This in my opinion (and no jab intended to the OP) is why games being released today are rubbish. If every class etc. in a game is perfectly balanced the game is boring, especially in single player orientated games. I do understand the need for balance in mulitplayer orientated games.
Games today are rumbish, but definitively not because they are unbalanced. It's because they are dumbed down. A lot.
I don't see what is wrong in being balanced, that has been the purpose of all games, even before video games were invented,
Bards are amazing. Even plain bards, though it's a class you should obviously kit because all the kits are insane awesome and it's not like you can dual-class.
I mean, no one plays a plain paladin, not with how overpowered Cavalier is. Even Undead Hunters are huge bonuses for very little downside. No one plays a plain fighter because Berzerker exists.
So I don't buy the "Bards are underpowered" thing. First off, wands. Yeah, okay, mages are "better" at spells. But if you have the money, bards are just as good especially in BG1 because they still reach level 4 spells I believe.
Bards can also equip any weapon. That's a huge deal, being able to equip whatever you want and being diverse in that. It allows you a lot of wiggle room for the rest of your party. They make excellent two-hander wielders for this reason.
They are arguably the best single class once you get into epic levels, too. Epic Bard Song is amazing and essentially negates the only downside to Blades. Spike Traps are totally overpowered. Use All Items is obviously pretty broken.
I really don't know why there are so many people out there who dislike them. Maybe just because the two Bard NPCs in BG1 are so trash?
It still doesn't change the fact that in combat, you are going to use him as a weak spellcaster. Since you can't change armor in combat, you have to choose either magic or melee. Unless you have a blade, you are going to end up using magic.
Plain bard is definitively underpowered not even comparable to plain warrior/paladin/mage/thief..., and the bard song is useless, while it should be his main feature.
Jester is also clearly underpowered. So is the skald, whose song doesn't compensate for the fact that you cant attack or cast spells.
Like someone else proposed, it wouldn't hurt to give more variety and power to the bard song.
Actually if I rolled a skald I'd give them some of the 2h weapons to use like Greatsword or Halberd and try to give em a strength to match. As I said there IS a way to get the song and attack. One round singing, song lasts through the next round and you get to attack. It's tedious but it works. I'd still like to see some type of lingering song addition for Skalds and Blades.
For Jesters, well there CC only lasts for a round so its natural you'd have to keep it up when you needed it.
@GeuelEclator As I said there IS a way to get the song and attack. One round singing, song lasts through the next round and you get to attack. It's tedious but it works.
Well like you said : ''It's tedious''. This kind could be fixed for example. Allowing the Scald to attack and sing at the same time would be of great help.
Next step would be to find a way to improve jester/scald/bard songs overall.
Bards are easily the most underrated class in the BG series. Blades are sick. But even Vanilla Bards are spectacular. Not to mention they are wonderfully multi dimensional. Read up on some guides, or even the posts here, and you can see the raw power they are capable of. Plus you never get bored. Great class.
It still doesn't change the fact that in combat, you are going to use him as a weak spellcaster. Since you can't change armor in combat, you have to choose either magic or melee.
They are as good in ranged combat as thieves - even better. You don't have to send them into the midst of the battle. Furthermore he has more HP than a wizard.
Bards are easily the most underrated class in the BG series. Blades are sick. But even Vanilla Bards are spectacular. Not to mention they are wonderfully multi dimensional. Read up on some guides, or even the posts here, and you can see the raw power they are capable of. Plus you never get bored. Great class.
I've red all of them. The problem is that their multi dimensional ability only works on paper. Until you get the elven chain for example (very late in game) you have to choose : magic or melee. Because you cant change in a battle. Since bard is better in magic, you end up choosing magic for most battles, yet he is weaker than a mage.
The pickpocket skill is almost useless.
The song is weak, even scalds song isn't very good, since he cant do anything else while he sings, and the song isn't powerful enough to compensate for the fact that he doesn't fight/cast spells.
I don't see what is wrong in helping the bard class a LITTLE BIT.
Just giving the jester/scald/bard better songs and the ability to sing while in melee. That's simple.
