5 Tricks All Good BARDS Know In D&D

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It's been a while since we did one of these! Tips and tricks for Bards in D&D!
I've been told to use keywords in video descriptions, but I don't know what I'm doing. I stole these tags from MonkeyDM who seems on top of this type of thing when we chat.
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[@DnDShorts]

Dive into the world of LitRPGs with bestseller Blaise Corvin's Cozy Isekai Craftsman! *FREE* *Audio* *Book* via a new Audible account, or read on kindle! www.amazon.com/Cozy-Isekai-Craftsman-Lockwood-Fantasy-ebook/dp/B0C5N7RFPG?maas=maas_adg_74C95528269CF6C8A1FEA8AC8F7D457D_afap_abs&ref_=aa_maas&tag=maas

[@pinkyhod]

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@MichaelAbbott-sl2di]

Love the fact you were reading soul music in the inner advert. Great book, so on point. RIP Terry.

[@johannesstephanusroos4969]

Are you always drunk or something, why the hell do you pronounce Strength as "Shtrennth"?

[@drpj3230]

Do you have any idea when your Kickstarter will be?

[@johannesstephanusroos4969]

@@the_eldritch_teacher I'll bite

[@gaidencastro9706]

Did you make this video just for that thumnail joke?

[@Eisenwulf666]

yes, yes he did

[@mayhem4ever]

Tune in next week for Breaking Barbarian!

[@LocalMaple]

Next week: Better Call Saulcerer.

[@Commander_Appo]

Apparently yes

[@Chilliconkanye]

N'yes

[@scottyp1722]

I have a house rule that Vicious Mockery is a bonus action spell. That makes it a lot more useful and lets your character act like Deadpool or Spiderman.

[@MarkoSeldo]

What about d8 damage for an action cast (when you need to deliver a complex insult) or d4 damage on a bonus action cast (for a quick, cutting remark)?

[@neiljasper7735]

9:18 The church counsellor bard seems like a great idea, especially because it subverts the tired cliché of bards being horny seducers. "Hi guys, I'm gonna get you all really motivated with a song about... abstinence!"

[@BornToBeUai]

I am playing an ELOQUENCE bard who is super naive and gullible. She believes everyone and has NO IDEA she's got silver tongue.

[@09Dragonite]

Ew, abstinence bard, that's so gross 🤣 it sounds hilarious

[@patrickhannon2694]

It’s really common for bards to take a dip in Hexblade warlock. When you do so, you can pick up the Friends cantrip and Disguise Self along the way to be really, REALLY GOOD at charisma checks and even better at making people pissed off at other people. Also eldritch blast so you don’t suck at damage IG

[@darkvizardking69]

With a second level in warlock, mask of many faces and agonizing blast will really do wonders to free up the use of disguise self and give that eldritch blast a little more kick.

[@michelheinrich9379]

Why is no one talkimg about the most broken spell: shield

[@darkvizardking69]

@@michelheinrich9379 well it's part of the expanded list, plus who wouldn't take it?

[@PlanetOfTheApes999]

@@darkvizardking69 Grasp of Hadar is great if you want to use Spirit Guardians.

[@darkvizardking69]

@@PlanetOfTheApes999 not a bad idea, pulling them right into the area a double dose of the damage with little setup. Even worse if in a dungeon hallway.

[@casbot71]

The one great thing about _viscous mockery_ is when it does *the killing blow...* and the DM has to Role Play the BBEG dropping dead because of a insult.

[@elmsigreen]

Booming Blade really should be on the Bard spell list by default. And they should be able to cast it on their instrument and hit enemies with it (Just make it count as a simple club).

[@fightingfalcon777]

Bro, I LOVE the Bard/Paladin multiclass 🎉 it has so much it can do, really capitalizing on EVERYTHING you can do with CHA

[@asparagii]

I'm playing a bard now, and took a 1 level dip into Sorcerer. That gave me 4 cantrips and 2 first level spells, which was handy cause i could get shield, mage armor, and some damage dealing cantrips. The sorcerous origin you choose can have some handy perks too- e.g., I got 120' dark vision from Shadow sorcerer, which is a step up from the standard 60'. Anyway, my point is for only a 1 level dip, it made my character much more powerful.

