Warlock pact of blade, yet again...

[Satsujinki]

I know this is a painful thing to ask since there is a lot of contraddiction and talkaround it, but i wanna ask anyway. new group, i'm starting at lvl 5, it seems. stats will be rolled (4d6 keep highest 3). My problem? I want to make a pact of the blade warlock. So... Race and background. I dunno why, but the duregar kinda pops up. I want to make it STR/CHA based, so MAD, i know. I was thinking in duregar, half orc or maybe variant human? i dunno, mainstream races kinda tick me off it. any Cha+STR race? and, any bg suggestion?

EDIT: i rolled godstat, as my luck usually does.... 16 15 7 15 15 17

[Grod_The_Giant]

The proper flavor of Aasimar from Volo's Guide (Scourge, I think) get +2 Cha, +1 Str
Dragonborn get +2 Str, +1 Cha
Half-Elves get +2 Cha and can invest a +1 in Str
Tritons (Volo's Guide) get +1 Str, Cha, and Con, which are pretty good stats for a bladelock.
vHuman is, as always, the best option. Take Polearm Master as your starting feat; the more attacks you can make each round the better.

If you want to go Str-based, you'll probably need to start with a level of Fighter or Paladin to nab you heavy armor proficiency-- otherwise you'll have a ton of trouble on defense, and one level of progression isn't a terrible price to pay. Fighter has better benefits for one level; Paladin is better if you're willing to take a second later on.

[Satsujinki]

I probably will do full warlock. Dont like using multiclass. But asimar... how do i make an asimar have a pact with infernal(the only one that synergizes with bladelock) and relate a bg to it

[Waazraath]

I probably will do full warlock. Dont like using multiclass. But asimar... how do i make an asimar have a pact with infernal(the only one that synergizes with bladelock) and relate a bg to it

It´s the fallen aasimar subrace ;)

[Spacehamster]

If not multiclassing maybe mtn dorf for medium armor for at least bit better defences? Start with 17 STR, 16 CON, 10 DEX, 8 INT, 8 WIS and 15 CHA?

[Millstone85]

The proper flavor of Aasimar from Volo's Guide (Scourge, I think) get +2 Cha, +1 Str
But asimar... how do i make an asimar have a pact with infernal(the only one that synergizes with bladelock) and relate a bg to it
It´s the fallen aasimar subrace ;)"An aasimar who was touched by dark powers as a youth or who turns to evil in early adulthood". Indeed, I would say that synergizes with an infernal bladelock both mechanically and thematically.


Start with 17 STR, 16 CON, 10 DEX, 8 INT, 8 WIS and 15 CHA?They are not using point buy. Which can be a problem when planning a MAD build.

[NecroDancer]

Blade warlock feel like the most "interesting" warlock, I really want to play one of them. Sadley I'm already playing a tome warlock and I don't want to play a warlock for the next campaign.

Taking a level in fighter to begin is a really good idea and you will only need one level.

[Satsujinki]

All in all, dm said i could use point to buy or roll em so... yeah. Im pretty confidebt in luck honestly >~>

[CaptainSarathai]

Edit- got hardcore Ninja'd!

The arguments usually start when people ask if building a BladeLock is as good/easy as building a BlastLock.

Race:
Half Elf gets you three 16s to start, even with pointbuy. If you don't want the extra skills, take Drow Magic or the extra Wizard Cantrip to free up options later.

VHuman with +1Str, +1Cha, and Resilient Con also gets three 16s, and the bonus of Con proficiency for maintaining Concentration on the almighty hex.

You can also use +Str, +Con races instead of focusing on Charisma. BladeLocks don't really need a crazy-high Charisma, because a lot of your spells won't add Cha anyway. Save-spells will want Cha, but starting with a 14 isn't the end of the world. You're primarily Str, and you need all the HP you can get. To that end:

Mountain Dwarf is ah-mazing for this. +2Str, +2Con, and Medium Armor Proficiency right out of the gates. Getting Armor means you can dump Dex and not worry as much. Also doesnt eat your Invocations to take Armor of Shadows. Boom.

Warforged is similar, +1Str and +1Con, but gets +1AC no matter whose pants you wear. Not great initially but works a charm if you get armor elsewhere.

Background - doesn't really matter, but anything with Perception is always good. Having Stealth in your pocket doesn't hurt either. If you just wanna pound it home, nab anything with Cha skills that you don't get already, and Face a little. Otherwise, skills that shore up your Dump Stats.

Patron:
Undying Light - if they let you, take this. Get Green Flame Blade. Don't bother taking Thirsting Blade. Get +Cha to damage right out of the gates. OP

Fiend - hey look, Temp HP, mediocre resistance option, and a smashing 14th level ability in Hurl Through Hell.

Fey - Misty Stepping out of combat is fun, sometimes. Not as strong as Fiend in my opinion, but great if you're stuck with a "Lawful Stupid" character who isn't fond of Devils.

