I am making a frontline Goliath Lore Bard (27point buy) and trying to figure out how to survive without multiclassing. Plans are:
-High Strength 16
-Bumping Charisma to 16/17 at 4th level.
I know Heroism will give +2 temp HP per turn, Healing Word to heal as a reaction and my racial will ignore some damage. I just am worried about surviving on the frontline with only 12 AC. Any suggestions to make this work?
There's not a whole lot of options, really. That's not a good Race and Class combo - neither strength nor constitution are great for a bard - and certainly not a tanky build. So long as you stay on the back lines you should usually be fine - your Stone Skin and Cutting Words can protect you from a handful of attacks - but you're not designed to be a front-liner which is what you want. Bards are a support class. College of Swords is the only subclass that can even kind of tank.
A bard's hit die is only a d8, not particularly great for tanking. Get a lot of Con to get your HP up as much as possible. It's very strange for a Goliath, but you may want to focus on Dex instead of Strength to get your AC up. Though the thought of a Goliath using a rapier or shortsword is... weird, to say the least, however you could stay back and rock a Light Crossbow, Hand Crossbow or Shortbow (also all kinda weird, toothpicks in your hands.)
Keep in mind that temp HP doesn't stack; you get +2 per turn with Heroism but you don't subsequently get more each turn unless you go below that +2. Also Healing Word is a bonus action, not reaction, but I think that's what you meant.
There's some feats you could pick up too; Heavily Armored or Moderately Armored for better armor if you are going Str over Dex, or Tough for more HP... But really, trying to be a front-line, tanky Bard is going against the grain.
Don´t focus on Dexterity. AC does not help you too much if it is low anyway.
Your reactions will make you survive. You can reduce damage in two ways. Try to have a decent con, so you can just tank some hits and even make concentration checks. Question is: if you are at the frontline, why do you want to be a lore bard? Valor sounds more appropriate actually. That way you eventually get Heavy armor by investing a feat and you will have a great time then.
So I´d proably start:
Str 14+2 Dex 10 Con 15+1 Int 8 Wis 10 Cha 14
I´d either go lore bard and take moderately armored at level 4, and take heavily armored at level 8.
or I´d be valor and take heavily armored at level 4. I´d probably take resilient constitution at level 8 and then raise str and con at level 12. Instead I might take heavy armor mastery at level 8 and hope I can evade a lot of concentration checks by just taking no damage.
Goliath, Lore Bard, and front-line. That's... quite an inefficient mix. Still, if that's the goal, I'd suggest determining how well the concept works, levels 1-5. Otherwise it's pointless, if the entire idea of being a Lore Bard is so you can get Additional Magical Secrets at level 6, and you never even make it there.
So....
As a Goliath, you can hit your goal of 16 STR pretty easy by just putting in 7 points (getting it to 14 on its own.) But with your Stone's Endurance, I'd recommend getting your CON to 16 as well, even over and above your CHA. This makes you tougher in general, and improves that racial feature. And if you want to bump CHA up to 16 at level 4, that means starting with at least 14. So, I'd go with Abilities like this:
STR - 16 (14+2) DEX - 10 CON - 16 (15+1) INT - 8 WIS - 10 CHA - 14
Intelligence becomes your dump stat, and both Wisdom and Dexterity are painfully mediocre. But at least skill-wise, this honestly isn't as terrible as it seems. Bards can choose any three skills they want to get proficiency in, and they get access to Jack of All Trades and Expertise as well. Lore Bards get three more Expertise skills at level 3, so you can still be decent at almost anything you want.
Go with spells that protect you, heal you, and keep you out of harm's way in the first place. For cantrips, I'd suggest Minor Illusion (obvious) and Vicious Mockery (to give a target disadvantage on its next attack.) For your initial 1st-level spells, I'd recommend Healing Word, Cure Wounds, Dissonant Whispers, and finally either Animal Friendship or Charm Person, depending on whether you think you'll encounter more beasts or more humanoids in battle. As you progress to level 5, aim to pickup spells such as:
Buy studded leather armor ASAP, and become familiar with Cutting Words... it'll save you more than once. Choose a one-handed instrument so you can still wield your weapon while holding it. And you'll probably want a background that automatically gives you proficiency with Stealth, such as Urchin, Criminal or Urban Bounty Hunter; that way you can hide more easily, and save your more flexible skill picks for whatever else you need/want.
