I have a small question, or two... Although no more than ten. As a forewarning, I am a 5e rookie, although I did play a bit of Pathfinder, Starfinder and some other systems. And here I am, to ask about some stuff concerning my current character, that is the aforementioned Archfey Chain Warlock.
Setup!
Race: human variant
Level: 5
Abilities: Str 8 Dex 14 Con 14 Int 10 Wis 12 Cha 18
Invocations: Agonizing Blast, Eldritch Sight, Voice of the Chain Master
Familiar: Owl for now, later in the story swapping to Pseudodragon
Cantrips: Eldritch Blast, Prestidigitation, Mage Hand
Spells level 1: Fearie Fire, Hex, Sleep
Spells level 2: Hold Person, Invisibility
Spells level 3: Counterspell
Notable items: Rod of Pact Keeper +1, Studded Leather Armor, Warlock Arcane Focus as backup
Team: Tiefling Rogue (mostly melee, throws daggers, scout and secondary face), Half-Orc Druid (mostly melee, heals after battle, damage spells)
My question is, how to develop from here? The character needs to not only focus on ranged damage but also be a bit of an environment controller during battle. Due to her backstory and patron, no spells that dabble into fiendish magic or necromancy are allowed, although some have been subtly shifted to fit the theme (Hex is still necrotic damage but based around decay and rotting rather than necromancy). I would rather avoid Darkness and Devil's Sight, as it would cause problems for my team.
So firstly, from what I see so far, Warlocks are rather about those spells that would continue to affect the situation after the turn they are cast in, looking at the limited amount of spell slots. Also considering the fact they are automatically casting on highest level, spells that scale with them are the way to go. Then again I think that Counterspell is an amazing tool that I just couldn't leave unpicked. What would you propose going from here? Fly? Gaseous Form? I think I can talk my DM into shiftish Summon Lesser Demons into Summon Lesser Animals, not sure how that would work balance wise. But what on later levels?
What to do after I max Charisma at level 8? Feats? Bump Dexterity up? If feats, which ones?
I wouldn’t spend an ASI on dexterity. There are plenty of defensive spells and one invocation that can boost your armor class. Lucky is a great feet and it fits well thematically. . . You have been bestowed with uncanny luck from the archfey. This feat also allows you to turn a disadvantage into a super advantage...Assuming your DM doesn’t house rule this out of the game.
I also like the resilient feat for con saves because so many enemy spells target constitution. This feat also stacks well with warcaster...
For a warlock who doesn't have spell slots to burn, I generally find Counterspell less than optimal. Of course, if you're getting a lot of use for it, then keep it as its utility can be campaign specific. Hypnotic Pattern and Hunger of Hadar are excellent 3rd level spells and will give you that crowd control you desire. You might also want to consider mobility spells like Misty Step, Thunderstep and Fly. Which you choose will depend on your party composition and your campaign/adventure. As the only arcane caster, perhaps it's a worthwhile pick.
For invocations, the Repelling Blast invocation is practically a necessity for a ranged warlock so that you can keep dumping enemies into hazards. Your pact specific invocations like Gift of the Ever Living Ones and Chains of Carceri etc. are also great. Mire the Mind is another great invocation which gives Slow 1/day and Ascendant Step is levitation at will. Maddening Hex might be useful when you want to spend your concentration on Hex, although this becomes less useful as aoe hazard spells come online. Lots of good choices but always consider what role our character fills in the party.
I would strongly recommend not worrying too much about your DEX. Up your CHA and then start planning which feats you might like. Alert and Lucky are well loved for good reason.
Gift of the Ever Living ones influences *regained* hit points. Which means... What exactly? Every Short Rest, Health Potion, Cure Wounds and so on? I assume it does not affect ant application of temporary hit points.
Right! What is good about this invocation is that it reduces consumption of party (and personal) resources. Not a lot of flash but certainly something that the party healer appreciates because it means less healbotting.
I already have it. So far we use it as a backup scout for our Rogue. If anything was to happen to him, my trusty Owl will see it and me and the Druid can act. She can Aid in some tasks, serve as distraction for the rogue to flee, or try to take any failed stealth checks on herself as the source of the sudden noise or something.
