The Whisperer: d4 #87

[@davidlevin_]

Came for the D&D character build but stayed for the unintentional ASMR. Thank you, kind sir!

[@deadpoolrwbyfan8419]

Really happy to see the stories are going to stay. They really add a lot to the build as opposed to similar channels.

[@Sol-2277]

From the first few minutes it sounds like a good build for a blues bard who made a deal with a devil at the crossroads.

[@J.sh_CDN]

I really like this take on it! Makes it kinda feel like your bardic skill originally came from the Deal. Otherwise, it sets a cool story of THINKING your skill only came from your Deal with the devil, only to find it was mostly your own power all along

[@DunsmoreFamily]

🎵🎶Devil went down to Georgia 🎶

[@archieprewitt1833]

Can I use this concept?

[@sagealdridge852]

Tenacious D

[@BLynn]

Level 1:(see above) [warlock 1, patron, race & feat] Level 2:(@14:38) [bard 1] Level 3:(@21:27) [bard 2] Level 4:(@21:54) [bard 3 & sub-class] Level 5:(@24:46) [fighter 1 & fighting-style] Level 6:(@26:46) [fighter 2] Level 7:(see above) [bard 4 & ASI] Level 8:(@33:07) [warlock 2 & eldritch invocation] Level 9:(@33:53) [warlock 3 & sub-class] Level 10:(see above) [warlock 4 & ASI] Level 11:(@40:23) [warlock 5 & eldritch invocation] Level 12:(@41:39) [cleric 1 & sub-class] Level 13:(@44:28) [cleric 2 & channel divinity] Level 14:(see above) [bard 5] Level 15:(@51:31) [bard 6] Level 16:(@52:56) [bard 7] Level 17:(@53:55) [bard 8 & ASI]

[@Ulfhamr-v7u]

Thank you so much

[@loganbalmer2822]

My Mantle of Whispers story as was requested: In our campaign, we were tracking down an Evil Wizard from our Paladin's backstory who tormented her and experimented on her for years due to her psionic aptitude. He happens to be effectively a warden of a work camp under the Empire that we are at war with. So we fight and defeat this guy, but as we are preparing to leave we realize we can't just leave all the people there to rot and be worked mostly to death. This led to our spellcasters using polymorph on people and our druid wild shaping to pick people up full LotR eagles style to bring them out of the camp, thinking "yes it's a heavily guarded facility but also no one ever looks up and we have pass without trace and good stealth." Meanwhile, our Whispers bard stole the shadow of the Evil Wizard we killed and began to pose as him while we made our getaway to just make sure no one came looking for him and discovered he was killed and sounded the alarm. The best part and where our Whispers bard came in clutch was, despite all the things we had going for us to sneak a bunch of prisoners out of the camp, we rolled abysmally on stealth. However, because the Whispers Bard was posing as the Wizard and talking with some of the guards as they noticed us and were preparing to fire a ballista at us, he just put his hand on the guard's shoulder and was like "Don't worry. It's all part of The Plan." The guard stutters and is like "B-but are you sure?" To which he replies something to the effect of "Are you questioning me?" Scares the guard into submission and we all get away and then the bard slinks off and drops the persona.

[@DnDDeepDive]

Ha ha! So awesome!

[@crossc1988]

a semi-homebrew rule i like to use with booming blade is...Regarding whether the target KNOWS its sheathed in energy...Their passive arcana score vs the casters save dc, unless the target decides to spend its action to make an arcana check to determine the "properties" of the spell they just witnessed the caster cast. There is absolutely NO reason why an enemy should just automatically KNOW it will take more damage if it moves.

[@caster-]

I'm usually all for that view of magic, like illusions and such. But i always imagined Booming Blade's effect as that feeling of needing to crack a joint (not sure this is the correct phrase). You feel stuck and need to move to release that energy. Only with the spell, that release is painful. I'll adopt your way for the next time, i believe

[@DrAndrewJBlack]

It says “sheathed” in energy, our table’s interpretation has always been that they feel resistance to “unsheathing” … the resistance is painful so they can choose to push through the pain to unsheath themselves

[@lenny-822]

I watched the first 20 minutes of this video ready to hop in the comments with a "WELL ACKSHUALLY" re: booming blade + dissonant whispers combo, but then Bowtie Errata Colby stole all of my thunder and it was delightful. :)

[@DnDDeepDive]

[@joshi1295]

[@MrKostrom]

It's still a pretty good combo. They run away and then have to trigger booming blade to get back to the combat. Worst case (for damage), you hit them for normal damage and they lose their turn. That's pretty good -- maybe better, actually. I don't think you can trigger booming blade twice, even if you houserule it to trigger on fear, because the opportunity resolves before the move. But that is solved when you use path to the grave instead.

[@lenny-822]

@@MrKostrom Well, worst case would be they make their save, and instead of taking 20 damage, moving away, and taking another 100+ from the AoO, they take... 10. Very hit-or-miss, but the hits are impressive.

[@Tanglangfa]

The camera angle in this video is hypnotic. The chairs perfectly frame your shoulders. It’s not quite as perfect with the bow tie. Anyway, nice video as always.

[@theresnoracelikegnome]

I’ve been watching Dungeon Dudes for years. A few months back, I started watching Treantmonk’s Temple, which quickly led me to you. Now, your videos are the ones I wait for most excitedly, each week. So, what I’m trying to say is you’re making me feel like a bad Canadian. I hope you’re happy. Seriously though, I hope you’re happy because you make me happy for an hour each week. Enjoy your week off, but hurry back. :)

[@DnDDeepDive]

Ha ha ha! Thanks :).

