Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Blades of Cursed Midnight: A Hexblade's Guide (by Lord_Ventor)
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="LightWarden" data-source="post: 6744719" data-attributes="member: 6803540"><p><strong>Originally posted by Lord_Ventnor:</strong></p><p></p><p>Walking Through Shadow: Utility Powers</p><p>Warlock utility powers tend to be rather versatile. They can teleport you, create zones that deter enemy movement, reduce damage you take, and allow you to take flight, among other things. Since your utility power at level 22 is fixed, we won't be looking at utilities of that level.</p><p></p><p><strong>Level 2</strong></p><p>[sblock]<strong>Assassin's Bane (DSCG):</strong> You create a fairly big zone that makes it so opponents can't hide or teleport. Definitely useful if you're the sort that hates it when the big bad of a dungeon teleports away at the last minute.</p><p></p><p><strong>Beguiling Tongue (PHB):</strong> This power will likely see more use in skill challenges than in battle. Still, Bluff and Intimidate have combat applications, and getting a boost to those or Diplomacy could be helpful for you.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #ff0000"><strong>Caiphon's Leap (AP):</strong></span> This power is triggered by a class feature that you don't have. Pass.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #800080"><strong>Charm of Hearts (D382):</strong></span> You don't provoke opportunity attacks at all, and you have a defense bonus to boot. Not bad for a daily power, but the fact that you have to keep paying minor actions to keep it going is kind of a bummer.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: #0000ff">Devil's Trade (AP):</span></strong> You give yourself temporary vulnerability to all damage to autosucceed on a save you make at the end of the turn. The vulnerability might come back to bite you in the rear, but reliably saving at the right moment could be decisive.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #00ccff"><strong>Ethereal Stride (PHB):</strong></span> A short-range teleport coupled with a defense boost. This is a great power to use if you need to get the hell out of dodge, and should be considered.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #800080"><strong>Eyes of the Spider Queen (AP):</strong></span> Getting darkvision for an encounter is nice, and penetrating invisibility is cool. Only, you can only see invisible things right next to you, and the darkvision isn't permanent. You can probably pick something better.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #ff0000"><strong>Fevered Certainty of Caiphon (D366):</strong></span> Skip it. A boost of skill checks is good, but you lose out on will defense when you use it, and it's a daily power. That kind of tradeoff would work if this was an encounter power, but a daily?</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #ff0000"><strong>Fey Bargain (AP):</strong></span> This one should be avoided. A bonus to attacks is nice, but it's not worth failing a save automatically. Especially in the higher tiers, where the effects levied against you get more and more intense.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #800080"><strong>Fiendish Resilience (PHB):</strong></span> You get temporary HP with this. It's primarily aimed at Infernal Hexblades, although they really don't need it, seeing as Soul Feast is perfectly good at handing THP to them.</p><p></p><p><strong>Ruinous Phrase (D382):</strong> This power has the niche of destroying inanimate objects, like crates and bottles. It scales up with level, and could certainly be useful... maybe. Works a little better for Infernal Hexblades.</p><p></p><p><strong>Shadow Veil (PHB):</strong> A big bonus to stealth checks. Fey Hexblades can get milage out of this, and Infernal and Star Hexblades can use this to totally not fail at Stealth checks.</p><p></p><p><strong>Spectral Fade (HotFK):</strong> Invisibility for a turn. There are worse powers.</p><p></p><p><strong>Spider Scuttle (HotFK):</strong> You get a get a climb speed for 2 turns, and also can crawl fast too. Interesting, and could be handy if you find yourself in need of climbing.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #800080"><strong>Stony Roots (HotEC):</strong></span> For one encounter, you ignore forced movement and can make saving throws to avoid falling prone. Definitely situtational, but handy when foes that try to push you around come up.