D&D (2024) 2024 Player's Handbook reveal: "New Warlock"

"The character builder's paradise".

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We last saw the Warlock in Playtest 7, with a lot of features from 2014 restored from the previous version. Still, a lot of questions (for me) remain: here's my list from before the video ran:

Spoiler

• Will the three pacts still be invocations, and will it be possible to get all of them by level 2? (I hope not). Yes.
• If they are invocations, will people still believe they are getting more invocations than thry had in 2014? Yes.
• What will the Pact of the Chain special creature options be? (We've seen the Sphinx of Wonder previewed already.) Is there still going to be a (M-sized) skeleton option? YES!
• Will Pact of the Tome still have the lame rewritten Ritual Caster rules, of only two 1st level rituals, and never any more? (I hope not). No answer, but I doubt it's been changed.
• Is it conceivable that anyone would not take Pact of the Blade as one of their Invocations? (Doubt it.) No answer. They did not talk about whether later invocations will give Extra attack, or other concerns here.
• Will anyone be able to take Eldritch Blast? "Warlock Specific"

(Happily, many of these questions were indeed answered in the video!).
I think warlock really benefits from having the subclasses come at level 3: you can "dabble" in the occult without selling your soul until level 3 (though admittedly, the wording of the fluff text does not require you to sell your soul).

OVERVIEW

• Invocations at 1, Magical Cunning at 2 (as in PT7)
• Crawford claims we will get more eldritch invocations. Assuming the table's as in PT7, this is a bit of a fudge: there's one for a pact at level 5 (no gain) and one extra, at level 5, and for most it will go, I feel, to another pact). Yes there's more flexibility.
• Main choices are Pact Boons. "This is a big deal" -- "it is a juicy choice" they say, and Crawford makes it clear you can get them all "over time". "Over time", though, is by level 2. To me this is too much too early.
• NEW: all pact boons at level 1 now.
• NEW: "More Spooky critter options" for Pact of the Chain, speaking to Patron types. Complete list: Slaad tadpole. Skeleton, Imp, Pseudodragon, Quasit, Sprite (Fey), Sphinx of Wonder (Celestial), Venomous Snake. All will be in the PHB.
• Spellcasting has been enhanced: more invocations work with warlock spells. Now they don't just affect Eldritch Blast (which is warlock-specific -- not clear how that's mechanized, though). You can have Ray of Frost with Repelling Blast.
• NEW: Lessons of the First Ones only lets you take an Origin Feat.
• Contact Patron at 9, Mystic Arcanum at 11+, expanded spell list (though not as big as sorcerer).
• All subclasses get an expanded spell list.

SUBCLASSES

ARCHFEY - "a teleportation fantasia"

• Gameplay was not living up to the flavour. Going "all-in" on Teleportation.
• Additional effects occur whenever you cast the spell, not just the free casting from Steps of the Fey. (Refreshing step and Taunting Step confirmed, as in PT7 apparently).
• Beguiling Defenses, causing psychic damage
• Bewitching magic at 14 as in PT7 -- "ridiculous in all the best ways".

CELESTIAL

• NEW: from expanded class spell list. Summon Celestial on spell list.
• NEW: Guiding Bolt, Cure wounds and Aid (Aid was not on PT7 list) on subclass list
• You can be "a hired hitman from the gods"
• NEW: Searing Radiance at 14 now can apply to an ally.

FIEND

• Magical weapons no longer pass your damage resitance (in reference to Fiendish Resilience at 10?)
• "tankiness" seen in BG3 is also here: Dark One's Blessing seems completely rewritten, as it was described in the Design Note of the PT7.

GREAT OLD ONE

• NEW: Summon Aberration might be a version of the Mind Flayer (an option in the Summon Abberation spell)
• when you do damage, you can do psychic.
• Psychic Spells for enchantment/illusion without Verbal/Somatic (but you still need Material); damage may be Psychic. Clairvoyant Combatant can be a battle of wills (focusing damage to one target -- a nod to AD&D psionic battles). Eldritch Hex also as in PT7.

 

[mellored]

My understanding is different to yours. The book gets conjured at the end of a rest (short or long) and comes with three cantrips and two first level rituals of your choice from any class and lasts until you resummon it.

That makes it so much better.

And Yea. "When the book appears"
Not when you take this feature.

 

[Argyle King]

Notes: I haven't watched the video, so this is based upon readable information and discussion here. I have little-to-no familiarity with recent playtests or the most-recent books.

That being said, quick thoughts:

•A portion of what I'm seeing for 2024 includes choices that appear to be illusions. Why ask me to make a choice at level 1 when I still get the other stuff at the next level? What's the cost/benefit of when I make those choices?

•It does appear that D&D 2024 is leaning toward a playstyle change. The Feylock and a few other previews appear to lean more toward 4E (and maybe Balder's Gate 3) than 2014 did. I'm neither suggesting that's good nor am I suggesting it is bad; it is simply an observation. If that is the case, hopefully the DMG gives advice with that in mind, and hopefully adventure writing and encounter design takes that into consideration.

