How about "Witch" instead of "Warlock"?

[Felon]

Here in the midwest of America, "warlord" is a very specialized word meaning a particular type of abusive 3rd world despot... the people that are committing genocide and mass mutilations in Somalia and Darfur.

Maybe I am just clueless and "Warlord" is some neutral word like "General" or "Tactician" or "Soldier" or "Master-of-Arms".

I've wondered the same thing myself. Unlike "witch", "warlord" connotes something negative that isn't just some trivial matter of fairy tale imagery. It's something very modern, very real, and very grim.

....not to mention all those references to Xena: Warrior Princess villains!

Then again, I don't think I've seen a great alternative. "Commander" doesn't work because A) it's a term with its own meaning in the minis game, and B) it sounds too bossy, like it gives the character a license to push other characters around. A good name needs to emphasize motivation rather than dictation. I kinda thought marhal was a good name for that reason, but there's that confusion with "martial" power sources (what do you call that? it's not a homonym...)

 

[Gloombunny]

I kinda thought marshal was a good name for that reason, but there's that confusion with "martial" power sources (what do you call that? it's not a homonym...)

Homophone.

Really they should've called the class "marshal" and the power source something else. "martial" is a terrible name for a power source, especially one that powers non-combat skills too.

 

[blargney the second]

Even though Harry's a wizard?

And the women in the wizarding world are called...

 

[Cam Banks]

And the women in the wizarding world are called...

...rich authors?

Cheers,
Cam

 

[Howndawg]

I think Harry Potter when I hear witch.

Funny, when I hear witch I think Monty Python.

Howndawg

 

[WayneLigon]

Maybe I am just clueless and "Warlord" is some neutral word like "General" or "Tactician" or "Soldier" or "Master-of-Arms".

It's still a neutral term.

Then again, when I hear 'Warlord', I think:

 

[hopeless]

Reg: Witches and warlocks

I posted this over on the WotC boards a while back, and was for the most part repaid for my efforts in the usual coin for that forum . I figure I'd take a crack at seeing the folks here would respond, hopefully in a more constructive, coherent manner.

Some folks have expressed that having both warlord and warlock in the PHB has something of an awkward feel to it, and may even give rise to some practical difficulties when it comes to abbreviations and shorthand notations. Most have suggested alternate warlord names. It occurred to me that using the effeminate of warlock might be worth consideration.

Any possible love for using "witch" instead of warlock? It has some broader connotations to it, which addresses some concerns about moving away from the heavily sinister overtones of "warlock". Some witches practice white magic, while warlocks tend to be exclusively sinister (Dumbledor notwithstanding).

There's also less gender bias, as a male can be called a witch, but women are not called warlocks (they're witches).

Roll it around your tastebuds for a minute and tell me what you think.

Now if only we could get them to replace wizards with that combination then at least we could breath a sigh of relief and not worry they were planning on turning it into a munchkin game which is all I think of the warlock "class".
Still it would be nice if they did make the same distinction this thread poses.

 

[hopeless]

Oh yes?

Some, yes. But I would bet a considerable amount of money that, if you grab a random person off the street and tell them to picture a witch, 9 times out of 10 you'll get a green warty lady with a broomstick.

You mean 9 out of 10 people who haven't heard or seen an episode of Charmed or Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Then again does that include Slayers?

 

[Felon]

You mean 9 out of 10 people who haven't heard or seen an episode of Charmed or Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Even more to the point, 9 out of 10 people probably have pretty sever misconceptions about D&D. The actual people the game is designed probably don't find the notion of a non-hag witch to be an insurmountable show-stopper. If they're inclined to think "hag" at first, but revise their conceptions after seeing the illustrations and reading the class description, that's perfectly all right.

 

[Felon]

It's still a neutral term.

Then again, when I hear 'Warlord', I think:[/IMG]

When you hear "warlord", you think of a guy who doesn't know better than to hold a sword edge against his spinal column?