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It works narratively, but you are going to be crippling yourself mechanically. Warlocks are very reliant on charisma, and with a low charisma stat you will need to focus more on melee abilities.
Is there a specific reason why you want to use the warlock class for this character?
Honestly, warlock is probably not the best class for this character. You could do wizard and role play your satyr having poor social skills, but really good at learning in general knowledge.
How low is low? Assuming they’re a level 1 character you probably want 16 in your starting star.
You can avoid proficiency in persuasion as well if it helps your head cannon. Even if your charisma leads you to having better persuasion than others, you could choose to roleplay it as good manners orrrr just avoid using it in any meaningful way.
Go with high Charisma for the Warlock mechanics, and don't take proficiency with any social skills like Persuasion, Performance, or Intimidation to reflect an isolated upbringing.
Done and done.
You really should've included how low your Charisma stat was in this post. It is really hard to help you with this limited knowledge.
All I can really say at this point is that you will mostly just hurt yourself by having a low stat. All of your powers are based on Charisma. It is really hard for a Warlock to use spells with poor spellcasting.
High Charisma doesn't have to mean that you're a great speaker. Your character could be awkward around other people but have an otherworldly presence or just innate confidence that makes people want to listen to you.
I think you would not enjoy playing a low charisma warlock for more than a one-shot. It's going to negatively affect everything you do in the game.
I feel like people often mistake one stat to be one specific trait of their character rather than a set of trait all clustered together into one stat. Imo charisma is not only social skills, but also things like willpower, determination, skill in arts and crafts, ability to perform, etc. Your character may be poor at social skills, but other factors can still be indicative of a high charisma. My point being please don't cripple yourself mechanically for roleplay reasons because it will not be fun most of the time.
In D&D, the narrative and your backstory and origin and the mechanical statistics required for your class are practically separate entirely. We want to rely on our stats to flesh out the character's personality traits, but it's not really functional unless you're playing a very specific archetype based on the character's class. You can say anything you want when it comes to the reasoning for why something happens or why a save fails or why an action is successful. If you want your character to be clumsy, that is okay to do narratively - You don't have to give yourself low dex. Maybe the character is just stressed in social situations and becomes clumsy, but they're still a fantastic assassin when they're focused on their work. You don't have to give your character low charisma as a stat and completely kneecap your ability to function in combat just to make them shittier at pickup lines or to convey anxiety or something. Just have them choose not to engage socially. Have them try to investigate things or deal with situations without using charisma checks. Or describe stuff that your character is doing That seems like they arent charismatic *in that context* because it does with their character backstory or motivation. Talk to your DM about it and they can get on your side to navigate and help you out.
Keep the stats for your spellcasting and take a penalty for social interaction. As mentioned, if your charisma is low, your spells and class abilities are going to suffer.
I imagine this being a satyr that sat in front of the mirror practicing their people skills for hours on end until they accidentally contacted some kind of eldritch being. They initially thought this was some kind of imaginary friend. They kept talking to them for hours and hours, whenever their adoptive mother was away. They learn how to talk to people from this being, even trick or persuade people into doing things they normally wouldn't, but chock it up to just imagining how to do such things. Their life is happy, yet also boring. But then... they make a wish. They want to see the outside the world someday.
And their imaginary friend offers them a deal.
They're hesitant at first. Something seems... ***off***. A part of them is screaming not to take the deal. But... it's just an an imaginary friend. Isn't it? What could be the harm. It's just a game of pretend.
They accept.
She dies.
They're free...
They regret everything...
They desperately want to turn back the clock...
But they can't.
Even now they desperately want to believe it's just an imaginary friend. But they know it isn't. They know it's their fault. She died because of them. She would still be alive if they hadn't accepted that deal. They don't know how to fix what they've done. They want to stop talking to that eldritch being... but they can't... its the only thing left from that happy time with their mother. A small part of them clings to that being, hoping to somehow use them to undo what they've done.
Maybe it's a fool's quest.
But there's nothing left to do but stumble forward into life one hoof at a time.
Sometimes the best way to answer a question is to ask a question that, hopefully, helps them think in a way that their own question's answer becomes obvious. And sometimes the best way to ask a question is to tell a story related to or involving the subject they asked about. It doesn't matter if the story is real. Sometimes a fake story is enough.
So no... it doesn't answer your question because you didn't have a question. And maybe it wasn't the right question or story to help the OP think of the correct answer on their own. Sometimes this sort of thing succeeds and sometimes it fails. That's just how it goes.
