I'm still relatively new to the game, but I've been playing around with melee builds, and when my friend introduced me to Shadow Blade...it seemed to me that it greatly out-damages all regular melee weapons. Should this spell (taking 3-4 caster levels) + War Caster feat now be a standard part of any melee build? or is there something I'm missing?
The classes that get it are kind of limited in how much they can actually get out of it's melee. Wizards and Sorcerers both are pretty frail, and usually want to hang farther back and kite enemies. So already, melee classes already have something they won't have in the form of durability.
Most of the Melee classes get some kind of bonus to their damage through their class features. All the martial-classes except for Rogue get Multiattack, Rogue gets sneak attack, and many other features can keep them scaling a bit more (Barbarian's Brutal Critical, Paladin's improved divine smite, etc). Often a melee build is helped out more by just staying in one class just to get more of those features, rather than biding a ton of time just for that one spell.
As a side-note, it isn't uncommon to take the magic initiate feat for the spell Hex, which gets a similar result without the same commitment.
Also, depending on how the DM runs the campaign, it's common to get +1 to +3 magic weapons, which put your regular ol' Greatsword or Rapier close to on-par with Shadow Blade anyway.
But would a +3 Greatsword really rival a shadow blade cast at a 6th or 7th level slot (4d8/5d8)? (I've never leveled far enough to wield anything like that, so I'm asking honestly.)
For these examples I'm going to assume level 13, where you'd be just barely high enough level to cast it at 7th level.
On it's own, no it couldn't. But that's because a 6th or 7th level spell slot is a large part of a spellcaster's power budget, spells are the lifeblood of spellcasters. In practice, the guy wielding that +3 Greatsword will have other features in their class boosting it up in place of spells, the 1d12+3 is not happening in a vacuum.
For comparison, I'll use a Paladin of the same level, using a Rapier to help smooth out the math a bit. He's doing 1d8+ STR mod as a base, +3 from it being a magic item, and another 1d8 from improved divine smite. Going to wing it and say he has +4 STR by this point. That means he's doing 2d8 +7 damage per attack, and since he gets Multiattack then that is 4d8 + 14 per round. A d8 gets 4.5 on average, so that +14 is equivalent to roughly 3 d8s, thus they will be doing (Very roughly) 7d8 damage per round.
At most, spellcasters tend to have a +2 or 3 to their dex, but even if they had a 4, then that would just be 4d8+4 or 5d8+4 (Roughly equivalent to 5d8 or 6d8)
Also keep in mind, that Shadow Blade only lasts a minute! 6th and 7th level spell-slots are the spellcaster's highest level spell-slots by this point, meaning they are precious resources that they need to use wisely. It will only last them 2 combat encounters, since they only have 1 spell slot each for level 6 and 7 spells. Meanwhile, that Paladin can just spam the attack action as much as they like, dealing that comparable damage every single turn without having to worry about it running out of juice.
Brief overview of other melee(Weapon) classes: Fighter: They get a 3rd attack per round, and if they have the same weapon and STR mod as the Paladin example, then the third attack does similar damage to what the Paladin gets from the 2d8s (With the Magic weapon mod adding another +3 on top of it)
Rogue: Haven't played much at all, but the 7d6 sneak attack + the base attack seems to put them on similar footing
Barbarian: Also haven't played enough Barbarian, but the Rage damage bonus likely causes this to average out to something similar
Grandpa, that makes total sense! However, what if the Paladin you spoke of was, instead, multi-classed to (let's say) 8 paladin, 4 sorcerer, and 1 War Cleric. He could easily spare the high slot to cast shadow blade...then he could still stack divine smite damage on top of every swing. He would no longer need GWM, so he could just pick up War Caster to insure keeping his conc up. He could also keep his shield. And with 1 level of War Cleric (and, say, 14 in WIS) he can even swing the blade on 2 bonus actions. It's THIS scenario that makes me wonder why this paladin would even think about wielding a regular weapon. On the other hand, it's entirely possible that there is something I'm missing. Would love to hear thoughts.
