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Message: <blockquote data-quote="The Sigil" data-source="post: 648037" data-attributes="member: 2013">With apologies for the shameless plug, you might really want to check out my PDF, the Enchiridion of Mystic Music - this really beefs up what you can do with your music abilities.<a href="http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=134&" target="_blank">http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=134&</a>As far as other stuff goes:As others have mentioned, bards make great archers (in fact, bards can become Arcane Archers pretty darn quick).  One of my own personal favorites, though, is to utilize the "mobile bard" with boots of striding and springing and/or a ring of jumping plus a whip (or, if you have Bastion Press' Alchemy & Herbalists, a Lash of Saumar).  Teasing and annoying your enemies, while repeatedly leaping around them can do wonders.Another idea is to have the bard act as sort of the "Field General" - coordinate the other PCs and step in to help where needed.  I have seen bards used as the "reserve" for all situations, be it offensive spellslinging, healing the wounded, archery, or straight-up slugfests.Finally (and this goes with some of the comments below), don't overlook the utility of one of the bard's exclusive skills, Use Magic Device.  This allows a bard to "mimic" any other spellcaster, divine or arcane, and provides the party with someone who can ALWAYS use the stuff that you're prying off of dead bodies.  A bard packing a wand of fireballs (and using Use Magic Device) is possibly more handy than a wizard or sorcerer, because he can also jump into melee or cast healing spells.*Shameless plug* You'll find that bard songs are VERY well-defined in the EoMM (above).However, the PHB does do a pretty good job defining them.  A bard song lasts until the bard (a) stops singing, (b) attempts one of a certain set of actions (mostly magical actions such as casting a spell, completing a spell trigger item, etc.), or (c) is silenced.  That the effects of the song may linger after the bard's song stops do not affect this definition.By the example you gave above, when you start your song, you use one of your "music" uses for the day.  The benefit lasts as long as you continue singing.  When you cast the spell, the song is over.  The benefits may last for a few more rounds, but you have effectively ended the song.  You can't "pick it up" after casting the spell; rather, you may only "start a new one" (using another daily use of your music ability).Think of the effect of inspire courage, for instance, as "Concentration plus 5 rounds."  IOW, time is counted off as follows:Step A: If the character is Concentrating, the effect continues and you should return to Step A next round.  Otherwise, go to step B.Step B: The effect lasts for 5 more rounds.  Return to step B next round and decrement the number (from 5 to 4, from 4 to 3, etc).  If this number is zero, end the effect.So once your Concentration is broken, you start applying time to the 5 rounds - you can't pick it up again because you're no longer taking time out of the "Concentration" portion of the spell.IMO, the PHB bard.  Monte's bard DOES get 6 skill points - but look what he gives up...Instead of two abilities (music plus spellcasting) he gets all his abilities lumped into one (spellsongs).  He is now MUCH more vulnerable to silence spells (a PHB bard can use the Silent Spell Feat to cast spells where he's silenced, even if his songs won't work).  Furthermore, he loses the ability to use scrolls as easily (as the spells on the scrolls are no longer on his class list - no more having the bard carry scrolls of Cure Light Wounds if there is no cleric or if the cleric goes down).  I myself think that with just three "levels," spellsongs make for a LESS flexible character, not more.Just my 2 cents.--The Sigil</blockquote>

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