As a Brazilian that has researched quite a bit about Capoeira, let me suggest something different: Rogue Swashbuckler (I thought about this back on 5e). Capoeiras (the name given to people who practice Capoeira) didn't only use their feet and hands to attack. Some of them used to hold razors in between their toes to slash people with their kicks. Some also tied ropes around razors or knives to be able to throw them with their hands and pull it back to them. With that in mind, Swashbuckler fits perfectly. Capoeira is all about waiting for the right time to strike (what we would call "malícia"), so that's Sneak Attack and Swashbuckler's Rakish Audacity. Capoeira fighters also don't stay put in one place, they move around a lot with their "dance", which we call "ginga" or "gingado", so that's Cunning Action to disengage and move or Swashbuckler's Fancy Footwork. Capoeira came from the time of slavery in Brazil, and the fight was disguised as a dance so people could practice it without police suspecting, so that's the reason of your high Charisma as a Swashbuckler. Capoeiras also had to be charismatic to be able to recruit people for their cause of ending slavery, even against all odds. For the razor between the toes, just reflavor a dagger or shortsword as it. If you want to be crazier, reflavor a crossbow as the knife tied to a rope. Another thing that I find cool and interesting, is that back in the day, capoeiras used to wear some sort of scarf of satin around their necks, to protect it against other razors and flying knives, because it's really hard to cut satin with these things. That's it, hope it sparked a desire to try something different!
It’s so cool to see you building around the capoeira concept. I’m Brazilian and this fighting style is iconic here because it was created as a way to slaves gather around and practice in order to revolt from there “”owners””, without rising suspicion. So they came up with a martial school that looks like a dance. With is a perfect fit for the subclass. Also, the history of capoeira on its on would be one of the greatest background ever for a character!
The deep belly laugh that I got out of the 10:33 "This is a dance bard build, we're not starting fighter! .... We're starting sorcerer..." was incredible, Thanks Colby! EDIT: First!!!
24:07 Brazil mentioned 🥳🥳 But yeah, I instantly thought of making a "capoeirista" when I saw this subclass. It fits nicely, specially since music is pretty attached to that fighting style anyway
DM: The orc Captain stands before you, glowering. DB: I want to intimidate him DM: Okay, how do you do that? DB: I look at the orc captain and say, "You want to battle," then I bust some badass dance moves.
Just by reading "Capoeira" in the thumbnail I already knew it was Dance Bard, for any non-Brazilian fan, capoeira is a mix of martial art, dance and music, it was how slaves fought against the colonizers and we used dance and music as a way for the slave owners not to see that we were training a martial art. Although nowadays it is not as effective in self-defense as Brazilian jiu-jitsu and is not good in closed spaces, it was very effective against Portuguese soldiers and would require more than one dragão (basically an elite troop) to capture a single capoeirista.
BJJ guy here, I think BJJ is more popular - but I wouldn’t say it’s more effective. BJJ has no striking techniques; no kicks, no punches, no clinching. By that standard alone I’d say capoeira is more effective. There is a huge problem in BJJ where practitioners feel BJJ is “more effective”, and are under the false belief they are fighters. Do I prefer BJJ? Of course. I’ve done it for close to 10 years. Have I come to the realization that there are flaws in it that can be supplemented by other arts, that is true as well.
I’ve been playing a dancer bard for 2 months now in adventurer’s league and I’ve really enjoyed it, ended the year at level 11. Our regular DM ALWAYS rolls low for his NPCs and monsters so while it does sorta suck to use my limited inspirations on it, I used quite Tandem Footwork at least once a session, speeding up boss fights quite a bit as it pretty much guaranteed that the party went first. I took the new entertainer background meaning I could give out free heroic inspirations once a session. My stat array was 18 charisma, 16 dex, 14 con and wisdom, 10 intelligence and 7 strength, + 2 charisma for 20 with entertainer + 1 dex with entertainer for 17. I had an amulet of health bringing my con to 19, a + 3 rhythm maker’s drum for 20 DC and + 12 spell attack by the end and bracers of defence meaning that once I also maxed out my dex my AC was 22. I took expertise in stealth, sleight of hand, acrobatics and performance and I was a Halfling (2024) which meant I could use other people as human shields.
I love that you still use the cute swarm that attacks you whenever you even dare to mention silvery barbs you also missed that inspiring footwork also lets you punch that enemy so you can drag them out, give them a face slap and drag them back in which seems so fun i wish i could convince my dm to play dance bard in his games (he doesnt use 2024 rules)
Ashardalon's Stride is the perfect choice for the Dancer Bard (that picks wizard). Like the other spells you mentioned , the off turn movement just synergies so well with it. Plus, unlike the others, A.S. Has always worked like that, so it feels less cheesy. So at bard 10, Ashardalon's Stride and Wall of Force are easily my go toos
So I realized Star Lord (Peter Quill) from Guardians of the Galaxy is a Collage of Dance Bard. He specifically dances and plays music to inspire himself and his companions in combat specifically effecting their movement, has a high charisma, and uses some unarmed combat. I suppose Colby mentioned footloose which Peter references as a personal inspiration. I would say if you want to build a Star Lord inspired build in D&D a college of Dance bard is the way to go.
Even if it's not the strongest, College of Dance feels like it'll be so fun to play. But if there's anyone I trust to make it strong, it's Colby. I'll definitely be taking notes on this one!
I didn't disagree, but I was ok with it level 6 because it's a subclass feature. Inspiring Movement being moved to level 6, on the other hand, I am a bit salty about. I really liked the idea of having a low-level, reliable reaction attack.
