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  1. - Top - End - #1
    Bugbear in the Playground
     
    PirateGuy

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    Default Fairy swarmkeeper 3, feylock 3 lets you play a ton of fairies. How do you build it?

    It just occurred to me that you can play a fairy with 3 levels in swarm keeper ranger, and 3 levels of chain warlock, and be 1 small fairy, 1 tiny sprite, and a swarm of tiny pixies. If you take the knight background, you can be a knight of the spring court, and have 3 more non-combat fairies following you around! Enough levels in either class will get you summon fey, which adds another fairy to your swarm! I just love the idea of wandering around as a swarm of fairies.

    However, while thematic, it seems like those classes have essentially no synergy, and would not work together at all.

    What do you think would be the best way to pull off a swarm of fairies build? How many levels would you take in each class? How would this type of character fight? (eldritch blaster, long range archer, sword and shield, ect)
    Last edited by Rfkannen; 2021-04-11 at 06:46 PM.
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  2. - Top - End - #2
    Dwarf in the Playground
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    Default Re: Fairy swarmkeeper 3, feylock 3 lets you play a ton of fairies. How do you build i

    Quote Originally Posted by Rfkannen View Post
    It just occurred to me that you can play a fairy with 3 levels in swarm keeper ranger, and 3 levels of chain warlock, and be 1 small fairy, 1 tiny sprite, and a swarm of tiny pixies. If you take the knight background, you can be a knight of the spring court, and have 3 more non-combat fairies following you around! Enough levels in either class will get you summon fey, which adds another fairy to your swarm! I just love the idea of wandering around as a swarm of fairies.

    However, while thematic, it seems like those classes have essentially no synergy, and would not work together at all.

    What do you think would be the best way to pull off a swarm of fairies build? How many levels would you take in each class? How would this type of character fight?

    I reckon that you should focus on warlock.

    Build to have 14 Dex for scalemail + shield, and then focus Cha (aside from the minimum wis) and con. Swarmkeepers ability works with any attack, so lean into being a typical eldritch blaster. Use your ranger slots for hex and possibly for spike growth if you can spare 2 more levels - in which case, if all goes well, you can couple the swarmkeeper special ability with the knock back from eldritch blast. A dao can also do this, but those spells lots can be hard to justify.

    I think this would be fun for a short campaign that spends its time in tier 1 and 2, but might get boring fast. Possibly consider being just a normal druid instead - like this, you can cast conjure woodland beings, and have nuts amounts of pixies at your disposal. You could possibly combine this with warlock 3, as I'm pretty sure there's a good amount of worthwhile druid spells that don't use wis.

    The dreams special respite would be fun to flavour as a small haven of fey spirits, but if you have a homebrew friendly DM, possibly try to reflavour wildfire - turn the companion into a little fey spirit who deals radiant damage where it would deal fire maybe. While a better type than fire, I don't think the wildfire druid gets too many nuts abilities to make this broken - after all, stars can deal similar bonus action damage with costing an action to summon the thing.

  3. - Top - End - #3
    Bugbear in the Playground
     
    PirateGuy

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    Default Re: Fairy swarmkeeper 3, feylock 3 lets you play a ton of fairies. How do you build i

    Quote Originally Posted by whateew View Post
    I reckon that you should focus on warlock.

    Build to have 14 Dex for scalemail + shield, and then focus Cha (aside from the minimum wis) and con. Swarmkeepers ability works with any attack, so lean into being a typical eldritch blaster. Use your ranger slots for hex and possibly for spike growth if you can spare 2 more levels - in which case, if all goes well, you can couple the swarmkeeper special ability with the knock back from eldritch blast. A dao can also do this, but those spells lots can be hard to justify.

    I think this would be fun for a short campaign that spends its time in tier 1 and 2, but might get boring fast. Possibly consider being just a normal druid instead - like this, you can cast conjure woodland beings, and have nuts amounts of pixies at your disposal. You could possibly combine this with warlock 3, as I'm pretty sure there's a good amount of worthwhile druid spells that don't use wis.

