| Kasquede |
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I was wondering if anyone had tips for getting the most out of the action economy for Bards, particularly Maestro muses. With their unique composition cantrips on top of Occult spellcasting, it seems actions come at an increased premium, and economizing as much as possible is potentially more important for them than the other casters.
Considering feat options like Harmonize and Quickened Casting, everything cool on the Occult spell list, as well as the focus spells Lingering Composition and Inspire Heroics, the Bard has a selection of ways to get compositions ready and occasionally supercharged, but deciphering the ideal combinations and timings seems a bit tricky. Thank you!
| shroudb |
| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
I haven't yet found a way that changes Harmonize to anything else that "3 actions for 2 cantrips" since the Metamagic trait on it forbids using it alongside things like Lingering and etc.
Speaking about Lingering, I think it's maybe the best of the composition metamagics since it basically frees you 2-3 actions in the following rounds.
Imo, I think positioning is a core aspect of a Bard since unlike most others you have an excellent 3rd action that you generally don't want to spent on Striding. Hence, whatver increases your moving speed, hence decreasing the move actions required to go into an optimal location, is good.
| Kasquede |
I haven't yet found a way that changes Harmonize to anything else that "3 actions for 2 cantrips" since the Metamagic trait on it forbids using it alongside things like Lingering and etc.
Speaking about Lingering, I think it's maybe the best of the composition metamagics since it basically frees you 2-3 actions in the following rounds.
Imo, I think positioning is a core aspect of a Bard since unlike most others you have an excellent 3rd action that you generally don't want to spent on Striding. Hence, whatver increases your moving speed, hence decreasing the move actions required to go into an optimal location, is good.
I suspected it might be worthwhile to, for example, on the opening turn: 1) Harmonize, 2) cast a composition such as Inspire Courage or Inspire Defense, 3) use the free action for Inspire Heroics or Lingering Composition to then cast whichever of the two you didn’t cast with action 2 and turbo charge it. I’m not sure how the action from Harmonize interplays with the free actions required to use Inspire Heroics and Lingering Composition however as neither have the Metamagic tag.
I definitely agree that Lingering seems to be the best of the focus abilities thanks to it’s appearance right at level 1 and its consistent usability.
Regarding positioning, Bards seem to me to be defined by their “secondary” occupation in this regard. A shortbow/ranged cantrip Bard might want to prioritize compositions and spells that keep them and fellow ranged attackers effective at range with buffs like Inspire Courage/Defense and debuffs like Black Tentacles, while more melee/touch spell oriented Bards might prioritize Dirge of Doom and House or Imaginary Walls and all manner of close-up spells to debuff, shape the battlefield, and provide flanking support for heavier hitters.
| shroudb |
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
shroudb wrote:I haven't yet found a way that changes Harmonize to anything else that "3 actions for 2 cantrips" since the Metamagic trait on it forbids using it alongside things like Lingering and etc.
Speaking about Lingering, I think it's maybe the best of the composition metamagics since it basically frees you 2-3 actions in the following rounds.
Imo, I think positioning is a core aspect of a Bard since unlike most others you have an excellent 3rd action that you generally don't want to spent on Striding. Hence, whatver increases your moving speed, hence decreasing the move actions required to go into an optimal location, is good.
I suspected it might be worthwhile to, for example, on the opening turn: 1) Harmonize, 2) cast a composition such as Inspire Courage or Inspire Defense, 3) use the free action for Inspire Heroics or Lingering Composition to then cast whichever of the two you didn’t cast with action 2 and turbo charge it. I’m not sure how the action from Harmonize interplays with the free actions required to use Inspire Heroics and Lingering Composition however as neither have the Metamagic tag.
I definitely agree that Lingering seems to be the best of the focus abilities thanks to it’s appearance right at level 1 and its consistent usability.
Regarding positioning, Bards seem to me to be defined by their “secondary” occupation in this regard. A shortbow/ranged cantrip Bard might want to prioritize compositions and spells that keep them and fellow ranged attackers effective at range with buffs like Inspire Courage/Defense and debuffs like Black Tentacles, while more melee/touch spell oriented Bards might prioritize Dirge of Doom and House or Imaginary Walls and all manner of close-up spells to debuff, shape the battlefield, and provide flanking support for heavier hitters.
The metamagic trait of Harmonize forbids any kind of action, including free actions and reaction (like heroics and lingering) on the Harmonized spell.
In short you cannot modify it any further. The only action allowed is to cast the spell unmodified immediately after.
So, you can't harmonize a lingering or a heroics.
You CAN "harmonize a nomral cantrip and use a lingering/heroics second cantrip" but that's back to what i was talking about 3 actions for 2 cantrips.
Instead, using a spell and a lingering/heroics seems much better imo.
ALL composition cantrips have their role imo.
Courage is the "catch all" use every day one, but it's the most easily replacable (bless, heroism, etc)
Dirge is awesome but loses steam if your party already has fear/intimidation/debuffs (although it's awesome for a more martial oriented bard alongside something like dread striker)
The AC one is the most uncommon of the bunch in what it boosts, so it's helpful if your party is getting pummeled, but i generally preffer offence instead of defense
And Allegro is one of my favorites, basically giving your action to someone else (and it's also an excellent lingering target imo)
All 4 is imo overkill, but you can always have 2-3 and be covered for like everything.
Despite that, the "nice" thing about them is the 1 action cast. Since harmonize basically turns them into 2 action casts, they start losing their appeal since with said 2 actions you could easily sling spells alongside your compositions.