Eldritch Theurge

[Falling Icicle]

Has anyone tried out the Eldritch Theurge prestige class from Complete Mage? I'm thinking of giving it a try, but I'd like some feedback from someone who has experienced the class to help me decide if it's for me. I have played a Warlock, and I liked it save for the fact that I didn't have much versatility and that my abilities were very repetative. A Wizard/Warlock/Eldritch Theurge could be the answer.

But I have a few concerns. Most significantly, I'd be 3 levels behind in both classes. My caster level for both would be lower (spell resistance could be a real concern), I'd have less spells per day and less powerful spells, and my Eldritch Blasts would be significantly weaker. Is the tradeoff worth it? Is an Eldritch Theurge able to pack a punch in a fight?

 

[Sithobi1]

It's much like a Mystic Theurge, except even worse, if possible. You need Cha, Dex, and Int. Practiced Spellcaster will help with SR, but the way Eldritch Blast is written, PS won't increase your blast damage.

 

[Sejs]

One of the other nice things about the ET is that it lets you be a specialist wizard with far fewer drawbacks. Just use your invocations to cover your weak points and go from there.

 

[Falling Icicle]

It's much like a Mystic Theurge, except even worse, if possible. You need Cha, Dex, and Int.

That's true, though unless you pick Invocations that allow saves, a Warlock doesn't need that high of a Cha.

 

[saucercrab]

That's true, though unless you pick Invocations that allow saves, a Warlock doesn't need that high of a Cha.

Additionally, can a sorcerer/warlock enter eldritch theurge? Or is it limited to wizard/warlocks?

 

[satori01]

I'm working on Stating one up as a BBEG, and I think it is a potentially brilliant PrC. As a Wizard, 10 levels of the PrC and additional spell casting levels post PrC will net you 9th level spells.

The ability to hit someone with an Eldritch Blast and then have that square count as the ground zero point for an area effect is useful. Also being able to layer Eldritch Blast Invocations onto spell effects can be quite nice.

Moreover, having access to Warlock Invocations, means you can specialize as a Wizard and not fear losing some primo spells like Dimension Door or Invisibility. Flee the Scene, Devils Sight, Fell Flight, Voracious Dispelling, all of these are great effects, that any caster would like to have access to.

 

[Shellman]

Additionally, can a sorcerer/warlock enter eldritch theurge? Or is it limited to wizard/warlocks?

Yes they can. Since Cha is a primary ability for both Sorcerer and warlock, you don't have to worry too much about the need to max out multiple ability scores
(like Wizard/ Warlock for example).

I am making one up for an upcomming campaign in January. Check out some of the alternate class features available for sorcerer's out of UA, Comp Mage, Comp Arcane and some of the other WoTC books. They give some real interesting alternatives to a straight up sorcerer. There are some nice new invocations for warlocks out now too.

 

[Votan]

It's much like a Mystic Theurge, except even worse, if possible. You need Cha, Dex, and Int. Practiced Spellcaster will help with SR, but the way Eldritch Blast is written, PS won't increase your blast damage.

The worst part about this combination is that, at the levels that it finally gets decent, Warlock stuff is looking rather weak compared to wizard and sorcerer. In the same book you have a Reserve Feat called Acidic Splatter. That should almost keep pace with the Eldritch Blast in terms of damage, is superior in range without a shape evocation and also ignores SR just like the best Warlock blast enhancements.

Why not just take the reserve feat? Once you are considering practiced caster feats to improve your caster level, it makes sense to just be direct.

 

[Falling Icicle]

That's a good point about the reserve feats. A Wizard can have an unlimited supply of blasts through those feats that are equivalent in power to the Eldritch Blast of a same level Warlock. These feats seem to really take away the entire point of playing a Warlock.

 

[Votan]

That's a good point about the reserve feats. A Wizard can have an unlimited supply of blasts through those feats that are equivalent in power to the Eldritch Blast of a same level Warlock. These feats seem to really take away the entire point of playing a Warlock.

Yep and they are in the same book. A wizard with Acidic Splatter actually pulls ahead on damage from a Warlock at Level 13 assuming he uses a spell of his highest level for the reserve. By then his range is 65 feet.

A Warlock actually does a bit better at levels 1 to 4 than the wizard because of the range of the wizard's attack being so short.

But the invocations are the only reason to play a warlock compared to reserve feats (unless you see the hit points as a big issue).

The real reason to do Eldritch Theurge is abusing the ability to mix spells and blasts but it's an awful pricy way to go and I am rather convinced that the early multi-classing just can't be worth this.