Verdict
The easiest Warlock to run and one of the most reliable. It gives you fire spells that cover a hole in the Warlock list, temporary hit points that scale with your level, and a late-game banish. Nothing here needs a second creature, a complicated resource or a table ruling.
How it plays
You cast Eldritch Blast or a Fiend spell, finish off a wounded enemy, and the temporary hit points land automatically. Fireball at level 5 (a 3rd-level spell you always have prepared) gives you the area damage the Warlock lacks, and Fire Shield at 7 adds a defense for melee builds.
Pact Magic slots are few but refresh on a Short Rest. At level 14, the slot you would normally spend on a 5th-level spell can instead reset Hurl Through Hell, so use it only when removing one creature beats casting.
Features by level
| Level | Feature | What it does, in short |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | Dark One's Blessing | When you reduce an enemy to 0 Hit Points, you gain temporary hit points equal to your Charisma modifier plus Warlock level (minimum 1). It also triggers when an ally drops an enemy within 10 feet of you. |
| 3 | Fiend Spells | Always prepared: Burning Hands, Command, Scorching Ray and Suggestion (3); Fireball and Stinking Cloud (5); Fire Shield and Wall of Fire (7); Geas and Insect Plague (9). |
| 6 | Dark One's Own Luck | Add 1d10 to an ability check or saving throw after seeing the roll. Charisma modifier uses (minimum 1), once per roll, back on a Long Rest. |
| 10 | Fiendish Resilience | After each Short or Long Rest, choose a damage type other than Force. You have Resistance to it until you choose again. |
| 14 | Hurl Through Hell | Once per turn on a hit, the target makes a Charisma save against your spell save DC or is banished briefly. A non-Fiend takes 8d10 Psychic damage and is Incapacitated until the end of your next turn. Once per Long Rest, or spend a Pact Magic slot to use it again. |
Dark One's Blessing: temp HP by level
Temporary hit points equal Charisma modifier plus Warlock level, so the buffer grows every level. The table assumes Charisma 16 at level 3 (+3), 18 after the level 4 Ability Score Improvement (+4), and 20 after level 8 (+5).
| Warlock level | Charisma modifier | Temp HP per kill | Pact slot level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | +3 | 6 | 2nd |
| 5 | +4 | 9 | 3rd |
| 8 | +5 | 13 | 4th |
| 11 | +5 | 16 | 5th |
| 14 | +5 | 19 | 5th |
| 17 | +5 | 22 | 5th |
| 20 | +5 | 25 | 5th |
Temporary hit points do not stack, so you keep the larger pool when two kills land close together. The buffer grows from 6 at level 3 to 25 at level 20. The ally trigger is the part people forget: a Fighter dropping a goblin next to you refills the buffer too.
Building one
- Ability scores: max Charisma. After that, a front-line Fiend wants Constitution, while one who hangs back wants Dexterity.
- Invocations: Agonizing Blast on Eldritch Blast is the backbone. Eldritch Mind helps hold concentration.
- Pact boon: Pact of the Blade makes the temp HP and Fire Shield worth more, since you are in melee anyway.
- Feats: War Caster or Resilient (Constitution) for concentration spells like Wall of Fire.
- Fiendish Resilience: pick the damage type your next fight is likely to use, and change it after each rest.
Who should pick it
Pick it if you want a Warlock with few moving parts and strong damage. Skip it if you want companions or party support; the Vestige Patron offers more of both, at the price of more bookkeeping.
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