ShaggyMarco
2008-10-01, 06:17 AM
Cause he's awesome.
I'm running an Infernal-Pact Warlock through KotS right now. While I love theoretical optimization, my gaming group tends to see all of the characters I make as "gimmicky," so this time I decided not to craft a character around a single "gimmick" (like say, 2 of my long running 3rd ed characters: Counterspelling everything or Getting A ridiculous Number of Attacks per round in Full Plate Armor).
We are all non-human races, and, for the campaign framework the DM is using, he wanted us each to be a different race. I ended up with a Gnoll. I did take some of my favorite elements of the Hexhammer Warlock build and am adapting them to my gnoll, but overall, I am building him as a basic Infernal Warlock who dabbles in some Con-based Star-powers.
In easy fights, I mark whomever I can, stand behind the melee characters (Minotaur Fighter, Dwarven Paladin, Dragonborn Warlord, and Drow Rogue) and in front of the Wizard (Eladrin Wizard) and blast things with Eldritch Blast, Diabolic Grasp (for moving baddies into getting flanked), and Frigid darkness on a particularly nasty peice of work. I almost never use healing surges or get hit. Given a fight with lots of enemies, I will frequently walk right up to whichever creature the Fighter is dealing with and start Fiendish Rebuking him from an adjacent square, provoking attacks of opportunity which he takes (and then gets attacked by the Fighter) or he doesn't even attempt (because he's been attacked by the fighter before, and knows how much it hurts). Then, if the poor ranged striker in the middle of melee gets hurt, the creature I just attacked takes even MORE damage.
In the two boss fights we've been in, I've teamed up with the Paladin to do SICK amounts of damage.
Last night we fought a blue slime monster. I waited until I was bloodied (+2 damage--yay for being a gnoll!) and then popped up Armor of Agathys for the 12 temp HP and the every round damage. I then got cozy with the slime monster and started my Fiendish Rebuke trick. This time, it was the Paladin who had the monster marked.
Gnoll: Fiendish Rebuke w/curse (2d6+6 damage), Slimy (OA-Takes 6 damage from Divine Challenge)
Slimy: Takes Armor of Agathys damage (1d6+6 damage), attacks me, hurts me, and is Rebuked (1d6+6 damage).
I was hitting reliably with my At-will because of Prime Shot, few bad rolls, and the use of an action point to try again the one round I missed.
Common 1 round damage total: 4d6+24 (38 damage/round on average)
Yes, I was taking lots of damage most every round, but between the Paladin and Warlord, I was being kept in Temporary Hit-Points. I also rolled well to throw off the on-going acid damage and the AOE Daze/Weakened effect he hit us with.
Eventually the thing stopped taking OAs on me, because he was just getting beaten down. I ended the fight with 1 hp and an ongoing 5 acid about to hit me on my round--yay for Lay on Hands!
Here is my question: Is the Infernal Warlock designed to be a melee-Warlock who uses his Temp HP and high Con to absorb lots of damage while provoking OAs that make the party Defenders happy to get to use their abilities?
I think they are.
I'm running an Infernal-Pact Warlock through KotS right now. While I love theoretical optimization, my gaming group tends to see all of the characters I make as "gimmicky," so this time I decided not to craft a character around a single "gimmick" (like say, 2 of my long running 3rd ed characters: Counterspelling everything or Getting A ridiculous Number of Attacks per round in Full Plate Armor).
We are all non-human races, and, for the campaign framework the DM is using, he wanted us each to be a different race. I ended up with a Gnoll. I did take some of my favorite elements of the Hexhammer Warlock build and am adapting them to my gnoll, but overall, I am building him as a basic Infernal Warlock who dabbles in some Con-based Star-powers.
In easy fights, I mark whomever I can, stand behind the melee characters (Minotaur Fighter, Dwarven Paladin, Dragonborn Warlord, and Drow Rogue) and in front of the Wizard (Eladrin Wizard) and blast things with Eldritch Blast, Diabolic Grasp (for moving baddies into getting flanked), and Frigid darkness on a particularly nasty peice of work. I almost never use healing surges or get hit. Given a fight with lots of enemies, I will frequently walk right up to whichever creature the Fighter is dealing with and start Fiendish Rebuking him from an adjacent square, provoking attacks of opportunity which he takes (and then gets attacked by the Fighter) or he doesn't even attempt (because he's been attacked by the fighter before, and knows how much it hurts). Then, if the poor ranged striker in the middle of melee gets hurt, the creature I just attacked takes even MORE damage.
In the two boss fights we've been in, I've teamed up with the Paladin to do SICK amounts of damage.
Last night we fought a blue slime monster. I waited until I was bloodied (+2 damage--yay for being a gnoll!) and then popped up Armor of Agathys for the 12 temp HP and the every round damage. I then got cozy with the slime monster and started my Fiendish Rebuke trick. This time, it was the Paladin who had the monster marked.
Gnoll: Fiendish Rebuke w/curse (2d6+6 damage), Slimy (OA-Takes 6 damage from Divine Challenge)
Slimy: Takes Armor of Agathys damage (1d6+6 damage), attacks me, hurts me, and is Rebuked (1d6+6 damage).
I was hitting reliably with my At-will because of Prime Shot, few bad rolls, and the use of an action point to try again the one round I missed.
Common 1 round damage total: 4d6+24 (38 damage/round on average)
Yes, I was taking lots of damage most every round, but between the Paladin and Warlord, I was being kept in Temporary Hit-Points. I also rolled well to throw off the on-going acid damage and the AOE Daze/Weakened effect he hit us with.
Eventually the thing stopped taking OAs on me, because he was just getting beaten down. I ended the fight with 1 hp and an ongoing 5 acid about to hit me on my round--yay for Lay on Hands!
Here is my question: Is the Infernal Warlock designed to be a melee-Warlock who uses his Temp HP and high Con to absorb lots of damage while provoking OAs that make the party Defenders happy to get to use their abilities?
I think they are.