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NobleNick · 02-07-2005, 05:53 PM

Grrr.. ZFR, you are on my !#@&# list.

Yes, you scored a direct hit, you turkey: I looked at the font color and signature, then at the words, and said to myself, "What the ____!"

Serak Moonblade, O.K., the ditty at the end of MY post is not a joke. Do you have HoW installed? If NOT, then I agree with ZFR. However, HoW supercharged the Bard so much, that they took away some of the Bard's power in IWD2.

If you have a party stacked with warriors; then the Bard's songs (especially War Chant) and her magic and lore abilities make her an excellent addition to a power party. I would not use her as a replacement for the Thief. Here is an example of what I am talking about: (Again, this is ONLY for HoW installed, and for a power party that is going to do IWD and HoW and TotLM. These guys can expect to rake in **WELL OVER** 3 million XP per character in a full party.)

1. DC good_Cleric[12]/Ranger
2. DC Fighter[13]/neutral_Cleric
3. DC Fighter[13]/Druid
4. DC Fighter[13]/Illusionist
5. MC Fighter/Thief
6. Bard

The Bard's War Chant will armor plate this muscular party, and heal them ALL up to 100% after EVERY battle, for FREE, making lower level Cleric healings spells and those extra party naps to regain HP obsolete. This gives your Clerics more free slots for buff spells (which you will want a lot of in HoW and TotLM). By the time the party hits HoW, the Bard is also an excellent Mage, and her lore ability is unparalleled, giving the Identify spell some much needed help. She is the only character that can use the Bardic Horn of Valhalla, which is, in my opinion, the best single item in the game. (It is a rare spell that is available to you as early as the VoS, but is still powerful enough to kick serious butt in the latter stages of TotLM.)

So, to summarize: If you have HoW installed AND your party has a lot of warriors AND you are going to take the party into the expansions, then a Bard is an excellent addition because she:

-Can sing War Chant of the Sith
-Makes a good general Mage, allowing your other Mage to specialize, or even allowing you to fill the "Mage" slot with something else.
-Can sing War Chant of the Sith
-Has lore ability that is off the charts
-Can sing War Chant of the Sith
-Can use Bardic Horn to call berserkers
-Can sing War Chant of the Sith
-Can sing lots of other neat Bard songs
-Can sing War Chant of the Sith
-Can learn to pickpocket, allowing your young Thief to specialize elsewhere.
-Can sing War Chant of the Sith
-Can cast Blur, Mirror Image, and Stoneskin; and fight (or even tank) in a pinch
-Can sing War Chant of the Sith

Hope this helps.

--------------------
What's a party,
without a song?
Bards ROCK!
Party On!!

02-07-2005, 05:53 PM	#6
NobleNick Quintesson Join Date: February 5, 2002 Location: Huntsville, AL, USA Age: 65 Posts: 1,045	Grrr.. ZFR, you are on my !#@&# list. Yes, you scored a direct hit, you turkey: I looked at the font color and signature, then at the words, and said to myself, "What the ____!" Serak Moonblade, O.K., the ditty at the end of MY post is not a joke. Do you have HoW installed? If NOT, then I agree with ZFR. However, HoW supercharged the Bard so much, that they took away some of the Bard's power in IWD2. If you have a party stacked with warriors; then the Bard's songs (especially War Chant) and her magic and lore abilities make her an excellent addition to a power party. I would not use her as a replacement for the Thief. Here is an example of what I am talking about: (Again, this is ONLY for HoW installed, and for a power party that is going to do IWD and HoW and TotLM. These guys can expect to rake in WELL OVER 3 million XP per character in a full party.) 1. DC good_Cleric[12]/Ranger 2. DC Fighter[13]/neutral_Cleric 3. DC Fighter[13]/Druid 4. DC Fighter[13]/Illusionist 5. MC Fighter/Thief 6. Bard The Bard's War Chant will armor plate this muscular party, and heal them ALL up to 100% after EVERY battle, for FREE, making lower level Cleric healings spells and those extra party naps to regain HP obsolete. This gives your Clerics more free slots for buff spells (which you will want a lot of in HoW and TotLM). By the time the party hits HoW, the Bard is also an excellent Mage, and her lore ability is unparalleled, giving the Identify spell some much needed help. She is the only character that can use the Bardic Horn of Valhalla, which is, in my opinion, the best single item in the game. (It is a rare spell that is available to you as early as the VoS, but is still powerful enough to kick serious butt in the latter stages of TotLM.) So, to summarize: If you have HoW installed AND your party has a lot of warriors AND you are going to take the party into the expansions, then a Bard is an excellent addition because she: -Can sing War Chant of the Sith -Makes a good general Mage, allowing your other Mage to specialize, or even allowing you to fill the "Mage" slot with something else. -Can sing War Chant of the Sith -Has lore ability that is off the charts -Can sing War Chant of the Sith -Can use Bardic Horn to call berserkers -Can sing War Chant of the Sith -Can sing lots of other neat Bard songs -Can sing War Chant of the Sith -Can learn to pickpocket, allowing your young Thief to specialize elsewhere. -Can sing War Chant of the Sith -Can cast Blur, Mirror Image, and Stoneskin; and fight (or even tank) in a pinch -Can sing War Chant of the Sith Hope this helps. -------------------- What's a party, without a song? Bards ROCK! Party On!!