Warlock Class Guide for Dungeons and Dragons 5e
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- čas přidán 7. 06. 2024
- MONSTERS OF DRAKKENHEIM is 300+ pages of eldritch horror inspired monsters for 5e by the Dungeon Dudes! Coming to Kickstarter March 26th, 2024: www.kickstarter.com/projects/... Welcome to our in-depth video guide to the Warlock class in Dungeons and Dragons 5e!
We’ll cover everything you need to know to create your Warlock. We’ll help you forge your pact with a patron, choose you ability scores, skills, spells, and other build options to prepare your warlock to unlock secrets mortal minds were never meant to know. We’ll also look at famous examples of warlocks from history, movies, television shows, and more to inspire your next character, and as well as roleplaying ideas to help develop your warlock’s background and personality.
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A friend of mine didn't have to design the pact with our DM. His backstory is that he was a failing academic, got drunk in an abandoned library and woke up with a brand on his arm and warlock powers. DM knows everything, player knows nothing.
That's how you do it lol
That sounds like a really fun adventure opening for the player. I love it.
OMG sounds fun and mysterious
That is one hell of a night thou 🤣
Similarly my warlock was a princess that wanted to be independant and leave the kingdom and her handmaid/bff took her to a magical site and did a ritual to grant her the power to do so. She believes she is some sort of wizard but is actually pact of the fiend and the handmaid is her patron and they keep in contact (like tweens on the phone to one another talking about boys and other stupid stuff) but I don't know who the handmaid really is, that's entirely up to the dm.
I've always thought of making a warlock named dave that has so little wisdom that he signed the pact thinking it was a home loan contract and still hasn't figured it out that these demon powers didn't come along with his house that unknown to him isn't his.
That's great
Awesome ...
OMG AJJAJAJAJA
Geez, talk about a sub-prime loan
I think that would be more of a low intelligence and wisdom. Nice guy, just dumb as rocks
My warlock signed a contract with a fiend at two years old with crayons by accident. The demon ended up adopting them. No edginess required for warlock
Kinda wholesome, but a little messed up if you weren't an orphan (PC) or in a shitty situation lol.
Lmao that's great
Hah I did something similar for fey warlock where he played with a fey in the forest and when he came back so much time had passed his parents and village were gone. A bit more childsoldier-ish though.
My favorite warlock is a boy named Johnny and he would play his fiddle hot.
Lol! Crossroads demon pact.
Multiclass bard warlock?
@@johnriggs7182 was a bard before going into warlock
Lol
Johnny was a bard.
Decided to make the, "I can see forever!" Warlock by taking every invocation that gave some kind of "sight". My DM was not a fan of me seeing everything he had planned.
But can they see why kids love the taste of Cinnamon Toast Crunch?
I'm coming back to d&d after nearly 30 years and your channel has to be the most concise and informative on CZcams for people seeking d&d knowledge.
Unlike other channels that waste time with pointless (and often annoying) banter, you guys get straight to the point with great rapport! Your posts are rapidly becoming an essential almanac for D&d enthusiast. Keep it up!
I find that this channel's pacing meanders a fair bit. They can talk for a while while saying relatively little, regardless of the subject being focused. It's not the most concise set of information I've seen on youtube, unless, maybe, you're looking for a substitute to just reading through the PHB for 5-10 minutes and coming to a set of conclusions from there.
Thalanox based on the channels I have seen so far, this is definitely one of the best for D&d. As a 'new player' I am interested in a certain depth of information, rather than a barrage of '7 best ways to blah, blah'. If you have seen any better sources like this I would definitely be interested in knowing what channels you recommend.
Give Davvy Chappy's stuff a look.
Zee Bashew's "Animated Spellbook" stuff is also pretty good, but the scope of information he gives is limited, because animating things is a lot of work.
I too am coming back after a hiatus, but only 20 yrs for me. I like "Don't Stop Thinking"'s video series for newbies. His accent at first can throw you but after a few minutes of listening you will get it, and his videos are concise (10-15 min) but cover what you need for the basics. I go to him first for the basic mechanics and then come to this series for a wider view. WebDM are a decent alternative and Chappy is ok too, but a bit too gimmicky for me.
Coming back to D&D, skipping from 2E to 5E with barely a dip into 3.5E, is sort of perplexing, especially since I have to jump right in as a GM while I only ever experienced being a player.
So yeah, this place has lots of interesting ideas and infos.
I don't always agree with their conclusion, and yes sometimes I could use a faster pace to the meat of the builds, but to be honest, the favoring of some classes or subclasses or multiclass into things I didn't imagine yet is inspiring to my stories.
So yeah, great channel.
A great idea I've heard is that invested power grows over time and returns to the patron upon your death. So they may not actually care what you do, they're just "investing" the power in you during your lifetime to harvest more back later on.
"These patrons are pretty much everything that isn't a divine power"
*Celestial Warlock: "Am i a joke to you?"
Well. Is it really divine? I'd say holy but divine for me kinda implies "From a deity". But then again we often classify angels irl as divine even though they are not divinity. So it's probably up to interpretation of the linguistic elements.
Yup.
celestial patron: "hold my nectar"
From my understanding the celestial warlocks have packs with good outsiders not gods.
