I’m working on a character for a D&D 2024 campaign and just wanted to share the concept and see what people think.
He’s basically a skeletal character (similar to Reborn, adapted to 2024). I don’t know who he was in life — my DM asked me to keep his past a mystery. Later in the campaign he’ll grow wings, which is one of the reasons I’m avoiding armor. At some point he also loses an arm and replaces it with a wooden prosthetic, and I like the idea of him wielding a rapier with that arm.
I’ve been thinking about going Bladesinger Wizard with a bit of Warlock. Bladesinger fits the unarmored, agile duelist feel I’m going for, and Warlock matches the whole “resurrected and bound to something unknown” theme. I also just really enjoy the flavor of invocations and pact magic alongside regular spellcasting.
My stats are: 18, 16, 13, 12, 11, 9.
I’m not trying to make anything crazy strong — just something that feels good to play and fits the story. If anyone has experience with this combination in 2024, I’d be happy to hear general thoughts.
...with a wooden prosthetic, and I like the idea of him wielding a rapier with that arm.
Sure RAW that can work, but if you think about it, the wrist and it's flexibility is what makes a great rapier user. In addition, you get your bonus via dex vice str and how does a wooden wrist translate to a good dex?
What level do you start? Level 1 is way different then Level 12.
The problem when you multi call and decide to start early, is the tedium and the obvious be behind the party. Starting at level 1, be a warlock, and the condition is that you learn to be a Bladesinger, but basically to get subclasses you need at least 6 level, and if you go War 3/Wiz 3, at 6th Level you still have not earned an ASI.
Another issue is you need both a good INT & CHA. A decent DEX and CON is also valuable. You should probably have 3 good abilities, and 13 is you # 3 score.
we wil be starting at level 3 going til level 17 and about con i dont i would be nedding that much since eldritch mind give me advantage in concentration saving throws and as a bladesinger i can add my intelligence modifier to concentration savingthrows also
I was not thinking so much about concentration, but more about grabbing HP. You will be there in the front and therefore talking hits, which will result in damage. AC can only do so much.
Starting at level 3, when do you plan to start splitting between Wizard and Warlock? Which ability gets the 18? I assume the warlock with only 2 spell slots is being used more for invocations?
When do you plan to get 2xattacks? Do yu plan to get 3xattacks per turn?
STR 9 | DEX 16 | CON 12 | INT 18 | WIS 11 | CHA 13
Since you want to use Bladesinger as your weapon-using source, you'll need 6 levels of Bladesinger to get your Extra Attack, and then multiclass into warlock. Make sure you have True Strike or one of the blade cantrips to use with your Bladesinger special Extra Attack. Just stick with Warlock spells and invocations that don't use your casting stat like Hex, Armour of Agathys, Cloud of Daggers, Darkness, Fly, Misty Step, Shadowblade, or Spirit Shroud.
I was not thinking so much about concentration, but more about grabbing HP. You will be there in the front and therefore talking hits, which will result in damage. AC can only do so much.
Starting at level 3, when do you plan to start splitting between Wizard and Warlock? Which ability gets the 18? I assume the warlock with only 2 spell slots is being used more for invocations?
When do you plan to get 2xattacks? Do yu plan to get 3xattacks per turn?
about healt i can always take the lessons of the old one for the tough feat and im not sure about what to get i presume that i would be get 3 attacks even if its later in the game but i was had more doubt about spells and level split
STR 9 | DEX 16 | CON 12 | INT 18 | WIS 11 | CHA 13
Since you want to use Bladesinger as your weapon-using source, you'll need 6 levels of Bladesinger to get your Extra Attack, and then multiclass into warlock. Make sure you have True Strike or one of the blade cantrips to use with your Bladesinger special Extra Attack. Just stick with Warlock spells and invocations that don't use your casting stat like Hex, Armour of Agathys, Cloud of Daggers, Darkness, Fly, Misty Step, Shadowblade, or Spirit Shroud.
With just a 1-level dip in warlock the 2nd weapon attack is delayed to PC7.
I’m not saying it can’t be done. But I’m saying you can mess it up very easily.
You can absolutely make warlock-wizards work…. the Ab-Lock is the best multiclass in my opinion.
Bladesingers are really squishy. If you want to fight with a sword and cast spells a Paladin might be more your speed.
If you are really set on a bladesinger I would go arcane trickster bladesinger, with sage background and whatever species you want. That at least would make sense to everyone.
Just my thoughts.
☕️
**Additional Thoughts: I tried to build one out since I first posted this. The main draw I see is the level 6 feature where you can have a cantrip with extra attack. Bladesong itself is cancelled if you don medium or heavy armor or a shield. But that is its key feature. You might have a build with warlock 2 using Armor of Shadows, Eldritch Mind and Jump. Armor of Agathys would upcast well. I think the key to make it work would be to take shillelagh (druid cantrip) with magic initiate to int, along with true strike or booming blade. You’d have to spend spells on defense. But the end result would be something that could occasionally wade into combat but still wants to be a ranged character. There might be a build there but I’m not sure if it would stack up to other things.
Honestly, this is an odd mash up. As a Bladesinger you're going to be trying to use INT a lot, so you're missing the usual reason to go Warlock on a gish for Pact of the Blade. Do you have a particular subclass/build in mind?
Also, note that if you want the 3 attacks, you're going to need to put 12 levels in Warlock, which isn't possible for the scenario you've outlined if you also want the Bladesinger Extra Attack feature for cantrip weaving.
Just want to throw out the idea that you can always just role play the warlock part. Not every character choice needs to conform to a character class. You can be religious and not be a cleric, you can swear an oath and not be a paladin, and you can cut a deal with a dark power and not be a warlock. I’m saying this because warlock/wizard doesn’t really work. You end up with two casting stats, so one will fall behind. And pact magic doesn’t help with wizards. So every time you take a warlock level, you delay your wizard spell progression, which really shoots you in the foot. So you’ll be, I don’t know level 11 with a wizard6/warlock 5 split. So instead of 6th level spells, you’ve got 3rd level spells that are barely useful anymore. That’s the thing with bladesingers. They’re still wizards. It’s usually not long before your choice is, I can stab that one guy with my sword a couple times, or I can cast cone of cold and hit all the bad guys at once a lot harder than my sword will. Most bladesingers end up as typical wizards, blowing stuff up from far away — just to set expectations.
And just to complicate things a bit, swashbuckler rogue is a really great agile/duelist. Not unarmored, but lightly armored.
Just want to throw out the idea that you can always just role play the warlock part. Not every character choice needs to conform to a character class. You can be religious and not be a cleric, you can swear an oath and not be a paladin, and you can cut a deal with a dark power and not be a warlock. I’m saying this because warlock/wizard doesn’t really work. You end up with two casting stats, so one will fall behind. And pact magic doesn’t help with wizards. So every time you take a warlock level, you delay your wizard spell progression, which really shoots you in the foot. So you’ll be, I don’t know level 11 with a wizard6/warlock 5 split. So instead of 6th level spells, you’ve got 3rd level spells that are barely useful anymore. That’s the thing with bladesingers. They’re still wizards. It’s usually not long before your choice is, I can stab that one guy with my sword a couple times, or I can cast cone of cold and hit all the bad guys at once a lot harder than my sword will. Most bladesingers end up as typical wizards, blowing stuff up from far away — just to set expectations.
And just to complicate things a bit, swashbuckler rogue is a really great agile/duelist. Not unarmored, but lightly armored.
The one exception to the “bad mix” in my opinion is an Ab-Lock…. but that is a 1-level dip in warlock not a 5/6 split like you mention. And the tradeoff of delayed spellcasting is a super powered Arcane Ward with Armor of Agathys.
I think bladesinger is weak even as a single class and that is the problem. In my opinion it really works best as a multi-class for AT rogues…. it doesn’t even make sense for eldritch knights.
Bladesinger is suboptimal, but it runs well if the player knows how to dance around the field rather than just try and hold the line. Steel Wind Strike also helps keep the image going in higher tiers, although it's not unique to that subclass.
