The Rootbound Grimoire
A patient shadow warlock carries a treasured grimoire whose sealed final leaf promises a tenth-level spell no mortal can cast by standard 5e rules.
Spellbook · Warlock, Pact of the Tome · Level 20
The Rootbound Grimoire
A patient shadow warlock carries a treasured grimoire whose sealed final leaf promises a tenth-level spell no mortal can cast by standard 5e rules.
Ex librisMara VeyPact of the Tome Warlock bound to an inscrutable shadow patron
At a glance
Level
20
Warlock, Pact of the Tome
Spells
9
1 cantrip, 4 signature
At the table
A margin note
Plot hook
Spells
9 spellsCantrips
1- Create a sound or an image of an object within range. The illusion lasts 1 minute; physical interaction reveals an image as illusory.
- Duration
- Instantaneous
- Target
- A point within range
- Components
- V, S
- Save or attack
- Investigation check against your spell save DC to discern the illusion
- Higher levels
- Cantrip; no slot required.
- Source
- Player's Handbook
2nd level
1- Magical darkness spreads from a point within range in a 15-foot-radius sphere, spreads around corners, and cannot be illuminated by nonmagical light.
- Duration
- Concentration, up to 10 minutes
- Target
- A point within range
- Components
- V, S, M (a drop of pitch or a piece of coal)
- Higher levels
- Casting with a 3rd-level or higher slot prevents light spells of 3rd level or lower from dispelling it.
- Source
- Player's Handbook
3rd level
2- Each creature in the cone must make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, it is frightened and must take the Dash action and move away from you by the safest available route on its turns.
- Duration
- Concentration, up to 1 minute
- Target
- Each creature in a 30-foot cone
- Components
- V, S, M (a pinch of dust from a tomb)
- Save or attack
- Wisdom saving throw; a creature drops what it is holding and is frightened on a failed save
- Higher levels
- Casting with a slot of 4th level or higher increases the cone's range by 5 feet for each slot level above 3rd.
- Conditions
- Frightened
- Source
- Player's Handbook
- Open a 20-foot-radius sphere of blackness and cold, filled with whispers. The area is difficult terrain and heavily obscured. Creatures starting their turns inside take cold damage; creatures ending their turns there make a Dexterity save or take acid damage.
- Duration
- Concentration, up to 1 minute
- Target
- A point within range; 20-foot-radius sphere
- Components
- V, S, M (a piece of tentacle from a giant octopus or giant squid)
- Save or attack
- No initial save; Dexterity saving throw for the end-of-turn acid damage
- Damage
- Cold and acid
- Higher levels
- Casting with a slot of 4th level or higher increases the cold damage by for each slot level above 3rd.
- Conditions
- Blinded
- Source
- Player's Handbook
4th level
2- Black tentacles fill a 20-foot square, making it difficult terrain. A creature that fails its save takes bludgeoning damage and is restrained; creatures in the area repeat the save at the start of their turns.
- Duration
- Concentration, up to 1 minute
- Target
- A 20-foot square within range
- Components
- V, S, M (a forked twig)
- Save or attack
- Dexterity saving throw when a creature enters the area for the first time on a turn or starts its turn there
- Damage
- Bludgeoning
- Higher levels
- Casting with a slot of 5th level or higher increases the damage by for each slot level above 4th.
- Conditions
- Restrained
- Source
- Player's Handbook
- Flame-like shadows shroud you, heavily obscuring you from others. You gain resistance to radiant damage; dim light and darkness no longer grant creatures disadvantage to attack you. A creature that hits you with an attack within 10 feet takes necrotic damage.
- Duration
- Concentration, up to 1 minute
- Target
- Self
- Components
- V, S, M (an undead eyeball encased in a gem worth at least 150 gp)
- Damage
- Necrotic
- Higher levels
- No additional effect when cast with a higher-level slot.
- Source
- Xanathar's Guide to Everything
8th level
1- Magical darkness fills a 60-foot-radius sphere. A creature that starts its turn there takes psychic damage and makes a Wisdom saving throw, becoming frightened of you on a failure.
- Duration
- Concentration, up to 1 minute
- Target
- A point within range; 60-foot-radius sphere
- Components
- V, S, M (a handful of black sand)
- Save or attack
- Wisdom saving throw at the start of a creature's turn in the area
- Damage
- Psychic
- Higher levels
- Casting with a slot of 9th level deals more psychic damage for each slot level above 8th.
- Conditions
- Frightened
- Source
- Xanathar's Guide to Everything
9th level
1- Each creature in a 30-foot-radius sphere must make a Wisdom saving throw or become frightened. While frightened, it takes psychic damage at the end of each of its turns, then repeats the save to end the effect.
- Duration
- Concentration, up to 1 minute
- Target
- Creatures of your choice in a 30-foot-radius sphere
- Components
- V, S, M (a pinch of soot and salt)
- Save or attack
- Wisdom saving throw initially and at the end of each of the target's turns
- Damage
- Psychic
- Higher levels
- No additional effect when cast with a higher-level slot.
- Conditions
- Charmed
- Source
- Player's Handbook
10th level, nonstandard homebrew formula
1- A tenth-level spell title and fragmentary formula preserved on the grimoire's sealed final leaf. Its effects are deliberately undefined and it is not a legal spell option for a standard level 20 warlock.
- Duration
- Unspecified
- Target
- Unspecified
- Components
- Unspecified; the inscription demands a living shadow and a root grown over a grave, but provides no rules-valid component procedure
- Save or attack
- Unspecified
- Damage
- Unspecified; no standard 5e damage profile
- Higher levels
- Not applicable; this is not a standard 5e spell or spell tier.
- Source
- Original Creation
In the margins
3 notes
WarningDarkness is a curtain, not a weapon. Know what your allies can see before you draw it.
DiaryThe root beneath every wicked deed is fear. Pull gently, and it tells you who planted it.
FormulaThe final leaf is not a spell I know. It is a question written in a language that answers back.
The book itself
The book's shadows seem to lean toward whoever speaks its owner's name.
Its final leaf is sealed shut by a root-shaped clasp that has no visible keyhole.
The grimoire is a treasured companion, not a license to cast magic beyond the rules.
The caster
Pact of the Tome Warlock bound to an inscrutable shadow patronMara Vey
Studies: Shadow magic, concealment, and battlefield controlManner: Soft-spoken and courteous, with the unnerving habit of standing where the light falls short.Focus: A blackthorn wand capped with a sliver of smoky quartz, used to trace sigils in the air.Quirk: She turns a page only after letting its shadow fall across her hand.Wants: Learn who wrote the sealed tenth-level formula and keep its promise from becoming a weapon.Mara Vey was once a night archivist who catalogued forbidden testimony for a secretive patron. She kept the grimoire after discovering it recorded not only spells, but the names of those who feared them.
The book
A narrow, black-leather codex bound with rootlike cords, its pages dark as dusk and its silver lettering visible only in shadow. A sealed final leaf bears the title Root of All Evil.
Its wards · GM only
About the book
FormatShadow-stained grimoire
ThemeShadow
Written by aWarlock, Pact of the Tome
Caster level20
SystemD&D 5E
Plot hooks
1The root-shaped clasp has begun to loosen, and a shadowy presence is whispering the name of the person who first sealed the tenth-level formula.
2A village's shadows have detached from their owners and gathered beneath an ancient tree. The grimoire's pages point toward its roots.
3A former patron claims the book was stolen from their vault and demands its return, but the grimoire's marginalia suggest the patron fears its last page.
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