Your patron is the very oldest of their lineage of bestial monsters, perhaps even the first of their kind, whose contagious curse transforms its victims into more of their kind. This ancient predator and prime elder to generations has inducted you into their bloodline as well, granting you the dark powers you wield at the cost of the curse they have now spread to you. Your patron may be a classic werewolf leading a pack of lycanthropes, a prime vampire creating lesser minions for scheming, an exiled shaman who begat a cursed race of spider-people, the eldest of a shapeshifting witchs' coven that live and spy as cats or ravens, or some other dark progenitor...

Expanded Spell List

The Progenitor Patron 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.

SPELL LEVEL	SPELL
1st	animal friendship, conjure critters (new)
2nd	beast sense*, enhance ability
3rd	conjure animals, spirit guardians
4th	compulsion, dominate beast
5th	commune with nature, insect plague

New spells and spells marked with an asterisk must be selected manually in the character builder.

The Beast of the Curse

At 1st level, you choose a beast to represent your patron's dark curse and be your and your patron's cursed beast. Choose one from the following 13 options: bat, bear, boar, cat, frog, lizard, octopus, owl, rat, raven, snake, spider, or wolf.

You have the ability to comprehend and verbally communicate with your chosen beasts, and any closely related beasts (such as dogs if you chose the wolf, or crows if you chose the raven). For more information on the effects of speaking with animals, see the speak with animals spell.

When you conjure beasts using a warlock spell, the beasts that appear are always from your list of Bestial Reflections for your cursed beast (see below) or larger beasts of the same kind (such as a giant toad for the frog, which isn't on the list).

Cursed Beast	Bestial Reflections	Cursed Beast	Bestial Reflections
Bat	Bat, Swarm of Bats	Owl	Giant Owl, Owl
Bear	Badger (Bear Cub), Black Bear, Brown Bear	Rat	Giant Rat, Rat, Swarm of Rats
Boar	Boar, Giant Boar	Raven	Raven, Swarm of Ravens
Cat	Cat, Panther, Tiger	Snake	Constrictor Snake, Poisonous Snake
Frog	Frog, Giant Frog		Swarm of Poisonous Snakes
Lizard	Crocodile, Lizard, Giant Lizard	Spider	Giant Wolf Spider, Spider, Swarm of Spiders
Octopus	Crab (Shellsquid), Octopus, Giant Octopus	Wolf	Jackal, Wolf, Dire Wolf

Cursed Shapechanger

Starting at 1st level, you can use an action to transform into a humanoid-beast-hybrid of your cursed beast or back to your true form. Though your stature changes slightly, your size and statistics are the same in each form, and any equipment you are carrying or wearing remains the same, albeit fitting differently.

While in your alternate form, your unarmed attacks deal 1d6 piercing damage, you gain darkvision that extends to 60 feet, and you count as both a Beast and your normal creature type (usually Humanoid). You can be affected by a game effect if it works on any of your creature types. Due to the differences in appearance and stature, your alternate form and your true form are not recognizably the same person even to those who know you very well, enabling you to hide your identity.

You revert back to your true form if you die.

Dark Consumption

At 6th level, you begin to fully embrace the eating habits of your patron and their kind, consuming not just to survive, but to satisfy. Choose either "creatures with blood", "creatures with bones", or "creatures with brains" as your patron's diet.

While you are in your Cursed Shapechanger form, you can spend 1 minute hungrily devouring the blood, bones, or brains (whichever your patron eats) from a creature with such body parts that died within the last 24 hours.

When you finish, you can spend any number of  hit dice to regain hit points as if you had finished a short rest. Then, you can choose to regain a number of expended hit dice equal to your warlock level divided by 4. Once you have regained hit dice in this way, you cannot do so again until you finish a long rest.

Reflection of the Beast

At 10th level, you can use an action to transform into a bestial reflection of your patron's lineage. Choose one of the reflection creatures for your cursed beast from the table below for your transformation statistics. This transformation follows all the same rules as the druid's Wild Shape class feature, with exceptions stated in this feature.

