D&D 5E Alternate Warlock Flavour

[FormerlyHemlock]

Thanks, Fralex! I've always liked the idea of the Warlock (and the artificer, for that matter) being to wizards what rogues are to fighters, in a sense. And also the idea of magic just being equations that often have very strange variables, like bat wings.

If you like this idea, you should read Wizard's Bane by Rick Cook. It's about a UNIX programmer transported to a world of magic, who figures out enough of the laws behind magic to make a "magic compiler" that composes simple, reliable spell effects (like opcodes in assembly) into large-scale spells (programs). It's a fun read.

http://www.baenebooks.com/p-724-wizards-bane.aspx

 

[FormerlyHemlock]

Nice work, but the warlock isn't the hacker; he's the one that takes the hacker's work and uses it not really understanding it. Sure it does what the hacker says, but it also does something far darker that suits the hacker's agenda.

Heh. Warlock = Script Kiddie.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Yeah, I get why some people view the warlock as having gotten all of it's knowledge and power from it's patron, but that's never rung true for me. IMO, the warlock is a ritualist who figured out a specific type of magic that most arcanists aren't willing to mess around with, and forged a pact with their knowledge of ritual magic and the kind of beings you make pacts with.

 

[johnkzin]

I like the idea of a "pact with no-one" but I'm not sure how to phrase this as an Otherworldly Patron. The best I've got is:

The Weave.

You have a talent for sensing and manipulating the threads living Weave itself. You sought out and were taught by a group of like minded weave-sensitive beings. There are many such groups: The Bendu, the Guardians of the Weave, and others. They taught you how to develop your own relationship with the Weave, so that you can continue your journey to discovery of its secrets.

(I've been independently thinking about this as well; for me, it's a Jedi-like build for the Warlocks -- your mentors aren't the source of power, but your connection to that power is more like that of a Warlock than of a Sorcerer or Wizard. You directly sense the weave. You directly manipulate it. You develop a relationship with it, sort of like the Tao, but it's not necessarily a conscious entity.)

I'm also looking at a variation of the Shillelagh cantrip: Eldritch Weapon. Take all of Shillelagh's mechanics, but: no material component (not even a weapon), it creates a weapon (any that the caster is proficient with) that does 1d8 force damage. It can be used exactly like the weapon created, except it can't be thrown (just like Shillelagh, the spell ends the moment you let go of the weapon). But, it CAN be used with any Eldritch Invokations that work with Pact of the Blade, or that make sense for a Melee version of Eldritch Blast (so, a whip could use Grasp of Hadar to pull a target from 10 feet to 5 feet, or a warhammer could use Repelling Blast to push away an adjacent target ... but you couldn't use Eldritch Spear).

But it doesn't really map to the "wild magic" you're trying to steal from the Sorcerer class. I mainly replied because I've been thinking about Jedi as "Warlocks whose patron is the Weave itself."

 

[Wrathamon]

That's exactly my thought, too. I don't see Artificer as a sub-class of Warlock, like Sorcerer could be. It would be more of a skeleton, like Bard, Cleric, and Wizard all share essentially the same skeleton for spells. I've thought about it enough that I could probably start a write-up, but I don't have anyone interested in playing it (unlike the dragon-blooded, blade-pact Warlock), so it's a lower priority.

I'd use the following sub-classes for an Artificer: item creation, construct creation, and battle support. The rune-keeper would be a viable build, but my first concern would be to capture the flavor from Eberron and House Cannith.

I'd use the Invocation mechanic (suitably renamed) for most of the Infusions. There are some from the ECS that just don't fit well into 5E (gain a +1 shield or armor power). Just make each one (or a tight group) a specific Infusion. Spells are spells. Stuff like light doesn't need a lot of fanfare.

I think mechanically the warlock framework works well for an Artificer. I wouldnt make it a sub class of warlock cause thematically that makes zero sense.

 

[Eltab]

My 4e Warlock (Star Pact) was an Astronomer / Astrologer. Great fluff at the table - like when I planted the vortex of the Great Red Spot of Jupiter onto a BBEG to keep him busy.

But I still think the Warlock has a bad case of multiple identities: is it supposed to be a melee beat-em-up'er (Pact of the Blade), or a long range artillery (Eldritch Blast + Eldritch Spear)?
Maybe each Pact should lead naturally to a playstyle or combat preference?

 

[Wrathamon]

If you were to refluff/recrunch the warlock to be an artificer ..

Pick the Artificer Guild they are from these give minor benefits and some special "spells lists"
Pick a Specialty (Tinker, Weapon, Master)

The above could easily be combined into one choice.

Tinker is like a Book Warlock ... more "spells" more knowledge.
Weapon is similar to blade ... more about weapon and armor augmentation
Master are about having a Golem/homoculus pet

Ivocations can be mapped to Infusions

Thundercannon stuff can easily be put into Weapon or maybe the guild choice. Basically, its Eldritch Blast if you like them having a "weapon"

I was never a fan of the alchemist being part of artificer ... i never saw them being the potion master but it easily fits ... that can be one of the choices.