Further Consideration
BladeLocks like multiclassing. +Cha to hits is kinda lame by 12th level, and you can get it faster other ways. You can certainly boost damage output other ways. Str BladeLocks almost have to MultiClass to get a livable AC.

--Getting AC--
Starting Fighter or Paladin at Lvl1 gets your butt into some metal pants. Good stuff.

Fighter gives you Second Wind for some self-care, and also a Fighting Style. Defense is great here, extra +1AC. Second level grabs Action Surge for a Nova shot. You could go on, really. All the way to 6 and you can keep your ASIs flowing smoothly PLUS pick up Extra Attack to free up another Invocation. Fighters also get Con Save proficiency, if you didn't go VHuman (or did and took another feat)

Paladin is more for pure damage, because Pally2 gives you Smite. It's only worth going 2+ levels of Pally to get your Fighting Style, Spells, and Smite, because if you just want Heavy Armor, you can start Fighter1 and also get Con saves.
The Pally Spell Slots are slim, but they are still slots. Use your Paladin slots for Hex first, and use your renewing slots for Smiting while you can.
Going to Lvl6 gets Extra Attack, and +Cha to Saves, helping to offset the multiple jump-stats you likely have from being MAD.

Cleric - if you somehow meet the requirements, you can tag in Cleric at any time (even after 1st) and get Heavy Armor based on domain. War, Tempest, Life, are all fun. But if you can go Forge from the new UA, you can do some really wild stuff. Daily, you can get a +1 Armor. OR, you can create a magical ranged weapon and then bond to that as your Pact Weapon (although at that point, just play a Blaster maybe?).

--Getting Damage, and Cha to Damage--
Sorcerer is a great friend for Warlocks. Starting at L1 with Sorcerer gives you Con proficiency. Going Draconic also gives you Unarmored Defense and thereby frees up Armor of Shadows. Unfortunately, it's not as great if you dumped Dex, but unless you found another way to get Armor, it's the best you've got. (Unless you go Favored Soul for Medium and Shields, which also has Extra Attack at 6)
What makes Sorc good, is the Metamagic. You can easily burn off spell points, and then refill them each Rest with unused Warlock slots. It's not a perfect trade, burning a slot to gain a slot, but it's the only way to "rollover" your Pact Magic.
Metallic also lets you Quicken or Twin the SCAG cantrips GFB/BB. That more than offsets having Extra Attack from any source, and lets you pound damage.
Draconic Sorcerer also gets +Cha to a damage type at 6th level. Pick Fire, and use GFB. You now add Cha to your attacks just like a 12th level Warlock, congratulations! Worried about Fire being easily countered? Take the Elemental Adept; increase your damage and ignore resistance. Oh, this also stacks with Undying Light, so you could add Cha twice, potentially 3 times if you actually go to Lock12.

Barbarian is also another option for raw damage. Go Bear Totem and you get TONS of Resistance, which makes Armor of Agathys twice as effective. You can't concentrate/cast spells while Raging, but AoA doesn't require concentration. You also eventually get Bestow Curse as a Warlock, and cast at SL5+ it's also Con-free. So burst those, then Rage, and go nuts. Free Advantage and it makes it easier for the enemy to hit you (and then get punished by AoA)

[Millstone85]

The arguments usually start when people ask if building a BladeLock is as good/easy as building a BlastLock.And continues with whether or not the bladelock/blastlock distinction is even pertinent. Being a chainlock or a tomelock doesn't make eldritch blast any better, so why would a bladelock be any less of a blaster? The discussion then moves unto invocation economy.

[Spiritchaser]

I know you've stated you want a STR build, but a STR build really benefits very greatly from fighter1. If you want to go pure warlock, I wonder if you might at least consider a dex TWF build?

Its probably a better fit mechanically

Otherwise... Would you consider the mobile feat?

Not just to help with armor, but with avoiding con saves (though it probably means you can't have room for what you probably wanted a STR build for... )

[Grod_The_Giant]

You can also refluff Fiend Pact to "Celestial Pact" easily enough. Fire is a cleansing force, after all...

If you want to do Str without dipping for heavy armor, you might have a bit more trouble. Unless you roll as well as the fighter in my last campaign (18, 17, 15, 15, 9, 6), you probably can't afford a very good Dex score as well, which means Mountain Dwarf or vHuman (Moderately Armored) for medium armor-- then you only "need" at 14. You might spend your fourth level ASI on getting heavy armor, even; it's not the end of the world, since both feats are only half-feats. With point buy, that could give you stat arrays like so:

Dwarf (ASI on Cha): Str 16, Dex 14, Con 14, Cha 16, two points remaining
Dwarf (ASI on Heavily Armored): Str 18, Con 16, Cha 14, four points remaining
vHuman (Moderately Armored; ASI on Con): Str 16, Dex 14, Con 14, Cha 16, no points remaining
vHuman (Moderately Armored; ASI on Heavily Armored): Str 18, Con 14, Cha 16, two points remaining

[gfishfunk]

Drugar is fine. I play a Dragonborn, and that only nets me a plus 1 to cha. Drugar aren't losing out too much.

