Zethnos
Explorer
Hey everyone!
Looking for some advice of the character I am planning. As I was typing it, it became sort of guide-ish.... but oh well, you will understand the build better.
Basic Character Info
Race: Half Elf or Human Variant (Not sure which yet, leaning to Half Elf.)
Classes: Bard 14/Warlock 6
Sub Classes: College of Lore Bard / Pact of the Tome - Archfey Warlock
Background: Guild Merchant Variant for an Artisan Guild
Languages: Common, Elvish, Goblin, (Draconic), & undercommon. (Draconic if Half Elf)
Skills: Insight, Persuasion, Stealth, Perception, Investigation, Deception, Acrobatics, (Slight of Hand), Arcana, & Animal Handling. (Slight of Hand if Half Elf)
Stats
Taking Bard 1st - 27 point buy stats (1st level)
Half Elf stats: Str- 10 | Dex- 16 | Con- 12 | Int- 10 | Wis- 10 | Cha- 17
Human Variant: Str- 10 | Dex- 16 | Con- 11 | Int- 10 | Wis- 10| Cha- 16 | Feat: Spell Sniper or Elemental Adept
Class Mechanics
I wanted to add the Warlock because it does add a few nice features to give the bard (which is known for lots of utility) even more utility (not a ton, but a decent amount).
- Warlock Pact & Invocations
The Pact of the Tome gives three extra cantrips of any class. This can be an awesome thing throughout the campaign. You can have a variety of damage types, more flavor stuff, or have more support. This makes you all around more versatile. With the Invocation, you start with two 1st level rituals of any class AND you can add rituals of a level you can cast afterwords. You can then cast them as if they were Warlock spells. This expands The spell utility even more.
The Eldritch Blast cantrip gives a high damage at will ability that at 5th level turns into two blasts. This means you no longer rely on a weapon to do damage. With the Agonizing Blast invocation it adds even more damage to the spell by adding your charisma mod. This pretty much is like having a crossbow and extra attack at 5th level.
At level 5 Warlock you also get a third invocation. This one I would probably say would be situational and dependent on the campaign. If I had to pick one for the sake of picking it, I would say most likely One With Shadows. It lets you become invisible in dim light or darkness. That one seems like it would be one of the more useful ones because it would be usable in almost all settings.
- Warlock: The Archfey
Next I would like to mention The Archfey features. You only get one spell from it not on the Bard spell list, but you are going to get two cool features that make this a minimal issue.
Fey Presence at first level will allowe you to try and charm/fear creatures in a 10-ft cube without using a spell slot. It recharges on a short rest so that isn't too bad. It certainly adds to your supporting ability and releaves a spell slot use. Instead of using a charm or fear spell use this first and if it fails and you really need the target(s) charmed you can use a spell slot.
Misty Escape at 6th level is also a very nice feature. If you take damage you can turn invisible and teleport up to 60 feet away. This can come in handy in many situations. Yes it is once per short rest and you do take damage, but it does help keep you safe without having to use a spell slot.
- Bard: College of Lore
This College just makes this build come to life. You start off with three aditional skills. You end up being proficient in 9 or 10 skills depending on race. That is half of the skills in the game at 9. Jack of all trades covers all other skills. This is awesome for helping on checks you will need to make through the campaign. You even gain experties in two skills at 3rd level and two more at 10th! 4 experties, 9-10 proficiencies, and everything else gets a boost from jack of all trades as well. I just love that!
Bardic Inspiration is a pretty good feature. It just gets better with Cutting Words. Bardic Inspiration Is great for helping your allies be able to attack, save, or use a skill and keep the party rolling smoothly. Cutting Words makes it so you can try to make your opponents fail attack rolls, do less damage, or fail saves. This puts your party at an advantage and can help you prevent using a spell slot on healing as often.
Aditional Magical Secrets Is just great. Another way to get more spells from any class. At 6th level you pick two spells from any class of a level you can cast on the bard table, or a cantrip. These spells are considered bard spells and don't count against total spells known. More and more utility.
Last but not least Peerless Skill. Remember how many skills we get with the Bard? Also, remember how great Bardic Inspiration is. Welp they both got better. You can now use Bardic Inspiration to help you make your ability checks even higher.
- Bard: Class Abilities
Font of Inspiration, you get your Bardic Inspiration back on a short or long rest. This lets you be able to aid your allies more often. Not only that, but your dice incsrease from d6 to d8 at 5th level.
At 6th level you gain Countercharm. As an action, you and anyone with in 30 feet of you has advantage against being charmed or feared. This could come quite in handy when facing another powerful caster that can do these things. You can cast it as often as you want, no spell slot use, so that is just awesome.
Now, to bring it on home, Magical Secrets. At 10th level, you get another 2 spells from any list at a level you can cast or a cantrip. These however count into the number of spells known. Even though they ar enot just two extra spells, you still get to pick any spells you want from any class. More and more utility. Always a good thing.
Conclusion
Not only do you get more variety of spells, but taking the Warlock to level 6 gives you two 3rd level spell slots that are rechargeable on a short rest. Hello Healing Word, Cure Wounds, Mass Healing Word, and Prayer of Healing. I just really like all of the utility you get from this build
You can be pretty much be any kind caster you want. You do lose some spell slots, but not enough for it to really hurt you. You end up with more spells than you would normally get just by going regular bard.
I really like this build, but if you guys see anything I can do to "fix" it, please let me know. I am open to suggestions.
Looking for some advice of the character I am planning. As I was typing it, it became sort of guide-ish.... but oh well, you will understand the build better.
Basic Character Info
Race: Half Elf or Human Variant (Not sure which yet, leaning to Half Elf.)
Classes: Bard 14/Warlock 6
Sub Classes: College of Lore Bard / Pact of the Tome - Archfey Warlock
Background: Guild Merchant Variant for an Artisan Guild
Languages: Common, Elvish, Goblin, (Draconic), & undercommon. (Draconic if Half Elf)
Skills: Insight, Persuasion, Stealth, Perception, Investigation, Deception, Acrobatics, (Slight of Hand), Arcana, & Animal Handling. (Slight of Hand if Half Elf)
Stats
Taking Bard 1st - 27 point buy stats (1st level)
Half Elf stats: Str- 10 | Dex- 16 | Con- 12 | Int- 10 | Wis- 10 | Cha- 17
Human Variant: Str- 10 | Dex- 16 | Con- 11 | Int- 10 | Wis- 10| Cha- 16 | Feat: Spell Sniper or Elemental Adept
Class Mechanics
I wanted to add the Warlock because it does add a few nice features to give the bard (which is known for lots of utility) even more utility (not a ton, but a decent amount).
- Warlock Pact & Invocations
The Pact of the Tome gives three extra cantrips of any class. This can be an awesome thing throughout the campaign. You can have a variety of damage types, more flavor stuff, or have more support. This makes you all around more versatile. With the Invocation, you start with two 1st level rituals of any class AND you can add rituals of a level you can cast afterwords. You can then cast them as if they were Warlock spells. This expands The spell utility even more.
The Eldritch Blast cantrip gives a high damage at will ability that at 5th level turns into two blasts. This means you no longer rely on a weapon to do damage. With the Agonizing Blast invocation it adds even more damage to the spell by adding your charisma mod. This pretty much is like having a crossbow and extra attack at 5th level.
At level 5 Warlock you also get a third invocation. This one I would probably say would be situational and dependent on the campaign. If I had to pick one for the sake of picking it, I would say most likely One With Shadows. It lets you become invisible in dim light or darkness. That one seems like it would be one of the more useful ones because it would be usable in almost all settings.
- Warlock: The Archfey
Next I would like to mention The Archfey features. You only get one spell from it not on the Bard spell list, but you are going to get two cool features that make this a minimal issue.
Fey Presence at first level will allowe you to try and charm/fear creatures in a 10-ft cube without using a spell slot. It recharges on a short rest so that isn't too bad. It certainly adds to your supporting ability and releaves a spell slot use. Instead of using a charm or fear spell use this first and if it fails and you really need the target(s) charmed you can use a spell slot.
Misty Escape at 6th level is also a very nice feature. If you take damage you can turn invisible and teleport up to 60 feet away. This can come in handy in many situations. Yes it is once per short rest and you do take damage, but it does help keep you safe without having to use a spell slot.
- Bard: College of Lore
This College just makes this build come to life. You start off with three aditional skills. You end up being proficient in 9 or 10 skills depending on race. That is half of the skills in the game at 9. Jack of all trades covers all other skills. This is awesome for helping on checks you will need to make through the campaign. You even gain experties in two skills at 3rd level and two more at 10th! 4 experties, 9-10 proficiencies, and everything else gets a boost from jack of all trades as well. I just love that!
Bardic Inspiration is a pretty good feature. It just gets better with Cutting Words. Bardic Inspiration Is great for helping your allies be able to attack, save, or use a skill and keep the party rolling smoothly. Cutting Words makes it so you can try to make your opponents fail attack rolls, do less damage, or fail saves. This puts your party at an advantage and can help you prevent using a spell slot on healing as often.
Aditional Magical Secrets Is just great. Another way to get more spells from any class. At 6th level you pick two spells from any class of a level you can cast on the bard table, or a cantrip. These spells are considered bard spells and don't count against total spells known. More and more utility.
Last but not least Peerless Skill. Remember how many skills we get with the Bard? Also, remember how great Bardic Inspiration is. Welp they both got better. You can now use Bardic Inspiration to help you make your ability checks even higher.
- Bard: Class Abilities
Font of Inspiration, you get your Bardic Inspiration back on a short or long rest. This lets you be able to aid your allies more often. Not only that, but your dice incsrease from d6 to d8 at 5th level.
At 6th level you gain Countercharm. As an action, you and anyone with in 30 feet of you has advantage against being charmed or feared. This could come quite in handy when facing another powerful caster that can do these things. You can cast it as often as you want, no spell slot use, so that is just awesome.
Now, to bring it on home, Magical Secrets. At 10th level, you get another 2 spells from any list at a level you can cast or a cantrip. These however count into the number of spells known. Even though they ar enot just two extra spells, you still get to pick any spells you want from any class. More and more utility. Always a good thing.
Conclusion
Not only do you get more variety of spells, but taking the Warlock to level 6 gives you two 3rd level spell slots that are rechargeable on a short rest. Hello Healing Word, Cure Wounds, Mass Healing Word, and Prayer of Healing. I just really like all of the utility you get from this build
You can be pretty much be any kind caster you want. You do lose some spell slots, but not enough for it to really hurt you. You end up with more spells than you would normally get just by going regular bard.I really like this build, but if you guys see anything I can do to "fix" it, please let me know. I am open to suggestions.
