Especially after level 5 when you get them back on a short rest. Whip. The color code below has been implemented to help you identify, at a glance, how good that option will be for your Bard. Standing firmly at the top of this list is the College of Lore. Use clear, concise title names - Titles must be clear, concise, and not worded in a misleading fashion. Starting with a 14 or 15 in main stat is fine in 5e. Sword Bard is casting less spells in combat as their martial attacks have higher damage potential because of Fighting Style and Blade Flourish. The mobile Flourish only lets me move closer to the target again unless you mean knock them away and just not get close again? Of course, players looking to make a bard in D&D 5e should keep in mind that a … Blade Flourishes are just 3 versions but everyone is useful, BM have 4 maneuvers from 3rd lvl and (if you have good charisma) both of them have 3 … I think this concept of a "party face" is a little silly - if your character has something to say, or a persuasive argument, do it! As a Valor Bard, I would cast Concentration debuffs if I'm ranged (Faerie Fire) and non-Concentration debuffs if I'm melee (Blindness and Plant Growth). As someone else already said, Combat Inspiration allows you to use your BI dice to help allies in combat, whereas Flourishes will only use those dice to help you. The TWF combat style is a bit of a trap for Swords if you like to cast mid-combat; you can't counterspell with weapons in both hands even if you can use your blade as a focus. Yeah I could haste myself for 2 attacks but that eats my concentration which could be used for something like Faerie fire for everyone. How many levels of Hexblade should I take? Because you are relying almost completely on the Bard spell list, and there aren't a lot of Bard damage spells, you are going to focus on buffs and debuffs. Feel free to add to the community resource folder and the resource list. Art by Reddit User griff-mac. If you pick spells that take this into account then it works well. Valour gets shields while Swords doesn't. I imagine combining the two would also be a strong combo. [–]SirKiren 0 points1 point2 points 2 years ago (1 child). Valor can be a ranged or melee martial, but the biggest thing is that they can cast and attack in the same turn as their capstone. Respect the opinions of others - Each table is unique; just because someone plays differently to you it does not make them wrong. The intent is for everyone to act as civil adults. D&D 5e/Next; Optimization College of Swords Bard: What spells? Valor Bard is still more focused on support in combat, using their Inspiration to aid the party. It doesn't feel like a support class at all in combat, whereas out of combat it's suddenly a full caster with so many utility spells it puts my Sorcerer to shame. If I go Valor though, I wouldn’t need to burn a feat in Dual Wielder and end up with more AC anyways eventually with a magic shield I suppose in the long haul? AKA why play a College of Lore Bard. Hex is the only problematic spell I would have (admittedly a major spell) since its VSM. How often is the bonus action attack on valor decent, is the infinite defensive flourish better than a magic shield, how strong is a fighting style into t3/4, etc, [–]chunkosauruswrex 0 points1 point2 points 2 years ago (0 children), Don't forget the fighting styles of swords, [–]Kilowog42 3 points4 points5 points 2 years ago (2 children). Hexblade 10/valor or swords bard 9/fighter 1 is, hands down, one of the best archers in the game, since they can get swift quiver as a magical secrets spell. What we've gotten so far? T… You're really going to feel that if you guys are starting at level 5. Bards of the College of Swords are called blades, and they entertain through daring feats of weapon prowess. In this post, we will be examining the Bard’s Class Features and how you can optimize your Bard through choosing your Race, Ability Score, Spells, Feats, etc. The Lore bard has the same problem as Swords though because he wouldn't get access to magical secrets till level 7 overall when swords would get extra attack. Then rogue 5. Dm for our group is becoming exhausting, is all of this normal? We discuss the next subclass in the series from the Dungeon Master's Guide: the College of Swords Bard! Feels like Battlemaster a bit, but confined to melee. What IS worth noting however is that Battlemaster maneuvers and Swords Bard stack, bringing an entirely new realm of depth to ones turn. Playing a college of swords right now at 5th level with magic initiate for booming blade and the shield spell. I think this concept of a "party face" is a little silly - if your character has something to say, or a persuasive argument, do it! [–]tconnersGloomy Boi/Echo Knight 0 points1 point2 points 2 years ago (1 child). 