When Strom levels in bard he gets a feat or ability score improvement.
If he takes Shadow-touched, he gains +1 Wis (that would be a 16 now) which raises a few skills and his saving throw. He will gain access to Invisibility so he can drop that as a spell. But he also gains a new first level necromatic spell, so let's look at False Life. You gain D4+4 temporary hit points. If you cast this spell using a higher level spell slot, you gain an additional +5 hit points.
So Strom has a lot of benefits from taking this spell.
False Life Cure Wounds
1st level 6.5 7.5
2nd level 11.5 12
3rd level 16.5 16.5
4th level 21.5 21
5th level 26.5 25.5
Part of that is Strom's Charisma score in regards to cast Cure Wounds or Healing Word would only provide him with a +3 bonus because he's sitting at 16 instead of 18 or 20. But that would still only increase the effect of each spell by +1 or +2 if his ability score was dramatically higher.
If Strom used every spell slot he has to cast False Life he would generate an additional 227.5 temporary hit points. If he took Cure Wounds he would heal 229.5 hit points in a day. I also looked at Healing Word which puts up 147.5 hit points of healing if I use every spell slot, but also I can attack twice with my sword or use a cantrip each round. That seemed really appealing.
So lets take a look at something else.
Strom can take Mass Healing Word when he drops Invisibility. It is a higher level spell, so he's losing his 1st & 2nd level slots.
Per Slot Daily
3rd level 22 66
4th level 32 96
5th level 42 84
Mass Healing Word seems to be putting out the most Healing/Hit Points possible. Now this is assuming that all four characters are injured in the fight and within 60ft of each other. The actual healing isn't 22 hit points to any one character. The spell is healing on average 5.5 hit points per character with a 3rd level spell slot, 8 hit points per character with a 4th level spell slot, and 10.5 hit points with my highest level 5th level spell slot. But the numbers are quite literally the most efficient at healing period.
While using False Life would grant me 227.5 temporary hit point, and Cure Wounds would let me heal 227.5 hit points. In a single day using Mass Healing Word, I could heal up to 246 hit points of damage on average and continue attacking. I would still have seven spell slots for 1st and 2nd level spells as well.
The biggest affect from something like Mass Healing Word also is really just getting people up who are injured. If there is a party member down, isn't it better to pick them up off the ground. Carmon regularly casts Beacon of Hope while we are fresh in a fight, so that would maximize a few castings while Strom keeps folks topped off. I think it is a decent spell for Strom anyway because he has two attacks and a few good cantrips.
I could even argue, that it's not really worth doing Shadow-touched at all just to raise my Wisdom by +1. Just keep Invisibility the way it is, and drop Heroism instead to take Mass Healing Word. If I raised my Charisma to 18 instead of taking a feat that would increase each casting of Mass Healing Word by 4pts which would give me a potential daily healing of 278 hit points. That would also increase my Spell Save DC to a 17 and increase my Charisma saving throw and some of my skills.
I know I have talked to Doug about how much I like Mage Slayer and Sentinel as feats as well. Both of them would definitely improve my damage output. We tend to fight things that cast spells, and especially opposite the barbarian who is taunting the creature to attack them - Sentinel seems like a very good use of my reaction. I just get a lot of utility from Shield, Absorb Elements, and Cutting Words. It is hard to use a feat for a reaction. The other benefits from Sentinel are good, but I am just not sure.
I was originally all gung ho about taking Shadow-touched because of where we were. I tried to write into the story that I was studying the papers of the priest who was investigating eternal life. I think just the fact that we are here is a good enough reason to take it. But I don't know if that is really what I want to do for my character in general. Has the time in the Shadow-fell affect us in a way that any other place hasn't? Is there anything that would draw Strom back to this realm in the future? Does this fit better with my build?
Mage Slayer: You have practiced techniques useful in melee combat against spellcasters, gaining the following benefits:
When a creature within 5 feet of you casts a spell, you can use your
reaction to make a melee weapon attack against that creature.
When you damage a creature that is concentrating on a spell, that creature
has disadvantage on the saving throw it makes to maintain its concentration.
You have advantage on saving throws against spells cast by creatures within
5 feet of you.
Either way, I can take it next time I get an ability score increase or feat at 12th level Bard. I can do the Charisma bonus this go around and take Mage Slayer next time we get a feat or I can take this feat now and an ability score increase next time. 9th level Bard gets me two 5th level spells if I drop one I already know. And at 10th level I am going to take Bigby's Hand as one of my magical secrets. It's like whether I take something specifically to raise my hit points with False Life or heal the party using Mass Healing Word, or do something completely different (Prodigy or Resilient) the game isn't over and I have options going forward.
If he takes Shadow-touched, he gains +1 Wis (that would be a 16 now) which raises a few skills and his saving throw. He will gain access to Invisibility so he can drop that as a spell. But he also gains a new first level necromatic spell, so let's look at False Life. You gain D4+4 temporary hit points. If you cast this spell using a higher level spell slot, you gain an additional +5 hit points.
So Strom has a lot of benefits from taking this spell.
False Life Cure Wounds
1st level 6.5 7.5
2nd level 11.5 12
3rd level 16.5 16.5
4th level 21.5 21
5th level 26.5 25.5
Part of that is Strom's Charisma score in regards to cast Cure Wounds or Healing Word would only provide him with a +3 bonus because he's sitting at 16 instead of 18 or 20. But that would still only increase the effect of each spell by +1 or +2 if his ability score was dramatically higher.
If Strom used every spell slot he has to cast False Life he would generate an additional 227.5 temporary hit points. If he took Cure Wounds he would heal 229.5 hit points in a day. I also looked at Healing Word which puts up 147.5 hit points of healing if I use every spell slot, but also I can attack twice with my sword or use a cantrip each round. That seemed really appealing.
So lets take a look at something else.
Strom can take Mass Healing Word when he drops Invisibility. It is a higher level spell, so he's losing his 1st & 2nd level slots.
Per Slot Daily
3rd level 22 66
4th level 32 96
5th level 42 84
Mass Healing Word seems to be putting out the most Healing/Hit Points possible. Now this is assuming that all four characters are injured in the fight and within 60ft of each other. The actual healing isn't 22 hit points to any one character. The spell is healing on average 5.5 hit points per character with a 3rd level spell slot, 8 hit points per character with a 4th level spell slot, and 10.5 hit points with my highest level 5th level spell slot. But the numbers are quite literally the most efficient at healing period.
While using False Life would grant me 227.5 temporary hit point, and Cure Wounds would let me heal 227.5 hit points. In a single day using Mass Healing Word, I could heal up to 246 hit points of damage on average and continue attacking. I would still have seven spell slots for 1st and 2nd level spells as well.
The biggest affect from something like Mass Healing Word also is really just getting people up who are injured. If there is a party member down, isn't it better to pick them up off the ground. Carmon regularly casts Beacon of Hope while we are fresh in a fight, so that would maximize a few castings while Strom keeps folks topped off. I think it is a decent spell for Strom anyway because he has two attacks and a few good cantrips.
I could even argue, that it's not really worth doing Shadow-touched at all just to raise my Wisdom by +1. Just keep Invisibility the way it is, and drop Heroism instead to take Mass Healing Word. If I raised my Charisma to 18 instead of taking a feat that would increase each casting of Mass Healing Word by 4pts which would give me a potential daily healing of 278 hit points. That would also increase my Spell Save DC to a 17 and increase my Charisma saving throw and some of my skills.
I know I have talked to Doug about how much I like Mage Slayer and Sentinel as feats as well. Both of them would definitely improve my damage output. We tend to fight things that cast spells, and especially opposite the barbarian who is taunting the creature to attack them - Sentinel seems like a very good use of my reaction. I just get a lot of utility from Shield, Absorb Elements, and Cutting Words. It is hard to use a feat for a reaction. The other benefits from Sentinel are good, but I am just not sure.
I was originally all gung ho about taking Shadow-touched because of where we were. I tried to write into the story that I was studying the papers of the priest who was investigating eternal life. I think just the fact that we are here is a good enough reason to take it. But I don't know if that is really what I want to do for my character in general. Has the time in the Shadow-fell affect us in a way that any other place hasn't? Is there anything that would draw Strom back to this realm in the future? Does this fit better with my build?
Mage Slayer: You have practiced techniques useful in melee combat against spellcasters, gaining the following benefits:
Either way, I can take it next time I get an ability score increase or feat at 12th level Bard. I can do the Charisma bonus this go around and take Mage Slayer next time we get a feat or I can take this feat now and an ability score increase next time. 9th level Bard gets me two 5th level spells if I drop one I already know. And at 10th level I am going to take Bigby's Hand as one of my magical secrets. It's like whether I take something specifically to raise my hit points with False Life or heal the party using Mass Healing Word, or do something completely different (Prodigy or Resilient) the game isn't over and I have options going forward.
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