D&D 5E A Warlock/Wizard concept

[Healex02]

Utility Casting: A Warlock/Wizard Concept
The focus of this build is to have as many cantrips and rituals as possible for the minimal cost. My group will be using only the PHB (and errata) and my DM is allowing multi-classing with her approval (namely to avoid some of the nova builds out there.) If you are concerned about this character being too MAD, I will get into the nitty-gritty of that at the end. I know where I want this character to be by 5th level, but since we're still in the early phases of setting up our game, I'm not sure if we will be starting at level 3, or level 5, so for sake of argument I will say 3rd level.

My character's background will be a Forest Gnome with the Sage background. The Forest Gnome is to help level out ability scores, and to gain me Minor Illusion early on. (Also I'm trying to break out of my shell of Humans, Elves, and Tieflings.) The background is for story reasons, which I will not be going into in this post.

~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~

Leveling
The first two levels will definitely be Warlock, gaining me:
* A patron (Great Old One or Fey, I'm not sure yet)
* Eldritch Blast , Prestidigitation, Hex, & 2 more level 1 spells
* The Invocations: Agonizing Blast & Eyes of the Rune Keeper

The third level of Warlock, whenever I take it, will gain me:
* Pact of the Tome
--- Tome Cantrips: Guidance, Thamaturgy, Vicious Mockey
* Trade in Eyes of the Rune Keeper for Book of Ancient Secrets
--- Tome Rituals: Comprehend Languages & **Find Familiar

The first level of Wizard adds:
* Cantrips: Light, Mage Hand, & Shocking Grasp
* Level 1 Spells: Disguise Self, Feather Fall, & Shield
* Level 1 **Rituals: Alarm, Detect Magic, Identify

The second level of Wizard adds:
* Arcane Tradition: School of Illusion
--- Cantrip: Message
* Level 1 Spell: Mage Armor
* Level 1 **Ritual: Tenser's Floating Disk

** Note: I want Find Familiar at Level 3, no matter which class I take. I am not sure which Rituals I want to delay if I take Wizard at level 3 though.

~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~

A Small Concern
Though we tend to be more RP and story heavy as a group, I am a bit worried about how well this character will do in combat. Yes, EB scales with character level, but I am going to be behind on ability score increases & spell level. Aside from gaining utility spells, the main benefit of this build is that I gain 1st level spell slots that a Warlock doesn't normally have. Aside from raw mechanical help, I also ask for your opinions on how well you think this balances out for spell level vs spell slots.

~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~

It's not that crazy
We typically roll for stats, but I like to use the standard ability score array as a baseline. (15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8)
As a Forest Gnome, I get +2 to Intelligence, and +1 to Dexterity, so this becomes:
15 Charisma, 14 Constitution, 14 (13+1) Dexterity, 14 (12+2) Intelligence, 10 Wisdom, & 8 Strength.
With that, I have a +2 in 4 abilities and I dumped STR. When we actually roll up our characters, the odds are that I will be able to have stats even better than this spread, so even though this character is "MAD," it's still playable, and with a little luck, perfectly viable.

~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~

Tl;Dr: I am torn between the Great Old One and Fey patrons, I don't know whether to start my 2 levels of Wizard at level 3 or 4, and I need 2 first level & 1 second level Warlock spell. (I already have Hex).

Thanks ahead for the help and advice! ^L^

 

[ro]

I like your concept. Here are my thoughts:

Fey looks more useful in the long run that Great Old One, though having some free telepathy (basically the Message cantrip) is pretty fun.
Based on your stat choices, it looks like you are planning to go full-time Warlock after your two Wizard levels. Is this accurate?

Taking a level in Cleric (if you had Wisdom 13) gives you three cantrips, including the very excellent Guidance and Sacred Flame, and it gives you armor rather than using Mage Armor all the time or Armor of Shadows, and possibly martial weapons. Plus, you get a nifty 1st level Cleric feature and two always-on spells.
Taking a level in Sorcerer matches with your Charisma, gives four cantrips, a base AC of 13 (again, no Mage Armor needed), but fewer rituals. This is probably better than a second level of Wizard, though Minor Conjuration or Portent would be great pickups.
You may even want to take a level in Bard for 2 cantrips and some more ritual spell access, using your Charisma.

