D&D 5E Please help me understand this build.

[krunchyfrogg]

Hey guys, I was searching around and I found a pretty neat podcast by some guys on orclabs.com.

Anyway, they proposed this build that I'm having some trouble understanding.

It was Warlock 2/ Wizard (Abjuration) 18

They said with Armor of Shadows, and the Abjurer ability to gain temporary HP whenever an Abjuration spell is cast basically equates unlimited HP.

Do temporary HP stack? Do they ever expire?

They also said you would be dishing out 4d10 + 4d6 +10 damage each round with Eldritch Blast and Hex.

This doesn't make sense to me. Don't these two spells rely on Warlock level, not character level?

 

[Ome]

Temp hit points do not stack unless it specifically says so in the spell description.

 

[MerricB]

Hey guys, I was searching around and I found a pretty neat podcast by some guys on orclabs.com.

Anyway, they proposed this build that I'm having some trouble understanding.

It was Warlock 2/ Wizard (Abjuration) 18

They said with Armor of Shadows, and the Abjurer ability to gain temporary HP whenever an Abjuration spell is cast basically equates unlimited HP.

Do temporary HP stack? Do they ever expire?

No, temporary HP don't stack. If you get more temporary HP, you choose whether to keep the old lot or take the new one. This is explicit in the rules.

Temporary hit points last until expended or you take a long rest, unless the ability that grants them says otherwise.

However, the Abjurer doesn't have an ability to gain temporary HP. The ability is called Arcane Ward, and grants them a damage ward - it works like temporary hit points, but it isn't actually temp HP.

The combination is sort of okay. Armor of Shadows allows you to cast Mage Armor at will (1st level spell). Arcane Ward transforms that into the ward of 2*level+Int mod hp, and then you replenish an additional 2 points of shielding each time you cast Mage Armor. (You gain the larger amount only the first time you use the ability each day, although between combats you could cast Mage Armor a lot to replenish it).

So, at 4th level, you create a ward of about 11 hit points, which you can replenish between combats.

I hardly think it's worth being a multiclassed Warlock/Wizard for this combination.

Cheers!

 

[krunchyfrogg]

Thanks. It's not a bad combo.

I'm more curious about the massive damage. Where does that come from? Is it correct?

 

[doctorhook]

Hey guys, I was searching around and I found a pretty neat podcast by some guys on orclabs.com.

Anyway, they proposed this build that I'm having some trouble understanding.

It was Warlock 2/ Wizard (Abjuration) 18

They said with Armor of Shadows, and the Abjurer ability to gain temporary HP whenever an Abjuration spell is cast basically equates unlimited HP.

Do temporary HP stack? Do they ever expire?

They also said you would be dishing out 4d10 + 4d6 +10 damage each round with Eldritch Blast and Hex.

This doesn't make sense to me. Don't these two spells rely on Warlock level, not character level?

Doubling down on what [MENTION=3586]MerricB[/MENTION] said: abjurer's Arcane Ward is not the same as temp HP, so the premise of "infinite self-heal" is flawed here.

 

[MerricB]

They also said you would be dishing out 4d10 + 4d6 +10 damage each round with Eldritch Blast and Hex.

This doesn't make sense to me. Don't these two spells rely on Warlock level, not character level?

Cantrips are based on character level, not class level (http://www.sageadvice.eu/2014/09/06/cantrip-with-class/)

Eldritch Blast + Hex deals that much damage at very high levels, not at low levels.

The basic idea is that Hex adds 1d6 necrotic damage to each attack you make.

Eldritch Blast allows you to make one attack for 1d10 force damage at level 1, two attacks at level 5, three attacks at level 11 and four attacks at level 17 - so, potentially 4d10 force + 4d6 necrotic.

Not sure where the +10 damage comes from!

Cheers!

 

[krunchyfrogg]

Ohhh.

Isn't Hex a spell though? I've never played a Warlock before...

 

[MerricB]

Ohhh.

Isn't Hex a spell though? I've never played a Warlock before...

Hex is a concentration spell that takes a bonus action to cast. You target an opponent and gain bonuses against them. It's a very good spell, which really destroys the potential of other concentration warlock spells. You can cast Hex and a cantrip in the same turn, then use other attack spells thereafter.

Cheers!

 

[bganon]

The infinite-ward trick doesn't even require Warlock multiclassing, though, they just get it earlier. Wizards get Spell Mastery at level 18, so a pure Abjurer can make a ward and recharge it at will. Casting Mage Armor 20 times isn't something you're going to do in the middle of a fight, though, so at most it's something like 40 hp or so of warding at the beginning of an encounter.

And I think the closest thing to official ruling is that yes, Eldritch Blast scales with level, not warlock level. So indeed you can get 1d10+1d6+CHA (with Agonizing Blast) four times at 17th level. Honestly, a Battle Master/Ranger combo could do similar stuff (if not better) at range with superiority dice and Hunter's Mark, so I'm not sure that it's really a problem.

 

[Dausuul]

The abjurer's Arcane Ward has hit points equal to twice your wizard level plus your Int modifier. So, assuming Int 20, it has 41 hp. Each time you cast an abjuration spell of 1st level or higher, it "regains" hit points equal to twice the spell level. You can't regain something you never had, so I would read this to mean it tops out at 41 hp. (Also, why waste levels on warlock? You can just use the wizard's Spell Mastery to get shield at will, and have a ward with a 45-hp cap.)

So, you can give yourself a buffer of up to 45 hit points, which you can restore by spamming shield for a couple minutes.

At 20th level.

Whoop-de-frickin'-doo.

They're right about eldritch blast and hex--they're spells, not class features, and as such they key off your character level. Not that it matters much. Any respectable martial character at that level can dish out similar damage. It isn't even a minor exploit, it's just standard damage output for that level. If you want a real damage exploit, play a sorlock. A sorlock can lay down 4d10+4d6+16 at 5th level (albeit with somewhat limited use, but as you gain levels, your usage expands rapidly, until it might as well be at-will).