I'm creating a Bladesinger Wizard as a backup for my main character in the campaign I'm currently in, in case my main kicks the bucket or is otherwise removed from the campaign. The Bladesinger is a High Elf with Ability Scores being 11, 17, 16, 18, 14, 14 before racial bonuses, moving down the sheet. What recommendations for cantrips, spells, and feats at level 3 and later levels (assuming of course I had started with this character at level 1)?
EDIT: General plan for this character is to use stacked magic defenses like Haste and Shield to try to tank enemies while outputting absurd damage.
I have something similar, however my character race is lizardfolk because Natural Armor is so very good (natural 16 ac level 1). The reason I want AC to come from racial features is because of the hit dice. If you don't plan on multi classing then you will have naturally low HP, compared to traditional front line. High AC will work well against rolled attacks but it won't really help you versus the classic Magic Missile or Fireball spells. Based on this I have 2 recommendations.
The level 1 spell "Absorb Elements". A reaction based spell that is both defensive and offensive at the same time.
The feat "Resilient(constitution)". For an even higher base con save bonus and advantage on concentration rolls.
The second recommendation is really only when you plan to use concentration spells. With bladesong active you get +con-mod +int-mod added to the base roll. With Resilient(constitution) this becomes +con-mod +int-mod +proficiency to the roll with advantage. In your current set up you should have 'roll +7' during blade song. If you take the feat its 'adv. roll+9' at level 5 it's 'adv. roll +10'. It basically guarantees that you won't fail concentration checks, unless you roll double 1 in which case nothing would save you.
The entire Bladesinger gameplan changed when Bladesingers gained the ability to substitute any of their cantrips for one of their two attacks with their Attack action. Modern, Tasha-compliant Bladesingers can be built to deal good weapon damage alongside their basic combat spells. Two-weapon fighting is a viable plan for them, letting them pack in an extra swipe with an offhand blade now that they use the actual Attack action to do their thing. Where any other wizard simply launches a Fire Bolt and calls it quits for the turn, the Bladesinger can strike with Booming Blade, Green-Flame Blade, Shocking Grasp, or any other close-combat spell the 'singer favors while making another weapon attack in the same action and adding a second weapon strike via two-weapon fighting.
'Singers that favor this approach could benefit from Fey-Touched to acquire Hex or Hunter's Mark, augmenting the numerous blows they land each turn the same way a warlock or a monk does. Many would also consider Fighting Initiate to try and gain the Two-Weapon Fighting style, but personally I'd consider that a trap. Adding your Dex mod to only one of your three attacks on a turn is not a super efficient use of a feat. Bladesingers obviously tend to benefit from War Caster, being able to take maximum advantage of every one of War Caster's bullets. War Caster is intensely boring, however. Bladesingers also actually tend to be quite good as Mage Slayers; if your campaign heavily features enemy spellcasters causing problems for your team, the Bladesinger is a fantastic choice to park on that spellcaster with the Mage Slayer feat and make them hate life. Mage Slayer is very campaign-dependent, though, so be wary of that. And you're an elf, so Elven Accuracy is as obnoxiously good on this elf as it is on every elf.
As for spells? At least one of the aforementioned close-quarters cantrips is more or less a requirement to take maximum advantage of the Bladesinger's busted take on Extra Attack (with one exotic exception, which I'll get into below). Personally, I actually favor Shocking Grasp over either of the Blade spells. The Blade spells can deal more* damage, and if you have a powerful magic weapon you're looking to make maximum use out of the Blade spells pull ahead, but Shocking Grasp uses your Intelligence to attack with rather than your Dexterity, and destroying the target's reaction can be exceptionally valuable in many combat situations. Shocking Grasp is usually a bit more accurate due to using your casting stat rather than Dex for the to-hit, it's not reliant on your weapon to work, and the fact that Shocking Grasp automatically gains advantage on targets wearing metal (or made of it, if the DM is being remotely fair and your game has constructs) means it also works very well with Elven Accuracy if you have it. For a character meant to "tank" (assuming that means 'protect my allies' in this case), Shocking Grasp's extra control is worthwhile.
Some Bladesingers also favor keeping a Sword Burst or Thunderclap on tap for when they get mobbed by weenies, since they can weave those spells into their Attack strings without significant loss of damage against the single baddie they're focusing down. Truthfully, Bladesingers are one of the very few classes that can justify taking a bevy of combat-focused cantrips rather than one or two reliable standbyes and then a bunch of utility. Bladesingers gain enough benefit from having different options in their preferred engagement bracket that having only one or two key utility cantrips is tolerable for them. I still wouldn't play with nothing but fighty cantrips, but Bladesingers can take more of them than most wizards should and feel less bad.
