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View Full Version : Fixing the Warlock? Here’s how I see it



nonsi
2011-01-26, 07:52 AM
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Looking at the core Warlock, it's quite obvious that this class is underpowered and offers a very narrow array of options (per build).
Unlike the writers and many others out there, I don’t subscribe to associating warlocks with demonic influence.
So here is how I find it appropriate to level up the Warlock and make it more thematically sound.


Alignment: In most campaigns, a playable core-Warlock would probably be limited to being CG. I see no reason why being N or even LN (according to LN definition, Mussolini was probably LN) should prevent one from advancing as a Warlock.

A new constraint regarding invocations:
Invocations are the tool of the trade for a Warlock. He must grasp them fully in a current level before he can move on to explore the next. A Warlock cannot gain access to the next category of invocations (Least to Lesser, Lesser to Greater or Greater to Dark) until he knows at least 1 shape invocation, 1 essence invocation and 1 spell-emulating invocation.
Writer’s Note: This constraint serves 2 purposes. It makes a lot of sense and it prevents 1-dimensional characters – and yet, a Warlock would still probably outrun any half decently made core Warlock in any category of his choosing (see the amount of invocations per level in the table below).


Class Features:

{table]Level | Invocations Known | Special
1|2 (Least)|Eldritch Blast, Overcharge
2|3|Detect Magic
3|3|DR 1 / Cold Iron
4|4|Spell Resistance
5|5 (Lesser)|Fast Healing 1
6|6|Spectral Blast
7|6|DR 2 / Cold Iron
8|7|Energy Resistance 5
9|8|Fast Healing 2
10|9 (Greater)|Aspect of Power, Sustaining Magic (eat, drink)
11|9|DR 3 / Cold Iron
12|10|EB Mastery
13|11|Fast Healing 3
14|12|Penetrating Blast
15|12|DR 4 / Cold Iron
16|13 (Dark)|Energy Resistance 10
17|14|Fast Healing 4
18|15|Fiendish Life Force
19|15|DR 5 / Cold Iron
20|16|Name of Power, Sustaining Magic (breathe, sleep, aging)[/table]


Eldritch Blast (Su)
EB keeps gaining 1d6 every other level past 11th (no explanations needed here).

Overcharge (Su)
In moments of great need, a Warlock can take 1 CON-point damage to increase the damage of a single EB by 1d6. This affects EB directly, and has no effect on a mounted Eldritch Essence. At levels 8 and 15, Overcharge increases EB damage by 3d6 and 5d6 respectively.

Spell Resistance (Su)
The Warlock gains SR 10 + class level.

Spectral Blast (Su)
The Warlock's EB now stretches to the ethereal plane and no longer suffers the usual 50% miss chance against ethereal or phased targets.

Energy Resistance (Su)
The Warlock's innate resistance is valid against all energy types. This includes untyped EB damage.

Aspect of Power (Sp)
The Warlock gains a continuous, ever present power of Prestidigitation and may use either of the following abilities once per round, as a free action:
- Distinct Voice: If the Warlock wishes, anyone within 100ft can hear him, regardless of noise around them, even when whispering.
- Unnerving Glare: The Warlock can make his eyes flash/glow with a chosen color whenever he wishes, and/or permanently be of unnatural color. This grants a +2 circumstance bonus to all Intimidate checks.

Sustaining Magic (Su)
The Warlock no longer needs to eat or drink. He’s sustained purely by magic.
At level 20, magic sustains the Warlock to such a degree that he no longer needs to breathe or sleep and he doesn't age unless disconnected from magic entirely.

EB Mastery (Sp)
The Warlock gains 3 benefits regarding his EB:
- Dual Essence: The Warlock can combine 2 essences into his EB simultaneously. When assigning multiple damage types (cold, fire, force...), the damage gains 2 extra dice and is divided between both types according to the Warlock's choice (at least 2 dice per damage type).
- Erupting Blast: EB can be generated without uttering a sound or making any gestures, and can erupt from any origin on the Warlock's body (eyes, forehead, chest etc).
- Combat Blast: By generating a pure blast that's not modified by blast shape or eldritch essence, the Warlock may generate his EB as an attack action rather than standard action. This allows him to make multiple EB attacks and to use it to make AoOs.

