Melee-based Warlock variant: The Eldritch Warrior - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Melee-based Warlock variant: The Eldritch Warrior

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
morandirnailo
Jun 18, 2008 1:01:18 Note: this has changed since the initial posting; see post #6.

I was pretty cheesed off when I opened my shiny new 4e PHB and discovered that the Warlock has absolutely no melee powers at all; where are my Hideous Blow and Eldritch Glaive? Why is it that Rogues and Rangers can choose to use their powers in either melee or ranged combat, but not the Warlock? A load of crap, says I.

Fortunately, it seems pretty easy to remedy this. A melee-based Arcane Striker can be easily thrown together by making a few changes. To wit:

-Changed Ranged powers to Melee. Close, Personal, and Area powers remain unchanged.
-Change the attack format of the new Melee powers to Ability vs. AC. The ability stays the same.
-Change the Xdx+ability damage format to X[W]+ability. All other aspects of the power work the same.
-Change the Implement keyword for the new melee powers to the Weapon Keyword.
-Drop the Prime Shot feature. Since the Eldritch Warrior's Eldritch Blast ability can be used as a basic attack, and is a Melee attack now, s/he can make Opportunity Attacks with it, which replaces the Prime Shot feature.

This seems to work pretty well to me, but I'd like to know what you guys think. The only potential problem I see is the weapon damage, as choosing a high-damage weapon will up the average damage of the Warlock powers and throw balance off a bit. One fix would be to just keep the damage as-is, ignoring the weapon's normal damage. Alternatively, it could be described as an energy blade which originates from your wand or rod (yay lightsabers!); the type of weapon you form is a flavor choice. It would have a +2 proficiency bonus for melee attacks in this case.

Thoughts?

Mor
#2
dogbackward
Jun 18, 2008 3:46:35 Changing things from ranged to melee is a big deal, and a big drawback, so the added damage from using a bigger weapon should be fine. Besides, the weapons that Warlocks are proficient with (simple) aren't really the best damage-wise; not many deal more damage than the Warlock's powers anyway. I think it works just fine the way it is.

I'd lose the ability to use your weapon as an implement, though, and just replace the Implement keyword in the ranged-turned-to-melee powers with the Weapon keyword. That grants the proficiency bonus on those attacks without having to mess with wierd wording, and makes it so that a melee/area hybrid Warlock actually has to diversify a bit; getting botha n implement and a weapon, unless they take a Pact Blade.

Anyway, it looks good. Works best with the Infernal Warlock, obviously. I like it.
#3
aluman
Jun 18, 2008 18:41:35 I would remove the restriction on the curse. Unless you mean only damage 1 monster per round which is how it works now.

The Curse for a Warlock is different from the hunter's quarry or sneak attack damage for a rogue. The curse triggers the pact boon, which in turn gives them advantages.

Other than that I like it.
#4
morandirnailo
Jun 18, 2008 23:14:08 Aluman: Yeah, I was going for "damage one monster per round." I think you're right there; it makes sense to keep it as-is.

DogBackward: True enough. For some strange reason I had totally forgotten about the Pact Blade, so any Warlock who wants a weapon-implement can get one of those. In either case, I had meant to add the "change implement keyword to weapon" bit but forgot it when posting.

The question then is, what to do about Prime Shot? It's obviously meant for ranged attacks and doesn't fit here. Are there any other class features which fit?

Mor
#5
dogbackward
Jun 19, 2008 2:08:48 Well, actually, I think what you've done has unintentionally added something that can replace Prime Shot. Since Eldritch Blast is now a melee attack, and is also considered a basic attack... you can now use your Eldritch "Blast" for an Opportunity Attack. This should be enough to replace Prime Shot.
#6
morandirnailo
Jun 19, 2008 13:59:37 Yeah, that makes sense. Hadn't thought about the fact that you can OA with Eldritch Blast in this setup. Definitely a good replacement for Prime Shot (since that ability only comes in Paragon Tier for other classes). It's nice flavor-wise as well. I'm going to edit the first post to include the changes.

