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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Zardnaar" data-source="post: 6387871" data-attributes="member: 6716779">Spells Cantrips BladewardWith no way to cast this spell as a bonus action it is kind of a bad spell for bards to take as you have to give up your action to cast it. It may be remotely useful to help maintain a great concentration spell you care about.Dancing LightsMight be useful sometimes and in social situations if you want to make entertain guests or something. FriendsA poor man's charm person. Gets the job done I suppose. LightUseful spell but the cleric should be casting this not you. Mage Hand One could get creative with this spell. Good utility.MendingNextMessageThe relative short range of this spell and its situational utility means it is best avoided IMHO.Minor IllusionThis spell is really only limited by ones imagination. Could be used as a distraction, entertainment, etc. PrestidigitationSee Minor IllusionTrue StrikeTakes an action to cast and it is concentration. Avoid.Vicious MockeryThe best bard cantrip in the game and probably one of the best cantrips full stop. Why have you not taken this if you are a bard?Level OneAnimal FriendshipYou are a bard and not a Druid<img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" /> You have better options.BaneA debuff spell that scales well throughout the whole game. Also a charisma save as well. Combines well with cutting words to really make NPCs cry.Charm PersonEh it is OK, not as good as previous editions of the game. Comprehend LanguagesBetter for classes with spellbooks as known spells are a precious commodity for Bards.Cure WoundsA great spell that scales and what happens if the cleric goes down? Not very sexy though and you may be hard pressed to take it due to your limited spell slots.Detect MagicA good spell but not for the bard due to limited spell slots. The Cleric or Wizard should have this spell instead as it is also a ritual.Disguise Self.A good spell that would move up to a blue rating in a social setting. Very useful outside combat only limited by your imagination.Dissonant WhispersA bard exclusive spell that seems to be one of the few forced movement type spells that grants an attack of opportunity. A rare spell on the bard spell list that deals damage and it can get to be an absurd amount of damage depending on your party make up. Faerie FireOn of the best buff spells in the game. For the College of Lore Bard it is more why have you not picked this spell? It is a somewhat rare spell as well with the Druid being the only other class that can cast the spell or a light cleric or Archfey Warlocks the only other classes with the ability to get this spell.Feather FallTo situational for your limited spell known, not a bad spell as such.Healing WordSomewhat useful in emergencies but you are not a cleric. If you are the party healer for some weird reason take the healing feat instead.HeroismSomewhat situational but bonus hit points are always nice and in the right situation this spell will be blue or light blue. IdentifySee detect magicIllusory ScriptMarginal use even in non combat situations. Slightly better in a spy type setting or campaign.LongstriderA decent enough spell that increases movement by 10 for an hour. No concentration required. Always useful but you probably have better options.Silent ImageIllusions can be hard to adjudicate at times and it depends on your DM to some extent and the player as well. Could be blue for creative players.SleepThis spell is light blue at level 1 and it is still usefull as you level up as long as you use it on damage enemies. It has no saving throw and is a big I win button at lower levels.Speak With Animals.A bit to situational for a bard spell. Rated gold for furbies and cat fanciers PCs however. Tasha's Hideous LaughterA poor mans hold person at level 1. A target failing its save is incapacitated and prone.ThunderwaveA rare AoE that deals damage and can be used to push opponents away from the Bard. Unseen ServantAnother one of those it can be good in certain situations type spells. Level TwoAnimal MessengerYou are not a Druid.Blindness/DeafnessNot bad vs enemy spell casters as it is a constitution save. This spell also requires no concentration and blinded opponents have disadvantage to hit and you get advantage to hit them. Spellcasters can also struggle to hit with the spell.Calm Emotions An AoE charisma save spell that pacifies the targets. Also useful in out of combat situations and it can be used to suppress frightened or charmed effects as well.Cloud of DaggersAn easily avoided effect that only targets a single square for middling damage. You would be better off using a level 2 spell slot for one of your level 1 spells.Crown of MadnessMore or less a dominate type effect. Not only can you remove a humanoid from a combat you can get it to attack its own allies. Not bad for a level 2 spell.Detect ThoughtsAnother one of those great in certain situations type spells.Enhance AbilityThis spell grants advantage and some other benefits for an hour on yourself or an ally on an ability score of your