[@Madam_StarFall]

Another awesome bard combo I use is Lore Bard + Divination Wizard. Zashemi, my Tarot card reading tiefling, can use portent to change an enemy's dice roll. And since that doesn't use your reaction, you can use your reaction to do cutting words and lower their roll even more.

[@Drekromancer]

That's a wildly flavorful combo: a smarmy fortune-teller with a real knack for seeing the future. I'm stealing this!

[@Madam_StarFall]

@Drekromancer as long as you don't name make them an orphan named after sushi, I has no issues

[@bradencampbell464]

4:03 love the choice in reading material! 😊

[@piedpiper1185]

I saw that too. Thought it was very on-brand for this video

[@Zonra64]

I love bard, and one bit i feel a lot of people overlook is the Glamour bard's alternative use for the bardic inspiration dice. If your at 5th lvl and raised you Cha to 20, you can give 5 people 8 temp HP and reposition everyone if needed. That's is up to a theoretical 200 extra HP for the party, at lvl 5. This can be massive as just preemptive healing and support in fights, and recharge on a short rest. And yea you will rarely be able to optimize it to use all the temp HP on everyone its a massive boost to the party's ability to stay up in real tough fights.

[@aOx666]

One of the most fun characters I’ve ever played was a pacifist etiquette bard when I hilariously used suggest to send an aboleth back through the portal it was summoned from 😂 the DM was gutted when he failed his save

[@Hi.Im.Skylar]

I remember I was playing a half elf bard and I decided to get the cantrip 'Dancing Lights', and I actually used it a LOT. One time in the campaign me and my party were hiding and there were guards looking for us. I used dancing lights to make a bit of light in the opposite direction, making the guards go the opposite way. Another time I was in a fight and as they said in the video, as a bard I can't take a lot of damage/deal a lot of damage, but I used dancing lights to blind the guy attacking me, before running away to the barbarian of the party. It created just enough of a distraction for me to use. Honestly, bards are my favorite to play, thank you for the tips!

[@gagglegames]

Cleric dip let's you use the holy symbol on your shield as a spell focus for cleric spells, not your bard spells. Somewhat important distinction if your DM tracks that.

[@franklyanogre00000]

If you wield a hammer, you can call the shield a drum!

[@gagglegames]

@@franklyanogre00000 I'd allow it

[@emmasilver2332]

Engrave the holy symbol on a metal drum and then you can use it as a focus for both your spells, and you can use it as a shield.

[@couver73]

A workaround to that (if your DM allows for it) is the Dragonlance feat Divinely Favored, which in addition to the spells you get from it, you also get to use a Holy Symbol for ANY spells you can cast that use your Charisma as your spellcasting ability for it.

[@havilar3095]

@@franklyanogre00000 mace works to

[@sunshinejameth]

Bards are crazy useful. So many good spells, last bard i played was easily the mvp in so many combats purely on excellent support options.

[@TheNeoVid]

There's a good idea from 4e that I still use: heal/buff classes weren't called 'supports,' they were called '*leaders.*' Just change the terminology, and it can change the view of an entire set of classes.

[@MichalVeselovskyTsunAmi]

@@TheNeoVid Thats perfect lol, and very fitting and thematic actually. In history, leaders were also standing back, issuing orders, supporting flanks, ordering cover fire, maneuvers and so on, on nobody would ever call any of those great generals "supports" :D And being face of party is even more fitting in this case.

[@chad8767]

Bard is my fav class, so I have played a lot. But my best moment was 3rd where you could use Bardic Knowledge to default any knowledge skill (I honestly think it's appropriate cause I IRL am a jack of all trades so ya). Fighting a deep dragon, whole party was down save me. I took a gamble to see if there was a lava vein under the ground, Nat 20, intimidate him to just jump down on me to crush me, nat 19, but being a bard my charisma and intimidation was crazy high. I was willing to go down to save the party but somehow I rolled a nat 20 reflex save to dodge out of the way and as the dragon went into the lava I was the last survivor (which then I went and healed everyone) Insane night

[@notjfk2050]

I just wanna point one thing out about magical inspiration. While I'd never say they should use it on the first bit of damage they do, when we're getting towards the end of a combat and they have just been rocking all their rolls on their own without inspiration, I usually encourage them to just use it on the spell damage as a last resort so that it doesnt get wasted.