Having 15 in Cha doesn't help you unless you are planning on taking the Actor feat or splitting your ASI, which you wouldn't do when lacking another odd score. Better would be to but the 15 in Con or Dex which have better feat options.

If you want a Cleric level and go the way of point buy, you could have a stat array of 14 Cha, 14 Con, 14 Dex, 13 Int, 13 Wis, 8 Str. (That extra one point to Int gains you very little if you aren't staying in Wizard long term, and gaining a +1 to Wisdom benefits the enormously more important Wisdom saves.)

Cleric and Sorcerer overlap on the AC front.

Try Warlock 2 / Sorcerer or Cleric 1 / Wizard 1. Get all of your Wizard rituals right off the bat rather than waiting to level 2. You'll have all two of your non-ritual spells always prepared. Maybe sacrifice Disguise Self, as you have an Invocation option for that if you really want it. You can get it as a Sorcerer, too. If taking Cleric or Sorcerer, I'd do that early to gain the AC, but a level of utility Wizard can happen anytime.

If you multiclass Warlock, you will be behind on spell slots no matter what. However, don't underestimate the fun of in-combat cantrips and the like. When you have other party members beating up the bad guys, tossing up illusionary bottles of rum or a Minor Conjuration, or (if Elemental Evil is allowed) using Shape Water to make ice or Mold Earth to dig a ditch in front of someone (funny combo with Darkness) can be tons of fun and plenty useful.

 

[Healex02]

Could you explain why you believe the ArchFey to be better than GOO? I've been having trouble making a good argument for it.

Yes, the plan is to continue as warlock past this point.

A Multiclass into Cleric (or Paladin) is specifically barred by my DM, and I wanted wizard over sorcerer for thematic reasons anyways. (And beyond experimenting with vicious mockery, I as a player am not prepared for the bardic flavor.) In short, let's just say the multiclass is restricted to Warlock and Wizard.

The 15 Charisma was a baseline example stat distribution, using the already existing static array of ability scores. I'm fairly sure that we will be rolling for stats.
If I was arguing a point buy, that 15 would be a 14, and the 8 Strength would be bumped up to 10 because negatives are a pain.)

Otherwise this is a PHB build and I'm not going to go for the darkness spell. Thank you for your help thus far. ^L^

 

[ro]

At 14th Level, GOO's Create Thrall is better than Fey's Dark Delirium.

At 10th Level, I think you are more likely to be targeted by charm than psychic attacks, making Fey's Beguiling Defenses the better choice.

At 6th Level, Fey's Misty Escape gives you free teleport and invisibility, which is an awesome combo and grater range than Misty Step. GOO's Entropic Ward gives disadvantage, which is nothing to sneeze at, but if you only have light armor, you are pretty squishy anyway even when your attacker has disadvantage. Both are good, but the first seems stronger. Being invisible and teleporting also prevents you from being the target of a second attack, whereas Entropic Ward leaves you vulnerable.

At 1st Level, Fey's Fey Presence is useful in battle, especially against low-level enemies, whereas Goo's Awakened Mind is a fun utility benefit, but technically only allows for one-way communication, unlike the Message cantrip; requires line of sight, unlike Message; and is limited to 30 feet, compared to the 120 ft. of Message. But you don't need ot share a language, which is nice.

All told, I think Fey is better for the first three abilities, but if you are confident you will eventually get to 14th level and play a good bit after than, Goo starts looking better. But for most campaigns, most of your time is spent below 14th.

For multiclassing, if you are limited to Wizard, I would still only do a one-level dip unless you really want a second-level tradition feature. Armor of Shadows is probably a lot better than spending slots using Mage Armor (3 times per day if you want to be always ready).

 

[Healex02]

I wouldn't be getting Armor of Shadows until 5th level of Warlock, because I'm not sacrificing Agonizing blast, and the Tome is part of the point of the build.

I know you're iffy on how many wizard levels I should take (which I am honestly debating), but when would I take that first level of Wizard? Level 3 or level 4?

 

[ro]

If choosing between level 3 and level 4, I would choose level 4. Either way, you don't get 3rd level spells until level 5, but waiting to 4 to start wizard gets you level 2 spells earlier. You delay your mostly-utility wizard cantrips and spells for a level, and you gain your Tome cantrips and spells earlier.