Bardic music and fighting [Archive] - Wizards Community

Bardic music and fighting [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Ganny.Harper
04-04-06, 04:56 PM I had this discusion with the DM, can a bard use his bardic music abilty and fight at the same time and keep it up during a fight, I know this would be hard for you if you use an instrument but singing or storytelling could be done.
Example: the party is facing three orcs I have first initiative and start my bardic music as I hit the first orc with my staf.
Kapalen
04-04-06, 05:00 PM By RAW, I don't think there's anything saying tehy can't. Not to mention, it owuld be cool to RP. The bard starts to swing his staff and narrarates the fight, "The devilishly handsome bard lands a crushing blow to the butt ugly ogre." Or he could sing it, too. That's cool.
tiercel
04-04-06, 09:10 PM From the SRD: Starting a bardic music effect is a standard action. Some bardic music abilities require concentration, which means the bard must take a standard action each round to maintain the ability. Even while using bardic music that doesn’t require concentration, a bard cannot cast spells, activate magic items by spell completion (such as scrolls), spell trigger (such as wands), or command word. So you can't attack the same round you start a bardic music effect, but thereafter, if you don't have to actively concentrate (like you do with bardic fascinate) you can take any action not proscribed above. If you don't have your hands busy playing the lute or drums or whatever, you can most certainly make physical attacks while keeping up, for example, inspire courage.

On the face of it this makes Perform: Oratory or Perform: Sing the best choices, since you can do other things while maintaining bardsong. To make up for this, Complete Adventurer has a list of extra benefits you get to bardsong when using a masterwork instrument.

Still, yes, I think most people have at one point or another considered the idea of "Perform: Sports Commentary," possibily in conjunction with ventriloquism and the Goad feat:

bard: "aaaand it's another whiff from the ogre, who just can't seem to make a serious impact through that dwarven-forged platemail!"

bard in color-commentator voice: "That's right, Bob, that steel was forged by the dwarves of Northridge and cooled in the mountain springs of Andurin, and enchanted with the tears of the nymph Vilia to deflect the blows of the wicked, bringing this ogre to oh-for-3 on the fight!"

bard: "And here comes the retort, it looks like a quick jab to the left - wait - no- it's a full two-handed swing, there's some meat behind this one and OH THAT'S GOING TO LEAVE A MARK!!!"

bard in color-commentator voice: "That's quite a gash across that ogre's midsection, it looks like having the ancestral sword of his great-grandfather re-enchanted has really helped out Sir Dorian, who's now 13-for-18 on the month and 6-for-8 against giantkin!"

ogre: "AAAAAAAAARGH!!!!"
KublaiKhan
04-04-06, 09:57 PM Perform: Sports commentary?

My players will KILL me.

Think for a moment of what you've spawned!

That being said, as a DM, sure as hell I'd allow it, with any vocal performance.

One of my players and I came up with a truly terrible idea, too--an orcish bard armed with dual clubs and the TWF feat chain...and perform: percussion.
Xaxor
04-04-06, 11:49 PM *gives tiercel his free internet*

A winner is you.
Shaggy_Shaggs
04-05-06, 01:49 AM Perform: Sports commentary?

My players will KILL me.

Think for a moment of what you've spawned!

That being said, as a DM, sure as hell I'd allow it, with any vocal performance.

One of my players and I came up with a truly terrible idea, too--an orcish bard armed with dual clubs and the TWF feat chain...and perform: percussion.
Bwaha, 15 minute drum solo! :rimshot:

About the sports commentary thing, I wouldn't have any problem with it, just don't overdo it. When a single fight with only 5 enemies and a hostage-taking pipe organ takes 3 sessions to complete, we really need to not be slowing things down further.
InterSilva
04-05-06, 02:03 AM My friend and I came up with the idea of a grammatically confused Orcish bard whose battlecry is "I LOOT/LUTE YOU!!!" as he smashes his enemy with a steel-reinforced lute. I came up with the pun, and we branched it out from there. We're thinking about playing two Orc or Half-orc brothers who are both LUTE/LOOT bards. He'll also be confused whenever anyone talks about him playing his loot (how does grokk "play" treaure, grokk wonder?), and wondering why everyone wants to split up the lute, which is a perfeclty good instrument and useless when split into pieces. I could go on. :cool:
Fenris78
04-05-06, 05:56 AM :rofl: @ Tiercel

I fancied playing a Bardic war-drummer but obviously you're shooting yourself in the foot a bit as you couldn't fight then at the same time (I did think about melding in TWF and clubs with it...). I may still do it next time I get the chance to play a character (right after the half-earth elemental monk I have planned who's war-cry will be "It's clobbering time!").