Havent watched it all yet,but i think you forgot a key thing about how dance bards 6th level feature interacts with their 3rd. Because you're spending a bardic inspiration die, you get to make an attack as part of that reaction as well
I think the best way to help/fix the College of Dance Bard is to make Agile Strikes read like this: When you expend a use of your Bardic Inspiration or cast an Abjuration or Enhancement spell as part of an action, a Bonus Action, or a Reaction, you can make one Unarmed Strike as part of that action, Bonus Action, or Reaction.
Back in Pathfinder 1e there is a "battle dancer bard" the Dervish of Dawn He don't buff the team, but have the double power only for him using the "Battle Dance" (Bardic Inspiration) and lvl 6 have a free Haste Spell when dance, so is a good melee Fighter
Tandem Footwork I think might be the most slept on new ability/spell in the 2024 rules. Yes, Dance Bards seem like they want to be Melee but it's almost a misnomer. Adding anywhere from 3-5 to your entire Party's initiative every combat is low key bonkers. Add at least 1 person with the Alert origin feat, and you will be able to get your most important person to go first nearly every time. And that could turn entire campaign ending encounters into a cake walk. Such an amazing support feature on what is already arguably the best support class in the game
It's a true shame the Dance Bard doesn't have Extra Attack. Somthing akin to the Valor Bard extra attack would have made the Dance Bard stand out and be a lot more appealing. Alas, Multiclassing exists atleast.
There is one little thing that lets you get an extra punch with your reaction as a dance bard. College of Dance's 3rd and 6th level interact because since you spend bardic die as a reaction you can also punch in that same reaction. If only you could sneak attack with a punch for crazy rogue milticlasses
I would love to see a build that tries to use both the eldritch knights war magic and bladesinger/valor bard extra attack to fire two eldritch blasts with their action and another one with their bonus action! If tried to do some thinking myself, but I just couldn’t fit a way to get that including CME and agonizing Blast by lvl 17, as that would require Wiz 7, fighter 7, sorc 2, warlock 2 (Damn agonizing blast for having a lvl 2 requirement, otherwise eldritch adept would work)
I'm going to make a vampire based on this build that charms people into dancing the Salsa with him and while they're dancing a giant whirlwind of roses fills the air (cloud of daggers that the vampire is immune to) to escape the dance you can either make the wisdom save at the start of your turn or you can make a contested performance check against him and if you win, you take over the dance, grappling him in return amd becoming immune to the CoD while he stops being immune.
40:04 WAIT! Dance bards can make an unarmed strike as a part of inspiring movement since their level 3 feature says they can make an unarmed strike as a part of their reaction if they expend a bardic die in that reaction which we do in inspiring movement. I checked the linked math and the number of hits stayed at 2 while it should have been 3, due to the reaction attack! That means the damage should go up by at least 4 to 8 points!
2 things that make me stop, Spike Growth and Cloud of Daggers. It's just not how I want to play. Nothing against people that do, but once I hear those words I know the build isn't for me.
@@moriyasanae8130 It's the "put this down and toss someone back and forth into them" playstyle that I was referring to when I said it's not how I want to play. Cheese grating, as has been called. I said those words tell me the build isn't for me because in this case it means that the build is going to center around using them. They're the core concept of the build. It'd be like if someone said they don't want to play as a healer and people started going "This guy can't handle heal spells! What, you never cast healing word?" like they were personally offended over a preference.
Cool to finally see your take on the Dance Bard! When I was thinking for a build with this subclass, I ended up taking 4 levels in Warlock (2 levels would be enough but I wanted a subclass for some free misty step) mainly for Eldritch Blast and picking up the Spell Sniper feat to flavour it as magically empowered punshes, giving the whole build a very spell-casting Monk feel. It would be less reliant on a concentration spell for damage so it'd be easier to use come classic bard control spells and dish out inspiration for your allies, though I haven't done any damage calculations for this build. I'm still not entirely sure about this build and if it wouldn't be better to actually go Monk and maybe multiclass into a WIS caster if you really want some magic, though. But I do really love the flavour of a dancing combatant coupled with good charisma skills. The build: Wood Elf (extra spells without overlap from Warlock subclass), Entertainer background, 15+1 DEX, 14 CON, 15+2 CHA, 10 WIS Bard 1 Warlock 2: Agonising blast, Eldritch Mind, Lessons of the First Ones taking Alert Bard 4: Dance subclass, Spell Sniper Warlock 4: Archefey subclass, War Caster feat, replace Eldritch Mind with Pact of the Tome or honestly any other invocation you prefer Bard X: Inspiring Leader at Bard 8 (or any other feat that gives CHA) to max out Charisma Spells: Mostly PYF but obviously Eldritch Blast, and I would recommend Armor of Agathys as well.
That movement ability would make for a really cool team up build with a Cleric using Spirit Guardians or a Wizard using Yolande’s Regal Presence or such. Call it Two to Tango or in honor of Wicked: Dancing through Life.
Great video Colby! was dabbling with the idea of a grappling bard/monk but was really hating the redundancies of dazzling footwork + martial arts. The combo with cloud of daggers is something I haven't thought of and really makes me reconsider it
@voodoophil Wow, I think you just gave everyone who likes playing Necromancers a very creepy way to interact with the Dance Bard and/or a secret campaign goal to cast Animate Dead on said Bard's corpse. Then again, it might be more fun for the Dance Bard to pull Animate Dead for one of their Magical Secrets to show the Necromancer how Thriller is properly done.
@grantstratton2239 Another add on to that, the game Moonwalker was a Michael Jackson beat-em-up game with dance kicks, hat throwing and ultimate ability, a dance, that killed a whole screen full of foes.
A character concept I’ve had in mind is a dance bard with a level 1 paladin dip for better single target damage from smites, divine favor, and shield of faith. Taking grappler feat and being focusing on athleticism etc abilities rather than just being able to seduce the dragon makes it seem like a really fun build for being a freak athlete performer or martial artist.
Not an optimized build, but a fun way to do a dance bard would be to use True Strike. Use like a dagger for a thrown weapon too or maybe a hand axe (that I would want to flavor as a chakram). You would have the AC and could use charisma for main attacks that scale without extra attack. And you could still use your dance attacks as needed with inspiration with dex. Can take that a one level monk dip too and still use bardic inspiration at times so you can inspire AND punch when needed to not lose out on that attack. Plus you would have monk weapons for at least a d6 on daggers or whatever. Alternatively maybe a different dip or a feat for Nick mastery for more attacks. But then you aren't using true strike. But a dancing flurry of blades with a dagger dagger kick, while inspiring and moving allies around sounds fun 😁
Hi I think a sustained damage build that's about abusing draconic sorcerer's elemental affinity trying to trigger it as much as possible per turn would be pretty cool
i always feel inclined to take counterspell as magical secrets, specially if i can somehow grab sorcerer 2 for a "subtle" uncounterable counterspell and on our build also allows to quicken spells while not losing the attack action for a free grapple
So excited to see this breakdown! I had finally got to play in a game recently using 1DnD stuff and picked the Dance Bard for its fisticuffs and spells. My two favorite things. The bardic die as the scaling for the hands is cool but does feel a little weird when the demigod monk is technically not punch as hard as a bard. Far from a perfect class but if you had asked me to build my own classes based on all my favorite things I wouldve described the Dance Bard and the New Fey warlock teleporter so I am eatinnn For real need these in BG3 ASAP althought we are getting more subclasses officially which killed my series covering mods lol
I was so excited for Dance Bard when it came out in the playtest, my first D&D character was a dancing bard and was so excited to finally have an official archetype. The grappling strats aren't all that encouraged at our table though, and the final product is... Well. I guess I'm back to re-flavoring Lore.
My player is about to play a lvl 20 dance bard for my Throne of Bloodstone campaign. They are using the 2014 DMG Gnoll for the fun of it. I can’t wait to see how the subclass plays.
Just started a new campaign with a Tabaxi Dance Bard and we were allowed to grab a magic item so naturally I went with the Dancing Rapier. I have *options* lol
Yeah the Dance Bard might not get some of martial features some would want for it but the fact it can pretty easily get an 18 AC without a multiclass dip/feat just is a really strong defense. That plus the initiative boost are 2 features that to me, already make this Subclass incredible. You have (with the Valour bard) the best defense and that + going earlier in the combat is just so strong and it feels like people underrate these things alone. They aren't as flashy but they make you better at what you wanna do as a Bard. You can try and maximize your Initiative (for example also take alert + your lvl 6 feature) and you can pretty reliably get Hypnotic pattern out before most if not all enemies get a turn and win a lot of combats outright
I know the video isn't about this, but you brought up rogues and damage. I truly wish the rogues had a feature that the old Tempest Clerics had. I wish that a limited number of times a day that they could just deal maximum damage with their sneak attack. Or since rolling dice is fun, bring back the Assassin feature of critical strikes. I mean like once per short rest, allow Rogues to really deal some actual burst damage. Because after level 5, the lack of extra attack really hurts.
Depending on how degenerate your DM will let you be, an alternative use of the dance bard’s unarmed strikes would be to grapple _allies_ in order to double up on e.g. spirit guardians damage. (The image of tangoing with your party members around the battlefield is funny too). This would let you avoid the monk dip since party members can just choose to fail your saving throws, which makes the stat spread much cleaner. You’d probably want grappler still though.
My Dance Bard isn’t as hard hitting as this, but I went human, picked up Wizard Initiate for Fire Bolt/True Strike/And Shield. Then took the entertainer background for Musician, giving Heroic Inspiration to some party members. Took the Inspiring Leader feat at level 4 to give temp hp to all my party members. We’re level 5, and it’s fun right now, but will be taking fount of Moonlight and Yolande’s Regal presence when I can, and The Speedy feat to bounce around like a pinball with Yolande’s. Right now I either use True Strike on my Light Crossbow if I’m not in melee range or True Strike on my Dagger, then Bonus action unarmed strike.
Thanks for the idea! Now I want to do a Gomez Aadams blade lock/ dance bard who is a ( literal) Slave to the Rhythm. Ask a Gen X buddy if you don’t get the reference
Spike growth at bard 10 with magical secrets? With grappler feat allowing full movement while grappling it might be optimal in some cases to drag the target along the edge of that, and since no upcast it always costs a level 2 slot saving those higher slots for other grapple bard chicanery.
I’ve been trying to make this subclass work as some sort of interesting multi class but could never build something satisfying. So I just took 1 level in Fighter (lol), handed him a Battle Axe to use True Strike with and went Bard the rest of the way. It’s not very good, but a naked guy with a big axe who kicks people to inspire his allies is a fun them at least.
I agree that Capoeira is an absolutely beautiful martial arts and it’s the first thing I thought of when they announced the dance bard, but have you seen the video of a capoeira fighter vs a marine? Super funny 😂
How come not even an honorable mention of Spike Growth? 😀 I mean, with all of the movement shenanigans we are already doing, I was totally expecting it's going to come up 😀 Sure, it does not scale, but dragging the poor grappled soul along the edges sounds like a lot of fun for a level 2 spell slot 😅
I'd like to see a Dance Bard/rogue combo, and a dance bard/monk combo. I custom built Dancer as a D&D class a few years ago, with war dancer, tribal dancer, fey dancer and arcane dancer as the subclasses (chosen at level 1). Each subclass had a "dance" ability that used move, action, and bonus action to trigger a 30' radius effect. Never had a chance to play test it, sadly.