[@KR1ST0F3R1]

I've also gotten crazy mileage out of it with healing word among others. Spending a bonus action and 1st level spell to grant someone 1d4+1d8+5 healing has saved my party on plenty of occasions.

[@James_Irish]

I hadn't thought about several of these ideas for my eloquence bard build. Thank you so much! Great video as always!

[@drkilledbydeath87]

I just started an eloquence bard as well but I'm curious, how does one NOT roll below a 20 by lvl 5 for persuasion or deception?

[@James_Irish]

@@drkilledbydeath87 You would use your Bardic Expertise in persuasion and deception (+6 at level 5), Silver Tongue at level 3 gives you a minimum of 10 on the site for persuasion and deception, and assuming you have a relatively typical 18 or 19 Charisma score (+4) that's a minimum of 20! Enjoy!

[@waitthatsillegal.7552]

Two levels in warlock. Best dip in terms of the bardic "jack of all trades" feeling as well as in terms of offensive buffs. Agonizing blast and any other eldritch invocation that suits your bard, like mask of many faces, misty visions or beast speech.

[@joseda3rd354]

YES! I’ve been waiting for another one of these class videos for a while!

[@themarshmallow514]

The Fochulcan Bandore is an Uncommon item that gives you the ability to cast Shillelagh once per day as a Bard Spell. So you can also do Magical Charisma Bonking Stick.

[@apex2000]

Eldritch blast... Making everything better.

[@thod-thod]

6:15 for action economy my favourite is caustic brew

[@kingtickeler]

You legitimately are the absolute GOD of sponsor ads. I never cease to enjoy your content and wish you all the best. Cheers!

[@rogerpellicano5340]

I think Swashbuckler Rogue could be a fun multiclass for a melee bard. At level 3 you get Fancy Footwork(creatures can't attack you if you hit them with a melee attack) and you get to add your CHA modifier to initiative. With bard's love of CHA, this could easily be a +4 or +5 to your initiative. If you're willing to invest further, you get Panache at level 9, a nonmagical charm/taunt based on Persuasion. This goes well with bards being fueled by Charisma, and most of them probably put an expertise in it anyway. Plus, just being a rogue gives you some fun stuff, including -2 more expertises -an extra skill -Sneak Attack for a bit of extra damage while stabbing -Cunning Action, always giving you something to do with your bonus action even when you don't want to spend a spell slot.

[@michaelrnahas4425]

It's awesome that you mentioned phantasmal killer...been playing since 3.5 and it's hands down my favorite spell in the game

[@SturmBjorn]

I just really want you to know, you have some of the best content out there. You are so funny that even my GF likes listening in when I put one of your videos on even though this is not generally the stuff she likes. I look forward to each and every video, thank you and keep it up Boss!

[@SturmBjorn]

P.s. what's your favorite and or go-to class for optimal fun (not dpr)?

[@fernandozavaletabustos205]

Thank so much for the tips and tricks!!

[@TheWave637]

Good to note that if you want a dmg cantrip you can always get one from spell sniper

[@megastar54000]

Yeah also if you do then its just waaaaaay stronger than if you took it from anything else

[@TheKaisarwilhelm]

My favorite is to grab warlock initiate for eldritch blast and other goodies. Four levels later grab eldritch adept to grab agonizing blast as a bard without multiclassing.

[@MVCx_xB]

@@TheKaisarwilhelm that's illegal rules as written. agonizing blast has a prerequisite and eldritch adept doesnt let you take an invocation with a prerequisite without having the appropriate warlock levels

[@TheKaisarwilhelm]

@MVCx_xB agonizing blast has no warlock level prerequisite. It only requires you to know eldritch blast, which you would have learned from spell sniper or warlock magic initiate.

[@jettblade]

I had this idea for a Creation Bard/Celestial Warlock and is was really stacked with support options. Creation has some of the strongest support options you have with your Bardic Inspiration letting you roll the BI die twice and picking whichever on ability checks, giving temp HP whenever the BI is used for saving throws, or a small chance for AEO Thunder damage to targets of your choice in a 10ft area(its a Con save which is bad to target). Celestial does have a good mix of healing and damage spells but the Pacts are what really help here either: Chain or Tome. It actually was one of the few times I was actually interested in using Pact of the Chain since you can cast spell through your familiar. One of the problems I find with Clerics is that their range is kind of short and they wanna stay in the front, a familiar can help extend that range while staying kind of safe. Tome is another good one because it just extends you're spell list to any holes you might need patched.