When you transform, your statistics for your hit points and AC remain unchanged, and you keep any special senses that your normal form possesses, but you can't benefit from any Extra Attack feature. You can speak and cast spells, but you can't provide somatic or material components, and you can't provide verbal components if you are a swarm. You can use an action to end the bestial transformation at any time.

If the reflection creature you chose has a fly speed, you cannot transform into a bestial reflection again until you finish a long rest, and your bestial transformation ends after only 1 hour.

The Monster Unleashed

At 14th level, your patron's cursed bloodline is fully accepted into your body, bringing you new strength and agility when you reveal the reality of your terrible countenance.

You can use a bonus action on your turn to reveal your true monstrous form. You immediately enter your Cursed Shaperchanger form if you weren't already in it. For the next hour, while you are in your Cursed Shapechanger form, your speed increases by 10 feet and you have a +1 bonus to AC, advantage on Strength and Dexterity ability checks and on Intimidation checks, and resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical weapons.

Once you have used this ability, you cannot do so again until you finish a long rest.

New Eldritch Invocations

At 2nd level, a warlock gains the Eldritch Invocations feature. Here are new options for that feature that are available for this subclass.

Cursed Wounds

Prerequisite: Progenitor Patron, Pact of the Blade feature
You gain a +1 bonus to damage rolls made using your pact weapon while you are in your Cursed Shapechanger form.

In addition, when you critically hit a creature or reduce a creature to 0 hit points using your pact weapon, unarmed attacks, or natural weapons while you are in your Cursed Shaperchanger form, you can use your reaction and expend a warlock spell slot to cast bestow curse on the target, requiring no components. Your attack counts as the touch required by the spell. Once you have done so, you cannot do so again until you finish a short or long rest.

Harbinger of the Pack

Prerequisite: Progenitor Patron, Pact of the Chain feature
In addition to touch spells, you can also cast summoning spells (such as conjure animals) through the familiar summoned by your Pact of the Chain feature as if it was you.

Power of the Moon

Prerequisite: Progenitor Patron
While you are in your Cursed Shapechanger form, it is night, and you are in moonlight, you gain a +1 bonus to AC and attack rolls, and you have advantage on saving throws.

However, you also have the following flaw:

Silver Hypersensitivity. You have vulnerability to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage dealt by silver weapons. While touching silver, you have disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks.

Recorded Lineage

Prerequisite: Progenitor Patron, Pact of the Tome feature
Your Book of Shadows holds the legacies of your patron's children who came before you. Before you make an ability check, you can spend 1 minute studying your book to see if it contains relevant stories. Roll 1d6. On a 6, you find ancient inspiration in the tome, and gain advantage on the check. You cannot use this ability more than once for the same check.

Talisman of Adoption

Prerequisite: Progenitor Patron, Pact of the Talisman feature
While wearing your talisman, a creature gains all the benefits of your The Beast of the Curse and Cursed Shapechanger features, including the ability to transform. It must use your cursed beast and cannot choose its own. If the talisman is removed while the wearer is transformed using the talisman's power, the creature returns to its original form.

Vampiric Aspect

Prerequisite: Progenitor Patron
You have resistance to necrotic damage and you are an undead in addition to your other type(s). When something would affect you, you choose whether it treats you as an undead or as your other type(s).

However, you also have the following flaws:

Forbiddance. You can't enter a residence without an invitation from one of the occupants.

Harmed by Running Water. You take acid damage equal to your level + 5 when you end your turn in running water.

No Reflection. You do not appear in reflective surfaces.

Stake to the Heart. If a piercing weapon made of wood is driven into your heart while you are incapacitated, you are paralyzed until the stake is removed.

Sunlight Hypersensitivity. You take radiant damage equal to your level + 5 when you start your turn in sunlight. While in sunlight, you have disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks.

Lunar Transformation

Prerequisite: Power of the Moon invocation
When you see the full moon in the sky, you can use your reaction to transform into your Cursed Shapechanger form. When you do so, you can choose to gain temporary hit points equal to your warlock level that last until you change form again. Once you have gained these temporary hit points, you cannot do so again until you finish a long rest.

