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Message: <blockquote data-quote="niteshade6" data-source="post: 720529" data-attributes="member: 10320">It's very hard to play a melee combat oriented bard because of poor ac and poor hit points. You can sometimes do it with the right spells, use magic device, and shield scrolls but it is difficult. If you go this route you need a good strength more then anything. You can't be a melee bard with a 10 strength, even if you do use weapon finese. You just won't do enough damage to make the slightest difference. If you want to go this route take the highest strength you can, as well as a high con. Maybe even consider martial weapon prof greatsword or something similar.Archer bard is much easier to pull off, but almost every suggestion I've seen here for an archer bard build is very poor. You absolutely do NOT want a 10 strength. Archers with 10 strength are pathetic. Strength is much more important then dex for archers, becasue your hit bonus goes up almost every level anyway, but almost nothing else increases your bow damage. An archer with 18 strength and 10 dex will probably do almost double the damage per round that one with a 10 strength and 18 dex would.One final way to go is an enchantment bard. This can also combine with a melee bard to some extent, but it is harder to combine with an archer bard because of the feat requirements. It also takes longer to get going. This is basicaly where you take spell focus and greater spell focus enchantment, and use spells like hold person, confusion, suggestion, charm, hold monster, dominate person, etc. Bards get many enchantment spells very early, sometimes even earlier then sorcerors. For example they confusion as a lvl 3 spell instead of lvl 4 for everyone else. So they can be pretty nasty when they alternate between melee fighting and chucking nasty enchantment spells. The key thing when playing a bard is thinking about what will set him apart from the other classes. Try to use as many of his strengths as you can, or else you will end up playing an inferior sorceror, an inferior rogue, or an inferior cleric. Take advantages of his many strengths and you can at least be an inferior sorceror/rogue/cleric.</blockquote>

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