Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Semicidal Aug 20, 2014 15:36:05	Hey guys! I am wondering about the Pact of the blade and proficiencies. If my pact weapon is say, a greataxe(or a rapier), and I have 2 weapon fighting, how do my proficiencies work? Am I proficient with the greataxe I summoned, but not the greataxe I have on my back (now in my other hand)? I get that I will NOT be proficient with the second weapon without having the first summoned... but am I right in asusming this makes 'Locks viable 2 weapon fighters?
#2 CorwynnMaelstrom Aug 20, 2014 15:55:26	Greataxes are two-handed weapons. Not sure how they have any bearing on dual-wielding. Outside of that, you are proficient with your single pact weapon. If you want to dual wield you can have a one-handed pact weapon and a simple weapon (which unless you have something which modifies the normal rules of dual wield must be light) and dual wield them.
#3 KarlB Aug 20, 2014 18:24:05	Basically, if you have a Pact Weapon that is a rapier, you are proficient in the *Pact Weapon* side of that, not the rapier. If the rapier ceased being your pact weapon, you wouldn't be able to use it properly. It's the magic that you're attuned to.
#4 Semicidal Aug 20, 2014 19:43:00	Thanks. I am mulling over a melee focused walock. It was going to be a pure class but I like the idea of one level in Barbarian and leveling rogue/lock up evenly.
#5 Daganev Aug 21, 2014 5:05:59	I'm actually a bit confused on this point. If I pick a dagger for the pact weapon it's a 1d4, or a I can pick a glaive pact weapon and it's a 2d6?
#6 CorwynnMaelstrom Aug 21, 2014 7:25:56	How is that confusing? You can choose the pact weapon. If you want your pact weapon to be a dagger, you can. If you want it to be a glaive, you can. There's no restriction on what your pact weapon is, only that you have a single pact weapon.
#7 Thoughts_My_Aim Aug 21, 2014 13:32:05	I don't want to speak for Daganev, but I suspect the confusion comes from assuming that "Pact of the Blade" is kind of a cosmetic feature, with the blade being a mostly symbolic, ritual item (which would make a dagger really appropriate and a Greataxe a little bit silly).   Of course in reality, as near as I can tell, the Pact of the Blade is designed to allow for Warlocks to function as a kind of melee hybrid class - which makes selecting a weapon for your Pact equivalent to slecting a weapon for your Fighter, you *could* choose a dagger, but it would be completely suboptimal.   To put it another way, I think the confusion arises from a clash between what the Pact is *designed* to do (allow for melee Warlocks) and what you might *expect* it to do (allow for warlocks who use specific weapons as ritual foci).
(Reply to #4) Avarian_of_Sertrous	I'm still confused. 1. If a Warlock is automatically proficient in their Pact Blade, can I choose a Rapier Pact Blade or a Glaive Pact Blade and attack with proficiency? 2. Since I can choose the form of the Pact Blade, can I call it up as a Rapier in one fight and a Glaive in the next?  What about changing from attack-to-attack? 3. Can you perform the Pact Blade ritual on a +1 Dagger and call it up as a +1 Rapier or a +1 Glaive? 4. Can you have a Mace or a Hammer as a Pact Blade even though it does not have a blade? 5. Can I have a Longbow Pack Blade?   Reading the PH, I think the answer to all five of these is "Yes."  For the sake of the flavor of the Warlock class, however, I think it should go back to Daggers only as Pact Blades with some other form of attack bonus.  For example, 4E granted Pact Boons when a Warlock brought a creature to 0 HP:  Misty Step (teleport 3 squares), Dark One's Blessing (temporary HP equal to your level), or Fate of the Void (+1 on a roll in the next round).  These were good flaver and I don't think anyone considered them overpowered.
