Just hit level 4 in Curse of Strahd campaign. There are three in our party. Me (Hexblade), Champion fighter with a one level Wiz dip and a Warforged Cleric. I am a melee Hex and mostly on the front line. I will be taking PAM for my feat and using a spear and shield (14 Dex). Cha is currently 17 but I have been soliciting the DM for something to boost Cha by 1. I feel that PAM will help more that a plus 1 to Cha atk/damage/etc.. Our DM is usually very liberal with short rests . So I have a few invocation questions. Currently running Improved Pact Weapon and Eldritch Sight.
1. Eldritch Sight. Since we only have on character that has Detect Magic, the cleric, I took Eldritch Sight. I want his slots for heals and he uses the others primarily for combat. I know Eldritch Sight gimps me on certain things but is the help to not miss magic items worth it in CoS?
2. If I can find a +1 or better staff or spear (I have a staff of Warning that acts as magic but no bonus) do I still need IPW? I could replace it with something better and use the staff now and lose the +1. I don't need to summon a ranged weapon.
3. At level 5 I know I will take Thirsting Blade and probably change an invocation to Eldritch Smite. So here is the Darkness/Devil's Sight combo question. How often are you using it? It is cool on paper but how is in in game. For our game, short rests are usually no problem. I don't think I can change two invocations at one level up so I will need to change one now so I can get Eldritch Smite at 5.
4. For a melee Hexblade at 5, I will have Thirsting Blade, Eldritch Smite and possibly Devil's Sight. Opinions on that or change one or two invocations. Looking at IPW still, Maddening Hex, One with Shadows or others.
As for the game, I had posted for help before starting and a quick update. Last two sessions. Cleric couldn't make one and we had no way to heal other that recovery dice. Not pretty. No TPK but we each went down. Still learning the right combos/order for Hexblade stuff. Last session cleric was there and actually played well (it is his first caster after years of playing an archer) and things went better. Hex really helped with a henchman (dog actually) and his ability to knock enemies prone due to handing out Str check disadvantage. I am a bit concerned with concentration breaking but with only 8 or so levels to this campaign it is hard to take Warcaster (DM really doesn't car about VSM casting so that helps) or Resilient Con. If we were going higher then I might do that.
Thanks always for what I know will be good feedback.
Hi, fairly certain your Pact of the Blade turns your weapon into a magical weapon with the purpose of overcoming resistances, so IPW for that sole reason shouldn't be needed.
Hi, fairly certain your Pact of the Blade turns your weapon into a magical weapon with the purpose of overcoming resistances, so IPW for that sole reason shouldn't be needed.
Exactly. So if I drop Improved Pact Weapon and take PAM instead of a Cha boost to 19, I just realized that is like a +2 weapon gone. Food for thought
Something to remember about darkness/devil's sight is since you are on the front line, you will be screwing with LOS for your teammates. That's pretty no-bueno. If you were on the backline blasting, it's a pretty solid choice. For a melee character, it should be avoided imo.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Any time an unfathomably powerful entity sweeps in and offers godlike rewards in return for just a few teensy favors, it’s a scam. Unless it’s me. I’d never lie to you, reader dearest.
Just by itself Devils Sight without Darkness is incredible! It has a range of 120’ and most creatures that have Darkvision only have it for 60’. Since Eldritch Blast has a range of 120’ too you can stay 70’ back from the front line of melee and blast away.
Just by itself Devils Sight without Darkness is incredible! It has a range of 120’ and most creatures that have Darkvision only have it for 60’. Since Eldritch Blast has a range of 120’ too you can stay 70’ back from the front line of melee and blast away.
The problem is, he's a melee lock, not a blast lock. Devil's sight is nice to have, but inside combat will provide a fairly low value level for what he's described as a playstyle.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Any time an unfathomably powerful entity sweeps in and offers godlike rewards in return for just a few teensy favors, it’s a scam. Unless it’s me. I’d never lie to you, reader dearest.
Eh, Darkness/Devil Sight for a front line fighter usually causes as much pain for the party as the opposition, in my experience. Chain 'locks on the other hand can abuse the hell out of the combo and are frightening to behold.
But on its own Devil Sight is a really solid Invocation.
Using the Darkness/Devil's Sight combo as a ranged caster is one thing, you can back away from the melee furball and lob Eldritch Blasts with Advantage as an Unseen Attacker all day long. But that 15-foot radius of the Darkness spell is going to annoy the stuffing out of your party if you're right in the thick of things. Your fighters won't know where to swing or shoot, and any casters are going to be crippled since most targeted spells require that you be able to SEE the target. Personally, Darkness/Devil's Sight as always felt like a move for powergamers and not conducive for a fun group experience.
I’m always confused by this. Isn’t it similar to Fog Cloud where it ends up being a wash since attacks against are at advantage and attacks made are at disadvantage. But since it would apply to your party as well they end up canceling it out so all attacks, except for yours, are treated as normal?
