I'm currently playing a hexblade5/swords bard 3 (staying bard for all future levels) and I have been given the option to take the UA fighting style Superior Technique over the standard ones. This works great since my character changes what weapon they use very frequently allowing it to always be relevant. I also plan on taking the Feat Martial Adept next level to really lean into the maneuvers and flourishes. However I'm having a difficult time deciding what 3 maneuvers to grab especially since my dex is at 13 and I don't foresee myself raising it any higher. All options are available including the UA ones. My Charisma is already 21 (max of 22 due to an item) and I have the lucky feat as well so I'm not to worried about missing attacks.
So 3 choices and 2 d6s to use them per short rest.
Your charisma is high so I like rally. It's always useful.
Riposte is something that seems great as it can give you a full extra attack and a way to use your reaction. My complaint is that if you miss your d6 is still gone.
Trip attack and disarming can be good but again requires a save for the added effect (you still get the damage) Your dex is low 9 plus prof for a save won't be great. Only 15 at max level and hangs out at 12 or 13 most of the game.
Distracting strike can be good for when someone really needs to hit and you get the damage bump.
Am I out of the loop on some errata? The feat in Beyond reads as 2 maneuvers and 1 superiority dice.
I would go riposte (bards don't have a ton of things to do with reactions) and goading attack (disadvantage on everyone but you without a ? Sound like a good time to run).
For a Hexblade/Swords multi-class one option that jumps out at me is Sweeping Attack; all you have to do is roll one good hit and damage two targets, which would combo really well with Green Flame Blade. It'll be great at earlier levels, and even once you get your extra attack the damage scaling on GFB will mean that often gambling on one attack to auto-hit the second target will still be excellent value, especially since you'll get your extra attack from Swords late by multi-classing. While your hit roll has to be able to hit the second target, it's rare that you're not going to hit, as most of the time you'll be using this against two enemies that are basically the same, and can always save it for a high roll you're sure of (or a critical hit).
As Jabour and kronzy say, Riposte is always a good option (it's always my first recommendation for a Battle Master) as being able to somewhat reliably gain an additional attack using your reaction is always good, especially as it does bonus damage, though you're gambling on getting the hit. I quite like Jabour's suggestion of Rally as well with it being Charisma based, as it gives you an extra support option for your Bard side.
I'd probably avoid Trip Attack or others that are DC based if your DC is going to be low; Disarming Attack, Trip Attack etc. are great if your DC is good, though even then they're a gamble, but with a lower DC they're just too easily wasted IMO.
Am I out of the loop on some errata? The feat in Beyond reads as 2 maneuvers and 1 superiority dice.
I would go riposte (bards don't have a ton of things to do with reactions) and goading attack (disadvantage on everyone but you without a ? Sound like a good time to run).
There is a fighting style in the recent-ish UA with all the variant class options that fighters could take giving them a single maneuver and a single dice for it. My DM for this game and I agreed that the flavor of it fit really nice with the swords bard subclass.
So 3 choices and 2 d6s to use them per short rest.
Your charisma is high so I like rally. It's always useful.
Riposte is something that seems great as it can give you a full extra attack and a way to use your reaction. My complaint is that if you miss your d6 is still gone.
Trip attack and disarming can be good but again requires a save for the added effect (you still get the damage) Your dex is low 9 plus prof for a save won't be great. Only 15 at max level and hangs out at 12 or 13 most of the game.
Distracting strike can be good for when someone really needs to hit and you get the damage bump.
Riposte is one I have been thinking about and the damage would be extra tasty if I had hex and hexblade's curse up at the time. My one worry about it was eating up my reaction incase I needed to counterspell something, but I could just choose to not use it in a fight with a spellcaster.
Rally I wrote off without giving it much thought thinking that eventually I would be taking Inspiring Leader but I relise that would still be a long ways off and would get much more use out of it than I first thought.
Any opinions on the UA ones? Ambush and Silver Tongue both seemed very useful but Brace could be a great option as well with a similar use as Riposte.
For a Hexblade/Swords multi-class one option that jumps out at me is Sweeping Attack; all you have to do is roll one good hit and damage two targets, which would combo really well with Green Flame Blade. It'll be great at earlier levels, and even once you get your extra attack the damage scaling on GFB will mean that often gambling on one attack to auto-hit the second target will still be excellent value, especially since you'll get your extra attack from Swords late by multi-classing. While your hit roll has to be able to hit the second target, it's rare that you're going to hit, as most of the time you'll be using this against two enemies that are basically the same, and can always save it for a high roll you're sure of (or a critical hit).
As Jabour and kronzy say, Riposte is always a good option (it's always my first recommendation for a Battle Master) as being able to somewhat reliably gain an additional attack using your reaction is always good, especially as it does bonus damage, though you're gambling on getting the hit. I quite like Jabour's suggestion of Rally as well with it being Charisma based, as it gives you an extra support option for your Bard side.
I'd probably avoid Trip Attack or others that are DC based if your DC is going to be low; Disarming Attack, Trip Attack etc. are great if your DC is good, though even then they're a gamble, but with a lower DC they're just too easily wasted IMO.
Sweeping Attack was the original one that jumped out at me too seeing as it could be added with the Slashing flourish to really make my character a burst mook killer. Falling in the same vein Pushing attack could be added with Mobile Flourish to push someone up to 26ft (with my current dice) away from me if they fail a save. But as you said I wont have a great DC.
With Rally you can give 8.5 temp hps twice per short rest. 51 temporary hit points each day to pass around is great. Inspiring leader would just make this that much better. Use it in between short rests. Short rest inspiring leader, fight - rally - fight - short rest etc.
Temporary hit points for days.
The way I look at action economy is the versatility of options I try and get. I use two weapon fighting which isn't great but it does more damage then dueling (barely). It does compete with my bonus action but it gives me an extra option each turn. Another chance to hit, healing word, inspiration are all on the table each round.
For reactions I plan on taking riposte and this will directly conflict with shield and absorb elements (I took 1 level of sorcerer for these 2 spells plus 4 extra cantrips). Late in the round and shield probably won't be needed use up a riposte. Defensive flourish and shield probably won't be needed, use a riposte. The mage has already gone, use a riposte. For me it is about all that versatility. I will try and take counterspell as well for another option.
If I have dice left then just burn them all up on rally.
Ambush I like but just probably wouldn't find room for it. This is character specific. I already have +11 to stealth and +6 to initiative so more often then not the extra d6 won't matter much. I like the idea of having a fall back option though.
Similar to to ambush, silver tongue is giving you more of what you are already good at. I have huge bonuses to both of these skills so getting over 20 is almost regular.
These were both options given to a battle master fighter who is looking for extra out of combat options. Bard already has this in spades. I took battle master to lean into the stuff I was missing. These are not bad options just not the reason I took the multiclass. If I could take 5 options then these might show up on my list to help make sure those bad rolls can turn into successes. Even a 5 on a d20 can turn into a 20+.
Brace I could take instead of riposte but I wouldn't take both. Using mobile flourish to push away and then wait for their return and hit them again. This can be better then riposte because you can finish someone off and then they don't even have a chance to hit you. Take the mobile feat and this looks even better as you just sprint around the battlefield and smack anyone who comes near you.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
I'm currently playing a hexblade5/swords bard 3 (staying bard for all future levels) and I have been given the option to take the UA fighting style Superior Technique over the standard ones. This works great since my character changes what weapon they use very frequently allowing it to always be relevant. I also plan on taking the Feat Martial Adept next level to really lean into the maneuvers and flourishes. However I'm having a difficult time deciding what 3 maneuvers to grab especially since my dex is at 13 and I don't foresee myself raising it any higher. All options are available including the UA ones. My Charisma is already 21 (max of 22 due to an item) and I have the lucky feat as well so I'm not to worried about missing attacks.
So 3 choices and 2 d6s to use them per short rest.
Your charisma is high so I like rally. It's always useful.
Riposte is something that seems great as it can give you a full extra attack and a way to use your reaction. My complaint is that if you miss your d6 is still gone.
Trip attack and disarming can be good but again requires a save for the added effect (you still get the damage) Your dex is low 9 plus prof for a save won't be great. Only 15 at max level and hangs out at 12 or 13 most of the game.
Distracting strike can be good for when someone really needs to hit and you get the damage bump.
Am I out of the loop on some errata? The feat in Beyond reads as 2 maneuvers and 1 superiority dice.
I would go riposte (bards don't have a ton of things to do with reactions) and goading attack (disadvantage on everyone but you without a ? Sound like a good time to run).
This is a tricky one!
