3.5, Warlock

[CTLC]

apparently i am now playing a warlock. of the necropolitan star elf variety.
any tips, especially for feat choices, and ways to possibly get a wee bit more utility in there?

[mostlyharmful]

If you want utility beyound creative uses of WBL then Warlocks the wrong class.

[Cute_Riolu]

If you want utility beyound creative uses of WBL then Warlocks the wrong class.

That's not what he asked, now is it?

If you're sixth level, there's Extra Invocation. There's also more dragon-themed invocations in Draconomicon. At fourth level, you can take ten with Use Magic Device, so stock up on a lot of magic baubles, scrolls, and wands.

[CTLC]

thanks riolu, ill look at the draconomicon. are that and the CA the only sources of invocations?

[Cute_Riolu]

I think so. There might be some homebrew ones that you can run by your DM, though. I don't know where they are, though.

[Optimystik]

thanks riolu, ill look at the draconomicon. are that and the CA the only sources of invocations?

No, there's some in CM, and others spattered in other thematic supplements (e.g. some Incarnum-flavored (and awful) ones in MoI.)

[AslanCross]

Bump up Use Magic Device and invest in wands.

[Darrin]

thanks riolu, ill look at the draconomicon. are that and the CA the only sources of invocations?

Dragon Magic, actually. Complete Mage has a few, and I think Cityscape has a couple.

[faceroll]

Draconomicon has nothing relating to warlocks in it. You want Dragon Magic.

[EDIT]
GET IN THE CAR, IT'S A NINJA

[Cute_Riolu]

How wrong I am! I'll have to look those up, myself.

[CTLC]

is there any way to increase the damage of eldritch?

[Sinfire Titan]

Expedition to Castle Ravenloft has a magic item that gives you a permanent additional Least Invocation. 20K.


There's a couple of feats and abilities in the WotC's archives. Take a look at the Warlock Handbook for info. I know there's a feat that gives you a Dragonic Invocation.

Fiendish Codex 2 has the best Warlock PrC ever invented, the Hellfire Warlock.

[A Ladder]

is there any way to increase the damage of eldritch?

the feat Mortal Bane from BoVD is a +2d6 up to 5 times a day.

the item Chausable of Fell power (Greater) in CA is a +1d6 (+2d6).

Hellfire Warlocks get a + to eldritch blast (Fiendish Codex II)

[CTLC]

ill see if my dm lets me hellfire even though im a necropolitan.
Ladder, ill check those out.
so, we mostly fight outsiders, but i bought my chasuble!
thanks a ton

[olentu]

ill see if my dm lets me hellfire even though im a necropolitan.
Ladder, ill check those out.
BoVD?

Book of vile darkness.

[CTLC]

thanks
i now have 4d6 damage at level 4, not too shabby, also, for invocations ive taken glaive, spear and i have one left.

i have a way to get all the wands i could need, so i really just need combat helpful invos.

[Sophismata]

PrC: Hellfire Warlock
Feat: Shape Soulmeld (Strongheart Vest)

Highly recommended.

[CTLC]

thats incarnum right?
also, i will hellfire for sure
and i went with hammerblast, simply because its an urban setting and taking out chunks of building is amazingly handy

[Fendalus]

PrC: Hellfire Warlock
Feat: Shape Soulmeld (Strongheart Vest)

Highly recommended.

Only problem is if the Stongheart vest breaks the "No immunity to con damage" bit. Because it essentially provides DR1/- for ability damage, it might. Several page debates have gone on about this, and no clear answer at the end. It's not clear, so Ask Your DM(tm).

Taking a level of binder and binding Naberius, however, does work, as you DO take the damage, you just Regen it at the end of your turn.

[Sinfire Titan]

Hellfire Warlock specifies that you can't use it's main class feature if you are Undead.

[Fendalus]

Hellfire Warlock specifies that you can't use it's main class feature if you are Undead.

Not directly, but as undead are immune to damage to their physical ability scores, and if you are immune to the con damage you can't use hellfire... Same effect, really.

[Sophismata]

Oh crap, he's a Necropolitan. My bad - he cannot use Hellfire Blasts regardless. He doesn't even have a Con stat.

[CTLC]

but i got a d12 hit die

hrm, still asking dm about hellfire, just incase, supposedly im a fiend in a body. not just a warlock, so i should be able to supply the hellfire on meh own...

anything else to raise eldritch blast damage?
what feats should i have at level 4?

[faceroll]

Meh, just take a level in binder and tell your DM that the mechanical effect of not worrying about con damage has been paid for.

