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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Findlefarb" data-source="post: 2703667" data-attributes="member: 38455">Perform(Percussion) is an excellent skill for a bard. You can perform with a one-handed instrument like a tambourine or devil chaser, and percussion is essentially just beating out rhythms on stuff (my apologies to all drummers out there). It covers snares, chimes, triangles, bongos, rain sticks, kettle drums, cymbals, and even gongs. You can be as loud as a taiko or quiet as castanets. The big thing to remember about bards is that they aren't the group's heavy hitters so much as the group's managers. Songs help manage the flow of combat. Diplomacy helps manage when combat begins. Gather Information and (Bardic) Knowledge can help you find trouble--but only when you're ready for it. With Bluff and Tumble, you can arrange flanking bonuses, help with Aid Another, or simple things like Daze. Fascinate is huge as you pump up perform. The bard's job is to set the situation up to guarantee victory, like a point guard in basketball. The wizard or fighter might do the actual smacking, the cleric might do the actual protection, but the bard figures out what is needed where and arranges for any holes to be filled, either by oneself or one's friends.Ranged combat is an excellent way to leverage the bard's managerial role, once you've taken Precise Shot. However, the Dodge/Mobility Tumbling fighter lets bards take a role as a melee fighter. If you're going to go the melee route, consider the Dragon Disciple. The spontaneous arcane caster loses spellcasting capability for combat readiness. A sorcerer might not afford it too well, but a bard can make it work.Finally, take Use Magic Device. You've got the great Charisma, and Use Magic Device gives the bard far more versatility. So what if you killed the bad guy and took his artifact without knowing the trigger? The bard can still tap into its potential. The cleric falls? Restore him with his own wand.</blockquote>

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