[3.5] Build Help: The Melee Bard

[overduegalaxy]

Our DM is taking a break from his regular campaign to send us through something quite a bit more deadly. We're allowed to rebuild our characters from scratch, but we've got to stay the same class we started as.

I've been playing a bard, and, with this change of pace, I want to take a more proactive role in the party than I have been. Now, I know, in the vaguest sense, how to build a melee bard (Snowflake Wardance!), but I don't really know how to build a melee bard, if you follow. I don't know the exact level, but I was told "at least 10", and possibly as high as 15.

So, suggestions for feats, items, spells, PrCs, multiclassing, or even complete builds are more than welcome.

I'll be a Half-Elf, which, under houseruling, gets +2 Cha, -2 Wis, and my unassigned stat spread is 14, 15, 17, 12, 12, 11.

Allowed books are practically anything except no Dragon magazine material (unless it's in the Comp), no setting-specific material (except for Eberron and, for some reason, Oriental Adventures), no 3.0, and no Tomes.

[BRC]

Obvious stuff, like be a singer so you can hold weapons while performing. Either that or see if the DM will let you take Perform (Swordsmanship).

[MeklorIlavator]

Well, for PrC you might try and get the Dm to allow the Disciple of Metal (http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=852283).

[Arcane_Snowman]

Inspire Courage Optimization (http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=816095), get the Dragonfire Inspiration feat from Dragon Magic (might require another feat to become Dragonblooded)
The "Best" class to then get would be either Warblade or Crusader (both very competent at melee), get Song of White Raven which will make your Bard levels stack with Crusader and/or Warblade levels for the purpose of Inspire Courage (as well as allowing you to use Inspire Courage as a swift action when in a White Raven Stance).

[Hawk7915]

Here's a quick build...feats are pretty flexible to move around. It's sort of a glass cannon build: should have huge attack, decent damage, and limited pouncing, but low HP and mediocre AC. Your saves (against spells at least) will kick butt though. Warblade would help, but you said no Tomes. Likewise, if you wanted true cheese you'd take a level of Barbarian for Spirit Lion Totem Barbarian to get more full attacks.

Stats: STR 14, DEX 15, CON 12, INT 11, WIS 10 (-2 race), CHA 19 (+2 race)
1: Bard 1 - Lingering Song (C.Adv)
2: Hexblade 1:
3: Hexblade 2 - Two-weapon Fighting (SRD)
4: Bard 2
5: Bard 3
6: Bard 4 - Snowflake Wardance (Frostburn)
7: Bard 5
8: Bard 6
9: Bard 7 - Arcane Strike (C.Warrior)
10: Bard 8
11: Bard 9
12: Bard 10 - Song of the Heart (Eberron)
13: Bard 11
14: Fighter 1 - Two-weapon Pounce (PH2)
15: Fighter 2 - Improved Two-weapon Fighting (SRD), Free Feat

[Eldariel]

Yeah, Bard/Warblade with Song of the White Raven is really solid. Of course, you could pick enough Bard-levels to get Inspire Greatness - it's a really solid combat song, if not quite as easy to boost as Inspire Courage. That'd weaken your melee though.

So yeah, 4-9 levels of Bard with rest in Warblade/Crusader (I suggest Warblade as inspiration works better with Two-Weapon Fighting and Warblade has access to the Two-Weapon Fighting school - Tiger Claw).


Of course, if you want a straight Bard for combat, that's doable too - pick boost spells (Mirror Image, Displacement, etc. are great for all melee classes), acquire some quickened teleportation or simple Pounce and focus on TWF + boost spells. Bard is practically a Gish In A Box anyways.

But yeah, Snowflake War Dance, Inspire Courage maximization (with or without Dragonfire Inspiration), Inspire Greatness (plus Polymorph if you wanna be nuts) and profit. If you go this route, taking Sublime Chord on level 11 and going into PrCs that grant spellcasting advancement. Preferably one that advances Bardic Music, of course.

[Arcane_Snowman]

Warblade would help, but you said no Tomes. Bah missed that.
In which case:
Bard 7/Abjurant Champion 2/Eldritch Knight 1/Sublime Chord 2/Abjurant Champion +3/Eldritch Knight +5.
Feats: Arcane Strike, Power Attack, Shooktrooper, Combat Brute are all decent choices, this does make it a more explosive melee build, whereas you could pick at the Two-Weapon Fighting for a little more "reliable".


Spells:
Heroism (SRD) will replace your Bardic Music in this particular build, in that it'll be giving you a bonus on attack rolls, save etc.

Heroics (Spell Compendium, SPC for future references): will grant you a bonus fighter feat for the duration of the spell.

Greater Invisibility: because miss chances are great defenses, that and making every enemy flat-footed (for both you and any potential rogues in the party) is great.

Bite of the X series (SPC) similarly gives you quite a boost, specifically on strength.

Blink Series: Formidable defense, the ordinary version grants you etherealness which is a 50% miss chance after having hit above your AC (which I might add is going to be quite good as an Abjurant Champion).

Mage's Armor: +9 AC right off the bat, Book of Exalted Deeds is a 3.0 book bordering on 3.5, if it is allowed, you'll be capable of getting Luminous Armor (although this one is really damn good and is likely to get your DM angry with you, until they decide to dispel it all.)

Fly: because when you no longer care about difficult terrain, charging is infinitely easier.

Sirine's Grace: Gives you an enchantment bonus on Perform Checks, a Charisma Bonus, a Deflection bonus equal to your Charisma modifier, a swim speed and the ability to breathe and attack properly under water.

Items:
You should probably be wielding a Longsword two-handed, this will increase your Power Attack damage significantly.

You could still be bothering with Snowflake Wardance, but due to Wand of Wraithstrike and/or Abjurant Champion's Arcane Boost, you'll be doing pretty much of the same without the Fatigue (although Snowflake Wardance does last longer).

Wand of Wraithstrike (if your DM allows custom items) swift action to use, renders most creatures defenses useless. Be weary of DM flung items.

[kladams707]

Unfortunately mage armor isn't abjuration (and a bard can't cast it).

[Darrin]

Unfortunately mage armor isn't abjuration (and a bard can't cast it).

To qualify for Abjurant Champion, Resistance, Alarm or Dispel Magic should work.

Luminous Armor isn't availabe, either, since I believe you have to be able to prepare spells to cast Sanctified Spells. Arcane Preparation (CArc) fixes that, though.

[kladams707]

That isn't the problem. The problem is you add your level of Abjurant Champion to abjurations that provide an AC bonus, not conjurations. Btw, bards can't cast shield either.

[edit]Of course, after re-reading the post to which I originally replied, perhaps 'Mage's armor' is different from 'mage armor' (there are a lot of spells i'm ignorant of after all.

[Arcane_Snowman]

[edit]Of course, after re-reading the post to which I originally replied, perhaps 'Mage's armor' is different from 'mage armor' (there are a lot of spells i'm ignorant of after all.
No no, just me who should know better than to write in the mornings.
It's not a huge detriment, you'll still have blink and greater invisibility, both of which are quite superior in defense capabilities, and you're still able to get spells like Bite of the Werewolf/Weretiger/Werebear, all of which provie a sound bonus to constitution and strength.

[Hal]

Are you allowed to multiclass? You didn't specify in the OP.

Still, Bard/Paladin is always an option. You take Devoted Performer (PHB2) to stack benefits from both classes, and then you start abusing the Cha synergy (Snowflake Wardance and Divine Might (CW)). At that point, the build is yours to mess with; you can maximize Inspire Courage and focus on the Bard side, or start maximizing your Paladin combat abilities.

Paladins generally benefit from having Battle Blessing (CC), but since you're multiclassing, you might find more benefit from having the Paladin ACF which trades spellcasting for bonus feats.

[overduegalaxy]

Multiclassing is fine, as long as the majority (2/3) of the levels are in the original base class. This restriction doesn't apply to PrCs.

[Person_Man]

I agree that Bard/Warblade is probably your strongest option. Use Arcane_Snowman's link to optimize Inspire Courage and you're set.

A strait Bard with Crystal Echoblades also works. As does a
Another choice is Bard 1/Full BAB Class 4/Warchanter X, which works particularly well with if you have other meat shields in the party.

Also, there are a ton of useful feats which burn Bardic music uses. Doomspeech comes to mind. I'm too busy to look them up right now, but I'm sure they're all listed on the gleemax Bard Handbook somewhere.

[Book Wyrm]

Dread Pirate from Complete Adventurer gives you a better Inspire Courage progression, Two Weapon Fighting, bonuses to Balance and Climb, and the ability to charge over difficult terrain. Only problem is you need to own a ship.

Two levels of Seeker of the Song allows you to combine 2 bardic music abilities, allowing you to use both Dragonfire Inspiration and your regular Inspire Courage at the same time.

[Fenix_of_Doom]

A strait Bard with Crystal Echoblades also works. As does a
Another choice is Bard 1/Full BAB Class 4/Warchanter X, which works particularly well with if you have other meat shields in the party.


I don't see the point of 4 levels in a full BaB class, bard 2-4 is basically full BaB(unless you use fractional BaB), you'd then only need a small 1 level dip.

[Person_Man]

I don't see the point of 4 levels in a full BaB class, bard 2-4 is basically full BaB(unless you use fractional BaB), you'd then only need a small 1 level dip.

War Chanter doesn't progress Bardic spells or Inspire Courage. It grants full BAB, additional music per day, and its own set of cool Bardic songs. So you need one level of Bard to qualify. But beyond that, Bard 2-5 doesn't offer anything useful. So you're much better off with Bard 1/Paladin 4 or Bard 1/Hexblade 4 or Bard 1/Crusader 4, or even Bard 1/Marshal 4 if you want a Trip build.

[Optimator]

One thing that works (maybe even better than Snowflake Wardance) is just using a greatsword or some other two-hander and power attacking a good portion of the Inspire Courage bonus into damage. YMMV.

[Kantolin]

beyond that, Bard 2-5 doesn't offer anything useful.

To be absolutely fair, there are quite a few (Swift) second level bard spells that aren't bad or are pretty useful.


Bard 1/Marshal 4 if you want a Trip build.

Although it might work (I've forgotten exactly how much BAB you need), Marshal doesn't have full BAB either.

[Swooper]

Most of the important stuff has been mentioned already (Dragonfire Inspiration (be a Silverbrow Human - you gain [dragonblood] subtype but lose the human skill point bonus while keeping the feat), Crystal Echoblade, 2 level paladin and/or 3 level hexblade dips, and you knew about Snowflake Wardance) but I don't see anyone pointing at this one: Arcane Duelist (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/re/20030224a), 2 level dip for charisma to AC and a free +1 enchantment to your sword. Also: Slippers of Battledancing from DMG2. 33750gp but worth every copper for a bard. Finally: Get a Sudden Stunning enhancement (DMG2 as well) on your Crystal Echoblade. Swift action stun for... either 1d4 or 1d4+1 rounds, 1+cha mod times per day. Cha based DC. All for only a flat 2k gp.

I've got a pretty awesome bardblade gestalt build stashed away for special occasions :smallbiggrin:

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Make your character a Forestlord Half-Elf, from Dragon Magic. You gain the Dragonblood subtype necessary for Dragonfire Inspiration, and you'll get a highly useful Treewalk ability.

Instead of a melee character, I'd go Savage Bard (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#bardVariantSavageBard) 3/ Soulknife 2/ Soulbow (http://wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ex/20060403a&page=2) 10, then probably gain more Savage Bard levels.

Go Str 11, Dex 15, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 15, Cha 14, put your 4th level point in Dexterity, 8th in Wisdom, and then everything else into Dexterity.

Take two flaws, I'd get Noncombatant and Vulnerable, with the feats Dragonfire Inspiration (1), Point Blank Shot (Flaw), Two-Weapon Fighting (Flaw), Weapon Focus: Mind blade/arrow (B), Wild Talent (B), Song of the Heart (3), Extra Music (6), Precise Shot (SB1), Rapid Shot (SB3), Improved Two-Weapon Fighting (9), Manyshot (SB5), Woodland Archer (12), Improved Rapid Shot (SB7), Improved Precise Shot (SB9), Penetrating Shot (15), and Greater Two-Weapon Fighting (18).

Your Inspire Courage and Dragonfire Inspiration will apply to your Mind Arrows, which you can fire with both hands via Two-Weapon Fighting. Get the Lucky property on your Mind Arrows at Soulbow 2, each time you miss you'll get to reroll the attack for a second chance to hit. Seeking is another great property to get, and Bane is a good one to switch to if you're constantly fighting the same types of foes.

I'd max out Listen, Spot, Hide, and Move Silently, get some Perform, Concentration, and Survival with your Savage Bard levels, and take ranks in Autohypnosis and Tumble where you can. The Skill Tricks in Complete Scoundrel should also be worth looking over. Take Inspirational Boost as a 1st level spell, and get at least one Badge of Valor. I'd get some magical light armor with a Forestwarden Shroud from Races of the Wild, Bracers of Archery, and the best Gloves of Dex you can afford. Boots and Cloak of Elvenkind and Eyes of the Eagle would be good, and be sure to get a Vest of Legends from DMG2. It would also be a good idea to pick up some wands and scrolls of low-level Bard spells, such as Cure Light Wounds and Alter Self.

This character will be right at home in the wilderness, superb at stealth and scouting (until you start Inspiring), a very capable damage dealer at any distance, and with the right items/scrolls you'll be able to handle a variety of noncombat situations.