Warlock Patron - Tumblr Posts
Harken to me and I will see your every wish granted.
Heads Up! New Brew on the Way!
It’s been a little under two weeks since I’ve last posted, but my next offering is going to be a double feature.
On the advice side, I’ve got a Conversion Kit article coming to you for the Rogue’s Assassin archetype.
On the showroom side, I’m putting up the Leviathan Warlock Patron! Serving the Leviathan lets you bring the dark, isolating depths of the ocean to bear against coddled surface-dwellers.
If that sounds similar in theme to the recent Lurker in the Deep found in the Unearthed Arcana articles, that’s because it is!
However, if you want to see why it plays differently, as well as the reasoning behind some of the decisions I made, it’ll be accompanied by a Reflection article!
The Leviathan patron should appeal to seadwelling spellcasters who want to double down on their theme and land-dwellers looking to take a plunge into the depths alike.
Crush your opponents with the weight of the oceans, plunge them into its darkness, and when they know longer know how to raise a hand against you- strike them down. If the Tumblr wrecks the document, or you just want a PDF, click through this link!
You can also check me out on my Wix site, where all my articles and best homebrews are compiled!
New Showroom Reflection: The Leviathan
Every once in a while, I look back on my work and consider the decisions I’ve made and why I’ve made them. If you ever find yourself wondering why a piece came out the way it did, or just want some insight into the thought behind homebrew in general, you’ll find these articles interesting.
Today, I’m looking back at my Leviathan Warlock Patron, and considering its similarities to and differences from the new Unearthed Arcana Warlock Patron, The Lurker in the Deep.
Full article here, and a preview below the read-more!
Showroom Reflection: The Leviathan Patron
This reflection addresses my Leviathan otherworldly patron for the Warlock class. Click through here to view the Leviathan patron as a PDF, or see the end of this article to view it in image form.
While I did produce this before the similarly themed Lurker in the Deep patron was released in the official UA articles, I'll address some differences in design philosophy, since comparisons are inevitable.
Groundwork
Some time ago, I ran a campaign that took place in the depths of the sea. With a player looking to branch out into spellcasting with the Warlock, I offered to produce a new patron- which soon came to be called the Leviathan- to fit the player's character as smoothly into the campaign as possible. If memory serves, my two major goals at the time were the following:
Make sure that no matter what Race my player chose, they felt at home in the water.
Building off of that last goal, make sure that none of the subclass' features conflict with an already aquatic race.
I did have a third goal, though, which I address in all of my designs:
This content must accommodate more than one character or campaign type.
What I mean by that, in this case, is that if a player is drawn to this patron in a non-aquatic campaign setting, there should still be something to draw them to the class.
After setting my goals, I looked over the core Warlock Patrons found in the Player's Handbook to determine what sort of abilities were given to the Warlock at any given level. I left out the Xanathar's patrons because what I wanted was a baseline, not a comprehensive analysis of trends in Warlock design. I was prepared to break these 'rules', but I thought it best to know what they were first:
1st Level: The Mark- These features are low on mechanical impact, but heavy on Narrative flavor.
6th Level: Intervention- These features provide some sort of fail-safe for the warlock when things aren't going their way, usually costing them their Reaction.
10th Level: Adaptation- These features grant the warlock a passive resistance to effects that their patron would normally resist or be immune to.
14th Level: Taste of Power- These features grant the warlock a powerful active ability that channels the wrath of the warlock's patron.
I'll break down the rest of this reflection by feature, to make this more digestible.
The Leviathan patron should appeal to seadwelling spellcasters who want to double down on their theme and land-dwellers looking to take a plunge into the depths alike.
Crush your opponents with the weight of the oceans, plunge them into its darkness, and when they know longer know how to raise a hand against you- strike them down. If the Tumblr wrecks the document, or you just want a PDF, click through this link!
You can also check me out on my Wix site, where all my articles and best homebrews are compiled!
Week 1: Unity; Day 1- The Coven
The Warlock of the Coven makes a pact with other spellcasters to share their magical might- whether your coven is young and ambitious, or established and dogmatic, you must find your place in it by accumulating magical power. As you ascend, you will begin to share power with your allies, and demand power in return.
This turns the Warlock into a unique support spellcaster and emphasizes their role as a face. Sharing vital spells accross your party at the highest level allows you to ensure you can cast the right spell from the right place at the right time. You can find this document on the homebrewery here! Update: Embarassingly, it’s come to my attention I uploaded a version of this that got cut off. I’ve replaced the image and included a link to the live homebrewery document, so I’m circulating this again.