Not sure how to build out my Bard.

[tigerusthegreat]

Hello all.

I have a bard (https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1144802) that will be going down the Valor path. She is meant as a secondary melee person with some battlefield control (our wizard is going blasty and besides that we have a life cleric and a warlock) as well as being a face for the party. Beyond that a few illusion effects would probably be useful (but might now fit in the build).

She just hit lvl 2, so I need to take care of that (probably just take bard 2 for expertise the extra spell and song of rest).

I was debating a 2 lvl fighter dip for action surge but felt the valor proficiencies lose some of their benefit.

How should I go about building her?

[Talionis]

If you already started as a Bard I would get my second attack before dipping out. Fighter would've been okay to start with in order to get Constitution proficiency, but now it's much worse. Action Surge may not be worth the dip and losing caster levels or putting off Magical Secrets at level ten. Look hard at Ranger and Paladin spells increase your martial ability.

Paladin is another dip worth considering over Fighter.

[tigerusthegreat]

If you already started as a Bard I would get my second attack before dipping out. Fighter would've been okay to start with in order to get Constitution proficiency, but now it's much worse. Action Surge may not be worth the dip and losing caster levels or putting off Magical Secrets at level ten. Look hard at Ranger and Paladin spells increase your martial ability.

Paladin is another dip worth considering over Fighter.

Starting bard was an rp choice. I will probably have to take combat caster now. I will look at pali and see what might work there.

[Specter]

When it comes to Valor Bard, 1 level of Fighter is worth more than to almost any class. Why?

- d10 HP.
- A fighting style. If you're going to do two attacks decently, you want that, whatever weapons you may be using. Even without weapons, it's +1 AC forever, which WILL save you.
- Second Wind for an effective 6.5 HP at every rest. If you had 2 short rests and a long one, that's effectively 20 extra HP in a day. And that goes far.

Ranger and Paladin also give Fighting Style, but at level 2, and their first level is garbage (well, Ranger at least gives you a skill).

Considering everybody else is a caster, I see good reasons to dip Fighter.

[Citan]

When it comes to Valor Bard, 1 level of Fighter is worth more than to almost any class. Why?

- d10 HP.
- A fighting style. If you're going to do two attacks decently, you want that, whatever weapons you may be using. Even without weapons, it's +1 AC forever, which WILL save you.
- Second Wind for an effective 6.5 HP at every rest. If you had 2 short rests and a long one, that's effectively 20 extra HP in a day. And that goes far.

Ranger and Paladin also give Fighting Style, but at level 2, and their first level is garbage (well, Ranger at least gives you a skill).

Considering everybody else is a caster, I see good reasons to dip Fighter.
There is some truth to what you said, on the other hand, dipping 2 levels on a Bard is generally not much "worse" for progression than a single level.
And for a Valor Bard, dipping Paladin brings arguably more than Fighter (I say arguably because it depends much on preferred tactics): bunch of great spells that complement well Bard's known spells as a buffer (Bless, Shield of Faith), decent smite spells for a good use of bonus action, same armor proficiencies as Fighter, most Fighting Style (except TWF), and Divine Smite.

Makes it easier for a Valor Bard to get better nova damage (can Bless yourself and others, you choose to smite after knowing if you hit).
On another hand though, Action Surge is great when you just want more chances to hit or if you have some tactic in mind that include 2 full spells in the same turn. ;)

So... My advice without any further information would be to favor Paladin for a 2 level dip, but Fighter 2 can be solid too if you know already how to exploit it.

[tigerusthegreat]

In either case shpuld I wait for my extra attack from bard

[jaappleton]

In either case shpuld I wait for my extra attack from bard

I wouldn't do anything before going Bard 6.

Bard 3 gets you second level spells. A big jump from level 2.

Bard 4 gets you a feat or an ability score increase.

Bard 5 gets you third level spells, and the always amazing and incredibly underrated Bardic Inspiration becomes replenished on short rests now.

Bard 6 gets you an extra attack.

After that, you can start to branch out for what looks nice. I wouldn't go Fighter. You mentioned wanting to be able to be a secondary frontline combatant, right? So you need to be able to make an impact on your weapon swings. My suggestion would be to MC into Paladin. Divine Smite is a heck of a feature, and between the other casters in the group, you can spare some spell slots.