New Bard Colleges Xanathar's Guide - Dungeons and Dragon

Alex is going through Xanathar's Guide to Everything, and in this video focuses on the new Bard Colleges options! What powers do each of the new Colleges provide, what kind of roleplay do they encourage, and what do they mean for your game?!
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Titan Bear Gaming makes entertaining and informative videos on playing tabletop games and hobby games, and about the hobby games community. Find new product showcases, game reviews, how to play videos, and community spotlights featuring individuals and groups in the hobby games community that you should know about! Join the discussion about RPGs with The DMs Club, a series for players, DMs, newbies and veterans alike.
Music: "Ouroboros" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
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Thumbnail art from Xanathar's Guide to Everything, copyright Wizards of the Coast LLC 2017
New Bard Colleges Xanathar's Guide - Dungeons and Dragon
/ @titangamingtv

[@misterkewlaid5420]

Even though the college of whispers might not be mechanically the strongest, I really like the idea of a rogue-lite bard. They get roughly sneak attack progression with their psychic blades, and with good dex investment, they can make effective assassins. Infiltrate a party, lead an influential guest away by having a casual conversation for a minute (making them terrified of the host), assassinate and assume the role of said guest, and sow chaos. Tl;Dr: The college of whispers is what I've always wanted from the arcane trickster.

[@TitanGamingTV]

Then its good that you now have it :) You play it your way, baby.

[@conradkorbol]

Mister KewlAid I disagree. I think it’s the best new one, but it’s about the player using the class and not the class for every class

[@alexiushendrickson7509]

Dragon separated our party by grabbing the bard and taking him back to his lair. The whisper bard began to "beg" for his life now being alone with the dragon for 1 minute. Dragon became terrified and ran away leaving the town alone forever due to being afraid that firblog guitarist.

[@TitanGamingTV]

Astounding!

[@Ebolson1019]

I play a whisper bard in a 5 bard party where we’re all different colleges. We killed a young dragon by constantly keeping it under Tasha’s hideous laughter and hitting it.

[@TitanGamingTV]

Stop hittin yourself, stop hittin yourself!

[@Ebolson1019]

Titan Bear Gaming we hit it and whenever it passed a dc12 check we recast it before its turn

[@jakeynate10]

That is hilarious but disturbing...

[@crestfallensunbro6001]

hideous laughter is the best XD

[@akebo92]

So much mockery, it committed seppeku

[@amandac.s.9452]

Late to the video here, but I LOVE playing a bard of glamour! My favorite moment was when we were leading a coup against a dragonborn dictator. While the rest of my party was fighting the guards, I was able to stand in the doorway of the throne room and cast Dissonant Whispers at him. He failed the save and fled into the corner of the room. Then I cast Mantle of Inspiration, which allowed for our rogue, who was right after me in initiative, to come up right behind him and get in a TON of damage! AND THIS WAS AT LEVEL 3!

[@TitanGamingTV]

Awesome team-playing!

[@MrZriael]

_Psychic Blades,_ oddly, specifies a _weapon attack_ rather than the _Attack_ action. The cantrips _Booming Blade_ and _Green-Flame Blade_ would pair extremely well with it, though you will likely need a decent dex score to improve your accuracy, and you'll need to pick one up at 10th or with the magic initiate feat. Still it's interesting.

[@TitanGamingTV]

Those two cantrips would definitely pair well. I know a lot of players who favor ye olde spellsword who'll be looking at this as an alternative option.

[@jorgh5255]

Can the weapon attack be ranged? It is not specified though everyone asumes it means melee weapon attack

[@aldoushuxley5953]

@@jorgh5255 yes it can :) In fact, a bow is probably your best weapon. A few Levels in haxblade can give you the scag cantrips, shield, shadow Blade and medium Armor etc. If you are willing to Invest 5 Levels, you even get smites and extra Attack. This is by far the best multiclass for (whisper) bards. Assassins are also great, because with that multiclass, you will basically proficient in anything.

[@wahlflower3517]

I play a college of whispers bard in my friend's Curse of Strahd campaign. Me and the party rogue have easily stealth tag team a target with his Sneak Attack and my Psychic Blades. Words of Terror has helped me guarantee certain people won't do things I don't like while I'm off somewhere else. Mantle of Whispers have aided my information gathering in this strange new land where the general populace are rather tight lipped.

[@TitanGamingTV]

Huge RP potential for this archetype.

