Unleash your inner maestro and weave enchantment with the Bard Warlock, a captivating combination that transcends the boundaries of sound and magic. From charming melodies that sway hearts to arcane energies that ignite the battlefield, this multifaceted build offers a tantalizing blend of charisma and mystical prowess, making it a formidable force in Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition. With its versatility, adaptability, and captivating abilities, the Bard Warlock stands as a beacon of artistry and arcane power, promising an unforgettable experience for both players and Dungeon Masters alike. Let us delve into the intricacies of this extraordinary build and explore its myriad possibilities.
The allure of the Bard Warlock lies in its remarkable synergy, seamlessly merging the bard’s enchanting abilities with the warlock’s potent spellcasting. As a bard, you possess unparalleled skills in performance and persuasion, enchanting allies and captivating enemies with your mesmerizing words and melodies. Combine this charisma with the warlock’s pact with an otherworldly patron, and you wield a formidable arsenal of spells that can alter the tides of battle. Whether you choose to patronize the enigmatic GOO for psychic insights or align with the alluring Archfey for enchanting powers, your choice will shape the unique flavor of your Bard Warlock. The possibilities are endless, offering a vast landscape of customization and roleplaying opportunities.
As your character progresses, so too does your versatility. The Bard Warlock’s spellcasting flexibility allows you to adapt to any situation, casting spells from both the bard and warlock spell lists. Infuse your performances with magical energy, charming enemies while simultaneously unleashing arcane bolts from your fingertips. Unleash the power of Eldritch Blast, augmented by your charisma, and become a deadly force in ranged combat. Furthermore, the Bard Warlock’s unique spellcasting abilities, such as Bardic Inspiration and Pact Magic, grant you unmatched support and utility, empowering your allies and weakening your foes. With each level gained, you unlock new spells and abilities, enhancing your already formidable repertoire and ensuring that your Bard Warlock remains a captivating and ever-evolving force on the battlefield.
The Bard-Lock: A Comprehensive Guide to the Versatile Spellcaster
The Bard-Lock: A Versatile Spellcaster
The bard-lock is a multiclass combination that blends the spellcasting abilities of the bard with the versatility of the warlock. This potent mix creates a character who can fill multiple roles in a party, from support caster to damage dealer. Bard-locks can also benefit from warlock invocations, which provide them with additional abilities and spells. One popular option is the Mask of Many Faces invocation, which allows them to change their appearance at will. This can be incredibly useful for infiltration, disguise, or simply adding a touch of flair to their performances.
The bard-lock is a versatile class that can adapt to any party or playstyle. With their wide range of spells and abilities, they can support their allies, control the battlefield, or deal devastating damage. If you’re looking for a character who can do it all, the bard-lock is the perfect choice.
Another popular invocation for bard-locks is the Pact of the Blade. This invocation allows them to use their Charisma modifier when making melee attacks with their pact weapon. This makes them a formidable melee combatant, especially when combined with spells that enhance their physical abilities, such as haste or bless. Bard-locks who choose the Pact of the Blade can also take advantage of invocations that allow them to summon or enhance their pact weapon.
The bard-lock is a powerful and versatile class combination that can be tailored to suit any player’s preferences. With their wide range of spells, abilities, and invocations, bard-locks can excel in a variety of roles, from support caster to melee combatant. If you’re looking for a character who can do it all, the bard-lock is the perfect choice.
Recommended Level Progression
The following is a recommended level progression for bard-locks:
| Level | Class |
|---|---|
| 1-3 | Bard |
| 4-5 | Warlock |
| 6-7 | Bard |
| 8-9 | Warlock |
| 10-11 | Bard |
| 12-15 | Warlock |
| 16-19 | Bard |
| 20 | Warlock |
This progression allows bard-locks to gain access to essential spells and abilities from both classes while also providing them with a solid foundation in both spellcasting and martial combat.
Feats
The following are some feats that can be beneficial for bard-locks:
- Actor: This feat allows bard-locks to improve their Charisma checks related to impersonation and deception. This can be useful for infiltrating enemy territory or simply adding a touch of flair to their performances.
- Crossbow Expert: This feat allows bard-locks to use a crossbow without disadvantage in melee range. This can be useful for bard-locks who want to be able to deal damage in melee combat without having to get too close to the enemy.
- Eldritch Adept: This feat allows bard-locks to gain access to additional invocations. This can be useful for bard-locks who want to customize their character with specific abilities.
- Inspiring Leader: This feat allows bard-locks to inspire their allies, granting them temporary hit points. This can be useful for keeping the party alive in combat.
- Lucky: This feat allows bard-locks to reroll certain ability checks, saving throws, or attack rolls. This can be useful for bard-locks who want to improve their chances of success on important rolls.
Versatile Casting: The Benefits of Combining Bard and Warlock
The Synergistic Nature of Bard and Warlock Spells
The combination of Bard and Warlock spells offers tremendous versatility, allowing you to adapt to various combat situations. Warlocks possess invocations that enhance their spellcasting, while Bards have a wide array of buffing, healing, and support spells. By combining the two classes, you gain access to a formidable arsenal of offensive and defensive abilities.
For instance, the Warlock’s Eldritch Blast cantrip becomes even more potent when coupled with the Bard’s College of Lore’s Cutting Words feature. Cutting Words allows you to impose a penalty on an enemy’s saving throw, making it more likely that your Eldritch Blast will hit and deal damage. Conversely, the Warlock’s Hex spell synergizes well with the Bard’s Bane spell, providing you with a potent combination of damage amplification and target vulnerability.
Furthermore, the Warlock’s Pact of the Blade grants you access to powerful weapons, such as a greatsword or a bow. These weapons can be enhanced with the Bard’s various magical buffs, increasing their damage output and utility. Additionally, the Bard’s Song of Rest feature allows you to restore Hit Points during short rests, making your party more resilient in prolonged encounters.
Pact Magic: Empowering the Bard’s Spells
The Warlock’s Pact Magic feature grants a host of benefits that can greatly enhance the Bard’s magical abilities. Here are three ways in which Pact Magic empowers the Bard’s spells:
Expanded Spell List
The Bard gains access to the Warlock spell list, which includes spells such as Eldritch Blast, Armor of Agathys, and Hex. These spells can provide versatile options for combat, defense, and utility, expanding the Bard’s repertoire and allowing them to adapt to various situations.
Invocations
The Warlock’s Invocations are powerful abilities that can grant passive bonuses, enhance spells, or unlock new spellcasting options. Among the Invocations particularly beneficial for Bards are Agonizing Blast, which increases the damage of Eldritch Blast, and Book of Ancient Secrets, which allows the Bard to scribe additional spells from any class into their spellbook. These Invocations empower the Bard’s spells, making them more effective and versatile.
Short Rest Spell Recovery
Unlike other spellcasters who must rely on long rests to regain their spells, the Warlock can recover a certain number of spell slots on a short rest. This allows the Bard to conserve their spell slots for critical moments and enables them to cast more spells throughout the adventuring day. This ability is particularly valuable for the Bard, who often utilizes spells for both combat and support purposes.
Eldritch Invocations: Enhancing the Bard’s Utility
Eldritch Invocations are potent abilities granted to warlocks through their pacts with otherworldly entities. By carefully selecting specific invocations, bards can enhance their utility and versatility in a variety of situations. Here are three particularly useful invocations:
Mask of Many Faces
This invocation allows the bard to alter their appearance at will, making them ideal for infiltration, espionage, or simply avoiding unwanted attention. By spending a single action, the bard can disguise themselves as another humanoid, modifying their physical features, voice, and even their mannerisms. The disguise lasts for 24 hours, providing ample time for the bard to accomplish their objectives.
Misty Visions
Misty Visions grants the bard the ability to cast the Silent Image spell without using a spell slot. This versatile spell allows the bard to create an illusion of a creature, object, or scene, which can be used for distraction, deception, or even combat support. The illusion is visible to all creatures within 10 feet of the bard and lasts for up to 10 minutes, giving ample time to exploit its effects.
