The Ship's dog
2017-02-09, 11:58 PM
So there's a few things you should know about me:
1. Fluff is really important to me when creating characters
2. I absolutely love melee-ranged casters
3. I think a bit of Mutually Assured Destruction is what gives combat that extra bit of spice to make it fun
And
4. I like creating viable builds, so if there is something wrong with my build, then please tell me
Anyway, hello and thanks for reading! This is a Str-based Fiend PotB Warlock build so sit back and relax as you read!
'SMACK'
The calloused hand came back again to hit Darvin once more, this time harder.
'SMACK'
Tears welled up in the young man's eyes as both sides of his face started to turn red and would eventually bruise. It hurt; it hurt so much that he wanted to cry out in pain, but that would not be the way of strength, the way of The Order, the way of Torm.
The beating had finished and with the finish, the young man looked up from his kneeling position on the hard stone floor. His gaze met that of an older man who was fully armoured in plate, apart from his gauntlets, leaving his hands free to deal the thrashing. The two figures were in the centre of a stone room lit by a single shaft of sunlight from an open panel in the ceiling, the shaft centred on them. Around the edges of the shaft stood ranks of heavily armoured warriors, each with a ----- engraved on their heavy tower shields, the symbol of Torm.
The older man shook his head sadly at Darvin, which made the young man want to cry even more than the blows did. The older man turned away and spoke to the assembled ranks around the pair.
"He has more will than any I've seen, he has taken 7 blows without flinching once, and yet he cannot raise a sword, cannot wear armour and cannot use a shield. He is quick, but Rapiers and weapons of the dark are not the Paladin way, nor are bows, for how can we honour our opponent if we do not face them in front of us with clashing steel and bashing shields?"
At this, the congregation gave a murmured agreement and shuffled their feet, as many people do when discussing delicate matters. Darvin's heart was sinking too low to be able to be seen, even by him. No matter what he did, no matter how he proved himself to the order and no matter how fervently he believed in Torm, the young man only got beatings from his father to test his will.
"No prayer can change his body?" A voice rang out from the ranks of holy warriors
"No" came the short and clipped answer from the older man, the briefness of his answer made it clear that the fact hurt him almost as much as it did his son, Darvin.
"He is the most worthy to become a Paladin out of all! Why has such a curse of weakness befallen him? Noone else can speak divine except for the High Priestess, it is not fair" the voice came again, this time with many of other Paladins joining in the general anger felt at this injustice.
The Darvin's father turned away from the ranks and raised the young man's chin with a hand
"You will swear The Oath?"
Even though the older man said the words softly, the entire room fell silent. Darvin's heart rose once more, finally he could serve his god as a holy warrior and purge the corruption from the world
"Yes" the words came slightly haltingly as if Darvin was having a hard time speaking them.
"You will live your life by The Oath, no matter what you become?"
"It will be the strength I lack" the young man looked deeply into the eyes of his father, trying to understand what the older man meant.
At this point, a few people realised at the same time and a murmur rippled through the ranks, recognition and reaction instantly apparent on the Paladins, each one of the ranks being high in status.
"The Lawful Pact"
The murmur was echoed time and time again in many different voices, each time producing different expressions on the faces of the Paladins. Some were nodding their heads reluctantly, some were obviously debating it in their heads with expressions flickering across their features, some were angry and a few looked sorrowful that it had come to this.
The name meant nothing to Darvin, although it did not matter to him as long as he could serve his god. He had lived his entire life not just believing, but absolutely and unwaveringly knowing that Torm watched him everyday. So great was his belief that Darvin had been given the knowledge of the divine language as he was a bright gem indeed.
The older man looked hard at Darvin and then nodded slowly
"Yes, that is what we shall do" lowering his hand from under Darvin's chin, the older man hoisted the kneeling figure to his feet and led him through the ranks of Paladins and out of the door to the inner sanctum of the temple to Torm.
"Father, what is that which the others speak of?" Darvin asked after walking for a few minutes
"It is a thought made by those in our order a long time ago for such a person as you" Darvin's father said, his armour making faint sounds as the pair walked through the temple to the young man's living space. "It is a Pact with a Devil to give a person power"
At this, Darvin recoiled as if he had been stung
"W, wh, what?!" He managed to stutter out in disbelief "why any Paladin even think about doing something like that?"
"Well, for someone weak in body like yourself, it creates an option to serve Torm instead of being a Paladin" the answer took much longer to make than the question took to ask and it was clear that Darvin's father was struggling slightly internally at the prospect. "Torm may allow you into his arms when you die if you have not become corrupted by this Pact. You are the firmest believer after all"
Darvin stopped walking and looked at the ground by his feet. It was the only opportunity he would have to be able to serve Torm the right way; out in the world, sundering evil from its place and casting it out into the fiery vengeance of his god.
"We will be at the lower sanctum at midnight. Pray to Torm at the altar, speak the Oath and touch His palm" the older man said cryptically and left Darvin standing there.
It was midnight and the young man had managed to slip past the matron of his ward and had gotten to the Inner Sanctum of the temple. Darvin removed his hood and knelt at the altar, praying softly.
He then stood and walked hesitantly up to the statue of Torm.
