So I'm severely new to D&D, but some friends of mine are looking to start a campaign. I wanted to make a character that had the ability to both fight with a one handed sword, and also cast magic spells (either with the use of a staff or through natural ability). So I figured a warrior with maybe a pact with a fiend would be the best way to do it. It also suits the character I want to create. Is this a feasible character build? I'm not sure of the rules on Multi classing and even though this is our first go around, I want to do it right. Any suggestions as to how I can make this work? Tips to do it well?
I can't find any information on it, at least on this site, it takes me to the same fighters page or a 403 page. But I guess what I'm most curious about, is could the warlock/warrior combination work? I know it may seem silly, but I'm kinda hooked on my narrative for my character now.
Eldritch knight is a subclass of fighter. They use their spells to self-buff primarily and have 2-3 cantrips that they can cast. It's a reasonable option. A paladin would also be a viable option for sword and spell, as would a ranger.
You could probably work out a reasonable fighter/ warlock build. A lot is going to depend on what exactly your idea is. With the standard array (15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8), you would want the 15 in charisma if you are thinking that you want more of a spellcaster or put the 15 in either strength (if you're thinking of being a heavy armor brute) or dexterity (if you're thinking of being more agile and periodically pulling out a bow). Put the 14 in whichever ability category you didn't choose above and the 13 in constitution. The others will primarily deal with skills, so put them where they make the most sense for you.
You will need at least a 13 in charisma (warlock) and either dexterity or strength (fighter) in order to multiclass with this classes and constitution is good for everyone since it buffs your hp and will help with constitution saves including concentration checks. Keep in mind that your racial bonuses will stack on top of your standard array or your rolled scores (or point buy or however your group determines ability scores).
The next thing that you'll want to do is try to figure out what abilities that you want from each class and then prioritize them so you can have an idea about what path you will be taking. More classes with fighter will make you better in physical combat and more in warlock will increase your spellcasting ability. That's mostly a generalization so don't worry if your plan doesn't fit it exactly.
If you do want to go eldritch Knight at fighter 3, consider putting your 12 stat intelligence for the few spells you'll take that will need spell attack or use a save to hit. There shouldn't be many as you'll want to save those mostly for warlock.
Consider the saves that each class gets proficiency with as well as the skills that they can choose. If you're group will use feats, you can use resilient (con) to get the constitution save if you like wisdom/charisma better than constitution/strength. After that just try to have things planned out so that you'll know what to get at each level and don't be surprised if you feel a little underpowered early if you multiclass early. You'll catch up and should still have fun if you are enjoying the concept.
A character that uses both swords and magic is not a weird concept at all, in fact there is a word for it: Gish.
Paladins and Rangers are inherently martial classes with spellcasting and have spells unique to them for enhancing their weapons. However, being half-casters, they get spell slots slower and learn fewer spells from a more limited selection.
Starting with 2 levels of fighter or paladin (or ranger, but less typical) before going warlock, sorcerer, or wizard is a good way to get a flexible spellslinger that can use armor, shields, and weapons as necessary. Fighter is popular because of action surge. I particularly favor paladin 2 with sorcerer or warlock to get divine smite and cure wounds.
The eldritch knight fighter, bladesinger wizard, and hexblade warlock are all subclasses that specialize in martial/magic hybridization but they are not free and are part of the PHB, SCAG, and XGtE respectively.
PHB also has the valor bard and war cleric. XGtE also has sword bard and forge cleric.
Out of the box Eldritch Knights and Hexblades Warlocks are the best Sword & Sorcery characters that are in the Arcane/Pact theme.
If you don't mind Divine casters then a Paladin is the best, in 5th Ed Paladins arn't neccesary bound to a deity like previous editions, if it something you don't like/want to avoid, but they are bound by Vows/Oaths, either that they made to a cause, to a person, to a nation or to themselfs.
The Hexblades biggest advantage on all the others however, is that his Hex Warrior feature, lets him use, his Charisma not only for the spellcasting, but also for the melee!
An Hexblade doesn't need a good Strength or Dexterity Abilities to be able to fight in melee.
Now beware that an Hexblade spellcasting abilities while powerfull are kinda limited and special.
At best they have( if you stick with a pure Warlock character and don't pick lvls into another spellcasting class)4 spell slots, while it looks like not much( and to be honest it is), there is two distinct things about a Warlock spellslots.
1- They are ALWAYS (once you're high lvl enough) Level 5 spellslots, so any spell you cast will be more powerfull, it also means that you cannot cast spells at lower levels, if you wanted to cast a particular spell at lvl 1 or 2, well nope, it is a lvl 5 spell regardless.