Penetrating Blast (Su)
The Warlock's EB now does full damage to objects and bypasses SR and DR automatically - even when the damage type is non-specific. This does not come at the expense of Eldritch Essence or Blast Shape invocations. Note that SR still applies against any essence addendums that require Fort/Will saves (e.g. Frightful / Sickening / Beshadowed / Bewitching / Noxious / Utterdark Blast).

Fiendish Life Force (Su)
Your fast healing becomes Regeneration 5. Furthermore, you're no longer susceptible to harmful necromantic effects of all types.

Name of Power (Su)
The Warlock becomes aware when anyone on the same world (planet) that speaks his name (referring specifically to him). He knows when it happens, and learns the name and location of the speaker.


Notes:
- No other class represents innate magical affinity (with the emphasis on innate) more strongly than the Warlock. This does not go well with "Deceive Magic Item" and definitely not with "Imbue Item" class features. Also, the latter is a feat-related class feature (!?!) that literally grants the character access to any magical effect in the game.
Therefore, I found it more appropriate to replace these abilities with something that will go against magical influence and something that will stand for the Warlock's enhanced control over its primary class feature.
- Self-affecting invocations with lasting effects require no activation. If dispelled, they activate automatically on their own within 1d4 rounds (each is checked separately).





Invocations:

Modified Invocations

Dark Disncorporation: Reduced to Greater invocation category (6th). This invocation's power and practical value were quite overrated.

Devil's Sight: Also confers "See Invisible". Given invocations are such a valuable asset and given there's so little of them (even under these modifications), it seems that "Devil's Sight" and "See the Unseen" were intentionally created separately to annoy.

Eldritch Cone: As the normal invocation, except the cone is increased from 30ft to 60ft.

Flee the Scene: If the Warlock has an active invocation that makes him invisible, he DOES NOT leave a Major Image after he shifts.

Hideous Blow: Instead of a standard action, an EB modified by Hideous Blow may be incorporated into melee or range attack as a swift action. Only the 1st attack in a combat turn can carry the Hideous Blow. Hideous Blow may be discharged on a successful touch or ranged-touch attack (applicable against multiple opponents - provided a single attack roll is used and each opponent is targeted only once, such as in the case of Whirlwind attack or Manyshot).
In case of a melee attack, the Warlock can decide to trigger it after a successful touch-attack has been confirmed.
In case of a ranged attack, the Warlock must decide whether or not to trigger HB before the attack roll is resolved.
At 12th level and on, when Combat Blast is gained, Hideous Blow may be used multiple times, including AoOs.

Wall of Perilous Flames: As with Disintegrate, if a creature is KILLED by the wall, its remains are completely consumed.


New Invocations

Blast Shape

Eldritch Bolt (Lesser; 3rd)
Your EB is 5ft diameter 60ft long bolt that hits everything in its path. Unlike lightning, it doesn't ricochet, but it can be blocked by solid matter.

Eldritch Burst (Lesser; 4th)
This blast shape invocation turns Your EB into a small burst around you, striking out at everything within 10ft + 5ft per 5 Warlock levels (friend or foe, alive as well as inanimate). This is not a ray attack, so it requires no ranged touch attack. Any creature in the area of the burst may attempt a Fort save for half damage.

Eldritch Missile (Lesser; 3rd)
This blast shape invocation turns Your EB into an Eldritch Missile blast. Your EB damage can be split to generate multiple blasts. All blasts are discharged at the same time and all targets must be within a 30ft sphere.


Eldritch Essence

Weaponry Blast (least; 2nd level)
This essence invocation changes the EB damage into bludgeoning/piercing/slashing damage (Warlock's choice).

Phantom Blast (Greater; 5th)
This eldritch essence invocation turns your EB into a phantom blast. A phantom Blast is, for all intent and purpose, invisible. It cannot be detected by any means and can only be noticed after the fact.

