The Master of D&D Cantrips 5e Character Build For Adventurers League
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 30 май 2019
- The Master of D&D Cantrips 5e Character Build For Adventurers League
In this Adventurers League legal character build, we build the ultimate cantrip master for 5th edition Dungeons and Dragons. We attempt to get all the spell caster character classes bard, cleric, druid, sorcerer, warlock, and wizard.
**************************************************************
Patreon
**************************************************************
Join the Nerdarchy Adventuring Party
Patreon: / nerdarchy
**************************************************************
Links from Video
**************************************************************
Power Up Your Game with D&D Beyond- goo.gl/ukSTKo
D&D Beyond Character Sheet - bit.ly/CantripMasterCS
Cantrip Master Character Build Guide - bit.ly/CantripMaster
**************************************************************
Support the Channel by Shopping (Our Affiliate Links)
**************************************************************
Nerdarchy the Store- goo.gl/M4YZEQ
Amazon- amzn.to/2jf0boA
Drive Thru RPG- goo.gl/6nf5zh
***************************************************************
Nerdarchy Sponsors
***************************************************************
Power Up Your Game with D&D Beyond- goo.gl/ukSTKo
Easy Roller Dice (Affiliate Link)- easyrollerdice.com/nerdarchy
1 Time 20% OFF Coupon Code: New2DnD
***************************************************************
Nerdarchy Freebies
***************************************************************
Nerdarchy the News Letter- nerdarchynewsletter.gr8.com/
(FREE) Nerdarchy the Dice Calculator App Beta Test- itunes.apple.com/us/app/nerda...
****************************************************************
Join Your Fellow Nerdarchist
****************************************************************
Nerdarchy Discord- goo.gl/qXEuGw
Company of the NAG Facebook Group- / 986097241428198
****************************************************************
More Nerdy Content
****************************************************************
Website: www.Nerdarchy.com
Facebook: / nerdarchy
Instagram: / nerdarchy
Twitter: / nerdarchy
****************************************************************
Credits
****************************************************************
Cartoon Goblin Thumbnails- mmmmjava on instagram
/ mmmmjava
All Other Thumbnails- Alex Guillotte of Critical Hit Publishing
goo.gl/JTJDDe
Music- Zero Flux
Video Planning and Skit Scripting- Doug Vehovec, Dave Friant, Ted Adams 
Игры
D&D Beyond Character Sheet - bit.ly/CantripMasterCS
Cantrip Master Character Build Guide - bit.ly/CantripMaster
Power Up Your Game with D&D Beyond- goo.gl/ukSTKo
Ted's attire is canTRIPPY. lol
@@apollo3604 Magic Stone is in Xanathar's
I made a human warlock with 9 cantrip.
Warlocks. Book of shadow gives more cantrip too
I love wizard+ battle master i dont know if any one dose it but i like it
I love the image of this guy as the town drunk. I know your build wouldn’t have this spell, but I love the thought of him having lesser restoration on hand just to cure himself of alcohol poisoning and hangovers.
Alternative name for this build: Commitment issues.
Next stage: Commitment issues with meta magic.
I could definitely see this guy at a wizarding school as the "Intro to magic 101" teacher
Just don't hire him as the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher... Lmao
@@markshields2106 The guy has no ambition, so I'd say he would be the safest pick for that class
No he teaches "Advanced Finals to Magic 101"
@@markshields2106 better than lockhart or umbridge but than again it's not hard to be better than them
Totally
How would I use it? Best summed up in the following statement.
"I'm gonna take the basics to a level never before seen".
Another player: "What if we...?!"
This character: "K.I.S.S.!!! 'Keep It Simple, Stupid!'"
Base is ultimately everything 🤣🤣🤣
I really like how cantrips scale with your TOTAL level so your weird, mixed up warlock still gets 4 eldritch blasts at the end of it
Nerdarchy: They spent their time mastering the basics.
Me: So... a jack of all trades, but master of none?
The bard😂
Dont tske that the wrong way i love the bard
Ragin Bacon a jack of all trades can do everything but not super well
This is more like a person who learned how to deal with almost exclusively the basics instead of learning the “better” spells
isnt that the oposite?
Finish the saying.
"A jack of all trades, but master of none
is oftentimes better
than a master of one"
That's the expression, but everyone cuts off the last half.
Dave's martial arts training is like my linguistics training. I took like a single semester of every language that I could. I can say hello and count to ten in a half dozen languages. Yeah, I'm awesome!
lol, similar here. French (one semester), Spanish(one semester), Korean(no classes but I took two Korean martial arts so learned a bit), Latin (one semester), German (two semesters).
Nerdarchy: We won't be able to get Necrotic.
Me *looks at leveling cantrips list*: Wait, Chill Touch is a Sorcerer, Warlock, and Wizard spell. It's also a PHB cantrip, so you have no reason to not add it.
