At this point, my group just gives out a lvl 0 free feat and bans variant human. It just improves character development and you can actually play a unique race and have the ability to actually pick up racial feats (and use them early on).
We do the same, except we allow an extra _ASI_ or feat, and instead of banning variant human (which reduces the likelihood of anyone choosing human), we simply say that any two feats they choose can't both be primarily combat-enhancing.
@@bigdream_dreambig In 3.X We used to do one combat oreintated feat and one non-combat feat insteado of the normal feats. It was a way to actually get through some of the long feat chains while still picking up some flavourful choices. Still always had 'that guy' trying to take 2 combat feats, saying that combat was their focus so the second combat feat was "flavourful."
@@patriot2667 I really hope when 5.5 comes out they rewrite everything players have access to to work like Tasha's stat blocks. Find greater steed? Tasha's stat block. Moon Druid? Tasha's stat block. Polymorph? Tasha's stat block. Conjure animals? Tasha's stat block. Maybe some exceptions for like...9th level spells (Shapechange would be a little dull if it was just "pick from one of these three stat blocks")
If your DM is cool with it, the Dragonnel is also suggested as an option for Find Greater Steed in Fizban's Treasury of Dragons. It's got equivalent defenses to the Griffon and Pegasus, and though it only has a 60 ft. fly speed it also has Flyby, so it definitely gives them a run for their money in my opinion. It's also basically a dragon, so there is that. Maybe don't take it if you have a Drakewarden in your party; they have to wait several levels longer to fly on their dragon buddy, so that would probably be in poor taste. Find Steed also specifices that your DM can let you choose other mount options than the ones listed. Find Greater Steed doesn't for some reason, but I don't see why your DM could not do the same there if you asked nicely.
Underrated spell for mounted: Shadow of Moil. Make your mount and you covered by heavy obscurement that you can both see through and damage people that attack you automatically on top of the armor of Agathys.
Another really good mount option for Find Greater Steed is one that most people don't seem to know about, and that's the Dragonnel from Fizban's. In Fizban's Treasury of Dragons, just below the Dragonnel statblock, it states that you can use the Dragonnel as a mount option for the Find Greater Steed spell (with DM approval of course). The Dragonnel has almost the same HP as, and does about the same damage on average as, a Griffon. Though the Dragonnel has a slower fly speed at 60ft. It also has a 13 AC, one point higher than the Griffon. The main benefit of the Dragonnel, that I think makes it one of the best mount options for Find Greater Steed, is that Dragonnels have the Flyby ability.
The Dragonnel is solid, though hard rules-as-written only available to Paladins casting GGS (with DM permission). Keep in mind a controlled mount isn't attacking so can take the disegage action when required (though in a similar situation, the dragonnel could dash)
@@TreantmonksTemple I mean, rules as written it does say Paladin, but I'm fairly certain that's just because Find Greater Steed is typically only available to Paladins. Rules-as-intended, I would just assume that if you manage to get the Find Greater Steed then you should be able to access the Dragonnel as an option. If that's not the RAI, I'd still allow it at my table, since I don't see any good reason why it shouldn't work that way.
@@jacobyullman5005 I do like that approach. In a game I’m playing, regardless of whether I’m allowed the Dragonnel, whatever I get is getting reskinned as a Wyvern. Might as well be a member of the dragon family. :P
@@jacobyullman5005 I would agree with you, but we can see the case of "Find Familiar" spell. It's only available for Wizards, but anyone who can cast the spell can summon a Tressym or a Flying Monkey. In these cases, it reads: "With the DM's permission, a person who casts the find familiar spell can choose to conjure a tressym instead of a normal cat.", and "With the DM's permission, the find familiar spell can summon a flying monkey.", or, even with Abyssal Chicken, "With your permission, a character who casts the find familiar spell can henceforth choose to conjure an abyssal chicken instead of a raven.". So, unless some advice clarifies this question about RAI, I would assume RAI is exactly like RAW, for summon a dragonnel with FGS.
Here's a third way, if the DM allows: used the sidekick rules. A Giant Owl has a language so could be any of the three types. A Warhorse takes the Warrior type. Both are large size and keep their d10 hit dice. Now the challenge is coming up with an optimum build for both the mount and the rider that is more effective than just having two characters.
Sidekicks have some great untapped potential for builds. I made a beast Master Ranger rogue build that takes the OG beast companion but makes it a sidekick and the beast alone does over baseline DPR
I guess it depends on the nature of the party. In the right group, a less-optimized rider with a sidekick mount might be a fair match for someone with single well-optimized character.
Yeah, I talked about it with my DM to introduce the sidekick rule in order to buff my 19 HP summoned warhorse at 15 level play. He was on board until we saw to our horror my warhorse turning into a roided out 120+ HP, 20 STR and three attacks with an expanded critical and a possible 4th attack as a bonus action. So we quickly pulled the plug on that and just decided my good old warhorse had about 40 hp and left it at that.
@@NickAgatha I've puzzled out the same thing and came to the conclusion it's hyper strong when you combine the shared spells with a sidekick paladin mount
@@NickAgatha You can always have a Sidekick at a lower level than you. It might make more sense to have a horse at half your level or something like that. Or even a level equal to your proficiency bonus (assuming you're at least level 4/5)
Another mount option is being a 4th Level Warlock with the Pact of the Chain, Investment of the Chain Master Invocation, Quandrix Student Background, and the Strixhaven Mascot Feat for a Fractal Mascot. The Fractal Mascot can be a Huge flying Familiar that you can use as a Mount.
This is almost how i'd build this too with a few tweaks: 1. i'd stop at 18 bard and use that spare level somewhere else. 2. if i'm using armor of agathys alot and attacking more than casting, i'd use the peryton. the dmg resistance on the peryton double the value of those temp hp against most dmg. the peryton also has flyby which keeps it safe when it attacks. and yes i'd go independent mount. 3. i'd use a ranged weapon like a hand crossbow or pistol. which means i'd get access to sharpshooter, crossbow expert and archery to boost my dmg. it's also less clunky with an independent mount as i can just attack 2x-3x on my turn since i dont have to wait for the mount to get in close to attack. then, if its a peryton they can just flyby, attack 2x and get out of range again. 4. with the above, i'd also consider using haste. not only would it improve the bard and the peryton's defenses, it will improve their offense and allow the peryton to really get out of range with flybys.
This all comes only together end of tier 2. An early tier 2 version of this might be casting the Fly spell on the 2nd level Find Steed spell which is possible to get with Adept of White Robes (free extra feat at level 4 in the dragonlance campaign). With a straight warlock build Armor of Agathys solves for low HP of the warhorse and opens a viable path without the Mounted Combat feat. The necessity to concentrate on the Fly spell is a disadvantage, but you get the awesome meat bomb option letting your horse drop from the sky :) More shenanigan: Nervous stallion: Find steed + Haste Supersize: Find steed + Enlarge/Reduce + Mounted Combatant --> Adv. against large creatures Double blurry triplets: Find steed + Mirror image + Blur Melf's fire slingers: Find steed + Melf's minute meteors Double toaster: Find steed + Flame shield Gorilla twins: Find steed + Polymorph
How about Draconic Transformation as a magical secret at bard 14? Both you and your mount get a bonus action breath attack 6d8 force damage each. It’s in a cone but cones are a lot easier with 60+ feet of fly speed. Also I think after bard 14 it might be worth it to take one more level of warlock for 2 invocations including Eldritch mind.
