Questions for a first time bard player

[Hivetyrant]

Yeah, well I have had NWN's for a LONNNNNNNNGGGG time and I think I will finally finish it this time, as I am really enjoying playing as a Bard, probably because almost every BG1-2 and NWN's game I have played has been played as a rogue of some sort, I know the bard is slightly similar in BG2, but this is NWN's.
Anyway, now that I have HOTU I have been fiercly arguing with myself over what prestige class I want to play, I know I dont have to choose one, but to me they represent something more powerfull and thats what I want, which brings me to my first question:

1)Is it really worth it to become a Red dragon Diciple? I mean, they sound awesome and I have seen that your character actually grows wings which looks sweet, and would fit my character perfectly, so would my bard be better off staying as a bard? Or should I take the plunge and grow some wings and unlock the power within?

2)Currently, Daelen (sp?) the half-orc is my henchman, mainly because I would prefer someone else to deal out the big damage, I normally go with the monk that is obsesed with death, but my first ever game was with daelen and he is pretty cool (and cheap ) So, im wondering, is he really the best henchman for my character? I constantly switch between my spear and crosbow so that may change alot, but I just want to know if there would be a better henchman to compensate for the bards lack of abilities in comparison to other classes, as in trap handeling, lockpicking, major spellcasting (I dont have the highest inteligance...well, my character doesnt [img]tongue.gif[/img] ) and so on.

3)Weapons...you know the question, as im sure you guys hear it all the time, what is the best weapon blah blah blah, I dont really want the best weapon in he game, I just want it to fit my (Probably) dragnon like character and look really evil and cool, I have always loved the look of the scythe, and have used it once which was with a rogue. So what would you recommend for a Bard/Red dragon deciple? I would like to know the best melee and ranged weapon too if you dont mind [img]tongue.gif[/img]

4)Spells, you know what im going to ask, what are the best spells for my bard? i will note that I like summoning creatures and I tend to forget/avoid many defence speels often [img]tongue.gif[/img]

Well, I will leave it at that, thanks in advance

[ 04-03-2005, 05:55 AM: Message edited by: Hivetyrant ]

[robertthebard]

Take the plunge, especially if your going to be plunging into melee. RDD, in adition to wings, gives you a +8 to str, and adds a +2 to const, int and cha, as you lvl up. The str bonuses are split 2, 2, and 4, as you lvl up to 10 in RDD. You also gain a natural ac bonus due to draconic skin, immunity to fire, a fire breath weapon, one time per day, and a hit die increase of +10, which will further increase after lvl 10. This is the easiest ever route to Devastating Critical, which gets mixed reviews from the community, but is really cool, if you don't mind the possibility of killing something in one hit, providing it's not immune to critical hits.
I don't mean to sound biased or anything, but bards are really cool to play, which I never found to be the case in either of the BG games. As for other henchmen, Tomi Undergallows, in the Hall of Justice, is your go to guy for traps etc. You just can't beat a halfling rogue, for a rogue, anyway.
As for spells, I always take cloud of bewilderment, which is a lvl 2 spell, IIRC, and is great for groups of enemies. If you can remember to get past forgetting defensive spells, Ghostly Visage, and Ethereal Visage are also must haves for bards that can actually cast them. I tend to stop bard lvls at 5 or 6, so never get to Ethereal visage.
Personal preference, lose the crossbow, and find a good long/short bow. There is a really cool short bow for bards, Lilting Note, which will give a +8? to perform. Gotta love the Bard song. Melee is totally a char thing, but Kukris are very effective, and there are several really good ones available early on. Note: you will need the exotic weapon feat to use them.
Sounds like your playing evil, so I'd also recommend going Assassin. Two reasons here, first being it will allow you to dump points into trap skills, and locks, and second, there is nothing like a failed save vs paralysis to allow you to taunt an enemy before you actually deliver the killing blow. Death attacks also add dmg as you go, so it's worth while, unless your enemy is immune to sneak attacks.

[Legolas]

Rob said it all really. The way to make the most out of your bard is to go the route of RDD and Devestating Critical.

The only other considerations are how to make the most of it.
You might think of using weapons with a large threat range. Kukri are great for having that and being slashing weapons for you to give a keen edge
You may think of getting as many attacks per round as possible (dual-wielding, taking 4 warrior-class levels before level 20)
You may want to increase your attack bonus through spells, buffs, bard song and multiclassing.
And of course have a back-up plan against those creatures immune to critical hits. SoU's Wounding Whispers is a great spell here, you can practically let the enemy kill themselves if you back it up with damage resistance (Visage spells) and healing. Curse Song is also very effective here, but if you take this feat, don't take the Lingering Song feat as well. That may sound odd, but creatures can only be under the effect of one song at a time, and that's always the first they heard. Since at higher levels Curse Song deals damage, you don't want there to be any more time between songs than is absolutely necessary.

Of course, just because RDD is the most effective (definately nearing the point of uber, as is Dev Crit, depending on who you ask) combination you are not forced to use it. I think there's a beauty in a pureclass bard, or the bard/assassin as well. I wouldn't go bard/rdd/assassin though, death attacks are just as useless against enemies immune to critical hits, and the class only distracts from your main goal of causing them.

As a side note, I want bards to get their colour spray back. Advertised as the perfect bard spell in the BG series, and now it's gone