Ok, so I "get" Pact of the Blade Warlocks. They're dark-themed melee hybrid casters, and between Darkness/Devil's Sight, Hex, Hellish Rebuke, Thirsting Blade, etc, can lay down some serious damage. Pact of the Tome... I feel they're kinda light on spell slots to work as full casters, so I kinda "get" them as a caster/archer hybrid, only slinging Eldritch Blast rather than arrows. But Pact of the Chain... I might be missing something (in fact, I'm assuming I am, hence the thread!), but it feels like they're "tome" warlocks with fewer spells and a beefed up familiar which stops being particularly useful after a couple of levels. What am I missing?
Pact of the Chains. You've got a beefed up sapient familiar.
Of the options in my opinion Imp is the best, followed by Sprite, then Quasit, and with Pseudodragon in a distant last place.
The Imp/Sprite both having flying and can turn invisible. IF you give up your attack the Sprite can attack. Poisoned condition is *aweful* as is being unconscious if you fail bad enough. That said it's DC:10, so it's hard to fail against higher level enemies. Remember you have a sapient, invisible, flying, familiar with opposable thumbs and 100' of telepathy. This is a HUGE advantage during the exploration phase of the dungeon. The Imp as a +5 and the Sprite has a +8, so with the Advantage on Stealth checks for being invisible that's effectively a +10 and +13. If you were checking a passive Stealth that would 20 and 23 respectively. The Imp has training in more skill like Insight, Deception, and Persuasion, while the Sprite is trained in Perception.
The Quasit on the otherhand can use Scare once a day, while maintaining invisibility because it is neither an "attack" (no d20) nor a Spell.
I've been in games and we've successfully used the Imp to scout ahead, then had the Invisible Imp pick pocket the enemy to steal their arrows or other useful items.
In addition all of them but the Psuedodragon can speak languages and so can communicate with anyone (also while invisible)
The Chain isn't as powerful an ability in combat as the Blade (although I'd argue that Eldtrich Blast is just better then Blade most of the time) It doesn't have the versatility of Tome (These filters for a full possible list, a cool thing is Find Familiar is even on that list!) On the other-hand the Chain has a lot of RP possibilities as well as excelling in the exploration phase of the game.
I agree that can be extremely useful... but at higher levels PCs can be just as good, or better, at the same activities, while the familiar does not improve. And regarding EB being better than Blade most of the time... Blade doesn't lose EB, nor its relevant invocations, right? So Blade can be just as good at EB? Or does it lose out, due to economy of invocations? (That is, does it lose out because it needs to spend its invocations on Blade-related things?)
I might just be underestimating the "base" Warlock, and assuming Blade and Tome bring more to the table than Chain. But I do feel there's a scaling problem: Blade and Tome abilities scale with level, while Chain abilities don't, except that you get a free nerfed Hold Monster at level 15...
And thanks for the familiar thread! I've actually been trying to figure out what to do with my Wizard's familiar besides the Help action in combat (and general scouting)!
IMHO, I think Warlock is one of the HARDEST classes to try to make a definitive determination on power. To me the power of the Warlock is that it doesn't really matter how you build one you may not be optimal but you are still going to be effective. There are ways to optimize a build, but it's hard to go wrong with one.
Personally I don't think the Pact of the Blade is all that amazing especially before Hexblade came out.
Take Eldritch Blast (EB). It deal 1d10 (force) at 120' per Tier (1/5/11/17), spend an Invocation and it deals additional CHA. You can spend Invocation for additional effects. Pact of the Blade deal weapon damage + STR/DEX/(CHA if Hexblade). Most weapon damages are only going to deal 1d8 or 1d10 at best unless your Hex/Blade with a Greatsword. The attack only increases at 5th lvl so you don't get further attacks at 11th like EB. You can spend *another* Invocation to deal an additional CHA in nectrotic at the 12th lvl with Life Drinker. My problem is at 12th lvl the above character is spending HALF their Invocations to be able to deal competitive damage at range and melee. I am of course not counting the possibility of wielding a magic weapon and bonuses there. Instead any Warlock could buy Crossbow Expert and never take a penalty for attacking in melee.
