Help me build my level 4 College of Valor Bard

[BlueBiscuit]

Hey there, my group is starting a new campaign this friday (technically it's actually the continuation of the one we did during the playtest), and I want to play a Bard.
However, I'm no good when it comes to properly build a viable character, at least from a mechanical standpoint, so I would like someone's opinion.

The party composition is: a Sword and Board Dragonborn Paladin, Oath of the Ancients, a Tiefling Wizard, no idea which school, though she tends to play like a blaster.
And I, a Half-Elf Valor Bard. I chose the Charlatan backround for IC reasons. All characters are built following the 27 point buy rules.

What want for my character is to be able to useful out of combat, both with skills and spells, and being a reliable secondary damage source and support when the action starts, without having to rely to heavily on spells.

What build do you think would better serve my needs? In particular, should I take a feat, or the Ability score increase? If feat, which one? Should I go with finesse melee build, or stay ranged, using the longbow?

[MaxWilson]

IMHO, "secondary support" fits well with "ranged", since there will always be someone willing to get up and in the enemy's face, and you can just add your little contribution on top without having to worry about optimizing AC.

As far as feat vs. ASI goes, since one of your goals is to be useful out of combat, I'd say pick a feat that will help you do things out of combat. There are a lot of good options. Sorry for not being more specific, but you genuinely do have a lot of freedom here.

[Madfellow]

What want for my character is to be able to useful out of combat, both with skills and spells, and being a reliable secondary damage source and support when the action starts, without having to rely to heavily on spells.

What build do you think would better serve my needs? In particular, should I take a feat, or the Ability score increase? If feat, which one? Should I go with finesse melee build, or stay ranged, using the longbow?

If you have at least a decent Dex score (which every bard should :smalltongue: ) then having both a finesse melee weapon and a decent ranged weapon are very good ideas. Keep your options open. :smallsmile:

If you want to take a feat, then I would suggest taking Warcaster. It grants you advantage on Concentration checks and lets you forgo somatic components of spells, very useful for a caster in melee.

Hope this helps.

[BlueBiscuit]

IMHO, "secondary support" fits well with "ranged", since there will always be someone willing to get up and in the enemy's face, and you can just add your little contribution on top without having to worry about optimizing AC.

As far as feat vs. ASI goes, since one of your goals is to be useful out of combat, I'd say pick a feat that will help you do things out of combat. There are a lot of good options. Sorry for not being more specific, but you genuinely do have a lot of freedom here.

I know, but with me still "feeling" new to this edition, I feel I have perhaps too much freedom.

[MaxWilson]

I know, but with me still "feeling" new to this edition, I feel I have perhaps too much freedom.

Okay, let me just outline some options, without telling you which one to pick:

1.) Dungeon Delver makes you the go-to guy for disarming traps. Goes well with your Bard expertise.
2.) Healer lets you heal people without expending spell slots, at a trivial cost in gold compared to healing potions.
3.) Inspirational Leader is like Healer, but more proactive.
4.) Mobile is an in- and out-of-combat feat which lets you explore ahead of the party, run away when threatened, keep out of range of enemies, and attack in melee when necessary without exposing yourself to much risk (spring attack, basically). Especially good when combined with Longstrider. This is the kind of feat that can let you kill Iron Golems without taking a single HP of damage.
5.) Lucky is an amazing feat which can make you better at everything from Counterspelling enemy wizards to resisting poison to disarming traps to making crucial hits in combat.
6.) Alert makes you immune to surprise and also makes it more likely you'll be the first guy to go in combat, handing out Bardic Inspiration and/or casting Hypnotic Pattern to disable enemies. Much like Mobile, it has a role in letting you scout ahead.

[Shining Wrath]

Sword and board Vengeance Paladin represents both tank and damage and probably a face. A blaster Wizard is going to give you some utility spells regardless; it's nearly impossible to play a Wizard and have nothing useful out of combat. Rituals, anyone?

What your party is likely to need is healing and buffs, so a bard seems great. You'll be the skill monkey; figure out what the others are taking, fill in the gaps. These seem likely to include the Dexterity based skills, and so building yourself as a high-Dex finesse / ranged weapon fighter seems like a match.

Go for the medium armor that doesn't impact your Stealth, figure out if you want to use Longbow (maximum range), Heavy Crossbow (maximum hurt), or two Hand Crossbows (maximum shots) and choose feats accordingly.

[Socko525]

You mentioned being useful out of combat, then i might suggest actor as an option. It boosts your Cha by one and gives you a ton of social based tricks. In my experience with 5e (only HotDQ at this point) a lot of combat can be diffused with some social maneuvering (aka persuasion).

As a bard you have a very support based spell list and ritual casting, so that by itself should help out of combat. Also depending on what spells you take with magical secrets your out of combat utility could be greatly increased (find familiar for scouting, aura of vitality for the best out of combat healing, etc).