D&D 5E 5e Eldritch Knight vs PF Magus
- Thread starter fjw70
- Start date
There are no race/alignment, or any kind of restrictions in the game. If you can justify it in your game, you can play it. Drow Priestess with the Healing domain? Done. LN Paladin of Vengeance? Easy. Lawful Good Indiana Jones type Rogue? In the book.
Actually no. You can not substitude a spell for one of your four attacks. You can do a single attack after either casting a cantrip or spell (depending on your level), but then you are not using the attack action and get not extra attacks. Or you use the attack action, but then you get no spells. You can never substitue a spell for one of your four attacks
Silvenger
First Post
Awesome. As I said, I need my PHB and I need it NOW!
Grimstaff
Explorer
Also, the "Dueling" 1st level Fighting style can get your EK up to bastard-sword level damage. Maybe the best Fighting Style option for the EK.
"Dueling
When you are wielding a melee weapon in one hand and
no other weapons, you gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls
with that weapon."
Unless the Eldritch Knight has changed a lot since the last preview it was in, it seems like one of the worst warrior/mage combinations in D&D history. It takes like 7 levels to both cast just a cantrip and attack, and around 18 levels before you can cast a spell and attack. Both are pretty much outclassed by multiple attacks. There's an almost complete lack of synergy and it's a real failure of mechanical execution for the concept.The Pathfinder Magus at least a pretty unique and flavorful class; I'd tie it with the 4E Swordmage for most well-designed warrior/mage.
I am running a Pathfinder campaign currently where one of the players is a Magus who basically does exactly that. I agree that I don't want any of the 5E classes to be like that, mechanically.
ppaladin123
Adventurer
I think a lot of the Magus's features are just patches for the way 3.0 handled spellcasting in melee and in armor. And even still you feel like you are juggling between charging up spells for a melee touch attack, casting defensively, etc. Feels a bit clunky.
But the magus has an extensive spell list and can do a lot lot of casting.
5e doesn't care if you cast in armor or melee so EK doesn't grant features to let you do that. But like someone said above it is 80% fighter and 20% caster, You learn only 13 spells total and only 4 can be from schools other than evocation or abjuration. That is one for each of the 4 levels of spell casting you get. You can't fly or do some other "gishy" things until very late in the game.
That said, you can very easily multiclass into wizard after picking up your second attack at level 5 and seriously augment your casting ability if you so choose.If you go with school of abjuration you can actually create a ward like the 4e swordmage and use it to intervene when an enemy hits your allies.
The valor bard, the oath of vengeance paladin, and the pact blade warlock are other good options for the warrior/mage archetype. 5e offers a lot of options in this category.
But the magus has an extensive spell list and can do a lot lot of casting.
5e doesn't care if you cast in armor or melee so EK doesn't grant features to let you do that. But like someone said above it is 80% fighter and 20% caster, You learn only 13 spells total and only 4 can be from schools other than evocation or abjuration. That is one for each of the 4 levels of spell casting you get. You can't fly or do some other "gishy" things until very late in the game.
That said, you can very easily multiclass into wizard after picking up your second attack at level 5 and seriously augment your casting ability if you so choose.If you go with school of abjuration you can actually create a ward like the 4e swordmage and use it to intervene when an enemy hits your allies.
The valor bard, the oath of vengeance paladin, and the pact blade warlock are other good options for the warrior/mage archetype. 5e offers a lot of options in this category.
Ruin Explorer
Legend
I'm not sure why you'd go with EK for anything but flavour if you intended to MC into Wizard, though.
Battlemaster will get you 4 short-rest-refreshing superiority dice and three manuevers, which would be awesome for an F/M.
Whereas by 5th, EK will only have 3 1st level spell slots, 3 1st level spells known, 2 cantrips and the ability to summon your weapon.
5E offers a zillion options to cast spells and fight, for sure, but none of them are actually good F/Ms. Valour Bard is pretty weak at fighting and has a poor AC, and mostly illusion/charm spells, Pact Blade Warlock is also weak at fighting and has a poor AC, but can cast a lot of spells, potentially. Both Ancients and Vengeance Pallies are strong Fighters with more and better magic then EKs, so there's that.