Book of Ancient Secrets
With this invocation, the bard gains proficiency in two additional skills of their choice. This can significantly expand their capabilities and make them even more valuable to the party. For example, proficiency in Investigation can assist in uncovering clues and solving mysteries, while proficiency in Persuasion can enhance the bard’s ability to charm and negotiate.
| Invocation | Effect |
|---|---|
| Mask of Many Faces | Allows the bard to disguise themselves as another humanoid. |
| Misty Visions | Grants the bard the ability to cast Silent Image without using a spell slot. |
| Book of Ancient Secrets | Provides proficiency in two additional skills. |
Bardic Inspiration: A Catalyst for Warlock Spells
Every time you roll damage with a spell, you can add a d6 from your Bardic Inspiration dice to the total. This is a huge boost to your damage output, especially at low levels. For example, if you cast Eldritch Blast at level 1, you will deal 1d10 + 1d6 damage. This is much better than the 1d10 damage you would deal without Bardic Inspiration.
Here are some of the best ways to use Bardic Inspiration with Warlock spells:
1. Eldritch Blast
Eldritch Blast is a Warlock’s bread and butter spell. It is a ranged attack spell that deals 1d10 damage per beam. You can add your Bardic Inspiration dice to each beam of Eldritch Blast, which can significantly increase your damage output.
2. Hellish Rebuke
Hellish Rebuke is a Warlock cantrip that deals 2d10 fire damage to a creature that damages you. You can add your Bardic Inspiration dice to the damage of Hellish Rebuke, which can make it a very powerful deterrent.
3. Scorching Ray
Scorching Ray is a Warlock spell that deals 2d6 fire damage per ray. You can add your Bardic Inspiration dice to each ray of Scorching Ray, which can make it a very powerful damage spell.
4. Agonizing Blast
Agonizing Blast is a Warlock invocation that adds your Charisma modifier to the damage of your Eldritch Blast cantrip. This is a great way to increase the damage output of your Eldritch Blast, especially when combined with Bardic Inspiration.
5. Eldritch Smite
Eldritch Smite is a Warlock spell that deals an extra 3d8 force damage to a creature you hit with a weapon attack. You can add your Bardic Inspiration dice to the damage of Eldritch Smite, which can make it a very powerful burst damage spell.
| Spell | Damage | Bardic Inspiration |
| Eldritch Blast | 1d10 + 1d6 | +1d6 |
| Hellish Rebuke | 2d10 + 1d6 | +1d6 |
| Scorching Ray | 2d6 + 1d6 per ray | +1d6 per ray |
| Agonizing Blast | 1d10 + Charisma modifier + 1d6 | +1d6 |
| Eldritch Smite | 3d8 + 1d6 | +1d6 |
The Lore Bard: Unlocking Arcane Secrets
As a master of knowledge and lore, the Lore Bard can access arcane secrets that empower their spellcasting. Their expertise in History, Arcana, and Religion grants them the following abilities:
Expertise in Arcane Knowledge
The Lore Bard gains expertise in the Arcana skill, making them highly proficient in identifying magical objects, deciphering arcane texts, and understanding the nature of magic.
College of Lore Feature: Cutting Words
The Bard’s Cutting Words ability allows them to reduce a target’s attack roll, ability check, or saving throw by their Intelligence modifier when they use their Inspiration feature. This ability is particularly effective against spellcasters who rely on their spellcasting ability for their attack rolls.
Magical Secrets
At 6th level, the Lore Bard gains access to two spells from any class. They can select these spells from the bard, cleric, druid, sorcerer, warlock, or wizard spell lists. This versatility allows the Lore Bard to customize their spellcasting capabilities and gain access to powerful spells from other classes.
The following table lists several recommended spells that the Lore Bard can select through Magical Secrets:
| Spell | Source |
|---|---|
| Counterspell | Wizard |
| Haste | Druid |
| Summon Greater Demon | Warlock |
The Warlock Patron: Choosing the Right One for Your Bard
The Celestial Patron
The Celestial patron grants your bard access to radiant energy and healing magic. The Bardic Inspiration feature becomes Radiant Inspiration, which heals allies when they roll Bardic Inspiration die. The Celestial patron also grants access to the spells Cure Wounds, Healing Word, and Revivify.
The Fiend Patron
The Fiend patron grants your bard access to infernal magic and the ability to summon fiends. The Bardic Inspiration feature becomes Infernal Inspiration, which deals damage to enemies when they roll Bardic Inspiration die. The Fiend patron also grants access to the spells Burning Hands, Hellish Rebuke, and Scorching Ray.
The Great Old One Patron
The Great Old One patron grants your bard access to psychic magic and the ability to communicate with aberrations. The Bardic Inspiration feature becomes Psychic Inspiration, which grants allies a bonus to Charisma saving throws when they roll Bardic Inspiration die. The Great Old One patron also grants access to the spells Detect Thoughts, Dissonant Whispers, and Phantasmal Force.
The Hexblade Patron
The Hexblade patron grants your bard access to martial weapons and the ability to curse enemies. The Bardic Inspiration feature becomes Hexblade Inspiration, which deals bonus damage to cursed enemies when they roll Bardic Inspiration die. The Hexblade patron also grants access to the spells Armor of Agathys, Hex, and Branding Smite.
The Archfey Patron
The Archfey patron grants your bard access to nature magic and the ability to summon fey creatures. The Bardic Inspiration feature becomes Fey Inspiration, which grants allies a bonus to Dexterity saving throws when they roll Bardic Inspiration die. The Archfey patron also grants access to the spells Faerie Fire, Charm Person, and Phantasmal Killer.
The Undead Patron
The Undead patron grants your bard access to necrotic magic and the ability to summon undead creatures. The Bardic Inspiration feature becomes Necrotic Inspiration, which deals necrotic damage to enemies when they roll Bardic Inspiration die. The Undead patron also grants access to the spells False Life, Vampiric Touch, and Animate Dead.
The Undying Patron
The Undying patron grants your bard access to necrotic magic and the ability to resist death. The Bardic Inspiration feature becomes Undying Inspiration, which heals allies when they roll Bardic Inspiration die. The Undying patron also grants access to the spells False Life, Ray of Sickness, and Vampiric Touch.
| Patron | Spells |
|—|—|—|
| Celestial | Cure Wounds, Healing Word, Revivify |
| Fiend | Burning Hands, Hellish Rebuke, Scorching Ray |
| Great Old One | Detect Thoughts, Dissonant Whispers, Phantasmal Force |
| Hexblade | Armor of Agathys, Hex, Branding Smite |
| Archfey | Faerie Fire, Charm Person, Phantasmal Killer |
| Undead | False Life, Vampiric Touch, Animate Dead |
| Undying | False Life, Ray of Sickness, Vampiric Touch |
Combining Spells and Cantrips: Maximizing Your Damage
8. Eldritch Blast and Booming Blade
Combining Eldritch Blast, a warlock cantrip, with Booming Blade, a bard spell, can create a devastating combo. Start by casting Eldritch Blast, which fires multiple beams of force at your target. If the target survives this initial barrage, consider using Booming Blade on your next attack.
When you use Booming Blade, you imbue your weapon with thunderous energy. This energy deals additional damage to your target and forces them to take extra damage if they move. This is a powerful effect, as it encourages your target to stay in place, making them an easier target for your subsequent attacks.
Additionally, if you combine these spells with the Relentless Hex invocation, you can gain a significant advantage in combat. This invocation allows you to move your Hex spell to a new target after you kill the current one, ensuring that you can continue your chain of Eldritch Blast + Booming Blade attacks.
| Spell/Cantrip | Damage Type | Bonus Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Eldritch Blast | Force | 1d10 per beam |
| Booming Blade | Thunder | Additional 2d8 damage on movement |
Counterspelling and Healing: The Bard-Lock’s Protective Abilities
Bard-locks combine the spellcasting prowess of bards with the warlock’s versatility, granting them an array of protective abilities. One of the most powerful aspects of the bard-lock is its exceptional counterspelling capabilities.
Counterspelling
Bards possess the Countercharm spell, an invaluable tool against enemy spellcasters. Warlocks, on the other hand, gain access to the Counterspell cantrip. By combining these spells, bard-locks can effectively counter enemy spellcasting attempts, disrupting their plans and protecting their allies.
Healing
Bard-locks are also adept at healing, thanks to their access to bardic inspiration and warlock healing spells. Bardic inspiration can provide temporary hit points to boost allies’ resilience, while healing spells like Cure Wounds and Healing Word allow the bard-lock to mend wounds in the thick of battle.
Bard-Lock Counterspelling and Healing Options
The following table summarizes the bard-lock’s counterspelling and healing options:
| Spell | Level | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Countercharm | 3rd | Neutralizes enemy spell effects |
| Counterspell | Cantrip | Dispels enemy spells |
| Cure Wounds | 1st | Heals a single target |
| Healing Word | 1st | Heals multiple targets |
| Bardic Inspiration | 1st | Provides temporary hit points |
Multiclassing Strategies: Optimizing Your Bard-Lock Build
Choosing the Right Levels
The optimal level split for your bard-lock build depends on your playstyle and campaign. However, a general recommendation is to take 14 levels in warlock for access to the most powerful invocations and spells, and the remaining 6 levels in bard for expertise and bardic inspiration.
Dipping Bard for Expertise
Even a single level dip into bard can significantly enhance your warlock by granting you expertise in two skills. This expertise can be applied to key skills like persuasion, perception, or stealth.
Subclasses and Invocations
Your choice of warlock subclass and invocations will significantly impact the effectiveness of your bard-lock build. Some popular choices include:
| Warlock Subclass | Invocations |
|---|---|
| Fiend | Mask of Many Faces, Agonizing Blast, Repelling Blast |
| Hexblade | Eldritch Smite, Lifedrinker, Ghostly Gaze |
| Celestial | Healing Light, Sacred Flame, Light Armor of Faith |
Eldritch Invocations
Eldritch invocations are granted by your warlock levels and offer powerful abilities. Some popular choices for bard-locks include:
| Invocation | Effect | Level Gained |
|---|---|---|
| Agonizing Blast | Increases the damage of Eldritch Blast by 1d6 | 2 |
| Repelling Blast | Pushes targets hit by Eldritch Blast 10 feet away | 7 |
| Mask of Many Faces | Allows you to disguise your appearance at will | 9 |
| Ghostly Gaze | Grants you the ability to see through illusions and invisibility | 12 |
| Lifedrinker | Increases your melee damage by 5 per hit | 15 |
The Ultimate DnD 5e Bard/Warlock Build
The Bard/Warlock multiclass is a powerful and versatile combination that can dominate the battlefield and provide support to your party. With the right build, you can create a character that can cast potent spells, inspire your allies, and deal devastating damage to your enemies.
To create the best possible Bard/Warlock build, you’ll need to choose the right subclasses and spells. For your Bard subclass, the College of Lore is a great choice. It gives you access to a variety of bonuses, including proficiency in Persuasion and Performance, and the ability to add your proficiency bonus to the saving throws of your allies.
For your Warlock subclass, the Fiend patron is a solid option. It gives you access to powerful spells like Fireball and Hurl Through Hell, and the ability to summon demons to fight alongside you. You’ll also gain resistance to fire damage, which can be very useful in combat.
When it comes to spells, you’ll want to focus on spells that deal damage, support your allies, and control the battlefield. For your Bard spells, some good options include Vicious Mockery, Faerie Fire, and Mass Suggestion. For your Warlock spells, you’ll want to choose spells like Eldritch Blast, Fireball, and Dimension Door.
With the right build, the Bard/Warlock can be one of the most powerful and versatile classes in DnD 5e. So if you’re looking for a character that can do it all, this is the build for you.