An 8 paladin/4 sourcerer/1 cleric wouldn't have any spell slots higher than 2nd level... at that level, the weapon does 2d8, so a BIT more than a +3 rapier (1d8+3) per attack but not really that much. (2d8 is on average 9 damage per hit, 1d8+3 is on average 7.5 per hit). Sure, that's fine for a 2nd level spell slot, but not necessarily better than just using a weapon and then using the spell slot on something else.
An 8 paladin/4 sourcerer/1 cleric wouldn't have any spell slots higher than 2nd level... at that level, the weapon does 2d8, so a BIT more than a +3 rapier (1d8+3) per attack but not really that much. (2d8 is on average 9 damage per hit, 1d8+3 is on average 7.5 per hit). Sure, that's fine for a 2nd level spell slot, but not necessarily better than just using a weapon and then using the spell slot on something else.
Such a character would use the multiclass spellcaster table on p165 of the Players Handbook. According to the rules on p164, he'd add all of Sorcerer and Cleric levels (4+1=5) and half his Paladin levels (8/2 =4) for a total of 9 caster levels, which would give him spell slots up to 5th level. Shadow Blade does 4d8 at that level.
...what if the Paladin you spoke of was, instead, multi-classed to (let's say) 8 paladin, 4 sorcerer, and 1 War Cleric.
Such a character would have spread their ability scores around, with all of Strength, Wisdom and Charisma requiring 13 or more. They are not likely to have Strength of 20, which a single-classed level 13 paladin or fighter might have. They have one 5th level slot. If they use it for shadow blade then its gone until the next day.
Compared to a level 13 paladin, the multiclass has given up improved divine smite (+1d8 radiant on every single attack with a melee weapon, all day. Unlike divine smite, this applies to thrown melee weapons (javelins, hand axes, etc.) They also lose the immunity to being frightened.
They have less hit points than the single class paladin, and don't have as much of a healing pool to recover when they are hit.
All for the use of one spell.
On the other hand, the spell does do psychic damage, which is really, really good.
It's a tradeoff, but then again, all multiclassing is a tradeoff.
As Greenstone_Walker mentioned, there are trade offs to multi-classing (also fewer ASIs) which may or may not be worth it to you. However, if you are a melee character that can use it without multi-classing, namely Arcane Trickster, Eldritch Knight, and Bladesinger, then you should use it frequently.
One of the character's I've recently made will be a Bladesinger almost built to use Shadow Blade focussing on Dexterity and Intelligence. Bladesinging buffs up the AC and Concentration saves by letting you add Intelligence to them. Also +10 movement. So it becomes quite capable in melee.
Could be a bit tough because Bladesinging and Shadow Blade are both Bonus Actions and only last 1 minute each. So you're only going to get 9 rounds of both. That and a Bladesinger only gets two attacks - as opposed to an Eldritch Knight who could get up to 4 - with an Action Surge if they so choose.
I think the Eldritch Knight probably gets the most out of Shadow Blade, in spite of their rather slow spellcasting progression. A dex-based EK with the Dueling fighting style will be able to get Shadow Blade at 8th level, and at 9th level they'll do 3d8+7 damage twice per attack action. Total damage: 6d8+14. Compare with other casters who can only attack once; their Shadow Blade damage maxes out at 5d8+(mods).
I think the Eldritch Knight probably gets the most out of Shadow Blade, in spite of their rather slow spellcasting progression. A dex-based EK with the Dueling fighting style will be able to get Shadow Blade at 8th level, and at 9th level they'll do 3d8+7 damage twice per attack action. Total damage: 6d8+14. Compare with other casters who can only attack once; their Shadow Blade damage maxes out at 5d8+(mods).
Don't Eldritch Knights still only have second level spells at level 9? So they would still be getting 2d8 from it? Bladesingers get extra attack at level 6 so they could attack twice as well and at level 9 they have a 5th level spell slot for 4d8 damage from Shadow Blade. If they had 20 Dex they could be doing 8d8+10 at level 9.
