Weird right? I'm playing Descent to Avernus in a group with a Barbarian, a Rogue, a Monk and a Wizard. My initial plan was to be full support / healer as a Lore Bard with a Life Cleric dip. I'm the only Charisma based class, so I kind act as the party face as well.
But we found a +2 shield that provides fire resistance (no one else could use it, except the barbarian who didn't want) and later I got a plate mail (also, I'm the only one that can use it thanks to my Life Cleric dip). I don't have the strength to use it without a penalty, but I keep using Longstrider to compensate the lost mobility.
My bard's AC now is 22, but I can bump it to 24 with Shield of Faith. Also, I can use Cutting Words and Silvery Barbs as reactions. I've been really helpful to the party by putting myself in the front line, buffing, debuffing, healing, etc. With Inspirational Leader + Aid the party members gets +20 hp. Right now I'm feeling good at everything, except doing damage.
Now we got to level 7 (in my case, Bard 6). That means Magical Secrets. My original plan 20 sessions ago was to get Goodberry and Aura of Vitality, but I don't know if I should go for something like Absorb Elements, Armor of Agathys, etc.
Also, not sure anymore if I cap Charisma to 20 on my next ASI or get a feat to help me being more effective in the front.
I'm also open to additional multiclassing (2 levels maximum, since I want to get to Bard 10). Warlock 2 seems nice to start doing some suistanable damage with Eldritch Blast and maybe getting Armor of Agathys without spending Magical Secrets.
Any thoughts on Magical Secrets choices, feats and multiclassing? Sorry for the long post.
Get Spirit Guardians and Armor of Agathys with the Magical Secrets. Run to the front lines with Spirit Guardians up and use your Action to Dodge. With your AC and Cutting Words/Silvery Barbs, enemies will have a horrid time trying to hit you and as long as you catch a couple of enemies in the guardians you will be doing plenty of damage. Those that manage to hit you get some Armor of Agathys love for the trouble lol.
I feel trying to Eldritch Blast is counter productive if you are want to be a front liner as you will most likely have disadvantage on your Eldritch Blasts due to having an enemy within 5 ft of you. Also consider the Warcaster or Resilient - CON feat after you max your CHA if you are planning the Spirit Guardians route.
Thanks so much for the tips. Spirit Guardians seems like an excellent choice. Not only for the damage, but also for reducing the speed of enemies. My original choice (Aura of Vitality) is a nice spell, but so far I've been preventing damage to the party in a very reliable way. So the Aura seems like a bad use of my Concentration. And thanks for the Eldritch Blast heads up. I never realized that spells that requires a ranged attack roll would have this disadvantage at close distance (this is my first campaign).
Concentration shouldn’t really factor into whether you choose Aura of Vitality IMHO. Its value is out of combat, with up to 120 points of healing to spread between whichever party members need it most. In many cases, that’s a short rest that costs 1 minute and a spell slot rather than an hour so it’s great to keep the party going under time sensitive or particularly dangerous conditions where a rest is not feasible. It’s one of the few healing spells that are attractively efficient, and also one of my favourite spells overall.
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Weird right? I'm playing Descent to Avernus in a group with a Barbarian, a Rogue, a Monk and a Wizard. My initial plan was to be full support / healer as a Lore Bard with a Life Cleric dip. I'm the only Charisma based class, so I kind act as the party face as well.
But we found a +2 shield that provides fire resistance (no one else could use it, except the barbarian who didn't want) and later I got a plate mail (also, I'm the only one that can use it thanks to my Life Cleric dip). I don't have the strength to use it without a penalty, but I keep using Longstrider to compensate the lost mobility.
My bard's AC now is 22, but I can bump it to 24 with Shield of Faith. Also, I can use Cutting Words and Silvery Barbs as reactions. I've been really helpful to the party by putting myself in the front line, buffing, debuffing, healing, etc. With Inspirational Leader + Aid the party members gets +20 hp. Right now I'm feeling good at everything, except doing damage.
Now we got to level 7 (in my case, Bard 6). That means Magical Secrets. My original plan 20 sessions ago was to get Goodberry and Aura of Vitality, but I don't know if I should go for something like Absorb Elements, Armor of Agathys, etc.
Also, not sure anymore if I cap Charisma to 20 on my next ASI or get a feat to help me being more effective in the front.
I'm also open to additional multiclassing (2 levels maximum, since I want to get to Bard 10). Warlock 2 seems nice to start doing some suistanable damage with Eldritch Blast and maybe getting Armor of Agathys without spending Magical Secrets.
Any thoughts on Magical Secrets choices, feats and multiclassing? Sorry for the long post.
Get Spirit Guardians and Armor of Agathys with the Magical Secrets. Run to the front lines with Spirit Guardians up and use your Action to Dodge. With your AC and Cutting Words/Silvery Barbs, enemies will have a horrid time trying to hit you and as long as you catch a couple of enemies in the guardians you will be doing plenty of damage. Those that manage to hit you get some Armor of Agathys love for the trouble lol.
I feel trying to Eldritch Blast is counter productive if you are want to be a front liner as you will most likely have disadvantage on your Eldritch Blasts due to having an enemy within 5 ft of you. Also consider the Warcaster or Resilient - CON feat after you max your CHA if you are planning the Spirit Guardians route.
Thanks so much for the tips. Spirit Guardians seems like an excellent choice. Not only for the damage, but also for reducing the speed of enemies. My original choice (Aura of Vitality) is a nice spell, but so far I've been preventing damage to the party in a very reliable way. So the Aura seems like a bad use of my Concentration. And thanks for the Eldritch Blast heads up. I never realized that spells that requires a ranged attack roll would have this disadvantage at close distance (this is my first campaign).
Concentration shouldn’t really factor into whether you choose Aura of Vitality IMHO. Its value is out of combat, with up to 120 points of healing to spread between whichever party members need it most. In many cases, that’s a short rest that costs 1 minute and a spell slot rather than an hour so it’s great to keep the party going under time sensitive or particularly dangerous conditions where a rest is not feasible. It’s one of the few healing spells that are attractively efficient, and also one of my favourite spells overall.