But I think the half-caster system was a tremendous mistake because gutting the spell slot level progression put even more emphasis on the EB being the only allowed source of damage for Warlocks.
How exactly did it do that?
By making sure you will not want to spend your actions casting anything but Eldritch Blast and utility spells.
Take a look at the Spell Lists for Half-Caster classes such as Ranger or Paladins. Nearly every single of the those spells is either restricted to that class or other half-caster class subclasses OR offers no increase in power (beyond additional targets) when cast using higher level slots.
With the half-caster framework that was suggested for warlocks in UA5, all the spells were in the Arcane spell list, which made them available for Wizards, who could cast them using higher level spell slots, and completely overshadow what Warlocks could do with iconic Warlock spells like: Armor of Agathys, Arms of Hadar, Hunger of Hadar, Evard’s Black Tentacles.
Most of these spells, however, didn't scale, and therefore were only ever used for two levels of warlock life, if used at all. Anyway, if you are using pact magic slots for damage, you're doing it wrong. You get the best cantrip in the game already, pact magic slots are for control and buffs/debuffs. If you're a bladelock, you're going to spend them on Armor of Agathys + Shadow of Moil 99% of the time.
And switching to half-caster slot level progression is a direct nerf to the effectiveness Armor of Agathys, and delays getting Shadow of Moil from level 7 to level 13.
Yup, this. It's not just Shadow of Moil, it's a heaping helping of all the most used spells in the Warlocks arsenal. Things that were assumed to be in the Warlock toolbox were suddenly gone, replaced by the ability to play as a watered down arcanist. The Warlock suddenly went from most impressive in a clutch situation to least. And when I remember my time playing D&D it's much more often the climactic boss battles than the genericly safe EL that fill pacing time.
Except only casting two spells for an entire string of encounters meant that you cast nothing after the first. You unload your "double-barrel" and that's it, spam eldritch blast or hit stuff with pact weapon until the end. Or hoard the spell slots for the boss, if there is one. Half-caster progression wasn't going to fix it all by itself, but it was a step in a right direction. If you wanted your max level slots, there was Mystic Arcanum invocation.
Except only casting two spells for an entire string of encounters meant that you cast nothing after the first. You unload your "double-barrel" and that's it, spam eldritch blast or hit stuff with pact weapon until the end. Or hoard the spell slots for the boss, if there is one. Half-caster progression wasn't going to fix it all by itself, but it was a step in a right direction. If you wanted your max level slots, there was Mystic Arcanum invocation.
That seems a poor management of resources. Thankfully you can double barrel the first fight magical cunning have 1 in the chamber for the next and then short rest recover health and back to it for the rest of the day. If you cast 2 3rd level spells in one fight at level 5 every full caster would be completely out of 3rd level slots. A couple can recover 1 on a short, but the lock gets them all back.
I understand the argument that people want to cast more spells as Warlocks, and that they think the Pact Magic slot system encourages resource hoarding, I really do. But I think the half-caster system was a tremendous mistake because gutting the spell slot level progression put even more emphasis on the EB being the only allowed source of damage for Warlocks.
So with the introduction of the 1 minute long slot refresher ritual Magical Cunning, I suggest that WotC lean even more heavily into the ritual casting aspect of Warlocks:
Eldritch Ritual (Invocation)
You can cast any spell(*) eligible for casting through this feature as a 1 minute long ritual without expending a spell slot.
To complete the ritual, you must concentrate on it as if you were concentrating on a spell.
The spell is always cast at its lowest level.
The spell will consume material components with value as if it was cast normally.
You can try to mask the casting of the spell as something else than a magical ritual (passionate speech, small talk, musical performance, you being very gesticulate speaker etc.). A creature observing you can discern the true nature of the ritual by succeeding on an Investigation(Int)/Perception(Wis)/Arcana(Int) skill check against your Performance(Cha)/Sleigh of Hand(Dex) check.
(*) Eligible spells:
The spell must normally have casting time of 1 Action.
You must have the spell as prepared.
Casting or releasing the spell can't directly cause damage to any creature or object within its range of effect.
Casting or releasing the spell can't cause any creature to regain hit points.
Okay but how many 1 Action spells are actually going to be useful as rituals with a 1-minute casting time? I haven't looked, but I'm fairly confident the answer is going to be either "so few that this feature isn't worth it", or "so many that this feature is way overpowered". I don't think there's a middle ground.
Well if you manage to somehow hide the fact you are casting the spell for 1 minute in the presence of other creatures then..
Bane
Cause Fear
Charm Person
Command (debatable)
Create or Destroy Water
Detect Evil and Good
Distort Value
Expeditious Retreat
Fog Cloud
Hex
Protection from Evil and Good
Sleep
Blindness/Deafness (when sneaking into somewhere you can cast it on a guard from a hiding place for example)
Borrowed Knowledge
Calm Emotions
Darkness
Detect Thoughts
Gust of Wind
Invisibility
Lesser Restoration (might have to be excluded)
Misty Step (it is bonus action I know)
Spider Climb
Spike Growth
Suggestion
Create Food and Water
Daylight
Dispel Magic
Elemental Weapon
Fear
Fly
Gaseous Form
Etc. I don't want to write them all out, but I you get the idea.
If casting them without expending a Spell Slot is too powerful, then maybe there could be an added material cost that is tied to the level the spell is cast as.
That seems a poor management of resources. Thankfully you can double barrel the first fight magical cunning have 1 in the chamber for the next and then short rest recover health and back to it for the rest of the day. If you cast 2 3rd level spells in one fight at level 5 every full caster would be completely out of 3rd level slots. A couple can recover 1 on a short, but the lock gets them all back.
Out of 3rd level spell slots, but with, you know, 2nd and 1st level spell slots, which can bring quite the pain, if not in damage, then with control and whatnot. Warlock doesn't have that. Again.
That seems a poor management of resources. Thankfully you can double barrel the first fight magical cunning have 1 in the chamber for the next and then short rest recover health and back to it for the rest of the day. If you cast 2 3rd level spells in one fight at level 5 every full caster would be completely out of 3rd level slots. A couple can recover 1 on a short, but the lock gets them all back.
Out of 3rd level spell slots, but with, you know, 2nd and 1st level spell slots, which can bring quite the pain, if not in damage, then with control and whatnot. Warlock doesn't have that. Again.
invocation, pact of tome: one 1st-level spell slot @ level 1
magic initiate feat: one 1st-level spell slot @ character creation
suggest an invocation in the survey
multiclass
magical item
but you can get spell slots as a warlock. again. you don't have to delete the only 'arcane archer with a grenade' class because wizards have more fun. just ask for wizard options in the pick-a-mix invocations and we can all choose our own path.
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unhappy at the way in which we lost individual purchases for one-off subclasses, magic items, and monsters?
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Well, true. It is not at will. But with some spells it looks pretty similar. For example you could always be invisible except after your first attack in combat. Or climbing walls without limit. Or flying. Or in gaseous form. Those spells are not rituals for good reason. Maybe your proposal could be rephrased so that it wouldn't be so problematic with some spells? For example, you had X uses per day. Your PB, for example.
i strongly believe 1-minute (+casting time) ritual casting of pact spells is just what the warlock class needs to meet the twin requests of 'cast more spells' and 'use magic differently than other casters'. with restrictions. besides providing utility casting, it paves the way for reform of existing pact slot mechanisms. you still need some sort of spell slots for decisions in battle, but you'll need many fewer over the adventuring day.
the big caveat is that short-cut ritual casting shouldn't be a gimmick to open battles regularly. no no no, a warlock hacking the laws of magic for convenience should look like a crazy person dancing, talking to voices, and drawing on the walls. also, it should probably also be restricted to prepared warlock spells of 5th-level and below. upcasting should still be a thing, though. and maybe celestial subclass can sneak in some Bane and Create Water or whatever, but i'm thoroughly skeptical about bringing in spells not already on the warlock list.
what more can be done to make pact magic rituals workable, simple, and definitely not an unnecessary power grab?
