D&D 5E Mystic Step as a Magical Secret

[AaronOfBarbaria]

An 8th lvl fighter...

...do you find your bard facing off against a lot of 8th level fighters?

I mean, yeah, no matter what your AC is the better defensive option is to not be in a situation that your AC even comes into play because you aren't being attacked in the first place - but that there is a better defense does not make that 20 AC actually bad like you claimed it is when calling it "negligible."

 

[steeldragons]

Is there some reason that you insist, in no less than 3 different responses including the OP, and following other posters listing it properly, on referring to the spell as "Mystic Step" instead of as it is listed, in print, in the PHB, [the correct] "Misty Step?"

Just a curiosity.

 

[crashtestdummy]

An 8th lvl fighter, at the minimum, would have at least a +6 to hit (+3 from strength, +3 from proficiency). They would need a 14 on the die to hit my bard on the round that my bard casts shield. That's not all that hard and my hit die are worse than his (and he probably has a higher Con than I do). A 20 AC on the front line for one round just is not going to save my bard.
That's why my bard is much better off staying where AC and hit points aren't as important (taking cover behind a tree or keeping the enemy busy with my meat shield). I'm a mastermind, not a meat shield.

I think you've misunderstood the reason to take a defensive spell in the first place. It's not to allow the bard to be on the front line, but to protect him if he finds himself there, despite his efforts to avoid it. Shield allows him to increase his defense during the foe's turn. Misty Step helps him get away after the foe has attacked. Two different things. Shield increases his chance to survive until he can get away, while Misty Step helps him get away after he's been hit.

 

[crashtestdummy]

Mind you, you do get to choose 2 spells so maybe get both.

LOL! I wish it was that simple. There are lot more than just those two spells on the wishlist. I can only really justify taking one defensive spell...

Your analysis on the utility of Misty Step is good, though, and that's going to make it challenging when my bard reaches 6th level and I have to make a decision.

 

[Darkwing Duck]

Is there some reason that you insist, in no less than 3 different responses including the OP, and following other posters listing it properly, on referring to the spell as "Mystic Step" instead of as it is listed, in print, in the PHB, [the correct] "Misty Step?"

Just a curiosity.

In a casual environment, I don't get anal/pedantic about such things.

 

[Darkwing Duck]

I think you've misunderstood the reason to take a defensive spell in the first place. It's not to allow the bard to be on the front line, but to protect him if he finds himself there, despite his efforts to avoid it. Shield allows him to increase his defense during the foe's turn. Misty Step helps him get away after the foe has attacked. Two different things. Shield increases his chance to survive until he can get away, while Misty Step helps him get away after he's been hit.

I'm not at all convinced that Shield helps you survive until you get away.

Misty Step, occurring on a bonus action, permits the bard to use Cutting Words (which makes the enemy's to-hit average the same penalty it would take from Shield) AND get the hell out of dodge post-haste.

 

[steeldragons]

In a casual environment, I don't get anal/pedantic about such things.

I see. Guess I wouldn't consider calling something what it is as anal or pedantic...

*shrug* Whatev's. Like I said, was just wondering.

Carry on.

 

[crashtestdummy]

I'm not at all convinced that Shield helps you survive until you get away.

Misty Step, occurring on a bonus action, permits the bard to use Cutting Words (which makes the enemy's to-hit average the same penalty it would take from Shield) AND get the hell out of dodge post-haste.

1. Cutting Words can only be applied against one attack per round (reaction limit). Shield applies to all attacks that may occur before the bard's turn.
2. All of discussion assumes that the bard has a spell slot available (2nd level for Misty Step, 1st level for Shield, so Misty Step has the higher resource cost). Using Cutting Words is an additional resource cost of a bardic inspiration die (of which a bard will have a maximum of 5 only). That extra resource costs may be important in the overall battle.
3. Cutting Words is comparable to Shield against a single attack, though Shield is a guaranteed 5 points impact while Cutting Words could be as low as 1 (or as high as 8, 10, or 12, depending on level). Shield is therefore more reliable to blunt an attack than Cutting Words, but only if 5 points is enough to make a difference, which, as you've pointed out before, isn't certain. Of course, if 5 points isn't enough, Cutting Words is not likely to be enough, either, though it does have a chance of doing so.

