The Web

Warning: This subclass has not been playtested yet, please ask your DM before playing this in a campaign. Advice or suggestions are welcome.

The Web is often used as a blanket term for powerful entities that specialize in manipulation. Often these kinds of entities are also associated with spiders. The first warlocks of The Web served an otherworldly entity that fed off of mortals' fear of spiders and of being controlled.

Expanded Spell List

1st-level Web feature

The Web lets you choose from an expanded list of spells when you learn a warlock spell. The Web Expanded Spells table shows the Web spells that are added to the warlock spell list for you.

SPELL LEVEL	WEB SPELLS
1st	Command, Dissonant Whispers
2nd	Summon Beast, Web
3rd	Conjure Animals (Summoning Giant Spiders at the DM's discretion), Fast Friends
4th	Giant Insect, Phantasmal Killer
5th	Dominate Person, Geas

Master of Webs

1st-level Web feature

As an action you attach a nearly invisible strand of spiderweb to a creature within 60 feet of you. While the strand is attached to a creature you have advantage on all Charisma and Wisdom checks made to interact with it. A creature must succeed on an Intelligence(Investigation) or a Wisdom(Perception) check against your spell save DC to notice the strand. If a creature notices a strand, it realizes you are using magic to influence it and may become hostile to you at the DM's discretion. You can have a number of strands equal to your proficiency bonus attached at any one time, if you attach a new strand while you are at this limit you must choose a strand to break. A strand also breaks if you and the attached creature are ever more than 300 feet away from each other or on different planes of existence.

Arachnoid Transformation

6th-level Web feature

You can use a bonus action to expend a spell slot or a mystic arcanum to transform into an Arachnoid Horror. See the game statistics in the Arachnoid Horror stat block, which uses your proficiency bonus (PB) in several places. You determine your appearance while transformed. When you transform if you are smaller than Large, you become Large, along with anything you are wearing that you choose to not have meld into your form. If you lack the room to become Large, your size doesn’t change. This transformation lasts for a number of hours equal to the level of spell slot expended to enter this form. You can revert to your normal form earlier by using a bonus action on your turn. You automatically revert if you fall unconscious, drop to 0 hit points, or die.

While you are transformed, the following rules apply:

• Your game statistics are replaced by the statistics of the Arachnoid Horror, but you retain your alignment, personality, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores and Eldritch Invocation affects. You also retain all of your resistances, immunities, skill and saving throw proficiencies and condition immunities, including those granted by magic items that meld into your form.
• When you transform, you assume the Arachnoid Horror's hit points. When you revert to your normal form, you return to the number of hit points you had before you transformed. However, if you revert as a result of dropping to 0 hit points, any excess damage carries over to your normal form. For example, if you take 10 damage in horror form and have only 1 hit point left, you revert and take 9 damage. As long as the excess damage doesn’t reduce your normal form to 0 hit points, you aren’t knocked unconscious.
• You can’t cast spells, and your ability to speak or take any action that requires hands is limited to the capabilities of your horror form. Transforming doesn’t break your concentration on a spell you’ve already cast, however, or prevent you from taking actions that are part of a spell, that you’ve already cast.
• You retain the benefit of any features from your class, race, or other source and can use them if the new form is physically capable of doing so.
• You choose whether your equipment falls to the ground in your space, merges into your new form, or is worn by it. Worn equipment functions as normal, but the DM decides whether it is practical for the new form to wear a piece of equipment, based on the creature’s shape and size. Your equipment doesn’t change size or shape to match the new form, and any equipment that the new form can’t wear must either fall to the ground or merge with it. Equipment that merges with the form has no effect until you leave the form.

Arachnoid Horror

Large monstrosity 

Armor Class 13 + the level of the spell slot expended to enter this form (natural armor)

Hit Points 20 times the level of the spell slot expended to enter this form

Speed 40 ft., climb 40 ft.

STR

18 (+4)

DEX

16 (+3)

CON

12 (+1)

INT

—

WIS

—

CHA

—

Challenge — Proficiency Bonus equals your bonus

Magic Weapons. The horrors attacks count as magical for the purpose of negating resistance and immunity to nonmagical damage.

