I vaguely remember you shouting "BONUS ROUND" and going to level 20 for funsies on one of your older builds. With the resurgence of straight classed builds, as well as the whole epic boon system, I would love to see more "BONUS ROUND"-s added at end of your builds :)
A Spear and shield is also really good. You can throw your bonded spear and call it back after you throw it. Instead of using shillelagh, you use true strike. You keep a short sword and a dagger as secondary weapons. You take the piercer feat as it works with all three weapons as well as 95% of ranged weapons.
@J.sh_CDN As a DM, I would that shield business is say that's a bad faith interpretation of the rule. A shield is armor and has no damage type RAW. Even the Shield Master feat makes no mention of bludgeoning damage. You proposed Crusher Polearm on spear could work but some DMs might not allow it.
@dragoninthewest1 I meant using the Shieldmaster Bonus action push ability, not using your shield as an improvised weapon... which perhaps could still work with the Duel Wielder Feat.... but still seems bad faith. No i just mean using the Shieldmaster Feat and pushing with that.
Or you're a druid with a DM that really really goes in for the you not just won't but outright can't bear to be near metal... Though I'd really love to see somebody do a martial druid sort of build with a 'shortsword' or axe - its not obsidian and flint type materials set in wood haven't been used historically. And ultimately other than being a little bit delicate on the edge they are very effective.
Fun Thing about The staff arcane focus in 2024! It also counts as a Quarterstaff. If you specificity get a staff arcane focus, you can still use your staff and cast spells
@@michs342 EK's can only use a Focus on Wizard Spells. To use a Staff as a Focus for Druid spells (like Shillelagh) they need a level in Druid or Ranger. The Origin Feat only gives the spell, not a way to cast it with a Shield.
Let's do an Errata! There is an issue with Shillelagh and a shield: Shillelagh requires you to be holding the staff, and also has both somatic AND material components. This means that, RAW, if you're also holding a shield, you probably can't cast the spell on your stick, EVEN with War Caster. And unfortunately, it takes an action to don a shield, so if you cast the spell first, then get your shield out, that's your whole first round. I think that's the best thing we can do if our DM is super strict. That said, I have to believe that most would allow you to, say, cast the spell then draw your staff, even if you're not *holding* the weapon when you cast it, or, if you've got War Caster, let you cast it with hands full, even though there's a material component, or that, since you've War Bonded your staff, that's good enough, or, heck, put the staff in the hand that's got the shield strapped to it - maybe you've got a couple fingers free. And of course, there's always the "I'm just always walking around casting Shillelagh and then donning my shield" crowd. Anyways, just make sure you talk this one over with your DM before you play, otherwise you might lose your first round of combat in setup. ALSO! I say there's no size restriction to the Hill Giant's tumble, but there is: large or smaller. Fortunately, the topple weapon mastery *doesn't* have a size restriction, though it does allow for a save.
Well, if your DM is strict about the rules, you could cast shillelagh, don the shield, wait 5 rounds, doff the shield, and repeat while walking. That way you probably will have your shield and shillelagh going when the battle starts. Or pick a druid level and your stick is your druidic focus.
@@BrianLasater Yeah, but I am assuming you are donning and doffing the shield while walking outside of combat. When initiative is rolled, you probably will have wour shield on and at least 5 rounds of shillelagh.
Ruby of the War Mage allows you to use your weapon as a spellcasting focus. Combined with Warcaster, that should cover any issues with the open hand requirement.
53:21 I'm a caster guy and I'm having more fun than I've ever had with a Fighter, save for maybe in 4th Edition. I've just hit level 2, but I'm almost exclusively using a Greatsword to Graze enemies. There have been SO many times where I Graze an enemy and it finishes them off or it allows someone else to finish them off. I can't wait to swap around Push, Sap, and Slow for when I hit.
One underrated 2024 Cantrip is Blade Ward. -1d4 to any attack rolls made against you. It’s basically Bane that requires no save. Yeah it’s concentration but it’s a cantrip. And it’s better than shield of faith because on average is a +2.5 AC instead of 2.
It's very good. To be honest, it's too good, in that a 1st level spell should always be better than a cantrip - though shield of faith does have the advantage of only taking a bonus action.
Shield of Faith lasts 10 minutes instead of 1 and can be cast on an ally up to 60ft away instead of just on Self. Its versatility makes up for the .5 lower AC buff.
@@tawektawek3838 Even still, you can cast it using with the War magic feature at 7th level to cast it with the attack action once and you just have it active for the rest of the fight because either you have probably taken war caster or you are just never getting hit in the first place. You might lose some damage at first but I don't think it's detrimental.
@ not saying Shield of faith is bad. Just that I don’t see anyone talking about how good Blade Ward is. +2.5 AC for a cantrip, it’s on par with a leveled spell that is already really useful.
the "pushing" a creature that you knocked prone all with a club feels really graphic. Just slamming enemies around, hitting again and again even when they're down. This is such an Ogre build :D
Interesting, others have predicted shillelagh, I agree. I am thinking between the topple weapon mastery and the shieldmaster feat you will knock your opponents prone almost every turn and then use elven accuracy to turn up that advantage to eleven on that stick using your intelligence score. Can't wait to be wrong about the build !
I agree on PAM and Elven Accuracy, but Shield Master depends on Str, not Intelligence (though I bet Colby will max out *Charisma* instead for multiclassing purposes).
Another thought: Tactical Shift has a really nice synergy with Booming Blade. Hit a target with BB, then use Tactical Shift to move away without taking an opportunity attack, provoking the target to chase. It’s a nice replacement for the old Mobile feat.
Fair but not as reliable since it's locked behind Second Wind and bonus action which will be (usually) eaten by Polearm Master. Plus redundant once you hit 9th level and gain Tactical Master, meaning you can Push instead of Topple with your staff, better if you manage to light them up and apply Slow, Topple, and Push on a single target + Booming Blade - something you can do every turn.
@ Excellent point. Especially with Topple, since it means the opponent has to choose between taking disadvantage on attacks/advantage against while prone or to get up from prone and take the BB extra damage. I’m not sure I’d Push them even. Having a toppled enemy within melee is better than having one 10’ away, especially with Sentinel.
Less so for Fighter, at least at high levels. Indomitable is really good. Still probably better than some of the suggested choices, probably, but worth noting that Fighter needs it less.
completely agree. Mage Slayer should be the 2nd, but probably no worse than your 3rd feat on most martials. If you're a Barb, I'd think you're crazy going past 8 without it. And as Treantmonk says, when you aren't being brain controlled, you are adding toy your damage
@taylorsmith9197 100% unless there is a feat your build is built around like Polearm Master or Great Weapon Master I'd pick it up at 4th level. But 6th or 8th level, at least for fighter.
@@chrisg8989 Exactly, I figured most martials are going to want either Dual Wielder/GWM/PAM/Charger or whatever first, but after that, Mage Slayer is just too good for big dumb martials lol. I have a World Tree Barbarian I'm wanting to play so badly, and without a doubt, level 8 will be this feat.
