Prerequisite: 15th level, Pact of the Chain feature
You can cast Hold Monster at will – targeting a celestial, fiend, or elemental – without expending a spell slot or material components. You must finish a long rest before you can use this invocation on the same creature again.
Chains of Carceri: Hold Your Fire Elemental
Review by Sam West, Twitter:@CrierKobold
You know, sometimes I think maybe the warlock invocations aren’t designed that well when they just slap an existing spell on to it and make it at will. Then, I read something like Chains of Carceri; an invocation with a level 15 prerequisite that takes the spell Hold Monster, reigns in the target options in, and opens it up to at will casting. When I think of a character taking this, especially given that you have to be Pact of the Chain to get access to this as well, I envision masters of extraplanar control. This could look like a devilish tiefling having mastered the art of the contract, bending the laws of the planes to paralyze extraplanar threats. Maybe a celestial warlock picks this up, and uses literal silver and gold radiant chains to mystically bind planar invaders at their whims. Whatever the fantasy of it is, getting a 5th level spell at will (even with the constraints) is a SWEET ability, and highlights the top end warlock fantasy perfectly. Lazy design? Maybe. Satisfying, concise, top end ability? Absolutely!
The limitations they added to it make it all that much sweeter to me. You get a once per long rest hold monster per celestial, fiend, or elemental. I’d love to see fey also on this list, but fiends and elementals alone make up a solid chunk of upper CR threats. Whenever you do come across creatures of that type, you, as this warlock, can feel like a badass. It costs you no spell slots to fire off powerful, paralyzing magic that can easily result in a cascade of critical hits that obliterate the extraplanar being in seconds.
Now, these limitations aren’t all too worrisome at tables with varied monster types and encounters. Obviously, if your table isn’t going to be facing down any of these three monster types as you confront a mechanical evil genius and their army of constructs, or venture deep into the feywild with exclusively fairy and humanoid villains, this is going to be worthless. By 15th level you’ll absolutely know what kind of game you’re playing in, and shouldn’t have a problem making the call there. Bonus points if you’re diving into Avernus or charging up Mt. Celestia to fight gods!
Chains of Carceri is one of those invocations that make me adore warlocks. It's a big, flashy, at will effect that cements the fantasy warlocks are asking for. It takes a powerful spell, makes it at will, but has a trade off of working only against specific creatures you’d expect warlocks to excel against. It takes the epic stature of a being getting their power from some otherworldly threat and shows you their progression at handling similar kinds of otherworldly threats. It's a top notch invocation that will shine very brightly in some moments, while not taking over a game entirely and warping everyone’s experiences every single fight. I’m a huge proponent of Chains of Carceri. Give it a shot if you get the opportunity to.
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