[@wahlflower3517]

So much RP. Way more than what our group normally does. Our last session was just pure RP not one fight. It was amazing.

[@TitanGamingTV]

Those're the best. I always make note of those as a DM, means im doing something right.

[@ethanpalmer7555]

im just imagining a mastermind rogue college of whispers multiclass i might try it out

[@TitanGamingTV]

The craftiest, sherlockiest, mastermindiest of them all!

[@ChroOmega]

That's exactly what my partner is playing in my next campaign - complete with Charlatan background for an established secret identity. It's gonna be a blast!

[@fyng.1582]

I don't think the arcane focus for the college of blades is purely flavor - it means you can cast spells with both hands busy (whether that is sword+shield or double swords) without worrying about material components and needing to put things away. The only reason it's not as relevant is I feel most DMs kind of hand-wave that away anyway for rule of cool. I wish this was something Eldritch Knight and Blade Pact warlock also got with their bonded weapons RAW though.

[@TitanGamingTV]

Im with you there, Fyn. As much as some folks hate RAW-based discussion, printed precedent is an important thing for consistency across gaming tables. 5e's done a lot to heal RAW consistency issues, but some items still remain.

[@matthewking111]

I am currently playing a glamour bard and I can confirm it is lot of fun. mantle of inspiration is amazing. we are lvl 11 atm so i am preventing 55 points of damage almost every round, and the movement without OAs is incredible. i havent used mantle of majesty much but it certainly is a potent ability. i made an adult black dragon grovel with this ability at lvl 6! its also just a lot of fun knowing that you basically own people unless they are very wise.

[@harryholden5811]

Just started as a College of Swords "Blade" in my friends 5e campaign. We had a swift jump to 4th level and combining the "Dual wielder" feat with the "Dual-Weapon Fighting" feature has me spinning as a beyblade of death with 2 rapiers. At level 6 I'll be able to do 3 attacks with my full modifiers at the cost of screwing over my bonus action economy. It also stacks really well with "Font of Inspiration" at level 6 allowing me to do 4 full flourishes each combat. It's a very, very nice college. At the cost of some of your more bardic features.

[@TitanGamingTV]

Love it Harry -- that sounds like exactly the style the Blade wants to be.

[@RonDicken1971]

The College of Whispers makes me thinks of Elim Garak, the tailor on Deep Space Nine, and, while I've never even thought of making a bard before, this kind of makes me want to play one.

[@TitanGamingTV]

Sounds like the archetype is doing its job!

[@kelseybeckman1723]

I’ve never DM’d before but I really want to make a pair of evil sisters one from Glamour and one from Whispers as some high level bad guys.

[@kyleshank3411]

I have a Whisper Bard as one of my NPCs for our campaign who acts as an interrogator for their organization. Surprisingly effective and fun to role play for myself against other NPCs that the PCs can't crack

[@TitanGamingTV]

I can see some high quality cutscene-like interactions from that. Hah. Welcome to the party Kyle!

[@evandugas7888]

The shadow one is the most scary, it's like the spy from team fortress. Go through a dungeon, maybe multi class with rougue kill one creature at a time not knowing why people are vanishing....

[@TitanGamingTV]

This should be a thing in an evil campaign where the party is in charge of defending a dungeon from heroic invaders.

[@alexiushendrickson7509]

And if you multiclass whisper bard and rogue assassin you just stack psychic blades with sneak attack for ridiculous burst damage. God forbid you were trying to take out a specific target that you could get alone. Striking up a casual conversation to terrify them only to then stab them in the back with a dagger for a surprise critical.

[@TitanGamingTV]

Awesome synergy!

[@catholiccrayons]

Playing this combo now. It works well

[@tylerh2548]

Vampire glamor bard. Welcome to White Wolf gaming

[@TitanGamingTV]

All DnD needs more Vampires and Werewolves.

[@angeryboi873]

Original character concept: College of Swords Bard + Swashbuckler Rogue+ Battlemaster Fighter. *Foxtrot Mari-Agi* . Also known as... *Antonio Barderas*

[@TitanGamingTV]

Beg for mercy!

[@mrdraken87]

I am starting a whisper bard this weekend, I went earth Genasi for the bonus group stealth, and am using the urban bounty hunter background for added flavour. Im still working spells out to fit the theme, but so far am excited to get started.

[@TitanGamingTV]

Sounds like a fun character so far!

