Clicked the link and got the preview pdf. I too wish that there were scaling items in 5e. More than what we got in Fizban's, even. That's the one thing I truly love about Pathfinder 1e's scaling items. Your weapon gains bonuses as you level up, and it has a value to it which tells you how much less gold your character should be earning at those levels so you're keeping the balance of the group in mind.
Every time I hear “I’m beholden to the spreadsheet” or “ What can I say I like big numbers” I imagine Colby being a Paladin who worships the god of math.
Finished the preamble and have to take a moment to appreciate Colby for providing that top tier content even while on vacation. Alright! Back to the video!
One really important thing to mention is that this build doesn't require enemies to fail any saving throws (unless you're using Slow), it just works as long as you're hitting your attack rolls. Which at higher levels, as magic resistance, great saving throw bonuses and even legendary resistances get common, makes it even more effective.
I love this one, purely for the fact it does seem like the most gishiest spellsword yet. Actually using one hand to attack with a weapon and the other to cast a proper ranged attack spell is all I've ever wanted from a build!
In the lore there is a whole branch of blade song that focuses on whip as a weapon. To my mind that's a perfect vehicle for using a magic whip that allows the caster to do touch attack spells from 15 to 25 feet away depending on the kind of whip.
I have this beautiful image in my head of this Whipdancer weaving through the battlefield freezing enemies in place and as they dance they continue just cracking their whip overhead and around themselves to the beat they dance to. I also just gotta mention that since you have reach from the whip and increased movement speed from bladesong even if you don't fully freeze someone in place (or don't want to or can't use slow/spirit shroud) you still have the mobility to do some solid hit and run tactics. (Not to mention as is always important to remember for these sorts of builds, you are still a wizard so chuck out the fireball when you need to!)
You don't need war caster to dual wield whips and cast Ray of Frost since you can cast it as an Artificer spell, which has an M component. That said, you'd lose out on your Enhanced Arcane Focus if you were dual wielding weapons, and you would need WC to cast Wizard spells that have an S component but not an M one.
If you keep the enhanced weapon infusion, you shouldn't need Warcaster, because: "After you gain the Infuse Item feature at 2nd level, you can also use any item bearing one of your infusions as a spellcasting focus." and at least one of your whips can use it, right?
Sure, but Tools Required only affects your Artificer spells so you wouldn't be able to cast Wizard spells with Somatic components and no Material components without dropping a whip
Vacation Colby! You're a legend for keeping up the great content, hope you're still finding lots of time to relax and enjoy family fun. Thank you for making my work day a little brighter!
I immediately realized what you were going for, as I heard the title and you mentioning, that you need the slasher feat.. I theorycrafted exactly this spell/feat combo with Bladesinger, minu sthe whip, a while ago, and I am excited to see your approach on it. Nice work as always!
I love that you got so excited about the idea of dual wielding wipes that you paid the warcaster tax. 😊 It's always great to see people that excited about something. Also this may only be a teir 4 build but to be frank I would feel more comfortable takeing your teir 4 builds to a table that's not full of optimizers then i would your teir 1 builds. That fact that, as you pointed out, they tend to also have some battle feild control is an excellent bonus.
Personally I would start with 1 level in Artificer for this build because your concentration is going to be so important. I'd also go Custom Lineage since being smal sized to ride your steel defender and darkvision is clutch. You could then go +1 Int/+1Con at level 5. Lastly, I'm surprised you didn't mention Summon Shadow Spawn. It's ability to reduce an enemies speed by 20 feet will be key for faster enemies.
You haven't done a two character build in a while, so if the reason is for lack of ideas I had one recently. what about one character who takes a whole load of control options to move as many creatures into a line, while the other focuses on max damage line based spells like lightning bolt. Call them the "line em up" and "knock em down" Doing it mostly for the name i'm sure it would be a ton of fun to play.
I think Colby has stated that 2 character builds don't do as well, but I think that does sound like a lot of fun. As has been stated before battlefield movement is very powerful.
Transmute rock is another fantastic option for this type of build. The extreme movement penalty and chance to restrain enemies synergizes well with the other features here, and it’s non concentration
I played a similar build for a lvl 20 "one shot": 17 bladesinger, 3 rune knight. started fighter for con saves, action surge, and then the rune knight features are great for bolstering concentration (frost rune) and protecting the party (cloud rune) with giant's might buffing melee damage. combo that with greater invisibility, freezing sphere and being a winter eladrin, i had myself a fun frost mage with plenty of dpr and nova potential
I know you don't usually include magical items in your build, but with this build putting a Ring of Spell Storing or Ion Stone of Reserve on your Familiar and Steel Defender allows for 2 additional concentration spells.
I like the idea of starting a character with an infused prosthetic arm and a +1 Sword, grabbing the Int attacks and a "sparring robot", then going all the way up to your Wish casting wizard at the capstone. I just think shooting a Thornwhip out your arm and following it up with some stabs seems really cool, even if you're losing out on a more tangible buff.
You don't have to take warcaster. You can pick up ray of frost as an artificer cantrip. In any where wizard gets an ASI you can throw the redundant ray of frost out. That way you don't need to pay the warcaster tax to cast ray of frost while dual wielding whips as you have one infusion on you
Really cool build, love this one. Having slasher, ray of frost and whip synergy is such good thinking to this specific job and providing such a cool conceptual character!
