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grailfinders · 6 months

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Grailfinders #326: Elisabeth Bathory (Cinderella)

last but certainly not least, the leading lady herself, Elisabeth Bathory (Cinderella)! this sidney princess is a Lore Bard to grab the various princess powers we need from reading a metric ton of faerie tales, and she’s also a Cavalier Fighter to get herself some riding skills and her snow white protection.

check out her build breakdown below the cut, or her character sheet over here!

next up: let me put myself in your shoes as a puppet loosely strung…

Ancestry & Background

everything else is pretty similar to the base Eli-chan, but we finally have one of her builds coming out after that big dragonborn update, giving us access to the Gem Dragonborn! with this new subrace, we gain access to all sorts of fun new breath weapons, but as a Sapphire dragonborn you can use a Breath Weapon that deals thunder damage! that’s right, Eli’s singing is a natively supported part of the ancestry now! this attack replaces one of your regular attacks, and you can use it proficiency times a day. you also have Draconic Resistance to thunder damage, and you can share secrets with your allies via your Psionic Mind, letting you speak telepathically with anyone within 30’ of you. also, at fifth level you can take Gem Flight for a minute per day. it’s not much, but it should help you up Castle Csejte Pyramid Himeji.

with how perfectly this subrace fits her, it’s a shame this doesn’t match her usual red scales. at least it matches the dress, right?

oh, almost forgot- you have +2 Dexterity and +1 Charisma.

you’re still a Noble though, so that’s proficiency in History and Persuasion.

Ability Scores

your scores, wildly enough, ended up exactly the same as the original- your Charisma is the highest, followed by your Dexterity, Strength, Constitution, Intelligence, and finally Wisdom is in last. you had to be reminded how to beat the final boss, that’s pretty embarrassing ngl.

Class Levels

1. Bard 1: I’m pretty sure starting as fighter is the smarter moooove, but the muuusic caalllls to meeee! it gives you proficiency in Dexterity and Charisma saves, plus some in Acrobatics to daance, Performance to siiing, and Animal Handling. that last one isn’t music-based, but just to fit the faerie-tale princess aesthetic. they always have birds or cute mice around them, y’know?

you also start off with a little Bardic Inspiration you can give allies Charisma Modifier times a day. they’re d6s you can give an ally to boost one of their attacks, saves, or checks for a short while afterwards. you can also cast Spells using your Charisma!

for cantrips, grab Dancing Lights mostly for the name (but every idol needs good lighting for photos), and Mending to make glass slippers a halfway decent idea. for your spells, Heroism and Bane will allow your singing to empower your allies or weaken your enemies respectively, while Command helps you act more princessly, and Speak with Animals will help you negotiate with the local critters for your photo shoots.

2. Bard 2: second level bards are Jacks of All Trades, adding half your proficiency bonus to all your checks that it wouldn’t usually be added to. you’re the protagonist, dangit! you have to be good at everything!

you can also cast a Song of Rest over a short rest, adding a d6 to your party’s healing.

if you’d rather your singing do the exact opposite, Thunderwave can help you with that. blast people and items back, it’s fun!

3. Bard 3: at third level you’ve read enough faerie tales to become a Lore bard, giving you proficiency in Athletics, Nature, and Survival! I guess hanging out with the seven hotties is rubbing off on you?

ew, that could’ve been phrased better.

speaking of better, you have Expertise in two skills now, doubling your proficiency bonus for Performance and Acrobatics checks.

you can also use some Cutting Words to reduce an enemy’s attack, check, or damage, reacting and spending inspiration to reduce their roll.

finally, you can cast second level spells! I’m pretty sure it was the ass-kicking that freed the other seven hotties from mind control, but it might’ve also been you casting Calm Emotions! maybe!

4. Bard 4: use your first Ability Score Improvement to bump up your Charisma! you use it for all your spells, so it only makes sense to make it better.

you also get another cantrip this level, Thunderclap, and a new spell! now you’ll be able to dance through the danger easily with a quick Kinetic Jaunt!

5. bard 5: yeah you get your gem flight this level, but you can also make bigger inspiration with d8s, and you’re a font of inspiration, so they recharge on short rests instead of long ones!

you can also cast third level spells like fast friends, so now even your enemies will join in your dance numbers! as long as it won’t kill them. sorry, the torture scene will have to wait.

6. bard 6: sixth level bards have countercharm, which you actually use for once! you can spend an action to give people advantage on saves to break out of charming stuff! you also get additional magical secrets (weirdly enough, before regular magical secrets), giving you two extra spells you can learn form any spell list, not just bard! conjure barrage will help you fire off your fingies for your quick attacks, and conjure animals is the best we can do for your dwarves. sorry, we need the higher level spell slots for other stuff!

also, you can give a motivational speech now! yaaaay! that means your party gets temporary hp, and as long as that hp remains they have advantage on wisdom saves and retaliatory attacks!

