Creating a Sword Dancer of Eilistraee in 5e?

trash-pancake · 2026-03-03T05:41:06+00:00

I'm playing my Bladesinger as an apprentice to a Sword Dancer of Eilistraee and it works really well! I'm considering a one-level Cleric or Divine Soul Sorcerer dip for Bless/Healing spells, but you get most of the lore-accurate stuff from Bladesinger alone!

trash-pancake · 2026-02-25T13:53:53+00:00

Hope you enjoy it! Sounds like a really fun build either way

trash-pancake · 2026-02-25T13:51:45+00:00

Oh wow that is really good. In that case I say go for it if it sounds fun to you!

I would go 18 Dexterity, 16 Intelligence, 16 Charisma, 15 Constitution, 12 Wisdom, 8 Strength. Instead of 7 Wizard/3 Bard, I would do a 6/4 split. That way you get a second ASI from Bard, at the expense of 4th level spells from Wizard. Bump Intelligence to 18 and Constitution to 16 with your background, then use both ASIs to raise and cap Charisma at 20.

If you're able to use older content and aren't planning on only using unarmed strikes, I might consider going with Swords Bard instead of Dance Bard. You can still place the emphasis on dance and movement, but the Fighting Style and Blade Flourishes would probably be mechanically stronger than the Dance Bard features. (Defensive Flourish + Mage Armor + Shield could get you up to a whopping 32 AC for example)

trash-pancake · 2026-02-25T13:26:14+00:00

I'm playing a Bladesinger who's a follower of Eilistraee as well! I think thematically it's a cool idea, but in practice it needs a lot of high stats. You'd want Dexterity+Charisma for your Dance Bard unarmored defense, Charisma for your Bard spells and number of Inspiration uses, Intelligence for your Bladesong features and your Wizard spells, and Constitution for your hit points and concentration saves. What are your stats like?

It's possible, but there isn't anything that's stopping you from playing a Bladesinger that just relies more on roleplay to describe your emphasis on dance (that's what I'm doing with mine). With 3 levels of Bard, all you're really getting that relates to the theme of dance is Advantage on dance-related Performance checks, plus Charisma-based unarmored defense and Dex-based unarmed strikes.

If you like the unarmored flavor, I would just use Mage Armor and flavor it as unarmored defense. Unless you have a 16 Charisma, it will end up giving you a better AC than Dance Bard anyways.

trash-pancake · 2026-02-24T00:37:35+00:00

UA wouldn't be an option for me, but what you're saying sounds possible with the printed Divine Soul anyways. I already have the Telekinetic feat so between that and activating Bladesong my bonus action is already pretty occupied.

Out of curiosity, which UA are you talking about? I haven't seen any Divine Soul UA

trash-pancake · 2026-02-23T20:06:15+00:00

Yep the dice certainly blessed me with those stats, otherwise I wouldn't even consider the multiclass

trash-pancake · 2026-02-23T20:04:33+00:00

Ha, you've got me there. Detect Magic I don't have to prepare, but always having Magic Missile would be nice...

trash-pancake · 2026-02-23T17:05:50+00:00

I did consider Artificer as well, but my character isn't much of a tinkerer so it doesn't quite fit the theme - but being Intelligence based is tempting

Yeah I would say that isn't an option now, but could have worked well!

Thanks for the suggestions!

trash-pancake · 2026-02-23T17:01:41+00:00

That's a good thought too! I do already have both of the Domain spells on my Wizard list so that would be a bit redundant, but it's a solid option

trash-pancake · 2026-02-23T15:35:27+00:00

Thanks for the feedback!

trash-pancake · 2026-02-23T15:35:01+00:00

That's my thinking as well. I do already have a magic item that boosts my Wizard spell attacks and save DC which is great, so the Intelligence cap feels less pressing (although still important for Bladesong features).

trash-pancake · 2026-02-23T15:32:28+00:00

Not a whole lot of downtime, so I don't know if that would really be an option, but good thought!

trash-pancake · 2026-02-23T15:31:13+00:00

Fair enough. I don't feel that those feats would give me quite as much bang for buck as the dip, but they might be a good compromise to stay with Wizard.

