ghost_warlock
2014-11-22, 05:24 AM
Our group is starting our first 5e game in a couple weeks, playing through the Hoard of the Dragon Queen adventure path. I've decided to play a Great Old One/Tome warlock character that dips a bit into bard at 3rd-level for some back-up healing, a couple extra spell slots, and a bit more versatility (extra skill proficiency as well as more spells known).
Dipping one level into bard has a lot to offer, especially since the warlock capstone is pretty flaky anyway. However, I'm not sure it's worth picking up a second level. Jack of All Trades and Song of Rest seem okay, and an extra spell slot never hurts, but are they enough to justify delaying my warlock progression? On the odd chance that the campaign lasts that long, I'd also be giving up the 19th-level feat (since my Cha will be maxed long before that).
The rest of the party consists of a druid (shapeshifting-focused), a cleric (war domain), a ranger (archery), a rogue, and a fighter (no idea about the sub-builds for the rogue and fighter).
Edit: Looking over some of the other threads around here right now, I suppose I should note that this character is intended to be playable from 1st-level & up. :smalltongue:
Backstory for those interested in that sort of thing:
Stretching back into antiquity, the members of Julian's family have almost universally been druids. A firm believer in family traditions and the sanctity of the natural world, Julian had planned on following in his ancestor's footsteps. However, despite his most earnest efforts, druidic magic proved to be impossible for him to perform. He proved to be a capable naturalist and herbalist, but lacked any ability for druidic spellcasting or shapeshifting.
In the end, his elders had no choice but to halt his training and put him to work in other ways, never fully initiating him into the Order. They assigned a remote stretch of land to him, placing an ancient ruin there under his watch. He spent long, nearly solitary months there, caring for the forest, aiding the locals who lived in harmony with the woods, and giving directions to the sparse travelers.
He often stayed awake long into the night, staring up at the night sky and whispering wishes and pledges upon the stars as he tracked their progress across the wheel of night. Gradually, he began to notice that some of the stars were whispering back.
A multitude of odd, sometimes sickly, colored lights in the black sky - Acamar, Caiphon, Delban, Gibbeth, Hadar, Ihbar, Khirad, Nihal, Ulban, and Zhudun - the stars whispered prophecies to him - foretelling a terrible doom that was about to befall Toril. Vague and confusing, the prophecies were never whole enough for Julian to completely understand what, exactly, was the cause of this terrible apocalypse now what, if anything, he could do to prevent it.
Eventually, however, a group of emissaries came from the stars and told him they could help - for a price. They called themselves the mi-go and said that if he pledged himself in service to them, they would change him and, thereby, grant him fantastic powers to fight back against the coming destruction. Without a moment's hesitation, he agreed.
With surgical skill unknown in the Realms, the plucked his brain from his body, placed it within a special canister, and made their adjustments. He hallucinated wildly with mad, waking dreams while they altered the structure of his mind but, before long, they reunited his brain and body and declared their work complete. With that, they took their leave.
The next morning, Julian left the ruins, seeking to test his new abilities and discover what he could about the coming doom.
Dipping one level into bard has a lot to offer, especially since the warlock capstone is pretty flaky anyway. However, I'm not sure it's worth picking up a second level. Jack of All Trades and Song of Rest seem okay, and an extra spell slot never hurts, but are they enough to justify delaying my warlock progression? On the odd chance that the campaign lasts that long, I'd also be giving up the 19th-level feat (since my Cha will be maxed long before that).
The rest of the party consists of a druid (shapeshifting-focused), a cleric (war domain), a ranger (archery), a rogue, and a fighter (no idea about the sub-builds for the rogue and fighter).
Edit: Looking over some of the other threads around here right now, I suppose I should note that this character is intended to be playable from 1st-level & up. :smalltongue:
Backstory for those interested in that sort of thing:
Stretching back into antiquity, the members of Julian's family have almost universally been druids. A firm believer in family traditions and the sanctity of the natural world, Julian had planned on following in his ancestor's footsteps. However, despite his most earnest efforts, druidic magic proved to be impossible for him to perform. He proved to be a capable naturalist and herbalist, but lacked any ability for druidic spellcasting or shapeshifting.
In the end, his elders had no choice but to halt his training and put him to work in other ways, never fully initiating him into the Order. They assigned a remote stretch of land to him, placing an ancient ruin there under his watch. He spent long, nearly solitary months there, caring for the forest, aiding the locals who lived in harmony with the woods, and giving directions to the sparse travelers.
He often stayed awake long into the night, staring up at the night sky and whispering wishes and pledges upon the stars as he tracked their progress across the wheel of night. Gradually, he began to notice that some of the stars were whispering back.
A multitude of odd, sometimes sickly, colored lights in the black sky - Acamar, Caiphon, Delban, Gibbeth, Hadar, Ihbar, Khirad, Nihal, Ulban, and Zhudun - the stars whispered prophecies to him - foretelling a terrible doom that was about to befall Toril. Vague and confusing, the prophecies were never whole enough for Julian to completely understand what, exactly, was the cause of this terrible apocalypse now what, if anything, he could do to prevent it.
Eventually, however, a group of emissaries came from the stars and told him they could help - for a price. They called themselves the mi-go and said that if he pledged himself in service to them, they would change him and, thereby, grant him fantastic powers to fight back against the coming destruction. Without a moment's hesitation, he agreed.
With surgical skill unknown in the Realms, the plucked his brain from his body, placed it within a special canister, and made their adjustments. He hallucinated wildly with mad, waking dreams while they altered the structure of his mind but, before long, they reunited his brain and body and declared their work complete. With that, they took their leave.
The next morning, Julian left the ruins, seeking to test his new abilities and discover what he could about the coming doom.