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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Fevvers" data-source="post: 7552783" data-attributes="member: 6972123">Raven Soul / Eldritch Soul [ATTACH]104335[/ATTACH]     A ridiculously OP Melee DPR build for Eldritch Knight/Divine  Soul focusing on Shadow Blade & Booming Blade, with TPK Management  as their secondary role. RAW & RAI, No UA, Not AL compliant, requires Feats and Multi-Classing variant rules. Shadar-kai would be ideal mechanically and thematically.Build Notes  This build is designed to maximise the synergy between Booming Blade, Warcaster, Shadow Blade, Twin-casting, Mobile, Elven Accuracy and War Magic for Melee DPR, with Action Surge & Hexblade’s Curse for Nova. As a secondary role this build is designed to Tank its way through a TPK, providing emergency Healing Word, Revivify and Mass Healing Word to get the party back on its feet, while protecting self with Protection against Evil & Good (PEG), Darkness, Warding Wind and Blur. There are options to also pack Rope Trick and Catnap for emergency short rests in hostile territory after a near-TPK. Scatter at 20[SUP]th[/SUP] level.     Tertiary roles are as a Party Buffer with Aid, Death Ward and Freedom of Movement (FoM) from 14[SUP]th[/SUP]-20[SUP]th[/SUP] level, and an everyday buffer of ability checks with Guidance, able to be delivered via familiar, from 5[SUP]th[/SUP] level, and Control, using Booming Blade & Mobile. You are up and running at 7[SUP]th[/SUP] level, getting pretty  god-like at 11[SUP]th[/SUP], with more big DPR boosts at 13[SUP]th[/SUP], 16[SUP]th[/SUP], 17[SUP]th[/SUP] and 20[SUP]th[/SUP]. Five ASIs are  available: at 4[SUP]th[/SUP], 8[SUP]th[/SUP], 10[SUP]th[/SUP],  13[SUP]th[/SUP] & 17[SUP]th[/SUP] level. Roles[ATTACH]104337[/ATTACH]     DM’s Notes (a.k.a. But How Do I Kill It?)  Very reliant on magical damage, especially psychic & thunder,  delivered at melee range, and thus very susceptible to magical damage limitation. Low Wisdom  and Intelligence saves, mediocre Charisma saves. That old classic, an illithid riding an enslaved  beholder should ‘solve’ any  ongoing issues you may have with this build being too OP. Dominate Person and similar will annoy them until they get Resilient (Wisdom).  Colour Code  Gold     Yes! Blue     Highly Recommended  Green  Reasonable  Red          Better than nothing  Black  Nope     Ability Scores     [ATTACH]104366[/ATTACH]     I’ve given a possible 9 in Strength for those using  Variant Encumbrance rules. Very difficult to wear a breastplate and  maintain mobility on an 8 Strength. If you aren’t using Variant  Encumbrance then 8 is sufficient. You will have proficiency in Strength  saves and take Athletics to make up for your low base score.      Dexterity is your maxing-out stat. You will be using Shadow Blade as a finesse weapon, as a Dexterity-based fighter. It’s your boost to AC, Initiative and a major saving throw.      Constitution is your second  favourite ability score. You’re a front-line fighter: plentiful hit  points and a solid Constitution saving throw is mandatory.     Intelligence is completely useless to you, except in a  role-playing sense. You will not be using any attack that requires an  Intelligence based spell attack or Intelligence saving throw.     Wisdom is where any spare  points go; Wisdom saves are a big deal. The very last thing any party  wants is a god-like fighter turning on the party while under Dominate Person. You need to choose whether you take 9 and upgrade to 10 with the Resilient (Wisdom)  feat later, (at 13[SUP]th[/SUP] level) or take it at 10, upgraded later  to 11. If you’re not using Variant Encumbrance rules, go 10. (This  advice is quite different if you’re playing a Half-Elf, impacts Charisma  too, see below).     Charisma needs to be 13 to  multi-class into Sorceror (and possibly Warlock). It’s a great stat,  and will affect most spell attacks that you use that require a saving  throw. However, this build seeks to avoid saving throws, so, 14 is as  high as you need, unless you’re a Half-Elf, and want to take some social  skills.Half-Elves either take 14 in Charisma and 13 (later to become 14 with Resilient (Wisdom)) Wisdom (after racial modifiers), or 16 Charisma, 9/10 Wisdom (later 10/11 with Resilient (Wisdom)).  