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #0000ff"><strong>Wrathful Aspect (HotFK):</strong></span> This one's good on and off of the battlefield. In social skill challenges, a big bonus to intimidate is a good thing, and in battle, opponents get hurt when they hurt you.[/sblock]</p><p></p><p><strong>Level 6</strong></p><p>[sblock]<strong>Astral Eyes (HotFK):</strong> Brief darkvision, and a small boost to perception and insight. Interesting, but if you're the party's main perception user, there's a problem.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #0000ff"><strong>Chaos Armor (HotEC):</strong></span> You gain resist 10 to an element of your choosing for one encounter a day, and enemies who hit you take damage equal to your Constitution modifer of that same element. Obviously, only Hellblades and Eleblades will like this, but it's good for them.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #00ccff"><strong>Dark One's Own Luck (PHB):</strong></span> A once per day reroll of an attack roll, skill check, ability check, or saving throw. And when you need a reroll, you really need it. Even if it's daily, this is still a strong choice.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #800080"><strong>Fate's Frayed Thread (D382):</strong></span> The Warlock's Curse section of the power is useless to you, and the attack penalty comes too late to really help, but combat advantage is nice. Still kind of not that good, though.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #0000ff"><strong>Fey Switch (HotFK):</strong></span> You and an ally swap places. This could really be useful when used at the right moment.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: #00ccff">Iron Aspect of Dispater (HotFK):</span></strong> Resist 5 all + ignoring forced movement is definitely a handy benefit.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #0000ff"><strong>Life Siphon (AP):</strong></span> Face it. At some point, your pals are gonna get hurt. Might as well make the best of the bad situation, turning an allies' pain into an attack bonus (and temporary HP, for Infernal Hexblades).</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #800080"><strong>Mercurial Form (AP):</strong></span> This is an odd one. You can't be marked, you count as tiny for squeezing purposes (and how often does squeezing happen?), and you can escape grabs easily. Even with all the benefits, it's still really situational, and probably not worth a slot.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #0000ff"><strong>Racing Fire of Ulban (AP):</strong></span> You move twice your speed. Sometimes, you just gotta be somewhere right now. This helps.</p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>Red Leeches of Nihal (D366):</strong> When a creature near you spends a healing surge or action point, you get a load of temporary HP (equal to your second wind value). An interesting power, and potential helpful, if you like being bloodied, or something like that.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #800080"><strong>Rending Fear of Khirad (D366):</strong></span> This is a pure roleplaying power, seeing as it's only useable on helpless enemies and forces them to answer questions. Not sure why an intimidate check wouldn't work as well, but whatever.</p><p></p><p><strong>Sand Shape (DSCG):</strong> This power is purely used for exploration and/or sneaking, since the sandy form you take on can't be attacked. Still, it's good at what it does.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #00ccff"><strong>Shadowslip (FRPG):</strong></span> If an opponent misses you, you get a teleport that scales with your Charisma. A good pick.</p><p></p><p><strong>Shroud of Black Steel (PHB):</strong> You gain a bonus to AC and Fortitude in return for a penalty to speed. You have some ranged options, which makes the speed penalty at least bearable.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #ff0000"><strong>Spider Climb (PHB):</strong></span> Completely obsoleted by the Level 2 utility spell Spider Scuttle.</p><p></p><p><strong>Spider Queen's Caress (AP):</strong> An encounter-long bonus to saves and stealth checks isn't a bad thing at all.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #0000ff"><strong>Unspeakable Bond (D382):</strong></span> If you're hit by and attack, you can pawn the damage off onto one of your allies. The ally then gets a big bonus to attack and damage rolls (and defenses, if you're an Infernal Hexblade). If you have an ally whose okay soaking damage for you, this is a strong pick, especially if you're running low on healing surges.