I've gotten really drawn into the setting of Tal'Dorei (from Critical Role), and my initial ideas warlock and growing into a worshipper of the Raven Queen (although not knowing it initially). I've unfortunately been out of practice with D&D since 3.5, so I was really seeking advice.
I know Hexblade and Pact of the Blade are pretty much a given; I know I dont want to be the super strong character either; but I'm not sure about much beyond that. Like I'm not sure about staying in the class or multiclassing (either into rogue or paladin, or starting as one of them).
I'd love to hear people's thoughts/ideas/suggestions.
When playing a Hexblade with Pact of the Blade there are three invocations that could be considered compulsory, and a fourth that can be very useful at times.
They are Improved Pact Weapon, Thirsting Blade, Lifedrinker and Eldritch Smite.
Improved Pact Weapon allows you to treat your pact weapon as a spell focus, make bows and crossbows (you still need to provide ammunition) and your summoned pact weapons are +1 magical weapons, Thirsting Blade is the Blade Pact's Extra Attack, and Lifedrinker allows you to add your charisma modifier in necrotic damage on every hit you make with your pact weapon. Eldritch Smite allows you, once per turn, to expend a Warlock spell slot to do (spell slot level +1)d8 force damage on a successful pact weapon attack, and if a creature is large or smaller you can choose to knock them prone.
Eldritch smite is a "maybe" because as a Warlock you have very few available spell slots, and usually you have better things to do with them. However when you finally hit a critical and blow a fifth level spell slot for 12d8 force damage, you do get a very warm feeling inside.
As a Warlock you will, most probably, take Eldritch Blast, and honestly I see no reason why you wouldn't. Agonizing Blast is almost a compulsory invocation to take with it.
Of course you've probably seen the weakness of Hexblade. They don't really have room for non-compulsory invocations.
At level 5 you'll have three invocations, and if you take Agonizing Blast, Improved Pact, and Thirsting Blade, that's all you've got. However you are a pretty decent damage dealer.
Your starting stats, regardless of your race (unless you take Variant Human) should be 8/14/15/10/10/17. You don't need strength, so dump it. With medium armour you only need 14 dexterity, intelligence and wisdom are okay, but don't invest too much into them. Keeping constitution and charisma odd means being able to take half feats to make them even at higher levels.
Multiclassing isn't necessary. If you were to multiclass with Paladin you should do so at level 1 to get heavy armour proficiency, but you need 13 strength to multiclass into and out of Paladin, and that's a lot of investment for a stat you'll never use. Level 1 Rogue does get you 4 skill proficiencies instead of 2, and expertise on two skills. A face warlock with expertise on persuasion and deception is a very good thing. However you do then delay all your Hexblade features by a level.
Don't invest more than one level as a multiclass. Fortunately, since Eldritch Blast is a cantrip, it progresses on your total level rather than just your Warlock level, so your magic damage won't fall behind even with that single dip. That said, you don't need to multiclass, and for most campaigns there's little point in doing so.
Hexblades work with any of the pacts, you can do a blade pact, but there are others too. Pact of the Tailasman is particularly good on Rogue, pact of Chain is really good on a Paladin, espceially if you plan to go past 5 levels in Paladin.
At low level, and if you are a Rogue you want to pick up a blade cantrip. If you are a Paladin once you get extra attack you won't be using it much.
The only Invocation I would ALWAYS get is Devil's sight if you are playing one of the few races without darkvision. Other than that, to break this down into the two multiclasses you are considering:
Warlock-Rogue
I would consider the following invocations:
Rebuke of the Talisman at low level if you are a Tailisman pact
Thirsting blade if you took blade pact
Trickster's Escape
Improved Pact Weapon if you are a Blade Pact
Thirsting Blade if you are a Blade Pact
Mask of Many Faces
Beguiling Influence
I would not take agonizing blast, because you are going to want to be using sneak attack and that won't work with Eldritch Blast.
Warlock-Paladin
For a Warlock-Paladin I don't really like pact of the blade. It is doable, but I think you get a lot more with pact of the chain. With Chain Pact you can get an imp familiar and have him polymporph into a Raven which would be very thematic. That said either Sprite or Quasit are more powerful. A Quasit has a scare ability, a Sprite makes a ranged attack. Some DMs allow their PCs to share magic resistance with familiars, check with your DM on this, but it would make Quasit and Imp more powerful.
