Currently playing a Gish.
Variant-Warlock 13/Fighter 3/Sorcerer 4
Pact of the Blade: Fiend (Greatsword pact weapon)
Battlemaster: Maneuvers are great to have, and recharge on a short rest.
Shadow Origin: I like the flavor, and Strength of the Grave is an amazing Gish ability.
Stat Priority Heavy: Str/CHA>CON>DEX>WIS/INT
Stat Priority Light: CHA>DEX>CON>WIS/INT
Specifics
13 levels in warlock gives you:
-Three 5th level spells per short rest
-Six invocations
-Dark One's Blessing (the temp HP really helps in melee)
-Dark One's Own Luck
-Fiendish Resistance (Change your resistance every short rest)
-6th and 7th level spells, once per day.
Invocations:
You get six(6) invocations, but Agonizing Blast, Lifedrinker, and Thirsting blade are mostly required. Repelling Blast greatly increases your utility, while fiendish vigor can be used for a guaranteed 8 temp HP at the start of every fight.
Fighter 3 gives:
-Great Weapon Fighting
-Second Wind
-Action Surge
-Four Superiority dice for; Riposte, Precision Strike, Maneuvering strike (personal preference)
Sorcerer 4 gives:
-Three 2nd and Four 1st level spell slots (1st level spell slots for hex!)
-Darkvision, and cast Darkness for 1 sorcery point
-Strength of the Grave
-Four Sorcery points MetaMagic; Quickened spell + any
Feats:
Level 1: Warcaster
Level 4: Heavy Armor proficiency (recommended to start as fighter 1, otherwise you're stuck with medium armor!)
Level 8: Great Weapon Master
Level 12: ASI OR Resilient, choosing CON (proficiency AND advantage makes hex more reliable)
Level 4 (sorc): ASI
ALTERNATIVE!
Instead of a 4th sorcerer level, you may opt to take a 14th level in warlock. The basic trade here is Hurl Through Hell(1 round of removal + 10d10psychic) vs ASI. I personally do not care for long rest abilities, and though HTH is strong, it doesn't fit my RP.
House Rules that increase effectiveness:
-Temporary HP stacks, once per source.
-Dark One's Blessing stacks (RP wise, being blessed with vigor for sacrificing enemies to your fiend seems like it would stack)
-Warcaster removes disadvantage from spell attacks made in melee range
-Add casting modifier to damage from spells (We use this when someone is missing from the group. The added damage is not QUITE as good as the missing person, but allows fights to remain hard.)
-Retrain a feat; We allow retraining within reason. For example, medium armor proficiency retrained to heavy armor proficiency. DM required 2 sessions of wearing Heavy Armor during combat (and taking the disadvantages/lack of casting that comes with it). If your DM agrees to this, feel free to start as a sorcerer/warlock instead of fighter. Take medium armor proficiency before Warcaster.
If you don't want to spend a feat for armor, Armor of Shadows gives you access to a free Mage Armor. You may want to play with dex weapons if you go this route. This moves all feat selections up, and gives you another ASI. If you do not need 2 (3 if you skipped resilient) ASIs, by all means take HTH.
Basic play:
I'm in love with this character, and though it will never be as strong as a Warlock 2/Sorc 18, the versatility and damage output are satisfying. Eldritch Blast can be used defensively by pushing enemies away from injured allies. Lifedrinker/ThirstyBlade/GreatWeaponMaster&Fighter ensure your melee stays up to snuff.
Rules to Know:
PHB 164; Pact magic slots can cast sorcerer spells and vice versa
PHB 202; You can’t cast another spell during the same turn, except for a cantrip with a casting time of 1 action.
Maneuvers are NOT bonus actions. They're modifiers you may spend, much like meta magic.
Spells You'll Need
-Armor of Agathys
-Shield
-Hex
-Hellish Rebuke
Engagements at range;
-Eldritch Blast/Hex.
-If you're looking to thin some numbers, Twin-spell Hex onto the two weakest in range, then smack em with an Eldritch Blast. Still at range next turn? Congrats, quicken spell Eldritch Blast, regular cast Eldritch Blast**.
Engagements at melee:
-Armor of Agathys goes on for melee engagements.
-Shield (+5 AC, immune to Magic Missile) is your reaction when you need to survive more than you need to do damage, otherwise Hellish Rebuke and Riposte* are your friends.
Advanced Play:
Precision Strike + Great Weapon Master + Action Surge: One of the biggest "Blow Your Load" combos available to us. Each attack receives +10 dmg, and the -5 to attack is almost entirely negated by adding a 1d8 to the roll. Assuming 18 strength (+4) and level 5 (+3 proficiency), and assuming all attacks hit, the damage output is [14+2d6(reroll 1/2)] *4 This gives us a MINIMUM of 64 damage, where you rolled a 1 on your d6 8 times. If you've got Hex on the enemy to be hit(It's a bonus action, so you should!), add another d6 to each hit. At 12, add CHA to each hit. If you kill an enemy OR crit during these 4 attacks, take another one! Though, you're out of superiority dice, so you'll have to settle for 7+2d6(reroll 1/2) +d6 (hex).
Quicken Spell + Eldritch Blast+ Melee attack: Melee Attack first, then use a quickened eldritch blast to push the enemy away, or vice versa. This can be amplified with Great Weapon Master and Maneuvers.
-Ally surrounded by 2 enemies. Quicken Eldritch Blast, push first enemy 10 feet back for EACH hit. Use Maneuvering strike on second enemy to allow ally free disengage.
*Note the synergy here. Hellish Rebuke triggers when you're hit, while riposte triggers when they miss.
** Don't forget to add 1d6 EACH time it hits. If you took repelling blast, be careful not to push them out of range
Sorcerer spell slots are amazing. Shield and Hex can both be cast through level 1 slots, while level 2 slots can be turned into sorcery points for more quickened eldritch blasts.
Notes;
-Champion/Eldritch Knight archetypes are much less useful overall
-Any sorcerous origin is viable. Pick whatever suits your RP
-Spells are free game. Eldritch Blast is your bread and butter cast, so your spell choices are personal!
-The basis for this was inspired by WoW's Lich King. The spells I choose favor cold/necrotic, meaning finger of death is the only option for 7th level spell.
-Stripped bare, this is an Off-tank Heavy with spell versatility.
First post, and first time visiting these forums, so please excuse any errors in formatting! If you have any questions about the build, playstyle, or general criticisms, feel free to send me a PM if it would derail the thread!