Help me with good RP/Optimization balance for Half-Elf (probably)Valor Bard (archer?)

[OlegRU]

Edit: doesn't need to be the combat star of the party - just a partial-support type as far as attacks.

I am just getting back into DND and it's my first time playing 5e. Please help me with my character build.

Basically, I want my character to be able to do some decent attacks in combat as well as cast spells, and I love skills and RP. By his backstory the character is almost certainly a skald type- he's very social with a genuine interest in the world, wanting to develop himself and inspire others, using the spoken word and song a lot. He's also from the North and good with wilderness stuff.

I imagine him being good at many skills and talking to others, casting utility and combat spells, buffing his teammates and also getting some attacks in while keeping himself away from the main brunt of the enemy - perhaps shooting arrows.

Would a Valor Bard Archer be a good way to have all this? I've seen many mention it as a great combat strategy, with 4 attacks later on, for this type of character and it would fit my guy RP-wise, as he stays away from the front line, but still gets to yell **** out, do some buffing of others, cast spells, but also have significant attacks.

Questions:

If he's the archer build, would rapier be good as a backup melee weapon (for epic flavor in some situations)? Should he have a shield for when he's using the rapier or just a sword?
Is casting with a bow going to be a problem? What about with a sword and shield?
Armor-wise - since this build would have a high DEX (I imagine), is breastplate or something else worth it (capping out the modifier at 2)? Or should he use only light armor?
Will I be sacrificing any cool stuff (magic, skills, abilities etc.) optimizing his ranged attack?
Is getting feats going to leave him on the low end with ability scores? If I raise scores, should it be straight DEX and CHA?
What would be the optimal progression by levels to build this guy?


Ability Scores (char is half-elf):

Our DM is letting us use standard array or point-buy. So I was thinking of doing:

10 16(+1 incl.) 12 (+1 incl.) 10 12 16 (+2 incl.)

or

10 16(+1 incl.) 14(+1 incl.) 10 10 16(+2 incl.)

I hate negative modifiers and I'm really into skills, which is why the 10s being lowest and why I'm debating of having the 12 in wisdom (survival, perception, maybe animals). I also don't want my char being weak or dumb.

Spells:Could really use help on choosing spell for my char as well!

Multiclassing: Open to it if it's not too all over the place or complex. Also, I'd like to stay away from things like sorcerer or paladin, as they might be effective but make no sense RP in my case.

What are your suggestions/advice?
(Please keep in mind I want to keep my character's theme for RP purposes.)

Thank You so for any feedback!

[OlegRU]

Edited the OP

[Man_Over_Game]

Answering your questions, in order:

A Rapier would be a good backup weapon, or maybe two Shortswords. Don't plan on using a shield if you're planning to almost always be a ranged character, as a Shield takes an action to don.
Casting with a bow is not a problem. Casting with a shield and sword will probably require a Gem of the War Mage for your shield (turns it into a focus), and War Caster. Combining both of those utility options will mean that you can cast any spell while using a sword and shield. Although a lot of this can be mitigated by only having a sword drawn when you plan on attacking with it.
Armor is a bit iffy. If you're planning on maxing out Dexterity over Charisma, you might do better in Light Armor, especially considering you also want to be good at Dexterity Skills (and most medium armor will cause you to have Disadvantage).
You will be sacrificing your casting and Bardic Inspiration by focusing on Dexterity. You have a few choices:

Grab a few levels into Hexblade, so that a bow will use your Charisma score instead of Dexterity.
Rely mostly on utility spells that don't use your Charisma and focus on attacking in combat.

You don't really need feats as a Bard. Maybe grab War Caster if you plan on being a melee character. Otherwise, I'd just stick with increasing your stats. If you plan on casting, keep both stats even. If you plan on attacking more than casting, then get Charisma to 14-16 and leave it.
Many people leave Bard by level 14. It's your call, though. It might be worth it to pick up some Rogue levels at that point, to further improve your combat and utility benefits.

[Tallytrev813]

Are you dead set on Valor Bard? It's a good choice, maybe the best. But it may be worth considering something like a warlock.

1.) Eldtrich Blast + Agonizing blast make for a good quality ranges damage that doesnt use any resources at all, unless you use Hex with it which makes it relatively high quality damage.

2.) Spell casting is there, though there isnt as much buffing as a Bards Inspiration die allows. Hex is a really good debuff though, and you can target buffing spells if you so choose.

3.) RP is heavy, arguably tied with a bard i think some would agree. You can pick up Mask of Many faces for free cast Disguise self + high level charisma/deception for a really cool imposter sort of RP feel - and the patron aspect lends itself to RP heavy play.

4.) Skill heavy, though not as much as Rogue/Bard. Charisma and Dex are 2 main stats (along with Con) depending on build.


Worth considering i think.

[Mercurias]

The way Bards are built in 5e seems to make them slightly subpar as Archers.

As a half-elf Valor Bard, probably your strongest standard attack per round would be a single longbow attack and a cast of Vicious Mockery at level 14, for 1d8+Dex+3d4 with Battle Magic.

To contrast, a single level dip into Warlock or Sorcerer, or a single feat like Magic Initiate, would give a cantrip that deals 3d10 by that level. A straight Dex Fighter would have 3 attacks by level 14 and be dealing 3d8+15 (assuming Dexterity is maxed).

You can pad your damage some by multiclassing into Rogue for added Sneak Attack dice on your first attack, but frankly you may have more fun playing either a Lore Bard (which has emphasis on skills and spellcasting) or using a Mystical Secret for Booming Blade and wading into melee with a Rapier.

A Valor Bard/Swashbuckler Rogue multiclass character is a lot of fun for the adventuring storyteller archetype. It’s a very exciting character to play.