D&D 5E [GUIDE] A party without music is lame: A Bard Guide

[mellored]

Right, I meant "competing" with Cutting Words (and Counterspell) in terms of just eating up your reaction for the round. So a little bit of competition. I'm personally playing a game right now with my Lore Bard supporting a melee/hand crossbow crossbow expert spell-less Ranger, a sword and board Eldritch Knight, a Hexblade (and a Land Druid), so lots of potential attacks to reroll. Not to mention 1's rolled on saves.

Yea. Seems pretty good for that group.

 

[Brashnir1]

Any thoughts on Steel Wind Strike as a Magical Secrets spell? Seems like it would be useful - as well as thematic for a Valor/Swords build - and you could get advantage on all the attacks if used in conjunction with Greater Invisibility. Not as good as Destructive Wave, but an interesting thematic alternative.

 

[dontspamjay]

From the Lore Bard's Cutting Words feature:

However, it works on initiative, and cutting the solo dragons initiative is the same as boosting your entire parties. It can also let you burn 2 dice on the same roll, such as boosting an assassins initiative while cutting the dragons, or double up on a grapple check, though that's pricey.

How could a Lore Bard "burn 2 dice on the same role to boost a friendly and cut an enemy?"

 

[mellored]

Any thoughts on Steel Wind Strike as a Magical Secrets spell? Seems like it would be useful - as well as thematic for a Valor/Swords build - and you could get advantage on all the attacks if used in conjunction with Greater Invisibility. Not as good as Destructive Wave, but an interesting thematic alternative.

It's pretty nice, if you have some way of boosting your attack. Like greater invisbility.

But most bards will lack the Str/Dex to manage.

 

[mellored]

From the Lore Bard's Cutting Words feature:



How could a Lore Bard "burn 2 dice on the same role to boost a friendly and cut an enemy?"

Use the regular bardic inspiration as a bonus action.
And cutting words as a reaction.

 

[Brashnir1]

It's pretty nice, if you have some way of boosting your attack. Like greater invisbility.

But most bards will lack the Str/Dex to manage.

It's actually a melee spell attack, which would use the bard's spellcasting ability unless I'm misunderstanding a rule. This also means that it's not helped by magic weapons - a bit of a handicap. And yes, I was planning a character who used greater invisibility and that was a factor in what I liked about the spell. (She's also a multi-classed hexblade, so the ability modifier issue was moot in my specific case anyway)

Ultimately, I ended up not taking it due to the makeup of the party. The Bard's true curse.

 

[mellored]

It's actually a melee spell attack, which would use the bard's spellcasting ability unless I'm misunderstanding a rule. This also means that it's not helped by magic weapons - a bit of a handicap. And yes, I was planning a character who used greater invisibility and that was a factor in what I liked about the spell. (She's also a multi-classed hexblade, so the ability modifier issue was moot in my specific case anyway)

Ultimately, I ended up not taking it due to the makeup of the party. The Bard's true curse.

You're right about it being a spell attack. So Cha works fine.

But still, it's only good if you get an attack boost (advantage) otherwise take destructive wave.
Compare.

steel wind strike: vs AC, 6d10 (33) in a 30' range (max 5 creatures), nothing on a miss.
vs
destructive wave: vs Con, 10d6 (35) + prone in a 30' range (no maximum), + half on a save.

 

[Brashnir1]

You're right about it being a spell attack. So Cha works fine.

But still, it's only good if you get an attack boost (advantage) otherwise take destructive wave.
Compare.

steel wind strike: vs AC, 6d10 (33) in a 30' range (max 5 creatures), nothing on a miss.
vs
destructive wave: vs Con, 10d6 (35) + prone in a 30' range (no maximum), + half on a save.

Yep, agreed on all points. SWS has the added bonus of mobility, while DW can knock targets prone. Being an attack rather than a save spell also means that SWS can crit.

DW is better overall and more versatile, but I think SWS is viable and interesting for the right type of character.

 

[moskatero]

Solid guide, also I love Mercer's College of the maestro

 

[JPRKS]

[Deleted].