Planning out a Warlock for a low level adventure

[MarkVIIIMarc]

So I'm planning out a Warlock character for our next mini campaign and want to make this fellow both fun to play and able to keep up in combat. Since no one in our group has ever played one and they are generally frowned upon that would be great. I have no idea what the rest of the part will be but we have six players so a healer or tank should be covered by SOMEONE. I hope.

What I'm thinking is important is Damage Per Round for each of levels 1 - 5 and general usefullness. Oh, and we're rolling stats, 4D6 drop the lowest and arrange the scores as you see fit. Experience is I'll get at least one 16 I hope to put in Charisma or at least a 15 so I can feel good about taking "Variant Human" to get the "Lucky" feat. We're a Players Handbook only group really so none of the UA or Xanther's will help.

Level 1:
Cantrips:
-Eldritch Blast +5 to hit, D10 damage ranged attack
-Poison Spray (Don't these fellows have a non ranged damage cantrip besides Poison Spray? I might just swing my stick, I'd really rather take Mage Hand)
L1 Spells
-Hex, the plus D6 damage with no save to a series of creatures seems awsome.
-Sleep from the ArchFey believe it or not. Its an area of effect spell that rocks at lower levels.
(Dissonant Whispers has been great for my Bard though and the save is only for half)

Level 2:
Cantrips:
-Eldritch Blast +5 to hit, D10 damage ranged attack
-Poison Spray (Don't these fellows have a non ranged damage cantrip besides Poison Spray? I might just swing my stick, I'd really rather take Mage Hand)
L1 Spells
-Hex, the plus D6 damage with no save to a series of creatures seems awsome.
-Sleep from the ArchFey believe it or not. Its an area of effect spell that rocks at lower levels.
(Dissonant Whispers has been great for my Bard though and the save is only for half)
-Arms of Hadar, local 2D6 damage to possibly multiple creatures and I get to back out of melee on a failed save.
Invocations:
-Agonizing Blast for a probable +3 to my Eldritch Blast damage
-Repelling Blast if being pushed back by it causes an Opportunity Attack to an enemy in melee

Level 3:
Cantrips:
-Eldritch Blast +5 to hit, D10 damage ranged attack
-Poison Spray (Don't these fellows have a non ranged damage cantrip besides Poison Spray? I might just swing my stick, I'd really rather take Mage Hand)
L1 Spells
-Hex, the plus D6 damage with no save to a series of creatures seems awsome.
-Sleep from the ArchFey believe it or not. Its an area of effect spell that rocks at lower levels.
(Dissonant Whispers has been great for my Bard though and the save is only for half)
-Arms of Hadar, local 2D6 damage to possibly multiple creatures and I get to back out of melee on a failed save.
L2 Spells
-Darkness(Especially neat since I plan on switching invocations to Devil's Sight!"
Invocations:
-Agonizing Blast for a probable +3 to my Eldritch Blast damage
-Devil's sight (I get to switch on level up's and this plays well with Darkness.
Pact Boon:
What would you take? I'm considering Pact of the Tome for Spare the Dying, Shocking Grasp and Mage Hand.

Level 4:
Cantrips:
-Eldritch Blast +5 to hit, D10 damage ranged attack
-Poison Spray (Don't these fellows have a non ranged damage cantrip besides Poison Spray? I might just swing my stick, I'd really rather take Mage Hand)
-Minor Illusion
L1 Spells
-Hex, the plus D6 damage with no save to a series of creatures seems awsome.
-Sleep from the ArchFey believe it or not. Its an area of effect spell that rocks at lower levels.
(Dissonant Whispers has been great for my Bard though and the save is only for half)
-Arms of Hadar, local 2D6 damage to possibly multiple creatures and I get to back out of melee on a failed save.
L2 Spells
-Darkness
-Shatter (Learned)
Invocations:
-Agonizing Blast for a probable +3 to my Eldritch Blast damage
-Devil's sight
Pact Boon:
Pact of the Tome for Spare the Dying, Shocking Grasp and Mage Hand.

Level 5:
Cantrips:
-Eldritch Blast +5 to hit, D10 damage ranged attack
-Poison Spray (Don't these fellows have a non ranged damage cantrip besides Poison Spray? I might just swing my stick, I'd really rather take Mage Hand)
-Minor Illusion
L1 Spells
-Hex, the plus D6 damage with no save to a series of creatures seems awsome.
-Arms of Hadar, local 2D6 damage to possibly multiple creatures and I get to back out of melee on a failed save.
L2 Spells
-Darkness(Especially neat since I plan on switching invocations to Devil's Sight!"
-Shatter
L3 Spells
-Counterspell(Learned) although I hate wasting one of my few spell slots on this.
-Fly (I traded out sleep which isn't as usseful by now)
Invocations:
-Agonizing Blast for a probable +3 to my Eldritch Blast damage
-Devil's sight
-Misty VIsions
Pact Boon:
Pact of the Tome for Spare the Dying, Shocking Grasp and Mage Hand.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions and or corrections.

[ImproperJustice]

You may get more mileage by dropping poison spray for a more utilitarian cantrip like minor illusion.

If going pact of the tome:
Shocking Grasp or Shileagh as a melee panic button.

Guidance is pretty darn handy as a team buff

Then: Mage Hand, Thaumaturgy, Mold Earth or whatever sounds fun.

I missed your Patron Selection but you may want to look at Celestial if you want healing resilience.

[Sinon]

EB, yes, of course.

I second getting Minor Illusion. It’s only limit is your creativity, and it is concentration free. Just a great cantrip.

My other choice is Friends – but it depends on how much social interaction you are facing.

At low levels, if you have a decent Dex, you can get by with a finesse weapon for your rare melee situations.

I like Lucky, but I might instead take something like Resilient or War Caster to improve your Con, as in Concentration, saves. Also, if you are rolling for stats, a feat that gives +1 to a stat can be a big boost. You could think about the Actor feat to take your Cha from 15 to 16, for example.

I like your Invocations. Agon Blast is good (damage always is) and Repelling is fun. But let me plug Misty Visions and Mask of Many Faces. These give you spells you can use at will, and at lower levels, an at-will first-level spell is nice.

Illusions are fun, and extraordinarily effective. Movable illusory walls can force archers to move or give you concealment, and hence advantage. If they want to see through your illusion, they have to waste an action, and any round you prevent the bad guy from doing something nasty while your allies were able to, you were effective.

Think about what you want from the Darkness spell: a 15’ cube that no one can see though but you, and then only IF you also have the Devil’s Sight Invocation. Swap that Invocation for Misty Visions, and you can pull off the same thing without burning a spell slot. And you can move it.

Disguise is objectively fun, but it is also tactically valuable – you’re fighting lizardfolk, you look like a lizardfolk. In the heat of a battle, you can be overlooked. (make sure your allies know who you are, though.) But I really like it with the Actor Feat and Friends cantrip because you can take the downside of Friends (the target is hostile after you use it on them) and weaponize it by taking the form of one badguy and Intimidating another. Get them to fight each other.

For your actual spells, Hex, yes. Sleep, since it works on current hit points, I find it valuable longer than many others seem to.

For the others, I usually look to things like out-of-combat utility and defense.

I rarely pass on something like Misty Step. It’s bonus action, and it saves your tuchis.
If you’re surrounded by enough people to make Arms of Hadar worth a spell slot, your goal should be to get the hell out of that place asap.

Mirror Image is a great defensive spell, and it doesn’t take your concentration.

Charm Person and Suggestion are good things to have for less combat-oriented encounters.

ImproperJustice had great advice about your bonus cantrips for pact of the Tome.

But then you replace an Invocation for Book of Ancient Secrets – which is why you took Pact of the Tome – and take Find Familiar right away. Now you’re half a Chainlock, too. (The value of a familiar cannot be overstated.) The other can be anything. If your DM is like me, Alarm. Then you bug the crap out your DM to give you access to rituals you can add.

