What all would I need in order keep him as effective as a bard that can speak?
what kinda feats would I need?
Also go for Silent Spell, obviously.
I'm not sure how to keep the social skills effective, though.
Try using the Buoman as your base race (Planar Handbook).
Or, you could do Bard 3 / Crusader 17 with just Subsonics and Song of the White Raven. There's not much need to be heard when you are smacking the heck out of everybody
.a Mute Bard can still Whistle ;) , but there are other Perform types:
Act (comedy, drama, mime)
Comedy (buffoonery, limericks, joke-telling)
Dance (ballet, waltz, jig)
Keyboard instruments (harpsichord, piano, pipe organ)
Oratory (epic, ode, storytelling)
Percussion instruments (bells, chimes, drums, gong)
String instruments (fiddle, harp, lute, mandolin)
Wind instruments (flute, pan pipes, recorder, shawm, trumpet)
Sing (ballad, chant, melody)
you can also use Drow Sign language... but that tends to limit your Audience
Special: A bard must have at least 3 ranks in a Perform skill to inspire courage in his allies, or to use his countersong or his fascinate ability. A bard needs 6 ranks in a Perform skill to inspire competence, 9 ranks to use his suggestion ability, 12 ranks to inspire greatness, 15 ranks to use his song of freedom ability, 18 ranks to inspire heroics, and 21 ranks to use his mass suggestion ability. See Bardic Music in the bard class description.
In addition to using the Perform skill, you can entertain people with sleight of hand, tumbling, tightrope walking, and spells (especially illusions).
also some uses of Bardic Music do not require Speech ... notice:
Bardic Music: Once per day per bard level, a bard can use his song or poetics to produce magical effects on those around him (usually including himself, if desired). While these abilities fall under the category of bardic music and the descriptions discuss singing or playing instruments, they can all be activated by reciting poetry, chanting, singing lyrical songs, singing melodies, whistling, playing an instrument, or playing an instrument in combination with some spoken performance. Each ability requires both a minimum bard level and a minimum number of ranks in the Perform skill to qualify; if a bard does not have the required number of ranks in at least one Perform skill, he does not gain the bardic music ability until he acquires the needed ranks.
:D
At higher levels, things like Rods of Silent Spell and Ring of Silent Spells can greatly reduce the overhead of being Mute. Paired with Mindbender, it wouldn't be that bad.
looking over my PHB (using 3.5 rules)
it states the Silent spell cannot be used for Bard spells
so thats what got me confused on how to make it
and I not really looking to make or need him to be totally silent...would still play an instrument and such (even joked about taking perform: mime for that kinda thing) just wouldn't be able to speak/sing
so are we saying that whistling is/could be an acceptable verbal component?
Use your spell slots to fuel Arcane Strike instead
.I pretty much knew I had that stuff covered, was just concered about spellcasting. hhhmmmm...Do wands require verbal? I assume they do.
I was mainly looking to keep him a mid-line spell caster kinda thing as opposed to a front line fighter. We have too many of those already. But without someway to get around verbal components I guess that not gonna happen.
Nonverbal Spell[General](Planar Handbook)
You can cast spells that have verbal components without actually verbalizing the words.
Benefit: You can cast spells with verbal components without needing to utter the actual verbal components. You still make noise when casting such a spell (which may be anything from recognizable speech to elaborate song to simple growls), but the noise is unrecognizable as a verbal spell component. (A silence spell still would prevent you from completing the spell, for example.) Spells without verbal components are not affected.
This feat is most beneficial to races incapable of speech in the traditional sense, but still capable of communication. However, it also can prove helpful to characters wishing to disguise the verbal components of their spells.
now you can Whistle your Spells :P
:D
:D
Benefit: You can produce music or poetics so subtly that opponents do not notice it, yet your allies still gain all the usual benefits from your bardic music. Similarly, you can affect opponents within range with your music, but unless they can see you performing or have some other means of discovering it, they cannot determine the source of the effect.
Disguise Spell[General](Complete Adventurer)Prerequisite: Perform (any) 9 ranks, bardic music.
Benefit: You can cast spells unobtrusively, mingling verbal and somatic components into your performances. To disguise a spell, make a Perform check as part of the action used to cast the spell. Onlookers must match or exceed your check result with a Spot check to detect that you're casting a spell (your performance is obvious to everyone in the vicinity, but the fact that you are casting a spell isn't). Unless the spell visibly emanates from you, or observers have some other means of determining its source, they don't know where the effect came from. A disguised spell can't be identified with a Spellcraft check, even by someone who realizes you're casting a spell. The act of casting still provokes attacks of opportunity as normal.
good catch...
:D
try this:
Nonverbal Spell[General](Planar Handbook)
SNIP
This is awesome!!!one11!!!⁚
heres a good example of a "Real" Mute Bard
:D
*lol* kinda exactly what I had in mind :P
except well...the actor wasn't really mute. His german accent was just so thick you couldn't understand a word he was saying, so he was told not to speak *nods*