Example Character: Warlock / Leader

As part of our continued preview of the Leader Prestige Class, we have another example character (there will be one for every base class), this time using the Warlock class. The idea behind example characters for prestige classes is that just a small selection of character choices can illustrate the power, flexibility, and theming of a prestige class in ways that simply seeing the material often can’t. In this case, we’re showing the ability to create familiar D&D archetypes in 5th edition using a Warlock / Leader hybrid that’s intended to recreate the old Ardent psionic class, a psionic warrior that supported allies and weakened enemies by transmitting emotions themselves, such as hope, anger, confidence, or fear.

So of course we’ll be calling this Warlock / Leader example character “The Ardent” for this post. The Ardent is level 11, with 6 levels in Warlock before 5 levels in Leader. With just a Wisdom of 11, the Ardent will easily meet the ability score prerequisites for the prestige class since Charisma is the Warlock’s main stat, which gives the Ardent room for some melee-focused ability scores as well. The subclass of choice for the Warlock is critical for this example: the Ardent is a warlock of the Great Old One patron, which gives it the linchpin of this build: telepathy. The patron’s spell list also works well to flavor this warlock as a psionic character, and when the Ardent reaches Warlock level 3 they can choose a Pact Weapon as their Pact Boon, helping to fulfill the psionic-warrior-with-a-weapon theme that the Ardent carried in earlier editions.

Once the Ardent reaches 6th level, they can take their first level in the Leader class, but they wait until level 7, choosing instead to pick up the extra attack invocation with their 6th Warlock level. With the Ardent’s 7th level becoming their 1st Leader level, the Ardent selects a skill proficiency and two stratagems. With telepathy, the Ardent can use their stratagems on allies within range of their telepathy even if those allies are deafened, the Ardent is silenced, or they’re surrounded by loud noise. In light of this and the Ardent’s melee focus, they select the following two stratagems:

Direct the Assault
You can use a bonus action on your turn to draw attention to one creature that you can see which you already hit with a weapon attack this turn. Until the start of your next turn, when an ally hits the target with a weapon attack, they gain a bonus to the damage roll equal to 1 + half your proficiency bonus. This can only affect up to a number of weapon attacks equal to 1 + your leader level.

Inspiring Word
You can use a bonus action to grant one ally within 30 feet temporary hit points equal to 1d4 + half your proficiency bonus, or you can use an action to instead grant that ally temporary hit points equal to 1d4 + your leader level + your proficiency bonus. These temporary hit points disappear at the end of the target's next turn. When you reach 3rd level, the die rolled increases to 1d6, and at 5th level it increases again to 1d8.

Direct the Assault provides an offensive bonus action option for the Ardent to use on turns when Inspiring Word doesn’t seem as useful. Alternatively, they could Inspiring Word on any turns in which they missed with their weapon attacks, but plan to otherwise use Direct the Assault. When the Ardent reaches 2nd level as a Leader and gains Stroke of Genius, they’ll be able to make use of these stratagems on turns where they cast a bonus action spell like hex as well, or use it to activate the action form of Inspiring Word as a bonus action for extra temporary hit points. When the Ardent reaches Leader level 3, they must choose a 3rd stratagem, an expertise, and an expertise option. They select Sound the Charge/Retreat, Persuasion, and Versatile Communicator.

Sound the Charge/Retreat
You can use an action to shout a command to charge and assault (or flee from) your enemies. You and each ally of your choice within 30 feet of you are affected by the charge effect until the start of your next turn, and then you Dash as part of the action. Affected targets increase their speed by 10 feet, double their long jump distance, and grant disadvantage to attackers for opportunity attacks provoked by movement.

Versatile Communicator
If a leader feature requires that creatures be able to see and hear you, instead it only needs to be able to see or hear you, including via telepathy, illusion, or other magic.

Versatile Communicator is core to the build for the Ardent. With this feature, the Ardent can reach allies with stratagems and Leader abilities (even the eventual Leader’s Presence) so long as they are within the range of telepathy, regardless of whether they can see or hear the Ardent. Now, since all of the stratagems chosen for this example are easy to flavor as emotional psionics, this combines to attain the theme of a psionic warrior that radiates emotions for allies. To affect enemies, we’ll have to choose the Ardent’s warlock spells wisely. As for the 3rd stratagem, Sound the Charge/Retreat gives the Ardent a potent combination with Stroke of Genius, enabling them to not only speed up their team but dash as a bonus action when used together. When the Ardent reaches 4th level they can do such a maneuver twice as often, and when they reach the final 5th level of the Leader class, they complete their emotional psionicist theme by choosing a 4th stratagem and (more importantly) a Leader’s Presence:

Fall Back & Assemble
You can use a bonus action on your turn to signal one ally. They can use their reaction to move up to half their speed in your direction, and they gain a bonus to AC against opportunity attacks provoked by this movement equal to your leader level. Then, each ally of your choice within 5 feet of you gains temporary hit points equal to half your proficiency bonus, which disappear at the start of your next turn.

Inspiring Presence
Other creatures of your choice that can see and hear you are bolstered by the inspiring nature of your very presence and countenance. Affected creatures gain a +2 bonus to saving throw rolls and Charisma ability checks.
In addition, whenever an affected creature gains temporary hit points, you increase the temporary hit points gained by an amount equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum +1).

Inspiring Presence affects not only any allies that can see or hear the Ardent, but also any allies that are within telepathy range — the Ardent radiating psionic confidence and hope to all their friends and comrades. In addition to the strong flavor, this presence also synergizes mechanically with the stratagems the Ardent has selected and the likelihood that the Ardent has a higher Charisma as a warlock than other Leaders. Fall Back & Assemble works especially well on a team with other melee combatants, but the Ardent’s ability to swap between weapon attacks or ranged spells makes this stratagem’s mobility aspects very flexible, and it becomes even easier to hit multiple allies with it every time. With the help of Inspiring Presence, this PC will spread temporary hit points to allies constantly as a roaring beacon of emotional strength. It even boosts the temporary hit points they grant themselves or each other!

Now the Ardent is a level 11 character, but only a level 6 warlock. Those 5 warlock levels would have given a level 11 warlock an additional spell slot, two more invocations, one more cantrip, three more spells known, a subclass feature, an increase of spell slots from 3rd to 5th-level, and a 6th-level spell! That’s a lot! With 5 levels in the leader prestige class, however, they gain a quite a bit. Between being able to grant significant amounts of transient temporary hit points at-will (and thus reducing the real damage taken by party members by quite a bit) without stopping attacking or casting spells, to being able to spur allies into sudden mobility or help them pile-on and beat down a single foe with weapon attacks, the Ardent has morphed from a normal warlock into something new… except it’s very familiar. As the Ardent levels up, they could continue leveling warlock to get some of those goodies they’ve missed out on, or they could do something else such as taking a level or two in Fighter or Paladin to gain a fighting style and armor proficiencies, or even something else entirely!

With a focus on spells like fear, crown of madness, or the new excite emotions which will appear in The Impermissicon, as well as with feats like Inspiring Leader or warlock invocations like Bewitching Whispers, the Ardent can effectively balance the themes of bolstering allies with good emotions, weakening enemies with negative emotions, and wielding both a psionic weapon and psychic powers. In the process, it manages to rebuild one of the more fascinating (albeit niche) classes from 4th and 3rd edition. That’s the power of the prestige classes!