First choice allows half-elf characters greater scope in deciding their  extra skills: Insight, Perception & Survival become viable. Second  choice improves DC for offensive cantrips, and makes taking a social  skill worth the investment.     Races  (1)   Shadar-kai      Perfect in every way, including thematically.   (2)   Sea elves         They’re elves, with the necessary +2 Dexterity & +1 Constitution, but lacking the wonderful Raven Queen’s Blessing and resistance to Necrotic  damage. Also, they are harder to link into the build thematically, I  think, but that’s most likely my own lack of imagination.   (3)   Warforged      (Skirmisher) if they could take Elven Accuracy they’d be gold.  (4)   Goblins Yes, Goblins! +2 Dex, +1 Con, Darkvision, 30ft movement even though Small. They don’t have access to Elven Accuracy, however, their innate Disengage ability, means that you could forgo taking Mobile and take Squat Nimbleness instead, with Shield Mastery instead of Elven Accuracy. You also get to use Hide, and Fury of the Smol is kind of cute. However, Disengage and Hide burn up your bonus action, which, along with no Elven Accuracy will significantly affect your DPR. Also, no innate Misty Step. On the other hand, watching BBEGs getting torn to shreds by a goblin... hehehe. One for the great players.  (5)   Stout Halflings Like goblins, but with no darkvision, and only 25ft movement. Again, no Elven Accuracy, and you have to take Mobile, so no option for Shield Mastery. Squat Nimbleness is still a very good choice however. On the plus side, resistance to Poison damage means you can forgo taking Protection from Poison and take Darkvision instead, until you obtain a pair of Night-Vision Goggles and then take, say, Misty Step. You are also Lucky and Brave. You can do it, but it’s going to be a bit of a struggle. One for the greater players.  (6)   Variant Human  You’re not an elf. No darkvision. No resistances. You’re not lucky,  brave or all that nimble. You will have to take +2 Dexterity instead of Elven Accuracy, and getting hold of night-vision goggles must be a priority. However, you can take Shield Mastery at 1[SUP]st[/SUP] level, and you’re a Dex-based fighter...  (7)   Half-Elf             Every list, there it is, the ubiquitous half-elf. The  biggest problem with the half-elf is that your starting Dex is 16,  making maxing it and getting Elven Accuracy something of a  dilemma. One to consider if you’ve rolled your stats and can get 17  Dexterity after applying racial modifiers. On the plus side, with  point-buy, your Wisdom needn’t be quite so awful.    Shadar-kai Raven Soul  The Shadar-kai is  perfect for this build both mechanically and thematically. I didn’t  actually set out to make a Shadar-kai specific build – initially, I was  just looking for an elf sub-race that had Constitution as its secondary  ability score modifier. However, resistance to Necrotic damage is excellent, adding nicely to the list of damage types this build can effectively be resistant to. Raven Queen’s Blessing is amazing; it makes the Shadar-kai perfect for TPK Management - a once-a-day get-out-of-jail-free card that also gives you a round of resistance to all damage.  Which, should be as long as you need to drop one of your defensive  spells or heal/revive the fallen before you all run away, ahem, make a  strategic withdrawal to fight another day. It may be worth saving your Action Surge for this, when up against BBEGs. You also don’t need to take Misty Step as a spell choice, although Dimension Door is still very highly recommended for when you can get it.Thematically, Shadar-kai is even better than it is crunch-wise. Consider  the possibility of a Shadar-kai Eldritch Knight who, like all  Shadar-kai is helping to maintain the Raven Queen by subsuming their  personality into ‘Hers’. But there is, for some Shadar-kai,  occasionally, a feedback loop, whereby the Raven