Shady the Bard, Revisited

[the_gneech]

So I think I’ve talked myself into multiclassing Shady with bard instead of fighter. The question now becomes… when? My initial thought was that it would start at 11th level, because Reliable Talent is a broken class feature anyway, but I would miss the ability score bumps at 8 and 10, not to mention Evasion (which is amazing) and Panache (which is also amazing).

On the other hand… 11th level is really far away, if we even take it for granted that the game will get there. As players, we (admittedly, mostly me, but other players bought in to my reasoning) asked Inkblitz to slow levelling down when we hit sixth, and, well, it’s very rare for any D&D game to survive long past 10th. And since Bard Shady’s spells top out at 3rd level, if I wait for 11th to roll around, they’re going to be a lot more limited in application.

So I started thinking about what would happen if I made the switch immediately: what would I gain, and what would I lose? Since 9th level’s Panache and the 10th level ASI are sort of my benchmarks of pure rogue, I tried statting up Shady Rogue 10, and Shady Rogue 5/Bard 5, and this is what I got:

—–

SHADY: Rogue (Swashbuckler) 10

AC 17; hp 74

Speed: 30′, x2 w/ Feline Agility

Initiative: +8

–

Str 10, Dex 20, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 16

Saves: Dex +9, Int +4

Acrobatics +9, Animal Handling +1, Arcana +0, Athletics +8, Deception +3, History +0, Insight +1, Intimidation +7, Investigation +4, Medicine +1, Nature +0, Perception +9, Performance +3, Persuasion +11, Religion +0, Sleight of Hand +9, Stealth +13, Survival +1

Prof: Concertina, Dice Set, Thieves’ Tools

–

Cunning Action, Evasion, Fancy Footwork, Panache, Rakish Audacity, Sneak Attack +5d6, Uncanny Dodge

–

Crescent Moon: +10 to hit, 1d8+6 piercing (+5d6 sneak attack*)

Cutlass (off-hand): +9 to hit, 1d6 slashing

[average combined DPR 31.5]

Pistol: +9 to hit, 1d10+5 piercing (+5d6 sneak attack*) [average DPR 28]

–

*Sneak attack can only apply once per turn.

—–

SHADY: Rogue (Swashbuckler) 5/Bard (College of Swords) 5

AC 16 (+d8 Blade Flourish**); hp 74

Speed: 30′, 40′ w/ attack action (Blade Flourish), x2 w/ Feline Agility

Initiative: +9

–

Str 10, Dex 18, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 16

Saves: Dex +8, Int +4

Acrobatics +8, Animal Handling +3, Arcana +2, Athletics +8, Deception +7, History +2, Insight +3, Intimidation +7, Investigation +4, Medicine +3, Nature +2, Perception +9, Performance +5, Persuasion +11, Religion +2, Sleight of Hand +8, Stealth +12, Survival +3

Prof: Concertina, Dice Set, Navigator’s Tools, Thieves’ Tools

–

Bardic Inspiration d8 (3/short or long rest), Blade Flourish, Cunning Action, Fancy Footwork, Fighting Style (Two-Weapon Fighting), Jack of All Trades, Rakish Audacity, Sneak Attack +3d6, Song of Rest (d6), Uncanny Dodge

–

Spells: 0-level—Friendship, Mage Hand, Vicious Mockery; 1—level (4 slots)—Charm Person, Healing Word, Heroism, Longstrider, Sleep; 2-level (3 slots)—Blindness/Deafness, Enthrall; 3-level (2 slots)—Stinking Cloud

–

Crescent Moon: +9 to hit, 1d8+5 piercing (+3d6 sneak attack*, +d8 Blade Flourish**)

Cutlass (off-hand): +8 to hit, 1d6+4 slashing

[average combined DPR 32]

Pistol: +8 to hit, 1d10+4 piercing (+3d6 sneak attack*) [average DPR 20]

–

*Sneak attack can only apply once per turn.

**Blade Flourish cannot add to AC and weapon damage on the same turn, can only apply damage once per turn, and expends a use of Bardic Inspiration.

—–

CONCLUSIONS: Bard Shady is very slightly squishier, with one point lower AC and Dex saves. (This could be mitigated with a cloak piratey longcoat of protection and a luckstone, both of which are on her magic items wishlist.)

Her swordsmanship suffers when not using blade flourishes, but is comparable when she does use them; her marksmanship drops noticeably, however. On the other hand, with Sleep, Stinking Cloud, and spammable Vicious Mockery, she has other options at range. She loses both Uncanny Dodge (ouch) and Panache (ouch), but gains a much more robust skill list, gets to plug a hole in her mariner skills w/ Navigator Tools, and becomes a better leader, with Bardic Inspiration, Healing Word, and Song of Rest available to bolster her crew.

If we assume that her “spells” are actually just items she’s carrying around in that utility belt, Mage Hand becomes her yoinking things from across the room with her grapple hook, Sleep can be sleeping powder or a sucker punch, and Blindness/Deafness and Stinking Cloud both become bags of stuff she lobs at her foes.

That running speed, tho. With Blade Flourish and Feline Agility, she can run 80′ on a turn and still attack someone—who then can’t hit her back when she’s running away thanks to Fancy Footwork. Add Longstrider to the mix and we’re looking at Sonic the Hedgehog. Bard Shady has a higher initiative than Rogue Shady despite having a lower Dex, but won’t be laughing off fireballs. She might just outrun them, tho. >.>

Ugh! It’s a tough choice! Bard Shady is better for the social pillar, Rogue Shady is better for combat (at least against foes that don’t resist slashing and piercing), and the two of them bring different strengths to exploration.

At the end of the day, I think I need to pick the one that is most “in character” rather than being optimized. Given how much Shady loves to talk to people, pulls weird things out of her bag of tricks, wants to be a competent seafarer, and pokes her nose where it doesn’t belong, I suspect Bard Shady edges out Rogue Shady at the end of the day. But I’d love to hear opinions!

Comments

[rowyn]

I am curious! What was the reasoning behind slowing the leveling down?

[the_gneech]

One reason was thematic: this particular character group is comprised of oddballs and ne'er-do-wells trying to make something valuable out of themselves, and that's a hard vibe to maintain when you've got 100 hit points and can eat city-threatening monsters for breakfast. XD We'd been fighting giants and consorting with gods in my Storm King's Thunder game, but I at least wanted to stay in that "hometown heroes" vibe for as long as possible with Shade-Of-the-Candle. Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man really shouldn't be going up against Galactus, y'know?

The other reason was aptly summed up in a YouTube video I saw as: "Every level you gain is one step closer to the end of the campaign." And I really, REALLY don't want to stop playing Shady!

EDIT: Here's the video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLLEuOX2294

[rowyn]

Ooh, yeah, that makes sense! I especially relate to the "Friend Neighborhood Spider-Man" part. :D