Bard question

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u know... in the manual.. it says that Bards can climb walls...

im still puzzled at this.. I dont know exactly where this would apply except for maybe? that cloaked wizards home in the docks district... can they really climb walls?

 

From a power point of view a bard is terrible: He´s the born looser when compared to any of the other classes.

However, I can´t imagine a bard doing anything else but standing in the background singing his song to support the fighing party with his song and some spells and to identify the loot later.
That´s where a bard excells: As a supporting character with the strengths: lore & pickpocketing (as long as you don´t choose the skald) & bard songs (some very indirect support, nontheless useful). As a support-character a bard just follows the spellmighty mage-cleric. And as for the fighting abilities - no one would put Aerie into your fron´t line either...

The bards silly THACO suggests to choose a dex 18 (unfortunately elfs can´t be). That´s good for pickpocketing and gives a freebie THACO bonus on missile weapons: Just give him the bow of the tuigan, bracs of archery and arrows of piercing. His THACO should be acceptabble then - and when fighting from a distance he´s pretty survivable. btw - the bard chainmails are excellent.

besides, parvini: Beeing a watcher donsn´t say anything about the quality of the facts someone posts. And when he dislikes bards and starts a discussion about it - fine. I find his boring numbers pretty enlighting though a wee bit tendentious.

[This message has been edited by Ragusa (edited May 06, 2001).]

[This message has been edited by Ragusa (edited May 06, 2001).]

 

The watcher jibe was a harmless was to insult without actually saying anything insulting for we were all watchers once

 

I may be a watcher but i am also a seasoned veteran at rpg Gaming............so watch it!
Please

 

Sorry i did not mean to sound rude

i see what you meen stargazer ouch!

[This message has been edited by Avooch Dar (edited May 06, 2001).]

 

Concerning Haer'Dalis, I must agree that he is not exactly the ideal NPC. Put simply, he generally sucks. I tried to play him in many different ways but he still didn't work for me. That doesn't mean though he won't work for anyone. This little bard is a challenge to play and I want to congratulate any of you that managed to make him a useful party member. I could not and didn't need to.After all,two bards in one group are way too many
and my skald is soooo fine .

Btw, Avooch, don't post two messages in a row because I've seen you doing it again and it's likely to piss off the moderators sometime soon. Edit your first post with the pencil and paper icon if you wish to add sth new. Just some friendly advice.

[This message has been edited by Stargazer rb-rjd (edited May 06, 2001).]

 

can someone tell me what the manual means when it says that the Bard can climb walls?

im really puzzled....

 

Don't care about that, it's remains from the rpg... If you don't know what I'm talking about, just ignore the climb walls thing

 

Bard: D- ... why not be a f/m/t?
Basically, the Skald song is just way way better. The Skald's song is so good that he can get away with just playing that and still be a valuable member of the group. The normal bard song, on the other hand, just doesn't cut it. Yeah, the Skald suffers in the pickpockets area, but that can easily be fixed with a few potions of mastery-thievery when one really needs to pick a pocket. If you are really fixed on being a "jack-of-all-trades", instead of a Bard, why not be a F/M/T multiclass? Both end up with same base THAC0, though F/M/T gets a bonus +1 due to his ability to specialize in weapons. Plus the F/M/T gets a +2 damage bonus. Plus, F/M/T gets an extra attack per round. Plus the F/M/T has better thieving abilities (he can be every bit the pickpocket as a normal bard, and then some..). Plus, the F/M/T can wear plate, large shields, and helmets, while the Bard is limited to chain and bucklers. Plus, the F/M/T can backstab at x5, the bard can't. Their casting abilities are virtually identical. The only thing the bard has going for it is high lore, but is it really worth ALL those tradeoffs? It's almost laughable -- a F/M/T performs much the same role in a group as a bard would, and he's better at it in nearly every respect!

Skald: A+ ... The best bard
If you want a bard who plays songs, choose a Skald. As I detailed in another post, the Skald song is nothing to sneeze at -- depending on your group makeup, it is altogether possible that a Skald could be the biggest damage dealer in a group (albeit indirectly) in addition to his other fine abilities (spellcasting and lore). The effects of the Skald song simply cannot be understated. I did some of the math in another thread on this board. In a nutshell, the amount of additional damage that the +4 skald song contributes to a group can be astounding. In most 6-person groups, the Skald could very well be the most powerful memeber of the team. Yes, the song is that amazing. As long as he's got at least 2 teammates still alive and swinging weapons, he should either casting or strumming his harp at-all-times. Have him hold any weapon that provides useful bonuses or resistances regardless of their damage potential, because if you use your Skald right, he's almost never going to use them. That is his role in the group. The extra damage that his teammates produce directly due to his song is far greater than any damage the Skald is capable of producing on his own with his weak melee abilities.

Blade: F ...Bards are not fighters.
I've been taking some heat on this thread from people who are tired of me throwing numbers around, but look, numbers just don't lie. The blade trades in his song-playing ability, his lore-ability, and his pickpocket ability all just to improve his fighting. And guess what, his fighting still stinks. Look... I know you can still win the game with a Blade. I know that you can still have fun with a Blade. I know the name "Blade" is kinda cool. But if you analyze their abilities from a unbiased standpoint, they just don't stack up. Spin or no spin, this character simply does not fight at an adequate level, from an offensive or a defensive standpoint. A blade performs much the same role in a group as a fighter/mage, except the fighter/mage (dual or multi) does it much much better.

Jester: C ... he's...a...jester...
Same problems as a normal bard except that I suppose his song may be a bit more useful. I don't have much hands-on experience with this kit (I never could quite picture the son of Bhal as a Jester). I'm just not sure that you could make an argument that the jester's contribution to the team, by perma-confusing opponenents and casting spells, is enough to warrant having one in your group in place of another more powerful class.

[This message has been edited by boogie (edited May 08, 2001).]