D&D 5E Advice on a bard/warlock build

[Foozil]

I'm going to be playing in an adventure soon (Hoard of the Dragon Queen, I think?). I have been thinking about playing a bard (lore) with a two level dip into warlock. The goal with taking levels in warlock is to get some decent ranged combat ability (Eldritch Blast cantrip with Agonizing Blast invocation, etc.) for a character who will otherwise stand back and look to throw out some buffs/debuffs and healing if necessary. The character will also take on some of the the tasks of being a rogue (will take background as a criminal to gain access to skills and tools). My question is, has anyone had any experience playing a character with this kind of build? How did it work for you? At what point should I take the two levels of warlock? I am not entirely certain of party composition at this point, but I think there will be a cleric and at least one tough fighter type (possibly a barbarian). I suspect my decision of when to take warlock levels might depend on what I'll be needed to do (e.g. if I am needed to provide backup healing, I may need to take bard 2 before going into warlock). Any advice/suggestions on this build would be appreciated.

 

[mellored]

It works well.

I would suggest going bard 3 or 5 first.
EB get's the biggest benefit at character level 5 when you get 2 rays, but bard 5 is also a big boost.

 

[Herobizkit]

If your DM allows you the Variant Human and also allows Feats, a nice work-around is taking the Spell Sniper feat and learning Eldritch Blast that way. You don't get Agonizing Blast, sadly, but it also saves you from dipping into a class and gives your EB a disgustingly long range that ignores cover.

Personally, I'd dip as early as 2 to get the Warlock levels over with, and I'd go to 3 level of Warlock to get one of the Archetype benefits. Heck, might as well start with Warlock.

Or just play a Warlock. :3 Bards are great, though. By the time you get to War 3/Bard 5, you're in a great place.

 

[Foozil]

Thanks for the advice, everyone. It seems like when I choose to dip into warlock will largely depend on when I want to have the EB damage. Early bard levels give so many great things that I don't want to delay them, but then I don't get EB. What a conundrum! I'll also have to contemplate taking a 3rd level of warlock.

It works well.

I would suggest going bard 3 or 5 first.
EB get's the biggest benefit at character level 5 when you get 2 rays, but bard 5 is also a big boost.

Can you clarify something for me. When do you get 2 rays? Is it at character level 5, or warlock level 5? So, would I get two rays when I was bard3/warlock2?

Thanks. And keep advice coming, if you've had experience with this build.

 

[mellored]

So, would I get two rays when I was bard3/warlock2?

Yes.

So that, or bard 5 for short-rest inspiration dice.

 

[miburo99]

I have a character like this. He is a Half Elf Entertainer Lore Bard with Great Old One Warlock 2 level dip. He plays very otherworldy, unearthly tunes on the flute, and is a little bit..."off." Like he's listening to music that no one else can hear...

Agreed with pretty much all the points above. I think Bard 3 is the best point to transition, so that you already have 2nd level spells and you immediately get buffed Eldritch Blasts at 5th level. At 5th level your martials will have 2 attacks and casters will have 3rd level spells, so the buffed EB is a nice benefit for you. Also at levels 1-3 a crossbow is not too different from EB. If you really do want EB from the get-go then going Warlock earlier on isn't going to be too bad.

In terms of invocations, what's your race? If Human, I'd go for Agonizing Blast and Devil's Sight for the darkvision. If you have darkvision (e.g. Half Elf), I'd take Armor of Shadows instead for the +1 AC. It's a nice boost for a Lore Bard (assuming you have a decent dex already).

IMHO don't think the 3rd level Warlock is really worth it for a Lore Bard. You are delaying your spell progression too much at that point, unless you have a very specific build that makes use of the Warlock 3 archetype abilities (e.g. Tomelock with Shillelagh).

 

[FormerlyHemlock]

I'm going to be playing in an adventure soon (Hoard of the Dragon Queen, I think?). I have been thinking about playing a bard (lore) with a two level dip into warlock. The goal with taking levels in warlock is to get some decent ranged combat ability (Eldritch Blast cantrip with Agonizing Blast invocation, etc.) for a character who will otherwise stand back and look to throw out some buffs/debuffs and healing if necessary. The character will also take on some of the the tasks of being a rogue (will take background as a criminal to gain access to skills and tools). My question is, has anyone had any experience playing a character with this kind of build? How did it work for you? At what point should I take the two levels of warlock? I am not entirely certain of party composition at this point, but I think there will be a cleric and at least one tough fighter type (possibly a barbarian). I suspect my decision of when to take warlock levels might depend on what I'll be needed to do (e.g. if I am needed to provide backup healing, I may need to take bard 2 before going into warlock). Any advice/suggestions on this build would be appreciated.

I did something like this. Currently at Lore Bard 9/Warlock 2. That game is kind of stalled for now (too busy).

I took warlock levels first, since I wanted Wisdom save proficiency. (Lack of longsword/shortsword/hand crossbow/rapier proficiency doesn't matter to me, nor the loss of two musical instrument proficiencies.) My goal was to be the party healer (the un-cleric) and Wisdom saves prevent action denial so I thought that was important.

The character is a ton of fun and was the primary damage dealer at low levels. Really comes into his own once you hit 8th level and get Magical Secrets (I took Conjure Animals and Aura of Vitality). Primary weakness is that he has the lowest AC in the party; mitigated through Stealth expertise, Expeditious Retreat, and just generally keeping off the front line.

 

[Kithas]

It's basically completely up to you, I would take a look at what you are delaying in your bard build and choose when you are most willing to take that delay.

As a side note, you get 2 invocations, Mask of Many Faces is quite wonderful for a sneaksy character

 

[Zardnaar]

Rememebr you can also use hex in your bard spell list. 1d10+cha+1d6 per ray is decent.

 

[ZickZak]

If you already have a cleric, I would go Warlock 3, Rogue 3.

Pact of the Blade and Fiend from Warlock gives you magic weapon, hex, THP whenever you kill, Armor of Shadows or whatever you want from the invocations.
If, later on, you would level more, you can go 5 / 5 for the second attack and One with the Shadows from the warlock and uncanny dodge from the rogue - this, combined with the Fiends THP, roughly allows you to suffer very little to no dmg a round.

Warlocks spells are tied to Charisma and you can specialise in mind-controlling your opponents - Friends, Minor Illusion, Charm Person, Suggestion, Fear (Hex, Fireball)

Note: Pact of the Blade is worded as if it is only for melee weapon, but earlier discussions on these forums said that if you would find magic bow and bound it that way, you would be able to have Pact Bow.