So I like the idea of rolling a Bard which plays on that old trope of being a musician who got their musical ability and powers by selling their soul to the devil (or some.similar.villainous deity).
I figure mechanically, I could realise that vision by playing a Bard and multiclassing with Warlock, but, I've got zero experience with multiclassing, so I was wondering if anyone has tried something similar and whether it worked out for them? Or is there potentially some homebrew out there which provides this outcome?
I'm sure I'm not the first to have this idea, after all 😅
So oddly enough I just started a campaign with this same build idea! My bard/warlock (Bardlock) found a magical (devilish) instrument that granted them powers.
The best play seems to be to do a small dip into warlock and then go bard the rest of the way. In my opinion it's a pretty amazing combo because with only two levels of warlock you can get good ol' eldritch blast and along with some invocations and then get to be a full bard on top of that.
No I started with Warlock. 1&2 Warlock. But it depends on whether you prefer proficiency on Dexterity or Wisdom saves.
I saw another thread in here with a 3 level warlock. If you search the thread for "Bardlock" you'll find other build ideas.
Whether you go with 2 or 3 levels doesn't really matter. Also what you take first won't much matter either. The big thing will be what subclasses you pick. You'll want to look at them side by side to make sure you're picking compatible ones.
When it comes to any multiclassing the thing to do is to look at both classes side by side (as well as the subclasses) to see where things might overlap to make sure that you'll be able to actually do the strategies you'd like. What will you use your bonus action for? What spells will you take? What will be your go to concentration spells? Bards are mostly support and control but as a warlock you could lean more dps. If you take hexblade and swords or valor you could also be a frontline fighter.
Take time to look at the options to see what style is most exciting to you.
it's the second comment down and goes over lots of different options!
Ah awesome! Thanks for all the advice!
I'll start with comparing the classes and subclasses side by side as you say - should help me with planning ahead. I get the feeling multiclassing is something you can easily screw up if you're not careful 😅
My combo would be a triple multicast as a hospitality Halfling. At lw 14 you are at your most powerful .
1 lw in Life Cleric for guidance and extra healing from class.
3lw in Celestial Warlock you have 4 d6 heals as a bonus action and having goodberry from halfling that you can give to your Familiar imp, And you always have above-average damage with Eldritch blast
10lw Lore bard you get mass healing words from Magical Secrets and lw 2 summon Steed, at lw 10 you get to summon draconic spirit and Greater steed.
As a feat inspiring leader for extra health and upcast the Aid Spell .
Combo
Action use - Eldritch blast / Any damage spell.
Bonus action - Mass cure words/ cure word
Reaction - Silvery barbs / bardic inspiration cutting words
3 summons with draconic, Peryton and imp summon that is not mounted (Also buffed from aid/inspiring leader. )
Action economy is the game here this way you always have something and have enough spells to add for out-of-combat (The other spells to add are catnap, identify, comprehend languages, and detect magic )
Here's what I recommend, but this is specific to what I want my character to do. First, take 3 levels in bard, and choose whatever college fits you. I chose college of eloquence and now can't roll below a 21 on persuasion and deception, but that's kind of irrelevant. I liked my bard, but realized he wasn't great at dealing damage (normal thing for bards, but I wanted to be able to hurt people) so I took two levels into warlock, got electric blast, and chose agonizing blast for that extra damage + reppeling blast (pushes any enemy you hit 10 ft back, and works for each blast. It's a little OP) I also chose path of the genie for the little bonus damage per turn, plus I liked the mini house. Then take the rest of the levels into bard, unless you want to go one more warlock level for a pact option. I haven't actually played this character, but I'm about to. This is what I chose, and I like it
I played a Glamour bard/warlock multiclass and it was a ton of fun. I ended up with more bard than I intended, because bard just kept giving me good stuff.
Any time an unfathomably powerful entity sweeps in and offers godlike rewards in return for just a few teensy favors, it’s a scam. Unless it’s me. I’d never lie to you, reader dearest.
Tasha
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So I like the idea of rolling a Bard which plays on that old trope of being a musician who got their musical ability and powers by selling their soul to the devil (or some.similar.villainous deity).
I figure mechanically, I could realise that vision by playing a Bard and multiclassing with Warlock, but, I've got zero experience with multiclassing, so I was wondering if anyone has tried something similar and whether it worked out for them? Or is there potentially some homebrew out there which provides this outcome?
I'm sure I'm not the first to have this idea, after all 😅
So oddly enough I just started a campaign with this same build idea! My bard/warlock (Bardlock) found a magical (devilish) instrument that granted them powers.
The best play seems to be to do a small dip into warlock and then go bard the rest of the way. In my opinion it's a pretty amazing combo because with only two levels of warlock you can get good ol' eldritch blast and along with some invocations and then get to be a full bard on top of that.
Ah awesome! I'm glad to hear it's working out well!
So did you structure it:
Lvl 1 - Bard, Lvl 2 & 3 - Warlock, then Bard from there out?
No I started with Warlock. 1&2 Warlock. But it depends on whether you prefer proficiency on Dexterity or Wisdom saves.
I saw another thread in here with a 3 level warlock. If you search the thread for "Bardlock" you'll find other build ideas.
Whether you go with 2 or 3 levels doesn't really matter. Also what you take first won't much matter either. The big thing will be what subclasses you pick. You'll want to look at them side by side to make sure you're picking compatible ones.
When it comes to any multiclassing the thing to do is to look at both classes side by side (as well as the subclasses) to see where things might overlap to make sure that you'll be able to actually do the strategies you'd like. What will you use your bonus action for? What spells will you take? What will be your go to concentration spells? Bards are mostly support and control but as a warlock you could lean more dps. If you take hexblade and swords or valor you could also be a frontline fighter.
Take time to look at the options to see what style is most exciting to you.
I found a pretty comprehensive breakdown on how you can build a bard/warlock.
https://www.reddit.com/r/3d6/comments/x9f173/bardwarlock_multiclass/
it's the second comment down and goes over lots of different options!
Ah awesome! Thanks for all the advice!
I'll start with comparing the classes and subclasses side by side as you say - should help me with planning ahead. I get the feeling multiclassing is something you can easily screw up if you're not careful 😅
My combo would be a triple multicast as a hospitality Halfling. At lw 14 you are at your most powerful .
1 lw in Life Cleric for guidance and extra healing from class.
3lw in Celestial Warlock you have 4 d6 heals as a bonus action and having goodberry from halfling that you can give to your Familiar imp, And you always have above-average damage with Eldritch blast
10lw Lore bard you get mass healing words from Magical Secrets and lw 2 summon Steed, at lw 10 you get to summon draconic spirit and Greater steed.
As a feat inspiring leader for extra health and upcast the Aid Spell .
Combo
Action use - Eldritch blast / Any damage spell.
Bonus action - Mass cure words/ cure word
Reaction - Silvery barbs / bardic inspiration cutting words
3 summons with draconic, Peryton and imp summon that is not mounted (Also buffed from aid/inspiring leader. )
Action economy is the game here this way you always have something and have enough spells to add for out-of-combat (The other spells to add are catnap, identify, comprehend languages, and detect magic )
Here's what I recommend, but this is specific to what I want my character to do. First, take 3 levels in bard, and choose whatever college fits you. I chose college of eloquence and now can't roll below a 21 on persuasion and deception, but that's kind of irrelevant. I liked my bard, but realized he wasn't great at dealing damage (normal thing for bards, but I wanted to be able to hurt people) so I took two levels into warlock, got electric blast, and chose agonizing blast for that extra damage + reppeling blast (pushes any enemy you hit 10 ft back, and works for each blast. It's a little OP) I also chose path of the genie for the little bonus damage per turn, plus I liked the mini house. Then take the rest of the levels into bard, unless you want to go one more warlock level for a pact option. I haven't actually played this character, but I'm about to. This is what I chose, and I like it
I played a Glamour bard/warlock multiclass and it was a ton of fun. I ended up with more bard than I intended, because bard just kept giving me good stuff.
Any time an unfathomably powerful entity sweeps in and offers godlike rewards in return for just a few teensy favors, it’s a scam. Unless it’s me. I’d never lie to you, reader dearest.
Tasha