An Essentialized Bard

[Quickleaf]

Our DM is letting me come up with a homebrew bard build for our new campaign, and I'm thinking of using the essentials ranger as a template. This build is intended to be a melée skirmisher bard with mastery of positioning, moving enemies and allies around alike.

Here's what I've got so far....
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The Rake

“Don’t worry – you can trust me as far as you can throw a dagger.
In this weather the ogre looks bigger than he actually is. You’ve
got this.”

You are a notorious swindler, gambler, hedonist, and all around ne’er-do-well. While your honeyed words might pull the wool over your enemies’ eyes, you just as often get yourself (and your party) into trouble. Silver tongue, sharp wit, and the occasional bit of swordplay have gotten you out of many tight situations, but if it weren’t for your talent with subtle enchantments, you would have been drawn and quartered long ago.

The unfortunate sobriquet “gutter bard” follows you whether you’re a salacious courtier who inherited great riches or a sly scam artist born in the slums. Either way, you manage to squander your money weekly on wine, romance, and song. No ruler in their right mind would invite you to perform in their court, and – even if you were to accept – you would surely find some way to insult your host. Of course, they’d have to get in line with the rest of your foes waiting to restore their honor (at your expense).

Elaborate cons of seduction, ribald songs defaming the aristocracy, and exaggerated tales of your companions’ exploits at cheap taverns are your lifeblood. Though you may have the charm of a gypsy prince, one of these days it will get you killed… you or a convenient patsy.

CLASS TRAITS


Role: Controller/Leader. Your confounding powers throw your enemies into disarray, sow distrust, and dupe them into making lethal mistakes. At the same time you inspire your allies, positioning them to leverage your enemies’ every misstep. You are at your best weaving through the thick of melee with astounding manuverability.
Power Source: Arcane/Martial. You’re practiced in the arts of swordplay and spells of deception, weaving them together with panache. You specialize in making a fool of your opponents while providing your allies with key openings.
Key Abilities: Charisma, Dexterity
Armor: Cloth, leather

Weapon: Simple melee, longsword, scimitar, short sword, broadsword, rapier, simple ranged
Implements: songblades, magic musical instruments, wands
Bonus to Defense: +1 Reflex, +1 Will

Hit Points at 1st Level: 12 + Constitution score
Hit Points per Level Gained: 5
Healing Surges per Day: 7 + Constitution modifier

Trained Skills: Arcana (Int). From the class skills below, choose 4 more trained skills.
Class Skills: Acrobatics (Dex), Athletics (Str), Bluff (Cha), Diplomacy (Cha), Heal (Wis), History (Int), Insight (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Perception (Wis), Streetwise (Cha), Thievery (Dex)


Class Features: Derring-Do, Melee Training (Charisma), Skill Versatility, The Bardic Arts, Spellsong Aura, Majestic Word, Silver Tongue


CLASS FEATURES

Derring-Do
Either you're lucky or blessed. You prefer the theory that you look too good to hit.
You gain a bonus equal to your Charisma modifier to all defenses against attacks of opportunity provoked by movement.


Melee Training (Charisma)
Your banter distracts your foes so you can place a precise strike. Your infuriating wit makes every blow sting all the more deeply.
You gain the Melee Training (Charisma) feat for free.

Skill Versatility
They say you're a jack of all trades, master of none.
You never are restricted in what you can do with skills requiring "Training Only". You also retain feats with skills prerequisites even if you retrain the skill.

The Bardic Arts
Whether trained at a bardic college, apprenticed with a traveling master, or relying on patchwork skills, you practice time-honored artistic traditions of the bard.

You gain 2 of the following arts of your choice.

Carousing: You can drink dwarves under the table and get eladrin to crack a smile. When intoxicated, you gain a +2 bonus to Diplomacy checks; this bonus jumps to +5 with others who are also intoxicated. You also gain a +2 bonus to Endurance checks and saving throws involving intoxication, and the effects of intoxication last only half as long.

Espionage: You have an alternate/cover identity complete with clothes, contacts, properties, and documentation. You gain a +5 bonus to Bluff checks to pass off this alternate identity. Depending on the nature of your alternate identity, you might have diplomatic immunity, access to military intelligence, privileges of nobility, or some other benefit.

Friends in Low Places: Streetwise checks never take you longer than a short rest. In addition, when in a familiar settlement you can call in a favor by taking a -5 penalty on your Streetwise check; if successful you gain aid in the form of advice, a secret flophouse, legal aid, forged permits, and so forth.