This reminds me so much of your Fathomless Frost Mage! (out of cards). I think I'd try to combine this with that for more damage, albeit at the cost of being MAD. Maybe in the Lovecraftian sense, given I'd be using a whip with Tentacles of the Deep! Between that ability, Slasher, Spirit Shroud, Lance of Lethergy, I could slow by 40 and would have a lot of chances to get at least 30 feet reduction. Maybe start one level of Divine Soul for Con and 2d4 to hit? Hmm… Back on the topic of the video's build, if you want to keep using the Iron Defender, it might be worth it for a fellow party member to include it in an Aid spell. That will stop it from auto-dying in any area effect. It's what I do when I want to beef up a Warlock's Pact of the Chain familiar (tangent: Clockwork Soul's Bulwark of Law helps a lot, for a familiar-focused build).
"we have a character that can lock one enemy out of the combat, while still doing some damage and staying safe" Oh wow, you built a better Monk than Monk, good job.
Yet another great and inpiring video! Thanks for still making this for all of us! Hope you're still getting all the time you desire to spend with your family on vacation!
Welcome back to our table’s group chat, Critlander! One of my players was proposing a Githzerai Shepherd Druid-Armorer Artificer, and I was in the process of making him justify how those synergize.
Another interesting note is that there is a ranged version of this build that is much safer and probably does more damage (since it is SAD all along the way and uses EB as its main damage source.) It’s a Fathomless Warlock that uses Lance of Lethargy and Repelling Blast to keep the enemy from ever getting anywhere useful with Grasp of the Deep further slowing and Summon Shadowspawn allowing for even further slowing (all the way to 40 ft when required but it gives the enemy a target.) The addition of Repelling Blast also allows for movement shenanigans. If UA is allowed 6 levels of Lorehold Sorcerer allows for both Slasher and Lance of Lethargy giving the full 30 and allowing for a push on higher move speed enemies.
My solution to Mage Armor vs Studded Leather on my Bladesingers has been crafting scrolls! For 25gp and 1 workday (8 hours) you get a casting of Mage Armor. I'd stock up on them whenever I could. Make sure to grab that Arcana proficiency, it's definitely worth it.
I said “screw it” and took Eldritch Adept for an At-Will use of Mage Armor. And with how our DM does Stat rules I’m usually sitting at either a 22 or a 27 (since my Dex and Int aren’t maxed out yet) with the Shield Spell.
Colby this is a wonderful idea. I'm currently playing a blade singer 2, that is stabby stabby for a couple of min a day then battle field controller. Trying to combine two of your old ideas that I really liked.
I'm SO HAPPY!!! I had asked what the limit was for stealing enemy movement was on another build and HERE is a build that Weaponizes that!! I know it's most likely not just me asking about the limit of movement stealing that inspired this build, but I feel heard and I APPRECIATE that.
Another great 3rd level option to ensure that you reduce a creature's speed to 0 is Summon Shadowspawn. The Despair option lets you reduce a creature's speed by 20 feet when they start their turn within 5 feet of it. That's fairly potent. Not as much as Slow but a nice alterative if you want to control the battlefield AND add an extra ally on the field to duke it out with creatures. Plus, it can make creatures within 30 feet of it frightened for 1 minute. It can be a very effective way of blocking enemies from advancing. Still a cool build all the same.
So I have a confession. I use your builds and pick specific features that encapsulate the build and theme to turn it into a monster statblock haha. Makes for crazy encounters!
I keep waiting Waiting For the Inquisitive Rogue if you get the song I'm using as the base for that, your Hogwarts house gets 150 points. But on the Inquisitive Rogue I think the Pallid Elf is the best race for that subclass as they get racial advantage on Insight rolls. Being able to mark someone as your target so you always get sneak attack until you use the feature again or the target dies is quite good (having disadvantage on the attack still negates sneak attack as normal)
Just started binging these videos the other week at work and I am in love with the channel!! However I would like to humbly request a build involving a net and trident kind of like a gladiator style haha but keep the content coming whatever it may be!!
I’m pretty sure the minuses apply before the halving because I thought about a Grease, Ray of Frost, Slasher combo only to discover a Sage Advice that basically said: “the half occurs first” so assuming you have the enemy prone and their speed is 40. You reduce their speed by 20 then half it giving them 10 ft not the other way around which would give them 0. Expect Table Variance on trying to deprive a 40 ft speed creature of its speed without grappling or restraining it. These creatures are often balanced around their high speed so allowing them to be cut to 0 the same way as a 30 ft speed creature is probably a bad idea for a DM and will likely not fly.
A song of artifice and fire. Start artificer to get proficiency in CON saves, light and medium armor, all simple weapons, thieves' tools, tinker's tools, artisan's tools, etc. As someone who has been one-shotted as a level 1 wizard (or sorcerer) multiple times in the past, I know that starting with no defense is a non-starter. You can switch over to wizard at level 3 (using infusions to turn your armor and either weapon or wand into +1 versions for free? Yes, please!). Sure, you delay getting to high-level wizard spells and extra attack, but I say you should first lay the groundwork for getting there, and only once you've got the basics in place should you worry about moving on to the bladesinger portion of the build. I would go either eladrin, astral elf, shadar kai, or half-elf, in the latter case nabbing elf weapon training instead of a pair of skills (and trading all the weapons for additional tools, since battlesmith will eventually grant proficiency in all martial weapons). This leaves elven accuracy on the table as an option later on in the build. Also: infused items can be used as a spellcasting focus, so if your armor or weapon is infused, you don't technically need the enhanced focus... although it would still certainly help.
No one mentions that a level 1 Artificer dip will achieve intelligence based weapon attacks. The multi-purpose tool that artificers get let's you learn 1 cantrip from any class, and count it as an artificer for you. So now you've got intelligence shillelagh for 8 hours.
