Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Jbrad8325 May 29, 2015 7:03:17	I'll be playing my first 5thed campaign soon. I have decided on bard cant decide between half elf or halfling any suggestions?   Also while reserching I ran across this. Nova: A valor who gets 3 levels of assassins and lightning arrow. Dealing upto 60d8 in a single turn, by burning 2 high level spell slots. Can someone explain how to do this seems awesome.
#2 SterlingRat May 29, 2015 7:20:11	Both half elves and halflings make good bards. If you are trying to choose between them, then what kind of bard are you looking for? A half-elf has +2 to the casting stat, so if you want to focus on spellcasting, a half-elf has a step up at lower levels. A halfling has a bigger dex bonus and protection from the dreaded roll of 1... one flavor gets a sneaking bonus and the other gets a con bonus; You are looking at a darn good fighting bard rather than a casting bard.    So... what were you looking for out of your bard, spells or fighting?   Overall, Half-elves are more optimized. Check out Mello's guide.
#3 HermanTheWize May 29, 2015 8:03:33	Jbrad8325 wrote:
#4 Imaculata May 29, 2015 10:41:35	I would never pick a race based on what stats I like best. I would pick the race that I want to roleplay, and that fits the party.
#5 Jbrad8325 May 29, 2015 11:43:46	The character is going to to be a bard of valor, so fighting. He is going to have the charlaltan background a complusive gambler and attempted womanizer.   The party will be 6 strong, but so far there is only my bard and an half elf worlock.   Any ideas on how to male the Nova: A valor who gets 3 levels of assassins and lightning arrow. Dealing upto 60d8 in a single turn, by burning 2 high level spell slots work?
#6 mellored May 29, 2015 12:20:59	Jbrad8325 wrote:
#7 Touc May 29, 2015 12:21:32	I encourage players, especially new ones, to ignore stats of a race and instead focus on the role play aspect. Do you want a half-elf, torn between societies, living longer than his human peers but shunned by elves who see him as only partial elf, whose music/art is a constant comfort for him, or whose torn nature has instead translated to that of a natural leader who can see multiple perspectives?  Or maybe you want a halfling, a pipe-smoking musician whose greatest ambition was planting a good pumpkin crop this year and winning over the barkeeps' daughter, who instead was thrust into the uncomfortable role of a warrior when goblins set fire to his village, who sought out those who could turn his music into a weapon so no one could hurt his people again?   Or do you want a +2 stat with a bonus on a skill and a miscellaneous ability?  One makes a good story...   "Nova" is a term for doing a ton of damage in one attack combo. Some players enjoy coming up with combos to do quirky things, though many DMs will discourage cheesy builds and not allow multi-classing as it's an optional rule. Guessing how they arrived at their numbers other than Lightning Arrow cast at 9th level can do 10d8 damage on a hit. By taking 3 levels of rogue, a player can get "assassinate," doing a critical hit on a surprised enemy, so another 10d8 damage (20d8 per arrow).  Assuming the character has a spell or ability to get multiple attacks and can get 3 arrows off before the enemy is no longer surprised, in theory, they could use a 9th level spell slot during a surprise round to hammer an enemy for 60d8 damage (if all things hit).  Since you'll have to be around 20th level for this to work, it's more for fun than anything else.   Personally, you should make choices on playing a character that sound like they'll make the game the most fun for not only you but those around you.
(Reply to #5) SterlingRat	Jbrad8325 wrote:
#9 Jbrad8325 May 29, 2015 16:47:09	Defintly going for story based personality as it seems 5th edition opens that back up. With that said would still like to be affective. Any must have bard spells? Or suggestions on valor vs lore school as i'm still up in the air on it. Really all I have set in stone is bard with charaltan archtype  complusive gambler, womanizer, wrong someone in the past and is always in hiding.
#10 Zardnaar May 29, 2015 16:52:44	Halfling Valor bard is likely going to suck as bards do not get that many ability bumps and being dex based really limits your other otptions such as using concentration spells.
(Reply to #4) Kentor_Slowhand_02	Imaculata wrote:
(Reply to #10) SterlingRat	Zardnaar wrote:
(Reply to #9) Touc	Jbrad8325 wrote: