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The Pharaoh

By March 18, 2016September 16th, 2022Warlock

Otherworldly Patron
Notes from the Palm: We have a Vampire Patron, we have a Werewolf Patron it’s only right we should have a Mummy Patron!

“I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: “Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert . . . Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed:
And on the pedestal these words appear:
‘My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!’
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.”

 – Ozymandias, Percy Bysshe Shelley, 1792 – 1822

The Pharaoh 

The ancient kings of the deserts, known as pharaohs, were more gods to their subjects than mortal lords. This veneration was not without cause, for the masters of the sands were indeed godlike in their powers: they forged cities out of living sand, raised great pyramids to channel their mighty divine power, and even mastered death itself. You, though either luck, determination, or great misfortune, have come under the sway of one of these old masters, and they grant you a portion of their immense power.

Pharaoh’s Will
The pharaohs of old are not as capricious with their gifts as other patrons may be, and demand much from you. When you make this pact, you gain a bond dependent on the pharaoh to which you are bound. Choose one from the list below, or roll 1d10 to determine randomly:

  1. Ra. I glory in the sun, and will endeavor to bring my great and terrible light to all corners of the world.
  2. Isis. I seek magic in all its forms, and will stop at nothing to gain a new trinket or bauble.
  3. Thoth. Knowledge is power, and I seek to be more powerful than all. No scrap of knowledge shall be kept from my grasp.
  4. Bast. Felines are divine beings, and deserve my supplication. I will guide everyone to this great bit of truth.
  5. Horus. I am king of kings, lord of lords. I bow to no man, and all will one day bow to me.
  6. Sekhmet. This world is impure, forsaken, dying. I seek to revel in its destruction, purified by the terrible light of the sun.
  7. Hathor. Joy and mirth are the greatest of all miracles, and I seek to indulge in every from of delight, mortal or otherwise.
  8. Seth. The great and vast desert holds the secret to true immortality. I will show all this secret, and cover the world with sand.
  9. Anubis. Life is a stain upon the vast majesty of creation. I will remove those weak many who can still die, and create a new paradise for the immortal.
  10. Amun. Though I granted them the whole of their world, the mortals have forgotten me. I will show them the true face of their god, and force them to their knees in reverence.

The pharaoh to whom you are bound will hold you to this bond until he/she bestows the secret of immortality on you at 14th level.

Ancient Pharaoh Expanded Spells 
1st     bane, create or destroy water
2nd    blur, dust devil
3rd    bestow curse, wall of sand
4th    dominate beast, guardian of faith
5th    contagion, insect plague

Master of the Dunes
At 1st level, your patron imbues you with the hardiness to not only survive in the desert, but thrive. You no longer require food or water, nor do you suffer any ill effects from dehydration. As well, you can survive comfortably in temperatures up to 300° F, and you gain advantage on Investigation and Perception checks while in a desert.

Twisting Sands
At 6th level, you may transform yourself and any gear you are carrying into a whirling cloud of sand as an action and move up to twice your speed in any direction. At the end of this movement, you immediately transform back into your normal form. While you are in your sand form, you are immune to damage and do not provoke Opportunity Attacks. Once you use this ability, you must take a short or long rest before you can do so again.
     If you use this ability while in a desert or over sand, you may do so at will and you may move up to 4 times your speed. 

Shaper of the Sands
At 10th level, the pharaohs grant you the ability to shape the sands to your whims. As an action, you may cast the fabricate spell without using a spell slot, though you may only use this ability on sand. You may create objects and structures out of sand, sandstone, or glass. Additionally, you may use this ability to craft weapons and armor you are proficient with out of sand, even if you do not have proficiency in the appropriate crafting tools. If anyone other than you attempts to use a weapon or suit of armor created by this skill, the object immediately crumbles into a pile of sand.

