can't believe you didn't include conjure fey. it can be used in combat to summon meat shields, do damage , with pixie and dryad it trade one spell slot for multiple spells. And you can use it during down time. It also a great pre rest burn spell. Use all your spell slot to cast it/upcast it and summon dryad and get a ton of good berries for the next day. Summon giant snake and get enough poison to coat ll your weapons etc.
So you know with Conjure Woodland beings you don't get to pick what you summon right? You don't get to pick what you summon for any of these spells. You pick a challenge rating and then the DM gets to decide whatever they want. Also no where does it say you can milk a giant snake to get poison to coat your weapons? What rule are you sighting for that? If the creature dies and leaves no corpse behind, what makes you think you can gather venom from a creature that doesn't technically exist.
You also know that Find Steed is non concentration, non dispell-able and lasts until the creature dies right? If it doesn't get destroyed, it stays indefinitely. But no let's replace a constant companion that can watch all night while we sleep and travel with us as long as we want for our one concentration spell.
"I've learned the secrets to magical power, the possibilities are endless, I can manipulate the weave and bend it to my will, I have-" "So you picked fireball again" "Yes."
Can say without a doubt that a Scanlan picking Counterspell as one of his secrets was the best choice made by any player for the entire first CR campaign.
Yep from watching critical role I think a lot of people thought, myself included, that counter spell was on the bard list. It is honestly such a must have on bard that it is weird that it is not on the list by default. Hopefully Tasha's fixes this!
Just imagine what would happen if he had Glibness. That one 9th level counterspell against Vecna would have not been needed, he could have just used the regular 3rd level spell slot and wouldn't have had to even roll, cause the minimum would've been above 20.
i noticed that it didnt seem like scanlan was rolling it properly tho, its a spellcasting ability check, but he didnt add jack of trades to that, could have been a stronger counterspell lol
Find Greater Steed combined with a 1-2 level dip in Hexblade is a powerful combination. Access to Shield and Armor of Agathys, which affect both you and your mount, gives you survivability and maneuverability to do all your bard stuff and deal some damage.
the big advantage of a bard getting find steed is that the number of spells you can then use for share spells is huge -- enlarge is on the bard spell list now so BAM you become large and your steed becomes huge.
@@crr4kk810 OMG yes! I was just leaving a comment that spells like PS and Vampiric Touch technically target the caster while harming another creature so you can have a vampire horse or an acidic horse or if you pick Dragon Breath a MFing fire breathing horse.
I planned on taking hexblade as a 2 level dip for my lore bard (that already has 1 lvl of arcana cleric). Adding the steed and AoA never even occurred to me and it’s brilliant. Thanks.
for me, some of the best spells are from the paladin/ranger list. I prefer a more Magus-y playstyle, casting spells to enhance my weapons, and I love the idea of the Whispers college, so the spells Steel Wind Strike and Swift Quiver are awesome. Circle of Power is also an amazing buff spell, which really fits in with the Bard, being able to reduce damage that their allies take also means that they won't have to spend spells on healing them, nor inspiration on saving throws as often. Elemental/Holy Weapon is really good to buff an ally, or even yourself in a pinch. Banishment is also a good option. particularly on the Eloquence bard. you can set yourself up for them to subtract a BI die roll from the save, which is nasty. Find Greater Steed can also be OP, as you mentioned. if you're able to get your hands on a Ring of Spell Storing, that's arguably a mount for the whole party, given a week or so to pass it around, at which point you as a party have flying mounts. Conjure Woodland Beings is also really nice, and as an added bonus, you get to roleplay that "Snow White singing the birds out of the trees" as a bard. Stoneskin is also nice to get, either for yourself as a "get out of jail" card, or for someone else in the party. Call Lightning is my go-to spell for damage, it's concentration, so you can get a good amount of damage out of it other than that, I do like the "staple" spells that the bards don't get. Counterspell, Lightning Bolt, Fireball, etc.
