If you are playing a short race, squat nimbleness can get you access to acrobatics and give you a +1 to dex.
Otherwise I have seen it in play. It works OK with pact of the blade. For two levels getting cunning action is a nice bit of help as well.
Your biggest issue is what to do with level 5 when you would normally have extra attack and you can't have it because you multiclassed. To some extent you can make up for it with eldritch blast, or just lean in with booming / green flame blade.
If you want to dip into Rogue as a Warlock, start with Rogue, then go Warlock.
If you start as a Rogue you get 4 skill proficiencies. If you switch from Warlock to Rogue you only get 3. Take a background like Sage to get your Arcana proficiency.
Aside from Sneak Attack, Thieves Tools and such, which can be very useful, one level of Rogue gives you Expertise in two skills and it's difficult to overestimate the value of that one.
It sounds like you want to play a bladesinger, not a hexblade. But well, a dip to rogue from hexblade is not optimal. It can be done, but mechanically the most optimal is a dip to Hexblade from paladin. On a second level, a Hexblade dip from sorcerer or bard. Either a dip to sorcerer or bard from hexblade. In fact, if you want a hexblade skill monkey, it's better to dip a bard than a rogue.
Regarding the sneak attack, the best hexblade build is with greatweapon master. That doesn't work with the sneak attack. Obviously you can play a hexblade with light weapon, and it will work for you. But I don't see much of an advantage beyond using two weapons. But by doing that you lose the cunning action which is another advantage of the rogue.
A bladesinger will struggle to find room for the desired charisma. For an alternative to warlock, Arcane Trickster might better cover OPs bases - intelligence can be dumped in favour of charisma with less consequences, acrobatic blade dancing is quite well covered, but there's only some spells.
However, there's another alternative you should note:
The Fey Wanderer Ranger, from Tasha's. Your charisma-checks are additionally boosted by your wisdom - and Deft explorer give's expertise - so you could theoretically be more charismatic than a charisma-based class. You're a half-caster, with better progression than AT, worse than warlock - but somewhat comparable to a roguelock multiclass at lower levels? (Charm person and misty step are also great for the character described).
And the blade-dancing is arguably more flavourful than for a rogue - ranger is a solid chassis for an acrobatic blade-dancer, but Dreadful Strikes with melee weapons also encourages dancing around the battlefield hitting different enemies. Which seems like what one would want to do as a bladedancer. (You'll want the Mobile feat for this, though).
Is it mechanically strong? It's probably okay. Ranger as a class is much stronger than some would have you believe, but the benefits of the sub-class are stronger for a ranged build. It's likely to be stronger at blade-dancing than the roguelock, especially at awkward levels for the multiclass. (Note btw that Ranger itself gets very multiclassing-friendly eventually, if you then want to lean in a specific direction). Okay enough that the more important part to consider is the flavour - it's likely quite different from the roguelock, so you should go with what best fits your character.
Well, I said it because "acrobatic blade dancer with spells" is the definition of a bladesinger. But yes, a melee ranger like the Fey Wanderer can cover that archetype. Also a bard if you push me. And if you make a Swashbuckler (rogue), and put the feat magic initiate, or some level of sorcerer or bard, you have everything you need mechanically for that concept.
I mean, if you want a ‘sneaky haha acrobatics dancer guy’ I’d maybe stay as a warlock, start as a rogue and stay as a rogue, or maybe multiclass into sorcerer/wizard instead?
Rogues are pretty weak, imo almost as bad as rangers. If you want it just for story flavour I would say yes. But my ideal choice for an acrobatic blade dancer with spells would be a bard. Bards are charismatic, can be stealthy if you play them right and could absolutely pull this off. If you want a good-ish rogue you’ll need to be at least level 4, which is too much of a commitment for a bad class.
I’d suggest dip into bard for 1-4 levels.
Also a thing to note which I’ve seen from reading replies is ‘fey wanderer ranger’, DO NOT CHOOSE THIS. Rangers are EXCLUSIVELY for story purposes with their mechanics, I’d not waste my time dipping into their class.
If youre dead set on being a rogue, I’d say go for a swashbuckler archetype? Decent mechanically and story wise.
‘But here’s what I’d do if I wanted a mix of both:
-Hexblade Warlock 1
-Hexblade Warlock 2
-Hexblade Warlock 3
-Hexblade Warlock 4
-Hexblade Warlock 4 Bard 1
-Hexblade Warlock 4 Bard 2 (Any College)
-Hexblade Warlock 4 Bard 3 (Any College)
-Hexblade Warlock 4 Bard 3 Rogue 1
-Hexblade Warlock 5 Bard 3 Rogue 1
…and so on till you have
Hexblade Warlock 14 Bard 3 Rogue 1
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I want a charismatic and acrobatic blade dancer with spells. Rogue is skill monkey and gives sneak attack.