I imagine it can also be quite good in serving as a messanger, when your Warlock gets into trouble. You can in the end use your own voice when within the familiar's mind.
I already have it. So far we use it as a backup scout for our Rogue. If anything was to happen to him, my trusty Owl will see it and me and the Druid can act. She can Aid in some tasks, serve as distraction for the rogue to flee, or try to take any failed stealth checks on herself as the source of the sudden noise or something.
Wait, let me double check my understanding. You are Chain Pact and have a familiar but it's an owl? You don't have one of the advanced familiars like an Imp, Quasit, Sprite or Pseudodragon? Voice of the Chainmaster is Chain Pact only, so I assume you're not Tome Pact with a standard familiar? Or do you have a standard familiar as well as the advanced from another class?
EDIT: Oops, nevermind. I reread your first post and see you're going to get the advanced familiar through RP. Nice!
I already have it. So far we use it as a backup scout for our Rogue. If anything was to happen to him, my trusty Owl will see it and me and the Druid can act. She can Aid in some tasks, serve as distraction for the rogue to flee, or try to take any failed stealth checks on herself as the source of the sudden noise or something.
Wait, let me double check my understanding. You are Chain Pact and have a familiar but it's an owl? You don't have one of the advanced familiars like an Imp, Quasit, Sprite or Pseudodragon? Voice of the Chainmaster is Chain Pact only, so I assume you're not Tome Pact with a standard familiar? Or do you have a standard familiar as well as the advanced from another class?
EDIT: Oops, nevermind. I reread your first post and see you're going to get the advanced familiar through RP. Nice!
Yes, we are a more RP focused group, so getting a familiar was a bit more complex, than just earning the class's right to have one mechanically. That is one of the reasons I avoided death magic oriented spells, also fiendish influence. My Patron is a demigoddess of Spring in our Homebrew campaign, so it would not fit to have somehow learned arts of the demons.
I am greatly interested in the Gift of the Everliving Ones for the next Invocation.
As for spells: level 5 - fly, level 6 - Banishment and level 7 - Dominate Beast. Was considering Greater Invisibility, but it does not scale with levels as normal Invisibility does, so that's a bummer.
If you've been getting good use out of Counterspell, awesome. But I've never thought it was a good choice for Warlocks with their very limited number of spell slots. You're basically limiting yourself to one slot per battle if you want to keep one in reserve for Counterspell. And if you're using that one for Hex, well...
As for other spells to take, I usually grab Shatter pretty quickly, since Warlocks don't have much AoE and it's REALLY nice to have at least one AoE option. Perfect for when you get the drop on a group of enemies before they have a chance to spread out. Plus, the damage also affects nonmagical objects, so you can use it to break stone doors, urns, pillars, that sort of thing. I also like having Misty Step on my list as an emergency escape if I get surrounded. Plus it's a bonus action so you can BAMF out and then fire EB's at whoever was surrounding you. But with Xanathar's Guide, Warlocks now get Thunder Step, it's as if Dimension Door and Shatter had a baby. One of your teammates getting attacked by multiple bad guys? Walk up to him, cast Thunder Step, take him out of danger and lay a beatdown on the bad guys you left behind. :)
In later levels there are some nifty new spells for messing with people. Enemies Abound and Synaptic Static both mess with the mind, something that could fit with the tricksiness of faeries. With a demigoddess of Spring as Patron, Plant Growth might be a good thematic choice. Creating really really difficult terrain for enemies to deal with can be handy, and the 8-hour version of it has interesting storytelling possibilities, as you could use it to heal farmland and provide aid to farmers or even a whole town in exchange for goods/services, information, protection etc. Consider taking Greater Invisibility even though it doesn't scale. Making your Rogue able to attack while staying unseen, thus giving them advantage every turn for Sneak Attack? They'll love you for it :)
If you've been getting good use out of Counterspell, awesome. But I've never thought it was a good choice for Warlocks with their very limited number of spell slots. You're basically limiting yourself to one slot per battle if you want to keep one in reserve for Counterspell. And if you're using that one for Hex, well...