[@caerdwyn7467]

College of Glamour: bang, you’re David Bowie. College of Whispers seems to be more of a subclass untended for adversaries of the players. They poison the minds of kings and priests against the players and their allies, much like Wormtongue in Lord of the Rings. In my own game I disallowed this for players as an “evil only” kind of thing, and the game is explicitly not an evil campaign. Others’ mileage may vary.

[@TitanGamingTV]

Nice work taking that DM agency where you saw fit, Caerdwyn.

[@catholiccrayons]

So your players can't play morally grey characters? Seems boring but ok

[@thefracturedbutwhole5475]

@@catholiccrayons I agree

[@jonathanalvear8256]

Two notes: 1) Sage Advice clarified that Slashing Flourish can affect one or more additional targets, so it’s a mini AoE. www.sageadvice.eu/2017/12/08/does-slashing-flourish-mean-you-only-deal-extra-damage-to-one-other-creature-within-5ft/ 2) Flourishes and Battlemaster Maneuvers can stack. Let that sink in. For a 3 level investment, so much more versatility.

[@TitanGamingTV]

Nice clarification Jonathan. Really changes the meaning of the ability.

[@NoblePhantasm23]

The problem I run into with classes that use charm effects is how it depends on your target. I wish they would add a rule that ignores racial immunities to being charmed if it's something like the college of glamour. Differentiate between a normal charm spell versus a specialized ability. My pact of the old one warlock has a hell of a time using his spells if he's confronted with undead and those with fey backgrounds.

[@TitanGamingTV]

Charm gets kind of a rough go in certain storylines -- undead and fey centric being the dominant one. I think the WOTC response is that Charm can be used really, really, effectively when in town or general RP, so they see it as a 'great, but not all the time' type. My beef is that different DMs have different ways of handling PC charm effects. Some really let Charm go ham, and result in townsfolk giving all kinds of stuff for free to the players. Some really reign it in, reducing Charm effects to very specific capabilities.

[@NoblePhantasm23]

I've just started my GM journey and I believe that it should be restricted to common sense. Yes you charm the town's folk but they aren't going to put themselves into a life or death bind to suit you. I also believe that something considered supernatural (ie. Vampires charm) should have some effect on all characters regardless of racial immunities. That's just my opinion though.

[@TitanGamingTV]

Congrats on starting the GM journey -- your opinion will be your strongest asset. Let me know if I can help in any way, or to just act as a sounding board. Here/Socials/Discord are all good.

[@NoblePhantasm23]

Thanks Alex. I'll keep you in mind. Enjoy your videos btw.

[@SirFelixDGato]

The college of Glamour A.K.A. The college of RuPaul XD

[@TitanGamingTV]

Love it.

[@violinplayer888]

I've been enjoying your videos on the new subclasses/archetypes and also follow along in the book sometimes. Your views and opinions on the powers with how they feel, balance and could be used give me a little more insight into the class itself. I know you have enjoyed going through classes and archetypes by Matt Mercer and I would be curious to see your take on his Bard College of the Maestro on DMsGuild. I have a player currently playing one as he wanted to use music as much as possible in the flavour of his Bard. Keep up the great videos and I always look forward to the new ones!

[@TitanGamingTV]

The Maestro is high on the list, ViolinPlayer888 -- so look for it soon. Happy to hear you're enjoying the videos, that's why I do it :)

[@PartridgeQuill]

Nice evil laugh. Also, I love your shirt. I think there may have been a mistake with something that was said about the College of Glamour. With Mantle of Majesty, it does require concentration, but I think you said you could still concentrate on a spell? However, concentration is concentration in 5E. If you have a spell-like ability that uses concentration, it's unaffected by things like antimagic, but it still requires your single concentration slot, so I don't think you could actually concentrate on Mantle of Majesty and also a spell. As for the college of blades, I have mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, it's the premier melee weapon bard, but I think it sort of nullifies a lot of reasons people would have taken the College of Valor. Any bard wanting to mix it up in melee would have a hard time not going with the College of Blades, in my opinion. On the whole, I have very mixed feelings on this bard college. As for the College of Whispers, I think the theming and flavor is probably the strongest of all three, in a general sense. For one, being able to deal extra psychic damage is really, really powerful, especially if you are using something like a crossbow or a bow. Further, its role play abilities are really, really powerful, in my experience. I have a College of Whispers bard in one of my campaigns, and my gosh, is that character broken! Granted, the player is very clever with his role play, but he also has expertise in Deception, which is terrifying. Overall, another great video! Keep them coming!

