D&D (2024) Hopes For The Fighter (esp Eldritch Knight)

[Frozen_Heart]

The smite spells not being part of the Eldritch Knight just don't make sense.

That's a simple adjustment that would help a lot

Sounds like a lot of people want them 100% locked down onto paladin too, so eldritch knight might not even be able to get them via feats.

 

[WanderingMystic]

Sounds like a lot of people want them 100% locked down onto paladin too, so eldritch knight might not even be able to get them via feats.

And this is something I can not understand. A war cleric should be able to smite, an Eldritch knight should be able to smite, a blade singer should be able to smite even a bladelock should be able to smite. Now when I say smite I am referring to specifically the concept of a bonus action spell that enhances a melee attack.

If clerics lose the war domain and they say that instead you should just play a paladin then I can understand clerics not getting them. The bladesinger has so many spell slots that I understand why they don't have them even if I think they are thematically appropriate. Your bladlock and your Eldritch knight however are the closest things we get to a true gish character without multi classing so they should both be able to infuse their spells into their weapons. Your blade lock has so few spell slots and has hex so they might not even care about it but for your Eldritch knight it just makes sense.

 

[WanderingMystic]

Probably not, sadly. Hopefully it’s at least not just the same thing as the Bladesinger. That would be exceedingly weak sauce.

As long as it is changed so that they can sacrifice one of their melee attacks to make a cantrips instead of the if you cast a cantrips you can make 1 melee attack that it and the valor bard have now I will be happy. Giving up 3 attacks at level 11 in order to be able to cast 1 cantrips and use my bonus action to make an attack (net 2 attacks lost) is just not worth it at all and has been the biggest hindrance with the class. That and the fact that it doesn't even come online until level 7.

 

[Frozen_Heart]

And this is something I can not understand. A war cleric should be able to smite, an Eldritch knight should be able to smite, a blade singer should be able to smite even a bladelock should be able to smite. Now when I say smite I am referring to specifically the concept of a bonus action spell that enhances a melee attack.

If clerics lose the war domain and they say that instead you should just play a paladin then I can understand clerics not getting them. The bladesinger has so many spell slots that I understand why they don't have them even if I think they are thematically appropriate. Your bladlock and your Eldritch knight however are the closest things we get to a true gish character without multi classing so they should both be able to infuse their spells into their weapons. Your blade lock has so few spell slots and has hex so they might not even care about it but for your Eldritch knight it just makes sense.

The issue is the universal spell lists. A paladins identity is about smiting, but when a cleric can just use the same spells but earlier and more powerful, it kinda feels bad. But in an attempt to prevent this, peoples solutions prevent other gishes being able to mix combat and magic at all.

Meanwhile that has been the entire identity of the arcane gish since the 3.5e duskblade and the 4e swordmage (and the pathfinder magus).

 

[doctorbadwolf]

The smite spells not being part of the Eldritch Knight just don't make sense.

That's a simple adjustment that would help a lot

IMO what is needed is some “smite” spells designed to be arcane, and only the Paladin gets the classic ones.

Otherwise yeah, agreed.

 

[bedir than]

IMO what is needed is some “smite” spells designed to be arcane, and only the Paladin gets the classic ones.

Otherwise yeah, agreed.

What's divine or arcana about Thunderous Smite?

 

[Frozen_Heart]

IMO what is needed is some “smite” spells designed to be arcane, and only the Paladin gets the classic ones.

Otherwise yeah, agreed.

Maybe call them 'strike' spells to stop the paladin players complaining.

'Flaming Strike' rather than 'Searing Smite'. Both could do fire damage, but the rider effect could be a lil different.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

What's divine or arcana about Thunderous Smite?

The Smite part, for a start. There’s a reason the Ranger’s versions don’t have smite in the name.

Rename it and I don’t care, bc Thunder damage was always kinda off to me for a holy warrior’s smite anyway, but the Paladin should have smites, the various arcane gish options should have spells that sound like arcane spells.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Maybe call them 'strike' spells to stop the paladin players complaining.

'Flaming Strike' rather than 'Searing Smite'. Both could do fire damage, but the rider effect could be a lil different.

Sure. I’d also have them do different things generally, like steal heavily from weird swordmage powers for the arcane weapon attack spells, keep paladins strongly “attack, bonus damage, rider”, ranger has their control effects, etc.

 

[Incenjucar]

I'd prefer a mystic warrior class that can use either arcane, divine, or primal magic, or psionics, with options to expand into additional power sources a bit like the lore bard.