Cool high level combo - Swift Quiver & Disintegrate

[MarkVIIIMarc]

We had a one shot type event with some old high level characters.

With an Oath Bow having Wood Elf Lore Bard I had fun drawing blood and burning Legendary Saves with:

Cutting Words on the bad guy's initiative
Peerless Skill my initiative
Round 1 Bonus Action Swift Quiver
Action Elvin Accuracy Oath Bow

Round 2 Bonus Action E.A. Swift Quiver
Action Disintegrate

Round 3 same

Round 4 I was going to Disintegrate first because with DM clues I felt the big bad was wearing down but he went to 0 HP on the player's turn before me then he vanished. Drat, now BBG can return in 28 years.

Having the usual Ractions of Counterspell, Cutting Words keeps you paying attention also so it was fun and damaging.

[DarknessEternal]

How is that a combo?

[MarkVIIIMarc]

How is that a combo?

Maybe the wrong definition. To me it felt good to have Bonus Action and Action attacks going on. Almost like Animate Objects then Dissonant Whispers the next round to trigger all the opportunity attacks.

So whatever that is called.

[ProsecutorGodot]

Maybe the wrong definition. To me it felt good to have Bonus Action and Action attacks going on. Almost like Animate Objects then Dissonant Whispers the next round to trigger all the opportunity attacks.

So whatever that is called.

Action economy efficiency is based around this, it's part of the reason things that allow a bonus action attack like PAM, Echo Knight and Spiritual Weapon are viewed highly.

Ironically, Swift Quiver doesn't usually end up on the same list because of its setup time and concentration requirement.

[Chronos]

Also because, under ordinary circumstances, the only way to get Swift Quiver is to put 17 levels into a ranger, which is uncommon: Most tables never even reach that level, and of those that do, few feature pure rangers. It's the same reason there isn't much discussion of 9th-level spells from the full-caster lists.

Of course, that all goes out the window when a bard takes it as a Magical Secret, but you don't get very many of those and there are so many good choices available, so most bards won't use it, either.

[MarkVIIIMarc]

Also because, under ordinary circumstances, the only way to get Swift Quiver is to put 17 levels into a ranger, which is uncommon: Most tables never even reach that level, and of those that do, few feature pure rangers. It's the same reason there isn't much discussion of 9th-level spells from the full-caster lists.

Of course, that all goes out the window when a bard takes it as a Magical Secret, but you don't get very many of those and there are so many good choices available, so most bards won't use it, either.

I think the Oath Bow and backstory made it more attractive for my Bard.

The Oath Bow and my Elven Accuracy choice made it what,

3.5+3.5+3.5+4.5+4(dex bonus)=19.

So with a combo of Elvin Accuracy, Lucky and the Oathbow it feels like 38 points of probable Bonus Action damage then a non concentration spell. Its odd for a Lore Bard, fitting for a Wood Elf, and different.

[Kane0]

Using Disintegrate with the intention of burning a Leg Save is a poor idea, since on a success the spell is entirely wasted. I should know, I haven't actually landed a Disintegrate with my sorcerer for 4 levels now.

[5eNeedsDarksun]

Action economy efficiency is based around this, it's part of the reason things that allow a bonus action attack like PAM, Echo Knight and Spiritual Weapon are viewed highly.

Ironically, Swift Quiver doesn't usually end up on the same list because of its setup time and concentration requirement.

I think the closest point of comparison is Haste, which gets mixed reviews as a 3rd level spell. By the time you're high enough level to cast Swift Quiver, surely you've got some way of getting either a reliable BA attack, or something equally valuable to do with your BA. So, effectively you're adding 1 additional attack with a 5th level spell. Maybe SQ is good in some circumstances, and I can see the fact it's not tied to the Attack Action being particularly attractive to a Bard since you can still cast all your spells and get 2 missile attacks (at 10th level to boot). On a Ranger... well I think this is one of the reasons there aren't a lot of high level single classed rangers if this is their go-to spell.

[Chronos]

Oh, sure, I wasn't saying it was the wrong choice. Swift Quiver is a perfectly viable choice for a Magical Secrets spell, especially if you have an Oathbow. It's just that there are also a lot of other perfectly viable choices, especially if (as is usually the case) your bow is nothing special.