"I swear to never lie or cheat, my word is my promise"
Even though he knew The Oath by heart, every word was spoken with vigour and heartfelt
"I swear to show mercy to my enemies, but tempered with wisdom"
Darvin looked deeply into the eyes of the statue before him and knew that Torm was looking back at him through those stone eyes
"I swear to help those in need, the weak and the suffering, showing no mercy to those who would harm them"
Visions of beating back Evil with sword and shield filled Darvin's mind. He did not see himself as the hero, but as the fist of his god, an implement of Torm to be used against the darkness.
"THIS OATH IS MY STRENGTH, IF I BREAK IT, I AM WORTHLESS; NOTHING!"
The words rang out from Darvin's throat full of emotion. As the echoes were still dying, the young man stepped forward and placed his palm formally on top of the open palm of the statue. With an almost imperceptible click, the statue started to slide backwards, revealing a staircase leading down into an underground passage with a flickering light at the end of it, like that of a torch or fire.
Hesitantly, Darvin stepped down the staircase and followed the passage into the light. 'This must be the lower sanctum' the young man thought to himself as he turned a corner into a large stone room.
The room had 10 sides, 9 of which had a different symbol carved into the stone. Darvin had come through an archway which had the Celestial words for "Great Struggle" carved into it.
"Darvin, come here" the harsh voice made the young man spin around to see his father with 9 other Paladins behind him and the High Priestess of Torm beside them. The warriors were in full body armour, including helmets, as if they were prepared for a battle.
Darvin stepped forward and stood before the assembly. The young man's father took a step to put an armoured hand upon his son's shoulder, gently touching the bruises that he had inflicted that morning, with his other hand. Darvin did not flinch, even though the action sent waves of intense pain coursing through his cheeks and eyes.
"You are ready Darvin, you are ready to make the Pact; the High Priestess has performed the rites and Torm will take you if you do not break your Oath."
The young man felt hot in the heavy leather cloak as he contemplated what he was about to do. His palms felt sweaty and, for the first time in his life, Darvin felt afraid that he might dishonour his god.
Darvin said nothing as he nodded solemnly and turned to the middle of the room where a large, 9 pointed star had been chalked onto the ground and inlaid with runes of a language so strange that even Darvin couldn't understand them.
The young man shed his cloak and stepped into the circle, feet planted squarely on the ground. At first, there was nothing, but then Darvin saw it out of the corner of his eye when he moved his head. It was a thin slit in the air, with a glimpse of a hellish landscape and a red-skinned figure flying towards him on wings of fire.
Darvin's breath quickened as adrenaline started to course through his veins, all sound was muffle except for the blood pounding past his eardrums. His entire attention was focused on that one figure approaching, the room lost its detail as the two locked gazes.
The slit in the air started to close as the power of the circle was being drained away and for a few seconds it looked like the hellish figure would not make it. Suddenly, 2 sets of great red and orange claws; each as long and as wide as a man's forearm; appeared floating in the air as they were thrust through the slit, forcing or open.
With a great creaking sound like that of an old oak door being forced back on its rusty hinges, the slit was pulled open and revealed the full dark magnificence of the Devil that had been called up. A horned head as large as an ox's was thrust through the widening gap and the rest of the body almost fell through, its wings extinguishing.
Quick as anything, the Fiend dropped into a predatory stance, arms and legs ready to spring forth onto prey. Upon looking around the room however, it spied the assembled Paladins and an expression of realisation dawned upon its horrid face. What could have been a smile appeared and the Devil stood up from its previous stance.
As it stood, strange and horrible things happened to its body. It seemed to melt all at once and started to fill an invisible, human-shaped mold in the air like pouring wax. When the mold had been filled, the features started to become more detailed and more human, although the skin remained red and the fingernails still claw-like. Finally, the Fiend opened his eyes and looked around the room for a second time, registering that Darvin was standing inside the circle of runes that bound them both to the inside of the ritual.
"Well hello there" the Fiend stepped forward, ignoring the sounds of sliding metal from swords being drawn "are you it? The one for the 'Lawful' Pact?" The creature's voice made it obvious that he knew very well who Darvin was.
"Aye, it is me" Darvin replied, the disgust plain on his face. The Devil was still in a predatory stance, although not aggressive, his manner seemed to make it clear that Darvin was a prize he wanted to claim. Darvin could see that the Fiend was a he, as it hadn't bothered with clothing.
"What are your conditions Devil?" Darvin asked curtly, managing to inject as much venom into the last word that normal people reserve for the word scum.
"Oh it's very simple boy, I give you power and strength and every evil soul that you 'release' will come to me to be, entertained" the Fiend said smoothly, a chuckle escaping through his lips as he stepped closer once more to Darvin and paced around the young man.
"Why? Why would you agree to giving away some of your own power?" Darvin asked, unable to stop himself from asking.
The Devil had finished it's pacing around Darvin and stood extremely close to the young man, close enough that their chests met. Darvin itched to push the creature away, but he knew it would spell his instant death.
"Because I enjoy hearing them scream" a forked tongue extended from the Devil's mouth and he ran it across his lips"
Darvin's stomach kept in disgust and he screwed up his face. The red-skinned creature laughed, the cruel humour grossly obvious in his face "what, you don't enjoy 'smiting your enemies' as you call it?"
