The Forgotten Wager

The Forgotten Wager

Some warlocks enter into pacts seeking forbidden knowledge, eternal life, vengeance, or power beyond mortal reach. Others make bargains in moments of desperation, believing they understand the stakes placed before them. A warlock of the Forgotten Wager belongs to neither group entirely. Their pact was not simply signed, sworn, or sealed. It was gambled.

Vabanque once wagered something far more precious than coin, treasure, or blood. Whether through pride, desperation, arrogance, or the belief that fortune would ultimately favor him, he placed a part of himself upon a table from which nothing is ever truly returned unchanged. He lost.

Yet the wager did not end there.

Whatever power stood on the opposite side of that bargain left its mark upon him. Since that day, chance itself seems to behave differently in his presence. A blade that should miss may suddenly find its mark. A desperate spell may succeed against impossible odds. An enemy certain of victory may discover that fortune has turned against them at the final moment.

But such miracles are never free.

The magic of the Forgotten Wager does not grant certainty. It offers opportunity. Every attempt to twist fate carries the possibility of making things worse. Every victory invites another risk, every failure creates the temptation to double the stakes, and every narrow escape whispers the same dangerous thought:

One more wager.

Warlocks of this path learn to treat fate as a game whose rules can be bent, but never completely controlled. Their power rewards courage, audacity, and pride, while punishing hesitation and excess in equal measure. To them, battle is not merely a struggle for survival. It is a table. Every enemy is an opponent. Every spell is a stake. Every roll of the die is another chance to reclaim what was lost—or lose something greater in the attempt.

For Vabanque, this power is deeply personal. His pact is not only a source of magic, but an unfinished game. Somewhere beyond mortal understanding, the original wager still hangs unresolved. Whether he seeks to reclaim what was taken, defeat the one who holds it, or prove that the first loss was only the beginning of a greater victory, one truth follows him wherever he goes:

The house remembers every debt.

And Vabanque has never learned when to walk away.

Wager Die

Wager Die

Beginning at 3rd level, you can gamble with fate itself.

When you or a creature you can see within 60 feet makes a D20 Test, you can use your Reaction after the roll is made but before the outcome is determined to expend one use of this feature and roll a d6.

On a roll of 4–6, add the number rolled on the d6 to the D20 Test.

On a roll of 1–3, subtract the number rolled on the d6 from the D20 Test.

A D20 Test can be affected by only one Wager Die.

You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier, with a minimum of once, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a Long Rest.

The wager is made after the die is cast, but before fate reveals whether it was enough.

 

Wager Spells

Wager Spells

Your connection to the Forgotten Wager grants you access to magic associated with chance, manipulation, foresight, and consequence.

When you reach the Warlock levels shown in the Wager Spells table, you gain access to the listed spells.

3rd Level: Bane, Command, Augury, Mirror Image
5th Level: Bestow Curse, Clairvoyance
7th Level: Confusion, Divination
9th Level: Geas, Mislead

These spells count as Warlock spells for you.

Level 6: Pride Before Death

Pride Before Death

Beginning at 6th level, humiliation and defeat become deeply personal.

When a creature scores a Critical Hit against you or reduces you to 0 Hit Points, that creature becomes Marked by Pride. Marking a creature requires no action or reaction, and the mark is applied even if the triggering damage reduces you to 0 Hit Points.

You can have only one creature Marked by Pride at a time. If another creature becomes Marked by Pride, the previous mark immediately ends.

A creature remains Marked by Pride until one of the following occurs:

• The creature dies.
• You finish a Long Rest.
• You mark another creature.

Marked by Pride. Once on each of your turns, when you deal damage to the marked creature with an attack or a Warlock spell, you can deal an additional 1d6 Psychic damage to that creature.

The additional damage can occur only once per turn, regardless of how many attacks, spell attacks, or instances of damage you deal to the marked creature.

Pride remembers the wound long after the blood has dried.

Level 10: Double or Nothing

Double or Nothing

Starting at 10th level, a losing wager is merely an invitation to raise the stakes.

When you use your Wager Die and roll a 1, 2, or 3, you can immediately choose to Double Down before the affected D20 Test is resolved.

Roll a second d6.

If the second die rolls a 4, 5, or 6, ignore the penalty from the first Wager Die and instead add the result of the second die to the D20 Test.

If the second die rolls a 1, 2, or 3, subtract the results of both dice from the D20 Test.

You must accept the result of the second roll. You cannot Double Down more than once on the same Wager Die.

Example: If your first Wager Die is a 2, you would normally subtract 2 from the D20 Test. You choose to Double Down and roll again. If the second die is a 6, the original −2 is ignored and the D20 Test instead gains +6. If the second die is a 3, the D20 Test suffers a total penalty of −5.

Some gamblers learn from losing. Others simply increase the bet.

Level 14: All In!

All In

Starting at 14th level, you can place everything on a single wager.

Once per Long Rest, when you use your Wager Die, you can declare All In before rolling the die.

Instead of rolling one Wager Die, roll three d6s.

Resolve each die separately:

• On a roll of 4, 5, or 6, add that die's result to the D20 Test.
• On a roll of 1, 2, or 3, subtract that die's result from the D20 Test.

Add all bonuses and penalties together to determine the final modifier.

Example: If you roll 6, 4, and 2, the final modifier is +8.

If the affected D20 Test succeeds, you immediately regain all expended uses of your Wager Die.

If the affected D20 Test fails, you immediately lose all remaining uses of your Wager Die until you finish a Long Rest.

You cannot use Double or Nothing on any die rolled as part of All In.

Once you use All In, you cannot use it again until you finish a Long Rest.

The table falls silent when everything is placed on a single roll.