Norvoldt's mk. I

Norvoldt's mk. I is a warlock whose pact has been engineered into a mobile weapon: a soul housed in a machine, with a god's essence caged in its core. The subclass builds Resonance by fighting within reach, then spends it to intensify ordinary spells or reinforce a strike. Its signature Overdrive can unleash devastating divine force, but risks letting the god seize control. The design favors aggressive mid- to close-range damage, not durability or safe back-line casting. To deliver the requested half-caster progression, this subclass replaces the Warlock's Pact Magic feature with a separate half-caster progression while retaining other Warlock class features.

Warlock subclass · D&D 5E (2024)

Norvoldt's mk. I

A stolen soul. A god in the engine. Revenge at arm's reach.

Aggressive mid- to close-range spell striker with a risky divine damage spike and limited self-protection.

At a glance

Level

Proficiency

bonus at this level

Hit die d8

Primary

Charisma

Constitution

Subclass of Warlock

Features

4 at 3, 6, 10, 14

Level 3, reached
Divine Chassis
Your pact is embodied in a constructed frame. You gain proficiency with smith's tools. You also learn to use a melee weapon with which you are proficient as a spellcasting focus. Your warlock spellcasting uses Charisma. Half-Caster Frame: This subclass replaces your Pact Magic feature; you do not gain Pact Magic slots or Mystic Arcanum. Instead, you use the Paladin's half-caster spell-slot progression, using your Warlock level as your class level, and can cast Warlock spells of a level for which you have slots. You prepare Warlock spells as a Paladin prepares spells, preparing a number equal to your Charisma modifier + half your Warlock level (rounded down, minimum one). You can change prepared spells when you finish a Long Rest. You gain no other Paladin features. Resonance: You have a pool of Resonance points equal to your proficiency bonus, regained when you finish a Short or Long Rest. Once on each of your turns, when you hit a creature within 10 feet with a weapon attack or deal damage to it with a Warlock spell, gain 1 Resonance point, up to your maximum. When you cast a Warlock spell that deals damage, you can spend 1 Resonance point to add your Charisma modifier to one damage roll of that spell, or spend 2 points to add 1d8 damage of the spell's type to one target. You can apply only one of these benefits to a spell.
Level 6
Close-Quarters Calibration
As a Bonus Action, you can spend 1 Resonance point to enter Close-Quarters Calibration for 1 minute. While active, once on each of your turns when you deal damage to a creature within 10 feet with a weapon attack or Warlock spell, deal extra radiant damage equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum 1). You also have advantage on Constitution saving throws you make to maintain concentration on a Warlock spell while within 10 feet of a hostile creature. The calibration ends early if you have the Incapacitated condition.
Level 10
Godcore Overdrive
You can drive your core beyond its safe limits. When you deal damage to a creature within 10 feet, you can declare an Overdrive before rolling damage and roll a d100. On a result of 30 or higher, add 3d8 radiant damage to that damage roll, then gain 1 Resonance point (up to your maximum). On a result below 30, the god's essence takes control: you deal the extra 3d8 radiant damage, but you are Charmed by the essence and must use your movement and actions to approach and attack the nearest creature you can perceive, choosing a spell or attack that can damage it if possible. At the end of each of your turns, roll a d100; on 30 or higher, you regain control and the effect ends. You cannot willingly end this effect. Once you use Overdrive, you cannot use it again until you finish a Long Rest, unless you spend 3 Resonance points after regaining control to restore its use.
Level 14
Controlled Cataclysm
Your core can sustain a controlled divine surge. When you use Godcore Overdrive, you can spend 2 Resonance points before rolling its d100. If the roll is below 30, you still risk the god taking control, but you can choose the target of your compelled attacks among creatures you can perceive within 30 feet. In addition, while Close-Quarters Calibration is active, you gain resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from opportunity attacks. When you hit a creature within 10 feet with a weapon attack, you can spend 2 Resonance points to deal an additional 2d8 radiant damage to it; you can do so only once per turn.

Core traits

Hit die

Primary

Charisma

Constitution

Saves

Wisdom

Charisma

Hit pointsWarlock Hit Die: d8 per Warlock level; this subclass grants no additional hit points.

DefensesClose-Quarters Calibration grants advantage on concentration saves only while within 10 feet of a hostile creature.

TrainingAs Warlock, plus smith's tools proficiency. A melee weapon with which you are proficient can serve as your spellcasting focus.

Skill choicesChoose Warlock skills as normal; the subclass adds no skill choices.

ResourceResonance points (maximum equal to proficiency bonus; regained on a Short or Long Rest). Godcore Overdrive also has a once-per-Long-Rest use, with an optional Resonance cost to restore it.

MulticlassingUse the 2024 multiclassing rules for Warlock. This subclass's half-caster spell slots replace Pact Magic, so do not combine its slots with Pact Magic slots or gain Mystic Arcanum from this subclass. Multiclass spell slots are determined by the normal multiclass spellcasting rules; coordinate with the DM because replacing Pact Magic is a substantial subclass-level change.

Spells and options

How it casts

Half-Caster Frame replaces Pact Magic, as described in Divine Chassis.

1st-level spells

2nd-level spells

3rd-level spells

4th-level spells

5th-level spells

Playing one

What it is

Norvoldt's mk.

How to play one

Build Resonance by landing hits and dealing spell damage, then spend it to amplify a spell or fuel your calibration.

Make one

Personality: I ask direct questions about people's motives, even when courtesy would suggest otherwise.
Ideal: Reclamation: My life and body belong to me, not to the people who built me.
Bond: I will find every inventor who signed the order that destroyed my former body.
Flaw: I interpret ordinary disagreements as the first step toward another betrayal.
Quirk: Counts down aloud during moments of stress, as if waiting for a system failure.

In the world

Training

A candidate must survive the binding of a soul to a constructed frame and accept a pact that houses—or cages—a divine fragment.

How others see them

People may see a walking weapon, a miracle, or a stolen person trapped in metal.

Famous practitioners

Norvoldt's mk. IVeyra-01
A runaway prototype who dismantled the factory that made her and now hunts the financiers who rebuilt it.
Norvoldt's mk. IOrren Brasswake
A former repair-priest whose divine core speaks in the voices of everyone he failed to save.

Factions

The Unbolted
A clandestine network of escaped constructs and sympathetic artificers who sabotage soul-binding workshops.
The Furnace Choir
A militant sect that believes divine essence should be weaponized against its captors, regardless of the cost.
The Ledger of Names
A loose alliance of investigators cataloging experimental frames and searching for their missing original souls.

Regions

The Cinderworks
A soot-choked industrial belt where failed prototypes and displaced souls vanish into the scrap yards.
The Quiet Anvils
A remote mountain enclave whose foundries forge reliquary frames under strict vows of restraint.
Vantress
A wealthy city-state where the manufacture of soul-bearing machines is officially forbidden and quietly sponsored.

Character hooks

Your inventors are dead, but their company still manufactures bodies using the stolen divine essence that powers you.

A surviving engineer claims your destruction was an attempt to save you from something inside the core.

The god in your chassis recognizes an ancient enemy in the seal of your former owners.

You have located your original remains, preserved in a laboratory as a possible template for a new body.

A revolutionary group wants you to lead an assault on the factories that built you—and the other souls trapped inside them.

Features

Divine Chassis

Close-Quarters Calibration

Godcore Overdrive

Controlled Cataclysm

Core traits

Spells and options

How it casts

Playing one

What it is

How to play one

Make one

Personality

Ideals

Bonds

Flaws

Quirks

In the world

Training

How others see them

Famous practitioners

Factions

The Unbolted

The Furnace Choir

The Ledger of Names

Regions

The Cinderworks

The Quiet Anvils

Vantress

Character hooks

Media

Turn Norvoldt's mk. I into a sheet

Features

Divine Chassis

Close-Quarters Calibration

Godcore Overdrive

Controlled Cataclysm

Core traits

Spells and options

How it casts

Playing one

What it is

How to play one

Make one

Personality

Ideals

Bonds

Flaws

Quirks

In the world

Training

How others see them

Famous practitioners

Factions

The Unbolted

The Furnace Choir

The Ledger of Names

Regions

The Cinderworks

The Quiet Anvils

Vantress

Character hooks

Media

Turn Norvoldt's mk. I into a sheet