[PF/3.5] Bard World Problems

[alchemyprime]

So I'm running a kinda higher powered campaign9, and the characters are finally all 2nd level. Here's what we're looking at for the party.

Kalamar - Tiefling Unbound Witch (from Secrets of Pact Magic)
Horanius - Human Spirit Binder (also Secrets of Pact Magic)
Iokul - Jotunblut (Advanced Race, essentially Half-Frost Giant) Warblade
Vaerir - Houri (Elf/Succubus/Nymph hybrid Advanced Race) Bard
Kiki - Elf Ranger
Sacha - Shifter (Eberron updated) Rogue
Osric - Irda (Dragonlance updated) Sorcerer (Stormblooded)
Jorjamais - Tiefling Cleric

Over all, a really nicely put together group - You got the tank in Iokul, the ranged in Kiki, the spells with Osric, the buffs with Jorjamais and Vaerir, the sneaky stuff with Sacha, and two wild cards with Horanius and Kalamar; Kalamar favors Anima spirits, so he's more flexible, while Horanius tends to like to be the guy with quirky powers like "Detect Gold Coins" (wonderful for murderhobos, ne?)

But we've run into a snag. The bard feels useless. She looks at her spells and feels she can't do anything, and I see why she's feeling this way. She normally plays only fighters and monks; she's used to any magic being in her items, not her hands.


Last night we had some Clockwork Lesser Necrophidiuses. She was lined up for an Ear-Piercing Scream; she could do it, and probably knock it down and kill it! It had only a few HP left! And her response -

"No, it doesn't matter what damage I do. The fighter will kill it anyway. I can't do ANYTHING!"

How can I show her she's awesome, Playground? I've spoken with the sorcerer and the warblade's players, and they both admit, and have even told her - those Lesser Orbs of Electricity and those warhammer smacks would have just been misses without the cleric's Bless spell and the bard's Inspire Courage. That the Ranger is loving the extra damage to her ranged attacks, or that she's the reason the rogue can sneak attack.

What do I do, Playground? She's saying she'll quit after this dungeon; thankfully they're only a third of the way through the first of thirteen floors of the dungeons (trying to avoid the Up a Level, Down a Level routine, and the warblade STILL brought it up!)

How do you show a bard that she's the best bard that can bard? That she's as awesome as the warblade or the sorcerer or the ranger?

[Bobbis]

A) Buffs
1) Is she using inspire courage? A +1 bonus to hit and +1 damage is -extremely- significant with that many party members. When they just barely hit (matching the AC or something) say something to the attacker like "the bard's song steadies your nerves to the point where you land your blow."
If they're a math oriented player, let them know that your party hits 5% more, and the +1 damage is likely around a 20% bonus to damage when they do hit.

2) Along the same lines, if she's buffing the party, when the party does well throw her a bone with similar lines.

B) Skill Checks. Especially knowledge and charisma based. In pathfinder, bards ARE knowledge gods and end up being the best skill users in the game due to versatile performance.

C) Bards aren't there to do damage, if she's saying "I CAN'T DO DAMAGE, THIS IS LAME" she really shouldn't be a bard. Show her all of the utility spells on her spell list.

[HunterOfJello]

Go check out the Bard Handbooks. Look up the more optimized options and present some of them to her. Bards aren't super great at level 2 because really, who is? (Totemists. I know, but that's beside the point.)

Bards are very bland and kind of boring until you spruce them up with the right spell selection, race and feat options, and some carefully place acfs and prestige classing. Once you do that, they're beyond amazing.

Inspire Courage doesn't seem great, but it's AMAZING in a group of eight people. If she gets access to some form of dragonblooded, then she can grab Dragonfire Inspiration and go crazy adding in Xd6 fire damage to everyone's attacks.

Bards also got a nice boost in Pathfinder for their number of spells per day. Their number of rounds/times per day that they can use Inspire Courage did get heavily nerfed though. Consider changing the bard singing mechanic back to how it was in 3.5 since she will be able to sing more often that way by grabbing the Extra Music feat (unless she's already full on feats, then the PF version might be better for the time being).

[alchemyprime]

Go check out the Bard Handbooks. Look up the more optimized options and present some of them to her. Bards aren't super great at level 2 because really, who is? (Totemists. I know, but that's beside the point.)

Bards are very bland and kind of boring until you spruce them up with the right spell selection, race and feat options, and some carefully place acfs and prestige classing. Once you do that, they're beyond amazing.

Inspire Courage doesn't seem great, but it's AMAZING in a group of eight people. If she gets access to some form of dragonblooded, then she can grab Dragonfire Inspiration and go crazy adding in Xd6 fire damage to everyone's attacks.

Bards also got a nice boost in Pathfinder for their number of spells per day. Their number of rounds/times per day that they can use Inspire Courage did get heavily nerfed though. Consider changing the bard singing mechanic back to how it was in 3.5 since she will be able to sing more often that way by grabbing the Extra Music feat (unless she's already full on feats, then the PF version might be better for the time being).

I did find a way to improve that, actually; she gets her Charisma mod that level as extra rounds per day instead of the 2. Which for most bards nets them 3 extra rounds for level two; her race gets a +4 Cha, and she rolled an 18. So yeah. 16 rounds per day at the moment.

I think telling her about that Dragonfire thing would be right up her alley; she likes extra damage. Does it add to ray spells? We've been saying Inspire Courage does; the sorcerer likes spamming Jolts or Ultrasonic Rays when he's saving up his big spells (Lesser Orb of Electricity or Scorching Ray via Precocious Apprentice).

I might want to mention, we use Weapon Group rules, so her current equipped weapons are a Naginata and a light crossbow. The warblade player suggested I toss some more magical mojo the way of her and the Rogue, so they feel more included; he's made it a point that he's a large character weilding a Large Goliath Greathammer as a warblade. He doesn't need any buffs.

[Arbane]

Bards also got a nice boost in Pathfinder for their number of spells per day. Their number of rounds/times per day that they can use Inspire Courage did get heavily nerfed though.

That's what Lingering Performance (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/general-feats/lingering-performance) is for.