@@TheBones1188 depends on DM discretion, but yeah sounds right. Would this include solars?
A perfect example of warlock with fiendish patron is Ghost Rider.
Zevran08 or sailor moon the best warlock
Spawn?
Pact of the blade, too, with his Pact Weapon being his chain whip. And somehow he got a way to summon a “steed”.
Ghost Rider is a form of undead.
Same with Spawn.
@@witchBoi_Connor some levels of vengence paladin as well for ghost rider
Eldritch blast ... Always choose this cantrip
Not always. For story reasons, my Eldritch Knight has a level of Warlock. But also a Charisma score of 8.
So.. Eldritch Blast, while fun, isn't a viable option for him.
Or if you want to hit things with a big hammer instead
Then Eldritch Blast (Or another attack cantrip) is still a good option to have in your back pocket for when things don't wanna get within hammer-smashing range.
EB is a lot less of a must-have for a small multiclass dip. My Rogue (assassin) 7/Warlock 3 figures that if he's attacking at that kind of range, he's made a grave error.
There's always in-character reasons why someone doesn't have Eldritch Blast. Usually, if there's a 2-level dip of Warlock involved, they go for the Agonizing Blast as their main ranged option.
My *Eldritch* Knight has a bit of Warlock, but uses Chill Touch from the EK side of his split for a main ranged option. And even then, he'll sometimes chuck a dagger into someone's back to act as a conduit for Heat Metal. Just because that seems like fun. And it still requires good timing and placement to pull off.
Them: "The warlock is such a cool dark class."
Me: has a warlock that dresses in white and gold, beloved husband and business owner who just so happens to be a warlock to the Ravenqueen.
How!?
@@MasterLycan844 Simply put, charisma is level 20 and he high class as fuck
That's been either a really interesting story or poor rp.
@cak01vej umm how did he become a worshipper of a blade he himself crafted? (stinks of being a stuck up craftsman, honestly) And is he some kind of legendary blacksmith that he made a replica of a sword of Raven Queen? And giving your patron away just defeats the purpose of being it's follower, how the fk does that work?
If I was a DM I would really edit this story to have at least some logic in it.
@cak01vej in the end he might just find he is the worthy one that's why raven queen gifted the blade sentients to test him to see if he would be a good servant for her.
A perfect example of Warlock from Disney: Dr. Facilier from “The Princess and the Frog”
He's one of the best examples
Are you reaaaady?
Rasputin from Anastasia
@@utterlyhollow5377 I could definitely see him being a Warlock. I think he is more an example of a Lich, but I definitely see some Warlock features in him, too
Definitely! Pact of the Talisman!
Every time I watch one of these class videos, it makes me want to roll up a new character
Me too man. Me too
Ditto
I do 😂
dew it.
My plan for a Warlock is to make a pact with an Archfey.
Basic idea is that he desperately wanted to be a powerful wizard, but was a TERRIBLE student. He had been kicked out of several schools, and knew he just ruined his last chance before his family shipped him off to business school or something.
On his way home he encounters a fey that offers him magical power beyond what he could possibly believe. What he dosen't know is that he has to pay with his memories. So he wakes up in the middle of the woods with a vague memory of how he got there, but NO idea exactly who he is. So his personal quest is to find out who he is. And ultimately must decide if he even WANTS to know seeing as he has developed into his own person now.
Sounds amazing, keep us posted.
If Mollymauk was a warlock. I love it!!
Very similar to my character except he believes that he is a wizard. He found a strange magic tome and started learning spells. Nobody else can read it he doesn't realize he made a pact as he did so in a dream state. And so he is now plagued by nightmares. It is fun watching as rest of the party started putting it together.
Great old one pact of course and totally not the necronomicon book.
@@IGeminiStarI I'm planning to have an atheist cleric who believes he's a sorcerer due to the point that he has never heard from his god.
This is literally Bastian from the never ending story isn’t it?
My Hexblade/Pact of the blade character didnt really make a deal with his patron, so much as he was cursed with its power.
He was a soldier, clearing out a cave of kobolds when he reached out and touched the broken hilt of a sword laid upon an altar. Then came blackness. When he came to, he was covered in blood his entire platoon lay slain around him, and while he had no memory of doing it, he is now haunted by terrible nightmares of himself committing the atrocity. Whenever he tries to get rid of the weapon, it simply returns to his hand, and if he doesnt willingly engage in combat to satiate the weapons bloodlust it slowly consumes him, causing him to black out and fly into a murderous frenzy.
He now travels as an adventurer slaying beasts and evil creatures alike and hopes to do enough good to one make up for the sinister origin of his pact, all while searching for some way to rid himself of the cursed blade.
This is so close to the Lock I made that it's scary. Almost identical background.
I'm also surprised I haven't read comments about Kalashtar Locks. You get the telepathy of the Great Old One but can use it with any build. Plus getting advantage on rolls with a Charisma skill of your choice is baller.
That's pretty damn cool
I see you're a fan of the Elric of Melinbone Series.
Time Stamps
0:00 Into
1:02 Why Choose Warlock?
2:47 Party Role
3:05 Get Inspired!
