Warlock
General Information
Warlocks have an overall poor reputation, a result of their dealings with otherworldly and often malevolent outsiders. However, not all warlocks are evil by nature and may use such deadly gifts for more benign purposes. How far the warlock goes to fulfilling their pact is entirely up to them, though corruption is an ever-present danger for warlocks of all stripes.
Likewise, many warlocks make pacts with several creatures, rather than just one, in order to access even more power, though all warlocks must eventually favor one pact over all the others. Like sorcerers many warlocks come from a supernatural bloodline and it has been said that warlocks are "born, not made." This is not true for all warlocks, though many do indeed come from fiendish bloodlines. Those that aren't are still often touched by destiny in some special way, sought out by powerful extraplanar forces as tools and minions, altering their soul and giving them supernatural abilities beyond the ken of most mortals.
These forces behold warlocks to their power, though some break away from the chains of their servitude to forge their own destiny. More often, warlocks, by choice or by circumstance, become much like cruel and capricious beings they serve. Tieflings and others of fiendish blood are powerfully drawn to the ways of the warlock and are among the most common to take the path. Humans, thanks in large part to their capacity for ambition, also breed many warlocks, hoping to find a path to power that does not take them a significant portion of their short lifespans. Half-orcs are also commonly warlocks, in part because the powers that choose to give patronage to warlocks do not discriminate between them and other, more "purebred" races.
Warlocks have varying views of those who differ from them, in part because of their outsider place in society. Generally, warlocks view other arcanists through a lense of bitter rivalry but many have a healthy respect for fighters' strength or clever rogues. Few warlocks get along well with practitioners of divine magic, in part due to their dealings with unholy powers, but warlocks rarely try to deliberately upset allies who could prove useful, which includes healing clerics.
Taken from the [realms Wiki]
Roleplaying tips
How a Warlock is played varies from person to person, but here are some tips that apply to everyone.
- If you are aiming to keep your identity as a Warlock a secret, be careful about using your invocations. You never know who might know enough about Warlock magic to identify you.
- If your identity as a Warlock is openly flaunted, prepare to be shunned in character. Yes, even neutral Feylocks.
- A devil-pact Warlock would usually be a lawful character and/or have been given some kind of code to follow by the one they made the pact with. A demon-pact Warlock on the other hand would usually be a chaotic character. These tend to be the ones who flaunt their power openly.
- Swearing fealty to X isn't the same as worshiping X. This means that you can still worship your previous deity.
- You should know X's doctrines. But there will be a difference between the "believers" in those doctrines (more like worshippers), and those who follow the doctrines because of a pact (more or less willingly).
- Hence, there will be a difference between being devoted to X (these characters will most likely blossom), and those reluctant or even defiant. The latter will most probably be mentally and spiritually corrupted (comparable to necromancers). They wanted the benefits of the pact, but are not 100% willing to pay the very high price for it.
- At the very least, it is necessary to roleplay a significant influence from the pact. Believers will blossom from it. Those who did it for other reasons will most likely constantly run into problems wherever there is a conflict between the deity he/she serves and the doctrines of X.
Warlock roleplay can be seen as a triangle of conflict between the one you make the pact with, your deity and your own selfish (and/or your community's) interests.
Mechanical Information
The Warlock is a subclass of the Bard. To become a Warlock, a character starts life as a Bard (see the link for requirements), but then makes a pact with an Abyssal, Infernal or Fey entity to draw on its power. You will have to find the NPC( to make such a pact with in game: the information is deliberately not documented. This pact will not make any alignment changes to a character.
Note: Bard does not have to be the 1st class taken. It can be characters that multiclass later to bard.
- "To become a Warlock you simply need Bard levels. Your Bard levels become your Warlock levels."
- Mithreas
Warlock class abilities
A Warlock is identical to a bard, except that the Bard Song ability is removed (note that Curse Song is useless without Bard Song). The PC instead gets a Warlock Staff that lets them cast their Eldritch Blast and a few other invocations, depending on their Warlock (Bard) class level. Bard spells are still acquired when more Warlock levels are gained.
A Warlock may use any invocations they possess at will, i.e. there is no per-day limit.
| Level | Infernal/Abyssal Pact | Fey Pact |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eldritch Blast | Eldritch Blast |
| 6 | Displacement | Displacement |
| 11 | Chain Blast | Chain Blast |
| 14 | Animate Dead | Dominate Person |
| 17 | Wall of Fire | Mind Fog |
| 21 | Sphere Blast | Sphere Blast |
| 26 | Gate | Dominate Monster |
- Eldritch Blast: Long range. Make a ranged touch attack to hit. The blast will do 1d6 damage per 2 class levels (rounded up).
- Displacement: As spell. The caster level is warlock/bard class level.
- Chain Blast: The Chain Blast is an upgraded Eldritch Blast which has a very long range. As long as the Warlock keeps hitting with their ranged touch attack, their Chain Blast will hit as many targets as are within its area of effect.
- Animate Dead: As spell.
- Dominate Person: As spell.
- Wall of Fire: As spell.
- Mind Fog: As spell.
- Sphere Blast: The Sphere Blast is an upgraded Eldritch Blast which automatically hits the intended location, causing a large explosion. All hostile creatures in the area are hit, though they may attempt a reflex save for half damage (Evasion works as usual).
- Gate: As spell.
Spell focuses in Necromancy affect the Animate Dead invocation as usual. Spell focuses in Enchantment affect the Dominate invocations as usual. The base DC for domination spells is 10 + charisma modifier + half Warlock class level.
Metamagic feats have no effect. (Sadly. So if you want to be able to fight as well, Greensteel is suggested.)
Eldritch Blast
By default, the Eldritch Blast does magical damage. The Warlock can change this by using their staff to bring up a conversation. Available damage types vary by pact and level.
| Level | Infernal/Abyssal Pact | Fey Pact |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Magic | Magic |
| 4 | Fire | Cold |
| 8 | Acid | Electrical |
| 12 | Negative | Positive |
| 16 | Brimstone | Rimestone |
| 20 | Vitriolic | Stunning |
| 24 | Unholy | Holy |
So a level 12 Warlock can choose any of the 4 basic damage types. Definitions of the higher level blasts are as follows:
- Brimstone: The Fire blast now blinds for one round in addition to doing damage, fortitude save negates.
- Rimestone: The Cold blast now slows for one round in addition to doing damage, fortitude save negates.
- Vitriolic: The Acid blast now poisons hostile victims in addition to doing damage, fortitude save negates.
- Stunning: The Lightning blast now dazes for one round in addition to doing damage, fortitude save negates.
- Holy: The Positive blast now heals non-undead allies in the area of effect (or who are hit by it) as well as harming foes.
- Unholy: The Negative blast now heals undead allies in the affected area, and drains d3 temporary levels from foes as well as damaging them.
Spell resistance works as normal against an Eldritch Blast, and the Warlock's spell penetration feats are counted. Spell mantles, however, are ignored (this is a pragmatic decision for ease of implementation, and may well change in a future update). The Eldritch Blast does not have a school or spell level, and thus spell immunity effects are ignored. The save DC for an Eldritch Blast (relevant for Blast Shape only) is 10 + half class level + charisma modifier. The Eldritch Blast is subject to Arcane Spell Failure.
Notes
- The Eldritch Blast does not support critical hits (just like with other spells in NWN, and unlike in PnP).
- Its strength increases also during epic levels.
- Damage-increasing effects do not affect the blast (divine favor or an essence on the Warlock Scepter, for example).