@@ATMOSK1234 I've just found there are other things I need my reaction for. E.g., Shield and Counterspell. It depends on the build and the encounter, of course.
@@ATMOSK1234 It is a useful part of the feat, but one thing's that's great about the Eldritch Mind Invocation is that the Invocation can act as a stand-in for the Warcaster until you get it. If you aren't Variant Human or Custom Lineage, you wouldn't even have access to Warcaster until Level 4 anways. Additionally, if you can stand to wait until level 12 for Warcaster, you can focus on your Charisma ASIs until then while still keeping a good part of the feat until then.
One thing to note is at the teleport does not have a range. So if the rogue is going to infiltrate somewhere, he can take the talisman as a escape plan.
So the pseudodragon poison says 'fails the saving throw by 5 or more', but the sprite poison says 'If its saving throw result is 5 or lower.' So while the saving throw increase does increase the likelihood of sleep on the pseudodragon, it does *not* for the sprite.
Maybe, there are two other ways to look at it. Either its still just 5 less and they just worded it differently, I doubt they were forward thinking enough from the games launch to think of this possibility, or its second DC of 5 would actually be boosted to your full spell DC as the invocation raises the DC, so it raises both the 10 Dc and the 5 DC to your spell DC. I do not think we have received any clarification on this yet.
@@Ahglock yes that's possible. But also, the Sprite has range and can be invisible, while the pseudodragon does not. Pseudo has grants magic resistance in 10 ft though, just like the Imp and Quasit. I think the Sprite was considered the weakest before but I'm not sure. I like fun too, but ranged invisible sleep sniper (& 40 ft speed) might cause some trouble haha... But I now see that the pseudodragon's poison lasts for 1 hour.. Wow.
Eldritch Mind is much better for a Warlock than it would be typically for any other spellcaster since Warlocks have so few spell slots to even really benefit from an opportunity attack spell casting, and the improved pact weapon being a spellcasting focus removing the need to have much in your hand while in combat or even out of combat. It's saved my warlock on numerous occasions as well
Opportunity attack spellcasting includes cantrips. Which, in the case of the warlock, can carry bigger riders than most cantrips can. Carry a whip for 10' reach if you're a blaster.
For the talisman, I’d run it so it has some in-game effects to indicate the patron wants to nudge the wearer in the right direction, for example “As you begin checking for traps, the talisman begins to grow warm and emit a ghastly red light. Do you accept [Patron’s] aid?” The aid can be a vision of where the trap may be, correct or incorrect, depending on the roll. Incorrect visions could be played off that the patron wasn’t feeling particularly charitable. Feats of strength are easy, “you feel your power grow, but despite your increased strength, the boulder still doesn’t move”. Charisma can be as easy as “words echo in your mind” telling you what to say, and it’s up to the character to listen or not (ie activating the talisman or not). I would also have the DM roll the 1d4 when the wearer rolls the check, and ask if they want to use it even on checks that the character passed already. You then tell that the usage wasn’t expended, as the aid didn’t matter mechanically. This helps veil any meta-knowledge that the players might obtain, as some players struggle with meta-gaming when they knowingly fail a check.
Investment of the Chain Master on a Chain Lock 3/Druid 2 could be interesting. The new lvl 2 Druid feature Wild Companion lets you summon a familiar as an action, instead of an hour, so you can get back your Imp/Pseudodragon/Sprite/Quasit right away, and command them to attack with your bonus action. If you pick Custom Lineage for your race, you can pick up Shadow Touched for Inflict Wounds and cast it with your Pact Magic slots through your familiar. It also lets you start with a +4 Cha mod, so you have the best possible DC for your familiars.
I really think they should have reprinted the extra attack for pact of the blade warlocks and let them make a cantrip attack as part of their attack action like the bladesinger. To me it makes perfect sense and would help balance out pact of the blade with other martials which are tougher and may have additional ways to deal damage.
I struggle to rate the initial benefit of Pact of the Talisman as being better than just the Guidance cantrip; ie. _one third_ of the benefit the Pact of the Tome. In my estimation, they are roughly comparable, with the Talisman having the benefit of boosting unexpected checks, while the Guidance spell instead has unlimited uses and is able to boost Initiative.
same, talisman does have the benefit of being passive and without using concentration though. In my experience a lot of times applying Guidance comes off as kind of gamey and inorganic, -granted talisman is kind of gamey in its own way.
Player: "I want to look for traps." DM: "OK, give me a roll." Player: "I rolled a 5. And if I fail to find any traps in this area then you have to tell me so that I can roll my extra 1d4." DM: "....roll." Player: "Guys there's a hidden trap in this area be careful." DM: >:|
@@Rodrik18 it's more akin to a party walking down a hallway and the DM saying "what's your passion perceptions?" And then the party all declaring they were looking for traps all along.
@@Rodrik18 as I said, the DM asking for their passive scores tip off the players that there's something here, so now they all claim to have been actively searching for whatever it is
I such a situation, while it would require more on the dm. I would keep check who has the talisman. Then if they fail the roll, I'd roll the d4 for them. That way they wouldn't necessarily know that they failed and such. Of course, perceptive players will take note that the dm is rolling, but who knows. They may be unaware what the roll is for.
I'm looking forward to your breakdown of the Genie Pact, which is probably on the same power (1-20) with Hexblade because of its versatility and it's unique Arcanum option.
I would rate both the TCoE warlocks as somewhere between the PHB and XGtE warlocks. I would have a higher opinion of the genie if you could use your bottled respite more than once per day and limited wish didn't have that extended downtime.
My main thing with Bottled Respite is that it's essentially a free Rope Trick 1/day, which isn't nothing. Also, Limited Wish is something that you will want to use rather than something that's nice to have. Sure beats Fathomless's weird hyper-limited teleport
Bottled respite is comparable to those 1/day spell invocations like undying servitude. It's a particularly nice one for a warlock as it makes it easier to get an extra short rest in, but for something that takes up two subclass features I'd just want a bit more out of it. Limited wish's multi-day cooldown just seems unnecessarily long, especially if you're in a game where you might not get a long rest every session. Genie's wrath and elemental gift are nice to have, but aren't really unique or stand out features. I don't think it's a bad patron, but I don't think it's particularly outstanding either (at least until you get wish at 17th level, but wish isn't quite as good for warlocks as it is for other casters because if you lose the ability to cast wish you lose your 9th level spell slot along with it).
If someone has Aid (especially if you multi into Divine Soul Sorcerer to get it), granting resistance to your familiar could actually mean something, since it would effectively be doubling the amount of hp that it would grant to it. At level 5 spell slots, that would effectively become 52-54 hp, meaning it could actually tank up to a few hits, depending.
Aid is *the* reason for warlocks to multi DSSorc IMO. An 8 hour buff, with good scaling, on a lvl 5 SR slot? Yes please. With no MAD and minimal risk to lvl 20 longevity? Definitely.
Eldritch Mind and Investment of the Chain Master are compelling enough for me that I'm unironically considering not taking Eldritch or Agonizing until 4/5. I think there are just better things to do with your action before that point.
The fact that the Talisman’s boosts are all PB per long rest really kills it for me. By 9th level you’ll be having fun, you’ll have plenty of uses of all of your features and you’ll be able to get a lot of mileage out of them but right at level 3 it’s awful. At level 3 all the talisman does is boost 2 skill failed checks and you spend uses wether or not boost turns that failure into a success. That means you have a really good chance of burning both uses of that feature and accomplishing nothing, after that point you’re just a Warlock with a fancy necklace.
good catch on that one! What were they thinking with that decision? That's like if a tome pact's cantrip use was tied to proficiency bonus [oh hey there guidance!], -or a blade pact's number of combats.
