Hello everyone. I hope you’re doing well. I’ve been having a lot of fun making my characters, but I’ve hit a road block. Or, several, actually.
here’s is my vision for my warlock: a charismatic and smart person who can fight with a blade if need be. The catch is that I’m playing as an archfey warlock and not a blade warlock. Currently at level one I have been tinkering with the point by system as a human and came up with these stats: (also I’m using the noble backround)
12 str 8 dex 14 con 15 int 8 wis 16 char variant human medium armor training feat or something like that I’m not sure
13 str 9 dex 15 con 15 int 9 wis 16 char standard human.
13 str 8 dex 14 con 14 int 8 win 16 char variant human feat not decided but maybe I could go for an armor training feat for extra armor and +1 in strength.
with these stats I'm going for a character who is smart (at least +2 int) decently strong (12, 13, or 14) and definitely charismatic. However, he doesn’t have the best street smarts (low wis) and poor fine motor skills (low dex). As for character traits I want to explore a dynamic of a more lawful good character (me) working for a chaotic good fey lady (the patron). The reason I even bothered to put any points into strength is that I would like to use some sort of melee weapon if need be.
so here’s where I start to confuse and doubt myself. I’m very proud how I built my character but I’m afraid that it won’t be for much. Because I’m not going with a hex blade warlock I don’t automatically get proficiency with medium armor and shields. So that means I either take a feat or multiclass. Then there is the fact of the matter that I will be giving up the pact of the time in favor of pact of the blade. While I’m still pretty noobish, I have heard about unearthed arcana allowing you to take *both* of them at level one which sounds awesome! But that’s not official stuff yet, and if it is included in the official 5.5e release then I might be waiting for a while just to try out a character that I’ve been working on way longer than any normal person should.
do you have any advice for me? Sorry for the long thread, but I want this character to be the best and most interesting it can be! Thanks for bearing with me.
edit: I almost forgot, but does anyone know where I can learn about patrons, or can I make my own? I had an idea to make one off of a dream I had long ago that I’ll likely never forget.
Ok so I do have some advice as an (somewhat) experienced warlock. You DO NOT NEED STRENGTH. It should be your dump stat, because warlocks attack with charisma, aiding your versitality. Also, I suggest becoming an undead or genie warlock for this (unless it is already too late), as archfey is kind of bad. Both of these can tank really easily. Also, I would suggest that yes, you take pact of the blade, but also take the Warcaster, tough, and moderately armoured feats for durability. And finally, if you want, you could multiclass into Paladin (just one or two levels for divine smite), or fighter (for action surge). It is ultimately your choice, but this is what I suggest for building a tanky martial warlock without using hexblade. Enjoy!
Hmmm, y’know, even if archfey isn’t the best, I do still feel very interested in them. I toyed around the idea of an Eldritch knight/ archfey warlock but decided that would probably be not the best idea. I even wanted to see if I could make n archfey warlock paladin work (with either oath of the ancients, glory, or maybe redemption). That would be fun! Although I don’t know the roleplaying potential of multicasting with a warlock. Example: What would be more important; your class or your patron?
If you are pact of the blade and not playing a hexblade and want to be strength based you need to have str be your highest attribute. You need to view your casting as a support for your hitting things. That gives you a point buy spread of 16(15), 10, 12, 14, 8, 14 (13). You still need a dex of 10 or you will hurt your AC with the -1 from dex in medium armor. You definitely want moderately armored and put it in strength boosting it to 17. That leaves you with 17, 10, 12, 14, 8, 14 at level 1. With sword and board and scale armor you start with AC 16. You can eventually get this to 17 with half plate/shield (not great, but you could choose to go heavy armor feat at 4th pushing str to 18 and then get into heavy armor).
The easier route here is to take fighter at level 1 and then multiclass into warlock at level 2. Then you can use your level 1 feat for something more useful.
At 3rd go pact of the blade. Get eldritch mind until you can get warcaster. You want to use your spell slots on agathys, hex, eventually move on to summons and spirit shroud. With warcaster make sure you have booming blade which you use strategically or with opportunity attacks.
There isn't a lot of synergy for blade and archfey. Misty Escape isn't bad. Blink and greater invisibility are nice
If you are pact of the blade and not playing a hexblade and want to be strength based you need to have str be your highest attribute. You need to view your casting as a support for your hitting things. That gives you a point buy spread of 16(15), 10, 12, 14, 8, 14 (13). You still need a dex of 10 or you will hurt your AC with the -1 from dex in medium armor. You definitely want moderately armored and put it in strength boosting it to 17. That leaves you with 17, 10, 12, 14, 8, 14 at level 1. With sword and board and scale armor you start with AC 16. You can eventually get this to 17 with half plate/shield (not great, but you could choose to go heavy armor feat at 4th pushing str to 18 and then get into heavy armor).