Darvin's jaw set firmly
"It is something that needs to be done, not something to be enjoyed. Now are you going to make this Pact or not?" The young man was obviously struggling with his rising anger at the creature he was talking to.
"Yes yes, alright" the Devil smiled playfully and waved a hand almost casually in the air. This small action seemed to trigger something ale as a black crystal, smooth as obsidian and as large as one of the tower shield that the Paladins favoured, appeared in the air behind the Fiend. Stepping away from Darvin, the creature turned to the crystal and started to meddle with it, an orange flame springing up inside the crystal.
Seemingly done, the Fiend turned back with a single black crystal on a rope in his outstretched palm, the sister of the larger crystal. The Devil winked at Darvin, clicked his fingers and was sucked back into the slit in the air, which closed. All that was left was the smaller crystal, dropped on the stone floor.
Darvin stooped hesitantly and picked it up, but couldn't let god, his fist clenched tightly around the pendant. The young man's eyes started to water and inside he screamed with pain as the crystal in his fist ignited with black-edged flames and engulfed Darvin's hand, making the skin bubble and pop. On the outside, his face did not flicker once.
As quickly as it had came, the flame instantly extinguished itself and Darvin's skin was left blackened and raw. The young man slowly opened his hand, palm up, to reveal that the crystal had come alight on the inside with a supernatural flame. Darvin turned to the assembled Paladins and slipped the rope attached to the crystal over his head, ignoring the excruciating pain coming from his hand.
Darvin's father took off his helmet and stepped forward, turning Darvin to face the opposition wall.
"What does that say son?" He asked, pointing to one of the previously foreign runes carved into the stone wall
"Nessus" Darvin's blood ran cold as he spoke the name of the ninth, deepest and most dangerous of the circles of hell. He could understand Infernal speech and knew that the being who he had just made a Pact with was a powerful Devil indeed.
Darvin's father turned him around once more and nodded gravely
"You are ready to take the Oath" he said solemnly
Race:
Variant Human (War Caster feat, Perception skill)
Background:
You have grown up as in the shadow of your god. Not only have you been taught the scriptures from birth, but you live and breath them. You live your life by the teachings of your clergy and are willing to go to any length to serve your god; no river of blood is too deep to cross, no mountain of skulls too high to climb, no act however humiliating or base to perform if it means pleasing your god. You have spent years reading the teachings of your god and are such a fervent believer that you can speak and understand the divine language, you can also speak and understand the language of your sworn enemy. At every town you seek the inevitable corruption to expunge from the face of the world, striking down the cult leader or banishing the evil creatures.
Skill proficiencies:
Religion and Investigation
Languages:
Celestial and either Infernal or Abyssal
Equipment
An insignia of rank, a trophy taken from a fallen enemy (a dagger, broken blade, or piece of a banner), a set of bone dice or deck of cards, a set of common clothes, and a belt pouch containing 10 gp
Class
Paladin (Oath of Vengeance) 4/Warlock - Fiend Patron (Pact of the Blade) 16
Starting with Paladin for armour proficiencies.
Post-racial ability scores at level 1 (using point buy):
Str: 16
Dex: 8
Con: 13
Int: 10
Wis: 10
Cha: 16
1d10 HD
11 HP
Proficiency in:
Wisdom saves (yay!)
Charisma saves (meh)
All armour
All weapons
Perception
Athletics
Religion
Investigation
Persuasion
Class features:
Divine Sense
Lay on Hands
Languages known
Common
Draconic (there were a lot of Dragon-born Paladins at his order)
Celestial
Infernal
A Shield
A Battleaxe
A black crystal always warm to the touch (trinket)
A Backpack
Chainmail
A Handaxe
Holy Symbol - Amulet
Crowbar
Hammer
10 x Pitons
10 x Torches
Tinderbox
10 Days of trail rations
Waterskin
50' Hemp Rope
An insignia of the Dark Paladin rank
The claw of a minor demon (trophy)
Set of bone dice
A set of common clothes
A belt pouch containing 10 gp
So I do know that I’m seriously gimping my character in the weapons department by picking up no ranged weapons, but they are against my character's order, so what can you do? I have a Handaxe just in case though.
Yes, delicious power and Star Wars references. This is going to be the main focus of this build and it certainly packs some punches in the mechanics department. I am going to be using the Elemental Evil Player's Companion for this character and so I'll be looking at spells from there as well.
Otherworld Patron - Fiend
So this Patron is what is going to, not only provide some nice fluff, but also give us some nice spells as well as some survivability goodies like Dark One's Blessing.
Pact of the Blade
This is what the entire build is based off of, this right here. This is what allows my character to have proficiency with any weapon they want (with a 1 action casting time of course) and is also where I get extra attacks and decent melee damage. The sheer versatility of this Pact for melee fighting is incredible which is one of the reasons I like it so much.
Dark One's Blessing:
This feature is good because, not only will I be dealing some pretty serious nova damage with Divine Smite, so I can reliably activate this feature, but I will be needing it for taking the hits I will inevitable have to endure.
