Thorvald_Grimbjorn
First Post
Hello, everyone!
So, here's the thing: I love the Bard class, and I especially love the skald archetype for Bards. However, the current selection of Melee Weapon powers leaves much to be desired (particularly in the Heroic tier). On their own, they're fine, and some of them are very good; but they don't compare very well to the Implement powers. So, since "Arcane Power 2" is nowhere in sight thanks to the Essentials line, I wanted to offer some homebrewed alternative Melee Weapon powers, and I'd greatly appreciate any comments/criticisms on my proposals!
(Very important note: None of these powers were made out of whole cloth; instead, they're simply revisions of currently existing powers. I'll highlight the changes to the original powers by writing them in italics.)
Also, I don't really like very much the concept of retraining powers at higher levels. I can accept a lot in the interests of game balance and ease of play, but the idea that a character can forget a maneuver/spell/etc. to "make room" for a new one kind of breaks my suspension of disbelief. Usually I can work around that by choosing thematically similar powers (replacing a close melee power with another close melee power, for example) and coming up with an adequate justification (this maneuver is simply a more complex and powerful version of the old one, instead of spreading the arcane energies too thin by attacking several enemies at once this refined version of the old spell concentrates them on a single target, etc.), but since I'm homebrewing anyway, I thought I might as well go all the way and offer these new powers in the same format as the powers from the "Dark Sun Campaign Guide"'s character themes - that is, powers that have built-in higher-level versions of them and so don't need to be replaced with other, better powers.
So, without further ado, here are my proposals!
Inspiring Refrain (Bard Encounter Power 1): Change the power bonus to attack rolls to an untyped bonus to attack and damage rolls. At level 11, the bonus to attack and damage rolls increases to +2.
Inspiring Refrain (Bard Encounter Power 1) (alternative proposal): Change the power bonus to attack rolls to an untyped bonus to attack rolls. At level 11, the bonus to attack rolls increases to +2.
Inspiring Refrain (Bard Encounter Power 1) (alternative proposal 2): Add a +1 power bonus to damage rolls to the power's Hit effect. At level 11, the bonus to attack and damage rolls increases to +2.
Charger's Call (Bard Encounter Power 3/13/23): Change the bonus to attack rolls to a bonus to attack and damage rolls. In the level 13 version, the power's damage increases to 3[W] + Charisma modifier, and in the level 23 version, the power's damage increases to 4[W] + Charisma modifier.
Charger's Call (Bard Encounter Power 3/13/23) (alternative proposal): Change the "Virtue of Valor" line to: "In addition, each ally within 5 squares of you also gain a bonus to damage rolls while charging equal to 1 + your Constitution modifier." In the level 13 version, the power's damage increases to 3[W] + Charisma modifier, and in the level 23 version, the power's damage increases to 4[W] + Charisma modifier.
Charger's Call (Bard Encounter Power 3/13/23) (alternative proposal 2): Change the "Virtue of Valor" line to: "In addition, each ally within 5 squares of you also gain a bonus to damage rolls while charging equal to 1 + your Constitution modifier." In the level 13 version, the power's damage increases to 3[W] + Charisma modifier, and in the level 23 version, the power's area of effect increases to 10 squares.
Cunning Ferocity (Bard Encounter Power 3/13/23): Change the bonus to damage rolls against the target to simply a bonus to damage rolls (that is, a bonus that can be used against any target). In the level 13 version, the power's damage increases to 2[W] + Charisma modifier, and in the level 23 version, the power's damage increases to 3[W] + Charisma modifier.
Scorpion's Claw Strike (Bard Encounter Power 7/17/27): Change the power's Hit line to: "2[W] + Charisma modifier damage. You can slide an ally within 5 squares of you to any space adjacent to the target." In the level 17 version, the power's damage increases to 3[W] + Charisma modifier, and in the level 27 version, the Bard can slide any ally within 10 squares.
Chillsong Stroke (Bard Encounter Power 7/17/27): In the level 17 version, the power's damage increases to 3[W] + Charisma modifier, and in the level 27 version, the power's damage increases to 4[W] + Charisma modifier.
Echoes of the Guardian (Bard Daily Power 1): At level 21, the power's damage increases to 3[W] + Charisma modifier.
Slayer's Song (Bard Daily Power 1): At level 21, the power's damage increases to 3[W] + Charisma modifier.
Verse of Triumph (Bard Daily Power 1): Increase the power bonus to damage rolls and saving throws to +2. At level 21, the power's damage increases to 3[W] + Charisma modifier.
Verse of Triumph (Bard Daily Power 1) (alternative proposal): Increase the power bonus to damage rolls and saving throws to +2. At level 21, the bonus to saving throws increases to +3.
Word of Mystic Warding (Bard Daily Power 1/15/25): In the level 15 version, the power's damage increases to 3[W] + Charisma modifier, and in the level 25 version, the power's psychic damage inflicted when the target moves closer to the Bard's ally increases to 3 + Charisma modifier.
Word of Mystic Warding (Bard Daily Power 1/15/25) (alternative proposal): In the level 15 version, the power's psychic damage inflicted when the target moves closer to the Bard's ally increases to 3 + Charisma modifier, and in the level 25 version, the power's psychic damage inflicted when the target moves closer to the Bard's ally increases to 6 + Charisma modifier.
Hymn of the Daring Rescue (Bard Daily Power 9/19/29): Add "Miss: Half damage." to the power. In the level 19 version, the power's damage increases to 4[W] + Charisma modifier, and in the level 29 version, the power's damage increases to 5[W] + Charisma modifier.
Hymn of the Daring Rescue (Bard Daily Power 9/19/29) (alternative proposal): Add "Miss: Half damage." to the power. In the level 19 version, the power's damage increases to 4[W] + Charisma modifier, and in the level 29 version, the Bard can choose an ally within 10 squares of him.
Thunder Blade (Bard Daily Power 9/19/29): Add "Miss: Half damage." to the power. In the level 19 version, the power's damage increases to 4[W] + Charisma modifier, and in the level 29 version, the distance the Bard can slide the target increases to 4 squares.
Thunder Blade (Bard Daily Power 9/19/29) (alternative proposal): Add "Miss: Half damage." to the power. Increase the distance the Bard can slide the target of his attack to 3 squares. In the level 19 version, the power's damage increases to 4[W] + Charisma modifier, and in the level 29 version, the distance the Bard can slide the target increases to 6 squares.
So, that's it. Any comments and criticisms are more than welcome!
EDIT: The main purpose of my revisions is to bring the Melee Weapon Bard's powers more in line with the Implement Bard's and Ranged Weapon Bard's - both of them have strong, meaningful powers, while the MW Bard's powers are mostly average. Likewise, a Bard can easily be a secondary Controller or a secondary Defender, but there is absolutely no way for him to be a secondary Striker. So the powers were revised in a way that, hopefully, one of the Bard's builds can be more than just "decent", and also at least try and play at being a secondary Striker.
As for individual power revisions:
Inspiring Refrain: At higher levels, this power should be able to compete with Paragon powers. In its upgraded form, Inspiring Refrain is a 2[W]+CHA power which gives a +2 untyped bonus to attack and damage rolls to all allies within 5 squares of the Bard. Is that too strong, compared to Couplet of Deceptive Weakness - which lets a Bard break an enemy's turn with a 1[W]+CHA attack that also grants a free MBA to an ally -, or Song of Summons, which teleports an ally to the Bard's side and gives him a +3-+5 power bonus to attack rolls? Would it perhaps be better to not add a bonus to damage rolls to the revised Inspiring Refrain? Or perhaps add the damage bonus, but keep both bonuses as power bonuses?
Charger's Call/Cunning Ferocity: At higher levels, these powers' upgraded forms should be able to compete with 13th-level and 23rd-level powers - that is, Couplet of Deceptive Weakness (described above); Earthquake Strike (2[W]+CHA attack which knocks the enemy prone [essentially a stackable +2 bonus to attack rolls to all allies in melee, not to mention the movement control], gives a +3-+5 untyped bonus to damage rolls to all allies within 10 feet, and lets them knock enemies prone on a hit); and Weal and Woe, a 3[W] attack that gives a nearby ally a free saving throw with a +5 power bonus and a +4-+7 power bonus to attack rolls. How do they compare?
Scorpion's Claw Strike/Chillsong Stroke: These powers' upgraded forms should be able to compete with 17th-level and 27th-level powers - Song of Summons (described above) and Surge of Valor (2[W]+CHA attack that gives a free MBA to all allies, with an additional +4-+7 untyped bonus to attack AND damage rolls). How do they compare?
Echoes of the Guardian/Slayer's Song/Verse of Triumph: Nothing much to say here. The effects of these powers should stay useful throughout all tiers of play (though Verse of Triumph did go through a small buff to make it actually useful), so they only gain a single additional [W] at the Epic tier. Perhaps instead of gaining additional [W], their effects should improve a little bit?
Word of Mystic Warding: This power's upgraded form should be able to compete with powers like Dance of the Biting Wind (-2 penalty to attack rolls [save ends] + poor man's Virtue of Cunning), Quick Steel Dance (help a Defender [other than a Fighter, who doesn't need your help] do his job), and Fraught with Failure (immobilization [save ends] + weakened [save ends]). How does it compare? Perhaps instead of adding another [W] at the Paragon tier, this power's effect should improve a little bit?
Hymn of the Daring Rescue/Thunder Blade: These powers' upgraded forms should be able to compete with Increasing the Tempo (four extra basic attacks, no more than 2 against a single target) and Hero's Beacon (4[W]+CHA attack which deals radiant damage and heals allies for the rest of the encounter). How do they compare? Perhaps instead of adding another [W] to Hymn of the Daring Rescue at the Epic tier, its effect should improve a little bit?
The addition of a "Miss: Half damage" line was to bring these powers in line with the other Heroic tier daily Bard attacks, and also to take advantage of their higher [W].
So, here's the thing: I love the Bard class, and I especially love the skald archetype for Bards. However, the current selection of Melee Weapon powers leaves much to be desired (particularly in the Heroic tier). On their own, they're fine, and some of them are very good; but they don't compare very well to the Implement powers. So, since "Arcane Power 2" is nowhere in sight thanks to the Essentials line, I wanted to offer some homebrewed alternative Melee Weapon powers, and I'd greatly appreciate any comments/criticisms on my proposals!
(Very important note: None of these powers were made out of whole cloth; instead, they're simply revisions of currently existing powers. I'll highlight the changes to the original powers by writing them in italics.)
Also, I don't really like very much the concept of retraining powers at higher levels. I can accept a lot in the interests of game balance and ease of play, but the idea that a character can forget a maneuver/spell/etc. to "make room" for a new one kind of breaks my suspension of disbelief. Usually I can work around that by choosing thematically similar powers (replacing a close melee power with another close melee power, for example) and coming up with an adequate justification (this maneuver is simply a more complex and powerful version of the old one, instead of spreading the arcane energies too thin by attacking several enemies at once this refined version of the old spell concentrates them on a single target, etc.), but since I'm homebrewing anyway, I thought I might as well go all the way and offer these new powers in the same format as the powers from the "Dark Sun Campaign Guide"'s character themes - that is, powers that have built-in higher-level versions of them and so don't need to be replaced with other, better powers.
So, without further ado, here are my proposals!
Inspiring Refrain (Bard Encounter Power 1): Change the power bonus to attack rolls to an untyped bonus to attack and damage rolls. At level 11, the bonus to attack and damage rolls increases to +2.
Inspiring Refrain (Bard Encounter Power 1) (alternative proposal): Change the power bonus to attack rolls to an untyped bonus to attack rolls. At level 11, the bonus to attack rolls increases to +2.
Inspiring Refrain (Bard Encounter Power 1) (alternative proposal 2): Add a +1 power bonus to damage rolls to the power's Hit effect. At level 11, the bonus to attack and damage rolls increases to +2.