6:58 Building Your Warlock
10:44 Ability Scores
12:25 Races
14:08 Otherworldly Patrons
15:44 The Archfey
16:43 The Fiend
18:00 The Great Old One
18:52 The Hexblade
20:24 The Celestial
21:14 The Undying
21:47 Pact Boons
22:34 Eldritch Invocations
28:19 Spells
33:05 Mystic Arcanum
33:54 Roleplaying Your Warlock
38:18 Outro
is mindflayer race same as ctulhu ?
@@lufasumafalu5069 no. Mindflayers are very much their own thing.
Another way to view Warlocks, particularly if they have less classically "evil" patrons such as the Archfey or Celestial, is as an "agent" or "spy" of that patron.
After all, the Cleric is the public face of the entity, whereas a Warlock is more independent and less clearly identifiable as a servant of a specific entity. The entity therefore could have "deniability" over the actions of their Warlocks compared to their Clerics or Paladins. In the right setting, such Divine politics could be highly important and an enjoyable extra level to the story.
Really like this idea. I agree, the "agent" is a nice take on a "non-evil" warlock.
This is sort of how I am doing my celestial warlock. He's more of an vengeful agent of wrath than anything else.
I used a twist on this idea for my Great Old One warlock where my patron has been locked away completely out of touch with the world or any other creatures, only able interaction with others through ancient tomes. So my warlock is the eyes and ears for my patron in the world, and has to write everything they see/learn in their book of shadows to share it with their patron.
definitely an intriguing idea!
I'm currently playing in an out of the abyss game and I am pretty much doing this but on behalf of the devils.
I'm running a warlock who started out as a common thief. One night, he mugs an old man and ends up killing him. He saw that the old man's blood was being sucked into this package he was carrying, which turned out to be a hexblade that the old man had spent his whole life trying to hide so that it could never be used. PC picks up the blade and is offered power, so long as he finds and kills the descendants of the four others who hid it away for so long.
The character I've got as a backup currently is a Lawful Evil tiefling who was essentially kidnapped by his celestial patron and forced to do heroic deeds.
"FEED THE ORPHANS."
"Damnit, no!"
I approve!
I LOVE THIS
My character now is a pact of the undying warlock with the entertainer background. I basically made him an aspiring rockstar who's patron is Keith Richards that was summoned by old sheet music.
That's awesome
Sounds a bit like Brooke from One Piece haha
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That tip with summoning wall of fire/evard's black tentacles and pushing or pulling enemies into them is an amazing tip! I honestly would have never thought of that. Definitely going to try that the next time I play a warlock!
I was honestly disappointed that shoving people into walls didn't count as falling damage like pathfinder haha.
Hmm... wall of flame, then mage-hand or unseen servant and a stick, and trip enemies into the flames..... the possibilities are endless!
Recently my group encountered an overpowered warlock npc. The 3rd lvl LG dragonborn paladin insisted on attacking him despite the CL 7. After being separated from the rest of the party by his fire wall I defeated him by shield bashing him through it burning away more than half his hp
@@stevengrass6800 yea you have to be careful with these walls, as much as you can use them against your foes they can also use them against you. in a 3.5 campaign my wizard picked up a magical item that let them convert a spellslot into a wall that dealt damage based on the spell level used to create it. used it to seal off a hallway and then got myself knocked into my own wall. ended up dusting my own body.
Now because of that shirt I can't stop thinking about how to work Magneto into a game as a Warlock Patron
That's Magneto?
Lol, I totally thought it was Judge Dredd 😆
@@SuperEdvinsson I debated on that for a good 5 minutes xD
Nicklas Edvinsson definitely magneto
Additionally, when you gain a level in this class, you can choose one of the invocations you know and replace it with another invocation that you could learn at that level.
Ivan Midence wait what’s I’m confused?
@@jamescanfield3269 Really late response but here's your answer: Warlocks learn minor magical abilitied called Invocations as they level up. These are often limited in their use such as casting Hold Person (paralysis spell) for free but only on angels, demons and elementals.
You can only learn 8 of these but the video neglected to mention that you can swap them out when you level up.
@@collindouglas8188 OMFG I thought you only got two and had to just keep swapping them out for new ones. This makes things so much easier.
Drow Celestial Warlock with a unicorn as a Patron.
Oh the story there :D
I'm writing a Water Genasi warlock who has the Old One Patron. I'm really loving this flavour, as his patron's presence manifests as a dark abyss in his otherwise seafoam skin, slowly spreading turning his skin generally darker and his seaweed like hair into black tentacles as the Old One takes over him more and more.
Does a Great Old One Warlock need to be thought of as a "dark" pact? It was my impression that the Patron was not necessarily malevolent, just alien.
It is a concept tropes known as "Blue and Orange Morallity"
Its more that the great old one doesnt even realize that you have a pact with it my Hastur Warlock just found the Yellow Sign and the boom i got warlock powers so its more like a great indifference you can be good or bad
I honestly believe that there should never been restrictions like this when building characters. I think it's common for evil/dark being to prey on power hungry characters. However it shouldn't be the only option.
It's always up to you as a player to determine the alignment of your patron. Your patron isn't set in stone as to who or what it specifically is. It just falls into an architype. You could very well be a normal neutral character that couldn't be more distinguished than a common peasant, that just so happens to have a little bit of a twist.
