Do Half-Orcs make better wizards or warlocks?

[Sir_Chivalry]

DM for a game I'm applying to seems to really like my backstory but I wasn't decided on a class at the time and they said an arcane caster would be good as the party's lacking that at the moment.

Which led to me wondering if half-orcs make better wizards or warlocks (possible dips into fighter or barbarian to spruce up combat/tank/action stuff). It seems an intriguing roleplaying opportunity but I want to consider my options

[Warlush]

I think lore wise Half-Orc Warlocks are a thing. Something about them not belonging in any society so they like the approval and acceptance they feel from a pact with a powerful entity. I've never heard of a Half-Orc Wizard in any published fiction.

Mechanically their abilities synergize with Warlock stuff (mostly blade pact) more than Wizard (d6 hit die, no armor, no blade stuff unless you're an elf).

I've even played a chain pact Half-Orc that mostly used Booming Blade/Green Flame Blade with a great club. Not the most optimized before level 8 but super fun and very usefull out of combat. Face skills and a super familiar work well on anyone.

[JellyPooga]

Played a Half-Orc Abjurer once. It was awesome. True story.

Hit stuff good with my stick. Took a Ghast to the face at lvl.2 and was still standing at the end of the round. Still managed to do the Wizard thing pretty darned good too. Even managed a bit of Roguing due to my Criminal background. Good times.

[Seclora]

Half-Orcs have ever so slightly better synergy with Warlocks than Wizards, simply because Charisma works better with their racial intimidation proficiency and a bladelock is more likely to use their savage critical feature. That's it though. the race is Barbarian coded, no caster truly synergizes with Half-Orc.

As such, you could feasibly play Half Orc with any caster and benefit from that Con bonus.

[strangebloke]

Why play a half-orc wizard when you can play a hobgoblin wizard?

[MikeRoxTheBoat]

Relentless Endurance is good for anything. Their extra weapon damage on a critical is better for Hexblades, or something that is in melee. Considering you can eventually tote around a two-hander, make two attacks, and crit on a 19, Hexblade is the clear winner.

I'd say Hexblade > Other Warlocks = Wizards. Multiclassing might change everything slightly, but out of the box I feel it's accurate.

[SLOTHRPG95]

As has been mentioned, Menacing works better on a build that already cares about Charisma, and the bigger hit die makes you less flimsy. Also, Pact of the Blade'll mean you can have a bigger extra damage die to be adding on when you crit (Savage Attacks). I'd pick up a couple levels in Fighter or Barbarian before going Warlock, though. Both can add to survivability (esp. if you're not planning on going Hexblade), and they have their comparative pros and cons.

Barblock lets you rage with Armor of Agathys, and eventually with Fire Shield if you're a Fiendlock. Especially if you've gone three levels into Barbarian to pick up Bear Totem, you're talking half damage from (almost) everything while dishing out the pain every time you're hit. Even without burning spell slots, the THP from Fiendlock (arguably, depending on DM interpretation) last twice as long while Raging. With that said, you're a little MAD, caring not only about your Str and Cha (and Con, obviously), but also your Dex should be at least 14 to maximize your AC.

Fighter/Warlock doesn't have quite as juicy potential synergy, but heavy armor lets you dump Dex and be that much less MAD. Furthermore, the fighting style is nice, action surge is great, and if you want to go all the way to Fighter 3/Warlock X, you could try and crit-fish as a Champion, or get another short-rest resource via Battlemaster. Wouldn't recommend EK, since then you're juggling Int and back to being pretty MAD.

Overall, I think I'd go Fighter/Warlock, unless I was rolling for stats, and rolled rather well. In that case, a fiendish barblock is the way I'd go.

[Neoh]

DM for a game I'm applying to seems to really like my backstory but I wasn't decided on a class at the time and they said an arcane caster would be good as the party's lacking that at the moment.

