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]

Yes, which leads to a net loss of invocations (in my view).

As for fine-tuning invocation levels, I am expecting Otherworldy Leap to remain at 2, and not be bumped up from the 2014 position (where you needed to be levle 9 -- did anyone, ever, take it?

 

[Neonchameleon]

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)
• pact of the blade is too good compared to the others -- I thin keveyone wil end up with it, by level 5 at the latest.

I absolutely do not agree here. Pact of the Blade is an all in choice; without Thirsting Blade and possibly others including some defence you're better off with Eldritch Blast.

• (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.

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.

What this means is you get every single first level rituals in the game, but only two at a time. And that's far from disappointing off a single invocation.

 

[Twiggly the Gnome]

I was pleasantly surprised that damage cantrip boosting invocations can be applied to more than Eldritch Blast.

I hope chain familiar options will continue to be expanded in the Everything books. Some more Fey and Celestials would be nice. I'd really like to see the return of the Eyeball Beholder-kin, and if they revisit the Genie patron, the elemental Gens.

 

[Veltharis ap Rylix]

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.

I got the opposite impression, for the most part. They said that a lot of existing invocation prerequisites were lowered, but also that some invocations that didn't previously have prerequisites now do - presumably the ones that they don't want available immediately at level 1 for whatever reason.

 

[Kurotowa]

I got the opposite impression, for the most part. They said that a lot of existing invocation prerequisites were lowered, but also that some invocations that didn't previously have prerequisites now do - presumably the ones that they don't want available immediately at level 1.

Yes, that's what I was trying to say, sorry for being unclear. Invocations like Otherworldly Leap will stay lowered, but others like Agonizing Blast might be raised to 2nd level to make it clear you're encouraged to start with a Pact invocation.

 

[jmartkdr2]

In the last playtest, did Pact of the Blade grant charisma to attack rolls?

 

[Kobold Stew]

I absolutely do not agree here. Pact of the Blade is an all in choice; without Thirsting Blade and possibly others including some defence you're better off with Eldritch Blast.

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.

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.

What this means is you get every single first level rituals in the game, but only two at a time. And that's far from disappointing off a single invocation.

That would be great. Rereading the ability, I think you are right. I'm happy to be wrong on this -- your reading would make it more effective, even if it is capped at level 1. (Indeed, a 1-level dip seems pretty powerful.)

In relation to Ritual Caster: I've had this rant before. I still think the option to build up to at least third level rituals should be built-in). Rituals almost always help the party as much as the individual. With all the optimizing channels on YouTube, I don't think anyone has taken the Ritual Caster feat because it is overpowered and broken. This is not where reining in was needed.

 

[Kobold Stew]

I was pleasantly surprised that damage cantrip boosting invocations can be applied to more than Eldritch Blast.

I hope chain familiar options will continue to be expanded in the Everything books. Some more Fey and Celestials would be nice. I'd really like to see the return of the Eyeball Beholder-kin, and if they revisit the Genie patron, the elemental Gens.

The video did say that each subclass would have a distinctive enhanced familiar option -- that strongly suggests that they intend to add one in future books for each new subclass (and that they have ideas for doing so already).

 

[Veltharis ap Rylix]

The video did say that each subclass would have a distinctive enhanced familiar option -- that strongly suggests that they intend to add one in future books for each new subclass (and that they have ideas for doing so already).

May also be a matter where these are just the options earmarked for the PHB and books down the line might include familiar options where appropriate, like how every new beast statblock in a book is an expansion to a druid's wild shape form options.

The '14 Monster Manual had an Imp statblock specifically for use as a familiar as I recall...

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

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.