The Warlockopedia: A Comprehensive Warlock Handbook

[danielxcutter]

Warlocks might have the largest 20 -> 21 power spike in the entire game. Those epic feats.

You know, you're probably right, unless you count Epic Spellcasting/Manifesting - and even then, there are actually a lot more initial snags to that feat that aren't obvious at first glance.

Besides, forget Shadowmaster - which yes, I will agree is probably the strongest Epic Warlock feat and maybe even the strongest non-Epic Spellcasting/Manifesting Epic feat, period, and not just because of the at-will Shades. Eldritch Sculptor literally doubles your damage output - I doubt normal casters or manifesters can consistently deal as much damage - as well as range and a couple of relatively minor benefits; Lord of All Essences makes save-or-suck blast essences so much better; heck, even Souleater Incarnate is fairly good in a vacuum, it just has bad prereqs and the other Epic Invocation feats being so much better.

[maruahm]

So, since there are a lot of Warlock experts in this thread, is it just me or should the Warlock be Tier 3? I mean, the Warblade is Tier 3, and I can't think of many good reasons why the Warlock should be in a lower tier than the Warblade.

[Troacctid]

So, since there are a lot of Warlock experts in this thread, is it just me or should the Warlock be Tier 3? I mean, the Warblade is Tier 3, and I can't think of many good reasons why the Warlock should be in a lower tier than the Warblade.

Yes, it is tier 3.

[danielxcutter]

So, since there are a lot of Warlock experts in this thread, is it just me or should the Warlock be Tier 3? I mean, the Warblade is Tier 3, and I can't think of many good reasons why the Warlock should be in a lower tier than the Warblade.

Yes, it is tier 3.

Personally, I'm of the opinion that the Tier system is kinda inaccurate in a few ways, but in terms of "not usually campaign-breaking but still more than capable of pulling one's weight", calling Warlock a T3 class sounds fair.

[ShurikVch]

Since there are already a lot of [item creation] feats - how about some more?

Attune Gem (Magic of Faerûn)
Craft Crystal Weapon (Oriental Adventures)
Craft Rune Circle (Races of Stone)
Craft Skull Talisman (Frostburn)
Craft Talisman (Oriental Adventures)
Create Infusion (Masters of the Wild)
Create Portal (Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting)
Etch Rune (Dragon #324)
Grell Alchemy (Lords of Madness)
Inscribe Rune (Player's Guide to Faerûn)
Sanctify Relic (Magic Item Compendium)
Tattoo Magic (Races of Faerûn)

[danielxcutter]

Since there are already a lot of [item creation] feats - how about some more?

Attune Gem (Magic of Faerûn)
Craft Crystal Weapon (Oriental Adventures)
Craft Rune Circle (Races of Stone)
Craft Skull Talisman (Frostburn)
Craft Talisman (Oriental Adventures)
Create Infusion (Masters of the Wild)
Create Portal (Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting)
Etch Rune (Dragon #324)
Grell Alchemy (Lords of Madness)
Inscribe Rune (Player's Guide to Faerûn)
Sanctify Relic (Magic Item Compendium)
Tattoo Magic (Races of Faerûn)

I think Etch Rune is already in there, actually.

[Troacctid]

I think Etch Rune is already in there, actually.

I had Craft Skull Talisman and Etch Rune in there and removed them because I realized the one was just bad and the other was redundant.

Inscribe Rune is not accessible to warlocks because it requires a divine caster level. Infusions are just more expensive versions of scrolls that only work for divine spells. Crystal weapons are situational, setting-dependent, and honestly kind of bad? Rune circles can't be taken with you on adventures. Talismans are just a more limited version of wondrous items. Sanctify Relic lets you craft a maximum of two items, which probably aren't even good. Create Portal is exorbitantly expensive and I can't think why you'd want it. Tattoo Magic is Brew Potion with an extra prerequisite. None of these merit inclusion.

Grell Alchemy's item creation functions are almost entirely useless AFAICT, but it is basically a better version of Spell Penetration if you meet the prerequisite. Attune Gem is fine, kind of like Craft Contingent Spell with more limited trigger conditions and arcane spells only. Them I suppose I can add.

