Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Save_vs_DM 03-08-04, 09:34 PM	Same as base bard, except where noted below. Level BAB Fort Ref Will Special 1st +0 +2 +2 +0 Bardic music, bardic knowledge, countersong, fascinate, inspire courage +1 2nd +1 +3 +3 +0 3rd +2 +3 +3 +1 Inspire competence 4th +3 +4 +4 +1 Create fear 5th +3 +4 +4 +1 Song of healing +1 6th +4 +5 +5 +2 Suggestion, Inspire agility +1 7th +5 +5 +5 +2 Song of haste 8th +6/+1 +6 +6 +2 Inspire courage +2 9th +6/+1 +6 +6 +3 Inspire greatness 10th +7/+2 +7 +7 +3 Song of healing +2 11th +8/+3 +7 +7 +3 Inspire agility +2 12th +9/+4 +8 +8 +4 Song of freedom 13th +9/+4 +8 +8 +4 14th +10/+5 +9 +9 +4 Inspire courage +3 15th +11/+6/+1 +9 +9 +5 Inspire heroics, Song of healing +3 16th +12/+7/+2 +10 +10 +5 Inspire agility +3 17th +12/+7/+2 +10 +10 +5 18th +13/+8/+3 +11 +11 +6 Mass suggestion 19th +14/+9/+4 +11 +11 +6 20th +15/+10/+5 +12 +12 +6 Inspire courage +4, Song of healing +4 Hit Die:d8 Skills: Same as bard Skill Points Same as bard Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A bard is proficient what all simple and martial weapons. Bards are proficient with light, medium and heavy armor and shields (except tower shields). Create fear (Su): A bard with 7 or more ranks in a Perform skill can use song or poetics to strike fear in the hearts of his enemies. The bard my use his Inspire courage ability to grant his enemies a moral penalty equal to his Inspire courage bonus instead of using Inspire courage. A Will saving throw (DC 10 + 1/2 bard's level + bard's Cha modifier) negates this effect. Create fear is a mind-affecting ability. Song of healing (Su): A bard with 8 or more ranks in a Perform skill can use song or poetics to allow his allies to shrug off the effects of blows in combat. To be affected, an ally must be able to hear the bard sing. The effect lasts for as long as the ally hears the bard sing and for 5 rounds thereafter. An affected ally gains fast healing 1 for the duration of the song. At 10th level, and every 5 levels thereafter, the fast healing increases by 1 (+2 at 10th, +3 at 15th, and +4 at 20th). Song of healing is a mind-affecting ability. Inspire Agility (Su): A bard with 9 or more ranks in a Perform skill can use song or poetics to inspire agility in his allies (including himself), allowing them to dodge blows with greater ease. To be affected, an ally must be able to hear the bard sing. The effect lasts for as long as the ally hears the bard sing and for 5 rounds thereafter. An affected ally receives a +1 dodge bonus to his armor class. At 11th level, and every 5 levels thereafter, the dodge bonus increases by 1 (+2 at 11th, and +3 at 16th). Inspire agility is a mind-affecting ability. Song of haste (Sp): A bard with 10 or more ranks in a Perform skill can use song or poetics to create an effect equivalent to the haste spell (caster level equals the character's bard level). Using this ability requires one round of uninterrupted concentration and music, and it functions on a number of targets equal to the character's bard level. What do you think? Too powerful? Is anything confusing? While I do love the new class, I want to offer my players a non-spellcasting version of the bard. The hit die increase and martial weapon proficiency were added to make them a bit more martial, as I was going for a warchanter/skald ideal with this. Comments very welcome! Cheers, Save-vs-DM
Hengwrt Ellesmere 03-08-04, 09:41 PM	This is neat, but it looks a little overpowered. The scaling bardic music is at least as good as a fighter's feats, and you get bard skills and skill points. I'd cut back the armor and weapon proficiencies a bit. d8 hit die looks alright though. Maybe try balancing its abilities with the monk's, another d8 hit die non-caster. Oh, you might want to reformat the 15th through 19th level. The iterative attacks have pushed those lines out of alignment.
Lina_Inverse 03-09-04, 06:11 AM	jack of all trades,master of none.
The Wasp 03-09-04, 07:47 AM	This isn't overpowered at all. Consider that you can only have one or two songs effective at one time, this is definitely weaker than the cleric class. This makes a good Celtic bard, an archetype the game sorely lacks. For flavor purposes, I might restrict the martial weapons he can use. I would also suggest a Golden Voice song, or effect, at lvl 13. Basically, spend one bardic music effect (as a free action) to add +4 to the next charisma check or charisma based skill check the bard makes. Finally, you may want to add a few more good bardic effects: Song of pain: (lvl 10) deafness and 1d6/3 lvl sonic damage per round to all enemies in a 30 ft cone. double damage against brittle objects. deafness lasts for 5 rounds after song ends. fortitude save vs (14+CHA) halves damage each round, and negates deafness. Otto's Irresistible Dance: like the spell, but they dance as long as you keep singing. (lvl 17) all of these together should make your bard an enjoyable, versatile class. I might even use it myself!
The Wasp 03-09-04, 07:58 AM	I do question the saves, though. I know he's not a spellcaster, but he should still have high will saves. Since the bard is now an armored fighter, the high reflex save doesnt make a lot of sense.