choice. Has great out of combat uses along with things like advantage on initiative checks if you pick dexterity.EnthrallCould be used to distract some guards I suppose but not overly useful in most situations.Heat MetalOne of those spells that was buffed from earlier editions of the game. 2d8 recurring damage on every turn and disadvantage on attack rolls if they can't drop it. Makes heavy armor users cry.Hold PersonHold person more or less doing what it always has. Wisdom save or be paralysed. Very good spell.InvisibilitySo many uses both in and outside combat. One of the best spells in successive editions over the years.KnockIf you really must get that door pen, do not mind creating a noise and sucking up a precious spell know slot. Not really worth it at least for a bard. Good spell though.Lesser RestorationGood utility spell that can end conditions. Even better on a scroll but it is what it is. Locate Animals or PlantsCan be a good spell just not for bards as it is to situational with your limited spells knownLocate ObjectSee locate animals or plantsMagic MouthNot a good bard spell. To situational with a limited effect to be worth taking even outside combat.Phantasmal ForceIllusions are always DM dependent and thus can be hard to rate or use.See InvisibilitySituational. Brilliant when relevant, otherwise useless. This means it is of limited use to a bard. ShatterAn AoE attack spell that deals decent damage but nothing to outstanding. Still if you have your heart set on a blaster bad it is one of your best options at this level.SilenceOn of those spells that is brilliant when it works as it shuts down spells with a verbal component. You can use it creatively outside combat for sneaking about as well.SuggestionMore or less does the same thing suggestion has always done. "These are not the droids you are looking for" can make the Bard into a bit of a Jedi so to speak. Has combat and social uses.Zone of TruthGood spell but situational makes it hard to justify knowing as a Bard. Level Three Bestow Curse: A nasty debuff spell but you have to hit the target and they get a saving throw. Lore bards probably do not want to be in melee combat that often either. Still can make an opponent cry though.Clairvoyance: More or less does what it always does. Could be red could be light blue depending on the campaign. Dispel Magic: Automatically dispels spells of level 1-3. Always handy to have available. Fear: Wisdom save spell in effect and makes people run away from you and hits a 30'cone.Feign Death: Situational and you have a very small amount of spells usually means it is sub par for a bard spell.Glyph of Warding: More of an NPC type spell but decent enough I suppose. Probably campaign dependent on how good it is makes it hard to rate. I'll rate it black as it is fun to use on PCs.Hypnotic Pattern: In practice this spell is at best big I win button or usually a massive tempo loss for NPCs at the worst. Very brutal level 3 spell with a great area of effect and will likely make your DM cry.Leomunds Tiny Hut: Great spell- for wizards. Funny if the enemy doesn't have access to dispel magic but it is a itual which is nice. Limited spells known make it hard for bards to justify taking it though.Major Image: Great spell but perhaps limited by DMs and/or campaign world. Like most illusions it may be great or achieve nothing. I would probably rate it blue for myself YMMV though.Nondetection: Limited use, lack of spells known probably adds up to this spell being better off avoided.Plant Growth: Severely screws up movement in the spells area of effect and it has some non combat uses as well. I like this spell. Sending: Magical cell phone I suppose. Could be marginally better in some game, probably best avoided for the usual reasons. Speak with Dead/Plants: Useful some of the time but you really do have better options.Stinking Cloud: A decent control spell the only real downside is that its a con save and NPC monsters often have a decent con score. Spell may not work on various creatures as well.Tongues: Bards are good at persuasion, tongues lets you communicate with your mark.Magical Secrets.A lore bard can steal spells off other classes spell lists. This is any class and in several cases you can get spells before classes like the Paladin and Ranger. A few of the obvious candidates.Aura of Vitality: One of the best healing spells in the game. 20d6 healing spread over 10 rounds. You can also get it 3 levels earlier than a pure Paladin. Compare with a cure spell cast in a level 3 slot- 3d8+ wisdom modifier.Bless: Just because you can take 2 level 3 spells doesn't mean you have to as you only have so many slots to go around anyway. Probably one of the best buff spells in the game and it is very efficient. I would rate this spell gold if you have the warcaster feat.Eldritch BlastBard spells do not tend to do much damage. Without hex and charisma to damage though this spell is not all that. However you can steal hex and/or hunters quarry as well. Fireball: The lore bard doesn't tend to do much damage. Well fireball can fix that. Fireball out damages most other spells and has a larger area of effect.Haste:This spell