My Great Old Warlock's backstory is based off the Shadow over Innsmouth, so the Old Ones protect the village and in return for sacrifices and fealty my character has been given their power to go out into the world to spread the word of the Old Ones...have you time to talk about our Lord and Saviour Cthulhu?
Warlock: "NOTICE ME SENPAI!!!"
Great Old One:
Sounds more like a cleric to me. They're always asking for attention even though you have to be fairly high level to even have a chance at an answer. Unless your dm is a softie
Im sorry the patron your trying to reach can't come to the phone right now please try again later.
@@dizliz19 *BEEEEEP*
A good pop culture example of a warlock can be found in a Disney movie. Dr. Facilier from The Princess and the Frog is an excellent case of a man who received power from mysterious patrons through a dubious pact.
My warlock is certainly different from what you recomend.
Strength is my highest score, my race is half-orc and my patron is a reskinned fiend pact making it an ice primordial all the fire spells that I get from my spell list is changed to cold. My pact is that in return for granting me revenge for being exiled from my clan, I would forge a mystical blade, which is the key to freeing it from its prison so that it too can get revenge.
Please tell me your serving Geryon. If your not, you have royally goofed
Sounds like a Norse legend where you are trying the sharpest sentient sword in all of history
Honestly, Flemeth from Dragon Age makes a great warlock. As does Anders, now that I think about it..
Anders can die for all I care about
@@Oban2006 Fuck offffff
HC for Vengeance is that all the mages he saved from Kirkwall swore an oath to follow him. I detest that they swept him under the rug in Inquisition. Abominations don't just die of old age and not a chance he was killed off screen.
4:10 Monty: "...act like a crazy cultist.... for your character of course!"; Me using my sacrificial dagger while speaking elder language to move characters on the map: What?
I dont even play d&d and watch these videos. Why do I do this?
because you should start to play!!
Because you want to start playing it!
Get this man some dice!
I recommend the channel Like Stories of Old, which delves into the Archetypal imagery used in D&D and how we relate to these symbols in our own lives.
One of us! One of us!
The drawback to Devil's Sight: seeing what actually goes on inside that Hunger of Hadar spell. Not advisable right after lunch.
Unless, you know, your warlock likes to see that.
Not really advisable ever to see that stuff.
I read somewhere that Devil's Sight can't actually penetrate Hunger of Hadar (can't remember exactly where I read it though or if it was the official position).
@@MisterRandom2 I find nothing in the actual rules or the sage advice compendium that say this is the case. However, HoH affects vision in two ways. First, it creates a "20-foot sphere of blackness... No light, magical or otherwise, can illuminate the area..." Now, this doesn't specifically call it "darkness," so there is some room for DM interpretation, but I don't see how a "sphere of blackness" can be anything other than darkness when describing vision in this context. DS can see in magical or non-magical darkness, so unless someone can point me to a rule or clarification that states "blackness" is something different than magical or non-magical darkness, I will rule that devil's sight work perfectly in HoH, allowing the warlock to see normally.
But that brings me to the second point: the spell description goes on to add, "and creatures fully within the area are blinded." DS does not get around the blinded condition- it merely allows the warlock to see "normally" in darkness. DS's description is focused on it overcoming the obstructive nature of darkness, not on removing conditions that would make the character unable to see in the first place (although there is some room for DM interpretation here as well, regarding whether seeing "normally" would negate blindess. I don't think it does, but I'm for sure not perfect on this stuff). So I think if you are inside the area of HoH, you're out of luck. You could see, if you weren't blinded. Now, if you have blind-sight, you're set.
@@hqueso Well, this is what one of the writers had to say: twitter.com/JeremyECrawford/status/704828756616044544
Harry Dresden. Fiendish pact replaced by fey pact later. Only uses limited combat spells, get ritual caster for his prep work.
Dresden is more a Wizard/Warlock multiclass. But yes, pretty much those pacts.
@@Isdezenaambezet while he very much has that feel to him, I think straight warlock could work mechanically, style eldrich blast as his fire magic. Or force depending on the invocations used. That said wizard or sorcerer for shield would fit. Then he just needs to make a load of magic items.
Pact from early on with the Leansidhe, then with Lasciel’s shadow (boon of hellfire), then with Uriel (soulfire), then with Demonreach (intellectus), then with Mab and Winter (enhanced endurance, combat ability, and cold magic)
Therefore Dresden could be said to have included pacts with fey, fiends, celestial, and even the Great Old One if you consider He Who Walks Behind when his magic first manifested
Not many demons are going to approve of you changing the deal after they have given you what they promised.
You guys keep talking about how dark and mysterious warlocks are, and I'm over here with the only warlock I've made being a half elf whose archfey patron is his lesbian stepmother.
alexnuzlocker12 this sounds like Slannesh is your deity/patron 😂
I have the same thing but a Satyr
OMG same, but a nerdy gay uncle!
sounds like a dark theme to me 0_0
One of my warlocks is a wood elf and he's in love with his archfey patron who saved him when he was almost dead
My current tiefling warlock is paralleled with the ice king from adventure time. A quest to gain back what he's lost mixed with insanity works great. Not to mention my DM and I are making Guenther work in fun ways. So much fun roleplaying while still being very useful to the party
I've been waiting for my favourite class guide from you for quite a while now. I love your d&d guides. I watched a lot of Web DM class series, but they are more focused on role playing aspect, and your videos provide rules breakdown in a very approachable way. Through your advice I have been able to better myself both as a player and a DM and even offer some of my own players meaningful advice when they asked for the rules interpretation and how do their classes are supposed to work.