5E has a short list of artifacts, so it’s basically a race between the Sword of Kas, the Sword of Zariel (from Descent into Avernus), and Ed Han’s more than credible choice of Blackrazor. I have to say I do like Swords Bard as a rogue alternative. Sword Bard is more focused on themselves in combat, using their Inspiration to boost their damage. Is fudging a dice roll ok? With Dueling fighting style right now I'm doing up to 1d8+5+2d6 on a turn and either buffing an ally with Bardic Inspiration, or using a BI die for added movement and AC/shove/AoE control. Next goal on my list would be bard level 6. The 14th level ability shouldn't be a reason for choosing one over the other if you're starting at 1st level since they come into play so late in the game. You can see the Bard Class Features here. The fun of Swords Bard comes from the fact that its flourishes aren't bonus actions and pave the way for unique strategic turns, though this doesn't sufficiently differentiate them from Battlemaster fighters. Bards of the College of Swords are called blades, and they entertain through daring feats of weapon prowess. A wonderful thing about being a Swords Bard is that you can basically guarantee that at least one PC (you) will get an OA. Though they use their weapons to entertain, they are … For me Swords is by far my favorite, because it works as a swashbuckling archetype, kind of like a cross between bard and battlemaster, but without having to multiclass. Our current Swords bard has comparatively low Charisma (and consequently, few BI dice per rest) because she maxed out Dexterity first for damage and is now playing catch up, so she's never thrown a single BI to anyone since choosing her subclass. This color coding isn’t a hard and fast rule; there ar… The best thing about the whip is the fact that it can be used as … The main idea is to be good at melee in addition to my other stuff so the valor inspiration seems better since it’s functionally the same as how I used to use Cutting Words (lore bard) but it will burn an ally’s own reaction instead of my own now which might be bad in higher levels? And then they still have a bunch of spell slots available to burn through. I recently rolled a bard for a new game set in a low fantasy world. Help build a college of swords bard. Too hard ? In dialogue, a bard… 1st lvl dip Hex Warrior, Hexblades curse, Shield and Wrathful Smite. The 5E bard however is a very good class IMHO and the College of Lore bard is likely one of the top tier classes in 5E. [–]HoboBard 0 points1 point2 points 2 years ago (0 children). But if you're going to multiclass anyway a lot of the toys that Valor gives you will be eclipsed by the other things you get from your Hexblade dip. I...kind of forgot about this as War Caster doesn't override this effect and neither does Hexblade...are there any especially important spells this will come up for or is my free object interaction for sheathing my blade fine? Well the issue with can’t cast Counterspell will remain even with Valor Sword+Shield until I get the War Caster feat anyways and that shouldn’t be an issue since Magical Secrets would be after my second ASI so I’d almost definitely have it by then. Official sources, homebrew images, and new information/product photos are the exception. Blades perform stunts such as sword swallowing, knife throwing and juggling, and mock combats. I just read about Bard and College of Sword and his Blade Flourish. use the following search parameters to narrow your results: A place to discuss the latest version of Dungeons & Dragons, the fifth edition, known during the playtest as D&D Next. [5e] Swashbuckler Rogue/Swords Bard I originally went into this build thinking like a cocky sailor swordsperson but without the whole pirate vibe, more self-controlled and a scholar. Top dnd5e.wikidot.com. Boring etc? Cause fear is only verbal along with Shield (VS) and Wrathful Smite (V)? Thankfully at 6 I'll gain extra attack, but that's a ways off right now. Sword nets me a fancy FS and all instead and a personal only use for inspiration which will usually be used for defensive it seems if I don’t use the shield spell. Well, they hoard them for themselves (usually saving them for crits if possible). No low-effort/OC/image posts outside megathreads - Image posts showing table set ups/minis/dice bags/character drawings/maps and other "OC"-type material are to be limited to the weekly AutoModerator thread. That's one of a number of ways to get shield proficiency. The downside is that the resource management is a little tight - BIs at 4 are a LR resource. We've assembled the biggest list of Tips Tricks and Strategies for Bards in DND5e! Rendered by PID 18402 on r2-app-0d0045073012ce879 at 2020-12-06 02:24:55.614699+00:00 running a7f2daa country code: FR. Particularly with a Swords/Valor Bard, you'd be putting your Extra Attack back two levels behind everyone else with just a one level dip. Sword Bard can use Flourishes 5 times per -Short Rest-, which is a huge difference. [–]Kilowog42 2 points3 points4 points 2 years ago (0 children). In the party there is also a defensively minded Paladin, a gunship rogue with a crossbow, necromantic offensive warlock and a fighter inspired by 4e warlords. I'm currently making the same choice, but I know our campaign will end around lvl 10 or 11. If you want to synergize with allies, you'll have a better time with other subs. Only 1 level gets me multiple benefits and doesn't really slow my spellcasting or ASI progression at the cost of some cool