Rogue/Warlock or Rogue/Bard?

[Tekrow]

Hey, I'm planning on making a Rogue, and I wanted to make some sort of magic assassin kind of character, using a combination of melee sneak attacks and magic(either for control or damage), so I was wondering, between Warlock and Bard, which class works better with the Rogue?

[MarkVIIIMarc]

How many levels of each do you want?

Warlock gives you more Cantrips after 3 and an evil patron.

Bard is a normal spellcaster but early on doesn't give the most for damaging spells. Some neat neat things like Phantasmal Force and all but not too many "killing rays of light" like Warlock.

[Ergdorf the Fly]

Hey, I'm planning on making a Rogue, and I wanted to make some sort of magic assassin kind of character, using a combination of melee sneak attacks and magic(either for control or damage), so I was wondering, between Warlock and Bard, which class works better with the Rogue?
1. How early do you want to have spells?
2. What do you want the magic for? What end do you wish to use it towards?
If you're a rouge, you could wait until level 3 and become an Arcane Trickster. Not only would you get spells, but you'd also get a special Mage Hand that is invisible and more suited to a rouge play style. Personally, I think you should use magic to aide in your rouge work and not delve deep into combative magic.

[Tekrow]

I would like to use a little bit of combat magic, so I can have some ranged and AoE attacks if possible.

[Ergdorf the Fly]

I would like to use a little bit of combat magic, so I can have some ranged and AoE attacks if possible.
Do you want the spells right from the start of the campaign?

[Tekrow]

Not necessarily, besides, we are starting at lvl 4.

[Easy_Lee]

I recommend Warlock for devil's sight and eldritch sight - both of these are great on a rogue who's supposed to detect traps and spends a lot of time in the dark. If you take five levels of blade pact warlock, you can gain extra attack so you won't even lose damage for the multiclass.

My personal preference for a magic assassin would be rogue 2 / Sorcerer with subtle Metamagic, but that's just me.

[Hrugner]

Warlock gives you access to a bunch of cool tricks early on as well as the melee attack cantrips. You could also get your casting stat as your attack modifier by being either a hexblade or taking the moon bow thing. While bard does get you half proficiency in everything and some healing spells, I really think warlock comes out on top of this one.

[Citan]

Hey, I'm planning on making a Rogue, and I wanted to make some sort of magic assassin kind of character, using a combination of melee sneak attacks and magic(either for control or damage), so I was wondering, between Warlock and Bard, which class works better with the Rogue?
Warlock probably. While I love me a Rogue/Bard dualclass any day, the things a low-level Bard lacks a bit in comparison of Warlock, in light of your objective.

What is a magical assassin?
In my opinion, that would be someone that...
- never shows his true face when "working" (although he could certainly boast two identities, one "open" and one "hidden").
- is the all-time-best at sneaking.
- can subdue an enemy without him having any chance to resist.
- uses magic to accomplish his objectives...

For such a character, obviously Expertise in Stealth is a given, as well as Charisma skills (Persuasion/Deception/Intimidation).
As for spells: Comprehend Languages, Sleep, Disguise Self, Alter Self, Silence, Water Breathing, Spider Climb, Invisibility, Pass Without Trace, etc etc...

Tome Warlock, provided your DM is ready to "work with you" as far as learning rituals go, is the best bang for your buck: you get free Disguise Self, extra skills if needed, all rituals you need, and if you go Fey you can also grab Greater Invisibility. On the minus side, if your DM is not nice your Patron will be mostly useless (well, you still get some cantrips) and you will only have 2 slots per short rest ever, which you may dislike.

Now, Bard is not totally without charm (*ahem*): Lore Bard can help you survive with healing spells, there are some of the spells you want that are on the spell list (Silence, Suggestion, Invisibility, Greater Invisibility), Cutting Words can really help at times, and Magic Secrets would allow you to grab Pass Without Trace, Haste/Fly etc... Plus a predictible, reliable number of spell slots per day.

So, really, I'd say either pick the one that you like the most at first glance in terms of mechanics, or if you have no firm preference, ask yourself the big questions about your character (what does he do as a hobby? How would he strategize a very well-guarded target? Someone isolated? Someone popular? Is he an always-secretive someone, or did he develop an apparent character a-la-Superman so people wouln't ever expect him to kill people?)
This should help you choose. ;)

[Specter]

Both are doable.

Warlock gets you Booming Blade at level 1, which increases your damage output considerably. Everything else has to be measured against this.

Bard gives you Inspiration, which is as good as your CHA modifier, and Jack of All Trades coupled with even more Expertise to make you the king of skill. YOu can get Booming Blade via Bard at level 6, but that may be too far down the road for you.

[Biggstick]

Warlock is probably going to give you more bang for your buck in regards to doing damage. Most of the Bard strengths are not in doing damage to an enemy, but making it easier for allies to kill it.

Plus, the invocations of a Warlock are just overall better suited to a Player who's dipping Warlock vs Bardic Inspiration/Cutting Words for a Bard.

[Arkhios]

I'd say Rogue/Bard, hands down.

Assassin wants a good charisma, and especially after the 9th level ability, being able to back up your disguise with a wide range of skills that you handle really well minimize the chances to break the assumed character.

Rogue (assassin) 11/Bard (lore) 9 would net you 5th level spells (effectively making you an arcane half-caster as a bonus!), 6 skills or tools with expertise (double proficiency), a total of 8 skill proficiencies from your classes alone (also two more from background and possibly one more from race), and half proficiency with skills and ability checks you aren't already proficient with. And, as a capstone if you will, reliable talent lets you treat all d20 rolls lower than 10 as if you rolled 10 for the skills you are proficient with (including the ones with expertise). The ultimate skill monkey.
And 6d6 sneak attack is nothing to scoff at either.

As a lore bard you can take two off-class, max 3rd level spells to patch up specific needs depending on what you want (or the group needs), maybe even fireball if you want to be almost indistinguishable from a wizard! Any wizard should know fireball! Right? Right!

For progression I would suggest going at least 6 levels as a rogue before taking at least 6 levels of bard, then continue rogue to 9th level, go back to bard until 9th level, and the last two levels as a rogue.

[rbstr]

If the goal is sneaky-stabby but with magic flavor Fey Warlock has some fun stuff for the secret agent/assassin type, besides the usual Mask of Many Faces stuff there's:
A per-short-rest Charm/Frighten
A teleport/invisibility if you get hit
Greater Invisibility

The pact boons all offer you some decent stuff - Chain's familiar is a scout and sneak-attack enabler
Tome is ritual casting for utility options
Blade is Extra Attack for good stabbing and never being disarmed. Nobody would ever be able to find the murder weapon either!