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View Full Version : [3.5] Anyone have a Warlock build guide?



loopy
2009-02-23, 09:45 PM
Hey all, loopy here again. I'll be starting a new campaign on Wednesday, playing a deranged human warlock named Pathos, formerly a prisoner of the Zhents.

I've never really played a warlock before, so I was looking for some advice. My stats are: 18, 17, 16, 16, 12, 11. We'll be starting on level 10.

If any other information is needed (a good PrC to enter would be nice as well), I'll add it to this main post. Thanks all!

Shades of Gray
2009-02-23, 09:51 PM
Well, these are a few tips I have from the warlock I have.

1) Even though it says that Charisma is the most important stat, I believe Dex is more important for blasts.

2) You can prepare really well. Look at the least invocation list. The grasping earth one. Each lasts for 1 minute per caster level, so one can litter a battlefield with these arms. If you do this, carry a bag of dirt (or better yet, a jar of dirt a la Jack Sparrow). This is just off the top of my head.

3) As for PrCs, Complete Mage has some. They have a mystic theurge warlock class, one for wizard or sorcerer/ warlock, and one for divine/warlock. As well as one that is a redeemed celestial warlock class.

MammonAzrael
2009-02-23, 09:52 PM
There are a couple different Warlock guides out there, but the one I've found the most useful is Thinblade's (http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=751117). As he notes in his opening post, the CO info for Warlocks is quite scattered, and his is the best collection I have found.

TSED
2009-02-23, 10:08 PM
Why are you concerned about a PrC? Warlocks are great fun and all the prestige classes basically focus on one of two things:

1) Making a multiclass warlock/othercaster viable
2) Exchanging class features for more direct damage features.



That being said, 'blasterlocks' are kind of boring. For myself, I find that warlocks are more fun if you branch out and try to be as diverse as possible. Don't try to combat optimize, try to adventure optimize. It's not hard to make combat monsters, but it's so much more rewarding when you convince the birds to keep singing so the ranger bugbears you're sneaking up on don't realise something's approaching.

Lastly, that blinding blast thingy + any aoe spreader is amazingly good fun if you have a rogue or two. Sneak attacks galore and you basically neutralize as many non-clerics as you can hit.

So yeah, in short: think about having fun, not about winning. Warlocks are not the most mechanically powerful class EVAR, but they're really hard to screw up. Think about fluff, think about utility, and think about fun. Their biggest problem stems from being a pony with a small handful of tricks; anything you can do to increase those tricks (items, feats, diverse invocation choices) should make it funner to play.

loopy
2009-02-24, 05:48 AM
Yeah, I guess I've become a bit swept up in the "PrC's make classes more fun" line of thinking.

Arcane_Snowman
2009-02-24, 06:25 AM
Warlock is one of the rather unique classes out there as it close to having no attribute dependency what so ever:
Strength: this doesn't really come up, since the best melee attack with Warlock is Eldritch Glaive, which is a touch attack.
Dexterity: nice early level, since it makes hitting with ranged touch attacks easy, also helps if the Warlock is trying to do get a lot of AOO' (with the aforementioned Glaive), but really doesn't do a lot more than that either
Constitution: The Warlock needs constitution to survive, but then again, so does everyone else.
Intelligence: the skill points are nice I guess, but that's about it.
Wisdom: bonus on will save is decent, but if you can get whatever magic items you want, it's not really that necessary.
Charisma: Only thing Charisma works with is the saves, which usually are associated with the worse Invocations, the warlock doesn't even need it for social reasons as Beguiling Influence + Skills makes up for it in every way.

as such stat allocation is completely up to you, and actually more dependent on what you want to do with him than anything else.

For a "simple" Warlock, you could do Warlock 8/Mindbender 1/Hellfire Warlock 1 will give you a nice array of abilities, by the virtue of being one of the classes with 24/hour invisibility/fly Warlocks are amazing scouts, telepathy is a good way to talk to your friends without being noticed as well.

Hunter Noventa
2009-02-24, 07:02 AM
YOu should actually stay away from the grasping earth invocations and the like. the spells they duplicate aren't really that good, and you'll get far more mileage out Chilling Tentacles anyway.

For starting off, Shatter and Summon Swarm can be incredibly useful. The latter more depends on your targets, and it loses usefulness once things have DR. But against things vulnerable to the conditions the swarms generate, it can be very useful, the only trick is that while youcontrol the initial fomation of the swarm, they move to engulf anything afterwards,e ven party members. The solution is to drop and resummon it each round it would damage the party.

Later on you get free flight and invisibility, don't pass them up.

Paul H
2009-02-24, 10:34 AM
Hi

Actually the swarm doesn't move to attack party members - CA Pg135 states that the effect is same as spell except it only lasts for concentration in rounds, not conc. +2/rnds.

As for a Warlock build - are you thinking of straight Warlock, asking which essences etc to take? Or are you thinking of a PrC that uses levels of Warlock?

Eldritch Theurge is quite good, since it mixes the powers of both Arcanist & Warlock. In a home Eberron campaign I'm a Changeling Beguiler 6/Warlock 1 going Eldritch Theurge. (GM ruled that Beguilers are core class for Changelings).

