Very cool article on Eladrin Warlocks and Artificers
Takeways:
Eladrin favor Fey Pact warlocks: Makes sense on a flavor level...but could this mean that Eladrin are going to be Int + (Dex or Cha) in Essentials? Probably not, since Tim Eagon (eg, not a wizards staffer) wrote it, but still interesting.
Artificer feats are good, but not overpowered (best: Feymind Infusion, whilch lets Eladrin artificers grant a saving through against most mental effects (with a bonus) when they heal someone and Feywild Propulsion, which gives all critters an Eladrin artificer summons a teleport speed equal to their speed).
Eladrin Warlock feats are top drawer (probably not broken? Certainly not as long as Eladrin don't have a bonus to Cha or Con): +1 to hit with Eldritch strike with a longsword, Int bonus to Eldritch Blast damage, Regain Fey Step 1/encounter instead of getting a pact boon (only mediocre one in the pack), and (!) Become invisible until the end of your next turn to anything you deal Warlock's Curse damage to (paragon feat).
Finally, there's the grossness that prompted me to comment here -- three new Arcane familiars, which aren't even restricted to Eladrin, to Artificers and Warlocks, or even restricted by level. My guess is that these will either be heavily nerfed by the end of the month, or at least have level/class restrictions (at least, the latter two--though there are issues with the first one, too, if not power level ones).
The first (and probablly not broken, but still very good) one is the Fiddling Grig, which lets you master and perform Bard rituals as if you had the ritual caster feat as a passive benefit. Wait, what? Since Ritual Caster doesn't let you master or perform Bard rituals (unless you're a bard, anyway), this will certainly need some...clarification. Just in case you though this was totally useless, it isn't, really, since the active benefit is that it immobolizes anything next to it you hit with an arcane spell. (until the end of your next turn), which is actually...extremely awesome, actually, particularly since this isn't a 1/encounter power. With a bit of hopscotch, you can use the fiddling grig alone to prevent melee-only enemies from entering the fight! But it's still a minion, so the Grig is probably the weakest of the three (maybe).
Second is the Faerie Dragonling. Nothing hugely special (-1 first save penalty against charm and illusion, +2 to charm; pretty good for some orbizards, but still). OTOH, the active benefit is a 1/encounter close blast 3 "vulnerable radiant 5" that doesn't require a hit roll, which is a -very- nice radiant mafia setup. The dragonling also has Darkvision (not just low light), which might come in handy.
Finally, we have the Coure Attendant. Nothing special here; it's yet another "disembodied hand" type familiar that lets you stow or retrieve as a free action. Oh, wait, it also gives +2 to arcana checks; that's nice. Oh, and it makes all squares adjacent to you dififcult terrain to enemies...wait, what? My paragon avenger (multi artificer) might be getitng a bit indelicate with this thing if it actually makes it to print. Oh, that's not enough, you say? Ok, sure, what if its active form had an alternative form that shed dim light and made enemies starting in an aura 2 of it yield combat advantage; that would probably make it a bit more palitable.
Which is to say: Holy Court of Stars familiar on a stick; are you people insane? A disembodied hand that stacks with Antipathy Gloves to make you an -utter- pain to try to get next to or past, with some other benefits just in case that isn't enough awesomeness? No wonder this little guy wants defference from everyone except its master; it deserves it! (admittedly, it doesn't have the flexible and very cool "manipulate stuff at a distance" special that actual disembodied hands have--but who actually takes them for that reason?) If this actually makes it to print fundamentally unchanged, I see no reason why it's not going to be my Avenger's 14th level feat (further putting off her getting those nifty +2 AC feats--and weapon focus--by another two levels)
Takeways:
Eladrin favor Fey Pact warlocks: Makes sense on a flavor level...but could this mean that Eladrin are going to be Int + (Dex or Cha) in Essentials? Probably not, since Tim Eagon (eg, not a wizards staffer) wrote it, but still interesting.
Artificer feats are good, but not overpowered (best: Feymind Infusion, whilch lets Eladrin artificers grant a saving through against most mental effects (with a bonus) when they heal someone and Feywild Propulsion, which gives all critters an Eladrin artificer summons a teleport speed equal to their speed).
Eladrin Warlock feats are top drawer (probably not broken? Certainly not as long as Eladrin don't have a bonus to Cha or Con): +1 to hit with Eldritch strike with a longsword, Int bonus to Eldritch Blast damage, Regain Fey Step 1/encounter instead of getting a pact boon (only mediocre one in the pack), and (!) Become invisible until the end of your next turn to anything you deal Warlock's Curse damage to (paragon feat).
Finally, there's the grossness that prompted me to comment here -- three new Arcane familiars, which aren't even restricted to Eladrin, to Artificers and Warlocks, or even restricted by level. My guess is that these will either be heavily nerfed by the end of the month, or at least have level/class restrictions (at least, the latter two--though there are issues with the first one, too, if not power level ones).
The first (and probablly not broken, but still very good) one is the Fiddling Grig, which lets you master and perform Bard rituals as if you had the ritual caster feat as a passive benefit. Wait, what? Since Ritual Caster doesn't let you master or perform Bard rituals (unless you're a bard, anyway), this will certainly need some...clarification. Just in case you though this was totally useless, it isn't, really, since the active benefit is that it immobolizes anything next to it you hit with an arcane spell. (until the end of your next turn), which is actually...extremely awesome, actually, particularly since this isn't a 1/encounter power. With a bit of hopscotch, you can use the fiddling grig alone to prevent melee-only enemies from entering the fight! But it's still a minion, so the Grig is probably the weakest of the three (maybe).
Second is the Faerie Dragonling. Nothing hugely special (-1 first save penalty against charm and illusion, +2 to charm; pretty good for some orbizards, but still). OTOH, the active benefit is a 1/encounter close blast 3 "vulnerable radiant 5" that doesn't require a hit roll, which is a -very- nice radiant mafia setup. The dragonling also has Darkvision (not just low light), which might come in handy.
Finally, we have the Coure Attendant. Nothing special here; it's yet another "disembodied hand" type familiar that lets you stow or retrieve as a free action. Oh, wait, it also gives +2 to arcana checks; that's nice. Oh, and it makes all squares adjacent to you dififcult terrain to enemies...wait, what? My paragon avenger (multi artificer) might be getitng a bit indelicate with this thing if it actually makes it to print. Oh, that's not enough, you say? Ok, sure, what if its active form had an alternative form that shed dim light and made enemies starting in an aura 2 of it yield combat advantage; that would probably make it a bit more palitable.
Which is to say: Holy Court of Stars familiar on a stick; are you people insane? A disembodied hand that stacks with Antipathy Gloves to make you an -utter- pain to try to get next to or past, with some other benefits just in case that isn't enough awesomeness? No wonder this little guy wants defference from everyone except its master; it deserves it! (admittedly, it doesn't have the flexible and very cool "manipulate stuff at a distance" special that actual disembodied hands have--but who actually takes them for that reason?) If this actually makes it to print fundamentally unchanged, I see no reason why it's not going to be my Avenger's 14th level feat (further putting off her getting those nifty +2 AC feats--and weapon focus--by another two levels)
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