Your pact draws on the push and pull between the blooming of vitality and the withering of same into death and decay. You become increasingly in tune with the balance between positive and negative forces, and seek to maintain said balance whenever able. When you choose this subclass, you might make a deal with a single entity with interests over mortality or the duality of life and death. Or you might call on the primal power of nature itself, the so-called circle of life.
You know that for most death is inevitable, but can be forestalled. And also that even if death should come to pass, such endings give way to new beginnings.
Your life force is bolstered by your patron. If you fail a Constitution saving throw you may choose to instead succeed on the save. Once you have used this feature you cannot use it again until you have completed a Long Rest unless you expend a Pact Magic spell slot (no action required) to restore your use of it.
In addition, you have Advantage on saving throws to resist or remove the Poisoned condition.
You gain proficiency with Herbalism Kits if you don't already have it.
You also learn how to craft useful concoctions called herbal brews. You initially learn three recipes and will learn more recipes as you gain Warlock levels, as indicated in the Known Recipes column of the Herbal Brews table. You are able to use an Herbalism Kit to craft the brews that you know the recipes for, in a process similar to making a Potion of Healing.
It normally requires using an Herbalism Kit, 25 GP of raw material, and 8 hours of work to make each brew. However, as you gain levels in this class you reduce the amount of time it takes you to craft these brews, as indicated in the Crafting Time column of the Herbal Brews table.
| Warlock Level | Known Recipes | Crafting Time |
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The magic of your patron ensures you always have certain spells ready; when you reach a Warlock level specified in the Withering Bloom Spells table, you thereafter always have the listed spells prepared.
| Warlock Level | Spells |
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Cure Wounds, Gentle Repose, Healing Word, Inflict Wounds, Lesser Restoration, Spare the Dying |
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Aura of Vitality, Feign Death |
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Aura of Life, Blight |
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Contagion, Greater Restoration |
As your power over life and death further blossoms, you learn a mystical secret. You gain one of the following feature options of your choice.
*Lifeforce Manipulation. You learn how to heal a creature by transfering the life force of another creature. As a Magic Action during your turn, you can target two creatures you can see within 45 feet and cause one of the creatures to make a Constitution saving throw against your spellcasting DC. On a failed save, the target takes Necrotic damage equal to 2d4 plus half your Warlock level rounded up, and its Hit Point maximum is reduced by an amount equal to the Necrotic damage it took (to a minimum of 1). The other creature regains a number of Hit Points equal to the amount of Necrotic damage the first target took.
*Suspended Animation. You learn how to suspend a creature's existence. When you cast the spell Feign Death, for the duration of the spell the target is Resistant to Force and Psychic damage and is Immune to all other damage, and the target is Immune to all conditions except Blinded and Incapacitated. Additionally, you and the target may agree to modify the Duration of the spell to be any time period of up to a century, and you may also define a specific trigger that will end the spell if it occurs before the Duration would expire. While suspended in this way the target does not need to eat drink or breathe, does not age, and is in a meditative state similar to an Elf's trance. The target will gain the benefits of a Long Rest if the spell ends at least 4 hours after you cast it.
You learn another mystical secret allowing you even more facility to heal or harm. You gain one of the following feature options of your choice.
*Blooming Aura. When you cast the spell Aura of Life, you may modify it to combine its normal effects with the effects of Aura of Purity for its Duration.
*Withering Blight. When you cast the spell Blight on a Beast, Dragon, Giant, Humanoid, Monstrosity, or Ooze, the target has Disadvantage on their saving throw. In addition, any creature that fails their save also gains a level of exhaustion and is dehydrated (as per the Dehydration hazard).
You learn another mystical secret allowing you even more facility to heal or harm. You gain one of the following feature options of your choice.
*Creeping Contagion. You learn the secret of producing bountiful bacterium. When you cast the spell Contagion you may modify it to spread from you in a 30-foot Emanation for a Duration of Concentration, up to 1 minute. If you do, a creature is targeted by the spell when the Emanation enters their space, when they enter the Emanation, or when they end their turn in the Emanation, but no more than once per turn. However, creatures that are Immune to the Poisoned condition or who are already suffering from the Poisoned condition from the Contagion spell are unaffected.
*Regenerative Word. You learn how to inspire flesh to regrow. As a Bonus Action during your turn you can cast the spell Regenerate on a creature of your choice that you can see within 60 feet, without need of Somatic or Material components and ignoring its normal Casting Time. Once you have used this feature you cannot use it again until you have completed a Long Rest.
The DM might allow a player of this subclass to choose the following variation, which allows a player more flexibility of choice at the cost of a little more complexity.
The Lesser Secret, Greater Secret, and Superior Secret of the Withering Bloom features are each a Secret of the Withering Bloom. When you take your 10th level or 14th level of this class, you may choose to gain a feature option from an earlier level Secret of the Withering Bloom feature instead of one of the two provided for that level. For instance, a Level 14 Warlock who chose Lifeforce Manipulation and Withering Blight might want to choose Suspended Animation or Blooming Aura instead of Creeping Contagion or Regenerative Word.
Additionally, when you successfully contact your patron using the Contact Other Plane spell, you may replace a chosen Secret of the Withering Bloom feature option with another available option you don't have by expending a question. For instance, a Level 14 Warlock who chose Lifeforce Manipulation, Withering Blight, and Regenerative Word could contact their patron using Contact Other Plane and expend up to three questions asking their patron to swap one or more of those options for some combination of Suspended Animation, Blooming Aura, or Creeping Contagion on a 1 for 1 basis.