Probably Warlock 5 - Sorc 15, and in that order. I normally would never want to give up 9th level spells but if you want to be in melee range you’re really going to want Thirsting Blade @ Warlock 5.
As for feats, definitely take Warcaster first. After that I would take Fey Touched, followed by Spell Sniper. Epic Boon is up to you.
For Invocations: Pact of the Blade, Agonizing Blast, Tome of Shadows, Thirsting Blade, and Eldritch Smite.
Since we aren’t doing sorceror levels until PC 6, focus on defense and buffs with these. Look up the guides on RPG Bot for spell breakdowns for sorcs and warlocks and focus on blue and green choices.
There’s a few ways to build this out. But since you are going melee I would 100% go with Fey Warlock for the bonus Misty Steps.
Race and background are up to you but I would probably be tempted to go human and get two origin feats. I would make one of them Tough and the other I would pick Magic Initiate Wizard to get free Mage Armor every day, and two extra cantrips. If your Table allows Tasha’s you could have Booming Blade and Green Flame Blade and just use Eldritch Blast for range.
Hey, thanks a lot for the write-up, I really appreciate the help!
One thing I might not have explained very well is that I’m hoping this character can work more as a frontline / tanky melee, not just damage up close. That’s actually the main reason I was looking at Draconic Sorcerer + Warlock, since I thought it could help me stay up and take more hits for the party.
I was also hoping to use Quickened Spell to attack with my weapon and still cast spells in the same turn, so I can stay active in melee while supporting or controlling the fight.
If some of that was already covered and I missed it, that’s totally on me — I’m still pretty new to D&D and this will be my first real build.
If you have any tips on making this setup tougher or better at holding the front line, I’d really appreciate it. Thanks again!
Hey, thanks a lot for the write-up, I really appreciate the help!
One thing I might not have explained very well is that I’m hoping this character can work more as a frontline / tanky melee, not just damage up close. That’s actually the main reason I was looking at Draconic Sorcerer + Warlock, since I thought it could help me stay up and take more hits for the party.
I was also hoping to use Quickened Spell to attack with my weapon and still cast spells in the same turn, so I can stay active in melee while supporting or controlling the fight.
If some of that was already covered and I missed it, that’s totally on me — I’m still pretty new to D&D and this will be my first real build.
If you have any tips on making this setup tougher or better at holding the front line, I’d really appreciate it. Thanks again!
Well honestly a Sorcerer/Warlock is not super tanky. Most people go Paladin/Warlock or Paladin/Sorcerer if they want to be tanky.
In terms of tanky spells, Armor of Agathys for Warlocks is butter, and can be upcast.
For sorc, False Life is also a must have for you. Light Armor is pretty weak, but you can take Blur and Mirror Image. Shield spell is a must have. These are all level 1 and 2 sorc spells.
Metamagic “Extended Spell” will make your defense spells last longer.
There are great higher level spells but Greater Invisibility might be your best choice for surviving most encounters at Sorc 7.
The Fiendish Vigor invocation is really good at lower levels. It gives you false life at will.
Shadowblade at spell Level 2 is a fun choice and you can probably use it with the pact weapon in the offhand. It upcasts well.
At higher levels you need to really decide if you still want to wade into melee. Flying and firing cantrips is a very safe way to deal with many monsters that have minimal ranged capabilities.
If you're going primary melee, every sorcerer level is doing very little to help you there, except the AC bump you get from the subclass. (You get more HP from the tough feat than you do from draconic sorcery.)
And "Charisma-based melee combatant with strong spellcasting support" isn't a thing you can get by multiclassing. If you want to be good at melee, it's going to eat into your sorcerer level. And, frankly, warlocks are already good at spellcasting, especially if it's a support thing, so you don't need to worry as much about the slots. Multiclassing Warlock with any caster weakens both classes' casting.
If you're going primary melee, every sorcerer level is doing very little to help you there, except the AC bump you get from the subclass. (You get more HP from the tough feat than you do from draconic sorcery.)
And "Charisma-based melee combatant with strong spellcasting support" isn't a thing you can get by multiclassing. If you want to be good at melee, it's going to eat into your sorcerer level. And, frankly, warlocks are already good at spellcasting, especially if it's a support thing, so you don't need to worry as much about the slots. Multiclassing Warlock with any caster weakens both classes' casting.
If you're going primary melee, every sorcerer level is doing very little to help you there, except the AC bump you get from the subclass. (You get more HP from the tough feat than you do from draconic sorcery.)
And "Charisma-based melee combatant with strong spellcasting support" isn't a thing you can get by multiclassing. If you want to be good at melee, it's going to eat into your sorcerer level. And, frankly, warlocks are already good at spellcasting, especially if it's a support thing, so you don't need to worry as much about the slots. Multiclassing Warlock with any caster weakens both classes' casting.
Thanks for explaining that, I really appreciate it.
I think part of this is that I didn’t fully understand how this plays out in practice, especially with multiclassing. This is going to be my first character, so I’m still learning how these trade-offs actually feel at the table, not just on paper.
That explanation helps a lot, and it gives me a better idea of what I might be giving up by going deeper into Sorcerer. Thanks again for taking the time to break it down.
