Paladin 2/Valor Bard 10 selected spells

[Specter]

So I'm making this NPC for an upcoming adventure. He will be a sword-and-board DEX pally/bard, buffing friends with Inspiration and attacking/smiting with his action. Which spells would be good for him to know, especially with Magical Secrets? Bless is a staple.

He'll be part of a group of warlords, in favor of St. Cuthbert and their kingdom, Nevia. Eventually there will be a trial by combat, where he'll be accompanied by other frontliners (barb, fighter etc.) and a wizard. If you were to pit this guy against a standard group of adventurers what spells would be trouble for them?

Thanks in advance.

[Citan]

So I'm making this NPC for an upcoming adventure. He will be a sword-and-board DEX pally/bard, buffing friends with Inspiration and attacking/smiting with his action. Which spells would be good for him to know, especially with Magical Secrets? Bless is a staple.

Thanks in advance.
Hi, I'm sorry but that is really too broad of a question.
You may wish to tell us at least the party composition, if any.
Otherwise, your best bet is checking Bard builds because there are basically too many great options here. :)

[Specter]

He'll be part of a group of warlords, in favor of St. Cuthbert and their kingdom, Nevia. Eventually there will be a trial by combat, where he'll be accompanied by other frontliners (barb, fighter etc.) and a wizard. If you were to pit this guy against a standard group of adventurers what spells would be trouble for them?

(edited the main post with this too)

[Citan]

He'll be part of a group of warlords, in favor of St. Cuthbert and their kingdom, Nevia. Eventually there will be a trial by combat, where he'll be accompanied by other frontliners (barb, fighter etc.) and a wizard. If you were to pit this guy against a standard group of adventurers what spells would be trouble for them?

(edited the main post with this too)
Obviously, from Bard spell...
- Blindness: affects one creature but is non-concentration.
- Heat Metal: your heavy armor player will hate you.
- Bestow Curse: if you really want to down an enemy fast (by allowing colleagues to drop powerful save or suck after you).
- Plant Growth: non-concentration, will help preparing terrain and slowing down melee opponents.
- Animate Objects: will require you to be safe from concentration break, but can wreck havoc.

From other spelllists:
- Shield: because you will want a better AC to help against your player's attacks.
- Mirror Image: because it's a pretty decent non-concentration buff even with lower DEX.
- Slow: slow is a f***** major headache for anyone affected. It basically ruins Extra Attack and spellcasting... And can affect up to 6 players, so pretty good chance to hit at least 1 (especially since it's Wisdom save).
- Or Stinking Cloud: obscured area, makes creature waste action. I'd rather prefer Slow which is more versatile but it you think of a good location to cast this one, it's a good one.
- Or Conjure Animals: depending on how much control you have on your conjuration, ranges from good to great (pack of Swarms can stack on one player so all can attack. pack of Wolves grant each other advantage and can prone targets).
- Circle of Power: you will protect yourself and all your allies against your player's spells. A true must-have for when things start to be dire.

[PeteNutButter]

Aura of Vitality... Which he could have ironically if he had stayed full paladin, but at least he gets more smite slots and cool bard stuff w the multiclass.

[Specter]

Aura of Vitality... Which he could have ironically if he had stayed full paladin, but at least he gets more smite slots and cool bard stuff w the multiclass.

Aura of Vitality is great, but more as an out-of-combat heal. In combat it takes an action to come online and competes with Bardic Inspiration/smite spells.

[PeteNutButter]

Aura of Vitality is great, but more as an out-of-combat heal. In combat it takes an action to come online and competes with Bardic Inspiration/smite spells.

I'd say it's very useful in combat. It does compete with the inspirations, true, but smite spells? Smites are generally better than the spells and I'm sure a 10th level bard has better use for his concentration than a level 1 smite spell.

[JAL_1138]

You only have two Magical Secrets, so choose wisely.

Elemental Weapon and Haste are nice for your character, but can't be maintained at the same time since they're both Concentration. Haste may be better to help you nova with Smites.

You have a decent AoE damager in Shatter already, though Fireball is always nice...until friendly fire becomes an issue, which it often does.

Mirror Image is fairly nice on a melee bruiser, though it only lasts three hits.

Aura of Vitality is good healing. Yes, it works better out of combat, but it's effectively 2d6 regen for allies within 30ft in combat.