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unhappy at the way in which we lost individual purchases for one-off subclasses, magic items, and monsters?
tell them you don't like features disappeared quietly in the night: providefeedback!
Well, true. It is not at will. But with some spells it looks pretty similar. For example you could always be invisible except after your first attack in combat. Or climbing walls without limit. Or flying. Or in gaseous form. Those spells are not rituals for good reason. Maybe your proposal could be rephrased so that it wouldn't be so problematic with some spells? For example, you had X uses per day. Your PB, for example.
Starting the 1 minute ritual would break concentration on previous spells, so technically you couldn't be invisible or flying all the time, but I get your point about the use limitation.
i strongly believe 1-minute (+casting time) ritual casting of pact spells is just what the warlock class needs to meet the twin requests of 'cast more spells' and 'use magic differently than other casters'. with restrictions. besides providing utility casting, it paves the way for reform of existing pact slot mechanisms. you still need some sort of spell slots for decisions in battle, but you'll need many fewer over the adventuring day.
the big caveat is that short-cut ritual casting shouldn't be a gimmick to open battles regularly. no no no, a warlock hacking the laws of magic for convenience should look like a crazy person dancing, talking to voices, and drawing on the walls. also, it should probably also be restricted to prepared warlock spells of 5th-level and below. upcasting should still be a thing, though. and maybe celestial subclass can sneak in some Bane and Create Water or whatever, but i'm thoroughly skeptical about bringing in spells not already on the warlock list.
what more can be done to make pact magic rituals workable, simple, and definitely not an unnecessary power grab?
I'm wary of making spells upcastable this way, as ritual casting doesn't allow for it either. Restricting it to spells of 1st through 5th level spells? Absolutely. Above that we get into Mystic Arcanum territory, and they should be kept separate.
Or hell, maybe create a special version called "Greater Eldritch Ritual" that allows for ritual casting of 6th+ level spells.
As for the example spells I listed, I just went through a spell list containing all the spells for Warlocks and all of their Subclasses as well, so there might be some wonky stuff there.
i strongly believe 1-minute (+casting time) ritual casting of pact spells is just what the warlock class needs to meet the twin requests of 'cast more spells' and 'use magic differently than other casters'. with restrictions. besides providing utility casting, it paves the way for reform of existing pact slot mechanisms. you still need some sort of spell slots for decisions in battle, but you'll need many fewer over the adventuring day.
the big caveat is that short-cut ritual casting shouldn't be a gimmick to open battles regularly. no no no, a warlock hacking the laws of magic for convenience should look like a crazy person dancing, talking to voices, and drawing on the walls. also, it should probably also be restricted to prepared warlock spells of 5th-level and below. upcasting should still be a thing, though. and maybe celestial subclass can sneak in some Bane and Create Water or whatever, but i'm thoroughly skeptical about bringing in spells not already on the warlock list.
what more can be done to make pact magic rituals workable, simple, and definitely not an unnecessary power grab?
I'm wary of making spells upcastable this way, as ritual casting doesn't allow for it either. Restricting it to spells of 1st through 5th level spells? Absolutely. Above that we get into Mystic Arcanum territory, and they should be kept separate.
Or hell, maybe create a special version called "Greater Eldritch Ritual" that allows for ritual casting of 6th+ level spells.
