We already had 2 Counterspell casters in the party, so at 6th took Pass w/o Trace and Conjure Animals. Since PwoT made Invisibility redundant, I could relearn that as Dispel Magic and take Sending, which were vital to the campaign. 4 new spells that morning, 3 of which were important within two days.
This is the highest I've played so far, so appreciating the advice for 10 / 14 / 18.
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Galanodel Deacon Tosh - Less-than-Half-Elf Bard - & -Flitterbug - Pixie Sorceress : Meanwhile in the Westwoods Amadow 'Tug' Rioux - Human Psionic Palooka : Revenge Heist - - - Gofer Bayut - Bugbear Paladin Messenger : Shrouded Sky
Destructive Wave at level 10 is nice. It's one of the best area spells because it combines decent damage with the ability to avoid friendly targets. Probably best with Valor Bard because medium armour and shield means you're not as squishy when you run into the middle of the enemy.
Counterspell and Fireball at level 6 are nice.
Level 18, definitely Wish, since it's basically every spell level 8 or lower.
No love for Circle of Power at level 10? A unique Paladin spell (and one UA Cleric domain) that they can't access until 17. Advantage on all saves and removes the half-damage taken from passing saving throws (and only affects friendlies).
Does anyone think about taking some Dunamancy? now that this book is out?
No, I don't think any Wildemount spell is so good that it would take the place of some of the staple magical secrets.
Agreed. Some are nice, but not nice enough.
Gravity Sinkhole I'd definitely consider if you need a good AoE damage spell. Level 4 spell dealing 5d10 Force with upcasting scaling on a 1d10 is solid (compare to Erupting Earth at 3d12 Bludgeoning with an upcast of 1d12 starting at level 3). Throw in the fact that it pulls them into the center so you can get CC and pull them into an Insect Plague, Spiritual Guardians, Wall of Fire, etc for additional damage or Evard's for additional CC. It's easily one of the best damage spells in the game combining high damage, a great damage type, CC, and ability to combo into other effects.
Find Familiar: This is a must for me. No matter what bard I play, the idea that their magics would woo a Fey spirit to accompany them is always fun, let alone all the MANY utility uses of a Familiar. Also, pet that won't die and if you get bored, you can change the skin. Counterspell: Always the first temptation after Find Familiar. Fireball: This, besides Counterspell is the only real temptation I have as a bard. It is THE D&D spell and to leave it off this list of 1st wave temptations would be disingenuous. I usually ask myself, would my bard be smart enough to take counterspell? If not, Fireball.
Level 10, Magical Secrets:
Banishing Smite: For me, I find always I want the ability to do some real damage in combat, but up to this point, it is hard. With Banishing Smite you get the Utility of anything from another plane is a prime target for this spell, and to give a rapier attack one nasty bite. Bigby's Hand: This spell is so useful, and again, good damaging spells are at a premium for Bards at this point. Especially without Fireball. Fireball: It's Fireball guys..... Always Fireball.
Level 14, Magical Secrets:
Firestorm: Because let's keep this Damage Train moving, gotta keep up with the Monks and the Rangers. Disintegrate: Pairs well with any spell list, just be careful not to slay the dragon with it, or the party might get mad at you for destroying valuable loot. Finger of Death: My alt to Disintegrate. It is hard to argue with all parties that resurrecting the fallen as zombies is ever going to be ok though. Fireball: FIREBALL
Level 18, Magical Secrets:
Demiplane: Wanna create The Big House, a cross dimensional prison for your baddies? done. Wanna stash a dragon's horde? done. Wanna create the perfect place to store dangerous magical items that should never see the light of day? Done. Need to take a shit? Done. Wish: You get access to every spell below 9th once per day. Let's go with a previous suggestion, and cast Clone once per day. Then toss them in a Demi plane. Instant non-lich immortality.
Late to the party. As a support focused Lore bard I went with (so far);
lvl 6: Counterspell (just because Counterspell) and Tiny Servant (for out of combat fun but looking at in combat upcasting fun).
lvl 10: Wall of Force (trap the enemies in a sphere..woot!) and Circle of Power. CoP is great for protecting against spells and damage. I wanted to take Find greater Steed but our Pally would get butt hurt and I took one for the team.
1. counterspell ...this should just be in our spell list :/
2. revivify, spiritual weapon, fireball, guiding bolts, honestly there are a lot of options so it depends on the group....I’ll tell you what I’ll never take though ....eldritch blast
10
1. Wall of Force (really nice with spiritual weapon)
2. telekinesis (cutting words =win)
14:
1. Simulacrum
2. sickening radiance
18:
1. wish
2. mass heal
i skip things like Demiplane and contingency bc at lvl 18 you get the same thing from simulacrum+wish
I lien reverse gravity but I like sickening radiance better
Tired of being the lowest damage dealer in the party? eldritch blast can fix that.
How can a cantrip fix your being the lowest damage dealer? Eldritch blast is only great for warlocks due to Agonizing Blast and its multiplier to CHA bonus (every ray gets CHA bonus to damage), which is often boosted even further with Hex. Without Agonizing Blast it's only slightly better than Fire Bolt (a damage type that's harder to resist or need to hit multiple targets, same damage), and noone ever tells you "well, Fire Bolt can fix your being the lowest damage dealer".
I mean, it's just plain 2d10 damage at the level you pick. No additional invocations to boost its damage or give it utility. Why would you waste your magical secret on a cantrip anyway? If you spend your round casting a cantrip and you're level 7+, you basically wasted your round - most classes have better things to do than casting a cantrip, it's just a free way to deal SOME damage, not become a great damage dealer.
Also, even for warlocks with all the cantrips, dealing damage with Eldritch Blast + Hex is a good reliable source of damage, but still far from damage that an average optimized character deals in a round. It's just basically free and ok, but it's not spectacular, even with all the boosts from invocations.
Just compare Eldritch Blast to a Spiritual Weapon or even Hex. Why would you pick EB over Spiritual Weapon? It's a versatile bonus action damage-dealing spell that doesn't occupy your concentration, and you can spend an attack just shooting a bow - and you can still deal damage in the rounds when you cast Hypnotic Patterns and Hold Persons. It even scales great.
Here are Some favorites, some of these will be great and some not so great depending on your play style and combination with your bard spells. Personally I skip cantrips , nothing you can live without or get from a racial feature.
level 1: guiding bolt (always a good hit), amor of agathas (good deterrent if you end up in melee), magic missile (magic missile), find familiar
No mention of cantrips at all? I've already resolved to take Guidance for my glamour bard, because no one else in the party has it. I'm also planning to take Transport Via Plants when I can, because it's more reliable than Teleport. And yes, Wish is a no-brainer. I've nicknamed it "Wildcard".
Tired of being the lowest damage dealer in the party? eldritch blast can fix that.
How can a cantrip fix your being the lowest damage dealer? Eldritch blast is only great for warlocks due to Agonizing Blast and its multiplier to CHA bonus (every ray gets CHA bonus to damage), which is often boosted even further with Hex. Without Agonizing Blast it's only slightly better than Fire Bolt (a damage type that's harder to resist or need to hit multiple targets, same damage), and noone ever tells you "well, Fire Bolt can fix your being the lowest damage dealer".
I mean, it's just plain 2d10 damage at the level you pick. No additional invocations to boost its damage or give it utility. Why would you waste your magical secret on a cantrip anyway? If you spend your round casting a cantrip and you're level 7+, you basically wasted your round - most classes have better things to do than casting a cantrip, it's just a free way to deal SOME damage, not become a great damage dealer.
Also, even for warlocks with all the cantrips, dealing damage with Eldritch Blast + Hex is a good reliable source of damage, but still far from damage that an average optimized character deals in a round. It's just basically free and ok, but it's not spectacular, even with all the boosts from invocations.
Just compare Eldritch Blast to a Spiritual Weapon or even Hex. Why would you pick EB over Spiritual Weapon? It's a versatile bonus action damage-dealing spell that doesn't occupy your concentration, and you can spend an attack just shooting a bow - and you can still deal damage in the rounds when you cast Hypnotic Patterns and Hold Persons. It even scales great.
So I started my Lore Bard at level six, with a backstory of running with thieves as a teen before ditching them to accept an invite to the Lore College of Waterdeep. So he has the mobile feat and took booming blade and shield as his secrets. Basically cast a concentration spell and then run around either hitting with a sword and disengaging or breaking enemies minds with dissonant whispers. Starting with an 18 CHA and 16 Dex helped make this possible
I know it it basically the opposite of optimized, but he is a blast to play in a fight.
Tired of being the lowest damage dealer in the party? eldritch blast can fix that.
How can a cantrip fix your being the lowest damage dealer? Eldritch blast is only great for warlocks due to Agonizing Blast and its multiplier to CHA bonus (every ray gets CHA bonus to damage), which is often boosted even further with Hex. Without Agonizing Blast it's only slightly better than Fire Bolt (a damage type that's harder to resist or need to hit multiple targets, same damage), and noone ever tells you "well, Fire Bolt can fix your being the lowest damage dealer".
I mean, it's just plain 2d10 damage at the level you pick. No additional invocations to boost its damage or give it utility. Why would you waste your magical secret on a cantrip anyway? If you spend your round casting a cantrip and you're level 7+, you basically wasted your round - most classes have better things to do than casting a cantrip, it's just a free way to deal SOME damage, not become a great damage dealer.
Also, even for warlocks with all the cantrips, dealing damage with Eldritch Blast + Hex is a good reliable source of damage, but still far from damage that an average optimized character deals in a round. It's just basically free and ok, but it's not spectacular, even with all the boosts from invocations.
Just compare Eldritch Blast to a Spiritual Weapon or even Hex. Why would you pick EB over Spiritual Weapon? It's a versatile bonus action damage-dealing spell that doesn't occupy your concentration, and you can spend an attack just shooting a bow - and you can still deal damage in the rounds when you cast Hypnotic Patterns and Hold Persons. It even scales great.
Spirit Guardians is great, but unlike Spiritual Weapon it (a) is a Concentration spell, and (b) requires you to be near melee range. Spiritual Weapon's only drawback is that it uses a Bonus Action to deal damage that could otherwise go to Bardic Inspiration. If you need concentration based AoE, it's a great choice, but you will want to beef up your con and hopefully have Warcaster and/or Resilient Con.
I steal attacking catnips, Guidance, Create Food & Water, Demiplane and Wish. With Wish and Demiplane I can stash a Clone in a different Demiplane every day assuming I still have those slots at the end of the day.
Do those attacking catnips only work for Tabaxi bards?
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Agreed. Some are nice, but not nice enough.
Whistler
Titus - V. Human Battle Master Fighter 3 - [Pic] - [Pic2] - [Traits] - in Shadowglass
Locke - V. Human Shadow Monk 3 / Undead Warlock 2 - [Pic] - [Traits] - in FOW - DMless West Marches
Flèche - V. Human Swords Bard 10 - [Pic] - [Traits] - in The Scarlet Mist
Sterling - V. Human Bard 1 - [Pic] - [Traits] - in Bards: Dragon Heist
>> New FOW threat & treasure tables: fow-advanced-threat-tables.pdf fow-advanced-treasure-table.pdf
We already had 2 Counterspell casters in the party, so at 6th took Pass w/o Trace and Conjure Animals. Since PwoT made Invisibility redundant, I could relearn that as Dispel Magic and take Sending, which were vital to the campaign. 4 new spells that morning, 3 of which were important within two days.
This is the highest I've played so far, so appreciating the advice for 10 / 14 / 18.
Galanodel Deacon Tosh - Less-than-Half-Elf Bard - & - Flitterbug - Pixie Sorceress : Meanwhile in the Westwoods
Amadow 'Tug' Rioux - Human Psionic Palooka : Revenge Heist - - - Gofer Bayut - Bugbear Paladin Messenger : Shrouded Sky
Lore bard that is support-oriented
Level 6: Healing spirit, counterspell, or mass healing word if the party has enough counterspells.
Level 10: Holy Weapon, dawn
Level 14: Crown of Stars, Simulacrum
Level 18: Wish, Mass heal
Sword bard that is melee-oriented
Level 10: Steel wind strike, shadowblade because it scales well. Holy weapon works well for this slot, as does banishing smite.
Level 14: Heroes' feast, contingency or maybe chain lightning
Level 18: Wish, Sunburst
Whisper bard: archer build
Level 10: Swift Quiver, Find greater steed
Level 14: Simulacrum, Soul cage
Level 18: Maddening darkness, wish
Valor bard: Generalist build
Level 10: Destructive Wave, conjure woodland beings (Boggles, quicklings and darklings are fun summons)
Level 14: simulacrum (Because what party doesn't want another bard throwing out D12's to add to saves, AC and damage?) Plane shift
Level 18: Wish, meteor swarm
From my point of view some of the Bard Champion favorites spells for magical secrets by level are:
lv10 - Wall of Force (NOTE: if you don't have a wizard this spell is a top priority)
lv14 - Reverse Gravity
lv18 - Wish (always a top priority)
Some Additional Magical Secrets
Aura of Vitality (top priority if you want to multiclass to life cleric)
Counterspell
Fireball
Destructive Wave at level 10 is nice. It's one of the best area spells because it combines decent damage with the ability to avoid friendly targets. Probably best with Valor Bard because medium armour and shield means you're not as squishy when you run into the middle of the enemy.
Counterspell and Fireball at level 6 are nice.
Level 18, definitely Wish, since it's basically every spell level 8 or lower.
Level 14, probably have to think about that.
No love for Circle of Power at level 10? A unique Paladin spell (and one UA Cleric domain) that they can't access until 17. Advantage on all saves and removes the half-damage taken from passing saving throws (and only affects friendlies).
Gravity Sinkhole I'd definitely consider if you need a good AoE damage spell. Level 4 spell dealing 5d10 Force with upcasting scaling on a 1d10 is solid (compare to Erupting Earth at 3d12 Bludgeoning with an upcast of 1d12 starting at level 3). Throw in the fact that it pulls them into the center so you can get CC and pull them into an Insect Plague, Spiritual Guardians, Wall of Fire, etc for additional damage or Evard's for additional CC. It's easily one of the best damage spells in the game combining high damage, a great damage type, CC, and ability to combo into other effects.
Level 6, Additional Magical Secrets:
Find Familiar: This is a must for me. No matter what bard I play, the idea that their magics would woo a Fey spirit to accompany them is always fun, let alone all the MANY utility uses of a Familiar. Also, pet that won't die and if you get bored, you can change the skin.
Counterspell: Always the first temptation after Find Familiar.
Fireball: This, besides Counterspell is the only real temptation I have as a bard. It is THE D&D spell and to leave it off this list of 1st wave temptations would be disingenuous. I usually ask myself, would my bard be smart enough to take counterspell? If not, Fireball.
Level 10, Magical Secrets:
Banishing Smite: For me, I find always I want the ability to do some real damage in combat, but up to this point, it is hard. With Banishing Smite you get the Utility of anything from another plane is a prime target for this spell, and to give a rapier attack one nasty bite.
Bigby's Hand: This spell is so useful, and again, good damaging spells are at a premium for Bards at this point. Especially without Fireball.
Fireball: It's Fireball guys..... Always Fireball.
Level 14, Magical Secrets:
Firestorm: Because let's keep this Damage Train moving, gotta keep up with the Monks and the Rangers.