For a Hexblade/Swords multi-class one option that jumps out at me is Sweeping Attack; all you have to do is roll one good hit and damage two targets, which would combo really well with Green Flame Blade. It'll be great at earlier levels, and even once you get your extra attack the damage scaling on GFB will mean that often gambling on one attack to auto-hit the second target will still be excellent value, especially since you'll get your extra attack from Swords late by multi-classing. While your hit roll has to be able to hit the second target, it's rare that you're not going to hit, as most of the time you'll be using this against two enemies that are basically the same, and can always save it for a high roll you're sure of (or a critical hit).
As Jabour and kronzy say, Riposte is always a good option (it's always my first recommendation for a Battle Master) as being able to somewhat reliably gain an additional attack using your reaction is always good, especially as it does bonus damage, though you're gambling on getting the hit. I quite like Jabour's suggestion of Rally as well with it being Charisma based, as it gives you an extra support option for your Bard side.
I'd probably avoid Trip Attack or others that are DC based if your DC is going to be low; Disarming Attack, Trip Attack etc. are great if your DC is good, though even then they're a gamble, but with a lower DC they're just too easily wasted IMO.
Characters: Bullette, Chortle, Dracarys Noir, Edward Merryspell, Habard Ashery, Legion, Peregrine
My Homebrew: Feats | Items | Monsters | Spells | Subclasses | Races
Guides: Creating Sub-Races Using Trait Options
WIP (feedback needed): Blood Mage, Chromatic Sorcerers, Summoner, Trickster Domain, Unlucky, Way of the Daoist (Drunken Master), Weapon Smith
Please don't reply to my posts unless you've read what they actually say.
There is a fighting style in the recent-ish UA with all the variant class options that fighters could take giving them a single maneuver and a single dice for it. My DM for this game and I agreed that the flavor of it fit really nice with the swords bard subclass.
Riposte is one I have been thinking about and the damage would be extra tasty if I had hex and hexblade's curse up at the time. My one worry about it was eating up my reaction incase I needed to counterspell something, but I could just choose to not use it in a fight with a spellcaster.
Rally I wrote off without giving it much thought thinking that eventually I would be taking Inspiring Leader but I relise that would still be a long ways off and would get much more use out of it than I first thought.
Any opinions on the UA ones? Ambush and Silver Tongue both seemed very useful but Brace could be a great option as well with a similar use as Riposte.
Sweeping Attack was the original one that jumped out at me too seeing as it could be added with the Slashing flourish to really make my character a burst mook killer. Falling in the same vein Pushing attack could be added with Mobile Flourish to push someone up to 26ft (with my current dice) away from me if they fail a save. But as you said I wont have a great DC.
With Rally you can give 8.5 temp hps twice per short rest. 51 temporary hit points each day to pass around is great. Inspiring leader would just make this that much better. Use it in between short rests. Short rest inspiring leader, fight - rally - fight - short rest etc.
Temporary hit points for days.
The way I look at action economy is the versatility of options I try and get. I use two weapon fighting which isn't great but it does more damage then dueling (barely). It does compete with my bonus action but it gives me an extra option each turn. Another chance to hit, healing word, inspiration are all on the table each round.
For reactions I plan on taking riposte and this will directly conflict with shield and absorb elements (I took 1 level of sorcerer for these 2 spells plus 4 extra cantrips). Late in the round and shield probably won't be needed use up a riposte. Defensive flourish and shield probably won't be needed, use a riposte. The mage has already gone, use a riposte. For me it is about all that versatility. I will try and take counterspell as well for another option.
If I have dice left then just burn them all up on rally.
Ambush I like but just probably wouldn't find room for it. This is character specific. I already have +11 to stealth and +6 to initiative so more often then not the extra d6 won't matter much. I like the idea of having a fall back option though.
Similar to to ambush, silver tongue is giving you more of what you are already good at. I have huge bonuses to both of these skills so getting over 20 is almost regular.
These were both options given to a battle master fighter who is looking for extra out of combat options. Bard already has this in spades. I took battle master to lean into the stuff I was missing. These are not bad options just not the reason I took the multiclass. If I could take 5 options then these might show up on my list to help make sure those bad rolls can turn into successes. Even a 5 on a d20 can turn into a 20+.
Brace I could take instead of riposte but I wouldn't take both. Using mobile flourish to push away and then wait for their return and hit them again. This can be better then riposte because you can finish someone off and then they don't even have a chance to hit you. Take the mobile feat and this looks even better as you just sprint around the battlefield and smack anyone who comes near you.