good 1st level spells for an investigative bard?

[Kahuna Burger]

in the Living Enworld campaign (free plug!) I have a bard soon to go up to 2nd level (well, a bard1/ranger1 going up to bard2/ranger1, but whatever). Her focus is entirely on investigation - big gather info, pumping the bardic knowlege, ranger levels for tracking, etc. At higher levels there are some bard spells that are good for this - detect thoughts, locate object, etc. But for the 1st level bard spells (which I'm about to get two of) I'm really not seeing much of use. There's Identify, which could occasionaly be useful... disguise self for the rare desire to be sneaky.... there's comprehend languages, but she already knows 8 languages besides common, so I'd rather keep throwing the odd skill point that way than use a spell (or have a scroll or two on hand rather than have that as one of the few spells known.)

I dunno, for a bard who is all about finding things or finding things out, what are the good spells? Its mostly SRD only, though I can try to get an ogl spell or two approved.

Kahuna Burger

 

[Shadowdancer]

Charm person. Makes getting the cooperation of others much simplier.

 

[haiiro]

The Complete Book of Eldritch Might (or BoEM III, if you have the individual volumes) is loaded with spells that are perfect for this sort of character.

Three excellent examples:

- Recent occupant tells you the name and race of whomever last occupied a small area, and how long ago they were there

- Learn heritage tells you a target's family history, ancestry and other useful tidbits

- Compelling question forces an answer out of your target

Their impact may seem subtle at first, but recent occupant has completely changed the way the PCs IMC interact with the world -- and the way the players actually play the game. It's got uses that go far beyond the spell's description (casting it in combat, then using the foe's name to bluff a reaction out of them, for example), like many of Monte's spells.

Plus, if you don't already have the CBoEM, you'll be getting what is IMO the best third party source of spells available for D&D, period. Go buy it!

 

[Rodrigo Istalindir]

Yeah, Charm Person is probably your best single choice, since it can be used in wide variety of situations. Disguise Self can also be very handy for an investigative bard. Comprehend Languages might be Ok, depending on how your DM handles languages. I've often run campaigns with no Common tongue, which made it very useful.

 

[Saeviomagy]

Alarm. Want to question someone, but don't want to have to wait for them to come home? Slap an alarm there. Don't want to have to watch the back door? Slap an alarm there. Worried that it's just YOU casing a joint and you might get jumped? Slap an alarm down on yourself - noone can sneak up on you.

Detect secret doors. Only got a short time before someone comes back to the room you're in? Can't waste time searching? In a single round, you can find whether there's anything hidden away, and only two rounds later you'll know exactly how to get at them without having to resort to a crowbar.

Hypnotism. Charm person? Ptah. Sleep? Ptah. Hypnotism does 2d4 hit dice of targets (humanoid or not), and raises their attitude towards you by two! Then it's diplomacy away! If you ever pick up metamagics, then you can maximise and empower this one too. Also it has some limited combat effect. All in all - a versatile spell, and when you're limited in spell knowledge, versatility is king.