Subclass Fighter Eldritch Knight

What Is the Eldritch Knight?

The Eldritch Knight is a Fighter subclass that combines martial combat with Intelligence-based spellcasting. Spellcasting at Level 3 provides a limited but impactful spell list with a bonded weapon. War Bond lets you summon your bonded weapon to your hand as a Bonus Action — and in this mod, you can bond a second weapon, letting you carry and summon two different bonded weapons. War Magic at Level 7 lets you replace one of your attacks with a cantrip. Eldritch Strike at Level 10 causes your weapon hits to impose Disadvantage on the target's next saving throw against one of your spells.

Class Features

Progression Overview

LEVEL	FEATURE
3	Spellcasting, War Bond
7	War Magic
10	Eldritch Strike

Level 3

Spellcasting You can cast spells, using Intelligence as your spellcasting ability.

At Level 3 you learn two Wizard cantrips and three Level 1 spells drawn from the Abjuration and Evocation schools of the Wizard list, and you start with two Level 1 spell slots. You gain another cantrip and access to Level 2 spells and slots as you level.

War Bond You learn a ritual that creates a magical bond between yourself and a weapon. You perform the ritual over the course of 1 hour, which can be done during a Short Rest. The weapon must be within your reach throughout the ritual, at the conclusion of which you touch the weapon and forge the bond.

Once you have bonded a weapon to yourself, you can't be disarmed of that weapon unless you are Incapacitated. If it is on the same plane of existence, you can summon that bonded weapon as a Bonus Action, causing it to teleport instantly to your hand.

You can perform this ritual on a second, different weapon — the two bonds are tracked separately, so you can carry two bonded weapons (e.g., a bonded melee weapon and a bonded ranged weapon) and summon whichever one you need.

Level 7

War Magic When you take the Attack action on your turn, you can replace one of the attacks with a casting of one of your Wizard cantrips that has a casting time of an action.

Level 10

Eldritch Strike When you hit a creature with an attack using a weapon, that creature has Disadvantage on the next saving throw it makes against a spell you cast before the end of your next turn.

Playstyle Notes

The Eldritch Knight is the spellcasting melee Fighter. Its spell slots are limited, so the picks matter. Shield (Reaction, +5 AC until your next turn) and Absorb Elements (Reaction, resistance to an elemental hit plus bonus damage on your next melee attack) are both on the Abjuration list you choose from, and both spend a slot as a Reaction without costing you an attack.

War Bond's teleporting weapon removes a common tactical liability. A disarmed Fighter is nearly helpless; War Bond ensures the weapon returns as a Bonus Action, and the disarm immunity means enemies that try it find it doesn't work. Since you can bond two weapons, you can also use this to switch loadouts mid-fight — bond a melee weapon and a ranged weapon, then summon whichever the situation calls for instead of manually swapping gear.

War Magic at Level 7 is the first opportunity to blend melee and spellcasting in a single Attack action: replace one attack with a cantrip. Booming Blade (from some lists) adds thunder damage and movement penalties; Green-Flame Blade adds fire damage to a second target. At Level 5 with Extra Attack, you have two attacks — replace one with a cantrip and retain the other for the physical hit.

Eldritch Strike at Level 10 creates a setup sequence: hit with a weapon, then cast a spell targeting the same creature — they roll their save at Disadvantage. Pair with Hold Person (Paralyzed on save failure) or Slow (halved speed, reduced actions on save failure) for maximum impact on a single target.