Sure, if your DM is generous enough to make one of those available to you. Colby tends not to assume that you'll be able to get a particular magic item when making these builds
@@d_andrews I feel bad for anyone who doesnt get items that they would like for their character. As a DM and player I dont see the point in giving magic items out that the players dont ask for
Your videos are such fun. Thank you for continuing to make them even though I've migrated over to Pathfinder 2E I'm still tempted back by your video's and a couple other people. If you have time or inclination I would love to hear your version of the ultimate Pathfinder 2E healer. Listening to a few podcasts I continue to be astounded by the number of ways that healing is possible. And I think even a lot of people that regularly play the game don't realize how broad the possibilities are. I even heard one of my old friends saying that he would never go over to 2E because clerics don't work, therefore healers don't work and the game is just too deadly. I'm not sure I can do the best job refuting him because I'm still relatively new to the game also and a little confused by all the options, but it seems to me like Even though Pathfinder to eat is a deadly game, the amount of healing you can get done is amazing and you can take a whole party from a near TPK to fully healed and wound free, if not in the midst of battle definitely after battle, provided your characters are constructed properly.
Death Domain Cleric + Swarmkeeper Ranger Gathered Swarm works on Spiritual Weapon. Use it to pull enemies into spirit guardians and position them so you can hit two targets with Toll the Dead.
Haha love it when he says im beholden to the spreadsheet. It reminds me of a song "you cant always get what tou want but you can try sometimes you might you get what you need."
Came for the build. Stayed for Les Miserables! I was actually thinking of watching it again soon, so that was dope to hear it come up lol. Love the idea of the magic-slinging spellsword. Sounds really fun to play!
I built one of these for a friend - Battlesmith Bladesinger with the Dhampir Lineage - his defender was a wolf, and we chose spells to match all of the classic abilities of the vampires ( flights, transformation, speed, etc )
I really liked the approach for this build and have been really enjoying the videos. I've especially enjoyed the ones where you've built characters around subclasses that aren't widely used or tend to be viewed as weak. I haven't caught up on every build yet, so forgive me if I missed it (and please let me know what to watch!), but have you considered doing some builds based primarily around less commonly used races? For example, playing as a minotaur seems fun flavor-wise, but I'm struggling to come up with a build that takes advantage of those features and isn't like playing without any racial features. Best I could come up with was 2 levels of Monk, 3 levels of fighter (Rune Knight), 2 more levels of Monk (Open hand, but mostly PYF), and then the rest in fighter. In actual play, I can't imagine myself not taking the fifth level of monk for stunning strike, but as soon as you boost your martial arts die to 1d6, minotaur seems useless (unless there's a cool piercer interaction or unarmed striking with our head lets us doing something extra with our hands). Similarly, the unarmed fighting fighting style from fighting initiate or one level in fighter renders it similarly useless.
I can't tell you how amazing following him has been. My new character is literally a wizard artificer that helped build a rich Artificer. He helps with the running of the city. It's a continent my dm will be helping me make called the skies of arcadia. My character starts out as variant human. There's other things I would love
This build reminds me of two characters I have made. One is an eldritch knight/War Wizard tank that uses Slasher, booming Blade, and eventually spirit Shroud to slow speed to keep enemies in combat with my tank and away from allies. My other character is a whip rogue with Slasher that slows and dashes away to stay out of danger. Very opposite in playstyle lol. I need to check out your other whip build and see if it's similar to that
Shadow monk 8 artificer Armorer 3 with heavy armor is an awesome multiclass. The gauntlets that apply disadvantage count as monk weapons, bonus action dodge with heavy armor is amazing and you get evasion from the monk so your super tanky.
Build Idea to add to your channel. The "PeaceBringer - offering the eternal peace of death". Adding 1 Level of Peace Cleric (ya I know) to the Double Phantom. Just saying at level 18 (which is rough with your level 17 cutoff) without magic weapons 83.8 DPR vs AC 30, Prof in Con, Wis, and Dex Saves, Advantage on every attack and Disadvantage on every attack against you while rocking a 20 AC and still being a badass in the skill department. Your party will love you too for your help on their saves and DPR.
Been playing around with the idea of a Wild Magic Barbarian and an Alchemist Artificer who rages and drinks an elixir on the first turn of battle. Please give us your spin on this!
Before I begin your video, you should know I'll be judging this build on it's ability to safely and successfully explore environments as well as how well it socializes. 😜
My party decided in the last session that the responsibility of wielding a magical longsword goes to my 7th level bladesinger. So now I'm here looking for a way to salvage a failing character build because my plan was either a single classed bladesinger or blasesinger X/battle master 3. Thankfully, Colby had the solution I needed!
Ok, I’m curious, could you make a druid-fighter? Perhaps a spores druid that’s got flower petals as “spores”. I really like the idea of a rose knight that actually uses roses. Perhaps a fighter with a 3 level dip into druid so they can get their hands if spike growth. Then mix spore damage with spike growth and spores+ battle master maneuvers that shove them back into the spike growth?
Would build it with a rock gnome... For flavor. She was trained by an elf to be a bladesinger, and her teacher realized that her height is getting her in trouble so together, they created a new technique using a bladed whip. Her innate draw for small machines then slowly draws her to the path of artificery.
