While l find the perks granted by the PotC interesting (Being able to let your familiar attack, and being able to have a pseudodragon, imp, and two others as familiars) PotT gives you 3 cantrips from any spell list (Guidance, Thaumaturgy, and Spare the Dying, are just a few great cantrips you can get) and with the Book of Ancient secrets Eldritch Invocation, you're able to learn any ritual spell in the game, Such as, for example, Find Familiar. It's no Pseudodragon or Imp, but a Owl makes a Great Familiar, Having the Same Darkvision and Flight Speed of the imp in Raven form, at the cost of Devils sight (which can be gained with a Eldritch Invocation*), and the Keen Senses of the Pseudodragon (minus the smell).
In short, A owl is the best Familiar, and Pact of the Tome is the Best Warlock Pact, unless you're a Hexblade. (In my opinion, which is what all of this is)
*Ok, so i'll admit, being able to free the EI you'd use for Devils sight for something else is cool, and something worth considering, and the Imp opens up lots of Roleplay Potential.
Am l missing something? I know that my text might convey a angry/upset tone, but I'm more confused than anything. Like, I know that Imps and Pseudodragons are cool, and they have useful attacks, and being able to let your familiar attack is interesting, but I genuinely don't understand why anyone would choose it instead of PotT. My only guess is, it was made for the people that care more about cool Flavour and Roleplay than the useful spells? Because yeah, it's really cool, and l genuinely want to use it, but l just can't bring myself to sacrifice the Cantrips and Ritual spells i'll get from Tome. Honestly, this is more of me venting my frustrations about not being able to choose the Roleplay over Stats, than any actual complaint against Chain.
(Fake Cough) So, Is there something i'm missing with PotC, or did l summarize everything?
Edit: Ok, so it seems l missed the fact that the Chain Familiars are able to Talk, meaning long distance communication (Though you need a Eldritch Invocation to speak through them, and Tome also gives a long distance, Silent communication with a modified Sending) and the fact that they can go invisible, which is useful for spy missions, especially when combined with the whole "you share their senses" thing.
I Still prefer Tome, but l admit, Chain does have its uses.
Pact of the tome is my preferred boon, but pact of the chain is my second favorite. An invisible familiar with hands and capable of speech opens a world of possibilities with just that. Its also got some decent invocations, for both in and out of combat, that do things other than just trying to keep up with agonizing blast's DPR...
I’m a hugebig fan of the Chainpact, with the right infusions there’s almost no end to what it can do for you, even so much as doing jobs for you on entirely different worlds. It’s amazeballs. But Tomepact is cool too.
I am in the opposite camp. I'm not finding the benefits of a Tomepact to be worth it by comparison. Its pretty much why it comes down to preference. An invisible, stealthy companion gives you the benefit of unlimited scrying for free. At the lower levels the special familiars could wreck certain combats. I know people love the Help action in combat, but how about my imp giving advantage on Persuasion checks? Insight checks? And then once you start adding invocations the chainpact becomes really versatile.
Would I want an invisible flying mini-me with hands, or a few cantrips? Comes down to preference. I'll take the little dude.
I've once heard Pact of the Tome being compared to being a compromise of most pact boons rolled into one. Take Shillelagh to act as a pseudo pact of the blade, take find familiar to be a pseudo pact of the chain, etc. Certainly, it can do that job and it can do it pretty well. Honestly, the warlock as a class is so flexible and that should be the main consideration going forward. Do you have a wizard in the party? Chances are he's going to be doing all the ritual casting. No need to step on his toes, so you don't have to take pact of the tome. Do you have a rogue in the party who likes scouting ahead? Well, now you don't need a scout so you don't have to take pact of the chain for the unlimited scrying.
Honestly, though, in my opinion and personal experience, pact of the chain combined with Voice of the Chain Master invocation is powerful to the point of game-breaking as I've had some negative experiences with it-- in that it made the game too easy by having my invisible imp scout out entire dungeons or caves and take the path with the fewest encounters possible. many times it resulted in skipping encounters entirely. There's much more that's possible and feasible that can be done, but point is if we're talking raw power, chain is better. if we're talking table health and balance, i think tome is better.
For me, Pact of the Tome is about making your Warlock more of a support caster with a versatile set of tricks to play with. Its main advantage is being able to diversify your cantrips stacking those on a warlock can have surprising impact. As above I agree that they work best in a party without a wizard.
Pact of the chain for me is about scouting. The invisible familiar is a clear upgrade over the owl with better survivability and better scouting. Also hands. Gift of the everloving ones is potentially really strong as well in the right circumstances (I have a barbarian warlock I am working with who may end up having his Warlock dip hit 3rd level and max healing on a barbarian is broken).
While l find the perks granted by the PotC interesting (Being able to let your familiar attack, and being able to have a pseudodragon, imp, and two others as familiars) PotT gives you 3 cantrips from any spell list (Guidance, Thaumaturgy, and Spare the Dying, are just a few great cantrips you can get) and with the Book of Ancient secrets Eldritch Invocation, you're able to learn any ritual spell in the game, Such as, for example, Find Familiar. It's no Pseudodragon or Imp, but a Owl makes a Great Familiar, Having the Same Darkvision and Flight Speed of the imp in Raven form, at the cost of Devils sight (which can be gained with a Eldritch Invocation*), and the Keen Senses of the Pseudodragon (minus the smell).
In short, A owl is the best Familiar, and Pact of the Tome is the Best Warlock Pact, unless you're a Hexblade. (In my opinion, which is what all of this is)
*Ok, so i'll admit, being able to free the EI you'd use for Devils sight for something else is cool, and something worth considering, and the Imp opens up lots of Roleplay Potential.
Am l missing something? I know that my text might convey a angry/upset tone, but I'm more confused than anything. Like, I know that Imps and Pseudodragons are cool, and they have useful attacks, and being able to let your familiar attack is interesting, but I genuinely don't understand why anyone would choose it instead of PotT. My only guess is, it was made for the people that care more about cool Flavour and Roleplay than the useful spells? Because yeah, it's really cool, and l genuinely want to use it, but l just can't bring myself to sacrifice the Cantrips and Ritual spells i'll get from Tome. Honestly, this is more of me venting my frustrations about not being able to choose the Roleplay over Stats, than any actual complaint against Chain.
(Fake Cough) So, Is there something i'm missing with PotC, or did l summarize everything?
Both are good. Which is better depends on your party, playstyle and the availability of scrolls. I think POTC is pretty much always better in a combat-oriented campaign, and probably better if you have a wizard too (as he can cast most of the rituals in the game if you find a scroll).
POTT is better if you will get a lot of utility out of ritual castings.
Also there is a 3rd option as well - taking the ritual caster feat.
But taking the Ritual Caster Feat 1: Requires a Feat, with many better feats (War caster for example) and 2: You have to choose which class your rituals come from, so if you choose wizard for example, you lose out on Silence, unless you're a Undying Warlock.
While l find the perks granted by the PotC interesting (Being able to let your familiar attack, and being able to have a pseudodragon, imp, and two others as familiars) PotT gives you 3 cantrips from any spell list (Guidance, Thaumaturgy, and Spare the Dying, are just a few great cantrips you can get) and with the Book of Ancient secrets Eldritch Invocation, you're able to learn any ritual spell in the game, Such as, for example, Find Familiar. It's no Pseudodragon or Imp, but a Owl makes a Great Familiar, Having the Same Darkvision and Flight Speed of the imp in Raven form, at the cost of Devils sight (which can be gained with a Eldritch Invocation*), and the Keen Senses of the Pseudodragon (minus the smell).
In short, A owl is the best Familiar, and Pact of the Tome is the Best Warlock Pact, unless you're a Hexblade. (In my opinion, which is what all of this is)
*Ok, so i'll admit, being able to free the EI you'd use for Devils sight for something else is cool, and something worth considering, and the Imp opens up lots of Roleplay Potential.
Am l missing something? I know that my text might convey a angry/upset tone, but I'm more confused than anything. Like, I know that Imps and Pseudodragons are cool, and they have useful attacks, and being able to let your familiar attack is interesting, but I genuinely don't understand why anyone would choose it instead of PotT. My only guess is, it was made for the people that care more about cool Flavour and Roleplay than the useful spells?