Dark One's Own Luck
Personally, I think this is one of the best abilities a melee character can have. Absolutely need to concentrate on that Silence spell? Add a d10. You're being targeted by a Beholder? Add a d10 to that save. You're being targeted by a charm effect, a Dex save or anything that you really need to make the roll on? That's right, add a d10. Now, I will admit that it that it doesn't always work, but that's why you decide after you've made the roll if you want to use it as it turns the 10-12s into 15-17s on average, which can save your life.
Fiendish resilience
This one is pretty useful, if you know what types of enemies you will be fighting. Unfortunately, you don't have access to many divination spells, let alone any low-level ones. If you don't have a Cleric or a Wizard handy who are willing to prepare and use one of their divination spells, you'll have to guess. Unless you are inside one of the elemental planes where it is obvious what kind of damage you'll be taking I think I'll just stick to slashing and piercing.
Hurl Through Hell:
This one is straight up fun. The attack needed to use it can be a spell attack, a ranged attack, or a melee attack. Seeing as we will probably be opening a fight with a spell attack, this can be a good way to mess with the enemy's positioning, or just send a particularly threatening target away with the devils for a round.
Mystic Arcanum (ranks 1-3 out of 4):
This is what makes you finish your days of envying the Wizard and Cleric or Druid in your party for their seemingly endless spell casting, they never let you short-rest nearly as much as you want because they don't need it, but no more! You have spells that don't use spell slots! You are all powerful! They can go and suck it for you care! You are amazing!
Invocations!
Warlock Level
Invocation/s gained
2-4.
Devil's Sight, Fiendish Vigour
5-6.
Thirsting Blade
7-8.
Sculptor of Flesh
9-11
Minions of Chaos
12-14
Lifedrinker
15-16.
Witch Sight
Ending Invocations:
Devil's Sight
Agonising Blast
Thirsting Blade
Sculptor of Flesh
Minions of Chaos
Lifedrinker
Witch Sight
One of the things about my character is that he has sworn never to lie or cheat so things like Beguiling Influence or Mask of Many Faces are off the table. I was debating whether to pick up Otherworldly Leap, but then I realised Witch Sight is too good for my character’s fluff (being able to instantly see through illusions and the true form of shape-shifters fits in my background amazingly.
Spells!
Warlock Level
Spell/s
Cantrips
1.
Armour of Agathys, Hellish Rebuke
Eldritch Blast, Mage Hand
2.
Hex
----------------
3.
Scorching Ray
Prestidigitation
4.
Darkness
----------------
5.
Fireball
----------------
6.
Fear
----------------
7.
Fire Shield
----------------
8.
Banishment
----------------
9.
Hallow
----------------
10.
----------------
Thunderclap
11-12.
Circle of Death
13-14.
Finger of Death
15-16.
Dominate Monster
Ending spells:
Armour of Agathys
Hellish Rebuke
Hex
Scorching Ray
Darkness
Fireball
Fear
Fire Shield
Banishment
Hallow
Ending Mystic Arcanum spells:
Circle of Death
Finger of Death
Dominate Monster
So this is mostly to get 3 things:
1. Heavy armour proficiency
2. Smite
3. Oath of Vengeance features
Armour proficiencies:
This, along with Smite and OoV features, are what we are here for! Heavy Armour solves all of our potential AC problems and it means that I can have Dex as a dump stat and not feel too bad, I didn't want to sneak anyway!
Divine Sense:
A Paladin's Primeval Awareness, nice, but mostly fluff
Lay on Hands:
This is a nice bit of gravy right from the get-go and, whilst it wont ever be very powerful (maximum 20 health), being able to bring people back from the brink of death without using a spell-slot is nice.
Divine smite:
This is very good. I mean, it is truly the bees knees when it comes to melee single target damage. It has scaling comparable to the Rogue's Sneak Attack dice if you are MCed as a full caster (which I am) and you can choose to use it after you have hit your attack. It does expend a spell slot, but you can use it without needing anyone else around the target or advantage to work and it doesn't count against your prepared spells for the day. All in all, I love it, especially since you can use Pact Magic spell slots to fuel it, which you get back on a Short Rest.
Fighting Style:
This is what is going to define what type of weapon we are going to use. Obviously G.W.F is our friend here if we want to pump out the damage, which we do. We'll just have levels of it not working before PotB and we get our free Greatsword, unless I twohand the Battleaxe.
Spellcasting:
Whilst I will only ever have access to first level spells and only 3 spell slots at that, it still gives access to spells that are almost always good like Command, Protection from Evil and Good and Compelled Duel (pseudo-defender anyone)
Divine Health:
Again, mostly fluff unless you are going to be fighting a bunch of Were-rats, but hey, I'm not complaining about disease immunity.
Expanded Spell List:
Both Bane and Hunter's Mark are nice here, although I will probably never use Hunter's Mark after Warlock level 2 as I think Hex will do the job much better. Unfortunately, I won't be getting access to any spells higher than that, but hey, I have Warlock levels!
Abjure Enemy:
It's nice, putting quite a debilitating status effect on an enemy and paralysing them with fear is not only really cool fluff-wise, but you can use in the first round of combat on the BBEG, kill their minions and then all blow all of your damage on the bad-guy. Also, it doesn't take up your concentration slot.