Yet another case of the naming hampering its usage
And chill touch also has a great secondary effect to block regeneration and healing effects and giving undead disadvantage on attacks against you.
Should have used Celestial Warlock instead of Hexblade. Yes, you lose the weapon and armor proficiencies. But you also get the Light and Sacred Flame cantrips. That's more cantrips. That's you getting to use your Sorcerer cantrips for something else.
Plus, there's just obvious synergy to be had from a character that is both a Favored Soul Sorcerer and a Celestial Warlock.
your patron could be your celestial ancestor
@@kingmasterlord That dad that wants his kid out already, but is kind of too nice to say anything mean.
“Hey, kiddo. I don’t want to be that guy, but as your father, I really need you to pick up the pace a little bit. You have a lot of potential and I want to see you apply it somewhere where you will be happy, you know? You could be a great healer or priest, and maybe ascend to the higher planes like your old man. NO RUSH! Just… um… do this for yourself, okay buddy? Please? Thank you. Dinner is at 7.”
Mold earth massively quickened could be funny. "The mountain didn't come to mohammed. It came to me. Because I moved it. Yesterday."
Sure you could. It would just take a very, very long time.
well, an action takes less than a minute, 10 actions per minute.. soo assuming you take your time, then yea you can do that, one action at a time
sum body across the ground right? Just make a slope and badabing badaboom
I see this character is more of a generalist then a specialist. every Army needs someone who can cover all the bases and not over specialize in any particular thing that would be a great theme to NPC concept
I agree. This character can fill in all the gaps not covered by the rest of the party.
"Exploring Eberron" has an artificer subclass called Maverick. It's a cantrip specialist to end all cantrip specialist. It allows you to swtich up a cantrip for another on a short rest at level 3, and do it as an action at level 5 and you can pick other class lists to choose them from.
We did a bunch of videos on the options from that book.
Nerdarchist Dave
I love that you build it and explain the thought process but then also you give us the ability to make it an npc in our campaigns. keep it up the great work guys. This will definitely be making an appearance in my campaign
Ooh the NPC version is one of my favorites
I've accidentally almost played this character. Human warlock (celestial pact)/sorcerer (divine soul) with magic initiate.
But I went more utility based
same here
Makes way more sense.. 2 or 3 damaging cantrips is plenty if one is E.Blast (very few monsters resist force).. playing pokemon with cantrip damage types is a waste, when there's so many cool & fun utility cantrips to RP with instead :)
preacherjohn while I agree with you, I do enjoy the versatility for Vulnerability sakes..... But there are far better cantrips than just damage cantrips. Light, Mould earth, control flames, spare the dying, magehand, create bonfire etc. It's more in the hand wavy 'make it so' nature of the spells. Accidentally set fire to a patch of forest (control flames), need an instant fire when wood is too damp to ignite (create bone fire)... Need to invoke an existential crisis in a band of orcs - thaumaturgy (3active uses) - prestigitation (3active uses), Mould earth into an orcish shape, create bonfire on it (only concentration) and then some invisibility + stealth to keep you close and safe.
It's not all about the damage when being a cantrip-monkey.
@@broke_af_games9661 Absolutely! If you want to lean in to the "effortless mastery of magic & the elements" then Prestidigitation, Mage Hand, Message, Minor Illusion, Mould Earth and Shape Water are all kinds of creative fun.. :)
Yeah I took pact of the tome instead of sorcerer and I had 10 cantrips at level 4
I love that such fascinating, complex builds are always just outshined by FIREBALL
If you're using temps, you might as well win instantly. Time doesn't favor temps, and we shouldn't either. Petty Spellcasters need Fireball/Meteor Swarm. It's the least they deserve. I see you've already outlined most of this.
I'm glad we both think it's funny that this was a Cantrip build, and they didn't use Eldritch Blast for the intro.
Fireball is awesome! What do you do when not in combat or when fighting one foe in a crowd of squishy friendlies?
@@kaneo1
Well....you acst FIREBALL of course!
Just as I was getting used to the switched seats they go and switch again!
This might be my favorite build so far! Maybe because it sounds so familiar LOL I'm kind of that guy who loves to gather knowledge and experience, but ends up being the jack of all trades but master of none...
Don't forget the second half of that saying
@@jbark678 but better than a master of one?
Nerdarchist Ted the Vertigo Master
That hoodie...
:)
Mistah Bryan: Hypnotic Pattern, don’t look! 🤪
I found two combos to make a cantrips master. You can do it by 3rd level too. Variant human with magic initiate feat. Sorc 1/Warlock 1/cleric 1. Divine soul/celestial/life cleric. Very effective healer.
The other is also a variant human with magic initiate. Sorc 1/bard 1/wiz 1. Dragon sorc/lore bard/evoc wiz.
21:30 exactly! cantrips are magic, spell slots are _extra_ magic.
when I was first exploring d&d and took a look at how the wizard class and memorizing spells worked, this was my first thought.
That shirts trippin me out man.
Cool build! I think I would have preferred more utility but I’ll just incorporate that into my own version of the build. Also thanks for the green flame blade and spell sniper combo. Hadn’t thought of that
This build is crazy!!!! It's almost...
abserd
One thing about book of ancient secrets, is the rituals can only be of a level of half your warlock level or less, so you can only grab 2nd level ritual spells at the highest since you only go 4 levels into warlock
which covers like 90% of them
The choice of Green Flame Blade breaks the +1 rule. Great video as always though!
What is the +1 rule?
@@cougar71624 Adventurer's League has a rule where you can use the players handbook plus one other resource. this build use 2 resources: XGE and SCAG.
Great content as always! Amazed by how quick and how many videos you Make! :)
This build should be played as a bibliophile with no specific interest. They love learning anything and everything and figuring out weird ways to do something they already know differently. They don't care about highly specific fields or knowledge and would rather learn as much as they can. A flighty but studious person fascinated with the world.
Nice build, The use of the wizard was surprising to me because I had already written them off due to an ability score I didn't think was going to mesh very well, I did not take into consideration the class ability's. Good video guys!
I play a 5th level archfey warlock that took magic initiate, and pact of the tome ,I took all druid spells, I have 9 cantrips from just that one class, I'm thinking of actually multiclassing into druid for more, lol.
I dont care if it's UP, OP, or utterly useless, I'm playing it anyway
The way D&D should be played. Having fun with your character should take precedence
Yes, this would be a fun type character. Jack of all trades yet master of none.
These intros are getting better and better
Did you guys switch seats again, or am I finally losing my mind?
I went to college for 5 years, declared my major eight different times, changed it 7 times, and all I have to show for it is an associate's degree.
This is me as a character.
Ironically, it is also similar to the last character I played. Level 4 warlock, with the tome for extra cantrips, and a feat for even more extra cantrips. This has been quite an enjoyable video to watch!
As far as damage types: You might end up fighting someone with vulnerabilities, but as far as resistances go, Eldritch blast+any other will cover most of it.
And then you can go crazy with the utility stuff.
Just another take on the build; nothing wrong with being equipped for combat, but this character is sub par in combat anyway, so I would go with utility.
While I agree with this from a strictly optimist standpoint, in practice it can get pretty boring (as a spell caster) to respond to every combat with "I cast Eldritch Blast". This is what really made the 3e Warlock an extremely lackluster class
@@MattNeisinger
Makes sense. It might actually be a fun challenge to try to target weaknesses with a variety of spells.
I guess it depends on whether you want to have more fun in combat or in other parts of the game.
I love my utility cantrips both for social encounters and exploration, and even combat (mainly setup).
As far as the warlock goes, I think you should view him more as an arcane archer or eldritch knight than a pure magic user. I don't think it is more boring to use an attacking cantrip than to use a bow. But if you want to play a mage, don't play warlock.
@@japphan On the warlock note, you're absolutely correct. The problem was, when the warlock was released in the 3e Complete Arcane player's supplement, it was new and this wasn't initially understood (by our group, at least). We thought it was something more akin to the beguiler or binder; a sort of sorcerer-lite variant, with a 'sold your soul for power' twist. Nobody in our group would touch the warlock after realizing how it actually worked. I had to stay playing one in 5e for my group to realize it was actually a decent class.
I just introduced a "Cantripologist" build in our homebrew game. Plink Solo is a Failed Apprentice background (not sure of the source) indigo goblin (Volo's subraces), with much the same vibe as you guys gave your build. We are using Mystic from UA, so he has a level there for the talents, but otherwise he is also a WizSorLock. His pathetic patchy scaly skin and unkempt curls make nobody take him seriously, but he is quite effective in his own way. My setting had wild fluctuations in the power and intensity of spells. So on some days, especially days when all magic is cast as if as if from a slot 6 levels higher than intended, a guy like this who just putters about in cantrips is the safest kind of magic user to have around. He is also a ritual caster from Book of Ancient Secrets, so even further utility. He is also learning the tinker's trade. Watch out world! CanTrippy Conjurations Corporation may just be where Plink finally shines!
I really liked the idea, i always think cantrips are overlooked. There was the Sea Sorcerer from UA, that was meant to be for cantrip users, i multiclass it with a monk (triton magic monk) and it was so fun and full of utility.
I actually play almost this exact character, Divine Soul Sorc + Pact of the Tome + Bard Initiate and all! He started as an expiriment on how to get the most spells out of a Warlock and now his spells are almost exclusively support because he has so many damaging cantrips. It's so nice to be so diverse for free. Wish I had enough room to take Evoker Wizard, I decided early on to take some levels of Rogue so it wouldn't quite work. He's not the most ideal build or w/e but I love him
The wizard part would be great for a school of invention that way you don't even have to cast just let the suit do it would be useful for those higher slots
Either you guys are reading my mind or great minds think alike
Nameless Henchman I thought they established earlier that they are indeed mindflayers.
