Quick and simple question with no clear answer:

Does Hexblade's Curse work with Hex? I know you can have both on a target but I mean damage. 

The direct wording is "You gain a bonus to damage rolls against the curse target", and Hex is it's own sort of damage rolls. Would my Warlock (Level 5) be able to add +3 to each hit added on top of the Hex damage? Adding up to +12 to each round. (+3 for Eldritch Blast 1, +3 for #2, +3 for Hex 1, +3 for Hex 2). 

It doesn't say that it's NOT possible but I have no idea if this is how Hexblade is meant to work.

Hex adds a d6 to a pre-existing weapon or spell attacks damage, Hexblades curse applies to a pre-existing attack, so no you couldnt apply it twice as hex isnt an attack, its an additive.

The path your travelling there is that of the rules lawyer (not a good thing) which will end up at the argument that each die you roll to damage adds the bonus, so a two handed sword with hex and an eldritch smite with a 5th level spell slot would do 2+1+6x proficiency damage from HBC. It does not.

There are other utterly legal by rules methods to deal out excessive damage. If your game table requires it to survive, good luck with finding them!

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Anyway.... Farwulf, Since Hex is an extra D6 damage roll to an attack that you hit with and Hexblades Curse literally says it’s “+3 bonus to damage rolls against the cursed target” I would say yeah maybe you could add it to every die that you roll for damage, but I would talk to your DM about it before game and see how they want to rule it. 

So if you break it down mechanically and you added the Hexblades Curse damage to every damage roll it still wouldn’t be anything that crazy or game breaking. And you can only cast Hexblades Curse once per rest so it isn’t something you’re even going to be able to do every battle anyway. And the “Hex” spell itself is concentration, so if after you cast it and want to keep it up between battles to use again you won’t be able to use any other spells that require concentration. Which is a big downer to me because of the Warlocks 2 whole spell slots for most of the game.

So you’re a level 5 Hexblade and you get into a battle with something. Okay. On your first turn use your bonus action to cast Hex on the target, (you can’t also cast Hexblades Curse this turn because they are both bonus actions to cast) and then say you fire an Eldritch Blast at them. So at level 5 Eldritch Blast is 2 attack’s. And each one is a D10 and requires a roll to hit. If they hit you get to roll that extra D6 for the Hex spell for each attack. Nice. So then say on your next turn if the creature you were attacking is still alive and something hasn’t hit you and broke your concentration on the Hex spell you are concentrating on, you can then use your bonus action to cast Hexblades Curse on the target and then maybe fire out another Eldritch Blast. So let’s just say here that you are rolling that D20 like a champion and everything hits. What’s the max damage you can do with a Hex Spell and Hexblades Curse stacked on a target and adding the +3 Hexblades Curse Damage to each Eldritch Blast damage roll and each Hex damage roll? 

2 Eldritch Blast’s: 1 D10 each + Charisma Modifier for each (if you have the Agonizing Blast invocation) + 3 each

2 Hex’s:1 D6 + 3 each

You would be getting a total of an automatic +12 damage from the Hexblades Curse damage if you played it this way, which to me doesn’t seem very game breaking with the many other factors calculated in there. Rolling to hit, maintaining concentration, is the creature still alive, and only once per rest. It’s nothing crazy. Paladin’s do way more damage than this. But like I said, talk to your DM. 

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Again the HBC is applied once, considerations otherwise require a rather willful interpretation that is unlikely to be shared by a DM, mostly because it would act differently from all other attack additives, as in my example of smite,  but not limited to it, or huntersmark or a flaming weapon, or sneak attack die, or species specific bonus die damage.

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Anyway. The damage from hex is added as part of the same damage roll as the triggering attack. For example eldritch blast would be 1d10+1d6 as a single damage roll. Though (at higher levels) each beam of EB will be its own trigger, so damage can still add up.

Looks like a very helpful discussion on the effects of Hex and Hexblade's curse! Let's try to keep the personal remarks removed from the discussion. Thanks everyone. :)

RAW, Here is what my Level 5 Warlock (18 Cha / +4) with Hex, Hexblade's Curse, and/or Bestow Curse, does with two beams of Agonizing (Eldritch) Blast - assuming both beams hit:

Note, this doesn't consider critical damage, or increased damage from increased critical range.

Increased crit range increases average damage by 5% of dice damage. So avg .55, .09, and .1 moving down the list.

But Hex is not added to the same damage. Hex is damage from the spell and it is always necrotic. It does not change damage type to match the attack and it happens anytime you hit it with an attack, the attack is the trigger. Hex is separate from the attack and has effects that outlast the attack and provide other effects.

Other additions just say you do additional damage, like Hunter's Mark. Some damage that is typed is limited directly to the attack and has no existence outside the attack. For example, Devine Smite does radiant damage only if the attack hits and it has effect beyond doing damage (but you still have to roll it separately in case the target has a resistance to one type).

It just seems that damage roll is the roll for that source and type. So Hex has a separate damage roll. And the Hexblade Curse adds to each Damage Roll. Not each dice, but each source of the roll.

I don't know the answer. I was hoping to find something in Sage Advice. But Damage Roll isn't that clear.

Quote from StyrotDarquan >>

But Hex is not added to the same damage. Hex is damage from the spell and it is always necrotic. It does not change damage type to match the attack and it happens anytime you hit it with an attack, the attack is the trigger. Hex is separate from the attack and has effects that outlast the attack and provide other effects.

