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.

 

[Yaarel]

Just out of curiosity, when did teleportation become a Fey thing?

Since 4e.

In 4e, there was no Ethereal Plane. Generally speaking, the Shadowfell was the overlapping plane, and the Feywild the teleporting spacetime plane. Both Fey and Shadow intrinsically involve illusion magic. The Astral Plane became more specifically the Astral Sea.

5e keeps all of these 4e-isms. But 5e brought back the Ethereal Plane while keeping Fey and Shadow as part of it, and is still in the process of sorting thru the narrative and mechanical implications. How Fey relates to teleportation is part of this.

Personally, I see teleportation as fundamentally a spacetime phenomenon, relating to "fate". I want teleportation to be part of the Divination spell school. To "see" anywhere in space or time is already in a sense to go there. Divination also relates to both Fey and Shadow. Teleportation by itself is boring, and Divination tends to be "DM gives a hint". But together they make an interesting spell school.

 

[mellored]

But it's a 3rd lvl spell. The only people with two attacks who will be casting it are Warlocks and Eldritch Knights, and Eldritch Knights get 4 attacks by the end.

Bladesinger, Paladin, possibly a Valor bard.

And the playtest warlock got a 3rd attack at 11. That's what the fuss is about.

But I'm sure the Devs got feedback on it, so I expect it to have changed.

 

[tglassy]

Fighting Style for Great Weapons is usually an approximation of +1 to damage per hit (the effect of rerolling 1's), but they also usually go for the +1 AC and don't add anything to damage. I could include that to raise the fighter up to 43/51.5 if we want to include those.

I did mention subclasses, and sure, we can add those. But then we get into problems. Do we use the Champion who gets the improved crit range? The Eldritch Knight and their spells which likely won't add to damage at all? The Battlemaster can add 4d8 to that, but that is their entire amount for a short rest, compared to the warlock's bonus. Psy Warrior might add a single d10 to that. So... which do we use? +0, +crit range which we didn't even calculate, +1d10, or +4d8 once per short rest?

And yes, the Warlock tends to be defensive... but how does the Archfey's ability to teleport in and hit on round 1 play in alongside the ability to deal an extra 2d10 damage on a save? Or what about Clairvoyant combatant giving a single target disadvantage against you while you have advantage to hit them?

Yes, Subclass CAN make a difference. But if I'm comparing the Eldritch Knight who adds nothing to the Archfey popping additional dice into the fight, then I can easily cherry pick the results to look worse, or I can focus on a single turn instead of a long fight, and make the battlemaster look superior. It ends up getting into complications that just feel too in-depth for the type of analysis that we are generally doing.

Eldritch Knight can replace an attack with a cantrip. Make that Cantrip Green flame Blade and that's that's another 4d8+5 damage at lvl 13, assuming they have another person nearby. And at lvl 13, they ALSO can cast Spirit Shroud.

Plus they get Fighting Styles, more HP, more AC, Action Surge, etc

 

[Yaarel]

Here ya go:

View attachment 369281

The suspected Aasamir:

View attachment 369282View attachment 369283View attachment 369286View attachment 369284

I wonder if the eyecolor relates to the alignment plane. Presumably, the gold eyes are LG Celestia.

 

[W'rkncacnter]

Level Up is considerably more customizable than WotC 5e, with the origin system for heritage/culture/background/destiny, its many choices of class features throughout play, and the combat maneuver system.

don't forget knacks...

 

[Yaarel]

I like the emphasis of Warlock spooky. How does this fit into the Good Celestial Warlock? In what ways are the goodie-goodie Warlocks "off"?

 

[EzekielRaiden]

I feel like Eldritch Knights with a Melee cantrip can outdamage this Warlock. The new one is beast. They can get Spirit Shroud at lvl 13.

Unlikely. If Blade Pact, Lifedrinker, and Thirsting Blade work as they did in PT7, you're getting (at 11th level) 3 attacks/round based on Charisma with any weapon you want, doing its standard damage type or Radiant, Necrotic, or Psychic damage, with a further +1d6 of one of those elements of your choosing, without spending any resources at all. That's 3d6+5 of an almost certainly unresisted damage type per hit assuming a greatsword (since you can't use shields), all the time. Assume a 60% chance to hit for either character. Warlock is getting, without investment, .6x3x(10.5+5)=27.9 DPR. The EK gets 2 encounters per day (at 13) where they get spirit shroud, so a melee cantrip like green-flame blade replacing one of your attacks would give you two hits of 2d6+1d8+5 and one hit of 2d6+3d8+5 (assuming maxed Int, which is just possible for a 13th level Fighter). That works out better, no question...for those two encounters: .6x2(7+4.5+5)+.6(7+13.5+5)=35.1. Every other encounter that day, however, the Fighter is getting just .6x2x(7+5)+.6(7+9+5) = 27. Given the Warlock's damage is quite close to the Fighter's, however, being only .9 DPR higher, it's inarguable that spirit shroud would be making the Fighter's total average DPR significantly higher.

Thing is, the Fighter is definitely better in terms of daily damage output, so long as the Warlock is never using their three/SR 5th level spell slots nor their 1/LR 6th level spell slot for any form of damage. I think you can see how that would be an inappropriate assumption.

As an example, the Warlock could easily also spare one of their spell slots for spirit shroud too...but because they'd be automatically casting it as a 5th level spell, it would add +2d8 to every attack. That means the Warlock should easily be able to be making 3d6+2d8+5 attack rolls...basically every combat. I'm fairly sure the only way the EK Fighter could outmatch that is if they could replace every attack roll with a melee cantrip, and I'm also fairly sure that that would be "broke AF" as the kids say.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

I like the emphasis of Warlock spooky. How does this fit into the Good Celestial Warlock? In what ways are the goodie-goodie Warlocks "off"?

Are you familiar with the "Biblically-accurate angel"?

There's a reason the first thing out of nearly every Biblical angel's mouth is either:
"FEAR NOT!"
or
"Please for the love of God don't worship me."

 

[Yaarel]

Are you familiar with the "Biblically-accurate angel"?

There's a reason the first thing out of nearly every Biblical angel's mouth is either:
"FEAR NOT!"
or
"Please for the love of God don't worship me."

How does this translate into a playable archetype? Examples?

 

[tglassy]

How does this translate into a playable archetype? Examples?

He's saying anytime someone sees an angel in the bible their initial response is to freak out. Angels are spooky.