MadCap's D&D Builds - Pinhead (5e)

Another Thursday in October, another D&D build of the horror vein. I guess that you can tell from the title, I have such sights to show you...

It's Pinhead, originally from Clive Barker's novella The Hellbound Heart, has become one of the most iconic villain in all of horror movies. I hesitate to call him a slasher film villain seeing as (despite some of the later entries into the series), the Hellraiser movies really aren't slasher films as much as they are precursors of the later torture porn in some cases, but we'll not be holding that against him in this build.

So, what are our goals for this build?

• Whips and Chains Excite Me - Being the leader of the Order of the Gash (yes, that's the name of the Cenobite group), Pinhead is all about pain and pleasure, and thus we'll need hooks and chains and all sorts of wonderful things to string people up and make them taste our pleasures.
• Such Sights To Show You - Pinhead is, despite his odd choice in headwear, a very charismatic individual with a great force of personality. Of course, that's largely due to the fact that he's played by Doug Bradley in eight of the eleven films in the franchise.
• Tear Your Soul Apart - Pinhead will need to punish those who escape the Cenobites, and that largely involves incredibly gory messes. Jesus wept.

So, for stats, we're going to use the Standard Point Array from the Player's Handbook. Roll for stats if you want and use this as a guide for where to put your rolls.

Charisma: 15

As I said before, Doug Bradley as Pinhead is very Charismatic despite his face. He is a man who has spent decades visiting pleasure and pain upon those who summon the Cenobites, and thus is deeply connected to life.

Constitution: 14

Pinhead is durable, and it usually takes something blowing up in order to take him down. Hell, in the third film he even retained his living status while stuck inside a pillar. It seems to be a case of him being immortal unless he's killed. That sort of thing.

Intelligence: 13

Pinhead is educated and well-spoken. Again, if it weren't for the pins in his head and the whole BDSM torture fetish, he seems like he'd be an interesting person to have a conversation with.

Dexterity: 12

Pinhead can move quickly when the need arrives, but isn't often on the end of the fight where he needs to be the one running away.

Wisdom: 10

Pinhead is observant, but has been bamboozled a few times, particularly by Kristy Cotton.

Strength: 8

We're dumping strength. While Pinhead is by no means physically weak, his powers and his Cenobite minions more often tend to do the heavy lifting for him.

For race, we'll be going with a first for the blog - Custom Lineage. I was going to go with Variant Human, but Pinhead is something more human than human now after so many years doing what he does. With Custom Lineage, you are humanoid but determine your own appearance. You can be Small or Medium in size, have a walking speed of 30 feet, and one of your ability scores goes up by 2 (go for Charisma). You also can gain a skill of your choice or Darkvision going out to 60 feet, we'll be taking a free skill in History. Pinhead is, after all, very well-read.

You also get a free feat at 1st level so long as you qualify for it. Pick up Magic Initiate, which lets you pick up two cantrips and one first level spell from the bard, cleric, druid, sorcerer, warlock, or wizard class spell lists. For our choice, we'll be going with Cleric and picking up Sacred Flame and Thaumaturgy in order to fit our latter aesthetic and give Pinhead the booming voice he deserves, respectively.

For the first level spell, which can only be used once before a long rest, we're going with Ceremony from Xanathar's Guide to Everything. The spell is detailed on page 151 of Xanathar's, but the spell in question can allow Pinhead to help a creature atone (restoring its original alignment), bless a vial of water to become holy water, give a young adult humanoid a d4 they add to their ability checks for 24 hours, bring people in the service of his deity and give them a d4 to add to one saving throw within the next 24 hours, keep a corpse from being turned into undead in the next seven days, and... perform weddings.

...look, I'm sure somebody would ask Doug Bradley if he were ordained. Is he ordained? I'm too lazy to Google it.

For background, we're going with Soldier due to Pinhead's mortal life as Elliot Spencer, a British soldier during World War I. Taking the Soldier background nets you proficiency in Athletics and Intimidation as well as proficiency with one gaming set of your choice and land vehicles. Maybe... I don't know, Pinhead has a Rubik's cube that he's particularly fond of?

For our first level, we'll start off with Warlock (1) specifically a Fiend Warlock to get access to some aesthetically awesome things. Starting off as a Warlock, though, you can pick two skills from Arcana, Deception, History, Intimidation, Investigation, Nature, and Religion. We're going to go with Arcana and Religion. You also get proficiency in Wisdom and Charisma saving throws, two of the most often called for saving throws in the game. Not bad, right?

As a Fiend Warlock, Pinhead has Dark One's Blessing. When Pinhead reduces a hostile creature to 0 hit points, he gains temporary hit points equal to his Charisma modifier.

A first level Warlock, through their patron, gets access to Pact Magic. In RAW 5e, Warlocks get kind of screwed as far as spell slots go, but this can be circumvented later on, don't worry. While you start off with 1 spell slot at first level, you do get two cantrips. Eldritch Blast is pretty much a must-have as a warlock and you can easily re-flavor it as chains of magical force and starts out at 1d10 damage but gains four beams by the time you reach 17th level. Mage Hand is another good one, essentially giving you a free "pick it up if it's less than ten pounds and within thirty feet of you" button.

For your choice of spells, Hellish Rebuke is a fun one. You point a finger and a creature that damaged you is surrounded by hellish flames. They make a Dexterity saving throw against your spell DC and, if they fail, they take 2d10 fire damage and half as much if they succeed. You can cast it in a 2nd level or higher slot in order to increase the damage by 1d10 for each level. Hex places a curse on a creature that you can see within 90 feet. For up to an hour (depending on your concentration), the creature takes and extra 1d6 necrotic damage every time you hit it and you can choose one of its abilities that it will have disadvantage on checks for that ability until the spell ends.

If they drop to 0 hit points while under the effects of Hex, you can use a bonus action on your next turn to curse a creature without having to cast the spell again.

Second level of Warlock (2) gives you access to your first Eldritch Invocations. Pinhead's servitude to the Leviathan is finally starting to pay off as he gets special powers from his patron. In this case Pinhead receives two and we'll be going with Beguiling Influence - giving him proficiency in Deception and Persuasion skills - and Agonizing Blast - which lets him add his Charisma modifier to the damage he deals on a hit with eldritch blast. Those chains are gonna hurt people for sure... and they're only going to get worse!

Pinhead also receives a new spell and a new spell slot. Arms of Hadar is a fun 1st level spell that conjures up tendrils of dark energy (re-flavor them as chains, because aesthetic!) that forces creatures within ten feet of Pinhead to make a Strength saving throw. If they fail, they take 2d6 necrotic damage and can't take reactions until their next turn. On a successful save, they suffer only half of 2d6 and do not suffer the secondary effect. When cast in a 2nd level spell slot or higher, the damage goes up by 1d6 for each slot above 1st.

Third level of Warlock (3) sees Pinhead getting a Pact Boon for his service to Leviathan. Now, while Pact of the Chain seems like an obvious pick, that's largely bit around summons and that isn't really Pinhead's thing per se. So, we'll be taking Pact of the Talisman from Tasha's Cauldron of Everything. Your patron gives you an amulet that aids the wearer in a variety of ways. One such way right off the bat is that when Pinhead fails an ability check, he can add a d4 to the roll to potentially turn it into a success. He can do this a number of times equal to his proficiency bonus and regains all uses on a long rest.

Now, obviously, re-flavoring this into being the Lament Configuration or something of that kind shouldn't be too much of a problem with your DM. Maybe it'll just mean changing "wear" in descriptions to "having it in your possession".

Third level also sees a Warlock get access to 2nd level spells (even if they still have only two spell slots), Hold Person is a concentration spell that forces a Wisdom saving throw on a humanoid within 60 feet. If they fail the save, they are paralyzed for up to a minute depending on your concentration. They do get a save at the end of each of its turns, the spell ending if they succeed.

Casting it in a 3rd level slot or higher will let you target another humanoid per each slot. Same rules apply for them getting their saves, however.