Vow of Emnity:
I like having advantage on attack rolls, this allows me to have that thing...gimme
1. Fluff is really important to me when creating characters
2. I absolutely love melee-ranged casters
3. I think a bit of Mutually Assured Destruction is what gives combat that extra bit of spice to make it fun
And
4. I like creating viable builds, so if there is something wrong with my build, then please tell me
Anyway, hello and thanks for reading! This is a Str-based Fiend PotB Warlock build so sit back and relax as you read!
'SMACK'
The calloused hand came back again to hit Darvin once more, this time harder.
'SMACK'
Tears welled up in the young man's eyes as both sides of his face started to turn red and would eventually bruise. It hurt; it hurt so much that he wanted to cry out in pain, but that would not be the way of strength, the way of The Order, the way of Torm.
The beating had finished and with the finish, the young man looked up from his kneeling position on the hard stone floor. His gaze met that of an older man who was fully armoured in plate, apart from his gauntlets, leaving his hands free to deal the thrashing. The two figures were in the centre of a stone room lit by a single shaft of sunlight from an open panel in the ceiling, the shaft centred on them. Around the edges of the shaft stood ranks of heavily armoured warriors, each with a ----- engraved on their heavy tower shields, the symbol of Torm.
The older man shook his head sadly at Darvin, which made the young man want to cry even more than the blows did. The older man turned away and spoke to the assembled ranks around the pair.
"He has more will than any I've seen, he has taken 7 blows without flinching once, and yet he cannot raise a sword, cannot wear armour and cannot use a shield. He is quick, but Rapiers and weapons of the dark are not the Paladin way, nor are bows, for how can we honour our opponent if we do not face them in front of us with clashing steel and bashing shields?"
At this, the congregation gave a murmured agreement and shuffled their feet, as many people do when discussing delicate matters. Darvin's heart was sinking too low to be able to be seen, even by him. No matter what he did, no matter how he proved himself to the order and no matter how fervently he believed in Torm, the young man only got beatings from his father to test his will.
"No prayer can change his body?" A voice rang out from the ranks of holy warriors
"No" came the short and clipped answer from the older man, the briefness of his answer made it clear that the fact hurt him almost as much as it did his son, Darvin.
"He is the most worthy to become a Paladin out of all! Why has such a curse of weakness befallen him? Noone else can speak divine except for the High Priestess, it is not fair" the voice came again, this time with many of other Paladins joining in the general anger felt at this injustice.
The Darvin's father turned away from the ranks and raised the young man's chin with a hand
"You will swear The Oath?"
Even though the older man said the words softly, the entire room fell silent. Darvin's heart rose once more, finally he could serve his god as a holy warrior and purge the corruption from the world
"Yes" the words came slightly haltingly as if Darvin was having a hard time speaking them.
"You will live your life by The Oath, no matter what you become?"
"It will be the strength I lack" the young man looked deeply into the eyes of his father, trying to understand what the older man meant.
At this point, a few people realised at the same time and a murmur rippled through the ranks, recognition and reaction instantly apparent on the Paladins, each one of the ranks being high in status.
"The Lawful Pact"
The murmur was echoed time and time again in many different voices, each time producing different expressions on the faces of the Paladins. Some were nodding their heads reluctantly, some were obviously debating it in their heads with expressions flickering across their features, some were angry and a few looked sorrowful that it had come to this.
The name meant nothing to Darvin, although it did not matter to him as long as he could serve his god. He had lived his entire life not just believing, but absolutely and unwaveringly knowing that Torm watched him everyday. So great was his belief that Darvin had been given the knowledge of the divine language as he was a bright gem indeed.
The older man looked hard at Darvin and then nodded slowly
"Yes, that is what we shall do" lowering his hand from under Darvin's chin, the older man hoisted the kneeling figure to his feet and led him through the ranks of Paladins and out of the door to the inner sanctum of the temple to Torm.
"Father, what is that which the others speak of?" Darvin asked after walking for a few minutes
"It is a thought made by those in our order a long time ago for such a person as you" Darvin's father said, his armour making faint sounds as the pair walked through the temple to the young man's living space. "It is a Pact with a Devil to give a person power"
At this, Darvin recoiled as if he had been stung
"W, wh, what?!" He managed to stutter out in disbelief "why any Paladin even think about doing something like that?"
"Well, for someone weak in body like yourself, it creates an option to serve Torm instead of being a Paladin" the answer took much longer to make than the question took to ask and it was clear that Darvin's father was struggling slightly internally at the prospect. "Torm may allow you into his arms when you die if you have not become corrupted by this Pact. You are the firmest believer after all"
Darvin stopped walking and looked at the ground by his feet. It was the only opportunity he would have to be able to serve Torm the right way; out in the world, sundering evil from its place and casting it out into the fiery vengeance of his god.
"We will be at the lower sanctum at midnight. Pray to Torm at the altar, speak the Oath and touch His palm" the older man said cryptically and left Darvin standing there.
It was midnight and the young man had managed to slip past the matron of his ward and had gotten to the Inner Sanctum of the temple. Darvin removed his hood and knelt at the altar, praying softly.
He then stood and walked hesitantly up to the statue of Torm.