One way around this is to take a few lvls into another spellcasting class to have a few lvl 1 spell slots, for spells that doesn't need to be cast at higher levels or that doesn't scale up( like Darkness for example).
But the Warlock as another way to cast spells, via its Eldritch Invocations, where he gains the use of spell like abilities by taking the traits and qualities of otherwordly beings( Devils Sigth, Shadow armor, etc)
2- and it is the biggest factor, a Warlock contrary to other classes, has his spellslots back and its Class Features after a SHORT REST, and a Long rest, so if the group takes a short break often enough, you'll be always at top peak fighting conditions( now even the Warlock has a few spell abilities at later levels that needs a long rest, but they are few).
And one other thing that i brievely glanced over, the Eldritch Invocations, those are amongst the best tools a Warlock has, those are versatile options, that lets you customize your Warlock for specific roles, better then a lot of classes.
Some Invocations lets you modify, the Warlocks cantrip Eldritch Blast( one of the best cantrips of the game damage wise).
Some Invocations give you bonuses to your Pact Boons.
Others gives you the use of spells at-will with no spellslots consumed, like Detect magic, Levitation, Mage Armor, Disguise Self etc.
Some gives you spells that you normaly would'nt have, but they do require a spellslot to be cast.
Now having said all that, there's nothing preventing you to Multiclass, Warlocks are amongst the best and favorite classes to be Multiclassed.
A Figther/Warlock works well.
A Paladin/Warlock surprisingly is an match made in heaven .
Hexblade/Sorceror is also and interesting thing to considere, giving the Sorcery points and the Metamagic of the Sorceror.
A Bard/Warlock, would gives a pretty darn versatile character( plus you can make a theme of the Bard been a rock star or a Death metal singer ;p)
And theres a few others, but those are the ones that works best with one another, since they all uses CHA as their spellcasting ability( wemm except for the fighter).
Now everything depends on how you will distribute the levels between those, if you have a soft spot for the Warlock side, then i'd recommend to go to lvl 3-5 with the other classes, to be able to choose a Subclass of your liking and then go full Warlock/Hexblade.
Now some people rather just dip enough into the Warlock to get the Pacts and take the Hexblade, and then the rest in the other classes.
Personally i have a lvl3 Paladin/lvl9 Hexblade at the moment, to go with the Dark Knight theme.
As many have pointed out already, the Eldritch Knight/Warlock combination is a pretty potent option. It is also a great build for a dragonborn. One of the linchpins for this build is the War Magic feature of the Eldritch Knight, and how it interacts with the eldritch blast cantrip, since the character can make use of the most damaging cantrip in the game and make a weapon attack on top of that, all of which expends no resources for the character such a spell slots of sorcery points that other classes may have to use to get a reliable action and bonus action every turn.
In order to effect this build, I suggest starting as a green dragonborn (to get poison resistance) and taking the first level in fighter, for more HP and heavy armor proficiency. I suggest topping out STR and CHA (16 each using the standard array), and then following with CON, INT, WIS, and DEX in that order. There reason is you will use heavy armor and either melee or thrown weapons, relying on your eldritch blast as your ranged attack. By way of feat selection such as Crossbow Expert or Mobile later on, you can remove the problems that come from trying to combine eldritch blast and melee attacks against the same foe. The reason for taking green dragonborn is that you will have access to the absorb elements spell as an Eldritch Knight, which renders all the other dragonborn resistances less valuable. That spell cannot protect against poison.
Low intelligence may seem like a problem, but you can focus primarily on defensive and buff spells such as the aforementioned absorb elements and shield. Information gathering, mobility, and other utility spells can enter the picture as you gain access to spells outside the abjuration and evocation schools. You can also choose utility cantrips such as mage hand for your eldritch knight cantrips.
I don't recommend Pact of the Blade, as it has too many features that more or less overlap with the Eldtrich Knight features. Pact of the Tome is not bad for getting access to extra cantrips that can key off of your CHA instead of INT, as well as potentially getting ritual spells later on if you want to take the Book of Ancient Secrets invocation. You never know when you might want a different damage type for a cantrip, or maybe shocking grasp to rob an opponent of a reaction or chill touch to stop something from healing. For your first two invocations, though, I absolutely recommend Agonizing Blast and Devil's Sight. The first is mandatory for maximizing eldritch blast damage, and the second eliminates the dragonborn's weakness of not having darkvision. I like the Archfey patron spells, but the patron choice may never matter that much since you probably will be taking a lot more levels of Eldritch Knight than Warlock. You could stop at two levels of warlock and be just fine. Alternatively, you could go for four to get higher level warlock slots, another cantrip, and an ASI. I also like how the Archfey patron meshes with the green dragonborn for RP purposes. But, really, any patron works fine. It really depends on how you want to develop your character's personality.
