Spell-Less Warlock Redesign

[Ixidor92]

I love the idea of this warlock change. A number of the invocations may need some balancing (in particular, the dark invocation that reduces int and char to 1 seems a bit overblown to me), but on the whole their power level seems about right. The only changes I would make (which other people have suggested) are
a) add some unique invocations to each pact type. Perhaps they gain a bonus invocation at certain levels, similar to the 2 cantrips they gain at first level.
b) Make invocations available at 1st level. With invocations now being emphasized much more, keeping them locked until 2nd level feels kind of silly from a balance perspective, and also could feel underwhelming to 1st level warlock players, as all the other spellcasters get to use abilities that aren't cantrips while they have to wait until next level.

EDIT: These are the invocations I would consider re-tooling.

Hellish Rebuke: You surround yourself with threatening flames. For one minute, the first creature who damages you takes 1d10 fire damage per Warlock level. They may attempt a Dexterity save for half damage.

For a least invocation, I feel this essence rapidly does far too much damage for its duration. Since it lasts for 10 rounds, which is likely the entire fight, the 1d10 damage per level gets out of hand fast. For a direct comparison, lets take a level 5 warlock. This spell will deal 5d10 damage to the first person who successfully hits him over the course of 10 rounds. Now they do get a dex save for half damage, but that still averages out to 15 fire damage on a successful save. So just for a generous estimate, lets assume only half of the full 10 rounds are used, whether its just because the fight is over that quickly or people miss you, and that all five of those hits save. That still averages out to a total of 75 fire damage among all targets. Now compare that lowball estimate to a wizard casting fireball or lightning bolt, as they will have just gotten access to it at 3rd level. Both of those spells do 8d6 damage, which averages out to 40 damage if the targets fail their save. Of course, these are AOE spells, so the total damage they deal is likely going to be 3 or 4 times that. However: a 5th level caster only has a single 3rd level spell slot, whereas the warlock gets to cast Hellish rebuke for free at the start of every encounter.

I would personally change the starting damage to 2d6 fire damage at level one, and then an additional d6 for every warlock level above first. So 1d6 fire damage per (Warlock level +1). It still deals a respectable amount of damage, but it doesn't feel head and shoulders above the other least eldritch essences.

Beguiling Influence: You gain proficiency in the Deception and Persuasion skills, and may add twice your Proficiency bonus to checks made using those skills. You also learn the Friends cantrip.

Expertise in both skills seems a bit much, as it effectively makes a warlock who chooses this objectively better than a social rogue. I would limit it to expertise in your choice of one or the other.

Shadow of Moil: You surround yourself with flame-like shadows. For one minute, you have resistance to radiant damage, and whenever a creature within 10 feet of you hits you with an attack, the shadows lash out at that creature, dealing it 2d8 necrotic damage. In addition, the shadows turn dim light within 10 feet of you into darkness, and bright light in the same area to dim light.

My problem with this is the opposite of Hellish rebuke. For an ability that you can't get until 11th level it's damage is too low, especially since it doesn't scale. It does have other effects and it hits anyone within 10 feet, so maybe double it to 4d8 necrotic damage.

Maddening Blast: Your Eldritch Blast deals psychic damage. A creature struck by it must make a Wisdom save or have its Intelligence and Charisma scores reduced to 1 for one minute. The creature can’t cast spells, activate magic items, understand language, or communicate in any intelligible way. The creature can, however, identify its friends, follow them, and even protect them. They may make a new save at the start of each round to end this effect. If they succeed on a save against it, they cannot be affected again until you have completed a long rest.

For an at-will ranged attack ability, this feels a little more potent than it should be. Instead of reducing Int and Cha to 1, maybe impose disadvantage on ability checks and attack rolls that use those scores. The secondary effects appear fine though, since a successful save protects them for a day against it.

Hopefully this helps