Sneaky Bard seeking help!

[Keltaris]

In a week I'll be playing in a Dragonlance Campaign, and seeing as the DM told us it'd be useful to have someone with Bardic Knowledge and/or ranks in Knowledge skills, I decided to go with Bard.

Thing is we don't have a trapfinder, so, in order to get me trapfinding I'll have to dip Rogue.

We'll be starting at level 3 and this is what I got so far:

Rogue 1/Bard 9/Exemplar 1

Flaw: ???
Human: Combat Expertise
1st: Improved Disarm
3rd: Weapon Finesse
6th: Knowledge Devotion, [Collector of Stories]
9th: ???

Here's what I have to work with:

PHB, DMG, MMI, Dragonlance Campaign Setting and all completes.

Sadly, no Spell Compendium, Dungeonscape, MIC or PHB II.

The rest of the party is not highly optimized, but I'm worried that losing a CL on Rogue and focusing on a suboptimal tactic (disarm) could be a problem.

Any ideas?

[Pilo]

If you have a flaw, it may means that Unearthed Arcana may be a valid source, then cloistered cleric may be allowed.

So you can get Trapfinding-like ability from the kobold domain and Lore which do the same as bardic knowledge.

[Keltaris]

If you have a flaw, it may means that Unearthed Arcana may be a valid source, then cloistered cleric may be allowed.

So you can get trapfinding like ability from the kobold domain and Lore which do the same as bardic knowledge.

I'm sorry, I forgot to mention that flaws (only one) are the only thing allowed out of Unearthed Arcana.

:smallfrown:

[Socratov]

nah, rogue as a first level is good for both skillpoints, bab and the bard chassis. I'd not go exemplar, but take bardic knack instead of lore, and put 1 rank in all of the knowledge skills, as well as pick int as secondary stat (cha main). Go into Sublime Chord (comp. arcana) for 2 levels and finish with virtuoso, take healing Hymn, and become their healer instead of going to fight frontline. Cast like there is no tomorrow and don't focus on IC since you lack most of the resources to truly make a living out of it. Now not only you can do trapfinding and sneak around and general skillmonkey (and be partyface), what you can't solve through skills you can solve through spells. You are now the group's designated problemsolver. the only thing missing is frontline combatant. but wait, you have 9th lvl arcane spells :smallbiggrin:

[Keltaris]

nah, rogue as a first level is good for both skillpoints, bab and the bard chassis. I'd not go exemplar, but take bardic knack instead of lore, and put 1 rank in all of the knowledge skills, as well as pick int as secondary stat (cha main). Go into Sublime Chord (comp. arcana) for 2 levels and finish with virtuoso, take healing Hymn, and become their healer instead of going to fight frontline. Cast like there is no tomorrow and don't focus on IC since you lack most of the resources to truly make a living out of it. Now not only you can do trapfinding and sneak around and general skillmonkey (and be partyface), what you can't solve through skills you can solve through spells. You are now the group's designated problemsolver. the only thing missing is frontline combatant. but wait, you have 9th lvl arcane spells :smallbiggrin:

IIRC Bardic Knack is from PHBII so I can't take that one.

Right now I'm AFB and I don't remember much of the prereqs of Virtuoso and Sublime Chord, as soon as I get home I'll check to see if they are viable ideas.

I should also mention that we probably won't get past level 12.

[Juntao112]

Instead of dipping Rogue, you could take levels in Chameleon (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/iw/20041210b) and get Trapfinding that way.

[Keltaris]

Instead of dipping Rogue, you could take levels in Chameleon (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/iw/20041210b) and get Trapfinding that way.

I'm not allowed web material (even if wotc official) or Races of Destiny unfortunately.

[Socratov]

So, basically your DM wants you to play a rogue with knowledges... I mean he does restirct your bardness a lot
:smallsigh:

[Juntao112]

How about not taking any levels of Rogue at all and using a wand of the Cleric spell Find Traps (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/findTraps.htm)?

[Keltaris]

So, basically your DM wants you to play a rogue with knowledges... I mean he does restirct your bardness a lot
:smallsigh:

It's that he's just a bit stingy allowing stuff he doesn't know much about.

It already is a big thing that I got him to allow the Completes that weren't published in Italian(Champion, Scoundrel and Mage).

In the end I think I'll go for Rogue 1/Bard 6/Virtuoso X... Sublime Chord would be great too, but he's pretty low on skill points and the DM said to keep optimization to a medium-low level so...

Uhm... what about feats? I'd like to keep the Disarm line and Knowledge Devotion fits with the character, so I have the flaw and 9th level one to decide.

Flaw: ???
Human: Combat Expertise
1st: Improved Disarm
3rd: Weapon Finesse
6th: Knowledge Devotion, [Collector of Stories]
9th: ??? (Sound of Silence?)

[Socratov]

It's that he's just a bit stingy allowing stuff he doesn't know much about.

It already is a big thing that I got him to allow the Completes that weren't published in Italian(Champion, Scoundrel and Mage).

In the end I think I'll go for Rogue 1/Bard 6/Virtuoso X... Sublime Chord would be great too, but he's pretty low on skill points and the DM said to keep optimization to a medium-low level so...

Uhm... what about feats? I'd like to keep the Disarm line and Knowledge Devotion fits with the character, so I have the flaw and 9th level one to decide.
well, I woudl still advice against going frontline (which you need to actually disarm) since you live on d6 hd and con will probably be the 3rd stat you will be using and the frontline bard actually needs somethign like snowflakewardance (and I think that one's not on the allowed books list). You could go for ranged combat with a bow, they need a few feats and are mostly effective early on. which would turn yotu build into: (bolded for changes made)

Flaw: ??? Point blank shot
Human: Combat Expertise Far Shot
1st: Improved Disarm Rapid Shot
3rd: Weapon Finesse Precise Shot
6th: Knowledge Devotion, [Collector of Stories]
9th: ??? (Sound of Silence?) Manyshot (get enough dex for this one)

or something like this (you can shuffle most of them around). the skills make you a skillmonkey/trapfinder and partyface. the music and casting are good for support (trade fascinate for Healing Hymn as per Comp. Div, and you'll be a competent healer if you take the cure X line of spells) and you're a fairly, sort-of competent archer. To sum it up: in combat, out of combat and social/skills.