The Bard Tank: d4 #97 

Got to that point in the video and immediately opened dndbeyond because I assumed I had missed that change in MotM. You got my hopes up for a bit...

@@ClintonJohnson1 same, I was about to ask my dm, “hey can I shift my shifter to the MoM one?” Lol

Hey Colby or is it Kolby? I’ve been obsessed with the idea of a sneaky little guy since I was young but I don’t want that basic swashbuckling in and out type thing, I played a sneaky ranger for a little which was fun but I want more of a caster, so my idea was a goblin caster of some sort but don’t know which class and subclass of caster, I want to focus on mental attacks, attack rolls where I do T have to see them and bonus action hide or hide in illusions but the illusion wizard is super underwhelming until late game so I was hoping for maybe a tip? I’m aware your a busy adult but I just wanted a couple minutes of your time if possible

Just wanted to tell you.. my sis and I have been trying for over a week now to try and come up with a granny concept character who would be able to take care of the party by buffing/debuffing and taking enemy actions. Really glad you made this, but its almost scary how SPECIFIC this video was tailored for us ^^ so thank you!!

@@Bootsofwings have you tried arcane trickster?

You belong here 😊

Ikr. His wife and kids must be so happy when they get back every day!

It's my favorite part.

I want him to read me bedtime stories of his dnd adventures

can confirm ^

This is my exact understanding of the idiom and its etymology. Well explained.

Yep. It's just crass, in the same way that a present-day gift recipient immediately looking for a price tag would be. (btw, the expression is first recorded in Latin, by St. Jerome: equi donati dentes non inspiciuntur)

@@voodoophil 😂😂😂

@@DnDDeepDive Particularly, looking a horse in the mouth, or rather, looking at the the teeth specifically, was a quick way to tell how healthy a horse was back in the day (and possibly still today, I'm no equestrian). When purchasing a horse, the buyer would often look at the horse's teeth as a quick way of assessing the value of the horse, akin to checking under the hood of a car or its accident history before buying it.

Concentration is the best taunt in the game

@@saeedrazavi4428 Yep... Once our Cleric starts up Spriit Guardians my DM pretty much hit's him with everything he can until he breaks his concentration or downs him.

Cleric: I cast Spirit Guardians Druid: I cast Conjure Animals Ranger: I cast Spike Growth V. Paladin: I cast Haste DM: stop taunting me!

I, for one, would love to see a straight Zealot Barbarian or an Armorer Artificer.

Warforged Bard: Bardbot Immune to all damage or status effects but cannot deal any damage or provide any help to the party besides providing background music. Travels via levitation but is so heavy that it can only support its own weight. *Will always play "Fatboy Slim - Weapon of Choice (Instrumental)" when inside a Weapon Shop.

A fully defensively optimized bear barb (which sadly kills around 30% of why play barbarian at all) with no magic item assumptions beyond ability to not have the weapon and shield be eaten by a slime or oversized puppy-roach has a total average 5.8~so lets say 6 RTD at the end against equivalent threats that are entirely focused on them or using Colbys final build values with Red Dragon and Meteor swarm case (depending on if in region and in lair) between a 21~30 and 9~12 ish RTD (variance is in big part due to their at 0 survive), if there is no other factors like rage drop, required movement, AoO, environmental changes, etc. And part of why he probably doesnt do pure builds is because they are effectively solved, even artificer. CoDzillas are still the same due to free weekly wish and megametamagic hp refresh shapes, extra item attune and saves on Artificer is delicious, Rogue and Pally 20 power being extremely variable due to subclass interactions, Fighter is technically worth despite Extra attack (3) really belonging at 17 not 20 and 20 should replace surge and indomitable with legendary action and legendary resists, Wizards, Sorcerers and Monks are complete at 18 so you really cant optimize them without MC, similarly for Warlock and Bard at 17 with their (and sorcerers) capstones being insulting in how weak they are compared to any multiclass, Ranger really cuts off at 15 with 2+ levels of druid or cleric typically being worth more than Feral Senses, Greater Resto and a up to interpretation case of if Conjure Volley with poisons and buffs on the attack replicated in AOE is even legal (and even then, the overall aoe is done significantly better by other casters far earlier and the theme and poison/ammo buff trickery is done in about the same way by you yourself from 3rd level spells on with Conjure Barrage).

@@MK_ULTRA420 Boom-Bot

@@ANDELE3025 fairly certain that was episode 1 or 2.

Didn't really work out for the Trojans being polite, though

@@majordakka5743 lmao!!

To expand on what Patrick correctly said, the reason you check the mouth is looking at the teeth tells you how old the horse is and can help knowing it's general health.

@@majordakka5743 Lol, so good.

Funny you say this, here in the Netherlands we actually have a saying that goes 'don't look a gifted horse in the mouth'

Right there with you!

I want to see a greatsword build. Something in the vein of Guts from berserk, but not a pure Guts cosplay build.

Yes! Man I have no idea how many times I've watched it over the years, so much fun!

Use Aura of Vitality outside of combat and you can top out your party pretty easy.

Thanks!

Yes! 50k so deserved and so close.

Also! Your Charisma check for Counterspell is boosted by Jack of All Trades! That makes bards, naturally one of the best Counterspellers in the game. And if you're looking at gameplay before level 10, it's arguably the best. Ajuration Wizards get the best boost to it at level 10 with their full proficiency bonus, Sorcerers can spend 1 point reroll a check at level 5, and Bards get half of their proficiency bonus to the check.

This is good suggestion but you might need to weigh it's worth against the new spell caster stat blocks that just use magic as an action and don't need to "cast" spells for most of their more powerful effects.

​@@smorrison137 even if some foes don't "cast" spells anymore, a lot of foes still do it. Having Counterspell is still a very viable defense against the major "flaw" of this build, and it is particularly strong in a Bard class that has access to Jack of All Trades. I'm not saying there aren't other good spells, but probably still a very solid pick.

@@ProfBrunoClemente I agree 100% it's a great pick for magical secrets especially given Jack of all Trades, the only better counter speller might be the Abjuration Wizard. While very meta I would value Counter Spell more when running older content that doesn't make use of the new stat blocks and less with newer content that does. In the same way I'd be less likely to take Counter Spell in a party where several other characters already had access to the spell.

@@smorrison137 I agree. The only problem with Wizard is that it changes the build of the video, but it is also a great option (And Absorb Elements is on the Wizard's spell list, which also helps). But I'd also check with the party. Magical Secrets is such a great, versatile feature!

😂

Here's my take on a beginner friendly monk / barbarian: Race: Human - just regular old human! Point Buy: 15, 13, 15, 8, 12, 8 = 16, 14, 16, 9, 13, 9 Concepts & Backgrounds & skills: Bouncer = Criminal, take Athletics & Intimidation from Barbarian Gladiator = Gladiator, take Athletics and Animal Handling + give them either a Mastiff or a Hawk as their show-partner Bodyguard = Soldier, take Perception & Survival from Barbarian Level 1: Barbarian 1 - Unarmored Defense = AC 15, + Rage for survivability, use whatever weapon they want. Plenty of HP. Level 2: Monk 1 - Martial Arts = 2 attacks per turn with our STR + Rage dmg Level 3: Monk 2 - Ki! = up to 3 attacks per turn + Dedicated Weapon so we can go back to using a Greataxe & kicking baddies in the balls. (Honestly I'd just ignore the fact that they couldn't do this at level 2 b/c beginners don't need that hassle). Level 4: Monk 3 - Way of the Drunken Master - Now when they are Flurrying (which should be as much as possible) they don't need to worry about AoO. Plus we're keeping it simple, so it's super beginner friendly. Level 5 : Monk 4 - increase STR, another +1 damage and to hit on all 3 of our attacks, and our beginner still only has to keep track of ki and run into combat and Attack + Flurry to be effective, but they have plenty of flexibility to grapple or strafe if they need to / want to. Level 6 : Monk 5 - Extra Attack! Now we're up to 4 attacks : 2d12+2d6+STR*4+2*4. Yes we get Stunning Strike but our DC sucks so our beginner can just ignore it. Level 7: Monk 6 - Magical fists so the common resistance isn't a problem for our damage, we get another passive to make it even easier to run to the thing we want to kill & hit it. Plus a niche reaction that is awesome when it comes into play but isn't too common so won't take much away from our Flurrying. Level 8: Barbarian 2 - Reckless attack for when we're feeling reckless, and adv on dex saves to help keep us alive. Level 9: Barbarian 3 - Totem Warrior (Bear), we are now an immortal god! Level 10: Barbarian 4 - Max out our STR. Level 11: Monk 7 - Evasion + adv on Dex saves is nice! And we can save ourselves from being Frightened! Level 12-13: either Barbarian 5-6 (if we need more rages to get through the adventuring day) or Monk 8-9 (take Tough for extra HP, and get some more ki if we're having longer not more fights). Congratulations! You're campaign is probably finished. Pros: SIMPLE! We have only 2 resources to keep track of: Rage & Ki and everything we can do is tied to those two things or is a passive always-on effect. To be effective in combat all we need to do is attack with our weapon then Flurry of Blows as much as possible. FLEXIBLE! If our beginner gets bored with just making 4 attacks per round, they have lots of options they can explore : - getting half-plate + a shield and using Patient Defense to tank & redirect enemy attacks back at them. - grappling the enemy and using our tons of movement to shove them into traps or AoE damage effects - hit & running to goad the enemy into chasing us to set them up for the rest of the party. - depending on character concept / background we should have some decently useful skills. Cons: FLYING! No options to deal with flying opponents, but if its and issue the DM should hand out some flying boots and we're all good. SKILLS! We only get 4 skill proficiencies so we'd better choose them wisely. SOCIAL! We're MAD so we have to dump Cha which means less incentive for the beginner to be involved in RP & NPC interactions.

@@agilemind6241 That's a really interesting concept! I love it! My only issue is the weapon use: monks can't dedicate a weapon which is heavy sadly, but can use some that are 2-handed, and without armor, so that's not a huge loss imo. (The weapon must be a simple or martial weapon. You must be proficient with it. It must lack the heavy and special properties.)

@@SirBunyip Ah right, then you use a Longsword instead. I doesn't really matter for the build since we're keeping it simple and not using any weapon feats or fighting styles. This also means they're flexible to try out different weapons or magic items they might come across.

@@agilemind6241 Agreed :) Thank you for your response!

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2. That one's pretty easy. Has to be a wizard so you max out your INT for the big-brain skills, I'd probably go Abjuration and flavour the Arcane Ward as them telekinetically holding off whatever is damaging them. Variant Human or Custom Lineage for Telekinesis feat at level 1. Then just take the following spells: Mage Hand, Mind Sliver, Catapult, Earth Tremor, Featherfall, Shield Tasha's Mind Whip, Hold Person, Gust of Wind, Detect Thoughts Slow, Counterspell, Dispel Magic, Animate Dead Confusion, Psychic Lance, Resilient Sphere, Fabricate, Control Water Animate Objects, Telekinesis, Hold Monster, Telepathic Bond 4. Just take a 1 level dip into Fighter and you're done.

Or get Spiritual Guardians to have something to concentrate on against monsters who have legendary resistances... Half their speed and deal damage. Yes please! Another spell could be bestow curse. I play in a westmarches game where I play a cleric and a friend a wizard. We usually team up with bestow curse and silvery barbs to burn through legendary resistances if there's one big monster...