Something I have been working on for a while. Thought I would share it. Let me know what you think. Happy to share my thought process behind any of it, and read your feedback.
Tayn of Darkwood. Lvl 10 human Life Cleric of Lathander. Retired.
Ikram Sahir ibn Malik al-Sayyid Ra'ad, Second Son of the House of Ra'ad, Defender of the Burning Sands. Lvl 9 Brass Dragonborn Sorcerer + Greater Fire Elemental Devil.
Viktor Gavriil. Lvl 20 White Dragonborn Grave Cleric, of Kurgan the God of Death.
I like this! The flavor is phenomenal for those of us wanting non-nefarious Warlock options. I currently have a level 11 FeyLock and play much more like an unpredictable force for good than a trickster intent on just causing chaos and whimsical misfortune as the Archfey is so frequently characterized. My DM has leaned into it as well and while my patron isn't as 100% benevolent as my chaotic good aligned character is, he is much more neutral and less likely to try and trick you out of your soul than I have seen many play the part.
So with that- I love the flavor of what you are doing but some of your class abilities are straight up OP AF lol.
Defender of the Realms- probably would be balanced with just getting the proficiencies and fighting style. The bonus to the shield AC is just straight op lol. Consider that by level 8, most warlocks have easily maxed their charisma which means you are getting the equivalent of a +3 Shield for the whole day from a level 1 class ability. Compare that to the level 1 Archfey ability which frightens or charms creatures within 10 feet for 1 turn.... This breaks the bounded accuracy balance of the game ALOT lol. A possible compromise would be having this ability activate as a Reaction until the end of your next turn once per long rest almost like a divine version of the wizard Shield spell.
Shield of the Archons- So warlocks don't get 2 class abilities at level 1 so either this would have to be moved to your level 6 ability which would then have to be adjusted or consolidated with Defender of the Realms which again- balance issues. Also again, as written this is really OP lol. By level 8 this is granting a 1 minute bonus almost as good as many classes level 20 capstone abilities which costs the warlock little and recharges on a short rest. I mean I would love to have it but it's again really OP lol. I'm not even sure how to make it balanced but for starters it would need to require the warlock's concentration to maintain and would recharge on a long rest only and/or the bonus should be half your charisma rounded down (minimum of 1).
Intervene- I really like this one and this is actually I would say fairly well balanced for a 6th level ability. The only thing I would possibly tweak for balance is the distance- 30 feet feels more appropriate as this is sort of a protective misty step. Otherwise I really like the flavor and mechanics on this one. Well done.
Shield of the Wardens- If you could get the Shield of the Archons balanced, this feels like an ok boost to it's power at level 10 especially since it only lasts a minute. Perhaps remove the temp hit point bonus on the Shield at level 1 and include it here. Again I am trying to balance against the other sub-classes. No other comment or changes.
Shield of the Sealtiel (Is that supposed to be Sentinel?)- This seems balanced perhaps slightly underpowered against the other Warlock level 14 bonuses. Perhaps here is where the Shield no longer requires concentration to maintain as concentration is a particularly painful tax on warlocks considering their spell list.
Invocations- Your invocations were much more balanced in my opinion and again excellent flavor. My only tweak would be on the Pax Arcadia- you would need to allow for a wisdom save at the end of each of their turns. Even then it's almost as powerful as the level 14 Archfey class ability so it might need to just be 1 full turn of no actions for a level 7 ability.
Just my thoughts- take them for what you will. As I said, definitely appreciate the flavor on this. Clearly you spent sometime thinking through this. Well done.
Thanks for the feedback! Some explanations on the why for numbers and such:
Defender of the Realms: It is a scaling bonus (maybe another +1 at 4, and again at 8, assuming you chose to max ASAP), and they did not receive any additional armor proficiency. In comparison, the Hexblade gets Charisma bonus to both hit and damage from level 1, instead of Strength, martial weapons proficiency, medium armor, and shields.
What do you think of going Charisma bonus to AC instead of Dexterity bonus and remove the physical shield mechanic altogether to bring it in line??
Shield of the Archons: Hexblade does get 2 at level 1. Both Hex Warrior, and Hexblade's Curse. At 8th level, you would get a +3 to AC and Saves, and (at most) 13 temp HP, on only 1 target, for 1 minute. Very similar to Hexbalde getting the same +3 to damage per hit, double crit range, and heal on kill for 1 minute. Not even in the same ballpark as the mentioned L20 capstones. At level 1, it's only +2 to those, and 4 temp HP at most. When you hit the upper echelons, getting a +6 boost vs enemies with +15 to hits. If I went to Charisma, the scaling would be too quick (+4 at level 4 is waaay to over the top), and half Charisma, too weak at higher levels. I chose not to require concentration as the Hexblade's Curse doesn't have that restriction (and for the reason you also mentioned). Fairly certain Hexblade get 2, because everything they get is single target, the curse is 1 minute max, and I tried to keep to that.
