D&D 5E [GUIDE] NADRIGOL's Melee Bladesinger Guide

Blue said:

How do you address the point I brought up?

That even with Bladesinging for INT to AC, you are limited to light armor so you need DEX as well if you plan on being in melee. And if you are limited to one handed weapons due to blade song and have DEX for attack, does INT bring enough to the table to be three classes levels of spells known behind?

Assuming point buy, tier 1 & 2 you haven't maxed both INT and DEX. Either way you have buffs and other non-offensive spells. If you are prioritizing INT, then your offensive spells (spell attack or save) at your best and you do not have the AC to spend a lot of time in melee. If you are prioritizing DEX, then melee works well but your offensive spells aren't as good.

Battlesmith still doesn't give you the AC to go into melee without DEX because of bladesong's limitations on armor. So you can't regularly make use of INT to weapons until you raise your DEX. Which works just as well as INT for attacks. If you can't regularly make attacks, is the three level diversion from being a primary caster worth it for the occasional attack?

Now, if you are looking to be an archer, or you're doing it for the other things artificer give you - go for it. And start Artificier for the CON saves.

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You only melee when you can use bladesong. You are still a wizard not a fighter.
Other option is high rolled stats.

Zardnaar said:

You only melee when you can use bladesong. You are still a wizard not a fighter.
Other option is high rolled stats.

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The conversation going on was to spend three levels in Artificer (Bladesmith) to use INT for attack/damage. In other words, becoming a lot less of a wizard to be more of a fighter.

Even with bladesong active, you need a good DEX to go into melee because bladesong locks you to light (or no) armor and no shield.

So your point is against what the other poster is looking for.

Blue said:

The conversation going on was to spend three levels in Artificer (Bladesmith) to use INT for attack/damage. In other words, becoming a lot less of a wizard to be more of a fighter.

Even with bladesong active, you need a good DEX to go into melee because bladesong locks you to light (or no) armor and no shield.

So your point is against what the other poster is looking for.

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3 levels of Artificer probably not worth it. You'll be tempted to take a 4th for the ASI.

Hey all,

I finally have a chance to play! ( I DM quite a lot ). The campaign we are doing is a module for Waterdeep Heist and then going into Dungeon of the Mad Mage. So 1-20.
Originally i wanted to be a conman rogue who is the face of the party but because everyone else is having high charisma i get to be a bladesinger !
I have spoken to the DM and i currently have confirmed i can play human variant. The feat i am going with is Warcaster because OF COURSE.
My character is going to be Esvele Rosznar's nephew.
The question i have is at level 1 should i go Fighter, rogue or straight into a wizard. I am currently thinking about being either a 17 wizard with 3 levels in another class or an 18 wizard with 2 levels in another class.
I know fighter is brilliant for the +4 hp, second wind & fighting style which i was going to go with two wepon fighting. ( This would probably lead into a 1 fighter, 19 wizard )
Or rogue, + 2hp, sneak attack + 2 expertise thinking about stealth and slight of hand, being a thief / etc.
Thinking about leading into a swashbuckler to capitalize on booming blade but will turn into a 3 rogue 17 wizard.

What do ya'll think?

I'm playing Dragon Heist for half year (4hours per week) and I can offer - VHuman Rogue-Bladesinger (if DM allow it), background - spy, Feat - Observant, Expertize in perception and investigation.

delph said:

I'm playing Dragon Heist for half year (4hours per week) and I can offer - VHuman Rogue-Bladesinger (if DM allow it), background - spy, Feat - Observant, Expertize in perception and investigation.

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Feat is Warcaster so i can use wepons.
Why waste a feat on expertise when you can use rogues ?

SunnyKasu said:

Hey all,

I finally have a chance to play! ( I DM quite a lot ). The campaign we are doing is a module for Waterdeep Heist and then going into Dungeon of the Mad Mage. So 1-20.
Originally i wanted to be a conman rogue who is the face of the party but because everyone else is having high charisma i get to be a bladesinger !
I have spoken to the DM and i currently have confirmed i can play human variant. The feat i am going with is Warcaster because OF COURSE.
My character is going to be Esvele Rosznar's nephew.
The question i have is at level 1 should i go Fighter, rogue or straight into a wizard. I am currently thinking about being either a 17 wizard with 3 levels in another class or an 18 wizard with 2 levels in another class.
I know fighter is brilliant for the +4 hp, second wind & fighting style which i was going to go with two wepon fighting. ( This would probably lead into a 1 fighter, 19 wizard )
Or rogue, + 2hp, sneak attack + 2 expertise thinking about stealth and slight of hand, being a thief / etc.
Thinking about leading into a swashbuckler to capitalize on booming blade but will turn into a 3 rogue 17 wizard.