Queen’s soul-essence  begins to manifest through the Shadar-kai, allowing them to manifest  much more advanced arcane powers than usual. Consider... that the Shadow Blade,  around which this build is solidly based, could, perhaps, be a slice of  the Void itself, and that exposure to the Final Reality is what causes  those injured by it to suffer psychic damage as their sense of  personality and identity disintegrate – just as the Raven Queen’s is  said to do, albeit so much more slowly. Consider also, that as the  Shadar-kai’s mastery of the Shadow Blade becomes more obvious,  the Raven Queen may demand a formal Pact with this host for Her  soul-essence, so as to maintain control over how Her powers are being  used. In return, the Raven Queen offers to show Her ‘protégé’ how to  rescue people, who’s time has not yet come, from near-death and how to  perfect the use of the Shadow Blade... and so become... the Raven Soul.     I’m starting to think of this build as the Raven Queen’s answer to the Bladesingers of the Feywild.I call this build Eldritch Soul when applied to any race other than Shadar-kai.  Skills  Acrobatics            Escape grapples – vitally important when relying on Mobile.  Athletics                          You’ll be expected to be able to swim, climb and jump.  Perception          Because it’s Perception, also, you’re probably an Elf.  Stealth            Because being Dexterity-based, you can.  Deception } One of these, maybe, because you’ve got decent Charisma.  Intimidation} Intimidation seems most thematic, utilising Thaumaturgy...  Persuasion } Certainly this doesn't seem like a build that excels at diplomacy.  Insight            If you’re taking a social skill.  Survival           If you’re not.  Investigate     Your Intelligence is meh, and not going to get better without magic.  Any other Dexterity or Charisma based skills.  Any other Wisdom or Intelligence based skills.    Backgrounds  If you can find a background that, along with Fighter, will enable you to take the four gold standard skills, plus, say, Thieves’ Tools, I’d say that was ideal.      Urban Bounty Hunter hits  the spot nicely. Languages aren’t important, you’re not the party Face,  and, while you can ably support the Point person, using Guidance and the Help action, you’re no Infiltrator. Note that proficiency with a Gaming Set allows you to make Insight checks with advantage according to Xanathar’s. This would synergise nicely with a social skill (looking at the half-elves...).     Multi-class split: 8/12, 9/11 or 8/11/1?  The Raven Soul was originally conceived as an 8/12 Eldritch  Knight/Divine Soul build. However, 12[SUP]th[/SUP] Sorceror is, frankly,  very weak: no new spells or slots, +1 Sorcery Point and an ASI – which  you only get at 20[SUP]th[/SUP] level.  8[SUP]th[/SUP] EK & 12[SUP]th[/SUP] DS  If you are going 12[SUP]th[/SUP] DS, recommended ASI upgrades are:   <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">+2      Constitution or Tough. Hit      points are great. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Shield Master. You have a shield      and high Dexterity... say goodbye to oh so much Dexterity saving throw      damage. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Elemental Adept (Thunder). Thunder      is one of your main sources of consistent damage. All thunder damage 1’s      become 2’s, and... nullifies      resistance. </li> </ul>     However, none of this is available until 20[SUP]th[/SUP] level. On the  other hand, not caring what you get at 20[SUP]th[/SUP] level means you  take every level from 13[SUP]th[/SUP] onwards one level earlier.     9[SUP]th[/SUP] EK & 11[SUP]th[/SUP] DS  Alternatively, going 9[SUP]th[/SUP] EK gives: Indomitable, at 15[SUP]th[/SUP]      level, when it still has some time to make a difference. It synergises      nicely with Favoured of the Gods      and it might even be worthwhile picking up the Resistance cantrip.      This is GOLD if your DM doesn’t permit the use of Pact Magic slots for non-Warlock spells.  