Great video! As a tip for the future, when you are showing your damage calculations, the speed that the text appears doesn’t match the speed that you are reading it, which causes some confusion. IMO it might be better if all the text appeared at once when you start walking through the calculations, so viewers can just follow along as you speak and aret trying to follow along with two different speeds.
There is one more mount option that hasn’t been considered yet: the Fractal Mascot in Strixhaven. It has a respectable 22 hit points and 12 AC and can use a bonus action to grow to huge for mounted combatant. It’s most unique draw as a mount (besides its natural huge size) is its Relative Density trait, a reskinned incorporeal movement. This means it can move through other creatures spaces and you can ride through any obstacle you can squeeze through. With the gaseous form spell, you both can walk through city gates. You also still retain all the normal benefits of a familiar that can walk through walls. The downside (if strixhaven is even allowed) is the decently high investment. If you are allowed the quandrix student background, then with variant human picking up mounted combatant, this build is online by level 4. If not, then it will be online at 8 (or fighter 6) if you have to manually pick up strixhaven initiate.
Hello again today Chris! More quest progress is in store! I'm in a tier 3(Currently we're 13) campaign right now, I might have to give this build a try!
Tensers Transformation has " You have proficiency with all armour, shields and martial weapons" time for the Griffon to roll out in full plate armour and a greatsword in each hand. 3 Atttacks all at advantage. If the DM doesnt want to hose this with Claws cant hold swords but i would say it kinda has something similar to a thumb and is granted magical skill beyond its means.
The other good thing about Enlarge/Reduce is that you can shrink your mount if you are entering tight spaces like a dungeon or caves, much better than leaving it outside and then you can make it normal size when you find a large cavern or room.
Charisma weapon attacks should have absolutely been a Lvl 3 pact of the blade feature. The designers really put everyone on rails making it a Lvl 1 feature
@@TreantmonksTemple Would really make the Celestial Warlock’s capstone a great feature. As it is it’s really not useful if you’re not in melee, but you don’t want to be in melee without pact of the blade and you don’t want pact of the blade without charisma based weapon attacks
Yeah, and funnily enough a 3 level dip for CHA to weapon attacks is closer to how the game worked when 5e first came out (legit there were people taking a 3 level dip of tome warlock for CHA Shillelagh on their paladin builds, and that was...fine). I also think medium armour and shield proficiency should be the same across all warlocks. It's annoying to be making a sorcerer, thinking of dipping warlock, looking at cool features like the undead patron and geenie warlock and fathomless, and then realize you should just pick hexblade anyway cause of the medium armour. (And even if you did both these big power nerfs to 1 level hexblade dips, optimised bard multiclass builds that wanted to dip warlock would still probably grab hexblade for access to the shield spell).
@@TreantmonksTemple Absolutely. The absolute bane of my existence as a PotB Genie Warlock player is that I cannot dip Hexblade for that feature. +2 STR, +3 DEX and +5 CHA and I’m stuck using STR for my maul (chosen for stylistic reasons - to match the Dao). :/
That is the second time in recent memory that you just said the optimal race choice without providing some insight into other options. O get that many want shorter videos, but i think i'm speeking for a huge part of the audience that enjoyes the awsome insight tou provide when you show diferent pathways. Some of us play without the tasha's options, some alteady gain a free feat at level one. Knowing the secondary racial options even help to better understand what you thing as a priority in the build. Sorry for the complain... Your contet, as always, is great! Keep the good work!!
-You want a boost to your charisma. -You want to be small, this will allow you to ride a peryton (one of the greater steeds) which is medium and will do better in cramped spaces (note you choose the form of your steed each time you summon it) - Optimally you want something to do with your bonus action, you have bardic inspiration, but some rounds it just won't make sense, or you will have spend it all on your blade flourish. Here are a couple of alternative races to consider -Lightheart halfling is interesting, gives you the charisma bump, and is small, and the lucky feature is always good. -The new kobold, gives you something to do with your bonus action, and lets you put points in charisma. -Variant human. - Dispater tiefling will give you spells like invisbility and disguise self, that you can share with your mount, as well as +2 charisma.
@@peterrasmussen4428 You don't want to be small. Or rather, you don't want your mount to be medium. Otherwise you lose advantage against medium foes from Mounted Combatant. Unless you're anticipating facing horde after horde of goblins...
@@LuxTheSlav What I mean is, if you are going into a cave/dungeon, where there is no room for large creatures, you can cast summon steed and get a medium one instead of your regular large one. Medium steed is still better than no steed. Note that there is nothing stopping a small creature from ridding a pegasus or griffon for most adventures.
The updated earth genasi can be small and can cast blade ward as a bonus action = to prof. It lasts until the end of your _next_ turn and it would also benefit the the steed
Flight Knight goes on a Night Flight, a Night Knight. The Night is just right for a Knight's Flight, a Flight Night. Every Night? A Nightly Knightly Flight.
@@TreantmonksTemple no so, I am hexblade but not planning on going beyond beyond a 2nd level dip. Booming blade is my goto. I let my warhorse find steed go independent now and I seem to keep up with the martials while providing support. I'm planning on warcaster and antagazing+repelling blast when I get 8 bard/2 lock. Getting the mount items too, Insignia of Claws etc.
I built this with lore bard as well, so much fun. No extra attack, but I picked up Ashardalons Stride from Fizban’s and find steed as the level 6 spells. Charge in and lance and burn everyone up with a dashing steed and auto disengage. Maybe not as optimized, but your mount leaving flames in its wake was worth it in my book.
@@alanmaxwell9105 ghost rider... I'm using dissonant whispers as my goto for leveled spells. Getting my own booming blade from warcaster, and the horse gets an attack too. Why extra attack when you can get 3 attacks and a cc debuff?
Hooves allow you to attach magic items like Horseshoes of Speed and Horseshoes of Zephyr. Saddle of the Cavalier also is an excellent magic item to get for your mounts to prevent the potential dismount where mounted combatant doesn't prevent it.
I’ve played a character very similar to this at high level. My other character retired at level 17 and my new character came in as Hexblade 1/Paladin 2/Swords Bard 14. I used find greater steed and Tenser’s Transformation to great affect. I was an Eladrin so I also had Elven accuracy. I ended up also taking metamagic adept so I could get Tenser’s up as a bonus action if I wasn’t able to pre-cast. Remember people that you can’t use spells while Tenser’s is up. I definitely forgot for a few sessions when I started playing them. You can still smite though ;)
The Dragonel in Fisban is a worthy choice too. With two flyby rend attacks. (Though I loved the builds this sorta proves how hard it is to make effective mounted combatant builds. And this build also proves that the Drakewarden really should be flying at 11th (I made a three dragon build to prove this by 13th level you had Psudodragon, Dragonel and Draconic Spirit out dragoning the Drakewarden 3 to one)
@@Smug_Jeremy It was a Sword Bard 10/ Hexblade 3. So you still had lance options. Pack of the chain, Summon Draconic Spirit and Summon Greater Steed. Is meant to be a 5 person option. It was meant to get dragon riding with more dragons before the Drakewarden gets to fly …and not be hyper powerful or optimal . Though doing so would be simple.
