Fifth man in a lv 12 party

[Prophet_of_Io]

It's been a while since I've had the freedom to pick my own class, I usually fill in whatever role is missing, so I'm pretty sure I'm going back to my first class ever. The quintessential fifth man: The Bard.

I've already been DM approved to pick some exalted feats. Here's what I'm thinking:
Aaron and Ayla Larkhymn
Background
Aaron and Ayla Larkhymn are a brother and sister from a small human town. Orphaned at an early age Aaron took care of Ayla until they both reached adulthood. As kids Aaron was always kind and giving and doting on his little sister, Ayla by comparison was rambunctious, excitable and more than a little mischievous. They made their gold by performing at the local tavern. Aaron would sing while Ayla would dance, it was a crowd favorite in their little town and the townsfolk treated them well. However when Ayla became of age she decided she wanted to see more of the world. She began traveling through the lands quickly earning a reputation as a lovable scoundrel. She outwitted giants, rescued countless princes and fended off an entire army of slavers with nothing more than her sword, a cape and excessive use of a nearby chandelier. By the age of 20 she had already had so many adventures and lived the tales that she'd only dreamt about as a child. However all the adventure in the world began to feel a little hollow and she began to think of home. It was by chance that one day while stoping off at a tavern on the newest village on her journey that Ayla should happen upon her brother again. Aaron had left shortly after his sister. He had wanted to give her the space she wanted but also wanted to look after his village. Through his travels he had realized that the little village he grew up in was most fortunate. Many were not as lucky to grow up in such a peaceful and well providing town. Out in the larger world there were many more hardships. Aaron had dedicated himself to going where people were the most in need. He would heal the sick, lift the spirits of those he could, give toys to children in need, some were already calling him a Saint. When Alya saw the work her brother had been doing she felt so proud, and a little ashamed. She felt as if she had never done anything as selfless in her life. Sure she had saved Princes from Dragons and Towns from Giants and Innocents from Slavers but being honest with herself that was all done so that she could look badass doing it. That night Aaron and Ayla bonded like never before, telling each other tales of their travels and delighting the entire tavern with a classic rendition of their Singing and Dancing and general Bardic merriment. Ayla decided that she had already lived the dreams she had wanted to and now wished to see her brother live his. He had taken care of her nearly his whole life and now only wished to take care of others. They now travel as a pair going wherever they are needed. They help those who need help and they help each other along the way. And if your town is feeling down, you might just hear them coming around.
Aaron
Male Human Bard 12
NG Medium Humanoid
Init +2; Senses Perception -1
Defense
AC 19, touch 13, flat-footed 17
(+6 Armor, +2 Dex, +1 Deflection)
hp 51 (12d6+12)
Fort +5, Ref +10, Will +7
Defensive Abilities -
Offense
Spd 30 ft
Melee longsword +10 (1d8+7/19-20/x2) [Assumes you are performing Bardic Music]
Full Atk longsword +10/+5 (1d8+7/19-20/x2)
Special Attacks Bardic Music 12/day (Countersong, Fascinate, Inspire Courage +3, Inspire Competence, Suggestion, Inspire Greatness, Song of Freedom)
Spells Known (CL 12; 3/5/5/5/4)
0-Mending, Lullaby, Message, Summon Instrument, Resistance, Dancing Lights
1-Cure Light Wounds, Feather Fall, Sleep, Inspirational Boost
2-Cure Moderate Wounds, Heroism, Hold Person, Calm Emotions
3-Cure Serious Wounds, Dispel Magic, Deep Slumber, Remove Curse
4-Cure Critical Wounds, Hold Monster, Neutralize Poison
Statistics
Str 10, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 16, Wis 8, Cha 27
Base Atk +9
Feats Lingering Song, Melodic Casting, Nymph's Kiss, Song of the Heart, Sound of Silence, Words of Creation
Skills Craft (toymaking) +15, Craft (Puns) +1, Decipher Script +15, Diplomacy +15, Heal +7, Knowledge (History) +5, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) +5, Perform (Sing) +15, Perform (oratory) +5, Perform (string) +5, Sense Motive +15, Speak Language +5*, Spellcraft +15, Use Magic Device +15
Languages Celestial, Common, Draconic*, Dwarven*, Elven*, Gnome*, Halfling*, Sylvan
SQ: Bardic Knowledge
Combat Gear Crystal Echoblade of Harmony, +1 Mithral Breastplate
Other Gear Badge of Valor, Horn of Resilience, Cloak of Charisma +6, Ring of Protection +1, Backpack with waterskin, bedroll, sack, and flint and steel, Three torches, Lute (Mwk), Spell component pouch, 35 gp

