D&D 5E Need advice on warlock Pacts (Blade vs Tome)

[Johnny Lim]

Hey guys,

I am in the process of creating a warlock for a game my friend is running. We rolled for stats, and I got pretty good rolls (14, 14, 13, 16, 10,7). We play have a houserule that all characters start out with 1 free feat, and variant humans are not allowed.

I'm currently torn between either a bladelock or a tomelock.

If I go Bladelock, my race is probably going to be Mountain Dwarf, Patron GOO (I just dont really like fiend pact) taking Heavily Armored as the extra feat. My ability scores will be:
Str: 17 (14+2 racial+1 feat)
Dex: 7
Con: 16 (14 +2 racial)
Int: 10
Wis: 13
Cha: 16

However, on the other hand, if I go tomelock, my race is probably going to be Tiefling, Patron GOO, taking Warcaster as the extra feat. My ability scores will be:
Str: 7
Dex: 14
Con: 14
Int: 14 (13+1 racial)
Wis: 10
Cha: 18 (16+2 racial)

Question is, are my rolls worth it going bladelock, or should I stick with tomelock and focus on spellcasting? The game is quite brutal in the sense that we typically fight groups of monsters that are either the same CR as the party, or slightly higher. We will have about 4 encounters for each ingame day, and about 1-2 short rests.

 

[TallIan]

The first thing to consider is which one is more fun for you. That advice is of limited use however as you probably think both are fun.

The next thing to consider is what other players are playing. If you have a wizard he'll make a better utility caster than a tome'lock and if you have DPR focused fighter or rogue they'll do more damage than a blade'lock and lastly a tank focus character will tank better than your blade'lock.

So consider if you'll have a primary role or weather you're happy as the secondary in a role.

Sent from my Nexus 9 using Tapatalk

 

[Hawk Diesel]

What I've found playing a bladelock is that while it's a cool and fun class, I am always more of a liability in melee than my martial companions. Even with the bladelock invocations, I don't do enough damage and I am too squishy. This is even more complicated by how effective eldritch blast is, making it always feel, at least for me, that I am wasting my action wading into combat.

Now, if your DM allows some of the new unearthed arcana invocations or allows you to homebrew some to help bring up your ability to be effective in melee, it might fare a bit better for you. My DM is pretty generous about letting me create my own unique invocations to more fully embody my character concept, and it is a fun character to play, but these are things to consider.

Not to mention with a tomelock you can always pick up shillelagh for a decent boost if you need to go into melee. Combined with something like green-flame blade or booming blade, it could be just as effective.

 

[Caliban]

What I've found playing a bladelock is that while it's a cool and fun class, I am always more of a liability in melee than my martial companions. Even with the bladelock invocations, I don't do enough damage and I am too squishy. This is even more complicated by how effective eldritch blast is, making it always feel, at least for me, that I am wasting my action wading into combat.

Now, if your DM allows some of the new unearthed arcana invocations or allows you to homebrew some to help bring up your ability to be effective in melee, it might fare a bit better for you. My DM is pretty generous about letting me create my own unique invocations to more fully embody my character concept, and it is a fun character to play, but these are things to consider.

Not to mention with a tomelock you can always pick up shillelagh for a decent boost if you need to go into melee. Combined with something like green-flame blade or booming blade, it could be just as effective.

It really depends on how you build and play your bladelock. Unfortunately, to really get it working properly you need to take your first level in fighter (proficient Con saves, proficiency in heavy armor, second wind, and a fighting style). I've played several Str based bladelocks (starting with a 16 str and a 14 cha and increasing Str over everything else). I went with Greatswords and was the frontline tank and a competitive damage dealer.

Tomelock may be better in the long run (it allows you to max charisma and use it for your melee attack stat), but Bladelock is still viable and fun if you are careful.