WEll you all know the scenario. Beat the game, then start thinking of other ways that you can beat the game. Well I had the thought. I was thinking of all the wizard spells that I never use, Mirror Image, Blur etc... I never really used them because my Mages were never in the battle. But, what if I were to make aa Bard and he could use all these combat spells and be a fighting powerhouse. Right?

So I rolled up a new Bard, modified her stats to the following:
Str 8
Dex 18
Con 18
Int 18
Wis 8
Chr 18

Click click click, I get past the first part. Save Minsc. Get my weapons. I trained her in Long Sword, Short Short, two hand weapons. I get ready for battle just outside the lighting trap room. I leave everyone else behind. I cast Strength, Blur and Mirror Image all on my Bard, play her battle song and send her in. I fight the first Lighting Bat thing (Pardom me, I don't know their real name). It was a pretty sad fight. I watched critical miss after critical miss and my dreams were shot. I sadly turned off the game as neither of the two units could score a hit.

Are Bards really as sad as my story tells? Is there any room for them in a Baldur's Gate Party?

Thanks,
Newman

Of course there is! , they arent tanks, they r good for a roleplaying aspect. Talk about fun, try playing a jester w/ ring of invisibility¬ http://www.tgeweb.com/cgi-bin/ubb/no...iles/smile.gif

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"I cannot be caged"
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They are good for identifying items - nothing more in my case.

Sorry, but if you think that they are okay then sure - take 'em on. They can be even more powerfuller if they could be edited to learn the higher level spells so since you've finished the game........i'm sure cheating a few extra "memorisation slot" is not a problem.http://www.tgeweb.com/cgi-bin/ubb/no...s/rolleyes.gif

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IMO bards and melee power house are two things that are independent from each other ....I cannot see how the two are related..... But bards (as mentioned above) are an interesting class, their role in the game is not to tank. But they are an excellent class for the purpose to roleplay, ID items, pickpocket ... etc. A side note is that it is true that with Tenser's Transformation he/she does become a pretty powerful fighter....maybe you should try to have more points in STR for your bard...

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Long live H22A1!!!!!

Bards are GREAT in a support role!! I'm playing a game now with two user-made characters, one of which is a Skald, in addition to the usual gang of idiots...er, NPCs http://www.tgeweb.com/cgi-bin/ubb/no...iles/smile.gif

I almost never have my skald enter melee - his role is to sit there and play that harp, giving everyone else +2 to hit and damage and -2 on their ACs. There have been some encounters which, although very tough for me in previous games, my party has sailed through without a scratch because of those bonuses. In addition, because of their cheap levelling up cost and spellcasting abilities, they make excellent backup mages. Imagine a bard having hit the XP cap at 23rd level and doing 23d6 with a Skull Trap or 20d6 with Flame Arrow. Think about how the bard's song can help the survival of a monk or a kensai, among others.

Anyway, in case you haven't guessed, I really like the class - I just can't wait until my skald hits level 15 so his song gets even better!

Haer-dalis isn't really good ( In my perspective). All blades are supposed to be used for are fighters. They dont have many hit points and their battle song doesnt improve. They dont have as much lore, and not as much pickpocket (I think)than other bards. They give all that up for a spin to fight but doesnt improve their hit points and they die real easy on the front line.

Yes, Bards are support people. I haven't had any bard who was a great melee fighter, all the time he was backup.
Now, bards can be great backup fighters. There are about 4 or 5 instruments in the game they can use besides their normal bard songs. They can wear some good armor, and have ok thieving and spells.
Don't underestimate the bard, but I wouldn't even think of putting one in the front line. Just like i would never have a Archer-ranger up front in the melee, he would be in the back all the time.

bards can be quite a powerful house in melee situations - especially blades. combined with the right armor and weapons, and combined with some good defensive mage spells which they can also employ they can be practically impossible to hit and deal great damage to foes.

Well, I agree that bards are support people. That's why here is a question: Did anybody try soloing as a bard? Is it possible? (It should be VERY difficult).
Also, what do you think of jester? Good or bad kit? I prefer scald 'cause of his combat abilities but may be jesters are great.. Are they?

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Sincerely Yours,
Tanda

[This message has been edited by Tananda (edited 06-16-2001).]

I believe Fljotsdale (sp.?) soloed a bard & enjoyed it immensely - maybe she'll respond here. Jesters can be very interesting because they can play their little "confusion" song while invisible. Imagine sending them thus into a room full of enemies and letting them take each other out. A few caveats, however; each encounter the jester attempts this could take a very long time, it doesn't work very well on trolls and other regenerating creatures, and beware of creatures who can detect invisibility.

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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"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.

Strength should be at least 16 or 17 if you want to make a tank, the first girdle which gives you 18 str. and can be bought in Ribald's shop costs something above 16000 gold! It's going to take you some time to scrape that amount of cash together.

Playing a Bard as a tank is like asking a thief to tank or a Ranger to be the spellcaster. That is so NOT the way to use a Bard - one of the best, most fun and most contributive charcters available. A good Bard is always in the thick of it, either spellcasting, using a LONGbow (as opposed to a thiefs shortbow), boosting morale/confusing the enemy, picking pockets/stealing from stores or using high charisma to positive effect when dealing with NPCs.

Oooh yeah

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A fair dinkum laughing Hyena!