"As Our Lady of Silver comes out at night
So I do...
As She casts Her beams to pierce the dark
So I do...
As She is one with the Rod of Four Moons
So I am with spear
As She comes and goes as She pleases
So I come, and disappear..."

My first (hopeful) contribution to the Guild, I have only found one build with this class split (by none less than the Dwarflord - Libertine Defender) and it is a DEX-based one. There are probably good reasons for that being so, as it is feat-starved as any non-Fighter/COT Weapon Master and I couldn't hit the 40 naked AB I wanted. There are other areas that left me wanting for more in the build (no skill points left for Discipline, for instance), but I had fun playing it. All and every comment and suggestion is more than appreciated.

Singing Spearman

Race: Human
Alignment: Chaotic Good (any non-Lawful, but that fit the concept)
Playable: 1-40 PvM


Bard 30 / Shadowdancer 3 / Weapon Master 7

Attributes
Str15 (28)
Int13
Wis8
Dex13
Con14
Chr14 (16)

Level Guide
1 Bard1, Dodge, Mobility
2 Bard2
3 Bard3, WF:Spear
4 Bard4, STR16
5 Bard5
6 Bard6, Expertise
7 Bard7
8 Shadowdancer1, CHA15
9 Shadowdancer2, Spring Attack
10 Bard8
11 Bard9
12 Bard10, Whirlwind Attack, CHA16
13 Weapon Master1
14 Weapon Master2
15 Weapon Master3, Improved Critical:Spear
16 Weapon Master4, STR17
17 Weapon Master5
18 Bard11, Curse Song
19 Weapon Master6
20 Bard12, STR18
21 Weapon Master7, Epic Weapon Focus:Spear
22 Bard13
23 Bard14
24 Bard15, Great Str I, STR19
25 Bard16
26 Bard17
27 Shadowdancer3, Great Str II
28 Bard18, Str22
29 Bard19
30 Bard20, Lasting Inspiration
31 Bard21
32 Bard22, Str23
33 Bard23,Great Str III, ESF: Perform
34 Bard24
35 Bard25
36 Bard26, Great Str IV, ESF: Hide, Str26
37 Bard27
38 Bard28
39 Bard29, Great Str V
40 Bard30, Str28

Combat Vitals
AB: 39/34/29/24
Self-Buffed AB: 50/45/40/35
Self-Buffed Damage: 1d8+16 + 3 Bludgeoning (Song) + 5 Piercing (GMW) + 2 Slashing (War Cry) = 27 minimum damage (Critical: 17-20 / x4)
AC: 24
Self-Buffed AC:38
HP: 354 (384 with Song)

Skills (with Song)
Hide: 54 (66)
Move Silently: 54 (66)
Listen: 30 (58)
Perform: 56 (65)
Tumble: 40 (52)
Use Magic Device: 45 (55)

Saves
Fort: 18 (20) (22 vs spells)
Will: 19 (22) (24 vs spells)
Reflex: 27 (29) (31 vs spells)

Edited By OCNT Dogo on 10/02/08 01:57

YOu realize you still need 35 perform to make use of 30 bard level curse/bard song?(which may explain why no one else has done 30 bard!) otherwise interestingly done. Yes, I do, sadly hehehe. In my (limited) experience I found that either one plays in a very bard-friendly environment or one can just forget about going for a much better song than the lvl 16 one. But I also thought hey, there must be people out there who play in such environments, and for those people I think this bard can add a lot to the party, having the necessary levels for the best song and all spells and delivering some damage to boot. I personally dont think the build is estelar, and it will die many miserable deaths in the hands of people who dont play their bards smartly, also because you have HiPS but zero discipline (I have also found that many think that HiPS = invincible). But keep commenting, and thanks for the comments already given.

Edited to add: Actually I think he needs 46 more points in Perform for the 30 lvl Bard Song, no? The numbers in parenthesis are the scores after Bard Song is applied (the Bard Song that he can achieve with his naked perform, I mean)

Edited By OCNT Dogo on 10/02/08 04:42

Well, looky here. Another STR based SD. Using your bard song to get decent use out of a STRer's stealth skills is an interesting idea, but I don't think WM is at all worth it for the build. Even a few fighter levels instead (30/2/8?) could work better. Toss in EWS and maybe a bit more stealthing in the form of SF/ESF? Just think you're askin' too much w/ WM.
Quote: Posted 10/02/08 01:55 (GMT) -- OCNT Dogo


My first (hopeful) contribution to the Guild, I have only found one build with this class split (by none less than the Dwarflord - Libertine Defender) and it is a DEX-based one.

Yeah, I was never really happy with that one. What's nice about this one is you do get a decent Bard Song, but you have to do the strip tease to cast any of your spells. Given that Warcry is now somatic, it becomes a real pain. Your crits are going to be god-awful, though. I don't have any suggestions really, as WMs tend to pin you in a corner. I might suggest going Bard26/SD7/WM7, as it gives you a bit more defenses via spells and those crits that would wipe you out in one shot, but maybe not worth it since you lose a Bard bonus feat.

As an alternate, you could flip it on its head and go Bard8/SD7/WM25, but that's a different build.
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Ariel, Ookla, RIDE! Thanks everyone for the comments and suggestions. And no, I wasn't all that impressed with the build but at least that's another Bard/SD/WM in the Guild. I played the build to 40 in single player, but in my perfect scenario he would have a party and would wear robes/cloth armor for the full benefits of his nice H/MS (for a STR build)while taunting, casting, scouting, HiPSing and hitting enemies that were engaged to someone else. Well, good experiment for first post here But alas, I still dream of the day when all DMs/Builders will reward dedicated Bard players with awesome items with Perform boni, so here comes the Iconic Skald in all his 40 Bard levels glory and the need for 40+ Perform in items!!! Hehehe Thanks again folks

Edited By OCNT Dogo on 10/03/08 04:19

Quote: Posted 10/03/08 04:18 (GMT) -- OCNT Dogo

Thanks everyone for the comments and suggestions. And no, I wasn't all that impressed with the build but at least that's another Bard/SD/WM in the Guild. I played the build to 40 in single player, but in my perfect scenario he would have a party and would wear robes/cloth armor for the full benefits of his nice H/MS (for a STR build)while taunting, casting, scouting, HiPSing and hitting enemies that were engaged to someone else. Well, good experiment for first post here But alas, I still dream of the day when all DMs/Builders will reward dedicated Bard players with awesome items with Perform boni, so here comes the Iconic Skald in all his 40 Bard levels glory and the need for 40+ Perform in items!!! Hehehe Thanks again folks

Playing in a party as a support character is OK. It is OK to make builds for that role as well. If you tell us we will judge the build according to that.
Bard is well suited for party play.

One thing you get from 30 bards levels is "indispellable" spells (well actually from 25 lvls). If you make a bard with focus on casting and singing as a support character, you want to focus more on charisma.
A character that only knows singing, casting, taunting and HIPSing can work well in a party.

Edited By Mick Dagger on 10/03/08 12:25