How do you play an Eldritch Knight without armor?

[Sitara]

Ok the EK doesn't get any spell failiure deductions in armor, so how do you effectively play him as a warrior? Mage armor lasts 1 hour/level and that's not bad, but only grants a +4 to AC.

Any tips to increase AC to decent levels would be appreciated. Assume the following:

Fighter 1/Wizard 5/ EK 2
Armor and weapons only from PHB
Max +1 weapon or armor allowed.

No special armor that reduces spell failure chance.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

If you want to wear armor, you can:

1) favor spells that have no somatic components (see list in the Martial Arcanist Database, in my sig)

2) take the Still Spell feat for those spells that you deem necessary that do have somatic components

3) use wands & rods liberally, including taking the Craft Wand Feat to boost your arsenal

4) make use of spells that boost combat efficacy- say, Bull's Strength or Enlarge Person- and extend them via feats or Metamagic rods. Some of the longer-duration spells may also be cast out of combat when you're not wearing armor if you are reasonably sure of needing them.

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

Ok the EK doesn't get any spell failiure deductions in armor, so how do you effectively play him as a warrior? Mage armor lasts 1 hour/level and that's not bad, but only grants a +4 to AC.

Any tips to increase AC to decent levels would be appreciated. Assume the following:

Fighter 1/Wizard 5/ EK 2
Armor and weapons only from PHB
Max +1 weapon or armor allowed.

No special armor that reduces spell failure chance.

By level 8...

I know the magus class from Pathfinder draws a lot of heat, but it helps fix this problem. The real problem here is action economy. The Eldritch Knight has powerful defensive options, mainly Mirror Image and Displacement. Mirror Image can make your AC nearly irrelevant, and Displacement lasts longer. The magus lets you cast some spells as a swift action, and while nearly everyone uses it to zap opponents with Shocking Grasp, it can also be used to quickly raise a spell defense.

The other option is to scout a lot and be ready to cast those short-duration combat spells before combat ever breaks out. Since you can't cast Contingency at such low-level... good luck with that.

 

[Deset Gled]

Fighter 1/Wizard 5/ EK 2
Armor and weapons only from PHB
Max +1 weapon or armor allowed.

No special armor that reduces spell failure chance.

Mithral is in the PHB. I think it was kind of assumed that any martial casting class would have access to it.

Thinking out of the box: there's no shame in lugging around a tower shield to use as portable cover, and dropping and rearming it as needed.

 

[Starfox]

Quickened Shield is a 5thlevel spell...

Honestly, you are better off in armor, even with spell failure chance.

or go 5E and avoid the issue entirely.

 

[Herobizkit]

Possible option:

Force Shield
An iron band, this simple ring generates a shield-sized (and shield-shaped) wall of force that stays with the ring and can be wielded by the wearer as if it were a heavy shield (+2 AC). This special creation has no armor check penalty or arcane spell failure chance since it is weightless and encumbrance-free. It can be activated and deactivated at will as a free action.


Moderate evocation; CL 9th; Forge Ring, wall of force; Price 8,500 gp.

Having a DEX of 18 helps.

Also, your DM won't let you have special materials AND is limiting you to +1? Phew.

Darkwood Shield would have been my next call. And a Mithral chain shirt. Or Dragonhide.

Bracers of Defence maybe?

Amulet of Natural Armor +1?

Ring of Protection +1?

Take magic item crafting and make a ton of Metamagic Wands of Extended Mage Armor?

 

[Sitara]

Quickened Shield is a 5thlevel spell...

Honestly, you are better off in armor, even with spell failure chance.

or go 5E and avoid the issue entirely.

Would love to, but thing is in 5e the core EK is not a good wizard at all. Not even half good.

However, since BAB goes up equally, and armor no longer hinders casting, a Wizard or Sorc can take one level of Fighter and be a competent warrior mage. However, he will never gain extra attacks, but he will be able to smack something with a sword when it comes down to it and his armor will protect him from some blows. But given hit points and no extra attacks, he is mostly a spellcaster than a warrior.

So you see, as of now 5e leans too much in either direction, there no nice midpoint like the 3e EK is, apart from the armor issue. Why, WHY can wotc never get a Warrior Mage done right? WHY????? It's the most demanded class.

 

[Scorpio616]

Why, WHY can wotc never get a Warrior Mage done right? WHY????? It's the most demanded class.

Because D&D is a team game. A Competent at all Things character would be fine in a Solo game where there is just the Player and a DM/Computer, but since there are other players, one character should not be able to do everything or even a majority of things.

 

[diaglo]

treat the character as you would any other wizard at 1 lvl lower that actual. just know you can defend yourself in combat if need be.

edit: btw you want the optimization forum not this one. just like your other thread: http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?361800-D-amp-D-3-0-How-to-build-a-Fighter-Mage

 

[Herobizkit]

You could also go Fighter/Bard/EK and cast spells in Light armor, but you might not have access to the spells you want. You might need to invest in Use Magic Device to Wand the spells you don't have.

There's also a variant in the Unearthed Arcana called Battle Sorcerer that allows you to cast in Light armor at the cost of having a spell table equivalent to Wizard, but of course you won't be able to Scribe new spells. On the plus side, you can Wand to your heart's content.