Recent content by Maxperson

In some areas, but it makes up for a lot of that with fighter 3 abilities that bards do not get. You're still looking at it through the lens of the optimizer, and the game doesn't need anywhere near the level of optimization you go for in order for characters to be good in combat, socializing...

I don't agree. They tend to look for the absolute best thing for combat, and then poo poo on everything less than the best, even when it's still very good. An optimizer/power gamer is the last person I would listen to for combat or anything else. I'm not interested in only the best thing...

It will outperform the barbarian 6, because combat is not the only pillar. The barbarian gets to be better in combat, but loses out to the fighter 3/bard 3 in exploration and social. Your "objectively" bad in terms of mechanics is wrong, unless you are ONLY looking at DPR. Social not only...

Yes. If resources are being used, there's no reason to assume that non-damage, combat affecting spells will not be used.

A DPR only comparison. Most of the time it's not going to be useful, since the majority of the time where nobody will want to use resources will be when the fight is won and it's just the last bit of monster clean-up. DPR doesn't matter then. The fight is already won.

Only if you are a power gamer and every +1 matters to you. Otherwise it's a very good, versatile PC. I see you post a lot about the best class, ability, spell, etc. to use. You're into optimization/power gaming, so the fighter/bard seems bad to you when it really isn't.

I don't see any real point to that. It will be rare that everyone in the group won't want to do anything but swing weapons. Mostly during monster clean-up where DPR doesn't matter anyway.

Then trying to use DPR to compare a barbarian 6 and say a fighter 3/bard 3 in general combat(not DPR) effectiveness would also be a misuse?

My big issue is.... How much DPR is a well worded suggestion spell? How much DPR is charm person worth? How much DPR does hideous laughter do? How much DPR is disarming an enemy with a command spell? How much DPR is bring the barbarian back to consciousness with a healing spell? There are...

It's not that it has no value. It's that it has virtually no value in isolation. Suggestion can take a powerful creature out of combat indefinitely. Charm Person can turn an enemy into a friend. Phantasmal Force can take an enemy or enemies out of the fight for a round or two. Healing to...

Sure, but this is the equivalent of trying to figure out which of two men is the most attractive by only measuring shoe size. Is the metric being measured? Yes! Is it going to show an accurate assessment of which is more attractive? No!

This. The math can't really show how much damage suggestion or charm person does. It doesn't take into account the healing the bard does to the barbarian to allow the barbarian to stay up and deal more damage, making a portion of the barbarian's damage the bard's damage. It can't take into...

I will look later to see which subclasses I like. I pick based on what I would like to play, and not necessarily which has the best combat potential.

What you ask fails completely to identify which character is better, though. There will be far too many variables with the fighter/bard for your snapshot to indicate anything other than a white room scenario. Your comparisons are interesting, but don't mean much in real game play.

Because they are supposed to be feats, not subclasses. The power level will be like a feat, not a subclass ability.