My concept was slightly different. I was starting Paladin until level 3 before picking up Hexblade. Then for two more levels (potentially 3 for aura) in Paladin. Followed by 2 levels in Warlock to unlock Pact of the Blade. Finally, all final levels (11/12) are taken as Whispers Bard. Might sound crazy but I like crazy
I think Whisper Bard is underappreciated. I played a single class for a while and was very happy with it. Taking the Dragon Fear feat after you get 20 CHA would mesh well with the concept too. I went with a DEX build, v.human, and took the xbow master feat so that I can use a hand crossbow at both range and melee. To be honest though, past lvl 5, I was busy enough casting that I hardly ever used a weapon. In hindsight, I'd have taken the Inspiring Leader feat, over xbow master, for better party support.
Nah. There's plenty of meatsacks with pointy things that like to get hit. I'm in the rear with the gear, on purpose. Dialing back the casting would decrease performance. When I lead with hypnotic pattern, I've done more for the group than any hit I can make. Heroism prevents more damage than I could ever heal. Even the lowly Sleep wins fights. When I use my whisper smite, it's because it's my best option, which usually means we're already winning and playing mop up.
I'm looking at this build to take into our next campaign (Dragon Heist/Mad Mage). I originally was planning on playing a cleric for the healing, but this build can still give me healing and decent damage. I had already thought of using Inspiring Leader at first to boost my allies hps at first (We have a home rule that all characters start with one feat). I can play as the healer and when extra damage is needed *BOOM* there it is.
I would personally go 6 levels into paladin, and 14 levels into bard as that means you get extra attack for three attacks per round which duel wielding, and you can get the aura that lets you add your charisma to all your saving throws. Also I would actually start with a dexterity paladin setup then go into bard as that makes the most sense to me.
I have a Kalashtar Bardbarian that wields a maul and operates in bounty hunting. She uses her bard skills socially to infiltrate, then crushes the target with her overwhelming barbarian strength. She has access to staggering smite via magical secrets along with the great weapon master feat and reckless attack. Belt of Storm Giant Strength. 12d6 psychic damage plus 2d6 bludgeoning, plus 19 bludgeoning. That's 28d6 plus 19 on a crit and she still has a second attack. And if things still go poorly, she can just rage to have resistance to all damage and get the hell out of there. Lvl 5 bear totem. Lvl 15 whispers.
I was considering playing the college of whispers but felt it was alittle weak for my aggressive play style. Now Thanks to u I’m going to make a bard , buccaneer past with paladin ideals and stay to the fighter style i felt valour could have been
If you Take Paladin to 5, why Not Take hexblade instead? Means you can Attack with Cha, so you can ignore strength, you can still Smite, but also with bows etc. So If you Take Swift quiver, you can become an insane Archer. Also you still get extra Attack with thirsting blade
I'm playing a Whispers Bard, but I'm only taking 1 level of Hexblade. You need to take Whispers to level 10 before utilizing Swift Quiver, and then 5 levels of Hexblade before you get 4 attacks/round. The damage doesn't get really good until you have the Sharpshooter feat, but statistically SS is bad without the Archery Fighting Style. The damage at 15 level is about 102 dmg/round. This is a statistical average assuming 5d6 PB, 4d8 Smites (only 2 total and 1 per round) 1d8+14 per arrow (+5 Prof Bonus DMG Hex of Ill Omen plus +5 Char bonus) and +2 dmg for SS (Statistical Dmg with no fighting style and AC's between 15 and 20). A 19 WB/1 HB build at level 15 you can use Dissonant Whispers at level 5 with 7d6, and one reaction attack with 8d6 PB, 1d8+10 longsword ( +5 Prof DMG w/ Hex of Ill Omen and +5 Char damage), Booming Blade at 2d8 dmg, If Animate Objects is going with concentration at 5d4+20 average with 5 objects hitting (doesn't require bonus action if commanded to keep attacking same creature, and Crown of Stars used as a bonus action at 4d12. You could achieve 135 dmg/round. Plus with this progression, you can get 9th level spells.
I'm playing a Whispers Bard, and I would have loved taking a couple of levels of Paladin, but my strength is 10 Using two ASI's to get there just didn't seem feasible. I'm taking 1 level of Hexblade because of my Dex build, and I wanted to be able to use a variety of weapons. I was thinking Whispers Bard/Rogue build, but I wanted the shield and medium armor (w/ Medium Armor Master feat) offered by the HB plus you get one reusable spell slot and can grab the Shield spell and Armor of Agathys. Having the Hex of Ill Omen doesn't add a lot of damage but offers the extra 5% chance to crit which will help double the Psychic Blades. If you can get Dissonant Whispers to hit and get the reaction/opportunity attack with Psychic Blades and Booming Blade, It can do some damage.