1/2 caster spells are powerful for the level of spell: aura of vitality, crusader's mantle, swift quiver, etc. I love spirit guardians but your average lore bard is not gonna want to be that close to the enemies.
I think all Arcane full-casters should have access to Counterspell, makes sense to allow the wielders of full arcane magic to disrupt other caster's magics.
I'm getting closer to picking my first magical secrets (probably still a year away from now 😂) I intend on picking Immovable Object alongside Counterspell. Seems like a really fun spell to mess around with
Big fan of Thunder Step, which I took at 6 as a Lore Bard. More than once it saved our wizard or druid from getting eaten by something XD. Also Bigby's Hand, which can serve offensive, defensive, and utility purposes.
Steel Wind Strike is a personal fav to grab. That spell is just anime as hell. It’s also really good if you combine it with Greater Invisibility the turn before. Better chance to hit, and subsequently to crit, on each strike.
This is a great list. I'd say a couple that I love that aren't mentioned are Aura of Vitality (especially pared with a life cleric dip), Disintegrate, Bless, Heal and Heroes Feast
The spell Slow made a fantastic magical secrets choice until it was added to the Bard spell list in the class features UA. Haste is still top tier though.
@@arisirote8404 w/ Secrets they can snipe any spells so I guess making an argument for them having any spell kinda don’t work Wizard has more spell flexibility I think their advantage, Played bard b4 and found that I always wanted more spells then I cud take . But haste is one of the best buff spells and think bards shud get it w/o have to use their secret
@@kylemullen5341 Actually, Bards get more spells than Wizards. Even though they can know (in the book) up to 386 spells, they can only have a small number prepared at a time. Where as bards with magical secrets actually get more total spells per day on average than any other class. Although having played a bard myself I do have to say that the appetite for having more spells is unending.
@@arisirote8404 Wizards (DM dependence) if they find scrolls get Crazy spell counts , Also It sounds weird but that fact they don’t get healing spells frees up their choices abit , I find party’s kinda lean on bards to make sure they have those heal spells . Kinda wish bards had a arcane recovery feature connected to the more caster based sub classes
I really like phantasmal killer. It's only available on a couple subclass and wizards and I really like the flavor of the spell. Lvl 4 spell isn't so bad either
No one's suggesting Mirror Image. Goes well with any of the steeds and its a good alternative to the usual 6th level Fireball/Lightning (those get old and damage isn't YOUR thing anyway). Also it doesn't require concentration which is usually a big problem with bards (no con save proficiency, low con stats, low AC, and a lot of other stuff that you use occupy it already-- charms, illusions, etc) Revivify is best left to clerics and wizards anyway imo. Maybe an escape spell like thunder step or misty. Usually you have that down already at 6th. Counterspell is a staple if you can't rely on other casters to have it and you use it best anyway.
Oh Haste is another one that couples both with your offensive frontline and your mount, though once again, concentration plus no saves makes for a pickle. And this one has a pretty big drawback on dropping concentration on it.
Find Greater Steed and Haste are pretty good bread and butter picks. Your mount's gotta go fast, and it will typically allow them to make a second attack unless you decide to Dash or Disengage. The +2 AC plus any barding you might have is really solid too. Only downside is that failing your concentration check means you both lose your actions, making War Caster and/or Resilient Constitution really valuable safety measures.
Simple answer:Action economy. Bardic inspiration, healing word and animate objects can conflict with this. Sure it's not concentration, but SO many excellent 2nd/3rd level spells and literally so little time. Leave the Spiritual weapon and Spiritual Guardians to the party Cleric. If no party Cleric then go for it! But it is rool noice.
I'd recommend picking flashy reliable spell that are going to be iconic to you plus counter spell. Animate dead, resilient sphere, heroes feast, fireball, haste, slow, telekinesis, destructive wave, spirit guardians, bless, find stead, find familiar, wish, bigby's hand. Get a flashy old reliable, something to be known for, that's kinda the bards thing.
If you’re picking up a valor bard at later levels for a oneshot or something, magical secrets charisma-based shillelagh can save you a lot of ability score increases, especially if you can’t multiclass into pact of the tome warlock
Top two are pretty obvious. They're just so very, very good. The real interesting bits are the rest of the list and the reasoning. The one spell I'd be tempted to put on my list is Revivify. That can really save your group in a bad spot.
A few more that l like: Guiding Bolt Haste Armor of Agathys Conjure Animals/Woodland Beings Tenser's Tranformation Crown of Stars Elemental Bane Beacon of Hope/Aura of Vitality
That intro bit had me thinking of Highlander, when he rescues the girl from the Nazis. "Shhh, it's a certain kind of magic". ...Need to go and re-watch Highlander now. :)
What do you think about Shadow of Moil or Circle of Power for a Bards Stolen Magical Secrets? I got Eldritch Blast from another option my character has and agree cantrips are meh for stealing unless you have plans for feats.
Mate's running a high level 5th campaign with experienced gamers but using 3.5ed modules. NO modification of monster stats, traps etc. Counterspell is only available in 5th ed and it's saved their bacon time and again.
As a Lore Bard, I've been debating for the longest time between Telekinesis or Bibgy's Hand. I'm about to turn lvl10 and still can't decide. Any thoughts ? Suggestions ?
Wow, I like the list but I'm surprised you didn't say aura of vitality. A lot of people recommend a level in life cleric and aura of vitality and goodberry
I definitely see the appeal in wanting a cantrip with an attack roll if you're playing a bard. But you're right, using one of your magical secrets for it seems like a missed opportunity for something else.
Eh... I keep hearing different rulings for Wish that anything other then copying another 8th or lower lv spell has a chance to get rid of it. Including the recommended options.
The spell description itself specifically says that. "The stress of casting this spell to produce *any effect other than duplicating another spell* weakens you... there is a 33 percent chance that you are unable to cast wish ever again if you suffer this stress." There really shouldn't be any other ruling on it, it's specifically spelled out.
The benefit of the bullet point effects is that the DM does not have leverage over the effect of the wish. It can still make you never cast wish again, but if you wish for you and your companions to all be resistant to bludgeoning damage, that will happen as intended with no possible drawbacks (other than not casting wish).
I think Morekainens Faithful hound would work well. Like telekinesis it can iirc can both benefit from jack of all trades and Glibness for its atk roll. Its also active for 8 hours can see invisible creatures and warns of intruders. --- The dunamancy stuff comes to mind and for sh**s and giggles i like to pick inmoveable object because you can be rather creative with it. --- Creation gives you a lot of out of combat utility and you could still summon weapons with it. --- Shadowblade for whispers bards. --- Combat oriented i would go: Chromatic sphere for the damagetypes. Ensnaring strike - ranged and cc. with a bit of persistant damage. Branding Smite to give you allies advantage + its a ranged smite. Holy weapon - Again you can be ranged with extra damage + the blinding thing. --- Yes to counterspell for all classes. And cantrips ... its easyer to take magic Initiate with two cantrips and anothrr spell like hex.
There is ZERO logic that just because you can cast a spell or even Dispel Magic, that you by nature MUST be able to cast Counterspell. It's a spell, and if your class or archetype doesn't have access to it, it's by design. You can make ANY reasoning as to why, or why not, but clearly it has been omitted purposely, for the same reason as some casters can't cast Fireball, or whatever spell is out there. It's RAW. Do you want to change that, knock yourself out, but thems the rules! You might rationalize that perhaps Wizards are those who have access to it are getting a perk for BEING those classes by having some spells limited to themselves. Not such a novel concept given how many class-specific spells are out there. Also given that there are various means for some classes to pick it up outside these limits that the rules are working AS INTENDED. Once again, if you don't like this, do what you want at your table, but it makes perfect sense to me as it clearly does to the game's designers, but they won't be knocing down your door to confiscate your books if you choose to homebrew it otherwise ;P
I feel bards should get counterspell raw. The religious casters shouldn't because counterspell because its a quick reflex. Were I feel the religious casters druids,clerics palidins, rangers. Funnel there magic through the divine. Bards technically aren't arcane but if ur gonna split the casters in 2 groups I feel they fit more with the wizard and soccer vs cleric and druid.
