Anyway to make college of swords super op in al?

[sflame56]

Like what feats and skills and spells should one get to make college of bard the most broken class in the universe. Should you go v human for duel weapon fighting lvl one and grab 2 rapiers? I know lvl 10 you want to snag steel wind strike thanks to magical secrets but should you also get something like find greater steed? I am open to suggestions.

[Specter]

IMO, generalists don't make the most broken characters. Lucky for you, the Bard chassis is strong enough.

To make the most out of Magical Secrets, I'd take Shield and Searing Smite. Yes, level-1 spells, but Shield is what you want to reinforce your AC, and Searing Smite can be upscaled to whatever level you want for good damage. Another strategy to be sturdy is to become invisible, and then Shield up if an enemy eventually overcomes your AC.

[Finlam]

To make the most out of Magical Secrets, I'd take Shield and Searing Smite. Yes, level-1 spells, but Shield is what you want to reinforce your AC, and Searing Smite can be upscaled to whatever level you want for good damage. Another strategy to be sturdy is to become invisible, and then Shield up if an enemy eventually overcomes your AC.

You're probably better off taking one level Hexblade to get Shield, CHA SADness, Hexblade's curse, and a short rest spell slot. It delays getting your magical secrets by 1 level, but now you can choose 3rd level spells for magical secrets instead of a first level spell.

[BobZan]

I'm playing a Hexblade/Swords Bard. It's very very effective. Amazing sinergy.

You can face all (most) threats superbly with great resilience. Consistent damage. Debuff. Crowd Control. Heals. Tankness. Party face. Investigation.

All sort of coolness. I'm having a blast with it. For AL you'll have to give up GFB and BB only I guess.

Basic Array - 8 14 13 10 12 15
V. Human -> Warcaster

8
14
14
10
12
16

Level 1
Warlock 1

Prof: Wis, Cha

Skills:
Warlock: Investigation, Deception
Entertainer (Gladiator): Acrobatics, Performance
Human: Perception

Patron: Hexblade

AC: Scale Mail + Shield = 18

Cantrips: GreenFlame Blade, Eldritch Blast
Spells: Shield, Hex

Level 2
Hexblade 2

+1 slot/sr
Invocations: Agonizing Blast, Devil's Sight

Level 3
Bard 1

Skill: Persuasion

Cantrips: Light, Vicious Mockery
Spells: Healing Word (whackamole), Charm Person (out of combat usefulness), Dissonant Whispers (AoO for everyone), Sleep (good early on)

Level 4
Bard 2

Jack of All Trades
Spell: Identify (cool spell to have around)

Level 5
Bard 3

*This level is huge. Bonus action Heat Metal, Greenflame Blade + Flourish. Nice damage.*

Expertise: Perception, Persuasion

College of Swords
Fighting Style: Dueling

Spells: Heat Metal, switch Sleep for Hold Person

Level 6
Bard 4

ASI: +2 Cha
Spell: Invisibility

Level 7
Bard 5

Inspiration: d8, short rest
Spell: Hypnotic Pattern (some crowd control)

Level 8
Bard 6

Extra Attack
Spell: Leomund's Tiny Hut (warm place whenever you are)

Level 9
Bard 7

Spell: Polymorph

Level 10
Bard 8

ASI: +2 CHA
Spell: Greater Invisibility (yes!)

Level 11
Bard 9

Spells: Animate Objects <3, switch Crown of Madness for Raise Dead (party savior)

Level 12
Bard 10

Inspiration: d10
Magical Secret: Cone of Cold (awesome area damage), Find Greater Steed (because griphon)
Spells: Greater Restoration, switch Hypnotic Pattern for Hold Monster (boss)

Levels 13+ -
Paladin -> Oath of Conquest

[Chunkosaurus]

Steel wind strike is awesome for sure, but I would take Armor of agathys or holy weapon over that. If you take find greater steed and armor of agathys the temp hp will also be given to your steed

[jaappleton]

Steel wind strike is awesome for sure, but I would take Armor of agathys or holy weapon over that. If you take find greater steed and armor of agathys the temp hp will also be given to your steed

If you have a Divine Soul in the party, the prospect of twinning Holy Weapon on someone with TWF is delicious.

[XmonkTad]

No votes for Shadow Blade as a magical secret? Or zephyr strike so you can dart around without provoking AoO?

But anyway, I'm not worried about you being OP as a bard. You can be good, but unlikely to break anything.

[Specter]

No votes for Shadow Blade as a magical secret? Or zephyr strike so you can dart around without provoking AoO?

But anyway, I'm not worried about you being OP as a bard. You can be good, but unlikely to break anything.

Shadow Blade is good, but not OP. An extra d8 is just a bit better than Hunter's Mark/Hex.

[History_buff]

Like what feats and skills and spells should one get to make college of bard the most broken class in the universe. Should you go v human for duel weapon fighting lvl one and grab 2 rapiers? I know lvl 10 you want to snag steel wind strike thanks to magical secrets but should you also get something like find greater steed? I am open to suggestions.

Take three levels of fighter for eldritch knight. This gets you shield spell (along with a few other goodies like action surge, second fighting style, bigger hd, second wind, and booming blade for OAs if you get Warcaster (you should). Blade flourish, plus shield makes you nigh unhittable for a few rounds per day. The wait for magical secrets is painful, but it’s nice to be able to stand toe to toe with the big bad. You’re tough to take down, and very capable in melee, and are only three levels behind on spell progression. Comes online at level 9 with level 13 being a huge level.

[History_buff]

Hexblade is probably better if your dm rules warlock spells are fungible. But action surge is always nice to have on a caster.