Swindled (2024)

Some people make bargains with dangerous and powerful entities in exchange for a taste of the magics they wield.  Often these come with a price. Some sell their souls, others promise glory or riches, but there is always a cost. To many, the cost is worth it, as the power they receive is not to be trifled with.  There are those, however, who are unwilling to sacrifice. Those who want to have their eldritch cake, and eat it, too.

A Swindled patron has had a portion of their powers stolen from them by a mortal. This individual does not ask for permission or value the patrons ideals. Having somehow mastered the art of traveling to the patron's realm, these mortals leech off their magic, taking by guile and subterfuge what they could have gotten through deals and bargains.  Refusing to be indebted, they would rather take what they want and give nothing back in return.  A Swindled warlock values freedom above all else, even at the risk of angering a god.

As one who has swindled your patron, you are an expert with magical thievery. Mere material goods no longer thrill you as it may once have done. Instead, you have discovered how to fashion a magical set of tools which allow you to steal magic itself. Whether it's from your Swindled patron, a mighty boon bestowed upon a realm's champion, or a warding spell protecting a lich's fortress, you are capable of dismantling their spells and taking them for yourself.  Thievery is your lot in life. You've simply taken it to the next level...

Level 3: Swindled Spells

The magic of your patron ensures you always have certain spells ready; when you reach a Warlock level specified in the Swindled Spells table, you thereafter always have the listed spells prepared.

Fiend Spells

Warlock Level	Spells
3	Alarm, Identify, Knock, Pass Without Trace
5	Blink, Nondetection
7	Arcane Eye, Freedom of Movement
9	Mislead, Passwall

Level 3: Spell Heist

You learn a ritual to attempt to steal arcane knowledge from your patron. The ritual takes 8 hours; it can be performed during a long rest and sends your consciousness to your patron's realm, leaving you in a sleep-like state. 

When you begin the ritual, you choose a number of spells between 1st- and 5th- level that you don't know from the Warlock spell list. The spells can have a total combined level that is equal to or less than half of your warlock class level (rounded up). At the end of the 8 hours you can make a Charisma check using your Eldritch Thieves' Tools. The DC check equals 10 + the total combined level of the spells. On a success, the spells are added to your list of known spells until the end of your next long rest or you use this feature again. On a failure, you can choose one of the spells to add to your list of known spells for the same duration; however, each time you cast it, you take psychic damage equal to the spell's level, which can't be reduced in any way.

Level 3: Eldritch Thief

The process of stealing from your patron has allowed you more material thievery techniques.  You are proficient with the sleight of hand skill as well as with thieves' tools. Additionally, you gain the following benefits:

Eldritch Thieves' Tools: As a bonus action, you can magically create a set of eldritch thieves' tools in your hand. These tools appearance reflect the nature of your patron. For example, they may look fleshy or organic if your patron is an aberration, or take on the form of an unfathomably complex clockwork device if your patron is a creature of cryptic order.

Regardless of appearance, they function as regular thieves' tools, while also allowing you to use them as a spell focus. While using them to disarm a trap or open a lock, you can use Charisma instead of Dexterity for the ability check. The tools disappear if you create them again or you're more than 5 feet away from them for 1 minute or longer.

Level 6: Magical Larceny

You're able to employ your Eldritch Thieves' Tools to disarm and even steal magical effects. You may add twice your proficiency bonus to ability checks made using your Eldritch Thieves' Tools.

Additionally, as an action, you can choose one creature, object, or area within 5 feet of you that's affected by a spell or magical effect, and make a Charisma check using your Eldritch Thieves' Tools. If the spell was cast by a creature, the DC equals the creature's spell save DC. Otherwise, the DC equals 10 + the spell's level. On a successful check, the magic ends.

Alternatively, if you would successfully end a spell or effect you can instead choose to alter the magic's parameters. If it would require certain conditions be met for it to activate then you may change what those conditions are. If specific creatures could be listed as exempt from the magic's effect or would be able to alter the magic themselves, then you can add new creatures to the list or change it entirely. Examples of these could be changing who would trigger an alarm spell, or setting a glyph of warding to only trigger when a creature of evil-alignment touches it. If you successfully alter the spell or effect then the one who first cast it is not alerted to your tampering.

In addition, if you successfully end a spell or effet on a creature, you can steal its effects for yourself. After the magic ends on the creature, you can choose to have it immediately take effect on you for the remainder if it's duration. This stolen spell or effect targets only you, even if it can normally target more creatures, and if it requires concentration, you must maintain concentration to maintain it.

You may use this ability a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and regain all spent uses of it when you finish a long rest.

Level 10: Eldritch Gambit

You learn the spell counterspell if you don't already know it, and it doesn't count against the number of spells you know. You can cast it once without expending a spell slot, and you regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. 

Moreover, you can bolster yourself with the magical energy of the spells you sabotage. When you successfully end a spell with your Magical Larceny feature, or counter a spell with counterspell, you gain temporary hit points equal to 1d10 + twice the spell's level. If you successfully use counterspell to prevent a creature from casting a spell, you absorb that creature's magic, gaining back one of your expended spell slots and causing the creature to lose one of it's own.

Level 14: Plunder Spirit

Your power of arcane larceny has taught you how to steal power from the spirits of your fallen enemies. When you reduce a creature to 0 hit points, you can use a reaction to gain a portion of it's spirit and gain one of the following benefits:

• You regain a warlock spell slot.
• You become proficient with a saving throw that the creature was proficient in. The ability lasts until you finish a long rest.
• If a creature has the spellcasting or innate spellcasting trait, you learn a spell that the creature knew or had prepared, provided the spell is of a level that you can cast. You retain the knowledge of this spell until you finish a long rest, and it counts as a warlock spell for you during this time. 

You can use each of these abilities once before taking a long rest, and cannot use more than one of them on a single creature.