MC Bladesinger, Am I building this right?

[Drazhar]

I recently decided to play a Bladesinger and I am now mad at myself that I waited so long. I am loving this class as it is the best of both worlds! So far mine is being played as more of the tank. Which fits in with the theme: Jedi!

Build so far:

Half Elf

Str 9
Dex 18
Con 14
Int 16
Wis 10
Cha 10

Levels 1-6 Wizard, Bladesong! Key spells Shield, Mirror Image -or- Blur, Misty Step and currently Haste! Finally, getting to level 6 for that Extra Attack.

Levels 7-9 Battlemaster Fighter, Defense fighting style for an extra +1 AC. Action Surge, need I say more? I went BM instead of Samurai (which would have fit the build better, but it has to be AL legal), plus I get access to Precsion Attack and Pushing Attack (my "force push" ability)

Levels 10-20 Resume Wizard, The rest is Wizard stuff, because of AL hoops I can't use Steel Wind Strike, but alas the build is ok without it. During the rest of the build I will pick up ASI's to get 20 Dex and 20 Int, however, I am contemplating replaceing one ASI w/ Dual Wielder just to get an additional +1 AC and the ability to two weapon fight with d8's instead of d6's.

Main Hand weapon: Sunblade (more Jedi flavor)
Off hand: Shortsword
With current armor: 25 AC (w/ Shield) but I calculate once build is done, and more than likely will only ever get +2 armor, I figure possible AC at max will be 31 AC (w/ Shield)!!!

Overall loving this class and would love feedback, should I take the build elsewhere? Are there better M/C's?

[Deathtongue]

I recently decided to play a Bladesinger and I am now mad at myself that I waited so long. I am loving this class as it is the best of both worlds! So far mine is being played as more of the tank. Which fits in with the theme: Jedi!

Build so far:

Half Elf

Str 9
Dex 18
Con 14
Int 16
Wis 10
Cha 10

Levels 1-6 Wizard, Bladesong! Key spells Shield, Mirror Image -or- Blur, Misty Step and currently Haste! Finally, getting to level 6 for that Extra Attack.

Levels 7-9 Battlemaster Fighter, Defense fighting style for an extra +1 AC. Action Surge, need I say more? I went BM instead of Samurai (which would have fit the build better, but it has to be AL legal), plus I get access to Precsion Attack and Pushing Attack (my "force push" ability)

Levels 10-20 Resume Wizard, The rest is Wizard stuff, because of AL hoops I can't use Steel Wind Strike, but alas the build is ok without it. During the rest of the build I will pick up ASI's to get 20 Dex and 20 Int, however, I am contemplating replaceing one ASI w/ Dual Wielder just to get an additional +1 AC and the ability to two weapon fight with d8's instead of d6's.

Main Hand weapon: Sunblade (more Jedi flavor)
Off hand: Shortsword
With current armor: 25 AC (w/ Shield) but I calculate once build is done, and more than likely will only ever get +2 armor, I figure possible AC at max will be 31 AC (w/ Shield)!!!

Overall loving this class and would love feedback, should I take the build elsewhere? Are there better M/C's?
Fighter isn't the worst idea for a multiclass, but I'm going to recommend that you don't multiclass at all if you plan to go past level 7 or so. Even if you're not interested in the amazing control tools wizards get. You're at the threshold of getting some VERY good tools for your Bladesinger, from Greater Invis to Contingency to 4d8 Shadow Blade to Song of Defense/Victory to Simulacrum to Tenser's Transformation to Investiture of Stone. Heck, if nothing else it's extra spell slots for the Glyph of Warding + Stoneskin combo.

[igor140]

I agree that you may want to reconsider the Fighter dip. Mechanically, you'll get a handful of HP and Action Surge out of it; but as powerful as AS is, it may not be worth delaying your spell progression. Bear in mind that even as a Bladesinger, you are still primarily a caster; the melee abilities are best used for situations where you can't get out of a toe-to-toe fight. I agree that Battlemaster fits in well with the Jedi theme, just bear in mind that you will be delaying your casting ability... which is kind of a big deal as a Wizard.

Also, bear in mind that the book is EXTREMELY clear that you must wield a single weapon with a single hand in order to Bladesinger to work. That means no off-hand weapon, no shield, and no two-handed weapons. You're welcome to work something out with your DM... but I wouldn't budge on this one if I were the DM.

[the secret fire]

Overall loving this class and would love feedback, should I take the build elsewhere? Are there better M/C's?

Two levels of Rogue can be very powerful on a Bladesinger, tho it's not especially jedi-like.

[the secret fire]

Also, bear in mind that the book is EXTREMELY clear that you must wield a single weapon with a single hand in order to Bladesinger to work. That means no off-hand weapon, no shield, and no two-handed weapons. You're welcome to work something out with your DM... but I wouldn't budge on this one if I were the DM.