I think part of this is that I didn’t fully understand how this plays out in practice, especially with multiclassing. This is going to be my first character, so I’m still learning how these trade-offs actually feel at the table, not just on paper.
That explanation helps a lot, and it gives me a better idea of what I might be giving up by going deeper into Sorcerer. Thanks again for taking the time to break it down.
As a first character, I would suggest picking one or the other. It sounds like you want a lot from Warlock and Warlock is a little simpler.
The recommendations depends on what's available. "not 2014e" mean no content that hasn't been updated to 2024? I am assuming no unless you say otherwise. Can you use Eberron or Forgotten Realms content?
Species
Dhampir. Darkvision, Spider Climb, and a resistance. The bite doesn't matter much.
Dragonborn. Nice features. Instead of multiclassing, get your draconic flavor here?
Elf. Darkvision. Spellcasting. An extra proficiency. Immunity to sleep. The different lineages give nice options.
Faerie (Is this considered Forgetten Realms or generic D&D?). Innate Flight and Fey Creature Type. 120 foot darkvision with Shadowmoor lineage. Nice innate spellcasting.
Goliath. All of the Ancestries are good options. Hill Giant is particularly good with multiple attacks.
Human. Gets free stuff. A very solid option if you are taking Darvision via the invocation.
Kalashtar is interesting. Aberration creature type. Telepathy. Advantage on two Saving Throws. A free proficiency that you can change. Resistance to a rare damage type.
Shifter. Beasthide for AC and Temporary Hitpoints while shifted. Swiftstride for extra movement while shifted. WIldhunt prevents advantage on attack rolls against you in some circumstances while shifted.
Tiefling. Darvision. A resistance and spellcasting. Fire is a common damage type to face so Infernal is pretty good.
Warforged. Construct creature type. AC bonus. Miscellaneous immunities. Resistance to poison and advantage on poison saves. Immunity to sleep and you can take every watch while others sleep.
Note that anything that gives you a nonstandard creature type brings some risks and perks. On the one hand, you are immune to certain spells like Hold Person. On the other hand, sometimes spells or effects only affect certain non-humanoid creature types. For example, Hallow. Unlike in previous versions, as a construct, you are healed normally by healing effects in 2024.
Backgrounds
If you have access to Eberron content, look at the Heir of ____ backgrounds. Some of the Marks are amazing. For example, nothing from Mark of the Storm is on the Warlock list.
Charlatan is amazing, of course.
Flaming Fist Mercenary for Tough
Merchant gives Lucky
Rashemi Wanderer is Flaming Fist Mercenary with Catographer's Tools instead Smith's Tools.
Spellfire Initiate. I like Spellfire Initiate.
Wayfarer gives Lucky
Zhentarim Mercenary. The ability to give your party advantage on initiative rolls is pretty cool.
Anything that gives Magic Initiate (Wizard) can be used to get Mage Armor if you aren't going to wear armor. Mage Armor will generally be better than non-magic Light Armor. Armor of Shadows doesn't improve Mage Armor.
Invocations
Pact of the Blade
Devil's Sight. Even if you have Darkvision, this is best Darkvision, allowing you to see magical Darkness.
Fiendish Vigor. Adds a bit of tankiness.
Consider Pact of the Tome (you can have multiple Pacts). You can change out the spells everytime you summon the book).
I like Archfey Patron but that can be a lot competing for your Bonus Action.
Sorry, started off saying keep it simple for a first character and then threw a bunch of options at you. Is there anything that sounds good?
I honestly loved this response, thank you so much for taking the time to write all of this. I really appreciate all the options, especially the help with invocations and survivability — that part helped me a lot.
Just to clarify, when I said 2024 only, I meant options that are written or updated for the 2024 rules, not 2014 material. Sorry if that wasn’t clear on my end.
Also, thanks for the patience — this is going to be my first character, so even having a lot of options like this really helps me understand how things fit together.
A lot of what you suggested sounds really cool, and I’ll definitely take some time to think through what fits best. Thanks again!
Hey, thanks a lot for the write-up, I really appreciate the help!
One thing I might not have explained very well is that I’m hoping this character can work more as a frontline / tanky melee, not just damage up close. That’s actually the main reason I was looking at Draconic Sorcerer + Warlock, since I thought it could help me stay up and take more hits for the party.
I was also hoping to use Quickened Spell to attack with my weapon and still cast spells in the same turn, so I can stay active in melee while supporting or controlling the fight.
If some of that was already covered and I missed it, that’s totally on me — I’m still pretty new to D&D and this will be my first real build.
If you have any tips on making this setup tougher or better at holding the front line, I’d really appreciate it. Thanks again!
Well honestly a Sorcerer/Warlock is not super tanky. Most people go Paladin/Warlock or Paladin/Sorcerer if they want to be tanky.
In terms of tanky spells, Armor of Agathys for Warlocks is butter, and can be upcast.
For sorc, False Life is also a must have for you. Light Armor is pretty weak, but you can take Blur and Mirror Image. Shield spell is a must have. These are all level 1 and 2 sorc spells.
Metamagic “Extended Spell” will make your defense spells last longer.
There are great higher level spells but Greater Invisibility might be your best choice for surviving most encounters at Sorc 7.
The Fiendish Vigor invocation is really good at lower levels. It gives you false life at will.
Shadowblade at spell Level 2 is a fun choice and you can probably use it with the pact weapon in the offhand. It upcasts well.
At higher levels you need to really decide if you still want to wade into melee. Flying and firing cantrips is a very safe way to deal with many monsters that have minimal ranged capabilities.
Thanks a lot for this explanation, I really appreciate it — it helped me understand the trade-offs much better, especially around survivability and how Sorcerer/Warlock actually feels in play.
I also wanted to add a quick clarification: I showed this to my DM, and he mentioned that I’ll be getting flight at some point during the campaign (he had just forgotten to tell me earlier). That’s also why I’m restricted from using medium or heavy armor.
Part of the reason I’ve been looking for something more tanky/frontline is because, so far, our party only has a Cleric and a Rogue, and it’s been a bit hard to have someone who can reliably take hits and stay in the front.
This is going to be my first character, so I’m still learning how all of this works in practice, but your breakdown of spells, invocations, and the melee vs. flying considerations later on was really helpful. Thanks again for taking the time to explain everything.
I honestly loved this response, thank you so much for taking the time to write all of this. I really appreciate all the options, especially the help with invocations and survivability — that part helped me a lot.
Just to clarify, when I said 2024 only, I meant options that are written or updated for the 2024 rules, not 2014 material. Sorry if that wasn’t clear on my end.
Also, thanks for the patience — this is going to be my first character, so even having a lot of options like this really helps me understand how things fit together.
A lot of what you suggested sounds really cool, and I’ll definitely take some time to think through what fits best. Thanks again!
My pleasure. You were clear about the ruleset. I just wanted to confirm since some people the legacy content is still valid for 2024 until it is updated. It's better to stick to 2014 content since some of the older content is a bit wonky when trying to fit it into 2024 content, for example the 2014 Warlock invocations that haven't been updated. Others, like some of the species released close to 2024, are extremely compatible. Because of the distinction of 2014 / 2024 with legacy content / 2024 only, I wanted to double check even though I knew the likely answer.
Part of the reason I’ve been looking for something more tanky/frontline is because, so far, our party only has a Cleric and a Rogue, and it’s been a bit hard to have someone who can reliably take hits and stay in the front.
As a reference, assuming a Warlock with +3 Dexterity, +2 Constitutions, and +3 Charisma modifiers:
a typical frontliner, like a fighter will have an AC of 16-19 and 22 HP at level 2. (Chainmail is AC 16; Chainmail plus Shield and Protection Fighting Style is AC 19).
Studded Leather and +3 Dexterity plus Fiendish Vigor will probably be looking at AC 15 and 17 HP + 12 temporary HP (29 HP total) at level 2. (I say level 2 since I assume Pact of the Blade will be level 1, but you can swap it and use a dagger at first. +1 studded leather will catch up with Mage Armor.
Mage Armor will be AC 16 and 17 HP + 12 temporary HP (29 HP total) at level 2.
Having the extra, replenishable hit points will help, but that AC is still lowish so you will still need to be careful.
Some good spells for keeping that frontline attention are 2014 spells so depending on how your DM runs things, you may struggle to consistently hold the attention of the enemy.
The Hexblade patron is another subclass that might interest you. It is currently 2014 content but was included in Unearthed Arcana recently so it might see an update this year. That will allow you cast spells and attack, but, again, competes for your Bonus Action.
I did take a look at the Hexblade Patron from the recent Unearthed Arcana, and I think I may have found a solution that helps with some of these issues. From what I understood, Hexblade’s Curse isn’t considered casting a spell, which helps a lot with action economy.
Because of that, my idea was to start with one level of Barbarian. That would give me Unarmored Defense, weapon mastery, Constitution saving throw proficiency, and the option to use Rage if my Pact Magic spell slots run out, letting me stay relevant and durable on the frontline even without relying on spells every turn.
I did take a look at the Hexblade Patron from the recent Unearthed Arcana, and I think I may have found a solution that helps with some of these issues. From what I understood, Hexblade’s Curse isn’t considered casting a spell, which helps a lot with action economy.
Because of that, my idea was to start with one level of Barbarian. That would give me Unarmored Defense, weapon mastery, Constitution saving throw proficiency, and the option to use Rage if my Pact Magic spell slots run out, letting me stay relevant and durable on the frontline even without relying on spells every turn.
Hexblade's Curse isn't casting a spell, but you can activate it as part of casting a spell. There was confusion when it was up for play testing as to who was affected when activated as part of casting Hex since you can change the target. We'll see how the final version plays out. Either way, it doesn't really affect the action economy. It's still a Bonus Action and you only have one regardless of what you use it for. What it does do is allow you to cast a spell with a spell slot the same turn. Anything that lets you cast a spell without a spell slot (Cantrips, Spell Scrolls, Magic Initiate, Racial Spells, Warlock Invocations) will help in that regard as well.
