MC Knowledge Cleric + Lore Bard vs Kensei Bladesinger

[delph]

Hi I'll have one shot play on 5 lvl with longtime player's groupe as a guest. I'm thinking about try some little crazy builds. Point buy, can take everything from every official source.

First is Vuman (feat Linguist, Prodigy, Skilled or Observant) Knowledge Cleric 2 + Lore Bard 3 (background Sage) - the idea of play - I know/can do everything and can help with guidance + bardic inspiration + many other spells.
Variation - Cleric 1 + Bard 4 and have 2 feats but lost Channel Divinity.
Variation 2 (not prefered) - Cleric 1 + Bard 3 + Rogue 1 - can have 6 expertize (or 7 with prodigy) but lost Channel Divinity and 2 third slots and 1 second...


Second is Kensei 3 + Bladesinger 2 (probably Halfelf or High elf) - using Kensei weapon and martial arts + bladesongs + few spells as a wizard at all.

Not sure what choose to get some fun from short play for me and for hosting group.

 

[ClockworkNinja]

Well you should feel free to play anything you think would be fun, and one-shots are good places to try a theorycrafted build, but from an optimization standpoint I honestly wouldn't recommend either one.

Both builds are extremely MAD, and give up access to level 3 spells along with other goodies like Extra Attack, Font of Inspiration, and Stunning Strike. Feats like linguist or observant are only really helpful in games where investigation or dialogue are the main focus. You CAN absolutely play these, but I just don't see that the trade off is worth it compared to a single-class character.

 

[delph]

Well you should feel free to play anything you think would be fun, and one-shots are good places to try a theorycrafted build, but from an optimization standpoint I honestly wouldn't recommend either one.

Both builds are extremely MAD, and give up access to level 3 spells along with other goodies like Extra Attack, Font of Inspiration, and Stunning Strike. Feats like linguist or observant are only really helpful in games where investigation or dialogue are the main focus. You CAN absolutely play these, but I just don't see that the trade off is worth it compared to a single-class character.

In final it was Half-elf Cleric Bard. And it was fun to create it, but not so fun in play. But mostly for fight-focused game yesterday. So skilled build I didn't see. 4 expertizes, 8 proficiencies, 6 half-proficiencies (Jack of all trades)

 

[RogueJK]

In final it was Half-elf Cleric Bard. And it was fun to create it, but not so fun in play. But mostly for fight-focused game yesterday. So skilled build I didn't see. 4 expertizes, 8 proficiencies, 6 half-proficiencies (Jack of all trades)

Yeah, support characters like multiclassed Cleric/Bards are great for longer campaigns with a larger group and lots of social interaction and skill checks. But for a combat-heavy one-shot, especially with only a few other players, I can see how it would be boring and sometimes frustrating.

You also have to be okay with being in the "background" and helping others shine during combat, and only taking the spotlight out of combat. You won't usually be the one making the dramatic power play to clinch the big fight, or the one posting the huge nova damage rolls, but you'll make the entire party better during a fight and you'll have a lot to do before/after the fight.

Personally, I had a blast playing a support-focused Life Cleric 1/Lore Bard X, eschewing damage almost exclusively in favor of buffs/debuffs/control spells during combat, and then hamming it up as the party "face/jack of all trades" in the social/exploration portions. But that was over the course of a multi-month campaign, and it was with a larger group of 6 players, so they didn't need me to shoulder a large portion of the combat load myself, and appreciated the non-damage contributions during combat more than a smaller group with fewer damage-dealers would. I look forward to trying a similar Unity Cleric/Lore Bard in the future, but you have to be a bit choosy about picking the right type of group/campaign to go with a support character like that.