Paladin eldritch knight

[kingheff1]

I was thinking about a paladin of a knowledge god combined with an eldritch knight. A questing knight who seeks knowledge in the name of their god, risking life and limb to retrieve arcane secrets whilst in turn dedicating their time to mastering those secrets themselves seems pretty good to me.
But in terms of the build I'm thinking of going maybe only two levels of paladin for smite and then going eldritch knight using spell slots for both smiting and casting.
Any thoughts or advice out there?

[gfishfunk]

That is a cool concept but a bit of a toughie that is really MAD.

Something like:

Str: 16
Dex: 8
Con: 10
Wis: 10
Int: 14
Cha: 14

That is without racial modifiers, so its approximate. You need at least a 13 Charisma, and a decent Str (which works fine).

Afterwards, you need to figure out what your preference would be: more paladin for better spell casting or more fighter for more feats/ASI and fighting stuff.

I would personally go EK 8 and the rest Paladin. That gives you three ASIs, which is huge for Stats because things are MAD, and you can pick up War Caster.

EDIT: Also, Eldritch Knight does not grant MORE spell slots, its a 1/3 caster progression. You really should do even paladin levels, and Eldritch Knight levels in multiples of 3 for spell progression. Your character will end up having a greater physical combat focus.

[kingheff1]

I suppose I'm thinking more of using slots for buffing more than attacking so maybe the stats wouldn't need to be that high for saves etc?
I'm thinking about 18/2 in an unlikely 20th level scenario. So it would probably work out first two levels as paladin and then go all EK. So I'm imagining they would mostly play like an eldritch knight but with a thin layer of paladin on top.

[D.U.P.A.]

Nothing prevents you to be religious even if you are more into arcane magic. And being a Paladin does not force you to choose a god, only for Clerics is necessary anyway.

After all, it is Eldritch KNIGHT, so it is expected to act like a knight lol. Usually Paladins have an oath, but to get one they must reach level 3 at least.

[Spellbreaker26]

You could, if you don't want to multi-class, take the Background Acolyte and/or pick up magic initiate (cleric) for a little religious spin on an Eldritch knight.

[djreynolds]

If you are selecting just EK buffs and defense... you can leave intelligence at 10-12.

Any offensive spells will be from the paladins list... so buff charisma, 16-20.

Are you set on 3 attacks? Would you settle for 2?

Do you plan to smite a lot?

Shoot for 3-6 paladin, the save bonus alone is worth it.

[Specter]

Personally, this MC is one that benefits more from Paladin levels than EK levels.

Grab 3 EK levels for goodies like Shield and Absorb Elements, then switch back to Paladin. Paladin gets caster levels at every two levels, while EK at every 3. That will make a big difference in the long run; A Paladin 2/EK 18 casts spells as a 7th-level caster, with access to 3rd-level spells. An EK 3/Paladin 17 casts spells like a 9th-level caster, with access to 5th-level spells.

Dump DEX if you're going the STR route, and leave INT low so you can invest more in your attacking stat and CHA.

OR, you could grab some 3 wizard levels for better spells and a school feature like Portent, but that may be outside of your interests.

[djreynolds]

100%, multiclassed casters, focus on the class with the best spells.

Heck 3EK/ 6-8 paladin/ x sorcerer.

[Sans.]

You might just want to dump Int and take Shield, Misty Step, etc.

[kingheff1]

Apologies for the late reply, work has been crazy this week.
So, after some discussion with my DM we have agreed to re-flavour divine smite to arcane smite, maybe changing it to force damage rather than divine, with possible shifts in the bonus damage away from undead and fiends, though that's a work in progress at the moment.
So first level is variant human paladin with the acolyte background taking combat casting as the feat.
Using standard array I've gone for STR: 16, DEX: 10, CON: 14, INT 14, WIS: 12, CHA: 8.
Going forward I'm planning to take Dueling fighting style at 2nd and choosing Divine shield as my only pally spell.
After that I'll probably go full Eldritch knight, choosing Protection fighting style and bumping INT at 4th and 8th and STR at 6th.
For my starting Eldritch knight spells I'm thinking about Cantrips: Green flame blade, Shocking grasp, 1st:Absorb elements, Charm person, Protection from evil and good.
I'm not expecting to be the most uber character out there but I think I should be more than competent and with a fun, flavourful backstory.

[clash]

I don't have my book with me but I am pretty sure you need 13 cha to multiclass out of paladin

[djreynolds]

I don't have my book with me but I am pretty sure you need 13 cha to multiclass out of paladin

Yes, rechange those stats around

[kingheff1]

Ah, didn't realise you needed a 13 cha to multi class out of paladin. I thought you only needed it for the class you wanted to go into. That's a pretty big fly in the ointment!
I guess I'll just have to go straight EK, with the acolyte background to keep the flavour of the character. Unless my DM is feeling generous and waives the cha requirements!

[Zanthy1]

Ah, didn't realise you needed a 13 cha to multi class out of paladin. I thought you only needed it for the class you wanted to go into. That's a pretty big fly in the ointment!
I guess I'll just have to go straight EK, with the acolyte background to keep the flavour of the character. Unless my DM is feeling generous and waives the cha requirements!

Ultimately this is your best bet. Take the Magic Initiate feat for some cleric spells to get that religious aspect. Multiclassing pally and EK is one of the weaker multiclasses, and does not really give you anything worth the loss of levels in either class.