[@michaeldwiggins8578]

You never mentioned the College of Whispers Bard. Psychic Blades is a fantastic feature that while uses up Bardis Inspiration slots, it adds psychic damage to every attack. Add to that the Hexblade dip for the CHA bonus to the weapon, and you're surprisingly powerful. My Hellfire Tiefling College of Whispers HexBard can cast Darkness for free once per day, and with 2 levels of Hex also gets Devil's Sight allowing him to see in magical darkness.

[@inkdragoon4547]

Psychic Blades also has the potential to deal more damage over the course of a day than a Paladin's Divine Smite, since it scales about as well and is fueled by Bardic Inspiration, which recharges on a short rest.

[@bensalvatore5602]

Loved the shout out of the Hungry Little Catterpillar. LOVE THE CONTENT MY DUDE!!!

[@silverwolfdemon4791]

Yay! Another Terry Pratchett fan! Also I always enjoy watching your videos. They help me come up with fun ideas to confuse my DM's lol

[@Phoenix58585]

2 vidoes in a week? Awesome!

[@dianneledford3681]

I could watch his videos 3veryday and never get enough of his awesome content

[@Phoenix58585]

@@dianneledford3681 Ikr? His content is godly

[@drhouse6165]

I played a Kobold bard but this was pre the current Kobold so I had pack tactics and grovel, cower, and beg rather than what they have now. One dip into rogue gave me sneak attack constantly with pack tactics it was a blast.

[@Closer2Zero]

Oh man this reminds of the very nice compliment I was paid at my last session- “you should play a bard cause youd do great vicious mockery”, which was said after I called the DM a “sassy diagonal fuck” because I didn’t think a monster could get to me, but then she drew a diagonal path right to my ass

[@dianneledford3681]

Appreciate your Content 😊.

[@Ryu_D]

Thank you for the video.

[@werecatauthor4249]

Think about it, bardtificer, the ultimate rock and roll musician with reflavored force ballistas as concert speakers

[@potatospud9471]

Just in time for my jukebox character. Thank you!

[@markoseldo2007]

It has been a long time since I've literally laughed out loud at a KZbin video. Congratulations! I laughed my arse off!

[@syrupchugger421]

Ohhh thanks to you my party will see the fearsome glory of sunday school teacher build! Wearing khakis shorts and using his guitar to Kumbaya monsters into paralysis. Thanks for anothwr great video

[@andybailey5196]

When I’d heard the idea of bard with cleric, the only thing I could think of is that one scene in “Norbit” where a pimp just makes a blast of a party at a church with everything and gospel choir to prevent a wedding to happen. That’s the most bardic thing you can make with that character build and it’s beautiful

[@Borovskij]

Why aren't anyone ever talking about the School of Valor Bard..? One of the most broken abilities they get, is that you can add your inspiration die to manage; at level 2, you get to add a d6, cast this on a paladin, who smites and Boom! 1d8 slashing, 2d8 radiant, 1d6 bardic

[@RIVERSRPGChannel]

Yes hypnotic pattern is awesome. At low levels sleep is good too.

[@clarkkent163000]

Okay but hear me out. A bard gives an evocation wizard inspiration. Suddently, the wizard can cast magic missile that does more damage than disintegrate at it's own level.

[@syruproast1598]

It's funny how he says to not sleep on forgotten bard features before telling us to forget about Magical Inspiration. 1d10 to a crit against a target who's vulnerable to the damage that's about to hit it isn't so bad, before even considering magic missile shenanigans. And sometimes a bit of damage is the difference between ending the encounter and a key enemy getting another round and potentially turning the fight against you. . It's also a lot less situational than countercharm, from my experience. If you have a spare action, run up and start shoving/grappling down the guys you've locked into Hypnotic Pattern. You auto win the contest and they don't wake up because there's no damage. If you feel like magical inspiration is being wasted on regular magic damage you could also just, you know, communicate with your group. You're playing a charismatic bard, aren't you?

[@matthewclucas1318]

Love the soul music discworld book in the bard vid, not Pratchett's best book but the right one for this video.

[@lexyschuetze]

Cleric bard is seriously no joke!

