D&D 5E (2014) Merric's Test Thread

[MerricB]

Originally posted by DuelistDelSol:

Stats and Proficiencies: The Bare-Bones Bargaining Chip 
So, what exactly makes a Warlock tick? What makes them different from the Ranger, the Rogue, the Sorcerer, the Blackguard, the... everything else?

Several little things. But first, a bit of a look at the basics.
 
Hit-Points:
12 + Constitution score.
At the standard for your role. Better than the Assassin here (then again, so is every other Striker), but worse than the Avenger and Barbarian.

Healing Surges: 6 + Constitution modifier.  
A little problematic for Charisma'locks, but Con'locks will jump for joy at just how much in both this field and the field above they have in terms of elbow-room. Enjoy your Defender-level hitpoints, at least for a little while.

Proficiencies: Cloth, Leather.  Simple Weapons.  Rod, Wand implements.
The armor is less of a deal than you'd think, but there's some lost potential in terms of implements, as you don't get the two implements you'd probably most want: the Staff for damage and the Orb for debuff potentia;. Don't get me wrong, there are a ton of Rods built for Warlocks to swing with ease and efficiency, and you will actually want one at least in the off-hand for property's sake... but the fact of the matter is that Wands are not very impressive in the hands of a Warlock, and for the most part, nothing will compare to the Staff of Ruin when it comes to damage-buffing. This problem is very easy to fix, however - one feat, and you're good to go.

Defensive Bonuses: +1 Reflex, +1 Will.
Charisma'locks will enjoy a strong Will score, but Constitution'locks that aren't devoting themselves to Charisma as an off-score will probably not care as much. Still, two buffed defenses is nothing to sneeze at.
 
Class Features: Leafing the Pages of the Necronomicon
Eldritch Blast: Wizards of the Coast decided that Warlock at-wills must be chosen for them, one of them based on their pact... and this one. You'll certainly get chummy with your local Warlord, as this is a legitimate Ranged Basic Attack, and thus there's a lot of other ways to buff this power, but otherwise you're slinging around a Longbow with infinite ammunition.

Since PH Heroes: Series 1 however, you are allowed to take a melee weapon version of this: Eldritch Strike, which is a Constitution- or Charisma-based melee basic attack which slides the target 1 square as a hit. It's one of the most poached at-wills in the game, especially with the slide portion of the power opening itself up to so many tricks, and is a great alternative for Warlocks who either want to stay in the front lines (usually as a Con'lock), provide an escape option (Cha'lock), or go into the massive amount of charge support in the game.

Pact Boons: Every Warlock starts his or her career by choosing to sign with one of seven different Pacts: Infernal (PHB1), Star (PHB1), Fey (PHB1), Dark (FRPG), Vestige (AP),
Sorcerer-King (Dark Sun), or Elemental (HoEC). From each pact, you get your second at-will power and a special effect that happens when an enemy subject to your Warlock's Curse falls to zero hitpoints, and not just because you killed them. In fights where enemies come in the dozens and your mobility is at its peak, this is a tremendously powerful addition to your repetroire; however, in solo fights this will go amiss, unless your DM likes throwing minions at you alongside and you get the first jump on them.

Prime Shot: While you're a little more fragile than the Ranger is and thus Prime Shot may not be as notable a feature for you as it is for them, it's still a great boost to accuracy that can be built around with plenty of support, and you're not exactly glass, especially Con'locks. Melee'locks especially will love this at Paragon.

Shadow Walk: On-demand Concealment is amazing, and quite a fantastic way to patch up your otherwise mediocre defenses. It's easy to trigger, too: just move 3 squares from your starting position! You gain a +2 bonus to defenses in partial concealment, which is what this feature grants; but that's not the only thing you get out of this. The aforementioned Shadow Warlock Armor gives you Combat Advantage against every Cursed enemy in sight. You also have a much easier time using your Stealth skill, as you require cover or concealment to keep any Hidden status you might obtain.

Warlock's Curse: Once per round as a minor action, you can subject the closest enemy to you that you can see to your Warlock's Curse, which lasts all encounter, and does not vanish on application on other enemies. What does this do? It allows you to deal extra dice of damage once per turn with any attack you inflict on them. There's a myriad of ways, both control-based and damage-based, to utilize this feature, the biggest of which revolves around the fact that it was changed to once per turn, so Immediate Action attacks are now worthwhile additions to your power card list.
 
 
Warlock Pacts: The Paths To Hell 
 
As explained in the Pact Boon section, each Warlock must pick a Pact that best follows how they want to play their character and what powers they'd like to favor. Each of the seven, along with its designated at-will power, will be described below, both in regards to its At-Will power that it selects for you, as well as how well they represent the Warlock class in these specific categories:
 

• CONTROL: Propensity for debilitating effects, forced movement
• DAMAGE: DPR potential, whether ongoing or straight hits
• DEFENSE: Tenacity to remain standing in combat, ability to act as a quasi-Defender
• LEADERSHIP: Debuffs, buffs, heals
• SUPPORT: Availability of support for the pact, through feats/items/Paragon Path

 
INFERNAL PACT (Player's Handbook 1) / Control Damage Defense Leadership Support
Constitution-based, with a smattering of (good) Charisma-based powers. Contains one of the most abused at-wills in all of 4e D&D.
The Infernal Pact
[sblock]Pact Boon: Dark One's Blessing.When an enemy cursed by you falls to zero hitpoints, you gain temporary hitpoints equal to your level. Now that's kinda spiffy: several of your powers, especially outside of PHB1, love to drain you of your hitpoints in exchange for a reroll, and this will help you with that sting. Defensive-based Warlocks will love this Boon, but keep in mind temporary hitpoints do not stack, so killing multiple enemies in one fell swoop, or killing enemies when your stock of temp hitpoints hasn't vanished yet, can make this boon wasteful. Ah well.

