ToV Warlock Invocations

Introduction

Invocations offer a powerful way to customize your warlock, adding passive buffs, new features, new spellcasting options, and all manner of interesting effects. Selecting your invocations is as important as picking your patron, and knowing what options are available and how to use them is crucial if you want to succeed as a warlock.

Remember that you can retrain one Invocation each time you gain a Warlock level, and can pick an Invocation for which you meet the prerequisites. This means that you can retrain low-level Invocations to get more high-level Invocations. This isn’t always the right choice, but it’s always an option, especially if a low-level option isn’t meeting your expecations.

Table of Contents

Disclaimer

RPGBOT uses the color coding scheme which has become common among Pathfinder build handbooks.

  • Red: Bad, useless options, or options which are extremely situational. Nearly never useful.
  • Orange: OK options, or useful options that only apply in rare circumstances. Useful sometimes.
  • Green: Good options. Useful often.
  • Blue: Fantastic options, often essential to the function of your character. Useful very frequently.

ToV Warlock Invocations

Invocations frequently have level prerequisites, and are organized below by level. Higher-level invocations aren’t necessarily better than low-level ones, so don’t feel compelled to choose the highest-level invocations that you can get at any given point.

1st-Level Invocations

Agonizing Blast (PG)

Nearly every Warlock takes this. The damage is simply too good to pass up. The damage grows multiplicatively as you get additional rays, so the total additional damage will range from +3 at low levels to a maximum +20 at 17th level.

Armor of Shadows (PG)

You already get light armor, and Mage Armor is only +1 AC over studded leather, which is absolutely not enough in a game where there’s a listed price for +1 armor.

Beyond Sight (PG)

Darkvision can be an immense tactical advantage, but it’s negated by a torch. Beyond Sight allows you to use magical darkness, including the Darkness spell, to gain a massive advantage over your foes. However, keep in mind that your allies may still struggle to fight in magical darkness so using this option can often lead to selfish tactics which are frustrating for your allies.

Eldritch Burst (PG)

Not absolutely necessary for builds focused on Eldritch Blast, but definitely helpful.

Eldritch Sight (PG)

Very helpful, especially since Detect Magic isn’t a Ritual in Tales of the Valiant.

Eldritch Spear (PG)

120 feet is usually enough for most encounters. If the encounter takes place at greater range than that, you can always move closer.

Fiendish Vigor (PG)

This is a massive amount of temporary hit points. This is great on any Warlock, but it’s absolutely crucial if you’re building to fight in melee.

Gaze of Two Minds (PG)

Very situational. I can’t think of a time to use this repeatedly.

Mask of Many Faces (PG)

In a game involving stealth or intrigue the ability to disguise yourself is a big advantage. The ability to do it at a moment’s notice at no cost allows you to be anyone any time.

Misty Visions (PG)

A clever player with a DM who is willing to play along can accomplish a lot with even a basic illusion. A 15-foot cube is a huge amount of space, too. Place illusory walls, doors, statues, or other objects which creatures don’t expect to move or produce other stimuli like heat or smells, and in many cases that’s just as good as creating something. If creatures don’t realize that your illusory wall is an illusion, they’re going to treat it like a wall. Repelling BlastPHB: This

Patron’s Anchor (PG)

A massive improvement to your ability to maintain Concentration. CHA will be your best save, and Advantage on your first Concentration save each round will nearly guarantee success on saves against small amounts of damage. Even at level 1, your average CHA save with advantage is around 18 (roughly 13 on the d20 + 2 PB + 3 CHA mod).

Repelling Blast (PG)

This can be especially nice as you gain additional rays to keep enemies well out of melee range, but it’s not always useful and at low levels the 10 foot push won’t make a huge difference unless you’re using it to break a grapple.

Spirit Translator (PG)

Only situationally useful.

Stolen Knowledge (PG)

Excellent in a small party with gaps in their skill capabilities. If other members of your party will add more skill proficiencies later in their career, this is great to take at low levels before retraining it into a higher-level Invocation later.

Thief of Five Fates (PG)

A passable debuff, but rarely worth the Action to cast it or your Concentration to maintain it. You may be able to use Bane to

5th-Level Invocations

Second Boon (PG)

Pact boons can be very powerful, opening up new tactics and new build options. However, they often expect you take additional invocations to make them more effective, straining your already limited number of Eldritch Invocations. This isn’t a bad choice, but it’s not a choice that works for every Warlock.

Sign of Ill Omen (PG)

Bestow Curse is a great debuff to put on a powerful single target, plus it doesn’t cut into your limited spell slots.

7th-Level Invocations

Bewitching Whispers (PG)

This isn’t a great spell. If you have other allied spellcasters who like spells like Wall of Fire or Blade Barrier, this could be great, but on its own it’s not consistently impactful.

Boon Savant (PG)

If you took Second Boon, you almost certainly want this.

Dreadful Word (PG)

I do not trust Confusion to be useful.

Sculptor of Flesh (PG)

Polymorph is really good, and this gets you a 4th-level spell much earlier than you will from your normal spellcasting.

9th-Level Invocations

Ascendant Step (PG)

Warlocks get access to Fly, but it’s hard to justify spending your precious few spell slots on it. Levitate gets you the biggest benefit of flight (distance from the ground) at much lower cost. However, you still need to concentrate.

Otherworldly Leap (PG)

Warlocks get access to Fly, but it’s hard to justify spending your precious few spell slots on a buff for yourself. Levitate gets you the biggest benefit of flight (distance from the ground) at much lower cost. However, you still need to concentrate.

Whispers of the Grave (PG)

Speak with Dead is one of my favorite divinations because it grants you easy access to information which is otherwise lost forever. With the ability to cast it at will with no cost means that you can interrogate every random mook you kill in your long, sordid career of murder-hoboing. But keep in mind that the target isn’t compelled to tell you anything helpful, so this isn’t always reliable.

11th-Level Invocations

Lifedrinker (PG)

A must for Blade Warlocks, but largely useless for other Warlocks. The bonus stacks with your Charisma (for Hexblades) or Strength/Dexterity (for everyone else) to damage, so you’re going to have a very solid static damage bonus to your attacks.

Mystic Arcanum (PG)

Mystic Arcanum is a tax at high levels. Getting a high-level spell even once per day is frequently more powerful than any other option, essentially locking you into Mystic Arcanum. Keep in mind that while you can’t change the spell which you choose, you can retrain the invocation, reselect Mystic Arcanum, and then pick a different spell.

15th-Level Invocations

Chains of Carceri (PG)

An excellent save-or-suck spell, and you can cast it without a spell slot.

Visions of Distant Realms (PG)

Arcane Eye is one of my favorite scouting options, and the ability to cast it at will makes it even better. Never go into a room without knowing exacty what’s inside.

Witch Sight (PG)

Invisibility is an illusion, and locating invisibile creatures is important for a class so dependent on ranged attacks. The 30-foot range is a big problem, unfortunately, and by this level you’ve had plenty of time to learn how to handle invisible creatures with AOE spells like Hunger of Hadar and Sickening Radiance.