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OGL Warlock for Starfinder Part 8: Archetypes and NPCs
Unlike a lot of other d20 games, the Starfinder Roleplaying game needs special rules to apply archetypes to PCs of any class, and to create NPCs for that class. So even if you have all the stand-alone class rules, you haven’t really “finished” a class until you have these.
So, here are the last rules you need to fully integrate warlocks into any Starfinder Roleplaying Game campaign you might have (such as the Really Wild West!).
(Really Wild West Lashunta Celestial Warlock by Jacob Blackmon)
Warlocks with Archetypes.
As with any Starfinder Roleplaying Game class, a warlock that takes an archetype has some of its class features altered or replaced, as noted below.
Altered or Replaced Warlock Class Features
For any level at which an archetype provides an alternate class feature, a warlock who takes the archetype alters or replaces the listed class features.
2nd, 9th: You do not gain an invocation.
4th: You do not gain your pact boon until 5th level. At 5th level you gain a pact boon rather than an invocation.
6th, 12th, 18th: You do not gain a patron gift.
Warlock Class Graft
If you wish to make a warlock NPC, you can use the following class graft along with the standard rules for doing so found in the Starfinder Alien Archive.
Special Rules – Patron: Select a patron and give the warlock the associated eldritch blast and eldritch power. The eldritch blast should do damage appropriate for the NPC’s CR.
Special Rules – Spells: All spells must be selected from the mystic or witchwarper spell list. If the warlock is CR 10 or higher, reduce the level of all its available spells in each encounter by one spell level.
Required Array: Spellcaster.
Adjustments: +2 to Reflex saving throws.
Skills: Master Bluff, Intimidate, and Culture or Perception.
Ability Score Modifiers: Highest bonus goes to Charisma, Intelligence, or Wisdom, then Dexterity and Constitution.
Gear: Light or heavy armor (item level = CR), small arm (item level = CR), and basic melee weapon (item level = CR – 1).
ABILITIES BY CR
CR Abilities
1 Patron and one special ability.
2 Patron, one invocation, and one special ability.
4 Patron, pact boon, one invocation, and one special ability.
9 Patron, pact boon, one invocation, one patron gift, and one special ability.
12 Patron, pact boon, two invocations, one patron gift, and one special ability.
15 Patron, pact boon, two invocations, two patron gift, and one special ability.
20 Patron, pact boon, eldritch mastery, two invocations, two patron gift, and one special ability.
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OGL Warlock for Starfinder Part 8: Eldritch Mastery and Index
At long last, below is the 20th level class feature, Eldritch Mastery. With this article, we have a complete Starfinder Roleplaying Game version of the OGL warlock from 5e.
Here’s the index of where to find elements of the class:
Class table and proficiencies
Spell access and spell slots
The Fiendish patron
Fiendish patron gifts
Invocations
Pact Boons — Pact of Armor and Pact of the Vessel more pact boons here.
— Pact of Alteration and Pact of Change
Rules for Archetypes and NPCs
Eldritch Master
At 20th level, you gain the ability to cast spells as a mystic, technomancer, or witchwarper (your choice) of 13th level (gaining spells known and spells per day as a 13th level character of the selected class, with a caster level of 13 for these spells). Once this choice is made, it cannot be changed. You cannot cast any spell that requires you to have a class feature you lack.
Additionally, you can select any one patron gift from any patron that does not list a level requirement, or any patron gift from your own patron.
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OGL Warlock for Starfinder Part 7: More Pact Boons
We’re close to wrapping up one complete build for our OGL warlock for Starfinder. We’ve done the class table and proficiencies, spell access and spell slots, the Fiendish patron, its patron gifts, a set of invocations, and the first two pact boons. We offer up two more pact boons here.
Pact of Alteration (Su): Your physical self is mutated and augmented by bits of technology, magic, and even undead matter over time. Select one of more a biotech, cybernetic, magitech, or necrograft augmentations, which have a total item level no greater than your warlock level. You gain these augmentations, and they do not count against the total number of augmentations you have in any given system. The augmentations are obvious and have a dramatic appearance, similar to what happens to weapons when a weapon fusion is added. This appearance is determined by the player, but should tie into the theme of the warlock’s patron. Once set, this appearance does not change until you next gain a warlock level.
If any augmentation uses charges, rounds, shells, darts, or petrol, those are refilled each time you recuperate*. Any such ammo removed from an upgrade fade away and cannot be used for any other purpose.
You can chance your augmentations each time you gain a warlock level, each time picking augmentation of the listed types with a combined item level no greater than your warlock level.
Pact of Change (Sp): You have gained the power to alter your form. You can cast polymorph on yourself as a spell-like ability. The polymorph spell has a spell-level equal to 1/3 your warlock level 9maximum 6th). When not in combat, the spell loses one minute of duration for every 10 minutes of time that elapses. Beginning at 5th level, you may have one form per warlock level, rather than the spell’s normal limit of 4 forms, but all must be designed between game sessions, and you must regain your daily abilities before you can gain a new form. Once you have used this ability, you cannot do so again until after you recuperate*.
*Recuperate is my proposed game term to represent when a character spends 1 Resolve Point to regain Stamina Points following a 10-minute rest.
Tomorrow we’ll define eldritch mastery, and then we’ll be done!
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OGL Warlock for Starfinder Part 6: Pact Boons
We’ve gotten through most of our OGL warlock for Starfinder, with the class table and proficiencies, spell access and spell slots, the Fiendish patron. its patron gifts, and a set of invocations.
Let’s move on to Pact Boons.
Pact Boon
You gain a pact boon at 4th level. Your pact boon is a special link between you and a creature or object that is granted to you by your patron. In most cases any patron can grant any pact boon–the nature of the pact boon says more about the warlock than the patron. Once you select a pact boon, this choice cannot be changed.
Pact boons are obviously the kind of thing we could expand endlessly, but let’s start with two very different kinds of pact boons, which build two very different kind of warlocks. Then we can do two more, tomorrow.
Pact of Armor (Su): Your patron empowers you to infuse some of its power into your armor. Select one suit of heavy or powered armor with an item level no greater than your warlock level. When wearing light armor, as a standard action you can cause it to gains all the game values of the selected heavy or powered armor. If the light armor’s bonus to EAC or KC is greater than the selected heavy or powered armor, you retain the light armor’s armor bonus. this effect ends when you stop wearing the armor, or you can end it as a move action.
The armor takes on a dramatic appearance, similar to what happens to weapons when a weapon fusion is added. This appearance is determined by the player, but should tie into the theme of the warlock’s patron. Once set, this appearance does not change until you next gain a warlock level.
When active, the pact of armor also adds one armor upgrade that does not count against the armor’s normal upgrade slots. This must have an item level at least 3 levels below your warlock level, and once decided you cannot change it until you gain a new warlock level.
If the heavy or powered armor, or the armor upgrade, uses charges or petrol, those charges or petrol are refilled each time you recuperate*. Charges or petrol removed from the armor or upgrade fade away and cannot be used for any other purpose.
Each time you gain a warlock level, you can change what heavy or powered armor this ability emulates.
Pact of the Vessel (Sp): You can summon a vehicle formed from planar energy aligned with your patron. Select one vehicle with an item level no greater than one less than your warlock level. You can summon or dismiss this vehicle as a full action. It cannot be summoned in an area it cannot travel in, that does not have space for it, or that would damage a creature or object. Except as noted this acts as a summon creature spell with a spell level equal to 1/3 your warlock level.
The vehicle has a dramatic appearance, similar to what happens to weapons when a weapon fusion is added. This appearance is determined by the player, but should tie into the theme of the warlock’s patron. Once set, this appearance does not change until you next gain a warlock level.
The vehicle can drive itself as you direct without any effort on your part, and is considered to have a Pilot check equal to your warlock level + your key ability modifier. If the vehicle uses charges or petrol, those charges or petrol are refilled each time you recuperate*. Charges or petrol removed from the vehicle fade away and cannot be used for any other purpose.
Any damage or changes made to the vehicle last until you next regain your daily abilities and then, even if it was totally destroyed, it is restored to its normal state. Each time you gain a warlock level, you can change what vehicle you can summon with this pact.
*Recuperate is my proposed game term to represent when a character spends 1 Resolve Point to regain Stamina Points following a 10-minute rest.
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OGL Warlock for Starfinder Part 5: Invocations
We’ve gotten through most of our OGL warlock for Starfinder, with the class table and proficiencies, spell access and spell slots, the Fiendish patron. and its patron gifts.
It’s time for invocations.
While I could adapt a bunch of hexes from Starfarer’s Codex: Legacy Witch Class (and I may well do that in the future…) but for now I’m going to create a dozen-and-a-half or so without going to that resource, and see how they come together.
Invocations
A warlock gains their first invocation at 2nd level, and gains an additional invocation at 3rd level and every other level thereafter. If an invocation requires a saving throw, the DC is 10 + 1/2 your warlock level + your key ability modifier unless otherwise noted. You cannot select the same invocation more than once unless otherwise noted. Using an invocation is a standard action unless it says otherwise.
Evil Eye (Sp): You can force a target within 60 feet to succeed at a Will save of gain one of the following conditions of your choice for 1 minute — fatigued, sickened, or shaken. Once you have caused a target to suffer one of these conditions, you cannot cause it to suffer the same condition until after you have recuperated*. If you cause a target to be dazzled, any creature may attempt Stealth checks against that target without cover or concealment as long as it is dazzled. This is a sense-dependent ability.
Eyes of the Nemesis (Sp): If a creature does damage to you or forces you to make a saving throw, you gain persistent see invisibility against them until you next recuperate*. If you are 12th level or higher, you instead gain persistent true seeing against them until you next recuperate*.
Dread Wings (Sp): You can cast flight on yourself at will. The flight has a spell level equal to 1/3 your warlock level (minimum 1st, maximum 6th).
Eldritch Reach (Su): The range of your eldritch blast increases. If it has a range increment or is a cone or line, it’s range doubles. If it is a melee attack, its reach increased by 5 feet. If it is a radius, its radius increases by +10 feet.
Eldritch Vigor: You gain Great Fortitude and Toughness as bonus feats.
Eldritch Vision (Ex): You gain the see in darkness ability. If you have darkvision of low-light vision, you also gain a +2 bonus to Perception checks in dim or no light.
Felstorm (Su): Select a grenade that not not a magic or hybrid item, which has an item level no greater than your warlock level -2. You can create the effect of this grenade, as a magic effect, centered on you. You can make yourself, and any ally you can see or hear, immune to this effect. Once you have used this invocation, you cannot do so again until you next recuperate. Each time you gain a warlock level, you may add a new grenade (no higher than your new warlock level -2), and add it to a list of grenades you can emulate with felstorm.
Fel Visions (Sp): You can glimpse the future, though you also see all the possible ways in which the future can be a bloody, horrific mess. You can cast augury at will. After casting it, you are shaken (even if you are normally immune to this effect) until you next recuperate*. This shaken effect cannot be removed by any other means. You cannot use fel visions while shaken or being affected by any fear effect.
Irresistible Voice (Sp): You can cast command at will, except the save DC is calculated as an invocation. After a creature is affected by your irresistible voice, it gains a +2 bonus to attack and damage rolls against you and to saves against your spells and effects for 1d4 rounds. Once you have targeted a creature with this invocation, you cannot target the same creature again until you have recuperated*.
Malediction (Su): You can force a target within 60 feet to succeed at a Will save of gain one of the following conditions of your choice for 1 minute — dazzled, deafened, or encumbered. Once you have caused a target to suffer one of these conditions, you cannot cause it to suffer the same condition until after you have recuperated*. If you cause a target to be dazzled, any creature may attempt Stealth checks against that target without cover or concealment as long as it is dazzled. This is a sense-dependent ability.
Many Faces (Sp): You can cast disguise self at will.
Mesmerism (Sp): You can attempt to charm a creature at will. This acts as charm person, except the save DC is calculated as an invocation. If you are 7th level or higher, it instead acts as charm monster. You can only have a single creature charmed at a time, if you use this ability again whole a previous charm is still active, the earlier charm ends. Once you have targeted a creature with this invocation, you cannot target the same creature again until you have recuperated*.
Minions (Sp): Once per day you can cast a summon creature spell with a spell level up to 1/3 your warlock level (minimum 1st level, maximum 6th level). The summoned creatures all speak one language you know of your choice. The spell has a duration of 1 minute/level, but when in combat each round of combat reduces the duration by 1 minute.
Repelling Blast (Su): When you successfully damage a creature with the eldritch blast from your patron, you may choose to push the creature 10 feet directly away from you. This movement does not provoke attacks of opportunity.
Retributive Blood (Sp): When a creature within 400 feet scores a critical hit against you, it is targeted by a bestow curse spell, except the save DC is calculated as an invocation, and the curse effect is determined randomly.
Shadowy Mists (Sp): You can cast fog cloud at will, but any part of its area that is in normal or bright light immediately dissipates.
Sphere of Winds (Su): You can create a radius of save, comfortable, breathable air. This acts as a life bubble, except it is centered on you and affects everything with 10 feet.
Whisper of Rest (Su): You can expend 1 Resolve Point to whisper restful occult words to an adjacent creature. The creature may choose to expend 1 Resolve Point of their own to regain points of damage equal to double their level. If they have taken both HP and SP, they can decide where to place the healing their receive, though neither pool can exceed its normal maximum. This is a sense-dependent effect.
Unseen Servants (Sp): You can cast unseen servant and token spell at will. You can only have one of these spells active at a time–casting it against while a previous casting is still active ends the earlier casting.
Unspeakable Resilience (Su): When you make a successful saving throw against a disease or poison, that affliction ends, even if it normally requires multiple saving throws to end it.Any effect it has had on you remains, just as if you have made the normally required number of saves against the affliction.
*Recuperate is my proposed game term to represent when a character spends 1 Resolve Point to regain Stamina Points following a 10-minute rest.
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OGL Warlock for Starfinder Part 4: Fiendish Patron Gifts
We’re off to a good start with our OGL warlock for Starfinder, with the class table and proficiencies, spell access and spell slots, and the Fiendish patron. Now, let’s look at some patron gifts to go with our fienidsh warlocks.
Patron Gift: Unless otherwise specified, the save DC of your patron gifts is 10 +1/2 your warlock level +your key ability modifier.
A warlock with the fiendish patron can choose from any of the following patron gifts.
Balefire (Su): You call upon the searing fires of the lower planes to burn your foes. As a standard action, one target within 30 feet is wreathed in screaming flames and takes 1d6 points of fire damage per level. A successful Reflex save halves this damage. At 10th level, the fire’s howls cause any creatures damaged by it to be staggered for 1 round. At 15th level, creatures who fail their saves against the balefire are staggered for 1d4 rounds and stunned for 1 round. You can use this ability once per day plus one additional time per day at 10th level.
Dark One’s Own Luck (Su): You can call on your patron to alter fate in your favor. When you make an ability check or skill check, you can use this feature to add a +d6 insight bonus to your roll. You can do so after seeing the initial roll but before any of the roll’s effects occur. This increases to 1d8 at 8th level, and 1d10 at 16th level. Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you recuperate*.
Demonhide (Su): You alter your flesh to be as tough as a demon’s hide, granting you energy resistance to acid, cold, electricity, and fire equal to 1/2 your warlock level.
Dread Resilience (Ex): You have been hardened by exposure to the otherworldly energies of the lower planes, and you just keep getting tougher. You gain the toughness feat as a bonus feat.
Fiendish Magic (Su): Your spells gain a +4 bonus on caster level checks made to overcome the spell resistance of chaotic, good, or lawful outsiders.
Fiendish Resilience (Su): Each time you recuperate*, you can choose one kinetic damage type. You gain DR/cold iron equal to 1/2 your warlock level against that damage type.
Planar Haze (Su): You can fill an area with the smoky miasma of the lower planes. Once per day when you cast a spell that has an area, as part of the same action you may also fill that area with a thick haze that acts a smoke grenade (with a save DC calculated as your patron gifts), except it originates at the center of your spell effect and cannot expand beyond the spell’s area. You may use this ability one additional time per day at 7th level, and one additional time per day at 14th level.
Planar Infusion (Su): As a standard action once per day, you can cause a 20-foot-spread to gain the mildly chaotic-aligned, mildly evil-aligned, or mildly-lawfully aligned planar trait for a number of rounds equal to your warlock level. Lawful creatures in a chaotic-aligned area take a –2 circumstance penalty on all Charisma-based checks, as do good creatures in an evil-aligned area and chaotic creatures in a lawful-aligned area. At 11th level, the infusion makes the area strongly aligned, which causes the –2 circumstance penalty to apply on all Intelligence-, Wisdom-, and Charisma-based checks made by any creature that lacks the matching alignment component (these penalties stack with those from the lower-level effect).
Telepathy (Su): You can mentally communicate with any other creature within 100 feet that has a language, as per the telepathy power of demons. You must be at least 10th level before selecting this gift.
Unearthly Terrain (Su): You can twist the material world into the harsh, jagged edges and uneven angles of the outer planes. As a standard action, you can turn one 20-foot square into difficult terrain for 1 round per level. Once you use this ability, you cannot do so again until you recuperate*.
Wings of Terror (Su): You can manifest a pair of enormous, batlike demon wings that grant you a fly speed of 30 feet with average maneuverability. At 10th level, your speed increases to 60 feet and your maneuverability increases to good.
*Recuperate is my proposed game term to represent when a character spends 1 Resolve Point to regain Stamina Points following a 10-minute rest.
So, we have a patron and its gifts. What about incantations?!
Check in tomorrow to find out!
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OGL Warlock for Starfinder Part 3: Fiendish Patron
So Monday we took a first look at adapting the 5e Warlock class for Starfinder (tackling proficiencies and the class table), and yesterday we outlined how we are going to handle spell access and spell slots.
It’s time to tackle a Patron.
Your patron is one of the crucial elements of the warlock. It represents the otherwordly force with which you have made a pact, and from which you gain your powers. The concept is vaguely similar to mystic connections, but warlocks interact with their patrons using different rites and rituals, and have access to their own list of possible patrons.
At 1st level each patron gives you an eldritch blast, a special way to boost the save DC of spells you cast, and access to a series of patron gifts you can choose from at higher levels.
While we’d likely to patrons for at least a half-dozen options in a full version of the class, for now let’s create the classic fiendish patron option.
Fiendish Patron
You are somehow bound to a fiend from the lower planes of existence, and in a different way it is bound to you. You might have sought out this pact using nearly-post ancient traditions of soul-beinding and true names, or it may have occurred without any desire for it on your part.
You might have stumbled across some unhold alien atifact and trigger it to make a pact with no understanding of what you were doing. You might have been born during a complex galactic conjunction that marked you forever before you could even talk. Your parents might have been experimented upon by unethical fiendomancers seeking a way to imbue future generations with infernal power.
However your patron came to fuel a pact with you, this is a being whose aims are evil, even if you strive against those aims. Such beings desire the corruption or destruction of all things, ultimately including you. Fiends powerful enough to forge a pact include demon lords, archdevils, pit fiends and balors that are especially mighty, and ultroloths and other lords of the yugoloths.
Eldritch Blast (Su)
You gain the power to channel a form of fiendish fire as an attack against your foes. Select a weapon you are proficient with from the flame category, which uses batteries or petrol and has a usage of 4 or less. It must have an item level no greater than your warlock level. Once this decision is made it cannot be changed until you gain another warlock level.
If you have at least one hand free, you can make eldritch blast attacks that act as if you were attacking with this weapon. It is treated as an integral weapons except as noted. You use your key ability modifier, rather than Strength or Dexterity, to add to your attack rolls with your eldritch blast. You may choose to make half your eldritch blast damage untyped planar hellfire. If you run out of petrol or battery charges, you can “reload” your eldritch blast as a standard action.
Your eldritch blast can benefit from effects that could augment the weapon it is emulating. You can place fusion seals on yourself to affect your eldritch blast as if you were the weapon it is emulating.
Dark One’s Power
Starting at 1st level, when you reduce a hostile creature to 0 or fewer hit points, you gain a Dark Point. When you cast a spell, you can expend a Dark Point to cause its save DC to be 10 +1/2 your warlock level +your key ability modifier. This is adjusted by any abilities or feats that adjust your spell’s save DCs. You lose all unused Dark Points when you recuperate.*
Fiendish Eldritch Master
At 20th level, you gain the ability to open rifts between planes. This allows you to use plane shift or summon monster VI as a spell-like ability once per day.
