D&D 5E Low Charisma Lore Bard?

[Jester David]

The character's spell save/ spell attack will be low. That's problematic. However, other stats like Dexterity (AC) or Intelligence (some skills) will be higher. More Con means more HP and greater survivability (and increased chance of making Concentration checks).
The PC will have to play differently than one with a high-Cha, not being the face of the party and instead buffing. In many ways, they're closer to being a buffing arcane trickster.

Lore bard gets more non-bard spells, so focusing on cantrips that work with melee attacks (or ranged attacks) works nicely. Building it as an archer can work very nicely, getting some ranger spells.

 

[Harzel]

Is a 4th level Lore Bard with 12 Charisma completely useless? I'm thinking so. The flavor is there, he is a Goblin that thinks he's handsome and wants to be popular, but I just think he's gonna be a hindrance to the team.

But Charisma effects how many spells and inspiration dice he has too. It just seems like he wont have much to "do"

Charisma won't affect the number of spells or inspiration dice (unless your table is using a house rule), so you are fine there.

• CHA does affect how many times you can grant Bardic Inspiration.
• AFAIK, CHA does not affect how many spells you know.
• What did you do with the level 4 ASI?

 

[OB1]

Correcting the correction.
It does affect number of times he can inspire.

Whoops! So it does (think I was conflating with Battle Master Superiority Die, it's been a while since I played a bard). That's definitely a blow to a low char bard then, but actually works with the flavor of the OP of a Bard who thinks he's super inspirational but kind of isn't.

No reason he can't still be a good contributor, but builds who don't follow the guideline of putting your biggest stat in your primary ability (and therefore getting at least a +2) are definitely more challenging to run. But challenge can be fun!

 

[CTurbo]

The character has a high Dex and Con and the durable feat. He'll be tough for sure but man he's gonna make a terrible Bard. Lol

 

[Coroc]

Is a 4th level Lore Bard with 12 Charisma completely useless? I'm thinking so. The flavor is there, he is a Goblin that thinks he's handsome and wants to be popular, but I just think he's gonna be a hindrance to the team.

It is fine, just think about the blues brothers movie and always perform in a cage to not get hit by the flying bottles and foodstuff from the audience.

Now seriously, that opens up tons of rp opportunities. Maybe his goblin voice is a bit squeaking or his instrument is constantly out of tune . Try to excel at other properties for the powerplay part of the game select untypical spells (not relying on charisma) and find creative uses for them, be good at arms, maybe get stealthy etc. etc.

 

[BookBarbarian]

The character has a high Dex and Con and the durable feat. He'll be tough for sure but man he's gonna make a terrible Bard. Lol

Terrible Bards are the best Bards.

 

[Tormyr]

Not a bard, but our last campaign had a Paladin with 8 Charisma. The player was awesome at role play, and the PC was still effective. All that to say, You can play characters with low primary ability scores, but you have to be careful with how they are crafted.

 

[CTurbo]

Yeah I'm playing a low Cha Paladin too that, but Paladins are awesome in so many other ways. They can tank, Smite, heal, Smite, buff, Smite, DPR, Smite etc... that it didn't matter that his Cha was low. The Lore Bard is not so lucky. Sure the character will be a decent Archer, and still has some decent buff spells, but they just don't seem to have any other goodies that aren't Cha related. His only saving grace is he'll have a good AC and HP. I mean, I know it will work. I like playing characters that are gimpy in one way or another, but I was just at a loss with this character. I'm concerned with class balance to a degree.

 

[Mistwell]

You may find this chart of spells that do not require a save to be useful. For example, the Sleep spell, which is a bard spell, is very good and scales with level, and does not require a save. Cloud of Daggers, Heat Metal, Silence, etc.. You can get a lot of mileage out of illusion spells too, like Minor Illusion, Disguise Self, Silent Image, Invisibility, etc.. Detect Thoughts may help with the illusion spells as well. And of course healing spells like Cure Wounds and Healing Word, Lesser Restoration, etc..

 

[Lucas Blackstone]

Not that characters need backstories to be played, but do you know the backstory on this character? I'm interested how he became a bard, and a lore bard at that. It's not a natural talent set you just stumble upon. This doesn't really have to do with effectiveness of the character. I was just curious.