I have a Grung Beastmaster/Armorer Artificer that rides his giant wolf spider (that can spider climb on walls and ceilings), hand crossbow with expert and sharpshooter, mounted combatant feat. It's super fun.
Know it kind of hurts with the feat loss but this build with the new Hadozee race would be interesting. Fall off or jump off your mount and glide all over the place with your reaction to take no damage on the fall.
A pegasus with an extra pair of spectral wings would look pretty cool. And with the player's one pair you now have a combined 6 wings, putting you close to eldritch horror or biblical angel territory.
A lot of biblical angels are eldritch horrors. Ever read about those things? 20-30 feet tall, multiple faces or even heads, 4-6 wings. Things are terrifying. People associate awe with beauty but it can be horrifying too.
It would, but the trigger is when you’re hit, so you couldn’t use it in response to the mount being attacked. But yes, once used it would increases the mount’s AC as well.
@@theresnoracelikegnome well, you could just force an attack targeting your mount to target you instead (which does not take your reaction) and then cast shield
@@VioletRM If the intent is to dodge the attacks, then just redirect all the attacks to yourself and your Shield. Unless your expecting a Magic Missile targeted at your mount sometime before your next turn. Other than Magic Missile the Shield on your mount gives bo additional benefit if you have the Mounted Combatant feat.
TreantMonk: suggests Tensor's Transformation Me: Who are you and what have you done to TreantMonk, you imposter??!!! Jokes apart, great video as always!!!
worth mentioning that if you share spell with misty step or dimension door you cannot remain mounted at the end of the teleport. misty step : unoccupied space. dimension door: if the space is occupied you take damage and the spell fails. There could be wiggle room because the space is technically not occupied by your mount until the spell goes off, but it is a consideration worth bringing up with your DM as you get access to those spells.
Does it drive anyone else insane seeing that BARD is the best path to achieving a mounted combatant with consistent access to unique mount? Stealing a spell from paladins because being half castors makes it too late for them. Meanwhile Cavaliers literally have zero features about acquiring mounts... Feels like lost potential
Congratulations Treantmonk! You have done it again! I can’t wait to try this out! One question though, I can’t seem to get Aid & Enlarge/Reduce to come up on the spell list. Is there a specific toggle to hit?
@@Seraphzero0 you have to switch the toggle on on the first screen but then you have to actually go into the optional class features on the class screen (where you pick your ASIs and spells) and tick the box for additional bard spells.
So you already talked about the benefits of the Griffon having claws in comparison to the Pegasus having hooves. Would the Griffon, for the Sake of Tensers, be able to wield weapons in his claws? I mean it already has access to the needed proficiencies through the spell. That would be hilarious.
This is pretty close to the build I currently run. I don't have Find Greater Steed yet but it still works if you can get a regular horse. I think telekinetic is a good feat choice here because it gives you a bonus action to knock a guy off his mount, probably then attacking him with advantage and maybe trampling him if your DM allows a warhorse to trample when conditions in the action block are met. Very useful if you are going up against other knights, which if you are building this, the DM will probably throw at you. Also good for making money in tournaments. For animate objects-- couldn't you use silver coins instead of gold? Then it would count as a silvered weapon I would assume. There are a few magic horseshoes in the DMG that I would also assume give your mount a magic weapon for the pegasus. The newish UA feat cartomancer gets around basically all the problems with Tensors in my opinion also. I find your DPR is decent, your AC is great, and you're likely to be in the frontline which is where the problem starts. Enemy magic shuts you down hard until you get counterspell.
Honestly, if it weren't for the ability score requirements, I'd invest Strength and Dexterity equally so you could justify going into a Cavalier dip. Having a means to tank AND have a bonus action attack with advantage and a slight bonus to damage might be worth it for the turns that you really wanna set up to lay on the hurt. Plus it would give you Action Surge, giving you room to do other things to up the damage even further.
I'd love to see how you would do this whole build with a Glaive/halberd like you were suggesting. I know it would be a bit different because Glaives take away the blade flourish ability, whereas the Lance somehow works with the rules for blade flourish while mounted. Would you do a different subclass of bard, like Valor bard? What different decision would you make for that?
Also, I think you miscalculated damage from Animate Objects. It should be like 35 damage per round. Moreover, I don't think Tasha's Otherworldly Guise is worth it. I'd be using that 6th-level slot for Mass Suggestion, unless I know most enemies are immune to it, or Spirit Guardians. I want Spirit Guardians on this build, cause it's perfect for this build because it's a melee build, so that's what I'll be choosing with my magical secrets.
Even if you always have Tensers/Tasha's for extra attack in combat, you still don't get that til level 12; having extra attack for levels 7-11 is worth using swords or valor
I can think of a couple reasons. 1) Whispers bard doesn’t have defensive flourish. 2) The build cannot access either spell until 15th level, meaning a whispers bard would be stuck with one attack per round for 8 additional levels compared to swords or valor. 3) Psychic blades always uses your inspiration, but once you reach bard level 14, you have unlimited blade flourishes and can use bardic inspiration as usual.
How do you guys feel about Draconic transformation while mounted? It looks like, if I’m reading this correctly, both you and your mount will have a bonus action 60 foot cone of force breath dealing 8d6… similar to crown of stars except it can target multiple people likely dealing more damage… you can even reserve your action for attacking or other spells like synptic static… Thoughts?
Very nice, I kinda want to play a swords bard now! Though I also wish I had spirit guardians...is it worth giving up counterspell for SG if you have a wizard in the party?
Love your videos! You had said, that if you wanted to go big for damage, get polearm master. Hex blades need pact of the blade to use a two-handed weapon with Hex Warrior. You would have invest in more levels of warlock. You could use a spear though. Unless I am missing something?
Tenser's gives proficiency with martial weapons. Griffons can hold things in claws and are large. Tenser's griffon plus large greatsword means it's swinging 4d6+str twice a turn. Also Griffons are monsters so nobody can even make the that rule isn't for players argument with respect to oversized weapons.
Hi guys I know its random but what would you do with the 'Naga' race from the planeshift amonkhet pdf It has +2CON +1INT natural attacks are based off CON ( for the poison ) and STR ( for the constrict ) I could go wizard but i want to make use of the constrict and poison from the natural attacks How would you build around this and wich class would be best?
What is level 11? Does WOTC write content for that level? Finding a DM willing to run those levels and a group that can stay together long enough for it seems to be like finding a unicorn. :(
@@Johnny0Masters I think he’s talking about how most people use PAM by combining it with GWM, and you do need blade pact to use a hex weapon with a 2h weapon.
Dont you have disadvantage on 5ft melee attacks with a Lance? I dont think Green Flame Blade would work well. Also, a Bard can Awaken a T-Rex and mount it, which is way cooler than a Griffon
this question is a bit out of no where, but can you cast booming blade twice with haste as a bladesinger? since you can replace one attack with a cantrip when you take the attack action?
Probably not. Haste is pretty specific with what you can do with its attack action "(one weapon attack only)" so you can't even grapple/shove with it. Additionally, the cantrip casting attack is described within the the extra attack feature, which is not at play with the haste attack. And "in place of one of *those attacks*" presupposes there will be more than one taking place.
I'm doing this build but the GM lets us take bonus feats equal to the number of ASIs we have gotten. Starting level 11 so I followed progression otherwise. Also starting with a flame blade scimitar and +1 mithral half plate so I may actually go with Two weapon Fighting style for now and benefit from Hex when I want low resource expenditure. Any suggestions welcome.
Maybe I’m missing something, but as I understand it you miss out on an extra skill proficiency by not taking Bard as your first level. Was there some feature of the Warlock starting class (maybe the saving throws) that made you choose to Warlock 1 *then* straight Bard rather than Bard 1, Warlock 1 *and then* straight Bard levels? You might’ve mentioned and I was just sleepy, but I generally assume you have a reason for everything.
I don't think you miss out on an extra skill proficiency. Bards start with one extra skill proficiency (3 instead of 2) but when you MC into bard you get 1 skill proficiency which evens it up. You might be thinking about Rogue.
@@TreantmonksTemple oh, you are right. My bad. Still, while less urgent, my question remains whether there’s any notable distinction you felt influences your starting class or is this more just a “pick your favourites” affair?
Is the Peryton any good/is it worth it to make the CL Small to use it? Is there any benefit to having the Peryton as an additional option or is it just THAT weak to the point where Medium size is better?
I have a question about the Enlarge/Reduce spell and mounted combat, which can come in quite handy while navigating through narrow parts of a dungeon, I imagine. Do you cast it on yourself (since the mount shares the spell via Find Greater Steed), or do you cast it on the mount (since the pegasus/griffin is 'wearing' you in a way)? If both options are viable, which one is the optimal one?
In this case, yes. Generally? It's overrated. Multiclassing isn't always the best route, or warlock isn't always involved. Genie or Undead Warlock are better contenders if you don't need charisma to attacks - i.e. you don't do weapon attacks, or you rolled good stats. The curse is nice, but bonus action clog is a thing. Medium armor and shield proficiency, and the shield spell, those are pretty hard to ignore though.
It's a good mount roughly comparable to griffon/pegasus. A bit slower but you get flyby which is a nice bonus (allowing you to dash when you would otherwise disengage with your steed). If you go hard rules-as-written though, it's only available to paladins with DM permission.
I thought so too. I saw flyby and I was like hmm I'd like that. Ooof I just read thru that in fizbans and yeah I could see a strict dm saying paladin only. I feel fortunate my long-term dm isn't quite that strict. Thank you Chris have a good one & keep up the good work!
If you really follow the rules, enlarging yourself and your mount doesn't really work. Enlarging a pegasus or griffon to huge doubles its carrying capacity to 1080 pounds but it multiplies the character's weight by 8 which is almost always going to go over the carrying capacity. I think most DMs, including myself would ignore this, but some DMs might not.
@@thomaschapman6530 Ah, I see. You meant the _mounted_ person increases in weight by 8. 🤔 Yeah, I see how that could become an issue, since the 5e rule says carrying capacity only increases by 2x when increasing by one size increment... But, heck. Even ignoring the complication of a mount, by this logic, your very own stuff would weigh you down! If you're carrying your max capacity value of 15 x Str and increase your size, your max capacity only increases to 30 x Str, even though your stuff is now 120 x Str! I'm sure these interactions can't be R.A.I., so maybe the 8x you're assuming isn't true in D&D-land.
I know this is an optimization channel - that's why I am here. But hexblade dip, shield spell and custum liniage is just so cookie cutter. I'd love some more creative builds that goes away from these standard choices - even if they aren't as optimized as the cookie cutter builds!
I get the book tomorrow. I'll be reading it and then working on some content soon after. Initial spelljammer vids probably as early as this Friday. Builds might be a bit longer until I have time to really get my head around the options.
At this point, my group just gives out a lvl 0 free feat and bans variant human. It just improves character development and you can actually play a unique race and have the ability to actually pick up racial feats (and use them early on).
That is a great idea.
We do the same, except we allow an extra _ASI_ or feat, and instead of banning variant human (which reduces the likelihood of anyone choosing human), we simply say that any two feats they choose can't both be primarily combat-enhancing.
@@bigdream_dreambig In 3.X We used to do one combat oreintated feat and one non-combat feat insteado of the normal feats. It was a way to actually get through some of the long feat chains while still picking up some flavourful choices.
Still always had 'that guy' trying to take 2 combat feats, saying that combat was their focus so the second combat feat was "flavourful."
Love seeing you make use of spells you generally consider bad. True testament to creativity, this build shines with it.
Makes me mad there are objectively superior mounts for each of the find steed spells. They punish you for not picking 1-2 of the available options.
I agree. It would be a lot more fun to have several roughly-equivalent options to choose from.
Rewrite it to be more similar to the Tasha’s summoning spells for stats and ect
@@patriot2667 I really hope when 5.5 comes out they rewrite everything players have access to to work like Tasha's stat blocks. Find greater steed? Tasha's stat block. Moon Druid? Tasha's stat block. Polymorph? Tasha's stat block. Conjure animals? Tasha's stat block.
Maybe some exceptions for like...9th level spells (Shapechange would be a little dull if it was just "pick from one of these three stat blocks")
If your DM is cool with it, the Dragonnel is also suggested as an option for Find Greater Steed in Fizban's Treasury of Dragons. It's got equivalent defenses to the Griffon and Pegasus, and though it only has a 60 ft. fly speed it also has Flyby, so it definitely gives them a run for their money in my opinion.
It's also basically a dragon, so there is that. Maybe don't take it if you have a Drakewarden in your party; they have to wait several levels longer to fly on their dragon buddy, so that would probably be in poor taste.
Find Steed also specifices that your DM can let you choose other mount options than the ones listed. Find Greater Steed doesn't for some reason, but I don't see why your DM could not do the same there if you asked nicely.
@@KaitlynBurnellMath maybe, I think polymorph is cool as is. I see what you mean tho
Underrated spell for mounted: Shadow of Moil. Make your mount and you covered by heavy obscurement that you can both see through and damage people that attack you automatically on top of the armor of Agathys.
22:12: Chris mentions Tenser's Transformation but not to dunk on it, and I have what may be permanent Surprised Picachu face.
Another really good mount option for Find Greater Steed is one that most people don't seem to know about, and that's the Dragonnel from Fizban's.
In Fizban's Treasury of Dragons, just below the Dragonnel statblock, it states that you can use the Dragonnel as a mount option for the Find Greater Steed spell (with DM approval of course).
The Dragonnel has almost the same HP as, and does about the same damage on average as, a Griffon. Though the Dragonnel has a slower fly speed at 60ft. It also has a 13 AC, one point higher than the Griffon.
The main benefit of the Dragonnel, that I think makes it one of the best mount options for Find Greater Steed, is that Dragonnels have the Flyby ability.