Spider Climb. The horror can climb difficult surfaces, including upside down on ceilings, without needing to make an ability check.

Web Walker. While in contact with a web, the horror knows the exact location of any other creature in contact with the same web. The horror also ignores movement restrictions caused by webbing.

Actions

Multiattack. The horror makes a number of attacks equal to half the level of the spell slot expended to enter this form (rounded up) one of which can be substituted with a use of Web if it is available.

Bite.Melee Weapon Attack: your spell attack modifier to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 2d8 + 4 + the level of the spell slot expended to enter this form piercing damage, and the creature must succeed on a Constitution saving throw against your spell save DC or be poisoned, if the spell slot expended to enter this form was of 5th level of higher the creature is also blinded, if it was of 7th level or higher the creature is also paralyzed.

Web Spinner (5th level or higher spell slot expended to enter this form). Ranged Weapon Attack: your spell attack modifier to hit, range 60 ft., one target. Hit: 1d8 + 4 + the level of the spell slot expended to enter this form bludgeoning damage. The target is grappled, while grappled in this way a creature is also restrained and has disadvantage on Constitution saving throws.

Innate Spellcasting (9th level spell slot or mystic arcanum expended to enter this form). You can cast the following spell using your Charisma as the spellcasting ability modifier:

1/day: Weird

Puppeteer (7th level or higher spell slot or mystic arcanum expended to enter this form). The horror chooses a creature it can see within 60 feet of it. That creature must succeed a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC. On a failure the creature must make an attack against another creature of the horror's choice within range. If there are no creatures other than the horror within range the target is incapacitated until the end of its next turn. If the spell slot expended to enter this form was of a level higher than 7th the horror can target an additional creature for each slot above 7th, the targets must all be within 60 feet of the horror.

Web (Recharge 5–6). The horror unleashes a net of webbing that fills a 30-foot cube next to it. The web is difficult terrain, its area is lightly obscured, and it lasts for 1 minute. Any creature that moves into the web or that starts its turn there must make a Dexterity saving throw against your spell save DC. On a failed save, the creature is restrained while in the web. A creature can use an action to make a Strength check against your spell save DC. On a success, it can free itself or a creature within 5 feet of it that is restrained by the web.

This webbing is immune to all damage except acid and fire. A 5-foot cube of the web is destroyed if it takes at least 20 acid or fire damage.

 

Arachnophobic Suggestion

10th-level Web feature

As an action you can instill an extreme and illogical fear of arachnids in a creature you can see within 60 feet of you. The creature must make a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC. A creature that is immune to the frightened automatically succeeds on this save. On a failure a creature is terrified. On a success the creature is frightened of you until the end of your next turn even if it normally immune to the frightened condition. While terrified a creature is frightened of any arachnids they see including spiders, scorpions, their giant variants and other similar creatures like driders. Additionally, while a terrified creature can see an arachnid or similar creature of which it is frightened it takes 1d4 psychic damage at the beginning of each of its turns. A terrified creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns ending the effect on itself after 3 successes, if the creature accumulates 3 failures before 3 success it can only repeat the save at the end of each day. If a creature accumulates a total of 6 failures before 3 successes the effect becomes permanent. The effect can be ended by Greater Restoration, Heal, or Wish. Your Arachnoid Horror transformation counts as an arachnid for the purpose of this ability. Once you use this feature you cannot use it again until you finish a long rest.

Master of Puppets

14th-level Web feature

As an action you can choose a creature that is charmed by you, attached to one of your strands of spiderweb, or frightened of you. If you choose a creature that is charmed or attached to a strand it becomes affected by the Dominate Monster spell, with the following changes: the spells duration is one minute, it is not concentration, and the affected creature can't make a Wisdom save to end the effect every time it takes damage. If you choose a creature that is frightened it loses a number of hit points equal to 3 times your level, its maximum hit points are reduced by the same amount, and you regain one spent spell slot or mystic arcanum of the highest level you have available to you. Once you consume a creature's fear the frightened condition ends on it, and it becomes immune to the frightened condition for 24 hours. Once you use this feature you cannot use it again until you finish a long rest.