Unarmored Defense is likely to be the equivalent to Studded Leather Armor. If you are going to multiclass, consider Fighter instead. More Weapon Masteries, Constitution Saving Throw Proficiency, Second Wind 2+ times, and a Fighting Style (Dueling for +2 damage with a 1-handed weapon, Defense for +1 AC, or something else. With Shield Proficiency, you would now be looking at:
Studded leather + shield for AC 17 (Maybe taking Dueling Fighting Style for +2 damage with a weapon in one hand)
Studded leather + shield + Defense Fighting Style for AC 18
Mage Armor + shield for AC 18 (Dueling Fighting Style?)
Mage Armor + shield + Defense Fighting Style for AC 19
You can even opt for medium or heavier armor for a few levels, but you probably won't have the strength to make heavy armor worthwhile.
Second Wind competes with Hex, Hexblade's Curse, and Fiendish Vigor. You could potentially skip Fiendish Vigor and rely on Second Wind and that beefier AC.
One idea I was looking at is starting with Berserker. That would let me use Mage Armor together with Dexterity and Constitution for an AC of 18, plus the +2 AC from staying close to the target affected by the Hexblade’s Curse.
If I end up losing concentration on a spell, my plan would be to switch into Rage instead. My DM is okay with me applying the extra Rage damage even while using Pact of the Blade, which helps keep my damage relevant without relying entirely on spells.
I could also pick up Fiendish Vigor and Armor of Agathys. Even while raging, the temporary hit points would stay up, and Armor of Agathys would still deal its retaliatory damage when I get hit, which adds a nice layer of durability and punishment for enemies focusing me.
That also means I wouldn’t need to occupy a hand with a shield, so I can stick with a greatsword and still feel solid on the frontline.
One idea I was looking at is starting with Berserker. That would let me use Mage Armor together with Dexterity and Constitution for an AC of 18, plus the +2 AC from staying close to the target affected by the Hexblade’s Curse.
Mage Armor and Unarmored Defense don't stack. They are different, mutually exclusive AC formulas. Either you would add Constitution to AC or you would use the 13 base AC from Mage Armor so assuming a +3 from Dex, and +2 from Con, you are looking at AC 16 with Mage Armor and 15 with Unarmored Defense. Using a shield raises that to 18 and 17 respectively.
Barbarian means you have conflicts with using Hex (a Warlock staple, but not mandatory) since it requires concentration and you can't concentrate with rage. Rage would probably make your temporary hit points last longer, but you would only have a limited number per day depending on how many Short Rests you get in.
Additionally, raging takes a Bonus Action. Activating/refreshing Fiendish Vigor takes an Action. Armor of Agathys takes a Bonus Action. You can't do either while raging. You are going to be struggling to actually do anything at the start of combat and because of the conflicts in the two classes, I don't think you'll be as durable as you think.
3 levels of Barbarian represents a lot of commitment to a class that doesn't synergize with your spell casting and conflicts with it instead.
Why do you want Barbarian who prevents you from casting spells on a spellcaster multiclass?
That also means I wouldn’t need to occupy a hand with a shield, so I can stick with a greatsword and still feel solid on the frontline.
You can do that with 1 level of Fighter and the Defense fighting style. With Mage Armor that's AC 17 which is not bad. With only one level, you lose your end cap but keep your Epic Boon.
Multiclassing is an art especially if you plan to play the character from level 1. Multiclassing is usually only good at higher levels and cripples characters in tier 1-2. Many multiclass builds are also only good "on paper" and as soon as you introduce the reality of 3-round combats, which happen very often at my tables, they fall apart.
If you want to be a melee-warlock them levels 1-5 should be pure warlock. Level 1 : Your background feat should be either Magic Initiate (Wizard) for the Shield spell, or Toughness which will bring your HP up to par with other front-liners. It doesn't matter too much because you'll pick up the other one with Lessons of the First Ones at level 2. Take Pact of the Blade, and put all as much Ability Score as you can into CHA, DEX, and CON. Buy yourself some Studded Leather. Pick up Hex, and whatever other spells you think are cool (it doesn't really matter b/c 90% of the time you'll be using Hex).
Level 2 : Grab Lessons of the First Ones for whichever background feat you didn't take at Level 1, as well as Fiendish Vigor for maximum tankiness.
Level 3 : Fiend, ArchFey, and Hexblade are all good options, if you really really want to melee I'd go ArchFey for those free teleports to get you in & out of trouble or Hexblade to maximize the effectiveness of your weapon strikes, if you want to be more versatile I'd go Fiend since it has some nice long-range damage spells you can use whenever you can't get into melee.
Level 4 : Warcaster, it's a no brainer for most casters to preserve their concentration and boost their casting stat.
Level 5 : Thirsting Blade is a must, Extra Attack is required for any melee character, your other Invocation has more freedom: Devil's Sight can be a good combo with Darkness on a melee-lock, Eldritch Smite allows you to make the most of critical hits, Pact of the Tome gets you another extra 1st level slot for Shield. If you want some extra Cool factor you can take Eldritch Mind here and instead take Fey Touched at Level 4 for some more teleporting goodness, if you want maximum melee effectiveness then Eldritch Smite is your go to but then you're basically giving up on being a spellcaster.
Level 6 : Sorcerer, this is mostly a dud level just getting you extra 1st level slots for Shield. There are a few good low level control spells that up cast well that you might want to pick up like Sleep or Hideous Laughter.
