Deep Gnome Warlock

[Escribblings]

I'm considering rolling up a caster, I've never really played with them before because there is so much choice regarding cantrips, spells, rituals, and then the whole spell slot thing.

Of all of the casting types, warlock appeals the most.

I also fancied trying a different race, and on the face of it I like the look of the Deep Gnome.

Trouble is that is where I get stuck.

I don't necessarily want a melee capable character, so I'm thinking Tome or Chain, but other than that I'm stuck.

Can you offer any advice?

[JellyPooga]

On the surface, Deep Gnome seems like an unintuitive choice for a Warlock, with ability score bonuses to Int and Wis, but don't be put off; Svirfneblin are a great race to play as any class.

With 120ft Darkvision, camouflage and the option to pick up the racial Feat for a bit of extra spellcasting, including at-will Nondetection, a Svirfneblin Warlock could be an excellent scout. To that end I would recommend going Chain Pact and getting yourself a second pair of invisible, flying eyes in the form of an Imp-form familiar.

GOO Patron gives you further scouting excellence with Clairvoyance and Detect Thoughts, the latter of which requires a decent Intelligence to pull off with any efficiency; which ties in nicely to your chosen race!

For Invocations, I would tend to avoid the "standard" of taking Agonizing Blast; as good as it is, it's also kind of boring! Get yourself Eldritch Sight and Misty Visions for Detect Magic and Silent Image at-will...very Gnomish and with a little imagination extremely potent. At 5th level, One with Shadows is another great scouting tool and Voice of the Chain Master extends the range on your familiar to "as far as you like".

You won't be a typical spellslinger, but a Rogue that uses magic instead of skill; Eldritch Blast, even without Agonizing Blast, will keep you relevant in combat, buy it's out of combat that you'll find yourself really shining. You can safely scout out ahead of the main group and even relay messages back to the others without having to abandon your position or backtrack. There's very little that will escape your notice and very little that will be able to notice you in return.

[Escribblings]

That sounds very tempting, thematically I was leaning towards GOO as I felt I could have stumbled upon something ancient deep in a cave somewhere.

Any more thoughts?

[Khutef]

Svirfneblin warlock is good choice. As Jellypooga said: excellent scouting material.

I recommend tomelock and selecting the ritual casting invocation. Great scout and you have a lot of utility with rituals.

[Escribblings]

See, right there, you've just added to my confusion.

I originally was thinking tomelock for the extra spells.

But chainlock, I felt, was better thematically, and also has cool benefits.

Can you add to why you would choose tome chain (or vice versa).

The only thing I can say with certainty is I don't want bladelock.

[Escribblings]

And HTF do you pronounce Svirfneblin?

[JackOfAllBuilds]

And HTF do you pronounce Svirfneblin?

svirfneblin: svɜːrfˈnɛblɪn / svirf-NEB-lin

And the sv aaaaalmost makes a single Z sound

[JellyPooga]

For a scouting role, Chain is far and away better than Tome. The latter offers some extra Cantrips, which can be invaluable if you take the likes of Guidance and with the investment of an Invocation you'll get the best ritual casting in the game...but ritual spells are a) quite limited in number and b) very limited in scope.

Chain Pact, on the other hand literally gives you a second pair of eyes that's far and away superior to the standard familiar options and as the old adage goes; "two pairs of eyes are better than one" (or something like that).

Tome Pact looks inviting for the utility it offers, but I've found that in actual play it's less than exciting; I've gone multiple sessions without getting more than occasional and incidental use out of my Book of Shadows. That Imp/Quasit/P.dragon/Sprite familiar though? That guy comes into play with surprising frequency, at least in my experience.

[Sans.]

Honestly? Take Agonising Blast later, after you've increased your Cha a bit. Deep Gnome means +2 to start with, which isn't a whole lot of extra damage. But when you've got 3 beams and +5 modifier, then Agonising Blast starts to seem more impressive.

[Naanomi]

GOO or Archfey (focusing on the Fomorian/Unseelie underdark Fey) is the obvious choice. Note that you have some decent stealth abilities with the svirfneblin feat combined with the Invisibility in Shadows invocation

[Escribblings]

Definitely looking like chain then.

I'll save blade for when I roll up a Drow.

[King539]

On the surface, Deep Gnome seems like an unintuitive choice for a Warlock, with ability score bonuses to Int and Wis, but don't be put off; Svirfneblin are a great race to play as any class.
Emphasis mine.

WIS?

[Escribblings]

Emphasis mine.

WIS?

Well spotted..

Just double checked...

ASI to INT and DEX

Advantage on INT, WIS and CHA saves against magic.

http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x184/escribblings/Screenshot_20170307-233813_zpsyofgr7s6.jpg (http://s187.photobucket.com/user/escribblings/media/Screenshot_20170307-233813_zpsyofgr7s6.jpg.html)

[JellyPooga]

Emphasis mine.

WIS?

My bad (I'm AFB and didn't check).