Definitely the best guide to warlocks for players, you guys cut out a lot of the silliness and love/hate that creeps into other guides. Props! Cthulhu R'lyeh!
Even though he's referred to as a sorcerer in the games, Quan Chi from Mortal Kombat can be seen as a warlock since his power is tied to Shinnok. In the story mode for MKX, Quan Chi's magical powers grow weak when Shinnok is trapped in an amulet.
Y'know, I didn't think about that.
I once played an eight year old Tiefling Warlock Great Old One, and had the Eyes of the Rune Keeper invocation, which I just picked because her motivation was knowledge. But it almost messed up the DM's attempts to be sneaky and mysterious since much of the plot revolved around these mysterious tomes written in an unknown language......Which my demon child was able to read.
Nico Robin? Is that you.
@@iampierce7474 No? Did a similar thing occur in someone else's game?
@@iampierce7474 is a "one piece" fan.
@@chloenelson3951 is not.
I love you guys!!! Probably the best in depth guide for any class!! Some of the other guides get so dull, but you guys keep it so interesting!! Thank you for what you guys do I as a relatively new player really appreciate it!!!!!
SugerJean13 they truly do keep things interesting and fun yet informative
I'm running a Scourge Aasimar 5th level Warlock(Celestial Patron) 1st Level Sorcerer (Divine origin) and it has been a hoot. I can take arcane spells and as I level in sorcerer, I can take arcane or divine spells. To top it off I took magic initiate. I have 9 cantrips. It's crazy fun to play.
Sounds awesome, but that's not because of the warlock class, that's because it's unbalanced for magic casters to multiclass into Sorcerer :D
hangry isangry thatsa lotta cantrips.
I'm doing pact of the tome with book of ancient secrets and the ritual caster feat. Role-playing as a young girl who proudly proclaims that she's a wizard at every opportunity(actually an abyssal being on vacation) So yeah, two spellbooks boyos! One is a tame leather-bound notebook looking thing...the other smells faintly of brimstone and is unsettling to look upon. Six cantrips, five rituals plus my 'lock spells.
So...I kinda feel you fam!
@@Kirhean I love this
@@bluecollarwhale2341 I typically run the "lethal joke" characters at our table. My last one was an Orc sorcerer with 4 int and 22 str at lvl 1. He was granted the lost tradition feat by the dm and so used str to cast. Phil Phlexington, muscle wizard! He was quite popular with the group because I roleplayed his above average wis against his low int as him being really blunt with his ideas, which were usually quite clever... Once you tilted your head enough. Good example: dm had him doing a battle in his mind to pass an int check. He was presented with a wall of supernaturally tough ice and asked how he'd make a hole in it. Dm expected him to try punching it until he was too exhausted to fight against the mind control attack. Phil just cocked his head, said "oh, that easy!" and proceeded to use shape water on the ice to melt a hole.
The dm forgot that Phil loved using elemental utility spells, shape water being like his signature cantrip.
The look on his face when he realized he'd been outsmarted by an int 4 character was priceless.
Hey, new here to D and D. I feel out of the channels I have sampled to educate myself, yours feels the most comprehensive and begginer friendly. I also like that it's the two of you hosting so there's a nice dialog going, rather than just one person where it feels lecture-like.
I totally agree with you thanks to these two i settled for a druid but Warlock was a close tie. Before i made the choice first seasion in 3 days
I've been trying to find a way to incorporate Baba Yaga into my campaign and I think you've given me the spark I needed!
open the box swear a pact to - Pinhead HELLRAISER - "You opened it WE came!" - "We have such sights to show you" - "demons to some, angels to others"
Who are you calling pinhead
Sounds like pact of the chain
Warlocks are definitely very complex, mostly because they get two subclasses: your patron and your pact in addition to your spell choice and invocations
Serious guys YOU ARE AMAZING!!!! I'm new here but I already love the way you explain things, it makes everything so easy to understand
After being away from D&D since 2nd ed and just now getting back in these videos have been wonderful in explaining the changes! Subbed and hoping for more.
I want to share my Warlock I created with my brother about 2 days ago. My Warlock is a Protecter Aasimar Hexblade, with 13 in Int, 14 in Str, 15 in Con and Wis, 16 in Dex, and 18 in Cha and is named Ragnorok. His alignment is Chaotic Good. He has a banjo, bad map, an orb, and a Q. Staff. He is a far traveler. His spells are Eldritch Blast, Mage hand, and 2 lvl 1 spells I don’t remember. His backstory is that he was once a treasure hunter and on his first day he found the Hexblade sword thing. It tricked him that he was a reincarnation of a god and made Ragnorok think that to attain his “godhood”, he needs to help him. My brother when telling him the backstory I thought of, found it hilarious. I don’t remember the character traits buuut yeah, that’s my Warlock
Became a Marlowe fan as a result of this video. Thanks Dungeon Dudes for broadening my horizons!