Fourth level of Warlock (4) and we get our first Ability Score Improvement or Feat. We'll be picking up Eldritch Adept, which gives us a free Eldritch Invocation. Rebuke of the Talisman is an ability that activates any time Pinhead (or anyone wearing or using his talisman) is hit. Pinhead can use his reaction to deal psychic damage to his attacker equal to his proficiency bonus and then knock them back 10 feet.

Pinhead gets a new cantrip from the warlock list. Chill touch creates a ghostly, skeletal hand in a space of a creature within 120 feet. After a successful hit, the target takes 1d8 necrotic damage and cannot regain hit points until the start of your next turn. Until then, they have a hand stuck on them. If the target's undead, they get disadvantage on attacks against you until the end of your next turn.

The 1d8 increases to 2d8, 3d8, and finally 4d8 at 5th, 11th, and 17th level. That is character level, not warlock level.

You also get another spell, let's go with ray of enfeeblement. A black beam chain of enervating energy springs from Pinhead's finger and goes after a creature within 60 feet. On a hit, the target only deals half damage with weapon attacks that use Strength until the spell ends. The target gets a Constitution saving throw at the end of each turn to shake it off.

At fifth level Warlock (5), Pinhead receives access to third level spells... and still has only two spell slots. Yay! Fear forces a Wisdom save on a creature in a 30-foot cone. If they fail, they see a phantasmal image of their worst fear and must drop whatever they are holding and run away from it as quickly as possible, unable to do anything other than run scared unless they literally cannot move. If the creature ends its turn where it cannot see you, it can make a Wisdom save to end the effect. Otherwise, it lasts up to a minute depending on your concentration.

Pinhead also picks up his third Eldritch Invocation. Eldritch Spear increases the range of eldritch blast to 300 feet. Pinhead also gains a new spell and we'll go with fireball from the Fiend Warlock spell list. Honestly, fireball is just a fun spell to have, isn't it?

At sixth level Warlock (6), Pinhead receives the Dark One's Own Luck. When he makes an ability check or saving throw, Pinhead can add a d10 to the roll. Once he uses this feature, he can't use it again until he finishes a short rest.

For another spell, pop back to 2nd level for Cloud of Daggers, which summon a bunch of daggers within a 5 foot cube within 60 feet of you when you cast the spell. A creature in the cube takes 4d4 slashing damage when they enter the area or start their turn in the area. This can last for up to a minute depending on your concentration. When using spell slots of 3rd or higher, the damage increases by 2d4 for each one.

Seventh level Warlocks (7) get another spell to add to their repertoire but can now choose from 4th level spells! Hallucinatory Terrain bends a 150-foot area to your will, shifting the terrain into some other kind of terrain... perhaps a forest becomes hellfire or an M.C. Escher painting? Anyone who carefully examines the illusion can make an Investigation check against your spell DC. On a success, they see what you've done as a superimposed image over the actual terrain.

Pinhead also gets another Eldritch Invocation. We'll be going with Maddening Hex to play off of his use of the Hex spell. When Hex (or another ability that curses) is used on a target, Pinhead deals psychic damage to the cursed target and each creature of his choice within 5 feet of that target. The damage is equal to his Charisma modifier, and he has to be able to see the target within 30 feet of him.

At eighth level, a Warlock (8) receives another Ability Score Improvement or a Feat. Spell Sniper doubles the range of any spell that requires an attack roll, allows you to ignore half-cover and three-quarters cover, and you can learn one cantrip that requires an attack roll from the bard, cleric, druid, sorcerer, warlock, or wizard spell list. The ability for the cantrip is tied into whatever class you pick. Booming Blade works fine for our purposes, upon striking a target with a weapon worth at least a silver piece, that target is sheathed in energy. If they willingly move more than 5 feet, they take 1d8 thunder damage.

When the warlock gets to 5th level, they take an extra 1d8 thunder damage on the hit and the damage for moving increases to 2d8. This bumps up to 2d8 and 3d8 (at 11th level) and 3d8 and 4d8 (at 17th). Now, is it a little cheap to use a non-distance spell for this feat? Sure, but we're a) running out of good cantrips that fit our theme and b) we all know why I really chose this feat and it has nothing to do with the free spell we get.