I agree. While not needing to cast as an action like Guidance is nice, in most out-of-combat situations I will have the time needed to cast Guidance before a skill check. Sure, it has some nice Invocations, but I wish the base ability would at least be as good as the Soul Knife's level 3 ability to add a larger die twice as many times a day.
Tasha otherworldly gise is super GREAT its not cercimsasses at all having immunity to fire poison and the poison condition on command is super reliable . having immunity to Radiant and Necrotic is more niche but including immunity to charm instead is even more better because charm can be devastating for NPCs if its tied to mind control for example. what ever choice you choose having a bonus +2 to ac AND 40 feet flying is forever in any situation useful. so Immunity to 4 damages 2 conditions +2 ac and 40 feet flying speed ... AS A BONUS ACTION NO LESSS !!!! much MUCH more reliable than any other 6th level spell including Eyebite "tied to a saving throw" this spell saved my ass sooo many times. and lets not forget it would give any worlock the access to 2 attacks and charisma attack mod so instant hex blade for those who dont choose that option.
Such a solid video! I’m very much between green and blue as well with protection of the talisman but I think I’m leaning more towards blue for two main reasons: - I believe it’s similar to invocations that across-the-board are helpful such as a blast user taking agonizing blast… They plan on using eldritch blast… they know they will use eldritch blast, so it checks out. Whether or not you use the blast cantrip, you know that in combat saving throws will happen especially at higher and higher levels. This invocation directly addresses the issue of higher level difficulties in dealing with terrifying creatures that force you to make a wisdom save at the start of every turn or something crazy like that. This is bless without concentration in that sense and s also bless without needing to use an action to even cast it which brings me to the second point - there is no action required to use this. It is completely passive. It does take a resource which I acknowledge, proficiency bonus times per day does not mean infinite and I get that, at least I think I get that😅, my group typically sees about four combats per day. Half of them often being brawls and the other half being more terrifying instances needing to make saves against nasty effects. And on rare occasion, my DM sometimes has traps that force saves to occur… But this is more rare. So proficiency bonus to me is very acceptable with this kind of ability. … But back to the action, there is no reaction required to even do this which means that if a high-level enemy forces a save as a layer action and then hits your party with another save during its turn, and who knows, maybe one of his minions casts a lower level spell at you, you can use all three instances of talisman protection in that one round to save your life and continue supporting the party or attacking. To me the lack of action needed to use this bumps this up to Blue. As well as the constant threat of saving throws that every player character sees, guaranteeing the effective use of this invocation.
I would also say about eldritch mind, bladepacts are already hungry for invocations. (extra attack, improved pact weapon at level 5 and agonizing blast alone can take up your invocations), and for them it can be easier to just blow a feat on warcaster. However, if the adventure is taking place at higher levels, it can be easier to squeeze it into your limited invocations. It comes across it is for bladelocks that dont want to rely on eldritch blast.
@@Featherwick I agree...but mostly because of how lackluster IPW is...unless of course you want a ranged weapon, in which case it IS mandatory...so....
@@Featherwick that means you aren't using a shield then as a blade pact. Which in 2h weapon builds is fine. But sword and board is an easy way to increase your survivability.
@@adamkaris You dont need warcaster to cast spells with a shield. Since you can drop a weapon for free and pick it up as a free action you can cast every spell on your turn. You would only need warcaster to cast spells as a reaction but warlocks get very few of those
Being able to change pacts is pretty great. Level 1-4: Chain pact, with Investment of the Chain Master to let the summon attack twice (and you 0 times) Level 5-???: Swap/Grab to get agonizing blast, use Chain for BA attack until poison immunity/res becomes way too common Level ???-14: Tome, Talisman Optional: Level 15, back into Chain for Chains of Cercerei
Mind sliver is nice due to int save and psychic damage, but I think you overlooked the best part which is a d4 debuff to saving throws. It's like a mini-bane that doesn't require concentration or a spell slot, allowing you to soften up a target to fail a saving throw next round. And if it misses, it's only a cantrip so you can try again next round. Situational perhaps, but nice as a secondary attack for when a target has really good AC or you want to try to make sure a big single-target save or suck spell has a better chance of going off. Just my 2¢. Thanks for making all these videos btw, super detailed and informative.
I really enjoyed all these additions and particularly the pact if the Talisman. It feels like the most "vanilla" option for a warlock. And that can make it a great default for if I don't have a specialization in mind. Where as before there was always the lingering question of whether the pact of the chain or blade felt right, or if the Tome was worth it for guidance (since agonizing blast is the best cantrip anyways) over the other two options. Talisman simply works, at all times, and can be passed around the group like a magic item at no detriment.
One detriment that Jinx Jade posted below, which I missed on read through, is the limited number of uses for the talisman's guidance -a number of uses = to proficiency bonus, so after 2 uses you just have a fancy necklace until level 5. At 5 it becomes 3 until level 9, etc. -So not exactly working at all times.
I do wish undying servitude said "You gain the spell animate dead and can cast it without using a spell slot once per long rest." Currently, it definitely does not say you can can cast it using a spell slot.
I believe the reasoning is to prevent a level 5 character from having dozens of animated skeletons. Since it gives a 24 hour duration effect off a 1 hour recharge slot.
Even if it used a spell slot and was only usable once per day I think it would have been better due to how animate dead scales, at level 3 on its own it just does not seem worth it even if its a "free" cast. I'd rather use a slot that scale and at least have a few undead, even if its not a undead hoard.
In my next level up, I'm taking Pact of the chain with both Voice of the Chain and Investment of the chain invocations. I'm a sorlock and stopping my warlock progression at 3 levels, and returning to run out the rest as sorcerer. My build 8s very dragon focused so I'm a dragonborn sorcerer with draconic heritage; that made a pact with a gold dragon. My primary familiar will be a pseudodragon, and one of my tactics will using the 2nd level spell to give her dragonbreath so my tiny little dragon can rain fire or other elements on the heads of enemies from above, outside of Melee range.
So unless I'm missing something, you're stuck with only 1 undead minion with Undying Servitude that you can control? Otherwise you're using the spell to exert control on the one minion you have and not to make more. So unless you are specifically using this to make undead monsters to attack anyone at random, it's pretty low on the totempole no?
I really do not like the "on a failed check" tamplate, as it just breaks immersion. It forces an Interaction between player and GM to convey purely mechanical information in a manner that is beneficial to the storytelling of the scene, as the player has to know they failed, before the DM can describe the outcome, so they have a chance to use their feature that triger on failed checks.
I agree! Although, I think that such rolls would be better for the table if rolled together: For example you have to roll to save vs something and you have a "on a failed check" feature that you can use: roll both dice and the dm goes on describing the outcome, notifying you afterwards if your bonus dice is spent or not. There are cases when you wanna save the use for later, but tbh, I think such effects work better - story-wise - when you don't think too much about them.
I agree. Mechanically, there isn't much different if you were just allowed to roll the 1d4 regardless. If you passed the check without the 1d4, you wouldn't know anyways.
There are some interesting and unique ways to flavor them through. For example, if you tried to make a persuasion check to convince a cleric to join you and barely failed, and then the talisman roll makes the attempt a success, the dm could have the cleric say “I’m sorry but I’m just not interested in... in.... ACTUALLY, I would be happy to come along.” As If your patron cast their own spell or interfered. I really like that. I’m multiclassing a Divine Soul sorcerer, with guidance, in a team with a bard, and multiclassing into a pact of the talisman warlock. My dm will be dealing with this a lot lol
So.. I came up with something I'm pretty proud of. A Changeling Fiend Chainlock with at first Agonizing Blast & Investment of the Chain Master. This combined with Arms of Hadras & Fireball this is amazing for both flavour & gameplay imo. As cantrips I went with Eldritch Blast & Create Bonfire, & made a deal with my DM to exchange Bonfire for Green-Flame-Blade in the future. (as 3rd or 4th lvl Warlock) This way I get to use Eldritch Blast + Charisma mod, a bonus familiar attack & bonfire/green-flame-blade when too close for Eldritch Blast.
