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Message: <blockquote data-quote="gamefiend" data-source="post: 2327259" data-attributes="member: 33187">A few people are dancing around the bard's real strength --buffing/debuffing.  No character buffs as well as the bard.  If you have at least Complete Adventurer, your bard can contribute greatly.  The bard's ability, unlike most casters' buffs, has no limits on targets. 3...10...20...as long as the bard can be heard (with lots of combatants you might need an amp), he can buff any amount of people.  The bard can become a very deadly force multiplier if he acquires a cohort and followers (via Leadership).  Someone in the thread mentioned the "paper tiger" force...imagine that force in conjuction with your main party who are also benefitting from the bard's music and spells.Even better, imagine a party with the Bard and the Paladin with their cohorts and followers!  This is obviously a nightmare for a DM, but the threat it poses is nasty.  Tactical Precision becomes pretty murderous with a group like this.Bards need Inspirational Boost.  With masterwork mandolin, he can add +3 to hit for all characters --we won't even get into the BoED stuff (mainly because I don't have it <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /> )Two great bard spells I didn't see talked about:  Tactical Precision (extra +2 and +1d6 damage for flanking allies), and phantom speech. For casters, the bard has hymn of praise and harmonic lore. I think +2 caster level and +2 DCs is pretty decent at mid levels. On the debuff side, bards get wave of Grief , Herald's Call, Distort Speech & Insidious Rhythm (mage disruptors!), Crushing Despair, Dirge of Dischord...Fascinate/Suggestion is always an option, but I feel it's better to go for buffs because for F/S you have to ask the part to step aside so that you can do your thing...no one's ever going to argue with buffs (if they do, they're crazy!)oh and BTW, First post (on this board, not of the thread)!!</blockquote>

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