On the other hand as I mentioned in the Celestial Pact thread with Tome, it's possible to combine Green-Flame Blade and Shillelagh into a single attack that at 6th lvl deals 2d8+2xCHA, plus an additional 1d8+CHA to another target if available. That damage continues to go up 1d8 to both targets per Tier. It trades multiple attacks for a single big one.
That gets to the end point on my post. I'm think Mephista will agree as I believe she has more experience in Chains then I do, that in a white-room scenario Chain is probably the least powerful. Nothing about Chains makes the basic Warlock deal more damage then any other Warlock, but honestly I don't think that's a problem. It's like comparing Rogue's, in a perfect white-room sencario the Assassin might outpace other Rogue do to her opener, but after that it's hard to build a BAD Rogue. They are all going to do the job and the rest is up to character. The basic Warlock is VERY good at dealing damage.
What the Chain warlock gets is a lot of RPing opportunity as well as the best scouting the game can ever provide. A sapient, invisible, opposable thumb having, familiar. The power of the Chains is in information and knowledge. It's in having an (invisible) creature which can do your bidding have have the intelligence to handle complex tasks. It's having a familiar which can use the "Help Action" in almost any task. It's in having a spy that can listen in on conversation for you, or helps you cheat at cards as you can "see" the other player's hands. Keep in mind your Imp/Sprite/whatever can use the Help action to give the Rogue Adv for Sneak Attack. It's in having a creature with Darkvision that can watch over the party as you sleep.
In combat I will agree the Chains doesn't really benefit a Warlock in combat, but I think that is freeing. You only need to buy Agonizing Blast to make you EB better, and all other Invocations are yours to choose. Although I think Voice of the Master is VERY worth taking as it removes the 100' limit on telepathic communication and sense sharing.
What is not mentioned here is that a familiar can deliver touch spells. So a Celestial Pact can use touch heal spells up to a range of 100'. This is great especially if someone goes down. Also you can cast invisibility or greater invisibility (or any other touch buff spells) on a buddy if things get rough for him in a fight. While this is possible with a normal familiar you can dare to use that offensively if your familiar is invisible (only Owl familiar with fly by works too usually). So spells like bestow curse now become viable as they gain a range of up to your familiars movement (maximum 100 feet). I read it that it is not an attack of the familiar but a "delivering" action so they stay invisible but that can be debated. Even if they would become visible they could turn invisible right again as delivering the spell only uses their reaction. Also one might rule that it has advantage due to being invisible.
Also think about the things you can do with the Voice of the Chain Master Invocation: you can see through the eyes of your familiar as long as it is on the same plane of existence. Plus you can speak with your own voice through it. Imagine that with the actor feat. You listen to the leader of the evil cult while sitting comfty in your chair sipping wine. Once you can mimic his speach you have your familiar give wild orders to his followers. This is especially potent if the targets are not very clever or wear masks. Imagine the troll scene of the little hobbit without anybody having to be near the trolls to pull it off. If anything the scouting possibilities and the amount of damage you can do via false orders, false insults or the like have the potential to be broken. Especially until mid levels and as long as there is usually nobody around able to see invisible creatures. The most problematic thing I see in this is that the only one playing all this would ususally be your Warlock player what might be not fun/boring for the other players if done extensively.
Also I asked JC a while ago whether a Warlock could cast a spell with only a verbal component speaking through his familiar. Sadly he did not reply.
Chain is miles away the best Pact for RP. It's the only pact boon that you can have a conversation with, after all. It's a super-familiar that can cast invisibility on itself, change shape, and/or blindsight. Invocations turn it into your perfect spy, and one you can use to your own ends without cajoling a party member. It gives you a real opportunity to stretch your roleplaying muscles, and its ability to deliver touch attacks is always handy as well. You can speak telepathically with it, see through it, and being tiny it can go tons of places nobody else can. It is definitively the coolest Pact.