Absorb Elements is a necessity as well, as Deshiba says. If you're targeting Haste, you'll want to look for good non-concentration spells to go with it. A lot of folks sleep on Blindness/Deafness, and they shouldn't. Landing a Blind and making it stick cripples most targets, including spellcasters that often need to see their target to cast their magic. And what's traditionally known for having piss-poor Con saves to break a Blindness with? Spellcasters. Mirror Image is another concentration-free spell absolutely every Bladesinger needs in their spellbook. Just too much defense to pass up.
And now for some jank. Because why not.
Nothing in the Bladesinger description prevents them from using ranged weapons with their Bladesong. Bladesingers who favor the longer reach of the whip can switch to primarily using ranged cantrips, or even save-based cantrips such as Frostbite that are range-agnostic. The same goes for Bladesingers who want to gain some extra distance and use a hand crossbow. They need to gain proficiency with it from another source (using the 'Customize Your Origin' rules to trade the longbow proficiency you CAN'T use for the hand crossbow is a workable choice), and they cannot use any bow or the two-handed crossbows without killing their bladesong, but they can absolutely use hand crossbows. Even without Crossbow Expert, if the player desires - though taking Crossbow Expert means the Bladesinger can make two pistolbow attacks in a round as well as removing disadvantage for point-blank range on their distance cantrips. That can make for a very versatile and difficult to evade Bladesinger.
Furthermore, the Bladesinger doesn't actually need to be Bladesinging to cantrip with their Attack action - a Bladesinger that uses the longbow to fight from a safe distance with ranged cantrips and arrow fire, reserving their Bladesong for when they're pressed into close combat, is a possibility. Not as much of one as the pistolbow build because Crossbow Expert is nonsense, but it's an option one shouldn't forget.
Anyways. Given your obnoxiously high stats, I'm thinking you'd benefit primarily from half-feating. Pick up Elven Accuracy and Fey-Touched, using the former to gain the last point of Dex you need and the latter to gain the last point of Intelligence. Order doesn't really matter. EA makes you ridiculously accurate on advantage strikes; Fey-Touched saves you needing to add Misty Step to your spellbook and gives you a wide array of useful first-level spells. By level 8, you have 20 in both key stats and can then proceed to do whatever the fudge you like.
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The entire Bladesinger gameplan changed when Bladesingers gained the ability to substitute any of their cantrips for one of their two attacks with their Attack action. Modern, Tasha-compliant Bladesingers can be built to deal good weapon damage alongside their basic combat spells. Two-weapon fighting is a viable plan for them, letting them pack in an extra swipe with an offhand blade now that they use the actual Attack action to do their thing. Where any other wizard simply launches a Fire Bolt and calls it quits for the turn, the Bladesinger can strike with Booming Blade, Green-Flame Blade, Shocking Grasp, or any other close-combat spell the 'singer favors while making another weapon attack in the same action and adding a second weapon strike via two-weapon fighting.
Actually Two-weapon fighting Isn't viable due to Somatic AND Material requirements. Annoyingly enough bladesingers don't get to use their weapons as a spell casting focus. So even if you take the War Caster feat to get around the Somatic component you still need a free hand to access the Materials.
"Training in war and song" should be modified to: - You gain proficiency with light armor, and you gain proficiency with one type of one-handed melee weapon of your choice, which you can use as a spellcasting focus for your wizard spells.
While it's a valid point.. How often is it really an issue? The blade cantrips work fine as the material component is the weapon you're wielding... Firebolt doesn't have a material component.. Nor do shield and absorb elements.
The way I see it, just have one sword at the ready when spelunking, and then draw the other when you're done casting hwatever buff spells you wanna on yourself.
While it's a valid point.. How often is it really an issue? The blade cantrips work fine as the material component is the weapon you're wielding... Firebolt doesn't have a material component.. Nor do shield and absorb elements.
The way I see it, just have one sword at the ready when spelunking, and then draw the other when you're done casting hwatever buff spells you wanna on yourself.
If you're going by RAW, if you end your turn with two weapons in your hand you won't be able to cast shield or absorb elements when an enemy hits you. Both require Somatic, and you must have a free hand to perform the Somatic component. (Unless the thing in your hand states you can, like it does for arcane focus and other various magic items.) Action economy also prevents you from drawing AND sheathing a weapon in one round, so you can't go back and forth with the off-hand weapon every round.
