Genie PACT + ??

[ravynwinter]

I am starting a game this week with two players. The other player is a Wizard/Artificer.

The DM has Strongly encouraged me to take Genie Warlock but also hinted that we should try to cover as many of the roles a full party would have as possible.

SO assuming I go to at least 3 levels in Warlock What would be the best class to pick up as a multi class?

I want to avoid MAD but I feel that I will need to be both the Face and Either DPS or Tank. The wizard will most likely be Control and Int based Skills

[Fnissalot]

Paladin! Just Paladin, great tank, dps, and fine face! Edit: and multiclasses very well with warlocks.

[ravynwinter]

Paladin! Just Paladin, great tank, dps, and fine face! Edit: and multiclasses very well with warlocks.

What mix would you suggest? Over the long Build

War 6/ Pal 14
War 8/Pal 12
War 12/Pal 8
War 14 /Pal 6

[rickayelm]

Depends on how high a level you are playing to. If going all the way to 20, genie gets wish at 17 and that's the best spell in the game.

[ravynwinter]

I would like to think we will get to 20 But I have never been in a game with this DM that got past 15.

Also which pact works best pact boon

[Aett_Thorn]

I would like to think we will get to 20 But I have never been in a game with this DM that got past 15.

Also which pact works best pact boon

I mean, as a duo, I’d say that a Wizard/Warlock combo isn’t that great. Especially if you’re going Genie Patron. But if this is the combo you’re going with, I’d say that Blade Pact will be best, and as such, you might want to go only Pally 2.

Now, why do I say Blade Pact? Well, mainly by elimination of the others:

Chain Pact gets you a great familiar, but the Wizard will likely already have a familiar, so while yours is better, it’s still a bit redundant.

Time Pact gets you versatility in Cantrips and Rituals, but the Wizard/Artificer will have both of those aspects covered as well. Sure, you could pick up Druid/Cleric cantrips and rituals, but how many really useful ones will you come across that also aren’t on the Wizard list?

So that leaves Blade Pact, which will allow you to get extra attack with an Invocation choice. Plus, if you’re likely to only get to level 15, and go Pally 6, that means you’ll only get to Warlock 9. So balancing the two classes while leveling up might be difficult. Going only Pally 2 means you get the armor and fighting style and some smaller smites, without too much burden on your Warlock levels.

[ravynwinter]

I mean, as a duo, I’d say that a Wizard/Warlock combo isn’t that great. Especially if you’re going Genie Patron. But if this is the combo you’re going with,

I hear you on the warlock wizard combo. Let's say I ignore the warlock either don't take the GM recommendation or take 1 level and then just lean into something totally different for 14-19 levels. What would you suggest to go with the Wizard?

[Warlush]

I'd MC into Lore Bard. Warlock brings the pain, Bard brings the rest.

[BerzerkerUnit]

Go straight warlock, Genie is so good I can’t imagine delaying its features. Chain pact so you can nope out of combats by jumping in your lamp/ring/bottle and having the invisible familiar carry it away.

[cutlery]

I am starting a game this week with two players. The other player is a Wizard/Artificer.

The DM has Strongly encouraged me to take Genie Warlock but also hinted that we should try to cover as many of the roles a full party would have as possible.

SO assuming I go to at least 3 levels in Warlock What would be the best class to pick up as a multi class?

I want to avoid MAD but I feel that I will need to be both the Face and Either DPS or Tank. The wizard will most likely be Control and Int based Skills

Warlocks can do damage and be a face right out of the box; any patron, any pact.

[BloodSnake'sCha]

If you go paladin, I recommend 11/9 or 9/11.
It is the best split IMO.
Lock 14/paladin 6 is also nice,
Lock 18 paladin 2 is nice
Paladin 18 lock 2 is also nice.

I would say go sorcelock.
2-3 warlock and the rest sorcerer.

[Grod_The_Giant]

I hear you on the warlock wizard combo. Let's say I ignore the warlock either don't take the GM recommendation or take 1 level and then just lean into something totally different for 14-19 levels. What would you suggest to go with the Wizard?
Straight Paladin. Wizards get control, knowledge, and utility; Paladins get tankiness, socialization, healing, and damage.