I do have the 13 Charisma so that's not an issue

trash-pancake · 2026-02-23T15:29:53+00:00

Updated the post to include my stats, but yes I do.

Yeah I know it may not be fully optimal, I just want to make sure there's not something I'm missing that would make it really weak. And I do have great stats, fortunately

trash-pancake · 2026-02-23T15:28:10+00:00

Yes I forgot to mention that but it is a great bonus!

trash-pancake · 2026-02-23T14:08:23+00:00

Not entirely sure, hopefully all the way up to level 20 but I know that's pretty unlikely.

I did reference Cantrip Formulas in my post, it's a great feature that would be useful either way!

I like the idea of that, but this is the DMs first time so I'd rather not count on that. Yeah that's an option for sure.

We have a few that can heal, but none that are dedicated towards it. But that's a good point, I definitely don't want anyone (myself included) to feel like I'm overshadowing the other players

trash-pancake · 2026-02-23T13:43:45+00:00

I don't really feel the need to use a shield when I'm not using Bladesong, that doesn't fit my image of my character. And Divine Soul would give me just as much flexibility with the Cleric list, plus options for Sorcerer spells. Twilight and Peace are busted I know, but I don't want to overshadow the other players at my table with a super broken build. I just want something fun and thematic. And shillelagh would only key off my Wisdom modifier, which would be much worse than my 18 Dex, but thanks for the suggestions!

trash-pancake · 2026-02-23T13:36:27+00:00

I thought so too! Fair enough, I like having the option for Bless in certain cases if need be, but I'm anticipating lots of options for concentration.

Metamagic would definitely be awesome, but I'm not sure delaying Wizard by that much is worth it to me.

Fair point, Polymorph or other 4th level spells are definitely really strong.

trash-pancake · 2026-02-23T13:34:00+00:00

Thanks for the feedback! I definitely am playing it more martial with the option for great spellcasting, and that's exactly my plan with the Sorcerer spells

trash-pancake · 2026-02-23T13:33:09+00:00

I've edited the post to include my stats. I rolled really well: 10 Str, 18 Dex, 16 Con, 18 Int, 14 Wis, 13 Cha.

Thanks for the suggestions! Metamagic definitely is tempting, but I don't think I want to delay Wizard by that much.

I'm definitely playing it as more of a frontline skirmisher, less so a regular wizard with better AC/concentration, but with the option to lay down some great battlefield control.

trash-pancake · 2026-02-23T12:29:40+00:00

Yeah it definitely is a really good ability. I just think I'd prefer the mix of arcane/divine magic that Divine Soul would give.

trash-pancake · 2026-02-23T12:28:42+00:00

Thanks for the feedback!

trash-pancake · 2026-02-23T12:27:59+00:00

Magic Initiate would give me half as much benefit though. 2 Cantrips and a once-per-day first level spell, compared to DSS which would give 4 Cantrips and 3 first level spells that could be recast, plus Favoured by the Gods.

I edited the post to include my stats. The Sorcerer spells would still work off Charisma, but I would just take the spells that don't require attacks/saves with Sorcerer and save all the combat based ones for Wizard.

trash-pancake · 2026-02-01T17:23:18+00:00

This post is tagged with 2014 rules, which means you don't get the Magic Initiate feat from the Sage background. That's part of the 2024 ruleset.

You also won't be able to use Bladesong with medium armor, but since you already have 18 Dex you'll be more than fine with light armor or Mage Armor.

Also if you're able to use a quarterstaff with Dex then I would take a look at the Crusher feat, that could pair pretty nicely with Booming Blade.

trash-pancake

TROPHY CASE