D&D 5E Mystic Step as a Magical Secret

[crashtestdummy]

When you cast Shield, you are defending against the enemy's primary attack and an opportunity attack (when you run away).

Er...you do realise that Shield protects against all the enemy's attacks, as well as the attacks of any other foes prior to the caster's next turn, not just the enemy's primary attack? It's not just one attack as you've indicated. Protecting against the opportunity attack (assuming the bard needs to use the Dash action because the Disengage action is not viable) requires a second casting of Shield because it only lasts until the start of the caster's next turn.

As an example, if a couple of foes appear behind the party where the bard is located (such as from a secret door) and if those foes have two attacks each, Shield will protect against all four attacks, not just one. Misty Step protects against none, and Cutting Words protects against only one.

 

[Darkwing Duck]

Er...you do realise that Shield protects against all the enemy's attacks, as well as the attacks of any other foes prior to the caster's next turn, not just the enemy's primary attack?

It reduces the Bard's chance to not get hit from suck to bad.
Misty Step is the spell which actually has a chance of _preventing_ all those attacks.

It's not just one attack as you've indicated. Protecting against the opportunity attack (assuming the bard needs to use the Dash action because the Disengage action is not viable) requires a second casting of Shield because it only lasts until the start of the caster's next turn.

So, Shield is actually worse that I was rating it.

As an example, if a couple of foes appear behind the party where the bard is located (such as from a secret door) and if those foes have two attacks each, Shield will protect against all four attacks, not just one. Misty Step protects against none, and Cutting Words protects against only one.

In all fairness, my character also has the Alert feat and expertise in Perception.

 

[crashtestdummy]

It reduces the Bard's chance to not get hit from suck to bad.
Misty Step is the spell which actually has a chance of _preventing_ all those attacks.

No it doesn't, because, by definition, those attacks occur on someone else's turn. Only a reaction can be used to prevent them. Misty Step can't be used if someone steps out from behind a secret door and attacks the bard. The bard has to wait until their turn before they can cast it. Shield can be cast on a reaction. Misty Step cannot. Misty Step allows the bard to get away, but it doesn't prevent being caught in the first place.

I agree that having the bard being attacked at all is a bad idea, but in the event that he is, increasing his AC by 5 is not insignificant. It can easily turn two or more hits into misses. If you think an AC of 20 is "bad", then I'm afraid we'll have to agree to disagree.

So, Shield is actually worse that I was rating it.

If applying to more attacks than you thought is worse, then I agree with you. It sounds like you're working on the premise that there will only be a single attack on the bard. I'm assuming that my DM is going to use opponents with multiple attacks, and if one foe can get to the bard, so can more than one. It also seems to be that you're assuming that the Disengage action can't be used. I'm working on the assumption that most of the time it can be.

In all fairness, my character also has the Alert feat and expertise in Perception.

If you believe that Shield is not a good choice for your character, then that's fine. I'm happy to believe that since it's your character. I'm still tossing up on what to do when I reach level 6. I can see benefits with both spells.

 

[Saeviomagy]

Are you likely to die to physical attacks before you get an action but after you get your reaction in combat?

If the answer is yes, you want shield. Misty step cannot help you here.

If the answer is no, my recommendation would be misty step. Potentially it can save you from as much damage as shield can, plus it has offensive and utility benefits.

 

[crashtestdummy]

If the answer is no, my recommendation would be misty step. Potentially it can save you from as much damage as shield can, plus it has offensive and utility benefits.

I agree with everything else in your post, but you've lost me on the part that I've bolded. Since the scenarios for the spells are too different, I can't see how Misty Step can save you from as much damage as Shield. Shield is protecting you before your action. Misty Step occurs on your action. Is this because you're assuming that the person without Misty Step can't get away from their foes but the person with Misty Step can? If so, I would change it to simply say that without Misty Step, you can die (if you can't get away from attacks, you're not going to live if the foes are decent).

