Hexblade + swords bard any good?

[Spacehamster]

Hello everyone!

Curious if anyone have tried hex + sword, probably hex 1 + sword 19 or perhaps hex 1, go swords until 10 for magical secrets and then take 2 levels Paladin for smites from all your slots?

[Willie the Duck]

Saw one played in a campaign (which went from levels 3-12 or so). It was fine. It did not wow, but that's what I've seen with hexblades in general, except when someone has gotten their perfect combo up and running -- Sure, his getting to start with and stick with a 14 Dex and put all his ASIs into Cha means his save DCs and such are a little higher (than the regular swords bard who has to split ASIs between Dex and Cha), but that seems a pretty reasonable tradeoff for delaying higher spell levels by a whole level.

[ciarannihill]

A Hexblade dip is basically just to allow a Sword Bard to be slightly more SAD than it otherwise would be and better survivability due to shield, plus get a couple of extra side benefits (Hexblade's Curse, Pact Magic slots, Eldritch Blast mostly). And that's fine. It works well enough and it'll probably be fun so have at it.

[Alexwellace]

I haven’t played it yet, but next week I’m starting a campaign with a HexBard College of Swords. We’re starting at level 5, so I’ve gone 4 bard/1 hex, going to take bard up to 6 for Inspiration on short rest and extra attack then take hex to 2 for invocations.

I’m really into the idea of how much I get back on a short rest, between the Warlock spell slot and my inspiration. I’m also taking the UA feat BladeMaster which gives +1 to hit, so between maxing ASI CHA, prof and them at feat I should be very accurate and put out steady damage of d8 plus CHA plus duelling plus prof against Hex target while rolling around with Defensive Fluorish and Shield Spell to max out my AC when it’s needed.

I would definitely put priority into bard before dipping deeper into Warlock, you need to unlock that lvl 6 extra attack feature to remain relevant. Im personally being silly and NOT taking Eldrich Blast (I want to focus on my sword play) to the utility invocations like Devils sight and Mask of many faces are my go to picks. Really looking forward to trying him out.

[Millface]

If you mix it with paladin it can be. I'd do Hexblade 1 then Paladin to 6 for the aura and sword bard for the rest of the late game if you want to be smiting early.

Hexblade 1 Sword Bard 10 then take Paladin 2 then Sword bard to 17 if you want spell progression over the ability to smite. Up to you, really. If you want to do TWF instead of dueling you'd need Hexblade to 3 at some point to allow that with pact of the blade.

For support I'd do the spell progression route, for late game Nova I'd do Paladin 6/Hexblade 5/Sword Bard 9 misses out on magical secrets but smites for literal days at high level. Vengeance+Hexblade's Curse+Elven Accuracy means you're looking at a 27% crit chance, and you can dump both and eldritch and divine smite on the same crit for 14d8. For All levels Nova Hexblade 2--->Sorcerer 5--->Hexblade to 5 ---> Paladin 2 ---> Sorcerer to 11. Quickening your damage cantrips like EB or Booming Blade + Hexblade's Curse for Prof Damage on all damage rolls makes this build super strong damage-wise from level 5 on.

[Citan]

Hello everyone!

Curious if anyone have tried hex + sword, probably hex 1 + sword 19 or perhaps hex 1, go swords until 10 for magical secrets and then take 2 levels Paladin for smites from all your slots?

Hi!
You don't need Paladin honestly, not before much later anyways.
And it's not necessarily better than taking more Warlock, although it really depends on end goal.

But for a start, going Warlock 1 -> Bard 7 should be your prime goal.
Warlock choice suggestions: Shield, Armor of Agathys, Eldricht Blast, Mold Earth.
Shield for better resilience at low levels.
AoA to use after Bard 9 to give a decent mixed boost of offense and defense.
Eldricht Blast to cover ranged option, since I expect you'll want to use Extra Attack + dual-wielding for melee.
Mold Earth to complement utility since I expect you'd pick Minor Illusion and Mage Hand as Bard ones.

Once there, you can decide whether you really want smite option right now or if you're rather get up to Bard 11 first for better spells, Magic Secrets (Haste? Circle of Power) and additional Expertise. Or even instead bump Warlock for short-rest slots and Pact features.