I would probably do two levels of fighter to get action surge, then two levels of warlock to get your invocations, then just go many levels of Eldritch Knight after that (at least until fighter 8 to get War Magic and some ASIs). Since you will have a high CHA, the Dragon Fear dragonborn racial feat from XGE can be highly effective. When adventuring, remember to spend your warlock spell slots first since you recover those on a short rest (along with your action surge and second wind). If you are certain you want to use a one-handed weapon, the Dueling fighting style is good. You can get a shield to have a great AC, but if your DM is a stickler, you're going to need to take the War Caster feat (which is a great feat anyway for a bunch of reasons) to be able to cast spells while you hold a sword and shield.
Some good choices for your warlock spells are armor of Agathys and hex. Both pair very well with this build, and are unavailable to Eldritch Knights. Several of the spells from the various patron lists are also good.
I am currently building a hexblade Battlemaster and I have to say it has some really good combinations.
1. While for some maneuvers you need a good Dex or Strength DC, a lot of the maneuvers don't require saves at all. Feinting Attack, Riposte, Distracting Attack and some other really good ones just work. This means you can still dump it all in Charisma, but gain 4 superiority dice to compensate for your lower amount of spell slots. This is especially potent at low levels, but it scales with the Martial Adept feat nicely.
2. Hex can be combined well with grapples and shoves if used correctly. Grappling strike makes this even better.
3. Up to the DM,'s interpretation of the rules but a Booming Blade crit and a Maneuver thrown on top make for a stupid amount of damage, and Hexblades can crit on a 19.
4. Both Battle Masters and Warlocks are short rest based, allowing for some nice synergy.
5. Hexblade and Battle Master also give good rewards at low levels, meaning you can raise one class to 3 and put it all into the main class. I'd say pump warlock over fighter because spells and invocations can mimic extra attack.
Give it a shot!
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So I'm severely new to D&D, but some friends of mine are looking to start a campaign. I wanted to make a character that had the ability to both fight with a one handed sword, and also cast magic spells (either with the use of a staff or through natural ability). So I figured a warrior with maybe a pact with a fiend would be the best way to do it. It also suits the character I want to create. Is this a feasible character build? I'm not sure of the rules on Multi classing and even though this is our first go around, I want to do it right. Any suggestions as to how I can make this work? Tips to do it well?
Have you looked at the Eldritch Knight?
Professional computer geek
I can't find any information on it, at least on this site, it takes me to the same fighters page or a 403 page. But I guess what I'm most curious about, is could the warlock/warrior combination work? I know it may seem silly, but I'm kinda hooked on my narrative for my character now.
Eldritch knight is a subclass of fighter. They use their spells to self-buff primarily and have 2-3 cantrips that they can cast. It's a reasonable option. A paladin would also be a viable option for sword and spell, as would a ranger.
You could probably work out a reasonable fighter/ warlock build. A lot is going to depend on what exactly your idea is. With the standard array (15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8), you would want the 15 in charisma if you are thinking that you want more of a spellcaster or put the 15 in either strength (if you're thinking of being a heavy armor brute) or dexterity (if you're thinking of being more agile and periodically pulling out a bow). Put the 14 in whichever ability category you didn't choose above and the 13 in constitution. The others will primarily deal with skills, so put them where they make the most sense for you.
You will need at least a 13 in charisma (warlock) and either dexterity or strength (fighter) in order to multiclass with this classes and constitution is good for everyone since it buffs your hp and will help with constitution saves including concentration checks. Keep in mind that your racial bonuses will stack on top of your standard array or your rolled scores (or point buy or however your group determines ability scores).
The next thing that you'll want to do is try to figure out what abilities that you want from each class and then prioritize them so you can have an idea about what path you will be taking. More classes with fighter will make you better in physical combat and more in warlock will increase your spellcasting ability. That's mostly a generalization so don't worry if your plan doesn't fit it exactly.
If you do want to go eldritch Knight at fighter 3, consider putting your 12 stat intelligence for the few spells you'll take that will need spell attack or use a save to hit. There shouldn't be many as you'll want to save those mostly for warlock.
Consider the saves that each class gets proficiency with as well as the skills that they can choose. If you're group will use feats, you can use resilient (con) to get the constitution save if you like wisdom/charisma better than constitution/strength. After that just try to have things planned out so that you'll know what to get at each level and don't be surprised if you feel a little underpowered early if you multiclass early. You'll catch up and should still have fun if you are enjoying the concept.