Level 7 : Sorcerer, pick up Quicken Spell to enable you to use your Bonus Action for something other than Hex, for your other metamagic pick something cheap since you're going to blow through your sorcery points really fast with Quicken.
Level 8 : Take Draconic to save your hit points so you can remain somewhat tanky,
Level 9: Sorcerer pick up Resilient CON at Sorcerer-4.
Level 10: Sorcerer for some extra 3rd level slots.
NOTE: At this point you have 4 level 3 slots, 3 level 2 slots, and 4 level 1 slots whereas a full Sorcerer will have level 5 slots & spells. So you are absolutely not keeping up as a strong spellcaster, but if you pick spells carefully you can have a nice little niche for yourself as a secondary combat caster.
Level 11: Now you have to make a choice if you want more spellcasting & blasting then stay Sorcerer, if you want more melee you should pick up 2-3 levels of Fighter, if you want mixture of melee and spellcasting go back to Warlock.
Multiclassing is an art especially if you plan to play the character from level 1. Multiclassing is usually only good at higher levels and cripples characters in tier 1-2. Many multiclass builds are also only good "on paper" and as soon as you introduce the reality of 3-round combats, which happen very often at my tables, they fall apart.
I would say a 1 level dip can be fine but wary about more unless there is some strong synergy.
Level 6 : Sorcerer, this is mostly a dud level just getting you extra 1st level slots for Shield. There are a few good low level control spells that up cast well that you might want to pick up like Sleep or Hideous Laughter.
You appear to have responded based on the original plan for Warlock/Sorcerer. OP moved onto Berserker Barbarian 3+/Warlock X.
One idea I was looking at is starting with Berserker. That would let me use Mage Armor together with Dexterity and Constitution for an AC of 18, plus the +2 AC from staying close to the target affected by the Hexblade’s Curse.
Beserker Barbarian 3+ / Warlock X is such a terrible combo I didn't think it was a serious consideration. I mean... just ... no... don't do that?
Barbarian + Warlock is basically saying you don't want to be a caster at all, and just want some warlock to be edge-y. A straight Barbarian is just going to be flat out better than any chimeric monster you try to make MCing them.
If they really need convincing consider level 5:
Beserker Barbarian-5 (Character A) vs Beserker Barbarian-3 + Warlock -2 (Character B)
Turn 1: A : Rages then makes 2 attacks with GWM for 4d6+8+6+4+2d6 damage. B : Casts Armour of Agathys then makes 1 attack for 2d6+3 damage. + 5 cold damage when an enemy hit them and immediately destroys AoA.
Turn 2: A : makes 2 attacks with GWM for 4d6+8+6+4+2d6 damage. Might get a 3rd attack from GWM if they kill / crit, or they can drink a potion as a BA to increase their tankiness. B : Casts Armour of Agathys then makes 1 attack for 2d6+3 damage. + 5 cold damage when an enemy hit them and immediately destroys AoA.
Turn 3: A : makes 2 attacks with GWM for 4d6+8+6+4+2d6 damage. Might get a 3rd attack from GWM if they kill / crit, or they can drink a potion as a BA to increase their tankiness. B : Rages and makes 1 attack for 2d6+3+2+2d6 damage
Just.. why? Why would anyone ever want to play character B????
Even if one went: 5-Barbarian then 5-Warlock even at level 10 you're still just so much worse than a straight Barbarian:
10-Beserker Barbarian vs 5-Barb + 5-Warlock: Deals more damage per hit: +3 rage damage vs +2, has max STR, vs probably not for the MC, has +3d6 Frenzy damage vs +2d6 for the MC Has more rages per day : 4 vs 3, has higher move speed to get into melee 40 ft vs 30 ft plus 20 ft extra when they use Rage, has more hit points for tankiness. Deals more revenge damage: Retaliation deals 2d6+5+3 = 15 each turn with no set up, and never runs out 3rd level Armor of Agathys: 15 cold damage but requires set up and will run out after one or two hits.
Hi everyone, I’m looking for mechanical build advice for a Bladelock / Draconic Sorcerer multiclass using One D&D / 2024 rules (not 2014 5e).
Rules & table assumptions
System: One D&D / 2024
Campaign level range: 1–20
Multiclassing: Allowed
Feats: Allowed
Stat generation: Rolled (fixed results below)
Character stats
CHA 18
DEX 16
CON 13
WIS 12
STR 11
INT 9
Build constraints
Pact of the Blade (Warlock)
Draconic Bloodline (Sorcerer)
Armor: Light armor only (no medium or heavy armor)
Primary role: Charisma-based melee combatant with strong spellcasting support
Goals for the build
Effective CHA-based melee throughout all tiers
Good survivability and concentration despite low CON
Strong scaling into tier 3–4
Clean action economy between melee, spells, and metamagic
What I’d like advice on
Optimal level split from 1 to 20
Recommended invocations, metamagic options, and ASI/feat choices
Spell suggestions that synergize with:
Light armor only
Melee positioning
Sorcerer + Warlock resource economy
Whether it’s mechanically better to start Warlock or Sorcerer
I’m primarily interested in optimization and long-term scaling, not homebrew.
Thanks in advance for any insights or breakdowns.
Probably Warlock 5 - Sorc 15, and in that order.