[@TitanGamingTV]

Thanks Steven. The wording that throws things off in the Mantle of Majesty is: "As a bonus action, you cast command without expending a spell slot, and you take on an appearance of unearthly beauty for 1 minute or until your concentration ends (as if you were concentrating on a spell)." I think I agree with you that concentration should be treated as a 'slot', so I send a little bit of shade WOTC way for being confusing with the "as if you were" wording. They've done such a good job with being meticulous in phrasing for 5e, it really stresses the 'power through simplicity' concept. Anyway I think you've convinced me :)

[@pauldubois1727]

Take 4 lvls rogue with feat alert then go college of whispers and ur an ultimate assassin

[@jessr5143]

That laugh creeped me out when I first clicked. Alex are you ok do you need some coffee?

[@TitanGamingTV]

Just psyched about bards! And possibly master roshi, but’s that’s wholly unrelated. What do you think, passable Roshi laugh?

[@jessr5143]

Quite possibly my friend.

[@gooseman2851]

I played a bounty hunter whisper bard who just used his inspiration for psychic blades

[@johnrice4781]

hi guys I'm a new subscriber, this channel is amazing

[@TitanGamingTV]

What a nice thing to say! I'm glad you've joined us, John!

[@thefracturedbutwhole5475]

Psychic blades does not specify that it has to be with a melee weapon it just says "weapon attack" so it also works with ranged weapons too, . . . But honestly, if you aren't using booming blade or green flame blade (both require melee attacks) to maximize the damage of your psychic blades you're not doing it right. 😘

[@sebaseba6710]

Love the videos man

[@TitanGamingTV]

Thanks Seba!

[@zun-viik]

Not gonna lie but I clicked 100% bc you’re so adorable

[@TitanGamingTV]

That's good to know my clickbait game is on point! Welcome to the party Orthall!

[@TVMAN1997]

Fighter multi-class with bard college of swords

[@Politicallyhomeless957]

I like these allot so much I made a Bard and named him Kanye East 😂😎👍

[@TitanGamingTV]

PuppetMasterFPV Dahh haha. Love it.

[@Agadaa93]

How about combining an at least lvl6Glamourbard and at least lvl9enchanterWizard. With Mantle of Majesty and Twin Spell you get to target 2 ppl with that free command every turn. Lol?

[@TheSilverCanine_R3D-H]

10:07 did he curse?

[@Snele90]

My favorite class is bard, hands down. They are SO versatile it's mindblowing. Having said that, Xanathar's guide was kind of a letdown when it came to bards. Sure they put out three new subclasses but let's face it, College of Swords is what College of Valor should have been, to begin with. College of Whispers seems like it would be a waste of time for a player. The description says "These bards use their knowledge and magic to uncover secrets and turn them against others through extortion and threats" as a way of painting a "darker" image of the bard. A college of Lore bard could be exactly the same thing (in my opinion more effectively) if it was just roleplayed that way. Bard has so many ways to accomplish JUST THAT with just her class spells that it makes 0 sense to orient all of the abilities to do that. And speaking of class spells ... what a disappointment again. There could have been so many more spells added to the bard instead of cherry-picking a few spells from other classes. If they didn't add the Elemental Evil filler spells to the list there would have been 6 new spells for the bard which made me really sad. Now with my rant out of the way: I just finished a campaign as a Vistani Bard (College of Lore) playing in the Hoard of the Dragonqueen/Rise of Tiamat and it was SO much fun. Bards rock.

[@TitanGamingTV]

Bards, so hot right now, Bards. I totally get what you mean about painting a 'darker' bard. I try to remember that my style of game isnt the only style, so odds are there are tables where having these powers explicitly defined (even if it seems redundant) allows a player to perform this kind of thing where they may not have been able to otherwise by DM-style or houserules. Also College of Lore hits the core Bard ideology so strongly, its a tough nut to break. Thanks for watching MrDash!

[@ExeErdna]

The College of Blades with the Gladiator background is gonna be so much fun

[@TitanGamingTV]

Lean into that blade performer!

[@ExeErdna]

I was thinking about going three levels into Ranger so I can go Hunter and take the other 17 levels as Bard, College of Swords. It's gonna be interesting at level 17