D&D 5E Warlock, Pact of the Blade, Melee

[mellored]

I've pretty much posted this in my original post, without going into specifics of how to play, because I think people should already be able to read spells and figure out what works for a bladelock. What I don't recommend is multi-classing. The reason is, warlocks, like all casters still rely on their magic, and the short term gain you get from starting abilities of another class, usually turns into long term misery, since every level you take in another class, pushes everything in warlock back that many levels, and closes you off to your end game abilities. For example taking 2 levels of fighter first means, you don't get your first ability score improvement until lvl 6, and you can't take Thirsting Blade or get 3rd lvl slots until 7. You can't get life drinker until 14 and you lose master warlock and your last feat. If you take 4 lvls of fighter, you lose your ability to ever get a 9th lvl spell slot, and everything is pushed way back.

Armor is a pretty big deal. Even if you're running around with THP and darkness, you getting armor helps a lot.

But you can get that with a feat, or as a dwarf.

Also, warlock 18-20 are kinda meh. Though you don't want to delay foresight, but after that I would take 3 levels of battlemaster.

Someone mentioned multi-classing into rogue, that's actually kind of interesting, especially if your focus will be more on being a rogue with a pact blade. I'll have to look into it and see how that can work.

archfey 7/rogue X with greater invisibility, booming blade, and warcaster.

Hit someone with advantage, hide, and move to some random spot next to some other enemy. When they move, OA for more damage.
Works great. Not to mention all the fun utility of being Dex/Cha with mask of many faces and expertise in deception.

 

[Erechel]

To appropiately build a bladelock, I would choose the Polearm as Blade Pact Weapon, Polearm Master/Sentinel feat and I would go masochist: Armor of Agathys, False Life invocation, Blade Ward. You will WANT to be hit, and you will play defensively: Blade Ward as an action, and then use reactions to make OAs when enemies enter or leave your reach. Armor of Agathys last an hour, and will do 5 damage for spell level, capping at 25. The trick is that it doesn't need a reaction: everytime anyone hits you receives damage, so is a GREAT option against mobs if you have damage resistance and cap up the THP everytime you need to mantain the spell. It's tricky, but it can be done. If you are certain that the enemies wouldn't hurt a lot (or you gain any resistance to damage without BW), you can use the actions to multiattack (three or four times: one with a bonus action, one with a reaction if someone enters your reach, and two attacks), and then add the damage of the Armor of Agathys. I have used this to great effect. AA is a nasty spell, and lasts for an hour. The main weakness of this tactic is against heavy hitters, such as golems, that would destroy your temporary hit points in a single blow.
The Warlock is one of the trickiest classes around, and you certainly have to manage your resources way better than everyone else, but potentialy wreaking havoc in many games. Of course, if you have access to any magic weapon (even if an ally can cast enchant one for you temporarily), your bladelock will improve drastically over the blaster.
Again, it's tricky, and strange, but it can be done.

 

[neogod22]

You don't have to choose a pact weapon, you create any weapon you want every time you create it, which is what makes the warlock special. You actually get to choose the best weapon for any situation.

Sent from my SM-T813 using Tapatalk

 

[neogod22]

Armor is a pretty big deal. Even if you're running around with THP and darkness, you getting armor helps a lot.

But you can get that with a feat, or as a dwarf.

Also, warlock 18-20 are kinda meh. Though you don't want to delay foresight, but after that I would take 3 levels of battlemaster.

archfey 7/rogue X with greater invisibility, booming blade, and warcaster.

Hit someone with advantage, hide, and move to some random spot next to some other enemy. When they move, OA for more damage.
Works great. Not to mention all the fun utility of being Dex/Cha with mask of many faces and expertise in deception.

Actually I was thinking of only putting 3 levels of warlock in the build. I think warlock is a good to multi-class it into other classes, but not to multi-class other classes into it. The reason I say this, is because warlocks operate on limited but renewable resources, and multi-classing slows down progression of their spell progression. This has a big impact on all casters, warlocks more-so because you only get 2 slots per combat. I think lvls of warlock work in other classes, because now you have up to 2 renewable spell slots.

That being said, I have enough DMX experience to build a lvl 8 character, my thought is 5 rogue, probably arcane trickster, and 3 warlock. I'm choosing 3 levels not for the pact (I'm actually considering pact of the chain), but for the 2nd level spell slots. I'm definitely am going to be fey pact though if I make this character.

