The Bad, Bad Bard (playable levels 1-40, PvM, untested PvP)

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My favorite of the builds I've posted here has to be the Hand of Despair ( Click Here ), but that had some fairly major problems (like, AB), so I kept any possible improvements to the concept on the back burner. Then, during the frenzy for the highest AB, I began to fall in love with the Bard class. So, what better idea than to combine my Cha-based Barb with my newfound pride and joy, the Bard? And, of course, BG is always worth a few bonus points, and it also starts with 'B.' What the hell .

There are currently no builds in Pulse Cap's search engine with this class split.

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Race: Human

Alignment: Neutral Evil, Chaotic Evil

Starting Stats:
Str: 16
Dex: 10
Con: 12
Int: 12
Wis: 8
Cha: 16

1 - Barbarian 1 - Power Attack, Weapon Focus (battleaxe)
2 - Bard 1
3 - Barbarian 2 - Knockdown
4 - Barbarian 3 - Cha 17
5 - Barbarian 4
6 - Barbarian 5 -Cleave
7 - Bard 2
8 - BG 1 - Cha 18
9 - BG 2 - Blind Fight
10 - Barbarian 6
11 - Barbarian 7
12 - Bard 3 - Curse Song, Cha 19
13 - Barbarian 8
14 - Barbarian 9
15 - BG 3 - Divine Might
16 - Barbarian 10 - Cha 20
17 - Bard 4
18 - BG 4 - Divine Shield
19 - Barbarian 11
20 - Barbarian 12 - Cha 21

21 - Barbarian 13 - Epic Weapon Focus (battleaxe)
22 - Bard 5
23 - Barbarian 14
24 - Barbarian 15 - Terrifying Rage, Cha 22
25 - Bard 6
26 - Bard 7
27 - Bard 8 - Armor Skin
28 - Bard 9 - Cha 23
29 - Bard 10
30 - Bard 11 - Epic Prowess
31 - Bard 12
32 - Bard 13 - Cha 24
33 - Bard 14 - Great Cha 25
34 - Bard 15
35 - Bard 16
36 - Bard 17 - Great Cha 26, Cha 27
37 - Bard 18
38 - Bard 19
39 - Bard 20 - Lasting Inspiration
40 - Barbarian 16 / Bard 20 / BG 4 - Cha 28

Skills (full plate, tower shield): Concentration 1(2), Discipline 43(46), Intimidate 43(52), Perform 41(50), Spellcraft 34(35), Taunt 43(52), Tumble 40(22)

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Ending Stats:
Str: 16
Dex: 10
Con: 12
Int: 12
Wis: 8
Cha: 28


AB (battleaxe): +36/+31/+26/+21
+5 from Greater Magic Weapon
+3 from Greater Rage
+2 from War Cry
+2 from Bard Song
+1 (at least) from Bull’s Strength
+1 (at least) from Bull’s Strength (BG)
+extra attack from Haste
+6 (effective) from Taunt
+5 (effective) from Curse Song
+10 (at least, on smite) from Smite Evil w/ Eagle’s Splendor
-5 (when activated) from Power Attack
Buffed AB (battleaxe): +61/+56/+51/+46/+61 (+10 on smite, -5 in Power Attack)

Damage (battleaxe): 1d8+3 (critical 20 / x3)
+10 (at least) from Divine Might w/ Eagle’s Splendor
+5 from Greater Magic Weapon
+3 from Greater Rage
+3 from Bard Song
+2 from War Cry
+1 (at least) from Bull’s Strength
+1 (at least) from Bull’s Strength (BG)
+increased threat range from Keen Edge
+4 (on smite) from Smite Evil
+5 (when activated) from Power Attack
Buffed Damage (battleaxe): 1d8+28 (critical 19-20 / x3, +4 on smite, +5 in Power Attack)

AC (full plate, tower shield): 31
+10 (at least) from Divine Shield w/ Eagle’s Splendor
+5 from Bard Song
+4 from Haste
+4 from Mage Armor
+1 from Cat’s Grace
+2 (effective) from Curse Song
-2 from Greater Rage
Buffed AC (full plate, tower shield): 55

Max HP: 392
+120 from Greater Rage
+28 from Bard Song
Buffed Max HP: 540

Saves:
Fortitude: 33 (+7 vs. spells)
Reflex: 28 (+7 vs. spells)
Will: 27 (+7 vs. spells)
+3 Fortitude, +2 Will from Greater Rage
+2 Fortitude, +2 Reflex, +3 Will from Bard Song
+1 Fortitude, +1 Reflex, +1 Will from Resistance
+1 Fortitude, +1 Reflex, +1 Will (at least) from Eagle’s Splendor
+1 Reflex (at least) from Cat’s Grace
+1 (vs. spells) from Bard Song
Buffed Saves:
Fortitude: 40(+8 vs. spells)
Reflex: 33(+8 vs. spells)
Will: 34(+8 vs. spells)

Terrifying Rage DC: 52
+8 from Bard Song
+1 (at least) from Eagle’s Splendor
+2 (effective) from Curse Song
Buffed Terrifying Rage DC: 63

DR: 2/-
+3/- (effective) from Bard Song
Buffed DR: 5/-

Sneak Attack Damage: 1d6

Spells:
0: Cure Minor Wounds, Daze, Flare, Light, Resistance
1: Balagarn’s Iron Horn, Cure Light Wounds, Identify, Mage Armor, Protection from Alignment
2: Bull’s Strength, Cat’s Grace, Eagle’s Splendor, See Invisibility, Ultravision
3: Cure Serious Wounds, Greater Magic Weapon, Haste, Keen Edge, Wounding Whispers
4: Cure Critical Wounds, Dismissal, Improved Invisibility, Neutralize Poison, War Cry
5: Ethereal Visage, Greater Dispelling, Healing Circle, Mind Fog, Summon Creature V
6: Dirge, Energy Buffer, Ice Storm, Summon Creature VI

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Strengths:
-Good buffed AB
-Excellent buffed AC
-Great saves
-Terrifying Rage with a decent DC
-Bard goodies, Lasting Inspiration

Weaknesses:
-Mediocre HP, downright bad for a meleer unbuffed
-Unremarkable damage
-Relies on gimmicks and buffs for power

Edited By Nimueh_Leafbow on 05/28/06 06:39

Base AB is still a problem no matter how much you can buff it, especially given your caster level is only 20 against dispels.
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CATS! Let me say this in the words of Blind Guardian:
But the Bard's song will remain!

As will his Rage. Not too long with that Con, though.
Cool build, the Bardarian. Your damage output is the main reason for concern, perhaps. Why do you take so much CHA? Instead of taking some STR. Oh yeah, your hitpoints ain't rocking, but that is the bards main (only?) problem.

Rock on.
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Dragonlance ROH is back, better than before! and I spend a little time here WoG Yeah, might as well drop your starting CHA to 14 and boost your DEX to 12 and CON to 14. You have uncanny dodge so your DEX bonus counts at all times...or is that not the case because you're in heavy armor? *shrugs* Whatever the case, I think the points you put into CHA at the start are better used elsewhere.

I think your AB is fine. You should have plenty of backup buffs to make up for anything that might get dispelled. I wouldn't boost DEX to 12. Keep it at 10 or even drop to 8. However, I agree about finding a balance between CHA/STR. Honestly, for this build, I'd top CHA at around 20, 22. Rest to STR.

Nice build anyway. Great to see another Bard!
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Quote: Posted 04/26/06 12:05:52 (GMT) -- Ithacan

[...]Harper Scout, the only class so powerful it's capped at five.
[...]

Quote: Posted 05/28/06 12:06:30 (GMT) -- avarielo

Base AB is still a problem no matter how much you can buff it, especially given your caster level is only 20 against dispels.
Having played bard builds on PvP servers, I can assure you that they're extraordinarily dispel-proof. Let's say this build gets hit with a Mord's, and it's 100% effective.

As Grim said, you keep your Bard Song bonuses and your Rage bonuses. You also keep GMW (if you're on a low-magic enough server that it's useful), because dispels don't affect weapon buffs, and I believe you keep the Bull's Strength from BG, because it's actually a feat rather than a spell (much like Epic Spells). And finally, Mord's won't do a thing about the debuffs, so you keep the effective bonuses from Taunt and Curse Song. In the original version of the build, posted above, that leaves you with:

36(base)+2(Bard Song)+3(Greater Rage)+5(GMW)+1(at least, Bull's)+6(Taunt)+5(Curse Song)=58, only losing 3 (2 from War Cry, 1 from the Bard's Bull's), along with your extra attack from Haste.

