Celestial/Divine Sorlock

[Dragonsonthemap]

Hello playground,

I'm working on a character for a high-level campaign (starting 15th and continuing to 20th) which will be alongside a group of mostly returning character from previous campaigns in this setting, the intent being a sort of all-stars finale to its myth arc. I think I'm the only player who hasn't played in this setting before, although not everyone else has played in it the same number of times.

Since the campaign is supposed to be about fighting a multiverse-eating corruption, and I'm known in my play group for liking to play clerics, I thought it would be fun to lean as hard as possible into the divine agent angle and play a Protector Aasimar Divine Soul Sorcerer/Celestial Pact Warlock. However, I'm a little concerned about building this, because the DM is known for being lethal and it's well established that I'm worse at optimizing than the other players. Is this build viable? What should the level balance be? Are there any dips I should consider?

Thanks, everyone!

[Keravath]

Hello playground,

I'm working on a character for a high-level campaign (starting 15th and continuing to 20th) which will be alongside a group of mostly returning character from previous campaigns in this setting, the intent being a sort of all-stars finale to its myth arc. I think I'm the only player who hasn't played in this setting before, although not everyone else has played in it the same number of times.

Since the campaign is supposed to be about fighting a multiverse-eating corruption, and I'm known in my play group for liking to play clerics, I thought it would be fun to lean as hard as possible into the divine agent angle and play a Protector Aasimar Divine Soul Sorcerer/Celestial Pact Warlock. However, I'm a little concerned about building this, because the DM is known for being lethal and it's well established that I'm worse at optimizing than the other players. Is this build viable? What should the level balance be? Are there any dips I should consider?

Thanks, everyone!

It should be completely viable though from an optimization viewpoint some might suggest hexblade instead of celestial warlock. However, if you have enough ASI, you could pick up moderately armored for medium armor+shield use. Celestial is definitely thematic for the concept you have in mind.

You would need to take the Eldritch blast cantrip and agonizing blast invocation since this will be your single target damage dealing mechanism. It goes up to 4 bolts at 17th level and you will have more than enough sorcery points to quicken it regularly. This is your "bread and butter" ranged attack.

Other than that, pick whatever cleric or sorcerer spells fit your concept and work with the party. You probably want a mix of damage/control/buff with the opponent focused spells targeting a range of saves. Level split wise, you probably want to aim for 17 sorcerer/3 warlock at most (for access to 9th level spells). It could be 18 and 2 depending on what 18th level features you might get vs the level 3 warlock pact boon (either tome or chain). Tome warlock would be good because you get a number of utility rituals that you can avoid taking as spells ... detect magic, identify, find familiar, comprehend languages among others. Chain has the best familiar choices in the game.

The hardest part of this character is selecting the spells since there are so many good choices and so few spells known.

If you go 17/3 and start 12/3 - keep in mind that you won't get the 9th level spells until level 20.

[Unoriginal]

Have you selected which pact you want for your Celestial Warlock? They're all pretty nice but you end up with quite a bit different character depending which you take.


It should be completely viable though from an optimization viewpoint some might suggest hexblade instead of celestial warlock. However, if you have enough ASI, you could pick up moderately armored for medium armor+shield use. Celestial is definitely thematic for the concept you have in mind.

You would need to take the Eldritch blast cantrip and agonizing blast invocation since this will be your single target damage dealing mechanism. It goes up to 4 bolts at 17th level and you will have more than enough sorcery points to quicken it regularly. This is your "bread and butter" ranged attack.

Celestial Warlock get to add their CHA to damage for fire and radiant Cantrips (and spells) without needing Agonizing Blast, so they're less reliant on Eldritch Blast for their "bread and butter" than other Warlocks.

Also worth noting that it applies to the spells the PC gets from the Divine Sorcerer too, so selecting offensive Sorcerer/Cleric spells which deal fire or radiant damage is worthwhile.

Not to say that Agonizing Blast would be wasted, because it does pack quite a punch, but you can not take it and select another Invocation without fearing for the damage output.

[Keravath]

Have you selected which pact you want for your Celestial Warlock? They're all pretty nice but you end up with quite a bit different character depending which you take.



