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View Full Version : 3.5 What's a Poor Bard to Do?


BrokenChord
2014-02-25, 01:49 AM
Most of the Bard's buff-related stuff, especially his music, is Mind-Affecting. Sure, he has nice things like Haste, but in general the best parts of his repertoire are Mind-Affecting.

So how does a Bard who focuses on those abilities remain useful when you reach levels where most parties will get Mindblank items/constantly applied spells almost by necessity to survive what they'll be facing? How does the buffer Bard overcome the ever-crippling Mind-Affecting tag?
Telonius
2014-02-25, 01:54 AM
He gets a Psion (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/shatterMindBlank.htm) cohort. :smallbiggrin:

Dispel Magic is also a thing.
BrokenChord
2014-02-25, 01:58 AM
He gets a Psion (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/shatterMindBlank.htm) cohort. :smallbiggrin:

Dispel Magic is also a thing.

I just got the mental image of a grumbly Bard dispelling his own friends' magical defenses in the middle of a fight just so he can be their only source of buffs. Thanks for the laugh, you made my night.
Rebel7284
2014-02-25, 02:10 AM
Enter Sublime Chord. Win with spells that are not mind affecting.

Alternatively, hit stuff. There are ways to make bards into fairly nice gishes (warblade/crusader/swiftblade/etc)
kkplx
2014-02-25, 02:13 AM
Seriously though, leadership and buff your cohort & followers - make the cohort a summoner for even more payoff - might drive your DM mad though.
BrokenChord
2014-02-25, 02:14 AM
Enter Sublime Chord. Win with spells that are not mind affecting.

Alternatively, hit stuff. There are ways to make bards into fairly nice gishes (warblade/crusader/swiftblade/etc)

Sublime Chord is pretty sweet, I must admit.

And yeah, I know Bards gish and hit quite well. I just mean this for buff Bards, particularly ones who focus on their Bardic music.
Optimator
2014-02-25, 02:54 AM
Well, you can always petition your DM to allow the positive buffs to work, kind of like not checking SR when healing. Not RAW but my DM lets my Bard do it. It's especially generous since it's usually his Empyreal Ecstasy that's doing the mind-blanking.
Adverb
2014-02-25, 03:15 AM
My Bard experience was that in round 1, I fired Inspire Courage and buffed the hell out of my party, and after that, I was pretty useless.

It's possible I just suck at Bard, though.
Rebel7284
2014-02-25, 08:57 AM
At the levels that everyone has mindblank, you can try wishing for an effect to overcome it with music. Very DM dependent of course, but seems reasonable, especially if some limitations are placed on it or it eats a feat slot too.
Telonius
2014-02-25, 09:25 AM
I just got the mental image of a grumbly Bard dispelling his own friends' magical defenses in the middle of a fight just so he can be their only source of buffs. Thanks for the laugh, you made my night.

:smallbiggrin: Ah, missed that "buffer" bit - thought you were asking about things to throw at a party from the DM perspective.