As mentioned elsewhere, Circle of Power is nice.

Counterspell is also helpful against an enemy caster.

[Degwerks]

Hypnotic Pattern is a great bard spell, can shut down a lot of encounters.

Dissonant Whispers is good too, you can walk up to an opponent, who is fighting an ally, cast it on them and both you & ally get an attack of opportunity.

Destructive Wave is awesome, 10d6 damage and can knock prone.

[Citan]

You only have two Magical Secrets, so choose wisely.

Elemental Weapon and Haste are nice for your character, but can't be maintained at the same time since they're both Concentration. Haste may be better to help you nova with Smites.

You have a decent AoE damager in Shatter already, though Fireball is always nice...until friendly fire becomes an issue, which it often does.

Mirror Image is fairly nice on a melee bruiser, though it only lasts three hits.

Aura of Vitality is good healing. Yes, it works better out of combat, but it's effectively 2d6 regen for allies within 30ft in combat.

As mentioned elsewhere, Circle of Power is nice.

Counterspell is also helpful against an enemy caster.
Aaaw, dang, you're right, forgot OP was talking about Valor Bard.
Makes the choice more complex... Or more simple?
Circle of Power seems pretty mandatory to me. It's that good.
For the 2nd spell, I'd say choose depending on what you give to the allies of your character.
In doubt, Slow, Destructive Wave or Counterspell may be the best choices depending on how you play your character.

[JAL_1138]

I'd say it's very useful in combat. It does compete with the inspirations, true, but smite spells? Smites are generally better than the spells and I'm sure a 10th level bard has better use for his concentration than a level 1 smite spell.

The Smites are situational ways for a single-classed Pally to improve versatility. As a Smite Skald, you have plenty of it already from the bard list, so don't waste a Secret on them. The only one worth even considering is Banishing Smite, since it works with ranged attacks, but you still have better options.

VB's Combat Inspiration should be distributed prior to combat, if you know or suspect combat is coming. It last 10 minutes or until it's used, whichever comes first. That leaves the bonus actions free when the fight starts.

[DKing9114]

Given how many of the bard's spells are exploration/social based, I'd select several spells based on how the party will encounter him outside of that combat. I mean, you've got 12 spells from the bard list, four cantrips, two magic secrets, and at least a few prepared spells as a paladin-you almost start running out of straight combat spells by the time you finish that list.

From the bard list, I like:
Blindness: a solid debuff that doesn't use concentration
Enhance ability: has a 10 minute duration, meaning he could concievably use cat's grace before rolling initiative and gain advantage if he knew the fight was coming
Bane: fairly good for debuffing a group with a single action
Shatter: small AoE with decent damage
Glyph of Warding: mostly for the exploration aspect previously mentioned; also could come up in an encounter between the party and this character.
Suggestion: you could justify forcing a PC to move into a trap by making him attack another member of this character's group
Dispel Magic: because buffs are only cool when you use them
Greater Invisibility: one minute of concentration, but is not ended by attacking or spellcasting. Fantastic if you want to spend your actions attacking or smiting.
Compulsion or Confusion: ideal for battlefield control, especially when used against the back lines
Dimension Door: because teleporting is awesome
Animate Objects: walk into the arena with a bag of swords, drop them, and cast. Suddenly you have ten dancing swords at your command. Make a wall, surround the opposing party and give your wizard a few free shots, or just have all your flying weapons attack one of their people.
Raise Dead: not necessarily useful in combat, but thematically appropriate and could be used to justify all sorts of DM shenanigans.

Magic Secrets
Counterspell: you want to have a spell you can cast on your reaction, and this one prevents spellcasting from their side. This and Greater Invisibility should have fantastic synergy, as few parties will make sure multiple members can cast see invisibility. It's even cast without a verbal component. Better still, this will let you shut down their caster while yours tries to take him/her out of the fight.
Destructive Wave: the paladin's frontline damage dealer. 5D6 thunder, 5D6 radiant and prone on a failed Con save, half damage and still standing if they pass. What really makes this one stand out is that it deals damage to every creature you choose within a 30 foot radius-no friendly fire necessary

As a Paladin
Command: it's funny how making a single creature skip their turn can turn an encounter around.

[Specter]

Thanks everyone, especially DKing! I got this on the right track now.