That memory must of been eaten
... Or fools never differ
Vicious Mockery + Subtle Spell for the win. You just think about some insults and kill them using psychic damage in front of a room full of people and nobody has any clue why they're dead. You're the ultimate assassin.
This was very similar to my concept for a playable Abserd character (1 level of every class).
Isn't that Puffin Forest's creation? I mean the concept is older than the character but his is the most famous. He even had to explain to his DM that when he said "Jack if all trades Master of none" he truly meant "ALL trades".
@@lordnul1708 The name comes from puffin forests character, but due to the popularity it has been expanded to cover the concept in general.
Especially since the saying is "A jack of all trades is master of none, but better than a master of one".
PhoenixNorthstar “playable Abserd” and there it is, the best example of an Oxymoron ever.
I've theorized a build pretty close to this before, except I went with Celestial Warlock, because they get 2 free cantrips from the cleric spell list, along with the other cool stuff a Warlock gets
I can't choose Cleric spells without one of them being thaumaturgy.
Sounds like you need to play a teifling, so you get it automatically.
#1 I agree
#2 If I get cleric spells, I ALWAYS take thaumaturgy😂
Green-Flame Blade is made redundant with Produce Flame in terms of damage type anyway, so you can always take Thaumaturgy instead of Poison Spray as a Sorcerer, and then replace GFB with PS in the Warlock levels.
@@LordIsrafel not necessarily, green flame blade hits 2 enemies. Both have their uses, I picture green flame blade as more for close quarters casters(eldritch knight, hexblade) fighting groups of enemies packed together while produce flame is more a ranged take out a single troublesome foe
Whenever I see the Thaumaturgy cantrip I immediately think " *DO NOT TAKE ME FOR SOME CONJURER OF CHEAP TRICKS!!!* "
Loved this idea
love this adea i just got the build guild going to be useing it ned session
This character build speaks to my soul.
Side note because you mentioned magic initiate the best use I have seen with it is a cleric with wizard's spells. Mage hand for one (move potions around) and find familiar for the spell. For 10gp you summon a celestial animal friend that you can now cast cure wounds through giving it a massive range. A ranged healer is a good healer. Lol
Here's a cantrip build:
Wood-Gnome sourcorer who also takes the magic initiative feat at level 4, (with bard spells so we can still use chrisma for casting.)
So, at level 4, he has 5 sourcorer csntrips, minor illution as a racial cantrip, and 2 bard cantrips, 5 sourcorer spells, and 1 first level bard spells.
Cantrip choices:
Minor illution (wood gome)
Prestidigitation
Mage hand
FireBolt
Acid-Splash
Shocking Grasp
mending (wizard)
message (bard)
First level spells:
Magic missile
Chromatic Orb
Mage Armor
Burning Hands
Healing Word (bard)
This was a nice change of topic.
I love this idea of a cantrip king bc cantrips are my favorite but I feel like it would be underpowered in the games I play
I'm currently building a monks-only one-shot for a smaller local group that's set on a morkoth's island and I had dabbled in the idea of there being an NPC who is secretly insanely useful and this is the perfect character concept for the role. I'm definitely adding him/her in.
Unfortunately green-flame blade is only located in SCAG so unless you drop that cantrip, it's not AL legal cause it breaks the phb+1 rule
I was wondering the same thing?
This NPC would be the Town "Handy-Man", his neighbors bring him broken items and he uses the Cantrips to fix them overnight.
And a battlefield general. Pushing with Eldritch Blast, pulling with Thorn Whip, Lightning Lure. Hitting 2-4 creatures a turn, on average. Roleplaying options out the bung. Friends with Mask of Many Faces, Guidance, etc. So fun.
By the time you get any utility cantrips in this build you should be nearly god tier. This is a terrible leveling up build. Might be fine at level 20 but this is terrible build. Sure you can do every type of damage but there isn't the utility at least early when they are most useful.
@@O-D-X You could easily drop Warlock, replacing it with more Wizard and Sorcerer. Or, drop Sorcerer, and go an Int/Cha build, using Loc and Wiz. An Abjuration Wizard Fiendloc, pact of tome could be nice. Go Gith or High Elf, to gain martial prowess if cantrips bore the player
@@ashenwuss1651 That was not my point, my point was they focused entirely on getting different damage types early and none of the utility cantrips. A few different damage types would sustain you in early game, and then later you add the different types. Edit: Oh and I love your username ... UP THE IRONS
@@O-D-X Lol. Thank you.
Honestly, Eldritch Blast, Booming and Green-flame blade will get you far. I agree there. You dont need as many types as possible. EB alone can push and reduce speeds, so poison spray isn't that useful.
Hey, guys. This build is not AL legal as stated in the video. You have both green flame blade and toll the dead which would break the PHB +1 rule of AL.
Good catch. I forgot that GFB wasn't reprinted in Xanathar's. That probably works out though because going celestial warlock not only grants 2 cantrips automatically, but also thematically works with the divine sorcerer, so why bother with Hexblade?
