I'm new to D&D, and I want to play a Kolbold bard. Any tips for me, besides the usally classic shpeel of ' bard must flirt with anything that seems sentient' (just joking around on that part), like any fun subclass suggestions that will make it easier to learn how to bard better?
Instead, I suggest you first decide whether or not the music you make is enjoyable to other people. Obviously you should have a high performance skill and should personally enjoy your music. But is it something others like and are impressed with, or are you the guy playing Bagpipes at a Trance party?
Next, decide if you are going to focus on:
Buffs/Heals
Control/debuffs
Social
Stealthy
Utility
Those are the things Bards are good at, but it is hard to excel at all of them. You can do several 2/3 very well, but not all 5. So pick a couple and work harder at them. Note, as kobold, you start with an extra Buff and it's pretty good - Grovel.
Hi and welcome to D&D! The bard is a class that excels at support and the social game. In combat they are very good at standing back and making their friends look good and their enemies look bad. Kobolds are very pack minded, so this fits very well. Out of combat, bards can very easily be the best at social skills and act as the party face. You could play the stereotypical kobold crony who hides behind the legs of bigger folk and makes snide jabs at enemies and fawns on allies, or you could take more after the famous kobold bard Deekin Scalesinger from Neverwinter Nights.
In general the bard is a spellcaster that focuses on supportive enhancements and hindering enemies. The subclass you pick will give you various options to tweak your playstyle form that general skill set.
The College of Lore is arguably the most mechanically powerful subclass, with the ability to start borrowing spells from other classes at level 6 instead of level 10. This ability allows you to customize your playstyle, sometimes drastically. Cutting words lets you use your jabs and insults to defend your allies form attack. For a class designed to stay back and make your friends look better, the College of Lore gives you even more tools to do so.
The College of Valor is for more martially minded bards who want to be closer to the front lines of combat. Better armor and weapons proficiencies makes you hardier and less likely to go down. You're still a spellcaster who excels at buffing or debuffing, but you can also dish out some weapon damage as well. Don't expect to be a bruiser like a fighter or barbarian, but you can stand shoulder to shoulder with your comrades as they wage into battle, bolstering them with your words.
The College of Swords is another half martial bard, but they are a bit more offensive than the Valor bards. They can use their Bardic Inspiration themselves to flourish their weapons and perform combat maneuvers that push enemies, deflect blows, or slash at every enemy in reach at once. These are fun and flashy, but limited and also compete with your ability to inspire your allies so don't expect consistent damage on par with a true martial class, just pull it out in a crucial moment to astound and surprise your enemies.
The College of Glamour is the most performance oriented bard. Your music and magic beguile the senses of your enemies while emboldening the hearts of allies. If you want to use music to control minds and soothe hearts, this college is what you're looking for.
The College of Eloquence from the new Theros book is the college for bards who want to pontificate and debate. They can talk circles around less clever folk and seed doubt in their minds with a well turned phrase. At higher levels they can also use their bardic inspiration more times than any other bard, so if you want the know-it-all who really does know it all and can help you out with everything, choose the College of Eloquence.
The College of Whispers is a more insidious bard who specializes in the use of fear and manipulation. If you like to whisper from the shadows and strike inexplicable terror into your victim's hearts, choose this college. Because you don't have to make them fear you directly, you can use this power to manipulate people socially in very clever, if dark, ways. Seed paranoia, distrust, and fear and watch the social structures of your enemies collapse!
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Canto alla vita alla sua bellezza ad ogni sua ferita ogni sua carezza!
I sing to life and to its tragic beauty To pain and to strife, but all that dances through me The rise and the fall, I've lived through it all!
The Kolbold character I want to play as could be characterized as, someone who is wiser then he seems, but is so much of a goof ball that he sometimes goofs up on giving advice to others. 95% he is a weird mixture of grumpy yet cheerful. I think I may go for lore or eloquence... But I do like the concept of knowing a lot of random spells.
I think I'll go for social, buff/ heals, and or debuff. I plan on having my character be okay fighting on the front lines, even if his states for that are not totally cut out for it. (The flirting thing was a joke btw) I do plan on having my character being the friendly type, not the flirtatious type
May I recommend Bane in combat then? It's a great way to make your enemies whiff their swings in combat, especially when you also use Vicious Mockery and/or your Lore bard's Cutting Words.
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Canto alla vita alla sua bellezza ad ogni sua ferita ogni sua carezza!
I sing to life and to its tragic beauty To pain and to strife, but all that dances through me The rise and the fall, I've lived through it all!