Have you someone how snuck into my head recently, because I have been(casually) working on a build extremely similar to this. I saw a short from Monkey DM about Spirit Shroud being trash, and thought I'd make a build around it, to prove that point wrong(as I think Spirit Shroud has a lot of value with the amount it accomplishes as a 3rd lvl spell). I can't be mad at you for stealing it though, as you did a better job than I was doing. I never considered using the whip, but having the extra range is definitely a bonus here. I wpuld like to draw attention to Opportunity Attacks, which you did not mention. Having Slasher means that you can lockdown targets that have more than 30ft of movement(up to 40ft), while still using Spirit Shroud. However, I think the real benefit is that it allows to "pick on" a second target, if you have one in range. This makes your control even better. And if you could combine this with the War Magic feature from Eldritch Knight, it would greatly increase your capabilities. On top of that, War Caster allows you to make an Opportunity Attack with a spell that has a 1 action casting time. If I'm not mistaken, this would allow you to trade the weapon attack for Ray of Frost, which would bump you damage. Just some things I think should be kept in mind, when playing this build. Great vid, as always. And I hope you are enjoying France.
Love this build! I didn't think of using a whip reach in this way! I went with a spear with the returning weapon infusion and polearm master with a shield! I like yor build more! but I would start 1st level as a Artificer cause of the Con Save Prof!
A vacation? A break from feeding our neediness? How very dare you sir! A duel! I insist upon a duel! I challenge you to a duel with chickens as the weapon at noon on the 20th of Nevertember. Have a restful break and thanks for your enlightening musings.
Leave it to Colby to find a way to make Spirit Shroud relevant to a control build lmao really enjoyed this one, whip + Ray of Frost is a dope combo If there's something I can say though, I think this build actually demonstrates why Battle Smith isn't actually a good dip for Bladesinger. The fact is just that the "SAD Bladesinger" is a myth because 1. You still need a good dexterity for your AC, and 2. You can already leave your Dexterity at 16 and focus on maxing INT and be perfectly fine. Going from a +3 to hit to a +5 is actually not that impactful. Even if you are leaning into the gishy side of Bladesinger, INT is already the better stat cause it boosts your AC AND concentration checks AND spells AND (eventually) your weapon damage. So that 3 level investment in Artificer is a dramatic sacrifice for what amounts to almost *nothing*. In fact, I think you would have done more damage as straight Bladesinger cause you'd have 5th level Spirit Shroud by level 9 and etc Das jus me doe, again great job Colby :)))
I would love to see a graviturgy wizard build from you. I'm playing one right now and having a lot of fun (started with one level of artificer, the rest have all been wizard) but I feel like there is a lot more potential to the subclass than I've been utilizing. Having someone like you take a look would probably unlock a lot of cool ideas I didn't even think of ❤
Check out Caliya's Chronicle of Runes here! SpectreCreations.com/d4
Thanks for the shoutout and kind words Colby! ❤ It's been so cool seeing the excitement around this project from fellow rune-lovers. 😄
Is this book an official source and will it be on D&D Beyond?
@@tripleaceh nope! 3rd party publisher of fantastic content!
Clicked the link and got the preview pdf. I too wish that there were scaling items in 5e. More than what we got in Fizban's, even. That's the one thing I truly love about Pathfinder 1e's scaling items. Your weapon gains bonuses as you level up, and it has a value to it which tells you how much less gold your character should be earning at those levels so you're keeping the balance of the group in mind.
@@KevinVideo Enjoy, friend! I hope it serves your table well.
Every time I hear “I’m beholden to the spreadsheet” or “ What can I say I like big numbers” I imagine Colby being a Paladin who worships the god of math.
Oath of the Spreadsheets 😆
@@polyhedralcombatantOath of Algebra
Worshipper of Abacus, oath of Calculus. Holy symbol is the calculator emblazoned on his shield
And if he builds to get find familiar, we shall grant him a Modron
"Have you heard of our Lord and Savior, Arith Metic?"
Finished the preamble and have to take a moment to appreciate Colby for providing that top tier content even while on vacation. Alright! Back to the video!
The Song of Ice and Artifice: D&D Build #140
Level 1:(see above) [wizard 1, race & feat]
Level 2:(see above) [wizard 2 & sub-class]
Level 3:(@17:04) [wizard 3]
Level 4:(@17:45) [wizard 4 & ASI]
Level 5:(@18:04) [wizard 5]
Level 6:(@20:45) [wizard 6]
Level 7:(see above) [artificer 1]
Level 8:(@25:40) [artificer 2]
Level 9:(@26:35) [artificer 3 & sub-class]
Level 10:(see above) [wizard 7]
Level 11:(@31:28) [wizard 8 & ASI]
Level 12:(@31:49) [wizard 9]
Level 13:(@32:28) [wizard 10]
Level 14:(see above) [wizard 11]
Level 15:(@35:41) [wizard 12 & ASI]
Level 16:(@37:20) [artificer 4 & ASI]
Level 17:(@37:49) [wizard 13]
One really important thing to mention is that this build doesn't require enemies to fail any saving throws (unless you're using Slow), it just works as long as you're hitting your attack rolls. Which at higher levels, as magic resistance, great saving throw bonuses and even legendary resistances get common, makes it even more effective.
Man, that character art even looks like Colby. Especially now with his luxurious locks.
Stoked for this build. Battlesmith is one of my favorite subclasses in the game, outside of every Bard that is
I love this one, purely for the fact it does seem like the most gishiest spellsword yet. Actually using one hand to attack with a weapon and the other to cast a proper ranged attack spell is all I've ever wanted from a build!
In the lore there is a whole branch of blade song that focuses on whip as a weapon. To my mind that's a perfect vehicle for using a magic whip that allows the caster to do touch attack spells from 15 to 25 feet away depending on the kind of whip.
I never get tired of the various bladesinger builds! Already can't wait for your next creation too!
I have this beautiful image in my head of this Whipdancer weaving through the battlefield freezing enemies in place and as they dance they continue just cracking their whip overhead and around themselves to the beat they dance to.
I also just gotta mention that since you have reach from the whip and increased movement speed from bladesong even if you don't fully freeze someone in place (or don't want to or can't use slow/spirit shroud) you still have the mobility to do some solid hit and run tactics. (Not to mention as is always important to remember for these sorts of builds, you are still a wizard so chuck out the fireball when you need to!)
You don't need war caster to dual wield whips and cast Ray of Frost since you can cast it as an Artificer spell, which has an M component. That said, you'd lose out on your Enhanced Arcane Focus if you were dual wielding weapons, and you would need WC to cast Wizard spells that have an S component but not an M one.
Yes, a bladsinger build on 4th of July. Can't imagine any better fireworks!
If you keep the enhanced weapon infusion, you shouldn't need Warcaster, because: "After you gain the Infuse Item feature at 2nd level, you can also use any item bearing one of your infusions as a spellcasting focus." and at least one of your whips can use it, right?
Sure, but Tools Required only affects your Artificer spells so you wouldn't be able to cast Wizard spells with Somatic components and no Material components without dropping a whip
@@d_andrewsexcept! Ray of Frost, Shield and Absorb Elements are all Artificer spells and COULD use the infusions as a spell focus.
wizard spells though
The main benefit of War Caster is protecting your concentration. Which is, like, the top priority of any optimized caster.
Vacation Colby! You're a legend for keeping up the great content, hope you're still finding lots of time to relax and enjoy family fun. Thank you for making my work day a little brighter!
I immediately realized what you were going for, as I heard the title and you mentioning, that you need the slasher feat.. I theorycrafted exactly this spell/feat combo with Bladesinger, minu sthe whip, a while ago, and I am excited to see your approach on it. Nice work as always!
I love that you got so excited about the idea of dual wielding wipes that you paid the warcaster tax. 😊 It's always great to see people that excited about something.
Also this may only be a teir 4 build but to be frank I would feel more comfortable takeing your teir 4 builds to a table that's not full of optimizers then i would your teir 1 builds. That fact that, as you pointed out, they tend to also have some battle feild control is an excellent bonus.
Personally I would start with 1 level in Artificer for this build because your concentration is going to be so important. I'd also go Custom Lineage since being smal sized to ride your steel defender and darkvision is clutch. You could then go +1 Int/+1Con at level 5. Lastly, I'm surprised you didn't mention Summon Shadow Spawn. It's ability to reduce an enemies speed by 20 feet will be key for faster enemies.
You haven't done a two character build in a while, so if the reason is for lack of ideas I had one recently. what about one character who takes a whole load of control options to move as many creatures into a line, while the other focuses on max damage line based spells like lightning bolt.
Call them the "line em up" and "knock em down"
Doing it mostly for the name i'm sure it would be a ton of fun to play.
I think Colby has stated that 2 character builds don't do as well, but I think that does sound like a lot of fun. As has been stated before battlefield movement is very powerful.
@@The214thRabidFangirl yeah i think he has said they take twice as much work for fewer views which is fair.
Transmute rock is another fantastic option for this type of build. The extreme movement penalty and chance to restrain enemies synergizes well with the other features here, and it’s non concentration
Great build! Love wizard builds and appreciate your family sharing you with us while on vacation!
I played a similar build for a lvl 20 "one shot": 17 bladesinger, 3 rune knight. started fighter for con saves, action surge, and then the rune knight features are great for bolstering concentration (frost rune) and protecting the party (cloud rune) with giant's might buffing melee damage. combo that with greater invisibility, freezing sphere and being a winter eladrin, i had myself a fun frost mage with plenty of dpr and nova potential
Love the Triple Stumble (Whip/Slasher + Ray of Frost + Spirit Shroud).
"Whip it Good"!
I know you don't usually include magical items in your build, but with this build putting a Ring of Spell Storing or Ion Stone of Reserve on your Familiar and Steel Defender allows for 2 additional concentration spells.
I think going artificer first would be better for the proficiency on CON saves, especially when holding concentration is key to the build.
That's true, but then lvl6 spreadsheet would look like shit 😁
I'd love another Colby/Randall collaboration to see the character come to life as it's described.
Thanks! I love that you simply give an honest reason for your content schedule changing. Keep up the awesome work. I loved the videos with DND shorts.
Thanks mate!!
I like the idea of starting a character with an infused prosthetic arm and a +1 Sword, grabbing the Int attacks and a "sparring robot", then going all the way up to your Wish casting wizard at the capstone.
I just think shooting a Thornwhip out your arm and following it up with some stabs seems really cool, even if you're losing out on a more tangible buff.
You don't have to take warcaster. You can pick up ray of frost as an artificer cantrip. In any where wizard gets an ASI you can throw the redundant ray of frost out. That way you don't need to pay the warcaster tax to cast ray of frost while dual wielding whips as you have one infusion on you
I love that ray of frost whip combo. Very clever.
Really cool build, love this one. Having slasher, ray of frost and whip synergy is such good thinking to this specific job and providing such a cool conceptual character!
Yes! Yes! I’ve been thinking about this build for the past month. Thank you- so much fun!
