The Warlockopedia: A Comprehensive Warlock Handbook

[Troacctid]

Okay folks. It's here. The handbook you've all been waiting for.

The Warlockopedia!

Hi! My name is Jasmine, and I'm here to talk about warlocks. (Specifically, warlocks in D&D 3.5e—if you're a 5e player, sorry, I'm sure there's another guide for that somewhere.)

So. Here we are. Welcome to my Warlockopedia, a fully comprehensive handbook covering everything you need to know to play a warlock, whether you’re a newer player looking for advice and sample builds, a more invested player looking for fresh ways to optimize, or a grizzled veteran looking for a quick reference tool. The comprehensive nature of this handbook means that even non-warlocks should find it useful, too, particularly the sections on items, feats, templates, and Use Magic Device.

This is your encyclopedia for the warlock class, clocking in at over 115,000 words across 6 documents and 12 spreadsheets, not including the supplemental homebrew section. It covers invocations, feats, races, templates, prestige classes, multiclassing, spells, items, skills, ability scores, alternate class features, and quick builds, plus nine full sample builds (and counting). HTML versions are also provided for those of you who can load them more easily than Google Docs. Enjoy!

Spoiler: Table of Contents

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Table of Contents

Introduction, Index, Class Overview, Skills, and ACFs (HTML version)
This section introduces the warlock class and discusses tactics, strategy, key ability scores, skills, and alternative class features. It also has the table of contents (reproduced here, of course). I recommend starting here.

Invocations (HTML version)
This section goes over every invocation option, rating them and providing commentary.

Races and Templates (HTML version)
This section covers racial options, including races, templates, and level-adjusted options.

Multiclassing and Prestige Classes (HTML version)
This section covers warlock-friendly prestige classes and some options for multiclassing.

Feats (HTML version)
This is a spreadsheet listing all the feats that you might want to take, tagged by category.

Items (HTML version)
This is a spreadsheet providing a comprehensive list of items to help you spend your gold, tagged by category.

UMD Spells (HTML version)
This spreadsheet lists spells that you might want to obtain in wands, scrolls, or other magic items, and acts as a supplement to the item spreadsheet. Spells are listed at the lowest level they're available to a base class. (I’m still updating this one—haven’t gone through every spell in the game yet.)

Quick Build Guide (HTML version)
For quick character generation, use these ready-to-go build templates in the style of Player’s Handbook II. The quick builds in that book always struck me as an excellent idea poorly executed, so I thought I'd try my hand at redoing them, except without taking Point Blank Shot twice on the same character.

Warlock Concepts (HTML version)
This is a story-focused section that provides sample character hooks to inspire you. Submissions are open if you have a concept of your own to share!

Sample Builds
Each of these is a fully-fledged character build, presented in spreadsheet form. Most of them showcase interesting, offbeat, or thematic builds, and all of them are designed to be playable at any level.

• Anima Warlock (HTML): An experimental cross between a warlock and a binder. This is a socially-oriented build that uses the anima mage prestige class to gain access to vestiges.
• Arachnolock (HTML): A scorpion-themed Vulkoori warlock using the arachnomancer and vermin keeper prestige classes. Combines traditional warlock tactics with the ability to turn into a giant monstrous scorpion and shred faces.
• Bearlock (HTML): "On the one hand, we could have a reasonable, civilized discussion and talk out this problem. On the other hand, I could turn into a bear and claw your face off. Which would you prefer?"
• Blood Magus (HTML): You can B positive that this build is out for blood.
• Changeling Whistlelock (HTML): A twist on the halfling whistler prestige class—it’s not a halfling. It's a changeling with a level of rogue. The rogue dip enables improved damage with eldritch blast via sneak attack, plus improved social skills thanks to social intuition.
• Demonbinder (HTML): A straightforward build showcasing the demonbinder prestige class.
• Eldritch Theurge (HTML): A basic theurge build using warmage as the other side.
• Heartfire Stormlock (HTML): This Charisma-heavy build dips into bard to enable the stormsinger prestige class and eventually heartfire fanner. It gets a bunch of sweet storm-themed powers, and can serve as party face in addition to providing disruption, support, battlefield control, and blasting.
• Prehistorlock (HTML): Neanderthal warlock smash! Neanderthal warlock like hit thing on head with big stick! Sometimes stab with other big stick. Scare enemies, rawr!
• Unseenlock (HTML): A sneaky roguelike build that uses sneak attack to boost eldritch blast damage in conjunction with the Blend into Darkness feat and a healthy Hide check.
• Urban Savant (HTML): This build focuses on Knowledge skills and the urban savant prestige class. Identify all the monsters! Because it can use Knowledge in place of Diplomacy and wild empathy, it can also function impressively as a party face.

Bibliography (HTML version)
This is a collection of secondary and tertiary sources that I referred to during the creation of this handbook. Most of them are also great resources in their own right that are well worth checking out.

Troacctid’s Warlock Homebrew (HTML version)
This isn't officially part of the guide. It's just a bunch of cool invocations, alternative class features, and epic feats I wrote up to fill what I perceived to be some of the class’s gaps. (Little to no playtesting.)

Spoiler: Sidebar: Using Google Sheets

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There are two main things you need to know to read the spreadsheets in this handbook. First, most of the spreadsheets have multiple sheets. You can navigate between them using the tabs at the bottom (or at the top, for the HTML versions), which will look something like this.


Each tab is its own sheet with different information, so make sure to check out all of them.

The second thing is filter views. This is how you can sort and filter the various tables. You can access filter views by clicking the funnel button at the top:



I’ve preloaded a selection of common filters, but you can also create your own. To do so, click “Create new temporary filter view” and then you should be able to click on the little arrow thingies at the tops of the columns. From there you can filter for certain conditions (for example, if the cell contains a particular word), or simply check off items from the list.

Spoiler: Sidebar: The Color Code

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Throughout this handbook, I'll be using a color-coding system to rate certain options.

Blue represents options that are universally powerful. Regardless of your build, you can count on a blue option to be good.
Black represents options that are universally decent. They're not quite on the same level as the blue options, but they are fine, and can still serve you well on any build.
Red is for the stuff that's just bad—usually either trap options that don't do anything or subpar choices that are too narrow to be worth taking. Stay away from these.
Magenta represents options that require support from the rest of your build in order to excel. Unlike blue or black options, you can't just drop them onto any warlock and expect them to perform. They're not necessarily less powerful, they're just not universally powerful.

Always read the descriptions–don't just look at the color. The text provides important context for the rating. (Especially for the magenta ones.)

Some sections of the guide, like the prestige class section, are so build- or playstyle-dependent that almost everything would be magenta. Of course, if everything is magenta, then nothing is, so I've opted not to color-code those sections at all.

Feedback and discussion are welcome. Also, I don't make mistakes, of course, but there's always a chance that some meddling Ellimist went and altered reality to make something I wrote retroactively inaccurate, so feel free to point out where that's the case. (Darn Ellimists.)

Note: If the most recent post in this thread is more than 45 days old, you must PM a moderator before replying to it. If you don't, the thread will be locked and everyone will hate you. Yes, everyone. Look, I don't make the rules.