All I can say is that, for being the second Arcane Leader, it plays completely different from the Artificer.
Well, now we'll see what we are and are not allowed to talk about with DDI
I believe that, short of copyright infringement, we're pretty much at liberty to discuss what we want.
I like it's "marking " powers especially, and it's skill helper powers.
*edit* Thanks Ranadiel!
I have a DDI account, but I can't find the Bard. Where is it? I wanna see!
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/dramp/20081103
I believe that, short of copyright infringement, we're pretty much at liberty to discuss what we want.
Yup. As long as there is no wholesale copy/pasting of the article, discussing it will be fine. If someoen posts something that does cross the line, a PM will be sent requesting editing of the post.
They are not looking to drop the banhammer on people.
Let's just say I'm impressed. I wish we could see the sorcerer....
I like it's "marking " powers especially, and it's skill helper powers.
Marking powers? o.o so it's a leader/defender hybrid? Or what do you mean by marking powers? skill helper powers I can understand... but whats this leader using marking business about? <.<
Marking powers? o.o so it's a leader/defender hybrid? Or what do you mean by marking powers? skill helper powers I can understand... but whats this leader using marking business about? <.<
Oh the benefits of Insider.
The bard apparently will have a few powers that mark a monster. Trick is, the mark will originate from another PC.
I'm figuring that if a mark originates from another PC who has abilities based off the mark, they get all their benefits? This might not be true, though...the Paladin, say, has to active their Divine Challenge power, and having the Bard mark someone for you only provides the basic mark. Marginally more useful for the Fighter than for the Paladin, then...
hehehe...a Bard who goes both ways....;)
* Your momma's so fat, she used Charisma _AND_ Dexterity as dump stats!
* Your momma's so dumb, she had to gain experience to hit level one!
* Your momma's so ugly, she rolls 1's on charm person attacks!
* Your momma's so old, she was nostalgic about seeing bards are multiclass specialists in 4E!
* Your momma's so weak, she only grants 25 experience when killed!
And so on.
Other powers were not immune to these scriptings though, but it was by far the most fun. I want to play a bard now XD
Anyone else? =P
I never really liked the bard in 3.x, and while it was ok in 2e, this new bard class seems like it will be very useful. I'm interested to see if they put a limit on the number of muticlass feats the bard can take.
Not sure it's needed, a bard could quickly burn though all of his feats with this, what I find complelling is the multiclass feats like spell scar and the weapon multiclasing feats.
a bard could get really interesting
Arcane Leader huh...I was hoping the Bard would be a controller...but I can see how it could go both ways...
hehehe...a Bard who goes both ways....;)
they appear pretty controly
Oh the benefits of Insider.
The bard apparently will have a few powers that mark a monster. Trick is, the mark will originate from another PC.
Something like this? "Hey, goblin! My friend here just called you stupid. Are you going to let him get away with that?"
I can't wait for PHB2.
Something like this? "Hey, goblin! My friend here just called you stupid. Are you going to let him get away with that?"
I can't wait for PHB2.
I visualized the ultimates .... Hey hulk, he says that while you were locked up he was making time with betty !
main stats being con int and cha you'll heavily invest in all 3 of the primary defenses.
Also beable to frontload your Hps and give you a boost to healing surges.
Cha is a great stat for the leader with access to all the socializing rolls even streetwise.
Int helps with knowledge checks as well. (though honestly i'd much rather see this as a dex stat).
Armor selection is solid depending on wether your going int heavy or con heavy and very thematic for the 2 version.
heavy on psychic powers is great for the paragon feat that allows you to add -2 to hit (alot of powers already have this meaning -4 including an at will!)
Also heavy on Charisma vs Will means that MC cleric for divine oracle will be a common and powerful match up.
Most powers buff allies as well as damaging and hindering enemies.
Very powerful class. Though i don't like that it will be difficult to make them work in melee as dex or str will most likely be thier dump stat so they will not get much in the way of feats or multiclassing into a martial class.
With multiple multiclasses availbe i have a strong feeling you'll see alot of cherry picked: bard/swordmage[or paladin]/cleric/divine oracle/warlock(two pacts)[or wizard] crazyness. And I for one look foward to it.
