Prerequisite: 15th level
You can cast Invisibility at will, without expending a spell slot.
Shroud of Shadow: Nothing to See Here
Review by Sam West, Twitter: @CrierKobold
At what tier does something like Invisibility at will become too little, too late? Invisibility is an undoubtedly useful effect in all tiers of the game; becoming entirely transparent and unseeable opens up opportunities to characters otherwise entirely closed off, even to the stealthiest among us. Getting it as a cantrip sounds cool as hell; you can be Invisible whenever you want to. You just need to spend the action. On paper, this sounds great. In context, I think with its 15th level prerequisite, Shroud of Shadow is just kind of meh.
Invisibility is a 2nd level spell that artificers, bards, sorcerers, warlocks, and wizards can spend spell slots on. As a warlock, you don’t often feel that bad spending 5th level spell slots on it because it upcasts to make multiple creatures invisible at once, up to four at a time with a 5th level slot. Other common characters have access to this spell, and can cast it for just a 2nd level spell slot. By the time you reach 15th level, if you need to be invisible, you can relatively cheaply cast Invisibility. It’s not something you don’t already have ways of getting at a cheap rate, especially in a cooperative game where lots of people want this kind of effect.
To make matters worse, Invisibility is a concentration spell. If you want a summoned companion, Hex, or other solid concentration effect to span a few fights, Shroud of Shadows makes that harder to play with. The fantasy of starting every fight from the shadows is cool and all, but doesn’t play well with the other build options like Hex or Darkness many warlocks heavily lean on to engage a fight with.
If this was more accessible earlier, I’d be all about it. It being at a tier where even warlocks are getting more spell slots (one 6th, 7th, and 8th level slot per long rest alongside your three pact magic slots) makes it feel like overkill. If you’ve been playing around with Invisibility for a while, you don’t need this. If you’re just now getting access to Invisibility, it isn’t likely going to play nice with the other stuff you’ve been concentrating on throughout the game. The whole of it feels like what is supposed to be an early tier build around option you work with in the earlier tiers that you’re getting way too late to develop it out reasonably.
Shroud of Shadow is edgy and cool, and a dozen different warlock archetypes desperately want Invisibility at will for aesthetic reasons, but the mechanics behind it make it clunky and unwieldy. Invisibility is cheap enough you’re probably better off taking invocations that supplement your existing build, and sticking with traditional casting methods for becoming invisible.
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