At-Will
Powers: Hellish Rebuke,
Gift to Avernus.
Hellish Rebuke (Constitution) is incredibly cool. Target takes some blasé fire damage, and if you're damaged by anything, they take even more damage! And that trigger point can be from anything - that enemy's attack, another enemy's attack, ongoing damage, a stray arrow, your own abilities, anything. There are a ton of builds centered around the abuse of this very power alone... though the rating drops if you don't really bother to get in the thick of things.

On the other hand, you're allowed to pick Gift to Avernus (Charisma). It's Eldritch Blast without the RBA addition or the Constitution-based option. Oh, but wait! If you miss with it, you can reroll it, with a very, very convenient cost: a dent to your hitpoints equal to your level.  Doesn't that sound kinda familiar? It should, as it perfectly overlaps with your pact boon. Unpenalized(ish) rerolls are incredibly nice for your DPR, and if you want to go down this path and favor Charisma, take this - you won't regret it.[/sblock]

STAR PACT (Player's Handbook 1) / Control Damage Defense Leadership Support
Can be effective as either a Con'lock or Cha'lock, and the riders on these powers are quite nice.The Star Pact
[sblock]Pact Boon: Fate of the Void.When an enemy cursed by you falls to zero hitpoints, you gain a cumulative +1 bonus to one attack roll, saving throw, skill check, or ability check you make - your choice to apply whenever any of these come up - until the end of your turn. Afterwards, the bonus is lost. A singular point to attack rolls is not going to make a large impact and does require fixing (via your core Pact feat option) to make it noticeable.

At-Will Powers: Dire Radiance.
Can be used as either a Charisma-based or Constitution-based power. The rating isn't such that the effect is weak - it's not exactly a hard trigger point - it's just that the effect is hard to trigger in the context of battle. Melee enemies will probably not move after it's locked onto your allies, and ranged enemies will probably not bother to move. The secondary damage triggers when they move closer to you, which is soft control (giving enemies a bad option and a good option); not a very positive slant. It is radiant damage, and that's open to a lot of tricks, but as it is it really needs a clever mind and a well-aligned battlefield to really pull out the meat of its power.[/sblock]

FEY PACT (Player's Handbook 1) / Control Damage Defense Leadership Support
Fully Charisma-based. The powers are very Control-heavy, sacrificing damage for stellar effects, but you can still be a good Striker without large numbers of dice to roll.The Fey Pact
[sblock]Pact Boon: Misty Step.When an enemy cursed by you falls to zero hitpoints, you teleport 3 squares as a free action. Unlike your Hexblade cousins, you're rather rarely in the thick of the action, so a teleport isn't going to have much strength in the heat of battle, especially when you can't always do it on your own terms.

At-Will Powers: Eyebite.
This is a very popular power for other classes to poach, especially Bards and Paladins, as an encounter power that granted invisibility was something really fancy to pull out to divert attention away. It doesn't work quite as well for you, but it's still not a bad power by any means.[/sblock]

DARK PACT (Forgotten Realms) / Control Damage Defense Leadership Support
Entirely Charisma-based. Heavy on DPR focus, with only one real facet of control without influence from other pacts; falls into the problem of emphasizing necrotic and poison damage, which is strange considering the anti-undead bent of this Pact. Still, though, a cool Pact to follow, though it has its problems.The Dark Pact
[sblock]Pact
Boon:
Darkspiral
Aura.Mmm-mmm, Catch-22s. When an enemy cursed by you falls to zero hitpoints, you add one point to a special little bank called your Darkspiral Aura. Whenever an enemy targets you with a melee or ranged attack, you can drop your Aura as an immediate interrupt to deal xd6/xd8/xd10 damage to the target, X being the amount of points in your Aura. Like the Star and Fey Pacts, this encourages Cursing as fast as possible, and very large encounters to give yourself a humongously strong punishment for enemies attacking you. Recognize, however, that the scaling of this is suspect (never growing above 1d12 per point at 21st level with a feat) and in fights against solo creatures with a Defender doing his job, you might as well forget this exists, even if that solo has lackeys.

At-Will Powers: Spiteful Glamor.
d12 damage if the target is at full hitpoints, and d8 otherwise. No other effects. At least it attacks Will...[/sblock]

VESTIGE PACT (Arcane Power) / Control Damage Defense Leadership Support
Constitution-based. Still very Strikery, but actually trades in a bit of Control for being a quasi-Leader. And to be honest, the Vestige Pact does that very well; it's honestly my favorite pact out of all of them.(NOTE: The ratings fluctuate depending on the Vestige Pact chosen.)
The Vestige Pact
[sblock]Pact Boon: Vestige of King Elidyr; Vestige of Zutwa; various.
This is much trickier: when an enemy cursed by you falls to zero hitpoints, you follow the Pact Boon of a specific ancient Vestige that you've signed your pact to. At the end of any rest, you select either of the two primary Vestiges to follow, King Elidyr or Zutwa. This determines not only your Pact Boon, but your special At-Will power's secondary effect. Whenever you use a Daily Warlock power that has Vestige in the name, you can choose to sign into that pact instead of your original one - at that point, your Boon and At-Will's secondary effect changes to incorporate the effects listed. It's book-keeping to the max, and unfortunately only the Vestige of Zutwa pact boon is of any worth by default, as on-demand Prime Shot (and the spike to the bonus as the pact boon) is going to be much more handy than the weak Leader-like abilities that King Elidyr contains.

