Hey there fellow Dungeon Dwelvers and Dragon Slayers!
I am coming to you with a silent plea for help. Is it silent if it's written? Hmm... Well regardless! I am playing a Dwarven Fighter who is also a schollar of the ancient magics of his people in a homebrew campaign lead by my dear friend. And I have encountered a small problem, as I haven't played a melee focused class so far. Hence this topic and my inquiry to all of you more advanced players. But first the character presantation.
Str: 19 / Dex: 14 / Con: 16 / Int: 16 / Wis: 13 / Cha: 12 (yes those were rolled and I got lucky on the results)
Spells known: 0 lvl Mending, Mold Earth; 1 lvl Absorb Elements, Color Spray, Detect Magic, Protection from Evil and Good;
He is using a Warhammer and a Shield, and is currently wearing a Chain Mail he got from the starting equipment. That puts him at a +6 to hit in melee and 18 AC. He can impose disadvantage as a Reaction if an ally is being attacked and he is within 5ft of said ally. Safe to say he is a bearded boulder between the baddies and the rest of the team. Since level 3 he is able to cast a few spells, but nothing major for now. He still focuses on being a melee bully, that he does so well. So here are the questions I currently have, since we just reached level 4 and the first feat choice.
Would it be better to stick to Chain Mail and possibly pick the Heavy Armor Master feat, or swap to a Half Plate? The later would actually give me 19 AC with the +2 from Dexterity, but no
Is the Shield Master feat worth it? Dexterity saving throws are kind of common in D&D and he is always wearing a shield, also the total negation of area damage on successful save is very tempting.
Considering the fact, I am not going to pick Polearm Master, is still going for Sentinel a good idea?
Regarding the spell choices, should I focus on those with long term effects or those like Absorb Elements, triggered by Reactions and such? With the amount of spell slots, it feels like each use of a spell should be meaningful, hence I went for the heavy crowd controll as well as potentially buffing my Cleric or Warlock with the Protection. I find myself using the Reaction for the Protection fighting style of the Fighter a lot.
I have a level 2 fighter with Heavy Armor Master. At low levels it's kept me up and absorbing damage very, very well. I would stick with it for sure.
SPELLS: Shield is gold.
How are you going to cast spells? With a shield [not the spell], it's really messy. It's easier with a 2-handed weapon until you get the war caster feat. [Which is maybe more of a priority than shield master]
Spell choice: if you are going to be in melee, it may be hard to use control spells for your action if you are busy pounding things.
If you have access to the SCAG, pick up the booming blade and green flame blade cantrips.
With Weapon Bond, you could drop your weapon, cast a spell (ones with somatic and material components) and then use your bonus action to summon it to your hand. You could just pick it up instead, but having it teleport to your hand is a better visual.
Spells that use your reaction are going to be a problem without Warcaster. I’m not sure if you can just drop the weapon or not since it isn’t your turn.
How could I have forgotten about War Caster... Already picked it. It's crucial, as I read a bit into the EK mechanics, and there is a bit of an issue with them. Without the feat, they cannot cast with a weapon'n'shield combo.
From what I found out, Eldritch Knight cannot use a Spell Focus and their Bonded Weapon is not an Arcane Focus either. Which means they require a component pouch and a free hand for picking up the components and casting the spells. Am thinking of picking up Shield Master on level 6. Dexterity Save is common and the ability to avoid damage from Fireballs is massive.
Is War Caster mandatory, if my EK PC uses a two-handed sword? Since his main attacks are going to be either melee (+ GFB) or Chromatic Orb... or Reactions like Shield or Absorb Elements... I'm assuming he can take one hand off the sword, and do the the material/somatic stuff with his off-hand?
Is War Caster mandatory, if my EK PC uses a two-handed sword? Since his main attacks are going to be either melee (+ GFB) or Chromatic Orb... or Reactions like Shield or Absorb Elements... I'm assuming he can take one hand off the sword, and do the the material/somatic stuff with his off-hand?
According to raw, you can take off a hand off a two handed weapon without any actions used. So you could cast without war caster.
great point! two handed EKs have much less to benefit from warcaster, however, the OP claimed a shield using protection fighting style.
remember every character is different, it just takes one or two choices to completely change the build.
right, right - sorry to hijack the OP's specific question. Since my PC uses a 2-handed Greatsword, a physical shield is pretty much off the table.
I am not angry or anything :P
Topic can easily serve for future reference for anyone searching for an EK build.
As of my Dwarf, for now I picked up Plate Armor and the Shield Master feat. I am happy with dropping the weapon, casting and recalling it as bonus action for now.
The means I found to cast while having both hands occupied:
Spells that have only Verbal components.