Mor

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 morandirnailo Jun 18, 2008 1:01:18	Note: this has changed since the initial posting; see post #6. I was pretty cheesed off when I opened my shiny new 4e PHB and discovered that the Warlock has absolutely no melee powers at all; where are my Hideous Blow and Eldritch Glaive? Why is it that Rogues and Rangers can choose to use their powers in either melee or ranged combat, but not the Warlock? A load of crap, says I. Fortunately, it seems pretty easy to remedy this. A melee-based Arcane Striker can be easily thrown together by making a few changes. To wit: -Changed Ranged powers to Melee. Close, Personal, and Area powers remain unchanged. -Change the attack format of the new Melee powers to Ability vs. AC. The ability stays the same. -Change the Xdx+ability damage format to X[W]+ability. All other aspects of the power work the same. -Change the Implement keyword for the new melee powers to the Weapon Keyword. -Drop the Prime Shot feature. Since the Eldritch Warrior's Eldritch Blast ability can be used as a basic attack, and is a Melee attack now, s/he can make Opportunity Attacks with it, which replaces the Prime Shot feature. This seems to work pretty well to me, but I'd like to know what you guys think. The only potential problem I see is the weapon damage, as choosing a high-damage weapon will up the average damage of the Warlock powers and throw balance off a bit. One fix would be to just keep the damage as-is, ignoring the weapon's normal damage. Alternatively, it could be described as an energy blade which originates from your wand or rod (yay lightsabers!); the type of weapon you form is a flavor choice. It would have a +2 proficiency bonus for melee attacks in this case. Thoughts? Mor
#2 dogbackward Jun 18, 2008 3:46:35	Changing things from ranged to melee is a big deal, and a big drawback, so the added damage from using a bigger weapon should be fine. Besides, the weapons that Warlocks are proficient with (simple) aren't really the best damage-wise; not many deal more damage than the Warlock's powers anyway. I think it works just fine the way it is. I'd lose the ability to use your weapon as an implement, though, and just replace the Implement keyword in the ranged-turned-to-melee powers with the Weapon keyword. That grants the proficiency bonus on those attacks without having to mess with wierd wording, and makes it so that a melee/area hybrid Warlock actually has to diversify a bit; getting botha n implement and a weapon, unless they take a Pact Blade. Anyway, it looks good. Works best with the Infernal Warlock, obviously. I like it.
#3 aluman Jun 18, 2008 18:41:35	I would remove the restriction on the curse. Unless you mean only damage 1 monster per round which is how it works now. The Curse for a Warlock is different from the hunter's quarry or sneak attack damage for a rogue. The curse triggers the pact boon, which in turn gives them advantages. Other than that I like it.
#4 morandirnailo Jun 18, 2008 23:14:08	Aluman: Yeah, I was going for "damage one monster per round." I think you're right there; it makes sense to keep it as-is. DogBackward: True enough. For some strange reason I had totally forgotten about the Pact Blade, so any Warlock who wants a weapon-implement can get one of those. In either case, I had meant to add the "change implement keyword to weapon" bit but forgot it when posting. The question then is, what to do about Prime Shot? It's obviously meant for ranged attacks and doesn't fit here. Are there any other class features which fit? Mor
#5 dogbackward Jun 19, 2008 2:08:48	Well, actually, I think what you've done has unintentionally added something that can replace Prime Shot. Since Eldritch Blast is now a melee attack, and is also considered a basic attack... you can now use your Eldritch "Blast" for an Opportunity Attack. This should be enough to replace Prime Shot.
#6 morandirnailo Jun 19, 2008 13:59:37	Yeah, that makes sense. Hadn't thought about the fact that you can OA with Eldritch Blast in this setup. Definitely a good replacement for Prime Shot (since that ability only comes in Paragon Tier for other classes). It's nice flavor-wise as well. I'm going to edit the first post to include the changes. Mor