so, I’ve created my own Warlock subclass - the Warlock of Neth, the Plane That Lives. The idea of a whole, the sentient plane seemed really interesting and terrifying to me. Creating it I had several archetypes in my head but one that was most vibrant was Silver Surfer serving Galactus.
It also pointed me into an issue I had with many warlocks - they are usually very vanilla, often treated by other teammates and the world around them as a ‚different kind of wizard’. I understand that a lot of it depends on the players role-playing but I really wanted to create a subclass to warlock that would make the character weird, off-putting from the very beginning.
I find it an interesting option for more racially diverse warlocks like monster-races. Since the entity is neither good or bad, it gives a DM and a player a big range of choices and flavouring the whole thing.
I took the liberty (and a risk tbh) to introduce two paths within one subclass that have the same expanded spell list but different features on levels 1,6,10 and 14. Both of them are different but can potentially serve well to the whole group.
Please have in mind that this is version 1.0, consulted with only a couple of people - brought to the level I felt comfortable to ask for feedback from a larger audience and RPG community. Naturally, I will appreciate all the comments and reviews. Link below. I do plan to create a PDF and DNDBeyond version as well in the following week.
A very interesting idea for a literally otherworldly patron!
A few things before I dive in: Neth is a great name for a very specific patron. Otherworldly patrons, and most player character options, work best when they're not super specific. Perhaps instead of "Neth" you go for "The Living Plane." Not much flavor text change but the generic nature lends the subclass to be played in groups beyond your own. Also, the subclass has a strong theme of an amorphous form, kind of like an ooze but I don't see that reflected in your flavor text.
I am going to be working to make the "Devourer" and the "Explorer" into one single subclass. An effective subclass could meld these two visions of a warlock of the living plane into one single path. Also, the warlock is the most complex class in the game (excluding the revised artificer), between a limited spell selection, invocations, and a pact boon, a warlock has a lot of decisions to make. A warlock subclass is best when its complexity is relatively low compared to subclasses of other classes.
Expanded Spell List. Catnap and grasping vine are not part of the SRD so you will not be able to publish the subclass as is on DDB. Otherwise, the spell list is well flavored and fits the criteria for a warlock expanded spell list.
Amorphic Mutation. The Devourer's ability at 1st level is down right mediocre. I regain (maybe) 4 hit points as an action or get to turn into a blob that moves through 1 inch spaces? I'd rather be a blob. I would rewrite Amorphic Mutation as "While in this amorphous state, your speed is 20 feet and you can move through spaces as narrow as 1 inch."
Sentient Abscess. The Explorer's ability feels very similar to the Devourer's ability while being much more complicated. A similar effect could be achieved with a spell like mirror image or hold person. The Devourer's feature fits well with the theme of a transmutable and amorphous body. I would rewrite the first part as "If you are hit by melee attack, you can choose for the weapon to stick to your body. The attacking creature has disadvantage on its next attack and it can not move..."
Malignant Pus. Both abilities seem fine but I don't understand what you mean by "When your immunity reduced damage from an effect to 0" making me inclined to focus on the Devourer's ability. Immunity is also relatively strong unless handed out as part of a capstone ability. The Devourer's ability may want to be written as "When you are hit with a melee attack, you can choose to deal acid damage equal to your Charisma modifier to the attacker. If the target is wearing armor or wielding a shield, the armor or shield, your choice, takes a permanent and cumulative −1 penalty to the AC it offers. Armor reduced to an AC of 10 or a shield that drops to a +0 bonus is destroyed."
Interplanar Bowels. Both of these have interesting mechanics but I worry about the Devourer's 12d4 every round and it's not clear when the damage ends. Overall, it sounds more like a spell than a class feature. Explorer on the other hand radiates with flavor and a visual that is far too tantalizing to ignore. I worry about how this labyrinth is to be used in say a dungeon or how a minotaur handles it.
On the whole, this is a very well thought out subclass, I would watch that 14th level ability but I really like where you are headed with the class.
"The relevant equation is: Knowledge = power = energy = matter = mass; a good bookshop is just a genteel Black Hole that knows how to read." - Terry Pratchett
Thank you very much for this feedback Astromancer. I really appreciate it. You made some great point there, especially when it comes to making the subclass a little broader, maybe even more general in order to allow for more freedom on part of the players.
I will withhold my commentary for now, since I want to gather as much feedback as I can and also do some re-adjustments. I also want to work on the wording of the features so my initial intent is as clear as possible. The fact that something is unclear for you, on itself, give me a lot of information.
I had the subclass updated into DnDBeyond. It went through some changes since the v 1.0 but I did not left the idea of two paths for one subclass. I do believe it made it more versatile, leaving it in the same realm.
Hi,
so, I’ve created my own Warlock subclass - the Warlock of Neth, the Plane That Lives. The idea of a whole, the sentient plane seemed really interesting and terrifying to me. Creating it I had several archetypes in my head but one that was most vibrant was Silver Surfer serving Galactus.
