D&D 5E Bardic Lore: A Basic College of Lore Bard Guide

gogins · May 23, 2015

I really like this guide! Thank you for your work!
I'm playing lightfoot halfling lore bard with my friends now and I have a few questions:
I really confused what spells to learn on lvl 6. My personal favourites are Aura of Vitality, Bless, Haste, Fireball. BUT we already have a sorcerer in our party who knows fireball and haste. And my role is more like disabler and healer. So I think AoV and Bless would be the right choice.
On the other hand I'm a big fan of Eldrich blast (warlock cantrip). On my 6th lvl it would be two d10 ranged attacks without spending spellslot which is pretty nice i think)) What you can say about eldrich blast? Is this worth it?
And one more question: since english is not my first language, I dont perfectly understand what does mean "but don't count
against the number of bard spells you know". Does it mean that at lvl 6 I can learn 9 bardic spells + 2 orher spells or I can learn 9 spells total which include 7 bardic spells + 2 other.
Thanks for your answers and sorry for my possible mistakes in my not perfect english

FormerlyHemlock · May 23, 2015

gogins said:
I really like this guide! Thank you for your work!
I'm playing lightfoot halfling lore bard with my friends now and I have a few questions:
I really confused what spells to learn on lvl 6. My personal favourites are Aura of Vitality, Bless, Haste, Fireball. BUT we already have a sorcerer in our party who knows fireball and haste. And my role is more like disabler and healer. So I think AoV and Bless would be the right choice.
On the other hand I'm a big fan of Eldrich blast (warlock cantrip). On my 6th lvl it would be two d10 ranged attacks without spending spellslot which is pretty nice i think)) What you can say about eldrich blast? Is this worth it?
And one more question: since english is not my first language, I dont perfectly understand what does mean "but don't count
against the number of bard spells you know". Does it mean that at lvl 6 I can learn 9 bardic spells + 2 orher spells or I can learn 9 spells total which include 7 bardic spells + 2 other.
Thanks for your answers and sorry for my possible mistakes in my not perfect english

Your first guess is correct: at 6th level a lore bard knows 11 spells total.

Eldritch Blast is nice, especially if you know the Hex spell and/or the Agonizing Blast or Repelling Blast invocations, but in your situation it's only a minor damage boost, and your teammates will probably appreciate Vicious Mockery more anyway for the protective benefits. Since your chosen role is disabler/healer, I would say that Aura of Vitality/Bless/Vicious Mockery is a much better package for you than Aura of Vitality/Eldritch Blast or Bless/Eldritch Blast.

Zardnaar · May 23, 2015

gogins said:
I really like this guide! Thank you for your work!
I'm playing lightfoot halfling lore bard with my friends now and I have a few questions:
I really confused what spells to learn on lvl 6. My personal favourites are Aura of Vitality, Bless, Haste, Fireball. BUT we already have a sorcerer in our party who knows fireball and haste. And my role is more like disabler and healer. So I think AoV and Bless would be the right choice.
On the other hand I'm a big fan of Eldrich blast (warlock cantrip). On my 6th lvl it would be two d10 ranged attacks without spending spellslot which is pretty nice i think)) What you can say about eldrich blast? Is this worth it?
And one more question: since english is not my first language, I dont perfectly understand what does mean "but don't count
against the number of bard spells you know". Does it mean that at lvl 6 I can learn 9 bardic spells + 2 orher spells or I can learn 9 spells total which include 7 bardic spells + 2 other.
Thanks for your answers and sorry for my possible mistakes in my not perfect english

I do not think you can steal eldritch blast as a spell but you can get it via feats. Haste is not that great if you have a sorcerer doing it already who can twin it. Bless would be a good pick or hunters quarry/hex if you have somehow picked up eldritch blast. An extra fireball or lighting bolt is always nice to have.

FormerlyHemlock · May 23, 2015

Zardnaar said:
I do not think you can steal eldritch blast as a spell but you can get it via feats. Haste is not that great if you have a sorcerer doing it already who can twin it. Bless would be a good pick or hunters quarry/hex if you have somehow picked up eldritch blast. An extra fireball or lighting bolt is always nice to have.

At my table, I'd say the opposite: there's nothing prohibiting you from stealing a cantrip as your spell of choice, but stealing Eldritch Blast via Magical Secrets is the only way to make it a bard spell and thus usable with Battle Magic, which lets you make a weapon attack as a bonus action whenever you cast a bard spell.

Zardnaar · May 24, 2015

Eldritch Blast doesn't count as a weapon attack AFAIK so it doesn't work with battle magic.

FormerlyHemlock · May 24, 2015

Zardnaar said:
Eldritch Blast doesn't count as a weapon attack AFAIK so it doesn't work with battle magic.

You misunderstand me. If you use Magical Secrets to steal Eldritch Blast, then you can Eldritch Blast and also make a weapon attack. It's not fantastic but it is an extra d8 + DX damage.

Zardnaar · May 25, 2015

emdw45 said:
You misunderstand me. If you use Magical Secrets to steal Eldritch Blast, then you can Eldritch Blast and also make a weapon attack. It's not fantastic but it is an extra d8 + DX damage.

True that but you may have better uses for your bonus action such a shield bash knocking them prone followed up by your 2 attacks plus the rest of the party. Eldritch blast without charismato damage is nothing special but could be nasty if a bard has also stolen hex.

FormerlyHemlock · May 25, 2015

I agree that Eldritch Blast without invocations or Hex is nothing special. In gogins' situation I would pick Aura of Vitality and Bless instead.

Zardnaar · May 25, 2015

You could steal eldritch blast+ hex but I would probably pick bless and one of the other spells. If you wanted to build a blaster bard for whatever reason stealing hex+fireball and getting eldritch blast via a feat might be an ok option.

Mistwell · May 27, 2015

I am still hoping you finish this guide [MENTION=6716779]Zardnaar[/MENTION], it's one of my favorites!

D&D 5E Bardic Lore: A Basic College of Lore Bard Guide

gogins

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