Chainlocks are just as blasty as Tomelocks; you're just missing out on a few extra cantrips and the later ability to cast rituals. If your party already has a Wizard or a few casters, the Tome loses considerable luster. And this day and age you're not going to be picking Blade unless you're a Hexblade (in which case it's virtually your auto-pick).
Celestial Warlock + Gift of the Everliving Ones Invocation, and you can survive solely off of short rests almost. Alternatively, as the others said, you can use your invisible/stealthy familiar to spy for you. It's like Arcane Eye at will, except you don't have to wait until an unreasonably high level to take it.
I think this sold me. Dunno why I hadn't seen it, but really, Tome vs Chain, you're trading utility cantrips and rituals for a super-familiar and eventually a free, nerfed Hold Monster a day. The Hold Monster isn't that big a deal, I think, since you can already cast it at level 9, so it's really a daily situational spell slot savings. Of course, you don't have to take the invocation, too.
I'm still kind of iffy on how well the familiar scales... I can certainly see an imp being useful at level 5, but how useful is it at level 15? 20? By that point, won't the imp either be hiding or seriously risking its life? How long would it last in a typical high level encounter? For spying and scouting and such, at high levels, aren't there plenty of other options?
Regarding delivering touch spells... I've never managed to do so, with my Wizard's familiar, mostly because of how awkward it is: it takes two turns: first, your familiar needs to move towards the target, and stay there (dangerous, being in the thick of it all!), then on your turn, you cast the spell and the familiar delivers it. The familiar stays in the dangerous spot for a full round (granted, better have it die than you!). Or, alternatively, you ready the spell, and then on the familiar's turn it moves, you cast, it delivers, and then it can move away and be safe, but then you risk losing the spell if something hits you in the meantime, plus you lose your reaction (gotta choose between Shield and the touch spell!).
Truth be told, this might all be due to the fact that I'm somewhat disappointed with my familiar as a Wizard. It's become a somewhat unreliable scout (half the time, it alerts the target, once it was even killed while scouting, mostly it feels like simply a narrative device leading to the encounter), and a source of Advantage in combat (which is nice, don't get me wrong... but boring).
Regarding Chains of Carceri: it is not once per LR but once per Creature per LR. So on different creatures you can do it all day long.
And how useful a familiar is in higher levels probably depends on the DM and the opposition. I think though that even in high levels invisibility makes a big difference. Far from every powerful monster is able to perceive invisible creatures. I don't know if you had your character cast invisibility on the familiar before it scouted. Also what I think is both funny and powerful is a Familiar with the Dragon's Breath spell cast on it. If the familiar is also invisible this should be a blast. Sadly a Warlock has to multiclass for that or needs a helpful Wizard or Sorcerer friend.
I completely missed the "per creature" part! Humongous difference.
Dragon's Breath on the familiar... I didn't think of it in time, so I didn't pick the spell. Now I'm crossing my fingers I find a scroll or spellbook somewhere with it. :D
That creature is a mini buff, there's one that will grant you magic resistance while sitting near you, the sprite is a decent scout and also "because it has thumbs" it could dispense a healing potion. Chain is for negotiators.
I just found out about this when talking to another player about this thread. If you read Pseudodragon entry in the Monster Search is says NOTHING about this. However if you own a Monster Manual and go the the entry on Pseudodragon then it says it.
The magic resistance mentioned in the Monster Manual for Psedodragons and Imps is not supposed to apply to player character Warlocks - that sort of variant familiar power is intended for NPCs where the imp or pseudodragon has formed a voluntary relationship with said NPC. And that is why you don't see sharing the resistance mentioned in the Player's Handbook version. There's a sage advice tweet on this that can be googled.
I would like to point out that you can only use this on Celestials, Fiends and Elementals and only works if they fail a wisdom save. So you have a chance to paralyze a Fiend, Celestial or Elemantal and NO OTHER CREATURES. Once a day. Not worth an Invocation in my mind.
I would like to point out that you can only use this on Celestials, Fiends and Elementals and only works if they fail a wisdom save. So you have a chance to paralyze a Fiend, Celestial or Elemantal and NO OTHER CREATURES. Once a day. Not worth an Invocation in my mind.
No other creatures? What?
The text of the invocation says “You must finish a long rest before you can use this invocation on the same creature again”. This means you can use the spell on multiple creatures just not the same creature. That’s an at will ability without using a spell slot. This is a must for a chain lock.
Pretty sure that Skulaug refers to Chains of Carceri's restriction to celestials, fiends and elementals instead of any other types. I personally think that's not taking into account the level 15 requirement, and the majority of high level antagonists tend to be some variation of undead or fiends, so its actually much more useful than it appears at first blush if you ever make it that high in the game.
Give them a bag of holding full of "fun" flasks and utility items. Have the dm roll a die any round the familiar acts to see what they pull from the bag this time. Alchemists fire? caltrops? Acid Vial? Contact poison? smoke bomb? suddenly you have a funny mobile bag of tricks.
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"Where words fail, swords prevail. Where blood is spilled, my cup is filled" -Cartaphilus
"I have found the answer to the meaning of life. You ask me what the answer is? You already know what the answer to life is. You fear it more than the strike of a viper, the ravages of disease, the ire of a lover. The answer is always death. But death is a gentle mistress with a sweet embrace, and you owe her a debt of restitution. Life is not a gift, it is a loan."
Best scout in the game seems like a bit of an overstatement. Flying and invisibility are nice but the Sprite has a passive perception of 13 and the Imp and Quasit are both worse than that and your familiars never scale, which means they're only really good for seeing the obvious and will have a lot of trouble finding anything hidden.
The lack of scaling is the real killer here compared to the other pacts. The familiar is really handy at level 3 but starts having a lot of trouble staying relevant later in the game.
As an aside, that Sage Advice really bugs me. I get why they made that ruling (although I think it's misguided because Chain is such a weak pact at its core) but conceptually I think it's really silly that you can have a high level warlock in a pact with a powerful demon and they still can't swing a real imp familiar without DM fiat.
Best scout in the game seems like a bit of an overstatement. Flying and invisibility are nice but the Sprite has a passive perception of 13 and the Imp and Quasit are both worse than that and your familiars never scale, which means they're only really good for seeing the obvious and will have a lot of trouble finding anything hidden.
I think they are talking about using the familiar as a platform for the Warlock to use the Familiar's senses but the Warlock would be using their Perception for the roll.
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Abide.
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Ok, so I "get" Pact of the Blade Warlocks. They're dark-themed melee hybrid casters, and between Darkness/Devil's Sight, Hex, Hellish Rebuke, Thirsting Blade, etc, can lay down some serious damage. Pact of the Tome... I feel they're kinda light on spell slots to work as full casters, so I kinda "get" them as a caster/archer hybrid, only slinging Eldritch Blast rather than arrows. But Pact of the Chain... I might be missing something (in fact, I'm assuming I am, hence the thread!), but it feels like they're "tome" warlocks with fewer spells and a beefed up familiar which stops being particularly useful after a couple of levels. What am I missing?
For more discussion on the variety you can get with Tome, I'd recommend reading here: https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/class-forums/warlock/12149-who-plays-a-brightlock-the-celestial
It's a lot more then increased spells. You can get access to any Ritual spell in the book regardless of class.
Pact of the Chains. You've got a beefed up sapient familiar.
Of the options in my opinion Imp is the best, followed by Sprite, then Quasit, and with Pseudodragon in a distant last place.
The Imp/Sprite both having flying and can turn invisible. IF you give up your attack the Sprite can attack. Poisoned condition is *aweful* as is being unconscious if you fail bad enough. That said it's DC:10, so it's hard to fail against higher level enemies. Remember you have a sapient, invisible, flying, familiar with opposable thumbs and 100' of telepathy.
