Discontent to new Pact narrative

[Pandjed]

TL;DR version is:

• New pacts are fine mechanically
• Carceri Storm describes a pact with demons from a non-Eberron plane, while the Fiend is as general as it can be in its description, which doesn't serve any of the two
• The Abyss has a very confusing name in relation to D&D and there's already something in the game that would have captured it better narritatively

I like having some more pacts. Giving options within a individual class are fun, as long as it doesn't bloat. Having 6 pacts doesn't make it, and the features seem fun at first sight. But I still have a gripe with it... mostly, the narrative.

Warlock had always been a meh-class in terms of narrative, and more focused on the game-mechanics than how this class is represented in DDO. While DDO doesn't need to limit itself to the world of Eberron, however, most of the content and the biggest part of the hub is still Eberron. While I have minor discontent about the missed chance for Fey, Fiend, and GOO (which could have been great connections to Lammaniah, Khyber/Shavarath, and the Daelkyr, but ended up being very general), it's still fine, in the PHB of the newest edition with certain ties to the edition b4, having connection to the newest version of the P&P makes sense from a marketing point.

The new pacts don't have that excuse. Now it also bites back that the former Fiend pact was rather general and had no real connection to anything. Let's read the descriptions of two pacts:

1. Fiend: You have made a pact with a fiend from the lower planes fo existence, a being whose aims are evil, even if you strive against those aims. Such beings desire the corruption or destruction of all things, ultimately including you.
2. Carceri Storm: your patron is a demonic entity from the realm of Carceri, otherwise known as Tartarus. The bitter cold and freezing winds will chill you to your bones, but if you can master the power granted to you, great things will surely come your way...

In terms of D&D Lore, we now have two fiend pacts, that use opposite elements and have a similar Lvl15 special ability. In addition that Carceri does exist in the realms, but not in Eberron, so we have a first time that one of the pacts describes where it comes from, yet it doesn't fit most characters (as they're treated as characters that are born in Eberron). Also, having this one pact that describes exactly what from where gave the power is weird, when 5 other pacts aren't as detailed.

Then we have the Abyss. Long time and many new D&D-players (and I suspect that several came from the P&P to DDO) know, that the Abyss is the plane of demons in the general D&D cosmos. Suddenly, we're given the Abyss pact which isn't the D&D Abyss, which is very confusing. Yet my gripe with that is that there is a whole expansion about the Shadowfell, a dark place with shadows and unknown entities that uses negative energy and many of their creatures take more damage from light.
So we have something in the game that captures this pact almost perfectly, and yet it's named after something that's entirely different within the cosmos of Dungeons&Dragons, which would actually ppl believe that it's another demon pact (which it isn't). Wouldn't have been "The Dark Ones" or "The Oblivion" or something else served better?

Celestial is fine as it is. Lightning was always a sign of divine wrath, just personally a bit unhappy that the obvious tie in to the Silver Flame wasn't given.




How do you feel about the new pacts? Is some text-work and renaming appropriate in your opinion?

[newmart]

I agree.

I simply don't understand the necessity to come with new pacts NOW, unless they were too incredible ideas (not necessarily strong or broken), but incredible in terms of gameplay.

Undead form would fall in this category, opening some viable synergies, but fall short in practice. As already pointed, gained at lv 15 and a single death aura to support... don't seem practical.

Celestial could bring very good synergies to Enlighted Spirit. But bring **** priest buffs that no one cares.

Carceri brings good dot dps potential (that overlaps water druid but ok). Not an entirely new gameplay.

I simply don't understand.