Not better than bard 10 with 5th level slots and magical secrets.
Take Haste and Find Greater Steed. While mounted, casting haste will effect both of you. Double Haste is a monster.
You won't get your third attack from fighter for 8 levels with the level swap, meanwhile you're only 4 away from that bard 10 sweet spot. I put a lot of value into abilities that unlock earlier and get to be played with more.
I'd also think hard about getting sorcerer up to 3 for metamagic. Sorcerer is more valuable on the warlock version of this build though, since the spell slots mean so much more for warlocks than bards. Even if magic is mostly your social kit, I think you'll get a lot more bang for your buck out of filling out the build with bard and maybe sorcerer levels than with fighter. I guess if you take the fighter through eldritch knight to level 13 you'll get haste at character level 19. But for most of what's left of your campaign the bard with haste and the fighter with triple extra attack will be tied in number of attacks and the bard gets there first.
If HP is a reason you're taking more fighter so you can lean more heavily into the swordsman vibe, I would just pick up the tough feat instead. Bard 7-10 is much more powerful than the first 4 levels of a fighter subclass (3-6) at this character level.
Bard 11+ is also incredibly strong that gets great new things every level. I think it's worth leaving yourself open to get some of those as well.
Not sure I'll go into sorcerer anymore. I'll have to look more closely at them.
The character is a bard at heart but she still likes to stick things with the pointy end.
I took a level into sorcerer for story reasons.
The current plan was take 4 levels of bard next and reevaluate if I want a fighter subclass and get an asi back. If I went fighter now then I thought just going with it because I would be putting all the bard stuff off for too long.
Hahaha. Sorry not sorry. I'm a wizard at heart, I can't help it.
Yeah, just take tough at some point if you want to stick people a little more reliably. Not worth diverging what is an otherwise beautiful build into a messy attempt to be a fighter.
Oh I know. Lol. A former DM of mine used to talk to me about a build he played that was hexblade warlock x/ fighter 2/ draconic sorcerer 3. Think he played her to around level 15. I suggested the extra sorcerer because of the similarities to this build, but honestly I don't think it does enough unless you want those spell slots as badly as a warlock does.
Words was a powerful human warlock who, upon sealing her pact with her hexblade patron, sought out the dragon tyrant of a large, but undeveloped continent. It was her destiny to be the "mother to the end of the old world". She became impregnated by the dragon, whose magic suffused her and was the source of her growing power as she leveled up. Her goal throughout the campaign was to terraform and subdue the hostile continent into the perfect army and kingdom from which to take over the world with her Chosen Son.
A whole heck of a lot of Daenerys Targaryen flavor, but it was a really inspiring build to listen to him talk about.
Bard 7 for 4th level spells OR Eldritch Knight 3 for 1st level spells (If you're not taking EK to get haste eventually then the fighter build loses its relevance because the whole point is to have more attacks).
I honestly think this is the only decision you really need to make. Once you've taken one it feels like you're already too committed. Bard 7 means you're one level away from an ASI and it just becomes increasingly hard to peel away from the class as you look at 5th level spells, magical secrets, 6th level spells, etc. If you go fighter 3 for EK then again, you're only one level away from an ASI, and like you said are less and less incentivized to salvage your bard identity. At bard 6/ sorcerer 1/ fighter 4 you're only a little more than 50% bard after all.
Tough won't be a top priority even though I like it. Usually only high dice rolls hit me. Last night we fought some demons and in 3 rounds I put up 25, 26 and 24 ac with 2 inspiration dice and a casting of shield. Dodged all 3 triple attacks while slowly chopping down on his ankles.
When we killed an adult white the dm said some of their abilities went to me and he gave me a breath weapon attack. I leaned in more with the sorc dip to pick up a cold cantrip as well as some scales and shield spell.
I will lean in further with this using magical secrets taking cone of cold and possibly fly in addition to haste and possibly greater steed.
Fighter was mostly for asis and the added attack
I want duel wielder, mobile, resilient dex or wis, war caster, elven accuracy, shadow touched and probably more lol
I like tough because it gives you one of the bigger benefits of going fighter. But it certainly isn't necessary on an adept dex tank capable of that kind of shenanigans. Picking up mirror image from sorcerer 3 would be really nice on your set up but I think sorcerer 2 is going to feel like such a bad level that it's just not worth it.
I love when a campaign opens up an unexpected character evolution. Combined with expertise in persuasion you are really well set up to approach dragon scenarios in a completely different way.
Classic multi dip gish problems. So many cool feats so few ASIs. I think mobile is the lowest priority because you can use spells for movement. Shadow touched is cool but unless you have a specific spell you really want to grab I think it's too minor on a bard who already has access to invisibility. I would take resilient (con) over the other resilient options and combine with warcaster on a build that cares a lot about concentration. Unless you started fighter? Or I would go for a build less impacted by concentration and prioritize elven accuracy and then duel wielder.
