The Rat King (5e Subclass)

The Rat King

Warlock Subclass

Those who dwell in the dark worship a fiendish entity they call the Rat King. They see rats as little emissaries of their Rat God. They see a rat infestation, not as a nuisance but a sign of favor from their King, who whispers to the most cunning and intelligent, granting them magic through eldritch pacts. Most worshipers understand surprisingly little about the Rat King, and make up stories and fables about their exploits.

Expanded Spell List

The Rat King 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.

Warlock Level	Spells
1st	animal friendship, detect poison and disease
2nd	animal messenger, beast sense
3rd	bestow curse, stinking cloud
4th	fabricate, guardian of nature (Primal Beast only)
5th	geas, contagion

Rat Speaker

At 1st level, you are always considered under the effects of Speak with Animals, but only to communicate with rats and rat-like beings (such as wererats). In addition, your spells ignore advantage on saves and condition immunities of rats, and any spells that affect only humanoids can also affect rats.

Skittering Swarm

Also at 1st level, you can conjure a eldritch swarm of rats. As a bonus action, you create a swarm that occupies an area of 10-foot-radius in a point you can see within 60 feet of you. The swarm lasts for 1 minute or until you use this feature to conjure another swarm.

The swarm forces any creature that start its turn within it or enter its area for the first time to make a Dexterity saving throw against your spell save DC, or suffer 1d4 piercing damage. This damage ignore resistances to non-magical damage. The area of the swarm is considered difficult terrain.

As a bonus action on your turn, you can move the swarm up to 30 feet. You and your allies are not affected by the swarm area.

You can summon the swarm a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Plague Ridden

Also at 6th level, your body is so filled with plagues that it is unaffected by them. You are immune to diseases. In addition, whenever you hit a creature with an unarmed strike or natural weapon, your target must succeed on a saving throw or be afflicted by sewer plague.

Pestilence

Starting at 6h level, whenever you cause damage to a creature via your Skittering Swarm or cause necrotic or poison damage using a Warlock spell, you can inflict 1 pestilence point to the target. The creature can make a Constitution saving throw against your spell save DC at the end of each turn to get rid from pestilence, and whenever it starts with 1 pestilence point, it is considered poisoned. If the creature end its turn with pestilence points surpassing its current amount of hit die, that creature suffers 1 level of exhaustion.

In addition, the first time in each casting of your Skittering Swarm a creature get bitten, it must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or is afflicted by sewer plague (listed on DMG).

Filth Born

At 10th level, you become resistant to poison and necrotic damage, and gain Advantage on saving throws to avoid poison.

In addition, you can spend one warlock spell slot to assume the form of a Swarm of Cranium Rats This behaves as the Polymorph spell, but doesn't require concentration, and you retain your Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma scores.

Rat Prince

At 14th Level, you can use your action to assume the form of a Rat Prince, lasting for 1 minute. You gain the following benefits while in this form:

• You can Dash, Disengage and Dodge as a Bonus Action.
• You have a climbing and swimming speed equal to your movement speed.
• You have Advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on smell.
• You have advantage on attack rolls against creatures if at least one of your allies is within 5 feet of the creature and that ally isn't incapacitated.
• You are immune to necrotic and poison damage.
• Once per turn (no action required) you can make a bite attack against an adjacent creature. The bite is a spell attack, causes 1d4 + your Charisma modifier, plus 3d6 necrotic, and forces your target to make a Constitution saving throw against your spell save DC or suffer 1 level of exhaustion. On a success, the target gains 1 pestilence.

While in this form, you can use a Bonus Action to assume the form of a Swarm of Cranium rats, or revert back to your normal form, without requiring spell slots. If you are reduced to 0 hit points while in this form, you can spend a spell slot as a Reaction to assume the form of a Swarm of Cranium Rats.

Once you assume this form, you can't use this feature again until you finish a long rest.

Unique Boon

Pact Boon of the Flute

You are granted a mystical flute from your patron. This flute is a musical instrument you are proficient with, and you can use it as a spellcasting focus for your warlock spells. A number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, you can use an Action to play the flute. While playing the flute, you can charm humanoids and beasts with a CR of 0. This affects all creatures capable of hearing the flute in a 30-foot radius. You must use an Action in each turn to keep playing the flute, for up to 1 minute. Unaffected creatures in the area must make a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC if they attempt to take any harmful action towards you.

Playing the flute requires concentration. All creatures in that area must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC or they are charmed by you. A creature charmed by the flute is drawn towards you, and will follow you as close as possible.

Unique Invocations

Sewer Call

3rd level, Pact Boon of the Flute

You can spend one use of your Flute boon to convoke a swarm of rats. The swarm of rats behave as a familiar to you, and you can use your Action to command the swarm to attack. The swarm remains conjured for 1 hour or until you use this feature again.

Rat Caller

5th-level invocation

You can cast Conjure Animals once, spending a warlock's spell slot and without requiring material components. You can only conjure rats, giant rats, rat swarms and Wererats (despite not being a beast) when you use this invocation. You can't use this invocation again until you finish a long rest.

Savage Bites

Requires Primal Savagery

When you cast Primal Savagery, you can cause magical piercing damage, rather than acid damage. In addition, you roll a d12, rather than a d10, for the damage dice of this spell, and you add your Charisma modifier to the roll of each die rolled when you cast this cantrip.

Purulent Wound

Requires Primal Savagery

When you damage a creature with Primal Savagery, that creature can't regain hit points until the end of your next turn.

Bound Swarm

Prerequisite: 9th level

You can cast invoke a swarm of cranium rats by spending a warlock's spell slot. They behave as if conjured by a Conjure Animals spell (requiring concentration as normal). While the swarm of cranium rats is conjured, they also behave as familiars for you.

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