Also, something something another spell... Counterspell allows you to interrupt a creature within 60 feet that is casting a spell. If the spell is a 3rd level or higher one, it fails immediately. If the spell is 4th or higher, Pinhead makes an ability check using his spellcasting ability (in this case, Charisma) versus a DC of 10 + the spell's level. On a success, the spell fails.

Using this in a slot of 4th or higher will auto-cancel a spell that is of less or equal to the level of spell slot that the warlock uses. By the way, you still only have two.

At ninth level, a Warlock (9) gets another spell as they can now dip into 5th level spells. Hold Monster works like Hold Person, but for non-humanoids. They also gain their fifth (in our case, sixth) Eldritch Invocation. Bond of the Talisman allows you to teleport to someone wearing using your talisman provided the pair of you are on the same plane of reality. This isn't exactly the travelling from Hell to come to the Earth, but we'll get there soon enough don't worry. For now, consider this just how Pinhead finds someone who has gotten their hands on the Lament Configuration. After all, they opened the box... and he came...

Tenth level Warlocks (10) who made pacts with a fiend receive Fiendish Resilience. Upon finishing a short or long rest, Pinhead can choose to gain resistance to a specific damage type until he uses his feature again. Damage from magical or silver weapons ignores this resistance.

We also get a new cantrip. Prestidigitation is a good utility spell. That's about it.

At eleventh level, Warlocks (11) receive their very first Mystic Arcanum. In this case, Pinhead receives a spell that he can cast once without expending a spell slot, getting the power back when he finishes a long rest. True Seeing allows Pinhead to see through pretty much every deception or illusion, so he'll be much better able to find Frank Cotton hiding out wearing his brother's flesh.

We also, shockingly, get another spell slot! Now we're up to 3!  Magic Circle allows you to create a 10-foot-radius, 20-foot-tall cylinder of magical energy centered on a point on the ground within 10 feet of you. You choose a creature type from celestials, elementals, fey, fiends, or undead and those creatures:

• cannot enter the cylinder willingly.
• have disadvantage on attack rolls on targets within the cylinder.
• targets within the cylinder can't be charmed, frightened, or possessed.

You can also work this spell in reverse and trap something within the cylinder. Not really good to deal with the humans, but pretty damn useful if Angelique shows up.

At twelfth level, Warlocks (12) get an Ability Score Improvement or Feat. In this case, we're going to add a +1 to our Constitution and Charisma for better bonuses.

Pinhead also gets another Eldritch Invocation. Lance of Lethargy allows you to reduce the speed of a creature that you hit with your eldritch blast by ten feet until the end of your next turn.

Thirteenth level sees a Warlock (13) getting a new spell - pick your own at this point, other than Mystic Arcanum, I'm just gonna tell you when they happen - and their 7th level Mystic Arcanum. Plane Shift allows Pinhead and up to eight willing creatures who join hands to transport to a different plane of existence. It can also be used to banish an unwilling creature to another plane if they fail a Charisma saving throw following a successful melee spell attack.

So, boom, we have Pinhead being able to travel to and from Hell. You're welcome.

At fourteenth level, Warlocks (14) who follow the Fiend pact receive their capstone ability Hurl Through Hell. On a successful attack, this feature can instantly transport the target through the lower planes. They return at the end of Pinhead's next turn in either the space it left or the nearest unoccupied one. If the target isn't a fiend, they take 10d10 psychic damage. Pinhead regains this feature upon finishing a long rest.

At 15th level, Warlocks (15) get their 8th level Mystic Arcanum. Demiplane allows Pinhead to conjure a door large enough to allow Medium creatures to pass through unhindered that leads to an empty room that extends for 30 feet in all directions made of stone and word. After an hour, the door disappears and anything inside remains trapped there.

Each time the spell is cast, the door can be restored or connect to a new demiplane if you happen to know of it. I know, like a lot of things, this could do with some re-flavoring to become Pinhead's private little Hell dimension.