This reminds me so much of your Fathomless Frost Mage! (out of cards). I think I'd try to combine this with that for more damage, albeit at the cost of being MAD. Maybe in the Lovecraftian sense, given I'd be using a whip with Tentacles of the Deep! Between that ability, Slasher, Spirit Shroud, Lance of Lethergy, I could slow by 40 and would have a lot of chances to get at least 30 feet reduction. Maybe start one level of Divine Soul for Con and 2d4 to hit? Hmm…
Back on the topic of the video's build, if you want to keep using the Iron Defender, it might be worth it for a fellow party member to include it in an Aid spell. That will stop it from auto-dying in any area effect. It's what I do when I want to beef up a Warlock's Pact of the Chain familiar (tangent: Clockwork Soul's Bulwark of Law helps a lot, for a familiar-focused build).
So many references to my country in this video 😄 Au revoir Colby ! Profite bien de tes vacances 😃
"we have a character that can lock one enemy out of the combat, while still doing some damage and staying safe"
Oh wow, you built a better Monk than Monk, good job.
Yet another great and inpiring video! Thanks for still making this for all of us!
Hope you're still getting all the time you desire to spend with your family on vacation!
I like the idea of doing this build and flavouring the weapon as a whip sword. Then you still get the blade song flavour plus it's just fun
Welcome back to our table’s group chat, Critlander! One of my players was proposing a Githzerai Shepherd Druid-Armorer Artificer, and I was in the process of making him justify how those synergize.
Adding to the cool names list : The Frostforged .
Another interesting note is that there is a ranged version of this build that is much safer and probably does more damage (since it is SAD all along the way and uses EB as its main damage source.) It’s a Fathomless Warlock that uses Lance of Lethargy and Repelling Blast to keep the enemy from ever getting anywhere useful with Grasp of the Deep further slowing and Summon Shadowspawn allowing for even further slowing (all the way to 40 ft when required but it gives the enemy a target.) The addition of Repelling Blast also allows for movement shenanigans. If UA is allowed 6 levels of Lorehold Sorcerer allows for both Slasher and Lance of Lethargy giving the full 30 and allowing for a push on higher move speed enemies.
Oh boy I'm so glad to finally see my favorite class combo, Artificer 3 / Wizard X! Thank you Colby!
At level 6, you are casting slow on turn 1 and then immediately casting spirit shroud. However, both of them are concentration.
TGIT! Thanks Colby, hope you're enjoying your well deserved time off!
This theory feels a lot like Cal Kestis from Jedi: Fallen Order and : Survivor. Robot friend, dangerous in melee, lots of enemy control options.
Like this as a vacation episode, as vacation "from the spreadsheet" as well.
My solution to Mage Armor vs Studded Leather on my Bladesingers has been crafting scrolls! For 25gp and 1 workday (8 hours) you get a casting of Mage Armor. I'd stock up on them whenever I could. Make sure to grab that Arcana proficiency, it's definitely worth it.
I said “screw it” and took Eldritch Adept for an At-Will use of Mage Armor. And with how our DM does Stat rules I’m usually sitting at either a 22 or a 27 (since my Dex and Int aren’t maxed out yet) with the Shield Spell.
Interesting that this "snaring" build doesn't actually use the Snare spell. Very underrated spell by the way.
Colby this is a wonderful idea. I'm currently playing a blade singer 2, that is stabby stabby for a couple of min a day then battle field controller. Trying to combine two of your old ideas that I really liked.
I'm SO HAPPY!!! I had asked what the limit was for stealing enemy movement was on another build and HERE is a build that Weaponizes that!! I know it's most likely not just me asking about the limit of movement stealing that inspired this build, but I feel heard and I APPRECIATE that.
Another great 3rd level option to ensure that you reduce a creature's speed to 0 is Summon Shadowspawn. The Despair option lets you reduce a creature's speed by 20 feet when they start their turn within 5 feet of it. That's fairly potent. Not as much as Slow but a nice alterative if you want to control the battlefield AND add an extra ally on the field to duke it out with creatures. Plus, it can make creatures within 30 feet of it frightened for 1 minute. It can be a very effective way of blocking enemies from advancing. Still a cool build all the same.
So I have a confession. I use your builds and pick specific features that encapsulate the build and theme to turn it into a monster statblock haha. Makes for crazy encounters!
I keep waiting
Waiting
For the Inquisitive Rogue
if you get the song I'm using as the base for that, your Hogwarts house gets 150 points.
But on the Inquisitive Rogue I think the Pallid Elf is the best race for that subclass as they get racial advantage on Insight rolls.
Being able to mark someone as your target so you always get sneak attack until you use the feature again or the target dies is quite good (having disadvantage on the attack still negates sneak attack as normal)
Just started binging these videos the other week at work and I am in love with the channel!! However I would like to humbly request a build involving a net and trident kind of like a gladiator style haha but keep the content coming whatever it may be!!
Cool build and THANKS for that heads up on Caliya's KS -- backed it immediately & came right back
Thanks so much, friend! The support's been overwhelming. ❤
I’m pretty sure the minuses apply before the halving because I thought about a Grease, Ray of Frost, Slasher combo only to discover a Sage Advice that basically said: “the half occurs first” so assuming you have the enemy prone and their speed is 40. You reduce their speed by 20 then half it giving them 10 ft not the other way around which would give them 0. Expect Table Variance on trying to deprive a 40 ft speed creature of its speed without grappling or restraining it. These creatures are often balanced around their high speed so allowing them to be cut to 0 the same way as a 30 ft speed creature is probably a bad idea for a DM and will likely not fly.
