War/War/War Warlock Trifecta

[Chalkarts]

Is it possible to Multi-Class from Warlock to Warlock?
If I go to level 5 with my GOO Chainlock, could I then seek out another patron and multi into Fiend Tomelock and just be the servant of two masters, maybe three if I find a Fey willing to hire me to multi into Bladelock.

Is this possible?

[bid]

Is this possible?
No.:smallsigh:

[Saelethil]

Story wise? Sure, could be interesting.
Mechanically? Only if your GM is ok with it. I could be wrong but I’m pretty sure the classes weren’t intended for internal multi-classing so it would take some house-ruling and homebrewing.

[P. G. Macer]

Is it possible to Multi-Class from Warlock to Warlock?
If I go to level 5 with my GOO Chainlock, could I then seek out another patron and multi into Fiend Tomelock and just be the servant of two masters, maybe three if I find a Fey willing to hire me to multi into Bladelock.

Is this possible?

No, it is not. The closest thing RAW to achieving what you want is the “Changing your Subclass” rules at the beginning of Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything, but even there you’re still only one subclass at a time.

If you need an in-world justification for this, just consider all possible patrons as jealous and possessive, and forbidding pacts with others. Granted, the Great Old Ones not needing to be aware of their warlocks puts a damper on this. A more metaphysics-defining alternative is that when one makes a warlock pact, one irrevocably binds oneself to an otherworldly entity, and the reason one can’t have more than one kind of Patron at a time is that one’s essence/soul/name/etc. is already bound to another. Changing Patrons is still possible in that one needs only be bound to a Patron after making such a pact, not necessarily the same one forever (Warlocks making Pacts with Devils should note that contractual Terms and Conditions may apply).

[DwarfFighter]

Is it possible to Multi-Class from Warlock to Warlock?
If I go to level 5 with my GOO Chainlock, could I then seek out another patron and multi into Fiend Tomelock and just be the servant of two masters, maybe three if I find a Fey willing to hire me to multi into Bladelock.

Is this possible?

I think the "servant of two masters" thing is entirely anathema to the concept of the Warlock class, though. Whoever is granting you your powers is gonna want total dedication in return, they aren't just glorified vending machines of power ups.

You can homebrew anything, however, so check with your DM.

[Dienekes]

I think the "servant of two masters" thing is entirely anathema to the concept of the Warlock class, though. Whoever is granting you your powers is gonna want total dedication in return, they aren't just glorified vending machines of power ups.

You can homebrew anything, however, so check with your DM.

In fairness, GOOlock specifies the possibility of stealing the power from the sleeping Old One. Which for many Fiends might tickle them pink. So lorewise it’s not the most unheard of thing.

But also, I think this runs a bit into some of the problems with gameplay/story segregation. Since just looking at the mechanics of the class, Warlock really is just a vending machine for power ups. I’m pretty sure there is no mechanic even mentioned of a patron actually making the warlock do anything or lose their powers.

[Unoriginal]

I think the "servant of two masters" thing is entirely anathema to the concept of the Warlock class, though. Whoever is granting you your powers is gonna want total dedication in return, they aren't just glorified vending machines of power ups.

While a Warlock can have an active "I do what you want and you give me power" deal with their Patron, it's often a "I did that one thing for you, you gave me the spark of power, and we went our separate way" transaction too.

For an in-setting justification, I'd say it's more mutually exclusive power sources.


I suppose you could RP a Warlock taking Eldritch Adept as getting a second patron, but eh IDK.


In fairness, GOOlock specifies the possibility of stealing the power from the sleeping Old One. Which for many Fiends might tickle them pink. So lorewise it’s not the most unheard of thing.

But also, I think this runs a bit into some of the problems with gameplay/story segregation. Since just looking at the mechanics of the class, Warlock really is just a vending machine for power ups. I’m pretty sure there is no mechanic even mentioned of a patron actually making the warlock do anything or lose their powers.

The game's writers addressed that, to them the default was that once the Warlock gets the spark of power from the Patron, the Patron can't take it back. A specific Patron could add a clause saying "if you don't do X/Y/Z you lose your powers", but it doesn't have to be.

[Dienekes]

The game's writers addressed that, to them the default was that once the Warlock gets the spark of power from the Patron, the Patron can't take it back. A specific Patron could add a clause saying "if you don't do X/Y/Z you lose your powers", but it doesn't have to be.

They do. But that still leaves the Warlock as presented as very much just a way to get some powers. The strings are either off screen or handwaved away. And the only real guideline about it is “just sorta do stuff if you want to.” Which you know, fits 5es design, but it’s not particularly deep on the roleplay guidelines.

[Amnestic]

DMG 287/288 Substituting Class Options section talks about this, but ultimately it's entirely up to your DM to say yes/no. Personally I don't think it really works for the concept talked about though.

If a player really wanted to bring this concept to me then I'd probably go with them only getting 1 patron's powers at a time, maybe they roll a dice at the end of a short and/or long rest (probably just long rest to make things easy) to represent the patron's powers vying for supremacy, essentially randomising your subclass features at the end of each rest.

[Greywander]

Is it possible to Multi-Class from Warlock to Warlock?
If I go to level 5 with my GOO Chainlock, could I then seek out another patron and multi into Fiend Tomelock and just be the servant of two masters, maybe three if I find a Fey willing to hire me to multi into Bladelock.

Is this possible?
First, no. Multi-subclassing isn't mechanically supported in the rules. Even something like a gestalt, while not official, does have some more obvious implementations, but there simply isn't a way that makes sense for you to multiclass into the same class and take it twice. About the closest things I can think of are (a) substituting a patron feature with a feature from a different patron (e.g. start with Awakened Mind, then at 6th level take Dark One's Blessing or Dark One's Own Luck, but not both), or (b) make and take a homebrew feat that gives you a specific subclass feature. I suppose you could just double up and get the features of multiple subclasses, similar to a gestalt but for subclasses instead of classes, but that is a definite power upgrade, and would only be fair if the DM offered it to the other players as well. Generally, I wouldn't be inclined to allow this if I were the DM unless you could make a really compelling case beyond minmaxing.

However, you're not just talking patrons, you also want to take all three pact boons. Perhaps even more than your patron, your pact boon is a core defining feature for a warlock that differentiates them from other warlocks. Being able to take all of them is kind of a slap in the face to any other warlocks in your party. That said, if you're having trouble choosing, Tome lets you pick up Shillelagh as one of your cantrips and then you can get Find Familiar as a ritual. It's not as good as Blade or Chain, but it's "good enough" that it can help you fulfill that sort of a concept. Alternatively, you could take the Ritual Caster feat and take one of the other two pact boons instead. So you do have some options, but you're not going to just get everything.

TBH, even when I've come up with homebrew that allows taking 20 levels in every class, and played with the idea of a D&D-Skyrim-esque solo campaign where I can actually get every class to 20, I still know I'm only taking one pact boon and one subclass per class. As much as I'd like to have it all, it does diminish the enjoyment of things when there are no real choices to make and you can get everything. Trying to work within the limits is what makes coming up with builds fun.

[Arkhios]

One can't stress this enough; No, rules as written, you can't.

Even if you could, following the exact same principles, you'd only be eligible to class features and spells known available for the level of each individual class you have, even if all were of the same class. Warlock (archfey) 5/Warlock (fiend) 5/Warlock (great old one) 5 would always start the entire progress all over again, so that effectively your highest level of warlock would still be 5, not 15. Likewise, your Ability Score Increases would come at increasingly delayed pace; first at 4th character level, second at 9th character level, and 3rd at 14th character level.

Do note that warlock is still the only class to have Pact Magic instead of Spellcasting, and the rules are silent on what might happen if you were to get it from another class. It might be that you would calculate all of pact magic levels separately, never being able to cast any of your spells higher than as 3rd level, but on the other hand your number of uses per short rest would greatly outnumber that of a single-classed warlock 15. Which is something I believe wouldn't fly at any table.

[quindraco]

Is it possible to Multi-Class from Warlock to Warlock?
If I go to level 5 with my GOO Chainlock, could I then seek out another patron and multi into Fiend Tomelock and just be the servant of two masters, maybe three if I find a Fey willing to hire me to multi into Bladelock.

Is this possible?

No. The multi-class rules only apply to taking multiple classes at once, not multiple subclasses at once. You'd introduce additional questions with no RAW answer if you tried this.

What you can do, which only has the barest of guidelines in Tasha's, is change subclasses. With sufficient DM permission/plot, a Warlock can theoretically change patrons. Mechanically, they still only have one at a time, even if the fluff is that they're a servant of multiple masters.

[Zachopotamus]

I straight up thought this was going to be a "can I be a War Cleric, War Mage, Warlock and still be viable" post and now I want to theory-craft that.....but as has been stated numerous times already, "No" is the answer to your posts actual question.

(However, you can kind of get the thematics/role-playing aspect of the idea through legit multiclassing)

[Greywander]

Is it possible to Multi-Class from Warlock to Warlock?
If I go to level 5 with my GOO Chainlock, could I then seek out another patron and multi into Fiend Tomelock and just be the servant of two masters, maybe three if I find a Fey willing to hire me to multi into Bladelock.

Is this possible?
I'm coming back to this thread to see if we can find a way to work out a legal build that will get you what you want. As has been stated numerous times, multiclassing into the same class to get a second subclass isn't RAW, but similar abilities can be obtained elsewhere. The main question I need to ask is, what specifically are you trying to get, in terms of features or abilities?

GOOlock
This one is easy. Take the Telepathic feat, or play a race with telepathy (ghostwise halflings, kalashtar). Since you specified only taking warlock to 5th level, Awakened Mind is the only GOO-specific feature.

Fiendlock
I'm assuming you're after the temp HP on a kill. The necromancer wizard's Grim Harvest offers something similar, but it is more limited.

Feylock
Charm Person and Cause Fear can achieve similar results to Fey Presence. Several races (leonin, fallen aasimar, dragonborn feat) offer access to fear abilities as well.

Chainlock
Strictly speaking, if you're after the improved familiar, or associated invocations, you must be a chainlock. If you just want a familiar, then Pact of the Tome, Ritual Caster (wizard) or a dip into wizard are all viable options.

Tomelock
If you're after the out-of-class cantrips, you can pick them up with a dip into the relevant class(es) or Magic Initiate. If you specifically need them to use CHA instead of INT or WIS, then your only other option is the bard's Magic Secrets. If you're after the rituals, Ritual Caster accomplishes the same thing, albeit limited to only one class list (although it also scales with your character level, not your warlock level; good if you're multiclassing). As with Chain, if you want the whole package, you need Pact of the Tome specifically, there are no other substitutes.

Bladelock
A three level dip into Eldritch Knight will allow you to summon a bound weapon as a bonus action. If you're after Extra Attack, a five level dip into any martial class will suffice. Alternatively, you could try to get a bonus action attack, e.g. from Polearm Master or Crossbow Expert. If you're after smites, a two level dip into paladin will work. If you want Lifedrinker, an 11 level dip into paladin offers something comparable. Alternatively, if you only have one attack, Booming Blade can bolster damage and is easier to get than Extra Attack/Lifedrinker.

Possible build
EK 3 / paladin 2 / Fiendlock X, Pact of the Chain, with Ritual Caster and Telepathic

It would help to know which specific features you're after. If you just want to serve more than one patron, that's really more RP than mechanics. A build like this would allow you to get mechanical features to reinforce the RP, but isn't strictly necessary.