Spells for Palard

[5eNeedsDarksun]

...or Bardadin or whatever you want to call it.

Anyway I'm in a 3 character party going through RotF with a ranged Battlemaster and and Evoker. I have a Paladin 2 / Swords Bard 6. I'm the face, buffer, healer, and pretty much every role the other 2 can't manage... truly the Jack of All Trades.
Some of my spells are utility, and since making 2/6 I've been using my 4th level slot to upcast Aid, which seems to work. Prayer of Healing was my other thought for that slot and optimally if we're all equally beat up and I have a chance to cast it would give more HP.
Mostly in combat I'll cast a concentration spell and go in Smiting, which works well enough, until it doesn't. Last session we ended up fighting this flying foe that didn't speak any of the languages I speak (actually I'm not sure if it spoke anything at all, but won't give spoilers) so my plan for taking down single foes of something like Suggestion + Silvery Barbs if necessary was off the table. I have Slow, but not Hypnotic Pattern. I was able to help with the mooks, but until our Evoker ran out of Fireballs, turned himself into a Giant Ape and managed to grapple the thing to the ground I was pretty useless.

So looking at the Bard list I'm thinking Tongues might be a usefull addition for situations where I can't close, though that's potentially 3 spells committed to make something work (Tongues + a Charm Spell + maybe Silvery Barbs). Also, once I get 4th level spells Polymorph and Dimension Door seem helpful. Once I get to 2/8 I've got the option of Fey Touched for Misty Step; the good news there is Misty Step is a BA, but the bad news is I've currently got an 18 Chr, so the 1/2 feat isn't great.

So, here's the quesiton: Do you guys see any other good options for when I can't close? Am I missing anything? Thanks in advance.

[Seekergeek]

Magical secrets for ensnaring strike and a long bow.

[Kane0]

Maybe compelled duel? But its only got 30 feet of range.
Heat Metal and Phantasmal force can reach out to 60 feet and dont rely on language
Enemies Abound might be an alternative to slow at the same 120 range and 3rd level slot, aside from Hypnotic Pattern which you already mentioned
Psychic lance and dimension door are 4th level spells that could help, incapacitated flying creatures fall to the ground.

Ooh, Faerie Fire is cheap, decent range and a good way to provide easy advantage for both the evoker and battlemaster if theyre making attack rolls (scorching ray)

[RogueJK]

An excellent eventual option is to learn the Find Greater Steed spell as a Magical Secret at Bard 10, which would give you a fast flying mount like a Griffon (80' fly speed) to help you close with distant enemies faster and deal with flying enemies. You'd want to learn Feather Fall too, though... Falling out of the sky is a real possibility. But Feather Fall is at least a Bard spell.

But that's 4 levels away. So in the meantime...

Hypnotic Pattern is a relatively large AoE, doesn't rely on language, and has a range of 120'. I'd definitely be learning that spell next level. The only downside is that it's a charm effect, and there's a subset of enemies who are immune to those.

Polymorph is a decent choice too. You can "heal" an ally that's about to go down by turning it into something with lots of HP, although they lose access to most of their class features when they do so, so it's kind of a last resort thing. You can turn an enemy into something harmless, to deal with its buddies first before coming back to deal with just them. And specific to your current dilemma, you can potentially turn yourself into a flying creature if needed, which is also very useful for exploration/travel. (Just see my earlier caveat about falling out of the sky... And you also can't Divine Smite while Polymorphed, so it's not going to be Plan A in combat.)

Tongues is a handy spell, but two spell slots and two rounds of setup is a hefty price to pay just to Command/Suggest one enemy. Still worth considering for primarily out of combat use since you're the party Face, plus occasional combat use when you don't have a better option.

Another option is to take something like Magic Initiate Warlock/Sorcerer at Level 8 instead of Fey Touched, to pick up a 120' attack cantrip like Eldritch Blast or Chill Touch.

So I'd do something like:
Take Dimension Door at Bard 7, and swap out an existing spell for Hypnotic Pattern.
Take Polymorph at Bard 8, and swap out an existing spell for Feather Fall. Take Magic Initiate Sorcerer for Chill Touch, Absorb Elements, and a utility cantrip like Message/Mage Hand/Mold Earth/Minor Illusion/etc.
Take Synaptic Static or Animate Objects at Bard 9, and swap out an existing spell for Tongues.
Take Animate Objects or Synaptic Static at Bard 10, and take Find Greater Steed as a Magical Secret, alongside something like Circle of Power or Spirit Guardians.


