or lightning. No two beams can deal the same type of damage.
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Embrace of Auril. (prereq: 11th level, Archfey Patron) Your skin is freezing cold, coating objects and creatures in frost. As long as you still have a warlock spell slot available, you gain resistance to cold and fire damage. You can make a melee spell attack to deal 3d8 cold damage at will.
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Extended Power. When you take this invocation, choose another one of your invocations that has a limited number of uses. You gain an additional use of that invocation each day. This invocation can be taken multiple times, each time affecting a new invocation.
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Eyes of the Great Mother. (prereq: 5th level, Great Old One Patron) Whenever you cast a spell that causes a creature to become blinded, you gain blindsight out to 60 ft. for 1 minute.
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Ghaunadaur’s Oozing Darkness. (prereq: 3rd level, Darkness) When you cast Darkness, you can form it into any shape with up to 24 5-foot spaces, as long as the area forms one interconnected shape.
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Ghost Writer. (prereq: Pact of the Tome) Once per day, you can use your Book of Shadows to spy on a creature. You must have an object on hand that relates to the intended target, such as a strand of their hair, some of their blood, or any object of importance to them. You can concentrate for up to 1 hour using this object as a focus and an open page of your Book of Shadows. Everything that the target creature says during this time is magically transcribed into the book. Distance is of no consequence but if the creature is on another plane of existence the ability only has a 25% chance of success.
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Grace of Sarula Iliene. (prereq: Archfey Patron) You have the nimble grace of a Nixie while submerged in water. You have a swim speed equal to your movement speed and can breathe underwater. You add your CHA modifier to Stealth skill checks while submerged in water or while in the rain.
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Greater Chain Pact. (prereq: 5th level, Pact of the Chain) Your familiar's maximum hit points are equal to half of your hit point maximum. In addition, your familiar is allowed to take the attack action during its turn. (Normally, you must spend your action to cause the creature to attack using its reaction)
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Graz’zt’s Realm. (prereq: Fiend Patron) Once per day, you can use your action to cause the area in a 100 ft. radius of you to become reflective and mirrorlike. Creatures have disadvantage on Stealth checks made in the area unless they are invisible.
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Imbue Familiar. (prereq: Pact of the Chain) You can spend a warlock spell slot once per short rest to grant your familiar a bonus to their attack rolls, damage rolls, and saving throws equal to your CHA modifier for 1 hour.
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Kiss of Juiblex. (prereq: 3rd level, Fiend Patron) You can cast Grease using a warlock spell slot once per day except that the ground is coated in Green Slime instead of grease. The spell's effect remains the same except that creatures that slip into it suffer effects as if coated in Green Slime. The slime disappears when the duration of the spell ends.
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Limbs of Relkath. (prereq: 7th level, Archfey Patron) Once per day, you can turn into a 60 ft. tall oak tree over the course of 3 rounds using your concentration. You can stay in this form for up to 8 hours but cannot speak, cast spells, move, or do anything that a tree couldn't normally do. You can dismiss this form as a bonus action. As a tree, you have 60 hit points and immunity to piercing and bludgeoning damage unless 20 or more such damage is dealt from a single attack. You revert to your normal form and original hit points when the tree is reduced to 0 hit points.
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Lurue's Call. (prereq: 5th level, Archfey Patron) You can cast Phantom Steed once per day. The steed takes the appearance of a unicorn. You can make a charging attack with the steed if you move at least 20 ft. before the attack. The attack is a melee spell attack and deals 3d8 piercing damage on hit. After you make this attack, the Phantom Steed spell ends, disappearing with a rush of wind as your feet touch ground softly before your target.
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Mindworm of Mak Thuum Ngatha. (prereq: 5th level, Great Old One Patron, Suggestion) When you cast the Suggestion spell, the spell can be contagious. When the duration of the spell ends, a random creature within 60 ft. of the original creature at that moment must make a saving throw as if the Suggestion spell was cast upon them. On a failed save, the creature is affected by the same parameters of the original spell. You need not concentrate on any iterations of the spell other than the first, and each Suggestion spell thereafter lasts for the full duration of 8 hours.
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Neifon's Vampiric Swarm. (prereq: 3rd level, Archfey Patron, Cloud of Daggers) When you cast Cloud of Daggers, you instead summon a cloud of spectral bats in the spell's area. The spell deals necrotic damage instead of slashing and you gain an amount of life equal to half the damage it deals whenever it deals damage. The spell's area increases by another adjacent 5 ft. cube for each spell slot above 2nd.
