We have 9 players, and have pretty much everything covered. So what I am thinking of doing is playing something that can cover pretty much most needs for when people are out.
Old campaign, played Lore Bard, which did a great job of this, except for not having any melee, to save me from always using spells.
Was going to do a bard again, maybe swords this time to give me the melee I want. But well just finished a level 20 campaign, and not sure I want to play another bard to 20.
So was looking around, and I just love the idea of the Warlocks RP gameplay. I can see me having a ton of fun with this.
Was looking at Spy background, and was really looking at Hexblade for the combat. My DM even said, if I really wanted to, I could use the Changeling from UA.
So thinking about it.
What I am not sure of, is can I pull this off with just being a Warlock. Since I have never made one, the lack of skills seems to maybe be an issue.
So any advise on a build would be good. We just made 5, and are using variant rules of Adventure League, so I can actually change anything I want, to make this happen.
If you want to go HexBlade, try choosing Pact of the Tome. Then you can choose cantrips that can help you as a spy, like Message.
Investigation is a class skill, which probably should be needed as a spy.
Also, the invocations like Beguiling Influence (let you have proficiency bonus on Deception and [skill]Persuasion[/skills] skills) and Mask of Many Faces (You can cast disguise self at will, without expending a spell slot). So many posibilities as a spy! The list is long, so many nice Invocations that can be used for a spy to trick, charm or tinker your way through you spybusiness!
Yeah, was looking at Many Faces. I'm not totally sold on the Changeling to be honest. My wife is wanting me to be a Tabaxi, but thats cause she is a crazy cat lady. We have 5. She just wants to add me to the collection. :p
As a very new player (returning) I've been asking questions on forums and working through some different warlock builds. In our campaign I went Tiefling Warlock with the Criminal/Spy background. If I were to do it again, or was starting at a higher lvl than 1, I probably would have grabbed Lvl1 Rogue first for the extensive skill proficiences to start, and then moved to Warlock. As someone posted to my forum thread, and Duke posted here, once you are Lvl1 Rogue/Lvl2 Warlock, you have access to the Mask of Many Faces, and also can either choose Friends, or Charm and be able to pose as NPCs while charming your target with your high CHA. Also, as a Tiefling, the Thaumaturgy cantrip being known from Lvl1 gives you some ability to cause minor effects that might allow for persuasion or intimidation rolls (such as flaring your eyes a different color, causing doors/windows to fly open, etc.)
I definitely think the free invocations can make for a lot of fun with the Warlock/Criminal/Spy roleplay.
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Tea Twospoons: Lvl3 Deep Gnome Arcane Trickster Rogue - Sea of Annihilation PbP
Pact of the Tome is good for a Spy. But you should also look at Pact of the Chain. Having an invisible tiny familiar serving as your eyes and ears to scout for you can be an invaluable espionage tool. And the Invocations available to the Chain Pact are awesome. Voice of the Chain Master, for example, can replace the Message cantrip, allowing you to converse with anyone near your invisible familiar, with a much longer range and no limit on word count or duration.
I have a warlock right now with the Mask of Many Faces invocation and the Actor feat. I'm not particularly sneaky, but I sure do blend in with a crowd and trick a lot of people. This combined with the Friends Cantrip is a great way to turn people against each other.
For sneaky stuff, pact of the tome or chain both have benefits. Extra cantrips are always nice and a tome warlock can learn Find Familiar. It's not invisible but spiders are great little spies. If you want to spy from long distances (over 100ft) and deliver messages then chain may be a better fit. Also, at level 5 warlock you can even turn invisible within darkness or dim light at will with another invocation! Turn invisible while spying with your familiar!
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Hi folks, just brief background of our game.
We have 9 players, and have pretty much everything covered. So what I am thinking of doing is playing something that can cover pretty much most needs for when people are out.
Old campaign, played Lore Bard, which did a great job of this, except for not having any melee, to save me from always using spells.
Was going to do a bard again, maybe swords this time to give me the melee I want. But well just finished a level 20 campaign, and not sure I want to play another bard to 20.
So was looking around, and I just love the idea of the Warlocks RP gameplay. I can see me having a ton of fun with this.
Was looking at Spy background, and was really looking at Hexblade for the combat. My DM even said, if I really wanted to, I could use the Changeling from UA.
So thinking about it.
What I am not sure of, is can I pull this off with just being a Warlock. Since I have never made one, the lack of skills seems to maybe be an issue.
So any advise on a build would be good. We just made 5, and are using variant rules of Adventure League, so I can actually change anything I want, to make this happen.
Thanks
So many nice RPing aspects in a warlock spy!
If you want to go HexBlade, try choosing Pact of the Tome. Then you can choose cantrips that can help you as a spy, like Message.
Investigation is a class skill, which probably should be needed as a spy.
Also, the invocations like Beguiling Influence (let you have proficiency bonus on Deception and [skill]Persuasion[/skills] skills) and Mask of Many Faces (You can cast disguise self at will, without expending a spell slot). So many posibilities as a spy! The list is long, so many nice Invocations that can be used for a spy to trick, charm or tinker your way through you spybusiness!
Yeah, was looking at Many Faces. I'm not totally sold on the Changeling to be honest. My wife is wanting me to be a Tabaxi, but thats cause she is a crazy cat lady. We have 5. She just wants to add me to the collection. :p
As a very new player (returning) I've been asking questions on forums and working through some different warlock builds. In our campaign I went Tiefling Warlock with the Criminal/Spy background. If I were to do it again, or was starting at a higher lvl than 1, I probably would have grabbed Lvl1 Rogue first for the extensive skill proficiences to start, and then moved to Warlock. As someone posted to my forum thread, and Duke posted here, once you are Lvl1 Rogue/Lvl2 Warlock, you have access to the Mask of Many Faces, and also can either choose Friends, or Charm and be able to pose as NPCs while charming your target with your high CHA. Also, as a Tiefling, the Thaumaturgy cantrip being known from Lvl1 gives you some ability to cause minor effects that might allow for persuasion or intimidation rolls (such as flaring your eyes a different color, causing doors/windows to fly open, etc.)
I definitely think the free invocations can make for a lot of fun with the Warlock/Criminal/Spy roleplay.
Tea Twospoons: Lvl3 Deep Gnome Arcane Trickster Rogue - Sea of Annihilation PbP
Variant Human with Actor Feat works fine for a Spy. And you have access to the Prodigy feat to get expertise on Deception or Insight.
Pact of the Tome is good for a Spy. But you should also look at Pact of the Chain. Having an invisible tiny familiar serving as your eyes and ears to scout for you can be an invaluable espionage tool. And the Invocations available to the Chain Pact are awesome. Voice of the Chain Master, for example, can replace the Message cantrip, allowing you to converse with anyone near your invisible familiar, with a much longer range and no limit on word count or duration.
DICE FALL, EVERYONE ROCKS!
I have a warlock right now with the Mask of Many Faces invocation and the Actor feat. I'm not particularly sneaky, but I sure do blend in with a crowd and trick a lot of people. This combined with the Friends Cantrip is a great way to turn people against each other.
For sneaky stuff, pact of the tome or chain both have benefits. Extra cantrips are always nice and a tome warlock can learn Find Familiar. It's not invisible but spiders are great little spies. If you want to spy from long distances (over 100ft) and deliver messages then chain may be a better fit. Also, at level 5 warlock you can even turn invisible within darkness or dim light at will with another invocation! Turn invisible while spying with your familiar!