Help me design a halfling bard!

[The Souljourner]

You can make good use of them without an 18 charisma, you just have to use them wisely, instead of willy nilly. A bard played wisely can do very well with 14 charisma... most fighter, rogue, and "I hit you" monsters have crap for will saves anyway... is a +2 really going to make so much difference? Sure, against clerics, your spells aren't going to work, but hardly any will save spells work against clerics.

I would generally try to give a bard 16 charisma if possible (pretty easy if you're human), but since he's playing a halfling, I don't feel he can spare the points... maybe 15 charisma and 10 intelligence, with a bump at 4th to 16, but I just don't see where it's possible to get 8(!) more points out of the build to get to 18 at 1st level and not totally screw yourself.

-The Souljourner

 

[Dark Jezter]

Quick update, folks. My DM has informed me that he has decided to go with 32-point buy. Using the stats Souljourner stated above, I've upped the charisma to 16 and the wisdom to 12 (the previous stats he gave me only used 26 points).

 

[The Souljourner]

Umm... no, I just double checked, and the stats I gave added up to 30. You have to count points *before* racial adjustments. That means that 14 strength actually cost you 10 points.

However, with another couple points you could drop intelligence to 10 and get 16 charisma, which probably is worth it.

-The Souljourner

 

[Dark Jezter]

Umm... no, I just double checked, and the stats I gave added up to 30. You have to count points *before* racial adjustments. That means that 14 strength actually cost you 10 points.

However, with another couple points you could drop intelligence to 10 and get 16 charisma, which probably is worth it.

-The Souljourner

You're right, of course. I just went over the numbers and realized that I miscalculated earlier. Oops.

My stat array now looks like this: Str 14 (16 before racial penalty), Dex 14 (12 before racial bonus), Con 12, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 16. Making it 32 points total.

 

[The Souljourner]

Looks cool. I hope you enjoy playing him, I know I had an absolute blast with my bard.

-The Souljourner

 

[two]

NIX Int.

Dude, totally get that Con=14!

One skill point per level is just not worth it. +1 on fort saves, +1 HP is better.

Make Int=10, Con=14.

Bards have 6 SP per level. It's enough, really. 7 just does not make that much difference, in my opinion. On the other hand, a few hitpoints can mean the difference between death and not-death. In fact, often do.

Have fun, and stay alive! Keep that d6 bard con high!

 

[Dark Jezter]

Dude, totally get that Con=14!

One skill point per level is just not worth it. +1 on fort saves, +1 HP is better.

Make Int=10, Con=14.

Bards have 6 SP per level. It's enough, really. 7 just does not make that much difference, in my opinion. On the other hand, a few hitpoints can mean the difference between death and not-death. In fact, often do.

Have fun, and stay alive! Keep that d6 bard con high!

Actually, I made a typo when I posted my above post. I typed 12 intelligence when I should have typed 10.

Man, today is really an off day for me. I keep making typoes and math errors.

 

[Dark Jezter]

Okay, I've got the character pretty much complete except for his 1st level feat. I'm trying to decide between Spell Focus (Enchantment), Improved Initiative, or Point Blank Shot.

 

[Darklone]

Cha 16? Go for Spell focus at level 3 and pick PBS now.

Imp Init is not that important for you as long as you don't stand at the front of your party when combat starts.

 

[two]

Well, melee or archer or enchanter

What type of bard is this? Melee bard, archer bard, or enchanter bard?

Bards don't have a lot of attack spells. They do have a lot of utility/tactical/buff spells. This means that, if you don't have a high charisma, it's ok. You can simply never cast an attack spell (with a DC) in your entire career, and still be a fun capable bard. (or, rather, cast a few attacks spells now and then, but don't think much will happen except vs. grunts).

So, if you are not planning on casting a bunch of DC spells, forget spell-focus and forget having a super high charisma. It's just not that necessary.

Archer bards are pretty common. PBShot, Rapid Shot, Precise Shot at 1/3/6. Then leadership at 9 should work.

I am not a big fan of improved initiative for bards. Really, does it matter THAT much if the bard goes first? Very, very rarely. And feats are so hard to come by.

It would be fun to play a warrior bard with only enough charisma to cast the base level spells. I.e. start off with Char=11, get a +2 item by the time the bard can cast 2nd level spells, get a +4 item by the time 5th level spells roll around, etc. You lose out some bonus spells for sure, but gain a LOT of extra point-buy uuuuummmmpph.