Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Seghan 05-16-06, 02:25 PM	This is my first post on a message board, so please bear with… I am in the process of developing an Eberron character. I have a basic concept, but I am not sure how to best express it in classes. I also rolled a great stats block that I don’t want to waste. I want to create a high Cha character to serve as the “faceman” of the group (this is high RP game). He would have great diplomacy and bluff and the like. On the other hand, he would be rather self-centered, shallow, and greedy for treasure. Not a disruption to the group, but perhaps an occasional source of tension (some of the drama we want to come from intergroup conflict). He will need to be survivable and useful in the wild and in dungeons, but will be more city focused. I have been considering two ideas, and I would love some feedback on how to go. 1.) Rouge, human CG. This is my first choice. He would have cha based skills first, then scouting type dex skills. He would have feats both to boost these skills and increase combatiness (e.g. Dodge) as time goes by. This would sacrifice some of his rougeiness, he would lose some of his scouting prowess and traps would be handled mostly by the artificer. However, taking the rouge class would help me play the character closer to my inspiration, Silk from the Belgariad, just emphasizing his people skills at the expense of his acrobatic and mercantile skills. Also, as I rouge, I would like to play him as distrustful of magic and refusing to use magic items unless absolutely necessary. 2.) Bard, Human CG. I got bard on the brain for a few reasons. Bard seems to flow with my charismatic concept a bit more smoothly than rouge, and that class also seems to have a bit more Eberron flavor. The character would be about the same, and he would have ranks in Perform (oratory). Instead of a musician, he would be a charismatic speaker in the mold of Marc Anthony and Cicero, his bardic music exhorting his companions on in the rush of battle. The skill set would remain similar but without scouting skills. Of course, I couldn’t play an anti-magic bard, so I would have to drop that aspect. I don’t want to min/max this guy, I just want to find the build that best fits my concept and goes well in the setting. I don’t plan on multi-classing much or at all, maybe an appropriate PrC at some point. Any advice or feedback I could get from more experienced folks I would appreciate. If that isn’t enough info, let me know
Felyndaer 05-16-06, 02:33 PM	Well, if I were to play this guy I would go rogue. A bard isn't quite so good at surviving in difficult situations, as a rogue typically has many more skills. A bard would likely function better in a town, but not so much in a dungeon or the wilderness.
Seghan 05-17-06, 10:23 PM	The rouge has always been my favorite, I have never played a bard before. The role playing opprotunites seem interesting, though. WOuld there be reasonable advantages to playing a bard in a campaign that includes plenty of city time but alot of wilderness travel as well?
Kirech 05-19-06, 05:07 PM	If you do go bard, Eberron has some feats which help make bardic music useful 'in the wild'. Haunting Melody, for example, seems very fun. If you're looking to be a face, though, I would recommend the Dragonmark Heir prestige class, depending on what race you choose. You have a social network built in, plus you get some nifty spell-like abilities. Any starting class can take their first level of it at level 5, and it does its thing in 5 levels, leaving 11 more levels for either prestige classes or to continue your starting class. You won't find the class on the optimization board, but it does afford unique roleplaying opportunities. Plus, if you're Lyrandar, you can become a certified airship pilot. Who doesn't want an airship? In an Eberron campaign I was in, I was torn between a dragonmarked bard and a shifter barbarian. Since it was going to be a more combat-oriented game, I went with the shifter, but I still kinda wanted to try the bard.