2nd-level Bard spells

[Roland Delacroix]

On the original topic, since the party Wiz can't do Transmutation spells, the Bard may find them of value. Bull's Strength, Cat's Grace, heck, Eagle's Splendor. Hey, even when you've got a Cloak of Charisma+6, wouldn't you *still* like an extra +2-5 charisma when you really need it? It increases your spell DCs, for one.

Sorry buddy, no good. Stat increasing items are almost always Enhancement bonus's. Star increasing spells are almost always Enhancement bonus's. Bonus's (boni?) of the same name do not stack. So, yeah, these spells are generally a waste as soon as you get your first +2 Charisma item. Get something else and just buy a maximised Eagles Splendor scroll. (UMD)

 

[Darklone]

Silence is a long ranged spell, with a Will Save. So you don't cast it on yourself (defeating your own spells and Perform), or the enemy spellcasters (who will have high Will saves).

No, no, no.

You cast it on your group's Fighter, Monk, Rogue or other non-spellcaster who intends to try to stay in the enemy caster's face.

Yeah sorry, you're right... My bard happens to be the fighting person in our group. Sue the two fighters, they don't stand and fight *twinkle*

 

[StealthyMark]

In general, Enchantment spells (Sleep, Charm Person/Monster, Hold Person/Monster, Suggestion) are the bard's strong side. I would suggest taking many of them plus Spell Focus (Enchantment). If you are often in urban settings, take all of them. Divinations (Detect Thoughts, Clairaudience/Clairvoyance, Scry, Detect Scrying, Legend Lore, Greater Scrying) are my second favorite. Nothing is better than being informed. Support spells (Cure Wounds, Message, Haste, Mass Haste, Silence, Greater Magic Weapon, Invisibility, Improved Invisibilty...) are the third major group. I'd avoid attack spells, because a bard doesn't have many spells per day. Use ranged weapons instead.

My personal favorites (2nd level):

Defense
See Invisibility - Can save the day, especially when combined with Glitterdust, get scrolls/wand of it, if you don't know it.
Cat's Grace - Nice, but leave it to the wizard, he can cast it multi-empowered
Mirror Image - Strong, but a little bit too wizardly

Attack
Glitterdust - Best attack spell
Suggestion - Very useful, very cool
Silence - Lots of uses (stealth, attack)
Sound Burst - Stun is nice

Utility
Detect Thoughts - Be informed
Cure Moderate Wounds - Stay alive
Invisibility - Be unseen

 

[Nathan]

Of course, my bard likes non-violent Enchantment spells like Suggestion. However, it seems that they duplicate some the Bardic music abilities. Why should my bard want Suggestion if she can do this with her music (at least when she is sixth level...)?

Nathan

P.S.: I agree that the boni of Cloak of Charisma and Eagle's Splendor don't stack.

P.P.S.: Thank you very much for the hints on bardic spells so far. I think I like the idea of casting silence on a fighter... On the other hand, he won't benefit from my music --- sadly.

 

[bensei]

Of course, my bard likes non-violent Enchantment spells like Suggestion. However, it seems that they duplicate some the Bardic music abilities. Why should my bard want Suggestion if she can do this with her music (at least when she is sixth level...)?

Your charisma modifier is +4 (maybe even +5 in the future). So the saving throw for the Suggestion spell is 16. If you take Spell Focus (enchantment), it's even 18. The bardic music Suggestion's saving throw has a DC of just 13 (and there's a saing throw for the Fascinate ability, too). That's a difference of 25% - quite a lot. And enchantment spells can often be very dangerous for you, if they fail in non combat situations.

 

[BHarlick]

In general, Enchantment spells (Sleep, Charm Person/Monster, Hold Person/Monster, Suggestion) are the bard's strong side. [...]I'd avoid attack spells, because a bard doesn't have many spells per day. Use ranged weapons instead.

I would disagree with the first part of this trimmed quote and agree with the second. As a Bard, your spells are going to be 2 DC or so below the higher end stuff a wizard or cleric of your level is throwing. While that's not always a problem, you can't change your spell mix once you progress to a certain level where a spell (Sleep, for example) is no longer of use. A wizard can just memorize something else for that first level slot; as a Bard, you've used one of the 5 (at a maximum) 1st level spells you'll ever know to a spell that won't be of much use at all past about 6th level.

I believe the Bard's strength lies in buffing and utility spells. Try to avoid things with saving throws (pick one or two, just for fun) and find things that help you and help your friends. The last is of the most important. The Bard is really an utility infielding, there to help the team. Keep that in mind when picking your spells.

A Bard with a bow rocks... my 10th level Bard is starting to get very rude on the battlefield with her magic comp longbow. Sing and shoot and buff... that's the order of the day when things turn bloody.

--Bruce

 

[FANGO]

From the SRD:

* Suggestion: A bard with 9 or more ranks in Perform can make a suggestion (as the spell) to a creature that he has already fascinated (see above). The suggestion doesn't count against the bard's daily
limit on bardic music performances (one per day per level), but the fascination does. A Will saving throw (DC 13 + the bard's Charisma modifier) negates the effect. Suggestion is a spell-like,
mind-affecting charm ability.

Charisma does indeed get added to the music ability.

You would still, however, find it useful to have suggestion as a spell, since you can cast it right away instead of having to fascinate first, and you also don't necessarily need to have an instrument out when casting the spell either (depending on how you play your bard or how your DM rules this).

edit...
another note: If your bard is any good at all, then there should be almost no way that an enemy can pass the save for fascinate, as that is based on your perform skill, and it's ludicrously easy to get huge scores in skills. So unless you're against someone that would easily make the will save for suggestion anyway, or if you happen to roll extremely badly and they roll extremely well (in which case they still might not save), the fascinate save is nothing to worry about.

 

[bensei]

Charisma does indeed get added to the music ability.

Sorry, I must have remembered that totally wrong. Forget my previous post.

You would still, however, find it useful to have suggestion as a spell, since you can cast it right away instead of having to fascinate first, and you also don't necessarily need to have an instrument out when casting the spell either (depending on how you play your bard or how your DM rules this).

Even if your DM allows you to just sing to use the fascinate and suggestion abilities, there is one major point why the Suggestion spell should be taken:
The fascinate ability cannot be used in combat (or hardly ever, depending how strict your DM is on this point). Thus the suggestion ability can also not be used in combat. The Suggestion spell, however, can - and it may prove very useful.

 

[Nathan]

:
The fascinate ability cannot be used in combat (or hardly ever, depending how strict your DM is on this point). Thus the suggestion ability can also not be used in combat. The Suggestion spell, however, can - and it may prove very useful.

My DM rules this the following way: Fascinate will work in combat if all allies of the bard put immediately their weapons down, and stop attacking the subject to be fascinated or its allies. If not used together with suggestion, this would, of course, only interrupt the combat for a number of rounds equal to the bard's level.