Also, pact of blade does not need high charisma. It can be the third start after STR and Dex and work just fine. I grabbed basically no spells that relied on saves. And only Eldritch Blast that relied on a spell attack (hex, invisibility, darkness, armor of agayths, mirror image, fly for starters).

Having a 12 or 14 in Dex is fine, having a 16 in STR after racials is great. Having even a 10 in charisma is doable, but I would opt for higher. Once you get past attacking with spells, charisma doesn't need to be high, but it helps with features like Dark Ones Blessing. Even then, it doesn't have to be low.

Point buy preracial (I know you are rolling):
STR 14
Dex 14
Con 12
Wis 8
Int 10
Cha 14

Driver get something like 2 STR and some con? Easy. Since you are rolling, you'll probably get something close or better than these stats.

[BW022]

I know this is a painful thing to ask since there is a lot of contraddiction and talkaround it, but i wanna ask anyway. new group, i'm starting at lvl 5, it seems. stats will be rolled (4d6 keep highest 3). My problem? I want to make a pact of the blade warlock. So... Race and background. I dunno why, but the duregar kinda pops up. I want to make it STR/CHA based, so MAD, i know. I was thinking in duregar, half orc or maybe variant human? i dunno, mainstream races kinda tick me off it. any Cha+STR race? and, any bg suggestion?

I've played several bladelocks. However, you really do need to think about how they actually play in most campaigns, otherwise you will likely be disappointed. The class has a major disconnect between the fantasy of what you think you can do in melee and the reality of 5e combats.

The basic warlock class simply can't last in melee without major help. Light armor, no shield, and MAD ability scores typically mean a low AC. Studded leather and 14 dexterity is only a 14 AC. That dexterity would already cost you strength or constitution. Even with mage armor and a 14 dexterity you are still only a 15 AC. You also lack the hit points and any special abilities (such as bonus disengage, rage, uncanny doge, etc.) to prevent damage. This leaves only spells. Even these are solely limited due to (a) only having two spell slots at most levels, (b) needing slots for hex or offensive spells, and (c) an extreme difficulty in keeping concentration spells up when getting hit repeatedly.

As such, I would suggest some type of plan to deal with the melee issue.

Multi-classing
Obvious method is to multi-class. Take a level one of the heavy armor clerics, or fighter. Cleric (war, nature, tempest, etc.) gives you heavy armor, shields, healing, domain abilities, and extra spell slots. These slots can be used to power hex, saving your higher level spell slots for the higher level warlock spells. AC 20, (or 18 with a two-handed weapon) is dramatically better than 14 or 15. You'll likely be hit half as often or less.

A variant human can easily start with 16,8,14,9,13,14. You don't need a high dexterity, intelligence, or that high of a charisma.

Fighter is the alternate, you'll miss the spells, but you can go lower-wisdom and 16 charisma and you get 2hp and combat style. Taking heavy armor mastery is a good idea.

Mountain Dwarf
One way to gain medium armor -- but not a shield. You can then take the heavily armored feat at 4th-level. You'd have an 18 strength and heavy armor. AC 17 (with no dexterity) is still reasonable. You'd be stuck with a 14 charisma, but if you are in melee most of the time and most of your spells are defensive... it isn't a bad trade off.

Variant Human / Feat
Another way for medium armor with shield. Take the medium armor feat. This also gives you another +1 to strength to start with a 17 (or 16 with a lower-point buy or roll). AC 17 (with no dexterity) is still reasonable. Variant human can start with it, but any race could also get it at 4th.

Dexterity Build
Skip strength and go dexterity. Your AC won't reach 20, but mage armor + 18 dexterity is at least a 17. Plan on staying back with eldritch blast, but you can melee as a backup. Half-elf or drow would be Ok.

Wisdom Build
Unusual build, but look at a nature cleric or variant human with the magic initiate feat and grab shillelagh. Skip strength. For the nature cleric, just wear heavy armor and take the movement penalty.

Reach Build
Go high strength and suffer with light armor. However, use your pact weapon to make a glaive or other reach weapon. Then use spider climb, fly, or another PC to keep yourself out of melee. You can suffer with a low (10) dexterity or constitution and just make sure you don't get hit. This is ok in many combats -- most monsters can't fly or have ranged attacks. However, it does suck against mix opponents, rooms/areas where you can't get high, or if anything does have ranged attacks. Works better with a front-line PC. If you go this route... consider a spell to get you out of trouble (say misty step). This also fails as a blocking build since folks -- once they realize they can't reach you -- simply move around you and go for other PCs.

