I'm no expert on bard spells, but I think it would be useful to see a list of what spells you were planning to take already. Without that, you will get responses like "you need haste" - even though you were already planning to grab that as your first or second third level spell.So list out what you plan to get, and people can take it from there. In addition to haste, good hope is a must have in my opinion.
Another important factor - how many other casters are in the group? You mentioned another skill monkey, but are you the only caster? Does the party have a wizard, how will he be playing the character? So much of spell selection is dependent on the group that what you are asking may be tougher to answer than you realize.
I haven't taken any extra cantrips with my level 2 Bard yet. I was thinking about using my bonus spells for higher level spells. On the other hand, infinite casting is pretty good, of course.
So which cantrips should a Bard have?
Detect Magic of course
Summon Instrument seems tailor made for Bards
Light
Ghost Sound?
Read Magic?
Prestidigitation?
Mage Hand?
There are plenty of incredibly useful cantrips. Which ones do you really need? Which ones do you want? Which ones don't other casters in your party have?
I don't usually use that favored class option til i can use it to pick up level 1 spells or above.
Until then, I stick to hp/skill points.
What spells would you sacrifice a skill / hit point for?
Any of them?
Really, on a limited list of spells known, I can't see a hit point or skill point ever being worth more than learning a new spell.
Edit:
I don't usually use that favored class option til i can use it to pick up level 1 spells or above.
Until then, I stick to hp/skill points.
I can see the reasoning for this, but the unlimited casting of cantrips makes me feel that, for versatility, it's still worth it just to pick them up.
I mean, would you prefer to be able to cast Light, Ghost Sound, Mage Hand, Read Magic, Detect Magic and Spark...
Or would you prefer to be able to cast Light, Ghost Sound, Mage Hand, Read Magic, Detect Magic, Spark, Prestidigitation, Sift, Message and Mending? (Mix and matched as you will.)
I mean, you never know what might come in handy.
It's true, but i tend to value cantrips below skill points in general. There are exceptions, but those cantrips tend to be my bread adn better, anyway.
And if I'm doing a front-liner bard of some flavor, I'd prefer to hav ea few more HP's at lower levels than most of those cantrips.
Personal choice, like you said.
1st level spells and above, though? Generally WAY move valuable than another skill point or HP, for the reasons you touch on.
I admit, on a frontline bard, I could certainly see the hit points being more useful than a few cantrips. I'd probably actually do the same.
After a couple levels though, I feel like the few extra hit points look rather negligible, and I'd prefer to have a larger array of utility spells to work with.
For a prepared caster, extra cantrips known isn't terribly interesting (and they tend to know them all anyway), but for a spontaneous caster, extra cantrips means you can cast them all day long without hurting any of your other cantrips. While that extra level 1 spell is cool, you can use it only once.
Now that I think about it, I regret not taking an extra cantrip for my Bard when I got to level 2. Next level I will.
Well, the point isn't to add 3 more hit points to your character sheet at level 10. It's to give your frontline bard that little extra resilience through those first few dangerous levels. I know I've been in numerous low-level fights where I've eeked out of combat with less than 3 HP. And I've definitely also ended my fair share of low-level combats on the ground just a few HP under 0.
Now, if you're starting a game at level 5 or up, yah, I'd probably skip those 3 HP.
Well, the point isn't to add 3 more hit points to your character sheet at level 10. It's to give your frontline bard that little extra resilience through those first few dangerous levels.
Yeah, I was evaluating them on the same lines. That's why I said I might very well do the same on the build.
It's just that, in the long term, the hit points become nearly imperceptible in a larger pool of health, while the cantrips can remain at least somewhat relevant.
Read Magic. If you want to read anything magical, it's amazingly useful when your spellcraft modifier is still relatively low (though, the fact that you can read things ahead of time and understand them later helps).
I actually tend to prioritize that before Detect Magic (though I usually take both almost asap).
I've never really used it, but Sift is a pretty interesting Cantrip for bards (especially as one of only two classes that get it).
Personally, I'd drop Mending, probably Spark and... Open/Close, perhaps.
Mending is relatively unlikely to ever see use and Spark is pretty easily replicated with other things, though it is nice to have. Open/Close could be good sometimes, but likely not as much as the other cantrips.
Prestidigation and Mage Hand may actually not be needed together. The most common use I can think of for both of them is moving a pretty light object, and they can both do that well enough. Of course, they do have a couple differences that can warrant learning both.
If you're focusing on Oratory, you might not actually need summon instrument necessarily either... but it is such a bardy spell :/ Of course, there are other perform skills where it would be nice to have it.
Any decent Paladin would have have dropped Weapon Bond on it and made it +1 Flaming Holy before attacking, but I digress, hahaha.GM : ok... now the paladin has the double-bass?
Paladin : I wield the double-bass in two hands and attack the guard
I'm pretty sure this is the best mental image I've had all day.
Better mental maybe, but never as metal!
Don't forget to pick up some of these.
I'd trade a hit/skill point for any spell, considering that spontaneous casters know very few spells.
Even getting an extra 3 cantrips (total of 9) isn't too bad of a deal. Why? Because those are 3 spells you can use whenever you want. You never have to prepare them. They never waste spell slots. They're literally at-wills in every sense of the words.
Here is the list of bard cantrips I think are worth taking and the reasons.
Detect Magic: To many to list.
Ghost Sound: Distraction and signaling.
Light: To see by if you need to especially for a human
Mage Hand: Fetch things at range like the jail keys.
Mending: Fixing items damaged by sunder.
Message: Great for scouting and coordinating attacks.
Prestidigitation: Lots of useful things. Also great for making trail rations taste good.
Read Magic: You are a bard enough said.
Sift: Searching at range including using touch at range.
I would skip unseen servant and take mage hand. You have a very limited number of spells and there are a lot more useful 1st level spells. Vanish is great until you can get invisibility, Expeditious Retreat doubles your movement, Innocence allows you to lie your way out of absurd circumstances. and charm person is great for a face.