How well does college of swords play?

[SpaceFaerie]

I like the theme of a swords bard but want to hear from some folks who have played it. How well does it play? how well does twf work for it? good spell ideas? and bardic inspiration use blade flourish vs standard inspiration use? I'm not an optimizer, I definitely prefer to play to a fun concept than just min-maxing, but I don't want to feel useless to the party.

[DivisibleByZero]

It plays excellently.
Think of it like a Battle Master who getsv a couple of less cool Maneuvers, but gets all the Bard goodies instead.

[SpaceFaerie]

It plays excellently.
Think of it like a Battle Master who getsv a couple of less cool Maneuvers, but gets all the Bard goodies instead.

Does twf compete too much with other class abilities or is it usable?

[the secret fire]

Does twf compete too much with other class abilities or is it usable?

It's usable. Bards don't typically have a lot they can do with bonus actions, and Swords doesn't get shield proficiency.

[History_buff]

I like the theme of a swords bard but want to hear from some folks who have played it. How well does it play? how well does twf work for it? good spell ideas? and bardic inspiration use blade flourish vs standard inspiration use? I'm not an optimizer, I definitely prefer to play to a fun concept than just min-maxing, but I don't want to feel useless to the party.

Pretty dang awesome. I love my swords bard X/ EK fighter 3. Defensive fluorish and shield spell/Dex saving throw proficiency makes you an evasion tank nonpareil.

Basically you can be an incredibly “durable” disruptor/force projector.