AL Sneaky Bard

[BaconAwesome]

Concept: Bardo Humplebumple (final name to be determined) is a youngish half-elf whose family was captured and enslaved by cultists, then freed by the Harpers. Since then, working with a morally edgy but mostly good mentor, he has trained as a Bard, with a plan of being an undercover cult infiltrator. I probably won't play him much once Adventurers' League Season 9 starts, so I don't expect to get him much into Tier II.

Lev 1 Half Elf Bard
Stats: Str 8, Int 10, Wis 12, Dex 16, Con 14, Cha 16

Custom Background: 2 skills, 1 language, 1 tool proficiency, starting gear from the Detective background from Rats of Waterdeep, and the faction agent Safe Haven feature.

Skills: Deception, Insight, Investigation, Perception, Performance, Persuasion, Stealth

Languages: Common, Elvish, Undercommon, Infernal

Other Proficiencies: Thieves Tools, Flute, Lute, Drum

Spells: Minor Illusion, Viscious Mockery, Disguise Self, Faerie Fire, Healing Word, Tasha's Hideous Laughter

Plans: I'll probably add a level of hexblade at L2 (to stretch out my spell slots with EB and the short rest slot, and for medium armor) and either swap con and dex, or drop dex to 14 and boost my mental stats. If I get to L5, I plan to select Lore Bard.

Any suggestions to tune him up (pun intended) for either better optimization, better role play, or more fun are welcome, thanks!

ETA: Sorry for being unclear. He's not actually in a cult, he's in the Harpers. His goal is to act ripe for recruiting to the local cult, then infiltrate them, like an FBI mole in the Klan or something. So he'll mostly act like a disaffected idiot looking for a cheap way to get ahead, or whatever it is the local cult offers

[Zetakya]

I feel that for a Cultist background and a cult infiltrator, he should have at least one of Arcana, Religion or History, depending on the details of the Cult.

[Hobbo Jim]

Clarification: By "cult infiltrator" do you mean one who infiltrates a cult, or a cultist who infiltrates society/other groups? Or a cultist who infiltrates other cults?:smalltongue:

Admittedly, the second sounds like more fun but would probably be harder to make work in a group. Could be funny though to try and convince as many people as possible to join your cult.

[BaconAwesome]

Clarification: By "cult infiltrator" do you mean one who infiltrates a cult, or a cultist who infiltrates society/other groups? Or a cultist who infiltrates other cults?:smalltongue:


The first one. He's secretly a Harper, but he's outwardly an idiot who is ripe for recruiting to the local cult.

[Man_Over_Game]

The first one. He's secretly a Harper, but he's outwardly an idiot who is ripe for recruiting to the local cult.

"What do you mean I'm 'acting like a cultist'? That's my job, man. Of course I had to attend some of the mandatory sacrifice rituals, but I didn't, like, push anyone into any pits. See? Not a cultist."

[Keravath]

Personally, I liked 2 levels of hexblade for the invocations and additional short rest spell slot. This does put your bard spell casting one level of spells behind but it gives you a competitive direct damage option and other benefits.

My AL character like this is now level 13 ... 11 lore bard/ 2 hexblade warlock ... and I have really enjoyed playing him. The only level that felt particularly challenging was level 6 (possibly a bit 5). However, after I hit character level 7, I didn't really miss not having the next higher level spells. The available spells were sufficient and the hexblade abilities (agonizing blast in particular) were extremely valuable in a could of encounters (one involved magic resistant undead dragons where my bard would have had trouble doing anything if they didn't have agonizing blast).