I think the Eldritch Knight probably gets the most out of Shadow Blade, in spite of their rather slow spellcasting progression. A dex-based EK with the Dueling fighting style will be able to get Shadow Blade at 8th level, and at 9th level they'll do 3d8+7 damage twice per attack action. Total damage: 6d8+14. Compare with other casters who can only attack once; their Shadow Blade damage maxes out at 5d8+(mods).
Don't Eldritch Knights still only have second level spells at level 9? So they would still be getting 2d8 from it? Bladesingers get extra attack at level 6 so they could attack twice as well and at level 9 they have a 5th level spell slot for 4d8 damage from Shadow Blade. If they had 20 Dex they could be doing 8d8+10 at level 9.
EK and AT don't get a third level slot until 13th level. Arcane Tricksters don't get extra attack, but when you combine it with Booming Blade and sneak attack you end up with 2d8+5+5d6+1d8 (+2d8 if they move). So at the arbitrary 9th level (assuming hits) EK would average 32, BS 46, and AT 36 or 45 if they move.
I think the Eldritch Knight probably gets the most out of Shadow Blade, in spite of their rather slow spellcasting progression. A dex-based EK with the Dueling fighting style will be able to get Shadow Blade at 8th level, and at 9th level they'll do 3d8+7 damage twice per attack action. Total damage: 6d8+14. Compare with other casters who can only attack once; their Shadow Blade damage maxes out at 5d8+(mods).
Don't Eldritch Knights still only have second level spells at level 9? So they would still be getting 2d8 from it? Bladesingers get extra attack at level 6 so they could attack twice as well and at level 9 they have a 5th level spell slot for 4d8 damage from Shadow Blade. If they had 20 Dex they could be doing 8d8+10 at level 9.
EK and AT don't get a third level slot until 13th level. Arcane Tricksters don't get extra attack, but when you combine it with Booming Blade and sneak attack you end up with 2d8+5+5d6+1d8 (+2d8 if they move). So at the arbitrary 9th level (assuming hits) EK would average 32, BS 46, and AT 36 or 45 if they move.
Yeah, the EK's spellcasting advances slower than I recalled. Every once in a while I consider playing one, then I'm reminded of this and come to my senses.
Shadow Blade is definitely a very cool spell, but it's not without its trade-offs. The blade's attacks aren't made using your casting stat, so focusing on a weapon attack stat(likely Dex) may mean your casting stat isn't as high as you'd like it to be. It's also a concentration spell, and you'll likely be in melee range, meaning your Concentration saves need to be strong. That means one or more of: a high Con, proficiency in Con saves via your starting Class or the Resilient feat, the War Caster feat. Plus you'll want to have all the typical defensive power of a regular melee combatant, which is often a weak spot for caster classes. And let's not forget that the weapon does psychic damage. There are a few monsters that resist psychic, and more than are immune(mostly, but by no means exclusively Constructs). If you come up against a Sphinx or a Golem for example, that Shadow Blade will be useless. :) As far as I can tell, magical Bludgeoning or Piercing damage are the only types that nothing is immune to. Plus, Shadow Blade is subject to all the usual ways of suppressing spellcasting, like Silence. And it uses a limited resource, spell slots. A warhammer never runs out of swings :)
It's a potentially very potent spell, but it doesn't make anything obsolete.
If my caster ends up in melee I'd rather thunder step out of there than shadow blade. I'd go warlock if I wanted to fight like this. I built a 14 warlock/4 sorcerer/2 fighter I'm waiting for the right opportunity to use. Dragon sorcerer for 13.+ dex AC and 1 HP per level.
Let's use the level 13 as example. Half-elf point buy 15 dex, 15 Con, 15 Cha 7 warlock/4 sorcerer/2 fighter. Improved pact weapon and thirsting blade.(not the best build starting at level 1.) Pact of the blade.