8[SUP]th[/SUP] EK, 11[SUP]th[/SUP] DS & 1[SUP]st[/SUP] Hex  Or, one level of Hexblade Warlock, for:   <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Hexblade’s Curse, which synergises      amazingly with the rest of the build </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">2 more      cantrips with a Charisma DC </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Armour of Agathys </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">One      more 1[SUP]st[/SUP] level spell </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">One      1[SUP]st[/SUP] level spell slot per short rest; which basically means one      more Twincast per short rest (DM      permitting) </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Hex Warrior is pretty useless since      you have Weapon Bond and are      using Shadow Blade most of the      time anyway. </li> </ul>     Absolutely recommended; but at what level to take it? It pushes every  level afterwards back one, slowing progress at early levels or, if taken  too late will make little difference.     Why Divine Sorceror and Eldritch Knight?  Draconic Bloodline Sorceror would be an excellent alternative to  Divine Soul if such a creature as a dragon that dealt thunder damage  existed. Draconic Resilience is amazing for this build, taking Duelling Fighting Style instead of Defence. The minute WoTC brings out a dragon that does Thunder damage...   (This would also make Elemental Adept (Thunder) incredibly attractive, even at 20[SUP]th[/SUP] level).     However, since almost all damage is coming from Shadow Blade/Booming Blade, then leaving all other spell slots for heals, revives and buffs that can be Quickened or Twincast is pretty amazing. Eldritch Knight for War Magic,  which really gets some love from this build, and the +2 to slot levels  from being a 1/3[SUP]rd[/SUP] caster gives access to 5[SUP]th[/SUP]  & 7[SUP]th[/SUP] level Shadow Blade. The close-packed  ASI/Feats at 4[SUP]th[/SUP], 8[SUP]th[/SUP], 10[SUP]th[/SUP] and  13[SUP]th[/SUP] level get the supporting feats online at the right time  to make the DPR progression smooth and reasonably early (7[SUP]th[/SUP] –  13[SUP]th[/SUP] level is when everything starts coming together  nicely).  Why not Paladin or Hexblade instead of Eldritch Knight?  I’m confident that Sorcadin and Hexblade Sorlocks have had a whole lot of love already.  EK maximises the SB/BB synergy with War Magic giving a Shadow Blade attack as a bonus action after every Twincast Booming Blade (which also uses Shadow Blade). I feel this really makes EK blossom in the mid to late game when EK can seem, to me, to be a bit under-gunned.     Paladin does, of course, give Divine Smite, Aura of Protection and +4 to slot levels compared to EK’s +2, for -2 cantrips, -1 ASI/Feat, no War Magic, no Action Surge, and needs to be Strength-based otherwise MAD. Divine Smite will burn slots very quickly.     Hexblade gives 4 Invocations, a Pact Boon, +8 Sorcery Points per short rest (!), for -1 cantrip, -1 ASI/Feat, no War Magic, no Action Surge, no Fighting Style and no Second Attack (Shadow Blade is not a Pact Weapon) so very Twincast dependent. Not as MAD as a Paladin, but still needs Dexterity for SB/BB since Hex Warrior cannot apply to Shadow Blade.  Why not just be a Bladesinger?  Why not, indeed? Bladesingers get tons of versatility, best AC, and is a great Shadow Blade vehicle. However, Bladesingers can’t Twincast Booming Blade, which means BB damage only comes from Warcaster  opportunity attacks. And maybe you don’t want to be hanging around for  attacks of opportunity? Given that having to max both Dexterity and  Intelligence means very little left over for Constitution, and you have a  d6 for hit points. The Raven Soul is a good deal less squishy than the  Bladesinger, and dishes out more damage. Also: heals.      