Editing Warlock (section)

===4e===
When 4th edition rolled around, Warlocks made a surprising leap into the [[Player's Handbook]], supplanting the [[Sorcerer (Dungeons & Dragons)|Sorcerer]] as "the other PHB [[mage]] class". Classified as Arcane Strikers, Warlocks were flavored as eerie, sinister casters who could place victims under dread curses and gain magical benefits by reaping the souls of those they had cursed. They were also somewhat stealthy, thanks to their "Shadow Walk" feature, which granted them concealment until the end of their next turn on any turn in which they moved at least 3 squares. Like all classes in core 4e, the Warlock had subclasses, and a very obvious basis: their Pact, or what 5e would rename their Patron; the specific kind of unearthly entity that the warlock had received their power from, which even dictated one of their cantrips and also determined which kind of bonus they got from reaping the souls of those they had cursed. As a result, they started with three patron types in the PHB; the Fey, the Infernal, and the Star. In a step that 5e wouldn't replicate, a paragon level (11+) Warlock could take a feat called ''Twofold Pact'', which represented them swearing allegiance to a '''second''' patron and getting access to its associated cantrip and pact boon, allowing them to choose which boon to benefit from whenever they dropped a cursed enemy.

The '''Fey Pact''' was made with an [[Archfey]] or, really, any particularly strong [[fey]]. Fey spells tend to have themes of either "glamour magic" (seductive, intoxicating enchantments") or savage nature-type magic (such as setting a pack of ravenous sprites on a foe that rend the flesh from their bones). Their mandatory cantrip is Eyebite, and their pact boon is Misty Step (teleport 3 squares when a cursed creature drops to 0 HP).

The '''Infernal Pact''' was, as you can probably guess, made with a scheming [[devil]], or maybe even one of the [[Archdevil]]s. The least subtle of the pacts, it's all about scouring foes with fire, sucking away their souls, or invoking other hostile elements from [[Baator]]. Is mandatory spell is Hellish Rebuke and its pact boon is Dark One's Blessing (gain temporary HP equal to your level when a cursed creature drops to 0 HP).

The '''Star Pact''' is an odd one, with elements of the [[Cthulhu Mythos]] - basically, in the [[World Axis]] cosmology, certain stars are sapient and they're basically giant [[aberration]]s, which can bestow powers on those willing to risk communion with them. These stars were so new that they actually got an article in [[Dragon Magazine]] ("Wish Upon A Star", #366) that went full Lovecraft, detailing some of the most common of these "dark stars" and a [[Paragon Path]], the Student of Caiphon, dedicated to one of these stars - something that would be followed up in Dragon #403's "Strange Constellations", which adapted Atropus, Father Llymic, Pandorym, Ragnorra and The Worm That Walks from 3e's [[Elder Evils]] into star-fiends that can empower warlocks. Arcane Power would present a far more benevolent motif for the Star-lock in the Master of Starry Skies PP, but overall they remain a creepy, creepy son of a bitch - and the only class in the PHB other than the [[Cleric]] that specializes in doing radiant damage! Their mandatory cantrip is Dire Radiance, and their pact boon is Fate of the Void (you gain a +1 bonus to one D20 roll of your choice made before the end of your next turn when a cursed creature drops to 0 HP - this bonus stacks, but it only remains usable for one turn).

For those curious, the "dark stars" named in that issue are Acamar, Caiphon, Delban, Gibbeth, Hadar, Ihbar, Khirad, Nihal, Ulban and Zhudun. These had actually first appeared as part of certain powers in the PHB1, alongside a never-detailed star called Thuban ("Tendrils of Thuban", a level 15 daily spell, which paralyzes and consumes a cluster of foes with tendrils of liquid summoned from the frozen emerald seas that lie under the star Thuban). The [[Monster Manual]] 3 would create a sadly under-developed monster category called the [[Star Spawn]]; celestial aberrations representing the progeny of these terrible stars, and even statting one such star - Allabar, Opener of the Way, a living planet corrupted by the [[Far Realm]] - as the most powerful of them.

When the [[Forgotten Realms]] Player's Guide rolled around for 4e, it introduced the new '''Dark Pact''', an alliance made with horrible, malevolent spirits native to the [[Underdark]] and popular with [[drow]] warlocks, resulting in spells focused on darkness, poison, madness, and spite. Several of its iconic spells possess the ability to gain upgrades if you inflict damage on your allies, although even without this "augment" they're quite beefy. Its mandatory cantrip is Spiteful Glamor, and its surprisingly complex pact boon is Darkspiral Aura (when a cursed creature drops to 0 HP, your Darkspiral Aura value gains 1 point; you can use your Darkspiral Aura as an immediate interrupt when an enemy makes a melee or ranged attack against you, inflicting 1d6/1d8/1d10 Necrotic & Psychic Damage per point in your Darkspiral Aura; if this damage is less than 12, your Aura drops to 0 points; if more than 12 damage, you can halve the damage you take and your Aura drops to 1 point - you lose all Aura points when you take a short rest).

[[Dark Sun]] did the same thing; the '''Sorcerer-King's Pact''' was its attempt to recreate the [[Templar]] of AD&D, that strange pseudo-priestly class that derived its powers from its oath of allegiance to the tyrannical mage-psions of Athas' last cities. Its mandatory cantrip is Hand of Blight, and its pact boon is Fell Scorn - this strange feature is borrowing some elements from the psionics rules system, and can trip up an unobservant reader; the Sorcerer-King pacted Warlock has a single point of "Fell Might", which can be spent when casting certain spells in order to trigger some upgraded effects, and is recharged whenever the warlock drops a cursed creature to 0 HP. This trait is controversial to say the least because, normally, pact-associated spells don't need to spend this sort of resource to get their bonus. Even though Fell Might will recharge like crazy because, hey, cursing people is what a warlock is supposed to ''do'', it still leaves a sour taste in the mouth.

