Demonology Warlock?

[Ravinsild]

Just curious if a pet summoning type Warlock is a build that exists that isn't Pact of the Chain. Like actual strong pets...demons/devils and stuff like that or if the summoning spells aren't good.

I know Necromancer Wizards exist and that summoning woodlands creatures is good for Druids and stuff but is there a demon based summoner or anything like that or nah?

[Gastronomie]

The Unearthed Arcana has some demon-summoning spells. For some weird reason, by RAW Warlocks seem to be not able to use them, but sure you could ask your DM if you can homebrew them into the Fiendlock spell list.

They are pretty dangerous to use, though.

[Ravinsild]

The Unearthed Arcana has some demon-summoning spells. For some weird reason, by RAW Warlocks seem to be not able to use them, but sure you could ask your DM if you can homebrew them into the Fiendlock spell list.

They are pretty dangerous to use, though.

Meh seems like a terrible idea for D&D. That's mildly disappointing but there's still tons of awesome builds so it's alright with me :) I wonder if I could somehow...reskin a Ranger Beast Master to be...a caster with a demon pet....hmmm

[Asmotherion]

The only way to build it (the way I played Ammon Jerro Actually) is by taking only 2-3 levels of Warlock (for the basics: Eldritch Blast, Hex, Agonising Blast, Repealing Blast, Armor of Agathys, Hellish Rebuke perhaps, and optionally a Pact Choice) and then multiclass into Wizard. Then get Magic Cyrcle, Planar Binding and then hope your DM will either drop a fiend on you or give you some way to summon it. Otherwise you need to wait till Lv19-20 for the Gate spell, trap the creature in a reversed magic cyrcle and then planar bind it. There are other ways (such as a Similacrum or a non-living object polymorphed into a fiend and then planar bound), but this is the only legit way to have an actual Fiend under your control (not a magially created one)

There is also some UA about demonology I think?

[Jerrykhor]

As of now, there isn't. Hopefully the UA will fix this. I too would love to play an archetype that summons powerful demons to do your bidding.

But the problem would be balance. There's nothing to stop you from taking Agonizing Blast and spamming EB to put out the same DPR as other archetypes, while also having a powerful pet.

[Ravinsild]

The only way to build it (the way I played Ammon Jerro Actually) is by taking only 2-3 levels of Warlock (for the basics: Eldritch Blast, Hex, Agonising Blast, Repealing Blast, Armor of Agathys, Hellish Rebuke perhaps, and optionally a Pact Choice) and then multiclass into Wizard. Then get Magic Cyrcle, Planar Binding and then hope your DM will either drop a fiend on you or give you some way to summon it. Otherwise you need to wait till Lv19-20 for the Gate spell, trap the creature in a reversed magic cyrcle and then planar bind it. There are other ways (such as a Similacrum or a non-living object polymorphed into a fiend and then planar bound), but this is the only legit way to have an actual Fiend under your control (not a magially created one)

There is also some UA about demonology I think?

If I did this and then used the Revised Ranger rules for how it would scale and my limitations CR wise and all that would that be balanced?

[TundraBuccaneer]

If you are in a lvl11(+) campaign you can be a cleric and use planer ally and summon a devil or demon, put them in a magic circle, bind them with planar binding(refresh every 24h). The fact that warlocks can't do this baffles me, it makes it look like clerics can be beter warlocks.

[MinotaurWarrior]

You can do it solo through a ton of legwork, probably as a mini-adventure, with heavy DM discretion starting at level 13.

Establish a Hallowed base with confining cells (the expense involved will depend on whether your DM says "up to" 60ft radius means it needs to be a sphere of some kind, or if it can be any shape that fits inside a 60ft radius sphere). Plane shift to hell. Wait a day. Suggest a fiend follow you back to you to check out a place in the prime material. Plane shift to near your base, walk close, dimension door with them into the cell. Probably repeat this a bunch of times. When you want to withdraw the fiend, suggest they fight for you on furlough, and dimension door out.

The trap suggestion would be like, "Why don't you follow your fellow evil being to do evil stuff on the prime material?" and the furlough suggestion would probably be like, "fight for me to the best of your ability, hoping for but not causing my concentration to break so that you can eviscerate me and take your freedom. If you don't break free in combat, you'll have to follow me back in here, but hey it's worth a shot."

Even a Balor can be trapped this way, because his teleport out depends on line of sight, but your teleport back in.

Of course, Bards are way, way better at this, and have other ways of achieving similar aims, earlier, but, uh, at least it's something you can do.

[Ravinsild]

You can do it solo through a ton of legwork, probably as a mini-adventure, with heavy DM discretion starting at level 13.

Establish a Hallowed base with confining cells (the expense involved will depend on whether your DM says "up to" 60ft radius means it needs to be a sphere of some kind, or if it can be any shape that fits inside a 60ft radius sphere). Plane shift to hell. Wait a day. Suggest a fiend follow you back to you to check out a place in the prime material. Plane shift to near your base, walk close, dimension door with them into the cell. Probably repeat this a bunch of times. When you want to withdraw the fiend, suggest they fight for you on furlough, and dimension door out.

The trap suggestion would be like, "Why don't you follow your fellow evil being to do evil stuff on the prime material?" and the furlough suggestion would probably be like, "fight for me to the best of your ability, hoping for but not causing my concentration to break so that you can eviscerate me and take your freedom. If you don't break free in combat, you'll have to follow me back in here, but hey it's worth a shot."

Even a Balor can be trapped this way, because his teleport out depends on line of sight, but your teleport back in.

Of course, Bards are way, way better at this, and have other ways of achieving similar aims, earlier, but, uh, at least it's something you can do.

I'll just file this away under "Goals for the future"

[Ravinsild]

I just had an idea. What if I made a Pact Boon that instead of chain, blade, tome or whatever I just copy and pasted the Beast Master Conclave rules in how it levels up and made a level 5 invocation like the extra attack for blade that lets the animal companion use its reaction using the beast conclave rules etc. Pure Warlock Class with...Demonology Boon...and pick invocations that support it as you level.

Is that OP? Copy/Pasting another classes subclass to another class to give it a similar option?