Im playing an Eldritch Knight using the 2024 edition rules and was looking into the War Magic class feature. Looking at as writen it states that a level 7 when take the attack action you can replace one of the attacks with a cantrip that has a casting time of one action. Then at level 18 you get Improved War Magic allowing you to replace two of your attacks with a spell of 1st or 2nd. So I was wondering if a Level 20 Eldritch Knight could, when taking the attack action, cast a spell (1-2 level) then also cast a cantrip sacrificing three attacks and still get off one normal attack with whatever weapon they're welding? Was I understanding that correctly or would you have to choose one or the other when using the War Magic feature.
Yes, you can use both features in the same action. You could on your turn take the Attack action, replace the first two attacks with a leveled spell like Cloud of Daggers, then replace another attack with a cantrip like Booming Blade, then use your last attack to make a regular weapon attack.
I also agree with the above but would note that War Magic is usable once per attack action, meaning when using action surge, you can use it twice. However Improved War Magic would be usable only once per turn due to the one spell slot per turn rule.
I also agree with the above but would note that War Magic is usable once per attack action, meaning when using action surge, you can use it twice. However Improved War Magic would be usable only once per turn due to the one spell slot per turn rule.
What if the person with Improved War Magic has some feature that allows them to cast a level 1 or 2 spell without expending a spell slot (e.g., sorcery points, racial spell casting)?
(Lest you think I am picking on you because of our earlier interactions, I assure you I am not. I am trying to decide how to handle such situations myself).
I also agree with the above but would note that War Magic is usable once per attack action, meaning when using action surge, you can use it twice. However Improved War Magic would be usable only once per turn due to the one spell slot per turn rule.
What if the person with Improved War Magic has some feature that allows them to cast a level 1 or 2 spell without expending a spell slot (e.g., sorcery points, racial spell casting)?
(Lest you think I am picking on you because of our earlier interactions, I assure you I am not. I am trying to decide how to handle such situations myself).
If there were such a feature then it'd be usable in this way but I don't think there would be any that you can get with 18 levels of fighters being a requirement for improved war magic and it being limited to Wizard Spells, I guess somebody might argue using Magic Initiative (Wizard) but I do not believe spells acquired in that way would count as Wizard spells persay.
(and don't worry about things from other threads, I don't hold em personally, I also am to blame for it anyway, partly to do with stress from other areas of my life).
I also agree with the above but would note that War Magic is usable once per attack action, meaning when using action surge, you can use it twice. However Improved War Magic would be usable only once per turn due to the one spell slot per turn rule.
What if the person with Improved War Magic has some feature that allows them to cast a level 1 or 2 spell without expending a spell slot (e.g., sorcery points, racial spell casting)?
(Lest you think I am picking on you because of our earlier interactions, I assure you I am not. I am trying to decide how to handle such situations myself).
If there were such a feature then it'd be usable in this way but I don't think there would be any that you can get with 18 levels of fighters being a requirement for improved war magic and it being limited to Wizard Spells, I guess somebody might argue using Magic Initiative (Wizard) but I do not believe spells acquired in that way would count as Wizard spells persay.
(and don't worry about things from other threads, I don't hold em personally, I also am to blame for it anyway, partly to do with stress from other areas of my life).
A class’s spell list specifies the spells that belong to the class. For example, a Sorcerer spell is a spell on the Sorcerer spell list, and if a Sorcerer knows spells that aren’t on that list, those spells aren’t Sorcerer spells unless a feature says otherwise.
I also agree with the above but would note that War Magic is usable once per attack action, meaning when using action surge, you can use it twice. However Improved War Magic would be usable only once per turn due to the one spell slot per turn rule.
What if the person with Improved War Magic has some feature that allows them to cast a level 1 or 2 spell without expending a spell slot (e.g., sorcery points, racial spell casting)?
(Lest you think I am picking on you because of our earlier interactions, I assure you I am not. I am trying to decide how to handle such situations myself).
If there were such a feature then it'd be usable in this way but I don't think there would be any that you can get with 18 levels of fighters being a requirement for improved war magic and it being limited to Wizard Spells, I guess somebody might argue using Magic Initiative (Wizard) but I do not believe spells acquired in that way would count as Wizard spells persay.
(and don't worry about things from other threads, I don't hold em personally, I also am to blame for it anyway, partly to do with stress from other areas of my life).
I think that actually works
The EK Spellcasting feature doesn't have the same "If another Wizard feature gives you spells that you always have prepared... those spells otherwise count as Wizard spells for you" language that a Wizard's does, for obvious reasons -- they aren't a wizard. The effect of that though, it that whether something "counts as a Wizard spell" is actually irrelevant for them -- to qualify for Improved War Magic, it just has to be on the Wizard spell list
So pretty much any feat that lets you cast a level 1 spell without a spell slot would qualify (Fey Touched etc), so long as the spell in question is on the Wizard spell list. Spells from magic items might work too, unless you want to get into the weeds on whether they actually count as "your" spells
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Active characters:
Edoumiaond Willegume "Eddie" Podslee, Vegetanian scholar (College of Spirits bard) Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric) Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator (Assassin rogue) Peter "the Pied Piper" Hausler, human con artist/remover of vermin (Circle of the Shepherd druid) Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
Well given that, I'd say that feats that give you a relevant spell would work for Improved War Magic to be able to cast 2 levelled spells on the same turn with Action Surge, since you're not violating the 1 spell slot per turn rule.
Well given that, I'd say that feats that give you a relevant spell would work for Improved War Magic to be able to cast 2 levelled spells on the same turn with Action Surge, since you're not violating the 1 spell slot per turn rule.
You actually wouldn't need to use action surge to replace two spells. There is no hard limit on how many times you can use Improved War Magic in a turn (or the same action for that matter), just a soft limit due to the one spell with a spell slot per turn rule. If you did use Action Surge, you could theoretically take the Attack action twice in one turn, replacing all 8 attacks with 4 spells (3 from features with free castings, 1 using a spell slot).
For Example, An Abyssal Tiefling Eldritch Knight with Shadow Touched:
And potentially even more castings with two uses of Action Surge:
Level 2: Action Surge
You can push yourself beyond your normal limits for a moment. On your turn, you can take one additional action, except the Magic action.
Once you use this feature, you can’t do so again until you finish a Short or Long Rest. Starting at level 17, you can use it twice before a rest but only once on a turn.
I also agree with the above but would note that War Magic is usable once per attack action, meaning when using action surge, you can use it twice. However Improved War Magic would be usable only once per turn due to the one spell slot per turn rule.
Normally these sorts of features do not consume spell slots. For example, a Warrior of Shadow Monk can cast Darkness despite the fact that they have no spell slots.
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Im playing an Eldritch Knight using the 2024 edition rules and was looking into the War Magic class feature. Looking at as writen it states that a level 7 when take the attack action you can replace one of the attacks with a cantrip that has a casting time of one action. Then at level 18 you get Improved War Magic allowing you to replace two of your attacks with a spell of 1st or 2nd. So I was wondering if a Level 20 Eldritch Knight could, when taking the attack action, cast a spell (1-2 level) then also cast a cantrip sacrificing three attacks and still get off one normal attack with whatever weapon they're welding? Was I understanding that correctly or would you have to choose one or the other when using the War Magic feature.
Yes, you can use both features in the same action. You could on your turn take the Attack action, replace the first two attacks with a leveled spell like Cloud of Daggers, then replace another attack with a cantrip like Booming Blade, then use your last attack to make a regular weapon attack.
That's my reading. Level 18: Improved War Magic is in addition to Level 7: War Magic, not a replacement.
EDIT: ups, ninja'd by Sequilonis!
I also agree with the above but would note that War Magic is usable once per attack action, meaning when using action surge, you can use it twice. However Improved War Magic would be usable only once per turn due to the one spell slot per turn rule.
What if the person with Improved War Magic has some feature that allows them to cast a level 1 or 2 spell without expending a spell slot (e.g., sorcery points, racial spell casting)?
(Lest you think I am picking on you because of our earlier interactions, I assure you I am not. I am trying to decide how to handle such situations myself).
If there were such a feature then it'd be usable in this way but I don't think there would be any that you can get with 18 levels of fighters being a requirement for improved war magic and it being limited to Wizard Spells, I guess somebody might argue using Magic Initiative (Wizard) but I do not believe spells acquired in that way would count as Wizard spells persay.
(and don't worry about things from other threads, I don't hold em personally, I also am to blame for it anyway, partly to do with stress from other areas of my life).
Well...
EDIT: (you're both awesome!)
I think that actually works
The EK Spellcasting feature doesn't have the same "If another Wizard feature gives you spells that you always have prepared... those spells otherwise count as Wizard spells for you" language that a Wizard's does, for obvious reasons -- they aren't a wizard. The effect of that though, it that whether something "counts as a Wizard spell" is actually irrelevant for them -- to qualify for Improved War Magic, it just has to be on the Wizard spell list
So pretty much any feat that lets you cast a level 1 spell without a spell slot would qualify (Fey Touched etc), so long as the spell in question is on the Wizard spell list. Spells from magic items might work too, unless you want to get into the weeds on whether they actually count as "your" spells
Active characters:
Edoumiaond Willegume "Eddie" Podslee, Vegetanian scholar (College of Spirits bard)
Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric)
Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator (Assassin rogue)
Peter "the Pied Piper" Hausler, human con artist/remover of vermin (Circle of the Shepherd druid)
Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
Well given that, I'd say that feats that give you a relevant spell would work for Improved War Magic to be able to cast 2 levelled spells on the same turn with Action Surge, since you're not violating the 1 spell slot per turn rule.
You actually wouldn't need to use action surge to replace two spells. There is no hard limit on how many times you can use Improved War Magic in a turn (or the same action for that matter), just a soft limit due to the one spell with a spell slot per turn rule. If you did use Action Surge, you could theoretically take the Attack action twice in one turn, replacing all 8 attacks with 4 spells (3 from features with free castings, 1 using a spell slot).
For Example, An Abyssal Tiefling Eldritch Knight with Shadow Touched:
Attack - Hold Person (Tiefling Legacy) then Ray of Sickness (Tiefling Legacy)
Action Surge
Attack - Color Spray (Shadow Touched) then Scorching Ray (with a spell slot)
And potentially even more castings with two uses of Action Surge:
Normally these sorts of features do not consume spell slots. For example, a Warrior of Shadow Monk can cast Darkness despite the fact that they have no spell slots.