I won't waste time posting up the theoretical build that I made for this idea, but I was curious if the following is even legal (strict RAW interpretation, similar to PFS):
Eldritch Knight requires Martial Weapon Proficiency and 3rd level spell access.
A traditional Aasimar fulfills both of these things by virtue of its type (Outsiders have martial weapon proficiency by default) and it's SLAs (Daylight as a 3rd level wizard spell).
Does this mean that an Aasimar character can take the first level of EK at level one?
If not, why?
Thanks, and I apologize if this topic (early entry) has been beat to death. EK early entry just offers interesting builds otherwise not available in a lvl 12 end game.
Seranov's got it. 0-HD races don't get martial weapon proficiency.
Even if they did, you wouldn't have a spellcasting class to advance, so you'd be strictly worse than a Fighter.
You could, however, take a single level in Magus and go into Eldritch Knight at level 2, but it's not recommended. Or if you don't want to be an Aasimar, you could take a level in Wizard with the Divination (Scryer) specialty for the 3rd-level SLA.
In a game that tops out at level 12, I'd honestly stick with the Magus. The draw of the Eldritch Knight is that it gets better spellcasting past 11-13, and slightly better BAB which grants an extra attack at level 19-20. Until then you have comparable BAB and roughly comparable casting, but basically no class features.
Thank you for the clarification there. I knew it was getting pretty Gouda, but I was just hoping for an EK 1, Caster 1, EK 2, EK 3... type progression so that there would be less of a noticeable lag in spells at level two. You'd basically be a fighter for first level, then start casting things at level 2.
I'll probably stick with Magus then. Magus into EK is obviously not worth it though, so I'll be staying away from that for sure.
My understanding is that the Daylight SLA provides the 3rd level spell access, so all you need is Martial Arts weapon proficiency.
I would recommend you also take a single level of an arcane spell casting class before taking the PrC. You need one in order for the "+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class" to modify it.
Taken with Magical Knack, this would allow you to have full caster level in the arcane class.
I think it's still best to go martial 1/caster 1/EK, since that way you'll at least have a few class abilities to play with. Yes, you'll lose two levels of spellcasting, but when 2nd level spells come online at 5th level things don't look so bad anymore. Magical Knack is a trait that appears to have been written specifically for this situation.
Being an aasimar or any other race frees you from having to take Wizard (scryer) just for the spell-like ability. Wizard (foresight) is pretty neat since the 1st level ability allows you to mess with your action economy, which is always good when you rely on physical attacks.