I have CAdv at home but not at work, anyone care to let me know what masterwork drums do?
KublaiKhan
04-05-06, 09:20 AM :rofl: @ Tiercel

I fancied playing a Bardic war-drummer but obviously you're shooting yourself in the foot a bit as you couldn't fight then at the same time (I did think about melding in TWF and clubs with it...). I may still do it next time I get the chance to play a character (right after the half-earth elemental monk I have planned who's war-cry will be "It's clobbering time!").

I have CAdv at home but not at work, anyone care to let me know what masterwork drums do?

Actually, technically, you can:

When you're making a normal attack, you're constantly feinting and clashing swords anyway....you don't really just 'attack' once in six seconds; there's five seconds of weapon-waving and parrying and thrusting, and one *good* blow in there.

Let's say you craft a pair of Mithril or Adamantine drumsticks [ statted as per...oh, call 'em size small clubs or something ] and you keep a drum strapped to your side as per a revolutionary war drummer. Normally, you'd play the drum....but when attacking, you'd play your opponent. Not all the strikes would be eligable for damage...but I'm sure you'd find out fairly quickly how nicely helms and breastplates work for cymbals.
Fenris78
04-05-06, 09:39 AM Aye, although for the character I had in mind I was thinking more of a scimitar or something similar. I have just seen the Lingering Song feat which would do nicely - start drumming for a round or two and then get stuck in and have a minute's worth of buff left.

Adamantine drumsticks would be bad anyway, you'd go through the skins every time ;)
Rosisha
04-05-06, 09:42 AM I played a bard named Komin Gregory Barovich (KGB) who had Perform (Propaganda & Political Rhetoric). He would rally the troops based on knowledge of politics: "Those orcs seek to opprese the peasents, burning and looting their farms as the pig hobgoblins burn and loot the resources of the State!"

Things like that.

I studied Soviet history during my college years, so I had a LOT of fun throwing in slogans, commentary, and setting up historically similiar events. For example, our party was hiding near a wagon on a street, exchanging crossbow fire with the bad guys and I picked up a red flag and waved it back and forth while "inspiring courage." If anyone knows the image I'm alluding too, YAY! If not, its all good.

Rosisha
KnaveofClubs
04-05-06, 04:50 PM Try the "Song and Silence" supplement. It gives you stashed weapons and things like lute bayonets for those instrument bards. Not including you could design your own weapon, like a trumpet that could shoot blowdarts.
Deacon Liadon
04-05-06, 06:13 PM I had a bard last year who I had great fun with. My DM had allowed me without realising the consequences, to have a magic item that was a small miniature of a pipe organ which grew into a full size cathedral organ when the command word was spoken.

Needless to say...SPLAT! and byebye hobgoblins.
KublaiKhan
04-05-06, 07:00 PM I had a bard last year who I had great fun with. My DM had allowed me without realising the consequences, to have a magic item that was a small miniature of a pipe organ which grew into a full size cathedral organ when the command word was spoken.

Needless to say...SPLAT! and byebye hobgoblins.

Aww, I thought I'd come up with that idea uniquely....
Deacon Liadon
04-05-06, 07:05 PM I also had a +40 to perform at level 10 and my favourite spell was the Fugue of Tvsah-Prull (before it got errata'd in the SC). Rolling a nat twenty meant everything in a sixty foot circle died. I also like the way it gave me a full cover bonus.

Tintagel’s Instant Organ
An intricately carved mithril organ. When the command word is spoken, the model glows brightly and grows into a life-sized masterwork pipe-organ within one round (Dimensions: 35ft wide, 15ft deep, 38ft height, Weight: 45,000lbs). Upon the utterance of a second command word, the organ will shrink back to its original size.
CL 5, Shrink Item, Summon Instrument.
Price: 22,000
kelvinaw273
04-05-06, 07:10 PM I played a bard named Komin Gregory Barovich (KGB) who had Perform (Propaganda & Political Rhetoric). He would rally the troops based on knowledge of politics: "Those orcs seek to opprese the peasents, burning and looting their farms as the pig hobgoblins burn and loot the resources of the State!"

