Character concept: Urvani the squire of Mr. Lithrix

[KorickRax]

Salutations, Urvani the squire of Mr. Lithrix at your service.

A friend and I have been playing D&D 5e for about a year. We played in an AL group in our town and went through the whole Tyranny of Dragons campaign (an unforviging experience for us newcomers) I played as a Half-orc Barbarian and he played as a Kenku monk so he was almost (but not exclusively) limited to the words my character said.

Now that that campaign is over we created new characters and since he had the idea of making a fighter (cavalier)/Oath of Conquest Paladin I decided to make a (you guessed it) a squire. And I found that the Valor Bard was the perfect choice for this.

So I made Urvani: the human squire of Mr. Lithrix (a lizardfolk) so far I went this way with point buy:

8 Strength
15 (+1) 16 Dexterity
14 Constitution
8 Intelligence
10 Wisdom
15 (+1) Charisma

With the variant human I got the Medium Armor Master, with a Half-plate and the shield I got a very decent AC of 20.

So far we are at level 2 and I multiclassed with a Hexblade Warlock for the Charisma attacks. I don´t think is going to be fully optimized but I would like to know what do you think I should choose (bard spells, feats, magical secrets, etc.) in order to become a good squire?

I was thinking since he is going to be a cavalier (and since Mr. Lithrix will have find Steed/find Greater Steed because of the paladin multiclass) I should get one of those spells too. And maybe the feat Mounted Combatant or Shield Master so that I don´t die with a fireball.

Currently I´m limited to verbal spells during combat since I wield have a rapier and a shield. I´m not a selflish College of Swords bard who uses his bardic inspiration to boost only himself, no sire. But I have to drop my weapon in order to use a spell that requires material components.

So what do you guys think would optimize/flavour this build? If one of your characters had a squire, what do you think he should definetly have at his disposal? (Prestidigitation for example to clean our armors, or heroism so that Mr. Lithrix never experiences fear).

Thank you very much :smallsmile:

[nickl_2000]

So, first of all you are technically breaking the rules by taking Medium Armor Mastery at level 1 VHuman. You are required to have medium armor proficiency to be able to take that feat. You don't have that at level 1 for a bard (although you get it from level 1 hexblade). That aside, onto the real question. I see a squires jobs as a servant to the Knight, someone who cares for the knights equipment and boost the knight up. So, I would be looking for buff spells and protection spells.

Bard Spells:
Cantrips:
Mending - A good squire fixes the knights gear
Prestidigitation - Cleans his knights gear
Vicious Mockery - Clearly you want to weaken your knight enemies with insults

Level 1:
Cure Wounds/Healing Word - Patch up your knight
Charm Person - Make friends

Level 2:
Enhance Ability
Lesser Restoration
Suggestion
Zone of Truth

Level 3:
Dispel Magic
Hypnotic Pattern
Sending
Clairvoyance


Magic Secrets:
I would look at counterspell and haste. These are things to protect the knight and boost the knight. It is hard to beat these from an optimization standpoint and they are also very flavorful.

[Man_Over_Game]

I have a hard time understanding why a Lizardman would become a squire. Not necessarily saying it can't be so, but Lizardmen generally wouldn't have those kinds of interactions. They work together, sure, but as equals. I don't think they'd really recognize the concept of "supporting" someone as a goal. Rather, you have a goal, and "supporting" someone might be a consequence of that goal, not the goal itself. They're very straightforward, simple, almost savage people.

I'd recommend looking into the Volo's book and reading up on the Lizardmen, and determine what exactly that means for your Squire, and how your concept fits in. Because it's rather difficult determining what kind of RP this character would have when it already breaks several trends (Lizardmen would also probably not be very charismatic, as they define everything, including their opinions, as you would a third-person narrative stating facts).

[Sparky McDibben]

Uh, MOG, I think the lizardman's the knight.

OP - I would recommend watching Merlin (BBC TV series) for ideas. One, it's fun television, and two, there are a lot of ideas to draw from.

[Man_Over_Game]

Ah, missed that. My bad.