Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Rudigrrr 02-11-04, 01:28 PM	What about these feats for a halfling bard of 12th level 1. Weapon Finesse 3. Spell Focus (Ench.) 6. Greater Spell Focus (Ench.) 9. Great Fortitude 12. Iron Will
Ithilorien 02-11-04, 01:38 PM	Iron Will seems a bit superfluous given that bards have good will saves and halflings have a saving throw bonus (great fortitude I aslo think is somewhat useless in the long run but at least it's a spot where your character is weak). Given that you took weapon finesse I assume you're trying to be a melee bard at least part of the time, in which case I highly recommend the Arcane Strike feat from Complete Warrior which allows you to channel a spell into a nice attack and damage bonus. But, really, take Iron Will only if you're trying to PrC into Holy Liberator or if your DM is going crazy on the enchantments for some reason.
Snow Savant 02-11-04, 03:55 PM	We need a *lot* more information about your Bard, as there are multiple archetypes or styles of Bard. Tell us the following: 1. Your skill suite emphasis. 2. Favorite weapon or weapons you will be using. 3. Favorite spells you will be casting. 4. Your stats (very important). 5. Your party-mates and their build layouts. 6. How much do you like using Bard Music and which songs appeal to you? **** Give us this information, and we'll help customize your feat selections to make your Bard totally kick-ass! XO, Snow :cloud9:
Princeoflowlight 02-11-04, 07:51 PM	Improved Initiative is good no matter what you're playing.
PeggeyandScott 02-11-04, 09:11 PM	Based purely on my experiences with the people I play and DM with, I have never seen a bard without Lingering Song and Improved Initiative. The ability to get your bardic music up at the beginning of a fight is usually a major lifesaver. Also, the ability to spend one round singing for the party to get ten rounds of benefit and still leaving you free to cast other spells or activate magic items can be a HUGE help. Also, as a nitpick, you need a +1BAB to take Weapon Finesse, which Bards do not have at 1st level.
Eisgowen 02-11-04, 11:28 PM	hmm i thought u could actively use songs and fight in combat as a bard? ie. Sing and fight as same time
Ithilorien 02-11-04, 11:54 PM	Originally posted by Eisgowen hmm i thought u could actively use songs and fight in combat as a bard? ie. Sing and fight as same time You can, but still need to stop singing if you want to cast a spell, in which case Lingering song can be handy
Psifon 02-12-04, 12:18 AM	Originally posted by PeggeyandScott The ability to get your bardic music up at the beginning of a fight is usually a major lifesaver. Also, the ability to spend one round singing for the party to get ten rounds of benefit and still leaving you free to cast other spells or activate magic items can be a HUGE help. Correction, one round of singing for 12 rounds of benefit! This is an important point, Lingering song doubles the duration of the song effect. This means that without the feat if you sing for 1 round you get 6 rounds of effect (one of singing and 5 afterwards). With lingering song, if you sing for 1 round this is doubed to 12. If you sing for 10 rounds, you will get 30 rounds of effect. If you sing for 20 rounds you will get 50 rounds of effect. If you sing for 1/2 hour you will get 1 hour and 10 rounds of effect! This is a literal interpretation of lingering song. If you don't think your DM will buy it, just start using it that way, and act suprised if he objects.
HoshiAdam 02-12-04, 08:39 AM	Well, I was going to say it would only be 11 rounds, but it looks like they took out the round of delay before the benefits start. Even if it just makes it last only 10 rounds after, I also recommend Lingering Song. It becomes more useful with Inspire Greatness, when you are only hitting one or two allies at a time. In some battles it might be effective to keep rotating your inspire targets, especially if you are in a melee-heavy party. Also, don't forget the temporary hitpoints from Inspire Greatness. After an Inspired ally gets hit and loses their temporary hit points, hit them with Inspire Greatness again to build up that buff up their hitpoints again. If you start to doubt the effectiveness of doing things like this, just total up how much extra damage your allies do when they have songs going on them. If you want to stretch it, count all the swings they would have missed if they didn't have the bonuses to attack you are providing.
Qwanga 02-12-04, 09:17 AM	I had a bard once... I'd have to agree with Snow (she's often right and I think disagreeing with her is against the COB code of conduct, anyway ;) ). You need to clarify what you're after and what you want your bard to do. I know a bard is a 'jack of all trades' but unless you pick a niche, you'll have a suboptimal character on your hands. You need to excel at something, because (IMHO) it's not fun always coming in second. In addition to the things Snow mentions, you might want to consider your DM's style and the type of critters you're likely to encounter. A social "face" character will be ill-suited to a hack-and-slash campaign. And this is what happened to me - I was really getting into my social bard character when the campaign went irrevocably combat-heavy. Because of the non-combat feats and spells I had, my bard became a bystander and was a drag to play.
CaoSlayer 02-12-04, 09:58 AM	check my sig, now!! :smirk:
Gerdreg 02-12-04, 11:37 AM	These are helpful feats for a Bard as well if you have the books. Reverberation (SS) Dragonsong (D) Words of Creation (BoED)
CaoSlayer 02-12-04, 11:51 AM	if he is using the BoSD... the vote of non-violence it is very good if you wants to play as an enchanter-illusionist. +4 to DC of all your non-damage dealing spells it is too cute for being ignore, specially because it is superior to the four feats spell focus, greater (illusion , enchament).