Post/Author/DateTime	Post
John_of_Ark 06-27-07, 03:10 AM	I'm looking for advice from anyone who is familiar with the class, especially those who play one regularly. What are your favorite invocations? My warlock is a gnome and only level one so far, so I have no idea what will and will not be useful. The only invocation I am 100% sure to pick up is the one where you turn into a swarm of bats, just because it sounds really cool :D. Thanks in advance. -John
periscope 06-27-07, 03:50 AM	I'm looking for advice from anyone who is familiar with the class, especially those who play one regularly. What are your favorite invocations? My warlock is a gnome and only level one so far, so I have no idea what will and will not be useful. The only invocation I am 100% sure to pick up is the one where you turn into a swarm of bats, just because it sounds really cool :D. Thanks in advance. -John I wouldnt advise it, as that is one of the subpar ones, though if you want to for flavor purposes, I could see that. One is vitriolic blast as it lets you bypass SR. This is crucial against golems as it actually lets you hit them without having to convert the EB to a supernatural ability (I heard there are a couple ways to do this, not sure how myself). Another is the lesser one that grants you 24 hour flight. Its just mandatory to pick it up as it saves you gold, and you have 24 hour flight, around the time the wizard is picking up the fly spell. another is the one that acts like Evards Black tentacles, great for battlefield control.
zae 06-27-07, 04:03 AM	Fell Flight: If the game isn't inside a dungeon, this can be really handy. Chilling Tentacles: I love the battlefield control available here. Either of the dispelling options. Heck, you HAVE to pick the second one if you take Dark Discorporation (the bats), because it takes a full round action to turn back to normal. Except you can't take full round actions in swarm form. So you can't change back and have to spend a full 24 hours in that form. But use the second dispel option (a standard action) and you CAN. You even gain HP out of the deal. Complete Mage has some nice ones. The one that duplicates Nightmare Terrain is fantastic for battlefield control, hiding, confusing people in general and also just sounds very eerie. Dark One's Own Luck is handy for boosting either your Fort or Ref save (or ensuring that your Will save is amazing).
Ariath Ska'Vhor 06-27-07, 06:43 AM	There's one in Cityscape I really like. I don't remember what it's called...Hellish Whispers or something... But it's really cool because it acts like suggestion (and suggestion at will aint bad) and if they fail another save (with a -5 penalty) they believe it was their idea. My warlock who is the party face will be getting that one shortly.
Mordar 06-27-07, 07:16 AM	chilling tentatles, fell flight, eldricht spear, eldricht glaive, vitriolic blast those five are almost if not mandatory
The_Vortex 06-27-07, 07:34 AM	Depens on the role you are planning to take in the group.. for faces, especially at low levels, Beguiling Influence is REALLY great!
Necroramo 06-27-07, 10:30 AM	It depends on what you want to do If you want to get in the fray, stuff like hideous blow, eldritch glaive (I actually don't have the sourcebook for that, but I'm assuming it is another melee-ish thing), eldritch doom, curse of despair, enervating shadow and retributive invisibility are nice. If you want to be a battlefield controller/blaster, fun can be found in combining Chilling Tentacles with an Eldritch Cone enhanced with repelling blast. Utterdark blast is very nice combined with Eldritch Cone/Chain, and vitriolic blast is more or less essential due to a warlock being totally inept at penetrating SR/damaging golems. Other fun ones include entropic warding, walk unseen (until you get the good version), hitting someone with beshadowed blast over and over and over, and flee the scene. The Dead Walk is really helpful, and if you are willing to chip in some onyx gems you suddenly have an army. If you can afford Tomb-Tainted Soul (so you don't get nuked by the negative energy pulse) and have a Dread Necromancer in your party, this can be really awesome, but still rules even without that. But what really rocks is.... Word of Changing. Like everyone else said, constantly having the ability to fly around is obviously really good, and the spiderwalk thing is really nice until you get that
Soltares 06-27-07, 01:07 PM	Spider Walk and the Shatter Word one are my two first picks, and usually I try to get the fearful Blast one as well to debuff targets while I snipe at them (from as far up a tree / wall I can get, to avoid melee, move 15' up a wall, and attack with EB is a viable 1st level tactic!). Once I get access to Fell Flight, I drop Spider Walk and replace it with something else. Some people swear by Summon Swarm, but it's not my favorite. Drow of the Underdark has a Lesser Invocation that causes a Spider Swarm to erupt from anything you've killed with an Eldritch Blast, but the Swarm has bonuses based on your caster level and is under your mental control. That's a sweet one. Walk Unseen is nice, as is Vitriolic Blast and Eldritch Cone. I'm not a fan of Chilling Tentacles, simply because the base spell (Evard's Black Tentacles) is such a p.i.t.a to use, but there's no denying that it's powerful and effective! Point-Blank Shot and Precise Shot are my first feat picks. Empower Spell-like Ability and Quicken Spell-like Ability are also faves. I'm not as big a fan of Ability Focus (EB) since I don't use the save-inducing EBs as much. If I did, it would be a priority.
zavin87 06-27-07, 01:22 PM	I'm suprised noone has mentioned Baleful Utterance, Shatter at will is pretty useful.
goawayugh 06-27-07, 01:28 PM	Besides a lot of the ones already mentioned (fell flight, vitriolic blast, ...), I would also say Darkness and Devil's sight.
John_of_Ark 06-27-07, 02:11 PM	Thanks, this has been a great help so far. I want to be up close with the rogue and fighter, but if things go to plan I shouldn't actually be in melee. I also want to be the face for the party. I know I'm taking Fell Flight and the invisibility one because they're incredibly useful, and I guess I'll grab beguiling influence until I have more ranks in bluff. I'm afraid I don't know what Evard's Black Tentacles do, but battlefield control sounds right up my alley, so I'll check it out after I get my books back. One last thing, where can I find the quicken spell-like ability and maximize spell-like ability feats? Those sound pretty useful, and unless I missed them, they weren't in the PHB or complete arcane. Thanks. -John
MarrowMage 06-27-07, 02:14 PM	I'm suprised noone has mentioned Baleful Utterance, Shatter at will is pretty useful. i agree completely, baleful utterance is always my first pick, i just shatter my enemy's weapon and laugh as they try to punch everyone
MarrowMage 06-27-07, 02:15 PM	Thanks, this has been a great help so far. I want to be up close with the rogue and fighter, but if things go to plan I shouldn't actually be in melee. I also want to be the face for the party. I know I'm taking Fell Flight and the invisibility one because they're incredibly useful, and I guess I'll grab beguiling influence until I have more ranks in bluff. I'm afraid I don't know what Evard's Black Tentacles do, but battlefield control sounds right up my alley, so I'll check it out after I get my books back. One last thing, where can I find the quicken spell-like ability and maximize spell-like ability feats? Those sound pretty useful, and unless I missed them, they weren't in the PHB or complete arcane. Thanks. -John those feats can be found in the monster manual
goawayugh 06-27-07, 02:42 PM	Quicken Spell-Like Ability (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsterFeats.htm#quickenSpellLikeAbility )
grey_death666 06-27-07, 03:23 PM	If I remeber correctly they are any and all monster manuals And another good invocation is Wall of Perilous Flame I like useing it with Chilling Tentacles Cooked Frozen and Crushed all at once
navar100 06-27-07, 10:05 PM	Eldritch Spear - I learned the hard way a warlock really, really wants this. Sometimes all you want to do or can do is blast away but even then the enemy is too far away. Even at the higher levels where you could get Chain or Cone, for multiple oponents, you're still going to want to hit that one guy up to 250 feet away. Fell Flight - 24 hour flying. Primo. Great synergy with Eldritch Spear but for its own use provides great flexibility for strategic movement. Walk The Unseen - 24 hour invisibility. It goes away when you attack but you can just become invisible again next action. Flee The Scene - At will mini-Dimension Door. Should be obvious.
The Tinkerer 06-27-07, 11:12 PM	At low levels summon swarm at will can be a life saver. 1d6 area affect, with no save, damage plus other effects really cant be beat at first level. The only real drawback is the swarms can turn on you but since the invocation has a duration of concentration it's a free action to dispel it. In the current game I'm in my warlock has been using it as a rogue detector while we've been working our way through an underground thieves guild hideout. We open a door and if it looks like there's lots of places for rogues to lie in hiding I summon a bat swarm, who have blind sense, and it attacks the nearest warm blooded creature. If it comes after me I just end the spell and now know there's no living thing in the room. This does leave me vulnerable to any number of other enemies the swarms won't go after but it's not really an issue in this location. During our initial foray into the hideout I was attacked by a crocodile in a cave at the bottom of a well. One rat swarm and the croc was dead a few rounds later with me not even being touched. Thank goodness for low intelligence animal enemies. Also remember that anytime a warlock gains a new invocation they can swap out another one for the same level or lower. Unlike sorcerers who can only do so when they gain a new spell level.
Archangel62 06-27-07, 11:27 PM	I'm suprised noone has mentioned Baleful Utterance, Shatter at will is pretty useful. I agree, in one of my campaigns the warlock has come up with a unique method of interrogation and combat, he shatters clothing, primarily pants and undergarments. If near an area that is moderately patrolled he then screams that some crazy is running arond with no pants on and is violating decency laws.
Oliver D'Argent 06-27-07, 11:53 PM	I'm surprised that See the Unseen has not yet been mentioned - 24 hrs of 60' Darkvision and the ability to see invisible objects and creatures.
John_of_Ark 06-28-07, 03:17 AM	I agree, in one of my campaigns the warlock has come up with a unique method of interrogation and combat, he shatters clothing, primarily pants and undergarments. If near an area that is moderately patrolled he then screams that some crazy is running arond with no pants on and is violating decency laws. :eek: I always thought shatter only worked on stuff like metal and rock, not cloth? If it does, I could have a ton of fun with this spell. Breaking people's gear sounds pretty useful too, I love the image of shattering someone's weapon in their hand. Thanks for the input. -John
klode_me 06-28-07, 07:59 AM	Vitriolic Blast and eldritch glaive is a great combo... Full-attack actions as melee touch attacks eldrith blast damage(although acid) which ignores SR on every attack... Oh, yea and until the start of your next turn you also threaten nearby squares with your eldritch glaive and these are also resolved as melee touch attacks... Cheers
Genetic 06-28-07, 09:25 AM	:eek: I always thought shatter only worked on stuff like metal and rock, not cloth? If it does, I could have a ton of fun with this spell. Breaking people's gear sounds pretty useful too, I love the image of shattering someone's weapon in their hand. Thanks for the input. -John Also good for shattering the focuses of divine spellcasters. If they don't have it, they can't cast. :)
Weirgreif 07-03-07, 02:53 PM	:eek: I always thought shatter only worked on stuff like metal and rock, not cloth? If it does, I could have a ton of fun with this spell. Breaking people's gear sounds pretty useful too, I love the image of shattering someone's weapon in their hand. Thanks for the input. From the D20 SRD: Shatter (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/shatter.htm). The method I was using to punish evildoers with non-enchanted pants was the second option: "Alternatively, you can target shatter against a single solid object, regardless of composition, weighing up to 10 pounds per caster level." There are magic shirts, magic hats, tons of magic swords... but make a fort save or be stunned because you feel a draft, slaver-king! (Shatter has range Close, so that would give you a mechanical reason to be near the melee fighters.) Likewise, Evard's Chilling Trauma (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/blackTentacles.htm) attempts to grapple and slows anyone who walks through the area. The warlock version does a small amount of cold damage too. It's handy mostly for the half-speed effect. Devil's Whispers from Cityscape is the one Ariath mentioned. It's a greater invocation, so you won't get it for some time. Question: is your charisma high? We can tell you ways to do things in combat without forcing the enemy to make saves.
maskimus 07-03-07, 03:38 PM	Noxious Blast. If they fail a Fort. save, they are nauseated for 1 min. So it's a save or die, if they haven't died from the initial damage of the blast.:D
Leo 07-03-07, 04:48 PM	No love for entropic warding? Nobody can track you and all ranged attacks have 20% miss chance is good I heard.
Empiro 07-03-07, 06:38 PM	Noxious Blast. If they fail a Fort. save, they are nauseated for 1 min. So it's a save or die, if they haven't died from the initial damage of the blast.:D I believe new editions of Complete Arcane have reduced this down to 1 round, though it doesn't appear in the errata. It's quite overpowered if it actually lasted 1 min.