I haven't done anything D&D for a long time, and just now trying to get back into it. I like 5e, and am making an Eldritch Knight character for myself. Before in 4e, I made a Swordmage character that literally came from a different universe, where he harnessed the power of raw energy to his will. I RP this character as a fragment that was thrusted into the D&D world, as I do the same with many other games I RP him into like Skyrim or Divinity Sin, to name the most recent. The RPing aspect starts to get weird for me while I'm making him and I think about how he's gonna have to memorize his spells and is limited in the way wizards are, when story-wise the powers are innate abilities for him. I'm thinking of Primordial energies as the main focus of power RP wise, even making a custom background that I would post once I know where by rule it belongs, as I need help finishing the balancing and the flaws, ideals, etc. The Sorcerer's Wild Magic is halfway what my character is about, as he struggles to contain this power inside this fraction of himself, in a world that is wholly different than his own. Not looking to implement that into the him, just a good example of his energy powers. I've looked online for a week now, and still haven't found anything that could be close to a Sorcerer style Eldritch Knight, everywhere I look only points to multi-classing. Sorry this is long, been in the mindset of story and backgrounds, but I would appreciate any help on how I can make a Sorcerer casting Eldritch Knight. Also, if able, point me to the correct area to post for help on finishing a background.
Simplified: How can I modify it where an Eldritch Knight does magic like a Sorcerer instead of a Wizard, as if the magic he uses isn't practiced, but inside him already.
In case more explaining is needed of how I'm trying to RP it, here is the first paragraph of his backstory and first sentence of his appearance:
Backstory: He was found by a noble Elf lying in a charred crater with nothing but a serpentine bladed sword and an uncomprehending letter next to him. The elf that found him took him in and cared for him for 3 weeks before he awoke. Upon waking, a surge of raw energy expels from him in many forms, damaging those near him and destroying the room he was in, leaving a huge hole in the side of the home.
Appearance: Tall, Athletic Slim, blood red hair and red eyes. Skin looks scarred from fissures appearing on him, and they frequently glow or shimmer from the energy inside.
I think you're getting too caught up in 'Wizard' vs 'Sorcerer'. I don't think there's anything about the EK subclass that says it's an, 'ink stained studios practitioner of magic' over a 'innately powerful being who calls forth and manipulates arcane forces at will'. An EK doesn't use a spell book or memorize a subset of spells known. Instead they know a set amount of spells and have slots they can use to cast those spells, just like a sorcerer. All that is really left is to use the Sorcerer spell list instead of the wizard spell list and to use Charisma instead of Intelligence as his casting stat (a negligible change).
My current group has an EK doing just this, and he's picked up some levels of Wild Magic Sorcerer to get access to spell points and more spell slots. He's a fire Gensai with no idea what his origin is and the wild magic is expressed as him wielding powers entirely unfamiliar to him.
I did this with Arcane Trickster rogue. Make a Homebrew fighter subclass using Eldritch Knight as the template then change to sorcerer spell list and charisma as the ability score for your spells. You won't be able to make it public but it only takes a few minutes to make for yourself
I think the advice of ckelly and Unruly_Cow are the easiest way to do what you want. I'm just going to give my opinion on the topic:
I personally don't like doing this, for the same reason I don't like being able to change the element/save type on spells. There is usually a reason these things are the way they are. I think that Sorcerers and Wizards fundamentally function differently. This means that the EK using wizard spells vs sorcerer spells should be different (not just changing the main ability and spell list).
An example of this in the case of spells is wanting to cast Fireball, but using acid damage instead. The spell Vitriolic Sphere already exists, and by allowing Fireball to be casts as an acid spell lessens the value of Vitriolic Sphere. Both spells are similar, but behave differently because of their damage type.
This being said, DnD is a game that allows you to have a lot of creative freedom with your characters, and I think that is more important than forcing you to go with subclass that doesn't fit what you want for your character.
ckelly717 is right, I was too caught up in thinking. I was thinking too much about it when mechanically only the spell list and the casting ability is the difference. I spent so long brainstorming and story writing that my mind went to tunnel vision. The Eldritch Knight class description says they are like practiced wizards that memorize, and I focused too much on that, when the game mechanics work just fine. I could RP that the spells are learned, not studied. Thanks for the post, and the help. I do like that multi-classing into Sorcerer you mentioned, giving sorcery points would make it seem as if he is controlling magic instead of just using magic.
