Repelling blast question

[holywhippet]

Warlocks can take repelling blast as an invocation and it lets them push anyone they hit with eldritch blast up to 10 feet back. Would this be selectable for each target of eldritch blast? ie. could you hit one target and push them 10 feet away, a second target and push them 5 feet away and a third target and not push it at all?

[Man_Over_Game]

Warlocks can take repelling blast as an invocation and it lets them push anyone they hit with eldritch blast up to 10 feet back. Would this be selectable for each target of eldritch blast? ie. could you hit one target and push them 10 feet away, a second target and push them 5 feet away and a third target and not push it at all?


When you hit a creature with eldritch blast, you can push the creature up to 10 feet away from you in a straight line.

You can, for each individual blast, push the hit target(s) between 0-10 feet away. You could push one target multiple times due to multiple blasts, or you could hit two targets and push them all different distances.

If it was intended to only impact one target, it'd say something like "the first target you hit" or "push the targets hit up to a combined total of 10 feet away". Rather, it says "When you hit", which is pretty interchangeable from "Every time you hit".

[Galithar]

Also note that other effects, such as Hadars Grasp, indicate they can only activate once per turn. This implies that abilities that don't indicate this specifically have no such restrictions.

[KorvinStarmast]

Warlocks can take repelling blast as an invocation and it lets them push anyone they hit with eldritch blast up to 10 feet back. Would this be selectable for each target of eldritch blast? ie. could you hit one target and push them 10 feet away, a second target and push them 5 feet away and a third target and not push it at all? yes, and I think I need to go and find that Crawford tweet that shows his explanation of why that is the case.

[stoutstien]

It should be only once per casting and I've made it such at my table with very little fighting. No save 10-40 ft push back is out of line

[Man_Over_Game]

It should be only once per casting and I've made it such at my table with very little fighting. No save 10-40 ft push back is out of line

I can see where you might houserule it, but it'll see a lot less play. Heck, even as it is, it doesn't see much play. It's hard to pick it when things like Devil's Sight+Darkness, Eldritch Spear, Agonizing Blast, Mask of Many Faces, and Book of Ancient Secrets exist.

[JellyPooga]

It should be only once per casting and I've made it such at my table with very little fighting. No save 10-40 ft push back is out of line

I have to ask; why is a 40ft push when you're in the highest tier of play "out of line"? I mean, yeah, it's only a cantrip, but 1) you have to be high enough level to have 4 blasts in the first place and 2) you have to actually hit with all 4 blasts. And what do you achieve? A 40ft push could be devastating, but it's pretty damn circumstantial for that to be the case. Most of the time it'll mean very little indeed, considering the kind of foes you'll be facing at those levels of play.

[stoutstien]

I have to ask; why is a 40ft push when you're in the highest tier of play "out of line"? I mean, yeah, it's only a cantrip, but 1) you have to be high enough level to have 4 blasts in the first place and 2) you have to actually hit with all 4 blasts. And what do you achieve? A 40ft push could be devastating, but it's pretty damn circumstantial for that to be the case. Most of the time it'll mean very little indeed, considering the kind of foes you'll be facing at those levels of play.

Note there is no size restrictions or save. With elven accuracy it quite easy to land. With spear, repelling, and Lance you can keep foes well out of reach. At upper tiers it's fine. From lv 5-12 it's a tad much. Before most monsters have access to teleport, counter spell , and so on.
I give my players a choice Add a save or reduce to once per casting.
I also make agonizing blast based on lock lv to help protect it from being over Shadowed by dips.
I love to warlock chassis but a few of the things are just a tad off.

[KorvinStarmast]

Note there is no size restrictions or save. With elven accuracy it quite easy to land. With spear, repelling, and Lance you can keep foes well out of reach. At upper tiers it's fine. From lv 5-12 it's a tad much. Before most monsters have access to teleport, counter spell , and so on.
I give my players a choice Add a save or reduce to once per casting.
I also make agonizing blast based on lock lv to help protect it from being over Shadowed by dips.
I love to warlock chassis but a few of the things are just a tad off.
While I disagree with your nerf bat application, I understand your objection.
Part of the Warlock's schtick is that invocations have to be picked, and other chances lost when that invocation is picked. Repelling blast is a nice feature for a class that gets some handicaps unless a DM is tossing in a couple of short rests per adventure day. But taking that means giving something else up.

