Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 lyinginbedmon Jan 20, 2013 21:06:03	So after a fairly long hiatus from the hobby, I'll be enjoying the company of a group of new D&D players in a largely 3.5E game. We number 4, with a Ranger, a Fighter, a Rogue, and myself. As the easily most experienced among us, I'm endeavouring to ply my trade as the arcane master, and the DM has okayed the rolling of a Warlock (c. Complete Arcane). With a ranged spell-like damage ability like the Warlock's eldritch blast, and our total lack of healing magic, I'm expecting to be called upon either as the primary tank (ideally ranged, given the d6 hit dice) or the closest thing to a healer, so I'm in the market for any way to effectively deal large volumes of damage. I contemplated methods of causing Constitution damage but I'm having trouble finding methods for such as a Warlock, though I'm fairly certain I did so once with a villain when I DMed games a few years back. We start from level 1, in a hopefully casual game but potentially the DM will accidentally screw us over, so I'm hoping to be an effective combatant from there.
#2 aelryinth Jan 20, 2013 21:11:02	A warlock is a horrible tank character. The only way to deal regular is a Glaivelock, where you exploit turning your blast into a weapon for Touch Attacks + Power Attack. It definitely doesn't work at range. Now if you want ranged attack power, you're looking for rules loopholes with Hellfire Warlock and the PH2 Weapon classes that supposedly can tack onto 'any' class, and gain +2d6 per level for every level of the class. Good luck getting your DM to agree with that, however....if it works, you get a level in Binder, grab Naberious, and simply heal the Con damage every round as your overcharged Hellfire Blast goes off. Tempest has a bunch of ranged attackers who do good damage in his recent series of character builds, you might want to look at them.  ==Aelryinth
#3 Maat_Mons Jan 20, 2013 22:15:44	Taking the mortal bane feat (Book of Vile Darkness) would let you deal +2d6 damage with your eldritch blast 5/day. If you're using Magic of Incarnum, the DM might let the arcane focus soulmeld or the sighting gloves soulmeld apply to eldritch blast. If so, you could play as an azurin with the shape soulmeld feat for +2 damage at 1st level.
#4 Tempest_Stormwind Jan 20, 2013 23:13:50	So after a fairly long hiatus from the hobby, I'll be enjoying the company of a group of new D&D players in a largely 3.5E game. We number 4, with a Ranger, a Fighter, a Rogue, and myself. As the easily most experienced among us, I'm endeavouring to ply my trade as the arcane master, and the DM has okayed the rolling of a Warlock (c. Complete Arcane). A warlock is not an arcane master in any sense of the term - if you focus on Eldritch Blast, he's best thought of as an archer (who happens to use magic instead of arrows). With a ranged spell-like damage ability like the Warlock's eldritch blast, and our total lack of healing magic, Just a note: Not a problem. I'm expecting to be called upon either as the primary tank (ideally ranged, given the d6 hit dice) or the closest thing to a healer, Warlocks can't "tank" in the traditional sense of the term. The best way to handle that in 3.5 is to make sure the enemy can't act, or if they can, that they act on your terms. Warlocks can sort of do this, but not until the later levels (Chilling Tentacles spam, for instance). As for healer, not needed. At the lowest levels, the fighter is your meat shield; focus on using bows and your blast to end fights before they get to melee range. Between 2-4, pool your money to buy a healing belt and/or a wand of cure light wounds (which the ranger can use without a check) or lesser vigor (which you and the rogue can use with Use Magic Device). so I'm in the market for any way to effectively deal large volumes of damage. Concentrating on damage will weaken you on all of the other fronts and won't really be all that necessary early on (warlocks get plenty on their own until around level 5 or so, which is also when they "peak" - when they're at their strongest relative to other characters and the monsters of that CR). After that, you can't really focus on damage while still occupying enemy attention. Thankfully, warlocks do one far better than the other if you try. Hellfire Warlock is the usual one-stop shop for warlock damage, but it's limited. Aelryinth hints at the usual workaround (but got the source wrong): Hellfire Warlock deals +2d6 damage per class level, and caps at level 3. To extend that, you usually grab levels in uncanny trickster (complete scoundrel) or legacy champion (weapons of legacy), which advance effective level in any other class, to advance your effective hellfire warlock level beyond 3. It's possible to get around 22d6 per blast this way. Of course that's kind of one-dimensional, but then again, so is the warlock... If you need a secondary focus outside of damage, you'll probably be using one level of Binder to compensate for the costs of throwing out Hellfire Blasts (namely, a pact with Naberius) and that also gets you most of the way to being a pretty convincing speaker as well. Max out Diplomacy and grab Beguiling Influence and you'll be a natural party face (half of the team doesn't need Charisma and the rogue may as well focus on other areas). I contemplated methods of causing Constitution damage but I'm having trouble finding methods for such as a Warlock, though I'm fairly certain I did so once with a villain when I DMed games a few years back. I can't think of a specific warlock-only way to do this, but then again, they do get Use Magic Device. Casting Bloodstar (Libris Mortis) would do that.
