Bard in need of help

[Souped]

Heeeroooo!

I’ve come here to request your help. I’ve recently, after a 7 years break, started playing D&D again. Ive decided to play a bard since it seems like a versatile class that can bring something to the table in any situation. We are playing in a 3.5 edition birthright campaign. I rolled an elf and had INCREDIBLE luck on the dice rolls. The DM wanted us to create a character without having knowledge of what the other players were doing.

I basically built a barcher (Bard archer)! My character is level 5 at the moment and I want to help my party as much as I can. In order to do so, I want to make him viable at later levels and going pure bard doesn’t seem like the best way to do so. Furthermore our party is... not really combat oriented and I think I might need to put on some warrior shoes. We have a warrior that is not a tank (two weapon fighting with high armor class and not a ton of hit points), a rogue (that stays out of combat), a robe wearing cleric (that has only 15 hit points, so most hits have him roll a death check for loosing half of his HP) and I, the bard.


Strength: 14 (-2 racial)
Dexterity: 19 (+2 racial)
Constitution: 14 (-2 racial)
Intelligence: 16
Wisdom: 14
Charisma: 20 (+1 level 4, +2 racial)

Feats:
- Pointblank shot
- Rapid shot


As for what my DM allows he only said this: “I’m fine with any prestige class or whatever as long as: A) you provide me with full details, and B) you can satisfactorily explain to me how you acquired the class or whatever”.

What should I do next?

[Darrin]

Two popular methods for cracking the planet in half with a bard:

1) "Bardblade", usually Bard 4/Warblade 16, using Song of the White Raven to optimize Inspire Courage/Dragonfire Inspiration damage. The typical build usually focuses on TWF, but an archery variant wouldn't be unheard of. But Tome of Battle has a tendency to make some DMs wig out over "melee gets nice things".

2) "Sublime Chord" (from Complete Arcane), which essentially turns your bard into a Sorcerer after level 10. These builds take a little longer to get their whoopass together, but so long as you can cast 3rd level spells (Bard 7 + three levels of something else), you can gish them up a bit in the lower levels.


For Bardblade, you'll need to get the dragonblood subtype (Dragonborn of Bahumat ritual only costs 100 GP), pick up Dragonfire Inspiration, Song of the White Raven, and if it's available, Song of the Heart (feat from Eberron Campaign Setting, but it doesn't have any setting-specific fluff attached to it). Unfortunately, this doesn't leave a lot of room for archery-related feats, so you'll need to devote most of your WBL towards upgrading your bow (i.e., getting the Splitting enhancement from Champions of Valor ASAP). You're also throwing spellcasting out the window, although you can still use wands so add a Wand Chamber (100 GP, Dungeonscape) to your bow and look for swift-action spells to buff your ranged attacks.


For Sublime Chord, you can take a level in Fighter/Barbarian/Warblade/Crusader, pick up Combat Casting at level 6, take a level of Spellsword, and then take Abjurant Champion and/or Eldritch Knight until level 10. Take 1-2 levels of Sublime Chord, then finish off with the rest of Abjurant Champion/Eldritch Knight. My recommendation would be Barbarian to pick up the Whirling Frenzy rage variant (extra ranged attack when raging), probably something like:

Bard 5/Barbarian 1/Spellsword 1/Abjurant Champion 2/Eldritch Knight 1/Sublime Chord 2/Abjurant Champion +3/Eldritch Knight +5

If your DM is on-board with Tome of Battle, I'd also consider mixing in some Jade Phoenix Mage with Sublime Chord:

Bard 5/Warblade 2/JPM 3/Sublime Chord 2/JPM +7/Spellsword 1

There are better "gish" builds out there, but Emerald Immolation (Sp), the capstone for JPM, is too much fun: 1/week your body explodes as a 20' radius 20d6 fireball. You reappear 1d6 rounds later, fully healed.

[Souped]

Wow thank you! Sounds great... Now I just need to find a way to justify all of that to my DM as I progress through the levels.

I think I'll be going for something around the first suggestion: "Bard 5/Barbarian 1/Spellsword 1/Abjurant Champion 2/Eldritch Knight 1/Sublime Chord 2/Abjurant Champion +3/Eldritch Knight +5"

We're playing a game based on roleplay and the party will be soon be having a hard time with monster battles. So I need to find a way to make that fit.

