The Grand Failure of the Warlock.

[emoplato]

As for the Warlock, yes it could have used more thematic diversity in turn could have lead it to gain more powers available.

 

[Empath Negative]

Hey, Magic of Incarnum is an awesome book! Incarnate and Totemist are both really neat, and being able to pick up melee with feats is pretty slick.

It's a book almost exclusively about "Mechanics".


Consider the amount (and quality) of the fluff in magic of incarnum vs. the quality and fluff of Binders.

There's a kind of dissonance there.



So... I... uh... make boots out of my... soul power?



Incarnum could've been a brilliant system if it had become about ancestor worship, magical tattoos, or a "non-magic" form of magic in a vein similar to Jedi Force (especially if its classes were based on societies devoted to the destruction/combat of arcane and/or divine magic). Something other than "glowing blue helmets of soulstuff".

Sure, you can make changes... but that just means it's fluff I made up and a system I made up to incorporate that fluff.

From the above ideas there's endless creative outlets.

Instead we get lamesauce stuff like "Soulborn" and "Reptile People that use batman gloves as weapons, but some of them are pretty and some of them are strong".

 

[emoplato]

Warlocks along with the Binder: two of my least favorite classes in 3.5 due to their execution. So much wasted potential.

I concur with the Binder. I wouldn't say it was the worst class, considering it was introduced in the Tome of Magic which felt like it needed to have also two other systems introduced along with it. Why, I really don't know, Truenaming is barely viable unless for some reason the DM allows item familiars(note: no truename prestige class advances truenaming hint hint). The Shadowcaster on the other hand was a caster with more constraints along with spell-like, supernatural abilities, and a capable of immunities so to reconcile it they made a side advancement based on the casting itself giving min-maxer's the keys to the kingdom with the Noctumancer while the other prestige classes were mostly just "dark".

 

[Samloyal23]

I concur with the Binder. I wouldn't say it was the worst class, considering it was introduced in the Tome of Magic which felt like it needed to have also two other systems introduced along with it. Why, I really don't know, Truenaming is barely viable unless for some reason the DM allows item familiars(note: no truename prestige class advances truenaming hint hint). The Shadowcaster on the other hand was a caster with more constraints along with spell-like, supernatural abilities, and a capable of immunities so to reconcile it they made a side advancement based on the casting itself giving min-maxer's the keys to the kingdom with the Noctumancer while the other prestige classes were mostly just "dark".

Naming magic was a great idea, it should have been expanded on...

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

The only one I genuinely liked completely from ToM was the Shadow Mage. The others just had too many mechanical flaws- like the Truenamer PrCl thing- for me to even consider playing. A Shadow Mage may not be all that powerful compared to other casters, but they were fully explored, coherent and flavorful.

 

[Empath Negative]

The only one I genuinely liked completely from ToM was the Shadow Mage. The others just had too many mechanical flaws- like the Truenamer PrCl thing- for me to even consider playing. A Shadow Mage may not be all that powerful compared to other casters, but they were fully explored, coherent and flavorful.

Agreed, and that made the failure of WOTC to really take advantage of them all the more frustrating.

Really, the WOTC dropped the ball in that they failed to call the Shadowmage what it actually was or should've been: An Illusionist/Enchanter.

 

[Samloyal23]

The only one I genuinely liked completely from ToM was the Shadow Mage. The others just had too many mechanical flaws- like the Truenamer PrCl thing- for me to even consider playing. A Shadow Mage may not be all that powerful compared to other casters, but they were fully explored, coherent and flavorful.

I like all of them, but really, the Shadow Mage was the least original. It was too much like a standard Sor/Wiz. The Binder, Truenamer, and Warlock were more diverse. When it comes to magic systems, I figure the more the merrier...

 

[Empath Negative]

They should've made different systems for each school of magic and/or style of casting.

 

[M.L. Martin]

The alignment thing is a bit annoying, but not that big an issue. Only warlock I played for a significant length of time was CG and intended to be a cheerful Cutey Honey / Sailor Moon magical girl that sought out winning through love, friendship, and diplomacy (and failing that, the charm invocation).

I was about to post that there's the basis of a wonderful Magical Girl class in the warlock's mechanics, if you strip away the edgy/Evil-curious feel.

(But then, I'm an old HERO fan, and am now moving towards Savage Worlds, so changing special effects is in my bones. )

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I like all of them, but really, the Shadow Mage was the least original. It was too much like a standard Sor/Wiz. The Binder, Truenamer, and Warlock were more diverse. When it comes to magic systems, I figure the more the merrier...

I agree, but the mechanics for the others were just horrid.