icewind66's page

I'm going to have to say as soon as I started reading about this Warlock I was disappointed with it. Let me elaborate as to why. So far I've come across a few "attempts" at trying to convert the 3.5 Warlock into a compatible format for Pathfinder. All have failed so far as I'm concerned.

This is mainly because no one seems to truly understand what made the warlock different from Sorcerers. So I'd like to explain. Warlocks and Sorcerers are both classes that derive their abilities from the blood. There is nothing wrong with having two classes that are bound by blood of their families past. It's the way they manifest that heritage that helps make them different. Sorcerers gain an inherent knowledge of spells. Rather than having to learn spells from a scroll or book, it just comes naturally to them. They don't have to take time to memorize the formula for casting as spell, they just know how to do it.

I will admit that I really liked the Pathfinder take on Sorcerers. I felt they gained a much needed boost. *Sorcerer rant : While I enjoyed the concept the Sorcerer presented, I always felt mechanically they were under-powered. Now before you go off saying that they have so many spells per day, (the same baloney argument my players always gave) I'd urge you to look at other classes that are also spontaneous casters, such as Warmage, Archivist, Dread Necromancer, Beguiler, and the Duskblade(even though the highest spell level for them is 6) and of course the Favored soul (the first spontaneous spell caster with sorcerer format since the Sorcerer). These all have the same spell casting might as the sorcerer, but they have a whole array of abilities that can easily outmatch the sorcerer. The Sorcerer is just plain. Even the Favored soul which had fewer extra abilities than the other classes I named off, has more than a sorcerer. While there are feats that can help add some flavor, the issue I have with them is that they are feats, the sorcerer has to use it's limited supply of feats to gain what it should have already had.

Warlocks on the other hand, DO NOT CAST SPELLS! This is the biggest complaint I have with the so called attempts at Warlock conversion. Everyone is comparing warlocks to actual spellcasters and thus is trying to recreate them as a sort of spellcaster. Warlocks are not spellcasters. They use Invocations. Invocations are not spells. It's plainly described in the Complete Arcane that they do not cast spells. They even lack the spellcasting requirements because of this to qualify for certain prestige classes. So I am puzzled why people keep trying to make this a spellcasting class for the conversion.

The blood power of the warlock is not spells but rather abilities beyond spells. Invocations, powers that come directly from the blood, nay the essence of the being that has been labeled as Warlock. They are eldritch power made flesh. The power they wield is part of them. Not inherent knowledge, but raw - magical - power, hence the term Eldritch. Their invocations; while some do basically copy a spell, are not needing to recite phrases, or use material components, or somatic gestures (except maybe with the blast if it comes from the hand) to invoke. They just desire something they are able to do to occur and it dose. So if a warlock wants darkness, it happens. No words of power, no components, it just happens because of sheer desire and ability to make it happen. On top of that, the darkness literally eats away at you. That's just cool in my opinion.

The Warlock is also not restricted to just being born of infernal or demonic background. There are feats specifically aimed at the Warlock to customize the origins of the power they hold. Granted there are several invocations that are clearly infernal in origin or appearance (the power Hellspawn grace- which lets you turn into a hellcat is a good example). The point is, you can define the origins how ever you want. It can come from demons and devils, or it can come from divine beings. Heck it can even be from a Fey background. I've had a few Warlocks, one derived her power from Fey origins. And she was a follower of a goddess of the wilderness. Another in a custom Greek game derived his power from Hades himself, yet was a follower of Apollo he would strive to channel his power into that of light and healing rather than hellish destruction. And I had an idea that the Warlock would be a great template for creating one of the dreaded Bhaalspawn for a Bauldur's Gate table top adaption of the video game in the Forgotten Realms setting. This power could even come from the Far Realm. There are so many possibilities, it's nearly endless. The only real limit, is the players imagination.

I am going to say, as far as magic users go, the Warlock is my favorite. I really like the idea of having a few strange powers that are unique and can be used as often as I desire. I also love how customizable the background for them can be.

So I hope this helps clarify the difference between the two classes as well as any other similar class.