Master of Disguise: ??

Polyglot: You have an intuitive understanding of the cadence and meaning of the spoken word. This allows you to get the gist of what a foreign language speaker is saying (“the keep is under attack”), though not the fine details (“giants are smashing in the gate”).

Ritual Casting: You can learn and cast rituals, beginning with any 2 rituals of your level or lower. In addition, you can cast one bard ritual for free per extended rest.

Rumor Monger: ??

??: Insight version of Perception (number/type/travel in 24 hrs)

Seduction: When making a Bluff of Diplomacy check with a member of a favorable sex, you can attempt to seduce them by taking a -5 penalty on your check. If successful, ??

Spellsong Aura The myths and legends surrounding the bard manifest themselves tangibly in your presence.



You gain 2 of the following auras of your choice.

When active, your spellsong aura extends 5 squares around you at 1st level. At 11th level this increases to aura 10, and at 21st level to aura 15.

 

[Rune]

Personally, I'd rather see auras (minor action At-Wills to trigger, mostly) that give buffs to allies or de-buffs to enemies. Throw in a few daily and encounter controller effects (like fascination, for instance) and heals and the bard would be a very simple version of what it should be, a leader/controller. With some good de-buff aura action, your melee-type bard could be quite effective.

Now that I think of it, the Warlord should look very similar (but with more ally control and less enemy control).

To answer your specific questions:

1= Some cool bardic tricks could include something that dazes enemies (dazzle), something that helps distract/grant combat advantage (fascinate), something that helps them work a crowd (bustle), something that helps them catch/throw things (juggle), any type of acrobatic stunts (skill training would cover this), bolster spirits (recite epic).

2= Sure, you could. If you really want a melee build, consider a warrior-poet build. Cha and Con.

3= Probably not, but, of course, the proficiency bonus won't apply.

4= I personally think that the bard should have a few (sustain minor) dailies, but if you are determined to get rid of them, revisit my aura suggestion at the beginning of this post. As the bard levels, s/he could get better at sustaining multiple auras simultaniously, so, only one at first level, maybe a handful by epic.

 

[Quickleaf]

Thanks for the feedback. I agree aura stances are the way to go. I'll need to strike a balance between the aura's range and it's effect on allies/enemies.

One possibility is for an aura to have 2 effects: allies who start their turn in it, and enemies who end their turn in it. This would really compliment the master of positioning feel of the bard, so you could slide allies into your aura to provide them a boost or you could pull enemies into it and make them choose between burning a move to get out or taking the aura's effect (which would need to be potent to make this soft control work).

So the build I'm proposing - the "Rake" - would have 1st level class features that looked roughly like this...

Bardic Auras (choose 2)
Bardic Knacks (choose 2)
2 At-will attacks vs Ref/Will
Majestic Word (2/encounter)
Multiclass Versatility
Words of Friendship (+5 Diplomacy *or* Bluff)
Melée Training (charisma)
+2 AC while in light armor or less
Encounter melée booster power

As the character advances there are Utility spells (daily, some sustain minor) and additional features.

How does that look at first blush? Comparable to other essentials classes? Does it retain enough bardiness?

 

[Rune]

One possibility is for an aura to have 2 effects: allies who start their turn in it, and enemies who end their turn in it. This would really compliment the master of positioning feel of the bard, so you could slide allies into your aura to provide them a boost or you could pull enemies into it and make them choose between burning a move to get out or taking the aura's effect (which would need to be potent to make this soft control work).

I like this idea. It would be simpler than having two seperate auras on.

So the build I'm proposing - the "Rake" - would have 1st level class features that looked roughly like this...

Bardic Auras (choose 2)
Bardic Knacks (choose 2)
2 At-will attacks vs Ref/Will
Majestic Word (2/encounter)
Multiclass Versatility
Words of Friendship (+5 Diplomacy *or* Bluff)
Melée Training (charisma)
+2 AC while in light armor or less
Encounter melée booster power

As the character advances there are Utility spells (daily, some sustain minor) and additional features.

How does that look at first blush? Comparable to other essentials classes? Does it retain enough bardiness?

Hard to say without knowing the specific powers. Do you envision the rake as a cha/int build or a cha/dex build? I would think int, personally--wit and cunning, and such.

Also, how do you envision the multi-classing working?

 

[Chocobo]

I think it's too busy. The number of features should be cut down and consolidated. It's more complicated than the hunter, which is a good indicator that there's too much going on.

Multiclass Versatility, while a cool advantage for the PHB II bard, is about as unessential as it gets. What you might do instead is have options for Bardic Knacks that provide a dash of some other classes.

Words of Friendship could also could be reinvisioned as a knack option by making it a smaller constant bonus.

If you have dex and int builds, there is no need for an AC bonus.



Also, I know you're putting in auras in place of dailies, but I think it might be a more satisfying build to play if you keep the dailies to give you potent magical effects and replace the At-Wills with the Auras. Cool daily spells are a defining feature of the arcane power source, so I wouldn't want to drop that. Yeah you're reduced to using only your basic attacks for at wills, but the auras still give you something different to do on each turn by buffing and debuffing.

For the encounter power, something like disrupting shot with a couple options for different effects would be appropriate I think.

 

[Rune]

Multiclass Versatility, while a cool advantage for the PHB II bard, is about as unessential as it gets. What you might do instead is have options for Bardic Knacks that provide a dash of some other classes.

That's an elegant solution. There should be one for each class, of course.

Words of Friendship could also could be reinvisioned as a knack option by making it a smaller constant bonus.

If you have dex and int builds, there is no need for an AC bonus.

Good points.

Also, I know you're putting in auras in place of dailies, but I think it might be a more satisfying build to play if you keep the dailies to give you potent magical effects and replace the At-Wills with the Auras. Cool daily spells are a defining feature of the arcane power source, so I wouldn't want to drop that. Yeah you're reduced to using only your basic attacks for at wills, but the auras still give you something different to do on each turn by buffing and debuffing.

That's pretty much what I envisioned. Sure, the basic attacks (unmodified) could get dull, but that's where the knacks would come in, creating situational effects.

For the encounter power, something like disrupting shot with a couple options for different effects would be appropriate I think.

That would be a good one. There could be a debuff option, a bolstering-an-ally option (defenses, or temp HP), and, of course, a control option (daze, perhaps).

 

[Quickleaf]

Multiclass Versatility, while a cool advantage for the PHB II bard, is about as unessential as it gets. What you might do instead is have options for Bardic Knacks that provide a dash of some other classes.

Good point. I was hesitant because I didn't want to cluster everything into knacks, but it's a better fit for essentials.

Words of Friendship could also could be reinvisioned as a knack option by making it a smaller constant bonus.

It *could* but that would be stripping the bard's equivalent of "power strike". I'm not convinced that's a good idea.

If you have dex and int builds, there is no need for an AC bonus.

Indeed you're right. I was thinking this would help make the build more of a skirmisher than the core bard, but a better way to do this is give them a defensive mobility type feature.

Also, I know you're putting in auras in place of dailies, but I think it might be a more satisfying build to play if you keep the dailies to give you potent magical effects and replace the At-Wills with the Auras.

Cool daily spells are a defining feature of the arcane power source, so I wouldn't want to drop that.

Yeah, I really would like to divorce the class from daily powers (with the exception of utility powers that are dailies). IMO every class should have a simplified essentials-style version, not just the martial classes.

On the other hand, there's the point you bring up, which is cool "daily" spells have been a defining feature of the arcane power source.

Not sure which way I'll go with designing this build yet...

 

[Quickleaf]

So I'll start with the auras/stance class feature...posting as I'm able...

Spellsong Aura
The myths surrounding bards are made tangible in the spellsong aura, or perhaps it is the bard's trickery which feeds the myth?

When active, your spellsong aura extends 5 squares around you at 1st level. At 11th level this increases to aura 10, and at 21st level to aura 15. It becomes active when you use one of these stances.


Cleverly Named Aura
At-Will * Arcane
Minor Action * Stance, Aura
Effect: Allies starting their turn in your aura may make a single saving throw. Enemies ending their turn in your aura suffer a penalty to their saving throws equal to your Charisma modifier.

 

[Destil]

The 2nd part is potentially obscenely overpowered at high levels. And it would be pretty easy to stick an immobilize or something with it, so moving away wouldn't really be an answer.

How about:
Enemies that end their turn in the aura take a -2 penalty to saving throws and take damage equal to your charisma modifier whenever they fail a saving throw.

 

[Knightfall]

One thought I had for creating bards for Essentials is to simply create a unique build that uses the essentialized rogue as the starting point. Or perhaps, bard could be built, simply, as a theme that could be added to any character.

Just a thought...