Again, thanks for all the helpful commentary!
Right, but unless you're wielding a hammer 1-handed, and an implement in the other hand, your warlock powers won't have an implement to use (which isn't a problem until about level 3ish). I didn't catch if you were using inherent bonuses or not, but if you aren't using that system, then you'll always want a free hand to hold a rod or wand.
And in that case, the only time this feat would come in to play is on OAs or MBAs given by allies, which I would think wouldn't make up a whole lot of your actions, since they'll have less hit chance (low strength plus low proficiency bonus).
and
IMO, Warlocks -- particularly PHB1-only Warlocks (no access to melee basic training, no weapon-based attack powers) -- have no business swinging a melee weapon. Sure, it can be flavorful, but you really don't want to be on the front lines; you want to be running around getting your shadow walk concealment for better defenses and sniping at your choice targets.
and
PHB-only, though, I'd stay away from melee warlocks, I'm sorry to say.
-O
I'm sorry I wasn't clear: I'm not playing a melee warlock.
I just know from playing with this group since 1998 that it will be an unusual combat indeed where at least one caster doesn't wind up engaged in melee (and it has often been me). This means that any caster who isn't prepared at least somewhat to deal combat damage could wind up laid out on the tiles. Part of this is because almost every Player in our group (DMs included) is pretty tactically aware, so attacks from flanks, the rear, or even impossible to anticipate attackers (burrowers, invisibles, teleporters, etc.) are a fact of life. I'm usually the arcanist (if I'm playing one) who gets to go gishy in a given combat just because we have one guy whose mage is positioned party center 99% of the time...with me behind him. IOW, to get to him, they choose to go through me.
So my big axe or hammer will be put to use and my AC will be tested, I guarantee it.
As for "inherent bonuses", what exactly are those?
If you're going pure constitution and not boosting charisma, then there will be times you'll be stuck picking a Infernal Pact power. This is how I manage all fire/radiant powers. Otherwise I find Starlock powers generally run in the cold/radiant/necrotic damage types, with an occasional type thrown in (acid, poison, or psychic).
and
The energy feats can work well if you focus your power selection to work with them. Given that your pact at-will deals Radiant damage, your go-to should be Astral Fire; radiant and fire should come up often enough to give you a selection of powers that will key off this for most levels.
Remember, you can fluff/skin your powers any way you want to, so just because the listing reads (Infernal) doesn't mean you can't take it with your Star Pact Warlock and rewrite the flavor text. For example, the Level 3 "Fiery Bolt" could just as easily be "Comet Fall" or some such, and suddenly you have yourself a multi-target affecting power (to give better chance of triggering your FotV pact boon) that can benefit from Astral Fire.
Part of my problem is that I actually like the Star Pact powers, so going Con only is going to be difficult for me. Sometimes its flavor, sometimes its mechanics (those Pact dependent rider effects that rely on Int). Sometimes its how they mesh: for example, the 1st level encounter power is Cha based, but saps Will...and the 1st level daily is Con based and targeted against Will.
I know I can reskin stuff- I've actually been giving some- like Fiery Bolt- a serious look.
FWIW, I actually did the work and broke down the Star Pact attack powers by type:
- Acid/Cold: 4 (1 is also Radiant)
- Necrotic/Psychic: 5
- Fire/Radiant: 4 (1 is also Cold)
- Other: 6
Realize that your Ranger multi-class is 13 Strength OR Dexterity -- it does not need to be in both, just one. I would recommend Dex, since you would need a 13 in Dex to qualify for Astral Fire, and then spend the points for that 13 Str elsewhere.
I would also caution against feeling that an armor upgrade is really all that necessary, particularly given the M.A.D.C.O.W. disease that leads to here. While it's always nice to see your AC number high, in my experience playing Warlocks and seeing them played the best defense does not come from wearing better armor. It comes from wearing light armor with a high Int (or possibly Dex) score, and from always being in motion on the field in order to get concealment (and thus effectively +2 to all your defenses) from Shadow Walk, and from being not the easiest/closest target to the attacker when the bad guys get to go.
I would suggest a starting ability array (post racial) of:
8 Str, 18 Con, 13 Dex, 14 Int, 14 Wis, 13 Cha -- if you want to pick up both Astral Fire and Burning Blizzard. If you really don't care about Burning Blizzard feat (probably not your best choice, anyway) then take the two points out of Wis and bump Cha up to 14, then either leave Wis at 12 and Str at 8 or swap them around to 10/10.
I hope my ramblings are helpful!
-Dan'L
I know Ranger MC is Str or Dex, and Chain is Str. Despite my intent to be as mobile as possible, I'm still leaning heavily towards the Armor upgrade for reasons listed above. Besides, he's a Dwarf- he won't slow down any in that armor.
Of course, since I'm taking Ranger MC at 1st. I have
some time to think about what- exactly- Malleus Skyhammer's armor of choice will be. Who knows- he might get a magical suit of something early on, making Chainmail less necessary.
Still, since my Feat choices will partly depend upon my stats, I still need to think about it ahead of time. I just got an email saying we'll be generating stats from the table of arrays.
I don't think I'll need to optimize my PC's stats by dumping others, though. We have a largish group: besides the DM, we'll have 8 players (including myself). The mage player will probably play a Wizard (95% of his PCs over the past 2 decades are), and even if he doesn't, his PC
will be optimized. Another guy will probably play a Ranger- he's much like the Wizard player. One has already chosen Cleric. With a Controller, a Striker and a Leader, my striker doesn't have to be superbad- I can probably afford to be a "Average Joe" hero with fairly balanced stats (pre-racial mod).
with the incredible boon that is the Character Builder, your group may find that it actually "keeps it simpler" to allow access to all the books, rather than having to figure out which feats or powers were published where. (Yes, I know you can set the CB to ignore the sources you don't allow, but it still complicates things when other gamers are discussing an option and no one can remember offhand whether it's legal for you.)
As a Mac user who doesn't run Parallels or any other Windows emulation, CB is not an option.
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