# The Fencer: Swords Bard/Battlemaster Fighter/Hexblade Multiclass (wip)



## vonkraush (Nov 22, 2017)

I'm still working on honing this build, but I believe I have enough to show as-is

The inclusion of the Hexblade class in Xanathar's has been a huge boon for gish-enthusiats everywhere. I have seen plenty of Palock, Sorlock and Bardlock builds pop up over the past few days, and some of them look legitimately game breaking. Since college of swords bard was also included in Xanathar's it makes sense that people would combine it with hexblade at any opportunity. One dip of hexblade is a fun, and possibly necessary, addition to what is by itself a somewhat weak subclass: but why stop there? The fun of Swords Bard comes from the fact that its flourishes aren't bonus actions and pave the way for unique strategic turns, though this doesn't sufficiently differentiate them from Battlemaster fighters. What IS worth noting however is that Battlemaster maneuvers and Swords Bard stack, bringing an entirely new realm of depth to ones turn. To name a couple of examples:

1. You can use disarming strike to make an opponent drop their weapon, use a bonus action to kick it away and then on a second attack use mobile flourish to push them father from it.
2. You can use Defensive flourish to increase the likelihood they miss, and when they do you can retaliate with Riposte
3. You can combine sweeping attack and slashing flourish to do substantial damage to both your target and any adjacent enemies in the event they mob you.

These are only a few opportunities, which neglect to consider additional feats, spells, etc you can pick up along the way. In particular dipping hexblade immediately nets you *Shield*, which on top of defensive flourish and other options makes you extremely hard to hit. This kind of build is absolutely not the most powerful available, but it deserves very high marks for versatility and endurance. Rather than a DPS I see the fencer as a unique support build, one who can tank, disrupt enemies, face for the party (he is a bard) and hand out buffs with abandon.

The fencer does take a lot to get on line, and for campaigns restricted to early levels it might be better to spring for martial adept off of a variant human feat if you really want to play it. With that in mind I'm only going to be discussing mid-to-late level builds, just because that's more fun.

The core of the fencer is:
5 Bard, Swords College (Flourishes, Fighting style, Font of Inspiration, Great ability scores)
1 Hexblade (Weapon + Shield Proficiencies, CHA for weapons, Shield, Hex is also pretty fun)
3 Battlemaster Fighter (Extra Fighting Style, Action Surge, Maneuvers)


I think the fencer makes most sense going sword and board, with both Dueling and Defense fighting styles, its direct damage won't be great but this + medium armor + wielding a shield puts it at 19 AC with no penalty to stealth. 19 AC isn't particularly striking, but with Shield and Defensive Flourish (and possibly parry) it goes a long way.

Notice that I stopped at 5 bard instead of 6, where swords bard gains an extra attack. In truth all three classes in this build offer an extra attack option at some point, so it may be possible that you would benefit from stopping there. Ultimately once you have the core, it comes down to what you want to focus on: Fighter, Warlock or Bard.

Note all builds imply Bard/Warlock/Fighter

Bard Focus: (16/1/3 OR 12/5/3) (5 warlock grants you cloak of flies and eldritch smite, which is a tempting package. 16 bard gives you max inspiration die, unlimited die for the purpose of flourishes and an additional magical secrets)
PROS:
-By far the best at spellcasting (magic secrets, this advantage diminishes if you dip heavier into warlock)
-The most versatile
-Great buffs and debuffs
-The most flavorful
CONS:
-The most unimpressive melee damage (this is not a huge deal if you go eldritch smite)


Warlock Focus: 5/12/3
PROS:
-Lifedrinker and smite means this class does the most melee damage
-3 warlock spell slots (as opposed to 1 or 2 low-level slots)
-Fantastic options due to hexblade expanded spell list
-Darkness + Devils Sight
Cons:
-You get the least out of your special combat options
-less of a team player
-Just kind of feels like a hexblade

Fighter Focus: 5/1/14 
PROS:
-Maximize feats due to all the ASIs fighters can take
-A third attack
-More maneuvers = more combat options and tricks, some maneuvers which feel weak at first owing to your lower dex (trip attack) become impressive
-Very good endurance
CONS:
-Limited spellcasting
-Damage might secretly be the lowest of the three

This is just a start. Does anyone else have any recommendations?