I have a 2nd lvl warlock, I can't find arcane ward. I looked up the spell online, I can't find any arcane ward. Is this not a 2024 spell? In addition, how does it work with Armor of Agathys?
I have a 2nd lvl warlock, I can't find arcane ward. I looked up the spell online, I can't find any arcane ward. Is this not a 2024 spell? In addition, how does it work with Armor of Agathys?
Arcane ward is a subclass power for abjuration wizards.
I have a 2nd lvl warlock, I can't find arcane ward. I looked up the spell online, I can't find any arcane ward. Is this not a 2024 spell? In addition, how does it work with Armor of Agathys?
Arcane ward is a subclass power for abjuration wizards.
Now I am confused, how does a warlock make that a powerful spell?
I have a 2nd lvl warlock, I can't find arcane ward. I looked up the spell online, I can't find any arcane ward. Is this not a 2024 spell? In addition, how does it work with Armor of Agathys?
Arcane ward is a subclass power for abjuration wizards.
Now I am confused, how does a warlock make that a powerful spell?
Arcane Ward charges up when you cast Abjuration spells (scaled by the spell's level). The details of how it works are described in the Player's Handbook.
Armor of Agathys is a very effective defensive spell that's from the Abjuration school, so it synergizes well with Arcane Ward. It's exclusive to Warlocks, hence the need for multiclassing to make it available.
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Hey everyone,
I’m working on a character for a D&D 2024 campaign and just wanted to share the concept and see what people think.
He’s basically a skeletal character (similar to Reborn, adapted to 2024). I don’t know who he was in life — my DM asked me to keep his past a mystery. Later in the campaign he’ll grow wings, which is one of the reasons I’m avoiding armor. At some point he also loses an arm and replaces it with a wooden prosthetic, and I like the idea of him wielding a rapier with that arm.
I’ve been thinking about going Bladesinger Wizard with a bit of Warlock. Bladesinger fits the unarmored, agile duelist feel I’m going for, and Warlock matches the whole “resurrected and bound to something unknown” theme. I also just really enjoy the flavor of invocations and pact magic alongside regular spellcasting.
My stats are: 18, 16, 13, 12, 11, 9.
I’m not trying to make anything crazy strong — just something that feels good to play and fits the story. If anyone has experience with this combination in 2024, I’d be happy to hear general thoughts.
Thanks.
Sure RAW that can work, but if you think about it, the wrist and it's flexibility is what makes a great rapier user. In addition, you get your bonus via dex vice str and how does a wooden wrist translate to a good dex?
What level do you start? Level 1 is way different then Level 12.
The problem when you multi call and decide to start early, is the tedium and the obvious be behind the party. Starting at level 1, be a warlock, and the condition is that you learn to be a Bladesinger, but basically to get subclasses you need at least 6 level, and if you go War 3/Wiz 3, at 6th Level you still have not earned an ASI.
Another issue is you need both a good INT & CHA. A decent DEX and CON is also valuable. You should probably have 3 good abilities, and 13 is you # 3 score.
we wil be starting at level 3 going til level 17 and about con i dont i would be nedding that much since eldritch mind give me advantage in concentration saving throws and as a bladesinger i can add my intelligence modifier to concentration savingthrows also
I was not thinking so much about concentration, but more about grabbing HP. You will be there in the front and therefore talking hits, which will result in damage. AC can only do so much.
Starting at level 3, when do you plan to start splitting between Wizard and Warlock? Which ability gets the 18? I assume the warlock with only 2 spell slots is being used more for invocations?
When do you plan to get 2xattacks? Do yu plan to get 3xattacks per turn?
You would build it as so:
STR 9 | DEX 16 | CON 12 | INT 18 | WIS 11 | CHA 13
Since you want to use Bladesinger as your weapon-using source, you'll need 6 levels of Bladesinger to get your Extra Attack, and then multiclass into warlock. Make sure you have True Strike or one of the blade cantrips to use with your Bladesinger special Extra Attack. Just stick with Warlock spells and invocations that don't use your casting stat like Hex, Armour of Agathys, Cloud of Daggers, Darkness, Fly, Misty Step, Shadowblade, or Spirit Shroud.
about healt i can always take the lessons of the old one for the tough feat and im not sure about what to get i presume that i would be get 3 attacks even if its later in the game but i was had more doubt about spells and level split
thank you i really appreciate the help
With just a 1-level dip in warlock the 2nd weapon attack is delayed to PC7.
