[PF/3.5]: Help me Optimize a Combat Bard

[Jhango]

Hey guys!


It seems my plans for Summoner has fallen through as they don't fit the Setting we are playing in. Not shocked, but on to another Character idea.

So it is looking like all Major rolls in the party are being taken care of by other players, so I'm looking at a "5th Party Member" type build and I am thinking of Tricking out a Bard.

My DM has already OK'ed me playing a Bard, but he dislikes bards in General. He thinks their quite lame with all the Song and Dance, and I am sure I am going to get picked on because of it. So, with that in mind, I want to take a different spin on a Bard and make it into more of a Warlord.

So with that out of the Way, here's what I have so far.


At the Moment, I'm debating between two paths... basically Strong Magic or not. No mater where I go, I would like to stay optimized for Inspire Courage.


Something like...
Bard8/Warblade2/Sublime Chord1/Jade Phoenix Mage9

But I would rather somehow have more Progression for Inspire Courage. Outside of Fochlucan Lyrist, I'm not sure if there is a way.


Or...

Bard 4, Warblade 16



I am still trying to hash out all of the Details still. Trying to see if I can get high Optimization of Inspire Courage and still have a strong Caster level with a High BAB. If not, I might just go more Warblade.

Any suggestions?

[Corlindale]

I don't know much about 3.5, but a good way to buff up IC in Pathfinder is to be an Aasimar and take advantage of their favored class bonus (count as +1/2 bard level for one performance).

I think 3.5 has a feat called Song of the Heart that adds +1, and there are some shenanigans involving The Book of Exalted Deeds and Words of Creation as well, as far as I recall.

[Xerxus]

Battle Herald.

Any combination of Cavalier and bard levels up to level 5 total, then battle herald all the way. A suggestion is bard 1 cavalier 4 to get the expert trainer class feature, which allows you to take the feat Horse Master to continue the mount progression.

[Snowbluff]

PF options are weak in this case. Words of Creation. Song of the Heart.

Bardsader or Bardblade might be the best option in this case. JPM isn't very good. You'd be much better off with Ur-Priest RKV (which preclude the use of Words of Creation).

[Jhango]

Yeah, I am thinking that Bard / Warblade is still the best option here.


Battle Herald is a very interesting option. I am trying to find a way to break it to make it worth while, but I don't think it is worth it.

[Ellrin]

I actually was making a very similar build (though without the focus on Inspire Courage, as I was using a PF bard archetype that replaced IC with something else) in a backwards compatible PF game a while ago. My build was, roughly:

Bard 6
Lyric Thaumaturge 1
Swordsage 2
Jade Phoenix Mage 1
Sublime Chord 1
Jade Phoenix Mage +9

Not quite what you're looking for, clearly, but sub out SS for WB or Cru, and you've got a decent base to work from.

If you do a JPM/SC build and you aren't doing homebrew, you definitely want to try to get your first JPM level before level 11, because otherwise you don't get 9th level spells.

Alternatively, if you can convince your DM to allow PrCs that give access to White Raven to count for the purposes of Song of the White Raven, try using a divine bard and going into Ruby Knight Vindicator. It shouldn't be hard to retool Sublime Chord to be a divine casting class, either (using the divine bard and cleric spell list instead of the bard and sor/wiz spell list). Assuming SotWR will work with RKV, then with Warblade/Crusader 2, Divine Bard 6, RKV 10, and a retooled divine bard Lyric Thaumaturge 1, you've got, what, 19 levels of IC progression? Not bad.

[jywu98]

You could go Bardsader with the feat Song of the White Raven.

[jedipilot24]

Here's Treantmonk's Lab (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/extras/community-creations/treatmonks-lab), which includes a Bard's Handbook for Pathfinder.