I think that your interpretation of Inspiring Movement may be a little bit generous. Even though the Feature says "When an enemy you can see ends its turn within 5 feet of you, you can take a Reaction..." I think it would be reasonable to rule that the Reaction still takes place as part of their turn. Reaction isn't an additional turn, it is part of the turn that triggers it, so if you have already applied damage from Cloud of Daggers on that enemy's turn, you should not be applying it a second time based on something you do as a Reaction, as the Reaction is part of that turn, even though they are "ending their turn." Reaction's definition says "A Reaction is a special action taken in response to a trigger defined in the Reaction’s description. You can take a Reaction on another creature’s turn, and if you take it on your turn, you can do so even if you also take an action, a Bonus Action, or both." So I think the reason that the feature makes the distinction of "ends its turn within 5 feet of you," is so that you don't trigger a Reaction when an enemy passes within 5 feet of you, but keeps going, especially if they have a Feature such as Flyby, where they wouldn't otherwise provoke an Attack of Opportunity by moving past you.
I think you mixed up thinking about Monks as being the way they used to be. They now start with a d6 monk die, and scale up to a d12. Their scaling works the same way as Dance Bard.
I've wanted to make a dodge-tank character who's basically just an old man who loves telling stories of "ye olden days", annoying both his own party members and any potential enemies they encounter, but somehow keep surviving every deadly fight without as much as a scratch. Somewhere between a loremaster, bard, and a drunken fist type of monk/fighter. Could this be what I'm looking for...?
34:15 don't worry part of me is within you. Besides, in rpgs that's the reason those numbers written on items and equipments right? We're meant to be better
Dance Bard might low-key be the best Bard subclass, it's just being terribly slept on because the ribbon features distract from the main ones. The half-baked Unarmed Strike features *feel* bad and incomplete, even though they're merely a ribbon to the best form of Unarmored Defense in the game (except Lv20 Monk). Party Initiative boost is incredibly powerful -- Watchers is (was?) the consensus best Paladin subclass almost solely on the back of that feature -- plus you get a souped-up version of one of the best defensive features in the game (Evasion).
Ah, my next character. A sweet-souled bouncer who travels the world, named Swayze. Also known by others as… The Dirty Dancer.
I feel you'll have the time of your life with that
Noone puts Bardy in the corner
Will he always tell people "I want you to be nice" ? 😂 Dude your comment made me laugh.
m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMTU1MTE2Mjk2OF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwMTUzNjYzNA@@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg. I was thinking the wrong movie but same guy.
As a Brazilian that has researched quite a bit about Capoeira, let me suggest something different: Rogue Swashbuckler (I thought about this back on 5e).
Capoeiras (the name given to people who practice Capoeira) didn't only use their feet and hands to attack. Some of them used to hold razors in between their toes to slash people with their kicks. Some also tied ropes around razors or knives to be able to throw them with their hands and pull it back to them.
With that in mind, Swashbuckler fits perfectly. Capoeira is all about waiting for the right time to strike (what we would call "malícia"), so that's Sneak Attack and Swashbuckler's Rakish Audacity.
Capoeira fighters also don't stay put in one place, they move around a lot with their "dance", which we call "ginga" or "gingado", so that's Cunning Action to disengage and move or Swashbuckler's Fancy Footwork.
Capoeira came from the time of slavery in Brazil, and the fight was disguised as a dance so people could practice it without police suspecting, so that's the reason of your high Charisma as a Swashbuckler. Capoeiras also had to be charismatic to be able to recruit people for their cause of ending slavery, even against all odds.
For the razor between the toes, just reflavor a dagger or shortsword as it. If you want to be crazier, reflavor a crossbow as the knife tied to a rope.
Another thing that I find cool and interesting, is that back in the day, capoeiras used to wear some sort of scarf of satin around their necks, to protect it against other razors and flying knives, because it's really hard to cut satin with these things.
That's it, hope it sparked a desire to try something different!
This was so interesting to read, thanks for sharing! Love from italy
análise foda irmão, imediatamente fiquei inspirado pra colocar capoeira na minha campanha
Wouldn't mind seeing a swashbuckler/dancer multi-class!
this is so cool!! also could even put a thematic reason for the Cloud of Daggers spell with the razor blades and rope knives!!!
It’s so cool to see you building around the capoeira concept. I’m Brazilian and this fighting style is iconic here because it was created as a way to slaves gather around and practice in order to revolt from there “”owners””, without rising suspicion. So they came up with a martial school that looks like a dance. With is a perfect fit for the subclass.
Also, the history of capoeira on its on would be one of the greatest background ever for a character!
Você já assitiu aquele vídeo do cronosesfera sobre capoeira?
@@rafaelprudencio6096 assisti agora q tu falou, muito foda!!
The deep belly laugh that I got out of the 10:33 "This is a dance bard build, we're not starting fighter! .... We're starting sorcerer..." was incredible, Thanks Colby!
EDIT: First!!!
3:13
"If you want to play a bard to buff your friends and debuff your allies"...
You bet I do, good sir
Dammit! If I had a nickle for every time...
As a fan of the all blacks and Māori culture in general… I made mine a hooligan, whose dancing and bardic inspiration are Haka war dances
24:07 Brazil mentioned 🥳🥳
But yeah, I instantly thought of making a "capoeirista" when I saw this subclass. It fits nicely, specially since music is pretty attached to that fighting style anyway
DM: The orc Captain stands before you, glowering.
DB: I want to intimidate him
DM: Okay, how do you do that?
DB: I look at the orc captain and say, "You want to battle," then I bust some badass dance moves.
Breakdance Battle FTW!
