Nargrakhan
2014-11-08, 04:42 PM
First off a disclaimer: I'm not a D&D expert, just a dirty casual, so my style probably doesn't appeal to everyone or make the most of game mechanics. This was also my very first real play-through with 5e. Everything stated is just an opinion and what I experienced during our campaign. With that out the way... :smallbiggrin:
My inspiration/concept was to create an iaijutsu swordsman like those seen in action oriented Japanimation. It was the Arcane Charge feature that convinced me going the Eldritch Knight route. That technique is exactly like the move anime characters use to suddenly appear behind an opponent faster than the eye can see... and the spellcasting aspect was just icing on the cake.
Started at 1st level. The GM allowed us to determine abilities scores using the 27-point building method. We were instructed to use the "official" Backgrounds provided in the Player's Handbook, but could pick the choices associated within them, rather than roll dice. Feats were allowed. With those guidelines my character was as follow:
Human (variant), Lawful Neutral
Str 14, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 10
Common, Dwarvish, Elvish
Background: Guild Artisan (smiths and metal-forgers)
Personality: I believe that anything worth doing is worth doing right. I can't help it -- I'm a perfectionist.
Ideal: Aspiration. I work hard to be the best there is at my craft.
Bond: I created a great work for someone, and then found them unworthy to receive it. I am still looking for someone worthy.
Flaw: I'm never satisfied with what I have -- I always want more.
Character was a bladesmith who wanted to master not just creating swords, but also using them in battle. What better way to determine the quality of a sword and forging the perfect blade, than actually testing it's worth in combat?
Other party members were a paladin, rouge, and wizard (a pacifistic illusionist - more on that later).
My level progression, which I'll get into a little more detail shortly, was as follow:
1st: Feat (Alert), Skill (Acrobatics), Great Weapon Fighting
3rd: Eldritch Knight, Spell (blade ward, expeditious retreat, magic missile, shield, true strike)
4th: +2 Strength, Spell (protection from evil and good)
6th: +2 Strength
7th: Spell (mage armor)
8th: Feat (War Caster), Spell (magic weapon)
10th: Spell (darkness, light)
11th: Spell (arcane lock)
12th: +2 Strength
13th: Spell (protection from energy)
14th: Feat (Great Weapon Mastery), Spell (haste)
16th: +2 Dexterity, Spell (sending)
19th: +2 Dexterity, Spell (otiluke's resilient sphere)
20th: Spell (greater invisibility)
Short rundown on the COMBAT aspect of the character. RP'ing wise, I think he was totally awesome. :smallsmile:
Levels 1 - 2: Not much to report on. My high Initiative was certainly the character's greatest advantage, and perfectly fit the iaijutsu concept. To be honest though, I think the GM and other players considered it a bit OP at the time. No one openly complained, but it was just a sense I got. Nonetheless, just standard smash and bash duty (but always going first).
Levels 3 - 7: My initial Like A Boss™ phase. The spells choices were solid and worked as I imagined them to, though expeditious retreat gets extra special mention for the awesome maneuverability tactics. Having Dash and +8 Initiative gave great synergy. Early on, blade ward made me more tanky than Con 14 should have allowed. Picked up mage armor because the DM was starting to develop an unhealthy love for Rust Monsters, and that spell helped me love them right back. Also fit the character concept: those cool anime iaijutsu swordsmen tend to wear robes and not full armor.
Level 8: Hard choice for my unrestricted spell. Mirror image was a front runner, but the GM made it obvious that magic items were ultra rare and unlikely our party would get to permanently own them. That pushed magic weapon as my choice. While the party wizard could cast it since level 3, she was RP'ing a pacifist illusionist who hesitated on contributing to violence, even if it was indirect (and wanted that spell slot for an illusion spell). The party paladin was also competing to get it casted on him. Thus the choice made me self sufficient in this regard (always a plus).
The War Caster feat was too important to pass up now... Before, losing a cantrip to a failed concentration roll was no big deal. Losing a 1 hour duration spell? Not so awesome.