With all that in mind, it may be prudent to move temp HP up to 10th just to reduce the front load
Intervene: Yeah, I struggled with the range on that one. Misty Step has a dual effect and a 60' range, so I tried to keep it in that same scope of strength. That way, if you are closer to the action, and someone gets to your behind the lines DPS, you can still be in range for the one off save, but at a potential huge cost to yourself.
Shield of the Wardens: Yeah, I didn't think adding just that benefit would be too much for the 1 minute, and as I mentioned before, may be prudent to move the Temp HP up to here. Also thinking about adding a caveat that any remaining temp HP are lost if the shield ends.
Shield of Sealtiel: (Sealtiel is the Patron of the Warden Archons and equivalent to a Archdevil or Demon Prince in older editions :-) ) On this one, I didn't want to crank any more power into it, based on the overall usage within the class abilities as a whole. It would allow you to make an Intervene with much less risk, and make it so you could be on the front line imposing disadvantage on attacks with the Protector fighting style with less risk. That was the balance trade off.
Pax Arcadia: My original version actually allowed for the Wisdom save every round, and now that you point out that comparison to Dark Delirium, I will restore that.
Thought more about it, and to further reduce the front load, changed Defender of the Realms to remove marital weapons proficiency, and changed the defense bonus to an unarmored defense style bonus using Charisma modifier (that way, you get a personal defensive buff, but it's not as much of buff as it would in barbarian, as you aren't pumping Constitution up for both the AC and HP benefit). Also changed the Shield of the Archons to standard action
Wow Kaja! The re-work looks great! As you said feels much more like a Warlock- albeit a good aligned protector Warlock but definitively Warlock. Sound of the Trumpets might be a tad on the strong side as that Hound Archon is pretty dope but it does target a Constitution save which most adventurers won't have as a dump stat so that helps balance it. Overall this is an excellent homebrew. Well done.
Yeah, I thought that was more appropriate as a Con save thematically, and for balance. The other subclass capstones for Warlock don't allow a save at all, but because I had it pop the archon too, I allowed the save. I will play with that in testing. I might lower it way down, remove the save, like the Celestial has on its cap, but I think it will be ok in current form with the save, and it being a Con save. Time will tell. Also, play test it for me! Let me know if it is over the top in use!
Archfey capstone has a wisdom save to avoid the entire capstone effect. By far the weakest of the capstone abilities. Yours is pretty balanced in comparison to the Fiend and Celestial.
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Something I have been working on for a while. Thought I would share it. Let me know what you think. Happy to share my thought process behind any of it, and read your feedback.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/afn0gcd23yij4bg/Upper Planes Patrons Expanded V3.pdf?dl=0
Thank you for taking the time to read, I know your time is valuable, and I appreciate it!
Kaja
Neat!
I like it!
Tayn of Darkwood. Lvl 10 human Life Cleric of Lathander. Retired.
Ikram Sahir ibn Malik al-Sayyid Ra'ad, Second Son of the House of Ra'ad, Defender of the Burning Sands. Lvl 9 Brass Dragonborn Sorcerer + Greater Fire Elemental Devil.
Viktor Gavriil. Lvl 20 White Dragonborn Grave Cleric, of Kurgan the God of Death.
Anzio Faro. Lvl 5 Prot. Aasimar Light Cleric.
I like this! The flavor is phenomenal for those of us wanting non-nefarious Warlock options. I currently have a level 11 FeyLock and play much more like an unpredictable force for good than a trickster intent on just causing chaos and whimsical misfortune as the Archfey is so frequently characterized. My DM has leaned into it as well and while my patron isn't as 100% benevolent as my chaotic good aligned character is, he is much more neutral and less likely to try and trick you out of your soul than I have seen many play the part.
So with that- I love the flavor of what you are doing but some of your class abilities are straight up OP AF lol.
Defender of the Realms- probably would be balanced with just getting the proficiencies and fighting style. The bonus to the shield AC is just straight op lol. Consider that by level 8, most warlocks have easily maxed their charisma which means you are getting the equivalent of a +3 Shield for the whole day from a level 1 class ability. Compare that to the level 1 Archfey ability which frightens or charms creatures within 10 feet for 1 turn.... This breaks the bounded accuracy balance of the game ALOT lol. A possible compromise would be having this ability activate as a Reaction until the end of your next turn once per long rest almost like a divine version of the wizard Shield spell.
Shield of the Archons- So warlocks don't get 2 class abilities at level 1 so either this would have to be moved to your level 6 ability which would then have to be adjusted or consolidated with Defender of the Realms which again- balance issues. Also again, as written this is really OP lol. By level 8 this is granting a 1 minute bonus almost as good as many classes level 20 capstone abilities which costs the warlock little and recharges on a short rest. I mean I would love to have it but it's again really OP lol. I'm not even sure how to make it balanced but for starters it would need to require the warlock's concentration to maintain and would recharge on a long rest only and/or the bonus should be half your charisma rounded down (minimum of 1).
Intervene- I really like this one and this is actually I would say fairly well balanced for a 6th level ability. The only thing I would possibly tweak for balance is the distance- 30 feet feels more appropriate as this is sort of a protective misty step. Otherwise I really like the flavor and mechanics on this one. Well done.
