Guide:Gish (Spellblades)

• Work in Progress*

Introduction

This is a collection of items that I think benefit the Gish (or Spellblade) play style in a way that is stronger than simply having a character that uses spells with occasional weapon attacks, or vice versa. Specifically, these items leverage Arcane Acuity and Arcane Synergy to empower characters that use spells and weapon attacks in tandem with one another. Characters properly built in this style can do quite a bit of damage, but mostly they're just fun.

Overview

First of all, are Gish characters good? It... depends. Generally speaking, I find that a more focused character is going to perform better than a character that dabbles in a little bit of everything, so something like a Thief Rogue or a Great Weapons Master character will do better physical damage than a Gish, while a Sorcerer or a Wizard will probably do better spell damage than a Gish. The trick here is that a proper Gish can be extremely flexible, with access to both physical and magical damage in combat. Likewise, a Gish will often have utility that a purely physical character won't, like Longstrider or Minor Illusion, and will be more durable and persistent in combat than a pure spell caster, so there's definitely a trade-off.

There are a couple of different ways you can build a Gish, or a Spellblade, or a Hexblade, whatever you want to call it, which I will go over later. There are two main distinctions between Gish builds, whether you want to do damage, or whether you want to be useful. Not that doing damage isn't useful, but you get the idea. The distinction between damage and utility is important, because different builds will focus on different aspects of a Spellblade's kit, considering things like Eldritch Strike, Shield, or Defensive Flourish as possible options. Whichever roll you want your Gish to fill, you will need to know ahead of time, and prepare for. Obviously, you can have a Gish that does both, but not all Gish will be able to do both, if that makes sense.

Some Build Ideas

Intelligence as your main Spellcasting modifier

Intelligence Eldritch Knight, either 11 Fighter/1 Wizard, or 5-7 Fighter/5-7 Wizard imo

Arcane Trickster + Wizard (+Bard?)

Charisma as your main Spellcasting modifier

12 levels of Paladin or Pact of the Blade Warlock.

6 levels of Pact of the Blade Warlock with 6 levels of Paladin or Bard

Paladin + Bard

Paladin + Sorcerer

Wisdom as your main Spellcasting modifier

Wisdom builds (Cleric/Monk/Druid)

Equipment

Helmets

Diadem of Arcane Synergy

Helmet of Arcane Acuity

Browbeaten Circlet

Hat of Fire Acuity

Hat of Storm Scion's Power

The Lifebringer

Warped Headband of Intellect

Diadem of Arcane Synergy

Pyroquickness Hat

Helm of Arcane Acuity

Gloves

Gloves of Battlemage's Power

Boots

Boots of Arcane Bolstering

Accessories

Ring of Arcane Synergy