Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Lharn Aug 31, 2014 9:32:36	War cleric/ valor bard valor bard/ battle master  battle master /war cleric   seems like you would want at least battle master 3, valor bard 6?, war cleric 1 or 2.   other suggestions?
#2 peacemind Aug 31, 2014 12:14:29	Initial thought is you're going to have a tough time with MAD here.  You're going to have to have a high charisma to take advantage of Bardic Inspiration, a high strength to wear the armor (or a moderate to high dex if you go with lighter armor), and at least a decent con to survive in melee.  Not impossible, but tricky.  Also, given that most of the Battle Master tricks involve you attacking, you're going to need to be able to hit with *something*, so even more str/con.  Thoughts, in no particular order:   -What kind of warlord are you looking for here?  The 4e "Lazylord", or frontline buffer, or archery warlord, or ?   -War priest +10 is huge, but only 1/rest.  Not frequent enough to build around.  Your best bet is probably build around bardic inspiration and superiority dice. -If you're going bard/fighter, then you'll want at least 3 levels of fighter and 5 levels of bard (for Font of Inspiration).  That said, if you're not taking levels in multiples of 4, you're giving up your (badly needed) stat buffs and feats.  So you'll probably want at least 4 fighter. -If you're playing at a high enough level that you have access to Bard magic secrets, acquiring Shillelagh could give you a cha-based melee attack option and alleviate the need for higher str or dex, reducing your MAD significantly.  Alternatively, you could do a 3-4 level dip into Warlock (book style) to find the cantrip there; mileage on this option depends on how your DM rules invocation prereqs (whether they are warlock level or character level), and assuming it's ruled favorably how early you mix it into your build.   -Overall, you need to realize you're not going to be a "real" warlord by 4e standards.  You can emulate a lot of what the warlord did in 4e, but not at-will and likely not as effectively.  Granting of free attacks has been significantly reduced in 5e, for example.   -Just an observation, you could potentially find a cool combo in using battle inspiration to add inspiration dice to damage done, and using Commander's Strike to add superiority dice to damage on an attack as well, although it's not going to be super-highpowered and the resource investment in each use of this is high.
#3 ppaladin123 Aug 31, 2014 12:45:20	The bard spell list is full of debuffs but a bit light on buffs. The cleric is more of a buffer if that is what you want to do. On the other hand the bard can pick up the paladin auras (vitality, purity, life) and circle of power from the paladin list.....those are quite potent. Speaking of the paladin.....the auras are quite nice!
#4 Thank_Dog Aug 31, 2014 14:36:17	The best warlord is the battlemaster... since... you know... that is what it is...
#5 GladiusLegis Aug 31, 2014 15:44:03	The Battle Master Fighter is obviously the best approximation flavor-wise of the 4e Warlord, although probably not the most effective mechanically. If you're not married to the whole Martial-only concept, the War Cleric, Valor Bard and any Paladin are all more effective.
#6 baronspam Aug 31, 2014 16:46:05	A battlemaster fighter with the healer feat and the rally maneuver can be solid frontline fighter with some healing thrown it.  They are not going to be a primary healer, to use the MMO term, but the healing will be a nice supliment.  it also lets you stay with an all martial concept without magic.  If you want more healing you can throw in some bard, war cleric, or even paladin, but they all come with the need to have an additional stat at at a good modifier.  There may be some fluff issues as well, as the cleric and paladin need to be devoted to a divine power source, and the bard will have to break into the lute-scootin-buggy to cast cure wounds.  I don't think there is a "best", it depends on how thin you want to spread yourself and what you can live with in term of fluff.
#7 Ashrym Aug 31, 2014 18:05:10	I would add the inspiring leader feat and healer feat to a battlemaster as the closest flavor. Paladins, bards, and clerics make the alternatives.
#8 TomPlisss Sep 01, 2014 7:56:54	How about the Magic Initiate feat ? For a Guidance cantrip and Healing lvl1 spell ?