D&D 5E Warlock as Intelligence caster?

[ryanroyce]

I'm playing a 3 Warlock 9 Wizard right now in my main campaign and it's allowed for a fun, but surprisingly balanced character.

The big difference is that since my character contacted their patron through research and is drawing power from them through their learning we decided to make my particular warlock levels INT based.

So there comes 2 things from this

1) I get literally all my needed combat potency from eldritch blast with agonizing blast and repelling blast invocations. I have no need for anything else except maybe the rare Evard's Black Tentacles to put down some hard crowd control.

2) It lets my wizard spells be entirely utility. The only damaging spells I have are melf's minute meteors and evard's black tentacles. Everything else is clairvoyance, haste, sending, polymorph, enhance ability, things like that.

3) because of this, my wizard has no need to worry about being left behind in combat (due to how cantrips scale on CHARACTER LEVEL instead of CLASS LEVEL), and is able to provide frankly ludicrous amounts of utility for the party without losing any potency in other regards.

4) I have a loooot of slots for lower level spells. Since warlock spellslots are completely seperate from wizard spell slots and can be used interchangeably, I often cast my wizard spells with my warlock slots until I am out of warlock slots and then start using my wizard slots just to have a bit more casting in the day. I have 3 warlock slots that recharge on a short rest and cast at level 2, and then 4 lvl 1 wizard slots, and 3 level 2 wizard slots. It is rare that I NEED to rest to recharge my spell slots.

6) Finally, the book of shadows from the warlock lets me fill out any final corners I may need to fill. I chose Spare the Dying (because we have no healers), Shillelagh (for the rare time I ever need to make a melee attack (ive used it to hit buttons with my staff that an enemy is blocking for example)), and Thorn Whip (mostly because we have a house rule that if the thing you are pulling is heavier than you, you get pulled instead of it being pulled to you (ive used this to save myself when I've fallen off a cliff))

So in summary it is balanced from a mechanical perspective, but it may let your wizards be more useful compared to the rest of the party than you would like them to be.

If the person doing this is your only caster in the party, I'd recommend trying it out just to see how you like it.

For reference, our party is Wizard (me), Rogue Swashbuckler (covers all our talking needs), Barbarian Berserker (covers all our hit stuff needs), and a homebrewed fire elemental Efreeti who takes up a classic 5th person monk/ranger style character, he can fly, cast a few useful spells 1/day, and hits stuff real hard.

I rather like this build. Even if INT Warlock isn't an option, then it can be closely replicated with Bard instead of Wizard and no house-ruling would be required. The bard's proficiency with rapiers even means that Shillelagh could be something else.

 

[Xeviat]

4E Warlocks were Con/Int or Cha/Int, with Con or Cha as their attacking stats. I, too, like Int as the Warlock casting stat. Their power isn't inborn like a Sorcerers, and it's not from their charm or grace like a Bard or Paladin. They make pacts and deal with arcane secrets. That sounds like Int to me.