Warlock
NWN Requirements
- Base Class: Bard
- Arelith allows lawful bards, and therefore allow lawful warlocks.
- Infernal warlocks require non-chaotic non-good.
- Abyssal warlocks require non-lawful non-good.
- Fey warlock non-good.
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 warlocks. All the available pacts are made with dangerous and evil otherworldly beings.
- 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.
- Good/accidental/forced Warlock RP is not supported. All Arelith Warlocks have taken their pact voluntarily. The circumstances of this choice remain at the player's discretion.
- For Arelith's purposes, every character with a Warlock pact makes the choice to pact, for whatever reason. -DM Watchtower
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, but then makes a pact with an Abyssal, Infernal or Fey entity to draw on its power. You can either find the NPC in-game that offers the pact, or you can take the pact on character creation.
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 similar to a Bard, with the following changes:
- Bard Song is disabled (note that Curse Song is useless without Bard Song)
- Bardic Knowledge is disabled
- Hit Die changed to d8 (8HP/lvl)
- Warlock Resilience (seen below)
- Arcane Spell Failure for Armor and Shields is reduced by 20%
- Warlocks may cast unlimited spells from a pre-selected list, based on their pact (regardless of which spells are chosen at level up, only those from the Warlock spell list will be available)
- A Ranged Touch Attack must be made for any spell cast against a hostile opponent, and successful hits will inflict Eldritch Blast damage (Charm Person, Dominate Person, and Darkness will not inflict damage)
Warlock Eldritch Blast
When a spell is cast directly on a hostile opponent, Eldritch Blast damage of 1d4/level is dealt to the target, along with the spell effect. While an AoE spell may affect multiple opponents, Eldritch Blast damage is dealt only to the target of the spell. Spell Resistance checks are made separately for the base spell and Eldritch Blast damage, meaning that one may penetrate while the other is blocked.
Using Eldritch Blast will cause the Warlock's eyes to glow. Spells may be cast on the ground to avoid making a Ranged Touch Attack and activating eye glow.
The damage types listed below may be selected by using the -warlock console command.
| Level | Fiendish/Abyssal Pact | Fey Pact |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Magic | Magic |
| 4 | Fire | Cold |
| 8 | Acid | Electrical |
| 12 | Negative | Positive |
Warlock Resilience
As a Warlock advances in level, she or he becomes more resilient against attacks, gaining resistance to damage types which vary by pact.
Warning: Elemental Damage Reduction from Warlock Resilience will not stack with Damage Reduction gained from the Gift of Hardiness.
| Level | Fiendish/Abyssal Pact | Fey Pact |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | Uncanny Dodge, 5/- DR vs Fire/Acid | Uncanny Dodge, 5/- DR vs Cold/Electrical |
| 20 | 5/- DR vs Physical, 10/- DR vs Fire/Acid | 5/- DR vs Physical, 10/- DR vs Cold/Electrical |
| 30 | 10/- DR vs Physical, 15/- DR vs Fire/Acid | 10/- DR vs Physical, 15/- DR vs Cold/Electrical |
Warlock Spell List
Warlocks may use the following spells with unlimited castings and no cooldown.
| Level | Fiendish/Abyssal | Fey Pact |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Flare (0), Light (0) | Daze (0), Light (0) |
| 2 | Summon Creature (1), Lesser Dispel (1) | Sleep (1), Expeditious Retreat (1) |
| 3 | Balagarn's Iron Horn (1) | Mage Armor (1) |
| 4 | Bull's Strength (2) | Tasha's Hideous Laughter (2) |
| 5 | Resistance (0), Grease (1) | Cure Minor Wounds (0) |
| 6 | Protection from Alignment (1) | Charm Person (1) |
| 7 | Bestow Curse (3) | Displacement (3) |
| 8 | Summon Creature (2) | Hold Person (2) |
| 9 | Darkness (2) | Ghostly Visage (2) |
| 10 | Dismissal (4) | Hold Monster (4) |
| 11 | Ultravision (2), Gust of Wind (3) | Invisibility (2), Cloud of Bewilderment (2) |
| 12 | Summon Creature (3) | Slow (3) |
| 13 | See Invisibility (2) | Mind Fog (5), Charm Monster (3) |
| 14 | Dispel Magic (3), Eagles Splendor (2) | Dispel Magic (3), Eagles Splendor (2) |
| 15 | Fear (3) | Haste (3) |
| 16 | Energy Buffer (6) | Energy Buffer (6) |
| 17 | Summon Creature (4) | Dominate Person (4) |
| 18 | Cat's Grace (2) | Improved Invisibility (4) |
| 19 | War Cry (4) | Confusion (3) |
| 20 | Summon Creature (5) | Mass Haste (6) |
| 22 | Greater Dispelling (5) | Greater Dispelling (5) |
| 25 | Summon Creature (6) | Dirge (6) |
| 28 | Ice Storm (6) | Ethereal Visage (5) |
Fiendish/Abyssal Summons
Fiendish and Abyssal Warlocks will summon alternate creatures with the Summon Creature line of spells.
Greater Spell Focus: Conjuration will cause the Warlock to summon a creature one "level" higher than normal, and enable a more powerful version of the Warlock's final summon.
| Level | Spell | Fiendish | Abyssal |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Summon Creature I | Worg | Worg |
| 8 | Summon Creature II | Imp | Quasit |
| 12 | Summon Creature III | Erinyes | Succubus |
| 17 | Summon Creature IV | Osyluth | Vrock |
| 21 | Summon Creature V | Greater Osyluth | Greater Vrock |
| 25 | Summon Creature VI | Pit Fiend | Balor |
| Summon Creature VI + GSF:Conj | Greater Pit Fiend | Balor Lord |