3.5E to 5E Warlock Eldritch Blast Damage Type?

[Hrothgar Rannúlfr]

First, thank you for reading.

Second, my apologies, as I won't receive my copy of the 5E D&D Player's Handbook until the end of the month.

I'm working on converting some 3.5 and PF classes to 5E for our long-running campaign. We started in 3.5 rules and then converted to PF. Now, we're moving to 5E.

One of the longest surviving characters is a warlock. And, I'm trying to figure out what 5E damage type the default eldritch blast damage should be. I'm torn between force and radiant damage, though I'm leaning toward radiant.

What damage type should the 3.5 warlock's eldritch blast deal when converted to 5E?

Thank you.

 

[tuxgeo]

If you would like to include the influence of 4E in your decision-making, consider this:

Eldritch Blast had no damage type in 4E; but 4E also contained an alternate power (for the Hexblade), "Eldritch Bolt," which had the "force" damage type.
Of the 4E Warlock 1st-level at-will powers, only "Dire Radiance" had the radiant damage type, so I'd hesitate to use radiant for Eldritch Blast in 5E.*

* I don't have the 5E PHB yet, so my information is incomplete.

 

[Mouseferatu]

Eldritch Blast officially deals force damage, according to the 5e PHB.

(BTW, you know you don't need to convert the warlock, right? It's one of the PHB classes.)

 

[Hrothgar Rannúlfr]

If you would like to include the influence of 4E in your decision-making, consider this:

Eldritch Blast had no damage type in 4E; but 4E also contained an alternate power (for the Hexblade), "Eldritch Bolt," which had the "force" damage type.
Of the 4E Warlock 1st-level at-will powers, only "Dire Radiance" had the radiant damage type, so I'd hesitate to use radiant for Eldritch Blast in 5E.*

* I don't have the 5E PHB yet, so my information is incomplete.

Thank you, Tuxgeo.

I never played 4th Edition. Only glanced through the 4E PHB in Barnes & Noble, once.

But, this helps.

 

[Hrothgar Rannúlfr]

[HI][/HI]

Eldritch Blast officially deals force damage, according to the 5e PHB.

(BTW, you know you don't need to convert the warlock, right? It's one of the PHB classes.)

Thank you, Ari.

That settles it. Force damage, it is.

And, you're right. I don't need to convert the warlock, but I won't have the 5E PHB soon enough before the next time we play. And, I don't necessarily want to force the player to convert his warlock to the 5E version. I want to allow the option of continuing with the 3.5 version with enough mathematical conversion to be compatible with 5E.

I like 5E's math much better, but I still plan to use as much of my 1E, 2E, 3E, and PF material as possible. But, I'm ready for 5E's seemingly lighter mechanics.

Thanks, again!

 

[Mouseferatu]

And, you're right. I don't need to convert the warlock, but I won't have the 5E PHB soon enough before the next time we play. And, I don't necessarily want to force the player to convert his warlock to the 5E version. I want to allow the option of continuing with the 3.5 version with enough mathematical conversion to be compatible with 5E.

More than fair enough. Just wanted to make sure you knew.

And you're quite welcome.