Celestial Warlock get to add their CHA to damage for fire and radiant Cantrips (and spells) without needing Agonizing Blast, so they're less reliant on Eldritch Blast for their "bread and butter" than other Warlocks.

Also worth noting that it applies to the spells the PC gets from the Divine Sorcerer too, so selecting offensive Sorcerer/Cleric spells which deal fire or radiant damage is worthwhile.

Not to say that Agonizing Blast would be wasted, because it does pack quite a punch, but you can not take it and select another Invocation without fearing for the damage output.

This is only really true if you plan on at least 6 levels of celestial warlock. It is completely viable but in a high level game, you will be giving up access to level 8 and 9 spells since you will have only 14 levels of sorcerer. In addition, the ability will only be added once on each cantrip for a total of +5 while for agonizing blast, the charisma is added to each bolt for a total possible +20 at level 17. So although it isn't terrible, agonizing blast is clearly better. Considering it costs only one invocation and one cantrip, does force damage which is rarely resisted, and is available for 2 levels of warlock ... I'm not sure why you wouldn't take it.

[Gtdead]

Celestial Warlock get to add their CHA to damage for fire and radiant Cantrips (and spells) without needing Agonizing Blast, so they're less reliant on Eldritch Blast for their "bread and butter" than other Warlocks.


They get radiant soul at lvl 6. Sorlock doesn't get so many levels. Perhaps you had the old UA version in mind?

For the build:

Sorlock works well as a sorcerer 7/lock 2 or 3 split. This is because lvl 3 and 4 spells are awesome so MCing out of sorcerer is done on a high point. Then warlock comes, adding slots on sort rest and agonizing blast and the build can ride this high all the way up to T4.

In this case the campaign starts at lvl 15. I think it's a waste to not go sorc 15 and wait 2 levels for wish. Wish simulacrum doubles your spell list, your concentration and your action economy. There is nothing that can be gained by warlock that beats that. 4 firebolts are better than 2 EBs and you have sacred flame for fire resistance enemies.

So my suggestion is go sorc 15 -> 17 and then add the warlock levels.

I think that a sorcerer 15 is weaker than sorlock 15. But I still think it's the better choice.

If you think you prefer warlock, I'd still start 13 sorc/2 lock and go 17 sorc/2 lock.

[Naanomi]

Under current aasimar fluff, isn't that just like... a really strong aasimar with no class levels?

[Dragonsonthemap]

Under current aasimar fluff, isn't that just like... a really strong aasimar with no class levels?

Precisely.

[Chugger]

Honestly I'd go divine sorc 1, hexblade 2, then div sorc the rest.

If DM is lethal, you need AC. Hexblade gives you ac 14, plus shield, plus do 14 dex. You start at 18 AC and you get _shield_, also from hexblade. Sure a bit extra healing from celest warlock would be nice, but it is almost worthless, imho, compared to what you get from hexblade.

Take agonizing blast and w/e other invo you want. I'd pick Hex, Shield and Armor of Agathys.

Get your healing from divine sorc - it's enough. When you can afford better armor, your AC goes up to 17 + 2 + 2 or 21, or 26 on a round you shield. You can upcast Armor of Agathys. Any turn you think the enemy is about to really hit you hard with melee, you can quicken cast blade ward and still have an action to cast a spell or EB. Let's say you used a lvl 4 slot to do AoA - and you did blade ward. That's 20 extra hp and each time a creature hits you, it takes 20 cold damage. Ouch. Well, if it hits you for 16 damage and then 9 damage, your AoA is gone - but if you did blade ward you've take 8 and then 4 damage - you still have 8 points of shield. Its next turn it hits you for 12 damqage but that's only 6 - you still have AoA - it's next hit drops your AoA, but you've done 80 cold instead of 40 and you took almost no damage yourself.

If you have leather armor, no shield - or you take the mage armor invocation - but no shield and no shield spell - a mean DM is gonna kill you, the only question is how long are you gonna last. If your AC is high, then stupid high with shield spell, and you got all this other stuff, you should endure.

A sorlock's main job is single target damage, quicken casting EB and hex + ago blast on important fights. The other stuff - the flexibility to heal, buff, debuff, control that comes from divine sorc - is icing on the cake. I would never pick celestial unless hexblade is forbidden by a DM. You only need warlock for 2 levels, maybe 3 if you want chain or tome, and the rest needs to be sorc for you to be a powerful sorlock. If you go celest I'd pick one level of anything else that grants medium armor and shield - fighter or cleric or w/e.