Animate Objects creates a swarm of Tiny flying minions. They're not the fastest at just 30', but they can deal with some flying enemies.

Synaptic Static is a large AoE with a long range, solid damage type, and a decent non-Concentration debuff. It's basically Bard Fireball+.

[RogueJK]

Psychic lance and dimension door are 4th level spells that could help, incapacitated flying creatures fall to the ground

No. The Incapacitated effect states that an Incapacitated creature cannot take Actions (including Bonus Actions) or Reactions. That's it. It doesn't change their movement, or cause them to stop flying. Movement is not an Action or a Reaction.

However, there are some spells/effects that both Incapacitate as well as remove movement. Like Hypnotic Pattern, which both causes affected creatures to be Incapacitated and sets their speed to 0. It's this latter removal of movements that would cause a flying creature to fall. The Stunned effect is similar, in that it states that a creature is Incapacitated and cannot move.

But Raulothim's Psychic Lance's rider effect is strictly just Incapacitation alone. They can still move, talk, interact with an object, etc. The only way that it would cause a flying creature to fall is if they were flying due to a Concentration spell like Fly or Polymorph, since the Concentration rules specify that you lose Concentration on a spell if Incapacitated.

[5eNeedsDarksun]

Thanks for the responses. As you can tell from my original post I'm getting pulled in a lot of directions with the small party. The Wizard at least has a bucket of rituals which helps. Being an Evoker he's focused on blasting though, so isn't quite as diverse as he could be.
I do already have Feather Fall, which I think I've used twice. Once was an avalanche.
I did have a thread on here a while ago of Slow vs. Hypnotic Pattern, and went with Slow. Perhaps in this situation HP would have been better. I did have Bless pre-cast, which did help for both hits and Saves as the critter in question was using breath weapon, so I wasn't motivated to nix Bless for another concentration spell that might not work.
It's hard to be prepped for every situation I guess. As a couple of you mentioned Magical Secrets will help, but we'll be near the end of the campaign by then, so I definitely need to find a plan B or C at level 2/7.

[Kane0]

No. The Incapacitated effect states that an Incapacitated creature cannot take Actions (including Bonus Actions) or Reactions. That's it. It doesn't change their movement, or cause them to stop flying. Movement is not an Action or a Reaction.

However, there are some spells/effects that both Incapacitate as well as remove movement. Like Hypnotic Pattern, which both causes affected creatures to be Incapacitated and sets their speed to 0. It's this latter removal of movements that would cause a flying creature to fall. The Stunned effect is similar, in that it states that a creature is Incapacitated and cannot move.

But Raulothim's Psychic Lance's rider effect is strictly just Incapacitation alone. They can still move, talk, interact with an object, etc. The only way that it would cause a flying creature to fall is if they were flying due to a Concentration spell like Fly or Polymorph, since the Concentration rules specify that you lose Concentration on a spell if Incapacitated.

Huh, the more you know. I wonder if that was an oversight.

[Psyren]

Huh, the more you know. I wonder if that was an oversight.

No, it's intentional. For example, Nathair's Mischief from Fizban's incapacitates you without removing your movement (however it does force you to move in a random direction.)

Tasha's Hideous Laughter meanwhile incapacitates you and forces you prone without eliminating your speed. You specifically can't stand up, but you can still crawl.

(Interestingly, both of these effects have to do with uncontrollable laughter - but that makes sense, since laughter on its own, even magically induced, shouldn't impact your ability to move your limbs.)

[Sherlockpwns]

If the concern is mostly about flying creatures anything that causes prone or restrained will knock them out of the air. Hypnotic pattern does too. Unless they hover.

[follacchioso]

This is the same problem that many melee characters have, when they get high level. Many high CR monsters have high mobility and ability to fly, and you lack ranged attacks, making you useless against them.

One solution is to get a flying speed. You could get Improved Speed or Flying at Bard lv 10, but that is a long way ahead, so I would look for a magic item (winged boots, wings of flying, etc..). As you level up you will find yourself in this situation more and more often, so this is a good investment that you will have to make sooner or later.

Tongues is an amazing spell, I strongly recommend you. Unfortunately it doesn't allow you to read other languages, but it is still very important for a face.

Hideous Laughter works on almost all enemy types, it can force a flying enemy down, and it is only lv1; the only drawback is the range of 30', which is quite limited.

Freedom of Movement and Greater Invisibility are also very good lv4 choices.

Polymorph is great until you lose concentration, and the inhability to use Feats and other traits make it less useful.