[@iamscottbowdown]

Then you realize Dungeon Dudes, Treatmonk and Colby did a 2part scenario together and your mind blows.

[@theresnoracelikegnome]

@@iamscottbowdown I do. It actually aired about two days after I found Colby’s channel. :)

[@sebdoesntreply]

The fact you went for a tux for errata just made my evening

[@DnDDeepDive]

Gotta make an impression!

[@MrChitzNGiggles]

Man, I ADORE this kind of character concept. I really wish more of the sticklers would adopt this a bit more, I think it allows for so much flavour and creativity

[@jjsasquatch101]

One of my players ran a changeling whispers bard with glamoured leather armor. They would assassinate people, get their basic memories, use that hour to collect more information on them, wrote it down in their journal and build a lexicon of people they could impersonate at will. It was a brilliant minigame the group played in every town they visited. Though explaining why people that were "disappearing" kept reappearing was an additional minigame that resulted in more problems for them. They killed a lot of NPC's. Edit: Spelling and Grammar

[@worale1]

I was soooo ready to post an "Uhm... akshtually...." comment but then you DID explain the booming blade situation :D

[@brynwtsn]

Aberrant Mind Sorcerer's also get dissonant whispers

[@Mozumin]

You can also get Dissonant Whispers from Fey Touched!

[@Renegade-Master-88]

I prefer sorcerer too

[@torunsmok5890]

And the sorcerer can metamagic heightened spell to ensure the dissonant whispers lands

[@Theonemanoffire]

The “welcome home” portion of every video is my favorite, so wholesome

[@aidanmundell4501]

One of the great things about this 'nova build' is that its routine through low levels only consumes a low level slot and an inspiration- and can be repeated for decent sustained damage without the action surge

[@jAfr0Thunder86]

The ONLY thing the “change” to booming blade says to me is “no you can’t twin this, because you’re casting it on yourself to affect someone in melee”

[@MoutainMannPro]

Also you cant use spell sniper to double the range

[@torunsmok5890]

@@MoutainMannPro id still argue in favor of that but you'd have to have a weapon that can do the reach like a whip or polearm or just be a bugbear... Rule of cool is a big factor here

[@MoutainMannPro]

@@torunsmok5890 it's also common sense. Booming blade should have the reach of whatever weapon used in the casting.

[@TiasVsEverything]

I love seeing Eldritch Smite on a build. Also, remember, with it being “once per turn” and not “once on each of your turns”… if you can actually make opportunity attacks outside of your turn, you can stack that Booming Blade with an Eldritch Smite too! It’s even better to get that little bit of flexibility for those moments when you need it.

[@merlannin2108]

I really like the added fear-like effects for the hexblade spooky warrior feel. Nice build with fun melee support.

[@cosmicfungi5829]

HOLY CRAP IM SO HAPPY FOR THIS VIDEO. I've been watching these videos for about 8 months now and I've been waiting for something like this. I've played a lot of dnd, as both a player and a dm, but by far without a doubt my greatest and most beloved creation is my Whispers Bard/Conquest Paladin Wearbear. I made Blair about 3 years ago and he's still in that same game (we started level 1 and are now level 16). When I first made him I had this idea of a saboteur expert; infiltrating groups, earning their trust, picking them off one by one, and then tearing the whole thing asunder from the inside. It started out that way, I took Warcaster at level one because free feat and then rolled his stats for Cha/Str. With expertise in Stealth I was never worried about sneaking around so I decided to focus more on him using a great axe (it was comedic at the time but irony has its ways (also I know bards don't start with martial weapon proficiency but it's a home game, the rules are meant to be ignored a little). Eventually after some roll play stuff, I got the chance to multiclass him into a paladin at level 7, eventually at level 12 I had used a feat for medium armor master, had the defense fighting style, and used magical secrets for booming blade and shield. Oh my lord have mercy, it might not be optimal for burst or sustained damage but at my role play focused table... Let's just say rolling a nat 20 with this guy makes the whole table scream for a few solid seconds. Thank you thank you thank you for showing the Whispers bard some actual love. I know it wasn't the true focus of this build but I love it too much to not want to see it become more popular. Take the love of my sassy scottish Wearbear PaliBard and sore good sir. Loved this! Please never stop with the wonderful videos!

[@reespewa]

I've always been cautious relying on dissonant whispers for opportunity attacks as I figured many DMs rule it qualifies as forced movement. The opportunity attacks section you quoted however makes it very clear that the use of a reaction by the enemy means it qualifies. That's a great tidbit which really clarifies the situation! Also I agree fully with your interpretation of booming blade. I don't understand how a *cantrip* could distinguish willing/unwilling movement.

[@mandellei7534]

I wasn't one of the outcrying commenters, but I am glad that they exist. Your descriptions are so fun and spark ideas for what I might do storywise :)

[@thebitterfig9903]

I think I’d probably try to get Bard 5 earlier, even if it does delay damage. With all the Warlock spells resetting on a short rest, seems like it’d be worthwhile to have short rest resets for Bardic Inspiration as well. But to each their own.