So I would actually start with paladin as I prefer to have proficiency in wisdom saving throws, and I would likely be a different race with much heavier investment into dexterity. I would also get the magic initiate feat to pick up the green flame blade and booming blade cantrip so that I could use my charisma modifier to attack. Also I am not sure if it works that way, but I think you may still be able to take a bonus action attack after using booming blade or green flame blade.
I would also dump wisdom in favor of getting a bit more health, and starting with paladin would negate the negative to wisdom saving throws so it would be a plus one at 1st level. Another feat I might want to get is the tough feat to really patch up the low health pool.
I came up with this exact build 2 weeks ago except I chose a teifling as the race and he dips a little more into Paladin to get the channel divinity from the oath of treachery. He masquerades as a full blown Paladin of light when he interacts with npcs.
Went 5 hexblade warlock 5 whisper bard. Polearm master, 20 charisma, devil sight Thirsting blade and go full blender in darkness. Crit fishing all day and hex crits on 19 and 20 if its stronge creature you can keep hex on.
I'm playing a hexblade who just went through Dragon heist and have got to level 5, I think I might go college of whispers the rest of the way. We have a wild magic sorcerer, moon druid, open hand monk, rogue/ranger in the party too. I also tend to be the tank in half plate and a shield, do you think my multiclass be good for tanking/damage and some healing/utility on the side?
The issue may be how much health you have. At the higher levels the damage increase can get dangerous. Most of the time the moon druid tanks in bear form or something similar. If you keep your AC high enough and have a good constitution you should be fine.
Hey! I made a college of whispers/hexblade multiclass and just started playing. Unfortunately haven't had much combat but so far loving it. MY party doesn't currently know I am college of whispers nor that I have a few levels in warlock, so in for some interesting surprises!If you are a hexblade, you are already in the thick of battle so going whispers shouldn't affect much. I went bard 5 and hexblade 2 to start, and plan to probably be 6 bard and the rest warlock. Will negate some damage potential from physic blades, but 3d8 5 times per rest is still pretty good, and having warlock slots that recharge on a short rest helps me be able to heal/support too. I have good con, breastplate and a shield, and the spell "shield" too so I think tankiness shouldn't be a problem. Also, can wait to hex enemies and use relentless hex to basically free teleport to them and cut them down. Also, using charisma for my attacks is amazing which is what drew me to hexblade. Good spell damage and combat damage potential!
@@merrin1341 Bardlock is a crazy good combo since they both key off of Charisma. I think relentless hex can be a lot of fun as well. Let me know how it goes!
Good to see some love for the Whispers Rogue. I’m currently a 9/3 whispers/ swashbuckler. The delayed spell progression is a killer. I’m chomping at the bit for them magical secrets. Face of the party and skills for DAYS out of combat. In combat, going for support from a distance and infiltration and secondary damage with an emphasis on mobility and survivability. Its a blast. The Merovingian meets Zorro. Swagger squared.
What do you think about a Yuan Ti pureblood bard? Now I'm at lv 1 but I would like to join the colleges of the whispers because it matches perfectly with my personality. Do you think I should stay with this class all the time or there are some combos I could use to make my character better? Stats (8 14 12 12 12 17)
must use paladin slots according to rules as written Starting at 2nd level, when you hit a creature with a melee weapon attack, you can expend one PALADIN SPELL slot to deal radiant damage to the target
So could you compare this to take 2 lvls of fighter instead is you don't have the strength but have the dexterity. For some context I am playing a fallen Asamar whispers bard LVL 7 currently. But I go down frequently in battle, so I was going to dip 2 lvls to fighter and take defense fighting style for AC boost and you get second wind. And the 2nd LVL for action surge. Is this the best way to go? Stats for reference: 8,18, 13, 8, 10, 18.
You asked for the good and bad of this build.... The good. Would be cool if it worked. The bad. It doesn't work. The rule book specifically states smite is used with Paladin spell slots. The 2 level dip suggested is largely wasted. Would be better as a fighter, barbarian, or or just make a level 1 Tempest Cleric 19 Lore Bard. At least in this build you can max damage a powerful lighting bolt or chain lightning.
