I am trying to create a warlock that is very focused on using their familiar, similar to a beast master ranger. Here are some invocations I came up with, let me know what you think.
Improved Familiar - Prerequisite: Pact of the Chain feature Your familiar uses your proficiency bonus rather than its own. In addition to the areas where it normally uses its proficiency bonus, a familiar also adds its proficiency bonus to its AC and to its damage rolls. Your familiar gains proficiency in two skills or tools of your choice. It also becomes proficient with all saving throws. For each level you gain after 3rd, your familiar gains an additional hit die and increases its hit points accordingly. Whenever you gain the Ability Score Improvement class feature, your companion’s abilities also improve. Your familiar can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or it can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, your familiar can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature unless its description specifies otherwise. These gains are retroactive if you gain this invocation at higher levels.
Coordinated Attack - Prerequisite: Pact of the Chain feature, 7th level You and your familiar form a more potent fighting team. When you cast a cantrip on your turn, if your companion can see you, it can use its reaction to make an attack.
Familiar Reaction - Prerequisite: Pact of the Chain feature Your familiar can use it's reaction to take opportunity attacks as normal. In addition, when you cast a spell while your familiar is within 100 feet of you, it can use its reaction to become the origin point for the spell when you cast it. If the spell requires an attack roll, you use your attack modifier for the roll.
The first is taken pretty much wholesale from the revised ranger, though I added the option for tool proficiency instead of skill because they have opposable thumbs. The second one revised rangers get at 5th level, but since I changed the trigger to a cantrip instead of an attack, I upped the level to 7, the same level where eldritch knights can get a bonus attack when they cast a cantrip. The third one (which I don't have a good name for) gives your familiar opportunity attacks that it lacks and allows you to cast non-touch spells through it, since there are very few touch spells for warlocks.
Love the concept, however (and I have no math to back this up, just a hunch) I have a feeling this would unbalance the Warlock. Invocations are a decently powerful portion of the Warlock but the Ranger gives up things like...
Volley. You can use your action to make a ranged attack against any number of creatures within 10 feet of a point you can see within your weapon’s range. You must have ammunition for each target, as normal, and you make a separate attack roll for each target.
In order to gain their Beast, whereas the warlock would be giving up adding Charisma modifier to Eldritch Blasts (a pretty common invocation), and you could still get it as you end up knowing 8 invocations by 20th level. So now I have a powerful (arguably) familiar that can attack and I can still cast my 4 Rays of Eldritch Blast from 300 feet away.
Once again, this was just a cursory glance. If this was something I wanted to continue to flesh out, and I do love the concept, it would have to replace the patron options and the invocations would have to be scaled down.
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I am trying to create a warlock that is very focused on using their familiar, similar to a beast master ranger. Here are some invocations I came up with, let me know what you think.
Improved Familiar - Prerequisite: Pact of the Chain feature
Your familiar uses your proficiency bonus rather than its own. In addition to the areas where it normally uses its proficiency bonus, a familiar also adds its proficiency bonus to its AC and to its damage rolls. Your familiar gains proficiency in two skills or tools of your choice. It also becomes proficient with all saving throws.
For each level you gain after 3rd, your familiar gains an additional hit die and increases its hit points accordingly. Whenever you gain the Ability Score Improvement class feature, your companion’s abilities also improve. Your familiar can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or it can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, your familiar can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature unless its description specifies otherwise. These gains are retroactive if you gain this invocation at higher levels.
Coordinated Attack - Prerequisite: Pact of the Chain feature, 7th level
You and your familiar form a more potent fighting team. When you cast a cantrip on your turn, if your companion can see you, it can use its reaction to make an attack.
Familiar Reaction - Prerequisite: Pact of the Chain feature
Your familiar can use it's reaction to take opportunity attacks as normal. In addition, when you cast a spell while your familiar is within 100 feet of you, it can use its reaction to become the origin point for the spell when you cast it. If the spell requires an attack roll, you use your attack modifier for the roll.
The first is taken pretty much wholesale from the revised ranger, though I added the option for tool proficiency instead of skill because they have opposable thumbs. The second one revised rangers get at 5th level, but since I changed the trigger to a cantrip instead of an attack, I upped the level to 7, the same level where eldritch knights can get a bonus attack when they cast a cantrip. The third one (which I don't have a good name for) gives your familiar opportunity attacks that it lacks and allows you to cast non-touch spells through it, since there are very few touch spells for warlocks.
Love the concept, however (and I have no math to back this up, just a hunch) I have a feeling this would unbalance the Warlock. Invocations are a decently powerful portion of the Warlock but the Ranger gives up things like...
Volley. You can use your action to make a ranged attack against any number of creatures within 10 feet of a point you can see within your weapon’s range. You must have ammunition for each target, as normal, and you make a separate attack roll for each target.
In order to gain their Beast, whereas the warlock would be giving up adding Charisma modifier to Eldritch Blasts (a pretty common invocation), and you could still get it as you end up knowing 8 invocations by 20th level. So now I have a powerful (arguably) familiar that can attack and I can still cast my 4 Rays of Eldritch Blast from 300 feet away.
Once again, this was just a cursory glance. If this was something I wanted to continue to flesh out, and I do love the concept, it would have to replace the patron options and the invocations would have to be scaled down.