Wild Mage/Warlock question

[Bad Wolf]

So I was thinking of going Wild Mage (Wildlock?) for my dead Warlock levels, as I haven't really found anything else. Does anyone know if the Wild Magic class feature effects Eldritch Blast or anything else? Some people say it does, some people say it doesn't, which is it?

[Troacctid]

It affects spells, not spell-like abilities. Eldritch Blast is a spell-like ability, not a spell. So nope, it doesn't do anything.

[Bad Wolf]

It affects spells, not spell-like abilities. Eldritch Blast is a spell-like ability, not a spell. So nope, it doesn't do anything.

Ah. I see. Does Wild Mage do anything beneficial for Warlock?

[Troacctid]

The Random Deflector, Student of Chaos, Chaotic Mind, and Wildstrike abilities all function normally, and it advances your invocations and eldritch blast. This is somewhat underwhelming if you ask me--it's marginally better than the Fiendish Resilience and DR 1/cold iron you'd get as a Warlock, but not so much to be worth paying the feat tax to get in, and it's definitely not worth giving up Imbue Item.

[Bad Wolf]

The Random Deflector, Student of Chaos, Chaotic Mind, and Wildstrike abilities all function normally, and it advances your invocations and eldritch blast. This is somewhat underwhelming if you ask me--it's marginally better than the Fiendish Resilience and DR 1/cold iron you'd get as a Warlock, but not so much to be worth paying the feat tax to get in, and it's definitely not worth giving up Imbue Item.

I'm not giving it up. I'm taking Wild Mage in lieu of Warlock levels 6, 9, 14, 16, and 17. Maybe fifth too, if I take a level of a class with the requirements for Wild Mage, retrain, and keep the extra skill points.

[Karl Aegis]

I'm not giving it up. I'm taking it in lieu of levels 6, 9, 14, 16, and 17. Maybe fifth too, if I take a level of a class with the requirements for Wild Mage, retrain, and keep the extra skill points.

Where does it say you can take level 7 of Warlock without taking level 6?

[Tarlek Flamehai]

Either one of us is woefully ignorant of how acquiring levels in prestige classes work, or your campaign has so much homebrew that it is unlikely that outsiders can provide much in the way of insightful advice.

[Troacctid]

Yeah, prestige classes don't work that way, I'm afraid.

[theUnearther]

What they said. Unless your campaign has had it fiated away, if you take something instead of warlock 6 and then go back to warlock, you still are taking warlock 6.

[Bad Wolf]

What they said. Unless your campaign has had it fiated away, if you take something instead of warlock 6 and then go back to warlock, you still are taking warlock 6.

Wild Mage advances warlock progression, doesn't it?

[malonkey1]

Wild Mage advances warlock progression, doesn't it?

Only for caster level, Eldritch Blast and Invocations. It's not like a substitution level. You just add Warlock levels to Wild Mage levels to determine CL, EB damage, what grades of Invocation you get, what how many you learn.

[Bad Wolf]

Only for caster level, Eldritch Blast and Invocations. It's not like a substitution level. You just add Warlock levels to Wild Mage levels to determine CL, EB damage, what grades of Invocation you get, what how many you learn.

So essentially, I'm taking the levels twice?

[theUnearther]

So essentially, I'm taking the levels twice?
Nonono, the point is just that you can't ever take warlock 7 without having taken warlock 1 to 6, in order. Whatever levels you want to insert in between change nothing, except that you'll get to warlock 7 later, levelwise, than someone who didn't stray.

Several prestige classes mess this up, via "add your levels in >THIS CLASS< to your level in >SOME OTHER CLASS<", but only for specific purposes they, well, specify. If you want Imbue Item, I doubt any prestige class will give it to you. Bunch of warlock levels it is.

[Troacctid]

If you want Imbue Item, I doubt any prestige class will give it to you.

Legacy Champion and Uncanny Trickster can both do this.

[Bad Wolf]

Nonono, the point is just that you can't ever take warlock 7 without having taken warlock 1 to 6, in order. Whatever levels you want to insert in between change nothing, except that you'll get to warlock 7 later, levelwise, than someone who didn't stray.

Several prestige classes mess this up, via "add your levels in >THIS CLASS< to your level in >SOME OTHER CLASS<", but only for specific purposes they, well, specify. If you want Imbue Item, I doubt any prestige class will give it to you. Bunch of warlock levels it is.

Okay, just let me get this clear.

I'm a level 5 warlock. When I level up to 6th, I take a level of Wild Mage. When I level up again, I can't take a level of warlock because I didn't take Warlock 6 last level. So I have to take the level again.

[Kid Jake]

Okay, just let me get this clear.

I'm a level 5 warlock. When I level up to 6th, I take a level of Wild Mage. When I level up again, I can't take a level of warlock because I didn't take Warlock 6 last level. So I have to take the level again.

No, when you level up again you can take a level of Warlock to become a Warlock 6/Wild Mage 1 with the effective CL of a 7th level Warlock.

[Bad Wolf]

No, when you level up again you can take a level of Warlock to become a Warlock 6/Wild Mage 1 with the effective CL of a 7th level Warlock.

Oh. Okay then. Thanks for the help.

[Marlowe]

Grammar here is getting really tangled...prestige classes do not advance the class features of the base class you entered from. They overwrite them with their own class features.

You also can't use them to leapfrog "dead" levels. If you go into Wild Soul from Warlock at level 6, then go back into Warlock, then that last level is Warlock 6, not Warlock 7. You have the Invocations and EB of a 7th level warlock, because Wild soul advances caster progression, but that's it.

You're not "taking the same levels twice". You never took them in the first place.

[Bad Wolf]

Grammar here is getting really tangled...prestige classes do not advance the class features of the base class you entered from. They overwrite them with their own class features.

You also can't use them to leapfrog "dead" levels. If you go into Wild Soul from Warlock at level 6, then go back into Warlock, then that last level is Warlock 6, not Warlock 7. You have the Invocations and EB of a 7th level warlock, because Wild soul advances caster progression, but that's it.

You're not "taking the same levels twice". You never took them in the first place.

Okay, thanks. That's kinda embarrassing that I din't know that.