The Dragonnel is solid, though hard rules-as-written only available to Paladins casting GGS (with DM permission). Keep in mind a controlled mount isn't attacking so can take the disegage action when required (though in a similar situation, the dragonnel could dash)
@@TreantmonksTemple I mean, rules as written it does say Paladin, but I'm fairly certain that's just because Find Greater Steed is typically only available to Paladins.
Rules-as-intended, I would just assume that if you manage to get the Find Greater Steed then you should be able to access the Dragonnel as an option. If that's not the RAI, I'd still allow it at my table, since I don't see any good reason why it shouldn't work that way.
@@jacobyullman5005 I'd agree, and flyby is nice for allowing your controlled mount to use dash instead. TBH though, I just really like the flavor.
@@jacobyullman5005 I do like that approach. In a game I’m playing, regardless of whether I’m allowed the Dragonnel, whatever I get is getting reskinned as a Wyvern. Might as well be a member of the dragon family. :P
@@jacobyullman5005 I would agree with you, but we can see the case of "Find Familiar" spell. It's only available for Wizards, but anyone who can cast the spell can summon a Tressym or a Flying Monkey. In these cases, it reads: "With the DM's permission, a person who casts the find familiar spell can choose to conjure a tressym instead of a normal cat.", and "With the DM's permission, the find familiar spell can summon a flying monkey.", or, even with Abyssal Chicken, "With your permission, a character who casts the find familiar spell can henceforth choose to conjure an abyssal chicken instead of a raven.". So, unless some advice clarifies this question about RAI, I would assume RAI is exactly like RAW, for summon a dragonnel with FGS.
Here's a third way, if the DM allows: used the sidekick rules. A Giant Owl has a language so could be any of the three types. A Warhorse takes the Warrior type. Both are large size and keep their d10 hit dice. Now the challenge is coming up with an optimum build for both the mount and the rider that is more effective than just having two characters.
Sidekicks have some great untapped potential for builds. I made a beast Master Ranger rogue build that takes the OG beast companion but makes it a sidekick and the beast alone does over baseline DPR
I guess it depends on the nature of the party. In the right group, a less-optimized rider with a sidekick mount might be a fair match for someone with single well-optimized character.
Yeah, I talked about it with my DM to introduce the sidekick rule in order to buff my 19 HP summoned warhorse at 15 level play.
He was on board until we saw to our horror my warhorse turning into a roided out 120+ HP, 20 STR and three attacks with an expanded critical and a possible 4th attack as a bonus action. So we quickly pulled the plug on that and just decided my good old warhorse had about 40 hp and left it at that.
@@NickAgatha I've puzzled out the same thing and came to the conclusion it's hyper strong when you combine the shared spells with a sidekick paladin mount
@@NickAgatha You can always have a Sidekick at a lower level than you. It might make more sense to have a horse at half your level or something like that. Or even a level equal to your proficiency bonus (assuming you're at least level 4/5)
Prediction: 1 Hexblade/10 Swords bard
Called it
Another mount option is being a 4th Level Warlock with the Pact of the Chain, Investment of the Chain Master Invocation, Quandrix Student Background, and the Strixhaven Mascot Feat for a Fractal Mascot.
The Fractal Mascot can be a Huge flying Familiar that you can use as a Mount.
This is almost how i'd build this too with a few tweaks:
1. i'd stop at 18 bard and use that spare level somewhere else.
2. if i'm using armor of agathys alot and attacking more than casting, i'd use the peryton. the dmg resistance on the peryton double the value of those temp hp against most dmg. the peryton also has flyby which keeps it safe when it attacks. and yes i'd go independent mount.
3. i'd use a ranged weapon like a hand crossbow or pistol. which means i'd get access to sharpshooter, crossbow expert and archery to boost my dmg. it's also less clunky with an independent mount as i can just attack 2x-3x on my turn since i dont have to wait for the mount to get in close to attack. then, if its a peryton they can just flyby, attack 2x and get out of range again.
4. with the above, i'd also consider using haste. not only would it improve the bard and the peryton's defenses, it will improve their offense and allow the peryton to really get out of range with flybys.
This all comes only together end of tier 2. An early tier 2 version of this might be casting the Fly spell on the 2nd level Find Steed spell which is possible to get with Adept of White Robes (free extra feat at level 4 in the dragonlance campaign). With a straight warlock build Armor of Agathys solves for low HP of the warhorse and opens a viable path without the Mounted Combat feat. The necessity to concentrate on the Fly spell is a disadvantage, but you get the awesome meat bomb option letting your horse drop from the sky :)
More shenanigan:
Nervous stallion: Find steed + Haste
Supersize: Find steed + Enlarge/Reduce + Mounted Combatant --> Adv. against large creatures
Double blurry triplets: Find steed + Mirror image + Blur
Melf's fire slingers: Find steed + Melf's minute meteors
Double toaster: Find steed + Flame shield
Gorilla twins: Find steed + Polymorph
go with the Rhino, and cast Fly on it and yourself. that would produce the Fear effect automatically!
How about Draconic Transformation as a magical secret at bard 14? Both you and your mount get a bonus action breath attack 6d8 force damage each. It’s in a cone but cones are a lot easier with 60+ feet of fly speed.
Also I think after bard 14 it might be worth it to take one more level of warlock for 2 invocations including Eldritch mind.
Great video! As a tip for the future, when you are showing your damage calculations, the speed that the text appears doesn’t match the speed that you are reading it, which causes some confusion. IMO it might be better if all the text appeared at once when you start walking through the calculations, so viewers can just follow along as you speak and aret trying to follow along with two different speeds.
Good advice. I'll make adjustments to how I present the text.
I can't follow the speed anyway (i want to understand where the numbers come from) so i just pauze the screen and read it myself.
Was not expecting to see Tensers Transformation in a video EVER hahahahahahahha, but when in Rome lol
There is one more mount option that hasn’t been considered yet: the Fractal Mascot in Strixhaven. It has a respectable 22 hit points and 12 AC and can use a bonus action to grow to huge for mounted combatant. It’s most unique draw as a mount (besides its natural huge size) is its Relative Density trait, a reskinned incorporeal movement. This means it can move through other creatures spaces and you can ride through any obstacle you can squeeze through. With the gaseous form spell, you both can walk through city gates. You also still retain all the normal benefits of a familiar that can walk through walls.
The downside (if strixhaven is even allowed) is the decently high investment. If you are allowed the quandrix student background, then with variant human picking up mounted combatant, this build is online by level 4. If not, then it will be online at 8 (or fighter 6) if you have to manually pick up strixhaven initiate.
Hello again today Chris! More quest progress is in store! I'm in a tier 3(Currently we're 13) campaign right now, I might have to give this build a try!
Tensers Transformation has " You have proficiency with all armour, shields and martial weapons" time for the Griffon to roll out in full plate armour and a greatsword in each hand. 3 Atttacks all at advantage.
If the DM doesnt want to hose this with Claws cant hold swords but i would say it kinda has something similar to a thumb and is granted magical skill beyond its means.
Just strap the sword to the arms. Really you could craft greatswords with a special hilt they can hold, and then magically give them proficiency.
The other good thing about Enlarge/Reduce is that you can shrink your mount if you are entering tight spaces like a dungeon or caves, much better than leaving it outside and then you can make it normal size when you find a large cavern or room.
I have to say, I always appreciate your puns.
Charisma weapon attacks should have absolutely been a Lvl 3 pact of the blade feature. The designers really put everyone on rails making it a Lvl 1 feature
Yup. Hexblade as a mechanical entity never should have been introduced to the game. As if martials weren't lagging behind casters already.
I agree. It should be a blade pact feature that is available to any subclass of warlock.
@@TreantmonksTemple Would really make the Celestial Warlock’s capstone a great feature. As it is it’s really not useful if you’re not in melee, but you don’t want to be in melee without pact of the blade and you don’t want pact of the blade without charisma based weapon attacks
Yeah, and funnily enough a 3 level dip for CHA to weapon attacks is closer to how the game worked when 5e first came out (legit there were people taking a 3 level dip of tome warlock for CHA Shillelagh on their paladin builds, and that was...fine).
I also think medium armour and shield proficiency should be the same across all warlocks. It's annoying to be making a sorcerer, thinking of dipping warlock, looking at cool features like the undead patron and geenie warlock and fathomless, and then realize you should just pick hexblade anyway cause of the medium armour.
(And even if you did both these big power nerfs to 1 level hexblade dips, optimised bard multiclass builds that wanted to dip warlock would still probably grab hexblade for access to the shield spell).
@@TreantmonksTemple Absolutely. The absolute bane of my existence as a PotB Genie Warlock player is that I cannot dip Hexblade for that feature. +2 STR, +3 DEX and +5 CHA and I’m stuck using STR for my maul (chosen for stylistic reasons - to match the Dao). :/
That is the second time in recent memory that you just said the optimal race choice without providing some insight into other options. O get that many want shorter videos, but i think i'm speeking for a huge part of the audience that enjoyes the awsome insight tou provide when you show diferent pathways. Some of us play without the tasha's options, some alteady gain a free feat at level one. Knowing the secondary racial options even help to better understand what you thing as a priority in the build. Sorry for the complain... Your contet, as always, is great! Keep the good work!!
-You want a boost to your charisma.
-You want to be small, this will allow you to ride a peryton (one of the greater steeds) which is medium and will do better in cramped spaces (note you choose the form of your steed each time you summon it)
- Optimally you want something to do with your bonus action, you have bardic inspiration, but some rounds it just won't make sense, or you will have spend it all on your blade flourish.
Here are a couple of alternative races to consider
-Lightheart halfling is interesting, gives you the charisma bump, and is small, and the lucky feature is always good.
-The new kobold, gives you something to do with your bonus action, and lets you put points in charisma.
-Variant human.
- Dispater tiefling will give you spells like invisbility and disguise self, that you can share with your mount, as well as +2 charisma.
@@peterrasmussen4428 You don't want to be small. Or rather, you don't want your mount to be medium. Otherwise you lose advantage against medium foes from Mounted Combatant. Unless you're anticipating facing horde after horde of goblins...
@@LuxTheSlav What I mean is, if you are going into a cave/dungeon, where there is no room for large creatures, you can cast summon steed and get a medium one instead of your regular large one. Medium steed is still better than no steed.
Note that there is nothing stopping a small creature from ridding a pegasus or griffon for most adventures.
The updated earth genasi can be small and can cast blade ward as a bonus action = to prof. It lasts until the end of your _next_ turn and it would also benefit the the steed
@@elliotbryant3459 Nice one
My god, Treantmonk recommending Tenser's Transformation? It's a sign of the end times. What's next, cats and dogs living together?
Mass hysteria!
"If you are tired of custom lineage" Not as tired as I am of hexblade, gloomstalker and twillight domain... oh... I spoke too soon.
Flight Knight goes on a Night Flight, a Night Knight. The Night is just right for a Knight's Flight, a Flight Night. Every Night? A Nightly Knightly Flight.
omg man, I've been building this! Been working on the character for months. Have my levels planned out very similarly but I'm lore.
Do you have extra attack through another class?
@@TreantmonksTemple no so, I am hexblade but not planning on going beyond beyond a 2nd level dip.
Booming blade is my goto. I let my warhorse find steed go independent now and I seem to keep up with the martials while providing support. I'm planning on warcaster and antagazing+repelling blast when I get 8 bard/2 lock.
Getting the mount items too, Insignia of Claws etc.
I built this with lore bard as well, so much fun. No extra attack, but I picked up Ashardalons Stride from Fizban’s and find steed as the level 6 spells. Charge in and lance and burn everyone up with a dashing steed and auto disengage. Maybe not as optimized, but your mount leaving flames in its wake was worth it in my book.
@@alanmaxwell9105 ghost rider...
I'm using dissonant whispers as my goto for leveled spells. Getting my own booming blade from warcaster, and the horse gets an attack too. Why extra attack when you can get 3 attacks and a cc debuff?
Hooves allow you to attach magic items like Horseshoes of Speed and Horseshoes of Zephyr.
Saddle of the Cavalier also is an excellent magic item to get for your mounts to prevent the potential dismount where mounted combatant doesn't prevent it.
I’ve played a character very similar to this at high level. My other character retired at level 17 and my new character came in as Hexblade 1/Paladin 2/Swords Bard 14. I used find greater steed and Tenser’s Transformation to great affect. I was an Eladrin so I also had Elven accuracy. I ended up also taking metamagic adept so I could get Tenser’s up as a bonus action if I wasn’t able to pre-cast. Remember people that you can’t use spells while Tenser’s is up. I definitely forgot for a few sessions when I started playing them. You can still smite though ;)
The Dragonel in Fisban is a worthy choice too. With two flyby rend attacks.
(Though I loved the builds this sorta proves how hard it is to make effective mounted combatant builds. And this build also proves that the Drakewarden really should be flying at 11th (I made a three dragon build to prove this by 13th level you had Psudodragon, Dragonel and Draconic Spirit out dragoning the Drakewarden 3 to one)
What class?
@@Smug_Jeremy It was a Sword Bard 10/ Hexblade 3. So you still had lance options. Pack of the chain, Summon Draconic Spirit and Summon Greater Steed. Is meant to be a 5 person option. It was meant to get dragon riding with more dragons before the Drakewarden gets to fly …and not be hyper powerful or optimal . Though doing so would be simple.
I have a Grung Beastmaster/Armorer Artificer that rides his giant wolf spider (that can spider climb on walls and ceilings), hand crossbow with expert and sharpshooter, mounted combatant feat. It's super fun.
I wish there were campaigns revolving around mounted adventures.
Know it kind of hurts with the feat loss but this build with the new Hadozee race would be interesting. Fall off or jump off your mount and glide all over the place with your reaction to take no damage on the fall.
A pegasus with an extra pair of spectral wings would look pretty cool. And with the player's one pair you now have a combined 6 wings, putting you close to eldritch horror or biblical angel territory.
A lot of biblical angels are eldritch horrors. Ever read about those things? 20-30 feet tall, multiple faces or even heads, 4-6 wings. Things are terrifying. People associate awe with beauty but it can be horrifying too.
You didn't mention it, but when you cast shield that should effect the mount as well, correct?
It would, but the trigger is when you’re hit, so you couldn’t use it in response to the mount being attacked. But yes, once used it would increases the mount’s AC as well.
