As I stated in other threads I am a little disappointed with how the Hexblade was changed in Xanathar. We started a campaign taking place (at first) in the Reavenloft setting. Already having a Vengeance Paladin in our group and wanting something fitting for the setting I stumbled upon the UA Hexblade and found it a match (themewise). So I settled for it before Xanathar came out. I neither want to revamp the character nor to multiclass so I kind of have to take what was published in Xanathar. Because I find it lacking though, I will probably try to persuade our DM to houserule one or two feats to be closer to the UA-version. I want to share my thoughts on some of the feats and would appreciate feedback of other (Hexblade) Players on the official rules and my takes on the Feats.
When I chose the Hexblade I really liked the flair of the Curse Bringer feat in the first Hexblade version, so I went with a strength build (having had rolled stats and gotten rather lucky). Before we became aware of the revision of the feats we had already houseruled the smite-rule of Curse Bringer after realizing that Spell-level x2 is a bit too much especially with the chance to double that on a crit. While understanding that they cut that smite rule out I found it viable for a feat to give the chance to move the Curse and was disappointed that this possibility was removed later (at least until level 14).
Because of the name of the subclass and the fact that three of the subclass’ feats are tied to the Curse, the curse is the cornerstone of the class, nearly equally important as Bladesong for the Blade Singer. In another thread somebody compared the Curse to the Vow of Enmity of a Vengeance Paladin. While it is right that melee is possible for a Hexblade without the Curse and probably not a good idea for a Blade Singer without Blade Song, a Blade Singer outshines the Warlock by far spellwise. And while Vow of enmity is quite nice for the Paladin it is only one of a couple of unique features for the Paladin while the Curse is THE feature of the Hexblade. So in my opinion limiting the Curse to one encounter per short rest until level 20 just does not do.
Now let’s get to the Feats:
Hex Warrior
Very nice. Armor, Weapons and Charisma as the ability for attacks and damage is great for a melee Warlock (and all Charisma Gishs). That Bladelocks may also use Charisma on heavy weapons (or ranged weapons) is the only true boost the Xanathar version of the Hexblade got. I like it as my character uses two handed weapons but also theme wise as it has a very Elric feel about it. Probably the strongest Feat of the subclass.
Hexblade’s Curse
It cannot compare to Feats like Bladesong but it is nice and fitting. Bonus damage, increased crit range and a chance to heal are very nice. A big drawback is that you can only use it on one enemy per short rest. If said enemy is then able to avoid you somehow for a minute, your Hexblade is kind of screwed. In fact he then is only a “Blade” without the Hex-part. Evasion got easier too as the Shadow Hound Feat was exchanged for Accursed Specter, so you can no longer track the movements of your chosen enemy. Again: a nice power that I find lacking because for the core Feat of the subclass one use on one Enemy per short rest (until level 14) is very meagre.
Accursed Specter
I don’t find it very powerful but I really like the flair of the Feat. I used it once in play and it was as creepy as it is probably supposed to be (and it was followed by an earnest discussion with our honorable rogue and our paladin, as – again – it is probably supposed to be). A specter at level 6 is not so much of a deal but being able to have a scout, guard or distraction around kind of the whole time is nice. It does not scale significantly though and – depending on style and location – slaying humanoids can be a rather huge hurdle. If you are in undead country, giant country, dinosaur country or other nonhumanoid country you are not able to use it at all (except if you are willing to sacrifice a party member to have a Specter buddy for one day). In other situations you will often only be able to use it if you kill someone just to have your pet specter for a day. And this sounds quite like the definition of being evil. So: nicely themed, not very strong in the first place and – depending on location and style of play – VERY situational at times.
Armor of Hexes
Mechanically it was a strong Feat in the UA version and is – in my opinion – mediocre at best now. It was changed from a 4+ “save” against any hit from a Cursed enemy to “you can use your reaction to get a 4+ save”. There are two things I do not like about the Xanathar version of the Feat:
Firstly, the mechanics for me do not really mirror the fluff. The rule of the Feat makes it kind of a save. For me that is fitting for an armor or shield power but not for a curse. A curse should – in my opinion – hamper the attacker not “save” the attackee.
Power-wise I found the UA-version strong but not op and I find the Xanathar-version lacking. Again one has to take into the account that the Curse will never affect more than one enemy at any given time AND will only affect one enemy at all per short rest until level 14. Also the Curse only hampers the opponent when it tries to hit the Hexblade. With an attack. This makes the Feat even more situational, because at most times an enemy will be able just to attack somebody else or to cast a non-attack-spell. Only if he does not do any of that but attacks you, you can use it. If you then have to use a reaction to trigger an uncertain save it becomes unattractive at most times. If your hexblade manages to get his hands on a ring of spell storing or the like until level 10, the available shield spell will be the more attractive reaction at most times and even without a magic item (like a Ring of Spell Storing) it is available. Also if you have the “right” feat you probably have other things you would like to do with your reaction (like with Polearm Master or defensive duelist). So it boils down to mainly being a save against crits that you cannot evade with the Shield spell.
ALTERNATIVE TAKE: Starting at 10 level a Cursed opponent has Disadvantage on attack rolls against the Hexblade. If a cursed enemy already has disadvantage on attacks against the Warlock from another source, an attack that would hit the Warlock instead misses if the Warlock rolls a 13 or more on a d20.
Firstly this addresses the save mechanic. It is in line with the game and – in my opinion – not too powerful. If you think it is, one could rule that the save only works against the first hit in any given turn. The 13+ on the d20 is a number I like for the Curse. On a side note I would rather call the Feat Jinx or something in the line of that.
Master of Hexes
Being able to Curse more than one enemy per short rest is not only nice for a subclass whose job is to Curse but essential. Still being limited to one encounter and enemies not further away than 30 feet is too much of a limitation in my eyes. Especially for a MASTER of Hexes. Probably the unlimited healing that is possible with the UA-version of the feat is too much healing, making the Warlock near unstoppable against an army of mooks. But this can be addressed differently and more fitting with the level of the feat, its name and the importance of the Curse for the subclass.
ALTERNATIVE TAKE: If a cursed target dies, the Warlock may choose not to regain any hitpoints. If he does so, he may use the Hexblade’s Curse Feat again without needing to rest.
This way the Warlock can use the Curse for real if he forfeits healing and keeps spending Bonus actions. If a cursed enemy survives 1 minute the Curse is still gone though.
The above changes help to make sticking with the Hexblade more attractive and – power wise – the subclass not just a dip for Paladins or fighting bards.
Hexblade feats do not seem to be much of an issue ;-)
I had another idea to make armor of hexes both more useful and fitting :
As written above I think giving a Cursed enemy disadvantage on attack rolls against the Warlock would be a good way for aoh to work in any regard. If the Cursed enemy has disadvantage from another source the Feat could have one or all attacks of the Cursed enemy against the Warlock do minimum damage.
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As I stated in other threads I am a little disappointed with how the Hexblade was changed in Xanathar. We started a campaign taking place (at first) in the Reavenloft setting. Already having a Vengeance Paladin in our group and wanting something fitting for the setting I stumbled upon the UA Hexblade and found it a match (themewise). So I settled for it before Xanathar came out. I neither want to revamp the character nor to multiclass so I kind of have to take what was published in Xanathar. Because I find it lacking though, I will probably try to persuade our DM to houserule one or two feats to be closer to the UA-version. I want to share my thoughts on some of the feats and would appreciate feedback of other (Hexblade) Players on the official rules and my takes on the Feats.
When I chose the Hexblade I really liked the flair of the Curse Bringer feat in the first Hexblade version, so I went with a strength build (having had rolled stats and gotten rather lucky). Before we became aware of the revision of the feats we had already houseruled the smite-rule of Curse Bringer after realizing that Spell-level x2 is a bit too much especially with the chance to double that on a crit. While understanding that they cut that smite rule out I found it viable for a feat to give the chance to move the Curse and was disappointed that this possibility was removed later (at least until level 14).
Because of the name of the subclass and the fact that three of the subclass’ feats are tied to the Curse, the curse is the cornerstone of the class, nearly equally important as Bladesong for the Blade Singer. In another thread somebody compared the Curse to the Vow of Enmity of a Vengeance Paladin. While it is right that melee is possible for a Hexblade without the Curse and probably not a good idea for a Blade Singer without Blade Song, a Blade Singer outshines the Warlock by far spellwise. And while Vow of enmity is quite nice for the Paladin it is only one of a couple of unique features for the Paladin while the Curse is THE feature of the Hexblade. So in my opinion limiting the Curse to one encounter per short rest until level 20 just does not do.
Now let’s get to the Feats:
Hex Warrior
Very nice. Armor, Weapons and Charisma as the ability for attacks and damage is great for a melee Warlock (and all Charisma Gishs). That Bladelocks may also use Charisma on heavy weapons (or ranged weapons) is the only true boost the Xanathar version of the Hexblade got. I like it as my character uses two handed weapons but also theme wise as it has a very Elric feel about it. Probably the strongest Feat of the subclass.
