The Kingpin (5e Subclass)
The Kingpin[edit]
Warlock Subclass
Magic is a potent and dangerous force and those who wield it often abuse it to seize power from others. For this reason many criminal gangs are ruled by a wizard, corrupt cleric or powerful magical creature like a beholder. The criminal world is a dangerous one and loyalties frequently shift and change, so a crime boss needs a servant who is totally loyal, serving with unshakable commitment. It is the concurrence of these factors that often leads powerful magical kingpins to select a minion of theirs to become a warlock, acting as their patron and lending them a portion of their magical power. Of course, this same magical power can be removed upon the patron's whim, so if it wants to retain its magic the peon must act unfailingly upon its boss's commands. Warlocks who serve a kingpin are their most trusted advisers and most zealous thugs.
Due to their trustworthy nature, Warlocks associated with a magical crime gang are often sent out to expand their master's criminal empire. The kingpin can take their eye off of their warlock minions, knowing it's unlikely that the freedom that they give them will ever be abused. In return for their servitude, a warlock enjoys a privileged position among the criminal gang and, should they prove a particularly invaluable servant, will become a boss in their own section of their master's criminal empire.
The magic a kingpin grants its warlocks is often focused on allowing them to carry out successful criminal operations. This includes magic to intimidate and threaten, magic to punish reluctant victims and, as a last resort, magic to escape when the law turns up. A warlock is also backed up by more material forces, servants lent to them by their boss. All these boons make a criminal warlock a fearsome and frightening foe and many cities have come to dread the powers of such an individual, willing to do anything to work their master's will.
Expanded Spell List[edit]
The kingpin lets you choose from an expanded spell list of spells when you learn a warlock spell. The following spell are added to the warlock spell list for you.
| Spell Level | Spells |
|---|---|
| 1st | command, disguise self |
| 2nd | blindness/deafness, knock |
| 3rd | bestow curse, haste |
| 4th | greater invisibilty, phantasmal killer |
| 5th | dominate person, mislead |
Master Racketeer[edit]
Starting at 1st level, you gain an expertise at convincing, cajoling and browbeating others into submission. You gain proficiency in intimidation and persuasion and you may double your proficiency bonus for all checks that make use of either skill.
Hired Minion[edit]
At 6th level, your master allows you to make use of a few of the expendables that make up their forces. You gain the assistance of a thug, who obeys your verbal commands, with no action required by you. Roll initiative for the thug, which has its own turns. In addition to its normal abilities, the thug's hit point maximum is increased by an amount equal to half your warlock level and it gains a bonus to the damage rolls of its weapon attacks equal to your charisma modifier. Your thug is of a race appropriate to the makeup of your master's organisation, but this has no affect on its statistics. The DM has the thug's statistics.
Your thug regains no hit points during a short rest, but regains all of its lost hit points during each long rest. If your thug dies, you may make contact with your master and request a new one during your next long rest. However, the DM judges whether your master can get such a minion to you- the remoteness of your position may make travel to reach you impossible. Otherwise, you gain a replacement thug servant.
Bodyguard Training[edit]
There's no I in 'team'. However, there is both an I and a Me in 'crime'. At 10th level, you can use your thug as a meat shield in case someone attempts to harm you. The increase to your thug's hit point maximum is now equal to your level. In addition, when a creature hits you with a weapon attack while your thug is within 5 feet of you, you can use your reaction to cause the thug to suffer the damage instead of you.
Crime Boss[edit]
At 14th level, your kingpin trusts you enough to lend you some more of their gang members to use in the field. You gain the use of three more thugs. They have the same bonuses to damage and hit points as your original thug. In addition, you imbue the weapons of your thugs with the ability to take down dangerous supernatural foes. The weapon attacks of your thugs are magical.
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