so i know there is valor and sword. im thinking  of adding in rogue swashbuckler. what do you think the level split should be and which do you think is best. also debating on the battle master feat. thoughts.   please and thank you

Battle master feat only gives one dice so I wouldn't take it. Mobile would be much more fun.

I'd say go sword bard 6 and swash 3 and see how the game goes from there.

A lot of games don't go a lot higher so I usually don't plan up to 20.

Well, lets ask this first - what are you trying to accomplish here? What's the end game? Beyond a swashbuckler/valor or sword hybrid of course. How do you see this character acting? Bards are full casters, swashbucklers are non-casters. What kind of magic are you thinking of?

At the very minimum, I'd like to ask how you plan on using Cunning Action with Bard stuff.  Or are you planning on forgoing any special bonus actions and going with two weapon fighting? 

its a build based of fairy tales. arile little mermaid. so just having fun and trying to find a viable build

This is how I multiclassed my Swords Bard/Swashbuckler:

I love bards and wanted to play a gish, someone who uses magic to enhance their swordplay rather than a spellcaster who occasionally swings a sword, so I chose to play a College of Swords Bard. I requested that we start at level 3 because I wanted everyone to have some sort of signature style inherent in their gameplay and I saw the subclasses as adding that, just my personal view. After half a dozen sessions and hitting level 4 I finally had gained enough knowledge about 5Ed to stop pulling out the books for basic stuff like attack rolls and spells and could think more critically about my gaming experience. I looked ahead and realized a bit glumly that Bards are full spellcasters and that I wasn't really going to be getting much better at swinging a sword than I already was, while my spells would far outstrip and outshine my martial skills. I could keep playing the same way I had been and start to look like a low level minion compared to my partymates, or I could switch my tactics and completely go against the playstyle that I wanted to play. Neither of these seemed fun for me, so I started looking around for options. My actually DM let me completely rebuild my character in another class for one session to try it out and I really enjoyed playing as a level 4 Swashbuckler Rogue, but I did miss all of the social utility that I had become accustomed to as a Bard, which was the other half of the playstyle I wanted, a charming gish. So after awhile I  came up with a plan to have my cake and eat it, too.

I had always been a fan of Eilistraee and her sword dancers and wanted that grace to be a part of this character's gish style, so I reverted my character back to the 4th level Swords Bard and when I hit level 5 I took 1 level of Hexblade, reskinned as Eilistraee's Moonblade. Now my Dex and Cha were even at this time so there was no sudden disparity in sword skill to smooth over. We had also just escaped from a foray into the Underdark. The session was unavoidably cut short due to a scheduling issue and my DM was forced to handwave and teleport us back to Waterdeep and I asked him if it was okay to say that the sound of mysterious hunting horns led us back to the surface, which allowed me to write a dream sequence where my bard met Eilistraee and received her blessing. This allowed me to pick up Shield as well as proficiency with shields, which I reskinned as a cloak wrapped around an arm so I could be a spanish style rapier and cloak fencer. Booming Blade rounded out my magical melee skill set.

Then I started taking levels of Rogue, becoming a Swashbuckler at level 8, and getting my second ASI at level 9, which I put into Charisma. This means I'm using Charisma for melee, for spellcasting, and as an initiative boost, which allows me to grow as a swordsman and a spellslinger at the same time. Plotting out my levels ahead of time I intended to end roughly at Swords 6/ Hexblade 3/ Swashbuckler 11 because that maintains a character who is mainly a charming swordsman (I love Panache and the idea of just being that silver tongued that I can do that without a spell) but also has enough magic tricks up his sleeve to make that swordplay flashier. I wouldn't have any spells higher than 3rd level, which I viewed as a benefit since I mostly wanted spells that were utility and enhancement and not spells that were huge game changers in and of themselves, that didn't fit the character concept I wanted. At level 9 (Swords 4/Swashbuckler 4/Hexblade 1) any level I took would result in meaningful growth, which allowed me to still be responsive to the plot in how I progress in my plan. I just hit level 10 in my game, for example, and we're currently in a plot arc that has open terrain and military leanings so I took that level in Bard, allowing me to better support my Fighter partymate in his quest to take over as warlord of the local orc horde.

Taking Bard  to 4 got me an ASI, then taking 1 level of Hexblade gave me a lot of things to fill in the martial skills of the character, though it did put me behind on an ASI for 1 level, which did feel bad at level 8, but at level 9 everything came together and clicked very well.

yeah i thought sword/valor should have had booming. i was annoyed it didnt. but this is for a new player who may not be deep into builds and theroy crafting