Eldritch Weaver (3.5e Prestige Class)

Eldritch Weaver
"Laser is not difficult."

The power of a warlock channels raw magical energy via the forces of fiendish, fey, or other supernatural bloods. While a warlock knows many tricks, all know the power of the eldritch blast. Some choose to focus on this primal base power and craft it from a simple direct weapon, and transform it into a weapon of mass destruction.

Becoming a Eldritch Weaver
Eldritch Weavers have realized the mechanics behind their eldritch beam, the release of power from their internal endless flows of energy within themselves and within the very fabric of the universe. No longer limited to firing beams from their own body, they can tear energy out of the air at many points, carving base mathematical geometry into the universe's natural magical fault lines, allowing magic to bleed forth. They give up their damage reduction, fiendish resilience, and other powers in sake for more control over their eldritch beams. By preparing "spell cards" with pre-engraved symbols, they can cause their eldritch beams to spread in shapes stronger than any eldritch shape or essence. While they cannot spam such abilities continuously, they can refresh its energy merely by focusing.

Class Features


All of the following are class features of the Eldritch Weaver.

You do not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained. If you had more than one arcane spellcasting class before becoming an eldritch weaver, you must decide to which class to add each level for the purpose of determining caster level and invocations known.

Upon reaching 4th level, and at every even-numbered eldritch weaver level after that (6th, 8th, and so on), an eldritch weaver can choose to learn a new spell card in place of one he already knows. In effect, the eldritch weaver "loses" the old spell card in exchange for the new one. The new spell card’s level (least, lesser, greater, or final) must be the same as that of the spell card being exchanged, and it must be at least one level lower than the highest-level eldritch weaver spell card the eldritch weaver can cast. An eldritch weaver may swap only a single spell card at any given level, and must choose whether or not to swap the spell card at the same time that she gains new spell cards known for the level.

At each level, the eldritch weaver gains a new spell card known, either from the least, lesser, greater, or final choices presented below. Preparing which spell cards are being used takes 15 minutes of meditation. At 1st level, you may prepare up to 3 spell cards at once (they may be the same spell card) before you must refresh their energy to use them again. Refreshing your spell cards is a full-round action which provokes attacks of opportunity. Using spell cards are part of the typical somatic components of a warlock's invocations. Many spell cards duplicate the effects of shapes or essences, following the usual rules for shape or essence use. At level 5 and every 5 levels afterward, the eldritch weaver gains an additional spell card they can prepare at once.

If you have the ability to fire multiple eldritch blasts a round (such as through the Eldritch Flurry feat), spell cards only bestow their benefits on a single blast in the round.

' (Sp):''' At 1st level and beyond, you may select from the least spell card lists. The saving throw for all spell cards is 10 + 1/2 HD + Charisma.

 (Sp): No amount of hiding prevents your eldritch blasts from finding their target, curving around corners if needed to hit. This ability is attracted to life energy, and does not work on creatures without a Constitution score (undead and most constructs). You ignore the miss chance from all concealment effects and from any cover short of total cover, making the touch attack as normal. This is a 2nd level eldritch shape.

 (Sp): You release so many bullets in such a wide area, your opponents have no chance to escape. However, it dilutes the power of your eldritch blast. You may deal half of your normal eldritch blast damage in a 30 ft. cone area, no save. This is a 2nd level eldritch shape.

 (Sp): Your eldritch blast disrupts spellcasters' attempts at casting. Those struck by the blast must make a Will save or suffer a 50% fail chance on the next spell or spell-like ability they cast. This is a 3rd level eldritch essence.

 (Sp): You focus your eldritch blast into a ball of energy and throw it, blossoming into a flurry of energy spraying in all directions on impact. You can aim your eldritch blast anywhere within Medium range (100 ft. + 10 ft. per caster level), and when it reaches its destination, it explodes in a 20 ft. radius burst, with a Reflex save for half damage. This is a 3rd level eldritch shape.

 (Sp): You fire rapid shots of energy at high speed, offering the chance of greater damage, or potential misfire from the resulting scatter. Roll a d6; if between 1, 2, or 3, your eldritch blast damage is reduced by 3d6, 2d6, or 1d6 respectively. If the result is a 4, 5, or 6, you instead gain 1d6, 2d6, or 3d6 additional damage. This is a 2nd level eldritch essence.

 (Sp): By building up pressure on your eldritch blast, you release it in a powerful short range burst able to knock people away. As a full attack action, you make a melee touch attack. If you hit, the attack deals twice your eldritch blast damage and you perform a special bull rush, using your Charisma modifier instead of your Strength modifier. Unlike a normal bull rush, you do not travel with your opponent. This is a 2nd level eldritch shape.

' (Sp):''' At 4th level and beyond, you may select from the lesser spell card lists. You may also select a least spell card if you desire.

 (Sp): You transform your eldritch blast into a javelin of energy, which not only injures your opponents, but may pin them to the wall. If there is a wall, tree, etc. within 5 ft. of your enemy, when your opponent is hit and takes damagem they must also succeed on an opposed grapple check (size modifiers still apply, but you can grapple a creature of any size). You use your Charisma modifier in place of your Strength modifier and use your caster level as your BAB. If successful, your opponent is pinned to the surface and rendered immobile until they make an Escape Artist check (DC 15) as a standard action to break free. This is a 5th level eldritch essence.

 (Sp): Instead of firing your beam from your hands, you draw it out of the air itself, letting it rain like meteors upon your enemies. You transform your eldritch blast into a cylinder-shaped area 20 ft. radius wide and 40 ft. tall, with a Reflex save for half damage. Flying creatures take double damage. This is a 6th level eldritch shape.

 (Sp): You project your eldritch blast into a wall shape of crackling violet energy. It is an opaque sheet of energy up to 5-ft. square/level, shaped however you like, and you may pass through it unharmed. You may have only one such wall up at a time (though you are free to use your eldritch blasts), and it lasts for 1 minute or until you use another Glowing Barrier. The wall blocks line of sight, but not line of effect, and deals your eldritch blast damage to anyone passing through, with a Reflex save for half. This is a 6th level eldritch shape.

 (Sp): Rotating your eldritch blast at high speed, you drill through your opponent's defenses. You make a normal touch attack, but bypass a number of your opponent's AC from deflection, sacred, profane, and force-granted effects (such as mage armor, or shield spells) up to your class levels. The enemy retains any bonuses related to their body moving out of the way, such as Dexterity bonuses and a monk's bonuses to AC. This is a 5th level eldritch essence.

 (Sp): Your eldritch blast coils at a thought, allowing you to dance it across the skies and strike at your enemies. You may make a path with your beam covering 60 ft. of movement (with a fly speed of good), and make a ranged touch attack against each creature your beam passes over. By concentrating as a standard action, your eldritch blast continues to persist into the next round, allowing you to make another 60 ft. of movement for your beam. You may only strike each enemy only once per round and you much succeed on the ranged touch attack for each as normal. This is a 5th level eldritch shape.

 (Sp): Your eldritch blast explodes into a flurry of projectiles when the enemy least expects it. At any point during the flight of the (typically 60ft.) beam, the blast can explode like a shotgun shell, turning into a 30 ft. cone with a Reflex save for half. If you possess both this and eldritch cone, your eldritch cone becomes a 60 ft. cone for as long as you have Scattershot prepared. This is a 5th level eldritch shape.

' (Sp):''' At 7th level and beyond, you may select from the greater spell card lists. You may also select a least or lesser spell card if you desire.

 (Sp): You fire your eldritch blast, and after striking your opponent, it seems to deflect off into the air and stop overhead, hanging ominously in the air, before coming around for a second attack! Your attack repeats again the next round, so long as your opponent is within 30 ft. of their last position, with all the same attack options as before with no effort from you. If you for some reason have multiple attacks in the round, this only repeats one attack per spell card use. This is a 8th level eldritch shape.

 (Sp): Your fire your eldritch blast, but the image of the beam does not fade as you release your grip from it, crackling there in mid-air. Your eldritch blast shots continue to persist for up to 5 rounds after you have fired them, and anyone who remains in the 5 ft. squares they occupy takes your eldritch blast damage, with a Reflex save to negate and pass through safely. Using this, it is possible to build a cage of up to five "walls" at once around your opponents, forcing them to move where you want. You can dismiss one or more of them as a swift action. This is a 9th level eldritch shape.

 (Sp): You may choose to store up your energy for a tremendous blast all at once. As a standard action, you hold your attack. On the following round your eldritch blast deals 250% of its normal damage. If you hold it for an additional round, the damage becomes 400%. You cannot charge your beam stronger than 2 rounds, and while you can withhold the shot, doing so is difficult, forcing a DC 15 Concentration check, with an additional +5 DC each round, to avoid the supercharged eldritch blast exploding in your hand and injuring yourself. This is a 8th level eldritch essence.

 (Sp): You release your eldritch blast into an orbiting ring of destruction around your body. Anyone within 5 ft. of you must succeed on a Reflex save; on a failure, they take your eldritch blast damage. An opponent only takes this damage once per round. In addition, the shield grants you 20% concealment which is not bypassed by true seeing. The shield lasts for 1 round/level, and you may only have one such shield up at a time. This is a 9th level eldritch shape.

 (Sp): You fire your eldritch blast, and on impact with the enemy, it explodes into a beautiful, deadly blossom of energy. Your eldritch blast gains a distance of 250 ft., and upon striking the opponent, it explodes, dealing your eldritch blast damage again to your target and any opponents within a 50 ft. radius, assuming you would have hit their touch AC with your original roll. Because it is a series of bolts and not an explosion, you are able to avoid your allies. Also, if you have learned Starburst and also know Eldritch Spear, your Eldritch Spear essence has its range extended to 500 ft. for as long as you have Starburst prepared. This is a 9th level eldritch shape.

 (Sp): Your bolt of energy connects to the enemy and sucks out their life essence. When you strike with an eldritch blast, you gain temporary hp equal to 3 hp per dice of the eldritch blast. Temporary hp gained by this ability does not stack with itself. This is a 7th level eldritch essence.

' (Sp):''' At 10th level and every two levels beyond, you may select from the final spell card lists. You may also choose to select a greater, least, or lesser spell card if you desire. Unlike normal spell cards, all final spell cards last for 1 full round, render the warlock immune to spells for the duration (absorbing 1 hp per spell level) as they are channeling magical energy as a ridiculous rate, and the final card may only be used 1/encounter no matter how many times it is refreshed.

 (Sp): You fire a single beam into the sky, and it begins to rain, not water, but searing blazing death! You may make a ranged touch attack and strike at all opponents within a 60 ft. radius around you, dealing three times your eldritch blast damage. Because it lasts for 1 full round, you may attack anyone who steps into the area while you are attacking with this ability as well, though each person can only be targeted once per casting. This is a 9th level eldritch shape.

 (Sp): Your blasts strikes the opponent so hard, they don't simply get pushed back, but they get thrown out of the universe entirely! When you strike with your eldritch blast, the target takes four times your normal eldritch blast damage, and the energy persists as it turns into a gateway to the astral plane, sucking anything within a 10 ft. radius nearby into it to be lost forever. Creatures get a Will save to negate, and the initial target takes a -2 penalty to its save. Regardless of the result, the portal remains for 1 full round before vanishing. If used on the astral plane, the gateway instead leads to the prime material, making this an effective means of planeshifting between the two worlds, though the place you appear on the plane is random. This is a 9th level eldritch shape.

 (Sp): You turn your body into a portal to the font of power which grants you endless energy, turning yourself and the surrounding 20 ft. radius around you into a blazing star of energy. For the entire round, anyone in the area takes four times your normal eldritch blast damage, and must make a Fortitude save or be dazed from the shock of energy. A successful save negates the dazing but not the damage. Because it lasts for 1 full round, anyone stepping into the affected area is subject to the dazing and damage. This is a 9th level eldritch shape.

 (Sp): You fire a tremendous beam with all of your heart! All opponents in a 90 ft. cone take four times your normal eldritch blast damage and are blinded for 3 rounds from the glare. They may make a Fortitude save to halve the damage and negate the blindness. Because it lasts for 1 full round, anyone stepping into the affected area is subject to the damage and blindness. This is a 9th level eldritch shape.

 (Sp): You drill your eldritch power into the core of the foe's soul and detonate it, causing massive damage to the enemy proportional to their own spiritual strength. As a full-attack action, you make a ranged touch attack against one target in 60 ft., and they must make a Fortitude save or die. This is a [Death] effect. If the creature saves (or is immune), the power explodes outward, dealing twice your eldritch blast damage and enveloping them in a 400 ft. column of light. Creatures which pass through the column of light take the damage as well, but not the death effect. This is a 9th level eldritch essence.

 (Sp): Tearing energy out of the cosmos, you draw down four powerful bursts of magical might. You may make four touch attacks, dealing your eldritch blast damage. Regardless if they hit or not, the bolts expand into shining towers of energy, dealing half of your eldritch blast damage to any targets in a 20 ft. radius of impact, with a Reflex save to halve that damage again. Because it lasts for 1 full round, anyone stepping into the affected area is subject to the secondary damage. This is a 9th level eldritch shape.

 (Ex): At 3rd level or higher, if an eldritch weaver makes a successful Reflex saving throw against an attack that normally deals half damage on a successful save, she instead takes no damage. Evasion can be used only if an eldritch weaver is wearing light armor or no armor. A helpless eldritch weaver does not gain the benefit of evasion.

 (Su): At 5th level, an eldritch weaver's arcane energies manifest as a small floating spiritual object, which can appear as nearly anything from a floating amulet, a ball of light, or even a small creature. It is immaterial and cannot interact with the world; it only serves as an additional channel point in which to fire its own smaller eldritch blasts. In effect, it adds an additional 1d6 damage to your eldritch blasts. They are also used for the special attack options of focused shot and homing shot. At 10th level and every 5 levels beyond, you gain an additional bonus option.

By taking a full round action (or adding another full round if your attack already takes 1 or more rounds), your attack gains a critical threat range of either 20/x4 or 18-20/x2 at your choice before you make the attack roll.

Select a target within 60 ft. as a free action; each round, instead of improving your own attacks, your options attack another target, dealing 1d6 damage per option. They use your attack roll to determine if they hit and you may select up to as many targets as you have options.

 (Ex): At 9th level, a eldritch weaver's evasion ability improves. She still takes no damage on a successful Reflex saving throw against attacks, but henceforth she takes only half damage on a failed save. A helpless eldritch weaver does not gain the benefit of improved evasion.

Playing a Eldritch Weaver
Combat: As the warlock, so too the eldritch weaver. However, beyond any invoking, charming, item crafting, or other tricks a warlock may possess, an eldritch weaver is an archer, a blaster, a being which fights at range, showering his opponents in d6s. No longer tied down to a simple touch attack once a round, a eldritch weaver can play the part of blaster and battlefield controller, confident never to run out of energy even when all her spell cards have been expended.

Advancement: Any classes available to warlocks make fine classes for an eldritch weaver, perhaps especially the hellfire warlockFiendish Codex II, which expands the power of the eldritch blast even further.

Resources: Warlocks are loners, so eldritch weavers cannot find much help among their kind. When meeting another eldritch weaver, rivalries may develop as to which weaver can fill the sky with more energy, as for all of its destructive power, there is a certain beauty to the charming gridwork of blasts they throw.

Eldritch Weavers in the World
"Stop flying around and stay still so I can hit you, you stupid red-white thing!"

NPC Reactions: Warlocks are terrifying things, untrusted and diabolical. The idea of a warlock who has taken their most obvious and flashy weapon and made it even more spectacular is one surely to scare most commoners. Who wants a being who not only can fry you where you stand, but also the entire town in one fell swoop? As such, most eldritch weavers keep their power under wraps.

Eldritch Weaver Lore
Characters with ranks in Knowledge Arcana can research eldritch weavers to learn more about them. When a character makes a skill check, read or paraphrase the following, including information from lower DCs.

Eldritch Weavers in the Game
SMW::off Adaptation: With its strong ties to the concept of a weave of magical energy, it can quickly be reflavored into a class dealing with The Weave in Faerun lore.

Sample Encounter: The land has been covered with a strange red mist which blots out the sun, allowing all sorts of night monsters to roam free. The mist is coming from the mansion by the lake, long said to be abandoned. Whoever is creating the mist has employed several strange warlocks who demolish anyone too curious in a torrent of blasts. Will anyone see the sun again?

EL 15: SMW::on