I agree it works better for ranged but unless the frontlines would have had advantage from something else (or a rogue trying to sneak attack) it would basically be a normal combat
It does indeed cancel out, nonetheless if any character has advantage it would cancel that out, same with putting prone or faerie fire on a target. Many strategies revolve around giving advantage on attacks. Another thing to note, though, is that you can walk away without fear of taking an opportunity attack, as enemies have to be able to see you to take an opportunity attack against you. If you're mobile enough, you can make Darkness in melee work, although it's still clunky.
A good way to gain advantage would be picking the ‘shadow blade’ spell from Xanathars which gives you advantage in dim light without disrupting your parties vision.
A lot of spells and abilities also require you to be able to see the target. darkness rules that out.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Any time an unfathomably powerful entity sweeps in and offers godlike rewards in return for just a few teensy favors, it’s a scam. Unless it’s me. I’d never lie to you, reader dearest.
Clerics have ritual casting. If they pick detect magic they can cast it without using a slot if you take 10 min which is easy to do If your party takes the time to sweep a location after it's cleared.
Clerics have ritual casting. If they pick detect magic they can cast it without using a slot if you take 10 min which is easy to do If your party takes the time to sweep a location after it's cleared.
Yes, but they have to have the spell prepared, so keeping it handy eats one of the spots on their prepared list each day. And there are times when sitting down for 10 minutes to ritual-cast isn't convenient.
Clerics have ritual casting. If they pick detect magic they can cast it without using a slot if you take 10 min which is easy to do If your party takes the time to sweep a location after it's cleared.
Yes, but they have to have the spell prepared, so keeping it handy eats one of the spots on their prepared list each day. And there are times when sitting down for 10 minutes to ritual-cast isn't convenient.
Obviously His concern as stated was specifically spell slots "I want his slots for heals and he uses the others primarily for combat." Ritual casting solves that.
Thanks for all the replies. I think I will move away from Devil's Sight and get something fun. I am gonna try Mask of Many faces and keep IPW. Next level I will probably change that out to Eldritch Smite and will pick up Thirsting blade.
Edit: only just saw that your DM doesn't care about VSM. I definitely don't recommend that since it's part of the balancing as well as flavour but so be it. Ignore my entire paragraph to point 2. No reason to keep IPW if you don't care about VSM and if you already have a magic weapon.
You are right. I decided that I will follow the VSM rules regardless of how firmly they are enforced.
We are using fantasy grounds which does auto roll concentration checks. I am thinking I will take the Resilient con to get it to 16 with proficiency. If I do that I will primarily use a rapier as my IPW for flavor mainly. Most spells in combat at this point are not VSM. How cheesy is it to sheathe a weapon, cast and redraw the weapon? I figure I am pretty badass swordsman to rise above the fray. Always played as if our characters are "the best of the best".
Just hit level 4 in Curse of Strahd campaign. There are three in our party. Me (Hexblade), Champion fighter with a one level Wiz dip and a Warforged Cleric. I am a melee Hex and mostly on the front line. I will be taking PAM for my feat and using a spear and shield (14 Dex). Cha is currently 17 but I have been soliciting the DM for something to boost Cha by 1. I feel that PAM will help more that a plus 1 to Cha atk/damage/etc.. Our DM is usually very liberal with short rests . So I have a few invocation questions. Currently running Improved Pact Weapon and Eldritch Sight.
1. Eldritch Sight. Since we only have on character that has Detect Magic, the cleric, I took Eldritch Sight. I want his slots for heals and he uses the others primarily for combat. I know Eldritch Sight gimps me on certain things but is the help to not miss magic items worth it in CoS?
2. If I can find a +1 or better staff or spear (I have a staff of Warning that acts as magic but no bonus) do I still need IPW? I could replace it with something better and use the staff now and lose the +1. I don't need to summon a ranged weapon.
3. At level 5 I know I will take Thirsting Blade and probably change an invocation to Eldritch Smite. So here is the Darkness/Devil's Sight combo question. How often are you using it? It is cool on paper but how is in in game. For our game, short rests are usually no problem. I don't think I can change two invocations at one level up so I will need to change one now so I can get Eldritch Smite at 5.
4. For a melee Hexblade at 5, I will have Thirsting Blade, Eldritch Smite and possibly Devil's Sight. Opinions on that or change one or two invocations. Looking at IPW still, Maddening Hex, One with Shadows or others.
As for the game, I had posted for help before starting and a quick update. Last two sessions. Cleric couldn't make one and we had no way to heal other that recovery dice. Not pretty. No TPK but we each went down. Still learning the right combos/order for Hexblade stuff. Last session cleric was there and actually played well (it is his first caster after years of playing an archer) and things went better. Hex really helped with a henchman (dog actually) and his ability to knock enemies prone due to handing out Str check disadvantage. I am a bit concerned with concentration breaking but with only 8 or so levels to this campaign it is hard to take Warcaster (DM really doesn't car about VSM casting so that helps) or Resilient Con. If we were going higher then I might do that.