Great sword using charisma for atk/dmg modifier and it's a +1 if your DM isn't handing out magic items.
Great weapon fighting style
Great weapon master
Quicken green flame blade and action surge gets you 5 attacks in in 1 round.(you can stack empowered with quickened and reroll damage dice as well.)
Green flame blade-2d6+5(CHA 19)+2d8+10(GWM) in addition to 2d8 + 5 to second target.
4 attacks x 2d6 + 5 + 10
Was this a big bad worthy of blowing your spell slots?
Odds are, you're gonna miss some but still pretty impressive. Good news is that the first time you hit the creature eldritch smite knocks him prone. Advantage.
If they failed their save on staggering smite, you can get out of there without an opportunity attack. Warlock slots are gone but you've got sorcerer slots for shield and can sit back and agonizing eldritch blast for 3d10 +12
With shield spell AC 21. Bracers of defense makes 23 if you're fortunate enough to pick them up.
If you were willing to use your smites you probably used your Hexblade curse on him. Crit on 19 and 20, proficiency bonus to damage rolls. If you happen to kill him, you regain hit points.
(Add 20 dmg if you hit with all 5) of course realistically, subtract 10 for your first strike since you prob wont use GWM until you knock them prone.
I believe that's 155 avg dmg in that round if all hit, no crits and you use GWM 4 times. That's also not taking into account rerolling damage dice but does include dmg to the second target.
I'm sure it will get picked apart but I'm ready to try this. I love role playing subpar stats. I'm sure some will have a problem with my point buy. Anyhow, I'm curious if I made some mistakes or assumptions.
Edited: I made to silly mistakes on the first post.
Quicken green flame blade and action surge gets you 5 attacks in in 1 round.(you can stack empowered with quickened and reroll damage dice as well.)
How do you get to 5 attacks? I count 3 - Cast a Spell Action, Cast a Spell Action (second Action from Action Surge), Cast a Spell Bonus Action (Quickened).
As far as staggering smite, an alternative is to using concentration for hex, which gives bonus damage on every attack. I guess which one you use dpeends on how many targets there are, since transferring hex requires a bonus action after a death.
Quicken green flame blade and action surge gets you 5 attacks in in 1 round.(you can stack empowered with quickened and reroll damage dice as well.)
How do you get to 5 attacks? I count 3 - Cast a Spell Action, Cast a Spell Action (second Action from Action Surge), Cast a Spell Bonus Action (Quickened).
As far as staggering smite, an alternative is to using concentration for hex, which gives bonus damage on every attack. I guess which one you use dpeends on how many targets there are, since transferring hex requires a bonus action after a death.
I'm assuming they're not doing 5 Green Flame Blades, but rather two regular attacks per action (from Thirsting Blade), plus one quickened Green Flame Blade.
Tonio's got it. Thirsting blade gives an extra attack.
You're only casting one spell, green flame blade and you quickened it to cast as a bonus action which still leaves you 2 attacks plus 2 attacks from action surge.
There's a lot of ifs involved in my scenario. Still having your warlock slots being the biggest. Beautiful thing is that you can cast hex, if you go that route, with a sorcerer slot. Then you've still got another eldritch smite to lay down in another round.
It's not perfect(paladin outshines it on just about every level) but I like the versatility and love the backstory I created for the character. I'm playing my first wizard and my first sorcerer in two separate games right now. This will be my first Warlock when I use it.
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I'm still relatively new to the game, but I've been playing around with melee builds, and when my friend introduced me to Shadow Blade...it seemed to me that it greatly out-damages all regular melee weapons. Should this spell (taking 3-4 caster levels) + War Caster feat now be a standard part of any melee build? or is there something I'm missing?
The classes that get it are kind of limited in how much they can actually get out of it's melee. Wizards and Sorcerers both are pretty frail, and usually want to hang farther back and kite enemies. So already, melee classes already have something they won't have in the form of durability.
Most of the Melee classes get some kind of bonus to their damage through their class features. All the martial-classes except for Rogue get Multiattack, Rogue gets sneak attack, and many other features can keep them scaling a bit more (Barbarian's Brutal Critical, Paladin's improved divine smite, etc). Often a melee build is helped out more by just staying in one class just to get more of those features, rather than biding a ton of time just for that one spell.
As a side-note, it isn't uncommon to take the magic initiate feat for the spell Hex, which gets a similar result without the same commitment.
Also, depending on how the DM runs the campaign, it's common to get +1 to +3 magic weapons, which put your regular ol' Greatsword or Rapier close to on-par with Shadow Blade anyway.
interesting, I'll look at that.
But would a +3 Greatsword really rival a shadow blade cast at a 6th or 7th level slot (4d8/5d8)? (I've never leveled far enough to wield anything like that, so I'm asking honestly.)
For these examples I'm going to assume level 13, where you'd be just barely high enough level to cast it at 7th level.
On it's own, no it couldn't. But that's because a 6th or 7th level spell slot is a large part of a spellcaster's power budget, spells are the lifeblood of spellcasters. In practice, the guy wielding that +3 Greatsword will have other features in their class boosting it up in place of spells, the 1d12+3 is not happening in a vacuum.
For comparison, I'll use a Paladin of the same level, using a Rapier to help smooth out the math a bit. He's doing 1d8+ STR mod as a base, +3 from it being a magic item, and another 1d8 from improved divine smite. Going to wing it and say he has +4 STR by this point. That means he's doing 2d8 +7 damage per attack, and since he gets Multiattack then that is 4d8 + 14 per round. A d8 gets 4.5 on average, so that +14 is equivalent to roughly 3 d8s, thus they will be doing (Very roughly) 7d8 damage per round.
At most, spellcasters tend to have a +2 or 3 to their dex, but even if they had a 4, then that would just be 4d8+4 or 5d8+4 (Roughly equivalent to 5d8 or 6d8)
Also keep in mind, that Shadow Blade only lasts a minute! 6th and 7th level spell-slots are the spellcaster's highest level spell-slots by this point, meaning they are precious resources that they need to use wisely. It will only last them 2 combat encounters, since they only have 1 spell slot each for level 6 and 7 spells. Meanwhile, that Paladin can just spam the attack action as much as they like, dealing that comparable damage every single turn without having to worry about it running out of juice.
Brief overview of other melee(Weapon) classes:
Fighter: They get a 3rd attack per round, and if they have the same weapon and STR mod as the Paladin example, then the third attack does similar damage to what the Paladin gets from the 2d8s (With the Magic weapon mod adding another +3 on top of it)
Rogue: Haven't played much at all, but the 7d6 sneak attack + the base attack seems to put them on similar footing
Barbarian: Also haven't played enough Barbarian, but the Rage damage bonus likely causes this to average out to something similar
Grandpa, that makes total sense! However, what if the Paladin you spoke of was, instead, multi-classed to (let's say) 8 paladin, 4 sorcerer, and 1 War Cleric. He could easily spare the high slot to cast shadow blade...then he could still stack divine smite damage on top of every swing. He would no longer need GWM, so he could just pick up War Caster to insure keeping his conc up. He could also keep his shield. And with 1 level of War Cleric (and, say, 14 in WIS) he can even swing the blade on 2 bonus actions. It's THIS scenario that makes me wonder why this paladin would even think about wielding a regular weapon. On the other hand, it's entirely possible that there is something I'm missing. Would love to hear thoughts.
An 8 paladin/4 sourcerer/1 cleric wouldn't have any spell slots higher than 2nd level... at that level, the weapon does 2d8, so a BIT more than a +3 rapier (1d8+3) per attack but not really that much. (2d8 is on average 9 damage per hit, 1d8+3 is on average 7.5 per hit). Sure, that's fine for a 2nd level spell slot, but not necessarily better than just using a weapon and then using the spell slot on something else.
Such a character would use the multiclass spellcaster table on p165 of the Players Handbook. According to the rules on p164, he'd add all of Sorcerer and Cleric levels (4+1=5) and half his Paladin levels (8/2 =4) for a total of 9 caster levels, which would give him spell slots up to 5th level. Shadow Blade does 4d8 at that level.
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Such a character would have spread their ability scores around, with all of Strength, Wisdom and Charisma requiring 13 or more. They are not likely to have Strength of 20, which a single-classed level 13 paladin or fighter might have. They have one 5th level slot. If they use it for shadow blade then its gone until the next day.
Compared to a level 13 paladin, the multiclass has given up improved divine smite (+1d8 radiant on every single attack with a melee weapon, all day. Unlike divine smite, this applies to thrown melee weapons (javelins, hand axes, etc.) They also lose the immunity to being frightened.
They have less hit points than the single class paladin, and don't have as much of a healing pool to recover when they are hit.
All for the use of one spell.
On the other hand, the spell does do psychic damage, which is really, really good.
It's a tradeoff, but then again, all multiclassing is a tradeoff.
As Greenstone_Walker mentioned, there are trade offs to multi-classing (also fewer ASIs) which may or may not be worth it to you. However, if you are a melee character that can use it without multi-classing, namely Arcane Trickster, Eldritch Knight, and Bladesinger, then you should use it frequently.
One of the character's I've recently made will be a Bladesinger almost built to use Shadow Blade focussing on Dexterity and Intelligence. Bladesinging buffs up the AC and Concentration saves by letting you add Intelligence to them. Also +10 movement. So it becomes quite capable in melee.
Could be a bit tough because Bladesinging and Shadow Blade are both Bonus Actions and only last 1 minute each. So you're only going to get 9 rounds of both. That and a Bladesinger only gets two attacks - as opposed to an Eldritch Knight who could get up to 4 - with an Action Surge if they so choose.
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I think the Eldritch Knight probably gets the most out of Shadow Blade, in spite of their rather slow spellcasting progression. A dex-based EK with the Dueling fighting style will be able to get Shadow Blade at 8th level, and at 9th level they'll do 3d8+7 damage twice per attack action. Total damage: 6d8+14. Compare with other casters who can only attack once; their Shadow Blade damage maxes out at 5d8+(mods).
DICE FALL, EVERYONE ROCKS!
Don't Eldritch Knights still only have second level spells at level 9? So they would still be getting 2d8 from it?
Bladesingers get extra attack at level 6 so they could attack twice as well and at level 9 they have a 5th level spell slot for 4d8 damage from Shadow Blade. If they had 20 Dex they could be doing 8d8+10 at level 9.
Mega Yahtzee Thread:
Highest 41: brocker2001 (#11,285).
Yahtzee of 2's: Emmber (#36,161).
Lowest 9: JoeltheWalrus (#312), Emmber (#12,505) and Dertinus (#20,953).
EK and AT don't get a third level slot until 13th level. Arcane Tricksters don't get extra attack, but when you combine it with Booming Blade and sneak attack you end up with 2d8+5+5d6+1d8 (+2d8 if they move). So at the arbitrary 9th level (assuming hits) EK would average 32, BS 46, and AT 36 or 45 if they move.
Yeah, the EK's spellcasting advances slower than I recalled. Every once in a while I consider playing one, then I'm reminded of this and come to my senses.
DICE FALL, EVERYONE ROCKS!
Shadow Blade is definitely a very cool spell, but it's not without its trade-offs. The blade's attacks aren't made using your casting stat, so focusing on a weapon attack stat(likely Dex) may mean your casting stat isn't as high as you'd like it to be. It's also a concentration spell, and you'll likely be in melee range, meaning your Concentration saves need to be strong. That means one or more of: a high Con, proficiency in Con saves via your starting Class or the Resilient feat, the War Caster feat. Plus you'll want to have all the typical defensive power of a regular melee combatant, which is often a weak spot for caster classes. And let's not forget that the weapon does psychic damage. There are a few monsters that resist psychic, and more than are immune(mostly, but by no means exclusively Constructs). If you come up against a Sphinx or a Golem for example, that Shadow Blade will be useless. :) As far as I can tell, magical Bludgeoning or Piercing damage are the only types that nothing is immune to. Plus, Shadow Blade is subject to all the usual ways of suppressing spellcasting, like Silence. And it uses a limited resource, spell slots. A warhammer never runs out of swings :)
It's a potentially very potent spell, but it doesn't make anything obsolete.