The easier route here is to take fighter at level 1 and then multiclass into warlock at level 2. Then you can use your level 1 feat for something more useful.
At 3rd go pact of the blade. Get eldritch mind until you can get warcaster. You want to use your spell slots on agathys, hex, eventually move on to summons and spirit shroud. With warcaster make sure you have booming blade which you use strategically or with opportunity attacks.
There isn't a lot of synergy for blade and archfey. Misty Escape isn't bad. Blink and greater invisibility are nice
thanks dude! I appreciate the advice! I really should try out hexblade sometime as it seems like a lot of fun. Though a possessed blade doesn't sound as cool as an archfey or eldritch horror, I'm sure there are some funny things I can do with the dynamic.
I think the best advice you need is that your stats do NOT have to match with your character concept. Your character can be roleplayed as intelligent no matter what the score actually is. And your character can be inept or oblivious no matter how high their WIS is. Do not be the warden of a prison of your own making!
That said, I would build this character with high DEX, CON, and CHA, and dump the rest. Yes, fighting with a rapier, but maybe re-flavoring it as something else.
Now, if this is a homebrew campaign I'd just ask your DM to allow you to use CHA for your melee attacks after you take pact of the blade. I can't imagine he'd be unreasonable after all, DMs know the current pact is flawed without the UA fix.
Hello everyone. I hope you’re doing well. I’ve been having a lot of fun making my characters, but I’ve hit a road block. Or, several, actually.
here’s is my vision for my warlock: a charismatic and smart person who can fight with a blade if need be. The catch is that I’m playing as an archfey warlock and not a blade warlock. Currently at level one I have been tinkering with the point by system as a human and came up with these stats: (also I’m using the noble backround)
12 str 8 dex 14 con 15 int 8 wis 16 char variant human medium armor training feat or something like that I’m not sure
13 str 9 dex 15 con 15 int 9 wis 16 char standard human.
13 str 8 dex 14 con 14 int 8 win 16 char variant human feat not decided but maybe I could go for an armor training feat for extra armor and +1 in strength.
with these stats I'm going for a character who is smart (at least +2 int) decently strong (12, 13, or 14) and definitely charismatic. However, he doesn’t have the best street smarts (low wis) and poor fine motor skills (low dex). As for character traits I want to explore a dynamic of a more lawful good character (me) working for a chaotic good fey lady (the patron). The reason I even bothered to put any points into strength is that I would like to use some sort of melee weapon if need be.
so here’s where I start to confuse and doubt myself. I’m very proud how I built my character but I’m afraid that it won’t be for much. Because I’m not going with a hex blade warlock I don’t automatically get proficiency with medium armor and shields. So that means I either take a feat or multiclass. Then there is the fact of the matter that I will be giving up the pact of the time in favor of pact of the blade. While I’m still pretty noobish, I have heard about unearthed arcana allowing you to take *both* of them at level one which sounds awesome! But that’s not official stuff yet, and if it is included in the official 5.5e release then I might be waiting for a while just to try out a character that I’ve been working on way longer than any normal person should.
do you have any advice for me? Sorry for the long thread, but I want this character to be the best and most interesting it can be! Thanks for bearing with me.
edit: I almost forgot, but does anyone know where I can learn about patrons, or can I make my own? I had an idea to make one off of a dream I had long ago that I’ll likely never forget.
I want to note that you can't take both of the pacts at level 1 in the UA. you can take 1 pact and later with your invocations you can take another if you wish, but even UA doesn't let you have both at level 1.
I think the best advice you need is that your stats do NOT have to match with your character concept. Your character can be roleplayed as intelligent no matter what the score actually is. And your character can be inept or oblivious no matter how high their WIS is. Do not be the warden of a prison of your own making!
That said, I would build this character with high DEX, CON, and CHA, and dump the rest. Yes, fighting with a rapier, but maybe re-flavoring it as something else.
Whether the stats and roleplay need to match is a player decision. A PC with int 8 is not going to good at skill checks for knowledge I would be willing to play is with nearly average intelligence but I know players who would play any character with 8 int or less like Grog from critical role.
Whether you can go with sub optimal stats depends on the rest of the table, if everyone else is building optimised characters you will feel underwhelming and will probably annoy the rest of the group but if everyone else is making fun sub optimal builds you can have a great time with the DM just dialing down the difficulty.
