Warforged Eldritch Knight/War Magic Wizard

[Bigmeaty]

Hi Guys,

I'm thinking about building a Warforged EK/War magic wizard and I'm trying to figure out the ideal level split/what warforged variant to grab. I was leaning towards envoy as I would get the bump to con and then could either bump dex or str and int depending on my rolls.

EK to at least 7 would get me War Magic and two attacks. If I went to eight I'd get an extra ASI (if you go 8/12 you'd get 6 ASI's).And then take the defense fighting style for the +1 to AC, although dueling is good for extra damage. At least 12 levels in war magic would get me arcane deflection for another +2 ac, tactical wit, power surge and most importantly durable magic for another +2 ac. This build is predicated around using the shadow blade spell so you always have a concentration spell active. Ideally, you could reach an awesome AC with the heavy plating of warforged, +1 from defense, +2 from a shield, +2 from arcane deflection, and then +2 from durable magic for a grand total of 22+1+2+2+2=29 before any magic items at level 17; at level one you'd still be at 19. You'd also be a level 14/15 caster with 4 1st, 3 2nd, 3 3rd, 3 4th, 2 5th, 1 6th, and 1 7th level spell slots for casting things like shield or mirror image etc. The six ASI would go towards maxing Dex/Str, Con, Int and maybe picking up war-caster or other helpful feats.

What do you guys think? Is there a better way to optimize it?

[OgataiKhan]

You might want to check out this thread, it's about a build similar to what you are planning: www DOT reddit DOT com/r/3d6/comments/bi7yt4/gish_warforged_eldritch_knight_fighter_10war/

(sorry for the dots, I can't post links yet)

[CheddarChampion]

When I theorycraft EK/Full Caster builds, I usually go EK 11/Caster 9 for the third attack.
This is especially desirable if you use shadow blade a lot - do you want to hit twice at 5d8 or three times at 4d8?

I suppose the core trade-off is:
11/9 - third attack, eldritch strike
8/12 - more spells known/prepared, more spell slots, arcane deflection -

BTW, defense style requires "Wearing armor."

Overall this would be a good build. If you plan to maximize str/dex I'd go dex just because you'll eventually get the same AC in light/no armor, and have better saves/skills/initiative. Until your dex is maxed you can still use the heavy armor with no penalty to speed.

[Vogie]

I agree with Chedder - I don't think Defense will work with Warforged as you're not actively wearing armor.

When I was building this MC Blend (mine was based on Cable from Deadpool 2), I started with EK 5 and WW 2, because I wanted the reaction shield before anything else. That would also give you access to Shadow Blade, and when you do your next level in either EK or wizard, you'll get a third 2nd level spell slot.

I'd also focus on a Dex build so you can also switch hit to ranged physical attacks on top of upping your survivability and Initiative rolls.

[Bigmeaty]

Thanks for all of the replies guys! I agree with maxing dex over strength, especially since shadow blade is a finesse weapon. A high dex coupled with high int and tactical wit would mean up to a +10 initiative before you add in proficiency bonus...I think you'd almost always go first. If I can't take defense, then it would be dueling. Still 18 defense at level one isn't bad and then you can always get shield and what not. Outside of warcaster what feats would you guys grab?

[Man_Over_Game]

Thanks for all of the replies guys! I agree with maxing dex over strength, especially since shadow blade is a finesse weapon. A high dex coupled with high int and tactical wit would mean up to a +10 initiative before you add in proficiency bonus...I think you'd almost always go first. If I can't take defense, then it would be dueling. Still 18 defense at level one isn't bad and then you can always get shield and what not. Outside of warcaster what feats would you guys grab?

Resilient (Wisdom) is a common choice. Sentinel is good if enemies are ignoring you due to your tankiness. You can pull off a lot of cool tricks with something like Mobile. Ritual Caster will give you a lot to do out of combat.

[Bigmeaty]

Mobile is one of my favorite feats. I'm currently playing a swashbuckler in another campaign and the ability to hit stuff and move away with out reprisal is way too much fun.

[Bigmeaty]

I'm thinking of bringing this character to an AL game...so it's PHB+1...what's the best race since you pretty much have to take XGTE as the other book. I'm thinking either High Elf or Vuman...but I would be open to other suggestions

[Man_Over_Game]

I'm thinking of bringing this character to an AL game...so it's PHB+1...what's the best race since you pretty much have to take XGTE as the other book. I'm thinking either High Elf or Vuman...but I would be open to other suggestions

If you're taking Mobile, I'd actually recommend Wood Elves. That way, when an enemy engages with you, you can attack them and move 35 feet away and prevent their counter attack.

It's an easy way of dealing damage while also spreading some of the damage to your allies. If you're the frontman all the time, you'll run risk of dying. Rather, the optimal strategy is to ensure that everyone takes roughly the same percentage of damage. This also ensures that there's less strain on someone's Hit Die allowance (which you only get 50% of back when you Long Rest).

[Bigmeaty]

If you're taking Mobile, I'd actually recommend Wood Elves. That way, when an enemy engages with you, you can attack them and move 35 feet away and prevent their counter attack.

It's an easy way of dealing damage while also spreading some of the damage to your allies. If you're the frontman all the time, you'll run risk of dying. Rather, the optimal strategy is to ensure that everyone takes roughly the same percentage of damage. This also ensures that there's less strain on someone's Hit Die allowance (which you only get 50% of back when you Long Rest).

Totally off topic MOG...I'm a middle school teacher and I'm thinking of starting up a DND club...any advice for dming large groups of people or maybe another thread you can point me to?

[Man_Over_Game]

Totally off topic MOG...I'm a middle school teacher and I'm thinking of starting up a DND club...any advice for dming large groups of people or maybe another thread you can point me to?

Here you go! (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/search.php?searchid=1895846)

I can say that the more you're able to break things down, the more personable and controlled it'd be. If you can, I'd recommend delegating co-DMs to help run the fights, maybe someone who has experience or is eager to learn. Having two parties, with 1 DM and 4 players, would be much better than having 1 party with 10 players. After about 6 or so players at a table, it becomes a massive slog, and can get boring if things aren't fast paced (which will happen a lot with inexperienced players). Even if they take 1 minute for their turn, and you resolve your monsters in two minutes, you're looking at each player getting to take an action after almost 10 minutes.

If you're going this route, I'd recommend doing a simple module. Something like the Sunless Citadel would be perfect.

--------------------------------

If you're planning on running things as one large group still, I'd say to skip out on the battlemap and implement a Theater of the Mind playstyle. This is so players won't suffer decision paralyzes, while also speeding up the game.

PM MaxWilson and say that I mentioned his initiative system. He has some great ideas, and I think he'd be able to help you quite a bit.

[Man_Over_Game]

I found a really good, concise response to this exact question:

https://rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/124/how-do-i-run-a-game-for-a-larger-group

[Rukelnikov]

About the Defense Style + warforged plate thing. You are considered wearing armor with the composite and heavy modes, if you look under the name of the option it's says "armor". It is very relevant cause you would otherwise be able to use martial arts or get the full benefits of rage otherwise.

It's interesting to note that a Dex build gets the same AC by choosing the Darkwood Core mode and that one counts as unarmored, thus allowing for stuff like a Mask of the Black Dragon or Bracers of Defense to go with it.

[Bigmeaty]

That's a good point! Thanks for heads up!