I know there are prestige classes for casters, but due to the Warlock's Invocation mechanics, I'm not sure which ones it can qualify for, or at least which ones would be beneficial for it. What are some good prestige classes for Warlocks?
[RPG] What prestige classes can Warlocks take
dnd-3.5emulti-classingprestige-classwarlock
Related Solutions
This winds up getting away from the idea of the hulking thug rogue/barbarian; the solitary barbarian level is used to grant mobility and agility rather than strength and endurance. That said, this is a very vicious combat build with lots of dirty tricks, very capable of pouncing on opponents unawares and tearing into them in an unholy frenzy.
The Assassin
For a low-optimization, low-magic campaign, where you want to focus on stealth and skills but still be able to deal the hurt, you could do a lot worse than the core assassin prestige class. It gets a number of low-level spells, so it should not be a problem for low-magic, but if there’s little magic available, you definitely want what little you can get.
If alignment is an issue, consider the avenger: it replaces the Evil requirement with a Non-Chaotic requirement, which is often much more amenable to characters.
Spells
Spells are the reason you go this route. The assassin spell list is quite solid, for as small a list as it is, and it will likely fly well in a low-magic game.
This recommendation does assume that you have access, at the least, to Spell Compendium. The core assassin spell list leaves a lot to be desired. If you want to use the avenger, also make sure your DM is OK with adding the Spell Compendium assassin spells to the avenger list. That’s in line with the guidance in that book for non-core spellcasting classes on pg. 3, so it shouldn’t be a problem, but it’s a conversation you should have.
Psionics
The psionic assassin from Secrets of Sarlona also exists, and adds the very interesting option of using Expanded Knowledge for psionic minor creation, which is an excellent way to get poisons. That said, unless your DM allows other assassin spells to be converted into psionic counterparts, it’s not a great option. If you can, then you might as well?
Death Attack
Don’t focus too much on Death Attack; at best you can attempt it during a surprise round after spending three rounds studying your target out of combat. Attempting to hide and wait three rounds mid-combat is always a bad play.
Poison Use
Poison Use is meh; if you want to use poison, you want the Master of Poisons feat from Drow of the Underdark anyway. That said, Master of Poisons is a quite-solid feat, and Craft (poisonmaking) can get you poison at a huge discount (if you have a source of materials, ⅙ market price). Poisons provide a way to apply debilitating effects along with straight damage. See the Arsenic and Old Lace handbook for more details if you’re interested in going for poisons.
Again, if you are avoiding being Evil, you have to clarify something with the DM: poisons, according to Player’s Handbook and Dungeon Master’s Guide, are not evil, though usually illegal (and always dishonorable, which is why they are barred to paladins). Book of Exalted Deeds, however, says they are actually Evil – and then gives a definition/explanation of how and why they’re Evil that would include, for example, the natural poison of the couatl, that is, a notably Good creature. Book of Exalted Deeds is not a good book. Just make sure, if you don’t want to be Evil, that your DM agrees that Book of Exalted Deeds is stupid, and poisons aren’t any more inherently evil than swords.
Hide in Plain Sight
It’s a long time coming, but getting Hide in Plain Sight, along with taking the Darkstalker feat from Lords of Madness, will prevent a lot of the major ways to simply shut down your stealth. Highly recommended.
The Black Dog
This prestige class from Dragonmarked stacks with assassin levels for Death Attack DCs, and has a couple of excellent abilities aimed at poison. I’ve decided that poison is a good direction to take this, hence its appearance here.
The black dog requires the Mark of Hospitality feat, which in Eberron is limited to halflings. This is a matter of setting fluff, so if you aren’t playing in Eberron, the Mark of Hospitality might be available to half-orcs. On the other hand, I actually like halfling a great deal more than half-orc here. It does mean a shift from Strength to Dexterity which you may find undesirable, but half-orc is quite weak, and the halfling’s size is basically all to your benefit (average of −1 on damage rolls, but +1 attack, +4 to stealth, and +1 to AC). The existence of the strongheart halfling (Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting) really seals that deal.
