These are most definitely new features, so it qould be a new archtype

“Is there a rules point where it would matter one way or the other”

Yes, it certainly would matter; the fact that you don’t see that tells me that you don’t understand my question. So let me try to explain myself more fully. When I say “baseline class” I’m referring to the core class features that all warlocks share. When I say “archetype” I’m referring to the additional features determined by your choice of otherworldly patron. What I was getting it was that it’s not clear from your description if what you have in mind (mechanically speaking) involves a change to the core class features of the warlock, or whether it’s simply another option for “patron” in addition to the standard options of fiend, fey or Great Old One.

Wyvern – thanks for the catch. I corrected the half sentence and included a brief section about what contracts do, as well as a brief explanation as to why one would want to change them.

In regards to your question, it can be seen as either one: It COULD be a change to the baseline class OR it could simply be played off as another type of Warlock. Is there a rules point where it would matter one way or the other?

The article seems more like notes from a brainstorming session than a fully fleshed-out article, though. (There’s even an unfinished sentence: “Keep in mind that the following options are suggestions only, based on the contract that the”) Nothing wrong with that, I suppose, but the mechanical implementation of the idea is pretty fuzzy. I’m not clear, for instance, whether this is supposed to be a new warlock archetype or a change to the baseline class. Also, it talks about how many contracts you can have and how often you can change contracts, but what’s the purpose of that? What does a contract *do*? Are they where you get your spells and/or invocations from, or do they grant additional powers on top of that?