While it's a valid point.. How often is it really an issue? The blade cantrips work fine as the material component is the weapon you're wielding... Firebolt doesn't have a material component.. Nor do shield and absorb elements.
The way I see it, just have one sword at the ready when spelunking, and then draw the other when you're done casting hwatever buff spells you wanna on yourself.
If you're going by RAW, if you end your turn with two weapons in your hand you won't be able to cast shield or absorb elements when an enemy hits you. Both require Somatic, and you must have a free hand to perform the Somatic component. (Unless the thing in your hand states you can, like it does for arcane focus and other various magic items.) Action economy also prevents you from drawing AND sheathing a weapon in one round, so you can't go back and forth with the off-hand weapon every round.
This is certainly true, but the warcaster feat solves that issue. My comment was ment for Deshiba who said that the warcaster feat wouldn't be enough.
While it's a valid point.. How often is it really an issue? The blade cantrips work fine as the material component is the weapon you're wielding... Firebolt doesn't have a material component.. Nor do shield and absorb elements.
The way I see it, just have one sword at the ready when spelunking, and then draw the other when you're done casting hwatever buff spells you wanna on yourself.
If you're going by RAW, if you end your turn with two weapons in your hand you won't be able to cast shield or absorb elements when an enemy hits you. Both require Somatic, and you must have a free hand to perform the Somatic component. (Unless the thing in your hand states you can, like it does for arcane focus and other various magic items.) Action economy also prevents you from drawing AND sheathing a weapon in one round, so you can't go back and forth with the off-hand weapon every round.
This is certainly true, but the warcaster feat solves that issue. My comment was ment for Deshiba who said that the warcaster feat wouldn't be enough.
This is certainly true, but the warcaster feat solves that issue. My comment was ment for Deshiba who said that the warcaster feat wouldn't be enough.
The warcaster feat still isn't enough because it still doesn't solve the fact that you can only do 1 interaction. You can't cast levitate on yourself and bonus attack trough two weapon fighting in 1 turn. In order to actually cast and fight with 2 weapons you have to give up the advantage that 2 weapon fighting gives. Other casters turned fighters do get to use their swords as focuses, for example:
Bards from College of swords
Warlocks from The Hexblade (Improved Pact Weapon)
Monks with way of the four elements are fighters turned magicians that don't have the same problem because they simply ignore material costs. But just like Eldritch Knights, Bladesingers CAN dual wield, it's just not optimal to do so because they lack the ability to cast material cost spells during combat. It seems to me like you have to cast a concentration spell and go in bladesinger mode and then not cast anything for the rest of combat.
This is certainly true, but the warcaster feat solves that issue. My comment was ment for Deshiba who said that the warcaster feat wouldn't be enough.
The warcaster feat still isn't enough because it still doesn't solve the fact that you can only do 1 interaction. You can't cast levitate on yourself and bonus attack trough two weapon fighting in 1 turn. In order to actually cast and fight with 2 weapons you have to give up the advantage that 2 weapon fighting gives. Other casters turned fighters do get to use their swords as focuses, for example:
Bards from College of swords
Warlocks from The Hexblade (Improved Pact Weapon)
Monks with way of the four elements are fighters turned magicians that don't have the same problem because they simply ignore material costs. But just like Eldritch Knights, Bladesingers CAN dual wield, it's just not optimal to do so because they lack the ability to cast material cost spells during combat. It seems to me like you have to cast a concentration spell and go in bladesinger mode and then not cast anything for the rest of combat.
You couldn't cast levitate and spend your bonus action for two weapon fighting anyway. Two weapon fighting requires you to take the attack action, so casting a leveled spell wouldn't work.
Bladesingers have the ability to cast a cantrip with an attack through the attack action, and as I was hinting at with my previous response, there are very few cantrips with materials components and those that do you'll meet by simply wielding a weapon... The main two reaction spells (shield and absorb elements) don't have mateirial components either... So all the spells/cantrips you'll be casting while dual wielding will be covered by taking warcasting.
As for casting a spell while wielding two weapons and using two weapon fighting on later turns... simply put your one weapon away on the turn you wanna cast a spell, and then draw it again the turn you wanna go back to fighting.
I don't disagree with the idea that bladesingers could be using their weapons as foci, but It doesn't seem to actually make any real difference?
The only scenario where it comes up would be if someone triggers an opportunity attack from you and you want to cast a spell that has material components... Assuming you have war caster of course.
This is certainly true, but the warcaster feat solves that issue. My comment was ment for Deshiba who said that the warcaster feat wouldn't be enough.
The warcaster feat still isn't enough because it still doesn't solve the fact that you can only do 1 interaction. You can't cast levitate on yourself and bonus attack trough two weapon fighting in 1 turn. In order to actually cast and fight with 2 weapons you have to give up the advantage that 2 weapon fighting gives. Other casters turned fighters do get to use their swords as focuses, for example:
Bards from College of swords
Warlocks from The Hexblade (Improved Pact Weapon)
Monks with way of the four elements are fighters turned magicians that don't have the same problem because they simply ignore material costs. But just like Eldritch Knights, Bladesingers CAN dual wield, it's just not optimal to do so because they lack the ability to cast material cost spells during combat. It seems to me like you have to cast a concentration spell and go in bladesinger mode and then not cast anything for the rest of combat.
You couldn't cast levitate and spend your bonus action for two weapon fighting anyway. Two weapon fighting requires you to take the attack action, so casting a leveled spell wouldn't work.
True, the only situation where this would apply is with your second attack feature where you could attack, cast a cantrip like infestation and then attack with two weapon fighting.
Then the only thing that remains is the annoyance of stowing and drawing weapons when you are fighting and casting. I personally would just ask my DM if I can add the little feature of using weapons as a spell cast focus for wizard spells. It'll speed up turns if we don't have to go trough all that extra fluff for no real reason.
Yea for sure.. I'd ask for that too.. I can understand why you woudln't want your nimble spellsword character to be stashing away one of your weapons everytime they wanna cast a full spell, it's not a very cool image. Honestly I doubt many DMs would catch it to begin with... Although it's a good idea to get it resolved in the open.
As for why bladesinger don't have this feature... I think it's because WoTC imagines bladesingers to be using a single weapon and then the other hand for the spell focus.
Yea for sure.. I'd ask for that too.. I can understand why you woudln't want your nimble spellsword character to be stashing away one of your weapons everytime they wanna cast a full spell, it's not a very cool image. Honestly I doubt many DMs would catch it to begin with... Although it's a good idea to get it resolved in the open.
As for why bladesinger don't have this feature... I think it's because WoTC imagines bladesingers to be using a single weapon and then the other hand for the spell focus.
I'm sure it's at some level a "power balance" thing. Officially, there is a way around it with a "Ruby of the War Mage", which takes up an attunement slot.
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You can always drop a weapon at the end of your turn to free up a hand for a reaction spell if you have already used your 1 free item interaction.
Similar to the problem the Soulknife rogue has with psychic blades. In order to get an attack of opportunity they have to drop a weapon at the beginning of each turn as the free action and pick it up after making their attacks using 1 item interaction. RAW you cant use psychic blades as a reaction. The Bladesinger has to do just the opposite pick up weapon at beginning to attack and drop at end of turn so you can cast reaction spells.
Or combine the two. A bladesinger/soulknife can just carry one weapon (you can decide whether to call yourself a soulsinger or a bladeknife). Do your attack cantrip, for your extra attack you manifest a soulblade and swing, interact with an object to toss your sword to the other hand, then bonus action manifest soulblade with the now empty hand. If it feels cheesy, make sure to put expertise into sleight of hand to justify your juggling.
It's better than dropping stuff anyway. Folks that try dropping things to get around item interaction limits in my game find themselves fighting in rushing water or sticky mud, on slopes or scaffolding, etc.
Question about feats for a Bladesinger and what I people would do in my situation because I can't seem to decide. My Wizard is using point buy unfortunately. So my stats are 8 Str, 17 Dex, 16 Con, 16 Int, 8 Wis & 8 Cha. I am playing a half elf wood elf. So I want to take Elven accuracy, Mobile (being able to attack with booming blade and run away) & Warcaster for feats. I would also like to get my Int to 18 and even 20 if the character ever reaches those levels. I have also thought about taking resilient constitution. Dropping my Con to 15 instead of 16 and making my wisdom 10. But I feel like Warcaster and Bladesong are adding enough to my con saving throws and it would take away from an intelligence asi.
If you were me would you take these feats? If so what order would you take them? I'm also willing to listen to peoples thought on changes to my ability scores. I have until the end of the week to decide before its all written in stone. I do plan on using more spells that don't require a high intelligence but that doesn't mean I won't have a handful of spells like fireball and hypnotic pattern.
Question about feats for a Bladesinger and what I people would do in my situation because I can't seem to decide. My Wizard is using point buy unfortunately. So my stats are 8 Str, 17 Dex, 16 Con, 16 Int, 8 Wis & 8 Cha. I am playing a half elf wood elf. So I want to take Elven accuracy, Mobile (being able to attack with booming blade and run away) & Warcaster for feats. I would also like to get my Int to 18 and even 20 if the character ever reaches those levels. I have also thought about taking resilient constitution. Dropping my Con to 15 instead of 16 and making my wisdom 10. But I feel like Warcaster and Bladesong are adding enough to my con saving throws and it would take away from an intelligence asi.
If you were me would you take these feats? If so what order would you take them? I'm also willing to listen to peoples thought on changes to my ability scores. I have until the end of the week to decide before its all written in stone. I do plan on using more spells that don't require a high intelligence but that doesn't mean I won't have a handful of spells like fireball and hypnotic pattern.
I don't hate Booming Blade per se, but if that makes it three feats potentially on top of regular ASIs I think Mobile is probably not worth it for that interaction and the regular benefits - at least not as one of your earlier picks. You can't take Mobile until 4th level anyway, and by then you could be using Shadow Blade if you wanted which would preclude the use of Booming Blade as well. Warcaster gives advantage, which is roughly +3.5 to your roll; Resilient gives proficiency, so +3 from level 5 on and +4 from level 9 on. Warcaster gives a couple of other benefits, which are useful but in my mind don't compare to a +1 to Con if you can use that to even out Con from 15 to 16 and to increase another stat at char creation.
In short, I'd likely go with a 15 Con and increase one of the 8s to 10 (which one would likely depend on the background); pick Resilient (Con) at level 4; pick Elven Accuracy at level 8; and from there on I'd be looking at ASIs more than anything. Don't take that as gospel though, I probably wouldn't go the 15/15/15/8/8/8 route myself and we don't use Tasha's floating stat bonuses to begin with.
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So these are less certain recommendations but ideas I want to float
1) If you plan to use one weapon during your bladesong, would it maybe be worth it to pick up the Fighting Initiate feat for the Dueling fighting style?
2) Would an artificer multiclass be beneficial? Artificers are allowed to use items bearing their infusion as a spellcasting focus. That being said, I am not sure if it only works as a spellcasting focus for Artificer spells or not. If it can be used for Wizard spells as well, infusing your sword could act as a way to get around the material components of most spells.
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I'm creating a Bladesinger Wizard as a backup for my main character in the campaign I'm currently in, in case my main kicks the bucket or is otherwise removed from the campaign. The Bladesinger is a High Elf with Ability Scores being 11, 17, 16, 18, 14, 14 before racial bonuses, moving down the sheet. What recommendations for cantrips, spells, and feats at level 3 and later levels (assuming of course I had started with this character at level 1)?
EDIT: General plan for this character is to use stacked magic defenses like Haste and Shield to try to tank enemies while outputting absurd damage.
I have something similar, however my character race is lizardfolk because Natural Armor is so very good (natural 16 ac level 1). The reason I want AC to come from racial features is because of the hit dice. If you don't plan on multi classing then you will have naturally low HP, compared to traditional front line. High AC will work well against rolled attacks but it won't really help you versus the classic Magic Missile or Fireball spells. Based on this I have 2 recommendations.
The first recommendation also extends to spells on later levels that reduce incoming damage that AC doesn't prevent, think spells like Counterspell, Protection from Energy and Globe of Invulnerability.
The second recommendation is really only when you plan to use concentration spells. With bladesong active you get +con-mod +int-mod added to the base roll. With Resilient(constitution) this becomes +con-mod +int-mod +proficiency to the roll with advantage. In your current set up you should have 'roll +7' during blade song. If you take the feat its 'adv. roll+9' at level 5 it's 'adv. roll +10'. It basically guarantees that you won't fail concentration checks, unless you roll double 1 in which case nothing would save you.
The entire Bladesinger gameplan changed when Bladesingers gained the ability to substitute any of their cantrips for one of their two attacks with their Attack action. Modern, Tasha-compliant Bladesingers can be built to deal good weapon damage alongside their basic combat spells. Two-weapon fighting is a viable plan for them, letting them pack in an extra swipe with an offhand blade now that they use the actual Attack action to do their thing. Where any other wizard simply launches a Fire Bolt and calls it quits for the turn, the Bladesinger can strike with Booming Blade, Green-Flame Blade, Shocking Grasp, or any other close-combat spell the 'singer favors while making another weapon attack in the same action and adding a second weapon strike via two-weapon fighting.
