Seen a few of these float around when the UA came out, but now with a formal book behind it what are the thoughts of this multiclass combo? Certainly won't be optimal by any stretch of the imagination, and is certainly MAD, but looking for feedback on the idea. My current instinct:
Warlock 4 for subclass / attribute
Barbarian 3 for subclass
Warlock 6 for Grave Touched
???
I'm at 16/12/16/8/8/16 with a half-orc right now. Thirsting Blade and Eldritch Smite are the only real invocations to speak of (since I'm not deep enough into Barbarian to net Extra Attack). Two rounds in you should have Rage and Form of Dread active. Big hit each round is 2d12+5 necrotic with a followup that is 1d12+5 (necrotic or standard), one of which triggers a DC15 WIS Frightened condition. Crits go big boom (5d12 because of half orc + 8d8 Eldritch Smite + 5). Taking mostly utility / non casting stat spells because I don't see CHA going much higher (or if it should even be as high as it is now) along the lines of Spectral Steed, Misty Step, Dispel Magic, Counterspell, Fly, Spirit Shroud (thematic reasons). I realize casting some of these with Rage will be problematic - but I see Rage more as an avenue to trigger Ancestral Protectors than a damage boost.
RP concept marries the ancestral oversight of the Barbarian with the duplicitious patron of the Warlock. Something something "evil undead murders Barbarian's tribe, binds their souls / spirits, tricks him into thinking they are guiding him" which also feeds into low WIS/INT.
Great flavour, but mechanically it's stepping on its own toes a lot Imo.
Two rounds to get your set up running through bonus actions is a bit much. If you use your Form of Dread first, your tHP might be gone before you get to Rage. If you Rage first, you miss out on the big Form of Dread damage + Frightened condition.
Brutal Critical of the Barbarian is way too high level to comfortably take it. At that point you're lvl 15 with 9 in Barbarian and 6 in Warlock. The Ancestral Protectors are doing what your Frightened condition is doing, although easier accessible. Giving your party resistance is great, but Frightened also protects you as well.
I'd suggest going Warlock 5 first, so you get your Extra Attack before leveling Barbarian. You don't want to be the only one at level 7 that still only gets one attack.
Egg on my face for forgetting that Frightened applies as long as the fear source is in line of sight, rather than just to the source of fear. You're right... Ancestral does overlap there. Suppose with two attacks though, you could apply similar effects to two targets per round. Not sure what the penalty involved with losing THP before Rage is... are the other benefits of Form of Dread tied to the THP being active? Didn't think so. Heard on Warlock 5 first though, and might even make enough sense to push all the way to 6 before dipping Barbarian.
Not fishing for Brutal Critical at the moment. The extra crit dice comes from the half-orc benefits. Though I'm thinking pushing Barbarian after 9th rather than Warlock makes more sense. The extra attack does nothing with Thirsting Blade... maybe some tactical leveling? Warlock 5 -> Barbarian 3 -> Warlock 6 (swap out Thirsting Blade) -> Barbarian 5? Spend one level between 5 and 9 without 2 attacks. Or plead with the DM upon hitting Barbarian 5 to let me swap my invocation. None of the invocations or class benefits of Warlock appeal after 6th if I'm leaning into melee and rage. And if a campaign goes long enough, Brutal Critical comes naturally!
I'm playing a barbarian/lock (was going to go beast/undead, but now I'm leaning toward totem/undead).
It's a great combo... and since I'm staying away from the whole arcane blaster role, it's not too MAD, either. It's a blast... I'm also capping Warlock at level 6, and then Barbarian all the way.
If you're looking for some help around the patron, let me suggest reading the saga of Karsa Orlong, in the Malazan books of the Fallen. It's a lot of reading through several books (although they are fantastic...) to get the whole story, but it matches your idea beautifully. Here's a link to a synopsis (spoilers, obviously), but you won't get any of the real flavor:
Two rounds to get your set up running through bonus actions is a bit much. If you use your Form of Dread first, your tHP might be gone before you get to Rage. If you Rage first, you miss out on the big Form of Dread damage + Frightened condition.
This is a concern, but I've found it's best addressed on a scenario basis - if you have to move to get into combat, Form of Dread first, otherwise you'll drop out of rage because of not attacking (although you could always just chuck a javeline or throw an axe...). If you are starting in combat, Rage first. You want to keep those temp HP as long as possible. Although, if I'm holding off on FoD, I often cast Armor of Agathys as my action, then Rage as my bonus, and then move to intercept. You just want to make sure that your opponent is actually going to be attacking you... otherwise Rage will drop as above.