Honestly, as a kobold, I’d highly recommend the valor bard. You mentioned you’d also like to be fighting on the front-line, even if your character isn’t the greatest at it so it’d be a great fit anyways. Playing as the bard you’ll still have access to spells. Keep in mind that since kobolds do not have ASIs in charisma, your spell casting stat will be lower. Also keep in mind that concentration spells will be even worse since you’ll be a front-liner taking hits and having to make saves (which won’t be as good with the slightly lower charisma stat).
Some spells that may be awesome would be:dissonant whispers - great up close or at range. When they’re close and they fail the save, you can use your reaction to make an AoO! Use it to get an enemy away from a team mate and potentially give them AoO.
faerie fire - make the invisible visible and grant advantage on attacks. This will make it a lot easier for you and your allies to land their attacks (especially since you’re playing a valor bard).
healing word - never bad to have healing. This spell is incredibly good. It only costs a bonus action to cast so you may use your action to cast a cantrip if you’d like (vicious mockery perhaps to impose disadvantage?). It’s also a ranged spell so you don’t need to touch the target to cast. It’s great for quickly reviving a team mate and getting them back into action.
There are many other good ones out there but explore your options and see what you like. I’m sure you’ll have a lot of fun!
I'm new to D&D, and I want to play a Kolbold bard. Any tips for me, besides the usally classic shpeel of ' bard must flirt with anything that seems sentient' (just joking around on that part), like any fun subclass suggestions that will make it easier to learn how to bard better?
Ignore the flirting.
Instead, I suggest you first decide whether or not the music you make is enjoyable to other people. Obviously you should have a high performance skill and should personally enjoy your music. But is it something others like and are impressed with, or are you the guy playing Bagpipes at a Trance party?
Next, decide if you are going to focus on:
Those are the things Bards are good at, but it is hard to excel at all of them. You can do several 2/3 very well, but not all 5. So pick a couple and work harder at them. Note, as kobold, you start with an extra Buff and it's pretty good - Grovel.
Hi and welcome to D&D! The bard is a class that excels at support and the social game. In combat they are very good at standing back and making their friends look good and their enemies look bad. Kobolds are very pack minded, so this fits very well. Out of combat, bards can very easily be the best at social skills and act as the party face. You could play the stereotypical kobold crony who hides behind the legs of bigger folk and makes snide jabs at enemies and fawns on allies, or you could take more after the famous kobold bard Deekin Scalesinger from Neverwinter Nights.
In general the bard is a spellcaster that focuses on supportive enhancements and hindering enemies. The subclass you pick will give you various options to tweak your playstyle form that general skill set.
Canto alla vita
alla sua bellezza
ad ogni sua ferita
ogni sua carezza!
I sing to life and to its tragic beauty
To pain and to strife, but all that dances through me
The rise and the fall, I've lived through it all!
The Kolbold character I want to play as could be characterized as, someone who is wiser then he seems, but is so much of a goof ball that he sometimes goofs up on giving advice to others. 95% he is a weird mixture of grumpy yet cheerful. I think I may go for lore or eloquence... But I do like the concept of knowing a lot of random spells.
I think I'll go for social, buff/ heals, and or debuff. I plan on having my character be okay fighting on the front lines, even if his states for that are not totally cut out for it. (The flirting thing was a joke btw) I do plan on having my character being the friendly type, not the flirtatious type
May I recommend Bane in combat then? It's a great way to make your enemies whiff their swings in combat, especially when you also use Vicious Mockery and/or your Lore bard's Cutting Words.
Canto alla vita
alla sua bellezza
ad ogni sua ferita
ogni sua carezza!
I sing to life and to its tragic beauty
To pain and to strife, but all that dances through me
The rise and the fall, I've lived through it all!
Honestly, as a kobold, I’d highly recommend the valor bard. You mentioned you’d also like to be fighting on the front-line, even if your character isn’t the greatest at it so it’d be a great fit anyways. Playing as the bard you’ll still have access to spells. Keep in mind that since kobolds do not have ASIs in charisma, your spell casting stat will be lower. Also keep in mind that concentration spells will be even worse since you’ll be a front-liner taking hits and having to make saves (which won’t be as good with the slightly lower charisma stat).
Some spells that may be awesome would be:dissonant whispers - great up close or at range. When they’re close and they fail the save, you can use your reaction to make an AoO! Use it to get an enemy away from a team mate and potentially give them AoO.
faerie fire - make the invisible visible and grant advantage on attacks. This will make it a lot easier for you and your allies to land their attacks (especially since you’re playing a valor bard).
healing word - never bad to have healing. This spell is incredibly good. It only costs a bonus action to cast so you may use your action to cast a cantrip if you’d like (vicious mockery perhaps to impose disadvantage?). It’s also a ranged spell so you don’t need to touch the target to cast. It’s great for quickly reviving a team mate and getting them back into action.
There are many other good ones out there but explore your options and see what you like. I’m sure you’ll have a lot of fun!