Enticing Gaze

Prerequisite: Vampiric Aspect invocation
As an action, you can attempt to enthrall one creature that you can see within 60 feet. The target must make a Wisdom saving throw, and it automatically succeeds if it cannot see you. On a failed saving throw, the target is charmed by you for 1 minute. While charmed in this way, it regards you as a trusted friend to be heeded and protected. If you or your companions do anything harmful to the target, the effect ends immediately. You cannot use this ability while you are in sunlight. Once you have used this ability, you cannot use it again until you finish a long rest.

Cursed Regeneration

Prerequisite: 5th level, Progenitor Patron
You regain hit points equal to half your proficiency bonus once every hour. At the start of each of your turns, you can choose to expend up that many hit dice to regain hit points as if you had finished a short rest.

However, you must also choose one of the following flaws to gain when you learn this invocation:

Sunlight Weakness. This invocation doesn't function if you are in sunlight or running water. If you start your turn in sunlight, take radiant damage, or end your turn in running water, this invocation doesn't function until the end of your next turn.

Silver Weakness. This invocation doesn't function if any part of your body is touching fire or silver. If you take fire damage or damage from a silvered weapon, this invocation doesn't function until the end of your next turn.

 

Dark and Terrible

Prerequisite: 5th level, Progenitor Patron
While you are in your Cursed Shapechanger form, you can make an unarmed attack twice, instead of once, when you take the Attack action on your turn, and your unarmed attacks deal 1d8 damage instead of 1d6.

Contagious Curse

Prerequisite: 7th level, Power of the Moon invocation
While you are in your Cursed Shapechanger form, you can make unarmed attacks using your fangs or tusks without using your hands.

In addition, when you hit a creature with an unarmed attack while in your Cursed Shapechanger form, you can choose to subject the target to your lycanthropy curse. The target must make a Constitution saving throw. On a failed saving throw, the target is infected with your cursed beast's version of lycanthropy (see Monster Manual page 207 for the effects. If your cursed beast isn't on the Monster Manual list, the DM can choose to decide its lycanthropy effects or to disallow this invocation for you). This ability does not grant you any special control or influence over the target, though it may change their alignment.

Once you have used this ability, you cannot use it again until you finish a long rest.

Extended Family

Prerequisite: 7th level, Progenitor Patron
Choose another cursed beast from the list of 13 other than your first one. You add the reflection creatures from that cursed beast's list to the list for your own cursed beast. You can learn this invocation multiple times, but you must choose a different cursed beast each time.

Howl of Terror

Prerequisite: 9th level, Power of the Moon invocation
While you are in your Cursed Shapechanger form, you can use an action to release a bloodcurdling howl. Each creature of your choice within 30 feet of you must make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failed saving throw, a creature is frightened of you until the end of your next turn. If you are in moonlight when you use this ability, the range increases to 60 feet and creatures make the saving throw with disadvantage. A creature who cannot hear you automatically succeeds on its saving throw. Once you have used this ability, you cannot use it again until you finish a long rest.

Strength From Hunger

Prerequisite: 9th level, Vampiric Aspect invocation
While you are in your Cursed Shapechanger form, you can make unarmed attacks using your fangs without using your hands. When you hit with an unarmed attack that does use your hands, you can choose to grapple the target instead of dealing damage.

In addition, when you hit a creature that you have grappled with an unarmed attack using your fangs, you can choose to expend a warlock spell slot to add 1d6 bonus necrotic damage per slot level to the attack. If the target of the attack is a valid target for your Dark Consumption feature, you also regain hit points equal to the necrotic damage dealt.

Focused Regeneration

Prerequisite: 15th level, Cursed Regeneration invocation
When you finish a short rest, you can expend a warlock spell slot to cast regenerate on yourself without requiring components. Once you have done so, you cannot do so again until you finish a long rest. This spell does not heal you while your Cursed Regeneration isn't functioning.