# Alternate Warlock
*Source: Alternate Warlock*
> [!tldr] Class and Feature Progression
>
> <table class="class-progression">
> <thead>
> <tr><th colspan='8'></th></tr>
> <tr class="class-progression"><th class"level">Level</th><th class"pb">PB</th><th class"feature">Features</th><th class="value"><a href="/3-Mechanics/CLI/lists/list-optfeaturetype-ll-einv.md">Invocations Known</a></th><th class="value">Cantrips Known</th><th class="value">Spells Known</th><th class="value">Spell Slots</th><th class="value">Slot Level</th></tr>
> </thead><tbody>
> <tr class="class-progression"><td class"level">1st</td><td class"pb">+2</td><td class"feature"><a href='#Eldritch Invocations (Level 1)' class='internal-link'>Eldritch Invocations</a>, <a href='#Eldritch Blast (Level 1)' class='internal-link'>Eldritch Blast</a></td><td class="value">2</td><td class="value">-</td><td class="value">-</td><td class="value">-</td><td class="value">-</td></tr>
> <tr class="class-progression"><td class"level">2nd</td><td class"pb">+2</td><td class"feature"><a href='#Otherworldly Patron (Level 2)' class='internal-link'>Otherworldly Patron</a>, <a href='#Pact Magic (Level 2)' class='internal-link'>Pact Magic</a></td><td class="value">2</td><td class="value">2</td><td class="value">3</td><td class="value">2</td><td class="value">1st</td></tr>
> <tr class="class-progression"><td class"level">3rd</td><td class"pb">+2</td><td class"feature"><a href='#Pact Focus (Level 3)' class='internal-link'>Pact Focus</a></td><td class="value">3</td><td class="value">2</td><td class="value">3</td><td class="value">2</td><td class="value">2nd</td></tr>
> <tr class="class-progression"><td class"level">4th</td><td class"pb">+2</td><td class"feature"><a href='#Ability Score Improvement (Level 4)' class='internal-link'>Ability Score Improvement</a></td><td class="value">3</td><td class="value">3</td><td class="value">4</td><td class="value">2</td><td class="value">2nd</td></tr>
> <tr class="class-progression"><td class"level">5th</td><td class"pb">+3</td><td class"feature"><a href='#Empowered Blast (Level 5)' class='internal-link'>Empowered Blast</a></td><td class="value">4</td><td class="value">3</td><td class="value">4</td><td class="value">2</td><td class="value">3rd</td></tr>
> <tr class="class-progression"><td class"level">6th</td><td class"pb">+3</td><td class"feature"><a href='#Otherworldly Patron Feature (Level 6)' class='internal-link'>Otherworldly Patron Feature</a></td><td class="value">4</td><td class="value">3</td><td class="value">5</td><td class="value">2</td><td class="value">3rd</td></tr>
> <tr class="class-progression"><td class"level">7th</td><td class"pb">+3</td><td class"feature"></td><td class="value">5</td><td class="value">3</td><td class="value">5</td><td class="value">2</td><td class="value">4th</td></tr>
> <tr class="class-progression"><td class"level">8th</td><td class"pb">+3</td><td class"feature"><a href='#Ability Score Improvement (Level 8)' class='internal-link'>Ability Score Improvement</a></td><td class="value">5</td><td class="value">3</td><td class="value">6</td><td class="value">2</td><td class="value">4th</td></tr>
> <tr class="class-progression"><td class"level">9th</td><td class"pb">+4</td><td class"feature"></td><td class="value">6</td><td class="value">3</td><td class="value">6</td><td class="value">2</td><td class="value">5th</td></tr>
> <tr class="class-progression"><td class"level">10th</td><td class"pb">+4</td><td class"feature"><a href='#Otherworldly Patron Feature (Level 10)' class='internal-link'>Otherworldly Patron Feature</a></td><td class="value">6</td><td class="value">4</td><td class="value">7</td><td class="value">2</td><td class="value">5th</td></tr>
> <tr class="class-progression"><td class"level">11th</td><td class"pb">+4</td><td class"feature"><a href='#Elder Arcanum (Level 11)' class='internal-link'>Elder Arcanum</a></td><td class="value">6</td><td class="value">4</td><td class="value">7</td><td class="value">3</td><td class="value">5th</td></tr>
> <tr class="class-progression"><td class"level">12th</td><td class"pb">+4</td><td class"feature"><a href='#Ability Score Improvement (Level 12)' class='internal-link'>Ability Score Improvement</a></td><td class="value">7</td><td class="value">4</td><td class="value">8</td><td class="value">3</td><td class="value">5th</td></tr>
> <tr class="class-progression"><td class"level">13th</td><td class"pb">+5</td><td class"feature"></td><td class="value">7</td><td class="value">4</td><td class="value">8</td><td class="value">3</td><td class="value">5th</td></tr>