'' So, we are doing an Eldritch Knight! Therefore at level 1, we are taking Barbarian for that juicy Rage'' - Each time Colby does a build, I expect that kind of shenanigan. Love it! Keep up the good work!
Btw, I afaik one can totally hold a staff in the same hand that is holding a shield (though not strike with it). Some historical warriors would carry multiple javelins in the shield hand, while others would even use bow while having a small shield on its arm. So doesn't look like a big stretch to hold a staff momentarily.
20:30, as a DM I would rule the effect of a spell you cast on your weapon overrides the damage that weapon normally uses. If two people are each swinging a staff around, and both are polearm masters, and one of them has shillelagh and the other doesn’t, it makes no sense to me that their respective butts would be doing the same damage
Currently playing a Guide War Cleric with Shillelagh and I have an understanding with my DM that if we are in a dungeon or any sort of scenario where we are on edge I have Shillelagh up If we are surprised then it's off We have only had one combat ambushed at camp where it was off That feels reasonable and fair
Love your vids. Great mechanics and also the commentary on building the character around a theme that makes sense from and RP perspective. Never gets old.
If you cast Shillelagh every 30s, you guarantee at least 30sec of it in battle. Though a bit silly, in a dangerous situation (e.g. dungeon) it would make sense to do that. My homebrew would be that it is always active after casting while it's being held.
One of my favorite builds was a spear/shield Eldritch knight. Polearm master, Warcaster, Tunnel Fighter style, Blade Ward and Booming Blade cantrips, Shield and Absorb Elements. That things was a battlefield nightmare.
I gotta say, an examination of how to take a single class to 20 is infinitely more interesting to me than a multi-class optimised fest. My games lean more into the roleplay side of things over crunchy numbers so the class identity is more important to me than 'does good numbers'. As much as I love this channel, and I know 'optimised numbers' is kind of your thing, as soon as you say 'then we take a dip into X' is the point when I switch the video off as the guide is no longer relevant to me. I would love to see a guide to optimise each of the core 2024 classes all the way to 20 with no multiclassing !!! That would be very interesting to me. * YMMV
Whenever I get the chance to make a new character, this is what I'm doing, only much more polished! I'm going to flavor my Shillelagh to make a weapon head appear on the end of the quarterstaff during combat. For example, if I knock them down, the head appears as a flanged mace when I sweep the leg, and the follow up attack when they're prone can turn into a spear strike straight down, or something along those lines. I think it really captures the idea of a Fighter who uses magic, and I'm SO very glad the original Spellsword class can finally feel good to play. Cheers, Colby
I got a Beastmaster goliath running at the moment, using shillelagh on a club and a nick offhand weapon. Since it is a magic item-heavy setting, we finally got gauntlets of ogre power and the +1 moon sickle (we retroactivelly applied nick there). it's not at all optimal but great fun. But now I'm thinking of a shield approach. :D Also, for the constant use of cantrips, at our table we do the d10 roll, but only for exploration scenes, not dialogues and we skew the results to be always in our favor (roll a 1 and it means it has been one round, roll a 9 and it means you have 9 rounds left; of course it means we always end up rolling fives).
I did damage calculations for a similar build but instead of a quarter staff and shield, I used a pike to push enemies and try proc BB. It slapped! It was amazing in all tiers but really shines in tiers 3-4, even vs berserker barb build. Excited to see more EK builds in play from now on 🎉
Remember this setup when you finally make an Illrigger video @DnDDeepDive It's crazy and I'm looking forward to seeing you smirk as you explain your build.
45:12 depending on how you read Potent Cantrips and whether the damage from booming blade’s weapon attack is part of the damage from the cantrip, Evoker might be a really powerful option for this build.
44:30 ish I'm pretty sure because of the wording, if you multiclassed into Bladesinger, you'd not be able to use Fighter extra attack, but you could still use Bladesinger extra attack. As War Magic is not connected to extra attack and just says "when you take the attack action" whereas Bladesinger's "replace an attack with a Cantrip" is directly attached to their extra attack feature. If a DM allows it, awesome, but I think RAW it would be a mainly Wizard build because of that
I have a feeling I'm already doing a build similar to this with a homebrewed warlock subclass. My guess for this build though is a booming blade - quarter staff wielding polearm and shieldmaster having, crusher pushing Eldritch Knight Juggernaut.
PAM for sure! Crusher maybe, except it's another feat that doesn't increase the mental score you use for Shillelagh. Shield Master definitely not, since it depends on Str (and Dex saves) to be effective, so I find it difficult to fit on any build, especially gish builds.
I came here to point out an error about the Goliath Hill Giant ability but you already corrected it 😂😂 I’m glad to see you not just multi class into 7253920 things this time
Also, an Enspelled Staff (cloud of daggers) is IDEAL for this build. It is admitedly, a rare item that requires attunement, but it gives you 6 uses of Cloud of Daggers, counts as a focus, AND is a quarterstaff.
I feel like if the feats you're taking bump strength anyways, you could start lower strength and go higher intelligence, and let the feats bump you to 15 for the plate armor. You'll be a bit less durable earlier on, sure, but your damage would be the same and your spells would be more effective overall.
The shillelagh bonus action attack if weird. I agree that it should be a d4, but the feat also specifies bludgeoning damage and I feel like using the shillelagh's force damage makes more sense
I would opt for "Spellbonk" because it sounds fun and if anyone gives your character crap for it, tell them to address their grievances to the grey matter coating your mighty wooden instrument of destruction!
You can do almost the same build with a valor bard dipped with fighter. It's probably better to be strenght based to get almost unlimited access to toppling and pushing weapon but later you could use true strike to wield a strenght weapon using you spellcasting ability. You can start playing baseball with ememies from the 4th level (1 fighter/3 valor bard) using a warhammer to push enemies in the CoD damage. You lose action surge until you get more levels (probably around the 13/14th level) but you can start playing around cloud of daggers much earlier and get access to better spells much earlier. Both have pros and cons but you can basically play them the same
I'd honestly love to see a Eldritch Knight alternate build that home rules getting to use the druid spell list instead of Wizard and having Wisdome be the spellcasting ability 🔥
I 100% agree! I wish there was a little more of that modularity in modern DnD. Not everything has to be modular, but when a subclass is saying "you're a fighter/rogue/monk who uses spells", it should have a feature that allows you to choose between Int/Wis/Cha paired with their spell lists of the Wizard/Druid/Bard (or sorcerer). And they did add some in 2024, like the cleric where you can either choose armor or improve damage of cantrips or something like that.
@@taylorsmith9197 I'm very much the DM who subscribes to this theory, but it would be nice if this kind of reasonable but fun alteration wasn't simply DM discretion.
Very interested that earlier this week chris put out a video sword and board fighter damage and came the concludtion that they are as strong as a great sword fighter. I thought his assumptions were weaking the poteinal damage and you prove me right. That is very fun build!
