Swapping Out Pass Without Trace

[TheCleverGuy]

Playing a dragonmarked elvish Swords Bard in an Eberron campaign, and I had originally taken the Pass Without Trace spell from the Mark of Shadow spell list for one of my second-level spells. However, we just hit level 5 and now the party's Trickery Cleric has it as a domain spell, so I'm considering swapping out PWT for something else. What would be a good replacement for it though?

I have the full list of Bard spells up to level 3 to choose from. For what it's worth, the rest of the party includes the aforementioned Cleric, a diviner wizard, a battle smith Artificer, a monk, and a barbarian.

My current spells known are:
Level 1: Bane, Healing Word, Dissonant Whispers, Faerie Fire
Level 2: Suggestion, Pass Without Trace, Cloud of Daggers, Invisibility (from the dragonmark)
Level 3: Hypnotic Pattern

[Civis Mundi]

Pass without trace is one of my favorite spells. I think it's going to be hard to straight-up beat, but I think you have a lot of interesting options.

If you're wanting more control, you could go with something like fear, enemies abound, heat metal or hold person. The same creatures that are immune or resistant to hypnotic pattern will probably feel the same way about fear and enemies abound, while heat metal and hold person have their own limitations. Still, it could be nice to have more options. Hypnotic pattern is great, but it can be less effective in the middle of an on-going battle.

Bestow curse is another really solid control option, but it becomes way better once you get 5th level slots. Upcast at 5th level, bestow curse is non-concentration and lasts 8 hours.

Catnap is not the most popular choice, but I think it has huge potential on a party with lots of short rest resources. Bards get a lot out of it themselves because of Font of Inspiration. The more of the following you have on side, the stronger it is: Battle Master, Arcane Archer, Moon Druid, any Monk, any Warlock. It will recharge your Cleric's Channel Divinity as well, but that's less significant on a Trickery Cleric.

You might also consider clairvoyance. Knowledge is power, and spells like clairvoyance pair great with a stealthy party (which it sounds like you have). When you can start a fight on exactly your terms, you've already won. Or as Sun Tzu puts it, "Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win."

[Pex]

Keep it. It's a concentration spell. You and the cleric can take turns. You both have other concentration spells you may want/need to concentrate on. In situations where the party needs to separate for some reason you and the cleric can be in different groups and both have access to the spell to sneak around.

[Civis Mundi]

Keep it. It's a concentration spell. You and the cleric can take turns. You both have other concentration spells you may want/need to concentrate on. In situations where the party needs to separate for some reason you and the cleric can be in different groups and both have access to the spell to sneak around.

I find parties less concentration-strapped out of combat, which is the main place you'll use pass without trace. Splitting the party can be...situational at best, but I'll concede it happens way more often than you might expect. That said, I find most splitting happens when stealthier party members scout ahead, to avoid anyone in heavy armor giving away the team's position. Having Blessing of the Trickster to mitigate that should also help keep the party from splitting in the first place.

Personally, I'd keep pass without trace. Even it's more situational now, it's just that good. There are some other spells I'd consider swapping instead. Bane and faerie fire are good spells, but I'd probably drop the one you'd use the least, since you'll be concentrating on something else on most occasions. I'd also get rid of cloud of daggers for one of the aforementioned options when you can.

[Iku Rex]

Enhance ability (http://dnd5e.wikidot.com/spell:enhance-ability) seems like a solid pick.

[TheCleverGuy]

I'd also get rid of cloud of daggers for one of the aforementioned options when you can.

I like Cloud of Daggers for thematic reasons. Out party us made up of circus-folk and my character in particular is a blade juggler.

I do think I'll end up switching out Bane or Faerie Fire eventually though.

[TheCleverGuy]

Enhance ability (http://dnd5e.wikidot.com/spell:enhance-ability) seems like a solid pick.

That is one I had an eye on. I like the idea of swapping out a buff for buff, and Enhance Ability has a lot versatility to it.