Battle Warlock
"What do you mean there are too many of them?" -Unknown battle warlock just before his death
Background: Battle Warlocks aren't afraid of combat like other warlocks. They often charge in headlong ignoring dangers that make other warlocks shy away.
Races: Most Battle Warlocks are fey and devils. They can be found anywhere warlocks are found, but other races have been known to seek out the dark powers.
Other Classes: Battle Warlocks can be found with other warlocks, however they often find their counterparts to be more skidish than they like. Battle Warlocks admire any other caster willing to dive into battle and will gladly fight along side them as long as their viewpoints are similar.
Role: Battle Warlocks are light duty arcane casters that aren't afraid to commit to a fight they started.
Inspiration: Warlocks aren't charisma dependent like their description indicates. Tried to add a few abilities to increase their effectiveness and grant more invocations.
Basics:
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Alignment:Any although most Battle Warlocks tend to be chaotic
Hit Die:d8
Starting Gold: As Cleric
Starting Age: As Cleric
Class Skills:
The Battle Warlock’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill)
are Bluff (Cha), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Disguise
(Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge (arcana)
(Int), Knowledge (the planes) (Int), Knowledge (religion)
(Int), Profession (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), Spellcraft (Int),
and Use Magic Device (Cha).
Skill Points at the 1st level: (4+Int Modifier)x4
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 4+Int Modifier
Battle Warlock
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{table]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort|Ref|Will|Special| Invocations Known
1|0|0|0|2|Eldritch Blast 1d6, Invocation (Least)|1
2|1|0|0|3|Detect Magic|2
3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | Damage Reduction 1/Cold Iron Eldritch Blast 2d6 | 2
4 | 3 | 1 |1| 4 | Deceive Item |3
5| 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 |Energy Resistance (1st type), Eldritch Blast 3d6 | 3
6 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 5 | New Invocation (Least, Lesser) | 4
7 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 5 | Damage Reduction 2/Cold Iron, Eldritch Blast 4d6 | 4
8 | 6/1 |2 | 2 | 6 | Dexterous Combat, Fiendish Resilience 1 | 5
9 | 6/1 | 3 | 3 | 6 | Eldritch Blast 5d6 | 5
10 | 7/2 | 3 | 3 | 7 | Energy Resistance (2nd Type) | 6
11 | 8/3 | 3 | 3 | 7 | Damage Reduction 3/Cold Iron, Eldritch Blast 6d6, New Invocation (Least, Lesser or Greater) | 7
12 | 9/4 | 4 | 4 | 8 | Imbue Item | 7
13 | 9/4 | 4 | 4 | 8 | Eldritch Blast 7d6, Fiendish Resilience 2| 8
14| 10/5 | 4 | 4 | 9 | Masterful Blaster | 8
15 | 11/6/1 | 5 | 5 | 9 | Energy Resistance (3rd Type), Damage Reduction 4/Cold Iron, Eldritch Blast 8d6| 9
16 | 12/7/2 | 5 | 5 | 10 | New Invocation (Least, Lesser, Greater or Dark) | 10
17 | 12/7/2 | 5 | 5 | 10 | Wings, Eldritch Blast 9d6 | 10
18 | 13/8/3 | 6 | 6 | 11 | Fiendish Resilience 5 | 11
19 | 14/9/4 | 6 | 6 | 11 | Damage Reduction 5/Cold Iron, Eldritch Blast 10d6 | 11
20 | 15/10/5 | 6 | 6 |12 | Eldritch Blast 11d6, Intuitive Blast | 12
[/table]
Bonus Invocations:
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Battle Warlocks are granted bonus invocations known by their charisma score. See invocations for a further explanation.
{table] Score | Bonus Invocations | | |
| Least | Lesser | Greater | Dark
1-13 | - | - | - | -
14-15 | 1 | - | - | -
16-17 | 1 | - | - | -
18-19 | 1 | 1| - | -
20-21 | 1 | 1 | 1 | -
22-23 | 2 | 1 | 1 | -
24-25 | 2 | 1 | 1 | -
26-27 | 2 | 2 | 1 | -
28-29 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1
30-31 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1
32-33 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1
34-35 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1
36-37 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2
38-39| 4 | 3 | 3 | 2
40-41 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2
42-43 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2
44-45 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3
[/table]
Abilities:
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Abilities: Charisma is most important for a battle warlock. Battle warlock's invocation saves are based on charisma as well as bonus invocations known. Dexterity is the 2nd most important stat as it allows for the lightly armored battle warlock to gain more Armor Class and hit its opponent at a range. Strength lets a battle warlock hit his opponents at a close range and constitution may be useful for more hit points at each level since battle warlocks tend to wade into battle weapons swinging.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Battle warlocks are proficient with all simple weapons, longsword, longbow, light and medium armor but not shields. A battle warlock can use medium armor but many of its key abilities are only usable in light. Light armor does not interfere with a battle warlock's ability to cast so they suffer no arcane penalty while wearing it, while in medium armor the penalty is halved. This does not apply to any other arcane spells from taking another class.
