Bladesinging is an interesting subclass. Early on in fifth edition, there were two (and a half, I’m probably not counting arcane trickster) choices for gish characters: Eldritch Knights and Bladesingers. The previous have been very much "what if a fighter might cast spells" whereas the latter made a stab at letting wizards not die in melee. For 2 complete years, Bladesinger reigned supreme as probably the most damaging spellsword… after which Hexblade occurred and instantly blew each other choices out of the water. All three had been rated blue on the location before I wrote this text, but as a part of doing so we moved Bladesinger down for several reasons as you’ll see below.Hexblade solved the main problem faced by gish characters: a number of ability dependence. If I need to swing a sword, that’s going to take strength or dexterity. My spells are going to be powered (for either of the subclasses mentioned) by intelligence. Since I’m a entrance-line character, I’m going to be continuously targeted by enemies and due to this fact I want constitution to not die and maintain concentration on my spells. However the Hexblade says no no, let’s cut that down to just our spellcasting stat, sufficient dexterity to fill out medium armor (which Bladesingers can’t use) after which I can put the rest into Con.

So, within the face of a pile of disadvantages, why would you still play a Bladesinger? Because, at its coronary heart, it’s nonetheless a subclass of the only most highly effective class in the game: Wizard. You should have far more flexibility to handle your points than a Hexblade ever will, and you may nonetheless buckle some swashes with the best of them. Let’s dig in and see what that appears like.This guide is specifically for the Bladesinger Wizard, and omits sections of typical class handbooks when those sections aren’t meaningfully completely different from other members of the class. For extra information on the Wizard, see the Wizard Handbook. I also strongly suggest studying the Wizard Spell List Breakdown and the Wizard Races Breakdown.Table of Contents

IntroductionDisclaimerBladesinger Subclass FeaturesAbilitiesRacesBackgroundsFeatsWeaponsArmorBladesinger Wizard SpellsMulticlassingConclusionExample Build - Goblin Bladesinging WizardAbilitiesRaceSkills and ToolsBackgroundFeatsLevels

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RPGBOT uses the color coding scheme which has turn into widespread among Pathfinder construct handbooks, which is easy to know and easy to read at a look.

Red: Bad, ineffective choices, or choices that are extremely situational. Nearly never useful.Orange: Ok options, or helpful choices that only apply in rare circumstances. Useful sometimes.Green: Good choices. Useful often.Blue: Fantastic options, typically essential to the perform of your character. Useful very steadily.We will not embrace 3rd-social gathering content material, together with content from DMs Guild, in handbooks for official content as a result of we can’t assume that your game will enable third-party content material or homebrew. We additionally won’t cowl Unearthed Arcana content because it’s not finalized, and we can’t assure that it will be out there to you in your games.The advice provided beneath relies on the current State of the Character Optimization Meta as of when the article was last updated. Keep in mind that the state of the meta periodically adjustments as new supply supplies are released, and the article will likely be up to date accordingly as time allows.Bladesinger Subclass Features

Training in War Song: This is a really boring and barely eclectic potential. Performance proficiency (which is already exhausting to make use of) on an severely MAD class that doesn’t need Charisma seems like a ribbon. Getting access to light armor while not getting it as a part of character creation feels imply because you both have to carry a set of studded leather-based around with you for a whole level that you just can’t use or it's a must to attempt buying it within the wild, but at least it helps your AC a little for those who don’t feel like spending a spell slot on mage armor (which is sensible at low stage once you don’t have all that many). Getting access to a single melee weapon makes whip shenanigans much tougher as a result of you'll be able to either have a damaging weapon like a rapier or a whip however not each, but it’s definitely higher than the dismal record of weapons wizards have access to in any other case.Bladesong: The defining function of the category, it’s a powerful enhancement that tries to turn a wizard right into a hexblade. Adding intelligence to defensive issues positively helps keep you alive and keep your focus going, patrick's magic field however it doesn’t make it easier to truly do damage. You additionally get further move speed which helps you get your self closer to the issues that can attack into your optimally most likely 18 AC, no worse than a low-level fighter but also no higher and without any of the large hit dice or healing/mitigation mechanics of different classes (for now).Bladesong, mixed with excessive Dexterity and buffs like Shield, permits the Bladesinger to boost their AC to heights that the majority lessons simply can’t match without without magic items. However, you’re nonetheless vulnerable to other sources of injury like spells and area of effect harm, so convey other defensive choices like Absorb Elements and Counterspell. Also remember that a single crucial hit might easily take you out of combat unless you may also use Song of Defense to scale back the harm enough to maintain your self going.