It also pointed me into an issue I had with many warlocks - they are usually very vanilla, often treated by other teammates and the world around them as a ‚different kind of wizard’. I understand that a lot of it depends on the players role-playing but I really wanted to create a subclass to warlock that would make the character weird, off-putting from the very beginning.
I find it an interesting option for more racially diverse warlocks like monster-races. Since the entity is neither good or bad, it gives a DM and a player a big range of choices and flavouring the whole thing.
I took the liberty (and a risk tbh) to introduce two paths within one subclass that have the same expanded spell list but different features on levels 1,6,10 and 14. Both of them are different but can potentially serve well to the whole group.
Please have in mind that this is version 1.0, consulted with only a couple of people - brought to the level I felt comfortable to ask for feedback from a larger audience and RPG community. Naturally, I will appreciate all the comments and reviews. Link below. I do plan to create a PDF and DNDBeyond version as well in the following week.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/18ZF7L8b7Xu1rwYwcCuYbU5QmmjYWXuQXw4l_YMBxtkI/edit?usp=sharing
Check my new Warlock subclass - The Living Plane
A very interesting idea for a literally otherworldly patron!
A few things before I dive in: Neth is a great name for a very specific patron. Otherworldly patrons, and most player character options, work best when they're not super specific. Perhaps instead of "Neth" you go for "The Living Plane." Not much flavor text change but the generic nature lends the subclass to be played in groups beyond your own. Also, the subclass has a strong theme of an amorphous form, kind of like an ooze but I don't see that reflected in your flavor text.
I am going to be working to make the "Devourer" and the "Explorer" into one single subclass. An effective subclass could meld these two visions of a warlock of the living plane into one single path. Also, the warlock is the most complex class in the game (excluding the revised artificer), between a limited spell selection, invocations, and a pact boon, a warlock has a lot of decisions to make. A warlock subclass is best when its complexity is relatively low compared to subclasses of other classes.
Expanded Spell List. Catnap and grasping vine are not part of the SRD so you will not be able to publish the subclass as is on DDB. Otherwise, the spell list is well flavored and fits the criteria for a warlock expanded spell list.
Amorphic Mutation. The Devourer's ability at 1st level is down right mediocre. I regain (maybe) 4 hit points as an action or get to turn into a blob that moves through 1 inch spaces? I'd rather be a blob. I would rewrite Amorphic Mutation as "While in this amorphous state, your speed is 20 feet and you can move through spaces as narrow as 1 inch."
Sentient Abscess. The Explorer's ability feels very similar to the Devourer's ability while being much more complicated. A similar effect could be achieved with a spell like mirror image or hold person. The Devourer's feature fits well with the theme of a transmutable and amorphous body. I would rewrite the first part as "If you are hit by melee attack, you can choose for the weapon to stick to your body. The attacking creature has disadvantage on its next attack and it can not move..."
Malignant Pus. Both abilities seem fine but I don't understand what you mean by "When your immunity reduced damage from an effect to 0" making me inclined to focus on the Devourer's ability. Immunity is also relatively strong unless handed out as part of a capstone ability. The Devourer's ability may want to be written as "When you are hit with a melee attack, you can choose to deal acid damage equal to your Charisma modifier to the attacker. If the target is wearing armor or wielding a shield, the armor or shield, your choice, takes a permanent and cumulative −1 penalty to the AC it offers. Armor reduced to an AC of 10 or a shield that drops to a +0 bonus is destroyed."
Interplanar Bowels. Both of these have interesting mechanics but I worry about the Devourer's 12d4 every round and it's not clear when the damage ends. Overall, it sounds more like a spell than a class feature. Explorer on the other hand radiates with flavor and a visual that is far too tantalizing to ignore. I worry about how this labyrinth is to be used in say a dungeon or how a minotaur handles it.
On the whole, this is a very well thought out subclass, I would watch that 14th level ability but I really like where you are headed with the class.
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Astromancer's Homebrew Assembly
"The relevant equation is: Knowledge = power = energy = matter = mass; a good bookshop is just a genteel Black Hole that knows how to read." - Terry Pratchett
Thank you very much for this feedback Astromancer. I really appreciate it. You made some great point there, especially when it comes to making the subclass a little broader, maybe even more general in order to allow for more freedom on part of the players.
I will withhold my commentary for now, since I want to gather as much feedback as I can and also do some re-adjustments. I also want to work on the wording of the features so my initial intent is as clear as possible. The fact that something is unclear for you, on itself, give me a lot of information.
Check my new Warlock subclass - The Living Plane
I had the subclass updated into DnDBeyond. It went through some changes since the v 1.0 but I did not left the idea of two paths for one subclass. I do believe it made it more versatile, leaving it in the same realm.
https://www.dndbeyond.com/subclasses/135889-the-living-plane
Have a look and feel free to leave any feedback you feel can help me improve it.
Check my new Warlock subclass - The Living Plane