Hexblade’s Curse
It cannot compare to Feats like Bladesong but it is nice and fitting. Bonus damage, increased crit range and a chance to heal are very nice. A big drawback is that you can only use it on one enemy per short rest. If said enemy is then able to avoid you somehow for a minute, your Hexblade is kind of screwed. In fact he then is only a “Blade” without the Hex-part. Evasion got easier too as the Shadow Hound Feat was exchanged for Accursed Specter, so you can no longer track the movements of your chosen enemy. Again: a nice power that I find lacking because for the core Feat of the subclass one use on one Enemy per short rest (until level 14) is very meagre.
Accursed Specter
I don’t find it very powerful but I really like the flair of the Feat. I used it once in play and it was as creepy as it is probably supposed to be (and it was followed by an earnest discussion with our honorable rogue and our paladin, as – again – it is probably supposed to be). A specter at level 6 is not so much of a deal but being able to have a scout, guard or distraction around kind of the whole time is nice. It does not scale significantly though and – depending on style and location – slaying humanoids can be a rather huge hurdle. If you are in undead country, giant country, dinosaur country or other nonhumanoid country you are not able to use it at all (except if you are willing to sacrifice a party member to have a Specter buddy for one day). In other situations you will often only be able to use it if you kill someone just to have your pet specter for a day. And this sounds quite like the definition of being evil. So: nicely themed, not very strong in the first place and – depending on location and style of play – VERY situational at times.
Armor of Hexes
Mechanically it was a strong Feat in the UA version and is – in my opinion – mediocre at best now. It was changed from a 4+ “save” against any hit from a Cursed enemy to “you can use your reaction to get a 4+ save”. There are two things I do not like about the Xanathar version of the Feat:
Firstly, the mechanics for me do not really mirror the fluff. The rule of the Feat makes it kind of a save. For me that is fitting for an armor or shield power but not for a curse. A curse should – in my opinion – hamper the attacker not “save” the attackee.
Power-wise I found the UA-version strong but not op and I find the Xanathar-version lacking. Again one has to take into the account that the Curse will never affect more than one enemy at any given time AND will only affect one enemy at all per short rest until level 14. Also the Curse only hampers the opponent when it tries to hit the Hexblade. With an attack. This makes the Feat even more situational, because at most times an enemy will be able just to attack somebody else or to cast a non-attack-spell. Only if he does not do any of that but attacks you, you can use it. If you then have to use a reaction to trigger an uncertain save it becomes unattractive at most times. If your hexblade manages to get his hands on a ring of spell storing or the like until level 10, the available shield spell will be the more attractive reaction at most times and even without a magic item (like a Ring of Spell Storing) it is available. Also if you have the “right” feat you probably have other things you would like to do with your reaction (like with Polearm Master or defensive duelist). So it boils down to mainly being a save against crits that you cannot evade with the Shield spell.
ALTERNATIVE TAKE: Starting at 10 level a Cursed opponent has Disadvantage on attack rolls against the Hexblade. If a cursed enemy already has disadvantage on attacks against the Warlock from another source, an attack that would hit the Warlock instead misses if the Warlock rolls a 13 or more on a d20.
Firstly this addresses the save mechanic. It is in line with the game and – in my opinion – not too powerful. If you think it is, one could rule that the save only works against the first hit in any given turn. The 13+ on the d20 is a number I like for the Curse. On a side note I would rather call the Feat Jinx or something in the line of that.
Master of Hexes
Being able to Curse more than one enemy per short rest is not only nice for a subclass whose job is to Curse but essential. Still being limited to one encounter and enemies not further away than 30 feet is too much of a limitation in my eyes. Especially for a MASTER of Hexes. Probably the unlimited healing that is possible with the UA-version of the feat is too much healing, making the Warlock near unstoppable against an army of mooks. But this can be addressed differently and more fitting with the level of the feat, its name and the importance of the Curse for the subclass.
ALTERNATIVE TAKE: If a cursed target dies, the Warlock may choose not to regain any hitpoints. If he does so, he may use the Hexblade’s Curse Feat again without needing to rest.
This way the Warlock can use the Curse for real if he forfeits healing and keeps spending Bonus actions. If a cursed enemy survives 1 minute the Curse is still gone though.
The above changes help to make sticking with the Hexblade more attractive and – power wise – the subclass not just a dip for Paladins or fighting bards.
Hexblade feats do not seem to be much of an issue ;-)
I had another idea to make armor of hexes both more useful and fitting :
As written above I think giving a Cursed enemy disadvantage on attack rolls against the Warlock would be a good way for aoh to work in any regard. If the Cursed enemy has disadvantage from another source the Feat could have one or all attacks of the Cursed enemy against the Warlock do minimum damage.