Suggested Build
Strongheart Halfling Rogue 3/Barbarian 1/something 1/Black Dog 5/Assassin 10
At Rogue 2, the Penetrating Strike alternate class feature (Dungeonscape) is key, and at Barbarian 1, you really want the Lion Spiritual Totem alternate class feature (Complete Champion) to get Pounce instead of Fast Movement (you’re not a charger per se, but you do want to maintain mobility and full-attacks, and pounce is a really good way to do that).
I’d replace Rage with Ferocity, though I’d also consider Whirling Frenzy.
The something 1 I’m not sure about; barbarian 2 is OK but not great, rogue 4 is fairly mediocre...
Some options that should be no problem:
Fighter. You want Weapon Finesse at this point, so that’s a use for your bonus feat, and the Hit-and-Run Tactics alternate class feature from Drow of the Underdark trades some armor and shield proficiency you probably won’t use for +2 to initiative and Dex-to-damage vs. flat-footed foes, which is awesome.
Ranger. Simple: full BAB and 6+Int skills. Boring, but functional.
Anything that gives Sneak Attack +1d6 at first level. Again, boring, but functional.
Some options that probably aren’t allowed, but could be awesome:
Cleric. Best single-level dip in the game, bar none. Could be worth it even if you get none of its spells. Domain granted powers are awesome, and failing that you can trade them for Devotion feats (Complete Champion), many of which are excellent. Turn/Rebuke Undead is excellent for Divine feats, including the amazing Lolth’s Caress (Drow of the Underdark). While a halfling who worships Lolth is weird, with this build’s interest in poison it’s not a stretch to worship the goddess of spiders. Or if Lolth doesn’t exist in your setting, maybe you can just ignore that requirement.
Ardent or Psion. One level is sufficient to manifest psionic minor creation, which will get you a plant-based poison that lasts an hour. Not a bad deal at all.
Swordsage. Cloak of deception provides instant flat-footing for an enemy, once per encounter, while shadow jaunt provides great mobility. Wolf fang strike and sudden leap allow you to continue to dual-wield effectively even when you’re forced to move and cannot charge. If you later take Martial Stance, you can snag assassin’s stance for +2d6 Sneak Attack damage.
Anyway, you definitely want the Craven (Champions of Ruin), Darkstalker (Lords of Madness), Master of Poisons (Drow of the Underdark), and Weapon Finesse feats. Plus, black dog requires Mark of Hospitality (Eberron Campaign Setting).
The feats Extra Rage (Complete Warrior) and Wild Cohort could be very nice for you, if you can squeeze them in (maybe later, or if you take a Fighter level and have another feat to play with). Note that I don’t recommend Wild Cohort so you have a pet fighting alongside you: I recommend it so you have a reliable, cheap poison dispenser following you around. Unfortunately, both feats are kind of lackluster by the time they fit into the build I am proposing.
Anyway, your feats may look like this:
- Bonus racial feat: Weapon Finesse
- 1st-level feat: Master of Poisons
- 3rd-level feat: Mark of Hospitality
- 6th-level feat: Darkstalker
- 9th-level feat: Craven
- 12th-level feat: Extra Rage?
- 15th-level feat: Wild Cohort?
With this combination, your attacks hit hard, and you are hard to find. You have poisons that you can use selectively, and they are very dangerous. You have a smattering of spells that will make a huge difference in a low-magic world. Seems like a pretty solid approach to me.
Skill Point Cost: Only current class’s class skills
From Skills Summary
Each skill point you spend on a cross-class skill gets your character ½ rank in that skill. Cross-class skills are skills not found on your character’s class skill list.
From Player’s Handbook pg. 60.
Skill points must be spent according to the class that the multiclass character just advanced in.
Max Ranks: Once a class skill, always a class skill
From Skills Summary
Regardless of whether a skill is purchased as a class skill or a cross-class skill, if it is a class skill for any of your classes, your maximum rank equals your total character level + 3.
If a skill is a class skill for any of a multiclass character’s classes, then character level determines a skill’s maximum rank. (The maximum rank for a class skill is 3 + character level.)
If a skill is not a class skill for any of a multiclass character’s classes, the maximum rank for that skill is one-half the maximum for a class skill.
