Bard Assassin? (Help)

[Vegas Actual]

Hey guys, I'm new but I've been using giantitp builds for a short while so i figured this would be the best place for help. So, i registered and here we are.

To give some background, we're currently using 9th level characters who are just about to be level 10. I'm currently a Druid, but with how my party acts against nature and animals (including my own, which is them treating him poorly needless to say) I felt like setting him aside for a character with some "surprise" value or something with a bit of general humor, that's a total badass.

That aside, I've been wanting to build a really good Bard, but not just any Bard. I'd like a character with a bit of shock value that surprises the rest of my part once I really show who he is. I figured some sort of rogue/bard would be good, but I've been having issues finding that balance with class choice. I'm not too knowledgeable on D&D seeing as my current Druid is my first. The DM is kinda strict, but I can try to reason if it's something that seems op at a glance. My current part is a Fighter, Hexblade, Druid (Me), Wizard, Warblade (Current DM who is sitting out for now), and some kind of spell casting rogue (for which i can't say a name because the player is being all cryptic about his class).

TL:DR I'm looking for a character who can pose as an unassuming Bard with basic bardic abilities, and then surprise my party with some ridiculous spell casting, or damage output. Nothing that I'd have to haggle the DM for seeing as he's kind of strict on what he can allow and disallow.

[Troacctid]

How about a Stormsinger? Using bardic music to throw bolts of lightning at your enemies should give you plenty of shock value, and your ability to sing up hurricanes and tornados will leave them blown away. :smallcool:

Seriously though, it's a sweet class, and it could definitely fit your needs. You can find it in Frostburn, on page 70.

[Vegas Actual]

How about a Stormsinger? Using bardic music to throw bolts of lightning at your enemies should give you plenty of shock value, and your ability to sing up hurricanes and tornados will leave them blown away. :smallcool:

Seriously though, it's a sweet class, and it could definitely fit your needs. You can find it in Frostburn, on page 70.

I see what you did there. I'll start checking it out. Thanks! Is there anything that is sort of rogue-like that could do decent sneak attack damage?

[Troacctid]

The best way to get sneak attack on a Bard is probably Unseen Seer, from Complete Mage. It advances your casting, retains most of your skills, and gives you some sneak attack damage. Unfortunately, there's no way to progress both sneak attack and bardic music.

A sample build would be Rogue 1/Bardic Sage (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#bardVariantBardicSage) 4/Unseen Seer 5. (Bardic Sage is thematically appropriate for an Unseen Seer, given the prestige class's focus on divination and knowledge; you could also use a standard Bard or Savage Bard if you prefer.) Make sure to take Hunter's Eye (from Player's Handbook II) as an Advanced Learning spell, to get extra sneak attack. Then go into Sublime Chord (from Complete Arcane) before continuing in Unseen Seer (now progressing the improved casting of Sublime Chord), so that you can get higher-level spells.

[Vegas Actual]

So its probably not the best idea then to do a sneak attack bard? You think Stormsinger is my best bet for a surprising character?

[Vegas Actual]

I might have misread what you said.

[Troacctid]

The sneak attacking Bard generally runs into the "Why am I not just a Sorcerer?" problem, because you abandon your Bard class features and only keep the spellcasting, which is worse than a Sorcerer's. Sublime Chord puts you back on par with a Sorcerer, roughly, once you hit 11th level or so, but it's mostly a more complicated method of doing the same thing, and I've heard of DMs who dislike the class for being overpowered (which, in fairness, it kind of is). You could ask your DM how he feels about Sublime Chord shenanigans, and if you get the green light, it would be a perfectly valid build, although you probably wouldn't do much singing.

Bards have it tough when it comes to prestige classes. Hardly anything progresses your bardic music. Off the top of my head, the good ones are Lyric Thaumaturge (a Bard-only prestige class from Complete Mage that gives up some of its skills to improve spellcasting; usually a solid choice), Fochlucan Lyrist (a Bard/Druid combo that can't be taken until very high levels and has annoying prerequisites but is otherwise decent), Stormsinger (already mentioned), Evangelist (highly specialized class focused on Diplomacy that can use bardic music to change the alignment of other creatures), and Sublime Chord (greatly improves spellcasting and is generally OP; often combined with other prestige classes that advance spellcasting because of its dearth of actual class features). There's also a feat, Song of the White Raven, that allows you to stack Bard levels with Warblade or Crusader levels for the purpose of Inspire Courage, which can get you a decent traditional multiclass build (often colloquially referred to as a "Bardblade" or "Bardsader").

There are some others that are not so good: Dawncaller, Dragonsong Lyrist, Virtuoso, Dirgesinger, Uncanny Trickster, Troubadour of Stars, Seeker of the Song, and War Chanter all progress bardic music, but are generally underwhelming and/or underpowered.

[Vegas Actual]

Which do you prefer, the Stormsinger, or Sublime Chord?

[Troacctid]

Oh, well, you could just do both. Bard 5/Stormsinger 5/Sublime Chord 2/Stormsinger 5 (progressing Sublime Chord casting). That's pretty much the main reason why Sublime Chord is OP, cuz you can do stuff like that.

[Vegas Actual]

Oh, cool. Yeah, i'll probably work something like that. Is there a way (and i know this may be a dumb question) to make the Stormsinger based on my Perform (String Instruments)? If not, I'll still probably do it, because it sounds fun.

[Troacctid]

The text only allows it to work with Perform (Sing), but you can ask your DM to adapt it to a different Perform skill. Ironically, the illustration depicts a Stormsinger playing a horn, which would require Perform (Wind Instruments).

[Vegas Actual]

Dm OK'd the use of Wind Instruments to supplement sing. Brad the Bard will use BAGPIPES. Thanks for all your help man, I'm gonna look more into sublime chord and figure out what to do in terms of overall build.