Advancing Eldritch Blast

[weckar]

Simply put, is there any way to advance eldritch blast other than taking warlock levels? I hear certain prestige classes advance it too, but under what rule?

I found an interesting discussion on this (ending at THIS (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=8301742&postcount=8) post), but it unfortunately got cut short.

[Sian]

Page 18 in Complete Arcane, look for the headline "Warlocks and prestige classes"

Basicly, for Warlocks, +1 Spellcasting Class, stacks with Warlock for Eldritch blast damage, CL and access to Invocations

[weckar]

And this cannot be achieved through a feat, I assume? Or any other method than a prestige class?

[Sian]

at a glance only Eldritch Dragonbane from Eberron: Dragonmarked does. +2d6 against dragon type and +1d6 against Dragonblood subtype

MAybe you'd be able to convince your DM that Breath of Siberys (same book) could be retooled into helping Eldritch blasts as well, but then you're reasonbly well into Homebrew territory

[FocusWolf413]

Mortalbane progresses it too.

[weckar]

Mortalbane doesn't quite progress it, as it is stuck at 5/day.

[AmberVael]

If you're interested in Practiced Spellcaster in particular, then no, by the rules it would not advance Eldritch Blast (since all it does is raise caster level, and Eldritch Blast does not improve via caster level).

That said, I imagine the reason it is brought up from time to time is because Rich Baker (one of the main authors of Complete Arcane and the class) said the following on the subject:


I think it should, but I doubt that the language of the feat and eldritch blast description specifically allow it. (If eldritch blast were written in such a way that it dealt damage based on the warlock's caster level, it would be fine. But the damage is based on the warlock's class level. While those two things are almost always going to be the same, you have to take a pretty liberal interpretation to let Practiced Spellcaster work on eldritch blast.)


Beyond houseruling on that subject, Bloodlines (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/races/bloodlines.htm) will also increase eldritch blast damage since they effectively raise your warlock level, which your blast damage is based on. And if you want some non-level raise, you can always buy the Chasubles of Fell Power. The only feats that directly raise eldritch blast are epic level though. (Epic Eldritch Blast (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ei/20061027a))

[Psyren]

There are ways to boost its damage without taking warlock levels as well, such as Psionic Shot or sneak attack.

[nedz]

Ability Focus will add 2 to the DC, but that's only relevant if you are using essences.

[Rubik]

Legacy champion, uncanny trickster, and bloodlines all advance eldritch blast, though the latter are...rather suspect in how they actually work.

[Troacctid]

I don't see a reading of bloodlines that allow them to progress Eldritch Blast. Its damage isn't based on your caster level and isn't calculated based on your class level. (It increases in power based on your class level, but there's no calculation involved.)

[Chronos]

I think the source of the confusion is that if you take Hellfire Warlock, then you can advance that, because hellfire is based directly on your class level.

[Thurbane]

If you're interested in Practiced Spellcaster in particular, then no, by the rules it would not advance Eldritch Blast (since all it does is raise caster level, and Eldritch Blast does not improve via caster level).

Practiced Magic (Shackled City hardcover) works like Practice Spellcaster, but for SLAs, so it can boost Eldritch Blast by +4 levels, but not beyond total HD.

[Thanatosia]

Practiced Magic (Shackled City hardcover) works like Practice Spellcaster, but for SLAs, so it can boost Eldritch Blast by +4 levels, but not beyond total HD.
I do not believe that changes the fact that it's damage is not attached in any way to it's caster level. Increasing it's caster level will help you overcome spell resistance, but it won't add to it's damage.

[Thurbane]

My reading is that it would increase damage the same way Practiced Spellcaster increases the CL (and therefore damage) of a spell such as Lightning Bolt.

[Troacctid]

That reading isn't supported by the text. Eldritch Blast damage is based on class level, like a Rogue's sneak attack or a Dragonfire Adept's breath weapon. Increasing your caster level won't let you roll more damage dice.

[Thurbane]

That reading isn't supported by the text. Eldritch Blast damage is based on class level, like a Rogue's sneak attack or a Dragonfire Adept's breath weapon. Increasing your caster level won't let you roll more damage dice.

Fair enough, I'm AFB at the moment, so I may be misremembering.

[Thanatosia]

Fair enough, I'm AFB at the moment, so I may be misremembering.
If it helps, think of Eldritch blast not like Lightning Bolt, which explicitly deals 1d6 damage per caster level, but something like Call LIghtning, which does 3d6 damage no matter what your caster level is (only in this case, it's 1d6). Then the warlock has a class feature every 2 levels that increases that damage by 1d6. Caster level never enters into the equation of the damage, it's just a set amount based on your class.

[lsfreak]

If it helps, think of Eldritch blast not like Lightning Bolt, which explicitly deals 1d6 damage per caster level, but something like Call LIghtning, which does 3d6 damage no matter what your caster level is (only in this case, it's 1d6). Then the warlock has a class feature every 2 levels that increases that damage by 1d6. Caster level never enters into the equation of the damage, it's just a set amount based on your class.

One of the problems is that it's not increased every two levels. It increases every 2 levels, only until 11th level, where it then becomes every 3 levels. If I'm not mistaken that's the problem with things like bloodlines, it's not level-dependent the way things like sneak attack and skirmish are (but I know very little about bloodlines, so I'm not 100% on that being the issue).

[Troacctid]

One of the problems is that it's not increased every two levels. It increases every 2 levels, only until 11th level, where it then becomes every 3 levels. If I'm not mistaken that's the problem with things like bloodlines, it's not level-dependent the way things like sneak attack and skirmish are (but I know very little about bloodlines, so I'm not 100% on that being the issue).

Nobody knows much about bloodlines. There's only like two paragraphs explaining that ****, and they don't do a very good job of it. :smalltongue: