I’m currently a lvl 3 reborn daolock pack of chain. Str 7 Dex 12 Con 16 Int 10 Wis 10 Cha 17 with an AC of 12 With level 4 coming up I’m torn on what to do. I’ve narrowed it down to straight asi, moderately armored for breastplate and a shield, or telekinetic for the Charisma bump and other goodies. Any advise?
A lot can depend on your party, DM and campaign, so what is your experiance so far. A lot of things are also a matter of opinion.
While often useful things like RPGBOT is based on optimizing a character from scratch and with little consideration for roleplay. For example he dismisses moderately armored as be believes you are better off multiclassing to get heavy. I don't think that is a hard and fast rule but the only ways to get heavy armor from multiclass are.
Start at level 1 with a class that has heavy armor proficiency (not possible to you)
Take a level of Cleric and pick a subclass that grants it (not possible without wisdom of 13)
Take 3 levels of Armorer (not possible without int 13)
This also ignores the issues of having strength 7 and wearing heavy armor (reduced movement speed and likely issues with encumberance)
Moderately armored potentially increases your AC from 13 (studded leather) to 18 (half plate + shield), and that is a lot. Of course if all the attacks are going on the melee characters and you are not getting attacked it is a wasted feat but if you often find arrows and firebolts heading your way, or enemies gettign round the melee guys to attack you with a sword moderately armoured can help a lot. You can either add 1 to str (you will still be really bad at athletics checks and savng throws but you will have a slightly higher chance of success) or dex (then taking +1 Cha, +1 Dex at level 8). I have a customised origin fiendlock that I took moderately armored at level 1 and it works quite well.
Something to consider is free hands. With a shield in one hand and a spell focus in the other RAW you can not cast spells with a somantic but no material components. You might be able to get round this using your object interaction (maybe have your focus tied to you so you can drop it for free and pick it up again with your object interaction) some DMs waive this entirely but it is something to discuss with your DM.
Maxing your primary stat ASAP is never a bad option and as I am sure you know 18 and 19 Charisma are mechanically identicle to taking a "half feat" is a decent option. Another option to consider is to split your ASI into Cha and Con, then at level 8 taking resiliant con at level 8. (If you do not need warcaster to cast spells with your hands full or to cast spells as an op attack resiliant tends to be better even without the con boost at least from level 9 as on average +4 roughly equates to advantage and resiliant also helps with non concetration con saves which are pretty common)
or enemies gettign round the melee guys to attack you with a sword
Taking Fey Touched for misty step (plus an extra 1st level spell cast per day and a CHA bump) would be another potential solution to that problem
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock) Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric) Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue) Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
Of the options you suggested, I'd say Telekinetic is your best option. It's nice to have armor as a spellcaster, but smart use of the environment and working well with your team can help mitigate it. What also helps is having Battlefield control to keep enemies off your back, and Telekinetic accomplishes that easily while also not consuming any resources (no spell slots to manage, no limited number of uses per day, just a quick shove to avoid opportunity attacks or whatever you need it to do). The invisible, virtually Subtle-Spelled Mage Hand is another huge boon... someone can be looking right at you and you can still use your Mage Hand to pull of shenanigans and there's no way for them to tell it's you. Especially when your CHA is at an odd number.
Another vote for telekinetic. Odd stats are always a waste. Taking a feat just for Moderate armor and shield is usually a waste.
There are better ways to deal with AC. You can get Elven Chain - AC 13 + dex (max of 2), or AC 14. Everyone is proficient with Elven Chain. You could also cast Mage Armor (via invocation, Armor of Shadow).
At 4th level you also get a new cantrip. Have you picked it out? If you already have a good combat one (or two) [Eldritch Blast but only with invocations, Toll the Dead, Booming Blade with a good mobility ability, etc.], then you should consider a good non-combat one [Mage Hand, Minor Illusion, Prestidigitation]
Another vote for telekinetic. Odd stats are always a waste. Taking a feat just for Moderate armor and shield is usually a waste.
There are better ways to deal with AC. You can get Elven Chain - AC 13 + dex (max of 2), or AC 14. Everyone is proficient with Elven Chain. You could also cast Mage Armor (via invocation, Armor of Shadow).
If you have studded leather your AC is currently 13
Mage Armor is not a warlock spell so unless there is a wizard or warlock in the party willing to use one of there spell slots every adventuring day to protect you you would need to take a feat to get it. You might also find times it needs to be cast twice a day if you are in danger for more than 8 hours. It gives you an AC of 14 an improvemnt of 1.
Elven chain is very much up to the DM whether it is a available and if you find it others might also want it, for example the wizard might not want to use his spell slots for something instead of mage armor. I have been in campaigns where although I would have liked elven chain we never foubnd any. It gives an AC of 15 an improvement of 2
Moderately armored with half plate and shield puts your AC up to 18 so 5 times as much as mage armors and 2.5 times as much as elven chain. If you want to improve your AC moderately armored is the best way to do it, though improving you charisma (either through a half feat, a +2 ASI or a split ASI) is probably the better option. I would do with the split ASI and take resiliant con at level 8.
Another vote for telekinetic. Odd stats are always a waste. Taking a feat just for Moderate armor and shield is usually a waste.
There are better ways to deal with AC. You can get Elven Chain - AC 13 + dex (max of 2), or AC 14. Everyone is proficient with Elven Chain. You could also cast Mage Armor (via invocation, Armor of Shadow).
If you have studded leather your AC is currently 13
Mage Armor is not a warlock spell so unless there is a wizard or warlock in the party willing to use one of there spell slots every adventuring day to protect you you would need to take a feat to get it. You might also find times it needs to be cast twice a day if you are in danger for more than 8 hours. It gives you an AC of 14 an improvemnt of 1.
Elven chain is very much up to the DM whether it is a available and if you find it others might also want it, for example the wizard might not want to use his spell slots for something instead of mage armor. I have been in campaigns where although I would have liked elven chain we never foubnd any. It gives an AC of 15 an improvement of 2
Moderately armored with half plate and shield puts your AC up to 18 so 5 times as much as mage armors and 2.5 times as much as elven chain. If you want to improve your AC moderately armored is the best way to do it, though improving you charisma (either through a half feat, a +2 ASI or a split ASI) is probably the better option. I would do with the split ASI and take resiliant con at level 8.
First, let me make a correction Elven Chain = AC 13 + dex (max 2) + 1 for magic.
Second, as I said earlier, Mage Armor for Warlock is best done through an Invocation, which lets you cast it at will.
But saying Moderately Armored gives an AC of 5x is bullcrap. That like saying an AC of 1 is an INFINITE improvement over AC 0. Stop using scammer tactics to convince people.
Moderately armored gives you at best Half Plate IF you can find it and pay for (just as Elven Chain is not a guarantee, Half Plate is not either although it is more likely to be found, it also costs 750 gp, which he may not be able to afford) Total AC is 18 vs AC 15, or +3. +3 is a minor improvement.
Moreover, Moderate armor + shield has other disadvantages you are not talking about. Specifically, you get disadvantage on Stealth and you are using up a hand. Casting a spell with either somatic or material components requires a free hand. If you have a weapon in your main hand and a shield in your off hand, then casting a spell requires you to stow your sword. But you can only stow or equip a weapon once per round as a free action. Which means if you start with a sword, you have to stow it, then cast the spell and then cannot use the weapon for reactions until next round.
Moderate armor + shield will give you the best AC, but it is rarely worth it. As others stated, better to get that combo via a class or race. Charisma bonus and telekinetic are a far better choice.
Normally, i'd say yo'ure better off to get Moderately Armored as going from Mage Armor (which costs an invocation) of 13 + 1 for Dex of 14 AC to 18 AC is a very big improvement, especially at low to mid levels. And as they progress they'll be able to find +1 armor and +1 shields so they could get up to 20 AC at the cost of 1 feat to which they could also even out their Str to get to a -1 instead of -2 Strength score. However, that 17 Cha isn't something i'd want to leave until lvl 8. So if Cha was 18 i'd say definitely go Moderately Armored but in this case you're better off grabbing Fey Touched for the free Misty Step and 1st lvl spell. Silvery Barbs is probably a good one to grab since it'll protect you once per day against Crits and you'll need that since you'll be getting hit more often that others due to lower AC.
I’m currently a lvl 3 reborn daolock pack of chain. Str 7 Dex 12 Con 16 Int 10 Wis 10 Cha 17 with an AC of 12 With level 4 coming up I’m torn on what to do. I’ve narrowed it down to straight asi, moderately armored for breastplate and a shield, or telekinetic for the Charisma bump and other goodies. Any advise?
Maybe this can help you as there is literally so much options for what you can do.
RPGBOT - DnD 5e - The Warlock Handbook
A lot can depend on your party, DM and campaign, so what is your experiance so far. A lot of things are also a matter of opinion.
While often useful things like RPGBOT is based on optimizing a character from scratch and with little consideration for roleplay. For example he dismisses moderately armored as be believes you are better off multiclassing to get heavy. I don't think that is a hard and fast rule but the only ways to get heavy armor from multiclass are.
This also ignores the issues of having strength 7 and wearing heavy armor (reduced movement speed and likely issues with encumberance)
Moderately armored potentially increases your AC from 13 (studded leather) to 18 (half plate + shield), and that is a lot. Of course if all the attacks are going on the melee characters and you are not getting attacked it is a wasted feat but if you often find arrows and firebolts heading your way, or enemies gettign round the melee guys to attack you with a sword moderately armoured can help a lot. You can either add 1 to str (you will still be really bad at athletics checks and savng throws but you will have a slightly higher chance of success) or dex (then taking +1 Cha, +1 Dex at level 8). I have a customised origin fiendlock that I took moderately armored at level 1 and it works quite well.
Something to consider is free hands. With a shield in one hand and a spell focus in the other RAW you can not cast spells with a somantic but no material components. You might be able to get round this using your object interaction (maybe have your focus tied to you so you can drop it for free and pick it up again with your object interaction) some DMs waive this entirely but it is something to discuss with your DM.