#5 StevenO Jan 20, 2013 23:23:30	Although it is not "optimal" I've always wanted to try a Warlock/Cleric/Eldritch Disciple (CMage) build and I can see it going a little heavier into either side.  Of course the scary way to do ED is with Ur-Priest but that's one more book.
#6 Andarious-Rosethorn Jan 20, 2013 23:29:34	Glaive-Lock may do the trick you're looking to do. With your book options. Consider the most potent features you've got access to for accomplishing almost anything, Use Magic Device (and some bonus's to using it, as a class feature). All said and done Warlock's a somwhat weak class, even compared to core. You get a single attack/round (unless getting into eldritch glaive), the attack does less damage than a single attack from a Rogue for example. While a Warlock gets plenty of neat tricks for utility, it certainly doesn't compare in raw power to any of the core casters. It's got staying power for its tricks though, and that can be good (if a bit repetative). At the end of the day though, it doesn't matter what class you play, as long as you use the abilities you have to get the effect you want. Consider one thing, why does your team need a "Tank" in tabletop D&D? What actual purpose does it have? You may say "The tank takes the hits", but do they really? And if so, how do they ensure they are attacked and their allies are not. If they can do that, are they not more of a controller? That's what you should be considering, how can you control a fight. A warlock can do this, reasonably well even. You won't get Chilling Tentacles until 11, but that's a fairly solid choice for control for one example. Best in this endevour, and I encourage doing as much "thinking around the problem" as you can. Consider the why, as well as the what.
#7 Andarious-Rosethorn Jan 21, 2013 12:51:16	In anticipation of questions regarding good choices of controlling Invocations and Eldritch Essences, here you go (from Complete Arcane only, if you want other sources I can dig, but assuming your DM's keeping books to a minimum, this is a good list). Least Miasmic Cloud (Concealment and Fatigue, read ruin melee characters day) Summon Swarm (Distracting, NAUSEA means move action only) Frightful Blast (Cause the Shaken effect, basically -2 to everything but damage) Sickening Blast (Cause Sickened effect, -2 to all rolls, including damage) Lesser Charm (You want to be my friend, right?) Curse of Despair (Bestow Curse, all day long, ew, 50% chance to do nothing, for example, or -4 to all non-damage rolls) Stony Grasp (Think of this as Tentacles, lite. It grapples one target, reasonably well too) Voracious Dispelling (Dispel is an important contingency to pack when dealing with casters) Beshadowed Blast (Cause Blindness) Hellrime Blast (Cause a -4 penealty to Dex, doesn't stack with iteslf) Greater Chilling Tentacles (A grapple monster that can't be attacked starts mauling people, and freezing them) Devour MAgic (Your anti-caster tactic, but versus higher level casters, gotta get close though, which sucks) Enervating Shadow (Gain a 50% miss chance, and cause nearby living things to take a -4 to Str, does not work in Daylight or near Light spells) Tenacious Plague (Upgrade from Summon Swarm) Wall of Perilous Flame Flame (Doesn't do a lot of damage, but some of that damage is basically untyped, and it will make creatures consider weather or not walking through the wall is worth it. Interestingly, you can fill a LOT of space with this by spamming it) Bewitching Blast (Cause Confused condition, potentially random actions) Noxious Blast (Cause Nausea with blasts) Repelling Blast (Knock foes back 1d6 squares on failed REFLEX save. This works really well on big guys surprisingly) Dark Dark Discorperation (Become a swarm, gaining many of the benefits including Distraction, DC 18+Cha) Word of Changing (Baleful Polymorph, secondary save or it becomes permanent) Utterdark Blast (Blast bestows 2 negative levels! Fort negates.) Now... I have not listed Blast shapes, largely because they're not build specific. For example Eldritch Glaive (it's not from C. Arc) can be used to give you multiple hits, it's always good, although the range limitation hurts. Eldritch Cone and Eldritch Doom basically both give you good area, Eldritch Spear can let you work at exceptional range. Feats:  Ability Focus (Eldritch Blast) is neat for you because it will increase the DC on all saves made as a result of the blast by 2 and it's core! Consider taking it for any other save allowing Invocations you really rely on, but beware if you're not allowed to retrain it might become a dead feat. Empower Spell-Like Ability (Eldritch Blast), may not be the best choice of feat but it can get you extra damage 3/day as needed. Quicken Spell-Like Ability (eldritch Blast), this has a lot of potential to get your Essences on a target you also hit with another control effect in the same turn, 3/day/ What you'll want to do in a fight is guage weather this is a few potentially potent foes, or lots of weak ones. Use appropriate tactics. If you're fighting foes immune to many or all of the effects (Undead, Constructs etc) you'll be relegated to blasting, or if you've got access to some magic items, using those instead.
#8 awaken_D_M_golem Jan 21, 2013 16:11:51	Most recent saved guide is here: www.ruleofcool.com/smf/index.php/topic,6... Summon Swarm is naughty, even if you want to behave.