[@Trial88]

For the multi class being their own class I like Brennan Lee Mulligans Harengon character in the level 20 one shot for dnd beyond being called “Adventurer” there was no other way to describe it lol. So on builds like this I kinda just think about that

[@Trial88]

I also love the grave whisperer for this videos name

[@Trial88]

@@porcupotomus that is something I would very much be interested in reading about

[@xUnnamedx44]

Last week i requested the college of whispers bard and you did not disappoint! Gave me some interesting ideas to play with and i love the booming blade and eldricht smite parts of the build.

[@guillaume_dx]

Love your builds, as i love background you create around them ! Keep up the good work !!

[@lordmorsone725]

Mantle of Whispers fits in perfectly thematically, beside Words of Terror...the roleplay potential increases tenfold with this combination. Awesome build that I hope I might get to run soon.

[@J.sh_CDN]

Love the backstory!!!!! Really adds life and character in a sea of folks who just do character stats and builds. Your builds always have much for fun, flavour, background and everything, favourite KZbin dnd build maker

[@christophergibson4429]

Thank you for keeping the story backstories. It's appreciated to be able to listen to your characters develop as they level.

[@adriel8498]

Omg!! "Muy buenos dias", as a spanish speaker following your chanel I have to say that I loved that

[@snazzyfeathers]

Gish characters must pay the War Caster tax. It's a small price to pay to be both a caster and a martial.

[@jerzane5617]

Been loving your videos, too many cool ideas and themes! I'll just keep going through your ginormous list of builds you've already done that I haven't seen yet this week. Enjoy the break!

[@shealupkes]

I'm glad you have ideas for stories you can tell through these builds but they don't add much to what I personally see these videos as which is a build tutorial

[@Ricardo-zo1ti]

If I was playing this character, I'd just rush to lvl 5 bard as soon as possible. The bump to 3d6 instead of 2d6 AND recharging the uses of BI in a short rest is so nice

[@nevertoonate]

I want to thank you for all your hard work over the past year plus of you doing this channel! I found you early on when I started playing DnD. I’ve gone from a novice player to DMing my own campaign and all the information I’ve gained from you has been invaluable to my ability as a DM. I understand each class inside and out and no build throws me for a loop. Knowing the classes this intimately has given me the opportunity to challenge my very optimized PCs as well as let them truly shine. So thank you again and I look forward to each new build! Oh and this was one of my favorites so far. Really fun!

[@DnDDeepDive]

Hey thanks! :) Glad you're enjoying!

[@estherclawson6876]

I love music and the spoken word. So uplifting.

[@yurirobin]

I think that if I am creating this character, probably I would pick just the first hexblade level and then go bard all the way to 20. With magical secrets you can pick the infamous Conjure Animals spell and make every velociraptor that you summoned attack the enemy that is fleeing from your Dissonant Whispers spell.

[@AwkwardPain]

In the campaign I am in, I had gone swords bard up to level 13, then out of nessecity I gone warock 1 (for hexblade) as my dex was still 16 and was REALLY dragging me down. Now I am level 18 (17 bard, 1 warlock) it has been amazingly fun.

[@joshuawinestock9998]

Conjure animals + Dissonant whispers is sick! Honestly that's a great synergy and a hardy enough gimmick that it would actually be reliable in real play. Good optimisation Yuri!

[@flyingtrixster729]

@@AwkwardPain why do you need high dex?

[@AwkwardPain]

@@flyingtrixster729 Because without hexblade I was having to use dex for my melee attacks. When I am plying long-form campaigns I generally let my character grow with the story not planning out levels. I started using my blades less and less because it was not as effective as spell casting. But When I took a pact in-game, I saw it as an out to get the warlock level I'd been missing.

[@flyingtrixster729]

@@AwkwardPain spell casting is just better then melee for battle feild control. I tend to plan out my character for long term. Power gaming saved the party tons of time. The support role is heavy look down on for who got the killing blow but not for who made that possable. It is kind of sad

[@cultivatedjerk5574]

Huzzah! A new bard build! Can’t wait to listen to this on my drive home!

[@Fenix31799]

Hey, internet outrage works! We should do this more often, there’s no way it backfires lol. Love the video as always!

[@Rillikual]

Cool videos and concept characters. Thanks for keeping us regulars in the know for upload schedule. Hope you and the family enjoy the welcomed vacation, Colby

[@schuepbachr]

You're channel is dope. Thanks for the hard work- I listen while at work and appreciate the thoughtfulness and balanced use of creativity and pseudo-exploit (it works RaW). Just wanted to drop some positivity to lift up a member of the community that is a paragon of the inclusivity we need. Much love, Colby.

[@DnDDeepDive]

Thanks Rudy!

[@scotty9419]

Glad to see the whisper bard get some attention most people sleep on the subclass but I think its one of the most powerful subclasses if build right. Being able to cast a spell and get psychic blades damage off in 1 turn is amazing. Take for example a ranged whisper bard build with 1 lvl dip in Fighter for archery or 1 lvl dip Hexblade for hex warrior with hand crossbow. At 11th lvl magical secrets with Haste or Swift Quiver allows for spell cast + plus psychic blades damage on turn 2 onward. It gets even better at 15th lvl magical secrets Crown of Stars. Having Crown of Stars up before fight then casting haste first round allows for 2nd round with Crown of Stars bonus action + hasted attack action with psychic blades on hit + the ability to cast any non concentration spell which is insane. The amount of damage you can push out with just your bonus action and hasted action is incredible plus the ability to cast a spell in conjunction is unreal.

[@gregwatts5178]

I love this style of character! Primarily a bard for support (at least for a while) while also having the option to throw out damage! I've toyed around with a similar build that uses glamour bard's mantle of majesty to provoke the opportunity attacks for booming blade, pushing my action free to booking blade again. Not quite as much damage, and not really as nova focused, more like a sustained dpr for one combat a day while being a supportive bard the rest of the combats. Also, gotta say I appreciated the Music and the Spoken Word reference

[@jodylester9118]

I've played an incredibly close build to this for quite some time, and it's easily the most fun build I've played. Highly recommend it.

[@Mr911superstar]

Same, I have a whispers bard/swashbuckler that uses the same tactic 🥰

[@jedfromyourlocallibrary]

For the record, I also love hearing your stories. So, a belated OUTCRY!

[@jormungandthemidgardserpen1845]

"Think of this character as its own custom class" I mean, it's so cool that i see no reason not to do that every time i come up with builds. It's also quite easy to reflavor the majority of the features and concepts to suit the needs. It also allows to avoid tropes. For example, let's say I'm playing lockadin or sorlock and instead of dealing with a patron and trying to outmaneuver and get rid of the pact, let's say that hexblade part is just a guardian angel who was sent by a deity to pull your lazy ass out of misery and help you achieve great things, while at the same time secretly and ambiguously rearrange certain "chess pieces" on a grand board of power struggle. Because why the hell not? Also 5 minutes of reflavoring per spell and you have hand of god subclass. God, i love dnd.

[@DnDDeepDive]

Right!? /high five

[@jormungandthemidgardserpen1845]

@@DnDDeepDive /high five

[@LightningFireZC]

Your story ideas have actually inspired me in my own campaign, keep it up!

[@TheZachAttack777]

I'm actually currently playing a character similar to this in my current campaign. I love being able to deal big damage to start a fight and then hang back and support my friends. I personally went mastermind rogue into whispers bard. There's a little redundancy in the bonus action economy there, but I actually find it's really useful for longer dungeon crawls. Saved 3 party members lives because of bardic inspiration last session. Feels good!

[@Dddeltari]

This is fantastic. I literally built a hexbard to use dissonant whispers and booming blade last week and I’ve been obsessed with that combo. I built mine as a swords bard to be more of a dpr character instead of burst, but but I like this concept a lot 👍🏼

[@Briandnlo4]

Whaddya gonna do, Colby? LOL. Every time Jeremy Crawford hits SEND on a tweet; trying to clarify something; he a.) makes things 10x more confusing, b.) contradicts himself, or c.) makes things 10x more confusing by contradicting himself. I commented under the short teaser that I had two tables discussing this distinction. There was unanimous agreement that 1.) the frustration that, after D&D has been around for almost fifty years, the developers still can't select the correct words so that RAW = RAI. They should have this figured out by now. And 2.) RAW, Dissonant Whispers doesn't remove the target's free will or presence of mind, therefore Booming Blade works. Dissonant Whispers just states the target must use it's reaction to "Move as far as its speed allows away from you." They can still choose which direction. Left, right, diagonal, or turn their back and go that way. Depending on terrain, "as far as its speed allows" may not be in the direction right behind them. If their choice of direction provokes an opportunity attack, that's just a consequence of their choice, freely made. They also still have the mental wherewithal to not "move into obviously dangerous ground, such as fire or a pit." Shorter: That's their own movement.

[@DnDDeepDive]

I agree. It's like... the spell isn't giving them a choice to run away, but it's not completely controlling them and their movement either. Definitely something I think a *lot* of tables still allow.

[@caster-]

@@DnDDeepDive Yeah, for me there's definitely a difference between forced movement and compelled movement. Since the rules specifically say "You also don't provoke an opportunity attack when you teleport or when someone or something moves you without using your movement, action, or reaction", I'd say that second tweet is just wrong and something Jeremy Crawford probably didnt think through before posting.

[@VvDOPAMEANvV]

This is a definite 'have a conversation with your DM' thing. I would work with the player, but the rules regarding forced movement would need to be consistent. If partial choice = free will, then we are going down an interesting path. And what goes around will certainly come around. Get tough, Player One, cause I'm about to give you a LOT of "free" will.

[@caster-]

@@VvDOPAMEANvV i think the rules are clear about not spending any actions. So there's only a conversation if you ignore that, i think.

[@VvDOPAMEANvV]

@@caster- Not gonna make too much of a judgement. But there's always a conversation--some conversations need to be avoided, some encouraged. Again, I'd let it happen. Maybe have a conversation, maybe not. With Colby? Oh, we're having a conversation, 😉

[@horbi3683]

Nice build and nice tux 🙂 Thanks for the episode! And DScrybe really did a good job with their description 👍

[@codypenny9181]

I have to say that while I also very much enjoy putting out big damage numbers, when you focus too much on ways to optimize a character’s damage all of your builds start to feel pretty same-y. So I’ve definitely appreciated the shift in focus to creating characters that do other things or taking less common things that are thought to be sub-optimal, and then optimizing the amount of damage they can do. Maybe I could challenge you to pick a race and optimize a build around its special features rather than going variant human/custom lineage?

[@theguildhallaxd5895]

I want to love the Whispers Bard. I've played the subclass a couple times and always felt underwhelmed so I am amped to hear your take.