I am in accord with JellyPooga on this.

FWIW, here is a tweet from Crawford (https://twitter.com/JeremyECrawford/status/616020559600599040?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw), if you find his insights to be useful.


Jeremy Crawford‏ @JeremyECrawford
Yes, Repelling Blast can push a target out of the range of subsequent beams from eldritch blast.

Jeremy Soard @JeremySoard
@JeremyECrawford If you get 3 attacks with eldritch blast, can the first attack push a target out of range of the next two attacks?
4:08 PM - 30 Jun 2015

Multiple looks at this question, and answers from a few different angles, are here. (https://rpg.stackexchange.com/q/88025/22566)

[Man_Over_Game]

My thing is, tactically, what else can Warlocks do with their action?

They can't slow something down a stupid amount (because the invocation for it only works once). They can't pull something to them very well (also because that invocation can only work once). Warlocks lack a lot of versatility in combat as is.

5 feet to push back per hit is way too lackluster to pick at early levels. And pushing something 10 feet per hit might be a bit too much.

But is any alternative making the Warlock better?

[Naanomi]

Quicken, Action Surge, and 120’ knockback is funny at least

[JellyPooga]

Note there is no size restrictions or save. With elven accuracy it quite easy to land. With spear, repelling, and Lance you can keep foes well out of reach. At upper tiers it's fine. From lv 5-12 it's a tad much. Before most monsters have access to teleport, counter spell , and so on.
I give my players a choice Add a save or reduce to once per casting.
I also make agonizing blast based on lock lv to help protect it from being over Shadowed by dips.
I love to warlock chassis but a few of the things are just a tad off.

To be fair, the Elven Accuracy argument only applies to...well, Elves (and Half-Elves). Levels 5 - 12 the push isn't as far and there's plenty of fast, flying or otherwise mobile critters, let alone those that do have acccess to teleportation; Misty Step, for example, is only a 2nd level spell, a bonus action to cast, more than available to foes from 3rd level onwards and moves you 30ft; plenty compared to the 20 or 30ft EB is shoving them until the tippy top tiers of play.

I think you're overstating how powerful a simple shove is. Yes, in conjunction with certain spells, effects or terrain, it can be effective, but on the whole I think I'd rather be casting an appropriately levelled spell if I have the option. It's a very good back-up, but a back-up nonetheless.

[stoutstien]

I may be over doing it but I tend to let my players get away with a lot. If I had a player want it until nerfed I'd prob allow if they stay purelock
I should have mentioned I added the ablity for locks to gain additional spell slots per short rest after lv 8 seems to work well

[JackPhoenix]

To be fair, the Elven Accuracy argument only applies to...well, Elves (and Half-Elves). Levels 5 - 12 the push isn't as far and there's plenty of fast, flying or otherwise mobile critters, let alone those that do have acccess to teleportation; Misty Step, for example, is only a 2nd level spell, a bonus action to cast, more than available to foes from 3rd level onwards and moves you 30ft; plenty compared to the 20 or 30ft EB is shoving them until the tippy top tiers of play.

I think you're overstating how powerful a simple shove is. Yes, in conjunction with certain spells, effects or terrain, it can be effective, but on the whole I think I'd rather be casting an appropriately levelled spell if I have the option. It's a very good back-up, but a back-up nonetheless.

If your target is too far to do anything, it can simply dodge, negating your advantage and Elven Accuracy. If it's got ranged attacks, or terrain prevents it from being pushed all the way, you haven't achieved that much.

Now, what's fun is that you can combine it with Lance of Lethargy, not only pushing the target away, but also lowering its speed.