D&D 5E Warlock Mechanics - The best representation of modern fantasy archetypes in Dnd

[doctorbadwolf]

I would have to look around, but I think there was a thread where someone brewed up a Wizard variant using the Warlock chassis.

My Binder started out as that, basically. It became more something like a Warlock-Witcher.

I might as some point do a more straight forward “Hexblade” as a variant Warlock with fewer big changes. Just, more HP, medium armor, shields, martial weapons, maybe choice of 3 types of weapon use? Idk. Maybe keep the 2 other pact boons and replace blade with like a magical marking mechanic, or something.

What I’m more interested in though is a warlock that does more with curses.

 

[grimslade]

The appeal in the design of the warlock is it's simplicity. You are limited compared to a wizard who has a spell book of choices to indulge multiple times a day. The most powerful warlock has a handful of spells of level 5 and lower plus a few invocations and mystic arcanum. Eldritch blast spam is a problem only because it is so limited in flavor.
The damage scaling keeps pace with the math of the game, but it is firing an arrow(s) of magic. If anything make it a class ability instead of a cantrip and give invocations that can really stretch the concept. Why doesn't the pact of the blade warlock not transform their eldritch blast into a blade/melee weapon? Drop the extra attack invocation and let the cantrip scaling be for multiple melee attacks instead of multiple blasts. Heck, I'd let them intersperse melee and blasts to truly get their gish on.
I don't mind turning Mystic Arcanum into invocations with level restrictions. It is what they are essentially. Pact Magic is a nice mechanic. Small pool of spells, always cast at the highest caster level, rechargeable a couple of times a day. Remove the short rest component and flavor it the warlock borrowing power from their patron, either pleading or stealing. Make it only accomplished out of combat. This gives the player agency to get their power level regardless of the groups need for rest. Making the class a half caster seems... so lazy and boring.

 

[TwoSix]

Yeah, I reworked Eldritch Blast: By default it's one attack, not multiple. If the player chooses to separate it out into separate attacks, they can, but they only get to apply any Invocations that boost Eldritch Blast to one of those attacks.

That's probably not the approach I would take; assuming Agonizing Blast is one of the invocations, that's a fairly significant nerf to warlock at-will damage. My preferred approach is to make other cantrips just as strong as Eldritch Blast, not to nerf EB.

 

[Quickleaf]

That's probably not the approach I would take; assuming Agonizing Blast is one of the invocations, that's a fairly significant nerf to warlock at-will damage. My preferred approach is to make other cantrips just as strong as Eldritch Blast, not to nerf EB.

Yeah, you and @Neonchameleon have convinced me to reexamine that house rule. I remember jotting it down after a session when a warlock player commented in jest about incredibly doing something besides eldritch blast, but haven't really seen it in action yet.