Star Lord vs Ronan at the end of Guardians 1!
Just by reading "Capoeira" in the thumbnail I already knew it was Dance Bard, for any non-Brazilian fan, capoeira is a mix of martial art, dance and music, it was how slaves fought against the colonizers and we used dance and music as a way for the slave owners not to see that we were training a martial art.
Although nowadays it is not as effective in self-defense as Brazilian jiu-jitsu and is not good in closed spaces, it was very effective against Portuguese soldiers and would require more than one dragão (basically an elite troop) to capture a single capoeirista.
BJJ guy here, I think BJJ is more popular - but I wouldn’t say it’s more effective. BJJ has no striking techniques; no kicks, no punches, no clinching.
By that standard alone I’d say capoeira is more effective. There is a huge problem in BJJ where practitioners feel BJJ is “more effective”, and are under the false belief they are fighters.
Do I prefer BJJ? Of course. I’ve done it for close to 10 years. Have I come to the realization that there are flaws in it that can be supplemented by other arts, that is true as well.
I’ve been playing a dancer bard for 2 months now in adventurer’s league and I’ve really enjoyed it, ended the year at level 11. Our regular DM ALWAYS rolls low for his NPCs and monsters so while it does sorta suck to use my limited inspirations on it, I used quite Tandem Footwork at least once a session, speeding up boss fights quite a bit as it pretty much guaranteed that the party went first. I took the new entertainer background meaning I could give out free heroic inspirations once a session. My stat array was 18 charisma, 16 dex, 14 con and wisdom, 10 intelligence and 7 strength, + 2 charisma for 20 with entertainer + 1 dex with entertainer for 17. I had an amulet of health bringing my con to 19, a + 3 rhythm maker’s drum for 20 DC and + 12 spell attack by the end and bracers of defence meaning that once I also maxed out my dex my AC was 22. I took expertise in stealth, sleight of hand, acrobatics and performance and I was a Halfling (2024) which meant I could use other people as human shields.
I love that you still use the cute swarm that attacks you whenever you even dare to mention silvery barbs
you also missed that inspiring footwork also lets you punch that enemy so you can drag them out, give them a face slap and drag them back in which seems so fun
i wish i could convince my dm to play dance bard in his games (he doesnt use 2024 rules)
Hold me closer, Tony Danza
This is correct.
I thought it was "Hold me close, young Tony Danza?" Like Taxi or early Who's the Boss Danza.
Ashardalon's Stride is the perfect choice for the Dancer Bard (that picks wizard). Like the other spells you mentioned , the off turn movement just synergies so well with it. Plus, unlike the others, A.S. Has always worked like that, so it feels less cheesy. So at bard 10, Ashardalon's Stride and Wall of Force are easily my go toos
What I love about this chanel. Greatly put together. Time stamps. Links to video that are mentioned.
Thanks Colby! ❤
So I realized Star Lord (Peter Quill) from Guardians of the Galaxy is a Collage of Dance Bard. He specifically dances and plays music to inspire himself and his companions in combat specifically effecting their movement, has a high charisma, and uses some unarmed combat. I suppose Colby mentioned footloose which Peter references as a personal inspiration. I would say if you want to build a Star Lord inspired build in D&D a college of Dance bard is the way to go.
a video about bards, released right on my birthday? hell yeah
Happy birthday!
Happy Birthday!
Happy Bardthday
Dammit UA-cam give this man some more cards!!!
The not-so tiny dancer.
The breathing edits in the bloopers get me every time.
Time to give a whole new meaning to dance dance revolution
Even if it's not the strongest, College of Dance feels like it'll be so fun to play. But if there's anyone I trust to make it strong, it's Colby. I'll definitely be taking notes on this one!
Leading Evasion was moved from 6 to 14 because everyone complained that it was way too good to be level 6.
People didn't like that they got a better version of a monk abikity a level earlier than monks.
@@sjhsoccerthat also gave it to the rest of the party
I didn't disagree, but I was ok with it level 6 because it's a subclass feature.
Inspiring Movement being moved to level 6, on the other hand, I am a bit salty about. I really liked the idea of having a low-level, reliable reaction attack.
I was hoping this would be a small race to really live up to the Tiny Dancer joke.
Havent watched it all yet,but i think you forgot a key thing about how dance bards 6th level feature interacts with their 3rd. Because you're spending a bardic inspiration die, you get to make an attack as part of that reaction as well
This brings to mind Fabien seacaster 💚 spring break, I believe in you 🤣
I JUST started watching Fantasy High, but now I'm INCREDIBLY interested to see where, specifically, this comes into play! 😂
@robbieabel9053 you are in for such a treat my friend, enjoy the ride! 😁
I think the best way to help/fix the College of Dance Bard is to make Agile Strikes read like this:
When you expend a use of your Bardic Inspiration or cast an Abjuration or Enhancement spell as part of an action, a Bonus Action, or a Reaction, you can make one Unarmed Strike as part of that action, Bonus Action, or Reaction.
I almost want to skip to the end to see the outtakes are just you singing Elton John for 7 minutes straight
9:38 love the fam showing up.
16:00 more fam!
I mean, it's not 7 minutes... but...
Back in Pathfinder 1e there is a "battle dancer bard" the Dervish of Dawn
He don't buff the team, but have the double power only for him using the "Battle Dance" (Bardic Inspiration) and lvl 6 have a free Haste Spell when dance, so is a good melee Fighter
Tandem Footwork I think might be the most slept on new ability/spell in the 2024 rules. Yes, Dance Bards seem like they want to be Melee but it's almost a misnomer. Adding anywhere from 3-5 to your entire Party's initiative every combat is low key bonkers. Add at least 1 person with the Alert origin feat, and you will be able to get your most important person to go first nearly every time. And that could turn entire campaign ending encounters into a cake walk. Such an amazing support feature on what is already arguably the best support class in the game
Capoeira is the perfect martial art for a dance bard
41:18
"I cast Hold Monster, with my tiny dancer"
In the tune of the song.
It's a true shame the Dance Bard doesn't have Extra Attack. Somthing akin to the Valor Bard extra attack would have made the Dance Bard stand out and be a lot more appealing. Alas, Multiclassing exists atleast.
There is one little thing that lets you get an extra punch with your reaction as a dance bard. College of Dance's 3rd and 6th level interact because since you spend bardic die as a reaction you can also punch in that same reaction. If only you could sneak attack with a punch for crazy rogue milticlasses
Capoeira was the first thought I had! I used to practice it for a while. By far most fun martial art I've done.
I would love to see a build that tries to use both the eldritch knights war magic and bladesinger/valor bard extra attack to fire two eldritch blasts with their action and another one with their bonus action!
If tried to do some thinking myself, but I just couldn’t fit a way to get that including CME and agonizing Blast by lvl 17, as that would require Wiz 7, fighter 7, sorc 2, warlock 2
(Damn agonizing blast for having a lvl 2 requirement, otherwise eldritch adept would work)
I'm going to make a vampire based on this build that charms people into dancing the Salsa with him and while they're dancing a giant whirlwind of roses fills the air (cloud of daggers that the vampire is immune to) to escape the dance you can either make the wisdom save at the start of your turn or you can make a contested performance check against him and if you win, you take over the dance, grappling him in return amd becoming immune to the CoD while he stops being immune.
40:04 WAIT! Dance bards can make an unarmed strike as a part of inspiring movement since their level 3 feature says they can make an unarmed strike as a part of their reaction if they expend a bardic die in that reaction which we do in inspiring movement. I checked the linked math and the number of hits stayed at 2 while it should have been 3, due to the reaction attack! That means the damage should go up by at least 4 to 8 points!
2 things that make me stop, Spike Growth and Cloud of Daggers. It's just not how I want to play. Nothing against people that do, but once I hear those words I know the build isn't for me.
Lol look at this guy control and cheese grating is too strong lmao
@@Hawaii_Foxx-0 You can certainly have that as your take-away if you want to.
I'm completely the same this has turned into 50 shades of spike growth/cloud of daggers over and over i pretty much click off immediately now
ok, what about moonbeam and spirit guardian
@@moriyasanae8130 It's the "put this down and toss someone back and forth into them" playstyle that I was referring to when I said it's not how I want to play. Cheese grating, as has been called.
I said those words tell me the build isn't for me because in this case it means that the build is going to center around using them. They're the core concept of the build. It'd be like if someone said they don't want to play as a healer and people started going "This guy can't handle heal spells! What, you never cast healing word?" like they were personally offended over a preference.
Cool to finally see your take on the Dance Bard! When I was thinking for a build with this subclass, I ended up taking 4 levels in Warlock (2 levels would be enough but I wanted a subclass for some free misty step) mainly for Eldritch Blast and picking up the Spell Sniper feat to flavour it as magically empowered punshes, giving the whole build a very spell-casting Monk feel. It would be less reliant on a concentration spell for damage so it'd be easier to use come classic bard control spells and dish out inspiration for your allies, though I haven't done any damage calculations for this build. I'm still not entirely sure about this build and if it wouldn't be better to actually go Monk and maybe multiclass into a WIS caster if you really want some magic, though. But I do really love the flavour of a dancing combatant coupled with good charisma skills.
The build:
Wood Elf (extra spells without overlap from Warlock subclass), Entertainer background, 15+1 DEX, 14 CON, 15+2 CHA, 10 WIS
Bard 1
Warlock 2: Agonising blast, Eldritch Mind, Lessons of the First Ones taking Alert
Bard 4: Dance subclass, Spell Sniper
Warlock 4: Archefey subclass, War Caster feat, replace Eldritch Mind with Pact of the Tome or honestly any other invocation you prefer
Bard X: Inspiring Leader at Bard 8 (or any other feat that gives CHA) to max out Charisma
Spells: Mostly PYF but obviously Eldritch Blast, and I would recommend Armor of Agathys as well.
16:01 was so cute!
That movement ability would make for a really cool team up build with a Cleric using Spirit Guardians or a Wizard using Yolande’s Regal Presence or such. Call it Two to Tango or in honor of Wicked: Dancing through Life.
Great video Colby! was dabbling with the idea of a grappling bard/monk but was really hating the redundancies of dazzling footwork + martial arts. The combo with cloud of daggers is something I haven't thought of and really makes me reconsider it
"A dead Dance Bard does zero dancing" someone forgot about the Monster Mash
MJ. Thriller.
@voodoophil Wow, I think you just gave everyone who likes playing Necromancers a very creepy way to interact with the Dance Bard and/or a secret campaign goal to cast Animate Dead on said Bard's corpse.
Then again, it might be more fun for the Dance Bard to pull Animate Dead for one of their Magical Secrets to show the Necromancer how Thriller is properly done.
@grantstratton2239
Another add on to that, the game Moonwalker was a Michael Jackson beat-em-up game with dance kicks, hat throwing and ultimate ability, a dance, that killed a whole screen full of foes.
8:54 OMG I played Friedrich in high school too haha
A character concept I’ve had in mind is a dance bard with a level 1 paladin dip for better single target damage from smites, divine favor, and shield of faith. Taking grappler feat and being focusing on athleticism etc abilities rather than just being able to seduce the dragon makes it seem like a really fun build for being a freak athlete performer or martial artist.
You gotta go 3 pally at some point for Oath of Glory
I feel like the Thriller zombie dance has potential, Dance Macabre is even a spell 😊
Not an optimized build, but a fun way to do a dance bard would be to use True Strike. Use like a dagger for a thrown weapon too or maybe a hand axe (that I would want to flavor as a chakram). You would have the AC and could use charisma for main attacks that scale without extra attack. And you could still use your dance attacks as needed with inspiration with dex.
Can take that a one level monk dip too and still use bardic inspiration at times so you can inspire AND punch when needed to not lose out on that attack. Plus you would have monk weapons for at least a d6 on daggers or whatever.
Alternatively maybe a different dip or a feat for Nick mastery for more attacks. But then you aren't using true strike. But a dancing flurry of blades with a dagger dagger kick, while inspiring and moving allies around sounds fun 😁
Hi I think a sustained damage build that's about abusing draconic sorcerer's elemental affinity trying to trigger it as much as possible per turn would be pretty cool
The Dance Bard: D&D Ep #194
Level 01 (see above) [sorcerer 1, species & background]
Return of the Silvery Barbarian Mob (@16:04)
Level 02 (see above) [bard 1]
Level 03 (@18:51) [bard 2 & expertise]
Level 04 (@19:24) [bard 3 & subclass]
Level 05 (@23:03) [monk 1]
Level 06 (@25:38) [bard 4 & feat]
Level 07 (see above) [bard 5]
Level 08 (@35:26) [bard 6]
Level 09 (@38:11) [bard 7]
Level 10 (see above) [bard 8 & feat]
Level 11 (@40:58) [bard 9 & expertise]
Level 12 (@41:55) [bard 10 & magical secrets]
Level 13 (@44:53) [bard 11]
Level 14 (see above) [bard 12 & feat]
Level 15 (@49:15) [bard 13]
Level 16 (@49:53) [bard 14]
Level 17 (@50:36) [bard 15]
i always feel inclined to take counterspell as magical secrets, specially if i can somehow grab sorcerer 2 for a "subtle" uncounterable counterspell and on our build also allows to quicken spells while not losing the attack action for a free grapple
2:04 still working on my homebrew for the alchemist and artificer in general, I'm really happy with how it's turning out so far!
So excited to see this breakdown! I had finally got to play in a game recently using 1DnD stuff and picked the Dance Bard for its fisticuffs and spells. My two favorite things.
The bardic die as the scaling for the hands is cool but does feel a little weird when the demigod monk is technically not punch as hard as a bard.
Far from a perfect class but if you had asked me to build my own classes based on all my favorite things I wouldve described the Dance Bard and the New Fey warlock teleporter so I am eatinnn
For real need these in BG3 ASAP althought we are getting more subclasses officially which killed my series covering mods lol
I was so excited for Dance Bard when it came out in the playtest, my first D&D character was a dancing bard and was so excited to finally have an official archetype. The grappling strats aren't all that encouraged at our table though, and the final product is... Well. I guess I'm back to re-flavoring Lore.
Seems STRONG to me. Excited to see what you do with it!
20:56 there’s no costume as flashy as the one I was born with!
34:11 A rare spicy Colby appears! 😮
The backstory you made for this one... With some tweaking you could totally make this Raz from Psychonauts
Grappling, damage dealing dancer? That is a terrifying tango
My player is about to play a lvl 20 dance bard for my Throne of Bloodstone campaign. They are using the 2014 DMG Gnoll for the fun of it. I can’t wait to see how the subclass plays.
Love the “breath cuts”. Next one should use them to play a song.
The Kevin Baconator dance bard; "Everybody cut Footloose!"
Thanks Colby
If we don’t get to see Colby’s dance moves this episode im starting a riot
Colby: If your reason to play a bard is to buff your friends and debuff your allies... Sounds legit! 3:11
You mentioned Brazil i'll automatically subscribe 🇧🇷🥳
For inspiration also check out Dimension 20s Fantasy High "Fabian Seacaster", who dabbles in Dance Barding, even before it was in the rules :)
Just started a new campaign with a Tabaxi Dance Bard and we were allowed to grab a magic item so naturally I went with the Dancing Rapier. I have *options* lol
Came for the build, stayed for the Christmas Tree chopping.
Yeah the Dance Bard might not get some of martial features some would want for it but the fact it can pretty easily get an 18 AC without a multiclass dip/feat just is a really strong defense. That plus the initiative boost are 2 features that to me, already make this Subclass incredible. You have (with the Valour bard) the best defense and that + going earlier in the combat is just so strong and it feels like people underrate these things alone. They aren't as flashy but they make you better at what you wanna do as a Bard. You can try and maximize your Initiative (for example also take alert + your lvl 6 feature) and you can pretty reliably get Hypnotic pattern out before most if not all enemies get a turn and win a lot of combats outright
Thank you for sharing your high school picture! Musical theatre Colby 😌
Edit: Watch the outtakes! Hilarious! 🤣
I'm actually making a dance bard right now with a fighter dip to get weapon masteries and 2 weapon fighting then using booming blade.
Be sure to check with your dm, "RAW" booming blade doesn't trigger two weapon fighting
I know the video isn't about this, but you brought up rogues and damage. I truly wish the rogues had a feature that the old Tempest Clerics had. I wish that a limited number of times a day that they could just deal maximum damage with their sneak attack. Or since rolling dice is fun, bring back the Assassin feature of critical strikes. I mean like once per short rest, allow Rogues to really deal some actual burst damage. Because after level 5, the lack of extra attack really hurts.
A Dancing Grappler. Welcome to the Involuntary Tango!
Called it! Cloud of daggers.
If you've always dreamed of playing Richard Simmons in d&d, congratulations this is your subclass
Depending on how degenerate your DM will let you be, an alternative use of the dance bard’s unarmed strikes would be to grapple _allies_ in order to double up on e.g. spirit guardians damage. (The image of tangoing with your party members around the battlefield is funny too).
This would let you avoid the monk dip since party members can just choose to fail your saving throws, which makes the stat spread much cleaner. You’d probably want grappler still though.
My Dance Bard isn’t as hard hitting as this, but I went human, picked up Wizard Initiate for Fire Bolt/True Strike/And Shield.
Then took the entertainer background for Musician, giving Heroic Inspiration to some party members.
Took the Inspiring Leader feat at level 4 to give temp hp to all my party members.
We’re level 5, and it’s fun right now, but will be taking fount of Moonlight and Yolande’s Regal presence when I can, and The Speedy feat to bounce around like a pinball with Yolande’s.
Right now I either use True Strike on my Light Crossbow if I’m not in melee range or True Strike on my Dagger, then Bonus action unarmed strike.
Thanks for the idea! Now I want to do a Gomez Aadams blade lock/ dance bard who is a ( literal) Slave to the Rhythm. Ask a Gen X buddy if you don’t get the reference
Spike growth at bard 10 with magical secrets? With grappler feat allowing full movement while grappling it might be optimal in some cases to drag the target along the edge of that, and since no upcast it always costs a level 2 slot saving those higher slots for other grapple bard chicanery.
Love the gasp compilation
I’ve been trying to make this subclass work as some sort of interesting multi class but could never build something satisfying.
So I just took 1 level in Fighter (lol), handed him a Battle Axe to use True Strike with and went Bard the rest of the way.
It’s not very good, but a naked guy with a big axe who kicks people to inspire his allies is a fun them at least.
A colby build video on my bday? Nice present :3
Woah, two birthdays in the comments!? Happy birthday!
I agree that Capoeira is an absolutely beautiful martial arts and it’s the first thing I thought of when they announced the dance bard, but have you seen the video of a capoeira fighter vs a marine? Super funny 😂
I might have done a 2 level warlock dip instead for an Agonising Truestrike setup.
A troika for two dancers and an industrial blender.
The Dance Bard should totally get extra attack. Maybe make it unarmed only for the second attack but still they just feel like they should have it.
How come not even an honorable mention of Spike Growth? 😀
I mean, with all of the movement shenanigans we are already doing, I was totally expecting it's going to come up 😀
Sure, it does not scale, but dragging the poor grappled soul along the edges sounds like a lot of fun for a level 2 spell slot 😅
The ki to getting the most out of dance bard is monk grappling
I'd like to see a Dance Bard/rogue combo, and a dance bard/monk combo. I custom built Dancer as a D&D class a few years ago, with war dancer, tribal dancer, fey dancer and arcane dancer as the subclasses (chosen at level 1). Each subclass had a "dance" ability that used move, action, and bonus action to trigger a 30' radius effect. Never had a chance to play test it, sadly.
Don't know if you put it on the damage calc without mentioning it, but Inspiring Movement also gives you an unarmed strike.
@@vitaly2422 yes we’re using it to grapple or, if they’re grappled, kick :)
I think that your interpretation of Inspiring Movement may be a little bit generous.
Even though the Feature says "When an enemy you can see ends its turn within 5 feet of you, you can take a Reaction..." I think it would be reasonable to rule that the Reaction still takes place as part of their turn.
Reaction isn't an additional turn, it is part of the turn that triggers it, so if you have already applied damage from Cloud of Daggers on that enemy's turn, you should not be applying it a second time based on something you do as a Reaction, as the Reaction is part of that turn, even though they are "ending their turn."
Reaction's definition says "A Reaction is a special action taken in response to a trigger defined in the Reaction’s description. You can take a Reaction on another creature’s turn, and if you take it on your turn, you can do so even if you also take an action, a Bonus Action, or both."
So I think the reason that the feature makes the distinction of "ends its turn within 5 feet of you," is so that you don't trigger a Reaction when an enemy passes within 5 feet of you, but keeps going, especially if they have a Feature such as Flyby, where they wouldn't otherwise provoke an Attack of Opportunity by moving past you.
Now I'm wondering about a combination Dance Bard, Ancient Paladin, and Archfey Warlock, flavored as a knight of a fairy court.
I think we will find many of the builds using emenations as cheese graters will get disallowed by most tables.
This is how you get your PhD in dance. 😉
And by the way: The Illrigger gets CON and CHA save proficiency, if that helps.
the mob! loved all the cameos this video :)
I think you mixed up thinking about Monks as being the way they used to be. They now start with a d6 monk die, and scale up to a d12. Their scaling works the same way as Dance Bard.
Eeee capoeira mentioned
PLIS COME TO BRASIL!!!!
I've wanted to make a dodge-tank character who's basically just an old man who loves telling stories of "ye olden days", annoying both his own party members and any potential enemies they encounter, but somehow keep surviving every deadly fight without as much as a scratch. Somewhere between a loremaster, bard, and a drunken fist type of monk/fighter.
Could this be what I'm looking for...?
34:15 don't worry part of me is within you. Besides, in rpgs that's the reason those numbers written on items and equipments right? We're meant to be better
Great, now I have fallout boy stuck in my head XD
Dance Bard might low-key be the best Bard subclass, it's just being terribly slept on because the ribbon features distract from the main ones. The half-baked Unarmed Strike features *feel* bad and incomplete, even though they're merely a ribbon to the best form of Unarmored Defense in the game (except Lv20 Monk). Party Initiative boost is incredibly powerful -- Watchers is (was?) the consensus best Paladin subclass almost solely on the back of that feature -- plus you get a souped-up version of one of the best defensive features in the game (Evasion).