 

[Neonchameleon]

Really?
Charisma to Attack, always having an unresisted damage type, mastery property on any weapon. That's substantial, even without extra attack.

Even if Charisma to attack can be replicated with a cantrip, it's still +1 Cantrip choice.

A cantrip is in no way worth a decent invocation. That said there's also a case for Blade Pact before level 5 then switching to Agonizing Blast. And if you're Dex 14, Cha 17 then +1 to hit and damage and a mastery isn't all that.

 

[Kobold Stew]

At least, not for a single classed Warlock. Maybe Bards and Paladins will want to dip like they did into Hexblade. But I try to steer clear of crazy multiclass builds.

The desirability of a 1- or 2-level dip does seem to have gone up. (And, more important to me, from a roleplay perspective the posponement of the subclass to 3 increases the desirability as well: Ihave never wanted to dip into Warlock because of the implications of the Patron; I'm much happier allowing a soft entry without a named patron in the first two levels.).

 

[Micah Sweet]

Notes: I haven't watched the video, so this is based upon readable information and discussion here. I have little-to-no familiarity with recent playtests or the most-recent books.

That being said, quick thoughts:

•A portion of what I'm seeing for 2024 includes choices that appear to be illusions. Why ask me to make a choice at level 1 when I still get the other stuff at the next level? What's the cost/benefit of when I make those choices?

•It does appear that D&D 2024 is leaning toward a playstyle change. The Feylock and a few other previews appear to lean more toward 4E (and maybe Balder's Gate 3) than 2014 did. I'm neither suggesting that's good nor am I suggesting it is bad; it is simply an observation. If that is the case, hopefully the DMG gives advice with that in mind, and hopefully adventure writing and encounter design takes that into consideration.

A little straight honesty about intended playstyle from WotC would also be nice.

 

[Chaosmancer]

That's one of the few specific non-spell changes from UA7. But I did sort of notice a pattern to some of the invocation talk.

The 2014 Warlock didn't get invocations at 1st level, and the Revised Warlock will. But they talked about raising the required level for some invocations, to prevent players from being overwhelming by choice when they start. And we also have the Pact Invocations, now with all three available at 1st level.

It sounds to me like they're jiggering the level prereqs to highly encourage taking a Pact Invocation at 1st level. Maybe not absolutely requiring it, with those three being the only choices, but I expect the mechanics to push players heavily in that direction. Take a Pact Invocation at 1st level, maybe branch out to a second Pact at 2nd level, get at least one of the Pact upgrade Invocations at 5th level. This is what they're adding the extra early Invocations picks for.

Agreed. I'm thinking some of the ones they added might be things like Mask of Many Faces, which might be pre-req'd to level 2 or 3 now.

 

[Kurotowa]

A cantrip is in no way worth a decent invocation. That said there's also a case for Blade Pact before level 5 then switching to Agonizing Blast.

At least in UA7, they'd removed the option to swap Invocations on level up. So those situational tier-based picks are permanent investments, which makes them far less attractive.

 

[Staffan]

Really?
Charisma to Attack, always having an unresisted damage type, mastery property on any weapon. That's substantial, even without extra attack.

The thing is that while Charisma to attack with a weapon + weapon mastery is a substantial buff, it's a buff to a previously suboptimal option. Your Eldritch Blast is probably still going to be better.

 

[Kobold Stew]

Not sure why an extra invocation or 2 is a disappointment.

Well, it's one at level 5 (based on what we've seen, and that in my mind doesn't really match the rapturous self-congratulations they have givne themselves (in the playtest and this video) for expanding it.

In my opinion.

I disagree.
Certainly good for paladins, but you need to spend 2/3 of your invocation for it to work well at 5. Maybe all 3 in order to get medium armor via the lessons of the first one.

I hope you are right.

I would probably stick with the classic devils sight + Agonizing blast + repelling blast over hexblade.

Certainly solid choices. Would you forego any of the pacts to get this at level 2?

Now at 11, that's a different story. Hopefully they nerfed the 3rd attack.

Agreed.

This i agree is a disappointment. Assuming it's the same.

Yes. But the reading proposed in this thread, which I had missed during the playtest, makes up for it here. You can get a sppky book that will do all sorts of weird things. For me, that might be worth a 1-level dip on its own. Assuming it is kept.

 

[Neonchameleon]

I'm starting to think they're intentionally holding back on some of the most popular subclasses (hexblade, bladesinger, swashbuckler) to intentionally load up the next Everything book.

Of those three two are I think dead, with the big things about swashbuckler and Hexblade rolled into the base class. And they've only put non-PHB classes into the 5.24 PHB when there weren't enough.

That said I'm expecting a book with thinks like a fixed storm sorcerer.