Looking for tips on how to build/play Barbarian Hexblade. I'm new to the game and I kind of understand how to build it but not how to play. Any tips would be great.
Usually casters do not work with the barbarian class. The main reason is that the signature feature of barbarians, Rage, prevents players from casting and keep concentration on spells. That said, there is some benefit from this multiclass. First let's list the strong parts of both classes and then see how we can combine them.
Barbarian: the biggest hit dice in the game (aka more hit points), Rage (aka half damage from slashing, piercing, bludgeoning/extra weapon damage/advantage on strength checks/ST), proficiency with BIG weapons. All that from just a single level barbabrian. There is something to gain from primal paths on third level but it is up to you and the duration of the campaign.
Warlock (hexblade): spellcasting, hexbalde's curse from first level and then the best thing warlocks have, invocations.
Now as I mentioned above, while raging you can not benefit from spellcasting usually. There are some spells that bypass the rage restrictions. One such spell is Armor of Agathys, a warlock exclusive spell.
The spell reads:
Casting Time: 1 action Range: Self Components: V, S, M (a cup of water) Duration: 1 hour
A protective magical force surrounds you, manifesting as a spectral frost that covers you and your gear. You gain 5 temporary hit points for the duration. If a creature hits you with a melee attack while you have these hit points, the creature takes 5 cold damage.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, both the temporary hit points and the cold damage increase by 5 for each slot.
Casting Armor of Agathys beforehand and going into rage means that you take half damage thus you retain more temporary hit point and dealing more cold damge.
A build I propose is Barbarian1/Warlock5. Going that way you can attack twice (thanks to thirsting blade invocation), you can upcast Armor of Agathys for more damage and you can have a magical +1 weapon (improved pact weapon invocation).
Note: You cannot cast Armor of Agathys and rage on the same turn unless you take damage imidiately after doing so. Rage drops early if do not attack or take damage.
There are other ways to build around, wihout using spells in combat.
If you are going to use the hex warrior feature that substitutes str or dex with cha for attack and damage rolls, I would advice against it. Rage works only with Strength.
You can also take features like polearm master for extra damage or (my favorite) sentinel to control the board
If your are willing to play somewhat against the cliche, you could add a sneaky element to your character. With the pact of the blade class feature, you can summon your weapon from nowhere and with unarmored defense, you don't need armor either. Therefore you could bring a powerful melee warrior to basically any event, where weapons and armor are banned or restricted.
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+ Instaboot to murderhobos + I don't watch Critical Role, and no, I really shouldn't either +
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Looking for tips on how to build/play Barbarian Hexblade. I'm new to the game and I kind of understand how to build it but not how to play. Any tips would be great.
Hello and welcome to the magical world of DnD!
Usually casters do not work with the barbarian class. The main reason is that the signature feature of barbarians, Rage, prevents players from casting and keep concentration on spells. That said, there is some benefit from this multiclass. First let's list the strong parts of both classes and then see how we can combine them.
Barbarian: the biggest hit dice in the game (aka more hit points), Rage (aka half damage from slashing, piercing, bludgeoning/extra weapon damage/advantage on strength checks/ST), proficiency with BIG weapons. All that from just a single level barbabrian. There is something to gain from primal paths on third level but it is up to you and the duration of the campaign.
Warlock (hexblade): spellcasting, hexbalde's curse from first level and then the best thing warlocks have, invocations.
Now as I mentioned above, while raging you can not benefit from spellcasting usually. There are some spells that bypass the rage restrictions. One such spell is Armor of Agathys, a warlock exclusive spell.
The spell reads:
Casting Armor of Agathys beforehand and going into rage means that you take half damage thus you retain more temporary hit point and dealing more cold damge.
A build I propose is Barbarian1/Warlock5. Going that way you can attack twice (thanks to thirsting blade invocation), you can upcast Armor of Agathys for more damage and you can have a magical +1 weapon (improved pact weapon invocation).
Note: You cannot cast Armor of Agathys and rage on the same turn unless you take damage imidiately after doing so. Rage drops early if do not attack or take damage.
There are other ways to build around, wihout using spells in combat.
If you are going to use the hex warrior feature that substitutes str or dex with cha for attack and damage rolls, I would advice against it. Rage works only with Strength.
You can also take features like polearm master for extra damage or (my favorite) sentinel to control the board
If your are willing to play somewhat against the cliche, you could add a sneaky element to your character. With the pact of the blade class feature, you can summon your weapon from nowhere and with unarmored defense, you don't need armor either. Therefore you could bring a powerful melee warrior to basically any event, where weapons and armor are banned or restricted.
+ Instaboot to murderhobos + I don't watch Critical Role, and no, I really shouldn't either +