Invocations: A battle warlock possesses invocations like that of a warlock and selects invocations available to warlocks. A battle warlock follows all the same rules for invocations unless otherwise noted. Additionally a battle warlock gains extra invocations based on the table below. Since a battle warlock gains bonus invocations for a high charisma score they do not have the ability to replace an invocation at each level how a warlock does. Bonus invocations are granted like bonus spells and are based off a character's base statistics. If a score increase grants additional invocations a battle warlock may retroactively learn any bonus invocations. Bonus invocations are not lost due to temporary score damage, however permanent score damage resulting in a loss of bonus invocations does remove them (this is done randomly unless the DM states otherwise).
Eldritch Blast (Sp): Same as warlocks unless otherwise noted. This ability cannot do more than 1d6 of damage if the battle warlock is wearing armor heavier than medium. It still incurs the arcane failure chance of any armor heavier than light.
Detect Magic (Sp): Beginning at the 2nd level a battle warlock can use detect magic as the spell at will. His caster level equals his class level
Damage Reduction (Su): Fortified by the supernatural power flowing through the body, a battle warlock becomes resistant to physical attacks at the 3rd level and above, gaining damage reduction 1/cold iron. At the 7th level and every four levels thereafter, a battle warlock's damage reduction improves as shown on the class table.
Deceive Item (Ex): At the 4th level and higher, a battle warlock has the ability to more easily commandeer magic items made for the use of others. When making a Use Magic Device check, one can take 10 even if distracted or threatened.
Energy Resistance (Su): At the 5th level, a battle warlock chooses an energy type and gains resistance 10 against that type. At 10th level and 15th level, the character gains resistance 10 against another energy type of its choosing.
Dexterous Combat (Su): At the 8th level a battle warlock hones his reflexes to the point he can now flow through even melee combat. The battle warlock can use either Strength or Dexterity for melee combat, whichever is higher. This applies to attack and damage.
Fiendish Resilience (Su): Beginning at the 8th level, a battle warlock knows the trick of fiendish resilience. Once per day, as a free action, he can enter a state that lasts for 2+charisma modifier minutes. While in this state the battle warlock gains fast healing 1.
At the 13th level, a battle warlock's fiendish resilience improves. When in his fiendish resilience state, he gains fast healing 2 instead. At the 18th level, a battle warlock's fiendish resilience improves to fast healing 5. This ability can not be used in armor heavier than medium, and while wearing medium armor its duration is 2+1/2 charisma modifier.
Imbue Item (Su): As the Imbue Item ability of the warlock.
Masterful Blaster (Su): At the 14th level a battle warlock becomes so used to using his eldritch blast it is able to apply 2 essence invocations at once. The combined spell level of the invocations cannot exceed the maximum spell level a battle warlock can cast (Eg. at level 14 the combined spell level cannot be greater than 6, at the 16th that limit is raised to 9). This ability cannot be used in any armor heavier than light.
Wings (Ex): At the 17th level, a battle warlock gains wings and can fly at a speed of 60 feet (good maneuverability). A good-aligned battle warlock grows feathered wings, and an evil-aligned favored soul gains bat wings. A battle warlock who is neither may choose either type of wings. If the battle warlock already has wings it moves up one step on the maneuverability scale.
Intuitive Blast (Su): A battle warlock becomes so adept at using eldritch blast it is able to overcome some spell resistance. A battle warlock now does half damage if it fails to bypass the target's spell resistance and deals double if it overcomes it. A target with no spell resistance only takes normal damage. This ability does not work if the caster wears armor heavier than light armor.
Homemade Invocations:
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Eldritch Assault:
Least; 1nd; Blast Shape
Your Eldritch Blast takes on physical substance, appearing similar to a longbow. As a full-round action, you can make a single ranged touch attack as if wielding a bow. If you hit, your target is affected as if struck by your eldritch blast (including any eldritch essence applied to the blast). Unlike hideous blow, you cannot combine your Eldritch Assualt with damage from a held weapon.
If your base attack bonus is +6 or higher, you can (as part of the full-round action) make as many attacks with your eldritch assualt as your base attack bonuse allows. For example, a 12th-level warlock could attack twice, once with a base attack bonus of +6, and again with a base attack bonus of +1.
Diminishing Blast
Lesser;4th; Essence
Your eldritch blast is infused with demonic power. This power has a lasting affect on the target and if struck it applies a damage over time effect. This effect does your blast damage minus a die of damage for every round it ticks. This means it does full damage when applied then one less die the next round, two less the second round, etc until no die are left. If the warlock hits the target with another blast before the effect is up the effect is canceled.
Other Stuff:
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This contains nothing of use for the class.
Warlocks seemed weak so I tried to add some more power but keep it balanced.
I combined the Favored Soul and Warlock templates for most of it.
I took away the warlock's energy resistance to 2 types of 10 in favor of the soul's resistance 5 to 3 things.
Increased the reliance/benefit of charisma greatly.
Kept invocations, removed Soul's spells. Kept standard progression for invocations, added a bonus invocations known off of charisma.
Worried about:
Intuitive Blast, its a capstone but might be a bit over the top.
Different ideas I didn't use:
Capstone ability allows 2 essence invocations to be applied instead of just 1.
Allow 2 essence invocations as a non-capstone ability around level 16.