Defensive Spells Build
I don't find this terrible reliable. However, you can look at armor of agathys, mirror image, hellish rebuke, mage armor, false life. At lower-levels (maybe until 3rd or so) these aren't bad. Possibly with a reach weapon and polearm mastery. You keep up some temporary hit points and use reactions to deal out a lot of damage to anyone who attacks you. In some fights, this might keep folks from wanting to melee with you, but... you go through spell slots way too fast and by mid-levels (5th+) opponents simply take the damage knowing you can't trade blows this way.

If it is something you want to do... fine. However, do put some thought into how you plan on staying alive long enough to melee. The base warlock class really lacks any ability to survive in melee. If not, you may be disappointed that you only get one or two attacks before wasting rounds having to flee combat, heal yourself, etc.

[Satsujinki]

i rolled godstat, as my luck usually does.... 16 15 7 15 15 17

[Spiritchaser]

I'd seriously consider using those for the classic F1 W19 STR build with darkness and devils sight instead of hex.

Lots of good race options depending on what you want but with those numbers you have the opportunity to take polearm master AND have GWM. PAM + GWM + darkness + devils sight is a blender.

[Grod_The_Giant]

i rolled godstat, as my luck usually does.... 16 15 7 15 15 17
That is... actually, that may be worth going pure human for, much as I hate to say it. You can certainly get away with light armor with a get-up like that.

[Satsujinki]

took dragonborn gold: as spells i thought: hex, armor of agathys, rebuke, darkness, mirror image and fly (we start at level 5) how should i play it? I guess first turn is Action cast pact weapon longsword+bonus hex?

[Millstone85]

i rolled godstat, as my luck usually does.... 16 15 7 15 15 17
That is... actually, that may be worth going pure human for, much as I hate to say it.Yeah, lesser god stats that are nearly all 1 point away from being greater god stats. :smallbiggrin:

[Grod_The_Giant]

Keep your pact weapon summoned at all times; you don't want to have to waste an action summoning it.

[Finback]

This thread just inspired me to make a Triton warlock with a pact with Dagon.

[Malifice]

I know this is a painful thing to ask since there is a lot of contraddiction and talkaround it, but i wanna ask anyway. new group, i'm starting at lvl 5, it seems. stats will be rolled (4d6 keep highest 3). My problem? I want to make a pact of the blade warlock. So... Race and background. I dunno why, but the duregar kinda pops up. I want to make it STR/CHA based, so MAD, i know. I was thinking in duregar, half orc or maybe variant human? i dunno, mainstream races kinda tick me off it. any Cha+STR race? and, any bg suggestion?

EDIT: i rolled godstat, as my luck usually does.... 16 15 7 15 15 17

Fighter 1 (your first level) Warlock 4 (Fiend). Vuman. +1 Str and Cha.

Stats: Str: 18, Con 16, Dex 7, Int 15, Wis 15, Cha 18

Feats: Great weapon master, Heavy armor master.

F/S: Defence

Saves: Con, Str

Skills: Perception, Athletics and whatever

Cantrips: Eldritch blast, greenflame blade and whatever

Spells: Hex, mirror image, hellish rebuke and whatever

Invocations: False life at will, agnonzing blast and whatever

Equipment: Greatsword, full plate and whatever

AC: 19, HP: 45 (+8 Temp HP which are constantly replenishing, with all damamge reduced by 3 and a bonus action to recover 1d10+1 each short rest)

Tactics: Cast Hex (bonus action). Kill stuff using GWM + Greenflame blade (3d6+1d8+14 damage). Spam false life before combat till you get the full 8 temp HP. Each kill grants you 8 more temp HP to replace it with (and an extra attack thanks to GWM). Reduce all incoming damage with HAM by 3. Spam hellish rebuke when hit. Use second wind as a bonus action if actually hurt. Focus on mooks (to generate constant Temp HP and extra attacks, and because they cant hurt you). Short rest a lot. If foced into ranged combat, use EB (2 x attacks at +7, each dealing 1d10+1d6+4).

Advancement: Next level is Warlock 5 for fireball and thirsting blade. From there take 2 more levels of Fighter for action surge and Battlemaster sup dice. Then its warlock all the way. Take Warcaster at Warlock 8 and then bump stats.

[Satsujinki]

Fighter 1 (your first level) Warlock 4 (Fiend). Vuman. +1 Str and Cha.

Stats: Str: 18, Con 16, Dex 7, Int 15, Wis 15, Cha 18

Feats: Great weapon master, Heavy armor master.

F/S: Defence

Saves: Con, Str

Skills: Perception, Athletics and whatever

Cantrips: Eldritch blast, greenflame blade and whatever

Spells: Hex, mirror image, hellish rebuke and whatever

Invocations: False life at will, agnonzing blast and whatever

Equipment: Greatsword, full plate and whatever

AC: 19, HP: 45 (+8 Temp HP which are constantly replenishing, with all damamge reduced by 3 and a bonus action to recover 1d10+1 each short rest)

Tactics: Cast Hex (bonus action). Kill stuff using GWM + Greenflame blade (3d6+1d8+14 damage). Spam false life before combat till you get the full 8 temp HP. Each kill grants you 8 more temp HP to replace it with (and an extra attack thanks to GWM). Reduce all incoming damage with HAM by 3. Spam hellish rebuke when hit. Use second wind as a bonus action if actually hurt. Focus on mooks (to generate constant Temp HP and extra attacks, and because they cant hurt you). Short rest a lot. If foced into ranged combat, use EB (2 x attacks at +7, each dealing 1d10+1d6+4).

Advancement: Next level is Warlock 5 for fireball and thirsting blade. From there take 2 more levels of Fighter for action surge and Battlemaster sup dice. Then its warlock all the way. Take Warcaster at Warlock 8 and then bump stats.

It was errata'd, you cant gfb with gwm

[djreynolds]

It was errata'd, you cant gfb with gwm

Really, that sucks.

You can make anything with those stats.

The question is how quickly you get to 12th level warlock. Otherwise you are waiting on lifedrinker.

And you con it going to hurt you.

What are your thoughts?

[DracoKnight]

It was errata'd, you cant gfb with gwm

What does the Errata say?

[Satsujinki]

What does the Errata say?

http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/rules-answers-april-2016
"If you use Great Weapon Fighting with a feature like Divine Smite or a spell like hex, do you get to reroll any 1 or 2 you roll for the extra damage? The Great Weapon Fighting feature—which is shared by fighters and paladins—is meant to benefit only the damage roll of the weapon used with the feature. For example, if you use a greatsword with the feature, you can reroll any 1 or 2 you roll on the weapon’s 2d6. If you’re a paladin and use Divine Smite with the greatsword, Great Weapon Fighting doesn’t let you reroll a 1 or 2 that you roll for the damage of Divine Smite.

The main purpose of this limitation is to prevent the tedium of excessive rerolls. Many of the limits in the game are aimed at inhibiting slowdowns. Having no limit would also leave the door open for Great Weapon Fighting to grant more of a damage boost than we intended, although the potential for that is minimal compared to the likelihood that numerous rerolls would bog the game down."
i went for 20 str, 16con, 16dex, 7int, 15 wisdom and 16 cha. What bothers me is that, if i create with my pact a lance, i can't actually cast because i can't do S and M component. Warcaster helps on the S component, but the M? i can't hold a crystal while weilding a lance....

[DracoKnight]

http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/rules-answers-april-2016

Ah, yes, I was aware of that errata. But I believe that Malifice was referring to the Great Weapon Master feat that allows you to take -5 to hit to add +10 to your damage.

[Satsujinki]

I thought he belived you could reroll gfb with great weapon master. Might have misunderstood. I wonder if I'd buy a greatsword with a crystal on the hilt would be ok for M component...

[Grod_The_Giant]

I thought he belived you could reroll gfb with great weapon master. Might have misunderstood. I wonder if I'd buy a greatsword with a crystal on the hilt would be ok for M component...
Two-handed weapons are easy; you can just hold them in one hand for a second while you reach for your spell component pouch. War Caster is important for SHIELDS.

[CursedRhubarb]

I wonder if I'd buy a greatsword with a crystal on the hilt would be ok for M component...

Could work. Myself, I just went with the Crystal focus and had it set in a ring. Always on a hand and leaves both hands free for weapons, items or other things.

If you plan on doing the cookie-cutter PAM+GWM schtick, you will have to pick up Spell Sniper as well if you want to use GFB or BB cantrips at reach distance since the spells themselves only have a 5' reach. Spell Sniper increases that to 10' to match your weapon range.

Personally, for a STR based lock I'd prefer to go with a Maul for a 2h weapon or a Longsword to keep a hand free for shenanigans in combat. Many people try to force bladelocks into "tank" roles but they can Excell in a skirmisher role. I'd recommend taking a look at Fey for a STR based skirmisher, especially with your stats. Once you get 4th lvl spells you can grab Greater Invisibility, and that is a ton of fun to combine with a Maul or Greatsword. Get all your attacks with advantage and you've the stats for decent AC which then GI help with more by making attacks against you be taken at disadvantage.

Resilient Con would be well worth looking into taking for you lvl 4 ASI. Getting a boost to Con saves will be very nice since you will be more likely to take hits with being in the melee zone.

Also, Fey get Plant Growth on their spell list. You can make crazy deals with farms or even kings to grant a year of double crops.

[Citan]

I know this is a painful thing to ask since there is a lot of contraddiction and talkaround it, but i wanna ask anyway. new group, i'm starting at lvl 5, it seems. stats will be rolled (4d6 keep highest 3). My problem? I want to make a pact of the blade warlock. So... Race and background. I dunno why, but the duregar kinda pops up. I want to make it STR/CHA based, so MAD, i know. I was thinking in duregar, half orc or maybe variant human? i dunno, mainstream races kinda tick me off it. any Cha+STR race? and, any bg suggestion?

EDIT: i rolled godstat, as my luck usually does.... 16 15 7 15 15 17
Hi!
Well, with those stats, you really should have no problem playing the Warlock you want. ;) I'm gonna suppose you want to play a melee focused Warlock here.

If I'm not mistaken, Duregar gets +2 CON and +1 STR.
Although, really, from a pure mechanical point of view I'd advise you to be a normal human here, because it makes only one odd stat and grants you 3*16 and 1*18 so maths-wise it's by far the best choice.
With that said, fluff should always trump mechanics, so if you want to be a duergar, off you go. ;)
Put the 17 as STR, 15 as CON, 16 as CHA, 15 in DEX and WIS, 7 in INT.
You start with a very decent STR and decent enough CHA for the occasional spellcasting.
You will get decent choices to spend ASI/feat: either bumping both DEX and CON, or taking Resilient: CON and bumping STR, or take a feat that bumps DEX or WIS...
Although, if you don't want to multiclass, grabbing the Medium Armor feat or bumping DEX and taking the Mage Armour invocation should be the priority.
The Medium Armor feat has one advantage, which is allowing you to also wield a shield. So depending on the fight, you could go two-handed for better offense or sword & board for defense.

If you go Mage Armor route, and you are sure you won't use offensive spells, you could even start with 16 in DEX instead, so you start with 16 AC which is respectable.

As for Patron choice, it's up to how you see yourself in later levels:
If you want to always use Hex, Fiend is the best choice: you get powerful AOE (Burning Hands, Fireball), non-concentration defense (Fire Shield) and a versatile, useful spell (Command).

If however you are ready to spend your concentration elsewhere, Fey is the great one: Greater Invisibility will do great both offensively and defensively against a vast amount of enemies, so it will be easier to enable Great Weapon Master benefit.

As for low levels, Mirror Image is a safe bet, since you have good enough DEX for it to be actually efficient. ;)

My 2 cents. Have fun!

[gfishfunk]

*every thread:

"Hey folks, I want to play a [race] [class] that does [something]. Any recommendations?"

Response: "Sure! Play a variant human, PAM / a blastlock, and anything other than what you wanted to play!"

[CantigThimble]

*every thread:

"Hey folks, I want to play a [race] [class] that does [something]. Any recommendations?"

Response: "Sure! Play a variant human, PAM / a blastlock, and anything other than what you wanted to play!"

Well, the op did ask for a Melee warlock and suggested variant human so that's hardly a fair criticism here.

[Mongobear]

My personal favorite on race for a Strength based bladelock is the Mountain Dwarf. You will need the extra armor proficiencies since you have lowish AC with just Light armor/Mage Armor.

Unless you dip 2 levels of Fighter or Paladin first and then go into Warlock.

Alternatively, ANY of the +Str/Cha races or +Str/Con races are fine, it just depends on what you want to be. With the stats you rolled, you can pretty much make ANY racial option work, youre far ahead of the curve there.

[gfishfunk]

Well, the op did ask for a Melee warlock and suggested variant human so that's hardly a fair criticism here.

Oh, I know. I just find it amusing. And I play a PAM warlock myself. I want directing criticism at anyone, please don't feel singled out.

It's a bit more obvious on other threads where someone says "I'm playing X class and thinking about taking a feat." And inevitably someone suggests a ground up rebuild with a variant human or a warlock multi class.

[Talionis]

This is some of the best advice I've seen on Bladelocks. These should be in a guide.



Edit- got hardcore Ninja'd!

The arguments usually start when people ask if building a BladeLock is as good/easy as building a BlastLock.

Race:
Half Elf gets you three 16s to start, even with pointbuy. If you don't want the extra skills, take Drow Magic or the extra Wizard Cantrip to free up options later.

VHuman with +1Str, +1Cha, and Resilient Con also gets three 16s, and the bonus of Con proficiency for maintaining Concentration on the almighty hex.

You can also use +Str, +Con races instead of focusing on Charisma. BladeLocks don't really need a crazy-high Charisma, because a lot of your spells won't add Cha anyway. Save-spells will want Cha, but starting with a 14 isn't the end of the world. You're primarily Str, and you need all the HP you can get. To that end:

Mountain Dwarf is ah-mazing for this. +2Str, +2Con, and Medium Armor Proficiency right out of the gates. Getting Armor means you can dump Dex and not worry as much. Also doesnt eat your Invocations to take Armor of Shadows. Boom.