Hexblade spells and The benefits of Pact of the Blade +Improved Pact Weapon. Swords has the versatility of doing more damage, moving out of combat, or defending ones self using inspiration- with inspiration resetting after short rests eventually, this makes you a pseudo battle master. Valor I think leans more towards being a support character that can stand in melee combat, where Swords is more focused on participating in melee combat. Valor Bard was more stationary and I wanted stationary opponents, Sword Bard was more fluid skirmishing so I wanted to be stickier when I got hit. That's pretty much it. Do not suggest piracy - Any links/tools/documents/etc. The Lore Bard is more of the classic supportive Bard, with improved magical options and support abilities, while the Valor Bard is a decent front-line melee character who can bring their spellcasting and support capabilities into the heat of battle. As such, for me anyway, Valor Bard is better at support because their damage output isn't hindered (much) by casting support spells. The bard has managed to grow beyond the subpar abilities of previous editions to become one of the best classes in Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition.It is a full caster class boasting a robust spell list and has the ability to steal a total of 6 spells from any other list in the game. Bards: Sword vs Valor?Advice (self.dndnext), submitted 2 years ago by Ryunosuke-Ryusei. Both are excellent, but there's 4 huge differences. [–]Ryunosuke-Ryusei[S] 0 points1 point2 points 2 years ago (2 children). Spell Name School Casting Time Range Duration Components; Blade Ward: Abjuration: 1 Action: Self: 1 round: V, S: Dancing Lights: Evocation: 1 Action: 120 Feet: Concentration up to 1 minute One difference is that Valour gets a new use of BI to help allies, while Swords gets a new use of BI to help themselves. Your intermediate goal is rogue 3 and college of swords bard at level 6 to get extra mobility and easy sneak attack as well as dex bonus to your offhand attack, more extra mobility and extra damage. I bought the legendary bundle on DnDbeyond and my support email has been ignored. Do you want Dueling for that sweet +2 damage bonus? Gender: (Whatever you choose) Background: Outlander (Useful for maps and ToA) Alignment: Chaotic Neutral or Chaotic Good. With flourishes you get a ton of mobility and some nice bonus damage on top of a normal melee attacks, to say nothing of the defensive, AoE and shoving abilities. With tons of combat skills and spell options, a bard can round out any party in a number of ways. The only downside is the lack of shield proficiency, but you can get it with a feat, or any number of multiclasses if you want it. ... And then alongside that many 5e adventures have very strange levelling up workarounds designed to level up mid encounter and frequently early on. Bard: College of Swords - DND 5th Edition. Are you a songbird? Bards who choose the College of Swords (Xanathar’s Guide to Everything) at 3rd level are the supreme example of an Offense bard. Sword Bard 6 / Swashbuckler Rogue 3 and Sword Bard 6 / Hexblade 2 are my two favorite mid-tier Gish combos currently. As a Sword Bard, I would cast self preserving buffs on myself (Heroism and Warding Wind). Valor automatically grants proficiency with shields, while swords does not so you need to multiclass or grab a feat. Affiliate links are not allowed. RELATED: Dungeons & Dragons 5e: Best Magic Items for Bards Today we will be looking at some of the weapons best suited to those belonging to the bard … Valor's inspiration is indeed more versatile than the basic one, but you're losing out on the maneuvers. Hexblade/Swords Bard is gonna be the top tier TWF build, which, thanks to the changes made to Hex Warrior, is now properly viable. I believe we will be starting out at level 5. and the character would probably go 4 levels of Swords before even touching Hexblade (though I can be convinced otherwise). College of Lore. You will have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. I don’t think there is a ‘best’, as the fun you have with your character isn’t really dependent on maximum damage output or whatever metric you want to use for ‘best’. What's your opinion on graviturgy wizards? You gain a Fighting Style, which is absolutely amazing for you… But you also don’t gain as clever uses for your Inspiration dice. Blades perform stunts such as sword swallowing, knife throwing and juggling, and mock combats. Though I did realize my biggest issue is that Sword Bard lets me use my weapon as a spell ficus but neither Valor or Hexblade does, which seems to be a huge problem when using shields, and it also sort of conflicts with the Valor Bard's lv 14 skill, since they'd have to sheath the sword to cast, then can't unsheath to make the bonus action attack they should have... Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy. Stats (Assuming Standard Array): 8 Str, 16 Dex, 14 Con, 10 Int, 12 Wis, 16 Cha. Spell Name School Casting Time Range Duration Components; Blade Ward: Abjuration: 1 Action: Self: 1 round: V, S: Dancing Lights: Evocation: 1 Action: 120 Feet: Concentration up to 1 minute