Bards no good?!?! Bull! My very first SoA char was a female Blade---talk about a *sweet* game! Magic (which I admit I usually steer clear of mage types) AND superior fighting capabilities with lore out the ying-yang and good hp.........what's *not* to love about the class? I've a male Jester waiting in the wings and Budha has a Skald waiting as well to have a go at whooping some serious bad-guy butt.

<font color=Orange>Mages are still way better than bards</font>

That is your opinion, but there is no need to diss the Bard as useless. ;)

PS: I am a Sorcerer fanatic, but there is a ToB ability for Bards that even my Sorcerer fears. ;)

<font color=Orange>Whats the ability Dundee?</font>

ToB Minor Spoiler
~
~
~
~
Spike Trap. Imagine that going up a Mage's a**. ;)

Remember, a Mage cannot detect traps, and Spike Traps bypasses Stoneskins too. A VERRRRY cheesy ability in my opinion.

I'm currently soloing a blade, and it is a blast. The main reason for doing so was that I was tired of having tanks hack away andmages only using offensive spells. I wanted to have to make the most of every spell, weapon, potion, scroll, etc. It made the game a lot more fun and interesting. I had my doubts about a bard's ability to survive alone, but after killing a couple of dragons to pass the time while Higgold got my playhouse running, well, I realized they're pretty good.

Personally, I feel that while Bards are good for roleplay value, I'd MUCH rather play a Thief/Mage, preferably Elven, and enjoy all the benefits with none of the limitations.

Armor: The Bard's slightly better armor restrictions are negligible, given the high quality of all the Leather armors out there. They can both wear the same sets of Elven Chain Mail. Thief/Mages cannot wear the Melodic Chain, but Bards cannot wear the Robe of Vecna.

Weapons: True, Thief/Mages cannot use Flails, Warhammers, or 2-Handed Swords, but Katanas and Longswords should be enough for anybody. Thieves and Bards get the exact same THAC0 and Weapon Specialization (except for kits).

A Multiclassed Thief is all you'll need to get you by, and will eventually get over 100% in all skills, while a Bard's Pick Pockets skill becomes obsolete once you leave Chapter 5. Not to mention those blisteringly powerful 7th-through-9th Level spells that Bards can never cast, unless you somehow have dozens of scrolls sitting around.

A Mage/Thief still gets the vicious Traps that the Bard does--and can set more of them per day, too.

Of course, building a Multiclassed Thief/Mage instead of a Bard has its drawbacks, let's count them:
- No Enhanced Bard Song.
- No Defensive or Offensive Spin.

I can live with that. [img]smile.gif[/img]

Have you ever played a Blade? Those things do a whole lot of damage!

It only applies to the Blade, but they can Dual-Wield as well with maximum proficiency points.