The Machine Herald (5e Subclass)
The Machine Herald
Warlock Subclass
Steel can fix all your flaws.-Viktor, The Herald of the Arcane
What happens when an artificer wants to play god with mortals? Usually nothing good, but occasionally some of the more brilliant ones are capable of upgrading their test subjects past their fleshy weaknesses and turning them into exemplars of what the future of magic and mechanics combining together might look like. While few have fully mastered the perfect synthesis, many have gotten close enough to create these arcane spellcasters that can draw their powers from their integrated cybersorceries, though often such beings go mad at their transformations. Especially those that never asked for them. Will your evolution see the dawning of new age or simply another automaton thrown on the scrap heap of progress?
Example patrons include The Borg Queen, Cyber-Controller, Hex, Victor Von Doom, or Viktra Mordenheim.
- More Machine Than Man
Turning into a magical android is bound to be noticeable even if most of your systems lie under the dermis, natural or otherwise. What physical transformations has the infusion of arcane power wrought upon your former meatsack? Feel free to add more as you upgrade!
| d12 | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Your appearance bears a metallic sheen and visible joints. | ||
| 2 | Circuitry courses with power where normally you would have veins coursing with blood. | ||
| 3 | Your heartbeat is not the sound of a natural organ, but a ticking clock. | ||
| 4 | You don’t have any toes, just a vague outline of a foot to be fitted into a boot. | ||
| 5 | Your eyes are just round, glass balls with rotatable cameras inside them. | ||
| 6 | Your hair is made of wires that can harmlessly shock others when they gets wet. | ||
| 7 | Exterior braces hold all your limbs in something resembling an upright state. | ||
| 8 | You don’t need to move your lips or tongue to talk, just turn on the speaker down your throat. | ||
| 9 | Random metal pieces have been permanently grafted onto your skin. | ||
| 10 | Your entire jaw has been replaced with a shiny metal fabrication. | ||
| 11 | Your ears are merely microphones with small antennas sticking out of them. | ||
| 12 | Your chest cavity can be easily opened with a hinge, so maintenance is quite efficient. | ||
- Cyborg Genesis
Starting at 3rd level, your patron has upgraded your body with magical cybernetics. You don't need to eat, drink, breathe, or sleep and magic can’t put you to sleep. When you take a long rest, you must spend at least six hours in an inactive, motionless state, rather than sleeping. In this state, you appear inert, but it doesn’t render you unconscious, and you can see and hear as normal. You also have resistance to poison damage and advantage on saving throws against diseases, exhaustion, and being poisoned.
Your creature type becomes Construct, but you still benefit from all spells and other magical effects that preserve life but normally don't affect Constructs such as cure wounds or healing word. You are also immortal and can’t be magically aged.
- Spelltech
Starting at 3rd level, your patron has upgraded your mind with advanced spellcraft. You have proficiency with Tinker’s Tools and when your Pact Magic feature lets you learn a warlock cantrip or a warlock spell of 1st level or higher, you can choose the new spell from the artificer spell list or the warlock spell list. You must otherwise obey all the restrictions for selecting the spell, and it becomes a warlock spell for you. You can add your Charisma modifier to any ability checks you make with any tools you are proficient with.
- Glorious Evolution
Staritng at 6th level, you can now upgrade and modify your own mechanical parts more regularly . Increase the number of eldritch invocations you have by your Charisma modifier (minimum 1). During a long rest, you can spend one hour using Tinker’s Tools to replace one of your warlock cantrips, spells, or eldritch invocations with another one for which you qualify. You can't replace an invocation if it's a prerequisite for another invocation that you have. You can only replace one cantrip, spell, or eldritch invocation during each long rest.
You can now select eldritch invocations from Evolved Eldritch Invocations listed in the table below if you meet their prerequisites.
- Geared Gear
Starting at 10th level, your enhanced body can process further modular improvements. You can attune to up to four magic items at once and you have a advantage on any Charisma saving throws you make as part of attuning to a magic item. Magic items cannot be forcibly removed from your person unless you are incapacited.
As an action, you can expend a warlock spell slot to give a magic item you are touching a number of charges up to your Charisma modifier if the item has at least 1 charge (minimum 1). If you are not attuned to the item, halve the charges gained, rounded down (minimum 1).