If you are pact of the blade and not playing a hexblade and want to be strength based you need to have str be your highest attribute. You need to view your casting as a support for your hitting things. That gives you a point buy spread of 16(15), 10, 12, 14, 8, 14 (13). You still need a dex of 10 or you will hurt your AC with the -1 from dex in medium armor. You definitely want moderately armored and put it in strength boosting it to 17. That leaves you with 17, 10, 12, 14, 8, 14 at level 1. With sword and board and scale armor you start with AC 16. You can eventually get this to 17 with half plate/shield (not great, but you could choose to go heavy armor feat at 4th pushing str to 18 and then get into heavy armor).
The easier route here is to take fighter at level 1 and then multiclass into warlock at level 2. Then you can use your level 1 feat for something more useful.
At 3rd go pact of the blade. Get eldritch mind until you can get warcaster. You want to use your spell slots on agathys, hex, eventually move on to summons and spirit shroud. With warcaster make sure you have booming blade which you use strategically or with opportunity attacks.
There isn't a lot of synergy for blade and archfey. Misty Escape isn't bad. Blink and greater invisibility are nice
thanks dude! I appreciate the advice! I really should try out hexblade sometime as it seems like a lot of fun. Though a possessed blade doesn't sound as cool as an archfey or eldritch horror, I'm sure there are some funny things I can do with the dynamic.
I think I'm doing pretty well! It will be a challenge with a lowered strength stat but going for a spell casting paladin I think will be a lot of fun!
I also think that Archfey is underrated as a melee blade character. Their first level feature is a short range ability, misty escape allows them to get to the back line or away in a pinch, beguiling defense is PERFECT for a strong armor wearing character if the GM is roleplaying NPC's the way players Role Play characters and target the "big guy" with the mind control spells. Your armor and weapon make you look like a big guy increasing your odds of being targeted and allowing the redirect effect. And, of course the advice the other gentleman gave on spells is very relevant with blink and greater invis being great spells for a skirmisher like character.
In general I think a archfey spell blade works well as a skirmisher more then a big brute. Flitting in and out of combat with misty escape, and using other tricks and charms to trick one's foes. I think the 2024 PHB will have a revised Archfey that may be able to do what you want better.
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Hello everyone. I hope you’re doing well. I’ve been having a lot of fun making my characters, but I’ve hit a road block. Or, several, actually.
here’s is my vision for my warlock: a charismatic and smart person who can fight with a blade if need be. The catch is that I’m playing as an archfey warlock and not a blade warlock. Currently at level one I have been tinkering with the point by system as a human and came up with these stats: (also I’m using the noble backround)
12 str 8 dex 14 con 15 int 8 wis 16 char variant human medium armor training feat or something like that I’m not sure
13 str 9 dex 15 con 15 int 9 wis 16 char standard human.
13 str 8 dex 14 con 14 int 8 win 16 char variant human feat not decided but maybe I could go for an armor training feat for extra armor and +1 in strength.
with these stats I'm going for a character who is smart (at least +2 int) decently strong (12, 13, or 14) and definitely charismatic. However, he doesn’t have the best street smarts (low wis) and poor fine motor skills (low dex). As for character traits I want to explore a dynamic of a more lawful good character (me) working for a chaotic good fey lady (the patron). The reason I even bothered to put any points into strength is that I would like to use some sort of melee weapon if need be.
so here’s where I start to confuse and doubt myself. I’m very proud how I built my character but I’m afraid that it won’t be for much. Because I’m not going with a hex blade warlock I don’t automatically get proficiency with medium armor and shields. So that means I either take a feat or multiclass. Then there is the fact of the matter that I will be giving up the pact of the time in favor of pact of the blade. While I’m still pretty noobish, I have heard about unearthed arcana allowing you to take *both* of them at level one which sounds awesome! But that’s not official stuff yet, and if it is included in the official 5.5e release then I might be waiting for a while just to try out a character that I’ve been working on way longer than any normal person should.
do you have any advice for me? Sorry for the long thread, but I want this character to be the best and most interesting it can be! Thanks for bearing with me.
edit: I almost forgot, but does anyone know where I can learn about patrons, or can I make my own? I had an idea to make one off of a dream I had long ago that I’ll likely never forget.
Ok so I do have some advice as an (somewhat) experienced warlock. You DO NOT NEED STRENGTH. It should be your dump stat, because warlocks attack with charisma, aiding your versitality. Also, I suggest becoming an undead or genie warlock for this (unless it is already too late), as archfey is kind of bad. Both of these can tank really easily. Also, I would suggest that yes, you take pact of the blade, but also take the Warcaster, tough, and moderately armoured feats for durability. And finally, if you want, you could multiclass into Paladin (just one or two levels for divine smite), or fighter (for action surge). It is ultimately your choice, but this is what I suggest for building a tanky martial warlock without using hexblade. Enjoy!