This is a HUGE advantage during the exploration phase of the dungeon. The Imp as a +5 and the Sprite has a +8, so with the Advantage on Stealth checks for being invisible that's effectively a +10 and +13. If you were checking a passive Stealth that would 20 and 23 respectively. The Imp has training in more skill like Insight, Deception, and Persuasion, while the Sprite is trained in Perception.
The Quasit on the otherhand can use Scare once a day, while maintaining invisibility because it is neither an "attack" (no d20) nor a Spell.
I've been in games and we've successfully used the Imp to scout ahead, then had the Invisible Imp pick pocket the enemy to steal their arrows or other useful items.
In addition all of them but the Psuedodragon can speak languages and so can communicate with anyone (also while invisible)
The Chain isn't as powerful an ability in combat as the Blade (although I'd argue that Eldtrich Blast is just better then Blade most of the time)
It doesn't have the versatility of Tome (These filters for a full possible list, a cool thing is Find Familiar is even on that list!)
On the other-hand the Chain has a lot of RP possibilities as well as excelling in the exploration phase of the game.
In addition (I'm not trying to Necromaner the thread) this thread has a discussion on using Familiar's during the "overland travel" and "exploration" phase to do the Help Action: https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/dungeons-dragons-discussion/rules-game-mechanics/12496-familiars-and-active-passive-perception
I agree that can be extremely useful... but at higher levels PCs can be just as good, or better, at the same activities, while the familiar does not improve. And regarding EB being better than Blade most of the time... Blade doesn't lose EB, nor its relevant invocations, right? So Blade can be just as good at EB? Or does it lose out, due to economy of invocations? (That is, does it lose out because it needs to spend its invocations on Blade-related things?)
I might just be underestimating the "base" Warlock, and assuming Blade and Tome bring more to the table than Chain. But I do feel there's a scaling problem: Blade and Tome abilities scale with level, while Chain abilities don't, except that you get a free nerfed Hold Monster at level 15...
And thanks for the familiar thread! I've actually been trying to figure out what to do with my Wizard's familiar besides the Help action in combat (and general scouting)!
IMHO, I think Warlock is one of the HARDEST classes to try to make a definitive determination on power. To me the power of the Warlock is that it doesn't really matter how you build one you may not be optimal but you are still going to be effective. There are ways to optimize a build, but it's hard to go wrong with one.
Personally I don't think the Pact of the Blade is all that amazing especially before Hexblade came out.
Take Eldritch Blast (EB). It deal 1d10 (force) at 120' per Tier (1/5/11/17), spend an Invocation and it deals additional CHA. You can spend Invocation for additional effects.
Pact of the Blade deal weapon damage + STR/DEX/(CHA if Hexblade). Most weapon damages are only going to deal 1d8 or 1d10 at best unless your Hex/Blade with a Greatsword. The attack only increases at 5th lvl so you don't get further attacks at 11th like EB. You can spend *another* Invocation to deal an additional CHA in nectrotic at the 12th lvl with Life Drinker.
My problem is at 12th lvl the above character is spending HALF their Invocations to be able to deal competitive damage at range and melee. I am of course not counting the possibility of wielding a magic weapon and bonuses there. Instead any Warlock could buy Crossbow Expert and never take a penalty for attacking in melee.
On the other hand as I mentioned in the Celestial Pact thread with Tome, it's possible to combine Green-Flame Blade and Shillelagh into a single attack that at 6th lvl deals 2d8+2xCHA, plus an additional 1d8+CHA to another target if available. That damage continues to go up 1d8 to both targets per Tier. It trades multiple attacks for a single big one.
That gets to the end point on my post. I'm think Mephista will agree as I believe she has more experience in Chains then I do, that in a white-room scenario Chain is probably the least powerful. Nothing about Chains makes the basic Warlock deal more damage then any other Warlock, but honestly I don't think that's a problem. It's like comparing Rogue's, in a perfect white-room sencario the Assassin might outpace other Rogue do to her opener, but after that it's hard to build a BAD Rogue. They are all going to do the job and the rest is up to character. The basic Warlock is VERY good at dealing damage.