Note there's been no focus on offense here; I presume you will just use a longsword. Since you won't even be getting a second attack per turn, how you want to handle that--assuming you even care about doing damage instead of just tanking--is entirely up to you. Perhaps once you make it to level 6, and prove the concept is (somewhat) viable, you can choose to steal a strong offensive spell like Fireball or Blinding Smite. (As a Lore Bard, I presume you're already planning to take Counterspell....)
So after a lot of searching I am thinking taking a one level dip into War Cleric. It gives extra attacks, heavy armor, martial weapons and a few good spells for just one level dip.
... That's kind of a bad idea. What exactly are your stats? You need at least 13 Wisdom in order to multi-class into Cleric. You're spreading yourself very thin with this build.
... That's kind of a bad idea. What exactly are your stats? You need at least 13 Wisdom in order to multi-class into Cleric. You're spreading yourself very thin with this build.
Exactly. Plus, it's not as good as you're thinking: the extra attack from War Priest uses your bonus action (which is why they give it to you at level 1.) As a Lore Bard, you're going to be relying on your bonus actions for your Bardic Inspiration features, including Cutting Words, as well as Healing Word.
If you're dead set on multiclassing, you could get medium armor from one level of Hexblade (Warlock) and not have to adjust your Ability scores. Same with Draconic Bloodline (Sorcerer) where one level gives you Draconic Resilience (extra HP plus a starting AC of 13 without armor.) Even Fighter gives you armor & weapon proficiencies, a fighting style and Second Wind at first level, without having to adjust any Abilities.
I am making a frontline Goliath Lore Bard (27point buy) and trying to figure out how to survive without multiclassing. Plans are:
-High Strength 16
-Bumping Charisma to 16/17 at 4th level.
I know Heroism will give +2 temp HP per turn, Healing Word to heal as a reaction and my racial will ignore some damage. I just am worried about surviving on the frontline with only 12 AC. Any suggestions to make this work?
There's not a whole lot of options, really. That's not a good Race and Class combo - neither strength nor constitution are great for a bard - and certainly not a tanky build. So long as you stay on the back lines you should usually be fine - your Stone Skin and Cutting Words can protect you from a handful of attacks - but you're not designed to be a front-liner which is what you want. Bards are a support class. College of Swords is the only subclass that can even kind of tank.
A bard's hit die is only a d8, not particularly great for tanking. Get a lot of Con to get your HP up as much as possible. It's very strange for a Goliath, but you may want to focus on Dex instead of Strength to get your AC up. Though the thought of a Goliath using a rapier or shortsword is... weird, to say the least, however you could stay back and rock a Light Crossbow, Hand Crossbow or Shortbow (also all kinda weird, toothpicks in your hands.)
Keep in mind that temp HP doesn't stack; you get +2 per turn with Heroism but you don't subsequently get more each turn unless you go below that +2. Also Healing Word is a bonus action, not reaction, but I think that's what you meant.
There's some feats you could pick up too; Heavily Armored or Moderately Armored for better armor if you are going Str over Dex, or Tough for more HP... But really, trying to be a front-line, tanky Bard is going against the grain.
Don´t focus on Dexterity. AC does not help you too much if it is low anyway.
Your reactions will make you survive. You can reduce damage in two ways. Try to have a decent con, so you can just tank some hits and even make concentration checks. Question is: if you are at the frontline, why do you want to be a lore bard? Valor sounds more appropriate actually. That way you eventually get Heavy armor by investing a feat and you will have a great time then.
So I´d proably start:
Str 14+2
Dex 10
Con 15+1
Int 8
Wis 10
Cha 14
I´d either go lore bard and take moderately armored at level 4, and take heavily armored at level 8.
or I´d be valor and take heavily armored at level 4.
