Rather than a
pact with otherworldly entities, you are part of an honored legacy. Whether
these forbears called you to their service or you sought out their approval and
gifts, you have become a direct link between the history of your people and
their present. These ancient spirits often have their own inscrutable designs
and desires, however. Over generations even the most benevolent may come to see
the bloodlines and communities as groups and have less empathy for the
struggles and even lives of individuals. Some, however, are less altruistic than
believed by their descendants, seeing those they watch over as tools and
weapons to be turned to their own purposes.
Expanded Spell List
The
Ancestors let 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.
Level
|
Ancestor
|
1
|
Bless, Heroism
|
2
|
Augury, Gentle Repose
|
3
|
Speak With Dead, Revivify
|
4
|
Arcane Eye, Death Ward
|
5
|
Legend Lore, Raise Dead
|
Guiding Spirits
Starting at 1stlevel your ancestors make their will and blessings known
to you directly. While their intent is often difficult for you to discern, you do
gain the benefits of the cantrip guidance. This does not count towards your
number of cantrips known.
Watchful Spirits
As you gain power your ancestral spirits become more interested in your
progression and go beyond providing small nudges of aid.
At 6th level as an action you can choose one of your ability scores. As
long as you maintain concentration on this connection, up to one hour, you have
advantage on checks with that ability score. If you choose Constitution you also
gain an additional 2d6 temporary hit points which are lost when this effect
ends, Strength doubles your carrying capacity, and Dexterity prevents you from
taking damage from falls of 20 feet or less unless you are Incapacitated. You
cannot use this ability again until after you take a long rest. At 14th level
you regain use of this ability after taking either a short or long rest.
Guardian Spirits
Once you reach 10th level you have become one of those whose names will
be honored among your lineage. Your ancestors work openly at your side, helping
to protect you until you join them among the honored dead.
You can summon a spectral apparition which hovers in an unoccupied space
of your choice that you can see within 30 feet of you. This guardian occupies
that space and is indistinct. Any creature hostile to you that moves to a space
within 10 feet of the guardian for the first time on a turn or begins their
turn within that area must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw. The creature
takes 20 necrotic damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a
successful one. The guardian vanishes when it has dealt a total of 60 damage in
a day. If the guardian has not dealt all of its damage for the day you can
dismiss or recall it as an action. Once the guardian has dealt 60 points of
damage in a day you can only recall it again after you complete a long rest. At
14th level the total daily damage of your guardian spirit increases to 100
points.
Spirit Ascension
At 14th level you have become a legend among your people, and gain the
knowledge needed to join the honored dead who watch over and lead them. You are
encouraged by your people, both living and dead, to be interred among the great
heroes of your line to help watch over and guide your family and their
descendants, so you can rise again with these heroes of myth and legend if
something truly terrible should threaten them.
As an action, you may cause yourself to enter a cataleptic state that is
indistinguishable from death. You appear dead to all outward inspection and to
spells used to determine your status. You can’t move (your move speed is 0) or use
reactions, and may only take a limited number of actions as described below. You
have resistance to all damage except psychic damage. While in this state you
also cease aging and disease and poison have no effect until you end your use
of this ability.
Even though you cannot move, and your eyes are often closed, while you
are in this state you can see and hear, having full awareness of your
surroundings as if you could look around. You can also perceive and communicate
with the spirits of others in this state which you can see. However, the only
actions you can take are to end this effect or attempting to possess a humanoid’s
body. You can attempt to possess any humanoid within 100 feet of your body that
you can see (creatures warded by a protection from evil and good or magic
circle spells can’t be possessed). The target must make a Charisma saving throw
against your spellcasting DC, though they may choose to fail this saving throw,
such as if this is used on willing descendant attempting to channel your wisdom
and advice for the community.
On a failure, your soul moves into the target’s body and the target’s
soul becomes trapped within your body. Your original body is incapacitated with
a speed of 0. On a success, the target resists your efforts to possess it, and
you can’t attempt to possess it again for 24 hours. Once you possess a
creature’s body, you control it. Your game statistics are replaced by the
statistics of the creature though you retain your alignment and your
Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores. You retain the benefit of your own
class features. If the target has any class levels, you can’t use any of its
class features.
While possessing a body, you can use your action to return from the host
body to your own if it is within 100 feet of you, returning the host creature’s
soul to its body. If the host body dies while you’re in it, the creature dies,
and you must make a Charisma saving throw against your own spellcasting DC. On
a success, you return to your own body if it is within 100 feet of you.
Otherwise, you die. If your body is more than 100 feet away from you, or if
your body is dead when you attempt to return to it, you die. If another
creature’s soul is in your body when it is destroyed, the creature’s soul
returns to its body if the body is alive and within 100 feet. Otherwise, that
creature dies.
After you end this effect you cannot use it again until you complete a
long rest.
~~*~~
One of the things I love about 5e is the Warlock; it carves out a wholly new and interesting space with the concept of arcane sponsored magic. Not quite clerics of lesser gods bound by literal Faustian bargains. To say that the concept is ripe for development is a grave understatement. In fact, finding inspiration for a new way to make an interesting pact is the easy part. It's more challenging to find new and compelling rules sets to marry to new bargains, making them interesting and unique rather than re-fluffed retreads of existing pacts. Even so, it's an area ripe for development, and if I ignore that field it's only because I've had fields of development in other areas that I've felt are long standing areas of neglect by core developers.
The existence of ancestor worship in the real world has begged to be addressed across several editions. Invariably it has been addressed, in an unsatisfactory manner, with clerics. But! With the advent of warlocks we have a much more appropriate tool. Already designed to represent the avatars of minor power, these demiclerics don't require the same level of rework that their precursors did. Instead, I was able to focus on what would make an ancestor-worshiping spellcaster tick. I've obviously dipped deeply into the wells of divination and even necromancy, as ancestor worship is predicated on the guidence of those ancestors and the preservation of both their spirits and the lineages they watch over.
In many ways the power progression is more like the transformative sorcerer than the offensive warlock. But one of the benefits of 5e's subclass system is that you can bend the progression of a pact and not have to entirely rework the class. There is also some irony that this, ultimately but unintentionally, dovetails with the work I've done with non-evil necromancy and at 14th level lets characters turn into a version of a Baelnorn-like being.
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