[@Mr911superstar]

My friend, their psychic smites are SO good. I play a character that uses the same concept of this but Im mostly bard dipped into swashbuckler rogue and its incredibly fun

[@theguildhallaxd5895]

@@Mr911superstar Yeah, I loved the physic blade as well but I think the mistake I made was I level dipped each time and found I had other, more powerful options to hit and wasn't using them all that often. Also, I found that Words of Terror was so cool but only limited to humanoids, which I found frustrating especially because subclasses like eloquence and lore, two other verbal-based subclasses don't have this limitation. Like I mentioned, flavor wise, I'm a big fan of the Whispers Bard and these multi-class options sound super fun.

[@sferris9947]

Thank you! Definitely going to use some of the concepts in my character as they level up.

[@zachmccarver7375]

I just really enjoy listening to and appreciate how calm your voice is. 😊

[@DarkFoncho]

Oh wow...su tono de voz cuando habla español!!! In loved😍😍😍

[@reneeseance5367]

Thank you for this build! I have been obsessed with Bards and the unique ability of a spell like dissonant whispers to grant attacks so much that I tried making my own build around optimizing it. The biggest challenge I had was with the enemies succeeding on the save and feeling like I wasn't able to take advantage of the opportunity attack enough. The addition of Eldritch smite is a great way of providing nova damage I had not considered, but Im also beginning to strongly consider sorcerer levels and quicken Dissonant whispers as a sort of insurance policy when enemies succeed on their save. I will be sure to keep this video saved for when I inevitably revisit the build :D

[@DnDDeepDive]

I like the idea!

[@Dronos]

this intro aways gets me relaxed, great video as always

[@Nikotheos]

We clearly need moar bow tie. You don’t have to wear the suit, but the bow tie is a must! 😎

[@lynxgoddess]

For such a SAD character, the MADness if of the charts! So, to go for a paladin dip you could do a few things: Option 1 would be to go custom lineage with 13, 12, 12, 8, 13, 17 after modifiers and still get War Caster at level 1 to then grab any half feat for charisma. Or to go variant human with War Caster and 13, 12, 12, 8, 14, 16. In both cases you end up with a melee character with low hit points and a final AC of 18, which is tough but not entirely back breaking. Option 2 would be to go half-elf or non-variant human. Then you could start with 13, 14, 14, 8, 13, 16 (or 13, 14, 14, 9, 13, 16 for the human) as stats efter modifiers. You wouldn't get War Caster at level 1, and you'd probably want to delay the fighter levels by one level to get War Caster at level 5. You'd then be stuck at 16 charisma until level 10 and not max it out until level 17, provided you go for cleric 4 to get there while getting the largest spell slot progression. Option 3 would be to start with a level of fighter to get heavy armor proficiency and start with 15, 8, 12, 8, 14, 16 which would delay your combo until level 3, make you less sneaky, cut into your hit points and gut your initiative rolls - 13, 8, 14, 8, 14, 16 to trade two points of AC for a bit more hit points. The rest of the build would be unharmed though. So it is doable, but you'd have to sacrifice alot of your support capabilities for a very heavy nova focus. Option 2 seems by far the least enticing and I think option 1 might be the best route if you'd want to do it. But really, where did we lose the support idea along the way here? :P

[@brianpious3242]

Thanks for the heads up about the video schedule. Always take time for your family and vacations. Never apologize.

[@charlescampbell7230]

So, I submit for consideration picking up summon fey at Warlock 5 as one of the "pick your favorites" - tricksy fey can shroud the PC in a 5' cube of darkness as a bonus action every turn and add a little sustain damage or at least another target while it's around. I'm aiming for this on a similar character since it will give me the darkness my inner edgelord craves without making the party extra angry. You will have to hold your attack action until the fey obscures you in darkness in order to get the advantage but i think it'll be worth.

[@lavendergrey2357]

I've been doing booming whispers with my sorcerogue (soul knife/aberrant mind who uses a rapier in melee) for a few months now, and I can say it has varied success, but when it goes off it is extremely satisfying, especially when sneak attack is added on. I imagine it feels more like a heart attack than a stab wound. I also sometimes call it the reverse boom and zoom because "boom and zoom" is what I call the booming blade/cunning action disengage combo :)

[@maxgoldstein8778]

I was so convinced when you started Warlock that you’d be using the Undead’s Form of Dread for frightening/forced movement. Incredible build nonetheless!

[@KordTheDestroyer]

Story and Background! Crowd goes wild!

[@VerumAdPotentia]

Glad to hear your background info will continue going forward. If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

[@Mike-mm8gg]

I love this idea as a temperary character. A cheerful traditional bard shows up entertaining party but slowly over time their morbid and creepy habits and abilities begin to show up. Soon the party begins to unravel the characters secret goals and the powerful entities they serve Edit: Also I agree with the end of the video. There's a million ways to get alot of damage but theme and utility matters just as much

[@liammeisgood8665]

I may have missed something but if at 11th level you are still concentrating on darkness I would swap that for summon fey. You can use the one that creates darkness so still get that combo as well as getting 2 fey attacks because of opportunity attacks.

[@wandrilleturle36]

So excited for the new video ^^ have a nice trip !

[@rontrobertson]

I seem to remember a Hexblade dip for the Swords Bard build just a couple weeks ago ...

[@Brogie_21]

Lol, deep cut music and the spoken word reference 😂 hope you enjoyed your spring break! We went to capitol reef national park, it was great

[@DnDDeepDive]

[@brucebrown2241]

I acknowledge that it makes me look like a simpleton, but my favorite part of every video is the end where Colby drops into a litany of, "Don't say that." I don't know why that tickles me, but I love what I love with no apologies.

[@nnertnilc3249]

Great build as always. Been looking at getting booming blade with magic iniate so it's good to know different ways to utilize it.

[@aidandunne5978]

Wonderful build as usual! Request for a future build? Take a look at Shadow Blade and Illusionist Wizard Malleable Illusions. Maybe Shadow Blade could be turned into a polearm (a glaive is still a blade). Might be some interesting synergy there with a finesse polearm

[@DnDDeepDive]

Hm... will have to take a look...

[@aidandunne5978]

Polearm Master states no material cost, nor that the weapon needs to be mundane. So is a Shadow glaive or shadow spear any less of a glaive or spear than a normal one?

[@aidandunne5978]

@@gamecavalier3230 It is a specific weapon though. The spell says "You weave together threads of shadow to create a sword of solidified gloom in your hand. This magic sword lasts until the spell ends." This makes me think you should be able to classify it as something besides a sword, assuming you are able to form it differently.

[@aidandunne5978]

@@gamecavalier3230 And therein lies one of the questions. Is a sword specific enough? Or is it not? I think it is, but I understand not everyone, or even many, will. I hope others will, but I don't really know.I really hope this can make it into a build episode or into a Slidin into my DMs episode!

[@aidandunne5978]

@@gamecavalier3230 That's a wierd question. Because by my line of thinking, if sword is specific enough, then would a switch to 'polearm' more generally be such a stretch? It could still be a simple weapon.

[@mattnykamp2861]

I created a similar character based on the whispers bard ability. if you took 9 levels of swashbuckler rogue you also get the ability to charm ppl as your action for 1 minute. meaning. you could spend 1 minute speaking to someone to both charm and frighten them. giving you advantage on all cha rolls and they have disadvantage. you also are a bard rogue so you have expertise in all the cha skills. the character was very useful in negotiations and social settings. held its own as a swashbuckler rogue.

[@CreedDante]

Since you are coverd by magical darkness, enemies cannot see you, so you could after you made your attacks with advantage just casually walk away from the enemies and then on your turn go back there or just support your allies from range. Note: OA's have the prerequisites of seeing, so you can just walk and not take the OA if they cannot see you

[@psbates]

I enjoy some of the storytelling elements about _why_ a character changes classes, but with this build I would like to point out the following: a warlock pact really shouldn't be a "sign on the dotted line at level 1 and done" thing. A patron makes constant demands of the warlock in exchange for increasing power. Those requests may not make sense from a mortal perspective, but they should be there. (Much like Mab treats Dresden in Jim Butcher's "Dresden Files" books. If you haven't read them, I highly recommend them.) Thus, this character's story doesn't need to be an "it's a unique character class" thing, but that it's the story of a bard who made an agreement with a powerful being, and that being is now helping shape their destiny. With this character starting warlock at level 1, I imagine the character asking its patron for the power to have their performances "inspire my allies and strike fear into the hearts of my foes". Then, acquiring level 1 of the bard class is a kind of fulfillment of that request. But then, the patron keeps coming back and asking for more "small favors" as the game progresses. (Work with your DM on this. If the DM is lazy, perhaps the patron just shows up and says "Good work clearing out those heathen orcs for me. Now that I have claimed their souls, I can teach them not to break their pacts with me!" after an adventure.) Merry gaming!

[@emthatyourefuse2494]

... God, I love this. Although if I were going to play this character in-game I'd probably trade the fighter dip and Warlock 5 for three levels of phantom rogue, just because I've always wanted to be the creepiest broad at the table *while* laughing in the face of high skill check DCs.

[@michaelfilmonchik1541]

So glad the stories are back!

[@Sheekygeek]

Something I like to do for warlock bards is to say that they sold their soul for the music.

[@jaimegutierrezmartinez935]

This is an amazing build, definately gonna try it

[@patrickmaggio4244]

I never even considered the possibility of using a reaction on your own turn

[@CharlesBlazer]

it's not a nova round. It's a single, HUGE, nova reaction!

[@caster-]

oh was really hoping to hear a "Bem vindos" in portuguese br at the start there. Awesome build!

[@Oko_Plz]

Really looking forward to a poison build. Maybe using the grung race?

[@rytyrocks518]

Poison just really doesnt work, most things late game just become immune

[@lloydlineske2642]

@@rytyrocks518 That is kinda irreverent. Could easily play in a campaign that doesn't have this issue. Could just be played in a campaign that is more like Rav. Could just be for a tailored one shot. Could make the video just to show the potential. Lots of options. A little asterisk saying sometimes this doesn't work doesn't necessarily need to kill the whole video.

[@rytyrocks518]

@@lloydlineske2642that is true, if your dm is willing to remove the poison immunity from most of the monsters than yea that’s fine but d4 normally runs rules as written I don’t think he’d make a build totally reliant on the DM removing a common immunity it’s just not his style

[@lloydlineske2642]

@@rytyrocks518 thats not really what I'm saying. I'm saying there are a lot of ways around it. Like in the Rav plane there isn't a lot of poison immunity. If you are in a city there isn't a lot of it. If you are doing a one shot in a certain place that doesn't have a lot of it it could be useful, etc. I'm not entirely saying to have the DM take a certain aspect away. Like this build here. He had the stipulation that it's not great against casters and ranged units. That probably makes it ineffective against more than just poison immunity.

[@storyspren]

The mention of going back to support after the nova round reminded me you have at least one other build like that (which I believe was built for that purpose) but I can't remember what it was. Suddenly wanting to rewatch that one :D

[@DnDDeepDive]

Swords Bard? Mercy Monk?

[@storyspren]

@@DnDDeepDive Could be, I'll rewatch both, in addition to the few others I listed for myself looking for that and if I remember I'll get back here on whether it was one of those Worth a listen either way :3

[@storyspren]

@@DnDDeepDive it was indeed the swords bard :D

[@vinspad3]

Goes from wearing a Royals shirt to wearing bow tie and suit. Well done, sir. Well done.

[@vinspad3]

Treats!

[@vinspad3]

Also, this character should have be called Come on Eileen since it's the best one hit wonder

[@DnDDeepDive]

@@vinspad3 Ha ha!

[@dylanwells749]

Bards represent let’s goooooo!! I have a bard and I love playing him. Orshon is the best dancer across the Boarderlands. I need to play these more damage based bards.

[@Ontaros1]

I've been working on my Kenku Divine Soul Hexblade and I'm planning on using Warcaster to get extra Booming Blades using a quarterstaff and Polearm master. I'll rely on armor of agathys and backing up to try baiting the enemy into moving so if I take an AoO the enemy takes damage, they'll move to blow up, and trigger another booming blade (eventually with crusher if i make it that far) and it should do some good work. Really can't wait to see this guy take off. It's in the Curse of Strahd campaign and the Kenku aspect is going to be fun seeing people's reaction to a humanoid raven knowing the significance of ravens in the story, AND when we run into the wereravens little Dak's going to finally find something to bring back to his people to restore their ability to fly. I just imagine the wereraven's like snatching him up and yelling at him for being out of uniform lmao.

[@adamjohnson182]

7:22 I love the thematic stories!

[@drakenon75]

The problem with Multiclassing this much is as you get to mid to high tier 3, you start running into creatures that have some serious resistances, some as you hit Tier 4, can't be damaged by low level spells which is what this class ends with. This build makes me want to build one of 2 Characters, first would be a Hexblade 5/Whispers Bard 15 (or 7/13 if you want Thirsting Blade) with flight (Owlin or Winged Tiefling) That uses longbow to Devastating effect. With Bard at level 10 you can pilfer swift quiver, which gives you 2 Attacks on your attack action, and 2 attacks as a Bonus action. The fuckery of Darkness with your party is mitigated because you fly away from them and rain death on them from afar, and because Eldritch Smite and Psychic blades can be Delivered at Range Crits become very deadly. Because you are bathed in the Darkness of your Patron, you get advantage to hit, while your enemies get disadvantage to hit you back. The Advantage gained from darkness is a mitigating factor for the -5 from sharpshooter. This could be done to similar effect and maybe even more damaging as a Gloomstalker 5, and Rogue (Thief, Mastermind, Inquisitive and Scout all work here) 15, though the warlock/whisper bard brings a fun to play dark element. Second would be all out Attack and Reaction attack (from Pole Arm Master) murder hobo. VHuman or Custom Lineage to Start with Pole Arm Master, Go 5 levels Hexblade (Take Thirsting Blade, Eldritch Smite, Improved Patch Weapon for 4th level Feat take Warcaster). Be a Lorehold Bard or Orzhov Rep for Background so at 5th level you can get Spirit Guardians. Then the rest of your levels you start your combat with Action Spirit Guardians, Bonus action Hexblades curse and Melt their Faces, while beating them to a pulp. You'll get your reaction attack as they try to leave your Threat range. Multiclass 2 Paladin and then the rest whisper bard. You get 3 "Smites" in a hit if you Crit (Psychic Whispers, Smite, and Eldritch Smite). Your Next ASI is GWM (Which happens at Level 11 Warlock 5/Pally 2/Whisper Bard 4). At this level you use a Bard Spell slot to do the Spirit Guardians, So you are doing 3d8 (Save for Half), 1d10+10+Chr Bonus on your Attack + Extra Attack. Bonus action of either 1d10+10+Chr or 1d4+10+Chr with Nova Damage being Eldritch Smite 4d8 Force + Smite of 4d8 Radiant + 2d6 Psychic. With all Remaining Levels going to Bard you end at Warlock 5/Pally 2/Bard 13. Even if you don't go with the Cheesy Stixhaven or Ravnica Backgrounds, you still can pilfer spirit guardians at level 10 bard. But either way your Damage gets nothing but Better the higher you go with Spirit Guardians Upcast to higher level slots and Psychic Blades getting as high as 5d6 (drop pally levels and it can go to 8d6 at 20t, and Pally Smites using your highest level spell slot up to 5th. Lastly I want you to think about Taking Hexblade to 6 on any Whisper Bard Build. It means that when both classes are at 6th level, you can Take the form of the being you just killed, then enslave it's soul for 24 hrs as a spectre to serve you as you systematically destroy its ally's....That's Dark ;-)

[@randomize.4]

hooray stories are back! edit: after watching the full video, boy what a good story! Love the flavor!

[@cyanibexe4418]

Enjoy spring break with the family C-dog Johnson!!!! You've earned some time off!!!!

[@DnDDeepDive]

I'm going to start calling myself C-dog Johson now.

[@themightymoose5047]

Music and the spoken word had me cracking up 🤣

[@DnDDeepDive]

[@deschain1910]

I'm thinking it would be hilarious to make a bard like this who is outwardly super sweet, and it's only the enemies who ever understand how scary they are. Everyone else is wondering why enemies run away from them all the time.

