I am going to play a Cavalier-bladesinger in a level 5-12 campaign. The basic idea is a melee tank. I played a number of bladesingers before and I know mulitclassing makes me weaker, but I think I want to try this out. I have never played a Cavalier. Playing one would make it harder for enemies to target others in melee, alowing me to get the most out of my high AC. Also action surge would be nice for pairing with that round 1 defensive spell (Haste, Blur, Protection from good and Evil), allowing me not to lose an action that turn.
I will be starting as a Bladesinger 2/Cavalier 3 with wizard as primary class so I get the Wisdom save proficiency. I will get wizard levels until level 9 (6/3) then another level in fighter for the ASI, then Wizard for the last 2. I will take a half feat at level 7 (4/3) and an ASI at level 10 (6/4)
Advice needed on
1. Race - I am looking at either Winter court Eladerin or Shadar Kai. The basic background is Fey Lost, reskinned for the Shadowfell if I play a Shader Kai. The basic story is I am a member of the court for a creepy mistress (either the Queen of Air and Darkness or The Raven Queen) who sent me on a mission ..... The Winter Eladrin has a Fey Step that causes frightened for a turn and I love this thematically, but the problem is it affects someone within 5 feet before I misty step. With a bladesinger I am usually Misty Stepping into combat, not away from it, so I am worried I won't be able to use the frightened a lot. With The Shadar Kai I get damage resistance, which will always be active after I step, but since the idea of a bladesinger is to nullify damage, so hopefully it won't often affect play.
2. Magic item, stats and half feat - We get one uncommon magic item to start. I am debating between Headband of Intellect or Gauntlets of Ogre Power and this has an effect on my stats which are point buy.
If I go Headband of Intellect I am going to start with S8 D 17 C12 I13(19) W14 CH12. This makes me a well rounded, versatile character and has a point higher AC at level 5-11. I would take a dex half feat at level 7, probably skill expert with proficiency in stealth and expertise in deception.
If I go Gauntlets of Ogre Power I will start with S8(19) D16 I17 C10 W13 Ch10. I would take Shadow Touched Feat with False Life (which would be easier to pull off as a Shadar Kai thematically). This character does more melee damage until level 7 and she can use more melee weapons effectively, including a warhammer which is the best 1-handed weapon in the game. The shadow touched feat is awesome and would also eliminate the need to prepare false life at the higher levels. Also with a +4 strength, this character could use the Cavalier Mark Bonus Attack 4 times a day vs once a day for the headband character.
3. Fighting Style - I've never actually played a bladesinger with a fighting style. Dueling is an obvious candidate. TWF would let me mark 2 enemies before I get extra attack, but I am concerned my bonus actions are going to be clogged with bladesong, Mark and fey step so I am not going to use it often. Also since I can't use a blade cantrip with TWF, the extra damage will be minimal (and less than the cantrip if they move with BB or are positioned for GFB). Finally I am thinking about blind fighting .... because being blind sucks.
Multiclassing Wizards with Fighters generally weakens the Wizard, sure, but for Bladesingers I could argue that the Fighter multiclass makes them stronger, especially if you're going for melee nova damage. I played a Bladesinger/Battlemaster in a game this one time and I was matching, sometimes even out-nova-ing, our Paladin damage-wise and with nothing more than a Quick Tossed Shadow Blade. Melee attack, then Booming Blade as my action, hit 'em with the Shadow Blade in melee (I had the Gunner feat) for the bonus action and throw in the appropriate manoeuvres for a little bit of extra damage, namely Quick Toss and Trip Attack(?). And let's not forget the Action Surge!
You prolly had to be there, but seriously, it was some disgusting damage.
Admittedly I never tried a Bladesinger/Cavalier but it sounds like it could be an interesting combination. I believe there's more to being a tank than just soaking up all the damage; you have to make sure that the baddie isn't going after your fellow party members, so Cavalier is perfect for that with their Unwavering Mark. There's also that school of thought that says the best way to tank for your party is to dead the bad guys before they dead your friends, but I digress, lol.
Anyhoo, whatever race you go for, your build is going to be very bonus action-heavy already. You got your Bladesong, Fey Step/Blessing of the Raven Queen, the bonus action attack from Unwavering Mark, and possibly Shadow Blade as well. I mean, obviously, you're going to bamf out the Bladesong on round one, but what about after that? Think about what you plan to do during an encounter and then stick with that. Or find some other way to cut down on your bonus actions, lol.
Personally, I would go for the Headband of Intellect. After all, you're a Wizard and intelligence is your friend. And with the AC boost from Bladesong, a high Int score is your best friend. As for your half feat...I agree, Shadow Touched is a great half feat, and False Life sounds solid to me for a Bladesinger.
Also, assuming you do choose the headband, if you're going point buy then may I suggest putting some of those points into your strength? That way, you'll get more Unwavering Marks, and looking at your proposed stats I don't think a Wizard needs to be charismatic. Unless you disagree, lol.
Also, also, are you using the original rules for your chosen race or the MMoTM versions? Because if the latter, you can put your stat bonuses anywhere you like, so obviously that would be str and int for a build like this. Either way, if you can get your strength and intelligence to at least +3 modifiers then that would be great.
As for fighting style, you can never go wrong with Dueling. TWF sounds good in theory but ultimately it's adding an extra bonus action to your already long list of things to do which may or may not be more trouble than it's worth. There's also the problem with needing a free hand for your spells unless you plan to take War Caster. If I was making this build I would definitely choose Dueling over TWF. Besides, based on my experiences I would argue that you do more damage with that than you would with TWF anyway, lol. I prolly wouldn't choose Blind Fighting though. You're right, being blind sucks, but unless your DM is going to throw a lot of opportunities for you to be blinded then it may be a tad too situational. I mean, it certainly is for my tastes.
Anyhoo, I'd be interested to hear how this build works out for you!
I am going to play a Cavalier-bladesinger in a level 5-12 campaign. The basic idea is a melee tank. I played a number of bladesingers before and I know mulitclassing makes me weaker, but I think I want to try this out. I have never played a Cavalier. Playing one would make it harder for enemies to target others in melee, alowing me to get the most out of my high AC. Also action surge would be nice for pairing with that round 1 defensive spell (Haste, Blur, Protection from good and Evil), allowing me not to lose an action that turn.
I will be starting as a Bladesinger 2/Cavalier 3 with wizard as primary class so I get the Wisdom save proficiency. I will get wizard levels until level 9 (6/3) then another level in fighter for the ASI, then Wizard for the last 2. I will take a half feat at level 7 (4/3) and an ASI at level 10 (6/4)
Advice needed on
1. Race - I am looking at either Winter court Eladerin or Shadar Kai. The basic background is Fey Lost, reskinned for the Shadowfell if I play a Shader Kai. The basic story is I am a member of the court for a creepy mistress (either the Queen of Air and Darkness or The Raven Queen) who sent me on a mission ..... The Winter Eladrin has a Fey Step that causes frightened for a turn and I love this thematically, but the problem is it affects someone within 5 feet before I misty step. With a bladesinger I am usually Misty Stepping into combat, not away from it, so I am worried I won't be able to use the frightened a lot. With The Shadar Kai I get damage resistance, which will always be active after I step, but since the idea of a bladesinger is to nullify damage, so hopefully it won't often affect play.
2. Magic item, stats and half feat - We get one uncommon magic item to start. I am debating between Headband of Intellect or Gauntlets of Ogre Power and this has an effect on my stats which are point buy.
If I go Headband of Intellect I am going to start with S8 D 17 C12 I13(19) W14 CH12. This makes me a well rounded, versatile character and has a point higher AC at level 5-11. I would take a dex half feat at level 7, probably skill expert with proficiency in stealth and expertise in deception.