Warforged is similar, +1Str and +1Con, but gets +1AC no matter whose pants you wear. Not great initially but works a charm if you get armor elsewhere.

Background - doesn't really matter, but anything with Perception is always good. Having Stealth in your pocket doesn't hurt either. If you just wanna pound it home, nab anything with Cha skills that you don't get already, and Face a little. Otherwise, skills that shore up your Dump Stats.

Patron:
Undying Light - if they let you, take this. Get Green Flame Blade. Don't bother taking Thirsting Blade. Get +Cha to damage right out of the gates. OP

Fiend - hey look, Temp HP, mediocre resistance option, and a smashing 14th level ability in Hurl Through Hell.

Fey - Misty Stepping out of combat is fun, sometimes. Not as strong as Fiend in my opinion, but great if you're stuck with a "Lawful Stupid" character who isn't fond of Devils.

Further Consideration
BladeLocks like multiclassing. +Cha to hits is kinda lame by 12th level, and you can get it faster other ways. You can certainly boost damage output other ways. Str BladeLocks almost have to MultiClass to get a livable AC.

--Getting AC--
Starting Fighter or Paladin at Lvl1 gets your butt into some metal pants. Good stuff.

Fighter gives you Second Wind for some self-care, and also a Fighting Style. Defense is great here, extra +1AC. Second level grabs Action Surge for a Nova shot. You could go on, really. All the way to 6 and you can keep your ASIs flowing smoothly PLUS pick up Extra Attack to free up another Invocation. Fighters also get Con Save proficiency, if you didn't go VHuman (or did and took another feat)

Paladin is more for pure damage, because Pally2 gives you Smite. It's only worth going 2+ levels of Pally to get your Fighting Style, Spells, and Smite, because if you just want Heavy Armor, you can start Fighter1 and also get Con saves.
The Pally Spell Slots are slim, but they are still slots. Use your Paladin slots for Hex first, and use your renewing slots for Smiting while you can.
Going to Lvl6 gets Extra Attack, and +Cha to Saves, helping to offset the multiple jump-stats you likely have from being MAD.

Cleric - if you somehow meet the requirements, you can tag in Cleric at any time (even after 1st) and get Heavy Armor based on domain. War, Tempest, Life, are all fun. But if you can go Forge from the new UA, you can do some really wild stuff. Daily, you can get a +1 Armor. OR, you can create a magical ranged weapon and then bond to that as your Pact Weapon (although at that point, just play a Blaster maybe?).

--Getting Damage, and Cha to Damage--
Sorcerer is a great friend for Warlocks. Starting at L1 with Sorcerer gives you Con proficiency. Going Draconic also gives you Unarmored Defense and thereby frees up Armor of Shadows. Unfortunately, it's not as great if you dumped Dex, but unless you found another way to get Armor, it's the best you've got. (Unless you go Favored Soul for Medium and Shields, which also has Extra Attack at 6)
What makes Sorc good, is the Metamagic. You can easily burn off spell points, and then refill them each Rest with unused Warlock slots. It's not a perfect trade, burning a slot to gain a slot, but it's the only way to "rollover" your Pact Magic.
Metallic also lets you Quicken or Twin the SCAG cantrips GFB/BB. That more than offsets having Extra Attack from any source, and lets you pound damage.
Draconic Sorcerer also gets +Cha to a damage type at 6th level. Pick Fire, and use GFB. You now add Cha to your attacks just like a 12th level Warlock, congratulations! Worried about Fire being easily countered? Take the Elemental Adept; increase your damage and ignore resistance. Oh, this also stacks with Undying Light, so you could add Cha twice, potentially 3 times if you actually go to Lock12.

Barbarian is also another option for raw damage. Go Bear Totem and you get TONS of Resistance, which makes Armor of Agathys twice as effective. You can't concentrate/cast spells while Raging, but AoA doesn't require concentration. You also eventually get Bestow Curse as a Warlock, and cast at SL5+ it's also Con-free. So burst those, then Rage, and go nuts. Free Advantage and it makes it easier for the enemy to hit you (and then get punished by AoA)


I've played several bladelocks. However, you really do need to think about how they actually play in most campaigns, otherwise you will likely be disappointed. The class has a major disconnect between the fantasy of what you think you can do in melee and the reality of 5e combats.

The basic warlock class simply can't last in melee without major help. Light armor, no shield, and MAD ability scores typically mean a low AC. Studded leather and 14 dexterity is only a 14 AC. That dexterity would already cost you strength or constitution. Even with mage armor and a 14 dexterity you are still only a 15 AC. You also lack the hit points and any special abilities (such as bonus disengage, rage, uncanny doge, etc.) to prevent damage. This leaves only spells. Even these are solely limited due to (a) only having two spell slots at most levels, (b) needing slots for hex or offensive spells, and (c) an extreme difficulty in keeping concentration spells up when getting hit repeatedly.

