Bard help

[Muckluck]

Hello again, BGTSCC. It's me. Yet again.

Been RCRing some characters (all low level), and I recently realised you can actually MAKE MUSIC as a bard (well, anyone can). I was floored! I need to get in on this. Maybe I can finally RP a bit more in-depth than making excuses for murdering enemies.

With that in mind (and knowing, from what I can tell, that Canaith Lyrist isn't a thing on BGTSCC), can I have a recommendation for a human bard? Either a pure build, or one that makes ample use of the bard's perform abilities (so as to get the epic songs, etc).

Any help would be much appreciated.

[chad878262]

If what you are interested in is the musical aspect and RP then nothing wrong with Pure Bard. Dipping Rogue 3 will give you a few more skill points, access to spot and Evasion/Expose Weakness. a 4th Rogue level will get you Uncanny Defense. Fighter 4 can help by getting 3 extra feats, as well as heavy/tower shields, medium armor proficiency and martial weapons. Note that max Inspire Competence comes at B27, so B27/R3 is likely the 'power-builders choice' here. However, B30 does increase Inspire Defense and get an extra bonus epic-feat, so there is at least some benefit to go B30 over the Rogue or other variant.

Also, since you are interested in building a performer bard, there is benefit to going high CHA. You will still be able to hit things with Middle of the Road STR (or DEX) and we do have Epic Inspiration on the server: https://wiki.bgtscc.net/index.php?title ... nspiration which would give you a total of +7 Inspire Courage (+1 from 1st level spell), +8 Inspire Defense, +9 Inspire Competence, +6 Inspire Regeneration and Inspire Toughness.

So for a Human Bard, Maybe go STR 16 / DEX 14 / CON 11 / INT 12 / WIS 8 / CHA 17 (no access to builder, not sure if I used too many points or not...) Make sure to take Lingering Song, Curse Song, Extend Spell and in Epics you'll want Chorus of Heroism, Song of Requiem, Hymn of Requiem and Epic Inspiration (requires 25 CHA so you'll also need one Great CHA). Obviously if you are going with the R3 dip this becomes a bit more difficult and you will likely need to drop Chorus of Heroism from the build (not sure without actually using the NWN2DB builder).

Hopefully this gives you start though.

[electric mayhem]

As to the 'making music' part, this is done in game with the TKL performer instruments (lute, drum and flute).

While there are some prescribed pieces embedded within the instruments, there is the ability to transcribe your own pieces with lyric's attached from scratch.
A healthy understanding of writing and playing music is advised, but you do not need to be a professional.
This takes time, and patience. Like any art.

Please note that when you use the instruments, all other PCs on the map can hear it (from my understanding). So on large open air maps, it's kind of awkward.
Inside taverns and small room environments, the immersive feel is great, especially when the instrument is in the hands of an experienced musician.

Happy barding.

[Sun Wukong]

http://nwn2db.com/build/?285323 <= I would actually use that.

It has flaws, such as not being able to carry a thing, and a having morbid fear of critical hits. But on the other hand, Belf of Growth kind of takes care of it, and even with 19 dexterity and lack of stealth feats, you still one of the best sneakers around. Inspire Competence adds +9 to your skills and you have Greater Heroism in your spell book.

As for damage output, you can stack Expose Weakness, with Curse Song, which means that your nine attacks per round are all likely to land. That is 63 damage just from Inspire Courage. Now add in some elemental damage dice and the Sonic Weapon spell, perhaps Bladeweave too.

Then you can always bring out the big guns and hit that Hymn of Requiem.



And lets face it, if you are playing music, do you really need strength, constitution, intelligence, or wisdom? I think dexterous fingers and good looks are more than enough!

[Khazrak]

http://nwn2db.com/build/?285323 <= I would actually use that.

That build is not publically available!

[Sun Wukong]

You can see the build now, I guess the database over at NWN2db must have had some kind of hiccup. I could have sworn I made it public before posting the link. I make sure to save the public builds twice, so that when I sort them, the latest builds come up front and posting the link is very easy.

Note though, the build would actually work much better with a Drow or something. The +2 in DEX, INT, and CHA mean that you can start with 19 dexterity, raise some other stats to make better use out of Belt of Growth, and skip the need to get Great Dexterity.

[Muckluck]

Thanks for all the help and all the replies, fellas and fellettes! Much appreciated!

[chad878262]

Thanks for all the help and all the replies, fellas and fellettes! Much appreciated!

Kinda forgot about this...Here are a couple options for a Human CHA based bard...

http://nwn2db.com/build/?227715

http://nwn2db.com/build/?285370

[Muckluck]

Thanks for all the help and all the replies, fellas and fellettes! Much appreciated!

Kinda forgot about this...Here are a couple options for a Human CHA based bard...

http://nwn2db.com/build/?227715

http://nwn2db.com/build/?285370

Cheers!