Just wondering, what's better damage wise for a College of Swords bard at level 3? Would it be dueling with a longsword/rapier or would it be two weapon fighting with scimitars? (assuming damage modifier is the same) Take into mind blade flourishes too, which as far as I am sure do not take up any actions nor bonus actions but will NOT trigger if you don't hit your main attack but hit your bonus action attack.
I guess if you took the dual wielder feat and dual-wielded longswords/rapiers then your damage would be maximised, though you lose your bonus action for casting spells/giving bardic inspiration. (though I'll be honest bards don't get many bonus action spells in their own spell list, have to wait till lvl 10 for magical secrets)
also purely from a joke perspective if you played a minotaur college of swords bard and used mobile flourish + hammering horns could you push a creature up to 20 ft away from you?
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Grappling and knocking prone a young dragon 4 times in a row as aarakocra monk=angery DM
As a note, if you were to do any kind of dual-wielding as a bard it would come highly recommended to take the War Caster feat since a lot of spells require somatic components and you need it to be able to complete them if you don't intend to spontaneously drop a weapon and take an action during a later turn to pick it back up.
I mean there are alternatives if you wanna go that way in your early levels, but the only other reasonable thing I can currently think of is taking College of Swords to the logical extreme and having a bunch of light weapons on your person that you can draw as an alternative whenever you have to drop a weapon to cast. Pirates would usually wear a frightening amount of guns on their person since in their earliest stages it was quicker to just shoot, drop the empty, and draw another than it was to shoot and reload. Applying that kind of analogy with a swordsy bard doesn't sound like too much of a stretch... but then depending on your dm drawing a new weapon to use may or may not also take an action *shroog*. In the case that you do go with dual-wielding that may be a thing to ask them about.
All things considered, the simpler and less feat-intensive route would likely be just going with dueling-style with a longsword or rapier. However, I can see some neat stuff going on with a dual-wielding sword-college bard with a bunch of weapons strapped to their person. Can present a very imposing image there.
That's actually a pretty neat idea, dropping a bunch of weapons as you go, and definitely sounds cool. I'd love to collect weapons for that purpose in a campaign. Like you said, War Caster may have to be used if you don't want to drop a weapon every time, but I since Duel Wielder feat lets you draw and/or sheath 2 weapons without consuming an action, it could work as well.
I would think that it shouldn't be that illogical for the bard to drop a sword then draw another one up like you said, but if the DM's really against it, I guess you could end up just becoming a sword-thrower. (draw a sword every turn and throw it)
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Grappling and knocking prone a young dragon 4 times in a row as aarakocra monk=angery DM
In terms of damage, the Two-Weapon Style would technically allow for more damage (and more opportunities to apply your Flourishes). Add to that the Bard's "Faerie Fire" spell, which would give them advantage on targets, it is a safer bet. Adding the Duel Wielder feat helps to boost damage, though if there was any problem it's that War Caster is also recommended.
Dueling does allow automatic damage on a hit, which is nice, but as you do not get shield proficiency, it is a weaker choice UNLESS you get proficiency from a feat or multiclassing.
Some ways to get around the "verbal-somatic" requirement...have your character make an Acrobatics or Performance check if they need to cast a complicated spell.
These are weapons performers by design; perhaps they are juggling these swords as they dash along the battlefield. If they pass the check, then they satisfy the demands of the spell, catch their weapon, and continue.
If they fail the check, then they drop their weapon...allowing for amusing consequences.
Unfortunately blade flourishes can only be used once per turn and I'm not taking Faerie Fire on my character because I didn't think it would suit him. I think I'll stick with just bard and duel wielding (+ the feat) for now, though I think the spellcasting part with the checks is really up to the DM. (collecting a lot of weapons and strapping them to you would be intimidating and a nice backup too though)
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Grappling and knocking prone a young dragon 4 times in a row as aarakocra monk=angery DM
As a note, if you were to do any kind of dual-wielding as a bard it would come highly recommended to take the War Caster feat since a lot of spells require somatic components and you need it to be able to complete them if you don't intend to spontaneously drop a weapon and take an action during a later turn to pick it back up
Bonus Proficiencies
When you join the College of Swords at 3rd level, you gain proficiency with medium armor and the scimitar.
If you’re proficient with a simple or martial melee weapon, you can use it as a spellcasting focus for your bard spells.
Dang it I was thinking material. I guess you do need warcaster for somatic.
But each action you can stow or retrieve a weapon, so if casting a spell, stow your offhand, don't need to drop it.
"You can also interact with one object or feature of the environment for free, during either your move or your action" PHB
As the suggestion goes, drop a weapon whenever you want to cast a spell and then pull another one out without spending an actual action. (this is partially up to the DM, because some might rule dropping a weapon as part of your non-action interactions, but some might not. Crawford did state that dropping a weapon required next to no effort, but in the end fickle DMs will be fickle DMs.) This is mainly because it'd make you look real menacing and cool to have a bunch of weapons strapped to you, depending partially on your race of course, and I do indeed plan on doing it because it would be sick on my character.
