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Axterix · 05-25-2001, 06:12 PM

Well, a bard benefits much from having HoW. More songs. Without HoW, not as much reason to have one.

Now, reasons to have bards:

1. Never have to memorize identify again. Just hand it to the bard.
2. Nifty bard items. Horn of the Berserkers, mostly.
3. Pickpocketting. Let the thief worry about the other crap, use the bard to lift items.
4. War Chant of Sith. 2hp per round, -2 to AC, +10% resist to blunt, pierce, slash, maybe missile as well?
5. Luck song of Tymora. +2 to all saves, party is lucky.
6. the Siren song thingy. Enthralls critters so they stand around as long as you don't hit them. Great crowd control.
7. War Chant of Sith. It's so good it deserves to be mentioned twice.
8. Goes great with druids, mainly their level 7 spell Stalkers. Shambling mounds are 90% blunt, 50% slash, pierce resistant. With War Chant of Sith... that's 100% blunt, 60% slash, pierce. 100% means no blunt damage will they take. They are also 100% fire resistant. Great for having the bard cast fireballs and other nasty AE fire type spells.
9. Clerics and druids get to mem spells besides heals. Yup, it's that war chant of sith in action again. Not that clerics have too many low level spells worth casting (unlike druids, who've got alicorn lance and the level 1 sunbeam spell).
10. If you've got a speciality mage, the bard can use the spells the mage can't.

As you can see, the majority of the advantages to the bard involve having War Chant of Sith. Without that, you've got a weak mage that can use about any weapon and can't really take a hit.

Now, as for how to keep the bard alive, well, in the grand tradition of wimpy peoples, the number 1 rule is don't be where the things that want to kill you are. 18 dex is good. Elven Chainmail is your friend. You can wear it (2 or 3 ac, don't recall exactly, +1 dex) and cast in it. 16 con for when you do get hit (higher is a waste on non-fighters/rangers/paladins). Don't melee. You can use crossbows, bows, slings, axes, whatever you want. So hook your bard up with a sling or throwing axe (if you are using the lyre of progression) or a crossbow or bow. Never stand in front of the party in hostile circumstances. Just stand behind and plunk away with ranged weapons. Of course, if you have HoW, odds are you won't be doing that. You'll be standing in the middle of the party (behind the front line tanks, in front of the casters) singing. Especially once you get War Chant of Sith.

05-25-2001, 06:12 PM	#2
Axterix Manshoon Join Date: May 4, 2001 Posts: 160	Well, a bard benefits much from having HoW. More songs. Without HoW, not as much reason to have one. Now, reasons to have bards: 1. Never have to memorize identify again. Just hand it to the bard. 2. Nifty bard items. Horn of the Berserkers, mostly. 3. Pickpocketting. Let the thief worry about the other crap, use the bard to lift items. 4. War Chant of Sith. 2hp per round, -2 to AC, +10% resist to blunt, pierce, slash, maybe missile as well? 5. Luck song of Tymora. +2 to all saves, party is lucky. 6. the Siren song thingy. Enthralls critters so they stand around as long as you don't hit them. Great crowd control. 7. War Chant of Sith. It's so good it deserves to be mentioned twice. 8. Goes great with druids, mainly their level 7 spell Stalkers. Shambling mounds are 90% blunt, 50% slash, pierce resistant. With War Chant of Sith... that's 100% blunt, 60% slash, pierce. 100% means no blunt damage will they take. They are also 100% fire resistant. Great for having the bard cast fireballs and other nasty AE fire type spells. 9. Clerics and druids get to mem spells besides heals. Yup, it's that war chant of sith in action again. Not that clerics have too many low level spells worth casting (unlike druids, who've got alicorn lance and the level 1 sunbeam spell). 10. If you've got a speciality mage, the bard can use the spells the mage can't. As you can see, the majority of the advantages to the bard involve having War Chant of Sith. Without that, you've got a weak mage that can use about any weapon and can't really take a hit. Now, as for how to keep the bard alive, well, in the grand tradition of wimpy peoples, the number 1 rule is don't be where the things that want to kill you are. 18 dex is good. Elven Chainmail is your friend. You can wear it (2 or 3 ac, don't recall exactly, +1 dex) and cast in it. 16 con for when you do get hit (higher is a waste on non-fighters/rangers/paladins). Don't melee. You can use crossbows, bows, slings, axes, whatever you want. So hook your bard up with a sling or throwing axe (if you are using the lyre of progression) or a crossbow or bow. Never stand in front of the party in hostile circumstances. Just stand behind and plunk away with ranged weapons. Of course, if you have HoW, odds are you won't be doing that. You'll be standing in the middle of the party (behind the front line tanks, in front of the casters) singing. Especially once you get War Chant of Sith.