I normally would never want to give up 9th level spells but if you want to be in melee range you’re really going to want Thirsting Blade @ Warlock 5.
As for feats, definitely take Warcaster first. After that I would take Fey Touched, followed by Spell Sniper. Epic Boon is up to you.
For Invocations: Pact of the Blade, Agonizing Blast, Tome of Shadows, Thirsting Blade, and Eldritch Smite.
Since we aren’t doing sorceror levels until PC 6, focus on defense and buffs with these. Look up the guides on RPG Bot for spell breakdowns for sorcs and warlocks and focus on blue and green choices.
There’s a few ways to build this out. But since you are going melee I would 100% go with Fey Warlock for the bonus Misty Steps.
Race and background are up to you but I would probably be tempted to go human and get two origin feats. I would make one of them Tough and the other I would pick Magic Initiate Wizard to get free Mage Armor every day, and two extra cantrips. If your Table allows Tasha’s you could have Booming Blade and Green Flame Blade and just use Eldritch Blast for range.
I have more thoughts but that is all for now.
Hey, thanks a lot for the write-up, I really appreciate the help!
One thing I might not have explained very well is that I’m hoping this character can work more as a frontline / tanky melee, not just damage up close. That’s actually the main reason I was looking at Draconic Sorcerer + Warlock, since I thought it could help me stay up and take more hits for the party.
I was also hoping to use Quickened Spell to attack with my weapon and still cast spells in the same turn, so I can stay active in melee while supporting or controlling the fight.
If some of that was already covered and I missed it, that’s totally on me — I’m still pretty new to D&D and this will be my first real build.
If you have any tips on making this setup tougher or better at holding the front line, I’d really appreciate it. Thanks again!
Well honestly a Sorcerer/Warlock is not super tanky. Most people go Paladin/Warlock or Paladin/Sorcerer if they want to be tanky.
In terms of tanky spells, Armor of Agathys for Warlocks is butter, and can be upcast.
For sorc, False Life is also a must have for you. Light Armor is pretty weak, but you can take Blur and Mirror Image. Shield spell is a must have. These are all level 1 and 2 sorc spells.
Metamagic “Extended Spell” will make your defense spells last longer.
There are great higher level spells but Greater Invisibility might be your best choice for surviving most encounters at Sorc 7.
The Fiendish Vigor invocation is really good at lower levels. It gives you false life at will.
Shadowblade at spell Level 2 is a fun choice and you can probably use it with the pact weapon in the offhand. It upcasts well.
At higher levels you need to really decide if you still want to wade into melee. Flying and firing cantrips is a very safe way to deal with many monsters that have minimal ranged capabilities.
If you're going primary melee, every sorcerer level is doing very little to help you there, except the AC bump you get from the subclass. (You get more HP from the tough feat than you do from draconic sorcery.)
And "Charisma-based melee combatant with strong spellcasting support" isn't a thing you can get by multiclassing. If you want to be good at melee, it's going to eat into your sorcerer level. And, frankly, warlocks are already good at spellcasting, especially if it's a support thing, so you don't need to worry as much about the slots. Multiclassing Warlock with any caster weakens both classes' casting.
Thanks for explaining that, I really appreciate it.
I think part of this is that I didn’t fully understand how this plays out in practice, especially with multiclassing. This is going to be my first character, so I’m still learning how these trade-offs actually feel at the table, not just on paper.
That explanation helps a lot, and it gives me a better idea of what I might be giving up by going deeper into Sorcerer. Thanks again for taking the time to break it down.
As a first character, I would suggest picking one or the other. It sounds like you want a lot from Warlock and Warlock is a little simpler.
The recommendations depends on what's available. "not 2014e" mean no content that hasn't been updated to 2024? I am assuming no unless you say otherwise. Can you use Eberron or Forgotten Realms content?
Species
Note that anything that gives you a nonstandard creature type brings some risks and perks. On the one hand, you are immune to certain spells like Hold Person. On the other hand, sometimes spells or effects only affect certain non-humanoid creature types. For example, Hallow. Unlike in previous versions, as a construct, you are healed normally by healing effects in 2024.
Backgrounds
Invocations
I like Archfey Patron but that can be a lot competing for your Bonus Action.
Sorry, started off saying keep it simple for a first character and then threw a bunch of options at you. Is there anything that sounds good?
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I honestly loved this response, thank you so much for taking the time to write all of this. I really appreciate all the options, especially the help with invocations and survivability — that part helped me a lot.
Just to clarify, when I said 2024 only, I meant options that are written or updated for the 2024 rules, not 2014 material. Sorry if that wasn’t clear on my end.
Also, thanks for the patience — this is going to be my first character, so even having a lot of options like this really helps me understand how things fit together.
A lot of what you suggested sounds really cool, and I’ll definitely take some time to think through what fits best. Thanks again!
Thanks a lot for this explanation, I really appreciate it — it helped me understand the trade-offs much better, especially around survivability and how Sorcerer/Warlock actually feels in play.
I also wanted to add a quick clarification: I showed this to my DM, and he mentioned that I’ll be getting flight at some point during the campaign (he had just forgotten to tell me earlier). That’s also why I’m restricted from using medium or heavy armor.
