Optimizing A Bard

[Dannyalcatraz]

For giggles...

I'm planning on running a Sorc/ some kind of warrior in a very restricted 3.5 campaign (Core + first 4 Completes, no Psi, no PrCls, only PHB classes + Favored Soul).

One thing I considered was Sorc/Bard. Here's why- the PC in question is taking Draconic Heritage and Draconic Breath (CompArc) at first level. DH requires Sorc1 as a prereq. As Sorc/Bard, the PC would have a lot of spell versatility, could cast certain spells in armor, and so forth. Ultimately, though, I passed on the Bard because I want the PC to be more of a warrior.

Still, once you take that Sorc level, you can apply Draconic Breath to any arcane spell, so he could learn all the utility spells he wanted, and still be able to drop a cone o' death on his foes at a moment's notice.

 

[Jack Simth]

Meaning, not great at all?


Please explain how you've turned this into a great option for ending combat. I would like to try it.

By cheesing it up.

For a simple build, the Half-Elf Bard, with an 18 Charisma, max ranks, Negotiator and Skill Focus (Diplomacy), plus all the synergy the bard can find, gets:
+2 (Half Elf), +6 (ranks), +2 (Negotiator), +3 (Skill Focus (Diplomacy)), +4 (Charisma), +2 (bluff synergy), +2 (Knoweledge(Nobility and Royalty) synergy), +2 (Sense Motive Synergy) = +23. -10 for Rushed means a net +13. That's Hostile to Unfriendly (DC 20) on a roll of 7 - "Will take risks to hurt you" and "Attack, interfere, berate, flee" to "Wishes you ill" and "Mislead, gossip, avoid, watch suspiciously, insult". On a roll of 12, that's Hostile to Indifferent (DC 25) - changing your ex-opponent from a place where they're supposed to be attacking you, to "Doesn’t much care" and "Socially expected interaction"

There's also ways to get more bonuses out of it when magic items become available - a Cloak of Charisma +6 (for +3), Circlet of Persuasion (+3 Competence), Stone of Good Luck (+1 luck), and so on. There's even more stuff available if you're willing to take the time to burn spells on it (for instance, both Heroism and Greater Heroism give a Morale bonus to skill checks - +2 and +4, respectively - and Heroism is 10 minutes/level, and conveniently a Bard spell to boot). If you want to branch outside of Core, and are okay with multiclassing, a single level in Psion (Telepath) can net you a Friendly Psicrystal - good for another +3, and as a Psion(Telepath) has all the same class skills you want for maximizing Charisma, you can put that one in during your first 3 levels. There's more options, as well.

 

[Kishin]

No melee Bard should leave home with out a crystal echoblade from the MiC with the harmonizing (also MiC) weapon modifier on it and Snowflake Wardance (Frostburn).

The trick to Bards? Find stuff that lets you add charisma to things. Then optimize Inspire Courage. Then melt face.

 

[Damien]

We're using 30 point buy, so I'm thinking of the following:

Ability Scores
Str 10
Dex 14
Con 10
Int 16
Wis 8
Cha 16
Skills 1 5 10 Comments
Bluff 4 9 13 Diplomacy synergy
Concentration 4 9 13
Decipher Script 2 5 5 UMD scroll synergy
Diplomacy 4 9 13
Gather Information 4 9 13
Knowledge (History) 4 5 5 Bardic knowledge synergy
Knowledge (Nobility) 4 5 5 Diplomacy synergy
Listen 4 9 13
Perform (Sing) 4 9 13
Sense Motive 4 9 13 Diplomacy synergy
Spellcraft 1 1 11 UMD scroll synergy
Use Magic Device 1 1 13

Feats
1. Jack of all Trades
1. Lingering Song
3. Versatile Performer (wind, string, oratory)
6. Disguise Spell
9. Subsonics

I've only planned levels 1 to 10 so far. I looked at virtuoso and sublime chord, but I didn't like to loss of class skills and skill points. Other than the core books, we only have access to the complete series. All of the feats I picked are from complete adventurer. The leadership feat will probably be banned since we have a big group.

***

I really don't see the use of hide and move silently. For a rogue, sure. And rangers. But a bard? I'd rather hide in plain sight and totally abuse disguise spell and/or subsonics. If I'm desperate to sneak around I can use invisibility and silence.

As for the rest, they don't seem as good as what I've picked already. I've got Jack of All Trades, so I have half my my level in all of these skills anyway, and can use them all untrained.

I'm going for sleight of hand for my last feat to replace concentration, since its handy for both swiping things and the conceal spellcasting skill trick in Complete Scoundrel.

If you had access to the PHB2, I'd suggest replacing Bardic Lore with Bardic Knack, which would significantly augment your non-core skill group. It would also almost justify taking the Jack of All Trades feat (which, contrary to what you said, only gives you a flat 1/2 virtual rank in skills).

For your feat selection:
1. Jack of All Trades - useful with Bardic Knack primarily; it basically lets you use Trained-only skills untrained. The problem here is that most Trained Only skills are generally either of little use (e.g., Profession), or require you to pump a lot of ranks into them to make them worthwhile (e.g., Disable Device, Use Magic Device). It is most useful for the large Knowledge skill group, IMO, but without Bardic Knack to improve those skills above the base level, your bonuses here won't be enough to make your use of knowledge skills at all reliable. Even with Bardic Knack, you can probably get by without this feat by simply putting one rank into whichever knowledge or other Trained-Only skills you want.

2. Lingering Song - As mentioned by others, a decent feat, but with Melodic Casting it's probably redundant.

3. Versatile Performer - I could see taking this for its flavor, or perhaps as a prerequisite for a prestige class or something, but on its own from a game mechanics perspective, it is superfluous.

4. Disguise Spell - Between the Melodic Casting feat and the Conceal Casting skill trick from Complete Scoundrel, this feat is not needed.

5. Subsonics - it sounds interesting, but leaves a lot of room for DM rulings; just what, for example, is your bardic music's range when using subsonics? Usually for bardic music it is "within earshot," but how would that apply here? In combination with Disguise Spell, it's also a DM's call whether the verbal components of disguised spells would be rendered subsonic through this feat. You should get these issues straightened out before taking this feat.

Here's some other feats I'd consider:

Melodic Casting - pretty much indispensable for a bard.
Spell Focus (enchantment) - if you plan on focusing on enchantment spells, anything to boost the DC is worthwhile, especially with a base Charisma of only 16.
Captivating Melody - lets you use bardic music slots to boost the DC of enchantment/illusion spells (it's in Complete Mage)
Fey Heritage feats (in Complete Mage) - these feats dovetail nicely with bards, since they produce enchantment-related effects.

You might also consider dipping a single level of Mindbender (in Complete Arcane). For that one level, you get an incredible benefit: 100-foot telepathy with any intelligent creature! With this you can communicate tactics to your allies while performing or engaging in diplomacy, provide hidden directions to charmed creatures--and of course, communicate with any intelligent creature without the need for knowing its language. You can qualify for Mindbender pretty early, though you'd need to pump up Intimidate, which is a cross-class skill for bards. If you're willing to give up a level of spellcasting (which I probably wouldn't), you can go 2nd level in Mindbender, and get the ability to do suggestion telepathically 1/day, with a DC of 13 + Charisma bonus. You could boost this by +2 with the Ability Focus feat, but it's not worth it IMO to use a feat to power a single 1/day ability, no matter how good.