Charger's Call (Bard Encounter Power 3/13/23): Change the bonus to attack rolls to a bonus to attack and damage rolls. In the level 13 version, the power's damage increases to 3[W] + Charisma modifier, and in the level 23 version, the power's damage increases to 4[W] + Charisma modifier.
Charger's Call (Bard Encounter Power 3/13/23) (alternative proposal): Change the "Virtue of Valor" line to: "In addition, each ally within 5 squares of you also gain a bonus to damage rolls while charging equal to 1 + your Constitution modifier." In the level 13 version, the power's damage increases to 3[W] + Charisma modifier, and in the level 23 version, the power's damage increases to 4[W] + Charisma modifier.
Charger's Call (Bard Encounter Power 3/13/23) (alternative proposal 2): Change the "Virtue of Valor" line to: "In addition, each ally within 5 squares of you also gain a bonus to damage rolls while charging equal to 1 + your Constitution modifier." In the level 13 version, the power's damage increases to 3[W] + Charisma modifier, and in the level 23 version, the power's area of effect increases to 10 squares.
Cunning Ferocity (Bard Encounter Power 3/13/23): Change the bonus to damage rolls against the target to simply a bonus to damage rolls (that is, a bonus that can be used against any target). In the level 13 version, the power's damage increases to 2[W] + Charisma modifier, and in the level 23 version, the power's damage increases to 3[W] + Charisma modifier.
Scorpion's Claw Strike (Bard Encounter Power 7/17/27): Change the power's Hit line to: "2[W] + Charisma modifier damage. You can slide an ally within 5 squares of you to any space adjacent to the target." In the level 17 version, the power's damage increases to 3[W] + Charisma modifier, and in the level 27 version, the Bard can slide any ally within 10 squares.
Chillsong Stroke (Bard Encounter Power 7/17/27): In the level 17 version, the power's damage increases to 3[W] + Charisma modifier, and in the level 27 version, the power's damage increases to 4[W] + Charisma modifier.
Echoes of the Guardian (Bard Daily Power 1): At level 21, the power's damage increases to 3[W] + Charisma modifier.
Slayer's Song (Bard Daily Power 1): At level 21, the power's damage increases to 3[W] + Charisma modifier.
Verse of Triumph (Bard Daily Power 1): Increase the power bonus to damage rolls and saving throws to +2. At level 21, the power's damage increases to 3[W] + Charisma modifier.
Verse of Triumph (Bard Daily Power 1) (alternative proposal): Increase the power bonus to damage rolls and saving throws to +2. At level 21, the bonus to saving throws increases to +3.
Word of Mystic Warding (Bard Daily Power 1/15/25): In the level 15 version, the power's damage increases to 3[W] + Charisma modifier, and in the level 25 version, the power's psychic damage inflicted when the target moves closer to the Bard's ally increases to 3 + Charisma modifier.
Word of Mystic Warding (Bard Daily Power 1/15/25) (alternative proposal): In the level 15 version, the power's psychic damage inflicted when the target moves closer to the Bard's ally increases to 3 + Charisma modifier, and in the level 25 version, the power's psychic damage inflicted when the target moves closer to the Bard's ally increases to 6 + Charisma modifier.
Hymn of the Daring Rescue (Bard Daily Power 9/19/29): Add "Miss: Half damage." to the power. In the level 19 version, the power's damage increases to 4[W] + Charisma modifier, and in the level 29 version, the power's damage increases to 5[W] + Charisma modifier.
Hymn of the Daring Rescue (Bard Daily Power 9/19/29) (alternative proposal): Add "Miss: Half damage." to the power. In the level 19 version, the power's damage increases to 4[W] + Charisma modifier, and in the level 29 version, the Bard can choose an ally within 10 squares of him.
Thunder Blade (Bard Daily Power 9/19/29): Add "Miss: Half damage." to the power. In the level 19 version, the power's damage increases to 4[W] + Charisma modifier, and in the level 29 version, the distance the Bard can slide the target increases to 4 squares.