[ShurikVch]

...

Wow!
I kinda expected about 3/4 of rejection, but you even exceeded it!
Still:

Inscribe Rune is not accessible to warlocks because it requires a divine caster level.

Go find a Cleric of at least 7th level, ask to cast Imbue with Spell Ability on your PC.
Presto! Your Warlock got divine caster level!

Also, presuming the game is in Eberron - how about the Bind Elemental?
Or grafting feats - Deathless Fleshgrafter, Eldeen Plantgrafter, and Elemental Grafter?

[Troacctid]

Still:Go find a Cleric of at least 7th level, ask to cast Imbue with Spell Ability on your PC.
Presto! Your Warlock got divine caster level!

Imbue with spell ability uses the original caster's CL, not the recipient's. You could do it on an eldritch disciple build, but then you wouldn't have imbue item, so, eh. As far as I know, the only way to do it without multiclassing is the Minor Divine Spellcaster feat from Dragon #305, which requires a tax of two other feats, and honestly, I can't imagine Inscribe Rune being worth four feat slots—runes are fine, but there are so many other good crafting feats, why go so far out of your way?

Also, presuming the game is in Eberron - how about the Bind Elemental?
Or grafting feats - Deathless Fleshgrafter, Eldeen Plantgrafter, and Elemental Grafter?

Bind Elemental doesn't work as it requires you to actually cast planar binding and bind an elemental during the item's creation. Warlocks can't do that. Grafting feats mainly make sense on a fleshgrafter build, which is covered under prestige classes, and also, grafts aren't actually that good? I mean, there are some good grafts, but in any given category there are going to be maybe like three, tops, and you only get one category per feat. That's an embarrassing rate. In contrast, wondrous items can do basically everything grafts can do and more. Craft Wondrous Item is definitely tough for these hyper-specialized niche item crafting feats to compete with.

[Kalkra]

All this talk about crafting has got me curious. I think I saw somewhere that SLAs can be used in the place of spells for crafting. Invocations are SLAs. Could a Warlock make a wand of an invocation?

[Troacctid]

All this talk about crafting has got me curious. I think I saw somewhere that SLAs can be used in the place of spells for crafting. Invocations are SLAs. Could a Warlock make a wand of an invocation?

So, the answer is, if the invocation duplicates a spell, then yes, you can use it as that spell to craft an item. But you can't make wands of the invocations themselves—only of actual spells. (Your DM could rule otherwise; the rules are pretty flexible for custom items.) If the invocation duplicates a spell but slightly different (e.g. chilling tentacles with its extra cold damage compared to black tentacles), then you should talk to your DM about whether it's close enough.

[ShurikVch]

I had Craft Skull Talisman and Etch Rune in there and removed them because I realized the one was just bad and the other was redundant.

It's only in the case you're going to hog all the items you're crafted

Etch Rune may look like a Scribe Scroll...
But don't required any UMD checks - knowledge of how to use it available to anybody who will touch the Rune.
You would be able to produce magical no-UMD ammo for the whole party!
Maybe, even for hirelings.
But even if you're adventuring solo, without followers or hirelings, you still would be able to give some runes to your Familiar (or even Wild Cohort!)

Skull Talisman - unlike, say, potions - may be charged with personal-range spells.
And, while it usually take standard action to activate, it also may be incorporated into Full Attack...

[Troacctid]

It's only in the case you're going to hog all the items you're crafted

Etch Rune may look like a Scribe Scroll...
But don't required any UMD checks - knowledge of how to use it available to anybody who will touch the Rune.
You would be able to produce magical no-UMD ammo for the whole party!
Maybe, even for hirelings.
But even if you're adventuring solo, without followers or hirelings, you still would be able to give some runes to your Familiar (or even Wild Cohort!)

Double-checking, it looks like I may have been thinking of the other runes from Dragon #335 that are identical to scrolls—but I still hold that Etch Rune is redundant, because most of the utility of scrolls is in having the right niche spell for the challenge you're facing, not in having extra ammunition in combat. For the things you want scrolls for, it doesn't usually matter who's using them; it will be rare that you will want to spend triple the normal cost in order to let others activate the item.

Skull Talisman - unlike, say, potions - may be charged with personal-range spells.
And, while it usually take standard action to activate, it also may be incorporated into Full Attack...

Yeah, but they're also twice the cost of potions, which are expensive enough to begin with. In fact, they're the same price as contingent spells, which don't take any action at all to activate!

[mpfo97]

Great guide! Thank you so much.

Question: How does Greatreach Blast from the Eldritch Theurge prestige class work with the spell Storm Touch? Do you get to use all the touches in subsequent rounds through eldritch blasts?

[Troacctid]

Great guide! Thank you so much.

Question: How does Greatreach Blast from the Eldritch Theurge prestige class work with the spell Storm Touch? Do you get to use all the touches in subsequent rounds through eldritch blasts?

You effectively only get one touch.

[PoeticallyPsyco]

This is really cool!

Minor quibble: while the rules for bloodlines are vague, they are explicitly class levels and therefore do count for ECL. Probably. https://rpg.stackexchange.com/questi.../141693#141693

[tstewt1921]

Hey @Troacctid, my computer is being dumb and not letting me open up any of the docs for whatever reason, is there any way you can send me over the Bearlock build? It sounds really interesting!

[Troacctid]

This is really cool!

Minor quibble: while the rules for bloodlines are vague, they are explicitly class levels and therefore do count for ECL. Probably. https://rpg.stackexchange.com/questi.../141693#141693

Specific beats general. If bloodlines say they don't count, then they don't count. The rules for them actually call out that they're different from normal class levels in this respect, too, which makes them an exception, and exceptions have an even higher level of rules primacy than specific rules.

Hey @Troacctid, my computer is being dumb and not letting me open up any of the docs for whatever reason, is there any way you can send me over the Bearlock build? It sounds really interesting!

I can put a downloadable zip of the sample builds on Dropbox, but some of the formatting might get weird in the conversion. Is anyone else having this problem? https://www.dropbox.com/s/mzvwti8jqz...02-23.zip?dl=0

[tstewt1921]

I can put a downloadable zip of the sample builds on Dropbox, but some of the formatting might get weird in the conversion. Is anyone else having this problem? https://www.dropbox.com/s/mzvwti8jqz...02-23.zip?dl=0

Thank you so much!!!

[Zaq]

I think I just discovered something pretty darn cool for warlocks (and DFAs): The affiliation known as "The First Scroll," found on pp. 141-3 of Dragon Magic. (Pretty sure this isn't in the guide already? Apologies if I just missed it.)

Get to an affiliation score of 19+, and you learn one extra invocation of the highest grade you can use!

Unfortunately, compared to certain other affiliations (*coughParagnosticAssemblycough*), it's relatively difficult to raise your affiliation score through purely mechanical means. You've more or less gotta get some roleplaying involved. Which is fine, of course, but it does make it a bit more challenging to build around in a vacuum without actually getting your GM involved. You do get a +1 for every 10 years of membership, so maybe just be an elf or something similarly long-lived and write in a 190-year backstory?

Downsides include being affiliated with an organization with rather goofy fluff. The kanji (which they call a "rune," but it's clearly a kanji) on the emblem, which allegedly reads "magic," actually reads "moth." Which I've been snickering about since I saw it. I feel like that's probably an eons-long prank pulled by all of dragonkind on all of not-dragonkind.

Anyway! I'm not aware of too many other effects that let you learn an extra invocation of your highest grade, so I think this is potentially interesting!

[Troacctid]

Huh. Well. Interesting. I have no idea where to put that.

[NontheistCleric]

The kanji (which they call a "rune," but it's clearly a kanji) on the emblem, which allegedly reads "magic," actually reads "moth." Which I've been snickering about since I saw it. I feel like that's probably an eons-long prank pulled by all of dragonkind on all of not-dragonkind.

