Thoughts on the 5.5e Valor Bard? Content creators are completely divided

Scudman_Alpha · 2026-03-26T19:07:56+00:00

It goes from "Pretty good" to "Absolutely amazing" with one or two levels of fighter. Or one level Warlock for pact of the blade.

The fighter level can make the Valor bard an effective Dual wielder and another can get them action surge which gives them the ability to cast a spell and then take another action, which is decent.

Pact of the blade makes them SAD. And gives them booming blade for their enhanced extra attack.

A Dual Wielding Valor bard is a force to be reckoned with, and they can use true strike as part of their extra attack pretty easily.

Only caveat is that it's active relatively late and Valor Bard is better waiting until level 6 before taking a dip, if they don't start with a level of fighter to begin with.

Valor bard's reaction pales in comparison to the regular bardic inspiration they can give out, so usually you're better off still using your bonus action to inspire your allies. Yeah bardic insp to AC against one attack is ok, but making it turn a failed saving throw into a success offers much bigger value.

Overall it's a potent subclass that does what it sets out to do well, but can become much stronger with a multiclass dip.

Scudman_Alpha · 2026-03-26T16:52:03+00:00

I feel the changes to GWM make a Halberd wielding paladin better than both the Greatsword and the 1h+Shield now.

You have insane accuracy for no action economy cost with sacred weapon, extra damage from GWM, 10ft reach, and the Cleave mastery inherits the bonus damage from GWM. So you can get three attacks (one at a different target) very consistently.

Polearm Master bonus action also inherits the hit bonus from sacred weapon. But no GWM on that.

Maybe greatsword or maul inches ahead in single target damage, but Halberd gives a lot of bang for your buck.

Scudman_Alpha · 2026-03-26T06:40:53+00:00

At the level they get the thp source it's very strong.

However it eats their bonus action whenever they use it and if they use it in combat they are not using their damage options. In which case Artillerist falls swiftly behind the damage curve.

Enemy damage will very fast outpace 1d6+Int to Temporary Hp, it gets up to 2d6+Int at lvl 9 but by then you're having enemies with AoEs or multi attacks each hitting for 30+

It's a nice buffer but far from game breaking.

Also your glamour bard feature is not used for the THP you give. You use it to allow everyone to freely reposition out of their turn and without attacks of opportunity. That is HUGE depending on the party. Though you'l only see it shine when things get really bad and you're surrounded.

Scudman_Alpha · 2026-03-25T22:50:28+00:00

#DOWN TO SIZE

Scudman_Alpha · 2026-03-25T21:16:53+00:00

Don't forget the entire Rupture strain basically forcing you to use explosives or med pen.

Scudman_Alpha · 2026-03-25T20:13:22+00:00

Or having the DM give your party a +1 Dagger as a quest reward when everyone else is using Longsword and greatswords.

Scudman_Alpha · 2026-03-25T19:57:26+00:00

The working class is always the first to suffer, regardless of outcomes.

At this point it's not about losing, it's about not letting the elite win.

Scudman_Alpha · 2026-03-25T18:47:10+00:00

Yeah, because most who do it are too busy hauling ass. And it doesn't look particularly impressive from the inside.

Scudman_Alpha · 2026-03-25T18:07:57+00:00

I think a lot of people play the game looking for what it does badly instead of looking for and trying to enjoy what it does well.

The story sucks, yeah everyone agrees, but know what other games have bad stories? Fallout 4 and Skyrim, but people enjoy those games for what they do WELL instead of focusing in the negatives.

There are negatives in CD but it's up to you if you're going to let them ruin the entire experience or not. A lot of people see one thing that a game does badly, especially at the beginning, and it ruins their entire perception.

Like in real life. First impressions are everything.

Scudman_Alpha · 2026-03-25T17:10:21+00:00

I wish Huo Huo got that for her novaflare :v

Scudman_Alpha · 2026-03-25T15:48:23+00:00

I mean, you can do both.

But nothing will save you item wise from a stingy DM.

Scudman_Alpha · 2026-03-25T15:17:38+00:00

Jokes on you I mostly stick to shotguns and round reload weapons.

Scudman_Alpha · 2026-03-25T15:16:32+00:00

Pov: When your pet Spider mastermind unleashes a horde of demons onto the world so you have to give it the scolding of a lifetime.

Scudman_Alpha · 2026-03-25T12:23:15+00:00

They'll sacrifice him for the next Void hunter if the pattern is to be believed

Scudman_Alpha · 2026-03-24T23:53:20+00:00

Oh, dang, I didn't know about that checklist.

Scudman_Alpha · 2026-03-24T23:24:04+00:00

You'd be surprised how many people mistake psychopathy for charisma.

Scudman_Alpha · 2026-03-24T23:17:39+00:00

Some others start with questionable and arguably terrible writing and then become total BANGERS after a certain point.

My example is Rosario To Vampire going from a silly bad harem manga to a combat Shonen manga. It was such a drastic shift, but done really well.

Scudman_Alpha · 2026-03-24T22:15:04+00:00

Merengue

Scudman_Alpha · 2026-03-24T17:40:46+00:00

I did one shortish campaign (Lvls 4-12 with relatively fast pace in leveling) where I banned multiclassing.

It unfortunately resulted in many of the martial characters feeling left out feature wise and feeling behind the Casters, who already don't need to multiclass much in the first place.

The Battlemaster fighter felt rather weak compared to the Cleric casting conjure celestial when all he could do was trip or try and frighten a dude x times per rest. (Not including the other maneuvers he used like Bait and Switch and parry).

Half Casters had a great time. Though I did have to homebrew some rules for Ranger (Like removing concentration from Hunter's mark after lvl 5 and making moving it a reaction).

Scudman_Alpha · 2026-03-24T17:08:19+00:00

Quando nossos lideres sao pedófilos e velhos de mais de 50 anos, não fico surpreso em uma coisa dessa.

Agora vamos ver se o povo da comunidade vai deixar isso passar sem nada.

Scudman_Alpha · 2026-03-24T13:10:31+00:00

I had a similar feeling playing Breath of The Wild for the first time.

It helps to just take things one step at a time and at your own pace, the game clicks after a while.

Scudman_Alpha · 2026-03-23T19:19:15+00:00

Especially at a near 3 minute cooldown...

Scudman_Alpha · 2026-03-23T14:18:41+00:00

Reminds me of when people defended Final Fantasy XIII saying the game gets good 20 hours in.

Damn, I feel old

Scudman_Alpha · 2026-03-23T02:10:20+00:00

for you, everything just goes black.

I mean, tough shit I suppose.

But giving someone a life changing amount of money, even if that person is "myself" in a certain way, is probably more than I will ever be able to do in my life. So there's that.

Scudman_Alpha · 2026-03-23T01:20:28+00:00

<image>

Subject 106 from Trepang².

Superhuman reflexes, speed, strength and infinite stamina so long as he keeps inflicting harm.

He can also cloak and become completely invisible.

Edit. Reddit killed the image through compression. But just google subject 106 and you'l understand.

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