How effective is a Bard protagonist?

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I thought it would be an interesting character to try out. I just don't know how effective they are.

I was thinking of arming him with a halberd (or similarly large weapon, like a spear), and longbow, and attacking with range. Even melee will be over somebody's shoulders so that the bard won't be risked.

Anyway, has anybody ever played a Bard? Besides being able to do a lot of stuff decently, is there an area where Bards really shine? I read that they have good lore... does this play a large part in BGI?

 

Lore. With bard you don't have to have your mage cast identify all the time.

Bard isn't really good at anything else. Thief can always be better in pick-pocketing tha bard, mage is always better in spell-casting than bard, fighter is always better in... well, fighting than bard. If your party misses some class, bard can usually fill the role, but she won't be really good at it. The bard song isn't really good either.

 

Oddly enough, it seems like BG1 is the only DnD game in which the bard is ineffectual. In the IWD series, bards are simply terrific, while BG2 has all sorts of interesting kits for Bards, and lastly, ToEE's bards can replace a Cleric in your party, streamlining it, and are able to cast a multitude of awesome disabling spells.

However, in BG1, you really can't do much with a bard, you will only be able to learn a few simple spells and you will simply be creamed in combat, while his ranged attacks will never even hit.

 

Bards in Baldur's Gate aren't as good as in BGII. This stems largely from the fact that there's no Elven Chain or similar armour that they can wear, so they're either unarmoured or their spells are lost.

I almost always take Garrick in my parties, though, and find this problem can be overcome by Bracers of Defense, Mirror Image and Blur when he can cast them, and just staying well out of the way.

If you're using the Tutu mod from http://www.pocketplane.net then use of kits can make bards tougher (my preference is for the Blade).

In addition, the BG1 NPC mod for Tutu and BGT over at http://www.gibberlings3.net provides a way to get bardic armour, if you have Garrick in your party...

I do find that the high Lore of a bard can be important in BGI as it frees up your spell slots (you don't need Identify) so there's more room for more important spells, e.g. Magic Missile or Sleep.

 

Bards rock; I've played thru' BG1 & 2 with a bard, and will always include one in my party in other games. They are great as party spokesmen, and when dealing with merchants due to high charisma (which frees up most other characters' attribute points, and avoids the annoying paladin habit of refusing rewards). Automatic gain in pickpocket frees up thieves to put skill points into other areas, and high lore is a real bonus.

Not being a powergamer, I don't mind having a character who's not that great in a fight or that brilliant a mage: the rest of the party supports them. Besides, the IE games tend to have some sort of pro-bard prejudice: many options in dialogue etc are only available to bards, and carry extra rewards.