- Auto Assimilation
Starting at 14th level, you can share your technological superiority with your allies. As an action, you can give a creature you are touching the following benefits for 24 hours:
-They have advantage on saving throws against diseases, exhaustion, and being poisoned.
-They have resistance to poison damage.
-They don’t need to eat, drink, or breathe.
-They don't need to sleep, and magic can't put them to sleep.
- When they take a long rest, they must spend at least six hours in an inactive, motionless state, rather than sleeping. In this state, they appear inert, but it doesn’t render them unconscious, and they can see and hear as normal.
You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest (minimum 1). If you use this feature to benefit a creature every day for 1 year, its effects become permanent on them.
| Eldritch Invocation | Prerequisite | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Advanced Armor | Level 18+ Warlock | You have resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical attacks that aren’t adamantine and any critical hit against you becomes a normal hit. | |
| Analysis Mode | None | You can cast identify without expending a spell slot or material components. | |
| Clockwork | None | You always know which way is north, the number of hours left before the next sunrise or sunset, and can accurately recall anything you have seen or heard within the past month. You also know the Modron language. All constructs understand this language when you speak it. | |
| Comms Package | Level 15+ Warlock | You and any creatures affected by your Auto Assimilation feature can telepathically communicate with you or any other creature affected by your Auto Assimilation on the same plane. | |
| Database | Pact of the Tome | You can cast a 1st-level spell, except find familiar, from any spell list once without a spell slot or material components. You can't do so again until you finish a long rest. | |
| Drone | Pact of the Chain | Creatures summoned by your find familiar spell have immunity to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical attacks that aren’t adamantine and their creature type becomes Construct. | |
| Encryption | Level 7+ Warlock | You can cast nondetection without a material component once using a warlock spell slot. You can't do so again until you finish a long rest. | |
| Energy Shields | Pact of the Blade | You gain temporary hit point equal to the damage dealt by your pact weapon for 1 minute. While you have these temporary hit point, you have resistance to force damage. | |
| Gatling Gun | None | When you cast a warlock cantrip or spell with a ranged spell attack, double the number of attack rolls you make but gain disadvantage on all of them. | |
| Hacker | Level 9+ Warlock | As an action, you can expend a warlock spell slot to target a construct that you can see. The construct is charmed by you, ignoring immunity to the charmed condition, for 1 hour or until you deal damage to it. | |
| Hazmat | Level 15+ Warlock | You have immunity to poisons and diseases. You also have resistance to acid, lightning, and necrotic damage. | |
| Locksmith | Level 7+ Warlock | You have expertise with Thief’s Tools and can cast the knock spell with warlock spell slots. | |
| Metal Mind | Level 12+ Warlock | You are immune to the charmed, frightened, and stunned conditions and magic that allows other creatures to read your thoughts or detect your emotions. | |
| Oil Slick | None | When you cast the grease spell with a warlock spell slot, increase sides of the square covered in grease by 5 feet for each slot level above 1st. Additionally, you automatically succeed on the spell’s saving throw. | |
| Overclocking | Level 9+ Warlock | You can cast haste on yourself once using a warlock spell slot. You can't do so again until you finish a long rest. When cast this way, haste allows you to cast a warlock cantrip with its additional action. | |
| Physiologic | None | You can add a bonus equal to your Charisma modifier to any Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) checks you make (minimum 1). You can add the same bonus to your death saving throws. | |
| Security System | None | You can cast alarm without expending a spell slot or material components. | |
| Space Jam | Level 9+ Warlock | While attuned to a Spelljamming Helm, you have proficiency with air, land, space, and water vehicles. While sitting in a Spelljamming Helm you are attuned to, you cannot be forcibly moved and are unaffected by gravity. | |
| Supercomputer | Level 18+ Warlock | You can cast foresight on yourself once by expending two warlock spell slots. You can't do so again until you finish a long rest. | |
| Synergy | None | While you are attuned to an item infused by an artificer, that item doesn’t count towards the maximum number of infused items the artificer can create. This invocation can only affect one item at a time. When this attunement or invocation ends, the infusion ends. | |
| Weatherproof | Level 15+ Warlock | You have resistance to cold and fire damage. You also gain a +1 bonus to your ac. | |
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