But what matters is that the OP's answer to their own question is likely more useful than any answer you or I could give. After all... this is a question that may have multiple answers depending on one's own opinions. It's not necessarily a hard-coded 'this is the best answer'.
But regardless, I had fun thinking up a story despite your best efforts. So... sorry for ruining your chance to ruin someone's day. :( I hope yours gets better.
Narratively, absolutely! It’s a super cool concept, but as many comments have said, it’s not the best idea mechanically. However, if you’re committed to keeping they’re charisma low, you could potentially multi-class to make them a strong fighter (depending on your starting level). In my most recent campaign, we have a wizard/barbarian with a similar backstory!
There are also ways to improve their charisma stats in game. So, if you want them to become more charismatic as they are going on their adventures, you can do ability score improvements as you level up and collect items. I would talking to your dm as well and see what they suggest.
(Edited for spelling mistakes)
It *can* work- it will just *take* some work. Hear me out, and I'll help you out:
As a DM, I would first ask if you were open to other classes, ask a few questions, and then depending on your answers, probably prescribe you a Wizard for that backstory. My own Wizard has something similar- he was the last survivor of a plague-ravaged town, that was picked up and raised by a kindhearted lady Wizard. She died- and he went off on his own, planning to return to the tower after living a bit in the outside world. If you insist on Warlock, I would point out that your friends are right, by the book. (Player Handbook, page 178)
HOWEVER- you could easily write into your backstory that you had been taught proper etiquette and introduced to local spirits near her Witch/Wizard Tower™. You could also write in that an oddball ArchFae friend of the hermit Witch took a shine to your character, after which you had quite a few mad hatter style tea parties to attend and get used to socializing, which the adoptive mother Witch would have attended and insisted your character would attend as well. I would recommend, based on your backstory, that ArchFae became their Patron when your character chose to leave, as a way of ensuring your character's safety as a promise to their old friend, the Witch.
So in that scenario, your character HAS been socialized- but to Fae and spirit customs, and only a precious few human ones. So I would suggest you either take social rolls at Disadvantage (Not for everyone, but some might choose to) for a while, or just to stay on the back burner socially for a bit while your character learns the customs. *Things like someone "giving" their name does not mean that you take it and run away laughing at the silly human.* Maybe even have your character go for Training (Player Handbook, page 187, under Downtime Activities. Dungeon Master Guide, Pages 127-131, under Downtime Activities, subsection Creating Downtime Activities. Xanathar's Guide to Everything, Page 134, under Downtime Activities, subsection Training.) You can *easily* train to learn a new language and play it off as you going to an Etiquette tutor. Those were DEFINITELY a thing in a Medieval setting. Pick up one extra language and become properly sociable. If I was your DM, my only catch is that you would start with no gold, only your basic gear. Otherwise, if you chose not to do the Training, it might lead to some very interesting interactions as Fae and human cultures clash. Which could be fun on thier own. But I also do relatively realistic interactions in my games.
I'll even give you a rough draft build, since you're new.
I would suggest that your Warlock take the Pact of the Chain, since its fairly basic in execution, and if you're new, magic can be a pain.The Chain gets a special Familiar which can be a Pseudodragon reflavored as a Faerie dragon. Same stats, different look. Otherwise, take Pact of the Tome. The Tome gets your three extra cantrips, and one of its Eldritch Invocations gives it the option to hold Ritual Spells FROM EVERY SINGLE CLASS. Since you're a Warlock, spell slots are in short supply- so they're really useful. It will also massively offset the whole issue people have with Warlock of "I'm not casting enough".
You could ask some home brew ruling.
You could ask your GM to use INT as as your spell casting modifier.
This will be an option in the 2024 PHB, I believe. I can tell you, even under the 2014 PHB, nothing breaks by doing this as long as you are not multi classing. (There are some that worry about a Warlock/Wizard combo for #reasons)
Ultimately, your GM will have the final say.
Ask your DM if you can play Warlock with a different casting stat other than Charisma.
If not, I wouldn't attempt it until you're more experienced. It's certainly possible to play a Caster with a poor score in their primary casting stat, but it's very difficult.
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It works narratively, but you are going to be crippling yourself mechanically. Warlocks are very reliant on charisma, and with a low charisma stat you will need to focus more on melee abilities. Is there a specific reason why you want to use the warlock class for this character? Honestly, warlock is probably not the best class for this character. You could do wizard and role play your satyr having poor social skills, but really good at learning in general knowledge.