[/sblock]</p><p></p><p><strong>Level 10</strong></p><p>[sblock]<span style="color: #ff0000"><strong>Accursed Souls (D372):</strong></span> Requires Warlock's Curse, which you don't have. Next!</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #800080"><strong>Ambassador Imp (PHB):</strong></span> A very long-range messenger for you. It's mostly useful if you're the kind who likes making allies and keeping them in the loop about your adventures. Otherwise, there's other choices.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #0000ff"><strong>Bond of Brotherhood (AP):</strong></span> When an ally spends a surge, you get free healing. Nice! </p><p></p><p><strong>Brimstone Caress (D382):</strong> You can teleport an ally with one of your minor actions, and even give him concealment if you're an Infernal Hexblade. Unfortunately, you cause the ally some minor fire damage; this means that if your allies have fire resistance, this might be<span style="color: #0000ff"> one to consider</span>. </p><p></p><p><span style="color: #0000ff"><strong>Curse of Nessus (AP):</strong></span> Turn a miss into a bad situation, since this power significantly debuffs the saving throws of an enemy you miss. Something to consider.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #800080"><strong>Darkest Mirror (FRPG):</strong></span> You see invisible enemies as if they were visible, but normally visible creatures (including your allies) are invisible to you. Honestly, I don't think the tradeoff is worth it, especially if some leader or defender allies have goodies for you that depend on line of sight.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #800080"><strong>Destiny Inversion (AP):</strong></span> Turns an attack against you into ongoing damage equal to half the damage dealt. So you're basically gambling to get lower damage against you. A bit much of a risk, in my opinion, seeing how out of hand it could get with a few bad rolls.</p><p></p><p><strong>Duelist's Dance (HotFK):</strong> You enter a stance that lets you teleport if a foe misses you. Okay.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #00ccff"><strong>Ethereal Sidestep (PHH1):</strong></span> This power basically gives you teleportation as a move action. It's just one now, but there are ways of tricking out your teleport speed, and when it's modified, this power will show its worth.</p><p></p><p><strong>King's Step (DSCG):</strong> The flying and being insubstantial during that flight is nice for you. The warlock's curse part, not so much.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #800080"><strong>Murky Deep (HotEC):</strong></span> Basically, you create a swamp in a close burst 3 once per day. Said swamp lets you shift pretty quickly in it, and it slows enemies. Enemies that have a swim speed ignore the swamp, though. It also takes minor actions to sustain it. Overall, I wouldn't bother; there are plenty of good picks this level.</p><p></p><p><strong>Shadow Form (PHB):</strong> You can fly, are insubstantial, and can't take standard actions. It's likely this power will be used more for exploration than for combat, although it is a good "get outta here quick" power.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #0000ff"><strong>Shielding Shades (PHB):</strong></span> One attack against you per day deals no damage whatsoever. Still one of my favorite warlock powers.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #800080"><strong>Smothering Darkness (HotFK): </strong></span>Like the Drow's Cloud of Darkness, but longer. This power is very ally unfriendly, so it's probably better to avoid it.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #0000ff"><strong>Spined Devils' Boon (HotFK):</strong></span> Encounter-long flight and disincentive for enemies to hit me? I'll take it.</p><p></p><p><strong>Transcendent Dance (AP):</strong> Close to an <span style="color: #ffcc00">autopick</span> for Star Hexblades. <span style="color: #800080">Not so hot</span> for everyone else.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #0000ff"><strong>Troublesome Aid of Caiphon (D366): </strong></span>Troublesome indeed! Doubling you healing surge value once an encounter is definitely great, but be sure not to heading into death save territory! This might be better saved for after combat, when the death save thing isn't likely to come into play before you have a short or extended rest.</p><p></p><p><strong>Warlock's Leap (PHB): </strong>Mid-range teleport that you don't need line of sight to use. Useful in infiltration missions and such.