Help on Bard Build - It's a matter of pride, folks.

[Grogtar]

If you combine the Words of Creation (Book of Exalted Deeds) with Inspirational Boost at 2nd level you can give a +4 boost at 2nd level. You can do +6 with other feats as well.

 

[Liquidsabre]

For a bard I'd go with the Use Magic Device (use every scroll and wand there is), Leadership, and Enchantment route.

For feats, I'd go human to make the best of it with: [1st] Extra Music and [1st] Spell Focus: Enchantment. At 3rd pick up Enchanting Song (Races of Stone), for boosting those Enchantments spells even more, and at 6th I go immediately for the Leadership feat. Pick-up whatever the groups needs more of, usually a fighter or healer-type, though ideally someone who can craft wands and scrolls for you to make use of naturally. All the while you've got to wheel and deal in the game world as you progress in levels, make contacts, curry favors, until you've built up a network of sorts. Run a small keep or an army while you're at it. Use that leadership and all that currying to greater effect. Nothing like busting down the villains doors with a small army at your back.

Oh and Bards make the absolute BEST villains, for the same reasons. Muhaha.

 

[Lodow MoBo]

A couple of things I like about my bard:

Oratory as my primary skill makes the bard song facinate and suggestion pretty cool.

Touch of mastery lets you use any weapon(including exotic) you want as a swift action.

Extra bard song, lyrical spell very nice. really expands your spell casting ability.

Pick up a race with a diffrent subtype - make alter self really neat.
My guy has a fey subtype. This allows for alter self into saytr and pixie.

 

[Thanee]

The real problem with using a bard as an offensive caster is the number of spells per day they get. It's very easy to find yourself reduced to using your bow after only one or two fights, if you aren't careful.

Yep, you can never be just one thing with a bard. You can't be just an archer or just a swashbuckler or just an enchanter. You have to go down multiple paths, I think. But nonetheless, the enchantment spells are surely quite powerful. As you said, you just don't have enough to rely on them overly much.

Bye
Thanee

 

[Mistwell]

I say ditch the official WOTC bard and go with a Monte Cook bard from Complete Book of Eldritch Might. It's better all-around, and would be fun to play. And hey, the guy helped write 3.0, so you can assure your DM that it won't be unbalanced.

 

[Synthetik Fish]

Hi all,

Line C: 16, 14, 14, 13, 12,10 (Total: +9 Bonus)

Here's what I'd do: Halfling. 16 Dex becomes 18. 14 Charisma, 14 Intel, 11 (was 13) Strength, 12 Con, 10 Wisdom.

Take point blank shot and then rapid shot as soon as possible (I'd even take some weaknesses using Unearthed Arcana if your DM would allow...) . Concentrate on bardic abilities and spells that add to your attack and damage. Use throwing daggers. When you move, you can draw weapons as free actions. This means 5 foot step, throw throw (at low levels.)

At first level, you'll have +1 to attack with the daggers because of size, +1 because of your halfling racial ability, and +1 because of the extra dex (which is kinda already calculated.) You also get +1 AC. Not bad.

Now consider by third level you are making 2 attacks a round (rapid shot.) By then you will be able to go into combat with +1 or higher to EVERYONES damage per attack. Inspire Courage Gives you +1 to attack and damage. So, +1 to attack for Point blank, +1 for being a halfling, and +1 for Inspire Courage. +1 to damage for Point Blank, +1 for Inspire Courage. And this is only at First level!!
By 4th level, you can cast Heroism and get +2 more to attack, and Cat's Grace for another +2. So at first level, you are getting +2 to damage with daggers, and +8 to attack (4 for dex, 1 for racial, 1 for point blank, 1 for size, 1 for Inspire Courage.) by 4th level, this turns into +15!! (3 for Base Attack, 4 for dex (18), 2 for cats grace, 2 for Heroism, 1 for racial, 1 for point blank, 1 for size, 1 for Inspire Courage) or +13/+13. THATS NOT TOO SHABBY. In act, you could easily have the highest to-hit in your party. Not to mention a Focus feat if you managed to take a weakness from UA. If you were able to do that, I'd also look for a feat that's along the lines of Power Attack, only for thrown weapons. Oh yeah, and at 4th level you'd want to boost your STR to 12, so you're doing +3 points of damage now too If you want to be really nasty, take some levels in rogue for some extra sneak-attack flavour. Works well with tumble and some of your abilities/spells.