Disintegrate: Pairs well with any spell list, just be careful not to slay the dragon with it, or the party might get mad at you for destroying valuable loot.
Finger of Death: My alt to Disintegrate. It is hard to argue with all parties that resurrecting the fallen as zombies is ever going to be ok though.
Fireball: FIREBALL
Level 18, Magical Secrets:
Demiplane: Wanna create The Big House, a cross dimensional prison for your baddies? done. Wanna stash a dragon's horde? done. Wanna create the perfect place to store dangerous magical items that should never see the light of day? Done. Need to take a shit? Done.
Wish: You get access to every spell below 9th once per day. Let's go with a previous suggestion, and cast Clone once per day. Then toss them in a Demi plane. Instant non-lich immortality.
Late to the party. As a support focused Lore bard I went with (so far);
lvl 6: Counterspell (just because Counterspell) and Tiny Servant (for out of combat fun but looking at in combat upcasting fun).
lvl 10: Wall of Force (trap the enemies in a sphere..woot!) and Circle of Power. CoP is great for protecting against spells and damage. I wanted to take Find greater Steed but our Pally would get butt hurt and I took one for the team.
Not sure what will be next.
6:
1. counterspell ...this should just be in our spell list :/
2. revivify, spiritual weapon, fireball, guiding bolts, honestly there are a lot of options so it depends on the group....I’ll tell you what I’ll never take though ....eldritch blast
10
1. Wall of Force (really nice with spiritual weapon)
2. telekinesis (cutting words =win)
14:
1. Simulacrum
2. sickening radiance
18:
1. wish
2. mass heal
i skip things like Demiplane and contingency bc at lvl 18 you get the same thing from simulacrum+wish
I lien reverse gravity but I like sickening radiance better
Lvl 6: spirit guardians and fireball.
spirit guardians: It is an awesome spell that protects your allies and deals lots of damage, and upcasting it is actually a good thing to do.
fireball because it is a good AoE damage spell.
Lvl 10: Valor/Sword Bard Choices: haste and banishing smite. Normal Bard choices: Bigby's hand and wall of force.
haste: You get an extra attack and you can be Sonic now. What could go wrong?
banishing smite: Dealing tons of extra force damage and banishing enemies? Sounds cool to me. (Sorry, Paladins).
Bigby's hand: You get a hand that fights with you that makes mage hand look puny, and you can do other things with it.
[wall of force: hide behind a force field or trap your enemy.
Lvl 14: prismatic spray and reverse gravity.
prismatic spray: blast people with beams of color, deal lots of damage, and other things!
reverse gravity: send that monster flying up into the air screaming and have it crash right back down.
Lvl 18: wish and true resurrection
wish: because it's wish.
true resurrection: Now you can be the ultimate healer in case the Cleric goes down.
Erean Cabenrith a Variant Human Cleric (Light Domain)
Eliem Lightblossom a High Elf Blood Hunter
Check out my Extended Signature Here
How can a cantrip fix your being the lowest damage dealer? Eldritch blast is only great for warlocks due to Agonizing Blast and its multiplier to CHA bonus (every ray gets CHA bonus to damage), which is often boosted even further with Hex. Without Agonizing Blast it's only slightly better than Fire Bolt (a damage type that's harder to resist or need to hit multiple targets, same damage), and noone ever tells you "well, Fire Bolt can fix your being the lowest damage dealer".
I mean, it's just plain 2d10 damage at the level you pick. No additional invocations to boost its damage or give it utility. Why would you waste your magical secret on a cantrip anyway? If you spend your round casting a cantrip and you're level 7+, you basically wasted your round - most classes have better things to do than casting a cantrip, it's just a free way to deal SOME damage, not become a great damage dealer.
Also, even for warlocks with all the cantrips, dealing damage with Eldritch Blast + Hex is a good reliable source of damage, but still far from damage that an average optimized character deals in a round. It's just basically free and ok, but it's not spectacular, even with all the boosts from invocations.
Just compare Eldritch Blast to a Spiritual Weapon or even Hex. Why would you pick EB over Spiritual Weapon? It's a versatile bonus action damage-dealing spell that doesn't occupy your concentration, and you can spend an attack just shooting a bow - and you can still deal damage in the rounds when you cast Hypnotic Patterns and Hold Persons. It even scales great.
Here are Some favorites, some of these will be great and some not so great depending on your play style and combination with your bard spells. Personally I skip cantrips , nothing you can live without or get from a racial feature.
level 1: guiding bolt (always a good hit), amor of agathas (good deterrent if you end up in melee), magic missile (magic missile), find familiar
level 2: Jin’s glowing coin (for sneaky bards setting an ambush), healing spirit (for healing bards), Tasha mind whip (great spell), summon beast
level 3: blink (defense), call lighting or fireball (damage), counter spell
level 4: greater invisibility, find greater steed
level 5: swift quiver (archers, who want to cast for all and shoot two arrows), tree stride, wall of force, destruction wave
level 6: contingency ( your just in case), tensers transformation (emergency health and melee) word of recall (emergency exit), heal
level 7: regenerate, plane shift, prismatic spray, reverse gravity, simulacrum, teleport
Level 8: mind blank, power word stun, Demi plane
level 9: wish, prismatic wall, shapechange, tinestop
No mention of cantrips at all? I've already resolved to take Guidance for my glamour bard, because no one else in the party has it. I'm also planning to take Transport Via Plants when I can, because it's more reliable than Teleport. And yes, Wish is a no-brainer. I've nicknamed it "Wildcard".
Just a dysfunctional girl addicted to fantasy because I’m tired of living in reality
Avatar picture: Wizard PC Dess Miranova, drawn by Porzio_art
Music, anyone?
Have you checked out the spirits bard? You get guidance for free + it now has range.
Ooh, that would be awesome, but I've already committed to glamour.
Just a dysfunctional girl addicted to fantasy because I’m tired of living in reality
Avatar picture: Wizard PC Dess Miranova, drawn by Porzio_art
Music, anyone?
Glamour bards are fun. Picking up Steel Wind Strike wound up working out brilliantly with the one I played. (Tenser's Transformation, not so much.)
Whistler
Titus - V. Human Battle Master Fighter 3 - [Pic] - [Pic2] - [Traits] - in Shadowglass
Locke - V. Human Shadow Monk 3 / Undead Warlock 2 - [Pic] - [Traits] - in FOW - DMless West Marches
Flèche - V. Human Swords Bard 10 - [Pic] - [Traits] - in The Scarlet Mist
Sterling - V. Human Bard 1 - [Pic] - [Traits] - in Bards: Dragon Heist
>> New FOW threat & treasure tables: fow-advanced-threat-tables.pdf fow-advanced-treasure-table.pdf
I just read your comment, so spiritual weapon is actually better to choose then eldritch blast, but spirit guardians is even better than both of those.
Erean Cabenrith a Variant Human Cleric (Light Domain)
Eliem Lightblossom a High Elf Blood Hunter
Check out my Extended Signature Here
So I started my Lore Bard at level six, with a backstory of running with thieves as a teen before ditching them to accept an invite to the Lore College of Waterdeep. So he has the mobile feat and took booming blade and shield as his secrets. Basically cast a concentration spell and then run around either hitting with a sword and disengaging or breaking enemies minds with dissonant whispers. Starting with an 18 CHA and 16 Dex helped make this possible
I know it it basically the opposite of optimized, but he is a blast to play in a fight.
Spirit Guardians is great, but unlike Spiritual Weapon it (a) is a Concentration spell, and (b) requires you to be near melee range. Spiritual Weapon's only drawback is that it uses a Bonus Action to deal damage that could otherwise go to Bardic Inspiration. If you need concentration based AoE, it's a great choice, but you will want to beef up your con and hopefully have Warcaster and/or Resilient Con.
Do those attacking catnips only work for Tabaxi bards?