Help on Bard Build - It's a matter of pride, folks.

[Scratched_back]

Hi all,

My character recenly died in a relatively low-level campaign, we were all 4th level. Normally, we're quite strict on bringing in new characters, making them 1st level and only 1st level, no exceptions... except this one exception. My DM, in his inifinite wisdom, is letting me come back at 2nd if I choose to play a bard. It's a running joke in that gaming group how much Bards suck you see, thus the proposal.

Initially, I scoffed at the offer. I've never really seen anything that convinced me of their use. Another cleric consistantly looked (to me) like a better choice. Now however, the teasing has begun and I'm determined to play not only a Bard, but an effective one.

That said, I rolled six lines of stats, three came out well. I may choose one of the following:

Line A: 18, 16, 13, 11, 11, 9 (Total: +7 Bonus)
Line B: 17, 16, 15, 15, 14, 4 (Total: +9 Bonus)
Line C: 16, 14, 14, 13, 12,10 (Total: +9 Bonus)

Any race from official 3.5 WotC material is valid, the same goes for feats.

Please guys, anyone that has input, no matter how small, post. It's a matter of pride that I get this right. That's why I'm asking for help building a level TWO character which must be a record in itself!

Cheers,

-Ben

 

[Thanee]

That 4 is a bit of a turn-off... although the rest of the line is surely tempting.

I'd probably take the third array.

Str 14 Dex 14 Con 12 Int 13 Wis 10 Cha 16

Human with Combat Expertise and Improved Disarm. Use a whip to annoy all weapon-using opponents while singing songs of humiliation.

Or.....

Str 4 Dex 16 Con 15 Int 15 Wis 14 Cha 17

Who needs equipment, anyways...

Bye
Thanee

 

[Belbarid]

It's a running joke in that gaming group how much Bards suck you see, thus the proposal.

Much like the Monk class, the Bard class is very flexible. There's very little that they do well, but quite a lot that they do competantly. If you are used to building characters that are focused on one or two tasks, then the Bard may be a bit of a challenging switch.

Bards have a wide variety of class skills, and a lot of skill points. I would pick a general type of skill to mainly focus on- Social skills (Diplomacy, Sense Motice, Gather Info, etc), Sneaky skills (Hide, MS, etc), but reserve some skill points for other things. It's much easier to build, for instance, a sneaky character with good senses (high Hide, MS, Spot, Search Listen) than with most other classes. A high Int will help with this, as will being human. Start off with a human Bard with an Int of 18, and that's 55 skill points at 2nd level.

You have to be careful with spell choice, and what you pick really depends on what you want to do. At low levels, Sleep and Summon Monster I are good for combat, while spells like Silent Image and Disguise Self offer a wide array of possibilities. Illusion magic goes well with a flexible class.

PrC choices are good, as you can qualify for most things meant for Rogues or arcane spell casters. A Bard/Shadowdancer would make for an excellent diplomat/spy, whereas a Bard/Dragon Disciple with lots of buff spells would be a handful in combat. A Bardic Acolyte of the Skin would be really cool, for that matter.

Also take a look at bardsong feats, and a couple of cool Bardic PrC's to shoot for. Foluchian Lyricist and Seeker of the Song are both, IMO, pretty cool.

The real question is, other than an additional level at start, what do you want out of playing a Bard?

 

[diaglo]

go female halfling with the second line.

str 3 (can't be 2 b/c of race) dex 18 con 15 int 15 wis 14 cha 17

go archer style.

 

[irdeggman]

The true art in playing a bard is the role-playing and not the roll-playing.

Remember the bard is really a support character - so make sure you max out your perform skill since it is the basis for a lot of bardic abilities.

My philosophy on bards has always been "The story doesn't have to be true it only has to be entertaining."

After encounters is when a bard's true worth shows. It is how he can influence the NPCs to get information and better goods and accomodations.

Extra Music (from Complete Adventurer) is a good bardic feat at low levels (+4 to your music uses per day).

Its a tough choice between human and 1/2 elf. The extra feat and skill points are nice but so is the interaction bonus for 1/2 elves and it is always nice to be able to see at night.

As far as spells go - choice wisely as people have pointed out.

0- level
Good ones are Daze and Read Magic (always a good one to have)

1st level
Sleep and Summon Monster are handy.

Realizing that choosing spells is part of determinng how you want to play your character - so don't let us lock you into something. Instead pick a theme and keep to it. Bards are a great chance for role-playing awards and the like.

 

[seans23]

go female halfling with the second line.

str 3 (can't be 2 b/c of race) dex 18 con 15 int 15 wis 14 cha 17

go archer style.

A heavy load for a str 3 halfling would be 15-20 pounds. That's pretty tough.

 

[Nail]

diaglo is kidding, of course.

The first line is best, IMHO, as the 18 is so valuable. But given point buy:

Line A: 18, 16, 13, 11, 11, 9 (16+10+5+3+3+1) 38pts
Line B: 17, 16, 15, 15, 14, 4 (13+10+8+8+6-6) 38pts
Line C: 16, 14, 14, 13, 12,10 (10+6+6+5+4+2) 33pts

line A & line B are equally valuable. YMMV.....but where the heck are ya gonna stick a score of 4?

 

[domino]

I'd go with line A myself.

And, if you pimp out your diplomacy, you can get a +15 score right off the bat. Handy for many situations.

 

[Scratched_back]

Much like the Monk class, the Bard class is very flexible. There's very little that they do well, but quite a lot that they do competantly...

...PrC choices are good, as you can qualify for most things meant for Rogues or arcane spell casters. A Bard/Shadowdancer would make for an excellent diplomat/spy, whereas a Bard/Dragon Disciple with lots of buff spells would be a handful in combat. A Bardic Acolyte of the Skin would be really cool, for that matter...

...The real question is, other than an additional level at start, what do you want out of playing a Bard?

Okay to clarify, first and foremost I'm looking for a character that isn't going to be the reject of the group. I think one of the reasons that the guys I game with laugh at the bard are his exclusive abilities. "+1 to stuff once per level per day? THAT'S what you're getting for playing a BARD?!" often comes up, as does "Bardic Knowledge? So what? We can roleplay finding out information can't we?" and so on. So really, it'd be nice to be able to turn that attitude around, any way I can.

Secondly, the party is lacking a main tank character at the moment (I'll break that down in a minute). Now I know a Bard could never be a tank, but SOME KIND of melee ability would desirable.

Thirdly; options. I'm all about options. Coming across wide ranges of unexpected circumstances and having options to play with, that's power. Nobody likes to walk into scenarios where their DM can blow rasberries at them... Platemail Fighter Vs River for example.

To move onto the party we've got:

Human - Cleric 1st / Wizard 3rd - Heading for True Necromancer.
Human - Scout 4th - He's the archer and so far the "tracker" but no good at the latter
Human - Cleric 4th - Good and Sun domains, NPC.
Human - Rogue 2nd - Another character being brought due to death, however player will possibly play a paladin (2nd level still) if we can persuade him (probable).

Perhaps not the best party for a Bard to enter, but with your help I'm entering never the less!

 

[Lobo Lurker]

Remember that you can use Diplomacy to talk your way out of encounters. By the book, this 'defeats' the encounter and you get xp. As Diplomacy DCs are fixed, max out your diplomacy skill and frustrate your DM. The bardi music and spells is just icing on the cake.