Level 9 - 13: These were the Dark Times™. Because of my Intelligence score, choices of viable spells from an already limited pool were dismal. In addition, the War Magic and Eldritch Strike features were completely useless to my build for the same reasons. I was not completely useless, as I had somewhat foreseen this period and boosted my Strength to be a good smasher... but it often seemed the other party members had better moments. They were casting more powerful spells, doing coolers stuff, and I was just hitting harder. If it wasn't for my high Initiative and Speed, I'd have been entirely miserable. Getting the wizard to cast haste on me was a big deal... but the Paladin wanted it too, and since he did things better in some regards, it was better spent on him.
Level 14 - 15: That noise? It's what a Can of Woop Ass™ sounds like when opened. Stopped begging the wizard and competing against the paladin for haste -- I could do it myself. Great Weapon Mastery, because my Strength bonus could counterbalance the penalty with true strike (and the crit/kill bonus attack of course). Then I finally got Arcane Charge. It's good to be Like A Boss™ again. :smallamused:
I'm probably over exaggerating what really happened. It was just having levels that actually got me good stuff, was a great change. Plus... I was finally that anime warrior I wanted to be! :smallcool:
Level 16 to 20: Maxed out Initiative, as I was beginning to slip into second place during (unlucky?) rolls. Sending was a "meh" choice as far as spell slots were concerned; otiluke's resilient sphere and greater invisibility most certainly not (plus casting magic weapon for +2). On the other hand, the wizard had been casting these since level 5 and level 7... so they weren't game changing and kinda anticlimactic. However I must say that expeditious retreat (or haste) + Arcane Charge + 10 Initiative + haste or greater invisibility from the party wizard is hella fun.
Overall Opinion: I felt the Eldritch Knight build started out very awesome. However once I hit level 9, the power curve took effect. Because I went the low Int route, none of the meat-and-potatoes Evocation and Abjuration spells were workable. That made the "middle block" of class features completely useless. Things picked up after level 14. I didn't need the wizard for buffs (which felt great), but when the wizard did buff me, things died really fast... and I was suddenly the better choice over the paladin, because I could have haste + whatever at the same time.
That being said, I'm of the opinion this Eldritch Knight turned out alright and was a good first attempt. His strength was from buffing spells and being able to force multiply that advantage by stacking buffs if there's another caster. If not? No big deal... he's self sufficient like that. If I found a way to leverage the War Magic and Eldritch Strike features (i.e. actually have decent Int), those middle levels would have certainly been more fun.
My inspiration/concept was to create an iaijutsu swordsman like those seen in action oriented Japanimation. It was the Arcane Charge feature that convinced me going the Eldritch Knight route. That technique is exactly like the move anime characters use to suddenly appear behind an opponent faster than the eye can see... and the spellcasting aspect was just icing on the cake.
Started at 1st level. The GM allowed us to determine abilities scores using the 27-point building method. We were instructed to use the "official" Backgrounds provided in the Player's Handbook, but could pick the choices associated within them, rather than roll dice. Feats were allowed. With those guidelines my character was as follow:
Human (variant), Lawful Neutral
Str 14, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 10
Common, Dwarvish, Elvish
Background: Guild Artisan (smiths and metal-forgers)
Personality: I believe that anything worth doing is worth doing right. I can't help it -- I'm a perfectionist.
Ideal: Aspiration. I work hard to be the best there is at my craft.
Bond: I created a great work for someone, and then found them unworthy to receive it. I am still looking for someone worthy.
Flaw: I'm never satisfied with what I have -- I always want more.
Character was a bladesmith who wanted to master not just creating swords, but also using them in battle. What better way to determine the quality of a sword and forging the perfect blade, than actually testing it's worth in combat?
Other party members were a paladin, rouge, and wizard (a pacifistic illusionist - more on that later).
My level progression, which I'll get into a little more detail shortly, was as follow:
1st: Feat (Alert), Skill (Acrobatics), Great Weapon Fighting
3rd: Eldritch Knight, Spell (blade ward, expeditious retreat, magic missile, shield, true strike)
4th: +2 Strength, Spell (protection from evil and good)
6th: +2 Strength
7th: Spell (mage armor)
8th: Feat (War Caster), Spell (magic weapon)
10th: Spell (darkness, light)
11th: Spell (arcane lock)
12th: +2 Strength
13th: Spell (protection from energy)
14th: Feat (Great Weapon Mastery), Spell (haste)
16th: +2 Dexterity, Spell (sending)
19th: +2 Dexterity, Spell (otiluke's resilient sphere)
20th: Spell (greater invisibility)
Short rundown on the COMBAT aspect of the character. RP'ing wise, I think he was totally awesome. :smallsmile:
Levels 1 - 2: Not much to report on. My high Initiative was certainly the character's greatest advantage, and perfectly fit the iaijutsu concept. To be honest though, I think the GM and other players considered it a bit OP at the time. No one openly complained, but it was just a sense I got. Nonetheless, just standard smash and bash duty (but always going first).