I can easily imagine the two traditions being great rivals, and that a  laconic and fatalistic Shadar-kai might value ‘a good death’ at the  hands of a master Bladesinger more highly than yet another victory over  less worthy opponents.The Build[ATTACH]104338[/ATTACH]  [ATTACH]104339[/ATTACH][ATTACH]104340[/ATTACH][ATTACH]104341[/ATTACH][ATTACH]104342[/ATTACH][ATTACH]104343[/ATTACH][ATTACH]104344[/ATTACH]  Magic Items  Assuming a High Magic setting (i.e. that magic items are plentiful), I’d suggest:[ATTACH]104345[/ATTACH] Adamantine Breastplate  You’ll be wearing a breastplate for most of the characters’ adventuring life. You’re a frontline fighter. Critical hits are very annoying. This becomes a less essential item once you aquire a Cloak of Displacement (0. 25% chance of a Critical Hit, aka 400:1) and should be replaced with magical studded leather after that.   Winged Boots (requires attunement)  Flying is great. At-will flight is even better. Winged Boots give a flying speed equal to your walking speed, which means that if Hasted after picking up Mobile, you could have a flying speed of 80ft./round, Dash while flying for 160ft./round; as fast as dragons.  Sentinel Shield  The advantage given to initiative outweighs the lack of a +1 to AC. To get the most from the Control aspect of Booming Blade you need to be attacking before the enemy does, so as to tie targets up before they can get stickied on your squishier party members. The same goes, arguably even more importantly, for reacting to a near-TPK incident – you really want to be getting your protection and heal spells cast and then getting the hell out of Hell before the enemy can step in and finish you all off. Your excellent Dexterity score gives you a good chance of this when combined with the advantage from this item. Advantage gives an 80% chance of rolling 10 or higher, +3/+4/+5 initiative modifier from 17/18/20 Dexterity, gives a 36%-43%-51% chance of an initiative count of 20+. Perception checks with advantage are nice too. Note that RAI this will add +5 to your passive Perception too.  Pearl of Power (requires attunement, spellcaster only)  Three more twincasts or one more 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] level casting of Shadow Blade every single day, need I say more? It’s a great shame to part with this for a Ring of Spell Storing at 17[SUP]th[/SUP]. This helps to balance out the lack of sorcery points due to EK levels.  Cloak of Displacement (requires attunement)  You can’t use Blur and Shadow Blade simultaneously. Giving enemies who rely on sight disadvantage to hit you is a very good thing. An enemy with a +10 attack modifier has an 84% chance to hit a 19 AC (your base AC for most of your character’s adventuring career) without disadvantage, 36% with. To hit 24 AC (taking into account Shield) the same enemy has a 35% chance without disadvantage, 12.3% with. Swap Blur out for Revivify as soon as convenient once you aquire this item.  Rapier +1  Sometimes, there will be enemies who are immune to psychic damage. Constructs loom largely in mind. Or you’ll need to fight in melee while under the effect of one of your protection spells. A non-magical silvered adamantine rapier might suffice...  Ring of Spell Storing (requires attunement)  Lots of Shield and Absorb Elements spells is very good indeed. From 12[SUP]th[/SUP] level onwards you will have five 1[SUP]st[/SUP] level slots and three 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] level slots. Once you have a Ring of Spell Storing, try to keep your 1[SUP]st[/SUP] level slots unused throughout the day, relying on the RoSS instead. This gives you eight potential slots for Shield and Absorb Elements. Since Absorb Elements can be upcast at 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] level but Shield cannot, storing four Shield spells and one Absorb Elements spell in the RoSS gives you the possibility of four of each, per day. Your five unused first level slots can be used to restock the RoSS, or, much more likely, for the inevitable emergencies.  Studded Leather +2  No more attunement slots left. AC is god. You’re definitely back in leathers after 17[SUP]th[/SUP] level and your +2 Dexterity ASI.  (Broom of Flying)  If you cannot bear to give up the Pearl of Power then give up Winged Boots and Rapier +1 instead, and take the annoying Broom. It takes both hands to operate, and is thus seemingly quite useless for combat. Prove me wrong.  