Here is my character's background: (In Birthright elves are eternal beings)


Cullin the Squeel:

Eldred saw the light of day about 3500 years ago. Born in a highly esteemed elven family, he was raised as a member of nobility. He was not part of the ruling elite but his parents had a rightful presence in the courtroom as advisors. Back in those days, men were still living in caves and didn’t represent any menace to the elven people. Eldred’s childhood was one of instruction. During this formation period of his life, he studied history (Knowledge history), the different families and clans (knowledge nobility) as well as rites and customs (local knowledge). He always showed interest for these subjects and in the later years of his life kept those interests alive. For this reason, Eldred always travelled across the land, learning

Then the world changed. His Kingdom, Lluabraight, saw the progression of men pushing against it’s borders. At that time Eldred was sent out as an ambassador of his people to other elf kingdoms. His goal was to rally the other elven kingdoms to Llulabraight’s cause. But as time passed, the war only seemed to worsen (“War with the Elves” period). Eldred never succeeded in his mission (He never managed to rally other elves to the cause), the shame of his failure prompted him to never return. Thus he would take a new identity: and “Cullin” was born. He made a bard of himself. Rather than singing or playing instruments, he would recount marking events of his life. As his lifespan had no limit, he could witness many events. Thus he made a point to witness them all. At first he was known as “Cullin the Storyteller”. But he would also recall tales of lesser renown. And sometimes even tales that he should of kept secret. That is how the sobriquet “The Squeel” soon came to follow his name.

Cullin was present at the battle of Mount Deismaar, although he stood as an observer to be able to recall the tale. And even though the humans of Rjuven and the elves of Lluabraight made an alliance to overthrow Azrai’s advance, Cullin still kept his distance, ashamed of his past failures. Since then, he’s been roaming the lands storytelling, and compiling new tales in a constant hunger for information. Through his voyages, he learned many languages. As his hunger for new material never ceases, he decided to come back to his homeland.

And a bit more on the character himself:

With a boastful personality, a way with words, a crave for attention, Cullin is often perceived as ... a normal bard. He is not small (5’,8”) but his slender silhouette and his vestments often give the impression that he is unimposing. His posture is always good and show’s elegance. He is a very proud man he thinks he’s superior to most humans. As he’s been living amongst humans for so long, this sentiment, although it has faded, still resides in him. That can explain why he often takes what has been said to him to the first degree.

At first glance people don’t notice de details of his finely crafted vestments. The bard had his clothes crafted according to his specific taste. Using the finest silk and linen, he had the tailor create different suits for every situation (that he carries with him at all time). Even though you can see the fine workmanship that went into the creation of his outfits, his clothing have been tailored to make him blend in when amongst masses and pop out when among distinguished company. The boots that he wears are of elven origin and were clearly shaped on his own feet. These brown boots are clearly the most expensive thing he wears (They don’t have any magic to them). They are the last tangible part of his past life amongst the elven people. But Cullin cleverly conceals them under leather guertes (boot covers). Furthermore, he never appears to be carrying weapons. They are always tightly packed in his Haversack that he always keeps with him. The same goes for his quivers and arrows.

His whitish blond hair is cut short and is always combed to the right. Weirdly enough the eyebrows that hang below aren’t the same color as his hair. They are black as night making his azure eyes pop out even more. An uncountable number of maidens have fallen under the charm of his charismatic gaze but he only seduces ones that truly amaze him. A creamy skin covers his face and it seems unaltered by time; not a single defect, nor a single scar can be seen on it. To the sides hang his pointy elven ears that are always upright in a distinct fashion.

Even though most people wouldn’t need more than his fine traits to fathom in amazement, his most captivating feature is his voice. His eloquence is rivaled by very few and his way with words allow even the dumbest of beings to be moved by his stories. The tone of his voice makes it seem like a whisper. Although this murmur can inexplicably be heard through huge crowds.

PS: English is not my first language, sorry for the grammatical and spelling mistakes!

[Gwendol]

I suggest keeping going bard, but work in some ways to make you the better warrior. Optimize inspire courage, snowflake wardance, getting the melodic casting feat. A well-built bard with some careful selection of spells will be a boon for any party, as well as becoming a force in and by himself.

[gorfnab]

For a Bard Archer I usually recommend Bard 8/ Arcane Archer 2/ Sublime Chord 2/ Abjurant Champion 5/ Ruathar 3 - Spamming Antimagic Field with the Imbue Arrow ability from Arcane Archer is fun.

Another gish type Bard build is Bard 8/ Paladin of Freedom 2/ Sublime Chord 2/ Abjurant Champion 5/ Sacred Exorcist 3

Bard Handbook (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?PHPSESSID=7glp1o3o9fkterk9688cmcbk31&topic=8284.0)
Inspire Courage Optimization Handbook (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=9830)

[Fable Wright]

Have you considered going Swiftblade (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/prc/20070327)? If retraining's on the table, that's something to look into after level 7. If not, going Bard 7/Abjurant Champion 2/Swiftblade 9/Abj +1/Swiftblade or Abj +1 might work. Skirmish Damage, bonuses to hit, miss chances, Quickened Haste, and at later levels even sillier options make it good on any character, and given that you can attack multiple times after moving 10ft (assuming Manyshot) and/or can use Anklets of Transportation, it seems like it might be a good choice.

[Darrin]

Wow thank you! Sounds great... Now I just need to find a way to justify all of that to my DM as I progress through the levels.

I think I'll be going for something around the first suggestion: "Bard 5/Barbarian 1/Spellsword 1/Abjurant Champion 2/Eldritch Knight 1/Sublime Chord 2/Abjurant Champion +3/Eldritch Knight +5"


Justifying the Barbarian dip might be problematic. With an archery focus, you don't have to do the Spirit Lion Totem for Pounce, but your description doesn't really fit the whole "primitive berzerker tribe" thing. You could work in something in his background about his grandfather or grandmother was from an obscure sect of Wild Elves who revere an ancient order of Warrior Skalds that practice a unique "Whirling Frenzy" fighting style. (But I'm kinda unclear on whether the whole "eternal beings" thing would include grandparents.)

The other alternative would be to take a level in Fighter instead, which gets you a bonus feat instead of Whirling Frenzy.

(I also really like gorfnab's suggestions, particularly Bard 8/Arcane Archer 2/SC 2/AJ 5/Ruathar 3... I can't quite figure out how to fit Fighter 1 or Eldritch Knight in there, but ah well).

As far as justifying the Sublime Chord, you can just lift the Starry Lyceum straight from the book (Complete Arcane), or create your own secretive college of bards that has discovered a more powerful link between magic and the "music of creation". If the party/campaign never gives you a chance to study at a college, then mention a relative or mentor from the college that could show up later, who is suspicious you might have "The Gift" and need a "training montage" (after which he can disappointingly conclude "No you don't", and can then get tragically ganked by the DM's current thugs-du-jour to dramatically awaken "The Gift" so you can go on a sorcery-gasm homicidal revenge spree. With ice storms and black tentacles.).

Feats I'd focus on:

1) PB Shot
3) Rapid Shot
6) Weapon Focus
9) Dead Eye (Dragon Compendium, add Dex bonus to damage)
10) EK: Manyshot
12) Improved Rapid Shot
15) Knowledge Devotion (Complete Champion)
18) Woodland Archer (Races of the Wild)

If you go the Fighter route:

1) PB Shot
3) Rapid Shot
6) FB: Weapon Focus
6) Dead Eye (Dragon Compendium, add Dex bonus to ranged damage)
9) Manyshot
10) EK: Improved Rapid Shot (Complete Warrior)
12) Knowledge Devotion (Complete Champion)
15) Woodland Archer (Races of the Wild)
18) Battle Dancer or Elven Spell Lore (PHBII)

There's two archery feats you can get via equipment:

Farshot from either Horizon Goggles (8000 GP, Complete Mage) or Helm of the Hunter (9000 GP, Magic Item Compendium).

Precise Shot from the Precise property (+1 enhancement, Magic Item Compendium) on your bow.

Speaking of your bow... start saving up for an Elvencraft Composite Longbow with two wand chambers.

600 GP: Masterwork Composite Longbow (+2 Str bonus)
+300 GP: Elvencraft (Races of the Wild, threaten/attack with longbow as staff)
+200 GP: Wand Chamber x2 (Dungeonscape)
+2000 GP: +1 enhancement

As funds become available:

+3000 GP: Lesser Crystal of Acid Assault (MIC)
+6000 GP: Precise enhancement (MIC)
+42000 GP: Splitting enhancement (Champions of Ruin)

To add more energy damage:

11000 GP: Bracers of Lightning (+1d6 electricity damage to all attacks)
15000 GP: Quiver of Energy (a la carte energy damage)

wands/scrolls of frost weapon (Frostburn), sonic weapon (SC), and burning sword (SC)

Note: you can pre-cast these spells into a Glyph Seal (1000 GP, MIC) attached to backup non-magical quivers, one for each energy type. When you want to activate the spell, retrieving an arrow from that quiver is a free action, and the Glyph Seal casts the spell on your weapon.

In your wand chambers, you'll wand to start with a wand of instant of power (Forge of War), and in the other end, probably swift invisibility (SC), inspirational boost (SC), or blade of blood (PHBII). Some other swift-action or immediate-action spells to consider as wands (non-bard spells may require DC 20 UMD check):

Arrow Storm (Spell Compendium, Rgr 3). Whirlwind Attack with a bow, up to a number of targets equal to your character level. Expensive, but a neat way to get that "I Am Pure Awesome" rush.

Energy Surge, Lesser (PHBII, Sor/Wiz 2). Adds +1d6 energy damage to all your attacks for 1 round. Doesn't specify melee, and doesn't say anything about discharging after one hit, so this should work for bows.

Guided Shot (Spell Compendium, Rgr/Sor/Wiz 1). Ignore distance penalty and anything less than total concealment on all your ranged attacks for the round.

Haste, Swift (Spell Compendium, Rgr 2). Ranged characters need all the extra attacks they can get. Unlike other swift spells, this one lasts 1d4 rounds.

Hunter's Eye (PHBII, Rgr 2). +1d6 sneak attack for every 3 caster levels.

Ruin Delver's Fortune (Spell Compendium, Brd/Sor/Wiz 4). As an immediate action, gain Cha bonus on one of your saves, immunity to poison, immunity to fear, evasion, or +4d8 temp HP.

Wings of Cover (Races of the Dragon, Sor 2). Negate one attack as an immediate action.