How would you homebrew a ranged damage cantrip for a bard?

[wilhelmdubdub]

The idea is to do more damage than viscous mockery on a round when you cast a bonus action spell.

range: 30ft? 60ft?
attack roll? save vs. wisdom? charisma?
thunder vs. psychic damage?
How about for damage die size, and would you add your charisma mod?

Thanks!

[Captain Morgan]

I wouldn't. Bards get more spells known than a sorcerer, the best skill proficiencies thus side of a rogue, can use magical secrets to poach spells (including cantrips I believe), and get weapon and armor proficiencies to boot.

The lack of a reliable damage cantrip is one of the only things the class is missing. I wouldn't give them more stuff unless you also plan to give 4th level casting to barbarians or double spells known in sorcerer or heavy armor proficiencies on warlocks.

It isn't as though getting cantrip access is hard since it scales off character level. 2 levels of Hexblade and you have the most damaging cantrip in the game and a host of other goodies.

[Specter]

Staggering Note
Range: 60 feet
Components: S, M (an instrument)

As you play the most stringent note of your instrument, the sound potentializes aggressively in one foe's mind. An affected creature must make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, the creature takes 1d8 psychic damage. This damage increases by 1d8 at 5th, 11th and 17th level.

I'd like to note, however, that I wouldn't use this cantrip or allow it in my campaigns. Bards don't need to try to be damage dealers.

[wilhelmdubdub]

Staggering Note
Range: 60 feet
Components: S, M (an instrument)

As you play the most stringent note of your instrument, the sound potentializes aggressively in one foe's mind. An affected creature must make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, the creature takes 1d8 psychic damage. This damage increases by 1d8 at 5th, 11th and 17th level.

I'd like to note, however, that I wouldn't use this cantrip or allow it in my campaigns. Bards don't need to try to be damage dealers.

Thanks for the feedback Specter!

My DM has been throwing a lot at us during combats, our group just hit 8th and recently took two hits to our party. We lost a cleric of the light and our wizard gave away his warforged druid side-NPC. As a result our sharpshooter ranger became a "protection" cleric and now it is just me as a lore bard, the new cleric, and a evoker wizard. Our DM created a Kensai monk to compensate for DPR. Basically my goal is to eliminate the need for a DMPC.

I know the consensus for the playground usually works out to "let the bard do what the bard does, (debuff, control)," but our combats have usually exhausted my spell slots, with my last few rounds being healing words on dropped PC's and a viscious mockery. I have 16 dex, a ring of protection +1 and a +1 elven longsword which I mainly use defensively after a dissonant whispers. My level 6 spells are spiritual weapon for sustained damage and guiding bolt. I was hoping to do something about it at 10th, as I could get eldritch blast as a magical secrets anyway, but was looking for something bardic flavored. I just got to 20 charisma and don't want to multiclass and lose spell progression. Should I take magic initiate or spell sniper instead at 12?

[Slayn82]

I like magic initiate feat, specially now that Toll the Dead exist, allowing a nice base d8 (later d12!) necrotic damage on wisdom save. It doing the sound of a Bell ringing right above the target should be good to alert people around.

The other Cantrips I like are Ray of Frost (control of enemy movement is very important), Thorn Whip (ditto, it can save an ally from OAs), Shocking Grasp (when you need to go), Chill touch (prevent healing, including regeneration, and imposes disadvantage on undead).

So, if you go Magic Initiate Druid, there's Shillelagh, Thorn Whip and Primal Savagery to choose.

If you choose Warlock, its Eldritch Blast and Chill Touch.

Wizard or Sorcerer have plenty of options, but Sorcerer can take Cantrips that use the Weapon Attack bonus on the roll, take a +2 dagger or saber if you have decent dexterity ain't bad if you are planning to go on melee often.

[Saiga]

Magic Initiate or Magical Secrets should be used to pick up an existing cantrip and refluffed if necessary.

Since Bard's already have potential access to powerful cantrips at a cost, homebrewing one they can pick up with regular cantrip selection is just a straight buff that they don't need.

It's like creating a Bard version of Fireball so they can have Fireball AND still have their magical secrets for other spells.

[BillyBobShorton]

Vicious Mockery kinda covers that. No other class has that cantrip. And it's psychic damage from insults that transcends language barriers?

Plus they get magical secrets, access to ANY caster's cantrips.... but that doesn't cut it? Idk what else you'd want?

