Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="EzekielRaiden" data-source="post: 9587688" data-attributes="member: 6790260">5.5e false life lasts either indefinitely, or at the very least  until you take a long rest. (5.5e rules about THP are new, and it's not clear exactly when they expire.) So there's no need to wait to cast it, you do that when you wake up in the morning. And then shield gets your lowest-level slots, since it doesn't scale at all. Mage armor is likewise cast at the start of the day, and works fantastically well with Bladesong (since that provides a bonus to AC, not an alternate AC calculation like mage armor). So...this entire response is completely irrelevant, because you do this specific type of preparation well in advance of any fight breaking out, and shield is a reaction so there's no need to futz with that either.You really don't need that many though. The Wizard gets at least two castings of false life at their highest spell level per day, assuming the party takes at least one short rest...and if they don't even need to take one short rest for a day, that means the Wizard got to blow through ALL of their spell slots before the day ended!Here's the table (total slots at max level <=5) counting Arcane Recovery in parentheses). Starting at 3rd level since that's when subclasses come online, and it was specified that this is a Bladesinger Wizard.[SPOILER="Table"]<table style='width: 50%'><tr><td style='width: 33.3333%'>Level</td><td style='width: 33.3333%'># slots</td><td style='width: 33.3333%'>THP/top slot <=5</td></tr><tr><td style='width: 33.3333%'>3</td><td style='width: 33.3333%'>2 (3)</td><td style='width: 33.3333%'>14</td></tr><tr><td style='width: 33.3333%'>4</td><td style='width: 33.3333%'>3 (4)</td><td style='width: 33.3333%'>14</td></tr><tr><td style='width: 33.3333%'>5</td><td style='width: 33.3333%'>2 (3)</td><td style='width: 33.3333%'>19</td></tr><tr><td style='width: 33.3333%'>6</td><td style='width: 33.3333%'>3 (4)</td><td style='width: 33.3333%'>19</td></tr><tr><td style='width: 33.3333%'>7</td><td style='width: 33.3333%'>1 (2)</td><td style='width: 33.3333%'>24</td></tr><tr><td style='width: 33.3333%'>8</td><td style='width: 33.3333%'>2 (3)</td><td style='width: 33.3333%'>24</td></tr><tr><td style='width: 33.3333%'>9</td><td style='width: 33.3333%'>1 (2)</td><td style='width: 33.3333%'>29</td></tr><tr><td style='width: 33.3333%'>10</td><td style='width: 33.3333%'>2 (3)</td><td style='width: 33.3333%'>29</td></tr><tr><td style='width: 33.3333%'>11</td><td style='width: 33.3333%'>2 (3)</td><td style='width: 33.3333%'>29</td></tr><tr><td style='width: 33.3333%'>12</td><td style='width: 33.3333%'>2 (3)</td><td style='width: 33.3333%'>29</td></tr><tr><td style='width: 33.3333%'>13</td><td style='width: 33.3333%'>2 (3)</td><td style='width: 33.3333%'>29</td></tr><tr><td style='width: 33.3333%'>14</td><td style='width: 33.3333%'>2 (3)</td><td style='width: 33.3333%'>29</td></tr><tr><td style='width: 33.3333%'>15</td><td style='width: 33.3333%'>2 (3)</td><td style='width: 33.3333%'>29</td></tr><tr><td style='width: 33.3333%'>16</td><td style='width: 33.3333%'>2 (3)</td><td style='width: 33.3333%'>29</td></tr><tr><td style='width: 33.3333%'>17</td><td style='width: 33.3333%'>2 (3)</td><td style='width: 33.3333%'>29</td></tr><tr><td style='width: 33.3333%'>18</td><td style='width: 33.3333%'>3 (4)</td><td style='width: 33.3333%'>29</td></tr><tr><td style='width: 33.3333%'>19</td><td style='width: 33.3333%'>3 (5)</td><td style='width: 33.3333%'>29</td></tr><tr><td style='width: 33.3333%'>20</td><td style='width: 33.3333%'>3 (5)</td><td style='width: 33.3333%'>29</td></tr></table>[/SPOILER]So this Bladesinger Wizard is getting 28-42 THP per day at third level. By sixth level, when she gets Extra Attack, it's 57 to 76, not quite double but still pretty chonky. Assuming moderate Con investment (e.g. Dex/Int are 16, Con is next highest stat at 14), this Wizard has 20 HP at level 3 and 38 at level 4, meaning if you spend