Excellent video as always. For the Eldritch Knight i think a strength based two weapon fighter using shillelagh and a scimitar taking advantage of the grab a weapon stow a weapon during an attack is how i would go take dragonborn as for the breathweapon that can be swapped for an attack so at lvl 5 you have a spell like effect keeping in line with the gish feel if needed and then at level 7 use shadow blade instead of shillelagh when you have the spell slots . This allows you to throw the blade during your last attack on a turn which will free up a hand to keep sheild as an option probably won't do the same damage but i think it'd be worth it
@voodoophil I think you'd have to play artificer for a tank as a vehicle, actually there is a magic item, forget it's name buts its a mechanical vehicle you ride in so it's possible
I think it's fair to allow the fighter to use his reaction at the start of combat to cast shillelagh. If he happens to be the first in the initiative, tough luck, you either use your reaction for the first round of combat or you can use a bonus action to activate it.
Love this buiod, so fun. Peronally would only give up chaeger to get res wisdom first and sentinel second. Also might tske warcaster sooner for booming blade interaction XD
Some higher level shenanigans with an INT build and Booming Blade, War Caster, Wrathful Smite from Shadow Touched, or Dissonant Whispers from Fey Touched. Level 7 - 17: Attack with Booming Blade, bonus action Wrathful Smite, opportunity attack with Booming Blade if you landed the Freightened status. Level 18+, which I realize is beyond where you go with your videos: Booming Blade into Dissonant Whispers into an opportunity attack during your turn. Not sure how much damage can actually come from this, but these are funny at least.
This was my first 2024 character idea although I went with the intelligence sad route for better spell casting and human so I could take the sage background for better stats and still get shillelagh. Played it at a level 11 one shot and high rolled for 110 damage against the boss in one turn. Thanks for the builds as always!
I'm using a Trident with my EK and focusing more on the defensive/party protect and support aspect, and it lets me have a nice in-combat use for War Bond. I can YEET the Trident while running into melee to get a ranged Topple check, and then just bamf it back to my hand as I get there, which would allow the Charger feat attack to enjoy the advantage on the bigger hit. It's also very nice for flying enemies to shoot them down and then get on top of them.
The EK cantrip attack replacement is a different feature with different wording by the way. So it stacks with valor bards extra attack cantrip. Giving you two cantrip attacks in the attack action. Could be fun to play around with. EDIT: oH nm, you mentioned it later in the video.
Woah, BG3 is getting Baldesinger _and_ Hexblade subclasses added in the next patch! Gonna have to go adapt all of my favorite builds you’ve done for those! Hopefully you can do a few new bg3 builds with the new subclasses when they drop!
This is so perfect as a framewok for an npc I wanted to make called the Razorknight. A mysterious Knight in the city of Sigil who is covered in Razorvine. I always like the image of a fully armoured knight wielding the shillelagh and casting some kind of nature magic (cloud of daggers being a swirling Razorvine)
I know the world tree Barbarian doesn't get any direct damage boosts, so idk if its worthy of a whole build video, but i am really liking the idea of getting Shillelagh on a WT Barb. Themes are great, and because WT Barbs don't get a natural damage boost, throwing this in on to a sword and board Barbarian that is already manipulating the battlefield in unique ways seems like a lot of fun and thematic. I imagine him as a Goliath almost Jaguar Warrior looking Barbarian. Shield and Macuahuitl as the weapon (probably just a reflavored longsword or something).
A shillelagh build with a shield is a little difficult to pull off. Its really easy to pick shillelagh with magic initiate (druid), but you will need a material component to cast it, that is, a free hand even with the warcaster feat. I am curious to see how you did it.
I was tired of never getting opportunities to hit surprised enemies with my assassin rogue so figured out a way to manufacture a surprise, not technically but through a conversation with the DM, enter the Doppelganger. Went changling rogue to level 3, charlatan background for forgery kit proficiency for deeper impersonation when you don't get the downtime for using the assassin fake identity thing. Rest of the way go whispers bard, grab disguise self for longer fake identities than the hour ability you get with the bard subclass, make sure to grab proficiency in stealth and deception. Whenever a baddie goes down and they are concealed from their allies hide, take their form. Rejoin the battle as their ally and stab them for that sweet assassin surprise damage. Please steal this and make improvements or to inspire your own combinations.
The whole background feature issue is why Human is best race now, especially if your DM will not allow you to have a custom background. Have your base background be whatever best suits your ability score needs, then use the free Human origin feat to get whatever feat you wanted.....like Magic Initiate Druid to get Guidance and Shillelagh.
I don't think so. I like humans but I played them in every edition so its not what they get. But there are a lot of racial abilities that are just flat out better than origin feats.
@Ahglock I dunno man but a Human Eldriych Knight with Shield/Booming Blade/Green Flame Blade from initiate Wizard and Absorb Elements/Guidance/Shillelagh from initiate Druid sound like a pretty freaking sweet starting package to me. Especially with 1 free casting each of those lvl 1 spells.
@@fullmetalpoitato5190 I tend to agree. Some racial abilities are fantastic, but for the builds I've been considering the flexibility of magic initiate is very tempting, especially when you also get an extra skill and a heroic inspiration.
@@fullmetalpoitato5190 Getting a lot out of a specific build does not mean the race as a whole is the best. It is just maybe best for that specific build.
I dont have my PHB at the moment, but i don't think Hill Giant ancestry allows you to knock prone regardless of size, i think its limited to large or smaller creatures
Not sure if you'll see this, but there was new update announced for Baldur's Gate 3 coming out next year that is adding 12 new subclasses! Would love to see some more builds on those when they release!
I love D&D. I think the new rules for the most part is an improvement for the game, but I think they fail just a little when it's better for at fighter to use a stick rather than a sword.
Cool, perfect timing. I'm building a (neutral evil) eldritch knight rn. I'm playing a human with the soldier background, which gives me Savage Attacker. Like you, I'm not investing a lot in my spellcasting ability. I'm not taking any offensive (attack or save) spells that depend on my spellcasting ability: starting with Cantrips booming blade and minor illusion, and 1st level absorb elements, shield, and find familiar--haven't decided on the familiar, but hoping for something spicy with DM permission to match my alignment.
I’m currently doing a very similar build with a devotion paladin in a Vecna campaign (sacrificed so the party had all the cc protection). I went human so I could get both wizard and Druid initiate feats for Shillelagh, blade ward and true strike. The dm lets me cast shillelagh and blade ward outside of combat, so first two rounds are magic weapon then spirit shroud for big fights. At my table the dm nerfed topple to only work once per round so might have to pick up shield master at 12 to be annoying.
@Colby hey I have an idea for a build for you! As a fellow Goliath enjoyer you might appreciate it. So what do you think of a frost Goliath, using a whip with the slow property, with the slasher feat. It seems like on hit it would be 30 feet of movement penalty AND the whip has reach AND as a Goliath you have more MS. Ultimate kiting build? Combo perfection with an environmental hazard caster? Is this turning any gears? The idea is yours Colby, no royalties or IP lawsuit required. Happy Thanksgiving 🎉
Awesome video as always. Though I was wondering, I believe you talked something about the Eldridge night and the valor bard having two separate ways to cast a country trip instead of one of their attacks. So what I was wondering is something like Eldridge night level eight, Valor level eight, and the last four levels in either warlock, Ranger or sorcerer or possibly a combination of the three or rather a combination of two with the ranger and the warlock in competition with each other over hunters, Mark and X and wondering if the sorcerer‘s first level ability works on all spells are only sorcerer‘s pills. The ability to increase third DC with plus one or or rather and give themselves advantage on a spell attacks?
I messed up started thinking about feet, but I think I would go Eldridge night level eight, valor level seven, leaving five levels for warlock so I can get Elder smite And wondering, as far as like the Eldridge smite could use spell slots from your other casters or do you have to stay with the warlock spell slots?
Another idea has popped into my mind: are you able to do three cantrips in a turn with a level eight Eldridge night, level eight valor barred, and level four wildmagic sorcerer? By quickening, a cantrip with the sorcerer then doing your two special attacks with the Eldridge night and the valor bard? Also, with part of your character being a wildmagic sorcerer do all of your spells have a chance of triggering the wildmagic table?
So many questions lol. Wish I had the money to become a member, but unfortunately, I am disabled, legally blind on SSI and barely get enough to make it through the month though I know that your membership is quite cheap so I will definitely think about it because I might be able to afford a few dollars a month. But my next question is when you multi class and you have several different spellcaster classes on your character how do you decide which ones spell casting attribute is used when you cast your spells?
So many questions lol. Wish I had the money to become a member, but unfortunately, I am disabled, legally blind on SSI and barely get enough to make it through the month though I know that your membership is quite cheap so I will definitely think about it because I might be able to afford a few dollars a month. But my next question is when you multi class and you have several different spellcaster classes on your character how do you decide which ones spell casting attribute is used when you cast your spells? also, the character I asked about earlier; the Eldridge night, Ballard bar, wild Magic sorcerer? I gave those levels to get the most feats that I could definitely see that there are some levels that can be taken away and given to other classes or to one other class mainly, I guess the sorcerer class or heck maybe to the bard class even in hopes of reaching magical secrets.
So many questions lol. Wish I had the money to become a member, but unfortunately, I am disabled, legally blind on SSI and barely get enough to make it through the month though I know that your membership is quite cheap so I will definitely think about it because I might be able to afford a few dollars a month. But my next question is when you multi class and you have several different spellcaster classes on your character how do you decide which ones spell casting attribute is used when you cast your spells? also, the character I asked about earlier; the Eldridge night, Ballard bar, wild Magic sorcerer? I gave those levels to get the most feats that I could definitely see that there are some levels that can be taken away and given to other classes or to one other class mainly, I guess the sorcerer class or heck maybe to the bard class even in hopes of reaching magical secrets. I might even go so far as to take a one level range dip just for hunters mark so that would be a Ranger level 1, Eldridge night level 7, valor bard level 5 and wildmagic level. 7😳
Please check out Fablecraft here! fablecraft.riftweaver.com/download/?D4DNDDEEPDIVE
3:46 and Randall Hampton! The ironi of the wooden training sword is so perfect given your thumbnail 😂
Silly question. have you ever done a build with the Illrigger ? matt colville's class i only recently dicovered ? it's on DnD Beyond now
@@ryzzhan9125 no but I’m considering it
@@DnDDeepDive PLS PLS PLS PLS PLS DO!!!!! would love to see your viewpoint on it an the "subclasses" or how to build them best possible.
'Spellstaff' in place of 'Blade Singer'.
The Eldritch Knight? Maybe that’s a hint that this build will start with a level in fighter…
Plot twist: Artificer
😂
I vaguely remember you shouting "BONUS ROUND" and going to level 20 for funsies on one of your older builds. With the resurgence of straight classed builds, as well as the whole epic boon system, I would love to see more "BONUS ROUND"-s added at end of your builds :)
A Spear and shield is also really good. You can throw your bonded spear and call it back after you throw it. Instead of using shillelagh, you use true strike. You keep a short sword and a dagger as secondary weapons. You take the piercer feat as it works with all three weapons as well as 95% of ranged weapons.
Can you still use booming blade on the spear?
@DrChacatumbi Booming Blade: Components: S, M (a melee weapon worth at least 1sp). Checks out.
Yes, but potentially less use of the crusher feat
You can still use it with the polearm master butt strike, or push with Shieldmaster though
@J.sh_CDN As a DM, I would that shield business is say that's a bad faith interpretation of the rule. A shield is armor and has no damage type RAW. Even the Shield Master feat makes no mention of bludgeoning damage.
You proposed Crusher Polearm on spear could work but some DMs might not allow it.
@dragoninthewest1 I meant using the Shieldmaster Bonus action push ability, not using your shield as an improvised weapon... which perhaps could still work with the Duel Wielder Feat.... but still seems bad faith.
No i just mean using the Shieldmaster Feat and pushing with that.
if the build has a staff that means shillelagh
Or you're a druid with a DM that really really goes in for the you not just won't but outright can't bear to be near metal... Though I'd really love to see somebody do a martial druid sort of build with a 'shortsword' or axe - its not obsidian and flint type materials set in wood haven't been used historically. And ultimately other than being a little bit delicate on the edge they are very effective.
The metal rule has been removed in D&D 2024 and you can take magic initiate as an origin feat to get it without being a Druid :)
@@Fafnirod123 Yes I know, but not everyone is 2024 etc.
You can also use a wooden club and reflavor as a bokken
@@foldionepapyrus3441 The no Metal portion of the rule in 2014 only applied to Armor and shields. Metal weapons were allowed.
Fun Thing about The staff arcane focus in 2024! It also counts as a Quarterstaff. If you specificity get a staff arcane focus, you can still use your staff and cast spells
But not Shillelagh without a level in Druid or Ranger.
@@andrewshandle Or you can take Magic Initiate (Druid) as you Origin Feat to get Shillelagh as well instead of a level.
@@michs342 The reason why you can't is that only caster clases like druid, warlock or wizard can use staffs as an arcane focus
@@prygrama9313 True, I think I got Arcane Focus staffs and magical staffs mixed up in my thinking.
@@michs342 EK's can only use a Focus on Wizard Spells. To use a Staff as a Focus for Druid spells (like Shillelagh) they need a level in Druid or Ranger. The Origin Feat only gives the spell, not a way to cast it with a Shield.
