Subclass Warlock Hexblade Patron

What Is the Hexblade?

The Hexblade is a Warlock subclass built around a pact with a powerful entity from the Shadowfell — a sentient weapon of immense power. Where other Warlocks blast enemies from range, the Hexblade steps into melee, applies Hex, and turns every attack into a layered curse that dismantles whatever stands in front of it.

This rework gives the Hexblade a complete mechanical identity centered on a new resource: Hexblade Manifest — a pool of charges scaled directly to your Charisma modifier that changes how Hex works at its core.

It has a full progression from Level 3 to Level 10 with meaningful features at every tier.

Class Features

Progression Overview

LEVEL	FEATURE
3	Hexblade Spells, Hexblade Manifest, Draining Slash, Harrowing Blade, Stymying Mark
6	Life Stealer, Hungering Hex
10	Armor of Hexes

Level 3 Features

Hexblade Spells

Your pact grants you a permanently expanding spell list. These spells are always prepared and do not count against your Prepared Spells limit:

WARLOCK LEVEL	SPELLS ADDED
3	Hex, Shield, Arcane Vigor, Wrathful Smite
5	Bestow Curse, Conjure Barrage
7	Freedom of Movement, Staggering Smite
9	Steel Wind Strike

Key change: Hex can now be cast by consuming a Hexblade Manifest charge instead of a spell slot. If you have a Manifest charge available, Hex costs nothing from your Pact Magic.

Hexblade Manifest

A new action resource that regenerates on rest. The number of charges you receive scales directly with your Charisma modifier:

CHARISMA SCORE	MANIFEST CHARGES
13 or lower	1
14–15	2
16–17	3
18–19	4
20–21	5
22–23	6
24+	7

This makes Charisma investment directly rewarding — not just for spell DCs and attack rolls, but for the frequency of your core class loop.

Hexblade's Mark Effects — Choose Your Style

At Level 3, you gain access to three toggleable passive effects that all trigger on attack against a Hexed target. Only one can be active at a time — this is a combat decision, not a passive bonus.

Draining Slash (Default On)

When you hit a Hexed target, force a Constitution saving throw against your Spell Save DC.

• Failure: The target is inflicted with DRAINING_SLASH — a debilitating status that reduces their effectiveness.

Harrowing Blade

When you hit a Hexed target, force a Wisdom saving throw against your Spell Save DC.

• Failure: The target is inflicted with HARROWING_BLADE.
• Additionally: If you attack a target that does not have Hex on them, you still deal 1d6 necrotic damage as your blade hungers.

Stymying Mark

When you hit a Hexed target, apply STYMYING_MARK — a status that impairs their ability to act effectively.

Level 6 Features

Life Stealer

When you miss an attack against a Hexed target, the miss is not wasted — your blade still draws from the shadow bond.

• Trigger: OnAttack where the result is a miss and the target has Hex
• Effect: Deal necrotic damage to the target regardless of the miss

A missed attack still drains the target — the Hex persists and the necrotic damage applies regardless.

Hungering Hex (Hidden Passive)

• Trigger: When a Hexed character is reduced to 0 HP by your damage
• Effect: Regain 1d8 + Charisma modifier hit points instantly

This passive is hidden — it works automatically in the background without cluttering your hotbar. It rewards focusing your Hex on priority targets and finishing them yourself.

Level 10 Features

Armor of Hexes

Armor of Hexes introduces a second Charisma-scaled resource — the ArmorOfHexes pool — and a powerful reaction interrupt:

Interrupt — Armor of Hexes:

• Trigger: You take damage while you yourself are under a Hex-adjacent status (HasHexStatusReverse)
• Cost: 1 ArmorOfHexes charge + your Reaction
• Effect: Reduce incoming damage by 2d8 + Charisma modifier

The number of ArmorOfHexes charges scales identically to Hexblade Manifest:

CHARISMA SCORE	ARMOR CHARGES
13 or lower	1
14–15	2
16–17	3
18–19	4
20–21	5
22–23	6
24+	7

At high Charisma, Armor of Hexes provides substantial damage absorption across a long fight — meaningful survivability for a subclass that operates in melee.

Playstyle Notes

The Hexblade is a Charisma-first melee striker with strong curse-based debuffs and surprising survivability at later levels.

Your combat loop:

1. Apply Hex — consuming a Manifest charge instead of a spell slot
2. Choose your Mark Effect toggle based on the fight
3. Attack. Let the curse work.
4. If you miss at Level 6+, Life Stealer ensures the turn wasn't wasted
5. When a Hexed target drops, Hungering Hex refuels you for the next one
6. At Level 10, use your Reaction to absorb punishment and stay in the fight