D&D (2024) Not a fan of the new Eldritch Knight

[Paul Farquhar]

The War Caster feat still provides the benefit of being able to perform somatic components while holding weapons and/or a shield in your hands.

But the description of somatic components does not say you can't perform them with a weapon or shield in your hand. And if we assume it does require a free hand, then you cannot perform them with a spellcasting focus in your hand.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Treantmonk argues that, because Shillelagh is a druid spell, you'd need the druid class to be able to use a druid spell focus staff (which is different from an arcane focus staff).

There is nothing preventing you casting shillelagh on an arcane spell focus staff, nor do you need to use a druidic focus to cast a spell from the druid list. If you have the ability to use X as a focus, you can use X to cast any spell you know (with an M component), irrespective of the class list it comes from.

 

[Ashrym]

There is nothing preventing you casting shillelagh on an arcane spell focus staff, nor do you need to use a druidic focus to cast a spell from the druid list. If you have the ability to use X as a focus, you can use X to cast any spell you know (with an M component), irrespective of the class list it comes from.

Here's the EK entry:

Spellcasting Focus. You can use an Arcane Focus as a Spellcasting Focus for your Wizard spells.

The EK can't cast Shillelagh at all unless the have some mistletoe (the material component) or a spell component pouch. Here's the druid entry:

Spellcasting Focus. You can use a Druidic Focus as a Spellcasting Focus for your Druid spells.

Spells added that the PC might also use must be added through a class feature to count as "your druid spells".

If another Druid feature gives you spells that you always have prepared, those spells don’t count against the number of spells you can prepare with this feature, but those spells otherwise count as Druid spells for you.

This is common language for spellcasters. How a spellcasting focus may be applied depends on how the spell was added to the PC.

 

[TaranTheWanderer]

Never mind.

 

[pukunui]

But the description of somatic components does not say you can't perform them with a weapon or shield in your hand. And if we assume it does require a free hand, then you cannot perform them with a spellcasting focus in your hand.

Yes, you can because the description of material components specifically allows you to: “The spellcaster must have a hand free to access [a Material component], but it can be the same hand used to perform Somatic components, if any.”

This is all well-established stuff.

Ignoring Verbal components for now, this is how it works:

Somatic component only: You make an intricate gesture with a free hand.

Material component only: You hold the component in your free hand.

Both Somatic and Material components: You wave the material component around as part of the intricate gesture.


Note also that War Caster specifies being able to perform Somatic components when holding weapons and/or a shield “in one or both hands”.

There is nothing preventing you casting shillelagh on an arcane spell focus staff …

What prevents you from doing so is the spell itself, which specifically states it can only be cast on a club or a quarterstaff. An arcane focus staff is neither. Luckily, the 2024 rules allow quarterstaves to be used as arcane and druidic spellcasting foci.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Yes, you can because the description of material components specifically allows you to: “The spellcaster must have a hand free to access [a Material component], but it can be the same hand used to perform Somatic components, if any.

This is the 2014 rule.

It ain’t in the new book.

 

[pukunui]

This is the 2014 rule.

It ain’t in the new book.

Nope, that’s a direct quote from the 2024 PHB.

This is the 2014 rule: “A spellcaster must have a hand free to access a spell’s material components — or to hold a spellcasting focus — but it can be the same hand that he or she uses to perform somatic components.”

 

[ECMO3]

Treantmonk argues that, because Shillelagh is a druid spell, you'd need the druid class to be able to use a druid spell focus staff (which is different from an arcane focus staff).

Lots of different opinions on this. Some think that if you cast wizard spells, and make a spell from a
a feat into an int-based spell, that spell becomes a wizard spell, and so can be used with an arcane focus.

Personally, I prefer the more lenient interpretation. But always worth checking with the DM beforehand.

Treantmonk is wrong because you don't even need to use a staff at all, you can cast Shilleleagh on a club

 

[ECMO3]

I'm not convinced on wrathful smite. You lack apell slots so long duration stuff is more appealing vs 1d6--3d6 danage.

On Fae Wanderer it's a bit different.

It is not the damage, it is the frightened condition that you are after with it and they get disadvantage on the save against it after level 10. Further if you hit them at least once every round they keep getting disadvantage on the save to break it.

Frightened is extremely powerful because of the movement restrictions and in one-on-one melee combat it effectively eliminates multiattack, reducing enemies to one attack a round, making them burn a reaction to do it and making that reaction attack with disadvantage. You hit the enemy, frighten it, then back up (taking an AOO) and the bad guy can't move in to attack you on its turn.

WS is extremely effective. In the 2014 rules WS was probably the most powerful 1st level offensive spell and probably second only to Shield in the most powerful spell overall. It was changed in the 2024 rules in 3 significant ways - 1. It now gives a save every round, 2. It is no longer concentration, 3. It is necromancy so you can get it on Shadow Touched now. I would say the first two are a push, giving a save every turn makes the spell weaker, but eliminating concentration makes it stronger. The third thing though makes it available to a bunch of characters and that is a big boost.

 

[ECMO3]

In the past I've chosen EK when I wanted to play a defensive fighter (plate + defense fighting style + shield).

How were you getting eldritch blast previously? Magic Initiate or Spell Sniper? Perhaps an answer to your question lies in considering what feats one would take instead? For an offensive fighter an INT-based EK seems feasible (along the lines others have explained up thread) notwithstanding that folk almost always under-value defensive choices when theory-crafting.

A multiclass. Usually I play EKs with a high charisma and dump intelligence.