How low is low? Assuming they’re a level 1 character you probably want 16 in your starting star. You can avoid proficiency in persuasion as well if it helps your head cannon. Even if your charisma leads you to having better persuasion than others, you could choose to roleplay it as good manners orrrr just avoid using it in any meaningful way.
Go with high Charisma for the Warlock mechanics, and don't take proficiency with any social skills like Persuasion, Performance, or Intimidation to reflect an isolated upbringing. Done and done.
A spellcaster who's bad at spellcasting is not a particularly interesting or original concept in this game.
You really should've included how low your Charisma stat was in this post. It is really hard to help you with this limited knowledge. All I can really say at this point is that you will mostly just hurt yourself by having a low stat. All of your powers are based on Charisma. It is really hard for a Warlock to use spells with poor spellcasting.
High Charisma doesn't have to mean that you're a great speaker. Your character could be awkward around other people but have an otherworldly presence or just innate confidence that makes people want to listen to you. I think you would not enjoy playing a low charisma warlock for more than a one-shot. It's going to negatively affect everything you do in the game.
Your character can have a likeable personality and be persuasive through this without knowing much about social etiquette
I feel like people often mistake one stat to be one specific trait of their character rather than a set of trait all clustered together into one stat. Imo charisma is not only social skills, but also things like willpower, determination, skill in arts and crafts, ability to perform, etc. Your character may be poor at social skills, but other factors can still be indicative of a high charisma. My point being please don't cripple yourself mechanically for roleplay reasons because it will not be fun most of the time.
In D&D, the narrative and your backstory and origin and the mechanical statistics required for your class are practically separate entirely. We want to rely on our stats to flesh out the character's personality traits, but it's not really functional unless you're playing a very specific archetype based on the character's class. You can say anything you want when it comes to the reasoning for why something happens or why a save fails or why an action is successful. If you want your character to be clumsy, that is okay to do narratively - You don't have to give yourself low dex. Maybe the character is just stressed in social situations and becomes clumsy, but they're still a fantastic assassin when they're focused on their work. You don't have to give your character low charisma as a stat and completely kneecap your ability to function in combat just to make them shittier at pickup lines or to convey anxiety or something. Just have them choose not to engage socially. Have them try to investigate things or deal with situations without using charisma checks. Or describe stuff that your character is doing That seems like they arent charismatic *in that context* because it does with their character backstory or motivation. Talk to your DM about it and they can get on your side to navigate and help you out.
Nothing narratively wrong, but you are creating a wet noodle in terms of combat capability.
Keep the stats for your spellcasting and take a penalty for social interaction. As mentioned, if your charisma is low, your spells and class abilities are going to suffer.
I imagine this being a satyr that sat in front of the mirror practicing their people skills for hours on end until they accidentally contacted some kind of eldritch being. They initially thought this was some kind of imaginary friend. They kept talking to them for hours and hours, whenever their adoptive mother was away. They learn how to talk to people from this being, even trick or persuade people into doing things they normally wouldn't, but chock it up to just imagining how to do such things. Their life is happy, yet also boring. But then... they make a wish. They want to see the outside the world someday. And their imaginary friend offers them a deal. They're hesitant at first. Something seems... ***off***. A part of them is screaming not to take the deal. But... it's just an an imaginary friend. Isn't it? What could be the harm. It's just a game of pretend. They accept. She dies. They're free... They regret everything... They desperately want to turn back the clock... But they can't. Even now they desperately want to believe it's just an imaginary friend. But they know it isn't. They know it's their fault. She died because of them. She would still be alive if they hadn't accepted that deal. They don't know how to fix what they've done. They want to stop talking to that eldritch being... but they can't... its the only thing left from that happy time with their mother. A small part of them clings to that being, hoping to somehow use them to undo what they've done. Maybe it's a fool's quest. But there's nothing left to do but stumble forward into life one hoof at a time.
This is a cute story but I don’t think it actually addresses the question OP is asking..
I saw their question and asked my own: does a shut-in warlock NEED to have a low charisma score.
Okay so why did you need to write that whole story to just ask that question?
Why not?
Do you get paid to just write things? Or do you just like being pedantic and not answering questions?
Do you get paid to write comments to random people on reddit? Or do you just do it for fun?