@@NerdImmersion Ok so it's less that they aren't proficient with their own spellcasting ABILITY and more that you simply aren't proficient with ABILITY checks naturally.... That is still so very weird. I guess that means that Enhanceability has some ACTUAL use for counter magic users. Oh.. Guidance technically works as well.. now that's interesting...
See, characters can't be proficient in *ability*, they're proficient in *skills*. Or tools. You can't be proficient in Intelligence, for example, even if you're wizard. Any ability check that doesn't have a skill or tool associated with it won't have the proficiency bonus.
so in the intro, he mentions this is his personal top 10, so we can't really say anything is wrong with the list, as he might just like those spells. But I still want to point out a few weaknesses and strengths of the spells he mentions. But first a few general things to keep in mind. 1: Bards actually have good damage on their list, not a lot of options, but those they have are good. (Dissonant whispers, Animate Object, Synaptic static). So if you are picking up a damage spell, you are either doing it for flavor, or because it is so much stronger than these options that it is still worth it. (I mention this, because I see the misconception that bards do poor damage, I think it stems from them having few damage spells, but the actually do good damage if you want them to). 2: a lot of the bards best spells are concentration. (Heat metal, Hypnotic pattern, Fear, Polymorph, Animate objects) So picking up even more concentration might not be the best idea. On to the list: 10: Destructive wave. Deals okay damage, it is cool it avoids hitting allies, but not particularly spectacular. By the level you can get this, the bard has decent damage options of their own, this might be a slight upgrade, but not by much. 9: Wish, I would have put it higher on the list, copying all spell lists is awesome. Depending on what other magical secrets you have, this might give you, a familiar, Find greater steed, simulacrum, contingency, Antipathy/sympathy, all cast well ahead of your adventure. 8: Pass without Trace, a pretty good option, you only need one party member to know this, but that might be you, a worthy addition to the list. 7: Telekinesis. this is concentration, so that is not good. Animate Objects fulfills some of the same utility, and is one of the great picks already on the bard spell list. It also competes with wall of force, why give an enemy a check to escape at all? 6: Telepathic Bond, I like this spell, just not this much. Also it might only be on the wizard spell list, but being a ritual means if anyone picks up the ritual casting feat and pick wizard (which is a good idea because wizards have the most rituals), they can pick this up. Good spell though. 5: Fireball/lightning bolt: I would usually not pick these up, the great thing about them is they are not concentration. The bad thing is, you can already do damage. I think they are most appropriate on a lore bard, in a campaign you don't suspect to go much above level 9, where you get synaptic static. 4: Wall of Force, should be number one on this list. He mentions a lot of good uses for it, but not the most basic use. Which is to cut off half the enemies from the battle, essentially turning 1 deadly encounter into 2 cake walks. Don't trap all the enemies, they will come back to hunt you down in 10 minutes. Trap half the enemies, and if there is some sort of synergy between the enemies, break that up. The most simple synergy is melees protecting archers/casters, trap the archers, deal with the melees. Then send your fighters all the way up to the wall trapping that is trapping archers, before you drop concentration. 3: Find steed/Find Greater Steed: Good picks, I would hold out for greater steed, as you can usually just buy a warhorse if you want a steed. 2: Spirit Guardians: This is an amazing spell, but it requires concentration, and you are no cleric, you don't (usually) have the AC to stand on the frontline. Remember, every time you are concentrating on Spirit Guardians, you are not concentrating on Hypnotic Pattern, which is at least equally amazing, and already on your list. Spirit guardians, might still be a good pick, the damage is really good . But it doesn't deserve the number 2 spot, concentration is really holding this back. 1: Counterspell: Yes, this would be my number 2 after wall of force. Just all the yes for counterspell. Spells I feel are missing from the list, -Revivify: You might not cast it much, but it is great when you need it. This adds something to the bard they couldn't do before at all, and is not concentration. -Shield: Because not dying is great. -Simulacrum: This spell is awesome, you now have 2 counterspellers, and two people to hold concentration on those wall of force spells, cutting any encounter into nice little bite sized chunks for your fighters to eat up. Because what is better than 1 high level spell caster? 2 high level spell casters. Regardless, I always say this about the bard, pick hypnotic pattern, and you will be fine, so if you feel like picking something weird with your magical secrets, go for it, and if an encounter looks tough, throw down a hypnotic pattern, and you will usually be fine.
If im correct thanks to tasha's cauldron of everything telepathic bond should be available as bard spell so that means you dont need to waste magical secrets to obtain it
I was so surprised you did not have Find Familiar in the top 10 as you seem to love it and it would even allow you to use it as a Ritual. I also feel that all Spell casting primary classes should have counterspell.
I really like Spiritual Weapon for my Melee-oriented bards, specially when I'm using my bardic inspirations for flourishes and things of the sort. Tenser's Transformation, Storm Sphere, Fabricate, Death Ward, Holy Weapon, all offer some great options too from my past characters' experience
I highly recommend the spell steel wind strike. Not just is it the most anime sounding spell you also get to choose 5 creatures within 30 feet and against each of them you make a melee spell attack and on a hit deal 6d10 force damage and if your a sword or valor bard that needs to close the distance you can teleport to any of the 5 targets
Wait, in regards to wish, those listed options DO trigger the chance to never cast wish again. The quote is "The stress of casting this spell to produce any effect other than duplicating another spell weakens you," which includes the ones listed in the spell description, doesn't it?
I’m all for other classes having access to Counterspell but a lore reason for not having it might be that it requires an in depth knowledge of how spells are cast. With all the other casters who don’t get it a lot of their magic is them believing in something or following ritual. Like, they don’t know how the sausage is made most of the time
*Sorcerer laughs in inheriting magic powers because dad stuck his dick where it didn't belong* and *Warlock laughs in receiving magic from their magical sugar daddies*
If every spell caster in the game gets counterspell that includes all the monsters. There's a big danger that once someone casts a spell you end up in a big counterspell counterspell chain everytime. That's really going to drain every magic users spell slots. Leaving your innate spellcasting monsters to run amok. Careful what you wish for ...
I think bard technically are arcane casters, but I agree. I think it's a fair trade off. Counterspell makes for really cool moments, but every single caster on the field having it could turn into a mess very quickly.
One of my 3rd lvl picks for lore bard is Conjure Animals so I can summon 8 elk and beat my drum as I have them all charge into battle. I think it’s an underrated pick.
Personally my favorite magical secret choice is Armor of Agathys, especially on college of swords and valor bards. It's always a great way to do more damage and increase survivability in melee, and it scales really well for a first level spell.
It's especially great for facing armies of minions, like a horde of skeletons or similar, because their attacks don't do much damage, and the spell only ends once the temp HP is completely removed - but the attacker receives the full amount of damage each time! It totally wrecks them... It's totally passive too, no spending your reaction or anything... so like if you get surrounded by 6 skeletons, you cast a 6th level Armour of Agathys to protect yourself, and they attack, each doing 5 damage, that's 30 damage total, ending it on the last one that attacks - but each skelly will get a 30 cold damage blast, killing all of them one by one as they attack... you've effectively spent 6 actions worth of economy and didn't have to move to reposition (like if for an AoE like a fireball) or anything
@@Alternatestories the hexblade warlock build is stronger mechanically as far as the melee attack elements go, but flavorwise there are a lot of reasons you may not want your bard bound down to a patron. plus sticking to bard means higher level spell slots are gotten sooner. Casting it one level higher means an extra 5 damage to anyone that hits you per attack, so the stronger armor of agathys can largely balance things out against the hexblade dip. It is especially powerful against enemies that get several weak attacks. So there are plenty of reasons to just stay pure bard.
One of my favorite spells was Conjure Animals. To make it easier for my DM, I created laminated cards of creatures that I liked to summon with all the stats necessary. My in-game bard made his own deck of cards with all the animals he has seen and read about. If he was in combat, he would basically play Yu-Gi-Oh.
Everyone doesn't have counter spell because it is a busted spell. Most spells take an action to cast. Counter spell is a reaction to cast. Trading a reaction for a full action is devastating for the action economy. And the spell just feels bad. Players love counterspell until the DM starts packing spellcasters with access to it to compete in the arms race of counterspell vs counterspell. The spell is bad and shouldn't even be in the game. At the very least it should be a 4th or 5th level spell for the sort of power swing it creates and how abused it can be with counterspell vs counterspell. Combat shouldn't boil down to which side has more characters able to cast counterspell.
Bigby’s Hand is an outstanding parallel to Telekinesis. Pros: Damage: Clenched Fist- 4d8 Force Damage/rd as a bonus action! Grasping Hand- 2d6+spell casting mod in addition to a very hard to resist grapple. -Both of these are scalable in very impressive ways. Forceful hand-Push up large creatures at advantage 20+ ‘ minimum every round. Amazing battlefield control Interposing Hand-wall off the caster from an opponent with less than a 26 strength , and +2 AC Cons: Telekinesis lasts longer, can exert fine control, and lift more pure pounds. Overall, however, as a Bard, Bigby’s overcomes the most significant handicap Bards face with their limited spells known, i.e., it’s highly versatile, offering damage, debuff, and utility features in spades. As mentioned before, the scalability is pretty amazing as well (+2d8/slot on clenched fist, and +2d6/slot on grasping hand). Throw this up and cast spells/cantrips every round on top of the damage/control you get with your bonus action.
Re: Meta-gaming telepathy, the group should have also practiced and discussed tactics outside of combat. Real fighters drill because of high stakes (death), so it's reasonable adventures would do the same. Also, it's a game, so I wouldn't let a little game chat get you down. Some DMs encourage talk, especially at the end of each round. It can make things more cinematic. Still, I take the point you were making. Great video!
I do have to disagree that every spellcasting class should get counterspell. Not because of lore reasons, but mechanical balance reasons. You'd basically be gutting magic monster encounters, since every spellcaster in the party would be able to Counterspell almost every spell the enemy makes. So while it sounds great from the player side, it's not so great on the DMs side.
There's a few spells that technically target oneself that could be used to give your steed extra damaging capabilities, Vampiric Touch being one of them, yeah, that spell has a range of self so teeeechnically if the DM allows such stuff you can have your horse be a vampire.
I’ve had a lot of fun with Steel Wind Strike on my Valor bard. My DM actually ruled that we would benefit from auto crits if the target was paralyzed, but even without that ruling, it’s a fun spell.
@@mke3053 RAW Paralyzed is only auto crit within 5 feet. And while Steel Wind Strike is flavoured as you teleporting around and cutting everyone in melee, by RAW I think you are considered to be standing where you stood when you started casting it until you truly teleport after having made your last attack. So by that reasoning (if I'm correct here) it would in fact be a (sensible) houserule to allow Steel Wind Strike to benefit from the auto crit unless you already stood within 5 feet when you cast the spell.
Actually pulling off the Glibness/Counterspell combo against a high level spellcaster is amazing, doubly so as a bard (you can also do it with Warlock, but they lack Jack of All Trades and don't have enough slots to really twist the knife). Unless the Bard is dumping Charisma for some reason, by the time they get Glibness the counter check is guaranteed to succeed against any level of spell if they have it up. If a Bard with this combo is really out to spite you, you can look forward to the first spell you cast for up to the next 15 rounds fizzling, and there is not much you can do to stop it beyond preparing a Contingency ahead of time, being a Sorcerer with Subtle Spell, or burning through your own reactions and spell slots Counterspelling their Counterspell.
Bard is my 5e home and I usually play some variation of a melee bard. Yeah, sad to admit it but my characters in 4 different ongoing campaigns are all bards. 10: Banishing smite, hex, or some other bonus action melee damage boost spell (my hex dip sword bard will slip counter spell in here instead since he already has hex) and fireball 14: Sunbeam (valor only, will pick something else if my hex dip sword bard gets here), fly 18: Wish, True polymorph I favor bonus action/reaction combat spells and ritual utility spells. Healing word, as an example, is amazing for filling your party utility role while STILL applying pressure. Leaning heavily on ritual spells as a melee bard means you can still do lots of creative things outside of combat without wasting any resources. Sunbeam is my FAVORITE spell to team with the level 14 valor bard perk. As long as you can hold the concentration, the spell economy on that combo is fantastic. I've only used it in game 2 times now, and it was everything I had dreamed it would be each time.
I hate counter spell. It's such an encounter breaker. Basically turns every magic battle into a contest of who has most spell slots. Makes fights dull.
My girlfriend plays a college of whispers bard/horizon walker ranger (is actually pretty good hahah) and she got swift quiver...now she attackes A LOT of times + psychic blades + planar guardian + some buffs we use on they (the party have a fighter/paladin and a druid) and some times already she dissolves the other guys in like 3/4 rounds all by herself while we take care of the minions...I love it
Late to the party but I think... no... Counterspell, lorewise, is undoing another creature's manipulation on the weave of magic, which on itself, is an arduous effort. Not everyone has the delicate approach required.
Artificer shows us that spells can be flavored however suits the class, can you really think of no way for a bard, cleric, or druid to interrupt or prevent a magical effect? It's also worth noting that even if divine casters are excluded, artificers and bards are both arcane casters, and it's on neither of their spell lists.
@@-d_9894 I think as arcane casters bards and artificers should have it. I think the only reason bards don't is because they have jack of all trades so WotC didn't want them to have it for free because it would be too tempting. As for divine casters, its not that I can't think of how their counter spell could be flavored, it just personally feels wrong for me with my image of of divine spellcasting. I always imagine divine casting as being kinda slow and more focus intensive. It also seems like arcane casters should be able to do it because they should have a more technical understanding of how magic works and how to interrupt it. But that's just me.
I don't think Jack of All Trades applies to Magical Secrets spells. Bards are proficient with their spells, and, per the PHB, spells acquired by Magical Secrets "become bard spells for you". Therefore, the bard is proficient, and does not benefit from Jack of All Trades here.
I like Animate Dead for a Zombie/Skeleton army combined with Crusader's Mantle that causes each Zombie/Skeleton deal extra 1d4 radiant damage. It's both, kinda funny, with the holy skeleton army, but also pretty good, because when you stack enough mooks, they're pretty scary
I feel like Counterspell can wait until 10th level (for lore bards) unless you are in a caster heavy(as enemies) campaign, but I'm more surprised Haste wasn't on there. You can run away like crazy if you need to , but more to help your barbarian, or paladin (etc) really run around and do some damage with having a +2 to their ac at the same time.
Bigby’s is better than Telekinesis in combat. For one, after casting, you can attack, grapple, push, or defend with a bonus action every round! That’s huge! It means 9 rounds of actions IN ADDITION to Bigby’s for a minute. Telekinesis is better for utility and duration, but by far inferior in combat.
It's sad that they create Counterspell and remove the ability to counterspell like in DnD3.5. Sure counterspell are easier to be use but a little to much IMO. You no longer need to identify the opponent spell, so you didn't need knowledge in Magic to be able to Counterspell. Now we are so use to Counterspell and casual it, that we even want it on Divine Spellcaster that have no knowledge about Magic (I'm talking about Weave magic). It's even more sad when Bard have better chances to Counterspell than Wizard due to their abilities... I really miss the old 3.5 counterspell with same spells as a ready action and not this "Free reaction" counterspell...