 

[Saeviomagy]

I agree with everything else in your post, but you've lost me on the part that I've bolded. Since the scenarios for the spells are too different, I can't see how Misty Step can save you from as much damage as Shield. Shield is protecting you before your action. Misty Step occurs on your action. Is this because you're assuming that the person without Misty Step can't get away from their foes but the person with Misty Step can? If so, I would change it to simply say that without Misty Step, you can die (if you can't get away from attacks, you're not going to live if the foes are decent).

Fundamentally, shield raises your armor class after you've already been attacked, while misty step can be used to make sure those attacks never happen in the first place assuming you don't fight in white rooms all the time. It's a bit nebulous, but I see them as being much of a muchness.

 

[El Gallo Negro]

I'm playing a Bard of Lore and I've read every Bard guide I could find on the Internet. I chose as one of my Magical Secrets Mystic Step. However, none of the guides I've read recommend it as a Magical Secret. This makes me wonder if there's something I missed when calculating it's utility.
Basically, my thinking was that my armor and hit points both suck. So, I really don't want to spend any more time getting shot at or hit than I have to. Therefore, anything which improves my armor or hit points is kinda wasted. On the other hand, anything which keeps me from getting shot at or in melee is pure gold. Mystic Step gets me out of bad situations in a hurry. Combine it with feats like Alertness and expertise in Perception and it only gets better.
That's my thinking process on selecting Mystic Step as a Magical Secret. But, seeing that no guide recommends Mystic Step, I worry that my thinking is in error.
What do you think?

Awesome to know I'm not the only one who second guesses himself! I'm currently playing a bard in a new campaign. We got to roughly 500xp this weekend and should probably hit 3rd level next session. I'm still not sure if I want to go Valor or Lore myself, but I won't get into that discussion.

I will, however, state that only you really know how useful the spell will be in the campaign you're currently playing. Every campaign, every party, and every DM is different.

I've read the guides, too. I think they're great resources. But most guides point to performance as a DUMP stat, even for bards. This couldn't be further from the truth for my character! Rather than make choices based on general consensus, I decided that it is always best to make choices based on WHO I want my character to be.

When I consider magical secrets for Lore Bards, I have to consider the most powerful 3rd level spells. But when I actually get to make the decisions, it will be based on how the campaign has unfolded so far. Who has my character become? I you like misty step, take it and have fun with it. Also, as others have pointed out, consider the out of combat possibilities.

The other thing I would consider is waiting until you have access to dimension door. But if you don't want to wait, then don't.

Best of luck!

 

[crashtestdummy]

Okay, now I understand. However, since the starting premise I used is that you are attacked because somehow on their turn, the enemy managed to reach you, that means Misty Step can't be used to prevent the attack. The only way it could be used to do so if you can read the enemy's mind to know what they're going to, and how they're going to get to you.

Once you've finished your turn, they have the opportunity to do something to get to you. That may be by running past the front line, with the first enemy absorbing the opportunity attacks and the second enemy waltzing past because the front line have used their reactions. It may be by coming out of a secret door behind you. There are other possibilities, too, though those two are simple. In either case, there is no possibility of Misty Step being used to prevent the attacks -- it can only be used to get away afterwards.

Overall, Misty Step has more versatility, but when the enemy gets to you, Misty Step can't do a thing about that one round of attacks. And it's no guarantee that there won't be a second round, either, unless you use Misty Step to run away and leave your companions behind, or use it to consistently stay more than X feet away (where X is the movement rate of the foe), which has its own downsides (there are lots of spells with a 30' range so you if you stay more than 30' away, you can't use those spells). I think Misty Step is probably the better overall choice, but if you're paranoid about being hit, Shield is certainly a viable option.

 

[abirdcall]

Shield makes the enemies miss. Misty Step makes them attack other party members.

Shield is better.

 

[Darkwing Duck]

somehow on their turn, the enemy managed to reach you

Which is an extraordinarily rare situation given that the Bard has expertise in Perception, the Alert feat, the ability to choose their position in the party, and the ability to apply Cutting Words to the enemy's initiative.

There has been only one time that it happened, when we fought a land shark.