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*Pathfinder & Starfinder
Is the Bard broken?
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<blockquote data-quote="ARandomGod" data-source="post: 2811234" data-attributes="member: 17296"><p>I'd say go with Arcane Trickster, sorc based. You'd get someone with plenty of fighting ability (poor BaB, but rogue sneak attacks!) casting just a few levels below a pure sorc (1 1/2 spell levels, he'll still get 9th level spells at 20), and naturally talented at diplomacy.</p><p></p><p>That's a lot better party support.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Ahem, anyhow. In general I agree with the OP, bards are broken. However I'm not going to say which WAY they're broken. In a game that's all social, they're overpowered socially. In a game that's all combat, they're not nearly as good as having hired a torchbearer. At least the torchbearer isn't pretending he earned some of that treasure. </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Point. Some PrC's make the bard much better. As to whether this is a good thing... see my above opinion and apply it to which game type you're in.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Also a good point. Ppl just don't play it enough. Personally I'd argue that this is on the "bards are underpowered" side... there are SOOO many people that if bards were truely overpowered... or even on par in total power level I think there simply would be more of them. There are plenty of people who hear "that class sucks" and take it as a personal challenge to break the character in overpoweredness. And if I haven't seen at least a half dozen ways to do just that, I'd say that the class isn't as powerful as the others (cause I've seen more than a few ways to break other classes!_</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Of cousre, a lot of ppl don't like to allow in non-core material, and almost everyone allows that the Leadership feat itself is pretty broken. Now I do take your point that the bard is AWESOME as a part of a large group. However I don't like to have large groups, either as a GM or as a player. They're too cumbersome. You really will have combats lasting over an hour if you're taking advantage of the bards power in this way (or, at any rate, we would in our campaigns), and everyone would hate the bard for taking up 95% of all the game-time on his turn.</p><p></p><p>Which, by the way, is also how the players would feel in general with a bard in a mostly social setting. A group of adventurers with little social skill would wonder why they're hanging around listening to this bard talk to people for them. They'd in general rather pay the bard a fee for his services, and go about their business without being bogged down in the details. </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>OK... but you'll have to move away from DnD (I know, that IS your point).</p><p></p><p></p><p>Off Topic:</p><p></p><p>Best Spoiler Ever!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="ARandomGod, post: 2811234, member: 17296"] I'd say go with Arcane Trickster, sorc based. You'd get someone with plenty of fighting ability (poor BaB, but rogue sneak attacks!) casting just a few levels below a pure sorc (1 1/2 spell levels, he'll still get 9th level spells at 20), and naturally talented at diplomacy. That's a lot better party support. Ahem, anyhow. In general I agree with the OP, bards are broken. However I'm not going to say which WAY they're broken. In a game that's all social, they're overpowered socially. In a game that's all combat, they're not nearly as good as having hired a torchbearer. At least the torchbearer isn't pretending he earned some of that treasure. Point. Some PrC's make the bard much better. As to whether this is a good thing... see my above opinion and apply it to which game type you're in. Also a good point. Ppl just don't play it enough. Personally I'd argue that this is on the "bards are underpowered" side... there are SOOO many people that if bards were truely overpowered... or even on par in total power level I think there simply would be more of them. There are plenty of people who hear "that class sucks" and take it as a personal challenge to break the character in overpoweredness. And if I haven't seen at least a half dozen ways to do just that, I'd say that the class isn't as powerful as the others (cause I've seen more than a few ways to break other classes!_ Of cousre, a lot of ppl don't like to allow in non-core material, and almost everyone allows that the Leadership feat itself is pretty broken. Now I do take your point that the bard is AWESOME as a part of a large group. However I don't like to have large groups, either as a GM or as a player. They're too cumbersome. You really will have combats lasting over an hour if you're taking advantage of the bards power in this way (or, at any rate, we would in our campaigns), and everyone would hate the bard for taking up 95% of all the game-time on his turn. Which, by the way, is also how the players would feel in general with a bard in a mostly social setting. A group of adventurers with little social skill would wonder why they're hanging around listening to this bard talk to people for them. They'd in general rather pay the bard a fee for his services, and go about their business without being bogged down in the details. OK... but you'll have to move away from DnD (I know, that IS your point). Off Topic: Best Spoiler Ever! [/QUOTE]
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