How precise can you time a delay?

[Darklone]

In case the rogue is a heavily armoured doubleweapon wielding rogue/fighter dwarf...

Tank delays. Opponent moves in and attacks. Bard (delayed) moves into position and attacks (Spring attack perhaps to avoid AoOs). Tank unleashes sneak attack massacre on opponent.

 

[Philip]

I want to play with more players like you. I've recently seen a bevy of pure fighters with spring attack who are scared of damage. Standard D&D assumes that fighters take the attacks the rest of the party can't.

I agree. We have suffered the consequences. We are playing Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil with one Duelist/Spring Attack type fighter, a Monk, a Ranger/Rogue archer, a Cleric and a Paladin/Sorcerer.

The highest STR score among the party is 12! The fighter was never around to take a beating, resulting in other party members taking damage.

On the other hand, except for the Cleric, all party members have Improved Initiative and Dexterity scores between 14 and 20. Which means that the whole party can often act before the bad guys do, which can end a fight in the party's favor before the opponents have a chance to act.

 

[baradtgnome]

Obviously, one of the simplest strategies is for my bard to simply Start Fighting Defensively and remain in a flanking position for the rogue. So long as his AC and hp hold out, that'd give the rogue the opportunity to full attack every round, which is good. However, a couple good hits, or a crit, and my bard won't be able to hold that position. Then it turns to hit and run.

Reach weapon? Even with a use penalty it is still a threat.

Can't someone in your group cast summon monster to help out the poor rogue with a flank situation?

I hope others in your group are trying to figure this out as well. Be a same to tie this character up being a 'flanking creator'. I 2nd the well done gamer comments.

 

[Lord Pendragon]

Got it. See above comment. With 15ft of reach to safeguard you, 'being' in melee is a relative term.

Well, even with a whip-dagger as opposed to an ordinary whip, it doesn't threaten...at all. My bard uses the whip-dagger as his preferred weapon (I've never played a whip-wielder before, so I thought I'd go with it,) and wears a spiked gauntlet for AoOs. Plus he plans on picking up a rapier later. Bottom line: he still needs to be up close and personal to flank.

May I suggest the absolute wonder that is Mirror Image? It's simply an amazing defensive spell against physical attacks.

You know, I didn't even realize that this spell was on the Bard list until you mentioned it. Currently I have Alter Self, Glitterdust, and Invisibility as my 2nd level spells, but I'm definitely going to pick up Mirror Image the first opportunity I get. One bonus to being a bard is that even though my spell levels rise slowly, my caster level is still good, so it should provide some serious protection.

Regardless, if the rogue is dual weilding you might want to take a round on/round off tactic. Spring into flank, wait a round, spring out of flank. You do need to move before and after so in those cases take your attack out of flank then end in flank.

Good advice. That'd let the rogue get his full round of sneak attacks in. I also have Cure Light Wounds as a 1st level spell, so instead of springing out, I could Tumble out, then heal myself up some, allowing me to take a bit more beating when I go back in.

In case the rogue is a heavily armoured doubleweapon wielding rogue/fighter dwarf...

The rogue is a lightly armored human, actually. I'm not sure about his levels, since the group I'm in likes to keep stats/levels and such secret. Rogue/Fighter or Rogue/Ranger, I figure.

Reach weapon? Even with a use penalty it is still a threat.

True, but I'm trying to maintain at least the fiction of doing damage. Besides, he's more of a swashbuckler than anything, so the longspear (the only reach weapon he's proficient with, I believe) doesn't quite fit his character.

Can't someone in your group cast summon monster to help out the poor rogue with a flank situation?

We do have a wizard, though I'm not sure if he has summon monster spells learned or not. We have a druid who summons critters, and when he does summon critters, they do help provide flanking for the rogue. But he doesn't really summon critters just to flank for the rogue.

Also, to clarify, the group does flank for the rogue. Our group is good about strategic combat, especially the rogue's player himself. But there are times when that's just not possible, for whatever reasons. So I'm trying to have a strategy figured out so I can fill in, when the others can't, not because they won't.

I 2nd the well done gamer comments.

Aw, shucks. Thanks for the comments, guys, but I'm really just trying to have the most fun with my character, rather than sacrificing him for the group. I'm finding that with a bard, the best way to enjoy yourself is to facilitate the heck out of things. In our last session we stormed a lair of orcs. I only managed 1 kill, but I had over a dozen assists.