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As to the recommendations concerning the Str vs. Cha balance and the low HP, I think you guys are right. Here's a version of the build I just whipped together, taking your suggestions into account. In order to save space, I haven't included all the calculations this time, just the unbuffed and the buffed.

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Race: Human

Alignment: Neutral Evil, Chaotic Evil

Starting Stats:
Str: 16
Dex: 8
Con: 16
Int: 12
Wis: 8
Cha: 14

1 - Barbarian 1 - Blind Fight, Weapon Focus (battleaxe)
2 - Bard 1
3 - Barbarian 2 - Power Attack
4 - Barbarian 3 - Str 17
5 - Barbarian 4
6 - Barbarian 5 -Cleave
7 - Bard 2
8 - BG 1 - Str 18
9 - BG 2 - Toughness
10 - Barbarian 6
11 - Barbarian 7
12 - Bard 3 - Curse Song, Str 19
13 - Barbarian 8
14 - Barbarian 9
15 - BG 3 - Divine Might
16 - Barbarian 10 - Str 20
17 - Bard 4
18 - BG 4 - Divine Shield
19 - Barbarian 11
20 - Barbarian 12 - Cha 15

21 - Barbarian 13 - Epic Weapon Focus (battleaxe)
22 - Bard 5
23 - Barbarian 14
24 - Barbarian 15 - Terrifying Rage, Cha 16
25 - Bard 6
26 - Bard 7
27 - Bard 8 - Armor Skin
28 - Bard 9 - Cha 17
29 - Bard 10
30 - Bard 11 - Epic Prowess
31 - Bard 12
32 - Bard 13 - Cha 18
33 - Bard 14 - Great Cha 19
34 - Bard 15
35 - Bard 16
36 - Bard 17 - Great Cha 20, Cha 21
37 - Bard 18
38 - Bard 19
39 - Bard 20 - Lasting Inspiration
40 - Barbarian 16 / Bard 20 / BG 4 - Cha 22

Skills (full plate, tower shield): Discipline 43(46), Intimidate 43(49), Perform 42(48), Spellcraft 34(35), Taunt 43(49), Tumble 40(20)

Ending Stats:
Str: 20
Dex: 8
Con: 16
Int: 12
Wis: 8
Cha: 22

AB (battleaxe): +38/+33/+28/+23

Buffed AB (battleaxe): +63/+58/+53/+48/+63 (+7 on smite, -5 in Power Attack)

Damage (battleaxe): 1d8+5 (critical 20 / x3)

Buffed Damage (battleaxe): 1d8+27 (critical 19-20 / x3, +4 on smite, +5 in Power Attack)

AC (full plate, tower shield): 30

Buffed AC (full plate, tower shield): 51

Max HP: 512

Buffed Max HP: 658

Saves:
Fortitude: 32
Reflex: 24
Will: 24

Buffed Saves:
Fortitude: 39
Reflex: 29
Will: 31

Terrifying Rage DC: 49

Buffed Terrifying Rage DC: 59

DR: 2/-

Buffed DR: 5/-

Sneak Attack Damage: 1d6

Spells:
0: Cure Minor Wounds, Daze, Flare, Light, Resistance
1: Balagarn’s Iron Horn, Cure Light Wounds, Identify, Mage Armor, Protection from Alignment
2: Bull’s Strength, Cat’s Grace, Eagle’s Splendor, See Invisibility, Ultravision
3: Cure Serious Wounds, Greater Magic Weapon, Haste, Keen Edge, Wounding Whispers
4: Cure Critical Wounds, Dismissal, Improved Invisibility, Neutralize Poison, War Cry
5: Ethereal Visage, Greater Dispelling, Healing Circle, Mind Fog, Summon Creature V
6: Dirge, Energy Buffer, Ice Storm, Summon Creature VI

Edited By Nimueh_Leafbow on 05/28/06 19:05

Nicely tweaked! Good job.