Selling your Soul at a Premium: The Warlock's Guide to Power

[EvilAnagram]

If lets say you are a GOO warlock (cuz cthulhu) and you want to use Pact of Chains, what would be a good thematic familiar to go with?

A quasit that looks more and more fishlike over time. You and the quasi both fail to notice the difference.

Also while I'm pretty sure you've heard this already, I think it would be cool if you had a section in the Spell Section for what rituals you can get when using the Pact of the Tome.

Maybe someday, but honestly there aren't any rituals that aren't worth taking. It would just be a long list of purple spells.

[werescythe]

A quasit that looks more and more fishlike over time. You and the quasi both fail to notice the difference.

Maybe someday, but honestly there aren't any rituals that aren't worth taking. It would just be a long list of purple spells.

I figure the rituals are good, I just think that the Pact of Tome would be more appealing if people knew what rituals they had access to with that pact. So I will be looking forward to seeing that section, when you get around to it.

[SkylarkR6]

I figure the rituals are good, I just think that the Pact of Tome would be more appealing if people knew what rituals they had access to with that pact. So I will be looking forward to seeing that section, when you get around to it.

There's a really awesome guide to rituals out there if you want to read up on them until then.

http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthr...sting-(Oraibi)

Also, to Mr Anagram, is there an intended Anagram to your name cause so far all I got is Animal Grave, A Male Raving, Vagina Realm, and Marina Gavel

[EvilAnagram]

There's a really awesome guide to rituals out there if you want to read up on them until then.

http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthr...sting-(Oraibi)

Also, to Mr Anagram, is there an intended Anagram to your name cause so far all I got is Animal Grave, A Male Raving, Vagina Realm, and Marina Gavel

Haha! Vagina Realm is hilarious.

Anyways, my first name and middle initials are an anagram for "evil."

[SkylarkR6]

Haha! Vagina Realm is hilarious.

Anyways, my first name and middle initials are an anagram for "evil."

Fair enough. It's been a curiosity thing for a while heh

[JaxBen]

Mr. Anagram,

I'm new to the forums, but having come across your series of guides, I had to sign up and say thank you!

I am looking into creating a new character, and your guides have been extremely helpful, while also not making my choice any easier (so many things look so fun!)

I do have a question, though, just to make sure I'm looking at this right. You put the caveat next to Polearm Master for "STR Bladelock's only", but with the new Hexblade ability to use CHA as your weapon modifier, is that still true? Am I missing some rule or reason why I can't make a Hexblade/Pact of the Blade and make my pact weapon a Glaive and use that effectively?

[EvilAnagram]

Mr. Anagram,

I'm new to the forums, but having come across your series of guides, I had to sign up and say thank you!

I am looking into creating a new character, and your guides have been extremely helpful, while also not making my choice any easier (so many things look so fun!)

I do have a question, though, just to make sure I'm looking at this right. You put the caveat next to Polearm Master for "STR Bladelock's only", but with the new Hexblade ability to use CHA as your weapon modifier, is that still true? Am I missing some rule or reason why I can't make a Hexblade/Pact of the Blade and make my pact weapon a Glaive and use that effectively?

Thank you!

I am still in the process of updating the guide for Xanathar. Hexblades work fine with PAM.

[JaxBen]

Thank you!

I am still in the process of updating the guide for Xanathar. Hexblades work fine with PAM.

Awesome, thanks! I just figured if I wanted a hexblade that I could add the utility of being hard to avoid...

[Theodoxus]

I'm playing a Hexblade as my first warlock, and had a serious laugh over your take on Accursed Specter. I too am regarding that ability. I think it's slightly better than the spectral hound from the UA, but still... wtf is it doing there?

Heck, I'd rather the Master of Hexes be moved to 6th and something nifty moved to replace that, than deal with a weird summons that'll freak every one out at best, and turn me into KOS at worst.

But really, thanks for the chuckle

ETA:

I do have a question, though, just to make sure I'm looking at this right. You put the caveat next to Polearm Master for "STR Bladelock's only", but with the new Hexblade ability to use CHA as your weapon modifier, is that still true? Am I missing some rule or reason why I can't make a Hexblade/Pact of the Blade and make my pact weapon a Glaive and use that effectively?

I did this... one thing I did was went VHuman, grabbing PAM as my free feat and went quarterstaff until 3rd level, swapping it for a glaive.

[werescythe]

Are you able to see inside the Hunger of Hadar spell with the Devil Sight ability?

EDIT:

Also if you take Pact of the Tome what are three good cantrips to take (do they become "warlock spells" and use Charisma). I figure Vicious Mockery is always awesome. Primal Savagery is also a spell normally exclusive to druids, which seems interesting.

[EvilAnagram]

Are you able to see inside the Hunger of Hadar spell with the Devil Sight ability?

This is a difficult question. My interpretation of RAW would be that yes, it absolutely does, but Crawford has tweeted that it was not the designers' intent. Ask your DM.

Also if you take Pact of the Tome what are three good cantrips to take (do they become "warlock spells" and use Charisma). I figure Vicious Mockery is always awesome. Primal Savagery is also a spell normally exclusive to druids, which seems interesting.

They become Warlock cantrips and use Charisma.
I usually try to grab a non-combat one, but your selections are nice.

[Raif]

Wanted to pop in and say thanks for the guide(s)! Helped me build a 5 hexblade warlock/15 divine soul sorcerer for a max level campaign in the Critical Role world to make a pseudo paladin holy warrior (shame on no 9th levels, but it's still awesome).

[EvilAnagram]

Wanted to pop in and say thanks for the guide(s)! Helped me build a 5 hexblade warlock/15 divine soul sorcerer for a max level campaign in the Critical Role world to make a pseudo paladin holy warrior (shame on no 9th levels, but it's still awesome).

Thank you!

I might as well take this opportunity to let people know all my guides are fully updated for Xanathar.

[Saggo]

The school choice makes 100% sense for the Arcane Trickster! They get Enchantments and Illusions. And while the school doesn’t fit Eldritch Knights, they can pick it up at 8th level, when they get a spell choice from any school.

They can trade their level 3 pick for it when they reach 2nd level slots, too.

[werescythe]

So I came up with a combo for Evard's Black Tentacles using the Eldritch Blast Cantrip (and two of its Invocations).

1) Plant the spell on some enemies.
2) Watch and see if any escape.
-If an enemy escapes on your side using Repelling Blast on your Eldritch Blast to push them back into the tentacles.
-If an enemy escapes on the opposite side of you use Grasp of Hadar on your Eldritch Blast to pull them back into the tentacles.
-Lance of Lethargy, could be handy in making it difficult for enemies to escape the tentacles.
3) If you have the Spell Slots and Hex you can cast Hex on them to make it more difficult for enemies to escape.

What do you think?

Also I'm thinking of maybe creating a GOO warlock (possibly Tome Pact) that tries to use and abuse the spell, Evard's Black Tentacles. Can anyone think of any other combos for this spell.

[hex37]

So I came up with a combo for Evard's Black Tentacles using the Eldritch Blast Cantrip (and two of its Invocations).

1) Plant the spell on some enemies.
2) Watch and see if any escape.
-If an enemy escapes on your side using Repelling Blast on your Eldritch Blast to push them back into the tentacles.
-If an enemy escapes on the opposite side of you use Grasp of Hadar on your Eldritch Blast to pull them back into the tentacles.
-Lance of Lethargy, could be handy in making it difficult for enemies to escape the tentacles.
3) If you have the Spell Slots and Hex you can cast Hex on them to make it more difficult for enemies to escape.

What do you think?

Also I'm thinking of maybe creating a GOO warlock that tries to use and abuse the spell, Evard's Black Tentacles. Can anyone think of any other combos for this spell.

Hex wouldn't work- Black Tentacles is concentration, just like Hex is.

Synaptic Static would help them fail their saves to get out, though.

Negative Energy Flood will create undead that will then attack the other people that are caught in the tentacles.

Scatter will plop large groups of enemies right into the Tentacles.

Forcecaging anyone in the tentacles that cannot teleport will outright kill them.

Edit: Building on this, a 1 level dip in Sorceror, wizard, or druid will get you-

Earth Tremor: Knock enemies on the edge of your tentacles Prone, making them have to spend movement Trying to stand if they get out..

Grease: Knocks people Prone when you cast it and every turn that they end while in the tentacles.

Ray of Sickness: Anything that fails the saving throw will be poisoned until their next turn, meaning they have disadvantage on the ability check to get out of the tentacles.

[EvilAnagram]

So I came up with a combo for Evard's Black Tentacles using the Eldritch Blast Cantrip (and two of its Invocations).

1) Plant the spell on some enemies.
2) Watch and see if any escape.
-If an enemy escapes on your side using Repelling Blast on your Eldritch Blast to push them back into the tentacles.
-If an enemy escapes on the opposite side of you use Grasp of Hadar on your Eldritch Blast to pull them back into the tentacles.
-Lance of Lethargy, could be handy in making it difficult for enemies to escape the tentacles.
3) If you have the Spell Slots and Hex you can cast Hex on them to make it more difficult for enemies to escape.

What do you think?

Also I'm thinking of maybe creating a GOO warlock (possibly Tome Pact) that tries to use and abuse the spell, Evard's Black Tentacles. Can anyone think of any other combos for this spell.

This is definitely a solid combo, though both Evard's Black Tentacles and Hex are concentration spells, so no doubling up.

[werescythe]

This is definitely a solid combo, though both Evard's Black Tentacles and Hex are concentration spells, so no doubling up.

Shoot! I forgot about that. lol.

[werescythe]

Hex wouldn't work- Black Tentacles is concentration, just like Hex is.

Synaptic Static would help them fail their saves to get out, though.

Negative Energy Flood will create undead that will then attack the other people that are caught in the tentacles.

Scatter will plop large groups of enemies right into the Tentacles.

Forcecaging anyone in the tentacles that cannot teleport will outright kill them.

Edit: Building on this, a 1 level dip in Sorceror, wizard, or druid will get you-

Earth Tremor: Knock enemies on the edge of your tentacles Prone, making them have to spend movement Trying to stand if they get out..

Grease: Knocks people Prone when you cast it and every turn that they end while in the tentacles.

Ray of Sickness: Anything that fails the saving throw will be poisoned until their next turn, meaning they have disadvantage on the ability check to get out of the tentacles.

Scatter looks like fun and there is little to no escape from forcecage. The fact that both spells can be used for the Warlock's Mystic Arcanum (6th and 7th) makes them even sweeter.

Depending upon the situation (I'm referring to how many spell slots you have at the time) both Synaptic Static and Negative Energy Flood could be useful (personally I would prefer Synaptic Static).

I wasn't thinking about multiclassing, but if I was I might go with Sorcerer, this does raise the question though. Can a warlock who multiclasses into sorcerer use Metamagic on Evard's Black Tentacles? If so would twinned or extended work on it?

[Sinon]

Twinned - no, it can only be used on a spell that targets one creature.

Extended - yes

If I were going to invest in metamagic, I’d probably go Quickened. The downside to bonus-action spells is you can only additionally cast a cantrip that round, but as a warlock, you have access to one of the best cantrips in the game.

Cast Evard’s, then use Repelling Blast to push (potentially) multiple bad guys into the tentacles.

Or, if you like melee, smack him with Booming Blade, move out of the way, drop bonus-action Evard's.

[werescythe]

Twinned - no, it can only be used on a spell that targets one creature.

Extended - yes

If I were going to invest in metamagic, I’d probably go Quickened. The downside to bonus-action spells is you can only additionally cast a cantrip that round, but as a warlock, you have access to one of the best cantrips in the game.

Cast Evard’s, then use Repelling Blast to push (potentially) multiple bad guys into the tentacles.