"I swear to never lie or cheat, my word is my promise"
Even though he knew The Oath by heart, every word was spoken with vigour and heartfelt
"I swear to show mercy to my enemies, but tempered with wisdom"
Darvin looked deeply into the eyes of the statue before him and knew that Torm was looking back at him through those stone eyes
"I swear to help those in need, the weak and the suffering, showing no mercy to those who would harm them"
Visions of beating back Evil with sword and shield filled Darvin's mind. He did not see himself as the hero, but as the fist of his god, an implement of Torm to be used against the darkness.
"THIS OATH IS MY STRENGTH, IF I BREAK IT, I AM WORTHLESS; NOTHING!"
The words rang out from Darvin's throat full of emotion. As the echoes were still dying, the young man stepped forward and placed his palm formally on top of the open palm of the statue. With an almost imperceptible click, the statue started to slide backwards, revealing a staircase leading down into an underground passage with a flickering light at the end of it, like that of a torch or fire.
Hesitantly, Darvin stepped down the staircase and followed the passage into the light. 'This must be the lower sanctum' the young man thought to himself as he turned a corner into a large stone room.
The room had 10 sides, 9 of which had a different symbol carved into the stone. Darvin had come through an archway which had the Celestial words for "Great Struggle" carved into it.
"Darvin, come here" the harsh voice made the young man spin around to see his father with 9 other Paladins behind him and the High Priestess of Torm beside them. The warriors were in full body armour, including helmets, as if they were prepared for a battle.
Darvin stepped forward and stood before the assembly. The young man's father took a step to put an armoured hand upon his son's shoulder, gently touching the bruises that he had inflicted that morning, with his other hand. Darvin did not flinch, even though the action sent waves of intense pain coursing through his cheeks and eyes.
"You are ready Darvin, you are ready to make the Pact; the High Priestess has performed the rites and Torm will take you if you do not break your Oath."
The young man felt hot in the heavy leather cloak as he contemplated what he was about to do. His palms felt sweaty and, for the first time in his life, Darvin felt afraid that he might dishonour his god.
Darvin said nothing as he nodded solemnly and turned to the middle of the room where a large, 9 pointed star had been chalked onto the ground and inlaid with runes of a language so strange that even Darvin couldn't understand them.
The young man shed his cloak and stepped into the circle, feet planted squarely on the ground. At first, there was nothing, but then Darvin saw it out of the corner of his eye when he moved his head. It was a thin slit in the air, with a glimpse of a hellish landscape and a red-skinned figure flying towards him on wings of fire.
Darvin's breath quickened as adrenaline started to course through his veins, all sound was muffle except for the blood pounding past his eardrums. His entire attention was focused on that one figure approaching, the room lost its detail as the two locked gazes.
The slit in the air started to close as the power of the circle was being drained away and for a few seconds it looked like the hellish figure would not make it. Suddenly, 2 sets of great red and orange claws; each as long and as wide as a man's forearm; appeared floating in the air as they were thrust through the slit, forcing or open.
With a great creaking sound like that of an old oak door being forced back on its rusty hinges, the slit was pulled open and revealed the full dark magnificence of the Devil that had been called up. A horned head as large as an ox's was thrust through the widening gap and the rest of the body almost fell through, its wings extinguishing.
Quick as anything, the Fiend dropped into a predatory stance, arms and legs ready to spring forth onto prey. Upon looking around the room however, it spied the assembled Paladins and an expression of realisation dawned upon its horrid face. What could have been a smile appeared and the Devil stood up from its previous stance.
As it stood, strange and horrible things happened to its body. It seemed to melt all at once and started to fill an invisible, human-shaped mold in the air like pouring wax. When the mold had been filled, the features started to become more detailed and more human, although the skin remained red and the fingernails still claw-like. Finally, the Fiend opened his eyes and looked around the room for a second time, registering that Darvin was standing inside the circle of runes that bound them both to the inside of the ritual.
"Well hello there" the Fiend stepped forward, ignoring the sounds of sliding metal from swords being drawn "are you it? The one for the 'Lawful' Pact?" The creature's voice made it obvious that he knew very well who Darvin was.
"Aye, it is me" Darvin replied, the disgust plain on his face. The Devil was still in a predatory stance, although not aggressive, his manner seemed to make it clear that Darvin was a prize he wanted to claim. Darvin could see that the Fiend was a he, as it hadn't bothered with clothing.
"What are your conditions Devil?" Darvin asked curtly, managing to inject as much venom into the last word that normal people reserve for the word scum.
"Oh it's very simple boy, I give you power and strength and every evil soul that you 'release' will come to me to be, entertained" the Fiend said smoothly, a chuckle escaping through his lips as he stepped closer once more to Darvin and paced around the young man.
"Why? Why would you agree to giving away some of your own power?" Darvin asked, unable to stop himself from asking.
The Devil had finished it's pacing around Darvin and stood extremely close to the young man, close enough that their chests met. Darvin itched to push the creature away, but he knew it would spell his instant death.
"Because I enjoy hearing them scream" a forked tongue extended from the Devil's mouth and he ran it across his lips"
Darvin's stomach kept in disgust and he screwed up his face. The red-skinned creature laughed, the cruel humour grossly obvious in his face "what, you don't enjoy 'smiting your enemies' as you call it?"
Darvin's jaw set firmly
"It is something that needs to be done, not something to be enjoyed. Now are you going to make this Pact or not?" The young man was obviously struggling with his rising anger at the creature he was talking to.
"Yes yes, alright" the Devil smiled playfully and waved a hand almost casually in the air. This small action seemed to trigger something ale as a black crystal, smooth as obsidian and as large as one of the tower shield that the Paladins favoured, appeared in the air behind the Fiend. Stepping away from Darvin, the creature turned to the crystal and started to meddle with it, an orange flame springing up inside the crystal.
Seemingly done, the Fiend turned back with a single black crystal on a rope in his outstretched palm, the sister of the larger crystal. The Devil winked at Darvin, clicked his fingers and was sucked back into the slit in the air, which closed. All that was left was the smaller crystal, dropped on the stone floor.
Darvin stooped hesitantly and picked it up, but couldn't let god, his fist clenched tightly around the pendant. The young man's eyes started to water and inside he screamed with pain as the crystal in his fist ignited with black-edged flames and engulfed Darvin's hand, making the skin bubble and pop. On the outside, his face did not flicker once.
As quickly as it had came, the flame instantly extinguished itself and Darvin's skin was left blackened and raw. The young man slowly opened his hand, palm up, to reveal that the crystal had come alight on the inside with a supernatural flame. Darvin turned to the assembled Paladins and slipped the rope attached to the crystal over his head, ignoring the excruciating pain coming from his hand.
Darvin's father took off his helmet and stepped forward, turning Darvin to face the opposition wall.
"What does that say son?" He asked, pointing to one of the previously foreign runes carved into the stone wall
"Nessus" Darvin's blood ran cold as he spoke the name of the ninth, deepest and most dangerous of the circles of hell. He could understand Infernal speech and knew that the being who he had just made a Pact with was a powerful Devil indeed.
Darvin's father turned him around once more and nodded gravely
"You are ready to take the Oath" he said solemnly
Race:
Variant Human (War Caster feat, Perception skill)
Background:
You have grown up as in the shadow of your god. Not only have you been taught the scriptures from birth, but you live and breath them. You live your life by the teachings of your clergy and are willing to go to any length to serve your god; no river of blood is too deep to cross, no mountain of skulls too high to climb, no act however humiliating or base to perform if it means pleasing your god. You have spent years reading the teachings of your god and are such a fervent believer that you can speak and understand the divine language, you can also speak and understand the language of your sworn enemy. At every town you seek the inevitable corruption to expunge from the face of the world, striking down the cult leader or banishing the evil creatures.
Skill proficiencies:
Religion and Investigation
Languages:
Celestial and either Infernal or Abyssal
Equipment
An insignia of rank, a trophy taken from a fallen enemy (a dagger, broken blade, or piece of a banner), a set of bone dice or deck of cards, a set of common clothes, and a belt pouch containing 10 gp
Class
Paladin (Oath of Vengeance) 4/Warlock - Fiend Patron (Pact of the Blade) 16
Starting with Paladin for armour proficiencies.
Post-racial ability scores at level 1 (using point buy):
Str: 16
Dex: 8
Con: 13
Int: 10
Wis: 10
Cha: 16
1d10 HD
11 HP
Proficiency in:
Wisdom saves (yay!)
Charisma saves (meh)
All armour
All weapons
Perception
Athletics
Religion
Investigation
Persuasion
Class features:
Divine Sense
Lay on Hands
Languages known
Common
Draconic (there were a lot of Dragon-born Paladins at his order)
Celestial
Infernal
A Shield
A Battleaxe
A black crystal always warm to the touch (trinket)
A Backpack
Chainmail
A Handaxe
Holy Symbol - Amulet
Crowbar
Hammer
10 x Pitons
10 x Torches
Tinderbox
10 Days of trail rations
Waterskin
50' Hemp Rope
An insignia of the Dark Paladin rank
The claw of a minor demon (trophy)
Set of bone dice
A set of common clothes
A belt pouch containing 10 gp
So I do know that I’m seriously gimping my character in the weapons department by picking up no ranged weapons, but they are against my character's order, so what can you do? I have a Handaxe just in case though.
Yes, delicious power and Star Wars references. This is going to be the main focus of this build and it certainly packs some punches in the mechanics department. I am going to be using the Elemental Evil Player's Companion for this character and so I'll be looking at spells from there as well.
Otherworld Patron - Fiend
So this Patron is what is going to, not only provide some nice fluff, but also give us some nice spells as well as some survivability goodies like Dark One's Blessing.
Pact of the Blade
This is what the entire build is based off of, this right here. This is what allows my character to have proficiency with any weapon they want (with a 1 action casting time of course) and is also where I get extra attacks and decent melee damage. The sheer versatility of this Pact for melee fighting is incredible which is one of the reasons I like it so much.
Dark One's Blessing:
This feature is good because, not only will I be dealing some pretty serious nova damage with Divine Smite, so I can reliably activate this feature, but I will be needing it for taking the hits I will inevitable have to endure.
