Useful Marshall/Bard Character

[tricktroller]

Hey everyone, I am wanting to make a buff master that bumps everyone in the party all the time. So I figured a marshall/bard would be a great way to do it, now I just need some help figuring out the optimum way to do so. I would like to use a one handed weapon and a shield/buckler if possible and do melee while buffing my party with songs and auras. Spells are less important for me unless they are more buffs so I suppose DC's do not matter. Being a party face would be pretty cool too. Thanks for your time.

[Flickerdart]

Marshall is terrible for all but a very small fraction of builds - the bonuses it gives are extremely limited, and are not worth the class levels you are losing from Bard. Multiclassing into warblade or crusader and picking up Song of the White Raven will see you providing bonuses that your party actually cares about enough to remember what they are.

[Gwendol]

I'd recommend a Bardadin for a buffer. Use Devoted Performer to stack the levels (instead of Song of White Raven for Bardsaders). Take from Smite to Song to get even more inspire courage uses, and drop the special mount to get a Divine Spirit instead (Dungeonscape).

[Juntao112]

Hey everyone, I am wanting to make a buff master that bumps everyone in the party all the time. So I figured a marshall/bard would be a great way to do it, now I just need some help figuring out the optimum way to do so. I would like to use a one handed weapon and a shield/buckler if possible and do melee while buffing my party with songs and auras. Spells are less important for me unless they are more buffs so I suppose DC's do not matter. Being a party face would be pretty cool too. Thanks for your time.

It can be done! (http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?327699-Shiver-Me-Timbers-It-s-Black-Jack-Wellesley!)

[Chronos]

Marshal can be worth a brief dip to pick up a single Minor Aura if you've got good Charisma, and maybe as much as four levels to also get a Major Aura and Grant Move Action, but more than that costs way more than it's worth.

[Mountain]

http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=9830.0

Try checking this out. It's a useful resource for Inspire Courage.