A character that uses both swords and magic is not a weird concept at all, in fact there is a word for it: Gish.
Paladins and Rangers are inherently martial classes with spellcasting and have spells unique to them for enhancing their weapons. However, being half-casters, they get spell slots slower and learn fewer spells from a more limited selection.
Starting with 2 levels of fighter or paladin (or ranger, but less typical) before going warlock, sorcerer, or wizard is a good way to get a flexible spellslinger that can use armor, shields, and weapons as necessary. Fighter is popular because of action surge. I particularly favor paladin 2 with sorcerer or warlock to get divine smite and cure wounds.
The eldritch knight fighter, bladesinger wizard, and hexblade warlock are all subclasses that specialize in martial/magic hybridization but they are not free and are part of the PHB, SCAG, and XGtE respectively.
PHB also has the valor bard and war cleric. XGtE also has sword bard and forge cleric.
Out of the box Eldritch Knights and Hexblades Warlocks are the best Sword & Sorcery characters that are in the Arcane/Pact theme.
If you don't mind Divine casters then a Paladin is the best, in 5th Ed Paladins arn't neccesary bound to a deity like previous editions, if it something you don't like/want to avoid, but they are bound by Vows/Oaths, either that they made to a cause, to a person, to a nation or to themselfs.
The Hexblades biggest advantage on all the others however, is that his Hex Warrior feature, lets him use, his Charisma not only for the spellcasting, but also for the melee!
An Hexblade doesn't need a good Strength or Dexterity Abilities to be able to fight in melee.
Now beware that an Hexblade spellcasting abilities while powerfull are kinda limited and special.
At best they have( if you stick with a pure Warlock character and don't pick lvls into another spellcasting class)4 spell slots, while it looks like not much( and to be honest it is), there is two distinct things about a Warlock spellslots.
1- They are ALWAYS (once you're high lvl enough) Level 5 spellslots, so any spell you cast will be more powerfull, it also means that you cannot cast spells at lower levels, if you wanted to cast a particular spell at lvl 1 or 2, well nope, it is a lvl 5 spell regardless.
One way around this is to take a few lvls into another spellcasting class to have a few lvl 1 spell slots, for spells that doesn't need to be cast at higher levels or that doesn't scale up( like Darkness for example).
But the Warlock as another way to cast spells, via its Eldritch Invocations, where he gains the use of spell like abilities by taking the traits and qualities of otherwordly beings( Devils Sigth, Shadow armor, etc)
2- and it is the biggest factor, a Warlock contrary to other classes, has his spellslots back and its Class Features after a SHORT REST, and a Long rest, so if the group takes a short break often enough, you'll be always at top peak fighting conditions( now even the Warlock has a few spell abilities at later levels that needs a long rest, but they are few).
And one other thing that i brievely glanced over, the Eldritch Invocations, those are amongst the best tools a Warlock has, those are versatile options, that lets you customize your Warlock for specific roles, better then a lot of classes.
Some Invocations lets you modify, the Warlocks cantrip Eldritch Blast( one of the best cantrips of the game damage wise).
Some Invocations give you bonuses to your Pact Boons.
Others gives you the use of spells at-will with no spellslots consumed, like Detect magic, Levitation, Mage Armor, Disguise Self etc.
Some gives you spells that you normaly would'nt have, but they do require a spellslot to be cast.
Now having said all that, there's nothing preventing you to Multiclass, Warlocks are amongst the best and favorite classes to be Multiclassed.
A Figther/Warlock works well.
A Paladin/Warlock surprisingly is an match made in heaven .
Hexblade/Sorceror is also and interesting thing to considere, giving the Sorcery points and the Metamagic of the Sorceror.
A Bard/Warlock, would gives a pretty darn versatile character( plus you can make a theme of the Bard been a rock star or a Death metal singer ;p)
And theres a few others, but those are the ones that works best with one another, since they all uses CHA as their spellcasting ability( wemm except for the fighter).
Now everything depends on how you will distribute the levels between those, if you have a soft spot for the Warlock side, then i'd recommend to go to lvl 3-5 with the other classes, to be able to choose a Subclass of your liking and then go full Warlock/Hexblade.
Now some people rather just dip enough into the Warlock to get the Pacts and take the Hexblade, and then the rest in the other classes.
Personally i have a lvl3 Paladin/lvl9 Hexblade at the moment, to go with the Dark Knight theme.
