Today, I present something that’s been on my mind for a very, very long time. This started as an alternate version of Hexblade Warlock, tailored to fit the particular story of a player who’s family was laboring under a curse tied to the Horned King. I wanted to really examine eldritch blast and work with it to provide some options for players while still embracing the core warlock gameplay. This is still very much a first version, but is under active playtest. Anyway, it won’t ever be published because well, armor of agathys.
There are stories abound regarding the Sunken City. One of the more popular stories in Snowheim, where everyone seems to know someone that claims to have explored the Abyssal Trench, is that when the Sunken City was sinking, those exploring the region found that far beneath the waves were the ruins of another city that sunk long ago. Those who explore the ruins and caves beneath Snowheim and in the Glass Sea speak of encountering strange creatures and people in these locations. Sometimes, these figures speak to the explorers offering them aid and assistance in their search for treasure in exchange for favors. If the explorers perform well, or depending on the whimsy of the figures, they are sometimes offered positions of prestige in servitude.No matter who offers the power, the power itself is the same – a mix of elemental and temporal magic combined with the full Presence of a city deep within the Abyssal Trench. A city where you are now a noble in service to a liege lord.
Expanded Spell List
The Mantle of the Abyssal Knight lets 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.
Starting at 1st level, you have been accepted in the knighthood of your patron, a noble within the Abyssal City. With this mantle of station comes abilities granted by your station within your patron’s court.
Abyssal Knight Expanded Spells
| Spell Level | Spells |
|---|---|
| 1st | shield, winds of the abyssal city |
| 2nd | magic weapon, horn of the avalanche |
| 3rd | haste, shatterfrost |
| 4th | black tentacles, the unrelenting majesty of the abyssal city |
| 5th | telepathic bond, paths of the abyssal city |
Mantle of the Abyssal Knight
- You gain proficiency with medium armor and shields.
- When you gain temporary hit points from a spell, feature, or ability you use, you gain additional temporary hit points equal to your proficiency bonus.
- When you cast armor of agathys you can target an additional creature you can see within 30 feet of you.
- As a reaction to rolling initiative, you can cast armor of agathys without expending a spell slot. You can do so a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus and recover all uses when you finish a long rest.
Relics of the Abyssal City
At 1st level, you can create a relic weapon as a Use Object action. The relic weapon manifests as any martial melee weapon, appearing as if it is constructed solely of ice and magical force. You have proficiency with this weapon as long as you possess it. This relic weapon disappears instantly if it ever leaves your possession, or if you fall unconscious.
When you cast eldritch blast while holding this weapon, you make melee spell attacks with your weapon instead of firing beams. When you hit with this attack your eldritch blast deals 1d12 cold damage per hit. Whenever you would make the attack action, you can instead attack with one eldritch blast melee spell attack. You can do this as an opportunity attack, as well.
Hitting a creature with this weapon allows for any effect triggered by a weapon hit to be triggered – such as eldritch smite or the fire damage from a flame tongue.
If you have a magical weapon or a pact weapon, it functions as a relic weapon when you use this feature, but returns to its standard form when it leaves your possession.
Mantle Mastery
Starting at 6th level, you have resistance to cold damage and are immune to the effects of extreme cold weather. Additionally, when you can ignore cold resistance when dealing cold damage and can treate immunity to cold damage as resistance to cold damage. Further, when you benefit from temporary hit points, creatures of your choice that start their turn within 5′ of you or when they enter a square within 5′ of you for the first time on their turn, must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or suffer cold damage equal to your proficiency bonus.
Ice Crystals of the Abyssal City
At 10th level, your armor of agathys spell draws more of the power of the Abyssal City with it. When you cast armor of agathys, you can also cast mirror images and blur without spending a spell slot. You can do so a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, recovering all uses when you finish a long rest.
Mantle of the Knight Commander
Starting at 14th level, the radius on your mantle mastery increases to 15′ and you have advantage on melee spell attacks while you benefit from temporary hit points.