A song of artifice and fire. Start artificer to get proficiency in CON saves, light and medium armor, all simple weapons, thieves' tools, tinker's tools, artisan's tools, etc. As someone who has been one-shotted as a level 1 wizard (or sorcerer) multiple times in the past, I know that starting with no defense is a non-starter. You can switch over to wizard at level 3 (using infusions to turn your armor and either weapon or wand into +1 versions for free? Yes, please!). Sure, you delay getting to high-level wizard spells and extra attack, but I say you should first lay the groundwork for getting there, and only once you've got the basics in place should you worry about moving on to the bladesinger portion of the build. I would go either eladrin, astral elf, shadar kai, or half-elf, in the latter case nabbing elf weapon training instead of a pair of skills (and trading all the weapons for additional tools, since battlesmith will eventually grant proficiency in all martial weapons). This leaves elven accuracy on the table as an option later on in the build. Also: infused items can be used as a spellcasting focus, so if your armor or weapon is infused, you don't technically need the enhanced focus... although it would still certainly help.
This is the multiclass I've been dying to see a guide on! I was just brainstorming artificer and wizard this week!
No one mentions that a level 1 Artificer dip will achieve intelligence based weapon attacks. The multi-purpose tool that artificers get let's you learn 1 cantrip from any class, and count it as an artificer for you. So now you've got intelligence shillelagh for 8 hours.
Sure, if your DM is generous enough to make one of those available to you. Colby tends not to assume that you'll be able to get a particular magic item when making these builds
@@d_andrews I feel bad for anyone who doesnt get items that they would like for their character. As a DM and player I dont see the point in giving magic items out that the players dont ask for
Your videos are such fun. Thank you for continuing to make them even though I've migrated over to Pathfinder 2E I'm still tempted back by your video's and a couple other people.
If you have time or inclination I would love to hear your version of the ultimate Pathfinder 2E healer. Listening to a few podcasts I continue to be astounded by the number of ways that healing is possible. And I think even a lot of people that regularly play the game don't realize how broad the possibilities are. I even heard one of my old friends saying that he would never go over to 2E because clerics don't work, therefore healers don't work and the game is just too deadly. I'm not sure I can do the best job refuting him because I'm still relatively new to the game also and a little confused by all the options, but it seems to me like Even though Pathfinder to eat is a deadly game, the amount of healing you can get done is amazing and you can take a whole party from a near TPK to fully healed and wound free, if not in the midst of battle definitely after battle, provided your characters are constructed properly.
Death Domain Cleric + Swarmkeeper Ranger
Gathered Swarm works on Spiritual Weapon. Use it to pull enemies into spirit guardians and position them so you can hit two targets with Toll the Dead.
Long time viewer, didn't realize you did this full time! That's the dream! Glad you can take a vacation with it!
im putting this comment here so that way when your an older channel i can refrence this and prove that i am one of your largest fans.
"or maybe we should call it whipsong"
Goddamnit now the Orc's song from the Rankin Bass Return of the King movie is stuck in my head again...
Haha love it when he says im beholden to the spreadsheet. It reminds me of a song "you cant always get what tou want but you can try sometimes you might you get what you need."
Seeing your videos drop is always an improvement for any day.
Came for the build. Stayed for Les Miserables!
I was actually thinking of watching it again soon, so that was dope to hear it come up lol.
Love the idea of the magic-slinging spellsword. Sounds really fun to play!
I built one of these for a friend - Battlesmith Bladesinger with the Dhampir Lineage - his defender was a wolf, and we chose spells to match all of the classic abilities of the vampires ( flights, transformation, speed, etc )
I really liked the approach for this build and have been really enjoying the videos. I've especially enjoyed the ones where you've built characters around subclasses that aren't widely used or tend to be viewed as weak. I haven't caught up on every build yet, so forgive me if I missed it (and please let me know what to watch!), but have you considered doing some builds based primarily around less commonly used races?
For example, playing as a minotaur seems fun flavor-wise, but I'm struggling to come up with a build that takes advantage of those features and isn't like playing without any racial features. Best I could come up with was 2 levels of Monk, 3 levels of fighter (Rune Knight), 2 more levels of Monk (Open hand, but mostly PYF), and then the rest in fighter. In actual play, I can't imagine myself not taking the fifth level of monk for stunning strike, but as soon as you boost your martial arts die to 1d6, minotaur seems useless (unless there's a cool piercer interaction or unarmed striking with our head lets us doing something extra with our hands). Similarly, the unarmed fighting fighting style from fighting initiate or one level in fighter renders it similarly useless.
I can't tell you how amazing following him has been. My new character is literally a wizard artificer that helped build a rich Artificer. He helps with the running of the city. It's a continent my dm will be helping me make called the skies of arcadia. My character starts out as variant human. There's other things I would love
Colby is literally helping me build my character. If I get to play him I will share my experiences haha
This build reminds me of two characters I have made. One is an eldritch knight/War Wizard tank that uses Slasher, booming Blade, and eventually spirit Shroud to slow speed to keep enemies in combat with my tank and away from allies. My other character is a whip rogue with Slasher that slows and dashes away to stay out of danger. Very opposite in playstyle lol. I need to check out your other whip build and see if it's similar to that
Shadow monk 8 artificer Armorer 3 with heavy armor is an awesome multiclass. The gauntlets that apply disadvantage count as monk weapons, bonus action dodge with heavy armor is amazing and you get evasion from the monk so your super tanky.
Build Idea to add to your channel. The "PeaceBringer - offering the eternal peace of death". Adding 1 Level of Peace Cleric (ya I know) to the Double Phantom. Just saying at level 18 (which is rough with your level 17 cutoff) without magic weapons 83.8 DPR vs AC 30, Prof in Con, Wis, and Dex Saves, Advantage on every attack and Disadvantage on every attack against you while rocking a 20 AC and still being a badass in the skill department. Your party will love you too for your help on their saves and DPR.
How dare you enjoy quality time with your family, I demand more builds 😉 but seriously have fun on your vacation.
holy crap are you in my head?! i had this idea omw home from breakfast, come inside and you’ve uploaded it!
Happy 4th to all the American Divers out there🎉🎉🎉
Been playing around with the idea of a Wild Magic Barbarian and an Alchemist Artificer who rages and drinks an elixir on the first turn of battle. Please give us your spin on this!
Before I begin your video, you should know I'll be judging this build on it's ability to safely and successfully explore environments as well as how well it socializes. 😜
My party decided in the last session that the responsibility of wielding a magical longsword goes to my 7th level bladesinger. So now I'm here looking for a way to salvage a failing character build because my plan was either a single classed bladesinger or blasesinger X/battle master 3. Thankfully, Colby had the solution I needed!
That Paris trip had its effects, Bonjour mon ami ;-)
This build actually feels like it would be a very effective antagonist to pit against PCs...
Lots of these can be sneaky enemies for the table.
Ok, I’m curious, could you make a druid-fighter? Perhaps a spores druid that’s got flower petals as “spores”. I really like the idea of a rose knight that actually uses roses. Perhaps a fighter with a 3 level dip into druid so they can get their hands if spike growth. Then mix spore damage with spike growth and spores+ battle master maneuvers that shove them back into the spike growth?
As you went through the level 7-9, *ALL* I could think about was 5th level spells and that 8th level ASI.......if you had stayed straight bladesinger.
The Canadalorian: "This is The Way....but not the only Way....just a suggestion...you be you..."
Would build it with a rock gnome... For flavor. She was trained by an elf to be a bladesinger, and her teacher realized that her height is getting her in trouble so together, they created a new technique using a bladed whip. Her innate draw for small machines then slowly draws her to the path of artificery.
Temporary filming setup! Still looking great Colby 🤩
Love love love ice based builds. Always getting ideas for my cryomancer
Sub Zero Wins!
Colby, will you be attending Gen Con this year? Love all the videos. So much fun to watch and learn new things about this game we all love!
COLBY!! So so cool man! I love this build and have been wanting to play a character like this for a while. So awesome to see you bring to life!
Have you someone how snuck into my head recently, because I have been(casually) working on a build extremely similar to this. I saw a short from Monkey DM about Spirit Shroud being trash, and thought I'd make a build around it, to prove that point wrong(as I think Spirit Shroud has a lot of value with the amount it accomplishes as a 3rd lvl spell). I can't be mad at you for stealing it though, as you did a better job than I was doing. I never considered using the whip, but having the extra range is definitely a bonus here.
I wpuld like to draw attention to Opportunity Attacks, which you did not mention. Having Slasher means that you can lockdown targets that have more than 30ft of movement(up to 40ft), while still using Spirit Shroud. However, I think the real benefit is that it allows to "pick on" a second target, if you have one in range. This makes your control even better. And if you could combine this with the War Magic feature from Eldritch Knight, it would greatly increase your capabilities. On top of that, War Caster allows you to make an Opportunity Attack with a spell that has a 1 action casting time. If I'm not mistaken, this would allow you to trade the weapon attack for Ray of Frost, which would bump you damage. Just some things I think should be kept in mind, when playing this build.
Great vid, as always. And I hope you are enjoying France.
Love this build! I didn't think of using a whip reach in this way! I went with a spear with the returning weapon infusion and polearm master with a shield! I like yor build more! but I would start 1st level as a Artificer cause of the Con Save Prof!
I love that you basically said screw it duel whips
Rime’s Binding Ice seems on point for this build.
A vacation? A break from feeding our neediness? How very dare you sir! A duel! I insist upon a duel! I challenge you to a duel with chickens as the weapon at noon on the 20th of Nevertember.
Have a restful break and thanks for your enlightening musings.
Thank you so much. Wonderful concept. Wish I was able to dscryb it 😊
The outtakes were great!
Leave it to Colby to find a way to make Spirit Shroud relevant to a control build lmao really enjoyed this one, whip + Ray of Frost is a dope combo
If there's something I can say though, I think this build actually demonstrates why Battle Smith isn't actually a good dip for Bladesinger. The fact is just that the "SAD Bladesinger" is a myth because 1. You still need a good dexterity for your AC, and 2. You can already leave your Dexterity at 16 and focus on maxing INT and be perfectly fine. Going from a +3 to hit to a +5 is actually not that impactful. Even if you are leaning into the gishy side of Bladesinger, INT is already the better stat cause it boosts your AC AND concentration checks AND spells AND (eventually) your weapon damage. So that 3 level investment in Artificer is a dramatic sacrifice for what amounts to almost *nothing*. In fact, I think you would have done more damage as straight Bladesinger cause you'd have 5th level Spirit Shroud by level 9 and etc
Das jus me doe, again great job Colby :)))
Steel defender can flank if you're using flanking. Or even be used as a mount if you chose to go mounted combat
Videos with captions will always be my favorite
I would love to see a graviturgy wizard build from you. I'm playing one right now and having a lot of fun (started with one level of artificer, the rest have all been wizard) but I feel like there is a lot more potential to the subclass than I've been utilizing. Having someone like you take a look would probably unlock a lot of cool ideas I didn't even think of ❤
You don't have to pick up warcaster. If you picked up ray of frost as an artificer cantrip, you can cast the spell through the whip.