Bard -- doesn't play

[dale]

I'm in Arnika. During some recent fights, my bard got an attitude problem. For several rounds in a row, when asked to play her bagpipes -- she replied "I don't feel like it right now".

Very frustrating! .

Any thoughts as to why that happened? Her music skill is about 45 or so. She had plenty of stamina. And after about the third round, she did play.

I also cannot seem to get her to use the violin I found. Not in NPC interactions nor in combat. It looks like it would be neat to use, but it stays red no matter what.

[Rokenn]

Obviously you have not been giving your Bard enough ale! All that singing can make one quite dry Honestly I have no idea why your Bard is not singing, maybe the local Bard guide is on strike or something?

[Tal'Missra]

My bard will let me target creatures that are out of range...however, if they do not move closer by the time of her turn, she tells me "i'm afraid that will be impossible". A message will pop up in the window that says something about her not finding any targeted creatures and aborted attack. Perhaps this is what you are running into?

Tal'Missra

[fable]

That comment (and others, depending upon assigned personality) mean the bard can't accomplish the task you want. Possibly a foe is already dead, or out of range.

[Jem]

Bards are finicky people -- if casting a group- or individual-only spell using instruments, I found it helped if I targeted someone towards the back of the attackers so there was less chance of them getting killed before my bard played. Of course, pretty soon he was going before anyone else so that wasn't an issue for long. [img]smile.gif[/img]

About the violin though -- try right-clicking on it and see what level of music and bard level is needed to play it. If she's too low in either one, she can't use it. It -should- be the viola d'amore, though - that was the first violin I found -- and I thought that only required 15 music.

[Knarfling]

Something else to think about when using the pipes. Be very careful aobut the "use last item" button. Often, if you use an item and then want to use it again, you should re-target. For example, I find a few monsters in front and some more to my right. I use the pipes and wipe out the monsters in front. I then turn so that the monsters that were on my right are in front, and I "use last item." My bard targets the exact same area as before which is now on my left and has no monsters. She will then tell me it is impossible even though I am looking right at the monsters that need killing.

One way to check is to look at the colored triangles over the monsters before you start the next round. It will tell you who is targeting that monster. You can also move your mouse over the character and all monsters that are targeted by that character should light up in green. If you use the "use last item button", make sure that your bard is actually targeting some monsters. I have gotten to the point that I rarely if ever use it. It takes a few more seconds to re-target, but it is worth it.

As for the violin, it is not always apparent how to use it. There are a couple of things that must be done. First, it can only be used when you are in conversation with someone. If you cannot talk to them, you cannot charm them. Next, make sure that your bard is highlighted when you talk to them. When you start talking to them, choose "Magic". (Yes, I know, bards don't cast magic, but their instruments do.) You can then choose between certain spells or use an item. Only at that time can you actually use the violin.

I hope this helps.

Knarfling

[Naugrim]

A very good point to remember regarding the re-use item function, or the re-cast last spell function.. It does everything the same - including the targeting. It's either quite helpful or horribly annoying depending on what you're doing..heh.. About 50% of the time when I'm using a spell/item that targets a single party character (like healing) or the 'cone' radius effect spells like magic missle or the piercing pipes, I forget that I have to retarget them and end up wasting a character or two's turn(s).

Oh, and you can choose different characters in conversations when you go to the magic or trade sections.. So you don't necessarily have to choose the bard before initiating conversation. Though you might as well [img]smile.gif[/img]

Along those lines, here's another question. Does the conversation system use the Communication skill of the person you have selected when you start conversation, choose one at random, or just use the highest skill level in your party? And does anyone know what exactly are the affects? I assume it affects shopping prices and probably your ability with the Friendly and Threaten options with Neutral NPCs..

[vesselle]

it seems to choose the char with the highest skill.

however, it doesn't seem to affect prices. you can choose any character out of your party and the prices stay the same.

i have experimented with about 15 parties running thru and visiting most of the sellers. [img]smile.gif[/img] i have compared Lvl 20 chars with 0 comm skills in one party against a party of all maxed comm skills chars in another party, and then also compared it among members of the same party (with all different skill levels). the prices stay the same.

V***V

[Naugrim]

Are the prices the same from party to party, or just from character to character within the same party? If it's just the latter, then that would make sense based on your first statement that the character with the highest comm skill does the talking, so to speak.

Of course, if it were the former, then I guess it just doesn't affect shopping one bit, which leads me to wonder just how useful it is.. The only other thing I can think of is with a higher skill in Comm. you'd be given more of the keyword topics in the conversation screen or something to that effect..

[dale]

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Something else to think about when using the pipes. Be very careful aobut the "use last item" button. Often, if you use an item and then want to use it again, you should re-target. For example, I find a few monsters in front and some more to my right. I use the pipes and wipe out the monsters in front. I then turn so that the monsters that were on my right are in front, and I "use last item." My bard targets the exact same area as before which is now on my left and has no monsters. She will then tell me it is impossible even though I am looking right at the monsters that need killing.
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I think that might have been the problem. I may have been using the use last item button when the targeted group was all dead.

Also -- thanks for the tip on the violin. I'll try using the 'magic' button in NPC conversation. However, shouldn't that violin be usable in combat? Seems to me charm would be a nice spell to toss at a group.