[/sblock]</p><p></p><p><strong>Level 16</strong></p><p>[sblock]<strong>Amaan's Continuance (AP):</strong> Although you certainly hope that you'll never hit 0 hit points, it's bound to happen sooner or later. This power lets you fought on a round after you should collapse from hitting 0, which means you have a round to use your second wind or have an ally heal you.</p><p><span style="color: #0000ff"><strong></strong></span></p><p><span style="color: #0000ff"><strong>Caiphon's Disquieting Liberty (D366): </strong></span>If you're slowed, immobilized, or restrained, you can take 5 damage to end it. That's more than a fair price, I say.</p><p></p><p><strong>Cloak of Shadow (PHB):</strong> Another "insubstantial flight" power. This one is per-encounter though, although the part about not attacking in shadow form still applies, sadly enough.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #ff0000"><strong>Death Shroud Aspect (HotFK):</strong></span> Completely outclassed by Hero's Defense, which does what this power does and more.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #0000ff"><strong>Diabolic Escape (HotFK):</strong></span> Teleport 10 is something awesome. Attaching it to a close burst beforehand that makes enemies vulnerable to fire? Even better!</p><p></p><p><strong>Eye of the Warlock (PHB):</strong> This is a fun one. Basically, you can see through an enemies eyes, and can attack as if you were in the enemy's space. This has some interesting applications, such as a Star Hexblade using Wield the Warp to teleport an enemy across the battlefield to their side. Long story short, an interesting pick.</p><p></p><p><strong>Fail Me Not (DSCG):</strong> This power looks like it would be more at home on a leader. Still, it's an okay choice for Star Hexblades, although it does eat minor actions to keep it going.</p><p></p><p><strong>Guise of the Laughing Fool (HotFK): </strong>You get a small bonus to speed and you can't be targeted by melee or ranged attacks, as long as you don't attack anyone. Useful, if you need a turn to spend your second wind or something.</p><p></p><p><strong>Heart of the Storm (HotEC):</strong> You push foes around you as a move action, and then you fly 8 squares. Not too bad, overall.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #00ccff"><strong>Hero's Defense (AP):</strong></span> You buff your strongest defense, and then the enemy's attack targets that defense. And even if the attack still hits, it deals half damage. This is definitely somehting to look at.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #0000ff"><strong>Infuriating Elusiveness (PHB):</strong></span> A short-range teleport followed up by a round of invisibility. A good pick.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #00ccff"><strong>Painful Transference (AP):</strong></span> This power ends one (save ends) effect on you, at the expense of damaging some of your allies. But honestly, if the effect was something like stunning or domination, I'm sure they won't complain that much. And since this power takes no actions to use, you actually can use it to end stunning and domination.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: #ff0000">Ruinous Resistance (FRPG):</span></strong> You give an ally vulnerable 5 to a damage type so that you can get resist 15 to it. Seriously? Don't be a jerk.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #ff0000"><strong>Vile Resonance (D382):</strong></span> You gain vulnerable 5 all for what? To slide one square with you attacks for Infernal Hexblades, and nada for everyone else, since you lack Warlock's curse. Skip this.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #00ccff"><strong>Warp Space (AP):</strong></span> You and a couple allies teleport to different spaces on the battlefield, ready to kick butt. And this is an encounter power. Glorious.[/sblock]</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="LightWarden, post: 6744719, member: 6803540"] [b]Originally posted by Lord_Ventnor:[/b] Walking Through Shadow: Utility Powers Warlock utility powers tend to be rather versatile. They can teleport you, create zones that deter enemy movement, reduce damage you take, and allow you to take flight, among other things. Since your utility power at level 22 is fixed, we won't be looking at utilities of that level. [b]Level 2[/b] [sblock][b]Assassin's Bane (DSCG):[/b] You create a fairly big zone that makes it so opponents can't hide or teleport. Definitely useful if you're the sort that hates it when the big bad of a dungeon teleports away at the last minute. [b]Beguiling Tongue (PHB):[/b] This power will likely