Shadar-Kai Duel Wielder Eldritch Knight

[SunShineKid93]

Shadar-Kai Eldritch Knight using Two Rapiers.

Str:13 Dex:16 Con:18 Int:14 Wis:13 Cha:11 stats are after racial bonuses.

So I’m thinking level 4 take the Duel Wielder Feat. Levels 6+8 bump dex to 18/20. Also my DM is allowing any two schools from Wizard not just Abjuration and Evocation.

Which two schools would you think? I kind of want to go Necromancy for the whole RP side of my race since I wouldn’t really be casting any spells or cantrips in battle. Was thinking of taking Warcaster at level 12.

Thoughts?

[Xihirli]

One of the better Eldritch Knight features lets you attack as a bonus action after casting a cantrip (like booming or green flame blade). Adding dual wielding is something of a redundancy. If you want to get a benefit out of more attacks per round, Champion for extra crits or Battlemaster for bigger nova damage might suit this style better.

I'd keep Abjuration as one of your schools. Mage Armor for a DEXdritch knight is as good as +1 Studded Leather and you can swap it off if you find something better.

As for Necromancy it does match the flavor, but there's not much an Eldritch Knight can use. You can pick Toll the Dead already (and that's a decent choice if you want to use a shield but not if you can have a longbow as a backup).

As a fighter, your best action in combat is almost always going to be your attack string, so really you're looking for spells that either take a Reaction or Bonus Action so you can still attack, or have long durations or out-of-combat utility.

I'd probably recommend Illusion as a lot of the good self-buff spells are Illusion and Shadow Blade will be a pretty good weapon for you as well. Invisibility is good for stealthing around and Illusion also adds in some interesting things you can do out of combat.

[bid]

*dual

EK is prolly the worst choice for TWF.
- you can't cast most spells when both hands have weapons,
- you can't TWF when you cast a spell with your action, including BB/GFB,
- at level 7 you get a BA attack anyway,
- at level 20 when you have 4 attacks, TWF only adds a 5th for little gain.

TWF is a niche style, mostly to help rogues land their SA.

[Xihirli]

Transmutation is another good option. Spells like Alter Self and Spider Climb let you maneuver much better, as giving yourself a swim speed is a big deal when it comes up, as fighting without one in the water comes with a fair amount of difficulties. Longstrider and Expeditious Retreat can both give you a lot of movement on a class that never gets a boost to those on its own, but you have your Racial ability in your back pocket so that’s not so important for you.

[Dork_Forge]

Dual wielding is a good option up for damage up until you hit level 7 and can pull off a melee cantrip and BA attack, though until level 11 just using Extra Attack and TWF is a better prospect than melee cantrip unless you can take advantage of GFB auto damage to a second target or the target actually moves whilst under BB. How high do you expect this to go? Abjuration is a definite must for defensive spells, the 3rd caster progression of slots doesn't really make it worthwhile to go necromancy. Conjuration would be a good choice to grab Find familiar and other utility spells.

[Foxhound438]

I'll go ahead and be the only guy in history who says that the level 7 ability is overhyped. Take the second level spells and the doubling of your slots and write off the war cantrip feature as a ribbon. Believe it or not, you'll do more damage by dual wielding than with the cantrip rotation, unless you're also switching to a greatsword or something. I would recommend that you take dex boosts before dual wielder though, unless you specifically want to dual whip at people, because getting +1 damage from higher dex is going to be the same as upgrading to a d8, and then you get all the other benefits of higher dex as well.

Even with the one free teleport that Shadar-Kai gives you, you should take misty step somewhere in your spells. Whether you want that to be an on school or off school spell is largely up to you. Having the ability to teleport to a spot and back again was very useful to me when I last played an EK.

Aside from that, just about anything would be better than evocation in my experience. Illusion brings you a lot of little utility things, and of course, shadow blade.