Does your Dungeons and Dragons character like to lurk, skulk, or let off uncanny screeching sounds? If so, then you may be interested in these homebrew D&D rules by Reddit user Semako, which let your Warlock character roleplay as “a nightmare-riding herald of doom”. Basically, it encourages you to ride around like a wraith on a monstrous steed, and cosplay as a Lord of the Rings Nazgul.
A homebrew Warlock pact, titled Pact of the Harbinger, these rules allow your character to summon a bonded steed, equivalent to the Find Steed spell, and use a melee, lance version of the ol’ Warlock favourite, Eldritch Blast.
Their creator says they’ve “toyed with the idea of playing a Nazgul-like character for a long time”, and eventually decided to do something about it and make their own rules – though they add that their usual speciality is “monsters, especially boss monsters”.
While the idea was originally intended for a spooky Nazgul character, Semako says they aimed to cover multiple concepts with the pact. “A steed works well with basically any patron,” they say, adding that other options could include a fiend warlock riding on a nightmare, a celestial warlock on a unicorn or pegasus, or an archfey warlock riding a majestic elk. “As a DM, I would also allow them to summon an awakened tree with Find Greater Steed,” Semako notes.
Along with the steed, the Eldritch Lance ability is a key part of the pact. It fits thematically, of course, but Semako also explains that they wanted their Warlock to be able to do melee combat. “With Eldritch Blast being a melee attack, they no longer have disadvantage when they use it within five feet of an enemy, and can benefit from spells like Spirit Shroud, have advantage on prone targets, and benefit from the advantage the Mounted Combatant feat grants against creatures that are smaller than their mount,” they say.
You can check out Semako’s Lord of the Rings style Nazgul feat on Reddit. And don’t miss our Warlock class guide, as well as this Wargamer-approved list of the best DnD spells worth memorising.