Bard/Warblade help

[leden]

Good night playgrounders! I have some trouble picking feats and spells for my Bard/Warblade. Here he is:

Anibal Barca, old Bard 3 going into Bard 4/Warblade X

Str 17
Con 14
Dex 15
Int 16
Wis 12
Cha 14

Flaws: Murky eyed and a custom one that gives -8 to spot
Feats: Two weapon fighting, knowledge devotion, song of the white raven, song of the heart, improved shield bash
Significant items: Wand of CLW, badge of valor
ACF: lore song and mimicking song
I want him to be at his best directing a team but also beign able to hold his own. I really can't decide the feats he'll have in the future, i was thinking of building towards White raven tactics, is it worth it? Also, i don't know what spells to take upon level up. Could someone in the playground help me on this subject? Thanks in advance!

[AzazelSephiroth]

Hmmm I have few books (none actually) in front of me but have you looked up Dragonfire inspiration? It is awesome and gives you xd6 fire damages where x is the bonus from Inspire Courage. Also If you are going to use TWF and one is a sheild I suggest Agile sheild fighter. Although I cant remember which books these two feats are in.:smallsmile:

[Chilingsworth]

If you have access to the Eberron Campaign Setting, get Song of the Heart, it increases most of your bard bonuses by 1 each.

[Optimator]

Power Attack is great with Inspire Courage running.

White Raven is a great discipline for a Bard Warblade. Totally worth it.

As for your first level spells, I'd say Inspirational Boost and... Expeditious Retreat? Or maybe Improvisation. Second level spells that are good for a Bardblade would be Whirling Blade and Bladeweave.

Agile SHield Fighter (PHBII) might be better since it would allow a 1-handed weapon and a large shield to be dual-wielded with a -2 instead of -4. No extra attacks from iteratives though, but if that's the way you wanted this guy to fight you're probably the wrong class. Tiger claw maneuvers can make up for not taking Greater Two-Weapon Fighting and the like.

Actually, I just realized Agile Shield Fighter takes the Shield Specialization feat, so that's not as cool. You may want a buckler or small shield anyway to have a free hand for the somatic components of your spells.

Master of Stories, the skill trick from Complete Scoundrel, works fantastically with Knowledge Devotion.

[tyckspoon]

As for your first level spells, I'd say Inspirational Boost and... Expeditious Retreat?

You certainly want Inspirational Boost, but I don't recommend burning a Spell Known on it- it's a perfect candidate for a Wand spell, especially in combination with a Wand Chamber in your primary weapon or shield (Dungeonscape, lets you load a wand into your weapon/shield, that wand is considered to be in hand and ready to use.)

[tiercel]

You certainly want Inspirational Boost, but I don't recommend burning a Spell Known on it- it's a perfect candidate for a Wand spell

Before going this route, check with your DM that you will be able to buy such wands more or less on command. If your DM doesn't mind sticking to RAW, then any town with 1500gp+ limit will theoretically have any item you want, including a wand of inspirational boost (Bard-only spell, Bard minimum CL is 2; unless we are talking about some kind of crafting shenanigans, e.g. Warlock crafting etc). --And, if you can, it does make a good wand spell, not being level dependent etc.

But if your DM rules that not that many Bards (or Warlocks or whatever) work on crafting wands, you might not be able to buy your wands at will -- and inspirational boost is too useful to go without.

It's worth checking. (Also consider what you'd take in its place -- if you're not advancing your Bard CL you will probably want a simple buff anyhow.)

[MeeposFire]

Song of the heart is a good wand spell but it is prudent to realize that you cannot use it and your song of the white raven benefit at the same time (they are both swift actions). Of course if you have both you can choose which benefit is more useful every time you start singing.