What can a Bard do vs Undead

[Edgerunner]

We are just talking about the rank & file Undead here, not the truly intelligent Undead.
A great deal of a Bards magic effects the minds of others but Undead are immune to it.

What tricks does a Bard have for the Undead? and lets leave Magical Secrets out of it.

[Saiga]

Thunderwave, Shatter, Bane (I think), Dissonant Whispers should all work.

You've basically got to put the subtlety to one side for this.

[LeonBH]

Are you looking for ways to deal large damage against undead, or just be effective against them?

If you're a Valor Bard, you can hit them with attack cantrips.

If you're a Lore Bard, you can use Cutting Words to undercut their attacks/ability checks. You can use Bane and Vicious Mockery to constantly debuff them.

[Asmotherion]

I don't know why you want to leave Secrets out of it, since it's one of the Vanilla Bardic Abilities, but ok.

1st level spells: Faerie Fire is a good all-purpose spell that gives advantage to all attack rolls against affected creatures for all the party.

2nd level spells: Cloud of Daggers, if placed correctly and in benefical situations, can make a hord of zombies either retreat or butchered (for example, in front of a doorway). Cloud of Daggers actually causes magical Slashing damage, which is not resisted/imuned by those creatures (since it is created by a spell, and not by a non-magical weapon).

Heat Metal: For weapon/Armor wielding Undead. Or you can actually throw an arrow on an undead and use it as a DPT option (on the tip of the arrow). Improvise/Strategise.

By the time you have access to 3rd level spells, you also have access to your first secrets. From that point, I'm sure you can figure something on your own.

[Chugger]

Why leave out what you can steal? That's part of why you steal certain spells and not others. Maybe this is a reason to steal fireball after all - most undead are hurt by it. As are a lot of other monsters. Or a really nasty control spell like Hunger of H. Or nab that pal heal spell - aura of vit? - and instead of hurting the undead just heal the crud out of your allies, while they kill the undead. Or take summon animals and attack the undead with your summoned creatures.

You can nab Eldritch Blast through a feat and use your Charisma to help you land hits with it. You have to dip 2 lock to get the agonizing blast invo, but you don't need that. EB alone is not bad.

You said no stealing - so okay - it's true that bards are largely weak on undead. But the lvl 2 spell Shatter does okay damage to them, especially if they clump - and the lvl 3 fear spell works on pretty much all of them. There is no limit in the def of fear in the phb (like there is with Sleep) - and I looked up wight wraith vampire and a couple others in the mm - no condition immunity for fear. So fear should send them running if they fail ST. Oh, silence ruins a banshee's main power.

But you definitely should talk about stealing, because understanding what stealing spell x over spell y can do for you will make or break you as a bard. Stealing useless spells ... you'll be so unhappy with yourself. I wouldn't just steal to be good vs undead. But a spell that hurts most undead (if not all) _and_ hurts many other things, that's pretty good. It will make you happy.

[Talamare]

Everything

Bard is the most versatile class in the game
THEY LITERALLY DO EVERYTHING
What do you WANT them to be capable of doing against the Undead?

If you're still making the uber cliche; I'm a music man bard, because I think that the word bard means musician.

Then I can't help you.

In History, Bards were Spies, Thieves, Fighters, Marksmen, Dancers, Travelling Merchants... They did it all; so DO IT ALL.

[JAL_1138]

An archery-focused Valor bard can be a quite competent damage-dealer with a bow or crossbow (eventually...gonna take quite a few levels and at least one feat, maybe two). Still, even for a Lore bard, standing back and plinking with ranged weapons is an option.

Bards don't get many damage cantrips by default, but if you have a way to acquire some, you can use those. Vicious Mockery is better than it looks, though, because of the Disadvantage it causes on the target's next attack roll. Some undead hit like a freight train, and making them miss is sometimes better than doing much damage.

Weapon attacks, Vicious Mockery, Dissonant Whispers, Faerie Fire, Bane, Thunderwave, Tasha's Hideous Laughter, Blindness/Deafness, Shatter, Cloud of Daggers, Heat Metal, Plant Growth...there are a lot of low-level spells that still hit undead. Some undead aren't immune to Fear, either. Heck, not all of them are immune to the Charmed condition, although some (but not all) spells that cause Charm specifically exclude undead. Silence is also good on spellcasting undead.

Bards are also good with healing spells. Healing Word someone whenever they drop. Lesser Restoration can cure diseases and paralysis. Heroism is useful against undead that can Frighten, and a few temp HP per turn ain't bad.

Passing Bardic Inspiration out (or using Cutting Words for Lore bards) is useful too.

And once you get 4th level spells, Polymorph somebody into a T-Rex or slap Greater Invisibility on a heavy hitter like a Rogue or Paladin to get them Advantage on their attacks and give enemies Disadvantage on attacking them.

[Deleted]

So, I only have access to the SRD, so take this with a grain of salt...

Hideous Laughter.

A quick look doesn't mention that undead are immune to enchantments. I looked at Skeletons and they have resistance to poison and exhaustion stuff... But not enchantments.


Q (Start casting Hideous Laughter): Why didn’t the skeleton dance at the Halloween party?

A (finish casting hideous laughter): He had no body to dance with!

[Tanarii]

The most useful things mean holding Concentration. So consider stocking up on oil, alchemists fire, acid, and holy water, and being a grenadier also.

(Cue way too many words on 'old school' tactics)
I sometimes wish players would spend more on this way of thinking.

Then I remember old-school also had saving throws for everything you were carrying under certain circumstances. Having the containers for your walking grenadier shatter suddenly in their bandoleers doesn't bear thinking about. /shudder