Level 1
Class: Fighter
Species: Halfling
Luck
Background: Custom/Old Background or Sage/Entertainer
Origin Feat: Magic Initiate: Wizard (Find Familiar, Booming Blade, Green Flame Blade)
Ability Scores: 15 Dex (+2), 15 Cha (+1), 14 Con
Equipment: Scale Mail, Short Sword, Scimitar
Fighting Style: TWF
Weapon Mastery: Short Sword (Vex) and Scimitar (Nick)
Level 2 (Bard 1)
Bardic Inspiration
Spells: Starry Wisp, Vicious Mockery, Sleep, Faerie Fire, Dissonant Whispers, Healing Word
Level 3 (Bard 2)
Expertise: PYF (Perception, Performance?)
Jack of All Trades
Level 4 (Bard 3)
Subclass: College of Valor
Combat Inspiration
Martial Training
2nd level spells: Aid, Cloud of Daggers, Enlarge/Reduce, Hold Person, Invisibility, Lesser Restoration, Mirror Image
Level 5 (Bard 4)
Feat: Dual Wielder (18 Dex)
Level 6 (Bard 5)
Font of Inspiration
3rd level spells: Dispel Magic, Fear, Hypnotic Pattern, Slow, Leomund’s Tiny Hut
Bardic Inspiration = d8 – don’t forget
Ok, at level 6 it’s time for our first damage report. Here’s what I’m saying combat will look like for us right now for number crunching purposes: on round 1, or even better, if you can get it off before combat starts somehow, put Enlarge on yourself, and then on subsequent rounds, make 3 weapon attacks – two with your action thanks to the Nick Property, one with your Bonus Action thanks to the Dual Wielder feat. Wait, you’re saying that I should waste an entire action and my concentration to use Enlarge/Reduce over one of my amazing control spells!? No, I’m absolutely not saying that you should do that! I’m saying that, if you were interested in doing as much damage as possible every round then that’s the spell that looks best on the spreadsheets. Personally, I would almost never do this. Maybe only if it was in a fight where there was like, 1 enemy and/or I was out of 3rd level spell slots. And maybe not even then, unless I could get the spell off before combat started somehow or, like, the enemy was so far away that I wouldn’t be able to get within melee range on my first turn. As always, I’m just exploring the limits of what’s possible, damage-wise. You should instead be casting Hypnotic Pattern, or Fear, or Slow, if you can, and doing slightly less damage, but making life a whole lot better for your entire party. Assuming, however, that you *did use Enlarge on yourself, then each of our attacks would do 1d6 for our weapon plus 1d4 for Enlarge +4 for our Dexterity, for a total of 3d6+3d4+12. I’m also, by the way, going to assume that the first two attacks are made with advantage – the first thanks to our familiar, the second thanks to my assumption that our vex weapon attack will hit, though of course that won’t always be the case, it will be more often than not, and the math is a lot more complicated if I don’t just assume one way or the other. I’m really hoping that Ludic Savant updates his calculator for 5.24 rules soon!
Damage Report! Vs. 10 AC: 31 DPR, Vs 15 AC: 26 DPR
Level 7 (Bard 6)
Extra Attack
Level 8 (Bard 7)
4th level spells: Fount of Moonlight
Countercharm
Level 9 (Bard 8)
Feat: +Dex (20)
At level 9, it’s time for our next damage report. Since last check, we’ve seen a lot of fantastic buffs to our damage: extra attack that is actually a booming blade or green flame blade attack, adding at least an extra d8 of damage to our target on top of the weapon attack, the Fount of Moonlight Spell that’s adding 2d6 to all 4 of our attacks now, amazing, it’s a bummer that it’s an action to cast but I think it’s worth it, most of the time, and then we also capped our Dexterity at 20. One note: I’m going to assume that, on our turn, we’ll have advantage from our familiar with our first attack, assuming we make that attack with our short sword, which has vex, but if the attack hits, our next attack, our extra attack, that will actually be a booming blade attack, will also have advantage, right? And then, if that attack lands, which it likely will, thanks to advantage since we’re making it with our short sword too, then our Scimitar attack we make with the Nick property will also have advantage. You follow? I know, it won’t always work out that way, but again, for ease of number crunching I’m going to assume we have advantage on all of our action attacks. Feel free to lower these numbers slightly if you want to be slightly more accurate. But with all of those assumptions, Where do we end up?
Damage Report! Vs 10 AC: 71 DPR, Vs 16 AC: 63 DPR
Level 10 (Bard 9)
Expertise pt 2: PYF
5th level spells: PYF – Animate Objects, Greater Restoration, Hold Monster, Synaptic Static
Level 11 (Bard 10)
Magical Secrets: Conjure Minor Elementals, Wall of Force
Bardic Inspiration = d10 – don’t forget
BB and GFB = 2d8 on hit – don’t forget!
Level 12 (Bard 11)
6th level spells: Mass Suggestion
Swap out a lower level spell for Shield? Fireball? Spirit Guardians or Conjure Woodland Beings? Web? Thanks magical secrets!
Level 13 (Bard 12)
Feat: +Cha (18)
Ok, it’s time for our level 13 damage report. Since last check we’ve seen another massive bump thanks to both the CME spell and the fact that we can upcast it with a 6th level spell slot to deal 6d8 damage per hit now, which is just plain nuts. We’ve also seen lots of nice potential control, support, and utility options come our way, which is wonderful as well.
Damage Report! Vs 10 AC: 163 DPR, Vs 17 AC: 145 DPR
Level 14 (Bard 13)
7th level spells: PYF
Level 15 (Bard 14)
Battle Magic
Level 16 (Warlock 1)
Eldritch Invocation: Eldritch Mind
Spells: Armor of Agathys, Eldritch Blast
Level 17 (Warlock 2)
Eldritch Invocations: Agonizing Blast, Repelling Blast
Magical Cunning
Eldritch Blast = 4 beams
And this brings us, then, to our final damage report, at level 17. Since last check, things have gone just beyond ludicrous – we’ve picked up a 7th level spell slot to scale CME to 8d8 per hit, and then a couple of levels of Warlock to add 4 Eldritch Blast Beams with our Cantrip that we get to use instead of a booming or green flame blade attack thanks to our unique Valor Bard extra attack. So the way it would work in combat, after we have CME going, would be to probably Eldritch Blast 4 times first, as we’re approaching the enemy so we don’t suffer disadvantage by attacking them from 5 feet away, then weapon Attack #1 with our Short Sword, Nick Attack with our Scimitar, then Bonus Action Weapon Attack as well thanks to dual wielder, for a total of 7 attacks – 3 weapon attacks, and 4 eldritch blast attacks. And each of them add 8d8 damage per hit.
Damage Report! Vs 10 AC: 334 DPR, Vs 18 AC: 258 DPR