Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
D&D Older Editions
3.5 Bard's power?
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Greenfield" data-source="post: 5502184" data-attributes="member: 6669384"><p>A well played Bard is awesome, in RP encounters. Skill wise he's second only to the Rogue, and because his prime attribute is Charisma, he can easily become the master of Diplomacy, Bluff, Gather Information, etc.</p><p></p><p>In combat he'll be second string at best. </p><p></p><p>There area couple of spells needed to get him up to that second string status, however. One is Bladeweave.</p><p></p><p>It's a 2nd level Bard spell, swift action cast, that lets him make touch attacks each round, in addition to his normal melee attack. if the touch succeeds, the opponent has to make a Will save or be Dazed for the round. That means they essentially lose the round. No attacks, no actions.</p><p></p><p>In essence, it lets a Bard tie up a melee monster, one round at a time, and maybe nickel and dime the thing on hit points while waiting for a real fighter to come up and actually kill the thing.</p><p></p><p>Another is Alter Self. It lets him change into something that's effective in combat. Troglodyte gets +6 Natural Armor, for example. Avariel (Winged Elf) gets to fly (very slowly). Sea Elf or Sahaguin gets gills and underwater movement. </p><p></p><p>The spell limits you to creatures of your own type, such as Humanoid, but if your Bard happens to be a Half Dragon it can get nasty!</p><p></p><p>Illusions, when well planned and played, can be powerful. Our Bard likes to throw a Silent Image of a cloud of fog around us. He'll advise us that it's an illusion, so we get the Save (with a +4). Enemies don't get a Save at all unless they have reason to think it isn't really an Obscuring Mist. So they're messed up by it and we aren't.</p><p></p><p>Enthrall can be a powerful spell in a social situation, capable of holding an angry mob immobile, or gathering and holding an audience when you really need a traffic jam.</p><p></p><p>Beyond things like this, he's there as a buffing character. He makes others more effective in combat, but will never be really effective alone. The larger the party, the more effective his buffs become.</p><p></p><p>Typical PC party of 4? Leave the Bard at home. Party of 6 or more? Bards become worthwhile.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Greenfield, post: 5502184, member: 6669384"] A well played Bard is awesome, in RP encounters. Skill wise he's second only to the Rogue, and because his prime attribute is Charisma, he can easily become the master of Diplomacy, Bluff, Gather Information, etc. In combat he'll be second string at best. There area couple of spells needed to get him up to that second string status, however. One is Bladeweave. It's a 2nd level Bard spell, swift action cast, that lets him make touch attacks each round, in addition to his normal melee attack. if the touch succeeds, the opponent has to make a Will save or be Dazed for the round. That means they essentially lose the round. No attacks, no actions. In essence, it lets a Bard tie up a melee monster, one round at a time, and maybe nickel and dime the thing on hit points while waiting for a real fighter to come up and actually kill the thing. Another is Alter Self. It lets him change into something that's effective in combat. Troglodyte gets +6 Natural Armor, for example. Avariel (Winged Elf) gets to fly (very slowly). Sea Elf or Sahaguin gets gills and underwater movement. The spell limits you to creatures of your own type, such as Humanoid, but if your Bard happens to be a Half Dragon it can get nasty! Illusions, when well planned and played, can be powerful. Our Bard likes to throw a Silent Image of a cloud of fog around us. He'll advise us that it's an illusion, so we get the Save (with a +4). Enemies don't get a Save at all unless they have reason to think it isn't really an Obscuring Mist. So they're messed up by it and we aren't. Enthrall can be a powerful spell in a social situation, capable of holding an angry mob immobile, or gathering and holding an audience when you really need a traffic jam. Beyond things like this, he's there as a buffing character. He makes others more effective in combat, but will never be really effective alone. The larger the party, the more effective his buffs become. Typical PC party of 4? Leave the Bard at home. Party of 6 or more? Bards become worthwhile. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
D&D Older Editions
3.5 Bard's power?
Top