DM: “Who’s your patron?”
Warlock: “Ummm”
DM: “Hurry Up”
Warlock: “yOu”
*All other players look at each other with utter fear*
__________________________________________________________________________________
Check out my homebrew: My Homebrew
Hmmm, y’know, even if archfey isn’t the best, I do still feel very interested in them. I toyed around the idea of an Eldritch knight/ archfey warlock but decided that would probably be not the best idea. I even wanted to see if I could make n archfey warlock paladin work (with either oath of the ancients, glory, or maybe redemption). That would be fun! Although I don’t know the roleplaying potential of multicasting with a warlock. Example: What would be more important; your class or your patron?
If you are pact of the blade and not playing a hexblade and want to be strength based you need to have str be your highest attribute. You need to view your casting as a support for your hitting things. That gives you a point buy spread of 16(15), 10, 12, 14, 8, 14 (13). You still need a dex of 10 or you will hurt your AC with the -1 from dex in medium armor. You definitely want moderately armored and put it in strength boosting it to 17. That leaves you with 17, 10, 12, 14, 8, 14 at level 1. With sword and board and scale armor you start with AC 16. You can eventually get this to 17 with half plate/shield (not great, but you could choose to go heavy armor feat at 4th pushing str to 18 and then get into heavy armor).
The easier route here is to take fighter at level 1 and then multiclass into warlock at level 2. Then you can use your level 1 feat for something more useful.
At 3rd go pact of the blade. Get eldritch mind until you can get warcaster. You want to use your spell slots on agathys, hex, eventually move on to summons and spirit shroud. With warcaster make sure you have booming blade which you use strategically or with opportunity attacks.
There isn't a lot of synergy for blade and archfey. Misty Escape isn't bad. Blink and greater invisibility are nice
thanks dude! I appreciate the advice! I really should try out hexblade sometime as it seems like a lot of fun. Though a possessed blade doesn't sound as cool as an archfey or eldritch horror, I'm sure there are some funny things I can do with the dynamic.
Although I have shifted away from a bladelock into a Charisma heavy paladin with high intelligence for an interesting oath of devotion role play: build.https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/dungeons-dragons-discussion/tips-tactics/187359-role-play-builds-with-high-charisma-good
I think I'm doing pretty well! It will be a challenge with a lowered strength stat but going for a spell casting paladin I think will be a lot of fun!
I think the best advice you need is that your stats do NOT have to match with your character concept. Your character can be roleplayed as intelligent no matter what the score actually is. And your character can be inept or oblivious no matter how high their WIS is. Do not be the warden of a prison of your own making!
That said, I would build this character with high DEX, CON, and CHA, and dump the rest. Yes, fighting with a rapier, but maybe re-flavoring it as something else.
Now, if this is a homebrew campaign I'd just ask your DM to allow you to use CHA for your melee attacks after you take pact of the blade. I can't imagine he'd be unreasonable after all, DMs know the current pact is flawed without the UA fix.
I want to note that you can't take both of the pacts at level 1 in the UA. you can take 1 pact and later with your invocations you can take another if you wish, but even UA doesn't let you have both at level 1.
Whether the stats and roleplay need to match is a player decision. A PC with int 8 is not going to good at skill checks for knowledge I would be willing to play is with nearly average intelligence but I know players who would play any character with 8 int or less like Grog from critical role.
Whether you can go with sub optimal stats depends on the rest of the table, if everyone else is building optimised characters you will feel underwhelming and will probably annoy the rest of the group but if everyone else is making fun sub optimal builds you can have a great time with the DM just dialing down the difficulty.
I also think that Archfey is underrated as a melee blade character. Their first level feature is a short range ability, misty escape allows them to get to the back line or away in a pinch, beguiling defense is PERFECT for a strong armor wearing character if the GM is roleplaying NPC's the way players Role Play characters and target the "big guy" with the mind control spells. Your armor and weapon make you look like a big guy increasing your odds of being targeted and allowing the redirect effect. And, of course the advice the other gentleman gave on spells is very relevant with blink and greater invis being great spells for a skirmisher like character.
In general I think a archfey spell blade works well as a skirmisher more then a big brute. Flitting in and out of combat with misty escape, and using other tricks and charms to trick one's foes. I think the 2024 PHB will have a revised Archfey that may be able to do what you want better.