Green flame blade would break the AL rules (Sword Coast Adventurers Guide). Toll the dead would not, as that in in Xanathar's Guide to Everything, which the Divine Souls and Hexblade are a part of.
@@joshgarvais8526 Yes, I was moreso pointing out that having both of those cantrips together on one character would not be AL legal since cantrips were the focus of the video.
That opening is funny!
If you have wizard schools this could be the guy who cleans up. He is a natural sorcerer and finds a patreon to become more powerful and learns some spells while at the school just by being there. He cleans up, no one pays attention to him and he has access to almost every part of the school.
Holy crap Ted's hoodie is so fly
Nice intro skit! Had me loling.
"Hippie-dippy character who has no real ambition." That's how my current storm sorcerer started out. Noble background, why does he need to work?
The way I see it, many worlds will have nobility that also carry sorcerous blood. Because at some point in that family's past, they had an ancestor who used their magical might to seize power. All nobles are descended from warlords, after all, and Sorcerers make great warlords.
Fast forward to the present, though, and you have a bunch of descendants who inherited wealth, title, and magic, and have rested on their laurels. Why should they apply themselves? They've already got it made!
I could definitely see this guy teaching magic at a magic school, but he only teaches students who are new and young
I'd play this as someone who loves magic but has a really short attention span so they switch schools all the time
I really like the concept of someone who really tries master the basics of magic better than anyone else since I tend to prefer characters that can constantly use their abilities maybe with a couple tricks they can only use a limited time per day than someone with really several powerful powerful abilities they can use a few times and then they're incapable using what defines them and they're basically the same as anyone else on the street.
I'd really like to play a cantrip master type class that totally focuses on the basics, getting extra cantrips and and low level spells. Although they are a spell focused class since they only focus on the basics it'd probably have half caster or maybe even a third caster progression for their highest level spells. I imagine their class features would boost their cantrips giving extra damage and utility and some things that let them cast some low level spells at will similar to the warlocks invocations.
I wish I could find something along these lines somewhere. I've tried actually creating/homebrewing this myself but I'm not great at game design, so I haven't been able to make anything great myself.
I can see this guy being the Cantrip instructor at a mage school of some kind. Just the one guy that knows enough cantrips and not enough other magic to be able to teach anyone the basics no matter what they are trying to learn.
how the DM will use this as an NPC: "Oh Hello I am magic Absard. I have more of the magic this time."
How Abserd of you!
How many times will you reference this, it’s ABSERD!!!
NEEEERDS!! I love your channel and videos
Thanks to this video, I remembered I could multiclass. Not sure why I forgot that was a thing.
I finally did a build based on this idea. Warlock/artificer with pact of the tome. and spell sniper. Not every possible cantrip I could have put together but I wound up with 10 cantrips plus magical tinkering. My DM did a double take when he saw my character sheet.
Although 126 HP at level 20... with an AC of 20... and a bunch of short range Cantrips... sounds dangerous..
Almost as good as a UA PC with double the AC (40 with temps/38 without, which are off of a short rest here, and having no dependencies), albeit their offense consists of a single Extra Attack.
I recently watched the ultimate duelist video I was thinking is the swordmage in 4e in 5e like an arcane duelist
Abserd strikes again!
Like if you get the reference
mY NaME iS AbsErD
Lmao
I had a player in a game i ran use something like this but he wasn't going after every cantrip in the world but was trying to make good use of what was there. 2 warlock and 18 sorc. With quicken he was doing 2 eldritch blasts for 8 attacks a round at 1d10+5 for general use but still had the big guns for times of danger.
Well, besides having a ton of cantrips, you'd also have a lot of 1st and 2nd level spells with 7th and 8th level slots for upcasting. It wouldn't be too bad. A Guiding Bolt cast at 8th level is going to do some decent damage. Plus, you can get some healing and buff spells from Divine Soul. The character would actually be pretty useful as a jack of all trades caster.
One thing I might change, if you're making a true cantrip master: Take Celestial Warlock patron because you get 2 more bonus cantrips. Sure, you don't get the weapon and armor skills, but you get Mage Armor, Shield spell, Absorb Elements, Blink and Blur spells, plus Bless and Cure Wounds from Divine Soul. You can also use your Pact of the Tome to get Thorn Whip and Shillelagh, which are both effective at melee range.
I'd also go with 11th level sorcerer to get access to 6th level sorcerer/cleric spells and take 5th level Warlock so you can have Agonizing Blast, Repelling Blast and unlock Maddening Hex.
I just like the "You'll be out of big slots before three minutes".....Thirty turns???? Haha Nice
If I'm rocking the cantrips, I just nab all the multi-effect cantrips. The silly, silly things one can do with the element crafts. For example, Control Flames can expand fire as long as there's fuel. Most clothing burns. Thus, you can actually light enemies on fire with a simple cantrip. Combine with Gust and some flour for some real fun. Shape Water gives you instant corridor blocking (shape into cube + freeze). And Druidcraft never mentions that it can't target seeds inside of something. Combine with cherry pits.