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Paranoia of the Patient One. (prereq: 7th level, Great Old One Patron) You can expend a warlock spell slot and your action once per day to target two creatures you can see within 120 ft. Each creature can make a WIS saving throw against your spell save DC. On a failed save, the creature becomes frightened of each other targeted creature for 1 minute. Creatures can make a new save at the end of each of their turns, ending the effect on a successful save. If you spent a spell slot of 3rd or higher, you can choose an additional creature for each spell slot above 2nd.
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Prison of Tharizdun. (prereq: 7th level, Great Old One Patron) Once per day, you can use your action to force a creature within 120 ft. to make a WIS saving throw against your spell save DC. On a failed save, the creature becomes blinded and is affected as if by a Confusion spell. You can use your concentration to maintain these effects for up to 1 hour.
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Rennbuu's Whims. A number of times each day equal to your CHA modifier, you can change the colors of a creature or an object of Huge size or less. The color change lasts for 24 hours.
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Servants of Vanity. (prereq: Unseen Servant) When you cast Unseen Servant, you summon an additional number of servants equal to your CHA modifier.
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Sign of Demogorgon. (prereq: Fiend Patron) You inscribe a symbol that you charge with magic by using a warlock spell slot once per day. The symbol persists for 4 hours. When a creature looks at the symbol, they must make a WIS saving throw against your spell save DC. On a failed saving throw, the creature begins to suffer from one of the following forms of indefinite madness. Only a Greater Restoration spell or a Dispel Evil spell will remove the madness. On a successful saving throw, the creature is unaffected.
| d10 | Madness |
|---|---|
| 1-2 | Someone is plotting to kill me. I need to strike first to stop them. |
| 3-4 | There is only one solution to my problems: kill them all. |
| 5-6 | There is more than one mind inside my head. |
| 7-8 | If you don’t agree with me, I’ll beat you into submission to get my way. |
| 9-10 | I can’t allow anyone to touch anything that belongs to me. They might try to take it. |
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Spore Cloud of Zuggtmoy. (prereq: Fiend Patron) You can cast Fog Cloud once per day using a warlock spell slot. When you do, creatures within the spell's area when it was cast or who pass through the area must make a CON saving throw against you spell save DC. Creatures that fail become poisoned for 1 minute after leaving the cloud.
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Vitriolic Dispelling. (prereq: Dispel Magic) Your abjuration magic converts magical energy into a potent acid. When you cast Dispel Magic on a creature, the creature takes 1d8 acid damage for each spell level of each spell dispelled. For instance, if you dispel an Enlarge (2nd) spell and a Crusader's Mantle (3rd) spell, you deal 5d8 acid damage to the creature.
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Winter's Hex. Your curses envelop creatures like a blizzard. A creature cursed by you (either through the Hex or Bestow Curse spell or other such effect) has their movement speed reduced by 10 while cursed.
Warlock Pacts
Who is to say that all that patrons have to offer is a weapon, a book, or a minion? What other sorts of things could they offer? A Pact Boon should fundamentally change your combat style, whether that means attacking in melee, casting cantrips from the sidelines, or using a minion to distract or flank. I offer these new options for even more interesting playstyles. The invocations listed can be acquired just like any invocation as a warlock levels up, and unless mentioned otherwise they require the Pact they are listed under as a pre-requisite to taking them.
Pact of the Eye
You are gifted an eye from your patron. The eye can either take the form of a gem, an orb or an actual preserved eyeball. You can see through the eye at will, regardless of distance between you and the eye. Even being on another plane does not impede this effect. You can use your action to cause the eye to float at a speed of 15 ft. per round and can control its movements as long as you are within 300 ft. of it. The eye has a number of hit points equal to 5 times your CHA modifier and AC 10 + your CHA modifier. If you lose your eye, you can perform 1 hour ritual to create a new one (and remotely destroy the old one, if it still exists).
Invocations
- Burning Eye. You can deliver ranged spell attacks through the eye, such as Eldritch Blast. You can only use this ability while you are within 300 ft. of the eye.
- Eye's Defense. You have +1 AC and advantage on Perception checks while your pact eye is within 30 ft. of you.
- Prying Eye. (prereq: 7th level) You can use your action to cause the eye to become invisible while you are within 300 ft. of it. If the eye touches a creature or makes any aggressive actions against a creature (such as with the Burning Eye invocation) it is no longer invisible.
- Inescapable Eye. (prereq: 11th level) Once per day, you can spend a Warlock spell slot to gain truesight while looking through the eye for 1 hour.