Additionally, you can select any one patron gift from any patron that does not list a level requirement, or any patron gift from your own patron.
*Recuperate is my proposed game term to represent when a character spends 1 Resolve Point to regain Stamina Points following a 10-minute rest.
So, what patron gifts will the Fiendish patron allow a star warlock to choose from? Check in tomorrow to find out!
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OGL Warlock for Starfinder Part 2: Spell Slots
My class table and proficiencies for the Starfinder OGL warlock has an entry for “spell slots” rather than the normal “spells per day” for a starfinder spellcaster. This difference in terminology is intentional, and crucial to how I am designing the Starfinder warlock.
Rather than have a daily limit of spells, a warlock will gain spells that are restored each time they recuperate*. However, they will always be a full spell level behind a traditional caster — a warlock doesn’t gain 1st level spells until the “full” spellcasters (mystic, technomancer, and witchwarper) all have access to 2nd level spells, and so on. Because the overall power level of Starfinder spells does not rise nearly as sharply with caster level (compared to the original 3.5 game rules, of PF 1st edition), this means the warlock needs to have a large selection of spells known to make sure their dramatically less-powerful best spells are likely to include something appropriate to a given situation.
Thus a warlock has much less powerful spells, and can’t unleash nearly as many spells in a single encounter as a fresh “full” spellcaster, but can reliable restore their spell power numerous times per day, making them less likely to have to carefully conserve their spells.
With longarms and heavy armor options a warlock need not depend on spells for basic offense and defense, and each will receive an eldritch blast with their patron. They do have a potential issue with spell DCs being too low compared to “full” spellcasters, but we’ll address that in different ways in different places.
So, let’s look at the actual game rules for warlock cantrips and spell slots.
Cantrips
Warlocks cast spells drawn from the technomancer and witchwarper spell lists, though they cannot cast spells that require them to have class features they lack. They begin play knowing 4 cantrips. They gain bonus cantrips known equal to their key ability modifier, to a maximum of one bonus cantrip known per warlock class level.
Spell Slots
Warlocks cast spells drawn from the technomancer and witchwarper spell lists, though they cannot cast spells that require them to have class features they lack.
Each time a warlock gains access to a new level of spells, they begin play with six spells known of their choice, and gain one additional spell known of each lower level of spell or cantrip. For example, when a warlock reaches 7th level, they gain access to 2nd level spells, and begin play knowing six 2nd level spells of their choice. They also gain one additional 1-st level spell and 0-level cantrip known.
A warlock can cast any warlock spell they know by expending a spell slot of the same or higher spell level. A warlock regains all used spell slots when they recuperate*.
A warlock with a key ability bonus gains a single additional spell slot. This spell slot is of a spell level equal to the key ability bonus, to a maximum of 5th level.
*Recuperate is my proposed game term to represent when a character spends 1 Resolve Point to regain Stamina Points following a 10-minute rest.
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An OGL Warlock for Starfinder
Having created a version of the OGL warlock for Pf1, I thought we’d try the same thing for the Starfinder Roleplaying Game. I love the idea of exploring what scifi heroes who gain powers from pacts with otherworldly beings might bring to a setting. As with last time, let’s start with what the class table and proficiencies and such might look like.
Warlock
Hit Points: 6
Stamina Points: 6 + Constitution modifier
Key Ability Score: Different warlock patrons are compatible with different personalities and demand differing mental attributes of their bound agents. As a result a warlock may select Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma as their key ability score at 1st level. Once made, this decision cannot be changed.
Class Skills: Bluff (Cha), Culture (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Disguise (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Life Science (Int), Medicine (Int), Mysticism (Wis), Perception (Wis), Physical Science (Int), Profession (Int, Wis, Cha), Sense Motive (Wis), and Survival (Wis)
Skill Ranks Per Level: 6 + Int modifier.
Proficiencies: Armor–light, heavy. Weapons–Basic and advanced melee weapons, small arms, longarms.