    The dreams special respite would be fun to flavour as a small haven of fey spirits, but if you have a homebrew friendly DM, possibly try to reflavour wildfire - turn the companion into a little fey spirit who deals radiant damage where it would deal fire maybe. While a better type than fire, I don't think the wildfire druid gets too many nuts abilities to make this broken - after all, stars can deal similar bonus action damage with costing an action to summon the thing.
    That does seem pretty good! standard eldritch blaster, but with some extra tankyness and some controll. Do you think it would be more boring than your average blaster warlock?

    My first instinct was to do something with darkness and the blindsight fighting style. Maybe bring ranger to 5 for extra attack and then use shadowblade. A melee build of some sort. Do you think that would be better suited for a longer campaign?

    I could see wildfire druid being a ton of fun!
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  4. - Top - End - #4
    Dwarf in the Playground
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    Default Re: Fairy swarmkeeper 3, feylock 3 lets you play a ton of fairies. How do you build i

    Quote Originally Posted by Rfkannen View Post
    That does seem pretty good! standard eldritch blaster, but with some extra tankyness and some controll. Do you think it would be more boring than your average blaster warlock?

    My first instinct was to do something with darkness and the blindsight fighting style. Maybe bring ranger to 5 for extra attack and then use shadowblade. A melee build of some sort. Do you think that would be better suited for a longer campaign?

    I could see wildfire druid being a ton of fun!
    That does sound better suited! I like that a lot, it makes good use of the variety of spell slots you have. However, you would need a friend to cast darkness for you, unless you are already in a dark environment. However, you don't need blindsight - devils sight works just as well, and lets you take either plain old dueling for extra damage, or more interestingly druidic intitiate to collect cantrips.

    While 8th level is a long wait to come online, there are plenty of tools to deal with that. You can just go flat ranger until level 5, but more interesting to me at least is a warlock with the blade cantrip - while it's unclear if you can use blade cantrips with shadow blade, Crawford has said you can, and I think it's not a lot to ask from your DM.

    You have a bit of a dilemma - what do you do that an eldritch knight couldn't? You are more versatile, have a funky theme, and can cast shadow blade every short rest, not having to ration your slots as much. Still, I'm not sure if it will feel gratifying to play such a character if your average ED or possibly blade singer does it better. Still, I don't think it would be bad per se, just a little underwhelming.

  5. - Top - End - #5
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    RogueJK's Avatar

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    Default Re: Fairy swarmkeeper 3, feylock 3 lets you play a ton of fairies. How do you build i

    Quote Originally Posted by Rfkannen View Post
    However, while thematic, it seems like those classes have essentially no synergy, and would not work together at all.

    What do you think would be the best way to pull off a swarm of fairies build? How many levels would you take in each class? How would this type of character fight? (eldritch blaster, long range archer, sword and shield, ect)
    They do have a little synergy. I'd build it like this:

    UA Fairy race, with High CHA, and 14ish DEX, CON, and WIS. The Knight background gets you three noncombat Fairy/Sprite/etc. retainers to form the base of your Fey entourage, and the all-important Face Skill of Persuasion.

    Start with Archfey Warlock as primary class, picking up at least 2 Warlock levels off the bat. This gets you:
    -Deception skill, plus something else fitting like Intimidation or Nature
    -Fey Presence, whose Charm effect actually works great out of combat when you need Advantage on Face Skills, since it doesn't cause the target to become hostile like Friends or Charm Person
    -Eldritch Blast, which scales with your character level not your Warlock level, so allows you to continue to keep up while getting sidetracked into Ranger levels
    -Agonizing Blast Invocation, since you'll be relying on EB as your primary combat contribution for quite some time
    -Another fitting Fey-like Invocation, such as Mask of Many Faces or Misty Visions (This selection doesn't matter that much, since it is going be swapped for Investment of the Chain Master at Warlock 3 anyway...)
    -A utility cantrip, like Minor Illusion
    -3x 1st level spells known - There aren't a lot of great options here for you, and your spell slots and Concentration are going to be used for your racial Faerie Fire most of the time anyway, so get something like Armor of Agathys, Comprehend Languages, and Hellish Rebuke

    After the first 2 Warlock levels, you'll need to decide whether you want the Sprite Familiar first, or the Swarm of Pixies first.

