Warlock

# Warlock Class Details

With a pseudodragon curled on his shoulder, a young elf in golden
robes smiles warmly, weaving a magical charm into his honeyed words and
bending the palace sentinel to his will.

As flames spring to life in her hands, a wizened human whispers the
secret name of her demonic patron, infusing her spell with fiendish
magic.

Shifting his gaze between a battered tome and the odd alignment of
the stars overhead, a wild-eyed tiefling chants the mystic ritual that
will open a doorway to a distant world.

Warlocks are seekers of the knowledge that lies hidden in the fabric
of the multiverse. Through pacts made with mysterious beings of
supernatural power, warlocks unlock magical effects both subtle and
spectacular. Drawing on the ancient knowledge of beings such as fey
nobles, demons, devils, hags, and alien entities of the Far Realm,
warlocks piece together arcane secrets to bolster their own power.

## Sworn and Beholden

A warlock is defined by a pact with an otherworldly being. Sometimes
the relationship between warlock and patron is like that of a cleric and
 a deity, though the beings that serve as patrons for warlocks are not
gods. A warlock might lead a cult dedicated to a demon prince, an
archdevil, or an utterly alien entity—beings not typically served by
clerics. More often, though, the arrangement is similar to that between a
 master and an apprentice. The warlock learns and grows in power, at the
 cost of occasional services performed on the patron’s behalf.

The magic bestowed on a warlock ranges from minor but lasting
alterations to the warlock’s being (such as the ability to see in
darkness or to read any language) to access to powerful spells. Unlike
bookish wizards, warlocks supplement their magic with some facility at
hand-to-hand combat. They are comfortable in light armor and know how to
 use simple weapons.

## Delvers into Secrets

Warlocks are driven by an insatiable need for knowledge and power,
which compels them into their pacts and shapes their lives. This thirst
drives warlocks into their pacts and shapes their later careers as well.

Stories of warlocks binding themselves to fiends are widely known.
But many warlocks serve patrons that are not fiendish. Sometimes a
traveler in the wilds comes to a strangely beautiful tower, meets its
fey lord or lady, and stumbles into a pact without being fully aware of
it. And sometimes, while poring over tomes of forbidden lore, a
brilliant but crazed student’s mind is opened to realities beyond the
material world and to the alien beings that dwell in the outer void.

Once a pact is made, a warlock’s thirst for knowledge and power can’t
 be slaked with mere study and research. No one makes a pact with such a
 mighty patron if he or she doesn’t intend to use the power thus gained.
 Rather, the vast majority of warlocks spend their days in active
pursuit of their goals, which typically means some kind of adventuring.
Furthermore, the demands of their patrons drive warlocks toward
adventure.

As you make your warlock character, spend some time thinking about
your patron and the obligations that your pact imposes upon you. What
led you to make the pact, and how did you make contact with your patron?
 Were you seduced into summoning a devil, or did you seek out the ritual
 that would allow you to make contact with an alien elder god? Did you
search for your patron, or did your patron find and choose you? Do you
chafe under the obligations of your pact or serve joyfully in
anticipation of the rewards promised to you?

Work with your DM to determine how big a part your pact will play in
your character’s adventuring career. Your patron’s demands might drive
you into adventures, or they might consist entirely of small favors you
can do between adventures.

What kind of relationship do you have with your patron? Is it
friendly, antagonistic, uneasy, or romantic? How important does your
patron consider you to be? What part do you play in your patron’s plans?
 Do you know other servants of your patron?

How does your patron communicate with you? If you have a familiar, it
 might occasionally speak with your patron’s voice. Some warlocks find
messages from their patrons etched on trees, mingled among tea leaves,
or adrift in the clouds — messages that only the warlock can see. Other
warlocks converse with their patrons in dreams or waking visions, or
deal only with intermediaries.

As a warlock, you gain the following class features.

**Hit Points at Higher Levels:** 1d8 (or 5) + your Constitution modifier per warlock level after 1st

### Proficiencies

**Armor:** Light armor
**Weapons:** Simple weapons
**Tools:** None
**Saving Throws:** Wisdom, Charisma
**Skills:** Choose two skills from Arcana, Deception, History, Intimidation, Investigation, Nature, and Religion

### Equipment

You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:

* (a) a light crossbow and 20 bolts or (b) any simple weapon
* (a) a component pouch or (b) an arcane focus
* (a) a scholar’s pack or (b) a dungeoneer’s pack
* Leather armor, any simple weapon, and two daggers

### Otherworldly Patron

At 1st level, you have
struck a bargain with an otherworldly being of your choice: the Fiend,
which is detailed at the end of the class description, or one from
another source. Your choice grants you features at 1st level and again
at 6th, 10th, and 14th level.

### Pact Magic

Your arcane research and the magic bestowed on you by your patron have given you facility with spells. See Spells Rules for the general rules of spellcasting and the Spells Listing for the warlock spell list.

##### Cantrips

You know two cantrips of your choice
from the warlock spell list. You learn additional warlock cantrips of
your choice at higher levels, as shown in the Cantrips Known column of
the Warlock table.