Phase Blast (lesser; 4th level)
This eldritch essence invocation causes your EB to phase into the ethereal and bypass all physical obstacles on its way to the target (including carried shield, a closed window, Wall of Force effect etc).

Shocking Blast (Lesser ; 4th)
Your Eldritch Blast deals electricity damage. If attacking a target in metal armor, you gain a +3 bonus to the attack roll, or the target suffers a -3 penalty to his saving throw (if your blast targets an area of effect). In addition, targets in Plate-Mail / Full-Plate / Supreme-Plate become entangled for one round.


Other Invocations

Dark Grasp [Greater, 6th]
The Warlock creates a massive hand which is seemingly formed from pure darkness or a swarming mass of ghostly insects or bats (optional flavors)
This invocation functions identically to the Telekinesis spell, except as follows:
- It takes a full round to activate.
- It requires concentration to maintain. When maintained, the dark hand occupies one of the Warlock’s hands, so he may not perform actions which require fine manipulation or two hands in conjunction with this ability.
- At the Warlock’s discretion, it may deliver 1d6 cold, 1d6 electricity and 1d6 negative energy damage to anyone it successfully manipulates.
- It is incorporeal and has AC = [10 + ½ caster-level + CHA-mod]
- It has HP = [2 * caster-level]. If reduced to 0 HP, it vanishes and cannot be reformed for the next 8 hours. Otherwise, it regenerates 1 HP per round while maintained.

Detect Thoughts (Least; 2nd)
This invocation works as the arcane spell of the same name. It is always active, ready for the Warlock to utilize via concentration.

Poltergeist (Dark; 8th)
The Warlock becomes incorporeal. He is immune to attacks from non-magical weapons and magical weapons & spells, except for those with the force descriptor. He can travel through solid substances with no hindrance except for effects and spells with the force descriptor. He loses any natural armor bonuses but gains a deflection bonus to AC equal to his CHA-mod. He gains a flight speed of 90ft with perfect maneuverability and retains his normal visual capabilities.

Repel [Greater; 5th]
You can use Forcewave (SC), as the spell, with the following changes:
- The AoE is 10ft + 5ft per 5 class levels.
- The force wave affects everything, not just creatures.
- CHA is used instead of STR for determining the Bull Rush score.

Size Step (Least; 2nd)
This invocation allows the Warlock to increase/decrease his size, just as if affected by Enlarge/Reduce Person spell.

Undulant Innards (lesser, 4th)
The Warlock gains Fortification 25% per 5 class levels.


Invocations for a Necro-Themed Warlock

Death’s Command (Least; 2nd)
You can Command Undead as the spell.

Phantom Steed (Lesser; 3rd):
You may use Phantom Steed at-will. You may only have a single stead at a given time.

Soul Snatch (Greater; 5th)
You may attempt to snatch the soul of a Helpless or Dying creature, within close range (25ft + 5ft/level).
The target may attempt a Fort save to resist the effect (DC: 10 + 1/2 class levels + CHA-mod) or die.
A snatched soul grants you knowledge of everything the creature thought about 24 hours prior to its death.
You may hold onto the soul and utilize its link to the afterlife's to make a single Knowledge check with a bonus equal to the creature's CR (or its own Knowledge ranks, whichever is greater) plus your CHA-mod. The result of that check isn't limited by what you or the creature know. Once used in such a manner, the soul is released.

Awaken Undead (Greater; 6th)
Use Awaken Undead as the spell. These undead remain completely loyal to you and remain under your command if they were already under your command.

Restless Dead (Greater; 6th)
You can Create Undead as the spell, this undead crumbles to dust after one minute per caster level unless you use the material components. This undead shares your alignment and is under your direct control.

Relentless Souls (Dark; 8th)
You can Create Greater Undead as the spell, this undead crumbles to dust after one minute per caster level unless you use the material components. This undead shares your alignment and is under your direct control.