is great if you have a Barbarian, Ranger, Avenger Paladin or warrior type that can reliably hit with the -5 to hit +10 damage part of Great Weapon Master or the Sharpshooter feat. If you do not have one of those examples in your party haste is rated as a blue spell.HexYou are probably better off using bless but you might have a bless bot cleric in the party already. You may also want to play a blaster bard and stealing this spell+ eldritch blast ramps up your bards damage dealing ability. Hex also gets the nod over hunters quarry as you also grant disadvantage on strength or dexterity based skills which can be a lot of fun if someone else in the party has the shield master feat or just likes knocking people prone. Level 4 CompulsionHow nasty this spell is depends on the party composition and builds. Can in effect be a wisdom save or die type spell via triggered attacks of opportunity. ConfusionNasty save or suck type spell in an area of effect. Brutalizes NPCs. Would be rated higher but has a small AoE, doesn't impose any crippling conditions as such and it is competing with better spells. Targets wisdom as well which is an advantage vs a lot of NPC monsters.Dimension Door A spell that should be good but it comes at a steep price of a precious spell known and a spell slot to cast it. Sometimes it is great, sometimes a bit meh. Has out of combat uses as well though for the inventive player.Freedom of MovementAnother situational spell. When its great its great other times it is useless. Greater InvisibilityProbably the best level 4 bard spell available and good for the valor bard as well. Lets you attack or cast a spell while invisible. Remember that while invisible you have advantage to hit and they have disadvantage to hit you. Very good spell on a Rogue or PC using the Great Weapon or Sharpshooter feats as it helps negate the -5 to hit  +10 damage part of the feat.  Defensive and offensive and out of combat applications of the spell make it great. Hallucinatory TerrainIts an illusion spell how useful it is depends on the situation, DM and playerLocate CreatureAn ok spell using a precious precious bard spell known means it is best avoided. Maybe a purple spell for other classes but not the bards.Polymorph Has a few drawbacks these days and you are limited to beasts which tops out as a T-Rex at CR 8. However you also have the mentality of a T-Rex and no feats unlike Druidic wildshaping. Best case scenario is several spell casters buffing the wildshape form and some DMs will require you to know what you are wildshaping into. Bless and Stoneskin on a T-Rex is kind of fun though.....Level 5 Animate Objects.Its a spell and it does some stuff that may matter but you have better options. AwakenA broken spell - in 3.5. You are not a Druid although the spell is not bad as such. Just another one of those you have better options type deals.Dominate PersonAnd this spell is one of those better options IMHO. Not as powerful as some previous versions of the game but it is a 2 for one deal. You neutralise a threat and can get that threat to aid you. Dream This is one of those spells I have a huge amount of trouble rating. THis is a great spell to really annoy your PCs with. As a PC spell it is probably not that good except in certain scenarios such as a city based campaign with recurring NPCs with class levels you want to annoy.  Its the type of spell PCs do not want used on them but do not really want to use themselves. GeasOne of those spells where how powerful it is can vary widely and by the type of campaign you are running. You can charm someone and give them a task to do that inflict 5d10 damage should they directly act against your instructions. How useful that is resembles an illusion IMHO as it depends on the situation and how creative the player will be.Greater RestorationThis spell is better off for the parties cleric to have rather than the bard. Your party may not have a cleric though and it is a very very useful spell to have somewhere in the party. A Lore Bard makes a weak cleric in most cases but sometimes you may have to take one for the team.Hold Monster The best bard spell to have at level 9 IMHO. It is just like hold person but works on most things. If something gets paralyzed you get advantage to hit it just saying. The rest of your party will love you. Even better for a Valor Bard. Legend Lore Its a spell it might be great it might be useless YMMV so it gets rated black.Mass Cure WoundsOutside of a life cleric I do not like this spell. If you have splashed a level of life cleric to do the bardic healing thing this spells gets upgraded to black or blue depending on what other spells you have.Mislead/Modify Memory/Planar Binding/Raise Dead/Scrying/Seeming/Teleportation CircleThese spells are all very similar or situational in their use. In the right situation they tend to be great (Raise Dead for example) and in other it depends on how the DM runs their game (Teleportation Circle). With the limited number of bard spells known I probably would not take any of them but they are not outright bad spells. Magical Secrets.A lore bard can steal spells off other classes spell lists. This is any class and in several cases you can get spells before classes like the Paladin and Ranger. A few of the obvious candidates. At level 10 though you can now steal level 4 and 5 spells but just because you can feel free to steal lower level ones including cantrips. A few I would consider. If you are building a blaster bard I would consider stealing hex+eldritch blast at level 6 and fireball+destructive wave at level 10. In all cases remember you can steal unique spells from all classes including warlocks it depends on how you want to build your bard- buffer, blaster, healer etc. Circle of PowerAnother one of those level 17 Paladin spells that you can steal and use at level 10. This more or less gives you spell resistance and the level 6 Oath of the Ancients Paladin ability in a spell for for 10 minutes. Also this spell requires no concentration to use either. That means it can only be dispelled and if you can make it last for 2 or 3 fights or if you know you are facing spell casters this spell is really really good. Taking spells like this also means your party will love you.ContagionA spell widely regarded as broken for clerics. However you are not as melee focused and it is competing against every other 5th level spell in the book not just 5th level cleric spells.Destructive WaveA "lost" spell that is probably a 5th level Paladin spell. This spell doesn't appear on any classes spell list and RAW only appears as a 5th level domain spell for tempest clerics. It is one of the best blasting spells in the game. 10d6 damage total half thunder, half lightning damage and it can knock people prone. It also only effects creatures you chose so you dop not have to worry about it hitting your own party. Things prone on the ground grant advantage to hit them. I would pick this spell as a buffer or blaster bard. I would almost rate this spell gold come to think of it.Swift QuiverGets a mention so you do not pick it. Not a bad spell for a Ranger or archer focused valor bard but odds are you do not have other things to go with it to make it good. Things like the archery fighting style and the sharpshooter feat. Or the ability to use longbows or hand crossbows. Using a level 5 spell slot to fire off 2 1d6+dex short bow arrows for 3 or 4 rounds probably is not the best thing you can do. Compare the best case scenario this spell offers (all arrows hit over multiple rounds) to just out right casting destructive wave. If you have built a heavy archer themed lore bard or multiclass lore bard for whatever reason (Fighter 6/Lore Bard10 for example) this spell obviously becomes a lot better. Level 6EyebiteI love this spell and you have several effects you can do with it. It is sometimes better than Ottos Irresistible Dance and it is the other level 6 Bard spell I consider great. The only thing really wrong with it is that it not Ottos Irresistible Dance. Find the Pathits a divination spell that is great in the right situation. Guards and WardsYou are not a wizard and have better options.Mass SuggestionsI also like this spell a lot as well but level 6 spell slots are in scarce supply and it is competing with Ottos Dance Routine and Eyebite. Otto's Irresistible DanceThis spell is the creme de la creme of the level 6 bard spells if not one of the best spells in the game. There is also no saving throw against this spell until the creatures action so it even works on things like legendary creatures or creatures with spell resistance. You get advantage to hit the creature, its movement is 0 and it gets disadvantage to hit you. I recommend playing Achy Breaky Heart by Billy Ray Cyrus if you ever use this spell as a DM on the players. Why? Just to really piss them off. Programmed IllusionIts an Illusion SpellTrue SeeingThis is a great spell that might be better on other classes. The spell description is not that exciting but check out true sight on pg 185 opf the PHB. You can see invisible things, see through normal and magical darkness,  and illusions do not matter. Its a good spell IMHO.Level 7.ForcecageThis spell has no saving throw and gets brutal when combined with zone effects such as Insect Plague or whatever. You can use it to escape an encounter or cut it into more manageable sizes. Often used as an example of a broken spell in 5E and I would tend to agree.Mordenkainens Sword.Looks like a lot of damage but it is not really that much and you are usually better off casting another spell or even a lower level spell in a higher level slot such as a 12d6 destructive wave. Level 8Level 9.ForesightPerhaps one of the most powerful spells in the game and almost your only choice to pick at level 9. Lasts for 8 hours and grants advantage on all attacks, saves and skill checks while enemies get disadvantage to hit. Can also be cast on other people as well so if you have anyone in the party using the Great Weapon Master or Sharpshooter Feats it gets very silly very fast. By level 17 though odds are there are plenty of other things going wrong in 5E mechanically so one more broken or overpowered spell probably will not make that much of a difference. </blockquote>

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