Let's do an Errata! There is an issue with Shillelagh and a shield: Shillelagh requires you to be holding the staff, and also has both somatic AND material components. This means that, RAW, if you're also holding a shield, you probably can't cast the spell on your stick, EVEN with War Caster. And unfortunately, it takes an action to don a shield, so if you cast the spell first, then get your shield out, that's your whole first round. I think that's the best thing we can do if our DM is super strict. That said, I have to believe that most would allow you to, say, cast the spell then draw your staff, even if you're not *holding* the weapon when you cast it, or, if you've got War Caster, let you cast it with hands full, even though there's a material component, or that, since you've War Bonded your staff, that's good enough, or, heck, put the staff in the hand that's got the shield strapped to it - maybe you've got a couple fingers free. And of course, there's always the "I'm just always walking around casting Shillelagh and then donning my shield" crowd. Anyways, just make sure you talk this one over with your DM before you play, otherwise you might lose your first round of combat in setup. ALSO! I say there's no size restriction to the Hill Giant's tumble, but there is: large or smaller. Fortunately, the topple weapon mastery *doesn't* have a size restriction, though it does allow for a save.
Well, if your DM is strict about the rules, you could cast shillelagh, don the shield, wait 5 rounds, doff the shield, and repeat while walking. That way you probably will have your shield and shillelagh going when the battle starts.
Or pick a druid level and your stick is your druidic focus.
@@yurirobindonning or doffing a shield requires the utilize action.
@@BrianLasater Yeah, but I am assuming you are donning and doffing the shield while walking outside of combat. When initiative is rolled, you probably will have wour shield on and at least 5 rounds of shillelagh.
Just get the DM to allow the shield or quarterstaff (since it is both and Arcand and a Druidic focus) to be a spellcasting focus.
Ruby of the War Mage allows you to use your weapon as a spellcasting focus. Combined with Warcaster, that should cover any issues with the open hand requirement.
A straight fighter? That's straighter than me!
I'm so proud of you, Colby
53:21 I'm a caster guy and I'm having more fun than I've ever had with a Fighter, save for maybe in 4th Edition. I've just hit level 2, but I'm almost exclusively using a Greatsword to Graze enemies. There have been SO many times where I Graze an enemy and it finishes them off or it allows someone else to finish them off. I can't wait to swap around Push, Sap, and Slow for when I hit.
One underrated 2024 Cantrip is Blade Ward. -1d4 to any attack rolls made against you. It’s basically Bane that requires no save. Yeah it’s concentration but it’s a cantrip. And it’s better than shield of faith because on average is a +2.5 AC instead of 2.
It's very good.
To be honest, it's too good, in that a 1st level spell should always be better than a cantrip - though shield of faith does have the advantage of only taking a bonus action.
Shield of Faith lasts 10 minutes instead of 1 and can be cast on an ally up to 60ft away instead of just on Self. Its versatility makes up for the .5 lower AC buff.
@@tawektawek3838 Even still, you can cast it using with the War magic feature at 7th level to cast it with the attack action once and you just have it active for the rest of the fight because either you have probably taken war caster or you are just never getting hit in the first place. You might lose some damage at first but I don't think it's detrimental.
@ not saying Shield of faith is bad. Just that I don’t see anyone talking about how good Blade Ward is. +2.5 AC for a cantrip, it’s on par with a leveled spell that is already really useful.
@@luiseduardovictoria3047 Good point. I hadn't thought about using War magic to cast Blade Ward instead of an attack.
the "pushing" a creature that you knocked prone all with a club feels really graphic. Just slamming enemies around, hitting again and again even when they're down. This is such an Ogre build :D
I want my staff to be a big hockey stick and be using it to slapshot my enemies around the battlefield!
Eldritch Knight was my first class I played in D&D and it's always a gift to see it in a build again. Thanks Colby!
Interesting, others have predicted shillelagh, I agree. I am thinking between the topple weapon mastery and the shieldmaster feat you will knock your opponents prone almost every turn and then use elven accuracy to turn up that advantage to eleven on that stick using your intelligence score. Can't wait to be wrong about the build !
I agree on PAM and Elven Accuracy, but Shield Master depends on Str, not Intelligence (though I bet Colby will max out *Charisma* instead for multiclassing purposes).
Another thought: Tactical Shift has a really nice synergy with Booming Blade. Hit a target with BB, then use Tactical Shift to move away without taking an opportunity attack, provoking the target to chase. It’s a nice replacement for the old Mobile feat.
Fair but not as reliable since it's locked behind Second Wind and bonus action which will be (usually) eaten by Polearm Master. Plus redundant once you hit 9th level and gain Tactical Master, meaning you can Push instead of Topple with your staff, better if you manage to light them up and apply Slow, Topple, and Push on a single target + Booming Blade - something you can do every turn.
@ Excellent point. Especially with Topple, since it means the opponent has to choose between taking disadvantage on attacks/advantage against while prone or to get up from prone and take the BB extra damage. I’m not sure I’d Push them even. Having a toppled enemy within melee is better than having one 10’ away, especially with Sentinel.
For a fun little nova blast: Take Shield Master. Wade into the middle of a group of enemies. Cast Fireball centered on self for 0 damage to you.
Between Wukong and 2024 Shilleilegh Quarterstaffs are really getting a lot of love this year
Mage Slayer is a no Brainerd, IMO. Doesn't add damage but it's a defensive must, especially for a Martial class.
Less so for Fighter, at least at high levels. Indomitable is really good. Still probably better than some of the suggested choices, probably, but worth noting that Fighter needs it less.
@DeadmanwalkingXI I dunno man. Mage Slayer + Indomitable means you never fail. Still a feat I'd pick up over most others.
completely agree. Mage Slayer should be the 2nd, but probably no worse than your 3rd feat on most martials. If you're a Barb, I'd think you're crazy going past 8 without it. And as Treantmonk says, when you aren't being brain controlled, you are adding toy your damage
@taylorsmith9197 100% unless there is a feat your build is built around like Polearm Master or Great Weapon Master I'd pick it up at 4th level. But 6th or 8th level, at least for fighter.
@@chrisg8989 Exactly, I figured most martials are going to want either Dual Wielder/GWM/PAM/Charger or whatever first, but after that, Mage Slayer is just too good for big dumb martials lol. I have a World Tree Barbarian I'm wanting to play so badly, and without a doubt, level 8 will be this feat.
Great build as always, and man do I look forward to the Outtakes section now for whatever amazing editing awaits. lol
'' So, we are doing an Eldritch Knight! Therefore at level 1, we are taking Barbarian for that juicy Rage'' - Each time Colby does a build, I expect that kind of shenanigan.
Love it! Keep up the good work!
Love this! One of my favorites so far!
I also love Ryan shupe and the Rubber band, you definitely surprised me with that one! Ryan is a family friend.
Btw, I afaik one can totally hold a staff in the same hand that is holding a shield (though not strike with it). Some historical warriors would carry multiple javelins in the shield hand, while others would even use bow while having a small shield on its arm. So doesn't look like a big stretch to hold a staff momentarily.
20:30, as a DM I would rule the effect of a spell you cast on your weapon overrides the damage that weapon normally uses. If two people are each swinging a staff around, and both are polearm masters, and one of them has shillelagh and the other doesn’t, it makes no sense to me that their respective butts would be doing the same damage
Currently playing a Guide War Cleric with Shillelagh and I have an understanding with my DM that if we are in a dungeon or any sort of scenario where we are on edge I have Shillelagh up
If we are surprised then it's off
We have only had one combat ambushed at camp where it was off
That feels reasonable and fair
Cloud of daggers, my old friend...
