Max Useful Bard Level?

I am playing a human bard who has 2 levels of fighter so she can use composite longbows well. She now has 12 levels of Bard and TBH I am wondering if there is any use in leveling her any farther in the class? She uses a +3 Holy/Shock str 18 composite longbow as her main weapon, but her main job is to buff the party and/or disrupt enemies with use of her charm/dominate spells. She also uses the wands and scrolls we collect acts as the party face etc...
The main question is: when do bard levels lose their value in TOEE? When should I cap her advancement? If I do cap her, what is the best choice for her next class? She tries never to close with the enemy so rogue levels would be wasted. I am thinking maybe wizard or sorcerer. Would it be better to just level her as a fighter from this point forward? Extra archery BAB would be really good.

 

As a rogue she would still benefit from her sneak attack ability even with a bow as long as she is within 30 feet of her target. I like having a rogue with a bow that can inflict a crippling strike from afar and steal a few points of strength from the strong melee bad guys.

 

Hi, I remember an extremly powerful high level bard spell that used to save my ass when I played a single character bard. I just don't remember the exact name and could not find it in the bard spell list. It gave you this spinning double images around you that took most of the initial damage until they vanished (even more images than the wizard spell with that effect) , at the same time your size increased, with respective effect on your reach, and I think it even gave you improved invisibility.
It definetly is woth the bard levels to get that spell.

 

I know, but the Bard, Wizard and Druid rarely even get that close by by choice. My Barb2/ftr 12(scather), my ftr 7/rog 7(dual wielding cleavers), and ftr 2/cleric 12 are the closers. The cleric buffs everyone and then uses divine power or righteous might or whatever while acting as the tank white the other two use their high mobility to hunt down spell casters or other high value targets. The druid pumps out meat shields to distract, engage enemies while providing flanking opportunities for the rogue. The wizard usually opens with a maximized fireball(just to say hi), the druid uses call lightning or firestorm or whatever as her opener, the cleric uses holy smite(with 3 memorized) while moving to a blocking position, then the bard finds a likely charm or dominate target. All three of my artillerists have +3 holy bows with either frost, shock or fire as a second add on. Come to think of it, I believe the whole party has at least one holy weapon each.

 

My impression of bards is that they aren't very useful at all but I'm probably wrong as I never use them.

 

Honestly, bards are next to useless. The only thing they're good for is giving someone else a bonus to a skill in order to trigger dialogue options or the like. In every other situation you're better off with a wizard or a rogue. But since flask rogues aren't a thing in ToEE, they aren't particularly good either.

 

I can't say she is useless. She is holding her own. She has a kickass bow and gets 3 attacks per round without many shot.

 

In 8.0 NC I did a playthru of all the alignments and once created a party that had neither cleric nor rogue- the bard and druid provided the healing. While the early going (especially Emirdy Meadows) was a bit tough the bard more than carried his own weight- and if you haven't enjoyed the benefit of a bard song while in combat then you overlooked one of their biggest strengths, which is combat buffs. They may not be as good at rogue stuff as a rogue or spells as a wizard, but useless? I'd say no to that...

 

Fighter + Rogue+ Sorcerer = Bard. Enough said.
Plus, who doesn't like a storyteller trotting along, chasing away the boredom?

 

And all while wearing a chain shirt.

 

Even with +3 Mithril chain, she still has the worst AC in the group. How do bards do in Elven chain?

 

The AC has nothing to do with the class (unless monk). It depends on initial value of 10 + Equipment modifiers ( armour, shield,rings, bracers,robes,tattoos,etc... ) + Dex modifier ( which can be increased by Gloves, spelss etc.. or decreased by encumberence, spells, etc... ) + Wis modifier if Monk ( which again can be icreased or decreased ). Believe me, a Bard with Mithril Shirt, Elvish Shield, Gloves of Dex, Ring of Protection has a very good AC , that is depending on her initial Dex value.

 

I was hinting at the change from 3.0 to 3.5 where a bard can cast without any hindrance from a chain shirt, before he was restricted to leather.

I personally enjoy having a bard in the party.

 

It kind of depends on what you want her to do. If her role is buffing the rest of the party, more Bard levels will increase her available spells so she'll be able to do so more often, and for longer. She ought to be a pretty effective enchantress/ dominatrix as she advances, too. Adding other caster levels will have limited utility- if you go Sorceror she'll gain the ability to cast things like Fireball and Stinking Cloud at 20th level, by which point your Wizard, Cleric and Druid have 9th levels spells. A one-level dip and having your primary casters craft wands for her is probably more efficient if you want more spells. She has the potential to pick up 3d6 worth of sneak attack damage. If she can buff herself with Imp Invis most fights that adds an average of 10.5 damage per shot within 30' by 19th level; on the other hand more castings of haste on the party gives you extra attacks for everyone, including the guy with Scather (actually if you give him Rogue levels you will probably boost your damage more). TBH you don't seem short of either melee damage or spellcasting ability, and in a party with the power levels you have (3 full casters and Scather), boosting/ multiplying their power is probably most effective. I'd stick with Bard, or possibly take a level of wiz and/or druid if there were low-level spells from those guys I found I cast a lot- so she takes over casting Web/ Entangle/ Stinking Cloud or whatever, using wands crafted for her, freeing up you main casters to cast more of their big guns. You're really just adding flexibility to a party that already has it in spades, though.

 

Rogues can be pretty effective. Give them improved invisibility and they can snipe away at close range all day with enchanted composite bows, doing consistently high damage wherever you click.