Neonchameleon
Legend
Edit: I've made a more detailed and interesting proposal later in the thread - short version: Recharge and even casting are subclass dependent and only kick in at level 3 at all.
If recent discussions of the Warlock have made one thing clear, it's that a lot of people have a lot of very different experiences of the warlock. And that is largely due to the fact that the Warlock's spellcasting is so incredibly dependent on short rests. Using the standard "spell point equivalence" below (suggested in the DMG and used in sorcerers converting metamagic to slots) we can see just how much warlock experience is going to vary by whether the warlock is getting zero, one, two, or even more short rests per day. With no short rests the Pact Magic is worth about as much as an Eldritch Knight's casting, with one it's equivalent to a ranger or paladin, and with two it's pretty close to a full caster (ignoring other class features)
I've been what is, in hindsight, lucky when I've been a player. Long exploration areas and adventuring days where a single short rest represents a lunch break; I'm used to a consistent one and occasional two which is I think the sweet spot. But it is ridiculous to design a class where depending on circumstance their spellcasting power varies between that of an Eldritch Knight and that of a Sorcerer or possibly even higher. I've excluded the level 6+ slots from the casters for multiple reasons including that classic warlocks get Mystic Arcana, which does not remotely provide the flexibility but does the power and aren't using Pact Magic for those slots.
(The level 1 Paladin/Ranger Spellcasting is highlighted in red because this is the OneD&D value, not the classic value. In Classic 5e the Paladin gets no spell slots at first level, in One D&D they get as many as a first level wizard; I consider this an overcorrection but either 4 points or 0 is an appropriate value).
I believe that the intended power level of the warlock's casting is somewhere between that of a half caster and that of a full caster. I mean warlocks aren't exactly able to beat up paladins in melee and the ranger in my experience out-shoots the warlock when not casting thanks to things like fighting styles, feats, and magic weapons. But the warlock has a fair amount going on beyond straight spells so if they can outcast the primary casters that's going too far.
I'm therefore proposing a change. Instead of refilling their entire pact magic on a short rest an unlimited number of times per day a Warlock has a short ritual (somewhere between one minute and ten) that they can use to recharge a single pact magic slot a number of times per day equal to their proficiency modifier. (Use it twice to recharge both slots). This massively eases back the swinginess of the warlock, keeps them with only a single level of spell to worry about so they remain easier to use in play, and means that primary casters can out-burst them, while their total magic remains roughly half way between "half casters" and primary casters at all levels except 1, 2, and 17 - and at 1 and 2 the problem appears to be the primary casters not being strong enough (L1 they can't outcast a paladin).
The other changes the Warlock of course needs are overhauling the defensive invocations (Mage Armour at will is useless if you wear armour, False Life at will is great at low level but 5 temp hp are worth a lot less at level 10 than 2 so this ability needs a slight rewrite to scale), dumping all the "trap invocations" (turning them all into Mystic Arcana did that), Pact of the Blade (almost right in One D&D but still vulnerable to paladin dips), and a suggested list of "Warlock-friendly" spells from levels 1-3 that actually do scale decently with spell level to be printed in a sidebar in the PHB.
If recent discussions of the Warlock have made one thing clear, it's that a lot of people have a lot of very different experiences of the warlock. And that is largely due to the fact that the Warlock's spellcasting is so incredibly dependent on short rests. Using the standard "spell point equivalence" below (suggested in the DMG and used in sorcerers converting metamagic to slots) we can see just how much warlock experience is going to vary by whether the warlock is getting zero, one, two, or even more short rests per day. With no short rests the Pact Magic is worth about as much as an Eldritch Knight's casting, with one it's equivalent to a ranger or paladin, and with two it's pretty close to a full caster (ignoring other class features)
I've been what is, in hindsight, lucky when I've been a player. Long exploration areas and adventuring days where a single short rest represents a lunch break; I'm used to a consistent one and occasional two which is I think the sweet spot. But it is ridiculous to design a class where depending on circumstance their spellcasting power varies between that of an Eldritch Knight and that of a Sorcerer or possibly even higher. I've excluded the level 6+ slots from the casters for multiple reasons including that classic warlocks get Mystic Arcana, which does not remotely provide the flexibility but does the power and aren't using Pact Magic for those slots.
(The level 1 Paladin/Ranger Spellcasting is highlighted in red because this is the OneD&D value, not the classic value. In Classic 5e the Paladin gets no spell slots at first level, in One D&D they get as many as a first level wizard; I consider this an overcorrection but either 4 points or 0 is an appropriate value).
I believe that the intended power level of the warlock's casting is somewhere between that of a half caster and that of a full caster. I mean warlocks aren't exactly able to beat up paladins in melee and the ranger in my experience out-shoots the warlock when not casting thanks to things like fighting styles, feats, and magic weapons. But the warlock has a fair amount going on beyond straight spells so if they can outcast the primary casters that's going too far.
I'm therefore proposing a change. Instead of refilling their entire pact magic on a short rest an unlimited number of times per day a Warlock has a short ritual (somewhere between one minute and ten) that they can use to recharge a single pact magic slot a number of times per day equal to their proficiency modifier. (Use it twice to recharge both slots). This massively eases back the swinginess of the warlock, keeps them with only a single level of spell to worry about so they remain easier to use in play, and means that primary casters can out-burst them, while their total magic remains roughly half way between "half casters" and primary casters at all levels except 1, 2, and 17 - and at 1 and 2 the problem appears to be the primary casters not being strong enough (L1 they can't outcast a paladin).
The other changes the Warlock of course needs are overhauling the defensive invocations (Mage Armour at will is useless if you wear armour, False Life at will is great at low level but 5 temp hp are worth a lot less at level 10 than 2 so this ability needs a slight rewrite to scale), dumping all the "trap invocations" (turning them all into Mystic Arcana did that), Pact of the Blade (almost right in One D&D but still vulnerable to paladin dips), and a suggested list of "Warlock-friendly" spells from levels 1-3 that actually do scale decently with spell level to be printed in a sidebar in the PHB.
Last edited:
