Rod of the Pact Keeper, Familiar & the Genie Warlock's Vessel?

[Citadel97501]

Hello all, am I missing something or is the Rod of the Pact Keeper even better for a Genie Warlock since you can use it to improve the AC of your Vessel, and it will improve your familiar's poison DC as well if you have "Investment of the Chain Master"? Together these just really push you to wanting a Rod of the Pact Keeper even more than you would for other warlocks?

[Wraith]

The Vessel's DC is equal to your Spell Save DC, so yes - anything that change your DC, affects the AC. That makes perfect sense.

And yes, Investment of the Chain Master works that way - any saving throw inflicted by your familiar becomes your Save DC, so again anything which effects that would get passed on.

It also affects creatures summoned via spell - Summon Aberration, for example, can call forth a Star Spawn whose Whispering Aura (creatures within 5ft save vs WIS or take Psychic Damage) also uses your own Spell DC. Also applies to a Summoned Fiend's Death Throes ability.

So, yes. It's a really great item for the class it was made for, and doubly so if you like summoning creature with spells or abilities. Probably the best class-specific item for a Warlock? Very likely, I'd have thought. But then, *every* class has an item that is "best" for it so that's not necessarily a bad thing? Unless you happen to be in a party with more than Warlock arguing over who gets it, of course. :smalltongue:

[Gale]

A Rod of the Pact Keeper does not directly increase your Spell Save DC, rather it gives you a "bonus to spell attack rolls and to the saving throw DCs of your warlock spells."

Compare it to the Robe of the Archmagi that explicitly says, "Your spell save DC and spell attack bonus each increase by 2."

The distinction is that your spell save DC is used for multiple different things, such as determining the AC of a Genie Warlock's vessel. The saving throw DC of your warlock spells is determined by your spell save DC, but they're not always one and the same. You can modify one without changing the other.

Your DM might rule otherwise, but generally speaking the designers try and be as precise as possible with the language they use to describe game effects. If the Rod of the Pact Keeper was meant to increase your Spell Save DC overall, then it would have said that instead of specifying warlock spells only.