Dark One's Own Luck
Personally, I think this is one of the best abilities a melee character can have. Absolutely need to concentrate on that Silence spell? Add a d10. You're being targeted by a Beholder? Add a d10 to that save. You're being targeted by a charm effect, a Dex save or anything that you really need to make the roll on? That's right, add a d10. Now, I will admit that it that it doesn't always work, but that's why you decide after you've made the roll if you want to use it as it turns the 10-12s into 15-17s on average, which can save your life.
Fiendish resilience
This one is pretty useful, if you know what types of enemies you will be fighting. Unfortunately, you don't have access to many divination spells, let alone any low-level ones. If you don't have a Cleric or a Wizard handy who are willing to prepare and use one of their divination spells, you'll have to guess. Unless you are inside one of the elemental planes where it is obvious what kind of damage you'll be taking I think I'll just stick to slashing and piercing.
Hurl Through Hell:
This one is straight up fun. The attack needed to use it can be a spell attack, a ranged attack, or a melee attack. Seeing as we will probably be opening a fight with a spell attack, this can be a good way to mess with the enemy's positioning, or just send a particularly threatening target away with the devils for a round.
Mystic Arcanum (ranks 1-3 out of 4):
This is what makes you finish your days of envying the Wizard and Cleric or Druid in your party for their seemingly endless spell casting, they never let you short-rest nearly as much as you want because they don't need it, but no more! You have spells that don't use spell slots! You are all powerful! They can go and suck it for you care! You are amazing!
Invocations!
Warlock Level
Invocation/s gained
2-4.
Devil's Sight, Fiendish Vigour
5-6.
Thirsting Blade
7-8.
Sculptor of Flesh
9-11
Minions of Chaos
12-14
Lifedrinker
15-16.
Witch Sight
Ending Invocations:
Devil's Sight
Agonising Blast
Thirsting Blade
Sculptor of Flesh
Minions of Chaos
Lifedrinker
Witch Sight
One of the things about my character is that he has sworn never to lie or cheat so things like Beguiling Influence or Mask of Many Faces are off the table. I was debating whether to pick up Otherworldly Leap, but then I realised Witch Sight is too good for my character’s fluff (being able to instantly see through illusions and the true form of shape-shifters fits in my background amazingly.
Spells!
Warlock Level
Spell/s
Cantrips
1.
Armour of Agathys, Hellish Rebuke
Eldritch Blast, Mage Hand
2.
Hex
----------------
3.
Scorching Ray
Prestidigitation
4.
Darkness
----------------
5.
Fireball
----------------
6.
Fear
----------------
7.
Fire Shield
----------------
8.
Banishment
----------------
9.
Hallow
----------------
10.
----------------
Thunderclap
11-12.
Circle of Death
13-14.
Finger of Death
15-16.
Dominate Monster
Ending spells:
Armour of Agathys
Hellish Rebuke
Hex
Scorching Ray
Darkness
Fireball
Fear
Fire Shield
Banishment
Hallow
Ending Mystic Arcanum spells:
Circle of Death
Finger of Death
Dominate Monster
So this is mostly to get 3 things:
1. Heavy armour proficiency
2. Smite
3. Oath of Vengeance features
Armour proficiencies:
This, along with Smite and OoV features, are what we are here for! Heavy Armour solves all of our potential AC problems and it means that I can have Dex as a dump stat and not feel too bad, I didn't want to sneak anyway!
Divine Sense:
A Paladin's Primeval Awareness, nice, but mostly fluff
Lay on Hands:
This is a nice bit of gravy right from the get-go and, whilst it wont ever be very powerful (maximum 20 health), being able to bring people back from the brink of death without using a spell-slot is nice.
Divine smite:
This is very good. I mean, it is truly the bees knees when it comes to melee single target damage. It has scaling comparable to the Rogue's Sneak Attack dice if you are MCed as a full caster (which I am) and you can choose to use it after you have hit your attack. It does expend a spell slot, but you can use it without needing anyone else around the target or advantage to work and it doesn't count against your prepared spells for the day. All in all, I love it, especially since you can use Pact Magic spell slots to fuel it, which you get back on a Short Rest.
Fighting Style:
This is what is going to define what type of weapon we are going to use. Obviously G.W.F is our friend here if we want to pump out the damage, which we do. We'll just have levels of it not working before PotB and we get our free Greatsword, unless I twohand the Battleaxe.
Spellcasting:
Whilst I will only ever have access to first level spells and only 3 spell slots at that, it still gives access to spells that are almost always good like Command, Protection from Evil and Good and Compelled Duel (pseudo-defender anyone)
Divine Health:
Again, mostly fluff unless you are going to be fighting a bunch of Were-rats, but hey, I'm not complaining about disease immunity.
Expanded Spell List:
Both Bane and Hunter's Mark are nice here, although I will probably never use Hunter's Mark after Warlock level 2 as I think Hex will do the job much better. Unfortunately, I won't be getting access to any spells higher than that, but hey, I have Warlock levels!
Abjure Enemy:
It's nice, putting quite a debilitating status effect on an enemy and paralysing them with fear is not only really cool fluff-wise, but you can use in the first round of combat on the BBEG, kill their minions and then all blow all of your damage on the bad-guy. Also, it doesn't take up your concentration slot.
Vow of Emnity:
I like having advantage on attack rolls, this allows me to have that thing...gimme