New to 5E, was a great help. Thanks for your time guys!
Friendly reminder about a few things: Invocations can be swapped at every level of the class. You can select a new one based on the level you just gained. So if you're 5th lvl, you can swap one thing you have for one of the fifth lvl ones.
Gift of the Ever-Living one is amazing. Getting max value out of heals when within 100 feet of your familiar is amazing and grants so much survivability
Changeling from Ebberon make good Warlocks. +2 CHA and +1 DEX or INT. Also innate shape-shifting :)
don't forget advantage on all deception checks made while in another form
Love this I just started watching you guys after me and my friends went from pathfinder to dnd 5e and this is a big help thanks a bunch
I love your content, especially your literature mentions for each class. As an aspiring DM you provide me great uses of my audible credits
for the eldritch invocations, i like the idea of making your warlock utility based, choosing invocations that allow you to interact with anything and everything the DM puts in front of you
elric of melnibone is a great example of a warlock
Elric is THE fantasy warlock in a lot of ways
Hexblade without a doubt.
This was a really entertaining and useful video. I just finished a campaign playing a warlock dedicated to Yog Sothoth. His grandfather helped him make the pact when he was too young to understand what he was getting into. It was a lot of fun to play.
Very very great guide! I love you guys!
12:20 I don't necessarily agree. If you willingly make a pact in exchange for the power (as the goal), or out of curiosity, that might be true. But that's not the only way to flavour your pact. You could accidentally make a pact while doing arcane research or when stumbling upon an ancient artifact or fey grove or something. You could make a pact in order to surpress the influence of a GOO or Demon on the world (acting as a kind of gate keeper). You could be forced to make a pact with a demon or fey who kidnapped or threatened someone you loved in order to save them. You could be a person who wanted to grow up to be a cleric but made a pact with a Celestial instead for whatever reason. None of those would necessarily indicate a low WIS score, and some of them would indicate a solid WIS score.
Great video, very informative.
So glad i watched this, plan on doing a campaign and didnt understand the warlock so well, now I do.
I've been having a lot of fun so far with my own Celestial patron Warlock/Divine Soul Sorcerer tiefling. It's been a great time both in combat and with RPing.
Nice combo I found: Tiefling warlock with Archfey pact. Open up with faerie fire, then start with the eldritch blasts - with agonising blast, of course. And if they attack back? Well, that's what Hellish Rebuke is for...
Right know I play a Hexblade Warlock, which is basicaly a disney princess, that was forced to make the pact with the blade, so she could survive the attack of assassins sent by her evil step mother...
This channel has gotten so much better. Dudes are so knowledgeable about this great game. Keep the info coming
Thank you!
It's so good that you mentioned draconic options for the warlock. I'm currently playing as a Dragonborn Warlock who did something bad for his patron and is now seeking redemption and rebels against his patron. Tiamat could be the best draconic patron choice for this build and I'm also kinda rounding it out with some weapons and the Eldritch Blast cantrip as well. So yeah, really cool that you guys wanted this, and hope I get lucky in my current campaign!!
Just an hour ago I level up to Level 3.
I am officially a proud Level 3 Great Old One Pact of the Chain Warlock.
It is amazing. :D
Grater Good YOOOO That’s what I’m playing right now
I use an Imp that almost always stays in rat form.
Hope your character is still doing well!!!
Really great video.
Great video guys, still helpful even a few years later! Btw that Magneto shirt that Kelly rocks is amazing!
Man i love the actual roleplaying aspect of the warlock. I always loved Lovecraft's work so i went with bard/warlock multiclass for my first DND session since like 2004 lol. Stoked!
An unorthodox inspiration for a warlock might be Bram Stoker's Dracula.
More like Draculas servant. 😅
I too had this idea.
You'd basically be Renfield. That could be fun!
With the Improved Pact Weapon Invocation from Xanathar's Guide to Everything you can also turn your Pact Weapon into a ranged weapon like a Longbow. This can make for a cool archer build, which could be particularly flavorful for Archfey or even Hexblade.
Kyle Heard Im a archfey bladelock and we just had a combat session last night where we fought a swarm of cranium rats that formed a scaled down tarrask. it had a combination of stats from both.
for 90% of the fight I used spider climb plus improved pact weapon I stayed on the ceiling and took pop shots eventually I jumped off because our DM had given me a magic ring that let's me super punch things (13d6 the recharge on is a bitch)
our monk Deku'd his arm and our Sorcerer died and our rogue was the only one who didn't get hit because Rogue.
I've made a hexblade bowlock, and they're insane. I love the idea of ranged smites, and you can get some really crazy shenanigans going on with it
Hexblade is great because whatever weapon you summon with Path of the Blade gets charisma bonus instead of str or dex, including longbow. So you can go from Longbow to Greatsword or Longsword and shield. If you are a Warcaster, you can also start eldritch blast as you switch stances, except for the turn you need to switch weapons with a action,,
Oooh....a gunslinging Warlock that can summon the gun from the pocket dimension...did the deal to build the gun in the first place...Patron wants the weapon out in the world causing untold, horrific damage and the character just desperately wants to put the toothpaste back in the tube but can't without losing all the abilities they need to do that? Oooooooooooooohhhhhhh!!!!!!
