Pact of the [Eldritch Blast]

[LichPlease]

I'm making a homebrew where Warlocks don't automatically get Eldritch Blast but have to choose it as a Pact Boon to obtain it. Just looking for suggestions for a name other than "Pact of the Eldritch Blast".

[Sigreid]

Eldritch Pact?

[Trustypeaches]

Out of curiosity how are you compensating warlocks that choose other pacts for lacking their core damage ability the entire class was built around?

[Unoriginal]

Out of curiosity how are you compensating warlocks that choose other pacts for lacking their core damage ability the entire class was built around?

Good question.

I suppose you can't get Eldritch Blast by other means (Magic Initiate, etc), right?

[MaxWilson]

Eldritch Blast isn't a big deal by itself--it's all the various invocations like Agonizing Blast/Repelling Blast/Lance of Lethargy/Grasp of Hadar/etc., plus the interaction with Hex (which doesn't really scale well unless you multiclass for low-level spell slots) that make it worthwhile.

So there shouldn't be any real concerns about getting Eldritch Blast via Magic Initiate/whatnot, because (1) you probably can't, since it won't be on the warlock spell list any more; (2) even if you did somehow, it wouldn't be much better than Fire Bolt or Toll the Dead anyway.

[Millstone85]

Pact of the Amulet
Pact of the Circlet
Pact of the Ring
Pact of the Scepter
etc.

Whichever item seems appropriate.

But I don't see the point of your homebrew.

[Dr. Cliché]

Pact of Being Allowed to Actually Play your Class?

[LichPlease]

This one aspect is just part of a larger overhaul to the class system that I have been working on. That's all. Thank you for the suggestions. I have decided on going with something similar to Millstone85's suggestion of "Pact of the Scepter", and call it "Pact of the Rod", as in Rod of the Pact Keeper. Therefore I'm also considering giving characters who take this boon, a weakened version of the Rod of the Pact Keeper.

[ProsecutorGodot]

I would advise against this. If you're dead set on it you should instead consider modifying Pact of the Tome to fit your needs. Consider locking the EB modifying invocations behind Pact of the Tome instead of locking away Eldritch Blast.

It always bothers me when people source Eldritch Blast as the problem for Warlocks when Agonizing Blast is what makes it something to be considered an issue. Don't continue the trend of giving players more reason to ignore Warlock levels past 3rd.

[Max_Killjoy]

Can I ask... why? What's the motive for locking away EB?

[Malifice]

The entire class is built around EB. The whole class.

Why on earth strip it out? It's akin to stripping out Divine Smite from Paladins.

[LichPlease]

As I already said, it is part of a larger overall to the entire class system that I am tinkering with. It is too large in scale to competently discuss in a single thread. All I did was ask for a title to a feature. Let's leave it at that.

[Dr. Cliché]

The entire class is built around EB. The whole class.

Why on earth strip it out? It's akin to stripping out Divine Smite from Paladins.

If anything, it seems more akin to removing the Attack action from Fighters.

[Malifice]

As I already said, it is part of a larger overall to the entire class system that I am tinkering with. It is too large in scale to competently discuss in a single thread. All I did was ask for a title to a feature. Let's leave it at that.

I get that mate, but mechanically what you're doing isnt a good idea. The entire Warlock class is based around the EB cantrip. Its the main source of the classes combat power.

Gating it behind a Pact means that unless you take that Pact, the class is not functional.

I'd instead suggest gating it behind invocations (that any Pact can use).

Step 1: Modify Agonizing blast. Grants +Cha to the damage of the beam. At 6th level it applies to both beams. At 11th level it applies to all 3 beams. At 17th level it applies to all 4 beams.

Rationale: Dipping warlock no longer makes you as good as a single classed warlock.

Step 2: Modify Repelling blast with the line: "once on each of your turns you can push a creature hit by your eldritch blast back 10 feet" to keep it in line with the other invocations that move creatures or slow them when hit by the blast.

Rationale: Creates uniform rules for the push/ pull invocations.

Step 3: Create Invocations (3 should do the trick) in line with 3.5's Eldritch invocations (that change the damage type of the Eldritch blast, or add a status effect/ debuff to the blast). For example:

Frightful blast: Once on each of your turns you can cause a creature struck by your EB to be Frightened. The creature can attempt a Wisdom saving throw against your Spell save DC at the start of its turn to remove the condition. A creature that saves against this ability cannot be affected by it again for 24 hours.

Sickening blast: Once on each of your turns you can cause a creature struck by your EB to be Poisoned. The creature can attempt a Constitution saving throw against your Spell save DC at the start of its turn to remove the condition. A creature that saves against this ability cannot be affected by it again for 24 hours.

Hellfire blast: Your Eldritch blast damage changes to Fire, and the damage dice increases to 1d12. This hellish flame ignores resistance to Fire (but not immunity).

Vitriolic blast: Your Eldrich blast damage changes to Acid. One creature of your choice that was damaged by your eldritch blast this turn takes an additional 1d6 acid damage at the start of its next turn.

[Millstone85]

Step 1: Modify Agonizing blast. Grants +Cha to the damage of the beam. At 6th 5th level it applies to both beams. At 11th level it applies to all 3 beams. At 17th level it applies to all 4 beams.

Rationale: Dipping warlock no longer makes you as good as a single classed warlock.Very much this. It nerfs multiclassing while leaving single-classed warlocks undisturbed.


Step 2: Modify Repelling blast with the line: "once on each of your turns you can push a creature hit by your eldritch blast back 10 feet" to keep it in line with the other invocations that move creatures or slow them when hit by the blast.

Rationale: Creates uniform rules for the push/ pull invocations.I would uniformize them the other way. Is it so bad to be able to push/pull several creatures or one creature multiple times?

[1ring42]

Or possibĺy make a Pact of The Invocation that gives you an extra invocation or two and lock some or all of the Eldritch blast boosters behind that pact.

[Chronos]

Honestly, I'd like to see cantrips improving as a class feature of the full-casting classes in general, like Extra Attack is a class feature for the martials. Just like a barbarian 2/fighter 4 doesn't have their Extra Attack yet, because neither of their classes have hit 5 yet, so too a sorcerer 2/bard 4 should have only a single damage die on their cantrips, because neither of their classes have hit 5.

But I'll agree with others that Eldritch Blast is inherent enough to the design of the warlock that, if you want to create a warlock without it, you'd be better off starting completely from scratch, instead of trying to modify the existing warlock into whatever it is you want.

[Marcloure]

Guys, I think you missed the point. The OP said he's remaking the Warlock, and let us suppose that means all subclasses will be redone, maybe how warlocks cast spells, gain Eldritch Invocations, so on. Guess what? Maybe Eldritch Blast is no longer "the signature feature" of the class in the OP's version of the Warlock.

And he just needs a name.

=========

Usually, feature names in 5e have no ribbons or poetic impact. They are pretty much straightforward.

Boon of the Blade
Boon of the Tome
Boon of the Chain
*Boon of the Rod
*Boon of the Wand
*Boon of the Scepter
*Boon of the Spell