Or stow it and then pull it back out again with the dual wielder feat. This is harder for the DM to refute rule wise.
Just wondering, what's better damage wise for a College of Swords bard at level 3? Would it be dueling with a longsword/rapier or would it be two weapon fighting with scimitars? (assuming damage modifier is the same) Take into mind blade flourishes too, which as far as I am sure do not take up any actions nor bonus actions but will NOT trigger if you don't hit your main attack but hit your bonus action attack.
I guess if you took the dual wielder feat and dual-wielded longswords/rapiers then your damage would be maximised, though you lose your bonus action for casting spells/giving bardic inspiration. (though I'll be honest bards don't get many bonus action spells in their own spell list, have to wait till lvl 10 for magical secrets)
also purely from a joke perspective if you played a minotaur college of swords bard and used mobile flourish + hammering horns could you push a creature up to 20 ft away from you?
Grappling and knocking prone a young dragon 4 times in a row as aarakocra monk=angery DM
As a note, if you were to do any kind of dual-wielding as a bard it would come highly recommended to take the War Caster feat since a lot of spells require somatic components and you need it to be able to complete them if you don't intend to spontaneously drop a weapon and take an action during a later turn to pick it back up.
I mean there are alternatives if you wanna go that way in your early levels, but the only other reasonable thing I can currently think of is taking College of Swords to the logical extreme and having a bunch of light weapons on your person that you can draw as an alternative whenever you have to drop a weapon to cast. Pirates would usually wear a frightening amount of guns on their person since in their earliest stages it was quicker to just shoot, drop the empty, and draw another than it was to shoot and reload. Applying that kind of analogy with a swordsy bard doesn't sound like too much of a stretch... but then depending on your dm drawing a new weapon to use may or may not also take an action *shroog*. In the case that you do go with dual-wielding that may be a thing to ask them about.
All things considered, the simpler and less feat-intensive route would likely be just going with dueling-style with a longsword or rapier. However, I can see some neat stuff going on with a dual-wielding sword-college bard with a bunch of weapons strapped to their person. Can present a very imposing image there.
That's actually a pretty neat idea, dropping a bunch of weapons as you go, and definitely sounds cool. I'd love to collect weapons for that purpose in a campaign. Like you said, War Caster may have to be used if you don't want to drop a weapon every time, but I since Duel Wielder feat lets you draw and/or sheath 2 weapons without consuming an action, it could work as well.
I would think that it shouldn't be that illogical for the bard to drop a sword then draw another one up like you said, but if the DM's really against it, I guess you could end up just becoming a sword-thrower. (draw a sword every turn and throw it)
Grappling and knocking prone a young dragon 4 times in a row as aarakocra monk=angery DM
In terms of damage, the Two-Weapon Style would technically allow for more damage (and more opportunities to apply your Flourishes). Add to that the Bard's "Faerie Fire" spell, which would give them advantage on targets, it is a safer bet. Adding the Duel Wielder feat helps to boost damage, though if there was any problem it's that War Caster is also recommended.
Dueling does allow automatic damage on a hit, which is nice, but as you do not get shield proficiency, it is a weaker choice UNLESS you get proficiency from a feat or multiclassing.
Some ways to get around the "verbal-somatic" requirement...have your character make an Acrobatics or Performance check if they need to cast a complicated spell.
These are weapons performers by design; perhaps they are juggling these swords as they dash along the battlefield. If they pass the check, then they satisfy the demands of the spell, catch their weapon, and continue.
If they fail the check, then they drop their weapon...allowing for amusing consequences.
Unfortunately blade flourishes can only be used once per turn and I'm not taking Faerie Fire on my character because I didn't think it would suit him. I think I'll stick with just bard and duel wielding (+ the feat) for now, though I think the spellcasting part with the checks is really up to the DM. (collecting a lot of weapons and strapping them to you would be intimidating and a nice backup too though)
Grappling and knocking prone a young dragon 4 times in a row as aarakocra monk=angery DM
Bonus Proficiencies
When you join the College of Swords at 3rd level, you gain proficiency with medium armor and the scimitar.
If you’re proficient with a simple or martial melee weapon, you can use it as a spellcasting focus for your bard spells.
Dang it I was thinking material. I guess you do need warcaster for somatic.
But each action you can stow or retrieve a weapon, so if casting a spell, stow your offhand, don't need to drop it.
"You can also interact with one object or feature of the environment for free, during either your move or your action" PHB
As the suggestion goes, drop a weapon whenever you want to cast a spell and then pull another one out without spending an actual action. (this is partially up to the DM, because some might rule dropping a weapon as part of your non-action interactions, but some might not. Crawford did state that dropping a weapon required next to no effort, but in the end fickle DMs will be fickle DMs.) This is mainly because it'd make you look real menacing and cool to have a bunch of weapons strapped to you, depending partially on your race of course, and I do indeed plan on doing it because it would be sick on my character.
Or stow it and then pull it back out again with the dual wielder feat. This is harder for the DM to refute rule wise.
Grappling and knocking prone a young dragon 4 times in a row as aarakocra monk=angery DM