[@Mr911superstar]

Playing a young girl with this concept 😂

[@evansmith2832]

Command is extremely underrated compared to dissonant whispers for this combo, it's control benefits are better by far than the lost 3d6 of damage and half on save in my opinion. Against a melee creature, after failing dissonant whispers and using its reaction to move up to its movement it can just use its movement again on its turn to immediately run straight back up to you; you would have to take a step back to prevent this but that's not always an option and the party barbarian probably won't want to. Against that same creature with the flee command on the other hand, the movement occurs on its turn and eats up its action because it must use the fastest available means i.e. dash, and then it has to wait the entire initiative order to move back, and since it's double its movement away it would have to dash again meaning it can't take the attack action for an entire second round. It even upcasts to target multiple creatures. TLDR: Dissonant whispers may or may not prevent a melee target from attacking you next turn, but casting command and saying flee will always prevent almost any melee target from attacking you for 2 turns. If you wanted to follow the kind of build in this video with more focus on control than on damage, I would highly recommend going custom lineage, picking up fey touched for command, and choosing the college of glamour subclass instead. On top of 2 very fun and unique tactical and roleplay features at level 3, it gets the ability to cast command as a bonus action using its concentration every round for a minute once per long rest at level 6. You essentially get to abuse the core combination of the build every round for an entire combat per day while keeping your action open without expending a single spell slot at the cost of your concentration. Enjoy!

[@gunndygaming]

Using Command works, but eliminates the ability to apply Psychic Blades damage to the opportunity attack as you can only apply Psychic Blades (AKA Bard Smite) on your turn. So from a damage standpoint Dissonant Whispers + Booming Blade + Psychic Blades is HUGE damage on a single swing. Also, a lot can happen in between casting Command and the enemies turn to nullify or otherwise effect the Command tactic.

[@lenny-822]

If you're optimizing to do the most damage with your single character, without regard to the party, then yes. But in a "real" combat (with allies etc.), once they fail their save on Command, some of your other allies (who take their turns after you but before the enemy) can run up next to you so that when it's the enemy's turn and Command triggers, you ALL get opportunity attacks. Additionally, it upcasts much better than DW does. (multiple targets vs. extra d6 of damage) Using a 3rd-level Command on the enemy you're fighting + the enemy the barbarian is fighting + the enemy the paladin is fighting can be absolutely massive in the right party.

[@evansmith2832]

@@gunndygaming I am aware, that's part of why I recommended glamor bard instead. And to be honest the damage stacking in this build using this combination specifically is antisynergetic, when you're doing that much damage your chance to hit becomes way more important so giving them a chance to save and avoid the attack roll entirely and delay the damage for a round is suboptimal. If you wanted to build around maximizing damage per spell slot spent, you might still be better off with command because if we assume they have to run back to you you can make use of polearm master to cast booming blade a second time whereas you wouldn't have gotten your reaction back in time with dissonant whispers. You could even get the secondary damage again as well if your weapon was a quarterstaff and you took the crusher feat. And even in the worst case scenario where command doesn't prevent them from attacking for a second round, you still always do for the first round when dissonant whispers might not, and even without the PAM combo I mentioned above the spell itself is only dealing an additional 8-9 damage on average, which could be much less than casting command instead would prevent depending on the scenario.

[@evansmith2832]

@@lenny-822 if you took a different approach to the build I don't even think single character damage wiuld be higher, I havent done the math yet. It still might be more damage in a single round but it's absolutely not as resource efficient, you'd absolutely get more damage over an adventuring day. Think polearm master and the crusher feat.

[@lenny-822]

@@evansmith2832 Like a lot of things, it depends on what a typical adventuring day looks like at your table.

[@OldmanSponge-g4d]

Haven't been able to keep up with your videos cuz of work but this one was another banger keep it up.

[@LawrenceDomkowski]

So, in William Shakespeare's Othello, does this mean Iago is a Whisper Bard? I like this. Also, consider a Bugbear Whisperer. Sneaking through the shadows while uttering horrors of horrors, warping the minds of the city guard...

[@Chris_the_Nerd]

Not sure if you're calculating both instances of Booming Blade's secondary, movement-triggered damage in your calculations, but I vaguely recall there being a ruling that Booming Blade could hit a character x number of times, but they would only take the movement damage once due to the rule about multiple instances of the same spell effect (i.e. the same rule that keeps you from doubling up on Bane or Slow, for example). I could be wrong, but some tables may still choose to play that way, so it might be worth mentioning.

[@DnDDeepDive]

Nope, just assuming that they take the movement damage once :)

[@Chris_the_Nerd]

@@DnDDeepDive Ah okay! Yeah, I sort of figured, but wanted to be sure. I still think I'd let players stack Booming Blade effects (maybe limiting it to coming from a different player so each player could have one Booming Blade on the target).

[@airone8893]

Just putting a build idea out there, “the duplicator”, an echo knight and an ancestral guardian barbarian with mirror image or something🤓 Someone who focuses on controlling the battlefield with as many duplicates at possible🤓

[@gamina8674]

You should check out this build by Treantmonk for sure then: kzbin.info/www/bejne/opPOamCEi7x9abs

[@airone8893]

@@gamina8674 Oh! Thank you! I subscribe to him and hadn’t ever seen this so I really appreciate it😁