see more use in skill challenges than in battle. Still, Bluff and Intimidate have combat applications, and getting a boost to those or Diplomacy could be helpful for you. [COLOR=#ff0000][b]Caiphon's Leap (AP):[/b][/COLOR] This power is triggered by a class feature that you don't have. Pass. [COLOR=#800080][b]Charm of Hearts (D382):[/b][/COLOR] You don't provoke opportunity attacks at all, and you have a defense bonus to boot. Not bad for a daily power, but the fact that you have to keep paying minor actions to keep it going is kind of a bummer. [b][COLOR=#0000ff]Devil's Trade (AP):[/COLOR][/b] You give yourself temporary vulnerability to all damage to autosucceed on a save you make at the end of the turn. The vulnerability might come back to bite you in the rear, but reliably saving at the right moment could be decisive. [COLOR=#00ccff][b]Ethereal Stride (PHB):[/b][/COLOR] A short-range teleport coupled with a defense boost. This is a great power to use if you need to get the hell out of dodge, and should be considered. [COLOR=#800080][b]Eyes of the Spider Queen (AP):[/b][/COLOR] Getting darkvision for an encounter is nice, and penetrating invisibility is cool. Only, you can only see invisible things right next to you, and the darkvision isn't permanent. You can probably pick something better. [COLOR=#ff0000][b]Fevered Certainty of Caiphon (D366):[/b][/COLOR] Skip it. A boost of skill checks is good, but you lose out on will defense when you use it, and it's a daily power. That kind of tradeoff would work if this was an encounter power, but a daily? [COLOR=#ff0000][b]Fey Bargain (AP):[/b][/COLOR] This one should be avoided. A bonus to attacks is nice, but it's not worth failing a save automatically. Especially in the higher tiers, where the effects levied against you get more and more intense. [COLOR=#800080][b]Fiendish Resilience (PHB):[/b][/COLOR] You get temporary HP with this. It's primarily aimed at Infernal Hexblades, although they really don't need it, seeing as Soul Feast is perfectly good at handing THP to them. [b]Ruinous Phrase (D382):[/b] This power has the niche of destroying inanimate objects, like crates and bottles. It scales up with level, and could certainly be useful... maybe. Works a little better for Infernal Hexblades. [b]Shadow Veil (PHB):[/b] A big bonus to stealth checks. Fey Hexblades can get milage out of this, and Infernal and Star Hexblades can use this to totally not fail at Stealth checks. [b]Spectral Fade (HotFK):[/b] Invisibility for a turn. There are worse powers. [b]Spider Scuttle (HotFK):[/b] You get a get a climb speed for 2 turns, and also can crawl fast too. Interesting, and could be handy if you find yourself in need of climbing. [COLOR=#800080][b]Stony Roots (HotEC):[/b][/COLOR] For one encounter, you ignore forced movement and can make saving throws to avoid falling prone. Definitely situtational, but handy when foes that try to push you around come up. [COLOR=#0000ff][b]Wrathful Aspect (HotFK):[/b][/COLOR] This one's good on and off of the battlefield. In social skill challenges, a big bonus to intimidate is a good thing, and in battle, opponents get hurt when they hurt you.[/sblock] [b]Level 6[/b] [sblock][b]Astral Eyes (HotFK):[/b] Brief darkvision, and a small boost to perception and insight. Interesting, but if you're the party's main perception user, there's a problem. [COLOR=#0000ff][b]Chaos Armor (HotEC):[/b][/COLOR] You gain resist 10 to an element of your choosing for one encounter a day, and enemies who hit you take damage equal to your Constitution modifer of that same element. Obviously, only Hellblades and Eleblades will like this, but it's good for them. [COLOR=#00ccff][b]Dark One's Own Luck (PHB):[/b][/COLOR] A once per day reroll of an attack roll, skill check, ability check, or saving throw. And when you need a reroll, you really need it. Even if it's daily, this is still a strong choice. [COLOR=#800080][b]Fate's Frayed Thread (D382):[/b][/COLOR] The Warlock's Curse section of the power is useless to you, and the attack penalty comes too late to really help, but combat advantage is nice. Still kind of not that good, though. [COLOR=#0000ff][b]Fey Switch (HotFK):[/b][/COLOR] You and an ally swap places. This could really be useful when used at the right moment. [b][COLOR=#00ccff]Iron Aspect of Dispater (HotFK):[/COLOR][/b] Resist 5 all + ignoring forced movement is definitely a handy benefit. [COLOR=#0000ff][b]Life Siphon (AP):[/b][/COLOR] Face it. At some point, your pals are gonna get hurt. Might as well make the best of the bad situation, turning an allies' pain into