> <tr class="class-progression"><td class"level">14th</td><td class"pb">+5</td><td class"feature"><a href='#Otherworldly Patron Feature (Level 14)' class='internal-link'>Otherworldly Patron Feature</a></td><td class="value">7</td><td class="value">4</td><td class="value">8</td><td class="value">3</td><td class="value">5th</td></tr>
> <tr class="class-progression"><td class"level">15th</td><td class"pb">+5</td><td class"feature"></td><td class="value">8</td><td class="value">4</td><td class="value">9</td><td class="value">3</td><td class="value">5th</td></tr>
> <tr class="class-progression"><td class"level">16th</td><td class"pb">+5</td><td class"feature"><a href='#Ability Score Improvement (Level 16)' class='internal-link'>Ability Score Improvement</a></td><td class="value">8</td><td class="value">4</td><td class="value">9</td><td class="value">3</td><td class="value">5th</td></tr>
> <tr class="class-progression"><td class"level">17th</td><td class"pb">+6</td><td class"feature"></td><td class="value">8</td><td class="value">4</td><td class="value">9</td><td class="value">4</td><td class="value">5th</td></tr>
> <tr class="class-progression"><td class"level">18th</td><td class"pb">+6</td><td class"feature"></td><td class="value">9</td><td class="value">4</td><td class="value">10</td><td class="value">4</td><td class="value">5th</td></tr>
> <tr class="class-progression"><td class"level">19th</td><td class"pb">+6</td><td class"feature"><a href='#Ability Score Improvement (Level 19)' class='internal-link'>Ability Score Improvement</a></td><td class="value">9</td><td class="value">4</td><td class="value">10</td><td class="value">4</td><td class="value">5th</td></tr>
> <tr class="class-progression"><td class"level">20th</td><td class"pb">+6</td><td class"feature"><a href='#Pact Master (Level 20)' class='internal-link'>Pact Master</a></td><td class="value">9</td><td class="value">4</td><td class="value">10</td><td class="value">4</td><td class="value">5th</td></tr>
> </tbody></table>
^class-progression
## Hit Points
- **Hit Dice**: 1d8 per Alternate Warlock level
- **Hit Points at First Level:** 8 + CON
- **Hit Points at Higher Levels:** add 5 OR 1d8 + CON (minimum of 1)
## Starting Alternate Warlock
- **Saving Throw Proficiencies**: Intelligence, Wisdom
- **Skill Proficiencies**: *Choose 2:* Arcana, Deception, History, Intimidation, Investigation, Nature, or Religion
- **Weapon Proficiencies**: Simple weapons
- **Armor Training**: Light armor
**Starting Equipment:** You start with the following items, plus anything provided by your background.
- (a) a light crossbow and 20 bolts or (b) any simple weapon
- (a) a component poucn or (b) arcane focus
- (a) a scholar's pack or (b) an dungeoneer's pack
- leather armor, any simple weapon and 2 daggers
## Multiclassing Alternate Warlock
**Ability Score Minimum:** Intelligence 13
When you gain a level in a class other than your first, you gain only some of that class's starting proficiencies.
- **Skill Proficiencies**: *Choose 1:* Arcana, Deception, History, Intimidation, Investigation, Nature, or Religion
- **Weapon Proficiencies**: Simple weapons
- **Armor Training**: Light armor
## Warlock
A striking tiefling with an auburn complexion and dark horns stood in the center of a ritual circle he scrawled under the light of a full moon. As he chanted in a forgotten tongue, the moon was swallowed by darkness and an otherworldly voice came from beyond the stars. The disembodied voice offered him unspeakable power on the condition that he worked toward the voice's esoteric goals. The tiefling agreed and the light of the moon reappeared as his hands crackled with eldritch energies.
The massive goliath finished carving an eldritch idol from the bones of the ancient creature he had slain. The elder beast had been steeped in the magic of the ancient jungle for years. Its bones would make the perfect vessel for the occult magicks that he had discovered within the temple the beast had guarded.
As the cultists of a rival demon lord circled around him, the gaunt warrior held out his open hand and conjured a battleaxe made of clear blue ice. Despite his skeletal frame, the warrior moved impossibly fast. Fueled by the frigid magic of a powerful demon lord, he made quick work of his foes. As the cultists lay motionless, the frozen battleaxe melted away.
The three characters described above are examples of the occult mages known as Warlocks. By gathering dark secrets and sinister magicks these strange scholars open themselves up to bargains with unspeakable beings of immense power.
