Thoughts on the New Warlock Hero?

[Daedalus]

I copied a post from the big topic that fits here:

The Warlock starting weapon is a drained Wand. It has just 1 Attack Die. Considering this is a ranged attack, this is more in line with the other Heroes' starting attack strengths.

Wand
Cost: 125 gold coins
This wand gives you the attack strength of 2 Combat Dice against any monster you can “see.” If you roll 2 or more black shields while attacking, it drains and thereafter gives you 1 Combat Die. May only be used by the Warlock..

Now there is a reason for buying the Wand, just as with other weapons. I estimate it will likely drain every few Quests.

Make her start with a drained 1 wand, and then simply allow her to buy the wand. Done.
That way she gets to level up a bit, but there's no reason to create a money sink. . . .

Good point about the money sink, as a Crossbow for other Heroes is a one-time purchase. Evening up the Wizard with the Warlock could be better achieved through a Wizard-only Artifact Card or two. However, I think some cost adjustment is needed to better fit the Wand with other Hero weapon progression:

Wand
Cost: 250 gold coins
This wand gives you the attack strength of 2 Combat Dice against any monster you can “see.” May only be used by the Warlock.

A Dread Wand artifact might also be a good idea for later down the line. It works as a Wand, plus it gives 3 Combat Dice against Dread Warriors and Gargoyles.

[Orc26]

My suggestions for Warlock.
-5 body and 5 mind points (because she is going to need more bp when not having a ranged attack to start with.)
-start with dagger instead of wand
-make a weak wand (1 die) available for 100gc
-make normal wand (2 die) available for 250gc
-make wands "wizard" only items instead of warlock only. (Or even caster only... I see no good reason for the elf to not know how to wand.)

[Goblin-King]

-make wands "wizard" only items instead of warlock only. (Or even caster only... I see no good reason for the elf to not know how to wand.)

Elf is good enough, he doesn't need a wand. Besides he already has access to the crossbow. But the wizard should be able to buy the wand. Can't figure out why they would make it warlock only...

[Azure]

I also play-tested the Warlock in ''The Trial'' with my friend ChaosL00.

All depending on how you read the spells, it can lead to some misunderstanding and over-powered mechanics.

Both of us are experienced DMs, and we did not see any problem with the spells ''Fear'' or ''Dark Wings''.

However, the Demon Form spell could be misinterpreted as a continous stack of '' add 1 Atk Die every time you perform an attack '' and the mechanics to regain the spell, if read as described would allow you to regain Demon Form after killing an enemy while in Demon Form.

So to make sure she (The Warlock) does not reach any loophole of over-power ; here are the new understandings of the Demon Form spell we agreed onto.

1 - You can only regain Demon Form by killing an enemy after you de-transform. (Lose Demon Form first, then kill an enemy, then regain the spell)
2 - This spell will add a constant flat + 1 CD to you attacks, no stacking allowed.

You would ask me, then what is ''Stacking'' ? If you read the spell as initially written it goes like this :

1st attack = 3 CD
2nd attack = 4 CD
3rd attack = 5 CD
4th attack = 6 CD
5th attack = 7 CD
6th attack = 8 CD

...and so on.

As a last observation, we would actually consider adding 2 or 3 spells to the Warlock's arsenal...
And if she needs to Re-Cast a spell, she would spend a Mind Point, on top of exchanging an unused spell for the spell she wants to re-cast.
That would make a re-cast mechanic pretty fair, also considering that Warlocks have a reputation of having a short supply of spell slots !!

[Goblin-King]

Oh no! I understand what you are getting at with "+1 dice each time you attack", but I think it's obvious that's not how it works. I guess you should report it though. No harm in making the wording more clear.

1 - You can only regain Demon Form by killing an enemy after you de-transform. (Lose Demon Form first, then kill an enemy, then regain the spell)

The card literally says it's first discarded when you take damage. You can't regain it if you haven't lost it yet. So you don't have to house rule. This is how it actually works.

[Kurgan]

It makes no sense to restrict WHO CAN BUY an item, if you wish to simply restrict an item to a certain player class. Instead, simply say "can only be used by ____." Because the basic rules allow you to purchase an item and give it to another Hero, hence, they can buy three wands and hand them out between (or during a) quests, now everybody has a cheaper crossbow.

Other than the imagery of the character (which seems out of place... like the new Goblins), a bit too cutesy/cartoon, I don't have a problem with the character. Like the other "extra unlock content" I wonder if it will be available separately once this Remake Hero Quest is released next fall? (as in, you won't have to buy the "mythic tier" with KK&ROTWL to get it).

[Orc26]

They could easily fix the poor wand choices by dropping the minimal gold sink and making it another spell.
Something like
Demon Fire
Make a 2 combat die attack against a monster you can see. Do not discard this spell after casting.

Then you don't have a item that others cannot buy for reasons and that the wizard cannot use for other reasons.

[Pancho]

They could easily fix the poor wand choices by dropping the minimal gold sink and making it another spell.
Something like
Demon Fire
Make a 2 combat die attack against a monster you can see. Do not discard this spell after casting.

Then you don't have a item that others cannot buy for reasons and that the wizard cannot use for other reasons.

I like the creative thinking, but this solution isn’t in line with the rest of the game. There are no other spells in HQ that you can cast limitless times.

[Kurgan]

I hope you're emailing this to Hasbro (they want feedback!).

In my view, the Warlock is basically the Ranger.

[Oftkilted]

Warlock Wand: Make a one or two combat dice attack against any monster you can see. If you roll two or more Black Shields on an attack with a wand it has depleted its charges. A depleted wand rolls 1CD and can only be used in attacks against monsters in adjacent squares.