Arcane Power would introduce what many wrongly believed to be the last of the Core pacts, in the form of the '''[[Vestige]] Pact'''; obviously themed after the [[Binder]] of last edition, the Vestige Pact calls upon the spirits of bizarre ghosts and ancient, forgotten entities, with a unique mechanic attached to it. Each Daily power associated with this pact, always named "Vestige of whoever", becomes a Vestige in the Warlock's arsenal. Whenever the warlock completes a rest, they can determine which Vestige is their "Active" Vestige - they can also choose to change their Active Vestige whenever they use one of those Vestige powers, causing the newly invoked Vestige to become Active. Your Active Vestige determines the effects of your pact boon and the secondary effects of your mandatory cantrip, "Eyes of the Vestige".

The reason that neither Vestige nor Sorcerer-King was the last of the Core 4e Warlock Pacts? Hidden in the Essentials era sourcebook "Heroes of the Elemental Chaos" is the '''Elemental Pact''' for core warlocks. Representing the obvious choice of a warlock drawing their power from a [[Archomental|Primordial]], this [[elementalist]] warlock has some slight overlap with the [[Wild Mage]], but not much. It gains the bonus feature "Elemental Affinity", where you have Affinity to either Acid, Cold, Fire, Fire, Lightning or Thunder - this is determined randomly each time you complete a rest, and you can change your Elemental Affinity when you invoke your second wind. When you cast an arcane attack power that deals Force, Necrotic, Poison or Psychic damage, you can make it inflict whichever damage type you have Elemental Affinity for instead. Its pact boon is Accursed Affinity; after you drop at least one cursed victim, everyone you place your Curse on for the rest of the encounter gains Vulnerability (5/tier) to whichever damage type you currently have Elemental Affinity with.

Essentials also introduced two Warlock [[Variant Class]]es (alternatively known as subclasses); "Heroes of the Forgotten Kingdoms" introduced the [[Hexblade]], an Arcane Striker-Defender that is basically a cross between a Warlock and a [[Swordmage]], whilst "Heroes of Shadow" introduced the [[Binder]], a restyling of the Warlock into a full-fledged Arcane Controller.

The Hexblade was initially introduced with only Fey and Infernal Pact options; it gained its own version of the Star Pact in Dragon #393, an Elemental Pact in "Heroes of the Elemental Chaos", and a Gloom Pact in "Heroes of Shadow".

The Binder, as the very last Warlock derivative to emerge prior to 4e's cancellation, only had the two Pacts; Gloom and Star, both in its native "Heroes of Shadow". It did manage to gain a Fey Pact for itself in Dragon #406.

It bears mentioning that, whilst original/"Core style" warlocks can take the spells from both the Binder and the Hexblade for themselves, the "Pacts" as used by these variant classes are not synonymous with the Core-lock's Pacts, so Gloom Pact spells have no special riders when used by non-Binders or Hexblades. This is one of the many reasons why most of 4e's fans didn't like the "simplified" versions of classes created for Essentials.

4e paired the Warlock class up with the [[Tiefling]] race, much like how Dwarves make iconic [[Fighter]]s or [[Clerics]], or Elves make good [[Wizard]]s, or [[Half-orc]]s make good [[Barbarian]]s. 5e continues this tradition.

====4e Sample Patrons====
Issue #381 of [[Dragon Magazine]] featured an article called "Performing the Pact", which provided some example Patrons for each of the five pacts available at the time.

The Dark Pact patron is ''Yorgrix, Weaver of the Poison Web'': once a demonweb spider kept as a [[familiar]] by an overconfident [[drow]] matron, Yorgrix patiently mastered the dark magic it watched its mistress perform and then, fueled by hunger and ambition, slew and devoured both her and the entire city in which she dwelled. Glutted on countless souls, Yorgrix was transformed into a dread spirit; now imprisoned in the city it massacred, it reaches out to the minds of mortals with a simple promise: power for food.

The Fey Pact patron is ''The Eochaid'', a strange [[fey]] spirit embodying the interplay between nature and arcane magic, and which manifests as a strange amalgamation of humanoid, animal and plant. Ancient as the [[Seldarine]] themselves, the Eochaid desires only to promote and strengthen magic, seeking its growth. Those willing to plant magic's seed - and to retrieve arcane artifacts for it to protect - are blessed with its wild hexes and unearthly glamors.

The Infernal Pact patron is ''The Prisoner in Iron'', an infernal warlock of such power that the [[Archdevil]]s feared him and have bound him in the deepest dungeons of Dis, hoping to hide him forever. But such is his power that he can still reach out to the mortal world, offering tutelage to the ambitious, seeking to empower a champion mighty enough to free him from his chains.

The Star Pact patron is ''Ulban, the Wanderer''; a sapient time-traveling comet from a far-flung apocalypse, the last survivor of its universe. Now it wanders space and time, empowering those who, in some inscrutable way, will play their part in prevent Ulban's future from coming to be - often battling against the other dark stars in the process.

The Vestige Pact patron is ''The Bleak Guide'', a reaper-like entity from the [[Shadowfell]] charged with maintaining the orderly transition of life to death, and more than willing to act as a go-between for [[vestige]]s and those mortals who will use their power to make is own existence easier. It can't act against the [[necromancer]]s and [[undead]] that vex it so - but its mortal agents, on the other hand...