Hexblade/Bard leveling help needed

[Ozone24]

Hi All

I need some help with level progression on my character, we are currently playing Storm King's Thunder and will continue with custom campaigns after our goal is to develop characters from lvl1 - lvl20. I'm currently playing a Hexblade/Bard (lvl3 Hexblade lvl2 Bard). Stats: Str: 10 Dex: 18 Con: 12 Wis: 12 Int: 10 Cha: 20.

The problem I'm having is that I'm not sure how to level going forward. Should I go for more Hexblade or Bard levels? 3 hex/17 Bard? 17 Hex/3 Bard? 6 Hex/14 Bard or 14 Hex/6 Bard? I'm also torn as to what Bard college to go for.

I'm focusing on dealing maximum damage as the other party members are not damage focused at all.

Apologies for this heap of questions, but seeing as this character will hopefully be around for a while, I'd like to build it as best I can.

[Chugger]

Not sure that hexblade bard is the best mc for dealing damage.

Bard spells are more utility and control. If you go Lore and steal fireball, you're getting it 3 levels late.

I guess you have to decide which college you're going and how bard spells will help you do damage.


If you go bard.

Going up hexblade makes your 2 slots very powerful - and if you get many short rests you have slots to use in fights. If not, oh well. Are you doing Darkness and Devil's sight invo? That's an easy way to get advantage with most targets. If you level up you can use a 2 hander.

Let's look at a striker build - a typical one - a Gloomstalker Ranger. At lvl 8 they have min. +5 to damage. Maybe they picked up a +2 bow. Maybe they picked up a Bracers of Archery. Without other fancy stuff, they open doing 3 shots of 1d8 plus 1d6 (from Hunters Mark) or 4.5 + 3.5 average damage for 8 plus 5 to 9. They get three of these on round one. Minimum is 8 + 5 or 13 x 3, which is 39. Medium is 8 + 7 = 15 x 3 which is 45 - and high end is 8 + 9 = 17 x 3 = 51.

Round 2 is 2/3 that, as they don't get that third shot any more.

Now just go through what you got or could grow into and test it against that. At lvl 2 bard lvl 6 hexblade you are limited to one asi. So you'll be limited to a 16 cha. That's +4 damage plus magic item. Your high end may be +6 ish (a +2 weapon). Also because of 2 bard lvls you don't get extra attack til combined lvl of 7 - instead of lvl 5. If you go bard, those bard colleges that give extra attack don't give it til bard lvl 6, meaning combined lvl 9 to get it. That would suck.

I'd go lock or hex on that alone. MC'ing is not always good, especially if you go into it not understanding the pitfalls. You can still salvage this. Hitting twice w/ a greatsword as a hexblade is 3d6 + 4 if you hex (not curse). That's 10.5 + 4 twice a turn, which is 29 damage. Not bad. When your cha is 20 it goes to 31 (+5 damage) - and w/ cha 20 and a +2 magic greatsword, say, you're doing 35 a turn.

Just work out the math. Or go with what appeals to you. You don't have to be optimized and DnD is not all about combat. If your whole party is gimped and does poor damage, the DM will need to adjust what you fight, anyway. Doing more damage does not necessarily mean easier fights - it can mean much harder fights because the DM throws much tougher stuff at you.

[MrStabby]

Actually I don't think what you have is bad.

The low level hexblade spells are pretty awesome: shield and wrathful smite are really solid. Dropping high level slots on them really feels like a waste though.

You can worry about the time till a second attack but with cantrips like booming blade and greenflame it can cover you somewhat for those levels.

I think bard is nice for this as it has some awesome spells accessible from an early level - dissonant whispers, healing word, heat metal for example as well as some nice out of combat spells.

I would try and get to level 8 warlock as a priority though - banishment spell is great and that ASI is good. Then taking an extra level of bard.

For college I can see cases for a lot of them. Swords might be a good match. Come level 5 in bard you get a nice lot of combat flexibility for your strikes. If you are using hexblade for your combat power then lore adds loads of nice abilities and skills and doesn't overlap on weapon/armour proficiency.

[Mortis_Elrod]

I’d suggest going to Bard 3 , just to get that subclass out of the way.

Idk which one you had in mind but I’d recommend either Swords or Whispers. Whispers will give you some cool social ability and some pseudo-sneak attacks, Sword will double down on your martial ability.


The choice here is important. If you want to focus on martial ability then the fastest way to extra attack is through swords Bard (or valor). Which will also save you an invocation later. If you go Whispers though you can stop at 4 or 5 or even 3 then go back to leveling warlock. If you ever wanted to focus on burst damage I’d recommend this. The Psychic Blades are very good at what they do. Later on you will love that easy damage that you can apply to a crit along with the smite you get at later levels (assuming you pick blade pact).