What the Chain warlock gets is a lot of RPing opportunity as well as the best scouting the game can ever provide. A sapient, invisible, opposable thumb having, familiar. The power of the Chains is in information and knowledge. It's in having an (invisible) creature which can do your bidding have have the intelligence to handle complex tasks. It's having a familiar which can use the "Help Action" in almost any task. It's in having a spy that can listen in on conversation for you, or helps you cheat at cards as you can "see" the other player's hands. Keep in mind your Imp/Sprite/whatever can use the Help action to give the Rogue Adv for Sneak Attack. It's in having a creature with Darkvision that can watch over the party as you sleep.
In combat I will agree the Chains doesn't really benefit a Warlock in combat, but I think that is freeing. You only need to buy Agonizing Blast to make you EB better, and all other Invocations are yours to choose. Although I think Voice of the Master is VERY worth taking as it removes the 100' limit on telepathic communication and sense sharing.
What is not mentioned here is that a familiar can deliver touch spells. So a Celestial Pact can use touch heal spells up to a range of 100'. This is great especially if someone goes down. Also you can cast invisibility or greater invisibility (or any other touch buff spells) on a buddy if things get rough for him in a fight. While this is possible with a normal familiar you can dare to use that offensively if your familiar is invisible (only Owl familiar with fly by works too usually). So spells like bestow curse now become viable as they gain a range of up to your familiars movement (maximum 100 feet). I read it that it is not an attack of the familiar but a "delivering" action so they stay invisible but that can be debated. Even if they would become visible they could turn invisible right again as delivering the spell only uses their reaction. Also one might rule that it has advantage due to being invisible.
Also think about the things you can do with the Voice of the Chain Master Invocation: you can see through the eyes of your familiar as long as it is on the same plane of existence. Plus you can speak with your own voice through it. Imagine that with the actor feat. You listen to the leader of the evil cult while sitting comfty in your chair sipping wine. Once you can mimic his speach you have your familiar give wild orders to his followers. This is especially potent if the targets are not very clever or wear masks. Imagine the troll scene of the little hobbit without anybody having to be near the trolls to pull it off. If anything the scouting possibilities and the amount of damage you can do via false orders, false insults or the like have the potential to be broken. Especially until mid levels and as long as there is usually nobody around able to see invisible creatures. The most problematic thing I see in this is that the only one playing all this would ususally be your Warlock player what might be not fun/boring for the other players if done extensively.
Also I asked JC a while ago whether a Warlock could cast a spell with only a verbal component speaking through his familiar. Sadly he did not reply.
Chain is miles away the best Pact for RP. It's the only pact boon that you can have a conversation with, after all. It's a super-familiar that can cast invisibility on itself, change shape, and/or blindsight. Invocations turn it into your perfect spy, and one you can use to your own ends without cajoling a party member. It gives you a real opportunity to stretch your roleplaying muscles, and its ability to deliver touch attacks is always handy as well. You can speak telepathically with it, see through it, and being tiny it can go tons of places nobody else can. It is definitively the coolest Pact.
Chainlocks are just as blasty as Tomelocks; you're just missing out on a few extra cantrips and the later ability to cast rituals. If your party already has a Wizard or a few casters, the Tome loses considerable luster. And this day and age you're not going to be picking Blade unless you're a Hexblade (in which case it's virtually your auto-pick).
Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in awhile.
Celestial Warlock + Gift of the Everliving Ones Invocation, and you can survive solely off of short rests almost. Alternatively, as the others said, you can use your invisible/stealthy familiar to spy for you. It's like Arcane Eye at will, except you don't have to wait until an unreasonably high level to take it.
Regarding Chains of Carceri: it is not once per LR but once per Creature per LR. So on different creatures you can do it all day long.
