Finger6842
2017-06-08, 09:29 PM
In this post I'd like to explore options for making a better Bard with an eye toward flexibility.
In my mind that means College of Lore which I will discuss below. As party makeup would heavily influence some choices we will assume that this is a solo campaign that will make it to level 20+. What I hope to get from the community is perspectives on how other choices may give a more complete or capable character. This is not a DPS theory craft since there are already a couple great ones on this board, though of course all types of input are desired. If you think another college is more well rounded feel free to make the case. I lean toward more heroic characters and that propensity is surely reflected below.
In priority order:
Charisma - The highest priority for a Lore Bard this will be used for spellcasting and many saving throws. Multiclass Paladin, Sorcerer or Warlock
Dexterity - AC, Attack bonus and Acrobatics/Stealth. Arguably the #1 stat for a Valor Bard. Multiclass Ranger, Fighter or Rogue
Wisdom - Perception, Survival, Insight and Medicine. Multiclass Priest
Constitution - HP which everyone needs but not much more of value.
IIntelligence - Investigation, History. Multiclass Wizard.
Strength - Dump Stat unless you would like to be a great weapon fighter. Multiclass Barbarian
In priority order:
Half-Elf - For me the clear winner with +2 Cha and +1 to any 2 stats, Resistance to Charm and Immunity to magical sleep. A natural diplomat which can be a large part of your backstory. Darkvision and Skill Versatility.
Human - +1 to every stat OR take the variant and pick both a Feat and a Skill.
Lightfoot - +2 Dex and +1 Charisma, Lucky, brave, nimbleness and naturally stealthy. A really solid choice as well.
Tiefling - +2 Charisma and +1 Intelligence, Hellish Resistance and Infernal Legacy. A solid choice but shines in an evil campaign.
Drow - +2 Dex and +1 Charisma, bonus spells this sounds great. Light sensitivity plus racial hatred, just too much baggage the DM can easily tap.
Elf - +2 Dex, Keen Senses, Fey Ancestry, Trance are all solid choices. The real boon here is longbow proficiency and bonus cantrip or mask of the wild/fleet of foot.
Dragonborn - +1 Charisma and +2 Strength, Breath weapon and Damage resistance. Only if you will be a great weapon fighter.
Gnome - Only consider this if you will multiclass into Wizard though Gnome Cunning and Artificer's Lore are both awesome skills.
Perception (Wis) - Easily the most used skill in the game.
Performance (Cha) - You need to sing for your supper and once you get countercharm and cutting words you may need to roll a performance check or three.
Persuasion (Cha) - Take this OR Intimidation. Both would be redundant and you want people to remember you later without running you out of town.
Acrobatics (Dex) - Again, this OR Athletics, usually your choice. Dex being a primary stat this is better.
Stealth (Dex) - You will likely run into many things you can't kill, be prepared to bypass them or just be a scout.
Investigation (Int) - Need to figure out where to find that +3 rapier? This is your huckleberry.
Insight (Wis) - A critical skill if you want a hint on how to approach someone.
History (Int) - Tied in with investigation, this can save you in combat or help you find what you are looking for.
Medicine (Wis) - Very nice skill, specially in healer light parties.
Survival (Wis) - This doesn't come up often but when it does, you want the skill.
Deception (Cha) - Very nice when tied to performance or political situations.
Arcana (Int) - How to use a device? How to avoid the spell trap? A lot of uses for everyone. Pretty common in a party to have someone with this skill though so lower priority.
Religion (Int) - Often comes up at shrines or in puzzles but you can use Investigation or History in most cases.
Nature (Int) - If you're not a Druid or Ranger you just don't run into this enough.
Sleight of Hand (Dex) - Very useful but just not many occurences in any game I've played in.
Animal Handling (Wis) - If you're not a Druid or Ranger you just don't run into this enough.
Intimidation (Cha) - Redundant
Atheletics (Str) - Dump stat, no reason to try beyond Jack of all trades.
Level 6 - Counterspell - Prevent huge amounts of damage
Level 6 - Haste - Less DPS than Swift Quiver but a ton more versatile with an AC boost.
Level 10 - Banishing Smite - Take a player off the field until you are ready
Level 10 - Wall of Force - Trap mobs in your AOE, prevent ranged damage, create a ramp
Level 14 - Finger of Death - Zombie army, Partial cover melee wall, nice damage as well
Level 14 - Simulacrum - worthless if you clone a spell caster, but any kind of archer rocks.
Level 18 - Meteor Swarm - 40d6 AOE
Level 18 - Wish - "The mightiest spell a mortal creature can cast". Any 8th level or below spell on ANY spell list with zero cost. The best argument for an Elven bard since you can cast your wish spell, long rest for 4 hours and still have 4 hours of duration on immunities WITH your wish spell reloaded.
In general it's not recommended to give up your level 18 Magical Secrets, it's just too strong. That means 2 levels of dip at most. The Bard level 19 Ability Score Improvement may or may not be necessary but under most circumstances I would recommend you get that as well. So:
Cleric - Take 1 level of Cleric for the Domain. A second level may be worth a look depending on the selected domain.
Druid - Take 2 levels of Druid for Wild Shape.
Fighter - Take 1 level of Fighter for a fighting style and second wind. Action surge is nice but too limited to lose the ASI.
Paladin - Take 2 levels of Paladin for Lay on Hands, Divine Sense, Divine Smite and a fighting style.
Ranger - Take 2 levels of Ranger for Favored Enemy, Natural Explorer and a fighting style.
Rogue - Take 1 level for Expertise and Sneak attack. A second level may be worth your time for cunning action.
Warlock - Take 2 levels of Warlock, Agonizing Blast Invocation with the Eldritch Blast cantrip is really the only option plus a patron. This is likely the strongest DPS option but much less versatile than the Wizard.
Wizard - Take 1 level for Ritual Caster and the spellbook. A second level may be worth it for the Arcane tradition.
Barbarian, Monk and Sorcerer have little to offer that will have synergy with the Lore Bard.
I'll add a link to the best posts for this as soon as I'm allowed :)
Please comment below with all of your experiences or even just your thoughts.
Thanks for taking a look.
In my mind that means College of Lore which I will discuss below. As party makeup would heavily influence some choices we will assume that this is a solo campaign that will make it to level 20+. What I hope to get from the community is perspectives on how other choices may give a more complete or capable character. This is not a DPS theory craft since there are already a couple great ones on this board, though of course all types of input are desired. If you think another college is more well rounded feel free to make the case. I lean toward more heroic characters and that propensity is surely reflected below.
In priority order:
Charisma - The highest priority for a Lore Bard this will be used for spellcasting and many saving throws. Multiclass Paladin, Sorcerer or Warlock
Dexterity - AC, Attack bonus and Acrobatics/Stealth. Arguably the #1 stat for a Valor Bard. Multiclass Ranger, Fighter or Rogue
Wisdom - Perception, Survival, Insight and Medicine. Multiclass Priest
Constitution - HP which everyone needs but not much more of value.
IIntelligence - Investigation, History. Multiclass Wizard.
Strength - Dump Stat unless you would like to be a great weapon fighter. Multiclass Barbarian
In priority order:
Half-Elf - For me the clear winner with +2 Cha and +1 to any 2 stats, Resistance to Charm and Immunity to magical sleep. A natural diplomat which can be a large part of your backstory. Darkvision and Skill Versatility.
Human - +1 to every stat OR take the variant and pick both a Feat and a Skill.
Lightfoot - +2 Dex and +1 Charisma, Lucky, brave, nimbleness and naturally stealthy. A really solid choice as well.
Tiefling - +2 Charisma and +1 Intelligence, Hellish Resistance and Infernal Legacy. A solid choice but shines in an evil campaign.
Drow - +2 Dex and +1 Charisma, bonus spells this sounds great. Light sensitivity plus racial hatred, just too much baggage the DM can easily tap.
Elf - +2 Dex, Keen Senses, Fey Ancestry, Trance are all solid choices. The real boon here is longbow proficiency and bonus cantrip or mask of the wild/fleet of foot.
Dragonborn - +1 Charisma and +2 Strength, Breath weapon and Damage resistance. Only if you will be a great weapon fighter.
Gnome - Only consider this if you will multiclass into Wizard though Gnome Cunning and Artificer's Lore are both awesome skills.
Perception (Wis) - Easily the most used skill in the game.
Performance (Cha) - You need to sing for your supper and once you get countercharm and cutting words you may need to roll a performance check or three.
Persuasion (Cha) - Take this OR Intimidation. Both would be redundant and you want people to remember you later without running you out of town.
Acrobatics (Dex) - Again, this OR Athletics, usually your choice. Dex being a primary stat this is better.
Stealth (Dex) - You will likely run into many things you can't kill, be prepared to bypass them or just be a scout.
Investigation (Int) - Need to figure out where to find that +3 rapier? This is your huckleberry.
Insight (Wis) - A critical skill if you want a hint on how to approach someone.
History (Int) - Tied in with investigation, this can save you in combat or help you find what you are looking for.
Medicine (Wis) - Very nice skill, specially in healer light parties.
Survival (Wis) - This doesn't come up often but when it does, you want the skill.
Deception (Cha) - Very nice when tied to performance or political situations.
Arcana (Int) - How to use a device? How to avoid the spell trap? A lot of uses for everyone. Pretty common in a party to have someone with this skill though so lower priority.
Religion (Int) - Often comes up at shrines or in puzzles but you can use Investigation or History in most cases.
Nature (Int) - If you're not a Druid or Ranger you just don't run into this enough.
Sleight of Hand (Dex) - Very useful but just not many occurences in any game I've played in.
Animal Handling (Wis) - If you're not a Druid or Ranger you just don't run into this enough.
Intimidation (Cha) - Redundant
Atheletics (Str) - Dump stat, no reason to try beyond Jack of all trades.
Level 6 - Counterspell - Prevent huge amounts of damage
Level 6 - Haste - Less DPS than Swift Quiver but a ton more versatile with an AC boost.
Level 10 - Banishing Smite - Take a player off the field until you are ready
Level 10 - Wall of Force - Trap mobs in your AOE, prevent ranged damage, create a ramp
Level 14 - Finger of Death - Zombie army, Partial cover melee wall, nice damage as well
Level 14 - Simulacrum - worthless if you clone a spell caster, but any kind of archer rocks.
Level 18 - Meteor Swarm - 40d6 AOE
Level 18 - Wish - "The mightiest spell a mortal creature can cast". Any 8th level or below spell on ANY spell list with zero cost. The best argument for an Elven bard since you can cast your wish spell, long rest for 4 hours and still have 4 hours of duration on immunities WITH your wish spell reloaded.
In general it's not recommended to give up your level 18 Magical Secrets, it's just too strong. That means 2 levels of dip at most. The Bard level 19 Ability Score Improvement may or may not be necessary but under most circumstances I would recommend you get that as well. So:
Cleric - Take 1 level of Cleric for the Domain. A second level may be worth a look depending on the selected domain.
Druid - Take 2 levels of Druid for Wild Shape.
Fighter - Take 1 level of Fighter for a fighting style and second wind. Action surge is nice but too limited to lose the ASI.
Paladin - Take 2 levels of Paladin for Lay on Hands, Divine Sense, Divine Smite and a fighting style.
Ranger - Take 2 levels of Ranger for Favored Enemy, Natural Explorer and a fighting style.
Rogue - Take 1 level for Expertise and Sneak attack. A second level may be worth your time for cunning action.
Warlock - Take 2 levels of Warlock, Agonizing Blast Invocation with the Eldritch Blast cantrip is really the only option plus a patron. This is likely the strongest DPS option but much less versatile than the Wizard.
Wizard - Take 1 level for Ritual Caster and the spellbook. A second level may be worth it for the Arcane tradition.
Barbarian, Monk and Sorcerer have little to offer that will have synergy with the Lore Bard.
I'll add a link to the best posts for this as soon as I'm allowed :)
Please comment below with all of your experiences or even just your thoughts.
Thanks for taking a look.