Half-Orc Gish: EK, Valor Bard, Bladelock, multiclass or something else?

[randomodo]

I tend to build non-stereotypical characters; the campain in which I was a high elf battlemaster seems to have fizzled, so I'm looking at joining a new game (it's likely to go to level 10 or so).

Thinking about a half-orc gish, but I haven't really thought through the class options yet. The racial part is due to the vagaries of the particular homebrew setting and is somewhat important for storyline reasons, so I'm pretty set on being a half orc.

So, if I want to gish, my initial thoughts are
- Level of fighter, maybe two (armor proficiencies, action surge, second wind), then go wizard (or warlock, or bard)
- Pure EK
- Pure bard
- Bladelock. My initial impression, though, is that blade pact warlocks are pretty suboptimal, though fiend pact with warcaster, false life/armor of agathys (or however you spell it), and a greataxe might be interesting

Thoughts on this concept?

[Madfellow]

I think the half-orc would synergize best with the Eldritch Knight. The Str and Con bonuses, Relentless Endurance, and Save Attacks all scream, "Put me on the front lines so I can hit things with my axe!" The Valor Bard sacrifices combat specialization for versatility, and the Blade Warlock focuses more on blasting.

Just my thoughts.

[Scirocco]

Agreed on EK; there's some pretty good synergy there with the half-orc.

You should probably opt for not multi-classing as your proper fighter-mage stuff will come online quicker. Multi-classing seems to work much better in a high level game.

[koga305]

Agreed that Eldritch Knight's primary features synergize best with the Half-Orc and being a frontline fighter.
That said, it might be worth taking a level or two of Wizard somewhere in there to help your spell slots and selection - the Abjurer L2 ability in particular would add a fair bit to your survivability while being very thematic.

[Rummy]

I tend to build non-stereotypical characters; the campain in which I was a high elf battlemaster seems to have fizzled, so I'm looking at joining a new game (it's likely to go to level 10 or so).

Thinking about a half-orc gish, but I haven't really thought through the class options yet. The racial part is due to the vagaries of the particular homebrew setting and is somewhat important for storyline reasons, so I'm pretty set on being a half orc.

So, if I want to gish, my initial thoughts are
- Level of fighter, maybe two (armor proficiencies, action surge, second wind), then go wizard (or warlock, or bard)
- Pure EK
- Pure bard
- Bladelock. My initial impression, though, is that blade pact warlocks are pretty suboptimal, though fiend pact with warcaster, false life/armor of agathys (or however you spell it), and a greataxe might be interesting

Thoughts on this concept?

First level as Fighter then blade lock all the way. Take fiend, fiendish resilience, armor of Agathys, heavy armor master. You with be formidable. Much more tanking ability early on than the other builds. Hex helps boost your damage. Darkness + Devil's sight is wonderful in certain situations.

EK gets seriously tanky at 7th level with Bladeward + bonus attack.

[Rummy]

First level as Fighter then blade lock all the way. Take fiend, fiendish resilience, armor of Agathys, heavy armor master. You with be formidable. Much more tanking ability early on than the other builds. Remember, casting False Life at will pretty much guarantees that you start each fight with at least 8 THP. Hex helps boost your damage. Darkness + Devil's sight is wonderful in certain situations.

EK gets seriously tanky at 7th level with Bladeward + bonus attack.

EK also is really hard to hit once he gets Blur up and running.

[Baveboi]

I think each would be a different feeling, overall. EK is really a fighter that can use magic to buff his staying power, mainly. Bard of Valor is kind of the other way around the spectrum; a caster that can shine in melee just as well as from afar, more often than not. And Warlock will really shine in a skirmishing light, with plenty of space to maneuver and with what I came to understand as "Eldar trickery".

Note, even wizards with armor proficiency can be really goddamn tanky. The thought of a battlefield wizard wearing medium armor, holding a shield in one hand and charging a fireball in the other is really awesome one.

There is a whole lot of customization you can do with the classes, with either their mechanics and their fluff, from divine to arcane and to trickery-based (like monks, rogues and warlocks). It all falls ultimately to what is your image of a Gish and what is the image you want your character to evoke in your friends eyes and your enemies hearts.

[CyberThread]

If your starting at level one, I think warlock may be the way to go.



You get to bring your powers online now and frequently. Bards are more utlilty and don't get melee until later levels, fighters EK don't get spells worth crap until later levels, then again.



How about a paladin ?

[Rummy]

If your starting at level one, I think warlock may be the way to go.



You get to bring your powers online now and frequently. Bards are more utlilty and don't get melee until later levels, fighters EK don't get spells worth crap until later levels, then again.



How about a paladin ?

Rangers and Paladins wait to level two for spells too, not so different than starting as a fighter and them going warlock. I don't recommend going blade lock without the first level as fighter or first two as paladin.

[CyberThread]

The quality of the paladins spell list and speed is I think superiour to the ek.