At-Will Powers: Eyes of the Vestige.
This power is incredible; the ability to spread damage and Curses around to more important targets is fantastic, and the power would be just fine by itself, without the special Augments you get from your current Vestige. The damage you inflict is a tad low, but it's against Will, and can carry some monstrously good effects if you ally yourself with the right Vestiges. A fantastic extra At-Will for Human Con'locks.[/sblock]

SORCERER-KING PACT (Dark Sun) / Control Damage Defense Leadership Support
Every power for you guys is Constitution- or Charisma-based, with an attack range of Melee touch or Ranged 5. This is also very Leadery, and is incredibly versatile on every front, able to be slotted in to any build. A very popular candidate for Twofold Pact due to how wonderful its feats are.The Sorcerer-King Pact
[sblock]Pact Boon: Fell Scorn.Very simple: you start your encounters with a Fell Might as a King'lock, and whenever you use a Warlock power tied to the Sorcerer-King pact, you can spend it before rolling the attack roll to get a special rider on a hit. The Pact Boon simply refreshes the use of the Fell Might. You cannot get multiple uses of the Fell Might, which is kinda disappointing.

At-Will Powers: Hand of Blight.
Huh. Melee touch or Ranged 5, Constitution or Charisma; wicked. The at-will also services to introduce you to the Fell Might feature: if you spend it on this power and hit, you deal 1d8 extra damage, which is actually an excellent bonus, and one of the best ways to spend your Fell Might. Heck, it even allows the target to grant combat advantage to everyone, which is neat. The range is rather short, but hey, it works - and there are some strategies you can exploit from having this be a Melee range option.[/sblock]

ELEMENTAL PACT (Essentials: HOEC) / Control Damage Defense Leadership Support
Charisma-based, but since none of your new powers have Elemental Pact riders and your At-Will is awful, you could conceivably go with Constitution as your attack score. A striking similarity to the Sorcerer with this pact, and contains some extremely unique features and bonuses.  It also helps with one of the worst parts about, oddly enough, the Dark'lock powers in being able to switch around damage types. Awesome pact... except there's a little bit of a problem.
The Elemental Pact
[sblock]Elemental Affinity
As the only Pact with a fully-fledged feature, this does a rather neat little thing: it gives you a fragment of the Wild Sorcerer feature, in which you roll a d10 each time you rest to determine a damage type.  The result you get (which can be either acid, cold, fire, lightning, or thunder) replaces all instances of the psychic, necrotic, poison, or force damage type on your Warlock powers (this includes ongoing damage, Dark'locks) with your new Affinity's type. This Affinity can change to one of your choice when you spend your Second Wind. This meshes wonderfully with the Pact Boon...

Pact Boon: Accursed Affinity.
Whenever an enemy cursed by you drops to zero hitpoints... nothing happens. At least not yet.  Whenever you next Curse an enemy, that enemy gains Vulnerable 5/10/15 (by tier) to your Affinity's damage type for the rest of the encounter. Simply glorious DPR potential here, not just for you, and sickening with Bloodied Boon. 

At-Will Powers: Chromatic Bolt.
Another aspect of the Sorcerer comes into play, this time reflecting the Storm Sorcerer's favorite at-will choice: you deal a decent amount of psychic damage (which can be changed with your Elemental Affinity feature), and you deal some extra minion-poppin' psychic damage on another target within 5 squares equal to your Constitution modifier. Really, there's no reason for this: Intelligence is such an important aspect of the class as a whole that having a secondary damage option based on the other primary isn't good for anything other than just popping minions. And while that sounds like a smart plan, since you can curse a minion and then pop him with the secondary on this for instant Boon, that also means you missed out on extra damage on the primary target, which past Heroic will mean something. The CHA/CON split for armor isn't horrible if you're going in Chainmail but there's few enchantments you want on that.[/sblock] 

 

[MerricB]

Originally posted by DuelistDelSol:

Ability Scores: The Heartwork​

So, you got your Pact signed with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, but... who exactly are you? Are you speedy or smart? Strong or charming? Draconic or... not?
 
The suggested scores do not count in post-racial bonuses.

STRENGTH:
(8-13) Not really something to focus on. Melee-focused Warlocks and Warlocks hybridizing with a Strength-primary class, however, might want to pay a bit of attention here. 13 Strength is also the threshold to cross to gain Hide Proficiency, which is of serious consideration for some of you if you're entertaining the thought of starting with a 14 or 16 INT post-racial.

CONSTITUTION: (13-18) You pick either this or Charisma for your primary ability score, and pick the other for a tertiary to shore up either Will or Fortitude. The old strategy of going "Split'lock" (Constitution and Charisma even, Intelligence a distant second) is nowadays too risky to go for, as it forces you to wear Chainmail, and in any case, both ability scores are represented very heavily considering the wide breadth of powers available. Anyway, for Constitution'locks, this is the stat you stick a 16 or 18 in, no questions asked. It determines your Fortitude, your HP, your surges, and most importantly for half of you, your attack and damage rolls.

DEXTERITY: (10-13) Used mainly to qualify for Dual Implement Spellcaster, and for those that cherry-pick powers that don't rely on your Intelligence, you can use this to patch your AC while also giving some love to your Stealth and initiative scores. This can be used as a secondary if you wish, but no Warlock powers or feats care about your Dexterity, so it's only for very specific builds. It's not a bad ability to have a couple points in, though.

INTELLIGENCE: (14-16) Almost all of your power's riders, and your AC, relies on this very stat. This stat is incredibly important, and one you want to raise alongside your primary.

WISDOM: (8-10) There's very little reason ever for you to invest in Wisdom. Perception is out there, but good parties will have pretty much all of the abilities covered anyway, and Wisdom-based classes will have Perception, whether naturally or via backgrounds. You don't need this.

CHARISMA: (13-18) Your alternative primary score. You have a lot more powers that require Charisma than you do Constitution; meanwhile this is also the skill most associated with social skills and will also determine your Will score, so this is super important to some degree.
 
 

Race Options: Hell, an Equal Opportunity Employer​

I'm actually going to be following Dedekine's format here: instead of sorting races by book, I'll be sorting races by ability score loadouts, in Primary/Secondary (CON/INT or CHA/INT), Primary only (CON or CHA), and Secondary only (INT). If a race isn't mentioned, don't even bother.

Primary and Secondary
[sblock]Eladrin (INT + Cha, Dex): These guys and gals are poster-child Fey'locks, with a racial option to ferret themselves out of trouble, on top of great feat support that helps to focus on their teleportation bent. They do great as any Charisma'lock, not just Fey'locks, but flavorwise, the Fey is where they belong. And as if the Eladrin wasn't good enough, the Sun Elf option presented in Neverwinter gives them automatic proficiency with Staffs and Orbs. The implement problem solved without even spending a feat to do so puts them at the top echelon of Cha'lock races.

Genasi (INT + Str, Con): CON/INT alone makes them phenomenal, as it's a very rare trait for 4e races. It's assumed by going Genasi that you're either playing an Arcane class or a Warlord, and in that regard the spectacular racial choices and features will make you a great Con'lock. Shame the feats want you to be a Wizard...

Gnome (INT + Dex, Cha): You don't care about being small, you get the exact support you'd want from going with either the Star or Fey pacts, you have a racial encounter get-out-of-jail-free card... you're the Eladrin in miniature, and that's something to brag about.

Shardmind (INT + Cha, Wis): CHA/INT, on the other hand, is quite common, as you could probably tell. This one's no different: a propensity for skills akin to the Eladrin, automatic resistance to a decent damage type (Psychic, instead of the Tiefling's Fire), an offensive-based "Run away!" power, and good feat support. The flavor, however, might turn some people off; I myself don't really like the "weird" races such as PHB3 likes to favor, but to each his own.

Tiefling (CHA + Int, Con): Wait, so you mean the race that was born from signing a deal with archdevils and carries bonuses to the very ability scores Warlocks love... is a good race? No way! It's quite obvious that you're a natural Charisma'lock and a great Constitution'lock: your feat support is marvelous, your racial abilities are splendid (resists and accuracy!), and you can even focus on a fire theme and not come out too badly.

Hobgoblin (CON + Int, Cha): Well, look at that. We were finally graced with another CON/INT race recently, and thankfully, it's a great pick: it comes packed with an initiative bonus right off the bat, a great racial to stave off Save Ends effects, and a special little feat just for you Arcane types that, for your unfriendly Close area hexes, can allow you to eliminate a square adjacent to you as a target.

Warforged (CON + Str, Int): Chicks dig giant Warlocks. A bonus to Will, even as someone primed for the Constitution pacts, is very welcome, as well as another source of temporary hitpoints for you Infernal machines in the audience. The feat support is woesome for Warlocks, and unfortunately, now that we have a new CON/INT race in the house, the attraction just isn't as strong as it used to be. But by no means is it a bad choice; the flavor is certainly awesome.

Changeling (CHA + Dex, Int): Unfortunately, while this race is chock-full of flavor and carries a nice bonus to Will to shore up your already awesome Will score, the feat support... kinda doesn't exist. Well, it does, but it's really nothing spectacular, and doesn't boost your Warlock features or powers.

Kalashtar (CHA + Int, Wis): Fortunately, you are a bit different from the pack - your ability to shrug off certain secondary effects is second-to-none, and you possess a racial power that'll allow you to just blow off almost any Will-based attack once per encounter.

Pixie (CHA + Dex, Int): Even though it's yet another CHA/INT race, and there's absolutely no argument against them being a Fey'lock, especially considering where they come from, their racial features and powers mean little to you, and their feat options aren't spectacular either.

Kenku (CHA + Dex. Int): The Kenku rides the exact same boat as the Pixie does; it's a serviceable Cha'lock race with nothing going for it in terms of support.

Shade (CHA + Dex, Int): A CHA/INT race, a bonus to Arcana and automatic Darkvision? Neat! Horrible feat support, a loss of a healing surge, and a mediocre Standard-action racial? Nah. They technically are a decent CHA/INT race; the purple rating reflects the fact that all of the others are so much superior, however.[/sblock]
Primary Score Only
[sblock]Dragonborn (CHA + Str, Con, Dex): I'm still astounded at the decision to give these guys a third secondary score, but it's there (though you need to be a Kapak to gain Dexterity). Your racial power is heavily supported by feats, and you gain access to a very neat Rod in the Rod of the Dragonborn. On the whole, even without INT, Dragonborn will have no problems at all being good Warlocks.

Half-Elf (CON + Wis, Cha): Oh, Dilettante. How we love you so. Should you come into the problem of grabbing a power that isn't CON or CHA based, you have ways to repair that. Even disregarding this, the fact that you can take both Human and Elf feats could be a consideration all on its own, especially for the former's list.

Mul (CON + Str, Wis): While the Minor Action Second Wind will go amiss compared to being a full Dwarf, and even though you have to pick between Dwarf and Human for your feats, both options are pretty darn good, and there's so much else about you that make you a formidable Con'lock.

Revenant (DEX + Con, Cha): DMs tend to ban Revenants even from home games, either because the flavor is rather obtruse (The Raven Queen hates the undead, but she'll create minions from those whose "time wasn't up" without objection? Uh...) or because the mechanics are absolutely bonkers crazy (essentially turning any race you want into a DEX/Con/Cha race on top of base Revenant support). This should be your primary Warlock option if your DM is up for some fun.

Deva (WIS + Int, Cha): Deva make for rather odd Warlocks in my opinion... though they make fantastic Vestige Pact Warlocks, who pretty much thrive on the idea of past lives fueling their powers. Your innate resistances are excellent, and your Memory of a Thousand Lifetimes will help that critical daily land. Where this race really shines is in Epic with the Soul of the World ED, which is pretty much the reason you pick Deva in the first place.

Drow (DEX + Cha, Wis): Flavorful Dark'locks to the end, and solid Cha'locks of any sort. Their racial power choices are awesome, though Darkfire a bit moreso than Cloud of Darkness.

Dwarf (CON + Str, Wis): The secondary stats don't quite line up with what you want, but you will appreciate the bonus to Constitution and some very interesting abilities to keep you on your feet. A proclivity for hammers could also come into use if you go down that path of optimization. Curiously enough they, along with "dead" (Revenant) Dwarves, make the best Elemental Pact Warlocks: there is no reason you can't go Constitution-based as an Ele'lock (since your At-Will kinda blows), and a Minor Action Second Wind will tame your Affinity feature much more easily than it would otherwise.

Goblin (DEX + Wis, Cha): +2 to Bluff. +2 to Stealth. +1 to Reflex. An IR shift on a missed melee attack. Feats aren't the greatest, but damn, you're given a lot at the outset anyway.

Halfling (DEX + Con, Cha): The DEX will help with qualifying for Dual Implement Spellcaster, and you will be evasive as hell, not only with your racial power but with your feat options. On top of which, you can be a Con'lock or a Cha'lock with no problems whatsoever. Neato.

Human (Any ability score): Great for pretty much every class, though slightly worse as Warlocks since you depend a lot on your secondary. Having access to great feat support, a bonus skill, and a bonus feat on a class that's very feat-starved is something to die for. In regards to the bonus At-Will: you gained two unique options in the Binder list for Cha'locks, but Con'locks are pretty much stuck deciding between Hellish Rebuke and Eyes of the Vestige (the latter admittedly being a power house).

Kobold (CON + Dex, Cha): An iconic race finally gets a proper write-up... and amazingly enough, some feat support as well. With their "introduction" in the Dungeon Survival Guide, these small critters lost Shifty but instead gained a rather interesting little feat in Eldritch Momentum that almost directly copies the Shadow Warlock Armor property. The loss of Shifty is a little disappointing, but enough was given to them to make them a sweet new choice for the class.

Satyr (CHA + Dex, Con): Like the Pixie, they make extremely flavorful (and competent) Fey'locks, but they make quite decent Con'locks as well. They have a bit of a mix of durability and mind clearance, on top of a rather interesting racial power. Shame about the feats and the uselessness of Bluff being an automatic skill for you...

Wilden (WIS + Con, Dex): A fey origin, but no Charisma or Intelligence boost? What a shame. What's not a shame is how flexible you can boost their NADs and the shenanigans you can pull with their racial powers.

Half-Orc (DEX + Str, Con): Very close to being blue, but the racial feats kinda want you to be in melee. Still, quite a unique race to be as an Arcane character, and will work just fine.

Hamadryad (WIS + Int, Cha): You are the Wilden, except not. Just like your Satyr and Pixie cousins, you will make a flavorful Fey'lock (y'all did come from the same Feywild book), but unlike the Satyr, there just isn't enough support to differentiate themselves from the pack.

Vryloka (CHA + Dex, Str): I imagine this is the class and race combination you'd want to most play if you really wanted to be a Vampire, though with all that said you're a bit fragile. Still, you have a useful encounter power and innate necrotic resistance. That can count for something.

Goliath (STR + Con, Wis): All of your feats want you to be a Warden so badly. Automatic proficiency with all two-handed weapons (except Superior weapons) with just one feat may be attractive, however.

Hengeyokai (DEX + Wis, Cha): You have no feats at all, and while the +1 Reflex can be quite handy, there's nothing here that other races can't deliver - Charisma is too common a stat boost amongst the crowd. To be fair though, if you want a furry Warlock, this is kind of your best option if your DM is strict with flavor.

Minotaur (STR + Con, Wis): A CON boost is all you're getting here, if you don't care about charging.[/sblock]
Secondary Score Only
[sblock]Elf (DEX + Int, Wis): What sells them the most is Elven Accuracy, which actually contains some great support for Arcane classes, multi-attacker or otherwise. Other than that, they make decent Fey'locks, but Eladrin is right there...

Githzerai (WIS + Dex, Int): That Wisdom score is just not going to do anything for you, and the racial power plus many of your features and feats want you to be an evasive character or a Defender. You can actually delve into the former with surprising confidence, and even feign the latter, but it'll take a dedicated build to do so. They do come packaged with an initiative booster right from the start, which does say a lot about a class normally low in that score.

Shadar-Kai (DEX + Wis, Int): I'm actually tempted to rate these guys as Blue, due to how a lot of their racial abilities fit the missing parts of some Warlocks. You get a bonus to death saving throws, a very handy bonus to Fortitude, and your feats focus on resists, insubstantiality, and Controller-esque abilities. Give these guys a second look - you might be surprised.[/sblock] 
 

Skills: Play and Work... Enjoy Your Time on Earth​

The Warlock class gets four skills, the baseline for a class. Surprisingly enough, you don't get Arcana automatically - and depending on your class loadout, you may have to force yourself into that skill.

Here's what you can get:

Class Skills
[sblock]Arcana (INT): A knowledge skill, and one you'll be quite good at. Take it if you can, but if you have a Wizard in the party, you can look elsewhere: he'll be better at it than you. Important for those that become a Sage of Ages.

Bluff (CHA): Social skills are very handy, especially as a Cha-primary. If you're Constitution-based, this is still not a bad option.

History (INT): Another knowledge skill, but a bit more in the realm of DM context than anything. Still, you'll be great at this.

Insight (WIS): Have other people in your party else take this and Perception. If you absolutely must, and you're attracted to the (admittedly good) skill powers, then by all means take it, but...

Intimidate (CHA): One of the most broken skills in the game; if your DM allows it, you can force bloodied opponents to surrender with a successful Intimidate vs. Will check. Another social skill, and one that's both highly flavorful and very handy. Constitution'locks won't prize it as much.

Religion (INT): Either this or Arcana is required to start slinging around Rituals. I'd rather you go for Arcana than this, but a little prayer never went amiss - and Religion skill powers tend to be very nice.

Streetwise (CHA): Eeeeh... this is way too situational to ever really recommend. Ask your DM.

Thievery (DEX): Everyone needs a trap-maestro. And if it must fall on you, your modicum of DEX (be it 11 or 13) will make it work. Jumps to Sky Blue if you use Dexterity as a secondary score instead of tertiary or quaternary.[/sblock]

Here's what you can't get:

Other Skills
[sblock]Acrobatics (DEX): Maybe...? You'll be wearing armor that doesn't deduct from your Acrobatics score, and Dexterity is a quaternary (and a rare secondary), so you won't suck at this. But still... it's Acrobatics. Search the room for a ladder and cheat the system, or just fly.

Athletics (STR): You're a Warlock. You don't work your muscles - you teleport. Ask for a rope if you have to.

Diplomacy (CHA): Bluff and Intimidate will normally get you far in the world (though perhaps not in everyone's good graces). If you're the face of the party, though, consider buying this via a feat. Prime Eladrin racial option here, by the way.

Dungeoneering (WIS): Two problems compound this skill - every DM has a different idea of just what Dungeoneering is and what it applies to (basically, determining cardinal directions, noticing clues and hazards in an underground environment, or recognizing how deep in a structure you are). The second is on top of the first: it's Wisdom based. There's not too much to gain if you invest in this skill, so don't worry about it.

Endurance (CON): The only Constitution-based skill in the game, and if your DM likes to pit you against rats and mummies, this will be very important to make sure your awesome adventure doesn't get sidelined by random rats. Plus the skill powers are fantastic. Cha'locks need not apply, unless they absolutely must henpick the skill powers.

Heal (WIS): Nah.

Nature (WIS): Strongly advised if you want to go into the madness that is Rituals. Otherwise, bleh.

Perception (WIS): Again, let the Druid do it. However, if no one else can be bothered to pretend to care about their surroundings, then it'll have to fall on you, because the skill is used so much in 4e. Your trash Wisdom score won't like it, though.

Stealth (DEX): A very popular candidate for purchasing skills, or grabbing via backgrounds: any investment in Dexterity and common Stealth-boosting armors will make you quite masterful at this, as you have the easiest job in the world gaining concealment. Sky Blue if your race either bumps your Stealth score or gives this skill to you for free.[/sblock]

 

[MerricB]

Too much is looking better than too little. Adding back a few line breaks where it looks better will be less work than taking a lot out at seemingly-random places.

Not when it kills perfectly innocent spaces in the middle of lines because the colour of the font changed...

 

[MerricB]

Originally posted by GladiusLegis:

III. Class Options 
Once you've accounted for the necessary Fighter 2/Rogue 3 and Extra Attack somewhere, there's several paths to the way of the True Assassin.
 
Fighter (past 2): The Fighter class has much to offer beyond the necessary 2 levels to get Action Surge. Besides what's listed below, another major selling point of more Fighter levels is more ability score increases (which can also be feats) than any other class. Aside from the standard 4/8/12/16/19 progression, you also get an extra one each at Fighter levels 6 and 14.
 

• Combat Superiority
  (Lv. 3, Battle Master): Four d8 Superiority Dice and your choice of three maneuvers to start. Thing about Superiority Dice is that they get doubled on those delicious auto-crits like all other damage dice, making Battle Master the archetype of choice for True Assassins.

Recommended Maneuvers
[sblock]Trip Attack: Melee or ranged. Knocking the enemy on its rear is one of the best things you can do. If you're using this as a ranged attack, however, save this for the last attack in your sequence so you don't get disadvantage.
Precision Attack: Melee or ranged. Sometimes you just want to hit, rather than deal the extra die in damage. The fact you can apply this after your attack roll makes this very useful, indeed. Did a particular attack roll you made look bad? Use this.
Menacing Attack: Melee or ranged. If they're not immune to fear, make them scared to approach you! If they're even alive after your surprise nova.
Distracting Strike: Melee or ranged. Good for setting up advantage for an ally if Trip Attack doesn't work (because the enemy is bigger than Large).
Maneuvering Attack: Melee or ranged. Free surprise-round movement for an ally is good to enable while doing your dirty work.
Feinting Attack: Melee (practical). This is one for the single-weapon duelists with a high number of Rogue levels and a Sneak Attack high enough to make this useful. Don't use this for an alpha strike, but on subsequent rounds this can be worthy to get Sneak Attack damage when you otherwise couldn't.

[/sblock] 

• Extra Attack (1)
  (Lv. 5): The quickest way for a True Assassin to get to the needed 2 attacks/action, although not the preference for every build.
• Extra Attack (2)
  (Lv. 11): Only 11 Fighter levels can get you three attacks per Attack action, and this represents yet another big boost to not only baseline damage, but an Action Surge nova. Works equally well for melee or ranged, making this the most versatile damage boost of those beyond the first Extra Attack.
• Action Surge (2/short rest)
  (Lv. 17): A second use of your premier nova ability per short rest is as solid as anything.

 
Rogue (past 3): The biggest reason to take Rogue levels past 3 is a stronger Sneak Attack, but you also get some neat abilities in addition along the way. Honestly, though, True Assassins shouldn't take any more than 9 Rogue levels. 11 Fighter levels for a third attack, or a high number of Paladin levels for more spell slots to Smite with, are much better for damage-dealing purposes.
 

• Uncanny Dodge
  (Lv. 5): Cutting one hit's damage every round in half with your reaction goes a long way toward survival in combat.
• Expertise II
  (Lv. 6): Two more proficient skills get double proficiency. (Or even Thieves’ Tools.)
• Evasion (Lv. 7): Since you started as a Fighter, you won't make your DEX saves to nullify damage entirely quite as often as an actual Rogue with DEX save proficiency. But even on a failed save, the damage gets cut in half, so this is still very much awesome.

