Image credit: Invoke Studios, Wizards of the Coast
Warlocks are the true edgelords of Dungeons and Dragons, adventurers who have made some kind of likely ill-advised pact with a being much more powerful than themselves. Every single Warlock ever played invites hubris into their story, and no doubt Kaatri, the lead for Warlock: Dungeons and Dragons, will do much the same.
Warlock got its first alpha gameplay reveal at Gamescom Opening Night Live, and not only did it look fun, but it was also chock full of things lifted straight from the pages of Dungeons and Dragons to excitedly point at. I’ve grabbed what I can to see just what we’re working with in Warlock: Dungeons and Dragons, and also to see if I can actually break down Kaatri’s build – because I don’t think she’s exclusively a Warlock.
Tasha
Right out of the gate, we meet with Kaatri’s patron – the Witch Queen Tasha, also known by the far less catchy name Iggwilv. She was once an Archmage and adopted child of Baba Yaga, who created such spells as Tasha’s Hideous Laughter – an enchantment that forces enemies to laugh rather than do anything else.
She went on to become a demonologist, moving to the Hells, the land of devils, and later the Abyss, the plane of demons. Having made a few too many enemies, she would then move to the Feywild, where she would set up her own Domain of Delight and, over time, became a powerful Fae all of her own. So, a perfect Archfey patron for any aspiring Warlock, and one who can deliver all sorts of power and knowledge.
Find Familiar
Right from the beginning of the trailer, we can see that Kaatri has a potentially helpful follower; an Imp, one of the lesser devils of Dungeons and Dragons. As a Warlock, Kaatri would have access to the Find Familiar spell, but would only be able to get an Imp if it was enhanced with the Pact of the Chain – one of the powerful Eldritch Invocations that Warlocks can get access to.
This technically also means that Kaatri should be able to summon a little fae Sprite, or even an adorable Sphinx of Wonder, but I imagine the more classic Imp is going to be her companion.
Telekenisis/Mage Hand
Throughout the trailer, Kaatri can be seen manipulating things from afar, moving and throwing objects like they had a Half Life 2 gravity gun, and being able to throw switches from any distance. Now, the simple cantrip Mage Hand can handle some of those things, making an invisible hand to help move things, but it shouldn’t be able to do anything as heavy as a crate or as forceful as a sword.
So this means that Kaatri probably has access to Telekinesis, which some Warlocks can use, but not usually those associated with the Archfey. Perhaps she’s just naturally Telekinetic, not unheard of in D&D, or has a magic item. Or perhaps she’s not actually just a Warlock.
Misty Step
As a movement option, Misty Step is a classic, letting you turn into mist and teleport as you like. Normally Warlocks wouldn’t get to do it so many times, but Warlock: Dungeons and Dragons doesn’t seem the kind of game that wants to get too into the idea of spell slots and long rests, at least not out of combat.
Gust/Gust of Wind*
Kaatri uses the cantrip Gust for small things like turning smoldering embers into bright fires, but also seems to be able to use it in combat to throw enemies off balance, or blow them up into the air. This seems less like Gust and more like the stupidly similarly named spell Gust of Wind.
However, once again, not just any Warlock can learn Gust of Wind. Is it so unbelievable that someone as powerful as Tasha could bestow the ability to blow wind kind of hard? Not at all, but those aren’t the rules!
Black Tentacles*
Evard’s Black Tentacles is a staple spell normally associated with Warlocks and spellcasters who want to get more involved with the weird aberrations, like Mind Flayers. It is as it says – an ability that lets you summon tentacles from another realm to grapple at your enemies (Evard made the spell; they aren’t his tentacles).
In the Warlock: Dungeons and Dragons gameplay trailer, Kaatri uses this spell for platforming challenges and in combat. This may be a reflavored Entangle spell as well, but that also wouldn’t be bestowed by an Archfey. Just what’s going on with this character build?
Death Kiss
One of the more obviously recognizable enemies from the Warlock: Dungeons and Dragons trailer was the Death Kiss. If you know what a Beholder is, the weird floating orbs with plenty of eyes, then imagine one of them that is basically a vampire, obsessed with finding blood with its various, mouthy stalks.