Undead Legion (Dark; 9th)
All undead of a specific type under your control within 30ft of you become a legion.
So long as these undead remain within 60ft of each other, their total HP become a single pool of HP. These undead remain animated until the entire pool of hit points is depleted – at which point all of the undead in the legion crumble to dust.
If one of these undead leaves this area, it is removed from the legion, it gains hit points equal to the number of hit points currently in the pool divided by the number of undead currently in the legion, rounded down. If the number is below one, the undead crumbles into a pile of dust.
An undead legion cannot be turned or rebuked unless the roll is sufficient to affect all undead in the legion. You can only have one legion created at a time in this way.




New Warlock-Exclusive Feats

Dark Transient [Knowledge (the planes) 15, fell flight, flee the scene, path of shadow]
- Your flight speed (from the fell flight invocation) increases by 30ft and its maneuverability increases to perfect.
- You can self transport great distances with a single thought (as greater teleport). You can also transport other creatures, but if you do, there is a chance of error (as teleport).
- You can self plane shift with perfect accuracy. You can also transport other creatures, but you then suffer the inaccuracies normally incurred when using the spell.

Eldritch Retribution [Combat Reflexes]
When someone scores a melee touch attack against you (whether or not actually dealing damage – minor contact is enough), you may discharge EB damage upon your attacker as an immediate action (auto-hit). You cannot modify this assault with essence or shape invocations and you must be aware of the incoming attack in order to retaliate.

Eldritch Sculptor [Spellcraft 6, Eldritch Spear, Hideous Blow, Eldritch Chain, Eldritch Cone, Eldritch Doom]
You control and shape your EB like a master sculptor and can enhance it in one of the following manners:
- You can use two eldritch blasts per round as a full attack action, rather than the normal limit of one, and apply eldritch essences to both blasts, with the limitation that their AoEs do not overlap in any way and that no opponent is targeted more than once.
- You gain +2 bonus on attack rolls to hit an opponent with your EB.
- If you modify your EB with the Eldritch Spear, the range increases to 500ft.
- You can use Hideous Blow as part of an AoO.
- If you modify your EB with Eldritch Chain, you may start the chain up to 120ft away from you and the maximum distance between each target increases to 60ft.
- The range of your Eldritch Cone increases to 120ft.
- The radius of Eldritch Doom increases to 40ft.

Empowered Eldritch Blast
The damage dealt by your eldritch blast increases by 1d6. You can stack this feat multiple times.

Master of the Elements [Knowledge (the planes) 21, Breath of the Night, Chilling Tentacles, Stony Grasp, Wall of Perilous Flame]
You have achieved mastery of the four elements -- air, earth, fire, and water.
- Once per day, you can summon a single creature from the summon monster I-IX list that is an elemental or has the air, earth, fire, or water subtype. The monster serves you for a number of rounds equal to your caster level.
- Once per day, you can use dominate monster on elementals and creatures with the air, earth, fire and water subtype. This effect lasts for a number of days equal to your Warlock class-level.
- Your energy resistance against air, earth, fire and water is increased to 20.
- Elementals and creatures with the air, earth, fire and water subtype view you as one of their kind. These creatures react to you as if their attitude is one step better than the situation otherwise warrants.

Paragon Visionary [Spellcraft 9, Dark Foresight, Devil's Sight, Voidsense]
Your powers of perception are beyond mortal ken.
- You can see through illusions, magical darkness, shapechangers, and other effects (as true seeing).
- You are automatically aware of all spells or magical effects you see.
- Simply by looking at a creature, you can determine if it is a divine or arcane caster, whether it has any spell-like abilities, and the highest spell or spell-like abilities it knows.
- When you use the Voidsense invocation, you gain Blindsight 60ft.
- You receive a bonus on all Listen, Sense Motive and Spot checks equal to double your Wisdom modifier or +6, whichever is greater.



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Djinn_in_Tonic
2011-01-26, 11:53 AM
You have some good things here, but I'm not sure the Warlock, which is a solidly decent class, really merits fixing. That said, this is a pretty good job, although I've never really liked the Fast Healing aspect of the class. In general, great work.

Except this:


A new constraint regarding invocations:
Invocations are the tool of the trade for a Warlock. He must grasp them fully in a current level before he can move on to explore the next. A Warlock cannot gain access to the next category of invocations (Least to Lesser, Lesser to Greater or Greater to Dark) until he knows at least 1 shape invocation, 1 essence invocation and 1 spell-emulating invocation.
Writer’s Note: This constraint serves 2 purposes. It makes a lot of sense and it prevents 1-dimensional characters – and yet, a Warlock would still probably outrun any half decently made core Warlock in any category of his choosing (see the amount of invocations per level in the table below).

This is, in my mind, unnecessary, restrictive, and relatively pointless. If I want a non-blast focused Warlock, I should be able to make one. Invocations are limited enough without insisting that 2/3 of my invocations be directly tied to my Eldritch Blasts. Personally, I like the Warlock more without focusing on the blast, and this version doesn't allow for that.

You say it makes sense and prevents 1-dimensional characters, but I can't see the sense, and it forces all Warlocks to be primarily blast-focused characters, as that's where most of their invoking power is placed. That seems more 1-dimensional to me that allowing freedom of choice at all levels.

I'm not even sure what your intent was with that restriction, which just seems misplaced. It's like demanding that a Wizard take at least 1 spell of every school before learning the next level of spell, or that a Fighter must take a general feat for every Fighter-only feat he selects before he can select another Fighter-only feat.

With this criteria in place, I can't approve of this revision...it bothers me that much as a design philosophy. The rest is fairly good, but I think this requirement needs to be dropped.

nonsi
2011-01-26, 03:01 PM
You have some good things here, but I'm not sure the Warlock, which is a solidly decent class, really merits fixing.

To my better understanding, the things than make the official Warlock decent mechanically are:
1. Deceive Item
2. Imbue Item.
My issue with both of them is that they’re very campaign & DM dependant and that they’re thematically nonsensical when attributed to a class that embodies instinctive magical affinity.




That said, this is a pretty good job, although I've never really liked the Fast Healing aspect of the class. In general, great work.

Thanks.
As for Fast Healing, to make it more make-sense with the spirit of the class, this ability should be depended upon accessibility to magic and suppressed inside A-M or a dead magic zone (which, I guess, would change it from Su to Sp).




This is, in my mind, unnecessary, restrictive, and relatively pointless. If I want a non-blast focused Warlock, I should be able to make one. Invocations are limited enough without insisting that 2/3 of my invocations be directly tied to my Eldritch Blasts. Personally, I like the Warlock more without focusing on the blast, and this version doesn't allow for that.

The constraint is actually 1/2 at precisely levels 4, 9 and 15... and that's about it.
(just for formality’s sake, the ideas I choose to share are never just whimsical. They always carry some kind of added value)
It didn't seem all that restrictive to me, and it justifies the 1st noted benefit of EB Mastery.
And even given the above, at every level that's almost (sometimes totally) the entire arsenal of the official Warlock at your disposal, to whichever of the 3 aspects you choose to emphasize.

But in the end everyone’s free to take my Warlock and tweak it as they see fit.

Glimbur
2011-01-26, 04:31 PM
Eldritch Blast progressing like sneak attack is probably reasonable. It would be nice if you put Eldritch Blast damage on the table, possibly in its own column.

Overcharge is ok. Steps on the Hellfire Warlock's toes, but I suspect that is intentional.

SR at 4th level is earlier than it is usually available. It makes sense for the class, but SR is a double-edged sword. Whatevs, I am ambivalent.

Spectral Blast might be better as an Essence instead of a class feature.

Energy Resistance 5 to all energy types needs to be specified. Is it fire? Cold? Electricity? Acid? Sonic? Force? Divine (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/flameStrike.htm)? I'm sure there are other types as well. This seems too strong... I would give resistance 5 to Eldritch Blast and one other energy type, selected by the Warlock.

Aspect of Power is cool and thematic. Not strong mechanically, but important to the idea of Warlock.

Sustaining Magic is fine. You might move it to the end of your list of class features, as it comes last.

