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Message: <blockquote data-quote="mellored" data-source="post: 6701360" data-attributes="member: 6801209">Magical Secrets: I'm not going to list or rate every spell, just some good choices, and possibly some traps. Mostly you should use these spells to fill in a gap of the party. For instance, if you have a paladin and life cleric on your team, you probably don't need any additional healing, but might need some blasting. Conversely, if you have an evoker and sorcerer, you probably want more support.  Note the lore bards 2 extra do not count against the known spells, otherwise they compete with your bard spells.Wish:(level 9): This is in its own category because it let's you cast most other spells, and is particularly good for the expensive and long duration ones (Simulacrum, Teleport Circle). This does come at a high slot cost, but it really opens up your options.[sblock=Cantrips: Bards don't have any good at-will damage]Eldrich Blast: The best damage option for lore bards. Can be combined with ©Hex for more damage, but likely you'll be using another concentration spell.Shillelagh: Melee valor bards can smack things with a stick using Cha and freeing up their feats for other things.Booming Blade/Green Flame Blade: Good options for melee valor bards. Booming blade is particularly good with warcaster and dissonant whispers (force an OA, attack, then immediately get the bonus damage).Magic Stones: For the ranged valor bard, this allows you to use Cha with a sling. It can eat up your bonus actions though, so it takes a bit of juggling. Remember you can use bonus actions between attacks. For instance, if you have 3 magic stones and multi-attack. Next turn, you can make 1 attack, then magic stone, then the other attack. Leaving your bonus action open for the third round.  Finally, you can give them to other creatures, like a familiar.[/sblock][sblock=Control: Bards have plenty of Wis targeting control spells, but some creatures have high Wis. So having a few alternatives is good.]Bones of the Earth (level 6): A non-concentration multi-target restrain with a Dex save.  Or a small wall if you don't have a ceiling.  Or a place for the rogue to hide behind.Counter Spell (level 3): You can add jack of all trades to the check, and lore bard's peerless skill.©Ensaring Strike (level 1): Str based at low levels. Good for valor bards.©Entagle/Web/Watery Sphere/Evard's Black Tenticals/Maelstrom/Whirlwind (level 1/2/4/4/5/7): Dex/Str is nice to add to your list. The latter ones even add some damage.©Wall of (Force, Fire, Stone, Ice, Thorns) (level 4-6): Block enemies off or cutting a group in 2 so you can deal with less of them at a time. Assuming they can't just walk around.Magic Jar (level 6): Repeatable save-or-dominate. Though risky even with bard's Charisma save proficiency. Consider being a gnome, getting deathward, and having a cleric as backup.[/sblock]Illusory Dragon (level 8): Part control, part summon, part damage this is a great anti-army spell.[sblock=Summoning: Summons can take advantage of your disables. Such as adding more OA's to Dissonant Whispers or more crits for hold person.]Animate Dead (level 3): No concentration. Give them a bow and these can add a lot of damage over the course of a day if you can manage to keep them alive.©Coujure Woodland Being (level 4): Woodland beings gives you pixies, which can in turn cast polymorph, and fly. You can turn your party into flying whales.©Conjure Animal/Minor Elemental: (level 3/4): A mass of low level things can be pretty dangerous, as long as you avoid AoE's.©Conjure Elemental/Fey (level 6/7): A stronger conjure, but runs the risk of having them be hostile towards you.©Summon Greater Demon (level 4): A powerful summon and you get at least command to send this into battle.  Then stand back and let it do it's thing.Simulacrum (level 7): No concentration, but expensive.  Best on ranged allies who can avoid damage, so you get the most use out of it.[/sblock]The summoner's guide is here.[sblock=Damage: Bards lack damage, and dead is a better disable then others. Though only if you do enough to kill something, since a wounded dragon is still a threat.]©(X) Smite (1-5): Paladins smites can add some single target damage and a variety of control effects to valor bards. Despite the concentration, they aren't wasted on a miss. Banishing smite is the only one that works with ranged attacks, but it's more of a finisher.Scorching Ray (level 2): Scales extremely well, and can crit, so combo it with sleep or hold person.Fireball / Conjur Volly / Vitrolic Sphere/ Meteor Swarm (level 3/5/5//9): When facing a horde, this is what you want.Destructive Wave (level 5): Friendly damage for bard in the front, but doesn't scale.©Lighting Arrow (level 3): While does less damage than other things (even with +2 archery style), the fact that you can pre-cast it before you kick down the door is handy. Particularly for a valor 14+ nova. It also scales very well.©Moonbeam/Call Lighting/Sunbeam (level 2/3/6): Repeatable blast spells for spread out hordes. Better for lore who otherwise doesn't have attack options.Spiritial Weapon (level 2): Repeatable single target damage, but no concentration. Slightly better for lore who has a little less bonus action competition.©Swift Quiver (level 5): While this sounds great, you really need 20 Dex, archery style, and possibly a magic bow to compete with other spells (like spiritual weapon). But if you do have all those, it's can be pretty good.  Note also that it doesn't require attacking.  So you can lob a fireball and 2 arrows.[/sblock][sblock=Buffing: Sometimes buffing allies is better than disabling enemies, though it depends on the party and enemy.]©Crusader's Mantle (level 3): Call it bard song. Scales good with fighters, or extremely good with necromancers and summons.Circle of Power (level 5): Your spell defensive buff. Though you have silence at lower levels.©Haste (level 3): Very nice if you have a barbarian, rogue, or bladelock. Pretty good for paladins and rangers. Not shabby on the rest.[/sblock]Warding Bond (level 2): On it's surface it's an OK buff with a small bonus, long duration, and no concentration.  However, it has interesting interactions with concentration checks. If you cast it on yourself, you will make 2 concentration checks at 1/2 the DC (min 10). Thus if you have +9 to Con saves (+3 con + 5 proficency and +1 from the warding bond itself), you are nearly immune to losing concentration for an hour.   Of course, if you only have +2 to con saves, and take 20 damage, you now make 2 DC 10 checks instead of 1.  So it could defiantly be a trap.Contingency (level 6): The long duration lets you save a spell from non-combat days.  A contingent cure wounds if you fall unconscious for example.[sblock=Recovery: If you're the primary healer you might want to boost.©Healing Spirit (level 2): THE out of combat healing spell.  Just have your allies keep walking through it.Revivify (level 3): A cheaper version of raise dead.Deathward (level 4): Save a life, donate your spell slot today.Heal / Mass Heal (level 6/9): Boost your healing capacity.[/sblock][sblock=Utilitly]Wind Walk (level 6): Fast overland travel. You don't need to have been there before like teleport does.Create Food and Water (level 3): For your desert campaign.©Water Breathing / Water Walk (level 3): For your sea campaigns.[/sblock]</blockquote>

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