It doesn’t specify anything other than “a spell slot”. Starting at 2nd level, when you hit a creature with a melee weapon attack, you can expend one spell slot to deal radiant damage to the target, in addition to the weapon’s damage. The extra damage is 2d8 for a 1st-level spell slot, plus 1d8 for each spell level higher than 1st, to a maximum of 5d8. The damage increases by 1d8 if the target is an undead or a fiend, to a maximum of 6d8.
@@RollingWithAdvantage Maybe I shouldn't have said specifically states. It received errata after first printing. The new rule books do state Paladin Spells. Can be found on D&D beyond. And newer copies.
Lloyd Lineske if there is errata I’d love to see it. I copy/pasted the divine smite ability above from DND Beyond. The only errata I found actually changed the ability to allow the use of any spell slot and not just Paladin spell slots.
When you multiclass, everything becomes 1 spell pool, unless you’re talking about Warlock spells. Also, take a look at what you could do with 2 levels of Grave Cleric in this kind of build.
I do have to resend my statement. It did receive errata. They do now pool together and function as you intend. I apologize, but I played at a time where it did not function like this. Carry on. Lol I would have posted earlier to clear up any confusion but lost tract of this page until the most recent reply. Sorry for any inconvenience.
![Megan Thee Stallion - Mamushi (Remix) [feat. TWICE] [Official Audio]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/5c0_u9PsrsQ/mqdefault.jpg)
Mate you need to make more of these dude. The world needs more build videos.
Thanks!
My concept was slightly different. I was starting Paladin until level 3 before picking up Hexblade. Then for two more levels (potentially 3 for aura) in Paladin. Followed by 2 levels in Warlock to unlock Pact of the Blade. Finally, all final levels (11/12) are taken as Whispers Bard. Might sound crazy but I like crazy
I think Whisper Bard is underappreciated. I played a single class for a while and was very happy with it.
Taking the Dragon Fear feat after you get 20 CHA would mesh well with the concept too. I went with a DEX build, v.human, and took the xbow master feat so that I can use a hand crossbow at both range and melee.
To be honest though, past lvl 5, I was busy enough casting that I hardly ever used a weapon. In hindsight, I'd have taken the Inspiring Leader feat, over xbow master, for better party support.
Maybe switch it over to more of a Paladin build to keep it melee focused?
Nah. There's plenty of meatsacks with pointy things that like to get hit. I'm in the rear with the gear, on purpose. Dialing back the casting would decrease performance. When I lead with hypnotic pattern, I've done more for the group than any hit I can make. Heroism prevents more damage than I could ever heal. Even the lowly Sleep wins fights.
When I use my whisper smite, it's because it's my best option, which usually means we're already winning and playing mop up.
I'm looking at this build to take into our next campaign (Dragon Heist/Mad Mage). I originally was planning on playing a cleric for the healing, but this build can still give me healing and decent damage. I had already thought of using Inspiring Leader at first to boost my allies hps at first (We have a home rule that all characters start with one feat). I can play as the healer and when extra damage is needed *BOOM* there it is.
Bards can definitely act as the healer and this build has access to lay on hands as well. Let me know how your character does!
I would personally go 6 levels into paladin, and 14 levels into bard as that means you get extra attack for three attacks per round which duel wielding, and you can get the aura that lets you add your charisma to all your saving throws. Also I would actually start with a dexterity paladin setup then go into bard as that makes the most sense to me.
However the final boost to the psychic blades is maxed at 15 so maybe 5 in paladin to max damage and still have acess to a second attack
I have a Kalashtar Bardbarian that wields a maul and operates in bounty hunting. She uses her bard skills socially to infiltrate, then crushes the target with her overwhelming barbarian strength. She has access to staggering smite via magical secrets along with the great weapon master feat and reckless attack. Belt of Storm Giant Strength. 12d6 psychic damage plus 2d6 bludgeoning, plus 19 bludgeoning. That's 28d6 plus 19 on a crit and she still has a second attack. And if things still go poorly, she can just rage to have resistance to all damage and get the hell out of there. Lvl 5 bear totem. Lvl 15 whispers.
That’s awesome! I haven’t seen a Kalashtar in play yet. How do you like the race?
@@RollingWithAdvantage Very cool. The updates to the race made it even more fun to play!
The psyhcic blades still does 2d6, you get the 3d6 once you get 5 lvls of bard, not total lvls, cool build though
Yes psychic blades levels up with bard. Nice catch.
I was considering playing the college of whispers but felt it was alittle weak for my aggressive play style. Now Thanks to u I’m going to make a bard , buccaneer past with paladin ideals and stay to the fighter style i felt valour could have been
Glad to hear it!
If you Take Paladin to 5, why Not Take hexblade instead?
Means you can Attack with Cha, so you can ignore strength, you can still Smite, but also with bows etc.
So If you Take Swift quiver, you can become an insane Archer.
Also you still get extra Attack with thirsting blade
I'm playing a Whispers Bard, but I'm only taking 1 level of Hexblade. You need to take Whispers to level 10 before utilizing Swift Quiver, and then 5 levels of Hexblade before you get 4 attacks/round. The damage doesn't get really good until you have the Sharpshooter feat, but statistically SS is bad without the Archery Fighting Style. The damage at 15 level is about 102 dmg/round. This is a statistical average assuming 5d6 PB, 4d8 Smites (only 2 total and 1 per round) 1d8+14 per arrow (+5 Prof Bonus DMG Hex of Ill Omen plus +5 Char bonus) and +2 dmg for SS (Statistical Dmg with no fighting style and AC's between 15 and 20). A 19 WB/1 HB build at level 15 you can use Dissonant Whispers at level 5 with 7d6, and one reaction attack with 8d6 PB, 1d8+10 longsword ( +5 Prof DMG w/ Hex of Ill Omen and +5 Char damage), Booming Blade at 2d8 dmg, If Animate Objects is going with concentration at 5d4+20 average with 5 objects hitting (doesn't require bonus action if commanded to keep attacking same creature, and Crown of Stars used as a bonus action at 4d12. You could achieve 135 dmg/round. Plus with this progression, you can get 9th level spells.
I'm playing a Whispers Bard, and I would have loved taking a couple of levels of Paladin, but my strength is 10 Using two ASI's to get there just didn't seem feasible. I'm taking 1 level of Hexblade because of my Dex build, and I wanted to be able to use a variety of weapons. I was thinking Whispers Bard/Rogue build, but I wanted the shield and medium armor (w/ Medium Armor Master feat) offered by the HB plus you get one reusable spell slot and can grab the Shield spell and Armor of Agathys. Having the Hex of Ill Omen doesn't add a lot of damage but offers the extra 5% chance to crit which will help double the Psychic Blades. If you can get Dissonant Whispers to hit and get the reaction/opportunity attack with Psychic Blades and Booming Blade, It can do some damage.
Whispers bard is what I’m playing currently and I just love the flexibility paired with the damage.
This is exactly how I built mine. Completely the same sensibilities on this one.
Great minds think alike!
So I would actually start with paladin as I prefer to have proficiency in wisdom saving throws, and I would likely be a different race with much heavier investment into dexterity. I would also get the magic initiate feat to pick up the green flame blade and booming blade cantrip so that I could use my charisma modifier to attack. Also I am not sure if it works that way, but I think you may still be able to take a bonus action attack after using booming blade or green flame blade.
I would also dump wisdom in favor of getting a bit more health, and starting with paladin would negate the negative to wisdom saving throws so it would be a plus one at 1st level. Another feat I might want to get is the tough feat to really patch up the low health pool.
I came up with this exact build 2 weeks ago except I chose a teifling as the race and he dips a little more into Paladin to get the channel divinity from the oath of treachery. He masquerades as a full blown Paladin of light when he interacts with npcs.
Great minds think a like! How do you like playing a teifling?
Oh I never get to play, I just make characters that I would like to play.
Went 5 hexblade warlock 5 whisper bard. Polearm master, 20 charisma, devil sight Thirsting blade and go full blender in darkness. Crit fishing all day and hex crits on 19 and 20 if its stronge creature you can keep hex on.
That's a great build. Crit fishing is so much fun.
I'm playing a hexblade who just went through Dragon heist and have got to level 5, I think I might go college of whispers the rest of the way. We have a wild magic sorcerer, moon druid, open hand monk, rogue/ranger in the party too. I also tend to be the tank in half plate and a shield, do you think my multiclass be good for tanking/damage and some healing/utility on the side?
The issue may be how much health you have. At the higher levels the damage increase can get dangerous. Most of the time the moon druid tanks in bear form or something similar. If you keep your AC high enough and have a good constitution you should be fine.
Hey! I made a college of whispers/hexblade multiclass and just started playing. Unfortunately haven't had much combat but so far loving it. MY party doesn't currently know I am college of whispers nor that I have a few levels in warlock, so in for some interesting surprises!If you are a hexblade, you are already in the thick of battle so going whispers shouldn't affect much. I went bard 5 and hexblade 2 to start, and plan to probably be 6 bard and the rest warlock. Will negate some damage potential from physic blades, but 3d8 5 times per rest is still pretty good, and having warlock slots that recharge on a short rest helps me be able to heal/support too. I have good con, breastplate and a shield, and the spell "shield" too so I think tankiness shouldn't be a problem. Also, can wait to hex enemies and use relentless hex to basically free teleport to them and cut them down. Also, using charisma for my attacks is amazing which is what drew me to hexblade. Good spell damage and combat damage potential!
@@merrin1341 Bardlock is a crazy good combo since they both key off of Charisma. I think relentless hex can be a lot of fun as well. Let me know how it goes!
Thos would combo pretty nicely with a Hexbow build.
Whisper Bard, paladin. Nice mix. Tho I would add soul knife rogue. Lol Forbthe blades of psychic damage.
Looking forward to the final version of soul knife in Tasha’s!
Good to see some love for the Whispers Rogue. I’m currently a 9/3 whispers/ swashbuckler. The delayed spell progression is a killer. I’m chomping at the bit for them magical secrets. Face of the party and skills for DAYS out of combat. In combat, going for support from a distance and infiltration and secondary damage with an emphasis on mobility and survivability. Its a blast. The Merovingian meets Zorro. Swagger squared.
Could you slap Thunderous Smite on before swinging as well for that little bit extra
What do you think about a Yuan Ti pureblood bard? Now I'm at lv 1 but I would like to join the colleges of the whispers because it matches perfectly with my personality. Do you think I should stay with this class all the time or there are some combos I could use to make my character better? Stats (8 14 12 12 12 17)
I play a lot bards and I generally stay solo class though 2 levels of hexblade warlock is a lot of fun with college of whispers.
must use paladin slots according to rules as written Starting at 2nd level, when you hit a creature with a
melee weapon attack, you can expend one PALADIN SPELL
slot to deal radiant damage to the target
Check the errata they released. You can use any spell slot for Paladin smites.
I doesn't say one Paladin spell slot, i says just one spell slot. They can come from anywhere even Warlock.
So could you compare this to take 2 lvls of fighter instead is you don't have the strength but have the dexterity.
For some context I am playing a fallen Asamar whispers bard LVL 7 currently. But I go down frequently in battle, so I was going to dip 2 lvls to fighter and take defense fighting style for AC boost and you get second wind. And the 2nd LVL for action surge. Is this the best way to go?
Stats for reference: 8,18, 13, 8, 10, 18.
Your survivability will go up a lot with second wing for sure. Also action surge could be used to cast a quick heal if need be.
You asked for the good and bad of this build....
The good. Would be cool if it worked.
The bad. It doesn't work. The rule book specifically states smite is used with Paladin spell slots. The 2 level dip suggested is largely wasted. Would be better as a fighter, barbarian, or or just make a level 1 Tempest Cleric 19 Lore Bard. At least in this build you can max damage a powerful lighting bolt or chain lightning.
It doesn’t specify anything other than “a spell slot”.
Starting at 2nd level, when you hit a creature with a melee weapon attack, you can expend one spell slot to deal radiant damage to the target, in addition to the weapon’s damage. The extra damage is 2d8 for a 1st-level spell slot, plus 1d8 for each spell level higher than 1st, to a maximum of 5d8. The damage increases by 1d8 if the target is an undead or a fiend, to a maximum of 6d8.
@@RollingWithAdvantage Maybe I shouldn't have said specifically states. It received errata after first printing. The new rule books do state Paladin Spells. Can be found on D&D beyond. And newer copies.
Lloyd Lineske if there is errata I’d love to see it. I copy/pasted the divine smite ability above from DND Beyond.
The only errata I found actually changed the ability to allow the use of any spell slot and not just Paladin spell slots.
When you multiclass, everything becomes 1 spell pool, unless you’re talking about Warlock spells.
Also, take a look at what you could do with 2 levels of Grave Cleric in this kind of build.
I do have to resend my statement. It did receive errata. They do now pool together and function as you intend. I apologize, but I played at a time where it did not function like this. Carry on. Lol
I would have posted earlier to clear up any confusion but lost tract of this page until the most recent reply. Sorry for any inconvenience.