 
Paladin: If you prefer doing your dirty work in melee, there is nothing better than taking levels of this class. Once you get over the relatively minor hurdle of a little MAD (STR 13 and CHA 13 required), you'll find yourself possessing a wide array of tools that add more damage dice, making your surprise-round novas absolutely scream. However, if you are forced to do your work from range (because of enemy blindsight and truesight), this class' main damage features (Divine Smite and Improved Divine Smite namely) are diminished considerably. You do have spells that add damage dice, however, so it's not a complete waste even then.
 

• Fighting Style (Lv. 2): Not nearly as good as the Fighter's or Ranger's options for the Assassin trade, since the Paladin doesn't offer Archery or Two-Weapon Fighting. Best to either take Dueling in case you get stuck with only a single melee weapon, or Defense for the free +1 AC.
• Divine Smite (Lv. 2) (MELEE ONLY): The cornerstone of the Paladin's burst damage, so long as you're in melee. The damage dice from this are doubled like all others, making your surprise-round novas scream. Gets better as you take more Paladin levels and get more and higher spell slots to burn.
• Spellcasting / 1st-level spells
  (Lv. 2): Some spells here can add more damage dice for a bigger nova on top of Divine Smite.

Recommended Spells
[sblock]
Divine Favor: 1d4 extra damage on all hits, works on ranged attacks as well. This can add up very quickly on a surprise nova with Action Surge, where all those d4s get doubled. If you dual-wield, cast this the round before you approach your target so you get your off-hand buffed from this, too. (You typically want to do that with all bonus-action spells that add damage.)
Thunderous Smite: Melee only, 2d6 extra damage is nearly that of a 1st-level Divine Smite and stacks on top of that. And it gets doubled on your surprise nova crits, too. Good to use early in your Paladin progression.
[/sblock] 

• Sacred Weapon
  (Lv. 3, Oath of Devotion): If you absolutely, positively need to hit your target, this is as good as it gets ... with some giant caveats. You need to find a place to hide that won't let any light out before using this (for example, a closet or unoccupied room or small alcove away from your target), otherwise your bright shining weapon will give you away. Once you cast this, sheathe your weapon (it stays active as long as you're carrying it) until you can approach your target and strike.
• Vow of Enmity
  (Lv. 3, Oath of Vengeance): Not as valuable for you as for a straight Paladin of Vengeance, since Assassinate also gives you advantage, but this is still good to have on reserve if you're forced to fight face-to-face.
• 1st-level Oath spells (Lv. 3): Vengeance wins pretty cleanly on Oath spells for damage purposes, and 1st level is no exception.

Recommended Spells
[sblock]Vengeance:
Hunter's Mark: Adds 1d6 to all hits, which is more than Divine Favor. Gets doubled on your surprise nova, too, and works for melee or ranged. Cast the round before approach.

[/sblock] 

• Extra Attack /
  2nd-level spells
  (Lv. 5): You get the all-important Extra Attack and 2nd-level spells at Paladin 5. A big level.

Recommended Spells
[sblock]
Branding Smite: Amazingly, this Smite spell works with a ranged weapon, so if you're forced to strike from ranged, consider this one. 2d6 extra damage dice that double on surprise round, and it can be upcast with higher slots for more damage. Stack with a Divine Smite for more goodness. Cast the round before approach.
[/sblock] 

• Aura of Protection
  (Lv. 6): Arguably the signature of the Paladin class, CHA-modifier to not only all of your saves, but to any allies' saves within 10 feet.
• Aura of Devotion
  (Lv. 7, Oath of Devotion): Straight-up immunity to charm, spreads to allies within 10 feet.
• 3rd-level spells
  (Lv. 9): A big level for spells, especially if you went Vengeance.

Recommended Spells
[sblock]
Blinding Smite: Melee only, 3d8 extra damage, doubling on your auto-crits like everything else. Oh, and yes, it blinds the target on a failed CON save. Cast round before approach.
Crusader's Mantle: If you're leading a team of True Assassins, there is nothing finer. Imagine d4s on all hits from you and your team, all of them doubled! Even if you don't have a team of True Assassins, this is really good for your mundane attackers and any summoned creatures. Works melee or ranged.
Elemental Weapon: If your weapon is nonmagical, it's a +1 to hit and +1d4 to all your hits (which, again, double on your auto-crits). Works with ranged weapons, too. Don't use this if you're wielding a magical weapon. 
Vengeance:
Haste: An extra attack with all the other damage dice Paladins can get on each surprise-round crit is just gross, and it also helps you in any remaining fighting after the surprise round. Also very clearly the spell of choice if you're forced to deal from range. Just remember to cast the round before you approach so you get the benefit of all attacks on your surprise round.

[/sblock] 

• Aura of Courage
  (Lv. 10): Straight-up immunity to fear, spreads to allies within 10 feet.
• Improved Divine Smite
  (Lv. 11) (MELEE ONLY): The Paladin's Lv. 11 damage boost is especially impressive for Assassins who work in melee. The 1d8 — yes, doubled on all crits — gets added to ALL melee attacks. In the hands of a dual-wielder, this feature can actually lead to more damage on a surprise nova round than the Fighter's third attack does, considering Assassins use rapiers or shortswords in melee at most. If only this feature worked at range, it'd be absolutely perfect.
• 4th-level spells
  (Lv. 13): Most Paladin True Assassins will stop here, as it's the highest spell level they can get, and their Lv. 14-16 features do not help the profession much. Mostly, you'll use this spell level for your one maximum Divine Smite (5d8, doubled on crit) per day.

 
Ranger: Some good stuff going this multiclass route if you prefer to work from range in particular. Remember to have a 13 WIS if you want to go here.
 

