The Monstrous

The Monstrous is an extremely powerful creature, paragons of their own species, such as a mighty behir, dragon, naga, sphinx, or treant. This ancient creature has bestowed some of its power to a humanoid individual. In exchange, these monstrous warlocks serve their bestial patron by bringing prey to their lair, slaying those that kill the surrounding beasts of the land, ravaging the territories of rival monsters, or anything else they are asked of.

Warlocks of the monstrous are often warped in appearance, making them more beastlike in similar ways to their mighty patrons. Most of these warlocks already posses wild elements of their patron, such as sharp claws or fangs, but most gain additional blessings. Brands of their servitude to a monstrous power. Decide with your DM how this bestial brand manifests, or roll on the Monstrous Brand table.

D12	MONSTROUS BRAND
1	Your eyes have vertical pupils, like a cat.
2	Your arms are too long and you stoop as you walk.
3	The sight of raw meat makes you hungry.
4	Your head is adorned with a pair of animal-like ears or horns.
5	You like to sleep in a curled-up position.
6	Your canine teeth are sharp and jut out from your mouth.
7	Your fingernails are long and pointed.
8	No matter how many times you cut your hair, it always seems to grow back overnight.
9	You growl when you're angry.
10	You feel uncomfortable indoors.
11	Your forearms are adorned with scales or tufts of fur.
12	(Roll twice, ignoring results of 12)

Monstrous Features

WARLOCK LEVEL	FEATURE
1st	Expanded Spell List, Bestial Enhancements
6th	Feral Temperament
10th	Primal Attacks
14th	Visceral Roar

Expanded Spell List

The Monstrous 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.

Monstrous Expanded Spells

SPELL LEVEL	SPELLS
1st	animal friendship, hunter's mark
2nd	branding smite, enhance ability
3rd	conjure animals, haste
4th	dominate beast, freedom of movement
5th	awaken, commune with nature

Bestial Enhancements

Starting at 1st level, your senses and abilities are enhanced to inhuman levels. You grow a thick hide, scales, or other such natural protection similar to your monstrous patron. When you aren’t wearing armor, your AC is 13 + your Dexterity modifier. You can use your natural armor to determine your AC if the armor you wear would leave you with a lower AC. A shield’s benefits apply as normal while you use your natural armor. 

You also gain darkvision out to a range of 60 feet. If you already have darkvision from your race, its range increases by 30 feet.

Additionally, you have an arcane natural weapon with which to rend your enemies. If you hit with it, you deal force damage equal to 1d6 + your Charisma modifier, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike. This arcane natural weapon can take any monster-like form, whether it be be claws, fangs, horns, spikes, a tail, apelike arms, talons, or anything else that makes sense with your patron.

Feral Temperament

Starting at 6th level, your ferocity becomes even more animalistic. Your speed increases by 10 feet. Additionally, when you take the Attack action using your arcane natural weapon on your turn, you can make one additional attack with your arcane natural weapon as a bonus action. 

Primal Attacks

Starting at 10th level, your arcane natural weapons become even more potent. Attacks with your arcane natural weapon increase from 1d6 to 1d8 damage. Additionally, you can choose one of the following options:

Elemental Strikes

Select your choice of acid, cold, fire, lightning, or poison damage. You can add an extra 1d6 of that damage type on your attacks using your arcane natural weapon once on each of your turns. This damage type cannot be changed.

Feral Strikes

When you make an attack with your arcane natural weapon, you gain resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage until the start of your next turn.

Syphoning Strikes

Whenever you score a critical hit on a hostile creature with your arcane natural weapon, you can regain one of your warlock spell slots. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Visceral Roar

Starting at 14th level, your patron's beast-like ferocity becomes manifest in your very soul. As an action, you can cause every creature of your choice within 60 feet of you must make a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC. On a failure, a creature is deafened and frightened for 1 minute. A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. A creature affected by this ability is also stunned until it succeeds on the repeated saving throw or until it takes damage.

Once you use this feature, you can’t do so again until you finish a long rest.