How to role-play using CHA for attack and damage

[Hiro Quester]

I'm about to stat a new campaign. Playing a Bard/Hexblade (deepish in to each, Bard1/Hexblade 5/ then more of each to Bard8/Hexblade12 probably).

My character is "fabulous". Probably going into Glamor bard, for roleplaying reasons.

I'm trying to make roleplaying sense of using Charisma to attack and damage. When I take the first level of Hexblade at level 2, what changes in my attack style, from a roleplaying perspective?

I mean, how precisely am I charming or persuading the hit points off an opponent?

The best I can imagine perhaps something like performing martial arts moves, with swaggering and distracting blade flourishes that serve not much martial purpose, but look really flamboyantly cool, and intimidate, surprise, distract and mislead the opponent enough to get through his defenses.

Can anyone suggest other ways to describe what I'm doing as I attack?

[Warder]

What you're describing doesn't sound anything like Hex Warrior to me, imho - you should do what makes sense for your character, of course, but I've always interpreted using CHA for your attacks as being able to magically (mystically?) use your sheer force of will/personality to imbue your weapons with power. You shear through your enemy's defenses because you will your weapons to be able to do that. That having been said, I think it's more important that you try to make it work with your character, of course. But it makes far more sense to treat Hex Warrior as a magical ability rather than a fighting style, as a CHA-based fighting style probably wouldn't work well on certain opponents, like undead and non-intelligent monsters.

[JonBeowulf]

To add a little bit to what Warder said, CHA is more than being a cool, attractive, skilled talker. It's force of personality.

[Pex]

You are using feints to trick your opponent. You are able to convince him you'll attack his left side, but you quickly switch to his right side when he covers his left.

You trick your opponent to fight recklessly. You convince him you are not competent or at least the inferior foe he lets his guard down to focus more on his offense.

You speak witty insults and other non-magical vicious mockery to annoy your opponent and lose his focus in combat. You get him to look when you shout "What's that?", "Your shoe laces are untied.", or "Your epidermis is showing!".

[Waazraath]

I think from here there are some helpful suggestions: https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0390.html

;-)

[mucat]

I agree with Warder and Jon. You are not "charming or pursuading hit points off" anyone. You're closer to what a sorcerer does: you are bending the fight toward YOUR preferred reality, because you are just that badass.

[Stangler]

I think of the hex blade as being the power behind the ability and it takes force of will(charisma) to harness the magical power. The blade does the rest.

[quindraco]

I'm about to stat a new campaign. Playing a Bard/Hexblade (deepish in to each, Bard1/Hexblade 5/ then more of each to Bard8/Hexblade12 probably).

My character is "fabulous". Probably going into Glamor bard, for roleplaying reasons.

I'm trying to make roleplaying sense of using Charisma to attack and damage. When I take the first level of Hexblade at level 2, what changes in my attack style, from a roleplaying perspective?

I mean, how precisely am I charming or persuading the hit points off an opponent?

The best I can imagine perhaps something like performing martial arts moves, with swaggering and distracting blade flourishes that serve not much martial purpose, but look really flamboyantly cool, and intimidate, surprise, distract and mislead the opponent enough to get through his defenses.

Can anyone suggest other ways to describe what I'm doing as I attack?

You can reflavor anything however you want... but the core of why you attack using Charisma has nothing to do with being charismatic towards your opponent. That's why the ability works even if you, say, attack a chair.

The fluff behind a Hexblade is that you've pacted with a mysterious entity from the Shadowfell responsible for forging a bunch of weapons, the most notable of which is the Blackrazor. The entity in question is widely speculated to be the Raven Queen, but the entity doesn't admit that. All of that can be reflavored however you want, but I wanted to explicitly point out that despite weird internet memes to the contrary, there's no WOTC-provided reason to think you've pacted with a weapon-shaped entity. It's also certain, as it is with all Warlocks, you're not actually carrying your patron around strapped to your hip or back, barring a very strange campaign - the entity is many orders of magnitude more powerful than you are, it doesn't need you as some sort of wheelchair.

At any rate, the reason you swing the weapon with Charisma is that you're swinging it like you used to, with no changes, except that your patron has taught you how to move the weapon with your will - you have to be touching the weapon to do this, but it's basically short range telekinesis. The more willpower you apply, the more velocity you can lend to your weapon, so the harder you hit and harder the weapon is to dodge. It's just like swinging with Strength.

Note that outside of Wisdom saves being used for mind control - which has been weird for multiple editions now - Charisma has been the most appropriate ability modifier for Willpower since always. Wisdom is for intuition, but Charisma is for force of of personality. It's like how Paladin magic is powered by confidence, i.e. the more a Paladin thinks they're right, the more reality abides by what they think. Just as Paladin magic is powered by willpower, your weapon swings are now powered by willpower. It's not about lying to the chair when you hit a chair really hard - it's about willing the sword to destroy the chair, and the sword obeying you.

[Gignere]

You can also flavor it as channeling energy from your patron into your blade and striking with such energy. Almost like anime fighting where they imbue their weapons with a massive amount of chi/ki, therefore making the attack from said weapon unstoppable.

[KorvinStarmast]

The blade does the rest. It's like in golfing: let the club do the work. :smallwink: (Advice helpful to avoid overswinging and trying to 'help' the ball into the air which usually ends up with a thin shot)

[Gtdead]

Hmm, I view CHA dependency as a very singular and determined person when push comes to shove. I always roleplayed my characters based on the highest mental stat, and the way I envision them is something like this:

An intelligent person acts like he has everything figured out and entertains himself with different possibilities and outcomes.
A wise person is more of a stoic. Exercises caution, lets bygones be bygones and knows that he has to prepare for the worst.
The charismatic person brings the addictive passion that makes everyone else want to join in the charge. You can fluff it as if your passion drives your strikes. No technique and power behind them. It only happens because you believe it will happen.

[solidork]

The way I would fluff it is to sort of have your fighting style ignore physics. Like, a weapon in your hands moves like it doesn't weigh anything and cuts deeper than it should based on how much effort it looks like you're putting into it.

Even a really strong person using a sword has to visibly account for things like momentum and you can visibly see them put effort into swinging it around. It would be subtly unsettling to fight someone that could ignore that. You expect the attack to have to force behind it, but it cuts deep.

Edit: The reason for fluffing it this way is that the raw force of your will overcomes petty things like physics. Its an innately magical fighting style.

[JackPhoenix]

I'm reminded of the duel between Temba and Horus from 40k book False Gods: Temba got corrupted by Chaos and had a daemonic sword. It was noted he never was very good swordsman, and he certainly wasn't a match for a primarch physically, but he still managed to not only hold his own, but wound Horus (which almost killed him, thanks to the power of the sword). Horus noted during the duel he feels like he's not fighting the man, but the sword itself, and the wielder is just an accessory.

Which makes sense... Hexblade doesn't get to use Cha with just any weapon, but only with the one chosen at the end of a long rest (or summoned through blade pact). Any other weapon, even otherwise entirely identical one, and the warlock has to rely on his physical ability like everyone else. So it's not about what the wielder does, but what the weapon itself is capable of.

[ProsecutorGodot]

It depends how you flavor your interpretation of a Hexblade

In our version of FR, a Hexblade is created through personally sacrificing a bit of your soul to a power who can shape it into an object for the purpose of making a weapon. Said object affixes itself to your weapon after the long rest (or manifests the blade from itself if you have blade pact) and your soul suspended in the item fuels your combat prowess.

My Paladin, for example, died young. He was resurrected against his will, and during the process made a pact that he doesn't remember the specifics of. What he gave up was his physical strength and youth, figuring it did no good for him before. He became much older and weaker physically but his ability to make use of martial weapons that he trained with in his youth is maintained within the object from his patron.

[Trask]

I've always interpreted it as the warlock's weapon being at least a little bit sentient, it guides the wielder's hand in combat and can even sort of help in combat by moving itself in their wielder's hand, almost like pulling.

This is largely because IMO the inspiration for the Hexblade is clearly Elric of Melnibone and his sentient magic sword "Stormbringer". Elric himself is actually rather fragile and not all that strong (read: spellcaster) but his sword is so powerful that it more than makes up the difference.

The Hexblade's weapon is a conduit into which the warlock's patron pours their magic power for the warlock to use. The warlock's magic (their charisma, which is representative of their bond with their patron) is all they need. I think that imagining it for their character is up to the player really.

[Hiro Quester]

Thanks, everyone. That is all very helpful.

Thinking of the character as being empowered by the shadowfell entity to magically move the weapon through sheer force of will, personality or passion, seems a very promising way to roleplay this.

Like my bard’s charisma-powered magic, I bend reality to my will. Just as I passionately force you to obey my command spell, I passionately force my sword to stab you.

This is because the reality where you obey my command, and the reality where my sword stabs you, is what I passionately and fervently believe must happen.

[da newt]

Everything you need can be found here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDlZ_SXx5gA

[Witty Username]

I would play up my attacks as magical in some way, the hexblade/swords bard I had used a Rod of Lordly Might as his pact weapon so I had some advantages there. if you use a blade describe your blade twisting, bending or phasing to strike its target, or hissing and burning when it stikes an enemy. Remember a weapon is your patron, with pact of the blade your weapon could be your patron, a will that can be coaxed to do your enemies harm it could move on its own using your body as a puppet.
And be classy while you do it (but that is redundant, you are already a bard).