Ayla
Female Human Bard 6/Fighter 1/Dervish 3
CG Medium Humanoid
Init +3; Senses Perception +0
Defense
AC 21, touch 15, flat-footed 18
(+6 Armor, +3 Dex, +1 Dervish, +1 Deflection)
hp 51 (6d6 plus 4d10+10)
Fort +5, Ref +8, Will +8
Defensive Abilities -
Offense
Spd 35 ft
Melee longsword +13 (1d8+3/19-20/x2) and scimitar +12 (1d6+3/15-20/x2)
Full Atk longsword +13 (1d8+3/19-20/x2) and scimitar +12 (1d6+3/15-20/x2) and longsword +8 (1d8+3/19-20/x2)
Special Attacks Bardic Music 6/day (Countersong, Fascinate, Inspire Courage +1, Inspire Competence, Suggestion), Dervish Dance 2/day (Move full speed and full attack for 6 rounds, +2 to weapon and damage rolls)
Spells Known (CL 6; 3/4/3)
0-Know Direction, Flare, Mage Hand, Open/Close, Ghost Sounds, Message
1-Expeditious Retreat, Charm Person, Grease, Inspirational Boost
2-Cat's Grace, Heroism, Glitterdust
Statistics
Str 14, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 8, Wis 10, Cha 16
Base Atk +8
Feats Combat Expertise, Dodge, Mobility, Snowflake Wardance, Spring Attack, Two-Weapon Fighting, Weapon Focus (Longsword)
Skills Balance +9, Escape Artist +3, Jump +9, Perform (Dance, tap) +12, Ride +1, Slight of Hand +9, Tumble +12
Languages Common
SQ: Bardic Knowledge, Movement Mastery, Slashing Blades
Combat Gear Crystal Echoblade of Harmony, +1 Keen Scimitar, +1 Mithral Breastplate
Other Gear Gloves of Dexterity +2, Ring of Protection +1, Backpack with waterskin, bedroll, sack, and flint and steel, Three torches, Tap Shoes (Mwk), Spell component pouch, 35 gp

The ability arrays we were given was nice but a little odd. Straight up 18, 16, 14, 12, 10, 8 to assign as we wished. And the cohorts abilities are the elite array in the MM (15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8). I'm hoping that I can use Perform (Dance, tap) as a musical skill so she can dance to use Bardic Music but if not I can take 3 ranks out of Sleight of Hand to put into Perform (Sing). I split the starting gold between the two of them, I'm ok with having less magical equipment since I might be pushing it with these two as it is. I'm going to replace Aarons "Lingering Song" feat with something else since the Harmonizing Echoblade does pretty much the same thing I just don't know with what yet. Still, I can't remember the last time I had as much fun creating a character as I did writing up these two.

[DarkSonic1337]

You only get one offhand attack with your scimitar unless you grab improved two weapon fighting somewhere. Might I suggest gloves of the balanced hand? (Magic Item Compendium. 8000g. Gives you two weapon fighting, or improved two weapon fighting if you already have two weapon fighting).

[Prophet_of_Io]

Whoops, thanks for spotting that.

I'll look into the item but 8,000 is a little pricey if I have to split my gold between the two. If they both get their own small share I'll certainly look it up.

[eggynack]

Your spell list on Aaron could use some hugs. I'd probably ditch most of the healing, or at least all of the cure spells. For first level spells, sleep is pretty bad at high levels, because it scales horribly, and feather fall is a bit situational. For second level spells, I'd definitely ditch heroism, just as a matter of personal taste, and for third level spells, deep slumber suffers from the same issue as sleep, though to a lesser extent. Hold monster is alright, though you could probably do better.

Thus, we come to replacement spells. I'd probably put grease where sleep was, as it's a debuff effect that scales reasonably, and silent image is a spell that never goes out of style. At second, alter self is an absolute must, filling roles like crazy, and for another slot you have a lot of options, like glitterdust as a hold person replacement, silence as a thing to deal with opposing casters, or mirror image for general awesomeness. For 3rd level spells, haste is a great buff spell that fills the gap that heroism left at 2nd level spells, slow is a solid debuff, and phantom steed might actually have enough utility to justify its inclusion on a spontaneous list. 4th level spells have some really solid defensive options including dimension door, freedom of movement, and greater invisibility. Changes of that approximate nature should get you to a pretty good place, so you should likely make at least a few of them.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

You can trade one of your songs (Suggestion) for Song of the Heart, so you don't need to spend a feat on it. With the recovered feat you can get Ancestral Relic for a custom Runestaff using this trick (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=267805#4), so your spell list is better prepared to handle a wider variety of situations. Also consider switching the level build to Bard 10/ Sublime Chord 2, or even Bard 8/ Virtuoso 2/ Sublime Chord 2, to take the rest of Virtuoso and advance your Sublime Chord casting.

[prufock]

You didn't list Leadership as one of Aaron's feats. :smallconfused:

At level 12 the sleep spell is going to be negligible. Choosing Harmony instead will add 1 to your attack/damage and 2 to your save bonus. Eggy has some other good options listed. I'd also exchange some of those healing spells for wands of the same and pick up some different ones.

There is some overlap between Lingering Song, Melodic Spellcasting, and a Harmonizing weapon. You certainly don't need all three.

[Dude_Here]

You can trade one of your songs (Suggestion) for Song of the Heart, so you don't need to spend a feat on it

Could you please tell me where this option is from? I've never heard of it.

[Dread_Head]

Eberron Campaign Setting I believe, or whichever book Song of the Heart is in anyway. It lets you trade out knowledge of a new song for one of the feats in the section with Song of the Heart being the most worthwhile option. Suggestion is a decent feature but gaining a feat is better and this lets you trade out fascinate for an ACF as well. It's a shame you can't trade out Inspire Competence for it but it's the prereq for Song of the Heart.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Could you please tell me where this option is from? I've never heard of it.

Eberron Campaign Setting, in the classes section under Bard. It states that you can trade any new song for one of a list of specific feats from that book. Trading Suggestion for Song of the Heart is probably the most frequently used.

[Hurnn]

I would suggest ditching one of the fascinates for healing hymn.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Bard probably has the greatest number of alternate class features and substitution levels of any class in the game. You should be able to find (nearly) all of them in this Bard Handbook (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=8284.0). Good choices would include:

Trade Countersong for Spellbreaker Song
Trade Hypnotism for Healing Hymn
Trade Bardic Knowledge for Bardic Knack
Trade Suggestion for Song of the Heart

For your cohort:
Trade Inspire Courage for Inspire Awe
Trade Suggestion for Haunting Melody