Spellscale bard, what feat should I take? (Lvl1 w/flaws)

[WarKitty]

Here's my link: http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=924379

I plan on dipping sorc 1 next level, withe the draconic heritage ACF, to change my damage. So that won't need to be done via feats. Made an agreement with my DM to stick to the bard spell list and let those slots function as bardic - reduces bookkeeping and lets me keep my armor on.

Other than that, as you can see from my statblock and flaws this character is intended to be nowhere near the front line. I'm a buffer and a caster, going sublime chord later on.

As you can see I have another feat to select. I have a few nice ideas but am struggling with things that I can take at level 1 and will be useful for a long time.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Melodic Casting, Complete Mage.

Also consider switching to Savage Bard (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#bardVariantSavageBard) , and you could also change your flaws (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?258440-The-quot-Best-quot-Flaws#30). I'd make Cha slightly lower to boost Con if using pointbuy, and plan to dip Dragon Devotee to make up the difference.

[WarKitty]

Melodic Casting, Complete Mage.

Also consider switching to Savage Bard (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#bardVariantSavageBard) , and you could also change your flaws (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?258440-The-quot-Best-quot-Flaws#30). I'd make Cha slightly lower to boost Con if using pointbuy, and plan to dip Dragon Devotee to make up the difference.

There's some restrictions on flaws, so I can't change as much as you think - I can't take anything that would have little to no effect, and dragon magazine isn't in play anyways.

Savage bard: eh, all I can see is it loses the most fun level 0 spell and changes the saves around, as far as things that would actually effect my character.

Using pointbuy but I don't want to do any more dips than the one in sorc, especially not dips that don't have any spells at all associated with them.

[Red Fel]

Seconding Melodic Casting. Adding Haunting Melody, that ever-popular debuff, and possibly Words of Creation if you're willing to go Exalted.

I'd also recommend the Swift Concentration skill trick, which lets you maintain concentration on an effect (such as Bardic Music) as a swift action, rather than standard.

[WarKitty]

I've got lots of feats I'd like to take, it just seems like most of them have prerequisites and thus can't be taken a level 1. Not that I won't take more suggestions for later - especially for getting mind-affecting to work on things it normally doesn't work on.

Edit: Right now the plan is

Level 3: Versatile spellcaster
Level 6: Song of the Heart
Level 9: Words of creation
Level 12: Doomspeak

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Get a masterwork quarterstaff that has significant sentimental value, ideally an elvencraft longbow with three wand chambers and masterwork three times. Take Ancestral Relic at 3rd to make it a custom Runestaff (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?267805-Sorcerer-Handbook#4). Never worry about your limited number of spells known ever again.

Also consider using the Spellscale Bard 1 substitution level, unless you're going with Bardic Knack. I would replace Fascinate with Healing Hymn, Countersong with Spellbreaker Song, and later trade Suggestion for Song of the Heart. You can also gain Haunting Melody in place of another bardic music ability, such as Inspire Greatness, per the ECS Bard class entry.

The standard entry to Sublime Chord is Bard 8/ anything 2, so dipping one level of Dragon Devotee for +2 Cha and +1 natural armor is an ideal choice. A Mindbender dip if you're not good-aligned is also highly recommended, but that excludes the above runestaff trick.

[WarKitty]

Get a masterwork quarterstaff that has significant sentimental value, ideally an elvencraft longbow with three wand chambers and masterwork three times. Take Ancestral Relic at 3rd to make it a custom Runestaff (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?267805-Sorcerer-Handbook#4). Never worry about your limited number of spells known ever again.

Also consider using the Spellscale Bard 1 substitution level, unless you're going with Bardic Knack. I would replace Fascinate with Healing Hymn, Countersong with Spellbreaker Song, and later trade Suggestion for Song of the Heart. You can also gain Haunting Melody in place of another bardic music ability, such as Inspire Greatness, per the ECS Bard class entry.

The standard entry to Sublime Chord is Bard 8/ anything 2, so dipping one level of Dragon Devotee for +2 Cha and +1 natural armor is an ideal choice. A Mindbender dip if you're not good-aligned is also highly recommended, but that excludes the above runestaff trick.