Part of the reason I’ve been looking for something more tanky/frontline is because, so far, our party only has a Cleric and a Rogue, and it’s been a bit hard to have someone who can reliably take hits and stay in the front.
This is going to be my first character, so I’m still learning how all of this works in practice, but your breakdown of spells, invocations, and the melee vs. flying considerations later on was really helpful. Thanks again for taking the time to explain everything.
My pleasure. You were clear about the ruleset. I just wanted to confirm since some people the legacy content is still valid for 2024 until it is updated. It's better to stick to 2014 content since some of the older content is a bit wonky when trying to fit it into 2024 content, for example the 2014 Warlock invocations that haven't been updated. Others, like some of the species released close to 2024, are extremely compatible. Because of the distinction of 2014 / 2024 with legacy content / 2024 only, I wanted to double check even though I knew the likely answer.
As a reference, assuming a Warlock with +3 Dexterity, +2 Constitutions, and +3 Charisma modifiers:
Having the extra, replenishable hit points will help, but that AC is still lowish so you will still need to be careful.
Some good spells for keeping that frontline attention are 2014 spells so depending on how your DM runs things, you may struggle to consistently hold the attention of the enemy.
The Hexblade patron is another subclass that might interest you. It is currently 2014 content but was included in Unearthed Arcana recently so it might see an update this year. That will allow you cast spells and attack, but, again, competes for your Bonus Action.
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I did take a look at the Hexblade Patron from the recent Unearthed Arcana, and I think I may have found a solution that helps with some of these issues. From what I understood, Hexblade’s Curse isn’t considered casting a spell, which helps a lot with action economy.
Because of that, my idea was to start with one level of Barbarian. That would give me Unarmored Defense, weapon mastery, Constitution saving throw proficiency, and the option to use Rage if my Pact Magic spell slots run out, letting me stay relevant and durable on the frontline even without relying on spells every turn.
Hexblade's Curse isn't casting a spell, but you can activate it as part of casting a spell. There was confusion when it was up for play testing as to who was affected when activated as part of casting Hex since you can change the target. We'll see how the final version plays out. Either way, it doesn't really affect the action economy. It's still a Bonus Action and you only have one regardless of what you use it for. What it does do is allow you to cast a spell with a spell slot the same turn. Anything that lets you cast a spell without a spell slot (Cantrips, Spell Scrolls, Magic Initiate, Racial Spells, Warlock Invocations) will help in that regard as well.
Unarmored Defense is likely to be the equivalent to Studded Leather Armor. If you are going to multiclass, consider Fighter instead. More Weapon Masteries, Constitution Saving Throw Proficiency, Second Wind 2+ times, and a Fighting Style (Dueling for +2 damage with a 1-handed weapon, Defense for +1 AC, or something else. With Shield Proficiency, you would now be looking at:
Second Wind competes with Hex, Hexblade's Curse, and Fiendish Vigor. You could potentially skip Fiendish Vigor and rely on Second Wind and that beefier AC.
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One idea I was looking at is starting with Berserker. That would let me use Mage Armor together with Dexterity and Constitution for an AC of 18, plus the +2 AC from staying close to the target affected by the Hexblade’s Curse.
If I end up losing concentration on a spell, my plan would be to switch into Rage instead. My DM is okay with me applying the extra Rage damage even while using Pact of the Blade, which helps keep my damage relevant without relying entirely on spells.
I could also pick up Fiendish Vigor and Armor of Agathys. Even while raging, the temporary hit points would stay up, and Armor of Agathys would still deal its retaliatory damage when I get hit, which adds a nice layer of durability and punishment for enemies focusing me.
That also means I wouldn’t need to occupy a hand with a shield, so I can stick with a greatsword and still feel solid on the frontline.
Mage Armor and Unarmored Defense don't stack. They are different, mutually exclusive AC formulas. Either you would add Constitution to AC or you would use the 13 base AC from Mage Armor so assuming a +3 from Dex, and +2 from Con, you are looking at AC 16 with Mage Armor and 15 with Unarmored Defense. Using a shield raises that to 18 and 17 respectively.
Barbarian means you have conflicts with using Hex (a Warlock staple, but not mandatory) since it requires concentration and you can't concentrate with rage. Rage would probably make your temporary hit points last longer, but you would only have a limited number per day depending on how many Short Rests you get in.
Additionally, raging takes a Bonus Action. Activating/refreshing Fiendish Vigor takes an Action. Armor of Agathys takes a Bonus Action. You can't do either while raging. You are going to be struggling to actually do anything at the start of combat and because of the conflicts in the two classes, I don't think you'll be as durable as you think.
3 levels of Barbarian represents a lot of commitment to a class that doesn't synergize with your spell casting and conflicts with it instead.
Why do you want Barbarian who prevents you from casting spells on a spellcaster multiclass?
You can do that with 1 level of Fighter and the Defense fighting style. With Mage Armor that's AC 17 which is not bad. With only one level, you lose your end cap but keep your Epic Boon.
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Multiclassing is an art especially if you plan to play the character from level 1. Multiclassing is usually only good at higher levels and cripples characters in tier 1-2. Many multiclass builds are also only good "on paper" and as soon as you introduce the reality of 3-round combats, which happen very often at my tables, they fall apart.