an attack bonus (and temporary HP, for Infernal Hexblades). [COLOR=#800080][b]Mercurial Form (AP):[/b][/COLOR] This is an odd one. You can't be marked, you count as tiny for squeezing purposes (and how often does squeezing happen?), and you can escape grabs easily. Even with all the benefits, it's still really situational, and probably not worth a slot. [COLOR=#0000ff][b]Racing Fire of Ulban (AP):[/b][/COLOR] You move twice your speed. Sometimes, you just gotta be somewhere right now. This helps. [b] Red Leeches of Nihal (D366):[/b] When a creature near you spends a healing surge or action point, you get a load of temporary HP (equal to your second wind value). An interesting power, and potential helpful, if you like being bloodied, or something like that. [COLOR=#800080][b]Rending Fear of Khirad (D366):[/b][/COLOR] This is a pure roleplaying power, seeing as it's only useable on helpless enemies and forces them to answer questions. Not sure why an intimidate check wouldn't work as well, but whatever. [b]Sand Shape (DSCG):[/b] This power is purely used for exploration and/or sneaking, since the sandy form you take on can't be attacked. Still, it's good at what it does. [COLOR=#00ccff][b]Shadowslip (FRPG):[/b][/COLOR] If an opponent misses you, you get a teleport that scales with your Charisma. A good pick. [b]Shroud of Black Steel (PHB):[/b] You gain a bonus to AC and Fortitude in return for a penalty to speed. You have some ranged options, which makes the speed penalty at least bearable. [COLOR=#ff0000][b]Spider Climb (PHB):[/b][/COLOR] Completely obsoleted by the Level 2 utility spell Spider Scuttle. [b]Spider Queen's Caress (AP):[/b] An encounter-long bonus to saves and stealth checks isn't a bad thing at all. [COLOR=#0000ff][b]Unspeakable Bond (D382):[/b][/COLOR] If you're hit by and attack, you can pawn the damage off onto one of your allies. The ally then gets a big bonus to attack and damage rolls (and defenses, if you're an Infernal Hexblade). If you have an ally whose okay soaking damage for you, this is a strong pick, especially if you're running low on healing surges.[/sblock] [b]Level 10[/b] [sblock][COLOR=#ff0000][b]Accursed Souls (D372):[/b][/COLOR] Requires Warlock's Curse, which you don't have. Next! [COLOR=#800080][b]Ambassador Imp (PHB):[/b][/COLOR] A very long-range messenger for you. It's mostly useful if you're the kind who likes making allies and keeping them in the loop about your adventures. Otherwise, there's other choices. [COLOR=#0000ff][b]Bond of Brotherhood (AP):[/b][/COLOR] When an ally spends a surge, you get free healing. Nice! [b]Brimstone Caress (D382):[/b] You can teleport an ally with one of your minor actions, and even give him concealment if you're an Infernal Hexblade. Unfortunately, you cause the ally some minor fire damage; this means that if your allies have fire resistance, this might be[COLOR=#0000ff] one to consider[/COLOR]. [COLOR=#0000ff][b]Curse of Nessus (AP):[/b][/COLOR] Turn a miss into a bad situation, since this power significantly debuffs the saving throws of an enemy you miss. Something to consider. [COLOR=#800080][b]Darkest Mirror (FRPG):[/b][/COLOR] You see invisible enemies as if they were visible, but normally visible creatures (including your allies) are invisible to you. Honestly, I don't think the tradeoff is worth it, especially if some leader or defender allies have goodies for you that depend on line of sight. [COLOR=#800080][b]Destiny Inversion (AP):[/b][/COLOR] Turns an attack against you into ongoing damage equal to half the damage dealt. So you're basically gambling to get lower damage against you. A bit much of a risk, in my opinion, seeing how out of hand it could get with a few bad rolls. [b]Duelist's Dance (HotFK):[/b] You enter a stance that lets you teleport if a foe misses you. Okay. [COLOR=#00ccff][b]Ethereal Sidestep (PHH1):[/b][/COLOR] This power basically gives you teleportation as a move action. It's just one now, but there are ways of tricking out your teleport speed, and when it's modified, this power will show its worth. [b]King's Step (DSCG):[/b] The flying and being insubstantial during that flight is nice for you. The warlock's curse part, not so much. [COLOR=#800080][b]Murky Deep (HotEC):[/b][/COLOR] Basically, you create a swamp in a close burst 3 once per day. Said swamp lets you shift pretty quickly in it, and it slows enemies. Enemies that have a swim speed ignore the swamp, though. It also takes minor actions to sustain it. Overall, I wouldn't bother; there are plenty of good picks this level. [b]Shadow Form (PHB):[/b] You can fly, are