Table: The Warlock
So, what do all those class features mean? And why does the table list is spell slots, rather than spells per day like most spellcasters?
Tune in tomorrow to find out!
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An OGL Warlock for Pathfinder 1e (Part 8: Archetypes)
At this point, our Pathfinder 1e warlock has the class advancement chart, spell access rules, a Fiendish patron , a Draconic patron, some pact boons, and the base invocation rules along with the hex-access invocations, and a set of non-hex invocations. What’s left?
Well, one of the things you need in Pathfinder for a class to be “complete” is archetypes.
Honestly? A LOT of archetypes. This is a place where Pathfinder 2e and Starfinder are much easier to work with, because their archetype schemes work for all classes.
But we’re doing a PF1 class, so we need some archetypes to give it the full flexibility typical of base classes. I likely can’t turn this into the Warlock Archetype Blog (although, I mean if you are paying me on my Patreon and want to see that, let me know!) But I can do one or two, just to give some examples of what those might look like.
So, let’s create an archetype!
Shadow-Haired Warlock
A shadow-haired warlock is so infused with shadow energy it leaks out of her body in her eyes, skin… and long, animate shadowy hair.
The shadow-haired warlock is an archetype of the warlock class.
Shadow Hair (Su)
At 1st level, a shadow-haired warlock gains the ability to use her hair as a weapon. This functions as a primary natural attack with a reach of 5 feet. The hair deals 1d8 points of damage (1d6 for a Small warlock). The warlock adds her Charisma bonus to attacks and damage with her hair in place of any other ability score bonus (such as Strength or Dexterity).
In addition, the warlock gains one of the following feats of her choice: Improved Bull Rush, Improved Disarm, Improved Drag, Improved Grapple, Improved Reposition, Improved Steal, Improved Sunder, or Improved Trip. She gains this feat without meeting the prerequisites, but if she does not meet the prerequisites she may only use it with her shadow hair. As long as her hair is free to make attacks, the shadow-haired warlock can add her Charisma bonus to her CMD and CMB in addition to the typcial ability score modifiers.
When grappling a foe with her hair, the warlock does not gain the grappled condition.
At 4th level and every four levels thereafter, a shadow-haired warlock’s hair adds 5 feet to its reach, to a maximum of 30 feet at 20th level.
The hair cannot be sundered or attacked as a separate creature.
At 2nd level, when the shadow-haired warlock’s successfully performs a combat maneuver with her hair (including to maintain a grapple) she can also constrict the target as a swift action*, dealing damage equal to that of her hair attack.
This replaces the eldritch blast gained from the warlock’s patron, and the pact boon class feature.
Shadow-Hair Warlock Invocations
A shadow-haired warlock can select from the following invocations in addition to the standard list.
Maneuver (Ex): The shadow-haired warlock gains another Improved Combat maneuver from the list given in the shadow hair archetype feature.
Pull (Ex): If the shadow-haired warlock successfully strikes a foe with her hair, she can attempt a Reposition combat maneuver check to pull the creature 5 feet closer to her as a swift action. this does not provoke an attack of opportunity.
Rogue Talents: The shadow-haired warlock can learn rogue talent from a limited list, using her warlock level in place of her rogue level.
A shadow-haired warlock cannot select an individual rogue talent more than once, and can select from among the following: assault leader, combat trick, finesse rogue, positioning attack, resiliency, surprise attack, and weapon training. beginning at 17th level, she can choose from among the following advanced rogue talents: another day, defensive roll, improved evasion, opportunist, redirect attack, slippery mind, and thoughtful reexamining.
Shadow Form (Sp): You can cast shadow projection once per day. If you are at least 15th level, you may instead choose to shadow body once per day. You must be at least 9th level to select this shadow-haired warlock invocation.
Shadow Magic: The following spells are added to your warlock spell list at the listed spell levels. You must still select them as spells known if you wish to cast them with your spell slots–shadow trap (1st), shadow anchor (2nd), shadow step (3rd), shadow conjuration (4th), shadow walk (5th).
Strangle (Ex): When the shadow- hair warlock is using her hair to grapple with an opponent, that creature cannot speak or cast spells with verbal components.
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Owen K.C. Stephens 