Investment of the Chain Master - if you go chain pact and get this the save DCs for your familiar are boosted to yours, they get a fly or a swim speed and you can use a bonus action to let them attack on their turn. The bonus action part is very good with a Sprite as it will be shooting arrows that cause the poision condition and can put enemies to sleep (although that is rare) and using your save DC. A lot of enemies are immune, but a lot aren't too. Also the Sprites know alignment and ability to reveal emotions comes in handy at times.
Improved Pact Weapon - if you go blade pact get this.
Fiendish Vigor
Gift of the Ever-living ones - if you are chain pact
Not sure pact of the blade is a given, at least I'm currently taking a different approach to the Hexblade - pact of the tome. I've been EB focused on the early levels but since 5th lvl gone more melee, e.g. with Green Flame Blade I damage two enemies (close together) and I can Eldritch Blast with the best of 'em (Agonizing, obviously). the Book of Ancient Secrets invocation gives me a familiar and with an Owl I can get advantage on my first attack (if melee, only attack) - and I can write any number of rituals from any class into this book which is pretty neat (need Holy Water? Get a cleric to make a scroll with the ritual Ceremony). I pretty much Hex anything that moves, and try to Hexblade curse bigger monsters. If we get a little advance warning on a combat encounter I can Summon Shadowspawn to get some enemies to run away, once the first has died my accursed Spectre assists in the combat also. From level 9 I can bestow the "Undying Sentinel" ability that Paladins get at level 16 or 19 on any member of my party (whoever goes to 0 HP first) with the Gift of the Protectors invocation.
It should be noted that my character is a Custom Lineage Human that chose the Warcaster Feat so has advantage on saving throws to maintain concentration and can therefore also cast spells with sword in hand.
I am sure there are other ways to play Hexblade that does not include that do not include Pact of the Blade
When playing a Hexblade with Pact of the Blade there are three invocations that could be considered compulsory, and a fourth that can be very useful at times.
They are Improved Pact Weapon, Thirsting Blade, Lifedrinker and Eldritch Smite.
Just out of curiosity, do you really find eldritch smite useful? I played a Hexblade for a long time, I had that EI, and I don't remember ever using it (in the end I changed it). Basically it's just that I never found it worth spending a spell slot to do the extra damage and knock the monster to the ground. I found it much more useful to spend the spell slot on Armor of Agathys and/or Shadow of Moil.
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Hey folks,
I've gotten really drawn into the setting of Tal'Dorei (from Critical Role), and my initial ideas warlock and growing into a worshipper of the Raven Queen (although not knowing it initially). I've unfortunately been out of practice with D&D since 3.5, so I was really seeking advice.
I know Hexblade and Pact of the Blade are pretty much a given; I know I dont want to be the super strong character either; but I'm not sure about much beyond that. Like I'm not sure about staying in the class or multiclassing (either into rogue or paladin, or starting as one of them).
I'd love to hear people's thoughts/ideas/suggestions.
When playing a Hexblade with Pact of the Blade there are three invocations that could be considered compulsory, and a fourth that can be very useful at times.
They are Improved Pact Weapon, Thirsting Blade, Lifedrinker and Eldritch Smite.
Improved Pact Weapon allows you to treat your pact weapon as a spell focus, make bows and crossbows (you still need to provide ammunition) and your summoned pact weapons are +1 magical weapons, Thirsting Blade is the Blade Pact's Extra Attack, and Lifedrinker allows you to add your charisma modifier in necrotic damage on every hit you make with your pact weapon. Eldritch Smite allows you, once per turn, to expend a Warlock spell slot to do (spell slot level +1)d8 force damage on a successful pact weapon attack, and if a creature is large or smaller you can choose to knock them prone.
Eldritch smite is a "maybe" because as a Warlock you have very few available spell slots, and usually you have better things to do with them. However when you finally hit a critical and blow a fifth level spell slot for 12d8 force damage, you do get a very warm feeling inside.
As a Warlock you will, most probably, take Eldritch Blast, and honestly I see no reason why you wouldn't. Agonizing Blast is almost a compulsory invocation to take with it.
Of course you've probably seen the weakness of Hexblade. They don't really have room for non-compulsory invocations.
At level 5 you'll have three invocations, and if you take Agonizing Blast, Improved Pact, and Thirsting Blade, that's all you've got. However you are a pretty decent damage dealer.
Your starting stats, regardless of your race (unless you take Variant Human) should be 8/14/15/10/10/17. You don't need strength, so dump it. With medium armour you only need 14 dexterity, intelligence and wisdom are okay, but don't invest too much into them. Keeping constitution and charisma odd means being able to take half feats to make them even at higher levels.