    If you want your Sprite familiar now instead of at Level 6 or 7, and you probably do, then keep going to 3 Warlock levels (or 4 for the ASI) off the bat. This gets you Pact of the Chain and some 2nd level spells, with Suggestion being a must-have, and Invisibility being a good other option. Be sure to swap out your second (non-Agonizing Blast) invocation for Investment of the Chain Master at Warlock 3, to boost your Sprite's abilities and allow it to Attack using your Bonus Action. The Fey Touched feat would be a good option for your first available ASI, since it's not only flavorfully appropriate, but also boosts your CHA and adds to your fairly limited spellcasting options.


    Then after the initial 2/3/4 Warlock levels, take 3 levels of Ranger (or 4 if you need/want the ASI sooner than later), which gets you:
    -Medium Armor and Shield
    -An extra skill selection, most likely Perception, or perhaps Stealth or Insight
    -Expertise in a skill from Canny (probably either Persuasion or Deception, or maybe Perception)
    -Favored Foe, which even works with Eldritch Blast, and keeps you from having to frequently spend spell slots on Hex
    -3 additional 1st level spells and slots - I'd pick Absorb Elements as one of them for sure. Then perhaps stuff like Goodberry, Beast Bond, Longstrider, or Fog Cloud. You also get Speak with Animals for free. You just don't want to take any spells that require your WIS, since it'll only be 13/14ish (just high enough to qualify for Ranger multiclass, and not much more).
    -Defense fighting style for +1 AC, or you could alternately go Druidic Warrior fighting style and pick up Guidance and then something utilitarian like Mending, Mold Earth, or Shape Water
    -Free Mage Hand from your Pixie Swarm
    -Gathered Swarm for additional damage on your EB, or a shove effect (albeit keying off your middling WIS)


    After you hit Swarmkeeper 3 (or 4), go back to Warlock for the rest of your levels. For your third Invocation at Warlock 5, consider Gift of the Ever-Living Ones, or Devils Sight since Fairies don't have Darkvision. If you want to temporarily add even more Fey friends to your entourage, you can eventually get access to Summon Fey Spirit and Conjure Fey when you gain enough Warlock levels. No Conjure Woodland Beings, though.


    In combat, wear medium armor and use a shield, but no weapon to keep your hand free for casting. Fly around well out of the enemies' reach while making primary use of your Eldritch Blast from long ranges, boosted by Agonizing Blast, Gathered Swarm, and potentially Favored Foe. Spend your Concentration on stuff like Favored Foe and Faerie Fire, with the occasional Suggestion in combat to remove a big threat, until you eventually gain higher Warlock levels with other spell options. Use your Bonus Actions to command your Sprite to attack, who will also be flying around well out of reach while shooting their bow and hopefully landing their poison effect thanks to the higher DC from Investment of the Chain Master. Out of combat, you're the party Face, boosted by your Fey Presence Charm effect as needed, and the occasional Suggestion. You also have some additional creative utility from your Swarm's Mage Hand, Minor Illusion, Druidcraft, and your own innate flight. Plus the Speak with Animals spell. And you can scout using your Sprite Familiar, who can fly, turn invisible, has a high Stealth, and can speak.


    As noted by whateew, it probably would get a bit old over a lengthy campaign, since you don't have a lot to do in combat for the first 8ish levels except "I cast Faerie Fire and then shoot Eldritch Blasts while my Sprite fires her bow". Every. Combat. And it certainly isn't optimized, prioritizing the flavor of "I Have All The Fey" over higher level class abilities and spellcasting. But it could be fun for something like a Level 5-8ish one shot, or a short Tier 2 campaign.
    Last edited by RogueJK; 2021-04-12 at 09:25 AM.

  6. - Top - End - #6
    Bugbear in the Playground
     
    EvilClericGuy

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    Default Re: Fairy swarmkeeper 3, feylock 3 lets you play a ton of fairies. How do you build i

    I thoroughly love how awesome this sounds. What supplement is fairy available in as a PC?

    Bonus points if you name your character Toot-toot.
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  7. - Top - End - #7
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    RogueJK's Avatar

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    Default Re: Fairy swarmkeeper 3, feylock 3 lets you play a ton of fairies. How do you build i

    Quote Originally Posted by thorr-kan View Post
    What supplement is fairy available in as a PC?
    The new Feywild UA: https://media.wizards.com/2021/dnd/d...21_FeyFolk.pdf

  8. - Top - End - #8
    Orc in the Playground
     
    Goblin

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    Default Re: Fairy swarmkeeper 3, feylock 3 lets you play a ton of fairies. How do you build i

    Im a bit confused at the “boring” posts. Like, most of the time in combat warlocks are just using EB and nothing else, saving their 2 spells for something actually dangerous. At least chainlock sprite gives you lots of scouting, and your cha and abilities a lot of interaction. Combat for you won’t have a huge decision tree, but it’s not that much different from any other warlock.


    Aaaaannnywhooo.


    The quirk here I suggest is repelling blast! Mixed with swarmkeeper you can REALLY move someone. It may give you more fun to mess with enemy positions and hazards too, thus further negating the fear of boredom.

    I’d still start this as warlock to level 5. Here you’ll have enough invocation for agonizing, repelling, and investment or voice.

    I suggest aiming for Summon Fey. This gives you a lot of power and action economy, and fits the theme. All 3 fey are pretty powerful too, if you want we can go over how to use them.

    Then I’d head into ranger for 4 levels to get swarmkeeper up to create the theme in full. Again the damage bonus from swarm is “ok” but the real value is moving an enemy (or yourself). I’d follow the above advice: armor and shield with no weapon and the defense fighting style to maximize your survival. The 4th level is just for the ASI.

    Next I’d dip back into warlock to warlock 9, level 13. 9 is where this Warlock will “top out” on power, since beyond here your summons don’t get stronger (really warlock 7 is their big boost since it doubles their attack count). I’d stick to the chain pact invocations probably.

    Where you go from here is kind of unclear. Ranger gives very little, warlock 11 gets you conjure fey, but it doesn’t fit the theme as well. You could multi again into Bard to focus more on charming, but at the end of the day it’s usually silly to plan into level 14+, so I’d worry about it if you get there.

    Anyway sounds like a fun concept! In my version you’d be blasting enemies into traps, off cliffs, or just away from your friends, summoning a fey spirit to really mess with things while your sprite companion fires poison arrows from your side.

    Out of combat you’d be scouting with your sprite and commanding the large humanoids around you to follow your lead and trust your persuasion and generally being the charming face of the party.

    Sounds like plenty to do to me!

  9. - Top - End - #9
    Troll in the Playground
     
    Kobold

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    Default Re: Fairy swarmkeeper 3, feylock 3 lets you play a ton of fairies. How do you build i

    I think we have the new Sir Bearington.

    I am toying with more Ranger-focused approaches (leaning more into the swarm), but from a theme point Warlock sits much better - You are some sort of Pixie Potentate, with an entire court of helpers and hangers-on. Sitting back and letting them do the work while you magic fits the style more than a overgrown sprite woodsy warrior with a horde of atomies at their disposal.

    Quote Originally Posted by thorr-kan View Post
    I thoroughly love how awesome this sounds. What supplement is fairy available in as a PC?

    Bonus points if you name your character Toot-toot.
    Major General Toot-toot, thank you.
    Why yes, Warlock is my solution for everything.

    Quote Originally Posted by obryn View Post
    Active Abilities are great because you - the player - are demonstrating your Dwarvenness or Elfishness. You're not passively a dwarf, you're actively dwarfing your way through obstacles.

  10. - Top - End - #10
    Bugbear in the Playground
     
    EvilClericGuy

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    Default Re: Fairy swarmkeeper 3, feylock 3 lets you play a ton of fairies. How do you build i

    Fairy from UA; got it. Thanks, RogueJK!

    Quote Originally Posted by Joe the Rat View Post
    I am toying with more Ranger-focused approaches (leaning more into the swarm), but from a theme point Warlock sits much better - You are some sort of Pixie Potentate, with an entire court of helpers and hangers-on. Sitting back and letting them do the work while you magic fits the style more than a overgrown sprite woodsy warrior with a horde of atomies at their disposal.
    You could just swap human for fairy, call yourself Jim Dresden, act like you know everything (Wizard!), and let your minions do the heavy lifting...

    Quote Originally Posted by Joe the Rat View Post
    Major General Toot-toot, thank you.
    Not yet.

    But you will be. You. Will. Be.

    As to boring...horde of pixies with limited options might get old after awhile. But I think Sherlockpwns has the gist of it: there's enough here to be interesting for quite awhile, and it's *different* than the usual suspects.
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  11. - Top - End - #11
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    RogueJK's Avatar

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    Default Re: Fairy swarmkeeper 3, feylock 3 lets you play a ton of fairies. How do you build i

    If you wanted it to be more optimized without sacrificing the flavor, you could drop the Ranger levels altogether, and just be a straight classed Fairy Chainlock with the Knight background for some Fey Retainers, and then either take Mage Hand as a Warlock cantrip and the Repelling Blast Invocation, or else take the Telekinetic feat at 4th level.

    Either way, you'd reflavor your Mage Hand and Shove ability as being a swarm of Pixies doing it for you. This Shove wouldn't rely on your middling WIS like the Swarmkeeper's Shove, and you wouldn't need to multiclass out of Warlock. This gets you the same flavor and many of the same abilities as a few levels of Swarmkeeper, but with higher level Warlock spells/abilities/invocations on track rather than being delayed by 3-4 levels.

    (The downside with going the Telekinetic feat route is that that the Telekinetic Shove competes for your Bonus Action with the Sprite's ability to Attack, rather than happening automatically when you hit like with Repelling Blast and leaving your Bonus Action free.)

    If you really want Medium Armor and some extra low level spells and abilities on that non-Ranger build, you could dip 1 level in Cleric with a fitting domain like Twilight, Nature, Peace, or Trickery. Cleric 1/Warlock X would be a lot more efficient of a build than Ranger 3 or 4/Warlock X.
    Last edited by RogueJK; 2021-04-14 at 10:49 AM.

  12. - Top - End - #12
    Orc in the Playground
     
    PirateCaptain

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    Default Re: Fairy swarmkeeper 3, feylock 3 lets you play a ton of fairies. How do you build i

    Yeah, I'm unsure how "I'm, like, a whole bunch of fairies in a trenchcoats" gets boring TBH. You got a whole bunch of face skills and abilities to get up to no good out of combat, in combat the gathered swarm adds either damage, mobility or forced movement (and while the dc is low-ish on this, str DC means the potential targets are usually super obvious in ways wis/cha/int/con isn't always). You got your fear effect, familiar attack, and warlock spells on top of your racial fairy fire, and even if fairy fire is good you don't have to use it all the time... You still have vastly more to juggle every turn than your average martial.

  13. - Top - End - #13
    Bugbear in the Playground
     
    EvilClericGuy

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    Default Re: Fairy swarmkeeper 3, feylock 3 lets you play a ton of fairies. How do you build i

    Mandatory for the build: the Flock of Familiars spell from Lost Laboratory of Kwalish, Warlock & Wizard 2.

    CT: 1 min, Dur: 1 hr. You summon 3 (2 if you already have a familiar) more familiars. +1 familiar for each spell slot above 2nd used to upcast the spell.
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