It's time to cast you once again
Lol, the chipmunk whispering secrets section had me in stitches 🤣
If the build has guns like Colby, it's going to be over powered. :D
Love your vids. Great mechanics and also the commentary on building the character around a theme that makes sense from and RP perspective. Never gets old.
If you cast Shillelagh every 30s, you guarantee at least 30sec of it in battle. Though a bit silly, in a dangerous situation (e.g. dungeon) it would make sense to do that. My homebrew would be that it is always active after casting while it's being held.
I would LOVE a mistborn build one day. I dont even know if it’s possible tho but would be super cool.
One of my favorite builds was a spear/shield Eldritch knight. Polearm master, Warcaster, Tunnel Fighter style, Blade Ward and Booming Blade cantrips, Shield and Absorb Elements. That things was a battlefield nightmare.
Hey man, as a Canadian I say we'd be happy to have you. Just make sure you can handle the cold!
Absolutely love this build, one of my new favorites, and I can not wait to try it! We love you too
I gotta say, an examination of how to take a single class to 20 is infinitely more interesting to me than a multi-class optimised fest. My games lean more into the roleplay side of things over crunchy numbers so the class identity is more important to me than 'does good numbers'.
As much as I love this channel, and I know 'optimised numbers' is kind of your thing, as soon as you say 'then we take a dip into X' is the point when I switch the video off as the guide is no longer relevant to me.
I would love to see a guide to optimise each of the core 2024 classes all the way to 20 with no multiclassing !!! That would be very interesting to me.
* YMMV
In 2014 DnD I’ve built a very similar build as a Paladin and it worked out very well.
Whenever I get the chance to make a new character, this is what I'm doing, only much more polished! I'm going to flavor my Shillelagh to make a weapon head appear on the end of the quarterstaff during combat. For example, if I knock them down, the head appears as a flanged mace when I sweep the leg, and the follow up attack when they're prone can turn into a spear strike straight down, or something along those lines. I think it really captures the idea of a Fighter who uses magic, and I'm SO very glad the original Spellsword class can finally feel good to play. Cheers, Colby
I got a Beastmaster goliath running at the moment, using shillelagh on a club and a nick offhand weapon. Since it is a magic item-heavy setting, we finally got gauntlets of ogre power and the +1 moon sickle (we retroactivelly applied nick there). it's not at all optimal but great fun. But now I'm thinking of a shield approach. :D
Also, for the constant use of cantrips, at our table we do the d10 roll, but only for exploration scenes, not dialogues and we skew the results to be always in our favor (roll a 1 and it means it has been one round, roll a 9 and it means you have 9 rounds left; of course it means we always end up rolling fives).
56:10 no way I 100% am bouncing between you and the Dungeon Dudes coverage of new classes in 2024.
P.s. watching in SLC 🫡
Spear and shield is kind of crazy. Im currently playing a Cavalier Fighter who uses a shortspear and a shield. Spartan style is underrated.
I'll be honest, knowing this was a Fighter build i assumed D4DD would have found a reason to dip a different class first 🤣
I did damage calculations for a similar build but instead of a quarter staff and shield, I used a pike to push enemies and try proc BB. It slapped! It was amazing in all tiers but really shines in tiers 3-4, even vs berserker barb build. Excited to see more EK builds in play from now on 🎉
Oh my god the breath edit in the outro was so so funny.
Definitely the coolest 2024 build so far. Love this one.
Colby I think you are great
Just a great attitude
Great Excitement
Great MATH
I just enjoy watching your videos as a DM - sometimes player
This is my favorite marshal archetype! I cannot wait to watch this on my drive home!
The big problem i feel with shillelagh is the vibe. Holding a shield and a *wooden stick* just doesn’t feel like a fantasy warrior!
Remember this setup when you finally make an Illrigger video @DnDDeepDive
It's crazy and I'm looking forward to seeing you smirk as you explain your build.
45:12 depending on how you read Potent Cantrips and whether the damage from booming blade’s weapon attack is part of the damage from the cantrip, Evoker might be a really powerful option for this build.
44:30 ish
I'm pretty sure because of the wording, if you multiclassed into Bladesinger, you'd not be able to use Fighter extra attack, but you could still use Bladesinger extra attack. As War Magic is not connected to extra attack and just says "when you take the attack action" whereas Bladesinger's "replace an attack with a Cantrip" is directly attached to their extra attack feature. If a DM allows it, awesome, but I think RAW it would be a mainly Wizard build because of that
To the editor...Genius. No Cap - genius!
I have a feeling I'm already doing a build similar to this with a homebrewed warlock subclass. My guess for this build though is a booming blade - quarter staff wielding polearm and shieldmaster having, crusher pushing Eldritch Knight Juggernaut.
PAM for sure!
Crusher maybe, except it's another feat that doesn't increase the mental score you use for Shillelagh.
Shield Master definitely not, since it depends on Str (and Dex saves) to be effective, so I find it difficult to fit on any build, especially gish builds.
@@SortKaffe shillelagh specifically says you "can" use your spellcasting mod, not you must.
I came here to point out an error about the Goliath Hill Giant ability but you already corrected it 😂😂 I’m glad to see you not just multi class into 7253920 things this time
Also, an Enspelled Staff (cloud of daggers) is IDEAL for this build. It is admitedly, a rare item that requires attunement, but it gives you 6 uses of Cloud of Daggers, counts as a focus, AND is a quarterstaff.
It would be awesome to hear your take on the MCDM Illrigger class that was finally ported onto DnDBeyond
I feel like if the feats you're taking bump strength anyways, you could start lower strength and go higher intelligence, and let the feats bump you to 15 for the plate armor. You'll be a bit less durable earlier on, sure, but your damage would be the same and your spells would be more effective overall.
The shillelagh bonus action attack if weird. I agree that it should be a d4, but the feat also specifies bludgeoning damage and I feel like using the shillelagh's force damage makes more sense
Huge fan of the artwork today. It really looks like a General from Fire Emblem (which Im a huge fan of)
With that intro, the music sounds especially epic this week 🤘
I would opt for "Spellbonk" because it sounds fun and if anyone gives your character crap for it, tell them to address their grievances to the grey matter coating your mighty wooden instrument of destruction!
You can do almost the same build with a valor bard dipped with fighter. It's probably better to be strenght based to get almost unlimited access to toppling and pushing weapon but later you could use true strike to wield a strenght weapon using you spellcasting ability. You can start playing baseball with ememies from the 4th level (1 fighter/3 valor bard) using a warhammer to push enemies in the CoD damage. You lose action surge until you get more levels (probably around the 13/14th level) but you can start playing around cloud of daggers much earlier and get access to better spells much earlier. Both have pros and cons but you can basically play them the same
Another reason I relate to Colby so much. Our mutual adoration of Gishes
I'd honestly love to see a Eldritch Knight alternate build that home rules getting to use the druid spell list instead of Wizard and having Wisdome be the spellcasting ability 🔥
I 100% agree! I wish there was a little more of that modularity in modern DnD. Not everything has to be modular, but when a subclass is saying "you're a fighter/rogue/monk who uses spells", it should have a feature that allows you to choose between Int/Wis/Cha paired with their spell lists of the Wizard/Druid/Bard (or sorcerer). And they did add some in 2024, like the cleric where you can either choose armor or improve damage of cantrips or something like that.