I’m not saying it can’t be done. But I’m saying you can mess it up very easily.
You can absolutely make warlock-wizards work…. the Ab-Lock is the best multiclass in my opinion.
Bladesingers are really squishy. If you want to fight with a sword and cast spells a Paladin might be more your speed.
If you are really set on a bladesinger I would go arcane trickster bladesinger, with sage background and whatever species you want. That at least would make sense to everyone.
Just my thoughts.
☕️
**Additional Thoughts: I tried to build one out since I first posted this. The main draw I see is the level 6 feature where you can have a cantrip with extra attack. Bladesong itself is cancelled if you don medium or heavy armor or a shield. But that is its key feature. You might have a build with warlock 2 using Armor of Shadows, Eldritch Mind and Jump. Armor of Agathys would upcast well. I think the key to make it work would be to take shillelagh (druid cantrip) with magic initiate to int, along with true strike or booming blade. You’d have to spend spells on defense. But the end result would be something that could occasionally wade into combat but still wants to be a ranged character. There might be a build there but I’m not sure if it would stack up to other things.
Honestly, this is an odd mash up. As a Bladesinger you're going to be trying to use INT a lot, so you're missing the usual reason to go Warlock on a gish for Pact of the Blade. Do you have a particular subclass/build in mind?
Also, note that if you want the 3 attacks, you're going to need to put 12 levels in Warlock, which isn't possible for the scenario you've outlined if you also want the Bladesinger Extra Attack feature for cantrip weaving.
Just want to throw out the idea that you can always just role play the warlock part. Not every character choice needs to conform to a character class. You can be religious and not be a cleric, you can swear an oath and not be a paladin, and you can cut a deal with a dark power and not be a warlock.
I’m saying this because warlock/wizard doesn’t really work. You end up with two casting stats, so one will fall behind. And pact magic doesn’t help with wizards. So every time you take a warlock level, you delay your wizard spell progression, which really shoots you in the foot. So you’ll be, I don’t know level 11 with a wizard6/warlock 5 split. So instead of 6th level spells, you’ve got 3rd level spells that are barely useful anymore.
That’s the thing with bladesingers. They’re still wizards. It’s usually not long before your choice is, I can stab that one guy with my sword a couple times, or I can cast cone of cold and hit all the bad guys at once a lot harder than my sword will. Most bladesingers end up as typical wizards, blowing stuff up from far away — just to set expectations.
And just to complicate things a bit, swashbuckler rogue is a really great agile/duelist. Not unarmored, but lightly armored.
The one exception to the “bad mix” in my opinion is an Ab-Lock…. but that is a 1-level dip in warlock not a 5/6 split like you mention. And the tradeoff of delayed spellcasting is a super powered Arcane Ward with Armor of Agathys.
I think bladesinger is weak even as a single class and that is the problem. In my opinion it really works best as a multi-class for AT rogues…. it doesn’t even make sense for eldritch knights.
Bladesinger is suboptimal, but it runs well if the player knows how to dance around the field rather than just try and hold the line. Steel Wind Strike also helps keep the image going in higher tiers, although it's not unique to that subclass.
I have a 2nd lvl warlock, I can't find arcane ward. I looked up the spell online, I can't find any arcane ward. Is this not a 2024 spell? In addition, how does it work with Armor of Agathys?
Arcane ward is a subclass power for abjuration wizards.
Now I am confused, how does a warlock make that a powerful spell?
Arcane Ward charges up when you cast Abjuration spells (scaled by the spell's level). The details of how it works are described in the Player's Handbook.
Armor of Agathys is a very effective defensive spell that's from the Abjuration school, so it synergizes well with Arcane Ward. It's exclusive to Warlocks, hence the need for multiclassing to make it available.
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