Wizard is already the top spellcaster by miles, why be sad that other spellcasters can be better than them in niche areas because of their class abilities?
@@-d_9894 The problem isn't about balance but about logic and lore. In older DnD version, you must succeed an Arcana's Knowledge check before being able to counterspell to know the opponent spell. Due to that, Wizard have always been the best classes to counterspell. It make no sense that Bard with Jack-of-all-trade abilities is now the best without subclasses ability (Wizard Abjuration's School are still the best to counterspell).
@@Nyarlathoteps1 What a spell actually is in-fiction varies based off which class is casting it. A bard being good at magically distracting someone from concentrating on something sounds perfectly logical to me. Also, the wizard still being superior if they focus on it really makes it seem like you're complaining over nothing.
@@-d_9894 It's not how counterspell work lorewise... To disrupt a spell, the mage must unweave the magic of his opponent or cast the spell's inverse. To do this, you need knowledge about magics and that's why IMO it make no sense that bard could be better without knowledge but just because he is a jack-of-all-trade...
Not on this list that i love selecting: 1. tiny servant. Seems perfect like perfect targets for the bard's support abilities like bardic inspiration and support spells. Plus, singing hero with tiny talking silverware... be our guest, be our guest... 2. scorching ray. gives the bard an excellent single target dpr spell to combine with hold person/monster. 3. conjure woodland beings/giant insect/conjure animals. again another summoning setup like tiny servant to take advantage of the bard's support features and spells. Throw in dissonant whispers for tons of AOO attacks. 4. tasha's mind whip. gives the control bard an alternative non-concentration control spell to blindness/deafness. harder to save against to. 5. guardian of nature/swift quiver/spirit shroud. makes a martial bard more viable.
Glamour bard here: Wall of force, wall of stone, and wall of fire are the three I am debating to pick. With mantel of inspiration, wall spells are better than ever. Give the whole party a chance to react and move into where you're going to put the wall up, then use your action to put the wall up. I'm thinking wall of force will be my first pick. What other wall spells should I be looking at?
Circle of Power is a default pick for my bards. Almost any paladin exclusive spell works. Also took Healing Spirit for added support cause it was/is busted. I've seen some take the Conjure X and Animated Objects spells for just board control but that is lame~
I dunno man. Just the spell duplication puts wish at 1 for me. Its all the spells and its always on. Wozards have a lot of spells, whatever you hit youll have a spell to deal with.
That is not the case. That is what people used to think back in the day. Spirit Guardians does not only effect you, it also effects anyone with 15' feet of you. Just because it has a range of self (what people used to think it did), does not mean it affects only you. Trust me, we used to run with this rule as well until we dug into it a little deeper. A healing spell cast you on, haste, etc. those all affect only you, Spirit Guardians, sadly does not count.
Wow, thanks for correcting me, now that I look into it spirit guardians even has range of "self (15 feet radious)". My "genious" plan is ruined but at least I got some insight c:
@@melchiorkaczmarzyk5165 we ran a whole campaign with Find Steed and Spirit Guardians on a Lore Bard. The DM HATED it. It wasn't until after that campaign ended that we figured out we were wrong
@@ShugoAWay The case is already closed but 2 clerics with spirit guardians activated can make a single enemy take damage from both spells and I do not see why scenario with steed should bs treated dfferently. I do not think this particular rule applies here although I may be missing something again.
I think that anyone who CAN get counterspell SHOULD, but to me it's always felt luke something that is NOT commonly known. Like, it's a special skill to have as a caster. PLUS I think if everyone had it, everyone woupd just use up all their slots countering all the time and it would get boring, when Counterspell comes out at a table currently, it's always big and always a clutch moment, i wouldn't want to lose that feeling
