Otherwordly Patron: the Vermin Lord

# Otherworldly Patron: the Vermin Lord

Tales tell of minor divine entities shunned from the realms that house worshipped gods, forced to walk among the living and rule the creatures closest to the earth. They create and oversee the most unfortunate, yet plentiful creatures: the vermin. These spiteful entities walk the line between god and mortal, not quite worthy of clerical devotion and worship, yet far more powerful than the sea of mortals they walk alongside.

A cunning Warlock may strike a bargain with such a Vermin Lord for power, seeing the value in their domain of pest and critter. The Vermin Lords are usually a vengeful sort, dissatisfied with the pecking order and being trodden on by larger powers that lord over demons, angels, fey, and other grander, taller, individually stronger species. They leverage their warlocks to disrupt the order of nature through their swarms and swaths of endless vermin, seeking to topple society and bring down the other lords to their level in the gutters.

### Signs of the Bargain
Striking a deal with a vermin lord can leave a physical mark on your form. When you choose this patron, you may optionally adopt one of the following traits:

|d6|Sign of the Bargain|
|:--|:--|
|1| Feint scar-like lines come out from your nose on your skin like whiskers
|2| Your eyes have turned shiny, black, and empty
|3| Stretchy skin connects your arms to your sides, like awkward bat wings.  
|4| Your skin grows small clumps of fur or scales.
|5| Your ears have expanded and gotten thinner.
|6| Curled nails rapidly grow from your fingertips.

### Vermin Lord Table
The table contains the features available within the Vermin Lord Otherworldly Patron.

|Level|Feature|
|:--|:--|
|1|Expanded Spells, Verminform
|6|Eyes and Ears, Aspect of the Pest
|10|Overwhelming Swarms
|14|Scattering Body
\columnbreak
### Expanded Spell List
*1st level Vermin Lord feature*

The Vermin Lord lets you choose from an expanded list of spells when yo learn a warlock spell. The following spells are added to the warlock spell list for you:

|Spell Level|Spells|
|:--|:--
|1st|animal friendship, summon vermin*
|2nd|gnawing wave*, pass without trace
|3rd|skitter scamper*, deafening screech
|4th|giant insect, squeals from below*
|5th|insect plague, giant rodent*

\* denotes a new spell presented here

### Verminform
*1st level Vermin Lord feature*

You've been blessed with the power to assume the form of your patron's disciples: vermin.

You can use your action to assume the form of a bat, frog, lizard, rat, or spider. You can revert to your normal form as an action. You automatically revert if you fall unconscious, drop to 0 hit points, or die.

While you are transformed, your game statistics are replaced by the statistics of the vermin, but you retain the following:
- Alignment and personality
- Hit dice, current hit points, and hit point maximum
- Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores
- Skill and saving throw proficiencies
- Senses (such as darkvision)
- Benefits and abilities from your class, race, and other sources, and can use them if your new form is able

You gain the skill proficiencies of the creature as well. If the creature has the same proficiency as you and the bonus in its stat block is higher than yours, use the creature's bonus instead of yours.

You can't cast spells that require verbal components, and your ability to speak or take any action that requires hands is limited to the capabilities of your vermin form.

Your equipment falls to the ground in your space when you transform.

While transformed with this ability, you have advantage on Charisma ability checks and Wisdom (Animal Handling) ability checks made to communicate with or control tiny beasts.

\pagebreak

### Eyes and Ears
*6th level Vermin Lord feature*

You gain the Beast Speech Eldritch Invocation if you don't already have it. If you already have it, you gain an Eldritch Invocation of your choice you meet the prerequisites for.

When you speak to a tiny beast with Speak with Animals, it automatically becomes charmed by you. While charmed in this fashion, it obeys your verbal commands to the best of its abilities, as long as it doesn't take an action that would harm it or other tiny beasts friendly or neutral towards it.

### Aspect of the Pest
*6th level Vermin Lord feature*

You additionally adopt an attribute of the smallest critters. Choose one of the following boons:

- **Spider's Grip.** You can move up, down, and across vertical surfaces and upside down along ceilings, while leaving your hands free. You gain a climbing speed equal to your walking speed.
- **Pests Wings.** At the start of your turn, you can sprout bat-like wings. Until the end of your turn, you gain a fly speed equal to your speed. Once you use this ability, you can't again until you cast a Warlock spell of 1st level or higher, or until you finish a short or long rest.
- **Rodent's Tail.** You grow a long tail, aiding your balance and exploration. It acts as an extra open hand for holding equipment. While empty, you have advantage on Dexterity saving throws and Acrobatics ability checks made to maintain balance.

### Overwhelming Swarms
*10th level Vermin Lord feature*

Your presence inspires swarming. Once per turn, when you or a creature within 10 feet of you makes an attack roll, it adds a d4 to its attack and damage rolls. Damage dealt this way is poison damage. This die improves by one size for each other friendly, threatening ally within range, to a maximum of a d12.

A creature can choose to add this die to its attack roll after rolling, but before knowing if the attack would hit or miss.

### Scattering Body
*14th level Vermin Lord feature*

If you would take damage, you instead may split into 1d12 creatures you can transform into as if you'd transformed into each using your Verminform feature. As a reaction when you split, you may have each creature up to its speed.

You control each creature on your turn. Each has a move but shares one action, bonus action, and reaction on your turn. You perceive through all of their senses at once, and all share your mind.

As an action or after a minute, you are reformed at a vermin of your choice. The others disappear.

When one of your vermin is reduced to 0 hit points, it dies. If the last vermin you control is reduced to 0 hit points, you transform back, reverting to the hit points you had prior to transforming where the last creature was.

Once you use this feature, you can't again until you finish a long rest.

### Vermin Lord New Spells
The following spells are available to Warlocks with the Vermin Lord patron through their Expanded Spell List.

#### Summon Vermin
*1st level Conjuration*
___
- **Casting Time:** 1 action
- **Range:** 30 feet
- **Components:** S
- **Duration:**  Concentration, up to 1 hour
___
You call forth vermin to aid you. It manifests in an unoccupied space that you can see within range. This corporeal form uses the Vermin stat block.

When you cast the spell, choose an environment: Cave, Sewer, or Nest. Any summoned creature resembles a kind of vermin of your choice that is native to the chosen environment, which determines certain traits in its stat block.

A creature summoned this way disappears when it drops to 0 hit points or when the spell ends. As a bonus action, you can summon a new vermin of the chosen environment to a space within range for each that has disappeared as a result of dropping to 0 hit points.

Summoned creatures are allies to you and your companions. In combat, summoned creatures share your initiative count, but they take a shared turn immediately after yours.

They obey any verbal commands that you issue to them (no action required by you). If you don’t issue any, it takes the Dodge action and uses its move to avoid danger.

***At Higher Levels***. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, you summon an additional vermin for each spell level above 1st. Each additional creature is summoned in an unoccupied space within range.

\pagebreak

___
> ## Vermin
>*Tiny beast, usually unaligned*
> ___
> - **Armor Class** 12
> - **Hit Points** 1
> - **Speed** 40 ft. or 5 ft. (Cave only), fly 30 ft. (Cave only), swim 30 ft. (Sewer only)
>___
>|STR|DEX|CON|INT|WIS|CHA|
>|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:|
>|2 (-4)|15 (+2)|8 (-1)|2 (-4)|12 (+1)|4 (-3)
>___
> - **Skills** Stealth +4
> - **Senses** blindsight 30 ft. (Cave only), darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 11
> - **Languages** understands the languages you speak
> - **Challenge** -
> - **Proficency Bonus:** equals your bonus
> ___
>**Spider Climb (Nest Only).** The vermin can climb difficult surfaces, including upside down on ceilings, without needing to make an ability check.
>
>**Keen Smell (Sewer Only):** The vermin has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on smell.
>
> ### Actions
> ***Nibble.*** *Melee Weapon Attack*: your spell attack modifier to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. *Hit:* 1d4+2 piercing damage.
>
> ***Venemous Bite (Nest Only).***  *Melee Weapon Attack*: your spell attack modifier to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. *Hit:* 1d4+2, and the target  must succeed on a Constitution saving throw against your Warlock spell save DC or take 1d4 poison.
>

#### Gnawing Wave
*2nd level conjuration*
___
- **Casting Time:** 1 action
- **Range:** Self (10 ft. wide 30 ft. line)
- **Components:** M (a small piece of food)
- **Duration:**  Instantaneous
___
You release a wave of vermin spirits 30 feet long and 10 feet wide to devour your foes. Choose piercing or poison damage. Each creature in the line must make a Dexterity saving throw.

