D&D 5E Warlock's Revealed in Livestream

[TwoSix]

A wizard should talk about his warlock friend like this: "That guy? He's a warlock. In my pursuit of knowledge, I myself have often felt the temptation to go to the dark side, to delve into those secrets and to commune with those beings that the gods tried to keep locked away - and for good reason. Many who gain such insights go mad. But a true warlock is one who is strong enough of mind and soul to not only unlock such forbidden insights, but to master them. He is cunning enough to bargain with arch devils and arch fey and come out ahead. He is willing to do almost anything for power, no matter the perils. It is fair to say that I regard him with wary respect, and even a healthy dose of fear."

It would be pretty amusing if the PHB had little sidebars where each class talks about what they think of the other classes, like the WoD core books.

 

[Shadowsoul]

I would actually like to see some repercussions to choosing the path of the Warlock since it's supposed to be a cheap and easy way to power.

If there were no disadvantages then every spellcaster would be a Warlock, especially since their spells are more potent.

 

[DEFCON 1]

I would actually like to see some repercussions to choosing the path of the Warlock since it's supposed to be a cheap and easy way to power.

If there were no disadvantages then every spellcaster would be a Warlock, especially since their spells are more potent.

Well, the real question there is whether you are looking for roleplay repercussions, or set mechanical repercussions? I would personally think that in the flavor and description of the warlock it will probably talk about the relationship they have with their patron and the expectations the patron would put on the warlock in exchange for this power. But I'd imagine that the actual consequences would be up to the DM to put into play, rather than the game spelling out "X happens if you betray your patron" (a la the paladin losing his powers when he strayed from lawful good.)

It seems as though the game has moved away from these hard-coded written consequences when a class or character does or doesn't do X and thus they get slapped with Y... and instead just puts it on the DM to decide for themself whether or not some mechanical penalty should happen and what that should be.

 

[pemerton]

I would actually like to see some repercussions to choosing the path of the Warlock since it's supposed to be a cheap and easy way to power.

If there were no disadvantages then every spellcaster would be a Warlock, especially since their spells are more potent.

Isn't the "cheap and easy way to power" an ingame thing? At the actual table, there is no reason that I know of to think a warlock plays any more strongly than a wizard or sorcerer.

That is, for a player of the game, all classes are equally "cheap and easy ways to power": write one at the top of your PC sheet, build your character appropriately, and you'll have a mechanical impact on the game pretty comparable to all your fellow players, whatever class you choose.

In the fiction, though, the wizard PC swatted away for years over books, while the warlock partied all semester and then did a deal with dark forces the night before the exam!

 

[bogmad]

In the fiction, though, the wizard PC swatted away for years over books, while the warlock partied all semester and then did a deal with dark forces the night before the exam!

That could actually make an interesting topic for discussion on one of the multi-class threads: Should there be some classes that are easier or more allowable to multiclass into, like a fighter having the option to cheaply take a class in warlock, but not wizard
.
However, I'd say that's more of a topic of discussion for the table/DM based on the setting and campaign assumptions, and not something baked into the baseline multiclassing rules.

 

[pemerton]

I'd say that's more of a topic of discussion for the table/DM based on the setting and campaign assumptions, and not something baked into the baseline multiclassing rules.

100% this, especially as multi-classing can have so many different meanings in the story.