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Bards - let's hear some strategies and suggestions, please.
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<blockquote data-quote="Elder-Basilisk" data-source="post: 1985948" data-attributes="member: 3146"><p>Bards can do lots of things. I have seen moderately effective melee bards, but where they truly excel is magical manipulation, investigation, politics, and combat support.</p><p></p><p>From last to first:</p><p></p><p>-The most effective support character I ever played with was a 14th level bard. He didn't have a ton of firepower himself, but what he did do is make good use of his bardic music abilities. He had an instrument from Song and Silence that let him maintain two bardsongs at once so he first inspired courage and then maintained it while he inspired greatness in the party's two main fighters (well, a fighter proper and my fighter/mage). The temporary hit points were, of course, helpful, and the bonusses to hit amped up our damage a long ways. (+4 to hit/+2 damage on ten attacks between the two of us translated into 100 points of damage through power attack). The temporary hit dice rendered my character immune to a Blasphemy spell that otherwise would have dazed him in the crucial first round. (Actually, the first round wasn't all THAT crucial in that case since I cast Bigby's grasping hand on a cleric who had Freedom of Movement up, but had I been dazed in round 1, I would have done that in round 2 instead of killing the cleric).</p><p></p><p>-Another bard I've seen work exceptionally well is focussed on diplomacy and manipulation. If there's a sneaky ability, he has it. His sense motive is high enough that even the glibness spell doesn't necessarily fool him. If it's not fighting, he can fascinate it by telling a story and then suggest that it do his bidding. Failing that, he can modify its memory so it remembers someone else asking it to do something. He's the character who breaks every module (actually, his player describes that as the way to play high level D&D: "modules are written so that, if you open the door, you fall in the pit or make a save; you never open the door or otherwise do what the module expects you to--in that way, you avoid the deathtraps") by talking the enemy into letting the party by or tricking them into switching sides, etc. He rapidly finds out what is going on and uses it to his advantage. In combat, he uses haste and inspire courage, etc to great effect.</p><p></p><p>-A third bard who was quite effective made extensive use of enchantments (confusion, tasha's hideous laughter, etc) as well as sculpt sound (to make a party of armored fighters silent), etc. to augment the party's stealth and infiltration capabilities.</p><p></p><p>As an NPC, the first or the third model is probably most appropriate.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Elder-Basilisk, post: 1985948, member: 3146"] Bards can do lots of things. I have seen moderately effective melee bards, but where they truly excel is magical manipulation, investigation, politics, and combat support. From last to first: -The most effective support character I ever played with was a 14th level bard. He didn't have a ton of firepower himself, but what he did do is make good use of his bardic music abilities. He had an instrument from Song and Silence that let him maintain two bardsongs at once so he first inspired courage and then maintained it while he inspired greatness in the party's two main fighters (well, a fighter proper and my fighter/mage). The temporary hit points were, of course, helpful, and the bonusses to hit amped up our damage a long ways. (+4 to hit/+2 damage on ten attacks between the two of us translated into 100 points of damage through power attack). The temporary hit dice rendered my character immune to a Blasphemy spell that otherwise would have dazed him in the crucial first round. (Actually, the first round wasn't all THAT crucial in that case since I cast Bigby's grasping hand on a cleric who had Freedom of Movement up, but had I been dazed in round 1, I would have done that in round 2 instead of killing the cleric). -Another bard I've seen work exceptionally well is focussed on diplomacy and manipulation. If there's a sneaky ability, he has it. His sense motive is high enough that even the glibness spell doesn't necessarily fool him. If it's not fighting, he can fascinate it by telling a story and then suggest that it do his bidding. Failing that, he can modify its memory so it remembers someone else asking it to do something. He's the character who breaks every module (actually, his player describes that as the way to play high level D&D: "modules are written so that, if you open the door, you fall in the pit or make a save; you never open the door or otherwise do what the module expects you to--in that way, you avoid the deathtraps") by talking the enemy into letting the party by or tricking them into switching sides, etc. He rapidly finds out what is going on and uses it to his advantage. In combat, he uses haste and inspire courage, etc to great effect. -A third bard who was quite effective made extensive use of enchantments (confusion, tasha's hideous laughter, etc) as well as sculpt sound (to make a party of armored fighters silent), etc. to augment the party's stealth and infiltration capabilities. As an NPC, the first or the third model is probably most appropriate. [/QUOTE]
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