Playing a Warlock
One player's guide, kept as opinion. Written by Funkin. The mechanics it leans on are documented and checked elsewhere - Eldritch Blast, Warlock and Magic - and where this page and those disagree, they are right.
What you are
A d6 hit die before Constitution. Whatever else you build, you are not the one holding the line.
Charisma is your casting ability, and everything the class does scales on it.
Races people pick
- Human - reliable, extra skill points and a feat, and no level adjustment.
- Tiefling and drow - free, and both raise abilities you want.
- Vampire and lich - immunity to critical hits, and useful ability increases.
- Pixie - the highest Charisma available, and immunity to mind-affecting magic.
- Celestial - strong increases and no penalties, but it stops you being a pure Warlock.
The blast
It looks like a spell and is not one. It is an attack roll against armour class, it checks spell resistance, and it is not stopped by spell mantles or by immunity to a spell level. It provokes nothing and needs no concentration check.
You gain a second beam at Warlock 8 and another every seven levels after - the table is on Eldritch Blast. Each beam uses your full attack bonus.
Weapon Focus, Improved Critical and Epic Prowess all apply to it. It takes longer to cast than a spell, and haste shortens that.
Aimed at a creature it fires at that creature; aimed at the ground it picks a target in the area, and beams spread out across whatever is standing there.
The slots
You are an arcane caster who knows the whole list at once - nothing to learn, nothing to prepare, metamagic included. Your slots are one pool rather than a row per spell level, and they come back on their own rather than by resting. What an invocation costs out of that pool, and what metamagic adds to it, is on Magic.
Light armour and a small shield cost you no spell failure.