If you are playing a short race, squat nimbleness can get you access to acrobatics and give you a +1 to dex.
Otherwise I have seen it in play. It works OK with pact of the blade. For two levels getting cunning action is a nice bit of help as well.
Your biggest issue is what to do with level 5 when you would normally have extra attack and you can't have it because you multiclassed. To some extent you can make up for it with eldritch blast, or just lean in with booming / green flame blade.
If you want to dip into Rogue as a Warlock, start with Rogue, then go Warlock.
If you start as a Rogue you get 4 skill proficiencies. If you switch from Warlock to Rogue you only get 3. Take a background like Sage to get your Arcana proficiency.
Aside from Sneak Attack, Thieves Tools and such, which can be very useful, one level of Rogue gives you Expertise in two skills and it's difficult to overestimate the value of that one.
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It sounds like you want to play a bladesinger, not a hexblade.
But well, a dip to rogue from hexblade is not optimal. It can be done, but mechanically the most optimal is a dip to Hexblade from paladin. On a second level, a Hexblade dip from sorcerer or bard. Either a dip to sorcerer or bard from hexblade. In fact, if you want a hexblade skill monkey, it's better to dip a bard than a rogue.
Regarding the sneak attack, the best hexblade build is with greatweapon master. That doesn't work with the sneak attack. Obviously you can play a hexblade with light weapon, and it will work for you. But I don't see much of an advantage beyond using two weapons. But by doing that you lose the cunning action which is another advantage of the rogue.
A bladesinger will struggle to find room for the desired charisma. For an alternative to warlock, Arcane Trickster might better cover OPs bases - intelligence can be dumped in favour of charisma with less consequences, acrobatic blade dancing is quite well covered, but there's only some spells.
However, there's another alternative you should note:
The Fey Wanderer Ranger, from Tasha's. Your charisma-checks are additionally boosted by your wisdom - and Deft explorer give's expertise - so you could theoretically be more charismatic than a charisma-based class. You're a half-caster, with better progression than AT, worse than warlock - but somewhat comparable to a roguelock multiclass at lower levels? (Charm person and misty step are also great for the character described).
And the blade-dancing is arguably more flavourful than for a rogue - ranger is a solid chassis for an acrobatic blade-dancer, but Dreadful Strikes with melee weapons also encourages dancing around the battlefield hitting different enemies. Which seems like what one would want to do as a bladedancer. (You'll want the Mobile feat for this, though).
Is it mechanically strong? It's probably okay. Ranger as a class is much stronger than some would have you believe, but the benefits of the sub-class are stronger for a ranged build. It's likely to be stronger at blade-dancing than the roguelock, especially at awkward levels for the multiclass. (Note btw that Ranger itself gets very multiclassing-friendly eventually, if you then want to lean in a specific direction). Okay enough that the more important part to consider is the flavour - it's likely quite different from the roguelock, so you should go with what best fits your character.
Well, I said it because "acrobatic blade dancer with spells" is the definition of a bladesinger.
But yes, a melee ranger like the Fey Wanderer can cover that archetype. Also a bard if you push me. And if you make a Swashbuckler (rogue), and put the feat magic initiate, or some level of sorcerer or bard, you have everything you need mechanically for that concept.
I would say it’s… decent.
I mean, if you want a ‘sneaky haha acrobatics dancer guy’ I’d maybe stay as a warlock, start as a rogue and stay as a rogue, or maybe multiclass into sorcerer/wizard instead?
Rogues are pretty weak, imo almost as bad as rangers. If you want it just for story flavour I would say yes. But my ideal choice for an acrobatic blade dancer with spells would be a bard. Bards are charismatic, can be stealthy if you play them right and could absolutely pull this off. If you want a good-ish rogue you’ll need to be at least level 4, which is too much of a commitment for a bad class.
I’d suggest dip into bard for 1-4 levels.
Also a thing to note which I’ve seen from reading replies is ‘fey wanderer ranger’, DO NOT CHOOSE THIS. Rangers are EXCLUSIVELY for story purposes with their mechanics, I’d not waste my time dipping into their class.
If youre dead set on being a rogue, I’d say go for a swashbuckler archetype? Decent mechanically and story wise.
‘But here’s what I’d do if I wanted a mix of both:
-Hexblade Warlock 1
-Hexblade Warlock 2
-Hexblade Warlock 3
-Hexblade Warlock 4
-Hexblade Warlock 4 Bard 1
-Hexblade Warlock 4 Bard 2 (Any College)
-Hexblade Warlock 4 Bard 3 (Any College)
-Hexblade Warlock 4 Bard 3 Rogue 1
-Hexblade Warlock 5 Bard 3 Rogue 1
…and so on till you have
Hexblade Warlock 14 Bard 3 Rogue 1