insubstantial, and can't take standard actions. It's likely this power will be used more for exploration than for combat, although it is a good "get outta here quick" power. [COLOR=#0000ff][b]Shielding Shades (PHB):[/b][/COLOR] One attack against you per day deals no damage whatsoever. Still one of my favorite warlock powers. [COLOR=#800080][b]Smothering Darkness (HotFK): [/b][/COLOR]Like the Drow's Cloud of Darkness, but longer. This power is very ally unfriendly, so it's probably better to avoid it. [COLOR=#0000ff][b]Spined Devils' Boon (HotFK):[/b][/COLOR] Encounter-long flight and disincentive for enemies to hit me? I'll take it. [b]Transcendent Dance (AP):[/b] Close to an [COLOR=#ffcc00]autopick[/COLOR] for Star Hexblades. [COLOR=#800080]Not so hot[/COLOR] for everyone else. [COLOR=#0000ff][b]Troublesome Aid of Caiphon (D366): [/b][/COLOR]Troublesome indeed! Doubling you healing surge value once an encounter is definitely great, but be sure not to heading into death save territory! This might be better saved for after combat, when the death save thing isn't likely to come into play before you have a short or extended rest. [b]Warlock's Leap (PHB): [/b]Mid-range teleport that you don't need line of sight to use. Useful in infiltration missions and such.[/sblock] [b]Level 16[/b] [sblock][b]Amaan's Continuance (AP):[/b] Although you certainly hope that you'll never hit 0 hit points, it's bound to happen sooner or later. This power lets you fought on a round after you should collapse from hitting 0, which means you have a round to use your second wind or have an ally heal you. [COLOR=#0000ff][b] Caiphon's Disquieting Liberty (D366): [/b][/COLOR]If you're slowed, immobilized, or restrained, you can take 5 damage to end it. That's more than a fair price, I say. [b]Cloak of Shadow (PHB):[/b] Another "insubstantial flight" power. This one is per-encounter though, although the part about not attacking in shadow form still applies, sadly enough. [COLOR=#ff0000][b]Death Shroud Aspect (HotFK):[/b][/COLOR] Completely outclassed by Hero's Defense, which does what this power does and more. [COLOR=#0000ff][b]Diabolic Escape (HotFK):[/b][/COLOR] Teleport 10 is something awesome. Attaching it to a close burst beforehand that makes enemies vulnerable to fire? Even better! [b]Eye of the Warlock (PHB):[/b] This is a fun one. Basically, you can see through an enemies eyes, and can attack as if you were in the enemy's space. This has some interesting applications, such as a Star Hexblade using Wield the Warp to teleport an enemy across the battlefield to their side. Long story short, an interesting pick. [b]Fail Me Not (DSCG):[/b] This power looks like it would be more at home on a leader. Still, it's an okay choice for Star Hexblades, although it does eat minor actions to keep it going. [b]Guise of the Laughing Fool (HotFK): [/b]You get a small bonus to speed and you can't be targeted by melee or ranged attacks, as long as you don't attack anyone. Useful, if you need a turn to spend your second wind or something. [b]Heart of the Storm (HotEC):[/b] You push foes around you as a move action, and then you fly 8 squares. Not too bad, overall. [COLOR=#00ccff][b]Hero's Defense (AP):[/b][/COLOR] You buff your strongest defense, and then the enemy's attack targets that defense. And even if the attack still hits, it deals half damage. This is definitely somehting to look at. [COLOR=#0000ff][b]Infuriating Elusiveness (PHB):[/b][/COLOR] A short-range teleport followed up by a round of invisibility. A good pick. [COLOR=#00ccff][b]Painful Transference (AP):[/b][/COLOR] This power ends one (save ends) effect on you, at the expense of damaging some of your allies. But honestly, if the effect was something like stunning or domination, I'm sure they won't complain that much. And since this power takes no actions to use, you actually can use it to end stunning and domination. [b][COLOR=#ff0000]Ruinous Resistance (FRPG):[/COLOR][/b] You give an ally vulnerable 5 to a damage type so that you can get resist 15 to it. Seriously? Don't be a jerk. [COLOR=#ff0000][b]Vile Resonance (D382):[/b][/COLOR] You gain vulnerable 5 all for what? To slide one square with you attacks for Infernal Hexblades, and nada for everyone else, since you lack Warlock's curse. Skip this. [COLOR=#00ccff][b]Warp Space (AP):[/b][/COLOR] You and a couple allies teleport to different spaces on the battlefield, ready to kick butt. And this is an encounter power. Glorious.[/sblock] [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Blades of Cursed Midnight: A Hexblade's Guide (by Lord_Ventor)
Top