@@d0natr0n47 This is basically Percy from critical role. He wasn't technically a warlock (had magic initiate Warlock Hex though) but did have a shadow demon patron who assisted him in inventing guns and came to regret releasing the weapons into the world.
Very helpful. I'm working on a boss for my campaign, and I'm looking into the warlocks for this and a few other bosses.
Thank you for making these guides, Dudes, they are fun, informative and well made :D And yeah, Warlock carries a lot of fun, backstory potential :)
Had a friend who's warlock worshipped Dii Im (literally the DM), a being who can take any form, and appears to those who are about to go on a grand adventure in their dreams. It dictates all that goes on in the world, and his character was under the impression that anything unknown or not being paid attention to by him does not exist. Dii Im also has a group of servants that dictate lesser events, the leader of which is Icosohedrax, a being that seemingly decides the outcome of events at random. In descending order of power, there is also Dodè kahedro, Deca hedr on, ocoto hedoren, koob, and pii ramed. There are tons of other things he did, like making very exaggerated movements if he killed the final enemy in combat, sometimes narrating his and other party members actions, and at the beginning of every session he would say something weird like "how long was that?" Or "I feel like a week passed in an instant." (We held sessions weekly). At the end of the campaign we all got a "no strings attached wish spell", and the Dii Im worshiper wished for "a compilation of all of Dii Im's knowledge" and then received a Dm's guide, a players handbook, a XGtE, a monster manual, volo's guide to monsters and mordenkainen's time of foes. He then realised that since the adventure was over that he would cease to exist. If any DM's are reading this feel free to use this as an npc idea. My friend doesn't really care what happens.
You guys didn't mention that pact of chains get better familiars (sprite/imp/quasit/pseudodragon) and voice of the chain master is anywhere on the same plane. Which is amazing.
I have a permanently invisible scout that I can see hear and talk through. More importantly it's more intelligent than my character and can just relay info to my character. I spy on the king from across the country!
I have this. i just posted my character details in a post above. I wanted a cherub as a familliar but the DM felt that is too overpowered. so its a spirit in the form of an owl. it takes away from some of the things i wanted to role play but it is a very utility useful pact despite i cant have conversations with a cherub. LOL
So youre pretty much a stand user lmao
Watching the king from across the country that's the dream
I have a Hexblade Pact of the Chain. I use the Gift of the Ever Living One, which allows me to not only have that scout, but also heal for max whenever our cleric throws a heal at me.
Hexblades offer some pretty rad RP especially with a transformed Tiefling.
Such a great vid, thank you!
Starting my first real DND campaign tomorrow and I was worried I wouldn't have a cool character but I think mine is gonna be the most accurate to the rules (we are all beginners doing it for fun) and this video stopped me from worrying I know you said it's not good for beginners but I think I'll try it because you made me understand it and it's a lot cooler than I thought
One of my favorite classes to roleplay. My background is that I was a well known and sought out professor of Demonolgy and the Dark Arts. One day, a bone-twisting, blood-boiling affliction was cast upon me, the pain was otherworldly. I was visited by Mephisto. A bargain was made between us; the affliction was "attached to me" but I could pass it on to others. As long as someone else was afflicted, I would live free of it. If I failed to pass it along, it would come back, worse, and harder to get rid of.
In addition to this bargain, I was granted control over a demon who would do my bidding. However, it fed on the affliction. As long as I was strong enough to exert my will onto the demon, I was safe. If the affliction returned to me, the demon would begin to feed on me and I would lose control of it.
29:36 this is the exact strategy my team uses against large groups. The warlock casts hunger of hedar, the paladin and fighter stand on two sides, ready to knock anything back in, and the the wizard, rogue, and ranger are ready with ranged attacks. While I do the usaual support cleric thing.
Concerning Hexblades: Has anybody ever read the Elric-Saga by Michael Moorcock, with Elric being sworn and bound to Stormbringer, the black soul-devouring blade forged by the Lords of Chaos? Very thematic, very dark. Loved it.
Loving your vids, guys! Learning so much that I plan to incorporate as a player =)
I know it's not official material, but I really do love the Raven Queen pact. Lots of flavor and utility, strong roleplay potential, and a nifty way for a DM to dip a toe into the politics of the Cosmology.
I know the specificity bothers some people, but DMs have been re-flavoring material for about as long as they've been using dice. Hopefully it will make it's way into a proper supplement one of these days.
My favorite Warlock that I ever made was Cassius Creed. A poor lumberman with a relative sizable plot of land his family had inherited over the generations and shared with his wife and a daughter. They were poor, simple, folk that lived on the outer reaches of the empire. And when the big buisness men came knocking, offering a measly sums that still seemed far beyond the wealth of the Creed family had ever thought possible, Cassius refused. This land wasn't about money. It was about a generation of his family that poured their blood into the soil and about holding the idenity of the town of Juniper close to their hearts. Well the men left unhappy. It didn't take long for the "bandits" to show. They brutally murdered his family, treating the women like horrible men of these period do, forcing Cassius to watch, and torching everything around him. Leaving the broken man to burn away with everything. Then, He appeared through the flames.