##### Spell Slots

The Warlock table shows how many spell
slots you have to cast your warlock spells of 1st through 5th level. The
 table also shows what the level of those slots is; all of your spell
slots are the same level. To cast one of your warlock spells of 1st
level or higher, you must expend a spell slot. You regain all expended
spell slots when you finish a short or long rest.

For example, when you are 5th level, you have two 3rd-level spell slots. To cast the 1st-level spell witch bolt, you must spend one of those slots, and you cast it as a 3rd-level spell.

##### Spells Known of 1st Level and Higher

At 1st level, you know two 1st-level spells of your choice from the warlock spell list.

The Spells Known column of the Warlock
table shows when you learn more warlock spells of your choice of 1st
level and higher. A spell you choose must be of a level no higher than
what’s shown in the table’s Slot Level column for your level. When you
reach 6th level, for example, you learn a new warlock spell, which can
be 1st, 2nd, or 3rd level.

Additionally, when you gain a level in
this class, you can choose one of the warlock spells you know and
replace it with another spell from the warlock spell list, which also
must be of a level for which you have spell slots.

##### Spellcasting Ability

Charisma is
 your spellcasting ability for your warlock spells, so you use your
Charisma whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In
addition, you use your Charisma modifier when setting the saving throw
DC for a warlock spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.

**Spell save DC** = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier

**Spell attack modifier** = your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier

##### Spellcasting Focus

You can use an arcane focus (see the Adventuring Gear section) as a spellcasting focus for your warlock spells.

### Eldritch Invocations

In your study of occult
lore, you have unearthed eldritch invocations, fragments of forbidden
knowledge that imbue you with an abiding magical ability. A level
prerequisite refers to your level in this class.
At 2nd level, you gain two eldritch
invocations of your choice. Your invocation options are detailed at the
end of the class description. When you gain certain warlock levels, you
gain additional invocations of your choice, as shown in the Invocations
Known column of the Warlock table.

Additionally, when you gain a level in
this class, you can choose one of the invocations you know and replace
it with another invocation that you could learn at that level.

If an eldritch invocation has
prerequisites, you must meet them to learn it. You can learn the
invocation at the same time that you meet its prerequisites. A level
prerequisite refers to your level in this class.

Eldritch Invocations

### Pact Boon

At 3rd level,
your otherworldly patron bestows a gift upon you for your loyal service.
 You gain one of the following features of your choice.

##### Pact of the Blade

 You can use your action to create a
 pact weapon in your empty hand. You can choose the form that this melee
 weapon takes each time you create it (see the Weapons
 section for weapon options). You are proficient with it while you wield
 it. This weapon counts as magical for the purpose of overcoming
resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage.

Your pact weapon disappears if it is more than 5 feet away from you
for 1 minute or more. It also disappears if you use this feature again,
if you dismiss the weapon (no action required), or if you die.

You can transform one magic weapon into your pact weapon by
performing a special ritual while you hold the weapon. You perform the
ritual over the course of 1 hour, which can be done during a short rest.
 You can then dismiss the weapon, shunting it into an extradimensional
space, and it appears whenever you create your pact weapon thereafter.
You can’t affect an artifact or a sentient weapon in this way. The
weapon ceases being your pact weapon if you die, if you perform the
1-hour ritual on a different weapon, or if you use a 1-hour ritual to
break your bond to it. The weapon appears at your feet if it is in the
extradimensional space when the bond breaks.

##### Pact of the Chain

 You learn the find familiar spell and can cast it as a ritual. The spell doesn’t count against your number of spells known.

When you cast the spell, you can choose one of the normal forms for your familiar or one of the following special forms: imp, pseudodragon, quasit, or sprite.

Additionally, when you take the Attack action, you can forgo one of your own attacks to allow your familiar to make one attack with its reaction.

##### Pact of the Tome

 Your patron gives you a grimoire
called a Book of Shadows. When you gain this feature, choose three
cantrips from any class’s spell list (the three needn’t be from the same
 list). While the book is on your person, you can cast those cantrips at
 will. They don’t count against your number of cantrips known. If they
don’t appear on the warlock spell list, they are nonetheless warlock spells for you.

If you lose your Book of Shadows, you can perform a 1-hour ceremony
to receive a replacement from your patron. This ceremony can be
performed during a short or long rest, and it destroys the previous
book. The book turns to ash when you die.

### Ability Score Improvement

When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th,
 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice
 by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As
normal, you can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.
Using the optional feats rule, you can forgo taking this feature to take a feat of your choice instead.

### Mystic Arcanum

At 11th level, your
 patron bestows upon you a magical secret called an arcanum. Choose one
6th-level spell from the warlock spell list as this arcanum.
You can cast your arcanum spell once without expending a spell slot. You must finish a long rest before you can do so again.

At higher levels, you gain more warlock
 spells of your choice that can be cast in this way: one 7th-level spell
 at 13th level, one 8th-level spell at 15th level, and one 9th-level
spell at 17th level. You regain all uses of your Mystic Arcanum when you
 finish a long rest.

### Eldritch Master

At 20th level, you
can draw on your inner reserve of mystical power while entreating your
patron to regain expended spell slots. You can spend 1 minute entreating
 your patron for aid to regain all your expended spell slots from your
Pact Magic feature. Once you regain spell slots with this feature, you
must finish a long rest before you can do so again.