Bards are easily the most underrated class in the BG series. Blades are sick. But even Vanilla Bards are spectacular. Not to mention they are wonderfully multi dimensional. Read up on some guides, or even the posts here, and you can see the raw power they are capable of. Plus you never get bored. Great class.
I've red all of them. The problem is that their multi dimensional ability only works on paper. Until you get the elven chain for example (very late in game) you have to choose : magic or melee. Because you cant change in a battle. Since bard is better in magic, you end up choosing magic for most battles, yet he is weaker than a mage.
The pickpocket skill is almost useless.
The song is weak, even scalds song isn't very good, since he cant do anything else while he sings, and the song isn't powerful enough to compensate for the fact that he doesn't fight/cast spells.
I don't see what is wrong in helping the bard class a LITTLE BIT.
Just giving the jester/scald/bard better songs and the ability to sing while in melee. That's simple.
I'm playing a Blade right now. I didn't think they were strong (even though half the fan forums are singing that gospel), but boy, I was wrong. The Elven chain isn't a problem, you get it in the Planar Prison quest, which is a quest you can do pretty much right after exiting Irenicus' dungeon. Okay, maybe get everyone a level-up beforehand because of the mean party in the sewers, but yeah. It's more than doable.
Pickpocket is nice as it frees up thief skill points, and in BG1 it is actually useful. BG2, not so much, but at least it's still a nice gimmick.
The song is weak, I agree with that. I definitely think that the normal Bard song should improve with levels like in IWD (Heart of Winter), but then what would be the role of the Skald? Well, maybe give him an improving song as well, but let him use it while fighting as well (unlike kitless bards, Blade and Jester).
As it stands, the Jester could use a little help, and songs in general could become a little stronger, but in general I'm with those who say that weak bards are more a result of a "bad" playstyle than of the class' own faults.
The song is weak, I agree with that. I definitely think that the normal Bard song should improve with levels like in IWD (Heart of Winter), but then what would be the role of the Skald? Well, maybe give him an improving song as well, but let him use it while fighting as well (unlike kitless bards, Blade and Jester).
As it stands, the Jester could use a little help, and songs in general could become a little stronger
I feel like you need to expand your mind about how to play the game.
1) Why are you in melee with a bard anyway? Pre-Tenser's Transformation, a bard other than Blade doesn't have the Thac0 (forget about AC) to be worthwhile in melee. That's what bows are for. If you want to focus on casting spells, use a bow. Unlike a typical mage, you'll actually be a threat from range due to a better weapon selection and better Thac0.
2) What's this nonsense about needing to "equip armor" to be worthwhile in melee anyway? Last I checked, bracers of AC exist and until then, the level 1 spell Armor lasts pretty much forever and is serviceable. Once you get level 3 spells, you can use Ghost Armor. Even if you want to use some chain mail, there's a lot of buff spells that last a long time you can throw on before you start to roam around any given map, so you are still utilizing your spell pool AND your slightly better combat prowess over a default mage.
3) Consumables. Bards can use pretty much every possible consumable in the game. They can utilize most the best potions. They can use wands. They can use scrolls (even while using armor.) Your fighter can't do that. Your thief can't do that (til epic levels.) I know a lot of people don't like using consumables and don't like spending money on them, but for a guy like me? It's a huge plus because I abuse the heck out of them.
4) Jester Song is incredible and I am frankly surprised you don't feel so. Try this: Use your mage to cast Invisibility on your jester when he's already singing. Park your Jester in the middle of the bad guys you want to kill and just leave him invis. Laugh as enemies often scramble around without any clue where that singing is coming from. You can also do this with a Skald to make him a buffer without putting him in harm's way, for the record.
5) How can you say Skald is underpowered? Because using his buff means he's not attacking in combat? Big deal. That +2 Thac0/Damage and -2 AC to your fighters and thieves more than makes up for it. 5 guys fighting super effectively is better than 6 guys fighting in a normal capacity, 100% of the time. Plus chances are if you're using him for buffing, it's not like he needs his song up always. You can stop to cast spells when it's timely to do so, or you can just attack if you need to (at a +1 bonus to hit and damage.)
Are any of these things straight-forward? No not really. But just because bards are unorthodox doesn't mean they somehow ineffective or underpowered. Bard is the only class that compliments EVERY other class, including even more bards.
And again, I don't care if a bard without a kit is "underpowered" (not that I buy that anyway) because there is no point in being any solo regular-mode class as opposed to a kit of some kind. None. Why would you roll regular fighter over a berzerker? Why would you roll regular thief over bounty hunter? Why would you roll paladin over Undead Hunter?
It's not the fault of the developers if you don't utilize a class to it's fullest potential. Just because YOU feel it's underpowered does not actually make it so. Bards are incredible.
The truth is that you don't absolutely need armor.
Try instead: Armor, lvl1, AC6, lasts 8 hour (not bad for a lvl1 spell) Shield Amulet from Nashkell Carnival, AC4, lasts a few rounds but you get 20 uses or so Ghost Armor, lvl3, AC2, lasts 2 hours IIRC.
For really tough battles, don't hesitate to use a potion of defense.
And then we're not talking about Improved Invisibility (+4 AC), Blur (+3 AC), and Project Image (sort of a BG1 stoneskin).
Also in good news. In the AMAA someone asked Trent about adding Elven Chain into BG1 since there wasn't any. Less than 30 minutes later Philip responded saying that Trent asked him to add in Elven chainmail and now it was there. That's another huge BG1 buff to bards.
Sweet! I always loved the idea of elven chainmail -- it's such a great item, both in flavor and usefulness. But it always annoyed me that it was only available relatively late in SoA.
It's like the Aslyferund Chain (I believe it was), which grants permanent protection from +1 weapons at a point where even the lowliest goblins are all using +3 arrows...
yeah really, there is NO reason to pick a bard over a warrior/mage. The warrior mage will end up having stronger spell and stronger melee, and it's not like you use the bard song very often.
The plain bard isn't that bad. Bard uses the same experience table as thiefs. Although a bard cannot get access to spells of 7th and higher spell grade, he'll outlevel your single class wizard and especially your multi-classed fighter/mage. The spells a bard has access to will be comparably more powerful (i.e. higer caster level) than of other arcane casters if both characters have the same experience points.
Bard has a broad selection of trainable weapons (although he can only spend a single proficiency point. You can always use the bard as archer. The high lore skills warrants easy identification of magic items.
This in my opinion (and no jab intended to the OP) is why games being released today are rubbish. If every class etc. in a game is perfectly balanced the game is boring, especially in single player orientated games. I do understand the need for balance in mulitplayer orientated games.
I like the fact that some classes are weaker than others, that some classes level faster, that some classes start strong and end up mediocre and that some classes start super weak and end up power houses. It is what adds flavour to a game.
Today the players are so obsessed with balance that the devs seem to be "going with the flow" and you end up with games so balanced that they are borefests, or games that have had so much effort invested in the balance side of the game that the rest of the game is rushed and under developed.
I say leave the bard as it is. I often use bards, because they are not as weak as you claim, as others in this post have already mentioned. I often mix and match my parties when I have play throughs, variety keeps the game interesting and makes me have to readjust tactics/decisions quite often when replaying through for the 100s time.
Just my 2 cents in thoughts when it comes to "Balance!!!" in a single player game. I do think however things that are blatantly broken should be fixed, but the Bard aint broken and is a good class when used right.
I think the problem is alot of people take the Bard and expect a mage. They play the bard like another mage and that just doesnt work great. You need to play the bard as a bard.
yeah really, there is NO reason to pick a bard over a warrior/mage. The warrior mage will end up having stronger spell and stronger melee, and it's not like you use the bard song very often.
The plain bard isn't that bad. Bard uses the same experience table as thiefs. Although a bard cannot get access to spells of 7th and higher spell grade, he'll outlevel your single class wizard and especially your multi-classed fighter/mage. The spells a bard has access to will be comparably more powerful (i.e. higer caster level) than of other arcane casters if both characters have the same experience points.
Yet he doesn't have a lot of spell slots. His spells are all used after a single combat, sometimes even during the combat.
@Cuan : if you want the game to be unbalanced, unbalance it yourself. Throw all your weapons on the floors, fight only with fist, don't cast any spells of lvl2 and higher...
But let the others have their balanced experience. You can unbalance the game for yourself, but it's more difficult to balance a game by yourself.
The highest armor a bard can wear is Chainmail. The first level mage spell gives you an AC equivalent to splint mail armor. It also lasts I believe 9 hours not the 8 hours mentioned previously.
Bards get plenty of spells. End of BG1, you have 3/3/2/1 as opposed to a regular mage having 4/3/3/2/1 (potentially with +1 for each because of mage specialization.)
Mind you the Bard will have more HP and significantly better Thac0 and ability to use bows, so while his spells are down he's more of a threat on the battlefield.
I've attempted to pick apart your arguments to why "bards are underpowered" as best I can and I'm pretty sure at this point you won't ever see it. We'll have to chalk it up to playstyle differences and the importance we give to certain aspects of the game.
Meanwhile I remember fondly my hardcore solo run through the entire BG Saga with Zaell the half-elf Blade and take it as proof bards are totally fine.
Yeah, I think I was partly convinced, at least for BG 1.
I still think that SOA bards suck big time.
Overall it seems for me that the only thing they really need would be a song boost, just to make the whole song feature more interesting. BUt the devs can eventually keep that for the BG2 EE.
I think most of the songs are fine. Skald and Jester both improve with levels and they outright say that Blade isn't supposed to in the description.
That said I'd really like to see a lingering song addition or something. Playing a song for 1 round and then having 3 rounds to do other things is a heck of a lot better than 1 on 1 off
Skald doesn't need to fight while singing, because he turns your entire party into a roving death squad.
Bard song is still awesome, because Luck bonuses can even increase the average damage of spells like Magic Missiles and Fireball.
look, of course bard song has some bonus, it still sucks big time compared to just casting spells, firing arrows or being in melee. I believe you can do a quick math and find out that a small bonus to look doesn't compensate for an idle party member.
Wich isn't the case right now. Just try to think logically here guys : the bonus of the bard song must be big enough for it to be as usefull as casting spells non-stop or fighting. Which isn't the case.
This is a minor gripe, really. Even if the bonuses were more substantial, are you really going to leave your bard to just sit and sing for his buffs rather than fling spells or attack with a bow?
If you want your bard song to be good, just roll Skald. It's going to be included in BG:EE so... problem solved.
I feel like resources spent to "fix" an ability 99% of players still wouldn't use are wasted resources.
I am such a meta-gamer I don't get the big stink. Bards are still plenty powerful. If they straight up removed Bard Song from the game, it wouldn't have an effect on me in any way.
This is a minor gripe, really. Even if the bonuses were more substantial, are you really going to leave your bard to just sit and sing for his buffs rather than fling spells or attack with a bow?
If you want your bard song to be good, just roll Skald. It's going to be included in BG:EE so... problem solved.
I feel like resources spent to "fix" an ability 99% of players still wouldn't use are wasted resources.
I am such a meta-gamer I don't get the big stink. Bards are still plenty powerful. If they straight up removed Bard Song from the game, it wouldn't have an effect on me in any way.
Yeah but still it's kind of awkward not to have the bard song usefull. It's supposed to be part of the class indentity.
The only way to encourage player to use the song would be to allow the bard tp sing while attcking (melee or bow), and increase the dong strength.
Making a song mecanism similar to Icewind Dale would be cool.
As much as I agree with what's already been said about Bards, I do rather like the IWD bard songs. This was in IWD 1, as well (HOW, actually, as part of an initiative to improve the pure-classes. Rangers, Paladins, Thieves and ESPECIALLY Druids got a boost as well).
The Bard would gain a new song every other level (accessible by right-clicking on the Bard Song button):
The Ballad of Three Heroes - Allies gain +1 to hit, damage and Saving throws. The Tale of Curran Strongheart - 3rd level. Removes fear. Tymora's Melody - 5th level. Allies get +1 luck, +3 saving throws, and +10% to lore and thieving skills. The Song of Kaudies - 7th level. 50% chance to evade sound-based attacks. The Siren's Yearning - 9th level. Chance of enemies becoming Enthralled (unable to move for a minute or so, or until they take dmg). War Chant of Sith - 11th level. Allies get +2 bonus to AC, +10% res. to slashing, piercing, crushing and missile attacks, plus regenerate 2 HP per round. (Yikes! Unsurprisingly, with this change, Bards became considered an incredibly powerful class)
Obviously those changes wouldn't transition well into BG (Siren's Yearning would effectively make the Jester redundant, and War Chant of Sith is the Skald on total steroids). But a similar idea could work.
As others have said, the Bard is already decent on his own, you just have to play him properly. If you just see him as a Fighter/Mage/Thief for humans, it's probably not going to work out.
EDIT: That being said, the Jester really does need a boost. It's really not useful at all beyond the first couple of levels of BG2, and I believe it was the most played class for masochist runs (i.e. soloing on Insane with a Jester was considered about as difficult as the game could get) as its generally a useless kit.
But that's a future consideration, because in BG1, it absolutely dominates.
Really, Jester and Shapeshifter are in similar boats - both have abilities that are way too powerful at low levels, and laughable at higher levels. Some sort of scaling system might work. If Jester's song started off with like Sleep, then jumped up to Hold Person, then moved on to Confusion, then eventually wound its way up to Death Spell, or something like that, it could work. Though it would need some tweaking, because otherwise you're just saving yourself a spell slot.
look, of course bard song has some bonus, it still sucks big time compared to just casting spells, firing arrows or being in melee. I believe you can do a quick math and find out that a small bonus to look doesn't compensate for an idle party member.
Luckily, you can turn the Bard song off for when you need him to do other things. For most fights, though, spells are completely unnecessary, and will go faster if the warriors and thief are buffed.
Comments
I don't see what is wrong in being balanced, that has been the purpose of all games, even before video games were invented,
Unless you have a blade, you are going to end up using magic.
Plain bard is definitively underpowered not even comparable to plain warrior/paladin/mage/thief..., and the bard song is useless, while it should be his main feature.
Jester is also clearly underpowered. So is the skald, whose song doesn't compensate for the fact that you cant attack or cast spells.
Like someone else proposed, it wouldn't hurt to give more variety and power to the bard song.
Actually if I rolled a skald I'd give them some of the 2h weapons to use like Greatsword or Halberd and try to give em a strength to match. As I said there IS a way to get the song and attack. One round singing, song lasts through the next round and you get to attack. It's tedious but it works. I'd still like to see some type of lingering song addition for Skalds and Blades.
For Jesters, well there CC only lasts for a round so its natural you'd have to keep it up when you needed it.
Well like you said : ''It's tedious''. This kind could be fixed for example.
Allowing the Scald to attack and sing at the same time would be of great help.
Next step would be to find a way to improve jester/scald/bard songs overall.
Since bard is better in magic, you end up choosing magic for most battles, yet he is weaker than a mage.
The pickpocket skill is almost useless.
The song is weak, even scalds song isn't very good, since he cant do anything else while he sings, and the song isn't powerful enough to compensate for the fact that he doesn't fight/cast spells.
I don't see what is wrong in helping the bard class a LITTLE BIT.
Just giving the jester/scald/bard better songs and the ability to sing while in melee. That's simple.
Pickpocket is nice as it frees up thief skill points, and in BG1 it is actually useful. BG2, not so much, but at least it's still a nice gimmick.
The song is weak, I agree with that. I definitely think that the normal Bard song should improve with levels like in IWD (Heart of Winter), but then what would be the role of the Skald? Well, maybe give him an improving song as well, but let him use it while fighting as well (unlike kitless bards, Blade and Jester).
As it stands, the Jester could use a little help, and songs in general could become a little stronger, but in general I'm with those who say that weak bards are more a result of a "bad" playstyle than of the class' own faults.
Definitively that, this solution is the good one.
I feel like you need to expand your mind about how to play the game.
1) Why are you in melee with a bard anyway? Pre-Tenser's Transformation, a bard other than Blade doesn't have the Thac0 (forget about AC) to be worthwhile in melee. That's what bows are for. If you want to focus on casting spells, use a bow. Unlike a typical mage, you'll actually be a threat from range due to a better weapon selection and better Thac0.
2) What's this nonsense about needing to "equip armor" to be worthwhile in melee anyway? Last I checked, bracers of AC exist and until then, the level 1 spell Armor lasts pretty much forever and is serviceable. Once you get level 3 spells, you can use Ghost Armor. Even if you want to use some chain mail, there's a lot of buff spells that last a long time you can throw on before you start to roam around any given map, so you are still utilizing your spell pool AND your slightly better combat prowess over a default mage.
3) Consumables. Bards can use pretty much every possible consumable in the game. They can utilize most the best potions. They can use wands. They can use scrolls (even while using armor.) Your fighter can't do that. Your thief can't do that (til epic levels.) I know a lot of people don't like using consumables and don't like spending money on them, but for a guy like me? It's a huge plus because I abuse the heck out of them.
4) Jester Song is incredible and I am frankly surprised you don't feel so. Try this: Use your mage to cast Invisibility on your jester when he's already singing. Park your Jester in the middle of the bad guys you want to kill and just leave him invis. Laugh as enemies often scramble around without any clue where that singing is coming from. You can also do this with a Skald to make him a buffer without putting him in harm's way, for the record.
5) How can you say Skald is underpowered? Because using his buff means he's not attacking in combat? Big deal. That +2 Thac0/Damage and -2 AC to your fighters and thieves more than makes up for it. 5 guys fighting super effectively is better than 6 guys fighting in a normal capacity, 100% of the time. Plus chances are if you're using him for buffing, it's not like he needs his song up always. You can stop to cast spells when it's timely to do so, or you can just attack if you need to (at a +1 bonus to hit and damage.)
Are any of these things straight-forward? No not really. But just because bards are unorthodox doesn't mean they somehow ineffective or underpowered. Bard is the only class that compliments EVERY other class, including even more bards.
And again, I don't care if a bard without a kit is "underpowered" (not that I buy that anyway) because there is no point in being any solo regular-mode class as opposed to a kit of some kind. None. Why would you roll regular fighter over a berzerker? Why would you roll regular thief over bounty hunter? Why would you roll paladin over Undead Hunter?
It's not the fault of the developers if you don't utilize a class to it's fullest potential. Just because YOU feel it's underpowered does not actually make it so. Bards are incredible.
Try instead:
Armor, lvl1, AC6, lasts 8 hour (not bad for a lvl1 spell)
Shield Amulet from Nashkell Carnival, AC4, lasts a few rounds but you get 20 uses or so
Ghost Armor, lvl3, AC2, lasts 2 hours IIRC.
For really tough battles, don't hesitate to use a potion of defense.
And then we're not talking about Improved Invisibility (+4 AC), Blur (+3 AC), and Project Image (sort of a BG1 stoneskin).
Bards are pretty cool.
It's like the Aslyferund Chain (I believe it was), which grants permanent protection from +1 weapons at a point where even the lowliest goblins are all using +3 arrows...
Bard has a broad selection of trainable weapons (although he can only spend a single proficiency point. You can always use the bard as archer. The high lore skills warrants easy identification of magic items.
@Cuan : if you want the game to be unbalanced, unbalance it yourself. Throw all your weapons on the floors, fight only with fist, don't cast any spells of lvl2 and higher...
But let the others have their balanced experience. You can unbalance the game for yourself, but it's more difficult to balance a game by yourself.
Mind you the Bard will have more HP and significantly better Thac0 and ability to use bows, so while his spells are down he's more of a threat on the battlefield.
I've attempted to pick apart your arguments to why "bards are underpowered" as best I can and I'm pretty sure at this point you won't ever see it. We'll have to chalk it up to playstyle differences and the importance we give to certain aspects of the game.
Meanwhile I remember fondly my hardcore solo run through the entire BG Saga with Zaell the half-elf Blade and take it as proof bards are totally fine.
Yeah, I think I was partly convinced, at least for BG 1.
I still think that SOA bards suck big time.
Overall it seems for me that the only thing they really need would be a song boost, just to make the whole song feature more interesting.
BUt the devs can eventually keep that for the BG2 EE.
That said I'd really like to see a lingering song addition or something. Playing a song for 1 round and then having 3 rounds to do other things is a heck of a lot better than 1 on 1 off
- make better songs for the bardand and jester
-allow the skald to fight while singing.
Jester song doesn't improve with the levels : that's where the problem is for this guy.
Bard song is useless, even after a few level.
Skald would be helped if he could fight while singing (and it would be fitting).
Bard song is still awesome, because Luck bonuses can even increase the average damage of spells like Magic Missiles and Fireball.
This is a minor gripe, really. Even if the bonuses were more substantial, are you really going to leave your bard to just sit and sing for his buffs rather than fling spells or attack with a bow?
If you want your bard song to be good, just roll Skald. It's going to be included in BG:EE so... problem solved.
I feel like resources spent to "fix" an ability 99% of players still wouldn't use are wasted resources.
I am such a meta-gamer I don't get the big stink. Bards are still plenty powerful. If they straight up removed Bard Song from the game, it wouldn't have an effect on me in any way.
Yeah but still it's kind of awkward not to have the bard song usefull. It's supposed to be part of the class indentity.
The only way to encourage player to use the song would be to allow the bard tp sing while attcking (melee or bow), and increase the dong strength.
Making a song mecanism similar to Icewind Dale would be cool.
Heh, sorry guys.
As much as I agree with what's already been said about Bards, I do rather like the IWD bard songs. This was in IWD 1, as well (HOW, actually, as part of an initiative to improve the pure-classes. Rangers, Paladins, Thieves and ESPECIALLY Druids got a boost as well).
The Bard would gain a new song every other level (accessible by right-clicking on the Bard Song button):
The Ballad of Three Heroes - Allies gain +1 to hit, damage and Saving throws.
The Tale of Curran Strongheart - 3rd level. Removes fear.
Tymora's Melody - 5th level. Allies get +1 luck, +3 saving throws, and
+10% to lore and thieving skills.
The Song of Kaudies - 7th level. 50% chance to evade sound-based
attacks.
The Siren's Yearning - 9th level. Chance of enemies becoming Enthralled
(unable to move for a minute or so, or until they take dmg).
War Chant of Sith - 11th level. Allies get +2 bonus to AC, +10% res. to
slashing, piercing, crushing and missile attacks, plus
regenerate 2 HP per round. (Yikes! Unsurprisingly, with this change, Bards became considered an incredibly powerful class)
Obviously those changes wouldn't transition well into BG (Siren's Yearning would effectively make the Jester redundant, and War Chant of Sith is the Skald on total steroids). But a similar idea could work.
As others have said, the Bard is already decent on his own, you just have to play him properly. If you just see him as a Fighter/Mage/Thief for humans, it's probably not going to work out.
EDIT: That being said, the Jester really does need a boost. It's really not useful at all beyond the first couple of levels of BG2, and I believe it was the most played class for masochist runs (i.e. soloing on Insane with a Jester was considered about as difficult as the game could get) as its generally a useless kit.
But that's a future consideration, because in BG1, it absolutely dominates.
Really, Jester and Shapeshifter are in similar boats - both have abilities that are way too powerful at low levels, and laughable at higher levels. Some sort of scaling system might work. If Jester's song started off with like Sleep, then jumped up to Hold Person, then moved on to Confusion, then eventually wound its way up to Death Spell, or something like that, it could work. Though it would need some tweaking, because otherwise you're just saving yourself a spell slot.