However, if you, like me, don't really care for essentials, and if you, like me, bought shadow power looking for cool stuff, you were probably disappointed. If you also, like me, find warlocks kinda cool, the binder was probably a big sore spot, since it was so close to being a regular warlock, wtf WotC? However, it's really, really to slip into the regular old warlock mold, so i'm going to pull it out of the mess that is essentials. This isn't going to be rocket science, but maybe it'll appeal to some of our sensibilities better if given the familiar shape, so I'm doing it.
Here I present to you, the Gloom and Shadow Star pacts for the traditional Pact Warlock (did it get an "essentialized" name yet? I know warlords are marshals and fighters are weaponmasters) to be chosen just like any other option for the Eldritch Pact feature. Everything else is as per the PHB warlock.
But first, homebrew errata:
Shadow Claws
Add the following section to the power: “Special: You can choose this power instead of eldritch blast as the power associated with your Eldritch Blast class feature.”
optionally, if you really hate eldritch blast's mediocrity, you can make it cha or con for attack and damage rolls too, but that's not really necessary for the conversion.
On to the class features:
Gloom Pact
Echoing Dirge: You know the echoing dirge at-will spell.
Shadow Warp: You have the Shadow Warp pact boon. When a creature falls, yu draw strength from its death to carry another creature across the battlefield.
When an enemy under your Warlock's Curse is reduced to 0 hit points or fewer, you can immediately slide one creature within close burst 5 up to 3 squares as a free action.
Shadow Star Pact
Mind Shadows: You know the mind shadows at-will spell.
Hidden Lore: You fade from the senses of your enemies, leaving them unaware of your presence.
When an enemy under your Warlock's Curse is reduced to 0 hit points or fewer, ayou can immediately become invisible until the end of your next turn as a free action.
Just a note, you could alternately make this the same as the star pact from the PHB, just make it so that a player who picks the pact must choose at character creation between mind shadows and dire radiance as their pact at-will, and between hidden lore and Fate of the Void as their boon. would open up the possibilities of all-Cha star-locks, food for thought.
Paragon Path:
Master Binder
Prerequisite: Warlock class, gloom pact or shadow star pact
path features:
Binder's action (11th level): When you use an action point, choose one of the following:
You gain combat advantage against each target of the next attack you make.
You gain a +4 bonus to damage rolls that deal cold, necrotic, or psychic damage. The bonus lasts until the end of your next turn.
Binder's Favor (11th level):
Bound Power (11th level): You gain an encounter power based on your pact
Binder's Boon (16th level): If you have the gloom pact
then. If you have the shadow star pact then .
Master Binder Spells
Pact Keeper's Pledge
Offering of Magic
(copy power blocks from p. 71. and 73 respectively)
path features:
Binder's action (11th level): When you use an action point, choose one of the following:
You gain combat advantage against each target of the next attack you make.
You gain a +4 bonus to damage rolls that deal cold, necrotic, or psychic damage. The bonus lasts until the end of your next turn.
Binder's Favor (11th level):
Bound Power (11th level): You gain an encounter power based on your pact
Binder's Boon (16th level): If you have the gloom pact
then
Master Binder Spells
Pact Keeper's Pledge
Offering of Magic
(copy power blocks from p. 71. and 73 respectively)
cribbing from arcane wellspring for the level 16 feature, if my attempts to not post chunks of the book confuses anyone. also, I made the binder's favor feature a little better, but only for humans who picked both of the pact at-wills, and I can live with that.
additionally, if you combine the star pacts into one, obviously change "shadow star" wherever it appears above with just "star" but also, more homebrew errata:
Binder's Favor
replace "whenever you hit with mind shadows" with "whenever you hit with mind shadows or dire radiance"
Binder's Boon
replace "hidden lore" with "pact boon"
finally, both binder's lore features would make decent feats. quick and dirty, but seems fine to me.
also, all the powers are open to whatever pact, natch, binder or otherwise. In all the bonuses based on pact "Gloom Pact (binder)" = Gloom pact and Star Pact (binder) = Shadow star pact or just star pact, depending on which you like better.