Spells
I broke a cardinal rule of design. I designed a lot of spells for this subclass…with probably more to follow. I don’t mind doing the work, because I like the unique feel that comes with it, and I don’t think these really break anything or reinvent the wheel. Most of these were inspired by the Very Cool warlock gameplay in DDO, where Eldritch Blast is akin to the tool you us, and everything else interacts with that in interesting ways. Again, leaning into it is what I am doing here.
Winds of the Abyssal City
1st-Level Conjuration
Casting Time: 1 Bonus Action
Range: Self, 15-foot cone
Components: V,S, M (a melee weapon)
Duration: Concentration, 1 minute
You conjure the Winds of the Abyssal City manifest from your weapon.
The next time you hit a creature with a melee spell attack during this spell’s duration, you release a blast of frigid air in a 15-foot cone in front of you, repeated for each melee spell attack you make until the end of your turn. Creatures in the cone must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or suffer 1d6 cold damage.
At higher levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, you increase the cold damage by 1d6 or each spell slot above 1st level.
Horn of the Avalanche
2nd-Level Evocation
Casting Time: 1 Bonus Action
Range: Self (10 ft. square)
Components: V
Duration: Concentration, 1 minute
You utter the crystalline call of a horn on a mountain top, whose reverberation shatters the unsuspecting ice and unleashes the fury of winter.
The next time you hit a creature with a melee spell attack during this spell’s duration, you can trigger an avalanche around one creature hit by an attack from this spell, burying the surrounding area in enchanted snow and ice. All terrain within ten feet of the creature becomes difficult terrain for all enemies until the start of your next turn. Creatures of your choice within ten feet of the creature must succeed on a Strength saving throw or suffer 3d8 cold damage and be knocked prone, suffering half as much damage and no further effect on a successful saving throw.
At higher levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 3rd level or higher, you increase the cold damage by 1d8 for each spell slot above 2nd level.
Shatterfrost
3rd-Level Conjuration
Casting Time: 1 Bonus Action
Range: Self, 30-foot line
Components: V,S, M (a melee weapon)
Duration: Concentration, 1 minute
Your attack brings forth a line of shatterfrost from deep within the Abyssal City.
The next eldritch blast that you cast while concentrating on this spell that hits a creature can trigger a line of shatterfrost to engulf the creature and all creatures behind them in a 30′ long, 5′ wide line. That creature and all creatures behind it must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or suffer 5d8 cold damage and become restrained until the end of their next turn. Creatures who succeed suffer half damage and no further effects. Those creatures who are restrained explode in frost shards when their restrained condition ends, causing enemies within 5′ to make a Dexterity saving throw, suffering 2d8 piercing damage on a failed saving throw, and half as much damage on a successful one.
This spell ends when you trigger shatterfrost against a creature.
At higher levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 4th level or higher, you increase the cold and piercing damage by 1d8 for each spell slot above 3rd level.
The Unrelenting Majesty of the Abyssal City
4th-Level Conjuration
Casting Time: 1 Bonus Action
Range: Self
Components: V,S, M (a melee weapon)
Duration: Concentration, 1 minute
The next time you hit a creature with a melee spell attack during this spell’s duration, and the attack deals an additional 4d8 cold damage to the target. The target must make a Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, the creature is paralyzed and radiates cold damage to creatures of your choice within a 15′ foot radius. Creatures within the radius must make a Constitution saving throw, suffering 2d8 cold damage on a failed saving throw or half as much on a successful one.
The paralyzed creature can make a new save at the end of their turn.
At higher levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 5th level or higher, you increase the cold damage for each part by 1d8 or each spell slot above 4th.
Paths of the Abyssal City
5th-Level Transmutation
Casting Time: 1 Bonus Action
Range: Self
Components: V,S, M (a melee weapon)
Duration: Concentration, 1 minute
The next time you hit a creature with a melee spell attack before this spell ends, you open up a mystic path between yourself and the Abyssal City and the attack deals an extra 6d8 cold damage to the target.
Until the end of your turn, whenever you hit with a melee spell attack, you may teleport 30′ to an unoccupied square of your choice. Each time you teleport, you can deal an additional 1d8 cold damage with a melee spell attack before the end of your turn. This additional damage stacks, and fades at the end of your turn if not used.
“Underwater Cave” by boyosep is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0