D&D 5E Warlock as Intelligence caster?

[Wulffolk]

In my opinion this makes the most sense:
Bards can utilize any one of Intelligence, Wisdom or Charisma. Some Bards focus on knowledge, others draw power through some form of performance, and historically Bards were associated with Druids and great wisdom.
Clerics should be Charisma based. They are attempting to convince a more powerful entity to grant them power.
Druids should be Wisdom based. They are drawing upon the power of nature and the elements through their own will.
Paladins should be Wisdom in this edition. Their power comes from their will and focus upon their Oath. In past editions I would consider Paladins to be Charisma casters for the same reason as Clerics.
Rangers should be Wisdom based for the same reason as Druids.
Sorcerers should be Wisdom based because the must channel their power by the force of their own will.
Warlocks could be Wisdom or Charisma based. They are either using their will to channel power that has been given to them rather than learned through study, or they are convincing another entity to do something for them.
Wizards are of course Intelligence based. Their power comes through study and understandingredients of theory and rituals.

 

[Al2O3]

In my opinion this makes the most sense:
Bards can utilize any one of Intelligence, Wisdom or Charisma. Some Bards focus on knowledge, others draw power through some form of performance, and historically Bards were associated with Druids and great wisdom.
Clerics should be Charisma based. They are attempting to convince a more powerful entity to grant them power.
Druids should be Wisdom based. They are drawing upon the power of nature and the elements through their own will.
Paladins should be Wisdom in this edition. Their power comes from their will and focus upon their Oath. In past editions I would consider Paladins to be Charisma casters for the same reason as Clerics.
Rangers should be Wisdom based for the same reason as Druids.
Sorcerers should be Wisdom based because the must channel their power by the force of their own will.
Warlocks could be Wisdom or Charisma based. They are either using their will to channel power that has been given to them rather than learned through study, or they are convincing another entity to do something for them.
Wizards are of course Intelligence based. Their power comes through study and understandingredients of theory and rituals.

"Force of will" is charisma. A sorcerer wants something to happen or be true, and suddenly it is.

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[Wulffolk]

My meaning was that a Sorcerer directs his power through sheer willpower, which is more in line with Wisdom.

In my opinion Charisma is more about the strength of one's personality, and not at all about the force of their will. Then again, I have many issues with the way D&D is designed, but I still love it as the foundation upon which the hobby was built.

 

[MechaTarrasque]

This could never have happened, but imagine if they had swapped morale for charisma.....

 

[Krachek]

So, I found this posted recently in Sage Advise.

Basically, the Warlock flavor seems very intelligence based, but play-testers preferred to keep them as charisma casters, as that was what they were before. Now, I just started about 1.5 years ago with 5e and have no game design, or similar, experience, so I have no background for this, but Int seems like it would have been better if for no other reason than caster stat balance. From the PHB, we have 1^2/3rds Int casters (Wizard, AT, EK), 2^1/2... Wis (Cleric, Druid, Ranger(and Monk...)) and 3^1/2 Cha (Bard, Pal, Sorcerer, Warlock). From this, moving Warlocks to Int would almost perfectly balance out the caster mods.

I've also noticed that a lot of peoples "problem" builds involve a Warlock dip, often due to either Eldritch/Agonizing Blast, short rest recovering spell slots, or both. These almost always seem to be due to smites for the Paladin("general" consensus) or meta magic/more spell known for the Sorcerer(more of a local thing). Don't generally hear complaints about Barlocks. Now, if they were Int based instead, those would be very, or extremely, for a Paladin, harder to pull of. I don't know what kind of shenanigans a Wizlock could pull of, but AT and EK would hardly be affected, I think. Both don't typically need a good Int due to being martial classes and preferring to do damage by attacking, therefore taking utility spells instead of damage/CC effects (shield, haste, blur, find familer, etc, none of which need Int). More specifically, EK get full armor/weapons and AT can't use one of the main Rogue abilities with spells, Sneak Attack, so why invest in a secondary casting stat?

Anyway, this was just something that I found interesting, since even I realized fairly quickly that Int needs a boost, seeing as it's so rarely seen/used, and this seems like it would be great. What are your thoughts?

Your problem seem more the agonizing blast dip than the charisma for warlock. Using int will make only wizard and eldritch knight able to dip for agonizing blast. They will. Better solve the problem at the root.

 

[Ahrimon]

Warlock gets their power based on how well they can convince their patron they deserve/need more power. That is the reason they are charisma based.

That is one interpretation of the fluff of the warlock, and a completely valid one. Another is that the warlock is taught the secrets to power and the rest they learn on their own. Under this way of looking at the warlock, Int is a more appropriate casting stat.

 

[Vulf]

Intelligence based Warlocks would fix a few issues with power-gaming.

But if you are doing house rules you can just ban the Warlock class altogether if it is a problem.

 

[Pickles III]

"Force of will" is charisma. A sorcerer wants something to happen or be true, and suddenly it is.

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Yeah I have a feeling there is one too many stats in D&D

 

[Malisteen]

Yeah I have a feeling there is one too many stats in D&D

Meh. Three stats; power, endurance, and finesse; for both mental and physical stat groups seems fine. I don't think the problem is the number of the mental stats, but rather their nebulous definitions in comparison to their physical counterparts.

 

[Afrodyte]

I'd support warlock as Intelligence. I like the notion of warlocks uncovering secrets and writing lawyery pacts. Charisma fits them, but it also fits sorcerers and bards.

I like grid filling, though.


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This is what I'm leaning toward, too. In folklore and fiction, you have to be clever to deal with otherworldly entities because they have a way of messing you over if you were too dense to catch it in time.