Eldritch Blast Mastery is two very good things and one ok thing all at the same level. I would spread them out. It also invalidates Eldritch Glaive, which isn't a huge deal.

Penetrating Blast is too good. This sort of thing should be done by a number of essences (Hammer Blast, Vitriolic Blast, etc). Ranged Touch attack with no SR and untyped damage is just too good to have at will.

Fiendish Life Force needs to have something that overcomes the Regeneration. Honestly, I do not like giving PC's regeneration. Fast Healing 5ish should be enough. Immunity to an entire school of magic is also too strong. Consider the ability to ignore the first time you are hit with negative levels in a minute: this is useful but not game-changing.

Name of Power is cool.

Deceive Item and Imbue Item seemed fine to me, but whatevs. Invocations reactivating themselves is a significant power boost and probably shouldn't happen.

I'm too lazy to read through the invocations at the moment, sorry.

DracoDei
2011-01-27, 02:03 PM
This affects EB directly, and has no effect on a mounted Eldritch Essence.
What is a "mounted Eldritch Essence"?

nonsi
2011-01-28, 03:54 AM
Eldritch Blast progressing like sneak attack is probably reasonable. It would be nice if you put Eldritch Blast damage on the table, possibly in its own column.

I find it unnecessary and cumbersome to put features with steady progression into tables, unless they illustrate the non-existence of dead levels (but that's just me).




Spectral Blast might be better as an Essence instead of a class feature.

Ok, but if I omit this one, then:
1. I'll need a worthy substitution.
2. The class would lose some of its offensive prowess (might be partially offsetted with EB Mastery)
3. It serves as a preliminary step on the way to Penetrating Blast (that would now also require suitable substitution)




Energy Resistance 5 to all energy types needs to be specified. Is it fire? Cold? Electricity? Acid? Sonic? Force? Divine (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/flameStrike.htm)? I'm sure there are other types as well. This seems too strong... I would give resistance 5 to Eldritch Blast and one other energy type, selected by the Warlock.

With energy damage easily passing 100 past 10th level, I'm not sure it's that crazy. Spellcasters top that easily without so much as a hiccup.




Sustaining Magic is fine. You might move it to the end of your list of class features, as it comes last.

It's a 2-step feature, starting at 10th level.




Eldritch Blast Mastery is two very good things and one ok thing all at the same level. I would spread them out. It also invalidates Eldritch Glaive, which isn't a huge deal.

They all seem to me to fit exactly at 12th level.
They all seem to me to be directly linked to the Warlock's control over his EB.
So, other than making the table a bit less readable, I don't see what this would serve (and it's not like there aren't any multi-benefits features out there).




Penetrating Blast is too good. This sort of thing should be done by a number of essences (Hammer Blast, Vitriolic Blast, etc). Ranged Touch attack with no SR and untyped damage is just too good to have at will.

1. The official class always ends up too narrow in options. I'm trying to amelliorate the symptom of Warlocks being confined to 5ft boxes.
2. Full damage to objects is next to meaningless, given objects don't fight back.
3. For my goal of a low tier-2, it seems ok to me.
4. Vitriolic Blast is still viable by having a lasting effect.




Fiendish Life Force needs to have something that overcomes the Regeneration. Honestly, I do not like giving PC's regeneration. Fast Healing 5ish should be enough.

I guess you're right on that one.




Immunity to an entire school of magic is also too strong. Consider the ability to ignore the first time you are hit with negative levels in a minute: this is useful but not game-changing.

Ignore the first time you're hit with energy drain or ability damage in a minute seems ok, I guess (even though Death Ward is a 4th level spell).




Invocations reactivating themselves is a significant power boost and probably shouldn't happen.

Not all spell-emulating invocations are self applied and if you'll count, there aren't so many of them to make it game breaking.
The class doesn't have too many tricks up its sleeves and it should have something that no other class has - and still, the Warlock cannot compete with full casters on the action economy.






What is a "mounted Eldritch Essence"?

I somtimes stray from formal terminology.
Whay I was trying to say was that it doesn't come at the expense of applying eldritch essence to your EB.