what eight of these items would you have in inventory when it came to combat?

my preferred bard items in their personal inventory:

renaissance lute - restoration
dulcimer of mending - heal all
rousing drums - haste
angel's tongue - bless
soulful sax - soul shield
arresting aria - freeze all
silent lyre - silence
infernal horn - nuclear blast

and i like to keep the dulcimer of mending in the party inventory.

however, this can change according to party composition. the above list is for running alongside a single bishop with no other primary spell casters (my preferred party composition).

haste, bless, and sould shield give me maximum buff flexibility for first round casting alongside the bishop

freeze all and silence are the best limiters available (of cou

heal all so that my bishop can do rest all in the same round and everyone's happy.

restoration allows my bard to give herself a kick rather than needing to quaff a potion or wait for someone to cast stamina on her.

and the infernal horn rocks - everywhere except underwater and rapax castle, that is ;)

personally, i dont like items that blind or frighten, as it means hunting down runaways, so that rules out the pandemonium pipes, and single-enemy attacking items are a bit of a waste when there's so few slots left after i include my preferred buffs.

My prefered list for a bard is...
Infernal Horn
Hades Lyre (I don't think its a lyre, but you get the point ;) )
Rousing Drums
Arresting Aria
Pandomonium Pipes (forget the name)
Renassainsce Lute

Gadgeteer is
Microwave Ray
Negat Air
Port o Potty
Jackhammer
Vacuum Pump
Vaporizer.

I rarely play the game with a bard (dang instruments are too heavy)i like to keep my party light. Gadgeteer.. aahh my favorite. For his/her 8 slots:
Regenerating stone--I go out of my way to get this early.
Lava Lamp--replace with water cannon later on.
Microwave ray
Holograph Projector--very useful
Negate Air
Strobe Light
Vaporizer
Magic Mirror--when charges are used up, replace with Invigorating belt if available.

My favorite Gadget is the Water Cannon. It complements the magic-heavy party very nicely by also damaging all those in it's target zone about equally. I find it has about 70% effectiveness against resistance (90-110 range), late in the game, as compared to a fully powered caster with high Powercast.

I like the Magic Mirror, too, depending upon the foes. Note that it's limited uses can easily be replenished for you by a vendor.

Early on, the Lightning Rod is a key part of my party strategy for about half of the game. The Lava Lamp is very useful in the midgame.

Regarding Bard Instruments, I pretty much agree with the others. The only exception is that I rarely bring the one that casts Silence. With the magic-heavy party my defense against spells is already very good, so I would rather they cast spells than charge the party like they do when silenced (if also physically powerful). For physically weak enemy casters, in the late opening and midgame, I just try to kill them quickly with Fireball and Noxious Fumes, etc. That one's a race, before they can cast Elementals, give brutes in the party (like Piercer Modais) Enchanted Blade, and other nastiness.

Guardian Angel is also a very useful spell, because sometimes I use, or shift to defense in battle, rather than my usual attack strategy. The one that casts Armor Melt is good because that spell is still effective against resistance (how effective, I'm not sure).

[ 07-31-2003, 12:06 PM: Message edited by: EEWorzelle ]

I personally found that Pandemonium Pipes (or whatever) are very good against the Higardi Rogues, and others you meet in Arnika Road cause they just start attacking each other and you can start taking them down one by one, since they are going to be cowering in fear, babbling, going berserk, etc.

I'm a good way in the game and I have my gad. using:

Lava Lamp
Magic Mirror
Regenerating stone
Port o Potty
X-Ray
Lightning rod
Invigerator Belt
Forcefield generator

I use my gad. for some of my buffer spells and to kill of some monsters. I keep the lightning rod for those lone creatures that are just out of your range.

Does anybody know of any good close/extended range weapons for a gad?

I would say after several games that the Gadgeteer, if in the back row, really needs an extended weapon. Omnigun for range.

I have tried axes and swords, but nothing extended for the Gadgeteer, even Excaliber, so she never gets to use it much.

I'm thinking of either looking into a polearm or staff in my next game, or maybe putting her on the front line... not sure I like that idea.

quote: Originally posted by stealthblade78:
Does anybody know of any good close/extended range weapons for a gad?

Between using his/her gadgets and the omnigun, i've never had time to do anything else. Close combat? port-o-potty works great.

just have your gadjeteer or bard cover your rear flank. i found this the easyiest way to use them.