The Dealmaker

The Dealmaker is a Warlock that has taken fate into their own hands. Characterized by their insatiable hunger for power. Once, they forged a pact with an entity, be it a demon, a powerful fey, an otherworldly being, or even a mysterious force, they traverse the realms seeking soul binding deals on behalf of their patron. Some even have broken their chains and are free, becoming the very thing they once served. These Warlocks are adept at leveraging their arcane abilities to persuade and manipulate others, often using their charisma and cunning to sway others into making a deal.

 

The only rule is that you cannot affect the free will of others outside of the dealing parties.

Please make sure to talk over this with your DM before going into a game.

Expanded Spell List

The Dealmaker 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.

The Dealmaker Expanded Spells

SPELL LEVEL	SPELLS
1st	Disguise Self, Detect Evil and Good
2nd	Zone of Truth, Arcanist's Magic Aura
3rd	Bestow Curse, Intellect Fortress
4th	Arcane Eye, Black Tentacles
5th	Skill Empowerment, Mislead

Its a Deal then?

Starting at 1st level, you gain the ability to make near unbreakable soul binding deals with a mere handshake with a creature that has a challenge rating/level equal to or lower than your Warlock level. The amount of deals you can make at a time is equal to your proficiency bonus plus any other additional Deal slots you get from leveling up.

Until that creature can successfully break the deal or complete it, you own their soul. If a creature dies while under contract, you still own their soul until you decide to release it or expend it for an ability. Souls that are bound by contract fill a Deal slot. Souls you own that are no longer bound by a contract, such as those who perish while in contract or sell their soul as their end of the deal, do not take up deal slots. Both parties completing a deal will return the creature's soul afterwards.

If a creature sells its soul to you as a form of payment of the deal, they do not get their soul returned to them when the deal is complete. Only if and when you expend it using an ability or decide to trade it back to them in the form of a deal.

While a deal is in place, you cannot kill the other party outright. If you wish to harm the other party while under contract, you must do it indirectly by hiring an outside force or sending them to do something that may get them killed. These deals can only be broken through ritual, divine intervention, failing to meet a deadline, or violating an agreed-upon term. If you attempt to strike a new deal when at the maximum, you must choose to release one of your previously bound creatures. Although at 5th, 10th, 15th, and 20th levels, you get an additional deal you can make.

When making a deal, both parties involved must agree to the terms willingly, and shake hands to seal the agreement. Neither you nor the other party can be charmed by a spell in order to agree to the handshake deal, though other methods of persuasion, coercion, or intimidation are still effective. Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

If one of the parties attempts to break the deal by force through ritual, divine intervention, failing to meet a deadline, or violating an agreed-upon term, they suffer intense backlash. The offending party must roll two charisma saving throws at disadvantage. If they succeed both saving throws, they break free from the deal, take 3d4 necrotic damage and are given three levels of exhaustion. For each roll they fail, they take 2d10 + your warlock level of psychic damage, which ignores resistances and their soul remains yours. This damage represents the severe mental toll of breaking a magically binding pact. The same also occurs whenever a bound creature attempts to attack you.

Levels of Dealmaker

Souls required	Level of Dealmaker
1-11	Novice Deal Maker -   Yes, you make pacts with others but you must go out and fulfill the deals physically with hard work.
12-21	Median Deal Maker -   With magic, you can conjure small to medium objects and imbue people and objects without the use of other spells merely with the snap of your fingers for as long as it fall under the lines of the deal. For example, you could summon large piles of gold for those who want gold. Or enchant a person's weapon with an extra 1d4 necrotic damage. You are unable to conjure things for yourself, only for those you make deals with. The extent of what you can actually do with this should be discussed and be determined by your DM.
22+	True Patron -   With your power, you can conjure or do just about anything happen for those you make deals with. All that is needed is a smile and a snap of your fingers as long as it fall under the lines of the deal. You are unable to conjure things for yourself, only for those you make deals with. The extent of what you can actually do with this should be discussed and be determined by your DM.

 

Additionally, you can expend any of your captured souls as an reaction to gain one of the following benefits:

- You or an ally of your choice gains advantage on a saving throw or ability check.
- Restore hit points to yourself or an ally within 30 feet equal to warlock level + the total amount of souls you own.
- An ally of your choice gain resistance to a damage type of your choice for 1 minute.

 

Form of Patronage

At 6th level, you can shift and manifest into a form of your unholy power. As a bonus action, you transform for 1 minute. You gain the following benefits while transformed:

• Whenever you cast a spell that hits a creature, you may expend a soul. If you do, that spell deals an additional 1d6 necrotic damage to each creature hit.

• Whenever you hit a creature with an attack, you can force it to make a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC, and if the saving throw fails, the target is frightened of you until the end of your next turn.

• You are immune to the frightened condition.

You can transform a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

When you transform, you gain the ability to manifest your form according to your desires. For instance, you may cloak yourself in swirling shadows, shaping them into regal garments and a crown, or you might expand in stature, enveloped in an aura of luminous glyphs from arcane script of ages past, while a shroud of darkness surrounds you. Horns may protrude from your brow, and your gaze might blaze with an otherworldly, emerald light. The choice is yours, though drawing inspiration from your Patron's essence is often fitting.

