Playing in a lvl8 one shot soon, and decided to try a Bard. Others will be Barbarian, Fighter/rogue, light cleric.
I am leaning towards a buff/debuff/controll Lore Bard.
Any multi-class options that are worth giving up the ASI at level 8? Any worth giving up 4th level spells?
Any suggestions for the lvl6 Magic Secrets? Good spells to steal?
Likely playing a human....any better feat choice than Inapiring Leader?
Is Half elf really any better?
And the biggie.... what two magic items should I grab?
As far as magic items go, grab anything that can help you either GTFO of melee or something that can bump your AC to something respectable. Moderatly armored is always a safe feat buy. Since you are leaning Lore and de/buff, MC Warlock 2 for a spammable cantrip and hex to keep forcing Disadvantage against your wisdom saves. Not only that, but you also benefit by getting Eldritch invocations at War 2, which means Agonizing blast, to bump up your overall damage, and Devil's sight to see up to 120 in darkness. I mean, yea you give up some 4 level spells, but by 3 you already have suggestion, charm, hold person, and sleep. Well should anyway, in my opinion.
Normally i'd say to dip cleric for armor and bless, but given that you have 3 tanks, your probably safe enough hiding behind them, so just go straight lore.
And no, nothing better then inspiring leader.
TehAnon wrote:
There's a lot of competition for your concentration. If the cleric absolutely refuses to buff the party, a single level of cleric nets you Bless and at least medium armor. With another cleric in the party I'd go Knowledge Cleric and be the party's skill-king. Assuming your party's cleric is taking care of blessing the party...
Multiclass: Nope. The ASI is gravy in this case; Polymorph is just stupidly good. Little gains elsewhere don't compete with that second 4th level spell slot.
Magical Secrets: Counterspell and Fireball, Haste, or Revivify (to taste).
Race: If you're planning on going CHA 20, take a human. At least you'll have one feat that way. If not, Half-Elf for the darkvision.
Magic Items: I'm assuming there are some guidelines in play, here. 
Ask your DM how (s)he would handle Conjure Animals if you took it with Magical Secrets. If you would have freedom to pick the critters yourself, you must take this spell. Amazing combat and utility applications: Scouts, flying mounts for the party (just be careful not to lose conc), meat walls, beasts of burden, etc.
It is an AL playtest, so the magic items are limited to ones currently available in AL. Since I wasn't sure who would know what those were, I figured I would solicit ideas and narrow down accordingly. As of now, I am thinking about Staff of Charming and Robe of Eyes. (We will very likely be in the Underdark)
Apparently the other players decided it would be fun if we were all brothers... I think it started as a lark but caught on. So I am probably human... but I figure I could be a 'half-brother' and be a half-elf. They are good players, so cleric should have healing pretty well covered.
For race I guess it comes down to:
Human: Insp leader 20 Cha
1/2E: Insp leader 18 Cha + 1/2E benefits
1/2E: 20 Cha + 1/2E benefits
With Robe of Eyes, it seems Human is the best choice. Is there a better option than Robe of Eyes?
The Robe of Eyes is brilliant. The Staff of Charming... I've seen that neuter encounters. I'm not sure if I'm happy or sad to consider it in a playtest.
Another good option would likely be the Trident of Warning. Advantage on initiative and group immunity to surprise is a wonderful thing.
bid wrote:
Yunru wrote:
Yunru wrote: