Hello! My character right now is an Eloquence Bard and I wanna add levels in paladin, but I’m not sure if it’s a great idea or not or even what subclass is viable for it. Just want some advice! For reference my character is level 3 but I want to know what I should do in terms of what levels I should take.
Hello! My character right now is an Eloquence Bard and I wanna add levels in paladin, but I’m not sure if it’s a great idea or not or even what subclass is viable for it. Just want some advice! For reference my character is level 3 but I want to know what I should do in terms of what levels I should take.
You're going to have a tough time doing this overall. I'm assuming since you want to go into paladin you're wanting to be more in the front line. Eloquence bard doesn't really synergize well with melee combat. The subclasses which are good for melee is Whispers and Swords, so ask your DM to switch to that if you really want to specialize in melee. Eloquence bard can still work
It isn't the most optimal to immediately go into paladin. I don't know what your stats are but I can assume a high charisma, so I'd recommend the infamous Hexblade dip, at level 4 which allows you to attack with CHA as well as pick up Booming/Green Flame Blade, which can mostly compensate for the lack of Extra Attack. Hexblade is a pretty easy subclass to reflavor. The "Hex warrior" feature could be pouring divine will into a weapon rather than infusing curses. After level 4, yeah you're set to go to paladin, overall this might not be "the greatest" but it works quite well enough for a casual game!
Another option is to go Swords bard, and reflavor the flourishes as smites, and continue the class to level 6 until you get extra attack, then going into paladin
Hmm…well, two levels of Paladin will give you access to Divine Smite; which means you can turn spell slots into extra damage.
If you wield a melee weapon in both hands, you can add a bit of damage per round with an Attack action, then your bonus action…but you have some awkward crossover then with your bonus action, which is used for both “Bardic Inspiration” & “Unsettling Words”. Still, you get some options.
Three levels of Paladin grants you your Oath; and a Channel Divinity option.
Personally, I like “Redemption” or “Conquest” paladins for an Eloquence Bard…”Redemption”, because their Channel Divinity improves their “Persuasion” even MORE, on top of Eloquence Bard’s bonuses…and is quite thematically appropriate.
”Conquest” Paladin is sort of an interesting pairing with Eloquence Bard…you cause fear, and considerably increase the chance that a “big” attack will hit your target.
Hmm…with 3 levels of Eloquence Bard already, you either should go entirely into Paladin at this point to receive further bonuses, and Extra Attack…or just stay with Bard.
You’ll develop far more slowly than a regular single-class Paladin…but thankfully, even at lower levels Paladin’s are quite powerful.
it depends upon what you are trying to achieve with the paladin multiclass. A two level dip gives you divine smite, which is a nice dps boost. If you go Bard the rest of the way you will soon have ample spell slots to smite twice per round while fighting with two weapons. Often you will want to use your bonus action for Bardic inspiration, but if you group usually has time to prepare for a battle you can inspire the team before launching the attack. if not, you should probably plan to fight with a two handed weapon for the harder hits, while keeping your bonus action for healing word and bardic inspiration.
Going six levels deep in paladin gives you extra attack and the big boost to saving throws, but slows down your spell progression greatly. How badly do you want those higher level bard spells?
Technically it would have been better to start out as a paladin to get the heavy armor proficiency.
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Hello! My character right now is an Eloquence Bard and I wanna add levels in paladin, but I’m not sure if it’s a great idea or not or even what subclass is viable for it. Just want some advice! For reference my character is level 3 but I want to know what I should do in terms of what levels I should take.
You're going to have a tough time doing this overall. I'm assuming since you want to go into paladin you're wanting to be more in the front line. Eloquence bard doesn't really synergize well with melee combat. The subclasses which are good for melee is Whispers and Swords, so ask your DM to switch to that if you really want to specialize in melee. Eloquence bard can still work
It isn't the most optimal to immediately go into paladin. I don't know what your stats are but I can assume a high charisma, so I'd recommend the infamous Hexblade dip, at level 4 which allows you to attack with CHA as well as pick up Booming/Green Flame Blade, which can mostly compensate for the lack of Extra Attack. Hexblade is a pretty easy subclass to reflavor. The "Hex warrior" feature could be pouring divine will into a weapon rather than infusing curses. After level 4, yeah you're set to go to paladin, overall this might not be "the greatest" but it works quite well enough for a casual game!
Another option is to go Swords bard, and reflavor the flourishes as smites, and continue the class to level 6 until you get extra attack, then going into paladin
Hmm…well, two levels of Paladin will give you access to Divine Smite; which means you can turn spell slots into extra damage.
If you wield a melee weapon in both hands, you can add a bit of damage per round with an Attack action, then your bonus action…but you have some awkward crossover then with your bonus action, which is used for both “Bardic Inspiration” & “Unsettling Words”. Still, you get some options.
Three levels of Paladin grants you your Oath; and a Channel Divinity option.
Personally, I like “Redemption” or “Conquest” paladins for an Eloquence Bard…”Redemption”, because their Channel Divinity improves their “Persuasion” even MORE, on top of Eloquence Bard’s bonuses…and is quite thematically appropriate.
”Conquest” Paladin is sort of an interesting pairing with Eloquence Bard…you cause fear, and considerably increase the chance that a “big” attack will hit your target.
Hmm…with 3 levels of Eloquence Bard already, you either should go entirely into Paladin at this point to receive further bonuses, and Extra Attack…or just stay with Bard.
You’ll develop far more slowly than a regular single-class Paladin…but thankfully, even at lower levels Paladin’s are quite powerful.
it depends upon what you are trying to achieve with the paladin multiclass. A two level dip gives you divine smite, which is a nice dps boost. If you go Bard the rest of the way you will soon have ample spell slots to smite twice per round while fighting with two weapons. Often you will want to use your bonus action for Bardic inspiration, but if you group usually has time to prepare for a battle you can inspire the team before launching the attack. if not, you should probably plan to fight with a two handed weapon for the harder hits, while keeping your bonus action for healing word and bardic inspiration.
Going six levels deep in paladin gives you extra attack and the big boost to saving throws, but slows down your spell progression greatly. How badly do you want those higher level bard spells?
Technically it would have been better to start out as a paladin to get the heavy armor proficiency.