Image credit: Matt Cavotta
Pact of the Mask
You are granted a mask that has a vague appearance reminiscent of your patron. While wearing the mask, once per short rest you can activate it using your action to transform into a terrifying creature; a hybrid between you and your patron or a creature the patron desires. You gain temporary hit points equal to 4 times your CHA modifier and your unarmed attacks are treated as melee spell attacks that deal 1d8+CHA slashing damage. At 5th level, you can make an additional unarmed attack when you take the attack action while in your altered form.
You cannot cast spells while in this form. This transformation and temporary hit points last until you dismiss the transformation using a bonus action. If you lose your mask, you can perform a 1-hour ritual to create a new one (and remotely destroy the old one, if it still exists).
Invocations
- Explosive Transformation. When you transform into your altered form, you may cast Thunderwave as if you had spent a warlock spell slot to cast it.
- Bastion of the Beast. (prereq: 5th level) While in your altered form, you can use your reaction to add your CHA modifier to your AC against one melee attack that would hit you.
- Savage Rending. (prereq: 7th level) When you hit a creature with two or more attacks in your altered form, you can deal an additional 2d8 slashing damage to the creature as a bonus action.
- Awful Visage. (prereq: 14th level) Your altered form is either terrifying or awe-striking. Transforming into your altered form causes creatures within 60 ft. that can see you to make a WIS saving throw against your spell save DC or become frightened. Each creature can attempt a new saving throw at the start of each of their turns to end this effect.
- Spell Channeling. (prereq: 14th level) You may cast spells while in your altered form.
image credit (above): Greg Capullo
Pact of the Cloak
You are gifted with a magical shroud flowing from your shoulders that conceals and empowers you. The cloak takes on any appearance you desire and you can change its appearance with a bonus action. The cloak cannot be taken off but can be suppressed for 1 minute by a Dispel Magic spell or while in an Antimagic Field. While the cloak is active, you add your CHA modifier to Stealth checks and add your DEX modifier to spell attack rolls made from hiding.
Invocations
- Hypnotic Cloak. Once per short rest, You can dance for 1 minute, using a Performance skill check to captivate creatures within 30 ft. of you that can see you. The creatures must make a WIS saving throw against your Performance check. Each creature that fails their save becomes charmed by you for up to 1 hour after the performance. Creatures that succeed at their saving throw are unaffected.
- Spell Betrayal. Your spell attacks deal an additional 2d6 force damage to creatures who you have advantage on your attack roll against.
- Cunning Cowl. (prereq: 5th level) Your cloak obscures your movements at a moment's notice. You can take the Hide action as a bonus action during your turn.
- Cloak's Binding. (prereq: 9th level, Eldritch Blast) You can cause each creature hit by your Eldritch Blast to become restrained and blinded for up to 1 minute. Each creature can make a STR saving throw and/or a CON saving throw against your spell save DC at the start of each of their turns. On a successful STR save, the creature is no longer restrained. On a successful CON save, the creature is no longer blinded. Once you use this ability to augment your Eldritch Blast, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
image credit (right): Tomasz Chistowski
Pact of the Gift
You gain a wand, rod, or staff that gives you power. The item usually reflects the powers or personality of your patron. When you choose this pact, choose a 1st-level spell from any spell list. The item has a number of charges equal to your CHA modifier. You can expend a charge to cast the chosen spell as if you had spent a 1st-level spell slot. The charges recover after you finish a long rest. If you lose your gift, you can perform a 1-hour ritual to create a new one (and remotely destroy the old one, if it still exists).
Invocations:
- Corrupt Gift. When you cast a spell that deals damage to a creature, you can spend a charge from your pact’s gift to cause creatures damaged by your spell to become poisoned. Each poisoned creature can attempt a CON saving throw against your spell save DC at the start of each of their turns, ending the effect on a success.
- Gift of Immortality. You can expend any number of charges from your pact’s gift to heal yourself for 1d8 + your CHA modifier for each charge expended.
- Everlasting Gift. (prereq: 5th level) Your pact’s gift gains 3 additional charges.
- Masterful Gift (prereq: 5th level) Choose a 2nd-level spell from any spell list. You can expend 2 charges from your pact’s gift to cast that spell as if you had spent a 2nd-level spell slot.
- Gift of Duality. (prereq: 7th level) When you cast a spell that has a single target, you can expend 2 charges from your pact’s gift to have the spell target an additional target.
- Heightened Power (prereq: 9th level) Spells cast using your pact’s gift are cast using a spell slot equal to the level of your warlock spell slots.