Since your makes use of of Bladesong per day are tied to your Proficiency Bonus, at low levels you need to think about this extra as an occasional buff than your go-to possibility in fight. Use this as-needed primarily as a defensive buff and pretend that you’re any other type of wizard until you decide up Extra Attack and your Proficiency Bonus increases.Extra Attack: One in all your assaults can be a cantrip, so you should use Booming Blade/Green-Flame Blade/Swordburst and make an extra weapon attack utilizing one Action. You get all of the effectiveness of using an assault cantrip with out giving up the multiple assaults made by using Extra Attack so you get the better of both choices. In need of the Eldritch Knight’s War Magic function (which notably makes use of a Bonus Action), no other "gish" subclass can match this functionality.This Attack change notably works even whereas you’re not utilizing Bladesong. Consider carrying a decent ranged weapon like a crossbow so that on turns when you plan to make use of a ranged assault cantrip you can make a ranged weapon attack in the same flip. Even in case your Dexterity is still at a +three bonus that attack is still a chance at some further damage for little or no effort.This is a totally unneeded enchancment to the subclass, but since you’re taking the Attack action to use this, it’s appropriate with both two-weapon fighting and Crossbow Expert. Booming Blade plus two weapon attacks or Fire Bolt and two crossbow pictures at range is fairly great, especially once you pick up Song of Victory and Tenser’s Transformation.

Song of Defense: This is a superb approach to pad your d6 hit points, however it will eat by your spell slots very quickly. Consider Absorb Elements and Shield as your go-to options for mitigating damage, but if Shield won’t negate an attack you would possibly use this as an alternative if you count on the damage to be more than you’re keen to take.Song of Victory: A bit late to the game, however by now it is best to simply have 20 Intelligence, so 5 bonus injury per melee weapon attack (sure, solely melee) is pretty good. Since Extra Attack can get you two attacks with out giving up the advantages of a cantrip like Booming Blade, this is usually a noteworthy increase to your harm output on turns the place you’re not throwing around leveled spells. Combine this with Tenser’s Transformation, and a mundane rapier could deal 1d8+10+2d12 damage per attack, which is pretty great. But, while the damage bonus is good, at this degree a +5 injury bonus on your weapon attacks is incessantly much less impactful than upcasting Fireball, which any wizard can do.Abilities

While we would cross for one thing else, we're nonetheless very much a wizard and have to stack Int to the sky. Wisdom gets the bump here over the rest for a number of causes, but principally to pass Wisdom saves and prevent hindering Perception. Basically each Charm/Fear impact targets Wisdom, and not being able to get closer to your goal as a melee combatant is a problem.Str: DumpDex: Since you must be attacking with finesse weapons, this must be your second-highest stat. It may also assist increase your AC and assist keep you safe from the AoE attacks things will inevitably throw your approach once they understand that attempting to attack into your unimaginable AC is a waste of time.Con: Third in significance. While you have got some defensive capabilities, you're a entrance line combatant and need the hit factors to match, and the bonus to concentration saves will likely be very useful when you’re not running bladesong.Int: The Wizard’s spells and class features are powered by Intelligence.Wis: Important saves.Cha: DumpPoint BuyStandard ArrayStr88Dex1514Con1413Int1515Wis1012Cha810

Races

For those who aren’t utilizing the non-compulsory guidelines from Tasha’s, make certain to look for Dexterity because the secondary stat harder than you'll for regular wizards. Tortle is a tempting selection to get that prime base AC that will then be modified by Bladesong, however because you additionally want Dex to verify your weapon attacks land it doesn’t actually help a lot.For the reason that bonus from Song of Victory only applies to melee assaults, we’re also giving up power price range by choosing a flying race so I’d follow something like (maybe unsurprisingly) an elf of either excessive or wooden flavor. Wood Elf will get you a pleasant pile of weapon proficiencies that use dex so you don’t have to really feel bad about wanting choices, and the extra move velocity is useful for melee positioning. In reality, if you’re customizing origins as per Tasha’s, you'll be able to turn the longsword proficiency into rapier proficiency and walk out stabbing individuals as hard as a fighter. In fact you still die a lot faster than a fighter.For extra help picking a race, see our Wizard Races Breakdown.Backgrounds

If you’ve listened to our podcast episode on backstory (it features a large section on backgrounds), you’ll know that backgrounds are essentially only a label to slap on a pile of proficiencies that can be no matter you like. Pick a singular characteristic you like from one and go to city customizing. For optimizing from the presets, you most likely wish to lean into your excessive intelligence and do one thing like Sage or Cloistered Scholar, though leaning into your dex could be fantastic too if you’re attempting to fill in because the group’s Scout. Urchin would most likely be my choose for that route.Feats

Usually, this construct wants too many ASIs to hassle with many feats. Assuming level purchase and an optimized race, the two stats you care most about will start at 17/16. Level four will get you a hybrid feat, 8 will get you to 20, 12 and sixteen cap your second stat and that leaves you exactly one ASI that can be turned right into a feat, but the sooner you do it the more you handicap your self towards the basic Math of the game.

So, we get one Hybrid feat that must be Dex or Int after which maybe one feat at 19th degree. When you choose variant human you possibly can shift the feat to first level and make it not required to be hybrid, whereas nonetheless sustaining right fundamental math for each stats you care about. That opens up some opportunities like strolling out with Warcaster which is kinda neat for utilizing Booming Blade on people who try to walk past you.

For the hybrid feats, you've a number of sturdy contenders:Elven Accuracy: Are you an Elf or Half-Elf? RPGBOT - Oops all elvesFey Touched: Slightly much less good as a wizard as a result of you possibly can be taught these spells just by paying money, however it’s still 2 free spells per lengthy rest.Piercer: This a reasonably good feat if you employ the stereotypical rapier or if you employ short swords, but so as to keep the elemental math working we can’t take it until degree 12. With that stated, it does allow you to reroll the d12s off Tenser’s Transformation which is immensely satisfying.Resilient (Dex): Also waiting till degree 12 until you want to nerf your Int, it will still be superb. It’s a direct big bump to certainly one of your principal weaknesses (getting hit by AoEs) and a plausible use of your hybrid in case you assume you’re going to be actually fearful about being fragile.Skill Expert: If for some motive you are attempting to fill in because the scout, this will absolutely assist fill the hole between you and a rogue. Or simply throw expertise on Arcana and wander round as the knowingest man with a sword there ever was.Telekinetic: Oh look, it’s one other information where Random recommends Telekinetic. The thing is, it’s still that good. As a wizard you hopefully have already got Mage Hand which suggests you get to double the range on it, plus you could have a bonus motion you possibly can all the time take if you’re not doing something like an off-hand assault.Weapons

For melee, you begin with a dagger at degree 1 because you’re only a wizard for now and shouldn’t really be using it all that often. I suppose you possibly can, but you don’t really have any survival tools yet so making an attempt to stab issues to maximize harm will simply probably get you killed. Technically talking, you're going to get better harm out of a gentle crossbow with this stat spread than you'll with Firebolt so you need to most likely try this for ranged harm.At degree 2, you will have a alternative. If you happen to decide up proficiency in a rapier, you’ll do bigger predominant-hand damage which may be nice until level 11. If you happen to as an alternative choose up shortswords, you may dual-wield them and take pleasure in the benefits of apply Song of Victory and Tenser’s Transformation to your off-hand assault at high levels.Armor

Take the gold start and simply purchase studded leather-based (and the aforementioned sword[s]). You will never put on anything else, despite the fact that you can’t truly put on it until 2nd stage.Bladesinger Wizard Spells

We already talked about some staple defensive options like Shield and Absorb Elements, and people are definitely going to make good use of consuming by your low stage spell slots after the early ranges where you’re nonetheless functionally just a wizard in studded leather-based. But that’s not why you’re right here. You’re right here to solid Haste on your self and stab things thrice a turn. Unfortunately, lots of your greatest buffs are focus which prevents you from using them collectively and actually being the muscle wizard.The truth is, the one buff spells that aren’t concentration are defensive spells like False Life, Mage Armor, and Fire Shield (which is a very dangerous alternative because it requires issues to hit you which ought to be rare as a Bladesinger).Shadow Blade is an amazing spell for Bladesingers, but requires concentration.Magic Weapon is sweet in case you don’t have one and are operating into things with resistance.Blur and Mirror Image are superb defensive magic, however your AC while singing is already excessive enough that you don’t really want to fret about that.Haste has sparked a fierce debate about whether or not or not you can use the additional attack granted by it to solid a cantrip (my personal interpretation isn't any even when you haven’t forged anything else within the spherical because the specific no of haste’s extra attack rule beats the final "you can…" assertion of the class feature), however it’s excellent anyway.Ashardalon’s Stride is an effective option to make further use out of your bonus movement and keep you secure whilst you do it however, again, concentration.Steel Wind Strike lastly feels like a spell you should use… but it’s completely anti-synergistic. It’s not a cantrip, so you can’t use it in an Attack. It makes melee spell assaults as a substitute of melee weapon attacks so it doesn’t interact with Song of Victory. And it doesn’t care what weapon you’re holding, it just hits for 6d10 pressure harm anyway. You thoughts approach less than most wizards that it leaves you adjacent to someone when you’re achieved, and the injury remains to be superb, however it’s simply irritating that it’s not better for you than for many wizards, and Evokers can use it even better than you may due to Overchannel.Greater Invisibility is a incredible personal buff. It gives you benefit on assault rolls, it prevents folks from taking opportunity attacks towards you and focusing on you with most spells and results, and even when somebody does guess the place you are, attacking you continue to has drawback which can be very hard to assault into your excessive AC.Spirit Shroud is poor man’s Tenser’s however does actually have some very nice advantages like making issues transfer more slowly around you and permitting you access to Necrotic and Radiant damage if these types will likely be useful for a given struggle like against Zombies. Truth be informed, it truly does the factor you care most about (injury dice on weapon assaults) while also not having the exhaustion drawback or stopping you from casting other spells.Multiclassing

There are numerous and assorted opinions. Starting with a level of Artificer will get you access to armor immediately, proficiency in Con saves and the flexibility to solid Cure Wounds as an Intelligence spell. If you’re prepared to put 3 levels into it you possibly can both go Armorer with a defender major and be a wizard… tank… or you possibly can go Battle Smith. Either one of those gets you the power to attack with Intelligence, however that’s at the price of three levels. Paladin/Bard into Hexblade is so well-liked because it’s only a 1 level dip. So despite the fact that Artificer is the most popular alternative, I fall pretty cleanly into the "don’t" camp.While it’s exhausting to hype up and never very flashy, what makes wizards so sturdy is their immense versatility. A bladesinger is thematically very cool, but it’s basically only a wizard holding a pointy stick. Little doubt there is some fun to be had there, however when you lean so onerous into the pointy stick you’re holding that you just neglect about being a wizard you’re simply capturing yourself within the foot. So I say just be a wizard as hard as you possibly can and have some flair when you do it.Conclusion

So, in a break from tradition, I’m going to put in a conclusion here earlier than I give you an instance construct as a result of I ended up doing a decent amount of reading for this handbook. I’m attempting to persuade Tyler to downgrade Bladesinger from blue because, honestly, it’s at odds with what wizard tries to do. It tries to shoehorn you into choosing up spells that tailor to a gish playstyle however actually each offensive buff on the wizard record requires concentration (besides Foresight however that doesn’t really depend), meaning you'll be able to only do one at a time.Gone are the day of stacking Haste, Tenser’s Transformation, and Girallon’s Blessing and tearing somebody several new orifices in 6 seconds like you might in 3.x. Even when you may try this, you’d functionally just be nerfing yourself down to doing a whole lot of damage as a wizard, and if you wanted to do this you possibly can just be an evoker and do it safely from a distance. When a class’s greatest energy supply is monumental flexibility and also you strap on a subclass that forces you to specialize into doing something other people do better, you know you’re in a bad place. Whenever you notice that all your instruments to attempt to catch as much as them are mutually exclusive to one another, then the sadness actually units in.I’m not going to say you shouldn’t play a Bladesinger. Please live your dream in this character and have enormous fun with it. Roleplay like a madperson, stab some issues, cast some spells, and take pleasure in every part a Bladesinger can be. But I can be remiss, in a personality optimization web site, to not say that optimizing a Bladesinger looks like trying to sharpen a stick when you’re surrounded by perfectly good knives.