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Seen a few of these float around when the UA came out, but now with a formal book behind it what are the thoughts of this multiclass combo? Certainly won't be optimal by any stretch of the imagination, and is certainly MAD, but looking for feedback on the idea. My current instinct:
I'm at 16/12/16/8/8/16 with a half-orc right now. Thirsting Blade and Eldritch Smite are the only real invocations to speak of (since I'm not deep enough into Barbarian to net Extra Attack). Two rounds in you should have Rage and Form of Dread active. Big hit each round is 2d12+5 necrotic with a followup that is 1d12+5 (necrotic or standard), one of which triggers a DC15 WIS Frightened condition. Crits go big boom (5d12 because of half orc + 8d8 Eldritch Smite + 5). Taking mostly utility / non casting stat spells because I don't see CHA going much higher (or if it should even be as high as it is now) along the lines of Spectral Steed, Misty Step, Dispel Magic, Counterspell, Fly, Spirit Shroud (thematic reasons). I realize casting some of these with Rage will be problematic - but I see Rage more as an avenue to trigger Ancestral Protectors than a damage boost.
RP concept marries the ancestral oversight of the Barbarian with the duplicitious patron of the Warlock. Something something "evil undead murders Barbarian's tribe, binds their souls / spirits, tricks him into thinking they are guiding him" which also feeds into low WIS/INT.
Thoughts?
Great flavour, but mechanically it's stepping on its own toes a lot Imo.
Two rounds to get your set up running through bonus actions is a bit much.
If you use your Form of Dread first, your tHP might be gone before you get to Rage. If you Rage first, you miss out on the big Form of Dread damage + Frightened condition.
Brutal Critical of the Barbarian is way too high level to comfortably take it. At that point you're lvl 15 with 9 in Barbarian and 6 in Warlock.
The Ancestral Protectors are doing what your Frightened condition is doing, although easier accessible. Giving your party resistance is great, but Frightened also protects you as well.
I'd suggest going Warlock 5 first, so you get your Extra Attack before leveling Barbarian. You don't want to be the only one at level 7 that still only gets one attack.
Egg on my face for forgetting that Frightened applies as long as the fear source is in line of sight, rather than just to the source of fear. You're right... Ancestral does overlap there. Suppose with two attacks though, you could apply similar effects to two targets per round. Not sure what the penalty involved with losing THP before Rage is... are the other benefits of Form of Dread tied to the THP being active? Didn't think so. Heard on Warlock 5 first though, and might even make enough sense to push all the way to 6 before dipping Barbarian.
Not fishing for Brutal Critical at the moment. The extra crit dice comes from the half-orc benefits. Though I'm thinking pushing Barbarian after 9th rather than Warlock makes more sense. The extra attack does nothing with Thirsting Blade... maybe some tactical leveling? Warlock 5 -> Barbarian 3 -> Warlock 6 (swap out Thirsting Blade) -> Barbarian 5? Spend one level between 5 and 9 without 2 attacks. Or plead with the DM upon hitting Barbarian 5 to let me swap my invocation. None of the invocations or class benefits of Warlock appeal after 6th if I'm leaning into melee and rage. And if a campaign goes long enough, Brutal Critical comes naturally!
I'm playing a barbarian/lock (was going to go beast/undead, but now I'm leaning toward totem/undead).
It's a great combo... and since I'm staying away from the whole arcane blaster role, it's not too MAD, either. It's a blast... I'm also capping Warlock at level 6, and then Barbarian all the way.
If you're looking for some help around the patron, let me suggest reading the saga of Karsa Orlong, in the Malazan books of the Fallen. It's a lot of reading through several books (although they are fantastic...) to get the whole story, but it matches your idea beautifully. Here's a link to a synopsis (spoilers, obviously), but you won't get any of the real flavor:
https://malazan.fandom.com/wiki/Karsa_Orlong
Two rounds to get your set up running through bonus actions is a bit much.
If you use your Form of Dread first, your tHP might be gone before you get to Rage. If you Rage first, you miss out on the big Form of Dread damage + Frightened condition.
This is a concern, but I've found it's best addressed on a scenario basis - if you have to move to get into combat, Form of Dread first, otherwise you'll drop out of rage because of not attacking (although you could always just chuck a javeline or throw an axe...). If you are starting in combat, Rage first. You want to keep those temp HP as long as possible. Although, if I'm holding off on FoD, I often cast Armor of Agathys as my action, then Rage as my bonus, and then move to intercept. You just want to make sure that your opponent is actually going to be attacking you... otherwise Rage will drop as above.