Warlocks in Birthright

[Elton Robb]

Actually, that would be Warlocks and Warmages in Birthright.

I'm sorry for starting an old thread if there is one. I recently got the Complete Arcane book published by Wizards and last night Kenneth contacted me and we kicked around some ideas of exploring and extending Birthright Lore.

I had an idea of making an NPC an out and out Warlock. He would be blooded, but not a Regent. The way Warlocks were made, they wouldn't be trusted with the Regency by any means in Anuire. I put some ideas together in my head and wanted to see if you agree:

1. Becoming a Warlock means that an ancestor in the past made a pact with Azrai. This means that all the Lost or most of the Lost are Warlocks.

2. If there is a Warlock regent, he would control Sources like a Wizard or a Sorcerer. But it's unlikely since Warlocks are the kids your Mother warned you about.

3. Warlocks walk a lonely road. They would be the rarest of the rare of Arcane spellcasters in Birthright. Regent Warlocks might include the Raven, Raesene (???), or the Basilisk.

4. Most regent Warlocks would be Awnsheghlien.


Warmages:

Erik Danigau, Raesene, and the Swordmage would be the premiere Warmages in Birthright.

1. Warmages control Law as if they were Paladins: gaining one 1/2 their regency from Law holdings.

2. Famous Warmages in the past include El'Arrasi and Erik Danigau's ancestry.

3. Most Warmages are found in Anuire and Khinasi. Warmages are a rare breed: Rahil the Falcon is *not* a Warmage.

[Thelandrin]

I like that idea of warlocks in Cerilia and it's very similar to a parallel idea of mine (where I also conceived of neutral warlocks descended from Reynir and without the demonic overtones).

I never liked the warmages. They are far too "boom-boom" for me and make even the sorcerer look versatile. If you are going to add them anyway, do they get one-half regency from sources?

[irdeggman]

Mostly I agree.

But since warlocks do not cast spells - they couldn't cast realm magic and hence controlling a source wouldn't be viable for them in the first place.

[Gheal]

Warlocks, IMO, were designed and balanced for much more action-oriented and high-powered games and settings - dungeon delves, Eberron etc. Their ability do something once per round for free have devastating effect on mass battles and sieges. If their invocations create something permanent or long-lasting - this radically change costs for building or improving various domain assets (I don't have Complete Arcane now, so I can't be more specific).
Warmages, IMO, are great as unique goblin kaboom-caster class. Native tradition with deep roots in ancient history, so to say .

I'm sorry, if my English is inadequate.

[Elton Robb]

Warlocks are actually, weak.

Elton.

[Gheal]

10-hour workshift = 6000 rounds.
One 5d6 fireball per round.
I think, fortress with stone walls is much weaker, than warlock.

[Bialaska]

Warlocks are a class that is very hard to call either powerful or weak. Like the fighter they can attack continuously with their quite powerful eldritch blast. And they can use their invocations at will, which is not bad either. And has invocations that lasts for 24 hours. This makes the Warlock a powerful character in a party of adventurers that strides on and doesn't take many breaks. This makes them comparable to the fighting classes, in particular the archers. Their low AC and low hit die makes them a bit softer.

Comparing them to the Wizards, Clerics, Druids and Sorcerers are far more difficult. The spellcasters got far more powerful spells than the Warlocks invocations and his eldritch blast. Where he may do 5d6 damage with his eldritch blast to a single enemy, a fireball may do 10d6 damage to multiple enemies. However the spellcasters got a limited number of 'charges' which the Warlock does not.

This means that if a party moves at a speed during which they take regular breaks to let their spellcasters restore their spells, the spellcasters should be more powerful, but if there are no breaks, the warlock is the winner.

Warmages are simply the invokers who felt that they needed something and came up with an idea of a sorcerer that can use armor and cast only invocations... In my opinion they are unsuitable for the most campaigns with the exception of hack'n'slash, as they got absolutely nothing of use outside of combat.

[irdeggman]

IMO those who think that warlocks are too powerful are focusing on the EB that can be used every round.

They don't look at the overall picture.

Since all of their invocations are spell-like abilities they take a standard action to use. So they can do 1 invocation per round.

While they have some pretty nifty invocations available - they only can know so many - which is pretty limiting.

They do not get any bonus feats, which is also extremely limiting since their invocations simply scream for feats (precise shot with a prereq of point blank shot is merely the first in a long line).

They are subject to SR and anti-magic fields and can be neutralized if caught in one.

Without the eldritch spear invocation they have a pretty short range available for their EB and really are in trouble when in melee.

I have played a warlock and was pretty much overshadowed in damage dealt by the paladin and barbarian in the group.

Warlocks also have no invocations that will help anyone in the party - so that makes their use even more selective.

One of their abilities that tends to get overlooked is their ability to use UMD to advantage. But is a world with fewer magic items, like BR, this will cost them dearly.

[Lee]

I have a poor opinion of warlocks, and have avoided them in general.

I thought warmages seemed like something humans in Cerilia might take up, at least in Khinasi or Anuire, or maybe under the Gorgon`s tutelage. Unfortunately, one of my elven players in a non-regent game really wanted to play one. I`m somewhat of the "give the players what they want, *if* they will work for it" school of GMing, so IMC, there are a handful of these blasters in Lluabright, and even there, they are unpopular and considered weapons of mass destruction.
Re: balance, In that game, at lower levels, the warmage did a pretty impressive job of slaying lots of bad guys. In a Shackled City game run by my wife, a warmage has gotten to be the best part of a party`s firepower. We`re now at 13th level, and she`s also been shown to have Achilles` heels in Fort saves and hit points. Opponents who know us, now know to target the blaster first!

Lee.

[Thelandrin]

You put warmages in Lluabraight?? Other than necromancers, I can't think of any class less appropriate for the Sidhelien, considering that they disparage evocation as unnecessary and a strain on the mebhaighl.

In my opinion, the warmage is the magical version of the barbarian - wind up, point and blast. They've very little to do outside of combat, except use what few skills they have, and their tactics in combat are going to be the same - blast!