If you want to be a melee-warlock them levels 1-5 should be pure warlock.
Level 1 : Your background feat should be either Magic Initiate (Wizard) for the Shield spell, or Toughness which will bring your HP up to par with other front-liners. It doesn't matter too much because you'll pick up the other one with Lessons of the First Ones at level 2. Take Pact of the Blade, and put all as much Ability Score as you can into CHA, DEX, and CON. Buy yourself some Studded Leather. Pick up Hex, and whatever other spells you think are cool (it doesn't really matter b/c 90% of the time you'll be using Hex).
Level 2 : Grab Lessons of the First Ones for whichever background feat you didn't take at Level 1, as well as Fiendish Vigor for maximum tankiness.
Level 3 : Fiend, ArchFey, and Hexblade are all good options, if you really really want to melee I'd go ArchFey for those free teleports to get you in & out of trouble or Hexblade to maximize the effectiveness of your weapon strikes, if you want to be more versatile I'd go Fiend since it has some nice long-range damage spells you can use whenever you can't get into melee.
Level 4 : Warcaster, it's a no brainer for most casters to preserve their concentration and boost their casting stat.
Level 5 : Thirsting Blade is a must, Extra Attack is required for any melee character, your other Invocation has more freedom: Devil's Sight can be a good combo with Darkness on a melee-lock, Eldritch Smite allows you to make the most of critical hits, Pact of the Tome gets you another extra 1st level slot for Shield. If you want some extra Cool factor you can take Eldritch Mind here and instead take Fey Touched at Level 4 for some more teleporting goodness, if you want maximum melee effectiveness then Eldritch Smite is your go to but then you're basically giving up on being a spellcaster.
Level 6 : Sorcerer, this is mostly a dud level just getting you extra 1st level slots for Shield. There are a few good low level control spells that up cast well that you might want to pick up like Sleep or Hideous Laughter.
Level 7 : Sorcerer, pick up Quicken Spell to enable you to use your Bonus Action for something other than Hex, for your other metamagic pick something cheap since you're going to blow through your sorcery points really fast with Quicken.
Level 8 : Take Draconic to save your hit points so you can remain somewhat tanky,
Level 9: Sorcerer pick up Resilient CON at Sorcerer-4.
Level 10: Sorcerer for some extra 3rd level slots.
NOTE: At this point you have 4 level 3 slots, 3 level 2 slots, and 4 level 1 slots whereas a full Sorcerer will have level 5 slots & spells. So you are absolutely not keeping up as a strong spellcaster, but if you pick spells carefully you can have a nice little niche for yourself as a secondary combat caster.
Level 11: Now you have to make a choice if you want more spellcasting & blasting then stay Sorcerer, if you want more melee you should pick up 2-3 levels of Fighter, if you want mixture of melee and spellcasting go back to Warlock.
I would say a 1 level dip can be fine but wary about more unless there is some strong synergy.
You appear to have responded based on the original plan for Warlock/Sorcerer. OP moved onto Berserker Barbarian 3+/Warlock X.
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Beserker Barbarian 3+ / Warlock X is such a terrible combo I didn't think it was a serious consideration. I mean... just ... no... don't do that?
Barbarian + Warlock is basically saying you don't want to be a caster at all, and just want some warlock to be edge-y. A straight Barbarian is just going to be flat out better than any chimeric monster you try to make MCing them.
If they really need convincing consider level 5:
Beserker Barbarian-5 (Character A) vs Beserker Barbarian-3 + Warlock -2 (Character B)
Turn 1:
A : Rages then makes 2 attacks with GWM for 4d6+8+6+4+2d6 damage.
B : Casts Armour of Agathys then makes 1 attack for 2d6+3 damage. + 5 cold damage when an enemy hit them and immediately destroys AoA.
Turn 2:
A : makes 2 attacks with GWM for 4d6+8+6+4+2d6 damage. Might get a 3rd attack from GWM if they kill / crit, or they can drink a potion as a BA to increase their tankiness.
B : Casts Armour of Agathys then makes 1 attack for 2d6+3 damage. + 5 cold damage when an enemy hit them and immediately destroys AoA.
Turn 3:
A : makes 2 attacks with GWM for 4d6+8+6+4+2d6 damage. Might get a 3rd attack from GWM if they kill / crit, or they can drink a potion as a BA to increase their tankiness.
B : Rages and makes 1 attack for 2d6+3+2+2d6 damage
Just.. why? Why would anyone ever want to play character B????
Even if one went: 5-Barbarian then 5-Warlock even at level 10 you're still just so much worse than a straight Barbarian:
10-Beserker Barbarian vs 5-Barb + 5-Warlock:
Deals more damage per hit: +3 rage damage vs +2, has max STR, vs probably not for the MC, has +3d6 Frenzy damage vs +2d6 for the MC
Has more rages per day : 4 vs 3, has higher move speed to get into melee 40 ft vs 30 ft plus 20 ft extra when they use Rage, has more hit points for tankiness.
Deals more revenge damage: Retaliation deals 2d6+5+3 = 15 each turn with no set up, and never runs out
3rd level Armor of Agathys: 15 cold damage but requires set up and will run out after one or two hits.