If my caster ends up in melee I'd rather thunder step out of there than shadow blade. I'd go warlock if I wanted to fight like this. I built a 14 warlock/4 sorcerer/2 fighter I'm waiting for the right opportunity to use. Dragon sorcerer for 13.+ dex AC and 1 HP per level.
Let's use the level 13 as example. Half-elf point buy 15 dex, 15 Con, 15 Cha 7 warlock/4 sorcerer/2 fighter. Improved pact weapon and thirsting blade.(not the best build starting at level 1.) Pact of the blade.
Great sword using charisma for atk/dmg modifier and it's a +1 if your DM isn't handing out magic items.
Great weapon fighting style
Great weapon master
Quicken green flame blade and action surge gets you 5 attacks in in 1 round.(you can stack empowered with quickened and reroll damage dice as well.)
Green flame blade-2d6+5(CHA 19)+2d8+10(GWM) in addition to 2d8 + 5 to second target.
4 attacks x 2d6 + 5 + 10
Was this a big bad worthy of blowing your spell slots?
Eldritch smite - 5d8 force dmg
Staggering smite - cast the previous round - 4d6 psychic dmg.
Odds are, you're gonna miss some but still pretty impressive. Good news is that the first time you hit the creature eldritch smite knocks him prone. Advantage.
If they failed their save on staggering smite, you can get out of there without an opportunity attack. Warlock slots are gone but you've got sorcerer slots for shield and can sit back and agonizing eldritch blast for 3d10 +12
With shield spell AC 21. Bracers of defense makes 23 if you're fortunate enough to pick them up.
If you were willing to use your smites you probably used your Hexblade curse on him. Crit on 19 and 20, proficiency bonus to damage rolls. If you happen to kill him, you regain hit points.
(Add 20 dmg if you hit with all 5) of course realistically, subtract 10 for your first strike since you prob wont use GWM until you knock them prone.
I believe that's 155 avg dmg in that round if all hit, no crits and you use GWM 4 times. That's also not taking into account rerolling damage dice but does include dmg to the second target.
I'm sure it will get picked apart but I'm ready to try this. I love role playing subpar stats. I'm sure some will have a problem with my point buy. Anyhow, I'm curious if I made some mistakes or assumptions.
Edited: I made to silly mistakes on the first post.
Well, there seems to be a lot more involved in this than I thought. Thanks so much to everyone for sharing! Very educational!
How do you get to 5 attacks? I count 3 - Cast a Spell Action, Cast a Spell Action (second Action from Action Surge), Cast a Spell Bonus Action (Quickened).
As far as staggering smite, an alternative is to using concentration for hex, which gives bonus damage on every attack. I guess which one you use dpeends on how many targets there are, since transferring hex requires a bonus action after a death.
I'm assuming they're not doing 5 Green Flame Blades, but rather two regular attacks per action (from Thirsting Blade), plus one quickened Green Flame Blade.
Tonio's got it. Thirsting blade gives an extra attack.
You're only casting one spell, green flame blade and you quickened it to cast as a bonus action which still leaves you 2 attacks plus 2 attacks from action surge.
There's a lot of ifs involved in my scenario. Still having your warlock slots being the biggest. Beautiful thing is that you can cast hex, if you go that route, with a sorcerer slot. Then you've still got another eldritch smite to lay down in another round.
It's not perfect(paladin outshines it on just about every level) but I like the versatility and love the backstory I created for the character. I'm playing my first wizard and my first sorcerer in two separate games right now. This will be my first Warlock when I use it.