Hex: Always Bet on Black Magic

Usable By: Warlock

Spell Level: 1

School: Enchantment

Casting Time: 1 bonus action

Range: 90 feet

Duration: Concentration, up to 1 hour

Components: V, S, M (the petrified eye of a newt)

You place a curse on a creature that you can see within range. Until the spell ends, you deal an extra 1d6 necrotic damage to the target whenever you hit it with an attack. Also, choose one ability when you cast the spell. The target has disadvantage on ability checks made with the chosen ability.

If the target drops to 0 hit points before this spell ends, you can use a bonus action on a subsequent turn of yours to curse a new creature.

A Remove Curse cast on the target ends this spell early.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 3rd or 4th level, you can maintain your concentration on the spell for up to 8 hours. When you use a spell slot of 5th level or higher, you can maintain your concentration on the spell for up to 24 hours.

Review by Sam West, Twitter: @CrierKobold

It's no secret that I adore warlocks. The free thematics and roleplay opportunities paired with a huge toolbox of nifty little toys to choose between give me the feeling of building the exact character I want at every level. By itself, Hex gives a tool to a suite of archetypes that otherwise would feel terrible without it a means of staying competitive and useful in combat without clearly outshining any other character.

Hex obviously tells you it's good when you attack things multiple times. The more hits you get, the more damage Hex deals. The other hallmark spell for Warlocks, Eldritch Blast, gives you more attack rolls to work with Hex. This creates a build by itself; you bonus action Hex, fire of a pair of Eldritch Blasts. Easy!

If you don’t want to be the Eldritch Blaster warlock, and instead are looking to do some melee shenanigans, two short swords paired with Hex can immediately open up damage comparable to sneak attack at 1st level. You have to juggle your bonus action between moving the Hex around and making attacks, and you have to constantly consider the threat of losing concentration, but both of these elements offer complexity in decision making in combat as early as first level. You can even go a Van Helsing route with crossbow expert if you can get a feat, and do similar things at a distance.

Other martial builds dedicated to high constitution modifiers and picking up thirsting blade at 5th level open up multi-attack greatsword builds offer solid damage output while maintaining a healthy amount of HP. Temporary hit points are easy to get in the class, and while I’m not entirely certain if rules as written you make concentration checks if only temporary hit points are removed, you can build a frontline warlock weaponizing Hex for extra damage easily with a robust Constitution to help maintain concentration.

The duration increases on Hex matter most for warlocks who aren’t getting hit; melee warlocks likely are dropping concentration after a few hits, meaning the higher level you get, the less likely you’ll want to rely on Hex. You’ll likely want to shift to spells like Shadow of Moil or Summon Shadowspawn for your pact magic slot. All of warlock is gimped by pact magic; Hex is no exception, despite its flexibility. If you decide to multiclass, though, Hex easily can eat your low level slots from your other class and still make a huge impact in a fight.

As far as the ability check element goes, your best bet the vast majority of the time is going to be choosing Strength in combat. Out of combat, this can be a great tool to sway contests in your favor. Going into a dance off? Hex the competition’s charisma! Need to escape without drawing attention from guards actively seeking you? Hit their Intelligence or Wisdom to attack their Investigation or Perception! Having to kill a creature you Hex to move it definitely weakness this use case for it, but it's nice to still have the option for out of combat utility.

Hex is a reason I keep going to Warlock, but also a reason I tend to quickly multiclass out of it. If you only ever spend 1st level slots on Hex, it's phenomenal. The higher level your slots get, the less you’ll want it. It can be a great option to have, and I would recommend trying out your own wacky off the wall warlock builds with it.

5e Spells

Hex: Always Bet on Black Magic