A Death Kiss is created when a Beholder dreams them into existence, after nightmares about losing blood. Does this potentially mean that we’ll be fighting a real Beholder in Warlock: Dungeons and Dragons? We can only speculate, but I hope so, as Beholders are one of Dungeons and Dragons’ most iconic enemies, and are extremely under-utilized.
Eldritch Blast
Eldritch Blast is a classic, an incredibly reliable ranged spell that Warlocks have access to from the jump. It’s a straightforward shot of energy that can hit multiple enemies, or one enemy multiple times, and if it’s as fun to use in Warlock as it is in Baldur’s Gate 3, we’re onto a winner.
Pact of the Blade
In the older version of Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition, you had to pick between the previously mentioned Pact of the Chain and the Pact of the Blade, an Eldritch Invocation which allows your Warlock to better fight with a sword.
You can summon it to yourself at all times, and you basically fight using your magical power rather than your physical strength. This will explain why Kaatri doesn’t look like the most spectacular fighter, because there’s only so much strength or dexterity needed when your magic is more important than your fighting style.
Ritual Components
There’s a point in the Warlock: Dungeons and Dragons reveal that looks small but made me needlessly excited, and that was when Kaatri summoned a ritual table, using different kinds of strange components in order to cast a spell.
In D&D, many spells require time to cast, and will consume different components that you potentially need to track down or buy, but this is usually omitted from games – or even at the table.
It seems unlikely that Warlock will be particularly interested in you needing to keep up your ingredients, but it does provide a potential alternative upgrade path around your ability to find things over just collecting XP.
Control Weather*
The spell that’s cast from said ritual is a bit confusing, though, as it seems to be the high-level spell Control Weather. In Dungeons and Dragons, spells are split up by different levels, all the way up to level 9. Warlocks have very limited access to spells beyond 5th level, but could potentially pick up a spell with an equivalent 8th level as Control Weather.
However, Control Weather isn’t an available spell for Warlocks. You might be wondering why something as simple as causing it to rain might be considered so powerful, but the ability to repeatedly summon rain is an awful lot more impactful in a TTRPG than in an action-RPG game. In Warlock, some rain just allows for interesting combos with lightning and wet enemies. In D&D, you can really mess up the local agriculture.
Witch Bolt
The final spell on show in Warlock is a simple lightning spell, and while this could potentially be Chain Lightning, as it hits multiple foes, I think that’s just part of the Control Weather rain. In actuality, I imagine this is Witch Bolt, a far more thematically acceptable spell for someone working with the Witch Queen Tasha as their patron.
Kaatri’s real build
For just a glimpse, this is a fun amount of D&D in one place, and there will almost certainly be more spells and weird and wonderful creatures going forward in Warlock.
However, there’s some strong deviation from the D&D rulebook for a Warlock. Of course, this can be handwaved by Tasha simply giving Kaatri the spells, and really the restrictions are arbitrary, but where’s the fun in just saying that?
There is a build where Kaatri makes sense with her stats as I understand them. Obviously, she’s part Warlock – a level 3 Archfey Warlock to be precise, with two of her available Eldritch Invocations going to Pact of the Chain and Pact of the Tome. The other spells, though, can be explained by another class entirely.
For the other 17 levels of Kaatri’s apparently level 20 build, Kaatri is a Wizard. This explains the Black Tentacles, the Telekinesis, and all the way up to the level 8 Control Weather. Her Warlock abilities are the least of her powers, if we look at her this way, but let’s be real – Warlock is just a better game name than ‘Wizard’.
FAQs
There’s no release date yet confirmed for Warlock: Dungeons and Dragons, though its currently slated for 2027.
Warlock: Dungeons and Dragons is a third-person action-adventure game where you play a Warlock, mixing hacking and slashing with a suite of different magical abilities.
In D&D, a Warlock is an adventurer who has made a deal with a much more powerful entity – their patron – that gives them access to all sorts of magical abilities. These patrons can be powerful fae, devils, eldritch creatures, or even djinni.
Are Warlocks frowned upon in D&D?
It depends on the setting – Warlocks are usually associated with devilry or less savoury magical powers, and so there can be a stigma around people so hungry for power they’d make deals with these beings. Playing a Warlock is fine at any table, so long as your patron doesn’t cause too much collective trouble for your party.