all your highest spell slots on false life THP, you're getting literally double your maximum HP, just spread out over four uses (meaning, you get a quarter of your max HP as a free buffer for four combats a day). Plus, shield to almost guaranteed revoke 3+ successful attack rolls...assuming all that many things can hit your 19 AC in the first place while in Bladesong (13 base + 3 Dex mod + 3 Int mod), meaning equal to +1 full plate, or one less than full plate + shield while still having a free hand.So...if you have to blow all of your max-level and min-level slots on defense and THP, you're as tanky as a Wild Heart Barbarian who always uses Bear, assuming said Wild Heart Barbarian gets at least one short rest a day. Taking half damage is pretty much identical to doubling your HP, except that the Barbarian doesn't resist all types (and actually resists fewer types now than it did in 5.0: in addition to psychic, it's now also force, necrotic, and radiant, and the necrotic in particular is a meaningful loss), while THP don't care.And from level 5 onward, you now also have all your spell slots that aren't 1st level or max level to spend on...whatever you want. So your extra utility power only grows. Not to mention rituals! And this is also ignoring your Origin Feat, which should almost surely be Tough or Magic Initiate, though Lucky and Alert are both also nice for different reasons. Tough gives you twice your level in bonus HP, functionally bumping you up to a d8 hit die; Magic Initiate makes mage armor functionally free and gives you more cantrips.Except it isn't entirely fantasy anymore in 5.5e, because now the Wizard can change out a prepared spell with every short rest. Were this 5.0 or even 3.x/PF1, you'd be correct (though just a dollop of forethought often dramatically narrowed the difference between "perfectly prepared" and "as prepared as I can be"). But 5.5e has added the "Memorize Spell" feature:Also, note that the new spell can be of any level, not just the level of the original spell, so it's supremely flexible. At 3rd, the Wizard has six spots for prepared spells, so yes, you're spending half your prepared spells on false life, mage armor, and shield...but the other half can be anything you want. At 6th, you don't need any more than those three spells still, but your number of prepared spells has increased by four, to 10--meaning you have more than twice as many flexible spells as your three "I need these for tanking" spells. (Magic Initiate notably gets rid of both a prepared spell and the slot spent to cast it, hence why it's such a desirable Origin feat for this tanky Wizard.)You don't need Concentration for any of the spells I've mentioned, and even if you did, Bladesong gives you +Int to your Concentration checks. Once you've maxed out your Intelligence, you could then pick up War Caster or Resilient (Con); the benefits roughly break even.That naturally doesn't mean that Concentration is irrelevant, nor that these things ensure that you'll never fail. You sometimes will. But between Con+Int up to level 11 (while in Bladesong) and Con+Int+(Proficiency or Advantage) thereafter, you're certainly going to do pretty well. If I'm being honest though, there aren't that many particularly good Concentration spells at 1st or 2nd level...maybe suggestion? Spell level 3rd is when you get the good ones, like haste, fly, and spirit shroud (assuming your DM allows you to use 5.0 spells that haven't been updated yet.)I hope I have shown how these restrictions are...rather softer than you had indicated. They really are there, and the "tank" Bladesinger does need to mind them. But they aren't crippling, and by level 6 when the subclass is essentially fully operational, they're far more speedbump than roadblock. Being a tank as good as, or better than, a Wild Heart Barbarian, while still having other slots to play around with, would seem to be kind of a problem, since being mondo tanky is kind of the Wild Heart Barbarian's shtick.</blockquote>

Verification