Because yeah, it's really cool, and l genuinely want to use it, but l just can't bring myself to sacrifice the Cantrips and Ritual spells i'll get from Tome. Honestly, this is more of me venting my frustrations about not being able to choose the Roleplay over Stats, than any actual complaint against Chain.(Fake Cough) So, Is there something i'm missing with PotC, or did l summarize everything?
Edit: Ok, so it seems l missed the fact that the Chain Familiars are able to Talk, meaning long distance communication (Though you need a Eldritch Invocation to speak through them, and Tome also gives a long distance, Silent communication with a modified Sending) and the fact that they can go invisible, which is useful for spy missions, especially when combined with the whole "you share their senses" thing.
I Still prefer Tome, but l admit, Chain does have its uses.
Pact of the tome is my preferred boon, but pact of the chain is my second favorite. An invisible familiar with hands and capable of speech opens a world of possibilities with just that. Its also got some decent invocations, for both in and out of combat, that do things other than just trying to keep up with agonizing blast's DPR...
I’m a hugebig fan of the Chainpact, with the right infusions there’s almost no end to what it can do for you, even so much as doing jobs for you on entirely different worlds. It’s amazeballs. But Tomepact is cool too.
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I am in the opposite camp. I'm not finding the benefits of a Tomepact to be worth it by comparison. Its pretty much why it comes down to preference. An invisible, stealthy companion gives you the benefit of unlimited scrying for free. At the lower levels the special familiars could wreck certain combats. I know people love the Help action in combat, but how about my imp giving advantage on Persuasion checks? Insight checks? And then once you start adding invocations the chainpact becomes really versatile.
Would I want an invisible flying mini-me with hands, or a few cantrips? Comes down to preference. I'll take the little dude.
I've once heard Pact of the Tome being compared to being a compromise of most pact boons rolled into one. Take Shillelagh to act as a pseudo pact of the blade, take find familiar to be a pseudo pact of the chain, etc. Certainly, it can do that job and it can do it pretty well. Honestly, the warlock as a class is so flexible and that should be the main consideration going forward. Do you have a wizard in the party? Chances are he's going to be doing all the ritual casting. No need to step on his toes, so you don't have to take pact of the tome. Do you have a rogue in the party who likes scouting ahead? Well, now you don't need a scout so you don't have to take pact of the chain for the unlimited scrying.
Honestly, though, in my opinion and personal experience, pact of the chain combined with Voice of the Chain Master invocation is powerful to the point of game-breaking as I've had some negative experiences with it-- in that it made the game too easy by having my invisible imp scout out entire dungeons or caves and take the path with the fewest encounters possible. many times it resulted in skipping encounters entirely. There's much more that's possible and feasible that can be done, but point is if we're talking raw power, chain is better. if we're talking table health and balance, i think tome is better.
For me, Pact of the Tome is about making your Warlock more of a support caster with a versatile set of tricks to play with. Its main advantage is being able to diversify your cantrips stacking those on a warlock can have surprising impact. As above I agree that they work best in a party without a wizard.
Pact of the chain for me is about scouting. The invisible familiar is a clear upgrade over the owl with better survivability and better scouting. Also hands. Gift of the everloving ones is potentially really strong as well in the right circumstances (I have a barbarian warlock I am working with who may end up having his Warlock dip hit 3rd level and max healing on a barbarian is broken).
Both are good. Which is better depends on your party, playstyle and the availability of scrolls. I think POTC is pretty much always better in a combat-oriented campaign, and probably better if you have a wizard too (as he can cast most of the rituals in the game if you find a scroll).
POTT is better if you will get a lot of utility out of ritual castings.
Also there is a 3rd option as well - taking the ritual caster feat.
I like the pact of the tome more on most occasions. However, the chain pact with the genie warlock makes you the best infiltrator in the game.
However, they are both very good booms, and you can do top tier builds with both.
But taking the Ritual Caster Feat 1: Requires a Feat, with many better feats (War caster for example) and 2: You have to choose which class your rituals come from, so if you choose wizard for example, you lose out on Silence, unless you're a Undying Warlock.