Levels 3 - 7: My initial Like A Boss™ phase. The spells choices were solid and worked as I imagined them to, though expeditious retreat gets extra special mention for the awesome maneuverability tactics. Having Dash and +8 Initiative gave great synergy. Early on, blade ward made me more tanky than Con 14 should have allowed. Picked up mage armor because the DM was starting to develop an unhealthy love for Rust Monsters, and that spell helped me love them right back. Also fit the character concept: those cool anime iaijutsu swordsmen tend to wear robes and not full armor.
Level 8: Hard choice for my unrestricted spell. Mirror image was a front runner, but the GM made it obvious that magic items were ultra rare and unlikely our party would get to permanently own them. That pushed magic weapon as my choice. While the party wizard could cast it since level 3, she was RP'ing a pacifist illusionist who hesitated on contributing to violence, even if it was indirect (and wanted that spell slot for an illusion spell). The party paladin was also competing to get it casted on him. Thus the choice made me self sufficient in this regard (always a plus).
The War Caster feat was too important to pass up now... Before, losing a cantrip to a failed concentration roll was no big deal. Losing a 1 hour duration spell? Not so awesome.
Level 9 - 13: These were the Dark Times™. Because of my Intelligence score, choices of viable spells from an already limited pool were dismal. In addition, the War Magic and Eldritch Strike features were completely useless to my build for the same reasons. I was not completely useless, as I had somewhat foreseen this period and boosted my Strength to be a good smasher... but it often seemed the other party members had better moments. They were casting more powerful spells, doing coolers stuff, and I was just hitting harder. If it wasn't for my high Initiative and Speed, I'd have been entirely miserable. Getting the wizard to cast haste on me was a big deal... but the Paladin wanted it too, and since he did things better in some regards, it was better spent on him.
Level 14 - 15: That noise? It's what a Can of Woop Ass™ sounds like when opened. Stopped begging the wizard and competing against the paladin for haste -- I could do it myself. Great Weapon Mastery, because my Strength bonus could counterbalance the penalty with true strike (and the crit/kill bonus attack of course). Then I finally got Arcane Charge. It's good to be Like A Boss™ again. :smallamused:
I'm probably over exaggerating what really happened. It was just having levels that actually got me good stuff, was a great change. Plus... I was finally that anime warrior I wanted to be! :smallcool:
Level 16 to 20: Maxed out Initiative, as I was beginning to slip into second place during (unlucky?) rolls. Sending was a "meh" choice as far as spell slots were concerned; otiluke's resilient sphere and greater invisibility most certainly not (plus casting magic weapon for +2). On the other hand, the wizard had been casting these since level 5 and level 7... so they weren't game changing and kinda anticlimactic. However I must say that expeditious retreat (or haste) + Arcane Charge + 10 Initiative + haste or greater invisibility from the party wizard is hella fun.
Overall Opinion: I felt the Eldritch Knight build started out very awesome. However once I hit level 9, the power curve took effect. Because I went the low Int route, none of the meat-and-potatoes Evocation and Abjuration spells were workable. That made the "middle block" of class features completely useless. Things picked up after level 14. I didn't need the wizard for buffs (which felt great), but when the wizard did buff me, things died really fast... and I was suddenly the better choice over the paladin, because I could have haste + whatever at the same time.
That being said, I'm of the opinion this Eldritch Knight turned out alright and was a good first attempt. His strength was from buffing spells and being able to force multiply that advantage by stacking buffs if there's another caster. If not? No big deal... he's self sufficient like that. If I found a way to leverage the War Magic and Eldritch Strike features (i.e. actually have decent Int), those middle levels would have certainly been more fun.