War Caster feat.
Ruby of the Warmage.
Dropping the weapon, casting the spell and burning Bonus Action to recall the weapon back to your hand.
Hey there fellow Dungeon Dwelvers and Dragon Slayers!
I am coming to you with a silent plea for help. Is it silent if it's written? Hmm... Well regardless! I am playing a Dwarven Fighter who is also a schollar of the ancient magics of his people in a homebrew campaign lead by my dear friend. And I have encountered a small problem, as I haven't played a melee focused class so far. Hence this topic and my inquiry to all of you more advanced players. But first the character presantation.
Mountain Dwarf / Protection Fighter / Eldritch Knight / Level 4
Str: 19 / Dex: 14 / Con: 16 / Int: 16 / Wis: 13 / Cha: 12 (yes those were rolled and I got lucky on the results)
Spells known: 0 lvl Mending, Mold Earth; 1 lvl Absorb Elements, Color Spray, Detect Magic, Protection from Evil and Good;
He is using a Warhammer and a Shield, and is currently wearing a Chain Mail he got from the starting equipment. That puts him at a +6 to hit in melee and 18 AC. He can impose disadvantage as a Reaction if an ally is being attacked and he is within 5ft of said ally. Safe to say he is a bearded boulder between the baddies and the rest of the team. Since level 3 he is able to cast a few spells, but nothing major for now. He still focuses on being a melee bully, that he does so well. So here are the questions I currently have, since we just reached level 4 and the first feat choice.
I have a level 2 fighter with Heavy Armor Master. At low levels it's kept me up and absorbing damage very, very well. I would stick with it for sure.
SPELLS: Shield is gold.
How are you going to cast spells? With a shield [not the spell], it's really messy. It's easier with a 2-handed weapon until you get the war caster feat. [Which is maybe more of a priority than shield master]
Spell choice: if you are going to be in melee, it may be hard to use control spells for your action if you are busy pounding things.
If you have access to the SCAG, pick up the booming blade and green flame blade cantrips.
If you want to use concentration spells, war caster beats shield master.
Melee casters need Warcaster feat.
Perpetually annoyed that Eldritch Knights can't use Eldritch Blast, Eldritch Smite, and Eldritch Sight.
With Weapon Bond, you could drop your weapon, cast a spell (ones with somatic and material components) and then use your bonus action to summon it to your hand. You could just pick it up instead, but having it teleport to your hand is a better visual.
Spells that use your reaction are going to be a problem without Warcaster. I’m not sure if you can just drop the weapon or not since it isn’t your turn.
How could I have forgotten about War Caster... Already picked it. It's crucial, as I read a bit into the EK mechanics, and there is a bit of an issue with them. Without the feat, they cannot cast with a weapon'n'shield combo.
From what I found out, Eldritch Knight cannot use a Spell Focus and their Bonded Weapon is not an Arcane Focus either. Which means they require a component pouch and a free hand for picking up the components and casting the spells. Am thinking of picking up Shield Master on level 6. Dexterity Save is common and the ability to avoid damage from Fireballs is massive.
Not that it matters, but if you can find a Ruby of the War Mage, you can use a weapon as a focus. (For Wiz spells anyway.)
1. The Heavy Armor Master feat gives you +1 strength which leads to an even str 20 for you. I would do that.
2. Shield Master is worth it but man options compete for your next feat.
3. I think Sentinel offers something you kind of already have with spells and protection. I was never a fan, personally.
4.You need one of each to cover your own needs, then you can shore up any holes the party has for utility, IMO
Warcaster is definitely something you should consider but Heavy Armor Master is what I would take first.
Jesus Saves!... Everyone else takes damage.
Is War Caster mandatory, if my EK PC uses a two-handed sword?
Since his main attacks are going to be either melee (+ GFB) or Chromatic Orb... or Reactions like Shield or Absorb Elements... I'm assuming he can take one hand off the sword, and do the the material/somatic stuff with his off-hand?
According to raw, you can take off a hand off a two handed weapon without any actions used. So you could cast without war caster.
great point! two handed EKs have much less to benefit from warcaster, however, the OP claimed a shield using protection fighting style.
remember every character is different, it just takes one or two choices to completely change the build.
Jesus Saves!... Everyone else takes damage.
right, right - sorry to hijack the OP's specific question. Since my PC uses a 2-handed Greatsword, a physical shield is pretty much off the table.
I am not angry or anything :P
Topic can easily serve for future reference for anyone searching for an EK build.
As of my Dwarf, for now I picked up Plate Armor and the Shield Master feat. I am happy with dropping the weapon, casting and recalling it as bonus action for now.
The means I found to cast while having both hands occupied: