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Message: <blockquote data-quote="The Souljourner" data-source="post: 1134595" data-attributes="member: 1622">So... I'm looking into the eldritch knight for a future campaign, and regardless of how much it may seem flavorless, I don't think it's under or over powered (at least not yet.... when/if I play one, I may change my mind.  Anyway...)  and I think it has a lot of flavor potential.  The whole fighter guy with spells is a classic, and I think it could be fun.So here's my take on the class - I think most people try to go the wrong way with the class - they try to maximize the casting at the expense of the rest of the fighter half.  I don't believe that's the best way to build an EK.  Anyone who loses at least two levels of a caster is just not going to be able to keep up with the straight casters of the party.  Plus, because you want to be fightery, you want to have decent non-caster stats, as well as non-caster feats.When you see a class with fighter BAB and some nifty features, what do you think?  You think of what you can do with this guy when he has X weapons & armor.  I think that's the way you have to treat the EK.  Treat it like a fighter class, not a caster class.  Think of it like a paladin whose casting doesn't suck.So, this is my thought - Don't maximize the caster portion of the character, maximize the fighter portion, and let the spells bolster that.So, first we have to pick the base classes.  Sorcerer and Paladin seem destined to go together, since they both rely heavily on the same stat.  The character has a lot of potential, but I don't know that it's what I want.  Fighter/Wizard sounds about right to me.  I would go fighter/sorcerer, but losing even more levels of sorcerer means an even slimmer pickings of spells, and I think it just dilutes the sorcerer more than a similarly levelled wizard.  Plus, I'm starting with insane stats, so bonus spells are going to be plentiful.Now, levels.  We need at least 5 wizard levels to qualify, but I'm thinking 6 is perfect.  5th level of fighter is crap, but 6th level of wizard gets the extra BAB just like the fighter level, and some more spells per day, not to mention +1 to all three saves.  Sweetness.  That leaves 10 for EK.Now, I know what you're thinking - "You're losing 5 caster levels when you only need to lose 2!"  That is true.. however, keep this in mind - At 20th level this guy will have +17 BAB which is better than a cleric's, and enough to eke out that last iterative attack.  The maximized caster build has only 15.. that extra +2 makes a big difference, besides the two fighter feats and specialization and better hitpoints.  He'll have 15 caster levels, which means 8th level spells.  That's fine... he's a fighter first, remember?  Think of it this way - he's a 17th level fighter, who has gained 15 caster levels.. isn't that worth +3 level adjustment?  I think so.Thoughts welcome.  I'm still working out the specifics (exactly which spells are best... strategies in combat, etc).-The Souljourner</blockquote>

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