This is all dependent on circumstances, of course. Misty Step definitely has more overall utility, but against an unexpected foe that has multiple attacks (not uncommon once you've reached 6th level which is when this discussion comes into play), Shield is the more efficient use of resources.

Looking purely defensively, Shield is a good option. Looking broader at overall usefulness, Misty Step is superior. It will come down to whether the bard thinks they'll be able to survive one round of attacks from an unexpected foe before they have a chance to get away...and how often they think they'll be in that situation.

 

[Darkwing Duck]

1. Cutting Words can only be applied against one attack per round (reaction limit). Shield applies to all attacks that may occur before the bard's turn.
2. All of discussion assumes that the bard has a spell slot available (2nd level for Misty Step, 1st level for Shield, so Misty Step has the higher resource cost). Using Cutting Words is an additional resource cost of a bardic inspiration die (of which a bard will have a maximum of 5 only). That extra resource costs may be important in the overall battle.
3. Cutting Words is comparable to Shield against a single attack, though Shield is a guaranteed 5 points impact while Cutting Words could be as low as 1 (or as high as 8, 10, or 12, depending on level). Shield is therefore more reliable to blunt an attack than Cutting Words, but only if 5 points is enough to make a difference, which, as you've pointed out before, isn't certain. Of course, if 5 points isn't enough, Cutting Words is not likely to be enough, either, though it does have a chance of doing so.

This is all dependent on circumstances, of course. Misty Step definitely has more overall utility, but against an unexpected foe that has multiple attacks (not uncommon once you've reached 6th level which is when this discussion comes into play), Shield is the more efficient use of resources.

Looking purely defensively, Shield is a good option. Looking broader at overall usefulness, Misty Step is superior. It will come down to whether the bard thinks they'll be able to survive one round of attacks from an unexpected foe before they have a chance to get away...and how often they think they'll be in that situation.

You might be operating under the assumption that Shield will let you easily run away from the enemy and take up an ideal defensive position. I don't share that assumption. When you cast Shield, you are defending against the enemy's primary attack and an opportunity attack (when you run away). Then, you better hope that there's enough room to maneuver to get in a defensive position without drawing opportunity attacks from the enemy's allies (which may not be the case if you are fighting in cramped quarters, like a dungeon). I'm still not sold on Shield's defensive ability.

 

[crashtestdummy]

I'm not operating on that assumption at all. I'm operating the premise that the bard has to survive long enough to be able to run away. There's no point in having Misty Step ready to cast if he's knocked unconscious from attacks before he gets to cast it.


Once he's survived, then he can find a place to hide. If there isn't one, then he has to consider other options, based on the circumstances. Also, Disengage allows the bard to retreat without opportunity attacks, assuming there is somewhere safe nearby (like on the other side of the party meat shield). Naturally, if there is nowhere safe, then running away is the best option and Misty Step can be good for that...assuming there is somewhere safe to Misty Step to. If there is somewhere safe nearby, Shield can help the bard survive long enough to get there. Misty Step gets the bard there, but at the expense of potentially taking more damage on the way.

We're talking rare circumstances in the first place. The squishy lore bard isn't supposed to end up in melee. If he does, however, what's his best option? If he has enough hit points left to take a round of attacks before it's his turn, Misty Step is good. If he's not sure he can survive, Shield increases his survivability by hopefully reducing the number of hits. Which circumstance does the bard think he's more likely to end up in? That will depend on the party mix (ie. how many squishy characters to how many characters to protect them) and the DM.

In my case, with the party containing two squishy characters, I'd like to be responsible for my own defense, so I'm leaning towards Shield. Misty Step does, however, have more utility, which is why it's such a tough choice. It's certainly not clear cut.