If haste and fly is on your radar I'd suggest the concentration feat package. Elven accuracy is a generically great pickup if the half ASI can boost an odd number. I understand wanting duel wielder for concept but it is a mechanically weak feat on an ASI poor build.
May I suggest Conjure Volley over Cone of Cold if you're looking for a big AOE blast? 40 foot radius is absolutely massive and combined with a 150 foot range is infinitely more versatile and easy to use than a 60 foot cone. It barely matters it doesn't scale because you'd usually rather cast an actual 6th level spell with your 6th level slot, and even a 6th level cone of cold isn't necessarily better than Volley thanks to the Volley's ease of use.
And you get a sick Tenten style blade barrage technique to throw around.
Mirror Image is on the bard spell list. Thinking about grabbing it.
I hate the fact that duel wielder is so bad. I want to take it but probably can't bring myself to. I want the 1 ac.
I started fighter so though about grabbing res dex and elven accuracy to bump dex up by 2.
War castet is almost like a feat tax and I have to take it at fighter 4 or bard 8. Whichever comes first.
Volley sounds great but cone of cold is because of story reasons. I can see my dm pushing the dragon heritage. If he gives me wings I might take fly. Cone of cold is to help play up those dragon powers.
Oh. Lol. Why did I think it wasn't? Brain fart. Oh yeah cause I keep thinking about this character like it has a warlock base.
If you've got the level 1 fighter base, then yeah resilient (dex) + elven accuracy is nice. I'm into that. Alternatively +2 dex ASI and res (wis) leaves you way more well rounded of a character.
You just finished telling me about your cold dragon story and then I immediately gloss over what Cone of Cold is doing for the character. Not at my sharpest ha. Makes perfect sense and it's still a great blast. Plus you won't have any feel bad about spending a 6+ level slot to cast one when you want to just keep being the dragon over and over.
I currently play a sword bard 6 fighter 2 draconic sorcerer 1
We just leveled up to 10 and I will either push bard throughout with maybe 1 or 2 more fighter levels if I decide on a subclass or asi.
Or I ask the dm to drop my bard to 5 so I don't double up on extra attack and push fighter 14.
I tend to use magic for mostly social situations.
At bard 10 I would take haste to hit an extra time.
How good is extra attack 2?
Not better than bard 10 with 5th level slots and magical secrets.
Take Haste and Find Greater Steed. While mounted, casting haste will effect both of you. Double Haste is a monster.
You won't get your third attack from fighter for 8 levels with the level swap, meanwhile you're only 4 away from that bard 10 sweet spot. I put a lot of value into abilities that unlock earlier and get to be played with more.
I'd also think hard about getting sorcerer up to 3 for metamagic. Sorcerer is more valuable on the warlock version of this build though, since the spell slots mean so much more for warlocks than bards. Even if magic is mostly your social kit, I think you'll get a lot more bang for your buck out of filling out the build with bard and maybe sorcerer levels than with fighter. I guess if you take the fighter through eldritch knight to level 13 you'll get haste at character level 19. But for most of what's left of your campaign the bard with haste and the fighter with triple extra attack will be tied in number of attacks and the bard gets there first.
If HP is a reason you're taking more fighter so you can lean more heavily into the swordsman vibe, I would just pick up the tough feat instead. Bard 7-10 is much more powerful than the first 4 levels of a fighter subclass (3-6) at this character level.
Bard 11+ is also incredibly strong that gets great new things every level. I think it's worth leaving yourself open to get some of those as well.
You're just reinforcing my ideas haha.
Not sure I'll go into sorcerer anymore. I'll have to look more closely at them.
The character is a bard at heart but she still likes to stick things with the pointy end.
I took a level into sorcerer for story reasons.
The current plan was take 4 levels of bard next and reevaluate if I want a fighter subclass and get an asi back. If I went fighter now then I thought just going with it because I would be putting all the bard stuff off for too long.
Hahaha. Sorry not sorry. I'm a wizard at heart, I can't help it.
Yeah, just take tough at some point if you want to stick people a little more reliably. Not worth diverging what is an otherwise beautiful build into a messy attempt to be a fighter.
Oh I know. Lol. A former DM of mine used to talk to me about a build he played that was hexblade warlock x/ fighter 2/ draconic sorcerer 3. Think he played her to around level 15. I suggested the extra sorcerer because of the similarities to this build, but honestly I don't think it does enough unless you want those spell slots as badly as a warlock does.
Words was a powerful human warlock who, upon sealing her pact with her hexblade patron, sought out the dragon tyrant of a large, but undeveloped continent. It was her destiny to be the "mother to the end of the old world". She became impregnated by the dragon, whose magic suffused her and was the source of her growing power as she leveled up. Her goal throughout the campaign was to terraform and subdue the hostile continent into the perfect army and kingdom from which to take over the world with her Chosen Son.
A whole heck of a lot of Daenerys Targaryen flavor, but it was a really inspiring build to listen to him talk about.
Bard 7 for 4th level spells OR Eldritch Knight 3 for 1st level spells (If you're not taking EK to get haste eventually then the fighter build loses its relevance because the whole point is to have more attacks).
I honestly think this is the only decision you really need to make. Once you've taken one it feels like you're already too committed. Bard 7 means you're one level away from an ASI and it just becomes increasingly hard to peel away from the class as you look at 5th level spells, magical secrets, 6th level spells, etc. If you go fighter 3 for EK then again, you're only one level away from an ASI, and like you said are less and less incentivized to salvage your bard identity. At bard 6/ sorcerer 1/ fighter 4 you're only a little more than 50% bard after all.
Tough won't be a top priority even though I like it. Usually only high dice rolls hit me. Last night we fought some demons and in 3 rounds I put up 25, 26 and 24 ac with 2 inspiration dice and a casting of shield. Dodged all 3 triple attacks while slowly chopping down on his ankles.
When we killed an adult white the dm said some of their abilities went to me and he gave me a breath weapon attack. I leaned in more with the sorc dip to pick up a cold cantrip as well as some scales and shield spell.
I will lean in further with this using magical secrets taking cone of cold and possibly fly in addition to haste and possibly greater steed.
Fighter was mostly for asis and the added attack
I want duel wielder, mobile, resilient dex or wis, war caster, elven accuracy, shadow touched and probably more lol
I like tough because it gives you one of the bigger benefits of going fighter. But it certainly isn't necessary on an adept dex tank capable of that kind of shenanigans. Picking up mirror image from sorcerer 3 would be really nice on your set up but I think sorcerer 2 is going to feel like such a bad level that it's just not worth it.
I love when a campaign opens up an unexpected character evolution. Combined with expertise in persuasion you are really well set up to approach dragon scenarios in a completely different way.
Classic multi dip gish problems. So many cool feats so few ASIs. I think mobile is the lowest priority because you can use spells for movement. Shadow touched is cool but unless you have a specific spell you really want to grab I think it's too minor on a bard who already has access to invisibility. I would take resilient (con) over the other resilient options and combine with warcaster on a build that cares a lot about concentration. Unless you started fighter? Or I would go for a build less impacted by concentration and prioritize elven accuracy and then duel wielder.
If haste and fly is on your radar I'd suggest the concentration feat package. Elven accuracy is a generically great pickup if the half ASI can boost an odd number. I understand wanting duel wielder for concept but it is a mechanically weak feat on an ASI poor build.
May I suggest Conjure Volley over Cone of Cold if you're looking for a big AOE blast? 40 foot radius is absolutely massive and combined with a 150 foot range is infinitely more versatile and easy to use than a 60 foot cone. It barely matters it doesn't scale because you'd usually rather cast an actual 6th level spell with your 6th level slot, and even a 6th level cone of cold isn't necessarily better than Volley thanks to the Volley's ease of use.
And you get a sick Tenten style blade barrage technique to throw around.
Mirror Image is on the bard spell list. Thinking about grabbing it.
I hate the fact that duel wielder is so bad. I want to take it but probably can't bring myself to. I want the 1 ac.
I started fighter so though about grabbing res dex and elven accuracy to bump dex up by 2.
War castet is almost like a feat tax and I have to take it at fighter 4 or bard 8. Whichever comes first.
Volley sounds great but cone of cold is because of story reasons. I can see my dm pushing the dragon heritage. If he gives me wings I might take fly. Cone of cold is to help play up those dragon powers.
Oh. Lol. Why did I think it wasn't? Brain fart. Oh yeah cause I keep thinking about this character like it has a warlock base.
If you've got the level 1 fighter base, then yeah resilient (dex) + elven accuracy is nice. I'm into that. Alternatively +2 dex ASI and res (wis) leaves you way more well rounded of a character.
You just finished telling me about your cold dragon story and then I immediately gloss over what Cone of Cold is doing for the character. Not at my sharpest ha. Makes perfect sense and it's still a great blast. Plus you won't have any feel bad about spending a 6+ level slot to cast one when you want to just keep being the dragon over and over.
It was just added in tashas. Great spell.
I wish my wisdom was odd.
I thought about revenant blade feat. This would make it so I wasn't forced into war caster and acts as a better duel wield.