With 10HD you could go Beguiler/Warlock/Beguiler 3/Eldritch Theurge:

1) Beguiler, SF Enchants (Armoured Mage, Trapfinding)
2) Warlock, (All Seing Eyes CM)
3) Beguiler, Practiced Spellcaster (Warlock), (Cloaked Casting, +1DC, Surprise Casting)
4) Beguiler, (Adv Learning, Ventriloquism)
5) Beguiler
6) Eld Theurge, Unsettling Enchants (DR1/Cold Iron) (See the Unseen)
7) Eld Theurge, (Fiendish Resilience 1)
8) Eld Theurge (Spellblast) (Devil's Sight)
9) Eld Theurge, SF (Illusion), (DR2/Cold Iron)
10) Eld Theurge, (Eldritch Spellweave) (Fell Flight)

You can use spells/SLA's in light armour.
Have 5D6+5D4 HD
BAB +5
Can find/disable traps as Rogue
Your Eld Blast does 5D6 dam
Can Fly & See Invis, See in Magical Darkness, read with Comp Langs, & have +6 Search/Spot. All for 24 hrs.

If you delayed Eld Theurge & took extra level of Warlock you wouldn't get Spellweave (yet), but you'd have extra +1BAB, and be able to Detect Magic at will.

Lastly, Use Magic Device is a class skill for all Beguilers/Warlocks/Eld Theurges!

Cheers
Paul H

MeklorIlavator
2009-02-24, 04:07 PM
Well, I have a nice little build as well:
Warlock1/Cleric4/Eldrich Disciple x
Or, if your Dm is nice, Warlock 4/Cleric 1/Eldrich Disciple x(this second one involves changing the prerequisites to Eldrich balst +2d6 and 1st level Divine spells, plus making the first level advance divine casting instead of invocations. Fun if you want more warlocky goodness.)

In any case, the key things to take are Eldrich Glaive(Dragon Magic), Weapon Finesse, Healing Blast, and .....well, that's about it. Oh, do prepare divine power. This lets you pack alot of punch in certain fights, and also dish out the healing. Using the first build, by level 10 you're dealing 3d6 damage per attack with 2 attacks. By next level, you can up that to 4d6 damage per attack with 3 attacks. But that's ignoring the fact that that's only using a shape invocation. Add a essence, and now the enemies have to make a save for each of those attacks. Also, the class gives you Healing blast, which is a essence invocation that lets one heal with their blast (or damage undead). So, after a fight, if you still have divine power running, activate Healing Blast with the Glaive, and full attack your party to heal them. To up the damage, look at the Chasuble of Fell power(will also apply to Healing balsts), and talk to your dm about Practiced Spell caster as it applies to warlocks.

This build does encounter some MAD, but not much. Your stats are Wis, Con, Dex, and Cha, but out of those only Wis needs to be really high, and that only if you want to focus on cleric casting.

Oh, and don't forget some of the other abilities granted by the class, such as the ability to add invocations to spells.

Finally, for the rest of your invocations, go wild. For one character I have the following;
Otherworldly Whispers
Eldritch Glaive
See the Unseen
Beguiling Influence
Witchwood Step
Relentless Dispelling.

The character's a cleric of a sea god, and took Otherworldly Whispers because the god/a servant talked to him, and took Witchwood Step to be able to walk of water, showing her Favor. Relentless Dispelling was for the way in which the waters can conquer anything, given time. Not the best choices, but fun, nonetheless.

Hunter Noventa
2009-02-24, 04:42 PM
Hi
Actually the swarm doesn't move to attack party members - CA Pg135 states that the effect is same as spell except it only lasts for concentration in rounds, not conc. +2/rnds.


That's not the problem I was referring to. While resummoning it every round is the same as maintaining concentration, action wise, if there are less than three enemies in the swarm you have this problem-


If no living creatures are within its area, the swarm attacks or pursues the nearest creature as best it can. The caster has no control over its target or direction of travel.

So it will move to cover your allies in melee if you don't pay attention and resummon as needed. Not a big deal though.

enygmatic_me
2009-02-24, 10:49 PM
So it will move to cover your allies in melee if you don't pay attention and resummon as needed. Not a big deal though.

If you aren't paying attention you aren't concentrating. If you aren't concentrating there is no swarm.

ShneekeyTheLost
2009-02-24, 11:13 PM
Really, the best PrC for Warlock, in my opinion, is... more Warlock.

Seriously, it's a good class to take solo from start to finish.

Chain + Utterdark = lots of enemies take negative levels.
Chain + Utterdark + Quicken SLA = lots of enemies take twice as many negative levels

It's a good way to end a fight before it starts, and makes beefy mooks weak. Each negative level drops their BAB and all saves by one. So if you Quicken SLA Chain Utterdark Blast, you're basically hitting every opponent on the board with an Enervation as well as a handfull of d6's which will weaken them so the beatstick can plow through them with Great Cleave.

Will it kill them? Probably not. Will it cripple them? Most likely. Best of all, you combo it with a more traditional caster dropping Slow on them, and the beatstick can do his job and feel important.