I don't know how I feel about them getting ritual caster. I'll have to see the bard rituals I guess.
I'd love to see a virtue of stealth/dexterity based option but I'm sure that'll come in the arcane power source book.
Song of rest is perfect. (adds cha to hp from surges used after resting)
Majestic Word is a great varient on the standard healing word (1 less d6 but you add cha to the amount healed, and can slide the ally)
I was disapointed in the leader selection so far (not big on clerics and artificers are wonky imo) but if they deliver on the Bard it will be worth the wait.
Very powerful class. Though i don't like that it will be difficult to make them work in melee as dex or str will most likely be thier dump stat so they will not get much in the way of feats or multiclassing into a martial class.
Martial, probably not, but definitely Paladin (as you pointed out), which can always be re-fluffed for a more "martial" feel.
The Bard can help him get marks out and lock monsters in place with his challenge.
Sadly it looks like it does not work that way with Paladin or Spell Sword.
All I can say is that, for being the second Arcane Leader, it plays completely different from the Artificer.
wait, they have an artifacer? as in, "Eberron artifacer?"
DANG IT, I HATE SMALL TOWNS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
Half-Elfs (traditional role)
Tieflings (like in 2nd Ed, stupid 3.x Cha penalty
)Gnomes (like 3.5)
Dopplegangers (makes sense)
and . . . .
HOBGOBLINS
Aw yeah.
wait, they have an artifacer? as in, "Eberron artifacer?"
DANG IT, I HATE SMALL TOWNS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
Yip. http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/drfe/20080702
It's a playtest version.
I'll never play one, but it looks interesting.
I love how the Bard and the Fighter team so well with each other.
The Bard can help him get marks out and lock monsters in place with his challenge.
Sadly it looks like it does not work that way with Paladin or Spell Sword.
Actually, it will work with any class, defender or not. It doesn't apply the effects of the character's marking ability, it just marks the creature forhttp://us.mc381.mail.yahoo.com/mc/showFolder;_ylt=At5j4Ap8qS5ooHIyfSZ095Hrk70X?&fid=Inbox&.rand=1989280914&da=0 the character, so a -2 if they attack someone else.
You know, I just thought of something - with the Con/Int/Cha focus, that means the best Bards will be:
Half-Elfs (traditional role)
Tieflings (like in 2nd Ed, stupid 3.x Cha penalty
Gnomes (like 3.5)
Dopplegangers (makes sense)
and . . . .
HOBGOBLINS
Aw yeah.
It's a bit unconventional, but the notion of a savage bard pounding on drums, bellowing ancestral battle chants, and swinging a bloody scimitar is pretty neat. Maybe this fits better as a villain image, but maybe not... Anyway, I'm happy with savage bards.
Zooming back out, the bard is amazing. The change to the standard healing feature is cool and I'm impressed with the shear number of class features the bard has. This has me pretty excited!
It looks interesting.
I'll never play one, but it looks interesting.
?? is this fear of bard I see
I don't understand why so many people dislike the bard class. Yes it was underpowered in the traditional sense in 3.5 but so were a lot of other classes. Plus I just see a lot more fun RP opportunities with them than clerics.
I'm mostly excited because my players will finally start playing a leader class when this comes out. (guess they're not much for clerics either)
It's a bit unconventional, but the notion of a savage bard pounding on drums, bellowing ancestral battle chants, and swinging a bloody scimitar is pretty neat. Maybe this fits better as a villain image, but maybe not... Anyway, I'm happy with savage bards.
Was I the only one cackling like an idiot when we saw that you can multiple multiclass with this class?
I myself cackle like an evil genius, but yes, there was cackling.
Was I the only one cackling like an idiot when we saw that you can multiple multiclass with this class?
No. It's rather amazing though, a few weeks ago my friends and I had been discussing how to re-interpret some of our favorite characters that we've played in past campaigns and got stumped when it came to one particular "bard". To call him a bard was a little of a stretch, sure it was only class in which he had more than two levels but it still accounted for less than half of his total levels. He wasn't even built to abuse 3.5 multi-classing either, instead growing purely organically with each level taken because it was what that player felt was right at the time. now, weeks later, it took me a few moments to get over the shock that the class we had merely conceded to as probably being the closest 4e could get turns out to instead be the the absolute perfect class instead.
This class looks like it may actually interest me somewhat, although I'll probably wait to see what tweaks Arcane Power has to offer for bard PCs before I get around to throwing one together.
Was I the only one cackling like an idiot when we saw that you can multiple multiclass with this class?
This sounds awesome.
But when I goto:
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/dramp/20081103
All I see is:
Hey. Glad you could make it. Welcome to the inside.
This is my first "&" column since we turned on the subscription service, and I want to kick it off in a big way. I want to show you the kind of things you can expect on a regular basis as a member of our elite club -- as a D&D Insider. I want to let you in on the secrets that only Insiders have access to. I want to show you the new elements of the game that you're going to get to see and play with before anyone else. I want you to help us craft the direction of D&D. That's what being an Insider is all about.
In this column, I'm going to show you another class from Player's Handbook 2. This time out, you get to see the bard. I'm showing off one bard build, from level 1 to level 10. Just to give you a taste of how another classic character class translates into 4th Edition. But we'll get to the bard a bit later. I've got a few other things to share with you first.
Subscribe Now to Get this Article and Over 120 Pages of
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It is working now...
I logged out then back in. :-)
This sounds awesome.
It is. and he's got a slew of powers that are certainly based on skills. More so than any other class that's come out so far.
I could see how to rework Incarnum now. (still going to wait a little while yet though)
Too bad you have to pay $10 to see preview material. Generally, companies release teaser information to pique one's interest.
You are aware that they release free preview material somewhere around three times a week right? We are just several months away from recieving the free preview material for PHBII.
Too bad you have to pay $10 to see preview material. Generally, companies release teaser information to pique one's interest.
And WotC is doing that. How many free excerpts for Martial Power have we had in the last few weeks?
Was I the only one cackling like an idiot when we saw that you can multiple multiclass with this class?
I myself cackle like an evil genius, but yes, there was cackling.
This sounds awesome.
I want to go ahead and point these out before people get too excited about it:
1) You can only take Novice Power, Acolyte Power, and Adept Power once each. They can all be taken for different classes, though, yes, provided you have all of the prerequisite multiclass feats necessary, of course.
2) This doesn't allow you to Paragon Multiclass into more than one class. You're still limited to one.
3) To Paragon Multiclass, all of your power-swap feats are still going to need to be taken for the same class.
and . . . .
HOBGOBLINS
Aw yeah.
My hobgoblin bard is gonna be so metal.
The second 10th level Utility power is the type of stuff I'm looking for. More of this would go a long way to changing my outlook. PS - don't point out there are other non combat utilities...I saw them... The basic problem with is that there are two few options for utilities...and you can access too few of them. This overview shows us 3 10th level utilities that aren't bad....but at what point can a PC access more than 1 of them?? I wish they had seperated utilities from powers and fleshed them out more. Perhaps even if they had to note some which were not available in combat...to avoid tipping the balance there...
Really? That's great. And here I was thinking that the company should work to accommodate its would-be customers. Don't worry, the players will do that for them!
WotC is releasing a ton of preview content every single week in the month leading up to any new releases. I'd say that is pretty darn generous for any potential customers. I know it was a large part of the reason I was so eager to see AV and FRPG come out, and am now looking forward to Martial Power and Draconomicon.
The fact that a single extra bit of content was provided as an extra bonus for D&DI subscribers hardly renders that null and void - and, in fact, is a very nice reward for those who have paid for the service. I really don't see how you can genuinely paint this as a bad thing in any fashion.
I realize these types of bonuses are really hard to balance (especially when you have multiples in the same party) but if you make it a Power Bonus then it won't stack with other stuff.
Seems like a lot of fun, but I wish they had used the "aura" mechanic with this class. I'd love to see their Daily powers act as Auras, similar to the way the Barbarian Daily powers act as Rages. That is, the Bard uses a Daily power, which has some effect, but then for the rest of the encounter, all allies within 5 or 10 squares gain some sort of bonus.