What do ya'll think?

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There are a lot of ways to play a bladesinger; it sounds like you want to play up the melee-gish aspect?

I think the only dip I would consider before hitting wizard 5 is maybe fighter 1, and that only because if you take fighter 1 later you don't get the CON save proficiency that comes with it. For anything else or any more fighter levels I'd wait until at least after you have your second attack. But even fighter 1 has reduced value for you since you will already have great concentration saves between bladesong and war caster, so your best bet might be to just stay straight wizard, at least until 6th level.

If you do decide to dip fighter, I would also consider whether a single weapon (with dueling or defense style if dipping fighter) would suit you better than TWF, for two reasons: First, if dipping fighter off the bat, you will have two levels (5th and 6th) when you only have one attack but the blade cantrips are doing extra damage automatically. But since they are not the attack action, you can't combine blade cantrips and TWF (at least not RAW). Second, you need your bonus action to start bladesong, and in addition, if you decide to use Shadow Blade, you will also need your bonus action to cast that. You might also want to do other things sometimes, like Misty Step, cast Animate Objects or Bigby's Hand, etc. that use your bonus action. So you probably don't want to have a major class feature (your fighting style) tied up in using your bonus action every round.

Anyone try Dual Weilder feat for two one handed standard weapons, battle axes or longswords help damage rate math?

Magiathrandil said:

Anyone try Dual Weilder feat for two one handed standard weapons, battle axes or longswords help damage rate math?

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Usually use the bonus action for flaming sphere. Or cast Shadow Blade

SunnyKasu said:

Or rogue, + 2hp, sneak attack + 2 expertise thinking about stealth and slight of hand, being a thief / etc.
Thinking about leading into a swashbuckler to capitalize on booming blade but will turn into a 3 rogue 17 wizard.

Click to expand...

Swashbuckler 3 is nice if you don't have another way to reliably trigger Sneak Attack, and you're right that the free Disengage is potentially handy when combined with Booming Blade. But you won't be relying on Booming Blade much once you hit Bladesinger 6 and get your Extra Attack, and one of its main features relies on CHA, whereas you'll be focusing primarily on DEX and INT. So I don't think Swashbuckler is necessarily the most optimal choice.

Arcane Trickster 3 is worth considering for a Bladesinger. You get a few extra Cantrips and 1st Level spells known, and a extra effective caster level for purposes of spell slots. The Mage Hand improvements are nifty too, for a creative player.

Mastermind 3 is another solid choice, depending on party composition. The Bonus Action 30 Foot Help is fantastic if you have another party member who greatly benefits from Advantage, such as another Rogue, or especially something like a Crit-fishing Champion Fighter or Heroism Paladin with Elven Accuracy.

And if UA is allowed, Revived 3 gets you some reliable ranged 2d6+DEX damage each round through Bolts from the Grave, even on rounds when you cast spells, or when you miss with your melee Sneak Attacks.

I've been wanting to try out a Revived 3/Bladesinger X ever since that UA came out. Seems like it'd be a great Striker... Move into melee range, Attack or Booming Blade, Bonus Action Disengage, shoot Bolts from the Grave, then move away. Or if one of your initial attack hits and Sneak Attack is available, you can just expend it there and not worry about Bolts from the Grave. Or if you want to cast a spell that round, you can then still Dash/Disengage and shoot Bolts from the Grave during that turn. Sort of makes Bolts from the Grave a quasi-"Bonus Action Cantrip". (Although it wouldn't scale above 2d6 in this build, the tradeoff is you're still benefitting from your Bonus Action Cunning Action that turn.) Seems like a really fun and flavorful mobile character, especially in Tier 2 play, from Revived 3/Bladesinger 2 through Revived 3/Bladesinger 7.