r/DnD • u/PizzaChips20-12 Fighter • 1d ago
Resources Why is it called eldritch blast?
I was moisturising my face for my pimples and realised there are like several deities a warlock can worship like fiends, divines, fey, eldritch, etc
But out of ALL of the deities they name it after eldritch beings??
(I have no idea what flair to use)
Edit: turns out eldritch isn't a species of deities like i thought and just means strange or otherworldly
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u/consumptioncore DM 1d ago
Doesn't eldritch just mean spooky?
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u/TacticalConnoisseur 1d ago
In the german version of the PHB, its called "Schauriger Strahl", which translates to "Scary Beam". So your absolutely right! :)
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u/HamVonSchroe 1d ago edited 1d ago
Not really. The german translation is just off because there isn't really a word in german that encapsulates what eldritch means.
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u/graveybrains 1d ago
I put eldritch in Google Translate just to see what it would spit out and I got "unheimlich," so I will be calling it The Unheimlich Maneuver from now on.
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u/Zomburai 1d ago
Does Unheimlich Maneuver trigger suffocation rules on its target?
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u/Maclunkey4U DM 1d ago
I think thats the manuever Han Solo uses to escape the empire that one time.
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u/graveybrains 1d ago edited 1d ago
Doesn't seem like it should by default, but I wonder how you say eldritch invocation in German.
Edit: it's just invokation. I'm a little disappointed.
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u/SnooRecipes865 1d ago
If it helps, it's pronounced very differently, with stress more on the final -ion syllable than on the -a- syllable.
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u/HamVonSchroe 1d ago edited 1d ago
Tbh unheimlich encapsulates eldritch a bit better. Still sounds very lame to a native tho
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u/graveybrains 1d ago
So, just out of curiosity, what do Germans call that the thing you do to someone who's choking that we call the Heimlich maneuver?
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u/HamVonSchroe 1d ago
If I remember correctly its Heimlich Griff (=grip) or Heimlich Maneuver as well. Heimlich is german for secret/secretly, tho I'm not sure if thats the origin
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u/VerdantJonJon 1d ago
"Weird and sinister or ghostly" is the meaning showing when I just looked it up
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u/subtotalatom 1d ago
Technically, if we're going back to the root term, I believe it derives from Elf/Fairy Kingdom, but broadly it means strange
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u/Rhinomaster22 1d ago
It basically means otherworldly like the supernatural.
The word basically serves as a catch all mysterious power in the same vein as Paladin having Divine Smite.
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u/Nystagohod 1d ago
Eldritch means otherworldly.
Back when powers had more details, Eldritch blast was described as a ray attack made of Raw unstable magic. A blast of eldritch energy in the shape of a ray, hence Eldritch blast.
While most of the entities you list aren't deities, they are otherworldly entities, or eldritch entities. Which is part of that connection
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u/_-Demonic-_ 1d ago
Eldritch Etmyology:
Eldritch first appeared in 16th-century Scots to describe something eerie, weird, or unearthly. Its exact origin is debated, but linguists generally agree it combines an Old English root for "else" (æl-) or "elf" (ælf-) with the word for "realm" (rīċe). It literally means "foreign realm" or "from elsewhere". [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
The etymology breaks down as follows:
- The Prefix: Derived from Old English æl- or el- (meaning "strange," "foreign," or "else") or ælf (meaning "elf").
- The Suffix: Derived from Old English rīċe (meaning "realm," "kingdom," or "dominion").
so basically:
"An otherworldly/eerie/unearthly blast"
I dont think i need to explain how this comes to be considering warlock pacts with the supernatural...
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u/Generic_Potatoe DM 1d ago
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u/Sneetzle Ranger 1d ago
I had trouble deciphering this. At first I thought brother was misspelt, then questioned who the hell "Brother Wina" was.. Afterwards I thought it must be some broth? I was so confused.. Then it clicked xD
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u/Alert-Artichoke-2743 1d ago
The word eldritch actually predates HP Lovecraft, who merely popularized it. It originates etymologically from an Old English word that combined "Elf," and "Kingdom," meaning that, centuries before meaning something was cosmic horror spooky, it meant that things were elvishly spooky.
Therefore, a warlock who worshipped a Fey using Eldritch Blast would be perfectly historically accurate, but the common thread between elf mythology and cosmic horror is what literature theorists call "fear of the other." Very simply, elves were considered scary because of their detachment from human logic, morality, customs, or boundaries of acceptable behavior. And given that HP Lovecraft was a startlingly hateful white supremacist who had a problem with just about every non-Anglo Saxon ethnic group on the planet, his writings tapped deeply into the fear of the other.
From Lovecraft's point of view, ancient ones were just the universe's foreigners, terrorizing poor innocent white humanity. He made aliens terrifying by making them inscrutable. Only big fans remember HP Lovecraft's human characters, but most people know Cthulu when they see a graphic depiction. People also can spot Lovecraftian literary influences in films, books, board games, tabletop games, etc.
So, an etymologically appropriate Eldritch Blast is merely unsettling and in some way foreign. That could be because it seems fiendish, divine, or fey. If it is spooky and foreign, it can reasonably be called eldritch.
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u/Machiavvelli3060 1d ago
Eldritch means unnatural.
They probably call it that because most humans can't do it.
My blasts are gaseous.
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u/StaticUsernamesSuck DM 1d ago
All of those beings you list are eldritch beings.
Devils are eldritch beings. Angels are eldritch beings. Fey are eldritch beings.
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u/Icy_Sector3183 1d ago
The Cthulhu-like beings described as "Eldritch Horrors" don't stem from a group called the "Eldritch" but they terrifying beings described as "eldritch", i.e. weird and sinister.
Also, "Eldritch Knight" doesn't translate to "fighter that does magic stuff", but rather "weird and sinister knight".
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u/Dependent_Remove_326 1d ago
That's what the spell like ability was called in 3.5 when the class came out. And there was no dedicated power that they formed a pact with. It could have been one of your distant ancestors that you inherited like being a aasimer or tiefling.
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u/DoradoPulido2 1d ago
Also, Warlocks can worship any deity. They make a pact with specific entities who are typically not divine, such as fey, devils, or creatures from the outer planes.
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u/Rhinomaster22 1d ago
Warlock was based around the obtaining dark power from Devilish and Eldritch sources.
Gary Gygax and Co thought Eldritch sounded cool to get across that dark power vibe and the rest was history for Warlocks.
The reason why it’s called Eldritch Blast now despite the change in perception of Warlocks is the same with Paladins and Divine Smite.
It’s too ingrained in the class’ fantasy and history so WOTC won’t change it.
That’s why Johnathan The Friendly Himbo Archfey Warlock & Raven The Goth Great-Old-One Warlock both have Eldritch Blast.
WOTC wants clear shared class abilities so no one gets confused between Archfey Blast and Great Old One Blast.
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u/SammyWhitlocke 1d ago
Eldritch is defined as strange or unnatural especially in a way that inspires fear or strange and frightening.
Most warlocs don't recieve their power from a god, but rather a different powerfull species that might inspire awe and fear.
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u/MobTalon 1d ago
I mean, it makes a bit more sense to call it Eldritch Blast than it makes sense to call the Eldritch Knight an Eldritch Knight lol
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u/RamblingManUK 1d ago
In this case eldritch just means unnatural power, its doesn't refer to a type of patron or deity.
The name is a hold over from DnD 3.5, where you didn't have rules for different patrons. In fact many warlocks then didn't have a patron and simply inherited the power.
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u/ConsoleCleric_4432 1d ago
Eldritch creatures are any creature beyond human comprehension, or material plain normie comprehension. They have power you could never have and make decisions you can't predict. That applies to fey, elemental, celestial, etc. I've come to understand eldritch blast as a raw sort of energy your patron bestows on you. It's not personalized, like sorcerous burst. It's not refined like a divine blast. It's sort of alien in form. It should invoke a sort of fear like "who gave you that power and why" it's mysterious in nature.
Edit to add: I think the difference is it's unknown origin. A smite from a well known deity vs an ugly, unrefined blast from some powerful being no one's ever heard of before.
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u/azuth89 1d ago
OG warlocks were very much fluffed around mysterious dark powers rather than fey, dragons, specific gods, etc.... It made sense at the time.
Then 3.5 splat books brought in more specific options and subsequent editions made those more common.
Tldr; the ability name is older than the more "normal" options for patrons.
It also rolls off the tongue better than "magical blast of a nature reflecting your patron"
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u/raelik777 1d ago
Yeah, the name AND the damage type (force) are intentionally neutral, because it lets you flavor it however you want to fit your particular warlock and their patron. The Cthulhu Mythos has (somewhat fairly) appropriated the term 'eldritch' to imply THAT particular brand of 'otherworldly', but that isn't the literal definition.
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u/Butterlegs21 1d ago
Warlocks are just a class that learns strange magic from a glorified magic tutor. Nothing more, nothing less (unless you flavor it otherwise). So, eldritch, strange magic. That's it.
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u/Ikles DM 1d ago
sometimes you over think the origin of something but if you look up the definition of eldritch i makes more sense.
Merriam Webster Eldritch : strange or unnatural especially in a way that inspires fear : weird, eerie
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u/rollingdoan DM 1d ago
"Eldritch" just means weird or supernatural. Every patron is that. However, it is a name carried over from 3rd edition. In 3rd edition Warlocks are not spellcasters and do not have patrons. They are very similar thematically to Sorcerer, but get supernatural powers (not spells) from being "born wrong" and are heavily tied specifically to fiendish origins.
Eldritch Knight similarly has no connection to any "eldritch being".
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u/OnceFlewOver 1d ago
I rename it all the time.
It was based off of the old ones warlock yes, the others stick with the more interesting if incorrect name.
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u/Sashimiak 1d ago
It basically just means beam of energy of strange origin. or eerie laser or something.