A visage of hate. A form of mallice with red eyes and a boom voice. Deep red skin that glimmered through the flames. It commanded that fire with grace and used it as the clock to offer him a deal. He would give him the souls of those who had wronged him in exchange for three more of His choosing. Cassius hesistated. Knowing this life wasn't one he wanted. He is, was, and would always be, just a simple man with a loving family. What would they think if they were still around? How could he make a deal with this thing for revenge knowing that the people he had loved so dear would not approve. Tears welled in his eyes as he acepted death. Hoping it would be quick. Hoping he would be delivered to them soon. But, the beast parted the flames like the Great Sea, and showed through the flickering embers the tattered visage of his daughter's corpse. Hanging from her favorite tree like some kind of macabre decoration. Suddenly, the approaching heat of the flames felt like nothing. Rage smelted into Cassius' soul, and with one callusesly calculated act, Cassius shook the Fiend's hand and swore unto him.
I loved playing this simple means peasant with a kind, gruff, soul. But had this deep seated hatred for select individuals. And having three souls, of anyone (except PC's of course), that this Fiend could claim was an interesting dynamic for the group. To see me, a roughly good character, to hunt down some random priest come hell or high water. But my favorite part was his design. A tall, stocky build guy, deep stuble and very light brown hair. Wearing simple peasant clothes with patchwork leather placed over it to offer meager protection. His weapon being a sharpened woodcutter's axe he was determaned to use against those who had wronged him.
teared up a little. 4 scotches in, but still...
Love the Lovecraft enthusiasm Kelly, its what inspired my current warlock for a Saltmarsh campaign. He's intelligence based instead of charisma based, which makes him so interesting to play. I kinda modeled him off Lovecraft himself, and his warlock patron has sway over him due to a curse on his family line.
I plan on taking the Tome Feature as well as maybe multiclassing into Illusion Wizard at 18, 19, and 20.
What makes me love the warlock so much is the utility and flavour of the invocations and cantrips, I can't wait to play my first warlock.
Great video, very informative
just watched Venom
perfect exemple of a warlock
No Shit eh?! I love Venom. I'll need to check it out!
I actually saw a how to play venom in d&d.and he said to play a warlock /fighter ,definitely search this on CZcams.
venom is not a warlocks.....
I love that you brought up Baba Yaga. I created my first character as a young adult raised by Baba Yaga, and she was the patron for my warlock. My only minor complaint, it's the pronunciation of her name. The "ga" in her name is emphasised, while the "ya" is not, so it comes off more like yuh-GAH.
Buga yuga
First time watching you guys! LOVE YOU!!! You guy’s run a GREAT SHOW!!!
Thank you so much!
Warlock is my favourite. I love the concepts of pacts and summons, so this class was my first and my most used
my warlock is basically an eldritch blast machine gun lol (more of a auto turret but well...). Such a lot of invocation to choose from to modify the spell. The other spell is more set up for utility.
I think that the pact shouldn't be limited with the classic pact with your soul as the price. You can use the pact to troll your player as the gm. The pact details for my warlock is that he has to entertain the patron. My fey pact warlock basically is a streamer and the patron is watching the stream and asking for some mischief or gives challenges sometimes.
My question would be why your patron would be paying so much attention to you and you specifically. Just something to think about!
Now I imagine this Fey having multiple warlocks so that they have a variety of 'channels' to watch.
My warlock is going Hexblade. Made a delirious (intense physical pain and medication) deal with an unknown patron when he was a child and a slave. He didn't remember the terms. However, it saved him and his family. He grows up and the patron wants it's due.
Your videos are really great I get a lot of inspiration from them. I wasn't planning on having warlocks in my campaign because I couldn't think of how to fit demons into the mythology but after watching this video I got some great ideas of how to make it fit in and be different but still very demon like.
This is great it even gives me the idea of having some of the mythology more neutral instead of the good vs evil. Your videos are not only great in inspiration but that inspiration also translates into dming confidently. Makes me cant wait even more to start my dm campaign soon
I have a question as a new dm which is would it break the game to have any magic class use a different ability score as their primary spell casting? What if a player wanted to play a warlock but their character isn't all that charismatic? Maybe they had a deformity or something and developed their magic powers through wisdom or intelligence instead? I feel like the magic class ability score routes are pretty confining in character creation and dont feel like, "if they want int to be their main ability they should choose wizard" is a good enough answer.
New to the channel, but not to Dnd. Love how informative you guys are, keep it up 😀
Awesome and informative video as ever gentlemen. Kelly, wearing a Magneto shirt. I'm surprised you didn't make reference of the Juggernaut being a warlock, considering his power being channeled from Cyttorak.
I personally am running a campaign with a hexblade warlock. Rather than the sword being sentient, I'm running it as a massively powerful entity who has been trapped within the blade itself. Ultimately, the patron will compel it to find and release him.
Do you find that communion with a warlock patron should operate in a similar way to clerics or should that interaction be more passive?
Umbra Witches from Bayonetta are definitely warlocks. Each makes a pact with one of the demons of Inferno.
ooh yea i like that
Well, witch IS a femine of warlock.
Especially since the Light preists get similar powers from the Celestials/Angels.
thanks this is super helpful!
Thanks for this, I'm working on a swiftstride shifter archfey warlock for Eberron.