The Rebuke of the Talisman is so useful to me that I will voluntarily *give up* taking Pact of the Blade or Tome to take this ability. Yes, both have their uses, but imho RoT is so useful to me that it is always a Blue in my mind. :D
I don't get why people say a quasit familiar doesn't have a fly speed. It can turn into a bat with a fly speed, which doesn't affect its ability to do anything else.
Then it's not a quasit with a fly speed. It's a quasit. And later can be a bat with a fly speed. That's like saying a wizard has a fly speed just because they have access to the fly spell. It's not an "always on" feature.
@@adamkaris you analogy is imperfect. It is more like saying a wizard who can cast fly at will with no concentration, and infinite duration has a fly speed, it not necessarily always on, but it can be always on and it is an always availible feature.
The worst part about Eldritch Mind is that I feel obligated to make it my second Invocation at Level 2 along with Agonizing Blast. Overall though, I think it does it a great job defining the Warlock's role as a concentrated spellcaster. In the realm of video games, this Invocation helps makes them something comparable to a buffier/debuffer. So naturally squeezing as much utility out of each spell slot is vital for the class.
I don't think that this is going to be common enough to make it worth taking the teleport invocation on it's own but in theory if your warlock was locked in a 5x5 cage and had their talisman, i'd assume the space you are *currently* in counts as occupied, which means the nearest unoccupied space would be outside of the cage, so there are some ways you could use it if your party members aren't wearing the talisman but it's definitely much more restricted / circumstantial
Because they messed it up initially and their fix is a Patron instead of a Boon. So now getting anywhere near it is a design/balance nightmare they'd rather just pretend doesn't exist. Sad.
a level 5 bladelock is already using all invocations. Extra attack, improved weapon, eldritch smite all come online at level 5, take 2, and the 3rd will for agonizing blast (~93% of the time). While I would like to see options for bladelocks (the eldritch armor thing looked promising), realistically speaking it would have a really high opportunity cost, and just as raedien said, I can see them giving up this concept
Undying Servitude should let you cast Animate Dead once per long rest using a warlock spell slot. That way you can at least upcast it while still not being spammable.
@@adamkaris True, but all manner of persuasive or deceptive tactics can help with this..and refusal to write ones name is a subjectively interpretive event in of itself. And depending on your patron and pact flavoring..it could be a holy book as well.
So, I'm running a Sorlock (Hexblade and Divine Sorcerer). We're level 5 rn, so I've got 3 levels of Sorcerer and 2 of Warlock. I'm running Eldritch Mind and Agonizing Blast for my invocations, so I can use my Lv 4 feat on Sorcerer to grab Fey Touched. I'll probably keep Eldritch Mind until I eventually level my Warlock to 3, so I can get the Pact of the Chain and Gift of the Ever-Living Ones
Personally, if you take the quasit, i think the investment of the chain master makes it a solid blue ranking. The attacks of the familiars may not scale well but the scare ability scales with your spell save dc so that will scale well. I'm a big fan of eldritch mind and undying servitude. Undying servitude at worst is simply another familiar that can provide the help action and take a hit or 2 for your party at the cost of 1 invocation slot. Its not a priority take at earlier levels especially for martial warlocks but definitely at later levels (or even early EBlocks).
Eldritch mind is good but I'm really not seeing the benefits of Undying Servitude other than flavor. Animate Dead is really pretty weak over all unless you can build up a group (which is not possible with this invocation).
@@monohybridstudios i agree that its not as good. But as i said, at worst its another help generator/oppoment target like find familiar. I find those things useful especially at later levels. Maybe its because you already have an easy advantage generator in your tables or your fights last long? My table is usually composed of nova alpha strikers so anything that swings the action economy your way is valuable so fights are over in 1-2 rounds. No one really takes the time to cast an area debuff like faerie fire for advantage to help the party. Its more of you have a target/targes you should be self-sufficient to kill it in 1-2 rounds. The spellcasters job is more of to do aoe control and not provide buffs. So guys like me value non-action ways to generate advantage: reckless attack, find familiar, tiny servant/animate dead, umbral sight. Or at worst bonus action ways to generate it like: vow of enmity, quicken hold/blindess/pyrotechnics/fog cloud/greater invis/shadow of moil, shadow blade, etc. My recent use of it is with my one-shot booming blade genie-lock (i wanted to do a martial warlock without using hexblade). It was level 10: rune knight 3, genie 5, grave cleric 2. The animate dead gets into melee and provides the help action so when its my turn to swing my one-shot booming blade i do so with advantage then usually take a big chunk of the opponents hp out (or kill it). I originally wanted to get pact of the chain but i couldnt as eldritch smite from pact of the blade was integral to the build and thats where undying servant comes in.
The new invocations are...neat. personally I don't like that blade didn't get anything, iunno maybe a Battlemaster manuver?, but it's fine. Still not fond of chain but that's more a me thing. Tome got interesting things, name based magic is always neat. I kinda wish there were more, if any, 'contract' based invocations. Fiend, Fey etc. But I can't really complain.
Tiny, probably unnecessary note here; once you reach level 17, if you have Eldritch Mind, you’ll want to switch it out, because you’ll already be getting advantage on pretty much all concentration checks with foresight.
Honestly i couldnt care less about the Talisman, what i do want though, is a pact that competes with Hexblade, since that one is EASILY the best one of them, especially for martial characters. Take a couple level dip into Hexblade, and you get a pretty substantial damage boost and a couple invocations that can really mold well into your playstyle. Just about every one of my martial PCs have taken a dip simply because it is SO damn good! Either that, or make the top level capstones for each class actually worth taking over multiclassing. 20th level sorcerer? why the hell would i bother when i can dip into warlock and just convert THOSE spell slots into the same amount of sorcery points, AND get access to some BALLER goodies on top of that?
I don't see any issue with a player having Dream of the Blue Veil. It requires a magic item from the other location to begin with, so unless the DM provides such an item, the spell is functionally useless.
I disagree about talisman, it is very circumstancial, and merely using it during some of your examples can give you info. You roll a 17 to look for traps, but you find none. Are there no traps, or did you just not roll high enough? You dont know. But if you ask "can I use talisman?" RAW, the GMs answer is already a source of info. If the GM tell you "you cannot use it", RAW it means you succeeded, and there are no traps. If the GM tells you "yes, you can use it", that already tells you there are traps around, and even if you dont see them with the 1d4 bonus, you will now know traps are nearby. It is a very clunky feature that should have just been a guidance mechanic
Agreed, and with a well written example! It's sad but I feel like like they made this choice so that it mechanically differed itself from Bardic Inspiration and the various Cleric spells that can add dice to rolls instead of embracing the fact that this is a roleplaying game and the flavor is more than enough to carry the difference while streamlining the mechanics by keeping them similar.