As for the example spells I listed, I just went through a spell list containing all the spells for Warlocks and all of their Subclasses as well, so there might be some wonky stuff there.
i suppose it wouldn't hurt my feelings to cap it at 1st level spells, if a few utility spells were added to Warlock. that cuts out Dimension Door, Fly, and all those tricky Summon spells. and i can't decide if i'm disappointed or not that it also removes Dispel Magic, Magic Circle, Tongues, and Major Image. Suggestion and Enthrall would have been interesting, given my vision of ritual looking like a mathematician having a public mental breakdown, but Darkness and Borrowed Knowledge would just lead to this being called overpowered for 2nd-level spells.
i just feel like there's so many warlock spells that don't get any love because they're not a teleport or a combat spell. or Armor of Agathys which really should just get it's own damn invocation already. sigh. maybe the real trick is just to leave spell scrolls under their pillow at night, but as a class feature. imagine leaving monster teeth beneath your pillow and, per your minor pact, the next day there's a one-time-use formula for Summon Fey scrawled across the pillowcase.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
unhappy at the way in which we lost individual purchases for one-off subclasses, magic items, and monsters?
tell them you don't like features disappeared quietly in the night: providefeedback!
invocation, pact of tome: one 1st-level spell slot @ level 1
magic initiate feat: one 1st-level spell slot @ character creation
suggest an invocation in the survey
multiclass
magical item
but you can get spell slots as a warlock. again. you don't have to delete the only 'arcane archer with a grenade' class because wizards have more fun. just ask for wizard options in the pick-a-mix invocations and we can all choose our own path.
Patches and crutches. Requirements and limitations.
But I think the half-caster system was a tremendous mistake because gutting the spell slot level progression put even more emphasis on the EB being the only allowed source of damage for Warlocks.
How exactly did it do that?
By making sure you will not want to spend your actions casting anything but Eldritch Blast and utility spells.
Take a look at the Spell Lists for Half-Caster classes such as Ranger or Paladins. Nearly every single of the those spells is either restricted to that class or other half-caster class subclasses OR offers no increase in power (beyond additional targets) when cast using higher level slots.
With the half-caster framework that was suggested for warlocks in UA5, all the spells were in the Arcane spell list, which made them available for Wizards, who could cast them using higher level spell slots, and completely overshadow what Warlocks could do with iconic Warlock spells like: Armor of Agathys, Arms of Hadar, Hunger of Hadar, Evard’s Black Tentacles.
Most of these spells, however, didn't scale, and therefore were only ever used for two levels of warlock life, if used at all. Anyway, if you are using pact magic slots for damage, you're doing it wrong. You get the best cantrip in the game already, pact magic slots are for control and buffs/debuffs. If you're a bladelock, you're going to spend them on Armor of Agathys + Shadow of Moil 99% of the time.
There is also the option of using those spells for persistent area damage spells, and then using eldritch blast to ensure no one leaves the area for very long. Damage based Warlocks aren't blasters, they're melters.
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Yup, this. It's not just Shadow of Moil, it's a heaping helping of all the most used spells in the Warlocks arsenal. Things that were assumed to be in the Warlock toolbox were suddenly gone, replaced by the ability to play as a watered down arcanist. The Warlock suddenly went from most impressive in a clutch situation to least. And when I remember my time playing D&D it's much more often the climactic boss battles than the genericly safe EL that fill pacing time.
Except only casting two spells for an entire string of encounters meant that you cast nothing after the first. You unload your "double-barrel" and that's it, spam eldritch blast or hit stuff with pact weapon until the end. Or hoard the spell slots for the boss, if there is one. Half-caster progression wasn't going to fix it all by itself, but it was a step in a right direction. If you wanted your max level slots, there was Mystic Arcanum invocation.
That seems a poor management of resources. Thankfully you can double barrel the first fight magical cunning have 1 in the chamber for the next and then short rest recover health and back to it for the rest of the day. If you cast 2 3rd level spells in one fight at level 5 every full caster would be completely out of 3rd level slots. A couple can recover 1 on a short, but the lock gets them all back.
Well if you manage to somehow hide the fact you are casting the spell for 1 minute in the presence of other creatures then..
Etc. I don't want to write them all out, but I you get the idea.
If casting them without expending a Spell Slot is too powerful, then maybe there could be an added material cost that is tied to the level the spell is cast as.
Out of 3rd level spell slots, but with, you know, 2nd and 1st level spell slots, which can bring quite the pain, if not in damage, then with control and whatnot. Warlock doesn't have that. Again.
I think that casting:
Invisibility
Spider Climb
Dispel Magic
Fly
Borrowed Knowledge
Detect Thoughts
Just spending a minute (which is almost like saying at will), is extremely powerful.
but you can get spell slots as a warlock. again. you don't have to delete the only 'arcane archer with a grenade' class because wizards have more fun. just ask for wizard options in the pick-a-mix invocations and we can all choose our own path.
unhappy at the way in which we lost individual purchases for one-off subclasses, magic items, and monsters?
tell them you don't like features disappeared quietly in the night: provide feedback!
It is most definitely not the same as "at will" since it will effectively prohibit its use in combat.
Well, true. It is not at will. But with some spells it looks pretty similar.
For example you could always be invisible except after your first attack in combat. Or climbing walls without limit. Or flying. Or in gaseous form.
Those spells are not rituals for good reason. Maybe your proposal could be rephrased so that it wouldn't be so problematic with some spells? For example, you had X uses per day. Your PB, for example.
i strongly believe 1-minute (+casting time) ritual casting of pact spells is just what the warlock class needs to meet the twin requests of 'cast more spells' and 'use magic differently than other casters'. with restrictions. besides providing utility casting, it paves the way for reform of existing pact slot mechanisms. you still need some sort of spell slots for decisions in battle, but you'll need many fewer over the adventuring day.
the big caveat is that short-cut ritual casting shouldn't be a gimmick to open battles regularly. no no no, a warlock hacking the laws of magic for convenience should look like a crazy person dancing, talking to voices, and drawing on the walls. also, it should probably also be restricted to prepared warlock spells of 5th-level and below. upcasting should still be a thing, though. and maybe celestial subclass can sneak in some Bane and Create Water or whatever, but i'm thoroughly skeptical about bringing in spells not already on the warlock list.
what more can be done to make pact magic rituals workable, simple, and definitely not an unnecessary power grab?
unhappy at the way in which we lost individual purchases for one-off subclasses, magic items, and monsters?
tell them you don't like features disappeared quietly in the night: provide feedback!
Starting the 1 minute ritual would break concentration on previous spells, so technically you couldn't be invisible or flying all the time, but I get your point about the use limitation.
I'm wary of making spells upcastable this way, as ritual casting doesn't allow for it either. Restricting it to spells of 1st through 5th level spells? Absolutely. Above that we get into Mystic Arcanum territory, and they should be kept separate.
Or hell, maybe create a special version called "Greater Eldritch Ritual" that allows for ritual casting of 6th+ level spells.
As for the example spells I listed, I just went through a spell list containing all the spells for Warlocks and all of their Subclasses as well, so there might be some wonky stuff there.
i suppose it wouldn't hurt my feelings to cap it at 1st level spells, if a few utility spells were added to Warlock. that cuts out Dimension Door, Fly, and all those tricky Summon spells. and i can't decide if i'm disappointed or not that it also removes Dispel Magic, Magic Circle, Tongues, and Major Image. Suggestion and Enthrall would have been interesting, given my vision of ritual looking like a mathematician having a public mental breakdown, but Darkness and Borrowed Knowledge would just lead to this being called overpowered for 2nd-level spells.
i just feel like there's so many warlock spells that don't get any love because they're not a teleport or a combat spell. or Armor of Agathys which really should just get it's own damn invocation already. sigh. maybe the real trick is just to leave spell scrolls under their pillow at night, but as a class feature. imagine leaving monster teeth beneath your pillow and, per your minor pact, the next day there's a one-time-use formula for Summon Fey scrawled across the pillowcase.
unhappy at the way in which we lost individual purchases for one-off subclasses, magic items, and monsters?
tell them you don't like features disappeared quietly in the night: provide feedback!
Patches and crutches. Requirements and limitations.
There is also the option of using those spells for persistent area damage spells, and then using eldritch blast to ensure no one leaves the area for very long. Damage based Warlocks aren't blasters, they're melters.