Pact of the Hexblade
Some warlocks do not bargain with a creature of flesh and thought — they bargain with a weapon. Somewhere in the Shadowfell, cursed blades of terrible sentience wait for the desperate and the ambitious. These weapons carry the echo of every soul they have claimed, and they offer power freely to those willing to become their instrument. A Hexblade warlock is not merely wielder and weapon — they are bonded, each feeding the other's hunger.
The Shadowfell force behind the Hexblade is ancient and inscrutable. It does not speak in words so much as impulses: a pull toward violence, a flicker of cold satisfaction when blood is drawn. Warlocks who walk this path become something between a soldier and a vessel, their martial skill sharpened to uncanny perfection by the curse that flows through them.
Pact of the Hexblade Table:
| Level | Subclass Features Gained |
|---|---|
| 1st | Expanded Spell List, Hexblade's Curse, Hex Warrior |
| 6th | Accursed Specter |
| 10th | Armor of Hexes |
| 14th | Master of Hexes |
Subclass Features
Expanded Spell List
1st-level Pact of the Hexblade feature
The Hexblade 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.
| Spell Level | Spells |
|---|---|
| 1st | shield, wrathful smite |
| 2nd | blur, branding smite |
| 3rd | blink, elemental weapon |
| 4th | phantasmal killer, staggering smite |
| 5th | banishing smite, cone of cold |
Hexblade's Curse
1st-level Pact of the Hexblade feature
As a bonus action, you can curse one creature you can see within 30 feet of you. The curse lasts for 1 minute, until the creature dies, or until you die. While cursed, the creature suffers the following effects:
- You add your proficiency bonus to damage rolls against the cursed creature.
- Any attack roll you make against the cursed creature is a critical hit on a roll of 19 or 20.
- If the cursed creature dies, you regain hit points equal to your warlock level + your Charisma modifier (minimum of 1).
Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Hex Warrior
1st-level Pact of the Hexblade feature
The power of your pact grants you mastery over weapons. You gain proficiency with medium armor, shields, and martial weapons.
Additionally, when you finish a long rest, you can touch one weapon that lacks the two-handed property and forge a bond with it. Until your next long rest, you can use your Charisma modifier, instead of Strength or Dexterity, for the attack and damage rolls made with that weapon. The weapon also counts as your spellcasting focus.
If you later gain the Pact of the Blade feature, this benefit extends to every pact weapon you conjure with that feature, without needing to bond with each one individually.
Accursed Specter
6th-level Pact of the Hexblade feature
You can curse the souls of those you slay. When you slay a humanoid, you can cause its soul to rise as a specter in the space it left behind. The specter uses the statistics in the Monster Manual but obeys your mental commands, is friendly to you and your companions, and can't be controlled by anyone else.
The specter gains temporary hit points equal to half your warlock level when it rises. It remains until you finish a long rest, until it is destroyed, or until you use this feature again to raise another specter.
You can have only one specter bound to you at a time.
Armor of Hexes
10th-level Pact of the Hexblade feature
Your Hexblade's Curse extends to protect you from your victim's retaliation. When the creature cursed by your Hexblade's Curse hits you with an attack roll, roll a \(1d6\). On a 4 or higher, the attack misses you instead, regardless of its roll.
Master of Hexes
14th-level Pact of the Hexblade feature
You can spread your Hexblade's Curse from a slain creature to another. When the creature cursed by your Hexblade's Curse dies, you can immediately curse a new creature you can see within 30 feet of you without expending a new use of Hexblade's Curse.
Creatures that are immune to the charmed condition are immune to this transfer of the curse.