Other additions just say you do additional damage, like Hunter's Mark. Some damage that is typed is limited directly to the attack and has no existence outside the attack. For example, Devine Smite does radiant damage only if the attack hits and it has effect beyond doing damage (but you still have to roll it separately in case the target has a resistance to one type).

It just seems that damage roll is the roll for that source and type. So Hex has a separate damage roll. And the Hexblade Curse adds to each Damage Roll. Not each dice, but each source of the roll.

There are certain key terms which are always used to differentiate when something modifies a damage roll as opposed to adding a distinct damage roll. 

Hexblade's Curse:  This modifies an existing damage roll because it refers to itself as "a bonus to damage rolls".

Hex:  This modifies an existing damage roll because it refers to its damage as "extra".

You can also solve the problem backwards, if you are confident you know whether or not the damage crits: modifiers to damage rolls can crit if the underlying damage crits, but distinct damage rolls can't.  That's why the damage Swarmkeepers and Psi Warriors deal with their subclass powers can't crit - they produce distinct damage rolls, instead of modifying existing damage rolls.

Once you have level 3 spell slots just use Spirit Shroud instead. At level 3 it's 1D8 damage (usually I'd take radiant, but necrotic or cold might come in helpful occasionally), and once your spell slots jump to level 5 (Warlock level 9) it becomes 2D8 (unfortunately we'll never have level 9 slots so it can become 4D8).

If we do the classic PAM/GWM bladelock, then at level 12 when we can access Lifedrinker (and we've maximized our charisma) with our +1 improved pact glaive. With our Hexblade's curse on the target +4 at level 12.

Each of our main attacks does 1D10+10+5+5+4+1+2D8, and our bonus attack does 1D4+10+5+5+4+1+2D8.

So, 2(1d10+25+2d8)+(1d4+25+2d8)

So, 2D10+6D8+1d4+75 per round. Or between 84 and 147 damage per round.

That's fairly decent.

Just to do the calculations for my Drow Hexblade with +1 double-bladed scimitar.

Again level 12, maximum charisma. Basically the same but 2D4 damage and no +10 bonus from GWM.

2(2d4+15+2d8)+(1d4+15+2d8)

5d4+45+6d8 or between 56 and 113 damage per round.

If you hit a critical on a 19 or 20 blow your remaining spell slot on a 12d8 force damage eldritch smite. Of course you'll already be rolling all the dice for damage.

Hex could still have a place if you're a longbow wielding hexblade since Spirit Shroud has a range of 10 feet.

As per what quindraco said, Spirit Shroud wouldn't work either to "double dip" Hexblades Curse. It also uses the "extra" keyword. I wouldn't call that a seperate damage roll.

Of course, I was just saying that spirit shroud is better than hex for melee Hexblades.

Quote from Moondruidsneversleep >>

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Again the HBC is applied once, considerations otherwise require a rather willful interpretation that is unlikely to be shared by a DM, mostly because it would act differently from all other attack additives, as in my example of smite,  but not limited to it, or huntersmark or a flaming weapon, or sneak attack die, or species specific bonus die damage.

I know I'm very late to the party, but can you show me where it says HBC is only applied once?

Hexblade's Curse

Starting at 1st level, you gain the ability to place a baleful curse on someone. As a bonus action, choose one creature you can see within 30 feet of you. The target is cursed for 1 minute. The curse ends early if the target dies, you die, or you are incapacitated. Until the curse ends, you gain the following benefits:

• You gain a bonus to damage rolls against the cursed target. The bonus equals your proficiency bonus.

• Any attack roll you make against the cursed target is a critical hit on a roll of 19 or 20 on the d20.

• If the cursed target dies, you regain hit points equal to your warlock level + your Charisma modifier (minimum of 1 hit point).

You can’t use this feature again until you finish a short or long rest.

The part that tells me it CAN be applied more than once is the phrase 'You gain a bonus to damage rolls against the cursed target.'

Each beam of eldritch blast requires an attack roll and can target different creatures so has separate damage rolls.
Therefore, with each beam having a separate damage roll, the 'bonus to damage rolls' would apply to each beam independently.

Hex also allows you to 'deal an extra 1d6 necrotic damage to the target whenever you hit it with an attack. An attack is something that requires an attack roll. So again, because each beam of eldritch blast requires an attack roll they are separate attacks. So you would be able to apply the extra damage from hex to each beam of eldritch blast.

In conclusion

Level 5 Warlock
Action - Attack with EB
EB Beam 1
Make an Attack Roll
On Hit - 1d10 + 3 (HBC) + 1d6 (Hex)
EB Beam 2
Make an Attack Roll
On Hit - 1d10 + 3 (HBC) + 1d6 (Hex)

If you had the Agonising Blast (the spelling is correct, I'm English) invocation you would also be adding your CHA to the damage of each beam.

The Hex is applied once to each attack roll, so yes, when you have multiple Eldritch blast beams you apply the Hex to every single one that hits. You also add your Hexblade's Curse damage to each beam that hits too. Warlocks are a hell of a striker, they're just a little short in the way of crowd control.

Quote from Kaedor >>

Quote from Moondruidsneversleep >>

 

I know I'm very late to the party, but can you show me where it says HBC is only applied once?

It is applied only once but it is applied to a creature.  That's the "only once" part. Any of your attacks against that creature trigger the curse for extra damage, enhanced crit range and so forth.