Yes, I am in fact one of those people everyone at the table stops and stares at when I tell them what my plans are. Of course, that was probably because back in 3.5 they usually involved using wild shape to perform bombing runs. Good times.
I plan on throwing this in as a random adventurers guild house leader.
This is awesome!! I love my cantrips, and I play my casters this lazy. I'll throw a eldritch blast over a fireball, etc.
I have a character who has access both to the goodberry spell and the prestidigitation cantrip. My characters never relies on food anywhere he goes. He just casts goodberry and enchants the berries to taste like jerky.
did something very similar once. talked to DM and got him to let me play a sorcerer who had been cursed by a god of magic. forget which one lol. anyway, he could only use cantrips. every level he got a new one and he had all of them available to choose from. it was far more useful than he sounds. it's also fairly flexible since you have tons of spell slots to cannibalize for meta magics
i know this isnt patreon, but id love to see how yall run a lore runner, think tabaxi since all they want is lore, and just go into as much of that as possible.
I don't normally play any casting characters. I thing I would try this build next time
I definately get the fun of having all the damage types, but there's clearly a diminishing return on that approach - The elemental control spells (mold earth, shape water etc.) are a very useful buch of spells especially at low level. Something to consider.
Hey ted, that’s a really cool hood
I know you guys said legal build but have you checked out the updated unearthed arcana artificer. The artillery subclass gets a free cantrip wand that eventually holds 2 cantrips and at 10th level I think can change there cantrips out on long rests. You take magic initiate feat which gives you a few more and boom. All the cantrips you'll ever need. If the artificer ever makes it into a book for 5e with these abilities they will be the cantrip master. Not as big of a cantrip pool but still nice.
I was also thinking starting with Variant Human with Magic Initiate out the gate.
Alternatively, Yuan-Ti Pureblood would be another great race option for this build; it gets the Poison Spray cantrip as a racial ability, and because most of the levels are taken in Charisma casting, the +2 Cha means you only need to use one of the ASIs to max out Charisma and then you can still spend the others on Magic Initiate & Spell Sniper. (So ultimately you can get the same amount of cantrips from feats and classes, plus the free poison spray) - That said, I think the variant human still best fits the personality stated that really gives this build its flavor.
I think this character would be fun to play
Sounds like Fumbles's eventual build in Goblins Comic if it was in 5e. "I'm 1/13 level in every class!"
You guys should totally check out the wizard school of geometry. It's got some really crazy flavor!
If you look at the actual magic he does, Gandalf mostly just knew utility cantrips.
Interesting. Just looking at the title, my mind went to the same three classes as you listed here, but with a little different take on the character concept. I hadn't gotten as far as thinking about feats, but my character concept was of someone innately born with magic (sorcerer start) who didn't have enough magic to just live on raw talent so he had to study (wizard as primary), and somewhere along the way struck a pact with a powerful celestial being (celestial warlock) who offered to teach him the secrets of the universe (pact of the tome). The level split I was thinking about is sorcerer 1, wizard 16, warlock 3, which gives you all but ninth level spells, a couple "spell masteries" through invocations, 4 ASIs, and 16 cantrips, not counting any gained from feats or racial abilities. The wizard specialty could be evoker, but personally I rather like the Illusionist for those permanent, malleable illusions that can briefly turn real (plus a free extra cantrip when you choose your specialty).
Of course, if you really want to maximize that charisma casting, you could swap lore bard for the wizard with the same split and steal 6 spells from other classes. That option gives 1 less cantrip by default but more versatility in the leveled spells, including taking some gems out of the paladin and ranger lists. And obviously it loses the benefits gained from Evoker or any of the other potent wizard subclasses, but it does mean you'd be able to place your warlock and sorcerer cantrip choices into more offensive options and get your utility spells from the bard. On the other hand, with much more limited numbers of spells known, it might be worthwhile to take 5 levels of warlock and only 14 in bard to gain third level rituals from the Tome of Secrets invocation. Which gives up only 8th level spells from the 1/16/3 split.
Diving a little deeper into this, I think I would suggest Tiefling, which gives the correct stats and fire resistance plus a cantrip and two spells. Other options would be the Wood Gnome for a free Minor Illusion, Drow Elf for a cantrip and two spells, or High Elf for a choice of a cantrip. Tiefling and Drow would be best for primarily charisma casting, high elf and gnome for intelligence. I'm thinking Sage background for the "master of the arcane" vibe. Mechanically, dragon sorcery offers a lot even at first level with the extra hp and constant mage armor, and the gold dragon bloodline seems thematically fitting to this character's style of magic. Wild could also work both mechanically and thematically if you're hoping to roll surges; Divine really only gives a couple of cleric spell options to this split. Stone Sorcerer might be another strong option if the UA is open, letting you dump dex and still have decent AC. After that, go wizard for four levels, most likely going down the road of Evocation or Illusion, and grab the feat Magic Initiate: Wizard for even more spells. Then you strike a bargain with a celestial and dive 3 levels into warlock, collecting 2 cantrips from the class, 2 from the patron, and 3 from the pact, plus your choice of Agonizing Blast, Beast Speech, Eldritch Sight, Mask of Many Faces, or Misty Visions. Then pump your wizard levels for the remainder of your career and use the ASIs to maximize intelligence and charisma.
Divine Soul Sorcerer (Can use some cleric spells)/Warlock/Bard - so he would have a 1st 2nd edition Bard feel also Strixhave Initiate. DROPOUT
In my world this character is played by Jeoff Bridges.
Warlock invocations / pact of the tome / magic initiate is my current build. 10 cantrips at level 4 lol
Shape water - move water into lock, then freeze it, breaking the lock
Mold earth - create up to 3 hand/footholds at a time for climbing up or down, drop the last step to make the new one
My idea is to go warlock 3 pact of the tome sorcerer 17 with variant human with magic initiate its only a little less than this at 13 cantrips but its combines with your sorlock combo without being too weak
They also forgot to mention that hexblade warlocks can use their charisma for weapon attacks.
@@rubbersoulman5533
That's almost like saying you fo**** this was a cantrip build. Don't you dare disreshrek Nerdarchy! REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
@@thejohnrahm I didn't mean to disrespect them, it's just that Hexblade Warlock is my favorite class and I love that they don't need STR or DEX to fight and this could be useful to know because it means you can focus on your cantrips and don't need to worry about having high STR or DEX in case you need to make a weapon attack.
@@rubbersoulman5533
I see.
P.S. Using Weapons (not Eldritch Blast) means you'll be forced to use Sneak Attack, while Eldritch Blast is automatic. You better really want to play that tasty flavorful edgelord, cause Danse Macabre gone storm your Darkness. R.I.P.
Sneak Attack compensation... perhaps does some more damage, but practically you're getting about the same with all the multiclassing. You... you're just giving away Spells (Danse Macabre) for Flavor (Edgelord)... as if the Warlock wasn't edgy enough.
Assuming the rest is Fluff, I won't mention stacking Eldritch Invocations, except for free Invisibility, for defense (running away).
Unlike Hex, The Fiend's Temp HP isn't so Fluffy, and just hurts the Martial Warlock further, due to less levels (orthodox).
It is generally accepted that, while Melee may be thought of as superior, both forms of attack (Melee/Ranged) are fine.
Countering the disadvantage with Repelling Blast, Misty Step, etc. helps.
I'm not sure what you think of Long Rest abilities, which are as Fluffy as it gets, but there may be some Spells that accelerate the Spellcaster Warlock ever further.
Suppose it's nothing more than Fluff, ultimately, it's evident that it'll be tough for your Darkness to compete with Spells of a higher level. It's not so evident that Riposte (Battle Master) will be of compensation. It's not so evident Melee > Ranged/Ranged > Melee.
With Dex (orthodox) your AC is +1 (from Half plate) using Armor of Shadows, yet this is Bad Practice (Magic Items), so the Spellcaster/Martial idea isn't Major here. Eldritch Blast is also Bad Practice (Magic Items), meaning that the Martial Warlock can actually get something (Minor at best) going finally.
Even at worst, when given a +3 Weapon, rather than an Eldritch Blast, you'll notice how powerful double Slots, and better Spells become.
Honestly, the lower Temp HP is still Minor, although you're going from like 8 to like 22. I'm aware that double Slots isn't really Major either. To be more pragmatic, Top Players shouldn't note any of this.
The only difference is that the Spellcaster Warlock can use Darkness/Danse Macabre, while the Martial Warlock can use only Darkness, countered by sacrificing Sneak Attack damage (unorthodox).
I'm sure some Low (or lower) Players will happily run off with their junkyard of a character; I sure wouldn't want to be a part of that!
To be fair, these buffs are generally more applicable at higher levels; both the Spellcaster, and the Martial Warlock cast the same Spell at lower levels, albeit that the Spellcaster gets a +1 damage die.
Again, it's hard for anyone to choose Weapons over Eldritch Blast for flavor alone just to have your Spells weakened due to Sneak Attack compensation.
P.S. P.S. Uncanny Dodge is noteworthy when Defensive Duelist isn't there, which can be done by dropping your Dagger, then picking it up, while casting Eldritch Blast. I'm still not sure about dropping Weapons freely.
I'd like to play a Martial Warlock eventually, despite being slightly weaker.
I'll get much more from the Fighter multiclass (Riposte) as a Martial Warlock than the Spellcaster Warlock.
When the Martial Warlock is complete, having Good Practice (Magic Items), the extra attack/damage, slightly outclassing Eldritch Blast (which usually has a bigger damage die by default) at like 19th level, I'd say almost makes the lack of Spells feel balanced.