@@theresnoracelikegnome Haha, I love your profile name.
@@BiowareNut thanks. I’m quite proud of that one. :p
@@theresnoracelikegnome well, you could just force an attack targeting your mount to target you instead (which does not take your reaction) and then cast shield
@@VioletRM If the intent is to dodge the attacks, then just redirect all the attacks to yourself and your Shield. Unless your expecting a Magic Missile targeted at your mount sometime before your next turn.
Other than Magic Missile the Shield on your mount gives bo additional benefit if you have the Mounted Combatant feat.
Bretonnian Pegasus Knights are pretty damned cool...
TreantMonk: suggests Tensor's Transformation
Me: Who are you and what have you done to TreantMonk, you imposter??!!!
Jokes apart, great video as always!!!
worth mentioning that if you share spell with misty step or dimension door you cannot remain mounted at the end of the teleport. misty step : unoccupied space. dimension door: if the space is occupied you take damage and the spell fails. There could be wiggle room because the space is technically not occupied by your mount until the spell goes off, but it is a consideration worth bringing up with your DM as you get access to those spells.
Good point. Maybe you could argue that you are apearing in the space above your mount, rather than actually in the same space?
Does it drive anyone else insane seeing that BARD is the best path to achieving a mounted combatant with consistent access to unique mount? Stealing a spell from paladins because being half castors makes it too late for them. Meanwhile Cavaliers literally have zero features about acquiring mounts... Feels like lost potential
"Hope you found it interesting, and maybe found some inspiration for your next mounted character."
That's a joke even I groaned at...
You did a good job on this video.
Congratulations Treantmonk! You have done it again! I can’t wait to try this out! One question though, I can’t seem to get Aid & Enlarge/Reduce to come up on the spell list. Is there a specific toggle to hit?
Yes! Make sure you have the optional class features from Tasha's turned on. That's why they aren't showing up.
@@TreantmonksTemple thanks! I do have that toggle on but still doesn’t show
@@Seraphzero0 That's weird, as both spells are on the optional class spell list for Bards in Tasha's.
@@TreantmonksTemple maybe one of the other toggles are interfering. I’ll play with it a bit. Thanks for the help!
@@Seraphzero0 you have to switch the toggle on on the first screen but then you have to actually go into the optional class features on the class screen (where you pick your ASIs and spells) and tick the box for additional bard spells.
So you already talked about the benefits of the Griffon having claws in comparison to the Pegasus having hooves. Would the Griffon, for the Sake of Tensers, be able to wield weapons in his claws? I mean it already has access to the needed proficiencies through the spell. That would be hilarious.
I wouldn't count on it because of the anatomy, but that would be for your DM to decide.
This sounds like something that would happen in a Dark souls series.
You could take ritual caster or (depending on your DM) the mark of passage to get the phantom steed spell, letting you mount at an earlier level
Cast Tenser's transformation, Pegasus now has weapon proficiency, give pegasus a knife.
Not for optimization. Horse stabbing a guy is just funny.
Tensers transformation and find greater steed? I feel so seen!
This is pretty close to the build I currently run. I don't have Find Greater Steed yet but it still works if you can get a regular horse. I think telekinetic is a good feat choice here because it gives you a bonus action to knock a guy off his mount, probably then attacking him with advantage and maybe trampling him if your DM allows a warhorse to trample when conditions in the action block are met. Very useful if you are going up against other knights, which if you are building this, the DM will probably throw at you. Also good for making money in tournaments.
For animate objects-- couldn't you use silver coins instead of gold? Then it would count as a silvered weapon I would assume. There are a few magic horseshoes in the DMG that I would also assume give your mount a magic weapon for the pegasus. The newish UA feat cartomancer gets around basically all the problems with Tensors in my opinion also.
I find your DPR is decent, your AC is great, and you're likely to be in the frontline which is where the problem starts. Enemy magic shuts you down hard until you get counterspell.
Honestly, if it weren't for the ability score requirements, I'd invest Strength and Dexterity equally so you could justify going into a Cavalier dip. Having a means to tank AND have a bonus action attack with advantage and a slight bonus to damage might be worth it for the turns that you really wanna set up to lay on the hurt. Plus it would give you Action Surge, giving you room to do other things to up the damage even further.
I'd love to see how you would do this whole build with a Glaive/halberd like you were suggesting. I know it would be a bit different because Glaives take away the blade flourish ability, whereas the Lance somehow works with the rules for blade flourish while mounted. Would you do a different subclass of bard, like Valor bard? What different decision would you make for that?
Also, I think you miscalculated damage from Animate Objects. It should be like 35 damage per round. Moreover, I don't think Tasha's Otherworldly Guise is worth it. I'd be using that 6th-level slot for Mass Suggestion, unless I know most enemies are immune to it, or Spirit Guardians. I want Spirit Guardians on this build, cause it's perfect for this build because it's a melee build, so that's what I'll be choosing with my magical secrets.
I think the Dragonnel should at least get an honorable mention. Also, if you're using Tensors and Tasha's, why not Whisper Bard?
They don't get extra attack.
Even if you always have Tensers/Tasha's for extra attack in combat, you still don't get that til level 12; having extra attack for levels 7-11 is worth using swords or valor
I can think of a couple reasons.
1) Whispers bard doesn’t have defensive flourish.
2) The build cannot access either spell until 15th level, meaning a whispers bard would be stuck with one attack per round for 8 additional levels compared to swords or valor.
3) Psychic blades always uses your inspiration, but once you reach bard level 14, you have unlimited blade flourishes and can use bardic inspiration as usual.
Fantastic
Dimension Door doesn’t target the caster, it just effects the caster. So I’m not sure it would work with a larger mount…
How do you guys feel about Draconic transformation while mounted?
It looks like, if I’m reading this correctly, both you and your mount will have a bonus action 60 foot cone of force breath dealing 8d6…
similar to crown of stars except it can target multiple people likely dealing more damage…
you can even reserve your action for attacking or other spells like synptic static… Thoughts?
I'm surprised that neither build used the Paladin's conquest subclass to get armor of agathys.
This one got it through warlock
it may not be optimized but if you aren't running dual wielder and TWF using two lances you're missing out
Very nice, I kinda want to play a swords bard now! Though I also wish I had spirit guardians...is it worth giving up counterspell for SG if you have a wizard in the party?
Love your videos! You had said, that if you wanted to go big for damage, get polearm master. Hex blades need pact of the blade to use a two-handed weapon with Hex Warrior. You would have invest in more levels of warlock. You could use a spear though. Unless I am missing something?
Tenser's gives proficiency with martial weapons. Griffons can hold things in claws and are large.
Tenser's griffon plus large greatsword means it's swinging 4d6+str twice a turn. Also Griffons are monsters so nobody can even make the that rule isn't for players argument with respect to oversized weapons.
I know you don’t get flourishes but what about the Valor bard’s cast a spell and get an attack subclass feature? (Battle Magic)
Hi guys
I know its random but what would you do with the 'Naga' race from the planeshift amonkhet pdf
It has +2CON +1INT
natural attacks are based off CON ( for the poison ) and STR ( for the constrict )
I could go wizard but i want to make use of the constrict and poison from the natural attacks
How would you build around this and wich class would be best?