#9 Kalani Aug 21, 2014 23:54:08	Avarian_of_Sertrous wrote:
#10 Thoughts_My_Aim Aug 22, 2014 8:38:38	Avarian_of_Sertrous wrote:
(Reply to #10) kilpatds	Thoughts_My_Aim wrote:
(Reply to #11) Semicidal	I am playing with multiclass to get the most out of warlocks melee. I prioritize Cha/Dex/Con I start as a rogue for sneak attack, then one level in barb for unarmored defence and proficiency with martial weapons. I take 2 levels in Lock and skip my attirbute increase for 2 level fighting. With Garbage stats, I have a bucket of HP,  16 AC (19 with mage shield..its a warlock thing) and 2 rapiers. I took the eldritch blast enhancement that lets me push 10 feet for utility, Hex, and the armor spell that gives me temp HP. I don't really need pact of the blade now, but I will probably take it anyways. I will level up rogue and warlock evenly (thief options).
(Reply to #12) CorwynnMaelstrom	Semicidal wrote:
(Reply to #13) Semicidal	Yeah it is. I have as much fun making odd combos as I do playing. I wanted to do a duskblade...then i read eldritch knight :P
#15 Kalani Aug 22, 2014 19:34:23	Semicidal wrote:
#16 thewok Aug 22, 2014 23:08:47	Avarian_of_Sertrous wrote:
(Reply to #12) 2Chlorobutanal	Semicidal wrote:
(Reply to #12) 1eejit	Semicidal wrote:
#19 Semicidal Aug 23, 2014 5:42:08	Actually, things like these are the reasons I have brought this forward. It's good to see where I am missing something or incorrect. Are you sure that statistical increases dont happen every 4th level? I know proficiency bonuses count all class levels. *Edit, I looked at the character advancement on Page 15, which has proficiency bonus listed independant of classes, but not statistical increases. I would call that you being right.* Any why wouldn't mage armor count? I know that they are each worded such that they set the players AC, rather than augments it, but I always assumed this was for easy wording. I guess the rules ARE pretty clear on this though.
#20 Alynn Aug 23, 2014 6:01:49	Semicidal wrote:
#21 Yunru Aug 23, 2014 6:13:39	The best AC dip, if you focus on Dex, is Barbarian. Bit of a push for the 13 Str, but assuming you max out Dex and Con, you've an AC of 20 when not in armour (for a max (excluding magic items) AC of 22 with a shield).
#22 Semicidal Aug 23, 2014 6:20:38	Dang. I was hoping to see some real incentive to take multiclass in this edition,but overall it just seems like too much sacrifice for not enough gain.
#23 1eejit Aug 23, 2014 6:28:59	There's plenty of strong multiclassing, it's just that specific build is weaker than you originally thought.
#24 Yunru Aug 23, 2014 8:47:13	The incentive to multiclass really varies with how strong a capstone feature a class has.
(Reply to #24) Semicidal	Yunru wrote:
#26 Yunru Aug 23, 2014 8:52:49	It's not so much how amazing they are but that if you MC even for one level you miss out on them, so you have to be damn sure you don't want it.
#27 Thoughts_My_Aim Aug 23, 2014 9:15:17	Another drawback of MCing as I understand it is that you can easily miss out on your Ability Score Bonuses.   All in all I'm okay with this. I'd rather MCing was a rarity rather than a gimmie.
#28 Yunru Aug 23, 2014 9:16:46	Fighter is probably the easiest to want to multiclass from, combining an uninspiring (alebeit effective) capstone feature with frequent ASBs.
#29 Macrocosm156 Aug 23, 2014 9:27:39	Avarian_of_Sertrous wrote:
#30 echostation38 Aug 26, 2014 6:49:38	does the pact weapon gain the features of the weapon that it appears as.  For instance if I manifest it as a rapier, does it count as a finesse weapon?
#31 Thoughts_My_Aim Aug 26, 2014 6:52:37	I believe so.
#32 Kalani Aug 26, 2014 7:53:26	echostation38 wrote: