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There are plenty of classes inDungeons & Dragons Fifth Editionthat like to wield swords, but none have quite the same panache as a College of Swords bard. There’s just something about simultaneously mocking your opponent with your incredible wit while cutting them to ribbons with a rapier and scimitar. This bard is all about classy combat.
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But being a spellcaster with a blade is a tougher proposition than it may seem. You’re still a bard, so you don’t have the same hitpoints as a fighter or barbarian, and neither do you have the same brute strength. It takes cunning, guile, and a bit of strategy to succeed in the College of Swords. Here’s how you can do it.
College Of Swords Bard Features
In addition to the spells of a bard, joining the College of Swords teaches a bard how to entertain with swords. At level three upon joining the College of Swords, you gain proficiency inmedium armorand thescimitar. You also can use your simple or martial weapon as a spellcasting focus–an important feature for this class.
You also learn one of two fighting styles at level three.Duelingprovides a +2 bonus to damage rolls with a one-handed melee weapon and nothing being held in the off-hand.Two-Weapon Fightinglets you add your ability modifier to the damage of the second attack.
Dueling gives you more freedom with your bonus actions, butTwo-Weapon Fighting deals more overall damageand seems more on-brand for a College of Swords bard.
Another feature learned at level three is theBlade Flourish. Whenever you take the attack action, your walking speed increases by 10 feet until the end of turn. You also get to employ one of three Blade Flourish options.
Defensive Flourishlets you roll a Bardic Inspiration die to deal extra damage to the target and add that same number to your AC until your next turn.Slashing Flourishlets you roll a Bardic Inspiration die to deal extra damage to the target and another creature within five feet of you.Mobile Flourishlets you roll a Bardic Inspiration die to deal extra damage to the target, push it up to five feet plus that roll’s number away, and then use your reaction to move to within five feet of the target.
At sixth level, you get anextra attack, and at 14th level, you mayroll a d6 instead of a Bardic Inspiration diewhenever you use the Blade Flourish feature.
Best Species For College Of Swords Bard
you’re able to play any species as College of Swords bard and still do reasonably well, but there are a few species that have abilities that synergize nicely with this subclass’s features. Here area few suggestions for speciesthat work well as a College of Swords bard.
Autognome
Armored Casingwill outperform medium armor once you reach 18 Dexterity.Built for Successadds a d4 to every attack or ability check,Mechanical Naturemakes you immune to disease and provides you with advantage against being paralyzed or poisoned.Healing Machinemeans you’re able to takeMendingas one of your cantrips and give yourself a quick and easy healing spell.
Astral Elf
Sacred Flameis a decent ranged option for a subclass that can’t learn how to use a Longbow, and ateleportis very good for getting into and out of melee combat.Charm resistanceandDarkvisionare both good too.
Air Genasi
Although your focus is on melee combat, College of Swords bards are still spellcasters, and being an air genasi providesseveral useful spells.Darkvisionand anextra five feet of movementcompared to most species are also both very helpful.
Bugbear
Any melee combatant will appreciate anextra five feet of reach. Jack of All Trades lets you add half your proficiency to your initiative rolls, which helps procSurprise Attackmore often.Darkvisionandcharm resistanceare a-OK.
Eladrin
Fey Stepis a lot more effective when you want to get into combat rather than away from it, which is perfect for a College of Swords bard.Keen Senses,Fey Ancestry,andDarkvisionare all good to have too.
Giff
If your campaign allows firearms, then giff is a great choice. Firearms proficiency provides you with an excellent ranged attack option, andAstral Sparkworks just as well with guns as it does swords. Hippo Build is less useful, but who wouldn’t want the strength of a hippo?
Goblin
Fury of the Small. Also, being able todisengage as a bonus actionis a nice thing for a bard to have since you have so few hitpoints.Darkvisionandcharm resistanceare sweet too.
Goliath
You don’t have a lot of hitpoint as a bard, soStone’s Endurancecan be really helpful when you’re stuck in melee combat.Cold resistanceis nice to have, as isathleticsproficiency.
Half-Elf
Bards are pretty stat-hungry. Half-elf providesthree ability score increases,two skills,charm resistance, andDarkvision. All good to have.
Owlin
Flying,Darkvision, andstealth proficiency. If you don’t want to use a shortbow or a crossbow for fighting flying creatures, then being able to fly yourself is probably your next best option.
Shifter
Temporary hitpointsare almost as good as permanent hitpoints, and they can really help a bard stay in melee combat when other classes have already tapped out.Darkvision, anextra skill proficiency, and potentiallymore movementare also nice to have too.
Tiefling
Bards are still spellcasters, even if they mostly use swords, and more spells are always good to have.Tieflings offer lots different spell optionsas well asDarkvisionand fire resistance.
Thri-kreen
If you want to dual-wield,there’s no better dual-wielding speciesthan the Thri-kreen.Chameleon Carapaceis also an excellent way to boost your AC, andDarkvisionis always good to have.
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Best Ability Scores For A College Of Swords Bard
As a College of Swords bard, you want three ability scores:Dexterity,Constitution, andCharisma. Dexterity both provides armor class and empowers your physical attacks. Constitution provides more hitpoints to keep you alive if you get hit. And Charisma powers your spellcasting and many of your more important skills.
You can safely ignoreStrength,Intelligence, andWisdom. Your rapier and scimitar both have the finesse option, so you can use your Dexterity score instead of Strength. Intelligence and Wisdom can help with skill checks, but Jack of All Trades means you’ll have better skill checks than most characters even without any additional points into either stat.
If using D&D’s point buy system to create your character,a good starting ability scoremight look something like this:
10(+0)
16(+3)
14(+2)
8(-1)
Best Starting Equipment For A College Of Swords Bard
Since we’re going to be sticking to Dexterity instead of Strength,choose a rapier as your starting sword. The rapier offers the most potential damage and is a finesse weapon, meaning it uses your Dexterity modifier for attack and damage calculations.
Anentertainer’s packhas a few more useful items than adiplomat’s packif you want to put on a show, but you’ll need to supplement either pack with some additional items if you want to go adventuring.
Pick whatever musical instrument you wantto be your spellcasting focus until level three, at which point it’ll just become your sword anyway.Leather armorand adaggerround out your initial offerings.
Try to find a scimitarsometime between now and level three so you can have an off-hand weapon if you decide to take the Two-Weapon Fighting style.
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Best Spells For A College of Swords Bard
Even though you’re mostly going to be swashbuckling your way through combat, bards are spellcasters, which means you’ve got a ton of spells to add to your sword-slashing antics.Here are a few suggested spellsas you level up.
Ninth Level
It’s difficult to manage the competing requirements of both Dexterity for melee combat efficacy and Charisma for spell efficacy. Since aCollege of Swords bard wants to focus on melee combat, we’re going to assume that Dexterity wins out, meaning your spells often won’t be as effective as other bard subclasses. As such, it makes more sense tofocus on spells that don’t look at your spellcasting modifier.