Yeah the meta-info is definitely a bit weird. Though that being said I do like the idea of an otherworldly patron giving you that info. It's from another plane, so a little 4th wall breaking can potentially add to the unusual power and characteristics from your patron, if RPed correctly by the DM
@@Rodrik18 Except they could've just let you add the D4 before knowing if it's a success or failure and it wouldn't been consistent with other mechanics AND avoided this narrative/meta quirk. In terms of design there are clear benefits mechanically and no real narrative cost...instead they went with an odd mechanical choice that also comes with a narrative cost for no apparent benefit. You could say there is a "feel good" benefit knowing the D4 made a known failure into a success but this could ALSO be tackles by a savvy DM painting the D4 in a special way when it made the difference, probably in the same way a good DM would portray a Bardic Inspiration or Guidance "making the difference." You can make anything with with DM fiat, which is why you have to look at the mechanics. The mechanics here are awkward for seemingly no reasom when an available, clearly functioning mechanic already exists....so...why? Don't get me wrong, I love the flavor of the Talisman, and am glad it's here but this IS a good example, among many, of some very odd choices from the DnD team.
@@Rodrik18 that sounds nice, but a few caveats. 1) the talisman rumbles, the patron advises caution. Tell the party member with expertise in the relevant skill to check, suddenly its not 17, but 23 2) I have yet to play with GMs who didnt want to screw over players in one way or another., among these warlock fuckery is very common. "Your patron lied you are powerless because fuck you thats why". I would not trust these GMs to play out the narrative as you wrote it down, neither to allow another person to do the thing you were doing
Even if you NORMALLY wear the Talisman, give it to the Rogue ANY time they're about to go off on their own with that Teleport Invocation and you just saved the world lol. They WILL get into trouble and immediately get out of it. Make sure they wear some face covering or something and none of their shenanigans will trace back to you. Even creatures or spell casters such as the court Mage of that King they're pranking/banging the daughter of can't see through a simple cloth bandana over the face lol.
I am curious what you think of my current build in a campaign, so far I am a sword bard 6/ hex blade warlock 2. I know pact of the blade next level is an easy choice but what about pact of the chain? I would also like to see your take on a warlock/bard because I think it has a lot of potential but I don’t see many people talk about it
Depending on the spell. First of all, usual lvl4 Polymorph can't transform into a Dragon since it can transform only into Beasts. And with it you don't keep your class features. To transform into a Dragon, you need either True Polymorph or Shapechange, both lvl9 spells. The former doesn't let you keep your class features, while the latter does. Read spell description, it is explicitly said there.
@@antongrigoryev6381 I read it. But it just says game statistics, your class features aren't statistics and the spell specifically says you can't use spells that require speech or somatic components unless the creature could possibly. So it implies as long as the creature can talk and has aposable thumbs you can still cast spells.
@@skullkrusher-dx4kg No, "game statistics" means everything, including class abilities. You don't keep them unless it's specifically said otherwise, as it's the case with Shapechange or Druid's Wildshape. The part about casting spells most likely refers to other ways to cast them, with magic items for example.
If I have to have someone write down their name for me to use the sending spell, having a limit to prof is unacceptable. I would prefer no limit to the names I can have written down.
How exactly does the pet attack work with Investment? I guess it does use up the familiars action so it can not attack on your turn and turn invisible on its turn?
Sooo... 1. Tome, 2. Chain, 3. Blade 4. Talisman? 1. Pseudo, 2. Quasit, 3. Imp, and 4. Sprite with the new Investment?? Pseudodragon with 1 hour poison/sleep wow that's crazy!
For Far Scribe, do note it only removes material components. I do wonder why Sending has verbal and somatic components if it is supposed to be silent communication because anyone around you will hear your verbal components anyway. You're much better off getting a Telepathic Bond.
Sending isn't about silent communication, it's just about communication. Long distance, without needing to have seen them recently, without needing to know where they are. A telepathic bond won't let you communicate if you split up for several days.
Yup. Sending isn't about subtly - Message, cantrip, is better at this - it is about range. I mean, it has unlimited range and even can reach other planes of existence!
I just...it's so hard to justify using Pact of the Blade even on a Hexblade when I can swap to something like Tome or Talisman...I really wish they hadn't bungled Hexblade/Pact of the Blade, it's so, so awkward lol.
No usage limit is stated or implied. It might have been better to say, "you may cast *Sending* at-will, but only targeting persons who have written their name in your book of shadows."
Some people read the description as that you don't need to move your Hex immediately after a target dies - you can choose another target at any point after it as long as you keep concentration. Even if your DM doesn't agree with it, you can use a "bag of rats" - some amount of critters or insects you move your Hex on and then kill them when you need to move it to the new target.
A d4 that doesn't scale is....eh? Not bad but not great. I also don't agree with the swapping of pact boons from a lore perspective. Iunno, it makes the character feel ungrateful to this being that's granted them this boon.
The level 12 invocation for the talisman is so lame. You’re a warlock. You can’t afford to give stuff away. You have almost nothing to begin with. You are undoubtedly the most vulnerable character since you can’t afford to shield and misty step every turn forever. The invocation should give you a second talisman and you and whoever you give your second one to should be able to do teleports. It’s a 12th level invocation for crying out loud!
I dont like pact of the talisman because its the only one that is limited uses of all its features. every other boon has its features be unlimited with rare exceptions the talisman is always limited except for some instinces. and it has less features. I would have made the abilities unlimited and gave them gudacne for free then guidance without concentration limited.
invesment of the chain master should have boosted HP and AC sorry but chain master still are trash for combat you can expect a 13 ac 10 hp creature to be effective in combat after tier 2 a single fireball WILL always wipe them out
Eldritch Mind - The important part of Warcaster without having to use a feat. Yes please!
I do think the opportunity attack clause is useful, but that's dependent on how your dm runs monsters.
@@ATMOSK1234 I've just found there are other things I need my reaction for. E.g., Shield and Counterspell. It depends on the build and the encounter, of course.
@@ATMOSK1234 It is a useful part of the feat, but one thing's that's great about the Eldritch Mind Invocation is that the Invocation can act as a stand-in for the Warcaster until you get it. If you aren't Variant Human or Custom Lineage, you wouldn't even have access to Warcaster until Level 4 anways. Additionally, if you can stand to wait until level 12 for Warcaster, you can focus on your Charisma ASIs until then while still keeping a good part of the feat until then.
It's better because it's useful agains other effects rather than only against damages.
One thing to note is at the teleport does not have a range. So if the rogue is going to infiltrate somewhere, he can take the talisman as a escape plan.
So the pseudodragon poison says 'fails the saving throw by 5 or more', but the sprite poison says 'If its saving throw result is 5 or lower.' So while the saving throw increase does increase the likelihood of sleep on the pseudodragon, it does *not* for the sprite.
Thank you, this was helpful to me.
They probably did that as a buff for the pseudo dragon as it has been considered the weakest of the bunch
I just really wish this invocation scaled to stay useful.
Maybe, there are two other ways to look at it. Either its still just 5 less and they just worded it differently, I doubt they were forward thinking enough from the games launch to think of this possibility, or its second DC of 5 would actually be boosted to your full spell DC as the invocation raises the DC, so it raises both the 10 Dc and the 5 DC to your spell DC. I do not think we have received any clarification on this yet.
@@Ahglock yes that's possible. But also, the Sprite has range and can be invisible, while the pseudodragon does not. Pseudo has grants magic resistance in 10 ft though, just like the Imp and Quasit. I think the Sprite was considered the weakest before but I'm not sure. I like fun too, but ranged invisible sleep sniper (& 40 ft speed) might cause some trouble haha...
But I now see that the pseudodragon's poison lasts for 1 hour.. Wow.
"certainly if, for some strange reason, I was playing an undying patron Warlock"
That was a good one.