Multiclassing isn't necessary. If you were to multiclass with Paladin you should do so at level 1 to get heavy armour proficiency, but you need 13 strength to multiclass into and out of Paladin, and that's a lot of investment for a stat you'll never use. Level 1 Rogue does get you 4 skill proficiencies instead of 2, and expertise on two skills. A face warlock with expertise on persuasion and deception is a very good thing. However you do then delay all your Hexblade features by a level.
Don't invest more than one level as a multiclass. Fortunately, since Eldritch Blast is a cantrip, it progresses on your total level rather than just your Warlock level, so your magic damage won't fall behind even with that single dip. That said, you don't need to multiclass, and for most campaigns there's little point in doing so.
Hexblades work with any of the pacts, you can do a blade pact, but there are others too. Pact of the Tailasman is particularly good on Rogue, pact of Chain is really good on a Paladin, espceially if you plan to go past 5 levels in Paladin.
At low level, and if you are a Rogue you want to pick up a blade cantrip. If you are a Paladin once you get extra attack you won't be using it much.
The only Invocation I would ALWAYS get is Devil's sight if you are playing one of the few races without darkvision. Other than that, to break this down into the two multiclasses you are considering:
Warlock-Rogue
I would consider the following invocations:
Rebuke of the Talisman at low level if you are a Tailisman pact
Thirsting blade if you took blade pact
Trickster's Escape
Improved Pact Weapon if you are a Blade Pact
Thirsting Blade if you are a Blade Pact
Mask of Many Faces
Beguiling Influence
I would not take agonizing blast, because you are going to want to be using sneak attack and that won't work with Eldritch Blast.
Warlock-Paladin
For a Warlock-Paladin I don't really like pact of the blade. It is doable, but I think you get a lot more with pact of the chain. With Chain Pact you can get an imp familiar and have him polymporph into a Raven which would be very thematic. That said either Sprite or Quasit are more powerful. A Quasit has a scare ability, a Sprite makes a ranged attack. Some DMs allow their PCs to share magic resistance with familiars, check with your DM on this, but it would make Quasit and Imp more powerful.
Investment of the Chain Master - if you go chain pact and get this the save DCs for your familiar are boosted to yours, they get a fly or a swim speed and you can use a bonus action to let them attack on their turn. The bonus action part is very good with a Sprite as it will be shooting arrows that cause the poision condition and can put enemies to sleep (although that is rare) and using your save DC. A lot of enemies are immune, but a lot aren't too. Also the Sprites know alignment and ability to reveal emotions comes in handy at times.
Improved Pact Weapon - if you go blade pact get this.
Fiendish Vigor
Gift of the Ever-living ones - if you are chain pact
MAddening Hex
If UA is allowed at your table, there has been a UA with the Raven Queen as a Patron:
https://media.wizards.com/2017/dnd/downloads/20170213_Wizrd_Wrlck_UAv2_i48nf.pdf
Not sure pact of the blade is a given, at least I'm currently taking a different approach to the Hexblade - pact of the tome. I've been EB focused on the early levels but since 5th lvl gone more melee, e.g. with Green Flame Blade I damage two enemies (close together) and I can Eldritch Blast with the best of 'em (Agonizing, obviously). the Book of Ancient Secrets invocation gives me a familiar and with an Owl I can get advantage on my first attack (if melee, only attack) - and I can write any number of rituals from any class into this book which is pretty neat (need Holy Water? Get a cleric to make a scroll with the ritual Ceremony). I pretty much Hex anything that moves, and try to Hexblade curse bigger monsters. If we get a little advance warning on a combat encounter I can Summon Shadowspawn to get some enemies to run away, once the first has died my accursed Spectre assists in the combat also. From level 9 I can bestow the "Undying Sentinel" ability that Paladins get at level 16 or 19 on any member of my party (whoever goes to 0 HP first) with the Gift of the Protectors invocation.
It should be noted that my character is a Custom Lineage Human that chose the Warcaster Feat so has advantage on saving throws to maintain concentration and can therefore also cast spells with sword in hand.
I am sure there are other ways to play Hexblade that does not include that do not include Pact of the Blade
Just out of curiosity, do you really find eldritch smite useful? I played a Hexblade for a long time, I had that EI, and I don't remember ever using it (in the end I changed it). Basically it's just that I never found it worth spending a spell slot to do the extra damage and knock the monster to the ground. I found it much more useful to spend the spell slot on Armor of Agathys and/or Shadow of Moil.