PHB2 Class Review: Invokers Are a Smitey Good Time
The wings are part of an option package; they don't come standard.
Invokers are a little tough to explain. They’re sort of like paladins without a sword or armor, or a cleric without heal spells. But not really. Maybe the best way to describe them is this: they’re basically celestial cops.
I actually have some first-hand experience with an invoker, since one of our players debuted one this weekend. They fill the controller role and use a divine power source. However, where a cleric derives power from faith in a deity, an invoker is more like the hand of a god (no, not Diego Maradona). They don’t just wield divine energy – they’re filled with it.
As controllers, invokers have plenty of debuffs, crippling enemies’ attacks, saving throws and movement. They have some interesting contingency effects – negative results that only trigger when the target takes a certain action. For example, “Glyph of Imprisonment” is a burst that deals some damage to the targets, and if any of the targets take a move action, they take more damage.
The bulk of an invoker’s damage is radiant (they are far more effective at destroying undead than clerics), though there is a healthy dose of psychic damage, along with a smattering of fire and thunder. Invokers might benefit from the Astral Fire feat more than any other class.
One of the more interesting aspects of the invokers is the ability to summon angels. The 4E angels as presented in the Monster Manual are pretty bad-ass, so this can be a huge boost on the battlefield. This ties in to the invoker’s celestial nature – depending on the paragon path chosen, an invoker could actually become an angel.
The whole celestial thing opens up some cool role-playing possibilities. An invoker in your campaign could be the weakened avatar of an actual god, or simply an instrument of divine forces. If you use the Celestial Hebdomad as a pantheon in your campaign world, invokers get even more interesting. Either way, invokers are going to be doling out spiritual justice by the fistful.
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March 23rd, 2009 4:05 PM
This is awesome. Still need to organize a group though. Geez my guys are flaky.
March 24th, 2009 6:35 AM
I have to say, I’m a bit underwhelmed by at least the lowest level angel summon. Not only does it merely have your defenses, it also has your bloodied score as your hit points. It also requires your standard action to perform its only regular attack. Compared to the wizard summon of the same level, I think it is pretty weak. Flaming Sphere at least allows you to do damage with the summon and use a power of your own to supplement.
March 24th, 2009 1:04 PM
I didn’t study the notes. I’m just relishing the idea of my tiefling becoming an angel.
March 25th, 2009 12:24 PM
So…does this mean no Angelic Pact for Warlocks? I hope not.