I´d probably take resilient constitution at level 8 and then raise str and con at level 12.
Instead I might take heavy armor mastery at level 8 and hope I can evade a lot of concentration checks by just taking no damage.
I want to go Lore Bard because I want to be able to be a grappler and I love the idea of choosing two spells from other classes.
A valor bard is also a good grappler. But if you want to go lore and, just accept low AC, and try to maximize constitution.
Goliath, Lore Bard, and front-line. That's... quite an inefficient mix. Still, if that's the goal, I'd suggest determining how well the concept works, levels 1-5. Otherwise it's pointless, if the entire idea of being a Lore Bard is so you can get Additional Magical Secrets at level 6, and you never even make it there.
So....
As a Goliath, you can hit your goal of 16 STR pretty easy by just putting in 7 points (getting it to 14 on its own.) But with your Stone's Endurance, I'd recommend getting your CON to 16 as well, even over and above your CHA. This makes you tougher in general, and improves that racial feature. And if you want to bump CHA up to 16 at level 4, that means starting with at least 14. So, I'd go with Abilities like this:
STR - 16 (14+2)
DEX - 10
CON - 16 (15+1)
INT - 8
WIS - 10
CHA - 14
Intelligence becomes your dump stat, and both Wisdom and Dexterity are painfully mediocre. But at least skill-wise, this honestly isn't as terrible as it seems. Bards can choose any three skills they want to get proficiency in, and they get access to Jack of All Trades and Expertise as well. Lore Bards get three more Expertise skills at level 3, so you can still be decent at almost anything you want.
Go with spells that protect you, heal you, and keep you out of harm's way in the first place. For cantrips, I'd suggest Minor Illusion (obvious) and Vicious Mockery (to give a target disadvantage on its next attack.) For your initial 1st-level spells, I'd recommend Healing Word, Cure Wounds, Dissonant Whispers, and finally either Animal Friendship or Charm Person, depending on whether you think you'll encounter more beasts or more humanoids in battle. As you progress to level 5, aim to pickup spells such as:
2nd-level
- Blindness/Deafness
- Calm Emotions
- Hold Person
- Invisibility
- Suggestion
3rd-level
- Fear
- Hypnotic Pattern
- Stinking Cloud
- Major Image
Buy studded leather armor ASAP, and become familiar with Cutting Words... it'll save you more than once. Choose a one-handed instrument so you can still wield your weapon while holding it. And you'll probably want a background that automatically gives you proficiency with Stealth, such as Urchin, Criminal or Urban Bounty Hunter; that way you can hide more easily, and save your more flexible skill picks for whatever else you need/want.
Note there's been no focus on offense here; I presume you will just use a longsword. Since you won't even be getting a second attack per turn, how you want to handle that--assuming you even care about doing damage instead of just tanking--is entirely up to you. Perhaps once you make it to level 6, and prove the concept is (somewhat) viable, you can choose to steal a strong offensive spell like Fireball or Blinding Smite. (As a Lore Bard, I presume you're already planning to take Counterspell....)
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
So after a lot of searching I am thinking taking a one level dip into War Cleric. It gives extra attacks, heavy armor, martial weapons and a few good spells for just one level dip.
... That's kind of a bad idea. What exactly are your stats? You need at least 13 Wisdom in order to multi-class into Cleric. You're spreading yourself very thin with this build.
Exactly. Plus, it's not as good as you're thinking: the extra attack from War Priest uses your bonus action (which is why they give it to you at level 1.) As a Lore Bard, you're going to be relying on your bonus actions for your Bardic Inspiration features,
including Cutting Words, as well as Healing Word.If you're dead set on multiclassing, you could get medium armor from one level of Hexblade (Warlock) and not have to adjust your Ability scores. Same with Draconic Bloodline (Sorcerer) where one level gives you Draconic Resilience (extra HP plus a starting AC of 13 without armor.) Even Fighter gives you armor & weapon proficiencies, a fighting style and Second Wind at first level, without having to adjust any Abilities.
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
Cutting Words is a reaction, not a bonus action. But otherwise, yeah, what RodTheBard said.