[@RT-py7ju]

My most useful bardic skill so far has been shouting, "Hey guys watch this!" to turn my shove down the stairs athletics check into a performance roll instead.

[@Thrythlind]

My Changeling Bard took Spell Sniper for Eldritch Blast. Said bard eventually multiclassed to Celestial Warlock after reading the Book of Exalted Deeds. Also, she used a harmonica. And had a Instrument of the Bard Oxford Harmonica crafted for her as well.

[@sobermind9885]

One could say she's on a mission from God.

[@Thrythlind]

@@sobermind9885with a revolver on her belt and a harmonica in hand.

[@Butterb0ne]

Kenku is the only race I use for Bard. Their mimicry means that a group of 4 or more could blast Screaming For Vengeance by Judas Priest using nothing but their voices.

[@demonderpz7937]

I’m a really big fan of a skill build I’ve pulled off pretty well: Scout rogue lvl x/ + lore bard lvl 3. Then the skilled feat and skill expert. This build gives you proficiency in every skill, reliable talent so you can’t roll below a 10, cutting words on enemy skill checks contesting you, and 9 expertised skills. I love it, and it doubles down as a phenomenal support option for giving people the help action regardless of their skill check. Plus, if crafting is a huge thing in your games for whatever reason, jack of all trades lets you add half proficiency for any ability check including crafting

[@TheScottishKayaker]

I had a whispers bard with 2 lvl of rogue 1 lvl of hexblade warlock with the Poisoner feat. Beginning of combat he would usually either cast hypnotic pattern or greater invisibility and just dump damage on the enemy. He was an insane infiltrator/assassin

[@guydude6388]

It’s so weird that you post this on the exact day when I’m playing my first bard game

[@midnight5027]

With mass suggestion a lvl 20 bard can shout "Everybody clap your hands!" and force almost 20 people to do the cha cha slide for a year and a day

[@WolfHreda]

I played a Lore Bard/Great Old One Warlock character in a campaign recently, and it was a lot of fun. I had Booming Blade, Eldritch Blast, Vicious Mockery, and Mind Sliver all at hand for any Cantrip needs that might arise. I also had Shocking Grasp, but I was saving that one for my Familiar in case any of my party members needed to get away from an enemy without reprisal. The only Bard feature I ended up not using was Jack of All Trades on my initiative because the Harengon gets their full Proficiency on their initiative bonus.

[@PuffyCloud_aka_puffeclaude]

I thouroghly support the prodigious use of Scanlan Shorthalt to illustrate these points, especially the final point.

[@oliverkorsgaardditlevsen5612]

Swashbuckler rogue + any bard= scary

[@talscorner3696]

I am playing a Bardadin ^^ Conquest, will get Whispers as soon as I hit level 3, running around with a Banner of the Krieg Rune, a warhammer and splint armour.

[@pStabs]

My most favourite flavour of bard to date is 1 level in hex blade warlock and the rest in college of swords bard. I'm playing this as a variant human so I took war caster at level 1. She's tanky when she needs to be, can deal damage when she wants, buff and debuff. It's a lot of fun

[@iptf]

This is an excellent idea for a series. Please continue.

[@KolmManison]

8:18 careful there, some pedantic DM would only let a the holy symbol on a shield be a divine spell focus for cleric spell, exclusively, because that's how it is RAW

[@LokangoFreewar15]

You want to make crazy dmg as a bard? At lvl 10 take spirit Guardians and find Greater steed and you're doing almost as much dmg as a flying cleric with your pegasus with telekinetic to ahove people in your spirit Guardians

[@piedpiper1185]

4:02 - Reading Soul Music was a nice touch for this video. 🤣

[@johngillan4475]

Thank you for your information video

[@maxciotola3894]

I already really appreciate your work. Now I saw you with a Pratchett. You just become my idol and role-model ^_^ (Great video as usual, by the way)

[@misterA2Z]

Yeah, our Bard did the Hexblade level and has become super charged

[@davidmartins7781]

Ok ok. Good video, good words, good vibes, as always. But who the heck forgets Jack of All Trades??

[@zenuuleflamesinger1469]

*I loved that you added eldritch blast with the magic initiative feat!* thank you! 🎉🎉 Basically proved to my players it's not warlock only. BUT, the agonizing blast and such is. So, a wizard can shoot Eldredge blast! And it should be a common cantrip with magic casting enemies.