Which led to me wondering if half-orcs make better wizards or warlocks (possible dips into fighter or barbarian to spruce up combat/tank/action stuff). It seems an intriguing roleplaying opportunity but I want to consider my options


Well in D&D you can play whatever you want and make it work. Some things are just a bit better and others a bit worse.

Are you rolling for stats? If so, it might facilitate the way you build your character, as Half-Orcs don't get any bonus to a casting stat.

Also you might want to consider a Bard, they can make a decent Warrior-Support Caster. Start with a level in Fighter for the proficiencies.

In your case, I would avoid Warlocks unless your group takes A LOT of short rests, their lack of spell slots really cripple them as a main arcane caster. Plus if you want to benefit from your strenght and go melee, you'll need the Pact of the Blade and won't be able to get the Pact of the Tome and its Ritual Casts.
I think a Sorcerer might fill the Warlock's place better

An Abjurer Wizard can be a cool melee caster build too but they only get a single attack per round.
You could try this : 1 or 3 level of Cleric (Life is nice for Heavy Armor and more healing, level 3 gets you more abjuration spells). Take the Booming Blade / Green Flame Blade cantrips and having only 1 attack isn't a problem anymore.
You only need 13 Wisdom too for multiclass, and take spells that don't scale on Wisdom.


If you want to go full caster and ignore your Strength bonus, well just do it.
If you're familiar with Critical Role, especially season 1, many of their characters weren't the most optimal race for the class they played and they still had a lot of fun.

Another problem though, if you already have your backstory, how will you weave your arcane nature into it? A Wizard needs to study a lot to cast spells, how do that fit into your backstory?
A Warlock just gets his power from a pact so it can pretty much fit anything, a Sorcerer is just born with it.
Bard I'm not even sure where they get their power from, I guess it's a bit of everything, innate talent and observation of other casters.


Well, in the end, do whatever you want and have fun with it. If it gets hard or frustrating because you're "late", talk with your GM and see if you can work out a solution to your problem.

[Crgaston]

Well in D&D you can play whatever you want and make it work. Some things are just a bit better and others a bit worse.

Are you rolling for stats? If so, it might facilitate the way you build your character, as Half-Orcs don't get any bonus to a casting stat.

Also you might want to consider a Bard, they can make a decent Warrior-Support Caster. Start with a level in Fighter for the proficiencies.

In your case, I would avoid Warlocks unless your group takes A LOT of short rests, their lack of spell slots really cripple them as a main arcane caster. Plus if you want to benefit from your strenght and go melee, you'll need the Pact of the Blade and won't be able to get the Pact of the Tome and its Ritual Casts.
I think a Sorcerer might fill the Warlock's place better

An Abjurer Wizard can be a cool melee caster build too but they only get a single attack per round.
You could try this : 1 or 3 level of Cleric (Life is nice for Heavy Armor and more healing, level 3 gets you more abjuration spells). Take the Booming Blade / Green Flame Blade cantrips and having only 1 attack isn't a problem anymore.
You only need 13 Wisdom too for multiclass, and take spells that don't scale on Wisdom.


If you want to go full caster and ignore your Strength bonus, well just do it.
If you're familiar with Critical Role, especially season 1, many of their characters weren't the most optimal race for the class they played and they still had a lot of fun.

Another problem though, if you already have your backstory, how will you weave your arcane nature into it? A Wizard needs to study a lot to cast spells, how do that fit into your backstory?
A Warlock just gets his power from a pact so it can pretty much fit anything, a Sorcerer is just born with it.
Bard I'm not even sure where they get their power from, I guess it's a bit of everything, innate talent and observation of other casters.


Well, in the end, do whatever you want and have fun with it. If it gets hard or frustrating because you're "late", talk with your GM and see if you can work out a solution to your problem.
Great post!
Re: Bards... they go to Colleges to learn their skills.

[SLOTHRPG95]

Great post!
Re: Bards... they go to Colleges to learn their skills.

Oh, well if Bard is on the table, I'd vote Valor Bard. That's my go-to for a caster who can also hold the front line decently well. I didn't mention it since OP originally only brought up Warlocks and Wizards.