ZenBear
2016-03-23, 05:36 PM
So I've decided my next character will be an Eldritch Knight.
I've been talking up Versatile weapons a lot lately because they give the wielder a free hand to grapple while retaining functionality, and I did a bit more research about grappling and found this wonderful guide (http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?468737-The-Grappler-s-Manual-(2-0)-Grappling-in-5th-Edition) on how to make the most of the grappling rules.
My question is, how deep should I go into being a grappler?
VHuman
STR 16 CON 16 DEX 10 INT 10 WIS 11 CHA 10
Sentinel Feat at level 1, Warcaster at 4, Resilient: WIS eventually to round out defense.
Booming Blade, Greeflame Blade, Lightning Lure for cantrips. Rely on a bonded hand axe for ranged attacks with bonus action recall. Eventually I would love to get the Lightning Bolt Javelin.
Sentinel is a bit redundant with Booming Blade/Warcaster, but I feel like it still contributes to making me a major road bump between myself and the squishies. Dropping their movement to 0 means they won't be able to trigger BB's secondary damage, but being able to AoO when they attack an ally and denying the Disengage option is excellent. Not necessary but worthwhile.
Warcaster is necessary at 4 for AoO Booming Blade and casting Somatic comps with hands full, Versatile allows me to keep an open hand for Material comps and still swing without any drop weapon/cast spell/pickup weapon shenanigans.
Resilient: WIS I want but don't technically ever need. Having a weakness isn't the end of the world, and in fact can make the game more interesting.
I'm considering taking Tavern Brawler instead of Sentinel at 1 for extra damage with unarmed strikes and the free grapple on hit. Not necessary, but works well with my backstory (ie trained by Monks but not Dexterous enough to be one). That messes with my lvl 1 stat array though. Perhaps instead I would have STR 16 CON 16 DEX 10 INT 12 WIS 12 CHA 10.
For spells, I want Blur at 8 because I love it for tanking, but Enlarge is amazing for grappling.
I really want Expertise in Athletics, but I don't know when to multiclass dip into Rogue. Perhaps dip right after Fighter !, but then I push back accessing spells until character level 4, Warcaster to 5, Extra Attack to 6, etc. I also don't need Expertise in anything else. Perhaps I can talk my DM into letting me forgo the bonus skill and/or Feat from VHuman to get Athletics Expertise at lvl 1.
What to do?
I've been talking up Versatile weapons a lot lately because they give the wielder a free hand to grapple while retaining functionality, and I did a bit more research about grappling and found this wonderful guide (http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?468737-The-Grappler-s-Manual-(2-0)-Grappling-in-5th-Edition) on how to make the most of the grappling rules.
My question is, how deep should I go into being a grappler?
VHuman
STR 16 CON 16 DEX 10 INT 10 WIS 11 CHA 10
Sentinel Feat at level 1, Warcaster at 4, Resilient: WIS eventually to round out defense.
Booming Blade, Greeflame Blade, Lightning Lure for cantrips. Rely on a bonded hand axe for ranged attacks with bonus action recall. Eventually I would love to get the Lightning Bolt Javelin.
Sentinel is a bit redundant with Booming Blade/Warcaster, but I feel like it still contributes to making me a major road bump between myself and the squishies. Dropping their movement to 0 means they won't be able to trigger BB's secondary damage, but being able to AoO when they attack an ally and denying the Disengage option is excellent. Not necessary but worthwhile.
Warcaster is necessary at 4 for AoO Booming Blade and casting Somatic comps with hands full, Versatile allows me to keep an open hand for Material comps and still swing without any drop weapon/cast spell/pickup weapon shenanigans.
Resilient: WIS I want but don't technically ever need. Having a weakness isn't the end of the world, and in fact can make the game more interesting.
I'm considering taking Tavern Brawler instead of Sentinel at 1 for extra damage with unarmed strikes and the free grapple on hit. Not necessary, but works well with my backstory (ie trained by Monks but not Dexterous enough to be one). That messes with my lvl 1 stat array though. Perhaps instead I would have STR 16 CON 16 DEX 10 INT 12 WIS 12 CHA 10.
For spells, I want Blur at 8 because I love it for tanking, but Enlarge is amazing for grappling.
I really want Expertise in Athletics, but I don't know when to multiclass dip into Rogue. Perhaps dip right after Fighter !, but then I push back accessing spells until character level 4, Warcaster to 5, Extra Attack to 6, etc. I also don't need Expertise in anything else. Perhaps I can talk my DM into letting me forgo the bonus skill and/or Feat from VHuman to get Athletics Expertise at lvl 1.
What to do?