[@benjaminwoodham6682]

You forgot my favorite subclass of Bard. The Lore Bard. The Lore Bard has magical secrets at level 6 - which allows it to take spells from half-casters before the actual half-caster can take those spells. You get 3rd level Ranger and Paladin spells at level 6 and the Ranger and Paladin - for whom the spells are made for have to wait until level 9. You can take Aura of Vitality at level 6 You can take Conjure animals at level 6 You can take Fireball at level 6 You can take Counterspell at level 6 There are so many other combos too that it's actually insane. The Lore Bard is it's own set of classes based on your choices. And with new rules you get to change those spells every level.

[@sorin_markov]

Multiclassing only gives you some of the proficiencies of other classes, so don't expect to get medium armor from multiclassing into Warlock

[@ILikeNerdShit]

If I ever play Curse of Strahd, I'm playing a bard just so I can call him a Fratricidal Incel Cuck

[@glknight1813]

I now want to play a Psionic Bard who's a Stand Up Comedian.

[@remick0]

Another DnD shorts video that goes over Hypnotic Gaze or Hypnotic Pattern, another bit of footage of Kaa from Disney's the Jungle Book. Not complaining, just noticing XD

[@somethingbatty950]

Action economy ftw! I always take Hunger of Hadar on my bard (Lore Bard lv6, otherwise at lv10) since it blinds, creates difficult terrain and deals damage. When enemies near the edge of HoH, I use Sword Bard mobile strike to send them back into the middle.. or just dip 2 levels of warlock for repelling blast..

[@JawaInTheCantina]

Your pumping out so many videos

[@reubenhaitsma2522]

he who fights with monsters and guild masters, 2 best LITrpg's ever.

[@joemckeownprobably]

I'm actually using that hexblade one for my college of Whispers bard

[@Xandycane]

All those mental tricks set against wisdom, and yet I keep coming up against high wisdom enemies.

[@MadameRouzgar]

The clap at the start may indicate that you made it through the title in one take, in which case, good job!

[@justintyner9615]

Three levels in Armorer Artificer lets you dump Strength and Dexterity, and gets you guidance, firebolt, mending, a few other useful spells, and infusions.

[@zeedelahostria]

I play my tiefling Swords bard like a paladin, grabbing smites and a few levels in Hexblade. I also acquired an Opal of the Ild rune on my weapon and Flames of Phlegethos so I can reroll 1s on Green-Flame Blade. I love my smitey bwoii.

[@samuelbroad11]

Damage spells: Dissonant Whispers, this is action economy in spades. Perhaps the highest damage spell ever, at 1st level, assuming you proc AoO for you and all your buds. My bards mantra is "because I'm in your mind" every time I do psychic damage: Viscious Mockery, Dissonant Whispers, Synaptic Static, and oh boy, did I just realise how fun damage is when I got Synaptic Static at 9th level, I grokked what the rest of my buds were feeling. Highly recommended Metamagic Adept feat: Careful Spell (and Twin for laffs'n'gaffs) for all your Hypnotic Patterns, take Circle of Power at 10th Magical Secrets and friendly fire Synaptic Static to boot.

[@doctortraumacock]

Great timing! I'm really thinking about going bard in BG3 👍

[@daliblue_]

I'm playing one right now, first playthrough and my character is the king of social interactions in the party haha

[@doctortraumacock]

@@daliblue_ i'm loving my bard. I'm passing damn near every check 1st try. And I'm still very combat effective w/ dual crossbows & sharpshooter.

[@spearminntgum7547]

you say magical inspiration sucks, but because of the rules concerning magic missile and scorching ray (all damage happens simultaneously, so you only make one roll and apply it to every instance) means those spells become insane nukes. lvl 5 phoenix sorcerer with a bard friend can hit four scorching rays dealing 2d6+1d8+5 dmg EACH

[@tinyplasticgraves]

Good on you reading Soul Music.

