Vow to the Word (5e Subclass)
Vow to the word[edit]
Sorcerer Subclass
You come from a lineage of sorcerers, blessed by Amaunator, that are able to use ancient magic to gain power through promises. You can make promises, participate in a ritual an gain certain benefits from them depending on the risk or the strength of the promise.
Although your power may be great, your lineage is seen as descendants from the devil himself, due to the nature of your magic which resembles a pact.
The Weight Of A Promise
Starting at 1st level, you are able to make promises and gain power from them. When you make a promise, you must participate in a ritual in which both you and the other creature must grab each others arm or, otherwise, limb, then the creature must recite what their request is, in whichever language, and you must promise you will accomplish such request, in the same or different language, and certain requirements about the promise must be met. Only then you will be able to choose one of the following benefits depending on the strength of the promise:
Strong.
These promises can range from saving a town from demise to saving a nation.
From such promises you can choose one between the following benefits:
- You gain one spell slot of the highest level you can cast + 1 and a spell of your choosing of an equal or lower level to pair it.
- You gain one spell slot of a level equal to your sorcerer level. Capped at 9, for obvious reasons.
- You gain a spell that you are able to cast, decided by destiny, to aid you greatly in your quest. You can use the spell given without spending any spell slots.
- You gain a +4 to a score of your selection. You can increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.
Medium.
These promises can range from saving someone from monsters/enemies to staying faithful to some ideology for an event or a certain amount of time.
From such promises you can choose one between the following benefits:
- You gain one spell slot of the highest level you can cast.
- You gain a spell that you are able to cast, decided by destiny, to aid you greatly in your quest.
- You gain a +2 to a score of your selection. You can increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.
Weak.
These promises can range from collecting something and returning it back to completing a "small" dungeon.
From such promises you can choose one between the following benefits:
- You gain one cantrip of your choosing to aid you in your quest.
- You gain two divination dices for you to use whenever you want.
You can gain power from more than one promise at the same time. At this level you can keep up to two active promises and receive their benefits. You can keep the benefits until you break the promise, stray from the request or accomplish the request. You can't get rid of promises once you make them, you either accomplish it or get punished for allowing it to be unachievable.
So you can gain power from promises, these must met some requirements. Here is a list of recommended requirements:
- The promise can not be expected to last longer than your lifespan or an arbitrary amount of time such as 1 year, and you can't work with an undefined amount of time.
- You must be the one to take action and complete the request.
- If you stray from the request "far enough", the promise keeps counting towards your promises limit, but you lose the power it gave you until the promise is fulfilled.
- You can not make the same promise to the same person and gain power from it more than once.
If a promise is broken or/and it can no longer be satisfied, Amaunator, deity of order, the sun, law, and time, will unchain you from such promise, but in exchange it will take some of your will from you depending on the strenght of the promise. 1 level of exhaustion for Weak, 2 for Medium and 4 for Strong.
Stronger Promises
At 6th level, you understand better the basis of the magic behind promises. Some benefits you can get from a promise get enhanced and you are able to keep up to three active promises.
Weak.
- You gain one cantrip or a 1st level spell that you can use up to three times without spending spell slots of your choosing to aid you in your quest.
- You gain four divination dices for you to use whenever you want.
Self Sufficent
At 14 level, you are now able to make promises without the need of the ritual, you are able to make promises to yourself and keep up to four active promises.
Unbreakable Promises
At 18 level, you are now able to link two people to a promise they are making and create an unbreakable promise. If any of these people breaks the promise their will be taken by Amaunator, thus they die.
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