If I go Gauntlets of Ogre Power I will start with S8(19) D16 I17 C10 W13 Ch10. I would take Shadow Touched Feat with False Life (which would be easier to pull off as a Shadar Kai thematically). This character does more melee damage until level 7 and she can use more melee weapons effectively, including a warhammer which is the best 1-handed weapon in the game. The shadow touched feat is awesome and would also eliminate the need to prepare false life at the higher levels. Also with a +4 strength, this character could use the Cavalier Mark Bonus Attack 4 times a day vs once a day for the headband character.
3. Fighting Style - I've never actually played a bladesinger with a fighting style. Dueling is an obvious candidate. TWF would let me mark 2 enemies before I get extra attack, but I am concerned my bonus actions are going to be clogged with bladesong, Mark and fey step so I am not going to use it often. Also since I can't use a blade cantrip with TWF, the extra damage will be minimal (and less than the cantrip if they move with BB or are positioned for GFB). Finally I am thinking about blind fighting .... because being blind sucks.
Multiclassing Wizards with Fighters generally weakens the Wizard, sure, but for Bladesingers I could argue that the Fighter multiclass makes them stronger, especially if you're going for melee nova damage. I played a Bladesinger/Battlemaster in a game this one time and I was matching, sometimes even out-nova-ing, our Paladin damage-wise and with nothing more than a Quick Tossed Shadow Blade. Melee attack, then Booming Blade as my action, hit 'em with the Shadow Blade in melee (I had the Gunner feat) for the bonus action and throw in the appropriate manoeuvres for a little bit of extra damage, namely Quick Toss and Trip Attack(?). And let's not forget the Action Surge!
You prolly had to be there, but seriously, it was some disgusting damage.
Admittedly I never tried a Bladesinger/Cavalier but it sounds like it could be an interesting combination. I believe there's more to being a tank than just soaking up all the damage; you have to make sure that the baddie isn't going after your fellow party members, so Cavalier is perfect for that with their Unwavering Mark. There's also that school of thought that says the best way to tank for your party is to dead the bad guys before they dead your friends, but I digress, lol.
Anyhoo, whatever race you go for, your build is going to be very bonus action-heavy already. You got your Bladesong, Fey Step/Blessing of the Raven Queen, the bonus action attack from Unwavering Mark, and possibly Shadow Blade as well. I mean, obviously, you're going to bamf out the Bladesong on round one, but what about after that? Think about what you plan to do during an encounter and then stick with that. Or find some other way to cut down on your bonus actions, lol.
Personally, I would go for the Headband of Intellect. After all, you're a Wizard and intelligence is your friend. And with the AC boost from Bladesong, a high Int score is your best friend. As for your half feat...I agree, Shadow Touched is a great half feat, and False Life sounds solid to me for a Bladesinger.
Also, assuming you do choose the headband, if you're going point buy then may I suggest putting some of those points into your strength? That way, you'll get more Unwavering Marks, and looking at your proposed stats I don't think a Wizard needs to be charismatic. Unless you disagree, lol.
Also, also, are you using the original rules for your chosen race or the MMoTM versions? Because if the latter, you can put your stat bonuses anywhere you like, so obviously that would be str and int for a build like this. Either way, if you can get your strength and intelligence to at least +3 modifiers then that would be great.
As for fighting style, you can never go wrong with Dueling. TWF sounds good in theory but ultimately it's adding an extra bonus action to your already long list of things to do which may or may not be more trouble than it's worth. There's also the problem with needing a free hand for your spells unless you plan to take War Caster. If I was making this build I would definitely choose Dueling over TWF. Besides, based on my experiences I would argue that you do more damage with that than you would with TWF anyway, lol. I prolly wouldn't choose Blind Fighting though. You're right, being blind sucks, but unless your DM is going to throw a lot of opportunities for you to be blinded then it may be a tad too situational. I mean, it certainly is for my tastes.
Anyhoo, I'd be interested to hear how this build works out for you!