Evil Bard

[Dracon823]

Im making a lvl 6 evil bard for a 5.0 game. very new to 5.0 so not sure how to make a good evil bard. Hes suppose to be the main Villian of the game for a good bit. Due he is going to be my char when im able to join the game.

His goal is take over the world, i know how normal. But hey its what the DM wants before i join the party.

So i was thinking someone thats very manipulative. Sense he has followers cause well he tricked them one way or another or he just has them under his fingures

Stat wise Chr is first followed byand Dex, Str Con intand finaly Wisdom.
Im thinking Half-elf for his race.

Sense we doing a point buy

Str:13
Dex:13
Con:12
Int:10
Wis:10
Chr:15

Now if i understand this right being a half-elf i get 2 points in chr, bringing that up to 17. And then another +1 for 2 more stats So lets go with either Chr and Dex if i can, if not then str and Dex.

Oh skills i was thinking,

Perception
Persuasion
Deception
Insight
Now for the fifth skill im unsure of. Maybe Performance sense he is a Bard. but at the same time Slight of Hand, Stealth or Arcana. Not sure what one to take.

Colleges. Im not sure if i want the battle college or the knowledge one. im more looking at the knowledge one. but for someone that wants to rule the world, he might want combat power.

Spells and Cantrips i actully have no idea what ones to get for him.

And thats as far as i gotten on the char creation. i am still trying to figure out if bard was a good choice, but i think me and GM have agreed on bard cause he can be manipulative bastard.

[PotatoGolem]

Strength is basically useless on a bard. Drop Strength to 8, which gives you 5 more points to spend. I'd probably go with 15 Con and up Dex/Con (you are correct in that you can't add the floating +1 to Cha again). You could also go with 16 dex and 14 con- depends whether you want to be a frontline valor bard (up dex) or a caster (up con).

[Dracon823]

im not sure if i want to be a spell bard or not, the spells i was looking at where Detect Thoughts, See Invisibility, Charm Person, Disquise Self, Detect Magic and Identify. Spells that might be usefull for partys but for the bard himself.

[AmbientRaven]

I played a very successful evil bard

This is like what I played, but built to suit a villain theme. You have debuff spells, spells to help you escape, spells to charm, confuse and control people. you have skills that suit the theme (intimidates, insights, persuation ect). You can spur on your evil minions (bardic inspire) or inhibit your foes with mockery (cutting words). The spells also support the party, as well as giving you personal gain. Also, you can talk to peoples minds!
All round I think this suits what you are after

Half-Elf
Dark Bard (Lore Bard/Warlock)
Str: 8 Dex: 14 Con: 14 Int: 10 Wis: 10 Cha: 18
Background: Urchin (for the pet rat
Skills: Perception, Insight, Stealth, Persuasion, Intimidate, Sleight of Hand, Arcana, Acrobatics, Deception, Investigation (6 from lore bard, 2 background, 2 half elf)
2 Levels of Dark One Warlock: Ability to talk mentally, 2 Elderitch invocations (Cha to Elderitch blast damage, Elderitch blast knocks back)
4 Levels of Lore Bard: Bardic Inspiration, Jack of All trades, Song of Rest, Expertise (perception and intimidate), Lore bonus skills (included above), Cutting Words

Spells
Cantrips: Elderitch Blast (W), Mage hand(W), Friends(B), Light(B), Prestidigitation(B)
Level 1: Hex(W), Dissonant whispers(W, c), Protection from Evil and Good(W), Cure Wounds(B), Tashas Hideous Laughter(B), Faerie Fire(B), Longstrider(B)
Level 2: Hold person (B,c) Invisibility (B, c), Suggestion (B)

Casts: 2 level one spells that reset on a short rest, 4 level one, and 3 level two spells that reset on a on long rest. You are spontaneous so can pick what best suits the situation. You can spam Elderitch blast with knock back as free damage and use concentration on control or escape spells.

[Dracon823]

that is a nice bard build, was thinking just pure bard rather then cross class. but i see about the cross classing.

[PoeticDwarf]

It's better to have CHA 14 (+2) CON 13 (+1) DEX 13 (+1) STR 10 (-) WIS 12(-) INT 12 (-) than what you have now.

[Ralanr]

I'd recommend investigation or sleight of hand.

Actually I'd go with sleight of hand. That seems pretty useful for a manipulator. Even if you don't normally get your hands dirty.

I'd recommend intimidation but that could end up causing more problems than it should.

[Chadamantium]

It's better to have CHA 14 (+2) CON 13 (+1) DEX 13 (+1) STR 10 (-) WIS 12(-) INT 12 (-) than what you have now.

You're passed the 27-point buy. This also leaves him being subpar building up scores he won't necessarily need.

I agree with everyone that DEX plus finesse is the way to go. Having just enough points to avoid negatives is alright but having your main abilities at their best is better. With Jack of all trades, you won't notice the stats you choose to dump.

On the other end, think about you character's back story and how he got to this point in his life. Usually the placement for your points will fall into place.

[1Forge]

Are you playing the bard? Or are you DM'ing and using this as the antagonist? Because if you are DM'ing then I'd give a false BBG that the bard manipulates, this would fool the PC's and make more sense for a bard. I'd also have him seeking some sort of evil magic thing from songs or from a story. If your playing him then I'd still have him seeking some sort of destiny song or something. Stat wise you look fine, but if your going half-elf be a half drow (it's just a skin change stats wouldnt be altered) it would look cooler and you never see anyone do it.

[Millface]

Im making a lvl 6 evil bard for a 5.0 game. very new to 5.0 so not sure how to make a good evil bard. Hes suppose to be the main Villian of the game for a good bit. Due he is going to be my char when im able to join the game.

His goal is take over the world, i know how normal. But hey its what the DM wants before i join the party.

So i was thinking someone thats very manipulative. Sense he has followers cause well he tricked them one way or another or he just has them under his fingures

Stat wise Chr is first followed byand Dex, Str Con intand finaly Wisdom.
Im thinking Half-elf for his race.

Sense we doing a point buy

Str:13
Dex:13
Con:12
Int:10
Wis:10
Chr:15

Now if i understand this right being a half-elf i get 2 points in chr, bringing that up to 17. And then another +1 for 2 more stats So lets go with either Chr and Dex if i can, if not then str and Dex.

Oh skills i was thinking,

Perception
Persuasion
Deception
Insight
Now for the fifth skill im unsure of. Maybe Performance sense he is a Bard. but at the same time Slight of Hand, Stealth or Arcana. Not sure what one to take.

Colleges. Im not sure if i want the battle college or the knowledge one. im more looking at the knowledge one. but for someone that wants to rule the world, he might want combat power.

Spells and Cantrips i actully have no idea what ones to get for him.

And thats as far as i gotten on the char creation. i am still trying to figure out if bard was a good choice, but i think me and GM have agreed on bard cause he can be manipulative bastard.


It really depends on why your Bard is evil. He has great ambitions, clearly, but why does he want to take over the world?

I played a Bard who was LN, he did evil things sometimes, heroic things other times. All because he wanted to experience both sides of every epic story first hand, with this personal experience in being both the hero AND the villain he could then pen the Greatest Epic Ever Told. Perform was a must. If you're just power hungry Arcana seems good, knowledge in your magic and magic in general is the fastest route to power over others.

Play however you want, but you'll have more fun if you flesh out his personality and motives then pick skills/spells/multiclass options based on that instead of the other way around.

[Dracon823]

Thanks guys all this info has help me figured him out more now.