Arcane Power[ATTACH]104346[/ATTACH]   *Power is calculated by totalling the number of spell slots available for each level, and multiplying by the slot level e.g. four 1[SUP]st[/SUP] level slots = 4*1 = 4, three 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] level slots = 3*2 = 6, and then adding daily available sorcery points to the total. A Pact magic slot is worth three times as much, e.g. two 5[SUP]th[/SUP] level Pact Magic slots = 2*(5*3) = 30.Caveat: this is my own rating invention to give a rough numerical value to gauge differences in arcane power between levels and classes.     Comparing the magical power of the two source classes with the multi-class, I think the Eldritch Soul comes out quite favourably at about halfway in between the two, while having more cantrips and spells available than either source class.     The table below gives a side-by-side comparison of growth in arcane power of all three classes. I haven’t gone to the indulgence of calculating *Power for every level.  Key  CL: Class LevelP: Sorcery Points  C: Cantrips known  S: Spells known  L: Maximum spell level available (this only affects the Raven Soul)  Spell Slots (1-x): Number of spell slots available for each spell level  Note that the fifth 1[SUP]st[/SUP] level slot the Raven Soul gets at 12[SUP]th[/SUP] level is a Pact slot.[ATTACH]104364[/ATTACH]   It is noticable that the Raven Soul build has a significant slowing down of increase in arcane power between 9[SUP]th[/SUP] – 13[SUP]th[/SUP] levels. However, you are picking up two attacks, Elven Accuracy, War Magic, Hexblade’s Curse and Resilient (Wisdom) during this time. You have a steady supply of 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] level slots for Shadow Blade, Booming Blade boosts at 11[SUP]th[/SUP] level, and with a Pearl of Power in your possession, a reasonable number of Sorcery Points to Twincast with.     Additional Thoughts    Certainly there is a case to be made for dumping EK 7-8 and Hexblade 1, and going DS 5 at 11[SUP]th[/SUP] level instead. This gives 5[SUP]th[/SUP] level Shadow Blade at 13[SUP]th[/SUP], and 7[SUP]th[/SUP] level Shadow Blade at 17[SUP]th[/SUP]. No War Magic or Hexblade’s Curse. Hmmm, Elven Accuracy still arrives at 10[SUP]th[/SUP], Resilient (Wisdom) and +2 Dexterity ASI are both put back, but only one level, to 14[SUP]th[/SUP] and 18[SUP]th[/SUP] respectively. This also opens up 7[SUP]th[/SUP] level spells and an 8[SUP]th[/SUP] level slot, as well as giving you Otherworldly Wings at 20[SUP]th[/SUP] level. A very nice capstone indeed! And 8[SUP]th[/SUP] level Globe of Invulnerability means you can still retain your 6[SUP]th[/SUP] level slot for Scatter... but... no 3-5d8+4-11 bonus attack every turn, from 11[SUP]th[/SUP] level onwards, nor 30% crits from 12[SUP]th[/SUP]. Choices, choices... hmmmm.Cantrip choicesThis build gives you ten cantrips. Thank you, yes, you're welcome! You have to take Booming Blade and Thaumaturgy, and it would seem foolish not to take Guidance if it is so conveniently available, especially since you will have a familiar who can deliver Guidance to other party members by touch.My suggestions for the remaining seven are completely replacable. The ones I have suggested offer a variety of damage types and saving throws for those situations when your main attack isn't an option. AcknowledgementsI couldn't have written this without the style and logic of the excellent guides already to be found here. Obliza in particular really opened my eyes to the possibilities inherent in the Divine Soul. It was the missing link that I was looking for when trying for a build that could maximise Shadow Blade - Booming Blade, which is really all this build is about. Everything else is icing, but I do hope that you will find that the 'icing' works towards a mechanical and thematic whole.Feedback Please!I would be interested to hear your thoughts about this build. Any improvements or questions readily responded to. Thank you for taking the time to read this, my first build! </blockquote>

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