Among the classes of Dungeons & Dragons, the Warlock stands out with its way of casting spells, but otherwise differs only slightly from other spellcasters. Daggerheart now shows its version of the class, and it looks entirely different.
Looking at the surveys in the community, Warlocks always rank among the top favorites of players in D&D. At the beginning of Baldur’s Gate 3, Pact Spellcasters even ranked third on the popularity scale.
The class is primarily defined by the fact that it has few spell slots, but can refill them after a short rest and always casts at maximum power (or “at the highest level”). However, what sets Warlocks apart from their peers in role-playing is something that is rarely noticed:
- Wizards have magic simply inborn; they can cast spells because it is literally in their blood.
- Sorcerers “learn” magic at the academy; they are somewhat like the nerds of spellcasting.
- Warlocks, on the other hand, take the simple and short route: they sell their soul to a patron – this could be an archfey, an undead, a demon, or something else powerful.
However, this pact is rarely mentioned in D&D in a formal way, except in the form of small gimmicks for the class. Now Daggerheart, the pen & paper of the popular group Critical Role, has designed its own official version of the Warlock and wants to go much deeper into the special aspect of pact-makers.
Finally, it matters who you make a pact with
In August, “Hope and Fear”, the first expansion for Daggerheart, will be released. Part of it is the Warlock class. Daggerheart takes quite a bit of inspiration from D&D, and you can recognize similarities, but the system clearly does its own thing. You can also see this with the new class:
- Warlocks in Daggerheart play with the “Favor” of their patron.
- Favor can be spent to gain various benefits, depending on the chosen pact.
- Possible things include advantages on certain rolls, status effects for enemies, re-rolling a roll, or increasing attack range.
Depending on the selection, the Warlock is no longer just the type who throws Eldritch Blast around (and one-shots everything with it), but can be a kind of tank, supporter, or… just the guy who one-shots everything with Eldritch Blast. Just a bit cooler.
By the way, one of our colleagues is a huge fan of Daggerheart, who has already checked out and played the Warlock in a preview version. You can read his assessment on page 2.
What do you think of the Warlock in Daggerheart? Which class do you prefer to play – or which P&P system do you prefer overall? Personally, I am a huge fan of DSA. Feel free to leave a comment!
Interestingly, I wrote about Warlocks a few weeks ago again, but not in the tabletop area, but in Diablo. Because Blizzard has released the class three times, and with surprisingly many differences: Blizzard shows a new Warlock, looks like the one from Diablo 4, but feels completely different
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