Soloing a bard

[uss]

is it difficult? should i try a kit(hmm..blade sounds good) or should i try straight? what weapon profs would you recommend(katana-celestial fury?)? what does the bard song do exactly and does it get better when gaining level? i have never played with a bard, nor have i had a bard in my group(and still i have finished all BG 1, BG 2 and ToB more than once)

[Jim]

May contain some ToB Spoilers
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I've succesfully soloed a blade on insane diff with all the improved bosses and it wasn't too bad (hardest fight by far was improved abazigal).

Choose a blade since they are the best bards. Half lore isn't a prob since it will still be 200+ INT and WIS bonuses which is by far MORE than enough to identify anything. Crappy bard song isn't a prob since you haven't got party members to worry about, and you can choose an improved bard song from the HLA pool anyway. Pick pocket penalties isn't a prob since you'll have loads of cash to buy stuff anyway since you'll be solo.

Weapons: Choose schimitar, katana, warhammer and max out 2-weapon style right at the start. Use Celestial Fury and Belm to give you 3 APR, and when you get the use any item ability, equip the scarlet ninja-To togive you 4 APR. When you get the components for Crom Faeyr, equip that as an off hand weapon to give huge damage bonuses, and when you get the Gauntlets of Extra. Spec. from watchers keep, combined with the boots of speed you'll still attack 4 times per round (5 with belm/scarlet).

Spells: Mirror Image, Stoneskin, Blur, Protection from Magical Weapons and death spell and the game is a breeze.

Hope this helps. (oh and armour, use shadow dragon scale until you can use any item, then choose some kick ass full plate since you won't be using thieving skills all the time, if at all)

[ 02-27-2002: Message edited by: Jim ]

[daan]

Blades are very good ... even extremely powerfull if you have ToB ...
Dual-wielding is very possible ... i had my blade dual-wielding celestial fury and some other katana ... very nice !! [img]smile.gif[/img]

Offensive spin makes you a good enough fighter for the tough situations. The bard song does NOT get better if you're a Blade though.
But, the nicest thing is : !! Defensive spin !!
In ToB, most armor classes dont really count anymore, because every enemy has a good enough THAC0 to hit you anywayz. But with the Defensive spin ability, you'll get ab extra -10 AC, which 'll push you into the area where the AC will protect you.

and IIRC , the Blade also gets the use any item ability, so it's a very nice kit.
Challenging enough to make it fun, with an extremely powerfull li'l lass in the end .. using the right tactics offcourse [img]smile.gif[/img]

[img]smile.gif[/img] !! Have fun !! [img]smile.gif[/img]

(damnit, Jim beat me to it )

[ 02-27-2002: Message edited by: daan ]

[uss]

thanks! i`ll try a blade with katana, scimitar and warhammer weapon proficencies. you helped alot, i think. but what does bard song do exactly? it doesn`t buff up thaco, so is it even good at high levels?

[Jim]

quote:

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damnit, Jim beat me to it

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lol. sorry dude, but looks like we agree [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Nifft the Nimble]

quote:

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Originally posted by uss:
thanks! i`ll try a blade with katana, scimitar and warhammer weapon proficencies. you helped alot, i think. but what does bard song do exactly? it doesn`t buff up thaco, so is it even good at high levels?

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Take Katana, Short Bow and Two-Weapon ++ at the start of the game. Next prof. slot put in Two-Weapon (to +++). After that ... you've got quite a while to go before you get the Crom Fayer.

For your next proficiency, I'd take Scimitar, Long Swords or Maces. You'll want to be able to handle either the Mace of Disruption or the long sword Daystar with some skill. You'll also want to be able to weild a troll-killer, which come in Long Swords, Axes, Clubs and Flails, and later in the game in Daggers, Bastard Swords, Halberds and, if you have ToB, Crossbows.

To kill clay golems, you'll need a blunt weapon. Your choices are Maces, Flails, Clubs, Warhammers or Quarterstaves. Warhammers will do just fine... try to find one +2 or better and keep it.

Incidentally, Belm isn't the only weapon available early which grants an extra attack. Kundane, a short sword you'll get during your Bard stronghold quest, is just as good. So you may wish to investigate short swords instead of scimitars. (Now I'm imagining the Short Sword of Mask and Celestial Fury as a combo. Wow.)

-- Nifft, fan of Blades