Thunder Blade (Bard Daily Power 9/19/29) (alternative proposal): Add "Miss: Half damage." to the power. Increase the distance the Bard can slide the target of his attack to 3 squares. In the level 19 version, the power's damage increases to 4[W] + Charisma modifier, and in the level 29 version, the distance the Bard can slide the target increases to 6 squares.
So, that's it. Any comments and criticisms are more than welcome!
EDIT: The main purpose of my revisions is to bring the Melee Weapon Bard's powers more in line with the Implement Bard's and Ranged Weapon Bard's - both of them have strong, meaningful powers, while the MW Bard's powers are mostly average. Likewise, a Bard can easily be a secondary Controller or a secondary Defender, but there is absolutely no way for him to be a secondary Striker. So the powers were revised in a way that, hopefully, one of the Bard's builds can be more than just "decent", and also at least try and play at being a secondary Striker.
As for individual power revisions:
Inspiring Refrain: At higher levels, this power should be able to compete with Paragon powers. In its upgraded form, Inspiring Refrain is a 2[W]+CHA power which gives a +2 untyped bonus to attack and damage rolls to all allies within 5 squares of the Bard. Is that too strong, compared to Couplet of Deceptive Weakness - which lets a Bard break an enemy's turn with a 1[W]+CHA attack that also grants a free MBA to an ally -, or Song of Summons, which teleports an ally to the Bard's side and gives him a +3-+5 power bonus to attack rolls? Would it perhaps be better to not add a bonus to damage rolls to the revised Inspiring Refrain? Or perhaps add the damage bonus, but keep both bonuses as power bonuses?
Charger's Call/Cunning Ferocity: At higher levels, these powers' upgraded forms should be able to compete with 13th-level and 23rd-level powers - that is, Couplet of Deceptive Weakness (described above); Earthquake Strike (2[W]+CHA attack which knocks the enemy prone [essentially a stackable +2 bonus to attack rolls to all allies in melee, not to mention the movement control], gives a +3-+5 untyped bonus to damage rolls to all allies within 10 feet, and lets them knock enemies prone on a hit); and Weal and Woe, a 3[W] attack that gives a nearby ally a free saving throw with a +5 power bonus and a +4-+7 power bonus to attack rolls. How do they compare?
Scorpion's Claw Strike/Chillsong Stroke: These powers' upgraded forms should be able to compete with 17th-level and 27th-level powers - Song of Summons (described above) and Surge of Valor (2[W]+CHA attack that gives a free MBA to all allies, with an additional +4-+7 untyped bonus to attack AND damage rolls). How do they compare?
Echoes of the Guardian/Slayer's Song/Verse of Triumph: Nothing much to say here. The effects of these powers should stay useful throughout all tiers of play (though Verse of Triumph did go through a small buff to make it actually useful), so they only gain a single additional [W] at the Epic tier. Perhaps instead of gaining additional [W], their effects should improve a little bit?
Word of Mystic Warding: This power's upgraded form should be able to compete with powers like Dance of the Biting Wind (-2 penalty to attack rolls [save ends] + poor man's Virtue of Cunning), Quick Steel Dance (help a Defender [other than a Fighter, who doesn't need your help] do his job), and Fraught with Failure (immobilization [save ends] + weakened [save ends]). How does it compare? Perhaps instead of adding another [W] at the Paragon tier, this power's effect should improve a little bit?
Hymn of the Daring Rescue/Thunder Blade: These powers' upgraded forms should be able to compete with Increasing the Tempo (four extra basic attacks, no more than 2 against a single target) and Hero's Beacon (4[W]+CHA attack which deals radiant damage and heals allies for the rest of the encounter). How do they compare? Perhaps instead of adding another [W] to Hymn of the Daring Rescue at the Epic tier, its effect should improve a little bit?
The addition of a "Miss: Half damage" line was to bring these powers in line with the other Heroic tier daily Bard attacks, and also to take advantage of their higher [W].