NOTE: Since you're using throwing daggers, and using a lot of them, I'd try to invent some sort of magic item at higher levels that's basicly a pair of gloves that gives magical bonuses to your daggers, basicly the same effect that a magical bow has on arrows. This isn't unreasonible, and is kinda even within the rules of the DMG for making a magical item/weapon (it's be considered both. the maker would need craft arms and armor AND craft wonderous item) So a pair of +1 gloves would cost ~2,000 GP, and would give a +1 enhancement to any (i'd make it specific to dagger) that is being used by the wearer (it shoudl work both in melee and ranged, but ranged at the minimum.) The thrown daggers are still normal daggers, but they act like a magical bow for the purposes of damage, to-hit, and damage reduction. Fair enough.

Masterwork Studded Leather will give you +3 AC with no armor check penalty (max dex bonus +5. By 4th level you could even down grade to normal Leather, or upgrade to a mithral shirt ) Size gives you another +1 to AC, 18 dex gives you +4, and a Masterwork Buckler would give you another +1 (no armor check penalty). That's a 19 AC at 2nd level (goes up to 21 while using Cat's Grace, which you should be anyways, but that comes at 4th level... but then again at 4th level you could have a +1 mithral shirt and ahve a 23 AC), also not too shabby... especially for a guy who's really not going to be seeing a whole lot of front-line-fighting. This AC with lots of tumble (and Blur and Mirror Image) is enough to not only make you almost un-touchible, but also give anyone a headache just trying to follow you!

I'd take perform in "witty banter and insults." Think spider man, you are basicly just talking crap the whole time. And if you're actually good at this in real life, it makes it even better. You wouldn't need an instrument, and it could make for a lot of role-playing fun.

Here's the kicker. Sure, your 14 Char isn't a +4 bonus... but who cares??? You're not a mage, you're a bard. Use your extra skill points from your high(ish) intel wisely. Perform!! Tumble!! Hell be a jester if you want to-- hat and all. A sh*t-talking jester that's tumbling everywhere, throwing daggers, and doing damage. Not to mention that you can pick up a whole bunch of languages for 1 point each, and you also have a wide variety of other skills availible to you. That's where a lot of your role-playing can come in.

Some cool 1st level spells to think of (because they are what will be immediately availble to you) :
Expedious Retreat (this + tumble = cool)
Grease (most useful for reducing people to half movement)
Summon Monster (can you say distraction?)
Cure Light Wounds (this is pretty self-explainitory...)

2nd level:
Blur! Better than AC points because it makes ANYONE have a lower chance of hitting you no matter how high their to-hit is.
Cat's Grace (duh)
Darkness
Heroism (duh)
Invisiblity
Mirror Image (think of fun uses for this with tumble... even for role-playing/entertaining purposes)
Rage
Silence (NOT centered anywhere near you!!)

Try to stay away from spells that give people save's... as you're NOT A WIZARD. Lol. Things that help you out will be far more effective than things that try to hurt others.

Wow... now III want to play this bard. Lol!!

(as you can tell, I'm totally not a power gamer, and I've never throught about any of the tips that I've just told you ever before )

I'm interested to know what you end up choosing to do with your bard.

 

[Synthetik Fish]

For the record I put at least a half hour of thought into that post... lol

 

[Synthetik Fish]

My bad, Heroism and Inspire Courage Don't stack. I'd still take advantage of the +1 to damage from the Inspire Courage tho, not to mention that it also effects everyone else and not just you.

 

[fuindordm]

Anyone can be good in combat if they've got a decent Strength. I like the halfilng jester idea, and here's another one: the savage bard (the UA variant just subs Fort for Reflex as the good save and tweaks the spell list a bit):

Here's a 'tankish' Bard. Keep boosting Charisma as you gain levels; you'll still get the second level spells
on time, but no bonus spells of third level or higher for a long time. If you're really trying to prove that bards don't suck, then you probably don't want to multiclass--but maybe you can take one level of Barbarian later on after you've proven that bards don't suck.

Str 16, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 10, Cha 13

Human--8 skill points per level, more than sufficient. Perform: Singing, Stealth skills, Athletics, Diplomacy, Knowledge: History, plus whatever strikes your fancy.

Fight with longsword and large shield. With a chain shirt, you're AC 18.

Feats: I'd shy away from Extra music; it's a feat that quickly becomes useless.
Two-weapon fighting and improved shied bash?
EWP: bastard sword and weapon focus might be nice, too.
Or use your feats for defense and go with Dodge and Diehard.

You should have enough HP and AC with this build to be a solid second-tier fighter.

Ben

 

[Drowbane]

A couple of things I like about my bard:

Oratory as my primary skill makes the bard song facinate and suggestion pretty cool.

Touch of mastery lets you use any weapon(including exotic) you want as a swift action.

Extra bard song, lyrical spell very nice. really expands your spell casting ability.

Pick up a race with a diffrent subtype - make alter self really neat.
My guy has a fey subtype. This allows for alter self into saytr and pixie.

I've heard about that Bard... you're in Forceuser's Rothland group, right? Louis the Satyr...