If I were you here Is how I’d level (assuming the Hexblade 1/Bard 2 is set in stone)

Hexblade 1/Bard 2
Hexblade 1/ Whispers 3
Hexblade 2/ Whispers 3 (Disguise self invo, one other)
Hexblade 2/ Whispers 4 (boost Cha)
Hexblade 3/ Whispers 4 (Blade, change other invo to imp weapon)
Hexblade 4/Whispers 4 (boost Cha)
Hexblade 5 Whispers 4 ( exchange disguise self for thirsting, pick up Eldritch smite)
Hexblade 5/ Whispers 5
Hexblade 5 / Whispers 6
Hexblade 5 / Whispers 7
Hexblade 5/ Whispers 8 ( Do what you want with the asi)
Hexblade 6/ Whispers 8
Hexblade 7 / Whispers 8 (invocation, I like the at will utility. Do as you do tho.)
Hexblade 8 / Whispers 8 ( asi, as you want)



After this I’d decide if I’d want to finish as a Bard or Warlock tho the 10/10 split does have its merits you miss an ASI and if you are wanting the life drinker invocation you miss out. But you don’t get magical secrets if the let Bard stay at 8. Both are viable tho so don’t get hung up on the choice too much.

So with this at Character level 5 you can Wrathful Smite as a bonus action, Booming blade as an action, then psychic blades for extra damage. Assuming your wielding a hex warrior weapon, that’s:
1d10(longsword) +1d6(wrathful smite)+1d8(booming blade) + 2d6 (Psychic blades) + 3 (charisma). And potential fear if they fail the wisdom save and if they move an extra 2d8. No idea on the ruling for B.B. and fear effects but even without that it’s still a whopping 23.5 avg for an easy to get spell slot and BI and potential fear.

Later on you can combine this with a better smite spell or extra attack or Eldritch smite and your psychic blades and cantrip will scale.

[Ozone24]

We have already been playing for a while and are at level 5 now, I'm already 3 Hex/2 Bard with the Ability scores mentioned above (Str: 10 Dex: 18 Con: 12 Wis: 12 Int: 10 Cha: 20) the rest of the party consists of a Druid (Circle of the land) an Illusionists Wizard who refuses to get damage spells and a Dwarf fighter (Battle Master) I'm filling a bunch of roles at this point as people just refuse to do certain things.

Not sure if I should focus Bard and forget about too much damage as I enjoy having spells/utility more than just bursting damage. I'm looking at Swords bard for the blade flourish as our fighter doesn't seem to actually want to "fight" anymore (He took a crit in session 1 and almost died), just hanging back and using his crossbow. That means I get to be smashed in the face quite a lot :smallmad: and like the extra AC from Blade flourish. Lore bard is tempting too simply for the extra magic secrets. Does Psychic Blades from Whispers outshine Blade flourish?

The Hexblade is very interesting, but seems to drop off at later levels? I do use the Darkness/Devil's sight combo and considering working on my strength in order to use the Curse bringer invocation. Most of my damage comes from Hex/Curse, Booming + Greenflame, Burning Hex and then regular attacks with Rapier at the moment.

At this point I'm just not sure how to build my character in order to do everything the party is expecting of me (damage, tank :smallmad: and filling in with skills/being party face.) I was initially wanting to play a roguish infiltrator/secondary damage dealer focusing on Melee as I mostly play casters, but this is getting more and more difficult to stick to.

Sorry for the wall of text, just slightly frustrated with the current situation and feeling slightly lost. Thanks for everyone's advice thus far, its much appreciated.

[Mortis_Elrod]

We have already been playing for a while and are at level 5 now, I'm already 3 Hex/2 Bard with the Ability scores mentioned above (Str: 10 Dex: 18 Con: 12 Wis: 12 Int: 10 Cha: 20) the rest of the party consists of a Druid (Circle of the land) an Illusionists Wizard who refuses to get damage spells and a Dwarf fighter (Battle Master) I'm filling a bunch of roles at this point as people just refuse to do certain things.

Not sure if I should focus Bard and forget about too much damage as I enjoy having spells/utility more than just bursting damage. I'm looking at Swords bard for the blade flourish as our fighter doesn't seem to actually want to "fight" anymore (He took a crit in session 1 and almost died), just hanging back and using his crossbow. That means I get to be smashed in the face quite a lot :smallmad: and like the extra AC from Blade flourish. Lore bard is tempting too simply for the extra magic secrets. Does Psychic Blades from Whispers outshine Blade flourish?

The Hexblade is very interesting, but seems to drop off at later levels? I do use the Darkness/Devil's sight combo and considering working on my strength in order to use the Curse bringer invocation. Most of my damage comes from Hex/Curse, Booming + Greenflame, Burning Hex and then regular attacks with Rapier at the moment.

At this point I'm just not sure how to build my character in order to do everything the party is expecting of me (damage, tank :smallmad: and filling in with skills/being party face.) I was initially wanting to play a roguish infiltrator/secondary damage dealer focusing on Melee as I mostly play casters, but this is getting more and more difficult to stick to.

Sorry for the wall of text, just slightly frustrated with the current situation and feeling slightly lost. Thanks for everyone's advice thus far, its much appreciated.

Are you using the Xanathar’s subclasses or the UA versions ?

[Ozone24]

Are you using the Xanathar’s subclasses or the UA versions ?

Xanathar's, although the GM is allowing invocations from UA

[Mortis_Elrod]

Xanathar's, although the GM is allowing invocations from UA

Odd. It’s a bit weird not to use the most up to date version ( there’s an updated invocation list UA too).

are you wanting curse bringer for the curse moving effect?

I’d probably still use the Eldritch Smite invocation. There’s a reason they changed those invocations. In any case it’s less mad if you use Esmite.

I’d AC is the problem Swords Bard will definitely help. For nova I’d say whispers Bard is still better but I’m sure someone can run the numbers on that.

[Dys Dogeater]

As far as action economy if you don't mind getting smacked Hex+Hellish Rebuke. That said, this has nothing to do with being a bard its just a good way for a low level warlock to dish out some pain without slowing down.

[Citan]

Hi All

I need some help with level progression on my character, we are currently playing Storm King's Thunder and will continue with custom campaigns after our goal is to develop characters from lvl1 - lvl20. I'm currently playing a Hexblade/Bard (lvl3 Hexblade lvl2 Bard). Stats: Str: 10 Dex: 18 Con: 12 Wis: 12 Int: 10 Cha: 20.

The problem I'm having is that I'm not sure how to level going forward. Should I go for more Hexblade or Bard levels? 3 hex/17 Bard? 17 Hex/3 Bard? 6 Hex/14 Bard or 14 Hex/6 Bard? I'm also torn as to what Bard college to go for.

I'm focusing on dealing maximum damage as the other party members are not damage focused at all.

Apologies for this heap of questions, but seeing as this character will hopefully be around for a while, I'd like to build it as best I can.
Hi OP ;)


Not sure that hexblade bard is the best mc for dealing damage.

Bard spells are more utility and control. If you go Lore and steal fireball, you're getting it 3 levels late.

I guess you have to decide which college you're going and how bard spells will help you do damage.

Actually it can be pretty good. ;)


We have already been playing for a while and are at level 5 now, I'm already 3 Hex/2 Bard with the Ability scores mentioned above (Str: 10 Dex: 18 Con: 12 Wis: 12 Int: 10 Cha: 20) the rest of the party consists of a Druid (Circle of the land) an Illusionists Wizard who refuses to get damage spells and a Dwarf fighter (Battle Master) I'm filling a bunch of roles at this point as people just refuse to do certain things.

Not sure if I should focus Bard and forget about too much damage as I enjoy having spells/utility more than just bursting damage. I'm looking at Swords bard for the blade flourish as our fighter doesn't seem to actually want to "fight" anymore (He took a crit in session 1 and almost died), just hanging back and using his crossbow. That means I get to be smashed in the face quite a lot :smallmad: and like the extra AC from Blade flourish. Lore bard is tempting too simply for the extra magic secrets. Does Psychic Blades from Whispers outshine Blade flourish?

The Hexblade is very interesting, but seems to drop off at later levels? I do use the Darkness/Devil's sight combo and considering working on my strength in order to use the Curse bringer invocation. Most of my damage comes from Hex/Curse, Booming + Greenflame, Burning Hex and then regular attacks with Rapier at the moment.

At this point I'm just not sure how to build my character in order to do everything the party is expecting of me (damage, tank :smallmad: and filling in with skills/being party face.) I was initially wanting to play a roguish infiltrator/secondary damage dealer focusing on Melee as I mostly play casters, but this is getting more and more difficult to stick to.

Sorry for the wall of text, just slightly frustrated with the current situation and feeling slightly lost. Thanks for everyone's advice thus far, its much appreciated.
In your place, I'd go Bard right now up to 5. Reasons for that: short-rest Bardic Inspiration, Heat Metal (better than Hex for armored enemies), Hold Person (if you don't have it already), Catnap (although by RAW you can't use it on yourself if I'm not mistaken), Rope Trick (perfect for a short rest you can benefit from), Leomund's Tiny Hut (ritual, second perfect for a short rest).

As for choice of College...
- Definitely Sword if you want to be as tanky as possible and/or plan on going up to Bard 14 (so you can get perma 1d6 to spare BI).
- Whispers if you plan on going as far as 10 at least and don't care that much about tankiness.
- Lore Bard otherwise.

Considering that Hexblade's 10 also makes you quite tanky, if only against one target per short rest, tough choices will have to be made. ;)

OR...
You could go completely another way, grab Warlock 4 ASAP, getting Observant feat, then dip into WIS-classes... But that's much more complex to pull off, so I won't detail unless none of your current options is acceptable. :)

[MrWesson22]

Lore bard is pretty tanky too with hexblade's medium armor and shield plus lore bard's cutting words. I would just go hexblade 3/lore bard x, but it is a different playstyle than a heavier mix of hexblade. You still have agonizing eldritch blast, right? With that, your damage will never be lacking.

[Crgaston]

Don’t discount the Glamor Bard. Giving everyone in your party a free Disengage+Dash+THP on your turn is an insane combat ability. And with your 20 CHA you can do it 5/LR at Bard 3 then 5/SR at Bard 5.