Dealbreaker

At 10th level, if one you struck a deal with would attempt to break the terms of their deal, you are mentally made aware of it and their current location as long as they are in the same plane of existence. Additionally at 15th level, You may expend a spell slot to use nearby shadows and transport to their location as they attempt to break their terms. After you have dealt with business, you can return to your previous location through the shadows. The extent of this ability is determined by your DM. 

Soul Broker

At 14th level, your mastery over souls reaches its apex, granting you the ability to tap into the power of the souls you have harvested. You can spend 10 minutes in meditation to drain power from the souls bound to you, drawing upon their collective strength. For each soul you own, you gain a Soul Essence that dissipate at the end of each long rest.

Once you have accumulated Soul Essence, you can unleash it to empower your spells. Whenever you cast a spell that deals damage, you can expend any number of Soul Essence. For each Soul Essence expended, spells you cast deal an additional 1d10 necrotic damage.

When you reduce a creature to 0 hit points with a spell empowered by Soul Essence, as a reaction, you can
choose to try to capture that creature's departing soul. That creature's soul must make a Charisma saving throw against your warlock spell save DC. On a fail, its soul is captured and you own it as an unbound soul.

Additionally, As you collect more and more souls, you become more powerful. Other powerful beings such as angels, demons, and even some deities learn of you name and deeds. And not in a good way. You must prepare as they come for you. You gain resistance to necrotic damage, and once per long rest, you can cast Finger Of Death without expending a spell slot. But Radiant damage now deals double damage to you.

Additional Pact Boon Option

When taking on this subclass, there is a optional Pact Boon and spells that you can choose from that require this subclass . This includes the Pact Boon called Pact of the Dealmaker, several subclass specific spells, and Eldritch Invocations (No Invocations at this time). 

 When you choose a Pact Boon, you may choose the following pact boon instead. 

Pact Boon: Pact of the Scepter
Prerequisite: The Dealmaker Warlock Subclass

- You crafted or are gifted a magical quarterstaff that stores most of your power and the souls you collect (If gifted, it is given by your Patron) called a Dealmaker’s Scepter. See The block for it to see stats and abilties. It takes the form of your choice, but its form cannot change the chosen form until it is destroyed and repaired.

- You can dismiss the staff if you are holding it, shunting it into a personal extradimensional space specifically for the staff, and can make it reappear whenever thereafter as long as you have a free hand.

- This staff becomes your one and ONLY Arcane Focus. No other object can be your Arcane Focus while you own this item.

- If your Staff is destroyed, you may retrieve its pieces and can perform a 2-hour ritual. This ritual can be performed over the corse of multiple short rests or one long rest. The ritual requires most of the staff and three souls unbound by contract. Using the souls of your victims and your unholy magic, you magically bind the staff back together, leaving behind cracks that glow whenever you use the staff. The intensity of the glow increases each time the staff is put back together.

- Under the circumstance your Dealmaker Staff is destroyed, you lose nearly all power associated with it while it's destroyed. Without any of your staff, spells you cast are cast with disadvantage and deal only half damage. For as long as you have at least half of your staff, you retain some power. while holding at least half of your staff, spells you cast have a -2 to their hit Ranged Spell Attack die and deal only half damage.

- If your Dealmaker Scepter is destroyed beyond repair, you can craft a new one in a 5-hour ritual that requires a new nonmagical quarterstaff, five souls unbound by contract, and a place away from others so you may concentrate on the ritual in silence. Using the souls of your victims and your unholy magic, you create a new Scepter. This ritual can be performed over the corse of multiple short rests or one long rest.

 

Dealmaker's Scepter

Weapon, Very rare (requires Pact Boon)

This staff is wielded as a magic quarterstaff that grants a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with it.

The staff has charges equal to your proficiency bonus plus the number of souls you own at the end of each long rest. The staff regains expended charges after a long rest. At any time, you may expend a soul to gain an additional single time charge to your staff.

**Unholy Gesture.** If given willingly to a creature, that creature can use this Scepter without attunement. Otherwise, a creature that attempts to use the staff without being willingly given must make a constitution
saving throw to cast the spell. On a fail, the staff retaliates, causing an explosion of shadow energy. The creature takes 1d8 necrotic damage + the total number of souls you own, drops the staff, and is launched 5 feet back. On a success, that creature takes half the damage and is able to cast the spell.

**Unholy Adaptation.** While you own the staff, You learn 1 cantrip of your choice from any class's spell list and get an additional one at warlock level 6, warlock level 10, and warlock level 14. Additionally, when you learn an additional cantrip this way, you can choose one of the cantrips you learned this way and replace it with another cantrip from any class's spell list. While the Scepter is being held by you, you can cast those cantrips at will. They don't count against your number of cantrips known.

**Spells.** While holding this Scepter, you can use an action to expend charges to cast one of the following spells on the table, using your spell save DC and spell attack bonus if it applies:

Charges Required	Spell
1 (+1 charge for each slot level above 1st)	Arms of Hadar
1	Umbral Grasp (Homebrew Spell)
1	Fulfill Deal (Homebrew Spell)
2	Shadowstep (Homebrew Spell)
2 (+2 charge cost for each slot level above 3rd level)	Summon Shadowspawn
2 (+3 charge cost if cast at higher level)	Shadow Veil (Homebrew Spell)

 

Proficiency with a quarterstaff allows you to add your proficiency bonus to the attack roll for any attack you make with it.