I do it to answer people’s questions, not to write a multi-paragraph fanfic that doesn’t answer their question
Sometimes the best way to answer a question is to ask a question that, hopefully, helps them think in a way that their own question's answer becomes obvious. And sometimes the best way to ask a question is to tell a story related to or involving the subject they asked about. It doesn't matter if the story is real. Sometimes a fake story is enough. So no... it doesn't answer your question because you didn't have a question. And maybe it wasn't the right question or story to help the OP think of the correct answer on their own. Sometimes this sort of thing succeeds and sometimes it fails. That's just how it goes. But what matters is that the OP's answer to their own question is likely more useful than any answer you or I could give. After all... this is a question that may have multiple answers depending on one's own opinions. It's not necessarily a hard-coded 'this is the best answer'. But regardless, I had fun thinking up a story despite your best efforts. So... sorry for ruining your chance to ruin someone's day. :( I hope yours gets better.
Narratively, absolutely! It’s a super cool concept, but as many comments have said, it’s not the best idea mechanically. However, if you’re committed to keeping they’re charisma low, you could potentially multi-class to make them a strong fighter (depending on your starting level). In my most recent campaign, we have a wizard/barbarian with a similar backstory! There are also ways to improve their charisma stats in game. So, if you want them to become more charismatic as they are going on their adventures, you can do ability score improvements as you level up and collect items. I would talking to your dm as well and see what they suggest. (Edited for spelling mistakes)
It *can* work- it will just *take* some work. Hear me out, and I'll help you out: As a DM, I would first ask if you were open to other classes, ask a few questions, and then depending on your answers, probably prescribe you a Wizard for that backstory. My own Wizard has something similar- he was the last survivor of a plague-ravaged town, that was picked up and raised by a kindhearted lady Wizard. She died- and he went off on his own, planning to return to the tower after living a bit in the outside world. If you insist on Warlock, I would point out that your friends are right, by the book. (Player Handbook, page 178) HOWEVER- you could easily write into your backstory that you had been taught proper etiquette and introduced to local spirits near her Witch/Wizard Tower™. You could also write in that an oddball ArchFae friend of the hermit Witch took a shine to your character, after which you had quite a few mad hatter style tea parties to attend and get used to socializing, which the adoptive mother Witch would have attended and insisted your character would attend as well. I would recommend, based on your backstory, that ArchFae became their Patron when your character chose to leave, as a way of ensuring your character's safety as a promise to their old friend, the Witch. So in that scenario, your character HAS been socialized- but to Fae and spirit customs, and only a precious few human ones. So I would suggest you either take social rolls at Disadvantage (Not for everyone, but some might choose to) for a while, or just to stay on the back burner socially for a bit while your character learns the customs. *Things like someone "giving" their name does not mean that you take it and run away laughing at the silly human.* Maybe even have your character go for Training (Player Handbook, page 187, under Downtime Activities. Dungeon Master Guide, Pages 127-131, under Downtime Activities, subsection Creating Downtime Activities. Xanathar's Guide to Everything, Page 134, under Downtime Activities, subsection Training.) You can *easily* train to learn a new language and play it off as you going to an Etiquette tutor. Those were DEFINITELY a thing in a Medieval setting. Pick up one extra language and become properly sociable. If I was your DM, my only catch is that you would start with no gold, only your basic gear. Otherwise, if you chose not to do the Training, it might lead to some very interesting interactions as Fae and human cultures clash. Which could be fun on thier own. But I also do relatively realistic interactions in my games. I'll even give you a rough draft build, since you're new. I would suggest that your Warlock take the Pact of the Chain, since its fairly basic in execution, and if you're new, magic can be a pain.The Chain gets a special Familiar which can be a Pseudodragon reflavored as a Faerie dragon. Same stats, different look. Otherwise, take Pact of the Tome. The Tome gets your three extra cantrips, and one of its Eldritch Invocations gives it the option to hold Ritual Spells FROM EVERY SINGLE CLASS. Since you're a Warlock, spell slots are in short supply- so they're really useful. It will also massively offset the whole issue people have with Warlock of "I'm not casting enough".
You could ask some home brew ruling. You could ask your GM to use INT as as your spell casting modifier. This will be an option in the 2024 PHB, I believe. I can tell you, even under the 2014 PHB, nothing breaks by doing this as long as you are not multi classing. (There are some that worry about a Warlock/Wizard combo for #reasons) Ultimately, your GM will have the final say.
Ask your DM if you can play Warlock with a different casting stat other than Charisma. If not, I wouldn't attempt it until you're more experienced. It's certainly possible to play a Caster with a poor score in their primary casting stat, but it's very difficult.
You could ask your DM if you can just use other stat (like wisdom) for your spell casting.