Ok, how about this

Song of Destruction
Killbard Cantrip
Components-Self
Range 3 miles

Despite the fact that Bards are not primarily offensive casters, some Bards specialize in taking the "Bard" out of Bard and focusing instead on being musical Charles Xaviers. Necrotic Poisonous Flaming Psionic Rainbow musical notes float from your mandolin out toward 8 enemies within range. Upon contact, each enemy chosen takes 2d12 psionic damage. No save. Oh, and they die as their eardrums rupture. They then become personal slaves but they are not undead so it's not evil. More like "Serpent & the Rainbow" voodoo slaves. Damage increases by 5d20+18 at 5th level, and again at 11th level. Nobody ever makes it to 14th level so forget any more scaling.

[Hrugner]

Disconcerting Cry
Range 30 ft
V,S
instant
The caster screams and screams and screams for seemingly forever. One enemy and one ally(not the caster) of the casters choice are both at advantage to their next melee weapon attack roll if that attack is against a target within 30ft of the bard and the attack happens before the end of their next turn. The first of the two who attacks adds 1d6 psychic damage to their attack. Targets can only receive this effect once per day. If the caster has no allies who can receive this benefit, then the spell backfires granting two enemies advantage. Bonus damage increases by 1d6 at 5th 11th and 17th.

[Silfazaris]

Yeah, get a damaging cantrip with Magic Initiate or Magical Secrets. There's a reason why bards don't have damaging cantrips, if you "break" that, you are making the class more powerful.

[Herobizkit]

I'd likely go for Spell Sniper at 8 and take Eldritch Blast over pumping Charisma.

Mind you, you still have the option to Shortbow (d6) and Crossbow (d8) for Ranged combat.

I've known other players who've grown to quickly resent NPC's who out-damage the players. There is no real 'fix' for being down two bodies except hiring new help.

Without the traditional 4- or 5-man team, everyone becomes equally responsible for offense and defense. With a party of a Lore Bard, "Protection" Cleric and Evoker Wizard, it might help to change the party mentality from "apply damage directly to face" to "avoid fights whenever possible" and "only fight when you have the tactical advantage". You've (likely) got high Cha, Int and Wis skills - these all have valuable skills attached that can get you more information and possibly open more avenues than straight up face-bashing.

But, if that's not how the group wants to play, being a Lore Bard alone isn't going to shore up your lack of DPS. Multi-classing is my traditional way to add abilities in a party of three, but you mentioned that's not an option for you. Had you gone Valorbard, that may have helped a little more in the beef direction.

Also, if your DM chooses not to adjust his style of game to accommodate fewer PCs, I say let the chips fall where they may and, should your party fall, go down in a blaze of glory. Rolling a fresh party is a good way to re-organize. ^_^

[kulosle]

If I were to give bards a more damaging cantrip it would be something bad like this

Thunderous Ray
Evocation cantrip
1 action
Range 30ft
Components S V M instrument
You focus the sound from your instrument into a Ray that only the target can hear. Make a ranged spell attack. On a successful hit the target must make a constitution save or take 1d8 and be deafened for 1 round.

[Herobizkit]

If I were to give bards a more damaging cantrip it would be something bad like this

Thunderous RayGreat, except I would have called it Sonic Boom. ^_^

[Citan]

The idea is to do more damage than viscous mockery on a round when you cast a bonus action spell.

range: 30ft? 60ft?
attack roll? save vs. wisdom? charisma?
thunder vs. psychic damage?
How about for damage die size, and would you add your charisma mod?

Thanks!


Staggering Note
Range: 60 feet
Components: S, M (an instrument)

As you play the most stringent note of your instrument, the sound potentializes aggressively in one foe's mind. An affected creature must make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, the creature takes 1d8 psychic damage. This damage increases by 1d8 at 5th, 11th and 17th level.

I'd like to note, however, that I wouldn't use this cantrip or allow it in my campaigns. Bards don't need to try to be damage dealers.
I think this is a very sound suggestion (pun intended ^^), so if you really want to get more damage for your Bard go with this.

But, unless you are talking about DMing a very small party with little otherwise ranged attacks, as Specter said, I would not do it personally.
Bard has plenty of good things to do already, and he gets either decent martial attacks (Valor) or ability to get powerful cantrip at lvl 6 (Lore), not even accounting for feats (Spell Sniper I love you).
So it seems to me the only moment he feels lesser are lvl 1-5, and only if you specifically don't take some great spells such as Heat Metal (bonus action damage).

Otherwise said, imo, Bard gets enough damage for everything else he can do in other roles, and if a player really wants to be competitive with others there are either built-in options, or feat options.
That a Bard must make a bit of investment to become better in dealing damage seems extremely fair to me. :)

[hymer]

Mind you, you still have the option to Shortbow (d6) and Crossbow (d8) for Ranged combat.

This. And thrown weapons if you're a Strength bard.