Eldritch Mind is much better for a Warlock than it would be typically for any other spellcaster since Warlocks have so few spell slots to even really benefit from an opportunity attack spell casting, and the improved pact weapon being a spellcasting focus removing the need to have much in your hand while in combat or even out of combat. It's saved my warlock on numerous occasions as well
Opportunity attack spellcasting includes cantrips. Which, in the case of the warlock, can carry bigger riders than most cantrips can. Carry a whip for 10' reach if you're a blaster.
For the talisman, I’d run it so it has some in-game effects to indicate the patron wants to nudge the wearer in the right direction, for example
“As you begin checking for traps, the talisman begins to grow warm and emit a ghastly red light. Do you accept [Patron’s] aid?”
The aid can be a vision of where the trap may be, correct or incorrect, depending on the roll. Incorrect visions could be played off that the patron wasn’t feeling particularly charitable. Feats of strength are easy, “you feel your power grow, but despite your increased strength, the boulder still doesn’t move”. Charisma can be as easy as “words echo in your mind” telling you what to say, and it’s up to the character to listen or not (ie activating the talisman or not).
I would also have the DM roll the 1d4 when the wearer rolls the check, and ask if they want to use it even on checks that the character passed already. You then tell that the usage wasn’t expended, as the aid didn’t matter mechanically. This helps veil any meta-knowledge that the players might obtain, as some players struggle with meta-gaming when they knowingly fail a check.
Really good way of handling this invocation :)
Its for saving throw right not checks
Edit: mb was thinking of the invocation
Investment of the Chain Master on a Chain Lock 3/Druid 2 could be interesting.
The new lvl 2 Druid feature Wild Companion lets you summon a familiar as an action, instead of an hour, so you can get back your Imp/Pseudodragon/Sprite/Quasit right away, and command them to attack with your bonus action.
If you pick Custom Lineage for your race, you can pick up Shadow Touched for Inflict Wounds and cast it with your Pact Magic slots through your familiar. It also lets you start with a +4 Cha mod, so you have the best possible DC for your familiars.
I really think they should have reprinted the extra attack for pact of the blade warlocks and let them make a cantrip attack as part of their attack action like the bladesinger.
To me it makes perfect sense and would help balance out pact of the blade with other martials which are tougher and may have additional ways to deal damage.
The problem is that hexblade combos would become even more OP.
I struggle to rate the initial benefit of Pact of the Talisman as being better than just the Guidance cantrip; ie. _one third_ of the benefit the Pact of the Tome. In my estimation, they are roughly comparable, with the Talisman having the benefit of boosting unexpected checks, while the Guidance spell instead has unlimited uses and is able to boost Initiative.
same, talisman does have the benefit of being passive and without using concentration though. In my experience a lot of times applying Guidance comes off as kind of gamey and inorganic, -granted talisman is kind of gamey in its own way.
Player: "I want to look for traps."
DM: "OK, give me a roll."
Player: "I rolled a 5. And if I fail to find any traps in this area then you have to tell me so that I can roll my extra 1d4."
DM: "....roll."
Player: "Guys there's a hidden trap in this area be careful."
DM: >:|
@@Rodrik18 no it's not.
@@Rodrik18 it's more akin to a party walking down a hallway and the DM saying "what's your passion perceptions?"
And then the party all declaring they were looking for traps all along.
@@Rodrik18 as I said, the DM asking for their passive scores tip off the players that there's something here, so now they all claim to have been actively searching for whatever it is
@@Rodrik18 your example wasn't a rules problem either
I such a situation, while it would require more on the dm. I would keep check who has the talisman. Then if they fail the roll, I'd roll the d4 for them. That way they wouldn't necessarily know that they failed and such. Of course, perceptive players will take note that the dm is rolling, but who knows. They may be unaware what the roll is for.
I'm looking forward to your breakdown of the Genie Pact, which is probably on the same power (1-20) with Hexblade because of its versatility and it's unique Arcanum option.
personally i think its a significantly stronger monoclass level 6 and forward
I'm hoping to play one in a campaign soonish
I would rate both the TCoE warlocks as somewhere between the PHB and XGtE warlocks. I would have a higher opinion of the genie if you could use your bottled respite more than once per day and limited wish didn't have that extended downtime.
My main thing with Bottled Respite is that it's essentially a free Rope Trick 1/day, which isn't nothing. Also, Limited Wish is something that you will want to use rather than something that's nice to have. Sure beats Fathomless's weird hyper-limited teleport
Bottled respite is comparable to those 1/day spell invocations like undying servitude. It's a particularly nice one for a warlock as it makes it easier to get an extra short rest in, but for something that takes up two subclass features I'd just want a bit more out of it. Limited wish's multi-day cooldown just seems unnecessarily long, especially if you're in a game where you might not get a long rest every session. Genie's wrath and elemental gift are nice to have, but aren't really unique or stand out features. I don't think it's a bad patron, but I don't think it's particularly outstanding either (at least until you get wish at 17th level, but wish isn't quite as good for warlocks as it is for other casters because if you lose the ability to cast wish you lose your 9th level spell slot along with it).
I'm happy to confirm my initial impression that Investment of the Chain Master is 5-stars, I'd just switched to it as I've reached level 3
If someone has Aid (especially if you multi into Divine Soul Sorcerer to get it), granting resistance to your familiar could actually mean something, since it would effectively be doubling the amount of hp that it would grant to it. At level 5 spell slots, that would effectively become 52-54 hp, meaning it could actually tank up to a few hits, depending.
Aid is *the* reason for warlocks to multi DSSorc IMO. An 8 hour buff, with good scaling, on a lvl 5 SR slot? Yes please. With no MAD and minimal risk to lvl 20 longevity? Definitely.
Eldritch Mind and Investment of the Chain Master are compelling enough for me that I'm unironically considering not taking Eldritch or Agonizing until 4/5. I think there are just better things to do with your action before that point.
The fact that the Talisman’s boosts are all PB per long rest really kills it for me. By 9th level you’ll be having fun, you’ll have plenty of uses of all of your features and you’ll be able to get a lot of mileage out of them but right at level 3 it’s awful. At level 3 all the talisman does is boost 2 skill failed checks and you spend uses wether or not boost turns that failure into a success. That means you have a really good chance of burning both uses of that feature and accomplishing nothing, after that point you’re just a Warlock with a fancy necklace.
good catch on that one! What were they thinking with that decision? That's like if a tome pact's cantrip use was tied to proficiency bonus [oh hey there guidance!], -or a blade pact's number of combats.
@@elliotbryant3459... Well yes, very true! Just add Guidance to the talisman, it is very similar to its nature.
I agree. While not needing to cast as an action like Guidance is nice, in most out-of-combat situations I will have the time needed to cast Guidance before a skill check.
Sure, it has some nice Invocations, but I wish the base ability would at least be as good as the Soul Knife's level 3 ability to add a larger die twice as many times a day.
Well... thats because lv3 neofites should not be as good as an experienced lv9 adventurer/person.
It would be fine if it didn’t expend a use if it didn’t change the outcome.
Tasha otherworldly gise is super GREAT its not cercimsasses at all
having immunity to fire poison and the poison condition on command is super reliable . having immunity to Radiant and Necrotic is more niche but including immunity to charm instead is even more better because charm can be devastating for NPCs if its tied to mind control for example. what ever choice you choose having a bonus +2 to ac AND 40 feet flying is forever in any situation useful.
so Immunity to 4 damages 2 conditions +2 ac and 40 feet flying speed ... AS A BONUS ACTION NO LESSS !!!! much MUCH more reliable than any other 6th level spell including Eyebite "tied to a saving throw" this spell saved my ass sooo many times.
and lets not forget it would give any worlock the access to 2 attacks and charisma attack mod so instant hex blade for those who dont choose that option.
