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With a guiding voice and sensuous song, the College of Valor bard is one of the most versatile classes you can play inDungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition. Bards are already capable of fulfilling so many roles within a party, but add a little valor to your barding, and you get both a capable spellcaster and a decent sword-slinger to boot!
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But with all those spells and arrows to sling, planning your studies in the College of Valor can be tough. Never fear, for this guide will direct you to the best species to send to college, the best equipment to dive into dungeons, and the best spells to take on your adventure.
College of Valor Bard Features
The College of Valor bard gets everything that makes bards such a powerful class, such asBardic Inspiration,Expertise, andJack of All Trades. When you join the College of Valor at level three, you gain several bonus proficiencies, includingmedium armor,shields, andmartial weapons.
You also gainCombat Inspiration, allowing your Bardic Inspiration die to add damage to damage rolls or potentially negate attacks by adding Bardic Inspiration to an ally’s armored class.
At sixth level, you canattack twiceinstead of once when using the Attack action. This doesn’t quite keep up with more martial classes like fighter or barbarian, but it means that your weapon damage doesn’t entirely fall behind, and it means that longbow is a viable ranged attack outside your spells.
At level 14,Battle Magicallows you to cast a bard spell and then make a weapon attack as a bonus action. Imagine casting Fireball and then immediately following that up with an arrow from your longbow. Or imagine hitting an enemy with Booming Blade and then slicing them again with your rapier.
Best Species For A College Of Valor Bard
Bards are an extremely flexible class, meaning that almost any species can play as a bard and still be effective. That said, there area few species that complement the special skills of a College of Valor bardquite well. Here are a few suggestions.
Air Genasi
College of Valor bards often feel spell-starved, so having the additional spells of the air genasi can be very helpful.Feather FallandLevitateare both great to have, and althoughShocking Graspis unlikely to be used over your sword in most cases, it’s still nice to have in your repertoire.
Bugbear
Extra reach for your blade is nice, but what really works here isSurprise Attack. Jack of All Trades allows you to add half your Dex modifier to your initiative rolls, meaning bards tend to go earlier in the turn order.Darkvisionandcharm resistanceare also nice bonuses.
Deep Gnome
Disguise SelfandNondetectionare both fantastic spells to add to a bard’s spell list.Magic resistance,stealth proficiency, and superDarkvisionare also great to have.
Eladrin
College of Valor bards don’t often want to step directly into combat, butFey Stepcan make such aggressive moves viable.Darkvision,perceptionproficiency, andcharm resistanceare all good to have.
Firbolg
Detect MagicandDisguise Selfare both excellent spells to have on hand. Being able toturn invisibleis nice, but your bonus action is constrained by Bardic Inspiration and second attacks after level 14.Talking to plants and animalswithout even casting a spell is just another feather in your bard’s cap.
Fire Genasi
Flame Bladeis a decent alternative to a regular sword if you want to play a College of Valor bard closer to a pure spellcaster.Produce Flameis also a decent damage-dealing cantrip, although your longbow is the better option until level 11.Burning Handsis a nice AOE attack, andDarkvisionandfire resistanceare both great bonuses.
Giff
If your campaign allows the use of firearms, go Giff and never look back.Astral Spark,Firearms Mastery, anextra attack, and a hunting rifle will out-damage any cantrip in the game.Hippo Buildis a fun party trick for a bard and can help shore up a lackluster saving throw.
Githzerai
Bards don’t getShield(outside Magical Secrets), so getting it with your species is nice.Detect ThoughtsandMage Handare both nice spells.Advantage against being charmed or frightenedis very powerful, andresistance to psychic damagecan be a boon at higher levels.
Half-Elf
Bards often feel stat-starved, so havingthree stat boostsis always nice. Later on, you can take Elven Accuracy to boost your longbow attacks, and thehigh-elf subrace allows for a free cantripof your choice.
Human
Need stats?Humans offer tons of stats. Or you can govariant humanand start with afree feat. Magic Initiate is pretty good for bards, even ones as martial-focused as College of Valor bards.
Kenku
If you want to be the party’s skill share, be a kenku bard.Kenku Recallprovidestwo proficienciesand advantage on all skill checks where you have proficiency, and since bards get a lot of proficiencies, you’ll be nailing your skill checks.
Kobold
Draconic Cryis a great way for a College of Valor bard to safely engage multiple enemies with a sword.Draconic Sorcerycan give your kobold access to Booming Blade, perhaps the best melee cantrip in the game. Darkvision is also nice.
Flight,Darkvision, andstealth proficiency. You need nothing else.
Tiefling
You want your bard to havemore spells? There’s a tiefling subspecies that’ll definitely give you whatever spell you want. Even the base tiefling getsThaumaturgy,Hellish Rebuke, andDarkness, all of which are useful to have.Darkvisionandfire resistancemake tieflings at least as good as fire genasi.
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Best Ability Scores For A College Of Valor Bard
College of Valor bards want three things:Dexterity,Charisma, andConstitution. Dexterity is generally the best stat to boost for your weapons as it also boosts your armor class. Charisma powers your spells. Constitution keeps you alive and keeps your spells sticking to targets if you happen to take a hit while concentrating.
Strength,Intelligence, andWisdomcan be safely ignored. That said, even a few points here can help boost your scores, so Jack of All Trades becomes even more of a benefit if you’re the party’s skill key.
If you’re using D&D’s point buy system,a decent starting ability score spreadfor a College of Valor bard might look something like this.
10(0)
16(+3)
14(+2)
8(-1)
Best Starting Equipment For A College Of Valor Bard
Since you’re going to be pumping Dexterity as your main physical ability score, choose arapieras your starting melee weapon. It offers the best damage while still using Dexterity for your attacks and damage bonuses.
Anentertainer’s packoffers a few more useful goodies than adiplomat’s pack, although both will likely need to be supplemented if you plan on immediately diving into a dungeon.
Choose whatever musical instrument you want to be your spell focus. A lute is suggested, but it can honestly be anything, so get creative. Leather armor and a dagger round out your initial offerings.
Before reaching level threeand joining the College of Valor,try to find a longbowandsome decent medium armor like abreastplate. Both will provide you with significant bonuses to your ranged damage and AC as soon as you level up.
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Best Spells For A College Of Valor Bard
Unlike other spellcasters, bards aren’t able to freely swap spells every long rest or by using a spell book. The spells you choose will generally stick with you throughout the campaign, sochoosing the right spells is extremely important for a bard.
Here are a few suggestionsfor spells for a College of Valor bard to take at each spell level.
Ninth Level
Magical Secretsallows you to choose two spells from other classes at 10th, 14th, and 18th level.Holy Weaponis a great buff for your longbow at level 10. At level 14,Healis perhaps the best single-target heal you’ll get before the ninth-level Power Word Heal. And at level 18,Holy Aurais a fantastic buff, butWishis still the be-all, end-all of spells.