'Singers that favor this approach could benefit from Fey-Touched to acquire Hex or Hunter's Mark, augmenting the numerous blows they land each turn the same way a warlock or a monk does. Many would also consider Fighting Initiate to try and gain the Two-Weapon Fighting style, but personally I'd consider that a trap. Adding your Dex mod to only one of your three attacks on a turn is not a super efficient use of a feat. Bladesingers obviously tend to benefit from War Caster, being able to take maximum advantage of every one of War Caster's bullets. War Caster is intensely boring, however. Bladesingers also actually tend to be quite good as Mage Slayers; if your campaign heavily features enemy spellcasters causing problems for your team, the Bladesinger is a fantastic choice to park on that spellcaster with the Mage Slayer feat and make them hate life. Mage Slayer is very campaign-dependent, though, so be wary of that. And you're an elf, so Elven Accuracy is as obnoxiously good on this elf as it is on every elf.
As for spells? At least one of the aforementioned close-quarters cantrips is more or less a requirement to take maximum advantage of the Bladesinger's busted take on Extra Attack (with one exotic exception, which I'll get into below). Personally, I actually favor Shocking Grasp over either of the Blade spells. The Blade spells can deal more* damage, and if you have a powerful magic weapon you're looking to make maximum use out of the Blade spells pull ahead, but Shocking Grasp uses your Intelligence to attack with rather than your Dexterity, and destroying the target's reaction can be exceptionally valuable in many combat situations. Shocking Grasp is usually a bit more accurate due to using your casting stat rather than Dex for the to-hit, it's not reliant on your weapon to work, and the fact that Shocking Grasp automatically gains advantage on targets wearing metal (or made of it, if the DM is being remotely fair and your game has constructs) means it also works very well with Elven Accuracy if you have it. For a character meant to "tank" (assuming that means 'protect my allies' in this case), Shocking Grasp's extra control is worthwhile.
Some Bladesingers also favor keeping a Sword Burst or Thunderclap on tap for when they get mobbed by weenies, since they can weave those spells into their Attack strings without significant loss of damage against the single baddie they're focusing down. Truthfully, Bladesingers are one of the very few classes that can justify taking a bevy of combat-focused cantrips rather than one or two reliable standbyes and then a bunch of utility. Bladesingers gain enough benefit from having different options in their preferred engagement bracket that having only one or two key utility cantrips is tolerable for them. I still wouldn't play with nothing but fighty cantrips, but Bladesingers can take more of them than most wizards should and feel less bad.
Absorb Elements is a necessity as well, as Deshiba says. If you're targeting Haste, you'll want to look for good non-concentration spells to go with it. A lot of folks sleep on Blindness/Deafness, and they shouldn't. Landing a Blind and making it stick cripples most targets, including spellcasters that often need to see their target to cast their magic. And what's traditionally known for having piss-poor Con saves to break a Blindness with? Spellcasters. Mirror Image is another concentration-free spell absolutely every Bladesinger needs in their spellbook. Just too much defense to pass up.
And now for some jank. Because why not.
Nothing in the Bladesinger description prevents them from using ranged weapons with their Bladesong. Bladesingers who favor the longer reach of the whip can switch to primarily using ranged cantrips, or even save-based cantrips such as Frostbite that are range-agnostic. The same goes for Bladesingers who want to gain some extra distance and use a hand crossbow. They need to gain proficiency with it from another source (using the 'Customize Your Origin' rules to trade the longbow proficiency you CAN'T use for the hand crossbow is a workable choice), and they cannot use any bow or the two-handed crossbows without killing their bladesong, but they can absolutely use hand crossbows. Even without Crossbow Expert, if the player desires - though taking Crossbow Expert means the Bladesinger can make two pistolbow attacks in a round as well as removing disadvantage for point-blank range on their distance cantrips. That can make for a very versatile and difficult to evade Bladesinger.
Furthermore, the Bladesinger doesn't actually need to be Bladesinging to cantrip with their Attack action - a Bladesinger that uses the longbow to fight from a safe distance with ranged cantrips and arrow fire, reserving their Bladesong for when they're pressed into close combat, is a possibility. Not as much of one as the pistolbow build because Crossbow Expert is nonsense, but it's an option one shouldn't forget.