Lord of the Wastes
By 14th level, you have proven your resourcefulness and devotion to your master, and he/she grants you the gift of immortality. You undergo a ritual taking 7 days, consisting of a number of incantations, noxious potions, and ritual marking, culminating in the removal of your still-beating heart. The organ is then placed in a sealed canopic jar, the wound is sealed, and the ritual is complete: while not truly undead, you are now in a perpetual state of near death. This transformation carries several benefits:

  • You no longer accrue penalties for aging, and cannot die of old age.
  • You do not take any extra damage from critical hits
  • You are resistant to necrotic damage
  • If you die, so long as your heart is intact you will resurrect automatically 24 hours from the time you were slain. You reappear in a prepared chamber housing a sarcophagus, the same chamber the ritual took place in. This occurs even if your body is completely destroyed, such as by a disintegrate spell.

     This blessing does come with a deadly drawback: your heart is highly vulnerable. Should a foe find your heart, smash the canopic jar, and pierce the organ with an iron spike, you instantly die, and your body turns to dust. You cannot be returned to life, except by a true resurrection or wish spell, or through divine intervention.  
     This transformation transcends the body; should you be restored to life in that manner, you come back in this same state, and your heart reappears in a reformed canopic jar.

New Pact Boon

Your otherworldly patron bestows a gift upon you for your loyal service.

Pact of the Symbol
Your patron believes itself to be a god of some sort, and views its pact with you much as a god views it’s relationship with its clerics. You are granted a holy symbol which you can use as a spell focus. This holy symbol does not take the shape of any holy symbol used by the gods of your world, though it may be similar. You can summon it to your hand or dismiss it with a bonus action.
     While you are hold this holy symbol, you can cast the sacred flame cantrip at will. Additionally, when you use the symbol as a spell focus and deal damage with a warlock spell, you can choose for the spell to deal necrotic or radiant damage instead of its normal damage type.

New Invocations

If an eldritch invocation has prerequisites, you must meet them to learn it. You can learn the invocation at the same time that you meet its prerequisites.

Mock Divinity
Prerequisites: Pact of the Symbol feature
You channel your patron’s mock divinity in a display of “divine” power. As an action, you may brandish your symbol to Turn Undead, as per the cleric class features. Once you use this ability, you must take a short or long rest before you can do so again.

Faithful Servants
Prerequisites: 7th level, Pact of the Symbol feature
You may cast the spell animate dead without using a spell slot or requiring material components. This spell is cast as if using a spell slot of a level equal to the level of your pact magic slots. Once you use this ability, you must take a long rest before you can do so again.

I Am Alpha
Prerequisites: 11th level, Pact of the Symbol feature
You may cast the spell raise dead without using a spell slot (you must still provide material components). Once you use this ability, you must take a long rest before you can do so again.

I Am Omega
Prerequisite: 15th level, Pact of the Symbol feature
You may cast the spell divine word without using a spell slot. Once you use this ability, you must take a long rest before you can do so again.

New Weapon

Weapon   Cost          Damage      Weight   Properties
Kopesh  25 GP     1d6 slashing       4 lb.   Light, Finesse, Hooked

The kopesh is an oddly shaped sword, straight-bladed from the pommel up until dramatically curving outward and ending in a hooked point, giving it a look similar to a cross between an axe and a short sword.  The hooked backside of the weapon, though blunt, is an extremely helpful tool when attempting to trip or drag a foe.
     HookedWhen you use the attack action to make an attack with this weapon and you hit your target, instead of dealing damage, you can immediately use a bonus action to attempt to shove that creature. You have advantage on this shove attempt.

Art Credit: Mummy Final by Patmos
Changelog:
3/19/16: Expanded Spells: Animate dead replaced with Wall of Sand
Hooked: Changed to: make a shove attempt as a bonus action
Hooked: changed to a slightly less powerful effect.
Added: pact of the symbol, new invocations.
Mock Divinity: Removed Rebuke Undead
3/20/16: Pact of the Symbol: typo fixed
3/22/16: Faithful Servants: Reworded
8/5/16: Expanded Spells: Blight replaced with Dominate Beast

 

 

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