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.

 

[Kobold Stew]

Was it just me, or did it sound like there are only 3 invocations at level 1?

I'd understand moving agonizing blast and repelling blast up a level or 2, but only 3?

No, I think there are lots to choose from, but all three pacts (apparently) are now available at level 1.

 

[Stalker0]

Are people getting new video fatigue? There seems to be a lot less interest this morning than there has been for the previous videos. (The Paladin thread is booming this morning.)

I think for the warlock the video honestly doesn't tell us all that much. As others in this thread noted, without real details on the invocations and spells and such...this new warlock could be amazing or garbage. Its just hard to tell.

the paladin thread tbh is just deflated down to "they nerfed smite, we need to discuss this". None of the other paladin changes are really being discussed anymore

 

[Micah Sweet]

I think for the warlock the video honestly doesn't tell us all that much. As others in this thread noted, without real details on the invocations and spells and such...this new warlock could be amazing or garbage. Its just hard to tell.

the paladin thread tbh is just deflated down to "they nerfed smite, we need to discuss this". None of the other paladin changes are really being discussed anymore

Yeah, most people are talking about the art. Not much to say otherwise.

 

[Kurotowa]

Are people getting new video fatigue? There seems to be a lot less interest this morning than there has been for the previous videos. (The Paladin thread is booming this morning.)

I think the reason there's less discussion on the last couple videos is that the classes seem mostly the same as the last UA playtest version. That makes the video very informative to people who haven't been following along, but old news to us high engagement fanatics. Unless there's something highly controversial, there's just not much new to discuss.

 

[LaTia J]

Are people getting new video fatigue? There seems to be a lot less interest this morning than there has been for the previous videos. (The Paladin thread is booming this morning.)

One of the things I've noticed across the places where people are talking about the 2024 PHB changes is that amount of comments ≠ excitement and in general, negative news travels farther. The Paladin had the most controversial changes; people are gonna talk (read: argue) about that more.

Having sat in the premieres for all of the videos, reactions for classes like Barbarian, Rogue, and Warlock have been pretty positive, and those chats have been tamer. That translates to forums and Reddit.

Y'all having been here a lot longer than me, though, might already know this, so ignore me if I'm saying stuff that's obvious.

 

[Kobold Stew]

Fair enough.

As I said in the OP, for me there's a big disappointment coming from the placement of pacts with invocations:

• you can have all three by level 2 (and I expect many will want two)
• the "expanded number of choices" (from 8 to 10 in the playtest) in fact boils down to only one extra invocation at level 5 (since pact is one of them)
  • (also, if there is no option to substitute origin feats with backgrounds, then the option to take an extra feat allows builds that might otherwise have obstacles).
• pact of the blade is too good compared to the others -- I think eveyone wil end up with it, by level 5 at the latest.
• (unconfirmed) the weakening of Ritual Caster feat (carried over into Pact of the Tome) ultimately weakens the teamwork aspect of an adventuring party -- having two rituals, both level 1, is just a disappointment.

I'd love to be wrong about all of these.

 

[MonsterEnvy]

The article should make some things more clear

 

[Kurotowa]

The article should make some things more clear

I saw one of the community reps say on the OneD&D reddit that it's coming later in the week, not today.

 

[Chaosmancer]

I do have to agree that the details end up mattering for a lot of this. For example, we knew the Slaad Tadpole and the Skeleton were both in the warlock familiar options from the playtest... and we also knew that the options were wildly unbalanced, because the Tadpole was terrible and the skeleton was beyond fantastic. Can't do more than make guesses on how that has changed with this announcement.

One thing that did tickle my brain, and I had to double check, they said that the Celestial Warlock 14th level ability could apply to you or an ally. It is a blink and you miss it line right before the 22:00 mark. For context, Searing Vengeance was the "you drop to 0 hp, come back in a flash of light that blinds and damages enemies. Being able to apply that to an ally? That is a really cool buff and a new take on the fairly common "I'm not dead yet" abilities we've seen here and there.

 

[Kurotowa]

One thing that did tickle my brain, and I had to double check, they said that the Celestial Warlock 14th level ability could apply to you or an ally. It is a blink and you miss it line right before the 22:00 mark. For context, Searing Vengeance was the "you drop to 0 hp, come back in a flash of light that blinds and damages enemies. Being able to apply that to an ally? That is a really cool buff and a new take on the fairly common "I'm not dead yet" abilities we've seen here and there.

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.