Anyways. Given your obnoxiously high stats, I'm thinking you'd benefit primarily from half-feating. Pick up Elven Accuracy and Fey-Touched, using the former to gain the last point of Dex you need and the latter to gain the last point of Intelligence. Order doesn't really matter. EA makes you ridiculously accurate on advantage strikes; Fey-Touched saves you needing to add Misty Step to your spellbook and gives you a wide array of useful first-level spells. By level 8, you have 20 in both key stats and can then proceed to do whatever the fudge you like.
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Actually Two-weapon fighting Isn't viable due to Somatic AND Material requirements. Annoyingly enough bladesingers don't get to use their weapons as a spell casting focus. So even if you take the War Caster feat to get around the Somatic component you still need a free hand to access the Materials.
"A spellcaster must have a hand free to access a spell's material components -- or to hold a spellcasting focus -- but it can be the same hand that he or she uses to perform somatic components."
- https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/basic-rules/spellcasting#Components
"Training in war and song" should be modified to:
- You gain proficiency with light armor, and you gain proficiency with one type of one-handed melee weapon of your choice, which you can use as a spellcasting focus for your wizard spells.
Otherwise you have to say goodbye to the use of these spells as a dual wielding bladesinger https://www.dndbeyond.com/spells/class/wizard?filter-search=&filter-verbal=&filter-somatic=&filter-material=t&filter-concentration=&filter-ritual=&filter-sub-class=
While it's a valid point.. How often is it really an issue? The blade cantrips work fine as the material component is the weapon you're wielding... Firebolt doesn't have a material component.. Nor do shield and absorb elements.
The way I see it, just have one sword at the ready when spelunking, and then draw the other when you're done casting hwatever buff spells you wanna on yourself.
If you're going by RAW, if you end your turn with two weapons in your hand you won't be able to cast shield or absorb elements when an enemy hits you. Both require Somatic, and you must have a free hand to perform the Somatic component. (Unless the thing in your hand states you can, like it does for arcane focus and other various magic items.) Action economy also prevents you from drawing AND sheathing a weapon in one round, so you can't go back and forth with the off-hand weapon every round.
This is certainly true, but the warcaster feat solves that issue. My comment was ment for Deshiba who said that the warcaster feat wouldn't be enough.
Gotcha. Missed that connection.
The warcaster feat still isn't enough because it still doesn't solve the fact that you can only do 1 interaction. You can't cast levitate on yourself and bonus attack trough two weapon fighting in 1 turn. In order to actually cast and fight with 2 weapons you have to give up the advantage that 2 weapon fighting gives. Other casters turned fighters do get to use their swords as focuses, for example:
Monks with way of the four elements are fighters turned magicians that don't have the same problem because they simply ignore material costs. But just like Eldritch Knights, Bladesingers CAN dual wield, it's just not optimal to do so because they lack the ability to cast material cost spells during combat. It seems to me like you have to cast a concentration spell and go in bladesinger mode and then not cast anything for the rest of combat.
You couldn't cast levitate and spend your bonus action for two weapon fighting anyway. Two weapon fighting requires you to take the attack action, so casting a leveled spell wouldn't work.
Bladesingers have the ability to cast a cantrip with an attack through the attack action, and as I was hinting at with my previous response, there are very few cantrips with materials components and those that do you'll meet by simply wielding a weapon... The main two reaction spells (shield and absorb elements) don't have mateirial components either... So all the spells/cantrips you'll be casting while dual wielding will be covered by taking warcasting.
As for casting a spell while wielding two weapons and using two weapon fighting on later turns... simply put your one weapon away on the turn you wanna cast a spell, and then draw it again the turn you wanna go back to fighting.
I don't disagree with the idea that bladesingers could be using their weapons as foci, but It doesn't seem to actually make any real difference?
The only scenario where it comes up would be if someone triggers an opportunity attack from you and you want to cast a spell that has material components... Assuming you have war caster of course.
True, the only situation where this would apply is with your second attack feature where you could attack, cast a cantrip like infestation and then attack with two weapon fighting.
Then the only thing that remains is the annoyance of stowing and drawing weapons when you are fighting and casting. I personally would just ask my DM if I can add the little feature of using weapons as a spell cast focus for wizard spells. It'll speed up turns if we don't have to go trough all that extra fluff for no real reason.