Such a solid video! I’m very much between green and blue as well with protection of the talisman but I think I’m leaning more towards blue for two main reasons:
- I believe it’s similar to invocations that across-the-board are helpful such as a blast user taking agonizing blast… They plan on using eldritch blast… they know they will use eldritch blast, so it checks out. Whether or not you use the blast cantrip, you know that in combat saving throws will happen especially at higher and higher levels. This invocation directly addresses the issue of higher level difficulties in dealing with terrifying creatures that force you to make a wisdom save at the start of every turn or something crazy like that. This is bless without concentration in that sense and s also bless without needing to use an action to even cast it which brings me to the second point
- there is no action required to use this. It is completely passive. It does take a resource which I acknowledge, proficiency bonus times per day does not mean infinite and I get that, at least I think I get that😅, my group typically sees about four combats per day. Half of them often being brawls and the other half being more terrifying instances needing to make saves against nasty effects. And on rare occasion, my DM sometimes has traps that force saves to occur… But this is more rare. So proficiency bonus to me is very acceptable with this kind of ability. … But back to the action, there is no reaction required to even do this which means that if a high-level enemy forces a save as a layer action and then hits your party with another save during its turn, and who knows, maybe one of his minions casts a lower level spell at you, you can use all three instances of talisman protection in that one round to save your life and continue supporting the party or attacking.
To me the lack of action needed to use this bumps this up to Blue. As well as the constant threat of saving throws that every player character sees, guaranteeing the effective use of this invocation.
I would also say about eldritch mind, bladepacts are already hungry for invocations. (extra attack, improved pact weapon at level 5 and agonizing blast alone can take up your invocations), and for them it can be easier to just blow a feat on warcaster.
However, if the adventure is taking place at higher levels, it can be easier to squeeze it into your limited invocations.
It comes across it is for bladelocks that dont want to rely on eldritch blast.
As a Hex/Pactblade I picked it pretty fast and paired it with Fly. Can't have that concentration dropping while in mid-air combat!
Improved pact weapon isn't really necessary for a pact blade warlock. You can always get a magic weapon and advantage on con saves is better
@@Featherwick I agree...but mostly because of how lackluster IPW is...unless of course you want a ranged weapon, in which case it IS mandatory...so....
@@Featherwick that means you aren't using a shield then as a blade pact. Which in 2h weapon builds is fine. But sword and board is an easy way to increase your survivability.
@@adamkaris You dont need warcaster to cast spells with a shield. Since you can drop a weapon for free and pick it up as a free action you can cast every spell on your turn. You would only need warcaster to cast spells as a reaction but warlocks get very few of those
Being able to change pacts is pretty great.
Level 1-4: Chain pact, with Investment of the Chain Master to let the summon attack twice (and you 0 times)
Level 5-???: Swap/Grab to get agonizing blast, use Chain for BA attack until poison immunity/res becomes way too common
Level ???-14: Tome, Talisman
Optional: Level 15, back into Chain for Chains of Cercerei
Mind sliver is nice due to int save and psychic damage, but I think you overlooked the best part which is a d4 debuff to saving throws. It's like a mini-bane that doesn't require concentration or a spell slot, allowing you to soften up a target to fail a saving throw next round. And if it misses, it's only a cantrip so you can try again next round. Situational perhaps, but nice as a secondary attack for when a target has really good AC or you want to try to make sure a big single-target save or suck spell has a better chance of going off. Just my 2¢. Thanks for making all these videos btw, super detailed and informative.
I really enjoyed all these additions and particularly the pact if the Talisman.
It feels like the most "vanilla" option for a warlock. And that can make it a great default for if I don't have a specialization in mind. Where as before there was always the lingering question of whether the pact of the chain or blade felt right, or if the Tome was worth it for guidance (since agonizing blast is the best cantrip anyways) over the other two options.
Talisman simply works, at all times, and can be passed around the group like a magic item at no detriment.
One detriment that Jinx Jade posted below, which I missed on read through, is the limited number of uses for the talisman's guidance -a number of uses = to proficiency bonus, so after 2 uses you just have a fancy necklace until level 5. At 5 it becomes 3 until level 9, etc. -So not exactly working at all times.
@@elliotbryant3459 no, but that's why I compare it to a magic item. Probably equal to uncommon in rarity, and eventually gaining more features
Or you could take a lvl 1 cleric with guidance and Bless and out perform it by about 1000%
I do wish undying servitude said "You gain the spell animate dead and can cast it without using a spell slot once per long rest." Currently, it definitely does not say you can can cast it using a spell slot.
Yep. What a failure to finally give warlocks the chance to be necromancers. Surely no patrons interested in that! :p
I believe the reasoning is to prevent a level 5 character from having dozens of animated skeletons. Since it gives a 24 hour duration effect off a 1 hour recharge slot.
Even if it used a spell slot and was only usable once per day I think it would have been better due to how animate dead scales, at level 3 on its own it just does not seem worth it even if its a "free" cast. I'd rather use a slot that scale and at least have a few undead, even if its not a undead hoard.
In my next level up, I'm taking Pact of the chain with both Voice of the Chain and Investment of the chain invocations. I'm a sorlock and stopping my warlock progression at 3 levels, and returning to run out the rest as sorcerer. My build 8s very dragon focused so I'm a dragonborn sorcerer with draconic heritage; that made a pact with a gold dragon. My primary familiar will be a pseudodragon, and one of my tactics will using the 2nd level spell to give her dragonbreath so my tiny little dragon can rain fire or other elements on the heads of enemies from above, outside of Melee range.
So unless I'm missing something, you're stuck with only 1 undead minion with Undying Servitude that you can control? Otherwise you're using the spell to exert control on the one minion you have and not to make more.
So unless you are specifically using this to make undead monsters to attack anyone at random, it's pretty low on the totempole no?
It can help in a multi enemy brawl but yeah, not great but pretty good.
The Quasit is a shapehanger, so the flying speed of Investment of the chain master its no big change
I really do not like the "on a failed check" tamplate, as it just breaks immersion. It forces an Interaction between player and GM to convey purely mechanical information in a manner that is beneficial to the storytelling of the scene, as the player has to know they failed, before the DM can describe the outcome, so they have a chance to use their feature that triger on failed checks.
Yeah I agree, I hate these interactions too as a DM
I agree! Although, I think that such rolls would be better for the table if rolled together: For example you have to roll to save vs something and you have a "on a failed check" feature that you can use: roll both dice and the dm goes on describing the outcome, notifying you afterwards if your bonus dice is spent or not. There are cases when you wanna save the use for later, but tbh, I think such effects work better - story-wise - when you don't think too much about them.
I agree. Mechanically, there isn't much different if you were just allowed to roll the 1d4 regardless. If you passed the check without the 1d4, you wouldn't know anyways.
@@seacliff217 precisely my thought. The difference is marginal at best.
There are some interesting and unique ways to flavor them through. For example, if you tried to make a persuasion check to convince a cleric to join you and barely failed, and then the talisman roll makes the attempt a success, the dm could have the cleric say “I’m sorry but I’m just not interested in... in.... ACTUALLY, I would be happy to come along.” As If your patron cast their own spell or interfered. I really like that. I’m multiclassing a Divine Soul sorcerer, with guidance, in a team with a bard, and multiclassing into a pact of the talisman warlock. My dm will be dealing with this a lot lol
So.. I came up with something I'm pretty proud of. A Changeling Fiend Chainlock with at first Agonizing Blast & Investment of the Chain Master.
This combined with Arms of Hadras & Fireball this is amazing for both flavour & gameplay imo.
As cantrips I went with Eldritch Blast & Create Bonfire, & made a deal with my DM to exchange Bonfire for Green-Flame-Blade in the future. (as 3rd or 4th lvl Warlock)
This way I get to use Eldritch Blast + Charisma mod, a bonus familiar attack & bonfire/green-flame-blade when too close for Eldritch Blast.
Thanks for another awesome video.
I can't wait for your Fathomless review. Great video!
I wish Warlocks got the new Summon Elemental spell. It fits with the role playing aspects of the Genie Patron perfectly since Genies are Elementals.
I only ranked one invocation differently than you. So close haha. Good stuff, I love how in depth you go in each video.
I believe you could true polymorph someone into an archdruid and have them cast foresight.
@@sharkforce8147 I suppose it's fair to put it in the same tentatively great category as minor illusion.
that's just using your 9th level slot to cast foresight but with extra steps /j
The Rebuke of the Talisman is so useful to me that I will voluntarily *give up* taking Pact of the Blade or Tome to take this ability. Yes, both have their uses, but imho RoT is so useful to me that it is always a Blue in my mind. :D
Thank you for the video!
I don't get why people say a quasit familiar doesn't have a fly speed. It can turn into a bat with a fly speed, which doesn't affect its ability to do anything else.
Then it's not a quasit with a fly speed.
It's a quasit. And later can be a bat with a fly speed. That's like saying a wizard has a fly speed just because they have access to the fly spell. It's not an "always on" feature.
@@adamkaris you analogy is imperfect. It is more like saying a wizard who can cast fly at will with no concentration, and infinite duration has a fly speed, it not necessarily always on, but it can be always on and it is an always availible feature.
Making a halfling skull kid. Debating starting way of mercy, druid, artif, bladesinger, or sorc. Each has fun ways to lean.
Eldrich mind is a fantastic reason to take an extra Hexblade level on your paladin.
The worst part about Eldritch Mind is that I feel obligated to make it my second Invocation at Level 2 along with Agonizing Blast.
Overall though, I think it does it a great job defining the Warlock's role as a concentrated spellcaster. In the realm of video games, this Invocation helps makes them something comparable to a buffier/debuffer. So naturally squeezing as much utility out of each spell slot is vital for the class.
I don't think that this is going to be common enough to make it worth taking the teleport invocation on it's own but in theory if your warlock was locked in a 5x5 cage and had their talisman, i'd assume the space you are *currently* in counts as occupied, which means the nearest unoccupied space would be outside of the cage, so there are some ways you could use it if your party members aren't wearing the talisman but it's definitely much more restricted / circumstantial
We REALLY needed more Pact of the Chain forms. As it stands you get either fiend, fairy or dragon. None of which make sense for most of the pacts
The only thing that bugged me about the new invocations was that there were no new pact of the blade invocations
Because they messed it up initially and their fix is a Patron instead of a Boon. So now getting anywhere near it is a design/balance nightmare they'd rather just pretend doesn't exist. Sad.
a level 5 bladelock is already using all invocations. Extra attack, improved weapon, eldritch smite all come online at level 5, take 2, and the 3rd will for agonizing blast (~93% of the time).
While I would like to see options for bladelocks (the eldritch armor thing looked promising), realistically speaking it would have a really high opportunity cost, and just as raedien said, I can see them giving up this concept
spirit shroud on celestial warlock just saying adding your charisma to your damage twice it's pretty neat.
Undying Servitude should let you cast Animate Dead once per long rest using a warlock spell slot. That way you can at least upcast it while still not being spammable.
May be a niche use of far scribe, but it can technically be used as a lie detector if one wants to learn if say, an npc gives the party a fake name.
Unless the npc doesn't want to write their name in your demon book?
@@adamkaris True, but all manner of persuasive or deceptive tactics can help with this..and refusal to write ones name is a subjectively interpretive event in of itself. And depending on your patron and pact flavoring..it could be a holy book as well.
Would you multiclass into warlock for the eldritch mind invocation?
I would not generally multiclass for something I could get with a feat.
So, I'm running a Sorlock (Hexblade and Divine Sorcerer).
We're level 5 rn, so I've got 3 levels of Sorcerer and 2 of Warlock. I'm running Eldritch Mind and Agonizing Blast for my invocations, so I can use my Lv 4 feat on Sorcerer to grab Fey Touched.
I'll probably keep Eldritch Mind until I eventually level my Warlock to 3, so I can get the Pact of the Chain and Gift of the Ever-Living Ones
Personally, if you take the quasit, i think the investment of the chain master makes it a solid blue ranking. The attacks of the familiars may not scale well but the scare ability scales with your spell save dc so that will scale well.
I'm a big fan of eldritch mind and undying servitude. Undying servitude at worst is simply another familiar that can provide the help action and take a hit or 2 for your party at the cost of 1 invocation slot. Its not a priority take at earlier levels especially for martial warlocks but definitely at later levels (or even early EBlocks).
Eldritch mind is good but I'm really not seeing the benefits of Undying Servitude other than flavor. Animate Dead is really pretty weak over all unless you can build up a group (which is not possible with this invocation).
@@monohybridstudios i agree that its not as good. But as i said, at worst its another help generator/oppoment target like find familiar. I find those things useful especially at later levels. Maybe its because you already have an easy advantage generator in your tables or your fights last long?
My table is usually composed of nova alpha strikers so anything that swings the action economy your way is valuable so fights are over in 1-2 rounds. No one really takes the time to cast an area debuff like faerie fire for advantage to help the party. Its more of you have a target/targes you should be self-sufficient to kill it in 1-2 rounds. The spellcasters job is more of to do aoe control and not provide buffs. So guys like me value non-action ways to generate advantage: reckless attack, find familiar, tiny servant/animate dead, umbral sight. Or at worst bonus action ways to generate it like: vow of enmity, quicken hold/blindess/pyrotechnics/fog cloud/greater invis/shadow of moil, shadow blade, etc.
My recent use of it is with my one-shot booming blade genie-lock (i wanted to do a martial warlock without using hexblade).
It was level 10: rune knight 3, genie 5, grave cleric 2. The animate dead gets into melee and provides the help action so when its my turn to swing my one-shot booming blade i do so with advantage then usually take a big chunk of the opponents hp out (or kill it). I originally wanted to get pact of the chain but i couldnt as eldritch smite from pact of the blade was integral to the build and thats where undying servant comes in.
The new invocations are...neat. personally I don't like that blade didn't get anything, iunno maybe a Battlemaster manuver?, but it's fine. Still not fond of chain but that's more a me thing. Tome got interesting things, name based magic is always neat. I kinda wish there were more, if any, 'contract' based invocations. Fiend, Fey etc. But I can't really complain.
Tiny, probably unnecessary note here; once you reach level 17, if you have Eldritch Mind, you’ll want to switch it out, because you’ll already be getting advantage on pretty much all concentration checks with foresight.
Honestly i couldnt care less about the Talisman, what i do want though, is a pact that competes with Hexblade, since that one is EASILY the best one of them, especially for martial characters. Take a couple level dip into Hexblade, and you get a pretty substantial damage boost and a couple invocations that can really mold well into your playstyle. Just about every one of my martial PCs have taken a dip simply because it is SO damn good!
Either that, or make the top level capstones for each class actually worth taking over multiclassing. 20th level sorcerer? why the hell would i bother when i can dip into warlock and just convert THOSE spell slots into the same amount of sorcery points, AND get access to some BALLER goodies on top of that?
I don't see any issue with a player having Dream of the Blue Veil. It requires a magic item from the other location to begin with, so unless the DM provides such an item, the spell is functionally useless.
I disagree about talisman, it is very circumstancial, and merely using it during some of your examples can give you info.