[@TheMightyBattleSquid]

I'm literally preparing now by going over what I have for a session 0 with a bard character today lol

[@Priestofgoddess]

I went for Variant Human and took Spell Sniper to get a nice damage cantrip and the ability to ignore cover :)

[@Vermin_Raptor]

Another fun thing to do with bards is to take a level in life cleric, lore bard for additional magic secrets, and pick aura of vitality and find steed. With a third level spell slot you can heal 4d6+10 hp with you and your steeds bonus action every turn for a minute. Also, wish is a self target spell that bards can get with magical secrets, and so casting wish while on your steed lets it cast wish as well. With find greater steed you can fly around on a pegasus and in one action dual cast any 2 8th level or lower spells in the game and have 2 concentrations because your mount cast the second spell. So yeah, sky is the limit when it comes to high level bards

[@SkadiaXD]

I am playing a bard in a campaign of 7, and I am the only non-damage dealing built character (we have a paladin healer, but he's VERY much a tank/defender as well). I've been searching for ways to make her a little more useful (I'm building her for support/debuff since we are distinctly lacking on that front) and this was very helpful! She's taking suggestion, command and hypnotic pattern and my dm is going to cry at the action economy of dealing with our massive party making the boss skip their turn (we're nice to him tho, he's a really good dm who lets us do a lot of cool stuff)

[@JasonPruett]

bards should end up being the most powerful in the universe if you understand that the universe operates off of sound.

[@patrox6259]

I love that you go into multiclass with the bard, but I would like to say that I think bard is one of the only classes where multiclassing is not benefiting you at being a good bard. Imo, you simply gain more flavor, if your character is not supposed to be just "the bard of the group". Its like taking the scenic route for me :D (I love Bard/Druid Multiclass tho xD)

[@morrigankasa570]

I created a "House Rule" that Multi-Classing isn't allowed until lvl 20. Last year was planning on being a GM at my local library for D&D but no one signed up:( Anyway created a few other "House Rules" but the "Multi-Classing" Rule is the one relevant here.

[@patrox6259]

@@morrigankasa570 thats so cool. I actually like tinkering with house rules so much. In my current campaign, I will allow our Bloodhunter to multiclass, but they will multiclass into the different sub-classes as the character is trying unite the different clans. Best house rule I ever came up with so far.

[@morrigankasa570]

@@patrox6259 Another few of the Rules are. 1. There are no Player Character Deaths except in extreme situations. Instead they simply get knocked out and lose 50% of the Potential Experience from the encounter, they get a PERMANENT SCAR/MARKING, they stay knocked out for 1 minute & then pop back up, they then for the remainder of that encounter get DOUBLE THEIR ARMOR CLASS, and if they consistently get knocked out once their body is 50% Scarred/Marked they Permanently lose 3 Charisma Points but no longer suffer Scarring/Marking when knocked out. 2. How to choose your stat spread is you start with 72 points to put in whichever stats they want (not exceeding 20), then add any Racial Stats on top of that, then Class & Background stats (if any). 3. All Races can mate/breed with any other, however the Female has to be the larger if any significant height/size disparity exists.

[@alexlathrop1462]

I've hardly ever gone into casters, cause I'm a frontline melee player through and through. But I had played one Bard that was truly a badass. Paragon Baragon, a Half Elf Swords Bard/Battle Master Fighter Entertainer. The mofo rocked Halfplate and dual wielded rapiers. He became known as the "Silver Flash" thanks to 2 spells he took from "Magical Secrets" at LVL 6 and 10. Started with "Haste" on himself to zip through the field, and on the following turn, would cast Steel Wind Strike to attack 6 enemies in 30ft. Usually would teleport to the big baddie/commander of enemies, then Action Surge for 2 attacks, using Battle Master Tactics to add more damage and knock them about for the party, and Hasted Action for a 3rd attack. Bonus Action would be to inspire or strike again for crazy DPS, ended up one-shotting a few encounters with this combo, the party quickly mopping up what's left~.

[@Brick3001]

I use shatter a lot - it’s very powerful

[@jacobc246]

Spell sniper+eldritch blast as bards already use charisma, and now all your weird bard spells have extra range as well as having your new fallback damage canteip.

[@VooshSpokesman]

Love from a Vaush and DungeonDudes fan!

[@rhubarbrebottled]

We need some more monster versus

[@markziff7234]

For guidance, college of spirits. 60' range.

[@ilanwallace2220]

Dissonant whispers and war caster!

[@kumonoameai]

I like that you're reading Soul Music by Terry Pratchett ^.^