• Fighting Style
  (Lv 2): All the likely Assassin styles are there — Archery, Two-Weapon Style and Dueling. Pick one of those if you want a little more versatility in how you kill, or take Defense for the +1 boost to AC.
• Spellcasting / 1st-level spells
  (Lv. 2): One spell in particular should be catching your eye, and that is Hunter's Mark. 1D6 extra damage on all attacks that gets doubled on crit. Cast it the round before you strike if you have bonus action attacks.
• Colossus Slayer
  (Lv. 3, Hunter): This is why you'd go Hunter as a True Assassin. 1D8 once per round against an already wounded enemy, which will kick in on the surprise nova (and get doubled) as long as you hit with at least two attacks during your sequence.
• Extra Attack
  /
  2nd-level spells
  (Lv. 5): The necessary Extra Attack plus, I guess, more slots to cast Hunter's Mark with. (Well, some Ranger utility spells here are really good, but don't directly help your surprise nova, so I'll leave mentions there to the Ranger guide.)
• 3rd-level spells (Lv. 9): Some really good spells here for the Ranger, although none are particularly noteworthy for your surprise nova.
• Volley
  (Lv. 11, Hunter): Easily the better of the two Multiattack choices here, even if you do prefer melee otherwise. Gives you an interesting nova option when surprising a large group of enemies. Shower them all with attacks that all have their damage dice doubled on crits, and then Action Surge for a double tap of crits against all of them.

 
Warlock: One particular spell is a big prize for the surprise-round nova and is available from the first level you dip here. CHA 13 required. If you want an actual predominantly spellcasting Assassin, you'll want to advance pretty far here.
 

• Pact Magic (1 slot/short rest, 1st-level)
  (Lv. 1): Take this to get Hex to deal 1d6 extra damage on all attacks, that yet again all get doubled on a surprise nova's crits. This also can reduce the enemy's initiative thanks to the penalty to ability checks. Even with just 1 Warlock level, that matches the number of Action Surges you get every short rest, so that'll do just fine.
• 2 slots/short rest, 1st-level
  (Lv. 2): Cast another Hex between short rests. You don't get a third slot until Lv. 11, which may be farther than you want from this class.
• 2nd-level spells/slots
  (Lv. 3): Invisibility is a very nice spell to learn for your trade, basically allowing you to Hide anywhere.
• Pact Boon (Lv. 3): Take whatever pleases, although if you want Thirsting Blade at Lv. 5, to get your Extra Attack that way, take Pact of the Blade.
• Thirsting Blade (Pact of the Blade) / 3rd-level spells/slots
  (Lv. 5): Thirsting Blade is the way to get Extra Attack via 5 Warlock levels. 3rd-level spells come at this level, too.
• 4th-level spells/slots
  (Lv. 7)
• 5th-level spells/slots
  (Lv. 9): The power of your slots maxes out here.
• Mystic Arcanum (6th-level) / 3 slots/short rest (Lv. 11): Finally get a third slot, along with one 6th-level spell per day. Nice.
• Lifedrinker
  (Lv. 12, Pact of the Blade): It's a static bonus, so it doesn't get multiplied on your auto-crits, but what the heck, it's damage, so take it if you made it this far in the class.
• Mystic Arcanum (7th-level)
  (Lv. 13)

 

 

[MerricB]

Originally posted by GladiusLegis:

Dealing Death: Handbook of the True Assassin 
"Nothing is true. Everything is permitted."
— Alamut by Vladimir Bartol
 
Guide also available on Google Docs.
 
Table of Contents:

• Introduction
• Makeup of the True Assassin
• Class Options
• Races
• Feats
• Equipment
• FAQ
• Builds and Combos

 
This guide will use the following ratings:
 
Red is dead. A trap that you will want to avoid at all costs, either because it's ineffective or because it's thoroughly outclassed by another option that accomplishes something similar.
Purple is a substandard choice. It might be useful in corner-case situations, but overall it's not worth the investment.
Black is average. You're not hurting your character by taking this, and it might even help in some situations, but there are better choices.
Blue is a good choice. It definitely helps your character in the majority of cases.
Sky Blue is a fantastic choice. An option you should strongly consider above most others.
Gold is mandatory. It's a rare rating that denotes something that is so good that you must take it, or you can't call yourself optimized.
 
I. Introduction 
What is a "True" Assassin? 
Certainly it's a pure Rogue taking the Assassin archetype who goes all the way to Lv. 17 in the class for Death Strike, right?
 
Well, no. While Death Strike is certainly a sexy ability, it serves more as base compensation for sticking with the Rogue class for that long. While a pure Assassin Rogue no doubt has its own appeal and fun factor, Lv. 17 in that class represents a jarring jump in power that makes you wonder if there somehow were better options and smoother power gains up until that point.
 
And as it turns out, yes, there are!
 
All Assassins have to have some levels of Rogue, true. How many, you ask? 3. Yes, that's it. Three Rogue levels, entering the Assassin archetype, is enough to call yourself an Assassin in word and deed. Because in the feature of Assassinate is everything you need to execute (pardon the pun) deadly alpha strikes in every surprise round you can get.
 
The trick then becomes filling in the blanks after those 3 Rogue levels to take advantage of the automatic criticals madness the Assassinate feature offers. Sure, the Rogue's native Sneak Attack is one way. But there are better ways. Namely, getting more attacks. And getting extra damage dice from other sources, all of which get doubled on critical hits.
 
Build your Assassin right, and not only will you increase your damage on a smoother curve than just a  Sneak Attack bump here and there, but you'll deal so much damage eventually that you'll be asking "What's Death Strike?"
 
And then you can call yourself a True Assassin.

 

[RealAlHazred]

If this shakes out right, I'm going to have to buy you a beer.

We may all have to buy [MENTION=3586]MerricB[/MENTION] a beer... I, for one, feel it was well-earned!

 

[MerricB]

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