Thanks always for what I know will be good feedback.
Hi, fairly certain your Pact of the Blade turns your weapon into a magical weapon with the purpose of overcoming resistances, so IPW for that sole reason shouldn't be needed.
Yes, any weapon summoned by the pact of the blade is a magical weapon.
Improved Pact Weapon gives you a +1 magical weapon, and allows you to use it as a casting focus.
Exactly. So if I drop Improved Pact Weapon and take PAM instead of a Cha boost to 19, I just realized that is like a +2 weapon gone. Food for thought
Something to remember about darkness/devil's sight is since you are on the front line, you will be screwing with LOS for your teammates. That's pretty no-bueno. If you were on the backline blasting, it's a pretty solid choice. For a melee character, it should be avoided imo.
Any time an unfathomably powerful entity sweeps in and offers godlike rewards in return for just a few teensy favors, it’s a scam. Unless it’s me. I’d never lie to you, reader dearest.
Tasha
Just by itself Devils Sight without Darkness is incredible! It has a range of 120’ and most creatures that have Darkvision only have it for 60’. Since Eldritch Blast has a range of 120’ too you can stay 70’ back from the front line of melee and blast away.
Professional computer geek
The problem is, he's a melee lock, not a blast lock. Devil's sight is nice to have, but inside combat will provide a fairly low value level for what he's described as a playstyle.
Any time an unfathomably powerful entity sweeps in and offers godlike rewards in return for just a few teensy favors, it’s a scam. Unless it’s me. I’d never lie to you, reader dearest.
Tasha
Eh, Darkness/Devil Sight for a front line fighter usually causes as much pain for the party as the opposition, in my experience. Chain 'locks on the other hand can abuse the hell out of the combo and are frightening to behold.
But on its own Devil Sight is a really solid Invocation.
Abide.
I find it is not party friendly and over-rated.
Using the Darkness/Devil's Sight combo as a ranged caster is one thing, you can back away from the melee furball and lob Eldritch Blasts with Advantage as an Unseen Attacker all day long. But that 15-foot radius of the Darkness spell is going to annoy the stuffing out of your party if you're right in the thick of things. Your fighters won't know where to swing or shoot, and any casters are going to be crippled since most targeted spells require that you be able to SEE the target. Personally, Darkness/Devil's Sight as always felt like a move for powergamers and not conducive for a fun group experience.
I’m always confused by this. Isn’t it similar to Fog Cloud where it ends up being a wash since attacks against are at advantage and attacks made are at disadvantage. But since it would apply to your party as well they end up canceling it out so all attacks, except for yours, are treated as normal?
I agree it works better for ranged but unless the frontlines would have had advantage from something else (or a rogue trying to sneak attack) it would basically be a normal combat
EZD6 by DM Scotty
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/397599/EZD6-Core-Rulebook?
It does indeed cancel out, nonetheless if any character has advantage it would cancel that out, same with putting prone or faerie fire on a target. Many strategies revolve around giving advantage on attacks. Another thing to note, though, is that you can walk away without fear of taking an opportunity attack, as enemies have to be able to see you to take an opportunity attack against you. If you're mobile enough, you can make Darkness in melee work, although it's still clunky.
A good way to gain advantage would be picking the ‘shadow blade’ spell from Xanathars which gives you advantage in dim light without disrupting your parties vision.
A lot of spells and abilities also require you to be able to see the target. darkness rules that out.
Any time an unfathomably powerful entity sweeps in and offers godlike rewards in return for just a few teensy favors, it’s a scam. Unless it’s me. I’d never lie to you, reader dearest.
Tasha
Clerics have ritual casting. If they pick detect magic they can cast it without using a slot if you take 10 min which is easy to do If your party takes the time to sweep a location after it's cleared.
Yes, but they have to have the spell prepared, so keeping it handy eats one of the spots on their prepared list each day. And there are times when sitting down for 10 minutes to ritual-cast isn't convenient.
Obviously
His concern as stated was specifically spell slots "I want his slots for heals and he uses the others primarily for combat." Ritual casting solves that.
Thanks for all the replies. I think I will move away from Devil's Sight and get something fun. I am gonna try Mask of Many faces and keep IPW. Next level I will probably change that out to Eldritch Smite and will pick up Thirsting blade.
Thanks again for the replies
You are right. I decided that I will follow the VSM rules regardless of how firmly they are enforced.
We are using fantasy grounds which does auto roll concentration checks. I am thinking I will take the Resilient con to get it to 16 with proficiency. If I do that I will primarily use a rapier as my IPW for flavor mainly. Most spells in combat at this point are not VSM. How cheesy is it to sheathe a weapon, cast and redraw the weapon? I figure I am pretty badass swordsman to rise above the fray. Always played as if our characters are "the best of the best".