Things like that.

I studied Soviet history during my college years, so I had a LOT of fun throwing in slogans, commentary, and setting up historically similiar events. For example, our party was hiding near a wagon on a street, exchanging crossbow fire with the bad guys and I picked up a red flag and waved it back and forth while "inspiring courage." If anyone knows the image I'm alluding too, YAY! If not, its all good.

Rosisha

Let me guess ... favoured weapons were a hammer and a sickle, right?

The question of bards in combat reminds me of the Monkey Island game's sword-fighting method of hurling witty insults at the opposition and making cutting ripostes (verbal ones). the bard throws insults at his foes that throw them off balance and inspire his allies.
Rosisha
04-05-06, 11:26 PM Warhammer actually, he called it the Fist of Steel. It was nothing more then a +1 but by the time that campaign was over it was the Collective Will of the Masses or some such. LOL I LOVED that campaign.

Rosisha
Vaelan
04-06-06, 01:54 AM Not only can a Bard use Bardic Music and fight, but according to Complete Adventurer, a Bard that uses an instrument can cast spells that do not have somatic components while using said instrument for Bardic Music.

It makes me want to play a Monk / Bard so that I can use my voice to cast, my hands to strum, and my legs to kick.
Ganny.Harper
04-06-06, 09:50 AM From the SRD: So you can't attack the same round you start a bardic music effect, but thereafter, if you don't have to actively concentrate (like you do with bardic fascinate) you can take any action not proscribed above. If you don't have your hands busy playing the lute or drums or whatever, you can most certainly make physical attacks while keeping up, for example, inspire courage.

On the face of it this makes Perform: Oratory or Perform: Sing the best choices, since you can do other things while maintaining bardsong. To make up for this, Complete Adventurer has a list of extra benefits you get to bardsong when using a masterwork instrument.

Still, yes, I think most people have at one point or another considered the idea of "Perform: Sports Commentary," possibily in conjunction with ventriloquism and the Goad feat:

bard: "aaaand it's another whiff from the ogre, who just can't seem to make a serious impact through that dwarven-forged platemail!"

bard in color-commentator voice: "That's right, Bob, that steel was forged by the dwarves of Northridge and cooled in the mountain springs of Andurin, and enchanted with the tears of the nymph Vilia to deflect the blows of the wicked, bringing this ogre to oh-for-3 on the fight!"

bard: "And here comes the retort, it looks like a quick jab to the left - wait - no- it's a full two-handed swing, there's some meat behind this one and OH THAT'S GOING TO LEAVE A MARK!!!"

bard in color-commentator voice: "That's quite a gash across that ogre's midsection, it looks like having the ancestral sword of his great-grandfather re-enchanted has really helped out Sir Dorian, who's now 13-for-18 on the month and 6-for-8 against giantkin!"

ogre: "AAAAAAAAARGH!!!!"

Next time play a bard I'm going to do that, see how the party likes it :D
Darko
04-06-06, 10:25 AM I am so introducing a sports commentary bard NPC in my campaign :D
Whitewolfe
04-14-06, 09:36 AM Sure, I run a bard and you can keep up an inspire courage use of bardic music for as long as you sing, chant, play, etc. Think of it as an ongoing free action every round....the only downside is you can't commit to do anything else verbally..if you talk to party members cast a spell, etc then you break the effect, but it still hangs around for 5 more rounds.
MongooseWarrior
04-14-06, 02:42 PM I have been playin with one of the ideas KnaveOfClubs came up with, picture this.

A bard sitting alone on a stump while a group of brigands sneek up on him, out come his reed pipe, he starts to play,
they come out into the open to see who this master of music is then... BAM one goes down blowdart in the neck the party jumps out of hiding killing whoever's left. And the bard continues to play...

