Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer Creatures
Frozen Sick
D&D Beyond Basic Rules
Basic Rules (2014)
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Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer CreaturesFrozen SickD&D Beyond Basic RulesBasic Rules (2014)Sign in to view your library & saved favorites.
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I play a tiefling paladin. Have Hellish rebuke, love it, how do I get it as an actual multiple per day thing (Currently 1/day as tiefling.)
I take it you're playing with 2014 rules? Some GMs will allow characters to use regular spell slots for their innate spells (since later books like Mordenkeinen's Monsters of the Multiverse did that with all its PC options), otherwise it looks like you're going to need to multiclass.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
Oathbreaker Paladins also get Hellish Rebuke as part of their Oathbreaker Spells feature.
If you are playing under 2014 rules, you could take the Magic Initiate feat and choose Warlock as the spell list from which you learn your chosen spells.
Otherwise, you will need to take at least 1 level in Warlock, as I believe those are the only ways to get Hellish Rebuke.
Magic Initiate under 2014 rules only lets you cast the spell once per day.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
So it does. I stand corrected. That leaves taking a level of Warlock or taking Oathbreaker as a subclass.
I mean, no offense, but are you sure that you want to?
Hellish Rebuke on most of the sites I read say it’s a pretty underwhelming spell, especially since it does fire damage (the most common and resisted type in the game). Don’t get me wrong; I love the concept, and if that is what you’re going for, than more power to you.
It does more damage than any smite, and it's functionally free, unless you've got other reaction abilities, or you're running out of spells a lot. (Opportunity attacks just don't happen often enough to reserve one's reaction for them. If you think you're gonna want the OA more, you just don't rebuke.)
And, while it does have an opportunity cost, in that you're taking the spell instead of something else, it's probably lower for a front-line fighter type than it is for most.
I'm sure that various people on the internet say it's not that good, and they may be right on their terms, but their terms are not OP's terms, and "this is fun" is way more important than "this is theoretically optimal".
So for a fighter 1/warlock X (Pact of the Blade) with three level 1 spells let’s say, should I consider hellish rebuke over spells like armor of agethys, hex or Tasha’s Hideous Laughter?
That's a completely different question from the one OP asked.
And the answer is: maybe. What are you doing with your character?
Tasha's and Hex are both concentration. Tasha's isn't necessarily the best choice for a melee warlock. Hex and AoA are contraindicated, since of you're getting hit, you're probably not holding concentration well. (And you could, instead, Rebuke.)
(And I'm generally down on Hex, as it's a fun trap. It's fine, but so very dull, and it locks out other, better, but more situational spells.)
There's no such thing as "the best spell". There's only, maybe, "the best spell for how you, personally, play, and how it interacts with your table".
I apologize. I thought that since it was still about Hellish Rebuke that it was fair game. Plus I try not to crowd the forums with new questions if I can help it.
I‘ll just PM you if that’s ok to keep this page on topic. Anyone else who has advice or questions for me about my separate problem/build is also welcome to message me.
Currently Oath of Vengeance 2014 6th level pally, and when people damage me the whole table looks at me like "are you going to do it?" HELLISH. REBUKE! It is so fun. A warlock dip could also grab me more spell slots, since paladins are half casters. Plus, my god is Nemesis, greek god of vengeance, so I could just say that I'm exploring the other side of Nemesis. Fits well, I love the spell. Now, how much of a dip should I do?
Mechanically, just the minimum, I think. Your warlock dip doesn't get you a lot of slots without real investment, and you delay your paladin powers with every level you take.
Thematically, whatever feels right. Depends in part on your patron.
I have it as just a normal spell on my lv1 warlock so if u feel like putting a level into warlock you could just cast it with a spell slot.
I just looked up magic initiate, and it looks like it's 1/day free and then you can cast with slots, so I'll probably do that. Would there be benefits of a warlock dip, though?
It depends which ruleset you are using in 5.5e you can cast it with spell slots, in 5e you cannot (for Magic Initiate). In 5.5e you can get Pact of the Blade to use your CHA for melee attacks which can be nice, whereas in 5e you can take Pact of the Fiend to get some temporary hit points when you kill things which is kind of nice. In Both, taking one level of warlock allows you to get a ranged cantrip which can be nice to have as a backup. HOWEVER, do not dip warlock until you have Extra Attack, otherwise you'll be really sad when everyone else in the party has Extra Attack and you don't.
Short answer: no, Hex and Hideous Laughter in 5.5e scale much better than Hellish Rebuke, and as a warlock you'll want to use your slots much more efficiently than an upcast Hellish Rebuke.
Hellish Rebuke is a single-target damage dealing spell. As a Warlock, you have very limited pact magic slots. A single-target damage dealing spell is using a very precious resource that is usually better spent on a more impactful concentration spell that will make a bigger impact on the battlefield than just some extra damage to one target. If you are just looking for more damage, even a spell like Summon Aberration will be of better value than than Hellish Rebuke because it lasts for the whole fight and you don't have the resources to spam Hellish Rebuke like you would want to.
Now, when multiclassed with something that doesn't tend to want to use all that many spell slots for anything but damage, like a Paladin, Hellish Rebuke starts to look much better. Compare it directly to Divine Smite (a Paladin staple in most cases). With a 3rd level spell slot, smiting will net you 4d8 damage (5d8 against undead), while a rebuke will net you 4d10. It's slightly higher damage against a single target usable as a reaction. If you are a dual-wielding Paladin, you can use your bonus action to make an extra attack while concentrating on a spell like Spirit Shroud for extra damage on every hit, then channel your left over spell slots into Hellish Rebuke when you take hits to pile on even more damage. It's a fairly high-yield strategy for damage dealing.
Ok, that’s what I originally thought. Thank you.
again, sorry if I hijacked the thread.