Zaxis and Bards..

I picked up Zaxis after I cleared the moathouse as my 7th party member. I'm really trying to decide if he's a worthy addition to a group with a charismatic rogue and good cleric and wizard. I know he can do everything, but he just seems squishy.

Are bards useful enough to keep? (I'm running six PCS)

Bardic music is disappointing me, I think it would (courage) etc, songs should be AoE.

 

Zaxis can't act as the face person, so I usually don't use him.

 

Most of my (past) plays trough toee have been without a bard. hes not smth i would have called essential if u try to have him as a replacement sor/wiz or druid then you will be rather disappointed,to be blunt about it the more magically enclined yr party is the less usefull a bard becomes.
The bard really shines only in brutish parties(most/all members are melee or archery specialists) where he serves primarily as a dmg and precision amplification system and secondarily as a tool to temporarily pin down a problematic opponent(by means of fascination,tasha's,hold...) until it can be safely dealt with.
As a char the bard is quite decent: good hp&armor wearing capability just pass him a composite shortbow(str 14) and trow down 2 feets at lvl 1 and u got an above average archer ready to back you up all day long .... both with arrow and a song :yes:
Out of combat the bard can handle pretty much everything by himself(except perhaps lockpicking) and can be of service as a mediocre crafter(wpns to +3 and armors to +3 plus some dex golves is about all he can handle but hey at least he saves some precious xp loss for more important party mbr)
In the past a bard would have been a hindrance to me, at the present i'm headed towards low/no magic party's(to increase the gaming challenge) so the bard is invaluable to me as i no longer have wiz/sorc/druids with me to instakill all in sight out of shear spite that smb had the 'audacity' to actually get near my party and score a critical hit that robbed a party member close to half its hp...

 

Bards RULE. I always roll with a bard in my party. my "avatar" name on here J'allan UlDragos is my favorite created bard character. Build is usually Bard 17/Barb 3 to model him after a Celtic warrior bard with Rage and augment summoning feat, with skills to serve as a party face and warband leader, even if he does not have the highest AC (though i do everything to get it up there as i can). Give him Silver Sword of Chaos, Scather, Fragarach or console in Excalibur and he is Taliesin or Myrrdin reincarnated

Stats:
STR 16 DEX 17 CON 15 INT 17 WIS 16 CHA 18 Male Half Elf
Favorite items, equips:
Bag of Tricks, Lamia Figurine, Horn of Fog, Chimes (forget the name, has the Knock spell), Horn of Blasting, Pipes of Pain, Charming Mandolin, Barbarian Sword & Wooden Shield (starting equip), Repeating Crossbow, Iolo's Joy, Robes of Midnight or Elven Chain. ETC.

Bardsong aids everything, and the spells are just a bonus. Great Skills and Feat selection.

I have tried some other builds too - Bard 11/ Ranger 9 (dual wield build) was interesting, and so was Bard 11/ Rogue 9 as it yielded LOTS of skill points!!! (both times I was aiming for the Improved Evasion feat gained/offered at level 9). Mixing it all so it was Bard 5/ Ranger 5/ Barb 5/ Rogue 5 ... LOTS of skills, and extra (free) feats, but the character build certainly got lost in the translation. Bard 8/ Ranger 4/ Barb 4/ Rogue 4 worked a little better.

Never played just straight Bard, as it seems to add songs according to the Perform skill, so there is no real need to stay Bard all the way, unless you like the spell selection - i don't. to me its a secondary skill that kinda helps, not the main attraction.

 

I would consider Zaxis if there was a option for him to NOT sing every line he says.

Usually, well almost allways, I get by just fine without a resident "rock star".

 

I like to take Zaxis, and keep a spot open for him. He is a great backup for everyone. He can blast with the wizards using Sound Burst, he makes an excellent backup healer, especially if the cleric goes down. He is good with his bow, and i usually give him the Lamia's +3 longsword for a backup meleer. He can use scrolls and wands for extra fireballs. Having his Courage and Competence songs come in quite handy several times in the game. I always have him sing the Confidence song when a wizard is scribing spells into his spellbook, keeps the reloads down. And if your rogue needs a boost to unlock a chest, +2 to skill checks helps out. He is the perfect candidate for the elven armor as it doesn't effect his spellcasting.

 

I read Asterix a lot when i was younger and i agree with the rest of the villagers that a bard should be bound hand and foot and gagged.

 

The other thing about bards I like is their healing capability. If you want a low magic party, and want to try not having any druids/clerics, their healing help saves you in a thick battle or not wanting to heal up for weeks at a time at an inn.

A bard is a jack of all trades, master of non. That is an attraction I have for them.

 

Well, it's really a pity but Zanix has been fired. I guess if I wanted a bard it would have to be a PC and able to be the party leader. I think DnD puts a little too much emphases on rogues, It would be nice if bards or rangers could get pick lock/disable device, I'm going to have to say that no single class should be "essential" to a party, but rogues, basically are in ToEE, though they can be multiclassed. A multiclass bard seems to water downed to be viable though. Oh-welzzzzz.

 

The facination skill of the bard is overpowered compared to the original game rules. In the rules it states that any kind of combat around the subject breaks the facination.

Facination has frequently saved my party particualy at low levels e.g a random encounter with two brown bears can mean death for all But facinate one, kill the other, heal up, possition for attack and then take down the remainder before it gets a chance to do damage.

Allso the bards charm spells can make a real mess of an opposing party.

 

Well for what is worth, ANY character can take open locks, though at half skill levels. That is unless you want to multiclass. Taking just one level of rogue does not set back a bard too much and with all his skill points, he can pay the x2 cost and keep his open locks at max.

Or just try to role play not having a rogue and using the bards own competence boost to try to open the pesky locks.

 

Bards used to be super duper when they used to be a Prestige Class (2nd ed?) They lost their appeal after that. Other than for RP-ing (reason enough, ok with that) don't see a reason. A sorcerer built to fight (warlock-ish) much more efficient. Just my oppinion

 

It's kind of funny how a 10th level ranger with lots of points in search and is a natural for searching/spotting can't seem to see a trap, but a brand spank'n new rouge with just a few points in search can see it right away.

Do they give out magical eye drops in the rouge academy?

 

Well all the rouge gets in your eyes, ya know.

I remember in the Baldurs Gate games a non thief could find traps, just could not disarm them.

 

The Bard is meant to be a backup for, well, everyone. Should a fighter fall, a well-equipped Bard can pinch hit for a little while. Should the cleric fall, the bard can wake him up, and should the mage fall, the bard can take his place in all but mass destruction fireballs. The bard compliments core class groups (fighter, wizard, rogue, cleric) better than a group of sub-classes like paladins and druids (who are already multi-purpose.) Also, everyone's hit or skill rolls are one or two points better so long as the bard is around, which can be useful in a group where the ability scores haven't been luck or re-rolled for 18's.