[Vogie]

I mean, at the very least, a combo of Paladin 6 / Warlock 3 is a fine combo to start with.
You can go the Superblaster Route, Going blade pact and grabbing Lifedrinker at Warlock 12 and 3 Short rest Smite Slots.
Alternatively you can lean into the Various Paladin Oaths

a Conquest paladin would lean on the Warlock's plethora of frightening spells to keep the people in "the zone", and can use the Chain Familiar to hit priority targets with Bestow Curse at range.
A Vengeance Paladin would, on the other hand, lean more on their paladin level abilities (and HASTE!)
An Ancients Paladin could lean almost entirely on the Paladin side - the 6th level ability of a Genielock is a bit redundant when you have resistance to everything. Unless, of course, you go Dao, which gives resistance to bludgeoning damage. That being said, being a flying Smiteadin is probably superfun.

[Fable Wright]

Go straight warlock, Genie is so good I can’t imagine delaying its features. Chain pact so you can nope out of combats by jumping in your lamp/ring/bottle and having the invisible familiar carry it away.

So very much this. I could at least understand an argument for going Genie 2/Sor 18 for the Quicken Eldritch Blast spam build (which is pretty high up in the DPS tiers) or Genie 3/Sorc 17 for QEB spam as a Coffeelock. A good set of battlefield control from the Wizard could make a front-line DPR basically meaningless.

But even then, Genie Patron is so good that I'd hesitate. Tome or Chain Pact probably being the best of the bunch, for invisible companion stuff vs access to clerical Divination spells. Blade pact makes your DPR, survivability, and utility go down compared to just doing EB spam, so why?

[Evaar]

Are you set on Genie pact? Because in the scenario you describe where it's just the two of you, I'd recommend the first build in this thread:
https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?583957-An-Eclectic-Collection-of-Fun-and-Effective-Builds

That said, if you ARE set on Genie, you can probably still pull off this build and only really lose out on the healing options - your Artificer buddy can kind of pick up the slack there. If your genie patron is a Dao, you will add extra Bludgeoning damage to your attacks with Shillelagh and Booming Blade or Greenflame Blade - the extra damage is once per turn, so you don't lose out on synergy by using SCAG cantrips instead of Eldritch Blast when the situation calls for it. Also of note, the text I'm seeing only says you have to be touching the vessel, not wielding it, so you theoretically should be able to use a staff and shield while wearing your vessel as a necklace or whatever. One of the options is a ring with a compartment, so you can certainly wear that while using a weapon and shield.

Dao gets you bludgeoning resistance later, which will probably be handy if you're going to be up front. However, there are thematic arguments to go with Djinn (for Booming Blade) or Efreet (for Greenflame Blade), and fire resistance from Efreet isn't going to be wasted. Thunder resistance from Djinn probably won't come up much, but you'll likely encounter it a handful of times.

With Dao I can see using Booming Blade on an enemy, then self-casting Sanctuary with a bonus action, then it has to decide on its turn whether it's going to move to go after your buddy and trigger the Booming Blade effect (and possibly an opportunity attack if you're up to Warcaster and willing to break Sanctuary), or if it's going to keep trying to attack you through the Sanctuary. Spike Growth is also quite good for controlling the battlefield - and the fact that you can both use Spike Growth and push enemies with Repelling Blast as an invocation is a very nasty combo, albeit not really one for melee.

The Efreet spell list isn't great, being mostly blasting effects, but you do get Fire Shield a little later which is nice. Djinn gets Greater Invisibility, which is also nice... but if you're tanking you need to make sure you've got your targets locked down pretty well if you're going to turn yourself invisible. Warcaster Booming Blade can do that to some degree, so it could work out decently.

So with all that, if I'm doing Genie pact in this scenario, I would likely stay pure Warlock and pick a Dao patron, Pact of the Tome, grab Shillelagh with that and the SCAG cantrips, then I can tank/damage/control while the artificer wizard supports and controls. I'm going variant human so I can start with Medium Armor Proficiency for sure, then getting Warcaster at 4. After those critical tools are in place there's a little more flexibility, but you'll probably just want to pump Charisma.

Actually got myself kind of excited to try this out. Maybe I'll give that a go.