D&D 5E Pact of the chain - how did it work out?

[Ancalagon]

Hello

When I first read the warlock class, I saw the pact of the chain, went "hmm... interesting..." aaaand that was it. I've never played one, I've never DMed for one either. There has been a lot of talk for hexblades (which are often pact of the blade) and pact of the tome is mentioned from time to time.

But on the other hand, there are no "pact of the chain sucks!" thread either. It's almost like it's... not worth talking about.

I would like feedback from people with actual play experience with this pact.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

It doesn't play significantly differently to any pew pew Eldritch Blaster warlock. You basically trade a few extra spells known for a better familiar.

 

[Horacio]

Hmmmm, I have always envisaged it as a immutable pact encrypted in a endless mystical chain built with eldritch blocks of links mined by extra-dimensional Modrons...

(Yes, I think I have spent too much time around blockchain fanpeople)

 

[Coroc]

Hmmmm, I have always envisaged it as a immutable pact encrypted in a endless mystical chain built with eldritch blocks of links mined by extra-dimensional Modrons...

(Yes, I think I have spent too much time around blockchain fanpeople)

HAHA pact of the blockchain, you made my day

 

[Iry]

It's perfectly functional and makes a strong contribution to the Exploration Pillar, primarily by having an invisible scout you can see through. It's not bad in combat either since you can Help while invisible. 7/10. Would play again.

The only problems with Pact of the Chain are:

• Gold and Time restriction on making a new familiar. Probably could drop the gold cost to make the early levels more pleasant.
• Sneaking splits the party. Not specific to Chain. Anytime your sneaker goes off to be sneaky, people are twiddling their thumbs.
• No real identity when it comes to Invocations. UA has tried to make up for this, but it's still pretty potluck.

 

[Dausuul]

I have DMed for a Chain warlock, and I am here to tell you, it is a pain. An imp is a Tiny, intelligent, speaking, permanently invisible, flying scout. The party has flawless recon of any space it can get into, which is most of them. It even has hands to open doors with.

Combat-wise, it mostly depends on whether the DM allows the imp to Help with attacks while staying invisible. I don't, but it's legit by RAW. Even without that, though, the scouting alone makes the Chain pact more than worth it.

 

[BookTenTiger]

I DMd a game once with one. The player used his familiar as an invisible spy, in and out of combat. I leaned into it as a DM, it meant I got to be really descriptive with what was ahead, and I have to say the player really enjoyed that playstyle.

 

[Ancalagon]

I totally get that the improved familiar is super good....

But is it that much better than a regular familiar? I mean, the success rate won't be as great, but the excitement will

 

[Ancalagon]

It's remarkable how few answers this thread got ha

 

[Khelon Testudo]

Given that it's categorically an imp, I'd suggest it might not always be happy to throw itself into danger on behalf of its master. It might decide not to be available at times. It could also get sidetracked when exploring. This is both a way of the DM controlling just how effective it is, and an excellent role-playing opportunity.