A creature takes 5d4 of the chosen damage type on a failed save, and becomes **infested** until the end of its next turn as the vermin spirits crawl all over them, or half as much damage and no other effects on a success.

An infested creature subtracts 1d4 from its weapon attack rolls and must move at least 5 feet in a random direction at the start of its turn.

***At Higher Levels.*** When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 3rd level or higher, the damage increases by 2d4 for each slot level above 2nd.

\columnbreak

#### Skitter Scamper
*3rd level enchantment*
___
- **Casting Time:** 1 action
- **Range:** 30 feet
- **Components:** S, M (part of a rat, such as fur or its tail)
- **Duration:**  Concentration, 1 hour
___
You beseech your patron for unnatural movement abilities granted to a willing creature within range. For the spell's duration, an affected creature's speed is doubled, has a climb speed equal to its move speed, gains the ability to move up, down, and across vertical surfaces and upside down along ceilings, and can pass through gaps as narrow as 1 foot without squeezing.

***At Higher Levels.*** When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 4th level or higher, you can target one additional creature within range for each slot above 3rd.

#### Deafening Screech
*3rd level evocation*
___
- **Casting Time:** 1 action
- **Range:** Self (300 feet, 60 ft. cone)
- **Components:** V
- **Duration:**  Instantaneous
___
You let out a deafening high pitched screech in a 60 ft. cone. Each creature within 300 feet of you makes a Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, a creature is deafened temporarily, and can't cast spells with verbal components until the end of its next turn. Creatures within the cone from you that fail the save take 6d6 piercing damage and is pushed back 5 feet away from you, or ake half as much damage on a successful save.

***At Higher Levels.*** When you cast this spell with a spell slot above 3rd level, increase its damage by 2d6 for each level above 3rd.

#### Squeals from Below
*4th level illusion*
___
- **Casting Time:** 1 action
- **Range:** 60 feet
- **Components:** V, S, M (a taxidermy rodent)
- **Duration:** Concentration (1 minute)
___
You sew a creature within range's mind with the sounds of a thousand hidden vermin, and the subtle appearance like they're about to burst from the ground and walls, ready to pounce. That target makes a Wisdom saving throw, taking 4d12 psychic damage on a failed save and becoming frightened of you for the duration. While frightened in this way, it takes 2d12 psychic damage at the start of each of its turns and can't move or take reactions. On a successful save, it takes half as much initial damage and can't move during its next turn.

A creature repeats the save at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect early on a success.

***At Higher Levels.*** When you cast this spell slot of 5th level or higher, you can target an additional creature within range for each slot above 4th.

\pagebreak

#### Giant Rodent
*5th level enchantment*
___
- **Casting Time:** Casting Time
- **Range:** 30 feet
- **Components:** V, S
- **Duration:**  Concentration, up to 10 minutes
___
You transform up to ten rats, ten weasels, eight bats,  eight lizards, eight frogs, or five badgers within range into giant versions of their natural forms for the duration. A rat becomes a giant rat, a weasel becomes a giant weasel, a bat becomes a giant bat, a frog becomes a giant frog, and a badger becomes a giant badger.

Each creature obeys your verbal commands, and in combat, they act on your turn each round. The GM has the statistics for these creatures and resolves their actions and movement.

A creature remains in its giant size for the duration, until it drops to 0 hit points, or until you use an action to dismiss the effect on it. When you do so, the other beasts disappear.

The GM might allow you to choose different targets. For example, if you transform a hedgehog, its giant version might have the same statistics as a giant weasel.

> **Art by Fang WangLin**, see more of their work [here](http://fangwanglin.cghub.com)
>
>**Subclass Designed by A Lost Kobold**
>