You roll a 17 to look for traps, but you find none. Are there no traps, or did you just not roll high enough? You dont know. But if you ask "can I use talisman?" RAW, the GMs answer is already a source of info. If the GM tell you "you cannot use it", RAW it means you succeeded, and there are no traps. If the GM tells you "yes, you can use it", that already tells you there are traps around, and even if you dont see them with the 1d4 bonus, you will now know traps are nearby.
It is a very clunky feature that should have just been a guidance mechanic
Agreed, and with a well written example! It's sad but I feel like like they made this choice so that it mechanically differed itself from Bardic Inspiration and the various Cleric spells that can add dice to rolls instead of embracing the fact that this is a roleplaying game and the flavor is more than enough to carry the difference while streamlining the mechanics by keeping them similar.
Yeah the meta-info is definitely a bit weird. Though that being said I do like the idea of an otherworldly patron giving you that info. It's from another plane, so a little 4th wall breaking can potentially add to the unusual power and characteristics from your patron, if RPed correctly by the DM
@@Rodrik18 ty for making a good example. That's what I was trying to say but you described it so much better lol
@@Rodrik18 Except they could've just let you add the D4 before knowing if it's a success or failure and it wouldn't been consistent with other mechanics AND avoided this narrative/meta quirk. In terms of design there are clear benefits mechanically and no real narrative cost...instead they went with an odd mechanical choice that also comes with a narrative cost for no apparent benefit. You could say there is a "feel good" benefit knowing the D4 made a known failure into a success but this could ALSO be tackles by a savvy DM painting the D4 in a special way when it made the difference, probably in the same way a good DM would portray a Bardic Inspiration or Guidance "making the difference."
You can make anything with with DM fiat, which is why you have to look at the mechanics. The mechanics here are awkward for seemingly no reasom when an available, clearly functioning mechanic already exists....so...why?
Don't get me wrong, I love the flavor of the Talisman, and am glad it's here but this IS a good example, among many, of some very odd choices from the DnD team.
@@Rodrik18 that sounds nice, but a few caveats.
1) the talisman rumbles, the patron advises caution. Tell the party member with expertise in the relevant skill to check, suddenly its not 17, but 23
2) I have yet to play with GMs who didnt want to screw over players in one way or another., among these warlock fuckery is very common. "Your patron lied you are powerless because fuck you thats why".
I would not trust these GMs to play out the narrative as you wrote it down, neither to allow another person to do the thing you were doing
Even if you NORMALLY wear the Talisman, give it to the Rogue ANY time they're about to go off on their own with that Teleport Invocation and you just saved the world lol. They WILL get into trouble and immediately get out of it. Make sure they wear some face covering or something and none of their shenanigans will trace back to you. Even creatures or spell casters such as the court Mage of that King they're pranking/banging the daughter of can't see through a simple cloth bandana over the face lol.
I am curious what you think of my current build in a campaign, so far I am a
sword bard 6/ hex blade warlock 2. I know pact of the blade next level is an easy choice but what about pact of the chain? I would also like to see your take on a warlock/bard because I think it has a lot of potential but I don’t see many people talk about it
Does polymorphing into a gold dragon take away all your class features?
If that's what the polymorph spell says then yes.
Depending on the spell.
First of all, usual lvl4 Polymorph can't transform into a Dragon since it can transform only into Beasts. And with it you don't keep your class features.
To transform into a Dragon, you need either True Polymorph or Shapechange, both lvl9 spells. The former doesn't let you keep your class features, while the latter does.
Read spell description, it is explicitly said there.
@@antongrigoryev6381 I read it. But it just says game statistics, your class features aren't statistics and the spell specifically says you can't use spells that require speech or somatic components unless the creature could possibly. So it implies as long as the creature can talk and has aposable thumbs you can still cast spells.
@@skullkrusher-dx4kg No, "game statistics" means everything, including class abilities. You don't keep them unless it's specifically said otherwise, as it's the case with Shapechange or Druid's Wildshape.
The part about casting spells most likely refers to other ways to cast them, with magic items for example.
If I have to have someone write down their name for me to use the sending spell, having a limit to prof is unacceptable.
I would prefer no limit to the names I can have written down.
How exactly does the pet attack work with Investment? I guess it does use up the familiars action so it can not attack on your turn and turn invisible on its turn?
yup. you'd still be able to move though. if you hasted your familiar then it can attack and turn invisible.
So does it have to be their true name or can it just be the name you know them by?
I guess thats up to the DM. If it were me, I would say their true name. It leaves some room for fun surprises :)
I would have commented on this video but my DM had a fiend steal my talisman.
Sooo... 1. Tome, 2. Chain, 3. Blade 4. Talisman?
1. Pseudo, 2. Quasit, 3. Imp, and 4. Sprite with the new Investment??
Pseudodragon with 1 hour poison/sleep wow that's crazy!
3:16 anyone know where this art is from?
Algorithm Love from down in the Southwest, yo! Lol
Planar Binding does not require your concentration.
But it does take an hour to cast.
For Far Scribe, do note it only removes material components. I do wonder why Sending has verbal and somatic components if it is supposed to be silent communication because anyone around you will hear your verbal components anyway. You're much better off getting a Telepathic Bond.
Sending isn't about silent communication, it's just about communication. Long distance, without needing to have seen them recently, without needing to know where they are. A telepathic bond won't let you communicate if you split up for several days.
Verbal compenent are mystic words not whatever message you are trying to send
Yup. Sending isn't about subtly - Message, cantrip, is better at this - it is about range. I mean, it has unlimited range and even can reach other planes of existence!
The gift of the protecters I feel is def better than purple lol
I just...it's so hard to justify using Pact of the Blade even on a Hexblade when I can swap to something like Tome or Talisman...I really wish they hadn't bungled Hexblade/Pact of the Blade, it's so, so awkward lol.
Wait, is far scribe unlimited? I don't see anything about a number of uses just the number of names
No usage limit is stated or implied. It might have been better to say, "you may cast *Sending* at-will, but only targeting persons who have written their name in your book of shadows."
Yes it does have unlimited uses because it doesn't express any short or long rest recharge and does use up a spell slot. Incredibly versatile
How do you let hex last for an entire day? Don't you down your targets?
As far as I read the spell description, you could Hex your team mate outside of fights.
Some people read the description as that you don't need to move your Hex immediately after a target dies - you can choose another target at any point after it as long as you keep concentration.
Even if your DM doesn't agree with it, you can use a "bag of rats" - some amount of critters or insects you move your Hex on and then kill them when you need to move it to the new target.
"Invoctations"
A d4 that doesn't scale is....eh? Not bad but not great. I also don't agree with the swapping of pact boons from a lore perspective. Iunno, it makes the character feel ungrateful to this being that's granted them this boon.
The level 12 invocation for the talisman is so lame. You’re a warlock. You can’t afford to give stuff away. You have almost nothing to begin with. You are undoubtedly the most vulnerable character since you can’t afford to shield and misty step every turn forever. The invocation should give you a second talisman and you and whoever you give your second one to should be able to do teleports. It’s a 12th level invocation for crying out loud!
666 thumbs up.
I dont like pact of the talisman because its the only one that is limited uses of all its features. every other boon has its features be unlimited with rare exceptions the talisman is always limited except for some instinces. and it has less features.
I would have made the abilities unlimited and gave them gudacne for free then guidance without concentration limited.
invesment of the chain master should have boosted HP and AC sorry but chain master still are trash for combat you can expect a 13 ac 10 hp creature to be effective in combat after tier 2 a single fireball WILL always wipe them out
An imp will survive a fireball no problem