Bladelock - where to next?

[Evilbob333]

Hello playgrounders!

Long time reader first time poster! I've read some great advice given to others on these forums and now I'm keen to ask for some myself.

My friends and I have been playing a long, gritty realism rules campaign over the last year. We have briefly stopped due to the death of the majority of the PC's(which was preceded by them losing a lot of limbs -critical hits were brutal and dangerous using these variants!). The result of this is that when we return to the campaign it will be set 20 years from where we left it. My character is the only one who survived and so he will be the new groups mentor/ Obi-Wan type figure. The world has been taken over by the BBEG and he has survived the last two decades essentiall as a hermit. (Lots of parallels with star wars....)

My Character started life as a human Paladin and was a nobleman, although his Barony was usurped by his uncle (which was the driving force behind his actions), although this is now irrelevant as his homeland has been destroyed by the BBEG during the time lapse. His stats are:

Paladin 6 (OoD, Protection fighting style), Shield Master Feat, heavy armour expert feat, Warlock 6 (Undying light patron). Str - 16, Cha - 18. I did not take eldritch blast as a cantrip.

One area I am struggling on are choosing a pact boon(never got to this level previously, now the time jump will get me there). Pact of the blade would thematically make most sense, however my magic weapon has been stolen (can't summon it back) and the associated invocations are worthless as I already have 2nd attack. Pact of the tome feels a little off role play wise, the character is much more martial and any magic is really around bolstering that and his allies. Pact of the chain seems a bit underwhelming (no shared magic resistance variant) but perhaps I am not thinking smartly about it.

The other asepect is where do I go after this? I was really keen to get the level 6 patron feature of undying light, it is awesome and really suits the character and the world. My first instinct was to just go back to paladin so I can get improved smite, however I recently started wondering if bard would be worthwhile for expertise (I shield bash regularly in combat) - role play wise it would fit as I recount the stories of old to the new party. I'm worried that 3 class multiclass would be too diluted though.

Apologies for the ramble, any help/suggestions would be most welcome!

[Asmotherion]

Hello playgrounders!

Long time reader first time poster! I've read some great advice given to others on these forums and now I'm keen to ask for some myself.

My friends and I have been playing a long, gritty realism rules campaign over the last year. We have briefly stopped due to the death of the majority of the PC's(which was preceded by them losing a lot of limbs -critical hits were brutal and dangerous using these variants!). The result of this is that when we return to the campaign it will be set 20 years from where we left it. My character is the only one who survived and so he will be the new groups mentor/ Obi-Wan type figure. The world has been taken over by the BBEG and he has survived the last two decades essentiall as a hermit. (Lots of parallels with star wars....)

My Character started life as a human Paladin and was a nobleman, although his Barony was usurped by his uncle (which was the driving force behind his actions), although this is now irrelevant as his homeland has been destroyed by the BBEG during the time lapse. His stats are:

Paladin 6 (OoD, Protection fighting style), Shield Master Feat, heavy armour expert feat, Warlock 6 (Undying light patron). Str - 16, Cha - 18. I did not take eldritch blast as a cantrip.

One area I am struggling on are choosing a pact boon(never got to this level previously, now the time jump will get me there). Pact of the blade would thematically make most sense, however my magic weapon has been stolen (can't summon it back) and the associated invocations are worthless as I already have 2nd attack. Pact of the tome feels a little off role play wise, the character is much more martial and any magic is really around bolstering that and his allies. Pact of the chain seems a bit underwhelming (no shared magic resistance variant) but perhaps I am not thinking smartly about it.

The other asepect is where do I go after this? I was really keen to get the level 6 patron feature of undying light, it is awesome and really suits the character and the world. My first instinct was to just go back to paladin so I can get improved smite, however I recently started wondering if bard would be worthwhile for expertise (I shield bash regularly in combat) - role play wise it would fit as I recount the stories of old to the new party. I'm worried that 3 class multiclass would be too diluted though.

Apologies for the ramble, any help/suggestions would be most welcome!