Yea for sure.. I'd ask for that too.. I can understand why you woudln't want your nimble spellsword character to be stashing away one of your weapons everytime they wanna cast a full spell, it's not a very cool image. Honestly I doubt many DMs would catch it to begin with... Although it's a good idea to get it resolved in the open.
As for why bladesinger don't have this feature... I think it's because WoTC imagines bladesingers to be using a single weapon and then the other hand for the spell focus.
I'm sure it's at some level a "power balance" thing. Officially, there is a way around it with a "Ruby of the War Mage", which takes up an attunement slot.
Can I have a spell that can make me a fortune...
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You can always drop a weapon at the end of your turn to free up a hand for a reaction spell if you have already used your 1 free item interaction.
Similar to the problem the Soulknife rogue has with psychic blades. In order to get an attack of opportunity they have to drop a weapon at the beginning of each turn as the free action and pick it up after making their attacks using 1 item interaction. RAW you cant use psychic blades as a reaction. The Bladesinger has to do just the opposite pick up weapon at beginning to attack and drop at end of turn so you can cast reaction spells.
Or combine the two. A bladesinger/soulknife can just carry one weapon (you can decide whether to call yourself a soulsinger or a bladeknife). Do your attack cantrip, for your extra attack you manifest a soulblade and swing, interact with an object to toss your sword to the other hand, then bonus action manifest soulblade with the now empty hand. If it feels cheesy, make sure to put expertise into sleight of hand to justify your juggling.
It's better than dropping stuff anyway. Folks that try dropping things to get around item interaction limits in my game find themselves fighting in rushing water or sticky mud, on slopes or scaffolding, etc.
My homebrew subclasses (full list here)
(Artificer) Swordmage | Glasswright | (Barbarian) Path of the Savage Embrace
(Bard) College of Dance | (Fighter) Warlord | Cannoneer
(Monk) Way of the Elements | (Ranger) Blade Dancer
(Rogue) DaggerMaster | Inquisitor | (Sorcerer) Riftwalker | Spellfist
(Warlock) The Swarm
Question about feats for a Bladesinger and what I people would do in my situation because I can't seem to decide. My Wizard is using point buy unfortunately. So my stats are 8 Str, 17 Dex, 16 Con, 16 Int, 8 Wis & 8 Cha. I am playing a half elf wood elf. So I want to take Elven accuracy, Mobile (being able to attack with booming blade and run away) & Warcaster for feats. I would also like to get my Int to 18 and even 20 if the character ever reaches those levels. I have also thought about taking resilient constitution. Dropping my Con to 15 instead of 16 and making my wisdom 10. But I feel like Warcaster and Bladesong are adding enough to my con saving throws and it would take away from an intelligence asi.
If you were me would you take these feats? If so what order would you take them? I'm also willing to listen to peoples thought on changes to my ability scores. I have until the end of the week to decide before its all written in stone. I do plan on using more spells that don't require a high intelligence but that doesn't mean I won't have a handful of spells like fireball and hypnotic pattern.
I don't hate Booming Blade per se, but if that makes it three feats potentially on top of regular ASIs I think Mobile is probably not worth it for that interaction and the regular benefits - at least not as one of your earlier picks. You can't take Mobile until 4th level anyway, and by then you could be using Shadow Blade if you wanted which would preclude the use of Booming Blade as well.
Warcaster gives advantage, which is roughly +3.5 to your roll; Resilient gives proficiency, so +3 from level 5 on and +4 from level 9 on. Warcaster gives a couple of other benefits, which are useful but in my mind don't compare to a +1 to Con if you can use that to even out Con from 15 to 16 and to increase another stat at char creation.
In short, I'd likely go with a 15 Con and increase one of the 8s to 10 (which one would likely depend on the background); pick Resilient (Con) at level 4; pick Elven Accuracy at level 8; and from there on I'd be looking at ASIs more than anything. Don't take that as gospel though, I probably wouldn't go the 15/15/15/8/8/8 route myself and we don't use Tasha's floating stat bonuses to begin with.
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So these are less certain recommendations but ideas I want to float
1) If you plan to use one weapon during your bladesong, would it maybe be worth it to pick up the Fighting Initiate feat for the Dueling fighting style?
2) Would an artificer multiclass be beneficial? Artificers are allowed to use items bearing their infusion as a spellcasting focus. That being said, I am not sure if it only works as a spellcasting focus for Artificer spells or not. If it can be used for Wizard spells as well, infusing your sword could act as a way to get around the material components of most spells.
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