[SixOfSpades]

Personally, I feel that while Bards are good for roleplay value, I'd MUCH rather play a Thief/Mage, preferably Elven, and enjoy all the benefits with none of the limitations.

Armor: The Bard's slightly better armor restrictions are negligible, given the high quality of all the Leather armors out there. They can both wear the same sets of Elven Chain Mail. Thief/Mages cannot wear the Melodic Chain, but Bards cannot wear the Robe of Vecna.

Weapons: True, Thief/Mages cannot use Flails, Warhammers, or 2-Handed Swords, but Katanas and Longswords should be enough for anybody. Thieves and Bards get the exact same THAC0 and Weapon Specialization (except for kits).

A Multiclassed Thief is all you'll need to get you by, and will eventually get over 100% in all skills, while a Bard's Pick Pockets skill becomes obsolete once you leave Chapter 5. Not to mention those blisteringly powerful 7th-through-9th Level spells that Bards can never cast, unless you somehow have dozens of scrolls sitting around.

A Mage/Thief still gets the vicious Traps that the Bard does--and can set more of them per day, too.

Of course, building a Multiclassed Thief/Mage instead of a Bard has its drawbacks, let's count them:
- No Enhanced Bard Song.
- No Defensive or Offensive Spin.

I can live with that. [img]smile.gif[/img]