Pact Cantrips in Ravenloft

[Granville]

At level 3 I'm taking: Chill Touch, Eldritch Blast, Spare the Dying, Guidance, Shocking Grasp, Vicious Mockery

I started with Chill Touch and Eldritch Blast (Chill Touch is good for this campaign)

Spare the Dying comes from the Undying Patron in SCAG.

Guidance: This is just too good to pass up on. Watch your Concentration however.

Vicious Mockery: A great debuff, but I'm thinking about removing this one. Why? 90% of what you fight in this campaign is Undead. Against Undead, Chill Touch is better than this spell. Against Vampires and Vampire Spawn, even better.

Shocking Grasp: I have a Wand of the War Mage which counts as a Focus Orb and makes my Eldritch Blasts better by ignoring Cover and adding +1 to attack rolls. Otherwise I might consider Shillelaghand Green Flame Blade or Booming Blade. I have a Variant Human and Warcaster, but I'm not so sure if I can hold my Warmage Orb, and still use these Cantrips. Or do I need to put it away and use a Quarterstaff?

 

[Guest 6801328]

Good analysis.

One reason for Sacred Flame is for targets with partial cover; I forgot the Wand of the War Mage counters that, though.

On the wand/staff thing...a staff is versatile and thus can be used 1H, but you still get the 1d8 damage as per the Shillelagh spell description. So if you want to fluff it that you're putting your wand into your belt there's no mechanical change.

EDIT:

Here's my (current but ever changing) analysis on Chill Touch: from levels 5 to 10 it will average 9 damage and prevent regeneration. My EB will average 19 damage (already negating up to 10 regeneration) and have 20' of knockback, and that will bump up to 21 damage at level 8 when I get 20 Cha. And I won't have Warcaster, so I won't be able to use either (very well) if I'm being hit in melee, so the disadvantage would only useful if a ranged undead was targeting me. Which seems like it will be rare.

So what I'm currently leaning toward is:
1st Level: I've got Eldritch Blast and Friends
Tiefling: Thaumaturgy
Pact: Shillelagh, Spare the Dying, and Guidance
5th Level: Green-Flame Blade (or maybe Booming Blade...decide when I get there)

 

[zaratan]

Hmm...I thought it was +1/+1; I'll have to check the card (it's one of those Adventurer's League magic items).

But even if it is just +1/+0, your "spellcasting modifier" refers to your attack rolls, not your damage rolls (special circumstances like "Agonizing Blast" aside). So it's your attack roll bonus, not your damage bonus, that gets used for Green Flame Blade damage.

RAW no, spellcasting modifier don't have proficiency and other mods like bless or magic item (except something like headband of intellect, that make your Int 19), attack rolls have. Isn't the same thing.

staff and quarterstaff isn't the same thing by RAW, look out with your shillelagh.

 

[Guest 6801328]

Yeah, I think you're right but it's strange the phrase "spellcasting modifier' doesn't appear in the PHB.

 

[zaratan]

Yeah, I think you're right but it's strange the phrase "spellcasting modifier' doesn't appear in the PHB.

appears as ability modifier and spellcasting ability.

 

[Guest 6801328]

appears as ability modifier and spellcasting ability.

Sure, but it's kind of weird that they change what should be a precise term so arbitrarily.

 

[Blue]

with warcaster and a whip (you don't need to be prof with this if you don't attack) you could spam EB. But if you go for Shillelagh you'll want BB and GFB.

"Spam" in this case meaning "You can you your reaction (so at most once a round) to cast EB at a creature that moves out of your reach or triggers an opportunity attack some other way".

Depending on the situation, that might be harder to trigger with a whip then without.

 

[zaratan]

"Spam" in this case meaning "You can you your reaction (so at most once a round) to cast EB at a creature that moves out of your reach or triggers an opportunity attack some other way".

Depending on the situation, that might be harder to trigger with a whip then without.

yes, means exactly that. Usefull? Would be with command or dissonant whisppers. Really usefull multiclassing as sorcerer to get quick magic, but lots of investment.

 

[RulesJD]

Good analysis.

One reason for Sacred Flame is for targets with partial cover; I forgot the Wand of the War Mage counters that, though.

On the wand/staff thing...a staff is versatile and thus can be used 1H, but you still get the 1d8 damage as per the Shillelagh spell description. So if you want to fluff it that you're putting your wand into your belt there's no mechanical change.

EDIT:

Here's my (current but ever changing) analysis on Chill Touch: from levels 5 to 10 it will average 9 damage and prevent regeneration. My EB will average 19 damage (already negating up to 10 regeneration) and have 20' of knockback, and that will bump up to 21 damage at level 8 when I get 20 Cha. And I won't have Warcaster, so I won't be able to use either (very well) if I'm being hit in melee, so the disadvantage would only useful if a ranged undead was targeting me. Which seems like it will be rare.

So what I'm currently leaning toward is:
1st Level: I've got Eldritch Blast and Friends
Tiefling: Thaumaturgy
Pact: Shillelagh, Spare the Dying, and Guidance
5th Level: Green-Flame Blade (or maybe Booming Blade...decide when I get there)

You don't take Chill Touch for the damage, you take it to grant undead Disadvantage without a saving throw.

 

[Guest 6801328]

You don't take Chill Touch for the damage, you take it to grant undead Disadvantage without a saving throw.

Yeah, I got that. But the Disadvantage is only against you. Which means that if you don't have Warcaster it's mostly only useful if you've got undead using a ranged attack specifically against you. Since most ranged undead will be intelligent, they'll probably pick another target, so I suppose in that edge case it would be useful. But...again, without Warcaster...not useful enough.