First, some suggestions:
A) Do take Eldritch Blast. It's only costing you one cantrip slot. If you don't want to use it too often, don't take the Invocations for it (I would, but I'm addicted to being a blaster warlock and couldn't hold myself from replying that XD). You can work with your DM to re-fluff eldritch blast as "shockwaves from the magic-infused slashing of your weapon", kinda like Roronoa Zoro from one piece and Lloyd Irving from Tales of Symphonia. That said, It's too precious of an ability to pass on
B) Paladin 6 is not a "sweet point". It's not bitter either, but I'm not sure what role you want to fill in, and Aura of protection might be a nice buff, but if you intend on being more of a martial character (and can still switch levels), you're better off leaving the Paladin Class at level 2, and advancind more into Warlock. Higher spell slots means your Divine Smite is stronger, and depending on how often you can short rest in your campain, you will have 4 full power divine smites per encounter. You also want to get Hex, it's an awesome single-target dammage buff. Armor of Agathys (cast as a 5th level) gives you 25 temporary HP (and in a realistic campain, those HP will make a diferance), and as long as you still have some of those HP, everyone that hits you takes 25 cold damage.
C) The above is meant if you definitelly want to take Pact of the Blade, as one of your Invocations will be to get an extra attack; Saddly extra attacks do not Stack, so both going up to level 5 in Paladin AND taking Pact of the Blade+Thirstling Blade is pointless. HOWEVER Pact of the Tome is much better in this situation. You are a Martial Character, but you are a Magical Martial Character, so no need to feel bad about having a magic book. If you're willing to switch your weapon to a Quarterstaff or Club, you can take Shillelagh and upgrade your attack/dammage by using Charisma for them. You also have Booming and Green Flame Blade to buff your damage, and Polearm Master+Sentinel to make sure nobody will ever come too close.
D) Finally, I highly suggest some fighter levels. Weather you are awear of it or not, your character is built around "Nova" damage, which is defined as "A lot of damage done in a single round". You can also have some consistant damage, but your main focus is to Nova the toughest-looking bad guy. Action Surge is best for it (as you can Nova twice, since you get twice the actions), you still get to bond with some magic weapon (2 to be precice) if you go Eldritch Knight, and get more attacks out of it. Not sure if you can aford the Spell Slots for divine smite (I think you can) though, but you'll still be having a nice character. My suggested build is the following:

Paladin 2/Warlock 5 (Pact of the Tome)/Fighter 5 (Eldritch Knight)
Dueling FS and/or Two Weapon Fighting FS
Polearm Master and Sentinel Feats (and/or Dual Wielder if you want to fight with 2 weapons)

[Gastronomie]

Going Paladin 9 for the Aura of Vitality spell might be interesting for you, since you have recharging level 3 spell slots from Warlock 6. You will make a wonderful healer, which I believe will be crucial for a gritty campaign.

Lore Bard 6 nets you the same benefits, on top of hilarious buffing and skills, but it's 3 levels later.

[CaptainSarathai]

1) you realize that the UL Warlock1 Cha to Radiant only applies to spells, right? Not Smite damage

2) ULLock6 is just about the silliest ability ever, in practice? How often do you die?! And when you do, you pop up on a successful DST, so you don't want your friends to stand you up until you've had 2 rounds to try and "bounce back." It's just goofy.

If you can, dump off levels. I'd say, either class benefits from a solid dip into Sorcerer, especially with the +Cha on Radiant/Fire, go Draconic and get +Cha again. So your options:
Paladin2/Lock2/Sorc16
Gives you the most spell slots at the highest possible level. Boom.
OR
Paladin11/Lock2/Sorc7
Gives you +d8 per whack with your sword, using Improved Smite.
OR
Paladin2/Lock12/Sorc5
Gives you +2xCha to damage, +Cha to melee attacks, and Bestow Curse.

Use the Green Flame Blade cantrip, and the biggest weapon you can find. So, Greatsword. With Hex and Str20, Cha20 for:
3d6+3d8+15+ d8/5 = 39dpr plus secondary damage to another target.
You can Quicken that with Metamagic to hit twice. Use Warcaster and hit with Reactions too.