Sent from my SM-T813 using Tapatalk

 

[Ahrimon]

To appropiately build a bladelock, I would choose the Polearm as Blade Pact Weapon, Polearm Master/Sentinel feat and I would go masochist: Armor of Agathys, False Life invocation, Blade Ward. You will WANT to be hit, and you will play defensively: Blade Ward as an action, and then use reactions to make OAs when enemies enter or leave your reach. Armor of Agathys last an hour, and will do 5 damage for spell level, capping at 25. The trick is that it doesn't need a reaction: everytime anyone hits you receives damage, so is a GREAT option against mobs if you have damage resistance and cap up the THP everytime you need to mantain the spell. It's tricky, but it can be done. If you are certain that the enemies wouldn't hurt a lot (or you gain any resistance to damage without BW), you can use the actions to multiattack (three or four times: one with a bonus action, one with a reaction if someone enters your reach, and two attacks), and then add the damage of the Armor of Agathys. I have used this to great effect. AA is a nasty spell, and lasts for an hour. The main weakness of this tactic is against heavy hitters, such as golems, that would destroy your temporary hit points in a single blow.
The Warlock is one of the trickiest classes around, and you certainly have to manage your resources way better than everyone else, but potentialy wreaking havoc in many games. Of course, if you have access to any magic weapon (even if an ally can cast enchant one for you temporarily), your bladelock will improve drastically over the blaster.
Again, it's tricky, and strange, but it can be done.

Armor of Agathys can't be topped off with false life or other sources of THP. If you read the spell, it says "these" temporary hit points not just having THP. So once your THP from AoA are gone, it doesn't do damage anymore. Plus THP are always replace and not additive. So if you had 6 from AoA and cast false life for 8 you would now have 8 from false life and 0 from AoA.

 

[vander79]

SCIMITAR OF SPEED Weapon (scimitar), very rare (requires attunement)
You gain a +2 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this magic weapon. In addition, you can make one attack with it as a bonus action on each of your turns.

This weapon from the dungeon master's handbook seems to fit perfectly with a Bladelock.

Looking at it, this weapon seems to make two weapon fighting obsolete

actually, I don't think this weapon should exist

 

[neogod22]

SCIMITAR OF SPEED Weapon (scimitar), very rare (requires attunement)
You gain a +2 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this magic weapon. In addition, you can make one attack with it as a bonus action on each of your turns.

This weapon from the dungeon master's handbook seems to fit perfectly with a Bladelock.

Looking at it, this weapon seems to make two weapon fighting obsolete

actually, I don't think this weapon should exist

Why not? It's at the appropriate rarity for the item. At very rare, it shouldn't be found until the characters are at 11+. It's really not that powerful seeing that many spells, feats, and abilities give you a bonus action, and not matter how many grant it, you can only take 1 per turn. I don't see a problem with it. You can't equip 2 of them and get 3 extra attacks, you only get 1.

Sent from my SM-T813 using Tapatalk

 

[neogod22]

So I was thinking, what do you guys think of a Half-Elf, Arch Fey Pact of the Blade Warlock with 2 levels of Wizard for Bladesong? I'm really not into multi-classing but I think this actually fits in well.

Sent from my SM-T813 using Tapatalk

 

[pdegan2814]

So I was thinking, what do you guys think of a Half-Elf, Arch Fey Pact of the Blade Warlock with 2 levels of Wizard for Bladesong? I'm really not into multi-classing but I think this actually fits in well.

Sent from my SM-T813 using Tapatalk

What are those two levels going to get you, though? You'd have 3 1st-level spell slots per day, for things like Mage Armor or Shield, a little bit more movement during the Bladesong, Advantage on Acrobatics checks to escape grapple attempts, but the other Bladesong benefits depend on your Int modifier. What sort of ability score array are you expecting to build this guy with?

 

[neogod22]

What are those two levels going to get you, though? You'd have 3 1st-level spell slots per day, for things like Mage Armor or Shield, a little bit more movement during the Bladesong, Advantage on Acrobatics checks to escape grapple attempts, but the other Bladesong benefits depend on your Int modifier. What sort of ability score array are you expecting to build this guy with?

If you're trying to min max your scores, you can easily do 16 in DEX and CHA, 14 INT, 12 CON, and 10 WIS or STR. You also get ritual casting (even though they will only be 1st level rituals you can learn) and 3 extra cantrips. And if you had thoughts of actually dual wielding, you have a weapon proficiency that will allow that to happen.

Sent from my SM-T813 using Tapatalk