I realize these types of bonuses are really hard to balance (especially when you have multiples in the same party) but if you make it a Power Bonus then it won't stack with other stuff.
Yea...That would have been a great option...or a 'song' which creates that aura (or an oration...or poem...or whatever)
I just didn't see much that was so dramatically different is screamed 'BARD' like we saw with the Artificer & Barbarian.
Does the Bard have a built in Class healing ability?
If it does how similar is to Inspiring/Healing Word?
Does the Bard have a built in Class healing ability?
Well the Bard is a Leader, so yes.
If it does how similar is to Inspiring/Healing Word?
Assuming the addition of Healer's Lore to the Cleric's Healing Word, it and the Bard's Majestic word come out equal, except for the ability score they key off of, of course.
Someone pointed out that with cha/int/con being the main stats their melee attacks would be lackluster. From the selection of powers available, are there any melee (or ranged weapon) powers and if so do they key off charisma?
A quick look and there was a weapon 1st level daily power that used charisma as the base stat.
I want to go ahead and point these out before people get too excited about it:
1) You can only take Novice Power, Acolyte Power, and Adept Power once each. They can all be taken for different classes, though, yes, provided you have all of the prerequisite multiclass feats necessary, of course.
2) This doesn't allow you to Paragon Multiclass into more than one class. You're still limited to one.
3) To Paragon Multiclass, all of your power-swap feats are still going to need to be taken for the same class.
The last two I figured. (besides why Paragon Multiclass anyway.. the paths are far better) But how are you figuring that first one? (remember exception > general rule and multiclassing would be general rule) Even if it is how you say it's a great deal more flavorful and old school bard than what I was expecting.
couldn't a bard just multiclass into swordsage and grab intelligent blademaster, keying his basic melee attack roll off int?
He could, but I don't see that as being particularly useful considering that is two feats to improve his oppotunity attacks a tiny bit.
The last two I figured. (besides why Paragon Multiclass anyway.. the paths are far better) But how are you figuring that first one? (remember exception > general rule and multiclassing would be general rule) Even if it is how you say it's a great deal more flavorful and old school bard than what I was expecting.
Honestly the multiclass versatility wording is very vague. I would personally rule that you could only take the power swap feats once, as otherwise you could end up removing all of your bard powers of a certain type or you could even end up in a situation where you have more power swap feats then you do powers of that type. Neither of those are really desirable situations.
The last two I figured. (besides why Paragon Multiclass anyway.. the paths are far better) But how are you figuring that first one? (remember exception > general rule and multiclassing would be general rule) Even if it is how you say it's a great deal more flavorful and old school bard than what I was expecting.
This has nothing at all to do with specific rules trumping general rules. This has to do with what Multiclass versatility allows you to do and what it does not allow you to do. What Multiclass Versatility allows you to do is to multiclass into more than one class. What it does not allow you to do is to take feats multiple times that you normally could not take multiple times. It also doesn't allow you to take muticlass feats you don't qualify for or multiclass feats for the Bard class. It doesn't override any rules other than the one stating you can only multiclass into one class; all other rules still stand:
1) You still can't take Novice Power, Acolyte Power, or Adept Power more than once.
2) You still can't take multiclass feats you don't qualify for.
3) You still can't take the Bard multiclass feats.
4) You still can't PMC into more than one class.
But those feats are part of multiclassing. And I think anyone can agree picking up the first feat more than once means nothing without being able to utilize the others.
No we can't agree. One of the bard themes is "Jack-of-all-Trades, Master-of-None". Being able to pick up more than one of the introductory MC feats without being able to pick up more than one of the powerswap feats would still be useful. Remember, he can switch which power is swapped every level and he could pick from every class he has multi-classed into.
But those feats are part of multiclassing. And I think anyone can agree picking up the first feat more than once means nothing without being able to utilize the others.
Not at all. Each of those initial feats has its own specific benefits. Each also opens up other feats and options that require being a member of that class, or being martial, or a defender, or so forth. You can also split up your Power Swap feats to tap into several different classes, go a Paragon path for yet another of those classes, and end up a very diverse character without needing anything else.
The ability to take many multiclass feats gives us a lot of flexibility, although I suspect that someone quickly find a way to exploit it. (in fact I challenge the community for bragging rights, who can first break the game with that alone).
I am most happy about how implements will be handled. I was scared that my bard would need to draw out a flute for every encounter, instead of a sword. Instead it looks like our implements can be a wand, instrument, or even a weapon. Good job there.
Also I like how their important encounter and daily powers let them help the team and control the battlefield. This is the sort of support power that is fun to play, as opposed to the "shut up and heal me" sort of support powers.
I do note that a few mesmerize type powers are on the list. This is something D&D needs, but which is very hard to implement well. If you are not careful, you can break the game really quickly this way.
Well the Bard is a Leader, so yes.
Assuming the addition of Healer's Lore to the Cleric's Healing Word, it and the Bard's Majestic word come out equal, except for the ability score they key off of, of course.
This is not quite true. It's easy to overlook but a bard runs 1d6 behind the other healing word type abilities. Compared to Cleric (especially laser cleric), you are flat out behind by 1d6. (A Str cleric may dump wis somewhat, so you might win out there.) Compared to the other leaders you are trading 1d6 for adding your primary stat mod. At level 1 this is about even (as you likely have a 16-18 for +3-+4 which is about tied with 1d6 but more reliable) and by the end you should probably have 24-28 Cha for +7-+9 which is clearly better than 1d6.
Cleric is still the number one healer, but Bard is quite competitive with the others. The current preview is a bit light on healing powers other than the class features, but you can make that up with multiclass versatility if you tried. (Level 1-2: multiclass warlord + cleric for 2 1/day heals. Level 4/8/10 power swap for more healing powers. Maybe multiclass something else at 6th and take a healing oriented paragon path?)
"I spend a minor action to curse him, a minor action to quarry him, and then I stab him with my short sword. Oh, I hit - I use Sneak Attack as well. +4d6 damage!"
I wouldn't be surprised if multiclass feats for future striker classes include more free dice that could be piled up like this. Also, if you wanted to buff this technique as much as possible, you might as well take Backstabber and then Lethal Hunter. At this point, you're dealing +1d6+3d8, and in just a few short levels it will balloon to +2d6+5d8 at the paragon tier.
I don't really follow the CharOp boards, so I wouldn't be surprised if this pales in comparison to the damage generation techniques they have there, but it's still a fairly obvious way to stack multiclass feats for a nice deadly attack once per encounter.
This is not quite true. It's easy to overlook but a bard runs 1d6 behind the other healing word type abilities.
Oh, really? I hadn't noticed.
Oh well, 1D6 is not that much, so it's not that far behind.
EDIT: Oh! I see now. He's 1D6 behind because he can also slide the target that he heals 1 square. Yeah, that balances out just fine, I think.
The most obvious multiclass "abuse" combo would be something like the following once per encounter, when the PC is flanking an enemy...
"I spend a minor action to curse him, a minor action to quarry him, and then I stab him with my short sword. Oh, I hit - I use Sneak Attack as well. +4d6 damage!"
I had considered this too, but I’m not sure it would be as bad as you think it will be. First off, you don’t gain the Warlock’s Curse class feature by taking the Pact Initiate multiclass feat.
Pact Initiate
[Multiclass Warlock]
Prerequisite: Cha 13
Benefit: You gain training in one skill from the
warlock’s class skill list.
Choose a warlock pact. You gain the pact’s at-will
power as an encounter power, and you can pursue the
warlock paragon path based on that pact.
In addition, you can use a rod, a wand, or a pact
blade as an implement when using a warlock power or
a warlock paragon path power.
That said, you could use a minor action to fire off your Hunter’s Quarry and Sneak Attack at the same time, providing you have Combat Advantage, are wielding a light blade, crossbow, or sling, and can attack the nearest enemy to you that you can see.
That would bring your additional damage to +3d6 once per encounter.
To accomplish this would require 2 feats, Sneak of Shadows and Warrior of the Wild. To qualify for both feats requires DEX 13. Two feats and an attribute requirement seems fair to me for +3d6 1/ encounter.
Increasing your base damage from +3d6 to +3d8 requires 2 more feats—Backstabber and Lethal Hunter. That brings the total feat requirement to 4, for a +3d8 burst once an encounter. Again, I think that’s balanced.
Why? Keep in mind you are still rolling attacks with either STR or DEX, based on the weapon type used. Obviously, most Bards would want to go DEX since they had to raise it to at least 13 to qualify for said feats, and likely higher than 13 to make it effective.
If you decided to go STR, the build is even more MAD and likely not very effective.
That said, it will still be viable for some builds, but I think it is balanced considering the feat and attribute investment required.
This is how bards fight!
Or with Karate
You know, I just thought of something - with the Con/Int/Cha focus, that means the best Bards will be:
Half-Elfs (traditional role)
Tieflings (like in 2nd Ed, stupid 3.x Cha penalty
Gnomes (like 3.5)
Dopplegangers (makes sense)
and . . . .
HOBGOBLINS
Aw yeah.
There's the Dirgesingers of Dhaakan... Already precedence for hobgoblin bards.
Not sure it's needed, a bard could quickly burn though all of his feats with this, what I find complelling is the multiclass feats like spell scar and the weapon multiclasing feats.
a bard could get really interesting
Agreed. One of my favorite things to do with bards in 3.5 was give the whips...
Oh, how I long now to play a bard! Even though I don't care for the "warrior skald" type options for the bard, I am still happy that I can play it my way. :3
I'm interested to see if they put a limit on the number of muticlass feats the bard can take.
Why?
A heroic-tier bard could have 5 feats. Even assuming s/he takes no power-swap feats, that's requiring balanced stats to be useful and giving, maybe:
A small bonus to AC (swordmage)
+2d6 to damage once per encounter, if s/he has the right weapon (rogue)
An extra way to mark people (fighter, ranger or paladin)
A way to heal people once per day (Warlord or Cleric)
One warlock or wizard at-will per encounter (wizard or warlock)
A lot, yes. But overpowered? That's all the character's feats. The character still has to take actions to do them. The plus to AC is not far beyond the plus from some other feats, the +2d6 to attack once might be able to be made from some damage-boosting feat for the bard spells, giving the bard a mark cuts into it's "leader" role, a little extra healing is nice but won't break the game, and an extra spell. Plus, cuz so many of these things rely on different attributes, the character aint maxing a main (charisma) attribute.
It looks kosher to me!
Beyond that, GM Discresion. I mean, we could re-fluff the class so it has nothing to do with performance at all.
The only rule for musical performance I could see, was the bard's ability to enhance everyone's normal healing surges by singing during a short rest.
Beyond that, GM Discresion. I mean, we could re-fluff the class so it has nothing to do with performance at all.
Bollocks.
My only other grievance is there are only 2 at wills in the preview, so if youre a human, good luck finding that third bonus at will...
But aside from that, I really like the class. I like the class features and some pretty clever abilities as well. All in all i think it'll be a fun class and as a Bard lover myself, I'm excited.
As long as I can finally have my sexy dwarf bard, I'll be happy. :D
It's doable. Dwarves aren't ideal bards, of course. The Con's useful, but Wisdom's a dump stat for bards, and there's no Charisma bonus. Still, you can try doing a full on Jack of All Trades/multiclassing master, where the diversity would end up helping.
So I would like to see a Perform skill implemented.
If a PC wants to sing or play a musical instrument to influence one or more NPCs, is that not simply either a Charisma check against an appropriate DC set by the DM or a Charisma vs. Will 'attack'? The whole point of the standardisation and simplification of 4th edition's rules mechanics is that this sort of thing doesn't need specific rules (which will never ever be used if you don't have a bard in the party). The basic mechanics of the system are all a DM needs to come up with a reasonable method of resolving such things. I was heartily glad to say goodbye to skills that only one class in the entire game would ever use.
It's doable. Dwarves aren't ideal bards, of course.
Well, at least they don't have a Charisma penalty any more! :D
I reckon Pella of Clan Breen is probably a Ranger/Bard in 4th edition terms anyway. She's a light-armour-wearing dual-axe-wielding character who just happens to sing while she fights (and is very good with throwing weapons, too). Although, that would probably lead to horrific MAD problems (high Str and Cha, medium-high Con and Dex...)
Hmm... I hope this 'unlimited multiclassing' thing bards get doesn't mean no-one else can multiclass into bard.
I never really liked the bard in 3.x, and while it was ok in 2e, this new bard class seems like it will be very useful. I'm interested to see if they put a limit on the number of muticlass feats the bard can take.
YEAH, Im content to ABUSE the Bard class to build my own template of all the powers of the other classes.
Muhahaha.Yeah I thought that needed to be added. I always liked having to roll a Perform check to see how awesome ( or how horrible ) your performance was and the consequences as such. So I would like to see a Perform skill implemented. But that's nothing I can't give as a freebie skill as a house rule.
Yeah, I noticed there was no specific "Perform" skill added, but at least in cases where a performance is supposed to move a crowd one way or another emotionally it's basically Diplomacy, isn't it? And if that is true, then doesn't (or couldn't) the Words of Friendship feature sorta cover awesome performances? Or are you looking for something more dramatic maybe?
My only other grievance is there are only 2 at wills in the preview, so if youre a human, good luck finding that third bonus at will...
In the short term, it might work to sub in at wills from arcane leaders or controllers like the artificer and the wizard.
Anybody else think the art was cool?
It's a bit unconventional, but the notion of a savage bard pounding on drums, bellowing ancestral battle chants, and swinging a bloody scimitar is pretty neat. Maybe this fits better as a villain image, but maybe not... Anyway, I'm happy with savage bards.
That's called a skald (yay vikings!).
Bards are going to be difficult to stat, I wonder if the valor build will have melee Charisma attacks.
So when multi classing, does the bard get to have the different classes for the feats then choose which class to go into when he multiclass at 10th level?
It's too bad they didn't do the virtue of comedy that they mentioned, I think a lot of bard players would have enjoyed it. Maybe in Arcane Power? Comedy sounds like granting temporary hps to me, as the character would be in better spirits until they get hit or rest. Valor sounded more like granting bonuses to attacks, but I guess temporary hp works in that you are basking in the glow of smiting your enemies. I'm sure we'll see some other virtues in Arcane Power, maybe virtue of intellect would complement spellcasters by adding range to implement powers or something, and virtue of piety could give various powers based on deities? Honor sounds like a good virtue, I don't know what it would do, encourage people not to flank their enemies?
Bards are going to be difficult to stat, I wonder if the valor build will have melee Charisma attacks.
The Ampersand preview has a single [W] attack that uses Charisma. I would assume all their [W] attacks will use Charisma, like all the Swordmage [W] attacks use Intelligence.
I also half expect to see a feat that like Charismatic Duelist or something that will allow Bards to use Charisma for basic melee attacks, like Intelligent Blademaster for Swordmages.
The Ampersand preview has a single [W] attack that uses Charisma. I would assume all their [W] attacks will use Charisma, like all the Swordmage [W] attacks use Intelligence.
I also half expect to see a feat that like Charismatic Duelist or something that will allow Bards to use Charisma for basic melee attacks, like Intelligent Blademaster for Swordmages.
Now, if they can just do the same thing for paladins. Paladins need it just as badly, if not moreso. As defenders, it hurts not to have an effective OA.
Or with Karate
did somebody say Bard/Monk multiclass? :D
Healing the party during a short rest: they are contractually obligated to press forward into the adventure due to the terms of their adventuring charter.
His attack powers: litigation
I now want to play a bard who uses the law as his medium.
Healing the party during a short rest: they are contractually obligated to press forward into the adventure due to the terms of their adventuring charter.
His attack powers: litigation
That litigation attack would be OP though, like all other SoDs. :D
My only other grievance is there are only 2 at wills in the preview, so if youre a human, good luck finding that third bonus at will...
I'm curious what the other two or three at-wills or be. Hopefully at least 1 weapon power.
When the final issue for this month comes out, is the Bard preview still going to be appended to the Ampersand article? I hope it get's a full normal spread, like the other previews (and the playtests) have gotten. It just makes it look nicer when printed out, you know?
The final issue for the month has been out for almost a week now. So you can check to see how it looks right now.