Bardlock... but without the 'Lock?

[Thrice Dead Cat]

Recently, I joined a campaign that will be running Rime of the Frostmaiden, and will probably run from levels 1 through ~12ish or so. Some of the DM's houserules are that the Lucky feat is banned, and that we get to a first level feat from a relatively curated list (Actor, Athlete, Chef, Dungeon Delver, Durable, Healer, Keen Mind, Linguist, Observant, Resilient, Ritual Caster, Skilled, Skill Expert, or Weapon Master).

We rolled for stats, and after selecting Skill Expert feat, putting the free +1 stat boost into CHA, and going Bard Tiefling of Levistus (essentially, what if Derek Zoolander but fantasy), I ended up with this after racial adjustments.

• Str: 12
• Dex: 14
• Con: 16
• Int: 7
• Wis: 13
• Cha: 19

We're only level 2 at the moment, and I plan on eventually going Lore for more skills, a few extra spells known, and the rest of that fun stuff. My current plan is continue Bard, grab a half feat to hit that 20 CHA at level 4 (likely either Fey or Shadowtouched), and then weigh my options. My big question is: would I be better served delaying future ASIs and spell levels with a Warlock 2 for grab Agonizing Blast and Booming/Greenflame Blade or is it worth it to burn one of my 6^th level Lore spells known on Eldritch Blast and then grab Agonizing Blast with my 8^th level ASI via Eldritch Adept? My bard is already fairly beefy, but I'm still tempted to also pick up Infernal Constitution for more resistances.

For reference, the rest of the party consists of a Divine Soul Sorcerer (with equally divinely rolled stats), a Half-Elf Fighter (who is planning on going Psi Warrior), and a Tortle (Land?) Druid who will likely be on the front lines with our fighter. I'm not currently planning on wading into melee, but that all may change in the coming levels. As always, fireball is a very tempting Lore spell to pick up. I'm hoping not to step on the sorcerer's toes too much as we're currently filling similar rolls in combat.

So, Playground, how feasible is a Lore Bard who only pretends to be a Bardlock?

[jojosskul]

Sadly it doesn't work. One of the rules of the Eldritch Adept feat is that if an invocation has a prerequisite you MUST be a warlock. Even if you "meet" the prerequisite. You can, however, pull this off by taking only a single level of warlock, rather than two, if you take the Eldritch Adept feat. The question becomes which is the bigger cost, an ASI or an extra level of warlock.

[Sepok]

You are going to have to take that 2 level warlock dip if you want Agonizing Blast. You've missed something in the Eldritch Adept feat... "If the invocation has a prerequisite of any kind, you can choose that invocation only if you're a warlock who meets the prerequisites." So you cannot take Agonizing Blast as a pure level 8 Bard because you are not a Warlock. If you took a 1 level Warlock dip you would qualify for the feat, so it would be possible as a Warlock 1/Bard 8.

[Kvess]

I don’t know if I understand the point of pretending to be a bardlock when bardlock isn’t something that characters in-universe would know about. If you would just rather be casting eldritch blast with bonus damage over vicious mockery (which is also a great cantrip IMHO), it seems preferable to get it from a feat than from two levels in another class.

[Thrice Dead Cat]

Sadly it doesn't work. One of the rules of the Eldritch Adept feat is that if an invocation has a prerequisite you MUST be a warlock. Even if you "meet" the prerequisite. You can, however, pull this off by taking only a single level of warlock, rather than two, if you take the Eldritch Adept feat. The question becomes which is the bigger cost, an ASI or an extra level of warlock.

How did I miss that line? At least that answers my question as to whether or not I should spend one of my two 6^th level Lore spells on Eldritch Blast or not.