And how useful a familiar is in higher levels probably depends on the DM and the opposition. I think though that even in high levels invisibility makes a big difference. Far from every powerful monster is able to perceive invisible creatures. I don't know if you had your character cast invisibility on the familiar before it scouted. Also what I think is both funny and powerful is a Familiar with the Dragon's Breath spell cast on it. If the familiar is also invisible this should be a blast. Sadly a Warlock has to multiclass for that or needs a helpful Wizard or Sorcerer friend.
I completely missed the "per creature" part! Humongous difference.
Dragon's Breath on the familiar... I didn't think of it in time, so I didn't pick the spell. Now I'm crossing my fingers I find a scroll or spellbook somewhere with it. :D
I just found out about this when talking to another player about this thread. If you read Pseudodragon entry in the Monster Search is says NOTHING about this. However if you own a Monster Manual and go the the entry on Pseudodragon then it says it.
Edited the above because Mael corrected me. Citation to Sage Advice: https://www.sageadvice.eu/2016/05/23/does-a-familiar-summoned-by-pact-of-chain-follow-players-handbook-or-monster-manual-rules/The magic resistance mentioned in the Monster Manual for Psedodragons and Imps is not supposed to apply to player character Warlocks - that sort of variant familiar power is intended for NPCs where the imp or pseudodragon has formed a voluntary relationship with said NPC. And that is why you don't see sharing the resistance mentioned in the Player's Handbook version. There's a sage advice tweet on this that can be googled.
I would like to point out that you can only use this on Celestials, Fiends and Elementals and only works if they fail a wisdom save. So you have a chance to paralyze a Fiend, Celestial or Elemantal and NO OTHER CREATURES. Once a day. Not worth an Invocation in my mind.
No other creatures? What?
The text of the invocation says “You must finish a long rest before you can use this invocation on the same creature again”. This means you can use the spell on multiple creatures just not the same creature. That’s an at will ability without using a spell slot. This is a must for a chain lock.
Pretty sure that Skulaug refers to Chains of Carceri's restriction to celestials, fiends and elementals instead of any other types. I personally think that's not taking into account the level 15 requirement, and the majority of high level antagonists tend to be some variation of undead or fiends, so its actually much more useful than it appears at first blush if you ever make it that high in the game.
YMMV.
Give your Imp instructions to Administer a healing potion to any party member who drops. Give em a bag of caltrops or marbles. The fun is endless.
https://www.sageadvice.eu/2015/09/04/can-potions-be-administered-to-unconscious-characters/
Abide.
Give them a bag of holding full of "fun" flasks and utility items. Have the dm roll a die any round the familiar acts to see what they pull from the bag this time. Alchemists fire? caltrops? Acid Vial? Contact poison? smoke bomb? suddenly you have a funny mobile bag of tricks.
"Where words fail, swords prevail. Where blood is spilled, my cup is filled" -Cartaphilus
"I have found the answer to the meaning of life. You ask me what the answer is? You already know what the answer to life is. You fear it more than the strike of a viper, the ravages of disease, the ire of a lover. The answer is always death. But death is a gentle mistress with a sweet embrace, and you owe her a debt of restitution. Life is not a gift, it is a loan."
Best scout in the game seems like a bit of an overstatement. Flying and invisibility are nice but the Sprite has a passive perception of 13 and the Imp and Quasit are both worse than that and your familiars never scale, which means they're only really good for seeing the obvious and will have a lot of trouble finding anything hidden.
The lack of scaling is the real killer here compared to the other pacts. The familiar is really handy at level 3 but starts having a lot of trouble staying relevant later in the game.
As an aside, that Sage Advice really bugs me. I get why they made that ruling (although I think it's misguided because Chain is such a weak pact at its core) but conceptually I think it's really silly that you can have a high level warlock in a pact with a powerful demon and they still can't swing a real imp familiar without DM fiat.
I think they are talking about using the familiar as a platform for the Warlock to use the Familiar's senses but the Warlock would be using their Perception for the roll.
Abide.