Riposte (add Sneak Attack) from Fighter,
Uncanny Dodge from Rogue,
and +1 AC (remove Magic Items)
plus Weapon (add Magic Items), should challenge Danse Macabre. The Spellcaster Warlock may have better Spells to crush Darkness further still, but I haven't seen any, not yet.
Even as I continue to write, knowing that I'll need to use Rogue, trading Uncanny Dodge for superior Spellcasting hurts, even with Riposte stuff.
@@rubbersoulman5533 correction if you go pact of the celestial you get ligjt amd sacred flame for free which brings it up to 15 and spell sniper makes it 16
This build is not adventure league legal it uses the PHB the SCAG and XGET. That's the PHB +2 to be adventure league it has to be to be the PHB+1 to be legal. You were okay with the build until you took Green Flame Blade
PHB+3, actually. Absorb Elements (admittedly useless for the main idea of this build) and Thunderclap are both from Elemental Evil.
@@LordIsrafel thunderclap and absorb elements is in xgte
WHO THE HELL CARES?!!? adventurers league is not even fun
Yep, I noticed that right away too. Which matters because they said it was going to be AL legal. Just drop GFB and you are good.
@@salvatoreflauto7023 I see where I got mixed up. They reposted the spell in EE to correct some typos made in Xanathar's. I had checked the spell list in Beyond for errors and since they use EE's corrected printing for their spell descriptions, they credited those two to EE without mentioning XGtE.
I could totally use this character. I could see a mid level party running into a drunkard at the local tavern. He mumbles something under his breath, and a waiter/waitress brings him some more food and ale, leaving the party bewildered as to how he just ordered his food and drink. Fork full of food in one hand, tankard of ale in another, suddenly a mage hand appears and tips the waitress. A parent comes in with a child. The child is crying about a broken toy. They walk up to the drunk man, and he takes the toy in his hand (now holding his ale with the mage hand) and suddenly the toy is fixed. The parent pays the man, and he puts the money in his coin purse before the mage hand passes him back his tankard and disappears. Nobody else seems to care about the series of puzzling transactions.
I imagine him as the town drunk/odd jobs man. He pays for his drinks with the money he makes from doing all the little things around town no one else wants to/can do. He repairs toys and cracks in wood beams, cleaning up messes, delivering messages, etc. Maybe he provides healing services for adventurers, or maintains equipment for the workers around town. Maybe he performs small magic tricks to entertain children. I could see mending, message, and prestidigitation being extremely useful, and he would keep a few healing spells on hand. He probably took some levels in Druid or something so he has lesser restoration to cure himself of alcohol poisoning and hangovers.
Poison Spray cannot be "doubled again", as you fellas said. Spell Sniper only doubles the range of spells which require ranged spell attack rolls. PS forces a Con save. The sorcerer's metamagic "Distant Spell" option can make PS 20 feet, though.
I love this
This concept was pretty funny :) The only thing I can see "wrong" with this from checking the character sheet is the shield/whip/ Green flame combo.
This is a caster where almost all of the concept spells have a Somatic as part of casting, so you need a free hand to cast unless you work the War Caster feat in somehow. There are also some M spells, so you would again need a free hand to hold your focus (spell book etc.) or component pouch. That means you need to give up either the shield or the weapon depending on what makes sense at the time.
Path of least resistance says get rid of Green Flame; removes weapon requirement but lets you keep your shield.
Also opens up the Warlock path if you felt like changing it up a bit, rather than being locked into Hexblade for the armour/weapons. Considering there are a bunch of spells that can make you harder to hit, I think you could go either way as far as needing armour.
Having Hex Blade, doesn't your weapon become your focus?
@@bigd7861 Edit
Actually I just had to look that up and no your weapon is not your focus. Either from pact of the blade, or from choosing hexblade. That comes from a specific invocation.
You can't cast somatic spells with a weapon unless you have warcaster feat or improved pact weapon. You could cast any of your other spells, but as I pointed out most of the spell selected here have a somatic element.
@@OuraInFlames I wasn't sure, so I had to ask. You had already mentioned War Caster, so I was including that in.
cantrips are amazing
Personally, the way I'd do this would be Sorc 3, Warlock 3, and then a few levels of Bard splashed in. Take Variant Human for Magic Initiate: Sorcerer. Take the Pact of the Tome with Hexblade. Play the good old Eldritch Machine Gun, but probably use Firebolt as an action so it can be Twinned.
Divine Soul Sorcerer/Hexblade Warlock. Urchin background, because I try to give all my characters proficiency with Stealth and Thieves' Tools.
I think I might stick with these at 16/4 and avoid the Wizard dip.
Half-Elf as my race (because I love Half-Elves). 8/16/12/14/10/16
Pact of the Tome is good. I think I'd take Shillelagh if only because whacking someone with your now magical staff sounds like fun.