"Normality is but an Illusion, Whats normal to the Spider, is only madness for the Fly"
Kain de Frostberg- Dark Knight - (Vengeance Pal3/ Hexblade 9), Port Mourn
Kain de Draakberg-Dark Knight lvl8-Avergreen(DitA)
As many have pointed out already, the Eldritch Knight/Warlock combination is a pretty potent option. It is also a great build for a dragonborn. One of the linchpins for this build is the War Magic feature of the Eldritch Knight, and how it interacts with the eldritch blast cantrip, since the character can make use of the most damaging cantrip in the game and make a weapon attack on top of that, all of which expends no resources for the character such a spell slots of sorcery points that other classes may have to use to get a reliable action and bonus action every turn.
In order to effect this build, I suggest starting as a green dragonborn (to get poison resistance) and taking the first level in fighter, for more HP and heavy armor proficiency. I suggest topping out STR and CHA (16 each using the standard array), and then following with CON, INT, WIS, and DEX in that order. There reason is you will use heavy armor and either melee or thrown weapons, relying on your eldritch blast as your ranged attack. By way of feat selection such as Crossbow Expert or Mobile later on, you can remove the problems that come from trying to combine eldritch blast and melee attacks against the same foe. The reason for taking green dragonborn is that you will have access to the absorb elements spell as an Eldritch Knight, which renders all the other dragonborn resistances less valuable. That spell cannot protect against poison.
Low intelligence may seem like a problem, but you can focus primarily on defensive and buff spells such as the aforementioned absorb elements and shield. Information gathering, mobility, and other utility spells can enter the picture as you gain access to spells outside the abjuration and evocation schools. You can also choose utility cantrips such as mage hand for your eldritch knight cantrips.
I don't recommend Pact of the Blade, as it has too many features that more or less overlap with the Eldtrich Knight features. Pact of the Tome is not bad for getting access to extra cantrips that can key off of your CHA instead of INT, as well as potentially getting ritual spells later on if you want to take the Book of Ancient Secrets invocation. You never know when you might want a different damage type for a cantrip, or maybe shocking grasp to rob an opponent of a reaction or chill touch to stop something from healing. For your first two invocations, though, I absolutely recommend Agonizing Blast and Devil's Sight. The first is mandatory for maximizing eldritch blast damage, and the second eliminates the dragonborn's weakness of not having darkvision. I like the Archfey patron spells, but the patron choice may never matter that much since you probably will be taking a lot more levels of Eldritch Knight than Warlock. You could stop at two levels of warlock and be just fine. Alternatively, you could go for four to get higher level warlock slots, another cantrip, and an ASI. I also like how the Archfey patron meshes with the green dragonborn for RP purposes. But, really, any patron works fine. It really depends on how you want to develop your character's personality.
I would probably do two levels of fighter to get action surge, then two levels of warlock to get your invocations, then just go many levels of Eldritch Knight after that (at least until fighter 8 to get War Magic and some ASIs). Since you will have a high CHA, the Dragon Fear dragonborn racial feat from XGE can be highly effective. When adventuring, remember to spend your warlock spell slots first since you recover those on a short rest (along with your action surge and second wind). If you are certain you want to use a one-handed weapon, the Dueling fighting style is good. You can get a shield to have a great AC, but if your DM is a stickler, you're going to need to take the War Caster feat (which is a great feat anyway for a bunch of reasons) to be able to cast spells while you hold a sword and shield.
Some good choices for your warlock spells are armor of Agathys and hex. Both pair very well with this build, and are unavailable to Eldritch Knights. Several of the spells from the various patron lists are also good.
I am currently building a hexblade Battlemaster and I have to say it has some really good combinations.
1. While for some maneuvers you need a good Dex or Strength DC, a lot of the maneuvers don't require saves at all. Feinting Attack, Riposte, Distracting Attack and some other really good ones just work. This means you can still dump it all in Charisma, but gain 4 superiority dice to compensate for your lower amount of spell slots. This is especially potent at low levels, but it scales with the Martial Adept feat nicely.
2. Hex can be combined well with grapples and shoves if used correctly. Grappling strike makes this even better.
3. Up to the DM,'s interpretation of the rules but a Booming Blade crit and a Maneuver thrown on top make for a stupid amount of damage, and Hexblades can crit on a 19.
4. Both Battle Masters and Warlocks are short rest based, allowing for some nice synergy.
5. Hexblade and Battle Master also give good rewards at low levels, meaning you can raise one class to 3 and put it all into the main class. I'd say pump warlock over fighter because spells and invocations can mimic extra attack.
Give it a shot!