[Gastronomie]

@Sarathai: I don't have access to the data at the moment so not exactly sure, but I think the level 6 ability of Undying Light is when you drop to 0 HP, not when you die. Maybe I'm wrong, but, even if I'm wrong, guy says his campaign is a deadly one, and his character is a mentor - better story-wise to stay alive for some length. I don't think it's the most optimized option, but I don't think it's bad either.

[Mongobear]

Taking Thirsting Blade as a BladeLock isn't a requirement for Lifedrinker, assuming you will be going further into the class. LD's only requirement is Pact of the Blade and 12th level Warlock.

Personally, I would have rather gone Paladin 7 (Oath of the Ancients) + Arch-Fey BladeLock as a sort of Nature Protector guy. I am not that familiar with UL as I dont use Unearthed Arcana.

[nilshai]

2) ULLock6 is just about the silliest ability ever, in practice? How often do you die?! And when you do, you pop up on a successful DST, so you don't want your friends to stand you up until you've had 2 rounds to try and "bounce back." It's just goofy.

You can choose to gain the benefits of Searing Vengeance instead of making a Death Saving Throw. This means, when you go down to 0hp, you wait until your next turn comes up and then you use Searing Vengeance.

Radiant Soul works with Divine Favor and Smite Spells.

[bid]

Bladelock is utterly useless in your case.
You have extra attack from paladin and will want 3rd spells to protect the group. Paladin 9 means you'll never reach warlock 12 and lifedrinker.

Tomelock and book of ancient secrets gives you access to any ritual (up to 3rd with warlock 6). Those rituals can become McGuffin to further the plot.

Chainlock and voice of the chain master allow you to direct/assist the party from afar, letting them shine in low-level fights. And you can spy too.

As a protector, you don't want to stop at paladin 2 and lose your auras. It's even worse paired with warlock since you won't have enough slots to feed your smites.


Since you prefer martial, you'll want paladin 11 and improved divine smite. Along with warlock 6, that'd leave 3 levels free. Lore 3 might be worth the 1-2 extra ASI/feat you'd lose.

[Arkhios]

Bladelock is utterly useless in your case.
You have extra attack from paladin and will want 3rd spells to protect the group.

Since when was Thirsting Blade mandatory pick for a bladelock? TB is just another invocation you can choose NOT to take.
The Pact of the Blade has it's own benefits, no matter how minor someone else might see them. To me being able to form any type of weapon that's also magical from thin air is pretty damn powerful already. If you have extra attack from some other class. TAKE SOMETHING ELSE instead of TB.

/end of rant.

[CaptainSarathai]

You can choose to gain the benefits of Searing Vengeance instead of making a Death Saving Throw. This means, when you go down to 0hp, you wait until your next turn comes up and then you use Searing Vengeance.

Radiant Soul works with Divine Favor and Smite Spells.
Fact still stands, you're using a Class Feature slot on an ability that only works when you hit zero. I'd rather get something that makes it harder to take me to zero. I don't think it's worth dipping to 6 just for that ability.

Radiant Soul is good though. Maintain Con and burn a slot every fight, and you're good to go.


Since when was Thirsting Blade mandatory pick for a bladelock? TB is just another invocation you can choose NOT to take.
The Pact of the Blade has it's own benefits, no matter how minor someone else might see them. To me being able to form any type of weapon that's also magical from thin air is pretty damn powerful already. If you have extra attack from some other class. TAKE SOMETHING ELSE instead of TB.

/end of rant.
I don't think anyone is saying that Lock6 is useless just because he can't take TB. Not to turn this into a repeat of the "Balancing BladeLocks" thread, but the fact is, BladeLock is really only worthwhile if you go to 12 for LifeDrinker (or don't get Extra Attack without TB).
Summoning a magic sword is cool, but if you need magical damage, just hammer down with EB. If you don't have EB, you should probably bandage up that bullet-hole in your foot, and take EB.

[tieren]

I think I would go chain lock in that situation. You can even role play keeping it permanently invisible and just appearing to have super natural perception and knowing things you shouldn't have been able to observe, could be very zen mentor like.