I mean, it's also a Chinese character that means 'you'. So yes, anyone who knows those languages will feel a bit amused seeing it there, but maybe it just also means 'magic' in Draconic script.

[GrayDeath]

Well, if You are a magical Moth, the meaning is clear, no? ^^




less funny. interesting Find. As Non Homebrew Warlocks never have enough Invocations. Thanks!

[Zaq]

Huh. Well. Interesting. I have no idea where to put that.

Yeah, I know that feeling. Like when you find a rockin’ song that you want to listen to a lot, but it doesn’t fit into any of your current playlists, so you’ve gotta concoct a new one to justify having the new song around. Or maybe that’s just a personal problem? Either way.

Maybe look through other affiliations and see if any of them are useful for warlocks? Otherwise, um, either throw together an “odds and ends” section or else maybe lump it in with, I dunno, PrCs? Teamwork benefits? It’s pretty different from everything else. Which is actually reasonably good game design overall, but it doesn’t make for elegant handbook sections.

I’ll admit that I haven’t done a ton of digging through affiliations myself. (Not like truenamers can justify being part of absolutely any affiliation other than the Paragnostic Assembly, after all.) I have no idea if a single other one is worth the effort if you aren’t already super invested in the fluff. Still, I’m glad that The First Scroll (still a dumb name) isn’t just tired old territory.

[Jowgen]

Huh. Well. Interesting. I have no idea where to put that.

I'd merge it with Teamwork Benefits, as the mechanics are sorta similar.

[Mr Adventurer]

Looks like you'd have to be careful when you get to 19 affiliation score, as you'll learn one of your highest level invocations you have at that time?

[danielxcutter]

Huh. Well. Interesting. I have no idea where to put that.

Ooh! I have an idea! How about adding a section in the Invocations part about learning new invocations? There's the items with blast shapes or essences, the Extra Invocation feat, and there was that item that lets you learn a least one I think.

Looks like you'd have to be careful when you get to 19 affiliation score, as you'll learn one of your highest level invocations you have at that time?

Hmm. Could be read as "one extra highest level invocation going on", so it scales with level, but I dunno...

[Zaq]

Looks like you'd have to be careful when you get to 19 affiliation score, as you'll learn one of your highest level invocations you have at that time?

Ooh! I have an idea! How about adding a section in the Invocations part about learning new invocations? There's the items with blast shapes or essences, the Extra Invocation feat, and there was that item that lets you learn a least one I think.



Hmm. Could be read as "one extra highest level invocation going on", so it scales with level, but I dunno...

I’m with Mr. Adventurer on this one. It just says you learn the invocation, not that you learn a continually updating floating invocation. GM interpretation always applies, but my feeling is that the text makes more sense as just learning it, not as constantly relearning it.

Reading the affiliation table again, it might be a little problematic for warlocks because warlocks don’t count as “arcane spellcasters,” right? The table calls out DFAs specifically, which makes me think that the author of the table was using the interpretation that invocation users aren’t spellcasters. Of course, if you do count as a spellcaster (single dip in a class with actual spells, Magical Training, etc.), it gives a bonus based on “PC’s level” and doesn’t specify class level, so there’s that. As I stated earlier, I’m so used to the Assembly that I find it a bit frustrating how difficult it is to get most of your affiliation points from non-GM-dependent sources. Hell of a payoff, though.

[Troacctid]

Well, in other news, I added a new section to the guide for character concepts. This section is open to submissions, if anyone has their own concepts that they'd like to share. Also, I updated the Races & Templates section with some additional material, and I've been slowly tweaking the homebrew section.

[Kalkra]

Obah-Blessed from Dungeon 136 is kinda like Insectile Creature. It's +2 LA for two extra arms, and +3 LA for 4 extra arms, but it can go on any creature with no more than 4 arms, and with two extra arms you get STR +2, DEX +4, CON +2, CHA +4. With 4 extra arms you get an additional +2 to those stats. Also, Multiweapon Fighting as a bonus feat, and some grapple bonuses.