I have been firmly converted to the 'Bards are great' camp they are jack of all trades and masters of none but if they are in a tight spot they can usually look after themselves for long enough until a more specialised character comes along and help them out.

In addition they can
-pick pocket
-identify stuff (a big help)
-cast spells and use scrolls of spells above their maximum level six
-fight a bit. Mine is using celestial fury at the moment and he's no pushover
-bard song. what a great invention it helps all your party out no end- can you say AC -10 and thaco 2 anyone.

Alright they won't last long if they are up against a high level fighter or mage but they offer invaluable support to your party if you think about what spells you give them-magic missiles to distract enemy mages casting, improved invisibility, web etc etc etc. They can make a major nuisance of themselves and they are far more fun to roleplay than a one dimensional tank of a fighter in my opinion.

I have completed the game as a bard and the stronghold is great fun too.

Another good Katana for bards is the -

Dak'kon's Zerth Blade +2
This sword was the weapon of choice of the famous githzerai Dak'kon. Dak'kon was killed by a powerful entity while working for a creature known as the 'Nameless One'.

STATISTICS:

Equipped Abilities:
+1 AC bonus
able to memorize one extra 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th level mage spell

THAC0: +2 bonus
Damage: 1D10 +2
Damage type: slashing
Weight: 4
Speed Factor: 2
Proficiency Type: Katana
Type: 1-handed
Requires: 6 Strength
Not Usable By:
Druid
Cleric
Mage

Although only a +2, the AC bonus & additional spells make this a great bard weapon, it also frees up the C.F for other party members.

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It's bleedin dark down here, slippery too.
http://www.planettribes.com/hosed/sm.../cwm/piss2.gif Man, that's a pisser. http://www.contrabandent.com/pez/cwm/cwm/piss.gif

Where is Dak'kon's Zerth blade?

I might go find it. But only if it's in the actual game.

I'm not a huge fan of using shadowkeeper/removing xp limits and the like.

Yes it is in the game and can be bought from a merchant, i forget which. trademeet springs to mind. Maybe someone will know for sure, sorry dude.

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It's bleedin dark down here, slippery too.
http://www.planettribes.com/hosed/sm.../cwm/piss2.gif Man, that's a pisser. http://www.contrabandent.com/pez/cwm/cwm/piss.gif

If you have a high enough level blade have them cast tensers transformation and imporved haste. 3 attacks per round and the thaco of a fighter of their level. dakkons zearth blade is bought from the bonus disk woman in the adventure mart.

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[This message has been edited by Dramnek_Ulk (edited 06-17-2001).]

This is your problem:

Tanks need a high strength, it gives bonus to hit and damage.

In response to the 8 str. Later I had plan on providing the hero with a girdle of some sort but, at first I casted Strength before I went into battle. I assume this had the same effect?

Well if the genie pops in ask him about Memsypie the Jesterhttp://www.tgeweb.com/cgi-bin/ubb/no...iles/smile.gif

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http://www.dabros.com/images/bg2guy/azurewolf1.jpg
"I was born of darkness. My fathers eyes closed before mine opened. I am not of this world or the other, and I have the right to be what I am..."

"I've put my trust in you, pushed as far as I can go. For all this theres only one thing you should know....."

If your level is not high strength won't have much effect as it's power depends on the caster's level(I think), but the first girdle you bump into gives 18 strength, and without reputation modifying the price it costs 19650 GP(I think).

Yes the game has lots of strength inducing items, if you are playing a solo bard though, you don't need the charisma, a ring of human influence and ingame items will take care of that. I would give this to a solo bard...

STR basic
DEX 18
CON 18
INT 18
WIS 18
CHar basic

That way, you can get a strength inducing item to raise your strength up, and the ring of human influence for your charisma for shopping/talking. The High INT/WIS will help in resisting spells, the DEX/CON of course for AC and HP. At lower levels you will be a tad weak because you can't get a girdle yet, but you will soon have all your stats at 18 with items.
This is only going solo of course, in a group you want different stats.