Advice for my EK build

[Sandeman]

Hi all
I am looking for some advice on which feats/spells and such to pick with my Eldritch Knight build.

The campaign is not your ordinary dungeon crawl.
The party will be starting at 3rd level and the two (very experienced) DMs has given some info on the setting.
The world is homebrew and the idea is for the PCs to start a House.
A House can be like a noble House in Game of Thrones but can also be a sort of Company.
The members dont have to be from the same family and new members can be chosen if old ones die. (just so people can make new charachters and introduce them into the game)
There will be political intrigue, banquets, tournaments, battles and the occasional treasure/monster hunt.

Every player will get to make two charachters in this campaign and play the one that best fit the occasion.
My primary charachter will be a classic Wizard. He will be focusing on mental stats (int, wiz, cha) and will (together with an artificer) be sort of the brains of the operation.

But my secondary charachter will be an half elf Eldritch Knight.
In this campaign we get an extra feat from start and we use the Tasha rules for moving around racial ability bonuses.
The idea is to complement the wizard with a good fighter with a Great Sword that can sneak and sling some spells around (just to be gishy cool).

Stats
str 18 15 +2 (Half elf) +1 (Heavy Armor Master)
dex 14 13 +1 (Half elf)
con 16 15 +1 (Half elf)
int 8
wiz 10
cha 10

Spells at lvl 3
cantrips: Booming Blade, Green Flame Blade
1st level: Find Familiar, Mage Armor, Shield

I mainly picked Mage Armour for times when he cannot wear plate. (such as banquets and such)

Any adice for what to pick at higher levels?
I expect us to level up to around 8th level rather quickly.

[arnin77]

I haven’t played an EK before but they look pretty fun - I’d say Absorb Elements might be a good spell to get, GWM for great sword, if you’re worried about combat in places where you can’t be armed /Armored then Shadow blade, mirror image, blur might be helpful?

I think there is even an Eldritch Knight guide on this forum that you might want to read too.

[ravencroft0]

The idea is to complement the wizard with a good fighter with a Great Sword that can sneak and sling some spells around (just to be gishy cool).

A sneaky great weapon EK fighter. I'm not sure about the sneaky part, unless you're relying heavily upon your familiar. If not your familiar, then you need to increase that Dex. Or take 'disguise self' if you're thinking that kind of sneaky.

I do agree that there are EK guides on the forums somewhere. I definitely recommend checking out Treantmonk or WebDM on YouTube for further inspiration.

[Sandeman]

Thanks!
I will check that out.

[Foxhound438]

Being sneaky and also in heavy armor is not likely to work out. You have enough dex to make medium armor work great, and while going down to breastplate costs you a lot of AC, you can pick a feat that's simply better than HAM. Some people will defend heavy armor master to the ends of the earth, but at the end of the day against a lot of enemies it just won't do enough. If you do want to be sneaky, skill expert can give you a big boost to stealth checks while still giving you a +1 to strength for that starting 18.

This part is totally just my opinion and you're free to discard it:
Personally not a fan of the "dumb EK" in the long run, as there are spells that are worth casting, even for the low level spell slots, that require a saving throw. Hold person can be an easy kill against any humanoid foe if you find yourself fighting those a lot. Fear or Hypnotic pattern are probably the best off school spells you can take in my opinion (yes, even better than Haste, as haste has a lot of drawback for being the one concentrating on it on the front line against threats to a 14th level character for only one more attack), and even fireball is going to be enough damage to soften groups of smaller enemies if they can conceivably fail the save. Dispel magic is also pretty good if you have the intelligence to try to break higher level spells.

[Sandeman]

I will take a look at that feat. It might be a better choice.

[Ir0ns0ul]

There’s nothing wrong in going full DEX, Dueling fighting style and leverage a Shield. You can get equivalent AC once DEX is maxed out. Replace HAM for Elven Accuracy.

You could get Fey Touched and select Hex/HM in order to boost your damage until you get Shadow Blade at level 8.

[Tanarii]

Don't dump Int, don't waste ASIs on Dex or GWM.

If you want to be a sneaky EK, it's best to just go Dex/Int. They aren't champions or BMs.

[Syjyl4488]

I wouldn’t waste a slot on mage armor. It’s not uncommon for nobles to have their personal guard at a banquet (perhaps your mage has the ek as his elite guard) in which case wearing armor wouldn’t be an issue. If you’re dealing with intrigue it’s entirely possible you’ll come up against a doppelgänger (being that they make really good spies), in which case pfe&g will benefit you a whole lot more.

[Frogreaver]

I'd go dex. I can see the potential that armor wouldn't be worn to some of those events. Being str character without armor sucks!

[da newt]

A nice EK build guide:

https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=24681222&postcount=523


I prefer Dex based EKs personally. Max Dex > Max Con. Fey Touched is a great feat (especially if you get free feats), EA is great too if you plan to use a familiar for HELP. For cantrips I like to have one SCAG weapon cantrip, but something else too to round out my options (minor illusion for example). Protection from G&E is nice too. Shadow Blade is great. Don't forget Warcaster so you can cast reaction spells with weapons in hand (especially for sword and board).

[Delph]

I've had idea Warforged Eldritch knight (ok fighter then) 1, Warmage 2. with warcaster feat.

It's absolute defensive char with offensive future. There is +1 AC by Warforget, +1 AC Defensive style, +2 AC Warmage. If you start as fighter, you got CON save proficiency + 2 by warmage ability.

and some spellslots for shield, or other spells...

[ZRN]

Hi all

But my secondary charachter will be an half elf Eldritch Knight.
In this campaign we get an extra feat from start and we use the Tasha rules for moving around racial ability bonuses.
The idea is to complement the wizard with a good fighter with a Great Sword that can sneak and sling some spells around (just to be gishy cool).

Stats
str 18 15 +2 (Half elf) +1 (Heavy Armor Master)
dex 14 13 +1 (Half elf)
con 16 15 +1 (Half elf)
int 8
wiz 10
cha 10

Spells at lvl 3
cantrips: Booming Blade, Green Flame Blade
1st level: Find Familiar, Mage Armor, Shield


First off, a quick list of feats I'd say are generally agreed to be very powerful for EKs:

War Caster: helps with concentration saves, and more importantly, lets you use Booming Blade (or other spells) for attacks of opportunity

Fey Touched: gives you two more spells known AND two more spells cast per day, both of which are big. Misty Step is a great EK spell, and on to of that, the level 1 spell isn't restricted to the wizard list, so you can get really powerful options like Hunter's Mark, Hex, or Bless, along with maybe less damage-boosting but equally cool effects like Tasha's Hideous Laughter, Dissonant Whispers, or (my favorite) Command. If you end up NOT wanting to use your concentration on Shadow Blade all the time (perhaps because you stick with the greatsword), Hex or Bless are both strong options.

Great Weapon Master (if you stick with the greatsword): Especially great when combo'd with Bless!


Beyond that, if I were you I'd probably pick between a high Dex and a high Strength, and put the 14 in Int. Not just because it helps your saving throw DC, but also because if I'm RPing an EK I probably want him to be clever as well as skilled. Disguise Self is probably better than Mage Armor as well IMHO.