Non-Kit Bard Song Does not add Luck bonus

Oxford_Guy

Current Behaviour: In the official EE manual it says (the default) Bard song increases morale and luck, but the in-game description and actually effect in game does not increase luck.

Expected behaviour: The default Bard song should provide a Luck bonus (though am unsure exactly how this should be implemented, perhaps like the spell?), as well as the morale/remove fear effects.

Also - shouldn't the default Bard song get better with higher levels (and I don't meant the HLA song)? If this does actually happen, this is not documented.

As it is, there is no real reason to choose the default Bard over a kit, but adding Luck and the song improving with levelling would greatly improve the situation.

ZanathKariashi

Lvl 1: +2 morale per round
Lvl 15: +1 Luck, +2 Morale per round
lvl 21: +2 Luck, immunity to fear and morale break.

Oxford_Guy

ZanathKariashi said:

Lvl 1: +2 morale per round
Lvl 15: +1 Luck, +2 Morale per round
lvl 21: +2 Luck, immunity to fear and morale break.

Thanks @ZanathKariashi Is this the actual current in-game effect? Interesting (and not properly documented...)!

In BG1/BGEE the bard song is pretty useless then, but what does +1 Luck actually do at level 15? Does it help saving throws and chances to hit or does it work in some other way?

ZanathKariashi

+1 hit/damage/saving throws/morale

Oxford_Guy

Oxford_Guy said:

ZanathKariashi said:

Lvl 1: +2 morale per round
Lvl 15: +1 Luck, +2 Morale per round
lvl 21: +2 Luck, immunity to fear and morale break.

Thanks @ZanathKariashi Is this the actual current in-game effect? Interesting (and not properly documented...)!

In BG1/BGEE the bard song is pretty useless then, but what does +1 Luck actually do at level 15? Does it help saving throws and chances to hit or does it work in some other way?

@ZanathKariashi - So does the default Bard song have no remove fear affect until level 21? That doesn't sound right...

ZanathKariashi

Fear causes an immediate morale break (instantly drops morale to 0, and some versions prevent natural morale regen till the effect ends)...the morale bonus per round causes your character to recover from fear effects a little faster, but doesn't grant outright immunity till 21+. Spells like remove fear and the like include a MASSIVE chunk of bonus morale, in addition to blocking fear effects for the duration.

Oxford_Guy

@ZanathKariashi - so the default Bard song is virtually useless until at least level 15?!

ZanathKariashi

Sort of, sort of not. Morale is a complicated issue....having a bard sing all the time would stop general morale failure in almost all cases, and would slightly help with fear (shortens most versions of fear by 1 round overall, since it allows you to regain control before the fear technically ends).

Morale is both a measure of the damage a character has been dealt, their fatigue level, and the damage their team has been dealt. The exact mechanics I don't know for 100%, but after years of playing I have noticed some trends that having a bard play does help immensely in battle when you're getting your ass kicked, or if someone takes a hit for over half their HP in 1 shot, after a protracted engagement.

Morale regens a little every round naturally, unless a spell prevents it (such as fears), but you also lose morale while in battle. If you go without several nights of sleep, your characters will start having morale breaks very quickly, even for otherwise trivial amounts of damage.

Oxford_Guy

ZanathKariashi said:

Sort of, sort of not. Morale is a complicated issue....having a bard sing all the time would stop general morale failure in almost all cases, and would slightly help with fear (shortens most versions of fear by 1 round overall, since it allows you to regain control before the fear technically ends).

Morale is both a measure of the damage a character has been dealt, their fatigue level, and the damage their team has been dealt. The exact mechanics I don't know for 100%, but after years of playing I have noticed some trends that having a bard play does help immensely in battle when you're getting your ass kicked, or if someone takes a hit for over half their HP in 1 shot, after a protracted engagement.

Morale regens a little every round naturally, unless a spell prevents it (such as fears), but you also lose morale while in battle. If you go without several nights of sleep, your characters will start having morale breaks very quickly, even for otherwise trivial amounts of damage.

I've rarely seen *any* of my party suffer a non-spell morale break, but perhaps this is more common in BG2?

I still think I'd rather have a Skald or a Jester...