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

"The character builder's paradise".

​

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.

 

[Weiley31]

GOO Warlocks can have a psychic Green Flame Blade.

 

[tglassy]

GOO Warlocks can have a psychic Green Flame Blade.

I briefly played a playtest Goo Warlock with a Blade. Made all my attacks psychic damage. I said the sword isn't actually real, and i'm not actually hitting anyone, but they THINK I am, and so they experience the pain anyway. Very fun.

 

[Yaarel]

John the Baptist had crazy wild hair, lived in the wilderness, ate locusts and honey, dunked people in a river after screaming at them to "Repent", and brazenly spoke against the ruler of the city for sleeping with his brother's wife. Most people tended to give him a wide birth until they actually heard what he had to say.

He could be a pretty good example of a Celestial Warlock.

Yeah, and that too is the "crazy" but benign archetype. Tho he is big into judgmentalism − so there are some ethical concerns about him.

At best, the archetype of John the Baptist would be D&D "Lawful" Good, where dedication to Lawful sometimes conflicts with, undermines, and reduces Good.

The "True Good" is Neutral Good, that optimizes between Lawful and Chaotic, whichever happens to achieve the most Good.

But the craziness works well for a "spooky" Good Warlock.

 

[Yaarel]

The spookiness of the Good Celestial Warlock, is also part of the overall − what is the difference between Celestial Warlock and Cleric? By extension, what is the difference between a Celestial Warlock and a Divine Sorcerer?

 

[Weiley31]

How does a low level Warlock who isnt powerful yet tap into this?

So, Tales of the Valiant ACTUALLY explains this for Warlocks and their pacts/patrons. Warlocks pretty much start their Warlocking career by making pacts with Lesser or Unamed spirits/entities. As a Warlock continues to wheel and deal their way, they eventually acquire the attention of a much greater being which ends up becoming said Patron.

So for example, a low level Fiend Pact Warlock maybe getting their magical Mojo from lesser demons like Gary the Imp. And so Gary provides his end of the deal cuz the Fiend Pact Warlock is doing a good job. So much of a good job that at level 10, Gary's boss, a higher ranking Demon, may covet such a useful Warlock upon learning of his talent. So, said Warlock waves bye to Gary cuz now he has somebody higher in the food chain providing the Mojo. Finally at level 20, Asmodeus himself learns of our Warlock and puts forth the contract to sign him on. He even throws in Unlimited Data as a loyalty bonus.

Perhaps the Celestial Warlock got hired by a high Ranking Lantern Archon, then gets passed on to a Tome Archon, and finally, said Celestial Warlock caps out at a post Descent into Avernus redeemed Zariel as their Patron.

It's a neat concept.

 

[Parmandur]

The spookiness of the Good Celestial Warlock, is also part of the overall − what is the difference between Celestial Warlock and Cleric? By extension, what is the difference between a Celestial Warlock and a Divine Sorcerer?

Clerics don't get Invocations, but they get more Spell slots and such.

It's a mechanical difference, not necessarily a narrative difference. You could have a party of 4 Acolytes of the same religion: a Cleric, a Warlock, a Paladin, and anything else.

 

[Yaarel]

Clerics don't get Invocations, but they get more Spell slots and such.

A rose is a rose is a rose is a rose.

It's a mechanical difference, not necessarily a narrative difference. You could have a party of 4 Acolytes of the same religion: a Cleric, a Warlock, a Paladin, and anything else.

Each class should distinguish thematically, conceptually.

Cleric is about a particular spiritual community, cultural ideals, meaningfulness. In D&D this is especially Astral magic. The Cleric speaks the language of symbols and paradigms and worldviews. The Cleric can be theistic, philosophical, or iconoclastly mystic − but always Astral. Both by name (cleric, clergy) and by concept, it is the community and the player characters relationship to it that defines what a Cleric is.

Paladin is a champion of a cause, and is about oath or other sense of dedication and activism.

Celestial Warlock is ... more about socializing and negotiating with Astral beings? Maybe they are more "theurgic" in the sense of rituals to manipulate angelic beings into performing services? Albeit this would feel less Good. There can be a more positive sense of being "in tune with" angelic beings. Perhaps, the Warlock is about collaborating with the designs of the angelic beings, conspiring with them, whence acting on what seems like crazy behavior for some unobvious purpose.

Soul Sorcerer − at first sounds like a mystic, exploring the transcendent aspects of consciousness. But the Sorcerer is more about physically incarnating other levels of existence. Here making Astral phenomena part of ones body. The Sorcerer is something like an angel on earth.

There are interesting thremes to explore. All four classes seem works-in-progress.

 

[Parmandur]

Each class should distinguish thematically, conceptually.

Maybe ro an extent, but the lines of theme are malleable and fuzzy: the difference between Classes is one of mechanical functions. A Celestial Warlock and a Cleric have different mechanics.

 

[tglassy]

Here's how I always viewed the different kinds of magic.

Wizards learn magic. It's a science to them. A study. They learn when you mix this ingredient with this gesture, that happens. They study their whole lives, learning the science of magic. Anyone can become a Wizard, but only those who are extremely intelligent will ever go far. But their power isn't really their own. They're just harnessing it. Like how the power drill's power isn't your own, but you harness it to screw a board together effortlessly.

Clerics are devout followers. They are true believers. Their souls are attuned to their god, and they are chosen by that god. Or whatever they are worshiping. Their power isn't actually theirs. Their power is channeled through them, from their god. If their god was destroyed, they'd lose all their power, because the power was never theirs to begin with. It isn't them healing, it's their god, healing through them.

Divine Soul Sorcerers have Celestial Power in their blood. That's the Sorcerer's thing. They are the power. Either they descend from a celestial being, or were somehow exposed, but the power they draw is theirs, not some god's. They may be the child of a god, or touched by one, but the power is their own. They are the ones healing. They don't have to worship anyone. They are the power. That's what makes Sorcerer's flavor so good.

Warlocks could be either, depending on how you want to do it. I've got a couple versions of the Warlock. In one way, Warlocks are not channeling their patron's power, they're learning it, like a wizard. The Patron is TEACHING them how to do things that Wizards learn over a long period of time. They're basically Freshmen going to the Seniors asking them to help with math homework, and the Senior is handing them a calculator. They're cheating. Warlocks learn how to cast at will 1st lvl spells (Mask of Many Faces) at lvl 2, whereas a Wizard can't do that until lvl 18. Yeah, the wizard can choose ANY 1st lvl spell for their at will spell, but the Warlock is just learning tricks. Not the work and theory that goes into it. It's like memorizing the keys on a piano to play a song. You can't read music, so you can only play the one song, but if you learn that one song well enough, no one will know you can't actually play. Also, the Patron is not usually a god, but some other Celestial Being. A Planetar, or something. The Warlock strikes a bargain: give me power for service. It's a quid pro quo. Unlike the Cleric, who is devout and believes wholeheartedly in their god's mission, and will do it whether they have power or not, Warlocks are more...transactional. Maybe they believe. Maybe they don't. Doesn't really matter, they'll do the service for the power.

Another way I do this, especially for Celestial Warlocks, is to make the like Sorcerers, and that the power is actually their own, the Patron is just teaching them how to use it. For example, an Assimar Celestial Warlock, going to a Planetar to learn how to harness his power. Yes, they could just be a Divine Soul Sorcerer, but in this version, the Divine Soul is untrained, developing their power on their own, while the Celestial Warlock is being taught tricks and tips by a being that knows how to use it. They'll ultimately suffer for skipping steps, as the Warlock is much less flexible, especailly with higher level spells, and has a much smaller spell list, but they'll be able to do things the Sorcerer would never figure out alone.

I've done the same for Genie Warlocks, playing an Earth Genasi with a Dao Genie Patron. I made him the Genie's half human son, and his mother made a bargain with the Genie to take care of the son, and the Genie's version of this was to teach the boy how to develop his power so he could take care of himself. Hence a Patron, but not necessarily a willing one. That was a fun character.

In both of these versions, the Patron cannot take away the Warlock's power once given, because it isn't channeled from the Patron, it's taught. The Patron can, however, stop teaching. The third way is more like a Cleric, where you're channeling the Patron's power, but that just feels too clericy to me. It doesn't have enough of its own identity. Yes, you're channeling something other than a god, but then the Celestial Warlock just feels too much like the same thing.

 

[Veltharis ap Rylix]

The spookiness of the Good Celestial Warlock, is also part of the overall − what is the difference between Celestial Warlock and Cleric? By extension, what is the difference between a Celestial Warlock and a Divine Sorcerer?

Obviously, your milage may vary, but my views on it go like this:

The defining aspect of the cleric is their faith - they believe in their deity's religion's teachings and through their faith they are granted power to help advance their deity's religion's cause in the world.

A celestial warlock wields power granted to them by a patron, but faith is not a necessary component - it doesn't matter whether they believe or not, merely that they do what their patron needs of them.

A divine sorcerer wields power that is in some way innate to them, with the involvement of a patron not being necessary.