The Devil's Vessel (5e Subclass)
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The Devil's Vessel[edit]
Warlock Subclass
No mortal truly understands the motivations and desires of devils. When mortals do encounter denizens of Hell, the mortal ends up being a toy in the schemes and machinations of the devil. Usually that encounter is brief, and ends up badly for the mortal. Every once in awhile the relationship lasts a little longer, as the devil extracts benefit in exchange for token gifts. In the rarest of cases, the devil and the mortal forge a lasting relationship. The mortal exchanges their soul to advance the desires of the devil in exchange for worldly power and rewards.
The Devil’s Vessel is a special type of Warlock who has bargained their body and their soul for power. Over numerous possessions, the Devil leaves a taint in the Warlock’s body, a remnant of the Devil’s power and weaknesses. The longer the relationship, the more powerful and pervasive the taint.
Expanded Spell List[edit]
| Spell Level | Spells |
|---|---|
| 1st | chromatic orb (fire or necrotic), armor of othrys |
| 2nd | flame blade, flaming sphere |
| 3rd | pit of flame, lingering flame |
| 4th | blight, fire shield |
| 5th | flame strike, nightmare |
- The Summoning
The player and GM should work together to identify a specific type of devil as the player’s patron. Of particular interest to the GM is the backstory and what the devil’s machinations or grand scheme may be. The player need not understand these schemes, but they should affect him or her throughout the campaign.
- The Devil’s Taint
Starting at level 1, the warlock’s patron’s visits have left an indelible scar. The taint makes it such that the warlock is vulnerable to radiant damage and silver weapons.
The lingering effects of the Devil’s presence also make it harder for you to positively influence good people. You suffer a permanent -2 penalty on Charisma checks with good aligned creatures. However, you gain a permanent +2 bonus to Intimidation checks, and a +2 Persuasion checks against Devils, and all creatures suffer a -2 save penalty against any fear spells or effects emanating from you. The penalty doubles for creatures that focus on hunting devils and demons.
- Spiteful Vengeance
Starting at level 3, the Devil’s continued presence in the warlock’s body has caused the Devil to become a bit fond of the vessel. Don’t think of it as a bonding between personalities, but more of a jealous possession of a treasure. Every time the warlock’s body is struck in combat, there is a 10% chance that the Devil lashes out in anger with a hellish rebuke.
Hellish rebuke is cast as a 1st level spell for warlock levels 3-6, a 2nd level spell for Warlock levels 7-12, and a 3rd level spell for warlock levels 13-20. By 20th level, the Devil becomes so possessive of his vessel he has a 25% of lashing out when the warlock is struck.
The Devil’s violent reaction further harms the warlock, doing 1 point of damage per die of Hellish Rebuke damage.
- The Devil’s Binding
As the Devil binds with the warlock, his presence begins to manifest in different ways depending on the practices of the Warlock. The Warlock gains the following abilities depending on which pact they take:
- Pact of the Blade. The warlock’s hand becomes hardened like a Devil’s claws. The warlock’s hand becomes the pact weapon and does 1d8 damage and strikes like a sickle. The warlock’s Charisma modifier applies to attacks and damages. The damage of the claw goes up to 2d8 at level 13 and 2d10 at level 17. The Warlock’s hand is treated as magical, lawful, and evil aligned, and can be enchanted with spells. The Warlock can perform a ritual to transfer the power and properties of a magical weapon into his or her hand, as long as the weapon does not have the lawful, silver, or good property.
- Pact of the Tome. The warlock gets Conjure Devil in their Tome. The ritual casts at a spell level equal to ½ the Warlock’s level rounded down. The devil only remains in this plane for 8 hours and the ritual can only be cast once per day.
- Pact of the Chain. The Warlock can only summon an Imp as his familiar. The Imp starts out at 3HD and progresses to 6HD as the Warlock grows, gaining 1HD every 4 Warlock levels. The Imp can act independent of the Warlock and can attack as the Warlock’s bonus action. After level 10, the Imp can attack on basic orders without the Warlock expending an action.
- The Devil Incarnate
After years worth of possession, the Warlock becomes one of the Devil’s favorite vessels. After level 17, once per long rest, the Warlock can call upon the Devil to possess his or her body, transforming it into the body of the Devil for 2 minutes. The Warlock obtains all the attacks and benefits of the Devil’s body, but has HP equal to the Warlock’s maximum before transformation. The possession can be dispelled, but the saving throw is based on the Devil’s original saves. The Devil will leave the Warlock’s body if the Warlock is reduced to 0 HP.
- The Devil’s Desire
The DM is encouraged to randomly compel the Warlock to undertake some action, mission or quest that furthers the Devil’s agenda. Actions include randomly attacking a devil hunter or sacrificing another mortal creature. Missions and quests could be focused on obtaining rare treasure or artifacts.
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