Of course there would be flaws but still fun fun FUN!
ElSanto
04-15-06, 11:51 AM I once played in an all dwarf party as a bard, Flint Donnybrook, who called himself "A Quest Promoter." He was sort of the corner man to the fighters in the party. While the party battled Flint would shout advice or encouragement to them. "Ravishing, watch out for those orcs on your right! Vannis, that one dropped his guard go for the kill man!" The bonus to hit and damage made more sense to me with this style of preforming since, well he gave the party advice about how to do the most damage and end the fight quickly.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Ganny.Harper 04-04-06, 04:56 PM	I had this discusion with the DM, can a bard use his bardic music abilty and fight at the same time and keep it up during a fight, I know this would be hard for you if you use an instrument but singing or storytelling could be done. Example: the party is facing three orcs I have first initiative and start my bardic music as I hit the first orc with my staf.
Kapalen 04-04-06, 05:00 PM	By RAW, I don't think there's anything saying tehy can't. Not to mention, it owuld be cool to RP. The bard starts to swing his staff and narrarates the fight, "The devilishly handsome bard lands a crushing blow to the butt ugly ogre." Or he could sing it, too. That's cool.
tiercel 04-04-06, 09:10 PM	From the SRD: Starting a bardic music effect is a standard action. Some bardic music abilities require concentration, which means the bard must take a standard action each round to maintain the ability. Even while using bardic music that doesn’t require concentration, a bard cannot cast spells, activate magic items by spell completion (such as scrolls), spell trigger (such as wands), or command word. So you can't attack the same round you start a bardic music effect, but thereafter, if you don't have to actively concentrate (like you do with bardic fascinate) you can take any action not proscribed above. If you don't have your hands busy playing the lute or drums or whatever, you can most certainly make physical attacks while keeping up, for example, inspire courage. On the face of it this makes Perform: Oratory or Perform: Sing the best choices, since you can do other things while maintaining bardsong. To make up for this, Complete Adventurer has a list of extra benefits you get to bardsong when using a masterwork instrument. Still, yes, I think most people have at one point or another considered the idea of "Perform: Sports Commentary," possibily in conjunction with ventriloquism and the Goad feat: bard: "aaaand it's another whiff from the ogre, who just can't seem to make a serious impact through that dwarven-forged platemail!" bard in color-commentator voice: "That's right, Bob, that steel was forged by the dwarves of Northridge and cooled in the mountain springs of Andurin, and enchanted with the tears of the nymph Vilia to deflect the blows of the wicked, bringing this ogre to oh-for-3 on the fight!" bard: "And here comes the retort, it looks like a quick jab to the left - wait - no- it's a full two-handed swing, there's some meat behind this one and OH THAT'S GOING TO LEAVE A MARK!!!" bard in color-commentator voice: "That's quite a gash across that ogre's midsection, it looks like having the ancestral sword of his great-grandfather re-enchanted has really helped out Sir Dorian, who's now 13-for-18 on the month and 6-for-8 against giantkin!" ogre: "AAAAAAAAARGH!!!!"
KublaiKhan 04-04-06, 09:57 PM	Perform: Sports commentary? My players will KILL me. Think for a moment of what you've spawned! That being said, as a DM, sure as hell I'd allow it, with any vocal performance. One of my players and I came up with a truly terrible idea, too--an orcish bard armed with dual clubs and the TWF feat chain...and perform: percussion.
Xaxor 04-04-06, 11:49 PM	gives tiercel his free internet A winner is you.
Shaggy_Shaggs 04-05-06, 01:49 AM	Perform: Sports commentary? My players will KILL me. Think for a moment of what you've spawned! That being said, as a DM, sure as hell I'd allow it, with any vocal performance. One of my players and I came up with a truly terrible idea, too--an orcish bard armed with dual clubs and the TWF feat chain...and perform: percussion. Bwaha, 15 minute drum solo! :rimshot: About the sports commentary thing, I wouldn't have any problem with it, just don't overdo it. When a single fight with only 5 enemies and a hostage-taking pipe organ takes 3 sessions to complete, we really need to not be slowing things down further.
InterSilva 04-05-06, 02:03 AM	My friend and I came up with the idea of a grammatically confused Orcish bard whose battlecry is "I LOOT/LUTE YOU!!!" as he smashes his enemy with a steel-reinforced lute. I came up with the pun, and we branched it out from there. We're thinking about playing two Orc or Half-orc brothers who are both LUTE/LOOT bards. He'll also be confused whenever anyone talks about him playing his loot (how does grokk "play" treaure, grokk wonder?), and wondering why everyone wants to split up the lute, which is a perfeclty good instrument and useless when split into pieces. I could go on. :cool:
Fenris78 04-05-06, 05:56 AM	:rofl: @ Tiercel I fancied playing a Bardic war-drummer but obviously you're shooting yourself in the foot a bit as you couldn't fight then at the same time (I did think about melding in TWF and clubs with it...). I may still do it next time I get the chance to play a character (right after the half-earth elemental monk I have planned who's war-cry will be "It's clobbering time!"). I have CAdv at home but not at work, anyone care to let me know what masterwork drums do?
KublaiKhan 04-05-06, 09:20 AM	:rofl: @ Tiercel I fancied playing a Bardic war-drummer but obviously you're shooting yourself in the foot a bit as you couldn't fight then at the same time (I did think about melding in TWF and clubs with it...). I may still do it next time I get the chance to play a character (right after the half-earth elemental monk I have planned who's war-cry will be "It's clobbering time!"). I have CAdv at home but not at work, anyone care to let me know what masterwork drums do? Actually, technically, you can: When you're making a normal attack, you're constantly feinting and clashing swords anyway....you don't really just 'attack' once in six seconds; there's five seconds of weapon-waving and parrying and thrusting, and one good blow in there. Let's say you craft a pair of Mithril or Adamantine drumsticks [ statted as per...oh, call 'em size small clubs or something ] and you keep a drum strapped to your side as per a revolutionary war drummer. Normally, you'd play the drum....but when attacking, you'd play your opponent. Not all the strikes would be eligable for damage...but I'm sure you'd find out fairly quickly how nicely helms and breastplates work for cymbals.
Fenris78 04-05-06, 09:39 AM	Aye, although for the character I had in mind I was thinking more of a scimitar or something similar. I have just seen the Lingering Song feat which would do nicely - start drumming for a round or two and then get stuck in and have a minute's worth of buff left. Adamantine drumsticks would be bad anyway, you'd go through the skins every time ;)
Rosisha 04-05-06, 09:42 AM	I played a bard named Komin Gregory Barovich (KGB) who had Perform (Propaganda & Political Rhetoric). He would rally the troops based on knowledge of politics: "Those orcs seek to opprese the peasents, burning and looting their farms as the pig hobgoblins burn and loot the resources of the State!" Things like that. I studied Soviet history during my college years, so I had a LOT of fun throwing in slogans, commentary, and setting up historically similiar events. For example, our party was hiding near a wagon on a street, exchanging crossbow fire with the bad guys and I picked up a red flag and waved it back and forth while "inspiring courage." If anyone knows the image I'm alluding too, YAY! If not, its all good. Rosisha
KnaveofClubs 04-05-06, 04:50 PM	Try the "Song and Silence" supplement. It gives you stashed weapons and things like lute bayonets for those instrument bards. Not including you could design your own weapon, like a trumpet that could shoot blowdarts.
Deacon Liadon 04-05-06, 06:13 PM	I had a bard last year who I had great fun with. My DM had allowed me without realising the consequences, to have a magic item that was a small miniature of a pipe organ which grew into a full size cathedral organ when the command word was spoken. Needless to say...SPLAT! and byebye hobgoblins.
KublaiKhan 04-05-06, 07:00 PM	I had a bard last year who I had great fun with. My DM had allowed me without realising the consequences, to have a magic item that was a small miniature of a pipe organ which grew into a full size cathedral organ when the command word was spoken. Needless to say...SPLAT! and byebye hobgoblins. Aww, I thought I'd come up with that idea uniquely....
Deacon Liadon 04-05-06, 07:05 PM	I also had a +40 to perform at level 10 and my favourite spell was the Fugue of Tvsah-Prull (before it got errata'd in the SC). Rolling a nat twenty meant everything in a sixty foot circle died. I also like the way it gave me a full cover bonus. Tintagel’s Instant Organ An intricately carved mithril organ. When the command word is spoken, the model glows brightly and grows into a life-sized masterwork pipe-organ within one round (Dimensions: 35ft wide, 15ft deep, 38ft height, Weight: 45,000lbs). Upon the utterance of a second command word, the organ will shrink back to its original size. CL 5, Shrink Item, Summon Instrument. Price: 22,000
