Class choice for Charmer

[dukeofwolfsgate]

I'm having difficulty deciding between the Enchanter path for the Wizard and the Warlock.

Class-wise, which is better mechanically if I want to Charm/Dominate NPCs, monsters, etc.?

I like the Fey Presence and Beguiling Defenses of the Archfey Patron, but feel that Misty Escape and Dark Delirium don't really fit my idea...:smallconfused:

On the other hand, all of the Enchanter's features seem to work well with the idea. The biggest drawback it the Int dependency, as I will be focusing on Cha based skills for social interaction.:smallannoyed:

Which would you choose, and can you think of any ways besides race to increase the effectiveness of either build?

[Gritmonger]

Variant Human, Background: Charlatan, Feat: Actor

You have advantage on checks to pass yourself off as somebody other than you, you get an additional +1 Cha (if you spend one of your two on CHA), and with Charlatan, you start with proficiency in Deception as well as the "False Identity" feature, which combined with Actor, gives you a virtually impenetrable alternate identity, plus the ability to forge. Paper documents. Not iron.

[burninatortrog]

Play a warlock, and ask your DM if you can get Hypnotic Gaze at 6th level and Instinctive Charm at 14th, instead of the normal fey patron abilities.

[Mandragola]

There's no reason a wizard couldn't starf with a decent cha of say, 14. They aren't very MAD so it's doable.

A half-elf wizard could have int and cha 16 at start. Stats could be S8, D12, C14, I16, w10, C16. I suppose you might want more dex than that at the expense of con, and one option would be to have 8 wisdom so you could have 13 con and take resilient at some point. A variant human could have similar stats, potentially starting out resilient or an actor.

Any reason you're not considering sorcerors? I'm playing one now and I think careful spell is a really great option for mind-affecting casters. People complain that it only halves the damage from blasts - which is true - but it lets you from fear or confusion on the room without messing up your friends. I like it. Plus obviously you're using charisma as your primary stat. Sorcerors start out proficient in con saves, which is what all casters want!

That said, the school of enchantment features are great. I can see why they'd appeal.

[cobaltstarfire]

I'd go with the wizard based on what you've said. (I haven't played either class yet)

Mostly because it sounds like an enchanter has more working for the idea than the warlock. Even though it's an int based class, you can still give your character a decent charisma for skill checks and have more "charmer" toys to play with ontop of that.


I tend to put more emphasis on getting the character concept rather than the mechanical advantage though.