On that note, the Acolyte background doesn’t guarantee you’ll get access to some nice cleric rituals, but it is a foot in the door.

Regarding backgrounds, Criminal is also good because it gives you Deception and then your class skills can be Intimidation and Arcana. Stealth and Thieves’ Tools are nice. (Intimidation and Deception are more important you have the Friends cantrip.)

[Innocent_bystan]

EB, yes, of course.


I'm not sure if EB is such 'yes, of course' choice at low levels. Assuming a 16 in Dexterity, you do more damage with a regular ranged weapon. (1d10 vs 1d6+3, gets better dependent on proficiency) Starting at level 5, with Agonizing Blast and an ASI in Charisma? Sure, but at levels 1-3 the difference is minimal at best.

As for Invocations: have a look at Fiendish Vigor. 8 temporary hp for every encounter? Considering an 8-encounter day, that's 64 points of pseudo-healing every day.

[thompur]

[QUOTE=MarkVIIIMarc;22827548]So I'm planning out a Warlock character for our next mini campaign and want to make this fellow both fun to play and able to keep up in combat. Since no one in our group has ever played one and they are generally frowned upon that would be great. I have no idea what the rest of the part will be but we have six players so a healer or tank should be covered by SOMEONE. I hope.

What I'm thinking is important is Damage Per Round for each of levels 1 - 5 and general usefullness. Oh, and we're rolling stats, 4D6 drop the lowest and arrange the scores as you see fit. Experience is I'll get at least one 16 I hope to put in Charisma or at least a 15 so I can feel good about taking "Variant Human" to get the "Lucky" feat. We're a Players Handbook only group really so none of the UA or Xanther's will help.

Level 1:
Cantrips:
-Eldritch Blast +5 to hit, D10 damage ranged attack
-Poison Spray (Don't these fellows have a non ranged damage cantrip besides Poison Spray? I might just swing my stick, I'd really rather take Mage Hand)
L1 Spells
-Hex, the plus D6 damage with no save to a series of creatures seems awsome.
-Sleep from the ArchFey believe it or not. Its an area of effect spell that rocks at lower levels.
(Dissonant Whispers has been great for my Bard though and the save is only for half)

Level 2:
Cantrips:
-Eldritch Blast +5 to hit, D10 damage ranged attack
-Poison Spray (Don't these fellows have a non ranged damage cantrip besides Poison Spray? I might just swing my stick, I'd really rather take Mage Hand)
L1 Spells
-Hex, the plus D6 damage with no save to a series of creatures seems awsome.
-Sleep from the ArchFey believe it or not. Its an area of effect spell that rocks at lower levels.
(Dissonant Whispers has been great for my Bard though and the save is only for half)
-Arms of Hadar, local 2D6 damage to possibly multiple creatures and I get to back out of melee on a failed save.
Invocations:
-Agonizing Blast for a probable +3 to my Eldritch Blast damage
-Repelling Blast if being pushed back by it causes an Opportunity Attack to an enemy in melee

RB does not provoke OAs, but it's good for pushing opponents back into the fire sphere or bonfire, or spiked stones, etc.:smallbiggrin:

[Sinon]

I'm not sure if EB is such 'yes, of course' choice at low levels. Assuming a 16 in Dexterity, you do more damage with a regular ranged weapon. (1d10 vs 1d6+3, gets better dependent on proficiency) Starting at level 5, with Agonizing Blast and an ASI in Charisma? Sure, but at levels 1-3 the difference is minimal at best.

As for Invocations: have a look at Fiendish Vigor. 8 temporary hp for every encounter? Considering an 8-encounter day, that's 64 points of pseudo-healing every day.

As a variant human, he can't count on a 16 Dex. But rolling for stats, who knows - could be even better than that.

You make a very good point. He could delay EB until level four, which is right when you get the ASI, right before you get 2 blasts and learn the Agonizing Invocation.

[Crgaston]

If you make your V. Human feat Crossbow Expert, then you can use a light crossbow OR your EB in melee with no penalty.