[Darrin]

anything else to raise eldritch blast damage?
what feats should i have at level 4?

Dip something to pick up sneak attack, then get into Unseen Seer, and attack from invisible/darkness/sniping/etc.

[taltamir]

thanks
i now have 4d6 damage at level 4, not too shabby, also, for invocations ive taken glaive, spear and i have one left.

i have a way to get all the wands i could need, so i really just need combat helpful invos.

how are you doing 4d6 at level 4? you should be doing 2d6 at this level.

To up the damage, you can use "empower spell like ability", "maximize spell like ability" and "quicken spell like ability" from one of the monster manuals (forgot which)

as mentioned there is hellfire and sneak attack...

you can take improved critical (ranged touch attack) which increases the crit range of all weaponlike spells (elderitch blast is a weaponlike spell) crit on a 19-20 instead of just 20 (for 2x damage).

[Fendalus]

He's probably using a Chausable of Fell power, but he probably wouldn't be able to afford the greater one, just the lesser one, bringing it up to 3D6. 4D6 as soon as he levels.

[CTLC]

how are you doing 4d6 at level 4? you should be doing 2d6 at this level.

To up the damage, you can use "empower spell like ability", "maximize spell like ability" and "quicken spell like ability" from one of the monster manuals (forgot which)

as mentioned there is hellfire and sneak attack...

you can take improved critical (ranged touch attack) which increases the crit range of all weaponlike spells (elderitch blast is a weaponlike spell) crit on a 19-20 instead of just 20 (for 2x damage).

1. greater chausable fell thing.
2.not worth the cost, and not at this level
3. hellfire i cant do yet, will be looking into sneak.
4. not worth the feat

[Fendalus]

1. greater chausable fell thing.

That costs 18,000 gp. Good luck affording that at level 4. The lesser one only costs 8,000, so you might get one on your way to level 5.

[Tokiko Mima]

Only problem is if the Stongheart vest breaks the "No immunity to con damage" bit. Because it essentially provides DR1/- for ability damage, it might. Several page debates have gone on about this, and no clear answer at the end. It's not clear, so Ask Your DM(tm).

Taking a level of binder and binding Naberius, however, does work, as you DO take the damage, you just Regen it at the end of your turn.

I don't buy the argument that Strongheart Vest shouldn't work per RAW. DR 1/- is not immunity to HP damage, why would soaking the first few points of ability damage be considered the same as immunity to Constitution damage? Immunity to ability damage, or not having a CON score to damage are specific things that are spelled out in the RAW, and the Vest doesn't fall under either of those categories.

Both Naberius and Strongheart are cheesy workarounds though, and are definitely not RAI. The designers made a pretty obvious effort to close loopholes to make sure the CON damage meant something as a penalty. Personally, I would either disallow them both as trying to sneak around a balancing penalty you get for the increased damage, or make the CON damage from Hellfire into Ability Burn damage.

On the topic, remember that since your Invocations and Eldritch Blast are standard actions, you almost always have a free move action. Use it wisely, every turn you can. Your ranged attack is solid and will rarely miss as you gain level, but it's sort of low damage. If you take Weapon Finesse, you can use your DEX bonus on Eldritch Blast attack rolls and not worry so much about Strength.

Take advantage of cover and 5' steps to stay out of melee unless you have the tools to be a glaivelock. Your invocations provoke AoO's and trigger spell resistance just like spells, so even through you are less squishy, be aware that it's not a good idea for you to be trapped, surrounded, or especially grappled.

Hideous Blow is a hideous choice of an invocation, always. It looks tempting, (hooray, I get to use a sword and add Eldritch damage to it!) but it has so many negatives to it that it's a penalty to use in almost every situation.

If you want to be able to go nova, the feats Empower SLA, Maximize SLA, and Quicken SLA are all open to warlocks and can be used 3/day to rather devastating effect, especially combined with Hellfire Warlock + Eldritch Glaive in there. It actually gets a bit ridiculous, and it's one of the ways you can legitimately do 1000+ damage in a single round in D&D.

You're passing the level where it's useful, but one of the best low level invocations is Summon Swarm, but it's also one of the first you trade out. It's fantastic at levels where a 1d6 of damage still kills things. Also better than it looks is Baleful Utterance, because there's just an amazing amount of things that are fun to break, from belt buckles, to locks, to spell component pouches, to doors, to glass golems, to clothing, etc.

Keep in mind that the lesser invocation Voracious Dispelling is almost better than it's greater cousin, because Voracious allows you to use dispel magic in all three modes, without touch being required. There's a lot of stuff you can do with an unlimited number of dispel magics.