### Lure of Secrets
Driven by an irresistible thirst for knowledge, a Warlock will do almost anything to uncover lost bits of lore. Unlike others who practice the arcane arts, Warlocks will make use of any shortcut to power. They are often marked by a strange array of tiny trinkets: small idols, totems, holy symbols, and occult paraphernalia. They use these trinkets to hold fragments of lost, secret, and sinister arcane magicks, often drawing their power from many different occult traditions at once.
To a Warlock, no relic is too sacred, no forbidden text too dangerous, no tomb is too risky to be delved in the pursuit of occult knowledge and the power that comes along with it.
### Spiritual Existence
The ultimate goal of every single Warlock is the accumulation of personal power. The reason for this pursuit is different for each Warlock: some desire personal wealth and glory, others seek out power to protect others or as a means for good, and still others use their power to exact revenge on their enemies. Eventually, all Warlocks stumble upon or are approached by powerful otherworldly beings drawn to their thirst for power.
Though the circumstances of the relationship are as varied as each Warlock's reason for accumulating knowledge, every Warlock will eventually enter into an agreement with such an otherworldly being of immense power. Whether they forge a bargain willingly, trick this powerful entity into lending them its power, or secretly draw their magic from these beings, all Warlocks find themselves part of these dire bargains.
### Creating Your Warlock
When creating a Warlock, the most important thing for you to consider is the motivation for their pursuit of knowledge and power. Are they driven by an insatiable desire to uncover lost secrets? Have they been seduced by a powerful otherworldly entity to serve as their pawn on the material plane? Or, does their quest for power come from a desire to serve others?
Also, consider how your Warlocks's magic manifests itself. Does each one of their spells and Invocations come from a different occult tradition? Do some magics resemble that of Clerics or Paladins, while other spells appear as a Wizard's spells would? Does their power manifest in unsettling ways that make common folk fear for their lives? Or, are their arts indistinguishable from those of more traditional mages?
> [!note] Multiclassing and the Warlock
>
> If your group uses the rule on multiclassing in the Player's Handbook, here's what you need to know if you choose the Alternate Warlock as one of your classes.
>
> **Ability Score Minimum.** As a multiclass character, you must have a minimum Intelligence score of 13 to take your first level as a Warlock, or to take a level in another class if you are already a Warlock.
>
> **Proficiencies Gained.** If Warlock isn't your initial class, you gain proficiency with light armor and simple weapons when you take your first level.
>
> **Spellcasting.** If you have a feature from another class that allows you to learn and cast spells, you can use your Pact Magic spell slots to cast spells that you gained through that feature, and you can use those spell slots to cast your Warlock spells.
^multiclassing-and-the-warlock
#### Quick Build
You can make a Warlock quickly by using these suggestions: First, make Intelligence your highest ability score, followed either by your Constitution or Dexterity. Second, choose the Charlatan background. Last, take Eyes of the Rune Keeper and Mask of Many faces as starting Eldritch Invocations.
## Class Features
### Eldritch Invocations (Level 1)
You have bound fragments of occult power known as Eldritch Invocations to Trinkets, tiny objects reminiscent of the power bound within them. If a Trinket is lost or destroyed, it reforms on your person at the end of your next short or long rest.
Your Trinkets and Eldritch Invocations use the rules below:
#### Invocations Known
At 1st level, you have two Trinkets, and bound within each is one Eldritch Invocation of your choice from the list at the end of this class. At certain levels, you gain additional Invocations, as shown in the Invocations Known column of the Warlock table above. If the Invocation has prerequisites, you can learn it at the same time that you meet all of its prerequisites.
When you gain a Warlock level, you can replace an Eldritch Invocation you know with another Invocation of your choice.
#### Eldritch Spellcasting
Through occult scholarship, dark bargains, or an unnatural intuition, Warlocks access power through Pacts with eldritch sources. Choose Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma to be the spellcasting ability for your Invocation features and spells.
You use this Pact Ability whenever one of your Invocations or spells refers to your spellcasting ability, whenever you set a saving throw DC, or when you make a spell attack roll.
<span class='abilityDc'>**Spell save DC**: Intelligence + Proficiency Bonus</span>
<span class='abilityAttackMod'>**Spell attack modifier**: Intelligence + Proficiency Bonus</span>
### Eldritch Blast (Level 1)
You can unleash the power of your Eldritch Invocations as beams of arcane energy. While holding a Trinket containing an Invocation, you can use your action to make a ranged spell attack against a target you can see within 120 feet. On hit, it takes force damage equal to 1d8 + your Pact modifier.
### Otherworldly Patron (Level 2)
At 2nd level, the occult knowledge you have gathered unlocks greater secrets, allowing you to enter into an eldritch bargain with one of the Otherworldly Patrons from the list below.
Your Patron grants you features at 2nd level, and again at 6th, 10th, and 14th level. If one of your Otherworldly Patron feature forces a saving throw, it uses your Pact save DC.
