Warlock/Cleric?

[Sans.]

Thinking about making a Warlock/Cleric. Right now my favourite idea is Fiend Warlock/Light Cleric, because Light is not Good, but was also thinking about Fey/Trickery or Life or Nature, or GOO/Knowledge. Other combos, thoughts on optimisation, level split, spell selection, playstyle etc. welcome.

[Laserlight]

Ask your DM if she's open to having you switch casting stats, eg use CHA not WIS for your cleric spells, or WIS for your lock spells
Crawford and Mearls indicated at least an openness to that idea and it makes some multiclass combinations more viable.

[Quoxis]

Ran one, with the intent to be an emergency healer and primary buff/debuff character.
If you want this, start as any full caster class and get yourself some spell slots before even thinking about the mc.
I had the constant problem of being stuck with 2 lvl 2 slots and way too much casting going on to have that suffice.
Another problem is that you have two different casting stats.
Focus on cha for attacks, use the cleric spells for healing/buffing, most clerics don't actually need high wis anyway.

A nice way to get the fluff (you're serving two patrons after all) is to have the atoning sinner who sold his soul for power and/or did terrible deeds using them and now seeks help from the gods. Had a fiendlock/life cleric of ilmater like that.
Other options:
- "I didn't want to be a servant of (patron), that happened without my consent! (Sold to a hag, soul traded for a devil's favor by one's parents...) I actually wanna serve (deity)!"
- high fey lords from the seelie court get mentioned both in the cleric's and in the warlock's list of potential patrons, so having the same entity as your patron and god is a thing. Obviously only works if aligned, you'll have problems finding weird couplings like fiend/nature.
- close to the above: your deity is your patron's patron. You're a cleric to asmodeus, while your patron is a high ranking devil in the service of asmodeus, or you revere halani celanil and a fey creature of the same faith shares its powers with you.
- clerics can revere a principle or a domain rather than a deity. Make a cleric worshipping nature who, in order to protect it, made a pact with a fey, or a knowledge cleric who struck a deal with a devil for the power needed to find tomes in ancient tuins full of undead.

Playstyle overall:
- warlocks get only up to 5th level spell slots. Taking low level spells from the warlock's list and upcasting them with the slots of your cleric is possible (armor of agathys for example can be a wall of 45 temp hp instead of 25)
- you get some neat invocations, some of which can free up your spells known dilemma (because one never knows enough spells!)
- you'll want to take healing spells you can cast with your warlock slots. That way you can burn those immediately before a short rest - your allies will thank you because they don't have to spend potions or hit dice, at least not as many.
- certain cleric subclasses get access to heavy armor and/or martial weapons as a subclass feature, meaning even if you start warlock you'll get that as soon as you mc. Nature/Fey Bladelock with heavy armor coming right up!
- both cleric and warlock have many differences in playstyle depending on their subclasses, so that's a difficult topic to not write a thesis about.

[lperkins2]

Ask your DM if she's open to having you switch casting stats, eg use CHA not WIS for your cleric spells, or WIS for your lock spells
Crawford and Mearls indicated at least an openness to that idea and it makes some multiclass combinations more viable.

If UA is allowed, you could also consider the favoured soul.

[Sans.]

We're starting at level 7, so being stuck with low level slots isn't too bad. I was hoping to be mainly warlock with a dip of cleric at level 1, not the other way round.

[bid]

We're starting at level 7, so being stuck with low level slots isn't too bad. I was hoping to be mainly warlock with a dip of cleric at level 1, not the other way round.
Any cleric is good for the medium armor, since you can stop at Dex14.

Half-elf 10 14 14 11 13 16 shows how loose the requirements can be.

[Laserlight]

We're starting at level 7, so being stuck with low level slots isn't too bad. I was hoping to be mainly warlock with a dip of cleric at level 1, not the other way round.

Any time you multiclass a lock, you have to ask yourself "What do I actually get that makes it worth staying past level 2 or 3?"

You might want to look at PeteNutButter's Multiclassing Guide (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?502248-Ultimate-Optimizer-s-Multiclassing-Guide)

I concur with the suggestion above about taking a Favored Soul and fluffing it as a cleric.

[PeteNutButter]

So basically you'll want to pick one class to focus on. Even splits are usually pretty bad, especially with pact magic.

If you focus on warlock, that's fine, just keep in mind that you'll never be a sufficient party healer. Unless you can spam short rests, 2 spells (+2 to from first level cleric) isn't much, certainly not enough to heal far. The main benefits to taking cleric are some cool spells and cantrips, and the proficiencies.

Much like a warlock who takes first level in fighter, you can walk away with heavy armor and potentially martial weapon proficiency. The cleric comes at the relatively steep cost of 13 wisdom, no fighting style, and no con save proficiency

You gain a slew of great spells with just one level, but many of them are concentration. The way to make it very effective is to capitalize on the domain powers. Anything with heavy armor is a great set up for a blade lock. Being a bladelock is probably the best use of taking those (1-2) cleric levels, especially since the cleric cantrips take away from the tome lock benefits.

[bluthunda]

We're starting at level 7, so being stuck with low level slots isn't too bad. I was hoping to be mainly warlock with a dip of cleric at level 1, not the other way round.
Just throwing this out there using Paladin instead with a 2 lvl dip get a fighting style plus 2 more lvl 1 spell slots and smite. Plus the charisma for both casting classes makes it less MaD and the spells lists are pretty close.
I'm currently running a Paladin/Warlock of Dendar really Paladin gives you everything you want from 1 lvl cleric dip minus the 3 Cantrips which if you went pact of the time lock you could pick up if need be. I'm currently undecided which im going to pick as I could go mostly warlock with pact of the blade for the extra attack invocation or go more paladin and go pact of chain or book.

[hyenagame]

I made a melee focused Grim Reaper, At lv 20 it gets 8lv in Death Cleric and 12lv in hexbladelock
Using a Halberd for the reach property,
taking the sentinel, GWM and polearm master.
Using the IPW, TB, Lifedrinker, ES, AS, WotG evocations.

[Spore]

Personally I feel there is only one reason to go Warlock/Cleric, and that is if you want a mind focussed utility character.

Warlock 2/Knowledge Cleric x

nets you 2 add. languages, 2 int skills, 2 warlock skills (ideally social ones) plus 2 background skills (I like Far Traveller because both skills are pretty useful and you get yet another language)

Thematically GoO Lock fits though if you can get a reason why a fey warlock would serve a god of knowledge, I feel the Fey spells are a lot more useful to you. (maybe serve to find out how you get out of the shackles of the fey ?).

[JackPhoenix]

I made a melee focused Grim Reaper, At lv 20 it gets 8lv in Death Cleric and 12lv in hexbladelock
Using a Halberd for the reach property,
taking the sentinel, GWM and polearm master.
Using the IPW, TB, Lifedrinker, ES, AS, WotG evocations.

A necromancer, then? Fitting.