D&D 5E [GUIDE] Inquisitor Lim's Bladesinger and Wizard Guide: Xanathar's Edition

[gyor]

I just got the Xanathar's Guide to Everything book. There are some good, worthwhile spells in here along with a lot of junk and reprints. However, anyone who has survived the 3E and especially 4E D&D kludge knows that you only need to have two or three good options out of thirty bad ones to be super-effective. And I think Xanathar's gives enough super-effective options to make the book worthwhile. Expect something this Sunday or so.

If you're super-impatient, you can see me updating the guide in real-time. I'm already up to 4th-level spells, but then again most of the new spells are 4th-level or higher.

I hope you do a Q&A here on the forms for those that don't have the book yet please.

 

[gyor]

Reading your guide, Shadow Blade might be useful for Bladesingers, or even Eldrich Knights, but I think it's intended target is Arcane Tricksters, which is why it has the finesse, light, and thrown traits, and is an illusion spell, it's fits the Arcane Trickster to a T.

Dragon Breath seems to really be a sorceror spell that the Wizard can access as well, it fits the Dragon Bloodline Sorceror perfectly.

Illusionary Dragon fits Sorceror more then Wizard again, both Dragon Sorcerors and this time Shadow Sorcerors as the dragon is made out of shadows.

I think a clever person could in fact use mighty fortress in combat.

 

[Rofel Wodring]

Shadow Blade is a great upgrade for Arcane Tricksters who have access to SCAG. They go from doing, say, 7d6+4 damage on a sneak attack at level 11 to a 4d8+6d6+4 damage on a sneak attack by using it with Booming Blade. I don't see it being used too often by Eldritch Knights, who will probably want to use a two-handed weapon or a ranged weapon instead. And you the Bladesinger have better concentration stuff to spend it on.

Illusory Dragon would be an awesome Sorcerer Spell. Only problem is: they don't get it on their spell list.

As for using Mighty Fortress in combat: it's not the casting time that makes it hard to use (there are ways to get around that in combat) so much as the huge, non-shrinkable area that can't get around pre-existing structures. 24 squares on a side tends to just make it too unwieldly to use on the fly.

 

[Bitbrain]

Illusory Dragon would be an awesome Sorcerer Spell. Only problem is: they don't get it on their spell list.

*Boo, hiss*

Not really surprised though.
It is after all Wizards of the Coast, not Sorcerers of the Shore.

 

[gyor]

Shadow Blade is a great upgrade for Arcane Tricksters who have access to SCAG. They go from doing, say, 7d6+4 damage on a sneak attack at level 11 to a 4d8+6d6+4 damage on a sneak attack by using it with Booming Blade. I don't see it being used too often by Eldritch Knights, who will probably want to use a two-handed weapon or a ranged weapon instead. And you the Bladesinger have better concentration stuff to spend it on.

Illusory Dragon would be an awesome Sorcerer Spell. Only problem is: they don't get it on their spell list.

As for using Mighty Fortress in combat: it's not the casting time that makes it hard to use (there are ways to get around that in combat) so much as the huge, non-shrinkable area that can't get around pre-existing structures. 24 squares on a side tends to just make it too unwieldly to use on the fly.

Really, oh that really sucks about Illusionary Dragon not being on the Sorceror, that seems like a big goof up.

 

[Rofel Wodring]

I know, right? Why in the world does the Raar, I Have the Blood of Dragons class NOT have the Rar, I Summoned a Big Scary Shadow Dragon spell is beyond me.

 

[Rofel Wodring]

All right. All of the spells in Xanathar's are rated. I also finally inserted a Cantrip section I rather foolishly left out the first time around.

 

[Mephista]

Shadow Blade is a great upgrade for Arcane Tricksters who have access to SCAG. They go from doing, say, 7d6+4 damage on a sneak attack at level 11 to a 4d8+6d6+4 damage on a sneak attack by using it with Booming Blade. I don't see it being used too often by Eldritch Knights, who will probably want to use a two-handed weapon or a ranged weapon instead. And you the Bladesinger have better concentration stuff to spend it on.

Shame. Concentration really seems to be killing any strong attempt to pull of a good bladesinger type. And if Shadow Blade is an illusion spell, EKs don't get it either. Heck, relying on Concentration spells in melee is tricky in the first place, which severely limits its use.

So... Shadowblade is clearly meant for Arcane Trickster. Zephyr Strike is a Ranger spell. Tenser's Transformation might have potential for a bladesinger once they hit level 11. Eldritch Knights can't get anything new from this except Sickening Radiance, which is supposed to be a GOO Warlock spell*. Interestingly, for the new War Mage subclass to be coming up, there's not a lot of abjuration or evocation spells to go along with a warmage theme.

I guess there's not as many relevant spells as promised.


*Wizards get all the goodies. Honestly, its like they don't want anyone to play a pure caster besides the wizard or cleric.

 

[Rofel Wodring]

Shame. Concentration really seems to be killing any strong attempt to pull of a good bladesinger type. And if Shadow Blade is an illusion spell, EKs don't get it either. Heck, relying on Concentration spells in melee is tricky in the first place, which severely limits its use.

So... Shadowblade is clearly meant for Arcane Trickster. Zephyr Strike is a Ranger spell. Tenser's Transformation might have potential for a bladesinger once they hit level 11. Eldritch Knights can't get anything new from this except Sickening Radiance, which is supposed to be a GOO Warlock spell*. Interestingly, for the new War Mage subclass to be coming up, there's not a lot of abjuration or evocation spells to go along with a warmage theme.

I guess there's not as many relevant spells as promised.


*Wizards get all the goodies. Honestly, its like they don't want anyone to play a pure caster besides the wizard or cleric.

Hopefully this is the last word on the subject, but if there's one thing I want people to take away from playing Bladesinger: you still mainly cast spells like a traditional wizard. Your melee is a backup. Think of the class like you would view and Illusionist or a Necromancer. Both of those classes have features that would make spells most PCs underestimate or overlook into liquid awesomeness. For example, Creation and upcasted Major Image are kind of a 'meh' spells in most wizards' hands, but in an Illusionist's hands they become soul-crushingly good.

You are in the same category of them. Your job as a Bladesinger is to find spells that most wizards would overlook or not use to their full potential (Transmute Rock, Web, Fear, Investiture of Stone, Globe of Invulnerability, Wall of Force/Stone/Ice, multi-day Simulacrum, Anti-Magic Field, etc.) and use them to bring the pain. The Bladesinger does not have a bad offense, but slapping a Blur or a Haste onto yourself when you're not concerned about spell slots and wading into melee isn't the best use of your abilities outside of the low levels.

If you want to be a gish and do megadamage, you'd be much better off as a Sorceradin or a pure Hexblade or even a Melee Cleric.

Bladesingers got a lot of great goodies in Xanathar's. They didn't receive much if all you care about is melee Megadamage. But I have to say, I'm not particularly sympathetic to that complaint. Not counting EEPC spells, Bladesingers now get Dragon's Breath, Enemies Abound, Thunder Step, Tiny Servant, Charm Monster, Danse Macabre, Steel Wind Strike, Mental Prison, Scatter, Soul Cage, and Illusory Dragon. That's PLENTY of additional power, so long as you don't restrict the definition of 'power' to 'boring melee DPR'.

 

[gyor]

I know, right? Why in the world does the Raar, I Have the Blood of Dragons class NOT have the Rar, I Summoned a Big Scary Shadow Dragon spell is beyond me.

Hopefully that will be erattaed.