@@taylorsmith9197 I'm very much the DM who subscribes to this theory, but it would be nice if this kind of reasonable but fun alteration wasn't simply DM discretion.
Very interested that earlier this week chris put out a video sword and board fighter damage and came the concludtion that they are as strong as a great sword fighter. I thought his assumptions were weaking the poteinal damage and you prove me right. That is very fun build!
Excellent video as always. For the Eldritch Knight i think a strength based two weapon fighter using shillelagh and a scimitar taking advantage of the grab a weapon stow a weapon during an attack is how i would go take dragonborn as for the breathweapon that can be swapped for an attack so at lvl 5 you have a spell like effect keeping in line with the gish feel if needed and then at level 7 use shadow blade instead of shillelagh when you have the spell slots . This allows you to throw the blade during your last attack on a turn which will free up a hand to keep sheild as an option probably won't do the same damage but i think it'd be worth it
@voodoophil I think you'd have to play artificer for a tank as a vehicle, actually there is a magic item, forget it's name buts its a mechanical vehicle you ride in so it's possible
@voodoophil thank you, I remember seeing them in a top ten from nerd immersion video along time ago but couldn't remember the name of it
I think it's fair to allow the fighter to use his reaction at the start of combat to cast shillelagh. If he happens to be the first in the initiative, tough luck, you either use your reaction for the first round of combat or you can use a bonus action to activate it.
Would love it if you did a rogue soulknife/monk
Love this buiod, so fun. Peronally would only give up chaeger to get res wisdom first and sentinel second. Also might tske warcaster sooner for booming blade interaction XD
Some higher level shenanigans with an INT build and Booming Blade, War Caster, Wrathful Smite from Shadow Touched, or Dissonant Whispers from Fey Touched.
Level 7 - 17: Attack with Booming Blade, bonus action Wrathful Smite, opportunity attack with Booming Blade if you landed the Freightened status.
Level 18+, which I realize is beyond where you go with your videos: Booming Blade into Dissonant Whispers into an opportunity attack during your turn.
Not sure how much damage can actually come from this, but these are funny at least.
If you dip 3 levels for thief rogue, you could equip your shield as a bonus action on the 2nd round, since it's the utilize action
This was my first 2024 character idea although I went with the intelligence sad route for better spell casting and human so I could take the sage background for better stats and still get shillelagh. Played it at a level 11 one shot and high rolled for 110 damage against the boss in one turn. Thanks for the builds as always!
I'm using a Trident with my EK and focusing more on the defensive/party protect and support aspect, and it lets me have a nice in-combat use for War Bond. I can YEET the Trident while running into melee to get a ranged Topple check, and then just bamf it back to my hand as I get there, which would allow the Charger feat attack to enjoy the advantage on the bigger hit. It's also very nice for flying enemies to shoot them down and then get on top of them.
Trident is the unspoken 2024 Meta. Especially with the Fighter ability to make it into other Weapon Mastery properties later. Wise choice!
The EK cantrip attack replacement is a different feature with different wording by the way. So it stacks with valor bards extra attack cantrip. Giving you two cantrip attacks in the attack action. Could be fun to play around with. EDIT: oH nm, you mentioned it later in the video.
Woah, BG3 is getting Baldesinger _and_ Hexblade subclasses added in the next patch! Gonna have to go adapt all of my favorite builds you’ve done for those! Hopefully you can do a few new bg3 builds with the new subclasses when they drop!
This is so perfect as a framewok for an npc I wanted to make called the Razorknight. A mysterious Knight in the city of Sigil who is covered in Razorvine.
I always like the image of a fully armoured knight wielding the shillelagh and casting some kind of nature magic (cloud of daggers being a swirling Razorvine)
I know the world tree Barbarian doesn't get any direct damage boosts, so idk if its worthy of a whole build video, but i am really liking the idea of getting Shillelagh on a WT Barb. Themes are great, and because WT Barbs don't get a natural damage boost, throwing this in on to a sword and board Barbarian that is already manipulating the battlefield in unique ways seems like a lot of fun and thematic. I imagine him as a Goliath almost Jaguar Warrior looking Barbarian. Shield and Macuahuitl as the weapon (probably just a reflavored longsword or something).
A shillelagh build with a shield is a little difficult to pull off. Its really easy to pick shillelagh with magic initiate (druid), but you will need a material component to cast it, that is, a free hand even with the warcaster feat.
I am curious to see how you did it.
Aye - there's a comment near the top (hopefully?) addressing this :)
44:55 do I sense a future video in the making? hopefully... I can never get enough of the bladesinger
I was tired of never getting opportunities to hit surprised enemies with my assassin rogue so figured out a way to manufacture a surprise, not technically but through a conversation with the DM, enter the Doppelganger. Went changling rogue to level 3, charlatan background for forgery kit proficiency for deeper impersonation when you don't get the downtime for using the assassin fake identity thing. Rest of the way go whispers bard, grab disguise self for longer fake identities than the hour ability you get with the bard subclass, make sure to grab proficiency in stealth and deception. Whenever a baddie goes down and they are concealed from their allies hide, take their form. Rejoin the battle as their ally and stab them for that sweet assassin surprise damage. Please steal this and make improvements or to inspire your own combinations.
The whole background feature issue is why Human is best race now, especially if your DM will not allow you to have a custom background. Have your base background be whatever best suits your ability score needs, then use the free Human origin feat to get whatever feat you wanted.....like Magic Initiate Druid to get Guidance and Shillelagh.
I don't think so. I like humans but I played them in every edition so its not what they get. But there are a lot of racial abilities that are just flat out better than origin feats.
@Ahglock I dunno man but a Human Eldriych Knight with Shield/Booming Blade/Green Flame Blade from initiate Wizard and Absorb Elements/Guidance/Shillelagh from initiate Druid sound like a pretty freaking sweet starting package to me. Especially with 1 free casting each of those lvl 1 spells.
@@fullmetalpoitato5190 I tend to agree.
Some racial abilities are fantastic, but for the builds I've been considering the flexibility of magic initiate is very tempting, especially when you also get an extra skill and a heroic inspiration.
@@fullmetalpoitato5190 Getting a lot out of a specific build does not mean the race as a whole is the best. It is just maybe best for that specific build.
Eldritch Knights with high Dex, a shield, and Medium Armor Master can do a lot with the Shield spell prepped. Damage is done with Shadow Blade.
I dont have my PHB at the moment, but i don't think Hill Giant ancestry allows you to knock prone regardless of size, i think its limited to large or smaller creatures
I recently came up with the start of a build. The Orc Sailor Champion. Unarmed Fighting style using Crusher and Charger. Still not finished though.
