Hello, about the weapons skills... I have a Bard who uses two weapons. I was wondering if his close combat skill makes any difference in his fighting ability, or is it just dual weapons skill. I've noticed that he gains sword, dagger, and dual weapon points naturally but not any points of close combat. So I thought I might be wasting points put into that skill?

It might help, esp if he fights more hand to hand (or sword to sword) combat than ranged. A point here, a point there, you should see it take off on its own as your character gains strength in that area.

Have I misplaced my Bard? [img]graemlins/1ponder.gif[/img]
I have her concentrating mainly on stats to increase her music ability with some thrown into range attacks and lock picking (I have no rogue in my group). I keep her in the back with my magic users. Are Bards a useful front line fighter?

Knip

There are posts floating around here with the exact numbers involved, but in summary - it seems that what matters most in physical combat is actual weapon skill. If you are dual wielding swords, for example, what figures most into your accuracy is your skill in swords, followed closely by your ability to dual wield. Close combat will have an effect on your fighting skills, but if you find that you have one too many places to put your points come level-up, you're probably better off raising your weapon skill(s) of choice, and dual weapon skill. By the time you have raised your weapon skill and dual weapons skill to 75, I think you'll find that your Close Combat skill isn't all that far behind anyway.

And Knip, in my opinion you should be using your bard for songs - once you rake in some musical instruments you won't regret it. [img]smile.gif[/img] But your bard can deal some decent melee damage (and take some), so you might want to consider giving him/her a little practice in that regard. I use my bard primarily for music, and developed her that way, but I also keep her towards the front (maybe not front and center, but in range to melee) with a good sword in her hand and she does fairly well. If you have developed your bard as a ranged fighter, however, that's fine too - but bards can generally hold their own, especially in higher levels.