Best Answer
Warlock Prestige Class Eligibility
Basically, there are three rules:
Spell-like abilities have caster levels, and therefore things that require a particular caster level can be met with a spell-like ability that has sufficient caster level. Warlock invocations are specifically arcane, which means they can also meet requirements for arcane caster level.
Having spell-like abilities is not the same as knowing how to cast spells; no number of spell-like abilities allows one to qualify as being “able to cast spells” of any level, even if one knows spell-like abilities that emulate spells of a higher level.
Spell-like abilities that mimic particular spells, on the other hand, do count as those spells for the purposes of requirements.
Complete Arcane explains each of these on page 71. Page 18 describes how a warlock benefits from a spellcasting prestige class.
What Prestige Classes Does a Warlock Actually Qualify For?
List questions are not on topic here, but the short answer is, “not many.” Wizards made a few in Complete Arcane, but both before and after Complete Arcane, being able to cast spells of a given level have been by-far the most common sort of requirement for a spellcasting prestige class. Complete Arcane does, at least, list each of its own prestige classes by which base classes each is best for, so you can search Table 2–1 on page 18 for that.
From other books, Complete Mage and Dragon Magic both add new invocations, and I know Complete Mage does have a few classes that warlocks can qualify for. There are other places scattered around that have prestige classes they can take, but there are not many.
I do recommend houseruling the warlock qualifications to allow them to take prestige classes that require casting spells of a given level.
There are simply too many prestige classes that are too fitting and appropriate to deny them to warlocks. Just allow them to qualify for a prestige class if a wizard of their (effective) level could cast spells of the required level. Some class benefits (bonus spell slots, metamagic effects, extra spells known) are meaningless for them, but still, a discerning player should be able to find useful things. The warlock is not a high-powered class; it’s a good idea to offer them easy upgrades like this.
For those particularly enamored of the RAW...
The notorious Precocious Apprentice feat from Complete Arcane can... arguably be taken by warlocks. If that is the case, they’d get a 2nd-level spell slot for doing so, and can then take prestige classes that require 2nd-level spells. Said prestige classes can then progress their warlock invocations as normal. This is not recommended; just houserule warlock prestige class entry and be done with it.
Notable Warlock Prestige Classes
Just a couple of prestige classes that deserve special mention.
Hellfire Warlock
Of course, the best warlock prestige class is the hellfire warlock from Fiendish Codex II: Tyrants of the Nine Hells. This class is three-levels long, adds +2d6 hellfire blast damage each level, and advances invocations on each level. Hellfire blasts also do Constitution damage to yourself, and the class specifically states that you cannot use hellfire blast if you are immune to Constitution damage. A one-level dip in binder from Tome of Magic for Naberius, the Grinning Hound is the most common way to heal that up quickly and easily. The strongheart vest soulmeld might work, depending on how your DM reads the immunity rule (strongheart vest basically gives you DR for ability damage, but it does not give immunity; YMMV)—strongheart vest, as well as the incarnate class or Shape Soulmeld and Open Chakra feats you need to access it, are from Magic of Incarnum.
Hellfire warlock is so good that a lot of warlock optimizers abuse legacy champion (Weapons of Legacy), which has the class feature of advancing another class’s features (like +1 spellcasting level, but for any sort of level and advancing anything). By RAW, this allows you to have more than three effective hellfire warlock levels, and therefore more than the +6d6 damage that it usually grants. A lot of DMs take a pretty dim view of that rule, however.
Chameleon
This prestige class from Races of Destiny is not a warlock prestige class, does not advance any warlock class features, and nothing about warlock makes it easier to enter (it only requires a race, a feat, and some skills). What it does do, however, is give you a “floating feat”—a 2nd-level chameleon’s bonus feat can be changed every day.
This is relevant to warlocks because at 12th level, they gain imbue item, the ability to craft magical items without knowing the requisite spell. They still need the feat, however: the second level of chameleon means that they can swap in whatever Item Creation feat they like for these purposes, and on days when they’re not crafting, they can just swap it to Extra Invocation. Along similar lines, they can swap it to Extra Invocation (the dead walk) to build an undead army on down days, then swap it to something combat-oriented when they go into battle – without the dead walk, they won’t be able to animate any more minions, but they will keep the minions they’ve already made.