Who ever made this fighters wooden quarterstaff is truly the hero.
I already done! 5 lvl right now on my game :D
This would also work decently for a sad devotion paladin. With shillelagh and sacred weapon you add you charisma bonus twice to the attack roll
Howdy do ya! Happy thanksgiving, y'all!
Not sure if you'll see this, but there was new update announced for Baldur's Gate 3 coming out next year that is adding 12 new subclasses! Would love to see some more builds on those when they release!
I love D&D. I think the new rules for the most part is an improvement for the game, but I think they fail just a little when it's better for at fighter to use a stick rather than a sword.
Quick correction: the hill giant's tumble DOES have a size restriction
Yeah, added this to the comment yesterday :)
The chipmunk whispering secrets is EPIC!
(Sorry, it took so long to get to this, I scratched my cornea last week and so couldn't watch a screen for more than a few minutes.)
The Ultimate Eldritch Blaster: D&D Ep #191
Level 01 (see above) [fighter 1, species, background, fighting-style & weapon masteries]
Level 02 (see above) [fighter 2]
Level 03 (@16:17) [fighter 3 & subclass]
Level 04 (@19:34) [fighter 4, feat & weapon mastery]
Level 05 (@21:19) [fighter 5]
Level 06 (@22:18) [fighter 6 & feat]
Level 07 (see above) [fighter 7]
Level 08 (@29:49) [fighter 8 & feat]
Level 09 (@31:09) [fighter 9]
Level 10 (see above) [fighter 10 & weapon mastery]
Level 11 (@37:16) [fighter 11]
Level 12 (@37:49) [fighter 12 & feat]
Level 13 (@39:24) [fighter 13]
Level 14 (see above) [fighter 14 & feat]
Level 15 (@47:19) [fighter 15]
Level 16 (@47:33) [fighter 16, feat & weapon mastery]
Level 17 (@47:54) [fighter 17]
Anything that makes a Shield user in any game more than just a tank is a instant win for me!
Cool, perfect timing. I'm building a (neutral evil) eldritch knight rn. I'm playing a human with the soldier background, which gives me Savage Attacker. Like you, I'm not investing a lot in my spellcasting ability. I'm not taking any offensive (attack or save) spells that depend on my spellcasting ability: starting with Cantrips booming blade and minor illusion, and 1st level absorb elements, shield, and find familiar--haven't decided on the familiar, but hoping for something spicy with DM permission to match my alignment.
This is what I was going for with my Half-Elf Fighter/Mage in 1992 2e.
Funny coincidence, as this video was starting I was just thinking that I wished I could ask Colby to do a straight fighter eldritch knight build.
I’m currently doing a very similar build with a devotion paladin in a Vecna campaign (sacrificed so the party had all the cc protection). I went human so I could get both wizard and Druid initiate feats for Shillelagh, blade ward and true strike. The dm lets me cast shillelagh and blade ward outside of combat, so first two rounds are magic weapon then spirit shroud for big fights. At my table the dm nerfed topple to only work once per round so might have to pick up shield master at 12 to be annoying.
@Colby hey I have an idea for a build for you! As a fellow Goliath enjoyer you might appreciate it. So what do you think of a frost Goliath, using a whip with the slow property, with the slasher feat. It seems like on hit it would be 30 feet of movement penalty AND the whip has reach AND as a Goliath you have more MS. Ultimate kiting build? Combo perfection with an environmental hazard caster? Is this turning any gears? The idea is yours Colby, no royalties or IP lawsuit required. Happy Thanksgiving 🎉
@@Grungo97 I’ve got this on my to do list :)
So cool that you can do the Catch 22 with straight EK Fighter, instead of that mumbo jumbo of classes! Still, both are fun
Man the Push weapon mastery is so powerful, absolutely S tier if folks are still tierlisting
Superlative work! 🎉
There's no argument for polearm master shillelagh. One applies to all attacks, one applies to a specific, unique attack. It does a d4
Awesome video as always. Though I was wondering, I believe you talked something about the Eldridge night and the valor bard having two separate ways to cast a country trip instead of one of their attacks. So what I was wondering is something like Eldridge night level eight, Valor level eight, and the last four levels in either warlock, Ranger or sorcerer or possibly a combination of the three or rather a combination of two with the ranger and the warlock in competition with each other over hunters, Mark and X and wondering if the sorcerer‘s first level ability works on all spells are only sorcerer‘s pills. The ability to increase third DC with plus one or or rather and give themselves advantage on a spell attacks?
I messed up started thinking about feet, but I think I would go Eldridge night level eight, valor level seven, leaving five levels for warlock so I can get Elder smite And wondering, as far as like the Eldridge smite could use spell slots from your other casters or do you have to stay with the warlock spell slots?
Another idea has popped into my mind: are you able to do three cantrips in a turn with a level eight Eldridge night, level eight valor barred, and level four wildmagic sorcerer? By quickening, a cantrip with the sorcerer then doing your two special attacks with the Eldridge night and the valor bard? Also, with part of your character being a wildmagic sorcerer do all of your spells have a chance of triggering the wildmagic table?
So many questions lol. Wish I had the money to become a member, but unfortunately, I am disabled, legally blind on SSI and barely get enough to make it through the month though I know that your membership is quite cheap so I will definitely think about it because I might be able to afford a few dollars a month. But my next question is when you multi class and you have several different spellcaster classes on your character how do you decide which ones spell casting attribute is used when you cast your spells?
So many questions lol. Wish I had the money to become a member, but unfortunately, I am disabled, legally blind on SSI and barely get enough to make it through the month though I know that your membership is quite cheap so I will definitely think about it because I might be able to afford a few dollars a month. But my next question is when you multi class and you have several different spellcaster classes on your character how do you decide which ones spell casting attribute is used when you cast your spells? also, the character I asked about earlier; the Eldridge night, Ballard bar, wild Magic sorcerer? I gave those levels to get the most feats that I could definitely see that there are some levels that can be taken away and given to other classes or to one other class mainly, I guess the sorcerer class or heck maybe to the bard class even in hopes of reaching magical secrets.
So many questions lol. Wish I had the money to become a member, but unfortunately, I am disabled, legally blind on SSI and barely get enough to make it through the month though I know that your membership is quite cheap so I will definitely think about it because I might be able to afford a few dollars a month. But my next question is when you multi class and you have several different spellcaster classes on your character how do you decide which ones spell casting attribute is used when you cast your spells? also, the character I asked about earlier; the Eldridge night, Ballard bar, wild Magic sorcerer? I gave those levels to get the most feats that I could definitely see that there are some levels that can be taken away and given to other classes or to one other class mainly, I guess the sorcerer class or heck maybe to the bard class even in hopes of reaching magical secrets. I might even go so far as to take a one level range dip just for hunters mark so that would be a Ranger level 1, Eldridge night level 7, valor bard level 5 and wildmagic level. 7😳