D&D 5E eldritch knight multiclass

[Flamestrike]

What's the Fighter 3 for? Champion crit bonus? BTW, I don't think I could ever find a DM to let me play a Paladin/Assassin multiclass, but my version will have some Barbarian levels in there.

You need two levels for Action surge (the biggest Nova multiplier of the build after assasinate). You might as well take the third level for Battlemaster (an extra 8d8 damage on Nova attacks).

 

[krunchyfrogg]

Paladin (Vengance) 6, Bard (Lore) 11, Fighter (EK) 3.

Defences: Cha to saves. Heavy armor. Cutting words. Spells: Mirror image, shield, counter spell - 7th level spells known, 8th level slots.

Offence: Extra attack. Action surge. Two Fighting styles. Divine Smite (8th level slots). Spells: Hunters mark, Haste, Elemental weapon, smite spells. Tons of Save or suck.

Utility: 6+background+race skills known (total of 9 if human) and 3-5 tools/ instruments. Go criminal for thieves tools. Expertise in two of your skills. Half prof to the rest. Second wind. 6th level spells (invisibility, fly).

Party Buff: Song of rest. Cutting words. Bardic inspiration. Lay on hands. Paladin auras. 6th level spells.

Dump Str, Max Dex. Go variant human (Dex/ Cha), take TWF and defence fighting style, and Warcaster and TWM feats.

2 x Rapier + Extra attack + Elemental weapon + Action surge + TWF + Divine smite nova: 5 x attacks (6d8+3d4+8) w extra attack on Crit. All at advantage with Channel divinity.

+8 initiative. AC 19 base with studded leather (24 w shield spell as reaction)

We're not worthy! We're not worthy!

 

[krunchyfrogg]

That's what Bard 6 is for.



Less MAD. Can dump Int to 11 instead of needing a 13 to MC into Wizard. I can get every 1st level spell I want with EK anyway. Plus the bigger HD.

If you want Nova damage, a Great-axe wielding Half Orc Paladin 6/ Assasin 3/ Fighter 3/ Sorcerer 8 with GWM works better.

With haste cast, and attacking a fiend or undead from hiding it spams (6) attacks, total damage on hits being 18d12 (reroll 1's and 2's) plus 90 plus 8d8 slashing damage plus 72d8 radiant damage.

Thats around 600 damage on average. Gets up to around 1000 max.

It gets a lot higher with buddies to buff you with Elemental weapon, Enlarge and Haste, and letting you cast Hunters Mark pre battle; around the 700 average, 1500 odd maximum.

We're not worthy! We're not worthy!

LOL

 

[krunchyfrogg]

In that second build, why take the Sorcerer levels? For more smites?

 

[Grimstaff]

All these 20 level builds are interesting thought experiments, but who really wants to send 95% of a campaign preparing for the last 5%? Assuming the campaign even gets to 20th level.

How about the most effective EK multiclass builds at levels 6, 9, and 12? Those are some builds I can see people actually getting to play...

 

[FormerlyHemlock]

All these 20 level builds are interesting thought experiments, but who really wants to send 95% of a campaign preparing for the last 5%? Assuming the campaign even gets to 20th level.

How about the most effective EK multiclass builds at levels 6, 9, and 12? Those are some builds I can see people actually getting to play...

As noted previously, I don't really like multiclassing EK, but there is one multiclass build that I like if you happen to roll the right stats for it (it's pretty MAD). It's based on stealing abilities that scale with total level moreso than class level.

Levels 1-5: Eldritch Knight 5. (Fighters are very strong at low levels, gets you a second attack.)
Level 6: EK 5, Wizard 1. (Access to more first-level spells: Find Familiar, etc.)
Level 7-8: EK 5, Wizard 1, Warlock 2. (Two Warlock invocations, e.g. Agonizing Blast/Devil's Sight, plus short-rest spell slots for Shield/etc.)
Levels 9-13: EK 5, Necromancer 6, Warlock 2. Get access to Blur/Blink/Animate Dead for offense and defense, rituals like Leomund's Tiny Hut.
Levels 14-15: EK 7, Necromancer 6, Warlock 2.
Levels 16-20: ??? Go to Necromancer 11? Only if you have good Int though.

By level 15 you have two physical attacks per turn for killing magic-immune creatures like Rakshasa, but in a more normal scenario you're launching one physical attack and three Eldritch Blast beams per turn (which almost nothing is resistant to) while surrounded by a bodyguard of 19+ HP skeletons all doing 1d6 + 7 points of damage per attack. You've picked up three ASIs, and you're personally doing about as much damage as a regular fighter would, only yours is at range and almost unresistable (almost nothing has Force resistance) and you also have a broader spell portfolio than most Eldritch Knights at that level. With 4/3/3/2 slots but no 4th level spells known, your 4th level slots probably go toward keeping 12 skeletons up, while your 3rd level slots go to Blink or Fireball or Blade Song. Whereas a normal Eldritch Knight at that level might deal 30 damage per round to an AC 19 Red Dragon (60 using Action Surge), you'd be dealing 30.7 points of damage personally (no Sharpshooter for you, but 4 hits vs. 3) and you'd also also have 12 skeletons each doing 3.15 damage to it per turn and also soaking damage (228 HP total, or 492 with Inspired Leadership). You're about twice as combat-effective (double damage, double HP) and a lot more versatile too.

If I were going to play a solo character, this is the best fighter-mage I can imagine. And by "best" I mean "most fun for me," since my idea of fun isn't huge nova rounds that you can only do once--I like efficiency and consistency. I can conceive of taking on a CR 17 Red Dragon solo with this guy at level 15. It would be dicey but not suicide, which is more than I can say for any other Fighter/Mage build I can think of which doesn't rely on surprising the dragon or purple worm poison. YMMV though.