As such, I would suggest some type of plan to deal with the melee issue.

Multi-classing
Obvious method is to multi-class. Take a level one of the heavy armor clerics, or fighter. Cleric (war, nature, tempest, etc.) gives you heavy armor, shields, healing, domain abilities, and extra spell slots. These slots can be used to power hex, saving your higher level spell slots for the higher level warlock spells. AC 20, (or 18 with a two-handed weapon) is dramatically better than 14 or 15. You'll likely be hit half as often or less.

A variant human can easily start with 16,8,14,9,13,14. You don't need a high dexterity, intelligence, or that high of a charisma.

Fighter is the alternate, you'll miss the spells, but you can go lower-wisdom and 16 charisma and you get 2hp and combat style. Taking heavy armor mastery is a good idea.

Mountain Dwarf
One way to gain medium armor -- but not a shield. You can then take the heavily armored feat at 4th-level. You'd have an 18 strength and heavy armor. AC 17 (with no dexterity) is still reasonable. You'd be stuck with a 14 charisma, but if you are in melee most of the time and most of your spells are defensive... it isn't a bad trade off.

Variant Human / Feat
Another way for medium armor with shield. Take the medium armor feat. This also gives you another +1 to strength to start with a 17 (or 16 with a lower-point buy or roll). AC 17 (with no dexterity) is still reasonable. Variant human can start with it, but any race could also get it at 4th.

Dexterity Build
Skip strength and go dexterity. Your AC won't reach 20, but mage armor + 18 dexterity is at least a 17. Plan on staying back with eldritch blast, but you can melee as a backup. Half-elf or drow would be Ok.

Wisdom Build
Unusual build, but look at a nature cleric or variant human with the magic initiate feat and grab shillelagh. Skip strength. For the nature cleric, just wear heavy armor and take the movement penalty.

Reach Build
Go high strength and suffer with light armor. However, use your pact weapon to make a glaive or other reach weapon. Then use spider climb, fly, or another PC to keep yourself out of melee. You can suffer with a low (10) dexterity or constitution and just make sure you don't get hit. This is ok in many combats -- most monsters can't fly or have ranged attacks. However, it does suck against mix opponents, rooms/areas where you can't get high, or if anything does have ranged attacks. Works better with a front-line PC. If you go this route... consider a spell to get you out of trouble (say misty step). This also fails as a blocking build since folks -- once they realize they can't reach you -- simply move around you and go for other PCs.

Defensive Spells Build
I don't find this terrible reliable. However, you can look at armor of agathys, mirror image, hellish rebuke, mage armor, false life. At lower-levels (maybe until 3rd or so) these aren't bad. Possibly with a reach weapon and polearm mastery. You keep up some temporary hit points and use reactions to deal out a lot of damage to anyone who attacks you. In some fights, this might keep folks from wanting to melee with you, but... you go through spell slots way too fast and by mid-levels (5th+) opponents simply take the damage knowing you can't trade blows this way.

If it is something you want to do... fine. However, do put some thought into how you plan on staying alive long enough to melee. The base warlock class really lacks any ability to survive in melee. If not, you may be disappointed that you only get one or two attacks before wasting rounds having to flee combat, heal yourself, etc.


Fighter 1 (your first level) Warlock 4 (Fiend). Vuman. +1 Str and Cha.

Stats: Str: 18, Con 16, Dex 7, Int 15, Wis 15, Cha 18

Feats: Great weapon master, Heavy armor master.

F/S: Defence

Saves: Con, Str

Skills: Perception, Athletics and whatever

Cantrips: Eldritch blast, greenflame blade and whatever

Spells: Hex, mirror image, hellish rebuke and whatever

Invocations: False life at will, agnonzing blast and whatever

Equipment: Greatsword, full plate and whatever

AC: 19, HP: 45 (+8 Temp HP which are constantly replenishing, with all damamge reduced by 3 and a bonus action to recover 1d10+1 each short rest)

Tactics: Cast Hex (bonus action). Kill stuff using GWM + Greenflame blade (3d6+1d8+14 damage). Spam false life before combat till you get the full 8 temp HP. Each kill grants you 8 more temp HP to replace it with (and an extra attack thanks to GWM). Reduce all incoming damage with HAM by 3. Spam hellish rebuke when hit. Use second wind as a bonus action if actually hurt. Focus on mooks (to generate constant Temp HP and extra attacks, and because they cant hurt you). Short rest a lot. If foced into ranged combat, use EB (2 x attacks at +7, each dealing 1d10+1d6+4).

Advancement: Next level is Warlock 5 for fireball and thirsting blade. From there take 2 more levels of Fighter for action surge and Battlemaster sup dice. Then its warlock all the way. Take Warcaster at Warlock 8 and then bump stats.