The Snake Empress (Homebrew)

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Overview & Creation

Situated within her palace of gold and turquoise, the Serpent Empress sleeps in serene silence, guiding her slaves to serve in her secret business. Envious and vain, the Empress personifies greed and avarice in the hearts of man. Jealousy, spite, and simple pride have driven her servants to her side. She whispers in a sibilant voice, speaking of wealth and power promised but so rarely delivered. The sins she offers are subtle at first, but grow in style and salaciousness with every slow cycle of the hourglass. You’ve assigned yourself to her service and sworn fealty to the Serpent Empress in exchange for a sliver of her supreme strength. Expanded Spell List The Serpent Empress 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.

Level	Spells
1st	command, ray of sickness
2nd	protection from poison, silence
3rd	feign death, venom blast*
4th	compulsion, serpentine ward*
5th	cloudkill, constriction*

   

Blessing of the Empress

At 1st level, you receive the favor of your patron. You gain advantage on saving throws against poison and effects that inflict the poisoned condition. You can speak to snakes, serpents, and other reptiles as though you were under the effects of the speak with animals spell. Whenever you cast a spell that has a verbal component, you can suppress the senses of those around you. Choose one creature that can hear you within 30 feet of you. Your spellcasting is silent to that creature, and it has disadvantage on its next Wisdom, Intelligence, or Charisma check within 1 minute.  

Hair of Snakes

At 6th level, you can cause a swarm of serpents to grow from your head as a bonus action, and they remain until you dismiss them. While they are out, you can see through the eyes of these serpents. As long as the serpents can see, you have advantage on Perception checks, gain darkvision out to 30 feet, and gain immunity to the blinded condition. While you are within 10 feet of a creature, you can use your action to have your serpents whisper a sinful secret to the creature. The target must make a Wisdom saving throw against your warlock spell save DC. If it fails, it is charmed by you until the end of your next turn or until it takes damage.  

Toxic Blood

At 10th level, your veins run with venom. You gain resistance to poison damage and immunity to the poisoned condition. Additionally, you can have poison damage you deal treat poison immunity as poison resistance. You can have creatures immune to the poisoned condition lose their immunity against your attacks and effects, but they gain advantage on saving throws to resist the poisoned condition.  

Gaze of the Goddess

At 14th level, your patron looks from your eyes and exerts her supreme power through you. As an action, choose one creature within 30 feet of you that you can see. The target is paralyzed for one minute. If the target takes damage, the effect ends. If the target is immune to paralysis, it takes 3d10 psychic damage and is knocked prone. Once you use this feature, you can’t do so again until you finish a long rest.    

Eldritch Invocations

  Cold Blooded Prerequisite: 7th level, Serpent Empress patron You can cast polymorph once without expending a spell slot, but only to turn the target into a snake or other reptile. Once you do this, you can’t do so again until you finish a long rest.   Commanding Presence Prerequisite: 12th level, Serpent Empress patron Whenever you cast a spell with a range of Self using a warlock spell slot, choose one creature within 15 feet of you. The target must make a Wisdom saving throw against your warlock spell save DC. If they fail, they are charmed by you until the end of your next turn.   Handmaiden’s Guardian Prerequisite: Serpent Empress patron, Pact of the Chain feature When you have an imperial cobra as your familiar, it gains additional hit points equal to your warlock level. While your familiar is within 10 feet of you, it can use its reaction to make an attack whenever you take damage.   Majestic Scales Prerequisite: 6th level, Serpent Empress patron When you aren’t wearing armor or a shield, you can choose to have your AC equal 10 + your Charisma modifier + your Dexterity modifier. While you do so, your hair serpents can deliver melee spell attacks with a reach of 10 feet. If the melee spell attack hits, the serpents will bite the target, dealing poison damage equal to your Charisma modifier.   Ophidian Fang Prerequisite: Serpent Empress patron, Pact of the Blade feature You can create a golden weapon from the fang of a giant serpent that deals piercing or slashing damage using your Pact of the Blade feature. You can choose to have this weapon deal poison damage. When you hit a target with this weapon, you can use your bonus action to take the Disengage action. Once do you so, you can’t do so again until you inflict the poisoned condition on an enemy or you finish a short or long rest. Critical hits with this weapon poison the target until the end of your next turn.   Scroll of Imperial Authority Prerequisite: Serpent Empress patron, Pact of the Tome feature Whenever you can see a creature charmed by you, you can use your bonus action to cause it to speak any phrase you wish. The creature thinks that it chose to say those words of its own volition, though they may not believe them to be true.   Venomous Blast Prerequisite: 4th level, Serpent Empress patron Whenever you cast a cantrip that deals damage or make a weapon attack, you can use a bonus action to cause venom to surge forth from your veins. The damage type of the attack or cantrip changes to poison. If the target takes damage, they must make a Constitution saving throw against your warlock spell save DC or be poisoned until the end of your next turn.