Maxing your primary stat ASAP is never a bad option and as I am sure you know 18 and 19 Charisma are mechanically identicle to taking a "half feat" is a decent option. Another option to consider is to split your ASI into Cha and Con, then at level 8 taking resiliant con at level 8. (If you do not need warcaster to cast spells with your hands full or to cast spells as an op attack resiliant tends to be better even without the con boost at least from level 9 as on average +4 roughly equates to advantage and resiliant also helps with non concetration con saves which are pretty common)
Taking Fey Touched for misty step (plus an extra 1st level spell cast per day and a CHA bump) would be another potential solution to that problem
Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock)
Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric)
Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue)
Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
Of the options you suggested, I'd say Telekinetic is your best option. It's nice to have armor as a spellcaster, but smart use of the environment and working well with your team can help mitigate it. What also helps is having Battlefield control to keep enemies off your back, and Telekinetic accomplishes that easily while also not consuming any resources (no spell slots to manage, no limited number of uses per day, just a quick shove to avoid opportunity attacks or whatever you need it to do). The invisible, virtually Subtle-Spelled Mage Hand is another huge boon... someone can be looking right at you and you can still use your Mage Hand to pull of shenanigans and there's no way for them to tell it's you. Especially when your CHA is at an odd number.
Watch Crits for Breakfast, an adults-only RP-Heavy Roll20 Livestream at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty
And now you too can play with the amazing art and assets we use in Roll20 for our campaign at Hazel's Emporium
Another vote for telekinetic. Odd stats are always a waste. Taking a feat just for Moderate armor and shield is usually a waste.
There are better ways to deal with AC. You can get Elven Chain - AC 13 + dex (max of 2), or AC 14. Everyone is proficient with Elven Chain. You could also cast Mage Armor (via invocation, Armor of Shadow).
At 4th level you also get a new cantrip. Have you picked it out? If you already have a good combat one (or two) [Eldritch Blast but only with invocations, Toll the Dead, Booming Blade with a good mobility ability, etc.], then you should consider a good non-combat one [Mage Hand, Minor Illusion, Prestidigitation]
If you have studded leather your AC is currently 13
Mage Armor is not a warlock spell so unless there is a wizard or warlock in the party willing to use one of there spell slots every adventuring day to protect you you would need to take a feat to get it. You might also find times it needs to be cast twice a day if you are in danger for more than 8 hours. It gives you an AC of 14 an improvemnt of 1.
Elven chain is very much up to the DM whether it is a available and if you find it others might also want it, for example the wizard might not want to use his spell slots for something instead of mage armor. I have been in campaigns where although I would have liked elven chain we never foubnd any. It gives an AC of 15 an improvement of 2
Moderately armored with half plate and shield puts your AC up to 18 so 5 times as much as mage armors and 2.5 times as much as elven chain. If you want to improve your AC moderately armored is the best way to do it, though improving you charisma (either through a half feat, a +2 ASI or a split ASI) is probably the better option. I would do with the split ASI and take resiliant con at level 8.
First, let me make a correction Elven Chain = AC 13 + dex (max 2) + 1 for magic.
Second, as I said earlier, Mage Armor for Warlock is best done through an Invocation, which lets you cast it at will.
But saying Moderately Armored gives an AC of 5x is bullcrap. That like saying an AC of 1 is an INFINITE improvement over AC 0. Stop using scammer tactics to convince people.
Moderately armored gives you at best Half Plate IF you can find it and pay for (just as Elven Chain is not a guarantee, Half Plate is not either although it is more likely to be found, it also costs 750 gp, which he may not be able to afford) Total AC is 18 vs AC 15, or +3. +3 is a minor improvement.
Moreover, Moderate armor + shield has other disadvantages you are not talking about. Specifically, you get disadvantage on Stealth and you are using up a hand. Casting a spell with either somatic or material components requires a free hand. If you have a weapon in your main hand and a shield in your off hand, then casting a spell requires you to stow your sword. But you can only stow or equip a weapon once per round as a free action. Which means if you start with a sword, you have to stow it, then cast the spell and then cannot use the weapon for reactions until next round.
Moderate armor + shield will give you the best AC, but it is rarely worth it. As others stated, better to get that combo via a class or race. Charisma bonus and telekinetic are a far better choice.
Normally, i'd say yo'ure better off to get Moderately Armored as going from Mage Armor (which costs an invocation) of 13 + 1 for Dex of 14 AC to 18 AC is a very big improvement, especially at low to mid levels. And as they progress they'll be able to find +1 armor and +1 shields so they could get up to 20 AC at the cost of 1 feat to which they could also even out their Str to get to a -1 instead of -2 Strength score. However, that 17 Cha isn't something i'd want to leave until lvl 8. So if Cha was 18 i'd say definitely go Moderately Armored but in this case you're better off grabbing Fey Touched for the free Misty Step and 1st lvl spell. Silvery Barbs is probably a good one to grab since it'll protect you once per day against Crits and you'll need that since you'll be getting hit more often that others due to lower AC.
My vote is for any Cha half-feat. If your focus is to be Telekinetic, then I say that.
I know what you're thinking: "In that flurry of blows, did he use all his ki points, or save one?" Well, are ya feeling lucky, punk?