They also receive their seventh Eldritch Invocation. Mask of Many Faces allows Pinhead to cast disguise self at will, an ability he showcased having in the direct to video sequels.

Also, new spell. Moving on.

Warlocks (16) that reach sixteenth level receive another Ability Score Improvement or Feat. We'll go with Metamagic Adept from Tasha's Cauldron of Everything, which gives us access to two metamagic options that are usually reserved only for Sorcerers as well as giving us 2 sorcery points to work them.

We'll be going with Distant Spell - which has you spend a sorcery point to double the range of a spell and make the range 30 feet instead if the spell is a cantrip - and Empowered Spell - spending a sorcery point to reroll a number of damage dice up to your Charisma modifier. However, you must use the new rolls. Also, just to let you know, Empowered Spell stacks with other Metamagic abilities.

At 17th level, Warlocks (17) receive their final Mystic Arcanum. Imprisonment creates some form of magical restraint against a creature within 30 feet. If they fail a Wisdom saving throw, they are bound by the spell (immune to it if they succeed and you try to cast it again). The spell essentially renders the target immortal and bars all divination spells from locating the target. There are multiple forms that this imprisonment can take, but the one we'll be going with is Chaining, where heavy chains root the target into the ground and they are stuck there until the spell ends... and Imprisonment lasts until it is dispelled.

You can also specify a condition by which the target can be released. Work with the DM about it, more details are on page 252 and 253 of the Player's Handbook.

Also, fourteenth spell... at least you finally have four slots now. Four.

At 18th level, Warlocks (18) receive their eighth and final Eldritch Invocation. Protection of the Talisman allows Pinhead (or whoever is using his talisman) to add a d4 to their roll in the event of failing a saving throw. This can be done a number of times equal to Pinhead's proficiency bonus and the expended uses are restored on a long rest.

At 19th level, as a Warlock (19), Pinhead receives his final new spell as well as a final Ability Score Improvement or a Feat. Bump up that Charisma and Constitution for better bonuses.

Our capstone is 20th level, where the Warlock (20) becomes an Eldritch Master. In a moment of need, Pinhead draws upon his inner reserve of mystical power to have the Leviathan restore his expended spell slots. This ritual takes one minute and, after it's done, Pinhead must finish a long rest before he can do so again.

Now that we've hit level twenty, let's check out our pros and cons.

Pros:

• Your eldritch blast is absolutely insane. With four beams channeling 1d10 damage, adding your Charisma bonus (which should be 18 by the end of this build without any items or other additions, so +4) to it, and then with the range increased to 300 feet with Eldritch Spear and then doubled with Distant Spell. You're doing a lot of damage and you can go very far.
• You, ironically, make a great party face with a high Charisma that leads to good bonuses to Deception, Persuasion, and Intimidation, all of which you are proficient in.
• You have some pretty good debuffs like ray of enfeeblement and hex and some spells that just automatically "No" your opponent such as counterspell.

Cons:

• Warlocks are one of my favorite classes in D&D... and I hate the fact that their spell slots are so limited. I get why they are, but it seems disproportionate as not all of the Eldritch Invocations are great and worth the effort to get to, particularly ones that use warlock spell slots... which kind of defeats the point.
• Concentration spells are a pain for anyone, and especially with the limited selection that warlocks have, you have to pick and choose very carefully. You don't really have the safety cushion of more slots if your magic fails.
• You're very squishy and a lot of your spells require you to be at close range or indeed right up on your enemies. Beefing up your Constitution and a few of your abilities like hellish rebuke or Protection of the Talisman help with this, but only just so much.

But hey, you're the Hell Priest, the Lead Cenobite. You're Pinhead! Prepare yourself to be an explorer in the further regions of experience. You're a demon to some, angel to others, and you're gonna be an absolute menace to any opponent that you take on. Just keep your eyes peeled for anyone who might just be that much more quick witted than you are, or you might end up with your final words being "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" right before you explode.

How lame would that be?