I picked Counterspell, because I am the only one in the party to be able to use it at the moment. It's not on the Druid spell list and our Arcane Trickster has a long way to go, till he will be able to cast it, and then again he will probably haeh other needs from his spells.
As for other spells to take, I usually grab Shatter pretty quickly, since Warlocks don't have much AoE and it's REALLY nice to have at least one AoE option. Perfect for when you get the drop on a group of enemies before they have a chance to spread out. Plus, the damage also affects nonmagical objects, so you can use it to break stone doors, urns, pillars, that sort of thing. I also like having Misty Step on my list as an emergency escape if I get surrounded. Plus it's a bonus action so you can BAMF out and then fire EB's at whoever was surrounding you. But with Xanathar's Guide, Warlocks now get Thunder Step, it's as if Dimension Door and Shatter had a baby. One of your teammates getting attacked by multiple bad guys? Walk up to him, cast Thunder Step, take him out of danger and lay a beatdown on the bad guys you left behind. :)
I never considered Shatter, not sure why... I picked Misty Step at first as one of my lvl 2 spells but then swapped it for Hold Person. I think that once more the limited number of spell slots came into play. It is a very good AoE, considering its a 10 ft radius not a 10 ft cube. Speaking of which, would it be a grid intersection and then a 4x4 square without the corners?
With a demigoddess of Spring as Patron, Plant Growth might be a good thematic choice. Creating really really difficult terrain for enemies to deal with can be handy, and the 8-hour version of it has interesting storytelling possibilities, as you could use it to heal farmland and provide aid to farmers or even a whole town in exchange for goods/services, information, protection etc.
Plant Growth is a really good spell and I was considering taking it when I have the chance, but I will have to talk with my GM first, if he would allow, as part of casting the spell to spill seeds, or add an optional material cost to the spell "a handful of seeds" so that it would remove the limitation of preexisting plants in the area for the 1 Action version. Because right now we are in the middle of a dessert. And will probably stay here for at least a few more levels.
Magic Initiate feat with Bard Spellbound. How does it interact with the Warlock spell slots? It says you can cast it at lowest level, but does not say anything about using or not using a spell slot. Considering all Warlock slots are max level, does it mean you cast it outside your normal spell slots as a lvl 1 spell, or do you cast it using your spell slot as a level 1 spell? Or do you cast it at the lowest known spell slot for you? I am puzzled here.
Magic Initiate feat with Bard Spellbound. How does it interact with the Warlock spell slots? It says you can cast it at lowest level, but does not say anything about using or not using a spell slot. Considering all Warlock slots are max level, does it mean you cast it outside your normal spell slots as a lvl 1 spell, or do you cast it using your spell slot as a level 1 spell? Or do you cast it at the lowest known spell slot for you? I am puzzled here.
For the 1st-level spell you get from that feat, you get to cast it once per day without using a spell slot. The default when a spell is cast is as its default level unless specified otherwise(like a Tiefling's Hellish rebuke gets cast as a 2nd-level rather than 1st-level). I *think* the rule for casting it using one of your spell slots is that you can only do it if you took Magic Initiate in a class you have levels in. So if you took MI(Warlock) just for some extra spells, you'd be able to cast that 1st-level spell using your Warlock spell slots. But if you take it in Bard, you haven't gotten any spell slots from being a Bard, so you can only cast it the once using the feat's ability.
That's actually not too bad, now that I think about it. For some target control, I now only have Hold Person, which is limited to Humanoids. I am cinsidconsi taking Magic Initiate Bard on level 8 and pick Dancing Lights and some other Cantrip as well as Hideous Laughter for the level 1 spell. It has no limitation on enemy type, but also does not scale amount of targets with levels. Still we have yet to fight a group bigger than five, so I think we are somewhat safe here. Especially since I can cast Hex as Bonus, targeting Wisdom and then as an action cast Hideous Laughter and enjoy an incapacitated enemy with disadvantage on saving throws.
Edit: My foolishness! Can't cast anything but a Cantrip after a Bonus Action Spell. Realized two seconds after posting.
If you're picking Bard cantrips, be sure to consider Vicious Mockery. It's not a lot of damage but imposing Disadvantage on someone's next attack is nothing to sneeze at. Plus, I've been in multiple parties with a Bard who managed to land it in key situations :)
It was my top contender. I want Dancing Lights for the sake of seeing in darkness. The rest is mostly fluff focused, while being quite useful at the same time.
Heyo y'all!
I have a small question, or two... Although no more than ten. As a forewarning, I am a 5e rookie, although I did play a bit of Pathfinder, Starfinder and some other systems. And here I am, to ask about some stuff concerning my current character, that is the aforementioned Archfey Chain Warlock.
Setup!
Race: human variant
Level: 5
Abilities: Str 8 Dex 14 Con 14 Int 10 Wis 12 Cha 18
Skills Proficiency: Arcana, Deception, Insight, Intimidation, Persuasion
Feat: War Caster
Invocations: Agonizing Blast, Eldritch Sight, Voice of the Chain Master
Familiar: Owl for now, later in the story swapping to Pseudodragon
Cantrips: Eldritch Blast, Prestidigitation, Mage Hand
Spells level 1: Fearie Fire, Hex, Sleep
Spells level 2: Hold Person, Invisibility
Spells level 3: Counterspell
Notable items: Rod of Pact Keeper +1, Studded Leather Armor, Warlock Arcane Focus as backup
Team: Tiefling Rogue (mostly melee, throws daggers, scout and secondary face), Half-Orc Druid (mostly melee, heals after battle, damage spells)
My question is, how to develop from here? The character needs to not only focus on ranged damage but also be a bit of an environment controller during battle. Due to her backstory and patron, no spells that dabble into fiendish magic or necromancy are allowed, although some have been subtly shifted to fit the theme (Hex is still necrotic damage but based around decay and rotting rather than necromancy). I would rather avoid Darkness and Devil's Sight, as it would cause problems for my team.
So firstly, from what I see so far, Warlocks are rather about those spells that would continue to affect the situation after the turn they are cast in, looking at the limited amount of spell slots. Also considering the fact they are automatically casting on highest level, spells that scale with them are the way to go. Then again I think that Counterspell is an amazing tool that I just couldn't leave unpicked. What would you propose going from here? Fly? Gaseous Form? I think I can talk my DM into shiftish Summon Lesser Demons into Summon Lesser Animals, not sure how that would work balance wise. But what on later levels?
What to do after I max Charisma at level 8? Feats? Bump Dexterity up? If feats, which ones?
I wouldn’t spend an ASI on dexterity. There are plenty of defensive spells and one invocation that can boost your armor class. Lucky is a great feet and it fits well thematically. . . You have been bestowed with uncanny luck from the archfey. This feat also allows you to turn a disadvantage into a super advantage...Assuming your DM doesn’t house rule this out of the game.
I also like the resilient feat for con saves because so many enemy spells target constitution. This feat also stacks well with warcaster...
For a warlock who doesn't have spell slots to burn, I generally find Counterspell less than optimal. Of course, if you're getting a lot of use for it, then keep it as its utility can be campaign specific. Hypnotic Pattern and Hunger of Hadar are excellent 3rd level spells and will give you that crowd control you desire. You might also want to consider mobility spells like Misty Step, Thunderstep and Fly. Which you choose will depend on your party composition and your campaign/adventure. As the only arcane caster, perhaps it's a worthwhile pick.
For invocations, the Repelling Blast invocation is practically a necessity for a ranged warlock so that you can keep dumping enemies into hazards. Your pact specific invocations like Gift of the Ever Living Ones and Chains of Carceri etc. are also great. Mire the Mind is another great invocation which gives Slow 1/day and Ascendant Step is levitation at will. Maddening Hex might be useful when you want to spend your concentration on Hex, although this becomes less useful as aoe hazard spells come online. Lots of good choices but always consider what role our character fills in the party.
I would strongly recommend not worrying too much about your DEX. Up your CHA and then start planning which feats you might like. Alert and Lucky are well loved for good reason.
Gift of the Ever Living ones influences *regained* hit points. Which means... What exactly? Every Short Rest, Health Potion, Cure Wounds and so on? I assume it does not affect ant application of temporary hit points.
Correct. It automatically makes all dice rolls made to heal you work as if they rolled the max possible (12’s on a d12).
But doesn’t affect temp hit points
Right! What is good about this invocation is that it reduces consumption of party (and personal) resources. Not a lot of flash but certainly something that the party healer appreciates because it means less healbotting.
Yes this is a “must have” for Chainlocks.
Now what about Voice of the Chainmaster? I love this invocation just not sure how to use it...
I already have it. So far we use it as a backup scout for our Rogue. If anything was to happen to him, my trusty Owl will see it and me and the Druid can act. She can Aid in some tasks, serve as distraction for the rogue to flee, or try to take any failed stealth checks on herself as the source of the sudden noise or something.
I imagine it can also be quite good in serving as a messanger, when your Warlock gets into trouble. You can in the end use your own voice when within the familiar's mind.
I looooove me some Archfey Warlocks :)
If you've been getting good use out of Counterspell, awesome. But I've never thought it was a good choice for Warlocks with their very limited number of spell slots. You're basically limiting yourself to one slot per battle if you want to keep one in reserve for Counterspell. And if you're using that one for Hex, well...
As for other spells to take, I usually grab Shatter pretty quickly, since Warlocks don't have much AoE and it's REALLY nice to have at least one AoE option. Perfect for when you get the drop on a group of enemies before they have a chance to spread out. Plus, the damage also affects nonmagical objects, so you can use it to break stone doors, urns, pillars, that sort of thing. I also like having Misty Step on my list as an emergency escape if I get surrounded. Plus it's a bonus action so you can BAMF out and then fire EB's at whoever was surrounding you. But with Xanathar's Guide, Warlocks now get Thunder Step, it's as if Dimension Door and Shatter had a baby. One of your teammates getting attacked by multiple bad guys? Walk up to him, cast Thunder Step, take him out of danger and lay a beatdown on the bad guys you left behind. :)
In later levels there are some nifty new spells for messing with people. Enemies Abound and Synaptic Static both mess with the mind, something that could fit with the tricksiness of faeries. With a demigoddess of Spring as Patron, Plant Growth might be a good thematic choice. Creating really really difficult terrain for enemies to deal with can be handy, and the 8-hour version of it has interesting storytelling possibilities, as you could use it to heal farmland and provide aid to farmers or even a whole town in exchange for goods/services, information, protection etc. Consider taking Greater Invisibility even though it doesn't scale. Making your Rogue able to attack while staying unseen, thus giving them advantage every turn for Sneak Attack? They'll love you for it :)
A new question!
Magic Initiate feat with Bard Spellbound. How does it interact with the Warlock spell slots? It says you can cast it at lowest level, but does not say anything about using or not using a spell slot. Considering all Warlock slots are max level, does it mean you cast it outside your normal spell slots as a lvl 1 spell, or do you cast it using your spell slot as a level 1 spell? Or do you cast it at the lowest known spell slot for you? I am puzzled here.
That's actually not too bad, now that I think about it. For some target control, I now only have Hold Person, which is limited to Humanoids. I am cinsidconsi taking Magic Initiate Bard on level 8 and pick Dancing Lights and some other Cantrip as well as Hideous Laughter for the level 1 spell. It has no limitation on enemy type, but also does not scale amount of targets with levels. Still we have yet to fight a group bigger than five, so I think we are somewhat safe here. Especially since I can cast Hex as Bonus, targeting Wisdom and then as an action cast Hideous Laughter and enjoy an incapacitated enemy with disadvantage on saving throws.
Edit: My foolishness! Can't cast anything but a Cantrip after a Bonus Action Spell. Realized two seconds after posting.
If you're picking Bard cantrips, be sure to consider Vicious Mockery. It's not a lot of damage but imposing Disadvantage on someone's next attack is nothing to sneeze at. Plus, I've been in multiple parties with a Bard who managed to land it in key situations :)
It was my top contender. I want Dancing Lights for the sake of seeing in darkness. The rest is mostly fluff focused, while being quite useful at the same time.