Or, if you like melee, smack him with Booming Blade, move out of the way, drop bonus-action Evard's.

That is good to know. Personally I prefer to keep my mages out of melee range if at all possible.

Are there any other cantrips that can be used on enemies that are already restrained by Evard's tentacles, aside from attack cantrips of course?

[werescythe]

It is a shame that there isn't an Eldritch Invocation that allowed the warlock (and maybe allies) to be able to stay inside of Evard's Black Tentacles without being affected by them, then you would really only need Grasp of Hadar (Eldritch Blast Invocation) for the combo.

I also kind of wish that Wizards of the Coast would give us more info on Evard and Hadar. Are they Great Old Ones, Demons or just the wizard (or any type of spellcaster for that matter) that discovered the spells? If anyone knows I would be really interested in knowing.

I will say it would make sense to take the Warcaster Feat when making an Evard's Black Tentacles build. In most builds I've played in DnD you can get away without using the Warcaster depending upon your playstyle (and how the GM plays), however in this case you are literally building around a Concentration Spell.

As for the suggestions that hex37 made, you can also gain access to either Earth Tremor or Ray of Sickness (sadly not both) using the Magic Initiate Feat using Sorcerer for the magic listing. Sure you would only be able to use it once per day but that isn't too bad (especially if your GM for some reason only gives you one fight per day anyway). As for sorcerer cantrips to use, I'm not sure it really matters too much. You could try to take Gust to "push" enemies into your tentacles, but once you have Repelling Blast on your Eldritch Blast, Gust would become pretty much useless.

[Crgaston]

Hadar is an Elder Evil from the Far Realm.

Evard was an O.G. Greyhawk wizard.

[EvilAnagram]

Hadar is an Elder Evil from the Far Realm.

Evard was an O.G. Greyhawk wizard.

Specifically, Hadar is a black hole with an evil sentience that wishes to consume all life. I believe there are many sentient, evil stars in the Nentir Vale setting from which he originates. At least, there are a lot of Star Spawn in the 4e Monster Manuals.

[Darkbru]

For starters, I love this thread. I decided to roll my first caster ever and made it a warlock because of this guide.
That being said, I have a completely off topic question: Is there a similar guide for the Wizard class? I'm playing a second game and want to try my hand at Wizzarding.

[EvilAnagram]

For starters, I love this thread. I decided to roll my first caster ever and made it a warlock because of this guide.
That being said, I have a completely off topic question: Is there a similar guide for the Wizard class? I'm playing a second game and want to try my hand at Wizzarding.

I haven't written any, and I can't personally endorse any, but here.

[Darkbru]

I haven't written any, and I can't personally endorse any, but here.

Oh man, AWESOME! I appreciate the help and direction. I haven't played sine 3e and have recently gotten back into 5e. I'm playing in two different groups and am trying my hand at caster in both groups cause I always got stuck as the melee build in 3e

[werescythe]

You should probably note that the Gaseous Form spell does require concentration (which makes me sad). Almost had an ability that would allow me to sit in my Evard's Black Tentacles and pull them in with Grasp of Hadar. :(

So with scepter of flesh I can turn my enemies (or even friends) into a giant octopus, right? ;)

[EvilAnagram]

You should probably note that the Gaseous Form spell does require concentration (which makes me sad). Almost had an ability that would allow me to sit in my Evard's Black Tentacles and pull them in with Grasp of Hadar. :(

So with scepter of flesh I can turn my enemies (or even friends) into a giant octopus, right? ;)

Gaseous Form wouldn't have worked anyways because you can't attack with spells while in that form.

Sculptor of flesh works in that exact way.

[werescythe]

I saw it in the list, saw that it didn't have concentration, went to check saw that it has concentration and stopped there, with the gasous form. It is a shame that there doesn't seem to be a spell that can allow you to sit inside your own Evards Black Tentacles and cast Eldritch Blast. T_T

Sounds like fun, turning people into oversized octopi.