Right. I forgot about the song of the heart substitution. I think if I wasn't going bard 9 I would rather toss another PrC in than dragon devotee. I'm fine with being a squishy; after all I'm not any worse in that department than if I'd gone with a sorc. Maybe throw in another prestige class? I'm sort of enjoying having ridiculous charisma. Though I wonder if there's a good ACF for bard 9...

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Right. I forgot about the song of the heart substitution. I think if I wasn't going bard 9 I would rather toss another PrC in than dragon devotee. I'm fine with being a squishy; after all I'm not any worse in that department than if I'd gone with a sorc. Maybe throw in another prestige class? I'm sort of enjoying having ridiculous charisma. Though I wonder if there's a good ACF for bard 9...

That's sort of why everyone stops at Bard 8, there's not much to gain from the 9th level.

I notice you have Martial Study for Martial Spirit, but that doesn't work. Martial Study gets you a maneuver, Martial Spirit is a stance, you would have to spend another feat on Martial Stance to get that. Plus you need to know a Devoted Spirit maneuver or stance prior to learning Martial Spirit, and you need an initiator level of 1st to get that. A non-initiator only has an initiator level of 1/2 their character level, and that rounds down, so your initiator level at 1st is zero. Martial Study at 1st level gets you a class skill, but not a maneuver and especially not a stance.

A 1st level Sorcerer would probably have Con 14, for 1d4+2 per level, versus your 1d6-2. Plus a Sorcerer has iwin buttons like Color Spray or Power Word: Pain at 1st level, and you have to be in melee to use Intimidate in combat.

I'd replace Martial Study with Wild Cohort (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/re/20031118a), and get a war-trained riding dog. Possibly make it Magebred since only druids and rangers are prohibited from taking magebred companions, and use Handle Animal to add the Warbeast template from MM2. That will benefit from your Inspire Courage, and it can help keep opponents from attacking your character. Anyone can trade away Handle Animal for Gather Information (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20070228a), so see if you can reverse that and lose Gather Information to gain Handle Animal as a class skill. In this case it would be even more fitting to make the character a Savage Bard, but I would still make your Con higher, and/or replace Frail with Vulnerable.

[WarKitty]

That's sort of why everyone stops at Bard 8, there's not much to gain from the 9th level.

I notice you have Martial Study for Martial Spirit, but that doesn't work. Martial Study gets you a maneuver, Martial Spirit is a stance, you would have to spend another feat on Martial Stance to get that. Plus you need to know a Devoted Spirit maneuver or stance prior to learning Martial Spirit, and you need an initiator level of 1st to get that. A non-initiator only has an initiator level of 1/2 their character level, and that rounds down, so your initiator level at 1st is zero. Martial Study at 1st level gets you a class skill, but not a maneuver and especially not a stance.

A 1st level Sorcerer would probably have Con 14, for 1d4+2 per level, versus your 1d6-2. Plus a Sorcerer has iwin buttons like Color Spray or Power Word: Pain at 1st level, and you have to be in melee to use Intimidate in combat.

I'd replace Martial Study with Wild Cohort (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/re/20031118a), and get a war-trained riding dog. Possibly make it Magebred since only druids and rangers are prohibited from taking magebred companions, and use Handle Animal to add the Warbeast template from MM2. That will benefit from your Inspire Courage, and it can help keep opponents from attacking your character. Anyone can trade away Handle Animal for Gather Information (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20070228a), so see if you can reverse that and lose Gather Information to gain Handle Animal as a class skill. In this case it would be even more fitting to make the character a Savage Bard, but I would still make your Con higher, and/or replace Frail with Vulnerable.

I have to put off doomspeak way longer if I don't take martial study though, plus we're not talking about a combat-centric campaign. So my out-of-combat skills do actually matter.

Anways, if you could please just make suggestions for what I actually asked, rather than trying to change up a character I already had reviewed and decided I like it as it is? I already said there's extra limitations on flaws, vulnerable is not allowed because it doesn't really do anything. And I have never seen a sorc in play with a con of above 12.