kelvinaw273 04-05-06, 07:10 PM	I played a bard named Komin Gregory Barovich (KGB) who had Perform (Propaganda & Political Rhetoric). He would rally the troops based on knowledge of politics: "Those orcs seek to opprese the peasents, burning and looting their farms as the pig hobgoblins burn and loot the resources of the State!" Things like that. I studied Soviet history during my college years, so I had a LOT of fun throwing in slogans, commentary, and setting up historically similiar events. For example, our party was hiding near a wagon on a street, exchanging crossbow fire with the bad guys and I picked up a red flag and waved it back and forth while "inspiring courage." If anyone knows the image I'm alluding too, YAY! If not, its all good. Rosisha Let me guess ... favoured weapons were a hammer and a sickle, right? The question of bards in combat reminds me of the Monkey Island game's sword-fighting method of hurling witty insults at the opposition and making cutting ripostes (verbal ones). the bard throws insults at his foes that throw them off balance and inspire his allies.
Rosisha 04-05-06, 11:26 PM	Warhammer actually, he called it the Fist of Steel. It was nothing more then a +1 but by the time that campaign was over it was the Collective Will of the Masses or some such. LOL I LOVED that campaign. Rosisha
Vaelan 04-06-06, 01:54 AM	Not only can a Bard use Bardic Music and fight, but according to Complete Adventurer, a Bard that uses an instrument can cast spells that do not have somatic components while using said instrument for Bardic Music. It makes me want to play a Monk / Bard so that I can use my voice to cast, my hands to strum, and my legs to kick.
Ganny.Harper 04-06-06, 09:50 AM	From the SRD: So you can't attack the same round you start a bardic music effect, but thereafter, if you don't have to actively concentrate (like you do with bardic fascinate) you can take any action not proscribed above. If you don't have your hands busy playing the lute or drums or whatever, you can most certainly make physical attacks while keeping up, for example, inspire courage. On the face of it this makes Perform: Oratory or Perform: Sing the best choices, since you can do other things while maintaining bardsong. To make up for this, Complete Adventurer has a list of extra benefits you get to bardsong when using a masterwork instrument. Still, yes, I think most people have at one point or another considered the idea of "Perform: Sports Commentary," possibily in conjunction with ventriloquism and the Goad feat: bard: "aaaand it's another whiff from the ogre, who just can't seem to make a serious impact through that dwarven-forged platemail!" bard in color-commentator voice: "That's right, Bob, that steel was forged by the dwarves of Northridge and cooled in the mountain springs of Andurin, and enchanted with the tears of the nymph Vilia to deflect the blows of the wicked, bringing this ogre to oh-for-3 on the fight!" bard: "And here comes the retort, it looks like a quick jab to the left - wait - no- it's a full two-handed swing, there's some meat behind this one and OH THAT'S GOING TO LEAVE A MARK!!!" bard in color-commentator voice: "That's quite a gash across that ogre's midsection, it looks like having the ancestral sword of his great-grandfather re-enchanted has really helped out Sir Dorian, who's now 13-for-18 on the month and 6-for-8 against giantkin!" ogre: "AAAAAAAAARGH!!!!" Next time play a bard I'm going to do that, see how the party likes it :D
Darko 04-06-06, 10:25 AM	I am so introducing a sports commentary bard NPC in my campaign :D
Whitewolfe 04-14-06, 09:36 AM	Sure, I run a bard and you can keep up an inspire courage use of bardic music for as long as you sing, chant, play, etc. Think of it as an ongoing free action every round....the only downside is you can't commit to do anything else verbally..if you talk to party members cast a spell, etc then you break the effect, but it still hangs around for 5 more rounds.
MongooseWarrior 04-14-06, 02:42 PM	I have been playin with one of the ideas KnaveOfClubs came up with, picture this. A bard sitting alone on a stump while a group of brigands sneek up on him, out come his reed pipe, he starts to play, they come out into the open to see who this master of music is then... BAM one goes down blowdart in the neck the party jumps out of hiding killing whoever's left. And the bard continues to play... Of course there would be flaws but still fun fun FUN!
ElSanto 04-15-06, 11:51 AM	I once played in an all dwarf party as a bard, Flint Donnybrook, who called himself "A Quest Promoter." He was sort of the corner man to the fighters in the party. While the party battled Flint would shout advice or encouragement to them. "Ravishing, watch out for those orcs on your right! Vannis, that one dropped his guard go for the kill man!" The bonus to hit and damage made more sense to me with this style of preforming since, well he gave the party advice about how to do the most damage and end the fight quickly.