(3.5)Bard items to shop for?

[Tyrantsbane]

Okay so making my bard for return to the tomb of horrors. He is a silverbrow human bard 8/sublime 2/ virtuoso 4. His main party role is A . The party's only arcane spellcaster. And B. Buffer via bardic songs, esp. Inspire courage.

So our DM has given us a budget of 185,000 gold(!) for equipment. So trying to spend this to make my bard a BAMF i came up with:

Vest of legends
Crystal echoblade
badge of valor
slippers of battle dancing.

Not sure what else to buy... any help would be awesome.

Also question: Does vest of legends occupy armor slot meaning cant wear actual armor or can you wear both?

Also I know this post looks horrible but i am typing this from a phone so sorry!

[Tvtyrant]

Marvelous Pigments are always good for this kind of thing; the ability to create a bridge if needed over a chasm is always nice.

[ericgrau]

Go to town on the wondrous items to find other odd things too. Mobility including flight or spider climbing is often good to have. Metamagic rods are good for some spells, especially extend for a bard. Pick up a lot of wands and scrolls of important spells like invisibility and any other utility you need. For that matter consider ranks in use magic device and a strong staff. 2 or more immovable rods are good to have.

Beyond that I'd literally go down the wondrous item list in the DMG tables and the back of the MiC and find anything that looks handy.

[Acanous]

You're going to enjoy the Regalia of the Hero, and a Horn of Valhalla would be nice. (Silver). A Lyre of Building is outright cheating.

[Divayth Fyr]

Also question: Does vest of legends occupy armor slot meaning cant wear actual armor or can you wear both?
Vest takes the "torso" slot, while armor occupies the "body" one - so you can indeed wear both


One vest, vestment, or shirt on the torso
One robe or suit of armor on the body (over a vest, vestment, or shirt)

[JeminiZero]

His main party role is A . The party's only arcane spellcaster. And B. Buffer via bardic songs, esp. Inspire courage.

You're the main arcane caster? Then get Rope Trick. I recommend buying extended rope trick on a level 3 eternal wand (10.9k gp), which will last you a good 10 hours, twice per day.

[Hazzardevil]

I recommend you get staves and items like the crystal echoblade and things off this list.

Charm of Countersong MIC: Once per day activate countersong as an immediate action. It's only 400gp and it's very handy if you're stuck with countersong.
Anstruth Harp MIC: Effectively you can command the harp to generate Control Water, Mass Cure Light Wounds or Mind For, each once per day. The activation is swift, so it's like a quickened version of the spell. It's probably not worth it, as it's a bit expensive.
Canaith Mandolin MIC: As with the harp above, but a lot cheaper and with a better selection of spells (Cure Serious Wounds, Dispel Magic, Summon Monster III). Unfortunately the caster level is a little low (8th).
Chime of Harmonic Agony MIC: It's a pretty affordable item that enables you to spend bardic music attempts and transform them into sonic damage. The damage is low (you get 3d6 plus charisma modifier plus the bonus of an item that grants an enhancement bonus to your constitution), but the worst is that it functions only three times per day.
Cli Lyre MIC: It's a bit expensive and the spells it provides are not that good. Dimension Door is the only exception and it's more useful as a spell known. Moreover, contrary to the previous two instruments, this requires a standard action activation.
Doss Lute MIC: Doss Lute is affordable and enables you to use mirror image and hold person once per day. You can also use delay poison, but that's situationally useful. The activation is a standard action.
Dove's Harp MIC: Whenever you activate your bardic music, all allies within 60ft gain fast healing 3 for one full minute. This is about 30 hit points every time you use your bardic music ('about', because multiple uses do not stack).
Fochlucan Bandore MIC: Use flare, light, mending or message, each once per day. It's affordable, but eternal wands are a lot better than this, if you rule out the +2 circumstance bonus to your perform skill.
Mac-Fuirmidh Cithern MIC: As above, but with cure light wounds, mage armor and sleep. Most of these spells will be trivial at high levels, except maybe Mage Armor, which will last for three hours. Still, an eternal wand would be better.
Ollamh Harp MIC: The spells are quite good, but this harp costs way too much. All of the spells are 7th and 6th level and a normal bard does not access them, but still, it requires a huge investment. The caster level is 17th and remember that repulsion has a costly material component that you won't have to expend.