Warlock/Specter

The Specter

You have been possessed. Your patron is a specter who was extremely powerful in life but barely remembers their history. Perhaps they were a powerful wizard, an evil king, or a master thief. In return for power and gifts from your patron, you've agreed to allow them to share your body and live vicariously through you, perhaps with the goal of finding a new body or taking over yours indefinitely.

Warlocks with a specter patron have intimate relationships with their patrons. Specters are able to intrude into the warlock’s every thought and vice versa. Unlike other pacts, there is no room for dishonesty between a warlock and their specter patron and every moment is a struggle for control. When creating a warlock with a specter patron, work with your DM to come up with a history for your patron. Below are a few ideas for patrons and their goals that can be used for inspiration.

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Homebrew: The "Specter" warlock subclass was made by Gahaith and published on the unearthedarcana subreddit.

Specter Patron Table

d8	Origins
1	Your great Grandparent that always hated the rest of the family. They want to groom their warlock to represent the family well.
2	A thug that made a fortune mugging rich people with a cursed dagger. They want to find their dagger and return to their violent ways.
3	The ruler of a forgotten kingdom. They want to rediscover their lost land and return it to its former glory.
4	A mad scientist that conducted alchemical experiments on themselves. They want to continue their experiments on their warlock.
5	A powerful Wizard that had a particular interest in Necromancy. They want to craft a perfect body for themselves out of the corpses of others.
6	The High Inquisitor of a dead religion. They want to reignite worship for their deity by converting nonbelievers and smiting heretics.
7	An aristocrat who collected occult and cursed jewelry. They want to get revenge on the person who sold them the cursed necklace that killed them.
8	A disgraced knight who turned to dark magic to regain their honor. They want to bring glory back to their family name.

Bestowed Spells

You gain bestowed spells at the warlock levels listed below.

Warlock Level	Spells
1st	fog cloud, inflict wounds
3rd	enhance ability, warding
5th	blink, spirit guardians
7th	death ward, phantasmal killer
9th	animate objects, skill empowerment

Paranormal Heirloom

At 1st, your patron has given you a personal heirloom. Using the item, you can channel The Specter's power and peek into their previous life. This item can be anything, but some examples include a tattered cowl, a broken mirror, or a tarnished locket.

Choose two skills. As long as you are in possession of the heirloom, you are considered proficient in the chosen skills. Additionally, you can cast speak with dead as a ritual. When you cast speak with dead in this way, you gain one of the target's skill or tool proficiencies that it had before it died until you complete a long rest. When you gain a new proficiency by speaking with the dead, lose any proficiencies previously gained in this way.

Once you cast speak with dead using this feature, you can’t do so again until you finish a short or long rest.

Aid from Beyond

At 1st level, you learn the guidance cantrip. It counts as a warlock cantrip for you, but it doesn't count against your number of cantrips known. Additionally, you learn one language of your choice.

Terrorize

At 6th level, your patron can phase out of your body to frighten those around you. As long as a creature is within 5 feet of you, you can use your reaction to cause each creature of your choice within 5 feet of you to make a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC. On a failed save, each target becomes frightened of you until the end of its next turn, and must immediately use its reaction, if available, to move as far as its speed allows away from you. The creature doesn’t move into obviously dangerous ground, such as a fire or a pit.

Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

Incorporeal Form

At 10th level, you can use a bonus action to become incorporeal for 1 minute. While incorporeal you have resistance to non-magical damage and can move through objects and creatures as though they were difficult terrain. If you occupy the same spot as a solid object or creature at the end of your turn, you are immediately shunted to the nearest unoccupied space that you can occupy and take 1d10 force damage.

Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

Unwilling Host

At 14th level, as an action, you can send your patron to possess target creature within 30 feet of you. The target must make a charisma save against your spell save DC. On a failed save, the target becomes incapacitated and loses control of its body. You now control the target and can choose the actions it takes. The target is not denied awareness. While you are in control of a target, you lose the Terrorize ability, and the target gains the Terrorize ability. The target can repeat the saving throw if it takes damage, or is ordered to take an action that would cause it direct harm. This effect ends on a successful save or after 10 minutes.

Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

Patron Invocations

Specter's Legacy

Prerequisite: The Specter patron

Your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check you make that uses either of the proficiencies you permanently gained from the paranormal heirloom feature.

Affinity for the Dead

Prerequisite: 5th Level, The Specter patron

Your control of the dead is unmatched. When you cast speak with dead, you understand the target, even if they do not share a language with you. The target is compelled to give you truthful answers.

Additionally, you can cast animate dead once using a warlock spell slot. You can't do so again until you finish a long rest.

Ghostly Procession

Prerequisite: 5th Level, The Specter patron

You can cast phantom steed as a ritual. When you do, you can create a number of horse-like creatures equal to your charisma modifier instead of only 1, you can select a rider for each creature created in this way.

Spectral Guardian

Prerequisite: 7th, The Specter patron

You can cast Guardian of Faith once without using a warlock spell slot. You can’t do so again until you finish a long rest. When Guardian of faith is cast in this way it appears as a large phantom and deals necrotic damage instead of radiant damage.