Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Jokken 07-11-05, 07:28 PM	Can a Warlock manifest an Eldrich Blast without releasing it?
necrosnoop110 07-11-05, 09:30 PM	I would say no. It is a ray and manifesting it is by defintion releasing it. Cheers, Necro PS - What are you trying to do? If you let us know we might be able to find another way.
Lathi 07-11-05, 11:08 PM	I would guess he's probably intending to manifest the blob of energy around his hands to show off, to otherwise be dramatic, or to intimidate someone (like holding them at gunpoint). While the attack itself is certainly a ray or beam, all of the art shows the warlock's hands surrounded with an aura of energy from which the ray emanates. And since the text doesn't say how long you can take to aim and fire the blast (as opposed to the bare minimum time it takes to ready one up) or that you have to release it at all, I would say that for such a situation it should be allowed and subsumed into the appropriate roll(s). Though if he means to use the effect as an attack, of course he'd have to have the Hideous Blow invocation to get any use out of it. Though come to think of it, the fact that HB is even possible means that you can manifest the energy w/o firing it off. Unless the DM rules that a whiffed attack using HB still discharges and blasts a hole in the ground/wall/whatever.
Rheitheillaethor 07-12-05, 02:43 AM	I would guess he's probably intending to manifest the blob of energy around his hands to show off, to otherwise be dramatic, or to intimidate someone (like holding them at gunpoint). While the attack itself is certainly a ray or beam, all of the art shows the warlock's hands surrounded with an aura of energy from which the ray emanates. And since the text doesn't say how long you can take to aim and fire the blast (as opposed to the bare minimum time it takes to ready one up) or that you have to release it at all, I would say that for such a situation it should be allowed and subsumed into the appropriate roll(s). Though if he means to use the effect as an attack, of course he'd have to have the Hideous Blow invocation to get any use out of it. Though come to think of it, the fact that HB is even possible means that you can manifest the energy w/o firing it off. Unless the DM rules that a whiffed attack using HB still discharges and blasts a hole in the ground/wall/whatever. In our game I asked my DM to consider the act of "concentrating to gather a glob of energy" to be the somatic component for the blasts. Of course that doesn't mean he could use it while grappled, it's just for the show off of the the thing. I've been thinking about the intimidating stuff too, and we still haven't come up to a situtation where I could use it like this. If we do, I'll tell you what happened :D
Jokken 07-12-05, 02:22 PM	Yes my intention is to use it for intimadation purposes. Thank all of you for your responses.
Puca 07-12-05, 02:33 PM	I would have to say no then because you are, I assume, trying to get a circumstance bonus to your intimidate check. (Or say yes you can, but specify that youll get no quantifiable bonus.)
Rheitheillaethor 07-13-05, 03:20 AM	I would have to say no then because you are, I assume, trying to get a circumstance bonus to your intimidate check. (Or say yes you can, but specify that youll get no quantifiable bonus.) Well I think this depends heavily on the situation, and the DM should decide that. After all, the warlock can indeed release the ray above the head, shoulder, on the floor, or wall near the person being intimidated round after round... If he would get a circumstance bonus is totally up the DM depending on the ... circumstance :-)
Wraith_313 07-13-05, 06:32 PM	A guy in a campaign I play in does that all the time. I dont think he expects circumstance bonuses, he just does it for effect, he says energy crackles around his arm or something. Our DM allows it. I would say if you were expecting a bonus out of it, it shouldnt be allowed, but just for effect, sure, why not. Thats the way I see it anyway.