Actually, no...the book is confusingly worded, but Bladesingers can dual-wield.

[CTurbo]

Bladesingers can dual wield. It just says you can't don medium or heavy armor, use a shield, or use a 2 handed weapon.


I think a Bladesinger/Swashbuckler build would be great. 5 levels of Swash for Expertise, Cunning Action, Uncanny Dodge, and 3d6 Sneak damage are all awesome for a Bladesinger.

Fighter is fine though. I'd be tempted to take TWF though if you DO want to dual wield. At Wizard 14 you'd be getting to add Dex+Int to all attacks so dual wielding is actually more worth it for you than most TWF builds.

EK Fighter is always great MC for any Wizard btw

[bid]

Main Hand weapon: Sunblade (more Jedi flavor)
Off hand: Shortsword
You will need warcaster if both your hands are occupied.
And you cannot use the versatile property of your sunblade while bladesinging.

Beyond that, rogue offers more than fighter if you want to MC. Which is still not worth delaying your spell progression IMHO.

[Deathtongue]

You will need warcaster if both your hands are occupied.
I always draw my offhand weapons from a belt of disposable shortswords I keep on my person. When I need to cast a non-BB/GFB spell, I just drop them and draw a new shortsword when I want to attack again.

You're going to need to do this anyway, because Warcaster doesn't help you cast non-BB/GFB spells with material components to them. It's not a huge deal, since you're not fighting with off-hand weapons on the rounds you're casting anyway (unless you're a Haste monkey) and Misty Step/Shield/Absorb Elements/Counterspell don't have material components. But it's something to keep in mind.

[Citan]

Hi OP! ;)

Fighter isn't the worst idea for a multiclass, but I'm going to recommend that you don't multiclass at all if you plan to go past level 7 or so. Even if you're not interested in the amazing control tools wizards get. You're at the threshold of getting some VERY good tools for your Bladesinger, from Greater Invis to Contingency to 4d8 Shadow Blade to Song of Defense/Victory to Simulacrum to Tenser's Transformation to Investiture of Stone. Heck, if nothing else it's extra spell slots for the Glyph of Warding + Stoneskin combo.
I'll have to agree on that.
Just Greater Invisibility / Polymorph / Wall of Fire are compelling enough to stay one more level.
Then comes lvl 8: a +2 DEX or INT will always help much, and since you didn't get Constitution proficiency either, Resilient: Constitution could be even more beneficial.


Two levels of Rogue can be very powerful on a Bladesinger, tho it's not especially jedi-like.
I'll have to disagree on the latter part, although it's obviously 100% subjective. Considering the Jedi are, among other things, extremely fast and agile, pulling a Cunning Action on character concept seems fair game to me. :)
And mechanically 100% agree it's very powerful.


I always draw my offhand weapons from a belt of disposable shortswords I keep on my person. When I need to cast a non-BB/GFB spell, I just drop them and draw a new shortsword when I want to attack again.

You're going to need to do this anyway, because Warcaster doesn't help you cast non-BB/GFB spells with material components to them. It's not a huge deal, since you're not fighting with off-hand weapons on the rounds you're casting anyway (unless you're a Haste monkey) and Misty Step/Shield/Absorb Elements/Counterspell don't have material components. But it's something to keep in mind.
On that note, I'd suggest even better: since you are keeping light weapons, instead of using both shortswords, use instead a dagger in off-hand. That way, if you really need to free a hand, you can make a thrown weapon attack. :)

@OP: if you want to tank, +1 AC as Defense is obviously good, but if you also want to kill things Two-Weapon fighting style may be worth taking over.
Apart from that, how you level really depends on how far you expect to go.
If you expect your character to get to the end, DON'T multiclass. Nothing as far as tanking goes is worth getting free Shield at level 18.
That aside, basically it depends on whether you want to rely on Shield or not.
If you want to rely on Shield, then you want as many slots as possible, so multiclassing is kinda out.
Otherwise, as someone said above, your best bet is multiclassing Rogue to get Uncanny Dodge: although it works only on one attack, the fact it works against whatever kind of damage makes it a great deal...
- To spare Shield (when you feel even +5 AC may not be enough, or when you only expect to sustain one attack this round).
- To spare Absorb Elements (when you only expect one instance of that kind of elemental damage this round).
- To soften critical hits (against which Shield won't be any help, neither Absorb Elements obviously).
As for what kind of Rogue, it would again depend on the long run.
For a 5 level max, Swash is probably the best thanks to the free disengage effect.
For 7-9 end goal, Arcane Trickster is way leagues beyond better: less "slot loss" and invisible Mage Hand AND Magical Ambush will make you a force to be feared in any situation.