Elder Council

Across the ages, those that seek power through pacts with forces beyond mortal understanding have found a myriad of beings to pledge themselves to. A Warlock of the Elder Council is empowered by their association with a group of powerful spellcasters, from whom they siphon magic in exchange for service.

A Warlock of the Elder Council has the benefit of a clarity that many other Warlocks lack, as the beings they have entered into a contract with are (usually) comprehensible to mortal senses. Some pledge themselves as part of a clear-cut employment agreement, while others are convinced by a far more charismatic pitch. Their powers can be fickle, as they rely on individuals who are often mortal, and subject to some of the limitations that implies. The flavour of the magic they wield can change slightly too, as they may be borrowing their power from sorcerers, wizards, druids, or even other warlocks.

Expanded Spell List

The Elder Council 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.

Elder Council Expanded Spells

Echoes in the Mind

Starting at 1st level, your bond to the Council has given you a proficiency with telepathic communication. You may attempt to to telepathically speak to any creature you can see within 30 feet of you (60 feet if you have connected to that individual creature before, 90 feet if you have connected more than once before). You don’t need to share a language with the creature for it to understand your telepathic utterances, but the creature must be able to understand at least one language. When you try to do so, make a wisdom check of DC8 (or DC13 if you do not speak the creature's language). On a success you can telepathically connect to that creature's mind (in combat, this takes one action to complete. If you are attempting to enter the mind of a creature that is hostile to you, the DM may choose to force a contested roll instead. If so, the creature rolls + its intelligence bonus + 2 (or +7 if you do not speak its language).

You may at any point attempt to either charm or frighten the creature whose mind you have touched. You may use a bonus action to force the creature to make a wisdom save (against your spell save DC). On a failure, they are either charmed or frightened by you for as long as you are connected to their mind and maintain concentration. As soon as you sever the connection, they know what you did to them. On a successful save, you take 1d6 psychic damage, the connection ends, and the creature knows you attempted to influence their mind.

You may also use this proficiency to forge a psychic bond with a willing creature. To do so takes approximately 5 minutes. This bond can be sustained indefinitely while at least one of you is awake, and continues even when you cannot see each other. However, maintaining this bond is treated as requiring concentration from both of you. Either one of you can break the bond at any time. The amount of creatures you can bond to in this way increases by one at 5th level, then again at 9th, 13th, and 17th. When you are bonded to more than one creature, you are treated as requiring concentration to maintain all of the bonds while they only need concentrate to maintain their bond to you. If any individual creature's concentration is broken (other than you), their link to you is severed but the others continue to function. If anyone falls unconscious while connected to you in this way you take 1d12 psychic damage.

Siphoned Surge

Starting at 6th level, when you take damage you can call on the magical energies of one of the Council to punish your attacker with an overloaded blast of arcane fury. When you take damage from a creature you can see within 90 feet you can use your reaction to unleash a blast of energy at your attacker. You cast Magic Missile at 1 level above your highest slot level but without expending a spell slot.

Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

Stolen sorcery

At 10th level, you gain the ability to twist your spells to suit your needs. You gain two of the following Metamagic options of your choice. You gain another one at 17th level. To use these you must expend sorcery points. You gain 5 sorcery points when you unlock this feature, and an extra sorcery point every two levels you take in this class. Your number of sorcery points should always be half your warlock level, rounded down. For example, as a 15th level Elder Council Warlock, you would have 7 sorcery points, which would increase to 8 when you reached 16th level.

You can use only one Metamagic option on a spell when you cast it, unless otherwise noted.

Careful Spell

When you cast a spell that forces other creatures to make a saving throw, you can protect some of those creatures from the spell’s full force. To do so, you spend 1 sorcery point and choose a number of those creatures up to your Charisma modifier (minimum of one creature). A chosen creature automatically succeeds on its saving throw against the spell.

Distant Spell

When you cast a spell that has a range of 5 feet or greater, you can spend 1 sorcery point to double the range of the spell.

When you cast a spell that has a range of touch, you can spend 1 sorcery point to make the range of the spell 30 feet.

Empowered Spell

When you roll damage for a spell, you can spend 1 sorcery point to reroll a number of the damage dice up to your Charisma modifier (minimum of one). You must use the new rolls.

You can use Empowered Spell even if you have already used a different Metamagic option during the casting of the spell.

Extended Spell

When you cast a spell that has a duration of 1 minute or longer, you can spend 1 sorcery point to double its duration, to a maximum duration of 24 hours.

Heightened Spell

When you cast a spell that forces a creature to make a saving throw to resist its effects, you can spend 3 sorcery points to give one target of the spell disadvantage on its first saving throw made against the spell.

Quickened Spell

When you cast a spell that has a casting time of 1 action, you can spend 2 sorcery points to change the casting time to 1 bonus action for this casting.

Subtle Spell

When you cast a spell, you can spend 1 sorcery point to cast it without any somatic or verbal components.

Twinned Spell

When you cast a spell that targets only one creature and doesn’t have a range of self, you can spend a number of sorcery points equal to the spell’s level to target a second creature in range with the same spell (1 sorcery point if the spell is a cantrip).

To be eligible, a spell must be incapable of targeting more than one creature at the spell’s current level. For example, magic missile and scorching ray aren’t eligible, but ray of frost and chromatic orb are.

Tormented Conduit

Starting at 14th level, you can increase the power of your spells. When you cast any spell that deals damage, you can deal maximum damage with that spell.

The first time you do so, you take 1d10 psychic damage for each level of the spell, immediately after you cast it. Each time you use this feature again before taking a short or long rest, you take another 1d10 psychic damage on top of the 1d10 per spell level. This damage ignores resistance and immunity.