Example Build - Goblin Bladesinging Wizard

They suppose they’re so special just because they’re tall. It’s like they don’t perceive that the smaller you make something, the sharper it is. Honestly, I’m way cooler than an elf for learning these items because I mastered in 5 years what takes them 40 to learn.Abilities

We will assume the purpose buy talents urged above.BaseIncreasedStr88Dex1516Con1414Int1517Wis1010Cha88

Race

The Goblin offered in Monsters of the Multiverse makes a very compelling cause to make use of one thing small. Having Bonus Action Disengage accessible to you is a great tool for Bladesingers to smooth out the gaps in Bladesong that early ranges have (and actually simply in general prevents you from having to burn slots on Shield if you want to reposition), whereas Fury of the Small is simply good additional harm. You additionally start with 30ft of movement even at Small, and Darkvision and Fey Ancestry are all the time welcome. Plus, it being an MotM race means that you get to assign your +2/+1 as you see fit even if your DM doesn’t want to make use of the Tasha’s rules.Skills and Tools

Take Arcana and Religion.Background

Take Cloistered Scholar for History and Nature, leaving only Investigation as our non-proficient Intelligence skill. Your naturally high Int will carry you on that one because the backup to whatever Scout your party has.Feats

Since I don’t actually care about the fundamental math or my very own recommendation, I’m going to say take Piercer at level 4, at level eight smooth your stats into 18 in Dex and Int, 12 caps Int, 16 caps Dex, and then we don’t get an ASI at 19 because as a substitute there’s a shock software that may assist us later.

I very explicitly didn’t let myself use Telekinetic, but not taking it is also an inexpensive choice right here since Bonus Action Disengage is going to see lots of use.Levels

1SpellcastingArcane RecoveryCantrips Known: Shape Water, Booming Blade, Prestidigitation, Mage HandSpells Known: Burning Hands, Comprehend Languages (R), Detect Magic (R), Find Familiar (R), Mage Armor, Magic MissileFor your beginning equipment, take the cash as a substitute and buy your self studded leather-based, a light crossbow, two shortswords, and a focus.

As touched on above, till degree 5 we get greater injury per spherical out of a mild crossbow due to it getting our Dex to wreck. This lets us start with the 3 best utility cantrips instead and take Booming Blade for once we begin doing melee issues.

At this stage, you’re just a wizard with a excessive enough Dexterity to make good use of a crossbow, so act like one. Burning Hands will get us AoE, Magic Missile is there in case you’re having hassle getting past something’s AC, and Mage Armor because you’d must get +2 studded leather to beat it and if you’re spending a really rare item in your armor nicely… that’s a selection.

All the other spells with the (R) tag are rituals, so that you don’t have to prepare them in a day to cast them, just add 10 minutes.

Don’t neglect Arcane Recovery. You only get to make use of it once per day, but it surely lets you recover just a few spell slots, which will be the distinction between life and death in a full day of adventuring. Use it early, use it typically.2BladesingingTraining in War and SongBladesongSpells Known: Absorb Elements, ShieldNow you can placed on that armor and stabbing implement and start dwelling out the fantasy. We nonetheless run into the gish problem of mainhand-weapon-offhand-focus-or-somatic-part-however-sometimes-not-each so be wary as you select your spells going ahead to look ahead to what casting them will probably be like. I’ll try to control it for this guide but I’m not good.

Shield will show you how to survive in melee when you’re focused, but keep in mind that you need to be utilizing your Bonus Action Disengage to maneuver safely by combat. We’ve talked about Absorb parts, and a reminder that it’s even better for us than most wizards since we’ll really use the rider melee damage.

Bladesong is going to be your button to activate initially of a combat earlier than you move into melee. You only get 2 a day at this degree, so you’re going to be anticipated to use it in half your every day fights. Try to pick ones with many enemies to capitalize on the AC bonus and keep your self alive.

Tyler would like me to believe that a typical adventuring day is anticipated to incorporate 6-eight encounters based mostly on the "Adventuring Day" rules, however folks usually don’t play that approach.3Spells Known: Magic Weapon, Identify (R)Magic Weapon is our first concentration buff, and at this level it’s fairly good. Some things will start having resistance to non-magical B/P/S, so here’s the approach to bypass it.

Someone wants to be able to forged Identify, and taking it as a wizard allows you to ritual it without preparing it, making you your best option. When you have another individual who’s already taking it, you'll be able to drop this for different staples like Invisibility or Darkvision4Feat (Piercer) +1 Dex, whole 17New Cantrip Known: Fire BoltNew Spells Prepared: Misty Step, AnyThe wording on Piercer permits you to reroll any of the dice within the attack, which could be very useful when you’re rolling an enormous pile of them because of Booming Blade.

In preparation for level 6 we take Fire Bolt as a result of with the ability to sub 2d10 in for a single shot whereas still getting off the other shot makes your ranged injury formidable.

For leveled spells there’s a couple of choices. I’m going to recommend Misty Step as a result of it’s among the finest spells on the market and, even though you’re hard to hit, should you get grappled you’re in bother.

If you’re fearful about survival in melee, Mirror Image is among the best defensive spells in the sport and doesn’t cost focus so you may run it with your different buffs, however realistically you shouldn’t want it. I would probably look into Web or Earthen Grasp relying on whether you’re running into more massive targets or mobs. Shadow Blade would also be a great option right here, notably if you’re in an Underdark campaign or something the place dim light is plentiful.

Sadly, astute readers will discover that each one of these are concentration, making them mutually unique with each other and with Magic Weapon.5Spells Known: Fireball, See notesStabbing things is all nicely and good, but take Fireball. Don’t bother persevering with to arrange burning palms, I’d start preparing something else in that 4th slot that you purchased alongside the way in which.

Should you don’t have anyone else within the occasion who can take Tiny Hut, it’s on you to take action. It’s bought the (r) tag so you don’t have to arrange it, but ensuring you get a protracted relaxation even when you’re camping is just too essential to a spellcaster to move up.

For those who don’t have to take that, Haste is going to be your staple. I talked about it above, however it’s nonetheless an awesome option for you. Sadly, it’s still concentration that means you can’t use it with Magic Weapon or any of the realm management choices from earlier ranges.6Extra AttackSpells Known: Counterspell, Dispel MagicOur leveled spells at this stage are boring, but essential. Counterspell means that you can shut down enemy spellcasters, whereas Dispel Magic removes problematic magical results. Both spells are crucial parts of your party’s arsenal at any level (although Counterspell is the one I’d drop for Haste when you needed to be the Tiny Hut provider).

As you now get the perfect version of Extra Attack, a normal turn for you will look one thing like Booming Blade and a normal rapier assault, probably with an extra assault if you have your self Hasted.

If you’re too far away or out of Bladesongs, shoot off a crossbow shot & a fireplace Bolt.7Spells Known: Greater Invisibility, PolymorphBeing invisible will get you advantage on each attack, which is awesome. There aren’t every other personal buffs at this stage we care about, as a result of Fire Shield is unhealthy for us like we described above.

However, what should you had been a large ape? Now, truly, the real query happens at next level: is a straight Bladesinger eight more effective than a Tyrannosaurus Rex?

(By the way in which, each of these spells are concentration)8Ability Score Improvement (Dex and Int 17 -> 18)New Spell Prepared: Arcane Eye, Stone ShapeAssuming we’re concentrating on Haste, at this degree we’re doing about 21 injury per round utilizing the attacks talked about at last level. We even have an AC of 21 whereas singing and sporting Mage Armor and conveniently precisely 50 hp.A monster for CR eight should have about a +9 to hit with commonplace assaults if it’s meant to be a brute. For the sake of dialogue, let’s simply provide you with infinite slots for Shield and Absorb Elements and say your AC is 25 and you've got resistance to elemental injury. This means these assaults will miss you 75% of the time. That makes your efficient HP in opposition to assaults 200, and 100 for elemental assaults thanks for Absorb components. Let’s average that out to a hundred and fifty for super quick napkin math.

Polymorphing right into a T-Rex gives you 136 temp HP, added onto your base of fifty for a total 186, which is greater than our theoretical infinite-spell-slot wizard above. Meanwhile, its injury per spherical is actually double, and you get to grapple the target of your bite with no additional cost.

Now, the issue here is that your Intelligence shall be 2 while you do this, so you’re not going to have the ability to do fancy ways. You maintain your "alignment and personality" which hopefully means your capacity to differentiate and not eat mates. But the DPR for a bladesinger doesn’t catch up until level 14 once you get Song of Victory. So, you may very well be a Bladesinger and put all of your resources into that, or you could just be a dinosaur. I’m giving the Bladesinger a bit of bit of brief shrift right here because I didn’t include the bonus for Piercer in that calculation, but I gave Booming Blade a 50% trigger probability so let’s name that even.

Anyway, let’s choose up some utility. Stone Shape and Arcane Eye will each show you how to immensely out of combat, and Stone shape generally is a fight trick if you’re crafty sufficient.9Spells Known: Telepathic Bond, Wall of ForceWall of Force is basically cheating. Almost nothing can break it, and with a 10-minute duration you'll be able to simply entrap the biggest thing in a combat when you go and deal with its mates or when you and your friends heal, buff, and arrange prepared actions. Against especially giant creatures you can elevate the dome off the ground enough that you would be able to nonetheless target the victim’s feet whereas the victim is unable to escape. (But it’s still focus, so no Haste whereas you’re doing it).

Cast Telepathic Bond as a ritual. The power to speak silently across limitless distance is a large tactical advantage in most conditions where different creatures are an issue. This also neatly solves the problem of language limitations (including whereas you’re polymorphed), so if you may get a goal to sit round for 10 minutes you no longer need Tongues.10New Cantrips Known: AnySpells Known: Skill Empowerment, CreationSong of DefenseFor your new Cantrip, I’d in all probability take Green Flame Blade if you’re not fighting many issues resistant to hearth injury for the reason that cleave is healthier assured harm than Booming Blade, however really something works.

We still have our go-to combat buff of Haste, so let’s keep selecting up utility. Both of these spells have many, many uses outside of fighting and we’d like to keep being as wizardly as potential.

We mentioned Song of Defense before. It’s not bad, but it’s certainly not great. Use it if you eat a stray crit to assist keep the incoming harm low. (Or just forged Silvery Barbs if it’s allowed at your table. It actually shouldn’t be, which is why I haven’t advised you to arrange it thus far. But whether it is, it’s a much better defensive mechanism towards mentioned stray crits.)11Spells Known: Tenser’s Transformation, DisintegrateRemember that other short sword you’ve been carrying around since level 1? It’s lastly going to see play when you pop Tenser’s and pretend to be a fighter. As a reminder, you can’t solid any spells whereas remodeled, together with cantrips. So you’re simply swinging twice with a short sword and then as soon as with your offhand brief sword. No Shield or Absorb Elements to keep you safe. With that mentioned, it’s still the higher of the 2 decisions between that and Tasha’s Otherworldly Guise since that one supplies no offensive assist.

Tenser’s is now going to be your once-a-day buff. I say once-a-day as a result of it forces you to make a save that, unaided, you solely have a 40% chance to avoid getting a stage of exhaustion when it ends (they be certain to specify that you just make the save after it ends, that means you don’t get to make use of the proficiency bonus to Con saves the spell grants). So should you fail the primary save, you can’t danger casting it again. One stage of exhaustion is annoying out of fight, but two is crippling. Being a T-rex is looking increasingly tempting.

So, you get one huge buffed battle, then it’s again to Haste. What else do we do with a brand new spell degree? Disintegrate. It’s not going to mess with your concentration, it’s amazing injury, and you should utilize it outdoors of combat to drill magical holes in something you are feeling like, including if somebody rudely used a Wall of Force on you like I simply instructed they do.12Spells Known: Contingency, Globe of InvulnerabilityAbility Score Improvement (Intelligence 18 -> 20)Continuing the development of choosing up spells like we’re another wizard, both of these are extremely highly effective, even when one is only situational. I’m just going to advocate you read the spell breakdown web page for why Globe is so good.

Contingency is simply phenomenal utility and is one of those "only restricted by your imagination" issues. Unfortunately additionally restricted by spell level in this edition but c’est la vie. Fun fact: you possibly can contingency Polymorph to be cast while you think "Dino Rangers Roar!" thus negating the requirement to offer any components or an motion whenever you do it. Think yourself into a T-Rex.13Spells Known: Teleport, ForcecageSomeone needs to be able to Teleport, and it'd as properly be you.Finally, something to do with your spell slots that doesn’t eat focus. Forcecage is a phenomenal spell with no save. Pick a target and go, or put it in your party to offer yourself time to ritual cast Tiny Hut and just decide to take your combat and go residence.14Spells Known: Plane Shift, SimulacrumSong of VictorySomeone additionally needs to be able to Plane Shift at this degree.

If you’ve learn my Practical Guide to Wish, you already know where this goes.

Song of Victory finally comes online, letting you add 5 damage to melee attacks. Finally, running Haste and Bladesong, we’re as good as a T-Rex.15New Spells Prepared: Draconic Transformation, MazeYou will discover that each of these spells are concentration and neither of them is remotely related to being a Bladesinger.

Draconic Transformation is a nod to the fact that we must always most likely have some technique to fly at this level and utilizing your bonus motion to forged a low level fireball every turn is pretty rattling good.16Ability Score Improvement (Dexterity 18 -> 20)Spells Known: Feeblemind, CloneFinally we cap the other stat we care about.

Feeblemind is one more software of yours for shutting down enemy casters, which is useful to keep them on the end of your rapier.

Oh no. No it’s beginning.17Spells Known: Foresight WishNooooooooo! Infinite naked bladesingers with resistance to all damage.

Oh I suppose you might cast Foresight on your self instead if you happen to expect to have a fighting day.18Spell Mastery: Shield, Misty StepSpells Known: Any twoThere’s nothing else actually for me to say about this build.Shield and Misty Step are so necessary that being able to have an emergency spare even if you’re out of spell slots is good.19 Fighter 1Second WindFighting Style (TWF)Hey wait a minute. Well, it seems that each one we give up here is 2 spells slots per day for not ending out the class and if we take two ranges in Fighter we are able to add +5 harm to our off-hand attacks and get an Action Surge once per relaxation which is a way higher capstone than Signature Spells.

You also get Second Wind. It’s only a few HP, however there is perhaps occasions when you’re not utilizing your Bonus Action for other things and it doesn’t hurt.20 Fighter 2Action SurgeA Tenser’s turn the place you Action Surge would appear to be 5 attacks, each doing d6+2d12+10. That totals to a mean of 132.5 harm (if all of it hits), which is fairly decent, but in addition you'll be able to only do that once a day.

Also although, remember that absolutely nothing prevents you from casting two Cantrips in a single flip. A Hasted turn could appear like Attack, Booming Blade, do this once more with Action Surge, off-hand assault, and Hasted attack. That’s going to look like 4(d6+10)+2(d6+3d8+10) which averages 91, with 36 extra potential if the target moves. Not fairly as good, and dependent on enemy actions, however not bad either if you happen to can’t risk the exhaustion degree.

About the Author

Random Powell

Random Powell. RPGBOT.Podcast co-host and RPGBOT contributing creator. Random began enjoying D&D around 2003 and met Tyler just a pair years later. Thousands of hours of play and theorycrafting later (a lot of it with Tyler), he was grateful to be offered an outlet to exorcise some of the head stuffed with characters and imagined arguments with DMs about how semantics relate to spell effects.