7. fighter 1: bouncing over to fighter gives you a fighting style, and dueling will give your glass slippers a little more oomph! yeah, we’re calling those daggers here, sorry. still, with this fighting style you get an extra 2 damage each attack!

also, you can use your bonus action to gather a second wind for some more health between short rests! princesses never give up, right?

8. fighter 2: second level fighters can make an action surge once per short rest so you can action while you action! its kind of like quickened spell, but you can use two levelled spells or even do non-spell stuff. fighters- they’re sorcerers but better.

9. fighter 3: at third level you become a cavalier, gaining proficiency in insight bc it’s the only option left for you. you’re also born to the saddle so you can’t get knocked out of your carriage that easily, and if you fall less than 10 feet you land on your feet. also, getting onto or off your carriage only takes five feet. as for getting the carriage? good luck! better find a fairy godmother!

(you can also place an unwavering mark on a creature you hit, and then for the next round they have disadvantage to hit anyone else. if they hurt someone else anyway, you can make a special attack on your next turn as a bonus action, it’s made with advantage and you deal extra damage too! it’s not very eli-y though)

10. fighter 4: use your first asi (as a fighter) to bump up your dexterity for a higher ac and better glass slipper attacks.

11. fighter 5: fifth level fighters get an extra attack each action. you have two feet, probably. yep, that’s all i got this level.

12. fighter 6: sixth level fighters get a bonus asi, so now your dexterity is all maxed out. your footsie game? absolutely legendary.

13. Fighter 7: a seventh level cavalier can make a Warding Maneuver as a reaction to block an incoming attack against anyone within five feet of you. this plus the disadvantage is the closest we’re getting to true invulnerability in this build, but it does add a d8 to the defender’s AC, which isn’t something to sneeze at. you can only use this once per long rest at the moment, but that one attack can be a game changer if you time it right.

14. Fighter 8: one last level of fighter for now gets you another ASI, so bump up that Constitution. now you get plenty more HP to work with, and you have an extra warding maneuver each day.

15. Bard 7: seventh level bards get fourth level spells. Confusion is really just the general vibe of Halloween events these days, but being able to direct that on your enemies is nice.

16. Bard 8: eighth level bards get one more ASI, so bump up your Charisma to the maximum for the strongest musical numbers possible! you can also Charm Monsters now. you’d probably have to use this to keep the gudemon sitting still long enough to headbutt it back to normal.

17. Bard 9: ninth level bards have a stronger song of rest, plus access to fifth level spells! healing a forest? you need Greater Restoration! or maybe a spell we’ll get next level. still, it’ll definitely work on deerlet.

18. Bard 10: the tenth level of bard is mostly just getting better at stuff we already do. bigger inspiration, another round of expertise in animal handling and persuasion, and another round of magical secrets!

while it’s not a new feature, magical secrets are always fun to get, especially since yours are Hallow to clear up that forest and Immolation to finally fire off your NP! yeah, it’s pretty brutal. if your target fails their dex save they take a bunch of damage and they keep taking damage for up to a minute, taking even more damage every time they fail their secondary saves. the spells can’t be extinguished otherwise, and if they die from that damage they don’t even leave a corpse.

19. Bard 11: we don’t really quote unquote “need’ a sixth level spell for this build, but we can’t let your fighter level get too much higher, so Otto’s Irresistible Dance is a fun addition to your repertoire. make someone dance so much they can’t move, and they can only make a save at the end of their turn, so it’s guaranteed to work for at least one turn.

20. Fighter 9: was also don’t want you to get too bardy either, so- last level is fighter. you become Indomitable, so you can reroll a failed save once a short rest. princesses aren’t supposed to be set on fire, so make sure you make those dexterity saves!

Pros & Cons:

Pros:

flight is never not useful. I’ve been over this again and again, but flying instantly nullifies the threat of a majority of enemies in D&D, especially for a spellcaster. it’s also just really cool, I’m glad wotc added the gem dragonborn.

you can do a little bit of everything, both in and out of combat, with good melee fighting skills and ac blending with your buffing, debuffing, and direct damage spells, as well as Jack of All Trades giving you at least half proficiency in literally everything.

fighter/caster is a great multiclass, helping you pump out spells super quickly.

Cons:

while the extra health and action surge from fighter are cool, your cavalier abilities have their usability tied to your strength and constitution, and you may have noticed neither of which are good, so unless you bought a carriage or horse at some point it’s mostly like you just don’t have a subclass. not fun.

also, while daggers are almost certainly the best replacement for sharpened slippers, they’re still the worst finesse weapon you could be using. just grab a rapier or something.

we never picked up mage armor anywhere, so your AC is left wanting. we maxed out your dexterity, so it isn’t bad, but you’d definitely want leather or something if you’re planning on using your slippers.

#fgo #fate grand order #D&D 5e #DND #Elisabeth Bathory #Fighter #Bard

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