#### Patron Magic
Each Otherworldly Patron has a list of Patron Spells that you learn at the Warlock levels noted in your Otherworldly Patron description. These spells count as Warlock spells for you, but they do not count against your total number of Spells Known.
This magic also changes the effects of your Eldritch Blast.
### Pact Magic (Level 2)
Also at 2nd level, your research and the power bestowed on you by your Patron has given you the ability to cast spells:
#### Cantrips
You learn two cantrips of your choice from the Warlock spell list, which can be found at the end of this class description.
You learn another Warlock cantrip at 4th and 10th level, as shown in the Cantrips Known column of the Warlock table.
#### Spellcasting Ability
As your Pact Magic is an extension of the otherworldly and esoteric knowledge you have gathered, you use your Eldritch Invocation spellcasting ability for your Pact Magic spells.
#### Spells Slots
The Warlock table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your Warlock spells of 1st through 5th-level. The table also shows what the level of those slots is; all of your spell slots are the same level. To cast a Warlock spell of 1st-level or higher, you must spend a spell slot. You regain all of your expended spell slots when you finish a short or long rest.
For example, if you are 5th level, you have two 3rd-level spell slots. To cast the 1st-level spell witch bolt, you must spend one of those slots, and you cast it as a 3rd-level spell.
#### Spells Known of 1st-Level and Higher
At 2nd level, you learn three 1st-level spells of your choice from the Warlock spell list at the end of this class description. The Spells Known column of the Warlock table shows when you learn additional Warlock spells of your choice of 1st-level or higher. A spell you choose must be a level no higher than what's shown in the table's Slot Level column for your level.
For example, when you reach 6th level in this class, you learn one new Warlock spell of 1st, 2nd, or 3rd level.
Additionally, when you gain a level in this class, you can choose one of the Warlock spells you know and replace it with another spell of your choice from the Warlock spell list, which also must be of a level for which you have spell slots.
#### Invocation Spells
Spells that you learn through Invocations count as Warlock spells for you, but do not count against your Spells Known.
#### Spellcasting Focus
You can use any Trinket bearing an Eldritch Invocation, or an arcane focus, as a spellcasting focus for your Warlock spells.
### Pact Focus (Level 3)
Your connection to your Otherworldly Patron has grown, and you have learned to channel their eldritch power into a Pact Focus which resembles the true nature of your Patron. At 3rd level, you gain a Pact Focus of your choice from the list below:
### Ability Score Improvement (Level 4)
When you reach 4th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.
If your DM allows the use of feats, you may instead take a feat.
### Empowered Blast (Level 5)
You are able to draw out more power from your Invocations. Starting at 5th level, when you use Eldritch Blast, you create two beams. You can direct the beams at the same target or at different ones, but you make a separate attack roll for each.
At certain Warlock levels, the number of beams increases: at 11th level it creates three, and finally four at 17th level.
### Otherworldly Patron Feature (Level 6)
At 6th level, you gain a feature granted by your Patron.
### Ability Score Improvement (Level 8)
When you reach 8th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.
If your DM allows the use of feats, you may instead take a feat.
### Otherworldly Patron Feature (Level 10)
At 10th level, you gain a feature granted by your Patron.
### Elder Arcanum (Level 11)
Leveraging the forbidden, occult, and sinister knowledge you have gathered, you gain insight into the secretive workings of the cosmos. This knowledge manifests as an [Elder Arcanum](/3-Mechanics/CLI/lists/list-optfeaturetype-ll-ea.md). At 11th level, you learn one Elder Arcanum from the list at the end of this class. You cannot learn an Arcanum more than once unless specified, and once chosen, it cannot be changed.
At certain Warlock levels you unlock more of these esoteric secrets. You learn one additional Arcanum of your choice at 13th level, one 15th level, and a final Arcanum at 17th level.
### Ability Score Improvement (Level 12)
When you reach 12th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.
If your DM allows the use of feats, you may instead take a feat.
### Otherworldly Patron Feature (Level 14)
At 10th level, you gain a feature granted by your Patron.
### Ability Score Improvement (Level 16)
When you reach 16th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.
If your DM allows the use of feats, you may instead take a feat.
### Ability Score Improvement (Level 19)
When you reach 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.
If your DM allows the use of feats, you may instead take a feat.
### Pact Master (Level 20)
At 20th level, you can strain the eldritch power of your Pact in times of great need. Once per long rest, you can use an action to regain all of your expended Pact Magic spell slots.
## Optional Features
> [!example]- Optional Features: Eldritch Invocation (Alternate)
> )
^list-optfeature-ll-einv
> [!example]- Optional Features: Elder Arcanum
> 
^list-optfeature-ll-ea