----------



## randmlgl (Jun 12, 2018)

I'm planning a similar character concept for Adventurer's League, and I figure I can add something to this:

For your Bard-focused build, you may want to consider keeping Bard levels at 15. You gain an additional ASI from level 16, but no new spell slots or spells known. As powerful as a feat can be, it competes with the Warlock's two Eldritch Invocations and additional spell slot at level 2. Losing Agonizing Blast/Devil's Sight is a hard bargain.

If you want more Warlock focus, you can even take Warlock to 3 for Tome Pact and trade an invocation for Book of Shadows. Having access to every ritual in the game means more non-ritual Bard spells for you to take advantage of, and the extra cantrips won't hurt. The two levels in Fighter still grant Action Surge, which is the real gold for that dip.

By the way, don't discount Valor Bard at high level play. Aside from Sorcerer with Quickened Spell, Valor Bard 14 is the only class that can cast Hold Person and make a bonus action melee attack in the same turn. All others need Haste or Action Surge.

Bard Focus: Swords Bard 15 / Warlock 2 / Battle Master 3

PROS: 
- Eldritch Invocations
- +1 short rest spell slot
- +1 Warlock spell known (Armor of Agathys is the big one)

CONS:
- lose a feat


Bard Focus: Swords Bard 15 / Hexblade Tomelock 3 / Fighter 2

PROS:
- best ritual casting in the game
- 2nd level Warlock slots
- more cantrips

CONS:
- lose Battle Master maneuvers, which is a harsh trade for your character concept

Your Fighter seems about as good as it gets for melee. But if I can recommend something completely different, Bard+Hexblade+Fighter would make a lethal archer. An archer-type would actually benefit from more Bard levels, specifically Bard 10 for Swift Quiver. Whisper Bard would work obscenely well with its 5d6 Psychic Blade at level 10, and the spookiness of the archetype suits the Warlock.

5 Fighter for the extra attack and 5 Hexblade for Eldritch Smite would really stack on the ranged damage. With Swift Quiver, Sharpshooter, and Hexblade Curse, that's four shots dealing 1d8 piercing + Charisma mod + 17 each. With Eldritch Smite, Psychic Blade, and Grasping Arrow once per turn, that's an additional 5d6 psychic + 4d8 force + 2d6 poison. Double all of those dice if you smite on a crit.

Assuming you use Eldritch Smite with Grasping Arrow, the target begins their turn prone and takes an additional 2d6 slashing if they want to stand. Standing from prone costs half their movement, and Grasping Arrow saps another 10 feet from their movement, meaning that target isn't going anywhere without Freedom of Movement or Dimension Door. Your save DC isn't great, but the target still needs to waste an entire action if they want to make an Athletics check to escape the thorns. If a nearby Warlock buddy has them Hex'd, they can impose disadvantage if they'd like AND add another d6 every time they take damage.

Archer Bard: Whisper Bard 10 / Arcane Archer 5 / Hexblade Bladepact 5

PROS:
- big damage
- big lock-down potential
- very spooky
- Hexblade's Curse has no range limit after casting, meaning you can take full advantage of your bow's 600 ft range if you manage the right set-up (ie: Curse, then Dimension Door out)

CONS:
- only learn 5th-level spells
- very niche, very untested
- slightly MAD (14 Int for a decent Archer saving throw DC, not necessarily required)

For a Blade Pact focused build, you may just want to pick between Bard or Fighter. Warlock 17 has 9th-level Arcanum, and Foresight is a major boon. Battle Master 3 has incredibly versatile attack actions with its combat maneuvers, while Sword Bard 3 is a mixed bag of skill proficiencies, spells, Expertise, and flourishes. Battle Master wins for Action Surge, but Sword Bard is tempting.

You may even want to trade Hexblade for Fiend. Not as exciting and definitely more MAD than the shiny new Hexblade, but Hurl Through Hell and short rest Fireballs are just that good. Definitely needs Elemental Adept tho.

Straight Bladepact: Bladepact 17 / Battle Master 3

PROS:
- foresight
- FORESIGHT
- four 5th-level slots

CONS:
- no room for Bard

Anyway, that's all I've got. Hope this gives some good ideas.


----------