[x3n0n]

To pick up much of the Hexblade benefit with a different patron, you can give up half an ASI to take the Moderately Armored feat (bump Dex) as in LudicSavant's Celestial Generalist in the Fun and Effective Builds thread (which is worth reading for Celestial build ideas anyway, IMO).

[Chugger]

To pick up much of the Hexblade benefit with a different patron, you can give up half an ASI to take the Moderately Armored feat (bump Dex) as in LudicSavant's Celestial Generalist in the Fun and Effective Builds thread (which is worth reading for Celestial build ideas anyway, IMO).

Good point, but I'd rather use the ASI for something else. But if hexblade is forbidden - or if a player finds hexblade to be just too cheesy and refuses it, this is an option.

[Satori01]

A Protector Aas + 10 levels of Celestial Warlock is a good Temp HP sprinkler.

The subclass is granting you 15 THP, your party gets 10 THP, after every SR and LR.
(Up to 5 creatures I believe).

Now also take the Inspiring Leader feat. The feat allows an additional time per SR, for you to grant up to your Character level in THP to your party and yourself.

You have 30 THP per SR, your party 25.

You want to take the Create Bonfire Cantrip. Your subclass granted, Radiant Soul power makes this awesome. (Your Race granted Radiant Soul makes it devastating to one person per turn).

I would still take Eldritch Blast and at least Repelling Blast.. being able to move any creature in the multiverse just by hitting them with EB, no Saving Throw allowed...is true magic. You also can push creatures into your Wall spells.

Any Pact type will do. I am not normally a big fan of Pact of the Chain, but the Gift of the Ever Living Ones Invocation allows you to treat all dice results for regaining Hit Points to be treated as the maximal amount. Provided, your Familiar is nearby.

This will include any Hit Dice you spend in Short Rests, the 11d6 pool of Healing Light dice you can use to heal yourself with, (up to 30 HP as a Bonus Action), or any cure spell cast on you.

If you are still worried about dying take the Tomb of Levistus Invocation, and upcast Aid to boost your Hit Point Maximum.

I think, you can be a very tough nut to crack.

One side note, going to 11th level as a Celestial Lock will net you one 6th Level Mystic Arcanum, which can be Soul Cages.

[Greywander]

A Protector Aas + 10 levels of Celestial Warlock is a good Temp HP sprinkler.

The subclass is granting you 15 THP, your party gets 10 THP, after every SR and LR.
(Up to 5 creatures I believe).

Now also take the Inspiring Leader feat. The feat allows an additional time per SR, for you to grant up to your Character level in THP to your party and yourself.

You have 30 THP per SR, your party 25.
Temp HP doesn't stack. Inspiring Leader is stronger than what Celestial warlocks get, but you could spend that feat on something else instead.


I am not normally a big fan of Pact of the Chain,
To each their own, but I find Pact of the Chain to be a very nice utility feature. Tome is good, too, but requires a deep investment into warlock to get the most out of, and redundant if you have other ritual casters in the party. Blade is meh, I'd only get it if I was specifically building a gish and needed the invocations. Chain is my default pact, an imp is exceedingly useful both in and out of combat.

[Chugger]

I agree w/ Greywander that pact of the chain is nice.

In general, I'm seeing people suggesting many levels of warlock for this build. I really think Sorlock is most effective w/ warlock only going 2 or 3 levels. You want lots of sorc pts for many quicken castings per game day, unless you're making some weird new build that doesn't rely on quickening EB for great single target damage.

Honestly, when I make Sorlock I only go 2 levels of hexblade for it, and that's it - 17 in Sorcerer. If I play to 20 I get wish. I am only 2 levels behind on Sorc spells. Sorc spells are really good, and I want them - I'm not going to EB every turn. And if I'm a divine soul sorc, I want certain cleric spells, too - there are some really great cleric spells.

Imho anything like a 10/10 or 8/12 split in sorlock is weak. You don't really get enough from warlock to justify that - or if you want that much from warlock, just play straight warlock.

When you go lvl 1 sorc, lvl 2 and 3 warlock, then lvl 4 and 5 sorlock and hit overall lvl 5 (sorc 3/lock2), you're not bad at lvl 5. You don't have fireball or hyp pat, yet, but you can quicken cast a few turns of EB (4 EBs a turn) - for the important fights. At lvl 7 overall (sorc 5/lock 2) you now get fireball, hyp pattern or other great lvl 3 spells. You have a lot of flexibility now. If the fight offers a chance to AoE - you fireball. If the fight really needs some control, you can control. If there's ranged single target damage that needs doing, you hit like a fright train - when you can hex and quicken. You can do other useful spells - counterspell and so on. But if you're playing up warlock 8 or 10 levels first, you're really a warlock - and then what are you getting from sorc at that level? You're gimping your warlock progression. Anyway, do what you want - in general most multiclass builds work with just a few levels in something and then focusing on something else. There are exceptions of course, but the classic sorlock build is sorc x /warlock 2 (maybe 3).

[Gtdead]

I agree with Chugger. Since the OP said that the DM tends to be lethal, going to tier 4 without some way to get wish is a hard sell. If there is a spell that changes the landscape dramatically, this is it.

[MinotaurWarrior]

If they were starting at level 17, I'd agree with going pure sorcerer, but if OP wants to be a sorlock putting off his concept for ~half the game doesn't seem worth it.

[Unoriginal]

Maybe we need to look at it from another angle.

What would 3 levels of Celestial Warlock bring to the table?

-Eldritch Blast (well, 2 cantrips among which Eldritch Blast can be selected)

-A pool of four d6s of bonus action healing, which are subjected to the Divine Soul's Empowered Healing feature.

-Light and Sacred Flame cantrips for free

-2 Invocations

-2 2nd level spell slots and 4 spell known

-Pact of the Chain, Pact of the Tome or Pact of the Blade, which all add nice options to the Sorcerer's toolkit.


That makes the character miss out on Unearthly Recovery, though, but the tradeoff can be more than worthwhile.

[x3n0n]

Maybe we need to look at it from another angle.

What would 3 levels of Celestial Warlock bring to the table?


Nice summary!

'lock 1 isn't worth it
2 gets you invocations as described by others
3 as described above (if stopping before 'lock 5, I'd take Chain Pact here unless you really really want Cha Shillelagh)
4 gets you an ASI and another cantrip
5 gets Tome to 3rd-lvl rituals
6 gets Radiant Soul
7-9 are pretty dry when you compare caster progression vs sorcerer, I think
10 gets Celestial Radiance
11 gets your 3rd slot and first mystic arcanum

I think 2, 3, and 6 are obvious break points.

Starting at 2/13 gives you the freedom to decide, unless you really want to start with a familiar.

[Satori01]

Temp HP doesn't stack. Inspiring Leader is stronger than what Celestial warlocks get, but you could spend that feat on something else instead.


Of course Temp HP don't stack. That is why I indicated that you are applying two applications of Temp HP per Short Rest, in my initial post.

The Inspiring Leader Feat allows each character to have their own Temp HP timer, a feature the Subclass ability does not have.

Thus if the Fighter took a critical hit and has no Temp HP remaining, but the Wizard still has their full amount, you can use the Feat,( and ten minutes), to reapply the THP to the Fighter, only. Later you could use the IL feat on the Wizard.

When things get dicey, turtle out the danger in the Magic Ice Cube of Levistus and use Revivify on the remains of the PCs.

In higher Tiers a Familiar is just not as useful, especially in an Epic Style Tier 4.
Gift of the Ever Living Ones is certainly useful, so keep the Familiar safe.

[Bobthewizard]

In general for sorlock, I like warlock 3/ sorcerer X, not just for the pact, but it doubles your short rest sorcery points from 2 to 4, assuming that's what you use your warlock spell slots on. It's great for extending a sorcerer's longevity.

The exception to this is if no one else has access to Leomunds tiny hut (so no bard or wizard in the party), then I would go pact of the tome, book of ancient secrets and take warlock to 5.

So I'd likely start warlock 3/sorcerer 12, but might start warlock 5/sorcerer 7 depending on the party.

I love the moderately armored feat for this character. Then likely resilient con and +2 Cha. I'd rather start with the warlock's wisdom save and add resilient con so I can add the point to constitution.