Shield of the Wardens- If you could get the Shield of the Archons balanced, this feels like an ok boost to it's power at level 10 especially since it only lasts a minute. Perhaps remove the temp hit point bonus on the Shield at level 1 and include it here. Again I am trying to balance against the other sub-classes. No other comment or changes.
Shield of the Sealtiel (Is that supposed to be Sentinel?)- This seems balanced perhaps slightly underpowered against the other Warlock level 14 bonuses. Perhaps here is where the Shield no longer requires concentration to maintain as concentration is a particularly painful tax on warlocks considering their spell list.
Invocations- Your invocations were much more balanced in my opinion and again excellent flavor. My only tweak would be on the Pax Arcadia- you would need to allow for a wisdom save at the end of each of their turns. Even then it's almost as powerful as the level 14 Archfey class ability so it might need to just be 1 full turn of no actions for a level 7 ability.
Just my thoughts- take them for what you will. As I said, definitely appreciate the flavor on this. Clearly you spent sometime thinking through this. Well done.
Thanks for the feedback! Some explanations on the why for numbers and such:
Defender of the Realms: It is a scaling bonus (maybe another +1 at 4, and again at 8, assuming you chose to max ASAP), and they did not receive any additional armor proficiency. In comparison, the Hexblade gets Charisma bonus to both hit and damage from level 1, instead of Strength, martial weapons proficiency, medium armor, and shields.
What do you think of going Charisma bonus to AC instead of Dexterity bonus and remove the physical shield mechanic altogether to bring it in line??
Shield of the Archons: Hexblade does get 2 at level 1. Both Hex Warrior, and Hexblade's Curse. At 8th level, you would get a +3 to AC and Saves, and (at most) 13 temp HP, on only 1 target, for 1 minute. Very similar to Hexbalde getting the same +3 to damage per hit, double crit range, and heal on kill for 1 minute. Not even in the same ballpark as the mentioned L20 capstones. At level 1, it's only +2 to those, and 4 temp HP at most. When you hit the upper echelons, getting a +6 boost vs enemies with +15 to hits. If I went to Charisma, the scaling would be too quick (+4 at level 4 is waaay to over the top), and half Charisma, too weak at higher levels. I chose not to require concentration as the Hexblade's Curse doesn't have that restriction (and for the reason you also mentioned). Fairly certain Hexblade get 2, because everything they get is single target, the curse is 1 minute max, and I tried to keep to that.
With all that in mind, it may be prudent to move temp HP up to 10th just to reduce the front load
Intervene: Yeah, I struggled with the range on that one. Misty Step has a dual effect and a 60' range, so I tried to keep it in that same scope of strength. That way, if you are closer to the action, and someone gets to your behind the lines DPS, you can still be in range for the one off save, but at a potential huge cost to yourself.
Shield of the Wardens: Yeah, I didn't think adding just that benefit would be too much for the 1 minute, and as I mentioned before, may be prudent to move the Temp HP up to here. Also thinking about adding a caveat that any remaining temp HP are lost if the shield ends.
Shield of Sealtiel: (Sealtiel is the Patron of the Warden Archons and equivalent to a Archdevil or Demon Prince in older editions :-) ) On this one, I didn't want to crank any more power into it, based on the overall usage within the class abilities as a whole. It would allow you to make an Intervene with much less risk, and make it so you could be on the front line imposing disadvantage on attacks with the Protector fighting style with less risk. That was the balance trade off.
Pax Arcadia: My original version actually allowed for the Wisdom save every round, and now that you point out that comparison to Dark Delirium, I will restore that.
Thought more about it, and to further reduce the front load, changed Defender of the Realms to remove marital weapons proficiency, and changed the defense bonus to an unarmored defense style bonus using Charisma modifier (that way, you get a personal defensive buff, but it's not as much of buff as it would in barbarian, as you aren't pumping Constitution up for both the AC and HP benefit). Also changed the Shield of the Archons to standard action
One more balance pass after some more feedback and play testing, some formatting, and some more options.
MAJOR REWORK to make it feel less Paladin/Cleric, and more Warlock!
A few more minor tweaks here and there to shore it up based on feedback. Let me know what you think!
Wow Kaja! The re-work looks great! As you said feels much more like a Warlock- albeit a good aligned protector Warlock but definitively Warlock. Sound of the Trumpets might be a tad on the strong side as that Hound Archon is pretty dope but it does target a Constitution save which most adventurers won't have as a dump stat so that helps balance it. Overall this is an excellent homebrew. Well done.
Yeah, I thought that was more appropriate as a Con save thematically, and for balance. The other subclass capstones for Warlock don't allow a save at all, but because I had it pop the archon too, I allowed the save. I will play with that in testing. I might lower it way down, remove the save, like the Celestial has on its cap, but I think it will be ok in current form with the save, and it being a Con save. Time will tell. Also, play test it for me! Let me know if it is over the top in use!
Archfey capstone has a wisdom save to avoid the entire capstone effect. By far the weakest of the capstone abilities. Yours is pretty balanced in comparison to the Fiend and Celestial.