I know its not an official race but i love the concept and my dm will allow it 😁
What is level 11? Does WOTC write content for that level? Finding a DM willing to run those levels and a group that can stay together long enough for it seems to be like finding a unicorn. :(
Probably Swords Bard is the most powerful option to an "martial character" focused on DPR, idk why I get surprise by the numbers lmao
Is 5e or everything after 2nd all about taking a bunch of classes that make no sense of how they would logically go together?
I don’t think the polearm master alternative would work without going warlock 3 first since you need charisma as your attacking stat
Polearm master with a spear would work
What do you mean? Hex Warrior already takes care of that, you dont even need a pact.
@@Johnny0Masters I think he’s talking about how most people use PAM by combining it with GWM, and you do need blade pact to use a hex weapon with a 2h weapon.
@@andrewmcmillan229 yes, but he was talking about using it with a glaive or halberd, which wouldn’t work
Dont you have disadvantage on 5ft melee attacks with a Lance? I dont think Green Flame Blade would work well.
Also, a Bard can Awaken a T-Rex and mount it, which is way cooler than a Griffon
For lower levels I have been wanting to play a halfling beast master with a pteradon companion with the dual weilder feat and carry two lances
this question is a bit out of no where, but can you cast booming blade twice with haste as a bladesinger? since you can replace one attack with a cantrip when you take the attack action?
Probably not. Haste is pretty specific with what you can do with its attack action "(one weapon attack only)" so you can't even grapple/shove with it. Additionally, the cantrip casting attack is described within the the extra attack feature, which is not at play with the haste attack. And "in place of one of *those attacks*" presupposes there will be more than one taking place.
Shapechange would let you fly around on a dragon, if you push Bard all the way up to 9th level spells.
But treantmonk! What about magic jar? What if you magic jar like a blackguard or something?
Soooo, where is the Octomancer build? I hereby officially request it.
I'm doing this build but the GM lets us take bonus feats equal to the number of ASIs we have gotten. Starting level 11 so I followed progression otherwise. Also starting with a flame blade scimitar and +1 mithral half plate so I may actually go with Two weapon Fighting style for now and benefit from Hex when I want low resource expenditure. Any suggestions welcome.
Where did you pick-up the shield proficiency? Swords Bard just gets medium armor, need to go with Valor Bard to get the shields?
Hexblade
@@patrickmulder7 Duh, of course. Thank you
Maybe I’m missing something, but as I understand it you miss out on an extra skill proficiency by not taking Bard as your first level. Was there some feature of the Warlock starting class (maybe the saving throws) that made you choose to Warlock 1 *then* straight Bard rather than Bard 1, Warlock 1 *and then* straight Bard levels? You might’ve mentioned and I was just sleepy, but I generally assume you have a reason for everything.
I don't think you miss out on an extra skill proficiency. Bards start with one extra skill proficiency (3 instead of 2) but when you MC into bard you get 1 skill proficiency which evens it up.
You might be thinking about Rogue.
@@TreantmonksTemple oh, you are right. My bad. Still, while less urgent, my question remains whether there’s any notable distinction you felt influences your starting class or is this more just a “pick your favourites” affair?
@@TiasVsEverything probably considers the wisdom saving throw proficiency more impactful than dexterity
So does the lance count as a weapon that you can choose for your hexblade weapon? Did I miss him taking 2 more levels in hexblade?
It counts as a hex weapon one handed
Is the Peryton any good/is it worth it to make the CL Small to use it? Is there any benefit to having the Peryton as an additional option or is it just THAT weak to the point where Medium size is better?
Would Spirit Guardians work with Find Steed? it has a target of self then the spell has range.
Probably not. The "target" isn't self. The range is self. The targets are those creatures you damage with it.
Good question, I think anything that target you could also target the mount like Armor of Aghatis
Can you please share the character sheet? I'm fascinated by this build and want to look at it all at once
I have a question about the Enlarge/Reduce spell and mounted combat, which can come in quite handy while navigating through narrow parts of a dungeon, I imagine. Do you cast it on yourself (since the mount shares the spell via Find Greater Steed), or do you cast it on the mount (since the pegasus/griffin is 'wearing' you in a way)? If both options are viable, which one is the optimal one?
If you wish to continue to use it as a mount, you need to cast it on yourself.
Glad to see you included a level of Hexblade. IMO, it's mandatory for any optimized CHA-based build.
In this case, yes. Generally? It's overrated. Multiclassing isn't always the best route, or warlock isn't always involved. Genie or Undead Warlock are better contenders if you don't need charisma to attacks - i.e. you don't do weapon attacks, or you rolled good stats. The curse is nice, but bonus action clog is a thing. Medium armor and shield proficiency, and the shield spell, those are pretty hard to ignore though.
Very similar to your Valor's Bard build.
Great build. I was working on one myself! Thanks! How do you feel about the optional dragonnel mount for fgs in fizbans?
It's a good mount roughly comparable to griffon/pegasus. A bit slower but you get flyby which is a nice bonus (allowing you to dash when you would otherwise disengage with your steed). If you go hard rules-as-written though, it's only available to paladins with DM permission.
I thought so too. I saw flyby and I was like hmm I'd like that. Ooof I just read thru that in fizbans and yeah I could see a strict dm saying paladin only. I feel fortunate my long-term dm isn't quite that strict. Thank you Chris have a good one & keep up the good work!
Can you dual wield lances? That would give you a bonus action.
Not while taking the dueling fighting style.
Does that mean that this build only mounts at level 11?
If you really follow the rules, enlarging yourself and your mount doesn't really work. Enlarging a pegasus or griffon to huge doubles its carrying capacity to 1080 pounds but it multiplies the character's weight by 8 which is almost always going to go over the carrying capacity. I think most DMs, including myself would ignore this, but some DMs might not.
Carrying capacity never includes the creature's own weight.
I didn't include the creature's own weight.
@@thomaschapman6530 Ah, I see. You meant the _mounted_ person increases in weight by 8. 🤔 Yeah, I see how that could become an issue, since the 5e rule says carrying capacity only increases by 2x when increasing by one size increment... But, heck. Even ignoring the complication of a mount, by this logic, your very own stuff would weigh you down! If you're carrying your max capacity value of 15 x Str and increase your size, your max capacity only increases to 30 x Str, even though your stuff is now 120 x Str! I'm sure these interactions can't be R.A.I., so maybe the 8x you're assuming isn't true in D&D-land.
15:57 By Moradin's beard, was that a Jojo reference?
I know this is an optimization channel - that's why I am here.
But hexblade dip, shield spell and custum liniage is just so cookie cutter. I'd love some more creative builds that goes away from these standard choices - even if they aren't as optimized as the cookie cutter builds!
:)
Spell jammer builds. When?
Probably after Spelljammer releases! Chris doesn’t get advance copies.
I get the book tomorrow. I'll be reading it and then working on some content soon after. Initial spelljammer vids probably as early as this Friday. Builds might be a bit longer until I have time to really get my head around the options.
No I will talk to you soon...
Dragonnel Is better and cooler than both
Yuck, this stinks like power gaming. Please do more.