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I haven't done anything D&D for a long time, and just now trying to get back into it. I like 5e, and am making an Eldritch Knight character for myself. Before in 4e, I made a Swordmage character that literally came from a different universe, where he harnessed the power of raw energy to his will. I RP this character as a fragment that was thrusted into the D&D world, as I do the same with many other games I RP him into like Skyrim or Divinity Sin, to name the most recent. The RPing aspect starts to get weird for me while I'm making him and I think about how he's gonna have to memorize his spells and is limited in the way wizards are, when story-wise the powers are innate abilities for him. I'm thinking of Primordial energies as the main focus of power RP wise, even making a custom background that I would post once I know where by rule it belongs, as I need help finishing the balancing and the flaws, ideals, etc. The Sorcerer's Wild Magic is halfway what my character is about, as he struggles to contain this power inside this fraction of himself, in a world that is wholly different than his own. Not looking to implement that into the him, just a good example of his energy powers. I've looked online for a week now, and still haven't found anything that could be close to a Sorcerer style Eldritch Knight, everywhere I look only points to multi-classing. Sorry this is long, been in the mindset of story and backgrounds, but I would appreciate any help on how I can make a Sorcerer casting Eldritch Knight. Also, if able, point me to the correct area to post for help on finishing a background.
Simplified: How can I modify it where an Eldritch Knight does magic like a Sorcerer instead of a Wizard, as if the magic he uses isn't practiced, but inside him already.
In case more explaining is needed of how I'm trying to RP it, here is the first paragraph of his backstory and first sentence of his appearance:
Backstory: He was found by a noble Elf lying in a charred crater with nothing but a serpentine bladed sword and an uncomprehending letter next to him. The elf that found him took him in and cared for him for 3 weeks before he awoke. Upon waking, a surge of raw energy expels from him in many forms, damaging those near him and destroying the room he was in, leaving a huge hole in the side of the home.
Appearance: Tall, Athletic Slim, blood red hair and red eyes. Skin looks scarred from fissures appearing on him, and they frequently glow or shimmer from the energy inside.
I think you're getting too caught up in 'Wizard' vs 'Sorcerer'. I don't think there's anything about the EK subclass that says it's an, 'ink stained studios practitioner of magic' over a 'innately powerful being who calls forth and manipulates arcane forces at will'. An EK doesn't use a spell book or memorize a subset of spells known. Instead they know a set amount of spells and have slots they can use to cast those spells, just like a sorcerer. All that is really left is to use the Sorcerer spell list instead of the wizard spell list and to use Charisma instead of Intelligence as his casting stat (a negligible change).
My current group has an EK doing just this, and he's picked up some levels of Wild Magic Sorcerer to get access to spell points and more spell slots. He's a fire Gensai with no idea what his origin is and the wild magic is expressed as him wielding powers entirely unfamiliar to him.
I did this with Arcane Trickster rogue. Make a Homebrew fighter subclass using Eldritch Knight as the template then change to sorcerer spell list and charisma as the ability score for your spells. You won't be able to make it public but it only takes a few minutes to make for yourself
I think the advice of ckelly and Unruly_Cow are the easiest way to do what you want. I'm just going to give my opinion on the topic:
I personally don't like doing this, for the same reason I don't like being able to change the element/save type on spells. There is usually a reason these things are the way they are. I think that Sorcerers and Wizards fundamentally function differently. This means that the EK using wizard spells vs sorcerer spells should be different (not just changing the main ability and spell list).
An example of this in the case of spells is wanting to cast Fireball, but using acid damage instead. The spell Vitriolic Sphere already exists, and by allowing Fireball to be casts as an acid spell lessens the value of Vitriolic Sphere. Both spells are similar, but behave differently because of their damage type.
This being said, DnD is a game that allows you to have a lot of creative freedom with your characters, and I think that is more important than forcing you to go with subclass that doesn't fit what you want for your character.
ckelly717 is right, I was too caught up in thinking. I was thinking too much about it when mechanically only the spell list and the casting ability is the difference. I spent so long brainstorming and story writing that my mind went to tunnel vision. The Eldritch Knight class description says they are like practiced wizards that memorize, and I focused too much on that, when the game mechanics work just fine. I could RP that the spells are learned, not studied. Thanks for the post, and the help. I do like that multi-classing into Sorcerer you mentioned, giving sorcery points would make it seem as if he is controlling magic instead of just using magic.