Beginning Bard Needs Help

[tarchon]

"I'll show you incapable of speech..." *peck*peck*peck*peck*

Maybe I was just reading some old version of it, but I also thought it was a little funny that they can blend into humanoid populations 50% of the time.
"Come to think of it, I always did wonder why Bob's head was 3 feet long."

 

[Kelleris]

They're actually extremely capable of speech - they have the Mimicry ability. A recent Dragon ecology article suggested that a kenku bard could mimic the sound of various instruments without actually having to have them on hand to play them. That might be entertaining.

Oh, and there's a feat somewhere... Complete Adventurer? Anyway, it lets you act as though your ranks in a number of other Perform skills were equal to your (presumably) max ranks in one Perform skill. Versatile Performer? Hrm...

Oh, and you might be able to talk your DM into letting you use Mimicry and Perform (oratory) to "play" any instrument you've studied enough.

 

[RithTheAwakener]

that would be hilarious to see a giant bird walking around belting out opera music, with max ranks in singing! i think ive seen that in a cartoon once...

 

[tarchon]

Hm, well hopefully MM3 fixed the glaringly obvious problems with the earlier versions. Can they still fly?
I think if I were a birdman, Perform Singing would be the way. The upside to singing is that you don't need an instrument. The downside is that you can't get the masterwork instrument bonus. If you do take instrumental performance, learn the Summon Instrument spell since it got downsized to cantrip from its inexplicable 2nd level status in the ill-conceived Song and Silence supplement.
I'd avoid Disguise since the penalty for disguising a monstrous humanoid as anything useful (a humanoid) is going to be stupendous.

 

[Kelleris]

Yea verily, that is why the DMG has bestowed upon us the hat of disguise and similar sundries.

And Bards can hard-cast disguise self, of course.

Matter of fact, the voice is the only thing that spell doesn't help with, and the kenku race covers that. Could work nicely.

 

[Dog Moon]

Originally posted by Kelleris
They're actually extremely capable of speech - they have the Mimicry ability. A recent Dragon ecology article suggested that a kenku bard could mimic the sound of various instruments without actually having to have them on hand to play them. That might be entertaining.

That's kinda cool. With enough ranks, you think it could play multiple sounds at one time? Singing, harp, mandolin, and drums, all through its mouth at the same time? Who needs a band when you have a Kenku!

 

[Kelleris]

Hmm. Hard to say. They could definitely duplicate the sound of all of those instruments playing at once, but I'm not sure you could get the same effect as all of those instruments playing at once, separately. Then again, with enough Perform ranks, I suppose anything's possible. Maybe that would just be what your high-20s, low-30s Perform (kenku singing) checks sound like?

 

[Plane Sailing]

I agree with Fusangite that Use Magic Device is a fantastic skill for you to max out - you are on of the few classes that can really get the best out of it.

Regarding feats, Eberron has a number of really nice Bardic feats - see if your DM will allow any of them. Song of the Heart is a particularly good one.

Your party will probably get involved in fights even if you don't want to - but with your bardic singing you can be the best force multiplier out there. One campaign in which I play think that the bard PC is fantastic because of the number of times we "just hit" because of his inspiration, and all the additional damage we do because of his inspiration too! Another role you could take during fights should you so wish is being the tumbling healer - if you have maxed out tumble you can get up to seriously wounded characters and save their lives - healing wands work extremely well for you.

Note: you get a number of spells at earlier spell levels than wizards (hideous laughter, suggestion etc) but that tends to mean that they have a lower DC and it is often still at around about the same character level. You do have Silence on your list which is a kickin' 2nd level anti-caster spell, and similarly gives you the opportunity to counterspell silence's aimed at your buddies.

Cheers

 

[tarchon]

Yea verily, that is why the DMG has bestowed upon us the hat of disguise and similar sundries.

And Bards can hard-cast disguise self, of course.

It's a very limited spell though - I doubt if it's quite capable of disguising a monstrous humanoid as a human.

 

[Chimera]

So, please reconsider re-allocating you Perform skill into: Decipher Script and Use Magic Device. Both of these skills fit well with your desired to gather information and do illusions.

Most excellent advice.

Because of my social bard/rogue, I'm able to get uncooperative government officials to become valued contacts who work for us instead of against us. I am able to sell our swag and buy new stuff for great prices. I am able to get ALL of the relevant facts about a person, organization, or location. I'm able to keep thuggish toll collecters from attacking us while we pass. I am able to get information from a victim traumatized by fear. I am able to successfully counter the effects of slander and spin them back to the accuser. I can skillfully defend myself or my compaions in a court of law. I am able to enter and function in high society, and even the social circles of a foreign land. People give of themselves to me; whether their time, expertise, or resources; without realizing it or understading why.

But I only made this character because I knew the DM ran a game world where CHA and social skills really matter. And it was clear when I was observing the party before I joined the game, watching them be harrased by government officials and watching them being slandered by an NPC bard, that they could seriously benefit from a very charismatic socializer. And I was right.

*sniff* Brings a tear to my eye. Thing of beauty this is. EXACTLY the situation where the Bard can be the most powerful class in the game.


A Bard is a support and enhancement character. If you (generic you) aren't playing it as one, then you probably think it the weakest and most useless class in the game.